Despite it being late December, the western continent provided warm breezes and sunny skies. The members of AVALANCHE were on their way to the Golden Saucer, heading south from Costa Del Sol, driving in a car they bought in order to save time. It was noon when they decided to have a short break. Each member seemed to be off doing their own thing. Aerith however, was sitting on the driver's side of the car, bored to tears.
Here she was, outside of Midgar, opportunities everywhere she turned and what was she doing? Sitting inside of some car as her friends stretched their legs and took some breather time. She sighed and looked around the dashboard of the car. She was looking for the volume for the radio. But, she was lost. This was really the first time she had ever even been in a car before. She didn't know what was volume or what was the ignition.
She really was clueless about this whole thing. Aerith puffed her cheeks out and glanced at each mysterious nob and switch. "Well, here I go." She thought as she closed her eyes and randomly pushed a button with no reason other than hoping it was the right switch. Nothing.
Aerith opened her eyes and, again, puffed her cheeks out, a sign of frustration. She leaned toward the dashboard and pushed more buttons randomly. All she wanted was to listen to some music. After just a few seconds, someone walked up to the rolled down window of the driver's side. But Aerith didn't seem to notice that Cloud was now watching her through the window of the vehicle.
As the blonde sat there and watched the flower girl agitatedly push buttons, he couldn't help but notice her coral pink lips were in the form of a pout, her brows forwarded slightly. Even he couldn't deny how cute she looked.
"Hey," Aerith jumped with surprise as she heard the deep tones of Cloud's voice. She turned her head to look at her bodyguard as he asked; "Need help?" Aerith blushed slightly and looked away. The thought of Cloud watching her randomly switch buttons of a car as if she were some dumb kid filled her with embarrassment. "Great… he probably thinks I'm so lame…"
Cloud repeated his question again; "Aerith, do you need help?"
Aerith looked downward to try and hide her blush and answered shyly; "Well, y-yes." Feeling more confident, she turned back to face Cloud as he peered down at her through the window.
"I really wanted to listen to some music but, I don't know how to turn it on." Cloud's brow rose slightly as he glanced at the ignition of the car and noticed there weren't any keys in it. He fought back a smile and continued to listen to her; "I've pushed every switch here but… nothing."
Out of nowhere, Cloud opened the door to the driver's side. "Move over some, I'll show you." he said calmly. Aerith was a little surprised at his gesture, but she scooted over a few inches, giving enough room for Cloud to have a seat inside of the car beside her. She watched Cloud intently, waiting for what he'd do. She followed his hand and saw him dig inside of his pocket, pulling out a small set of keys. Immediately, Aerith felt her cheeks heat up; "How could I forget about the keys!" Aerith thought. How could she have been so clueless as to forget about the most important thing—the car keys to start the engine.
Not only did Cloud see her fiddling with the dashboard buttons like some immature girl, but he saw that she didn't even know the simplest fact of knowing that the keys had to be in to listen to radio.
As Cloud turned the keys in the ignition, he kept his eyes on Aerith, witnessing a light shade of blush develop across her cheeks. The rumble of the engine hitched, and the static of the radio started.
"Thanks, Cloud—" Aerith was about to say something else but Cloud's voice stopped her; "You don't know much about cars, do you?" Aerith blushed again and looked to her lap. There was no denying it now, he obviously knew so why deny it.
"No." she said shyly.
Cloud turned his body to Aerith, their faces closer than before. Aerith felt her heart slowly speed up at the closeness of their bodies. There was no hiding the blush on her face now.
"Want me to teach you how to drive?"
At first, Aerith was a bit taken aback at his question. Learning sounded fun, especially when it was Cloud that was teaching her… but, how could they? Their friends would notice the car was gone.
Just then, Aerith saw Cid walking up to the car. "What if they get mad we took the car?"
Without removing his gaze from her evergreen eyes, Cloud spoke in almost a murmur, "Who cares if they do?" If it hadn't of been for the seat holding her up, Aerith would have fallen over from his lack of concern if what he did angered people.
Aerith felt herself getting lost in Cloud's Mediterranean eyes and felt her mischievous side take over, she couldn't help the next words she uttered; "Will it cost me?"
Cloud smiled weakly, "Just another date."
For the hundredth time already, Aerith blushed again as a smile formed on her face; "Deal."
Cloud quickly pressed the pedal to the floor and sped away from where their camp site was. After driving a few minutes Cloud stopped and turned to Aerith; "All right, I'll teach you how to steer first. C'mere."
Cloud gestured with his head for Aerith to come nearer. So, she did. She moved right next to him, so close that their legs were brushing against each other. Aerith already couldn't help but swoon inside at the closeness of their bodies.
Aerith waited patiently for Cloud to tell her what to do next, but he was silent for a moment. "No, you gotta be able to hold the wheel…"
Suddenly, Aerith felt Cloud slide his arm behind her back, his hand stopping at her hipline. The sudden touch shocked her but what he did next shocked her even more. She felt Cloud lift her onto his lap. He took her hands in his own and placed them on the wheel of the car. The feel of his hands over hers sent her heart racing.
"Like this," he said quietly.
