The Rocker and the Mechanic - Chapter 4
Rated: T
Technicalities
Chapter Summary: This new 'acquaintance' mechanic, Johnny, sets to work on repairing Ash's broken motorcycle.
Thanks for your patience and all the love you've been heaping on this little plot bunny. Hopefully the next one won't take a month to get out. ;-p
Ash watched intently as Johnny knelt next to the hunk of metal she no doubt despised almost just as much as her slimy ex. Cursed it for causing her yet another bump in the road of her life; a pause in finally getting over the past few months. One that seemed to be haunting her like a revengeful ghost hellbent on her ultimate destruction…and she swore the bike was in on it...
Depressing thoughts aside, Ash noticed the kneeling gorilla pulling up his sleeves a tad before his fingers ever made contact with the bike's shiny chrome surface. Gentle, chestnut eyes scanning over it (nothing compared to the death stare she was currently giving the waste of scrap-metal) and to the side where the engine resided underneath; the barest hints of furrowed brows accentuating his annoyingly way too attractive face.
"Hmm, let's see here." he muttered more to himself than anything when he reached for a powered drill and began removing the nuts and bolts that kept the protective shield over the engine. With incredibly steady hands that Ash envied, he removed the top plate and placed it to the side with a slight thunk on the concrete; the engine now completely exposed to the bright lights of the garage overhead…and damn, it looked nothing more than a hot mess to Ash's untrained eyes.
A greasy mess of coils, tubes, metal, various colored wires, and parts she would have not the slightest fucking idea what to do with.
"Doesn't look too bad." Johnny spoke again upon giving it a once over - Ash thought she misheard him for she was full on ready to suggest the trash heap again upon seeing it.
Johnny grew silent again and Ash began to figure out the slight nuances of his personality shining through. The guy got lost in his head a lot it seemed and spoke only to get a thought out as if to remind himself to stay on track or something.
Interesting.
"So, ya said it just broke down on the side of the road, right?" Johnny asked, eyes flitting up to hers for only a millisecond.
"Pretty much..?" Ash replied in more of a question than answer.
"Was there any sputtering or jolting to the vehicle before it stopped?"
"I don't remember." she replied truthfully with a casual shrug of one shoulder. During those moments when her bike died out on her, her mind was way too overrun with Lance's betrayal and her hatred for this entire damn situation to really notice the bike failing underneath her. It's careening feeling when she was forced to pull over was too fucking much like her own life for her to notice until it came to a swift stop in front of his shop.
"Okay." he grunted out a reply with a slight nod in her direction before his attention was turned back to her bike. "Ya got the keys?" he asked with a slightly grease-smudged hand held out and she placed them into his massive palm. Ignoring how her stomach fluttered when his warm fingers brushed hers.
Just what the hell was wrong with her tonight?!
Johnny didn't seem to notice her internal distress whatsoever. Instead he remained all business - busy leaning over the bike and swiftly putting the keys into the ignition and turning them. Wrist twisting the keys and unsuccessfully trying to start the bike; to Ash's surprise, it rumbled a bit but quickly died out with a groan of the engine and a slight sputter.
The gorilla's brows furrowed at the sound before muttering, "That could be a few things, I just hope it's not an electrical issue. Those are definite pains in the bum."
Seemingly unsatisfied, he grunted out a slight bit of displeasure before dropping the keys into his chest pocket before began fiddling with some copper cylinders that he'd exposed by taking of the protective chrome.
Ash smirked at the use of 'bum' but otherwise stayed back and essentially supervised.
Johnny spoke occasionally; moreso to himself as he tried to diagnose the problem with the motorcycle. He'd study the engine for awhile, tinkering with certain objects, loose wires, and even simply wiping off some of the dirtier parts of the engine with an old red t-shirt. The gorilla worked steadily as time passed; sporadically taking a few moments to access the bike, take a drink of coffee, and removing and replacing pieces with spare parts scattered around his feet.
Occasionally, he would get up to retrieve a tool but for the most part, he kept quiet and she did as well. The silence was nice at first but it did nothing but make Ash feel more than a bit antsy. She'd always hated the feeling of being cooped up or held back and this was no exception even if it needed to be done.
Ash felt more or less in the way as she stood nearby and watched him around his broad shoulders. It was obvious quickly the guy knew what he was doing but Ash was still wary of all of this; more than a bit on the edge and the coffee was slowly helping but not quickly enough.
"So, uh - if I may be so bold as to ask you - just…what were ya doing out there riding so late?" Johnny asked suddenly and Ash flashed him a strange look; ready to growl something back for he sounded a lot like her father for a split second. The look on her face must have caused him to rethink and he quickly covered his bases.
"I mean, uh, your headlights are really dim, the bulbs were nearly burnt out. It's - It's just kinda dangerous to be riding this late without properly working headlights." he motioned to where he indeed was fixing the headlights and Ash bit back a snarky reply for she was not paying him for repairing her lights. He's working on the headlights when the damn thing didn't start?!
"It's the only transportation I have and I sure as hell ain't riding the buses this late. Kinda didn't have a choice." Ash decided to answer his question in a biting tone rather than chewing him out. He's probably the only mechanic who'd help this time of night so screaming right now wasn't exactly a proper response.
Johnny said nothing. Instead, he quietly replaced the bulbs in the headlights.
The anger bubbling fading away a bit for one main reason - there was concern in his voice. He was just some guy worried for her and if it was any consultation, Ash just wasn't used to being fawned over. It wasn't in her DNA to play the damsel in distress and harbor these feelings in guys like they had to protect her (as if Lance would pay heed to those anyway - the asshole). But if Ash was truthful with herself, she didn't want that then and she sure as hell didn't now even if the guy was hot as fuck and it was kind of nice someone actually gave a shit…
Even if it was just a stranger.