"Hello." Michael was on his phone, texting Gabriel to try and negotiate with him to watch Raphael and not let Lucifer do it, when the owner of this charming place came out. He sent the message and slipped his phone away, smiling at the man. "My car died a couple of miles back and kicking it isn't helping. My phone can't sustain a long call to my AA services, I'm down to 10% battery so... here I am."
He would have had more battery but he had to be on the phone for work calls, then his brothers, then his business partners, then his stupid brothers again. And the signal out here was absolute ass.
"You fix cars, right?" He assumed so, based on the place and the state of things. "I'll pay you handsomely if you can get mine working by tonight. Whatever you're thinking, handsome? Double it."
That was a whole lot of handsome right there. Being paid handsomely already sounded farfetched, being called handsome by a guy, much less a guy like that? Yeah, Bobby's eyebrows went up to where his hat was and seemed to want to stay there. "I can have a crack at it. I'm guessin' you left it on the side of the road? Can't be leavin' it there overnight, the vultures will be all over that."
Especially with the kind of car he assumed a guy like that had. "I'm gonna go and tow it. Do you wanna come with?"
He turned before the guy could answer, opening the backdoor again to yell out. "MATTY! Come down here!"
"Yes, it's about twenty minutes back that way. I did put the steering lock on but I'm not confident my tyres will survive the night." So yeah, he would appreciate a tow or something. When the man yelled, he pulled a face and took a step back, assuming Matty was his son or something. Guy his age, looking like that? Probably a nice wife and kids, voted republican and played country music. Maybe he should watch the flirting but he could never really control himself.
A sullen teen came down the stairs - oh. More diverse than he expected the family to be, definitely latino.
"What's up?" Matty looked away from Bobby and at the guy waiting in the shop. "Huh. Shiny shoes. I bet those won't stay shiny for long around here."
"You ain't supposed to be talkin' like that about folk, Matty. Mind your manners." There, great parenting moment. "I'm gonna go out with the truck to tow a broken down car. I'll lock up and you ain't lettin' anyone in while I'm gone, you hear me?"
He owed John, the paranoid son of a bitch, that much. Always keeping an eye on his sons. "Keep an eye on Sammy. Dinner's when I'm back, so don't fill up on junk. And let your brother finish his homework! Wouldn't hurt you to do some studyin' neither."
Definitely done his duty here. He grabbed his keys and turned to the city guy, flashing him a smile. All right, no. He just kind of gave him a nod while his lips quirked a miniscule amount and headed for the door. "I ain't gonna make you promises on how fast I can fix it, but I'm gonna get your car here safe and sound, no issue."
He headed out the door, holding it for him, and then walked over to his trusty - and rusty - truck. "Rare we get any of your kind this far out. Got that accent and everythin'."
"I'll let the nerd finish his study session. And I got this, I'll keep an eye on things!" Matty yelled after him, proud that he was left in charge as he watched Bobby and the weird guy for a second before walking back inside.
Michael walked up to the rusty truck and eyed it up with great dismay. Well, wasn't that just a piece of shit. And it was even worse inside. There was random crap everywhere, drinks cups and trash, all manner of tools in the back. It smelled like hot plastic and metal - probably because of the shitty weather. Not that he was planning to remove any layers.
"I'm driving to pick up one of my brothers and this was the fastest route. I don't usually come out to your parts either. I tend to like to have everything I need near my apartment, you know? If I can't get a massage and a good brand of whiskey within five minutes, it's hell on Earth." Michael wasn't ashamed of how city-living he was. He could afford it and he liked it.
He did up his seatbelt and braced himself, looking at the redneck next to him. Not a bad looking guy but the hat was filthy. Couldn't he afford a new one? "I'm glad you like the accent. Remind me to whisper beautiful little Britisms in your ear when I need a discount."
And then he winked. Well. His survival instincts are garbage apparently. Hopefully he could pass himself off as just European.
Bobby felt his face grow hot, as it tended to when he got flirted with blatantly enough that he realised what was happening. Hadn't occurred that often throughout his life so far. Right now he was realising for the first time that his reaction to a man flirting with him was the same as a woman doing it. Go figure.
He wasn't sure what to make of that, so he simply started the car and got them on the road. The best thing for a man to do when he didn't have anything wise to say was always to shut the hell up.
He supposed he shouldn't be quite that silent though, might seem creepy. "I ain't got good whiskey, but it's enough to get by on." Some nights more than others. Though he tried to rely on it less now the boys were around.
