Hey there!
Sorry for the long time wait. There were running presidential elections in my country, and everyone (including myself) got in over their heads with it. Luckily, it's all over and done with. On another side note, I've joined Greenpeace last week, and bought myself a small blank booklet to let out my 'inner self'. Really dunno where that came from, but I just really felt an urge to buy one.
Also, if my calculations are correct, we're only a couple of chapters to the end of Matching Tides. I'm currently working on a sequel, with a super secret plot that no one will ever find out, and it will be continued.
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Disclaimer: I don't own Square. No guys, seriously.
Chapter 9 ~ Memories of Happier Days/The Road Home
Surprisingly enough to Lightning, Fang didn't behave any differently when they set foot on Oerba's proximities. From the very first Cie'th they've encountered, she would play the sentinel role and provoke them all to keep to hell away from the soldier, taking quite a few hits along the way and causing the soldier to heal her after almost every battle. Just like she expected her to act, protective and trying to make herself useful despite being disarmed. The outskirts of her hometown were destroyed and covered in dust, and still, here she was; throwing rocks at Cie'th to protect her, and her only.
Even though they were perfectly in synch in battles, a mutual silence befell them. This was it, after all; the end of the line. If they didn't find anything, there was no other hope to any of them. No future. No saving Serah or protecting Cocoon. Nothing.
Of course, she knew Fang better than to break down at the sight of her long lost hometown, but the older woman as if the location didn't mean much to her. In a way, it was just like Fang's "out of sight, out of mind" attitude. The warrior would always surprise Lightning in times like this, when she forgot that there was more strength to Fang then she would ever be able to see.
The pair didn't have to go very far out to find the other half of their group, fighting against a couple of particularly nasty Vampires. Snow and Sazh quickly managed to stagger one of them, giving Vanille and Hope enough time to finish it off with elemental spells. Even slightly afar from the group, Lightning noticed as Snow obviously tried to provoke the other Vampire, that wisely chose to ignore him and charged at the boy that stood a bit behind, instead. Lightning cursed under her breath before unsheathing her gunblade and running towards her protégé, back flipping above the boy and landing on her knees between Hope and the Cie'th just in time to shoot a few rounds on the weakened enemy, making it disintegrate before their eyes.
The group stood quietly for a few seconds, trying to process the situation before their eyes. It was Fang who spoke first, and even though she had her back turned at the black haired woman, she could still picture the proudly, almost mocking pose of the warrior as she teased, "Anyone missed us?"
Hope, almost as if unaware of the turn of events that happened before his eyes, launched himself and hugged his mentor's neck with utmost joy, crying out her name with delight. Light turned her head sideways and smiled at him sympathetically, catching the sight of Vanille running to the direction Fang had been standing, probably throwing herself in the older woman's arms in a similar way Hope did. The soldier squeezed the boy's hand around her neck one last time before bringing herself up, just in time to see the sentimental embrace shared by the oerban women. Fang gave back the leather pouch to Vanille, but not before grabbing the poorly scratched map from inside and crumpling it to the size of a paper ball, shooting it hard between Snow's eyes and catching him by surprise, much to Sazh delight.
"That's for bringing the goddamn tower down!" she scolded him, even if not truly angry. The tall blond tried to apologize again with an empathetic smile while scratching the back of his head.
"Hey, I said I was sorry already, come on!" He then turned to Lightning, a half pleading look in his eyes. "Tell her, sis!"
The soldier closed her eyes and let out a sigh, trying very hard to keep her arms crossed and out of Snow's way. "I'm not your sister", she said ever so patiently.
"Well, tell her anyway!" she heard the hero insist. "You're lucky I just didn't deal with you myself", Lightning said before opening her eyes and glaring at Snow, her next words leaving her mouth with a serious tone, almost without thinking. "If there's any reason I still haven't killed you by now, it's most certainly her."
He watched in awe as the soldier walked past him, taking point, followed by Hope and Sazh. Fang came and patted him on the shoulder a couple of times, mocking him. "Hey, don't worry. Next time, I'm sure the absence will make her heart grow founder."
