Clouds massed blackly across the Pulsian skies, casting an ominous shadow that set the entire party on edge. The air seemed to crackle with something oppressive and dark that welled in their chests and settled there, a trembling pressure.
"Storm's coming," Fang said conversationally, when they woke to the sky cloaked in angry grey, the sun nowhere to be seen. Lightning and Vanille were already awake, the former standing despondently in the mouth of the tunnel down to the springs, whilst Vanille stood and looked out over the land, eyeing the sunless sky with mistrust. The heat, however, was blistering; as they beat a path across the Sulyaa Springs, Lightning even deigned unzip her sweater slightly, her hair sticking to her face. Even the air she breathed in seemed tepid and heavy, settling uncomfortably in the bottom of her lungs and pooling there, suffocating. Despite the "bath" she'd taken earlier in the morning, she already felt sticky and unclean again.
"It'll be cooler in the tunnels," Vanille said sympathetically, walking at her side. Lightning threw a sidelong glance at the redhead; she seemed to be suffering considerably less than Lightning, the heat barely even raising a glow to her fair skin. Lightning supposed she was used to the heat. She stopped herself turning to see how Fang was faring, just barely. Vanille giggled.
"What?" Lightning demanded, furrowing her brow. Vanille reached up and touched Lightning's bangs, taking her by surprise.
"Your hair's standing on end," she said, covering her mouth demurely as she laughed whilst Lightning tried frantically to flatten the flyaways caught in the breeze. Vanille looked up through her lashes at Lightning strangely, with an expression she couldn't quite place. Somewhere between happy, sad and curious all at once. It was odd and uniquely childlike in just how unsettled it left her as Vanille combed her fingers through her pigtails and skipped off to join Hope. Lightning's thoughts simmered with quiet confusion. What the hell did I walk into? she asked herself, internally cursing herself for letting Fang kiss her, cursing Fang for kissing her in the first place, cursing Vanille for being so damn mysterious about whatever it was she wanted, and cursing Snow, just for the hell of it. It was easier if she mostly cursed Fang; the gnawing knowledge that she'd wanted that kiss, encouraged it even, flooded her with a dizzying guilt she really didn't need whilst trying to deal with the predatory inhabitants of Pulse, Fang as well as the monsters. Her thoughts swam in dizzy circles somewhere in the pit of her stomach, nauseating. Even as they hacked their way through a few path-blocking monsters, Lightning's mind was elsewhere. She barely even spared a glance for the glowing moss she'd silently admired so much on their first trip to Oerba. In fact, she was so distracted, she didn't even notice when they unanimously decided to pause in the Flower Filled Fissure for a brief rest before proceeding into the dark mouth of the Subterra. It yawned menacingly, black copper, breathing a cold, dead air onto their faces as they paused at the opening. Lightning peered into the darkness to no avail.
"S'pretty deep," Sazh said, gesturing toward the tunnel. "First time we came through when Snow and I did a lil scouting, we weren't able to map much beyond the path we stuck to. So it's best we rest now rather than getting lost and coming up short in there."
The party murmured in agreement and instantly settled on the grass, cleaning off the blood and bits of foliage their weapons had accumulated and fishing out waterskins from their packs. Hope and Vanille sat down on the cliff's edge, dangling their legs over the abyss below. Lightning guessed Vanille was pointing out all the different flora and fauna that inhabited this particular area of Pulse; during their journey, she'd become the group's personal encyclopedia, and whilst her information wasn't always particularly necessary, it was both useful and pleasant to have something of a tour guide. Sazh and Snow reclined against some rocks, keeping watchful eyes on the sky and muttering darkly about the weather and bad omens like a pair of old women. Fang, of course, scrambled up the rocks to the highest point possible where she immediately threw herself down into the grass. Lightning neatly leaped up to follow her, setting her jaw grimly, trying to ignore the way her heart seemed to skip slightly in her chest when she noticed how lovely Fang looked, lying in the bed of tiny white flowers. There was a small break in the clouds, just enough for an intense golden fount of sunlight to spill through and settle on Fang's skin, turning her honey coloured.
"Explain something to me," Lightning began hotly, standing over Fang as she lay on her back, sunning herself.
"Anythin', Princess," Fang replied, shielding her eyes from the sun to meet Lightning's fierce, cerulean gaze. Lightning resisted the urge to kick her in the face.
"What is this? What are we even doing here?" she asked, struggling to keep from raising her voice. "Whatever's going on between you and Vanille, don't make me part of it."
That made Fang sit up, the relaxed, mocking smirk vanishing rapidly. Lightning tried not to notice the way her muscles tautened beneath her bronze skin, her sari sliding down slightly.
"If you don't know what you're talkin' about, it's best you keep your mouth shut," Fang growled in response, getting her feet. "Nobody's makin' you part of anything."
"You made me part of whatever weird stuff is going on between you two the moment you kissed me," Lightning replied, bristling. She crossed her arms. The sunlight faded as the cloud closed over again.
