Me before you

chapter 23

They were well into the fourth hour of the drive when the snow began to fall.

The neat dollhouse suburbs of New Hampshire had recently given way to empty rolling countryside, pale green and crusted with frost that shone under the winter sun – Sana remembered some of the winding country roads from the long drives of her childhood, remembered drawing on the fogged up windows and listening to Mother complain. She could see herself reflected in the windscreen now, and Y/n, fallen into a peaceful quiet in the back. A faint smile appeared on her lips.

After a mile or so of silver-tinged fields, the trees – slender birches wrapped in silver, evergreens decked in red berries and frost, redwood and pine – grew denser, rising up either side of the empty road. The woods pressed close, brown and green pine needles scattered over the edges of the black tarmac. For once, she didn't care about them piling against the wipers at the windshield.

The minivan was a surprisingly smooth drive – and driving long distances like this always made her feel calm and peaceful. They seemed to do the same for Y/n too, Sana reflected, gloved hands on the driving wheel. For the first half of the journey, Y/n had been cracking jokes and goading her into the most absurd car games, and the warmth and easy banter that still surprised Sana filled the van beautifully, but somewhere over the state line they'd both fallen quiet. Whether it was the scenery or the company or both she couldn't say, but Sana knew she hadn't felt so restful in a long time: perhaps ever. Louis had called hours ago to say he was with Wonwoo, and once again wish them a nice weekend.

Once the snow started – drifting and swirling down on the breeze in fat feather-gentle flakes, catching on the trees and melting on the tarmac – it completed the picture perfectly.

"Hey," Y/n said softly from her place in the back, and Sana didn't have to look around to know she was smiling. "Snow."

"Snow," Sana agreed, exhaling slowly. It hadn't snowed in Storybrooke since the day they went to the Christmas market.

They rounded another bend in the road, dead pine needles and already-melting snowflakes drifting down against the windows as the trees swayed overhead, bare branches jostling with green. At the side of the road, a familiar wooden sign directed them to Pinewood Lake. A rush of warmth shot through her stomach despite herself – how long had it been since she'd seen that sign?

"Not long now," She told Y/n, smile playing over her lips.

"Cool," Y/n's voice was soft and happy, unguarded and unguarding. Completely unlike anything she would have sounded like six months ago. It still made Sana's chest tighten and flood with gratitude. "But I mean, I think I could stay out here forever. Just driving, with the trees and the snow and everything." She made a small sound just shy of a laugh. "It's like a Christmas card."

"It's beautiful," Sana agreed. "I think it was one of my favourite places in the world when I was little."

"Yeah?" Y/n smiled softly; Sana could see her reflection in the windscreen, looking out the window. "That's not hard to believe."

Sana followed the gentle curve of the road, remembering. "I mean, I grew up in the suburbs outside Boston. Everything always seemed so fake, so constricted... Out here you could just get away from it all."

"Mmm," Y/n agreed, soft brown eyes finding hers in the windscreen reflection. "I think I'm getting that already. It's like there's nothing but world."

"I'm glad you came," Sana told her. Her voice sounded thin and oddly small in her ears. She swallowed, breathed in and shook back a few stray strands of dark hair from her face, forcing her voice to come out stronger. "Just wait until you see the house."