Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any of the Final Fantasy games or characters.

Wow! You guys are incredible. Here I go!


Approaching the bow of the ship, Lightning spotted Vanille almost immediately and paused before making her presence known. She couldn't help but admire the way the sea breeze gently tousled Vanille's bangs. The midday sun reflected in the bright green eyes that stared out at the ocean in front of her and Lightning watched them carefully to try and read the emotions underneath.

She couldn't even begin to imagine what this woman was feeling at the moment. She had requested to stop in Kilika on their way to Luca and Lightning couldn't help but wonder why. The red head had opened up to her about her former home; revealing how she hadn't been back in ten years…since the monster, Sin, had destroyed her home and killed her family. Why would she go back after all this time and put herself through this heartache?

Past the red head, Lightning could already make out land in the distance. Even though Vanille had told her that Kilika was only a short trip away, Lightning was still surprised at how quickly they were approaching. Finally deciding to make her presence known, Lightning stepped forward towards the shorter woman. Vanille must have heard her coming nearer because she turned her head to the side, glancing over her shoulder.

Upon being graced with a glimpse of Vanille's green eyes, Lightning's heart sped up and that familiar feeling in her chest returned. She was long past trying to quash this feeling. Instead, she would follow it for as long as she could even across a world that didn't seem like her own.

"Hey," Lightning spoke as she stepped up closer behind Vanille. Her eyes scanned the horizon, hesitant to look into those eyes again because of the feelings they seemed to evoke in her.

"Hey," Vanille's soft voice replied, giving her a half-hearted smile. Lightning turned her full attention to the woman beside her. She was starting to realize that she was a person that wasn't very good with other people, but being around Vanille felt different. She felt at ease and a need to be near this woman.

"Are you okay?" Lighting asked quietly after a moment's pause. Vanille looked back up at her and gave her an unconvincing shrug of her shoulder.

"I'm just nervous about going back, that's all," Vanille's usually light voice had a tinge of sadness to it and Lightning's heart ached for her.

Lightning wasn't sure how to respond. Was there something or someone in Kilika that she didn't want to see? But then why did she ask to stop here? It was obvious that there was something else about going to Kilika that was bothering the red head, but Lightning could sense that it wasn't something Vanille wanted to discuss.

Her eyes drifted ahead and she could see that the island was much closer now. Turning her attention back to the woman beside her, Lightning felt her heart clench slightly in her chest. As they neared Kilika, Vanille became more and more visibly nervous; she was biting her lip and her knuckles were white as they gripped the rope barrier in front of her.

Without really thinking about it Lightning reached out her own hand and covered Vanille's, hoping to comfort the other woman in any way she could. She felt Vanille's hand slowly relax under hers and the red head turned her green eyes to her with a small smile before continuing to stare out at their destination.


She had no idea how long they stood like that but at some point the ship had docked and Lightning gently got her attention. Vanille followed her across the ship and down to the ramp. The pink-haired woman stepped off the ship and onto the wooden dock before turning to help her.

It wasn't really necessary but Vanille accepted the other woman's hand anyway, enjoying the feeling of Lightning's steady strength. It was a comforting feeling. Somewhat against her will she released Lightning's hand and looked around, scanning the village with her eyes. What she saw brightened her mood significantly.

Already, the villagers had almost completely rebuilt the maze of wooden platforms that made up the village of Kilika. The circular frames of people's homes were going up and all around them was a frenzy of activity as villager's worked to rebuild.

Lightning stepped up beside her once again and blue eyes gazed around at the new, and presumably unfamiliar, environment. Vanille covertly watched the other woman's face but as she expected, there was no recognition in those eyes. Vanille knew that Kilika wasn't Lightning's home but she couldn't help but hope that something about the place might jog her memory.

They stepped forward, making their way down the dock and almost immediately the villagers noticed their presence. All around them people stopped what they were doing to stare at them, unabashedly. While Vanille could feel their eyes on her as well she had a feeling that Lightning was the one attracting the majority of the attention.

Her heavy, military-grade boots thumped against the wooden boards as they walked and her sleeveless trench coat and cape didn't exactly make her inconspicuous either in the sea of scantily clad villagers. The stares didn't seem to faze the pink haired woman though as she glanced around at her surroundings while they walked.

