Wired (Gencio)

Chapter Seventeen

The rest of the wedding shower was spent fauning over the engaged couple. Genji and Lucio stayed close, but wary of each other as the night went on. They feared they were wearing their hearts on their sleeves and swooning over someone they'd never have. Before they knew it, exhaustion took over at they called it a night.

The car doors shut in unison as the Brazilian fumbled with his keys. From The passenger seat, Genji watched him sleepily. "Well that was something."

"Yeah..." The car revved to life and the dashboard lit up, a million buttons glowing different colors. Slowly, they made their way out off the mansion's driveway.

"Thank you, by the way."

Something flashed in the musician's eyes and he spared Genji a glance. "For what?"

The Asian's gaze travelled out the window, his chin in his palm and his elbow on the door panel. "Coming with me to this. You didn't have to."

"It's no problem," he answered almost immediately. He kept his eyes on the road, the orange, blue, and green lights barely illuminating his face. "Besides, I learned something there, so it was worth it."

Genji raised an eyebrow and eyed the driver curiously. "Me too, actually."

Lucio looked over at they locked eyes for a moment. They tried to read each other, find the meaning in those words, but to no avail. Finally, the Brazilian turned back towards the road, a contemplative look on his face. "You think we'll make it back before midnight? Or at least two?"

The programmer gave him a once over, confused. "Without stopping, probably."

"A five minute detour won't keep us until noon," Genji said with a playful eye roll. Lucio said nothing and took the next exit.

The Shimada had started to doze off when they reached the gas station. The sound of the car door shutting was enough to jolt him awake. The bright fluorescent lights from above startled him for a moment, and he blinked a few times trying to focus. By the time his eyes had started to adjust, the other male was back in the car, staring at something in the distance. He sat there in silence, not even bothering to start the car. Genji spared a glance at him, worry present on his face. "You okay?"

Lucio didn't answer, just leaned further back in his seat. Worry continued to gnaw at the Asian and he squirmed in his seat. "You can talk to me. If it was something I did--"

"No, it's not you," he answered immediately. "It's just..." he closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "Ever since I was a kid, my parents told me to reach for the stars."

The green-haired male opened his mouth to say something, but quickly decided against it. The musician continued.

"They told me if I had a dream to work for it. You believe, you succeed. And so far, that's worked." He leaned back in the seat, looking relaxed. "I have my own music shop, I'm finally getting noticed online, I graduated college..." He sighed softly. "But there's one goal I've been working towards that I'm not too sure about."

Genji felt his breath catch in his throat when Lucio looked at him, a gleam in his eye that he couldn't quite recognize. Licking his lips, he asked, "What's the goal?"

The Brazilian chuckled softly, shaking his head. "You know the answer to that, Sparrow." He leaned over a bit and murmured, "It's you."

Instinctively, the Shimada leaned in with him. He could feel Lucia's warm breath, just inches away from his face. For a second, he could've sworn he felt soft lips on his...

... But then a car horn sounded.

They pulled back fast, clearing throats, laughing awkwardly and buckling seatbelts. The car revved to life in a matter of seconds, and they were on the highway shortly after that.

Silence ate at them for a few minutes. Genji couldn't push away that nagging feeling in his chest as they drove on. Not being able too take it any longer, he blurted out, "Are you doing anything tomorrow?"

Lucio looked over at him, an eyebrow raised. His eyes returned to the road as he spoke. "If I'm not?"

"I mean... Well... I like you too, and... If you're interested in stopping for a night..."

The car started to slow down, slowly approaching the Interstate. The bright green signs winked in the headlights, trying to coax them into going home. The driver was staring at his passenger, looking genuinely surprised. "You really wanna do this?"

The blood rushed to the Asian's cheeks. "Only if you want to, of course. It's your call, after all."

The Green sign was growing closer. Suddenly, a smaller, white sign caught Genji's attention. A U-turn. He felt a flicker of hope stir within him.

"There's a hotel not fat from here," Lucio suggested, a nervous tone in his voice. A sudden rush of confidence hit as the Shimada realized he wasn't the only one hesitant. "That works."

Again, another wary glance from the Brazilian. "You sure you wanna do this?"

Slowly, Genji nodded.

The Camero gracefully slipped into the U-turn lane. "Alright then..." The musician said as the car turned around, heading back into town. He gave the other a wobbly smile. "We're doin' this."

•~•

A/N: I know it's been FOREVER since I've updated this, and I'm sorry for that. But! I'm going to try and post the rest of this story this week! We're getting pretty close to the end, so buckle up!
~ FB667