no

ANDY:

Andy wanted to scream. Their truck was old but it was good. It ran well and they didn't tend to have problems with it. Except when they did. And when they did, it was tricky. It was never something straight forward. Which meant that it almost always cost more to fix than it should. But none of that immediately mattered. What mattered was that Andy was supposed to be taking Oakley to daycare so they could get to work. Sure, they could call their parents and get a ride, but that didn't fix their truck or solve the issue of later in the day. So, they dialed the one number of the one person who they knew could fix this, because he'd done it before, Morgan. They weren't sure he would answer, but they had to hope he would.

MORGAN:

Back to work, and back to his regular routine after his shoulder injury, Morgan was busy cleaning out the stalls while the horses were outside, grazing on the pasture, when he felt a buzz in his pocket, coming from his phone. A furrow painted his face as he got worried when he saw who the caller was, and he instantly picked it up, leaning against the rake. "Andy? Are you okay?" They weren't exactly speaking - even though they'd tried - it still wasn't casual between them, so he could only assume that something had happened to them.

ANDY:

They thanked the gods under their breath when he picked up. "I'm fine. Oakley is fine. But... my truck is doing the stupid thing it does sometimes and I don't have the time to get it to an actual mechanic this morning, without missing work, and... can you help? Just this once. Even if it's just enough for me to get through my work day so I can get it to a mechanic." They hated asking him, but he really was the only person who they knew could get it fixed even for the short term right now.

MORGAN:

Morgan could almost feel the entire universe's weight get off of his shoulders when Andy reassured him that they were okay - both of them. After what had happened with Andy's dad, there was always a slight paranoia. Nodding along as he listened, Morgan bit the inside of his cheek. It was nice that Andy thought of him, even though it was just for his knowledge of cars and how to fix them. "Yeah, sure, of course! Text me your address and I'll be right there." He promised, and started heading out to his car, dropping the rake, so he could hurry over.

ANDY:

"Thanks for this, I owe you." They texted him their address to him. "Sent it. I can let you go until you get here? My place isn't super hard to find."

MORGAN:

The phone buzzed against his ear, and he knew he'd received it. "Thanks," a hand dug into his pocket for his car keys, and he nodded. "Yeah, I'll see you in a bit." He told them, before getting into the car and hanging up the phone so he could make his way over to Andy. The drive was quick, thanks to an easy route on his phone's GPS, and he saw Andy and the truck as he pulled up and parked. "Hey," He greeted them, with a soft smile. "I can't believe you still haven't changed this ol' thing out." Morgan joked, and casually went to pop the hood of the car, as if he knew it like the back of his hand; which he kind of did.

ANDY:

"See you soon." Andy hung up and sighed. This sucked. They hated that this is what they were having to do, but such was life. They let Oakley out of his car seat and allowed him to play in the yard while they sat on the tailgate to wait. "Hey," they greeted, hopping off the tailgate, "and she's good to me, why would I get a new one?" Andy knew their truck was dying and the they should get a me one, but it was hard.

MORGAN:

"Hmm, maybe because this keeps happenin'?" Morgan teased, his voice heavy with thick irony, knowing that if anyone could take it, it was Andy. Looking into the engine, Morgan didn't take long to locate the problem. It was the same issue as always. "The valves are worn-out, hold on," Morgan said, moving towards his own truck so he could get his toolbox out of it. He always carried that around with him. "Maybe a clean will help it drive 'round, until I get you some new ones. It'll be a temporary fix, and I can't guarantee that it'll work, but I can try." He told them, and started screwing them out. His eyes remained on the engine, but his interest was elsewhere. "How's life otherwise?"

ANDY:

"It hasn't happened in a while." Which was true. Happened maybe once or twice in the last few years. Not to say other things hadn't happened, of course, cause they had, but Andy wasn't going to mention that. Their truck meant a lot to them and they knew they needed a new one, but like a lot of things in this life, Andy was bound to use it until they couldn't anymore. "Look, I just need the damn thing to get me through today and I'll figure it out from there. So anythin' you can do to get it working again is worth it." Andy shrugged at his question. "It's alright, nothing big going on or anything like that. What about you?"

