Chapter two
The next day Mack was surprised to see Fitz there before him. The garage had been transformed. Fitz’s half now had workbenches, cabinets, some machinery he didn’t recognize. He had on a lab coat and some kind of magnifying mask as he peered at a small metal gadget, poking it with a tiny tool. He looked up as Mack entered and nodded hello.
‘Morning Fitz. You sure like to start early.’
‘I d-don’t really,’ and he waved his hand for a moment, ‘um, sleep, very well.’
Mack nodded his acknowledgement and went to start his day. He had a few small jobs to finish, nothing complex but they would take up the morning, and every small job meant money. He soon built up a sweat, stripping off his over-shirt to work in his tank top as he often did. He tightened the last gasket and stood to wipe his brow. He thought he caught a movement out of the corner of his eye but when he looked over Fitz was determinedly focused on his own work. It seemed like a good time to break. Mack walked over to Fitz, ‘I usually stop for a coffee around now.’
Fitz’s looked up, ‘right,’ he said.
‘If you want to join me?’ Mack said.
Fitz looked up again and seemed to regard Mack carefully. ‘Oh. Okay. T-tea though not, not the other one.’
‘Sure thing Turbo,’ said Mack.
‘Why do you call me that?’ Fitz asked.
‘Well at first it was because you spoke so quickly, but now I’ve seen you work it fits even better. You have all this energy radiating off you all the time.’
‘Oh,’ said Fitz.
‘There’s a coffee shop over the road, I don’t have any tea here,’ Mack said and walked out, looking back to check Fitz was following behind. They sat together at a small table in the window.
‘So,’ said Mack, feeling aware he was always the one to start the conversation, ‘Jemma’s going abroad. I bet you’re going to miss her.’
Fitz nodded and for a moment Mack thought he was going to stay silent. ‘Yeah. Jemma’s great. The best really.’ He looked shyly up at Mack, ‘she’s my best friend.’
Best friend, interesting choice of words Mack thought. ‘You two been together long?’
‘Since we were sixteen.’
Wow. Mack hadn’t managed much longer than a year with his past relationships. ‘Well with all that history I’m sure you’ll be just fine. Long distance relationships work out all the time.’ Fitz was regarding him with an odd expression, but Mack carried on, ‘I’m sure she’ll miss you too.’
Fitz was doing that look again, his head slightly on its side, as if judging Mack. ‘Yes, I have no doubt we’ll be fine,’ Fitz said, and sounded like he meant it. Fitz took the initiative for the first time, ‘my friend has a van.’
‘Right. Well that’s great for him Turbo.’
Fitz looked at him, and Mack saw the moment he realized he’d left out a few important words.
‘S-she actually. It’s been having,’ and he waved his hand in the now almost familiar gesture, ‘trouble, can she bring it in?’
‘Sure Turbo, I’ll have a look. Tell her to bring it in any day after four.’
Fitz nodded.
They went back to their relative sides of the garage when they returned but Mack caught Fitz looking over once or twice. It would take some getting used to, but Mack hoped they would become friends. He wasn’t sure what it was, but the little engineer was growing on him.
The rest of the week carried on in much the same fashion. Sometimes they shared a break together or made each other tea or coffee. Fitz sometimes couldn’t find the word he wanted to say, waving his hand in frustration till he found it or choosing a similar enough word.
Mack was working on changing a set of tyres when he heard a loud clatter from the other side of the garage and a spout of angry Scottish cursing. He dropped what he was doing and ran over. Fitz was clutching his hand and staring at a screwdriver he’d apparently thrown at the wall.
‘Hey Turbo, what happened?’
Fitz rubbed his bad hand and scowled at the offending tool. ‘I-I, m-m-m.’ He paused and took a breath, and started again, ‘My hand. Seized up. B-bloody stupid thing.’
Mack came closer, ‘Hey, don’t blame your hand. From what I see your hand has done some amazing work around here. The stuff you’re working on, I mean I don’t understand it all, but I see the scope of what you do. Give your hand a bit of a break.’
Fitz didn’t look convinced but was noticeably calmer. ‘You don’t understand Mack, before, before this,’ and he waved his hand towards his head to signify his injury, ‘I could have done it. I could have worked another four or five hours and my hands w-would have done w-what I asked them to.’
‘Fitz. I don’t know what you were like before the accident-‘
Fitz interrupted quietly, ‘It wasn’t an accident.’
Oh. Mack wasn’t sure if he was meant to ask but decided Fitz would tell him the story one day if he felt ready. ‘Okay, I don’t know the guy you were before, but the guy I met works hard, creates the most amazing machines I have ever seen, and is definitely too hard on himself.’
Fitz caught Mack’s eye and for a moment they shared a sincere look. Mack felt a rush of affection for Fitz. He really was hard on himself, he seemed to think he was somehow lesser instead of seeing how amazing he was, working through his brain injury, pushing himself. He could still do things most people could only dream of; the kid actually was a genius. Aware he had probably been staring into Fitz’s eyes for longer than was appropriate for a friend, Mack coughed and looked away.
‘Why don’t you finish up here for the day, I have an idea.’
Fitz nodded and started to pack away his work. ‘What’s your idea?’ Fitz asked as he finished up.
‘Xbox. No, listen, it will be good for your hand coordination, plus it’s just fun to shoot zombies,’ and Mack smiled. He got a matching smile from Fitz which made the gamble worthwhile.
There was an old couch near the beer fridge, and a TV and Xbox set up for those nights when Hunter came over. The game seemed to relax Fitz, he had a few struggles with his hand, but it didn’t really matter. Mack was pleased he had managed to find something that helped.
‘You know, this is practically physical therapy, we should do this more often,’ said Mack.
Fitz nodded his agreement. They were close on the sofa, knees touching, and Mack tried to block out how nice the warmth felt. They were just friends.
Over the next week they had several more Xbox nights, Hunter sometimes joining them, even Jemma came once or twice. She didn’t watch but gave tactical advice and brought defiantly healthy snacks. It was starting to become a regular way of finishing their working day.