The ice in the blue eyes staring right back at her and into her soul held an astounding resemblance to the ones she saw in the mirror every morning before her first dose of caffeine. That slight line above her eyebrows was achingly familiar, as well. There was something about that stubborn streak, so easy to see in her stance, that made the woman crouching down right in front of this defiant tiny human feel a pride that threatened to make her heart burst inside her chest. It filled her with a love so unconditional she felt so much stronger and so terribly weak at the same time.

The toddler was in all fairness a miniature version of herself, except every single strand of hair on her head was blond. It didn't change Lightning's mind about her niece being 99% Farron and only 1% Villiers.

The chocobo plush had been quickly discarded to the side while the gunblade toy was tightly held in tiny hands, and Lightning had to make a huge effort not to beam at the image in front of her. The hair on the nape of her neck was standing on end, and she could tell without looking that Serah was glaring daggers at the back of her head.

"Alys, you need to learn to share, give your brother that… thing."

It was amazing the way Serah's voice would become so alike their mother's when she was irritated, Lightning was thinking, before realizing her sister's rage would fall upon her as soon as the kids were back to their business. As expected, the little girl didn't seem to accept that, as she kept clutching the toy to her chest for dear life.

"You don't understand, mom!" Lightning could have chuckled at the peeved expression on the girl's face, but she wasn't about to try her luck. Serah came into view then, stepping around Lightning like she was part of the furniture, hands on her hips and a stern expression on her usually kind features. Lightning had known how it felt to be on the other end of that silent glare, and she couldn't help but sympathize with the toddler in more ways than one. For starters, she had been the big sister once, but more importantly, she had been chastised by Serah more often that she dared to admit and it wasn't a walk in the park. With a sigh, Lightning ruffled Alys' already messy locks before turning to her sister with a shrug and an easy smirk.

"She does need it to fend off those nasty fiends, keep New Bodhum safe and protect us. I'll get them another one and they can both team up with matching weapons."

And she thought Serah couldn't look any more terrifying… What had she gotten herself into?

Lightning's smirk turned into a sheepish smile in a failed attempt to placate her sister, whose arms were now crossed over her chest, foot tapping impatiently on the carpeted floor. She looked like she was resisting the urge to ground her. Lightning was sure Serah would have sent her to her room, had she had one in the house.

A much smaller boy peeked around a long leg, he barely reached past Serah's knee. He was mostly hidden, clutching her skirt with one fist while sucking on the other, and didn't seem at all perturbed by the turn of events. Of course he didn't know his aunt would pay in blood for it if she didn't find a way to solve this conundrum. His head tilted to the side, giving the chocobo laying by their feet a curious glance, and Lightning was happy to oblige and put it in his grabby hands, both of which were raised in her direction the moment she wiggled the plush in front of him. It still did nothing to calm Serah's wrath, but it was all worth it, she decided, as her niece gave an excited squeal and ran victorious towards their backyard, swinging the blade around in the air.

"What? They are both happy now."

Ignoring the obvious didn't seem to be doing the trick for few endless seconds, but with one of her signature "I'm done with you" sighs, Serah relented and picked the little boy up in her arms. The glare was still present there, but her expression had softened as the verdict was spoken.

"You are doing dishes tonight." Lightning could have laughed in relief. "With Snow." Or not.

Their attention was drawn by the growl coming from the backyard, three pairs of blue eyes turning towards the turmoil. Alys was running and yelling some sort of a war cry as she charged against the noise, blade raised above her head. Fang, bless her heart, had thrown what looked a lot like the living room rug, the one that always sat pristine under the coffee table, over her head and was doing all kinds of ridiculous noises while prowling for a bewildered toddler.

Serah would have her skin for that stunt if the disgruntled noise catching in her throat was something to go by, and this time Lightning just couldn't hold a snort back. Apparently, the rug was a lot more important than the soldier finding the situation remotely entertaining because she ran off to catch the Gran Pulsian, her very confused nephew still in her arms with a rainbow colored chocobo plush clutched in his tiny fists. It was nothing short of hilarious.

"I heard you put us in charge of the dishes, sis. Bad move."

