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 Posted: Tue Dec 15, 2015 9:43 pm
Regan's head was burrowed deep in the grime and oils of a 1994 Ford Ranger, that's engine needed a desperate cleaning and fix to the oil tank. It leaked the thick liquid, according to the customer and they weren't wrong. The shop was quiet now that evening had settled in and the only other person around was her uncle, who was sifting through the weeks of paperwork with the incoming of the new year.
A soft classical music flowed from the radio, her playlist for the night involved violin heavy pieces, followed by some cello and symphony. She felt the most relaxed, she thought, just like this. By herself, under the hood of a car, with music soft in the background.
The work was grimy, but she didn't mind. Her hands would be taken care of anyways. The long white/blue hair was tucked into a tight bun with a few loose for her bangs.
She wasn't giving much thought besides people needed to get their engines checked more often, and wasn't listening for customers with the music playing. She was, as they say, in her zone.
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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2015 1:21 pm
He'd debated a long time about whether or not to go.
The card, whether dropped intentionally or unintentionally, had been tucked into Fritz's sketchbook for the better part of a week or so. Sometimes he took it out and reread it, trying to figure out a reason for its existence and why he was so focused on a girl who could not have cared less about the painful life she was living. Maybe it was because he himself could not change his own life, but if he could just - convince Regan that it wasn't normal, then maybe he could atone for his own failures.
Projecting was a bad idea. He needed to stop this.
And yet, at the same time, he found himself at the shop.
Fritz stood outside of it, somewhat awkwardly, wondering what the hell he was doing here. From outside, he could see her, pale hair twisted back away from her face, an expression of utmost concentration on her young face. He shifted from one foot to the other, and then, brows drawing together in determination, stepped inside.
There was a little tinkle as the door opened, and then a click as it shut as he stepped inside. Fritz said nothing at all, merely stood there, looking very out of place, and waited.
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Posted: Fri Dec 18, 2015 10:25 am
She had pulled out a piece from the engine for cleaning when the doorbell chimed and she turned her head to greet the customer. Her hands froze on the piece and she looked at the freckled man in her shop with a empty blue eyed gaze.
It shifted to her uncle who was so head deep in paperwork, that he didn't see Fritz. Which meant it was up to her to handle him.
The sketch of herself, flashed in her mind. She set the piece down and exchanged it for a rag. Then she walked towards him.
"Can I help you sir?" She looked over her shoulder, "Do you have a car that needs to be tuned up?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 3:54 pm
In the space it took from stepping into the building, to the time when Regan notice his appearance, Fritz debated heavily about whether or not he should just turn around and go home. But then she saw him, staring at him with an expression frozen in place, and the chance to leave was gone.
"Hey," he said lightly, idly dragging his fingers over the side of the car he stood next to. "Er, no, not a car."
There was a pause, his mind working in two separate directions: the first of these was trying to figure out what the hell he was doing here, and the other was trying to frantically trying to come up with a reason for having come here in the first place.
"My brother," said Fritz abruptly, and smiled. "He, erm...has a bike - a motorcycle, needs a bit of a tuneup."
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:39 pm
Regan's face was a completely blank slate why she studied him and then she tilted her head. The mention of a motorcycle made her perk a little, as she didn't have much practice on them, but always wanted to see what they were like. Selfishly, she intended to invest in her own bike for the summer.
"You bring it with you Fritz?" It seemed that the best way to get her attention was to draw her towards the thing she loved most. Which was working on auto's. The bruise from the last time he saw her was almost nearly gone, and her face almost held the pretty youth that she had.
It was only smudged with oil and grease from the work.
"I can tune it up if you want to wait while I finish this one. Or you can drop it off and come back." She paused, "How did you find this place?" She reverted back, "Are you stalking me?"
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:57 pm
Fritz opened his mouth and then promptly shut it again.
Idiot.
"Er....no," he said, a tad sheepishly, and then followed up quickly with, "But, er, I didn't bring it with me because I can't ride it, I just thought I'd scope out the place first, you know. He hasn't found a good shop to get it worked on yet, I said I would help him."
