Work Text:
The empty diner was her sanctuary, the rusty payphone her salvation. Julie had passed the quaint place many times, telling herself she had to check it out one day. Fate decided today was that day... just not in the way she expected. As the phone dialled in her ear, she stared at her beloved car smoking through the window, waiting for a gruff greeting.
"Oh God, Danny, Grumpy is dying, like, for real this time. He's wheezing and smoking more than my daddy and that’s saying something," Her accent grew stronger as her words fell faster. "I thought it was the end for us both, like, I saw my life flash before my eyes and I know you told me to get it looked at and you know I don't even want to tell you this right now because you get that stupid look on your face when you're right but it was really scary and I pulled over but I don't know what—"
"Woah, woah... Slow down, take a breath, you're talkin' nonsense," He lightly chuckled to mask his worry. They stayed silent for a moment as Julie caught her breath. He could understand her just fine but it was no use them both panicking. Her eyes flickered to the waitress, who witnessed her crazed dramatics.
"Will you come help me?" Julie mumbled sheepishly.
"Hmm... Only if you admit I was right," Danny offered, trying to lighten her mood. The worry was still tight in his chest but she sounded safe and that was enough for him.
The heaviness on her chest lifted slightly at his teasing tone. She feigned annoyance with a scoff and an eye roll, but the tight smirk on her lips gave her away. He was right. Not that she would tell him that. He gets that dopey grin and a glint in his eyes that pokes at her soul to make her flush. It's a feeling that makes her nervous. It was evident in her face as it flushed at the sound of his muffled voice through the telephone.
“Ya still there, sweetheart?”
Her soft inhale gave him the answer.
“Gonna need you to tell me where y’are if you want my saving.”
She could hear the grin she imagined growing wider. Unable to handle the teasing any longer, she quickly gave him the name of the diner, hoping he would know where she was. Danny knew where everything was around here.
“Don’t go prodding about under the hood now, knowing you it’ll explode” A final teasing joke slipped in before she heard the jingle of his keys.
“Yeah, yeah. Bye, Gaines.”
Julie’s sarcasm was bitter, but to Danny, any sound that came out of her mouth was sickly sweet. Her words dripped with sarcasm but her voice dripped in honey.
“See ya in a tick, darling.”
As her initial panic faded, she studied the quaint diner that sheltered her from the glaring sun. Giggles from a small family in the corner echo as she reflects on her time with Grumpy. It was the only real memory of home; her parents bought the car for her when she passed her test; it was where she and her dad would belt out tunes whilst driving to the beach; it was where she and her mom would gossip and cry while watching the sunset in the hills; it was where she lost her virginity; it was where she had her first major break-up; it was where Julie became Julie. Her lips formed a small pout at the thought of closing that chapter of life.
The clink of glass in front of her prevents her from spiraling. With a confused look, she meets the kind eyes of an elderly woman- the waitress from earlier.
Before she could speak, the woman held up her hand. "It's on the house. Looked like you could use it."
The dazed look on Julie's face made the woman chuckle.
"That yours?" She inquired, gesturing to the car croaking like a chain-smoker in the corner of the parking lot. Julie nodded with a slight grimace, expecting to get an earful for parking a potential explosive in this woman's diner. All she did was hum in reply.
"Good thing you got a nice boyfriend who'll come fix it up for ya... or at least I assume that's who you were flirtin' with on the phone..." she pried, needing some gossip to get her through the workday.
"Yeah," An unusually shy smile danced on Julie's lips. "Well... Sorta. Kinda. He's not my boyfriend, like, officially. We're mostly just friends, but that's not what our other friends think. It's just, uh, complicated, I guess?" She rambled, eyebrows furrowing the more she talks.
The woman gave a knowing hum, unable to hide the smirk on her plump lips. Before she can say another word, she catches sight of a tall scruffy man peering into the window of the wreckage outside.
"That yours?" She inquired again, smirk now fully formed.
Julie's head span round, a giddy beam radiating off her when she sees him. Without a second thought, she jumped from her seat, cola bottle in hand, and bolted towards the door. With a second thought, she turned around to thank the woman she momentarily forgot about.
"Go on, get outta here!" She heard as the door closes behind her.
A loud squeal caused Danny to look up from the car, hands still cupped from where he was inspecting the inside. His face reflected her own as the hurtling figure came into focus.
“Here comes trouble,” he remarked to himself before Julie wrapped her arms tight around his neck.
Putting on her serious face, she pulled away and held his head in her hands so he couldn't look away.
“Please dont break my heart. I don't think I can handle the news of her death.” She shook her head as she spoke, as if she were trying to rid the thought from her brain. He couldn't help but chuckle at her dramatic nature. Removing her hands from his face, he held them in front of their face, kissing her knuckles before he broke the news.
