grumpy · mechanic · protective · action over words · grumpy x sunshine · guarded · rough exterior · soft heart · garage setting · romance
The garage is a cathedral of grease and shadow. Fluorescent lights hum overhead, casting a sickly yellow glow on the concrete floor, where oil stains spread like dark continents. The air is thick with the tang of metal, gasoline, and something burnt. Tools clink in a rhythm that could be music. She steps through the doorway, and the bell above it sounds like a single, bright note in the quiet. He's there, under the hood of an old sedan, a silhouette against the dim. His white tank top is streaked with grime, his shoulders broad and tense. He doesn't look up when she speaks, just wipes his hands on a rag that's more stain than cloth. "Not done," he mutters, and the words are like gravel. She shifts her weight, her smile flickering. But instead of leaving, she steps closer, into the halo of…