#driver fluff

It was nearly 2 AM when you heard the front door of your apartment creak open. You were snuggled up under a blanket watching TV when Driver walked into your place, freshly showered in a clean white tee and pajama pants. He closed the door behind him and locked it for you, setting the key you gave him down on your kitchen table before settling down next to you.

That was your arrangement for the last several weeks. When you first met him months ago, he was just your quiet neighbor who seemed to be up at all hours of the night. What was originally small smiles exchanged and the occasional hand with your groceries turned into movie nights together on your couch when you both couldn’t sleep. Normally you wouldn’t let a strange man into your home – especially not one you didn’t even know the name of – but there was a calmness radiating from his presence that you felt drawn to.

He stopped by every night since you gave him a key. He never stayed the night, but he always stayed until you fell asleep.

Tonight, something felt different about him. His shoulders were tense and he was worrying the toothpick between his lips with a little more aggression than normal.

His demeanor caused you to sit up. “You okay?”

You’re met with silence at first. This was normal for him – he wasn’t one for many words. His responses were always delayed, like he spent a lot of time mulling over his thoughts before deciding if they were worth voicing. He always had something to say to you, though, even if it took him a little bit.

 “Bad night,” he mumbles. His eyebrows unfurrow a little when he turns his head to look at you, the sound of your voice easing his tension.

You knew what he did late at night, moonlighting as a getaway driver. You didn’t talk about it much; all you knew was that he’s good at what he does, and he most always returns from a job safe and unscathed. You pushed the blanket off you to ghost your hands over his torso, checking for injuries. He leaned into your touch once your hand stopped at his jawline to further inspect for any cuts or bruises. He was physically fine by your account, but his shoulders were still tense.

“I’m okay,” he says, placing his hand over yours. “Just a bad night.” Then his lips are on yours for a gentle, reassuring kiss.  

There was no definition for whatever was between the two of you. He just kissed you one night before leaving your place for his own down the hallway. That’s all you’d ever done – soft, gentle kisses when he arrived, hands linked together as you watched a movie side by side, and you always felt his lips on your forehead before he left. It wasn’t much, but you knew you were both fond of each other.  

When you pull away from the kiss and look up at him, you’re met with glassy eyes staring back at you and the sight automatically makes you loop your arms around his neck and pull his head to rest on your shoulder. “Oh, honey…”

You don’t know what came over you. You’ve never just held each other before; you didn’t even know if that’s what he needed right now. His jaw is still clenched, and you immediately think you’ve done something wrong – that this is too intimate. But before you can pull away, he grips your waist and moves closer to you. He really does need this.

So you pull him closer, until you’re laid back on the couch and he’s rested on top of you, head on your chest. You throw on a movie you’ve both already seen before just for background noise, to help him quiet whatever thoughts are roaring in his head.

You can tell he’s not used to this kind of affection. You spend half the movie stroking his hair and running your fingers up and down his back before he finally relaxes, a quiet groan of relief leaving his mouth as he melts into your touch.

Your warmth and the steady thump of your heart beating is what lulls Driver to sleep. You can feel his soft snores against your chest as your eyes grow heavy, falling asleep shortly after him.

꩜. though the flirty side of your guys' friendship had petered out when colt met jody on a set that he had been hired on, and she was the camera operator.

꩜. and you could tell he was much more interested in her and would fawn over her whenever the topic of your guys' love lives came into conversation after the job had wrapped (you had noticed over time that when he was filming, the volume of texts you got from him were sliced in half).

꩜. but you were still a supportive friend (despite your growing feelings for the man).

꩜. and you couldn't bring yourself to dislike jody because you understand why colt liked her in the first place, when you eventually got to work with her on set (hell, you'd be crushing on her if colt wasn't in the picture).

꩜. she was effortlessly funny, incredibly intelligent in anything film or camera related, which made her a real visionary, ambitious, and had the quick british wit that could sweep you off your feet (maybe you did have a crush on her).

꩜. anyway, so you kept your distance as the connection between jody and colt grew.

꩜. but you sucked it up and continued on with your life, and pretending that your heart wasn't slowly breaking because you were pining after colt.

꩜. but the day you (formally) met driver, that's when everything shifted.

꩜. you were already not in the best of moods because you had accidentally caught jody in colt's trailer after you were sent to retrieve him for the stunt coordinator (they were sitting very closely as they were talking).

꩜. you sucked it up and played the good friend and teased him about it (even though it killed you inside) as you guys walked to set, you had wrapped earlier, but you were sticking around to help colt out (it was his first job as a stunt coordinator).

꩜. then you were pulled away by the director, saying that the lead actress was complaining about the stunt you just did and had to do it over again (they were lucky that you hadn't changed out of the costume yet).

꩜. which made you huff silently but nodded stiffly (you were surprised the AD was allowing it).