“M'afraid to say but Grumpy's been on death's door for months now,” he informed, swiping at the black mascara smudge below her waterline. “I’ll give 'er a once over and tell ya how fatal it is, alright?”
She nodded in reply, slowly coming to terms with the death of her baby.
The warm flush on her face contradicted the coldness she felt from his absent touch as he moved to open the hood of her car. He started digging around as Julie leant against it, staring as he worked. She couldn't help it. His sleeves were pushed to his elbows, exposing his flexing arms. With a furrowed brow, he tried to find the root of the problem, greasy fingers glistening with each movement. His murmured remarks were like a fresh breeze cutting through the suffocating summer, but his pained hiss cut Julie out of her daydream.
"Are you okay? What happened?" The panic in her voice was evident as Danny tried to shake the pain out of his hand.
"S'nothing. Just hotter than I thought it would be- my fault, it is smoking after all," He joked softly. “You got a dirty rag or something in there I can use?”
She took a quick glance at the backseat, weighing up her options. Danny had been fawning since she called, trying everything to lift her mood. So, naturally, she decided to push her luck. She hummed in consideration before popping out a nope. Her teeth grazed across her lower lip to prevent the hopeful grin from growing across her face.
There was definitely some dirty shirt back there he could use, but he didn't need to know that. Except Danny did know that. He could read Julie like a book; the mischief twinkling in her eyes exposed her little lie. Looking away from her, shy eyes scouted the parking lot; there wasn't a person in sight. He decided to bite his tongue and humour her. She’d had a bad day, after all. With a roll of his eyes, he stripped the shirt off his back, pretending that the red tint on his cheeks was due to the heat and not embarrassment. Not looking her in the eyes, he continued digging around, attempting to inspect and remove the source of the smoke.
Julie shifted the weight of her footing as warmth bubbled inside her — not a feeling of lust, but that of admiration. The redness creeping up his neck and ears spoke for itself; she expected some taunt about her being a horndog, not him putting himself in an uncomfortable position to make her smile. A dumbfounded look took place of the expected smile as she studied the man in front of her. He glowed even brighter than before, a golden halo surrounding him as if he were an angel assigned to her by the heavens. The aureate hues brought life to his freckles, speckled kisses on his broad shoulders she wished to replicate; his soft stomach like the beach dunes she used to lay her head on. Something hidden to herself awoke in Julie's soul. He reminded her of home. He was her home.
"M'sorry, baby, aint nothing to be done." He concluded with a pinched brow. "I'll call up my guy to take her to the boneyard. Maybe we can throw a party in her honour this weekend?"
Julie instinctively pouted at the outcome, but she couldn't find it in her to be distraught. A celebration sounded nice — not only to say goodbye to her old life, but to welcome her new revelation. Seeing the small pout on her lips, Danny made his way to her with an outstretched hand, but was blocked before he could make contact.
"Don't you dare come at me with those gnarly greasy hands," she lectured facetiously, a manicured finger pointing at him in accusation.
Danny raised his eyebrows in challenge, squinting to read her next move. She didn't have a next move. Before she knew it, she was pinned to her car, legs entangled together to prevent her from leaving. Airy laughs weaved with dying pleas as his hands made their way to her jaw, calloused thumbs tarnishing her skin with brown smears.
"A lil grease ain't stopping me from comfortin' my girl," He drawled lowly in her ear.
The warm metal on her back was nothing compared to the warmth dancing in her stomach as Danny held her head still, peppering kisses anywhere he could find — her cheeks, her forehead, her eyes, her nose, her neck. Giggles bubbled up her throat as stubble pricked at her skin, accentuating each peck. Kisses became sloppier as a lazy grin formed on his own lips. Her smudged eyes fluttered open when he pulled away slightly. The pounding in her chest grew heavier as the heat rolled off his naked torso; the playful glimmer in his eyes made her dizzy, drunker than at any party she's been to.
Looking into his amber eyes was the most natural thing in the world, she couldn't fathom looking away. Most cower from his scorching stares, as if he were the sun ready to burn and blister, but Julie was a sunflower; she thrived under his warm gaze, unknowingly searching for it in the darkest hours. What Julie didn't know was the light in Danny was a reflection of herself.
For a moment, all they did was stare at eachother. Danny's blackened thumb idly stroked her besmirched jaw while Julie's slender fingers pushed stray hairs away from his sticky forehead. A low sound vibrated through his chest as she tangled her fingers into the hair at his nape. Tenderness lay heavy between them as their noses nudged together. A silent confession, a silent promise. High on intimacy, the words tumbled out before she could catch them.
"I'm so in love with you."
He couldn't help but laugh, the corners of his eyes crinkling at her words. Despite never saying it, he knew. They both knew. It's why she called him. It's why he came. The love they shared was in every unspoken word. She could feel it as he pressed his chapped lips against her own, breathing the words into her. There was nothing complicated about it.