Author's Note:

Chapter I has been updated.

King Farron is now Primarch Farron.

Thanks to Wolvenkite for pointing out that Fang wasn't angry enough. This chapter has been updated.


Chapter II

The Wonderful Wedding...

"Look who's getting married~"

"Shut it, Vanille."

"Aw, is Fang grumpy today?"

Back in the guest room she shared with Vanille, Fang lied on her back, thinking of her...unexpected reward. It had been three days since the signing of the peace treaty; since the moment Fang had reluctantly accepted her grant. As the people of Gran Pulse and Cocoon cheered for the future union of two prominent families, Fang's heart cried for the loss of her freedom. There were no other choices. She could not refuse the marriage.

She ended the war, and she was not going to start another one.

The next day would be the wedding, and Fang was finding reality getting harder and harder to face, to the point where she locked herself in the room for the entire day. This wasn't a reward, this was punishment she didn't deserve. Every time she thought of it, she felt a small ache in her heart.

Fang got up from the bed to retrieve her mug from the coffee table. She took a sip of the water, then scowled.

"Goddammit!" She threw her mug against the wall. It was the twentieth one. "Fuck!"

"Fang! Stop destroying everything! You've been doing that for the past three days!" Vanille said.

It was true. At first, Fang had been going around picking fights. After being scolded by her father a few times, she resorted breaking glass, doors, and tables.

"I just—I can't just marry like that!" Fang shouted, pacing around the room. She didn't know what to do. She sat down on the couch, then got up. Then sat down again, and stood up again, only this time, she flipped the coffee table over.

"Maker!" Vanille jumped.

Fang looked at her angrily, "Why are you so happy?"

Vanille smiled sheepishly. "Nothing...I do worry about you, though."

Fang sighed, kicking the table. "Fuck my life," she walked towards the bed and lied down again.

Fang dreamt of exploring the world, of gold, glory, of the many women she would have been able to woo. But now, everything just went to hell.

"This is such bullshit," Fang exclaimed as she sat straight up on the bed. She glared at Vanille, who seemed to be too happy for this. She growled and roughed her dark hair in frustration. "Is this how they treat war heroes in Cocoon? Force them to marry someone they barely know for political purposes?"

"Don't be so negative, Fang," Vanille said to her sister, "you are like, the symbol for Gran Pulse now...and Lightning is the daughter of the Primarch. So the two of you marrying is an important step in uniting the Gran Pulsians and the Cocoonians! Just think about the people of Cocoon—"

"Cocoon can rot for all I care..."

"Fang! Don't be so loud."

"Yeah, Fang, you're supposed to the symbol of peace."

The two young women looked up and saw Yun Dov, chief of the tribe and Fang's father. He had just stepped into the room with two warm cups of tea. He smiled at them before handing each of the girls one cup. Yun quiet sat down beside his daughter and sighed.

"You know, dad, I don't think I'm ready to be married," Fang admitted sadly. "I don't think I'm capable of making such a sacrifice. I mean, once I marry, who's gonna take care of Vanille?" It was one of the many, many reasons why Fang didn't want to marry.

"Vanille can live close to you," Dov replied.

"B-but, what about my other duties? I gotta serve our clan, and hunt, and..."

"The Primarch and I have talked about this for quite some time now. I know that I shouldn't have kept this from you, but I didn't want to scare you away. Well, then again, if you ran away, I could just hunt you down and drag you back, not before giving you a beating, of course," he chuckled. Yun Dov was the chief his tribesmen both feared and loved. He was also the only one that could scare Fang.

"It's gonna be okay, Fang," Vanille reassured and gave her sister a cheerful smile. "I can take care of myself."

Fang nodded, "yeah, it's totally going to be okay. She just looks like she wants to eat me."

Vanille had a curious look on her face. "She could like one of those creatures, the ones that eat their lovers after mating."

"I feel so much better now, thanks."

Dov cleared his throat. "Alright, you kids." A short pause. "From what I learned about the her, she is a very serious person. So I suggest you to drop the sarcasm if you want to get along with her. Think you can do that, Fang?" asked the chief as he patted Fang on the shoulder.

"Sure thing, Dad. And as a bonus, I'll drop dead, too. Bet she'd like that. Skip the lovemakin' and go straight to—"

"Fang!"

"Okay," Fang waved her hand casually, "sorry."

