#xconsiderate

“You know”, he says, slowly because it’s hard to speak when a cheek is rubbing against a growing beard. “This is not weird at all. Like, totally not. A perfectly normal custom humans do all the time.”

“Chris…”

“Don’t.”

“Chris.”

“Just don’t say anything, Samantha.”

They stand in front of the kitchen counter, Chris with his arms crossed, Sam one hand against her chin, watching what was supposed to be small chocolate lava cakes with fascination. Chris honestly doesn’t understand where he went wrong. It can’t be that hard.

“I mean…”, Sam says after a minute of solemn silence, despite the warning look Chris shoots her. “Maybe you can sell it as art.”

He groans, but doesn’t fight it - the cakes deserve to be mocked. Instead he reaches for the powdered sugar and, very carefully, puts some on top under the judging expression of Sam that actually looks an awful lot like a grin hidden behhind one hand.

The look of genuine concentration on Chris’ face is too much. Sam turns, muffling her laughter, but even so her shoulders are shaking and she can’t surpress any noise.

“Oh, keep laughing”, Chris says, and she does even as he wraps his arms around her. “You’re not getting anything then. And I bet they taste delicious anyway.”

“But how are you going to eat them?”, Sam asks lightly, a wide grin on her lips. “With a spoon?”

He doesn’t answer. He does, however, dig his fingers into a side, just enough to make her screech with laughter as he tickles, until she’s gasping for air and pushing him away. “Okay. Okay. Your cakes aren’t ugly at all, Chris, I swear...”

“You’re such a goddamn liar.” Chris shakes his head, but he stops his attack and ruffles her hair instead. “Thank god you’re cute.”

“Sam’s such a - she’s such a good cookie. She’s so nice almost always, but she’s never afraid to put her foot down and she just...has everything so well together. And she always has an open ear for anyone. And she’s really passionate about nature and stuff and I mean...I’m not a fan, personally, but she just gets so excited talking about it and it’s impossible not to get excited too and she just loves it so much...

”How come Josh is always the one that gets to sit in front?” 

Sam, being the responsible driver she is, doesn’t take her eyes from the road to roll them at Chris in the back, but she still does that thing where she scrunches up her face to get this amused-annoyed look. She is the only person he knows that can mix expressions like that. “Because Josh doesn’t put his feet up the dashboard like you do, Christopher.”

“Whatever. It’s my car.”

“It’s your uncle’s car.”

“Out of all of us, it’s the closest to being my car.”

There’s a small snort from the window’s side, where a sleepy Josh is resting his head, but is apparently still awake enough to follow their conversation. “I’ll let you in the front next time, Chris.”

“Oh no”, Chris huffs, sprawling out even more. It’s not safe, probably, but it’s like three in the morning and they have been driving for hours on an empty road, the chances of someone actually stopping them are pretty slim. “I don’t want a pity seat.”

“Too bad. A pity seat’s all you’re ever gonna get.” You don’t have to see Josh’s face to know that a smirk is spreading on his lips and Chris actually sits up straight for a moment to put his knee into the back of Josh’s seat. “Ow. See, Sam, I told you we shouldn’t bring him! Chris is a total dick at this time.”

“As opposed to you being a total dick all of the time?”

Blindly, Josh tosses the crumbled wrapper of a chocolate bar into the backseat, while Sam sighs over the protesting noise Chris makes. “Alright boys, play nice or we will stop until you get along.”

It’s actually quiet for a split moment, and then Josh giggles, a small, tired sound that drowns out over the quiet songs playing from the radio.

When they stop at a gas station Josh is fast asleep and Sam and Chris try to open the doors as quietly as possible when they step out for fresh air. The night sky is clear and out here, where there is barely anything, they can actually see the stars. For a while they just watch as they fill up the car, their breath coming out in small white puffs until they start shivering under their jackets.

Chris is the first to move, carefully touching her back to get her attention. “Want me to cover the next few hours?”, he asks, and Sam is actually thankful because her eyes have started to sting a little.

“Admit it, you just want to sit in the front.”

His chuckle is soft, like it’s too cold for a full laugh, but it warms her anyway. “You got me. Clever as always.”

“Just let me pay up and get some snacks before we continue, alright?”

As she moves to the shop, Chris calls her name behind her and when she turns he is pointing into the distance, where she can barely make out a crossroad. “Hey, Samwise. Left or right?”

He could have waited until she returns, but Sam decides to play along. “Right”, she calls back. “Let’s go right.”

She must have fallen asleep, because when Sam opens her eyes they aren’t moving and she can’t say for how long they have been that way. She can hear Josh and Chris talk quietly, but when she stretches and yawns they stop, turning to look at her. “Why did we stop?”

“We thought this would be a good place to stay for a bit”, Josh says and when Sam looks out of the window, all she sees is the sky and the end of the horizon in the far distance. Chris has stopped the car at a high-up point, a place that seems to be a resting place for hikers, because there is a set of wooden tables and benches. “The view is kinda nice, don’t you think?”

It really is. They leave the car to enjoy it without a window between them, edging close together to share some of their body heat as they look up into the sky. At some point Josh, in the middle of their observer sandwich, covers both their hands with his and just lets them rest there.

“So”, Sam finally says, glancing at him when her neck starts to hurt. “How are you feeling?”

“Better.” There is a smile on Josh’s lips, genuinely relaxed now, and his friends both mirror it. “I think, I’m...I’m ready to go back.”