"Vanille?" a distinctly male voice caused Vanille to stop her in her tracks. She knew that voice…She turned to see who the owner of the voice was and her eyes were greeted by a dark haired man, dressed in a dark short-sleeve shirt and billowing blue pants.

Narrowing her eyes, Vanille thought she recognized him, but no…it couldn't be…could it? He had the same blue eyes and dark hair… but he was all grown up, but then again so was she.

"Noel?" she spoke, unsure if it really was her childhood friend. His face split into a wide grin and he closed the distance between them in a few strides, sweeping his arms around her in a friendly embrace. She felt her feet leave the ground for a moment before Noel set her down and leaned back to hold her at arm's length.

"I knew it was you! Couldn't forget that red hair of yours. What are you doing here?" Noel spoke in an excited rush, his blue eyes bright with happiness and Vanille knew hers reflected the same.

It had been so long since she had seen him, but she was unsure of what to say. They had grown up together in the orphanage and she hadn't spoken to him in years. Briefly looking over at the woman next to her, she couldn't help but notice the way Lightning's hand rested on the hilt of her gunblade, cautiously eyeing the man in front of her.

Lightning eyes met hers briefly, and Vanille tried to convey to her that there was nothing to worry about. It must have worked somewhat because the pink-haired woman visibly relaxed, letting her hand slide from her weapon. It flattered her that this woman felt the need to protect her but it wasn't necessary in this case. Turning her attention back to the man in front of her, Vanille tried to ignore the pounding of her heart from the intense gaze she just shared with the other woman.

"We're on our way to Luca. We thought we would stop by and help out here," Vanille replied cryptically after an elongated pause. Noel seemed to have the good sense not to press the matter but instead just turned his attention to Lightning for the first time.

"Well, all help is welcome…Noel Kreiss, nice to meet you," he held his hand out to the woman next to her and Vanille gazed sideways to see Lightning's reaction. With minor hesitation the stoic woman politely accepted his offered hand.

"Lightning," she replied simply with a slight nod of her head in recognition. Noel gave her a friendly smile despite her aloofness before turning his attention back to Vanille.

"Fang know you're here?" Noel asked and all of the nervousness she had felt earlier came back with a vengeance. Vanille could feel her heart sink into the pit of her stomach. Fang. She had known coming back to Kilika meant having to face Fang. It had been almost ten years now… surely Fang couldn't still be mad at her for leaving.

"Now she does."


Lightning's head snapped towards the direction of another woman's voice and her eyes were met with a tall brunette. The woman was draped in a shiny blue fabric with a large tribal tattoo on her upper left arm. She was holding some kind of spear or lance over her shoulders with her arms draped lazily over it.

Almost automatically her hand drifted back to the handle of her gunblade just in case. Lightning glanced over at Vanille out of the corner of her eyes and she could see the recognition on the red head's face. But there was something else in the woman's green eyes… fear? Apprehension? Whatever it was, Lightning had already decided that she didn't like this woman, so she edged in front of Vanille protectively.

The woman in front of her had been staring intensely at Vanille but her eyes drifted to Lightning's at her movement. The woman gave her an amused smirk and a derisive snort before swinging her weapon onto her back and folding her arms across her chest. The woman's action did nothing to convince her she should lower her guard, but Vanille was a different story.

Gentle fingers curled around her bare forearm and she immediately turned her attention to the smaller woman next to her. Vanille's green eyes were soft and with a simple look she was convinced that there was no immediate danger so she relaxed her tensed muscles slightly. Something was still bothering Vanille so she refused to let her guard down entirely.

Vanille stepped up beside her once again and looked nervously up at the imposing woman in front of them.

"Fang…," her soft voice was just above a whisper and there was a slight edge of guilt to it. It was obvious that these two had some kind of history and Lightning couldn't help but be curious about what it was.

"Vanille," the woman replied shortly, staring the red head down. Their accents were almost identical yet their voices couldn't be more different. Vanille's voice was light and friendly while this woman's was deep and harsh. Lightning wondered briefly why Noel didn't have a similar accent and made a mental note to ask Vanille about it later.

"Can you believe it?" Noel seemed to sense the awkwardness and tried to lighten the mood a little, throwing an arm over Vanille's shoulder. Lightning knew that it was merely a friendly gesture but she couldn't help the sting of jealousy that coursed through her, but she quickly pushed it to the side.

