beyondtheline | I sure like the feeling of an endless road

[She doesn't say anything right away, and instead is looking around behind where the cash register used to be. That's long gone, and so is 95% of whatever this place used to sell. But there is a phone book in one of the drawers, and she plops it down on the counter. She flips through it for a few seconds before picking up on something.]

You were right the first time. Los Banos is the location of some of the places advertised in the phone book, so we have to be close.

[There's a pause as her head tips to the side, and then she giggles.]

Doesn't that mean bathroom or something in Spanish? This place must be crappy.

[He grins, snickering a little around the cigarette as he pulls the book closer to have a look himself.]

That's baños. I dunno what "banos" is supposed to be though. It is pretty fuckin' shitty. More like a Los Baños if you ask me.

[Damn, though. Maybe it's at least good to know he wasn't too far off? Annoying as shit to not have a better answer, but it's something.]

Okay, well, maybe we keep goin' a little while. But if in, say, fifteen minutes we don't see the turn that goes over the hills then I guess we gotta decide if we just keep north an' go a kinda different way, or if we try your idea. If we keep north, I bet we can at least get to Tracy by sunrise an' decide from there.

[He points it out on the map, just so she sees where it is.]

See, I do know someone in the east bay, though. If you wanted to try that kinda shortcut idea. Problem is, it's my Papa.

[Holy shit.

Her eyes widen and she just stares for a few seconds.]

Your dad? Really?

[She had such a distant relationship with her own father that it's hard to imagine Johnnie with his. He's told her all the terrible things his father did, and that makes her instantly not like the guy. But she knows that if she had a chance to at least see her dad again, she'd probably take it.]

I could try pinpointing him and seeing if we can get that shortcut. But would you be okay with potentially ending up right in his driveway?

... I dunno. Not really. But, if we get stuck, it's maybe a way to get us un-stuck. I dunno what's goin' on with this version of the world we're in, maybe we can't go over the hills no more from this side, maybe that big glow to the north isn't a city but a fuckin' fire. I dunno. If we run outta options we can use him to try an' bail ourselves out. But I still got some gas, we can keep goin' a while an' see if we can get ourselves outta this.

[She probably wants to meet his Papa, doesn't she. Or she wants the practice with her skills.

Johnnie hasn't seen the guy in years now, though, and it's for the best, in his opinion. There's nothing that fuckup has to offer him. There's no nostalgia there, no affection. Nothing lost.]

Well, if we do have to do things that way? I think you should take some time and see him.

[She does want to meet the guy, but knows that's not her choice. It took some work to get to meet his mother, and he loves his mom. But introducing her to someone he's not a fan of? It could get messy.]

The odds are likely if we keep going, we'll move through time and space again. If that's a giant bonfire up north, it could turn right back to lights in a couple dozen miles.

[That's the beauty of who they are and what they do. There's no real rhyme or reason to it yet. But she has faith he'll be able to figure it all out. She glance over his way with one of her adoring smiles, and takes a second to appreciate how hard he works to keep them both safe.]

Do you know what we can do here though, babe?

[She asks it as she approaches him to move in close, hands on his hips as she tips her head so he can see the grin on her face.]

[Yeah she is way too eager to see that asshole. Answers that question.

Johnnie sighs and takes one last drag of his cigarette as she comes to put her hands on his hips, then flicks the remnant stub to the ground and gives her half a smile.]

Nah. You tell me.

[Obviously he can think of things, but he'll let her pretend she has some clever, surprising little idea. It's cute. She's damn cute and maybe she'll get his mind off the annoying idea that is having to pull them to his Papa to get out of the central valley. There's no way, he's deciding that now. They're driving their way out of here, she'll have to practice that shit on someone else.]

Can we start a fire? Just a little one, since no one's here?

[It's really all his fault she loves fire as much as she does. She behaved back in the train town, but she really wants to start a tiny fire here. What will burning down one gas station that hasn't been operational in years do? There's no way it can make it so he doesn't exist.

Just in case she has to convince him though, she kisses him as slow and sweet as she can manage given her eagerness to burn things. As their lips part she keeps in close, so he can feel hers brushing against his as she speaks a little more.]

It's either that or you have to fuck me against the counter over there.

[Like that's the consolation prize here, or some kind of punishment.]

[As she pulls away, he's left grinning, and he loops his arms around her waist to keep her from going anywhere right away.]

What's this one or the other bullshit, huh? We could have both.

