"Stay in the truck and for the love of god, stop talking," Nezumi said two hours later. It was nearly dark, and the snow had finally stopped falling. Shion felt that strange itch in the back of his mind that suggested a storm was coming, though. He stretched and looked around him at Valdez, Alaska. He could see the edges of town from where he stood, the crushed slush of the road leading out to the pale snowfields on the horizon. He turned in time to see Nezumi slam the glove compartment shut and stuff a black case in a shopping bag.
"Where're you going?"
"Don't worry about it. Just stay here. Take a nap. You can use the blanket, the sleeping bag's mine." Nezumi held the door to the car open and waited.
"When will you be back?"
"Couple hours. Get in."
"But—"
"I've got some shit to do. People'll come unload this fucker for us, don't worry about it. Inukashi doesn't want me dealing with the merchandise any more then I have to. Get in and stay put."
"Why can't I come with you?"
"What are you, five? Stay. Here." Nezumi sighed after a moment's silence. "You can read my books if you want, all right? There's a light in the back."
"Can I have the keys? It's going to get cold."
"There's a battery heater in there. Just hit it if it get pissy."
"Why can't I have the keys?"
"I don't want you leaving on me if you get bored or something."
Shion blinked. "I would never do that."
"That's great, thanks, now get in the fucking— I don't have time for this." Nezumi dropped his bag on the slushy tarmac and grabbed Shion's arm tightly, dragging him closer. "Stay here. I'll be back in a bit. Don't try to leave. Understand?"
Shion could feel Nezumi's harsh, even breathing on his cheeks. "Y-yeah."
"Great. Thank you." Nezumi was staring at him very hard. "Thanks."
Shion wasn't quite sure how to respond, so he just looked back at the man. His hair was in his eyes again. The ponytail didn't keep his bangs out of the way at all. Shion really, really wanted to brush those bangs back and feel how they would tuck behind Nezumi's ear. That was a weird thought, though, and he quickly focused on not doing that. He felt like Nezumi could tell what he was thinking anyway. The words were spelled out right behind his eyes, in a scribbled hand in the margins of a play about love. Building emotion, passion restrained…
Nezumi pushed Shion towards the cab. Shion stumbled, then hung on to the door and pulled himself up and into the truck. "Good luck?" he said down at Nezumi.
"Thanks," Nezumi said again as he slammed the door. Shion stared after him as he walked away, bag hanging over his shoulder, shoulders hunched and hips swaggering. How on earth did he look that good in a parka?
"Oh," Shion said when he realized what he was thinking. Falling for a mysterious trucker was probably not a good thing. Shion looked around for a book that would distract him. There didn't seem to be any textbooks in the tangle on the dashboard. He spotted one book that looked thicker than the rest, though, and aimed for that. On the Road.
Shion wondered if he was strange to want to read textbooks. He thought of his book on botany and sighed, then opened On the Road to page one.