Chapter Four
Author's Note: Here's the fourth installment of Christmas With Fang. This chapter is a little short, but hopefully you still like it!
Disclaimer: I wish I could think of an interesting disclaimer. But for some reason I can't, so alas: I do not own FFXIII or any of its characters. I do own the plot and any original characters mentioned.
It was morning on the fifth day since guests had arrived at the Farron household, but more importantly, it was day one of Lightning's revenge. Lightning woke up earlier than everyone else, creeping quietly through the house because she did not want to wake either Serah or Fang. Her fist bout of revenge involved leaving the house, but she could not afford to wake anyone, including Sazh, so she snuck out, taking the side door which was farthest away from all of the bedrooms and the basement.
After escaping from the house, Lightning trudged through the snow for a while, brushing away her footprints as best she could, before she finally found the main road. Under different circumstances, she would have walked around to the front of the house, but she knew that Fang would somehow look out the window, figure out that she was playing a prank, and find a way to turn it against her. The other woman was far too clever to fool without the utmost precaution, and Lightning refused to allow Fang to best her. For once, she was going to catch the Gran Pulsian warrior off guard.
By the time Lightning made her way through the snow-filled roads and into town, only a few of the many stores had opened. The lights in the shop she wanted to enter were still off when she arrived, so there was no choice but to stand outside of the pet shop, her hands shoved in her pockets and white breath escaping from her shivering form, until the owner of the pet shop arrived.
A while later, an elderly man came to the door, the keys shaking in his hands. He glanced at Lightning with raised brows. "Off to an early start this morning, miss?"
Lightning nodded firmly. "I want to buy a pet."
"Oh?" He raised his brows. "Well, I'm happy to have your business, but we won't be opening up for another hour yet. I'm here early today but none of my workers will be here for a while."
Lightning pursed her lips. "But I've been waiting for almost an hour."
"I'm sorry, miss, but our hours of operation are posted right here on the door." The old man frowned sympathetically. "There's a coffee shop across the street. Maybe you could wait there?"
"No." Lightning shook her head firmly and took a step toward him. "This is an emergency. I have to have the pet right now."
He looked her over with a confused frown. "Why?"
Thinking fast, she explained hastily, "My family celebrates Christmas a few days early. I'm a very punctual person, so I had all of the presents wrapped and prepared by last night-"
"Why do you celebrate early?" He interrupted with a peculiar look.
"My father's work schedule is really strange, so he can never get off the days that he wants," Lightning grumbled, annoyed by the interruption. "Anyway, suddenly last night my little sister started whining about how badly she wanted a pet. I said something that made her think I was going to get her one. Then she was so happy... Now, I have no choice. I have to buy something for her and get it back to my house before she wakes up. We're celebrating this morning."
He sighed wearily. "Well, all right. I guess there's no harm in letting you come in. I don't usually work behind the cash register, but I don't want to ruin your family's Christmas."
Lighting forced a smile that looked partially sincere. "Thank you. My sister will be very happy."
After spending a long time perusing the aisles, Lightning began to grow rather frustrated. She had no idea what she wanted to purchase, because she struggled to think of an animal that could frighten or upset Fang. At first, she had thought that it should be something large and ferocious, but then she remembered Fang telling her that she had been one of the best hunters in her village before she and Vanille had become l'Cie. No matter how many times she thought about it, she could not figure out what sort of animal could frighten a hunter.
"Can I help you find anything?" The elderly shop owner suddenly appeared at her side with a cheerful look on his face. "I've noticed you looking at all of the rats and snakes, but don't you think your sister would like something a little less frightening? Perhaps a puppy or a bird?"
With a shake of her head, Lightning muttered, "Actually, my sister really likes frightening animals."
"Oh, I see." He raised his brows. "Well, I suppose we could look at some of the bigger snakes."
"I already looked at the snakes. Fang won't be afraid of them at all!" Lightning snapped angrily.
The man jumped and furrowed his brows. "So, your sister's name is Fang? That's a peculiar name."
"Yeah. Anyway, my sister Fang really likes frightening animals. I don't think she'll want anything fluffy or cute. What do you have besides snakes?"
