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May had seen them before, noticed them often enough to remember. That saved her, now, when she could have panicked and chosen the easiest way — Peter was close to hysterics, poor sweetheart, frightened and hungry — and the easiest way was never the cheapest.
Thank goodness she noticed it. It was an odd combo: a little car repair shop adjoined to a flower one. Flowers tended to end up in the cars, and sometimes random auto parts were seen among the plants. May loved to watch it, a little mundane slice of life, on her way to work. During warmer months, both doors were open, and you could see the inner workings of each place. She could even distinguish the owners: two guys, both younger than her, looking like they were on the opposite ends of the range of shop workers. They always were around, and, for the most part, circled around each other.
May noticed them right then, and boy, was it a relief when she went inside the repair shop and saw them in place.
They both turned to her. The mechanic — tall, long hair, dirt always on his face, but still handsome — moved to her as if unconsciously, then stopped. She probably looked horrifying.
“Ma’am? Hey, are you okay?”
“Jesus, you’re bleeding. Do you want us to call 911? Is the baby alright? What is—?” The other one said, alarmed.
He had a flower in his hair, May noticed in a moment of a dumb shock. Not even a full flower crown, just one flower, tucked behind his ear. That should have looked ridiculous. Somehow, it didn’t.
“Hi,” she said. “No, um, I’m fine, we’re fine. I’m in shock, but nothing’s, uh, I’m a nurse. I know these things. My car’s not fine, though. It’s also in the middle of the road, and I really— I can’t afford— you’re a repair shop. So. Can you help?”
Oh, she was a mess — never tell people you can’t afford them. At least Peter stopped crying.
She could do this.
The men traded looks, clearly having a silent conversation, and suddenly there was movement. The flower guy hurried her and Peter to the back while the mechanic went to collect her car — they asked about her keys and told her they would ask someone else to help tow it, and it all was a blur of frantic activity.
The flower guy got her tea and told her to call him Tony, then left, but the mechanic guy came back and helped with Peter while she called Ben. His name was Bucky. His left arm was a prosthetic which Peter immediately got enamored with. May apologized on reflex — having a kid meant spending so fucking much time apologizing, even for things like a toddler being in your space or touching you — but Bucky waved her off. He was, surprisingly, very comfortable with a toddler clutching his arm. Sisters with little kids, he explained.
May felt better after a while. Calmed down, washed her face — the blood was from a small cut, just like she thought, it wasn’t visible already. She now was back to her senses enough to feel awkward for just sitting there while everyone was doing the work.
“Don’t even think that, ma’am,” Bucky said when she asked him for something to do, however. “You’ve been in an accident. You deserve at least some rest, okay? Until your husband comes, at least. Don’t worry, Tony won’t hurt your car.”
He smiled after saying Tony’s name, all shy, and, if May was the kind of person who awed at things, she would’ve said it then. That explained the merging of the two shops, at least.
“I’ll trust you and your boyfriend, then.” She smiled. “But God almighty, stop calling me ma’am. I’m just a few years older than you.”
Bucky, surprisingly, blushed. It didn’t suit him much.
“Oh, um, Tony’s not my boyfriend. I mean, we’re friends. Friendly. And he’s great— really is, but that’s not going to happen. I mean, nothing wrong with— you just assumed, and because we’re both queer— which you didn’t know— and he’s very pretty— um. I’m going to stop talking now.”
May’s eyebrows just went higher and higher after all of that.
“Certainly not your boyfriend, huh?”
“No.” Bucky sighed, looking dejected.
“You do spend a lot of time in each other’s shops to be just friendly neighbors.” May noted. “I walk by a lot, see you two around. I work in General.”
“Um, yes. But that’s not really— it’s convenient, with the shops. And it’s,” he smiled like a playful kid, “brunch.”
“Brunch? For half of the day?”
“Yeah, that’s an inside joke, sorry — I often dropped in for a quick breakfast, but we got distracted and then it was suddenly lunchtime. So Tony called it brunch, although it’s not, really, we just help each other with the shop stuff — it’s a stupid joke.”
May shook her head.
“Don’t worry, I’m immune to stupid. You should see my husband, he’s got a whole dad jokes arsenal immediately after adopting.” May rolled her eyes. “That seems pretty affectionate, though. Inside jokes. Ever thought of asking him out?”
Bucky fidgeted, not looking at her.
“He deserves someone better than me,” he said at last, but before May could scold him for what a bullshit it was, Tony showed up at the doorstep.
“Hey, guys,” he smiled, looking at Peter, who was asleep now, looking like an angel, “somebody wants to buy some flowers, so…”
“Oh, shit!” Bucky got up, then froze, glancing at Peter. “Right, I shouldn’t…?”
“He’s a baby, and he’s sleeping,” May told him, amused. “You’re fine.”
“Thank you. I wish my sister would think the same.”
Tony snorted.
“Go on, we’re fine. The brunch ends early today, alas.” He did a dramatic bow and turned to May. “Do you need anything else? More tea? I don’t have tea, to tell you the truth, Bucky has, I only have coffee, but you probably don’t need coffee, so, nope. Uh, right, I have no idea what you might need. Anything?”
