Z. Luc Haust // Apollōn (radiantdelphi) wrote in paxletalelogs, @ 2011-08-18 04:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | apollo, pahana |
this time i'm not leaving without you..
Who: Luc and Joaquin.
What: Road trips to Vegas.
Where: In Luc's BMW. Driving to The Mirage.
When: Friday, August 12, 2011. Midmorning.
Warnings: Awkwardness. Luc's car karaoke.
Notes: Completed!
Luc had packed relatively light - just one regular suitcase and a smallish duffel, which was packing light for the blonde. He liked to have a few extra outfits to choose from (especially on trips like these, where he had no plans) - but he chose to forego that idea this time for the sake of his traveling companion. Besides, nobody liked the guy who packed five millions suitcases worth of crap - though Luc was never that bad.. he didn't think so, at least.
He'd dressed for the desert heat in a green wifebeater (that was probably just a little too snug) and some khaki cargos with flip flops - as well as a new pair of Versace sunglasses he'd splurged on for the trip (he was driving, so he could justify the purchase to himself) - and was already making his way down to the garage via the elevator. He set his suitcase upright on its end, leaning one arm against the pulled-out handle idly as his other hand held his phone to his ear , having already dialed Joaquin's number.
All in all? He was pretty excited about this. He needed a semi-vacation like nobody would believe. And it was even better that he didn't have to go alone.. though he wasn't entirely sure what Joaquin's party speed was. Hell, he was gonna find out, wasn't he?
Joaquin was a last minute packer. Always. He’d packed for university the day before he flew from Anchorage to Denver. He just couldn’t do the whole... planning outfits and things. Mostly he picked things the day of or the night before and left it at that, stuffing his toiletries in at the last minute.
In fact, for this little trip he’d spent probably the most time packing for a weekend trip than ever before. (He totally wasn’t trying to impress anyone. Nope. Goddamn it. Especially not after that little slip-up the other night.) Most of it was fretting over his cameras- which lenses to pack, which not to, whether he should bring the film or the DSLR or both. (He decided on just the DSLR. With a million back-up memory cards, should anything go wrong.) When Luc called he was in the middle of getting dressed, running late after his alarm hadn’t gone off.
“Shit--” he muttered, dashing for his phone in the kitchen and nearly tripping over his own shorts, which were attempting to drop to his ankles as he ran. “Hey-- um-- I’ll be down in a few, sorry, running late, and... And I’m almost ready.”
The elevator dinged just as Joaquin picked up the phone, Luc's ground-eating strides carrying him easily to his reserved parking spot - hitting the unlock button on his BMW's keys. "Just making sure you were still coming," he teased as he popped the trunk, handling the baggage inside easily. He leaned against the open ledge of the trunk, crossing one ankle over the other. "Woulda hated having to go without you. Besides, you probably wouldn't have liked the pictures I took." He laughed a little. "Hurry up. This train leaves shortly."
He was kidding, of course - well, kind of. He was eager to get on the road already, but it wasn't going to ruin their trip. Actually, with the way the week had been going so far with work (which was awesome), he was pretty sure it was going to be impossible for this weekend to suck. Even if Joaquin wasn't the partying type (Luc was having a hard time gauging a lot of things about Joaquin, and this was one of them), Luc could party enough for both of them. Whether or not he made a total ass out of himself would have to be seen, but he was willing to roll the dice - and roll the literal dice, because there was gambling to be had too.. oh, yeah. This weekend was going to be epic.
He glanced down at the Rolex he'd chosen for the trip (he'd limited himself to one watch, and a Rolex was always appropriate in Las Vegas) - a habit, really, to reassure himself of scheduling (something he couldn't help, even if he was technically on vacation). He could always figure out a way to get it done. And they weren't too far behind. He could probably forgive him.
Joaquin chuckled nervously into the phone, heading back into his bedroom to finish dressing before he could get out of there. “I’ll be down in a couple minutes, promise.”
Hanging up, he shoved the cell phone into his pocket and began rushing to finish getting ready. He’d decided on something simple for the way there- he didn’t want to look bad, but hell, they were driving for four hours, he wasn’t going to dress up. A maroon v-neck tee and charcoal grey shorts. Nothing too sloppy, but he wasn’t going to be squirming around in the car either. God, why did he care so much?