This, of course, was a big fat lie, but Fritz wasn't about to admit to that. Some of the sheepishness slid away into something a little more quiet, his smile fading.
"I don't stalk people," he said lightly, and reached into his pocket to dig around for a minute before extracting the card. He held it up between two fingers, and smiled slightly, though it wasn't his usual bright, beaming look, but softer, not nearly as confident.
"You dropped this," said Fritz. "The other day."
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Posted: Mon Dec 21, 2015 8:34 pm
"So you didn't bring...a bike?" She looked a little bit sad, if you could tell from the small crook of her mouth that pointed down, but otherwise her face remained a blank slate. "You aren't the first to just come to have a look around." Customers liked to gauge their mechanics and rates after all. "It's about 50$ an hour depending on the work that needs to be done. We do free tune ups, filling the tires with air, quick oil changes and what not. 7 visits, gets a free check up." She listed off. "I'm the best at night, but if he needs someone during the day, we have Green, and we have Joann. Joann's a little rough around the edges though."
She blinked and then shrugged. "It's weird to see people twice within a week of each other. Usually they want something." Money, to be mean, vent out anger. Chase was the exception. He was her guardian after all.
Her eyes dropped to the card and she made a small sighing sound. "Figures." She didn't take it back though, "Pass it on to your brother. Since he'll need the address to get here." She turned around and ducked her head under the hood.
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 7:54 am
"Next time," said Fritz hastily, startled at the shift in her expression. For someone who spent a great deal of time determinedly feeling nothing at all, seeing Regan disappointed was somewhat of a surprise. "I'll bring it in next time. Your rates are pretty reasonable, after all."
The corners of his lips quirked up a little. "I'd prefer someone I know worked on it, Tolliver's...very particular about his bike, after all."
An understatement. Fritz hadn't even ridden on the thing, though he'd stored it away for years while Tolliver had gone through hell and back. A part of him knew - or at least suspected - that his brother had taken Hitch out on it, and a pang of sadness twisted his gut before he pushed it away.
His head tilted to the side a little. "I don't want anything," he said. "Or at least, nothing, you know, major."
Fritz was quiet for a moment, watching her work, and then stepped around behind her, peering over her shoulder.
"What are you working on?"
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Posted: Tue Dec 22, 2015 10:16 pm
"Oil Casket." She added easily. "Next time, it should be your brother bringing his bike." She made a hum sound and then pulled a piece of the engine out. "It's leaking." She added.
"Tolliver is your brother." she asked, "Here hold this, if you're going to stand there." She handed a piece of metal over. Then she grabbed liquid of a clear coloring and dumped it in. Then she took a flashlight, designed to have blacklight in it and shined it in.
"There it is." She mumbled, then started to mumble to herself more.
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 9:03 pm
He didn't know what an oil casket was, but Fritz made a mental note to look it up later, so he looked somewhat less like an idiot when it came to talking in mechanical terms. He peered down at Regan as she worked, daring to step a little closer in order to look past into the car.
"Yes, he is," came the answer. "Twin, actually."
Fritz reached out and accepted the piece of metal, holding it without moving just in case it was something expensive.
"You know," he said, after a moment. "You're different like this. When you're working, I mean."
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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2015 10:52 pm
There was some swearing, some loud grunting before Regan made a loud yelp sound, snatched the casket and plugged it back into place. When her hands came back out, there was a slight smear of red underneath the oil and she swore again.
"It's because I like it." She rose a brow, "This is a safe place for me." She added and then slowly walked over to a sink, running the water hot enough that it would help the oil slide away, and stuck her hand underneath. The cut had been painful but small at least.
"I didn't know you were a twin, What's that like?" She asked mostly out of curiosity, She moved mechanically through the wrapping her hand and then throwing on rough leather gloves a size too big for her hands. That way when she dug back into the engine, she wouldn't have the same problem. "I can't explain cars though, or how to do it. If you're wondering, I just do it."
