It's Definitely Not All Mary Poppins

Goodbye. Look After Yourself (5)

Matt sniffed and wiped his eyes, hiccuping. "Guys," he scoffed, forcing himself to breathe. "I can't – why would you – "

"Because we love you, Matt," Eli chimed in.

"This is..." Matt took a steadying breath. "This is...so much."

Audrey shook her head. "Please. The amount of things you do for everyone else." She touched his shoulder. "The 'saint' shtick is cute, but sometimes you need love, too."

"And we missed Lloyd," Lilly added. "We miss riding in him."

Matt glanced at Yang, standing solitary with his hands behind his back. His expression was soft, uncertain, and a part of him wanted to believe Yang had a hand in this.

Toby held out his hand, the Volkswagen key in his palm. "Whenever you're ready. He's charged up, tires all inflated. Give us the inaugural run, Matt."

Two of them started clapping. The sound echoed.

Matthew found himself in the drivers' seat, feeling every inch of the wheel. Sense memory overcame him, and he stuck the key in the ignition and checked the car was in park. Glancing over the dashboard revealed a new dial where the gas gauge once was: now it was analog, screen clear.

"That was – " Yang stepped forward. "I...had the sense you wanted...something true to the original design." He drew in a short breath, like every word had the chance to throw Matthew into a rage. "That...took some time to get right."

He glanced at the new gauge for a moment before meeting Yang's brown eyes, less sunken than they've been since he's known him. "...thank you," he muttered, turning the key and waiting for the sound of the engine spluttering to life. There was a low whine before the car fell silent, though the new gas gauge read the battery was at one hundred percent. "This is so weird. I'm expecting chirping, and it's silent."

"It's so eerie," Toby agreed.

"It's like Lloyd's a ghost," Eli said, sliding the passenger seat over so he could climb into the back.

Matthew turned around. "Excuse me, what are you doing?"

"Inaugural run," he said. "I wanna sit in the back."

"If you're going, I wanna go, too!" Lilly exclaimed, climbing in alongside her cousin.

He scoffed, smirking. He turned off the engine. "What if I wanted to drive Lloyd on my own?"

"Don't be so selfish," Eli said on cue. He wiggled in the backseat and strapped himself in. "We all love Lloyd as much as you do." He unbuckled and thrust himself between the drivers and passenger seats. "Uncle Jun! You've never experienced riding in Lloyd! Come on!"

"Oh," Yang stammered. "I...maybe Mr. Reyes could supplant me. The moment shouldn't be marred by...someone who wanted the...Lloyd...gone."

Matthew rolled his eyes. "Sir, with all due respect, just get in the car."

The children called to him with such aggression, bouncing in the backseat, that Yang eventually relented, plopping himself down and buckling himself in. "Is there something more...substantial than this?" he asked, holding up the buckle. "These are the kinds of buckles you see on school buses. Or planes."

"You'll be fine," Matt said, turning the key again. Again, the engine whined and fell silent, and a quiet sense of dread flooded his gut. "The Germans built these like tanks. There's a reason they were built from, like, the 50's till 2003."

"No airbags, no crumple zones, no reinforcing."

"Sir, please don't ruin this."

Yang's expression fell. "Drive carefully, then."