Work Text:
Thirium freezes at 30 degrees Fahrenheit or roughly zero degrees Celsius. It was an unfortunate fact but one that Connor was acutely aware of as he sat with his boyfriend in the snow covered woods. They were a day’s drive outside of Detroit, nearly at the Canadian border, in one of the state's numerous parks. They had set up their campsite in a grove of snow covered pine trees.
They had gone on this camping trip at Rupert’s suggestion. At first Connor was hesitant but at the puppy eyes that Rupert had given him, he relented. He requested the time off for a long weekend, packed their tent, insulated sleeping bags, and portable charging stations into the old DUF utility truck Rupert drove.
Connor had also packed little heating packets with them. He currently had one in each shoe and two in the front pocket of his hoodie. He kept fiddling with the packets as they were waiting, the movement keeping his dexterity calibrated.
The tall pine trees stretched upwards towards the slate grey sky. Plump snowflakes gently swirling downwards in lazy spirals around them. Connor’s teeth begin chattering.
You're going to scare them. Chided Rupert through their internal comms. I'll be very upset with you if you scare the birds away.
The reason why, besides a great suffering love for him, Connor was out in the woods with near freezing temperatures was because Rupert wanted to see a snowy owl. He had been keeping a birding list and he wanted to see this particular species of owl. The last two winters they had similar outings to spot this elusive bird and each trip ended in disappointment.
Rupert had seen a few different types of winter birds and was able to add them to his life list during those trips. But the snowy owl had become his “white whale” so to speak. Some of their friends had seen one before a few years back and ever since Rupert had decided he also needed to see it.
And so here they were.
My Thirium is going to freeze me in place and you won't even notice.
A little hum and then Rupert hands over a thermos, Here. It’s warmed Thirium and saline, it'll warm you up.
He takes his binoculars out and begins scanning the trees once more. Begrudgingly, Connor takes a swig and sighs at the warmth the liquid gave him. They wait a few more minutes until Connor feels like his joints are going to freeze. He stands up and brushes some snow off his body.
“Let’s walk around for a little bit.” Connor suggests, “Some of the trails here are beautiful. Let’s go explore them.”
Rupert lets out a sigh and gets up too. “You’re right, this area deserves to be explored.” He smiles at Connor as he slips his hand into the other’s, gloved fingers intertwining.
They hike around the North Country Trail, snow crunched under their feet. Rupert pointed out a few winter birds as they hiked, a downy wood pecker, a tufted titmouse, and a snow bunting.
“Oh, I’ve not seen that one before.” Rupert grins, taking out a notebook and writing down the date, time, location, and species name. “Snow buntings are a passerine bird from the family Calcariidea .”
Connor laughs and pulls Rupert closer to him, placing a kiss on his temple. “I really love it when you do that.”
He receives a kiss in return, Rupert’s cold nose scraping lightly against his cheek. He sighs, feeling a little warmer as they make their way up the trail. The elevation rises, the trees thin out and then they finally break the tree line seeing one of the waterfalls in the park.
A muddy brown water cascades down into a river below to be carried away by the currents. Frozen pillars, reminiscent of stalactites, frame the waterfall. The trees on the other side of the river stood rigid, the snow bowing their limbs. Stark white, tannin brown, and dark green painted the scene before them and Connor took a picture of the awe struck look Rupert had as he viewed the scenery.
Connor lets out a whistle at the sight, his breath hardly making a cloud in front of him.
“This is really stunning.” He says, a smile in his voice, “It’s so different from the urban environment we see everyday.”
“Cultivated parks and gardens have their own advantages, but this–” Rupert motions to what is in front of them, “Is wild and free.”
Then, as the words leave Rupert’s mouth, Connor catches sight of a large white owl with speckles of black markings on its body. Connor quickly turns Rupert around and points.
“Look, there!” It seemed to have launched from one of the pine trees and flew gracefully downwards. Its yellow eyes were intense and piercing and for one moment Connor thought that gaze landed directly on them.
Rupert gasped and Connor heard the noise of a shutter clicking as Rupert took pictures of the snowy owl. “Connor, it’s more beautiful than I thought it could be.”
They both watch until the snowy owl has disappeared from view, melting into the forest and vanishing. Connor wraps his arms around Rupert’s waist, nuzzling into the crook of his neck. He feels Rupert lean into him as he once again takes out his notebook to manually write down his observation. Connor knew that they would be stopping somewhere to get those pictures printed so they could hang them up on Rupert’s birding wall.
“Incredible, what a beautiful specimen.” Rupert says, giddy as he puts away the notebook.
Connor hums, “Maybe the next bird you want to see could be a flamingo? Maybe Toucans?”
Rupert laughs and lightly digs his elbow into Connor's side. ‘Okay, okay I get it. Somewhere warm. Somewhere sunny.”
“That would be preferable, yes.” As if to make a point, Connor’s teeth chatter again. Rupert turns in Connor’s arms so they are face to face. Warm brown eyes greeted Rupert despite the cold.
“I can think of a few things that could bring your core temperature up.” Rupert says with a suggestive glint in his eyes. “Maybe we can go back to the tent and explore those options?”
“Yes, please.”