2. Everyone, Meet Heidi

Cold.

I haven't felt anything but heat in... in a long time.

I gasp, pulling my hand free. The cooling respite vanishes, leaving me breathless and wide eyed.

"Woah, that was amazing!" Eyes full of wonder, Kal continues, "You're so warm, I'm jealous!"

I'm kind of embarrassed that a simple handshake rattled me so much, but I honestly don't even know what to say.

Wren saves me from looking like a gulping goldfish. "HA! This is so perfect, I could pat myself on the back. When Kal came in and introduced himself to me, I remembered you saying you need an ice crystal... well, here he is!"

If I wasn't already flushed then I definitely was now. Luckily the front bell rang. Saved again.

"Well boys, let's get back to work. Maybe Aiden should try out the register for now while I show Kal the drink basics."

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The afternoon went smooth after that, no more hot flashes since I mostly trained on the register.

The three of us chatted between customers, but the topic of our handshake is thankfully avoided. I definitely didn't think about it at all. Nope. Not at all.

Ok, yes I did.

Kal seems to be picking up cold bar pretty quick, hands aiding in the cooling of drinks. Every time he sets a cup down a crystalized layer of frost in the shape of a hand is left behind.

Business slows down enough just before closing that we can start our closing duties a bit early. Wren talks us through everything and gives us tasks here and there. As we're restocking the cups she asks Kal why he decided to apply here, since she doesn't remember seeing him in here before.

"I haven't physically been in the cafe before, but since my friend, Ronan, stops here all the time I've had your coffee quite a bit, so I decided to apply when he said you were hiring."

"Oh, so you're Ronan's friend! That makes sense now. It's neat that you'll be working here too, I'm excited to get to know you guys better. I'm sure Aiden is super excited too." She winks, shooting me a shit-eating grin. "He looks like a big tough guy, but once you get past his firewalls he's just a big softie looking for human connection like everyone else."

"Ohhh gods," I groan. "I told you to stop trying to set me u—"

"And I told you to stop ruining my vibes, and it has yet to happen. Kal here has great vibes, calm, cool and collected... Maybe a hint of spice, but that's the fun part." It's his turn to get winked at, but he just smirks right back.

I shake my head.

"Anyways Kal," she continues, "you've had the drinks here, do you you have a favorite?"

"Hmm," he takes a second to think. "I don't actually. I like different things depending on my mood... coffee, movies, people."

I raise my eyebrows, but hold my curious tongue.

Wren doesn't.

She leans in conspiratorially. "Ooooh spilling the tea. Really no preference??"

"Oh, I've got a lot of preferences, I'd be happy to share anytime."

Just as Wren opens her mouth to respond, I beat her to it. "As much as I'm sure she would love to discuss those with you, perhaps it can wait until after we close up and aren't in the middle of the cafe?"

He shrugs and she pouts, but they go back to the tasks at hand. We clean and restock until the store empties out and the open sign is flipped to closed.

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Stepping through the front door, Wren turns to lock it behind her.

I breathe in a deep breath of early evening air, the sweltering heat finally cooled down enough by the setting sun. Kal stands at my side as we wait for her to lock up, and he fidgets with his sweater sleeves until they're rolled back down to cover his hands, then brings them up to his mouth to blow a puff of hot air over them.

It's not as hot as it was earlier, but it's still far from chilly out; Even Wren is still wearing short sleeves.

"Alright guys, all set, thanks for waiting!"

"Of course," I respond, slightly confused. "I figured we'd walk back home together...? Kal are you headed the same direction?" I use my thumb to point in the general direction of the house that Wren, our friends, and I rent.

Wren responds first. "I actually have plans with Aster tonight, sorry for not mentioning it sooner."

"That's alright, I'd tell you to have fun but I'm sure you're already planning on it! I'll head home then, see you later."

Wren waves. "Goodnight guys!" She says, then saunters off while pulling out her phone.

"Well, just us then." Kal grins up at me. "I'm meeting Ronan down the road for some dinner and a drink or two, you should join us."

"Nah that's ok, I was just going to head back and work on some stuff. I've got a project due next week already."

"We won't be out late, you'll still have time afterwards. Pretty please? I want you to meet Ronan since you'll probably be seeing him more often... and I kind of wanted to talk to you more."

Well.

How is he able to say that so easily? And how am I supposed to say no to that? Now that I've had some time to process our initial meeting, I'm a bit curious about him too. His ice weaving, of course.

"I suppose I'll tag along. I'm getting hungry now that you mention it."

"Awesome," he replies, light eyes shining in the last rays of the sun.

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I forgot how busy Friday nights are at bars.

Kal must have noticed my initial discomfort as we stood, looking for his friend. I was moving back and forth, doing my best to avoid the people crowded in the entryway, when he took hold of my upper arm, alarming me with the foreign chill, before leading us over to an available high top in the corner where it was mostly clear.

"Stay here, I'm going to find Ronan. Be back in a minute."

I sit on the stool and glance around while waiting. This particular bar isn't nearly as packed or crazy as some of the others along this strip can get. It's pretty mild here in comparison, but bodies still crowd around the length of the bar. Music plays in the background, but not blaringly loud, and the air is full of malty beer, sweaty bodies and fresh greasy food.

I watch as the bartender goes back and forth down the bar, taking orders and mixing drinks. She must be a hydroweaver: the liquor defies gravity, flowing up out of the bottle before it arcs into the awaiting glass. More liquids stream in, mixing together in a slow whirlpool.

