edgeoflife | The Mechanic Life

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The Mechanic Life | OTA

Cloud was fairly certain that if it got any hotter, the entire city was just going to start to melt. The lack of power to keep things cool was making Edge a miserable place to be but it was home and while the beach had been a nice break, he couldn't stay away forever. He had work to do.

Work that included making sure his bike--and the one he was preparing for his younger self on the sly--were in tip top condition.

Most of his usual gear abandoned on his work bench thanks to the heat, the blonde was elbow deep in the engine of the bike he was repairing for his younger self, the engine propped up on a few old crates as he attempted to replace the cylinder heads. The thing still fired up, he'd tried it before doing anything, but it didn't sound like it should and the last thing Cloud wanted was for it to break down while anyone was riding it. He frowned softly at the engine block, sweating beading down his face thanks to the heat and he paused to wipe it away with his shoulder. (No easy task when your hands were preoccupied with holding together parts of an engine.)

Finally getting the cylinder head into place, he slipped the bolts back where they needed to go before easing his arms out of the small space. The combination of sweat and grease from the motor was not the most pleasant feeling but this was only a small part of what he needed to do to get his old bike road ready.

Next up, he needed to make sure the timing was right.

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Peering into the garage before he actually slipped inside and then stopped by the door, Tifa having pointed him in the right direction, Cloud smiled without even thinking about it - small, maybe, but there - when he spotted the bike and then his older self, who looked even worse than how Cloud felt.

Glancing down at the glass in his hands that Tifa had handed him, it was obvious why, now. He hadn't actually thought any work would get done on the bike yet, especially not when the heat-wave hit and the power kept being shut off.

"Hi."

Cloud paused in what he was just about to start doing, glancing over his shoulder and immediately relaxing some when he saw who it was.

"Hey."

These two are great with words, aren't they?

The older blonde straightened up out of the crouch he'd gotten into to get a better look at the timing chain, using the part of his forearm that was the least dirty to brush some of his sweat soaked bangs out of his face.

"What's up?"

There's things they're good at ~~like picking up huge swords like it's nothing~~, but words aren't among those things, no.

Now that his older self knew he was here, Cloud came closer, crossing the floor slowly and glancing between the bike and the exposed engine. He shook his head at the question and held out the glass when he was close enough.

"... nothing, really," Cloud said, voice soft, "I think this is yours." Well, Tifa's glass, but meant for Cloud, that was.

An eyebrow goes up but his expression melts into something grateful as the glass is offered and he snags a rag off the bench to wipe his hands off.

"Thank you," he said with a nod as he took the glass. He took a moment to down the entire glass, eyes closed as he just soaked up the nice chill that it sent through him. He hadn't even realized just how hot he was getting until now; probably a good thing lil Cloud had showed up with some water.

A content sigh escapes the older blonde as he lowers the now empty glass, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand as he focused on the other again.

"...Want to learn how to fix a bike? Since you're here, I mean."

"Yes!" Cloud eagerly exclaimed and then blinked, snapping his mouth shut and looked aside, ducking his head. He was blushing, he just knew it. "... yeah. Please."

There was nothing to blame that on other than he'd been looking forward to it... and not just as a distraction for how out of sorts he'd felt since this heat wave started. It wasn't even anything new, though the constant lack of power certainly was. But maybe it was just that there'd been a late heat wave before the mission to Nibelheim...

"... didn't think you'd start yet, with the heat," he said softly, snagging up the empty glass and putting it out of the way to give himself a moment before he came back, crouching down and, despite lingering embarrassment, absolutely ready.

That excitement gets the faintest of laughs out of Cloud, a fond look on his face as the other ducks his head and tries to hide his embarrassment. The younger blonde was just kind of adorable and while there was probably something a bit narcissistic about that, Cloud didn't care. Because it was true. So very, very true.

