Routine Maintenance [IC]

[Gizmo]

Trevor Hunter sauntered slowly down the rows of vehicles housed beneath his family estate in the grand series of subterranean chambers known as the Midnight Manor. Smoothed stone walls and floors mingled with elements of hardwood and marble in the cool dimness to create a unique atmosphere about the lean young man, dressed in a plain white t-shirt and faded jeans he didn't mind getting dirty.

He'd arrived back from Chicago the evening before, his head feeling cleared after the long trip there and back, but the solitude of the road had only emphasized how much he'd missed seeing Erin over the holidays. Tuning up another of the extensive vehicle pool his grandfather had acquired over his time as the original Midnight seemed as good an excuse as any to remedy that. Now it was simply a matter of choosing one. Struck by a sudden thought, he made his way over to familiar old limousine, running his hand over the grill as he pulled the tarp from its roof.

[Electra]

Erin kept one eye on the road as she sped up to North Bay in her shiny blue just-washed truck, and her other eye on the houses she passed. She rarely ever actually drove in this area, and it was easy to forget just how wealthy Trevor's family was. This was definitely mansion country, each one bigger than the last. She even recognized a few of them, places that Doctor Atom had sent her, on another world, to collect various security components or necessary parts for his machines. She'd never been to the Midnight Manor in that world, thanks to Doctor Atom's totally legitimate concern that Midnight would've installed booby traps that needed no electricity or maintenance to function, but she was familiar with the neighborhood.

As she drove through the chilly white and gray world, she reflected briefly on how glad she was that it was finally January. The holidays were over for another year, and she'd come through quite well, all things considered. Maybe one of these years she wouldn't feel compelled to hole up by herself all through Christmas break, but she wasn't setting her hopes unreasonably high just yet. She'd missed Trevor most of all during her self-imposed solitude. The idea of spending time with him and with his cars both seemed just about perfect. Pulling into the long driveway, she parked in front of the house and went around the side to the door that led into the garage, then rang the bell.

[Gizmo]

There was the sound of heavy pneumatics working within the garage for a few moments before the side door opened, spilling yellow fluorescent light into the snowy grey walkway. Erin had a moment to observe the classic limo rising up from below the floor on a broad platform before Trevor wrapped one arm around her waist and pulled her inside and leaned down to kiss her, his thin lips warm against the lingering winter chill. Breaking away after a long moment, the young man's cheeks coloured slightly with soot hued blood as he offered her a small grin. "Sorry. Been waiting to do that for a while."

[Electra]

Erin was a bit startled at the effusive greeting, but did no more than widen her eyes in surprise before kissing him back. "Missed you too," she told him with a grin, taking a moment to lean into him and enjoy the unique feel and smell and sight that was Trevor. It had been too long. "I'm so glad the holidays are done and everything is back to normal now. Even if Freedom City is way colder than Seattle ever was." Her eyes brightened as she caught sight of the limo. "Are we working on that today?" she asked, sounding very pleased.

[Gizmo]

Trevor glanced over his shoulder as the elevated platform slid into place level with the garage floor, locking with a solid noise. "Seemed apropos," he confirmed. The car was indeed the same one they'd taken to the charity dinner several month previous. It had already been restored to working condition, unlike many of the vehicles in the chambers below, but could certainly still use the work.

Looking back around, he gave Erin a more somber look. "Is everything... are you alright?" he asked slowly. He'd done his best to give her the space she needed during the season, but it had been a hard thing to do, knowing how difficult a time it was for her.

[Electra]

Erin let out a long breath, her cheeks coloring slightly. "Yeah, I'm okay," she told him. "I did pretty well this year, actually. Better than in other years. I went out and worked at a homeless shelter instead of sitting in my room on Christmas, and that helped. Having Oliver around helped. Just... just having another year behind me helped. It still kind of sucked overall, yeah, but it was better." Stepping up to the car, she ran a light hand over the smooth black hood, and a ghost of the smile returned. "So, just a tune-up?"

[Gizmo]

As she stepped over the the car, Trevor let out a quiet breath of relief. On one hand, he'd known that it was going to be a difficult time for Erin regardless, and feeling like she had to keep up a strong front with him around only would have made things worse. On the other, rationalizing the need and accepting it on a gut level were two separate things, at least when it came to the auburn haired young woman. "Mmn. Some of the cars down there need a lot of work. Figured this would be fun."

