Fic: Not Yet, Anyway
Somewhere between Magnus’ study and the library, Will realized, he must have made a wrong turn. Instead of shelves bursting with rare books, he found himself surrounded by a host of machines that, though unexpected, intrigued him.
Sporty cars that begged to be pushed to the limit and sleek motorcycles that pleaded to be let out on open road were scattered throughout the enormous room. Eyes wide with surprise, Will spun in a slow circle, allowing himself to really absorb his surroundings.
Familiar names like Ferrari, Porshe and Maserati jumped out at him, along with Harley Davidson and Indian. The machines on offer would have made even the most high-end dealer jealous.
Will wasn’t a car guy and he’d never even touched a motorcycle before, but in the presence of so much horsepower, all that was quickly forgotten. The speed potential in the room was magical, and he had fallen well and truly under its spell.
He walked up and down the aisles, letting his fingers trail over the assorted sleek bodies and trace logos he’d only ever seen in ads. For a long time, his awed silence was only punctuated by an occasional breathy ‘wow.’
It took the chuckle that followed a second ‘wow’ over a cherry red Indian for Will to realize he’d drawn an audience.
He jumped guiltily back from the bike and whipped his head toward the source of the sound. There, standing by the door, stood Ashley and Henry, both grinning widely.
“I was, uh, looking for the library,” Will explained self-consciously. No one had declared any parts of the Sanctuary off-limits, but still, he didn’t want them thinking he’d been snooping around.
“And you thought maybe it was parked between my ’46 Indian Chief and mom’s ’65 Mustang?” Ashley guessed as she sauntered towards him.
“I must have gotten turned around.”
Henry’s grin widened as he trailed after Ashley. “Well, you picked the most fun room in this place to get lost in.”
Will relaxed then and grinned back. “I don’t know about the most fun, but it’s definitely in my top three.”
“Dude, please don’t tell me the library is your number one.” Ashley frowned then, not because of his bookish nature, but because of the smudged fingerprints he’d left on her bike. She rubbed at the mark with her sleeve and shot Will a disapproving look.
“Don’t mind her,” said Henry. “Ash’s favourite room is wherever the most dangerous abnormal is being housed. She didn’t even know wehad a library until Magnus gave you the grand tour.”
Ashley retaliated by taking a playful swipe at him, but her attention stayed focused on Will. “Do you ride?”
Will’s eyes widened with disbelief that she even needed to ask. “Motorcycles? Uh, no. Not… Never. No.”
Henry and Ashley shared a knowing look, and then both were grinning at him again.
“Do you want to?”
Will tried to picture himself riding a motorcycle, but he couldn’t. He had no problem imagining himself falling off a motorcycle, but actuallyriding one? That was asking too much of even his wild imagination.
Then again, if someone had asked him three weeks ago if he wanted to be a monster… abnormal hunter he would have laughed in their face.
“I guess it might be fun to try sometime.” Will realized what he’d said a few seconds after he’d spoken and blinked in surprise.
Before he had time to process what he’d just agreed to do in the hazy, indefinite future, Ashley and Henry were hatching plans to make that hazy, indefinite future happen.
Ashley was bouncing on the balls of her feet, ticking things off on her fingers. “He’s already wearing a leather jacket. Jeans aren’t ideal, but they’ll do for his first time out…”
“Geeze, Ash! The guy’s never going to ride if you try and get him into leathers.”
“Leather pants are hot.”
“On girls,” Henry insisted emphatically.
“Whatever,” Ashley flapped her hand and moved on. “He’ll need a…”
Henry was already on the move. “He can wear mine,” he called over his shoulder.
Will finally caught up and he did not like where things were heading. “Wait, now?”
Ashley shrugged. “Is there something else you’re supposed to be doing?”
“Well, no, but….”
“No time like the present, then,” Henry said helpfully. He passed Ashley a blue helmet then, without waiting for permission, plunked a heavy red helmet over Will’s head. He ignored the other man’s splutters of protest.
“But I don’t even know how to ride a motorcycle!” Will said. His voice sounded thick and distorted inside the helmet.
Henry flipped up the visor and leaned in close, peering at him through the opening. “Ash’ll teach you, but you might want to lose the glasses.”
“So they don’t break when I inevitably fall off the bike?” Will guessed. In spite of the fact that he wanted no part of this crazy misadventure, he took off his glasses and handed them over.
Henry laughed then, not at his words, but at him. “No, man, so you can’t tell whether things are blurry because you’re not wearing them, or because Ashley’s driving way too fast.”
