A/N: Oh myyyyy. My first James Kelly fic I’m so happy hehe. I spent so much time on this and I hope you enjoy this just as much as me!!
SUMMARY: After your car broke down, you don’t really have a choice but to go to the nearest auto shop you can find. What a surprise to see that a certain James is working there.
WC: 1.2K
WARNING: None for this chapter.
MLST part 1 part 2 part 3 part 4 part 5?
ONE NIGHT STAND
The auto shop wasn’t much to look at.
Its sign was half-lit, one of the bulbs flickering against the gray sky. The garage doors were rusted at the edges, and a battered old truck sat out front like it hadn’t moved in weeks. You hadn’t even noticed the place before today, even though you must’ve walked past it dozens of times. But when your car sputtered out two blocks from your apartment and refused to turn over, no click, no crank, nothing, this place suddenly felt like your only option.
But when you walked inside, the bell ticking at your arrival, you saw the man you least expected to see, hell, you wanted to forget him.
You weren’t supposed to see him again.
That was the unspoken agreement, the deal made somewhere between the second whiskey and the third kiss. A night of heat and nothing more. No last names. No texts. No follow-up.
And yet, there he was.
James.
Standing in the middle of the open garage bay, his shoulders broad under a blue work overall smeared with grease, his sleeves pushed to his elbows. The sunlight caught on his forearms as he leaned over the open hood of a car, one hand steady on the frame, the other wiping a rag across the side of his wrist.
You stopped mid-step. Your breath caught. The engine noise faded into the background like someone hit mute on the world.
He hadn’t seen you yet.
You could leave. You should. But your car died on the side of the road not ten minutes earlier, and the old guy at the front desk had called ahead to this shop for a repair. It was supposed to be just a quick fix. A battery, maybe. A cable.
Not him.
You took a step forward. Gravel crunched under your black boots. His head turned from the car he was working on at the sound.
And then those eyes, the ones you hadn’t been able to forget, locked onto yours.
The world seemed to hold its breath.
For a second, you couldn’t tell if he recognized you. His expression didn’t shift. No smirk. No flicker of embarrassment. Just the same unreadable stare he’d given you that night, right before he kissed you like he didn’t know how to be gentle, like he hadn't eaten in days.
Then his jaw tightened.
He knew.
“Can I help you?” His voice was low. Unchanged. Familiar in a way that made your chest feel like it was cracking open.
You opened your mouth. It took a second for the words to come.
“My car died,” you said. “I called and they sent me here. He said one of his guys would take a look.”
James nodded once, slowly. “You’re the Civic?”
You nodded.
He didn’t say anything else. Just walked past you toward the front office, all calm professionalism. Like you were a stranger. Like he hadn’t pressed you against a hallway wall two months ago and whispered your name into your neck like a confession.
You followed him into the office.
The same old man was waiting behind the desk, cheerful and oblivious. He handed you a clipboard and asked you the usual questions: make, model, last time you had it serviced. You answered mechanically, pen scratching across paper as your ears rang.
Out of the corner of your eye, you could feel James watching you. Not obviously. Not directly. But it was there, the weight of it. The question in his silence.
He whistled low at the battery code and sent one of the younger guys to go pick up your car. “Might be a quick fix,” he said, glancing between you and James. “Unless the starter’s fried.
“I’ll check it,” James said, already turning back toward the garage.
You hesitated. “James—"
He stopped as you left the office to meet him by the counter.
Didn’t look back. Just stood there, spine straight, hands on his hips.
You dropped your voice. “You weren’t gonna say anything?”
He turned then. Slowly. Blue eyes locked on yours, sharper than you remembered.
“I didn't realize it was you.”
“And now that you know?”
A beat.
“I’m still figuring that out.”
There was no heat in his voice. No guilt either. Just that same steady calm, like he never let himself react too fast. That same tension you’d felt after he kissed you the first time, like he was always holding back more than he gave.
You stepped toward him, just a little. Not enough to make a scene. Just enough that the air shifted between you.
“I didn’t think I’d see you again,” you said.
His gaze dropped to your mouth, just for a second. Then back to your eyes.
“We weren't supposed to, didn’t want to explain anything.”
“Why?”
“Because it wasn’t supposed to mean anything.”
The words stung more than they should have. But he didn’t say it like it was cruel. He said it like it had cost him something, too. But that was the engagement you both signed when you shared your kisses.
“And now?” you asked, quietly.
James glanced toward the bay. The clang of tools echoed in the background. His jaw worked once, like he wanted to say something else but didn’t know how.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You want the truth?”
You nodded.
“I didn’t stop thinking about you,” he said. “But I figured you moved on. People like you don’t circle back.”
You blinked. “People like me?”
“People who stick to comfort. I’m not that kind of guy.”
Your heart thudded once. Twice.
“Well,” you said, voice soft but steady, “I guess the universe decided you were for today.”
A faint smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. It didn’t reach his eyes, but it was the closest you’d seen to something real. You don't think he even smiled that night, but the alcohol didn't help.
“You want me to pretend we don’t know each other?” he asked.
You shook your head. “That’s not what I said.”
He didn’t speak for a long second. Then he stepped forward. Close. Close enough that you could smell the soap on his skin beneath the grease and sweat and metal. Close enough to remember exactly how he’d looked above you in the half-light of that one messy night.
“I don’t forget that easily.” he said.
Neither did you.
He didn’t touch you. Not yet. But his hand brushed yours as he passed toward the door.
He walked towards your car, which had been towed into the parking lot. Your heartbeat shattered out of your chest like a hammer.
And this time, he didn’t leave.
TAGS: @haydenchristensenisbae (lmk if you want to be added)
wake me up by evanescense 😍 specifically the like frozen in time part its so AUUUGHH and like the main inspo im using for this fanfic im gonna be writing for ani 😏
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