Chapter Text
The sweltry summer day in Los Angeles was nearing its end. It left a thin film of sweat on Driver’s arms and face, some of his hair plastered to his forehead, as he worked his way through a very demanding case of an engine failure in some Chevy. The air was cooler now, almost balmy, and the orange sunlight reminded him of an approaching late evening drive home, a slim chance of running into Irene in the elevator or on the corridor, a smile towards Benicio, and then a quick shower in lukewarm water. Possibly a dinner of some leftover Mexican, given his empty stomach. There was still something to look forward to.
Driver was torn away from his musings by a muffled stream of swear words coming from the entrance to the mechanic shop. He stilled, listening. His hand, blackened with grease, clenched around the wrench, as he listened to Shannon’s greetings. Driver was lying under the car, his back cushioned against a thickish cardboard, so that only his legs protruded outside. It was late and unlikely that someone would come here at that hour, the mechanic shop having been officially closed for at least half an hour.
“Fuck, I really need it running, man. And today. I use the bike for my work,” an unfamiliar voice reached his ears and Driver lifted his head as much as the underbody allowed him. Black boots with undone shoelaces entered his field of vision.
“Well, of course we will look at it. We do cars, mostly, but the kid’s a real gem, he’ll know what to do with this,” Shannon’s all too eager tone, as well as the needless praise, made Driver wince. He was really looking forward to wrapping the day up. “Kid! Come here for a moment, would you,” Shannon raised his voice, and then softer, “And what kind of work do you do?”
“I’m a stunt driver. Me and my boys, we ride in this metal orb in circles. Defying gravity and shit. We travel alongside the fair. Tomorrow’s the show so yeah, I need it,” the stranger explained as Driver grabbed the lower edge of the bumper to slide from under the vehicle.
“A stunt driver! That’s something. Kid, did you hear? I found you a fellow professional,” Shannon’s voice was excited, as if he had found a perfect candidate for his child to play with. Driver’s back was stiff from laying on the ground for so long, and when he drew himself to his full height a quiet grunt escaped his lips. Shannon shook his head and tapped him on the shoulder, “Slowly boy, slowly.”
“You do stunts too?” The man asked and extended his hand towards Driver, who quickly wiped his palm on his jeans before taking it. The grip was strong and the stranger’s tattooed hand dry and pleasantly cool. It was the first time he saw the man in full. He looked the same age as him, if a little older. Not only was his hand covered in ink but also his arms. His neck. Driver’s eyes lingered there for a moment, trying to decipher the letters to which the stretched hem of the shirt gave way. His bleached blond hair–it must’ve been bleached, right?–fell on his forehead. There was a dagger tattoo under his left eye. His stretched shirt, a grayish white, had holes. It certainly had seen better days.
“I do but with cars,” Driver said, fiddling with the wrench. Some sort of peculiar wariness made him purse his lips and look down at his boots.
“He drives for movies,” Shannon filled in, all smiley. “All the action sequences, that’s him. I was the one who got him the job, in fact. Fun business, though unreliable. You have to be good and the kid’s the best there is.”
“Is that so,” the man said and produced a soft pack from the back pocket of his light gray jeans. “Do you mind if I–?”
Shannon complied, “Not at all, go on… Sorry, I didn’t catch your name?” His awkward chuckle filled the silence after.
“It’s Luke,” he said, lighting a cigarette and taking a long, slow drag. He darted a glance at Driver, as if expecting to hear his name. For a second, their eyes met.
“Shannon,” the old man declared and rubbed his hands. “So, let’s look at your beauty.”
“Sure,” Luke said and offered Shannon a pack. “You want one?”
“I could use one, thank you.”
They made their way to the bike, Luke with Shannon at the front and Driver trailing behind them. When they circled the bike, Driver found himself next to Luke, who half turned towards him. He was still holding the soft pack. There was one cig left.
“And you?”
Driver shook his head, “I’m good, thank you.”
Luke opened his mouth, as if about to insist, having mistaken Driver’s reluctance for politeness. A crease was forming between his eyebrows before Shannon chuckled, “He doesn’t smoke. That’s why you often see him with a toothpick.”
Luke’s eyes returned to Driver, his expression scrutinizing. He expected to see a toothpick and there was none. Driver felt the urge to put one into his lips just for Luke’s satisfaction. With a shrug of his shoulders Luke hid the pack in his pocket and sighed, “Something’s wrong with the brakes. It cannot be the brake pads cause they’re new. Well, pretty new. It must be the air-locked lines or the brake fluid leaks for all I know. Could’ve done this myself but I’ve got no tools. And no place.”
Driver nodded, already starting to assess what needed to be done. If the fixing involved changing spares, there could be a problem. He didn’t know if they had any that would fit the bike.
Shannon hummed in response. Was about to say something when his phone rang. An electronic tune filled the silence as he recovered his phone from the front pocket of his worn jeans. “Ah, I need to get that one. Your bike’s in good hands.” He winked at Luke and although his words were earnest, Driver felt a jibe in them. Half a minute later they were left alone.
