When they woke in the morning, they found the snow far higher than they had expected, the power still out, and a few missed calls. Remus called Logan back while Patton called Roman.

"Looks like it'll just be us again today."
"Yep! What do you want for breakfast."
"I'm sure whatever you make will be good."
"You're sweet."
"As a lemon!"
"No, really."
"I'm going to bring some more wood in so we can keep the fire going."
"Let me help-"
"Nope! I've got this. Trust me. You just figure out what breakfast we can make on a fire."
"Well ok…"

Once Remus came back in with the wood and got the fire going again, Patton brought out a pan and butter along with bacon, eggs, and bread.

"Eggs, toast and bacon?" Patton gave a somewhat apologetic look.
"Sounds good to me. Let me help you with that."
"Nuh-uh! You relax. You've been doing everything. I can make breakfast."
"Ok…"

They spent most of the day cuddled up while Remus worked on his writing per Patton's request. He had brought a battery pack to charge his computer since he figured they would lose power at least once. After some experimenting, Patton figured out how to make hot coco on the fire. Remus nearly died and went to heaven with how cute Patton was when he finally got it right.

"Can I see it now?"
"It's not finished."
"But you said that last time," Patton pouted.
"And it's still not finished." Remus chuckled.
"Well when is it going to be?"
"Soon."
"How soon?"
"I don't know. How about you go get a game we can play and I'll finish this before we leave so you can read it."
"... Ok. Do you know how to play cribbage?"
"Of course."
"Oh goody!"

After two rounds and a tie-breaker, Patton was declared winner. Remus made him a makeshift crown out of pipecleaners and construction paper so Patton threw a blanket around his shoulders like a cape.

"Brave knight, your king demands tea." Patton lowered his voice, "Mostly he doesn't know where to find it."
Remus laughed. "Sit here, my liege, and I, your gracious servant will bring you the finest tea this cabin holds."
Patton giggled and sat. "I'd expect no less from my best, and only, subject."

Remus bowed and backed into the kitchen before turning and standing up, garnering more giggles from 'King' Patton. Now that he could see better, Patton began to examine the blanket around his shoulders. It was one Remus had made. It had some raised flower patterns similar to the ones in his sweater, though not as expertly crafted. It must be a popular starting pattern. Patton was brought back to the present when Remus rentered with a mug, a kettle full of water and several boxes of tea.

"Would the king like to choose the flavor of his tea while the water heats up?" Remus smirked.
"Surprise me."

Remus did some maneuvering to level a rack in the fire place to put the kettle on.

"Do you think you could teach me how to knit? That way I'll have something to keep me busy while you write."
"Oh, sure. I'll go get my needles and yarn."

Remus returned with a reusable shopping bag full of different kinds of yarn and two knitting needles. He sat down the proper distance away from Patton who then scooched very close.

"Oh! You have so much yarn. Oooo! This one's so soft!"
"Do you want to use it?"
"Really?! Could I?!"
"Yeah. I mean, it's not going to knit itself."
"Wow. Thanks!"
"Uh, yeah. So first you hold the needles like this," Remus positioned them in Patton's hands, "Then you take the yarn like this and kind of loop it just so, and put this like this and go over that and then a good old switcheroo."
"Woah. This is more complicated than I thought."
"It's not too bad once you get the hang of it. After the first two rows it's just repetition."
"Ok. I'll try it. Can you show me one more time though?" Patton smiled shyly.
Remus smiled back reassuringly. "I can show you as many times as you need."

Patton practiced for a while, restarting several times as Remus typed away until he needed help making another row. He only needed a quick demonstration before his face lit up with realization. Remus blushed and turned away quickly. He was just too dang cute! He was going to get back to work, but he could see Patton sticking out his tongue in concentration in the reflection of his computer.

"Are you ok Re? You've been staring off into space for a bit."
"Oh! Yeah. Just uh, thinking about what should happen next. I reworked a sequence so I have to fix some of the later details."
"Writing is hard, huh? I'll make us some lunch while you figure that out."
"Oh, you don't have to! I can-"
"I know I don't have to. I want to, silly!"

The smile he received sent Remus into a gay malfunction, destroying any ability to further protest as Patton skipped into the kitchen. He had to get it together. There was no denying that he still had feelings for Patton, but that didn't mean he had to act on them and mess up everything. This was fine. It didn't matter that it felt so domestic. It didn't matter that it felt so natural. Patton would never feel the same way. Time to get back to work. The story was actually turning out pretty good now that he had made the protagonist more relatable. When he had first started writing, he always modeled the hero characters after his brother and how he perceived him at the time. Remus would never tell of course, but Roman was his biggest inspiration.

