Disclaimer: I do not own or profit from any of the Final Fantasy games or characters.
Light trickled through the window, landing directly onto Lightning's closed eyes. The brightness was enough to bring her back from the deep sleep she was in. Feeling as though she had fallen from a second story window, Lightning assessed her injuries without opening her eyes.
There was a stabbing pain all the way through her left shoulder and her right arm felt as though it had been set on fire.
Slowly her brain became aware of a weight on her stomach; it wasn't heavy or unpleasant, but warm and comforting. Lightning forced her eyelids open and was momentarily blinded by the light in her eyes. Seconds later her pupils adjusted and she was able to look down at her stomach.
Lightning's eyes were greeted with a mass of wavy red hair splayed out over her abdomen. The General gazed warmly at Vanille, who had obviously fallen asleep there.
Not wanting to wake the red head, Lightning glanced around and took in her current surroundings. She was now in the actual Infirmary and the beds around her were full of injured soldiers from the previous day's battle. Apparently, someone had also put her in a hospital gown and wrapped her wounds in gauze. Thinking back, Lightning tried to remember how she got here, but her mind offered her nothing. The last memory she had was hearing...Serah!
Gathering her strength, the pink haired woman attempted to sit up, but a stabbing pain in her right arm made it impossible. Wincing, Lightning lay back down and tried to remember anything she could from the battle. All at once, everything rushed back.
Why hadn't she seen Seifer there? Because he tried to kill you when your back was turned, she thought humorlessly. Once again glancing down at the woman resting on her stomach, Lightning couldn't believe that she had shot him. Taking a human life was not an easy thing to do, and the soldier had a feeling Vanille had never hurt anyone in her life, much less killed anyone.
Despite this, Vanille had saved her. This was new for Lightning; she was usually the one doing the saving, but for some odd reason she didn't mind.
Then, she remembered stepping in front of Vanille and blocking the bullet aimed at her. She hadn't really thought about it, but even if she had, she still would've done the same thing.
Lightning lifted a weak hand up and ran her fingers through the silky red hair and marveled at how incredibly soft it was. As eager as she was to see her sister, she was hesitant to wake the sleeping woman, but thankfully Vanille began to stir a few minutes later.
The red headed woman sat up stretching and yawning. Feeling eyes on her, Vanille looked over at Lightning. She should have felt embarrassed under the ice blue gaze, but she wasn't.
Meeting her eyes, Vanille couldn't help but feel drawn to Lightning. Getting up from her seat, she grabbed a potion off the shelf and perched on the bed beside the pink haired woman.
"Do you need help sitting up?" Vanille asked. Lightning felt weak for the first time in years, but she nodded silently. While the General lifted her torso with her abdominal muscles, Vanille slid a hand behind her back to support her and with the other she adjusted the pillows.
Lightning leaned back into the soft pillows and relaxed her body. Vanille handed her the potion and she downed it in one gulp, feeling the familiar warmth spread to her aching limbs.
"Vanille...," Lightning began, all of sudden unsure of herself. There were so many things she wanted and needed to say to this woman.
"Mhmm?" Vanille replied, giving the soldier her full attention. Lightning tried to organize her thoughts but it was extremely difficult with those green eyes boring into her like that.
"You...I...Thank you," the soldier stumbled over her words. Vanille smiled at her and did something unexpected. She threw her arms around Lightning, squeezing her a little too tightly. Realizing she was hurting her, the red head tried to release her, but Lightning wouldn't have it.
Raising her weak arms, she gingerly placed them around Vanille's waist. The smaller woman relaxed into the soldier's arms and rested her head lightly on Lightning's chest.
Vanille felt peaceful listening to the soldier's heart beat and feeling the rise and fall of her chest as she breathed.
Unable to keep the question to herself any longer, Lightning asked,
"Vanille, was my...was Serah here?" The red head pulled back from Lightning, far enough to look into her eyes. Last night the younger Farron sister had come by to visit Lightning and she had stayed and talked with Vanille a while.
"Yes, she's still here." Seeing the confused look in the General's eyes, she continued, "She's helping the Trabian soldiers clean up Garden."
At hearing this, Lightning nodded and made her decision. She might never get the chance again, so it was time to make things right. Vanille felt her trying to move, so she slid to the side to allow her to stand up. Remembering that she was in a hospital gown, Lightning asked,
"Where are my clothes?" Vanille opened the drawer in the night stand and pulled out her clothes, which were freshly laundered.
"I hope you don't mind. I washed them this morning," the red head shyly admitted, handing Lightning her usual outfit. This was another strange experience for the soldier. Never in her life had someone done her a simple favor such as washing her clothes. When she and Serah had been kids, Lightning had done both their laundry and as a soldier she always did her own.
"Thank you," Lightning took her clothes, amazed at Vanille's kindness, and changed in the bathroom. When she came out, she walked over to Vanille who she noticed for the first time was also in a new outfit. From the looks of it, she had managed to change clothes during the night because she was no longer in her blood soaked cadet uniform from yesterday. She was now dressed in cut-off jean shorts that went to her knees and her usual tank top.
Already her limbs were starting to feel better. Lightning was still sore and it hurt to raise her arms above a certain point, but other than that she felt pretty good. She was certainly better off than most people in the Infirmary.
Thinking back to the previous night's battle, Lightning wondered what happened to her comrades. Not seeing any familiar faces, she asked,
"Is everyone else okay?"
"For the most part. Thankfully none of Garden's soldiers were killed. Tidus was hurt pretty badly, but he's already up and about," Vanille answered, cheerfully. Seeing that Lightning was deep in thought, she decided to continue.
"Ready to go?" Vanille's voice brought her back to reality.
