Archive of Our Own

Charles had had his new car for approximately ten minutes, and if anything happened to it, he would –

Well, he’d face his dad’s wrath, is what would realistically happen, but that was neither here nor there, as Edwin would say. His dad had put in £400, Charles had put in the other £300, and he had an iron-clad plan to pay back that £400 in the shortest timeframe possible. And as soon as he passed his test, it would be glorious freedom. His new car was a beautiful representation of that freedom, and as far as he was concerned, it was a perfect machine.

“It’s a piece of shit,” were of course the first words out of Crystal’s mouth when she saw it, almost awe-struck. “Jesus fucking Christ. Are you seriously going to drive around in that thing?”

“Oi!” Charles rested a protective hand on the roof. “I’ve already driven around in it!”

Niko crept closer, eyes wide. “I like the colour.”

“Thanks, Niko.” Charles said pointedly, smiling. The car – a battered two-door Volkswagen Polo that was older than he was – was a nice dark blue. Apart from the boot panel, which was a very faded red. And the front right wheel arch, which was rusty. “Test’s booked for next month, so I’m getting in all the practice I can.”

Mostly with his mum, when he could wrangle it. Occasionally with his dad, who seemed to think that this was the ideal bonding experience. Charles had already run the classic gamut of reading up on every aspect Paul could have thought to question him on, and then bitten his lip bloody when Paul had corrected him anyway and told him he was shaping up to be the most useless fucking driver this side of the M25.

Edwin, when he first saw the car, was only more tactful than Crystal by dint of swearing less. “That cannot possibly be safe,” he said, eyes wide. “Charles, you aren’t going to drive this!”

“I’ve already driven it,” Charles sighed. “It’s fine, Edwin! Passed its MOT and everything.” He watched Edwin peer in through the windows, a somewhat aghast expression on his face.

“It’s only got four gears! Is that legal?”

“Yes.” Charles rolled his eyes. “Course it’s legal. Means it’s practically a classic.” He patted the roof again, and watched in mingled amusement and exasperation as Edwin examined the left wing mirror, which was so tightly wrapped with duct tape that it was nearly a centimetre thicker than it should’ve been. “You won’t be complaining when I’m driving us around.”

“Won’t I.” Edwin pulled a face as he straightened up. “I suppose we’ll have to wait and see. You’d better pass the test, hadn’t you?”

The threat of paying for another test hung over Charles like a sword, and he gave Edwin a big grin. “No fear. I’m practicing every free minute I can get Mum out of the house.”

It paid off, thankfully. Charles had to get out and sit on the tarmac for a minute after the instructor informed him he’d passed and left him to it. Charles was so relieved he’d done it he was nearly faint. His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out and thumbed open the notification, startled into a bright laugh when he saw that Edwin had papped him, slumped on the ground with his head between his knees.

Looking around, he saw Edwin coming over from across the road, and scrambled to his feet as he approached.

“Oh!” Edwin took in his beaming smile and relaxed. “I wasn’t sure. You passed?”

“I passed!” Charles thrust both hands in the air, laughing, and Edwin grinned and –

They didn’t hug all that often, really, but Charles felt the warm shock of it go through him like a wave as Edwin wrapped his arms around his middle. He dropped his arms to hug Edwin back tightly, bouncing a little with the sheer relief, and felt Edwin’s laugh against his neck as another gust of heat.

Charles couldn’t get his insurance upgraded for twenty-four hours, tragically, but as soon as it came into effect the next day, he went to pick Edwin up so they could go to Crystal’s. Which was going to be a journey of only twenty minutes now he could drive – no more waiting around at bus stops in the pissing rain, no more missed connections, no more stress. It was bliss.

Charles had been in cars with Edwin before, but only when both of them had been passengers. Charles couldn’t stop grinning as he made a big show of leading Edwin round to the passenger side, opening the door for him and then pushing him in.

“Must we do this right now?” Edwin asked nervously. Charles closed the door, and Edwin started rolling down the window desperately, continuing to talk as Charles made his way back round to the driver’s side. “I don’t think we need to be hasty, Charles! You only just passed; don’t you want to ease into it?”

“Relax, mate.” Charles swung himself in (the whole car rocked when he sat down, making Edwin stiffen). “I’ve logged loads of hours. And I only got two minors yesterday!”

“Oh?”

“Stalled at a roundabout,” Charles slammed the door shut. “And didn’t check the rear-view mirror once when I should’ve. Tiny stuff, nothing to worry about.”

“Stalling does not sound like nothing.”

“Nah, it’s not a big deal. Just need to stay calm, restart the car, keep going. And if anyone honks you, they’re a wanker.”

“That’s the official advice, is it?”

“Might as well be.” Charles turned the engine over and grinned at Edwin. “Seatbelt on.”

Edwin made a funny little sound somewhere between a gulp and a moan, and grabbed at the belt like it was about to run away from him.

Charles knew he was a good driver. He’d had ten lessons (at extortionate prices, but since it was either that or let his dad teach him, he’d swallowed the cost) and picked everything up with what the instructor had called ‘impressive speed’. He’d gotten Jenny to let him drive her car around empty car parks after he helped her close up the shop, and she’d grudgingly conceded that he wasn’t shit. His mum had called him a natural on lots of their drives together (and that had been lovely, actually, spending time with her without his dad looming nearby).

And most importantly of all, his dad had found fewer and fewer faults on their drives. Charles reckoned that if he could drive under the near-unbearable pressure of his dad’s constant judgement, nitpicking, and occasional smack to the head, then he could handle driving in pretty much any conditions the world wanted to throw at him. A normal traffic jam was bliss just by comparison to a traffic jam in Paul Rowland’s company, trapped in close proximity while he swore and cursed and criticised everyone in sight.

Charles would never have to let his dad drive him anywhere ever again.

He gave Edwin a grin that was possibly too big for the actual moment, put the car in gear, and checked his mirrors. He realised as he did so that he didn’t have to hold himself small anymore, and laughed as he stretched his arm around the back of Edwin’s seat and twisted to look out of the back as he reversed out of the driveway.

“This car is ludicrously small,” Edwin was muttering. “I can’t believe you bought this, it’s practically toy-sized.”

Charles laughed and squeezed Edwin’s shoulder as he pulled his arm back to the front. “You can put your seat back – there’s a lever underneath. Not the car’s fault we’re both tall, is it?”

Edwin grumbled, fiddling with the seat, and looked up just in time to brace himself in alarm as Charles approached the main road. “Oh God,” he muttered. “You’re sure you passed?”

