It's been a while hasn't it? I'm sorry, I've had 4 essays to hand in and I celebrated my birthday yesterday and I've only just managed to get the time to sit down and finish the chapter. I'm pretty aware that it's progressing slow and if I could change anything, I'd merge chapters but it's too late now. As always, enjoy


Fang burst through the door, paying no heed to the quality of furnishings within their rented room as she dropped all of her excess baggage and flopped on the nearest bed. Closely behind her, Lightning followed, shrugging her own luggage onto the floor. As if going through a routine barracks check, Fang watched as the soldier eyed the entire room - including her – whilst pressing down firmly upon the mattress of the spare bed. Fang chuckled in astonishment, throwing an arm over her face to smother her laughter as Lightning took apart the freshly made bed.

"What the bloody hell are you doing, Lightning?"

The pink-haired woman looked over as if she had failed to notice anything wrong with her actions.

"What does it look like? I'm checking the bed." She replied.

Fang bit her lip. Oh, how this would get her into trouble…

"Testing the springs for later, are we?" Fang winked, enjoying the sight of Lightning's face turning an endearing rosy colour.

Lightning dropped the covers. "I'm checking to see if it's clean."

"'Course it's clean. We haven't used them yet." Fang said, letting her mind wander to thoughts of both women putting the beds to good use whilst she retreived her phone. "Although…"

"Don't even finish that." The red-faced sergeant deadpanned.

Once the bed was deemed worthy, Lightning sat straight upon the edge of the bed, finally allowing herself to relax.

"I'm surprised to find the room with two single beds." Lightning said as she dipped back onto the bed, allowing her eyes to droop lower as her body settled into the softness.

"And what's that supposed to mean? I was right beside you when you booked the room." Fang laughed in astonishment, lazily pushing a few buttons and cradling her wireless between her ear and shoulders.

"Well I wouldn't put it past you…" Lightning trailed off, causing Fang to smirk over the receiver whilst attempting a redial.

Lightning was certainly a confusing individual, and Fang disliked the fact never sure what the other woman was thinking, easily switching from straight faced to flirty within a matter of seconds. The only thing she was certain about was that Lightning was going to be a challenge to win over fully, however Fang liked challenges.

"Ah, Vanille. Hey…"

To be considerate, Fang entered the bathroom and quietly shut the door.

"Hey, Fang! Is everything okay? Have you got a lead on Raines yet?"

"Nothing concrete, but we did get a tip off that he might be at a gallery sometime today, so we'll go investigate that but I have no idea what we'll do if we see him. Can't exactly go in all guns blazin' eh?"

"As much as you'd like that, right Fang? I'm glad to hear you're making good progress already!" There was a sound of a magazine page flipping, as the redhead changed the subject. "Not to worry you or anything but Serah says she's noticed some strange guys about, so just to keep her mind at rest we're each taking turns to have sleepovers."

Fang plucked at the soap provided by the sink in a little wicker basket, responding in turn to Vanille's conversation. She re-emerged from the tiny bathroom fifteen minutes later with a sore ear with help from her sister's chattering. Over by the bed, Lightning seemed pretty content with her eyes closed, her breathing slow and levelled. Sensing the opportunity for revenge, Fang slinked to the side of the bed, resting her chin on the covers and watched closely for any reaction from the sleeping sergeant. How careless of her to fall asleep after mere hours of showering Fang with cold water. Her mind flooded itself with potential payback ideas. It was definitely the right time to give Lightning a taste of her own medicine. A taste…

Fang leaned cautiously over Lightning, placing her left hand by Lightning's right ear to support her, although wary that her added weight might cause the sleeping beauty to awaken. For once her porcelain face was at peace, free from frowns. Fang wanted nothing more than to reach out and stroke the hair away from her fair features.

"Wakey, wakey Light…" She whispered softly, leaning forward with the intention of placing a soft kiss upon her lips, but in a moment of uncharacteristic hesitation, she pecked her cheek instead. She pulled back hastily to study Lightning's stoic features with a slight disappointment, half expecting the woman to heartily awaken and kiss back with vigour. Perhaps she had watched too many of Vanille's soppy films.


It was only when she was sure Fang had her back turned did she twitch and lick her lips in response, waiting a few more minutes before yawning and stretching noisily, trying to act as natural as possible, as if nothing had happened. Her lips had become dry in anticipation of Fang drawing closer to her face and her heart still thumped in her ears. Her cheek burned.

Fang stood with her back to Lightning, rustling around frantically in a bag she could not see.

"Are we nearly ready to go?" Lightning asked, the more she studied the back of Fang - discreetly appreciating the endless length of her legs in the process - the more certain she felt that the other woman was avoiding eye contact, yet as Fang flung her backpack over her shoulder, the soldier herself looked away herself. As Lightning sauntered over to the room's front door, Fang chivalrously opened the door and gestured for her to pass.

"After you, sleepyhead."