"I suppose when you have kids, full time work and weather like this - why not drink whatever helps? I'm not judging." Michael promised the guy as he watched the sun bleached grass fly by. He couldn't help but think a car with air-conditioning was a must around here but apparently Bobby disagreed.
He pulled his phone out and checked but he was down to 8% and no text from Gabriel. His brothers were useless in a crisis. He huffed in annoyance and pocketed his phone again.
"I'm Aleister, by the way. It's a real pleasure. You're saving my arse. Big time."
"I ain't got kids. They just--" They lived under his roof, ate the food he gave them, got to school on time cause he drove them and he even let Matty and his terrible band practise on his property. He'd sat up the other night to help Sam with a science fair project. Bobby blinked and pressed just a little harder on the gas pedal. "Damn. I got kids."
When had that happened? "Nice to meet ya, Aleister. I'm Bobby. Don't thank me yet, your ass might still be stuck here overnight."
Or longer, though he wasn't about to speak that into existence. As he made out what he assumed was Aleister's car in the distance, he slowed down, whistling. "Car's sleek like you, eh? Fancy."
"And you didn't even realise? How'd the wife pull that one on you?" Michael mocked, just wondering if Bobby did have a wife or not. He assumed he was still very straight but he could have fun at least. With an amused huff, he checked his phone once more and then looked ahead. "Oh yes, it's new. Aston Martin Victor. Very good car otherwise but today, for some reason, it started thunking then the hazards came on and now it won't even come on."
As they pulled up, Michael got out of the car and walked over to his nice, slick and broken car. It was so unfair. "Overnight, not a problem, if I need to then I have to. I'm just hoping it can be fixed by tomorrow, I'm supposed to pick someone up in Colorado. They're on the no-fly list so..." He couldn't really work out any other way to get Raphael to him.
Except pick the little bastard up himself. Alas. "If not-- you happen to rent cars?"
"I ain't got a wife." That was easier than going down the mental road, even for a second, of Karen. Especially Karen in relation to children. "Buddy of mine just dropped his kids on me."
Bobby realised how that sounded and he shrugged. "He's a jackass." At the very least.
He got out of the car to have a look at the other one, mostly to get started attaching what he needed in order to tow it. No use inspecting it right now, better to do that back at the workshop. "I ain't a rental business, no. But I got some fixed up heaps of junk that are road safe and would get you there and back all right, you can have them for less than a rental fee."
He bent down as he attached things, careful not to damage the paint job on that beautiful car. "Don't worry. I know my ways around cars, even nice ones. I ain't gonna scratch up a beaut like that. I know I ain't look it, but you can trust me."
Only people he ruined. Not cars. He was good with those.
"I think despite how you may appear, you're a gentle touch. I like that in a man. Depth, they call it." Michael teased lightly as he watched Bobby attach the tow to his car and secure it. Well, a single redneck who hadn't tried to deck him yet. If it wasn't for the kids, he'd consider his odds of getting laid but in a house like that, no damn chance.
"I have to drive for around 5 hours, I'm not sure if the scrap will have long enough legs but let's see." Hopefully it could be fixed fast. Otherwise, he was genuinely considering trying to get Raphael here by another means. "There's a town or a city nearby, right? Any chance it has a bus stop?"
Whatever he could do to solve this mess, he would. Unlike his brothers, apparently. Once Bobby had his car, he returned to the truck and pulled out his phone to check responses. Nothing.
"Think we got a bus stop, yeah. Ain't sure of the schedule, you'd have to ask around. But you ain't lookin' as if you'd ever ride a bus." Bobby felt the need to say that. And then he felt the need to clarify. "Ain't an insult. More the opposite."
Which he supposed would mean he was complimenting the strange guy that had been flirting with him. Better not to linger on that. Instead he focused on securing everything and then he got back into his truck, starting it. "I got phone chargers back at my place. I can help you out with that, at least."
"I did as a boy, not as an adult. And besides, I wouldn't be the one using it." If anyone was suffering on a bus in this weather, it was the idiot boy that got kicked out of his school, not him. It wasn't his fault his car wasn't built to drive to obscure redneck workcamp schools. "I hope there's at least a hotel around here."
He had no idea where he would stay but hotel was starting to seem unlikely. Motel at best. He was going to strangle Raphael when he saw him. "I'll charge my phone before I go. I need 100% battery, I have a lot of ranting to do."
"Yeah, no. No hotel around here... There's a motel if you go a few miles up the road and they rent out a few rooms above the diner in town. We ain't big with the glamour around here." They weren't big with a lot of stuff. Bobby had never even entered any place they'd call hotel, he had a distinct feeling they'd not let him in.
