From a Mountain in the Middle of the Cabins

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Ryan tugged the blanket tighter around his shoulders; the cabin was a bit drafty and the crackling fire was starting to die down. He reached for his mug on the coffee table and pressed the porcelain to his lips, feeling instantly warmer after taking a sip. A notebook was sitting open on his lap, but he'd yet to fill any of the pages. He wasn't supposed to be thinking about work right now, since the whole point of their cabin trip was to get away from the world, so he stopped himself from writing anything for the magazine, though countless ideas popped in his head. The notebook was only open in case he wanted to write down his thoughts, or bring out his inner Thoreau and even write some poetry.

"Hey," a voice from behind him caught his attention so he turned around. Brendon was wearing a stocking cap and a flannel jacket that was woolen on the inside; he must be planning to go outside.

"I'm gonna go get more firewood," Brendon announced. Ryan just nodded, and a moment later, Brendon was out the door. They'd only arrived yesterday, and had kept to themselves so far, meaning that things were still tense. It'd never gotten this bad between them before. They'd gotten in a few ruts over the years, and usually it was solved quite easily with some bonding in the cabin. Last time, they'd poured their hearts out while they sat on the dock and watched the sunset. But this time wouldn't be so easy.

Ryan got up from the couch to put on some music. Since the victrola technically wasn't from this century, it was exempt from their 'no modern technology' rule for the cabin. Ryan picked out a vinyl and put it on before returning to his spot on the couch. He took a deep breath, and just let the music transport him to his younger years where he would hold onto these songs like they were his life jackets.

These records got him through school; hell, maybe they could get him through his life now. Ryan was jerked back to the present when the door opened and Brendon came inside with firewood. He threw some into the fire and the rest was put into a pile beside the fireplace. After tending to the fire, Brendon turned around and glanced at Ryan before heading to other couch. Ryan sighed and decided to make a peace offering by lifting up his blanket for Brendon to climb under.

Brendon's lips curled up into a smile and he chucked his boots off before joining Ryan under the blanket. The cold from outdoors had clung to Brendon's clothes and invaded Ryan as Brendon's body pressed to his. "Fuck, you're cold," Ryan squirmed, starting to regret his decision.

"Forgot how cute you are when you whine," Brendon smirked, amused as he nuzzled his husband's neck. Ryan sighed and stayed still, dealing with the consequences of his decision. "You're listening to Radiohead... are you okay?" Brendon asked a moment later.

"We're in the middle of nowhere. Of course I'm not okay," Ryan answered, wrapping his arm around Brendon. They were here for a reason. No one who's mentally stable would hastily throw together a weekend trip like this in only a couple of days. Cabins such as this one were meant for vacations and romantic getaways.

Truthfully, Ryan was just burnt out. The contention between him and Brendon had started leading to short but frequent arguments over little things that didn't matter. It was affecting Ryan's work, since he couldn't concentrate on writing when all he could think about was the wrinkles on Brendon's forehead when he frowned, their most recent fight clouding his thoughts.

Brendon was quiet for a long moment, closing his eyes as he listened to the music. "I need to take you to see them again," he pointed out, making a mental reminder even though it would probably get lost in the sea of 'mental reminders' rolling around in his head. Ryan couldn't agree more. It'd been a long time since they'd gone to a concert (besides the ones that Brendon had to conduct, of course). They were always too busy, caught up with with work or their other responsibilities.