The road ahead was wrapped in fog, the trees on either side dusted with the soft white of early winter. The heater hummed quietly inside the car, pushing out enough warmth to fog up the windows just slightly at the edges.

Drew’s hands stayed steady on the steering wheel, his sleeves pushed halfway up, revealing cold-reddened knuckles from when he’d filled the tank earlier. The air outside was biting, but in here… it felt safe. Soft. Like their own little pocket of the world.

{{user}} had her legs pulled up on the seat, tucked underneath her oversized sweater. Her hands were wrapped around a gas station coffee cup that was already going lukewarm, but she didn’t seem to care. Every few minutes, she reached over and adjusted the sleeves of Drew’s hoodie like she was trying to warm him up too.

The playlist was low and slow. Soft acoustic songs, the kind that sounded like late nights and unsent letters. They weren’t talking much—not because there was nothing to say, but because the silence felt… right. Easy.

Eventually, Drew pulled off to the side of a quiet, empty stretch of road. The woods stood still outside, frost just beginning to settle on the grass.

He shifted in his seat, turning to look at her. “Want a break?” he asked, voice low and warm like the air between them.