A/N: Okay, this may just be one of the weirdest crossover shippings I could ever come up with. This is not a normal pairing, and I am all about being out of the ordinary. I don't know what possessed me that I suddenly had the urge to pair these two. xD (I'm a bit of a ClIght—CloudxLightning—fan too, I must admit. :3) Anyhow, do leave a review and tell me what you think of my queer pairing. Thank you so much if you took the time to read. :) I'm probably going to get a lot of hate out of this... xD Forgive the typos that I might have made. I didn't really double check... Was too lazy. :P XD Besides, I wrote this on Christmas Eve because I was being random, and stewwwwpeeed! I'm not abandoning 'Thorns on Roses' though.. I'm still working on it, though I haven't updated it in a while. I'm soweeee... :c

Oblivion

The room was chilly, bathed in the gloom of midnight and strobe of pale silvery light cast by the moon shining through the arched window. In all the time that she had spent here in this alien world, she felt more and more detached from her own reality. She had to save her sister. She had to figure out her Focus or risk the dreadful transformation into an irrevocable monster that wandered the world in despair and regret. It was a fate she had not wanted—a fate she had so deeply scorned, and there was no one to blame but herself. She hated herself for letting this happen; for ignoring Serah's words when she had mustered up the courage to make a confession. She hated the knowledge that Snow—Snow of all people had been right. Now, she faced the same fate. After seeing the result of her sister's fulfilled Focus—the crystal transformation, Lightning felt the despair and consuming self-loathing fill her. She had decided to take her revenge on the fal'Cie responsible for turning Serah into a Pulse l'Cie, but that had ended badly. There were images and flashes of light that resided in her memory, but they drifted back into the unreachable recesses of her mind whenever she tried to grasp them; try and remember the images that had been shown. Her—their—Focus wasn't an easy one—she guessed. None of the people who were turned along with her liked their fate.

And yet, here she was, sitting in a strange room, lying on a strange bed, looking up at a strange dark ceiling, taking shelter in a house that was anything but ordinary, hidden away in a sleeping forest of clustered pearly white glowing leafless trees. What am I doing in a stranger's bed? A frustrated sigh left her kiss-swollen lips as she remembered the weeks before. There was a blinding flash of light off somewhere just when the pain of being turned into a l'Cie had faded, and then there had been nothing...

The gravel and the dirt were the first things she was aware of upon awakening. She wasn't anywhere near Cocoon—that was for sure. For a brief moment, she had wondered if she was in Pulse—the living hell she had grown up knowing, but after wandering around aimlessly for what felt like lifetimes, she had gathered enough information to know that she was in a place called 'Midgar' or something like that; in a city known as 'Edge.' The entire place looked like it was just recovering from a recent disaster. Most of the buildings seen far off were rundown and construction was underway. Even the people dressed drably—almost depressing in their shabby clothes of dark colors or neutrals. There was a splash of color here and there, but the place had none of Bodhum's—or Cocoon's—liveliness for that matter.

Lightning was jerked out of her reverie when the soft mattress beneath her shifted, and arm went around her waist. A slight frown made its way to her face as she looked down at the arm that she knew did not belong to her. It was shockingly pale against the moonlight, just like the rest of him. A silver angel...

She had met him days after she had restlessly wandered Edge. She had met him in a bar she frequented to gather information about her whereabouts. He had appeared; feral and dangerous in black leather gear and the hilt of a slim sword protruding from its sheath hanging across his lower back. Briefly, he had served to remind her of a live black-and-white photo; all neutrals...except for his eyes. They were striking; an otherworldly mix of blue and green, shifting from one color to the other when the light struck. Their first meeting was a stormy one, and when she had tracked him down to his residence, a physical fight broke out between them, and then... She couldn't really understand what had happened or what had changed; just that he insisted she stay with him for a while or risk making a fool of herself to the other people. He had said as much when he dropped in for a visit to the inn she was staying in. She had struck a deal with him on their second meeting. She would help him if he would help her...

She desperately needed to find a way back to her world, and he needed to go about planning for Reunion or whatever. When she told him her clipped ordeal, he had immediately struck a bargain and she could not help the uneasiness that had crept into her mind at the psychotic smile he had flashed at her. She was strong and independent and didn't need anyone. She had raised her sister all by herself, and never looked to anyone for a means of desperate help, but being in an alien world with no idea how to maneuver about and where to go, she had no choice. He had conveniently given her a room of her own, and even when they became housemates, she rarely spoke to him—with the exception of business discussions. She would always leave first thing in the morning and would come back late at night, and never considered prying or snooping into his business. She didn't care. She just needed his valuable help in finding a way to send her back to her world—where she rightfully belonged, and thus, she wondered now what had happened between them, or what had spurred the act.

