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Sebastian turns off his motorcycle, letting out a sigh and pulling off his helmet.
It only takes a moment for Sam to dismount behind him, something he was well practiced in at this point, and he lets out a groan as he stretches after the two hour drive. Sebastian follows suit once he's off the motorcycle then follows Sam down the dirt path, his chest tightening in the silence between them.
"Fuck, I'm going to miss this view." Sam breaks the silence as they reach the clearing.
Sebastian's hand digs into the pocket of his jeans, pulling out a cigarette from its pack as he watches Sam move to edge of the cliff of the lookout, leaning against the old, wooden fence.
"You know it's not going anywhere, right?" Sebastian says softly.
An orange glow illuminates his hands as he brings up his lighter to his cigarette. Once lit, he takes a long drag, moving beside Sam and standing on his left side since that was the direction the wind was pulling the smoke away.
"You know what I mean." Sebastian doesn't look at him, not that it matters. He could hear the gloomy tone in Sam's response.
Yeah. He did know what he meant. This was their place. Sam was the only person he had ever taken up here. It had started a few years ago as a place for him to get away from everything, to just think. Then, one late night, he had stopped here while on a motorcycle ride with Sam. They've been up here more times than he could count now.
But, now, he was leaving. Leaving Pelican Town. Leaving the lookout. Leaving Sam.
It was the weirdest fucking feeling. He was just moving to Zuzu City. Those bright lights glowing in the distance would officially be his home tomorrow when he moved into his condo that he finally managed to buy thanks to the game he made. He had planned this for years, since he was a teenager. Nothing really held him here. Not his family, though his relationship with his half-sister had improved over the last couple years. Not the townsfolk and all their gossip. Not the mountain lake or the beach when it rained.
Sam, though. Sam was the only thing that really held him here for as long as he had stayed.
"You act like I'm moving to a secluded sanctuary on the other side of the world, never to be seen again." He glances over, taking in Sam's deep frown. "Zuzu is just over two hours away. And it's not like I'm never coming home to visit. And you can visit whenever you want! Don't even call, just show up on my doorstep." He nudges his shoulder against Sam's in what he hopes is an assuring way.
"At least you have your motorcycle," Sam mumbles. "I don't have a car. And the bus still doesn't run…"
And the train was fucking expensive, Sebastian silently supplies for him.
"So?" Sebastian shrugs. "If you want to come to Zuzu, call me. I can come get you."
Sam rolls his eyes with a disbelieving huff. "Yeah. Like you're going to drive over five hours just to come bring me to the city to hang out."
"Of course I would!" You call and I'll be on my bike in a heartbeat. He definitely doesn't voice that thought, though, no matter how true it was.
Sam sighs, dropping his head towards his chest for a moment before turning his head back towards Sebastian, small smile curling his lips. "I'm sorry. I really am happy for you. I'm just being a asshole."
Sam plucks the cigarette from between Sebastian's fingers, bringing it to his lips to take a long pull. Sebastian's stomach drops. He could probably count on his hands how many times Sam has smoked in the years since Seb had started the stupid habit. Sam only ever did it when he was stressed, when he was really upset.
"No, you're not." Sebastian shakes his head. "You're being honest. You've been my best friend for almost… fuck, almost twenty years?"
Sam chuckles. "Getting forgetful in your old age? Math's getting hard?" Threads of smoke puff out of his mouth as he spoke before he tilts his head up to the sky to breath out the rest. Then he takes another drag before passing the cigarette back.
"I'm less than seven months older than you!" Sebastian rolls his eyes, taking a final drag of his own and blowing the smoke out to the side. "My point is… at this point, I expect you to be honest with me, Sammy."
"I know, I just… I'm being a dick." He turns his head back towards the city skyline. "So, think we can see the condo from here?"
Sebastian drops his cigarette butt into his portable ashtray and pops it back into his pocket. "Nah, it's on the other side of the city."
Sam hums in response.
Then Sam lets out gasp. "Fuck, we've been so busy packing all day, I completely forgot."