"…Yeah, thought so…", he replied without paying much attention. In all the time he had known his sister-in-law, never had Snow heard she talk about someone the way she had just did with Fang. He had noticed the two of them had grown close over their time together, and probably had more synchronicity in battle than any of them. But somehow, it felt like something more… Something Snow couldn't place just right.
The blond soon snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Sazh call his 'hero ass' to battle, helping the old man stagger a few Cie'th for Light and Hope to finish it out. He noticed how Fang would always stand not too far out, everything about her body language screaming that she wouldn't think twice before jumping between Lightning and anything else that stood in her way. Of course, she was just as protective of Vanille, but they'd spend, like, eternity together, right?
The first crumbled constructions didn't take long to start appearing before them, although it was impossible to tell any of their former structures on account of the damage they had taken over time. Fang felt her best friend tense besides her as they lead their companions through what had been their hometown. The Cie'th became scarcer as they got closer to what seemed to be the center of the town, when Vanille slowly came to a halt, followed by the rest of their party.
Sensing her inner turmoil and angst, the older oerban pulled the young girl into a loose side hug, merely resting her arm around Vanille's shoulder. The redheaded girl responded by leaning her whole body into Fang, her eyes falling to the ground that had once been greener than the plains itself. The group watched with respect the silent mourning of the duo, knowing that whatever words of consolation were useless.
It was Hope who made the first move, jogging to Vanille's side and taking her hand in his, in a heartfelt attempt to support the young girl like she did with him many times before. Lightning followed close behind, mimicking the young boy's actions with the warrior and lightly intertwining her fingers with Fang's, choosing to ignore the growing urge to come closer and rest her head in the tall woman's shoulder. They heard Snow's heavy footsteps a few seconds later as he stopped behind his sister-in-law and put a reassuring hand on Fang's shoulder, while Sazh caringly tapped Vanille's head a couple of times.
The blond man broke the silence then, speaking one of the only wise things Lightning knew he was capable of saying during his entire life.
"We're family now", he started, his voice ringing out in his rare outcast leader tone. "We stick together, for better or worse. Through anything."
A small yet confidant smile was brought to Vanille's lips as she heard the man behind her, at the same time as a feeling of certainty filled her heart. Who or whatever was left from her family was laying in dust now, but she already knew that way before stepping into those unwelcoming lands; long before awakening from crystal stasis. What pained her heart was the thought that perhaps never again she would have a home or a family to come back to. But she also knew she didn't need to worry about that anymore; she knew it when Fang first started to crush at Lightning, and bonds began to be tied. This was her family now.
She felt Fang lightly squeeze her shoulder while lowering her head to whisper directly in her ear, only loud enough for her to listen, using her personal motto and catchphrase against her.
"If it's too much, face it later."
Vanille looked up to her best friend and smiled one of her purest smiles since they awakened from the stasis and fully embraced her, letting her hand go from Hope's caring grasp to Fang's deep blue sari. The redheaded noticed that even though Snow was now engaged in messing with Hope and Sazh was catching up with his chocobo, Lightning's hand was still firmly intertwined with the warrior's. Vanille pulled back and gave her older sister a look she didn't quite get, before grabbing Hope by the wrist and kidnapping him from Snow's friendly annoyances, running swiftly and dragging the silver-haired boy close behind until they reached at the edge of a building and stopped, turning behind to shout at the two grown men.
"It's tour time! Come on, or we'll leave you behind!"
Lightning tried to follow her companions as they hurried to catch up to the young pair, only to have Fang's grip on her hand keeping her in place. The soldier eyes her suspiciously, noticing the usual smirk grow on her friend's face, but made no further effort to free herself.
"I have to go somewhere first, we can join them later", Fang explained, already pulling the pink haired girl by the hand, guiding the path. Lightning made no protests in being guided, even if in such an almost childish way. If felt so natural, being around Fang for so long.
"I don't really think we should be touring…" Lightning voiced her worries, afraid that Vanille momentary forgot that they were L'Cie on the verge of becoming long lost Cie'th.
"Don't worry; Vanille's got more in her head than it looks", Fang replied, turning her head slightly to meet Light's gaze. "I'm sure she's looking around for something useful."
"And what exactly are we doing?", the soldier asked, taking in the view of the once glorious town and letting Fang guide her feet.
