Rikku banged her head on the underside of Cloud's bike and an elaborate string of Al Bhed escaped from her lips as a series of violent bangs sounded from her spot beneath the bike's engine block.
"Cdibet beala uv vypnelydat zihg! E luimt tacekh y pega paddan dryh drec clnyb bema! Zicd fyed ihdem E's tuha fedr ran yht cra'mm nih lenlmac ynuiht druca dnycr pehc fedr fraamc uid drana! Cdibet cdibet cdibet!"
Cloud sat off to the side on the workbench, he'd offered to help, but Rikku had refused to let him anywhere near his own bike. She'd said something about him not knowing the front from the back and then dove into her work with the all too familiar zeal with which she approached all the machines that her friends brought to her father's garage.
"Heya kid." Cid said with a chuckle. "Enjoying the show?"
Cloud looked at Cid with a frown, the man was clenching a cigar in his teeth and holding a beer in his hand. He nodded back at Cloud's bike, Cloud followed his gaze and felt his face heat up. Rikku's legs were sticking out from under the bike and were at a very revealing angle as she worked her magic. Cloud looked away with a crimson hue and Cid burst out laughing.
"Rao kenm, cusa talahlo fuimth'd pa duu pyt. Oui'ja kud dra licdusanc clynat."
Rikku shimmied out from under the bike and sat up, she was covered in oil and grease—there was a particularly noticeable one across the bridge of her nose—a very pouty expression on her face.
"Tyt, E lyh'd kad ed du fung. Hu syddan fryd E tu ed zicd gaabc luikrehk. E ryda ed."
Cid snorted, walking over to her and cuffing her on the head affectionately.
"Dryd'c palyica oui'na hud dnaydehk ran fedr yho nacbald. Pa kahdma. Oui lyh'd vunla draca paycdc. Drao fana tacekhat vun vehacca."
He took the tool that Rikku was still holding from her and slid beneath the bike's carriage. Rikku huffed and sat down on the bench besides Cloud with a dark scowl on her face.
"E ryda ouin pega." she grumbled.
Cloud looked at her in bewilderment. "I don't speak Al Bhed you know."
She shot him one of her rare glares which she reserved for the rare moments of frustration which she suffered from only when dealing with a stubborn piece of machina like Cloud's bike.
"I said: 'I hate your bike.'" she snapped at him and then. "Yr, sorry, it's not your fault these bikes are put together so badly. Just let me on the engineering team and I'll show them all what a real bike is!"
Cloud looked back at the bike, now under Cid's careful tutelage. "So...may I ask you something?"
"Sure." Rikku said with a peppy smile. "Want a soda?"
"Uh, sure." Cloud said stupidly as Rikku hopped up and pranced over to the cooler.
"Cola or pop?" she called as she opened the door and stuck her head in, showing off her legs and hips.
Cloud jerked his eyes back to the bike. "Cola."
"Catch."
He turned just in time to catch a flying glass bottle sailing at his head, he popped the cap off and took a long haul on the dark fizzy liquid.
"Hey, you said you had a question." Rikku prompted as she cradled her chilled bottle in her hands.
"Well...I wanted to ask how it is that you're a mechanic who's afraid of lightening and thunder."
Rikku's expression turned sour. "Hey, just because the noise and light scares me doesn't mean I can't work with electricity. That's different. It doesn't fry you when you touch it, just tickles, and its not loud either."
"Sorry sorry." Cloud said hurriedly with a smile. "I was just curious."
"Auron tell you about that?" she asked him dubiously.
"Yeah, he mentioned it." Cloud said uncertainly.
"Jerk. I'll get him for that." she then whispered something under her breath in Al Bhed. "E'mm reta y lyldiyn ihtan rec bemmuf un cusadrehk."
"What was that?" Cid asked as he slid out from under the bike.
"Nothing dad." Rikku replied sweetly. "Just going to get Auron back."
Cid looked at Cloud who shrugged helplessly before he rolled his eyes.
"Knyhd sa cdnahkdr. The bike's all fixed up, she should run like a charm now. You're up against Kadaj's crew right?"
Cloud nodded. "Yeah, Zack and Auron are on my team."
Cid nodded. "The triplets are using Breda HT50s, mean and fast little things but they're not very good at the corners and their top speed isn't too good either." he thumbed over his shoulder at Cloud's bike. "Your beast can't beat them for acceleration but once you're up to speed you can outrun them and your turning radius is better. Auron's bike isn't bad either. I haven't worked on Zacks. Fool insists on working on it for himself."
Cloud nodded and stood up, reaching for his wallet. Rikku latched onto his arm playfully.
"Uh uh, it's on the house, right dad?"
Cid flipped his cigarette over to the other side of his mouth. "Pyhgnibd sa fro tuh'd oui."
Rikku stuck her tongue out. "Stop complaining, you're rich and you know it."
"It's the principle of the thing." Cid snapped as he strode past them, slapping Rikku on her butt which solicited a yelp as she practically jumped onto Cloud.
"Jerk!" she shouted after her father as he walked out of the garage and to his office with a wave over his shoulder. She looked back to Cloud. "Does Tifa know you're relay racing with Auron and Zack?"
"No." Cloud said as he disengaged from Rikku's grip and mounted his bike. He turned the ignition and it purred to life with a satisfying hum. "She'd kill me."
"She will when she finds out." Rikku replied impishly. "Hey, you need something to protect your head."
Cloud looked at her for a moment, and then reached into his pocket and pulled out a pair of sunglasses, placing them firmly over his eyes with a smirk.
"That's not protection!" Rikku protested as he revved the engine.
He didn't reply as he accelerated out of the garage and into the city streets, Rikku shouted something after him but it was either in Al Bhed or the bike was too loud for him to hear it. Cid was right, the bike was running the like a charm now.