"Sweetheart, I did you a favour," Fang replied, stepping forward, squaring up against Lightning. "And if I remember correctly, you weren't exactly resistant."
Lightning refused to back down, again thankful that she was not prone to blushing otherwise she may have flushed at their sudden closeness. Her heart pounded in her chest as she gazed into Fang's eyes, aching at the hardness in the huntress's gaze but at the same time boiling with her own quiet, barely suppressed rage. They were so close they were almost touching, Lightning full of resentment at the warmth that flooded her when she met Fang's eyes. The tension between them seemed to crackle, tangible and searing. For a moment, the rest of the world seemed to fall away. Lightning was just barely clinging to the last threads of dignity she had, refraining from drawing her weapon and knocking Fang into the dust. There was a beat between them, and suddenly Fang's expression softened. Lightning's rage vanished more out of sheer surprise than anything else as Fang raised her hands apologetically. Lightning watched her warily, keeping her arms folded across her chest defensively.
"I'm sorry," she said sincerely, looking away. "The deal with Vanille and me... S'complicated."
"I'm a smart girl," Lightning replied tonelessly, letting her arms fall to her side. It felt strange, to be standing so close, just talking, the sharp, metallic tang of rage still quivering in the air.
"Nah, nah," Fang waved away her curiosity. "Just... take it from me, you're not part of this. What happened... I was just foolin' around, I wasn't trying to get my own back on Vanille or anythin'."
"I see," Lightning responded tentatively, appraising Fang with slight suspicion. "But she spoke to me at the Springs this morning, she said it's okay to be lonely, whatever that means."
"Yeah, that's the thing," Fang said awkwardly, looking away and running her hand through her hair. "Vanille says she's fine, but I think she thinks I'm trying to get back at her or something."
"Or something? I'd imagine that's exactly what she's thinking," Lightning replied, one brow raised.
"I love Vanille, don't ever doubt it, I will love her until this world dies and I'll love her again in the next," Fang said passionately. "But by the gods, she can be a real pain in the arse about stuff like this. Doesn't much like to say how she feels, Vanille."
Fang groaned theatrically and sank onto the ground, tilting her head back and stretching, frustration etched in every line of her body. Lightning had always marvelled at the way Fang managed to make every part of her body reflect her feelings.
"Fang," Lightning said with a light, enquiring tone. Fang looked up hopefully.
"Yeah?"
"Have you ever met a woman?" Lightning continued, trying not to smile at the way Fang looked utterly crestfallen the moment she realised Lightning was being facetious.
"Met more than you probably," Fang scoffed, folding her arms.
"Idea; shut up for a minute and listen," Lightning replied, sitting down beside her. Moments ago, she'd been infuriated, humiliated, seething. But something about Fang's faltering bravado, about the total look of loss in her eyes stayed her hand and lent her a new view on her companion.
"Alright wise one, regale me with your wonderful wisdom of womanly wiles," Fang drawled, rolling her eyes, though she glanced back cautiously to make sure she wasn't pushing it.
"You're both idiots," Lightning said decisively. At that moment, the black sky suddenly spiderwebbed with cracks of blinding light as lightning sprawled across the heavens and an impossibly heavy rain began sheeting down in a thick, opaque curtain. Almost instantly, they were soaked to the skin. The rain was warm, and Lightning was too surprised by the sudden downpour to respond, instead staring dumbly up into the sky. Hope, Vanille, Sazh and Snow immediately beat a hasty retreat into the opening of the tunnel. From where she stood, Lightning could hear her name being called, muffled by the rain and the sudden ferocious wind that came with it. She paused, turning to look at Fang, who was watching her quizzically with her arms folded, seemingly oblivious to the fact they were both getting utterly drenched.
"You wanna stand here in the pissin' rain all day, or are we gonna make nice and go take shelter with the rest of 'em?" Fang asked, quirking a brow.
"We clearly have some stuff to talk about, but now isn't the place to do it," Lightning conceded grudgingly. "Despite my name, I don't much wanna be a walking lightning rod up here, we should head down to cover."
Fang nodded, and extended her hand to help lead Lightning back down over the rocks.
"What a gentleman," Lightning said drily as she accepted the offer, trying not to let her voice break when she felt Fang's hand in hers. Fang winked at her, leading her back down over the wet rocks with lazy confidence. Lightning really didn't need her assistance, but she accepted anyway, telling herself it was out of an effort to be friendlier rather than simply because she wanted Fang to touch her again. It took her a few seconds to realise they'd reached solid ground, and she dropped Fang's hand as though it had scalded her.
"Always so shy," Fang chuckled as they walked toward the tunnel the rest of the group were taking refuge in. Not too shy to punch you in the face again, Lightning replied internally, trying to look unassuming as they wandered into the tunnel together. Not to shy to kiss you so hard it burned.