Hurrying to the bathroom he grabbed his toiletry bag and stuffed it in his suitcase, but not before making sure he’d packed all of his clothes, his laptop, plugins... He managed to fit it all in one fairly small bag, anyway, save for his camera bag.
Zipping up the suitcase he pulled out the handle so it would roll along the floor while he rushed out, throwing his camera bag over his shoulder and slipping into a pair of cheap flipflops before heading out the door. The elevator felt slow- great. Being late is really professional, too- and he couldn’t help but worry about every little thing.
Attempting to shake it off, he practically ran toward Luc’s car, running a hand through his hair when he arrived. “Sorry,” he breathed, “Alarm didn’t go off the one time I really need it to.”
Luc was in the middle of firing a last-minute e-mail to Harvey when he heard Joaquin approach - and he was polite enough to look up and smile a, "No worries - this time," before finishing what he was doing while he let Joaquin put his stuff in the trunk.
He'd almost been tempted to do it for him (only out of courtesy, of course - why else?), but he refrained by busying himself with opening the driver's side door and turning on the car - as well as plugging in his iPod (which he'd loaded with much less regretful music than Lady Gaga for the ride), as if these were challenging tasks that required his full attention.
He was starting to feel the adrenaline of the impending trip pumping through his veins, causing a nervous sort of excitement that he wasn't sure Joaquin would be quite hip to. Better kept to himself - at least for now. Once they actually got there, it would probably be a different story. He clambered into the car and adjusted his seat to accommodate his rather long legs as he typed with his other hand into the GPS the address of the Mirage. Thank God the reservation process had been easy with his last visit (having spent around $15K he would never see again, they were more than happy to accommodate him) - weekends got crazy in Vegas. Especially in the winding down summer days. Yeah, he was definitely going to cause a ruckus.
"I hope you're ready for this," he said in playful seriousness. "Do you have the number of a bail bonds company? You might wanna google that real quick.." He laughed and shut the door, revving the motor a little - because what was the point of having a brand new, 7-series BMW if you couldn't enjoy its purr sometimes?
Joaquin slid his suitcase into the trunk, then placed his camera bag on top of it. Most of the time he’d keep it with him- just in case he saw something particularly interesting- but since he wasn’t the one driving, he wasn’t about to ask Luc to stop so he could take a picture of a bunch of Joshua trees or something.
Closing the trunk, he walked around to the passenger side door and slid inside the car, his only thought being that thank fucking Christ they didn’t take his van. Like Luc would ride around in that old thing after driving this. Joaquin really was in a whole new world, here. It wasn’t that he was poor or anything even close to it, but he also didn’t have a brand new BMW either. He wasn’t sure that was something he really wanted, anyway, but it didn’t make him feel any less awkward about the whole ordeal.
For as much as he found Luc charming- very charming, apparently, judging by the fact that he’d decided to go against all logic and go to Vegas with him- the man sort of intimidated him, in a way. Maybe that was the way it should be. The man was paying him to paint, after all. They weren’t supposed to be all... buddy-buddy, or anything. At least, that’s what Joaquin kept telling himself. He raised his eyebrows at Luc’s comment, laughing nervously.
“Sorry if I’m... um. I’m a little boring when it comes to... This sort of thing. I guess that’s why I haven’t been to Vegas much.” He smiled a little.
Luc checked his mirrors and the GPS before backing out, heading the way to CA 55 that the program was telling him to. He was usually good at directions, and most of the drive would probably come back to him on the way there. He'd definitely made it a few times.
"Boring?" Luc snorted a laugh and shook his head, shooting Joaquin a sideward glance as he navigated the streets of Newport Beach. "It's impossible to be boring in Las Vegas. Besides, maybe it's just that you haven't had the right people to go with you."
He chuckled, waiting until he hit a patch of open road that was mostly free of traffic to hit random on the iPod. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers was up first, "You Don't Know How it Feels." He'd done good with this playlist (if he did say so himself) - loading it up with classic rock and other songs he considered to be appropriate 'road music'. No pop stars this weekend. He'd have the rest of his month packed with them, more than likely.
"We're gonna need a safe word or something though," he continued as he adjusted the volume on the speakers to where he could still be heard without too much effort. "Like 'cannonball.' So if shit ever gets too crazy or something and one of us says 'cannonball' we can just bail and reassess." He laughed outright, because the fact was that they could very well be in a situation that called for such measures - though it wasn't likely.
