a/n:

EDIT: This is a revised version of Chapter one.

Okay, so there are A LOT of revisions to this chapter from the first. I'm going through and editing what I've already posted, as the story I've provided was the un-beta-ed one. I'm doing this because, although you may disagree, I want to please my readers. I had one comment saying that they were worried that the story was simply becoming a retelling but with name changes…clearly I didn't characterize Lightning as well as I could've, as many compared her to being too Belle-like, and not enough Light-like…

EDIT: 3/19/12: Back again, long hiatus. So sorry. I'm going back and editing this after reading past reviews. It's rather nice to know that so many people have reviewed this, makes me feel like I'm doing a good job at something. So, I'm keeping some reviews in mind, and fixing inaccuracies.

~XIII~

Chapter one: A Girl Named Claire

Claire Farron was a person that very few knew on a personal level, and having been raised in the seaside city of Bodhum, where only a maximum of seventy were natives-the rest being tourists-and the connections to people restricted, it was considered an honor to even be in the vicinity of the rose-haired woman. Everyone who did know her knew that the eldest Farron preferred to be addressed as 'Lightning' and wouldn't hesitate in breaking a nose or fracturing an arm if called by anything other than Lightning.

Bodhum wasn't a city of mass excitement, that isn't to say it lacked personality, but it wasn't much of a sleepy little town either. It had its occasional, out-of-hand beach parties, and its annual firework show, but not much else happened. Unlike Nautilus, Palumpolum even, Bodhum exuded an atmosphere of laziness, which was further enhanced by the lull of the waves and the soft cry of the seagulls. Houses were few—many choosing to live in condos near the shopping center—and those houses were situated on the shore, some even situated in the water.

~XIII~

Snow Villiers treaded across the loose sand, boots sinking slightly in the sand, as he passed by lounging beach-goers and dodged misaimed Frisbees. Snow was of an abnormally tall stature, standing six-foot seven at only twenty, and had the strength of an overgrown bear. He slowed to a steady trudge as he drew near the beachside café, shaking sand from the soles of his boots and advanced up the wooden steps.

The café was warm, and smelled heavily of macchiato and wine. The familiar tune of song that Snow couldn't name wafted through the speakers, merging with the low buzz of daily gossip. The clink of glass against glass drew Snow's attention, and he weaved his way over to the counter. Peering over the top, he saw a dark-haired woman bent over and fumbling to pick up the cups that had fallen.

"Hey, Lebreau? You okay down there?" Snow asked, flinching slightly when the woman startled, whacking her head into the underside of the counter. Snow gave her an unseen look of concern as the woman let out a muffled "fuck" and moved to stand, uninterrupted.

Her hand was pressed to the back of her head, tangled in shoulder-length black hair as she faced Snow. One brown eye was shut, eyebrows furrowed slightly upwards in pain, and a sheepish grin on her soft face.

"Hey boss," Lebreau said, dropping her hand from her head and moving both hands to rest on the counter. "What can I do for you?"

"Nothing, I just dropped by to say 'hey' and then I'm going to see Serah." Snow said simply, taking a seat on one of the stools, leaning forward and resting his elbows on the glass countertop. Lebreau gave a slight grimace as she picked up a rag and began wiping the inside of the cup clean, shaking her head lightly as she did. "Going to see Serah? Now that'll be fun. Don't come back with a broken jaw like last time, okay?" she paused, giving Snow a light smile as he chuckled. "I'm surprised she hasn't made you toothless yet."

"Yeah, I know." Snow joked, tapping his knuckles on the counter. "Anyway, I should get going now." Snow slid from the stool and onto his feet, but kept his hand, now splayed, on the surface. "See you later, 'Breau. Tell the others I said 'hey' for me, okay?"

Lebreau nodded and Snow turned from the counter, making his way to the door and squeezing past an onslaught of newcomers as he left.

The air was warm compared to the air-conditioned interior of the café, and Snow welcomed it with a small smile. From the café's patio, he watched the way twilight reflected on the tender curl and break of the sea before leaving in the direction of the Farron household.

Snow half-jogged, half-walked as he went and his anxiety to see Serah rose in his chest as he drew closer to the oddly shaped house. The house bore a striking resemblance to the shell of a peanut, and overlooked the water, held up by two pillars at each end of the house. Given the design of the entire city itself, it wasn't too strange and fit in quite easily with the strange architecture.

The longer Snow looked at it, the more he saw the house as less peanut-shaped, and more space shuttle-shaped. A portion of the roof was open, supported by a mechanical rod, and Snow figured that either Lightning or Serah was on the deck.

Snow paused at the foot of the houses' tunneled staircase, which uncannily resembled the escalators in the airport, and looked up. A voice spoke in the back of his mind, telling him to leave now and save the broken jaw for another day. But Snow was determined to overcome his fear of Lightning's fist, and began his long walk up the steps. As he stepped onto the landing he heard the door shut and looked up. Staring at him was a pink-haired woman, yet this pink-haired woman wasn't the pink-haired woman he wanted to see.

"Lightning, hey…" Snow said tentatively, the corner of his lip twitching in a concerned-for-his-life kind of smile as he averted his eyes from the shorter woman's icy blue ones.

"What are you doing here, Snow?" Lightning inquired, shifting her weight to the right and resting her left hand on her hip. She kept her eyes trained on him, watching with undivided interest as he fumbled over his words.

"I-I came to see Serah," Snow straightened and locked eyes with Lightning, determinate to at least catch a glimpse of Lightning's approval. "If that's all right with you, I mean. I can leave if I need to."

