:: reddie but eddie is a mechanic
“What’s the damage?”
Went addressed the pair of legs sticking out from under his car. Instead of answering, Eddie rolled out from under the car, wiping his grease-stained forehead with the back of his arm. He jumped to his feet, quickly wiping his hands on his dirty overalls.
“You were right. There’s a problem with the brakes. There’s not much I can do about it here but if you bring it into the shop, I’ll have a look at it.”
“Thanks, Eddie,” Went sighed in relief, clapping the mechanic on the shoulder, “I’m glad Richie recommended you. I’d have had a look at it myself but my knees aren’t what they used to be.”
“It’s fine. I wish he was more like you. If Richie gets a problem with his car, he just sells it and buys a new one.”
Went laughed, “yeah, he takes after his mom.”
“Are my ears burning?” The man himself entered his parents’ garage nursing a steaming mug of cocoa. Eddie rolled his eyes fondly, wiping his hands on the dirty cloth he’d draped over his shoulder.
“I was just telling your dad…”
Richie didn’t hear the rest of Eddie’s sentence; he was too busy staring at his best friend. He’d never seen Eddie in his work outfit before. His overalls were stained with motor oil and grease, his hair was slicked back with a mixture of grime and sweat, there was all manner of filth smudged onto his cheeks and hands. Eddie looked positively filthy and Richie was suddenly finding it difficult to breathe.
“Why are you wearing that?” He blurted out, somewhat high-pitched, as he gestured vaguely at Eddie’s uniform. Richie avoided looking at his dad, knowing full well he was grinning at him.
“What do you expect, Rich? You can hardly expect him to wear one of fancy suits when he’s working on my car!”
“Yeah but it’s so…dirty.”
Richie didn’t like the way his dad was grinning at him, not that the look of complete confusion Eddie was giving him was much better. Was he blushing? He hoped not. Eventually, Eddie just sighed and said something about a shower before leaving Richie and his dad alone in the garage. Went just smiled, rubbing his shoulder sympathetically as he passed.
-
Eddie was about halfway through his shift the following day when he noticed a familiar face in his auto shop. Richie was sitting in his dad’s car, playing a game on his phone as he waited. He resisted the urge to smile as he approached.
“Hey, Rich.”
Richie looked up and was greeted with the sight of Eddie in dirty overalls, like he hadn’t spent all last night thinking about it. He stood up so fast he almost hit his head on his dad’s car.
“Hey, Eds. I…brought my dad’s car in.”
Eddie nodded, looking over the vehicle, “okay, well, I was about to go to lunch. I’ll leave it with one of my colleagues and we can head out-”
“No!” Eddie, who had been about to leave to change out of his work clothes, stopped dead, staring at his friend as if he’d gone mad. Richie rubbed the back of his neck, smiling innocently, “I mean, I can wait. While you work on the car. I don’t mind.”
Eddie stared at him, an unreadable expression on his face. Richie held his breath for what felt like an age before Eddie shrugged, “okay, if you’re sure. It makes no difference to me.”
Richie just about managed not to exhale deeply in relief. Eddie made a show of rolling his sleeves to his elbows, feeling Richie’s eyes on him as he did so. He popped the hood of the car and leaned over, fiddling with things Richie didn’t understand or care about. He was too busy eyeing how Eddie’s overalls seemed to fit him extremely well. He couldn’t help but stare when Eddie reached for a wrench from his back pocket. Richie quickly looked away, suddenly feeling very hot.
“You know,” Eddie said, his head still buried in the engine of Went’s car, “I’m starting to feel like one of those car wash bikini girls.”
Richie frowned, “huh?”
“You can at least try to be a little bit subtle,” Eddie looked over his shoulder, smirking at his friend, “I’m at work.”
Now Richie knew he was blushing. He nervously pushed his glasses up his nose, “fuck, you noticed…”
“Yeah, dumbass, I noticed,” Eddie was smirking as he retrieved his creeper, setting it on the floor, “so, what is it, Rich?” He laid down, rolling underneath the car and set to work, “the dirt? The uniform? Or have you been watching too much porn?”
“Give me a break, alright?” Richie muttered, placing his foot on the creeper and dragging Eddie out, “it’s not anything, okay? It’s just…a weird thing…”
“You have a manual labour kink.” Eddie was smirking smugly, twirling his wrench triumphantly. Richie sighed irritably, stuffing his hands in his pockets.
“No, you idiot, I have a you kink,” that wiped the smirk off of Eddie’s face. Richie just shrugged, “now get up here, for fuck’s sake.”
He helped pull Eddie to his feet and, not wanting to waste anymore time, planted an eager kiss on his lips. Eddie giggled, pulling away and wiping at Richie’s face.
“I’m gonna get oil on you.”
Richie just held him tighter, grinning like an idiot, “oh yeah, baby, talk dirty to me.”
Eddie rolled his eyes but still kissed him again, ignoring the sniggering of his co-workers. It was worth it.
😍❤️