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“I don’t see how you aren’t half-frozen out here already, early-bird,” Don remarked as he stepped through the sliding glass door, the dewy Hollywood air nipping at his cheeks something fierce. His robe and sweater didn’t protect him very well from the elements, although his partner seemed to be faring just fine in his pajamas.
Cosmo put out his cigarette against the patio railing and spun around, revealing a wide grin stretching across his face. "You're always sensitive to the cold. That's why you insist I wear socks to bed every night."
"Guilty as charged." Don chuckled, too, and took to slipping his hands under Cosmo's shirt and rubbing gentle circles onto his back. Not only did it warm up his hands, but it also brought a sigh out of Cosmo, so he must have killed two birds with one stone. They were close, nearly hip to hip, Cosmo with warm contentment shaping his features and Don with such a smitten smile that Cosmo almost had to look away.
"Your hair's a mess, Lockwood," Cosmo commented teasingly, reaching up to brush a few stray strands back into place. "If I didn't know better, I would have thought you were put through the ringer."
"Well you don't exactly look like Tallulah Bankhead either, Brown," Don teased back, ignoring the eye roll his partner shot at him.
Don snaked his arms around Cosmo and leaned down just a tad, catching his lips in a lazy kiss.
By the time they pulled away, the sun was peeking curiously over the horizon. If Cosmo could have found his voice, he would have likened it to a nosy reporter, forever in Don's business.
Don admired the way the warm light hugged only the right side of Cosmo's face. He could see his eyes better now, and the vibrance of his irises almost made Don wonder if Cosmo's entire world was made up of that brilliant blue.
"What'd'ya kiss me like that for?" It took so long for Cosmo to pull himself out of it that it actually frightened him. "Do you have bad news?"
Don chuckled, breath fogging the air, and shook his head. “Today? No.” He kissed the corner of Cosmo’s mouth, his jaw, his neck. Cosmo hoped Don didn’t feel his pulse jumpstart, but figured he must have, considering how Don pulled away and looked at him with bemusement and warmth.
“You’re a regular Don Juan, you know that?” Cosmo joked, unable to hold back his smile. Don couldn’t tell if he was imagining it, but he swore that Cosmo was glowing.
“Don Juan? Not Zsa-Zsa?” Don jested back (was he really joking, though?), his voice dipping suggestively, and Cosmo rolled his eyes as Don leaned back down to kiss his neck. The sun was nearly entirely over the horizon now, and Cosmo felt its light warm on his face. The fog hugging the hills in the distance was finally starting to dissipate. Still, the tip of Don’s nose somehow managed to be cold, and Cos jolted away with a laugh when it brushed against his skin.
“What? Too much?” Don pulled back, grinning, but Cosmo was still able to find some genuine worry hidden in his brow.
“No, you sap, your nose is cold!” Cosmo was nearly giggling, and the little bit of worry in Don’s expression immediately melted away. Don joined in with the laughter after a beat, and before he could crescendo into cackles, he jabbed, “You see? You see why I make you wear socks to bed?”
It really wasn’t that funny, but Don was definitely getting a kick out of it. Cosmo couldn’t help but laugh just as hard as Don was, snorts and guffaws and all, because if something broke Don up like this, it had to be hysterical. Cosmo’s head fell to rest in the crook of Don’s neck, and there must have been something hilarious about that too, because Don’s laughter grew impossibly louder. They threw teasing insults at one another through walls of giggles, but nothing came out coherently, and it only added to their amusement. They didn’t stop until their laughter was silent, and they were almost too dizzy to stand.
As Don focused on his partner's breaths puffing against his collarbone, Cosmo’s lungs ached with a pleasant warmth that was beginning to stretch all across his body. They were drenched with sunlight now, inside and out. Don didn’t particularly like the cold, but he was more than willing to draw out the moment for a few more minutes, and Cosmo was eternally grateful.