"I can call up my ex-girlfriend and see if she wants to show us around. She's kind of intense though - but a really good girl. Didn't work out because she met a girl she liked better than me, I guess."
He had to smile, because of all the things that he would have expected to happen with her, that hadn't been it. But, of course, the heart wanted what it wanted - and Luc knew that very well himself.
"Can't fault her for that, though. The girl was hot." Another laugh, because it was all there was to be done about the situation really. "And I think they're still together."
“Oh, trust me, I’ve managed to be very boring in Vegas with people who weren’t very boring at all...” Joaquin smiled. He’d been to Las Vegas only a couple of times, mostly trips with friends where he sort of tagged along and didn’t really get into it quite as much as they did, to say the least. He spent most of those trips on his own, exploring the city while they... partook in the typical Vegas scene. It just really wasn’t for him.
It was hard to say no to going this time around, though. Luc was paying for everything, despite Joaquin’s insistence that he should at least chip in a little. At least there was good music on- Joaquin wasn’t too picky, but... Lady Gaga was not one of his favourite artists. She was a guilty pleasure, dance to at home (quietly, so the neighbours don’t hear) sort of artist.
“Oh, um... You really think that’s going to be necessary?”
Joaquin raised his eyebrows. “Well- I guess it can’t hurt, right?” He was starting to feel a lot more nervous about this entire trip. With his friends, at least they got that he wasn’t exactly a big partier, but... With a near-stranger, it might be harder to just say no to... whatever they were going to get into.
“Oh, uh...” Joaquin chuckled at the story, though he couldn’t say anything of the sort had ever happened to him. He’d dated a whole one guy. And that hadn’t ended well. Or even lasted for any substantial amount of time. “That’s... uh, good for them, right? Not as great for you, but...” He had no idea what he was supposed to say to that.
"Oh, it wasn't so bad for me either. Ended up working out well, actually. I moved back to Los Angeles, and.." Luc trailed off as his mind drifted to Nate - of course. Because that had been what happened. Not two months after he and Britt had broken up (almost as long as the three months they'd actually dated) he moved back to L.A. and ran into Nate again. And that had been good while it had lasted. "Things just happen for a reason, y'know? Or, at least I think so."
Well, he wanted to say know so, but he didn't try to make a habit out of sounding like an overempowered asshole if he could help it - and this time he could.
"Besides, it wasn't ever anything serious with us. She's fun, though - definitely a riot. And she's lived in Vegas for longer than I ever spent there. She'd be a good tour guide. Easy on the eyes too, if her profile picture on Facebook is any indication of what she's looking like lately."
He wasn't sure what the vibe he got off of Joaquin was as far as this conversation was going - because normally when a hot girl accompanying them was suggested, guys were all over that. Hell, Luc had a harder time not appreciating a beautiful woman for exactly what she was. Of course, the whole ex factor had slipped out - and that could have made Joaquin uncomfortable about the situation. Yeah, that was probably it.
His pale eyes flicked over to the dark-haired man's face for a second before returning to the road ahead. "Mind if I ask you what brought you to California from Alaska? I mean," he laughed, "aside from the obvious answer of needing a change of climate." Luc was rather hot-blooded by nature, and just the thought of living in Alaska made him feel like his blood was going to freeze. "I couldn't even imagine living up there. Jesus H.. You're a far better man than I am."
Joaquin simply nodded, wondering where Luc had been going with his sentence but was it his business? No. Not at all. He had to wonder, though, if the whole... talking about his hot ex-girlfriend thing was some sort of hint, though. After all... Jesus. He’d said the whole going out with me thing and pretty much would’ve died if it hadn’t been for that phone call Luc had gotten at the perfect moment. Maybe he was trying to say something. Something like don’t try anything. Straight. Definitely.
Couldn’t say he’d ever had a straight guy act the way Luc did toward him, though. Or maybe he was just imagining something that wasn’t really there.
“Well uh, that’s cool. Maybe we’ll have to um, meet up with her then.” Couldn’t hurt to have someone else around- at least he hoped not. Running a hand through his hair, Joaquin glanced over at Luc, shrugging. “I haven’t lived in Alaska since I was eighteen,” he smiled. “I um, I went to college in Denver and I haven’t lived there since. I just... Didn’t like it up there. So I guess I’m not really the better man since I can’t handle it either and I grew up there.”
