morning routine.

Carey felt a jolt to the bed and sleepily lifted her head to peek to the foot of where she had peacefully been sleeping. Tia was standing there and she fell onto the bed heavily having already been up for a few hours. She tapped her ears to gesture for Carey to put in her hearing aids and Carey groaned as she fell back to her pillow groaning,

“I swear to fucking god if I wake up just to listen to you sing ‘Call Me Maybe’ I’m taking Emery in the divorce.” Tia laughed warmly and just grinned down at her girlfriend with sparkling eyes.

read more at: Way Down We Go.

Way Down We Go IV.

Summary: Lip Gallagher has made a lot of mistakes these past few years and almost all of them had been while drunk. Now he’s got a new sponsor after a particularly harsh relapse and is looking for a fresh start. But everyone has their pitfalls and working in a garage of recovering addicts has its perks- and its pitfalls. Maybe this will be easier and maybe Lip will have to be put through the ringer once again only this time- he’ll have to do it sober. SPOILERS FOR s8. Canon divergent. 

Part One. | Part Two. | Part Three.

Tia watched Lip and Carey work on a roadster, the two of them laughing and joking around. She could see the way Lip was stealing glances at Carey while she worked on this or that and the sound of her laughter was beginning to irk Tia. Not because she disliked Carey’s laugh but because she wasn’t the one causing it. Lip and Carey were getting close to work on a particular area of the bike, practically on top of one another, and Tia was gripping a pencil so tight it snapped in half just as Emery, another mechanic, came up to the counter to sign in.

“Whoa, something wrong, Tia?” he asked in mild concern earning the blonde attention albeit briefly. Tia blinked her large eyes and dropped the half of the pencil she was still holding while asking,

“No, why would anything be wrong?” Emery arched a brow and simply picked up each half of the pencil and showed them to her with a knowing smirk. He heard Carey soft laugh and turned to see the brunette wearing a large crooked smile and shaking her head while a guy he didn’t recognize grinned boyishly and leaned into Carey. He glanced back at Tia to see his friend’s eyes burning into Carey’s back. Carey must have felt it because she turned slowly to look at them and Emery slowly wiggled his fingers earning a warm smile and subtle wave before the blond boy stole her attention again. “Well, I hate him,” Emery said leaning on the counter in front of Tia and watching the two thoughtfully. Tia looked at Emery and rolled her eyes before pulling up the timeclock all the mechanics logged into before and after their shifts.

“You don’t even know him how can you hate him?” Tia asked while plugging in Emery’s ID code and logging him into the system. Emery watched her and corrected one of the number absently before she hit enter and she corrected the code before logging him in. Emery smoothed a hand through his shaggy her and looked back over to Carey and this new guy.

“Don’t know, you hate him and I’ve come to learn you as a pretty good judge of character,” he commented absently and Tia gave him a scoff,

“Didn’t stop you from fucking Eddie now did it?” Emery made a face and looked at Tia.

“Below the belt, love, way below the belt. I was young and impressionable,” he argued and Tia rolled her eyes while passing him a clipboard with a list of inventory he was to check while she reminded clients of appointments and called in for new parts for a few others.

“It was three months ago, Em,” she reminded and Emery straightened while looking over the inventory thoughtfully. He nodded and smiled cheekily at Tia while adding,

“And I’ve grown so much since then.” Tia cracked a smile and laughed softly under her breath earning a grin from Emery. Emery had joined the crew about a year ago and had been closer to Carey than to Tia but he still had this innate ability to make anyone smile when he wanted to. Emery winked at Tia and she threw a rag at him while he blew her a kiss and ducked around the inventory shelves. Tia giggled softly to herself before looking over to Lip and Carey. Carey was watching her and the brunette smiled stiffly before turning to finish the bike.