“I’m fine, thank you. Really, you two are lifesavers. But don’t you need to — you said you had customers?”
“Wha—? Oh. Right. You also thought— no, I’m the mechanic, Bucky’s the flower guy. He went to send the flowers,” he pointed to the door, “and I’m fixing your car.”
May stared at him. Tony had on dark jeans and a t-shirt, but it was so — clean and presentable, and definitely not something that screamed “mechanic”. Not like Bucky.
“But he’s all — he’s got dirt on his face!”
Yes, she got that it was stupid, reasoning her mistake, but it was just so jarring.
“He does. That’s literal dirt. He has sort of a garden in the back with rare stuff. He’s always working. And doesn’t look in a mirror much — I keep telling him to wash up, it’ll scare the customers! Honestly, I sometimes have this urge to do it myself… Not, uh, in a weird way or anything— okay, there’s not really a normal way of washing your straight platonic friend’s face— I don’t have a weird fetish or anything— please stop me, why am I still talking?”
Oh, stupid boys.
“Why the flowers, then?” May asked, mercifully ignoring the last part.
“Oh, Bucky just likes to bring them to me.” Tony grinned. “He has extra often and, uh, he just puts them in my hair sometimes.”
As it turned out, blush didn’t suit Tony, either.
May was so glad she was married and could just tell Ben stuff. God, she didn’t miss this bullshit.
She so didn’t need to get involved in this, did she? She should keep her mouth shut. Not get in anyone’s business.
“It doesn’t really sound like a platonic thing. The flowers.”
Okay, sue her, but it was so ridiculous!
“Oh, no. He’s just a stupidly nice person. It’s unfair, honestly. He helped me when I first opened this place, used to hang around under the pretense of brunch— inside joke, ignore it— he’s Bucky. ”
Tony said “Bucky” like it explained everything. Maybe it did, for him.
“He’s not into guys, anyway.”
“I believe he’s nice,” May agreed, “but he’s sure not straight. He told me just now.”
(Okay, outing was not a good thing, May realized it. But these two didn’t seem like they would get it by themselves. Not in the foreseeable future.)
Tony froze.
“He told you? Like, in these exact words? Because it might have been a mistake, or— people misunderstand stuff all the time. How sure are you, exactly? Not that I am. I mean. Just curious. He never told me, so.”
“Very sure.”
May tried to stop herself from smiling at him and almost failed, but then Peter woke up and cried for her attention, distracting her entirely, so she tended to him and didn’t even notice Tony leaving them alone.
Peter fussed until Ben came. Then they mostly talked about logistics. Tony apologized for having to make them wait, explaining that he might need to order some new stuff — they didn’t understand much of it, both of them not being car people. May added at the end, however:
“Talk to him!” But Tony only shuffled nervously, ignoring her.
She managed to catch Bucky’s eye on the way out, too. He was with customers, so May just nodded in Tony’s general direction and winked.
“What was that about?” Ben asked in the same fond tone he used for anything she did that he didn’t understand.
“They are in love.”
“The mechanic and the florist?”
“Yes! And they’re exceptionally stupid about it. Both of them are afraid to talk to each other!”
Ben chuckled.
“Thank god we’re married and can just tell each other stuff, huh?”
Boy, did May love that man.
When May returned for her car, Tony had a rose in his hair. He grinned when he saw her walking in.
“Hey! Come on, come on, she’s done and waiting for you. As good as new, I didn’t even have to order that new part I was talking about. Way less serious than I thought. How’re you? How’s the kid?”
His enthusiasm was infectious.
“We’re good, thank you. Oh, wow, I don’t remember seeing it so clean.” She didn’t even remember that the car was that color. “So, how much is it?”
That was a tricky question. Tony said he wouldn’t charge for towing— not that there was much of it— and the fact that no replacement parts were used was good news, but the work itself could be a lot.
May and Ben could afford it, but that might mean they’d have to make some cuts.
“Oh, it’s on the house.” Tony waved it away. “Look, I also tinkered a little with—”
“What? Tony, come on, you can’t—”
“I definitely can. I just did, actually. No, stop it. It didn’t cost me anything, only time, and not much of it. And,” Tony touched the flower in his hair, smile now soft and shy, “you helped me get a boyfriend. So.”
“You guys got together!”
“Yeah,” he couldn’t stop grinning, it seemed. “He’s going to be here soon. We have a date. Well, not a full date, more of a lunch date. Is it lunchtime? I have no idea, actually. What is the time?”
“A quarter to noon. More of a brunch date.”
Tony hid his face in his hands.
“Fuck, you're right. That stupid joke will follow us forever. Anyway, I would have never asked him out if it hadn’t been for you. We’re even.”
May sighed. That was, well, too great of a relief, honestly.
“Don’t give me that look. I wouldn’t take your money. You’d have to physically fight me. Are you willing to take that chance?”
“You’re ridiculous.”
“Sure I am. Go on, now. But don’t be a stranger.”
“Say hi to your boyfriend for me!”
“I will!” And the last thing she saw, getting in the car and driving away, was Tony’s happy look.
He twirled on the spot, clearly not being able to hide his excitement, and turned to the mirror to fix the flower in his hair as if it was the most precious thing in the world.