Simple Questions
Author's Note: As you've probably noticed, I'm dying of writer's block. The most inspiration I've had lately was just enough to make this one shot, which is AU and stands alone. I hope you like it. I promise you I will finish my other story one day.
Disclaimer: FFXIII plot and characters belong to Square Enix.
Vanille was fifteen years old and very lost in the throes of awkward adolescence when she asked what, at the time, felt like the most important question of her life. It had been burning inside of her for over a week, taking such a powerful hold on her that by the time she actually said it aloud she had said it so many times in her dreams that she worried she might be repeating herself. It slipped out on a Sunday afternoon in her best friend's basement when she was sitting on the ratty blue couch that had become so familiar over the years.
"Fang, don't you want to go to the dance with me?" Vanille asked, a little frustrated.
Fang's hand paused on the DVD case she was trying to take out of the bookcase and her brow furrowed as she replayed Vanille's question in her mind. Convinced that she could not have heard it correctly, she glanced over her shoulder in surprise. "Come again?"
Vanille's cheeks turned pink and the room suddenly felt warm. She could not believe that she had actually said it aloud. For a moment, it had been just like any other dream, so it had seemed perfectly normal to say. It was too late to back out now, so Vanille clasped her fingers together in her lap and lowered her eyes.
"Y-You didn't ask me to the dance," Vanille murmured, a little more shyly.
Fang turned to face her, hiding her nerves with her trademark teasing grin. "Did you want me to?"
"I-I thought you would. It kind of seemed like you liked me. Serah thought so too." Vanille bit her lip, admitting, "I really thought you would ask. I bought a dress and everything."
"Really?" Fang dropped the DVD case back onto the bookshelf and crossed the room. Plopping down beside Vanille, she tilted her head to study her friend's face. Vanille's cheeks were flushed and she was clearly feeling a lot more timid than usual. Fang could not help but tease, "Don't you think it's a little presumptuous assuming I'd ask you?"
"You're right." Vanille began to tap her fingers together, clearly succumbing to her nerves. "You just always say things like we're gonna be together forever, and we're basically an us whenever we talk… I'm rambling."
Fang's gaze softened. She could not believe Vanille was so nervous. Out of the two of them, Vanille was perfect. She was gentle and caring. There was nothing that could stop her from helping a friend. Everyone wanted to be around her, and she could put a smile on anyone's face no matter how they were feeling. In fact, everyone loved her so much that the senior class took bets about who was going to propose to her at lunch that day. Of course, no one ever really got close because Fang had a special way of grinning at someone that said 'come closer and I'll break your arm'. Fang had never dared to think Vanille might actually return her feelings.
"Sorry," Vanille murmured again, looking too scared to look up at her. "I don't want to be weird."
Fang laughed and shook her head, reaching for Vanille's hands. She ran her fingers across her knuckles, smiling when Vanille met her gaze looking both flustered and hopeful. "I didn't ask you yet 'cause I'm an idiot."
Vanille smiled nervously.
"Vanille, will you go to the dance with me?" Fang asked gently, savoring the adorable grinning twitching at the corners of the strawberry-blonde's lips.
"Yes!" Vanille laughed, squeezing her hands. "I thought you'd never ask."
Fang almost hadn't, so she was glad Vanille had decided to be brave that day.
Fang rang the doorbell and peeked in through the screen door, calling, "Vanille, are you ready?"
"Almost!" Vanille called back.
Hoping it would not take too long, Fang leaned against the railing and glanced up at the sky. Even though the sun would be setting soon, it was an absolutely beautiful day. The sky was bright blue and the cool breeze was refreshing. It was hard to believe autumn would be there soon.
Vanille suddenly came down the stairs, calling something to her parents over her shoulder. When she opened the door, Fang could not help but stare. Vanille was a vision in a strapless purple gown which fell to her ankles and hugged her curves at the waist. Her lovely strawberry blonde hair spilled across her bare shoulders, giving her a look that was a lot more grown-up than the usual pigtails she wore.
"You look gorgeous," Fang managed breathlessly.
