A Chance Meeting (Gabriel/Thor)

[Ninia]

It was late in the morning, nearly noon, by the time Thor had finished fixing the car he'd been working on. Thor stepped back, wiping the sweat from his forehead, happy with the job he'd done. He closed the bonnet of the car and turned just in time to see the owner walk in. He was an old friend of Thor's fathers and had known the boy since he was a kit. Thor smiled at the older man and greeted him “You're just in time, I just finished working on it and it should be good as new.”

The man grinned at Thor and patted him on the back “Still working as hard as ever Thor, I only dropped it off this morning and you've already fixed it.” Thor shrugged and turned when the door to the back office opened and his Dad came out. Thor frowned slightly at the dark bags under his eyes, the only signs that the man had been up all night looking over bills and working out the profit of the business. His Dad smiled at his friend.

“It's good to see you again Owen” Owen turned to him and nodded walking over to the small desk where Thor's father stood.

“You too Aiden. So how much do I owe you this time?”

Thor zoned out of the conversation, letting his father deal with it. He pulled off his gloves and placed them on the workbench nearby before wiping his hands on his old jeans. He pushed himself onto the bench and stretched his arms above his head. It had been a slow couple of days for the garage and he hadn't had much work to do, it was a little worrying for their small business but Thor knew things would have to start getting better. Owen paid Aiden and waved at Thor before leaving. Aiden rubbed his tired eyes and looked over at Thor.

“Why don't you go take your break now?”

Thor just shook his head and smiled cheerfully at his father “I'm fine, you're the one that needs to rest. I'll watch the front for now, it's slow anyway.”

Aiden smiled thankfully at his son and headed to the back office. “If you're sure you can handle it.”

Thor just waved him off “I can handle it. Get some rest.” Aiden nodded and disappeared into the back room leaving Thor alone in the garage to clear up the tools he'd been using.

[Ephemerality]

Gabriel was late.. Oh so very late. Not that anyone would've been able to tell, just by looking at the man. In fact, considering his situation, the half-Zercan looked calm as could be, which was a stark comparison to the two, older men that were storming down the block alongside him. It honestly looked like the two were going to suffer a melt down at any moment, their expressions torn between anger and anxiety, fists clenched tightly at their sides. It was nigh comical how much they cotrasted with the almost bored look plastered on Gabe's face.

It didn't take but a few moments longer for the group to make it to their destination -- the garage. The taller of the older two led the charge as he threw open the door, wasting no time at all before barking out orders in his usual commanding, I'm-a-very-important-person voice.

"You! You work here? Good," James barked out as soon as he saw Thor, impatiently waving the boy over, "We have somewhere very important to be, and our car has broken down with no one else available to drive us. A tow truck should be arriving with our car in a few minutes. You've got an hour to fix it. I'll pay whatever the cost is. Just do it."

Gabe looked over at his father and suppressed an annoyed sigh. Really? An hour? The man certainly did think that the world just revolved around them, didn't he? He softly bit the inside of his lip, just to keep from snapping at the man for being so inconsiderate. Instead, he drew in a breath and spoke up himself.

"Mother, father? Why don't you to go find some lunch somewhere while we wait on the car?" He suggested, "Breathing down this boy's neck isn't going to make the car be fixed any faster."

"Fine. Come along then, Gabriel," His mother said, making a move to leave before Gabe shook his head softly and answered.

"I'm fine. Besides, someone has to stay here and make sure the job getsdone," Gabe stated, adopting that fake snooty tone he'd devised when he wanted to better appeal to his parents. It seemed to work, too, his parents giving a nod of approval.

"Good idea," His father said to Gabe, then looked to Thor again, "Right. We'll be back in one hour."

With that, the two finally left, leaving the wavy-haired brunette standing in the middle of the garage. Only after the door shut behind them did Gabe let out a frustrated sigh of relief, shaking his head.

"Finally," He muttered, "Thank god they've left. I was about to go insane, listening to them all morning."

[Ninia]

Thor looked up from his place at the desk when the door was thrown open and three men walked in. Two men were obviously older and looked completely stressed out while the third looked calm and collected. The taller, older man looked straight at Thor, immediately ordering him around. Thor frowned and stood opening his mouth to ask the man to calm down but before he could say anything the man continued speaking. Thor listened to the man's demands deciding better then to try talking again. Judging by the way the man was treating him he was used to getting what he wanted.

Thor walked over to the group once the man had finished speaking. He looked over at the younger man when he started talking. The frown on Thor's face faded as he listened to the man speak, thankful that at least this man wasn't yelling at him as well and was more understanding that some things couldn't be done. Thor listened to the conversation between the three and nodded when the older man spoke to him again.

