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Remy liked napping in the car. It was the perfect transitory experience. Was he asleep? Not quite. Was he awake? Definitely not. Did he know where he was? Somewhere in the middle of nowhere and that’s all he cared to know.
Sunlight streamed through the car’s windshield and weakly past Remy’s dark sunglasses. The light wasn’t piercing; it was warm and rested gently against his eyelids. Occasionally the sun was blocked by a cloud or a freeway overpass sign creating a patchwork of gentle shade.
It was peaceful, the car bumping softly the few rare times Patton couldn’t avoid a pothole. Patton was a good driver. He drove slower than most and often chose longer routes just because he knew the road would be clearer. Remy didn’t mind; the back roads took them to blue skies and thick trees and fields that would have seemed untouched if it weren’t for the dark highway that snaked through them.
Besides, the longer the drive, the more time he got to spend with his boyfriend. Of course he loved their monthly road trips, but the car rides were his favorite part. Patton had this cute habit of humming; never loud, just a soft, constant melody that would inevitably lull Remy to- well not quite sleep, but peace. It was something better than sleep, something more like perfectly calm contentedness.
Patton was humming now, quietly narrating every turn and pass- “First I slow down so you can get past me. And then I put my blinker on and sneak into that lane.” Remy was sitting with his head resting on the doorframe and his eyes closed but he couldn’t resist smiling at Patton’s voice.
Patton must have caught him because Remy felt a hand run through his hair and scratch lightly at his undercut, “I thought you were sleeping.”
Remy shifted into the touch without opening his eyes, “Yeah well, I thought you were driving.”
Patton chuckled and moved his hand back to the wheel. Remy moved in the direction he knew Patton’s hand had retreated to and tried to glare up at the other man. Try being the operative word. It was hard to even appear upset when Patton was looking so angelic. His blue eyes sparkled as he stared straight ahead at the never ending road and his lips were quirked just slightly into a grin. The sunlight danced through his hair, giving him shimmering highlights as it turned the brown segments into gold.
Patton glanced down and smiled as he made eye contact with Remy. He realized with a shake of his head that he had been staring. Patton brought his hand back to the top of Remy’s head, gently gripping the dark brown locks between his fingers and scratching at his scalp with blunt fingernails.
Remy melted at the touch. He leaned across the center console and probably would have crawled into Patton’s lap if he could’ve.
Patton was openly laughing now, “Good lord, Rem, you’re like an overly friendly cat.”
Remy could tell Patton was trying to get a reaction out of him and decided it would be far more entertaining just to ignore his boyfriend.
Patton tried to pull away but Remy clamped his hand over top of his head, effectively trapping Patton’s fingers in his hair.
“Remy, I need to drive!” Patton laughed again but Remy could hear a slight edge on his voice, “Go back to sleep.”
Remy relented, letting go of Patton’s hand and moving his knees to face outward. But he refused to close his eyes. It was far too tempting to keep staring at Patton for the rest of the trip.
Patton looked adorable when he concentrated. His brows scrunched together and sometimes he stuck his tongue out like a little kid. The streaming sunlight filtered in and out of Patton’s eyes, transforming them from light crystal blue to deep turquoise.
Remy wasn’t sure how long he stared and he didn’t really care. It was a lovely thing to be able loose focus watching his boyfriend. He had long since lost shame over staring; Patton was too beautiful to resist.
Remy was shaken out of his stupor when he felt the car pull over at the side of the road. He looked out the window, surprised to find absolutely nothing for miles ahead and behind them.
“Why are we stopping?”
Patton raised an eyebrow, “You can’t expect me to focus on driving when you’ve got your eyes on me like that.”
“Oh sorry, I-“
Remy’s sarcastic comment was cut off by Patton’s mouth. It took Remy’s slightly dazed mind a moment to realize he was being kissed. Obviously they had kissed before, but Remy never got tired of it. Patton was soft and slow and somehow reminded Remy of the pastel sky above them and it still was one of the most intense things Remy had ever had the honor to experience.
When Patton finally broke away, Remy was more lightheaded than before. He decided to blame it on the lack of oxygen because that was a lot less embarrassing than the truth.
Patton gave him a light shove and turned back into the lane, “Now go to sleep and stop distracting me.”
“Yeah. Yep. Definitely doing that.”
———————————————-
When Remy woke up again the sky was a deep indigo tinged with purple and the constant rumble of the car had stoped.
And Patton was leaning into his lap, planting a trail of kisses along his jawline.
Remy laughed, confused but not exactly disliking the experience, “What are you doing?”
“Waking you up,” Patton had taken a moment to wink at Remy but had since begun attacking his face again.
He glanced around, taking in the hotel parking lot they were parked in. The yellow fluorescent street lamps turned the late dusk purple. A moth bumped along the windshield after getting bored of their headlights. In front of them, a field stretched forward in that deep shade of green that you could only find in Midwestern summers.
“It’s beautiful here.”
Patton hummed from where he had migrated to Remy’s neck.
“Nearly as beautiful as you.”
Remy could feel Patton’s smile against his skin. He forced the other man to break away, softly gripping his chin and tilting his head up, “Want to go exploring with me?”
“Wouldn’t do it with anyone else,” Patton leaned forward to peck Remy on the lips once more before clambering out of the car and running off into the field.
Remy chuckled, watching his love for one more second before following through the dusky haze. He hoped Patton had already checked in with the hotel because it looked like it’d be a while before they were back.