Final Fantasy VII: Reflections - Book 1: Descent

FIFTEEN

The bike was a Motonox Gust MG7, mint green body with a shiny chrome undercarriage and exhaust pipes. It purred under Kunsel and I as we rode it through the streets of Sector 8. He'd met me right outside the theater this evening just like always, but this time he'd had the bike with him. It wasn't a Hardy, but it was still great, and I had squealed in delight when I saw it. I still loved motorcycles and had hopped right on behind Kunsel, an eager grin on my face.

Our relationship was about five months old by now. Almost half a year already. Had it really been that long? It was hard to believe. But as I leaned forward and wrapped my arms snugly around Kunsel's waist, I knew it was true. I let out a contented sigh as the light breeze from our acceleration tossed our hair. The pain of my past, of all I'd endured and lost, felt faint and far away at that moment, and I knew Mom would be glad that I was so happy now.

Kunsel and I sped through the night, the bright lights of Sector 8's main avenues passing by us in a blur. I wasn't sure where he was taking me, but I didn't care. All that mattered was that I was with him. I knew it'd be special, whatever it was. Even so, I couldn't resist teasing him, so I called out to him as we rode along.

"Hey, honey," I giggled. "Know where we're going?"

Kunsel smirked. "You'll see."

I laughed. "Oh, a surprise! I should've known. Don't be in a rush to get there, though. I'm enjoying our magical ride!"

"So am I," he said.

I brushed my lips across his cheek. "Love you, hon."

"Love you, too," he smiled.

Then I sat back and whooped in exhilaration as Kunsel gunned the engine and we shot forward. I was wearing the same short blue dress I had worn the night we met, and he had put on a nice casual little outfit for our date this evening instead of his purple SOLDIER uniform. He'd still wear it sometimes if he'd just gotten off duty before seeing me, but I didn't mind. It was cute and kinda sexy.

After passing through Fountain Plaza, we rode onward, eventually driving onto a street overlooking the train tracks running at the base of a trench to our right. It was quieter out this way as we left the business district behind. Not as many lights, either. Still, it felt very peaceful, full of homes on both sides of the trench.

We finally came to a stop a little while later, parking along the edge of a side street just over the entrance to one of the train tunnels. While the Corkscrew Tunnel was the biggest, there were plenty of others that wove throughout the plate, and the sound of trains running across the tracks was an everyday thing, like the revving of all the cars and trucks driving on the elevated highways around town.

"We catching a train?" I joked.

Kunsel got up, turned around to face me, then sat down again with a smirk. "In a way, I guess. This is a favorite spot of mine. Sometimes I like to come here and watch them race out of the tunnel. Or into it. But I've never had anyone to share it with before."

I kissed him. "You do now."

"Glad to hear it," he breathed, his fingers touching my cheek as his mouth meshed with mine. "Should be one coming any minute. Oughta have a great view of it from here."

"Can't wait," I wrapped my arms around him.

The vibrations started barely thirty seconds later, and with a laugh, we looked out over the low wall and watched as a train sped out of the tunnel a moment later and raced down the tracks. There must've been about a dozen or so cars on it altogether, rumbling into the trench one after the other in a long, unbroken line.

Kunsel and I enjoyed the sight for a while as we sat together on the bike, and then I looked back at him, gently turned his face toward me, and drew him close. As he slid his arms around my waist, the coasting of the train on the tracks below us filling our ears, our tongues danced and our lips locked and unlocked.