Illya (redperilatdawn) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2019-06-24 19:25:00 |
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Gaby twirled Illya's keys around her finger as she waited for him to join her. Once again, she'd suggested that he pick up his car towards the end of the day when Tim had gone home and there were no other clients that would be on their way to bother or pester her. Clint's truck was - once again - in the garage but that was okay; she'd fix it up in a couple of days and hopefully then she would be able to finally let him leave her parking lot without worrying that the wheels would fall off or something equally Loony-Tunes.
And, perhaps, if she had changed out of her overalls and put her hair back in something slightly tidier than the usual messy bun, and if she had made sure that she had no grease stains on her arms, or the fitted blue t-shirt and jeans she was wearing, it should be considered entirely coincidental.
To say the Russian was bad at expressing interest would be an understatement. He didn't understand it but he was drawn to the feisty brunette with a penchant for being able to repair his car despite what "mysterious damage" it incurred.
It would be much easier to simply ask her out for a drink but simple wasn't exactly Illya's speed as apparently he liked things complicated and needlessly so. Perhaps part of it stemmed from the fact he was poor at expressing himself in ways that others found easy, Napoleon being a prime example of that, he could flirt with ease whereas Illya? Definitely could not.
Plus he was in America at the bequest of the Mother Country so he really had no idea how much time he had which might explain some of his reticence.
As always he was punctual to a point and he showed up at the time they'd agreed, greeting her with a curt nod and a slight smile.
Gaby twirled his car keys around her finger again and held them out as Illya approached, pushing off from where she had been leaning against the reception desk to meet him somewhere in the middle. They lay flat on her palm, waiting to be picked up as she tilted her head to look up at him, a small smile playing on her lips.
"Perhaps you can take better care of her this time?"
Illya eyed that smile warily as he thought there might be more to it than a simple suggestion in regards to taking better care of his car but still he reached out for his keys. "It is not my fault that cars in America are not sturdy." Only it totally was, but the less said about that the better.
Gaby's eyebrow lifted, curling her hand around the keys just before he could take them from her, dropping her fist to clasp her wrist behind her back with the fingers of her other hand.
"The damage most recently," she told him, "was most definitely not a malfunction." She rocked back on her heels, thinking about her conversation with Michael, the conversation she'd had with her brother about the man who kept breaking his car to come and see her and took a breath. "If you wanted to see me more often, it would be a lot cheaper for you to just ask."
Illya's eyebrow lifted in response to her keeping his keys from him and also calling him out on what he'd been doing in regards to his car. It would seem he'd been rumbled and he could act as though he had no idea what she was talking about but he suspected that he would not be believed.
"Fine," he murmured as he pressed his lips into a thin line. "Perhaps you are right." He clasped his hands behind his back and steepled his thumbs together as he tipped his head, blue gaze finding Gaby's. "Would you go out for a drink with me?"
Gaby lifted her lips into a small smile that became a pleased little grin. "I would," she told him as she met his eyes, watching the way his shirt tugged over his arms as he placed his hands behind his back, "not say no," she continued.
Tipping her head, she glanced down at herself, and then at him, holding the keys out once more for him to take. "Are you free now?"
Illya regarded the keys once more before with a slow breath out he reached out to finally collect the keys. "I am as luck would have it. I assume you are too given your question?" He tipped his head with the smallest of smiles gracing his lips.
Gaby's little grin eased into a smaller smile as she nodded her head. "I am," she told him, moving away to pick up her bag from behind the counter and the keys for the shop. "I just need to lock up."
Illya watched her closely before giving a small nod of his head. "I will wait for you outside, by my newly repaired car." She might have suggested that he get to know her better without destroying his vehicle but it seemed only fair that he drive them to wherever they might go for their drink.
The Russian lingered for a moment longer before he turned and headed in the direction of his car.