TW: Mechanic AU, Panic, Panic Attacks

Chapter One

Ross idly wiped the grease from his hands onto an already grease-stained towel and stretched. It was hot, especially too hot for him to be working in a garage underneath a car that was fucked up beyond repair. The front bumper of the car was gone, and the engine looked as if it had been crushed under a bus. Maybe that was what had happened, Ross mused. He'd never gotten the full story as to how this 2010 Toyota Corolla ended up in this horrific state. But his boss was friends with the people who owned it and apparently they were in love with it. It would have been easier to just get them a new one and say he'd fixed it, Ross thought, and cheaper. Ross jumped and then sighed at the sound of another car pulling up. He was already on an impossible timeline with the car he was working on, and this new customer probably wanted their car to be fixed by the end of the day.

His eyes widened in surprise at the car that pulled up in front of him, and he had to resist the urge to sink to his knees in front of it. It was a brand new 2016 Ferrari California. It was a bright red that shone so brightly Ross had to advert his eyes for a moment. As he ogled in front of it, a young man stepped out of the front seat, swinging his keys around his fingers. He was tall, taller than Ross, and dressed well with a deep red button-up and a skinny black tie to match his dark trousers and shoes. His ginger hair was swept up perfectly across his forehead, and he smirked at Ross staring alternatively between him and the car.

"Stop jizzing, mate, it's just a car." The guy said, and Ross had to stop himself from licking his lips.

"I, uh, did you have an appointment today?" Ross sputtered out.

"Nope," the guy said. "But are you really going to turn away the best looking car and customer you've probably seen in your whole life?"

Fuck no, Ross thought. The guy was walking up to him now and seemed to notice the car Ross had been working on before he drove up.

"What the fuck happened to that thing?" He asked.

Ross grinned. "I'm not really sure. What do you think happened?"

"Maybe the owners left it on cruise control while they fucked in the backseat. Rookie mistake."

Ross choked a bit in surprise.

The guy laughed at Ross' reaction. "My boss would have me executed if I did something like that to this beauty," he said, running a hand across the top of the Ferrari.

"This... this isn't your car?"

"Nah, mate, I just drive it for the old guy. Not the worst job I've ever had."

Ross nodded. "Well, I could probably make time for you. What's your name?"

"Smith," the guy said. "And my boss just wants a check-up. He wants this car to be looked at every week to make sure it's as good looking as it can be."

"And what about its driver?" Ross asks, cheekily.

"He wants me in the best looking condition, too," Smith ran a hand through his fluffy hair. "What do you think?"

Ross' mouth went dry, and Smith laughed as he stuttered. Ross glared at him, and said the car would be done in a couple hours. Smith just nodded, and went to sit on the steps that led to Ross' office.

"Isn't someone going to come pick you up?" Ross asked as he started to open the hood of the Ferrari.

"My boss requires that I stay during the check-ups so I can make sure you don't scratch it or something."

"Your boss sounds like a bit of an ass," Ross said.

Smith laughed, a joyous sound. "Yeah, he is. He's an old fucker who didn't earn any of the money he's got, and he keeps it by suing anyone who even slightly inconveniences him."

"So I guess I'd better do a good job than?" Ross asked.

"Yep. Or I'll have to see you in court when I drive the prick up there to take all your money."

Ross smiled, and leaned down for a closer look at the Ferrari's engine. It seemed to Ross to be in perfect shape. He didn't think there was much he could do, but he wanted to keep this Smith guy around.

"I guess I could give it another coat of wax," Ross muttered.

Smith waved his hand, "Whatever you think, mate. You're the expert." He then pulled out his phone to check his hair in its reflection. "So, what's your boss like?"

Ross bit his lip. Tom was nice and all, but he had started taking a lot of sick days, leaving Ross to do most of the work around the shop. Ross thought it had something to do with his wife leaving him for his old business partner, Duncan. It had been an awkward few months in the garage. "He's alright," Ross said, not really wanting to retell that story again. Every customer wanted to know why Duncan wasn't there anymore and why hadn't they been informed about the change.

Ross glanced over at Smith who was now frowning and typing something into his phone. He let out a frustrated sigh and slumped further down on the steps. "Is everything okay?" Ross asked.

Smith looked up at him and shrugged. "My coworker just texted that he won't be able to drive the boss to his meeting tonight. Which means I get to do that lovely task."

"Did you have plans?" Ross asked

"Does sitting alone in my room playing Dota 2 count as plans?" Smith laughed.

