the crows go on vacation (and other family things)

fast food & jealousy

"Ca-li-fornia girls, we're unforgettable!"

"Daisy dukes, bikinis on top!"

"Sunkissed skin, so hot-"

"-we'll melt your popsicle!"

The car was blaring California Gurls, and the Crows had all joined in, except for Matthias and Kaz. They had spent so long simply replaying the song over and over until they had mostly memorized it because they had liked it so much. It had been Nina's idea to even sing along to it, but Jesper was just as on board as she was. Kaz had more or less attempted to tune them out, but the occasional twitch in his eye told otherwise.

Out of them all, only Wylan and Inej sang well. Matthias was too queasy to sing along (or was he asleep? Could he even be sleeping when the crew was screaming song lyrics?). Nina was the best dancer, and Jesper...he was doing Jesper things.

Everything was going great until Wylan glanced at the fuel gauge. His heart sunk just as low as the gas tank was. His brows creased as he tapped at the glass, wondering if the car was just malfunctioning. But no, the meter stayed the same. Wylan felt like banging his head against the wheel. Why hadn't they filled up the tank when they'd first started driving? 

"Jesper!" Wylan yelled above the din, trying to get his boyfriend's attention, since he was the closest and most likely to hear him. Jesper, however, was singing so raucously loud that he didn't hear Wylan. "Jesper!" Wylan tried again.

Jesper kept singing.

For a moment, Wylan had no idea what to do. And then he did. The boy smashed his hand onto the wheel, causing the horn to blare loudly for 3 whole seconds. It didn't seem long, but it sure had been long enough that other drivers next to the minivan glanced over at Wylan with annoyed looks on their faces. Wylan shrunk back into his seat, gripping the wheel anxiously. Maybe there had been a better way to get the crew's attention without startling half the highway.

"Was there a reason for that?" came Kaz's annoyed voice.

"Uhm, yea-" Wylan's voice cracked and he winced in embarrassment. "Yeah. The fuel gauge says we're low on gas. Like, really low." 

"How long until we get to McDonald's?" Inej asked from the back. Wylan looked over at the GPS, before remembering he can't read. He gave Jesper an imploring look, and the sharpshooter leaned forward to read for Wylan.

"3 minutes," Jesper answered, leaning back in his seat. He'd gotten his revolvers out from the glove box earlier and now resumed polishing them, having left that activity to join in on the karaoke. 

"We'll manage until then," Kaz decided, his voice carrying an air of finality that meant the conversation was over. 

Wylan sure hoped so.

Instead of going straight to McDonald's, Wylan took a detour to the nearest gas station. He didn't want to end up getting stuck at the restaurant with no gas, so he decided this was a better idea. They could wait a couple of extra minutes for their food.

The station that was nearest was a bp gas station with a Han-Dee Hugo convenience store. Wylan pulled up to a filling station and parked the car before leaning his head back against the seat headrest. For a moment there, he'd been worried their car wouldn't make it that far. But it had, so there's that. Wylan turned off the car, taking the credit card that Kaz handed to him. He, in return, gave back the keys to the boy before getting out of the car. Wylan hesitated for a moment at the pump, his mind blanking and the words (he knew they were words, he really did but he just couldn't read them) swam in front of his eyes.

And then Jesper popped up next to him, helping him out with everything. It severely reminded Wylan of how the Zemeni boy always helped him at council meetings and whatnot, and it didn't help that this had to do with money, either. While Wylan felt guilty that he was almost using Jesper for his ability to read, he knew Jes didn't mind. His boyfriend couldn't care less when it came to helping his merchling, and for that, Wylan would be forever grateful. He had really gotten lucky when he met Jesper.