Lightning tentatively chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about this. What was happening to her? She tried to inch away from his faint touch, but as if he were aware of what she was trying to do, his eyes snapped open—wide awake and dreadfully curious. It was an impossible shade of green tonight, glowing in the darkness of his bedroom. The all too familiar scowl furrowed his silver brows and he cocked an eyebrow at her.

"What are you doing?" He spoke softly, his fingers beginning to trace patterns on her soft skin.

"Thinking." She replied, rolling over to lie flat on her back and face the dark ceiling.

Kadaj was forced to withdraw his hand as he merely gazed at her with interest. He was...confused, and it was the worst feeling ever.

"Thinking about what we just did?" He chuckled, amused at her answer as he leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to her shoulder.

Not able to stand his presence any longer, she sat up, clutching the blanket around her for cover. She flustered, her cheeks burning despite the chill that touched her bare skin. She wasn't embarrassed—well only partly, but she was furious mostly—at herself for letting this happen, and at him for even bringing it up.

"Shut your mouth if you know what's good for you." She muttered, growling under her breath as she caught sight of her clothes—and his—strewn across the floor. Disgusting... How could I lose myself like that?

"Is this about not being able to send you home fast enough?" The male asked, sitting up on the bed as well, the blankets around his waist. Lightning's lips pressed together into a thin angry line. "I'm doing the best I can, but utilizing the materia needed for that—or the equipment—isn't a walk in the park..." He reasoned, running a hand through his messed-up silver hair.

Without warning, she lashed out and hit him hard on the face. His head violently snapped to the side with the force of her blow. Had he not been holding himself up with a propped arm, he would have fallen back on the heap of pillows. Lightning watched—as she readjusted the sheets covering her—with hidden smug pride as he shook his head to shake off the dregs of the impact. He groaned, obviously feeling pain as a bit of blood bloomed on his cheekbone.

"What was that for?" He demanded, rage and frustration in his voice.

"For being an insensitive idiot..." She deadpanned and cried out in pain when she felt him grab her chin in an iron grip, forcing her close to him as one of her hands clenched around his arm, her nails digging into his pale flesh.

"I'm doing the best I can, Soldier." He hissed in her ear. "I'm sticking to our deal, but I don't know about you. Prove yourself to be a traitorous little woman, and I will not hesitate to cut off your pretty little head." He let her go abruptly, and she didn't move even though his closeness bothered her.

"I don't die without a fight." She replied, remembering his uncharacteristic kindness to her the other day. She sighed, and dared to look into his eyes. The anger was gone from them now, replaced with an unreadable expression. "Tonight was a mistake..." She breathed, looking away from him and focusing her blazing blue eyes on the glass window.

It seemed like an eternity before he spoke, and she wouldn't have minded if he fell back to sleep, but when he did speak, the tenderness in his voice surprised her—though she showed no sign of feeling such emotion.

"Don't you think I know that? I'm not supposed to sleep with business accomplices."

Every word that left Kadaj's lips always annoyed her. On any other circumstance, she would have a smart ass come-back, but not tonight. She was not in the mood. And she was too busy drowning in self-hatred to even care about what the silver-haired spitfire had to say. Her face remained stoic, and she spoke her next words with the same nonchalance...

"My brand..." She murmured aloud unknowingly, placing a hand slightly above her left breast where the l'Cie mark was etched brutally onto her skin—a curse...

"It's dormant..." Kadaj supplied, recalling their conversation a fortnight ago, sitting by the lake in the Forgotten City. Lightning had explained her ordeal then, and he had come to understand and remember most of the terms she used. "But you said it was just a legend, and you're in another world. It's stage of growth is suspended, I believe." He explained, gazing at the rose-haired woman on his bed, looking obliviously out the window. "You don't have to worry about becoming a Cie'th yet."

She scoffed, turning to him so he could see her eyes filled with hatred for this 'ironic gift' bestowed on her. "Yet. When I return to Cocoon, then I'll worry." Lightning shook her head. "It doesn't matter. You don't care one way or the other. Not your business."

She averted her gaze from him again and flinched in slight surprised when she felt his hand cup her chin—gently this time—and turn her head to face him. Even then, she refused to look into his eyes even when he forced an order into his voice for her to do so. It was only when he repeated himself more forcibly did she smirk without mirth and look at him.