“I could help,” Luke offered, taking a last drag from his cig before dropping the butt on the ground and stomping it. “Got nothing better to do anyway.”
Driver nodded once, “Sure.”
“You’re not much of a talker, are you?” Luke shifted his weight from one foot to the other. “Seems like the old man’s doing the talking for you.”
“Seems like it,” Driver agreed and let a timid smile enter his face. It made him feel mildly stupid, so he formed his lips back into a straight line.
Luke studied his face. It must’ve lasted mere seconds but felt like eternities. He narrowed his eyes and clicked his tongue. Driver noticed a shadow of a smile on his face.
Wordlessly, Luke brought his bike under the roof of the mechanic shop and they got to work. Driver always preferred to work alone, finding comfort in doing whatever he wanted, whenever he wanted. He hated the unnecessary questions asked only to fill the silence that didn’t need to be filled. Shannon’s been the only person whose chatting didn’t bother him. And Irene. He could listen to her for hours. Not like she was a talker either, but Driver always found himself even more tongue-tied around her than normally. He told himself he needed to work on this. She didn’t deserve to be met with his many silences.
Luke was different. He was focused, his hands steady and sure. Sometimes he worked chaotically, which was a stark contrast to Driver’s methodical efforts, but to Driver’s surprise it ceased to bother him after a few minutes. He asked reasonable questions and even those were sparse. Sometimes their elbows would bump, and at first instance Driver muttered a quiet “scuse me”, to which Luke only shook his head, saying “don’t worry ‘bout it”. The next time it happened they stayed silent and Driver pretended the accidental touch did not send a spark up his arm. Still, he thought he could get used to working in the shop if it were only the two of them.
After something which could be an hour Luke sat on the cardboard they were kneeling on and lit his last cig. “You sure you don’t even want a drag?”
Driver shook his head, feeling a smile tugging at his lips despite himself. “I’m sure.”
Luke put the filter to his lips, his eyes lingering on Driver. “I know. Your girl doesn’t like you smoking. Says some shit like your breath stinks or your clothes stink. Or both. So you quit.”
Driver stopped shuffling through metal gaskets. Felt something like a punch to his stomach. “I don’t have a girl.”
Luke hummed, exhaling the smoke to his side, careful not to get it on Driver. He mimicked his tone, “I don’t have a girl yet.” A brazen smile on his face. A flash of teeth in the dusk.
Driver swallowed thickly, noticing how Luke observed him intently. What was he getting at? “Maybe,” he said simply, not wanting to continue with this conversation. Talking about Irene with someone felt inexplicably wrong, even though this someone had no chance of meeting her. Could never know her.
Luke must’ve seen something in Driver’s face because he dropped the topic and they both resumed their work. Driver welcomed the silence, disturbed only by the engines of the cars on a road nearby and Luke’s occasional grunts when something did not go his way.
He felt tired, though. The sleepiness kept crawling behind his eyes and made his head heavy. The crickets in the bushes next to them sang his lullaby.
“Past your bedtime?” Luke asked. Of course he noticed. Driver only scoffed, continuing his work. Luke added, “I could finish this myself."
Driver furrowed his eyebrows, barely. “I’m not gonna leave you at the shop alone.”
“Maybe Shannon’s coming back.”
“I doubt he is,” Driver murmured. “He often leaves me to close up.” A pause, then: “It’s alright. We just need to go get one break pipe. Will pick it up from a friend. His shop’s nearby. He never sleeps.”
Luke raised his eyebrows as they both scrambled to stand up from the ground. The cardboard did little to ease the hardness of the concrete. “That’s the most words I’ve heard you say today.”
Driver adjusted his stained v-neck shirt. Noticed how tight fitting it was while Luke’s was as loose as it could get. “Don’t get used to this.”
And Luke laughed. It was a surprising sound, almost startling Driver. He gave him a half-smile and proceeded to close the doors of the shop. “Wait for me by this gray Chevy there.”
Luke only nodded in response, not questioning. Driver was glad.
“The ride’s yours?” Luke asked when Driver finally joined him by the car.
“Yeah.” They got inside and Driver started the engine. It was strange to have someone else in the passenger seat. He barely got used to taking Irene on drives, and it was something he wanted to do. He glanced at Luke as if to check if he was real. He was.
“Looks good.” Luke caught his eyes and Driver saw something on Luke’s face he could not name. “But not as good as my bike.”
Driver shook his head and felt Luke’s hawkish eyes on him as he hit reverse. “My ride’s working at least, so.”
Luke snorted, taking his thumb to his lips to nibble at the cuticle. “You don’t look like it but you’re funny.”
Driver bit the inside of his cheek as they entered the road. The darkness settled around them, and the orange light from the streetlamps spilled inside. They drove in silence, Driver stealing occasional glances at Luke’s hands resting on his thighs. He dared not look up at Luke’s face. He caught himself feeling glad not to be at his apartment yet.
“That’s it. You can wait for me here,” Driver said when they arrived and Luke only nodded, following him with his eyes as he got out of the car and went inside.
