waywarddone | This is the dawning of the rest of our lives

"Here's your bag. Told you you'd need one." Harry had stared at Sam weirdly when he'd suggested he pack a toiletry bag, but Sam was a well-seasoned traveller. He handed the bag to him after getting out of the car himself, deciding he might as well stretch his legs a little. "You've been solidly asleep for the past six hours or so. Slept like an angel, so cute."

He teased him a little and then turned to look at himself in the side mirror, just to make sure his hair wasn't too much of a mess. He knew Bobby wouldn't care, but that was still essentially his father figure. He didn't want to disrespect him by not putting any effort in.

"I think you also had a point about a better coat." He had his wool coat so that was already better than the leather jacket he'd planned, now there would have been a problem. It was fucking freezing out here. "My nipples could cut glass and I have layers." He shook his head in disbelief as he took his toiletry bag from Sam and held it up in appreciation.

"Right, if I don't come back in ten, I've either frozen to death trying to take a piss or a bear ate me." Harry warned as he headed towards the truck stop bathroom. What fresh hell was this going to be. "I heard about these redneck truck stop bathrooms - they better not disappoint!"

"Have a good time," Sam called after him, amused more than anything. As was usual around Harry, he just made life fun in his strange little way. He decided he'd offer a sweater to him later and then just stood there, waiting for him to come back out. Then a group of three women travelling together called him over to ask whether he knew anything about car engines and, therefore, by the time that Harry did come back out, Sam was bent over the open hood of the women's car, one of them holding his jacket for him while he inspected the engine.

It really wasn't that surprising.

"It's not a major issue, you just need to replace the spark plugs. Common issue with cars like this. I'm sure they've got a replacement for you inside." He gestured to the spark plug in question and the women simply nodded in agreement.

"Thank you so much. We're so lucky you were here!"

Well, the good news was that he didn't get eaten by a bear. The bad news was, his boyfriend got himself surrounded by vultures. And they all wanted one thing. Harry tossed his toiletries into the backseat of the car and then just walked over to the group. The girls gave him a look but Harry didn't mind, he just leaned against the side of the car and watched Sam look at the engine for a few. Then he reached over and slapped his ass.

"Hey, roadside hunk, you're not triple A. Get your helpfully sexy self back to the car before the snow makes these roads impossible to get through." Which, given they were in South Dakota, was actually very possible.

Harry turned to the girls, smiling like a shark. Nice try, ladies. "We're going to meet the parents and we wouldn't want to be late. Sorry, ladies. But I'm sure sure that guy at the checkout will help you out." And that guy was quite the downgrade.

Sam had yelped at the unexpected slap and turned around with a red face, ready to give some woman a stern talking to. Instead there was Harry, so he was still blushing, but also grinning and shaking his head.

"Spark plug. Trust me," he said to the women again and then he reached for Harry's hand so they could walk back over to the car, talking to him. "They always try to pull a fast one on people at a place like this, so it's good to give them some intel. Especially with women drivers, they think they can just cheat them out of money."

He opened the passenger door for Harry, holding it like a gentleman. "You're looking and smelling minty fresh."

"Oh yeah, wouldn't want anyone to be pulling a fast one." Harry kissed Sam on the cheek, just to really hammer home that yeah - this scrawny little twink did indeed pull the hot guy. The gays were invading South Dakota and they were ruthless. Harry dropped into his seat and waited for Sam to join him, until the door was shut, before he let him in on it.

"They were hitting on you. Their eyes were on you like hungry dogs, man. I swear, I walk away for like five minutes and you're someone's eye candy." He rolled his eyes and watched the girls, who were watching them, mostly looking confused and a little off-put. "Don't get many of us queers around here, huh?"

Those were faces of people who did not expect the gay.

"Nah... Guess not." Sam looked over to the girls and felt a mixture of embarrassment, protectiveness, anger and a fierce loyalty. So he leaned over once he'd driven the car zo to where the women were, leaning over to kiss Harry properly. Then, with a smile, he waved to the women and drove off. Fuck all of that. He didn't want to let himself be bothered.

"It's kind of a conservative area. It's a bit shit." He wasn't about to defend it. "But I promise that Bobby's not like that. He's open-minded, he just looks and talks like a redneck hick. He's well read though and he thinks everyone around where he lives is an idiot. He kinda thinks everyone's an idiot, honestly."

"Most people are idiots." Harry agreed with that sentiment, even if he knew Sam didn't. Sam was a good guy, he helped people and he talked to anyone who seemed lost or upset. Harry minded his own business but then, he was a New Yorker so it was kind of what they did up there. Try not to focus on any of the horribleness and just get shit done. "I'm sure he'll be way more open minded than my dad, if he's anything like you describe."

He didn't think for a second his dad would have issues with Sam, it was more than Sam was into him. And he was him. And that was enough for his dad to not like it. "They don't have to like me, your family, I don't really care about that but maybe we can keep peace while we visit - that's more of an obtainable goal."

"Bobby will probably like you. He always likes grumpy people. Anyone he gets along with is like that. And you're grumpy as hell." In an adorable way, Sam often found, but still. He was starting to feel the nerves a little, now they were getting closer. "I've never done this before. Brought someone home."

He knew Harry knew that, yet he found himself telling him anyway. "We don't usually do much for Christmas. I doubt Matty is even going to show up."

He was almost hoping he wouldn't.

"I've never gone home with someone before. I've never done dating before. It's -- weird. In a good way, you know?" He laughed, definitely nervous, unsure what he was supposed to feel. He pulled his legs up to his chest and tried to ignore the butterflies. Sam was special, he didn't want to ruin it so for once, he actually cared what people thought of him.

He wanted people that liked Sam to like him too or their future would be dicey.

"You never said - is Matty cool with the whole 'dating a guy' thing?" He knew that Matty meant a lot to Sam, as did his opinions, so he didn't know what he brace himself for.

"I dunno. It's..." How did he even begin to explain Matty to someone who'd never met him before? "Mostly it's my father. He'd never be all right with it. And Matty thinks that anything that goes wrong with me is his fault and our dad's gonna blame him for it. And he would. That's my dad."

Sam shrugged. "Matty hates that I did well in school. Hates that I applied to college. Hates that I got in. Hates that I'm attending it. You can bet your sweet ass he'd hate anyone I've met at college and the person I've turned into or whatever paranoid crap is in his head." Their father's shadow loomed large. "But he cares for me, really. So i think he's always gonna come around eventually. It's like with my hair. My dad wanted it short, Bobby couldn't handle the curls, but I never wanted it cut. So Matty stood up for me."

"Thank God, losing your curls would be a damn tragedy. I think I would cry. I lost my hair once and I survived that but there's no way I can survive you without curls." And he meant that. They were Sam's crowning glory, he loved to play with them and spring them. He supposed he owed a great debt to Matty for allowing his brother to look hot. "I'm sure if he cares about you so much, he'll ... be cool."

He couldn't guarantee that, he assumed the opposite but he knew that in times like this, comforting words were better than doom and gloom. "Besides, what does it matter anyway? family is the thing you seem once a year when you feel all holiday nostalgic. Otherwise, how big is it in your life?"

In Harry's, it was never big so it was hard for him to imagine it mattered to others.

"I dunno. Matty used to be everything to me." And even after all this time, Sam couldn't get over how much Matty disapproved of who he was. He hated himself a little for how much it bothered him, but that still didn't entirely stop it. "I'm better about it now. We're very different, Matty and I. But I guess I owe a lot to him."

It was such a mess. "Bobby's good though. I promise. He's the one who took me to the library whenever I wanted. He was proud when I got into Stanford."

He slowed down the car, gesturing ahead. "And here we are now. That hovel was home sweet home for a long time."

"Holy shit, that's a fuck ton of car pieces." There were so many broken cars all over that properly, he stared with wide eyes in utter fascination. Rusty cars under a blanket of snow, questionable decking and a falling apart façade - God, his dad would lose his mind if he knew Harry was vacationing here of all places.

"Dude, this is full blown Americana. I never thought I'd actually see a place like this." It was an experience for him, like how others might have felt in a fancy hotel. It was so foreign, it was exciting. "He's not got like... rottweilers lurking, right? Cause my blood is still crazy thin, I will bleed out and die if they bite me."

"Nah, Bobby hasn't got any dogs these days. Don't worry. I've got you, yeah?" Sam was never quite sure how much of what Harry was saying was just joking and how much was him joking to cover up actual feelings of unease. He leaned over to kiss his cheek after parking the car, then he got out. He walked around to open the door for Harry and held his hand out.

"Let's go inside. It should be warmer there."

Unless it was like that one winter when the heating had been out. That had sucked.

Yeah, yeah, it's all good. I'm not freaked or anything." Only he was, his heart was racing and he was a little dizzy but then, he usually was so what else was new? He stopped out of the car and then looked over at the house. It had a light on and it didn't look too bad - lots of books stacked in the windowsill too. Must have been a reader like Sam.

He took Sam's hand and then smiled at him. Fuck. This was pretty heavy. He was not used to heavy.

"If I'm being a dick, like ... stomp on my foot or something." So he didn't make an ass of himself.

"You'll be fine, yeah? I told you, Bobby's chill." In a Bobby way, anyway. Sam approached the door and knocked it in the known pattern. It took a little bit before Bobby opened, so Sam explained it to Harry. "He's a bit slow sometimes, with the chair."

"I ain't deaf though, you idjit," Bobby said, having opened the door at just the wrong point. Sam was trying to defend himself and Bobby waved it off, turning his focus to Harry. "Did that idjit not tell you to dress properly? Get inside, son, I ain't heating for the coyotes."

