BEYOND THE LIGHTS «j.p.»

little sorrow

Mexico, 2017

A few hours later, Aiden pulls up to a small beach house in a small, seaside town in Mexico. Rio still snoozes in the passenger seat, and Aiden takes a moment to admire his stunning beauty before he gets out, grabbing their bags, and then scooping Rio back into his arms and carrying him into the beach house.

It smells like cigarettes and cheap air freshener, but other than that it's truly a beautiful place. The sun is starting to rise over the horizon, casting a pale blue light throughout the house, and Aiden carries Rio to the bed. He lays him down, helping to undress him, and then pulling the covers over him.

Aiden checks the house, locks the doors, and closes the windows before slipping into bed next to Rio, pulling him close, and letting sleep wash over him.

•••

When Aiden wakes up, the sun is high in the sky, and he checks his phone to see that it's a little after two in the afternoon. Along with the time are plenty of missed calls from his father, Michael, and surprisingly even one from Maria. Accompanying them are plenty of text messages. Aiden turns his phone off, putting it down, and completely shutting himself off from the outside world.

•••

After a shower and brushing his teeth, Aiden walks back out to see Rio still sleeping in the bed. Aiden hadn't realized how exhausted Rio truly was, everything he had been through, everything that was happening to him had to be incredibly draining.

He checks the bandages on his hands and sees that they're okay before finding a landline and ordering delivery.

•••

It's not until a couple of hours later that Rio finally stirs awake, rubbing his eyes groggily as he stretches beneath the sheets. He looks around, his eyes adjusting to the bright afternoon sunlight, and sits up.

"Where are we?" He asks, his voice gravelly from sleep.

"I don't really know." Aiden says, sitting at a table, the food spread out before him. "Some place in Mexico."

"How long have I been asleep?" Rio asks.

"Let's see, we left LA at around one this morning, it's currently 5:42, so sixteen hours give or take." Aiden says.

Rio sighs, rubbing his head before standing up and walking over to sit on the other side of the table. "I didn't realize I was that sleepy."

"Do you feel better?" Aiden asks.

"A little." Rio replies. "I'll probably feel even better when I eat this food."

"It's all yours." Aiden says. "I tried to wait on you but I couldn't."

"Weak." Rio says with a teasing grin as he starts to dig in, shoveling mouthfuls of food into his mouth at once, back to back, and moaning in pleasure as he allows the flavors to burst over his tastebuds.

Aiden looks at him with a grin and a chuckle.

"What?" Rio asks.

"You're beautiful. That's all." Aiden replies.

Rio blushes, but doesn't look away from Aiden.