"What if I do?" He asked. "What if I do care about what happens to you? You tell me you're confused, and now I'm telling you that I'm just as confused as you are." His hand wandered to cup her cheek, and in the dim light, she could see the blood on his cheek—staining his pale skin red. Blood she had put there. "There are times when I think of not wanting to send you home. Sometimes, I wish I could keep you here."

"Well, you can't..." She spat back, resisting the compelling urge to lean into his touch when he brushed his thumb across her cheek.

"I know. You want answers to your questions, I have none. I've tried everything." A loud sigh left his lips, and he dropped his hand. "Tonight was kind of the proof for that, wasn't it?"

Lightning could not help but feel the dread creep into her. Being alone with him in the dark—in his room—was something she did not expect to happen; something she did not want happening. She hated attachment, and hated herself more that she allowed this. But to hear Kadaj, of all people, say those words was unnerving and unsettling. Did he really...care about her? Insofar as her entire life, she knew the only people who ever cared about her were her family—her parents, her sister Serah. Only one was still living—if Serah's crystallized form would be considered living, and then... Kadaj happened. Ever since that incident in the Pulse Vestige, after Serah turned to crystal before her very eyes, she had thought she had no one; no one but despair, regret, and disgrace. But now... She didn't even know what to make of him. She didn't know what to think of the silver-haired man with her now.

"Soldier—" He started, only to be cut off by Lightning herself. She had insisted he call her 'Light' like so many others did, but he seemed to be too thick-headed to stop himself from calling her 'Soldier' all the same. Now she regretted ever revealing to him that she had served in the military.

"Light." She emphasized, her lids falling shut in quiet exasperation.

"Claire." He spoke her name softly, letting her name—her real name—slide over his tongue as if it were something of a delicacy.

Lightning didn't know what to think of it at all. She didn't know how or why he knew that, and she wanted to know why and of how he knew that, but it struck something inside her. The sound of her real name coming from his lips was different. Only her family ever called her that. Serah... He awakened her. Not Sergeant Farron. Not the l'Cie. Not Lightning. But her.

Only when she snapped out of her unpleasant thoughts did she realize that he was so close. His forehead leaned against hers, his eyes blazing a fiery green in the darkness—dangerous yet compelling. Her own hands were still fisted in the sheets covering her body, but her resolve seemed to weaken. She was expecting another obnoxiously big-worded speech, but what came out of his lips next were so simple and dreadfully inviting, yet she didn't know how she knew that he meant her no harm. Simply comfort, and something she else couldn't name instead.

"Stay with me, tonight..."

She was powerless to resist when their lips met yet again. Just like the first time; soft and careful, slowly building and heating up into a wave of hot fire that would rampage through her skin. She felt his velvet soft tongue slowly inch past her slightly parted lips, and she could not help the slight flush that crept to her pale cheeks. Her heart was hammering a pounding rhythm in her chest and she could not stop it. The hands that had been clutching to the sheets like a last attempt to erect a wall had fallen away. She gently traced her fingertips over the wound she had given him earlier; felt his blood come away in her fingers as they kissed. And just like that, her arms were around his neck again, just as his hands explored her body.

Away with me... The fine line between reality and delusion had blurred, and she was not sure whether she spoke those words or simply thought them, but right now, on top of her, sprawled across the bed, and their lips against each other with nothing between them but skin, Kadaj did not care about Mother—did not care about what the man influencing his decisions would think; did not care if they yelled at him first thing in the morning and racked his brain with mental torment and turmoil; did not care whether Reunion was close at hand or not. Nothing else mattered in this simple moment in time; nothing but the woman beneath him, subject to his fiery affection. She had appeared so delicate and fragile, yet after a couple of weeks, the Remnant had come to know that she was strong, independent, a challenge to his power and hunger for control. And he adored her for it. No one could stand up to him. Only Lightning ever dared...

He wondered if she knew that. What would she possibly think if she knew?

He pulled away slightly to trace heavy lingering kisses on her neck. She did not push him away. She knew she wanted this, and yet she did not understand why. Is this how it feels to...? She could not finish the thought. She wasn't... Falling... For him, was she?

Kadaj's lips trailed lower, over the l'Cie brand that shimmered blackly in the silvery light of the moon. She gasped. Her hands seemed to have a mind of their own as they wandered to the back of his head to grasp at his silver hair... She was lost; falling forever into the void of oblivion, and surprisingly, Lightning did not give a damn.