"Going home."
"Thought we already were home.", she replied matter-of-factly.
"In a way… ", she countered distractedly, trying to clearly remember her memories and take them the right way. Lightning noticed the constructions in that area were still standing, most of them missing walls or roofs, but in a far better condition than the ones near the center of the town. Fang's easygoing pace soon came to a halt before a couple of well conserved small houses, taking a slow approach towards one of them in particular, letting go of Light's hand to go forward and push what was left of the door opened.
Immediately, Lightning missed the warmth of Fang's hand on her own and fought the urge to come closer to the huntress. She tried to dismiss those thoughts as she followed the oerban's footsteps into the compact space. Fang familiarly made her way across the mess of gathered dust and broken furniture, while Light first noticed the photo standing on a table near the entrance.
She took the picture in hands, spellbound by the two girls captured in it. Vanille was bending down at the camera with a frowned expression and a funny smile on her lips, probably trying to fix some setting on the last minute; and Fang was standing behind the red-haired girl with one eyebrow raised, probably shaking her head regarding Vanille's clumsiness.
"It was the last one we took before we left", Fang called out, explaining the photo in the soldier's hands. She looked over at the huntress direction, that was now busy testing an old spear to check it's efficiency, poking at imaginary enemies.
"You looked happy", Lightning muttered some time later, tracing her fingers lightly over Fang's part of the picture. The warrior strapped her spear behind her back and came to stand close to the pink haired soldier, looking at the picture over the smaller girl's shoulder.
"Well, life was easy…", she let her voice trail off, becoming lost in her memories for a split second, and then swiftly took the frame from Light's hands and placed it over the table again. "But I'm happier now."
The huntress lowered her gaze to Lightning's mouth and captured it gently with her own a couple of times, pulling back only to hover at mere inches of the soldier flushed lips. The last conscious thought that crossed Light's mind was how Fang always seemed to have control over her, since only brushing her lips with the dark haired woman made her lose all reason. She wasn't too far from the truth.
The soldier brought her hand to the back of Fang's neck and buried it deep into the wild, messy black hair, bringing the huntress closer to her while closing the distance between them with a reciprocated burning passion. They knew they could no longer turn back, or deny it. In the end, they were both the same; matching tides merging into each other endlessly and never wanting to let go. Lightning was unaware of the exact moment when her back hit the wall near the door, Fang's body pressing into hers with long pent up lust, keeping her in place with a firm hand on her waist and a strong hold on her pink locks.
Lightning's impatient hands traveled up to caress the tanned skin beneath her sari, coming to rest on Fang's right breast, emitting a small, lustful groan from the huntress. Fang responded by pressing her body even further into Light's, licking the soldier's lower lip temptingly before biting it lightly, making the pink haired soldier moan her name with a voice dripping with desire.
The huntress then pulled the soft, pink strands of hair down with a yanking motion, planting passionate kisses in her jaw and trailing down her neck as Lightning fumbled urgently with the upper half of Fang's sari, running her hands all over the warrior's body, memorizing every curve.
They were so captured by the moment, unaware of the outside, that when one of Vanille's distinguished high pitched scream reached Fang's ear it took her a few times to recognize it. Her drunken gaze met Lightning's, her usually clear blue eyes were now dark like the ocean during storms. As if to proof itself real, the characteristic shriek repeated itself, this time followed by the strong and troubled voice of Light's brother-in-law.
"Damn it! Lightning, come right now!"
The pair exchanged glances, a mix of worry and disappointment in her eyes, before running side by side in the direction of the screams. When they arrived, the familiar petit figure of Serah Farron awaited for them, along with the rest of the group at a distance, with the exception of Snow, who was kneeling with his arms hanging by his sides, as if he didn't have any strength left to sustain his body.
Lightning watched in awe as her sister smiled sweetly and threw her head to one side, one of her most peculiar characteristics, truly doubting her ears when she heard Serah's voice for the first time for what seemed ages.
"Hello, Claire."
PS: This chapter's title was taken from the 6th track in the Final Fantasy XII Piano Collections, which consists of a beautiful medley on Vanille's Theme, Memories of Happier Days and The Road Home.
Thanks for reading!
