Logan and Ororo - Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.

[x-wolverine.livejournal.com]

Logan's taking advantage of another beautiful day to do a little bike maintenance. Ororo lends a hand and the two of them simultaneously clear and re-cloud the air between them. It's a Zen thing.


It was a fine late spring day in Westchester and Logan was doing some very, very necessary bike maintenance. Which mostly consisted of wheeling his ride out onto the front driveway along with a toolchest, a collection of rags and a bucket of cleaning goo. He kicked the engine into loud and noisy life then closed his eyes to listen to the purr of the engine, listen to each cylinder fire, listen to the fuel injectors, listen to the exhaust system. He revved the engine a couple of times, frowning as he did so. He himself wore a pair of jeans that had been not-so-neatly severed into baggy shorts, a pair of black shades, and a bandanna wrapped around his head to keep the sun off.

It wasn't long after Logan had started working that a Jeep rolled up the driveway, its windows rolled down to allow the maximum amount of fresh air into the car. Ororo glanced out the side window as she drove past, smiling at Logan before pulling past him into the garage. She had been out in Westchester running errands and was just now returning to the mansion, though for once she didn't have any pressing appointments or office hours to attend.

Sliding out of the Jeep, she picked up the bags holding her purchases and headed back outside, running a hand through her wind-mussed hair as she did so. The sound and smell of the motorcycle was a little much for her on that peaceful day, but that wouldn't keep her from stopping to say hello.

Logan revved the bike's engine one more time, then kicked out the kickstand and killed the engine entirely. He was pretty sure he had a problem with his plugs but he couldn't be sure until he ripped the engine apart, cleaned it, then put it back together again. He spent a spare moment wondering how he learned how to rip engines apart and rebuild them, then shrugged and got to work. The hot sun overhead felt pretty good for a change, as did being outside. The Mansion was a fine place to live but for someone with a sensitive nose it _stank_. "'Ro." he said in a neutral voice as the woman approached. "Shoppin' again?"

"Mm, yes," she replied. "I found some more magazines the students might like to have in the rec room - I thought I would bring some home for perusal before ordering subscriptions. How is your bike? It sounds... well, loud, mostly." She followed this up with a smile, shifting the bags in her hands as she stood next to him.

"Something's fucked up with it." he said with a frown. "Think I got it narrowed down, and it's too nice of a day to sit in the garage." he said. "So I'm gonna fix it out here." he said with a hint of pride. It was on the tip of his tongue to ask her if she wanted to help, but something held his voice back. Maybe it was that he couldn't imagine 'Ro with mung up to her elbows, maybe it was because she was lookin' fine on this warm sunshiny day. So instead he sat himself down on the asphalt and cocked open Scott's tool chest.

"It certainly is a lovely day to work outside. I wish more people thought as you did." Well, about that particular subject, at least. There were other things so distinctly Logan-esque she couldn't imagine anyone else thinking or doing them. Like usurping Scott's tool box to fix his own bike with. She glanced at the front door to the mansion, but didn't feel quite like going inside yet, not with the sun shining as brilliantly as it was. "Is there anything I can do to help?" she offered then, setting down her bags on the driveway. "I am no expert, but Scott has taught me enough to be an able enough aide."

Logan blinked behind his dark glasses, then looked at her sundress and strappy sandals and loose, billowing hair with a shrug. "Sure." he said dubiously. Then he cracked open the bucket of engine cleaner and kicked it her way. "I disassemble, you wipe down? Or do you want to be the socket-monkey?"

"I think the former would be best," Ororo replied, already kicking off her shoes and leaning down to pull a hair clip out of her purse. With a practiced motion she twisted her hair back and clipped it up - there was no quick fix for the dress, unfortunately, but it was an older one and she didn't mind sacrificing it if it came down to it.

Logan grinned as Ororo just won back a good bit of her standing with him right there. "Sure thing, darlin'." he said without even thinking about it, and got to removing parts. The early ones were fairly easily handled but once he got into the guts of the engine things started to get tiny, delicate, and messy. "You want to go grab me two buckets from the garage?" he asked his partner in cleaning. "Drain the oil and the gas outta the tank." Should have done it right off the bat, he realized, but he was going to claim distraction by a pretty face in a pretty dress if anyone asked.

"Yes sir." The silver-haired woman gave him a smile and a salute, hopping up and padding towards the garage barefoot to retrieve the buckets. "Do you need anything else while I am in here?" she called out to him.

Logan had to bite back his first two suggestions, both of which were highly obscene. Fun, but obscene. "Cold drink?" he suggested with a laugh. He lay back and let himself stare up at the blue sky. Definitely a beautiful day.

