Wheelsy AU ~ Tire changing

[noteasytobepink]

"You know Bill..." Clarice drawled cheerfully. "When you said you wanted to show me the nearest 'city' I thought you meant we'd actually get there." She took her hat off and fanned herself with it, the ballcap doing little to stir the hot, damp air, but at least it was better than glowering.

"And yeah, that really does look like dry rot in the spare there. Never seen it in a tire before but I've seen it in other materials..." She wasn't even sure why they had headed out. A better bar where no one expected him to fix their problems? A place she was suppose to get fitted for a civilian aid uniform? Who knew!

Comments

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Well I promise not to let it, then."

His next rock plunked into the water instead of skipping over it as he began to laugh.

"I will not. I'm just gonna stick with the thumb, alright?"

[noteasytobepink]

"Awww, where's your sense of adventure?" She tried to look indignant and failed, falling into laughter so hard she tumbled against his side. "Thumbs it is. That way neither of us needs to be rescued from an earthier sort."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

When she knocked into his side his arm wrapped around her, and he held on as he kept laughing.

"It would be just my luck to attract the wrong sort tryin' t'flaunt it."

[noteasytobepink]

Oh oh oh, wrong sort! She was just going to keep giggling for a bit okay? Finally though, finally she lifted a hand to wipe at her eyes and peered up at him afterward. "I have to know who the wrong sort would be Bill, else I'll die of curiosity!"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Swiping stray beads of water, and maybe some laughter tears, from his face, he shakes his head.

"I'm afraid I'm gonna have t'let you keel over, 'cause I ain't gonna say. 'Wrong sort' covers a lot, though."

[noteasytobepink]

"But Billllllllll..." She mock-whined. "How will I know the wrong sort if you don't tell me what to watch out for?!"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

He grinned at her in mirth, and finally realized his arm placement.

Unwinding from her as casually as he could to hide embarrassment, he shook his head at her again.

"I think you've got enough world hoppin' experience t'know the wrong kind."

[noteasytobepink]

She didn't comment on the arm at all, nor seem to mind when he withdrew. It seemed best not to make a fuss either way after all. "But those are villains Bill, true blue evil I can just kick in the head immediately. What if the wrong sort in your world are more subtle?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"The villians are blue where you come from? Well that's handy."

He was being a brat, yes.

[noteasytobepink]

"Only some of them, and I'd hate to get them confused with my teammate TJ, who is a nice, dark blue and furry." Mild, milllld reply!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Ah. So I guess it ain't so easy then. Oh well."

He shrugged, glanced behind him to make sure it was clear, then flopped out onto his back.

"Y'know, maybe we shoulda just planned a trip like this in the first place. Who needs the city?"

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"Weel, if it was easy everyone would do it." She waved a hand airily. "The challenge keeps out the riffraff."

Oooo, grass. "Creeks are inherently more interesting than cities, though a bar with a pool table and the possibility of a bar fight is appealing too."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"True. Guess that makes you an' your friends special for bein' heroes." He glanced over at her to give her a smile, then stared up at the sky again.

"Here I thought I was the only one who felt that way. I dunno, was just never drawn to city life. I mean, it's fun once in awhile, but who'd want that all the time when they could have somethin' like this?"

Clear skies, fresh grass and a babbling creek, that was much better than smog, trash and traffic.

He did give her a sideways look on the fighting, though.

"I wasn't goin' into Columbia t'look for trouble, y'know."

[noteasytobepink]

"Well...I'd say eccentric more than special I think." She twirled her stick in the bank mud some more then whipped it almost sword like in front of her. "Special implies, well, I believe Morph called it the 'shortbus'?" Not that she'd ever seen one but!

Mmmm, countyryside. "Always be prepared for a fight when you go to a bar. To do otherwise is foolish, besides, a fight can be a great stress reliever!"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

He cracks up at the short bus comment.

"Okay, I guess in this case eccentric is better'n special."

Resting his hands behind his head, he shakes it.

"The beer is the stress reliever. Fightin' is just a good way t'get your nose busted an' spend a night in lock up."

[noteasytobepink]

"Eccentric and badass, naturally." Because she had her pride to maintain! Really she did!

"Ah, but think on it Bill. Beer lowers inhibitions and eases muscles tension, that means when temper get short and the fighting starts, blows don't cause as much damage. You bruise less with some alcohol in you. Plus you have a focus for honest anger and adrenaline instead of the nebulous, gut churning anger you can't find a target for."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Naturally," he agreed.

Watching a cloud float by,he listened to her argument.

"I happen t'be a happy drunk in bar situations,an' ain't got any 'gut churnin' anger' to channel. D'you?"