He touched his chin in thought before shaking his head. "I really think that the snakes are the most frightening pets that I have. Are you sure your parents will be all right with this?"
Lightning almost let slip that her parents were dead before she remembered the lie that she had told the elderly man. "Yes. I'm sure. They like frightening pets, too. In fact, we all do."
"Oh, okay." He gave her a strange look but smiled. "Well, as I said, I think the snakes are the most frightening pets we have here. Feel free to look at them. If they are not to your liking, there is another pet shop down the street that has some more exotic animals."
"All right, thanks." Lightning sighed.
The elderly man nodded and smiled awkwardly before turning to return to the cash register.
Lightning spent at least half an hour studying each and every snake, and it was only when she was on the brink of giving up that she had a stroke of genius. It was fairly unlikely that Fang was afraid of snakes, but Fang was not the only person who was a part of the equation. Vanille slept in the same bed as Fang, and she was arguably easier to frighten. If she were to stumble upon the snake rather than Fang, there was a high chance that she would at the very least shriek and at most refuse to sleep in that same bed ever again. The implications of that set aside, Fang would also have to get rid of the snake, which could be rather amusing. The only thing to consider was that Fang might bring the snake to the pet shops, which might lead to her realizing that Lightning had played the prank. However, by then it would not likely matter.
Once Lightning had Vanille in mind, it was much less difficult to choose a creature that would frighten her. She purchased the biggest non-poisonous snake in the shop, spending quite a bit of money, and tried to decide whether Vanille would simply scream and run to get Fang or actually pass out from fear. Either way, Lightning would consider upsetting the other woman to be the same as successfully playing a prank on Fang.
After purchasing the giant black snake and a cage, Lightning made the unnecessarily long trek back to her home, trudging through all the snow for a second time and walking into her house through the side door. She was pleased to find that everyone was still asleep because that meant that she would have time to play another small prank that could be very upsetting for Fang.
Without hesitation, for time was of the essence, Lightning raced up the stairs into her room and hid the snake in its cage under her bed. Then she snuck up the attic stairs, crept into Fang and Vanille's bathroom through the door in the hallway, and was especially quiet as she pulled the shower curtain aside. Lightning remained quiet for a while, straining her ears to make sure that neither Fang nor Vanille were awake. Then she tugged the body wash quickly out of the shower and poured half of its contents into the trashcan. After covering up the substance in the trash, Lightning proceeded to pour as much tanning lotion as she could into the half-empty tube. The lotion was meant for people who already had dark skin and would likely turn Fang's skin from its attractive natural tone to a dark orangish horror.
Her mission accomplished, Lightning snuck back out of the bathroom and walked down the stairs into the kitchen. The snake would have to be placed in the room later when neither Gran Pulsian was there, because Lightning could but sure that at least one of them would wake up if she opened their bedroom door.
Feeling rather good about herself because success was imminent, Lightning decided to make omelets for everyone, though she was sure to put particularly disgusting ingredients into Fang's omelet, mostly random bad smelling herbs from Serah's spice cabinet.
After around another hour, everyone began to file down the stairs, and they were each greeted by Lightning seated at the kitchen table with a coffee mug in one hand and a magazine in the other. Serah had been so impressed to find that Lightning had already made breakfast, that she hugged her sister tightly around the neck, causing her to shift uncomfortably in spite of the faint smile that rose to her features.
Lightning felt a little bit guilty when she noticed that Vanille had sat where she had placed Fang's disgusting omelet, but before she had the chance to try to switch their plates, Vanille had already begun eating. The younger of the two Gran Pulsian girls did not seem to notice anything wrong with her breakfast, so with a shrug Lightning excused herself from the table with the excuse that she had to use the bathroom. In truth, it was time for her new pet snake could accidentally escape into Fang and Vanille's bed.
By the time Lightning returned to the kitchen, everyone was cleaning up their dishes and Serah and Vanille were excitedly flipping through one of the bridal magazines. Lightning cleared her throat, attempting to insert herself into the conversation without looking suspicious, though she became distracted when she noticed Fang walking out the front door.
"I think I'll go upstairs to take a shower," Vanille announced suddenly as she stood from the table.
