Work Text:
Clattering echoed through the drafty garage as Asuka sifted through a rusted grey toolbox. Being that it was the third time she had sorted through this container, and every other tool bench, cardboard box, shelf, and cabinet at Ryoji Automotive Repair this week, she unsurprisingly didn’t happen upon anything new. She closed the toolbox with a scoff and fell back on a duct tape-covered office chair and rolled away. Slumped back in the chair, she stared at the stained concrete ceiling and let her mind wander for a moment. That moment was long enough for her hands to start shaking again. The tremors weren’t nearly as severe as they were when she quit drinking sixty-eight excruciatingly long, grueling days ago. Still, she abhorred the feeling enough for it to send a cold shiver through her body, jolting her back upright. She shuffled back to the toolbox, muttering about the length of the day. Blindly reaching into the bin, she produced an old socket wrench.
The socket rattled loosely on the ratchet, threatening to fall out at any second. Asuka exhaled from her nose and wiggled the socket wrench in her hands. She watched the metal cylinder wobble from side to side, half-hoping that it would suddenly stick in place somehow. She cranked the wrench to see if it would still rotate, which it did, but this was still unsatisfactory for her. She tapped the tool in her palm and looked over at her coworker, Kensuke, who was humming to himself while fidgeting with the zipper on his jumpsuit.
“Why do we still have this busted-ass thing?” Asuka waved the socket wrench in Kensuke’s direction with enough movement to demonstrate the tool’s loose tolerances, “I can’t use this for anything; we should just throw it out.”
Kensuke adjusted his glasses before shrugging, “Dunno. We always need another socket wrench but,” He threw his hands up, “Not that one, I guess. You can throw it out if you want.”
Asuka paused a moment and pursed her lips before separating the socket and tossing the two parts back in the toolbox with a hollow, metallic clang, “May as well keep it,” Asuka pondered while, perhaps inadvisedly, running her grease-covered fingers through her red hair, “I could try to fix it. It’ll be something to do.”
“You don’t have enough to do already? Here,” Kensuke cross-referenced his watch with a clipboard on the desk he was leaning on, “It’s three on the dot now. The customer’s supposed to pick up this Impreza any second now.”
“Yeah, right,” The redhead rolled her eyes, “When’s the last time someone’s picked up their car on time?”
As if to mock her, Kaji, the owner of the auto shop, popped in the garage, “That Impreza ready? They’re here to pick it up,” He went back into his office, and from behind him stepped out a young, blue-haired woman, about Asuka’s age. She was smartly dressed in a white blouse and a grey wool skirt, both of which were uncannily creaseless, clearly ironed to an obsessive extent. She entered the garage and, after taking care not to step in any oil puddles with her tidy pumps, stood stiffly and inspected the area and staff.
Asuka recognized her. She narrowed her eyes, trying to remember where she knew her from. The woman squinted back, not with the same contemplation that Asuka was looking at her with, but with bitterness and apprehension. That’s when it hit her.
“Rei? Is that you?” Asuka asked.
“How is my car?” Rei asked Kensuke, ignoring Asuka entirely.
“Oh, it’s fine,” Kensuke replied, picking up the clipboard from the desk and walking towards Asuka, “There’s a slight problem with the transmission, but it won’t be an issue, really,” He then began whispering to his coworker, “Dude, can you take over real quick? I gotta take a wicked piss,” He foisted the paperwork on her and scurried away.
After a moment of silent shock, Asuka put on a slight grin, “So, how have you been?”
“What’s wrong with the transmission?” Rei questioned bluntly.
“I, uh, don’t know, but,” Asuka cleared her throat, still wearing an awkward smile, “I haven’t seen you since, what, high school?”
“Really? High school?” Rei raised an eyebrow, “So we’re just going to pretend all that didn’t happen?”
Asuka had been asked that question many times throughout her life, and most of the time, she was just pretending that all that, whatever that may have been, didn’t happen. This time, however, she was struggling to remember exactly what that was. She clenched her teeth and looked at the ground, then the garage door, then at Rei’s clenched fists. It was then that she remembered. The two of them had, in fact, interacted briefly after high school. It was only a couple of years prior, but Asuka’s memory of that time was quite hazy. However, as her recollection of this affair slowly came back to her, she began to realize why Rei was so upset with her. The memories weren’t exactly clear, but what she did recollect was not exactly flattering, to say the least. Asuka’s eyes widened, and her mouth fell slightly ajar. In the time it took for her memory to return, a deafening silence had filled the garage.
“Oh, um,” Asuka chuckled awkwardly before biting her tongue, “I had forgotten about that. Genuinely, I mean. My memory is pretty shot from those years of ...” She noticed Rei’s glare had yet to waver, so she inhaled sharply and continued, “I’ve quit drinking, Rei. I mean, you definitely knew I had a problem. You knew me back then, so that much is obvious. I’m just over two months sober now, and I want to get my life back on track. I’m trying, seriously trying, to get better. I suppose seeing you is a sign that I should try to right the wrongs in my past. So, on that note, Rei,” Asuka looked into Rei’s eyes, “I’m sorry. I really am.”
Rei’s expression softened, if only slightly. Asuka hoped that she would forgive her. She needed to be forgiven. If she had that, it would be a slight weight removed from the mountain of guilt she carried on her back every day. It would be the first step in leading a life worth living. Suddenly, Rei opened her mouth.
“Can I have my car keys, please?” Rei stuck her hand out for Asuka to place them in. Asuka was taken aback by her coldness. Maybe she had been too optimistic. After all, she thought, she didn’t deserve forgiveness. Dejected, Asuka returned Rei’s keys with her head hung low and turned around to open the garage.
As the door’s motor whirred, Asuka whimpered, “I just wish I could make it up to you somehow.”
Rei stood by the door of her car and waited for the garage to open fully. She stared silently at the hood for a moment before asking, “And how would you do that?”
Asuka looked back at her, blinking. She didn’t detect as much vitriol in Rei’s voice as before, so perhaps, she thought, this was a genuine question. Deciding that she had nothing to lose, Asuka threw a Hail Mary, “Maybe I could buy you a coffee sometime,” She paused briefly, trying in vain to assess Rei’s reaction to her proposition, “Or maybe lunch?”
Rei just stared back silently. The redhead’s hopeful gaze slowly melted downward toward an oil stain on the ground until Rei broke the silence again. “Give me your number,” she prompted. “I’ll decide if I want to see you again.”
Asuka was jolted back to life. She almost ran to the car, eyes sparkling, and held up her phone with her contact information on it. She could barely contain a giddy smile, and her hand shook, now more out of excitement than withdrawals.
“Hold it still, I can’t read it,” Rei sighed. Asuka just handed her the phone, and Rei returned it promptly after copying the number. Silently, she entered her car and drove away, leaving Asuka dumbfounded and wonderstruck.
At that moment, Kensuke returned from the bathroom, “So, what’d I miss?”
Asuka sighed, “I think a 2017 Subaru Impreza just saved my life…”