A/N: Thank you for your reviews:Reaper2908 (Sorry for overwhelming!), AquaThunderKnight17 (Promise to explain that in this chapter!), Okikun (Thank you and I'll work on that! Also, all thoughts are now in italics!) and finally CRISMAN4256 (I'm on it!) Without further ado, *insert trumpets*, Chapter 9!
Disclaimer: As much as I would have loved to….
Of Pink and Gold
IX. A Dark Night and a Kiss
UPDATED
PREVIOUSLY
Before we knew, it was already morning.
Somehow, all of us had become a little better than we were.
A little more equipped to handle the pain, guilt and loneliness.
A little more experienced with scary things that knock the ground away from under our feet.
And a little bit closer. Believing that we all had at least someone who'd be there.
THIRD PERSON POV
Cloud and Serah had both passed out on the lavish, white, bear skin rug. When Lightning stepped out, refreshed after a good night's sleep, she couldn't help but chuckle at the difference in their size as they curled up, their backs to each other. Lightning poked Serah gently.
"Serah? Do you want to stay in today?" She asked in a voice only a little above a whisper.
"Mmm…" Serah nodded as her eyes fluttered open, still groggy.
"Let me get you to bed then," Lightning insisted. Finally Serah turned over lazily, stood up with wobbly legs and walked to the guest room like a penguin. She crashed onto the soft mattress which, like quicksand, sucked her in and within a few minutes she was back to drooling.
Lightning chuckled again. Seeing Serah sleep this peacefully (and always in amusing snake like positions) made her feel content with the life she had.
She closed the door softly behind her and went back to wake up the next curled ball of human. In a sitting position, she leaned over Cloud.
He had extremely long eyelashes for a man was her first thought. She poked his cheek very softly but he did not stir. So she took the liberty to touch his hair.
Soft! She was surprised.
What the hell Lightning. Stop molesting Strife! Her inner voice spoke to her.
I am NOT molesting him! She insisted to herself as she finally coughed awkwardly, pulling her hand away from his hair.
"Strife?" She asked in her usual voice. The blonde stirred in his sleep. His eyebrows were pulled together and he seemed to be frowning. The fingers of his right hand twitched slightly. Lightning assumed he was having a nightmare.
"Strife?" She tried again to no avail.
"Cloud?" She spoke in the softest voice she could muster.
Bright blue eyes with that unusually beautiful glow to them flew open, startling Lightning. "Are you alright?" She probed.
"Yeah…" he managed to say even though he seemed to be sweating. "Just didn't get enough rest last night. We got into talking."
Lightning smiled the smallest smile he had ever seen a girl smile. But it was also the most enchanting kind.
"Yeah, I can tell. Coffee?" She asked. Cloud nodded gratefully and forced himself to sit up, a little sore from sitting in one position all night.
Lightning brought two steaming cups to him, passing him one.
"Thanks Strife."
"You called me Cloud just a few minutes ago," he dared. Lightning looked at him with her poker face again.
"Oh come on," he joked.
"You dreamt it." She finished, taking a sip of her coffee as if to say and that is final!
His phone's vibration cut off the thoughts of her now running freely in his head. "Hello?" His expression turned sour. "Yes, come on up."
He buzzed a huge fellow in who looked like the older brother of Sazh. Lightning turned around to get a better look as the man stormed in.
"Cloud, it's been more than 24 hours. We need to decide what to do with them," he said a little apologetically.
Lightning had finished her coffee by now. Putting her cup on the kitchen counter, she went over to greet the man.
"Ah, this is Lightning. We are…" Cloud said suspiciously, earning a smirk from the man, "friends." He finished.
Why does he always make us look like something else…? Lightning thought as she respectfully extended her hand for a shake.
"Barret Wallace, nice to meet you!" He seemed like a jolly, happy go lucky kind of guy. Lightning nodded. "Likewise." She said in her usual cold voice but Barret, like Cloud, could tell she meant it.
"What's going on?" She turned to Cloud for an explanation.
"It's about last night. Let's go."