Sorry for my poor soul.


The wedding wasn't as difficult as Fang had previously imagined. Sure, the fact that she was getting married to a potentially life-threatening partner was unpleasant and worrisome, but Fang loved the attention she was getting as she rode her chocobo through the busy main street, waving to her fans, who cheered and screamed.

For my people...

Approaching the altar that was set up before the Capitol Building, Fang steadied herself mentally and made sure that her posture was prideful and confident. She was the great Oerba Yun Fang, after all. She was not going to be intimidated by marriage or her scary-looking bride. She was the heroine that slayed Orphan. She was capable of anything.

The soldiers cleared the aisle of any one that got too excited. Fang got off her chocobo, took in a deep breath, and began her march towards the altar. Lightning was already there, wearing the dark dress uniform of the Guardian Corps. Fang supposed that the Primarch did not succeed in convincing Lightning to wear a wedding dress. It was probably one of the things he had to give up for the greater good...

Fang was thankful that she could wear a sari. It was more fancy and formal than her usual blue one, but it was something she felt comfortable in.

As she walked towards the altar, she began to sweat and her heart sped up just a bit. She felt like she was heading to hell and never coming back.

Lightning, on the other hand, remained perfectly cool. Fang couldn't read her expression; her rigid body language told Fang that she was acting like this was just another military duty. While facing her, Fang wondered if she wanted to know what Lightning was thinking. She could sort of guess that it was likely something similar to 'how-to-kill-your-spouse-on-the-first-night'.

"Sounds great..." Fang whispered to herself.

Lightning's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly. Seeing that, Fang smiled at her, which caused the corn of her mouth to turn downwards just a tiny little bit.

Lightning's eyes grow colder and more harsh as the priest began the ceremony. Soon, Fang could tell that she was irritated. Her eyebrows narrowed slightly and her scowl was a little more obvious. Fang enjoyed this, watching Lightning's internal struggle as she tried to keep a neutral face. This talk of marriage, love, and devotion was getting on her nerves.

Lightning, noticing Fang's amusement, exhaled deeply through her nose and tightened her jaw. Her normally pale face was reddening. To Fang, Lightning was like a dangerous bomb on the verge of exploding. She just needed to taunt her a little bit more...

"Now," the priest announced, "the two of you may kiss."

Fang smirked at Lightning and shrugged her shoulders. It had to be done. Lightning mumbled something under her breath before frowning and accepting Fang's kiss. It was a light brush of lips, but upon contact, Fang could almost feel Lightning's anger that was boiling inside of her. The aura around her screamed murder.

Fang broke the kiss and grinned as the crowd cheered for the newly wedded couple.

The Pulsian realized something that day. Perhaps a life with Lightning wasn't going to be that bad. Fang has discovered of a new form of entertainment, something very unique and alluring.

After all, Fang was a huntress who loved fun challenges.

The First Night of Love and Passion...

Sometime after the wedding, they arrived at their new mansion. It was a huge, two-story house with a beautiful front garden and fancy gates. Fang looked around the place through the side window as the limo continued on its way to the front doors.

Gran Pulse is still better.

It was dark when they arrived, but Fang imagined, if was day time, birds would be chirping happily and the colourful flowers would shine under the sunlight. The biggest thing on the front garden was the maple tree, whose leaves were turning red.

The house itself had an architectural style that was a pleasing mixture of modern day buildings and medieval houses. The stone bricks were a silver-grey colour and the roof was covered in black shingles. One section of the house was almost entirely made out of glass, exposing what seemed like a room for recreational purposes. It had a table, a few chairs, and a piano. Fang couldn't make out the other things in the room, but the fact she could see enough was making her feel uncomfortable. People could spy on them easily and some really stupid ones could even smash the glass and walk straight in.

Still, she was excited. She missed her home, of course. She missed the nature of her homeland. The green planes, rocky mountains, the animals, and the fresh air. But she supposed that she could just used to city life for now; she suspected that this marriage wasn't going to last very long by the looks of it.

Lightning and her had not spoken a word to each other the since saying the painful "I do" at the wedding hours ago. So Fang wasn't too disappointed when she found out that a honeymoon wasn't possible due to reconstruction.