"No, I can't believe it actually. You left in such a hurry that I didn't think you were coming back," there was an edge to Fang's voice and Lightning could almost see Vanille flinch as if she was being scolded.

How dare she make Vanille feel this way? She could feel her anger rising but this was Vanille's home and these were her "friends" so she pushed her feelings aside; something she was good at.

"They're on their way to Luca and thought they would stop by and help out," Noel was doing his best to diffuse the tension but it wasn't working in the slightest.

"How generous. And who is this?" sarcasm dripped from every syllable that left Fang's lips as she turned her eyes to Lightning once again. Her dark eyes seemed to challenge her but Lightning refused to take the bait.

"Lightning," she replied simply and without hesitation. It had been a very short amount time but she already felt like she had fully adopted the name Vanille had given her.

Fang gave her a curt nod of her head but said nothing as she turned her attention back to Vanille. Her body language told Lightning everything she needed to know though.

"Uhm so you said you wanted to help? There's a dock that I could use some help with over there," Noel addressed her and for a moment she completely ignored him. It was easy to tell that Fang and Vanille needed to have some privacy to work through whatever was going on between them, but the last thing Lightning wanted to do was leave the red head with this woman.

She turned to Vanille to search her eyes for guidance. The woman looking back at her gave her a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes and a slight nod of her head. Lightning wasn't quite convinced but allowed herself to be led away from Vanille.


Vanille's heart was still pounding in her chest from the look in Lightning's ice blue eyes as she watched the pink-haired woman walking away.

Part of her hadn't wanted Lightning to leave her there with Fang, not because she was afraid of Fang, but because she was not looking forward to the conversation they were going to have and she wanted to avoid it as long as possible.

"So, what made you come back?" Fang was never one to beat around the bush and Vanille turned her attention to focus on the woman beside her.

"Me and Lightning were on our way to Luca and-," Vanille repeated but Fang cut her off quickly with a violent shake of her head.

"No. I know this isn't the first time you've gone to Luca in the last ten years. Why come back here now? After all this time?" Fang's voice increased in both pitch and volume. She was obviously upset and Vanille couldn't really blame her. She had really brought this on herself for leaving the way she did.

Vanille sighed and averted her eyes from her former friend. This was what she had been afraid of when she decided to come back here, but it had to be done. After everything that had happened with Lightning in the last week or so she felt guilty. Guilty that she had a home and she did her best to run away from it while Lightning was doing everything in her power to return to a home she couldn't even remember.

"I needed to see if Kilika was still home," Vanille replied after a moment. She was surprised by her own honesty. Back when she lived here, and she and Fang were best friends at the orphanage, Vanille always kind of just followed whatever the other woman said. Fang was more of a leader than she would ever be, but the things were different now. She was different.

Taking a few steps, Vanille approached the edge of the dock and removed her boots before sitting down unceremoniously. It was high tide so her feet were completely submerged in the warm water and it almost immediately made her feel more grounded.

She could hear Fang step closer and a moment later the taller woman sat down beside her, her sandaled feet in the water up to her mid-calf.

"Well, is it?" Fang questioned lightly, her voice losing its former edge. Vanille glanced over to her at her words and she could see that the other woman's dark eyes had softened as well.

Vanille toyed with her next words. The answer had come to her automatically but she debated whether she should be honest or not. She had already hurt Fang by being deceptive in the past, so lying didn't seem like the best idea.

"No… I didn't think it would be though," Vanille admitted, turning her eyes back to the water in front of her. Kilika and Besaid were similar in many ways but there was just something about Besaid that made her feel like she belonged there instead of here.

Fang seemed to accept her answer but her next words came more forcefully than Vanille expected,

"Why didn't you say good-bye?"

There it was. Vanille was surprised she waited that long to bring this up.

"If I had said 'good-bye' would you have let me leave?" Vanille countered, trying to convey to Fang what she was feeling. What she had felt over ten years ago. The other woman's eye brows lifted in surprise and Vanille knew that Fang wasn't used to being challenged by her.

After a moment Fang's eyes drifted away from hers and a smirk graced her lips as she shook her head humorlessly.

"You have a point there…," Fang admitted finally glancing back at her again. Vanille had a feeling that she had something else to say so she remained quiet. Her hunch was right and Fang's voice broke the silence after a moment.

