“It’s fucking snowing, why the hell did I agree to this.”

“Because you love me, Deimos.”

“I fucking hate your guts.”

“Well, then because it’s our last day of freedom before classes start tomorrow.”

“And your idea of fun is to go on a hike?”

“It’s not a hike, we’re barely in the mountains.”

“It’s fucking cold as shit, Mira.”

Mira swirled around and glared at Deimos. He glared back at her, his face red from the cold and half of it hidden with his red scarf wrapped around his face, neck and shoulders. The big puffy jacket made him look pregnant and his black jeans didn’t help him keep warm at all. They were on a pretty trodden path so their boots weren’t soaked yet, but it was pretty slippery and from the wet stains on his ass, Deimos had fallen at least three times. Mira on the other hand had taken an outdoor class and was prepared for a light walk up a sad excuse of a mountain. Expensive hiking boots, thick jacket, three layers, mittens, backpack, hot packs, she had everything.

Calmly, she took off her glove and held out her hand.

Deimos made a face.

“What?” Mira said bluntly.

“What?” Deimos said back, gesturing to her hand.

“I’ve got a limited amount of hot packs so your left hand can have one, my right hand can have one and we’ll have to share the last one,” she stated. Deimos still stared at her. Sighing, she tossed him the little pack for his left hand and grabbed his right one, shoving it into her left pocket that was already warm from the hot pack. Deimos’ hand was ice cold and she laced their fingers together, thumb rubbing his knuckles.

“What the hell, you’re on fire,” he commented, breaking the other hot pack for his opposite hand.

“You’re so cold,” she laughed.

“I am and I vote we fucking leave and crawl under some blankets or something.”

“That’s one way to get me to sleep with you,” Mira teased, wiggling her eyebrows.

“I hate you.”

She snickered and hip bumped him.

“Seriously though, why are we hiking,” he grumbled after a long period of silence. They approached a steep incline and Mira walked slowly, keeping her long and tall companion safe and free from slipping.

“There’s gonna be a supermoon tonight,” she said excitedly. “And no one else wanted to come with me to go see it.”

“We’re going to be here all night?” He groaned.

“It’s dark around four, we’re going to be here for two hours, calm down,” she whined. “And don’t worry, when we get to our spot, I’ll light a fire and we can have dinner.”

“So that’s why you brought this stupid bag,” he commented.

“You’re so fucking rude, you know that,” she hissed.

Deimos smirked and hip bumped her.

After another long stretch of straight walking and one little trek upwards that Deimos overreacted about, they got to their little campsite that already looked lived in. The snow was packed down from previous visitors and a fire pit was already established. The moment the fire was lit, Deimos sat on it shivering. Mira joined him after she got some hot chocolate out of her pack as well as a blanket they wrapped around themselves. By the time Deimos stopped shaking and was drowsily sipping his third cup, it was dark and the sky cleared. They roasted hot dogs by the fire, listening to it sizzle as the stars started to appear above them and the moon began to peek from the mountains.

“See, this isn’t that bad,” she commented as she bit into her juicy hotdog.

“You Canadians and your camping,” he muttered sourly. He stabbed on his second hotdog and shoved it into the flames. “It’s fucking cold out here.”

Mira sighed and wrapped an arm around his waist, pulling him closer. He took it immediately and cuddled close, sniffling and resting his cheek on her head.

“God, why are you so warm,” he commented. Mira laughed and rubbed his back.

After dinner was finished and they moved onto marshmallows (because it wouldn’t be complete without marshmallows), Deimos and Mira ended up playing stupid lazy games like two truths and a lie and fuck, marry, kill.

“Ok,” Mira hummed, “Captain America, Captain Marvel and Captain Mar-Vell.”

Deimos laughed. “Are you serious?”

“Absolutely.”

He sighed, wrapping an arm around Mira’s waist and joining his hands back to his warm mug. Mira was basically on his lap now, Deimos’ face nuzzled in her neck. It would be romantic if it weren’t for the fact that she was being treated like Deimos’ personal heat warmer.

“Fuck Captain America, marry Captain Marvel and kill Captain Mar-Vell,” he said after a long time of pondering.

“I’d marry Captain America and fuck Marvel,” Mira commented.

“Captain Marvel is hot though,” he pointed out.

“So is America.”

“Yeah, but he’ll love America more than you,” Deimos rebutted.

Mira hummed in agreement.

“Black Panther, Black Canary and Black Widow,” Deimos said for the next round.

Mira snickered, noticing the pattern that she started. “Man, they’re all great.”

“Stop stalling, I already know your type,” he snickered.