“Hundred percent, mate.” Charles flicked the indicator on, checked both ways, pulled out. Registered Edwin flinging his arm into the door to brace himself again, and snorted. “Relax, Edwin!”

Edwin made a strangled sound that somehow managed to convey panic, irritation, and an apology in one. Charles laughed, and shifted gears. This was what it was all about. The humiliation of always being the oldest in whatever year he was in at school because he’d been held back in primary was worth it now. Being a whole year ahead of his friends meant he’d be on taxi duty for months if not more than a year, and he’d been looking forward to it for ages.

Niko was already over at Crystal’s, and they both shrieked when Charles pulled up outside, his the ugliest, oldest car that had probably ever touched the gravel there. Screaming, yelling, jumping around and hugging him – everything he’d hoped for. Niko had even made him a cake, which she presented him with while workshopping car names with Crystal, who flatly vetoed Charles’ one and only suggestion of ‘Chas Smash’.

“What were you gonna do if I failed?” Charles laughed, admiring the curly CONGRATULATIONS! iced on top.

“It would’ve been a consolation cake.” Niko shrugged.

Charles hugged her again for that, just because he could. Sometimes he loved his friends so much it felt like his heart would actually burst from it. Which, if he was honest, was part of the reason he was so pumped to be able to offer his services as a taxi. He thought he managed to not sound pathetic, aiming for bragging instead when he said he could give them lifts anytime, anywhere.

There was nothing wrong with wanting to give them nice things, was there? Or wanting to spend even more time with them? Charles liked being a good mate, that was all. He liked knowing his friends could rely on him.

The best part about being able to give them lifts, of course, was how Charles having a car changed everything before and after sixth form, picking up and dropping off pretty much every day. He was already an early riser (by habit, if not exactly by choice), so it wasn’t a hardship to wake up twenty minutes earlier to go and pick Edwin up from his place, then swing by Crystal’s, and finally Niko’s (she’d finally decided that the car was called Morris). There were variations – the girls wouldn’t always want to come in first thing if they didn’t have to, but Charles never wanted to be at home more than he absolutely had to be, and the same went for Edwin.

From sixth form, there were plenty of places that were now in reach that hadn’t been before. And at the weekends and some afternoons, the world – well, maybe wasn’t exactly their oyster, but it was definitely more of their oyster than it had been. Every chance Charles had to drive, he took, and he always preferred company over driving solo.

“It’s safer,” he protested to Edwin, who said that he would have expected passengers only provided distractions. “You keep me aware! Plus, you don’t want me fiddling about with my phone while I’m driving, do you?”

“So I’m merely a glorified radio, is that it?” Edwin sniped. “Honestly, Charles, it’s not as if – ngghh!” Hands braced on door and dashboard, knees jerking up as some twat came charging round the roundabout and overtook them, cutting Charles off at the exit.

Charles only rolled his eyes and paused to let them, following a second later. He’d decided years ago that he was never going to be the sort of driver who lost their temper over every tiny thing. Shouting drivers made for scared passengers, in his experience. He’d certainly flinched enough in the backseat of his dad’s car that he’d practically developed a tic.

“Nah, you’re way better than a radio.” Charles grinned. “A radio doesn’t shout at me if it thinks I’m speeding.” Just to emphasise it, he revved them along the road, jumping up to thirty fast enough to make Edwin squawk.

“Charles! Slow down!”

“I’m going the limit, mate, look.” Charles pointed at the speedometer, smiling. “Relax.”

“If you tell me to relax one more time I’m going to put a dead fish under your seat,” Edwin said darkly, and Charles laughed.

“Only be hurting yourself there, wouldn’t you? You’re in this car just as much as I am.”

It was true that most of the time Charles was behind the wheel, Edwin was riding shotgun. Crystal had tried to fight it on a few occasions, but had to concede that Edwin needed the legroom in the front much more than she did. Most days now started with Charles picking Edwin up from outside his parents’ house and ended with him dropping Edwin back, usually in the evenings. Ever since Charles and Niko had gotten jobs at Jenny’s, the four of them congregated there more than anywhere else. Edwin and Crystal would claim the window table and make the place look busy and attractive, and Charles and Niko would do Jenny’s bidding. And if there were no customers, they could chat, and Jenny didn’t mind.

She despaired at being overrun by teenagers, but it was her own fault for having a bleeding heart.

The point was, Charles quickly became attuned to the various sounds of Edwin in the passenger seat, and started figuring out how to produce each one. It wasn’t an exact science, but it didn’t take a genius to put together cause and effect. Cause: Charles took the big roundabout by the Sainsbury’s petrol station at a normal speed. Effect: Edwin clutched the door and spread his legs to stop his body swaying even a tiny bit. Cause: Charles went through an amber light. Effect: Edwin squawked at him to slow down! Cause: Charles put his foot all the way down to get them up a hill. Effect: Edwin pressed his hand against the ceiling and went, “Charles, Charles, Charles!” in increasing panic even though they were staying at the same speed the whole way up, because he was convinced a loud engine meant a faster one.

The thing was, Edwin was a nervous passenger, and now Charles was thinking back, he always sort of had been. But being up front in what was admittedly a pretty junky old car with Charles driving sent those nerves into overdrive. And yeah, Charles obviously wanted to reassure Edwin and make him feel safe and at ease and all that. But the combination of Edwin freaking out over things like the car going over a speedbump and Charles’ inherent sense of mischief was too tempting to ignore.

And it was fun, wasn’t it, jolting over speedbumps to make Edwin go, “Charles! For God’s sake!” And it was funny when they drove out of residential areas and Charles got to go faster than 40mph – even up and over 60 sometimes, no easy feat with only four gears and three passengers weighing them down – and Edwin snapped at the girls for distracting Charles and clung to his seat and raked his hands through his hair and moaned faintly when Charles overtook people.

Edwin was so rarely anything other than perfectly composed, was the thing. Charles drove them all to Margate one Saturday, the poor car whining along the M2 with fogged-up windows because it was too cold and they were going too fast to open them more than a crack, and the air conditioning couldn’t cope with four hot bodies in such a small space, and Edwin was practically having kittens the whole way there.

So when they parked up, Charles bounced out, pulled his seat forward so the girls could clamber out of the back (groaning and stretching dramatically) and ran round to open the door for Edwin, who was doing an impression of an iced-over concertina in the passenger seat.

