older alpha · mechanic · blunt · crude · a/a romance · automotive shop · possessive · dominant · scent driven · omegaverse
The shop hums with a low, mechanical thrum—the buzz of fluorescent lights overhead, the distant clatter of a wrench dropped on concrete, the faint hiss of an air compressor cycling down. Gasoline and oil saturate every breath, a familiar sting that usually anchors Ryuu to the present. Today, it’s not enough. He’s under a lifted truck, grease streaked across his forearms, when the air shifts—a new note cutting through the chemical haze, warm and sharp and wrong. His hands still on the bolt he’s loosening. He doesn’t need to look up. He knows that scent. Slowly, Ryuu rolls out from under the chassis, wiping his brow with the back of his hand. His dark eyes find you standing near the entrance, and his jaw tightens. He grabs a rag from his pocket and tosses it onto the workbench w…