Hey, I'm back. I hadn't realized Afterglow was so long ago. Uni makes time weird. Anyway, I popped on a few episodes last night and had this idea during Going Dutch. I stayed up way too late writing it but at least I had the sense to leave editing and publishing until today.
I have a few other ideas - I always do - but I know better than to make promises. That said, I'm on a bit of a Motorcity kick right now, so who knows. If you ever wanna see my other, non-fanfic thoughts about the show, you're welcome to check out the Motorcity tag on my tumblr. Blog link is in my bio.
All right, I'm done. Enjoy!
Mike Chilton was bored.
Dutch had taken Roth and headed out for a few days of painting. Chuck was out with his LARP team. Texas was working on his martial arts. Jacob was busy working on a new recipe.
Mike was walking restlessly around the garage when he heard a car engine roaring. He looked up a little too eagerly as 9Lives screeched into view and Julie stepped out of the driver's side, tossing her red hair.
"Hey," Mike greeted, trying to be nonchalant. He crammed his fists into his pockets in an effort to hide his agitated fidgeting.
"Hey!" she answered cheerfully. "I've spent pretty much all day shopping and playing badminton with Claire. What's up around here?"
"Oh, you know," he said, shrugging and kicking absently at the floor. "Not much. Quiet day, everybody's kind of been doing their own thing."
"Oh yeah?" she asked, climbing the stairs and coming up to stand near him. "And what've you been up to?"
"Well, uh," he started, searching for an answer, "y'know, I've, I've done some cleaning up, and I vacuumed out Mutt's interior, and I checked the security system, and I worked on the emergency escape plans, and, uh…" he trailed off, counting on his fingers.
Julie crossed her arms and smirked. "So, nothing."
"What?" Mike looked up. "No, no, I've done lots of things. Tons of things."
"Do you even have a hobby?" Julie asked, shifting her weight from one hip to the other.
"Sure," he said emphatically. "The Burners."
"We're a gang, Mike, not a hobby."
"Okay, so, fighting Kane."
She shook her head, her smirk growing. "Still not a hobby."
"Driving," he said finally, grinning and raising a finger as if he'd found his trump card.
Julie began to giggle. "Oh my god, Mike, you actually don't do anything other than this, do you?"
"Other than what?" he asked defensively, crossing his arms.
"This," she repeated, gesturing around the garage. "The Burners. Motorcity. Kane. Everything is about this, nothing is just about Mike."
He slumped. "Come on, there's nothing wrong with that…"
"Except that you're bored as hell when left on your own," she countered. "Seriously, Mike, it's healthy to do things for yourself sometime."
"Quiet days like this are few and far between," he said. "I almost never have free time like this."
Julie sighed and rolled her eyes. "Come on. It's a nice evening. Let's go for a drive."
He jumped at the opportunity. "Dibs on driving."
They hopped into Mutt and set off. Julie directed Mike to the diner, where they picked up a late dinner to go, and then they found themselves down by Lake Erie. They sat on Mutt's hood and ate their burgers, looking out over the water.
"Don't you have any personal interests?" Julie was asking, wiping ketchup from the corner of her mouth with her forearm.
Mike looked down at his food and shrugged. "I dunno. I've been doing this for so long I've never stopped to think about what else I might be into. And before this, back in Deluxe, I didn't have time for personal stuff. I'm still too busy, really, just on the other side of it."
"Really? Nothing at all?" She stopped and looked at him.
He glanced at her sidelong. "No time. And I'm never alone. Normally I spend what little time I have with Chuck or the rest of you. I don't do things by myself, certainly not things unrelated to the Burners. I don't spend time with anyone else."
"Damn," Julie muttered. "I didn't realize it had always been this way, even before I joined you. No other friends? No love life? Nothing at all?"
He almost laughed at that. "No, definitely nothing in that area." Then he seemed to sober, and he stared thoughtfully out over the water for a moment. "What about you?" he asked suddenly. "You never talk about anyone but Claire. Anyone in your life? Down here, or up there?"
"Nah," she answered. "All my time is at work, down here, or with Claire. Sometimes I swear she's the only interesting person in Deluxe. There's a guy at KaneCo who likes me, but he's… weird." She thought of Tooley's goofy, obvious crush and made a face, rolling her shoulders in an attempt to quash the uncomfortable cringe crawling up her spine.
"Oh. Okay." Mike was steadfastly watching the motionless lake, almost as if he were stuck that way. Julie frowned briefly, then spoke again.
"Don't try to change the subject, though. I still want to find you a hobby."
He shrugged again, stiffly this time. "I dunno." For a minute he was quiet, brow furrowed, then he spoke again, abruptly. "So there's no one in particular that you're interested in?"
Julie was taken aback. "Well, I – I didn't say that, exactly."
Suddenly Mike jerked to life, swinging around and looking at the empty wrappers and Styrofoam containers from their dinner. "Hey, you done with these? Let me go throw them out." He scooped them all up and hopped off the hood of the car, walking away with a strange quickness in his step.
Julie watched him go, frowning in confusion, but decided to wait. She drew her knees up to her chest and laced her fingers together with her arms wrapped around her folded legs.
