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“Come on, Charlie! You have everything together?”
“Yup! Where are we going?”
“Wherever life takes us.” His dad chuckled as he helped Charlie into the backseat of the car. “Are you ready for a fun adventure?”
Charlie nodded happily and excitedly.
His mom and dad climbed into the front. George started the car while Myra flipped through the CD book to find some music to turn on.
As their car pulled out onto the road, Charlie watched out the window. They drove for a while, from early morning until late at night.They found a rest stop to eat the lunches that Myra had packed for them. Sitting under the trees and the cool grass, laughing and watching as squirrels ran across the sidewalks, looking for any food that had been dropped.
The Hollows finished eating their lunch and took a stroll along the sidewalks. Charlie began chasing around the squirrels, laughing and giggling as they ran up trees or into bushes. Once he started growing tired, they made their way back to the car.
The next few hours of the drive, Charlie slept in the backseat. His parents up front talked softly, laughing and joking.
It wasn't until the sun had already set when they got to their destination.
“Charlie, are you ready to wake up?” Myra shook her son slightly, giggling when he made a grumbling noise. “We’re here.”
Charlie slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at his mom. She was illuminated by the car lights, but behind her, outside, it was dark. He unbuckled his seatbelt and climbed out of the car. His dad was already out there with a blanket laid out on the grass.
As if a flip had switched, going from asleep to awake, Charlie ran over to the blanket and sat down next to his dad.
“Well good morning to you too!” His dad chuckled.
“It’s not morning, dad.” Charlie rolled his eyes with a giggle.
“Alright boys, look over here!”
Both George and Charlie turned to see Myra holding up a camera.
“Say cheese!”
“Cheeeeessseee!”
★★★★★
Chase smiled sadly as he looked down at the picture in his hands. It was of his dad and him, sitting out in a large field, grinning at the camera. He loved those long car rides with his family, even if he did fall asleep for most of them. He missed it…
“Chase?”
Chase looked over to where Nox sat on his bedside table. A worried look furrowed his brows. The human reached his hand out so the key could climb on it if he wished.
“Oh, hey, Buddy.”
“Are you okay?” Nox asked, carefully stepping onto his boyfriend’s hand. “You look sad.”
“Hah. Me? Sad?” Chase grinned.
Nox did not look impressed.
“Okay, fine. I was just… remembering back when my family and I… well, my dad would always get us all in the car, take us on these all day drives. At the end, we would go find somewhere to either stay the night, or just look up at the stars. In winter, we would drive around to look at Christmas lights, in the summer, sometimes we’d find a place to watch fireworks.” A tear fell down his cheek. Nox reached up to wipe it off. “Sorry… I just miss it. I’d really like to go on a drive again but… it’s hard to find time to do something. And when I do have the time, I don't want to go alone .”
“Can't Freckles go with you?”
“Nah, Deacon doesn't have time to waste an entire day on the road. Grandpa either.” Chase sighed, resting his forehead against Nox’s, his eyes closed gently. “It’s alright, though. Gas costs a lot anyways. And I don't even know what I'd do or where I'd go. Plus I still need to find the other keys. We have you and Violet, but what about the others? We need to focus all our energy on that.”
“Chase…” Nox spoke softly. The blond opened his eyes slowly to meet those bright, Moonstone eyes. “Let’s go on a road trip.”
“W-what?”
<~--~>
A few days later, Chase was given access to the truck. He was allowed to use it as long as he didn't crash it or damage it. And if he got pulled over…
“Grandpa, I'll be safe.” Chase rolled his eyes. “I passed my driver’s test with flying colors.”
Ralph sighed and reached out to rest a hand on his grandson’s shoulder.
“I know, I know. You remind me so much of your father. Never able to stand still for too long.” He pulled back with a smile. “Alright. Be safe and call me when you get there, wherever you’re going.”
“Will do. Thanks Grandpa, bye Grandpa!”
Chase took the keys and picked up his backpack from the side by the doorway. He climbed into the truck, setting the bag on the passenger seat as he stuck the key in the ignition. Soon, the engine rumbled to life. A small head stuck out from the partially open zipper.
“You’re in the clear.” Chase told Nox as he pulled out of the driveway and onto the road.
Nox climbed out of the bag, sliding down onto the plush seat. He had been in a car only once before. And that was when Ex Libris first brought him to Sugar Springs. He was also kept in a box that entire time.
Worst seventy two hours of his life.
