In the kitchen, Daten was munching on an apple while looking around in the fridge. She was wearing a white v-neck shirt, black and blue jacket with the zipper undone, and jeans. She almost hit her head on the top shelf when the door into the kitchen burst open and hit the wall with a loud bang. Yanking her head from the fridge and closing it, she whirled around. Serah was staring angrily at her, hands on both hips.
"What did you do," Serah began, pointing at Daten accusingly. "to my sister!"
"What's wrong with Lightning?" Daten asked in a concerned voice, tossing the apple into the garbage.
"You tell me!" Serah said, walking angrily back into the living room.
Daten followed her. Upon entering the living room, she saw Lightning, curled up in the fetal position, on her side on the couch. Normally, Daten would've poked fun at the soldier and call the position cute, but something in Lightning's blank stare told her not to. Serah was sitting on the arm rest and stroking her older sister's hair. Daten kneeled on the ground next to Lightning, a worried expression on her face.
"Light?" Daten said gently. "What're you doing?"
"Watching T.V." Lightning said flatly.
Daten looked over her shoulder at the television and turned back to Lightning, a small smile on her face. "That tends to work better when the T.V. is actually on, Babe."
"I suppose." Lightning sighed.
Daten was about to say something else when she was karate chopped in the head by Serah. The younger pink haired girl was staring at Daten accusingly.
"What did you do!" She asked again.
"I didn't do anything!" Daten replied. She turned back to Lightning, speaking in a gentle voice. "Claire, what's wrong?"
Daten only called Lightning by her real name when she was serious. Lightning mumbled something into the fabric of the couch. Daten's eyebrow raised as she tried to decipher what was wrong. Another karate chop came down on her head, a little softer this time. Daten looked up at Serah, who looked even more concerned.
"Um . . ." Daten pondered what the ramblings could possibly mean. She scratched her head. "I have no idea what this means."
"Well, she's your girlfriend." Serah said.
"Serah," Lightning said, getting her younger sister's attention. "Leave us alone."
"Fine, but no se—," Serah began jokingly as she walked down the hall to her room.
"Don't say it!" Lightning shouted, covering her ears and closing her eyes.
Serah glanced at Daten and they both shrugged. When the other girl was gone, Lightning sat up, hands in her lap and her head down. Daten sat next to her on the couch, moving to lightly touch Lightning's arm but the other just pulled away. Lightning pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around herself. Daten scooted closer.
"Light, what's the matter?" Daten asked softly. "Please tell me. I want to help."
"I . . ." Lightning's voice broke; grip around herself got tighter. "I saw Fang and Vanille having sex."
Daten gasped and fell off the couch. Her legs hung over the arm rest while her shoulders were on the floor and her face was twisted in horror. Daten had only ever heard Fang and Vanille's sexual conquests. It never sounded pretty. A new found horror filled her mind as visions flooded past her eyes, but probably nothing next to what Lightning had experienced. Daten only saw fabricated images, while Lightning's were all too real.
"Oh, babe, I'm so sorry!" Daten said, settling herself back next to Lightning on the couch. "That sounds horrible!" Daten gently wrapped her arm around Lightning's shoulders and gently rubbed Lightning's arm with her thumb.
"It was." Lightning groaned, her head falling onto Daten's shoulder.
"It'll be okay." Daten reassured, kissing Lightning's forehead tenderly. "I'm sure we can find something that'll—,"
Daten was interrupted by Lightning's lips on her own. Lightning broke the kiss and settled her head in the crook of Daten's neck and swung her legs across Daten's lap. Daten smiled and began to absentmindedly play with Lightning's hair. She felt Lightning smile against her neck and get even closer.
"Now, how can Dr. Daten help you?" Daten asked, smiling.
"I don't know," Lightning shook her head, shuddering a bit. "Just thinking about it makes my skin crawl."
"I'm sure it wasn't that bad." Daten rolled her eyes, a warm smile still on her face.
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really." Daten said, a daring look in her eyes. "Tell me about it. Maybe it'll help you."
"We'll see about that, Daten."
