Chapter Four

AN: Here is the fourth installment of Let Them Eat Cake. I'm so sorry for how long I am taking between updates. I really have had no time or inspiration to write lately. Thanks for all your patience! I hope you enjoy the chapter anyways! :)

Disclaimer: OCs and plot are mine. Everything else belongs to Square Enix.

It was a quiet morning. Sunlight trickled in through the parted curtains. Half the room was illuminated and the other half was cast in shadows. A light breeze caused the trees outside to sway and scratch against the house. The curtains billowed, causing the shadows to spin and dance.

Fang awoke with a sigh and reached out, eyes still closed. When her arms found a familiar figure, her eyes snapped open in surprise. She grinned, because for once Vanille was still lying beside her. Somehow, it was a morning without wedding emergencies, surprise trips to Korrin, or hushed conversations in the kitchen. Perhaps now that everything was prepared for the bridal shower, some of Serah's stress had finally waned. Fang felt pleased knowing Vanille could finally relax a bit as well.

Excited to wake up next to her partner, Fang snuggled close, wrapping her arms more firmly around Vanille's waist. She laughed when her partner groaned in her sleep and snuggled closer to her. Smiling, she pressed her cheek close to Vanille's hair and breathed in the sweet scent of her. They had been together for so long that Fang was certain she could recognize Vanille's scent blindfolded. The familiar smell comforted her, especially on lazy mornings when she did not want to wake up any time soon.

Fang wanted to return to sleep with Vanille wrapped up in her arms, but unfortunately, nature had something else in store. After a while of trying to force herself to fall back to sleep, Fang surrendered and pulled away from Vanille, her movements slow as she was careful not to wake her sleeping partner. She slid onto the edge of the bed and moved sideways, careful not to trip over her staff, which she always left propped against the bedpost on her side of the bed. It was because of those cautious movements that Fang suddenly realized her staff was missing.

Frowning, Fang tried to remember where she could have left it. There was no way that she would have left it downstairs or anywhere else in the house, because she always wanted it nearby in case someone attacked them in the night. However, as she glanced around the bedroom, she could see that it was not there.

Mildly alarmed, Fang walked to the armoire and tugged it open, wondering if Vanille would have tucked the staff away without knowing that Fang left it out for a good reason. When the staff was not there, Fang checked everywhere else in the room, including under the bed. Then she checked the bathroom, thinking she might have been so tired that she propped it against the wall while she was getting ready and left it there.

The search was futile. Wherever the staff was, it was clearly not anywhere in their bedroom. The staff meant so much to her that Fang knew she had to find it, so she crossed the room and sat on Vanille's side of the bed, frowning apologetically as she slid her hand over her shoulder and gently shook.

Vanille stirred with a groan and pouted sleepily, blinking several times. "Fang?"

"Good morning, gorgeous." Fang paused, allowing herself to smile faintly, because Vanille had always been the most adorable when she was still half-asleep.

"What time is it?" Vanille inquired, stretching. "I wanna sleep more."

"You can sleep as much as you want, but I've got a question," Fang murmured, leaning down to kiss her forehead apologetically. "Have you seen my staff?"

"Hm?" Vanille frowned in confusion before nodding slowly. "You left it by the bed like always."

"Are you sure?" Fang furrowed her brows. "Did you see me do that?"

Vanille nodded, closing her eyes. "I wanna go back to sleep."

"One more question," Fang murmured gently, stroking her hair. "You didn't move my staff, did you?"

"Nope." Vanille snuggled back into her pillow, eyes closed. "I'd never do that, Fang."

"Okay." Fang kissed her cheek. "You get some more rest now, okay?"

Vanille nodded, murmuring something incoherent. She was already halfway back to sleep.

Fang smiled again at Vanille before standing and walking toward the armoire. As she hastily tugged on some pants, she considered the situation. If Vanille had not touched her staff and she had seen her leave it by the bedpost, that meant that someone had snuck into their room while they were sleeping and taken it. Fang did not want to admit it, but there was one person in the house who was quiet enough to sneak into the room without waking her.