"Oh I see... I am the gopher," 'Ro said when she returned to find Logan reclining in the sun, "while you get to relax? Something is not entirely fair about this situation... I just cannot put my finger on it." She grinned and held a bottle of water over him enticingly, just out of reach.

Logan looked up at Ororo and made a grabby gesture towards the water bottle. When no water was forthcoming, he sat up and snatched the bottle from her hand. "Cute," he said with a grin before uncapping the bottle and guzzling from it. The cold water tasted of chlorine and plastic like most bottled water did but it managed to hit the spot anyway.

"I thought as much," came the response as Ororo flipped one of the buckets over to sit on.

The other bucket went under the engine to let the oil drain out completely. Once that process had begun - and he'd been neglecting his oil, dammit. The stuff coming out was foul - he flopped back onto his back to gaze up at the sky. "So how's life been treatin' you, 'Ro?" he asked idly.

Picking at the grime that had managed to get under her short nails, Ororo tipped her head to one side consideringly. "Well enough, thank you. Though after the madness of the whole... dinosaur encounter I am seriously considering curtailing my trips to the city." Well, perhaps not, but she certainly wouldn't complain if Remy wanted to visit the mansion once and a while. She didn't think Logan wanted to hear those musings, however.

Logan snorted at that. "Bet Remy'd hate that. Might have to get off his ass and come visit you for a change." he said, still flat on his back and staring up at the sky. "Dino thing was a blast. Most fun I've had in months." he said with a grin.

"Well, I'm glad someone enjoyed it," Ororo said, chuckling and shaking her head.

"You kidding? I had a blast!" he said with a grin and a chuckle. "Nice to just cut loose like that. No stick-up-his-ass Summers hounding me about mercy to targets, no repair bills, just me against them. Closest I've come to a real fight in a long time." he rhapsodized.

"I think there is a copy of Jurassic Park in the rec room if you would like to relive the glory." Ororo smirked, though underneath her amusement she felt a hint of sadness for Logan. Personally she was glad they didn't encounter situations like that every weekend, but something told her that he wouldn't be happier than to do just that. It was almost a shame it wasn't so.

Logan frowned a bit as he picked up on a taste of Ororo's undertone. "All right, Chief. What'd I say?" he asked, puzzled.

Glancing up, Ororo smiled and shook her head. "No, it is nothing... It is only that you sounded so happy, and I regret that the usual opportunities don't allow you to feel that way. I would like for you to be that happy all the time."

"The stuff that tends to make me happy tends to make other people dead." he pointed out. "I love a good scrap. To test myself, to push myself as far as I can go. Always did, I think. Even after Bill got done with me, I still gotta push. To see how far I can go. Only now there really ain't any such thing as a fair fight." he said with a hint of resignation. "Either I cut people into sushi or I get fucked up before I ever have a chance to get in the game. How 'bout you, 'Ro?" he asked.

"Me?" the silver-haired woman asked, raising her eyebrows. "I just wish to see the people I care about safe and content. That is what makes me happy. Well, that and perhaps a garden to sit in."

Logan snorted at that. "C'mon, 'Ro, don't kid me. You got a wildness in you. I can tell." he said with a grin. "Your mood influences the weather, but I'm thinkin' that one runs both ways." he said thoughtfully. "Love to see ya in one of those big storms." he added.

"Can't I be both?" Ororo mused then, her voice low, though Logan caught it easily enough. "The woman in the garden and the woman in the storm? I do not think either one is entirely me, and I am not entirely myself without being both." It was something she had thought about often enough, and something she had thought she had come to terms with. When people expected one thing from you and not the other, however, it made balance a bit more difficult to acheive.

Logan thought about it for a second. "Mebbe." he conceded. "Be tricky, though. To honor one is to disgrace the other. But what do I know? I've been tryin' to be somethin' I'm not since I got here. Doing a pretty miserable job of it, to hear Scott tell it." he said.

Ororo frowned when he brought up Scott; she couldn't understand why they both insisted on letting one another get to them like they did. It was more than just Jean, she thought, though surely that had a part in it too. Whatever the case, it wasn't a problem she was going to be able to solve no matter how badly she wished it could be resolved. "As long as you are doing the best that you can, no one can ask for more," she murmured, rubbing at a smear of oil on her hand.

"I keep hearing that and it keeps being so very not true." he told her with a roguish grin. "Ahhh, what do I know? My experience - what I remember of it - ain't worth shit anyway." he groused, waiting for the stupid engine to finally finish draining so he could continue without blowing something up or setting something on fire.

"At least you are staying positive," Ororo said with a sigh, the sky overhead beginning to cloud over.

