a/n: i am not an engineer or technologically inclined at all so here we are butchering the job of a stage tech; hope you enjoy it!
Paul's pov
I'm walking through the tour bus when I notice Y/n laying on the bench, taking a nap.
As I always do when she's napping, I look around for a blanket and gently spread it over her, then pull the curtain closed behind her. I ensure she's still asleep before I run to the minifridge and grab a bottle of water, which I place in front of the bench.
I hope she has a good nap, I think as I bite back a smile at the threshold of the living room area.
She's so cute when she's sleeping. She takes a lot of little naps around the bus and it's adorable. Sometimes the guys will want to play pranks on her, but Jim and I always stop it.
Y/n is Jim's tech mostly because he's been having a lot of issues with his amps on this tour, keeping Y/n pretty occupied. She's always nice to everyone else, but Jim is obviously her best friend.
Occasionally I wish that my amps would have issues so I'd have to help Y/n work on them late into the night. It would be just so inconvenient to listen to music and have a drink with her while she works.
So inconvenient.
I'm torn from my thought trance by the sound of a few guys coming back into the bus from the gas station. Their noise makes Y/n stir out of her nap as I greet my bandmates.
...
2nd person
You're working on Jim's amp again late into the night. Soft music is playing from a small radio as you adjust your position on the floor to lean closer to the circuit you're working on.
You really should lay off those naps, but then again, when else are you going to sleep? As much as you love Slipknot, those dudes are chaotic and they make it hard to focus, so working late at night when they're asleep is just the better way to go.
As you're soldering a few things onto a circuit inside the massive amp apparatus, you hear footsteps coming closer.
"It'll be ready when it's ready, damnit," you say without thinking.
"Jim piss you off or something?" Paul Gray's voice replies from the threshold of the room.
"Oh, shit. Sorry, a little bit. He's just impatient," you shrug. "Can't sleep?"
"I was about to say the same to you," Paul sits down across from you, leaning against a chair. "How's it coming along?"
"It's coming...I really should have actually paid attention in college before I dropped out," you mutter, earning a little chuckle from Paul. "I mean, I know the issue. It's that these wires were 'fixed' before by someone who didn't know what they were doing, but I don't really understand how that fucked the entire system up and burnt the innards to hell. Usually it just creates a delay between the signal the guitar sends and the sound the amp creates, which leads me to believe it wasn't just a bad wiring job like Jim told me it was...sorry, it doesn't really matter."
You reach over to your case of tools to grab a small screwdriver to pick at some other older solder you need to undo in a very poor attempt to hide yourself.
"Hey, don't worry about it. I've always thought engineers were cool," Paul smiles warmly. "I never get to see techs doing tech stuff."
"That's usually because the world isn't full of Jim Roots doing their own amp repairs," you pull off a small part to uncover the rest of the circuit you're working on.
"You think Jim did this?"
"It's either that dumbass or another tech getting high while fixing it. It looks like someone wanted to make mods on it?" you estimate. "A lot of this is heat damaged, was this ever caught on the pyro stuff?"
"Maybe," Paul shrugs. "Whoever did those mods must have gotten pissed and just set it on fire."
You chuckle, continuing to work. "So what's going on with you? I feel like it's been a while since we last talked one on one."
Paul starts to tell you about all the shows and stuff, most of the details of which Jim's already shared with you, but you're not going to tell that to your companion. Anyone who dares to tell Paul Gray to shut up deserves to have a wrench shoved up their nose.
For the next two hours, Paul talks with you and keeps you company until he announces that he's far too tired to even watch you.
"Go to sleep then," you tell the bassist, ignoring the sleepy heaviness in your own eyes.
"Only if you promise to," Paul smiles.
"Fine," you nod. "I'm just gonna put this back together before, though."
That was a bit of a fib. You're only done working 45 minutes later, and then just decide to crash on the couch.
Paul drapes a blanket over you when he finds you early the next morning.
...
It's been a few days since Paul stayed up with you, and in that time, you've actually made a good amount of progress on the amp. Maybe it's that the bassist has been your apprentice in that time.
"Yknow, someone keeps putting blankets on me when I'm napping," you tell Jim as he lurks behind you while working. "I think I have a stalker."
"I can tell you it's not me," Jim puts his hands up. "All I do is undo all the work you do on my amp."
"Asshole," you scoff. "Hand me a 00 screwdriver."
Jim obeys.
"I've discerned that it's not Sid or Corey, because they both have tried to draw a dick on my face when I'm asleep."
"I might know who it is," the guitarist mutters as he gives you the screwdriver.
"'Might'?" you raise an eyebrow.
"Paul Gray," Jim whispers before patting both of your shoulders and leaving you alone.
You look around you, wondering if Paul is in your vicinity and could have heard Jim, but you're just alone.
Paul's pov
"Why don't you just ask her out, man?" Jim asks as he saunters into the living room area.
"Oh come off it," I huff.
"Who are we asking out?" Corey perks up, poking his head out from his bunk.
"Jim's tech. Paul's got the hots for her," Mick stalks through the hall with a beer in his hand, stopping to lean against Corey's bunk. The singer reaches over to grab Mick's beer, earning a swift smack on his hand.
"Aw, that's actually really sweet," Corey smiles at me. "I think you should go for it, man."
Easy for him to say. People throw themselves at Corey when they see him without his mask. For lack of a better word, I'm uglier than him.
When the night comes, I'm more nervous to see Y/n. My bandmates do not hesitate to point out when I make flirting attempts.
Luckily, Y/n is decently oblivious, or is a good actor, so she never calls me out for it or anything.
"Paul, I didn't think you'd come tonight," the tech looks up at me from her place on the floor. "Come, sit."
I obey the gentle command, taking my place against the wall.
"I barely saw you today," the engineer puts a piece of soldering wire in between her teeth as she holds a circuit in place in the amp.
"Yeah, I had to run errands, went to a record store, went on a date," I shrug.
Y/n's eyebrow quirks up with a quick side eye in my direction before she pulls the wire from her teeth. "How'd that go?"
"Eh, she wasn't my type. Not a fan of people who wear band shirts of bands they don't know," I make up something, watching as Y/n glances down at her Slipknot shirt.
"Okay, I promise I know Slipknot," she jokes.
"I'd hope so," I laugh. "I'm not a figment of your imagination."
"What band shirt was she wearing?"
"Slayer. When I asked her what her favorite album was, she said Master of Puppets."
"Paul, you need to get better standards," Y/n admonishes.
I swallow. "I'd not worry about that. I'm just too much of a coward to ask out who I'm actually into."
"The plot thickens," the end of Y/n lips curl into a curious smile.
Oh, shit. That was cute.
"It's you."
"Hm?" the tech's back straightens as she looks directly at me, a slight pink tint on her face. "Really?"
"Yes," I look away.
"That's quite a relief. I've wanted to ask you out since I found out you're the one that's been putting blankets on me when I'm napping," Y/n puts her tools down. "Do you want to go on a date with me?"
"I'd love to," I blush a bit.
...
whoof this is kind of a long one isnt it? i hope you enjoyed it :)
thank you for reading and for everyone who's stuck with this book this long!