A/N: My second FFXIII story! This one is a bit more serious, and I tried to get more inside the characters' heads. Lightning is one of my favorite FF characters so far, but lately there's been lots of negative things said about her across fan-boards. You may notice some of it reflected in this story. But anyway, I hope you'll enjoy :D

Snowflake

"Lightning?! Hah, more like Frightening."

She can hear them from across the tavern, giggling up their cheap alcohol and stale bar snacks as they bump glasses and ask for another round. One of them looks like he's about to pass out, his face pale and smile weary unlike the others. He cups the side of his face in his palm and leans his elbow in a casual position on the old wooden table. His other hand is wrapped around his stomach, as if trying to keep whatever contents from erupting out of his asshole. His friends don't seem to notice, or care for that matter. Or maybe they're too drunk to realize it until he falls unconscious onto the ground. Only time will tell.

"That chick's got ugly chocobo legs a mile long," the one with the cigar continues. He grabs a bread stick from the checkered basket in the middle of the table and holds it up to his awed buddies. "She ain't that tough. I can break her by the knees with one hand." He snaps the bread stick in half for emphasis, an arrogant smirk dawning on his face as his friends laugh and cheer him on. "And with my other hand, well..." He rubs the end of his nose with his sleeve before taking a long drag at his cigar. "...She's still a chick."

She flinches slightly when Snow's fist slams against their own table. She glances up at him, glancing at them. His teeth are seething.

She sighs in amusement, touching the sleeve of his coat when he makes a motion to stand. "Don't worry." She takes a sip of her own drink. "I know where they live."

He makes a sour face, folding his arms as he leans back against his chair. "Yeah well today's moving day. And they're going straight to Hell."

His tough talk makes her laugh a little and she elbows him gently. "Oh relax."

"You're not mad about what they said?"

She shrugs, swinging the half empty bottle of rum loosely in her hand. The amber liquid sloshes back and forth in rhythmic waves, holding her gaze before Snow takes it from her. His voice is impatient.

"This... isn't like you. I think you've had too much." He places the bottle back on the table and grabs her arm. "I'm taking you back."

She shoves his arms away with a groan. "Get offfa me." She untangles herself from him, retreating back to the corner of their booth. She brings her legs up to her chest, perching her elbow on her knees as she leans into her palm. "I'm perfectly fine," she spits out.

He rolls his eyes at her and takes a swig of her unfinished bottle. She gives him a look of disgust.

"Ugh, gross."

"Sazh was right."

"About what?"

"You're a terrible drinking buddy."

She narrows her eyes at him, scoffing. "Whatever."

"People usually get more energetic when they drink. More talkative, more alive. You just..." He pauses, choosing his words carefully. "...seem dead."

"Worry about yourself, Bigfoot." She climbs out of her limb-shell, planting her foot firmly on the ground as she reaches into her pocket for change. She slaps the coins on the tabletop. "There. See you in the damn morning."

"Hey, wait." He hastily grabs a handful of gil to add to the total before following her. "I'm going with you." He stumbles slightly as he gets up, nearly tripping into a redheaded waitress in the dim light of the tavern. She smiles gratuitously at him, giving him a small wink as she purposely shifts her stance.

"See you again soon, stranger."

An unsure smile forms on his mouth, and he's momentarily distracted before a whirlwind of hollering and whistles echoes throughout the entire room from the same group of drunks they'd been observing earlier. He watches as Lightning strides past them, unabashed and unaffected by their slurred cat calls and enthusiastic attempts to get her attention. So much for trying to lay low.

He steps around the waitress with a light apology just as Lightning leaves through the doors.

He can't help but stop to give one of the guys a bloody nose before catching up with her.

It's the stupidest fight she's ever been in, she thinks, as she watches the weak wolf-like monster fade from sight. Maybe Snow was right. She's not herself today.

She glances down at the unnecessary cut on her forearm, her skin still warm and sticky with her blood despite the brisk night air. It's at least two hours past midnight and they're supposed to head off early tomorrow. What was she thinking, agreeing to have a drink at this hour. She presses a hand to her forehead as she tries to shake clear her muddled thoughts. It was a stupid idea to make a stop at this rural town; they should've just pressed onwards. It wasn't like they had all the time in the world to rest and drink and giggle away.

She stops suddenly when the sting of her injured arm reverberates through her nerves, forcing her to lean against a lamp post for support. She fumbles clumsily through her pockets for a spare potion before remembering they didn't have a chance to restock their supplies. Cursing under her breath, she releases the hand covering the wound and shakes off the blood. The ground beneath her is splattered red before she clutches her arm again. Now she's a mess. Limbs dirt and blood covered, hair sticking out at all ends... Why was it bothering her today especially...?

"Lightning!" she hears Snow call her in the distance. His eyes grow as wide as Sazh's afro when he nears. "How the -- What the hell did you do?"

"None of your business," she mumbles, turning to walk away.

He pulls her back by the shoulder, his voice serious. "It is my business. Your health is the team's health. What's the matter with you?" He grimaces, taking her arm to examine it under the light of the lamp post. "Ordered an extra shot of 'bitchiness' in your drink today?"

POW!

