The next three days are filled with Rowan coming in the morning, discussing the origin until Dew starts to actually come up with ideas, then leaving. Dew shows up to his job most days, ditching twice because he had a 'stomach ache'. Or at least, that's what he told Nick.
Pretty soon it's Monday and Dew is awoken, once again, at 8 a.m. via his doorbell. He groans, rolling out of bed and landing on the floor. He stares at the ceiling for several minutes, until the doorbell rings yet again. Huffing out a sigh, he stumbles his way to a standing position, and makes his way out of his bedroom.
Upon opening the door, Dew is less than thrilled to find Rowan standing on the other side. Fuck! They're leaving today!
Dew did not pack.
"Are you ready to go?" Rowan asks.
Dew nods his head. "Yeah, just hang on."
He turns back around and hastily makes his way back to his bedroom, grabbing his suitcase and shoving random clothes in it. After he's got a sizable amount of clothing options, he throws everything on his bathroom counter into the separate pocket. Then, he rolls on his compression sleeves, grabs a blanket, and races his way back to the front door, where Rowan is waiting.
"Did you just pack?" Rowan asks, an eyebrow raised.
Dew scoffs. "No. I just... forgot some things."
Rowan nods, examining Dew for a moment. Finally, he turns around and begins heading for the staircase. Dew jogs up to walk alongside the man. "So how long are we staying there for? I only took this week off."
"Three days." Rowan replies. Dew frowns, wondering if that includes the days they arrive and leave. Probably not, because then they'd only be there one day, and why else would Rowan ask him to take the entire week off?
The two of them turn and begin walking down the staircase. Dew has done his fair share of traveling, what with having such a famous mom. See, his mother, Stevie Price, has a morning show. He met many celebrities and traveled quite a bit while he was a child, because of this. Nowadays, however, the two aren't really on speaking terms.
Eventually, the two of them reach a government vehicle. Rowan opens the door, and Dew climbs in, thanking him. He sits down on the black leather car seat, and Rowan settles in directly across from him. The driver puts Dew's belongings in the trunk, and a few minutes later, they begin moving.
It hits Dew, then, that he and Rowan are gonna be spending a lot of time together. Typically the captain would drop by for about a half hour in the mornings and be done with it, but the two of them are going to be spending this entire week together. Maybe... perhaps... Dew will be able to learn some things. Maybe he'll figure out Rowan's secret.
"So, if you were trapped on an island and you could bring any three things with you, which three things would you choose and why?" Dew asks after about ten minutes of silence and Rowan looking out the windows.
Rowan glances over at him. "What?"
"If you were trapped on an—"
"Okay, no, I got it." Rowan reclines back in his seat. "I'm not sure. A boat? That's all."
Wow, that was so boring. Leave it to Rowan to solve the problem instead of playing the freaking game. "No boats are allowed!" Dew decides.
Rowan frowns. "You said any three things."
"Except boats. No boats."
"A jet ski."
"No! No." Dew runs a hand down the side of his face. This is going to be a long week. "Nothing that you can leave on. You have to survive on the island."
Rowan frowns, seeming to think about the question.
"Why am I on the island in the first place?"
Jesus Christ.
"I don't know. You got in a shipwreck."
"So then I could just repair the ship and leave."
Okay, Rowan's messing with Dew. There is a very slight upturn to his mouth that shows he finds Dew's frustration hilarious. Dew just groans, deflating back in the seat.
"No! You can't leave."
"I'd get some wood, a hammer, and some nails, and I'd repair the ship."
Dew just glares at him. He's about to snap. Leave it to this asshole to turn a conversation starter into a bunch of bullshit. "Fine. You got there by a plane crash. No way to escape."
Rowan hums, back to thinking it through. After a minute he says. "A knife, definitely. A map of the island..." he pauses, "and a flare gun."
Hm.
"How about you?"
Dew shrugs, resting his chin in his hand, studying Rowan's lack of expression. The guy never shows any emotion, aside from patience. It's annoying. Dew would love to see the guy at least smile.
"You, some matches, and a bike."
"Why me?"
"Because you have a flare gun, a map, and a knife."
"I'd be more useful if I had a boat."
Dew rolls his eyes, though he can't help but to smile a bit. The vehicle delves into silence, and it remains that way for the rest of the car ride.