This was such a bad idea. And crazy too. Will couldn’t fathom why he was going along with it. He was the kind of person who curled up with a good book when he wanted to have a good time. He wasn’t an adrenaline junkie, didn’t go out looking for cheap thrills. That wasn’t who he was.
Except he’d accepted an invitation to come work with a stranger whose sanity he’d questioned. His new job involved chasing after dangerous creatures, the very real possibility of death, and training to become an expert marksman. None of his duties were cheap thrills, but they did guarantee fairly regular adrenaline rushes.
His gaze darted between Ashley and Henry. Both were watching him expectantly, eyes bright with excitement. Will realized that they were waiting for him to do something, anything. They’d forced him into the helmet, but they wouldn’t force him on to the bike. He could still back out if he wanted too, and Henry’s expression promised that if he did back out, the ribbing wouldn’t even be that bad.
But Will realized he didn’t want to back out. He’d been pushing the boundaries of his comfort zone lately, learning as much about himself as he was learning about the Sanctuary in the process.
He’d never ridden a motorcycle before, but he wanted to try. Wanted to see if he could.
He brought his hands together with a clap and asked, “So, how does this work?”
“Awesome!” Henry exclaimed, exchanging a triumphant high-five with Ashley.
“This is gonna be great!” she promised.
Their enthusiasm was contagious. A flutter of anticipation settled in the pit of Will’s stomach as he let the duo lead him across the garage to a more modern, sturdy looking bike.
He listened attentively to Ashley’s instructions, and Henry’s pointers about riding behind the driver. He committed their co-presented safety lecture to memory, and then rattled off the answers to the pop quiz that followed, impressing his teachers by earning a perfect score.
When they were satisfied he was ready, Will climbed on to the bike behind Ashley and, feeling only a little embarrassed about it, wound his arms around her waist. He let Henry push and pull him into the proper position, making note of the minor corrections the other man made, and the rationale he gave for each adjustment.
It took several minutes, but finally Henry declared, “Okay, Ash. You’re good to go.”
The flutter of anticipation morphed into a tornado of excitement swirling in Will’s chest. He was pleasantly surprised to find that, although he was nervous about his first motorcycle ride, he didn’t feel any fear.
“Will?” Ashley twisted around as much as his hold on her allowed and appraised him. “You ready?”
He hesitated long enough to take one slow, deep breath. Then he nodded, grinned, and said, “Let’s go.”
Will caught a brief glimpse of her answering grin before she twisted forward again.
The bike roared to life and Will marveled at the odd musicality of the full, throaty sound. The powerful engine made his body hum with its deep vibrations and for the first time, he understood Ashley and Henry’s giddiness at the mere thought of riding.
Ashley revved the engine and Henry slapped Will on the back. Then he stepped clear of the bike and Ashley carefully coaxed it into motion.
Will’s stomach gave an excited lurch as the bike crept forward. He’d seen her ride often enough, zipping recklessly up and down the streets of New City, to know that Ashley was going slow for his benefit. He appreciated her consideration, but it wasn’t necessary.
He wanted to feel the wind tearing at him as they screamed along a flat stretch of open road. He wanted to see their surroundings blur as Ashley pushed the engine to its limit. And yes, he wanted to feel adrenaline hammer through him as the bike ate up the miles.
“Isn’t the whole point of this to go fast?” Will called, hoping Ashley would take the hint.
“Are you sure?”
“Positi...” Will began. The reassurance morphed into an enthusiastic, “Woohoo!” when she released her careful pressure on the brake.
As the bike tore out of what Will was starting to think of as ‘the fun garage’ and down the driveway, Henry let out an excited whoop of his own.
By the time they made it through the main gate and out on to the street, Ashley had settled into a speed more than twice the limit.
“Is this okay?” she asked, shouting to be heard over the thunderous wind and the growling engine.
It was all right, but Will suspected that it could be even better. “Faster!” he urged.
Ashley laughed as she accelerated and he joined her, reveling in the extra speed even as he tightened his hold on her waist.
He might be a closet adrenaline junkie, but he wasn’t as fearless as Ashley in his pursuit of the next great rush.
Not yet, anyway.
A/N 2: I'm really, really tempted to turn this into a series about Will learning to ride, but I'm not sure I know enough. Please let me know if you'd be interested in reading more about Will's motorcycling (mis)adventures. If there's interest, I'll put in the research and churn out a few more installments!