"I'm not your—" The frown was an automatic response, much like the line Lighting had cut off just in time, turning around to face a grinning Snow. Father of two, hard worker, hero of Cocoon and his official brother in law now, but still the same big moron she'd met so many years ago, trying to sneak into her house through a window much too small for his huge frame. "You're doing the dishes; I'm reading the kids their bed time story." The retort lacked any real bite but she had an image to keep. Lightning had grown to respect and, Etro be damned, she was actually fond of this buffoon. His arm wrapped around her smaller form and Lightning gave a weak grunt in response.

Maybe she didn't want his head on a spike anymore, but that didn't give him the right to get into her personal space.

"I got it, Light." He winked, the arm around her shoulders squeezing her slightly, she rolled her eyes. "You take care of the little rascals. They have missed you, both of you. Nathaniel won't let us put him to bed until we let him talk to you on the phone. Not like, talk talk… but y'know. He'll fight sleep off until well past bed time and drive Serah crazy when you call later than usual. And Alys refuses to eat anything but behemoth steak on Fridays since she learned you made a fuss about it last time you visited." His eyebrow arched accusingly, and Lightning had the decency to avoid his gaze. Not because she was ashamed her bad habits were still very present at the house despite her being in a whole different city for years now, but because she was awfully proud of her niece for taking in her mannerisms and she didn't need Snow passing that knowledge to her sister. "Yeah, Serah is not happy about that either." The man scratched the back of his head, his broad shoulders rising in a half shrug.

"The kid has a fine palate, that's hardly my fault." Lightning mimicked the gesture shrugging her shoulders, but the poorly feigned innocence was ruined by the uncontrollable upturn of her lips.

"You two should move to New Bodhum, next door if possible." Lightning tilted her head, sparing a glance in Snow's direction. It was something she had considered before, but as much as it pained her to see the kids grow up so fast without her around as much as she would have liked, they had a life elsewhere. Oerba and Vanille were the only things Fang had left of her past, and she would never dare take that away from her. Oerba was Fang's home. It was their home now. Lightning hummed non-committedly, letting the comment float around them for a few seconds but none of them pushed the subject further. Her eyes darted up, taking in the darkening sky with the rich purples that subtly turned into burgundies and oranges where the Sun was setting, before narrowing them on Snow, one corner of her lips curling upwards.

In spite of the comfortable silence that had stretched on for a couple minutes between them, her voice broke the –not-so-silent with Alys' squeaks, Fang's roars and Serah's mumbling– atmosphere, just loud enough for Snow to catch it as Lightning turned on her heel and walked back inside the house. "I didn't know you were such a fan of doing dishes."

Dinner had been heavenly good. Behemoth steak with roasted vegetables; a proper meal for Hero, should be mandatory on every Friday night, Lightning had once deadpanned while visiting. Back then she had been mocking Snow, of course, but apparently her niece had been too young to understand sarcasm… It had all worked itself out in Lightning's favor, so she wasn't about to complain about having her favorite.

Nathaniel hadn't tried to launch his food into the stratosphere. That had been nice for a change. Alys had gone as far as to actually finish her veggies after seeing one of her aunts all but devour her share and the other one eat them 'like a human being, not a wild Gorgonopsid, Fang'. Alys had paid close attention to the way Lightning had rolled her eyes, mimicking the gesture and beaming when Lightning did a poor job at hiding her laughter behind a fit of cough. Her mother had been so greatly pleased with it, she had let auntie Claire off the hook for it and for the gunblade affair, even better; she had been allowed to put the kids to bed while daddy took care of the dishes.

Who would have guessed this amazing turn of events, right?

Then again, Auntie Claire was all kinds of awesome and she always got her way when it came to her mom. You just had to see, she would throw a fit and mere minutes later let go of it when her aunt gave her an apologizing sideways hug. Sometimes even a warm smile would make her mom let her get away with her shenanigans! At times, Serah acted like her aunt smiling was this huge thing. Adults were so weird.

Not her aunt, though. Her aunt was awesome.

