Chapter Text
"That's it, I think the time is right. I've put in my two weeks notice and today's my last day here. It's now or never."
Those were the words that were going through Tori Avalon's mind as he sat at his desk, looking out the window at an unusually cloudy and gray August sky. He simply had enough of dealing with the madness in the city of Reedington and the world as a whole, and now was the time for him to make good on one of his many plans for the future. Sipping on a can of Diet Pepsi, the dark-haired young man simply spent the rest of the afternoon at his workplace waiting for the clock to run out so he could collect his last paycheck and move onto better things for him and his beloved Julian.
Bored out of his mind, Tori was finally relieved when his watch beeped.
"5:00 PM. Fucking finally,"
Springing into action, he decided to take one last look at the dull gray walls, buzzing fluorescent lights and sparse furnishings of his office before casually walking out of there and down the halls towards the exit with a smile on his face and a pep in his step. Moseying on down to the front desk, he clocked out of work saying nothing at all. Tori's mind was laser focused on getting out of there and back to Julian and his own father and sister. Evenings like these were the times he was glad his last paycheck would be a direct deposit and that it would be a rather hefty one thanks to him going above and beyond to get a lot of overtime at the office.
Stepping out into the parking lot, he breathed deeply and relished the fresh air and the sight of the plain asphalt parking lot and the city streets in front of him. It would be the last time he'd see the dreary streets of Downtown Reedington for quite some time. Barely able to contain his own excitement and joy, the tanned handsome brunette darted across the parking lot straight to his own vehicle. One could say many things about Tori Avalon, but one thing was for sure. He had a really badass ride if there ever was one.
It was a jet black 1990 Chevrolet Camaro IROC-Z with soft plush seats and a high-quality (albeit expensive) aftermarket sound system complete with CD player, AM/FM radio, satellite radio, and an audio jack for your smartphone or MP3 player. Opening the door and getting into the driver's seat, Tori didn't even bother to buckle up before starting the car, tuning the radio to his favorite station, and driving off at a pace that would've been way too reckless and fast had there been anyone else on the road in front of him.
Cranking up the air conditioning and the volume on the stereo, Tori breathed a deep sigh of relief as the familiar and comforting chatter of the radio began to play the sounds of the DJ introducing one of his favorite songs of all time.
"You're listening to 104.9 The Stallion, Reedington's home for Classic Country. Here's a tried and true classic from the late great Waylon Jennings."
The only two things in life that make it worth livin'
Is guitars that tune good and firm feelin' women
I don't need my name in the marquee lights
I got my song and I got you with me tonight
Maybe it's time we got back to the basics of love
Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas
With Waylon and Willie and the boys
This successful life we're livin'
Got us feuding like the Hatfields and McCoys
Between Hank Williams' pain songs and
Newbury's train songs and "Blue Eyes Cryin' in the Rain"
Out in Luckenbach, Texas, there ain't nobody feelin' no pain
"Waylon, I can definitely sympathize with you there. That's for sure"
At this point, he didn't care if he was talking to himself in the car. The drive was way too leisurely to worry about unimportant things like that. Especially as he pulled into the driveway outside the Avalon household. Stepping out of the car and into the house, Tori noticed that all the lights were on but the place seemed too quiet. Still, he was just glad to be home and quickly took his coat and shoes off before wandering down towards the kitchen. It was there he was greeted with an old familiar face.
A cute young man with platinum gray hair, bright eyes, and a pair of glasses was laying out some boxes of Little Caesar's pizza on the table along with some bottles of Pepsi Zero and paper plates. This man was Julian Star, his lover and soon to be his husband as well.
"Hope you don't mind that I got us some pizza. Didn't feel like cooking and besides, Sakura and your dad aren't going to be home until late tonight anyway."
"That's fine by me, sweetie. Trust me, you have no idea how glad I am to see you. Especially since today is my last day of work here in Reedington. I'm thinking you and me should finally enact Plan Fifty-One Tango."
"Plan what now?"
"Plan Fifty-One Tango. In the event we have all our affairs set in order, the two of us leave Reedington and move into the rural woods and onto some land Dad owns way out in the mountain backwoods of far Southwestern Virginia. Why do we even have the drills if you aren't going to pay attention?"
"Oh, Fifty-One Tango. I thought the plan to move into the heart of coal country was Ninety-Nine X-Ray."
"Ninety-Nine X-Ray is an entirely different plan for when shit starts to seriously hit the fan. We're talking a legit apocalypse event or something."
"Oh yeah. That's the one with the bottle of fine single malt Scotch, twin glasses, and a fully loaded revolver. Right?"
"Yep. I pray to all that is holy that we'll never have to enact that plan though. For now, let's just focus on the good things in life. Dad's on board with this plan and I just got a massive severance package and a job lined up down in the area as well. Plus me and him both made sure that the house in Martin Holler is all set up and fully functional, ready to go. We got satellite TV, air conditioning, high-speed Wi-Fi with our own private signal source and everything else. It's a small hillbilly country house but it's gonna be one really kickass hillbilly shack, that's for sure!"
"I'm looking forward to it. We head out in the morning, right?"
"Yep. The U-Haul should be arriving tonight. Dad and Sakura will help us move and they might move down near us next year once they get done with all the stuff they need to take care of."
"Nice. Um, are you sure the locals will be cool with a gay couple living in the area?"
"Yeah. It's a conservative area but everyone also keeps to themselves. As long as you don't act like a complete asshole and keep cool, the locals don't really care what you do in the privacy of your own home. If anyone asks, we're just roommates or something. But chances are that nobody's gonna ask to begin with."
"Awesome. I'm so done with Reedington and the city life in general. I really am."
"You and me both. I'm glad we can both live out in the country together. I love you."
"I love you too."
Tori hugged Julian closely and kissed him deeply before they finally began to eat their fast food dinner. Tomorrow would be the first day of their new life.