Lightning snorted, just catching the flicker of Fang's forest eyes looking down to appreciate her from behind. Her hips unintentionally swayed more to please her admirer.

"I saw that." Lightning remarked casually as she walked past, soon after feeling the unmistakable touch of Fang's hand slapping her backside. She smirked at their playfulness.

"Don't think I didn't see that." Fang responded flirtatiously, hurriedly locking the door to fall into step with Lightning.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." The soldier replied passively, facing forward mechanically.

"You enjoyed that."

She inwardly smiled. Of course Fang would notice her grinning, she had keen eagle eyes that looked at her with something beyond friendly admiration, which even more frighteningly, she returned on occasion. Her stomach twisted, but it was not discomforting.

They departed from the lodging with the knowledge of the Palumpolum Portrait Gallery's whereabouts thanks to the quick thinking of Lightning, who queried at the reception desk before they left. Knowing all too well that Fang would probably allow them to wander until they got lost, due to her stubbornness to ask for help. They had no reason to worry though, as it became apparent that the grand gallery was no more than a ten-minute walk away and in clear view even from where they were stood now if they were to squint. By now the sun had hit its highest point in the day, blazing down heavy upon the brows of both women; Lightning unzipped her hooded jacket and let out a breath of frustration, noting that Fang was unperturbed by the hot weather.

"Where was it you said you were from?" Lightning asked Fang as they fought against the tide of pedestrians who weren't interested gallery openings. The soldier was slightly ashamed for not even enquiring about Fang's background much, as she was clearly something else with her exotic looks, put to waste doing guard work. Fang didn't respond immediately but regarded the question with a thoughtful look – either that or she hadn't heard above all the outside noise.

"I come from the island of Oerba," she said at last, "it was very traditional and untouched by all of this hi-tech nonsense. Gorgeous tropical weather, green for miles… everyone was just one big happy family back there."

Lightning didn't miss the underlying sorrow in her voice and she couldn't help but think that she had just ripped open the seal of bad memories.

"Was…?" She pressed delicately, sidestepping a mother pushing a pram and gluing herself to Fang's side in order to hear clearer.

Fang took a steadying breath, gripping her backpack tighter so that her nails ripped into the material. "It was destroyed."

Fang swallowed, the tightness in her throat shocked her slightly, as she always believed herself to have overcome the desolation that was now Oerba.

Her elegant brows furrowed as she relayed her description of Oerba as if reading from a leaflet.

"It was a natural paradise overturned by the greed of an outsider. By the very boss of Sanctum who wanted nothing more than to get his slimy little hands on a diamond mine that we tried to keep quiet. Some of the villagers found it, but we weren't ever gonna exploit it. But he… learnt of it."

Lightning noticed the sudden flare in Fang's eyes as burned with hatred. So much so they had stopped in the middle of the path, to the annoyance of by passers who had to swerve to avoid them. Lightning placed a gentle hand on Fang's shoulder as the woman continued talking.

"You ever stepped on a flower, Light? A pretty, innocent little thing but crushed it anyway? Robbed it of its beauty? That's what Dysley did to Oerba. He saw it and tore it apart... and he's gonna fucking pay for it with his life."

It was a snippet of a story that Lightning certainly wasn't expecting to hear, especially not with Fang's cheery attitude to life. How could she hide something so painful in her life so well?

Lightning's grip tightened to become vice-like upon Fang's shoulder as she questioned herself of Fang's motives for travelling to Palumpolum in the first place. If Fang's intention was to hurt the leader of Sanctum, then wasn't tagging along to kill the leader of the rival gang only helping him instead?

A honey-coloured hand prised her own from Fang's crumbling shoulder, as the darker woman urged them forward without a word.

"I'm here now 'cause I want to be. Just so you know."


The gallery was large, grey and made from gigantic stone blocks with four grand pillars adorning the front of the entrance. A large banner hung from the middle pillars over the top of the entrance announcing the grand opening of the gallery to the public, who congregated outside upon a flight of marble stairs, all moving gradually into the building like slow draining water. The two women pushed through, skipping the optional tour of the foyer to enter into the main room, filled with several fine paintings.

"Man, it's gonna be impossible trying to find Raines around here! Who thought the people of Palumpolum were cultured?" Fang sniggered, taking note of the differently dressed people in the room. There were rich gentlemen who were dressed eloquently in formal gear with their equally proud, pearl-adorned wives, whilst there were also throngs of curious families with children. The most noticeable of people in the gallery were easily the eager buyers, who bartered loudly in a small room accessed by a tall, white archway.

On closer inspection, the buyers were paying tens of thousands of gil for pieces Lightning wouldn't consider putting on her fridge door, not that half of the images would fit. She was about to skip the auction section of the gallery when Fang grabbed her and yanked her back to where she was standing. She didn't need Fang to explain herself, as her roving eyes settled on the tall figure of none other than Cid Raines, who was surrounded by news press and associates from all sides. Nodding to each other, Lightning and Fang wandered into the magnificent room, orbiting around Raines at a reasonably close distance as if they were to catch a disease a any moment.

