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Calum stares out the window, content to watch the thick flakes of snow fall down, illuminated by the car's headlights and landing on the road or whipping out of sight to touch down in another space.
He knows that these are bad conditions for driving, freezing cold out and roads coated with packed snow, winds battering the vehicle and making it difficult to see too far ahead of them with the flakes flurrying, but Michael is behind the wheel. Calum can't bring himself to worry, even if they're moving at a quarter of the speed limit as a precaution.
There aren't any other cars on the county road for them to contend with, at least. Most people heeded the warnings to stay safely locked in their homes rather than brave the blizzard, but Michael and Calum have nowhere else to go. They made a trip to visit friends, staying overnight for a few days, but now it's time to return home. Honestly, part of Calum has been looking forward to it, wanting more time with Michael in the comfort of their own space, rather than as guests in someone else's. They left earlier in the day than initially planned in an attempt to beat the worst of the storm, but weather is unpredictable and decided to surprise them with an earlier blizzard, anyway.
There's no one else Calum would trust to get him home safe in these conditions, but Michael has always been the exception. He's objectively a great driver, even though he rolls through stop signs when no one else is around, and Calum knows that Michael will do anything for him. He's in good hands.
"Almost home, now," Michael says quietly. Calum hums, shifting to wake himself up more. He's been close to drifting off for the better part of an hour, lulled by the quiet playlist they have hooked up and Michael's presence.
"How long?" he asks.
"Normally 20 minutes, but with this snow? Who knows."
Calum hums again. The snow is thick enough that he can't recognize their surroundings the way he typically would be able to, but Michael has to pay better attention as the driver, and Calum is confident that he won't miss the exit.
They drive for another few minutes in silence, Michael completely focused on the road and Calum starting to contextualize where they are from a few road signs that haven't been obscured by the snow. The silence is abruptly broken by a loud pop and grumble, making Calum sit up and Michael curse.
"Fuck, no! Come on!" he says, pumping the gas, but the car keeps slowing, and Michael turns the steering wheel to let them drift over to the shoulder before they come to a halt.
"What was that?" Calum asks. The lights are still on, but nothing else seems to be. Calum puts his fingers near the heater and doesn't feel any air coming out of it.
"I don't know," Michael says. "Fuck, I'm sorry, Cal. I'm going to pop the hood. Can you try calling someone? AAA, or emergency services if you can't get them?"
"Yeah, of course," Calum says, already reaching for his phone. Michael zips up his coat and grabs his gloves, closing the door behind him before Calum can add anything else. Michael rounds to the front of the car, lifting the hood, but neither of them are mechanics. If something is wrong under there, Calum doubts Michael will be able to fix it.
Reception is shoddy because of the storm, but he manages to get through to the tow company. They're backed up due to the blizzard, and although the operator assures Calum that someone will come get them, it will be well over an hour before they're found, possibly as long as two or three.
Michael's face falls when he hears the news.
"Okay," he says. Calum watches him collect his thoughts, biting his lip while he thinks. "Heat's not working, but I'm going to keep the lights on, just in case someone else comes by the road so they don't hit us. It's not like we need the battery right now, anyway. I have an emergency blanket, and we still have some road trip snacks and water. We'll be fine, right?"
"Right," Calum says firmly. Michael nods to himself. Calum can practically feel the anxiety radiating off of him still, so he places a comforting hand on his arm. "Here, why don't you get in the back? I'll go get the blanket from the trunk, and we can hang out until help comes."
Michael nods again, and this time Calum is the one to brave the cold outside. Snow whips at his face, tiny pinpricks of cold against his exposed face, and he turns the collar of his coat up against it. He has to brush some of it off the trunk before he opens it, already accumulating in the time they've been stopped. He digs past their travel duffels for the old comforter in a beat-up Ikea bag that Michael has been keeping in here in case this specific scenario happens. It's very worn, but it's large enough to cover a king-sized bed, and did so for months after Calum moved in until they finally bought a new one that's better quality and doesn't have a faded, obnoxious floral pattern on it.