Thor smiled sympathetically at the younger man who had decided to stay behind “I think anyone would.” Thor paused for a second before laughing sheepishly “Ah sorry, it's not my place to say.”

Thor moved over to the tool box, setting it up ready for the car. He turned back to the younger man nodding at the chair next to the desk “You can take a seat there if you want."

Thor walked over to the back office and opened the door slightly. He stuck his head in to see his father taking a nap on the old couch. Thor smiled and closed the door again glad the commotion didn't wake him. He turned back to look at Gabe "It sounds like you're in a rush, I'll try to get your car done in an hour but I can't promise you anything.” He said, hoping the man would be politer then the older man earlier.

[Ephemerality]

Gabe quirked an eyebrow when Thor spoke up and then corrected himself, unable to help a small laugh at his parents' expense. "Oh, no. I think anyone that has had the misfortune of dealing with an impatient James Steele is more than entitled to their opinions. Gods know, I share most of them," Gabe answered with a smirk, turning his attention towards the chair he was directed towards. Once he was seated, his attention went back to Thor, watching him momentarily until the other spoke to him once more.

"Actually, I have something.." The half-Zercan began, reaching into his pocket for something, "..that should make your job very, very simple."

With that, Gabe produced a small item from his pocket, holding it up for Thor to see. What it was, was quite obvious -- a very important piece to the car that his player has no idea what to call because she's car-clueless. He gave the other a bit of a smile before tossing it over to him, and then reclining back into the chair again.

"I took it out this morning, just before we were supposed to leave. Just pop it back in and the car should be in working order," He stated, as non-chalant as ever, "You can come up with whatever excuse you'd like when father returns.. The more expensive, the better, actually. Not like money means anything to him."

[Ninia]

Thor caught the piece and laughed as he examined the small item “Well that explains a lot, you must really not want to go somewhere.” Thor paused and looked up from the item, thinking back to what Gabe had said. “Did you say he was James Steele? As in, James Steele owner of Steele Space Travel. Wow, I never thought I’d ever meet him.” It was easy to tell that Thor was impressed but he soon returned to normal when he heard the sound of the tow truck.

Thor thanked the man as he set the car down in the garage. Thor grabbed his gloves of the workbench where he’d left them and immediately went to work grabbing the tools he needed to fit the piece back in. He opened the bonnet of the car and set to work.

“I won’t tell him you took it out, I’ll just say it was broken so I replaced it with a new one. Also I’m not going to ask for more money than my works worth, I wouldn’t feel right about it if I did.” Thor finished the job quite quickly. He closed the bonnet and pulled of his gloves. “All done.”

He walked over the desk Gabe was sat at and took a seat on the other side, placing his gloves on the desk. “So if he was James Steele I’m guessing you’re Gabriel. You don’t look old enough to be his mate.”

[Ephemerality]

Thor's assumption was right on the money, actually. His words sent a soft laugh from the brunette, as well as a nod. "I couldn't have said it better myself," Gabe stated, pushing his chair back onto the back two legs, "But yes, that was the infamous James Steele. Never thought you'd meet him? Now I imagine you wish you never had."

The half-Zercan smirked as he let the chair fall back onto the floor, watching the other set about replacing the part he'd stolen earlier. Though, when the boy assured him that he wasn't going to overcharge his father, his eyebrows rose. Most people would've jumped at the chance to get a hand on the Steele fortunate for practically no reason at all, but not this boy.. It was perplexing, indeed. And, ultimately, quite impressive.

"My reputation proceeds me," He answered, the presumptuous words softened by the obvious sarcasm behind them. Certainly, Gabe didn't have the same sense of self-importance and entitlement as did his parents. He turned to face Thor again, "Yes, I'm Gabe Steele. It's a pleasure to meet you..?" He trailed off, prompting the other for his name.

[Ninia]

Thor chuckled at the sarcasm in Gabe’s voice, glad that the other seemed down to earth and wasn’t acting posh or spoilt. Thor grinned at Gabe “Thor Holt and the pleasure’s all mine. It’s a nice surprise to serve someone who isn’t grumpy about their car breaking down.” Thor had to deal with a lot of customers like that so Gabe was a breath of fresh air to him.

Thor glanced at the clock, they had some time left before Gabe’s parents had said they’d be back. It was nice to have some company for once, usually it was older couples or people who were just complaining all the time. Thor’s friend, Matthias, would sometimes visit but he’d hadn’t come by lately.