Finally, the car pulls up to a huge lot, and Dew stares out the window. It doesnt take him long to find a massive, white plane facing the other direction. It doesn't have any labels on the side, so Dew deduces that this s a private jet. Wow, he hasn't travelled like this since he was a child. The car comes to a stop, and Rowan gets out. Dew follows him, and he find the driver removing his suitcase from the back.
The driver hands the suitcase over to Dew's outstretched hands, and Rowan leads the way to the ramp that is attatched to the plane. Dew follows him the whole time, and before he knows it, the two are placing their luggage in the overhead compartment. There are several seats on the plane, and Rowan takes one that's near the window. Dew decides to sit right next to him.
He hopes Spikes will be okay. He set out like four containers of dry cat food and a huge bowl of water for her. He's never left her this long before, and she's surely not going to be too happy with him when he comes back.
"If you were stranded on the moon for 30 days, waiting for help, what equipment would you choose to keep you alive?" Rowan asks. Dew turns to look at him, surprised that the captain is proposing his own questions.
Dew frowns, thinking about it. He doesn't really know too much about space, so this is a bit of a challenge. What would he bring to keep himself alive? Deciding to play this Rowan's way, he responds, "a spaceship."
Rowan's expression doesn't change at all. "as many items as you want, with a weight limit of 500 pounds."
Ugh. Dew rolls his eyes. Huh. What would he choose that weighs under 500 pounds? Maybe... "30 days of food? Oh, and an oxygen tank. That's it."
"You'll die."
What? How is Dew going to die? Wait. "Oh, and water. Can I have an astronaut suit?"
"Sure."
"Then an astronaut suit."
"You're still dead."
"How? What-What kind of question is this, anyway?"
"The kind of question I was asked in the WIA academy for a group exercise."
WIA? Westhem Intelligence Agency? So—wait, Rowan has secret agent training? Rowan is a trained freaking spy? That's awesome.
Dew blinks. "Well I give up."
"No you don't."
"Yes I do. Why am I dead?"
Rowan turns away from the window to stare down at Dew–through his sunglasses, of course. "The moon doesnt have an atmosphere. When the sun shines directly on it, the surface is thousands of degrees."
Oh, okay. So... "So, what, I need a blanket?"
"Or a tarp—something to create shade."
"Fine. A tarp, 30 days of food, 30 days of water, and an astronaut suit. Boom."
"Good job."
Rowan turns to face back out the window, and Dew reclines further in his seat. Wow. They're going to the Easthem. Dew doesn't even know what to expect. However, the way Rowan is so calm about it... maybe he has been there before?
"What's the Easthem like?"
Rowan doesn't answer for a moment. "Like the Westhem, but..." he scans the seats, seeming to be thinking about how to put his words. "Actually, no. Nothing like the Westhem. More like, how you'd picture the Westhem if the rebuilding of civilization after the war went wrong."
Dew nods, trying to picture what the Easthem would look like. So, not a wasteland. More like downtown Gans. Okay.
Dew leans over to look out the window. He's in Rowan's personal space, and he's aware of this. He could also just find another seat if he really wanted to look outside all that bad. He knows all these things, yet he doesn't particularly feel up to moving around.
It's all water, for miles. He recognizes it as the Atlantic Ocean. Yeah, they're going to be over the ocean for a while.
God, this is so weird.
Dew falls asleep, for the duration of the eight hour flight. He's not particularly sorry about it, either. He got next to no sleep last night, since he spent the entire time drawing.
Drawing...
Fuck! He forgot his art supplies at home! How the hell is he going to spend this whole week without doing any painting, or watercolor, or drawing, or... oh no. This is going to suck. The only thoughts going through Dew's head are negative, as the plane begins to lower to the ground.
Oh shit! They're here!
Dew leans over Rowan, who doesn't move over at all, resulting in Dew basically being on top of the captain. It's strange, having physical contact with such a stone faced individual. Dew can't help but to be more conscious of his moments, and every area of his body that's touching the Captain. He just stares out the window, taking in everything.
They're at an airport, but... well, Rowan was right. It's like the Westhem, but different. It's more... second hand. Smaller, too, and Dew has to wonder just how many airports are in the Easthem.