Carey turned to Lip and asked him to get her a part for the engine, saying that whoever was back there would be able to help him find it if he got turned around. Emery was still back there doing everything except inventory. He was fooling around on his phone while propped up against the back wall, hidden by the shelves in case Tia or JD came looking for him and he could pretend to be busy. Lip found him mid-Candy Crush and nearly fell backwards when he rounded the corner and spotted the greasemonkey loitering omniously. Emery glanced up and nodded briefly in greeting before returning to his game, “Give ya a start, mate?” he asked distractedly while Lip began to relax. The wavy haired male wore the same uniform as Carey and the others so he obviously worked here- or stole a shirt from someone which wasn’t entirely ridiculous. Emery pocketed his phone after beating another level of his game and gestured for the work order Lip might have. Lip gave him a dumbfounded look, “Tia give you a work order for the part you need?” he asked a tad bit impatiently and Lip shifted under those icy eyes. He looked back the way he had come and scratched his jaw saying,

“No uh Carey sent me back here for an ignition circuit breaker.” Emery dropped his hand and moved towards Lip who remained where he was, blocking the aisle from the taller male. Emery paused and dropped his head before lifting a hand while making a shooing motion making Lip take a few steps back out of the aisle he had been in and into the main aisle between the parts section of the garage. Emery stepped in front of Lip and went down towards the back of the garage, pushing his long brown hair out of his face while sighing, tilting his head up to look around the shelves. 

“Make and year?” he asked glancing over to Lip who started in behind him.

“‘99 Scrambler,” Lip replied peeking over Emery’s shoulder while he rifled through some parts hanging on the wall and then peeking in the boxes beneath. He was mumbling the makes and years off while rifling through the boxes making Lip’s head swim. He had a head for numbers and engineering but the sheer number of types of bikes in the area was a bit daunting. He had drank all his life and he was just hoping he was as smart sober as he had been day drunk. Of course, he hadn’t done so remarkably well in college that first year. Still, he was here now and he wanted to make JD proud. 

“Here ya go,” Emery said holding a small package over his shoulder for Lip to grab. The blond did so and looked at it thoughtfully, working it out in his head. “Hey uh, after work the girls and I usually go for burgers at Patsy’s. Wanna tag along?” Emery asked slowly but gaining confidence as he turned to look down at Lip. There’s wasn’t a big height difference between the two, two inches maybe, but it was enough to have Lip a bit on edge. He had never been very tall. 

“Uh yeah okay, my sister works there maybe you met her? Fiona?” he asked and Emery grinned as he nodded.

“Yeah sure she runs the place now, right? She’s cool, gave Carey some food to go once because she down on her luck. Hardass though, runs the place like a business and not a charity. Which is hey good and all don’t get me wrong, I love her,” Emery said while scratching under his chin and then sighing softly. “JD sometimes comes too so you won’t be at a complete loss, I’m Emery,” he finally introduced himself and offered a hand which Lip took gratefully and shook firmly.

“Lip,” he said and Emery blinked while muttering,

“You Americans and your weird as fuck names, Jesus.” Lip chuckled and Emery gestured him back towards Carey. “Go on, get outta here, help Carey finish up. If anyone asks I am very busy doing inventory,” he said looking at Lip seriously and Lip smiled crookedly as he nodded and gave a mock salute. Emery nodded and patted Lip’s shoulder before the other man headed back just in time to see Carey talking to Tia.

the scooby gang.

Emery was googling the “haunted cemetery” there in Chicago that was supposed to be somewhere in the outskirts of civilization. Why Carey had insisted they spend her birthday freezing their asses off in some old abandoned necropolis was beyond- probably everyone. Emery was reading off the history of the burial grounds and mapping their route to the outskirts of Chicago where Bachelor’s Cemetery was supposed to be when Tia walked in from the hall into Carey’s bedroom where everyone was in nothing but a towel. Carey didn’t seem to notice Emery had suddenly gone mute as he looked up and caught sight of the dirty blonde in a towel. Lip hadn’t seemed to notice much either but he did pause briefly before Carey spoke,

“Think we could camp there?” She pushed her glasses up onto her head, “Like nearby or something?” That snapped Emery out of his daze.

“Camp at the cemetery?”

Read more : Way Down We Go.

Lip: tia's mad at me and i'm unclear as to why

JD: were you talking to her?

Lip: well yeah

JD: that's probably why

photo taken by: an unimpressed Carey.

a message from our sponsor.

alright everybody, pumpkin here, i am having a time with posting this fanfic. i moved it then lost the email because i’m an idiot so am having to repost it a third time but i am not going to be reposting all the tag dumps so at least there’s that. it’ll be a minute before the full navigation is up and i may not get to that part until later. still updating the theme and all that ( gotta put up the muse icons and such ) so bare with me, please. I will be updating this fanfic once I finish with the theme and post some of the aesthetic/images from the previous blog. feel free to unfollow the previous blog and everyone can reach me here for the rest of this adventure. so super sorry everyone i know it’s all be a pain getting everything moved and situated but this should be the last time. thanks for your patience and hopefully your continued support of way down we go.