[Fucking first, obviously. For several reasons, the least of which is safety concerns. This is a good distraction from the drive, the missing highway, all the dumb shit. So counter to that slow and sweet kiss, he leans in with something much more fiercely passionate, claiming her mouth while walking her toward the counter.]

That phone book's gonna be kindling.

[His map is still here, and it crinkles audibly as he presses her against the counter and grinds his hips against hers.]

[The sound of crinkling makes her laugh, and that quickly cuts off into a gasp as he backs her against the counter and she feels him against her. Sure, the phone book can be kindling at some point. But she's running hot right now, and her left leg hikes up against him as she angles her hips enough to try and grind right back against him.]

You're so smart, baby. We deserve to have both.

[Of course, her goal was to tempt him into having both. She would've been content for a while with just a fire. But it's so nice to get to be greedy and have everything she's craving.

Her fingers work at his belt and his jeans, cursing under her breath as her excitement has her unable to work fine motor skills as well as she wants. She's able to laugh it off though, because sex can be silly even when it's really good. ]

[Well, shit, he's glad she's so into this. He's always eager for her, but he has to admit, the ride so far hadn't exactly filled him with excitement. His annoyance at the walk, getting dumped in that field, and now potentially missing an exit hasn't made him the most fun driver, and he really hadn't been fully in the mindset for this but went with it since how could he say no?

Sure is a damn good thing he did. This is definitely what he needed to get him out of that mental slump.]

Aw, baby girl, you need me real bad, huh? Get a little wet back there with all that vibrating between your legs for hours?

[He snickers as she paws at his pants, and then leans in to work his lips and teeth along her neck. He'll let her fumble, she'll figure it out - his hands, meanwhile, would much rather do as they're doing right now and work up under her shirt to pull it off over her head. He wants to feel all that warm, soft skin under his palms.]

[That makes her blush, and she's grateful he can't see it. He probably can see how she dips her head as she softly chuckles, somehow still a little shy about admitting her desire for him. After all this time, there's still a little innocence left in her after all.]

More like I got a little wet just now because I need you that much.

[But if he wants to believe it's because of the bike ride, she'll let him. She's too busy making a quiet sound of triumph as she gets his belt undone and his zipper open right after. Take that, dexterity. Her hand goes right inside and starts palming at his cock through his underwear.]

I just can't decide if I need you to bend me over the counter here, or if I need you to help me sit up on it. It's such a hard choice, and I'm so greedy and need you so bad, maybe I wanna ask for both.

[That would require either of them having enough self-control for him to pull out mid fucking to adjust the position, and she's not sure they have it in them.]

[She might want both, but if she sits up on top of it it's going to be a lot more difficult for him to get a good angle, so he makes the decision for the both of them. With a smirk, he lets her palm a second longer and then grabs both her wrists to pin them behind her back, then turns her and bends her over the countertop.]

Such a hard choice.

[He whips his belt free from his jeans to use it to bind her wrists together, which leaves his own hands free to unbutton her shorts and tug them and her underwear down off her hips.]

Mm, an' greedy is right. You're lucky it's too dark in here for me to wanna go get your camera. I'll just have to remember how good you look waitin' for my cock.

[She'll have to wait a moment longer for him to get his jeans and underwear down and quickly stroke himself to full hardness, but it sure gives him a nice long look before he takes her by the hips and thrusts in deep.]

[Oh gosh. Ohgosh. Gosh. Oh G O S H.

Does she say all that out loud? She thinks she does.

This is good. This is really, really good. Who knew that she'd be so turned on getting fucked in the middle of an abandoned gas station? All he had to do was bind her wrists and bend her over, and that really gets her excited for leaning over the counter. Who needs to sit on it when you can have this instead?

Her shorts and underwear rest at her knees, further keeping her bound. She could step out of them if she really wanted to, but she sure doesn't. Instead she just parts her legs enough for him to press into her, and oh gosh. It makes her shiver from head to toe as she throatily groans.

She's not helpless. Far from it. If she asks him to stop, she knows he will. She won't be doing that, obviously. She's way too into this. He thrusts in deep and she shudders as she rocks back against him, and moves her arms like she's trying to get her wrists free.]

Good an' stuck, huh?

[Mostly. It's the illusion of it, anyway, that's the important part.]

I gotta use my belt more often, I think. You feel real damn good around me every time you pull against it.

