Wheelsy AU ~ Tire changing

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"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!

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[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."

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"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."

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"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.

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"Do we have a grill? Is it in the shed?" Because she had been in his backyard and she did not recall a grill like the shiny monster she'd helped with at the last barbeque! "And what kinds of things should I make that others won't think to bring?" Because that was also important!

And, well, pushing all the time was stupid. Better to bring up an idea and let people ponder it for a time sometimes!

"Nessie? Is Nessie a big long camel thing then?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah, I got a charcoal Webber an' a propane grill. Been in storage awhile, but outta still do the job."

Thinking about food, he shrugged.

"Well I can guarantee we'll get at least two or three potato salads. Someone will likely bring a jello mold an' dip. Desserts will probably be covered, too. Might wanna make biscuits or maybe some corn bread. Baked beans, fruit or somethin'. We invite enough folks an' whatever's made will get eaten."

Nodding about the cloud, he pounted and traced out the figure.

"Yeah, it's a lake monster, got humps an' a long neck."

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"So, what, we need to pull them out of mothballs and scrub them down?" The grills that was. "We can have a scrub fest, scour that old picnic table out back too. Do we need more seating? Maybe some logs?" Or would everyone sit inside? Pity, it was nice in the evenings!

Huh, well, she wouldn't pout about not making a dessert then. She could handle staples! "Beans, fruit slices, biscuits and corn bread, maybe a three day chili for those who don't want burgers? I can set that to simmer days ahead of time..." And it went well with cornbread!

"...in what lake? Is it dangerous?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Yeah, shouldn't be too hard. Got some foldin' chairs an' such, too. Probably borrow some from folks if we need to."

In small towns chairs kind of migrated from one event to the next.

"Chili would be good. All that sounds real good. I'll do burgers an' dogs, maybe some chicken."

Chuckling about Nessie, he shook his head.

"Nah. It's in Loch Ness, in Scotland. Just one of those stories, like Bigfoot."

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"There's a log or two deeper in the woods that'll work too. I'll pop them in toward the end of the yard? See if folk want a bonfire maybe? Logs make good fire seats." That or she was an old fashioned gal?

"I'll do chili!" And they would totally have the meat aspect covered!

...

...

"I have a teammate by the name Sasquatch, we have fought a Wendigo." So asking if Nessie was real was a TOTALLY VALID THING OKAY?

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"A bonfire? You tryin' to burn down my house?"

He chuckled and shook his head.

"Hell, if that's the kind of party you're lookin' for we'll have t'throw it at the lake, or borrow someone's field. Then we can do it right."

Raising an eyebrow, he looked at her.

"You gotta teammate... of course you do."

Really, how could he not have expected that.

"Huh."

[noteasytobepink]

"Not at all! I like your house! Small fire then, camp fire. You have a big backyard Bill!" Fire within forty feet of his house wouldn't hurt it! Poooouuuuut!

"And you brought up party. I was good with barbeque. If you want a louder coming out thing though..." She could work with that! Bigger pot of chili in the making though...

"Yep. Magic and magic based folk are also pretty common in my life Bill."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Hey, here in the South we do a bonfire we do it right." Which means Big.

"Bonfire is definitely more of a party than a get together. I'm good with just a barbeque, though. But, uh... let's not call it a 'coming out thing', that uh, that means somethin' entirely different."

Blushing a bit.

"I wouldn't call Bigfoot or Sasquatch magic. They're more... prehistoric. Or, supernatural, if you're stretchin' it. Don't think I've ever heard of Bigfoot pullin' any rabbits out of a hat."

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"Ah, you set everything on fire until the air patrol calls you on the phone to yell?" Bonfire of doom. Doooooom.

"Coming out of mourning thing. What else could it mean?" Also not up on the repressing sexuality thing really! "I'm good with a plain old barbeque though." It was easier! And less fire-y!

"Magic is more the source than anything else. Wendigos are such from a curse, even modern Wendigos. Same with Sasquatch."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I ain't in mournin'," just so that was clear. "And um, the phrase can also mean that a person is gay, an' lettin' the world know about it."

He was quick to add, "Which is fine, I got nothin' against it, I just don't wanna confuse folk, 'cause I ain't."

Easier and less fire-y it was, then.

"Alright. I guess we can put it together in a week or so. Give us time to clean up an' get ready for it. Invite folks."

Hearing about curses, he wasn't sure what to make of it.

"Huh. The TV always just makes it out like they're a different kind of ape, or ancient humans or somethin'."

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"Right, just a funk." Much better than mourning really! Also easier to deal with in the long run! "Oh...why would they have to let the world know? It would only matter to people they want to date right?" Thinking it over...thinking it over...

"Wait, do people have to hide sexual preference on this world?" That didn't make any sense! None! Grar.

Thingy.

"And I guess in a world without a heavy magic influence a bigfoot could be? But a Sasquatch is always suppose to be magical. It's weird when people think they're the same thing."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Funk. I'll go with funk."

He nodded, and then his expression turned a bit apologetic.

"Some do. Either 'cause they're afraid of what others'll think, or like you said, it's nobody elses damn business."

He turns onto his side, propping up on one elbow as the magic/Bigfoot talk has his interest.

"They ain't the same? Huh. I figured it was all just different names for the same hairy dude. Bigfoot, Sasquatch, the Yeti. So what sorts of magic does Sasquatch have, then?"

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"Not the cool kind of funk," she made sure to point out. Funk was also, apparently, a music style so she had to make the distinction!

"Weird world Bill, weird world." And that was her comment on that really. Her world, the worlds she went through? Lot better things to worry about than who wanted to sleep with who and why.

Awww, he was now blocking some of her cloud viewing! Maaannnnn! "Hmmm? Not having magic herself, but cursed, magical transformation. Some faster healing, turns into big, furry snow beast everyone calls a guy."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Definitely not the cool kind," he agreed easily enough.

"Yeah, sometimes."

He wasn't hovering over her! Just sitting up.

"Sasquatch is a she? Huh."

He would be sure to remember that, should he ever run into her.

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Him sitting up still blocked half the sky over thattaway! "My sasquatch is a she. Not every sasquatch though, should you encounter many somehow." One never knew! And it could be a deadly insult to call one a girl if he wasn't!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"I guess I'll just be careful 'bout what I say if I ever run into one."

Laying back again, he adjusted his shirt which was starting to dry, so it wouldn't stick to him.

[noteasytobepink]

"Best course of action," she agreed. "In fact, it's a good tactic for most interdimensional meetings." Because why not give him the ABC's of such travel?

"That and don't get munched." She rolled over to lay on her stomach, letting the other half of her clothing catch some sun.

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

It was a good rule of thumb.

"You run into many situations where you might get munched?"

[noteasytobepink]

"Zombies, creepy space aliens, evil hamsters..." she shrugged and watched a line of ants march past her nose. "Generally if they aren't talking when you arrive, assume you could be munched by accident."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Or on purpose." Geez.

Letting his eyes slip closed, he took in a deep breath.

"Lucky for me, I've kind of already tackled two of those, so I think I'd be able to handle evil hamsters. Maybe."