Way Down We Go III.

Summary: Lip Gallagher has made a lot of mistakes these past few years and almost all of them had been while drunk. Now he’s got a new sponsor after a particularly harsh relapse and is looking for a fresh start. But everyone has their pitfalls and working in a garage of recovering addicts has its perks- and its pitfalls. Maybe this will be easier and maybe Lip will have to be put through the ringer once again only this time- he’ll have to do it sober. SPOILERS FOR s8. Canon divergent.

Part One. || Part Two.

warning: hella long. oops.

JD leaned on the table that was between him and Lip and turned his head to look after Tia, jutting a thumb in the direction she had gone while looking back at Lip saying, “She’s a firecracker. Been runnin the place for a little over two years now. Be lost without her.” He leaned back on his elbows and Lip looked at him curiously then after Tia slowly asking,

“You and her- are you like…a thing?” JD watched him as he puzzled through how to ask and then broke out into a wide amused laugh and toothy grin.

“Shit kid, she could be my daughter!” JD laughed shaking his head and then giving a full body shudder, “Jesus no. No she uh just needed a little help and I offered a hand, she’s- she’s family,” he explained after calming down and folding his hands in front of him. Lip nodded and smiled as he scratched his chin thoughtfully before turning back to his paperwork. JD had the typical mechanic look, Lip noticed. He had a five o’clock shadow, salt n’ pepper, and thick dark hair styled back out of his face but could easily hang in his deep set almost black eyes if he ever forgot to style it. He was muscled but not bulky, the build of a man used to working for a living and who knew his way around an engine or heavy machinery. Lip wouldn’t be surprised if he found out JD used to work construction or some such before the garage the way he handled himself. HIs tanned skin looked darker under the dim lighting of the back room and JD lifted a hand slightly while flexing his fingers in a gesture towards the paperwork Lip was finishing up. Lip slid them over. Dark coffee colored eyes read through every line almost dismissively as if he had already made up his mind and Lip leaned forward against the table himself waiting for whatever JD was going to say next.

“So, Tia and Carey,” he started and JD didn’t look up or make a noise so Lip went on, “they the only girls that work here?” he asked and JD shook his head subtly.

“No there’s Eddie,” he said flipping to the last few pages absently. “She’s off today. She and Tia butt heads a lot so I try to keep em separate. Eddie gets in her head she’s better at the books than Tia so - doesn’t go over too well, y’know?” JD dropped the useless papers to the table with a boyish grin that made him look much younger. “When can ya start?” he asked and Lip smiled back as he sat up straighter.

“Yeah, uh, whenever I got no where to be,” he chuckled dryly and smoothed his hands along his thighs while JD stood.

“How about now?” JD asked with that same grin that had Lip feeling right at home as he, too, stood. The blond blinked and looked into the garage then up at JD who was quite a bit taller than he was.

“Right now? Don’t I need like- training or some shit?” he asked scratched his cheek absently and the older man shrugged it off, guiding Lip back into the garage where all the mechanics were busy are replacing this or revving that or oiling this. Carey was off to the side from most of them working on a rather older looking model, pieces parts laid out on the bench beside her while she worked. JD turned Lip towards her.

“No training like doing,” he joked as he pushed Lip towards Carey raising his voice to try and get the deaf girl’s attention, “Carey! CAREY!” Carey finally looked up with a start dropping her wrench and she quickly retrieved it before looking back at JD. “Hey Lip’s all squared away with paperwork so mind helping him out awhile? Show him the ropes, teach him the stuff?” JD called shrugging his shoulders and bobbing his head side to side absently. Carey smiled lightly at JD’s gesturing and nodded before looking at Lip and waving him over. While Lip made his way to her, she looked back at JD.

“He pass the background check?” Lip hoped she was joking and JD grinned all white teeth and dark mirthful eyes as he said,

“Did as well as you.” Carey flipped JD off with a smile while biting her bottom lip, a childish grimace of wry amusement. JD shook his head and moved off to do whatever it was JD did here and Lip looked after him before turning to Carey. She was a little shorter than him and pretty small; he couldn’t tell if it was muscle or just genetic, though. Carey pointed to the bike with her wrench and gave him the year and the model of the bike before explaining, in layman’s terms, what she was doing to it. Lip followed along relatively well while she showed him the parts she was cleaning and what she was cleaning them with and then moved on to show him how some of the parts were removed either for cleaning or replacing. Lip couldn’t help but find Carey rather attractive in those few hours while they talked. She would explain something and if he asked a question that might be considered stupid she never let on. Carey would just answer it to the best of her ability and show him, if she could, what she was talking about. She never laughed at him unless he made a joke and then she’d crack a smile and give him this amused look, her eyes seeming brighter when she smiled- clearer maybe.