When they stepped into the house, Fang was greeted with a big living room filled with expensive-looking furniture and a team of servants that politely said hello before taking their suit cases and bags upstairs. Lightning refused their help and carried her things quickly upstairs. Fang didn't care, she just wanted to explore the house.

One thing was bothering her though: how did a house like that survive the war? Surely they wouldn't be able to build something like this in a month...She shrugged, thinking maybe the previous owner, who was undoubtedly rich, hired extra protection during the war. Then he somehow lost the house.

Yeah, that was it.

For the next hour or so, Fang explored the house, not bothering to count the number of rooms. There were two kitchens, one on the first floor, and one in the basement; and at least three recreational rooms, judging from her memory. Maybe four. They had things like instruments, paintings, and big screen televisions. The leather couches she tried were fairly comfortable. But in Fang's mind, nothing was better than her old bed back in Gran Pulse.

Down in the basement, there was the servant area, a miniature-sized gym, and Fang's favourite, the home theatre with a pool table and a nice bar counter with a collection of fine wine behind it.

Still, out of the whole place, Fang found herself drawn to the outside. There was a pool right behind the house. Pass the pool was another garden, bigger than the one at front. Behind the garden was the forest. Maybe Fang could go hunting there, or to train. The Primarch did say that he granted them a piece of land, so there should be plenty of space. Off to the side, Fang saw a tennis court and a miniature golf course.

Because every rich person needs to play golf. Ain't that the way on Cocoon?


It was almost midnight when Fang finally reached the master bedroom, the room she had avoided the entire time she had wandered around. Now, it was time to face Lightning.

Fang walked in cautiously and quietly. Lightning was standing right in front of the dresser, holding an electronic news reader in her hands. Seeing that Lightning wasn't going to move anytime soon, Fang relaxed a bit.

Maybe she won't kill me.

Lightning hadn't even looked at her yet.

Fang flopped down onto the king-sized bed, rubbing her face in the feather-soft blankets. She sighed as all the tension her muscles were released. She rolled over, staring straight at the ceiling.

"So..." she mumbled, "I'm Fang."

Silence.

Fang raised her head to look at Lightning, who settled the reader down on the surface of the dresser. She rested her hands on her waist, her face neutral.

"We're married."

"I know," Lightning replied flatly.

Fang huffed, trying to think of something to say.

"It's late," Lightning spoke, her voice cold and uninterested.

"Yeah..." Fang suddenly sat up, "we'll talk tomorrow." She really wasn't in a mood to taunt or to talk. She could save that for the next morning.

Fang began to remove her clothing. Her boots came off first, which she let drop on the floor. Next were her earrings; she set those aside on her nightstand. Then she went after her belt buckle.

Now that certainly caught Lightning's attention.

"What are you doing?"

"Taking off my clothes?"

"I can see that. Why are you taking off your clothes?"

"Lightning, you are not so bright for someone who has the word 'light' in her name. But I'll be nice and tell you that I'm simply getting ready for bed. Don't you Cocoonians do that too? Or are you folks really weird?" Fang raised an eyebrow.

Lightning crossed her arms defensively and a visible frown formed on her face. "You are not sleeping here."

"Yeah, I am. We're married."

"No, you're not. Get out."

"No."

"Get out," Lightning growled, stepping forward as her arms dropped. Her hands turned into fists.

"Hey, I won't bite. I promise," Fang grinned. She scooched over to one side of the bed while her hand signalled Lightning to come to the other. "Right here, love."

"Your name is Fang...and no," Lightning replied rigidly.

"Aw...it's okay to be scared," Fang pouted at her. "Virgin princess is nervous. I understand."

Lightning's eyes twitched. "What?"

Fang gave her a confused face. "Are you a virgin?"

"What kind of question is that?" Lightning bared her teeth as her face reddened.

Fang shrugged, "just asking. You know what married couples do, right? Or do I have to explain in detail?" Fang was trying not to smile. Her heart sped up just a little due to the excitement she was feeling, seeing Lightning's reactions like that. It seemed like teasing wasn't going to wait till the next morning.

"You fucking perverted Pulsian," Lightning spat.

"Hey, I just think that we should try an' get to know each other, ya know what I mean? Body first, then we'll do the talking and the emotional stuff the morning after. That always works."

"If you touch me," Lightning said with a threatening voice, "I'll—"

"You'll break my hands?"

"I'll break you neck."

