"Hello, Patton! Looks like your first to arrive."
"Oh. Hi, Remus. Where's Roman?"
"He went to pick up Virgil. Hopefully he gets back soon. Logan and Dee, too. There's supposed to be a big storm."
"Yeah, I heard. I'm going to go unpack my things."
"Ok."

Roman and Remus's family owned a large plot of land with a cabin at the center of it that the whole friend group went to for Christmas and New Years since none of them had particularly good relationships with their parents and the twins' family were never around for the holidays, not that they minded. This was the seventh year they carried out their tradition, though it was the first time Remus was actually there. He had been backpacking just about everywhere for the first few years and then he'd picked up a job in Arizona for a bit. It had been a while since Patton had seen him, since he was the only one in their group that didn't really have any sort of relationship with him. In high school, Remus had made him uncomfortable (maybe?) so they only hung out in group settings and honestly didn't know much about each other. Remus had gotten more manageable to be around as the years went on, but Senior year was the biggest change, though he did seem to get suspended more that year, so maybe it was just because they saw each other even less often. It was because of Remus though that Patton had met Virgil and Logan, two of his dearest friends, as well as Dee who was still something of an enigma.

Patton walked down the hallway to pick out his room. There were only four, which had never been a problem, but was even less of one now that Logan and Dee had finally gotten together the past summer. It had been a long time coming. Of course, Roman and Virgil had been dating since Junior year of high school. Patton was so grateful that after all this time they were all still friends and saw each other semi-frequently. He also was grateful that they didn't get frustrated at his weekly hour long phone calls. He just wanted to know how everyone was doing. He went to his usual room and unpacked his things. It was a little chilly already so he put on a sweater. He had gotten it Senior year from a secret admirer and never wore it to school, but since then he had worn it frequently. It seemed to be home made and was the warmest one he owned. He figured he'd go start dinner so it would be ready when the others got there.

Remus waited on the couch. He supposed it would be just like Senior year again since they hadn't seen each other since then. He wanted to show he had changed a bit so Patton would be more comfortable. It was a lot better now that he had been diagnosed and treated for ADHD so he didn't just blurt out everything he thought. He had learned how to slow it all down and that there were some things you kept in your head or your creative writing projects. After a bit, he heard soft footsteps coming down the hallway and Patton appeared. He was wearing a sweater. A very specific sweater. A sweater that had taken months to make because he kept messing up and having to start over. A sweater that was supposed to be given at the start of the cold, but wasn't given until a bit after Christmas. A sweater that was green and blue and left with a note. A sweater Remus had made for Patton once he had realized he was hopelessly, helplessly, horrendously, head over heels in love.

Patton was going to ask Remus what they had in the cabin, but the second he walked out Remus's eyes went wide and he started staring.

"Is… Is something wrong?"
Remus was shaken out of his daze at the words and tried to conceal his blush as he responded. "Oh, no, sorry. That's a nice sweater."
"Hmm? Oh, yeah! It was a gift."
"Who from?"
"I have no clue. I got it a long time ago so I doubt I'll ever find out. Anyway, I was wondering what there is in the cabin to make dinner with."
"Oh yeah. Roman said you like to cook. He said spaghetti was one of your favorites so I got stuff for that, as well as pancake mix."
"Oh. Thanks!"
"No problem."

Remus wanted to say something, but he thought better of it. He had worked so hard to get away from those feelings. Heck, he had traveled the world running away from them. It had been a while and he was finally rid of them, no use stirring up old memories.

Patton started the spaghetti and was glad the old gas stove had been replaced with an electric because he had a bit of a record of starting kitchen fires when he got distracted. Nothing too big, but it made the whole cabin smell bad. He was excited all of them would be able to hang out again, even if he was alone with Remus for the moment.

It had been snowing lightly all morning and accumulating a bit, but as Patton put the water on he noticed it was coming down a bit more and the wind had picked up. Remus had always found storms of all types to be beautiful with all of the power they held, but he was hoping this one would hold back its power long enough for the others to arrive. He couldn't afford to be alone with Patton much longer, because as hard as he tried to push them down, his old feelings were starting to rise up.

By the time the water was boiling the wind was howling and Patton shivered despite the heat of the stove. He heard Remus's phone ring in the other room but couldn't tell what was said after he picked up between the water and the wind. Remus walked in as Patton put the spaghetti in and lowered the heat.