Neglecting to comb her hair or even wash her face, Fang crept out of the bedroom and down the attic stairs. She could hear quiet voices on the first floor, so she knew that some of the others in the house were already awake. Feeling grouchy because she was sleepy and one of her most important possessions may have been stolen with no explanation, Fang stopped in front of Lightning's door and knocked loudly.

There was a faint sound of footsteps crossing the room before the door opened. Lightning narrowed her eyes at Fang, grumbling, "What do you want?"

"Oh, I just had a quick question. Have you seen my staff around?" Fang smirked humorlessly. "Someone snuck into my room last night and took it. Can you think of anyone in the house who could get past me without me waking up?"

"I thought no one could get past you," Lightning replied smugly.

"That's cute, but I want my staff back, Light," Fang growled.

"I haven't seen it," Lightning muttered with a roll of her eyes. "Now go away. I'm busy."

"I know you're lying." Fang narrowed her eyes. "Give me the staff. That thing's important to me."

"I said I haven't seen it," Lightning repeated sternly, taking a step closer and lowering her voice. "But if I did take it, it would be your own fault because you keep playing stupid pranks."

"I told you, I didn't play any pranks," Fang huffed, crossing her arms and taking her own step forward. "Give me the staff."

"If you didn't play any pranks, then I didn't take your staff." Lightning took a step back, beginning to shut her bedroom door. "I hope you find it."

Fang slapped her hand angrily on the door to stop it from closing and shoved her way into Lightning's bedroom, glancing around because she knew the ex-soldier had to have hidden the staff somewhere in there. She immediately began to search, looking behind the closet door and under the bed.

Lightning rolled her eyes, leaning against the nearest wall. "You won't find it here."

"I suppose that's because you didn't take it?" Fang asked with a cold smirk.

"Exactly," Lightning replied with a poker face that could win awards.

"Then I guess there's no point in looking." Fang stood and abruptly left the room, but she paused in the doorway to throw one last smirk over her shoulder. "You'll regret this, Light. That staff means more to me than you know."

Lightning scoffed. "I didn't take it, Fang, just like you didn't play any pranks."

Fang merely grinned before walking out of the room and slamming the door behind her. Lightning could take a lot of things from her, but not her staff, not even as a joke.

"This meas war," Fang grumbled to herself as she walked back up the stairs.

Twenty minutes later, Lightning walked out of her bedroom and moved hastily into the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. As she leaned close to the mirror, Lightning realized that her eyes were bloodshot. Between working almost non-stop and getting only a few hours of sleep every night now that the alarm was waking her up, Lightning was reaching the end of her rope. Some days she had to go in late so that she could get a little extra sleep, because it was difficult to return to bed when the alarm woke her at the same time each morning.

Lightning was particularly exhausted that morning, but she had a meeting, so she could not be late. There was only one thing that would keep her awake during the meeting; a magical potion called coffee. Since Lightning had begun working when she was a teenager, she had always needed coffee to get her going in the morning. Nothing else could convince her to be productive before noon. Her stash of coffee had grown over the years, broadening to include many flavors, different kinds of creamers, and even an emergency ice blend that she kept in the fridge at all times. Lightning took her coffee so seriously that she even hid different quantities of her stash all over the kitchen, labeling each with her name so that no one would dare to touch them. After all, she could not risk unexpectedly running out.

After quickly fixing her hair, Lightning walked down the stairs and turned into the kitchen with a grimace, expecting Serah or Vanille to be annoyed with her. She was surprised to find no one there. Usually by that time, Serah and Vanille were whispering to each other as the two of them made breakfast. If not the two of them, Sazh was at least usually stumbling around the kitchen looking for breakfast to share with his son.

