Work Text:
For how long had they been dating now? Well, too long, that was for certain- but after 12 months, a year , one would expect the blonde pup to sort himself out for their long awaited anniversary. It’s not like Steam ever cared much about it, but …
Entering the cheesy diner, it didn't take long for the familiar scent of fat oil to brush by Steam. Wrinkling his nose, he realised he had been here one time too much in the past. A tell tale sign being how the burgers served at some tables could only make him think of the greasy oil, and- Defeated, he sighed upon himself for ruining yet another location for food . His favourite thing in the world, yet god awful to come by good food in this blasted city. Sure, he could bat his lashes at a certain blondie, ask sweetly for a ride down the city next door, or even the one past that, but .
Fumbling between tables was exactly the man Steam was looking for. The recognisable mop of blonde, unkempt hair was by now Steam’s tell-tale sign of his lover for those rare occasions Rider was found outside of his leather jacket. A better distinguisher could as well be the tire mark, slashed across the blonde’s face, but come on. What kind of man defines someone by their scars?
Commiting the gravest atrocity of the dining life, Steam lifted his hand for Rider, signalling the blonde that he had arrived; something the blonde picked up on, giving a quick nod before serving the last plates in his hand. Knowing he would have to wait a bit, Steam went up to the counter stools to have a seat, watching his boyfriend scurry around in a hurry to finish. Giving Steam to notice that an apron, in fact, did not seem to help against spill. Was that milkshake stains on the apron?.. And, what, cola on Rider’s white shirt? The blonde truly covered every check on stupidity.
“ Naib -.” Coming up to the counter, Rider nearly sounded out of breath. Kisses being sloppily placed against his cheek in haste, one even gracing the corner of his lip. Meanwhile strong arms held lightly at Steam’s sides, reminding him how a workaholic car mechanic got breathless from a restaurant shift. Steam would poke fun at that, but he had other things to poke at instead.
Pushing lightly at Rider’s chest, he signalled for the blonde to back off. Sitting back in his stool once Rider complied. Looking up at the blonde with stern eyes. “How long until your shift is up? You said four pm”
“Oh- Well I read wrong, I actually finished at three , but- Figured I’d help out ‘til you showed up, since, well- We agreed to meet at four here anyway.” Reaching behind, Rider scratched the nape of his neck sheepishly, lips tugged into a helpless smile in hopes to counter Steam’s frown.
Stupid.. Rider was nothing short but the stereotypical blonde at this point. Not only had Rider gotten himself stuck with work on their anniversary from recklessly wrecking his car ( again ) to such an extent the sponsors refused to sponsor the damage repairs ( full replacement costs ), no no- The bastard managed to screw up his shift, and still work overtime?? With crossed arms, Steam raised an eyebrow at Rider, watching him squirm at the gaze- cute . “Did you at least plan something, or did you forget that too?” It wasn't meant to come off that harsh, but- when the blonde had been begging to get full charge of their anniversary date, well then he better have had something planned.
And, it appeared the pup did. With a clever smile, Rider grabbed Steam’s hand, yanking him up and out of his seat. “Think so. Hope you’re not booked for the night, cus it’s gonna be a long one~.” With that, he dragged them both out of the Diner, charging straight forwards towards the parked bikes.
Hadn’t Rider just obliterated his car? How come he had enough for a bi- “Wait, is that Gilman’s?” Steam came to an absolute stop right before the engine, awestruck at the sight of such a ride. He recognised it from the races he had watched, guilty of eyeing Gilman’s bike more than Rider… at times . It most definitely wasn’t a common occurence- nope, not at all.
“Ya like it? Brand new pipes and everything- pipes are your thing, right ?”
“Yeah, definitely- How’d you even get it?” Steam’s tone turned for a more serious one, barely managing to snap his eyes off the ride to glance towards Rider. Brow raised in suspicion; “You let her peg you, didn’t you.”
Rider’s rapid change of expression was priceless , first going from spitting on nonexistent water, to choking on said water. Coughing heavily, wheezing for his breath before he could speak. “N— No- No, DEFINITELY not!–” Rider broke into another cough, then yet another, and–
Steam couldn’t hold it back, cracking up a wide smile, filled with laughter. Having to crouch over himself to clutch his stomach, but for differing reasons than Rider.
“ Hah - Relax, relax, I know you didn’t,” wiping up a tear that came through from his laughs, Naib had to shake his head. There was something with teasing Rider that was just.. Too easy . “Now go on, tell me how you really got it.”
An exasperated sigh left the blonde, shoulders dropping way before he propped the Bike up, dragging it out to get on. “I did some fixing on it- all the upgrades you see? All of it- cost repairs, I covered it for her.”
