What's Got His Britches In a Knot?

"You callin' bullshit on me, son?!" Cid slammed the cards in his hand face-down on the table, standing up to glare at Reeve in the eye.

Reeve just smirked and stroked his chin coyly. "Well, considering what I have in my hand, there's no way you could have discarded four Queens." The reasoning caught Cid, and he was left to grumble as he sat back down and collect the cards in the middle of the table.

"Son of a…piece of…"

From beside Reeve, Barret chuckled at the pilot's loss. "C'mon, Cid. Who'd be smart enough to call all four?"

"Shaddup!" He glanced toward Lightning beside him, who pursed her lips to keep herself from laughing aloud. "Hurry up 'n play, dammit!"

Everyone felt relieved that they could meet up again and fool around for old time's sake. After resolving the issue of Geostigma last year together, Cloud and the others felt worried about not being able to reunite once more and enjoy each other's company. It was his chance to bring his life to normal once again…or maybe it was a chance to actually start his life just like how he had hoped for the moment he joined SOLDIER.

Lightning had begun to see somewhat of a change within Cloud. Since she came to the Planet, he had been increasingly open with everyone around him, especially Lightning herself. She made it a personal goal to see him smile as often as possible, though she had to remind herself to not expect too much. Every time she was with Cloud, the urge to shuffle close or to just even lay her hand upon his shoulder was fought back; she even had to sit across the table from him to keep her heart from racing too fast.

A sudden vibration from her red pouch prompted Lightning to pull out her cell phone and check the caller ID. After quickly glancing around the table, she excused herself and got up to walk out the entrance, answering the call with a smile. "Having fun in Junon?"

All the while, Cloud's eyes only rarely left her backside as he watched through the window. There was only one person he could think of that she would talk to at this late hour, and it irritated him that she'd be on her phone on a somewhat nightly basis. What's more, she didn't mind having to talk to the guy on her spare time, making Cloud's irritation even worse.

When she came back inside some time later, Lightning casually picked up her cards and jumped right back into the game, and she failed to notice Cloud's hard eyes upon her.

"Who was that?" he asked flatly.

Lightning shrugged. "Just Devon," she replied in her usual tone.

Reeve lifted his eyebrows with intrigue. "Ah, yes. From Junon Patrol, right?"

She nodded in response. While everyone passed it off as a natural occurrence and resumed the game, Cloud let out a sigh before folding his cards on the table and getting up from his seat.

"Yo, Cloud, where you going?" Barret wondered.

Cloud didn't bother to break his stride as he rounded the table and headed to the stairs. "I'm done for the day."

Lightning watched him with worry before he disappeared up the steps. Since the meeting in Junon, Cloud had been acting a little off. Sure, he had start becoming more open to the people around him, but there'd be times he would suddenly get ticked off. The vague thought of the reason being Devon kept appearing in her mind, but she reasoned that Cloud would have no purpose of directing any anger at her fellow colleague.

Cid quietly scoffed as he played a card down into the pile. "What's got his britches in a knot?"

After one last round, Cid and Reeve decided to head out while Barret chose to spend the night in Edge, hoping to spend some more time with Marlene. He helped Lightning clean up before checking himself into the last spare room, bidding her a good night and closing the door behind him. Once Lightning entered her own room and changed for bed, she heard a knock on her door.

"Lightning."

She recognized the voice as Cloud's and threw her laundry in a secure spot before sitting down on her bed. "It's open," she called out softly.

Cloud quietly opened the door, only making enough space for him to pass through and shut the door behind him. With her eyes upon him, he felt nervous about approaching her after displaying his attitude downstairs. "I'm sorry if I was a little distant earlier. There were a lot of things on my mind, and I didn't mean for you to feel offended."

Lightning just shook her head. "No, it's all right. Just got a little worried is all."

Her eyes finally noticed something when he came over to sit across from her on the bed. Without his usual pauldron and daily attire, she was able to focus on the sole red ribbon tied around his left bicep. It had been such a minor detail, but she had definitely noticed it among everyone else aside from Reeve.

"Y'know, I've wondered about that," she said, pointing to the ribbon on his arm.

After glancing toward it, a sad expression cloaked his face, and it caught Lightning off guard. "It's for a friend," he replied softly. "We wear them in honor of her. I've told you about her before – the one who died two years ago?"

