You Are My Fight Song (Rytrick/Brallon)

Chapter 11: Hotels

"LIFE IS A HIGHWAY!" Brendon sang loudly from the front seat.

I laughed, leaning against Patrick. We had been driving all day, and the sky was already dark and sparkling. I had fallen asleep earlier, but now I was wide awake. Brendon was now driving while Dallon was curled up in the passenger seat. Patrick was dully trailing his thumb along the back of my hand while looking out at the sky.

"Can you hushhhh?.." Dallon mumbled, reaching out to smack Brendon playfully.

"You hush." Brendon teased, side glancing at him with a soft laugh.

"Are you tired, Patrick?" I asked the boy next to me softly. He hummed lightly, turning to face me. He was clearly tired. "Sleep, 'Tricky." I giggled, planting a quick kiss on his nose. He scrunched his eyes shut and just smiled at me.

"Should we pull over for the night?" Brendon asked, "There's a hotel coming up and I want cuddle time."

"You'll get cuddle time when I get sleep..."

"Bitch, I will cuddle you while you sleep to kill two birds with one stone!"

Brendon and Dallon continued their quiet back and forth, but I turned back to Patrick. He was looking over my features with that tired smile on his face.

"What?" I giggled, taking in his soft features as well.

"I had forgotten how beautiful you looked in the moonlight..." He replied softly.

"Have you ever danced with the devil in the pale moonlight?" I replied, a bit instincually. Dallon had a phase where he would only watch the Tim Burton Batman movies.

"Nope." Patrick shrugged, "And I guess I never will with how much of an angel you are..."

I leaned over and kissed him softly. Our lips moved together slowly, but smoothly. By the time we pulled apart, Brendon had pulled into the parking lot of a cheap motel. He was currently fiddling with Dallon's seatbelt, trying to shake him awake.

"Shit, how am I supposed to carry this giraffe?" He muttered, beginning to poke Dallon's cheek.

"It's called effort, babe..." Dallon yawned, not opening his eyes.

"Oh, C'mon! That's just not fair." Brendon groaned with a laugh in his tone, "Pleeeease just walk over?"

Dallon stretched and sat up. He rubbed his eyes and took Brendon's hand to help pull him out of the car. Brendon peaked back in and looked at Patrick and I.

"We got room 27. Care to join or should I leave it unlocked?" He asked.

"We'll be there in a minute." Patrick replied with a yawn.

Brendon nodded, shutting the door and beginning to drag Dallon in the direction of the hotel room. Patrick slid slightly in his seat to open the door, and I followed his lead. He walked to the front of the car and leaned against the hood, looking up at the sky. I walked over next to him and leaned my head on his shoulder. I wrapped my arms around his waist and just held him in silence.

"You okay?" I asked him softly. Patrick usually didn't stay quiet for so long. He always had so much to say or express to the world...

"I'm just thinking..." He replied quietly, still looking up at the stars above us. "We usually don't get so many stars back home... I... I'm sorry..." He chuckled almost sadly, making me pull away to look at him.

There were tears in his eyes. I retracted one of my arms from around his waist to wipe the tears away with my thumb. "Why are you sorry?"

Patrick finally looked down from the stars that reflected in his eyes. "Because I'm still a bit stuck in the past... Whenever I see the stars..." He smiled sadly before biting his lip. "They remind me of someone I used to know..."

"Who?" I asked quietly.

"Someone I met in Chicago... During my treatments..." He said in an equally hushed tone, "He was my rock during the process..."

"What happened?"

Patrick was quiet. It was a moment before he spoke up. "He was sick too... They just didn't realize until it was way too late..." He leaned his head against mine with a slight sniffle. "He's the reason I came back... After he..." Patrick just wrapped his arms around me and held me. I held him tightly back, closing my eyes as I did so.

"I'm sorry Patrick..."

"He loved the stars..." He said, nuzzling his face in my neck. "In Vegas, the stars come in the form of lights on the ground, so I thought it would stop hurting..."

I leaned my head against his, shushing him slightly. "I'm sorry, 'Tricky..." I soothed, "I wish it hadn't of ended up like that..."

Patrick shook his head slightly. He pulled away from me and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand. He smiled weakly, "But he's not in pain anymore... And coming back home brought me to you."

I smiled back at him. I didn't fully understand why I would be so special to him, though. I was just a little sick boy that was going nowhere. I'd probably be gone before the end of the year... Even with the good test results I've had recently...

"I wish the stars didn't bring back sad memories..." I whispered.

He smiled sadly. "It's not that the memories are sad... It's just that remembering them makes me sad. It's weird, I guess... Can we go inside?"

I nodded and he smiled more genuinely. He took my hand and lead me in the direction Brendon had said our room was. When we made it too the room, it was unlocked.

There were only two beds. Brendon and Dallon were curled up together on the bed furthest from the door. Their legs were entangled and Dallon held the smaller boy protectively in his arms.

"Looks like we're sharing a bed." I said with a yawn.

Patrick hummed. "No objections, sweetie." He said, hiding his face in my neck. He quickly pulled his face away and tugged me to the bed. He climbed onto the bed and held out both hands with grabby motions.

I laughed quietly, climbing up onto the bed and hugging Patrick tightly. I could feel a pain creeping in, but I ignored it. I pulled Patrick down so that we were laying in each other's arms, facing each other. He laughed, looking at me affectionately.

"I love you." The words slipped out of my mouth as I looked at him. I couldn't help saying it. He made me happy, and wasn't that a large part of what love was?

"I love you." He said almost silently back, "I love you and your earthy eyes... Your fragile smile... Just everything..." He leaned forward and kissed me gently. I closed my eyes and let myself melt into his kiss as well as his tight hold around me. I could ignore the pain when I was with him. It was just easy with his touch to focus on instead.

When he pulled away, I kept my eyes closed, feeling suddenly exhausted. I could already feel myself drifting to sleep when Patrick kissed my forehead lightly.