“So uh is everyone here an alcoholic?” Lip asked while watch Carey putting some parts back together on the bike. Carey glanced at him and then around the garage to see who all was there. There was Mike who was working on a Harley, tall and rather stocky but not necessarily bulky or big. Lou was working on a roadster and putting on new tires, his beard banded together at the bottom to keep it from getting caught anywhere and his bald head covered with a bandanna. And last but not least there was Paul who was putting wheels on rims for the incoming appointments and making sure they had everything for the few bikes who would be coming in for new tires. His tanned skin was dry and creased with age but he was still a stronger kind of fella if only out of spirit. Paul was by far the oldest mechanic here at the garage but he and JD went way back to the opening of the place so JD liked having him around. Lip looked around too wondering if all these men had struggled with alcohol like he and JD had and how Lip still was. If alcohol was still a problem for JD he did a great job hiding it. The blond looked back at Carey when she sighed softly and shrugged her shoulders up, her lips in a thin pensive line.

“Uh some of em yeah, most of us are all, y’know, ex somethings- exjunkies or alcoholics but I mean,” she tilted her head to one side and then the other thoughtfully, “you gotta have some kinda dependency, y’know? So some of the mechanics like Mike over there and Hank who isn’t in and Donnie? They’re what we call snow angels, they never used or had a problem drinking or with anything really. Pure as a snow angel,” she explained with a soft smile. Lip nodded slowly and looked back at the three other men working in the garage then over to Tia. He jerked his chin in her direction and Carey looked up and over, too.

“What about her? What’s her story?” he asked looking back at Carey hoping she had heard. She seemed to have heard because she dropped her eyes and shrugged lightly with a soft clearing of her throat.

“I don’t know, I mean, I do but um it’s not really- my story to tell, y’know?” she said almost apologetically with a soft frown. Lip nodded in understand and leaned against the bench behind him as he asked Carey what her story was. He jumped when the bench he was leaning on gave a loud screech and jolted back under his weight and he quickly straightened. He had been putting on a little weight since he quit drinking but he didn’t think it was that much. Maybe he was wrong. He’d have to run more. Maybe hit the gym at Kev’s for a bit every so often. Keep in shape. Carey snickered when the bench gave way a bit under the added side weight and quickly turned to hide her amusement but Lip saw it and couldn’t help but smile himself. “Yeah, yeah, laugh it up,” he teased daring to lightly elbow the female. Carey grinned wider showing off her slightly big teeth.

“Um I don’t- really have a story it’s more like- a series of unfortunate events,” she explained slowly and Lip nodded but continued to wait for her to explain, instead she turned the question on him making him tense. So this was what it was like to be under the radar. To have all eyes on you. And really the only one looking was Carey and she didn’t seem to be the judgmental type. Those mossy eyes watched him in an absent sort of way. A curious sort of absence where it was somewhat clear she did, in fact, care enough to listen but not so much so that her entire opinion of him hinged on what he said next.

“I uh, well I’ve been drinking since I was ten. Y’know I mean, my parents are kinda shitty rolemodels and thought if their kids drank with them then, hey, family bonding,” Lip admitted looking at his feet while Carey went back to the bike in some semblance of privacy but he wondered if she could really still hear him. He was close enough, he figured, to be heard without the whole garage hearing too. “Anyway, in college it uh got real bad. I mean over the years it became kinda like- this coping mechanism. Had a bad day, drink. Had a really awesome day, party. That sorta thing,” Carey nodded in complete understanding. That was how it always started. Socially then next thing you knew you were all alone near dead from overdoing it and not a soul in the world had even heard you scream.

“How long you been sober?” she asked looking at him at last. Lip pulled a hand over his mouth, dropping his head to look at his work boots while breathing a nervous laugh followed by a deep clearing of his throat. Carey continued to watch him. Tilting her head to try and catch his eye, Lip finally looked her in the eye and he knew he couldn’t ever bullshit her. Not with that look of complete and utter understanding.