"Diner ain't that bad. Decent food, especially if you like cloggin' up your arteries." Some days it was what was needed. "Better than the food situation I'm dealin' with. One boy won't eat anythin' green, the other only eats rabbit food."
"I have a teenager who drinks maple syrup right out of the bottle. Trust me, I get it more than you'd think. Teenagers, they're just -- well, they're stupid. I was going to say something deeper but it ain't that deep." They were just dumb, full of hormones and ignorant as hell. "The best you can do is trick then and keep them out of your expensive booze."
So his options tonight were fried food and a questionable motel. Fantastic. He was not having a good day. Not at all. "I hope the motel at least has wifi."
"...wouldn't count on it. You can use mine, if you fancy. I hooked that up a while back." He needed it for the network, keeping people connected. For the huge amount of work he did all day that he didn't get paid for. "They're a bit behind the times back in town."
He slowed down as they reached his place, careful when he parked to get the fancy car a nice and safe spot. "Backwards place with backwards people having dumbass opinions. That's why I live out here. Less idjits to deal with."
"I always think it's easier to just live above them, not among them." He supposed he just had to hope that he could get everything sorted by tonight and not have to deal with the motel but whatever, he had dealt with worse. When he first left the cult, he had nothing. He had to make himself powerful and deal with worse things. He could deal with a motel.
Once he was out of the truck, he eagerly stepped out and went around to his car. He used his key to unlock it and moved inside to grab a few things from his passenger seat. "Please, do work your magic. Do you have a waiting room, by any chance?"
"I got a living room." Bobby unlocked the door and let Aleister inside, showing him where the couch was. And, probably even more importantly, handing him a bunch of phone chargers. Hopefully one of them would do the trick. "I'll have a look at your car. Lemme..."
He could bother Matty again, but he had done it before. Besides, maybe Sam would have better manners. "Sammy!"
The boy came running a few seconds later, hair a mess and, yeah, he actually had a pen behind his ear. Really was a bit of a nerd. "Sammy, get the man something to drink, yeah? Be polite."
Sam nodded and then looked at Aleister, unsure what to make of him. "Do you want a beer?" Wait. Polite. "Sir."
Michael looked at Sam and then eyed up the beaten up couch. Well. Whatever. He was in hick time, he had to embrace it. He took a phone charger that looked like it worked and plugged it into the nearest socket. "A water is fine, thank you." He didn't really day-drinker unless it was good quality liquor and he never really was a beer guy.
Dropping on his couch, he smiled at Bobby before picking up his charging phone and opening up whatsapp so he could send a message to Gabriel.
He opted to hiss/whisper, not wanting to talk too loud when he was here of all places and around teenagers. "Now listen here, you useless bag of puss. Pick up the damn phone and confirm you're taking him because I have a job and a life. You work for me, moron! If you keep ignoring me, I will demote you so hard, you'll be a damn janitor!"
He pulled his thumb off the record and dropped his phone by him on the couch, raising his hand to rub over his eyes. This was not a good day.
While Bobby had walked outside to inspect the car, Sam had headed into the kitchen. The boy returned with a glass of water that he had rinsed first, holding it out to the angrily cursing fancy man. He'd somehow imagined that rich people, especially ones with accents, would curse less. Interesting.
When Aleister stopped yelling into his phone, Sam decided to keep being polite. "We've got a bag of chips, if you want." He frowned and corrected himself. "Crisps." That's what British people said, right?
"I know what you're saying. I spent a lot of years here." They just didn't grow up in America. At first. Then the cult moved in his teenage years. Lucifer assimilated but he never did. He liked his accent. In some ways, it was nice to have it. A distinction. A difference. His mom was British too... not that it mattered.
"But thank you, I appreciate the service. Good luck on your homework." Michael offered idly as he looked back at his phone, trying to google motels but there was no signal in here. "Wait, hang on, what's the wifi password?"
"It's STOPWATCHINGPORNMATTY. All caps. And then a 3 and an exclamation mark." Bobby had gotten sick of the amount of viruses that somehow made their way onto his computer. Sam wasn't sure whether the password helped, although it certainly killed any urge he had to look at porn, knowing that Bobby would somehow find out. Kind of horrifying.
Aleister's phone buzzed with a message. What Gabriel had sent was 🙏😇, which was not overly helpful. It was a message though.
"Thank you. Also please cover your ears and try not to listen when I do use my phone." Michael warned as he put in the wifi password and then quirked an eyebrow in amusement. Heh. It was a good password. He would use this lifeline to berate the hell out of Gabriel and also make some business calls and some school calls.
