Becoming the Luna

Virgil and Dale had arrived not long after that and by the time we had woken up, Rodriguez had already come and gone so now we're in the car, already on our way.

Leaving my mom had been marginally harder than I had budgeted for and so saying goodbye had turned into a sob story complete with my mom clutching me hard with tears running down her face.

Turns out Shana wasn't lying when she said Virgil needed hugs and cuddles, he came over obviously upset and had to collect me from my mom so that we could get going.

Now we're both in the back seat with Shana and Dale in front and somehow I end up on Virgil who's cuddling me and might be fast asleep because his eyes have been peacefully closed and his breathing is so even and calm, I'm shaken too from having to leave my mom so I'm not complaining, needing a hug myself.

Apple is fast asleep in her basket, the pet carrier had been ditched because she kept on meowing angrily and scratching at the inside of the basket, the same thing happened when we tried to put her in the car like somehow she knew we weren't just going for a drive and wouldn't calm down till her basket had been brought which she promptly curled around in and fell asleep.

My phone rings again and Shana picks it up like she had been expecting it to ring bit then again maybe she had because my mom has been calling non-stop and after the first five times, Virgil had ripped the phone from me and yeeted it across the car, luckily Shana had caught it so now she's stuck with reassuring my mom that we aren't dead yet, that we had gotten a flat tire yet, that Dale hadn't fallen asleep at the steering wheel yet… you get the picture.

"Dinosaurs are extinct, Renee." I hear Shana explaining to my mom, frustration evident in her voice. "And even if they weren't they don't come falling out of the sky."

"At least can I talk to my baby? It's been forever since I've heard his voice." My mom's serious voice floats over.

"It's just been fifteen minutes but who's counting?" Shana replies blankly. "And I told you, he's with Virgil, if I give him the phone, there's no guarantee that he won't throw it out the window this time. We've been gone barely an hour, Renee, just pretend that he's going to school or something."

My mom wasn't coming to the city till the day after tomorrow because she said and I quote. "I'd rather drink slug soup than spend more time than necessary with my family."

"But he's not." My mom complains.

"I know." Shana agrees in a desert dry voice. "That's why it's called pretending."

I retract myself from Virgil's arms which have gone slightly lax because he truly is fast asleep to stretch a hand to Shana. "Just give me the phone, you know she's not going to give till she's spoken to me." I tell her, careful not to move too much so Virgil doesn't notice that he's face is no longer buried in the crook of my neck and he wakes up in a fury.

"Shana…"  My mom calls, gearing up for another bout of nagging.

"Fine." Shana agrees shortly, quickly handing the phone to me like it's a ticking time bomb.

I place the phone carefully to my ears to hear my mom ranting on the other side. "Mom?"

"Hi, baby!" She interrupts herself to greet me cheerfully and I can practically feel her smile. "How are you, baby?"

I shake my head with a small smile. "I'm good, how about you?" I relax into Virgil, I'm sitting on my knees on both sides of his legs and I'm grateful for my childhood obsession with sitting in the Asian fashion because it meant I was comfortable in this position that would otherwise be very uncomfortable.

I hear the sounds of rustling from the phone like my mom is getting comfortable and I decide to do the same, dropping my head on his shoulder, his arms tighten around me like he can feel it.

"I'm doing alright, you know, missing you already and all that." She says absently like her words aren't that important but I can hear the shakiness in her voice and I'm worried.

"Mom, it's been just an hour, I go to school everyday."

"I know." A quiet sniff. "But then at least I know you're coming back then." 

I resist the urge to roll my eyes at her dramatics. I am coming back."

"I know but it's too far away." Another sniffle, louder than the first.

I coo quietly at this, my mom was an adorable little girl trapped into the body of a grown up sometimes. "It's just two days."

She makes a miserable sound and there's a slight noise like she's rolling around.

Virgil's hands slip under the plain t-shirt I have on and I freeze. "Um, mom? I've gotta go, Virgil is waking up, bye, love you." I say quickly, hanging up before she can find a reason to prolong the phone call. She's going to call in another five minutes anyway and I wasn't about to lose my phone to Virgil's foul mood.

The car gently bumps and I hear Shana's horrified gasps from the front seat.

"What the fuck did you just run over?" She demands with her hands out.

I hear the sarcasm in Dale's voice as he replies to her. "A speed bump?" As he's talking the back tires go over the second one and Shana sighs deeply.

"Oh thank goodness, I thought you hit a stray dog or something."

"I'm not blind, unlike…"

"I dare you to complete that sentence." Shana threatens darkly and I gulp.

"Guys?"We are on the highway, please no fighting, you promised." I remind them.

"Fine but Dale has to apologize first for calling me blind." Shana bargains.

"I'm not apologizing for what I didn't do." Dale deadpans and I facepalm.

"Oh now you're calling me a liar too."

"I didn't even say anything."

I try to turn around to stop their escalating argument, we still had at least another hour and half before we got to the city and then it would take us an hour more to get to the beach but all my squirming around rouses Virgil.

"Are you uncomfortable?" He murmurs in my ears and I suppress a shudder.

"Not really." I reply absently, my mind mostly on Dale and Shana who are threatening to throw each other out the window but he's not listening and he helps me get off him to sit on the car seat, beside him.

"Oh, so this is what this is all about? Me not letting you drive?" Dale accuses, glaring at Shana as often as driving would allow.

"Don't try to change the subject." She fires back, poking a finger in his face. "This is about you calling me blind and a liar."

"I never called you any of that for fuck's sake!" He exclaims.

Virgil and I just sit quietly, watching them go back and forth and back again.

"Should we do something?" I whisper to him.

"No." He shakes his head. "They're obviously enjoying this argument, let them have their fun."

I giggle at this, finally able to stretch out the cramps in my legs.

"Are you okay?" I can't help asking, he had seemed really upset when he first came.

He sighs and pushes a hand through his sleep ruffled hair, his blue eyes lazy. "My dad didn't want me to leave, I might have obeyed him if he hadn't already agreed. Then he changed his mind last minute and… well, let's just say my dad doesn't like the word 'no'.

My eyes widens in surprise at this, worried slightly. "I hope you won't get in trouble." I worry my lip with my teeth, staring at him in concern.

He blinks slowly and I can see the weariness in his eyes. "Nah, I'll be fine, you know what? Come here."

I blink, surprise at the quick change of topic. "Huh?"

His reply is to pick me up and place on his legs again, this time sideways so that my head rests on his chest.

"W-What… why?" I look up at him, slightly confused.

He just throws his head back, his arms settling around comfortably around me. "Because I want to." He says shortly, his eyes drifting close again.

Shana and Dale in the front have forgotten about their argument and are now happily making plans on where we would go when we get to the city, I vaguely hear a zoo, an amusement park, a carnival?

Tuning them out I slowly close my eyes too, my eyes are suddenly feeling heavy or maybe it's all the cuddling I've been doing ever since I got in the car, add that to the rhythmic movements of the car over the smooth road and soon enough I fall asleep.