Lightning wondered where everyone was, but locating her family and friends was not nearly as important as killing the dizzy feeling of exhaustion that filled her, so she immediately walked to the cupboard. She tugged a can of ground coffee out of one cabinet and pulled a filter from the drawer without even looking. Then she made quick work of setting up the coffee machine before she opened the can. With a frown, the exhausted soldier realized that the can was empty. Irritated, Lightning pushed the can away and stooped down, opening a lower cabinet. She triumphantly tugged out another tin of coffee and pulled it open. Her features fell as she realized that one was also empty. Frustrated, Lightning crossed the kitchen and stood on the step stool, reaching for the tallest cabinet. She pulled open her last tin of coffee and when she saw that it was empty, she angrily threw it on the floor. Pulling the fridge open urgently, Lightning was infuriated to find that her bottle of iced coffee was also empty.

She was so careful that she never would have let herself run out of that much coffee, so there was only one explanation. Fang had dumped all her coffee as revenge for taking her staff. Lightning wanted to run up the stairs and kill her, but the situation was too urgent. She had to wake herself up before work and the meeting was coming up soon. It was clear that she would have to stop to get coffee on the way to work, but she did not even have enough energy to shower and get into the car. There was only one option left, the only other drink that could wake her up when coffee was unavailable.

Lightning tugged open the fridge and reached into the back, removing a carton of orange juice which was also labeled with her name. She rarely drank juice in the morning. In fact, she generally brought a small amount of juice to work in a jug in case she needed a pick-me-up in the middle of the day and did not have time to get another coffee. However, she had not had time to pack any juice that week, so she knew the carton would be full.

Not wasting a second, Lightning poured the juice into a tall glass and took a much-needed swig. She promptly spit the liquid all over the counter. What had looked like orange juice was actually an orange, cheesy mixture which someone had created. It tasted like someone had taken all the powder from a mac and cheese box and mixed it with water.

Gritting her teeth, Lightning planned Fang's murder as she poured the remainder of the disgusting drink into the sink and stomped up the stairs. She wanted to confront Fang, but now she was going to be late. She vowed revenge as she passed the attic stairs and walked toward the shower.

Hope's PMC beeped, so he paused the game to read the message. With a grin, he read Cassi's reply several times. Even though she had only said that she was on her way and very he to see him, Hope could not help the dreamy look that crossed his face. He did not want to leave her waiting, so he responded immediately, telling her that he was excited too and could not wait until she arrived.

After setting his PMC on the table, Hope resumed the game and continued kicking butt until he received another message. Hope laughed when he realized that it was Cassi again, and he could not help but beam when he read her message, which stated that she had really missed him. Hope replied that they were going to have a lot of fun together before he turned back to his game.

Dajh hopped down the stairs holding a tray of cookies in one hand. Plopping down beside Hope, Dajh asked, "Wanna cookie?"

Hope glanced over his shoulder with a shrug. "Sure, I guess. Are they good?"

Dajh nodded excitedly, grinning with his mouth full. "Serah must've made them. They're delicious."

"Dajh, you're getting crumbs everywhere," Hope pointed out with a sigh. "We're supposed to keep the house clean now that everything's ready for the bridal shower."

"Oops." Dajh tried to eat over the tray as he glanced at the screen. "How come you're not playing online?" With a grin, he added, "Did you know you couldn't beat them without my help?"

Hope rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. I'm way better at games than you, dork."

"Nu-uh! I'm the best," Dajh argued with a childish grin, spilling crumbs all over himself. "I'll show you. I challenge you right now!"

"Fine." Hope handed him a controller and signed into his online account.

The two boys played together for a long time, massacring their enemies with teamwork that they had developed over the year that they had spent living in New Cocoon. Soon, enemies were running from them, and both boys were laughing and bragging about how they were unstoppable. Everything was perfect until the doorbell rang.

Hope promptly dropped his controller and jumped out of his seat. "Dajh, that's Cassi. Will you save the game and turn it off? I have to get the door."

"Hope, what are you doing? We're in the middle of a battle!" Dajh cried. "At least tell our team you're AFK."

Ignoring the younger boy, Hope raced up the stairs. He tripped and nearly fell on his face, but he managed to catch himself as he jumped onto the main floor and skidded to a halt in front of the door. Hope immediately glanced down at himself and wished he had changed his clothes as he brushed the cookie crumbs from his shirt. After smoothing down his hair twice, he finally opened the door.

