A/N: I've decided to enter the Lightis fray. I've silently admired this pairing for quite some time. I don't exactly know what it is about these two, but they just seem to fit. I don't know if it's the fact that they're the main characters of their respective titles, their personas, their affinity with thrones and sitting cross legged, but there's something.

This has been inspired by You Are What You Are (Beautiful) by Christina Aguilera.

Disclaimer: I don't own not one bit of Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy Versus XIII.

Summary: No matter what it is they say, there's one thing she has to know.

He watched her.

Lightning. Like her name, she's a mystery. She was there one moment, and gone the next. But whenever she was around, he couldn't take his eyes away. He wanted to know all there was to know about her. She occupied his every thought, but he was forced to leave much to imagination. The closer he got, the further she became. Noctis had never been so fascinated, nothing and no one had ever managed to pique his curiosity. Until her. If she were a subject, she'd be his favorite. He didn't know any details, but how could someone so enigmatic not be interesting?

They say she's a loner, and that much he could see. Solitude is her only companion, but she didn't seem bothered by it. They said she didn't have friends, but it didn't seem to matter to her. Judging from her face, lonely was as far from a describable characteristic as dull. He recalled her seeming content with a survival knife she frequently flipped open. Maybe that was her friend.

A part of him wondered if she was a mute. For as many months as he'd been watching her, he never heard her speak. Thoughts regarding what her voice sounded like, fluttered his brain. He thought about engaging her in conversation, but refrained. Noctis was far too shy. Would she even want to talk to him? They said he was cool, but something told him she was cooler.

With his own eyes, he'd seen she was tough. One day a group of boys had been picking on a short kid with silver hair. Noctis had intended to interfere, but she got to them first. Fluid punches and kicks delivered the kid from further torment. Someone taking on four developed boys alone without aid was rare, especially considering she was a girl.

"Freak!"

"Creepy . . ."

"Bitch!"

"Slut!"

"Weirdo!"

"Man!"

All names they'd called her.

Noctis didn't know what came over him one particular day, but courage suddenly found him. He randomly came across her sitting amongst a garden of white roses, doves flying around. Their eyes met and the world faded away. Indifferently, she stared at him with eyes of blue crystal. There was a spark between them, and he knew what he had to do. Noctis didn't care what anyone said, or what anyone called her. There was just one thing she needed to know. He pulled out a single red rose, "You are what you are. Beautiful."

Hope you liked. Reviews are appreciated! :)