Vanille flushed and smiled cheerfully. "You too, Fang."
That was probably true. Fang had always been beautiful, though maybe not as much as the cute sophomore standing in front of her. The midnight blue gown she wore had looked great in the store, and her mother had even helped her style her hair, with a partial up-do that involved a lot of braids.
"Who did all these little braids in your hair?" Vanille asked curiously, stepping closer and running her fingers through Fang's messy locks. "They look great."
"It was my brother," Fang replied with a smirk.
"Really?" Vanille gasped in surprise.
"No," Fang laughed, shaking her head. "It was my mom."
"Well, it looks really cute." Vanille retracted her hand, smiling shyly.
"Thanks." Fang extended her arm, nodding her head to the car. "Let's get going, yeah? We'll miss the dance if we stand here yapping all night."
Vanille linked her arm through Fang's, flushing as their skin brushed together. It was something she had done a thousand times, but tonight felt different. She snuggled closer as they walked to the car.
"Comfy?" Fang could not help but tease.
"It's cold," Vanille replied, hiding her face in embarrassment.
Fang just grinned. Things were really perfect.
The trip to the dance was quick, but Vanille enjoyed the quiet ride. It reminded her of summer days when she and Fang would eat ice cream cones on the hammock in Fang's backyard. Fang had never minded if Vanille cuddled close to her. The two of them would lie casually beside each other, watching the clouds pass overhead. Sometimes Vanille had even rested her head against Fang's shoulder, pressing their arms together. Fang was athletic and extremely fit, but she was still soft like a teddy bear. Nothing was nicer than cozying up to her, and on the rare occasion that Fang would actually slide her arm behind her and pull her close, Vanille had known that at Fang's side was exactly where she wanted to be.
"Here we are," Fang exclaimed as she parked the car in the school lot.
Vanille opened her mouth to say something, but she was surprised by how quickly Fang was out of the car. At first she felt perplexed, but it all made sense when Fang walked around the side of the car to open Vanille's door for her.
"What are you doing?" Vanille giggled.
"I'm helping you out of your carriage, milady," Fang joked, voice affected.
The two of them dissolved into laughter, but Fang's fingers were warm beneath her own as Vanille accepted her hand and allowed the taller girl to pull her gently out of the vehicle.
Teenagers were packed together inside the gymnasium. There were chaperones around, but with the lights dim and the music blaring, it felt like they were inside a club. Vanille quickly spotted their friends and tugged Fang toward the table, barely stopping to get some punch on the way. They side-stepped a few teachers, who were trying to separate students who were dancing too close, and sat with the others.
After everyone chatted for a while, one by one the other couples got up to dance. For a while, Vanille and Fang simply enjoyed people-watching and taking embarrassing videos of their friends dancing. However, once a few songs had ended, Vanille decided it was time for Fang to ask her another very important question. She glanced imploringly at her date, trying not to be too obvious because her cheeks were already flushed. Only a few shy glances later, Fang caught on.
"Do you want to dance?" Fang asked gently, eyebrow slightly quirked.
Vanille nodded, feeling her abdomen tighten nervously as she took Fang's hand and stood.
The rest of the world was fading away as they made their way onto the dance floor. The music was loud, but the song was slow. Only couples were still standing on the floor. Fang took Vanille's hands and they faced each other, both smiling timidly. For one awkward beat before they both began to sway, Vanille felt a tremble move through her. She was both giddy and nervous.
As they rocked back and forth to the music, Fang looked into Vanille's eyes and slid her hands up her arms. She paused at the elbows, grinning at her date's surprised smile, before sliding her hands around her waist. Then she tugged Vanille gently forwards until there was only a little space left between them.
Excited but with legs that felt like jelly, Vanille smoothed her hands up Fang's arms and slid her arms around her neck. She closed the space between them, feeling her heart race inside her chest. Pressing her warm cheek to Fang's shoulders, she closed her eyes and released the breath she was holding. When Fang's hands slid up her back to hold her closer, Vanille could have melted right there.
