heaven - skysolo ff

mile three - the gas station

ch. 3 the gas station

"wow! this road sure is bumpy!" luke exclaimed, half an observation, half uneasy. (he gets carsick, you see.)

"you gonna be okay kid?" han took his eyes off the road to check if the young boy was feeling okay. he looked a little green. "do we need to pull over?"

"n-no. that's okay. i-i'll be fine!" his voice was shaky, and tense.

luke wasn't sure if what he said was entirely true. and thankfully, han wasn't sure either. so he set course for the nearest rest stop.

the road continued to bump and jolt luke around, like a little blonde ragdoll. chewie slept in the corner instead of luke's lap that day because every time chewie began to rest his little head on luke's thigh, it was thrown upwards by another pothole, or bump. 

maybe twenty minutes passed when luke began breathing heavily and had his eyes screwed shut.

"kid, are you sure you don't need me to pull over?" han was concerned.

"yes don't worry han i'll be--" ironically, luke vomited all over himself as he was assuring han he was fine.

"oh god, we're five minutes from a rest stop. can you handle the smell until then?" han felt so sorry for the kid. he doubted he had any other clothes than the ones on his back.

luke had tears in his eyes. throwing up made him feel so vulnerable, and gross. "um. yeah, i can. but can you? i'm really sorry han. i didn't mean to throw up in your truck..."

han chuckled. "well if you did mean to then i'd have to throw you out!" he winked.

luke smiled a little, but was too shaken by the putrid smell of vomit on his clothes to properly respond.

they made it to the rest stop, and luke quickly ran to the bathroom to attempt to clean his clothes. it was so humiliating vomiting like that. he thought he would be okay! usually he can hold his vomit down until they've stopped, but this time it was different. he wasn't sure why.

maybe it was the butterflies he had felt in his stomach for the past few hours. but maybe he was just an idiot who couldn't keep his vomit down. 

he grabbed the tooth brush and toothpaste he had been using for almost a year, and brushed his teeth to get the taste of it out of his mouth. he then stripped, something he never wanted to do in a truck stop restroom, and scrubbed his clothes with soap and water. he also put his head under the tap and rinsed his hair quickly. after a half hour in the bathroom, he emerged. with clean, but wet clothes.

han was waiting in the truck with two bags full of food and drinks. he was busy putting the drinks into the cooler behind his seat.

his eyes quickly glanced up when he realized someone was approaching the truck, and that that someone was luke. luke opened the car door and looked at han ashamed.

"i'm cleaner now..." luke let a small smile show through. "can i come back in the truck?

han laughed, deep and hearty. "of course you can. get in. i have some drinks for you."

he took out a water bottle and tossed it to the slightly disheveled boy. 

"i figured you would be dehydrated. i have more in the cooler if you want." han smiled kindly.

"thank you. so much han. really, it means a lot." luke felt his heart grow. like he was the grinch and someone had just given him a lifetime supply of pizza.

"don't sweat it kid. get in, we have to get going!" han patted the passenger seat softly. chewie's tail wagged back and forth quicker than ever as he smelled a much nicer smelling luke sat down in the seat.

the color in luke's face finally started coming back once luke had downed maybe three water bottles in the span of five minutes. he finally had the energy to glance over at han. his smile was wide, and had been for a while. the butterflies in luke's stomach came back, but he swallowed them.

the butterflies in both of their stomachs, couldn't mean anything to either of them, since they were splitting up in seattle.

but if they don't settle, then they won't split up in seattle.