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"No, Leo."
“C’mon, pull over.”
Vincent rumbles in annoyance. “No, we’ve been making good time.”
“What good’ll that be if you keel over,” Leo counters. He gets eyed for the comment but continues. “The rain stopped a while ago and you’re still white-knuckling that steering wheel.”
Vincent glances down at his hands and - to his chagrin - the description hadn’t been an exaggeration. He wordlessly flexes his hands in turn to loosen his grip, the blood flow returning color to his skin. The low, vaguely yellow light seeping into the car’s interior doesn’t block Leo from seeing the quiet acknowledgment. Not that he needs to see it to know the combination of driving through a long, heavy downpour on pitch-black roads had stressed Vincent out. Having instigated the small victory is encouragement and Leo isn’t about to take no for an answer.
“You need a breather, man. Pull over onto the next turnout.”
Leo exits the car as soon as Vincent puts it into park, promptly arcing around the front to get to the other side. It had taken a bit more badgering to get Vincent to finally give in and Leo has it in mind to capitalize on every gain he gets. The driver’s side door opens before Vincent can even consider performing the action himself.
Due to how quickly Leo had hopped out of the car, Vincent hadn’t even managed to turn off the ignition yet either. He half expected the distracting urgency to mean Leo needed to seek out a friendly bush, but no. Now Leo steps into the space created by the open door and drapes an arm over the door’s window frame. He leans down to be more level with Vincent, an expectant look on his face.
“Get a move on, man. Let’s stretch our legs.” He hopes a bit of friendly bullying by loitering in Vincent’s space will get him out of the seat quicker. Figuratively shove the guy into getting some fresh air and a moment to relax. “I’ll take the wheel for a while once we get going again.”
“‘Our legs?’” Vincent echos. “So this stop wasn’t about me, huh.”
“Yeah, yeah, sure.”
Leo accepts the deflection because he knows he’s won over Vincent. If shifting the reason is what Vincent’s stubbornness needs to fully give in this time, he’ll take it. The engine switches off and Leo gestures at the front of the car with his free hand.
“Leave the lights on for a bit so we can see.”
“Leave them on?” Vincent’s tone is incredulous.
“First stopping, now this. What part of ‘laying low’ don’t you get, Leo.”
Leo rolls his eyes. “Who’re we laying low from out here? The tumbleweeds?”
“Passers-by? Rural sheriffs? More of Harvey’s lackeys?”
Vincent huffs when reaching for the headlight control results in Leo’s arm stretching into the car to bat his hand away.
“Vince, come on. We haven’t seen another car in ages. You’re being paranoid.”
Vincent breathes out an irritated sound. “You forget about getting tailed by an assassin way too easily…”
"It’s just us and the cacti out here, man."
Vincent scowls at Leo. Leo stares back. He also can’t help but note that the red and white pattern of the shirt in front of him manages to somehow be more noticeable than Vincent’s scrunched brow in the low light of the car’s cabin.
“Alright, fine. Maybe a jackrabbit or two will see and make eyes at your shirt.” Leo playfully acquiesces in his continued attempt to get Vincent to lighten up.
He then gestures at their open and quite abandoned surroundings for added emphasis. It’s a whole lot of black and greys beyond the reach of the warm glow of the headlights. An environment that’s mostly flat save for sparse vegetation, intermittent clusters of boulders, and bordered by a ridge that he isn’t sure counts as short mountains or rather tall hills. The turnout they’re loitering on is cracked and broken asphalt mostly reclaimed by creeping dirt. It would feel desolate were it not for the comradery that had carried them this far.
“No one’s even bothered to fix this turnout in who knows how long,” Leo adds. “If anyone shows, we’ll see ‘em coming long before they can get to us too.”
A glance toward the back of the car and the eastern horizon pauses him for a moment before he looks back at Vincent.
“Sun’s also coming’ up,” Leo offers to hopefully seal the deal. He knows he has worn him down enough when Vincent’s done expression softens around the edges. “We won’t need the headlights on for long.”
Leo smiles warmly when Vincent finally joins him in sitting on the car’s hood. He holds up a small, hand-sized red and white box once his partner-in-revenge settles.
“You could use one of these.”
Vincent quirks an accusatory eyebrow though doesn’t pause in pulling a cigarette free. “Where do you have these from?”
Leo responds with an expression that looks like the embodiment of the word ‘duh.’ “Nicked ‘em at the last gas station.”
“‘Course you did.” Vincent rolls his eyes with a sigh as Leo closes and sets the container down on the hood.
“Doesn’t look like you have a problem with it.”
“I do actually have a problem with it,” Vincent banters back, about to comment on the fact his cigarette wasn’t worth a whole lot unlit. “You forgot a-“
A slight of hand trick abruptly produces what looks like a shiny and new Zippo lighter.
“I forgot what?”
Vincent stares because he one hundred percent could swear Leo’s hands were both empty a second ago. A soft huh that can’t help but sound impressed escapes him. Hearing the sound causes a shit-eating grin to spread across Leo’s face.
“Told you I’m full of good surprises.”
“Full of pockets is more like it.”
Leo laughs, pointing a thumb back over his shoulder at where his jacket lay in the front seat. “I did pick that jacket for a reason, man. You’re impressed.” Leo playfully pushes for further approval of his shoplifting and hand tricks as he flicks the lighter open. An almost-not-there breeze makes the light of the small orange flame dance and glint off the silver metal. “Admit it.”
Vincent lifts the cigarette held between his fingers. “Maybe if you actually light the damn thing.”
Leo tuts at the impatience as he reaches out to both stabilize Vincent’s hand and hold the lighter up until the cigarette lights properly.
“So?”
“Alright alright,” Vincent gives in, a good-natured tone waving off the topic before Leo’s ego can inflate too far. His voice gets muffled slightly as he brings the cigarette to his lips. “I’m impressed.”
“About time.” Leo reaches an arm out to pat Vincent between the shoulders. “Glad you’re finally seeing reason.”
“Well, you usually don't so someone has to.”
Leo snorts in amusement at the continued banter, the lighter disappearing into a back pocket with the cigarette box following suit once he pulled another free. “Jackass.”
"Charming as ever,” Vincent chuckles.
Leo smirks. “You know it.”
A stretch of comfortable silence weaves around them before Leo interrupts the quiet again.
“You know…” Leo pauses mid-sentence as he forgoes retrieving the lighter and lifts his cigarette to light it by holding it against the lit end of Vincent’s. Vincent stills further. If Leo notices, he doesn’t react to it. He instead reaches to place both hands on the car hood behind him and leans back, a smolder of grey ash and orange embers near his lips as he breathes in. He mulls over his thoughts as he takes in the fading twinkle of stars and the yellowed purple of the approaching sunrise starting to reflect in the puddles around them. He looks back at Vincent who finally remembers to blink.
“We should drive back through here again on the way back from kicking Harvey’s ass, Vince. A rain like this might bring an assload of flowers soon enough.”
“Pretty sure this place counts as a desert, Leo.”
“Yeah and? Deserts are weird places, man.” Leo shrugs. “It’s what they do. You should see a bloom if you haven’t. You think the colors of regular rainbows are nice? They’ve got nothing on the bullshit desert flowers can pull off.”
“If you say so.”
“I do. So what do you say?”
Vincent looks at Leo quizzically.
“To coming back here after.”
Vincent stays quiet, looking as if he’s pondering the idea. Instead, the likely truths of the “after” are what grab hold of his thoughts. He can’t see any version of the future allowing Leo’s proposal and he opts to shrug after a drawn out moment. It feels nicer to ignore reality for at least a little longer.
“Sure, Leo.”
