Kessie's Short Stories

[MMX AU] Follow Me

Originally published 1/15/2021

Aero hated the summer heat; especially when she had to work on a broken transmission for her car in said heat. She was smart enough to leave out a jug of water beside her tools, but it was so hot out that it wasn't even cool anymore. The only thing she had to keep her company -and to drown out her numerous curses- was a portable radio, tuned to a station that played mostly mainstream music.

During some song with an exceedingly repetitive chorus, Aero took a small break from wrecking her car further to take a swing from her water jug. Savoring what she could from the lukewarm liquid, Aero found herself checking her watch for the time. A full hour had passed since she started this futile mission- she was a computer science nerd for God's sake, not a car nerd. Maybe if she was less frugal, she could have taken it to an actual dealership, but that was just the thing: she wasn't supposed to start this alone. Axl, who could hot-wire a car in his sleep and once worked on other (similarly shady) car related activities as a side job, had promised to help her. But, as obvious circumstances could show, he never showed up.

Taking another swing from her water jug, Aero looked back at her transmission and decided she was done for the day. No matter how much she needed her car, a heatstroke wasn't going to go over well for her health either. When Aero entered her home, she almost fainted from the cool air as it instantly covered her body like a well dosed drug. She just barely managed to stumble to the couch and flopped herself down. Aero might have even passed out for a few moments before coming to again- she felt groggy enough that she wondered if she did. Too lazy to go to the kitchen to actually drink something cold, Aero reached over on the coffee table for her phone.

Surprise, surprise: Axl had texted her when she had been working on her car. None of them pertained to his broken promise though.

Axl, 12:32 PM: Zero's laying the insults thick on you today so of course I defended your honor.

Axl, 12:34 PM: called him goldilocks twice just for you

Axl, 12:35 PM: your welcome btw

Okay, so she had to snort at that, but that didn't mean she wasn't still angry at him.

Aero, 1:22 PM: fuck you

Axl, 1:24 PM: okay

Axl, 1:24 PM: so I know I deserved that somewhere along the line today

Axl, 1:25 PM: but what did I do now?

Aero, 1:26 PM: one word loser: transmission

It didn't even take a minute after that Aero got a call from Axl himself. She answered it, but said nothing- as if the dark glare she was giving could radiate through the phone. It seemed to have worked, because once Axl realized she had picked up, he immediately said,

"Aero, I swear I didn't forget to help you."

"Bitch you lie." Aero hissed without skipping a beat.

"Yeah, okay, I absolutely am." Axl sheepishly admitted. "And I'm totally sorry for it! What can I do to make it up for you Breezy? I swear I'll do whatever you want."

To this, Aero cocked an eyebrow of interest.

"So when I get heatstroke?"

"I'll carry you to the hospital."

"And when I get a sunburn so bad that I'll cry because I can't sleep or move because it hurts too much?"

"I'll rub aloe on you so gentle and smooth that X and Zero will be jealous."

"And the outrageous bill the dealership's gonna give me to fix that damn transmission?"

For this, Axl hesitated. Aero found herself amused at this silence and found herself smirking at the challenge.