"We can skip it for one day, Sam," Sebastian says, watching Sam pull out his phone from his pocket, the brightness of the screen lighting his face as he moves to open the app he was looking for.
"We cannot!" Sam frowns at him and Sebastian rolls his eyes. It never fails. He always insisted on asking his stupid daily question. It was another thing Sebastian could probably count on just his hands: how many times they had skipped it or forgotten since they were kids. "Okay, here. What's one thing I do that makes you question my survival instincts?"
Sebastian snorts out a laugh. Well, that was a fucking question considering the current mood. Thankfully, it was an easy one. "You like to wander when you see a shiny object…"
Sam sighs. "Yeah, I do that sometimes."
"And you'll go and talk to everyone you meet," Sebastian continues.
"Well, that's just nice manners!" Sam protests.
"You had that zombie question the other day, remember? What was it…? Who would survive a zombie apocalypse longer, me or you? You would definitely try to make friends with the zombies."
Sam crosses his arms on the top board of the fence, leaning his chin onto them. "Yeah, well, you… would…"
One corner of Sebastian's lips curls. "Mhmm?"
"Your smoking addiction would probably get you in shit."
"I'd quit, obviously." Sebastian shrugs.
Sam's head snaps up to look at him, eyebrow raised. "You couldn't quit cold turkey!"
"I mean, if the world ended, I'd have no choice. So, I'd quit."
"Well, you'd… never leave your house!" Sam exclaims.
Sebastian crosses his arms with a chuckle. "I'd argue that's great survival instincts," he counters with a smirk.
Sam mirrors him, crossing his own arms over his chest. "You'd run out of food that way!"
"I'd grow an amazing garden," Sebastian says with a roll of his eyes.
No, the fuck he wouldn't, actually. In school, when they had to grow lima beans, both of his tries had failed miserably. He even managed to kill a cactus once. The plant notorious for being incredibly easy to take care of. The ones that lived in a fucking desert with no water.
For some reason, Sam doesn't counter this point. Instead staying quiet for a moment. Trying to come up with something else, Sebastian assumes.
"Got nothing else, huh?" he guesses.
"Fuck off." Sam mumbles. "Pretty sure the question only asked for one thing, anyways."
Sebastian huffs out a laugh. "You know, I hate to fucking admit it but… I'm going to miss getting these everyday."
"Who says I'm going to stop?" Sam grins. "It'll be easier now cause I can just always text them to you everyday."
Sebastian hesitates for a moment. He didn't want to push but… "Well, if you ever get bored of having to text it everyday… the condo has two spare bedrooms."
A gentle reminder. One he knows he will make time and again. It was a conversation they had had many times since Sebastian had become serious about moving to Zuzu, had started actually looking at places. Sam, of course, had his reasons for not going. Valid ones, honestly. He wanted to but with his dad still deployed and his younger brother only being eight, it just wasn't the time.
There was a flash of… something across Sam's face, gone too quickly for Sebastian to catch. "I know." He pulls out his phone again, glancing down at it quickly. "Alright, we should probably head back. It's almost midnight and it's nearly two hours back. What time is the truck coming tomorrow again?"
"Ten."
Sam hums, looking back towards the skyline. This time Sebastian doesn't miss the sad look in his expression.
"Come here," he says, grabbing one of Sam's arms and pulling him into a hug. Sam accepts it easily, dropping his head into the crook of Sebastian's neck. "My invitation for you to visit isn't going to go away. I'll always be a call or text away. I don't care if it's three in the fucking morning."
"What if it's seven in the morning?" Sam mumbles, the wisps of his breath warm against Sebastian's skin.
"That might be slightly harder," Sebastian admits with a chuckle. "But I'd call you back the second I awoke from the dead."
Sam pulls back, giving him a small smile. "Okay, we need to head back."
Sebastian watches for a second as Sam turns to walk back towards the small trail that leads to the dirt parking lot where they had left his motorcycle.
He wanted to pull Sam close again, drag him kicking and screaming with him to Zuzu.
But he couldn't. He knew he couldn't. He wasn't religious, never had been, but he still prayed to any deity that would listen that they didn't drift apart because of his stupid decision.