"Oh," Luc said quietly, and he almost felt like kind of a jackass for even asking the question - but it wasn't exactly like they'd spent a lot of time getting to know each other. And why should they? They were just business associates, right? Right. And this was just a business trip. Right.
"I hear Denver's beautiful," he continued, biting at the corner of his lip a little anxiously as he hoped he didn't say something else stupidly wrong - and it wasn't even that it was wrong, he just.. maybe it was too personal a question? He didn't know. But the answer seemed to reflect that maybe it was. "I've never been though. Between Reno, Los Angeles, and Las Vegas.. well, I'm pretty useless."
He shrugged a little, because it never made him comfortable to admit things he knew little about - but he would be the first one to do it, no matter how uncomfortable it made him. And that was the most important part, he guessed.
"You'd probably think otherwise, I mean - " He forced a weak laugh, because it wasn't really something he enjoyed pointing out - that he was the true definition of a spoiled little rich boy, save for the spoiled part. Mostly. "But, like, my family never really did vacations or anything like that."
He almost made a quip about all the kids in private school making fun of him because their families spent winter vacation in Aspen - but that was probably too much. Yeah, definitely too much.
"I've never really had any reason to, like.. travel. Which sounds stupid now that I say it, but, like. I dunno. I've wanted to.. I just.. I dunno. I've never had anyone to go with me, I guess. And what's the point of going places if there's nobody to enjoy it with, y'know?" Well, that sounded a little emo. Not that it mattered how it sounded, because it was already out, but still.
His Dad always said that those stupidly ridiculous (and by ridiculous it really meant awesome) vacations his friends families took were what made them bigger brats. And he didn't put up with brats - which Luc completely agreed with. So those were out. And when the only person he wanted to travel with was too sick to travel for the majority of their relationship.. well. Traveling wasn't something he'd ever really gotten around to in between what life had thrown at him so far. And it was kind of nice to change that - at least a little, and for the first time in a long time.
“Denver’s great. I need to um, go back one of these days, just for a while. Spend some time in the mountains or something...” Joaquin shrugged. He was beginning to feel a little... caged, in the city. Mostly he’d gotten used to it, but being stationary for too long was still a bit weird. It was nice to at least be on the road now, even though the trip itself was seeming like a worse idea by the minute.
“My family wasn’t much for vacations, either. We... did mostly stuff around the state. A little bit into Canada, that was about it. I did all my real travelling after I moved out. Which... was when my family started taking bigger trips.” He scratched his head. Having two thirteen year old brothers and a ten year old sister when he moved out really meant they got the fun stuff he never got to do with the family. Oh well.
“I um... Well. I did pretty much all of my travelling alone, personally.” Joaquin chewed his lip, feeling a little embarrassed by that fact now. Taking trips on his own was his way of relaxing. He could see and do whatever he wanted to, without having to make compromises. Sit and paint for a week if he really wanted to just sit and paint for a week. Then again, he supposed Luc was much, much more of a people person than he would ever be. “Not like I wouldn’t have um, gone with anyone else, I just... didn’t.” Wow. Loser.
Luc's brows arced up a bit, corners of his lips tipping downward as he contemplated the notion of traveling alone - which he couldn't lie, he was having a difficult time wrapping his brain completely around.
"Well.." He trailed off a little into a helpless laugh. "I mean, like, I moved by myself. From Los Angeles to Las Vegas - after my mom died." Of course, it had been after both his parents were dead, but his mother's death was definitely the catalyst. It wasn't really something he discussed a lot, but he talked about it a lot more than he talked about Nate - but that wasn't really hard, either. "But, like.. when I got there, I never really was alone. Probably better I wasn't at that time."
Not that Luc was ever the kind of person who would even contemplate suicide, it was just easier for him to deal with things around large groups of people where certain appearances needed to be maintained. Not the healthiest way of coping, but it was his nonetheless.
"I just.. I guess I don't do well by myself? Like, that makes me sound lame - which I'm not some codependent or anything like that.. I'm actually alone a lot when I work, but, like.. if it's my time, I like being around people. Well - I mean - I like being around people I like if it's my time." He had to make the clarification, because he didn't enjoy being around just anyone. And he did like Joaquin - he wasn't exactly sure why or what started it, but there was.. there was something that made Luc feel like he at least wanted to know what it was. "I guess I like sharing."