Thor turned back to Gabe “So if you don’t mind me asking, what’s so bad that you tried to break your own car to avoid it?” Thor couldn’t help but smile, finding the whole thing amusing. “Is it some sort of big business meeting? I mean, since your parents are here as well I just thought…” Thor tailed off waiting to see if Gabe would answer. He knew it wasn’t his business, he was just curious as to what could be so bad.

[Ephemerality]

Gabe gave a small shrug of the shoulders and a smirk, shaking his head. Normally, he supposed he would be pretty irritable if his car broke down when he wasn't the one behind it. Today, though, was an exception. Now that his plans for the day had been at least stalled, if not outright canceled, he was in a particularly good mood. That is, until his parents returned for him.. But that was about an hour away? Why think about it now?

"You could call it a business meeting. My parents more or less treat it like one," He sighed, leaning forward to prop his elbows up on the corner of the desk, "We were supposed to go meet with a business partner of my father's and his son today. It's their way of trying to play matchmaker."

Gabe wrinkled his nose at the thought, clearly annoyed by the very idea. After a second, he went on, perhaps being a little more chatty than he should've been with a complete stranger.. But who else did he have to rant with about these things? "This is only about the hundred person they've tried to set me up with. They're just so certain my mate will be the heir of some equally powerful company, just so I can bring more money into the family." He huffed sighly, shrugging a shoulder.

"But the bearer they're trying to set me up with today is just as arrogant and insufferable as the rest of them. So, if he is my mate by some extremely small chance, I think I'd rather pass on meeting him, you know?" He muttered, "Hopefully they'll get impatient and call off the meeting."

[Ninia]

Thor grimaced as he listened to Gabe “You have my sympathies. I don’t know what I’d do if my parents tried to set me up with someone.” He paused for a moment and laughed “I now understand why you broke the car.” Thor found it easy to talk to Gabe, the other was nothing that Thor had thought he’d be. He thought he’d be stuck up like other upper class, rich people. He was pleasantly surprised.

“You never know, this guy might be different. You can’t judge a book by its cover. But if he is how you think he is then you can always have fun telling your parents you’re not interested.” He smiled to himself, if James Steele got this stressed about being late he could only imagine what he was like when Gabe told them he didn’t like the guy they’d picked out.

Thor leant back in his chair, it was easy to relax around Gabe “I suppose there is one good things about them matchmaking for you, they’re helping you look for your mate. I haven’t had the chance to look for mine so I’m just going to wait until he finds me instead.” Thor had a soft smile on his face as he spoke, lost in his own naive fantasy.

[Ephemerality]

Gabe quirked an eyebrow when the other suggested that he might have been wrong about the boy he had been meant to meet today. The kid had a point. His judgment was all just based on assumptions and heresay, but still.. The guy just didn't have much confidence in the other being anything but a carbon copy of his own parents. But when the other mentioned the 'fun' of telling his parents, he could only muster a small smile.

"It's not really that fun, I suppose. I mean, normally it's pretty satisfying to see him not getting his way.. But he's very expectant of me, you know? Mother, too. He's more vocal about it than my father is, actually," He sighed, donning a bit higher voice, obviously imitating his mother's impatient tone, "Really, Gabriel. This is the fourth bearer we've met with this week. Why do you have to be so impossible?" The imitation ended with a roll of the half-Zercan's eyes and a sulky tone. "Like I really get just choose my mate or something, and I'm just being purposefully inconvenient for them."

He fell silent as the other tried to point out the silver lining to his situation. And as the other smiled, thinking about his own future mate, Gabe couldn't help but don a small smile himself. "Honestly, I wish I could just wait and let it happen, like you. Even if I did find my mate through my parents and these meetings, it just wouldn't feel right, you know? No romance at all. Just.. business." He wrinkled his nose, shaking his head, "Besides, I believe my parents are about to give up on finding my mate and forcing me to marry anyway. I've heard them discussing it before, anyway, and neither of them are patient people, exactly."

[Ninia]

What Gabe said brought Thor back from his thoughts. His smile fell as he listened to the other; he supposed it would just feel like business instead of something special. As he continued to listen he couldn’t help be see that what he thought about the upper class having more freedoms was wrong in Gabe’s case, it looked like he didn’t have a choice when it came to his parents decisions.

He straightened in his chair and leant forward, frowning “The more you tell me about your parents, the more I dislike them. They can’t force you to marry; I mean there’s no way it would work. Won’t you and whoever they want you to marry just end up miserable?” Thor knew he wouldn’t be able to stay in a marriage like that; he was a romantic at heart, believing in fairy-tale endings and once you’ve found your mate everything will work out.