Time disappeared with Fang's arms wrapped protectively around her back. The few minutes that the song lasted stretched into an eternity. The gravity between them was so powerful that Vanille scarcely wanted to pull away when the song ended. She had always liked Fang, but in those few moments she was completely whole and even if she did not really know what it meant, she knew that everything had changed.
When the song ended, they pulled only partially apart and kept dancing. The beat was a bit faster. They both relaxed a bit, laughing at their nerves. Soon they were teasing each other and chatting like usual. By the time the next romantic song came on, they shared a knowing smile before sliding close to each other.
By the time the dance ended, the moon was shining brightly. The starry sky was as clear as ever, but the evening had turned brisk. What had been a pleasantly cool breeze during the day had become a little too cold for the dresses.
Fang felt the goose bumps on her own arms before she noticed that Vanille was shivering. Ignoring her own discomfort, she grinned at her date, asking, "Are you cold?"
"I'm okay," Vanille whispered, even as she hugged herself for warmth.
"Liar," Fang teased, stepping closer. She wrapped her arm around Vanille's shoulders, reeling her in, and felt pleasantly warm as Vanille slid shyly into her.
Vanille grinned up at her. "Thanks, Fang."
"No problem." Fang tugged Vanille toward the car, fingers sliding up and down her arm as they walked. "I had a lot of fun tonight." Casually, she added, "We should go to all the dances together."
"Really?" Vanille asked hopefully, peeking up at her.
"Yeah." Fang grinned, unable to hold back. "I mean, it only makes sense since we live so close together. It's way more convenient to carpool and you're really short so no one else will probably ask you."
"Fang!" Vanille gasped, elbowing her hard in the side.
"Ouch. I'm just kidding!" Fang laughed, giving her a gentle squeeze. "Forgive me?"
"I don't know. You know how I hate it when people call me short," Vanille grumbled, crossing her arms.
"Oh, come on. You can't hold something like that against your girlfriend, right?" Fang asked, nudging her gently.
Vanille's eyes widened and she could not hide her smile. "Are you asking me out?"
"Are you saying yes?" Fang replied with a smirk.
"Yes," Vanille giggled.
It was hard work pouting instead of showing a triumphant grin. "So, you can forgive me then, right? Since I'm your girlfriend."
"I guess," Vanille laughed. "But only this once."
"Good." Fang leaned to the side and brushed her lips against Vanille's cheek.
Vanille looked surprised but pleased.
"Let's get in the car. It's freezing out here," Fang murmured, holding the door for her.
With a nod, Vanille slid into the vehicle. When Fang was climbing into her own side, she noticed Vanille was touching her cheek as she looked out the window, a slightly dreamy look on her face. It made Fang's heart skip a beat as she put the key in the ignition.
Fang walked Vanille to the front door like a dutiful date, but where she stayed at the bottom of the stairs, Vanille walked to the door. When the younger girl turned around to say goodbye, leaning against the door, she was just so pretty in the moonlight that Fang could not help herself. Even with her heart beating so hard that it threatened to break free, she cleared her throat.
"Vanille, come here for a second. I forgot I wanted to give you something."
Vanille raised her brow, looking curious. "You mean like a present?"
"Sure." Fang grinned. "Just come here."
Nodding, Vanille came forwards. She moved carefully down the steps, coming to rest in front of Fang with a very innocent, if not slightly confused look. "What is it, Fang?"
Fang reached out, brushing Vanille's bangs out of her face. Her fingers lingered, sliding down across her cheek. Vanille's eyes widened like she knew what was coming, and the way her breath hitched and her eyes closed was intoxicating. Fang was leaning in before she knew it, and soon their lips pressed gently together. It was over too fast, but that was the only downside. Every other thing about that moment from the way Vanille swooned in her arms to the tingling sensation lingering on her lips as she pulled away was absolutely perfect.
Vanille giggled shyly, looking up at her. She grabbed her hands, tugging her back a step. "Come inside?"
Fang saw a mischievous look that was all too familiar in those pretty eyes and nodded, heart skipping another beat.