Lightning attempted not to look interested, but she did watch Vanille walk up the stairs out of the corner of her eye. She could not wait to hear the other woman scream, as terrible as it sounded, because she knew that Fang would run up the stairs in panic and discover the snake.
Thirty minutes passed rather quickly, making Lightning wonder if Vanille had entered the bathroom from the hallway instead of going into her room, but she did not have time to investigate because Fang kept walking in and out of the house. When she came back in for the last time, Lightning could no longer contain her curiosity.
"Where were you?" Lightning asked suspiciously.
"Snow found a leak in one of the drains that's causing a lotta ice to form near the walkway," Fang replied absently, shrugging. "We're gonna fix it so no one slips on the driveway."
Lightning opened her mouth to tell Fang that she did not want them to repair anything inside or outside of her house without her permission, but she was distracted by the sound of footsteps on the stairway.
"Did someone lose a snake?" Vanille asked as she walked around the corner.
"What?" Serah looked up at Vanille and shrieked.
Lightning, upon seeing Vanille standing so calmly in the doorway with the snake wrapped around herself, nearly fell out of her chair.
"Fang, are you coming back outside?" Snow walked into the kitchen, but he jumped nearly out of his skin when he spotted the snake. "Whoa! Where did that thing come from?!"
"Don't worry. It's not a dangerous one," Fang exclaimed as she crossed the room to pet the scales on the snake's head.
"How can you just hold it like that?" Serah cried fearfully.
"We had to deal with these buggers all the time during the rainy season," Fang explained with a reminiscent smile. "The matrons would make us carry them to the river, so we're pretty used to 'em."
"They wouldn't let us keep them as pets at the orphanage," Vanille murmured regretfully. "We did play with them a lot when we were little though."
Lightning internally cursed the fact that her prank had clearly failed. "Um, she's mine."
"What?!" Serah gasped in horror. "You've had a snake in the house all this time and you never thought to tell me about it?!"
"I kept her in my room," Lightning argued defensively, crossing her arms. "Besides, I don't see why I should have to tell you anything I don't want to since this is my house."
Serah looked horrified. "How can you keep one of those scary things as a pet?"
"They're not so bad, Serah," Vanille insisted, carrying the snake toward her. "Look!"
"No!" Serah jumped backwards, fear filling her eyes. "Claire, please get rid of that thing!"
"If she bothers you that much, I could always give her away," Lightning mused, since she did not really want to keep the snake.
"I'll take her," Fang exclaimed enthusiastically. "Vanille's always wanted a snake."
"No," Lightning insisted irritably. "After all the pranks you played, you'll be lucky if I even let you stay here until Christmas."
"I'm innocent!" Fang argued, feigning exasperation. For good measure, she added with a faint smirk, "I'm the most innocent girl in the world."
"That title goes to Vanille," Hope interjected as he walked into the kitchen. "Vanille is way more innocent."
"I beg to differ, kiddo," Fang replied, winking at Vanille.
"Fang!" The younger woman protested, blushing faintly.
"Anyway, I'm going outside to fix that drain." Fang glanced at Snow. "You coming?"
"Sure. I'll get my tools."
"Who said either of you could fix the drain?" Lightning stood up. "I'll go fix it. I'm sure Fang would love to break it even more."
"I'm just trying to help, Light," Fang insisted.
"Besides, Claire, you have to get rid of the snake," Serah cried, standing against the wall.
"What's that about a snake?" Sazh asked with a yawn as he walked into the kitchen.
"Oh, cool snake!" Dajh ran up to Vanille. "Can I get one, too?"
"Uh..." Sazh frowned.
"You can have that one if you want," Lightning grumbled, added distractedly as she followed Fang and Snow out of the kitchen, "Her cage is in my room, Vanille."
"You leave her in a cage?" Vanille inquired with a distasteful look. "I'll just let her loose in your room."
"No!" Serah screeched. "Put her in the cage right now!"
Vanille nodded, her eyes wide. "Okay. I'll leave her in the cage."
When the Gran Pulsian girl ran up the stairs with the snake, Dajh followed quickly behind her chattering excitedly about how the snake was his now and he wanted to put the cage in the basement.