"Here you go! Ham and cheese with mayo, mustard, and pickles! Just the way you like it."
"Huh?"
"That's what you brought to lunch everyday in high school… oh no… you don't like it anymore. I should have known better. I'll make you something else."
"No! I mean, I love it! It's perfect. I was just surprised you remembered is all."
"It has been a while, hasn't it." Patton blushed handing Remus the plate.
"Yeah, but I should have figured, really. You always payed such close attention to all of us to make sure we were all happy, healthy, and safe."
"Not close enough," Patton mumbled barely audible with a frown.
"What do you mean?"
Patton sat down next to Remus with his own lunch. "Well all senior year I had no clue what was happening with you."
"That's not your fault. I effectively separated myself from the group getting suspended all those times for fighting. I'm honestly surprised they didn't expel me. My parents probably paid someone off. And to think they thought Roman was going to be the problem child."
"He did get in trouble a lot in middle school."
"That's true. The teachers still loved him though."
"I'm sure they liked you, too."
"The history and science teachers did. The english teachers thought I was disturbed."
"Oh… well…" Patton shifted awkwardly.
"It's ok though. That was a long time ago."
"Yeah. Besides, who cares what they think anyway? I know you're a great writer and you were always reading more advanced books than the rest of us, well, except for Logan."
Remus's face suddenly lit up. "Do you remember in sophomore English when we read The Great Gatsby and Logan and Roman partnered up to prove that Nick was gay for Gatsby?"
"Oh yeah!" Patton exclaimed, "It had nothing to do with the assignment prompt but they still got a B because it was well supported."
"That and they were her favorite students." Remus chuckled.
"Well, yeah, but they deserved it."
"They definitely did."
"And didn't you do yours on how Gatsby could have made a successful mob boss?"
"Ah yes. The one assignment I didn't get sent to guidance for because Virgil was my partner. And yours was about the illegal practices of the rich with Dee?"
"Mhm. That was the first time I really got to know him. I'm glad we all still keep in touch and get to see each other. Oh! And I should get your number! I do weekly calls with everyone, but I didn't have your number before so I couldn't contact you."
"Oh. Ok."
"Here you go. Go ahead and put it in."

Patton handed him the phone with his name already typed in and green heart emoji next to it. He decided not to think too much about it so he could actually make it through the day. He typed in his number and handed the phone back to Patton who then took an impromptu picture for his id.

"I could take a better one."
"I think you look cute in this one." Patton suddenly turned bright red. "You know what? I'm gonna get some milk. I'll be back."

Remus finished his sandwich and threw the paper plate into the fire before getting back to work. When Patton finally came back he sat down a bit farther away than last time and continued knitting. After a while the sun began to set and Patton moved to look out the window. That gave Remus an idea.

"Do you want to watch it?"
"Hmm?"
"The sunset. We could take the ladder to the roof. You can see it better up there."
"The ladder to the roof?"
"Yeah, in the closet."
"Really?! That would be great!"
"You might want to bundle up a bit better first."
"Ok!"

Patton was bouncing with excitement as he pulled on more layers. Remus watched in awe before realizing he was staring and looked away.

"Ok! I'm ready!"
"This way." Remus led Patton to the closet before stepping in and undoing a latch. "Here you have it, the top secret roof ladder. I'll go up first and open the hatch, ok?"
"Ok." Patton watched him go.
"All set!" Remus called down.
"Coming!" Patton popped up out of the opening in the roof. "Oh, wow. Remus look at it! It's so pretty!"
Remus smiled. "I know. It's red too, which means we shouldn't be getting snow tomorrow."
"Really?! So the others can finally join us?!"
"Yep. Did you put on enough layers? You're shivering?"
"I'm ok."
"Your teeth are chattering."
"It's not that cold."
"Here," Remus took off his scarf, sweater, and hat. "Put these on."
"But you'll be cold!"
"I'll be fine. I accidentally spent last winter in Alaska."
"How do you accidentally spend a winter in Alaska?!"
"That is a good question. Now put these on before you become a popsicle. Roman would never forgive me if I let his best friend become a roof decoration."
Patton giggled. "Ok, fine. But only because you don't seem cold at all."

Patton put on Remus's winter wear and found it pleasantly warm. It had just been on a body, after all. They stood together in silence watching the sun set and listening to the birds sing their last songs of the day. Patton wished he had thought to bring his camera up. The sky was beautiful and the lighting on Remus's face made him look so vulnerable and inviting. Before Patton could think he was giving Remus a tight hug.

"Oh. Whatchya doin there?" Remus did his best not to die on the spot.
"Giving you a hug so you don't get cold and also because you make the perfect teddy bear." Patton felt that thing in his chest again along with the feeling in his stomach. He had always thought it had been discomfort, but that couldn't be it, right?
"... Thanks?" Remus let himself hug Patton back.
"You're welcome."

They stood like that until the sun had gone down and they made their way back to the living room.

"Thanks for showing me that."
"No problem. I just thought you would like it."
"I guess we should get dinner started?"
"Sounds good to me."
"How about sausage and potato?"
"That's perfect."

It was a nice meal, though the conversation accompanying it was not one you'd have with your sweet grandmother.

"That's a big piece. Careful you don't choke." Patton warned.
"It's not the biggest sausage I've had in my mouth," Remus said out of reflex before growing red and looking away.
Patton blushed as well before continuing, "But I'll bet you choked on that one."
Remus whipped his head around to see Patton's attempt at a smug face and burst out laughing. "Good point. I'll be careful."

After dinner Patton picked up his knitting again and began to hum a tune as he worked. Every note had Remus captured. He wanted to know what song it was but he didn't dare interrupt. It was then he realized for the second time, he was hopelessly in love with Patton. When Patton snuggled close to him that night, he couldn't help but breathe in his scent. He stilled smelled like freshly baked cookies despite it having been seven years and Remus knowing for a fact he hadn't made cookies within the past two days. Remus held him close knowing it was the last time he would ever get the chance.