A/N - This chapter was inspired by the song 1 Thing by Amerie. It's also set between the end of Season 3 and the start of Season 4, so there will be ZERO Season 5 spoilers (and I'm hoping you guys will also respect that down in any comments). I hope you all enjoy it.
God, you were pretty sure you had the worst luck of anyone alive. As if you hadn't already had the day from Hell, with pervy customers lingering in the adult section of the store, unparented kids snotting all over the place, and a pair of snooty bitches that had been in your grade at school snickering between themselves as they browsed the aisles of Family Video. Yeah, it had been totally crap, only slightly brightened by a couple of moments of peace during which Steve had tried his hardest to pick up your mood. And now, you were sitting in your hunk of shit car, turning the key in the ignition and listening as it refused to fully start.
You sighed, your head falling forward against the steering wheel, setting off the horn with a sharp honking noise. You knew you should've listened when the mechanic on the other side of town had told you the car needed a tune-up; you should've just paid up the money and let him fix whatever was currently wrong with it then and there.
A light tap on your window made your head snap up, your eyes landing on Steve, who was smiling softly down at you. "Car trouble?" he mouthed through the glass, chuckling when you dramatically rolled your eyes at the question. There wasn't a chance in Hell that you would still be sitting in the parking lot 15 minutes after your shift had ended unless your car had given up on you, and he knew that better than anyone.
You groaned as he pulled on the handle, opening the door and crouching down to look into the car. "I hate this car," you grumbled, drawing a snort of laughter out of Steve.
"No, you don't," he hummed back. "You're just pissed off that she's playing you up, but you love this car more than most people," he pressed, reaching out to turn the key in the ignition for himself. "You want me to take a look under the hood for you?"
"Since when did you know anything about cars?" you sighed, gesturing for him to back up so that you could get out of the driver's seat, popping the hood for him and standing at the front of the car with your hands on your hips.
"When I was 15, my dad got me the beemer, and I sort of realised that he wasn't around enough to actually help me when shit broke on it," he muttered, mirroring your pose at the front of the car as he shrugged. "I asked this mechanic down at the shop to talk me through how it all worked when I took it in for a tune-up, and he was pretty thorough," he added, shifting forward slightly to glance into the workings.
"Oh," you hummed softly. "So, you actually know stuff."
He chuckled softly, glancing at you for just a moment. "Bits and pieces," he confessed. "But I'm pretty sure you've just got a dead battery," he pressed. "Nothing we can't sort," he added, shoving the sleeves of his long-sleeved t-shirt up to his elbow and reaching into the inner workings of the car.
And God, you weren't sure what had come over you, but it's like you were suddenly drooling at the sight of him. Don't get me wrong, Steve was always hot, but right now, acting the part of the working man, you were a little taken aback.
"Could you go grab the flashlight from the glove compartment of my car, Sweetheart? It's a little too dark out here to see properly," he hummed, still elbow deep in your car.
You scurried off, ensuring you took a couple of deep breaths to calm your racing heart as you rummaged for the flashlight. Steve was a coworker. A friend. You shouldn't be going all doe-eyed over him helping you fix your car. It was pathetic.
When you returned, Steve sent you a bright grin. "Perfect," he started. "Now, if you could just point that right here," he pressed, nodding exactly where he wanted you. You did as you were told, your fingers stumbling over the switch for just a second before getting the light on. "That's great, Sweetheart," he hummed again, leaning a bit further forward to get a better look at where you were pointing the beam of light, and you could swear you felt your stomach fill with butterflies at the comment.
"You see anything?" you finally managed to breathe out, your voice all soft and awkward.
He hummed softly, nodding. "Doesn't look like the battery cables are corroded or anything, so she probably just needs a jump," he told you, finally straightening up, his hands patchy with grease, which he quickly rubbed off on the thighs of his jeans. "Lucky for you, I've got the cables to give you a jump-start in my car."
He hesitated for a moment when he looked in your direction, finding you clutching the flashlight like it was a lifeline, your eyes all wide as you stared at the floor.
"Are you alright?" he hummed, shifting towards you slightly, only to see you force a smile onto your face.
"Sorry, yeah," you rushed out, an awkward chuckle following. "I was just thinking how lucky it is that it's an easy fix," you pressed, trying your hardest to come up with some sort of excuse for your slightly odd behaviour. "Could've cost me a fortune."
He watched you for a moment longer before his lips tipped up slightly. "You know, you can just ask me."
"Ask you?" you uttered, brow furrowed in confusion.
"Yeah," he hummed. "Next time your car gives out on you, or makes a weird noise, or anything, really," he told you. "You know I've always got time to help you out."
A small smile pulled at your lips at his comment, and suddenly you remembered exactly why it was so easy to like Steve. He was, honestly, the nicest person you had ever met. The sweetest, most giving man in your life.
*Time Skip*
"You coming?" Steve hummed as you went strolling away from him and the rest of the Family Video team.
You turned to face them, mouth opening and closing as you searched for an answer. "I can't tonight-"
"Big plans?" he interjected, his smile softening slightly.
You hesitated, glancing between him and the rest of the team, who had all kept walking, already half a block down, towards the diner, now out of earshot.
"No, I-" your words trailed off slightly. "I'm trying to save up some cash. There's this hole in the drywall in my apartment that needs patching up, and I need to hire someone to fix that up and put up some shelves in the living room. It all adds up, you know?"
He shrugged slightly. "Who said I was going to let you pay?" he asked, watching as your brow furrowed at his question.
"I can't ask you to pay for my dinner-"
"You didn't ask," he hummed. "I offered, because honestly, those guys are awful company, and you being there would make it a lot more tolerable," he added with a small shrug.
"Are you sure?"
"Of course I am," he told you, gesturing for you to hurry up as you both began following the rest of the team. "You know, you don't have to hire some guy to come and do that stuff for you, right? I mean, I am more than capable of fixing a hole in the wall. I've done it a bunch of times," he confessed. "And hanging shelves is as easy as anything when you know how to find a stud in the wall," he pressed on. "I can swing by this weekend and have it all sorted in a day."
"Steve," you warned quietly. "I feel like I'm taking advantage-"
"Sweetheart, could you please just let me be a gentleman? I'm trying real hard here," he interjected, watching your head tilt out of the corner of his eye, confusion clear across your features. "And then, maybe, after we've got those couple of tasks done, we can go out for dinner. Just you and me."
"Are you asking me out?"
He hesitated for a moment. "Are you saying yes?" You nodded slightly. "Then yeah, I'm asking you out."
Please consider supporting me for just £3 using Ko-Fi. The link is available on my profile page. If you have any questions about Ko-Fi please feel free to private message me. Thank you. L x