MORGAN:

Humming to himself, Morgan nodded with that cheeky smirk on his lips. Andy was stubborn and that certainly hadn't changed. Screwing the parts loose, he collected them in his pockets, keeping them safe as he started cleaning and polishing them. Shrugging his shoulders, he looked at Andy. "Can't complain, I guess. My shoulder's finally healed, which I'm grateful for," he sniffed, and gave Andy a small smile. "How's Oakley findin' LA?"

ANDY:

Andy nodded, leaning against the truck as they watched him, something they felt like they'd done so many times before. "That's good, imagine it makes work easier." At his question about Oakley they shrugged. "He's taken to it better than I ever did, which I'm grateful for. Kid deserves to not have to struggle to adapt to life."

MORGAN:

Raising his eyebrows, Morgan felt a pang of deja vu, remembering this exact scenario happening back in Montana, when Andy would watch him fix up the old cars with his granddad. "Oh yeah," he chuckled and shook his head. "I tried really hard not to work so it could heal quicker, but d'ya know how hard it is to just-...not?" Morgan chuckled to himself. He'd struggled a lot. Nodding, Morgan agreed with Andy's statement. "That's great, though. I've been thinkin' 'bout him and how he's adjusted to it all. I remember how hard I found it myself, comin' here. But then again, I was a lot older, so the age probably makes a big difference, huh?"

ANDY:

Andy chuckled. "It's you, so I imagine you felt a bit like you were losing your mind." They had experienced something similar when they were pregnant, having tossed themself into their work to forget and ignore, so when they'd been unable to work it had been rough, but they'd never quite been the type of workaholic that Morgan was. "Him being younger does seem to help. And now that we have a set routine and the house is set up, I think he's been able to really settle down and settle in. New normal was easier to find for him."

MORGAN:

Nodded, letting out a laugh. If anyone knew that about Morgan, it was Andy. They knew him like the back of their hand. "Losing my mind doesn't even come close to it," He looked at the valve, and deemed it clean enough to screw back into place. "Well, that's great, Andy! And, y'know, if he's still got that fascination with horses, you're still always more than welcome to come out, you know that." He told her, finishing screwing the valve into place. "Alright, try turnin' on the car now."

ANDY:

Andy chuckled, shaking their head. Of course it didn't, but at least he could admit it. Whether he realized what that meant about himself, Andy didn't know, but it wasn't their place to point it out for him. Especially not these days. "He does, and I'm sure he'd like that, if I can swing it one of these days." The weekends were easiest, but Andy also knew that they didn't always want to go places and interact with people during their free time, even when it was good for both them and Oakley. They nodded as he spoke about trying to turn it on and climbed up in. They turned the key and while it almost looked like it wasn't going to start, it thankfully did. They grinned. "I owe you one, seriously."

MORGAN:

It had taken Morgan's entire life up until now, to find out that there was more to life than just work, and unfortunately, he'd discovered it a little too late when it came to his and Andy's relationship. But he still wanted them in his life. "You're always welcome," he told them, a gentle smile hiding beneath the beard. As he heard the engine struggle but finally start again, the soft smile turned into a full-blown grin. "Nah, it was nothin'," he started, waving casually at her. "Although, if you're ever in the mood to make those triple chocolate cookies you always made back in Montana, I wouldn't turn down a batch, y'know?"

ANDY:

Andy knew he meant it. That they really were always welcome and something about that hurt. Maybe it was because of the truth of everything, the truth they'd buried so far down that some days they nearly believed themself about Morgan not being Oakley's father. Or maybe it was just that he was who he was and being around him but not being with him hurt. They tried not to dwell on such thoughts. Instead, they rolled their eyes as he waved them off, only to immediately backtrack in favor of cookies. "I think a batch or two of cookies could find their way into your possession."

MORGAN:

Packing his tools away as the car rumbled in the background, Morgan grinned, pleased with the fact that he could get the car up and running again - even if it was just temporary. "And this is why you're my best friend," He smiled, grabbing his toolbox and walking up to the car door where Andy was sat. "Now, remember, this is just a fix for now - with the amount of problems this ol' thing has, you oughta start thinkin' 'bout either spending a ton of money on repairs, or consider buyin' a new car. But if ya need any help, don't hesitate to call me again, okay?"

ANDY: