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After the weekend had come and gone, it wasn't until Wednesday that Lightning saw her sister again. Wednesday was only a half-day at school, so if Serah didn't have plans with Vanille she would usually bring Lightning a picnic lunch and spend the rest of the day with her. The eldest Farron could hear cheerful whistling coming from down the path and released the piece of wood she was sanding down before straightening up. A slight breeze rustled through the nearby trees and she raised her head into it, smiling as the draft cooled down her heated skin. Serah's whistling had stopped as she approached the site, and delicate footsteps came to a halt. There was a pause before Serah quietly spoke.
"This suits you."
With her eyes still closed and body still facing the wind, Lightning tilted her head slightly and replied "What, being covered in sweat and sawdust?"
"No. Being on Gran Pulse. Being out in the open."
Lightning wasn't expecting the serious response and turned to face her sister, raising an eyebrow as she did.
Serah shifted slightly under the scrutiny but carried on talking. "I mean it. You never seemed very comfortable back on Cocoon, and despite what you say I know you weren't very happy-" Lightning opened her mouth to protest but Serah ploughed on "-and after everything that has happened, it's just…to see you more relaxed, it's nice." She smiled brightly.
Lightning couldn't help but smile in return. "Yeah, well, no one's tried to curse me or force me to be a mythical bodyguard yet, so that's pretty relaxing."
Her sister gave her a light shove, before depositing her basket on the ground and bouncing over to a nearby log pile and sitting down. "I think it's your friendship with Fang. I've never known you to warm up to someone as quickly as her."
Lightning shrugged, opting to sift through the picnic basket for a sandwich to buy herself some thinking time. "Similar personalities, I guess?"
Serah nodded, allowing Lightning to start eating before responding. "Or the fact she came bursting into your life on an ice slide, riding a motorbike and shooting bad guys. That must have been impressive." Seeing as her sister was still chewing, she added slyly, "and she didn't even blink after you slapped her."
Lightning almost choked, coughing to clear her throat. "How…who told you that?"
Serah shrugged nonchalantly. "She did. It was sweet of you to stand up for me like that, but there was no need to hit the poor thing, especially after she just saved you."
"She didn't save me, I had the situation perfectly under control."
"That's not the way she tells it" Serah sing-songed.
Lightning pointedly ignored her sister, focusing her attention onto her lunch instead. Okay, so maybe she didn't actually have a plan for escaping all those PSICOM soldiers. And maybe Fang's entrance was a little bit impressive. And it was actually quite remarkable that she could take a vitriolic, fully-powered backhand to the face and then fight by Lightning's side moments later. Lightning allowed herself to smile as she ate, recalling the memories of the first time she had seen Fang fight, not guns-blazing in a showy rescue, but with a tall, simple spear grasped in one hand.
It was a fighting style unlike anything she had ever seen before. Combat on Cocoon was very technology-oriented and rather complicated. There was thick armour plating protecting every inch of your body, rapid fire machine guns, enormous airships at your beck and call, complex communicators. Frankly, it was a wonder PSICOM and the Guardian Corps had the time to do any fighting with all the maintenance they had to do.
Fang's style of fighting was much simpler. The way she spun and leapt and thrust, all with a seven foot lance and not a shred of protective gear was astonishing. It was a much purer approach to warfare, and showed a complete confidence in her own abilities. Fang was a truly gifted warrior.
Serah quietly watched her sister lose herself in her thoughts and memories, and couldn't help smiling at the expression she saw on her face. Maybe Vanille was right after all, perhaps there was something between Lighting and Fang that ran deeper than friendship. She had only met Fang once before she and Vanille moved to New Bodhum, but she seemed very nice, and if what Vanille said was true, Fang was certainly harbouring strong feelings for Lightning.
Serah was dragged bodily out of the back room and down the corridor to the room she and Vanille shared, her protestations going unheard. She collapsed onto her bed, Vanille following close behind her, enthusiastically clapping her hands together.
"This is great, Serah! I can't believe Fang actually did that. I always suspected that maybe something kinda like this would happen, but I didn't know that she'd actually do it. This is going to be fantastic, Serah."
As Vanille rambled on, Serah pulled herself upright, holding up her hands, trying to get Vanille to stop talking long enough to explain what she was actually saying. "Whoa, whoa, Vanille. Slow down. What the heck are you talking about?"