"You know… I was upset with you for a really long time, Vanille... To know my best friend in the whole world... the only person I had left...would just up and leave me...," Fang revealed as she lazily leaned back, supporting herself on her arms on the wooden planks. She was doing her best to appear nonchalant but Vanille could read her old friend like a book. A part of her still hurt from what Vanille did to her. A sharp pain pierced through her at the woman's words; she had never intended to hurt anyone, especially not Fang.

"I understand now that we just needed to heal in different ways," she finished, staring into Vanille's eyes with sincereity. Fang didn't need to elaborate. They both knew what Sin had taken from each of them. It was just something that Vanille couldn't heal from in Kilika whereas Fang couldn't anywhere else.

"Fang…," Vanille knew that she didn't have to explain why she was grateful for the other woman's words. She could feel tears prick the back of her eyelids but she blinked them away the best she could. The brunette gave her a genuine smile this time which Vanille returned happily. All of the nervousness and dread she had felt coming back here seemed to vanish with that simple smile.

"So… who is that Lightning woman?" Fang asked after a moment's pause, trying to lighten the mood and Vanille's head snapped to the other woman in surprise. She was greeted with a teasing smile from the brunette woman and Vanille could feel a blush creeping up her neck; there was no doubt what Fang was implying.

"She…uh, well…," Vanille wasn't really sure how to explain and Fang's confused look compelled her to explain a little further. So, she spent the better part of a half an hour telling Fang all about how she had found Lightning on the shores of Besaid and her memory loss. She told her about the wounds Lightning was found with and how they saved Vidina in the storm and everything else in between.

Fang listened quietly as she spoke, not interrupting once and when Vanille finished she sat up so suddenly that it startled her somewhat. She could feel the change in the other woman's mood and Vanille wasn't sure she liked it.

"So, you're going to follow her around Spira like a lost little puppy?" Fang asked her incredulously. There was a slight edge to her voice and Vanille was struck by the sudden change in the tone of the conversation once again.

"I promised to help her find her home," Vanille told her defiantly. She knew that Fang was just trying to protect her… that's what she always did when they were kids, but they weren't kids anymore and Vanille wasn't having it. Not this time.

"What are you going to do when she finds where she belongs? You think she is going to just keep you around?" Fang continued, seemingly ignoring Vanille's anger.

Fire rose up in her chest and Vanille lifted her legs out of the water. She stood quickly up from the dock and angrily threw her boots back onto her dripping feet. She could practically hear her elevated pulse pounding in her ears, drowning out everything. Just as she was starting to walk away the brunette jumped up after her and grabbed Vanille's arm to stop her. Vanille turned around fiercely, preparing to chew Fang out, but the taller woman spoke first.

"Hey, I'm sorry… I shouldn't have said that. Old habits die hard," Fang backtracked, pleading with her eyes for Vanille's forgiveness. Sighing, Vanille knew it was impossible to be mad at Fang especially since she had been the one looking for forgiveness a mere few moments ago.

"No worries," Vanille replied quietly. The truth was that Fang had hit on a nerve that she had been trying to ignore since she had realized her feelings for Lightning. As the pink-haired woman drifted to the forefront of her thoughts, Vanille scanned the docks to see if she could catch a glimpse of her. As was becoming the norm, Vanille's heart skipped a beat when her eyes finally found Lightning in the distance. She looked so out of place with her military-like uniform and cape as she kneeled on the docks, hammering boards into place.

Warmth spread through her chest as she continued to stare at the strong woman. She really was beautiful. Even from this distance she could see how her pink bangs framed her pale face and accentuated her strong jaw. The sleeveless coat she wore revealed her the muscles in her arms as she worked. All she could think about was how to get those arms wrapped around her again. She was so distracted that a light jab at her arm from Fang made her jump a little.

"That bad, huh?" Fang teased, folding her arms across her chest and shaking her head in mock dismay. Vanille could feel her cheeks and neck warm in embarrassment and she quickly turned her head to hide it. The truth was she was still a little upset about Fang's earlier words, but she did her best to push her feelings aside though.

"Go ahead then. You two can stay at the temple. You remember the way, right? I've got some things to take care of but I'll come check on you later," Fang sighed and gave Vanille a look she couldn't quite read. She had a feeling that Fang still wasn't a fan of this mysterious woman but Vanille didn't really care.


