ACTING UP 2
part 2 part 3 @xrag-dollx
pre-asylum!kit x singlemother!reader
summary: you and jaylene stop by the garage just to see kit, and what starts as a quick visit turns into something softer — warmer. watching him with her makes one thing clear: this is becoming more than just a habit.
warnings: light flirting, domestic slowburn, gentle pining, cheek kisses, 1960s setting.
rules! m.list
friday afternoons were starting to feel different.
the car wasn’t making any noises anymore. it hadn’t all week. still, you found yourself turning down the familiar road, tires crunching over gravel like they belonged there.
you’d been doing this for the past week now.
little excuses. quick stops. “just in the area.”
jaylene had noticed.
and today, finally, she’d been bouncing in her seat the entire ride from school.
“you promised,” she reminded you for the fourth time, backpack sliding off one shoulder.
“i know,” you laughed softly. “i promised.”
as soon as you pulled up in front of the garage, she didn’t even wait for the engine to fully die.
the door flew open.
her bag stayed forgotten on the seat.
“jaylene—” you started, but it was too late.
“mister kit!” she yelled, voice bright enough to carry through the open garage.
inside, kit was halfway under the hood of a dark sedan, wrench in hand. he glanced over his shoulder at the sound, a second too slow.
because jaylene was already sprinting.
she launched herself at him without hesitation, small arms wrapping tight around his middle.
he staggered back a step, surprised breath leaving him in a half-laugh.
“whoa— hey, hey—”
his gloved hands hovered awkwardly in the air above her shoulders, grease dark and thick against the leather. he didn’t dare touch her with them.
“hold on, peanut,” he murmured, amused and flustered all at once.
he carefully slipped one glove off with his teeth, then the other, tossing them onto the workbench before finally wrapping his arms around her properly.
you reached them just as he steadied himself.
“jaylene,” you sighed, though there was no real bite to it. “we talked about running.”
kit glanced up at you over the top of her head, eyes warm despite the smudge of oil across his cheek.
“..sorry, kit,” you added softly. “she wanted to surprise you —had me promise today i’d bring her.”
he shook his head a little.
“don’t apologize,” he said. “s’probably the best part of my day.”
jaylene beamed against him like she’d just won something important.
“i didn’t even fall,” she announced proudly.
“yeah,” kit agreed seriously. “but i almost did.”
she giggled.
he set her back down carefully, crouching so he was eye level with her.
“school treat ya alright?” he asked.
she nodded quickly. “i told my teacher you fix cars.”
he raised his brows slightly. “oh yeah?”
“i said you fix everything.”
that made something flicker across his face. soft. almost shy.
“well,” he cleared his throat, glancing briefly at you before looking back at her. “i try.”
jaylene turned, suddenly remembering. “i forgot my bag!”
she spun and ran back toward the car.
you watched her go, then looked at kit.
for a moment, it was just the two of you.
“sorry,” you said again, quieter this time. “we’re becoming a bit of a habit.”
his lips curved faintly.
“i ain’t complainin’,” he replied.
a beat passed.
“car runnin’ okay?” he added, and there was the tease — just barely there.
you tilted your head. “perfectly fine.”
“mhmm.” he leaned back against the car he’d been working on. “funny how that keeps happenin’ right around three in the afternoon.”
you tried not to smile.
“maybe it likes the scenery.”
“garage ain’t much to look at.”
“i wasn’t talking about the garage.”
that hung there.
his jaw shifted slightly, like he wasn’t sure what to do with that.
before he could answer, jaylene came back dragging her bag, dropping it dramatically near the tool bench.
“can i help today?” she asked.
kit glanced at you first.
always you first.
you nodded once.
“only if ‘mister kit’ says it’s okay.”
he crouched again, resting his forearms on his knees.
“you know the rules,” he told her gently. “no touchin’ nothin’ sharp, no standin’ under the car, and if i say back up, you back up. deal?”
she held out her pinky.
he blinked at it for a second like he’d never been presented with something so serious.
then he hooked his pinky with hers.
“deal.”
you watched them like that — a kind mechanic and your little girl, pinkies locked in promise.
something warm and terrifying settled in your chest.
kit stood and grabbed a small wooden crate, setting it beside the car.
“there,” he said. “so you can see.”
jaylene climbed up proudly.
he handed her a flashlight.