Mike wandered away to a dumpster he knew was nearby and tossed their trash inside, forcing himself to catch his own breath again. As he brushed his hands clean, a patch of green on the ground by one corner of the big metal bin caught his eye. He knelt down and saw a rare bit of plant life growing there; a little bit of grass and a few flowers, probably just weeds. He stared at them for a moment, bit his lip, glanced over his shoulder in the direction of his car.
"I have faced down the most dangerous men and women in Detroit," he said to himself, looking down again. "I have performed countless stunts both in my car and out of it that could have killed me if anything had gone wrong. I have put everything I have and care about on the line for the highest stakes." He heaved a long, deep breath and then reached down and plucked the little flowers from the ground. Pinched between his big fingers they looked even tinier. He nearly tossed them down again, but then he squared his shoulders and stood back up, turning and walking determinedly back toward the car.
Julie spied Mike striding purposefully, if a little woodenly, back towards her, and looked on curiously. She wasn't sure what was up with him all of a sudden. When he reached her his face was a little flushed – it was hard to tell with his complexion, but she was sure he was – and there was a bead of anxious sweat on his temple. He thrust one arm stiffly out toward her.
"I found these flowers and they were really small but they were pretty and they made me think of you," he said quickly, all in one breath.
She looked at his hand, and at the tiny yellow flowers pinched between his thumb and forefinger, and a broad grin spread across her face just as a faint blush bloomed across her cheeks. "Aw, Mike, that's… that's really sweet." She took them and then scooted across Mutt's hood and got to her knees so that she was about face-to-face with Mike, who was still standing, and she kissed him on the cheek – quickly, before she gave herself a chance to think twice about it.
He stiffened even further, his face burning a deep red under his brown skin. He stared into space straight ahead, frozen.
Julie bit her lip and raised a hand to her face, attempting to hide both her amusement and her affection. This was starting to make a lot more sense. "So um… was there anything you wanted to tell me?" she asked, trying not to sound hopeful. She twirled the little flowers in her fingers.
Mike stuttered for a moment before looking at her. "Uhhh…" Slowly he seemed to be regaining control of his body, and one hand went to the back of his neck, rubbing nervously.
"Yeeees?" she prompted after a moment.
"Mmmmmmmmmaybe I really like you," he admitted, leaning backward slightly from her sweetly smiling face.
Her smile broadened as she leaned further toward him in response, draping her arms across his shoulders. "Maybe I like you too," she told him.
"Y-you do?" he asked, a little disbelieving.
"Maybe I more than like you," she confirmed. "Maybe I fell for you a while ago."
"M-maybe you're making it really hard not to kiss you right now," he told her, eyes flicking down to her lips and back up.
"Maybe that's the idea," she answered.
He stared at her for a second, perhaps waiting to see if she'd suddenly drop the charade, but she didn't. She was giving him all the signals, and that soft blush was still settled across her cheekbones. He didn't know anyone who could blush on command. Quickly, anxiously, he closed the gap between them and kissed her.
And she kissed him back.
Suddenly they both relaxed, melting against one another. Finally Mike seemed to believe what was happening, and his whole demeanour changed. He picked her up slightly, rearranging so that he could put her back down in a seated position, leaning down so that he didn't have to break contact with her. His kisses were softer and gentler than she'd thought they would be, but they were sweet and loving and her stomach was fluttering like she'd never felt before, and she didn't want him to stop. The flowers tumbled from her fingers, already forgotten.
His hands supporting her back all the way, he slowly pushed her down until she was lying across Mutt's hood, Mike leaned all the way across her. He moved his kisses to the rest of her face before travelling to her neck, and she giggled excitedly, stomach soaring even further. He'd never admit to all the butterflies the experience was giving him, as well. "Maybe you could be my hobby," he murmured in her ear before coming back to her mouth.
She started to laugh. "Still – doesn't – count!" she managed between kisses.
"Aw, c'mon," he teased, one hand dragging along the car's hood until he could poke her in the side. "Why not?"
"People aren't hobbies!" she squeaked, squirming away from his fingers, dangerously close to her most ticklish spot. She liked the way all of his confidence had returned as soon as he knew she felt the same. It had always been one of his most attractive features, although now that she'd seen this nervous, hesitant Mike, she hoped she'd see that again.
"But people can do things together that can be hobbies," he countered, his grin widening and his eyes hooded seductively. He dropped his face into her neck and kissed the sensitive skin there several more times.
"Oh my god!" she giggled. "I can't believe you!"
He lifted his head again and wagged his eyebrows playfully, only making her laugh more. "Come on, you're having fun."
"Don't change the subject!" she said, trying – and failing – to regain a straight face. "I'm still going to find you a hobby!"
"Oh, fine," he muttered, rolling his eyes, but still smiling.
"Hey Mike?" she said.
"What?" he asked.
She grabbed his shoulders and pulled herself up and him down at the same time until she could get her lips to his neck and finally return the favour. Based on the dazed look on his face when she pulled away, she guessed that he'd enjoyed it.
He pinned her in place again and leaned down to plant one more long kiss on her mouth. "I love you," he murmured as he pulled away from her.
She knotted her fingers into his dark hair. "I love you too, you big goof."