He gives the other a moment to collect himself, turning back to the engine and taking a knee so he can get a look at the parts he was tweaking. Thankfully the fine tuning was almost done and then it'd just be a matter of putting it back together and fixing the larger parts like the wheels and exhaust--

Glancing at the younger blonde, Cloud shrugs a bit.

"There wasn't much else to do. I was going kind of stir crazy." There hadn't been much work as of late and because of it Cloud had just been lingering around the bar. Way too much. "It's not the ideal weather for it but.." Another shrug before he nods towards a wrench on the bench. "Grab that."

"Summer in Midgar isn't ideal for anything," Cloud mutters with a shake of his head, voice a little dry as he gets up and fetches the indicated wrench. Really, the last few weeks has taught him far more than he wanted to know about what lack of consistent power and air-con can do, and here he'd thought summer in Midgar was terrible enough as it was.

Coming back, he crouches back down and offers the wrench up silently, eyeing the for-now gutted bike and really hopes that being in control of the vehicle will help. And not just because he's looking forward to it, but with the older blond already having put effort into this, he'd feel guilty if it didn't work out.

"True," Cloud mused as he got settled by the bike again and waited for the younger man to return. Once the wrench was offered up he turned his attention back to what he had been doing and started to explain things as he went. Which bolts disconnected what, how the engine block itself came apart and why it was important to always make sure everything inside was properly moving--having an engine lock up wasn't fun.

He went slowly even if this was a task he'd done a hundred times over in the past, wanting to make sure the other understood and eventually he moved out of the way, nodding to the now dismantled block.

"Alright, let's see what you remember. Start putting it back together."

Listening quietly with the same sort of determination he'd taken to anything while at ShinRa, Cloud frowned, trying to keep everything separate in his head. When his older self moved out of the way, he let out his next breath softly, bit his lip and nodded.

"Okay."

It was kinda funny, really - the words were different, and it was about an engine, but the sentiment was similar to what he'd (they'd) been told to do quite a lot of times... when it came to rifles.

And assembling or disassembling a rifle, while it'd seemed daunting at first, had fewer parts and bolts than this.

Cloud wasn't sure how far he'd gotten when he was starting to hesitate - it didn't feel long, but maybe that was just the nagging sense of failure that kept bubbling up. After a third try, he let out a frustrated sigh, went back to the last thing he was absolutely sure of, and glanced up at the older blond.

"Not... sure what's next," he admitted quietly and telling himself that actually learning something like this in a single go was unreasonable didn't exactly help. But he'd just... keep at it.

Sitting back and letting his younger self take over, Cloud can't help but be impressed by how quick the other has picked up on it. Sure he'd been a quick learner as well but there had been a lot of hindrances for him later on. A lot of re-learning certain things once he got his head on straight.

But it's better not to linger on that.

His lips quirk in a gentle smile when the other finally seems to get a bit frustrated and he shifts closer again, clapping a hand on his shoulder.

"You're almost there. You're just putting this--" He motions to the bolts in question. "--in the wrong places. One has longer threads than the other to compensate for the size of that part of the block. Try switching those but don't tighten them all the way. It'll back aligning the other side easier."

The hand on his shoulder and the reassurance make him relax, some tension bleeding out. If it was someone else aside from Zack, he might not believe he was as close as that, but this was his older self talking and why... wouldn't he believe him?

"... oh. Right," Cloud nods, frowning a little as he glances down at the collection of bolts and it's obvious now, but he'd been staring himself blind without figuring out what he was doing wrong. "That makes sense."

Another nod, and the frown mostly disappears for a small smile, one which brightens when that does solve the bump he'd hit. Sure, just doing this once doesn't mean he's gotten it completely, he knows that, but it feels pretty good anyway.

And, aside from the snag, that had been... fun. Glancing to the bike the engine belonged to, Cloud tilts his head.

"Where'd it come from, anyway..?" He nods his head in the bike's direction, trying to blow a sweaty bang out of his face and suddenly hoping it wasn't bought just for this.

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The Mechanic Life | OTA

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