"Come sit by the fire you two," Sazh said, gesturing for them to come closer to the little fire he'd got going on the stone floor. For once, Lightning ignored her instinct to hang back and lean against the wall, and instead chose to come sit on the floor amongst the party. As she did so, she considered that perhaps internally referring to them as "her party" all the time was innaccurate; they'd truly become friends to her. However, her thoughts immediately took their leave as Fang unwound her sari and hung it over a protruding piece of rock to dry. Lightning tried not to look, though all the muscles in her stomach clenched. Vanille giggled at the group averting their eyes.
"You Cocoon people can be so... prudish. She's still got clothes on underneath, y'know," she said, shoving Lightning by the shoulder gently, laughing at the flush rushing to her cheeks. Lightning sighed deeply. No, her focus would not be the decider of her fate. She already knew her "friends" would be the death of her.
The deeper they went into the tunnels, the more unbearably warm it got, as though they were walking through the veins of the world down into the earth. Lightning supposed the heat was generated by Atomos, the huge tunnelling fal'Cie responsible for the creation of the Subterra; every time he screeched past them in one of the deep channels he used for navigation, it got a few degrees hotter. Sweat beaded on everybody's forehead, their clothes sticking to them, the air clinging to their bodies in a sheen of damp heat. They trekked all the way an area Vanille told them was called The Maw Of The Abyss, where Hope excitedly pointed out the Cie'th Stone he'd found. Thank Etro, Lightning thought; the heat was suffocating. They slowly began to make their way to their new destination; Taejin's Tower. None of the group particularly savoured the notion of returning to the collapsing spire where even the air tasted dead and the wind filled your hair with Oerban crystal. As far as Lightning was concerned, it was the crystalline tombstone upon which Oerba's grey and grim epitaph was etched, a shattered spear jutting into the sky as an eternal warning; no life beyond this point. She shivered slightly in spite of the heat, the sweat suddenly cooling on her skin.
"Time for another trip back home then," said Fang with a hollow laugh. Vanille glanced at her, wounded, and turned away as Fang simply shrugged in response. Lightning looked away; the hurt was still hot beneath the surface in both of them and it raised a burning behind her eyes. She wasn't quite sure why it hurt her so much to say them fight, but guilt gnawed at her somewhere behind her ribcage. As they beat a grim retreat back out of the Subterra, Fang fell into step beside her.
"Stop worryin'," Fang murmured next to her. "Nothin' to do with you."
Lightning raised her brows at her and refrained from answering. Talk was limited as they slowly tread back through the tunnels and out into the rain once again. The entire time they walked, Lightning tried to focus on anything other than the desperate desire to kiss Fang again that pervaded her entire being.
"Didn't even have time to dry out," Fang muttered, flicking at her sari peevishly. There was a small burble of agreement as they stepped out into the rain, a collective shudder spreading through the group as the rain immediately permeated their clothing and struck their skin.
"We're gonna need to set up camp again," Snow groaned. He tapped his arm. "Glad our countdown timers have paused for a little while, otherwise we'd all be Cie'th at this rate."
They settled in the passageway to the Sulyya Springs, opting for the shelter over the comfort of their previous encampment up on the Skyreach.
"Light, come and do a sweep with me," Fang said brightly, though there was a strange falseness in her voice.
"Yeah, you guys go sweep. We'll knock up something to eat," Sazh assured them, waving them away. Lightning nodded mutely and followed Fang along the passageway stiffly, waiting until they were out of earshot and sight of the group before she relaxed. Even in the narrow stone tunnel, the sound of the ferocious rain outside could still be heard. Lightning glanced at Fang. For a moment, their eyes met, and they both hurriedly looked away. Lightning cleared her throat. They halted, Fang awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. Lightning's heart hammered against the walls of her chest with an astounding strength.
"So uh..." Fang began. "What do we do now-"
"Shut up," Lightning said, slamming the taller woman against the wall and silencing her with a kiss that stole the breath from her lungs. Fang didn't even resist, her hands finding their way into Lightning's hair, breaking the kiss to take a shuddering breath. Their eyes locked and there was a silent moment of understanding. There was a strange tenderness as Lightning tentatively raised a hand to touch Fang's jaw, her breath hitching as Fang's eyelashes fluttered and she moaned softly into Lightning's touch.
"This is going to happen whether we like it or not, isn't it?" Lightning whispered.
"Well I can't speak for you, but I like it," Fang breathed back, smiling. "But Vanille-"
"Don't think about it," Lightning told her, kissing her again. They broke apart, laughing nervously, and stood, unsure of how to proceed for a moment.
"Look, we can't just... keep doin' this," Fang said, as Lightning began to walk ahead.
"Are we doing a sweep or not," Lightning asked tonelessly, though she turned to offer a reassuring smile at Fang who opened her mouth to speak, thought the better of it, and closed it again with a slight frown, following Lightning with a sigh. Lightning stretched, focusing on the sound of the rain. Well Vanille, she thought sourly. I'm taking your advice. We'll face it later. For now, what happens, happens. You can't stop life anymore than you can stop the rain.