"That was Logan and Dee. The way they're coming up has a bit more snow on the ground so they're going to drive up the rest of the way tomorrow after the plows."
"Oh. I see. That's probably a good idea. I wonder if-" Patton's phone rang interrupting him. It was Roman so his question was about to be answered. "Hey, Ro."
"Greetings, my dear Patton. It seems we will not be able to complete our journey on this night. A tree has fallen into the road and a removal crew won't be here until morning."
"You guys too? Logan and Dee are also coming up tomorrow because of the storm. That just means I'll have to make a big breakfast!"
"I do love when you make breakfast."
Patton could hear someone in the background that he assumed was Virgil.
"Virgil says he's very excited. Remus is there, though, right? If you need anything, he'll take care of you."
"Yeah. Thanks. See you guys tomorrow then."
"See you then." He hung up.
"They're delayed by the storm as well, then?"
"Yep. Looks like it'll just be you and me tonight."

Then it clicked for Remus. He was going to spend the night alone with Patton. And then, as luck would have it, the power went out. Patton screamed causing Remus to nearly jump out of his skin.

"Shoot. I don't think the generator has been repaired yet. There should be flashlights in one of these draws… Here!" Remus handed on to Patton. "They're the shake kind."
"Thanks. I guess we're not having spaghetti then."
"That's ok. I'll make a fire and we can bake potatoes. Roman and I used to do it all the time when we went camping."
"Oh. Alright."
"Now to find the matches."

Patton was realizing Remus was a bit different than he remembered. He hadn't said one disturbing thing or had a single outburst. He guessed seven years was a long time for someone to grow and change. He was starting to re-notice all the pleasant things, like how Remus loved his brother, and how he would always do his best to help others even if he hurt himself in the process. He had always known Remus wasn't a bad kid, which made him wonder.

"Um, can I ask something?"
"I think Logan would tell you, you just did, but go ahead."
That was something Logan would say. It made sense that they would keep up with each other. They had always been close. "Um… Senior year… I guess I was just wondering what happened? I mean you got suspended so much that year but I could never figure out why and I know you always talked about a lot of things but you never actually did anything without reason and now I guess I'm rambling."

It took a second for Remus's brain to catch up with how fast Patton's mouth had been talking which was just long enough to make Patton feel awkward.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I was just curious."
Remus smiled and then looked away and blushed. "I got into a lot of fights that year, and I had a reason, but looking back I don't think it was a very good reason. A lot of people started to pick on someone I cared about and they didn't even have the guts to do it to his face. I did warn them first. Three times each they got a warning to stop, but they never did. Like I said, not a very good reason, but I wasn't exactly the wisest or brightest back then. Still not now probably."
"Oh." Patton didn't know what he was expecting, but it wasn't that. He continued to going through draws for matches when he asked, "Who was it?"
"Hmm?"
"You know, the person they were picking on."
"Oh. It doesn't matter now. It's not like it made a difference, and it's definitely not what he would have wanted me to do. Here they are. I'll get on making the fire."

Patton wasn't satisfied with the answer, but he wouldn't push. He would just be forever curious about the guy Remus had cared about enough to risk not graduating high school. He must be special. Patton followed Remus into the living room and watched as he got to work. The cabin was rapidly cooling and the fire felt nice.

"You're shivering. I'll get you some blankets." Remus said.
"I'm alright, really."
"Your teeth are just about chattering out of your head. It's not like I'm going to trek through the snow to town for them. There's some spares in a closet."

Remus left to get them and Patton realized he had changed to. He had learned things weren't so black and white and he wasn't so upset by the things he used to be. Based on how Remus was behaving, Patton decided that he would refuse to avoid him or make things awkward. Plus, maybe he wouldn't get that weird feeling in his chest around Remus anymore.

"Here you go."
Patton nearly jumped out of his skin at Remus's seemingly sudden appearance. He had been so lost in thought that instead of seeing him walk up, he had teleported right next to him. "Thank you. Are these homemade?"
"Yeah. I got pretty good at knitting and crochet."
"Wow. I'd say."
"Well it took a while. You should have seen the first couple batches. They looked like rags. I ended up donating them to animal shelters."
"Aww. That's nice."

The way the fire was making Patton's eyes look even more warm and inviting was making Remus melt. He was determined to keep it together, but he wouldn't last long.