When they were downstairs, Lightning eyed the gigantic truck parked right in front of the residence's entrance.
"I'll ride in the truck." Lightning pointed at Barret's ride. Barret glanced quickly at the blonde who looked disappointed, to say the least.
"Actually I have to make a detour, young lady!" Barret pat her back awkwardly. Lightning shook with the force of his gesture, stumbling forward. "Why don't we meet in front of the hospital?" He directed the question to Cloud.
"Sounds good." Cloud nodded as he passed a helmet to Lightning.
"I really hate this thing…" She said in a grunt as she climbed on his bike.
"You'll hurt his feelings." Cloud joked as he turned on ignition. "Hold on tight."
Lightning had been maintaining some distance between them but as he braked, she slammed against his back. Growling softly like a defeated tigress, she wrapped her thin but strong, fair arms around his torso tightly.
The ride was fairly quiet with a few bumps and groans from Lightning, extracting silent chuckles from Cloud. When they reached the hospital, she was quick to jump off Fenrir.
"Ugh…" she held her head in her hands.
"Dizzy?" Cloud teased.
"That thing is too fast…" Lightning protested as she stumbled a little. Cloud caught her by the waist. He glanced sideways at her and thought how… electrifying her eyes were. She straightened up and he immediately withdrew his hand.
"Thanks."
"Don't worry about it."
Barret arrived a few minutes later. Jumping out of the driving seat, he ran over to them. Zack jumped out of the passenger seat, surprising Lightning.
"That's everyone. No wait. Vincy is coming!" Barret roared.
A few more minutes passed and the red Ferrari skidded to a screeching stop.
"Right, let's do this." Cloud spoke in a low voice as Vincent and Fang walked towards them. All of them had gathered in a semicircle of sorts.
"About last night… did Vanille tell you?" Cloud asked Fang. Fang, who nodded silently, turned to Lightning. "Serah?"
Cloud answered before Lightning could. "No, we put her bed. She was too shaken by the whole thing."
Fang nodded. "Then we should talk to Lightning first…"
"Can someone please tell me what's going on? All I know is that Serah and Vanille were in danger. An explanation would be nice right about now." Lightning tapped her foot impatiently on the ground.
Since no one else knew what to say or how to say it, Fang spoke. "They were sexually harassed…" She started slowly. They had a lot to drink but they were still fully functional, so they went for karaoke but it turned out some people tipped the club's staff to shut off the karaoke section so they could have a 'good time'," Fang paused here, snarling, "with the 'cute girls' they saw coming in alone earlier."
Lightning was deathly silent. It was really hard to take in all of this.
"Don't worry, thankfully blondie got there before anything major happened. They took videos of Serah and Vanille and…"
"Let's stop there," Cloud silenced Fang. Lightning was shaking with anger.
"Where are they…?" She asked in a voice so unforgiving that it would scare even the gods.
"Inside the hospital. Cloud went rage mode so they are lucky they are still alive." Vincent spoke up in a dark voice. "We are suing the club so that's taken care of. As for the men, you and Fang can do whatever you want to them. We can kill them right here and write it off as an 'accident'. Or you can beat the shit out of them."
"I recommend the legal route." Zack said in a quiet but serious voice. "I know you probably want to kill them, but my parents are the best lawyers in Midgar and they'll never see light of day again." He promised Lightning.
"Light?" Fang placed a hand on the pink haired girl's shoulder.
Lightning was in a dilemma. The part of her that wanted to kill those men for touching her sister was burning with a fire. She shook her head, trying to talk herself out of it. Her parents wouldn't have wanted it.
"I'll leave it to you, Fair." She relaxed her fists, taking a deep breath.
"See? I knew she'd come around!" Zack smiled brightly, before turning serious. "Don't worry, you guys are in good hands." He reassured her and she nodded as if to say 'I believe you'.
CLOUD'S POV
She was still trembling as she had been before. The others noticed this too. No matter how many times she tried to calm herself, Lightning was not okay.
"Can I meet your parents later?" Lighting directed the question to Zack, who gave her a thumbs up in turn. "Sure thing. But get some rest first."
