Feeling Close (Bishop Losa x Reader) [One-shot]
Premise: After Bishop notices you watching him, he approaches you to find out why.
Can be read as gender neutral!reader, but if I end up writing a part 2 to this, that may not stay the same.
Warnings: none
After Bishop clocked you for the fifth day in a row watching him as he exited his house in the morning, riding past you on his motorcycle, he decided it was time to meet his new neighbor and allay any fears he thought you might have.
He returned home early to catch you. His timing was perfect. Pulling up alongside your mailbox as you stepped out of your car, he killed the engine and pulled the helmet off his head, leaving it on the seat.
You eyed him warily but didn’t scurry away into the house as he approached. Slipping off his sunglasses, he offered a wide smile, his dark eyes warm.
“Hello,” he said. He extended his hand. “I’m Bishop Losa.”
You took his hand and shook it firmly, introducing yourself curtly.
“I noticed you’ve been watching me,” he continued. “If you have any questions, I can answer them.”
Gnawing on your bottom lip, you sighed quietly and admitted, “I wasn’t really watching you.”
He frowned, the mustache making it seem deeper than it was. “You were looking at me.”
“I was looking at the bike.”
Bishop’s eyebrows arched in surprise. Laughing, he stood aside, gesturing at the motorcycle. “Would you like to have a look?”
After a moment’s hesitation, you nodded. You followed Bishop down the sloped driveway and stopped beside the Harley. You gaze raked over its curves, the deep metallic green of its engine. You wanted to touch it but held yourself back.
“You ride?” Bishop asked.
“No.”
“An admirer, then?”
Gnawing on your lip again, you slowly shook your head. “It reminds me of my dad. He used to have one of these. Not this one exactly, obviously.”
“Used to?”
“It killed him.”
Bishop felt like kicking himself. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
“It’s okay. Happened a long time ago before I could even try to learn to ride.” A sad smile pulled on your lips. “I don’t think he would’ve let me, but maybe…” You shrugged. “Sometimes I think it would help me feel closer to him. He loved being out on it.”
Suddenly, you glanced aside at him, sheepish laughter spilling out of you. “I’m sorry. I’m talking too much. You have a great bike. Green’s my favorite color.”
You stepped back, intending to head into the house. Something in Bishop clenched deep in his chest as he watched your gaze flit back to the Harley.
“Would you like a ride?” he asked.
You stopped in your tracks. “Really?”
“Yeah. We could do a circuit around the neighborhood or something longer, if you’d like.”
You hesitated, your desire to ride the bike struggling with the wariness of going anywhere alone with a stranger.
Desire won out.
“Okay,” you answered.
~~
Bishop drove to a place that overlooked the city. You clung tightly to him, arms wrapped around his waist. The helmet he had retrieved from his house kept your hair from flying in the wind too much.
Your heart pounded with exhilaration as you felt the power of the Harley thrumming beneath you. The air whipped around you, missing your face thanks to Bishop’s back.
On straight stretches of road, he let one hand drop to hang beside him, the tips of his fingers brushing your shin. Each touch sent a jolt through you, compounded by the elation you felt at finally being on a bike for the first time. You almost wanted him to push the bike faster, to really feel her moving, but you weren't sure he could hear you over the throaty roar of the engine. Nor did it matter. You were enjoying it nevertheless.
Bishop eased the Harley to a stop on the high hill and killed the engine, giving you both a rest. You loosened your grip on him but held on, dizzy from the adrenaline surging through you. He laughed as he looked at your happily bewildered face in his side-view mirror.
“Nothing quite like it, right?”
You shook your head, failing to find words. Looking away from him, you gazed down through the smoggy air at the city. Sunset streaked the sky in orange and red, purple trailing after them as night slowly unfurled on the desert. A cool breeze kicked up the hair around your face, tickling your flushed skin.
Bishop realized he was staring, arrested by the way the light limned your face in gold. The excitement on your face faded, replaced by mild sadness tinged with nostalgia. He wanted to make you smile but didn’t know how.
“Thank you,” you murmured, glancing at his reflection.
“You’re welcome, sweetheart,” he said, the word slipping out before he could catch it.
You rested your head against his back, watching the sun set. Bishop’s hand rested beside your shin. His fingers slowly touched your skin, stayed there. Unconsciously, you shifted your leg, allowing the contact to be firmer. Bishop struggled to keep his heartrate under control. Since when was he a young buck unable to keep his hormones from running away from him?
The sun dipped behind the horizon, a sharp wind sweeping up over the hill. You shivered as the chill swept right into your bones.
Bishop, his hand coming up to tighten your arms around his waist, kicked back the kickstand and drove you home.
~~
Dismounting, you unclipped the helmet off your head and handed it back to him. “Thanks again,” you said. “Truly.”
“I’m happy to please,” he said, smiling. “Did it help?”
You thought about it for a moment. “I think so. But I think if I knew how to ride by myself, that would be the closest I could get to him.”
A thought struck Bishop. He hesitated, unsure why he was so keen on pleasing you. No, not unsure. He knew why. After all these years of intentional bachelorhood, he hadn’t realized how lonely he was until the idea of getting to know you better made his heart leap.
“Would you like to learn?” he asked.
You laughed in disbelief. “I’ve already imposed too much—”
“Not at all. I’d be happy to teach you.”
You gaped at him. Stumbling to find words, you managed to say, “You’re too kind.”
“I’m free Saturday morning.”
“Okay, yeah, sure.” You smiled nervously even as excitement rippled through you.
An answering ripple coursed through Bishop. “Great. I’ll see you then.”
He watched you disappear into your house. Laughing aloud and shaking his head at his own giddiness, he eased the bike up the street into the adjacent driveway of his own home.
Saturday couldn’t come soon enough.