Sazh followed behind them, shaking his head. "Lightning just had to offer him the snake."
Xxx
Vanille found herself rather bored while Fang was outside fixing the drain, so she decided to go up to her room and read through some of the books that Serah had lent to her, since she and Fang had not acquired many possessions since the defeat of the fal'Cie and PSICOM. She was just about to plop down on her neatly made bed when there was a knock on the door.
"Just a second," Vanille called out cheerfully before skipping across the room. When she opened the door, a warm smile crossed her features. "Hope. How're you?"
Hope shifted awkwardly on his heels. "I'm okay. You?"
"I'm fine." Vanille giggled lightly. "I'm a little bored though."
Hope smiled awkwardly, looking at his feet. "About what happened yesterday—"
"You don't have to say anything about that," Vanille interrupted nervously. "I actually wanted to apologize. I wish everyone hadn't teased you. What you were doing was completely natural. I just...didn't want to see it."
"You don't think it's gross?" Hope asked hopefully.
Vanille blushed. "Well, I mean..."
"Sorry, that was a really weird question," Hope interrupted hastily. "Um, anyway...do you wanna hang out for a while? I know Fang's outside and you said you were bored..."
"Sure." Vanille smiled. "What d'you wanna do?"
Hope shrugged, still unable to look at her. "I don't know."
"Are you okay?" Vanille furrowed her brows worriedly. "You've looked really depressed lately."
"I am kind of depressed," Hope admitted, nervous tension growing within him as he considered confessing his feelings.
"What's wrong?" Vanille pouted. "I hope I can make you feel better."
"Well, it's just..." Hope was going to tell her, but then he just couldn't. "There's this girl I like, and I really want her to think I'm cool and mature and stuff, since I think she's older than me. She's really pretty and awesome though."
"That's so exciting!" Vanille clapped her hands together.
Hope's eyes widened. "R-Really? You're excited?"
Vanille nodded her head vigorously. "Is she a girl from your classes?"
"Oh. No, n-not really." Hope lowered his eyes, because for a second he had thought that she knew it was her and felt the same way. "I just want her to notice me and think I'm cool, but I'm not cool at all. I'm fourteen-years-old and I haven't even had my first kiss."
"I was fifteen," Vanille replied with a faint smile, placing her hand on his shoulder and squeezing it. "You know, when I was you're age, I felt the same way. No one had ever kissed me, and all the girls in the village made fun of me. I told Fang that I wished I'd had my first kiss, and you know what she told me?"
"What?" Hope asked dryly, nervous about the answer.
"She said first kisses are no big deal." Vanille giggled and retracted her hand. "Fang was wrong though. Her first kiss was a dare or something, not special at all, but mine was like a fairytale."
Hope frowned faintly. "Are you trying to make me feel better?"
Vanille laughed and wrapped her arm around his shoulder. "I'm just trying to say that you shouldn't feel bad, because you should wait for the best first kiss possible."
"Who was Fang's first kiss?" Hope asked curiously. He actually wanted to know who Vanille's first kiss had been, but he was too afraid to ask.
Vanille tapped her finger on her chin as she thought about it, but then she shook her head. "She never told me."
Hope tried to ask who had first kissed Vanille, but he was just too afraid that he knew the answer. "I still just really want an amazing first kiss with the most amazing girl in the world."
Vanille smiled warmly. "That's so sweet."
Hope stared at her for a moment, because she looked so beautiful that he wanted to lean in right at that moment. Unfortunately, a knock on the door caused Vanille to stand up and immediately pull it open.
"Hi, Serah." Vanille smiled brightly. "Do you need something?"
Serah looked flustered by the fact that Hope and Vanille had been sitting on the bed together. "Oh, I just came to take back the body wash I let Fang borrow yesterday. Will she still need it tomorrow?"
"Yep. She's allergic to the wash I bought, but we can go out tonight and get something else if you want yours back."
"Okay, thanks." Serah followed Vanille into the bathroom to retrieve her body wash.
"Thanks for letting her borrow it," Vanille chirped. "Fang really appreciated it."
"You're welcome."
Serah paused in the doorway, frowning as she noticed that Hope was watching her impatiently and waiting for her to leave. Now that she knew how much younger Hope was than Vanille, she was not sure that she wanted him to be spending time alone with Vanille. There was no knowing what things had been like in Fang and Vanille's village, but Serah was willing to be that the rules about who was old enough to be with someone else could be different than things were five hundred years later.
Unwilling to allow any chance of Hope's innocence being destroyed, Serah requested, "Hope, Claire needs your help outside. Why don't you come downstairs with me?"
"Are you sure she needs me right now?" Hope frowned.
"Yes, I'm sure." Serah stood her ground. "Come on."
Hope looked crushed but assured Vanille, "I'll come back later."
"Okay." Vanille waved cheerfully as they left.
xxx
Late in the evening when the games were finally done and the wine had been put away, Fang followed Vanille sleepily up the stairs to the attic. The younger girl glanced over her shoulder several times, a curious look on her face.
"Fang?" Vanille finally asked.
"Yeah?"
Vanille paused in her steps, looking at her. "Who was your first kiss?"
"What's that?" Fang raised her brow, not sure that she had heard her correctly as she placed her hand on her back so that she would keep walking.
As Vanille walked into the bedroom on the third floor, she explained, "You never told me who was your first kiss."
"I never thought it was important." Fang smiled faintly. "Where's this coming from?"
"Hope and I were talking about first kisses today," Vanille replied. "He asked who yours was and I realized I didn't know."
"Hm." Fang smirked faintly. "Did you tell him who yours was?"
Vanille shook her head. "He didn't ask."
"So?" Fang grinned.
"Fang!" Vanille pouted. "Who was it?"
"Does it bother you, not knowing?" Fang asked with a cheeky grin. "After all these years?"
"A little." Vanille looked away.
"Why? Are you jealous?" When Vanille shook her head, Fang added, "You look a little jealous."
"Well, I'm not," Vanille huffed, crossing her arms.
Fang laughed lightly, wrapping her arms around her and resting her cheek against the top of Vanille's head. "Remember Aria?"
"You kissed Aria?!" Vanille gasped in shock. "But she thought we were so gross!"
"Not Aria," Fang laughed lightly. "Her older sister."
"That was you?" Vanille's eyes widened. "Aria told me about that."
"I'm surprised she knew."
Vanille looked at the ground thoughtfully. "Was she good?"
"I dunno." Fang smirked faintly. "Was I good? She's the only one I ever kissed before you."
"I guess she wasn't that good then," Vanille teased.
"Really?" Fang raised her brow playfully, her fingers traveling slowly down Vanille's back. "You didn't seem to have any complaints."
Vanille bit her lip to keep from giggling. "Well, I wasn't gonna say anything. I didn't wanna hurt your feelings."
Fang narrowed her eyes, punishing Vanille by tickling her sides. Vanille squealed in surprise, trying to escape from her, but Fang merely trapped her in her arms.
"If you want me to stop, you'll have to admit that you're lying," Fang sniffed, grinning as she tickled her sides a little more gently.
"But you always win," Vanille protested. "It's not fair."
Fang smiled, since it did not actually matter since Vanille was just teasing. "Fine. You can win, but I know you're lying."
Vanille grinned up at her, standing on her toes and wrapping her arms around her neck to pull her closer. Fang leaned into her, capturing her lips in passionate kiss that augmented until they were stumbling toward the bed, still quite attached to each other.
As Fang guided Vanille gently back against the pillows and began to kiss her neck, the younger woman giggled, "Lightning said nothing inappropriate in her house."
Fang laughed against Vanille's collar bone. "That didn't stop us last night."
Vanille's giggle turned promptly to a moan at the swift motion of Fang's fingers dipping beneath her shirt.
Xxx
On the other side of the house and down one floor, Serah decided that she would take a quick shower before bed. She had had such a long day that she took her time, generously applying body wash as she scrubbed away all of the troubles and stress of planning a wedding. Even after she was finished, she remained within the stream of warm water and relaxing steam for almost half an hour.
