Fang looked from the smoking microwave to the flaming roast in the oven and finally to smoke detector which had not yet ceased to stop beeping at an obnoxiously loud volume. Removing her hands from her ears, Fang decided it was best to sacrifice her good old Yun hearing and deal with the flaming hunk of meat and metal first than spare her ears and have the kitchen burn to ashes. Lightning would not be happy if she had nowhere to make her coffee in the morning.
"ARGH Fal'Cie fuckery!" Fang yelled. Ignoring her stinging hand, Fang slipped on the oven mitts she should have been wearing when she stuck her hands in the oven seconds ago. She tossed the still-flaming blackened meat into the sink and turned on the water then reached for the fire extinguisher.
"Say hello to my little friend!" Fang proceeded to extinguish the smoke in the microwave while laughing maniacally. What a handy little thing. Back in Oerba 500 years ago, fires were dealt with using typical water and while the villagers ran to the lake with their buckets, blankets and clothing would be used to smother the flames. Of course, Vanille had been more than pissed that her blanket and articles of clothing happened to be the first – and second, third, fourth and fifth – materials Fang had grabbed. How odd that Fang's possessions were left unscathed in the whole ordeal. That was the first and last time Fang was ever aloud in the kitchen but what Lightning didn't know won't kill her – hopefully. Lightning was one who did the cooking and on the days where Lightning was too tired to cook or had to work late, Fang just took her out for dinner.
The obnoxious ringing stopped as soon as Fang ripped the smoke detector right off the ceiling and she was certain that her heating was permanently damaged. If a banshee broke through her window and started screeching, she probably wouldn't be able to hear it. The kitchen looked like one of those crime scene photos Lightning sometimes brought home from work. She'll clean up the mess and buy a new microwave later but right now she had a dinner to finish making. Today was the anniversary of the day Fang and Vanille woke up from stasis three years ago which, also happened to be the day she and Lightning confessed their love to each other – verbally and very much physically. Poor Serah was all too eager to meet Fang for the first time and meet Fang she did. Fang was indeed as lovely a woman as everyone had described but Serah would have preferred their first meeting to be face to face and not face to naked backside and certainly not while Fang was on top of her sister.
"Damn these Cocoon cooking methods to hell!" Fang growled. They had decided earlier to go out for dinner but she was determined to surprise Lightning with an anniversary dinner and wasn't about to let any kitchen appliance stop her from doing so. Fang was just going to have to do this Gran Pulse style. With one last frustrated glare at the microwave that would have made Lightning proud, Fang went to get Kain's Lance.
Lightning stared blankly at the new recruit standing in front of her.
"Let me get this straight Alenko. You and the others were on patrol and came across a lone gorgonopsid." The Commander said emotionlessly.
The private gulped and nodded.
"This gorgonopsid seemingly exhibited strange behaviour,"
Another nod.
"Because it hadn't seemed interested in eating you unlike others of its kind."
Two nods this time.
"And so a betting pool was made on who could get closest to this gorgonopsid,"
The solder hesitated but decided honesty was his only way out of the Commander's office alive. "Yes, ma'am."
"But private Vega somehow got his head stuck between the thing's teeth and so now I'm stuck doing paperwork even though my shift ended half an hour ago."
The soldier winced. How his friend had miraculously escaped with his head still attached to his neck was beyond him. He just wished that Lady Luck was also on his side so he wouldn't have to face the wrath of Commander Farron.
"I suppose none of you noticed the collar around the gorgonopsid's neck that indicated it as a Guardian Corps trained K-9?" Lightning asked tiredly.
The widening eyes of private Alenko in realization answered Lightning's question. She sighed. She knew her squad respected her and gave their very best for her but that doesn't deny the fact that they were a complete bunch of idiots. They were a fun squad and sometimes made her day enjoyable but this was something else.
"Dismissed." Lightning said as she dejectedly resumed filling out the papers.
Private Alenko released the breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "Sorry again, Commander." He saluted and quietly exited the office. The door was barely closed behind him before he heard a thump. Whatever it was, he didn't want to stick around to find out.
Lightning lifted her head off of her desk at the sound of knocking on her door. That last move was sure to leave a mark.