"Thanks…" she mumbled. She was calming down a little. "Strife, can you take me back to Serah?"
"Let's go." I passed her a helmet. She climbed on Fenrir's back, holding me. I felt her grip somewhat loose, so I drove a little slower than usual. When we arrived at my apartment, she literally stumbled in through the door.
"What's wrong?" I found myself asking, though I hadn't intended to.
Lightning brushed it off.
"It's fine, let it be."
"It's not fine." I stressed. "Tell me what's up."
"Dizzy…" she mouthed. "Everything in front of me is red."
"Don't have a rage blackout like I did," I sighed, helping her to a seat on the couch. "Drink this," I passed her a glass of chilled water. "I'll get you something."
She nodded and drank it silently, doing as she was told.
I came back a blue pill. She looked at it somewhat suspiciously. "Don't worry, it happens to me all the time."
"Done this a lot?" She asked, incredulously. I know she meant something else.
I shrugged lightly. "I was an angry kid."
"Weren't we all...?" She seemed to have fallen into deep thoughts.
"You turned out way better than I did," I joked but my eyes found their way trailing back to hers as I sat down next to her, maintaining some distance.
"Thanks." She mumbled. Our eyes continued to stay in lockdown for a few minutes and we did not speak. Not a word. My thoughts were a mess. I leaned a little closer to her. She stared at me with guarded eyes.
Tifa.
I snapped out of her spell. She too looked away.
Thankfully Serah appeared on the scene.
"Hi guys…" she said sheepishly, doing a weak wave. I nodded and Lightning got up, embracing the younger Farron.
"You holding up okay?" She asked softly, even motherly.
Serah nodded. "Do you have some food here?"
"Nah," I replied apologetically. "But we can order in. What do you want?"
Her eyes lit up. "SUSHI!" She exclaimed. Both Lightning and I couldn't help chuckle at her enthusiasm.
"Hang on a few minutes, I'll call room service." I left the two alone for a while as I went into my room. It was… well. I guess I also needed to call the cleaning lady.
After a while I stepped out to find both of them whispering. I stopped midway, holding the door open slightly.
"We can't just stay here, Serah."
"I don't want to go back to campus for a while…" the younger sister spoke a little louder.
"I understand that. Believe me I do. But Strife already did a lot for us and I don't want to owe him any more than –
I should intervene right about now, I thought.
"Hey." I let them know of my presence. Lightning sighed heavily but Serah looked at me hopefully.
"Cloud-senpai—
"Just Cloud's fine."
"Well… Cloud… is it okay if I—
"Serah, it's fine. Really. In fact, both of you can stay if you want. I'll just crash at Zack's." I offered honestly.
"No, you should stay too. It's your place." Lightning said coolly.
"You don't mind?" I asked, bewildered.
"Yeah, there's plenty of space. We'll figure something out so I am sorry about this." She said in a tired voice. I guess she wasn't too happy about this situation but she couldn't turn Serah down, especially after what the younger sister had been through.
"Take your time, no hurry." I nodded. Just then both of our phones rang.
"Yes come on in." I ended the call rather quickly and my eyes found their way back to Lightning.
"Sushi's here." I let the eagerly awaiting Serah know.
"Tifa?" Lightning had answered. "Yeah, what's up?"
She paused for a bit. "Yeah, you heard? She's okay now. We are staying with Strife so I just wanted to let you know." She said quickly, as if feeling nervous. "I am sorry about this." She added in a sincere voice.
"Yeah, let me pass the phone to her." She passed her cell phone to the younger sister. "Serah, it's Tifa. Say hi."
Serah spent a long time on the phone with Tifa. After she was done, we ate our sushi (actually Serah ate all the sushi) in the kitchen quickly and quietly.
"Cleaning lady's gonna come in. Serah, can you let her in? I am going to campus to meet the others."
"Yes please. I don't feel like going out right now…" Serah's earlier happy face had shrunk, somewhat.
"I understand." I looked over to Lightning. "Staying in?"
