Anti-Hero || Leo Valdez

39 - Duck Dads and Snake Queens

"Ohhhhmigods Via pleaseeeeeee!"

"Patrick, we are not kidnapping a random duck and taking it home. You know Namano is not fan of any animals other than dogs."

"It's not kidnapping, it's adopting," Pat corrected.

Via rolled her eyes. They were at some gas station somewhere in Maryland. They were on farmland, it was almost pitch-black outside, and they really needed to find somewhere to sleep, so they'd sent Leo to fly on Festus and scout up ahead to see if there was anywhere they could park Pat's truck and Festus, and camp out for the night. A couple of ducks had wandered by and Pat was trying to convince Via to let him keep them.

Via had thought that on a normal day the situation might've been reversed, but right now she was anxious about Leo. She hadn't wanted him to fly off on his own, but Pat refused to let her go anywhere without him, and they couldn't all go and leave Pat's truck behind, so Leo had gone alone. She knew he could handle himself, but still. There were so many things that could go wrong.

"Look, Pat, enough with the ducks," Via groaned. "It's not happening."

Pat grumbled something under his breath, then snatched a bag of chips he'd bought from the gas station out of the passenger window and began shoveling them into his mouth.

"Ok, so what's the plan for tomorrow?" Via asked him.

"Drive into D.C." Pat spoke as he chewed, causing little particles of cool ranch Doritos to fly out of his mouth. Via made a disgusted face at him, but he took no notice. "Crash at Nina's. Keep driving until it gets dark again, which'll probably put us in one of the Carolinas, preferably the South one. Rinse and repeat for the next day or two until we get to Dallas."

"Okay." Via scanned the horizon again, looking for Leo. She tried to remind herself that it had only been ten minutes. The handle of the gas nozzle clicked, signaling the tank was full.

Pat tossed his chips back in through the passenger window and looked at the pump. He made a face. "Ugh. Why is shit so expensive these days? Thirty-five dollars for ten gallons of gas is stupid. Especially all the way out here. Shouldn't it be cheaper out in the middle of nowhere?"

"Inflation," Via said.

"Inflation," Pat agreed. "Fuck inflation."

He replaced the nozzle, snatched the receipt, and strolled around the front of the car to get inside while they waited for Leo. As he reached for his chips again, Via climbed into the seat behind his and stared up at the sky.

"Do you think we should go look for him?" she asked.

"Vee, chill. He's been gone not even fifteen minutes." Pat poked her repeatedly in the knee reassuringly. "Hey, I know what'll make you stop worrying!" He scrolled on his iPod and turned on the stereo. Via's happy playlist, which (like the rest of her playlists) Pat had renamed. The title showed up on the screen of Pat's stereo: b happeh bitch <3 which made Via smile a bit. He always knew how to cheer Via up.

As I'm Trying (Not Friends) by Maisie Peters began playing and Via and Pat sang along, she felt much better. It was nice to have a moment like this after the whirlwind of activity that had been the past couple of months. Sitting slumped in the back of the truck with the nice, cool, late spring air blowing around the stray hairs that had managed to escape the braid Leo had done as she and her goofy twin brother jammed out to her happy playlist was just what she needed.

Three more songs later (which included Mr. Perfectly Fine by Taylor Swift, Too Well by Renee Rapp, and Red Wine Supernova by Chappell Roan), Pat sat straight up and excitedly pointed out the window. Via squinted and saw a winged silhouette and a gleam of bronze about a hundred yards out. An intense wave of relief washed over her. She practically kicked the door open, jumped out of the truck, and ran over. Festus landed just outside the covering of the gas station, sending a gush of wind out in all directions.