enjoying the ride [athena/tori]

[RUBEN DANIEL CARRAWAY]

[style=width:400px; height:15px; font-family:oleo script; font-size:30px; line-height:85%; color:#876363; border-bottom: 5px solid #c1a2a2; letter-spacing:-1px; text-decoration:italic; text-align:right;]i wanna be drunk when i wake up,

on the right side of the wrong bed,

Ruben had always been a guy who liked knowing how something works. When he was younger, he used to pick apart all of the watches and clocks that were in the house. Not that that had ever gone down well, because he has a rich as hell family and all the things they bought were expensive, but Ruben just used the excuse that he was young and curious. This was why it was easy for him to get a hang of mechanics when he came to Manuka. Really, the only thing that Ruben had known when he ran away was his martial arts, but Michael, the owner of this shop trusted that he would get a hang of things quickly, which he did. Which was where we was now, elbows deep in the engine of a car, wiping some of the sweat odd his brow and leaving a dark smudge of oil across his forehead. Ruben had no shame for what he did, because he was just doing what he needed to get by. He needed this job to pay his half of the bills in his apartment, so there wasn't any time to feel ashamed. Even though sometimes rich snobby people came in and looked down on him. He couldn't really insult them, since he wanted to get paid, but he wasn't also afraid to let his tongue run in a sassy like way. Ruben thinks that they might appreciate that.

Actually, it was almost relaxing, delving himself into some elbow grease, because the actions themselves were mechanical. Turn a switch there, reconnect a wire here. It allowed him some time to think, but all the time when he was at the garage, his bones would simply ache to be at the gym. He practiced everyday, his martial arts, whether it be for solid thirty minutes, or hours at a time. Some days he would have plans with friends to go out and get smashed, but even on the next day after some amazing sex and with a hangover, he would still go in. Really, Ruben was a commitmentphobe, but the only thing he was ever serious about was his martial arts. He was damn good at it too. Could give any hunter that came after him a run for their money. Not that they usually realised that he was a shifter when he was in his fox form, but there was once a time where someone saw him change back to human. Now, running naked is not fun at all, but the clothes can't save while shifting, so he always takes them off before hand, especially if he's wearing his favourite jeans.

Ruben liked to jam out to music while he worked, which was the case, a Metallica track playing on a small stereo in the corner as he was bent over a Ford Fiesta, of one of the people from the poorer part of town. The lady was nice, and she always tipped him well for his services, so he would work with this little Ford no problem. There were a few other mechanics at the garage too, but they all worked at different times, and this was Ruben's time to man the garage whenever anyone came in, while the boss was doing paperwork and what not. It seemed he hired all these young people just to have some time off, for which Ruben teased him mercilessly. Really, the shifter had about zero filter of the things that came out of his mouth, some swearwords here and there without realising it. He had taken a few days off recently, after the shock news of Annette. He shuddered to even think about it, because well ... it scared him so much. He knew that his whole family would think he was a massive screw up, even after he ran away to be his own person because he didn't want to be forced into an arranged marriage, yet here he was having gotten someone pregnant. Biting his lip, he concentrated a bit harder on the engine in front of him, because he willed the problem to go away. He sincerely hoped that Annette wouldn't keep it, that she'd give it away and forget about it. Because the baby was an it, and Ruben was not a father. He was the least right person for this kind of thing.

The sound of an engine broke his reverie, and he grabbed a dirty rag from the side, wiping his hands on it as best as he could. Some guys here liked to work shirtless, but Ruben preferred to wear tops. Not that hat his much flesh, because he got hot, so really it was pretty revealing. He watched as the unfamiliar head of blond hair exited the car, and he moved towards her, instantly eyeing the car for a moment, before his eyes were on the woman. She was hot, and Rue was instantly interested. A smirk rose to his lips as he approached the woman. "Well, hello ..." He almost purred, his dark hair standing upon his head in strands where he ran his fingers through it. "Anything I can help you with, sweetheart?" He asked, his brown eyes meeting hers. "And I do mean, anything." He was flirting already, it was shameless but he didn't care. He was a hormonal male after all, it was the animal in him. He was sure foxes were generally horny buggers anyway.

