Work Text:
Flicking the lights on with a sigh, Naruto looked around the otherwise empty school garage, mouth pressed into a resigned line as his gaze settled on his partner, for lack of a better word. He could think of a million places -- maybe a million and two, if he really thought about it -- that he'd rather be on a Friday night than at school, working on what was technically an assignment. For one thing, it was clearly incredibly uncool, and for another it was goddamn frustrating!
"Alright, bastard--" Naruto muttered, stalking towards the middle of the room. "Today, for sure." Like it or not, fair or not, there was no way he was graduating until he proved that he could handle any situation he might get thrown into, and like hell he was going to get held back on account of one stubborn piece of shit that didn't know how to cooperate. Naruto felt like they'd been fighting every step of the way -- even things that should have been easy, that he could do in his sleep, somehow dragged out into long hours filled with insults, injuries and profanity. Pausing, he brandished his wrench menacingly, teeth bared.
The motorcycle sat impassively before him, unmoved by his display.
Snorting, Naruto collapsed down into a sitting position, flicking his eyes over the bike, trying to decide where to even start with today's efforts. If he were really honest, he had to admit he didn't hate this as much as he pretended to. Sure, it was annoying, and sure he felt stupid when, days after his classmates had their projects all tuned up and ready to go, he still had little more to show for all his hard work than scraped knuckles and high blood pressure -- but he'd never really minded a challenge, even if this one was more challenging than most, and the bike really was incredible. For one thing, it was gorgeous; a classic model, body all sleek lines and subtle curves, adding elegance to what Naruto knew would be a whole lot of hidden power, once it got running. The glossy black paint job and custom red accents were a little scuffed, but the bike was still in remarkably good condition, for being scrap donated to a technical college auto class; it was clear that somebody had really loved it.
Setting in to work, Naruto let his mind wander, fantasizing about what it would be like to have the bike up and running. Fingers covered in oil and as deep into the bike's inner workings as he could manage to get, he thought about the way it would feel, the low rumbling purr of the motor between his legs, riding hard all night, just the two of them and caring fuck all about the rest of the world--
"--Shit!" Naruto jerked back, thoughts interrupted as he nicked himself on something sharp. He was certain the bike had somehow arranged that on purpose, in silent disapproval of his imaginings. "Stubborn bastard!" He swung the wrench at the bike's side, eyes widening for a split second before clenching shut as he somehow missed, even practically right on top of the bike as he was, splitting his knuckles open on the exposed bolt of the kick stand.
Cursing under his breath, Naruto pushed himself up and headed over to the utility sink to wash the blood and grime out of the cut. Wincing at the sting of the water, he cast his most menacing glare over his shoulder at the bike.
"You can't fight me forever, asshole." He muttered, determined smirk curving his lips. "I'll get the upper hand one of these days, just you watch."
The shop light glinted sharply off glossy black, and Naruto swore that, if it could have, the bike would have been smirking right back.