“And she let you borrow her baby just like that?”
“Well- yes, but.. With a lot of begging.”
“Oh, so pegging’s not on the table but begging is?” At that Rider rolled his eyes, Steam snickering in response.
“Just hop on before I choose to ride off without you.”
—
What felt like a minute for the two, had been nearly two hours on the road. Steam had found his comfort place, arms wrapped around Blondie's waist, with his chin placed in comfort against Rider’s shoulder. It was no surprise Steam was let down once the ride came to a stop, the bike pulling up to park close to a cliff end. While Cavalier set the bike up, Steam walked off, closer to the edge and took in the scenery around. The sky had gone from the previous blues a tender orange, sun slowly setting beyond the horizon, and- oh. It was beautiful.
“Come on, if you stand there all day we’ll miss the the sunset”
“Not my fault that someone didn’t watch the clock at work. Besides, I see it perfectly from here.” Rider walked up past Steam, giving him a scuff by the shoulder. A small “Hey!” being thrown his way.
“Do as you please, but then I’m eating all this food;” Nudging his body, Rider hinted towards a bag held loosely beneath his arm; “completely by myself. And I’ll watch the waves while I’m at it.” He left it at that, walking away towards a narrow path leading down the cliff and towards the beach. Leaving Steam to hang- for the few seconds it took before the brunette came stumbling along, mouth shaped like an ‘O’ at the offence of being left standing.
“Whatever food you got there, you just lost all privilege for.”
“Oh?”
“Compensation for the ‘ threat ’.”
“If you want an extra sandwich, just say so. I packed a lot.” Rider turned his head to cast his signature ‘golden boy smile’, seeing Steam with his own child-like grin before they both gave a huffed snicker. Once arriving at the bottom of the cliff, they finally got a good look at the beach. Luckily, it didn't seem like there was anyone else around- understandable, as it was drawing late.
Rider put his bag down, pulling out a blanket and laying it out on top of the sand, truly going fancy on their ‘table’. The rest of the bag consisted of four bottles- two of which looked familiar to the stain Rider wore on his earlier apron-, and packed up sandwiches and- Was that a heart shaped chocolate box?? Steam was about to drool at the thought of the sweet pleasantry, before he remembered who it came from. Looking up at the blonde, Steam raised an eyebrow with a devious smirk. “Heart shaped chocolate box? Which ‘top 10 dating tips’ guide did you pull this one out of?”
Going all red, Rider immediately busted himself. Heart beating like wild drums while his eyes looked everywhere except for steam. “Well- Uhm,,” he stuttered on, struggling to find a sensible excuse, “you see- I didn't read a book or anything, I would never read books for flirting, y’kno- aha, who does that”
Steam snickered, Imagining Rider with the book he knows the blonde saw and bought to prepare for this situation, imagining Rider tossing said book over his shoulder in the same flustered way he was trying to defend the thought. “Right, I just figured since pre dating you read all those guides on how to-”
“Nonono, we don’t talk about that.” Truthfully, looking back at that made Rider feel nothing but ashamed. Following a ‘how to get the girl of your dream’ guide book to get with the dude you’re crushing on was by no means a proud achievement- but in the end he pulled the guy of his dream, even if the flirting was… cheesy, at best. How could Steam not love the dummy, seeing how flustered he got about it now?
“Fine. I wouldn’t wanna make you heat up further” with that Steam turned around, while Rider fixated on checking his face to double check what Steam said- as if he wouldn’t know how hot his face felt with all of Steam’s teasing.
Now looking towards the sea, Steam returned to his previous activity of appreciating the scenery. There was something magical about the view, now especially as he saw the waves flow up close, only to retract back towards the sea. It felt peaceful- calming, even, to see the calm water’s flow. Faint drizzling of sand being heard if one just focused enough. Taking a deep breath, Steam let his shoulders rise, then fall with his breath.
Coming up to join him, Rider stood beside Steam, his hand doing a motion to move, but, in the end he chose not to. “It’s beautiful, isn’t it? Sun setting, and all that.”
“Yes… It looks like the water is slowly swallowing the sun.” Captivated, Steam took a few steps forward, Rider following slowly after- until they reached where the waves hit, and the blonde stopped, only to watch Steam walk off and wad in the water.
Now it was Rider’s turn to be awestruck- seeing the silhouette of his beloved, while the sun slowly set behind his figure. Beautiful light shining down on both water, and his most beloved.
“Isn’t it beautiful, Norton?”
“Yes,” his voice was nearly breathless, falling all over again for his dear Naib. And before he knew it, Norton had gone into the water towards his beloved, catching him in the tightest hug, while the ocean brushed along.