#hell-yeah-writing asks

“Leo…”

“Hush.”

“But-”

Leona took Bea’s hand in her own, drawing it close and pressing a kiss to her knuckles. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course.”

“Then trust me. We’re going to be fine. We aren’t lost.”

Bea scoffed but didn’t pull her hand away. “We are too.”

“No we are not. We are on an adventurous end of summer roadtrip going wherever the wind may take us. Ergo we are not lost, simply wandering.”

“You’re ridiculous, and if we don’t find a town soon we’re going to be sleeping in your car.”

Leona did her best to look offended. “How dare you! My Heloise is the pinnacle of comfort! The height of luxury! The Four Seasons of cars! You should be delighted that you get the opportunity to even think about sleeping in her, and-”

“Leo.”

Leona sighed. “I know, I’m sorry. This was supposed to be really fun, I didn’t expect there to be so few towns with motels in Iowa.”

Bea chuckled softly, turning to face the other girl full on. “Anyone in town could have told you that. Iowa is notoriously unpopulated. I don’t understand how you become a nomadic teenager without finding that out.” She took Leona’s hand with both of hers, smoothing her thumbs over the other girl’s knuckles. “This is fun. I’m sorry about my attitude, it’s just… I’ve never really left town before. I mean, I have, but not really. Not for an extended period of time. I’m usually back by nightfall, and this is… new to me. It’s different, and I thought I was way ready for it, but I guess not.”

Leona looked over for a moment, heart clenching at the sight of Bea staring down at her hand looking a little lost. “If I’d known that I would have suggested a shorter trip this time. A day or two away from home is different than a week and a half. I wish you would have told me.”

Bea shrugged even thought she knew Leona couldn’t see it. “I wanted to do this. I was really excited to. It was… a risk that I was ready and willing to take. Especially with you.”

The last part was said so quietly that Leona had to strain to hear it, and once she had she wasn’t quite sure she’d heard correctly. “Can we make a deal?” She squeezed her hand around Bea’s gently. “Pull out your phone and we’ll find the nearest motel, okay? And then in the morning we can start heading back. We can cut this trip a little short and then we can start working our way up to big trips.”

“Where does the deal part come in?”

Leona smiled at the teasing note in Bea’s voice. “The deal part is that from now on you have to promise me that you’ll let me know when we’re about to do something new, or something on a larger scale than what you’ve done before. Things like this can be… a lot for anyone, especially for a small town girl who’s always slept in her own bed.”

“Hey!”

She grinned. “How about that phone, huh? I don’t want to be driving all night.”

“Yes ma’am.”

—

“What are you doing?”

Jason looked up at the soft question to see Harper standing in the doorway. He grinned and patted the bed beside him, turning back to his guitar with a soft hum. “Well I was trying to write you a song, but I keep getting distracted.”

“Oh yeah?” Harper crawled across the bed to sit behind Jason, wrapping his arms around the brunette and hooking his chin over his shoulder, looking at the sheet music on the bed in front of them. He hummed a few bars, his eyes lighting up. “That’s gorgeous.”

“Yeah?” Jason twisted to watch Harper’s face. “Well good, you two match then.” He smiled at the soft blush that started spreading across Harper’s face and laid a quick kiss on his nose, making a little pleased noise as the other’s arms tightened around him and Harper buried his face in Jason’s shoulder.

“I hate you,” he mumbled. He lifted his head back up and tapped the guitar lightly with one finger. “Will you play it for me?”

“It’s not-”

“I know, just… what you have so far?”

Jason took a moment to just look at the other boy, his eyes mapping the constellations in Harper’s freckles just long enough that the other started to squirm, his blush starting to spread down his neck before biting his lip and nodding. He began to strum, turning his head to look at the paper in front of him and after a moment began to hum along, not quite ready to reveal the song’s lyrics. He had most of the melody down, he could work with that.

Harper’s eyes slid closed as he listened, feeling the vibration of Jason’s humming on his chest the closer he pressed. It really was beautiful, reminiscent of some old hymns and love songs. It was the sort of song that wormed its way into your heart and made its home there, carving out a little part of your soul and warming it up, keeping it alive and healthy. A tear slid down his cheek as Jason’s strumming slowed and he let out a soft sniffle, burying his face in Jason’s shoulder again, grateful for the soft sweatshirt there. He wished he could just stay in this moment forever, holding his boyfriend, a soft sweatshirt catching his tears as they dried on his cheeks, feeling safe and warm and loved.

“What’s wrong? W- was it bad? Do you hate it? Oh god you hated it, didn’t you?” Jason turned in his arms frantically, taking Harper’s face in his hands. “Dammit, I-”

“No. No, Jason.” Harper sniffled again, trying to get his emotions under control and offered him a watery smile. “Sweetheart that was gorgeous. I loved it so much.” His hands came up to where Jason had cuffed the sleeves of his sweatshirt and started fiddling with them absentmindedly. “I loved it.”

“Yeah?” He smiled hopefully, thumbs skating across the millions of freckles, gently wiping away the tears.