Archive of Our Own

Chapter 1

Heaving a sigh, Charlene 'Charley' Davidson tried her very best to focus on her work, namely - getting this old Chevy back to work.
It wasn't what one liked to call an easy job, but she didn't care, simply because she loved challenges.
She always had.
Not just that, working always managed to help her clear her head, if only a bit.
And right now, that was by no means a luxury.
For a certain someone was terrorizing her mind as we speak.

To say that her life had gone through a radical change after the mice set foot on this planet was, if anything, an understatement and she still wasn't sure whether to be grateful or to go out and kill Limurger herself, with the inevitable result that they would go back to Mars.
It was all she needed to go back to her old but actually quite boring life.
Not that she actually wanted them to leave.
Not that she actually wanted to go back to her old life.

Oh, no.

But it would sure as hell make things easier.
Wanting them to leave was nothing but an escape.
To run away from certain feelings.
Feelings that she tried so hard to ignore, but at the same time, all she wanted was to understand them.
A paradox indeed, but this was entirely new for her.
And she merely had no idea how to handle it.

Yes, she was grateful.
Even though the mice were disorderly, obnoxiously loud, typical male and always treating her as if she was made out of glass, she was truly happy that they had come into her life.
Before that, her life had been eclipsed by loneliness, actually.
It wasn't until she suddenly had three furry friends to take care of that she realized that.
But she knew now.

Still.

Being lonely wasn't always as bad as it sounded.
It had its perks, strangely enough.
She always had been one that was more to herself.
Even more so, most of the time, she liked being lonely.
For it meant that there was no one around who had certain expectations of you.
There was no one to worry about.
No one who would disappoint you and visa versa.
No one who could hurt you.

But the flipside was - there was no one around who believed in you.
There was no one who cared for you.
No one who would do everything to make you happy.
No one who loved you.
Being lonely was lonely, it was as simple as that.
Simplistic, maybe, but lonely nevertheless.

Three years had passed.
Three long and eventful years since Greasepit had tried to take away her beloved garage, the one thing she had left from her family.
From her father.
Three years since interplanetary heroes had saved her from losing that same garage.
Something had changed.
Something was different.

It all started a few months ago.
At first, she hadn't really noticed it.
It was as if it just slowly crawled into her brain, into her body, and most importantly - into her heart.
She couldn't tell exactly when it happened, and she most certainly didn't know what it was.
But it was there.
Oh, it was there, alright.
Forcing her brain to make overtime, thinking about the main subject of this sudden change every minute, every hour, every day.

Not just that, it made her insides twist and turn, mixed with odd tingles, like butterflies were tickling her abdomen.
It even made her clumsy, from time to time.
As if she had no control over her body.
It was at these moments that even her hyperactive brain stopped working.
It just went blank.
But it only happened when he was around.
He.
A certain white-furred mouse.
Vincent.

Vinnie.

The moment they met, he started flirting with her to never stop.
In turn, she always playfully pushed him away.
She wasn't sure why, it just happened.
Like some automatic reaction.
It was a dynamic between them that soon became familiar and somewhat comfortable.
A game they both played without knowing the meaning hidden underneath it.
But it was different now.

Three years is a long time to get to know someone.
To learn about their habits.
Their personality.
And in these three years, she had learned that he wasn't just a flirtatious walking ego.
There had been moments where he had lowered his walls to give her a glimpse of the real Vinnie, consciously or not.
A glimpse inside his world.
Inside his head.
Sweet. Caring. Loyal.
Insecure. Erratic. Flammable.

Trouble-minded.

There was so much more to him than he initially showed to the outside world.
Perhaps that had been the moment when things started to change.
That moment when she realized he was so much more.
And then there was their unique aesthetic.
As mentioned before, three years is a long time.
Long enough to forget that they were, in fact, aliens.
To her, they were more like humans who happened to look slightly different.
Fur. A tail. Those cute buck teeth.

I mean, come on.

They weren't exactly unattractive, with their muscular bodies that made them look like Adonis himself.
Those abbs under that fur…
…white fur…

Argh!

Charley flew upright, banging her head against the hood from the Chevy while she was at it and she cursed under her breath.
Typical.
She was, amongst other reasons, working late to clear her head, not to let herself get distracted.
Again.
This was most tiresome.
She looked at the clock, only to see it was already past midnight.
Well, that was nothing new.
She usually worked most of the nights, only getting a few hours of sleep before she continued early in the morning.

Perhaps it wasn't the most healthy way of living, but she didn't really have a choice, to be honest.
She needed the money to support herself and her furry family.
Besides, sleeping was out of the question with her brain working overtime as well.
Seriously, what the hell was wrong with her?
If only she knew.
Rubbing the sore spot on her head, she made her way over to the counter.
Coffee.
She needed coffee.

...

As she folded her hands around the warm mug, her mind already wandered off again, as it was no surprise.
So, yeah, things had definitely changed.
And maybe she was seeing ghosts, but she couldn't ignore the distinct feeling that he had changed, too.
His flirting had become a little bit more… dirty, for lack of a better word.
His allegedly casual touches weren't so casual anymore.
The look on his face when he was watching her was different, too.
More intense.

And to top it all off, there was this tension.
A certain attraction to him.
It was like an electric field, sucking the oxygen out of the room whenever he was near.
The tension wanted to make her do things.
Like touching him.
Like sniffing up his scent.
Or maybe even something utterly stupid like kissing him.

Ahem.

