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

[noteasytobepink]

"Good call," Clarice chuckled. "And it'd be a public service to not have the sheriff stuck on the side of the road!" Assuming they didn't make enough in pool bets tonight anyway!

"You're very practical Bill. Don't you want anything fun or silly?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

He used the back of his hand to wipe off a glob of ketchup from his chin, and shrugged.

"Well sure, I wouldn't say no to a new TV, or a pair of Super Bowl tickets, but I wouldn't feel right havin' folks raise money t'give 'em to me."

[noteasytobepink]

She tossed a napkin at his hand so that ketchup wouldn't end up on anything he touched later and then stretched until she could put her feet up in his lap. Yes, Bill made good furniture. "That's not what I mean by silly Bill!" THINK BIG MAN!

"Just random, silly things you know you'll never get but have fun talking about!"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill accepted the napkin and set his burger down to clean his hands.

"Alright, what would you ask for, then?"

[noteasytobepink]

"If I had money? Hmmm." She thought about it, tapping a finger on her chin to think about it then grinned. "A new battle dress, a party, maybe two, different kinds of parties, maybe a bag of diamonds and a puppy."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Okay. Well then, I'd want a boat t'take fishin' at the lake," he decided.

"An' one of them fancy barbecue grills built right into the porch. An' a Peyton Manning jersey."

He looked at her to see if that list was any better.

[noteasytobepink]

"A boat would be fun! We could do a cruise!" Hah, she'd always wondered what it was like to live on a ship! "Who's Peyton Manning?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Don't know how I feel about the ocean, but somethin' nice, do some fishin' or just relax."

Shaking his head, Bill swallowed his disappointment with another bite of burger.

"This is why I gave up teachin' you football, 'cause clearly you weren't payin' attention. Peyton is a quarterback, the quarterback."

Bill only mentioned him and the Colts every other second when football came up.

[noteasytobepink]

"Hey, people share names! I have to make sure that it's the same Manning!" She grinned at his disappointed look and tossed a french fry at him. "And why would you want his clothes? I mean, I know I steal clothes all the time but that's not really something I saw you doing..."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Right." Yeah, he didn't believe that, but knew she'd probably just been messing with him.

"Not his clothes," Well... okay, yeah, having a jersey Peyton wore would be cool. "That's not what I meant. I want it 'cause I like him an' the team. An' they're expensive, so I don't got one."

[noteasytobepink]

A jersey was clothing! He'd said a Peyton Manning Jersey! Jersey of Peyton..."Is his picture on it?" That could also be why it was called that?

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"No, it's just like one he'd wear when he's playin'. With his number an'-- " Bill shook his head, giving up.

"Nevermind. I'll just stick with my TV an' boat."

[noteasytobepink]

"So people can pretend to be him?" SHE HAD NO IDEA! It was like Halloween?! Anyway! "Oh, how about a swimming pool?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"It's a team spirit thing." And he'd leave it at that.

"Only if it came with someone who was gonna clean it."

[noteasytobepink]

"Oh, okay, a moral support thing! I can get that!" Why hadn't he said so in the first place! "Though...isn't it better to support the whole team instead of one person?" Playing favorites like that led to some weird ego issues.

"And I'd totally clean a pool."

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Nothin' wrong with havin' a favorite player."

Bill took up his hamburger again.

"Well if you're gonna clean it, then a pool is fine."

[noteasytobepink]

"I"ll just it add it to my room and board servitude," She admitted cheerfully. What? Made sense to her! Besides...pool.

POOL!

"And I think that's another thing about watching sports. I don't know any of the people personally! How can I be really excited about them if they aren' my friend?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

Bill polished off his burger and shrugged.

"Some people don't get into sports. It's a guy thing, I guess."

That was the common feeling, anyways.

[noteasytobepink]

"Then quit being wounded and disappointed with me!" She laughed and threw a fry at him before finishing her own burger. "It's like I'm kicking a puppy every time I don't get it!"

A cute puppy but still. She didn't want to kick him!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

He lifted a hand to ward off the fry and laughed.

"Alright. But can't you just smile an' nod when I go on about things you don't care about? Y'make me feel dumb for things, an' I feel obliged t'try an' explain 'em."

Part of it was a defense, and part of it was wanting to share something with her, and still trying to help her figure this place out.

[noteasytobepink]

"I smile and nod because you're so excited about it! It's nice to see you happy and if I frown you stop smiling!" But hey, she could work on it. She finished her meal, pushed the fries aside, then leaned her elbows on the table. This way she could lean forward to staaaare at him!

"I believe...someone promised me pool?" she offered in a private, warm murmur. Why not give people the wrong idea? IT WAS FUN!

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"Well hey, sports are what I got now. I'm livin' vicariously through pro-athletes." He gave her a smile and munched on a fry. "Nothin' wrong with that."

He froze for a moment when she closed the distance, unsure, and then he heard what she said and shook his head; of course she was just teasing him.

With a laugh, he plucked up a couple more fries from his mostly empty basket and nodded.

"Alright, c'mon, then." Standing up, he nodded towards the tables.

[noteasytobepink]

Her eyes widened when he froze, then she stood and fell in beside him. "Sorry, did I poke a sore spot?" She was actually worried about how he'd reacted.

"I flirt with cute guys. I'm sorry. Do you not want me to?"

[no_andy_taylor.insanejournal.com]

"No, I just-- " he shook his head and gave a light laugh. "I'm never quite sure what you're gonna do."

Flashing her another smile, he moved over to the rack in the corner to pick out a cue.

[noteasytobepink]

"...huh." she thought that one over. She was good at being unpredictable, she was, it was a battlefield advantage. But the fact that it kept throwing Bill was bad.

So.

Time to be clear huh?

"I really like you. I'd love to flirt with you all the time. I'll ask before I kiss you." TIME TO SELECT A CUE!