"Bet you're glad I kept that around instead of throwing it away, huh?" Michael asks the moment Calum closes the door, helping him unfold the blanket and drape it around them both.
"Bet you're glad I made you get a new one so we could keep this one in the car," Calum fires back. Michael inclines his head in agreement, and they both settle against each other, tucking the blanket close so there are no gaps in their cocoon of warmth. The cab of the car still has some heat that they accumulated over the first few hours of their trip, but it’ll fade fast, and both of their excursions outside have already let some cold enter in.
"What now?" Michael says after a few moments of silence.
"Wanna make out?"
Michael snorts, breaking the tension like Calum intended.
"I don't think we're at a 'repopulating the Earth' stage yet," Michael says. "But we'll save that idea for later, okay?"
"Fine, I guess I can wait," Calum jokes. Michael sighs and snuggles closer.
"Seriously, though. What do we do now?"
Calum can hear the anxiety creeping back into his voice.
"Tell me what your favorite part of the trip was," he says. Michael gives him a look. "Yes, I'm trying to distract you, but I also genuinely want to know. We've been too focused on getting home to talk about it yet."
Michael huffs and thinks. Calum gives him time, studying his profile instead. Some of his hair has come untucked from his hat, falling into his eyes. Calum tugs off his glove so he can adjust it for him, earning a smile in return.
"I think it was just seeing Luke and Ashton again," he says eventually. "I don't think I'm ever going to get used to them being so far away. I miss being able to see them every day if we wanted."
"Yeah, me too," Calum agrees, thinking about their two friends. It's obvious how much good being out in a small town has done them rather than being trapped in a city neither of them liked, but Calum wishes the town was four hours closer to the place that Calum and Michael are still happy to call home. "At least we'll see them again at the weddings."
"I should hope so," Michael laughs. "We're all each other's best men. Also, why did we decide to get married two months apart? Whose bright idea was it to plan two weddings for one summer?"
"Yours," Calum says. "And Ashton's, I guess, but you were adamant about a June wedding, and he wanted one in August, and neither of you were willing to push the date back."
"Sorry, did you want to wait another year to get married? Did you want them married before us, when we've known each other so much longer?"
"They got together before we did," Calum points out. Michael's jaw drops.
"You're taking their side?"
"No, of course not," Calum sooths, hooking their arms together and leaning forward to press a placating kiss to Michael's cold cheek. "I want to be married to you as soon as possible. I just think they should get a little credit for getting their heads out of their asses and figuring out they love each other before we did."
Michael grumbles but leans into Calum, resting his head against his shoulder as well as he can with both of their parkas in the way.
They pass the time trading conversation back and forth, pressing impossibly closer together the colder it gets to share body heat. One thing that Calum loves about Michael is that they still have endless things to talk about, even though they already know so much about each other. Michael still has opinions he wants to share or stories from last week that he forgot to tell Calum, and Calum has his own anecdotes and old memories that Michael loves to be reminded of. It makes Michael relax even further against him, although the snow outside keeps piling up. Calum comes up with outrageous questions to ask him to keep him distracted, and Michael distracts him equally in kind, although Calum knows he’s not being deliberate about it. Calum is easily captivated by Michael, always has been, and it’s easy to get lost in the small, cold oasis they’ve created.
Eventually, blinking orange lights appear in the snow, steadily making their way towards the marooned car. Michael scrambles forward to lay on the horn, disrupting the comforter and inviting some chill into their space. Calum can't bring himself to complain, though, not when Michael is so excited to be rescued. It takes some work to get the car secured and to transfer everything they need to the provided ride home so their luggage isn't taken with the car to the mechanics, but by the time the sun sets they're back on their own street finally.
"Thanks for keeping me calm back there," Michael says. "I know that's what you were doing by making me talk. Sorry I got us stranded in the wilderness."
"It's not your fault," Calum says, taking his hand and pressing another kiss to his cheek. "You got us home. Besides, if I had to be stuck in a snowstorm with anyone, I'm glad it was you."
Michael gives him a smile and a sweet kiss, telling Calum that the feeling is mutual.