Early to Rise
The crystal clear waters of Lake Oerba remained undisturbed by the flickers of sunlight spreading across it, dancing on it's surface. It was the lone swimmer approaching the edge of the water that marked the first movement of the day. The swimmer exited the cool lake and walked up the steps near a dock, towards a pile of what looked like a towel and clothes. Grabbing the towel and throwing it around their shoulders, the swimmer turned towards the growing source of light on the horizon. A gentle breeze rustled the leaves of the trees along the waterfront, and gently tickled at the damp pink locks of the early riser. With a small yet satisfied sigh, Lightning Farron turned from the sunrise and reached for her clothes to continue with the rest of her morning routine.
Though always having naturally been an early bird, Lightning actually appreciated mornings in Oerba Neo. At first it was hard to adjust to, having grown up in a bustling town where the line between dusk and dawn was never very clear. As Lightning walked up the ramp away from the waterfront and around to the main square of the village, she still found it amusingly bizarre that the loudest sounds were those of her feet—completely bare—on the ground beneath them.
Upon reaching a fork in the path, Lightning turned down the one that did not lead back to her own abode. Making her way down the alternate path and turning through a rather vibrant garden, she found herself standing at a door to a larger home. Before she could begin to think of the actual reason she had ended up there, the door swung open and she stood looking at what could have been a perfect replica of herself, a few years younger.
"Claire." A sleeping voice said through a yawn, "Good morning."
"Morning Serah, sorry I'm… I'm not sure-"
"Would you like some coffee?" Serah cut Lightning off—half to save the latter from wracking her brain so early in the morning and the other half to get out of the slightly chilly air that had begun to take up residence in the area, "Come inside." Not really waiting for an answer, the younger Farron grasped Lightning by the arm and led her in.
"You're still swimming in this weather?" Serah said through another small yawn, making her way into the kitchen to heat up some water, "I'm almost surprised you haven't gotten sick yet."
Lightning followed her sister into the kitchen, taking a seat at the counter across from her. She watched Serah as she shuffled around the kitchen. Though coming on 29 now, the younger Farron hadn't changed much physically. Yes, she'd grown to look like she was older than 14 but she hadn't been as lucky as Lightning in terms of height. Serah had decided to grow her hair out. No longer draped on her shoulder, the darker shade of pink locks hung in a loose pony-tail behind her, reaching almost to the small of her back. Said back suddenly disappeared from Lightning's view and was replaced by a rather large belly.
"Claire?"
"It never fails to throw me off, seeing you pregnant." Lightning admit aloud before she could really stop herself.
"And it never fails to amuse me." Serah quipped with a small rub of her tummy, "At least it's not twins." She added, staring lovingly down at her mid-section—as if it were already a living, breathing child out of her womb, "I love my boys but, I swear they've got my nose and the rest is all Snow."
"Thanks for the reminder." Lightning made another face.
"Oh as if that does anything to stop your from spoiling your sweet little nephews." Serah once again gave her stomach a rub, "You hear that baby girl? Don't you worry, no matter how much trouble you get in, you'll always have Auntie Claire spoiling you silly."
"I do not spoil them." A half-hearted attempt at defense.
"You gave Syd and Noah both a set of AMP devices." Serah stated, slipping a cup of coffee towards Lightning on the counter and taking a sip of her own cup of tea.
"I've told you, I made sure they were on minimum output settings," Lightning insisted, a smile dangerously close to crossing her lips, "They're safe."
"Claire," Serah gave the elder pinkette a raised eyebrow, "They're 7." The younger Farron did not miss the small smile flash across her sister's lips as she looked away. She couldn't help but smile herself, "Honestly, the trouble they give Snow sometimes—it's like taking care of a third child."
"Father-son bonding is a wonderful thing-"
"Oh, don't give me that, missy," Serah wagged a finger at the other pinkette, "As if you hadn't planned on the boys making Snow their little test dummy." Lightning actually let out a controlled laugh at the notion. While completely and entirely true, hearing it in those words—from Serah's mouth—amused her greatly.
She was saved from additional scolding from her younger sister as a loud thump followed by excited banter between children was heard near the staircase outside the kitchen. This, followed by a deep booming string of amusingly-censored, non-child-safe words caused both Farron siblings to turn toward the entrance of the kitchen.
"Speak of the little devils." Lightning feigned a surprised look, resisting the urge to laugh at Serah's rolling eyes.
