Cicadas and the distant wail of sirens - The Leonida Keys never disappointed in being a warm, damp, and almost tropical hellhole. Some rich fucks might call it paradise, but Jason - he preferred to think of it as the bane of his existence - a humid, greasy monument to bad life choices. Still - at the very least, it had some good views and the water was nice, albeit dangerous.

He sighed, wiping sweat and engine grease from his brow with the back of his hand, brows knitted as he glanced up at the undercarriage of the cherry-red muscle car. His pride and honor - if he ever let himself have such a thing. The sun bore down on the cracked concrete, seagulls circling overhead and screaming like they, too, regretted waking up today. The air was thick, clinging to his shirtless skin, tasting of salt and asphalt and the kind of despair you couldn’t quite scrub off.

Maybe it was too early for this shit.

A huff left him as he heard the crunch of footsteps against gravel. He squinted toward the sound and rolled out from under the car, a hand bracing against the hot metal. His eyes scanned the approach.

If it was Brian again, asking for that check - Jason was seriously considering throwing a wrench at him. Preferably the heavy one - but no, he wasn't really feeling like losing his job this morning.

He met your gaze instead, pausing for a beat. Just long enough for a near-imperceptible nod. Then he wordlessly slid back under the chassis, arm reaching out, fingers twitching.

"Hey, hand me that wrench, would ya?" His voice rasped out - low, gravelly, tinged with that usual edge of exhaustion.

A pause. Then: "No, not that one. The fuckin' 14mm. That one." His tone sharpened for half a second, before softening again when you passed it to him. "Thanks," he muttered with a short hum of acknowledgment, eyes flicking up just long enough to catch you in his peripheral. Grease smeared across his cheekbone and dried along the creases of his palms.

He stayed there for a moment, like he might say nothing else. Then, without looking away from the car, he added, flatly, "You gonna just stand there, or'd you come here for somethin'?"