He climbed up onto the center console, looking at where Chase was staring straight ahead, watching the road. Curious, Nox began to climb the boy’s sleeve, wanting to see what was outside the window. What he saw was… very underwhelming. It was just a long stretch of road, on either side of the road was a small town, nothing too fancy. Soon, they made it to the outskirts of town which led to a long stretch of large, empty fields. There was a cow maybe once in a while, but that was it.
Cows, grass, and boring, flat fields. Chase looked to be having fun, though, so he decided not to comment on it. After all, this road trip wasn’t for him. It was for the little idiot with the big grin on his face and the far off look in his eyes. Chase had turned the radio on to some random channel and was tapping the steering wheel while he hummed along. He looked… relaxed.
Nox always loved to see his boyfriend relaxed. It was better than him being stressed or sad.
Slowly, Nox moved from Chase’s shoulder and onto the passenger seat. He hoisted himself up onto the door, looking out the window. He should have brought something for him to do. Who knew driving around like this would be so… so boring ?
“You alright there, Buddy?” Chase asked, glancing at the key out of the corner of his eye.
“‘M fine.” Nox replied, staring out the window to see yet another cow. As much as he hated to admit it, he would have had more fun if he were back at the Ex Libris base.
That was a lie. He wouldn’t have fun . Not one bit. But he wouldn’t be bored .
“You look a little bored–”
“I’m Fine .” Nox huffed, resting his head against the glass. He sat on the car door windowsill, his legs dangling out, just above the door handle.
“You know, if you’re bored, just say so. I won’t be upset, I know how boring road trips can get.”
“Yeah, like you’ve ever known boredom in your life.” Nox huffed.
“One, I’m taking that as a compliment because it absolutely sounds like one. Two, I have been bored many times. Especially on road trips. That’s why we come up with little games!” Chase grinned, glancing over at Nox for just a moment.
After a pause, the smaller of the two realized Chase was waiting for a response.
“What games…?” he asked, a little skeptical.
“Well!” Chase started. He then continued to ramble on about different games. A letter game where you tried to find every letter of the alphabet by looking at street signs or license plates. A number game where you did the same but with numbers. The License Plate game, where you would count how many license plates from each state you found. That one didn’t seem fun, just annoying. Plus an Eye Spy game which… seemed too easy here where everything was the same.
“Those all sound…” Nox paused, searching for the right word.
“Fun?”
“I was going for more lackluster .”
Chase let out a soft chuckle.
“There’s not much you can do when you’re strapped in a seatbelt in the car. Well… Technically you're not. But there’s still not much to do. Sorry. I should’ve realized that you would probably find this boring.”
Nox huffed and stared out the window again. He didn’t want Chase to feel sorry about this. After all, this was something that Chase wanted. But he still had to admit that he was very bored.
“I spy something green.”
Chase looked over with a shocked expression.
“What?”
Nox huffed again and turned to his soulmate.
“I said , I spy something green. What are you, deaf?”
The blond chuckled and shifted slightly in his seat, peering out the windows.
“Is it… grass?”
“Good job.” Nox replied.
“Yay! My turn. Okay. I spy…” Chase looked out the window, tapping the steering wheel in thought. “I spy something black.”
“The road?” Nox lifted an eyebrow.
“Nope!” Chase replied cheerfully, popping the P. “Try again!”
“Hmm… okay…” he narrowed his eyes as he looked out the window. “Is it… a cow…?”
“Good guess, but still no!”
“Chase, there are only four things that you could possibly be seeing. Grass, cows, the road and the sky.”
Chase grinned.
“Is that your way of telling me you give up?”
Nox scoffed.
“Give up? I never give up.”
“Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Buddy.”
“Chase!”
“Oh look, we’re at our first stop!”
Chase pulled off onto a small road that led a bit to the side. At the end of the road sat a small building with restrooms and a small, well kept field with some trees for shade and picnic tables. The blond climbed out of the car, promising Nox he’d be back in a minute. When he came back, he helped the key out of the truck and onto his shoulder so they could walk around and stretch their legs.
Well, Chase needed to stretch his legs. Nox probably didn’t want to sit in the car by himself. Also, sitting in the car wasn’t fun when there was nature to explore.
They walked along a small trail that circled around the rest area. They sat in silence for a few minutes until Nox suddenly spoke up.
“Put me down.”
“What?”
“Put me down, over there. I want to see something.”
“But what if–”
“I’ll be fine, Chase. And I trust you to keep the one hitchhiker that’s here from seeing me.”