“Come on.” Charles grabbed his arm and levered him out, and just sort of instinctively hugged him. Edwin looked like he needed it, was all. And Edwin stood still for a second before he hugged Charles back, breathing out very slowly. “I wasn’t even going that fast,” Charles said soothingly. “She can barely get up to seventy. We were in the slow lane the whole way here.”

Edwin made a grumbly sort of sound into the collar of Charles’ jacket. “Your peripheral vision was severely impaired by the condensation.”

“We were fine, Edwin.” Charles squeezed, and felt Edwin sigh, and relax. And that was –

Well, it was good, wasn’t it? Charles swallowed and let go, smiling widely. “And it’s only another two hours on the way back!”

“Charles!” Edwin groaned, pushing a hand through his hair again. “Don’t remind me.”

It was bloody freezing at the seaside in February, and Charles ended up lending Edwin his scarf, all of them huddling close in their winter coats. But it was worth it, to go where they liked on a day off, and hang out together like this.

“We hang out every day, Charles,” Edwin said when Charles mentioned that, with an eyeroll and a small smile.

“And I’ll never get sick of it,” Charles grinned, flinging a companiable arm around Edwin’s shoulder.

Edwin was, if anything, even worse on the way back, since the sun had set and it started to rain, and even Charles was a bit tense driving on the motorway for only the third time in his life in those conditions. But having Edwin absolutely bricking it in the seat next to him was a spur to pretend to be completely at ease.

“It’s fine,” he told Edwin, who was once again wiping ineffectually at the windows with the shammy cloth. “Trust me, yeah?”

“It’s not a question of trusting you.“ Edwin snapped. “Of course I trust you! It’s every other idiot on the road I don’t trust!”

Charles grinned. “Awww, thanks, mate.” The girls obligingly joined in from the back, cooing, and Edwin huffed.

“That’s – shut up, that’s not the point! Take this and do the back, will you?” He thrust the cloth at Niko, who twisted to wipe the condensation off as much of the back window as she could reach.

Charles dropped the girls home first, and for some reason he got out when they got to Edwin’s, running round to open the door for him again.

“Really, Charles, you don’t actually have to pretend to be our chauffer,” Edwin muttered, using Charles’ offered arm to help himself out. The car was pretty low to the ground, after all.

“I don’t mind. You alright?” Charles gripped Edwin’s shoulder gently.

“Yes.” Edwin scowled. “I wish you’d go slower on the motorway though.”

Charles snorted and pulled him into another hug. Maybe this could be something they did, he thought wildly. Maybe this was the key to getting Edwin to accept more hugs. “It’s more dangerous to go too slowly, you know.”

“Hmph.” Edwin accepted that with bad grace, but he didn’t pull away until Charles let go of him.

And Charles just sort of…kept doing it. It was so easy to rile Edwin up when he was driving, and it was a thrill every time. Especially if they were on an empty road. Charles could have loads of fun on an empty road.

Cause: Charles stop-started them down the whole street, innocently protesting that he was just proving how good the brakes were. Effect: Edwin groaned louder and louder on every jerky stop.

Cause: Charles took them round and round the mini roundabouts by The Hare and Hounds (always dead and empty first thing in the morning), insisting he couldn’t remember which exit they needed to take and complaining about how complicated mini roundabouts were. Effect: Edwin spread his legs in the footwell, braced his hand on Charles’s shoulder, bitched Charles out, and then yelped every time Charles finally took the exit.

Cause: Charles angled the car just right to hit big puddles on Edwin’s side. Effect: Edwin recoiled from the sound and the splash against his window, usually so hard that he ended up pressed against Charles’ side over the console in the middle, a tense line of startled irritation.

Cause: Charles diverted to take them up the steep hill behind the big Lidl so they could come down into the back carpark of the school and not have to fight for a space. Effect: Edwin’s increasingly breathy, “Oh God, oh God, oh God,”’s as Charles put pedal to metal and bullied the car up the incline.

Charles didn’t take the hill when the girls were in the car with him, usually. For some reason it made Crystal roll her eyes and Niko giggle.

It was like a joke now, between him and Edwin. Sort of. He knew Edwin was playing it up when he waited for Charles to come round to the side and open the door for him and help him out. Edwin would groan and grumble and pretend to have weak knees from the speed of Charles’ (completely safe and under the limit) driving. He stopped bracing himself so extremely and let himself sway with the motion of the car to emphasise his sounds of pretend panic.

It was part of the game for Charles to grin and start driving before Edwin had buckled his seatbelt, just to make him squeak. Just like it was part of the game for Edwin to groan and say, “Oh God, please, Charles, please don’t,” as they approached a set of traffic lights that were just about to turn amber.

It was a game, pressing Edwin’s buttons. Charles didn’t really think about it much, the way it had started making something flip over in the pit of his stomach when he went round a sharp bend and Edwin went, “Ohhhh God!” on a sort of sing-song moan. He knew his car well at this point, he and Edwin both knew they weren’t actually in any danger. It was just a bit of fun, putting his arm behind Edwin’s seat when he reversed and tousling his hair when he pulled back to face forwards again. Figuring out exactly where the line was to nudge Edwin from “Charles, don’t you dare!” to “Charles, please, plea – nhgghh!”

The one time Charles nearly did get into trouble was in the bloody carpark at sixth form, of all places. The back carpark was a walk from the main buildings, and Charles, Edwin, and the girls were halfway to the car when some of the pricks from St. Hil’s screeched in and started doing doughnuts round the empty end. By consensus, they all stopped talking, on alert, and piled into the car as quickly as they could, like if they moved quickly they could avoid notice.

“Charles,” Edwin whispered, eyes on the spinning silver Audi, far nicer than any new driver needed, in Charles’ opinion.

“S’alright.” Charles buckled himself in. “I’ve got it.”

“We could just wait for them to leave,” Niko suggested.

“We’re already in the car,” Crystal said. “And you’ve got a shift in half an hour.”

Charles knew what was going to happen. He knew he was going to make calmly for the exit, and the pricks in the Audi were going to block him, and they’d have to play a stupid dancing game of chicken, and they’d waste ten minutes or more before either the pricks got bored or someone else came to leave and they had to cave under pressure of higher numbers.

And he and Niko would be late for their shifts. And Jenny wouldn’t be a dick about it, but she wouldn’t be happy. And Charles was getting pissed off just thinking about it, because he hated being late for anything, he hated making people wait for him, he hated letting people down.

So he turned the engine over, double checked that everyone had their seatbelts on, and said, “Alright, everyone hold on and don’t scream.”