Cassi stood in the doorway, smiling shyly as she tucked her long blonde hair behind her eyes. Her brown eyes shined brightly in the sunlight as she looked up at Hope and smiled cutely. "Hi! It's really nice to see you again."

"Hi." Hope grinned eagerly, trying not to blush. "Come on in."

"Is Cassi here already?" Serah asked, appearing in the living room. "It's so good to meet you."

"Hi, Serah. It's nice to finally meet you too," Cassi replied cheerfully. "Thanks for letting me stay here this weekend. I think it'll be a lot of fun helping you pick songs for your wedding."

"I can take your stuff," Hope exclaimed chivalrously, reaching for her large instrument.

"Uh, I'll take that!" Cassi insisted, pushing his hands away. "You have to transport harps really carefully. You can take my backpack if you want though."

"Oh, okay." Hope looked away, embarrassed. "Sorry. I didn't know."

"It's okay." Cassi grinned brightly. "So, where can I put all my stuff?"

"I'll show you to your room, Cassi. Hope can stay down here for now," Serah interrupted with a charming smile, though she gave Hope a subtle look that told him he could not be alone with Cassi in her room.

Hope pouted. "Serah..."

"It'll only take a minute." Serah beckoned Cassi toward the stairs with a smile. "You're going to stay upstairs in my room. I changed the sheets and everything."

"Where are you going to sleep?" Hope asked curiously.

"I was going to stay with Claire, but she said she lost her watch in her room and the alarm goes off every day at four in the morning, so if it's all right with you, Cassi, I'm going to set up a cot and stay in the room with you. I'm really sorry about that."

"That's okay, but why don't you stay in the bed and I'll stay on the cot?" Cassi requested. "I wouldn't feel right taking your bed..."

"That's all right," Serah replied dismissively. "You're a guest."

"Where is Snow going to sleep?" Hope asked with raised brows.

"He'll stay with you in the basement." Serah smiled faintly. "It'll be like a sleepover."

"What? Snow snores so loudly and he'll take up the whole bed," Hope whined.

"It's only for a few nights, Hope. I think you'll be okay." Serah laughed lightly. "Come on, Cassi. Let me take you upstairs."

"Okay." Cassi smiled warmly over her shoulder. "I'll be right back, Hope. Then we can catch up a bit."

Hope nodded eagerly, looking hypnotized. "I'll wait right here."

As Serah and Cassi disappeared up the stairs, Dajh appeared in the basement doorway with a sly look. "I hope I don't act gross like that when I grow up. You're basically drooling."

"I am not." Hope nudged Dajh's arm hard. "You're gonna like girls someday and then you'll completely understand."

"Nu-uh. I'm never gonna act this way over a stupid girl," Dajh insisted, grinning as he teased in a sing-song voice, "Hope loves Cassi. Hope loves Cassi."

"Shut up!" Hope gasped. "What if she hears you?"

Dajh continued even more loudly.

"I'm gonna push you down the stairs!" Hope warned with narrowed eyes.

Refusing to stop, Dajh ran around the room singing the song even more loudly.

"Dajh, stop it!" Hope cried, chasing him.

"What's going on down here?" Serah demanded as she came back down the stairs.

"Nothing," Dajh replied with an innocent smile.

"Boys, I really don't want running in the house right now," Serah told them, placing her hands on her hips. "Vanille and I worked really hard to clean and decorate for the shower tomorrow."

Hope and Dajh both bowed their heads to apologize.

Serah smiled faintly. "Now, Hope, I'm going to be busy for a while, so why don't you spend some time with your friend? You can take her for a walk outside if you want."

"Good idea!" Hope exclaimed excitedly. "You don't mind?"

"Of course not." Serah smiled warmly. "Just don't get into any trouble and don't go too far from the house without telling someone. You never know what might happen."

"What about me?" Dajh pouted. "I don't wanna be alone all day."

"You can keep playing the game if you want," Hope replied.

"You mean online? By myself? You never let me!" Dajh exclaimed excitedly.