“Have you tried telling them you don’t want to do this anymore?” Thor knew it probably wasn’t his place to ask, it wasn’t any of his business, but he liked Gabe and wanted to see if he could give him any advice or help. “Maybe they’d understand.” Thor didn’t even believe in his words as he said them. From what Gabe had told him, he guessed they probably wouldn’t listen anyway.

[Ephemerality]

At the other's words, Gabe gave a soft, almost sad smile. "I don't blame you. Half the time, I'm sure I hate them.. or at least would like the pleasure of smacking some sense into them," He sighed, slouching a bit in his chair.. Definitely not something typical of the stereotypical rich man, "But ultimately, they're my parents." And as much as he wanted to hate them for what they were putting him through and how they treated others, it was impossible.

"But anyway, finding my mate isn't of utter importance to them. I'm amazed they've even went to the trouble to begin with, honestly," He shook his head, "It's hard to find your mate, and there are plenty of people who never do, right? So in the end, if it means that they'll have a successor to the family business and they can retire soon, they'll convince me that an.. arranged marriage of sorts would be best, I'm sure."

Suddenly, Gabe fell quiet and even his cheeks began to turn the slightest shade of red, realizing how much he was chattering on and on. "I apologize. I didn't mean to come in here and dump all my problems on you. It's kind of selfish of me, talking all about myself like that. Guess I'm still at least a little bit like my parents in that respect, aren't I?" He laughed at his own expense before redirecting the topic elsewhere, "What about you? Anything gnawing away at you that you'd need to rant to someone about? It's only fair, and I've been told that I'm as good of a listener as I am a talker."

[Ninia]

Thor just smiled at Gabe "I don't mind, everyone needs someone to unload their problems on, you even more so it seems." Thor turned away from Gabe when the other asked if he had any problems he wanted to talk about. He bit his bottom lip, a habit of his when he was troubled or nervous, as he thought of his own problems. "I suppose it would be nice to have someone to talk to about my problems." Thor was usually the person people came to when they wanted to get things off their chests, he never really complained to anyone else choosing to deal with it himself.

His grandfather's face came into his mind and Thor's mood worsened. He tried to smile at Gabe hoping the other wouldn't notice anything. "I just have the same problems as others I guess, money, family, just common things." He paused for a while before deciding it wouldn't harm anyone by venting a few of his worries.

"It is mostly my family that I worry about. My father's been getting stressed lately with the lack of business and I don't know how to help." Thor looked down at his hands, now he'd said one problem it felt easier to go on. "He doesn't know that I notice how tired he is and I try to keep positive about it but it just gets hard sometimes." Thor stopped himself from speaking and forced a smile on his face "But things should get better soon."

[Ephemerality]

Gabe watched Thor closely when he asked him about his problems, especially when he attempted a smile. Yet the half-Zercan had always been rather good at reading people, and he could tell that there was something wrong - more than that smile would let on. But he didn't say anything, simply letting the other speak without pressuring him into doing so.

"I can't imagine.. It's unfair that people that work hard have these kinds of troubles, while people like my parents are utterly clueless," Gabe frowned slightly, leaning in to place a reassuring hand on Thor's shoulder, "Look, if you need help with anything, I'd be more than glad."

Normally, the brunette was a kind person.. Thus, how he was the child of James and Devon Steele was a complete mystery. He'd spent quite a good deal of his share in the family fortune on more philanthropic ventures, and he loved to offer help if he saw that it was needed. But for some reason, he felt even more drawn to help Thor. Something about those forced smiles and the underlying sadness and worry behind those words just pulled at his heartstrings.

[Ninia]

Thor looked back up at Gabe surprised by what he’d said. His smile grew, becoming genuine, as he beamed at Gabe “Thank you for the offer, but just listening is enough for me. I normally just keep my problems to myself instead of bothering others with them. I appreciate you listening.” He didn’t know why he was being so open with Gabe and, he wouldn’t say it was worrying him, more that it was confusing him.

Thor unconsciously leaned towards Gabe’s warm hand, enjoying the comfort it was giving him. He sighed, feeling like a little bit of weight had been lifted from his shoulders. He chuckled to himself, maybe Matthias was right and keeping things inside was bad for his health.

Thor pulled away when he heard movement in the back office. His smile fell a little, he’d been hoping his father would sleep longer. The door opened and Aiden Holt entered the main garage wiping the sleep from his eyes. He paused when he saw Gabe and looked over at the car in the garage before smiling sheepishly at him “I’m sorry, I didn’t kno-”

“It’s ok Dad, I've dealt with it.” Thor smiled at his father, letting him know he’d already fixed the car