Fang stood up, and abruptly placed a hand over her heart. Her other hand cupped her cheek. Her eyes widened and she gaped. "Oh, Maker! I'm so scared!"

Lightning rolled her eyes, growling.

"Please be gentle!" Fang begged dramatically, "it's my first time!"

"Oh, you!" Lightning's face twisted with rage.

"Shit!"

Lightning growled loudly before launching herself at Fang. Boy, was she fast. Fang barely got out of her way, sprinting towards the door. Lightning turned to catch her, yelling something on the lines of "gonna rip you apart". Fang almost didn't make it to the door.

Fang slouched against the side of the hallway, slowly rubbing a new bruise on her right arm. She couldn't recall how or when she got that. What she did remember was a loud bang on the door when she had slammed it into Lightning.

Fang let go of a shaky breath, feeling her heart rate decreasing. She was...scared for a split of a second there. But it was all worth it. Fang chuckled to herself.

She could still feel Lightning's anger emitting from the bedroom.

"Domestic violence already, huh? No wonder your dad wanted to marry you off so quickly."

And Then They Lived Happily Ever After...

Fang rose early the next morning, after having an unsatisfying night of sleep. Her eyes were sore and her body felt exhausted. Her hype from the victory had worn off and reality was now giving Fang the middle finger. She had spent the night on the other side of the mansion from the master bedroom. Her mind had been on high alert.

Maybe thinking of the very likely possibility that Lightning didn't have a good night's rest either would make her feel better, but she really wasn't in the mood for anything Lightning related right now.

Fang remained in her room for quite some time. She just sat there, thinking of the situation she was in. She tried not to, but the environment around her, the decorative furniture and the soft bed, was constantly reminding her of where she was. The tension in her heart told her that she was going to be stuck with Lightning for the rest of her life.

Life in the Viper's Nest wasn't going to be easy.

Or was it?

As soon as she could smell the sweet scent of breakfast from downstairs, Fang almost instantly felt better. She looked at the time; it was almost seven o'clock. The servants must be cooking something good, Fang thought.

"Well, nothing against food," she mumbled as she dressed quickly and headed towards the kitchen downstairs.

The house was quiet except for the sound of cooking breakfast. The chef was probably the only one up.

Fang stopped just outside of the kitchen area. She rubbed her eyes and stretched her body, inhaling the smell of breakfast. She felt a warm relaxation spreading throughout her body.

Without looking into the kitchen, she grabbed a chair and sat down. "Alright, I'll take a plate now," she requested to the chef.

"Get your own damn plate," a voice replied harshly.

Fang looked and her mouth twisted. It was Lightning cooking breakfast. Startled, Fang stared at Lightning, who was currently in a typical black apron. She had been making pancakes.

Fang rubbed her hands together and smiled weakly. "Yeah...sure." She awkwardly got up and went to the counter beside Lightning. She reached out her arm, aiming for one of the two plates filled with pancakes.

Then something smacked her hand away. Fang froze.

"Hey..."

"Make your own breakfast," Lightning said, waving the spatula forwards Fang so she would back away.

"You just said—"

Lightning cut her off, "I said, 'make your own breakfast'." She cast quick glance at Fang.

"Nah...can't let your hard work go to waste," Fang argued as she stepped forward again.

"I didn't make you anything," Lightning stated, continuing her cooking with her back facing Fang.

"Then why did you make two plates?"

"Both for me."

Fang tried to go for the plate again, and like the previous time, Lightning stopped her. This time with more force. "Fang," she said, her voice low and her teeth baring. "Back off."

Ignoring her, Fang grabbed Lightning arms and shoved her gently, but with enough strength, to the side; her other hand snatched at one of the plates. Lightning quickly pushed back with her body, causing Fang to lose balance. But she made it safely to the dining table and sat down, only to realize that she needed a fork, and some syrup.

They were both by Lightning's side.

Lightning scowled, stepping forward with her fists. Fang stared. After a few moments of silence and motionlessness, aside from the sizzling pancakes, Lightning released a sigh and headed back to cooking. She mumbled lowly as she flipped the pancake over.

Fang relaxed and smirked. Lightning was quite adorable like this.

"Why are you cooking?" Fang asked as she turned her head to look around. "Where are the servants?" Fang had always thought that the people of Cocoon, at least the wealthy ones, depended a lot on servants.