As if someone had flicked a switch, Vanille stopped talking and turned to face Serah, eyes twinkling with excitement. "Fang and Lightning. The pelt. I can't believe it, Serah!"
"Yeah, me neither" Serah muttered under her breath, wondering just how much the redhead had drunk that evening. Surely it couldn't have been that much, Lebreau only popped in a couple of times. "Maybe you should come and lie down" she said, reaching for Vanille who was still pacing excitedly around the room.
Vanille batted her hands away. "No, no, don't you get it? Fang killed and skinned a Gorgonopsid, and gave the pelt to Lightning!" Her hands were gesticulating wildly as she spoke, and she stopped in front of Serah, their eyes locked.
Serah raised an eyebrow, a move unconsciously borrowed from her sister.
Vanille tilted her head to the side. "Didn't you have courting rituals on Cocoon?"
For the next ten seconds, the only sound heard was the faint chirping of crickets.
"C-courting rituals?" Serah managed to stutter out. Was that what this was? Who even used the word 'courting' to refer to anything anymore? And what ever happened to a nice bouquet of flowers, or a box of chocolates? Sure, it was clichéd, but at least nothing had to be hunted down and skinned.
"Uh huh!" Serah's lacklustre response didn't seem to have diminished Vanille's enthusiasm at all. "People did it all the time back in Oerba. It was a hunting and farming community. Being able to prove your strength and ability to provide was really important. It showed you could care for a family. Didn't you do that sort of thing on Cocoon?"
Serah's head was still reeling slightly as she responded. "Um, well, people gave flowers and things if they were dating."
Vanille frowned for a moment, thinking. "Flowers? Like, flowering fruit plants, or herb bushes, that kind of thing?"
"What? No. Like, pretty flowers. Roses. For looking at."
Vanille furrowed her brow further, clearly struggling to comprehend the Cocoonian tradition of presenting a paramour with foliage that didn't serve a practical purpose. "So, you would go out and pick flowers that looked nice, and then give them to your suitor?" She didn't seem convinced.
Serah shrugged, feeling increasingly guilty-by-association at the apparent lack of effort that used to go into dating. "Well…" she began slowly, "you didn't have to pick them as much as go down the shops and buy them."
Vanille was flabbergasted. "So let me get this right. Your way of proving to someone that you were the best choice of mate they could have, was to nip down the corner-shop and buy them purposeless plants?"
"Well, I wouldn't phrase it quite like that…" Serah responded weakly, trying and failing to put a positive spin on it.
"Unbelievable." Vanille shook her head. It was incredible really, that Cocoon was as developed as it was, given that its citizens didn't seem to have the nous to put effort into anything.
Serah was still trying to process the last few minutes; having been talking to Fang one minute, dragged out of the room the next minute, talking about pelts after that, then for some reason trying to defend dating on Cocoon. Her brain latched on to the point that seemed the most pertinent. "Wait. Didn't you say Fang gave a pelt to Light?"
Vanille nodded.
"And that's some kind of Pulsian dating etiquette?"
Vanille nodded again.
"Your sister wants to date my sister?!"
Serah shook herself out of her stupor, thankful that Lightning still seemed to be caught up in her own head and hadn't noticed her spacing out. Fang was sweet on Lightning. How could she not have seen it? The four women spent a lot of time together when they weren't working, and surely she would have caught a shy, sideways glance or a lingering touch by now.
Maybe she just wasn't looking out for it. She didn't know Fang well enough to spot her tics and, with the best will in the world, Lightning probably couldn't recognise a sultry gaze if it was, well, staring her in the face.
Vanille, bless her optimistic heart, seemed to think that Lightning was going to throw herself into Fang's arms the next time they met, and they would live happily ever after. Serah wasn't nearly so naïve. She knew her sister better than anyone, and she knew that it would take more than one Gorgonopsid pelt, no matter how meaningful the intention, to get Lightning to lower her guard enough to let someone in. That was even if she worked out the significance of the gift. Which she wouldn't.
She was distracted from her thoughts when a small pebble bounced off her forehead and fell into her lap. "Ow, sis!" She rubbed her head, glaring over at Lightning who was smirking.
"Are you planning on eating that apple, or are you just going to hold onto it?" Lightning said, gesturing to the fruit Serah had been cradling for the five minutes.