Snow watched with bated breath as the woman mulled it over in her head. Snow knew that Lightning would most likely say no like she'd always done. There had even been a time when Lightning scrawled the word on his forehead in thick, black marker. Snow understood why she hated him so, and although he wasn't completely positive in his assumption, he knew that it had to do with Serah.

"No…" The woman simply said, directing her blue eyes towards his face. "You don't have to leave." Snow was shocked at what Lightning had just said. It took him a moment for his mind to catch up and register the words, and when it did Snow simply gawked at her.

"W-what?" He said stupidly, mouth still hanging open. Lightning scowled at the man's utter idiocy but kept patient.

"I'm going out for a while. I won't be here, and that means I won't have to tolerate your presence," Lightning paused, folding her arms across her chest and looking out the glass at the last light of late afternoon.

"Which means you can stay with Serah until I get back. Now if you'll excuse me," Lightning brushed past Snow and began her descent down the steps, leaving Snow standing with an expression of disbelief and eagerness on his face. He gave Lightning's receding back one last glance before stepping into the house, and came to the conclusion that Lightning possibly didn't want him dead.

~XIII~

The sand was soft beneath her bare feet as she wandered down the length of the shore. It was quiet, undisturbed and untouched by the ungrateful hand of humanity. It was the only place that Lightning could find solitude, a place she could escape to when even Serah's words weren't enough to provide consolation to her.

Vibrant oranges and gentle streaks of pink peeked from behind the endless ripple of waves, highlighting Lightning's hair, and silhouetting her frame as she walked. The briny aroma of the sea invaded her senses, and Lightning was sure that it would cling to her skin and her hair for the few days afterwards.

She had drifted to the far end of the beach, where she came across a cluster of boulders and wordlessly perched herself on one, and tucked her knees to her chest, letting her blues eyes travel the length of an undefined horizon.

Yet, unbeknownst to Lightning, a set of steely, gray eyes were watching her from a distance.

~(.)~

Yaag Rosch stood in the elongated shadow of a nearby building, eyes trained on the beauty that was his soon-to-be-bride, Lightning. He had sought after the woman of every day for the past three years, but to no avail, he just couldn't seem to intrigue Lightning. This was something new to Yaag, as he always won the hearts of those he pursued. Straightening his jacket, Yaag stepped from his position behind the building and strode towards the woman.

"Hello, Lightning," Yaag said, offering the pink-haired woman an over-arrogant smirk as he draped an arm around her shoulders.

"Can I help you with anything, Yaag?" Lightning sighed, forcing Yaags' arm from her shoulder and inching away from the man before sliding fully from the rock and onto the sand.

"I was just wondering if you'd like to join me tonight. Let's head down to the café, shall we?" Yaag offered as he moved to stand in front of Lightning, blocking her from leaving by placing a hand on her shoulder only to have it batted away by Lightnings'.

The rose-haired woman let out a small laugh of mockery and said, "How 'bout not, Yaag. Maybe some other time…or not," Lightning ducked past the silver-haired man and began to walk away, only to be stopped by a strong grip on her jacket that kept her from moving.

"Listen, Lightning, I know we've had trouble in the past but we can work through it." Yaag spoke as if he and Lightning were already dating, which grated on Lightning's nerves stronger than ever.

"Listen, Yaag, I really need to get going. Maybe you should take Jihl tonight, instead? Thanks for the offer though." With those final words, Lightning trekked back across the beach in the direction of her house, leaving a fuming and dejected Yaag in her wake.

~XIII~

Entering her home to see Serah tucked in the arms of Snow-both happily asleep-was not something she ever wanted to see. Lightning hated to admit, but they did look good together. Still, it wouldn't keep Lightning from slapping Snow across the face in order to wake him up. With a jolt he snapped up from his lounging position, accidentally jostling Serah, who opened bleary eyes in annoyance.

"Snow…" She muttered groggily, shifting so that she was on her knees, bringing a hand to wipe the sleep from her eyes. "What'd you do that for?" She turned her head and yawned, stretching her arms over her head, but froze as her gaze landed on Lightning.

"Claire, t-this isn't-!" Serah stuttered, blue eyes wide and face flushed a bright pink. "We didn't do anything, honest!"

Lightning stifled a snort and placed both hands on her hips.

"Whatever, it doesn't matter anyway because it's time for Snow to leave." She moved forward, grabbing Snow by his collar and dragging him to his feet before giving him a rough shove in the direction of the door.

Snow knew that this battle was not his to win, and admitted defeat by giving a wink to Serah and said, "Don't worry, I'll see you later." Lightning let out a sound of disdain and left the room, which Serah took as a chance to rush over to Snow and kiss his whiskered face before he left.

They broke apart when Lightning's voice called from the kitchen. "Rule number seventeen: no kissing within the vicinity of me. Get out Snow, now!"

Snow released Serah from his embrace and rushed to leave the door. He knew that tone all too well and wasn't in the mood to be on the receiving end of Lightning's brutal backhand slap.

~XIII~

a/n: well, I'm sure that you've noticed the changes. Lightning doesn't go into town for her gunblade…take this as a hint of foreshadowing…*coughcoughcough* and now I'm happy. The writing and my description isn't as simple as before, which pleases me. And events have changed. I actually went my whole school day re-writing my outline, which I don't think was too great of an idea to do in math class…Hopefully Lightning is characterized better than before, in such a way that she retains her cynicism but much less soldier-y about it, and that I exploit her softer, 'Claire' side which some people still write as 'Lightning-y'.