Work Text:
They met by happenstance.
Court was in the middle of driving down a busy LA street when his car began to sputter and lag and struggle. While it was still running, he found a gap on a path and pulled off to the side in order to park somewhere less disruptive to the flow of traffic. Then, he got out and cranked open the hood to examine it's inside, as if he hoped by some miracle an epiphany would strike and he would suddenly know what the Hell he was supposed to be doing.
While he wasn't clueless about cars, he didn't know anywhere near enough to fix one himself without help. Problem was his phone was dead and he had no clue where the nearest garage would be. For a few minutes, he just stared with his hands on his hips, weighing up his options. The only upside to the whole situation was that at least he hadn't been in a rush anywhere or on a mission.
Eventually, he appeared—his saviour.
A blonde man driving passed, paused and rolled down his window, "Need help?"
Court looked at him with defeated eyes, "Yes."
The man parked up as close as he could and approached the car with a box of tools in hand. "Mind If I-"
"Please, go ahead," Court gestured for him to have free reign over his car. Usually he might have been less trusting, but he was sorely out of options and was utterly exhausted.
Silently, the man slipped off his jacket and got to work. He stuck his hands right into the car, clearly not afraid to get a little dirty and clearly someone who knew what they were doing. It was impressive how quickly his demeanour changed. Before he had an uncomfortable, uncertain energy to him, but then the second he touched the car an air of confidence came about. It was oddly attractive. His lean muscles flexed as he tightened something with a wrench and Court almost felt as though he shouldn't be watching him, especially with the way his body was bent over and curved into the car.
It was only when he finally finished working on the car that he explained what the issue was and how he had fixed it. Most of it went over Court's head. Except for the part where he said, the fix was only temporary and so he recommended taking it to a mechanic.
"You know anywhere good to go for that sort of thing?"
He seemed to hesitate before he spoke, "I work for a garage not far from here…"
If anyone else had said it, Court would have thought that they were trying to take advantage of his situation to make some cash. He would have probably said thanks and looked into his options for alternatives. However, Court was good at reading people—the way he spoke wasn't shady or even self-assured, it just sounded genuine.
The man tried to wipe the sweat from his brow by using to crux of his arm to avoid the grease on his hands, but still managed to get some on his forehead. It was cute.
"Perfect," Court smiled, "What's the address?"
He took his car there as soon as it was open the very next day, and an older gentleman with a limp approached him, "How can I help you?"
"One of your mechanics helped me out the other day and said I should come back here."
The man, Court presumed the owner of the establishment, nodded then yelled, "Kid! Customer here for you!"
The 'Kid' popped his head up from a car in the back of the shop and spotted them. "You came."
"I did," Court replied, weirdly self-conscious.
"It should take… an hour or so, so if you want to we can call you when it's ready?"
"I can stick around." It wasn't like he had anything better to do. Watching him work, sounded a lot more fun than anything else he could do.
"Okay."
He didn't talk much as he got to work. This time he was actually taking things out of the car's engine and taking a closer look at them, his face peaceful as he focused on the car.
"So, you got a name?" Court supposed he should have just left him to it, but curiosity got the better of him. Besides, he couldn't keep calling him 'the man' and 'the cute mechanic'.
There was no response for a second, as if he didn't hear the question, then he said, "Yeah."
"What is it?"
"Call me Driver."
"I'm Six," he replied, slightly less uncomfortable using his code name considering he was obviously using one too. Though, Court wasn't sure why he would.
Silence fell back over them and Driver kept working, yet Courtland's curiosity was as strong as ever. Court was a CIA asset and somehow Driver was more mysterious than him. He watched as he swished a toothpick around in his mouth while he poured something into part of the car. A while ago he'd lost track of figuring out what he was doing, so he was really just taking in the view.
"You always liked cars then?" He asked, trying once again to prod a little more, "Or was the name a happy coincidence?"
"Yeah…"
Driver was not giving him an inch.
"I aged out of my name pretty quick," Six joked. Pride rolled over him as he saw Driver crack a genuine smile. His smile was truly a sight to behold, made even more precious by how reserved and quiet he was. Court's mind began running through all the different jokes he could make just to get him to keep smiling like that.
After that, Court would find any excuse to visit the shop. Whether it was a manufactured issue with his car or a real one. With Court behind the wheel, there were bound to be issues. He had the worst luck when it came to driving.
Somehow, despite some of his excuses being flimsier than a piece of paper, Driver didn't seem to notice. Each time he treated it with the upmost seriousness and didn't question him when he was wrong about an issue or even just showed up to ask a basic question that he could have simply looked up. If anything, Driver looked happy to talk to him about cars and how could he deny him that fun?
Who did seem to suspect something was up was his boss, Shannon. Any time he came over to the shop he would yell out, "Kid, your man's here!"
