robobees | open post. ( + voicetest because i'm nervous af I AIN'T GONNA LIE )

Noah goes to Nino's with everyone when he's got the energy for it, even if he doesn't eat anything. Other things make it worth the effort when he gets bullied into accompanying them.

Right now he's looking at the sticker machine over by the restrooms while the others enjoy pizza. They've got the large glittery ones, but as Noah roots through his pockets just in case...

He sighs. Of course.

"No quarters..."

Every once in a while, when the boys have been on their best behavior - by which, of course, he means that none of them have managed to get themselves caught in the middle of any of their unsavory extracurricular activities - he brings the residents of Litchfield House to Nino's for a night of grease and debauchery. ( As much as can be debauched at a pizzeria in the middle of the week, on a school night, when every one of them knows they should be putting their time to better use and, obstinately, refuses. )

It should go without saying that there's a small part of him that would rather be in his room, sans pants, watching someone else play a video game that he can't be bothered to play for himself.

He's just coming out of the restroom, a wad of paper towels in his hands when he almost bumps into Noah, standing there as he is, looking as though the world might just end for his lack of quarters. He pauses, searches through his pockets, finds a few bits of lint among his keys, wallet and phone, and he frowns.

"Small change, always a problem." He huffs out a breath, good-naturedly. "I bet if you pulled hard enough, you could just snag one. Not that I'm advocating petty theft." Ah, and there's a smile. "Have you tried looking on the floor for runaway coins?"

Henry.

Noah sighs, dejected. Yes the world is ending for his lack of quarters.

"Everyone uses credit cards here," Noah says with a shrug, looking back at the sticker machine. "Maybe Gansey has some he'll let me borrow."

{{ a road trip can't be too easy - that wouldn't be any fun... }}

The world is not, in fact, ending due to Noah's lack of quarters. It's just a minor setback - something easily remedied, if one were to put their mind to it properly.

But then he's distracted infinitely by the name that falls out of his mouth next, and his expression visibly brightens. Turns into something curious. "Dick Gansey? You're here with him?" There's a pause, and he gives Noah a better look, a once-over he'd foregone previously. "You've got the look, but I've never seen you before." He hmms, head tilted to the side.

"New?"

( road trips are funny things; they can lead to anywhere, or nowhere, they can be endless or too short depending on the company or a lack thereof. they can find mischief, bring it around and turn it into something else, or they can be positively boring. henry is convinced that it's all in who you choose to bring with you, and this particular trip – within the confines of a dream machine, no less – has so far been the best idea any of them has ever had.

( then again, it might just go without saying that having finally garnered richard gansey's attention is the whole of what makes this worthwhile, and of course he's mentioned nearly as much aloud, but for the fact he's overfed on secrets, he would still rather keep a few of his own for himself. for now. )

henry has claimed the front seat of the dream-pig, for now, while blue is curled up in the backseat in what's supposed to be a nap before her next stretch as chauffeur. he's got his seat leaning as far back as it will go without getting in her way – because that's only polite, after all – with his feet up, crossed at the ankles, ridiculously expensive shoes hanging out the window as the mile marker signs pass them by in a blur. his sunglasses have slipped down his nose with this last glance at the gps app on his phone, and he pushes them up with the tip of a finger before thumbing back through their decided trajectory, tongue clicking in a soft, contemplative noise before he lets the phone drop to his chest with a flop of his hands into his lap. )

So, I've come to a conclusion, Your Highness. ( he shifts a little lower in his seat, the toe of one shoe tapping at the air to a rhythm that only he hears. ) There are no Waffle Houses this far north, and if I don't get something in me soon, I might die. ( a beat. ) Listen. Listen. You hear that? That's the sound of my stomach trying to eat itself in lieu of a waffle.

( henry. for god's sake. )

[ This road trip is certainly the best idea any of them have ever had, and he's so happy - no, elated - to be here. Grateful, too. A whole year of adventure is before them, and they're going to share it together. What's not to appreciate?

Blue is sound asleep, and though her "shift" begins in less than an hour, Gansey is sure there's an unspoken thought between the boys that they'll simply let her sleep longer. Sure, she might sock them in the shoulders when she does wake up, but it'll be worth it, Gansey thinks. Whatever is best for her. Obviously.

That leaves Henry in the front, with his feet out the window and his seat all the way back, stretched out and clearly more than comfortable. Gansey glances over, and entertains a passing thought that like this, he looks rather like something straight out of a photoshoot - like a magazine ad, meant to advertise something ridiculously overpriced while promising young, authority-defying adventure. He cracks a smile. ... And that smile turns into a shake of his head and a laugh at Henry's ~conclusion~. ]

Did you even have a waffle at the last Waffle House we stopped at? [ Ah, not that it matters. ] And, well, if there are none, we'll have to decide on the next best thing. What is there nearby?

[ Is there an app for that? There's probably an app for that. Gansey doesn't know. He's content to just keep driving. ]

"Not really," Noah answers with a sigh. "I died seven seven years ago."

Henry won't hear him though, because no one hears Noah when he tells them. No one gets to know until their time, apparently.

"I don't really go to classes anymore."

Well, it isn't not true.

Henry won't hear him? Oh, dear pale white boy, you underestimate him.

He does hear it, not particularly because he's listening carefully, but more because he's accustomed to picking up on the things people say in regular conversation that one would normally miss. The small things. The inherently more important things.

Which means that when it dawns on him that he hadn't misheard, he's giving Noah a rather blank look, hands slipping into his pockets. "Sorry, but did you just say you died seven years ago?" There's a beat of a pause, and one of his hands comes back out of its pocket, only to knock against the wall in quiet thought.