[Electra]

"Oh, it will," Erin assured him with a chuckle, letting loose of any dregs of holiday melancholy. "And all the rest of them will give us something to do this summer besides job hunting." She opened the car and climbed into the driver's seat, enjoying just sitting in it for a moment under the pretext of looking for the hood release. She suspected that a car this age probably wouldn't have one inside the cabin, but no harm in checking. Sticking her head out the window, she asked Trevor, "Hey, you remember that PADLOC dance? That was fun."

[Gizmo]

Trevor moved around to the side of the limo, resting one arm on its roof as he leaned forward, the corner of his mouth turning upward. "Seem to remember something about that, yes," he replied, his usually immaculate deadpan marred by a touch of wry playfulness he would have censored out of his voice around anyone else. "Thought working on this one might be... nostalgic? Romantic?" He shrugged slightly, looking upward awkwardly, though the smile didn't entirely leave his face.

[Electra]

"Yeah," Erin agreed, at either or both suggestions. "And also really cool." Trevor opened the hood, and they got down to business, standing in front of the car with studious looks as mechanically-minded people have been doing since the invention of front-engine cars. "It's easier to understand these old cars," Erin decided. "Not everything is hidden under the manifold like it is in modern cars. Oil change first?" she asked, going to the well-stocked wall of supplies for the oil pan and tools. While she was there, she put on a pair of mechanic's coveralls that happened to be handy, since she couldn't very well afford to be getting oil all over her clothes.

[Gizmo]

"Good place to start," Trevor agreed, moving to the other side of the garage to retrieve a handful of rags and discarded cloths which looked vaguely out of place in the opulent stylings of the decades old mansion. Picking up a well used mechanic's creeper and placing it under one arm, the young man turned around as Erin was putting on the coveralls, pausing in midstep, blinking a few time before finishing shifting his weight to the advancing foot and pausing again. Saying nothing, he allowed a slightly goofy smile to pull at one side of his mouth as he moved back to the limo and prepared to slide underneath.

[Electra]

Properly attired, Erin joined him on the floor of the garage, grabbing her own creeper and sliding under alongside him, so that all that was visible from the outside was their shins and shoes. She listened carefully as Trevor pointed out the various details of the engine, how they were similar to and different from the engines she was used to. It was interesting, almost absorbing enough that she didn't notice their close proximity in a confined space, but not quite. Luckily, tight spaces did not bother her. She slid out to grab the tools they needed, and they got to work.

[Gizmo]

In the midst of pointing out a component on the limo's underside and gesturing to illustrate how the equivalent mechanism would be different on a more modern vehicle, Trevor paused abruptly. "...blast. Enough light under here? Didn't even think," he grumbled, fishing around with the hand closer to Erin for a flashlight. Odd though his secondary mutation had been at first, it was surprisingly easy to forget that he was seeing the world differently than most people. "Should have raised it on the lift... Dumb, sorry."

[Electra]

"And here I just thought you liked crawling under cars with me," Erin joked. She dug a penlight out of the toolbox and passed it to him, then slid back under the car herself. "I can see well enough, but maybe after the oil change, we can put it up on the lift." She already had a smudge of oil across one pale cheek, and more on her hands. "I should've brought those glasses along. I keep them on me when I'm patrolling these days, they're really handy."

[Gizmo]

"Well... yes," Trevor admitted matter-of-factly, propping himself up on one elbow as much as the undercarriage of the vehicle would allow. "Basically my entire, cunning plan. Just didn't think it through." Accepting the penlight in one hand, he reached over to gently wipe the spot of oil from her cheek with the other, belatedly realizing that his hands weren't any cleaner. "Heh. Glad they're working," he told her, biting back on a chuckle. "Ah, little something on... yeah."

[Electra]

"Oh, thanks." By the time Erin had wiped her cheek with her hand as well, the smudge had spread to cover most of her cheek. "I kind of don't think that helped," she admitted ruefully, looking at her dirty hands. Using one of the rags instead helped clean a little off, at least. "So..." she finally asked, as casually as she could, "how were your holidays? Did you have a good time? Have you used the stuff I got you yet?" She knew it wasn't polite to ask, but she and Trevor didn't stand much on politeness anyway.

