It was late, the sun down for several hours by the time Reno and Rude found themselves on the way back home. There were no streetlamps to illuminate their way, just the two headlight beams from the front of the truck spreading out on the highway in front of them. The road was quiet save for the few cars of people who likely worked nightshift jobs, or were heading home for the night after being out all day.
Reno sighed as he leaned back in the passenger seat, wishing Rude would have let him drive. At the very least they would have been home by now. Sometimes Rude liked to take his sweet time driving places. All Reno wanted to do was sink into his bed and fall asleep. Maybe pretend like he didn't have to go to work tomorrow.
So for the time being Reno fumbled with the radio until he found a station he liked. It was probably rock, and they were playing a familiar tune he'd recognized as an old song from a long time ago. The melody, a brash one, soon faintly filled the car and did some good in dissipating the quiet. On that note Rude always kept the volume in his car low otherwise, gods forbid, Reno might try to sing along. He'd learned his lesson after making the wise decision to be a designated driver one night Reno had convinced him to take him to one of the newer bars around.
"Can't you hurry it up any?" Reno grumbled to Rude as he shifted back against the seat, staring boredly out the window. The only thing he could focus on enough was the faded reflection of his face on the glass in the dim light. They were still at least 30 minutes away from town.
"Speed limit's 60, Reno," Rude said in a straightforward tone.
"Fuck the speed limit, it's 2 in the morning. I won't be a snitch."
"I'm not getting pulled over."
"Whatever."
There would have been silence between them if the radio wasn't on. Reno continued to watch out the window, taking in the sparse view of the vast flat and boring, mostly-dirt ground that stretched out for miles past the road—or rather, trying to look at what little of it he could see past the dim glow of the headlights. He spared a glimpse back at Rude, whose eyes were focused on the road, drifting around occasionally to check his surroundings. The other man's gaze trailed over to Reno, who looked away with a grumpy huff.
"Reno," Rude muttered, trying to break the heaviness of the silence between them.
"What?" Reno had propped his arm up against the door and rested his cheek against his wrist, as that was the most comfortable he could get at that moment.
"The stars are out," he said simply, moving his right pointer finger off the steering wheel to make a gesture at the sky. It was true. They were far enough out from the city, away from all the light pollution and tall buildings, that there were actually stars to be seen. And in impressive quantities at that.
Reno began to feel amazed, as he finally started to realize just how many stars were out.
"Yo, pull over, this is amazing!" Reno said with sudden enthusiasm, eyes wide with interest as he rolled down the window to get a better view. His unkempt hair swept wildly around at the sudden wind that brushed through it.
Rude chuckled and nodded, pulling off the road and into the dirt, turning off the car and flicking off the headlights, surrounding them in darkness. Now the only light they had was above them: in the small fingernail moon and the stars speckled across the navy sky. "Don't get too excited, you might break something…"
"Woah, hey, I'm tryin' to stay positive here," Reno said, raising his hands in a defensive shrug. The gesture only lasted a moment before he flipped the lock on the door and hopped out, soon going to sit on the hood of Rude's truck. Rude gave another soft chuckle before exiting the truck himself and leaning against the side, to Reno's left.
"It's nice out here," Rude said simply, and Reno nodded.
"Yeah. Don't see these many stars back home… Woah, hey, I think I can see one of those constellations—that one with the belt… shit, what was the name? I used to see it all the time, man, I should know this. Why can't I think of it?" As he tried to think, Reno scratched at his head, as if it would help. When a minute passed he stopped. The motion really hadn't done anything to help him remember the name, if he'd even known it in the first place.
"Orion, you mean?"
"Yeah, that. You see it?" One of Reno's hands reached up to point to his upper left, in the general direction of the constellation. "Over there. And… when I was younger it was the one I'd see first. It was over my place sometimes so I could follow it home. It felt like it was always watchin' out for me, y'know? And the least I owe it is rememberin' the name."
Rude nodded. "Yeah, I see it. It must be your favorite, huh? Even if your memory is so bad..." That earned Rude a swat to his arm, but it was in jest, and as such soon forgotten.
To get a better look at the sky Reno leaned back against the windshield, taking in the strange sight of all the stars. He really wasn't used to seeing so much nature all at once, and while it was shocking it was also interesting. There had been many times he was out this late before, but usually at times when the sky was filled with clouds, rain, or a light fog. The weather was nearly never this clear.
