Evenfall (81 page)

Neither of them had commented on the strange flirtation that sometimes seemed to occur between them and he had no intentions of doing so on their assignment. It would only complicate an already convoluted situation, and that wasn't something that needed to happen when they would be stuck living together for nearly a year.

Chapter 27

Dust was thick in the air, making the arid temperature feel even scratchier against the skin. Laredo, Texas was still half-intact, with buildings scattered along the riverbed like abandoned toys. Several of the bridges spanning the Rio Grande were destroyed in the impact of the war, but with the passing of years and slow degradation of borders, rickety replacements had been created. Boyd had done as much research as he could on the plane rides between Hawaii and the Agency, then the Agency and Laredo, but there was only so much he could read in books, especially since most of them were written prior to the bombs. So there were still surprises.

A transit station that was little more than a large parking lot with pot holes lay adjoined to the airport, and Boyd and Sin hung around the shadows of a nearby building while Boyd flipped through a decade-old Spanish travel, culture and phrasebook, trying to teach himself as much of the language as he could. There were enough similarities to French that it wasn't completely confusing to him, but he did wish they'd had a bit more warning before taking off to Mexico. He could have attempted to become fluent before going there. He should have plenty of time to learn while over there, though.

They had to wait around for nearly an hour before their transport arrived, but e
ventually it came trundling from the horizon on tires that looked threadbare and two shades darker with mud. A cloth banner covering the dirty bus read in handwritten scrawl, 'Viaje Mιxico.' Boyd looked at Sin questioningly and asked under his breath what
that meant in English.

"Journey Mexico," Sin translated absently. He was standing in an idle slouch as he watched other passengers drag their suitcases with broken wheels across the dusty pavement to load on the bus.

Boyd nodded and moved to slip his hands into his pockets but was met with empty air. He'd had to abandon his beloved trench coat and the skinny jeans he wore were too tight to comfortably fit his hands. Sighing to himself, he tried to ignore the annoyances of this cover. He'd been amused in the Agency when he'd seen how irritated Sin was about his own cover, but now that his own transformation had taken effect he had to admit there were some downsides.

His hair now mirrored Kadin's: layered and framing his face, with the longest layer reaching barely past his chin. His bangs were at an angle that constantly fell into his eyes but were not long enough to be held back. It meant constantly having to shove hair off his face and he was starting to wish Kadin had had the decency to go long or really short, and not do this obnoxious in between.

Hitching his duffel bag higher on his shoulder, Boyd watched Sin finish his cigarette.

It was so strange seeing Sin now; he looked completely different. His clothing was vaguely similar-- ragged jeans with holes in them and a sleeveless shirt that showed off the new barbed wire tattoo encasing his upper arm. Despite that, his muscular build was much more visible now that he was not lost within a scrappy long-sleeved shirt. Boyd more than once excused the way he eyed Sin's arms as saying he was just looking at the tattoo.

Sin's hair was now shorter, choppy and a little spiked, and the natural jet black was randomly streaked with white. His ears were pierced, with several small hoops randomly distributed in each ear. A lip ring curled out from the center of his lower lip, a silver color that worked well with his olive skin tone. Boyd often found his gaze drawn to the lip ring. He had always been a little fascinated by Sin's mouth, but this brought his attention to it even more.

On the plane ride over he had realized a few times that he was staring and had to force himself to look away. If he did not stop himself in time, he started wondering what the lip ring would feel like against his lips and tongue, and what the metal mixed with Sin would taste like, and that just reminded him of the way Sin tasted back in France, and from there it was a very uncomfortable few minutes while Boyd tried to change his thoughts before it became obvious that he was affected. The stupid skinny jeans did very little to hide an erection and it was one more reason he wished he was impersonating someone who had the decency to wear loose clothing and keep hair he could hide behind.

He didn't know how he was going to make it through the majority of a year in Mexico alone with Sin in an apartment. Every time he actually thought about their situation, about being around someone who fascinated and attracted him more with each passing day, his mind derailed.