He revved the engine while the pricks span one last lazy, wide-spinning doughnut, and Edwin just had time to say a panicked, “Wait, Charles –!” before Charles gunned the car directly at the Audi.

He was pretty sure they held on, but Niko and Edwin both screamed, and Crystal made a noise he’d never heard her make before.

The Audi turned, its driver spooking, and Charles braked, wrenched the wheel round, threw his arm out across Edwin’s chest to stop him lurching forwards, and barely avoided swinging the Polo’s back end into the Audi’s side as they screeched sideways and he hurried out of the carpark gates.

“You motherfucker!” Crystal yelled, recovering. “Jesus fucking Christ, Charles, what the fuck was that?”

“Let’s maybe save the bollocking for Jenny’s, yeah?” Charles said, a bit sharper than he meant to. His heart was bloody racing, he realised, and his hands were tight on the steering wheel.

“You can’t just –”

“Crystal!” Edwin interrupted. “Let’s all calm down before we start shouting. We mustn’t distract the driver.”

Abruptly, Niko burst into frantic giggles. “Oh no!” she said breathlessly. “We wouldn’t want that!”

It broke the tension, thankfully, so by the time they got to Jenny’s, all Charles had to do was dole out apologies and hugs, which he’d been planning to do anyway.

Still, that evening as he drove down Edwin’s road to drop him off, he muttered, “Sorry again, about the carpark.”

“It’s fine, Charles.” Edwin looked at him. “I know we joke, but you are an exemplary driver.” When they parked, he gave Charles what he realised with a funny swoop in his stomach was an expectant look, and he swallowed down a trembly sort of feeling in his chest as he jumped out and went round to open Edwin’s door for him.

Edwin took his hand and pulled himself up, out, and into Charles’ arms for a tight hug.

Charles settled into it, rubbing his chin against Edwin’s shoulder. “So this means we can try doughnuts tomorrow then, yeah?”

Edwin snorted, and they let go of each other. “Not on your life,” he said dryly. “You’ll give me grey hairs.”

“You’d look well distinguished,” Charles grinned, brushing his fingertips through the hair at Edwin’s temple. “Proper silver fox.”

“I can’t be a silver fox before I’m even twenty,” Edwin protested, aggrieved, and he and Charles both snickered.

Charles found himself rubbing his chest on his own way home, turning off the stereo for once to drive in silence. He couldn’t have said why.

The real clincher though, was a couple of weeks after that.

Charles had gone back to teasing Edwin immediately, always aiming to get another yelp of alarm or a bitten-off gasp, but especially treasuring the occasions he could get Edwin to gabble out a few breathy strings of, “Charles, Charles, Charles!” or “Oh God, ohhhhh my God!” both for the triumph of getting Edwin to lose his composure (always fun) and the hot, squirmy feeling it gave him in the pit of his belly (shockingly addictive).

But then, on a perfectly ordinary drive back to Edwin’s, Edwin groaned in that melodramatically tortured way of his and said, “Charles, please, I am begging you to slow down.”

And the twist of heat that went through Charles’ entire body at that was so overpowering that he nearly gasped out loud.

“I’m barely going over thirty, mate,” he said, smiling automatically even as he eased his foot off the pedal a fraction.

It made Edwin sigh in relief when he did that, an exaggerated, “Thank you, Charles,” usually following.

Charles dropped Edwin off, and as soon as Edwin’s back was turned, he pressed his hand to his crotch and swallowed a little moan of his own.

Well, fuck.

It was a real night of soul-searching, that was for sure. And a couple of wanks, because now Charles had connected the dots, he was not immune to the memory of Edwin moaning and gasping his name the way he’d been doing for literally months.

It did make an embarrassing sort of sense now, the way he and Edwin had amped it up when the girls weren’t in the car with them.

Charles brought himself off quickly the first time, eyes closed, remembering the exact cadence of Edwin’s voice when he’d said, “Charles, please, I am begging you.”

Begging you, begging you, begging you.

He got his imagination more involved on the second round, wondering what it would be like to hear Edwin say things like that in a different context. Edwin begging him not to stop, Edwin panting and groaning while Charles put his mouth to good use, Edwin’s voice rising in that sing-song breathless way – “Charles, Charles, Charles!” – and his messed-up hair, his face flushed. Charles didn’t get to look at him when he was driving, not really, but he could imagine it.

Afterwards, cleaned up and lying still and slightly shellshocked on his bed, Charles wondered whether he had a chance. He’d been friends with Edwin since they were fourteen, since they’d both attended the absolutely nightmarish summer drama programme St. Hilarion’s, Bewick Academy, and The Grove School ran together each year, the idea being that St. Hil’s stumped up their facilities for the local povvos and the plebs paid them back by filling out the ranks of whatever theatre performance they wanted to put on that autumn.

(That year had been a musical, Our House, which had sent Charles down a Madness spiral he’d never quite climbed out of. Half the CDs in his car were old 2-tone ska classics, even now, and he’d never be able to untangle the discovery of the music from discovering Edwin.)

Charles had been quite keen on the whole acting idea (and especially on being out of the house all summer), until a few of the St. Hil’s lads reminded him via attempted drowning that his place was backstage, not in the spotlight. Which ended up being fine by him, because backstage was where Edwin was, and they’d been best mates by the time school started up again, and stayed that way ever since.

Edwin had joined the Grove’s sixth form after GCSE’s, against his family’s wishes, and fallen in with Charles, Crystal, and Niko as though he’d always been there. He’d never needed to tell them he was gay, the same way Niko never had. They just made it obvious, in ways they couldn’t help and ways they could.

The same way Crystal and Charles had never said they were bi. They just didn’t bother hiding it.

So there was a chance in that sense. And Charles wasn’t completely oblivious, despite how long tonight’s realisation had been in coming. The question was, had Edwin been playing up the sounds and the babbling for the same reasons Charles had been provoking them? Was it flirting, or just fun?

There was only one way to find out. Charles covered his hands with his face in the dark and tried not to laugh helplessly. There was absolutely more than one way to find out, of course. He could ask. But at the same time, there was no way he could ask. No – the only solution was to kick the flirting into high gear and see how Edwin reacted. If he looked at Charles like he was insane, he could back off, and they could go back to normal.

(Charles tried to ignore the little thread of hungry despair that sliced through him at that idea.)

If Edwin met and matched him, and kept egging it on…well.

(Charles tried to ignore the aching pulse of hope at that idea too. Nothing good ever came of getting his hopes up in advance.)

