Just Off The Key || Lizrei

Chapter 22: And My Own Two Hands Will Comfort You

Rei was realizing a lot of things about her car, things she shouldn't just be realizing, as Liz drove it cautiously around a parking lot on the outskirts of the city. Like she didn't know how to turn the hazards on. Or how to reset the odometer, or pop the hood, or change the settings on her stereo.

She wasn't even completely sure how to recline her seat.

She should know these things. Liz knew these things. Liz, who had read the owner's manual when Rei told her she was going to give her a driving lesson, and who was now navigating the parking lot like a pro. Rei was learning from her. This had backfired.

Rei was subtly trying to tilt her seat back without Liz noticing, so that she wasn't sitting at a thirty degree angle hunched over herself. She pulled a lever and shot backwards, then settled herself and stared nonchalantly out the window, ignoring Liz's amused eyes.

Yeah. She knew what she was doing. Pssht. This was her fucking car.

Rei couldn't even imagine a scenario when Liz would need to drive in the city, but whatever. It was fun. And Liz needed a picture ID now that she was starting college in a week.

A single week. They'd bought textbooks that morning, and Rei was still throwing a fit in her head about how a general chemistry book could cost two hundred fucking dollars. It was like Liz was paying for her own doom.

Except it wouldn't be doom for Liz. It was like dawn, and both she and Rei were excited.

"Ready to try parallel parking, Liz?"

Rei was apprehensive. She, herself, was a disastrous parallel parker, and she'd rear-ended two cars and side-swiped a street light before coming to that conclusion eight years ago. If Rei was running errands and parallel parking was her only option, she'd say "fuck it" and move on to the next thing.

It just wasn't worth it. Those groceries, that bank deposit, the emergency room at the hospital. They weren't worth it.

"I don't like your air freshener, Rei." Liz stated bluntly instead of answering. She waited at the parking lot exit to pull into the side street, looking both ways with bright eyes.

Rei frowned and stared at her for a second and then shoved her lightly in the shoulder.

"I do. It's like a tropical forest. Very stimulating."

Liz looked at her with a suggestive grin, hazel eyes sparkling. Rei snorted and shoved her again, harder this time. Liz let go of the wheel and leaned over the armrest, straining against her seatbelt to kiss Rei's cheek.

Rei palmed Liz's face and leaned away. "Liz! Pay attention. We'll go rolling out into the street and die and you'll never see all your animals again."

Liz whined and swatted Rei's arm away, leaning further over the arm rest. Rei sighed and bit her lip to keep from smiling. She jutted her cheek out for Liz to kiss, huffing for good measure, and then she patted the blonde hair like a puppy.

Liz smiled happily. "Thank you."

Rei hummed. She directed Liz over to an open spot on the side of the street, and Liz pulled up in front of it, ready to back in.

Rei should not be the one teaching this.

"What kind of air freshener would you like?" Rei asked. The tropical forest was sort of suffocating. And nauseating. And Rei had only gotten it to cover up the smell of Barnaby's vomit in the back seat.

It wouldn't work if the air freshener made Liz vomit.

Liz turned the wheel and backed slowly into the parking spot. She glanced at Rei distractedly. This probably wasn't the best time for this conversation.