Final Fantasy VII: Lifestream - Book 1: Arrival

EIGHT

"Hand me that socket wrench, Cloud," Jessie reached out her hand. "Let's see if we can't get this carburetor in place."

We were in the little garage behind her shop the next day, working on the motorcycle. I'd spent the morning clearing out more eaters with Wedge before going to the scrapyards in Sector 4 with Jessie to look for parts. We'd found a few, enough for her to build a new cart and make a little progress on the bike. The cart was finished now, and Jessie was set to start going back on her trips tomorrow. So with that done, she and I had decided to spend a little time on the Hardy.

I took the wrench from Jessie's toolbox and handed it to her. "This the right one?"

"Yep!" she grinned as she took it. "Thanks!"

I nodded and watched as she took the carburetor and fitted into its spot near the engine. We were sitting on the floor next to the bike, and I had leaned Buster against the wall to keep it out of the way. Jessie had taken off her armored vest, chain shirt, and gloves earlier like she often did when we were working here. She wore just her blue leotard top, her olive cargo pants, and her boots, although she still had her hair in that high ponytail she liked. And her red headband was still firmly in place. Jessie almost never went anywhere without it. I'd taken my own gloves off as well before we got started.

Her arms were slim, slender, and nice to look at despite the grease streaked across her skin. Jessie was definitely a girl who wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty. Not that mine were much better off. I'd been doing my share of work here with her, and my fingers and arms were as black as hers. But I didn't mind. As she held the carburetor in place, she tried to tighten the bolts with the wrench, but the whole thing slipped when she moved and she had to put it back again.

Jessie looked over at me. "Mind helping a girl out?"

"That's why I'm here," I smirked.

"Ha! I knew there was a reason I asked you do this with me. You're really pretty handy, you know that?"

I held the carburetor in place for her. "You think so?"

Jessie laughed as she tightened the bolts. "Yeah. Maybe that's why I like you so much. You get things done."

"So I'm your gopher, then?" I raised an eyebrow.

Her laughter was so loud she nearly doubled over. "Maybe you are, Cloud! The best-looking gopher around!"

"I'll try not to take that personally," I said.

"Good!" Jessie giggled, scooting back a bit as she finished securing the carburetor. "Guess I should make you a list!"

I let go of the bike. "Now that's pushing it, Jessie."

"Oh, really?" she winked.

Reaching for the engine, she slid her fingers along it until she had a good bit of grease on them, then turned to me with an impish grin and smeared it right on my nose before I even realized what she was doing. Her brown eyes twinkled mischievously in the garage lights as she held up one black, grease-stained finger in front of me. "So, Cloud, what do you think of that?"

"This," I answered.

I felt around the engine until my hand was covered in grease, then leaned in and planted it right on Jessie's face. Her startled cry was very satisfying, but she recovered faster than I'd anticipated, bringing up her arms and slapping both of her dirty hands onto my cheeks. Letting the corner of my lip curl upward slightly, I took her shoulders and streaked the grease all along her bare arms. Then, before I knew it, Jessie was on me, laughing and putting her greasy hands all over every bit of skin she could reach. I did the same to her, covering her with grease wherever I could as we rolled onto the floor, though I didn't share in her laughter. Just a faint, smug little grin here and there.