"Come in." she called.
Hope stepped in and took a seat in front of her desk. He wondered why Lightning's forehead was red but decided against asking.
"You almost done, Li – err Commander Farron?" he grinned sheepishly.
"It's okay there's no one here Hope," She allowed her smile to show but it quickly turned into a frown. "And no. Vega almost got eaten alive so I'll probably be stuck here for another hour or two."
Hope chuckled. He had heard about that. "But isn't it your anniversary with Fang? The paperwork can wait until tomorrow can't it?" Hope asked.
It could, but Lightning hated leaving things until later. How can anyone enjoy their time while knowing in the back of their minds that they had a pile of work awaiting them at the end of the day?
"What if I handled the paperwork Light? That is, if it's okay with y–" Hope was barely able to finish his sentence before a pile of paper was thrusted into his arms.
"Thanks, Hope!" Lightning called from halfway down the hall.
Fang took a step back from the dinner table to admire her work. Cooking in the kitchen might not be her thing but give her a good old fashioned campfire and she can turn any scruff of meat into a culinary work of art. Of course, given the crappy weather outside there was no way Fang could build a campfire but that didn't stop her from trying. After multiple futile attempts to get a campfire going in her yard and some caring neighbours who had tried to get the crazy lady wearing only a tank top and shorts in the middle of a snowstorm yelling "give me fire!" to go inside, Fang finally gave in. At least she had managed to improvise. Now all that was left to do was wait for her significant other to come home so they can get this dinner over with and get onto the good stuff.
The dining table was decorated with a disturbing amount of candles. Fang felt they were good for setting the mood but a few candles were hardly enough to see Lightning's beautiful face in the dark so she went all out. There was no centrepiece because Etro have mercy on whatever obstructive being or inanimate object that stood between Fang and her girlfriend. The last time Fang and Lightning went to dinner the restaurant had a humongous centrepiece. They spent the majority of the evening teetering from side to side every time one of them said something because the damned thing was in the way before Fang snapped and chucked it across the room.
Fang looked towards the door when she heard the familiar sound of someone fumbling with the key in the lock. The door opened and Lightning stepped in looking flushed and out of breath. Fang had a love-hate relationship with winter. Seeing Lightning all covered up in more layers than usual sent her libido skyrocketing but she couldn't deny that Lightning looked adorable. In fact, the first winter she spent with Lightning as her girlfriend proved to be a challenging test of her self control. Lightning would barely be past the front door before Fang tore through her layers and took her right then and there. She would notice Hope and his fountain-equivalent nosebleed later. Lightning resorted to climbing the side of her house to get into her bedroom through the window after buying her sixth jacket that month.
"Couldn't wait to see me Sunshine?" Fang grinned.
Lightning smiled and allowed Fang her moment. "Yeah, I couldn't." she grinned back. Fang's expression became radiant. She closed the distance and captured Lightning's lips with her own. They normally didn't express their emotions through words – they had other ways of showing their love – and neither were particular fans of PDA but this was their night. No words would be left unsaid and no actions left undone.
Fang broke their kiss when she heard Lightning's stomach growling. Knowing her girlfriend's workaholic tendencies, Fang assumed Lightning had once again skipped lunch. Fang always made sure Lightning had breakfast or Serah would have her head. Good fang thought. That means she'll enjoy the food a tad bit more despite its debateable edibleness.
Lightning finally registered condition of her house and the perfectionist/OCD part of her went into mild shock.
"Fang… why is our barbecue in the living room? Why does it look like a giant candle vomited all over our dining table? Why is the cupboard black? Where's our microwave? What's that black lump in the sink? Where's our smoke detector? Fang, wha–" Fang silenced Lightning with another kiss. Dear Etro, the woman was only two questions away from sounding like that nyan cat thing Vanille is always laughing at.
"Dammit Fang, stop doing tha – what happened to your hand?!" Lightning grabbed the bandaged appendage and loosed her grip when Fang winced at the touch but didn't let go. Lightning looked up to Fang with worried eyes for approval. Fang nodded and Lightning slowly unraveled the bandage to reveal the reddened palm.
