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II sighed to himself as he stared up at the dark, vast expanse of sky above him, the spattering of stars that littered the abyss. The rest station they stopped at was fairly rural, stuck in the middle of nowhere, which meant there were far more twinkling lights than he was ever used to seeing; although it was only a fraction of what was actually there, it was still a wonder to realize just how much was visible to the naked eye without the light pollution of a city mucking things up.
He took a drag off his cigarette and savored the acrid burn, exhaling softly and letting the smoke swirl and fade into the mild summer air. He'd switched to vaping years ago, but he still found himself craving a proper smoke on occasion. Maybe it was the escape it provided, the almost ritualistic routine of it all, or maybe it was just out of habit. He made a mental note to buy another box at the next gas station; he had to bum a cig off of III this time, having run out a few nights prior, and he already missed the familiarity of his preferred variety.
Distantly, he heard laughter from the rest stop. He couldn't quite place whose voice it was from his spot in the nearby green space, but it was a nice sound nonetheless. Everyone was glad to have a break from the bus even though it was stupidly late. Being able to use a proper restroom and stretch his legs for a while were things they'd all learned to not take for granted while on the road. Small luxuries made tour life bearable.
Soft footsteps made him twist around, finding IV shuffling towards him through the grass. He'd thrown a hoodie on alongside his boxers just to shield his bare torso from the breeze, but otherwise must've rolled straight out of his bunk to come visit. II smiled as IV pressed up against him, leaning his head on II's shoulder.
"Hey," IV mumbled, his voice still thick with sleep.
II affectionately knocked his head against IV's. "Hey."
They stood in comfortable quiet for a while, listening to the hum of crickets and cicadas, the occasional car passing by, the soft sound of IV's steady breathing. II took one last puff off his cigarette before leaning down to snub it out on a bare patch of soil. IV grumbled in protest at his headrest being ripped away and II chuckled under his breath.
"Why don't you go back to bed?" II asked as he stood back up, smiling when IV immediately laid his head back down right where it sat before.
"Soon," IV said with a yawn. "You're comfy."
"And your bunk will be even moreso, love."
"That's debatable." IV smiled softly. "I'll go back when everyone else does. Felt left out, being in the bus all alone."
II huffed out a laugh at that, but otherwise said nothing. They fell back into the same easy quiet as before.
"'S pretty."
"Hm?"
"The stars." IV gestured up at the sky. "They're pretty."
"Oh." II looked up with him. "They really are. Weird seeing so many at once, though."
"Mm... yeah." IV sighed softly. "Kinda wish we got this sort of view back home. Could you imagine going into the back garden and seeing this every night? I'd go mental."
"And I wouldn't blame you for it. Fuck... it makes our usual sky look like shit. Even on the clear nights it doesn't come close."
"A shame, really." IV yawned again. "This," he gestured up at the cosmos, "would be a massive improvement."
II hummed in agreement before they fell back into comfortable silence. Nothing else mattered in that moment besides the warm weight on his shoulder and the swirling stars that kept them company. A reprieve from the chaos of touring.
"You know, we should plan a trip sometime. Do some proper stargazing."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah. We'd just have to find someplace where the sky's dark enough." II smiled and ran a hand through IV's hair. "Could even make a little holiday out of it if we find the time."
"I'd love that," IV murmured as he pressed a kiss into II's shoulder. "It's been too long since we've done something fun outside of the band."
Now that was a fact II was intimately aware of. As rewarding as it could be to be part of their collective, it was time consuming and exhausting even on the best of days, and that wasn't even considering their obligations to Sleep. As the leader, Vessel endured the brunt of it, kept busy with the business side of things alongside the music, though he'd learned to let II shoulder his fair share of the responsibility over time. Appeasing their deity on the other hand was a group effort, and although it wasn't typically too difficult of a task, it certainly wasn't an afterthought. It couldn't be; not with His presence always resting in the back of their minds.
"All the more reason for us to do it then," II replied. "We could use the break."
Once again, IV yawned. "True that."
Before II could tease him about his sleepy state, his attention was grabbed by a very, very loud voice behind them. "HEY, LOVEBIRDS!" III yelled all the way from the parking lot. "We're back on the road in five! Don't make us leave you behind!"
"Heard!" II quickly called back, kissing IV's head in apology when he grumbled at the noise. He lowered his volume to a murmur and asked, "Ready to head back, sleepyhead?"
IV huffed at the nickname but said nothing, nodding softly instead. He lifted his head and sighed, stretching his arms up into the air with a squeaky noise that made II's heart feel a bit funny. Christ, he was in love. When IV lowered his arms, II laced their fingers together and gave his hand a squeeze before pulling him along through the grassy field and back towards the bus. He savored the warm summer breeze, the soft earth beneath them, the calloused hand of one of his lovers, and tried to commit the details to memory.
Before they reached the pavement, II spared another glance up at the sky, smiling softly as the abyss stared back at him. It was still hard to comprehend the fact that such a sight was even real. His eyes traced the swaths of stardust before settling on the moon hanging heavy in the darkness, bathing their planet in dim light. Wordlessly, he sent his gratitude into the ether; a quiet thank you to the universe, and Sleep, perhaps, for giving him the chance to live the life he did. He wouldn't trade it for the world.