I do not own anything from FFVII, FFXIII or FFXIII-2

Cocoon was falling from its home in the sky. Fang and Vanille sacrificed themselves to keep Cocoon up off of Gran Pulse's surface. Hope, Sazh, Snow and Lightning became crystal under the shadow of their home planet.
"Take that l'Cie." Barthandelus said, pointing to Lightning. Cid Raines nodded and picked up one of the crystal l'Cie. Barthandelus opened a portal to a different dimension and they disappeared into the portal. It sealed off behind them.

The portal opened again. They stepped out and placed the crystal statue on the steps of a crumbling church in the slums of Midgar. They hid behind a pile of junk and watched the scene that unfolded.
"Wow! What a pretty statue!" Aerith exclaimed.
"Be careful." Tseng replied.
"Help me pick it up." She said. Aerith tried to pick it up herself and was struggling to do so. Tseng rolled his eyes and picked it up for Aerith.
"Thanks, can you please take it inside." She replied. He placed the statue next to her yellow blooms sprouting from the floorboards of the church. Aerith smiled. "Perfect!" Aerith exclaimed. Tseng turned around and headed outside the church. She stared at the crystal for a little and then she went back to tending her flowers.

The crystal faded and Lightning woke up on the wooden floor. She groaned and looked at the girl tending the flowers. The girl turned around and almost screamed.
"Hi." The girl said with wide eyes.
"Hey." Lightning replied.
"Where am I?" Lightning asked.
"In the church in the slums." The girl replied. Lightning looked at her with a confused expression.
"The slums of Midgar?" the girl asked if she knew the city at all. The former soldier still didn't answer.
"Where are you from?" the girl asked.
"The beachside city of Bodhum, on Cocoon." Lightning replied.
"My name is Aerith. What's your's?" Aerith asked.
"Lightning." She replied.
"What uniform is that?" Aerith asked.
"Sanctum. Guardian Corps, rank sergeant." Lightning replied.
"Never heard of Sanctum before... the military here is Shinra's SOLDIER division, the security division and sometimes the Turks." Aerith replied.
"This Shinra corporation, it is a government?" Lightning asked.
"No, they're an electrical company that also make a lot of other products." Aerith replied.

"Have you got a place to stay?" Aerith asked. Lightning shook her head.
"If you can afford to rent a place, I'll help you look for one." Aerith offered.
"Thanks." Lightning replied.
"Ok, in order to go into town, you might want to alter your uniform." Aerith suggested.
"Fair enough." Lightning replied. She removed her Blazefire Saber from her coat, took off her coat and emptied the pockets. She put the contents of her pockets into the pouch resting on her foreleg. She pulled her gloves off and placed them on top of her other gear. Aerith took Lightning out into the slums and showed her around. Tseng followed the two women, keeping his eyes on Aerith. Almost four hours later, Lightning's new apartment was filled with the stuff she and Aerith had bought. Her uniform rested in the closet, not to be touched again. Lightning and Aerith headed out to lunch with the bored Turk following behind.

"Is that all the shopping?" Tseng asked as they sat at a table in a cafe.
"That's all." Aerith replied with a cheeky smile. The Turk sighed with relief and Lightning chuckled a little.
"You complain too much!" Lightning exclaimed. Aerith turned around and she averted her gaze a little.
"What's up?" Tseng asked. Lightning looked in the direction Aerith did a moment ago to see three guys sitting at a table. One of them was reading a white book and seemed to be immersed in it. The black haired man shook his head at his reading friend and said something whilst his silver haired friend chuckled at his friend's response.
"Who are they?" Lightning asked.
"First class SOLDIER operatives. The red haired one is Genesis, the black haired one is Angeal and the silver haired one is the famous SOLDIER hero Sephiroth." Aerith replied.
"Hm... I like SOLDIER better than the Guardian Corps I think." Lightning commented.
"Why?" Aerith asked.
"Those three are very good looking... better than the guys back home." Lightning replied.
"Really?" Aerith asked.
"Oh, yeah." Lightning replied.
"Oh, brother..." Tseng muttered.
"I heard that." Lightning replied with a sour tone.

"Angeal, leave Genesis alone! He likes reading, let him be." Sephiroth chuckled. Angeal shook his head at Genesis who was too immersed into 'Loveless' to care.
"It's not natural for a guy to read poetry! It's not honourable!" Angeal exclaimed.
"Is too." Genesis replied, seemingly listening to their conversation.
"Guys, you crack me up." Sephiroth laughed.
"I need a coffee." Genesis said.
"So go get some." Angeal replied.
"I don't want to get up." Genesis said.
"I'll get it." Sephiroth replied.
"Tall latte and make it strong." Genesis instructed.
"I know what to do." Sephiroth snapped. Angeal sniggered. While he was waiting for the latte to arrive, he let his eyes wander around the shop. His eyes seemed to be drawn to the girl Tseng and Aerith sat with. The woman turned and caught his gaze. She smiled and looked down towards the floor before joining her friends' chat again. The attendant had to shake him in order to tell him that the coffee was ready. He paid for it and brought it back to his friend. Angeal shook his head at Sephiroth.
"Let your mind wander again?" he asked as Sephiroth placed the coffee before Genesis. Genesis set down the book and took a sip of the coffee.
"What I miss?" Genesis asked.
"Sephiroth was daydreaming. Again." Angeal replied.
"I don't day dream... do I?" Sephiroth asked unsurely. Both of his friends nodded.

"I saw that..." Aerith mused.
"Saw what?" Lightning asked.
"The eye contact. You like him, don't you?" Aerith asked. Lightning nodded.
Aerith clapped with a high pitched, "Aww, that's so cute!"
"Not so loud!" Lightning exclaimed quietly. Lightning couldn't help but to steal another glance at the man named Sephiroth and they just so happened to catch each others' gazes again. His black haired friend slapped him and Lightning chuckled a little. Aerith called her attention back to their banter.

"What was that for?" Sephiroth asked.
"You were day dreaming." Angeal replied. Genesis laughed.
"No he wasn't! He was checking out the girl with pink hair!" Genesis exclaimed.
"Exotic." Angeal replied.
"Come on! Give me a break here!" Sephiroth exclaimed.
"Go say hi. Invite her to party I'll throw at my place when she says yes and we will play seven minutes of heaven." Genesis suggested.
"No." Sephiroth replied.
"Just go say hi." Angeal said and pushed him away from the table and towards his crush. He could easily see that she was getting a little agitated and he turned back to his friends.
"I can't." Sephiroth replied. Angeal and Genesis got up and shoved Sephiroth towards the table. He almost tripped and scared the life out of woman with pink hair.
"Hi. I'm Sephiroth. Sorry for scaring you." He said. He noticed that her blue eyes sparkled like crystal in sunlight.

Lightning saw his piercing green eyes and wondered if her secrets were safe from him.
"I'm Claire Farron. And don't worry about scaring me; I'm used to the unexpected." Lightning replied.
"Is... that a tattoo?" he asked curiously. Lightning looked down at her brand and nodded.
"Yeah it is." She replied.
"Nice." He commented. Tseng rolled his eyes.
"If you want to ask her out, do it now." Tseng said. Lightning shook her head at Tseng and he went back to reading his book.
"Sorry about Tseng." Lightning replied.
"Um, can I call you sometime?" Sephiroth asked. Lighting took out a pen and wrote her number on a serviette. She handed it to him.
"Sure. Will I see you around?" Lightning questioned.
"Yeah, sometimes..." he replied. Lightning chuckled a little.
"I'll call you." He said.
"Ok." She replied.
"Goodbye." Sephiroth said.
"Bye." Lightning replied and Sephiroth walked out of the shop with his friends in tow. Aerith stared at her.
"Really? Was it really that awkward?" Aerith asked.
"Yes!" Lightning replied.
"Why did you lie to him?" Aerith asked.
"I didn't. My real name is Claire Farron. I prefer to be called Lightning." She replied.
"The why tell him your real name?" Aerith asked.
"To avoid awkwardness later." Lightning replied.