Disclaimer: As usual, I do not own Lightning Farron, Yun Fang, or anything else related to Final Fantasy XIII.
The rumblings from the sky above shook the home, the walls quivering as they shook with the strong force. Lightning remained still in the dark space, silence swirling around her since Fang was still out for the night. Hearing the droplets of rain splash the side of the building, she paced over to the window, her aqua orbs following the droplets as they slid effortlessly down the other side of the glass. She seemed to be focused, deep in a train of thought as she waited for the brunette to return from her duty. She knew the pulsian had agreed to helping out with the bar since the winds floating into town were of gale force, ripping into anything that came into their path. Lightning had agreed that the extra hand at the bar would have been appreciated by Lebreau and she knew her significant other didn't mind lending a hand. She had learned many different things while being committed in a relationship with Fang, but one thing remained the same; the huntress was always willing to go out of her way to help another.
The small droplets began to rush quicker against the glass, slipping down to the point where they were no longer visible and only splashes of rain graced the clear surface. She clenched her jaw slightly, her mind beginning to churn like clockwork; each wheel spinning in different directions at the recent piece of information she had received concerning the brunette who currently held her heart. Pacing into the kitchen, she needed a glass of water to try and recollect her thoughts. There was no way, absolutely no way that Fang would have done what she had heard through the grapevine. Besides, the pinkette seemed to be too logical to even consider the mere thought of agreeing with a rumor.
However, this particular rumor had her head spinning. Someone had insisted that they had seen Vanille around town with Fang in a sense that was much closer than usual. Lightning knew that the two had always had a close relationship, but she figured that Fang was more committed to their relationship than to be seen making out with Vanille. Not only that, but the brunette had spent late nights away from home lately and it had Lightning second guessing her 'jobs'. She was becoming insecure because she knew that her relationship with Fang would never amount to the deepness she shared with Vanille. She hated the jealous that coursed through her veins; a feeling she had never felt before concerning a love interest.
It was almost ironic for her to be pouring herself a glass of water since the rain was sloshing against the window outside, swallowing the home entirely. Her palms leaned against the counter in front of the sink, a glass sitting neatly nearby as she reached out with a free hand and flicked on the faucet. Placing the cup under the water that began to drizzle she filled her cup enough to satisfy her dry mouth. Snapping it off once more, Lightning gulped down the water in a needy fashion. There's no way. It couldn't be true could it? Her grip tightened on the glass, lightly cracking it before she snapped out of thought and placed it back idly on the counter.
Outside rumblings of thunder echoed throughout the darkened pulsian sky, as droplets started off hitting the ground softly but quickly turning into a downpour. The huntress had got caught in the middle of it, though thankfully wasn't too far from their shared home. Wiping the water from her face, Fang shielded her eyes to see where she was going - since visibility was anything but good now
It took roughly ten minutes to get from the NORA bar, back to the familiar setting that marked the front of the house. Leaning against the front door now with a hand on the wooden surface, jade eyes would glance back over her shoulder at the storm. It was strange, as the storm had come out of nowhere despite forecasts calling for a clear day. She kind of regretted helping Lebreau prepare the bar for the damaging wind and the like now, but she couldn't just leave knowing the woman needed help. Besides, that's what friends were for, right? Even if she was extremely late in returning home for the evening - not that the weather had helped either.
Twisting the doorknob, Fang finally let herself inside and promptly closed the door behind her. At first she thought the electricity had gone out, but noticed the light she had left on in the kitchen was still on. However, a certain pink haired woman was no where to be seen, which was highly unusual. "—Sunshine?" The pulsian called out, while peering down the nearby hall that led to their bedroom. There was no light shining under the door, so Lightning was more than likely not in there, not to mention she never went to bed without knowing Fang had gotten home.
Movement in the kitchen caught her attention, and she took a few steps towards the entrance to the room and peered inside. Well, she had finally found the woman, but a wave of uneasiness washed over her as something seemed really off with the roseate. "—Ay… Light, you okay..?"
A lump formed in Lightning's throat and she swallowed it down quickly, forcing herself to get a grip. Lowering her head, she stared at the floor beneath her feet, not responding as the brunette called out to her. However, the other woman found her in the kitchen but easily noted her uneasy stance. Her gaze rose to her pulsian, her hues darker than usual as her face remained blank. "How could you?" She wondered out loud, her voice rather quiet but strong enough it was audible above the rumbling of the thunder echoing in the silent home.
A thin brow was raised while a puzzled look settled over the pulsian's face, more than a little confused as to what exactly Lightning had meant by her words. How could she… What? Fang's mind was racing, trying to figure out the answer to something she should supposedly know. Was Lightning referring to how long it had taken her to get back home, despite the fact fortifying the bar had taken well over the previously thought hours to accomplish? No… It couldn't be that of all things, or at least she thought as mossy green orbs studied the pinkette's face. They both had known she'd have been back late, regardless of when the storm actually hit. Lebreau didn't have much else help beside her, as the usual NORA boys were on some weird trip with Snow for the time being. Still, the whole thing made no sense, and she could only tilt her head to the side to convey her confusion even more.
Slightly paling olive lips pursed into a line while the woman contemplated things, though her train of thought was disturbed by a drop of water falling off her soaked head. Fang blinked slowly, and glanced over her shoulder at the front door - and the trail of water she had tracked in, while trying to get out of the storm. Now that had to be it! If there was one thing Lightning hated more than anything, was her tracking water, mud, or whatever else into the house and all over her clean carpeting.