It sounded strange enough said aloud to make Luc laugh, rolling his eyes at himself as he drummed his fingers to the beat of the music on the steering wheel. He really was lame more often than he wasn't. Probably because he was too sober. Damn volunteering to drive.
Joaquin nodded, unsure of what exactly it was he should say- which was when he tended to be the most quiet. (It happened fairly often.) “Well- at least you weren’t alone when you didn’t want to be. That’s um, the big thing. It’s nice to be alone when you want to be alone. Otherwise, um... It’s not as nice.”
He’d had more nice alone time and more shitty alone time than most people seemed to have in their lifetimes, but as someone with few friends and fewer local friends, that just seemed to be the way things had to go for now. At least he was spending time with someone for the weekend- even if he wasn’t sure if it was going to be a good or bad time just yet.
“I... No, I understand. Um... I’m, well... I don’t like spending a lot of time around a lot of people. I mean um, I like spending time with certain people. If I’m spending time with people I don’t want to be around a lot of strangers, you know what I mean? A friend or two is good enough for me.”
He shrugged. Parties were not exactly his favourite thing. Or clubs. Or art shows-- no, just not his art shows. If it was someone else’s at least he didn’t have to talk to anyone if he didn’t want to. So far... He still couldn’t judge whether this would be a good trip or not. Joaquin liked Luc, yes. But they hadn’t really spent much time together at all.
This was like getting pulled out of the paddling pool and tossed in the middle of the ocean, as far as Joaquin was concerned.
“Sharing’s, um, good,” he smiled.
All of a sudden, Luc had an overwhelming sense that this trip could go very bad for Joaquin. Not because Luc was going to do anything intentionally.. just that the blonde had a tendency to be quite a force of nature (or so he'd heard) and simply.. well. "Wreck up shop" was a term that had been used once in regards to the riot that ensued from his presence at a Vegas party - though it wasn't a bad thing at all. It was actually a badass thing for everyone who was there that night (and there were certain things about that night that Luc would take to his grave) - but it was totally not Joaquin's speed. At least that's what Luc was getting.
"I - uh - well. Y'know.. if you don't wanna hang with me this weekend, that's totally cool too. Uh - I mean, you can just chill at the hotel or go take pictures or do whatever, if that's what you'd rather do. I, uh - I wouldn't want to drag you anywhere you don't wanna go." He shot a quick glimpse over to Joaquin's face and back again. "I can always call up someone else and make them go along with me." He offered the dark-haired man a weakly reassuring smile, because it really was okay.. disappointing (he didn't know why), but okay.
Luc's hands splayed briefly on the steering wheel, kind of in a gesture of concession. "Remember, you're not a yes man." He laughed a little, dropping his right hand from the wheel so he could give Joaquin a playful nudge of his elbow.
Joaquin swallowed hard as Luc spoke, feeling more and more regretful by the minute. He knew damn well he should’ve said no to him- no, it’s okay. I’ll just take my van and go. But no, he had to go and decide that oh, it’d be better if Luc went too, because then he could make it more personal. Yeah, it was going to get personal, and in no good way, either. He wasn’t sure he was going to make it through the four hour car ride, let alone the weekend.
“No-- no, um, it’s okay, I just... I’m not really that good at that kind of thing- um... Parties and stuff like that. I mean I’d like to hang out and stuff, I just uh... Well, I told you. I’m really boring.” He forced a bit of a smile, shrugging. “I’m um, not going to just sit in the hotel though, promise. I’ll... Try not to be such a bore.”
Combing through his hair with his fingers, Joaquin stared out the window, wondering why the hell he cared so much. With anyone else he’d just be cool doing his own thing, but... Now? What the hell was he doing?
Luc was biting his tongue so hard he could feel the pulse through his teeth - because at this point he had no idea what to say anymore. And if this kept up, Luc was pretty sure he was going to have an aneurysm. Or something. His head would explode.
