Chasing Summer

Timeless

I drove late into the night, Eren a constant bundle of heat beside me on the bench seat. After fighting to stay awake for an hour, his exhaustion had finally won. Now, he lay curled up in a tight ball, head resting on my upper thigh. His breathing, deep and repetitive, was comforting me to the point where I was finding it hard to keep my eyes open, my vision going in and out of focus.

A few miles back, I saw a sign for a rest area off the next exit that we'd have to camp out at for the rest of the night, because I was more asleep than awake. The two-way traffic markings were becoming nothing more than a white, hazy blur on the road in front of me. That, right there, was a warning sign that I shouldn't be driving anymore. Especially since I was the only one awake. If I zoned out, there would be no one to snap me out of it.

Gripping the steering wheel with both hands as if that would help me fight the heaviness of my eyelids, I managed to make it to the rest area without any casualties. The first thing I noticed was that the parking lot was empty, looking both ominous and dark as I pulled into a vacant space in front of the restrooms. When I turned the key in the ignition, the sound of the rumbling engine giving way to silence, I felt the pressing need to lock the doors, which was impossible with how Eren was lying.

I turned and gave his shoulder a gentle shove. He mumbled something incoherent in his sleep, pulling his legs closer to his chest, but didn't stir. I had a feeling that it would take a lot to wake him up, at this point. At the angle I was in, it would be impossible to pick him up and move him over myself. So it was either nag him until he woke up, because my leg was now going numb, or endure the aches that came with sleeping in a sitting position.

"Eren," I said, giving the gentle approach one last go. This time around, he turned onto his stomach, stretching his arms above his head and giving my jeans a little scratch. He reminded me of a kitten. "Eren," I tried again.

"No," he mumbled.

"Are you awake, or sleep talking? I can't even feel my leg right now."

He bit down on my thigh, hard enough that I could feel the sharpness of his teeth through my jeans. "I bet you felt that. Oh, and I'm awake." He sat up, hair as splendid as ever. I loved it. "What time is it? And where in the heck are we?"

I could barely contain the chuckle that threatened to burst through my closed lips. For some reason, I found it hilarious that Eren had a hard time uttering a curse, but could be absurdly loud while having sex in a very public space. That was just the way he was.

"We're at a rest area, because I'm half dead right now," I told him after I recovered. "And lock your door."

He leaned to the side, pushed the lock knob down with his elbow, and then fished out his cell phone from his front pocket. It lit a white circle on his face when he turned it on. As he glanced at the screen, his expression went from cute and sleepy, to worried and wide awake. He turned the phone toward me. There was an abundance of missed calls from his dad.

"Should we go back?" I asked.

"No. I've never done anything bad in my life. I think I've earned to be rebellious for once." He typed out a text message that he didn't allow me to read, and sent it before shutting off his phone. I had a bad feeling about this, but at the same time, I wanted these stolen moments with him. I knew his dad would give me hell for this later, that I'd have to answer to him once we were back in Shiganshina, but I'd deal with that then. Right now, I was too sleepy to even think straight.

"I'm really tired," I said, because it took actual effort to keep my eyes open. "Let's go to sleep."

He snuggled up against me, tossing his phone to the side as if he planned on never picking it up again. "I wish we had a blanket. It's freezing in here."