Fang glanced back towards her partner, giving Lightning an apologetic look and rubbing at the back of her head with a hand awkwardly. "—Er… 'm sorry bout the mess, Sunshine. It's jus' really comin' down out there, ya know? I'll clean it for ya so ya don't need.. to.. uh… Light?" Her voice trailed off, feeling the unease slowly creep back in. The expression on the roseate's face hadn't changed, and if anything it seemed a bit more upset than a second ago. The confused look from earlier swept back over Fang's face, who was completely lost now at what she could have done to be earning such treatment.
Taking a few steps forward, the huntress closed the distance between them , though leaving at least two feet for personal space. "—Lightning..? What's wrong with ya?" Fang eventually spoke up, not even sure what else to say at this point. The only things she could think of obviously weren't the reason the pink haired woman was upset, and there wasn't anything else off the top of her mind that could either. She reached a hand out towards Lightning, gently touching her shoulder. "Why are ya so mad… Huh?" There was a momentary pause, jade eyes meeting their cerulean counterparts." ..Ya know ya can tell me, right?"
Lightning watched as the pulsian's face became plagued with confusion. How could she be so confused over what she had done? It wasn't clicking in the rosette's mind but somehow the jealousy still consumed her rational train of thought. Her eyes followed the jade orbs, studying her partner's stance, her body language as she confronted her in a cryptic manner that left the huntress completely puzzled. God, how much she loved that look on Fang's face when she arched that eyebrow but this time it had her reeling with frustration. To think that the brunette could even act like she had done nothing wrong began to sink into her bones, twisting her mind process even further, changing into an aggravated state as she peered at the huntress.
She held her tongue, watching as the rain dripped off her lover's face and onto the distant floor, leaving a small imprint on the tan carpeting that lay beneath them. However, she remained silent as she continued to study the brunette and her features; looking for any sign to prove the rosette was right in where she stood with her anguish. Normally, she didn't allow for such foolish things to consume her sense of stability, but this was Fang; she was allowed to be jealous, wasn't she? Later on, Lightning knew she'd be cursing herself for even raising the question in the first place, especially if she were in the wrong. In the moment, the ex-soldier felt like she was in the right and she had a stubborn way of thinking about things, especially when it came to those she trusted and when she felt betrayed.
Lightning's posture stiffened, regardless of the space left between the two of them. She could feel her stomach knotting up, her muscles tensing for the first time in along time as the stood before the beautiful huntress. She couldn't remember the last time she even felt this way in front of Fang; it was completely foreign to her as she tried to reel herself back in to the moment they were having. What the hell is wrong with me? She simply seethed, scolding herself, her eyes shutting momentarily as she tried desperately to grasp for words that would even make the slightest of sense before she spoke. The last thing Lightning wanted to do was confuse the brunette further; or worse, enrage her.
Pursing her lips together into a thin line, she finally gained the courage to speak, despite Fang's soft words hitting her like a moving train as they had completely winded her. She yearned for the brunette's caress, the simplest of embraces to ease her confused heart and replace her confusion with love but she took a step backwards, allowing her body to remain tense and her face to remain blank. Her eyes traced the beaming green hues across the small space they shared, searching them for answers when she finally piped up. "Vanille, Fang." She simply spoke once more; there was no need for her to throw a temper tantrum like a teenager because they were both adults here.
Sure, the rumor she had heard seemed so trivial but it had been affecting her like a disease since she had learned of it. "How could you do that?" Her repetition of words more quiet this time. Though her face showed no emotion, inwardly she felt like she was breaking. "Did I not mean anything to you?" She added after a momentary pause, her voice lowering into almost a whisper.
Fang didn't know how to react when her partner backed away, and it just further resulted in the confusion on her face to show more. Lightning had never backed away before, even during the few previous times of being upset… She just never had. So what in Etro's name was prompting this sudden change? Even when the valkyrie had went as far to mention her sister pulsian, Fang still showed no sign of understanding of what the other was trying to get at.
"—What are ya even talkin' about? Do what? I don't understand, Light.." The huntress barely managed to get those last few words out, feeling suddenly out of air as it felt her chest was tightening and constricting in painful ways. Everything was hitting her at once now; shock, even more pain, and the words thrown at her had her mind spinning dangerously. Not mean anything to her? That was the biggest load of crap she had ever heard, and it hurt to know something had influenced her love enough for her to think such things. The hand that had previously lingered on Lightning's shoulder, now balled up and clenched into a fist from the brunette's emotions inwardly running wild.
Part of her wanted to scream, to dispel whatever cloud had shrouded over the roseate to believe such nonsense. But, Fang just swallowed hard, and grit her teeth until her emotions settled down enough for her to speak. "—That's… That's not true, Sunshine. Ya mean everything to me, an' ya should know that." She paused though, thinking back to what Lightning had said a few moments before. Vanille? How exactly did she tie into all of this? It had been a couple days since Fang had seen the younger red head anyway, and they had simply spent the afternoon catching up. Which wasn't weird, given how close they were, but there was no way this could have set the other female off… Could it have? They both knew just how important Vanille was to Fang, even if they didn't see each other much now as they used to - because they both had a new life, and were eager to live them.
Viridian hued eyes finally stared directly into light azure, as if to decode all the emotions swirling behind those beautiful shades of blue. "Claire, ya goin' to need to make more sense than that… Why bring Vanille into this, eh? She's not part of this relationship last I checked." A light huff escaped her then, not even bothering to notice how her body was now trembling. Whether from being soaked too long, her emotions triggering such things, or just a combination of the two she couldn't tell at this point.