The second Driver stepped into the shop, he knew something was off. Wrong. The sole light bulb in the room kept flickering, distracting him. He decided not to announce himself but beelined for the cabinet where he hoped he could find the brake fluid pipe. He would pay the man later. There was a tremor to his hands and he kept clenching and unclenching his jaw while shuffling through the spare parts in the drawer.
Once he got hold of what he was looking for, he heard a gunshot tearing through the silence. It came from the back of the shop. Close. Too close.
Driver did not waste a second. He pocketed the spare part, darted towards the exit and ran straight to his Chevy. Luke was already out of the car, standing beside the open door. His eyes wide, chest heaving.
“What the fuck is going on?” Luke whispered but Driver knew he wanted to scream.
“I don’t know.” Driver fell onto the seat and started the engine. He didn’t turn the headlights on. Luke followed, and in a second they were back on the road, speeding in the opposite direction to Shannon’s workshop, tires screeching on a sharp turn. Driver swore under his breath.
“I thought they got you. Fuck, man. What the fuck.” Luke released a shaky breath. “But you’re one tough motherfucker, alive and well, did you see anyone?”
Driver swallowed thickly, noticing how Luke’s hands kept trembling. He balled them into fists. Driver shook his head. “No. No one.”
“Good, and no one saw you?”
“I don’t think so,” Driver glanced at Luke to see the man smiling. “What are you smiling for?”
“You ran off like you were on fire. You were, like, flying. That’s what I call real talent.”
Driver sighed, his nerves calming. “You have to know when to step back sometimes.” A sharper turn sent Luke skidding to the side. They didn’t bother with seatbelts.
“Amen to that. I could learn a lot from you,” Luke said and let out a laugh. And he was right to laugh. It was ridiculous. They went to get a spare for a bike and found themselves at the scene of a crime. A murder, probably. Luke hummed, as if he was very content with the turning of the events. “You hungry?”
Driver looked into the rearview mirror. No one was following them since they left the place. Good.
“I could eat.”
Again, Luke’s teeth flashed in the night as he grinned, his face angled towards Driver. They stopped at a joint near the road to get some tacos. Through the windows they could see that the place was mostly empty, save for a family of six seating in a corner. Why were the kids awake at this hour?
“Ever been here?” Luke opened the door for Driver. It felt strangely courteous. Driver could feel unwanted heat creeping across his face.
“No, my first time.”
They sat and ate their tacos. Shredded beef, diced tomatoes, cilantro. A little bit of some diluted red sauce. Quite bland but not too bad. Enough to keep him full for the rest of the night.
“Quite a place for a date,” Luke said and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Driver’s throat suddenly felt dry. Did Luke just call this a date? “Would you take your almost-girlfriend here?”
Driver frowned. “No. Would you?”
“I don’t have an almost-girlfriend,” Luke said and took a sip of his coke. “Though I miss Romina. Used to call her Ro. Haven’t seen her in what now, five months? I don’t know if I’ll ever see her again. My job makes it hard to keep in touch with people. Today I’m here, tomorrow someplace else.”
Driver nodded absent-mindedly, fidgeting with his fingers under the table. His eyes were fixed on the red trays left empty between them and the black pipe he finally showed to Luke laying beside. Suddenly, he felt a pressure on his ankle. A touch. Luke’s boot. Exploring. Testing.
When Driver raised his eyes to look at him, Luke tilted his head. “Hey, let’s get out of here”.
Not much was said during their drive back. Driver put on the radio, mainly for himself to drown out the thoughts threatening to split his head open. With the replaced part the work on the bike was quick. Driver did this alone in minutes. Luke stood aside, observing. They started the engine and Luke tested the brakes. Everything was working smoothly.
“That will be it. You just need to refill the brake fluid but there’s still plenty left.” An uncomfortable feeling entered Driver’s chest. Was this really it?
“Thank you, man. You saved my ass.” With it Luke produced a wallet from his back pocket and handed some bills to Driver. “Hope it’s enough for your trouble,” he said, his tone strangely earnest.
Driver took the money and frowned. “That’s too much.” He extended the hand with the extra bills towards Luke, was sure he would take it back.
He didn’t.
Instead, Luke curled his hand around Driver’s, closing his hand into a fist. The touch was sudden and felt like lightning. Luke’s skin was very warm.
“Keep it,” Luke said quietly, his voice barely above a whisper. A second passed and he withdrew his hand, cleared his throat. “I was thinking, are you doing anything tomorrow night?”
When Driver just stood there, unblinking, Luke continued.
“The fair’s tomorrow in Echo Park. Thought you could come and see me.” A heartbeat, then: “If you want.”
Driver could feel his heart beating wildly in his chest. “Sure, I’ll be there.”
Luke looked up at him, his eyes disbelieving. His pursed lips broke into a smile. “Yeah? Great. That’s great. See you there, then.”
Driver gave him a single nod and Luke got on his bike. Soon after he disappeared around the bend and was gone, the night swallowing him whole.
Driver’s head dropped to look at the money he was still holding in his hands. He blinked twice, confused, as he noticed a scrap of paper sticking out from between the bills. There was a number written on it. A phone number. Beside it, in clumsy handwriting, a note.
Call me
LUKE :)