[noteasytobepink]

"I didn't say you'd be starting a fight Bill!" Nope, he was just the sort who'd try to help when it started getting out of hand! "And of course you do. Your jaw's been going tight anytime anyone in town looks at you like they might be worried or sad for you, you had to get out of town, and the object of the initial anger isn't anywhere near here and you aren't the type to take it out on her anyway." Which was why Clarice had been scathing to Starla really.

"Also? That one looks like a frog. With wings." Pointing!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I'm not angry, I'm... " he thought about it and settled for, "I'm bugged. I don't need people feelin' sorry for me all the time. Besides, it ain't like we were ever together an' she dumped me."

People were just reacting like that was happened.

Bringing his hands down to his sides, he frowned.

"An' I ain't mad at her. I'm hurt," and that was the first time he'd admitted as much, "I figure I deserved at least a chance, but she didn't feel it, how can I hold that against her?"

Looking up at the cloud he tilted his head and nodded.

"Yeah. I was thinkin' more like a turtle in a Stetson."

[noteasytobepink]

"It won't be all the time," she shrugged. "Everything fades and you'll have the flocking, happy hordes again soon I bet. In fact your social calendar will probably be stuffed full of barbeques, bake nights, and dinners."

As for the rest though..."And yeah, you can. You're human Bill, and emotion doesn't have a damn thing to do with what you say or think should be right." He could hold that against her, and probably should with all honesty. "It's alright to feel hurt though. You thought you held a different role in her life than she did and that would make anyone hurt."

Huh. Stetson. She wiggled around on the ground until she could get a better angle on the cloud then squinted. "Nope, maybe a goldfish with a crown?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I hope the barbecues and such start happenin' soon, can't take much more of the pity."

He dropped his eyes from the sky, and was quiet as he mulled over her words.

"It's my fault, for never sayin' anything to her. But... "

He hesitated, not sure if he really wanted to put a voice to this one thought.

"I just-- I wonder how it is she didn't know. Everyone else did. I've always been guilty of wearin' my heart out on my sleeve."

You'd think one of those times she would have seen it when it was hanging there.

Shaking his head, he looked back up and studied the cloud.

"Its a dinosaur in earmuffs."

[noteasytobepink]

"Well, maybe we can jump started the barbeque bit by having one of our own? Kind of an announcement of willingness? I don't know the social customs thing." Maybe it would work? And they could totally cook. How hard could grilling be?

"I am willing to bet she noticed Bill." Just saying. "Way I'm seeing things she accepted that devotion as her right, much like a medieval lady would from a knight. The princess doesn't marry knights, she smiles and accepts as they fight for her honor." Because, well, yeah.

Dinosaur? "Iguana with a mohawk."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Barbeque?" He glanced over at her, then resettled again.

"Yeah, I guess we could do that. Would be fun." And it would go a ways to passing on the message he was trying to send.

He frowned again at the description of the situation with Starla. It didn't make Starla sound too good, or himself for serving that part, either.

But was it true?

He couldn't argue it, but also couldn't tarnish Starla's image like that, so he took a step back away from it, deciding to drop it all, instead.

So, leaving a glaring hole in the conversation, he went back to the clouds.

"Iguana's already have mohawks, them little spine thingies. I say it's a crocodile now, with a toupee."

[noteasytobepink]

"Yay barbeque! I can bake, you can handle the meat on a fire aspect? Or would you prefer the other way around?" Because she could handle meat on a fire relatively well, but it'd be a real fire, not a barbeque.

Not that fires weren't fun to have at parties too though. Hmmm.

As for Starla, well, if he wanted to hold her up as a continued paragon of virtue, that was his problem not hers. It would either fade in time as he wrapped his head around things or it would not and no other woman would ever quite compare to that shiny image.

Granted, historically, the wives of mere knights had been treated like crap in comparison to the Ladies the Knights worshiped, so, at least it would be historically accurate?

"Yeah, but that mohawk was above and beyond the natural you know?" Eh, toupee? The cloud was a little too upstanding for that! "Viking ship with a crazy figurehead now."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I can do the grillin'. Been awhile, but I'm actually pretty good."

Open fires were fun, in the right circumstance and place. If he found out that's what Clarice wanted he might switch from barbeque to bon fire and relocate the shindig to an open space somewhere.

Starla... he might never come around to fully recognizing the whole truth of their relationship, but he was starting to bring her down from the pedestal little by little. At least as far as he'd given up that hope of having her, and now was working around to believing she wasn't the only one for him, and her opinion in the end wasn't the only one that mattered.

Having Clarice around was helping; and eventually she might take the blinders off that he'd been wearing so long.

Folding his hands on his chest, he was glad she wasn't pushing it. That's one thing he really liked about talking with her, she seemed to know when to put her shoulder into him, and when to back off and let him be.

As for the clouds, "Yeah? Well here comes a sea monster t'take it on. Looks like Nessie on steroids."

He pointed out another cloud floating in.