title : just hold me , i'm cold
oc / pairing : wrightford (kat
stratford and salem wright)
trigger warnings : none!

DAY TWELVE : " hold me , i'm cold . "

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BIANCA'S ADVICE. BIANCA'S ADVICE. IT WAS so stupid. So dumb. She didn't even know why she even considered even listening to her in the first place. It wasn't worth it. It wasn't worth freezing her ass off. Kat still wanted to keep a little warm. It's a jacket. Decent, but doesn't exactly prevent you from being cold. If Elvira wouldn't do it for Bianca, then there's no reason that she should be doing it for a man. But, this wasn't just any man, it was Salem, which made her go through a whirlwind of emotions.

"If he offers you his coat, he likes you. If you cuddle up to him, he's bound to wrap himself around you to keep you warm. then he loves you."

After listening to Bianca's bogus advice, Kat went to the closest source. His younger sister, who pretty much deemed what her own girlfriend said to be bullshit. And knowing Elvira, she would give the most brutally honest advice, even if you don't ask for it. And what she told her about Salem was honestly some of the best and worst things she's ever heard.

"Salem does not like when people beat around the bush, mostly because he cannot read social cues the way neurotypical people such as you or Bianca can. You must be the utmost honest with him. If you're cold, tell him."

And now, here she was, roaming the streets of Seattle with ... A friend? That she really liked? Calling it something more was admittedly a little bit scary considering what she went through last time. They're admiring the Christmas lights that shone around the pathways they were walking.

"They went with a lot of cool tones for the lights."

Kat snapped out of her thoughts, immediately turning her head toward Salem. "What?"

"Cool tones," Salem repeated, his voice soft, "a decision that not a lot of people make when it comes to Christmas. Blues, purples. The only color I see being ... Christmas related is silver."

"Huh. I never noticed," Kat replied with a shrug, "I just see a lot of red and green."

"And gold," Salem added, "all warm tones. Even the dark green."

Salem knew much more about that than Kat did. Art and colors were something that she could listen to him speak upon for hours and never get tired of it. But this made her finally pay attention to her surroundings. She did like the cool tones better than the warm, now that she knew what they were.

"You know a lot about themes and colors," Kat told him, "primary and secondary colors. I just call them colors."

Salem chuckled. "Yeah, a lot of people don't know color theory. I like to spend most of my time studying it. Pretty boring, huh?"

Kat shook her head. "No, not at all," she told him, "I'd rather hear you talk about color theory than what most guys talk about. Frankly, it's much more fascinating to hear."

Salem gave a small smile. It's awkward. That's usually how it was. Right now, he's talking. Maybe even much more than usual. But Salem grew comfortable in talking to Kat. It was an upgrade from writing in that notepad that he always kept.

He noticed Kat's red fingertips. The way she slightly shivered under her jacket. It didn't seem like it was enough. Salem looked down at her. "Are you okay?"

Kat looked up at him, before giving the quickest nod possible. "Me? Yeah! Yeah, I'm alright," she answered.

"You sure?" He asked, "your fingers are red, it's pretty chilly ..."

Her mind said, "no, i'm freezing and you seem like a pretty good heater." But what comes out of her mouth says something so different.

"Yeah! I can just put my hands in my pockets, no big deal," Kat replied back.

She then looked to her left. She saw a small Christmas Market at the end of the road. The perfect opportunity to change the subject of being cold and she took it.

"Hey, there's a Christmas market up ahead," she told him, as she linked her arm with his and practically pulled him over.

"Oh!" Is what comes out of Salem's mouth shortly after. He doesn't get to say anything else before he's being pulled over to the outdoor market.

Surprisingly, the outdoor market wasn't that packed. There were families walking around, but that was about it. They look around the market. It was antique stuff, mostly, but also newer things. Salem noticed Kat eying the antique jewelry. The rings, mostly. Particularly, one with a moonstone, maybe it was opal. Salem couldn't tell the difference at the moment.

"That's a pretty ring," he said.

Kat looked up at him, before looking back down at the ring. "Yeah! Yeah, it's nice," she said back.

It was a very pretty ring. Kat would be lying if she said that she didn't want it. It could very well add onto the ring collection that she already had piling up in her room. The ring box was already up to its brim, she didn't even know if it would fit.

"Do you want me to buy it for you?"

Kat looked up at him. "Oh. Oh, no, Salem you don't have to get it for me."

"Well, do you want it?" He asked.

Of course she did. But Kat didn't want Salem spending any money on her. But, unfortunately, she couldn't lie her way out of this one. She had already shown interest in it.

"Well, yeah," Kat answered, "but──"

"But," Salem repeated, "there's no but about it. You want the ring, and that's okay. I'll buy it for you."

Kat gave a slight shrug after a while. "Okay, since you really wanna buy it for me," she said to him.

"I wanna buy it for you cause you want it," Salem chuckled.