Luc was a very adaptable individual in social situations, more than fully capable of molding himself to suit the people around him.. but molding himself to Joaquin was something he wasn't sure he could do. It seemed like the two of them couldn't be more opposite - and that wasn't necessarily a good or bad thing, but it was highly likely to swing either way in the near future. He took a deep breath in an attempt to collect his thoughts that were pinging frantically around his brain, fingers clenching on the Bimmer's steering wheel until his knuckles turned white - something he had a tendency to do when he was thinking too hard (and he wouldn't realize it until his knuckles started aching). It wasn't easy being blonde, after all.
"Okay, so - like. I know this was a spur of the moment thing? But.. like.." He trailed off to a helpless laugh as he glanced nervously over at Joaquin. "I don't really know how to say this without it coming out completely wrong. But.. like.. I get the feeling you aren't comfortable around me, and if that's the case - I.. I guess I'd just like to know what it is." His brows knitted ever-so-slightly above his nose. "I mean, I know you probably think I'm just some pretentious rich douche that parties too hard and doesn't do shit except sit up in his ivory tower writing his songs - which, well." He flushed a little and gave a sheepish laugh. "It isn't entirely untrue - mostly it is though. Because it isn't like that. It's.. like - I don't know - I mean - " He had to stop himself, pressing his lips together to engage his full brain-to-mouth filter momentarily. "This is exactly what I meant by not knowing how to say it without it coming out wrong."
And, God, now that he felt like he needed to be on the defensive, his over-talking problem was just going to get worse. Fantastic.
This was exactly the reason why Joaquin knew he shouldn’t have done this. Luc didn’t know him. He especially didn’t know him completely sober. Joaquin completely sober was a completely different thing than Joaquin after a few drinks- at least after a drink or two he wasn’t quite so painfully shy, and that was how Luc knew him. Joaquin shook his head, trying to figure out what to say. It’s okay, really. I’m just uncomfortable because I find you ridiculously attractive? Not that. Definitely not that. Oh boy...
“No, um, don’t... It’s not like that, really. Really. I think you’re like... really cool. I don’t want you to um, think I dislike you or don’t want to be here or whatever- because um, I do, um, and if I didn’t I would’ve just gone alone since- that’s what I usually do, you know, and uh...” Joaquin twisted a piece of hair around his finger, then let it go. “I don’t think you’re a pretentious douche- um, rich? Yes, maybe, but um-- I don’t want you to feel like, uncomfortable- or that I’m uncomfortable- I mean... I’m not uh, the most comfortable I’ve ever been in my life or anything but-- I’m also going on a weekend trip with someone I barely know- and I’m just-- a very, very awkward shy person-- so... uh, what I mean to say is... Don’t worry?”
Luc couldn't help but grin. Because now he was on better footing with the situation, and it was almost like a weight had been lifted from his expression.
"Cool? Hardly. Rich, yes - but a lot of it is from my parents dying. Douche.. I try not to be. Pretentious.. I can be, probably. But it's not on purpose," he said with a chuckle, shaking his head at himself. "I'm probably a little insane - I mean, I did essentially just kidnap you from life for a weekend to bring to Vegas on a whim. And that's probably not healthy. At least, that's probably what my therapist will tell me come Tuesday."
It was kind of a big confession to admit one had a therapist, but who didn't that had grown up in Los Angeles?
He arched an eyebrow at the 'not the most comfortable in my life' comment, teeth setting for a moment into his bottom lip before he added, "Well - ask me something. I mean, like. Anything you want to know, I'll tell you. Within reason." He was careful to stipulate that, because there were certain things that were probably going to be off-limits. Including and not limited to most of the details of his and Nate's true relationship. He definitely didn't know the guy well enough for that. Hell, he didn't know anyone he'd met since he moved enough for that. There was a lot about that situation that he himself still wasn't completely comfortable with - how in the fuck could he even attempt to consider the thought of other people comfortable with it?
"I'm pretty much an open book." Pretty much. There just happened to be a couple chapters that had been dropped for the editor's sake.
Joaquin had to finally smile at that, a real smile. “Well- I must be a little insane too, then, right? I mean um, I agreed to be kidnapped to go to Vegas on a whim...”
Insane? Yes, that seemed like the appropriate word. This was going to be one of those things he didn’t tell his mother about the next time she called. Closest thing he was going to get to having a therapist, though he hardly told her much. She just liked to check up on him-- how he was doing, whether he had enough money, if he was eating enough, if he’d made any friends, if he was seeing anyone... Usually his answers weren’t anything but disappointing, but better to be honest, he supposed.