"Oh…right." Of course they wouldn't just leave her as a memory. For someone so important, Cloud and the others would have to continue her legacy somehow.

After taking a glance, Cloud nodded to her side, eying her right bicep. "You've got some interesting bands yourself."

Lightning glanced down to her arm, slightly lifting it to see the jagged band just above another average slim one. "I share this one with my sister," she explained, pointing to the top band. "She has a same one on her right arm, too." She recalled the very day she bought them. Serah's thirteenth birthday was soon after their mother's death, and she was far from being in the mood to celebrate. Desperate, Lightning had to remind her that she still had her sister, and the black bands as a gift were a perfect way to link them together.

"You two must have been close," Cloud speculated, but instead of making her feel better, it somehow made Lightning worried.

"Not for long. Since my mother died, I put all my efforts into ensuring she would have a future…but it backfired. I never had time, Serah became distant to me, and I was hardly ever there for her." She hugged her knees close to her chest and placed her chin on her folded arms. "It was because I wouldn't listen to her that she got caught up in trouble and taken out of my reach. My only regret before leaving Pulse…was not being there for her enough times to make up for what I've done."

Cloud leaned over and placed a hand on Lightning's shoulder. As she looked up, she met a warm and gentle smile. "I'm sure she didn't hold a grudge against you," he assured in a soft voice. "You gave everything to save her, right? That's more than enough, and I'm sure she was grateful to have a sister like you."

She suddenly remembered the last time she had spoken with Serah, just after waking from their crystal stasis. The smile and joy that was on her sister's face could not have been pretend. All that time, they had looked out for each other; the strains were finally resolved, for what mattered the most was that they were both safe and well. "Right. Thanks. I'm sorry; I shouldn't have gone and dumped my troubles on you like that."

Chuckling softly, Cloud shook his head and looked her square in the eye. "Lightning, you don't have to carry any kind of pain alone. We're all family here. If you need help, just come to us, and we'll be there for you." When she nodded, he withdrew his hand and turned to face the door, his eyes drifting to his feet. "Just…don't go running to that Devon guy."

Lightning's brows knitted together, fearing that her earlier suspicions may have in fact been true. "I wouldn't," she replied with full honesty. "He's a friend, but I don't know him that well."

As soon as he said the words, Cloud instantly regretted muttering them. It must have looked petty to get worked up over a guy Lightning had just met, but he couldn't stop himself from seeing red just thinking about him. If anything, he didn't want her to meet up with Devon again, especially not alone, but it was far from his place to decide who she became friends with.

"Right," he muttered, realizing that things suddenly became a bit awkward. Cloud got up to his feet, anxious to get out of the room to release a heavy sigh. "Well, see you tomorrow, Light."

At first, she hesitated as he headed to the door. Lightning knew Cloud was a man of his word, and therefore trust should never be an issue between them. "It's Claire," she blurted out.

Her voice stopped him just as he opened the door; he turned to look back at her with curious eyes. "What?"

Assuring herself that everything was all right, she turned to him with a ghost of a smile. "My real name…is Claire. I casted it away, along with my past, so I could change for Serah's sake." With a nervous smirk, she gently pressed a finger upon her lips. "Just between us, though…all right?"

It took a moment for him to see the reason, for it seemed like keeping her name a secret was important to her. So why would she suddenly tell Cloud her real name?

And then he realized the truth - Lightning was putting her faith and trust in him, relieving the pain of being alone on the Planet. Cloud was a lifeboat that she never asked for; he readily allowed himself to be there for Lightning when she needed him, for he couldn't bear to see her suffer. With him, she could finally be herself…or perhaps, she could turn into the person she had always wanted to be.

"Sure," he confirmed. "Good night…Claire."

As he closed the door behind him, Lightning steadied her racing heart by taking in deep breaths. It took a lot of gut to open that part of her, for she refused to trust many people with her past. However, Cloud was part of her life now, and she wanted to believe in him as much as possible.

She already resolved to keep him out of her reach. No matter what, Lightning decided to have him as a friend, rather than sabotage everything they have shared together…

But it didn't help beat down the uncontrollable urges and feelings she harbored.