The rotary phone's shrill sound ripped through the bedroom. Harry popped his head out of the blankets, which wilted backwards onto his shoulders. He was bleary-eyed, his hair standing up in the front. They swapped positions as they slept; Harry ended up on top, rather than Louis sleeping curled against his chest. The music of Silver Bells echoed in his memory. How many times had they sang the duet back and forth before they tipped into sleep? Sunlight shone through the snow-caked window, miniscule bits of dust floating in the wide beams. The cold gush of air into their cocoon disturbed Louis, who hummed and wiggled his fingers deeper under Harry's arms. Harry looked from the ringing phone to Louis. Goofiness softened his entire body. He felt as if melted chocolate was running through his veins. Louis hummed, stretching his head to the side, then smiled with his eyes shut. He murmured, "Cuddle me." Harry grinned as he nuzzled his neck. He took a deep breath the same time as Louis and shut his eyes.
The phone rang again.
Harry groaned and stretched towards it. He snuffled, "Hey," into Louis' skin and bent his arm, trapping Louis' mischievous fingers. "I gotta get the phone."
"These bad boys saved m'life last night."
"Bad boys," Harry scoffed, Louis smiling wider with his eyes shut. Harry reached out again and, this time, Louis did not dig in under his arm. The receiver felt chilly against his cheek. "H-Hello?"
"Hiya, Harry! This is Oscar. How's it going in there?"
The phone's cord was coiled so tight it nearly sprung away from Harry's hand. "It's, uh—Hold on, lemme just—" He rolled onto his side, thumbing sleep out of the corner of his eye. "Sorry, the phone almost fell. So, it's really..." He heard Louis breathe in deeply as he spooned him by looping his arm around his middle, Louis' groin flush to his arse. Harry tried to hold the phone still as the fictional hot chocolate running through his veins gained mini-marshmallows and puffs of rainbow whipped cream. He watched Louis' delicate wrist shift as he bunched the material of his jumper between his fingers and could swear his entire body started to vibrate.
"You there, Harry?" Oscar asked, loud and tinny.
Harry's gaze snapped up. "Yeah. Sorry. It's, uh, really cold. I don't know how we'll manage another night like this if you can't get us out, it was that cold overnight. We barely slept."
"I'm quite comfortable," Louis murmured, and Harry bit his lip to stifle himself from laughing.
Genuine sadness radiated from Oscar's voice. "Oh, no! I'm sorry to hear that. But, huh, is the heat not working?"
Harry blinked, his smile fading. Louis said, "Heat?" from under the blanket pile.
"What heat?" Harry pushed himself up on one arm. "You didn't say anything about heat. We have no power. No lights. No nothing."
"Sure I did! Maybe the line was bad last night. Snow storm and all, you know how it is. Just check the circuit box in the basement. Timmy always shuts everything down when he travels but, once the power's back, you should have the works. Hot water, lights, the stove, everything. Check the stockpile while you're down there, too. Gotta be something tasty to eat, even if it's freeze-dried. He always keeps a ton of supplies down there. Man, you guys must be freezing your nuts off!"
"I'll say," Louis said.
Harry smirked. "Alright, thank you for telling us. Do you think we'll be able to get out tonight?"
"Not a chance, good buddy. With the way the snow is packed we're gonna have to wait until tomorrow and see if the temperature rises, like forecasted. If not, it might be at least another two nights."
"Alright. Did our parents call?"
"They sure did. Lovely folks. Gave 'em the whole update. I also spoke with Celia, who I thought was your mama based on how upset she was! A coffee guy called Neil called, too. Noel? Nell? Nail?"
