It was easier not to think, sometimes.

Lightning's running shoes hit the pavement in quick, rhythmic steps. Five miles in and she was still pushing herself, music blaring in her ears. Normally she didn't bring music, preferring to remain alert of her surroundings. This time, however, the volume was cranked up high. The last thing she wanted to hear right now were her own thoughts.

She was faster than anyone she knew, yet somehow she couldn't outrun this.

Three miles later, and she had to gradually slow her pace to a fast walk. With the sun's gentle morning rays greeting her, her mind remained blissfully clear as she brisked across several residential blocks and finally up the driveway to her house. She was tuned out all the way to the shower, letting the cold water numb her further.

She dressed in her blue uniform, tugged her boots on, checked and holstered her gun. She looked at herself in the mirror as she buckled her gear in place, adjusting here and there. Each movement was familiar and automatic. She lost herself in the routine, nearly forgetting when she'd moved toward the kitchen.

The coffee started brewing when her phone buzzed on the counter. Fang's smiling picture appeared.

Lightning looked back at the coffee pot, shifting the weight on her feet. She glanced at the phone again and memories of last night slipped in.

It was their weekly lady's night out with Serah, Vanille when she could make it, Fang, and Fang's girlfriend Aerith.

None of them drank too much, sometimes nothing at all. But occasionally when they were having a really good time, some got a little more tipsy than usual.

The phone was still vibrating. Closing and opening her eyes, Lightning swept a finger quickly across the screen and put the phone against her ear.

"Hey."

"Morning, Light," Fang responded cheerfully. Even with her heart this raw, it was still good to hear her friend's voice. "How'd you sleep?"

"You know me. I never sleep," Lightning replied with all the sarcasm she could muster. Which was a lot.

Fang barked a laugh. "Good. Just thought I'd check and make sure you're still bleeding your eyes out over your reports or whatever it is that keeps you up these days." A short pause. "You, uh, left kinda early last night."

Lightning shook her head, choosing to ignore the last comment, and sighed loud enough for Fang to hear. "As per Doctor Fang's orders, I am getting five hours of sleep every night. Most of the time."

Fang clicked her tongue in a disapproving manner. "I'm pretty sure Doctor Fang's orders were seven to eight hours."

Lightning opened the fridge and pulled out an egg carton and a half-empty package of bacon. "Huh, I don't seem to recall."

"You're a terrible patient."

"You're a terrible doctor."

"You get what you pay for, sunshine. And technically, I'm not a doctor."

"I see where I went wrong," Lightning retorted, rolling her eyes.

Fang chuckled. A pleasant silence followed as Lightning went about fixing her breakfast as best she could with one hand. It was always easy to quietly enjoy Fang's presence, even over the phone.

Eventually, Fang said, "Remember when we were kids and used to play doctor?"

Lightning's mouth curved slightly. "We'd take turns with who was the doctor because both of us were always getting hurt somehow."

"Yeah. I'm surprised we even have knees left as many times as we scraped them. I guess we were pretty good doctors, eh?"

"I guess we were," Lightning agreed.

There was some shifting noise over the phone, and then Fang's voice came a bit further away. "Hey, babe."

Lightning took the phone away from her ear and put it on the counter. She waited a bit before putting it on speaker.

Fang had always been a noisy kisser. It used to only annoy Lightning. When they were young she would tease Fang about it, which usually ended with herself in a headlock. But it had never bothered her this much. Through high school and college she cared very little about who her best friend was with so long as they didn't hurt her. Yet even the ones she hadn't liked never made her feel so... ill.

When had that changed...

It seemed to be only over the past few months that she started looking at her best friend differently. Started wanting to be closer, somehow. She had tried to ignore it, but if anything she only became more aware of her friend in ways she hadn't before.

"Hey, Light. Since it's been warming up outside, Aerith and I were planning on going to the beach after work. Wanna join us?"

"Come with us, Lightning," came Aerith's warm voice.

Lightning stared at the bacon sizzling on the stove. Maybe this would have been easier if Aerith wasn't such a nice person.

Last night had been... more difficult than usual. Fang and Vanille got into one of their contests. And Fang was a physical sort of person even without alcohol involved. She'd teased Lightning in her usual matter, if a bit more sloppy. Lightning, in need of some air, excused herself to the restroom. When she came back and found Fang practically in Aerith's lap, the sharp twist in her chest lingered even during her run that morning.

"I can't today I'm..." She needed today. She needed today to get her head on straight and she would be fine. "I'm going to the gym."

"The gym?" Fang asked perplexedly. "I thought today was run day for you."

"Yeah. It was, I..." Lightning waved her hand vaguely, again saying the first thing that came to mind. "I slept through my alarm and I didn't have time."

"Huh, that doesn't sound like you. You sure you're alright? You're not getting sick, are you? I'm telling you, you need to sl-"

"I'm fine. Everything's fine." By this point she was scrambling her eggs so intently that some of the yolk spilled out of the skillet.

Fang was hesitant as she said, "Right. Well. Okay, sorry you can't make it. Call me if you need anything, alright?"

"Sure."

After hanging up, Lightning ate her breakfast in silence, munching every bite with a thoroughness that used to scare Serah. When she was finished, she dumped her dishes in the sink and grabbed her keys. She was halfway to her car when her phone buzzed again. A text from Fang.

Be careful out there officer.

She buckled herself in the car before replying with a simple 'Will do.' and pulled out of the driveway.

It took fifteen minutes to get to the station. When she arrived in the parking lot, her partner Tifa was just getting out of her car. Tifa waved and wandered over.

"Did you miss your run this morning? You have that serious look again. More than usual."

"Yeah. I guess."

Tifa patted Lightning on the back and followed her to their squad car. "Let's get some coffee," was all she said as they got in.

It wasn't quite accurate to say she loved her job, but Lightning enjoyed it nonetheless. Others said they liked making a difference and helping people, and while that was all well and good, for her it was the discipline and focus it required. The need to be at her best every single day.

Their day was as routine as it could get, and Tifa didn't prod her with any personal questions. That was probably one of the reasons why they were still partners after a month, much to Chief Amodar's relief.

When she got off work, surprisingly on time for once, she was tired but feeling better. She waved goodbye to Tifa and got in her own car. Maybe she'd make some popcorn after dinner and watch a movie until she fell asleep.

Her phone vibrated.

Aerith had something come up. Meet u at gym.