TAGGED: athena/tori
WORDS: 907
NOTES: hope this is ok for you bby!<33

[style=width:400px; font-family:courier; font-size:10px; text-align:center;]THANKS TO MAC !

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[ATHENA PENELOPE STRYKER]

Athena had always been the girl who could take care of herself - she could cook (very well), she could sew, she could clean and use any weapon shoved in her hands, and she could most certainly fix her car problems. Her red 3-Series BMW was her baby; she treated it better than she took care of herself most of the time. Cars were a passion of Athena, especially fast ones. She'd added better intake valves, headers and even a new coolant system recently, so she had expected her car to be fine. As far as she could tell there seemed to be an issue with the coolant system and the intake valves. Apparently whoever had installed them was a complete moron, because she probably could have done a better job. Her baby was barely running correctly - she could feel the car straining as she accelerated through a yellow light, the intake valves not doing their job. She was grateful it wasn't in the middle of the summer or her car probably would have over heated by now. Pursing her lips and sighing, she drummed the fingers of her left hand against the steering wheel as she pulled into the lot of the nearest mechanic's shop. Coming to a stop, Athena removed the keys from the ignition and sat for a moment sorting through her insurance and liability information before removing the correct document and climbing gracefully from her car. She was a little more dressed up than usual today, the weekend lifting her spirits and giving her a little more motivation than she was accustomed to. As she approached the shop, a young dark-haired man came out to meet her. He was giving her a look that she had become quite accustomed to during her life, one of awe and appreciation. She silently thanked her Russian ancestors for giving her the gift of beauty before letting her lush lips pull into a charming smile.

Well hello.... he appraised her, and Athena tilted her head to the side coyly, making a point to appraise him as well just to be a smart ass. He wasn't so bad on the eyes either, in fact, and Athena smirked at him for a moment as he spoke again. Anything i can help you with, sweetheart? oh, he had said it. She was a sucker for the 'sweetheart' nickname. It practically made her melt when an attractive guy called her that, especially when they kissed her neck just right. She decided it might be fun to flirt with this handsome mechanic - hell, if he fixed her baby up she'd offer to buy him a drink for the hell of it. and i do mean anything. he added and she allowed a small, amused laugh to escape her. Oh, he thought he was cute, did he? She rolled her eyes a bit and grinned. " For now, I just need you to do me a huge favor and fix my car up better than the last asshole who touched her... " she glanced back at the glistening cherry-red convertible and scowled. " The intake valves haven't been installed properly and the coolant system is malfunctioning. The engine's been borderline over-heating and my air conditioning is about as cold as the Sahara right now. " She turned back to him, raising her eyebrows expectantly. " How much are we talking to fix it? " Price wasn't really a problem for her, but time was always something she wasn't willing to spend too much of. Always on a mission and in search of the next big thing, Athena had a hard time settling down in one spot. Her car malfunctioning kind of put her smack-dab in the middle of that very situation.

She figured if he could fix it today, she would be more than willing to stay until it was finished. Hell, she might even decide to watch what he was doing just so she could have the same skill-set in the future if she ever needed it. Always a quick, savvy learner, Athena had no problems with picking skills up lightning fast and utilizing them in new ways. Maybe he could teach her a few more tricks if she stuck around long enough - and learning something about her car was always a peak interest for her. Pulling a business card from her pocket, she held it out to him. " This is the card of the mechanic who "fixed" my car last time i took it in. And before that when he checked my brake lines, he left a valve loose. " She shook her head and crossed her arms. " i can pay cash if you can fix her by tomorrow. and i'd be more than happy to compensate for a rush order. " she told him purposefully - she had places to be, clearly. Vampires definitely weren't going to just hunt themselves down, were they? she had already missed her kick-boxing routine because of her misfortune, and there was no way she would miss out on kicking vamp ass that night. But she kind of needed a fast getaway to do that. Running her hand through her golden mane, she pushed it out of her emerald eyes and looked at him expectantly. He looked like he knew was he was doing - he also looked like a total smart ass. She had a feeling there would be a few more flirtatious comments thrown back and forth before the transaction was done, but nothing excited her more than a battle of wits. Perhaps he could handle her personality - or perhaps he would get swallowed by it. She would have to wait and see.

TAG: RUBEN/JURATE , NOTES: (: , WORDS: 943 .