When she was finally finished, Serah climbed out of the shower and wiped the condensation away from the mirror so that she could comb her hair. However, upon seeing her reflection, she froze for a moment, completely paralyzed. Then she screamed loudly, because her skin had turned a blotchy orange color. At first, she thought she had somehow been responsible, using some kind of poisonous combination of soap and shampoo, but then she remembered that Fang had been the last person to use her body wash.
She promptly saw red.
Serah immediately stormed out of the bathroom, the state of her skin eliciting a gasp of shock from Snow, and flew up the attic stairs. When she reached Fang and Vanille's door, she pounded angrily against it, shouting for Fang to wake up.
Eventually, the door opened, revealing Fang wearing nothing but a baggy t-shirt that was wrinkled in a way that suggested she had just thrown it on. Her eyes were bleary, proving that she had been asleep, but she snapped out of it rather quickly at the sight of Serah's skin.
"What happened to you?" Fang gasped.
"You tell me!" Serah shrieked, her eyes practically glowing with anger. "Fang, I really believed that you didn't play any of those pranks, but now I know that it was you. I can't believe you would do this to me. Will this even come out of my skin!?"
"Calm down," Fang commanded, narrowing her eyes. "I didn't do anything."
"You call this not doing anything?" Serah shouted angrily.
"What's going on?" Vanille asked groggily, rubbing her eyes with one hand as she came to the door. Her other hand held one of the bed sheets securely around her, but the bare skin of her legs and shoulders showed.
Serah's eyes widened as she looked between them and momentarily forgot her anger. "Oh."
"What's going on?" Vanille yawned as she moved closer to Fang. "I'm really sleepy."
Fang offered a faint smile, wrapping her arm around Vanille and running her fingers back and forth over Vanille's bare shoulder. "Go back to bed. We're just talking."
"But people were yelling," Vanille insisted as she rubbed her eyes. Then she squinted at Serah and gasped in shock. "Serah, what happened to you?"
"Ask her!" Serah cried, pointing at Fang as tears began to pour down her face.
Vanille covered her mouth in horror before glancing at Fang. "Did you do that?"
"I didn't," Fang insisted, squeezing her arm gently. "I swear."
Vanille shook her head, looking back at Serah. "Fang never lies to me about her pranks. Even if she does, I can always tell."
"What's going on up here?" Lightning's voice suddenly drifted up the stairs.
"Oh, Claire," Serah cried, "it's terrible."
Lightning came up the stairs and her eyes widened when she saw what had happened to her sister. "Serah—what—how did this happen?!"
"I don't know." Serah hung her head as Snow wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "I let Fang borrow my body wash, but she said she didn't do this and Vanille believes her. I don't know what to think. I look like a monster."
Lightning felt rather guilty, but she had no choice but to accuse Fang because she could not let her sister found out that she had actually done it. So, glaring coldly, she stomped toward Fang. "What did you do?!"
"I didn't do anything," Fang insisted as she released Vanille and stepped slightly in front of her as though to keep her out of Lightning's path.
"If you play one more prank in this house, I swear I will kill you," Lightning snapped, crossing her arms. "There's no one else in this house with such a cruel sense of humor, so I know it was you. You can apologize to everyone else for all the other pranks you played in the morning, and you are paying for my sink to be repaired."
"I didn't do anything," Fang told her angrily, "and I had nothing to do with what happened to Serah. I used the same body wash this morning and nothing happened to me."
"Right, you haven't done anything," Lightning grumbled before turning around and took her sister by the arm. "Come on. We'll find a way to get that out."
Serah glanced tearfully over her shoulder at Fang, and Snow crossed his arms, criticizing, "That was really cruel, Fang."
As she watched them go, Fang glanced over her shoulder at Vanille. "You believe it wasn't me, right? I told you I'd stop, and I did."
Vanille nodded sleepily, closing the door and tugging on Fang's arm. "In the morning I'll make something to get the dye out of her skin and she'll forgive you."
Upon hearing that, Fang wondered if Vanille really did believe her, but she decided not to ask as she followed her back to bed. As Vanille curled into her arms, Fang mused that it was a bit ironic that she was blamed for all the other pranks because of one prank for which she was not responsible. Thoughts of who could have framed her and who had the motive to do so led to only one conclusion.
It was either Hope or Lighting.