After a moment of thought, Chase helped Nox off his shoulder, setting him in the small patch of tall grass he had pointed to. He stood there, anxiously watching for people or predators while Nox did… Whatever it was he was doing.
Chase was starting to tap his foot nervously when he felt a tug on his soulstring. He looked down to see that Nox was standing there, holding something behind his back. The key’s other hand was holding onto the soulstring, having pulled it to get the human’s attention.
“Oh! You ready?” Chase asked, holding his hand out for Nox to climb onto.
“Yeah. Let’s go.”
“What did you grab?”
Nox was silent for a moment, still keeping the object out of Chase’s line of sight.
“Nothing important.”
“Oooookayyyyyy then.” Chase shrugged, heading back to the truck. They climbed back in and made their way back onto the road.
The second part of the trip was just as boring as the first. Although this time, Chase informed him that there were books in the backpack. Something that would have been nice to know earlier. So, Nox–with some help of Chase–pulled out a book and began reading. It was quiet in the car, aside from Chase’s music playing quietly from the speakers. He knew the boy wasn’t blasting his music so as to not bother Nox. And the key appreciated that.
Their drive was quiet and peaceful. Eventually, they did have to stop for lunch. Chase found another rest stop and grabbed a lunchbox from inside his backpack. They found a spot of grass which Chase laid out a blanket for them to sit on while they ate. Chase’s lunch consisted of a tuna lettuce wrap, carrots, celery and a small gatorade. Nox’s was just a couple chocolate bars.
After they finished eating, they laid out on the blanket for a bit. Nox closed his eyes as he soaked up the sun. It was warm, the breeze felt nice, and he was starting to be glad he decided to go on this trip with Chase. It was… it was nice . To just exist in the same space as his soulmate. Not having to bother speaking, just… hanging out. Enjoying each other’s company.
He started to realize why Chase liked road trips.
After a while, they got back on the road. The next stretch of road was the longest. They wouldn’t be stopping until they got to their destination. And that gave him time to just sit back and relax. It was calming, when he wasn’t focused on how boring it was, he could focus on the lull of the truck. The rumbling of the engine on the road. It was soothing.
Slowly, Nox drifted off into a soft slumber.
When he next awoke, the sky was turning a soft pink.
“Morning, Nox.” Chase smiled over at the key in the passenger seat. “Have a nice nap?”
Nox nodded and climbed up to look out the window. They were pulling off onto a small dirt road, leading over towards a small hill in the distance. It was a pretty hill. At the top, there was a small patch of grass and flowers. That reminded Nox…
He reached down into the little cupholder on the door, grabbing a few things and holding them close to his chest. When the truck made it to the top of the hill, Chase pulled out the blanket again, laying it out on the grass.
The human helped Nox out of the truck and they moved to sit on the blanket next to each other.
“Hey… uh… Chase…?” he spoke nervously.
“Yeah, what’s up, Buddy?” Chase smiled warmly. Just as warm as the soft sun setting in the distance.
“I… uh…” He frowned to himself. He had never had trouble speaking to his soulmate before… why was it so hard now…? “Here.”
He held out his hands to Chase.
Chase looked down at what the small key was holding. Inside his hands was a small bouquet of wildflowers, all tied together with a blade of grass.
“What’s this…?” Chase mused, taking the bouquet. It was small enough that he only needed to use two fingers to hold it.
“They reminded me of you. I wanted to…” he huffed out a loud breath, upset he couldn’t form words right now. “I wanted to show that I was grateful for you bringing me on this trip with you. You said this is something you used to do with your parents all the time. And I’m glad you wanted to share this special moment with me. While it was boring, and I will probably never sit in a car for that long ever again, I will admit I had fun with you. So… thank you.”
The last part was said so softly, Nox was almost sure the blond hadn’t heard him.
Chase smiled softly down at him.
“Thanks for coming out here with me.” the boy replied, holding out his hand for Nox to climb onto.
The key did so, hugging Chase’s thumb as he was lifted up close to the boy’s face.
Nox leaned his head against Chase’s own. The two of them stayed like that, staring lovingly into each other’s eyes as they were bathed in a warm, orange light.
It was moments like these that Nox didn’t mind the soul strings. Because without them, he wouldn’t be here, sitting with Chase on a hill a day’s ride away from the farmhouse, watching the sunset.
It was moments like these, where Nox knew what love truly felt like.