"Is fancy guy still here?" Matt asked as he came out to get a snack, leaning over to see what Sam had been writing. He was doing science stuff. He reached out to steal a pen so he could draw a penis on his work.
"Yeah," Sam confirmed, while gesturing to where the fancy guy was. He rolled his eyes at the penis and made a mental note to cover that up later. For now he just looked at his big brother, grinning. "Did you see the car, Matty? It's all shiny! It's an Aston Martin, I swear."
He didn't know as much about cars as Matty did, but they'd spent more than enough time on the road for him to recognise a cool car when he saw one. "Y'think we can sit in it?"
"Hell yeah, we will. I think when everyone is asleep, there's no harm." Matty mumbled, checking to make sure the guy wasn't listening. He could vaguely heard what he was talking about and it sounded boring. Business stuff. He was so fancy, he was all slick and his car was amazing. "He's probably loaded. I hope he pays Bobby properly. It's a Friday at 6pm. That's after hours - I keep telling him, he should charge time and a half."
Matty cracked open his can of coke and took a sip, walking towards the window and watching Bobby work. "That won't be an easy fix, it's such an expensive car. We won't have the parts for it in the scrap yard. I'll probably have to go into town tomorrow and order the part of Bobby."
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He would have had more battery but he had to be on the phone for work calls, then his brothers, then his business partners, then his stupid brothers again. And the signal out here was absolute ass.
"You fix cars, right?" He assumed so, based on the place and the state of things. "I'll pay you handsomely if you can get mine working by tonight. Whatever you're thinking, handsome? Double it."
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Especially with the kind of car he assumed a guy like that had. "I'm gonna go and tow it. Do you wanna come with?"
He turned before the guy could answer, opening the backdoor again to yell out. "MATTY! Come down here!"
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A sullen teen came down the stairs - oh. More diverse than he expected the family to be, definitely latino.
"What's up?" Matty looked away from Bobby and at the guy waiting in the shop. "Huh. Shiny shoes. I bet those won't stay shiny for long around here."
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He owed John, the paranoid son of a bitch, that much. Always keeping an eye on his sons. "Keep an eye on Sammy. Dinner's when I'm back, so don't fill up on junk. And let your brother finish his homework! Wouldn't hurt you to do some studyin' neither."
Definitely done his duty here. He grabbed his keys and turned to the city guy, flashing him a smile. All right, no. He just kind of gave him a nod while his lips quirked a miniscule amount and headed for the door. "I ain't gonna make you promises on how fast I can fix it, but I'm gonna get your car here safe and sound, no issue."
He headed out the door, holding it for him, and then walked over to his trusty - and rusty - truck. "Rare we get any of your kind this far out. Got that accent and everythin'."
So fancy.
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Michael walked up to the rusty truck and eyed it up with great dismay. Well, wasn't that just a piece of shit. And it was even worse inside. There was random crap everywhere, drinks cups and trash, all manner of tools in the back. It smelled like hot plastic and metal - probably because of the shitty weather. Not that he was planning to remove any layers.
"I'm driving to pick up one of my brothers and this was the fastest route. I don't usually come out to your parts either. I tend to like to have everything I need near my apartment, you know? If I can't get a massage and a good brand of whiskey within five minutes, it's hell on Earth." Michael wasn't ashamed of how city-living he was. He could afford it and he liked it.
He did up his seatbelt and braced himself, looking at the redneck next to him. Not a bad looking guy but the hat was filthy. Couldn't he afford a new one? "I'm glad you like the accent. Remind me to whisper beautiful little Britisms in your ear when I need a discount."
And then he winked. Well. His survival instincts are garbage apparently. Hopefully he could pass himself off as just European.
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He wasn't sure what to make of that, so he simply started the car and got them on the road. The best thing for a man to do when he didn't have anything wise to say was always to shut the hell up.
He supposed he shouldn't be quite that silent though, might seem creepy. "I ain't got good whiskey, but it's enough to get by on." Some nights more than others. Though he tried to rely on it less now the boys were around.
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He pulled his phone out and checked but he was down to 8% and no text from Gabriel. His brothers were useless in a crisis. He huffed in annoyance and pocketed his phone again.
"I'm Aleister, by the way. It's a real pleasure. You're saving my arse. Big time."
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When had that happened? "Nice to meet ya, Aleister. I'm Bobby. Don't thank me yet, your ass might still be stuck here overnight."
Or longer, though he wasn't about to speak that into existence. As he made out what he assumed was Aleister's car in the distance, he slowed down, whistling. "Car's sleek like you, eh? Fancy."
