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They ride in silence, both lost in their own thoughts. Chris finds himself replaying the way Zach looked by the window and is grateful he snapped the picture when he did, what with the way the light played off Zach’s profile. He made sure to lock the picture to keep it safe from deletion and he knows he’ll wind up looking at it repeatedly. Zach keeps thinking about the differences and similarities between Miles and Chris, though he refuses to guess why his brain is insistent on making him compare the two. He doesn’t want to stay stuck in the loop, though, so he reaches over and turns the radio on to break the silence. When Sinatra starts crooning, Chris shoots him a grateful smile and Zach returns it.
“Kingman is the next exit,” Zach says after an hour or so of driving. He’s been watching the road signs and, determined to take his role as navigator more seriously than he has before, he’s paid attention to the little icons that show the amenities at each exit. “The signs say there should be a good choice of hotels and food.”
“Great, I’m famished.” Chris brakes as he guides the Bel Air down the exit ramp, flipping the turn signal as he rolls to a stop at the red light. While Zach’s busy looking around at the first inhabited civilization they’ve seen in hours, Chris studies him. The lights of a gas station provide back-lighting and Chris is struck, once again, by Zach’s strong profile. It’s not that he hasn’t looked before, but now he finds a certain sense of freedom to do so; Zach isn’t tied to anyone and he’s here with him of his own free will. ‘Except he doesn’t really seem pleased to be along, does he?’ a quiet voice whispers in the back of his mind.
“So what are you in the mood to eat?” Zach asks, breaking into Chris’s spiraling thoughts. When Chris finally blinks and refocuses his attention, he sees Zach looking at him with a peculiar expression; head tilted, eyes wide and searching, mouth slightly agape. Not wanting to make things more awkward than they already are - despite the fact that he’s pretty sure he’s the king of awkward - Chris waves his hand dismissively in Zach’s general direction and shrugs.
“Whatever you want is fine with me.”
“Uh, there’s not really anything around that I’d usually eat so I really don’t care.”
“Health-conscious eating is strictly forbidden for the duration of the road trip,” Chris teases as the light changes and he pulls out onto the semi-deserted street. “It’s a rule.”
“Well I’m glad you remembered to tell me that particular rule,” Zach sighs and grimaces playfully. “And here I’ve been worried about finding something not drenched in grease.”
“That’s the spirit.” Chris turns the Bel Air into a Denny’s parking lot and pulls into a parking spot. He turns the car off and swivels in his seat to smile at his friend. “It’s another one of those great rules of road-tripping; no health food, no thinking about calories or ingredients or organic nonsense is allowed."
“I’m going to get sick, you know.” Zach squints up at the restaurant façade and pulls a face. “I’ll blame you when I’m barfy.”
“Sounds good,” Chris says, climbing out of the car. Zach follows along with a grumble, nodding his thanks when Chris holds the door open. The hostess sits them at a booth by the window and Chris groans internally when the young woman looks starstruck and stares for a moment before tossing down their menus and hurrying off to the back. “We’ve been recognized.”
“We knew it’d happen eventually,” Zach replies with a sigh. “Honestly, I’m surprised it took this long.”
“Yeah, but I guess I’d hoped it was going to take a little longer. Now we get to deal with the fangirling.” Chris waves a hand in the direction of the gaggle of waitstaff staring at them from behind the counter. “At least we should get good food.”
The server who approaches is blushing but manages to take their orders without a major incident. When Zach’s done ordering a salad, he takes the opportunity to watch Chris indecisively browse the menu. Blue eyes - bluer than anything he could even hope to use for comparison - scan the menu and Zach smiles at the way his nose scrunches up. He’s almost childlike in his excitement over the omelette he orders and it makes Zach happier than expected.
“So, any preference in where we crash for the night?”
The question derails Zach’s train of thought, for which he’s thankful. Looking through the window, he takes in the lighted signs of hotels down the street before saying, “I don’t have a preference. Well, except that there’s a comfortable bed. Not that the car isn’t nice but the seats make my back hurt.”
“Oh? I hadn’t noticed,” Chris says, almost successful in keeping the snark from his voice. He softens the sass with a smile, though, and Zach doesn’t react. “I saw a sign for a Ramada Inn, which has a pretty good rep.”
“That works for me,” Zach’s reply is lost in the sound of their food being brought out. They eat in silence, stealing glances at each other between bites of food, and Chris is ready to leave the minute Zach swallows the last of his salad. He pays with cash at the register and Zach watches as Chris grumps about the ridiculous amount of fawning the cashier is doing. He knows he should be sympathetic and try to help his friend out but it’s just too much fun watching Chris field compliments and awe. When the girl starts begging for Chris’s signature, though, Zach clears his throat and jerks his head in the direction of the car. They make it out of the restaurant and when they climb into the Bel Air, Chris sighs heavily.
“Thanks,” he says, shuddering. “I owe you one.”
“You can repay me by letting me sleep in tomorrow morning,” Zach replies. His smile is bright when he looks over at his friend. “That’s a road trip rule. The navigator has to be well rested and has to sleep for at least eight hours straight in order to carry out his duties sufficiently.”
Chris just laughs, shaking his head as he starts the car and pulls out of the parking lot with a grin, rolling his eyes at Zach’s sass. ‘At least he’s finally relaxing,’ that quiet voice says and Chris nods to himself, happier now that his traveling companion is more pleasant to be around.