Gabriel: Prequel

six

(Gabe's POV)

"I swear on your fucking life, Gabe, that if you don't find a way to fix this engine, then I'm leaving you on the side of the road."

Days of travelling flew by us: from bus surfing to sitting on the back of passing tracks, we had surely left home, each day taking us to our new destination - wherever that may be. We had passed valleys of every shade of green; we'd left past the city noises, and instead had travelled to the quieter outskirts of our unknown destination. With the money that Harper miraculously  conjured up, we managed to rent a modernised version of a caravan, splurging money on junk food - despite the climate of harsh rain, it was going well, up until now. Indigo swept over the sky, and we both made our way back into the caravan after looking around for any other sources of food, and when trying to find a new spot to stay, the engine let out a puff of smoke. Quickly, and inevitably, came Harper's anger, followed by multiple lines of heavy cursing.

"Who lit the fuse to your tampon?" I mutter, turning on the flashlight on my phone, wandering towards the engine. I kneel down, silently cursing the mud beneath my knees and set to work. My hands fumble aimlessly, putting together random wires in hopes it working, but the engine stays silent and still. 

I sense Harper stalking behind me, her warm breath tickling my ear as she leans down beside me, peering into the engine. "Have you never been taught how to do this?"

I shoot her an incredulous look, telepathically signalling that no, I haven't been taught. When growing up, my dad pushed me into sports - all for the trophy title. I never learnt skills like fixing an engine, or fishing; I scrunch up my nose at the thought of father-son related activities, pushing it out of my mind.  

"Move it, Gabriel, I'll do it." Her hands make quick work to diffuse certain wires, tying others together neatly until the engine roars back to life, and a triumphant grin appears on her face. "I always knew women had bigger balls, but this just proved it."

"Wanna bet?" I ask, raising my eyebrows at her, my hand at the hem of my jeans. She rolls her eyes, turning around, and I laugh, earning a jab in the waist.

"Come here," she orders abruptly; my body moves in command at her voice obediently, and again, I curse myself for it. "I'll teach you how to do it."

"Why?"

"Because it's important, and I'm not always going to be here to save your sorry ass." Despite the pang of hurt I feel at the realisation of that, I know she's right. From what I know of her, she wouldn't ever be tied down to one place, one thing, one person. Whilst that made our relationship more exciting in some areas, it also made the thin thread of vulnerability between us waver often. 

I shrug in agreement, angling my head to watch her work. She points at a large metal wire, connected to multiple other wires. "This is the heater valve, and it's the core of the engine. It's been overheated so it's leaking, so you just replace it."

I nod, listening carefully.

"The rod here," she continues, pointing at other random wires, "and the cable just snap off, so you take two screws off in the hoses, and the whole thing slides off. Get pliers and make sure the hose is loose; grab the valve and take that side down, taking it off. Get the new valve and clamp it on, using the pliers to screw it in tight. Got it?"

I nod slowly, feigning a look of understanding as my mind scrambles at the sight of it. "Yeah, sure."

Harper grabs a nearby water bottle, pouring some over both our hands to wash away the dirt, stretching her hands at out the probable soreness.

"You know," I grin, wrapping an arm around her waist, pulling her close to me, "it's pretty hot to see you know your shit, doing stuff like that." She worms around in my embrace, but I don't miss the look of warmth on her face, and the telltale uplifting of the corners of her mouth. I nestle my head into her neck, my laughter muffling against her. Perhaps I never learnt how to do these kinds of things because the right person to teach me them was waiting on the other side, I think to myself.

"Just pretty hot?" Harper scoffs.

I reach a finger to her chin, pulling her face towards me as I plant a kiss to her lips, unable to stop myself smiling into the kiss, too. I pull away briefly to look at her: the strong-willed, vulgar woman that couldn't ever be tied down is in my arms, and the very thought weaves joy throughout me. "Very hot."

She grins, pleased, pulling me back into a lasting kiss, more passionate than the last. "You know, I think you deserve something special for learning something today."

My heart hammers in my chest, pounding in my head. "Oh? Elaborate."

She grabs my hand quickly, leading me into the caravan, wicked amusement glinting in her eyes. Harper directs me towards the caravan, kicking it open for both of us to enter, leading us into the bedroom. Calling it a bedroom is generous, in all honesty: a cramped area, squashed at the back of the caravan itself, barely room for one person, let alone two. She pushes me onto the bed, fire igniting in her eyes. Harper slams her mouth against mine until we're one, our bodies pushed up against each other, and our breathing hot and heavy. About to take control, I reach for my zip but she stops me, placing a hand upon mine. 

"My treat, I said." The cheshire smile on her face obliterates any train of thought I have - even more so when she unzips my jeans, her eyes focused on mine the whole time. She strips slowly in front of me, the gleam in her eye greatly aware of what she's doing to me; both naked, she straddles me, maintaining the laser eye contact, still. I fumble in the pocket of the discarded jeans for a wrapper, tearing at it with my teeth. She moves herself lower against me, my mind filled with ecstasy - the rhythm of our bodies in sync push me deeper into bliss. Each movement is followed by me touching every part of her, satisfying the hunger inside of me; from her breast, to her waist, to slowly trailing south. The heat between us intensifies until we both collapse from the intensity and ferocity.