‘86 Is Our Year
Every day, Liam watches the blonde biker that stops off on the other side of the road. Every day, he reminds himself that he doesn’t have the guts to talk to him. No matter how many times his dad tell him to.
I was asked to write something set in the 80′s with mechanic!Liam and biker!Niall. I thought I’d mention where it’s set, since it may not be totally clear... yeah.
"Ow!" Liam hissed, quickly pulling his hand back from the engine he had been fixing. He inspected his index finger, huffing when he watched the trickle of blood that seeped from the nick in his skin. "Bloody hell," he mumbled, quickly rinsing his finger in the sink before securing a bandaid over the cut. "Fourth one this week."
"Have you cut yourself again?" his father called out from the other side of the garage, his amusement audible.
Liam turned down the radio beside him that had been blasting Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' a little too loudly. "I'm not cut out for this, Dad," he replied with a sigh.
"Sure you are," Geoff chuckled, heading over and patting Liam's back. "You fix an engine faster than any of the others I've hired. Even if you are my biggest safety concern."
Lightly bumping his father's shoulder with his own, Liam half-smiled, "Blood, sweat and tears, and all that."
"Precisely," Geoff laughed, clapping Liam's shoulder before heading back to the other side of the garage.
That was when Liam heard it. That familiar engine rumbling. He glanced out the garage doors to watch a blue and white motorbike pull up at the shop opposite. The rider killed the engine and hopped off the bike, quickly pulling off his helmet and ducking into the newsagent, returning again not two minutes later with his regular purchases; the newspaper, a bottle of coke, a chocolate bar, and a packet of cigarettes. After taking a swig of the coke, he tucked them all into his small backpack, then replaced his helmet and hopped back on his bike before starting up and riding away.
"It's rude to stare."
Liam jumped and turned to see his dad smirking at him for the other side of the garage. "Sorry," he mumbled, blushing.
"Get back to work," Geoff chuckled.
xXx
At the same time the next day, Liam was helping his dad work on their own project, building an engine from scratch, as business was slow. He was searching around for the tool has dad had asked for when the blue and white motorbike stopped across the street.
"Do you know his name?" Geoff asked as he accepted the tool Liam handed him.
"Who?" Liam asked.
Geoff gave his son a look. "The blondie you stare at every day. You know who I meant."
Leaning back against the workbench, Liam shook his head. "No idea."
"Well, you better ask him at some point," Geoff told his son with a slightly amused expression, sitting his tools aside and wiping his hands on a rag.
Liam stuck his hands in the pockets of his blue work overalls. "No, 'm fine," he mumbled, staring down at his feet. "Prob'ly won't like me, anyway." He threw the radio a glare when it started playing Whitney Houston's 'How Will I Know'.
"Looks like Whitney thinks differently," Geoff smirked.
"It doesn't matter," Liam replied, resolutely ignoring the radio and focussing his attention on the engine they were building.
"You should talk to him."
With a small huff, Liam mumbled, "One day."
"Preferably before the turn of the century," Geoff smirked, earning a shove from his son. "I want my boy to be completely settled down by the time the year 2000 arrives."
"Shut up, Dad," Liam whined.
"'Scuse me?"
Liam looked to the front of the shop, his eyes nearly popping out of his head when he saw the blonde motorbike rider standing there.
"Hello, there," Geoff greeted with a friendly smile. "What can we do for you?"
The blonde sighed and glanced across the street. "My bike won't start."
"Say no more," Geoff grinned. "Liam here'll fix you up, no troubles."
"Thanks," the blonde replied gratefully, jogging across the road to wheel his motorbike into the garage.
"Why me?" Liam asked his dad a little helplessly.
Raising his eyebrow, Geoff told his son, "There is no better way to talk to someone than through their interests. He's a biker, you're a mechanic. You have a common interest." Lightly shoving Liam in the direction of the waiting blonde, he added, "I've got some paperwork to deal with."
With one last helpless look at his father, Liam approached the blonde and his bike. "So…" He cleared his throat awkwardly.
"I'm Niall," the blonde introduced, sticking his hand out for Liam to shake.
"Liam," he replied. "Like Dad said. Um… so, what is she?" Liam asked, gesturing to the bike.
"'85 Suzuki GSX-R750," Niall answered proudly. "Never let me down until today."
"She's new," Liam commented, impressed. He knelt beside the bike and checked over the tires. "I'll have to give her engine a look."
"No worries," Niall shrugged. "Long as you can get her working again."
"You know what engine she's got?" Liam asked as he brought over his tool kit.
"Nah," Niall chuckled. "Dunno how they work. I just know that if it goes it's working, and if it doesn't go it's not working."