"That's because I don't want you messing up my high scores," Hope grumbled.

"I wouldn't. I'm way better at that game than you!" Dajh protested. "I'm gonna prove it. I'll beat all your high scores."

Without another word, Dajh turned and raced down the basement stairs.

Serah laughed lightly. "Did you do that just so you could be alone with your friend?"

Hope flushed, nodding slowly.

Grinning, Serah leaned close to him, whispering, "Girls really like compliments. Tell her you think she looks really pretty."

"Okay." Hope nodded gratefully. "Thanks, Serah."

"Good luck!" Serah exclaimed as she turned and disappeared up the stairs.

Cassie walked down a few minutes later, smiling shyly. "So, is there something to drink?"

"Sure. Let's go in the kitchen." Hope pointed her in the right direction. "We have water and soda."

"I'm think I'll just have some water for now—"

From the basement, Dajh suddenly screamed, "Take that, Hope! One high score beaten, ten more to go!"

Cassi's eyes widened. "Who was that?"

"That was Dajh," Hope replied dismissively. "He's kind of like my little brother."

"Do I get to meet him later?" Cassi asked curiously.

"Yeah, you can meet everyone." Hope tried not to sound nervous. "Do you want to go for a walk outside?"

"Sure." Cassi accepted a glass of water and took a sip. "The living room looks really nice, by the way."

Hope peeked out of the kitchen and realized that Serah and Vanille had cleaned and decorated the entire living room in shades of white, yellow, and sky blue. There were streamers hanging from the ceiling and balloons tied to the couches and tables.

"Wow, it does look nice," Hope agreed. "I guess that's for the bridal shower."

"It's so pretty." Cassi smiled as she walked into the living room. She noticed a doggie gate blocking her path and asked, "Why is this up?"

"Huh? I don't know," Hope shrugged, following her into the room. "So, do you want to go outside? I'd say we could sit here, but I don't think Serah wants anyone in the kitchen or the living room until after the shower."

"Good point." Cassi smiled and nodded for him to lead the way.

Hope brought Cassi outside onto the deck through the sliding door in the kitchen and led her quickly through the yard. "Come look at the garden Snow and Serah planted. It's really beautiful."

"Okay." Cassi blushed as she grabbed Hope's hand, murmuring, "I love flowers."

The teenage boy felt his cheeks darken, so he looked away.

Snow pulled his air car into the driveway and spotted Fang standing by the mailbox looking through the letters they had received. After he set down in the driveway, he climbed out and waved to Fang, asking humorously, "Hey! Did you hold down the fort while I was gone?"

"Nope. I was gone too," Fang replied as she walked up the driveway. "I had some errands to run in town and I wanted to check on some of my subordinates. They're not as good at tracking and hunting as I am yet, so I wanted to do a round on the outskirts of town and make sure there were no monsters headed our way."

"Wow. That must have taken a while," Snow pointed out as he headed toward the house.

"Well, it did take some time, but it was worth it," Fang replied with a charming smile. "So, what're you up to? I thought you took the dogs for a walk."

"That was earlier. They're in the backyard now," Snow explained, shrugging. "I would've let them stay inside, but Serah and Vanile didn't want them getting into the living room after all the work they did."

"Are you sure they can't get in the house?" Fang asked with a frown. "Sometimes those cute little buggers get into everything they're not supposed to."

"I put a gate up in the kitchen," Snow assured her with a smile. "Serah's been so worried lately that I didn't want anything to go wrong."

"Understandable," Fang replied with a nod. "So, I heard the boys are coming over tomorrow during the bridal shower. Are you having your own party?"

"No, the bachelor party is later in the week," Snow replied with a shrug. "I'm just meeting the groomsmen to make sure everyone understands their responsibilities."

"So, Light and Phil will be in the house at the same time?" Fang asked with a grin. "That should be interesting."

"Phil said they don't really act like a couple in public," Snow replied with a chuckle.

"Man, Light's gotta loosen up." Fang smiled wryly.