Finally, they come to a landing, and Rowan waits for Dew to move before standing up. They each grab their suitcases, and begin to file out of the airplane and into a long tunnel that eventually lets out in a giant lobby area. There are some people waiting for them about ten yards away, ready to take them somewhere. Thankfully this area isn't very populated, and Dew's empathy is working pretty close range. Usually airports are quite populated.
There is a woman pushing a baby in a stroller, another man smoking a cigarette. Two children are playing a 'chase me' game in the waiting area.
It's fucking weird. These are... what are they called? Easthemians? Dew doesn't know. Citizens of the Westhem are informally called 'Wests' so would that make these people... Easts?
Dew doesn't know. Rowan leans down to whisper in his ear as the two near the group of people they're being escorted to.
"We have a lunch with the queen tomorrow morning—it's currently 11:00 PM, after that we are free to travel the Easthem as we see fit."
Dew raises his eyebrows, turning to look up at Rowan, who's still facing forward. "The queen? What? The Easthem has a queen?"
"Queen Aliah Grimaldi, yes."
Holy shit! Dew is about to meet royalty? He didn't pack any fucking dress clothes! Oh no. This is already going poorly.
The two finally reach the group of people, and they all immediately salute the Captain. Okay.
Rowan nods, standing at attention, and the people seem to relax.
"It's nice to meet you, Captain Lux. Please follow me." A woman says from the front. She then turns and begins to walk in a direction. Dew does as he's told, Rowan following suit. The rest of the three people trail behind Rowan.
The woman leads them throughout the airport and to a car, opening the door for the two to get inside. They do so, and the woman says, "this will take you to your hotel. We will pick you up in the morning for lunch."
Rowan nods and rolls the window up as the car begins moving.
"I'm meeting a fucking queen?!" Dew finally explodes, turning to glare at Rowan. How dare this asshole not tell him!
"Yes, I covered it in the email I sent you."
What the fuck? Rowan's been sending him emails?!
Dew huffs, falling back in his seat as the car continues on the way to the hotel.
Once they reach the 'hotel', Dew has come to a conclusion. You know how in cities there is always a bad part of town? Usually where most of the crime takes place? Yeah, that appears to be the entire Easthem. Dew sees at least five drug deals on the way there, and he's internally thankful he's with someone with military training. Nobody in their right mind will fuck with them.
They enter the run down hotel, and find a lady behind the counter. Rowan walks over to her and does the talking, and before Dew knows it he's being handed a room key. Then, Rowan leads him to some stairs and they walk the rest of the way to their room.
There are two single beds and a bathroom, along with a little kitchen area. This hotel is honestly shit, and Dew feels guilty that this is probably some of the best that the Easthem could get them.
Dew throws his things down beside the bed, and is not tired at all. He glances over at Rowan, and is surprised to find the guy... stripping... his uniform... off.
Dew's eyes widen, and he looks away. This is going to be so strange, sharing a living quarters with the Captain. He starts to look around the room, and finds a pad of paper on his night stand, along with a few pens. Dew grins, immediately planning to draw the entire night. He grabs the both of them, slipping his shoes off and curling up on his bed. He immediately begins drawing.
He glances up every once in a while, and feels his face color a bit when he catches sight of Rowan in only some boxers, slipping into bed after brushing his teeth.
Why the fuck are you being weird about this, Dew?
Dew shakes his head, ignoring his stupid thoughts. Then, he catches sight of what's now on the dresser.
Sunglasses.
Rowan took them off! Dew has half a mind to go over there and get Rowan's attention to see his eyes, but decides against it. Either way, Rowan is going to bed, and his back is to Dew, so Dew feels comfortable slipping off his compression sleeves.
Dew doesn't fall asleep until 4.
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Filler chapter!! How abouttttttttt hmmmmmmm should I do the double update when we hit 1K or 5K??? Let me know
Just read painter of the night and like??? I was expecting it to be so much worse than it was. Like I was thinking it'd be killing stalking fucked up but no??? It was a little bad but not killing stalking bad
Anyway goodnight!!! I'm updating pretty early lol like it JUST turned midnight. Also am I the only one who fucking hates brushing their teeth? Like I do it and I do it properly but I HATE every minute of it.
Alright bye!! Love y'all!!
~alyssa