"If that was an attempt at a joke, I'm going to have to humbly request that you rethink a career in comedy."

( answer to that: there is nothing not to appreciate about this trip. the open road, no need to stop for gas, passing by some of the continental united states' most well-known landmarks along the way? there is everything about this to appreciate, and the fact that they have an entire year of it ahead of them only serves to make their future even brighter, more promising.

and if he has it his way, blue is going to sleep until she's good and ready to wake up. not only does it mean a little more one-on-one time with gansey, but blue herself has a tendency to run herself into the ground, and even with something as simple as driving, one can never be too careful when it comes to being prepared for the road ahead. literally, in this case.

( blue has gotten to be a better driver, all things considered, but. hey. that's neither here nor there. )

now, if gansey were to say what was on his mind out loud, henry might just have to comment on it himself. he definitely looks the part, of that there could be no doubt at all, with every inch of him looking the part of having come from money – yes, it has to be italicized – and the stylish and unforgettable coif of his hair the proverbial icing on the cake, hell, why not, go ahead and take a picture or five. commit this moment to memory. let it sink in. )

That is not the point, Gansey Man. The point is that my stomach demands one now, and it would seem that it's shit out of luck. ( he tsks a couple of times, tongue clicking against the roof of his mouth, sunglassed gaze now trained out the window at the passing scenery. ) There are endless IHOPs, if that's your thing. Maybe if we're lucky we'll find some little Mom-n-Pop place. That sounds charming, doesn't it?

[ Gansey would more than expect Henry to comment on that particular thought on his mind, which is one of the many reasons he isn't voicing it out loud. He'll just keep it to himself, for his own appreciation. Henry appreciates himself enough. "Henrysexual," and all... ~~not like it isn't endearing, though, honestly. in a sense.~~

Ah, another nickname. Another mental tally mark. Maybe even a moment of silence for Henry's poor empty stomach, as well. He's not entirely sure why there appears to be a focus on breakfast foods right now, but hey, he'll roll with it. He shakes his head again. ]

Charming, certainly. What do you say we pick an exit and start looking around?

[ What better way to discover things, right? ]

( but of course, everything about him is endearing, in a sense. that's why blue decided that they should be friends. ~~and he can't think to thank her enough for making it so. what with how hard he's been trying to get into the gangsey in the first place.~~

also, why the focus on breakfast foods? because they are infinitely awesome, that's why. breakfast is good at any time of the day, if you ask him – which, no one did, but no one ever has to, because ninety-nine percent of the time he doesn't give them a chance to give something up before it comes out of his own mouth, anyway.

that's just the way of it. he could possibly be swayed in another direction, but that would involve getting gansey's input, and it would seem that he's more content with going along with whatever this one has to say. nothing wrong with that.

henry stretches a little, his foot still tapping the air to a beat only he can hear, and gives a nod. ) Sounds like the sort of decision a king would make. Onward, then! May fortune smile upon us in our venture to fill our stomachs.

( henry … why does anyone ever take you anywhere? )

[ And, as was previously stated, if Jane says it's so, then it's so ~~welcome to the gangsey, indeed.~~

Gansey won't deny that breakfast is wonderful at any time of day, but it doesn't make him any less baffled at Henry's insistence. No matter, it gives them something to do, something to search for - together. And besides, there's an added potential bonus of Jane waking up to delicious breakfast, and who wouldn't want that her? (boy is so smitten, please hold.)

The sort of decision a king would make, hmm? That gets another smile out of him - a softer sort. Between that, and Henry's silly addition at the end, he feels so much more alive and at peace with the world than he remembers feeling in so very long. (and known. He still feels known. he will always cherish that.) ]

Ah, yes! Excelsior!

[ Because why not~?

He hits the next exit ramp - which, incidentally, is not very far at all - and starts squinting at whatever he can manage to survey without completely taking his eyes off the road before him. Time to start investigating! ]

If you were a local dive, where would you be...?

( she makes a fine queen. you've done well for yourself, sir. very well indeed.

ah, but hasn't he figured out that it's pointless to find himself baffled by anything that henry insists upon? there is never a rhyme to his reason, and if there is, it's a faint one, etched in the dregs of logic that swirl around in the bottom of an empty teacup. gansey would be far better off just going along with the flow of things than questioning what fuels the insistence, and if he can't deny that breakfast is wonderful at any time of the day, why waste the cognitive power in the first place?

spend it on something else. like watching the road.

henry can't stop the smile from sliding across the line of his mouth at the exclamaton of excelsior, and he turns that broad expression on the driver of the pig without any thought of pretense, a hand reaching over to clap against a shoulder currently dressed in an eye-searing shade of orange, a sharp bark of laughter that can only mean that he's utterly lost in the whole of this sensation, this moment, slipping free of the back of his throat. ) Atta boy. Onward and upward, take no prisoners, unless they deny me my sustenance.

( stop. just. no.

his hands flop back into his lap, though he perks up just a bit once they hit the ramp, eyes peeled for the signs that depict food. ) A hole in the wall, I say. On a broken backroad. Might not even be a road – maybe it's gravel.

open post. ( + voicetest because i'm nervous af I AIN'T GONNA LIE )

(Yeah phone tagging. Prose so I don't have to worry about formatting)

yells!

That Noah and Henry never got to interact is the real tragedy of trc

come at me bro

i agree with this 100% :<

you got it, gansey boy.

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natural language is thought + mindreader COME ON

i think stiefvater did that on purpose tbh, to make us want it. :|

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