What would Sin look like in just bathing shorts and a tan? What would his body look like with these new tattoos? What would he sound like, murmuring Spanish fluently with that bedroom voice he slipped into sometimes? All these questions slid around Boyd's mind and he found himself more than once meticulously mentally reviewing the blueprints of the Agency or his house just to focus on something that was not in any way related to Sin.

But each time Boyd started to distract himself, Sin did something else. Whereas before he stood ramrod straight, with a glowering and alert attention to the world around him, he now slouched and peered around almost sullenly. He had taken to holding a cigarette in his fingers even when he was not smoking and Boyd was impressed with how natural he already looked with the cigarette between his lips when he did. He looked even more bored with the world, leaning against the wall and idly tapping the ash from the cigarette. In just one week he already seemed comfortable with chain smoking, and Boyd was not entirely certain what he thought of that.

Boyd was not a fan of the cloud of smoke that now lingered around Sin, but that was mostly because he had never realized before how much he enjoyed Sin's scent until it was covered by something else. He didn't even know how to describe how Sin smelled, other than cheap soap and a hint of sweat. That should not have seemed unique, but Boyd was just now realizing he really liked it. On the other hand, even if he smelled of smoke, Sin looked casually alluring while smoking. Every time his fingers shifted and brought the cigarette to his mouth, Boyd tracked the movement with his gaze and often found it difficult not to linger on those full lips.

"Let's go," Boyd said suddenly, not waiting for Sin to finish his cigarette before he strode across the crackling hot pavement toward the bus. He was frustrated that he was so preoccupied with Sin's appearance, but he couldn't help it. Although he preferred when Sin had longer hair with the red in it, he had to admit that Sin looked very good as Jason too. He suspected Sin would always be undeniably attractive.

They were able to get two seats next to each other near the back; an easy feat, as there were only seventeen passengers including them and the bus could hold up to forty-five. It was not surprising that the public transit from the United States to Mexico was so underutilized. Very few people lived in Laredo or Nuevo Laredo just across the border, but the few who were interested in traveling were almost certainly headed to Monterrey.

Although the ride was only about three and a half hours, it seemed to take longer. The bus had no windows, just holes where glass would have been. Instead, tarp with loops on the bottom was rolled along the ceiling, and hooks were perched beneath the windows in case rain caused the passengers to unfurl and secure it. The seats were hard-backed and uncomfortable, but no one seemed too concerned as it was a relatively short ride.

The bus was rickety and jolted around a lot, making it harder not to rub against Sin's bare arm with his own. Judging by the literature, even with the clouds it would be far too hot in Monterrey to wear long-sleeved shirts, and Boyd would have been conspicuous if he tried, so he had to wear short-sleeved shirts for the first time in years. He felt vulnerable and naked even with that bit of skin showing, but he was incredibly thankful that he'd noticed Kadin wearing wide, leather bands on each of his wrists. He'd decided to follow suit and do the same.

Now, with skin he had not revealed for years other than a few minutes at a time during showers, Boyd felt entirely too aware of the heat and sweat on Sin's skin, or the way the smoke and underlying faint smell of soap passed cloyingly in front of him each time the wind gusted. Boyd let Sin have the window seat because he'd had it on the plane, but now he was regretting it. He had nothing to lean against and could not keep himself from running into Sin each time the bus jumped over any holes ground into Mexican Federal Highway 85. He tried to brace one hand against the seat in front of him, but it was uncomfortable and awkward, and after fifteen minutes he just gave up and tried to ignore the feel of Sin's muscles against him.

He slid his eyes closed and held his bag on his lap, tilting his head forward and trying to concentrate on something less... again,
Sin-
related
.
He didn't know why he was so preoccupied with him. This year was going to be terrible. Every time he saw Sin walk past he would think inappropriate thoughts and have to force himself to think of something else. His usual ability to completely close off his emotions and ignore his body's impulses was failing him miserably, and he had to blame it on the heat, Sin's proximity, and the admittedly exciting idea of spending a few months resting in a new place after so many months of working diligently.