“Ask you something?” Joaquin frowned, leaning back in his seat as he tried to think. There wasn’t a lot he wanted to know that he felt was polite enough to ask someone he barely knew. For one- was he really flirting with him the other times they’d met, or was Joaquin just imagining things? Because yeah, he was majorly inexperienced but at the same time, he wasn’t clueless.
Unless this had all been some sort of scheme to get him to paint things... Which would be odd. Acting flirtatious toward another man to try and get a deal or a commission didn’t seem quite right to him, especially since... Well. He’d made no indication regarding his sexuality- to anyone in a very long time- but maybe it was more obvious than he thought. Or maybe that was just the way Luc was and it meant nothing.
“Um... How about... Tell me something about a song you really love. Since... music’s your thing and all.”
Luc was surprised by that question - and it sent his mind racing despite himself, because if he had to pick one song..
"Jesus H," he laughed, pale eyes flicking back and forth across the California sky in front of them as if it were going to hold the answer for him. "You'd think that'd be an easy one - but there's so many.. It almost isn't even a fair question.."
He had to pause again to think, worrying his bottom lip between pearly whites because he had to actually think hard about it - hard enough to make him frown as he turned the question over and over again in his head, his mental playlist running through every song he'd ever heard and loved. Which was a very broad search. It also made him think about what was accessible to him at the moment - which was his iPod. Considering the mix comprised of all songs he loved (to varying degrees), but weren't exactly of his usual genre, it was tough to figure out what was there that he could consider a legitimate answer to the question.
When "You and I" by Lady Gaga came on the randomized playlist (and Luc wasn't sure how it had snuck onto the playlist to begin with, but he wasn't questioning it). Blessed random. His features lit up in a broad grin, and he didn't even answer the question directly - simply turned up the volume a little and started belting out the words with the woman herself. In harmony, though. He never sang lead unless he was writing the part for one of his songs. It wasn't bad singing, truthfully - though Luc would swear to God he couldn't sing, because he honestly didn't think he could. But it was hard not to carry a tune when you wrote them for a living.
He pointed to the stereo system and shot Joaquin a glance as he sang along shamelessly, "You taste like whiskey when you kiss me, oh - I'd give anything again to be your baby doll.. this time I'm not leavin' without youuu.."
He snapped the fingers of his right hand (that wasn't gripping the wheel) with the beat, continuing to the bridge - half singing to the dashboard now, and half still to Joaquin, but 100% too consumed by the music to even notice what he was singing to him.
"He said sit back down where you belong - in the corner of my bar with your high heels on. Sit back down on the couch where we made love the first time and you said to meee this.." The chorus had Luc testing his range a little more than he was used to (good thing he'd practiced in his apartment a few times when he'd first heard the song), but he still had it. Like the pro he was, even if he wasn't a professional singer. "Somethin', somethin' about this place - somethin' 'bout lonely nights and my lipstick on your faaace.. somethin', somethin' about my cool Nebraska guyyy.. yeah, somethin' about, baby, you and I.."
He stopped singing after that, but he couldn't help the way he nodded and tapped out the rhythm with his fingers, his shoulders even getting into it a little on the louder drumbeats. Yeah, Luc rocked out - hell, if Joaquin hadn't been there, it would have been a lot worse. With a lot more singing. A lot more.
“It doesn’t have to be, um, your most favourite or anything, just... one you really like.” Joaquin smiled, watching as Luc seemed to be completely stumped. He wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or not- he’d just thought it might be an interesting question. When that next song came on and Luc smiled and turned up the volume, Joaquin thought maybe that was the answer, but... He had absolutely no idea what this was or who was singing it (though they sounded familiar). It wasn’t bad, though. And to be honest, Luc’s singing wasn’t bad either.
All Joaquin could do was watch as the other man seemed to get more and more into the song, finding himself smiling more and more as he continued. Goddamn it. A minute ago he was practically squirming in his seat wondering how he’d make it through the weekend, and now he was grinning like an idiot and being way too charmed by him. Of course.
Joaquin stayed quiet even as Luc stopped singing, not wanting to interrupt the... moment. You and I, you, you and I... This song was catchy and all too cute, especially with Luc getting so into it. Joaquin had to admire that- he hardly rocked out like this when he was all alone in his apartment, let alone in the car with someone else. But he’d definitely have to download this- though it’d be hard to think of anything other than this little scene when he heard it. Maybe that was why he needed to. Jeez, Joaquin...