He doesn't know why he's surprised; he should've expected it. He clutches his swollen cheek as he watches her stomp off down the dirt covered street. She's been especially moody ever since they arrived in town, for no apparent reason. The team hasn't done anything exceptionally stupid in the past few days that would make her more irritated than usual. And as much as he hates to admit it, he's getting a little tired of chasing her around trying to calm her down. Usually, he's good at keeping her from overreacting. He likes to think he's one of few who's able to tolerate being around her for more than five minutes without getting into a nasty shouting match. But today was different for some reason.

Suddenly,

"AAAHHHhhhhh!"

The feminine scream jolts his senses, and he rushes around the corner where Lightning had just turned, only to find two groaning boys bent over and sluggish against the brick wall. He watches her stoic form continue walking in the distance, slightly worried where her trail of destruction is going to lead at this rate. He turns to the boys on the ground, and kneels down to have a better look at them.

"Hey, are you alright? Sorry, she's kinda in a bad mood."

"No shit!" the younger of the two blurts, hugging his abdomen. "We just ahh-asked her a s-simple question."

Snow sighs in defeat. "What kind of question?"

The older one beside him smirks through his anguish. "Man, you should've seen her earlier this afternoon... She was with this hot little redhead, and I mean hot. We just wanted to know where or who she was, y'know." He shakes his head in disappointment as he stares at Lightning's retreating figure. "Then she just went wacko. You know what, I bet she's a dyke."

The younger one grins childishly at the thought.

Snow frowns as he gets back up on his feet. If he had felt any remorse for the boys earlier, he certainly felt it no more. They just made a bad situation even worse, and he, Sazh, and Vanille would have to deal with a very annoyed Lightning during combat tomorrow. Perhaps even Beserker Lightning throughout the whole day. And that was never fun. Or safe. For friend and foe alike. Without another word, he leaves the two on the ground. They're not worth fighting anyway. Most things aren't worth fighting anymore if Lightning arrived first.

She turns to her side in the mirror, tracing her waist with her fingertips as she examines the small healing scar near her navel. The dim, flickering bathroom light of the inn makes it slightly difficult for her to see, but it is sufficient. She turns to her opposite side, and places her thumb on her hip and her finger anteriorly. Then, she does the same with her biceps. And her deltoids. And her... chocobo-like legs.

After a small pause, she pokes her head out through the bathroom doorway to glance at the beds and Vanille's sleeping form. The girl's been in a deep sleep ever since she left, as if she'd been KO'd cold on the battle field. But Lightning doesn't blame her. They haven't had a decent place to sleep in awhile, so this was a nice change. Even if a part of her wishes they hadn't come to this town in the first place. But if it's for the team's sake... and they did have to restock...

All thoughts disappear from her mind when she hears a sound from behind her. She reflexively spins around and pins the intruder by the neck to the wall with a menacing growl. Her fingers are taut around his neck when she realizes its only Snow. With a small 'tch', she releases him.

"What are you doing here? I thought I said we leave at seven."

"I know," he answers after clearing his throat. He massages the muscles of his neck with a grimace before taking note of her attire. She's only wearing the green skirt and cropped brown turtleneck usually covered by her uniform vest, exposing her midsection in a way that he partially wishes those two idiot hooligans could see and eat their words.

"What the hell are you staring at?"

Her bitter voice brings him back to his senses, and he gives her one of his classic smiles. "Just wanted to check if you're alright. Since you left in such a hurry."

She raises her eyebrow, pressing her palm against the door-frame. "I don't know; takes a while for that extra shot of bitchiness to wear off I guess."

His face falls at her response, and he notices Vanille stirring behind them. He gently tugs Lightning into the hallway where their voices would be less of a disturbance to the kid, and she doesn't resist.

"Yeah, sorry about that," he says when they've closed the door. "But... I'm not the only one at fault."

She glances off to the side, arms folded across her chest.

He pauses. "Are you sure you're okay?" He's never seen her react this way before, and he's not really sure what to do to be honest.

"I'm fine. You're wasting my time." She hesitates, glances up and holds his gaze. "Go to sleep. A hangover's no excuse for being sloppy tomorrow."

"...Can I hug you?"

Silence.

He has no idea how those words came out of his mouth. He didn't even know they existed in his vocabulary around his headstrong teammate. But they had rolled off his tongue too quick and too easily that he hadn't been able to catch them in time. And now Lightning was staring at him with a look of complete confusion, and he has no words left to explain except, "S-Sorry. I guess I had too much to drink."

She watches as he scratches the back of his head sheepishly. "Yeah, no kidding." She pauses before pressing her hands against his chest and pushing him backwards towards his and Sazh's room. "You need rest. I'll see you in the morning." Her fingers linger a fraction of a second longer against his body before she pulls away. With a tired sigh, she reenters her room, leaving a quiet Snow out in the brightly lit hall.

Vanille is still asleep, and the bathroom light has flickered off. She leans against the closed door, sliding down its frame until she's sitting on the ground. For a moment, she lets her mind play with a few curious thoughts before finally getting up and crawling into bed. As her head hits the pillow, she feels a small sense of relief that the room is dark enough to hide the small smile that had formed on her lips, from anyone and herself to see.

//end? I sort of want to continue this, and let it be a series of short stories stretching over their journey. Please tell me what you think!