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Merlin paused in the middle of his furious packing to turn on the telly. He wanted to check the weather forecast for his and Arthur’s drive to Wales for Christmas. His mum had already told him to expect plenty of snow while they were there, but he wanted to know about the drive. He nearly kicked himself for not checking earlier, but at least they’d know before they left.
The moment sound came from the screen, Arthur came out of his room. “What’s this?” he asked.
“Looking for the weather forecast,” Merlin replied as he changed the channels until he found one talking about the weather. Both men watched intently as the reporter stood along a snow-clogged motorway and explained how rough things were on the way out of the city. Merlin’s frown deepened as the man explained conditions on every major route.
“Wow, would you look at that?” Arthur commented. The station showed snowplows tackling roads covered in several centimeters and more coming down.
“Maybe we should cancel the trip.”
“Merlin, no. I can drive all right in the snow. I grew up in the north, remember?”
“We could end up stuck on the side of the road or something.”
Arthur put his hands on Merlin’s shoulders. “You’ve been trying to get me to meet your family since uni. We’ve both been too busy up till now. I’m not giving up because of a little snow.”
“A little?”
“Calm down, Merlin. Now turn this off—you need to finish packing.”
Arthur had a point. Ever since they’d met in their first year of uni, Merlin had wanted Arthur to meet his family. He knew Arthur would get along with his older brother Gwaine. His parents had fostered Gwaine when Merlin was ten, and the boys had gotten along so well that they’d adopted him. Merlin’s dad worked in the same business as Arthur’s, so they’d get along fine. And Merlin’s mum simply loved everyone.
“Okay,” he replied and turned off the telly. His flatmate was right. They were going to do this! He’d learned over the years to trust Arthur’s instincts, because they were usually right on. He returned to his room and resumed his packing.
oo0O0oo
Two hours later, neither man was so sanguine. Traffic had slowed to a crawl and they hadn’t even made it into Wales yet. Snow along the side of the road was piled about thirty centimeters high and visibility was down to just a few meters. They looked at each other and shrugged—they had no choice but to keep going.
Another hour later and it was beginning to get dark. They weren’t that much further down the road and the snow fell thicker and faster now. “Maybe we should look for somewhere to stay for the night,” Merlin suggested.
Arthur glared. “Are you doubting my driving skills again?”
“No, I’m doubting Mother Nature’s ability to slow down this snow. Just look out there.” He pointed out the front. “It looks like the front screen of a Star Wars ship going into light speed!”
Merlin had a point. Arthur felt like Han Solo navigating his way through the asteroid field. “Just let me drive another hour or so and we’ll see how we feel.”
The other man rolled his eyes. “All right. But if visibility gets any worse . . .”
“We’ll stop.”
“Okay.”
But they only ploughed on for another half hour before the wind grew so furious that it nearly blew their car off the road. Merlin saw a town’s sign flash by in his peripheral vision. He didn’t see what it said, but he knew what it meant. “Arthur, it’s getting worse out there.”
“I know, I know. We’ll stop before we’re blown off the road.”
“I saw a sign for a town. It can’t be far.”
Soon they saw a light glow in the near distance and blew out twin sighs of relief. They passed a few houses, which gave way to shops. Eventually they saw a sign for a hotel. As Arthur braked to turn into the establishment, the wheels slipped on a patch of ice. Arthur took his foot off the accelerator as the car began sliding sideways. They miraculously avoided any other cars as they slid and Arthur gently applied the brakes. They slowed just enough so when the car hit the curb, it stopped and turned itself off.
Merlin and Arthur panted for a minute, trying to calm their heart rates down. They looked at each other with wide eyes, not quite believing the series of events. “That was . . .” Arthur started.
“Unbelievable,” Merlin finished.
After a minute or so more, they began laughing hysterically. It went on for about two minutes before they stopped to catch their breath again and take stock of their surroundings. “Where the heck are we even?” Arthur asked.
“No idea,” Merlin replied. No buildings around them gave them a clue, but then again, they didn’t really care. It was just a relief to be alive after that ordeal.
“Well, we should get out before we freeze to death out here.”
“Good plan.”
They both turned to the back seat to pick up their bags. As soon as they had them, both put their coats on and got out of the car. Snow instantly began driving itself into every crevasse it could find, making them shiver. “Hurry!” Arthur yelled over the howl of the wind, and they began running toward the sign marked “office.”
Merlin reached it first and threw open the door. He held it against the wind for Arthur then stepped inside. Both men were instantly engulfed in soothing, warm air. They sighed in relief and made their way to the front desk. “One room please,” Arthur said to the woman standing there.
