Drabble #59: Game

Summary: Game over? Not if Cloud has anything to do with it!

Disclaimer: I do not own anything. Characters and places belong to SquareEnix

Cloud really hadn't wanted to stay at Gold Saucer over night. It was too noisy and it was making his team hyper, especially Yuffie who was hyper enough already. He had planned on staying in his room for the night instead of wandering around but Yuffie just wouldn't stop barging in and whining at him to get up that he eventually gave in and had a look around.

If he was being honest, there wasn't anything that special about Gold Saucer. He had seen everything here before, just earlier that day in fact and even then it hadn't been exciting. In fact, it had been annoying ending up in prison accused of murder and then riding in a Chocobo race to get free. All to find Barret and ask what the hell he was playing at! Cloud was still in a bad mood about the whole thing.

He wandered through into Game Square, where he had met Cait Sith earlier. That was another thing that annoyed him. The mechanical object had decided itself that it was coming along, whether he, the leader, liked it or not! There was something about the moogle that Cloud just didn't trust.

He turned his head and frowned as he saw a familiar pink bow peeking out from the crowd. He shifted through the crowds to get a better look and, sure enough, there was Aeris at one of the motorbike machines, racing down the road on the screen. Cloud edged nearer, partly because he was interested in the bikes and her skills but also because it was Aeris, one of the only people on his team that he trusted completely.

Sensing his presence, she looked over her shoulder and smiled at him before returning her gaze to the screen, her hands gripping the handlebars as she swerved to the right for a corner. But it was too sharp and Cloud gave a wince as her character went crashing into the wall before the bike erupted in flames. Aeris huffed sadly as she stepped off the ride.

"I can't do it," she muttered. "I've been trying for ages!"

Cloud reached into his pocket and entered one of his gil coins before signaling for the flower girl to get on. She gave him a puzzled glance but mounted the bike again anyway. She turned to tell him she didn't want him wasting money on her when she suddenly felt him sit behind her, his arms snaking around her waist to grab the handlebars. She couldn't help the blush that suddenly heated up her cheeks. Cloud either ignored it or hadn't noticed as he leaned closer and turned the bars in his hand to rev the engine.

A second later and the race began. Cloud instantly burst the vehicle into life, taking Aeris by surprise. It had taken her ages to get going. Timidly, she put her hands on the bars next to Cloud's, who moved his along to give her room.

As the corner came nearer, Aeris prepared herself to see 'game over' on the screen but Cloud waited until he was on the corner before tilting slightly to the right. He past a blue motorcyclist and then the green as the finish line came into view. There was only a yellow racer between them and the finish line. Cloud revved the engine and gave the bike one last burst of power. Aeris squealed as they past the other rider and crossed the line.

"You did it!" she cried, jumping off. "You did it!"

Cloud shrugged, acting as if it wasn't a big deal but Aeris seemed to disagree. She smiled widely and threw her arms around him, taking the blonde completely by surprise. Almost as soon as she had done it, she jumped back.
"Sorry," she giggled nervously. "I forgot you don't like that."

Cloud watched as she stepped away from him and shook his head. "I think I can make an exception," he whispered. Before she could reply, he stepped up to her and wrapped his arms around her.