"Hey, I'm back!" Kal calls, pulling someone behind him.

I was just a fraction taller than Kal, but they're taller than both of us. Light brown, messy hair was pulled away from their dark blue eyes by a bandana headband. A glowing tan skin spoke to the time they must spend in the sun and the hand held out to me has leather bracelets wrapped around their wrist.

"What's up, I'm Ronan. He/They/Whatever fits. You're Aiden right?"

"Yeah, nice to meet you. He/Him's fine. I actually don't sha—"

"Oh shit, sorry! I forgot, Kal warned that you don't shake. It's cool."

Kal claims the other seat across from me, leaving Ronan to stand.

"Do you want me to grab you a seat?" I ask. "There's a free one right behind me."

Ronan sets a huge Hydro Flask bottle on the table in front of him, looking very out of place in the establishment. He sees me eyeing it. "I get dehydrated easily since I'm a hydroweaver, so I bring it with me everywhere; Heidi and I," he indicates the bottle, "are quite attached to each other. And no, thanks, I came over to say hi, but I was actually on my way to the bar where I spied a fine masculine specimen I'd like to admire more closely. I'll be back in a bit... maybe."

He grabs Heidi the Hydro Flask, turns with a flourish, and disappears into the crowd.

I was a bit stupefied, until Kal chuckled, "Well, that's Ronan for you. He's actually a really cool, down-to-earth person, but he's also a bit of a go-with-the-flow, free soul. Not that it's a bad thing at all, he can just be... surprising. Expect the unexpected. Anyway, want to order something?"

We ended up getting some loaded fries and wings, a beer for him and a coke for me.

"Sure you don't want a beer? My treat since I dragged you here," he says.

"Yeah, I'm good. I don't really drink. I don't mind the taste, but the alcohol tends to heat me up really bad. A drunk, overheated pyroweaver is never a good combination."

"Huh, I guess that makes sense... It's the opposite for me: it gives me a pleasant heat instead."

The server comes over to drop off our drinks, and I take a sip, wishing I had ice cream to pour my coke over. Coke floats are a guilty pleasure of mine.

The bar is a little on the warm side, and I dap at my forehead with a napkin.

"Here, can I see your drink real quick?" Kal asks, pointing at it.

"I guess?"

He takes hold of it and my eyebrows rise slowly on my forehead, mesmerized as a layer of thin frosty ice coats the glass. When he slides it back to me I peer inside to find that it's not totally frozen, but icy in spots.

"Huh, thanks." I take a sip, "Mmm! It's good... refreshing. I've actually never had a coke slushee before."

He just smirks at me, crossing his arms so he can tuck his hands in. "Anytime."

I nod my chin towards his hands. "Do your hands get cold when you use your weaving? I noticed you tucking them up after work too."

He huffs. "They're always cold, but so is the rest of me. All the time. It gets old, but I've learned to deal with it for the most part. But also yes, it's worse after I use my weaving, and during the winter months I'm pretty much a constant ice block."

"Man, your always cold? It would be amazing if I could steal some of that from you... I'm always burning up, in case you haven't noticed." I pause, but the look in his eyes tells me he's actually interested, so I continue, "Summer months are the worst for me, you can only take off so many layers before people start to look at you funny. And it's the same for me, it's worse after using my heat: my hands get clammy, I sweat like crazy, if it's bad enough I can get heat exhaustion and then it gets dangerous. I was so bad once I passed out and then literally caught on fire. Most of the time it's manageable, I'm just always a bit hot."

He peers at me, head cocked slightly to the side. He doesn't look at me with pity though, which I'm thankful for. I usually hate sharing this stuff with others, but it just comes easier with him. Maybe because his situation is similar in a way? Anytime I try to explain it to anyone else, they just tell me "they're sorry for me", "that must really suck", or "have you tried doing this or that?" I appreciate them trying, but they don't understand; can't understand, unless they go through something like it.

Kal's eyes roam up and down me absently before coming back into focus. He nods his head slowly. "Yeah, it can be really hard sometimes... I call mine 'freezing up'; when I get so cold I pretty much go catatonic, covered in frost and ice crystals. At least for me I can bundle up, it's why I own a million sweaters and cozy socks." With a slight smile he adds, "It's become my signature look."

"Mines a 'burnout'," I supply. "And I'm pretty sure my signature look would be naked."

He barks out a laugh and I join him, quickly clearing the heavy air.

He relaxes his arms again and sets one hand palm up on the table. "Now I'm curious," he says, eyes dancing. "I want to feel your hand again, if it's ok."

I glance between his outstretched hand and his eyes for the second time today.

Wanting to feel the cold—needing to feel his cold—I bring my opposite hand up and lay it atop his.

This time the frosty exhilaration was expected, but it still surprises me a little. He grips my hand tighter and the soothing relief is almost instant, my palm no longer balmy but normal. Not hot, not cold, it's just blissfully normal. The way it should be.

Gods, it feels amazing.

"Shit, this is better than sex," Kal blurts. "You should totally just follow me around all day and hold my hand."

I snort, choking on my own spit.

It was at that opportune moment, that Ronan pops back in. "So it turns out that he has a girlfriend, which I said I didn't mind; the more the merrier. But— Woah."

He stops in front of our table, eyes narrowed at us. "The hell happened while I was gone? You're holding hands like your life depends on it, and I definitely just heard the word 'sex'... you guys sure move quick, but hey, good for you, at least some of us are getting some tonight." He claps Kal on the back as we tear our hands apart.