So far, she had managed to control herself.
After all, what if she was, indeed, seeing ghosts?
What if she gave in to her needs, to the things the tension was trying to make her do, and he would reject her?
Perhaps he would even laugh at her.
That would be catastrophic, to say the least.

After all, if he wasn't feeling the same way, and she would give in to her uh.. needs, she would ruin the one good thing they already had - a close friendship.
As an inevitable result, he would stop giving her the attention she, apparently, so desperately needed.
He made her feel special.
She had never felt special.
She couldn't risk losing that.

Dammit.

This was by no means simple.
Trying to understand this feeling, this whole situation, cost her more energy than working day and night.
And she still needed to work.
Day and night.
Go figure.
Come to think of it…

Back to work, Charlene.

Hours past.
Not that she noticed.
She was finally able to focus on the job, which was a miracle, to say the least.
"Still working, huh sweetheart?"
Again, she hit her head against the hood.
"Jesus, Vinnie, scare me like that again and I'll tie your tail in a knot", she breathed as she swirled around, her green eyes fuming.
"What the hell are you doing here anyway? It's the middle of the night!"

She didn't want to snap at him.
But he somehow had this effect on her.
He just made her do this.
Well, in all fairness, perhaps she made herself do it.
To keep him at a safe distance, for God knew what would happen if she decided to let him come closer.

Vinnie wandered past the counters, looking at the tools as if he was seeing them for the first time, which he didn't, and he shrugged.
"Couldn't sleep."
Charley's eyes followed him every move, and when he came closer, she quickly turned around to focus her attention on the Chevy again.

Okay, okay, let's be honest here, shall we?

She pretended to focus on the Chevy again, for her brain simply didn't allow her to focus on anything else than this beautiful white-furred creature.
But she had to at least try.
She had no idea what would happen if she didn't and she wasn't ready to find out just yet.
"Need help with that?"
Charley glanced over her shoulder, only to see Vinnie leaning against the counter with his hands in his pockets.
"No. I've got this."

HA!

Who was she trying to convince anyway?
"It doesn't look like you do."

Excuse me?

Again, she swirled around with clenched fists.
"If you only came by to tell me that I fail at my job, which I, indeed, do at this point, then do us both a favor and get out."

Wauw.
Very nice, Charlene.
Way to go.

Although it saddened her, Vinnie was used to her bitchy way of communicating, and thus he wasn't impressed.
"Sweetheart, come on. There ain't nothing you can't fix. I'm sure you'll figure it out."

I can't fix you.

It almost slipped her lips, but luckily, she stopped herself right on time.
Why did that thought occur to her anyway?
Was it just another excuse to keep him away?
Because she couldn't fix him?
Because he was damaged by the war and there was nothing she could do to make it better?
And just like that, this whole thing suddenly became even more complicated than it already was.

He looked at her.
She stared back at him.
She simply couldn't turn her gaze away, she just couldn't.

Shit.

What was happening here?
Why was he looking at her like that?
The intense look on his face, along with his fiery red eyes, literally sent a shiver down her spine, and her cheeks started to burn.
In fact, her entire body seemed to ignite on the spot.

Oh, dear…

Vinnie was the first to come into movement, and after pushing himself away from the counter, he walked over to her, almost lazily.
As if he was taking a stroll downtown.
But his eyes…
Shit, his gaze basically burned a hole in her skull.
Her breathing accelerated.
She wanted to stop him, to turn around, to walk away, whatever…
But she was completely stupefied.
Eventually, he halted right in front of her and his red eyes wandered over her face before they locked with hers.
"What did you just say?"

Oh.

So maybe she did say that last part out loud.
No way.
She did?

Oh, god…

"I uh… I have no idea what you're talking about", she breathed, hardly able to speak due to his intense aura.
"You think you can't fix me?"
His voice was lower than usual, the characteristic high-pitched tone nowhere to be found.
Her heart now almost exploded out of her chest, and she shook her head.
"I didn't want to say that out loud, I'm sorry…"
Gradually, he lifted his hand and rested his fingertips on her cheek.
"You think I'm broken?"

She had no idea what to say.
Him only doing so much as touching her cheek was enough for her brain to just turn into water, or something like that.
"I uh…", she started, but he was standing too close.
She just wasn't able to function properly with him being this close.

Goddammit.

What in the world was wrong with her?
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea…", she eventually managed to squeeze out, although she had no idea what this was exactly.
However, she didn't move.
"Maybe not…", he mumbled back, but he didn't pull back either.
Even more so, he came even closer and gently took her head in his hands.
Charley's heart almost gave out now, and she closed her eyes for a moment, enjoying the feeling his touch gave her.
His tender and surprisingly gentle touch.

Her breathing shallow, she opened her eyes again and he brushed a wandering strand of greasy hair out of her face with his red eyes locked with hers.
"My sweet Charlene…", he whispered, and he leaned forward to close the gap between them.
Now so close that she could almost count the teeny-tiny hairs on his nose, Charley felt his breath on her searing lips.
Subconsciously, she took a deep breath and his lovely fragrance filled her nostrils.
It was addictive, honestly.
It gave her goosebumps all over her body.

And without thinking, she closed her eyes and pressed her lips to his.
The kiss was affectionate.
Gentle.
So not Vinnie, but at the same time, very Vinnie.
A bomb of butterflies exploded in her stomach, and it was then that it hit her.
She finally knew.
She finally figured out what this whole thing was.
It was love.
She was unconditionally and irrevocably in love with him.