He started the very next morning, seeing no reason to hold back. Edwin got into the car, buckled himself in, and Charles grinned at him, dragging the moment out until Edwin started to frown back at him in suspicion. “Charles, what –”

Charles revved the engine and jerked them forward so fast he very nearly stalled, which would’ve been embarrassing as hell, but luckily it worked and Edwin just let out a little yelp of surprise. “Charles!”

“Yeah?” Charles kept his eyes on the road, still smiling broadly.

“Please, not first thing in the morning,” Edwin groaned. “I’m barely awake.”

“Bet I could wake you up.”

“Oh God, that’s not a challenge!”

“Nah, too late, challenge accepted.”

“Oh God.” Edwin made a lovely little sound in the back of his throat as Charles reached the bottom of his road and braked harder than necessary. “You’re a bloody menace.”

You love it, Charles nearly said. “All for a good cause,” he said instead.

“What’s the cause? Ghha!” Edwin braced himself as Charles pulled out into the road.

“Making sure you’re awake for Chemistry, aren’t I?”

“Really, Charles, that isn’t – nnmph – ah, necessary.”

“No skin off my nose, don’t worry.” Charles grinned, slowing down and then adjusting so only Edwin’s side of the car went over the speedbumps outside St. Mark’s primary school.

Edwin jolted in his seat and let out a heartfelt groan. “You’re actually the worst. You’re going to give me a ruptured spine!”

“You’ll be fine.” Daring, Charles reached over and patted Edwin’s thigh. “Besides, it’s good to get the blood flowing first thing, yeah?”

“Not – that’s not what – mragh!” Edwin yelped again as Charles braked (not even hard this time) so another car could pass them on the narrow bit.

Charles kept it up all the way to the carpark, including taking them up the big hill, his heart thumping heavy in his chest at the way Edwin’s voice rose higher and higher. He reversed them into a space and, daring again, squeezed the back of Edwin’s neck more than his shoulder as he withdrew his hand.

Was he imagining the way Edwin’s breath hitched? Were those goosebumps on Edwin’s arms?

Charles jumped out and went to open the passenger door, holding out his customary hand. Edwin didn’t take it immediately, making a show of glaring at him, one hand over his heart.

“A bit fast today, Charles,” he said, finally grabbing Charles’ hand and letting Charles pull him up and out and into their usual hug. Edwin let out an exaggerated sigh of relief.

“Good to have your feet on solid ground?” Charles teased, holding Edwin tightly. It was a good thing they’d started doing this in winter, he thought. He’d acclimatised enough that he could act normal now, even though he could feel Edwin’s stomach against his as they breathed, the line of buttons down the front of Edwin’s shirt pressing into him, the knobs of Edwin’s spine under his arms.

Christ, what the hell was he going to do if Edwin didn’t want this? Didn’t want him, like this?

“You have no idea,” Edwin muttered.

Were they slower to let go of each other than usual? Were Edwin’s hands lingering a little?

Charles had a free period first thing, so he sat in the library and tried to watch one of the info videos they’d been given in Music Tech, gave up after five minutes, mucked about on his phone for twenty, then went back to the car to go and pick up Niko and Crystal.

They’d both said he didn’t have to, but this way they both got a bit of a lie-in, and Charles hardly minded. They all paid in for fuel, so the only thing he was giving up was his time, and he was more than happy to do that.

The whole way to Crystal’s, Charles thought about telling her. By the time he got there, he’d talked himself out of it. If he told Crystal, he’d have to tell Niko, and what Niko knew, Edwin would too. The four of them were maybe a tiny bit codependent.

So if the girls found out about his newly-discovered crush, the time pressure would be fucking on, because the longest any of them had ever been able to keep a secret from the others was eight days, and Charles wanted to give himself a little more breathing space than that.

No – he just had to stick to his guns and follow the plan. More flirting, more often. Not just in the car either. He sat closer to Edwin in the common room and the canteen at school, let his trainer rest gently against the edge of Edwin’s shoe, leaned in close to his side and didn’t lean back.

They were already pretty touchy, was the thing, but Charles pushed it further, let those touches linger. And Edwin was doing the same, he was nearly positive. Next to each other in the library, Edwin ran a finger down the pad of paper Charles was resting on his thighs, giving his usual spelling and grammar checks, and after, fingers resting on the page, the heel of his palm and his thumb rested on the top of Charles’ thigh, right against the crease of his hip.

Charles tortured himself by imagining Edwin’s hand moving in, pushing down, long fingers drawing down the zip of his fly and slipping underneath.

He had to force his mind in other directions for a couple of minutes after, willing his dick to calm the fuck down.

At work, Charles started leaning against the back of Edwin’s chair when he came over to chat to him and Crystal, leaning his elbow on Edwin’s shoulder like it was just a convenient height. It meant he got Edwin’s hair against his bare arm, occasionally his cheek when he turned his head, sometimes even his neck when he looked up at Charles with a strange spark in his eyes, like he knew what Charles was doing, but wasn’t sure enough to say anything.

And in the car, of course. Now with added contact. Charles brushing his hand through Edwin’s hair or along the back of his neck before squeezing his shoulder every time he reversed. Edwin dipping his hand into the bag of mint imperials in the cupholder between the front two seats and pressing the back of his hand briefly to Charles’ thigh. Bracing himself against Charles’ shoulder more and more on the turns.

There was a memorable occasion when Charles asked Edwin if he could pass him his sunglasses, and Edwin waited for them to pause at a junction, then turned Charles’ head slightly towards him with a finger on his jaw, and slid the glasses directly onto his face.

Charles’ heart thumped. He wasn’t sure whether his, “Cheers, mate,” sounded as normal as it could’ve.

“Anytime.” Edwin, of course, sounded cool as anything. Which meant that Charles had to take the next corner a little faster than normal just to make him whine his name in that breathy, choked way that went simultaneously to Charles’ dick and his head.

Not super safe while he was driving, he could admit that, but he was right up against it here. He was getting desperate.

The four of them stayed over at Crystal’s semi-regularly. Charles would lie and say he was going to a house party (which was more acceptable than anything else to his dad), Edwin would lie and say he was going to a study session, Niko would tell her parents the truth because they actually loved and trusted her, and Crystal wouldn’t have to say anything to her parents because they were hardly ever fucking there.

It was never a wild time – Crystal had gone through her party years in secondary at a few horrible private schools she never talked about, and hardly drank at all anymore. They’d experimented a bit here and there, but there was something a bit weird about Crystal dryly telling them exactly how they could expect to feel after each drink, predicting with unnerving accuracy how they’d act, and being there in the morning to smugly offer painkillers and water.