꩜. you stalked up to the platform for the stunt and waited to get hooked in so you could swing across a 20-foot gap in the sky to the other platform about 25 feet in the air (it was scary for the average person, but you loved the rush).

꩜. you let yourself be hooked in by some of the stunt crew, but one in particular caught your eye.

"you're not ben." you addressed the blonde who was adjusting the harness, and your breath got stuck in your throat as his pale blue eyes slowly met yours. his gaze flicked over your face before he replied. "he got called away—family emergency." his voice was low, a hint of an accent in it that you couldn't place. if you had to hazard a guess you would assume it was from the east coast.

꩜. you had seen him around the set, from what you remember from the safety meetings, he was the technician/mechanic for the stunt team and vehicles, and you heard some talk about how quiet he was.

꩜. you nodded, not wanting to give him a verbal response. but he didn't seem to mind. you saw a toothpick nestled right behind his ear and smirked.

"kicking a habit?" you asked after a beat, gesturing to the toothpick. he stared at you for a second, neither of you breaking eye contact before paul's—another crew member—walkie went off asking if you guys were ready. the guy in front of you quickly finished up and nodded at paul who responded on the walkie.

꩜. the crew members dispersed, and you mentally prepared for the stunt, taking deep, calming breaths.

꩜. before they called action, you glanced down, and you could see colt's nearly dirty blonde hair right next to the camera jody was operating, and something ugly grew in your chest.

꩜. you ripped your gaze away and tried to focus on the stunt.

꩜. you heard action, and you started running. the camera that was rigged behind and above you started to follow.

꩜. though that moment of distraction threw you off and you jumped earlier than you meant, meaning that you almost missed the platform that you were supposed to land safely on.

꩜. a cacophony of gasps echoed through the set, but you ignored them as you managed to catch yourself on the ledge and pulled yourself up before continuing running.

꩜. cut was immediately yelled as soon as you hit your last mark and you could hear everyone around you start to buzz around the set.

꩜. you made you way down to the ground floor and everyone from the director, jody, colt, and the medic was surrounding you but you waved them off.

"oh my god, i'm fine! i don't see what's so surprising? i was on a wire and caught myself." you said once you shushed them all. colt said your name in a concerned tone. "one of the wires snapped and no one had set up the mat. if you fell, you could have—" colt shut his mouth, cutting himself off as his jaw clenched. "well, luckily i caught myself then." you could help but snap at him before turning to the director, "did we get the shot?" "well, yes—" you cut him off. "great, do you need another take?" the director sighed. "no." "then i'm off for the day." you said curtly before weaving through the crowd of people surrounding you and off set, passing by the new guy who had adjusted your harness, you barely caught the look of concern in his eyes before you stalked towards your trailer.

꩜. but then you changed direction, walking in the opposite direction of your trailer, knowing that you'd be cornered by anyone who wanted to talk to you (colt).

꩜. so you went to the edge of the lot and leaned on one of the picture cars that they were going to use for the next day. you took a long breath as you let the fading adrenaline leave your system and the fatigue from the day settle in.

꩜. you set your eyes on the horizon, the sun was getting lower, but it was nowhere near sunset, and wrap was at 8 pm, so you had a couple of more hours until you could leave.

꩜. you didn't realize your eyes had fallen shut until they snapped open at the sound of footsteps approaching. it was the guy from earlier.

꩜. he stopped a couple of feet away from you once your eyes had met. you took the time of silence to study him for a moment. he was was dressed in a plain white t-shirt, a lanyard for the production hung around his neck, some jeans, his walkie clipped to the waistband, sturdy work boots, and you could see some leather gloves peaking out from his front pocket.

you snapped out of your staring when you realized where you were. "oh, sorry, did you need to drive the car over to set?" you apologized as you stopped leaning on the car.

꩜. he shook his head. he continued to stare at you, eyes roaming over your tired figure.

꩜. you looked away from him and his imploring gaze. you should have been uncomfortable with how quiet he was as he just stared at you, but you weren't. you only looked away because you weren't sure if you could stare back at him.

"wanna go on a drive?" his voice cut through the silence that had settled between the two of you. your eyes landed on him again, a small smirk pulling on your lips. "aren't you still on the clock?" he shrugged, and you could see the beginnings of a smile form on his face. you noticed that the toothpick was in his mouth now. you laughed through your nose and stood up straighter. "sure. why not?" there was a slight smile on his face, and you followed after him. he led you to his car and even opened the passenger door for you, making you shake your head at his chivalry.

꩜. he drove smoothly, a stark contrast from the driving you were used to from colt, which was reckless, but it could be fun if he was being safe.

꩜. you couldn't help but stare at how the car seemed to act like an extension of his body as he drove through the streets near the lot (he didn't want to stray far from the studio just in case he was needed, but his walkie never went off).