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As they pulled up, Michael got out of the car and walked over to his nice, slick and broken car. It was so unfair. "Overnight, not a problem, if I need to then I have to. I'm just hoping it can be fixed by tomorrow, I'm supposed to pick someone up in Colorado. They're on the no-fly list so..." He couldn't really work out any other way to get Raphael to him.
Except pick the little bastard up himself. Alas. "If not-- you happen to rent cars?"
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Bobby realised how that sounded and he shrugged. "He's a jackass." At the very least.
He got out of the car to have a look at the other one, mostly to get started attaching what he needed in order to tow it. No use inspecting it right now, better to do that back at the workshop. "I ain't a rental business, no. But I got some fixed up heaps of junk that are road safe and would get you there and back all right, you can have them for less than a rental fee."
He bent down as he attached things, careful not to damage the paint job on that beautiful car. "Don't worry. I know my ways around cars, even nice ones. I ain't gonna scratch up a beaut like that. I know I ain't look it, but you can trust me."
Only people he ruined. Not cars. He was good with those.
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"I have to drive for around 5 hours, I'm not sure if the scrap will have long enough legs but let's see." Hopefully it could be fixed fast. Otherwise, he was genuinely considering trying to get Raphael here by another means. "There's a town or a city nearby, right? Any chance it has a bus stop?"
Whatever he could do to solve this mess, he would. Unlike his brothers, apparently. Once Bobby had his car, he returned to the truck and pulled out his phone to check responses. Nothing.
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Which he supposed would mean he was complimenting the strange guy that had been flirting with him. Better not to linger on that. Instead he focused on securing everything and then he got back into his truck, starting it. "I got phone chargers back at my place. I can help you out with that, at least."
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He had no idea where he would stay but hotel was starting to seem unlikely. Motel at best. He was going to strangle Raphael when he saw him. "I'll charge my phone before I go. I need 100% battery, I have a lot of ranting to do."
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"Diner ain't that bad. Decent food, especially if you like cloggin' up your arteries." Some days it was what was needed. "Better than the food situation I'm dealin' with. One boy won't eat anythin' green, the other only eats rabbit food."
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So his options tonight were fried food and a questionable motel. Fantastic. He was not having a good day. Not at all. "I hope the motel at least has wifi."
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He slowed down as they reached his place, careful when he parked to get the fancy car a nice and safe spot. "Backwards place with backwards people having dumbass opinions. That's why I live out here. Less idjits to deal with."
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Once he was out of the truck, he eagerly stepped out and went around to his car. He used his key to unlock it and moved inside to grab a few things from his passenger seat. "Please, do work your magic. Do you have a waiting room, by any chance?"
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He could bother Matty again, but he had done it before. Besides, maybe Sam would have better manners. "Sammy!"
The boy came running a few seconds later, hair a mess and, yeah, he actually had a pen behind his ear. Really was a bit of a nerd. "Sammy, get the man something to drink, yeah? Be polite."
Sam nodded and then looked at Aleister, unsure what to make of him. "Do you want a beer?" Wait. Polite. "Sir."
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Dropping on his couch, he smiled at Bobby before picking up his charging phone and opening up whatsapp so he could send a message to Gabriel.
He opted to hiss/whisper, not wanting to talk too loud when he was here of all places and around teenagers. "Now listen here, you useless bag of puss. Pick up the damn phone and confirm you're taking him because I have a job and a life. You work for me, moron! If you keep ignoring me, I will demote you so hard, you'll be a damn janitor!"
He pulled his thumb off the record and dropped his phone by him on the couch, raising his hand to rub over his eyes. This was not a good day.
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When Aleister stopped yelling into his phone, Sam decided to keep being polite. "We've got a bag of chips, if you want." He frowned and corrected himself. "Crisps." That's what British people said, right?
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"But thank you, I appreciate the service. Good luck on your homework." Michael offered idly as he looked back at his phone, trying to google motels but there was no signal in here. "Wait, hang on, what's the wifi password?"
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Aleister's phone buzzed with a message. What Gabriel had sent was 🙏😇, which was not overly helpful. It was a message though.
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"Is fancy guy still here?" Matt asked as he came out to get a snack, leaning over to see what Sam had been writing. He was doing science stuff. He reached out to steal a pen so he could draw a penis on his work.
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He didn't know as much about cars as Matty did, but they'd spent more than enough time on the road for him to recognise a cool car when he saw one. "Y'think we can sit in it?"
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Matty cracked open his can of coke and took a sip, walking towards the window and watching Bobby work. "That won't be an easy fix, it's such an expensive car. We won't have the parts for it in the scrap yard. I'll probably have to go into town tomorrow and order the part of Bobby."
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