Chapter 6

"What happened to you?"

"Hi, Naomi?"

"Don't give me that, you've been in a fight!"

"Not a bad fight."

Naomi rushed over and inspected his eye worriedly. "Well how was it, then?"

"Some guys were trying to jump this girl… really, it's fine. Police got 'm and everything."

"Woah, man! You trying to take over for Batman, or something?"

Anakin turned around, to see a brown haired man striding toward him. "Who-"

"I'm Ulisses. Just in here for a tune-up… seriously, though, what happened to you?"

"Just a fight. Helped a girl being ganged up on. What needs a tune-up again?"

"Jeep. But, seriously, man, that's awesome! You didn't just let 'em go, did you?"

"Wha - of course I did, the police were there."

"I'm just sayin, man, if I'd been there, they woulda learned a real lesson! I've always wanted to be a real hero…" the man espoused, tossing an imaginary rapier into the air and flicking it around. "Fight the villains, rescue the damsels…" he broke off and raised an eyebrow at Naomi. "You don't happen to need rescuing, do you?"

Naomi blinked and leaned back a little, flustered. "...No."

"Too bad! If you ever need a rescue," he winked, "I'm always on call."

Naomi glanced around uncomfortably, shifting around her footing.

"Ulisses! Are you coming?"

A blond headed teen popped into the room, skipping over to Ulises. "Are you bothering the mechanics again?"

"Wha- no. I am not. That guy beat up some muggers. Cool, huh, Cole? Guys. This is Cole, he's my bro; say hi, Cole."

Cole, Anakin and Naomi stared at each other for a moment.

"Um. Hi, guys. Sorry for whatever my dumb brother did before I came in, I'm Cole."

"Anakin. And this is Naomi."

Naomi nodded, still looking a little unbalanced, but recovering herself. "Nice to meet you, Cole."

Cole grinned. "Thanks. And I am sorry about my dumb brother," he glared at Ulisses who grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "He means well."

Ulisses nodded, smiling. "Right! I didn't mean to come on so strong, there. I just… what you did, man, it's what I want to be doing. Making a difference. Doing something… real for people. Even if no one else knew about it… I'd know, right?"

Ulisses stuck out his hand for Anakin to shake, and grinned when the gesture was accepted.

"Thanks, Ulisses. Honestly, though, I think adventure is overrated. Just live a good life. Take what comes to you."

"Man, how can you say that? All the trouble going on in the world… somebody's gotta go looking for trouble."

"Well, hopefully not somebody with custody of a dependent minor?" Cole crossed his arms and shot his brother a challenging look.

"Right, right. You know I'm not actually going to do anything, buddy."

Cole rolled his eyes. "If you're done fangirling can we please get our Jeep fixed?"

"What happened to it anyway?" Naomi cut in.

"Ah, well!" Ulisses exclaimed. "This reckless young one right here decided to try to set a new speed record in our jeep, and he was going so fast that he didn't even notice the debris in the road, blowing out two tires at once. I always tell him to drive more carefully-"

Cole turned around slowly, mouth agape. "Oh," he started. "Is that what happened. I did that. Me." He set his hands on his hips and cocked an eyebrow at Ulisses.

"Yep, that's what I remember." Ulisses turned back to Naomi. "Help a guy out?"

"Well, it's what I'm paid to do," Naomi said, a smile twitching at her mouth. "So I suppose I can suffer through it."

Ulisses threw back his head and laughed. "You've got my thanks, then. I'll try to stay bearable, but no promises."

Naomi shook her head, chuckling softly. "Of course not. Come on, you want to show me what's going on? You too, kiddo."

Cole grinned and glanced up at Ulisses, who just shrugged. "Whyever not? If you're going to blow out our tires you might as well watch her fix them."

Cole spluttered as Naomi led them away, his protests fading into the concrete floor and plaster walls. Anakin shook his head as he moved to go to work. He had to test drive a Honda Civic today, and there was absolutely nothing that made him miss his starfighter more than that.

As he moved toward the vehicle, he jerked as he felt himself pulling the keys toward himself. They fell in a metal jangle to the floor, and Anakin tilted his head back, and breathed.

Why was that? He'd noticed for a while that it was easier to forget and use the force when around Naomi, but since Ulisses and Cole had come in, it almost felt like it was even harder to remember. But why? Why?

Anakin walked over to scoop up the keys, internally grateful that no one had been around to see it, and made his way toward his impending sweet, sweet ride. Hopefully, no one would recognize his face.

"How do you live, Ulisses? You spend so much time hanging around here, I don't see what you could do for a living. How many weeks since we met? And you're still… hanging around here." Naomi raised an eyebrow at Ulisses, putting out a hand for Cole to hand her a wrench as she did her best to unscrew a tight cap from the undercarriage of a grey sedan.

"I've got my ways. Don't you go worrying about me, we're doing fine!"

Naomi huffed, letting the oil spill out, to be collected before she could replace it. "I wouldn't dream of it. Cole, what have you been up to recently?"

"Well, I made the starship Enterprise out of LEGOS, but I can't show it to you without my phone." Cole glanced at his oily hands. "I'd rather not, right now."

"Understandable. Thanks for helping me out around here, Cole. I appreciate it!"

Cole grinned. "I think it's fun! And it's cool to see all the cars and stuff, even if you are just changing oil half the time."

"Hey, you could always come with me on my test drives. Those are fun!" Anakin called from across the room.

Cole perked up, but Ulisses crossed his arms. "You drive too crazy! What kind of guardian would I be if I let my bro risk his neck on you?"

Cole deflated as Anakin snorted. "Oh because you drive so safe."

"Well, yeah, but that's me driving. I trust me."

"And you don't trust me?" Anakin asked in mock-offence.

"It's different! Cole? Back me up!"

Cole shrugged. "Ulisses is a paranoid sissy. Explained!"

"Brat! If you weren't so far away and I weren't sitting down I'd get up and knock some sense into you!"

"Nyeh!"

"Cole, can you help me check for rust corrosion? What do you think?" Cole turned back to Naomi in inspecting the undercarriage of the vehicle.

"Hey, guys," Ulisses cut in, a little quieter than usual, "you think you'd like to drop by our place? Nothing fancy, just… hang and pizza, maybe?"

Naomi glanced over at him. "I'd love to, Ulisses. Would it just be us?"

"Yeah, yeah! Just us four. Hanging. Y'know."

"Anakin?" Naomi turned to Anakin, a smile tugging at her lips. "C'mon, it sounds like fun."

Anakin glanced down, then up again as Naomi asked him the same question as everyday, silently, with her eyes.

"Sure! Sounds like fun." Anakin shot a grin at Naomi. "Count me in."