Lightning sighed as she finished her recount of her experience of walking into Vanille and Fang's intimate time. She eyed Daten nervously, but was surprised to find the other was still smiling. Daten wasn't the least bit disturbed. So Fang and Vanille were . . . eccentric . . . in the bedroom. It's not like it was something a person had to see to believe, they just had to hear it.
"That doesn't sound so bad." Daten shrugged. "Feel any better?"
"Yeah, I actually do." Lightning said, wrapping her arms around Daten's neck.
"See, I told you."
"You always make things better, Daten." She said, rising up to kiss Daten again.
This kiss was much more heated. Lightning felt herself fall backwards onto the couch with Daten on top of her, their lips never once leaving. Lightning's hands found Daten's back under her jacket. Daten's hands were planted on either side of Lightning. They got no further before a cough from the doorway interrupted them. Looking up, Daten and Lightning came face-to-face with their topic that day: Fang and Vanille.
An awkward silence hung in the air. Fang shifted uncomfortably on her feet as she suddenly found the wall extremely interesting. Vanille stared at her shoes like they were the coolest thing she'd ever seen, but it did nothing to hid the fact that her entire body was red. Daten and Lightning stared at the pair with wide eyes. Images flooded back into Lightning's mind as the explanation Lightning had given Daten suddenly became more vivid and real.
"OH MY GOD!" Lightning and Daten both shouted at the same time.
Daten leaped off the couch like a cat, falling over the back. She landed on the carpet on her back. She sat up, curling into the fetal position just as Lightning had earlier while facing the wall. Lightning resumed the position Daten had found her in, facing the back cushions of the couch. They both emitted a groan. Fang and Vanille, shocked by the couple's outburst, looked at them. Fang looked mildly concerned and Vanille had her head cocked to the side. As the sound of the screams, Serah burst back into the room, looking from Daten to her sister.
"What happened to them!" Serah asked Fang and Vanille.
"I dunno." Fang shrugged.
"Beats me." Vanille said in a worried voice.
"Why does Daten keep hitting her head against the wall?" Serah asked, watching as Daten's cinnamon brown head connected with the wall repeatedly.
"How're we supposed to know?" Fang asked. "We came in here and they were making out on the couch. They took one look at us, freaked out, and now they're catatonic. I don't know what happened, and I don't think I want to."
"Daten," Serah said gently. "What's the matter?" She touched Daten's shoulder lightly.
Daten's skin prickled at the feeling of being touched. She jumped away like a cat. Daten scuttled across the floor and resumed her position while facing the corner of the room. Serah gasped and watched as Daten began to rock slowly back and forth and murmur under her breath.
"Are they sick or something?" Fang said, now wholly concerned with the two.
"YOU'RE THE ONE THAT'S SICK!" Daten and Lightning shouted at the same time.
"Claire?" Serah said, touching her sister's arm. "What happened to Daten?"
"Mental scarring, that's what happened!" Daten responded, covering her ears.
"Mental scarring?" Vanille repeated.
"Mental scarring from what, Claire?" Serah asked gently.
Lightning's arm shot up and pulled Serah down by the front of her shirt. For a moment, the two conversed quietly, speaking only in whispers. When Lightning released her younger sister, Serah rose slowly with a horrified expression on her face. She turned to Fang and Vanille with a forced smile.
"I think they just need to be left alone for an hour or twelve . . . or a year, I'm not really sure!" Serah began pushing Fang and Vanille out of the living room and down the hall. "But you shouldn't talk to them, look at them, or anything!"
"Why? What's wrong?" Fang asked, looking over her shoulder at the two invalids.
"And why's Fang sick?" Vanille's curiosity piqued.
"Oh, Maker," Serah groaned as she pulled Fang's ear down to her mouth and whispered in her ear. Vanille watched Fang's eyes grow large as she stood up straight. "There!"
"She's right, come on Vanille," Fang said, now quickly ushering Vanille down the hall herself. "We're not talking to them for a year. No, we're never talking to them again."
"Fang! What's going on?"
Sighing, Fang bent down and whispered in Vanille's ear. Vanille listened patiently, her face remaining straight after Fang had told her. A smile crossed over her face and she laughed. She looked up at the shocked raven haired woman.
"Then they're right, Fang, you are sick."