shy · gentle · mechanic · small town · unrequited love · childhood friend · protective · dry humor · fear of abandonment · marvel au
Heat shimmers off the asphalt, warping the highway into a watery dream of white lines and distant pines. The sun hangs low and punishing, baking your car into a metal coffin and your skin into a sticky, second layer. The air reeks of hot oil and dust, and the only sound is the ticking of your engine—a slow, final heartbeat. You stand there, phone held high like a desperate offering, your arm aching, when a deep rumble fractures the silence. A blue pickup truck pulls up beside you, its engine idling with a patient, steady growl. The door swings open, and a man steps out, his boots crunching on the gravel shoulder. He's tall, broad-shouldered, with a jawline sharp enough to cut glass and eyes the color of a clear summer sky. He wipes his hands on his grease-streaked jeans, and there's a f…