[ Simple tends to be how it stays with him 'til it isn't. But right now, she's just a kid who doesn't seem to want anything more from him than a tire change, and that makes it easy. It's something he can give without second-guessing himself a dozen times.
His gaze flicks to her for a second. He didn't not notice, but it's not enough for him to start picking at those unfurling edges, tickling the back of his brain. Not yet. When she says, Thanks, he only nods.
He takes the wheel. He takes the jack. It's rusty, might snap any second, so he's the one who sticks his hand under the jeep just in case. He shows her how to pump it upā€”not that hardā€”and then lets her go at the old wheel with the tire iron the same way she took off the spare. Pockets of silence fill the space between his plain instructions, and it's at least a few minutes on his end before he finally asks a real question: ]
First car or just your first tire?
[ She's young, but something about her gives him the sense she's been around the block, too. Stillā€”he never likes it when kids end up getting dragged into this kinda shit. Just seems like she should be doing other things than figuring out a car by herself. ]
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His gaze flicks to her for a second. He didn't not notice, but it's not enough for him to start picking at those unfurling edges, tickling the back of his brain. Not yet. When she says, Thanks, he only nods.
He takes the wheel. He takes the jack. It's rusty, might snap any second, so he's the one who sticks his hand under the jeep just in case. He shows her how to pump it upā€”not that hardā€”and then lets her go at the old wheel with the tire iron the same way she took off the spare. Pockets of silence fill the space between his plain instructions, and it's at least a few minutes on his end before he finally asks a real question: ]
First car or just your first tire?
[ She's young, but something about her gives him the sense she's been around the block, too. Stillā€”he never likes it when kids end up getting dragged into this kinda shit. Just seems like she should be doing other things than figuring out a car by herself. ]