Snow merely shrugged as he turned his key in the lock and pushed open the front door. He stepped into the front room, wiping his feet on the mat before stepping forwards to give Fang room. The living room came into view and his heart nearly dropped into his stomach.

"Uh, Fang?" Snow asked, his face ashen.

"What's wrong?" Fang pushed inside and moved around him to look. Her jaw immediately fell open in shock.

The living room was a mess. There were pillows on the floor, two of the chairs had been overturned, the streamers that hung too low were tattered, some hanging to the floor and others having fallen down completely. Candles were knocked over, one of the end tables was split in two, and to make matters worse, there were muddy paw prints everywhere. A quick scan of the room revealed that both Kiwi and Ripper were sitting near the couch with innocent looks on their canine faces.

Snow tried to speak several times before managing, "They were outside. I left the gate up!"

"So, who d'you think's gonna kill us first?" Fang asked wryly. "Serah or Light?"

"Snow, is that you?" Serah called down the stairs.

"Serah, it is." Fang immediately grabbed Snow by the shoulders, meeting his gaze firmly. "You go get her and keep her upstairs, understand? Tell Vanille I need her help right now."

"What if Serah wants to come downstairs?" Snow gasped. "I can't stop her. She'll be suspicious."

"I don't care if you have to drug her. You keep her upstairs," Fang ordered firmly. "Otherwise, she'll have a stroke. I've gotta find a way to fix this before either she or Light finds out or we might have to get rid of the dogs. Speaking of which..." Fang snapped her fingers and both dogs jumped to attention. "Come on, boys. You're going back outside and you're not coming back in until you both have baths."

"Snow, are you down there?" Serah repeated, sounding closer.

"Go keep her upstairs!" Fang hissed, pushing him toward the stairs.

Snow kicked off his boots and immediately jogged up the stairs. "I'm coming up, Serah. Can we talk about something?" When he reached the top, his voice drifted down. "Oh, there you are, Vanille. Fang said she needed your help downstairs."

"Is something wrong?" Serah asked worriedly.

"No, I'm sure everything's fine. Fang just wanted to talk to Vanille."

Fang pushed the dogs outside, closed the screen door, which had been left open, and put the doggie gate back up in the kitchen. When she heard footsteps on the stairs, she jumped over the gate in case she had to stop Serah, calling, "Vanille, is that you?"

"Yep. Snow said you needed to talk to me—" Vanille came down the stairs and gasped in surprise, covering her mouth. "Fang, what happened?!"

"The dogs got in." Fang shook her head as she studied the torn streamers and joked, "Light was right on when she named him Ripper. He even tore the pillows apart."

"Fang, this isn't funny. What're we gonna do?!" Vanile cried in horror. "Serah worked so hard to make this perfect and now everything's ruined."

"We're gonna fix it, but I need your help," Fang told her gently. "Go find the strongest stain-remover we've got in the house. I'm gonna flip the cushions and switch the pillows with the ones in the basement. Do you have any more streamers?"

Vanille nodded, smiling weakly. "They're in our room but I can probably get them without Serah noticing."

"Okay. I'll pick up the candles too..." Fang placed her hands on her hips. "We'll have to get rid of that broken end table. I can't fix it without everyone in the house hearing."

There were suddenly footsteps on the stairs and Snow cried desperately, "Wait, Serah, we have so much more to talk about."

"Snow, I'm really glad you realized you like apples more than oranges, but can't we talk about this later? I still have so much to do."

"Wait, don't go down there!"

"Snow, what's gotten into you?" Serah asked as she reached the bottom of the stairs. When she looked out at the living room, she flinched and shrieked, "What happened in here?!"

"I can explain!" Snow cried desperately, but when Serah glared at him, he sighed nervously "Okay, I can't explain. I swear I left the door closed and the gate up, but when Fang and I came in, the dogs were sitting in the living room."

"How did they get in?" Serah cried miserably. "All I want is one nice day."

"We're gonna fix it, Serah," Vanille assured her, running to her side and taking her arm as she turned her back toward the upstairs. "Don't worry about a thing. Just go upstairs and do something else and by the time you come back, Fang and I will have cleaned the entire room."