It was a feat on itself to stay awake while the soothing voice kept lulling her to dreamlands filled with faraway kingdoms, monsters, dragons, and actual swords. She wanted to hear more about it all, but hard as she tried, it was a lost battle.

Not that those were a real thing, mind you. There was always a way, her daddy had told them, so… many… times... A big yawn caught her off guard and she groggily nestled herself further under the blankets. Once she noticed she had outlasted her brother, she considered herself victorious and Alys' sleepy eyes finally fluttered closed.

It was a warm summer night and the roads from New Bodhum to Oerba were clear with the moonlight shining upon them. Fang stretched like a cat on the leather seat of the motorized vehicle Lightning was so fond of, and she had to admit, it was much more comfortable for a long ride than a chocobo's feathery back… and fancier. It was a pity Lightning was against opening the windows fully; because of course she didn't want all that dirt inside the immaculate car. Fang suppressed the urge to roll her eyes, fiddling with the holo-panel and trying to find a music station, but she had to desist at her partner's pointed glare because, well, yeah, maybe she wasn't exactly used to these Cocoonian keyboards with their weird lettering and she usually had to try a little too hard to actually make them work.

There was a big problem. The ride was three hours long and Fang was already bored out of her damn mind. That never ended well.

Lightning sighed because the moment Fang straightened in her seat, she knew. But instead of the usual kind of torment she would be put through by her partner during their 'endless' trips, Fang had apparently went for a different approach. Long fingers threaded through the spiky side of her irregular rose hair and she almost purred in contentment. It was like every single muscle in her body decided to relax at once when Fang decided to continue the soft caress all the way down the angle of her jaw, and then some more, along the line of her shoulder and then down her arm. The knowing smirk Lightning both loved and loved to wipe off that smug face made itself known, rvrn when she barely caught a glimpse of it, it was a fact that it was there.

"Fang…"

It didn't work as intended, as the smirk was still plastered on her face. The woman had long ago developed some sort of immunity to her sideway glares and composed tone of voice, being composed another word for not so subtly threatening, the kind of tone that 'hinted' you were making yourself susceptible to a life-endangering situation.

"Sunshine…"

Apparently, she could also mock said tone. Lightning battered the offending hand away, but Fang seemed intent on getting somewhere with this. "Stop it."

One eyebrow raised, Fang contemplated patiently how to act next, and shrugged when she realized there was no point, both of them had a tendency to appreciate a direct approach after all.

"Alright. What's bothering you? Spill the beans." Before Lightning could even open her mouth to reply, Fang's voice rang again, this time much softer. It managed to force her eyes away from the empty road for a moment. "You can trust me, Light." And that was all it took. Lightning sighed in defeat and frowned, seconds ticking by as Fang waited for her to be ready to talk.

"Snow." After a considerable long silence, that was one of the least expected things for her to say, Fang thought, brow furrowing in confusion. It must have shown in her face, because Lightning forced herself to elaborate. "He said something. It made me think… about the kids, growing up without us around all that much. He mentioned they missed us." Fang nodded once, her eyes now fixated on the road ahead of them, a crease on her brow but now due to being thinking hardly of how all of that connected, getting an answer once she noticed Lightning wouldn't continue.

"Do you want to move to New Bodhum?"

Lightning's head bowed, shoulders slumping at the suggestion. That wasn't the right way to formulate the question, maybe something along the lines of 'Are you entertaining the thought of moving to New Bodhum?' would have been easier to answer to, but Fang knew better than to tiptoe around the subject. Lightning would huff and refuse to reply to that, and then it would be painfully obvious. The last thing she wanted was for Fang to feel like she had to leave everything she had left behind, to feel like she owed it to Lightning to do anything, because she had already proven once and again she was willing to give up everything for her happiness. There was one single safe thing to say.

"Oerba is our home."

"Light, you are my home."

The next few seconds felt like a small eternity, and Lightning could have sworn she had never felt more naked than in the moment she looked into Fang's easy smile and warm eyes. Right at that moment, with every thought and feeling she had for her partner showing as solid and clear as a physical entity between them, Lightning was the most fragile thing in the universe and Fang had every tool to shatter her like a glass figurine. Instead, Fang had cradled her stupid, hammering heart in her hands determined not to let a single speck of dust to fall on its surface.