Lightning wiped the sweat from her brow with the back of her hand as she straightened up. There was a lot more to rebuild here than there had been in Besaid, but there were also a lot more villagers to help out. Things seemed to be coming together quickly, but she had no idea how these people could do this time and time again. Rebuilding, only to have it destroyed every time. Homes wiped out... families broken... so much pain... This is what Vanille has had to live through.

Standing up completely, Lightning scanned the village until her eyes came to rest on Vanille's familiar red hair. She was somewhat surprised to see that she was making her way towards her.

Her heart beat increased as Vanille neared, a feeling that was becoming all too familiar to her. Concern quickly replaced whatever feelings she was having because of the look on the other woman's face.

Lightning noticed the subtle crease in Vanille's forehead and the slight clench of her jaw. Something was definitely wrong.

Tossing the hammer down on the dock, Lightning turned her full attention to the red head as she stepped up in front of her. One thought seemed to be running through her head, 'What had happened to make her so upset?'

"Is something wrong?" Lightning asked worriedly, gently taking a hold of Vanille's upper arms. Her eyes scanned the other woman's body out of habit to see if there were any visible injuries. When there was none to be found, Lightning's eyes drifted upwards to search Vanille's.

It was clear that the other woman was trying to hide her emotions but Lightning could see right through the façade.

"Nope. I'm fine," Vanille replied shortly trying to recreate her normally perky voice and picking up the hammer Lightning had just dropped. 'Fine' was not good; Lightning would know since she used it frequently.

"Did Fang say something to you?" Lightning asked more insistently and she immediately knew her instincts were spot on because she could see Vanille pause for a moment as she straightened up.

"You should take a break. You've been working hard lately. I'll take over," Vanille told her, avoiding the question and trying to turn away from her. Lightning couldn't stand to see the other woman like this…hiding her feelings… that was something she did, not her.

Lightning lightly took hold of Vanille's bicep, effectively stopping her from walking away and gently pried the hammer out of the other woman's fingers. Tossing it to the ground once more, Lightning stepped closer to the red head with the intention of confronting her about her change in mood, but what happened next was a complete surprise to her.

Vanille closed the distance between them, snaking her arms around her waist, and burying her face into Lightning's neck.

Immediately, Lightning could feel her pulse pick up and she didn't dare breath. Vanille had sought out her touch. This thought caused a little flutter in her stomach and for a moment, she was too stunned to even move, to even think, but eventually she relaxed into Vanille's arms. Returning the gesture, Lightning slowly wrapped her own arms around the red head's back and she couldn't help but notice how perfectly Vanille fit in her arms.

She couldn't see the other woman's face but she could feel her light breaths through the brown turtle neck that Vanille was currently resting her cheek against. Vanille's body was pressed against hers and she was certain that the other woman could hear her pounding heart.

It felt like all of her senses were heightened. Vanille's red hair tickled her nose and Lightning could feel the other woman's hands gripping her back. As much as she was enjoying the feeling of being this close to Vanille, she was also still concerned.

The red head was obviously upset about something but she didn't seem to want to talk about it. The only thing that came to mind was her conversation with Fang. It was clear that they had a history and she assumed that Fang had said something.

Just the thought of someone causing Vanille pain caused Lightning's chest to fire up with anger, but it disappeared just as quickly when she felt Vanille beginning to pull away.

The red head only took one step back, just enough to be able to look up into Lightning's eyes. Already Lightning missed her touch but she placated herself by continuing to hold Vanille at arm's length.

These feelings were really starting to complicate things but she was completely at their mercy. It felt as though they were only getting stronger by the day and all she could do was bend to their will. It was an uncomfortable feeling to be completely out of control of her emotions but… it was also exhilarating.

Finally, Vanille's soft voice broke the silence that had descended between them,

"Really…I'm okay. Come on, I'll try to show you around the village. A lot of things are different around here but it seems like some things haven't changed a bit."

While Lightning wasn't quite convinced, she decided to let it go because she had a feeling that Vanille wasn't just talking about the village.


Once again, sorry for the delay. I love writing this story so much I wish that I could just devote all my time to writing! I think you guys will be really happy with the next chapter though!