Today is my Fall Break (we only get one day bc it's college but it's whatever lol) so I knew I had to write the Fall Break chapter of JB. We're getting close to some BIG things.
"Do you have everything, Mo?" Louie asked again. While Boyd was traditionally the more organized of the two of them, Louie was the one with all of the packing skills.
"Yes, pop, I double-checked the list like a thousand times." Mo rolled his eyes and held up his duffel bag.
"You have stuff to do in the car? Stuff to keep you occupied?"
"I'm not five, I don't need a backpack full of toys."
Louie glanced at his son's backpack, which was undoubtedly full of notebooks, books, a handheld videogame, and at least one stuffed animal.
"Of course not, Bug." On good days, Mo didn't mind the nickname. Louie had carefully figured out a way to gauge when it would be appropriate to use pet names and when he had to back off with the affection. Mo was growing up, he needed to be parented differently than in the past, and Louie was slowly becoming used to all the changes.
"We have stress balls in the car," Louie added, knowing that he and Mo both resorted to scratching and pinching themselves when they got overwhelmed and doing his best to offer up a healthy alternative for both of them.
"Thanks, pop. Can we get going?" Mo let out a little yawn, it was early and he clearly wanted to catch a few more z's on the road before their trip truly began.
"Mm-hm. If you want to grab a blanket and pillow from the couch for the car then you might want to do that now. And go use the bathroom one more time."
"Fine."
Louie drifted to the kitchen where Boyd was packing some drinks and snacks in a cooler.
"Everything good, love?"
"Perfect. I've got fruit, I've got Skittles, I have enough Capri Suns for all of us, we should be good."
"You're the best husband ever," Louie said enthusiastically, wrapping his arms around Boyd's frame and planting a kiss on Boyd's neck, which caused Boyd to shudder with delight.
"I disagree, you're the best husband ever."
"I'm afraid we'll never settle this argument," Louie said, faking sadness.
"Oh well. I guess we could ask Mo which one of us is better…"
Louie gave Boyd a look, "I really don't think we need that kind of drama on our vacation, babe."
"That's fair. Let's keep this a drama-free vacay." Boyd leaned over to kiss Louie but didn't get the chance.
"Dads! Come on!" Mo called through the house.
"We better get a move on if we want to stave off the drama."
Boyd laughed and they headed out to begin their adventure.
Mo slept for the first two hours of their adventure after they'd dropped the cats off at Dewey's house. While their boy slept, Louie and Boyd chatted quietly about their plans and their vacations of the past.
"I like that we're a road trip family," Boyd said, "I'm glad I get to drive my little family around while they sleep and throw Skittles at each other."
"We haven't thrown any Skittles yet," Louie argued, laughing softly.
"Yet."
Louie glanced back at Mo, who was hugging the stuffed Cthulhu he'd had since childhood, fast asleep.
"I like road trips too. Any chance to spend more time with him is invaluable. I'm scared… I'm scared of what's going to happen when he grows up, you know? Things are already changing. I'm worried we won't be as close when he's a full-on adult."
"Louie, I understand having nerves but Mo is always going to be our kid. He's always going to love us. Things are going to change but we'll change with them. We'll grow and adapt like we already have."
Louie nodded, tracing his fingers over the window.
"We should have taken the convertible," Boyd said, changing the conversation before Louie could linger on his worries.
"This car is way safer than the convertible, and it gives us more space for stuff."
"You always pack too much stuff," Boyd said with a laugh.
"We always need almost everything we pack. Mo and I are a little more high maintenance than you, dear."
Boyd barked out a laugh.
"What's so funny?"
"I just think it's funny that you and Mo are the high maintenance ones when I'm the one who actually needs regular maintenance."
"Oh," Louie laughed too, "I hadn't thought about that."
The laughter in the front seat woke Mo up and he began to dig in his bag for a sketchbook. He wasn't the best artist but sometimes he would do little doodles for things that pertained to his mysteries.
"Whatcha drawing, Mo?" Louie asked, noticing that Mo was awake.
"A plague doctor," Mo said.
"Oh, really, why?" Louie tried not to think too deeply into it.
"I just think they're neat."
"Have you seen medieval beekeepers?" Boyd asked, giving Louie a reassuring smile. This was just another one of Mo's things. Nothing to worry about.
"Oh, yeah! Those are so cool. Kinda creepy, too. I love them." Mo hugged his sketchbook close.