So on this occasion, Niko and Edwin made their slow way through a bottle of wine, and Crystal and Charles didn’t have anything.

(It had occurred to Charles that one of the other reasons he liked being the driver was the excuse not to drink. He’d looked that in the eye, considered it, and promptly buried it to never think about ever again.)

It meant they were all feeling fresh in the morning when they went outside, ready for Charles to drive them to the woods for a nice day of trying not to think about revision and impending exams. It meant Charles saw the mostly-flat front left tyre and had to breathe through a horrible wave of crushing despair, feeling like a failure for letting the others down like this, when they’d all been so excited to go.

“Shit,” he said, inadequately.

“Shit,” Crystal echoed, dismayed. “Do you have a spare?”

“No.” He should, but the car hadn’t come with one, and getting one had been a pretty low priority, considering he was still chipping away at what he owed his dad. Just £120 left to go, but only because he’d been letting Niko bring him food every day at sixth form and giving his dad as much of his pay as he could while still keeping the car on the road.

“That’s okay,” Niko said, phone in hand. “My dad’s car has a buckled tyre – I think that’s what he calls it – and he says it just needs pumping up every now and then. Do your parents have one of these?” She turned her phone to Crystal, who wrinkled her nose.

“No idea. We can check the garage?”

“You do that,” Edwin said. He’d sidled up close to Charles, and was now nearly pressing their shoulders together. “We’ll load up the car.”

Crystal snorted, but dumped her bags and went round the corner with Niko to see if they could find whatever device was maybe going to help.

“Shit,” Charles said again, and now Edwin did sway into him, a gentle bump of shoulder to shoulder.

“It’s fine, Charles. We’ll fix it.”

“You shouldn’t have to,” Charles sighed, bending down to pick up Crystal’s bags. “It’s my car. I should’ve got a spare.”

“I don’t think we’ll need one, if Crystal’s parents have one of those pumps Niko showed her. And if she doesn’t, I expect Niko can ask her father to pop over and take a look.”

A little spike went through Charles’ heart, and he opened the boot so he wouldn’t have to look at Edwin. They were all jealous of Niko having such lovely parents, but sometimes it stung so sharply that Charles almost wanted to cry.

“Besides,” Edwin said, coming over to put the other bags in the boot as well, and taking the opportunity to brush their arms together as he did so. “You might be the driver, but we’re all in here often enough that we could probably go in for co-ownership at this point.”

Charles snorted, and when he glanced at Edwin, he was smiling.

“Cheer up,” he said lightly. “Don’t be so melodramatic, Charles.”

Charles laughed, and they both looked around at a shout from Niko.

“We’ve got one!” she said excitedly, holding aloft something circular and black. “Morris will live!”

Edwin sat in the passenger seat to plug the device into the car, and Charles ended up kneeling basically at his feet while the tyre inflator buzzed loudly and did its thing. It was magical watching the tyre slowly inflate again, the pressure increasing little by little. Charles decided he needed to get one of his own, especially after Niko told him they were only about £20.

Once he detached the cable from the tyre and screwed the cap back on, ears ringing a little from the sudden quiet, Edwin’s elegant hand appeared in front of him, calmly expectant. Charles didn’t really know what he was thinking – he supposed he’d just conditioned himself over the last few months into one action when Edwin held out his hand from the passenger seat like this and Charles was outside.

He took Edwin’s hand, then looked up at him and frowned, starting to smile. “Wait, what?” He was kneeling down – Edwin clearly didn’t want to get out.

Edwin was smiling too, nearly laughing. “The tyre machine, Charles.” Quick and glorious, his thumb swept a line along Charles’ knuckles, his skin tingling in its wake.

“Right!” Charles squeezed Edwin’s hand before letting go, and handed him the inflator. “Ha, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Crystal muttered from behind him. “Okay, tyre good? Day trip still on?”

Charles bounced to his feet and kicked the tyre. “We’re on!”

“And you’ll drive extra carefully to compensate for the potentially punctured tyre, yes?” Edwin said hopefully, and Charles grinned down at him.

“I always drive extra carefully, you know that!”

Edwin groaned dramatically, head falling back onto the headrest, and Niko giggled.

They took the tyre inflator with them just in case they needed it again, and at the end of the day when Charles made to hand it back to Crystal when she got out, she shook her head.

“Like my parents are ever gonna use it?” she snorted. “Keep it in the boot, it might come in handy.”

It came in handy not twenty minutes later, when Edwin refused to get out of the car at his place until Charles used it to check the pressure of the tyre again.

It had to be an excuse. Charles knelt on the ground next to Edwin’s open door, leaning against him, holding up the inflator to show him the dial. “See?” he said, looking up, and found Edwin leaning down, face so close that Charles’ heart skipped a beat. Edwin wasn’t looking at him, only the dial, a little line between his brows.

“I don’t know whether this is good or not,” he admitted, and Charles grinned, leaning into him a little harder, kneeling up to show him.

“See the blue wedge? As long as the hand’s in that area, we’re good. And it was looking like this this morning when we left, so I don’t reckon it’s lost any pressure at all, or barely any.”

“Alright.” Edwin pressed the button to turn the thing off, relaxing. “As long as you’ll get home safe.”

“I always do.” Charles grinned, winding the cable back into the inflator and – fuck it – putting his hand on Edwin’s thigh to brace himself as he chucked it into the back seat. This close, he could definitely hear Edwin’s breathing hitch. This close, Charles could see Edwin’s mouth drop open on a barely-there gasp when he went a step further and squeezed before pulling back.

Charles pushed himself to his feet, a little embarrassed by his own boldness, and held his hand out. Edwin took it without any hesitation, and Charles nearly staggered, laughing, as Edwin pulled himself upwards and practically flung himself against Charles’ front.

Edwin was usually a both-arms-around-the-middle kind of hugger, but tonight, he wrapped one arm low around Charles’ waist, and crooked the other up along his spine so his fingertips were just pressing to Charles’ nape. Charles never wanted to let him go.

And maybe Edwin had the same idea, because he tightened his grip, and then said in a rush, “You could come over tomorrow, if you want. My parents are visiting friends, we could revise or – I could check your next essay, or something.”

No mention of inviting the girls. Charles grinned, and squeezed Edwin tightly before they both drew back. “Sounds good.”

