airplanes(Thiam)

chapter 27: Food groups

Theo woke up a few hours after they left the diner. Liam waited fairly patiently as he bitched up a storm about the smell of chlorine and booze coming from their dirty clothes.

Shoveled his long since cold food like he was going for first place at an eating competition and downed his milkshake like it was a shot. He followed the whole tirade by rolling down the window and promptly vomiting out of it. Liam was sure there were more sympathetic ways of dealing with Theo puking out a window. He, however, didn't take them, instead, he laughed so hard he was forced to slam on the breaks to keep from driving off the road.

When he sobered enough to start driving again Theo was glaring at him scornfully from where he was slumped in the side seat, fuzzy earmuffs askew on his head, sunglasses halfway down his nose. Liam scooped a bottle of water from the back seat and held it out for Theo, his look broke from a glare to a wide-eyed look of awe, like Liam was the Messiah.

Liam pulled off the highway at the next town, inching through the streets until he found a laundromat.

"Okay, you need to park." Liam decided, breaking in the middle of the road. Theo blinked his eyes open.

"What?"

"I can't park." Liam said. Theo let out a sigh, closing his sigh again. "I don't know how to parallel park."

"No time like the present to learn."

"Do you want me to wreck your truck trying to park?" Liam asked. Theo cracked an eye open again.

"Go start loading a washer." Theo grumbled, unbuckling his seat belt and shooing Liam out of the truck. He barely managed to grab the duffle from the back seat before Theo moved to actively shoving him out of the door.

"Really?" Liam huffed, turning in time to see Theo flopping into the driver's seat with a dramatic sigh like he'd climbed Mount Everest and not just moved two feet.

"You were being too slow." Theo said, slamming the door. Liam grinned as he let out a pained whine and flinched at the loud sound.

"Serves you right asshole." He turned on his heel, stomping into the laundromat listening to Theo mutter threats at the truck door.

*

Liam tossed Theo's clothes into the machine, tilting his head so he could watch Theo as he sunk into a chair, causing him to snort a laugh. He paused loading the washer to snap a quick photo of Theo as he sat moping in his boxers, sunglasses, beanie, earmuffs and socks with enough holes in them Theo had just said he'd throw them away before they left rather than wash them again.

"Hurry up and start it." Theo mumbled, tugging the beanie further down. Liam shook his head, smile twitching at his lips when he finished packing the machine and added in what was definitely too much detergent.

Liam's gaze fell down to himself, fingers picking at the shirt he was wearing. Technically it was clean, if he ignored the lingering smells of smoke, alcohol and chlorine from being trapped in an enclosed space for the past few hours. He flickered his eyes around the shop. He could hear the dull hum of a tv behind the wall as whoever owned the place hid away but other than that it was empty.

A squeak passed Liam's lips as he felt hands picking at his top and hauling it up.

"Dude I was gonna-" Liam snapped, refusing to lift his arms so Theo simply pulled the shirt until it was bunched uncomfortably beneath his armpits.

"You were taking too long." Theo said.

"I was think-"

"I will rip it off if you don't raise your arms." Theo said seriously.