[Gizmo]

"Holidays were fine," Trevor assured her, lying back down on his creeper with his hands resting beneath his head. "Gramps and I don't do much, celebration-wise. Or ceremony. Or decorations. Um." To himself, the young man had to admit that he'd been a bit at loose ends, not really in the mood for tinkering or studying, although he'd at least kept himself occupied with physical training. "Wore the gloves on the ride up to Mr. Lumins' wedding and back. He and the missus say hello, by the way."

[Electra]

"Huh," Erin commented with a half smile. "I barely knew him, he must have a good memory. Doctor Marquez told me I should probably avoid taking his class because we wouldn't be able to see eye to eye on most things. It was just an elective, so I didn't. Everybody who took the class got to go up into space, and that was pretty cool, but Alex said she thought that Marquez was right about the not getting along thing. He's a really nice guy, and I hear his wife is too, he's just got a weird philosophy. How was the drive out?"

[Gizmo]

"Mmn," Trevor agreed in a soft murmur, looking over at Erin. "Had a chance to work with Miss-- Mrs. Lumins once. Both very... 'up' people. Not excitable, just... positive. Hrm." Shaking his head slightly in resigned incomprehension, he turned his attention back to Erin's question. "Ride was good. Quiet. Good chance to clear my head, out of the city. Little long," he admitted, moving his shoulders in as much of a shrug as the confined space would comfortably allow. "Stopped a service station robbery, helped fix an ambulance on the way up; helped break things up a bit."

[Electra]

"Sounds like a good trip," Erin agreed. They worked in companionable near-silence for awhile, with Erin occasionally asking a question about the work, or Trevor asking for a tool or pointing out a trick. That was comfortable for both of them, more comfortable than making small talk or discussing movies or music that neither of them knew anything about. The oil change itself didn't take that long, even on a classic car. When it was done, Erin carefully drove it onto the lift while Trevor raised it up so they could get a better look. It didn't get a lot of driving, but Trevor was meticulous with its maintenance anyway, and between them, they gave it a full fifty-point inspection.

[Gizmo]

Trevor wiped his hands absently on his pants, giving the car a last look as he ran through a mental checklist. With his usual single-mindedness, he hadn't been particular careful about keeping himself clean, leaving grease stains along his forearms up past his elbows and his old white t-shirt a mess. "Y'know," he began, satisfied with the vehicle's tune up and turning to Erin, "could probably use that weekend with the teleporter to visit space. If you still wanted to."

[Electra]

Erin thought about that for a moment, looking at him with a half-smile playing around the edges of her lips. "Visiting space would be cool," she acknowledged, "but I'm not sure I'd want to spend a weekend up there. It's pretty cold, I hear, and I don't think I could hold my breath long enough." She went over to the garage sink and washed her hands, then her face, finally removing the last smears of oil from her cheek. Her coverall had not fared as well, testifying to her own wisdom in putting it on. "That rebreather thing you made me for underwater was really useful, but I don't know that I'd want to wear something like that for that long, either. You don't have a spaceship down in the basement, do you?" Somehow, Erin wouldn't have been totally surprised.

[Gizmo]

Trevor sauntered over after Erin, leaning against the wall until she was done with the sink. "Night Saucer needs a lot more than a tune-up," he admitted, crossing his arms, only muddling the dark black smears on this pale arms. "Hasn't been space-worthy for... fifty years? Ugh. Get to it some day." Shaking his head and letting out a long breath, he let one side of his mouth turn upward. "Was thinking space station. League has one, at least; could call in a favour."

[Electra]

"You can get us onto the Lighthouse?" Erin asked, looking impressed almost in spite of herself. Trevor still had hidden depths of resourcefulness. Of course, his grandfather had been an anchor of the original Liberty League, so Midnight II was sort of a legacy to the Freedom League himself, whether or not he ever actually joined up. "That would be really amazing," she told him. "I had this brief phase as a little kid when I wanted to be an astronaut, back before I knew how much science and math was involved. That sort of passed, but getting to see the earth from space..."

[Gizmo]

Trevor shrugged as he moved over to use the sink himself. "Shouldn't be a problem. Usually only one or two members there for monitor duty anyway. Long as we promise to keep an eye on things..." Luckily his grandfather still did the occasional bit of consulting for the Freedom League, enough to rake up a few favours, and Young Freedom as a group had done enough to earn a significant degree of professional respect in their own right, youth not withstanding. "Should be nice," he agreed with his usual gift for understatement, drying off with a handy rag before giving Erin a wry look. "Worried I'd used up all my good idea on your birthday."