Hey! I've never written any sort of ff before, so this is my first one. I wrote it for a friend a while ago, sorry if I did anything awful.
Lightning hated being out on the sweltering beach when it was this hot and sticky out, but it was her duty so she did it without complaint. To be honest, it was a relief to get away from Serah. She loved her little sister with everything she had, but she liked not having to worry about anyone but herself for a while. Everything she did was for Serah, but it was easy to forget that for the brief moments that she spent patrolling the shore.
The humidity was almost unbearable in her clothes, and the only relief came when the wind would blow small bursts of air around her legs or up through the bottom of her shirt. She scratched at the back of her neck with a scowl, impatiently waiting for the persistent sun to go down to cool the damn place.
"You look really uncomfortable."
Lightning turned her head quickly and spotted a bear of a man. She didn't know how he had snuck up on her; he was huge. Much taller than she was. Much taller than anyone she'd ever seen, actually, but she didn't let it show. It didn't matter how tall he was, height and size were just things that could be used against someone in a real fight.
Not that she planned on fighting. She mentally scolded herself for a moment for not being so alert.
"I suppose," she mused, giving him a cool stare. He was wearing a long jacket and pants. He was probably from here or from somewhere hotter to be able to stand such heat. Either that or he was just crazy. He was wearing a black bandana on top of his blonde hair. The thought of wearing black almost made her cringe. He was definitely insane or very, very stupid. Or possibly both.
He glanced down at his wardrobe. "I'm from around here. It's not that hot compared to what it's gonna get in a couple weeks. My name's Snow, what about yours?"
She couldn't remember asking or caring what his name was. The way he proudly puffed his chest out when he introduced himself made her lip curl in distaste. She turned her back to him, but now that she was aware of his presence she had trouble ignoring him because he was so damn huge.
"So," he made another attempt at striking up a conversation, "what brings you here?"
"I'm a soldier." She rolled her shoulders back and felt her weapon bump against her back. "I was sent here to patrol. That's all."
"Then how do you know what you're supposed to do?"
She gave him an annoyed glare. Was he always this annoyingly persistent? "I'll know it when I see it."
Snow snorted. "Sounds like a waste of time if you ask me."
Lightning gave a sigh. "Yes." She didn't know why she bothered answering this hulk's questions, but he was the only one that had bothered to talk to her all day. Maybe Serah was right and she was becoming more antisocial. With her little sister in mind, she allowed Snow to continue the conversation. "But it is nice out, I suppose. If you like the heat."
He looked confused and his eyebrows furrowed. "Well, do you?"
"I don't care; I'm not here for the weather. I'm here because I'm a soldier. The weather is irrelevant." This is why she hated conversing- it consisted mostly of saying her thoughts out loud and having them questioned by other people. If she cared about what other people thought she would ask them. She didn't, so there was no point in talking to strangers.
"Why did you become a soldier?" Snow leaned against brick wall beside her, and she could feel the heat from his arm transfer to her own body. Great, just what she needed. More heat.
"So I could take care of my sister."
He raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you a little young? You can't be older than what, eighteen?"
"I'm seventeen, and I've cared for her for years."
"Oh! I'm eighteen!" His eyes flickered with some sort of happiness, before asking curiously, "Why do you provide for your sister? Isn't that your parents' job?"
There was absolutely no point in questioning facts. Plus, it was just rude butting into other people's business. She took care of Serah, why would anybody need an explanation more than that?
Of course, his response had answered her early question—yeah, he was just stupid. "They're dead," she said a bit tersely.
"Oh, sorry." He looked down at the ground and shrugged his large shoulders. He was a big kid, there wasn't more to him. He was honest and open- everything she wasn't. For the most part he bothered her, but he reminded her of a large Labrador. Big and stupid, but kind.
"You didn't kill them, so don't be." She sighed. "And my name is Lightning."
"Cool, we're opposites." He had a big, dumb grin on his face. She had to admit he was attractive, but that didn't mean she was going to jump him, fantasize about him, or anything of the sort. It just meant that her eyes wouldn't hurt every time she looked at him to speak. It was an even trade-off, though, considering how much he made her head ache every time he opened his mouth.
You didn't need my name for me to tell you that much. Be patient, she told herself. Don't jump down his throat. Think of Serah. "Yes."
"Well," he stood up straight and gave her a salute, "see ya', Light."
She glared at him and lifted her chin defiantly against the large man. "Don't call me that," she called, but he had already gone.