"Don't have a girlfriend to keep you company?" Ross asked, then mentally cursed himself. God, he was desperate.

But Smith just laughed harder. "No, I definitely do not have a girlfriend."

Ross frowned. "Why not? You're very pretty." Ross then bit down on his lip and cursed at himself again. He felt his face go red as Smith looked at him quizzically.

"You're rather pretty yourself." Smith grinned as Ross blushed even darker and turned back to applying wax on the car.

They spent the rest of the time in silence, catching each other's eyes every now and then and looking away quickly. Ross finished up with the wax and did another walk around the car to see if there was anything else he could do to make it look better. The Ferrari was practically glowing.

"Um, is there anything else you needed?" Ross asked as Smith stood and approached the car.

"Nope, it looks great." Smith smirked at him and handed him the payment for the wax.

"Okay, well, have a good day." Instead of leaving though, Smith drew closer to Ross and stuck something in the front pocket of his uniform. Ross gulped, nervousness and arousal spiking through him. Smith then lifted a finger to trace the loopy letters of Ross' name on the outside of the pocket.

"Good day, Ross." Smith said quietly before whipping around to climb into the front seat. He started the engine and winked at Ross before backing out of the garage and speeding away. Ross looked inside his pocket and found a gum wrapper with a number scribbled on it. He smiled to himself before turning back to the ruined Corolla. He couldn't wait to see that pretty car with its pretty driver again.

Chapter Two

Ross wanted to call Smith the second he left, but forced himself to wait. A few days later, Ross mustered up the courage to call the number Smith had left him. As the phone rang,

Ross panicked a bit, wondering if this was some sort of joke, or maybe he'd just misinterpreted what Smith meant. What if he was only supposed to call this number to talk about the car check-ups? Ross was about to hang up when a familiar voice echoed through his phone.

"Hello?"

Ross swallowed. "Uh, hi, it's me Ross? From the car shop?"

"Oh hey, Ross! I was wondering when you were going to call. And great timing, too. I'm off tonight, would you like to do something?" Smith sounded as happy as he did in the shop.

Ross laughed, "Mate, I was going to ask you that!"

"Well then you should have called sooner! I was starting to think you didn't want to see me."

Ross smiled, "I definitely want to see you."

They quickly made plans to go get ice cream and maybe walk in the park. Smith gave Ross his address, saying that he was sick of driving and he needed to test Ross's abilities. Their flats weren't too far apart; it was about a five-minute drive. As Ross parked outside of Smith's home, he felt a sudden stream of self-consciousness. He quickly glanced in his mirror to see that his hair had stayed in place, a miracle. He raised his eyebrows at his reflection, wondering what Smith saw in him, before pushing open his door, and half-jogging to Smith's door.

Smith opened the door as soon as Ross knocked, and Ross only hoped that he hadn't seen how long Ross had sat in his car, trying to calm his nerves. But Smith didn't mention anything, only saying he was glad to see Ross again.

Ross drove them to the ice cream shop while Smith made him giggle with comments like, "Ross, you didn't use your blinkers for that turn" or "Mate, you're supposed to slow down at the yellow lights" and "Ross, it's hot in here, could you turn the AC up by one degree?"

Ross shook his head fondly as he parked in front of the store. "Well, how did I do?"

Smith frowned, "Well, you're parking is a bit shit."

"That's not true! I am perfectly between the lines!"

"Fine then, you did alright. Well enough that I'll let you drive me home later on." Smith said. His smile made Ross melt as they walked together into the store.

An hour later, they had finished their ice cream quickly and just sat at one of the sticky booths near the back of the store and talked. Ross didn't think he'd ever laughed so hard as he did listening to Smith's animated stories. They shared stories, talked about their childhood, and compared job issues. Ross didn't realize how long they'd been there until a girl in a uniform came up and told them they either needed to buy more ice cream or leave.

"We're going," Smith said. "Sorry about that." He smiled, and the girl blushed, murmuring that it was fine.

Ross bit his lip, slightly worried, until Smith turned around and offered Ross his hand. "Do you still want to go for a walk?"

Ross nodded, and took his hand, his momentary worry lost looking into Smith's eyes.

They didn't end up doing much walking as they both felt full, so they found a park bench and sat down and talked more. After a while, they ran out of things to say. It was silent, but not uncomfortably so.

Smith reached for Ross's hand, thumb running over his knuckles. "I really like you, Ross." For the first time since Ross met him, Smith seemed shy. Ross squeezed his hand back.

"I really like you, too."