"Yea," Lightning noticed that the red head now had her gun blade in her hand. This woman thought of everything; Vanille had made sure that her most prized possession had made it back to her. Strangely, Lightning had forgotten all about her weapon until she saw the red head holding it; ever since she had woken up her mind had been preoccupied.
The pink haired woman felt a surge of affection for Vanille as she walked side by side with her out of the Infirmary. Not only did she save her life, but she paid attention to every detail to make sure Lightning was comfortable when she woke up. No one had cared for her the way Vanille did, and it wasn't unpleasant in the slightest. In fact, Lightning had to admit it felt good.
The red head led her in the main hall of the first floor and Lightning was surprised by the sight that met her eyes.
The first floor was almost entirely back to the way it was before the battle. Balamb and Trabian soldiers alike were cleaning away the last of the debris, and there were even people up on the roof, making a temporary patch for the gaping hole in the glass.
Making their way around the hall, Lightning could see her near the library sweeping up some broken glass. She looked the same as the last time she had seen her, except now she appeared to be more mature. That probably had nothing to do with her physical change than an emotional change in Lightning.
It all of a sudden became difficult to move forward, so Lightning watched from a distance. Serah had the same shade of hair as herself but hers was in a side ponytail with loose hairs that framed her face. She was only a few years younger than Lightning, but the way Serah carried herself made her seem like the nineteen year old she was, while the General appeared much older with her serious nature.
Lightning felt a warm hand slide into hers and turned to look at Vanille. The look the red head was giving her was enough to help her gather enough courage to walk over to her sister. Understanding that she had to fight this battle alone, the soldier slowly released Vanille's hand and walked towards Serah.
She hadn't noticed Lightning's presence yet, as she dumped a pan full of glass into a trash can. The General was hesitant to draw attention to her presence, but she knew that it was now or never.
"Serah...," Lightning said, a little over a whisper, but the younger woman heard it. Serah turned around slowly and her eyes went wide with shock at who was standing before her. From her reaction, Lightning suspected that Serah hadn't thought she would seek her out.
"Light?" Serah looked almost on the verge of tears, and all of sudden, threw her arms around the taller woman's waist. It seemed like the soldier was going to be getting a lot of hugs today, but she didn't mind.
Wrapping her arms around her sister for the first time in years, Lightning tried to remember the last time she had hugged her sister. They had been growing apart long before Serah left, so it was a long time coming.
Mustering up the last bit of her courage, Lightning said what she should have a long time ago, her voice husky with suppressed emotion,
"I'm so sorry." Serah squeezed her tighter and it was as if the past year had never happened. Drawing back a little to see her sister, Serah gave Lightning a watery smile.
"I'm sorry, too. Are you...Are you okay?" the younger woman asked, reaching out a hand to touch the bandages on Lightning's arm. The General hardly believe how fast Serah accepted her apology, having completely forgiven her, no questions asked.
"I'm fine. How did you get here?" Lightning questioned, having entirely forgotten about her injuries until that moment. She just couldn't believe that it had been that easy to be forgiven by her sister.
"When I heard your Garden was being attacked, I had to come. So, I convinced Fang to let me go with the soldiers to help in any way I could," Serah's eyes were so earnest and reflected the worry she had felt over her sister's safety.
There was one more question Lightning wanted to ask,
"Are you staying?" Serah hadn't taken her eyes off her big sister, and she smiled wide at the question.
"Well, Fang is taking the rest of the soldiers back to Trabia Garden tonight, but Snow and I were thinking about staying Balamb for a week or so...," Serah informed, trailing off, as if asking Lightning if that was okay.
Honestly, Lightning wished she would stay at Garden, but her and Snow would probably be more comfortable in the nearby town. She was just glad that she would have more time to reconnect with her younger sister.
Serah broke her gaze to look over her older sister's shoulder. Turning to see what she was looking at, Lightning saw Vanille talking to Yuna and a bandaged up Tidus. Meeting their gaze, the red head waved happily from across the room.
"She really cares about you," Serah said, watching Vanille. She had talked with the woman last night while Lightning slept, and it was blatantly obvious that the red head had deep feelings for her sister.
"I know," Lightning replied, gazing at the woman who had given her the strength to apologize to Serah. Snow suddenly appeared beside them and wrapped an arm around the younger woman.
"Hey, Light. How're you feeling?" The large man asked with his typical smirk, but he made sure he wasn't within striking distance.
"I'm all right...thank you," Lightning tried to convey her gratitude to the man for everything he had done for her sister. Snow seemed temporarily startled by the General's words, but quickly recovered.
"Glad to hear it," then directing his next words to Serah, "I called the inn. They've got a room for us. We can go whenever you're ready."
Lightning stepped forward and it was her turn to embrace her sister. Snow stepped back to give the two some space and grinned at them. Releasing her, Lightning held her sister at arm's length and gave her a genuine smile.
"I'll be in town Friday, can I come see you?" the taller woman questioned and Serah was overjoyed at being asked this question.
"Of course!" Giving her sister one last squeeze, Serah nodded to Snow and waved good bye. Lightning watched as the couple walked down the hall and towards the parking lot.
Waiting until they were out of sight, Vanille hesitantly approached the soldier and placed a cautious hand on the woman's shoulder. At the gentle touch Lightning turned to look at the red head and her eyes softened.
Making their way back to the Infirmary, Lightning slid her hand into Vanille's interlocking their fingers.
Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than some of the others. It just kinda worked out that way and I didn't want to mess with it. Thank you all for your wonderful reviews. I never thought anyone would want to read this far, but I'm happy you do. It just keeps pouring out of my brain and I'm glad there are people who are still reading. The next chapter is going to have a huge step in Lightning and Vanille's relationship, so it's going to be mostly fluffy fluff. Thanks and don't forget to let me know what you're thinking!