Chapter Text
Streetlights whiz by in a blur of orange-gold neon lights streaking through the dusky night sky. The highway is clear; in the past hour Muichirou has been driving, he can probably count the number of cars he's driven past by with one hand.
The world is deep asleep. In the darkness, the time blinks at him in neon red — 2:56 AM. He sighs and yawns, forcing his eyes to stay open.
Beside him, in the passenger seat, you sleep peacefully. The passing lights highlight your face in a hazy glow, accentuating your features until you look like something out of a painting. Muichirou has to remind himself to keep his eyes on the road lest he loses his line of thought just staring at your face.
His lids feel so heavy.
“Mui?”
Muichirou starts upon hearing your voice, gaze drifting to the side where you're yawning as you stretch. Your limbs barely fit inside the cramped car, and Muichirou snickers when your head hits the hood of the car, earning a hissed yelp from your lips.
“Morning,” he says. “Sleep well?”
“Good enough.” From the corner of his eye, he sees you wince. “Feel kinda sore, though.”
He hums. “Mood.”
You snort. “I'm surprised you haven't crashed the car yet. Or am I just dreaming and we're actually already dead?”
“How did you figure that out?” he says wryly, yelping when you flick his forehead. “Hey, watch it or I'll actually crash the car.”
“Sorry,” you say, but you don't really sound particularly sorry. You yawn again. “Jeez, it's already 3 AM, huh. Why didn't you wake me up? I should be driving now.”
He shrugs. A tollgate appears in the distance and you fumble around for your wallet. Muichirou rubs his eyes.
“You were sleeping.”
“That's why I said wake me up,” you sigh. “How much is the toll again?”
He shrugs. You sigh again.
“Pull over, lemme drive.” The leather seats squeak when you readjust your position. Cold wind screams and forces its way in. You must have opened the window. “Sheesh, that's cold.”
Muichirou squints. The bitter wind only hurts his eyes more, but if he closes his eyes, he's afraid he might fall asleep instantly.
“I can still drive. Go back to sleep.” He switches gears and slows down as he approaches the tollgate, you leaning over to peer at the ticket fares. A tired man glares at him from inside the booth.
You smile prettily, easily charming the man with just a look as you hand over the payment. Muichirou frowns and glares at the man, a familiar, protective feeling rising even through the haze of drowsiness drowning his mind.
He reaches over and drapes his oversized jacket around your shoulders. Two pairs of eyes turn to him, one surprised, one annoyed, but he ignores it in favor of fixing the jacket so you aren't showing that much skin anymore.
You giggle and peck his cheek before turning back to the man. “Have a lovely day, mister!”
“Stop doing that,” he sighs, stepping on the gas pedal and speeding away from the tollgate. You hum as you lean back, snuggling in his jacket. Creamy legs taunt him from the corner of his vision before you tuck them inside the jacket too.
“Doing what?” He can hear the teasing smile in the lilt of your voice.
“That.”
“I didn't do anything, Mui.”
“You did something.”
“Pay for the toll?”
You're acting coy. It's always been a source of frustration for him, but now, the sleeplessness rears its head and mixes with the irritation. He tastes something bitter at the back of his throat — it's really probably nothing, but he feels annoyed anyway.
As if sensing something wrong, you giggle. The sound alone is enough to loose his tense shoulders; unfairly, all the fight drains from him until all that remains is his tiredness.
“Pull over, Mui,” you coo. “You're tired. Let me drive for a while.”
He sighs. You're impossible. The map on his phone indicates a pit stop nearby; he changes lanes and keeps an eye out for it.
The gas station is bright as a beacon, lighting up the place even without streetlights to help out. Muichirou winces at the harsh lights as he pulls over, biting his lip to stifle a yawn.
The sound of the belt unbuckling. Muichirou looks over only to find you crawling over to his seat. You straddle his lap, and before he can ask what you're doing, you've already squished his face against your chest.
His face explodes in flames.
“Y/N —”
“Sorry for upsetting you,” you murmur, bowing your head so your cheek is pressed against the top of his head. Muichirou stills and deflates, melting into your hug as his eyes flutter shut.
You're warm and soft as ever, gentle hands carding through his hair as he nuzzles against you. You chuckle and hug him tighter.
“Sorry for being pissy,” he admits.
“It's all right.” A pause. He looks up, and you use the opportunity to press a kiss on his forehead. “Let me drive now so you can sleep, okay?”
He hums. You disentangle yourself from him to let him leave the car. Muichirou immediately mourns the loss of your warmth, especially when the cool wind slaps him as soon as he steps outside. He shivers and hurries over to the passenger side.
You smile at him when the door slams shut, leaning over to kiss his cheek before starting the engine once again. Away from the dust and dirt of the city, stars peek out from behind hazy clouds, framing the moon with glitter that sparkles like your eyes. He smiles at the comparison, and falls asleep to the sound of you humming.