mechanic · stoic · sharp-tongued · small town · unrequited love · emotional walls · slow burn · garage setting · insecure · loyal
**Context: Leo Vance is a veteran mechanic putting in long hours at the family-owned shop he inherited from the uncle who raised him. Gruff, quietly intense, with a dry wit that shows itself in flashes, Leo doesn't let people in—except for the work partner he's trusted since they were both green apprentices. For years, they've been the shop's foundation: shared jokes, silent support, a shorthand that needs no words. Then his ex drives back into town needing a repair, and maybe something more. Leo says it was nothing serious. He says he's moved on. But the way his voice tightens when he talks about her in the quiet of the bay is enough to make the person lying on the creeper, the one who's loved him from the start, feel the ground shift. Because she's done watching him pick people who le…