ﾟ･stars were made for falling ﾟ･ (original)

7- respite

act three- assembly of apocalypse goers, we wait at your world's end

 Y'know for being something the prince of a cult gifted us, you would've thought the Jeep had more gas than enough for a single day.

Leo just sighed as he watched Ivan kick at the wheels of the vehicle, shivering in the growing chill, and flinching at the loud, harsh sounds of curses in a language he didn't know. He thought it might be Ukrainian, but he wasn't exactly sure; it didn't take away from how angry he sounded. He looked over to the window, seeing Halley still hunkered down inside, sleeping peacefully in the backseat- she'd been asleep since before they'd run out of fuel, making her officially the luckiest of the trio.

Leo watched as Ivan began to calm down a bit, leaning over the hood of the car, still swearing under his breath. Leo just rubbed his cold hands together, blowing warm air between them, while he thought of something to say. what even could he say? They were stranded in the middle of nowhere, with no gas, and supplies only meant to last them for a few days. Ivan was right to be freaking out; in fact, maybe he should've been panicking more himself.

Finally, he took a tentative step towards Ivan's slumped form, asking in a brittle voice, "Have you heard anything from Aldrich yet?"

Ivan didn't even look up, but he let out an irritated sigh. "For the love of god, Leo, we've been away from him for barely a single day. It's the evening of the fucking sixteenth. I'll tell you when I get a message from him. In fact, why don't you hold onto the damn communicator for a bit?" He reached into his pocket, roughly pushing the small device towards Leo.

Leo nodded a little, running a hand through his hair nervously, before accepting the device, gently tucking it into his own pocket. "Right, right... Well, I think we should start looking for help."

"We are government fugitives, you imbecile," was how Ivan started that sentence, but he ended it with a million Ukrainian curses, all directed at Leo. Leo just cringed a little, playing with his hands as Ivan screamed into the hood of the car.

"I get that, yeah, but there are tons of normal people that would be willing to help us, I'm sure. At the very least, there are lots of abandoned buildings around- we shouldn't stay out at night. Not with the Cheesheads-"

"Yes, I'm aware of the Cheeseheads ." Ivan spat the word out in pure disgust, only making Leo flinch again. "My missing companion and I encountered them once or twice ourselves- turns out, like much else in the world, their weakness is a few bullets to the head."

"Well, I'd rather avoid conflict if we can," Leo insisted, trying to make his voice firm, but failing miserably, enough that he also noticed. Ivan briefly glanced up at him from the hood of the car, before turning his head downwards again, muttering something Leo couldn't understand. He just shoved his hands into his pockets, rocking back and forth on his heels for a moment, before gathering enough courage to speak up again, though tentatively.

"I saw lights a few minutes ago, if that. Just through the woods thataway," He jabbed his thumb in the direction of the trees to the lower left of them, and again tucked his hand back into his pocket. "We could walk there, I'll bet. They weren't very bright, so it's not a town, but if we have to sleep in someone's shed tonight, we have to. Or maybe they'll have gas- they've probably got a car, too. And way out here, it'd be stupid to not have a gas can or two on hand."

Ivan straightened suddenly, looking at Leo with something like resentment. "Yes," He growled. "You'd have to be stupid. "

"I didn't pack the Jeep! If you're gonna be mad at anyone, be mad at Aldrich!" Leo protested hotly, hating how much he sounded like a whiny child. But really, this all was too much for them, was it? Getting stuck in the middle of some political game between Aldrich and his father, his neighbor working with the people trying to kill them, his father working with them, too? So what if he'd left, he'd been so incahoots with Purity, that Leo was having dreams about him and Mordecai, palling around like the best of friends!