By the time Blue, Gansey, and Henry made it to the Barns, it was after seven p.m., and the ground was already covered in at least an inch of snow. When Blue climbed out of the Pig, the wind almost knocked her over.
She hung on to the side of the car as she made her way around to the trunk. Gansey and Henry were huddled at the back of the car, trying to figure out how to get all the bags inside in one trip.
Blue shouldered past them, slung a duffle over each shoulder, and marched toward the house.
Ronan was waiting at the front door. He took one of the bags and dumped it at the bottom of the staircase. "Hey, maggot," he said. "Where are the nerds?"
"My nerds are outside, probably doing something stupid," Blue said. "I don't know where your nerd is."
Ronan glanced out the window, studying the storm. He frowned and stomped outside to help with the luggage.
"Don't die," Blue called after him.
"Fuck off, maggot," Ronan said, disappearing into the swirls of snow.
Blue decided she was better off letting the boys risk their lives without her, just this once. She headed down the hall to the kitchen and made herself, and only herself, a cup of hot chocolate.
By the time Ronan, Gansey, and Henry had gotten the luggage inside, Blue was installed in the living room, wrapped in one of Ronan's dreamt blankets (which was softer and warmer than any blanket had a right to be), sipping her cocoa and reading a book.
"I don't suppose you made any for us?" Henry asked hopefully. Blue raised her eyebrows.
"I'm not your mother. Make your own cocoa."
Gansey, who knew Blue too well, was already in the kitchen, doing just that. Ronan flipped her off as he passed; Blue rolled her eyes and stuck out her tongue. Then she stood up and followed the boys. Someone had to make sure they didn't burn the house down, and Adam wasn't here yet.
o-o-o-o-o
The four of them camped out in the living room with their drinks, and Ronan produced a package of Oreos before heading out to call Opal in from the backyard. The storm was picking up now, and Blue couldn't see anything past the swirl in the windows.
Ronan and Opal came back inside. "Weather's shit," Ronan announced, kicking off his boots. Opal had already removed her own, and was chewing on one of them. "Don't eat your fucking shoes, Opal, that's disgusting."
Opal dropped the shoe and sat down in Gansey's lap. He looked at once startled and pleased.
"Do you think Adam's going to have a rough time with the storm?" Gansey asked, gesturing outside.
"In his shitbox? I'd be surprised if he hasn't already broken down." Ronan started fishing around in the pockets of his hoodie, and when that didn't seem to produce any results, he rummaged through the couch cushions and under the coffee table. "Where-"
"Oh," Henry said. He'd been perched in an armchair, but now he jumped up, snatching something from the corner of the seat. "I thought this chair seemed less comfortable than usual." He tossed Ronan the vibrating cell phone. "There you have it, Lynch."
Ronan sneered and glanced at the caller ID before answering. "Parrish."
Blue heard the faint buzz of Adam's voice, and then Ronan's reply. "Of fucking course you did. I just said that would happen. Look, I don't see any way for me to get- where are you?"
More buzzing.
"There's no way. Can you-" Ronan cut himself off, listening to Adam. Blue swapped glances with Henry and Gansey.
"Yeah. Yes. Do that. Wait for this to blow over." Ronan paused for a moment, then said, quieter,"Alter idem." He hung up.
"The shitbox broke down," Ronan announced. "He's still somewhere in Jersey."
Anyone who didn't know him, Blue thought, would have missed the faint lines across his forehead, the tension in his shoulders, the tightness around his eyes. He was worried.
Blue was worried, too, but Adam was practical. He knew he couldn't make it in the storm, so he'd wait it out.
Wouldn't he?"
Gansey checked his watch. "Well," he said. "It's late. If Adam's not getting in tonight, maybe we should get to bed."
No one objected, so Blue, Henry, and Gansey grabbed their bags and headed upstairs. Ronan didn't follow them, and Blue knew he was going to camp out on the sofa in the living room for the night. Just in case.
Henry disappeared into Declan's old room, and Blue and Gansey took the spare bedroom. Blue curled into Gansey's side, and Gansey ran his fingers through her hair.
"Goodnight, Jane," he said.
"Goodnight."
o-o-o-o-o
Ronan grabbed his dream blanket, kicked off his jeans, and wadded his hoodie up to use as a pillow. He stretched out on the sofa, watching the snow outside.
He hated the snow. He hated the storm that covered this entire fucking section of the east coast, and he hated the roads and the traffic and the distance, everything that kept him from seeing Adam.
Adam wouldn't be there tonight. But Ronan fell asleep on the sofa anyway.
o-o-o-o-o
Adam had promised Ronan he'd stop somewhere, if he could get the shitbox back on the road. He hadn't been lying. Not really.