She glanced up. “Two beds?”
“Please.”
She typed at her computer for a minute or so before she said, “Okay.” She minted two cards and handed them to Arthur. “It’s room number two-fifteen, just take the stairs up.” She smiled. “Try to stay warm.”
“We will,” said Merlin with a smile. He and Arthur turned away to find the stairs.
Their room was most of the way down the long hall. They both breathed a sigh of relief as Arthur opened the door and they stepped inside. Like the lobby, the room was toasty warm and gave off a cozy aura that was instantly relaxing. Both men put their bags down on a chest sitting there and took off their coats. Arthur flung himself down onto a bed while Merlin sat on the other and pulled out his phone.
“Gonna call your mum?” Arthur asked.
“Yeah, she’s probably getting worried since we were supposed to be there by now.”
Arthur’s brow wrinkled in concern. “Oh yeah. Go ahead.”
Merlin dialed and held the phone up to his ear. Sure enough, Merlin’s mum answered. Arthur could hear almost every word of her concern. He instantly felt bad they hadn’t thought to call her earlier when they first knew they’d be delayed. He listened as Merlin patiently explained things to her and got her to calm down a little. By the time he finished the call, Merlin was smiling.
“She’s okay now?” Arthur asked.
“What? Mm, yeah. She was worried there for a while.”
“I could tell.”
“Oh.” Merlin chuckled a little. “She does get loud when she’s worried.”
“It’s all right. So what do you want to do with our free time here?”
“Eat, obviously.”
“We’ll have to go out.”
“That’s all right. Let’s see what’s around here.” He went to the window to look at the businesses around them. It seemed they’d found themselves a mid-sized town so there was more than one food place nearby.
Arthur joined him at the window. “There’s a pub,” he pointed.
Merlin agreed and they both put their coats back on, along with hats and gloves. They made it to the pub without slipping too much and got themselves a bit of food and drink. Everyone was talking about the weather and they weren’t the only ones who’d been forced to stop here for the night.
After a couple hours, they were feeling sufficiently fed and mellow enough to tromp back to the hotel. The snow hadn’t lightened up but it hadn’t gotten any worse either. They slipped a few more times but made it back to the hotel injury-free. Once they were back in their room, they mutually decided to watch telly until they felt tired.
Both ended up dozing within a couple hours and they decided going to bed a little early would be for the best. They took turns in the bathroom, getting ready for bed then settled under the warm and cozy covers. Merlin turned out the lights, they traded “goodnights” and drifted into a contented sleep.
Sometime later, something woke Arthur. It was still dark, he could tell, so what had woken him? The knock on the door answered that question. He was hit by a wave of cold and came awake enough to realize his body was curled into a fetal position. Another knock galvanized him into rising from the bed and walking to the door.
Upon opening the thing, he found the woman from the front desk. She was carrying a torch. Arthur also noticed the complete darkness of the hall. “So sorry to disturb you at this hour, but the hotel’s power has gone out. There’s no heat and no phone service either, but the town is working on it.” Arthur blinked at her, barely comprehending. “There are other hotels around town which haven’t lost power. I can give you their names if you wish.”
Arthur shook his head to wake further. “That’s not necessary. We’ll make do.”
“As you wish. Look, I’ve got to get to the other rooms . . .”
“Of course. Thank you.” She nodded and walked to the next door to repeat the exercise. As Arthur closed their door, he heard rustling in the other bed and a moan.
“Arthur?” Merlin’s sleepy voice asked, “Why is it so cold?”
Arthur went back to sit on his bed. “The power’s been knocked out. They don’t know for how long.”
“Ohh noo. That’s bad.”
“You think?”
“What will we do?”
“What you do in any survival situation. Share bodily warmth.”
“Oh, you have got to be kidding me.”
“No, I’m not. Without power there’s no heat. And with no heat we could get hypothermia. You want to deal with that? Because I don’t.”
“Oh man.”
“Yeah, well, make room. I’m coming over and I’m bringing my duvet with me.” Arthur stood and pulled the cover from his bed. He tossed it over Merlin, who shifted over to the left to make room for him. Arthur then pulled up both blankets and slid under them. He shifted over until he made contact with Merlin’s back.
“Well this isn’t awkward at all,” Merlin said with a nervous giggle. But he shuddered at the sudden infusion of warmth and relaxed back into Arthur’s body.
“Shh. Go back to sleep,” Arthur replied. He couldn’t find a comfortable place for his arm so he draped it over Merlin’s chest. The other man shuddered but didn’t move away. “Goodnight again.”
