"Hmm... You're right, I like that."

Ele said, nodding her head and sitting on the ground with her legs crossed,

"Cake or pie?"

"I like them both equally."

He smiles and begins removing the stock wheels and tires on the miata. He lays the new ones on their side and puts the old ones on top, the wheel and tire combined are only slightly larger than the wheels of the new pair. He looks over at Ele with a smirk.

"Beach or mountains? And feel free to ask me questions."

She nodded at the tires,

"They look bigger without the original there for comparison."

"Beach beside the mountains."

He chuckles.

"The stock wheels are 14 inches, the new wheels are 18 inches but the new tires a 29 by 18.50, they had to modify the tire a little to get it to fit cuz this size tire is meant to be used with 16 inch wheels at most. The lip on the wheel makes it a little bigger than what it would be without the lip so it should be good."

((We can always skip ahead if you want to.))

Ele nodded, somewhat understanding what Tyler was saying. She was excited to see the Miata up and running, but especially to see it fully completed.

(Was planning on it with this post lol)

He keeps working for hours into the night. The hours pass and the car comes almost to completion the first night with only the engine left to be swapped in. He looks at Ele, covered in grease and various other fluids.

"Alright, now we gotta get the engine in and mounted and fitted with wires and hoses."

He begins jacking the front end up into the air and puts the engine on a small cart. Blocking the frame to keep it from falling down he rolls the engine on the cart under the car with the jack out of the way. He centers it up and puts the jack back in place, lifting the car up enough to remove the blocks. He removes the blocks, lowering the car. He pumps a handle on the cart and raises the engine into the car. They both work to get the engine in place and bolted down. An hour passes after the physical install and the entire engine is installed, including the turbo. Tyler sighs and looks at Ele with a smile on a face covered in grease and dust.

"We are done!"

He laughs.

Sitting on the ground had been a mistake for Ele as Tyler worked, it was too much of a temptation to fall asleep. They had chatted and learned more about one another while Ele watched and learned about all the bits and pieces that Tyler was working with. Occasionally she would be asked to help, but by the time Tyler announced that they were done, Ele was practically dead on her feet.

Smiling sleepily at Tyler, Ele nodded and said,

"Yay!"

Mustering as much enthusiasm as she could. Looking Tyler up and down, Ele giggled and reached up to wipe a drip of liquid off his cheek with her thumb,

"I hope you plan on a shower before bed, or I will be forced to relegate you to couch duty for the rest of the night."

"I feel about 10 pounds heavier tonight so I am definitely showering."

He smiles and kneels down in front of Ele and pivots.

"Wanna ride?"

He asks, offering to carry her in.

The offer was random, and caught Ele off guard for a moment but she laughed and climbed on to Tyler's back. It didn't matter to her that she would have greasy hand prints on her shorts and legs, or that Tyler was sweaty, she just liked being able to touch him.

Wrapping her arms around Tyler's neck, Ele looked over his shoulder and planted a kiss on the one clean part of his neck that she could find.

"You're really cute."

"Well, I do try."

He smirks and stands up carrying her in. He gets inside the house and puts her down.

"I am gonna go take a shower. I feel like I haven't showered in months."

He walks into his bathroom walking through his bedroom to get there. He takes a nice hot shower, getting squeaky clean. He walks out in some shorts 15 minutes later.

"You know, I think I really did have probably 10 pounds of gunk on me."

He says as he walks into the kitchen.

While Tyler had been in the shower, Ele had used the kitchen sink to wash herself off then went to the bedroom and changed back into Tyler's shirt. It was strange to admit, but Ele enjoyed the fact that she didn't have to worry about makeup, she could put her hair in a messy bun, she was just wearing Tyler's shirt and she didn't feel at all worried that Tyler wouldn't like how she looked.

Going back out to the living room, Ele remembered she had gotten a pretty consistent amount of notifications while they were in the garage. Ele had ignored the, wanting to pay attention to what she was learning and to Tyler. Going to the kitchen where she had left her phone on the counter, Ele was shocked to see messages and missed calls from Kate along side notifications from her social media accounts.

As Tyler walked in, Ele was listening to a voicemail from her best friend and felt a pit forming in her stomach. Her face paled and her eyes widened with fear when she looked at Tyler.

When the message ended, Ele pressed a hand to her mouth as she stared at her phone as the screen went dark,

"Babe..."

Ele said in a shaky voice, still staring at the phone,

"I have a problem."

He looks at her with worry.

"What's wrong?"

He asks seeing the worry on her face and hearing it in her voice.

"Kate... She was calling me while we were in the garage."

Taking a deep breath, Ele scrolled through her texts from Kate until she got to the one that made tears come to Ele's eyes,

Your mom and Joey showed up today at work. They were asking about you.

Handing the phone to Tyler, Ele's breathing quickened as she felt panic beginning to choke her,

"I moved to the city and so she couldn't find me, but she did and Joey..."

Ele sobbed at the mention of the man's name and she put her face in her hands and sobbed as memories flooded her, making she shake in fear.

"He the douche nozzle you grew up with?"

He asks, his protective instincts kicking in.

"Cuz I will go with you in a minute and stomp him a size 17 mudhole in his ass."

Wiping her eyes and trying to collect herself as much as she could, Ele took in a couple stuttering breaths before she spoke again,

"He... He's one of... Of one the ones."

Pressing a hand to her chest, Ele took her phone back and put it on the counter, unable to look at it again,

"His was the last place I stayed before I left home, but he was one of the worst."

Wrapping her arms around herself, Ele looked down at the floor, feeling like she was about to fall apart. Stepping forward, Ele leaned her forehead on Tyler's chest, needing his touch right now.

"They both know where I work now, it won't take much for them to figure out where I live. My apartment is only a couple blocks away."

"Well, maybe it would be a good life out here for you. If they find you out here, they will have to deal with my crazy big ass as well as an arsenal."

He hugs her tight.

"I mean, you have settled in pretty nicely here already, don't you think?"

There was nothing Ele could say about the matter, she was distraught and her mind was racing around what options she had. Thinking of her job, her lease, her friends... But she also had to think of her peace of mind and safety. And Tyler was right, Ele was settling into the pace of life here, growing closer to Tyler and thinking of a potential future with him.

"It seems like much more of a reality now."

Ele said quietly, turning her face to rest her cheek against Tyler's chest, breathing deep as she allowed herself to draw strength and comfort from him,

"I'm just tired of being afraid and looking over my shoulder. I thought I was done with that once I moved, but it never really ended. I was always on alert, just waiting for the other shoe to fall. And even here and now, if she could find me in the city, what's stopping her from finding me here?"

Ele leaned back and looked up at Tyler, her face pale and tired looking,

"They're both crazy, they don't know what fear is and I don't want you to get hurt."

"They will find fear staring down the barrel of a gun."

He leans back and picks her head up.

"You noticed that big cabinet in my room right?"

Nodding, Ele closed her eyes and leaned her head into Tyler's touch, her breathing evening out.

"Yeah, the one that looks like a wardrobe."

"Well, it is no wardrobe. I will show you what it actually is."

He takes her hand and makes his way into his bedroom. Walking up to the cabinet he opens the first of 3 large doors and sitting inside are several guns. Opening the second, several more and then the third just a few more. Strewn out along the bottom are multiple pistols ranging from palm sized to hand cannons.

"Now you know."