Adam's car had stopped somewhere along I-95, and he'd pulled onto the shoulder to take a look. He'd gotten the car started again, sat in traffic, broke down twice more, and finally reached the Delaware Memorial Bridge. He stopped at the welcome center, filled the gas tank, and went inside for a coffee.
The rest station was packed. Everyone who had been on the roads was scrambling to get off them, and Adam watched from his bench in the center of the building.
His promise to Ronan was fulfilled. He had stopped somewhere. And it might be easier, with more people off the roads…
It was a stupid idea. It was insane and reckless and it was probably going to land him in serious trouble. It went against everything he'd ever thought he'd do in a situation like this.
But then he thought of Ronan, of seeing him again, that much sooner. And Adam was on his feet and moving, throwing out his coffee cup, taking one last bathroom break, and starting his car.
o-o-o-o-o
Henry woke up around midnight when a branch snapped, crashing to the ground right outside his window. It was still snowing. Henry spared a moment to wonder whether a storm this bad had supernatural origins, then decided he didn't care. He needed to pee, and now that he was awake, he wanted a sandwich.
Henry stumbled down the hall to the bathroom. All was quiet behind the guest room door, and when he got downstairs, it became clear that he was the only one awake. Opal was curled up at the base of the stairs, snoring. Ronan was passed out on the couch.
Henry paused in the doorway, considering.
He didn't know Ronan nearly as well as Blue and Gansey did, but even Henry could tell how much Ronan cared about Adam. There was no other reason to sleep on the sofa, under one blanket, magical or otherwise, on a stormy night, when you could be tucked into your own bed with a mountain of pillows.
Henry thought he understood- he'd do the same if it were Blue or Gansey out there, though he'd never had any interest in the romance thing.
He left Ronan to his sleep and started rummaging through the refrigerator, looking for cold cuts. He got what he needed and headed back upstairs, hoping Ronan wouldn't mind terribly if the crumbs Henry was sure to drop attracted ants. There was just no neat way to eat a sandwich in bed.
o-o-o-o-o
Adam's car broke down again, this time outside of Baltimore. If it hadn't been for the decrease in traffic and the highway being warm from cars earlier in the day, Adam was sure he'd still be back in Delaware.
This time, when Adam pulled over, the car refused to start again, so he rummaged through the trunk for his tools.
By the time Adam got the shitbox back on the road, it was almost three o'clock in the morning. He was exhausted, he was covered in grease, and he hadn't eaten anything since he'd left Cambridge, sixteen hours ago.
But he kept driving.
o-o-o-o-o
The storm hadn't died down even remotely, though the alarm clock said it was just past five in the morning. Gansey sat up, smiling at the sight of Blue, starfishing her side of the bed, one hand thrown into the spot where his body had just been.
He crossed the room to the window, pushing the curtains aside. From here, he would normally be able to see the driveway, stretching out into the trees, and the stars, and Ronan's silver BMW parked in front of the house. Now, he could see nothing but snow.
Gansey wondered if Ronan was still downstairs. He hadn't heard him come up, and it had taken him hours to fall asleep. He'd been worried about Adam, and if Gansey had been worried, he couldn't imagine what Ronan was thinking.
But Adam was Adam, Gansey had reasoned. He would stop somewhere, and when the storm cleared up and the roads were safe, he'd drive down. That logic was the only reason Gansey had been able to sleep at all- that, and Blue.
He supposed it was silly, worrying about his friend driving home through a blizzard, after everything else they'd been through. A blizzard was nothing.
Outside, the wind shifted momentarily. For just a moment, Gansey could see through the snow, out into the dark. He could just make out the curve of the driveway, a path through the trees.
And the small, round lights traveling down it.
o-o-o-o-o
Adam hadn't bothered with his bags, and he'd barely remembered to lock the car door. He stuffed the keys into his pocket and ran for the house, his eyes squinted up against the snow.
He practically slammed into the front door in his haste to get it open, and then he was standing in the entryway, kicking off his boots and removing his ice-encrusted coat. There was nowhere to put it where it wouldn't melt on something, so he hung it from the end of the bannister.
He was home.
Adam crept down the hall and pushed open the door to the living room. For a moment, he thought the room was empty.
Then a lump on the couch stirred, and someone sat up. "Gansey? That you?"
It was Ronan. Adam smiled.
"No," he said softly. "It's me."
Ronan froze. Then he reached out, switching on a lamp on the end table next to him. The room filled with light, far more than such a small blub should be able to produce.
"Parrish," Ronan said. He stood up and marched over, standing in front of Adam. His hands came up to cradle Adam's face. "What the hell are you doing here?"