Emotions running rampant, Lightning made sure the road was still as empty has it had been for the last hour and pulled over. She killed the engine pointedly ignoring Fang's questions and her hand flew to the control center on the dashboard, lights going off and Fang's seat to reclining back at her command. A very un-Fang-like squeak escaped the woman's lips at the sudden change in positions, but any possible protest died before it started because Lightning was on her. Like a shark catching the scent of blood, hungry and eyes glinting with exhilarating danger. That maddening smirk was back with a vengeance.

"You should have told me mushy talk turned you on. I would have—"

"Fang."

For reasons beyond rational thought, Fang shut up and took the wise decision of listening attentively like a scolded puppy.

"Don't."

She nodded, and it seemed like it was the right thing to do, because then it was Lightning's turn to smirk, that devious curve to her lips that did terrible things to Fang's body. Or maybe it was the fact that her very attractive, very intent on getting rid of her clothes, girlfriend was straddling her lap and molding their lips together in a searing kiss that had her breathless and losing her damn mind with its intensity.

Lightning didn't seem to mind the way Fang's fingernails were digging into the bare skin of her hips. It had taken every bit of her remaining self-control not to squirm while she got rid of both the leather jacket and white tank top now hanging carelessly from the backseat, and then to allow Lightning to do the same thing for her. Lightning, however, was taking her sweet time with Fang's shirt, her lips trailing the exposed skin of her neck. It was torture, but Fang was resolute to hold onto what little pride she had left after the strangled, needy whine that had escaped her when Lightning had decided she much preferred to nibble and suck and downright bite that spot beneath her ear.

It wasn't soon enough, never soon enough Fang thought to herself, that Lightning decided to have mercy on her and let her hands wander down Fang's shoulders and over her breasts, caressing the soft skin with the utmost reverence only to drag her fingernails down the length of her stomach a second later, all tenderness suddenly forgotten. Fang wasn't in the right state of mind to pay attention to the sudden mood shift when Lightning was eliciting the most delicious shudders and groans from her.

Her fingertips continued to trace the trail of fire her rougher treatment had left behind, up and down, and up again, and Fang was this close to beg by the time she slid her hand lower, ignoring any remaining clothes on her body, and Fang all but melted beneath her. Sometimes the Oerban had to consider the very real possibility that Lightning knew more about her body than Fang herself, knew how to play like an instrument even when she was nothing but pure instinct.

Lightning was the most perfect of paradoxes, and her actions were nothing but a raw reflection of this. She would move in a way that demanded her undivided attention, and at the same time push Fang's chin with a gentle nudge, forcing her to break eye contact just to bury her face in the crook of her neck. She would pull Fang closer with her free hand, holding onto her for dear life, only to arch her back and make her instantly miss the warm skin against hers. Lightning gave her everything she needed in the exact moment she needed it without as much as a word, and then she would deny her of the things she was literally begging, leaving her tethering over the edge for seconds that felt like lifetimes. She had no control over herself, but refused to let go of the control she had over Fang in that very moment.

Sometimes Fang would think the woman wanted to see her lose it, but then Lightning would let her have anything and everything, and the buildup was always so damn powerful she was left nothing but a trembling mess by the time Lightning was done with her.

It had taken so little effort to turn her into the chaotic heap of limbs she had become, sprawled all over the passenger seat with the leather sticking to her sweaty back, Lightning had buried her face in her neck with a light hearted chuckle. Fang's eyes searched for Lightning's, her hand stroking a heated cheek lazily.

"Yeah, yeah. You laugh now." And Lightning did, for a little longer. It was music to Fang's ears after all the brooding she had been doing tonight, and a good chance for her to catch her breath since her lungs were still refusing to cooperate. "We'll see who laughs last when you're babysitting the Villiers every weekend, for free."

"Farron-Villiers." Lightning corrected almost like the words had burned her tongue in their haste to come out, but she instantly relaxed against Fang's soothing touch, calloused fingers drawing iddle circles against her lower back. "And we will be there. Together."