Agron cracked his neck letting out a long sigh.
He has been driving for hours now without taking any break and it was starting to get to him. he was tired and his eyes kept watering from lack of sleep.
He and Nasir had decided to take turns driving. Although Agron should've given the wheel over to Nasir hours ago, he didn't have the heart to wake him. They only had a couple of more hours to go, and he was determined to endure it alone. After all it was his stupid idea to keep on going.
Nasir had proposed that they stop at a motel, spend the night and start the rest of the journey next day; refreshed. But Agron, all excited and eager to get to their destination as soon as possible, had refused telling Nasir that he would do all the driving, that all Nasir had to do was to sit back and relax. Nasir just shook his head in exasperation, letting Agron have his way, but he offered to take turns driving because he knew Agrons big plan was bound to fail.
Agron cursed himself for his stupidity. He should've listened to Nasir. They should've stopped and taken a break.
And to top it all off it was raining like crazy.
The thick curtains of dark black water made it impossible to see even ten feet ahead of them; so he had to drive really really slow . He was never a slow driver and this was literally killing him. But he had to be careful. An accident on the first day of their new beginning would simply not do.
Their new beginning... Their new life...
Argons face split into a wide smile at the thought, as his eyes flickered briefly to the thick gold band around his ring finger.
His new life he was about to start with the man of his dreams, the love of his life, and now his husband.
Agron mouthed the words he had come to love... Husband...
Nasir was no longer Nasir Fadel..
He was Nasir Kaufmann.
Agron and Nasir Kaufmann..
Yeah.. it does have a nice ring to it..
Agron turned his head taking in the form of his sleeping husband, currently curled up in a ball on the passenger seat. Nasir was seated sideways, legs pulled up on to the seat and chin propped up on his knees. His hands were tucked under his chin as if he was trying to keep himself warm.
Agron shook his head...Nasir and his hatred of cold.
Agron never managed to understand how, even though he had spent most of his life in America, Nasir still hasn't gotten used to the cold weather. He never seemed to get over the hot atmosphere of his homeland. Nasir always dressed up in one too many clothing even on the hottest of days. And sometimes it drove Agron mad, the amount of effort he had put into when he was trying to undress Nasir.
Some of the long black strands had managed to escape Nasirs ponytail and was now framing his face, making him look years younger and somehow more vulnerable. The rush of tender emotions that flooded Agrons heart was not unexpected. Nasir was years younger than him and he always felt the driving need to protect the younger man.
Nasir was snoring softly and little bit of drool was dripping down from the corner of his mouth.
Well what could Agron say... It was a Kodak moment.
With a smirk he reached out, trying not to disturb the sleeping man, quickly grabbed the camera from the glove box and snapped a picture of his drooling husband. It would come in handy in the near future.
Chuckling under his breath at the amount of useful purposes the picture held, he replaced the camera in the glove box. Reaching out he tucked a black lock behind Nasirs ear, letting his hand linger on the warm skin of his lovers' neck. He caressed the soft warm skin with his thumb. Nasir shifted a little at the ministrations but didn't wake up.
Giving a final gentle squeeze Agron dragged his focus back to the road.
After about another half an hour of driving his eye lids were starting to droop again. So he cranked up the volume of the radio, not enough to wake Nasir, but just enough so that he may not fall asleep. Settling his head against the headrest he started singing along with Metallica blaring through the radio ..
''Die... by my hand... I creep across the land..
Killing first born man...
I... Rule the midnight air, the destroyer
Born... I shall soon be there... deadly mass...''
He didn't get to sing for long though. Something wet and cold nudged against his neck, startling him out of his seat.
He almost forgot his baby, Rover, his 7 year old golden retriever lounging on the back seat. trust the dog to make itself known
He looked at his dog through the rear-view mirror.
'' getting bored back there old buddy ? '' The dog only wagged his fluffy tail making whiny noises.
''it's only going to be a couple of more hours boy. Then you'll be as free as a bird.'' He reached behind him, his gaze still trained on the road in front of him, and scratched the dogs head.
''It's going to be a blast you know? Your new home. With your daddy and me and we could even find you a girlfriend there'' he winked at the dog who huffed in response. Agron was sure he would be rolling his eyes if that was possible.
''You can run around all you want, and dig holes and hunt rabbits and steal pot pies from the neighbours...'' he added the last part in a whisper, his gaze flickering between the road ahead and the rear-view mirror.
'' it's going to be wonderful buddy. It's going to be wonderful''
He glanced back and grazed his dog with a brilliant smile.
Then suddenly Rover stood up on the seat and started growling baring it's teeth at him.
Argons smile slowly slid off his face, his eyebrows crinkled in confusion.
'' Rover...? What is it boy?'' his voice wavered with uncertainty.
His dog never, never, growled at him. In its seven years of life it had never scratched or growled or even showed a shard of annoyance towards Agron. And it shocked him to the core. Why was the dog acting hostile towards him?
But through his daze Agron could see Rover was not looking at him. In fact it was not trained on anything inside the car. Rover was looking past Agron. It was growling at something out side of the vehicle. Quickly turning forward he searched the road, straining his eyes to find some explanation for the dogs odd behaviour.
He didn't see anything out of ordinary. All he could make out through the thick sheets of rain was the outlines of the enormous trees lining the road, and the big branches swaying in the powerful wind.
'' there's nothing out there Rover ''
The dog still hadn't stopped growling and now the hackles were starting to rise on the back of its neck.
He threw a quick glance at Nasir, still asleep, oblivious to all the commotion around him.
'' shush now boy... or you'll wake your daddy.''
He turned back towards the road.
That's when he saw it.