Sam walked inside with Harry, pulling the door close behind them. "That's Harry, Bobby. And that's Bobby."

"Think he's put that together." Bobby held a hand out to Harry. "Welcome. Had a tough ride?"

Bobby was definitely as described, though Harry had no idea what to make of him. Usually people didn't yell nicely at him so that was definitely new. He walked into the room and started to take off his shoes, not wanting to track snow and gravel into the house. Once they were off, he held out his hand. He didn't know how to do casual handshakes so he shook hands like a business man. "Hello, thank you. It wasn't too bad, no."

It was pretty crappy but he didn't regret it. He finally got to experience the all American road trip. Complete with weird diners and some strange roadside attractions.

Harry wasn't really a self conscious person, he didn't have much issue socialising but the sudden pressure of this being basically Sam's dad got to him a little so he stuck closer to Sam than he might have. "You get some real cold winters out here. It's my first time in the Midwest." And it was fucking freezing.

"Not so bad these days. Back in the day, you could just ice skate all the way from here to Deadwood." Sam rolled his eyes at Bobby sounding like an old man, but he couldn't deny the wave of fondness. "I've turned up the heating for you city boys. Sammy, get your luggage and bring it up to your old room. I ain't about to do it and your sweetheart here is our guest."

He rolled further into the living room, gesturing Harry along. "Have a seat. You want a beer or something? Or is that not your style?"

"Be right back," Sam assured Harry, kissing his cheek and heading back outside to get their stuff, as instructed.

"Nah, beer is fine but I think I'll stick to water, is that's okay?" He wasn't a beer drinker but he wasn't about to admit to that cause he just walked into a house like this with a guy like that and he wasn't about to add to it. Not that he minded beer, though he tended to drink light beer. "Thanks, I get a little ... car sick. Water is better."

Harry looked around the place, hands in his pockets, wondering if maybe he should have worn something more dressed down. He didn't think the Prada patterned shirt with sweater vest was really screaming South Dakota vibes.

Sitting himself on the couch, he tried not to look as awkward as he felt. "You got a nice place, sir."

"You've got manners, son. You don't gotta bother, just call me Bobby. I know the place is a shithole, but now that some idjit's put all that money into making it accessible for me, I guess I'm stuck." He had moved into the kitchen and then came back with a bottle of water, shrugging as he handed it to Harry. "Here. That's the water a friend of mine likes to drink when he's not just drinking straight up whiskey. It's imported or some shit."

Who imported water? Dumb thing to do.

"I'm taking it all upstairs," Sam called out before bounding up the stairs. Bobby looked up, raising his eyebrows.

"That boy moves like he's still a kid instead of some giant baby." His steps could certainly be heard throughout the house.

He took the water and then turned it around in his hand, looking at where it was imported from. "Huh, Fiji. Your friend drinks like my dad." He laughed at that and then cracked the bottle open, resisting the urge to ask to see the whiskey. He fucking loved whiskey, that was more his area but he knew he had to be careful with that. He didn't want to get himself wrecked at Sam's family house.

Harry snorted in amusement, watching Sam carry their bags with a slight tilt of appreciation. God, he was so damn strong. It was such a turn on.

"He never knows his own size. He's like a dog that still thinks he's a puppy. It's cute." Or he found it very cute, at least. "He was excited to come, he's shared so many stories on the way."

"Yeah, he's not so bad." Bobby heard him rummaging about upstairs, wondering whether the woman whom he had paid to tidy up had messed about too much. Whatever, nothing to be done about it now. "Don't be uptight about it. I ain't got a problem with you unless you start one. You make my boy happy enough he wanted to bring you by, so you're doing something right in my book."

He looked Harry over, a little confused by his outfit, but ultimately he simply shrugged. "I figured he'd pick someone with blue eyes. He's always liked that."

"I'm not really looking to start a problem, especially not with a guy like you. I figured you'd run me over before I could even throw a punch. Plus I have low bone density so even if I landed one, I'm shattering my hand." Harry joked, smiling awkwardly at Bobby. "I'm just glad you let me come, I was looking at a winter break alone. And Sam would have missed me."

Obviously. Sure, he could have gone somewhere warm for summer but he wanted to be stay with Sam, no matter what. "You know, all us with blue eyes have a single common ancestor who developed blue eyes. I guess I can thank some random manslut who spread that mutation around. Got me Sammy."

"Cheers to the manslut, I guess. I know Sammy is gonna tell you some crap about caring only about the inner beauty, but I know my boy. It's all in the eyes." Bobby spared something close enough to a smile, coming from him, and then Sam finally came back down.

He sat down next to Harry and looked at Bobby. "My room's never looked so tidy."

"Yeah, I had to pay someone to come in and clean. I ain't going up the stairs for that."

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