The fire had died down.
The stars were dull under the thick snow clouds.
By midnight, everyone had disappeared into their tents.
Expect for one tent. The small green one with only one lamp still glowing inside. Mikhail sat inside, back against the tent wall, fiddling with his phone, pretending not to feel awkward. Nikolai was already lying down, zipped into his sleeping bag on the other side.
Only one tent left.
Only one choice.
Mikhail didn't say much when they had agreed to share, just grunted and shrugged. Now it was silent.
1:17 a.m.
Mikhail had dozed off. Kind of. Not deeply-----just enough to not realize the moment things changed.
Then he heard it.
A sharp breath. And another. Like someone was being pulled underwater.
He sat up fast. Nikolai was twitching. trembling, actually. Sweet on his brow despite the freezing cold.
His hand clenched the sleeping bag like he was in pain. ''No.....'' he whispered. ''Don't.....I don't....want to die yet--------''
Mikhail froze.
What.....?
Then Nikolai gasped -------loudly------as if his chest had been crushed.
Mikhail instinctively reached out. Hey wake up--------
But as his hand touched Nikolai's shoulder, the other boy suddenly clutched his side, wincing in pain.
The same way the girl had in his dream.
A long-----forgotten dream. A voice crying out. A crash. The smell of metal. The scream.
Her scream.
Mikhail's throat went dry. He Stred at the boy lying beside him, clearly still asleep----and yet crying.
A single tear slipped down Nikolai's cheek.
He wiped it away without waking.
Mikhail whispered, barely audible: Who ....are you?
But no one answered. Only the wind. And the faint echo of a memory neither of them could place-------but both carried inside them like a scar.
-----------------------------------Next morning---------------------------------------
The sky was soft and blue---grey when Nikolai blinked awake.
He felt.....off.
Chest tight. Breath weird. Like someone had dragged him through a snowstorm in his sleep. His hands were cold, even though he was zipped up inside the sleeping bag.
And then he realized------
Mikhail was still there. Curled against the other side of the tent, coat half--zipped, eyes closed. hair messy in that somehow made him even more stupidly handsome.
''Weird dream...'' Nikolai mumbled, rubbing his temples.
Before he could even sit up----------
ZIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The tent flap opened with all the grace of a raccoon on espresso.
''GOOD MORNING, LOVE BIRDS!'' Lev's voice boomed in like an avalanche.
Nikolai yelped and fell sideways.
Mikhail turned over. ''WHAT THE HELL?!''
''Nothing,'' Lev grinned, leaning in with a smug smirk. ''Just checking if you two are still alive. Or cuddling.''
''We weren't--------!'' Mikhail barked, scrambling to pull his coat back on properly.
''You two looked very cozy last night,'' Lev continued, winking at Nikolai. ''Sharing body heat, huh? That's one way to survive Siberia.''
''Lev,'' Mikhail warned, voice flat.
''You're blushing.''
''I'm not.''
''You so are!'' Nikolai added, holding in a laugh.
Mikhail glared at both of them like they'd stolen his last brain cell.
Later, when they were packing up:
Nikolai walked beside him and quietly said, ''Don't worry. Your secret's safe with me.''
''What secret?'' Mikhail grumbled.
''That you snore like an angry bear.''
Mikhail rolled his eyes, but the corner of his mouth tugged upward.
Just a little.
--------It wasn't deep.
--------It wasn't intense.
--------But it was real-and for the first time in weeks, it felt okay to smile.