“Not long enough,” he admitted before sighing and adding, “Three months, two weeks, four days.” Carey smiled lightly and absently nodded while turning back to the bike.

“Rehab pregnancy,” she said and Lip gave her a curious look.

“What?” he asked with a breathy and uncertain laugh. Carey’s pale cheeks colored just barely but Lip noticed as she shifted her feet and avoided his look.

“Nine months,” she explained, “I uh I call it the rehab baby period, y’know. Cuz pregnancy is nine months. It’s the shittiest period of rehab like pregnancy without the glow it’s just- nine months of morning sickness, cravings, and body aches,” she explained and Lip blinked. He never thought of it like that before. Carey finished up the bike and started wiping the grease and muck off the steel.

“That’s uh actually kinda neat,” he said and Carey shrugged.

“When you’ve been through it three times it’s just- a fuckin pain,” she commented looking at Lip and shrugging a shoulder up while looking around the garage. “Hopefully you don’t have to do it more than once.” Lip didn’t mention his first month in rehab where he hadn’t even tried to stay sober and instead made even more excuses to drink and tried to outsmart his addiction with his own smartass ways. It had been stupid and he didn’t think Carey needed to know how stupid Lip could really be.

Part Four.

Way Down We Go II.

Summary: Lip Gallagher has made a lot of mistakes these past few years and almost all of them had been while drunk. Now he’s got a new sponsor after a particularly harsh relapse and is looking for a fresh start. But everyone has their pitfalls and working in a garage of recovering addicts has its perks- and its pitfalls. Maybe this will be easier and maybe Lip will have to be put through the ringer once again only this time- he’ll have to do it sober. SPOILERS FOR s8. Canon divergent.

Part One.

Lip looked at his phone while filling out the paperwork in the back of the garage. Carey and JD had left him to fill everything out while they worked and talked and he had been back here for what felt like hours. Questions about insurance and health problems had him hesitating. He didn’t have insurance and his alcoholism- would that be a medical problem? If it was, hopefully it wouldn’t be considered a chronic problem.

There was a shuffle of parts and Lip looked up to see the dirty blonde woman who had shunned him when he came in. She was looking at the labels of various parts looking for the one she needed when she noticed Lip watching her. She had large blue-green eyes that reminded Lip of pictures he had seen of tropical oceans. That perfect balance of sky blue and spring green. Tapping his pen against the table, Lip wet his lips and bit his lower lip trying to remember words.

“Lip,” he said using the pen to gesture to himself. The woman made a disinterested look of understanding with a raise of her brows and poor attempt at a smile. The silence between them was impregnable and Lip had never felt at such a disadvantage with women before but it was like he was new to women entirely. He didn’t know what to say or how to even go about getting this chick’s name. “You uh- you got a name?” he asked a bit stiffly feeling the annoyance of having been so easily brushed aside like he was nothing. The woman spared him a glance and nodded before looking back at the parts and writing something down. “Okay…you gonna tell me or should I guess?” he asked and the woman rolled her eyes with a subtle shake of her head and Lip leaned back in his chair, running his hand over his mouth with a heavy frustrated sigh. “Okay uh, Sam? No. How about Julie? Tiffany? Brittany? Fucking Cher?” he asked in annoyance and that earned a soft smile as those sea colored found him. Lip smiled back and leaned forward on the table to watch her as she dropped her head back with a soft sigh of resignation. Looking back at Lip, he arched his brows curiously and nodded for her to go on and tell him.

“Tia,” she said in a soft and yet powerful voice. She was certain and confident and that just made her glow. Lip tested the name on his lips and nodded with that boyish smile that got him so many numbers in high school but didn’t do him any good in college. Except with Helene but that was a road he figured he probably shouldn’t go down. Drumming his fingers on the table, Tia noticed the paperwork in front of him and took a few steps closer to grab the papers to see what he had done and still had to do. “No insurance?” she asked while flipping through the few answers Lip had given. He shook his head with a soft, “No,” and Tia nodded absently. “JD doesn’t consider addiction as a medical problem, I only mention it cuz some of the other guys asked if their past addiction issues would count against them. I mean, some people consider it like- a mental illness or whatever but here we don’t count it so unless you have shit lungs or HIV you should be gold,” she said handing him the papers back. Taking them, Lip looked at the pages and then Tia with a softer smile and weak nod of affirmation.