Liam nodded his head. "Well, let's see what I can do."
xXx
After an hour or so of Niall watching him interestedly and asking about everything he did, Liam stood up with a satisfied nod. "Try and start her."
Niall started up the engine, giving Liam a grin when the familiar rumbling sound filled the shop. "Thanks," he beamed, turning the bike off again. "How much do I owe you?"
Chewing his lip, Liam mumbled, "You could just go on a date with me."
"What was that?" Niall asked, having not heard.
"You could just… um…" Liam blushed, twisting his fingers together as Niall watched him with this cute little frown. "Justgoonadatewithme."
"Slow down," Niall chuckled.
"Just…" Liam blew out a breath. "Go on a date with me?"
A bright smile stretched across Niall's face. "Okay," he nodded.
Liam's eyes widened. "R-really?"
"Yeah, really," Niall laughed. He lightly elbowed Liam's ribs, then pulled his backpack on. "Tomorrow?"
"Sounds great," Liam replied breathlessly.
"I'll pick you up after work," Niall told him. Pressing a quick kiss to Liam's cheek, he hopped on his bike and started it up. "See you tomorrow, Liam."
"See you, Niall." Liam watched Niall flash him a grin and ride away.
"So?" Geoff asked, slinging an arm around Liam's shoulders.
"His name's Niall," Liam explained, shoving his hands in his pockets. "And we've got a date tomorrow."
Patting Liam's back, Geoff grinned, "That's my boy."
xXx
Liam was on his back under a car and singing along to 'Living On A Prayer' when he heard, "You're a good singer."
The automatic reaction to sit up resulted in Liam banging his head on the underside of the car, grumbling as he slid out and rubbed his forehead. He blushed when he saw Niall standing beside him. "Thanks," he half-smiled, checking his fingers for blood.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," Niall chuckled, offering Liam a hand.
"S'fine," Liam shrugged, allowing Niall to help him up off the floor. "Um… just let me change." He hurried off to his dad's little office.
"Niall's here, then," Geoff smirked, watching Liam quickly changing out of his overalls.
"Yeah." Rubbing his forehead, Liam asked sheepishly, "Have you got any pain killers? I hit my head."
Handing his son a small box, Geoff commented, "Again."
"Shut up," Liam mumbled, swallowing one of the tablets in the box and handing it back to his dad. "I dunno when I'll be back, but I'll try not to be too late."
"Alright. Just be careful if you're out when it's dark," Geoff warned.
"Will do," Liam nodded, straightening himself out before heading back into the shop.
"Ready?" Niall asked brightly.
"Yeah," Liam breathed out, giving Niall a smile. "Where do you want to go?"
Niall laughed a little. "Well, you asked me out, so I thought you might choose."
Blushing slightly, Liam suggested, "We could go see a movie? That new David Bowie one's just out."
"Sounds great," Niall grinned. He handed Liam a helmet. "Let's go, then."
xXx
"It was a bit weird," Niall commented as they walked out of the cinema, "but I think I liked it."
"You think you liked it?" Liam chuckled.
"Well, David Bowie." Niall shrugged, sending Liam a grin and taking his hand. "Did you like it?"
"Yeah," Liam nodded, unable to fight the smile on his face with Niall holding his hand. "It was pretty funny."
"Yeah." Swinging their hands, Niall giggled, "Just thinking what I'll tell my dad when I get home. 'I went and saw Labyrinth with that hot guy from the garage, and I think I spent more time watching him instead of David Bowie in tights.'"
Feeling his cheeks turn pink, Liam asked, "You did?"
"'Course I did," Niall chuckled. "I'm not gonna spend the afternoon with you and not look at you. I've spent enough time looking from a distance, I think I deserve some closer observation."
"How close?" Liam asked, glancing to Niall out of the corner of his eye.
"How close can I get?" Niall asked impishly. He beamed when Liam smiled wider. "I guess we better get you back to your dad," he chuckled as they reached his bike.
"Yeah, probably," Liam nodded. He hopped on the bike behind Niall, holding onto the blonde's shoulders as they started on their way.
It wasn't long before Niall was pulling up outside the garage, where Geoff was just closing up. "So, see you another time?" Niall asked over his shoulder, watching Liam climb off the bike.
"Yeah, definitely," Liam smiled. He held the helmet out for Niall to take, but the blonde shook his head.
"Hang onto it," Niall suggested. "You'll be the next one to use it." Flashing Liam one last grin, he revved his bike's engine and rode off down the street.
"So," Geoff smirked, slinging an arm around Liam's shoulders, "how was it?"
"Fantastic," Liam sighed. He poked his dad in the side when he raised his eyebrows suggestively at him. "Shut up."