He was looking forward to being away from so much stress and even those things that unconsciously pulled down his mood. Like knowing his mother was probably watching his every move to see when he would mess up, or the lingering looks of some others in the Agency and what they were thinking about him.

Moua's group had started to lay off Boyd following the fight in the courtyard but after Harry, it had renewed. The harassment had dropped considerably following the findings Carhart had posted, but Boyd suspected that was only because of the actions taken on the guards. As an agent, Moua had been unaffected and he and his close friends still sometimes gave Boyd looks when they passed.

A particularly rough jolt sent Boyd running into Sin so suddenly that he automatically threw one hand to the seat to catch himself before he could fall. His hand landed on Sin's thigh and the feel of those muscles flexing actually made Boyd lose all sense of thought for a moment. His eyes snapped open and he stared blankly at the seat ahead of him. He was quite thankful he had the foresight to hold the bag on his lap as well.

Realizing his touch had lingered, he pulled his hand away with a mumbled, "Sorry," and immediately dug into his bag for something, anything, to distract himself. He did not look over to see Sin's reaction because no matter what it was, it would just catch his attention again.

The Spanish book was the first thing he found and Boyd pulled it out gratefully to study. Maybe it would help him concentrate if he considered this to be a mission and the book was his plans. Skimming through the geographical notes, he softly told Sin factoids in hopes of distracting them both from the hand incident.

"Interesting. The R
io Grande was formally called 'Rνo Bravo del Norte' in Mexico, which means," he drew the word out as he flipped around for a translation, "ah, the Big River of the North? ..No, I see it here. 'Great Northern River,' apparently. Though usually it is just referred to as Rνo Bravo."

He silently read a bit more, his eyebrows furrowing down as he concentrated. The more he read and memorized the information, the easier it was for him to think about something other than his ridiculous infatuation. Sin looked over and watched him, his own expression intent but a little hard to read. He had been sullen through the plane ride and waiting for the bus and it did not seem ready to change any time soon. That was probably good, because Boyd honestly did not know what he would do the first time those pouty lips stretched into a smile.

Narrowing his eyes in annoyance at himself, Boyd said perhaps a little more firmly than was necessary, "Millions of years ago, the Rio Grande ended at the bottom of the Rio Grande Rift in Lake Cabeza de Vaca," he still did not quite have the Spanish pronunciation down but it would come to him quickly as did everything else. "But about a million years ago the stream was diverted through natural erosion that brought it to the east and the Gulf of Mexico."

"Okay?" Sin said, giving Boyd a look as if he had no idea why he was telling him this.

Boyd shook his head slightly to himself once, not wanting to explain, and he continued reading silently for a bit. Although the facts were helping Boyd to think of something else, it was becoming a problem because now he accidentally succeeded in turning Sin's sullen glare out the window into intent, watchful silence focused on him. As Boyd read aloud random facts about the Mexican Federal Highway 85 they were currently bouncing across, he could not help noticing movement out of the corner of his eye. He flipped to the history lesson in the hopes of finding something filled with more dates to keep his attention.

"The French intervention in Mexico, also known as the Maximilian Affair, began in 1861 and lasted until--" Boyd stumbled when he realized that Sin was idly running his tongue along the ring in his lip. "Ah..."

With narrowed eyes that were now tinted brown from the contacts, but as intense as ever, Sin stared at Boyd and switched to sucking on the metal, twirling it in and out of his mouth.

"Uh..." Boyd tried again.

Boyd refused to look over from his book but he couldn't think properly and automatically tilted his head down further. Usually that hid his expression from view, but with his shorter hair it was only partially successful. It left him feeling flustered since he couldn't get away from Sin's gaze.

"Napolean..." Boyd tried almost helplessly, reading random words from the pages in front of him. "Second French Empire... And the, ah, Veracruz and... Cuba in Spanish control..." Noting that he just sounded like an idiot, he finished lamely, "Perhaps I will just read silently now."