“Good,” Edwin echoed, cheeks maybe a little pink. “Right. See you tomorrow then.”

“See you tomorrow.”

Not even a nasty tirade from his dad on Charles’ slow repayment of the car money could dampen his spirits that night. The only thing that could do that was turning up to Edwin’s the next morning and seeing his parents’ car still in the drive, and Edwin hurrying out with a pinched expression on his face, bag heavy over his shoulder.

He yanked the passenger door open and fell inside. “Drive, please,” he said, “I’ll explain on the way. Pretend you’re in a hurry.”

“On it.” Charles floored it, relishing the high-pitched, “Charles!” it got him. “Where’s the fire?”

“Gghh.” Edwin recovered, giving a dramatic shudder. “I should’ve known better than to tell you to pretend to be in a hurry.”

“I can always speed up.”

“Please don’t.”

“Well, since you asked so nicely.” Charles risked a quick glance at Edwin, who was clearly biting back a smile. Their eyes met for a second before Charles looked forward again, sure he was blushing.

“Mm. Because you’re so receptive to my pleas,” Edwin said dryly.

“I am! Look.” Charles put his foot down, laughing when Edwin made a strangled sound.

“Charles, slow down!”

“What, no please?” Charles grinned. It was definitely bad for the car, but keeping it in second while he pushed it to go thirty made the engine sound like they were really racing, and it made Edwin squeak every time.

“Please!”

Charles switched gears, slowing down by the barest fraction, and Edwin sighed dramatically.

“Thank you. You absolute reprobate.”

“You love it.”

“That’s hardly the point.”

Charles glanced at him again, and grinned when he saw that Edwin was smiling at the road.

“So.” He flicked Edwin’s knee. “Where’re we going?”

“Oh.” Edwin sighed. “Yes, sorry. My parents changed their plans. I thought…I don’t know, it’s a nice day. We could just…go somewhere.”

“Anywhere you like.” Charles smiled. “Just give me directions.”

Edwin hesitated, then got his phone out. “Alright. A surprise then. How much petrol do you have?”

“Nearly a full tank.”

“Very good.”

On the familiar roads, Charles kept up his usual antics, heat trickling through him at every helpless sound Edwin made. He had plenty of time to cool off once they were out in the countryside a bit, or as countryside as it could get within the boundary of the M25. It was still very leafy and green, and Edwin directed him onto narrower roads, single-lane and hemmed in on both sides by hedges and trees.

At one point, they met a van coming the other way, and Charles had to reverse back almost half a mile to somewhere they could both get past each other. He squeezed the back of Edwin’s neck afterwards, rubbing his thumb against the soft skin behind his ear, and got to see Edwin shiver, a flush rising in his ears almost immediately.

Edwin directed him to a little dirt carpark just off the next road, and got out before Charles could think about going round to open the door for him. Charles climbed out and stretched, looking around. There was a footpath marked at the corner of the carpark, and no one else in sight. Only three other cars, and no sound of any nearby roads or people.

“Where are we?” Charles asked, twisting around interestedly.

“Somewhere near Orpington, I think.” Edwin put his bag in the boot, only taking out a bottle of water and a small tube of suncream. “Shall we?”

Charles beamed at him. “This is way better than revising.”

“Hopefully it’ll be cooler under the trees.” Edwin stretched, a couple of joints popping in his spine, and Charles watched openly, knowing Edwin could tell.

It was cooler under the trees, but they walked slowly anyway, meandering as they liked. Hunger drove them back to the car, but they’d been away long enough that Charles’ was the only one left in the carpark.

“Much more your speed, this,” Charles teased as they walked over to it. “Reckon you’ll ever learn to drive?”

Edwin smirked. “Why would I need to, when I’ve got you?”

Charles swayed to bump his shoulder against Edwin’s, grinning. “Even though my driving makes you panic?”

“I do not panic.”

“Mm, don’t you?” Charles raised his eyebrows. “Sounds a lot like panic to me.”

“You do it on purpose,” Edwin huffed.

“Maybe.” There was a shivery sort of feeling unfolding in Charles’ stomach. Edwin turned and leaned against the passenger door, giving Charles that bitten-back smile Charles loved so much. “So what if I do?”

“Well I might ask you why,” Edwin huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. Charles moved closer, taking a deep breath to steady himself.

“Cause I like it,” he said, a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth. This close, he could see the way Edwin’s eyes dropped to his lips for just a second, and it went through him like lightning, raising goosebumps on his arms.

“You like it,” Edwin repeated, still trying not to smile and failing dismally. “You like seeing me panic?”

Charles shook his head and came closer again. Fuck it, he thought, and lifted his hands to cup Edwin’s elbows. Edwin’s lips parted, smile flickering, but not at all in a bad way. Eyes jumping down to Charles’ mouth again, breathing out slowly when Charles skimmed the fingertips of his right hand up Edwin’s arm, under the sleeve of his t-shirt.

“I like seeing you lose your cool,” Charles said in a low voice. He saw Edwin’s tongue dart out to wet his lips and leaned closer still, close enough that there was no denying what he wanted, neither of them smiling anymore. Close enough that he could feel the heat of Edwin’s skin on his face. Close enough their noses were nearly brushing.

“You’re very good at making that happen,” Edwin whispered. He’d uncrossed his arms, and his fingers were against Charles’ chest, a hot palm over Charles’ heart. “Charles…”

They kissed each other at the same time, that shivery feeling in Charles’ stomach flaring into sweet heat as Edwin leaned into him and moaned quietly into his mouth. Charles slid his arms around Edwin’s back, Edwin’s hands found Charles’ face, and Charles, Charles was –

Charles’ head was bloody spinning, every slick movement of Edwin’s lips against his sending sparks down his spine, Edwin’s long fingers against his face hot as brands. No one had ever cupped his jaw to kiss him before; no one had ever cradled his face like he was something beautiful or precious.

Charles pressed Edwin against the car so hard it creaked, and a familiar twist went through his gut when Edwin made a high, startled sound, following it with a small, breathless laugh that Charles could feel against his own mouth.

He wanted to hear it again. Charles kissed Edwin again, then drew back to kiss the corner of his mouth, his cheek, his jaw, and when Edwin let his head fall back with a greedy sigh, Charles squeezed him tightly and pressed a hot, open-mouthed kiss to the sensitive skin of his neck.