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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:53 pm
He hardly noticed the fact that she'd taken the piece of metal out of his hands and more focused on the fact that there was red where there should have been nothing. Fritz's eyes widened as he took it in, automatically following her over to the sink.
A hand had almost reached out, as though to seize hers, to make sure it truly was just a simple cut and nothing too serious - but he reigned in the impulse. Fritz gave a little nod as Regan came back, and something in his chest tightened.
He wondered if that mechanical way of wrapping her hand was how she did it with all of her injuries - by herself, methodical, practiced.
(It made him feel sick inside.)
"I can see that," said Fritz, with a slight smile, forcing himself back into the present. "You're...in your element here, I think, and that's why you seem so different. It's like you have this space here that you can handle on your own, and you just...do it."
He gave a little laugh. "I don't really need an explanation, no," said Fritz. "As for my twin, well...we're not really anything alike. He's quiet and shy, and I'm, well..."
Regan was given a little wry smile. "I'm persistent."
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Posted: Sun Jan 03, 2016 10:42 pm
It was. It wasn't even a thought anymore, for her to look at an injury or a cut. Between her father, and her new line of work, one or the other was going to happen. She just..accepted these facts.
"I'm still learning." She pursued her lips, and since he was there, decided what harm would it do in her safe haven to talk to him. Usually Chance came out and spoke to her, but he was built up in his work, and sometimes she didn't mind it. "I like it a lot." She repeated, "It's got a flow to it. Simple or Complicated, I can just work on it until I am satisfied. usually am. sometimes they give me a little trouble. Anyways, This is my safe space. I feel better here." A slight flush spread over her cheeks, realizing she said to much and pulled back.
"I'm not quiet and shy." She tilted her head, "Well not shy. You look a little peeved." She narrowed her eyes, "So you are the opposite of your brother. Figures." She shook her head. "Do you guys look identical too? Am I going to have to be wary?" She resumed her work on the car but she did it in the way that left enough room for Fritz to come closer. If he wanted to see her project, she'd let him.
She wasn't quite up to the sketch talking part though....
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Posted: Mon Jan 04, 2016 9:22 pm
He watched her carefully, and it was more words that she had spoken to him than probably ever before. Regan was in her element here, in what she herself called her safe haven - and it showed, in the delicate flush that touched her cheeks, in the animated way in which she worked.
"That's good," said Fritz quietly. "That you have a place like this, I mean. Not many people do." He certainly didn't, not anymore. His too-big loft, full of reminders and emptiness was hardly call for a special place, and maybe once it had been his Wonder, but not anymore.
Now he had nothing, really.
"You're not, no," he said, with a slight smile. "Quiet, yes, shy, not really. More reserved, I'd say. As for being peeved, well..."
Fritz let his thoughts trail off, giving Regan a mildly resigned look. "We look identical, almost," he answered. "Except different hairstyles, but our faces are the same. He's got more freckles than me too, I think, though he'd swear otherwise."
He shifted closer, but not too close, peering over Regan's shoulder to see what she was doing.
"How much longer will you be working on this, do you think? Is it a long term project?"
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Posted: Thu Jan 07, 2016 11:35 am
"No. It is good." She nodded, "I like this place." She hesitated and then looked over the hood. "The...sketch...." She pursued her lips and then just blurted out, "I don't look that good." And then flushed again and dug her head back into the hood.
"You draw too pretty." Okay that's better, an insult helped ease her worries away. "More freckles. Not sure if that's gonna help me meet him on the street, but at least hair will help."
Her body stiffened again, and while he was not close enough to invade her space, she was very much acutely aware of him. It wasn't the tense, she felt the prickling of dread with it, but more like....wary animal. Niceness was hard to find in many people, so she was having a hard time adjusting to a stranger.
"Probably another day or so. Chase will come out and finish some of the stuff I can't do. Customer needs it in a couple of days for a roadtrip." She made a scoffing sound, "3000 miles in this hunk of junk with loose pieces and oil leaks. Real smart."
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