[Every time she gets that reminder that her wrists are bound in leather. Hell, a belt is just a built in sex toy. If she starts thinking that way, she'll get turned on every time she sees him walking around - then again, she already does. Heh.

He keeps at it, driving hard into her, making her hips grind against the dull edge of the counter with every thrust. He keeps one hand on her waist, feeling her skin, keeping her where he wants her, and with the other he reaches up into her hair and tangles his fingers there, keeping just enough pressure as he gives her hair one tug, then another in time with his movements.

Fuck. Man, they can make any place fucking hot.]

[It doesn't take long before she's panting and covered in sweat, and since it's just them in the great expanse of nothing and no one around them she doesn't care about the fact he's pulling little gasps and sighs out of her with nearly every move he makes. It feels good, and she wants him to know it.

That tug to her hair makes her cry out, and goosebumps rise up over her skin as she slams back against him. The pinpricks of pain on her scalp are more than welcome, and she tries roughly rocking forward to force a tug to her hair. That makes her hips hit the edge of the counter in a way that hurts, but it's fine. She can deal with some bruises. Each one is worth how good this feels.]

Please, please baby.

[It may seem like she's begging him for more, but that's only because she has to pause in order to moan for him.]

You gotta -

[Another shiver courses through her, this one going from head to toe. It steals her breath away, but she's quick to recover.]

Gotta use your belt more often. I love it.

[At this rate, she's going to come before he does. She's dancing right on the edge, so close but unable to do anything about it since she can't touch herself. And that helplessness seems to do it for her, because she comes hard and winds up draped over the counter and unable to move a muscle unless its at his hands.]

[He comes with a low groan of his own soon after, and allows his hips to slow before pulling out with a soft chuckle. Damn, she is still a sight. Maybe even moreso now.

Pants zipped back up, hair smoothed back into place, he reaches for the belt but doesn't take it off her wrists right away. Instead, he holds onto it as he leans over her and kisses the back of her neck.]

Guess you've earned your fire.

[Several times over. Snickering, he finally unbuckles the belt and unwinds it from around her wrists, and slides it back into place around his waist.]

Prob'ly the best thing that ever happened in this gas station, wanna bet?

[She rubs at her wrists and grins a lovestruck smile, absolutely stunned by how hot that whole thing was. She can feel a blush settle in on her cheeks as she pulls up her panties and shorts, and gets those adjusted so she can make herself feel decent again.]

Oh, that's the best thing that's ever happened in at least a hundred miles around this stupid gas station. And the fire's gonna be the the second best. We're basically doing charity work here tonight.

[Laughing, she steals a quick kiss, and reaches into his pockets to try and find his lighter. She produces it and does a quick victory dance, and goes straight to the phone book with it to light it up and use as kindling.]

Fuck yeah, we are!

[Snickering at her desperate need for his lighter now, he lets her grab it, then backs off a few steps to look around. What else here can burn? A lot of the shelving is old rusted metal, not wood. They're going to need to get more than a phone book going here.

But there are boxes, and in a back room a few pallets. He gathers up what he can into a pile by one of the walls and gestures her to bring that flaming book over.]

Here, right in the middle. That'll catch quick. Might take a minute for it to get past this pile a' shit but by the time it does it'll be real hungry for the rest of the building!

Okay!

[She's been twirling and dancing with the phone book on fire, and tosses him his lighter so she can have both hands free to carry the book over to his pile. There's no way to hide the ear to ear grin that's on her face as she crouches down to try and light one of the boxes, and gasps as it catches so easily. The book is charring and flames are heading down to her hands, so she tosses it onto the pallet and steps back to admire their handiwork.

Since she's in such a good mood she steps back until she bumps into him, and her fingers brush against his before she takes hold of his hand and pulls him into an impromptu little dance.]

Do you wanna stick around and watch it all burn? Or should we get back on the road soon and keep going?

Seems a shame to light somethin' on fire an' not enjoy the afterglow, huh?

[Or the... glow. Of the fire. But their afterglow is good too. Fuck it, he'll keep dancing here a moment, pulling her along until the smoke starts to get annoying.

At which point he leads her outside, and waves for her to join him on the bike.]

I just wanna clear out a little more in case there's still gas left in the tanks under there somehow, y'know? Would be a real shame to get caught up in the fireworks. 'Course, there probably isn't? But I got too much to do to blow up here.