Although she hated to admit it, Lightning wasn't sure what to do now that Raines was right there in front of them. There was no way they could kill him in such a crowded place like this, with paparazzi around.

"We need to follow him or something." Fang muttered, as if reading Lightning's mind. Her forest eyes never leaving the back of Cid's glossy head.

"What if he gets in a car after this? We'll never catch up."

"Oh well you'll think of something." Fang said tapping her chin, "off you go!" Fang urged, pushing Lightning forward without warning. Cid's broad back became suddenly larger as the soldier inevitably crashed into the man. There was a moment of brief silence as she moved, followed by gasps of surprise from both Raines and herself as she impacted. Trust Fang to throw – push – her into the deep end just to garner a reaction of surprise.

"Sorry." Lightning mumbled in embarrassment, avoiding the perplexed stares from the mammoth of a man whose height even put Snow to shame.

"No, excuse me," Raines apologised in the politest of manners, manoeuvring the two of them so that he held Lightning at arm's length, "have we met before?" He asked, his voice deep and not at all unpleasing to listen to. He reminded Lightning of some sort of suave politician, a one who stares intensely unnerving obsidian eyes.

"No, can't say we have." Lightning lied easily remembering his face from her time at Deepground where he had been playing poker at the same table as Vanille. In the distance she could hear Fang's hysterical laughter, which only became amplified around the echoing halls.

"But you seem ever so familiar." He looked as though he was trying to pinpoint her face to a location. Luckily he didn't recognise her from kneecapping one of his henchman with her pistol. The way Cid spoke, gave Lightning chills, the type that made blood run cold. His slim but sly handsome face had an underlying deadliness about it, and his steadily tightening grip upon her forearms caused her to clench her fists in order to control herself.

"We've never met." Lightning clarified stiffly, to which Cid seemed content with the answer. He stepped closer to a portrait he was viewing, taking Lightning with him, to her surprise. The painting he had lead them to was as tall as it was wide, encased in a gilded frame, depicting a burst of flames in the outline of a phoenix over a dark hill.

After a short while, Cid grew tired of silence and spoke passionately of the image that towered over them.

"This… miraculous piece is known as 'Rebirth Rises" and it is one of my favourite pieces within this gallery," he pointed to the bottom of the artwork, "the flames represent the start of something new for the lives of that pair you see at the foot of the hill."

Lightning studied the piece with no interest, until she realised he was awaiting a reply.

"Uh, yeah, it's nice."

Cid forced a laugh as though he was offended. "Just nice?"

"It's certainly grand." Lightning forced out, "I can see it setting you back a few thousand."

Cid's laughter grew, although it was more controlled than what Fang's had been.

"Then how about millions?" He asked, "I will be purchasing it this afternoon."

What? Is he trying to impress me or something? Lightning thought with dread, realising that this was the chance she and Fang needed, however she didn't want to be the one he had interest in.

As sweetly as possible she said, "Perhaps one day you could show me whereabouts in your home you've placed it."

Cid's grin was benevolent, though she didn't trust his intentions.

"If you're free for the rest of the day, then perhaps I can show you as soon as I'm finished here… over dinner perhaps?"

Lightning's heart leapt with both joy and dread.

"I'm really not dressed appropriately for dinner." She said gesturing to her casual attire.

"Nonsense, someone as beautiful as you would look divine in anything." Cid offered her his arm, which Lightning took hesitantly as she desperately tried to find Fang from within the crowd, but to no avail. Lightning felt nothing but bitterness at the situation she was in, being swept away like some fairytale ending by a rich prince. She couldn't think of a worse scenario than this.


Fang watched Lightning from the sidelines after pushing her towards Cid, her caramel arms folded with her knee bent uncaringly against the archway. The soldier's rs were tinged pink and Fang could practically feel her discomfort - like strong radio wave signals - it was easy to pick up. Aware that Cid was an attractive guy, Fang hoped Lightning would keep an emotional distance from the man because tall, dark and handsome was certainly a type she might go for.

Fang regarded her own appearance and smiled.

Hell, I'm tall, I'm dark and I'll be damned if I'm not the slightest bit handsome... so here's hopin' she does have a type.

"Hey, gorgeous."

Fang blinked, suddenly frightened that her thoughts had projected out loud. However, to her right stood the confident looking male that Fang recognised as Rygdea. He wore leather pants and matching jacket over a blue t-shirt. When he was not graced with a reply, he mirrored her stance against the white frame, looking ever the 'badass' type.

He gave Fang a once over before leaning close to her ear.

"I swear I know you… have we fucked before?"

Her eyelids fluttered closed like they were dark butterfly wings, her chuckle low and disbelieving.

"Trust me, you'd not forget me if we had." And with that she walked away to the left side of the hall towards another portrait, keeping a closer eye upon Lightning.


A/N: Lightning's off to Cid's and it doesn't look like Fang is invited. Yay for trespassing!

Hope you liked it! x