Gift for Chileangirl

Gift from ????

Title of Gift: Let's drive until Sunrise

Pairing(s): Markson

Word Count: 1,553

Rating: G

Warning(s): None

Note to my Giftee: Happy holidays! Sorry I don't know much about cars. Lol.

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Let's drive until Sunrise

Mark didn't know how it happened. One moment everything was fine and dandy, next there's smoke rushing past his window and soon after a small explosion. Somehow the engine to his beloved limo combusted into a million flames. Mark was fine but his driver had to be hospitalized. The limo on the other hand was taken to a repair shop to be fixed. Mark chewed on his lip nervously as the shop owner lead him to his broken limo. He prayed the damage wasn't unfixable. The owner broke Mark out of his panicked thoughts. “We have our best mechanic working on her. He'll fix her up good as new.” the owner grinned. Mark nodded and walked into the garage where many cars were being stored. He spotted his limo and nearly ran to it but refrained himself from doing so. Mark walked around the sleek navy blue limo. It looked fine from the back but the front was a basically gone.

“What happened to the front?” Mark asked. His voice was steady but his heart was breaking.

“It was too damaged to fix so we’re going to replace it.” A guy answered from behind, causing Mark to jump and turn around. “Sorry, I didn't mean to spook you. I'm Jackson, the mechanic working on your limo.” Jackson held his hand out. Mark looked over the mechanic before shaking the offered hand.

“Jackson… Are- are you sure you can't fix the original front?” Mark asked with slight desperation.

“It's honestly a hunk of scrap metal right now, it'd be impossible to get it back to its original form.” Mark let out a sad sigh. “Buuuuuut, if you have pictures of the limo before the, you know, accident, I can easily recreate it for you. And I can maybe salvage the hood.” Jackson offered with a bright smile. Mark felt his heart flutter so he quickly looked away from the mechanic. Now is not the time for that. Mark stared at his pitiful limo and the thought of someone else working on it made his stomach turn but being able to never ride in it again made him feel worse. His heart was torn.

“Ummm is something wrong?” Jackson asked when Mark stayed silent and continued to look at his limo with melancholy.

The sudden question brought Mark back to reality and he quickly nodded his head. “I can send you the pictures when I get home. When will the repairs be finished?” Mark asked in his most professional voice.

“Depends on the design of the hood but it shouldn't take more than a month.” Jackson answered and handed Mark his personal business card.

Mark’s face fell once more. “O-oh…”

“Is that a problem?” Jackson asked with a tilt of his head.

“No. Well kind of. You see, this limo is my only form of transportation… I had to take a bus here and I’d rather avoid doing that again.” Mark explained.

“So you need a ride? I can drop you off at home if you want.” Jackson offered with a shrug.

“I’d appreciate that.” Mark blushed slightly. “Now I just have to figure out how I'm getting to class.” Mark mumbled to himself.

“What university do you go to?” Jackson asked when he heard the other guy grumbling to himself.

“K university, I'm studying business management.”

“Well, well, well, what a coincidence. I go to the same university, expect for mechanical engineering.” Jackson grinned. “We could carpool.”

“I’d hate to burden you even more…” Mark said softly.

“Noooo, it's fine. It'll give me an excuse to leave campus that isn't work related.” Jackson’s reassuring smile was all Mark needed to agree.

When Mark returned home, he gave Jackson one last wave goodbye before entering his house. He was greeted with the usual cold silence and he went straight to his room. He booted up his computer and started digging through old photo albums. He hasn't touched any of these folders in years, just skimming through them brought back so many memories. Finding pictures of his limo wasn't hard so he quickly composed an email with 5 pictures attached and sent it to Jackson. Hopefully the mechanic would be able to rebuild the limo with these. Mark was surprised when Jackson replied to his email five minutes later. The two continued to exchange emails until Mark realized it would be much more easier to just text each other. By the time 2 a.m rolled around Mark felt as if he knew Jackson forever. They talked about all sorts of things and surprisingly had a lot in common. They begrudgingly called it a night when the sun started to peek over the horizon. They both had classes in 4 hours. With three and a half hours of sleep Mark got into Jackson's car and they continued last night's conversation the whole ride. Mark bit his lip when they exit the car. He looked at Jackson and took a deep breath before speaking up.

“Do you want to go get coffee or something? I mean not now but like later…?” Mark asked. Maybe he was trying something too soon but his heart screamed for action. The older definitely wasn't expecting Jackson to blush and stutter out a soft yes. They went their separate ways after some awkward shuffling and soft uwus. Once they were both free from college, Jackson drove them to a small café a few blocks away from the auto shop Jackson worked at. The date was cut short when Jackson's boss called, the younger mechanic may have forgotten that he was supposed to be working on Mark's limo today. Mark ended up watching Jackson work on his limo between matches of fortnite on his phone. This became a routine for them. Jackson would drive them to school, after classes they would go on a short date, then Mark would watch Jackson work while he played games or studied. Mark didn't know how many days passed since they started to melt together but he could tell something was bothering the younger.

“What's wrong.” Mark asked when Jackson sat next to him for a break.

Jackson hesitated before answering. “I-I don't know if I can fix your limo.”

“What do you mean?” Mark asked. So far it looked like Jackson was doing a great job.

“Nothing's lining up and a few important things won't fit. I triple checked my measurements and math. Everything's correct but it's just not working. You wouldn't happen to know the company who built the limo? I tried to find it on my own but nothing remotely close popped up.” Jackson explained as he ran a hand through his hair. Mark stayed silent for what felt like an eternity.

“I didn't buy this limo. My grandpa built it for me, he knew nothing about cars, let alone how to build one but he did it anyways. He was amazing like that, nothing could stop him when it came to family. That's probably why you can't fix it…” Mark sighed.

“Maybe your grandpa could help fix it?” Jackson never regretted saying something so fast. Mark's face fell into a deep gloom.

“I wish he could… but he passed a few years back. Nothing's been the same ever since.” When his grandpa passed, it seemed like he took everyone with him. Mark's mother left soon after his passing, along with his grandmother. Mark couldn't even remember the last time he spoke with his father face to face. It felt like there was a permanent rain cloud floating above all their heads, pushing them apart with it's flood.

“I'm sorry…” Jackson apologized, softly squeezing Mark’s hand.

“It's okay… It's also okay if you can't fix the limo. You tried your best and that's what matters.” Mark smiled and really tried to make it real but his eyes gave him away.

“Well I'm not really to give in just yet. I may have a few more tricks up my sleeve.” Jackson grinned and Mark believed him.

When Mark got home later that night he wandered into the kitchen for a drink but paused when he saw something sitting on the table. There was a large manilla folder labeled, Evangeline. Mark instantly recognized the name and finally noticed the sticky note next to it.

Heard about the limo, I hope this helps. -Dad.

Mark felt his eyes prick with tears as he emptied the folder of its contents. All his grandpa's hard work written neatly on sheets of paper with pictures and drawings scattered all over the place. Even the original drawing of Evangeline that Mark drew himself when he was 9. Mark wiped his tears and smiled softly. He sent Jackson a text saying that he found the limo's blueprints and Jackson quickly replied with a bunch of emojis, making Mark laugh. The next day Jackson worked on Evangeline using the blueprints Mark's grandpa sketched out. It was like magic, all the pieces that didn't fit before clicked together like a puzzle. Within a few days, Evangeline was on the road again, purring like new. Though she saw the road less often, seeing as Jackson’s car, Luna, became Mark's main ride but the couple made sure Evangeline didn't collect dust by occasionally doing donuts in the parking lot or going on long drives at dusk.