"It's nice," Reno muttered, eyes scanning the sky for anything else interesting. What caught his eye was the brief flash of a shooting star across his vision. Immediately Reno sat up and began practically shouting down at Rude in his excitement. "Woah! Dude, did you see that? Tell me you saw that, it was friggin' awesome! Aw, man, I've never seen a shootin' star before! Shit, I have to make a wish now, don't I?—Dammit, maybe I missed my chance! Fuck it, I'm wishin' anyway."
"You're certainly—enthusiastic about this," Rude said through a fit of laughter as he watched Reno clench his eyes shut tightly and make his wish, his face seeming somewhat childish in the reflected light from the stars.
"Fuck that! I got a free wish. Bet it's because Orion was lookin' out for me again. And that means you missed your chance, buddy," Reno said with a smirk. "Maybe next time."
"Ha. Maybe." Rude shook his head and smirked at the humor of the moment.
Reno looked down at him, brows furrowed in light annoyance. "What? What's so funny?"
"Just you. Wishing on stars."
In a moment Reno scooted over so he was facing Rude and stared down directly at the other man. "Well, I'm havin' fun. Would it kill you to join me for once? Or is that stick up your ass finally gettin' to you?"
Rude scoffed. "There's no stick up my ass."
"Is, too," the redhead retorted.
"Really, Reno? Are you going to make me do this with you? You're an adult." To prevent the argument of the century Rude crossed his arms and looked away.
In response Reno stuck his tongue out and muttered, "Just havin' fun."
After a moment of silence fell between them, Rude asked, "So, what did you wish for?"
"Can't tell you, it'd ruin it. Don't you know how wishing stars works? Jesus, man. Like you never had a childhood or something."
With a shrug Rude moved around the car and decided to sit on the hood next to Reno. It was all he could do, really, and maybe the proximity would prompt Reno to act a little less foolish. "Alright, then, I won't pry. Wouldn't want to rain on your wish parade."
Once Rude was on the truck's hood as well, Reno found himself scooting closer to the other man. When Rude gave him a look as if to ask what he was doing, Reno simply said that he was cold and nothing else. But there was a hint of something in his eyes, something either hopeful or desperate. A flashback to the other night—just how close they'd been—ran across Rude's mind and he was glad it was dark enough that Reno couldn't see his blushing face.
"If you're cold I've got a blanket in the backseat," Rude said, starting to slide off the hood to go get it.
Reno shook his head. "No, don't. I just… wanted to… y'know, stay close. Screw the blanket."
"Hm. I see." With an awkward noise Rude moved back to his previous spot and Reno practically pressed against him, eventually wrapping an arm around the other man.
"Do you really wanna know my wish?" Reno spoke up, though his voice was hushed.
"Thought it'd ruin the surprise, but, sure, if you want to tell me." Rude wondered what was on Reno's mind as he watched the sky, pulling Reno just a bit closer. "I'm all ears."
"Wished we could have more nights like this," Reno admitted, "This is nice."
"Yeah, it is. I wouldn't mind doing this more often."
Rude let one of his hands run through Reno's bangs, brushing them back enough to plant a kiss against his cooled forehead. At the kiss Reno's eyes widened but he soon smiled, scooting over to lay on top of Rude and before either of them could register, their tongues were fighting in each other's mouths. Hands grasped at shirts and fingers intertwined, the two stayed like that, kissing for some time, until Reno felt brave enough to sneak his hand down to Rude's pants and give his crotch a squeeze. Rude's eyes shut tight, a soft noise of pleasure slipping through his lips as they continued kissing.
They would have done more, gone just a little further in their adventuring of each other's bodies, but a sudden flash of headlights and a quick series of flustered honks alerted them to the passing company on the road.
"Well," Rude muttered, covering his face to hide the shameful heat of blush on his cheeks. "That settles that…"
"Let's go home then," Reno whispered into Rude's ear playfully. "Who said we didn't have to keep goin'? Though a little more privacy'd be nice…"
"Right…"
So the two slipped off the hood of the truck and got back inside. The engine soon roared to life and they were on their way. The mood between them now was much more content, an aura of serenity spreading through the air.
"I can't tell if you're more excited to go home now than before," Rude said, glancing over with a small smirk at Reno, who stared out the window in a blissful daze.
"Hm, maybe I am. Gotta thank that wishing star, though, that's some powerful stuff."
"Sure," Rude chuckled, before returning his attention to the road. "Guess it is…"