Serah closed her eyes, taking several deep breaths. "Okay. I'm going. I need to lie down."

"I'll come with you," Snow offered gently.

"No. Help them. It'll go faster with three people," Serah sighed, disappearing up the stairs.

Fang pursed her lips. "Snow, you like apples better than oranges? That's the best you could come up with?"

"I panicked. I'm not good at keeping secrets from Serah," Snow replied with an awkward smile. "So, what can I do?"

"Start picking up streamers, I guess," Fang replied with a sigh.

"I thought Serah wanted to hear you play this afternoon," Hope murmured conversationally.

Cassi frowned as she walked down the basement stairs. "Well, she did, but I think something really upset her. She said she was too tired right now so I can play for her tomorrow at the bridal shower or afterward."

"Do you know who's coming to the party?" Hope asked curiously.

"The bridesmaids and Serah's friends, I think," Cassi replied, brushing her hair behind her ear.

Hope smiled shyly at her. "I'm really glad you get to stay here."

"Me, too," Cassi replied with a grin.

Wanting to seize the moment, Hope exclaimed, "Cassi, I really like—"

"Hope, you're just in time!" Dajh exclaimed from the bottom of the stairs, grinning eagerly. "These jerks are terrorizing everyone online and Dad and I aren't enough without you. We have to beat them!"

"I didn't know you were still down here," Hope sighed, shoulders falling.

Sazh smiled from the corner of the room, setting down his controller. "Hi there. You must be Cassi. I'm Sazh and this is my son Dajh. It's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you too," Cassi replied politely.

Sazh smiled warmly, motioning to a tray of ham and turkey sandwiches on the table. "Would either of you like a sandwich?"

"Where'd they come from?" Hope asked with a raised brow.

"They were in the fridge," Dajh replied, looking proud. "I asked Lightning if I could have one and she said I could have whatever I want if I left her alone." Dajh deflated slightly. "I guess she was mad at me or something."

Sazh laughed, patting his son's head. "Light's just always in a hurry. I doubt she was mad."

Dajh looked a little happier.

"I'll have a sandwich," Cassi exclaimed happily. "These are so cute."

"Do you want to eat it outside?" Hope asked, almost desperate. "Then we can keep talking."

"But look at the game they're playing," Cassi protested with a pout. "Do you have another controller? I love this game. If all four of us play, I bet we'll beat the jerks Dajh was talking about in no time."

"You like video games?" Hope asked incredulously.

"I love them!" Cassi replied cheerfully.

Hope's eyes widened as he realized that he had met a perfect goddess.

Sazh saw the look on Hope's face and laughed heartily as he passed the two of them controllers. "Have a seat, Cassi. We could use the help."

Vanille slumped down on the couch, sighing with relief. "We did it, Fang!"

Fang plopped down at her side, wrapping her arm around her shoulders and grinning. "Good thing. Serah looked like her eyes were gonna come right out of her head. I can't imagine Light's reaction."

Vanille pursed her lips, resting her head against Fang's shoulders. "I bet Light wouldn't care."

"Actually, if it involved destroying her house, I bet she would," Fang replied with a wry smile, nudging her cheek with her shoulder.

The younger woman was not in the mood to joke around. "I bet she's the one who let the dogs in."

Fang frowned, glancing down at Vanille as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Even if she did, Vanille, Light wouldn't do something like that on purpose. She wouldn't intentionally upset Serah."

Vanille merely huffed, crossing her arms. "Even if it was an accident, I wouldn't forgive her. How could she not be careful? This is all so important to Serah, and Light doesn't even care."

Threading her fingers through Vanille's hair, Fang leaned back and sighed. She hated seeing her love so upset. Light really needed to do something to make it up to the two of them or there was going to be drama in the house for months.

"Serah is so sad that Light hasn't taken more of an interest in her wedding," Vanille whispered, pouting. "If she would just talk to her..."

"I'm sure Light'll start helping more soon. Just you wait," Fang replied gently, kissing her temple.

"What d'you mean?" Vanille asked hopefully.