Luc mostly hummed his way through the song - as his singing was always something he hadn't been completely comfortable with. Especially in front of people. Joaquin had gotten more than he'd done willingly in a long time, not that the other man would know that. But once it hit the outro of 'you and i's he threw himself back into the lyrics, singing right along with her all the way to the close - and was about to stop and continue to why he loved that song so much when this song came on. He snorted a laugh, mentally commending himself for his choice in playlist for this trip - because this was one of his favorite songs of all time.
"Oh God, I love this song," he said, and the volume went up a little more - this time to help mask some of Luc's impromptu vocals as he picked up in the middle of the first verse. "With all the power to release it - it isn't safe to walk the city streets alooone," he crooned, teeth raking over his lower lip before the, "Anticipation's runnin' through me - let's find a key and turn this engine oooonnn.."
He nodded with the guitar beat, fingers keeping the drum line as his foot pressed down on the gas some, breezing the Bimmer effortlessly away from some of the traffic on the highway. If only he had been paying attention to what he was doing, he might have reconsidered his actions - but when Luc was wrapped up in music (like he was right at that moment), he didn't notice such things. Instead, he let his brain shut off and continue with the words - because it was so much easier to just pay attention to what was on his iPod than to whatever would have gone through his brain then. Because Luc was not about to spend an entire four and a half hour drive thinking about how he could possibly be attracted to someone he hardly knew - or why that was, because they clearly couldn't be any more dissimilar in nature than they were.
Besides, Luc hadn't actually been attracted to someone in so long, how would he even know what the fuck attraction felt like anymore? Hell, with how lonely he'd been lately, this was probably just a manifested desire for general company. It couldn't have anything to do with anything beyond that. Nope. No way.
From the look of things, this whole weekend could be screaming disaster as much as it could be raving epic.
Joaquin was just about to finally ask Luc about that song- even if it was going to make him feel a little foolish, he wanted to know. Except then... ah. Take Me Home Tonight. Joaquin wasn’t incredibly familiar with the music of today, but he did know this song, and he did like it.
“Me too,” he smiled, finding himself tapping his fingertips against his thigh in time to the drumbeats. Now this was road trip music- or at least what he associated with road trips.
So what if he’d barely been born when this song came out? As much as Joaquin was enamoured with all sorts of music, 80s rock was just... good driving music. Maybe some of it was a bit cheesy, but what era didn’t have that?
...It wouldn’t hurt to sing a little, would it? The music was loud, and it wasn’t like he was an awful singer. Maybe it’d make Luc realize that yes, he was okay, and maybe try and reassure himself of the same thing and that this weekend was going to be just fine, even if he had no real reason to believe it.
“I need some company, a guardian angel...” His voice was soft- barely audible, but he didn’t mind- and by no means rocking out level, but it was a start.
Maybe he should let go a little. What could it hurt? Even if he did some crazy things... He knew he’d stop himself. Besides, what’s the worst he could do? Unless he suddenly decided in a drunken stupor that he liked women, he wasn’t exactly going to have some spur of the moment Vegas wedding... and so far nothing had made him do anything completely insane, so he was sure it’d be fine to just... maybe... do something a little out of character.
"To keep me warm when the colds winds blooowww - !"
Luc was grinning into the lyrics, pale eyes alight with amusement as they glanced over at Joaquin a couple times - finally. Some kind of common ground. Because so far.. pretty much everything had been a bust. But this? This was nice. This.. was something he and Nate used to do a lot - car karaoke. Not that his former lover had been the only person he'd ever sang car karaoke with, it was just one of those really good memories he had of the other man that he still clung to. Better than most of the memories they shared, truthfully - though that made it sound like the time they'd had together had been bad, when it wasn't the case. There were just a lot of.. sad memories for such a short amount of time.
Fuck, why was he even thinking about Nate then?
Here he was going to Las Vegas with Joaquin and his brain was being counterproductive. Luc had kept up with the words to the song, though - and that was good enough for now. At least it kept him from saying anything stupid or detrimental to the atmosphere of the ride. Something Luc really didn't want to do, because the atmosphere was just starting to get.. well, good.