Serah ignored the gibe and deliberately took a big bite out of the apple. Lightning went back to her sandwich, and there was nothing but the sound of munching for the next few minutes. Serah wondered whether she should bring up the subject of Fang and the pelt again, but she didn't want to push her luck. Besides, she had peered in Lightning's window on her way here and she had seen the fur draped over the chair by the fireplace, her sister's favourite spot. It had obviously been well-received, even if Lightning wasn't aware as of yet that it was a token of affection.
Serah mused on what Fang was going to do next. Vanille seemed convinced that the huntress would just keep slaying and skinning bigger and better creatures until Lightning was won over. Serah tried to gently explain that whilst that would certainly be impressive, there was going to be an undeniable culture clash somewhere. Lightning would be impressed if Fang managed to take down a King Behemoth by herself, but probably didn't have an immediate need for a pair of Gargantuan Claws. Flowers and jewellery may not be hard to procure, but at least they were nice to look at, and could fit through the door of a house. If only there was some way to combine the two factors.
She dropped her half-eaten apple into her lap, mouth agape.
"Serah?" Lightning looked up from her meal, bemused at her sister's odd behaviour.
Serah ignored her. That was it. She had it. She scrambled to her feet, throwing items haphazardly back into the basket. "I gotta go. Uh…school stuff. Can you take care of this basket? Thanks." She pressed a kiss to the side of Lightning's head as she raced past, not giving her time to respond.
Lightning watched the rapidly disappearing figure until she was out of sight, not even bothering to be fully surprised at her eccentricity. Serah had always been a bit quirky, and this heat was enough to send anyone daft. She took a large swig out of her flask, covered the basket back up, and went back to work.
Serah hurried back down the path to the beach, hoping that Fang was still in the house. She knew she hadn't gotten back from her latest hunting trip until late last night, and with any luck was still resting. She bounded up the steps to NORA house and into the back living room, breathing a sigh of relief when she saw Fang lounging on the sofa with a magazine in her lap and a mug in her hand.
Fang looked up when she heard Serah arrive and nodded in greeting. "Afternoon, little Farron."
"Hey Fang." Serah paused to collect herself, not wanting to rush into the conversation. She wasn't sure if Vanille had let on that she knew about Fang's infatuation with Lightning, and didn't know where to start.
Fang glanced across at her, suspicion crossing her face for a brief moment, before looking back to her reading.
Serah sat quietly drumming her fingers, affecting an air of nonchalance before beginning. "So…nice trip yesterday?" she said innocently.
Fang raised an eyebrow. "I was killing Goblins, not taking a spa day."
"So…bad trip yesterday?"
Fang chuckled. "Nah, it was alright. Goblins are swift little buggers but it doesn't take much to dispatch them once they're pinned down."
Serah nodded, and the room fell back into silence. Fang flicked through a few pages, counting time under her breath.
"So, I was talking to Vanille the other day-" Serah began.
The Pulsian threw her magazine onto the table. Seventeen seconds. "I knew it."
"What?" Serah said innocently.
"Don't 'what' me missy, I know she told you." Fang pinched the bridge of her nose with her thumb and forefinger.
"Told me what?" Serah asked, enjoying Fang's discomfort more than she probably should. She was given a dirty look for her trouble. Much as she would enjoy continuing to wind Fang up, Serah decided to come clean and get to her point.
"So, like I was saying, I was talking to Vanille-"
Fang gave an exasperated sigh.
"-and she told me why you killed a Gorgonopsid for Light. And it's kinda sweet. And I get the idea in principle, but maybe it needs a little bit of alteration."
Fang grimaced. "She didn't like it, did she? I knew I should have gone for a Behemoth."
Serah smiled. "No, she does like it. It's hanging over her chair in her living room. It looks really good," she tried to reassure the huntress. "It's just…that's not the way we used to do things on Cocoon, and I'm not sure she really understands why you gave it to her."
Fang nodded slowly. "So, if I'd done something more Cocoonian, she would have got it?"
Serah shrugged.
"Well what would you have hunted in Bodhum?" Fang asked, scrolling through a mental list of the creatures she remembered seeing when she was trying to find Vanille. Most of what she fought was mechanized. Maybe Lightning would have preferred a Velocycle.
"Actually, that's what I came to talk to you about," Serah began. "See, we didn't hunt on Cocoon. Ever. So it wouldn't be…typical to receive a pelt from a loved one."