“Ahhh,” Edwin breathed. “Charles…”

“Mmm.” Charles did it again, further up, then again, just below Edwin’s earlobe, and moaned when Edwin made a shaky little sound in response. Staying away from his mouth was proving too difficult, so Charles kissed him properly again, both of them getting a little sloppy with it, making hungry sounds that hit Charles like static shocks every time, ratcheting up the feverish heat blazing under his skin.

He pushed his hands under Edwin’s shirt, sliding up his sides, and it made Edwin gasp and hook an ankle around the back of Charles’ calf, leaning against the car in an arch that made Charles want to bite him.

“Charles,” Edwin whispered, and Charles spread his palms wide, slid one up to smooth across Edwin’s chest, feeling it jump under his hand. “Oh God.” Edwin squeezed his eyes shut, mouth hanging open. “Charles…”

Down his belly, fingertips grazing the sweat-damp skin below his waistband. Charles was dizzy with wanting, head ducked to see, pushing Edwin’s shirt up and out of the way so he could. “Let me,” he muttered, forehead against Edwin’s cheekbone, twisting to kiss him. “Can I –”

“Yes,” Edwin said, and let out a breathless laugh when Charles practically tore his shirt off over his head and dropped it on the car roof. “Oh my God, Charles – hnnnggh.” He arched again as Charles dragged both palms down the front of his chest and ducked his head to kiss his sternum, breathing out against the sparse hair there. “Slow down,” Edwin breathed. “You – ahh!” His hips jerked forwards as Charles sealed his lips over one of his nipples and sucked, hard.

Another gorgeous, high sound that set Charles on fire. Another helpless laugh to chase it, Edwin’s hand cupping the back of Charles’ head, fingers twisting gently in his hair, holding him exactly where he was.

Charles was almost down on one knee when Edwin tugged him back up, eyes wide and dark. “Charles Rowland,” he said, “you are not about to give me a blowjob in a carpark where anyone could catch us.”

“You sure?” Charles was breathing hard – it was possible he might never recover from hearing Edwin say give me a blowjob like that. He didn’t think he’d ever been so hard in his life.

“Positive.” Edwin slid his hand to the back of Charles’ neck, and Charles swayed towards him for a deep, filthy kiss.

“Any other suggestions then?” he murmured against Edwin’s lips. “I’ll go anywhere you like.”

“Christ.” Edwin’s fingers spasmed where they were gripping the back of Charles’ shirt. “You can’t just say things like that.”

“Why not?” Charles couldn’t stop running his hands up and down Edwin’s sides and over his bare shoulders. “I would.”

“I know.” Edwin kissed him again, and when he bit down on Charles’ lip he forgot everything and ground his hips forward. It made Edwin gasp out a breathy little moan that very nearly sent Charles over the edge there and then, and only the threat of that embarrassment kept him from doing it again.

“The car?” he suggested, aware that he was grasping at straws here.

But Edwin only shivered and muttered, “Oh…bugger it. Alright.”

They separated in reluctant inches, and then Charles practically ran around to the driver’s side (as much as he could run with a boner he could’ve probably used as a coat hook at this point) to clamber in. Edwin was already there, reaching for him, and Charles was the one to twist across the console as much as he could, hissing when it pulled his jeans tight across his crotch.

Handies in the car wasn’t exactly the most romantic first time, but Charles didn’t think either of them cared very much. Edwin’s hand on him was literally a fantasy come to life, and Charles didn’t even mind about coming in under a minute flat, because it meant he could torture Edwin a little bit, and that was almost better.

“Oh Christ,” Edwin panted, clean hand weak against Charles’ side, forehead pressed hard to Charles’ own. “Charles, come on.”

Brutally slow, Charles rubbed his thumb under the head of Edwin’s cock, his grip so gentle it was making Edwin shake. “Thought you wanted me to slow down,” he said, lightheaded and breathless.

Edwin made a desperate sound that rolled through Charles like hot molasses, his dick twitching despite having just come.

“Ahh…” Edwin said, reedy and thin, trying to thrust into Charles’ loose grip. “Charles!”

So like the way he sounded when Charles was pretending to mess about in the car, that exact tone, almost begging. Charles felt molten, thinking at half-speed through a fog of want. “Yeah?” he breathed, wanting more, wanting Edwin absolutely wrecked, all control gone, everything he wanted only in Charles’ power to give, and knowing that Charles would always, always give it.

Edwin’s whole body rolled, his nails digging into Charles’ side. When Charles tightened his grip slightly, smoothing his thumb over Edwin’s slit to guide the precum down under the head, Edwin practically yelped, throwing his head back against the seat and thrusting up into Charles’ too-gentle hand.

“Fuck, please,” he gabbled, and Charles moaned quietly. “Please, Charles, please.”

Charles’ throat was dry when he swallowed, and he started to stroke Edwin properly, a breath gusting out of him at the way it made Edwin cry out, open-mouthed and utterly shameless.

“Since you asked so nicely,” he heard himself say, as if in a daze, and Edwin’s nails scored stinging lines down his back, a lovely sob breaking out of him as he came over Charles’ fingers.

They cleaned themselves up with tissues, and Charles sat sideways in the driver’s seat to gaze at Edwin, shirtless and rumpled, fly open, dick barely tucked back into his underwear.

“You’re a bloody menace,” Edwin sighed, eyes closed and lips curved into a smile. “You know that?”

“I reckon you don’t mind.” Charles reached over to cup Edwin’s cheek, and Edwin opened his eyes as he turned his head towards him. His eyes dropped to Charles’ lips, and Charles couldn’t help smiling, leaning in to kiss him deeply.

“I don’t,” Edwin agreed, when Charles pulled back. “I wouldn’t have you any other way.”

Charles swept his thumb along Edwin’s cheekbone. “You alright being stuck with me then?”

Edwin’s smile was unguarded and toothy, one of Charles’ favourites. “I think I can live with it.”

Charles’ stomach grumbled loudly, and they both laughed. “I’ve got a banana in my bag,” Edwin said, doing his fly up and opening the door. “Just a tick.”

Charles drove them away from the woods, following Edwin’s directions and smiling so wide his cheeks were aching after only a mile. At a junction, he paused and looked over at Edwin, dappled green and gold light playing in aimless patterns over his skin.

Edwin smiled back, lips twisting as he tried not to let it get out of control.

Charles’ heart leapt. He looked both ways quickly, and revved them out onto the main road, laughing when it made Edwin yelp, “Charles!” And laughing again when Edwin broke into what could only be described as giggles.

They had the whole day ahead of them, Charles thought happily, with plenty of time after that, and lots of empty road in between. There was nowhere else he’d rather be.