Aerith was nearly blushing to the whites of her eyes from where she was sitting. She had never been this close to him before but even though it was a nervous situation, she couldn't help but enjoy the feel of his chest against her back. Aerith had noticed plenty of times just how well-toned Cloud was. But being this close made her realize it all over again. She shook her head, forcing herself from getting lost in any fantasy she could feel coming on. She swallowed nervously and stammered; "Now what?"
"Well, I'm just gonna go slow at first," Aerith felt her breathing hitch at the warmth of his breath against her cheek. She wasn't very experienced in situations like this but even she couldn't help but notice the… odd wording of Cloud's sentence. "He's talking about driving… he's talking about driving…" was what she had to keep telling herself to refrain from turning and facing him that very moment.
"… and you're gonna steer, all right?" he finished saying. Aerith swallowed again and nodded her head. She was too nervous to speak.
"I'm gonna be right here to coach you along, all right? So don't get scared or anything."
Aerith smiled at his tease and added in a light laugh; "Hey, I'm not gonna get scared. I've got my bodyguard, right?"
Cloud smiled weakly at her spunky attitude and added; "Right."
Just as they stopped speaking, Cloud pressed his foot to the pedal, the car gradually getting to a good speed.
"Now, remember, just a light touch is enough… you don't have to jerk it around," Once again, Aerith's mind wondered off somewhere else. She felt her cheeks heat up again and slowly began to lean against him. The small gap behind her back closing as her body pressed against his toned chest. There was no need for a seatbelt; his lean arms were encircled around her small waist securely.
"You're doin' pretty good," Cloud murmured against her, his breath sending tingles through her body.
"I have a good teacher." Aerith giggled back, a flirty smile on her face.
A few moments of Aerith steering the car went by, and even she was surprised at how well she was doing. Especially from the situation she was in. Here she was, practically in Cloud's arms, the closest she had ever been with him and they were wasting time driving.
The sound of Cloud's voice pulled her from her own thoughts; "All right, you're gonna control the pedals now," the car slowed to a stop.
"Which pedal?" Aerith buzzed.
"This one," Aerith felt Cloud tap on her leg, gently pulling on it till her foot was on the right pedal for speed. Aerith swallowed at the feel of his hand against her leg. It was strong yet gentle. She couldn't believe how much she enjoyed being this close to him. Just being in his arms was enough to send her in a frenzy of giddy thoughts.
Once again, his voice dragged her from her thoughts; "When controlling the pedals you don't want both feet on each pedal—that could be dangerous. So just keep one foot on one at a time and if you have to break just move your foot over to that pedal, got it?"
As he spoke, the warmth of his breath tingled down the side of her cheek and neck and Aerith swallowed out of nervousness as she nodded her head.
She drove for a few minutes before she felt Cloud's face brush against her cheek and he murmured; "I think you're pretty good at this," Once again, blush spread on her face;
"Thanks," her voice was low and soft.
Suddenly, Aerith felt Cloud lift her leg off the pedal, sliding his foot on the break, bringing the car to a slow stop in the middle of nowhere. It dawned on Cloud that they were completely alone out in this dirt paved road. There was no Cid or Yuffie to interrupt them. No spying eyes or friends dropping eves. Just them.
Aerith could feel her breath catch in her throat as they both turned to look at each other. Because she was sitting on his lap, they were face to face. Her evergreen gaze locked with his steel blue.
Aerith could feel another wave of blush starting to spread over her cheeks from the closeness of their bodies and the way he was looking at her.
Their faces were just a few inches apart and Cloud couldn't help but notice her beauty. The innocence painted in her jade eyes… the sweet look of her coral pink lips… the sweet flowery smell that seemed to be so natural on her.
Aerith caught notice of the way Cloud was looking at her and she opened her mouth to speak but Cloud quickly took her mouth in a swift and lingering kiss. Aerith was so shocked by the feel of his mouth over hers that she nearly fainted. If it wasn't for Cloud pulling her closer she would have fallen backwards. And even though she wasn't as experienced with kissing as others were, the kiss somehow seemed so perfect to her.
Lucky for her, Cloud seemed to be leading the kiss along perfectly.
At first, the kiss started out with closed lips. Shortly after the kiss started, Aerith felt the gentle brush of Cloud's tongue against her lips, as if he were asking permission to advance their chaste kiss into something deeper. Even though she had little experience with this type of thing, Aerith parted her lips, allowing their kiss to deepen.
Cloud slowly began to lower her to the seat of the car, her back against the soft leather cushioning as their mouths continued to open and close harmoniously against each other. Just as they both began to deepen the moment more, Cloud felt the phone in his pocket start to vibrate, a sign someone was calling. Without stopping the kiss, Cloud reached in his pocket and took out the phone. He didn't bother looking at the number as he pressed a button to end the call before dropping the phone to the floor of the car, forgetting it completely.
Just then, Aerith's phone rang, interrupting their kiss. Cloud couldn't help but groan as she pulled her phone out and saw it was one of their friend's numbers. To Cloud's surprise, Aerith dropped the phone to the car floor.
"Just kiss me again." She murmured.
Cloud smiled weakly and lowered his mouth to hers but stopped just before their lips met and said in a low voice; "That'll cost you another date,"
Aerith smiled flirtatiously at his sweet tease; "Deal."
And so he kissed her again.