Disclaimer: This is my first publication on Literotica, and I'm both nervous and excited to present it. This is a one shot story but I enjoyed writing it and there's room for a sequel, so if you enjoy it and you'd like to read more, please let me know! Your feedback is welcome and encouraged :)
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When Aurora had taken the field research job with the Department of Conservation she hadn't realised just how much time would be spent travelling.
It was just her and her colleague Syd on the road, sometimes for days between national parks, taking long hikes to obscure disused cabins where they'd hole up and observe the local wildlife and fauna for a week, before briefly returning to civilization.
The majority of their time was spent together with no oversight, and they'd built a steady rapport over the few months they'd been working together.
They were close in age, in their late twenties, and they both shared a deep passion for nature and hiking that made working together easy and even fun, as difficult as the job could be at times.
It was early morning when they'd arrived at their next site, a national park set in a desert basin that required hiking through rocky and hostile terrain to reach the cabin where they'd be staying.
By the afternoon the heat was sweltering, and Aurora's skin was sticky with sweat as they finally hauled the equipment through the door into the cabin.
She sat down on the cot in the corner once it was down and took off her heavy pack. Her canteen was empty and she had to dig around to find her second one, taking a long drink.
Syd took off his own pack and set it down on the crate with a thud, letting out an exhausted sigh as he came to sit beside her. He pulled off his shirt, tossing it onto the crate. "I think that's the worst hike we've done so far. I'm fucking tired."
"At least this one has an outhouse." She handed him the canteen. "I think we should take a break for the afternoon, get some rest and wait for it to cool down before we head out again."
He handed the canteen back with a loud gulp before collapsing back onto the cot. "I'm not gonna disagree."
She screwed the cap back on and slipped the canteen back into her bag, taking out some wet wipes.
She hated the sticky feeling but the nearest running water was a few hundred miles away and a shower was out of the question. She wiped the sweat and dust from her face and arms before she discarded her own shirt and wiped her chest.
"Can I have one of those?"
She set the plastic pack on his bare stomach as it rose and fell with his breathing. "Go for it."
"Thanks." The pack crinkled as he pulled out a few wipes and set it back on her thigh.
"I'm not putting my shirt back on for a bit."
"Neither am I."
She snorted as she packed her bag again, lying back beside him and bumping his arm as she offered some trail mix. "We're probably gonna be full on nudists by the time we get to mid summer."
"Probably." He dug in the bag, taking a handful. "I wouldn't complain, but you might not have much to look at."
She laughed under her breath as she popped an almond into her mouth, crunching on it. "I dunno, Syd. I think you're growing on me."
"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow as he looked over at her. "So I'm not just a pain in the ass you're obligated to spend all your time with?"
"I didn't say that."
He laughed, and they lay in silence while they chewed, listening to the small structure creak in the heat.
"So, what should we do until sundown? Play cards?"
"Honestly, I just wanna nap." Syd mumbled, followed by a yawn.
"Alright." Aurora sat up to repack the trail mix and tapped his thigh. "Move then. We've got enough room for two."
Syd sighed and hauled himself up on the single mattress, moving to lie behind her against the wall.
She settled herself beside him, looking up at the ceiling with her hands on her stomach.
He had his head propped on his arm as a pillow, laying on his side facing her. "You know if you wanted to sleep with me, all you had to do was ask."
She elbowed his ribs, glancing at him. "Bad joke."
"Just half of one." He gave her a half-hearted smirk, looking at her bra.
"I thought you were tired."
"I'm perking up."
Aurora laughed and shook her head, closing her eyes. "Phrasing."
"It was intentional."
"Just go to sleep."
They napped and when they got up it was sundown and they used the waning light to set up their equipment outside and then prepped the cabin for the night.
Aurora was sitting at her makeshift desk checking the readings on her laptop to make sure everything was running while Syd made dinner - faithful rice and beans.
They played cards for a while after they ate, but they were both still tired from the hike, and setting up the equipment hadn't helped.
The temperature had been unbearable during the day but as the night wore on it dropped dramatically, and the old cabin didn't do much to retain any heat.
Aurora huddled in her sleeping bag shivering as Syd turned off the LED lamps and settled into his own bag on the cot beside her.
Her teeth were chattering, she was so cold, but he didn't seem affected at all.
He shifted to look at her. "I'm not gonna be able to get to sleep listening to you freeze beside me."
"Well... there's... not much I... can do about that. It's... fucking cold... out here."
He sighed and she heard him pull the zipper of his sleeping bag and then felt him fumble around to find the zipper of hers, the cold air biting her skin as he unzipped it.
"What... are you... doing?"
"I'm gonna zip us in together." He sat up and turned the lamp over the cot back on, lining up the zippers to connect them. "Consider me your personal heater."
"Is that... a reference... to Eclipse?"
"Huh?"
She snorted with a shudder. "Nevermind... it was... the third book... in the Twilight series."
"Oh. Yeah, I'd have no idea." He turned out the lamp again as he zipped them in. "Alright, cuddle me before you turn into an icicle."
Aurora rolled over so that he could spoon her and he shivered as their skin touched, folding his arms around her.
"Jeez, you are cold."