"It's getting close to the ceremony. I'm sure she'll take off a few days to help," Fang surmised, tucking Vanille's hair behind her ears. "Everything will be fine. I promise."

Vanille nodded and wrapped her arms around Fang's waist, hugging her tightly. "The wedding really is close. It's less than a week away now. I can't believe the bridal shower is tomorrow."

"Yeah, it's all coming up quick, thank the gods," Fang replied, chuckling when Vanille glanced up at her curiously. "Once the wedding's over, things can get back to normal and I can have my girlfriend back. You've been so busy you've even been neglecting the dogs."

"You're right. I can't do that or Kiwi won't love me anymore," Vanille replied with sad eyes. "I know! I'll give them a bath tonight. You don't have to lift a finger."

"You're gonna give two giant dogs a bath all by yourself?" Fang asked skeptically.

Vanille stuck her chin in the air. "I can do it."

Fang laughed, hugging her close and giving her a quick kiss. "Let's wash them together. Then we can play with them for a while. Eventually we'll move out, and when we do, Kiwi and Ripper will be separated."

"It's so sad," Vanille pouted. "They love each other."

With a grin, Fang exclaimed, "I guess we'll just have to stay here so we can play with both of them whenever we want."

"Fang, you're the one who wants to move out," Vanille giggled.

"Only because everyone keeps interrupting us all the time," Fang huffed, a teasing grin covering her features. "I mean, look at Serah. She's walked in on us so many times she barely gets flustered anymore."

Laughing again, Vanille asked, "Is it hard to give the dogs a bath?"

"You'll see," Fang replied with a warm smile.

Fang and Vanille's next hour was spent chasing Kiwi and Ripper around the yard trying to get them back into the large kiddie pool that Fang had filled with water. By the time she finally coaxed them in, the two dogs were in such a rowdy mood that they jumped around, splashing everything within a five foot radius. Vanille and Fang were completely soaked by the time it was over.

As they dried the dogs with towels, Fang teased, "So, what d'you think? Was it hard?"

"Yeah, but it was really fun," Vanille replied with a grin as she wiped Kiwi down with the towel.

Fang laughed as she continued toweling Ripper dry.

Soon the two dogs grew tired of standing still. Ripper barked first, and suddenly the two of them were racing across the yard.

"We're completely soaked," Vanille exclaimed, giggling as she fell back in the grass. "I didn't think to bring a towel."

"I didn't wanna warn you and ruin the surprise," Fang replied, grinning as she lay down in the grass and pulled Vanille into an embrace.

Vanille swooned happily and buried herself in Fang's arms. "We should do this more often."

"Why? You like getting tackled multiple times by giant, soaking dogs?" Fang asked cheekily.

"I like doing things with you," Vanille corrected with a warm grin.

Fang returned her loving look as she leaned in to kiss her lips. Pulling away, she teased, "Well, if you like doing things with me that involve wet clothes and a lot of tumbling, you can help me do the laundry later."

Vanille giggled, snuggling against her. "Okay, but let's stay here for a while first."

Fang nodded, burying her face in Vanille's hair and kissing the top of her head.

"Wow. You're really good at this, Cassi," Dajh commented when Cassi took down ten enemies by herself.

"Thanks, Dajh," Cassi replied cheerfully.

Hope grinned at his friend, enchanted. "You're amazing. How come you didn't tell me you like video games?"

"You never asked, silly," Cassi replied with a shy smile, cheeks flushing as she met his gaze.

A shriek from the kitchen suddenly split the air as Serah shouted, "What happened to all the cookies and sandwiches for tomorrow?"

Sazh's eyes widened in horror and he turned to his son, hissing, "What have you done?!"

"Lightning said I could have them," Dajh cried in alarm.

"Wait, these were for the party tomorrow?" Hope gasped, terrified. "What are we going to do? Serah will kill us."

"Okay, people, we're in a life or death situation here, and I need you to do exactly what I say," Sazh exclaimed firmly, grabbing the cookie tray and shoving it under one of the couches. "Hide all the evidence. We don't have much time!"