“Yeah okay uh thanks.”

“You gonna stick around?” she asked suddenly earning his attention again. He had been going back to the paperwork when she sprung the question on him. Watery blues glanced behind her towards the garage before finding her standing in front of him at the other end of the table once more.

“Uh,” he started lightly flicking his pen between his fingers nervously, “Hope so.” Tia crossed her arms around the clipboard she was holding and tilted her head at him. Throwing a glance over her shoulder, Lip took a moment to admire just how strong those arms of hers looked. Jesus, he thought swallowing thickly wondering how tone her legs were but not risking the glance under the table to find out. It was summer so more girls were in tanks and short shorts. Carey wore shorts and a tank under her work shirt from what he had seen and Tia now wore a somewhat greasy white tank that had, at one point, probably been whiter and some kind of jeans but her legs vanished behind the table.

“We just lost Vince, he was a good guy. Had a kid, y’know? Hard worker, funny as fuck honestly. JD was really close to him- found him drugged outta his mind on the L almost lost his fucking leg but some hobos pulled him off the track,” she said in a cold and matter-of-fact way despite the widening of Lip’s eyes and the brief breathy, “Shit,” he let slip between his lips while she spoke. Looking at her and finding that intensity trained on him had him squirming. Her full pouted lips were anything but inviting as she stared him down. “Don’t finish that paperwork unless you’re done and I mean fuckin done, alright? JD may take your calls at two in the fuckin morning but I won’t have JD coming in for you drunk or high or whatever ass because your hungover or jonesing or whatever is your deal, I don’t care, don’t bring it in here.” Lip frowned a bit but found himself nodding slowly as she leaned forward a bit near the end to make sure he was listening. He was starting to wonder what he was getting himself into and if he was really in this much need of a distraction. Sure sobriety was hard but he wasn’t sure he was ready for everyone breathing down his neck about it everyday either. It was bad enough he had to go to AA like three times a week now this chick wants to scold him about some other junkie’s problem? “You hear me?” she asked a bit harsher and Lip gave a light start when she dropped the clipboard to the table leaning in dangerously. “JD may think you’re fine and good to go or whatever but I’ve seen five guys taken outta here drunk and high and generally fucked. Some lose fingers operating the tools and equipment while hammered, some get their ass handed to them for pushing the wrong buttons on the wrong dude, I won’t put up with a sixth you get me?”

“Jesus, fuck, yes I get it. I get it, I won’t- I won’t make your life anymore fuckin harder than it already is, princess,” Lip said exasperatedly as he leaned back away from her with an annoyed grimace. Tia looked like she had more to say, in fact, as soon as the word princess left his mouth he regretted it when a fire burned ever brighter in those large eyes. JD walked in and looked between them and Tia straightened while collecting her clipboard like she hadn’t been putting the fear of God in Lip. Lip watched her astonished as she looked at JD with a warm almost childlike smile and left. JD watched her leave and then looked at Lip who slumped visibly and sighed, “What a fuckin welcome wagon.” JD chuckled and crossed his arms as he joked,

“Gotta get you on some kinda wagon, right?” Lip spared a weak and crooked smile with a scoff of agreement before JD pulled a chair up across from him and sat to help him with the paperwork.

Part Three.

Way Down We Go.

Summary: Lip Gallagher has made a lot of mistakes these past few years and almost all of them had been while drunk. Now he’s got a new sponsor after a particularly harsh relapse and is looking for a fresh start. But everyone has their pitfalls and working in a garage of recovering addicts has its perks- and its pitfalls. Maybe this will be easier and maybe Lip will have to be put through the ringer once again only this time- he’ll have to do it sober. SPOILERS FOR s8. Canon divergent.

It had been about a month since Lip started going back to AA after his two month stint in rehab. He wanted to do it right this time. Really take in everything that was said and the tools people had found that worked best. While in AA he met another recovering alcoholic named James Dean, yeah like the famous greaser- looked like him too if you asked Lip-, but he went by JD. Now, JD had been sober for over a year and owned a garage here in south side that worked on bikes mostly but here and there they got he occasional oldsmobile or hot rod as some of the mechanics were true craftsmen. JD had offered Lip a job after their last meeting the week before and decided he would help the younger male out as a sort-of sponsor if he wanted one. After some talking and chatting between meetings over the next few days, Lip went to AA as often as he could especially when everyone at home still drank and Debs had Franny and Ian was working on things with Trevor and dealing with Mickey being gone, so he had quite a few chats with the older man.