Adam shrugged. "I thought I could make it."
"You promised me you'd stop."
"I did. Then I kept going." Adam leaned forward, resting his head on Ronan's shoulder, both because he had missed his boyfriend and because he was about to pass out. He hadn't slept in almost twenty-four hours, and most of that had been spent driving through a blizzard.
Ronan's arms folded around him, and Adam sighed.
"Seriously, Adam, what were you thinking?"
"I was thinking that I missed you," Adam murmured sleepily, "And that if I could see you sooner, I would." He would blame the sentimentality on sleep deprivation later.
Ronan's face softened, just a tiny bit. "Come on, Parrish," he said. "Let's get you upstairs." He began to pull Adam toward the door.
"Wait," Adam said suddenly. "Something I forgot to do."
Ronan turned around and stared at him, eyebrows arched. Adam leaned forward and kissed him.
Ronan's hands automatically reached for Adam's shoulders, pulling him closer. They kissed in the doorway, illuminated only by the dream lamp Ronan had lit earlier, until Adam pulled away.
"Okay," he said. "Sleep now. We'll continue this later."
Ronan smirked and backed out of the room. The light in the entryway switched on.
Blue, Henry, and Gansey stood at the base of the stairs, arms crossed. Opal scampered past them to wrap her arms around Adam's legs.
"Hey, y'all," Adam said, his accent slipping through his exhaustion.
"Adam Parrish," Blue said clearly. "I trusted you. I trusted you to be the only other reasonable, practical member of this group. Do you see the situation this puts me in?"
Henry stifled a laugh.
"I'm too tired to see much of anything," Adam confessed. "Can we have this conversation in the morning?"
Blue considered, than nodded.
o-o-o-o-o
When Ronan woke up, it was to watery gray light filling the room, Adam asleep in his arms, and the usual paralysis that accompanied bringing something back from a dream.
While he waited for it to wear off, Ronan watched Adam sleep. His cheek rested against Ronan's chest, one arm thrown across his body. All the stress and worry vanished when he was asleep. It made him look younger. It also made him look slightly ethereal, like he wasn't quite the same Adam without those things.
Ronan moved his free hand, the one that wasn't wrapped around Adam's shoulders, too brush a few stray locks of hair off of Adam's forehead. His eyes blinked open.
"Morning," Adam said, voice still slightly raspy. The faint light from the window illuminated his face. His eyes were still slightly unfocused from sleep. Ronan loved it.
"What did you dream?" Adam asked, and Ronan shrugged.
"It's outside."
Adam frowned and disentangled himself from Ronan, moving to open the curtains. The room grew fractionally lighter. Ronan sat up and peered over Adam's shoulder.
The snow had stopped. Everything outside was blanketed in white, except for the car sitting in the middle of the driveway, next to the shitbox.
It was small and dark blue, not of any recognizable make or model. It seemed to have more angles than other cars did, somehow, and the tires were just a little bit bigger than they should have been. It had landed on top of the snow, so it was sitting six inches above the ground.
Adam understood immediately. "Ronan…" he began, crossing his arms over his chest.
"No," Ronan cut him off. "If you're going to pull stunts like that one last night, you're taking the fucking car. It's not charity. I'm your goddamn boyfriend, I'm supposed to get you shit. Also, I really don't want to have to go to your funeral. That one won't break down, and I'm pretty sure it's indestructible."
Adam raised one eyebrow.
"Just take the car, Parrish," Ronan said.
Adam nodded. "Thank you, then."
Ronan shrugged. "Whatever."
Adam watched him for a moment, as Ronan leaned back against the window sill. Ronan was still looking at Adam when Adam said, "No regrets, though."
"Fuck no," Ronan said. "I… I missed you." That was as sentimental as he was willing to get.
Adam wrapped his arms around Ronan's neck and kissed him. Ronan responded automatically, twisting his fingers into the back of Adam's shirt.
Someone banged on the door, and Adam and Ronan jumped apart. Ronan swore loudly.
"Please be dressed," Blue called. "Henry's about to burn down your kitchen, Ronan. I don't think he knows how to make waffles."
"Fucking hell," Ronan snapped. "Can't we get, like, two minutes?"
"Apparently not," Adam sighed. He strode across the room to the door and opened it. Blue at least had the decency to look slightly guilty.
Ronan followed Adam out of the room. Adam took his hand on their way down the stairs, and if Ronan were a different sort of person, he might have thought something stupid, like how if Adam was here, it didn't matter if Henry Cheng burned down the entire damn house.
He wasn't a different sort of person, though, so he went downstairs, forced Henry out of his kitchen, and made waffles.