Work Text:
Rock music and the clang of metal against metal were all that could be heard as Amanda Ripley’s day drew to a close. Taking a moment to wipe the sweat off her brow, the mechanic tossed her greasy rag to the side as she walked over to her desk. Sighing, she began to put away her tools when the loud jingle of her phone’s ringtone interrupted her. Smiling when she saw it was Samuels calling, she clicked enter and answered.
“Hey Samuels, what’s up? Work going okay?” Amanda greeted cheerily.
“Hello Amanda. Work went well, I just have a little bit of paperwork to finish up, but it shouldn’t take too long. How’s the shop?” Her boyfriend’s voice crackled through the speaker.
“Super busy,” she replied. “Some idiot brought in a really old car with a busted transmission. Took hours to even figure out what the hell was wrong with the damn thing. Shouldn’t be too hard to fix, but it’s definitely gonna take a couple days, minimum.” Amanda ran a hand through her hair, pulling it out of its usual ponytail and headed into the house.
“Sounds like you have your work cut out for you,” Samuels agreed.
“No kidding.” Amanda laughed.
“I’ll try and hurry up here then. How does Chinese sound for dinner?” From the description she gave him, and the mountain of paperwork he’d had to deal with, cooking did not sound appealing.
“That sounds fucking amazing. You’re a genius, Samuels, I swear. I’ll clean up, then go ahead and order so it’s delivered by the time you get here. I’ll see you when you get home, love you!”
The line went silent as Amanda processed what she had just admitted.
“Amanda-,“ Samuels began.
“Gotta go! Bye!” Amanda hurriedly closed the phone, throwing it down on the work bench. “Oh fuck. Okay, breathe, maybe he didn’t notice it.” Amanda took a deep breath. “Just pretend it didn’t happen- that sounds good. Okay, let’s do that.”
--
Samuels came home to the smell of cheap Chinese food. A loud thud resounded from the kitchen, followed by a loud expletive from his girlfriend. “Amanda?” Samuels yelled, concerned. “Everything okay?” Amanda made her way out of the kitchen, rubbing her elbow.
“Yeah, yeah, uh everything’s great. Just getting some plates. Um, I ordered your favorite.” Noticing how tense she was, Samuels cleared his throat.
“Listen, Amanda, about the phone call-,“ he started, only to be interrupted.
“Samuels, I’m so sorry it just slipped out. I probably made you uncomfortable and I’m being so awkward right now and-“
“Amanda, I’m not mad,” Samuels assured his lover, who had started pacing frantically.
Amanda paused to reply. “You- you aren’t?”
“Of course not. If anything, I rather liked it.” The bluntness of Samuels’ tone made Amanda’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Oh. Oh, okay, um. Didn’t expect that. Wow, this is totally not how I wanted this to happen.”
“Amanda.”
“Are you sure it’s not weird? I mean, we’ve only been dating for five months, and it’s been going great, and you’ve been amazing and-“
“Amanda.” Samuels tried again.
“-I really wanted to tell you this in a better way, but then the phone, and it just-“
“AMANDA.” Finally, the she turned to make eye contact with her increasingly amused boyfriend. Samuels sighed before walking towards Amanda. “Amanda, I love you too. So please stop freaking out.” Amanda stared at Samuels, eyes wide in disbelief. Seconds later, her face flushed a dark shade of red. Slowly, the tension left her face and her eyes glinted with amusement.
“Well damn Samuels, you should have told me sooner. Then I wouldn’t have made such a big fool of myself,” she joked.
“I don’t think even I could have prevented that,” he retorted.
“Ha-ha, Samuels. I’m glad one of us can find humor in my misery.” Samuels wrapped one arm around his girlfriend’s shoulder, pressing a quick kiss to her cheek. “Welcome home, Chris,” Amanda said.
“Glad to be home, Amanda,” he murmured back, squeezing her shoulders one last time before pulling away. “How about we eat this Chinese food before it gets cold, huh?”
Amanda nodded her head in agreement, making her way back to the kitchen to grab the plates she’d previously set out. Samuels followed behind her, carrying the food. Together, the couple arranged the food on the table, making playful banter as they sat.
“You better not take any of my eggrolls this time, Samuels. I know it was you last time,” Amanda teased, scooping some rice onto her plate. Samuels gasped, pretending to be offended.
“I’m shocked that you would even accuse me of that, Amanda. I still maintain it was the racoon that hangs around the backyard.” Amanda let out a loud laugh, eyes twinkling.
“Sure, Samuels.” She shook her head, the sound of chewing filling the room. After a few moments, Amanda hesitantly broke the silence. “So… you did mean it, right?” she asked, keeping her brown eyes fixed on the table.
“Mean what?” Samuels replied, confused. Clearing her throat, Amanda continued.
“When you said you loved me. Did you mean it? ‘Cuz I understand if you were saying it just so I wouldn’t feel embarrassed...” She trailed off. Samuels reached across the table, taking her calloused hands in his own. Wordlessly, he stroked the back of her hand with his thumb.
“Amanda, I would never lie to you, especially about something like that. I really did mean it. I’m actually really glad you said it when you did, even if it was on accident. I never would have been able to work up the courage to say it on my own.” Amanda’s lips curled into a shy smile.
“I love you, Chris,” she said, gripping his hands tighter.
“I love you too, Amanda.” Gently, he untangled their hands, sitting back in his chair. Picking up his forks, the couple resumed eating, until Amanda spoke up suddenly.
“I still think you’re lying about the eggrolls, by the way.”
Samuels snorted before replying. “We’ll see about that.”