Kingdom Hearts {Reader Insert}

33. Cake and Ice Cream

You woke up feeling well-rested. You told Tifa and Yuffie that you were going to check in on Cid and the work he was doing at the university. They let you go, saying something about wanting to explore the town on their own.

When you turned the corner to the science wing of the university you saw a handful of people walking in different directions, each with important looking folders or parts. You opened the door to the lab where you had been working on rebuilding the gummi ship and found it full of people and activity. You saw Cid in the middle of it all, his hands in the mockup engine your team had built. He was covered in grease and oil.

"Hey, Cid," you greeted carefully, watching as he frustratedly tried to get a bolt off. "They actually welded that on. No one was entirely sure what space flight would do to it so they tried to secure everything."

He gave one last grunt before jumping back, irritated. He put his hands on his hips and huffed. You smiled, happy to see him again, even if he was frustrated.

"Ain't no need to weld that on," he mumbled, staring daggers at the metal. "Whole thing is protected from space inside the ship. It's the walls of the ship they need to secure. Who did this?"

You laughed, "I don't know, there were a lot of people working on it."

He sighed and finally looked at you, a grin now spread across his face. "Well, you tell them next time that you're in charge here, alright?"

You laughed. "Sure, Cid. I'll tell the professors teaching me what mechanical engineering is that I should be in charge. That sounds like a good idea."

"Bah, who needs 'em. You saw firsthand. You've got the experience, you don't need the classes."

"So I don't need to know how to calculate take-off or how much thrust I need to get from A to B? You know, pilot stuff?"

"Okay, you got me," Cid crossed his arms and looked you up and down. "You gonna be a pilot or somethin'?"

You shrugged, "I don't know, I've got a pretty good teacher."

"Who, me?" Cid asked, faking ignorance.

"No, Mr. Lawson," you joked, looking over at your college professor. He was frantically running from project to project, group to group, checking things on his clipboard or writing down notes.

"He'd never make a pilot," Cid told you. "Too high-strung. Poor blood pressure, not good in space."

"Right," you agreed. "Yeah, he's a bit much. So, how's it going here?"

"You all went and welded everything together, that's how it's going," Cid said, looking at the engine. "They've got a lot of work to do."

"You showing them how it's done?"

Cid nodded.

"Well, I came to help out. Or we could get lunch?" you offered.

"How about both?" Cid countered.

"Okay."

Cid used you as a go-between for the rest of the morning. You found tools for him, spoke with other people about processes, and at one point you found yourself ordering your professors around. It was a strange position to find yourself in. Cid had them all on the right track when you both left the building.

You promised your Island friends that you would eat lunch with them for the rest of the week, and a promise was a promise, so you met them all at a cafe in town with Cid. Sora had brought Leon and Cloud, and Tifa and Yuffie stopped by to join. Your group took up half the restaurant.