The first time he did it, Six wasn't sure which of them had the stronger reaction. Internally, Court felt as though he had been freaking the Hell out, though he could school his features externally so none of that came across. Driver on the other hand, did respond audibly with a "He's not my man." It wasn't much but coming from Driver, it was massive. Especially when afterwards he turned to Court in order to apologise for it.
Then, he kept apologising each time afterwards until eventually it just was accepted as the routine.
Admittedly, Court liked it.
Shannon would even do it over the phone when Court would call. If he was away on a mission, Court would call in rather than visit for advice on his car. So long as he knew it was safe. He would never put their lives in danger needlessly. It was just sometimes hearing Drivers' voice would help him sleep at night.
Yet, Driver was still blind to his feelings. What had started out as mild curiosity had spiralled into a full fledged crush. It was a bit embarrassing if he was being honest, but that didn't stop him.
Ironically enough it was the day that Driver didn't show up for work that changed thing for them.
Court had grown used to Driver being there any time he went that he had started to get lazy with his excuses. So, when he went in ready with his flimsy reasoning only for Shannon to say he wasn't in that day, he wasn't sure what to do. It would be suspicious if he just left and Shannon would definitely tell Driver about his visit. He was in the middle of contemplating when Shannon went on to ask, "Do you actually have a problem with the car or were you just here to see the kid?"
Even though he knew he had been caught, Court replied, "I don't understand what you mean by that…"
Shannon sighed, "Don't worry, I'm not against it. The kid needs some more people in his life. It'd do him some good. Besides, It's your money you're wasting and my profit, so I'm not about to complain or shoo you away."
"Thank you, sir."
"Just Shannon," he responded, shaking his head. "Look, here's what we can do. I can take the car in, and- You got some way to get home from here, right?"
"Yes."
"The kid will be here tomorrow. You can come pick it up then."
It felt like he was being prepped for some set up before a mission. "Sounds like a plan."
"And, before you go, word of advice." Court paused to listen. "Tell the kid how you feel, don't play around with him, he's not good with people. He won't know shit unless you tell him."
Court nodded once, rigid and quick, "Alright."
"See you around, kid."
"See you tomorrow."
He couldn't sleep that night, which wasn't actually that strange when it came to Six. The difference was rather than struggling with his usual nightmares, paranoia or genuine danger, he was thinking about Driver. Or, more accurately, whether he should tell Driver the truth—about the fake car problems just to see him and the attraction he felt towards him.
The main question plaguing his mind though was: Would it be fair to confess?
Court knew he couldn't stay in LA. Court knew that anyone close to him would be placed in immediate danger. Court knew he wasn't the type of partner people wanted. Knowing all of that, would it be fair to tell him about his feelings without warning him of the danger ahead of time? It wasn't like he could tell Driver everything though. He was sworn to secrecy under threat of death.
And, what if he rejected him?
Driver had become the one bright light that Court had been able to find. He was content with the way things were. If he was rejected, things would become awkward and he'd probably want nothing to do with him afterwards. It would ruin everything. Then, he'd have to find a new mechanic to go too as well…
Maybe what made everything so much stronger and better was that there was no resolution. Maybe the thought that they could be together was enough to satiate his wants without needing to take the risk.
When Court got there the next day, he still didn't see Driver around. For a second he was worried that he'd been lied to and that it was all going to be some sick prank.
"The kid's not happy I worked on your car without him," Shannon explained, amusement in his voice. "He's double-checking 'my work'."
Six didn't respond other than nod. He was worried what his vocal cords were going to do; he was scared they were going to betray him. Shannon didn't comment on it, already used to Driver's silence.
Just as Shannon said, he found Driver with his nose in his car. It was a very familiar sight. "Hey," his voice croaked out, sounding weird and abnormal in his ear.
"Hi," he replied, quietly, "Sorry I wasn't here yesterday."
"It's okay… I have something I want to tell you."
To give Six his full attention, Driver stood up straight and turned to look at him, moving out of the car.
"Driver, I-" Driver stared at him with an open expression, waiting for what he was going to say with no indication that he knew what it was. "I wanted to tell you…" His stomach turned and his heart pounded, even more than it did in life and death scenarios. "Thank you for all the work you've done. On my car."
Even with Shannon from all the way across the room, the feeling of his disappointment was suffocating. It was as though he knew he was too cowardly to follow through.
Driver shrugged, "It's my job."
"Right. I wasn't aware," he joked.
So, nothing changed—they just kept going like usual.
Until, Courtland was ordered to go on a mission and it spiralled so out of control that he couldn't come back. He couldn't even get back in contact to tell him goodbye one last time. As he ran for his life, the very organisation he once worked for having turned against him, he couldn't help but feel relieved that they hadn't got together—that way Lloyd didn't know to use Driver against him.
He disappeared without trace for months. It was only once everything was sorted that he made his way to Driver's garage. When he got there, the doors were closed and there was police tape around the doors. Something terrible had happened.
And, there was no trace of Driver in sight.