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Grimmjow pressed kisses along Ulquiorra’s neck and jaw. It left tingles running down Ulquiorra’s spine. He sighed and stroked his fingers through Grimmjow’s hair while he scrolled through his text messages. A new one lit up his notifications seconds after the last. He didn’t think he’d gotten so many when he graduated high school. University wasn’t that different. He hadn’t even been his class’s valedictorian.
The bed creaked with Grimmjow’s weight, and he pushed Ulquiorra deeper into the mattress. He grunted and held his phone away while Grimmjow nibbled his throat. It was the last night they’d have to pile into Grimmjow’s pathetic dorm bunk. The last night Ulquiorra would have to struggle for space between Grimmjow’s snoring and the gap in the wall. The dean wanted them out in the morning.
A little part of Ulquiorra knew he’d miss the bunk. It had seen them through nights of late studying and pizza. And… well. Ulquiorra put his phone down long enough to run his fingers through Grimmjow’s hair.
Grimmjow moved to kiss the edge of Ulquiorra’s ear. “We’re free.”
Ulquiorra snorted and sent the final response to his mother’s side of the family. He didn’t need his aunts having fits because he didn’t thank them.
“We are still beholden to society, Grimmjow. Is that true freedom?” Ulquiorra saw little point in not using his newly acquired philosophy degree.
Grimmjow nipped him. “We don’t start our jobs until the fall.” He bit Ulquiorra’s neck.
Ulquiorra groaned and put his phone in the bunk’s cubby. He wouldn’t be making any more responses that night. “You’re lucky the university offered you a teaching position after dealing with you for four years.”
Grimmjow kissed Ulquiorra’s mouth and shifted to lay on top of him, pressing him down into the mattress.
“I was the best damn teaching assistant Starrk ever had. And he offered me his job dead to rights.” Because Starrk was tired of teaching history to a bunch of glassy eyed zombies and wanted to travel the world with his daughter. Ulquiorra could relate, and he hadn’t even had the first student.
“Mmm, only does not equate best, Grimmjow.” Ulquiorra arched and traced his fingers down Grimmjow’s back. “Is this truly the best we can do with our temporary freedom?”
Grimmjow ground his hips against Ulquiorra, and there was a staunch “yes” in the air, but Grimmjow said instead, “We should take a trip.”
“A trip?” Ulquiorra’s hand went back to Grimmjow’s hair to comb through the wild spikes.
“Mhm.” Grimmjow slid his hand into Ulquiorra’s free hand to lace their fingers. “Road trip.”
“A road trip.” Ulquiorra amended with a mockery of wonder to his voice.
“Asshole.” Grimmjow bit him. “We can go see museums and old bookstores. Eat greasy diner food. You love that.”
Ulquiorra did like to eat. “And what benefit will you receive?”
Grimmjow rolled off Ulquiorra and waved his hand over the cracked dorm ceiling. “Sights, sounds. The open road! Historical tours! And you naked and panting in the backseat.”
Ah, there it was. Everything with Grimmjow always came back to sex in one way or another. But Ulquiorra would admit, under the penalty of death, that the idea was interesting. He knew of an occult shop to the east, and there was a music festival to the south later on in the summer. Shūhei had talked about it for weeks now.
Ulquiorra sighed. “Fine.”
Grimmjow pumped his fist. “Yes!” He rolled back on top of Ulquiorra and peppered his face with kisses. “Won’t regret it, babe!”
Ulquiorra wished Grimmjow hadn’t said that. It was almost a guarantee for disaster.
~*~
Disaster didn’t come.
Grimmjow drove his jeep down back roads with Ulquiorra riding shotgun. They saw hidden towns with occult shops and history museums, art festivals and food truck meetups, and national parks with beautiful lookouts and quiet hiking trails. They saw hotels with hot tubs and hot fudge sundae bars.
Ulquiorra even gave up and let Grimmjow fuck him under the stars. Only after checking for ants, snakes, and poisonous plants. They even made it to one of the coasts and spent a few days at the beach. Not that Ulquiorra liked that part of their trip. He’d spent most of it under an umbrella with thick sunglasses, slathering himself in sunscreen while Grimmjow rolled in the waves.
Now they were on their way to a goth art festival in the west. Ulquiorra leaned his head out the jeep’s open window to feel the wind rush by his face. They’d rolled the soft top down a few hundred miles back, and it felt amazing. The jeep rolled down a two lane highway somewhere outside of Nebraska. The mesas loomed in the distance, and Ulquiorra could feel the heat coming off the blacktop. He inhaled.
Something sour burned his nose. Ulquiorra pulled himself back into the cab. “What’s that smell?”