[They don't have to go far, just a little way down the road before he pulls over and turns the radio on while they watch. Unfortunately, it seems in this time and place, all he can pick up is static - except a faint rhythmic clicking on one station, all the way at the far left of the dial. Weird.]

[The strange clicking almost seems like it's sounding off in time to the movement of the flames as they slowly consume the gas station. That's a silly thought, but it's constant enough that her attention shifts off the fire and onto the radio. Her eyes close for a few seconds as the sound of static overtakes her senses, and it takes focusing on the faint clicking to pull herself back to reality.]

It's too bad it hasn't blown up. But it's really pretty, isn't it?

[She loves that fire is their calling card. Well, fire and monsters. But she's not in the mood to pull in any of those, and there's no need to do that. The fire is perfect, and makes her all kinds of happy.]

Fire bandits make another crappy little place bite the dust!

[And that's worth giving him a squeeze as she giggles and nuzzles up close to him.]

Yeah! Fire bandits, time bandits, fuck. We're bandits of everything we touch!

[He leans back a little, comfortable in her hold. But eventually he gets bored of the fire. It could go a while and he has no intention of sitting here for hours until it's nothing left but ash.

So after a minute or two more, he leans back and turns to give her a quick kiss, then pulls his goggles on. Mostly just for effect.]

An' speakin' of bandits, let's get goin'. See if I can find that turn or if we gotta ride all the way up the back side of the hills. It'll be a nice time, either way about it. Would be even better if the radio worked, though!

[Enough clicking, enough sitting. He revs the engine and takes off, heading north and looking for a rusted, broken sign - or maybe if they're really lucky, an intact one. Maybe the roads just changed over the decades or centuries or whatever. Wouldn't be that weird.]

[It doesn't take long for their surroundings to shift, and it's disorienting because they go from being the only ones on the road to nearly crashing right into an 18 wheeler. Johnnie's able to navigate them away from becoming a pancake against the back of the truck, and they're left laughing as they zoom on ahead. There's definitely plenty of road signs in this time period, and she glances over and takes note that the glow that was previously off in the distance now looks more like actual lights instead of an all consuming fire.

The radio shifts from static to some jazz sounding station, and it feels like they've snapped back into normalcy. She points to one of the signs they're approaching, signaling the distance to other freeways and several exits.]

Is one of those the right one? Or are we far enough I should try pulling us somewhere else?

[Somewhere else meaning his dad. She knows he doesn't seem eager to do that, but she wants to leave the option there to see if she can do it.]

[There's no terror here - that near-disaster floods him with adrenaline as he swerves the bike way at the last second, cheering and laughing at his victory. It's enough to make him sweat though, hell. He needed that.

And he takes note of those signs as they hurtle toward the indicated exits.]

Del Puerto Canyon?

[What the hell is that place? Fuck it, time to find out. With a mad grin, Johnnie decides last minute to just take that exit rather than passing it up.]

Fuck if I know where this is, but we're gonna go find out!

[It's going the right direction, so it can't be that bad. Definitely better than getting dumped in his Papa's driveway, fuck that guy.

This is for sure not the fastest route, he sees that immediately. Rather than a nice big straight highway toward the bay, this quickly becomes some narrow, winding little road full of switchbacks as it takes them deeper and deeper into the hills heading west. Canyon is right - these hills are steep, jagged, almost mountains in their own right except for their height. It would probably be cool to see them by daylight but at night, they're offered a narrow view of one snake of a road between miles of thick black darkness, with the hills blotting out the stars and cutting off the radio signals.]

Hope you don't get carsick, this is kinda nuts. Whoo!

[He's enjoying it, clearly, as he takes yet another sharp bend in the road much too quickly.]

Have I ever gotten carsick on you, babe?

[She laughs, the sound cut off with a loud whee as they continue along. It's a little scary not really being able to see much, but Johnnie has it handled and they're having fun. That's all that matters in the end, isn't it? Having lots of fun.]

It's the curviest road we've ever been on, huh?

[Both of her hands go up into the air like she's on a rollercoaster, and she lets out a howl as they continue along. It feels like she could reach out and pull down some of those stars to better light their way, and at one point she swears she very nearly does. A few seconds later she realizes it's a shooting star or a comet or something, and she gasps as the radio goes from static to a blaring alarm.

Her hands go straight to cover her ears, and she gasps as even trying to reach around Johnnie to turn off the radio doesn't quiet the sounding alarm. It's a national broadcast alert warning of an incoming and unavoidable cosmic storm.]

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