"Did you see that? Did you see that?"
"That was sooo cool! I think he went higher than before!"
Both Serah and Lightning turned to see two young boys rush into the kitchen. They were almost identically dressed in tousled pajamas; both their pink-tinged blonde hair ruffled; and the same giant grin was plastered on both their faces.
"Boys!" Yet another voice rang through the air. The tired tone, laced with what sounded like frustration caused Lighting to smile wider.
"Uh oh, Dad's mad." One of the twins stated the not-so-obvious.
"It was your idea-"
"What? You're the one who said to use his hat!"
Lightning turned to Serah who just folded her arms and shook her had. Don't you look at me, Claire. This is your doing, you do something about it. Lightning could practically hear the younger Farron's thoughts as she turned back towards the arguing twins, moving from her seat, the sound somehow catching their attention.
"Boys-"
"Auntie Claire!" The both of them said in unison, forgetting their quarrel, before practically tackling her to the ground. She let out a small chuckle as she knelt down in front of them as they began bombarding her with the tale of minutes prior, which somehow involved Snow getting his hand stuck in the ceiling. While she felt a small sense of victory, she also felt her younger sister's eyes burning into her back.
"Now boys, what did I tell you about using the AMP devices." Lightning forced a stern voice, "It's not to be abused—remember how I said it was proof that I trusted you with their power? What if you had gotten hurt?" The two boys calmed themselves, looking at the ground with guilty eyes.
"Sorry Auntie Claire." They both chimed at the same time. Lightning almost cooed as she ruffled both their hair.
"It's alright boys, but is it really me you should be apologizing to?" The twins shook their heads and looked towards the stairs, "If anything, I think at least your father would need help getting himself down from the ceiling-"
"Claire!" Serah's frustrated voice cut off any excited response the twins could give before throwing Lightning another look of disapproval before moving to shoo her sons out of the kitchen, "Come on you two, go apologize to daddy and wash up for breakfast."
"Ok mommy!" With that, the twins bounded back upstairs.
"And you-" The smaller woman pointed an accusing finger at Lighting but couldn't finish when she saw the soft expression on Lightning's face as she followed the boys retreating out of view. Shoulders slumping, Serah let out a sigh, shaking her head and returning to the kitchen counter. Soon after, Light had followed her and returned to her seat to finish her coffee.
Serah, while proceeding to prepare breakfast, threw the occasional glance at her older sister. What she wouldn't do to see Lighting with the expression she had on just moments before more often. She did admit that the elder Farron had gotten… better. Memories of nearer events on Cocoon took form in a frown that touched Serah's lips. A frown that lasted a mere second but was not quick enough to escape the notice of its indirect cause.
"What's wrong?" Lightning asked, catching Serah's eye.
"Oh, nothing." Serah lied—though immediately regretted it due to her vast experience in being caught in such lies by the woman sitting across from her. As if reading her thoughts Lightning raised an eyebrow quizzically, waiting for an answer—the 'correct' answer.
"It's just…" Serah struggled to find words as she struggled to peel the fruit in her hands. Lightning grabbed the distraction away from her and gracefully began shedding it of it's outer layer, "When I see you with the boys… when I see you smile, it makes me happy. You should smile more often Claire, it suits you." There was an ever-so-slight pause in Lighting's hand movements but Serah wasn't quite as perceptive so it remained unnoticed by the younger Farron, "It's not even just about you smiling Claire, You look genuinely happy—and I don't mean you've never been happy before." She quickly added when she saw her sister open her mouth to interrupt, "Just… I'm glad."
"You're talking like I've been in some deep depression or something."
Haven't you? Ever since… While she dared not say it aloud and chose to humor her older sister's attempt to brush off a still-sensitive subject with a chuckle, Serah couldn't help but see a truth in Lightning's jest.
Ever since the incident a decade ago she'd seen two vastly different sides of Lightning. It pained her to watch her sister the first few years after the crystallization of Cocoon. Yes, it hadn't been the perfect happy ending but to say Lightning did not take well to losing two of their own would be an understatement of epic proportions. In true Lightning Farron fashion, the soldier had hidden it well but she hurt on a whole different level from the other l'Cie. Serah had sensed this but didn't know how to handle it. Lightning's actions—fueled by anger and sorrow, and Serah's lack-of-action—due to inability truly understand, caused great strain on their relationship. And it was no doubt the same between Lightning and the other members of their extended family.