Smith's eyes lit up and he lifted a hand to Ross's face. "Can I...?" Ross nodded and leaned forward as Smith brought their mouths together. Smith's lips felt warm and he tasted like mint chocolate chip ice cream. Ross smiled into the kiss and kept smiling even when they broke apart.

Smith looked like he was going to say something, when the sound of a phone ringing broke the silence.

Smith pulled his phone out quickly and swore.

"Shit. It's Brindley."

"Who's Brindley?" Ross asked, frowning.

"My boss. Ross, I'm so sorry, but I have to answer. It won't take long, stay right here, okay?"

Ross nodded before Smith was up and walking a distance away from him. Ross looked down at the ground, and licked his lips. He could still feel the brush of Smith's lips on his own. When he looked up, Smith was still on the phone and pacing. Ross felt a burst of guilt in his chest. Had he done something wrong? Had he gotten Smith into trouble? He thought that Smith said that he was off tonight, but what if he had missed work to see him? Fuck, was Ross going to get him fired?

Ross felt his throat closing and he gulped for air. He wanted to move towards Smith and find out what was going on, but no, Smith had told him to stay here. Ross put his head in his hands and tried to control his breathing. It didn't help. Smith was going to get fired because of him and then he would hate him. Ross twisted his shirt in his hands, trying to grasp on to something to keep himself from losing it completely. There was a small voice in his head saying that it's okay, everything is going to be fine, but he couldn't ignore the much louder voice that was screaming at him that nothing was okay.

Ross began to feel dizzy, so he tried to carefully slide off the bench to the grass. He ended up tumbling to the ground where he tried to curl up in a ball and hide.

"That old prick, I'm sorry Ro—Ross? Oh shit, Ross, are you okay?" Smith's voice reached Ross's ears and he felt another twist of guilt that he had horribly fucked this up. Smith sat down in front of him and offered his hand. Ross looked up momentarily before grasping it and holding on tight.

"It's okay, Ross, it's okay," Smith was whispering to him. Ross felt himself shivering even though it was fairly warm outside. Smith scooted closer to him and gently lifted Ross's head off of his arms. "Look at me, Ross. I'm here, it's okay."

Ross opened his eyes and tried to focus on Smith. He looked so worried. "I'm... shit, Smith... I'm sorry," he stuttered out between gasps.

Smith shook his head, "It's fine, Ross, I promise it's fine." Smith pulled Ross closer to him, breathing a sigh of relief when Ross sat more upright in his arms. Smith brought their connected hands to his chest so Ross could feel his steady breaths. They sat there on the ground for what felt to Ross like ages until his breathing calmed back down to normal.

Smith was stroking his hair. Ross breathed out slowly before twisting his body so he sat facing him.

"Are you okay?" Smith asked.

"I think so." His head was pounding and he still felt cold, but his mind wasn't screaming at him anymore.

"Does... Do you have panic attacks a lot?" Smith asked, squeezing Ross's hand.

"Yeah, ever since I was a kid... I'm so sorry, Smith, I ruined your night."

Smith began to protest, but Ross cut him off. "Did you get fired?"

Smith raised his eyebrows. "Fired? No, Brindley was just calling to remind me of my shift tomorrow. As if I'd forget." Ross looked slightly relieved when he spoke, at least he hadn't ruined Smith's job. Smith checked his phone; it was getting late. "Let me drive you home, Ross."

"How will you get back to yours?"

Smith smiled gently. "I'll walk. God knows I could use the exercise."

Ross tried to laugh, but it came out as a tired sigh. Smith stood up, and helped Ross to his feet. "Come on," he said. "I'll let you grade my driving."

When they reached Ross's flat, Smith got out of the car and followed Ross to his door. "Are you going to be okay tonight? I could stay or make sure you fall asleep or something?"

Ross's heart ached. Surely he didn't deserve this. "No, I'll be fine. But thank you. For everything tonight."

Smith smiled and reached out to touch Ross's hand. "I meant what I said, Ross. I really like you. And I would love to see you again."

"Really? After all that?"

Smith nodded and stepped closer to Ross to place a small kiss on his cheek. Ross blushed, but wrapped his arms around Smith in a big hug.

"I'll see you soon, okay?"

Ross smiled as Smith then set off down the street, whistling quietly. He shoved his hands into his pockets as he walked inside, but stopped when he felt something inside his pocket. He dug around and pulled out a gum wrapper, wondering how Smith had managed to put it there without him knowing. It didn't say anything, but had a tiny picture of a heart drawn on the inside.

Credit to bowsandmeows on Ao3