"Going out. Let me grab my jacket."
She slipped into a black leather jacket and checked her pockets. "Serah, I'll be back later." She gave a half hug to her sister.
When we stopped at the convenience store, Lightning literally stumbled awkwardly as she got off Fenrir.
"This thing again…" she shot me a glare and I chuckled, adding to her displeasure.
"Sorry," I teased. "What do you need to do?" I asked, considering how close we were to campus. I had already told the guys I had be there soon.
"Just an errand. Staying out?"
"Coming in." I slipped off Fenrir and turned off ignition. I followed her around as she picked up cans of red bull.
"Uh…?"
"Hope. He has an exam." She answered as if she had read my mind.
She moved over to the next aisle and picked up three boxes of tampons.
"You need that many?" I asked somewhat insensitively, realizing it might be a rude question to ask a girl.
She answered me casually, clearly not as bothered by it as I thought she'd be. "No, picking it up for Serah, Fang and Tifa."
I felt the ground pulled from under me.
"Tifa's on her period?" I managed to speak, even though my throat felt very dry right about now.
"Don't look so disappointed, Strife. It's almost over. She's been on her period for a few days already." Lightning informed me.
"Let's go." She called for me when she was done paying. I realized I had been standing in the same spot this whole time.
"Zack?"
"Cloud?" I heard his usual carefree voice on the other side of the receiver.
"Oi! Don't crash this thing!" Lightning hissed and I chuckled.
"Sorry Zack, I'll be a little late. Need to see Tifa first."
I hung up, speeding through the darkness that seemed oppressive. If I thought about anything right now it would only confuse me more. So I let my thoughts go in the night that never seemed to end. A dark night.
"Give me your phone." She asked as we both dismounted Fenrir.
I did as she asked.
"Here." She punched in her number. "Call me when you're done. But if you need to stay the night here, I'll take the bus."
"Let's go back together." I held the key to Fenrir tightly in my hand as she turned around and disappeared into the male dorm. I took the route for the female one.
TIFA' S POV
I opened the door to find Cloud standing there. He was wearing that broody look again. I put my arms around him in a hug, but he didn't respond.
I tore myself away from him, touching his cheek. "Hey, you okay?"
"Can I come in?"
I realized I had been holding him at the door. Blushing, I nodded as I let him in.
"Here." He tossed a paper bag to me. "From Lightning."
"Hmm?" I caught it and looked inside. My eyes widened and I tried to make an excuse quickly.
"Oh thanks for picking these up. Though I won't be needed them for a while." I said nervously, a little too fast to be understood. Cloud, it seemed, had understood me. He stood there for a few seconds, then closed his eyes, frowning.
"You've been needing them for a while already…" he insisted and my lungs suddenly felt too small for all the air I sucked in. I felt like I was going to choke on my own breath. My insides felt like they were crumbling and like all lies, mine were getting undone in front of my eyes.
And in front of his.
He knows… "I…" I began but no words came out. What kind of apology could I give Cloud who never questioned me and sincerely believed all my lies?
"Let's break up."
His voice was so clear that despite the cars honking outside, the sound of footsteps racing on the floor above me, even the sound of the loud freshmen throwing a dorm party – amidst all these sounds I heard it crystal clear.
I was ashamed. Ashamed of myself and what I had become to keep the person I loved in my life.
I wanted to protest, even grovel if necessary. But I had done too many wrongs that needed to be set right.
"I… Cloud I…"
"Save it for someone else." He said coldly as he slammed the door, leaving nothing behind. Not even a single thing.
I sank to the floor. The tears just came out pouring like a waterfall and I couldn't help but holding my chest. It felt like it would explode. I wanted to trash this whole place and burn it to pieces.
I dialed a numbed I hadn't dialed in years.
He answered on the first ring.
"Tifa?" He spoke in a soft, kind voice. A voice only for me.
"Se-sephiroth… Can we talk?" I squeaked through tears.
LIGHTNING'S POV
"Hope? It's me."
The door flung open and a shirtless Estheim answered. His hair was dripping wet. A single bead of water trickled down the side of his high cheek bone, tracing his manly jaw.