"They're in love," Boyd said, sounding serious but grinning, "The beekeeper and the plague doctor."
"How do they kiss?"
"They don't, they touch foreheads."
"That's so cute," Mo squealed, "I gotta tell Raph about that, I bet he'll draw it for me."
"You know you can't use your cousin as your own personal illustrator, right?" Louie reminded.
"You know that Raph would do anything for me 'cause I'm his favorite, right?"
"I heard Jules is his new favorite," Boyd said, unable to resist teasing his son.
"Impossible. I've been his favorite my whole life."
"You haven't known him your whole life," Boyd said.
"Oh yeah. That's so sad, all that time Raph spent without knowing me."
Louie nearly choked on his laughter. Mo could be so dramatic, Louie loved it.
"I can't argue with that logic, Bug. You do have a way of brightening the lives of everyone around you."
"I know my talents," Mo said, smiling smugly, "Drawing… Is not one of them. I'm gonna text Raph."
After another hour of driving, they stopped for lunch and then headed to their first stop for the day, a small tourist trap detective museum. Mo was captivated, spending almost two hours walking around reading about different mysteries and the PIs who solved them. At one point he came up to Louie and Boyd and announced that this was his favorite place in the world. They left the museum with an armful of merch from the gift shop and a very excited teen who had dreams of growing up to become a crime solver himself.
"It's kind of the family business," Boyd said after Mo finished rambling about all the cool gear he'd have as a detective, "helping people." He offered Louie a warm smile and Louie nearly melted into a blush.
"I'm in it for the money," Mo declared.
"Morio." Boyd rolled his eyes.
"Okay, okay, I'm not. What I really care about is all those unsolved mysteries! Just think of 'em all, dads- there are like, thousands out there, maybe even hundreds of thousands, and for each one, someone who never got justice. That's all I care about. Getting justice and answers for the people who don't know... Well. For people who don't know who they are."
"Aww, Mo, you're going to help a lot of people." Louie was so proud of his son and husband. He didn't see the glint in Mo's eyes, the hungry desire for justice and answers of his own.
"Let's check into the hotel and then we can look around for something else to do tonight. Maybe we can hit the hotel pool," Boyd mentioned.
"Absolutely not," Mo said, not exactly the biggest fan of swimming.
"Alright, then, maybe we'll find a movie theater and eat popcorn for dinner," Boyd suggested.
"We can eat popcorn for dinner?" Mo's eyes boggled like he was just now being taught one of the important secrets of the universe.
Louie laughed, "Oh yeah. Your old man used to do it all the time."
"Don't live your life based on things your pop used to do all the time," Boyd said, also laughing.
"Oh yeah. Mistakes were made. Popcorn was never one of those mistakes."
"Can you tell me more about those mistakes? So I know what to avoid?" Mo flipped open a notebook.
"Clever, Mo. Let me tell you one thing since you're so keen to know about my past. The worst thing I ever did-"
Mo leaned forward in his seat, eyes wide, and Boyd gripped the steering wheel, a little nervous for whatever was about to be revealed since he knew that this was something that deeply affected Louie.
"-was throwing my life away, because of a grudge. Hatred nearly destroyed me, Morio. All because I thought I knew what was best, what would be best for my family. Don't let that happen to you, okay?"
"Okay. For you. For my family." Mo hummed to himself thoughtfully, jotting Louie's wisdom down in one of his notebooks next to some other important notes he had about Louie's past. He was gathering information, biding his time, but that could wait a little longer. Right now they were on vacation.
"Let's see that new horror movie," Mo suggested.
"Hm, what's it about, Bug?" Louie didn't love horror movies, but they made Boyd and Mo happy.
"It's about this evil AI that traps people in a digital world!"
"Uh, no," Boyd said instantly. The evil AI stereotype was kind of offensive to his kind.
"Ugh. Fine. There's also apparently a lesbian Rom-Com."
"Perfect. Lesbians and popcorn, the perfect end to a perfect night."
"And tomorrow will be even better," Mo said, as they headed for the hotel.
"Any time spent with you is a gift, Mo. I told you about the worst part of my life, but you are the best. I love you, so, so, so much." Louie looked back at Mo and smiled.
"Thanks, pop. I love you too. I love both of you." Mo glanced down at his notebook and jotted something else down before closing it. He could come back to it later, for now, he would focus on the time he got to spend with his family before everything changed.