Fang frowned. "So what did you do instead?"
Serah sighed internally, half hoping that Fang wasn't going to ask. "Well, we used to give bouquets of flowers, jewellery, that kind of thing." She could see Fang open her mouth to respond, and cut her off before she could say anything, "I know, I know, I've already heard that song and dance from Vanille."
Fang took a sip from her drink, the mug doing nothing to disguise her sceptical expression. "We're a bit more practical on Gran Pulse."
The pinkette chose to ignore her. "I know it seems lazy, and it probably is, but jewellery really is a normal gift for a woman. It's pretty much a universal law; women love pretty things."
If possible, Fang's scepticism became more pronounced. "Well it's not like I can swan off and find a silversmith to sell me some fancy pendant is it? 'Sides, I don't what to give Light a 'normal' present, I want something special." This last part was mumbled slightly into her mug as she raised it back to her mouth to disguise her words.
Serah just about resisted the urge to squeal at Fang's behaviour; she didn't think her ego would appreciate it. She settled for reaching over and squeezing her knee, smiling as she did so.
"What?" Fang groused, still using her mug as a buffer.
"I just think it's really sweet, what you're trying to do for my sister." Serah patted the knee underneath her hand. "And I want to help you. Which is why I've come up with the perfect compromise."
Fang shifted around on the sofa, drawing one leg under her body and stretching her free arm along the back of the cushion. Serah idly mused that the brunette had a wonderfully elongated frame.
"What kind of compromise?" Fang asked, her curiosity overriding her cynicism.
"Well, you want to give her something that proves you're strong and fearless and can provide for her, right? That you can take care of a family?"
Fang almost choked on her own air at the mention of a family with Lightning. She hadn't actually let the soldier know she was smitten with her; it was probably a bit soon to be picking baby names. The briefest image of a small pink-haired girl in traditional Pulsian garb flashed across her mind, and she quashed it immediately. One step at a time.
Serah sat patiently waiting for a reply to her semi-rhetorical question, apparently unaware of the turmoil her words had induced in Fang.
The huntress re-engaged her brain. "Uh, yeah. Yeah, you wouldn't last five minutes as a hunter if you couldn't kill something that was threatening you or your family. Not that Light couldn't do a bloody good job herself, mind you," she clarified. "I know she's capable. Hell she's probably better than me," she paused, fiddling with the mug handle. "It's just…it's a Pulsian thing I guess. An ego thing. Proving that you're bigger and badder than anything Mother Nature can throw at you."
Serah couldn't help but smile a little bit wistfully at the glimpse she had gotten into Fang's psyche. "It must be hard for you and Vanille being the only ones left."
Fang quirked the corners of her mouth. "Sometimes. Everything now is a bit of mix between old and new. It's odd to see Cocoonian technology slap bang in deepest darkest Pulse." She grinned to show she wasn't too affected by this development. "But, if you don't want to the times to change, don't fall asleep for five hundred years, am I right?"
Serah laughed. "Well, it was that mix I wanted to talk to you about, the connection between Pulse and Cocoon. I think I know how you can combine the two cultures to prove yourself to Claire." She paused, and then tacked on, "but I don't know if she'll get it. I don't think she's…well-versed, in dating. She was always looking after me." This was spoken more quietly, in a tone laden with guilt.
Fang put her drink down and shuffled along the sofa, drawing the younger girl into a one-armed hug. "Hey, don't go feeling responsible now. You and I know more than most that life isn't fair." When Serah turned to face her, Fang gave a cocky wink. "It just means I have everything to prove and no one to out-do."
This made Serah laugh again and she playfully jabbed Fang in the side, giggling at her over-dramatic reaction. As the laughter quieted and they settled down again, Serah nudged Fang to get her attention. "Claire deserves to have someone to make her happy. And for what it's worth, I think you can make her happy."
Fang was touched. She knew the Farron sisters had endured their share of hardships, and the fact that Serah trusted her with Lightning was a big deal. "Thank you. I'm going to try like hell to make her happy."
"Good. And remember, if you mess it up, I'm a good shot with a bow." Serah said, her message serious but the effect softened by her twinkling eyes.
"Noted." Fang wasn't convinced the younger woman would actually shoot her if it came to it, but she knew a warning when she heard one. "Now, what's your grand scheme?"
The pinkette leaned towards her conspiratorially. "When's your next hunting trip?"