HAPPY BIRTHDAY, RIAETH! :D I know you like those deep, serious stories, so I attempted to write one for you for your birthday. AND, IN CASE NO ONE HAS REALIZED…her birthday is on the same day that FF XIII is released in Japan. Best day to be born ever? I think so. Except maybe for the day it comes out in the US…but we're just going to ignore that for now. :D HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!! :}

From Behind the Clouds

I was abducted from the real world about a year ago, forced to leave my friends and family behind. While I wish I could have stayed with them, the world I reside in now is nothing less than heaven: the fal'Cie's way of apologizing.

Being the center of many of Lightning and Snow's conversations, I knew they worried about me, constantly obsessing over my fate.

Assuring them of my well-being was one wish the fal'Cie was incapable of granting.

I watched over them constantly, witnessing their relationship progress. The hatred my sister once felt for Snow wiped away, devotion and lust taking its place. He managed to slowly peel away the many paper-thin layers of her exoskeleton, revealing a side of her I hadn't seen since I was a child. While sometimes my heart still ached for the love I lost to an unfortunate destiny, my gratitude towards Snow couldn't be expressed in words. Even I was incapable of resurrecting Lightning ante mother's death; if anything, I was the motivation for her drastic metamorphosis, a fact that agonized my heart.

The day she stopped responding to her name resulted in my screams and tears: maximum hysteria. She crouched down, meeting my eye, and said, "I can't be who I was before. I have to be strong to take care of you for mom. That weak girl is gone; Lightning is here now. Lightning can protect you."

She tried so hard to fulfill my needs and material desires, when all I really wanted was the attention that was once so effortless to receive. Although hugs and kisses scarce, my sister loved me with every fiber of her being; if only she focused more on us being together rather than me alone.

My sister eventually realized her mistake, adding one more burden to her self-hatred.

Because I was unable to speak for myself, Snow spoke for me, assuring Lightning of my forgiveness. I think his words affected her more than mine ever could; Snow was charismatic and passionate: a deadly combination when the time came for convincing.

Although their love fervid, guilt prevented Snow and Lightning from expressing it. Every smile cast at the other person resulted in my face flashing through their minds, betrayal slinking through their veins. But in the real world, I was dead. Love between the deceased and the living only ends in pain. Snow didn't belong to me anymore, even if they didn't realize it. Someday, they would understand. Until that day came, the two would circle each other cautiously, someone stepping a slight degree closer every so often.

So I watched their world from behind the clouds, occasionally wishing I was still with them to offer my condolences and encouragement. But otherwise content in my cocoon, I slept, their occasional bubbling laughter reaching my ears, their cries and hiccups more often. Drifting further into my utopia, I quietly sang, "I forgive you…I forgive you…" knowing my melodious chants would eventually land on them at the moment they least expected.

END

Sorry this story's so short. But, I like to think that it's short and sweet! Hope you all enjoyed it! Also, everyone should go read Riaeth's FF XIII fic, Confabulations. It's amazing. GO READ IT NOW! Run, my pretties, run! :P Thanks for reading!

Lexicer.

PS. I'll probably write a Christmas fic too…if I can figure out how to go about it. :S Sooo…yeah!