Grimmjow tilted his head. “I don’t smell –” The jeep gurgled and smoke billowed out from under the hood. “Ah, fuck. Radiator just crapped out.” He eased onto the shoulder and let the jeep roll to a sop.
Ulquiorra watched thick clouds of smoke billow out from under the hood. Grimmjow swore and grabbed a towel from one of their bags and headed around the front of the jeep. The hood sprang open, sending up another cloud of smoke.
“Fuck,” Grimmjow grunted.
Ulquiorra climbed out of the passenger seat and walked around to look at the engine. He didn’t really know what he was looking for, but he’d majored in philosophy and humanities, not mechanics. Grimmjow had taken it alongside his history degree.
Ulquiorra turned to examine the road. There was no traffic, but he did spot a sign not a half dozen feet away. “There’s a town close.” He pointed at the sign.
Grimmjow settled his hands on his hips and turned to look at the sign. “Think they have a mechanic?”
“They at least will have a phone to call one.” Ulquiorra leaned inside the jeep to take the keys.
Grimmjow grabbed his wallet out of the cup holder and glanced at his watch. “We’re gonna miss the first day of your festival. Sorry, babe.”
“I would rather break down here than somewhere without a mechanic.” Ulquiorra had no interest in living a horror movie trope.
Grimmjow started in the direction of the town. “Let’s go then. Don’t want to be out here too long.”
They walked in silence to town.
It wasn’t much of a town. They passed by a diner and a motel with broken neon and mud covered work trucks out front. One of the men cleaning his truck pointed them to a shop with a faded sign that read mechanic above it. It was a squat shop with peeling paint and an old man sitting out front in oil stained coveralls. Grimmjow nodded to the motel before heading across the road to talk with the mechanic.
Ulquiorra walked into the motel. Its front lobby was crowded with potted plants and two rusty folding chairs. A plump woman with frizzy red hair sat behind the desk.
She smiled up at him and chirped, “Need a room, darlin’?”
Ulquiorra nodded. “Our car broke down outside the exit.”
“Oh, that’s dreadful, hon! Don’t worry, Ol’ Bixby will get you settled. And our rooms are by the night. But we only have single beds left. Lot of folk vacationing right now.” She chuckled.
Ulquiorra glanced at the muddy trucks outside and doubted that. Ulquiorra hummed and pulled out his wallet. “Single room is fine.”
The clerk typed his information into the computer, took his payment, and passed off the key. “Happy stay!”
Ulquiorra thanked her and went to wait outside. He watched the mechanic and Grimmjow pull up in a rusty tow truck with their jeep attached. Grimmjow thanked the mechanic and unloaded their bags, passing off a few to Ulquiorra.
“I’ll get this fixed for you soon as I get out to the supplier for my parts, son.” Bixby bobbed his snowy head to them both.
“Thanks.” Grimmjow shouldered his bag and turned to Ulquiorra. “You get a room?”
“Mhm.” Ulquiorra headed down the row of rooms until he found the one that matched their key.
The door opened to reveal a room with beige walls and a dark carpet. The bed was large and sat in the middle of the room, framed by two wall sconces. There was a table with two chairs, a dresser, and a television in the left corner of the room. No microwave or mini fridge, and the bathroom’s shower wasn’t very big. It’d do, Ulquiorra supposed.
He kept his grip on his bag and lifted the corners of the mattress. No signs of bedbugs so that was a plus. And the sheets looked and smelled clean. He put his bags down on the table and sat down to unzip his boots.
Grimmjow put his bags on the floor and stretched. “Saw a Chinese place when the mechanic took me to get the jeep. You want takeout or dine in?”
“Take out.” Ulquiorra rubbed his feet.
Grimmjow went to check the drawers for local takeout menus. He made a triumphant noise when he found one and picked up the phone to order. Ulquiorra laid back on the bed, pleasantly surprised to find it soft.
When Grimmjow finished his call, he dropped beside Ulquiorra and curled against him.
“You mad?”
Over an act of God? “No.”
“You sure?” Grimmjow wiggled closer.
Ulquiorra sighed. It wasn’t like he was something delicate, or that set in stone. Things happened. And wasn’t a crucial part of a road trip the inevitable break down?
Ulquiorra stared up at the ceiling. “We’re far from the city. We could go stargazing tonight.” Maybe even see more than a handful of constellations. The western side of the country wasn’t as densely populated.
Grimmjow grinned. “Sounds fun.”
There was a knock at the door, and Grimmjow went to get their food. Ulquiorra pushed himself off the bed and sat at the table. He looked out the window toward the parking lot and the town beyond. They’d make the best of it. Maybe he’d even let Grimmjow knock motel sex off his to do list.