Redemption (boyxboy) (18+)

Chapter Five

They have the waitress call for two cabs, Ben folding himself into the backseat of the first one that arrives. He blows out a sigh as he nods a grim goodbye through the side window, gravel crunching under the tires when the car pulls away toward the airport.

Inside the restaurant, Reid and Nate stand close together and watch him disappear through the streaky glass door, neither one taking their eyes off the cab until the red glare of its taillights finally fades out of sight.

And just like that, they're alone. 

They have been before, of course, when they were between placements and living in some fleabag motel. Ben would leave to get takeout or buy toothpaste or whatever, and Reid and Nate would just hang out in the room, watching crappy daytime television or fucking around on their laptops.

But there's a big difference between spending a few hours alone in a room with someone and running away with them. That's some Thelma and Louise-type shit, an instant intimacy that neither of them is really ready to contemplate.

So they shuffle around a bit making small talk, their gazes purposely focused anywhere but on one another. The minutes before their cab arrives stretch out until it feels like entire lifetimes pass between ticks of the second hand on Nate's watch. They both have fleeting thoughts that if the next eight months are going to be like this they'd rather that Devon had actually succeeded in killing them both.

But then the cab comes and with it, relief. They sigh like their lungs are overfilled balloons on the verge of exploding, relaxing into the backseat's leather even though it's cracked and has a loose spring that hits Reid right in the nuts every time they hit a pothole.

Because now they're on the move, forced to be constantly watchful and wary. It's fucked up, but that's what they find comfortable, familiar.

They ride side by side through the silent dark to the bus station and Reid frowns at his wallet when they arrive - he's got cash, but not a lot. Certainly not enough to cover more than a day or two when they'll have to pay for transportation and meals and places to sleep. Besides, they couldn't exactly go back to the shot-all-to-hell apartment or Reid's hotel room for their bags so they'll need to buy at least some basic necessities, like toiletries and clothing that doesn't smell like garbage-and-rat flambée.

But their lack of funds is just one small problem in a whole cornucopia of them - the most pressing being that Reid has no fucking clue what they're going to do.

At least he knows where to start.

"Two on the first bus to Kansas, please."

He winks at the girl behind the ticket counter without thinking, flirting coming as naturally to Reid as breathing. And even though he looks like he lives in a trash heap and the cut on his cheek has gone crusty, she blushes as she counts out his change, her fingers lingering against his when she hands it back.

Nate bites at his lip and turns away, feigning fascination in the vending machine on the far wall. Something thick and slimy slides down the back of his throat and weighs heavy in him stomach. It tastes like disappointment, but he's not sure why.

Reid, oblivious as always, checks the time on the tickets and sees that they've still got a couple of hours to kill. But the air is easier between them now - out in public with at least their next step planned. Nate has even succeeded in compressing the complexity of his feelings over Devon's death into a cramped box, shoved into the the darkest corner of his mind. He'll deal with the mourning and rage and terror later, when he gets a moment alone.

So they joke, lamely, as they settle into the station's hard plastic chairs and wait for their departure time.

"Really, Reid? Our big escape plan is to ride a Greyhound right back into Kansas? I thought the government was supposed to be saving my life, not leaving it in the hands of the least prestigious method of public transportation available."

But his eyes are sparkling and a smile is playing at the corner of his mouth. So Reid smirks, tossing an arm across the top of Nate's chair.

"Quit your bitching, princess. Bus stations are anonymous and easy. Besides, it's only as far as Kansas. We'll have... alternate transportation available to us once we make it there."

Reid's not comfortable saying more, not here where they're so exposed, barely four hours after they were running for their lives.

Not that they aren't still; not that they won't always be.

And Reid doesn't want to admit that he doesn't have a plan after Kansas, doesn't want to give Nate any more reason to doubt his safety. So he just doesn't say anything and Nate lapses into his usual inexpressive silence, the time before their 5:35 am departure creeping by.

Reid spends it watching the door, scrutinizing every person who walks through. Nate stares at his feet, counts the cracks in the linoleum.

Eventually, the bus arrives. It smells like piss and gym socks and some sort of sickly-sweet air freshener, with a driver who's missing three teeth and half a finger. Reid and Nathaniel sit together in the back, Reid taking the aisle seat, "Just in case."

And then they watch every passenger board, Reid sizing them up to check for weapons or any sort of unusual interest in either of them; Nate studying their faces, making sure no one looks even vaguely familiar. But neither of them find anything more threatening than the wrinkly, 4'9" grandmother who sits two rows ahead of them with a pair of knitting needles.

So when they finally rumble out of the station, the sun beginning to break over the horizon, Reid leans over and murmurs, "Get some sleep; I'll keep watch."

Nate's eyes narrow, confused and questioning. It goes against everything in him to sleep out in the open, so exposed; he spent too many nights asa child in a house filled with violent criminals. They were family, sure, but that didn't mean they were entirely capable of leaving their work at the office.

But Reid's there. He's strong and he's capable and he's so close that Nate can feel his shoulder pressing warm and solid against his own. There's a giant cup of strong, black coffee from the bus station between Reid's knees and he's weary but alert.

So Nate finally nods and lets his eyes flutter shut, trusting Reid to keep him safe.