“you hold that steady, alright? aim it where i tell ya.”
she nodded like she’d just been sworn into office.
kit slid back under the hood, voice drifting up calmly as he explained what he was doing in the simplest terms possible.
you leaned against the side of your own car, arms folded loosely, watching.
the sun dipped lower. the air smelled like oil and warm pavement.
jaylene laughed at something he muttered from under the hood.
kit’s voice softened automatically when he spoke to her.
and you realized — this wasn’t just kindness anymore.
this was comfort.
after a while, he stepped back, wiping his hands on a clean rag.
“that’s enough for today, i think.”
jaylene hopped down immediately and wrapped her arms around his leg this time, careful of the grease.
long story short jaylene didn’t want to leave.
she stalled the way children do — tying and retying her shoes, asking unnecessary questions, dragging her bag across the gravel like she might accidentally forget how to walk.
“you gotta let the man close up eventually,” you said gently.
“i can help close,” she insisted.
kit laughed softly under his breath as he locked the hood of the car he’d been working on.
“don’t think the boss’d like that much,” he said.
“you’re the boss,” she replied matter-of-factly.
he blinked at that, then looked at you like he wasn’t sure how to respond.
“she’s decided a lot of things for you lately,” you teased.
“yeah, well,” he shrugged lightly, “she’s got strong opinions.”
jaylene beamed.
eventually, with enough coaxing, she climbed into the car. you buckled her in, brushing her hair back from her face.
“say goodbye.”
“bye mister kit!” she called out the window.
“bye, peanut,” he replied, lifting a hand.
you shut her door gently.
but you didn’t get in right away.
kit was standing a few steps away, wiping his hands again even though they were already clean. it was nervous energy. you’d started noticing that.
“she looks forward to this all week,” you said.
he glanced at the car, then back at you.
“yeah?”
“yeah.”
his throat shifted slightly when he swallowed.
“i don’t mind,” he said quietly. “i mean… if it ain’t too much.”
“it’s not.”
a small breeze passed between you. the garage was quieter now, late afternoon light stretching long shadows across the concrete.
you stepped a little closer without thinking.
“i appreciate it,” you added. “you being good to her.”
his brows pulled together just a little, like that idea confused him.
“ain’t hard,” he said. “she’s a good kid.”
you smiled. “still.”
he shifted his weight, hands sliding into the back pockets of his jeans. he looked down briefly before meeting your eyes again.
“you don’t gotta thank me every time,” he murmured.
“i know.”
a pause.
neither of you moved.
there was something different in the air today. not dramatic. not loud.
he cleared his throat softly.
“you uh… you comin’ by next week?”
the way he asked it — casual on the surface, but careful underneath — made your chest tighten.
“if we’re not bothering you.”
“you ain’t,” he said immediately.
too quickly.
he seemed to realize it, then added softer, “i mean… you’re not.”
your hand brushed against his forearm as you shifted your weight.
completely accidental.
but neither of you pulled away right away.
he looked down at where you were touching him.
then back at you.
your heart beat a little louder than it should have.
“kit,” you said softly.
he hummed, barely above a whisper.
you weren’t even sure what you meant to say.
instead, you stepped in closer.
close enough to smell the faint trace of soap beneath the oil.
close enough to see the tiny scar near his eyebrow.
and before you could overthink it—
you leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek.
just barely there.
light.
warm.
quick.
you pulled back almost immediately.
his entire body went still.
like you’d flipped a switch.
his hand twitched at his side, like he almost reached for you but stopped himself.
he blinked once. twice.
“that—” he started, then stopped.
you felt heat rise to your face.
“for being good to her,” you said quietly.
his eyes were darker now. softer. something new there.
“you don’t gotta pay me in that,” he said, voice lower than before.
“wasn’t paying you.”
a tiny, almost shy smile tugged at his mouth.
“really?”
“yeah.”
he glanced toward the car, making sure jaylene wasn’t watching. then he looked back at you.
his hand lifted slightly.
hovered.
then, very gently, he brushed a loose strand of hair away from your face.
his knuckles barely grazed your temple.
“drive safe,” he murmured.
but this time it didn’t feel like a simple goodbye.
you stepped back slowly. he watched you go.
you then opened the car door.
as you pulled away, you looked in the mirror again.
he was still standing there.
only this time—
his fingers came up and touched the spot on his cheek where you’d kissed him.
like he wasn’t quite sure it had happened.