"Fang did you burn your hand making dinner?" Lightning's voice was full of worry and awe at the same time.
"Nothing to worry about Lightbug, don't feel a thing!" Fang tried her best to sound convincing.
"Fang, this is clearly a second degree burn. We need to get you to Vanille." Lightning was already leading Fang towards the door.
"Light, Vanille already stopped by a few hours ago. Who do you think bandaged it?" Lightning stopped their approach to the door but did not let go of Fang's hand.
"Right, sorry." Fang raised her other hand and caressed Lightning's face.
"My girlfriend almost dragged her half-naked girlfriend outside into the snowstorm risking her death by hypothermia because she was worried about my hands. I'd say that's a compliment, Sunshine."
Fang exploded with laughter as Lightning's face made its transition into a sizeable tomato. Lightning quickly recovered and whacked Fang playfully on the arm. She then lifted Fang's injured hand in both of her own and rewrapped the bandage.
"You can have fun with my hands later, Sunshine. Let's eat!" Fang smirked.
Shaking her head at her girlfriend's antics, Lightning shrugged off her scarf and jacket and allowed herself to be led towards the dining table by Fang. She smiled when Fang held out her chair for her and then took her own place in the seat across the table. In the candlelight Fang looked absolutely stunning. The two sat admiring each other in comfortable silence before Lightning's hunger got the better of her and she dug into the steak Fang had prepared. The food was… salty, but she didn't mind. Lightning smiled into her food. Fang made this. For her.
Fang sat and stared a little while longer as Lightning smiled the rare smile she loved so much. This smile was exclusively meant for her. She wondered if Lightning knew how absolutely glowing she looked. Probably not – Lightning was too modest for her own good.
"Fang? Faaang…?" Fang snapped out of her daze at the sound of Lightning calling her name and snapped her jaw – which she hadn't realized was open – shut.
"You're drooling." Lightning smirked.
"Hard not to with such a succulent piece of meat waiting to be devoured sitting right in front of me, love." Fang teased.
Lightning scowled. She did not like being compared to a piece of meat but seeing Fang grin like an idiot into her literal piece of meat caused her scowl to fade into a loving smile.
"This is lovely. Thank you, Fang." Lightning spoke earnestly.
"Nothing but the best for the ones I love. I love you Claire." Fang said seriously.
"And I love you Fang." The two spent a few more minutes supplementing the silence with feelings of love and admiration spoken only from their eyes. Naturally, Fang was the one to break it.
"Alright, dinner's over. Now ready for the fun part Lightbug?" Fang smirked.
Lightning slowly got up from her spot at the table and walked over behind Fang, eyes never leaving her lover's. Hugging Fang from behind, Lightning leaned into her ear and tickled Fang with her breath. She could feel the hair stand out on Fang's neck. She smirked. Her girlfriend was too easy to excite.
"I don't know Fang." Lightning whispered. She tried her best to hide the laughter threatening to escape her. She had a feeling that if she said anymore, forget the goosebumps, Fang would sprout feathers.
"It seems like you're out of commission tonight." Lightning purred, referring to the injured hand.
She let out an uncharacteristic yelp when Fang turned around and pinned both of her arms above her head against the wall with her good hand and kissed her into oblivion for the third time that half hour. Fang released Lightning's hands and brought her own down, tracing the side of Lightning's face and continuing down to her thigh, lifting it to wrap around her waist. Without the aid of her injured hand, Fang lifted Lightning and worked her way up the stairs.
"Then I guess now's as good a time as ever to introduce you to my other hand."
AN: Thought I would once again add a touch of Mass Effect. I can totally see James doing something that stupid :P As for Fang's non existent ability to cook, let's just say I can totally relate. My room mates are one charred piece of toast away from banning me from the kitchen and they're always complaining that I eat too much salt... As for my tendency to have Serah walk in on Light and Fang in my stories, I just think it would be an absolutely hilarious situation. Snow would get murdered, Vanille would probably want to stay and watch, Lebreau would want a threesome, Hope would drop dead and bleed out through his nose and Sazh would make the situation a bit creepy so Serah and all her innocence was the best choice.