He paid for the ring shortly after. Once the lady at the stand gave it to him, the first thing he did was grab Kat's hand. He can't feel how cold it is due to wearing his own gloves. Salem slid the ring onto her finger,
the stone shimmering beneath the lights.

"It's very pretty on you," he told her, "compliments your skin tone really well."

He did that so effortlessly. Kat could feel her face heat up, wondering how it was possible that a guy could make her feel like that. She tried to hide her emotions with a witty response, deflecting her feelings a little bit.

"Well, I'd hope so," Kat replied back, a chuckle escaping her lips, "but, uh, thanks. For buying it for me."

"You don't have to thank me," Salem said back, "it looked like you really wanted it, so ..."

The two eventually leave the market after looking at everything they were interested in. Salem didn't leave empty-handed either. He ended up buying a few cassettes. He even bought Kat some that she liked, which he didn't have to, but she was very thankful for. One thing she wasn't used to was getting the princess treatment. And she can't help but to admit that it was kind of nice.

After some time, they walk back in the direction that they came from. There was a park they had passed when they were walking through the pathway of lights. It was near the parking lot that Salem parked in. They spent the rest of that time talking.

Kat almost forgot how cold she actually was. And now that they were sitting, it just set in even more. Her fingers in her pockets were barely helping now. But she kept the conversation going in hopes that Salem noticed.

"I started listening to them a while ago," Kat said to him in reference to The Cramps, "i think I might dive deeper."

"You should! They're really good. Sure some of their lyrics are ... Explicit in a way," Salem explained to her, "they're fun to dance to, I'll say."

"Got any album recs?" Kat asked.

"A Date with Elvis," Salem answered, "or Look Mom No Head."

Kat nodded. She mentally kept those titles in her head for later. If her brain could keep warm enough to retain that information. She's slightly shivering, desperately hoping that Salem wouldn't notice it. She could see her breath escaping her lips.

Salem's eyes soften. He noticed her state. She looks a little out of it. Lost, maybe. "Are you okay?"

Kat looked up at him. She immediately nodded. "Yeah! Yeah, I'm fine," she told him.

Was she? She was freezing her ass off. All because she wanted to be hopeful in following her sister's advice. It was stupid. She should've just bundled up. Or followed Elvira's advice to begin with and tell him from the start. But right now, her brain didn't exactly know what she wanted.

"Are you sure?" He asked.

She wasn't too sure. Actually, she was sure about something. Kat couldn't even look at him now. "I──" she let out. The Seattle weather was getting to her. So much that she could barely think. And before she knew it, she let out her honest words.

"Just hold me," she finally told him, "i'm cold."

Salem would be lying if he said that he wasn't surprised. Well, he was partially surprised. He was fully expecting her to tell him that she was cold at some point, but not to hold her.

Kat almost regretted those words coming out of her mouth. She was about to open her mouth to say something else. But before she could, she felt the very familiar arm pull her in closer. She immediately felt much warmer than she was before. She wasn't expecting Salem to be a human heater.

"Now, why didn't you just say that?" He asked, a small smile curling up onto his lips.

Kat slightly shrugged. "I didn't wanna scare you away," she admitted, "and I know how much you like your personal bubble, so ..."

"I don't mind you being in my personal bubble," Salem told her, which for some reason made Kat's heart flutter, "better you than anyone else."

She leaned her head onto his chest. Kat couldn't help but to smile. That was a step forward, at least to her. It was nice to know that she wasn't invading his personal space in any kind of way. His arm wrapped around him, cuddled up to him on the bench, she was fairly warm. A loving gesture, really. A hug that Kat didn't think she needed, but ended up being everything that she wanted.

Letting this man touch her didn't seem so bad. It felt promising. It didn't make her feel uncomfortable, nor felt revolting. It was different. A good difference.

Kat felt Salem's gloved hand tilt her chin up, which makes her look up at him. Brown eyes looking down at her, looking as if he's curiously thinking. Seeing them makes her heart melt, and she didn't even think it was possible.

"Can I?" Salem whispered.

Kat was surprised to say the least. She didn't expect him to ask. No one ever did. Salem was different. He's different in all aspects, which was why she liked him so much. She slowly gave him a nod.

"Yeah," she whispered back.

Once Salem was given the green light, he leaned down, gently kissing her lips. It's like that gesture made her warmer than she already had been before. Her cold hand reached to touch his warm cheek, butterflies swirling inside of her stomach. The twinkling stars as well as the few Christmas lights surrounding them. The atmosphere was unintentionally romantic.

Kat eventually pulled away, looking up at him. "You know you don't have to ask me every time," she said with a chuckle, "you can kiss me anytime you want."

This made Salem laugh. "I know, I just feel that I have to. Boundaries and stuff," he said.

Kat slightly shook her head, another smile appearing on her lips. "You're too cute," she told him, before leaning in and kissing him once more, this time a little deeper. She was starting to like kissing him. Him. And she wouldn't have it any other way.