Eli likes puzzles. (dashdotdash) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-03-11 02:29:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, eli, logan howlett (wolverine) |
Who: Eli and Logan.
What: Yet another stray Eli gets an apprenticeship.
When: Sunday afternoon.
Where: Logan's bike shop.
Rating: PG.
Status: Complete!
Eli was still getting to know her area. That was why she’d strapped on some combat boots along with her pretty, flowing dress and started to walk. She did this often on days off from school, she simply picked a direction and walked.
She was in Santa Ana now, and she heard music coming from the direction of a garage. Huh. Motorcycles were interesting, so she poked her head in to watch.
Classic rock played as Logan worked on the engine of an ancient, battered Harley. It was a personal project, and one he worked on when he didn’t have anything else going on, or he just needed to clear his head. Today was both of those things.
Sniffing, he lifted his head to look at the girl, quirking his brow.
The girl wasn’t impressed by the brow quirk, and she simply stared at him. She just wanted to see what he was doing to the relic. It was interesting. Kind of like a puzzle.
Logan shrugged and reached back into the engine, tweaking some things. He sat up, crouching, and started the engine. It sounded a lot better than it looked and he grinned. The engine sputtered out, and he shoved a wrench in to fix what had caused it to stall.
“How do you know what’s making it stop working?” Eli’s voice was quiet but strong, and she wandered closer to kneel down by him. Her pretty blue dress was getting oil on it, but she didn’t care much. Things could be washed.
“It’s old, darlin’. There’s a lot of residue an’ build up. I cleaned most o’it out but there’s some other issue, I can’t figure out what it is yet, but I’m gettin’ there.” He looked up and smiled at her.
“May I help you wash it?” She held out her palm for him to put something into it, not returning his smile.
He handed her a rag. “Start with the outside here. Once the engine is good I’ll work on the body. The shocks and brakes are already pretty good.”
Eli nodded, starting to work on the outside of the bike. She was methodical, careful, and exacting. The tiny areas of clean weren’t just clean, they were spotless.
“Good work, darlin’.” Logan started the engine again, and this time it hummed like a very pleased kitten. He got to his feet, wiping his hands on another rag. “I’m Logan.”
“Eli. Not ‘darlin’.” She glared at him, perfect blue eyes narrowed. Her name was pronounced the Swedish way - “eee-leee”, and she sat down again, still polishing.
“Eli, darlin’,” Logan said, amused. He walked over to a mini-fridge. “Want somethin’ to drink? Got water, soda, and beer.”
“Water. Thank you.” Eli rolled her eyes at him again. “Shouldn’t offer beer to minors.”
“Don’t care. Old enough to drive, old enough to drink, just not at the same time.” He handed her a water bottle, then popped a claw and opened his beer bottle with it.
“I’m sixteen. I don’t know how to drive.” She opened her water, only pausing to look at the claw. “You are showing off.”
“I’m doin’ what I normally do,” He replied. “Whether you’re here or not. You’re kind of obnoxious.”
“You say that because I’m not impressed.” She returned to cleaning, humming along with the radio.
Logan snorted. “I say that because it’s true.”
Eli didn’t answer him, instead she continued to work quietly, her eyebrows knit together in concentration. After a moment, she called him over. “Is this good?”
He knelt down besides her and looked at her work. “Huh. You want a job, darlin’?”
“What, really?” Eli blinked.
“Yes, really. You have a good eye for detail. I could use some help with body work, anyway. Part time, I can pay you eleven an hour.”
“Can you repay me in teaching me?” She reached out a hand for him to shake, not caring that it was covered in grease.
Logan didn’t care about grease either. He shook Eli’s hand, smiling. “Like an apprenticeship?”
“Exactly. I don’t need money, I’m a kid.” Eli smiled in return. The other man was gruff and grumbly, just like her.
“You need lunch money, doncha? Minimum wage an’ the experience?”
“I have a mother. She pays for things. I’d like the experience alone. The more money you make, the more things we can work on.” She picked up the rag and went back to work.
Logan pondered the fact he was pretty adept at attracting really intelligent young women into his orbit. Then he shrugged. “Deal, then.”
Eli nodded. “Thank you.” She was focused intently on getting a bit of grime out, ignoring that she’d skinned her knuckles.
Logan caught Eli’s hand and looked at her knuckles. He let it go a moment later. “Ain’ serious, just need to clean it real good later.”
“Hmm?” She hadn’t noticed. “Oh. I didn’t ... it doesn’t hurt.” She licked at the blood absentmindedly before going back to work.
“Usually works out like that. Still wanna clean it later.” Logan set down his beer, and walked over to where the fender from the bike was. It was pretty beat up. “Come over here real quick, I’ll
show you how to take the dents out.”
Eli’s eyes lit up and she scrambled over to see. She tied her long hair back with an elastic, ending up with grease on her neck and cheeks, but she didn’t care. The dress probably wouldn’t be able to be saved, but that was beneath her notice as well.
She was cute. Logan decided he’d have to kill any boys that might try to date her. He showed her how to bang out the dents, and smooth the metal out. There were several tools, but a soft hammer was the one he used the most. “After this, we’d sandblast the metal and repaint it.”
“Can we do that soon?” Eli smiled. “I don’t even know how to drive yet, but this is way more fun.”
“Sure, we can do it tomorrow. I can teach you to drive, too.”
“You don’t have to do that.” Eli was grinning, though, clearly pleased.
“Why not? You do a good enough job on this bike, you’ll have earned the right to ride it.”
She squeaked in pleasure and wrapped tiny arms around him. “Thank you, Logan.”
Logan laughed, and ruffled Eli’s hair. “You’re welcome, kid.”
“I should go home, but what time should I come back tomorrow?” Eli was eager to come back.
“What time do you get out of class?”
“Two-thirty.”
Logan nodded. “Be here by three-thirty, we’ll continue workin’.”
“I will.” She shook his hand again before going to wash her own.