꩜. you guys drove in silence, but it was nice. you never felt the need to fill the dead air with conversation (besides he didn't seem like the chatty type), and you guys had the windows down, letting the wind blow through your hair and onto your skin.

after about an hour, he pulled back into the lot and into a parking spot. but neither of you moved to leave the car. you sank into the seat and glanced at him to find him already looking at you. "do you have a name, or do i just call you by the name i have for you in my head?" you asked with a playful smile on your lips. there was a slight furrow in his brow. "what have you been calling me?" he sounded amused. you smirked. "the guy who did my harness today, or driver." the corner of his lips pulled up. "driver?" "you asked me to go on a drive, what else was i suppose to call you by?" you couldn't help but let out a small chuckle. "my name." he pointed out. "i don't know your name, that's why im asking." he looked thoroughly amused, but stayed silent, making you cock a brow at him. "you're gonna make me work for it, aren't you? he nodded, which made you shake your head. you stared at him for a moment before you got out of the car and poked your head into the open window of the passenger side. "by the way—" you gave him your name, "—i'll see you around driver." you teased before patting the car and headed back into the lot the slowly setting sun casted your form in a other-worldly glow as you left, driver was entranced by the sight.

꩜. there was a relaxed smile on your face as you walked farther into your trailer to change and head out for the day, but you were intercepted by colt as soon as you reached your door.

he called your name, making your smile drop. you turned around to see a slightly stressed and disheveled colt. "where have you been?" "around." you said vaguely before entering your trailer, colt following close behind and entering after you. "you weren't answering your walkie, i needed you talk to you after what happened earlier." colt frowned at you. you took a deep breath, holding back a snarky retort. "i left it in here." you gestured to the walkie on the counter. he looked at it. "oh." colt looked back at you. "where did you go? i wanted to make sure you were okay." you couldn't help but soften slightly hearing the concern in his tone. "i just needed a breather, but i'm fine, okay? nothing hurts and i didn't fall. we're all good." colt's gaze swept over you for a second before nodding. "okay. okay, but could you go to the medic at least?" you couldn't help the groan that escaped your mouth. "colt. i'm fine." you stressed. colt's hard stare unnerved you, and you groaned again. "okay, fine! i'll go now."

꩜. colt smirked and led you out of your trailer, followed you out, and guided you to the med tent (which you rolled your eyes at him following you).

꩜. once you got a clean bill of health from the on-set medic, you and colt walked back to your trailer and you saw driver walk by.

"hey driver." you waved at him. he acknowledged you with a nod and kept walking past you and colt. "driver? that's not his name." colt said with a growing frown on his face. "i know." you shrugged. you guys had made it back to your trailer. "then why do you call him that?" colt asked as you climbed the stairs and opened your door. he stayed at the base of the stairs, looking up at you. you shrugged again."because. anyway, night colt, i'll see you tomorrow." you said to him before closing your trailer door. "…goodnight." colt was left confused at the sudden dismissal and stood there for about a minute before leaving.

꩜. since that day, you had been unintentionally gravitating towards driver whenever you had free time or in between takes. he always seemed to be there wherever you were, and you welcomed it. most of the time, you guys just sat in each other's company, not talking, but if you were, you were talking for both of you, which you didn't mind.

꩜. colt obviously noticed your absence around him, which confused him as to where you would disappear to, because before, if you had any free time, you'd spend it with him. colt went to jody about this and laughed at him for how oblivious he was.

꩜. it was clear to jody that you thought colt and her were an item (even though they weren't colt would only talk about you when they hung out and tried to get advice from her). she explained it to him, making colt frown.

꩜. colt was determined to show you that he didn't like jody, and actually fell for you.

꩜. so, he was on a mission to be the first person you saw in between takes, giving you 'notes' (but not really), be by your side during lunch, and if you guys had any spare time to hang out on and off set.

꩜. little did colt know, driver had always noticed you as soon as he stepped onto this set. he was content with just observing from afar, just watching you as you interacted with everyone on set (and noticed how close you were with colt, which stirred something inside of him). he kept his distance, though, until the day that ben had to leave, and he stepped in for him.

꩜. driver liked spending time with you—he saw how kind you were to everyone (even if you were frustrated), and you didn't force any kind of conversation onto him. you were also content to just exist with him. he realized he was in trouble when driver took you out on a drive once after wrap, and he took you to one of his favorite spots in LA.

it was late, and he took you to a spot that overlooked the city. you guys sat on the hood of his car, just watching the city. but he wasn't looking at the view—he was looking at you and how the lights of the city illuminated your features. something shifted in his chest, and he realized that he'd do anything for you if it meant he could steal moments like this with you all of the time.

꩜. after this night, driver was determined to also stick by your side, even if it meant doing it from a distance a lot of the time.

꩜. now with you, on the other hand, you had noticed the shift of behavior from both men, and not that it was unwelcome (jody had come up to you at some point and emphasized that her and colt were just friends), but it built a conflict within you.

꩜. you knew that you had liked colt (and for a handful of time), but spending time with driver had made space in your heart for him, and you had no idea what you were going to do.