"You know, for talking to about me smiling more, you're certainly frowning a lot this morning." The elder Farron in question snapped her back to reality, holding a perfectly peeled fruit in her hand.
"I-"
"Alright then! A couple little rug rats told me there may be food down here!" Another voice made its way into the conversation. Both sisters turned to see Snow making his way into the kitchen, said 'rug rats' under each of his arms. He reached Serah and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before placing the twins at their seats at the table, "Morning sis!"
"Morning Snow," Lightning responded, staring mock-credulously at his bandaged right hand, "What happened to your hand?" Serah once again rolled her eyes as Snow began to explain his side of the twins' earlier tale. She couldn't help herself from laughing at his version though. Apparently the twins had neglected to include that his boxers were also involved—much to Lightning's distaste.
"Oh hey, the boys and I are going with a couple of kids from the orphanage on a fishing trip with Sazh, ya wanna come along?" Snow asked the elder Farron, unfettered by the obvious amusement in both sisters' faces at his expense, "The kids would love it."
"Yeah, come Auntie Claire!" Syd spoke up.
"Yeah, come Auntie Claire!" Noah echoed.
Lightning broke into another small smile at the two boys who's eyes shone with an excitement that looked like little fireworks behind the deep blue orbs. She shook her head apologetically.
"I'm sorry boys, I have to go into the city today for a while." She explained.
"Already? I thought you were on leave for a while this time." Serah spoke up, handing Snow another plate of food to put on the table. Her eyes however, remained on Lightning.
"Me too, but it was a request from Amodar." The older pinkette elaborated without going into too much detail. Even if she had, she knew it would not neutralize the slight anxiety she saw in her sister's eyes. She was aware of Serah's adversity to her remaining in the military—even if it were unrelated to her previous place in the Guardian Corps. But Lightning was not the type to remain idle for long. Yes, she enjoyed peace and tranquility as much as the next person but training to survive, serving to protect had grown to be a part of her. A part that she—despite her love for her friends and family in Oerba Neo—couldn't ignore.
"Speaking of which, I should probably get going, the shuttle is picking me up in a under an hour."
"You're not going to stay for breakfast?" Serah questioned. Lightning shook her head, gathering the towel she'd draped on the back of the stood she'd been sitting on. She moved towards the two boys and gave both their hair a ruffle.
"Oh c'mon sis! You gotta eat something!" Snow insisted as she threw the towel over her shoulder.
"I really can't, but thank you." At this point, Serah had made her way over and practically threw herself on the older pinkette, "Easy there, Serah..." Lighting chuckled, motioning to her sister's stomach after they pulled away from each other.
"You better not wait two weeks to call me again, Claire." The younger Farron demanded, her eyes flashing with a zeal that even Lightning could not ignore.
"I promise, Serah." She maneuvered herself around the pregnant woman, easing her into her seat at the table before leaning down and kissing her temple. She turned once more to the twins who were on the verge of an all-out food war, "I don't have to tell you two to take care of your mother and baby sister, right?"
"We will Auntie Claire!"
"Yeah Auntie Claire! We'll take good care of them!" Syd accentuated the statement, reaching over and touching his mother's stomach himself. Lightning gave an affirming nod before turning towards the door.
"Hey! What about me!" Snow asked, halting the departing woman in her tracks. She turned to Snow, eyebrow raised. He just looked at her expectantly. Clicking her tongue she cleared her throat.
"Boys did you know, on those AMP devices I gave you; if you adjust the setting just right, you can-"
"Claire!" Serah interrupted Lightning with an accusing yelp of disapproval. The pinkette in question was also apparently just within swatting range. Lightning just gave a chuckle before continuing towards the door. She gave one last look at the family—her family—before pulling open the door and leaving the warmth, stepping back into the frosty air outside.
Taking a deep breath for a reason she wasn't aware of—nor thought to question, Lightning set off towards her own home to finish packing.
A/N:
I own nothing from FFXIII. I just like to play with the characters.
Whew, first chapter up. Damn it's long =_=;;
Hopefully I'll update regularly. I'm rather excited about this one.
I'll be taking my time with this one. There will eventually be some fun FLight lovin' goodness but there's also a whole other story involve which I want to tell.
So yes... Patience, young grasshoppers =]
Oh also, before I forget, some random art I did for this story can be viewed on my dA page if any are interested ^^