"I sent them away. We don't need them," Lightning replied coolly.

"Ah, so you fired them? From their jobs?" It had happened over night and Fang knew nothing about it.

"Why do you care?" Lightning questioned, looking her this time.

Fang shook her head slightly and replied, "just asking, that's all."

Lightning sighed, again, before returning her attention to the last few pancakes she was cooking for the morning.

"So...about last night..." Fang started, voice gentle. She didn't wish to start a fight with Lightning, or scare her away. "I think we should be find a way to work this out, since we're married and all," Fang continued, her fingers tapping the table. She still wanted that fork and syrup, but if she approached Lightning now, the consequences wouldn't be pleasant. "Aren't we supposed to be, like, the symbol of peace?" Lightning still remained silent. "Last night wasn't so peaceful."

"If you stop acting like an annoying jerk, we might work this out," Lightning finally said with a neutral voice. She filled up one more plate with pancakes and that was the last of them.

"Might. So you have to stop being a sensitive bitch," Fang spat, sounding more harsh than she wanted to.

Lightning turned her head sharply and looked at Fang, clenching her jaw. "You should stop being a primitive and arrogant barbarian," Lightning growled, her eyebrows narrowing.

Fang scoffed, "spoken like a true viper. So that's how you want to play it, huh?" She jumped off her chair. "They must've defined 'viper' after you."

"Fuck you, Fang," Lightning almost yelled. She threw her spatula to the side and marched forward, focusing solely on Fang.

"Hey, Lightning..." Fang said, trying to stay calm.

When Lightning took Fang by the collar of her shirt and shoved her backwards, Fang stumbled a bit but caught herself. Her first instinct was to attack Lightning, but she restrained her muscles. She couldn't afford to let a real fight break out in the kitchen.

"Lightning...Let's talk about nice thing, yeah?" Fang suggested with a soft voice. She had reached out her hands and arms, palms both facing Lightning, in order to put some distance between them.

Lightning huffed and brushed her bangs out of her flushed face. Her eyes wouldn't meet Fang.

"Yeah, think nice things. Like..." Fang trailed off. I probably shouldn't say this...but... "our first date..." Fang smiled sheepishly.

They never had a first date.

Lightning stared at Fang with wide eyes and a questioning look. She mouth opened but no sound came out.

"Or...our first kiss. People always remember those, right?"

Lightning gritted her teeth and began to advance towards to Fang again. This time, she raised her fist.

"Or you smile...See, they are very unique." Fang was genuinely smiling now. Somehow, this situation just turned into a form a entertainment for her. Fang always knew that she liked to tease, but this? This was something new and very dangerous.

As for being friendly with Lightning. Sure, it was friendly. Fang just liked to have fun while being friendly. Lightning looked like she was going to hit Fang any second now, but she knew that she would be okay. Oerba Yun Fang was unmatched on the battlefield. She could handle Lightning easily.

Fang continued, "they are unique, because...they are sweet, loving, and most importantly, upside down."

SMACK.

Fang didn't see that coming.

Really, she didn't.

Fang bit back the pain she received from Lightning's backhand slap. She rubbed her jaw and the side of her cheek gently. She looked up at Lightning, whose breaths were ragged. "Feel better now you've hit me?"

"No."

"Tell that to my jaw," Fang said.

"You're getting off easy," Lightning mumbled, her fist shaking. "I don't want to start a war with you. But you need to seriously back off. You think you're funny." Lightning icy blue eyes stared straight into Fang's. "You're not," she stated as a matter-of-fact. "You not funny, you not hilarious. You're annoying and you're full of yourself!" Lightning shouted, almost launching herself at Fang. Her voice was shaky and her eyes, angry. "This isn't a fucking game..."

"And Lightning Farron is so much better, right?" Fang said with a sarcastic tone. "Well, you not. You're acting like a teenage girl who needs anger management." Fang leaned towards Lightning. She sighed. "You're the Primarch's daughter, I'm the saviour of Cocoon—"

Lightning growled at Fang, "I can kick your ass anytime."

"I can kick yours with my eyes closed," Fang taunted.

"We'll see," Lightning spoke. She looked over Fang's shoulder. "There's a small grassy field before the forest, that's plenty of space." She looked at Fang. "We'll fight."

"You'll be sorry," Fang smirked.