Logan just snorted at that. "I try not to whine publically. Found what that gets me." he said with disgust. "I think I could handle the dismissive shit if I could just get a little respect now and then. That maybe I know what I'm doin', that I'm the best at what I do." he said. "Not gonna happen. Know that now." He looked up at the cloudy sky, then over to Ororo. All he did was quirk an eyebrow at her.

If she caught his look she didn't show it, still concentrating on scraping the grease off her hand with her nails. "Give it time. Well, more time. Things do not always happen as quickly as we like. Or sometimes they happen too quickly. If you keep trying, though, I know it will work out. We are still human, Logan, when all is said and done. You must remember that."

"Never been much of one for beatin' my head against the wall." he groused. Except that in a lot of ways he was the type to beat his head against the wall - here he was, looking for a past he can't remember, fighting for a world that hates and fears him, alongside people who tended to regard him as some kind of animal. An opinion he'd given plenty of support and ammunition to. Logan looked up again. "Oil's just about done and someone took the sun away." he pointed out.

Ororo glanced up, looking almost guilty as she realized the sky had indeed become crowded with clouds. "I am sorry," she said, summoning a smile as a gentle wind rose to push the clouds away. "I did not mean to spoil your afternoon."

"Say more that I fucked yours up." he said, moving back to the bike to continue the disassembly and cleaning process. He handed the next part to Ororo for cleaning and then shrugged to himself. "Think you're probably better off with the Cajun." he said after a couple of long moments.

She didn't know quite what to say to that; though she could claim that it had nothing to do with Logan, and it didn't, not in the way he seemed to think, it wouldn't have been quite fair to say it. "I have never regretted my friendship with you, Logan," she said carefully. "And I would not have regretted it had that friendship become something more. I know the words may sound empty now, but I do mean them."

Logan cracked a slight smile at that. "Safer for you this way." he elaborated. "Less shots to the head, more of a chance of you having earned your silver hair." he said with another slight smile. "The kid's bulletproof and she's already had her ticket punched once. Pulled her out, yeah, but it's just a matter of time."

"We are all liabilities in our own way. But I would not stop being your friend because of it. Nor would Marie, I think. So clearly either we are wrong, or you are." A bit of humor was returning to Ororo's tone, slowly but surely. "And I would like to see you try to argue us out of that point."

"Far as I can tell, the life expectancy of people I get involved with seriously can be measured in single-digit years." he said. "Fox I know about for sure..." and that still felt like getting gut-punched, even if he didn't know why. "Know there's more in here somewhere." he said, tapping the side of his head with a forefinger. "But, like the rest of the team tells me, I ain't ever right." he said with disgust. "So forget it."

Ororo shook her head, unable to be dissuaded even now. "I hope that one day you will learn to pay the same attention to the positive things people say as the negative. But until then, I will try to be patient. Here," she said, passing him the newly-cleaned part and reaching for another.

"Like what?" he asked, but he did take the part from her and add it to the clean-part spread on the blacktop. "Get one of those little counters - X days since the last time Wolverine attacked someone." he said with disgust. "My ears are real sharp, 'Ro. I hear a lot."

"Then you will also hear all the complaints about other team members and other rivalries. We do not all get along, much to my chagrin, and it is not only you they complain about. You cannot change what they say, only what you do. So continue to prove them wrong, and eventually they will realize the error in their ways," she said, full convinced of the truth in her words.

Logan snorted at that. "Ain't ever gonna get along as much as you'd like. Accept and move on. You think Scott's ever gonna be happy with doin' what needs to be done? Or that our folks who like to have a real life are gonna always make that split perfectly right?"

"Perhaps not. But nor do I think we must resign ourselves to bickering and hatred," she replied. "There is accepting, and then there is giving in. I do not think it is right to give in when the possibility of harmony and happiness still exists. Even if it is just attaining that much more trust in a teammate, or comfort from a friend." With an eloquant shrug she wiped the last bit of grime from the part she held and set it back down. "Perhaps I am too optimistic. But that is what makes me want to try again and again when things seem futile. And so I cling to it, no matter what someone else might think of me."

"I think you're setting yourself up for a world of hurt but that's part of the job." he said philosophically. "And I know I ain't makin' your life any easier."

"If you were, you would not be Logan," Ororo observed with a slight smile. "So I suppose it is a fair trade-off."

"Dirty job but someone's gotta do it." he said with a laugh. "And speakin' of dirty jobs..." he said, handing her a whole collection of small bike parts for cleaning. He also dunked a rag into the cleaning goo to begin to get the nastier spots off the now-nude-as-it-was-gonna-get engine block.