I hadn't realized that Hope was… a man. He had always been like a little brother to me. He smirked at the me who had started blushing, somewhat.
I coughed awkwardly as he let me in.
"Put a shirt on please." I shook my head disapprovingly but he pushed me against the now shut door, his built arms on both sides of me.
I was honestly more surprised than anything else. My love and respect for Hope had shut off my defense mechanism, it seemed. Anyone else in this situation would have had a broken nose already.
I dropped the cans on the floor as he leaned in, staring into my eyes. His wet silver hair was sticking to his forehead. Hope's breath was cool and minty. His eyes were emerald, burning bright.
"Hope," I said as sternly as I could manage. "Move."
"No." He insisted, leaning in further. "I want you to see me as a man."
"Where is this coming from, all of a sudden?" I glared back at him, though my body had moved further into the door, withdrawing from his closeness.
"I saw you and Cloud, getting off Fenrir. You two have been really close lately," he accused. I narrowed my eyes threateningly at him until he threw me off with a sad look.
I had often seen this look.
"I feel lonely…" he whispered. I smiled, reaching out to touch his wet hair as I pat his head. Hope was a kid after all.
He glared at my action. It seemed to have upset him more. I couldn't understand. Usually this would cheer him up.
"There's nothing between me and Strife." I stressed, withdrawing my hand. "Seriously." I added, staring straight into his eyes.
"Prove it." He challenged.
"What do you want me to do?" I snapped at him.
"Kiss me." He dared.
I was so annoyed at this point that my body moved on its own accord. I was sick of everyone constantly making comparisons between me and Strife. Also making us out to be a couple when we weren't. I moved forward and touched his lips with mine briefly, moving back to my original position against the door.
Hope looked startled. He blinked slowly twice, leaning in to meet my lips again. He was aggressive as he kissed me. I found myself responding, both out of regard for his feelings and because of this freshly showered scent – a really attractive scent.
We both kissed for a few minutes. Hope had me pinned, his whole body pressed against mine as he raised my hands up above my head and pinned them. His heated kisses made me feel a little woozy and I parted for air, but he wouldn't let me rest.
"Mmm…" He breathed as we finally parted. I didn't how to feel. My heart was racing. That was my second kiss! (Damn it Strife for taking my first.) I didn't know how to feel about the opposite gender at all. There had never been any developments like this.
I pushed him a little forcefully and stormed out of the door.
Stupid Hope. Stupid, stupid Hope! And stupid me! You can't kiss someone out of consideration! And you can't feel anything for anyone either. You have to take care of Serah you idi— ow!
I bumped into something solid. Of course it had to be Strife.
His eyes widened. My face must be very red right now. "You alright?" He asked me, though his voice suggested he wasn't doing very well himself. It cracked at the end.
"I should be asking you that," I tried to change the topic quickly. "Do you have to head home right away?" He asked me out of nowhere.
"No, why… what's up?" I asked him cautiously.
Seriously stop being considerate! I chastised myself.
"I could use a drink."
His voice sounded… sad. No, like melancholy. I had never seen Strife look so miserable. I never realized that the usual glow in his blue eyes was missing, or that his shoulders were slumping, or that he looked paler than he ever looked.
"What happened?" I asked again. If he wanted someone to listen he'd have to learn how to talk first.
"I broke up with Tifa." His voice was small and uncertain.
"Wait, what?"
NEXT
"You should go after her." She told me, pale aqua eyes brimming with certainty. "She's put up with you her whole life, the least you can do is give her a second shot, Strife."
Then she smiled a beautiful smile and I dashed out the door feeling that my heart, for the first time, was elsewhere.
A/N: You guys didn't expect that kiss right? XD Sorry I threw that in there! (Not sorry! *evil laugh*). Actually that has been part of the plot from the start. Hope you guys enjoyed reading this chapter! Please forgive typos I have no time to proofread T_T As always, looking forward to hearing from you soon in the reviews! Chapter 10 is halfway done already.
See you soon!