Mira rolled her eyes. “Yes, Black Widow is fucking hot, but if we’re thinking about it logically, she’s untrustworthy. She is a double agent. So I’d love to bang Black Widow. Black Canary is super hot too, but Black Panther is so hot as well.”

“Who are you going to marry, Mira?”

Mira hummed, gnawing her lip. “Black Panther. He’s got the body of a god.”

“You just want him to wear cat ears,” Deimos teased.

Hotly, Mira turned around and glared at him. She was taken aback by how close they were but kept her ground, ignoring this twisting feeling in her gut. “Deimos, I’m going to elbow you in the gut.”

He sneered, his smile beautiful. “You’re not denying it.”

“Do you wanna go, bro?”

Deimos set down his mug and Mira did as well, snickering as she did. Before she could tickle him, he slipped off the log they sat on and rolled back. Mira fell on her ass and immediately scrambled up to lunge at him. He side-stepped out of the way and almost fell over as he met the freshly-fallen snow near a clearing in the trees and Mira ventured after him. Deimos’ laughter echoed through the night, bright and bubbly, warm and boisterous. He wheezed and died when they got into deep snow and Mira fell straight to the bottom, stuck in a pickle as Deimos ran away from her with his gangly long legs.

“You asshole! Get back here!” She shouted, hoisting her up and finding a rhythm in wading through the snow. However, she did slip up again and fell face-first, Deimos’ hysterical laughter even louder. Hotly, Mira looked at him.

Deimos was out in the clearing, untouched white snow gleaming in the moonlight. He clutched onto his stomach, mouth stretched wide in a freeing smile as he laughed into the night. His whole body was lit silver in the milky light, Deimos some sort of mystical mountain spirit underneath the yellow moon and sparkling stars. For a moment, Mira fell in love with the sight. It was something out of a movie. Deimos standing there, his eyes full of tears, his lips stretched into a loving smile, the snow gleaming and glittering around him.

“I c-can’t-!” He wheezed when Mira finally dragged herself out of the trees and into the moon-lit clearing.

“You’re such a dick,” she hissed, quickly packing a small snowball and whacking it hard at him. He shielded himself and laughed it off, hastily building an army for himself. Mira did as well, quicker than him and pelted him hard, getting closer and closer to him until they were a foot apart and Mira lunged straight at him. They tumbled into the soft snow, wrestling and shoving snow down each other’s shirts, both screaming and cursing as they did until eventually they tired themselves out. Gasping and panting with their breaths white puffs dissipating into the cold air, they laid on their backs staring at the stars and incredibly large moon.

“It’s like we’re on a different planet,” Mira sighed, finally regaining her breath.

“Yeah,” Deimos muttered, enamoured by the twinkling stars. “The moon is so big.”

“It’s beautiful.”

“It is.”

They were silent for a while, just staring at the stars.

“Forests are magical,” Mira murmured. “It’s like anything can happen in them.”

“Time doesn’t feel relevant,” Deimos added.

“Anything could be hiding.”

“Anyone could be watching.”

“Forests are full of what-ifs,” Mira whispered, a smile on her face. “What if did see a figure? What if the trees can hear me? What if I’m not alone?”

“Forests are magical,” Deimos repeated.

“There’s no patterns in them, there’s no symbols to decipher. It’s just curves and swirls,” she muttered. “The dancing lines on bark, the swirling of rivers, the curves of paths.”

“Every little part of the forest tells a story,” he replied. “Those etches on the bark, the fallen tree in the river, every little path made in the snow…”

“The forests are always changing with the seasons. Some trees will fall, some rivers were dry up, some grasses will burn. There’s an impermanence with the forests…something you don’t get with cities. The brick building you walk by will keep on standing in wind, rain or shine. The roads you drive along won’t change one season and curve a little to the right or widen. The air isn’t as clean, the sky isn’t so…beautiful.”

Mira heard Deimos move beside her. She glanced at him, her heart beating fast as his gaze settled on her.

“Mira, I’m bisexual,” he said calmly. “My father left my family after knowing that I liked boys.”

Mira was silent for a while, gazing into his olive green eyes. He closed them and breathed in deeply. “You’re the first person who hasn’t judged me for what I like.” His voice was low. “And for that, I’m thankful.”

“You’re welcome,” she muttered softly. “I’m pansexual.”

“Cool,” he said with a little smile.

“Cool,” she repeated with a wider grin.

They were quiet for a while.

Slowly, Mira wrapped her arms around Deimos and hugged him tightly. He hugged her back, sighing shakily and relaxing in her embrace.