“Goodnight, Arthur.”
Soon both men were warm and relaxed enough to drift back to sleep.
oo0O0oo
Arthur woke in the morning, warm, content and remarkably well-rested. He was snuggled next to something equally warm that his arm was draped over. At that moment, his eyes snapped open and he remembered what the something was—Merlin.
He lifted his arm slowly and pushed himself slightly away from Merlin's body. He remembered the waking, the cold and the delicious warmth after. His face felt warm now so he stuck out his arm to be extra sure. The room was toasty again so he turned his head to look at the alarm clock. It sat there blinking “12:00” at him.
Just then, Merlin shifted in his sleep and mumbled. Arthur whipped his head around in time to see his friend's eyes open slowly. Merlin really had the most gorgeous eyes and striking cheekbones. If Arthur swung that way at all . . .
“Arthur,” Merlin interrupted his train of thought, “what are you doing in my bed?”
“You don't remember last night?”
“What about it? Oh wait . . .”
“Yeah. The power went out and we huddled for bodily warmth.”
“That explains it. Um . . . There's no un-awkward way to say this . . .”
“Get out of your bed?”
“Yeah.”
“It's all right—the heat is back on. I've got to check the time and get in the shower.”
Arthur got out of the bed and nearly tripped on his way over his clothes. “Let's see. Um, eight-fifteen. We should get on the road soon, assuming things look better out there.”
“Check outside.”
Arthur gave him a look. “Yes, sire.”
Merlin just chuckled while Arthur whipped back the curtain. “Ahh,” he said when the light hit his face.
Arthur chuckled this time. “Looks like it's stopped snowing.”
“And the road?”
“Ploughed. We can get started after breakfast.”
“Doesn't this place have a free buffet?”
“Indeed it does.”
“Excellent!”
Arthur stuck his tongue out at him. “Enjoy your last moments of coziness. As soon as I'm out of the shower you're getting in.”
“Mm-hm.”
Arthur just rolled his eyes and pulled clean clothes from his bag. He was tempted to take his time in the shower but decided against it. When he emerged, Merlin was sitting on his bed and going through his bag.
“Oh hey,” he said, looking up.
“I left some warm water for you.”
“Oh thanks,” he said with a sarcastic slant to his voice. He got up and made his way to the bathroom.
Arthur began packing his own bag. He thought about how awkward Merlin wasn't being. He'd seemed really bothered by the bed-sharing in the night but now he was okay with it? Just when he thought he knew his best friend slash flatmate . . .
He sighed and sat on the bed to get his shoes on. By the time he'd done that and was a few minutes into a program on the telly, Merlin came out. He smiled and put his stuff in his bag.
After Merlin finished packing, they gave the room one last look and left, glad to be getting breakfast. They took their time eating and Merlin called home to tell them they were leaving. If everything was clear, they’d make it in forty-five minutes. If not then who knew?
Once on the road, they remained quiet for a while, just listening to the radio playing the usual Christmas tunes. It was pretty soothing but soon Arthur’s curiosity grew uncontainable. He opened his mouth to speak and turned slightly toward Merlin only to find his friend already looking at him. “What?” Merlin said.
“Well, Merlin, um . . .”
“Is this about our bed sharing last night?”
“Yeah, as a matter of fact. How come you protested at the time but when we woke up you were okay?”
“Because you’re a heater and I didn’t realize how cold I was.”
“So it had nothing to do with . . ?”
“With what?” Merlin looked genuinely puzzled.
“Oh never mind. I’m . . . glad we both stayed warm.”
“Me too. Thanks for talking me into it.”
“Well, I do pride myself on having more common sense than you.”
“Hey!”
“Just kidding, Merlin.”
For the rest of the drive they talked about inconsequential stuff—work, what their friends were doing, things they wanted to do in the New Year. All the awkwardness had disappeared like Arthur had imagined it. And he probably had.
When they finally reached Merlin’s home, Hunith threw open the door and gave each of them a hug. Gwaine did too and Arthur had to laugh at his exuberance. Balinor merely shook his hand and introduced himself. Once Arthur and Merlin were settled in Merlin’s old room, they came back out and all began talking at once.
Several minutes later, Arthur paused to look at Merlin interacted with his family. They were so different from his family. More affectionate, teasing but kind. And very generous and open. Arthur had only known them an hour or so but he felt like he’d known them much longer. He felt like if things ever changed between him and Merlin, they would still welcome him with open arms. It was the kind of thing Arthur wanted in a future family, but for now he was content to watch this one.