This one, from The Dukes in Hollywood, was inspired by Waylon saying that the Dukes stayed in a fancy hotel, complete with indoor plumbing. It was fun to write.
Well, it was an absurd notion, but then over the last couple of years, Luke had come to expect the absurd. That or maybe he'd lost track of what the word meant somewhere along the way. Why anyone would shoot a movie in Hazzard, with its serious lack of amenities, was the first bizarre circumstance, but it was followed by others: hydraulic lines suddenly going missing, ridiculously long jumps accomplished by Bo, and the lack of any kind of security surrounding the star, Brock Curtis. Finally, the Duke kids found themselves in demand in Hollywood, to help shoot a movie.
Luke wouldn't have gone, had no interest in any such thing, but Bo was clearly enamored. Denying his cousin this chance at stardom or fun or whatever he thought it would be, would take that gleam right out of Bo's eyes, and Luke didn't have the heart. He half hoped Jesse would do it for him, tell them that the farm would disintegrate beyond all repair in the two weeks they'd be gone. But the income from this little adventure was good enough to sway Jesse over, and they were off to California.
Bo and Daisy had never flown in anything bigger than a crop-duster; the chartered plane kept them fascinated for the whole trip. Greedy Bo would've let himself get served food and drinks until his sides split wide open, if Luke hadn't made him quit. Daisy spent the hours cozying up to Brock Curtis. Luke would've put a stop to that, too, had it looked any worse than innocent cuddling.
He was pretty sure this trip would be nothing more pleasant than a giant adventure in babysitting. Boss and Rosco, however, were on their own. They could eat themselves sick and cuddle up together all they wanted and Luke wouldn't get involved.
The first night and his fears were founded. The Dukes wound up in fancier digs than they'd ever known, thankfully distant from the rest of the Hazzard contingent. Three rooms on the sixth floor, and Luke set up camp in the middle one, where he could watch both cousins at once.
Come zero-dark-thirty he woke up to the familiar rhythm of Bo's shuffling feet. Their rooms adjoined, but he'd personally closed that door hours ago. Still, there was no mistaking Bo's looming presence, right there.
"Whaddya doing here, cuz?" Yeah, Luke was wide awake, it was just his tongue that was lagging behind.
Rustle, and Luke would have sworn that was the sound a shrug made.
"Can't sleep without all that noise you make, snoring." Oh, and look who was talking.
He would have sent Bo back to his room, back to bed and none of this nonsense, but the eerie light coming from under what passed for curtains covering the huge motel window reminded him of the way the mess tent's glowing roundels threw weird shadows through base camp nights…
"Come here," he said, throwing his covers back. This bed was more than big enough for the both of them. "Just be out of here before Daisy comes banging at six," was his only condition.
Days were spent alternating simple car stunts with trying to keep them all alive, followed by nights of interrupted sleep. Seemed his cousin's tolerance for being alone ended somewhere around midnight.
Must have been the third morning that he woke up late, with Bo's arm around his waist. Took more than a few firm shakes to get him moving in the right direction. Come day six he was telling Daisy not to bother stopping by to get him and Bo in the morning; they'd meet her in the lobby. They'd been there more than a week the day that he woke up with Bo's head on his chest, and one of his own hands tangled in all that blonde fluff. Couldn't have been two more days of waking up in that position before he found himself pulling Bo tighter to him, rather than shoving him off to get shower in his own room. Bo didn't seem to mind, crawled right up on top of him until holding turned to kissing turned to rocking turned to guilty pleasure, then back to kissing, too sweet to blame it all on having been half asleep.
The next night passed without Bo. He woke up at midnight and waited, but his cousin never came. They both looked like hell at breakfast, and spent the day being sluggish and unphotogenic. The director was not impressed with them.
Midnight came around again, and still no Bo. Two days before they were due to go home and now Bo had figured how to make it through the night without his overgrown brunette teddy bear. Damn if Luke was going to be discarded that way, after Bo got what he'd apparently been wanting all along. Made it until two nursing his pride and anger and by three he was just plain lonely. Took another hour before he got himself up and headed for the door adjoining his room to Bo's, unlocked it with his motel key. Stepping halfway through, he found Bo sitting on the edge of his own bed, head in his hands.
"You ain't sleeping." In case Bo hadn't noticed.
"You ain't snoring," he was informed.
This thing was harder than it had a right to be. He wanted Bo with him, or he'd stay with Bo, either way. Problem with it all was that there was no way for it to be innocent anymore. Up until two mornings ago everything could have been dismissed as homesickness and sloppy sleeping habits. This was something else.
Then again, two mornings from now, they'd be boarding a plane to Hazzard.
"You gonna stand there all night?" Maybe, yeah. The doorway was safe. Either side of it felt like a commitment, one direction or another.
"Bo," he said, but had nothing more than a headshake to offer his cousin. "If I come in," because he really didn't want to talk about going back to his own cold bed. "It's got to be… we're going home in two days. It's got to be today and tomorrow, and then—" Nothing.
Yeah, Bo knew that, it was clear in the way he'd been holding his head, his fuzzy hair showing evidence of having been shoved every which way.
They stayed right where they were long enough that Luke reckoned the sun ought to be up any minute now, before Bo reached out a hand.
"Come here, Luke." About the quietest words his cousin had ever spoken. In two steps, Luke's hand was in Bo's, one more and they were in the bed.
The future be damned. They were doing this today.