"I'll go, uh, get the stuff. The stuff for potatoes. The potato stuff. Yep." He stiffly turned and walked away.

Patton was more than a bit confused at his sudden change in demeanor. Had he made Remus uncomfortable? That was hard to imagine, but he might have. When Remus came back in he asked.

"Did I do something to make you uncomfortable?"
"Huh? Of course not."
"Oh, well you seemed a little off just now so I wanted to make sure if I did something I wouldn't do it again."

Remus visibly relaxed and gave him a smile. There was some emotion in his eyes that Patton just couldn't put his finger on.

"Same as always, I see."
"What's that supposed to mean?!"
"I just mean that you're still just as kind, considerate, and caring as I remember you."
"Oh. Uh, thanks."
Remus chuckled. "You might be hanging out with Roman too much if that's your reaction. I think his dramatics are rubbing off on you."
Patton smiled. "Maybe, but as I recall, you're quite dramatic yourself."
"Maybe so, but I at least know how to turn it off, where as Roman is extra 24/7."
"Yeah… I always wished I'd had a sibling. What's it like?"
"Really annoying, but a lot of fun, especially if you share a brand of chaos. Our parents love us, but I'm sure more than once they would have liked to strangle us."
"I can't imagine you two were that bad."
"Maybe not when you met us, but I would never envy our parents when we were younger. We made mess after mess and caused a lot of permanent damage. We also gave them a heart attack when we slept in our tree house one night, mostly because they didn't know we had a tree house since we had built it ourselves. I don't know how we didn't come crashing down between how unstable it was and how much we move in our sleep. We were real terrors."
Patton laughed. "That sounds nice."
"It was."

They sat in silence and waited for the fire to die down a little before Remus fixed them up dinner. They ate and then Remus got the fire going again and went to leave the room.

"Where are you going."
"To get ready for bed. I'd imagine you'd want to do the same."
"Oh, yeah. Good idea." Patton felt a little weird. That strange feeling was in his chest again, coming back with a vengeance after all those years.

Patton changed and hopped right back under the covers. It was far too cold. How was Remus walking around when it was freezing? Just the Remus came back out in his pajamas. They were green and really suited him. Patton's eyes lingered a little longer than he'd like to admit.

"Ok. I'm going to bed now. Is there anything else I can do for you? I can pull out the couch for you and you can sleep out here with the fire if you want."
"But then won't you be cold?"
"I'll be fine."
"You should sleep out here with me."

Remus turned a lovely shade of firetruck red followed by Patton as he realized what he had said.

"Oh- I mean- That is- I just meant- Ummm…"
Remus laughed despite his blush. "It's ok. I understand what you meant."
"Oh. Good. Besides, it would be warmer with two of us."
"Um... Yep."

Shoot. Patton was too cute. He wasn't going to make it. Why did he have to have such a long lasting crush on someone who would never feel the same?

"You ok?"
"I'm fine."
"You sure? You look kind of sad."
"I'm ok, really."
"Ok. But you can talk to me, you know?"
"I know." Remus smiled as he got under the covers.
"Mmmmm. Much better," Patton cuddled up close to Remus trying to keep as much warmth between them as possible.
Remus meanwhile, nearly had a heart attack.
"Did you ever get back into writing?" Patton asked after a moment.
"A little, but nothing like I meant to. I think I'm going to focus more on it this coming year."
"Oh! You should let me read what you write. Like a beta-reader!"
"You'd really want to read my stories?"
"Why not?"
"Well you never really liked them much before…"
"Oh… I guess not, but I'm not so easily disturbed anymore! And I did like them, minus the gory parts. You were just so good at writing, I couldn't help but imagine what was happening. And I'll bet you're even better now, plus you have a lot more experiences to draw off of. Do you remember that one about-"

Patton went on for a bit about a story Remus had all but forgotten about.

"Oh, sorry. I'm rambling again."
"It's ok. I actually did touch that one up a bit. I've got it on my computer, though it's been a while since I've looked at it so there's probably more work I'd want to do more work on it."
"Let me know when you've finished. I have to know what happens!"
Remus smiled and felt an ache in his heart. "You'll be the first to know. Now we might want to get to sleeping."
"Oh, right. Sorry."
Remus chuckled softly. "It's ok. Goodnight, Patton."
"Goodnight Remus."