JD seemed cool. Lip didn’t know his whole story but it was like everyone else in their AA groups did. JD had this father-like quality where he spoke with such gruff concern and offhanded encouragement it was like he really took these addicts in as his friends and cared about them. Lip got the impression JD might use kid-gloves with him but the old grease monkey was anything but kid-gloved. He would snap a sarcastic comment whenever someone got too whiny or complained about something that wasn’t worth worrying over, including Lip whenever he brought up stuff going on at home. JD had a way of getting Lip to talk when they were alone but there was this sort of familiar look in JD’s dark eyes. The same kind of tiredness and heaviness Lip had noticed in his own eyes lately.

Today was the day JD decided to enlist Lip’s help in his shop, test the waters to see if it’s something he’d enjoy or could manage while staying sober. JD shrugged deeper into his flannel and looked around the garage where a few beefy and muscled guys worked with brief and gruff greetings while the two made their way through the garage. JD was pointing out this and that and explaining how things work around the garage absently and Lip looked around taking everything in. It was all a little overwhelming but the smell of metal and oil and grease really made him feel rather at home. It was a small garage with room for maybe four bikes and some work table in the back. Pieces parts were to the right in the back hanging from and laid out on shelves beside the little counter where a dirty blonde woman stood plugging in what he assumed were sales numbers and checking stock. She gave them the briefest of glances and Lip smirked charmingly despite himself only to be subtly but effectively rejected when she rolled her eyes and turned back to the computer.

“Carebear!” JD’s voice caught Lip’s attention and he turned his gaze to where JD was moving towards a rather short brunette. She had wild and thick dark hair and the foggiest green eyes. She didn’t look high but she looked like she was miles away as she looked between JD and Lip. JD waved her over to them and Lip looked over a bit absently. Her hair was clearly unbrushed and when she reached up to tousle it absently and flip it to the other side of her face he figured maybe it had been brushed previously and she just- fucked it up. JD smiled at her and looked at Lip, “Lip this is Carey, finest mechanic in south side. If its got a fuckin engine and on wheels, then Carey here can probably rebuild and fix it,” JD explained smiling at Carey who wore a stiff and nervous smile while her head bobbed. She looked a little- uncomfortable? Lip smiled in what he hoped was a warm and friendly manner while JD stepped up beside Carey, scratching his cheek and adding, “Now Care here is a little hard-a-hearin so if you do wind up getting in a bind, throw somethin at her.” He winked at Carey who rose her brows and smiled a bit more genuinely, her head bobbing in assent before looking up at JD and then finally regarding Lip with those faded jades.

“You working here now?” she asked fiddling with her work shirt that had the garage’s name and her name on either side. Lip looked at JD with a quirked brow and a dumb drawl of,

“Um..?” JD smiled encouraging and shrugged waiting for Lip to make the decision and Lip smiled with a nervous chuckle. “Fuck it, yeah I think I am. Looks cool.” Carey smiled a bit brighter and JD grinned as he nodded and rubbed his hand over his mouth thoughtfully.

“He needs paperwork, bossman,” Carey reminded and JD nodded before telling Lip to wait and heading over to the woman behind the counter. Carey watched them by the counter and then looked up at Lip. Lip was watching her a bit, taking her in thoughtfully. She was pretty in the rough kind of way. She definitely would know her way around south side if her rough appearance was any indication. She had soft and pale skin and a fire in those distant hazy eyes. Carey nodded slowly and shrugged her shoulders up tensely, “Anyway yeah uh I’ll probably be on shift with you a lot, Jimmy is the other mechanic that works with newbies but he’s on vacation this week. Somethin about war buddies hittin Cancun,” she said with a heavy shrug and looking at her feet. Lip smiled with a breathy chuckle and nod as he joked,

“Well then let me apologize in advance. I’m gonna be a fuckin pain in the ass.” Carey smiled lightly and looked over to the counter then back at Lip but it was long enough for Lip to notice something behind her ears. “Fuck, you- sorry, you um, you really are deaf….” Carey looked at him and cracked a genuine crooked grin that Lip couldn’t but grin back at. She was rather kind of beautiful when she grinned like that. She nodded and scratched her head knotting up her thick hair as she mumbled,

“Yeah a little bit.”

Part Two.