Chapter Nine
Author's Note: Two chapters this week (nine and ten)! I hope you like them both. :)
Disclaimer: If I owned FFXIII, I assure you that there would be no question as to whether or not Fang x Vanille is canon. Enough said, I think.
It was a cool autumn evening in Oerba. The sun had just dipped beneath the horizon and thick fog covered the ground, obscuring all but the tops of the buildings and stands Vanille could see from the window to her bedroom. In spite of the chilling ambiance, the pink-haired girl hummed pleasantly to herself as she hung a string of protective charms given to her by the jewelry maker to whom she was apprenticed across the nails at the top of the window. When she was finished, she hopped down off of the chair she had propped next to the window and appraised her work. Her beautiful voice carried down the hallway as she placed a bowl on the windowsill and filled it with water. Then she placed tea light candle with a hollow wooden base in the water and struck the match to light it.
"Vanille, I never knew you had such a pretty voice."
The pink-haired girl blushed and smiled over her shoulder. "Oh, it's not that good."
"Well, I think it is." Aria smiled pleasantly. "What are you doing?"
"I'm decorating," Vanille explained with a cheerful look. "It's the Night of Wandering Spirits. These charms will keep any of them from coming in our room while we're sleeping, and the candle will guide them back to the other side."
"Oh." The older girl shrugged. "Well, I've never really believed in that stuff, but you'd get along well with my grandmother."
The pink-haired girl laughed lightly, for over the years she had realized that the majority of the people her age were not superstitious. Although she had never experienced anything that made her think that spirits roamed the land of the living on certain nights of the year, everyone had been a bit more superstitious where she had lived prior to joining the orphanage. She had never really been able to let go of her precautionary rituals.
"Are you going to the feast tonight?" Aria inquired excitedly. "I'm going with Korang."
"Yeah, I'm going." Vanille nodded delicately as she tied a charm to her bedpost with a thick red string.
Aria frowned faintly. "Who are you going with?"
"What d'you mean?" Vanille blushed faintly. "Like a date?"
"Yeah." Aria tilted her head curiously. "Don't you have a boyfriend yet?"
Vanille shook her head, looking away. "I'm just going alone. A lot of the girls my age will be there."
"You still haven't met the perfect boy, huh?" Aria smiled sympathetically.
"I guess not." Vanille shifted uncomfortably.
"Well, don't give up hope." The older girl smiled warmly. "There are plenty of boys in the village, and if you don't like any of them, then there are a bunch of boys in the next village, too. I've never been there, but Karina says they're all nice. She went to one of their dances."
"Oh." The pink-haired girl was unsure how to answer, so she merely nodded her head.
Suddenly the door opened and Fang and Konnor stumbled through the door laughing.
Aria sent them a disapproving look. "Did the two of you get into the wine?"
"No. The matrons would've noticed," Konnor replied, still laughing as he explained, "We're laughing because we just scared Matron Essle half to death. She's superstitious, you know, so Fang and I threw these black cloaks over our heads and followed her down the hall for a while. She was scrambling toward the temple last we saw her."
With pursed lips, Aria grumbled, "That's not very funny. You both still act like children."
Fang, who was well aware of the fact that Aria had never liked her, completely ignored the other girl, favoring Vanille with a smirk. "What'cha doing? You're not afraid of a few little spirits, are ya?"
"I'm not afraid," Vanille insisted, tilting her head curiously. "Are you going to the feast tonight?"
"You know, everyone's been asking me that all day," Fang murmured as she crossed the room and slumped down onto the bed. Grinning at Vanille, she teased, "What I want to know is: is anyone not gonna go to the feast?"
Vanille realized it was a little silly to ask.
"My girlfriend's not going," Konnor interrupted as he crossed the room, pushed Fang's legs out of the way and sat on her bed. "Don't tell me you're abandoning all our plans to be with her instead. This is the only night of the year that it's okay for people our age to play pranks."
"It's never all right for people our age to play pranks," Aria grunted as she folded some clothes.
Her comment was ignored as Fang glanced at Konnor with a faint smile. "You're on your own, Konnor. I'm not risking losing the privilege of being a hunter for anything."
Konnor pursed his lips. "You're so boring now."
"We all gotta grow up sometime," Fang exclaimed, though from the smirk on her face it was clear that she would never reach a completely prank-free state of maturity.
"Speaking of growing up," Aria commented slyly from across the room with an innocent smile that could probably win awards. "Fang, who are you going to the party with? Or all you still all alone? It's a shame, really. A sixteen-year-old should have a date."
"I do have a date, thank you very much," Fang replied haughtily.
Everyone in the room seemed to jump as Konnor gasped, "What?"
Vanille was quick to follow, squeaking nervously, "Y-You do?"
"Who is it then?" Aria demanded skeptically.
Fang placed her hands behind her head and smirked. "Myself. I figure I'm the best catch in the village anyway."
Konnor burst out laughing and Vanille covered her mouth to hide her giggles as she was flooded with relief.
Aria merely scoffed and rolled her eyes as she turned to leave the room. "You see? You'll never grow up."
"What's got her britches all in a bunch?" Fang inquired with a frown as she glanced at Vanille.
"I dunno. She was fine a little while ago." Vanille pouted faintly. "Maybe she got a stomach ache."
"Yeah, I'm sure that's it." Fang replied, words laced with sarcasm as she rolled her eyes.
"Well, if I'm pulling all the pranks without you, I better go recruit some of the others." Konnor stood and smoothed out his pants before turning toward the door. When he was halfway out, he turned back with a sly grin on his face. "By the way, here's an idea. Since neither of you have dates, why don't you go to the party with each other?"
Fang's eyes widened and her cheeks flushed faintly, but any awkward tension that could have developed was broken when Vanille, who did not seem to understand his suggestion, innocently replied, "Oh, I'm sure we will. We always go everywhere together."
Konnor chuckled and Fang smiled faintly.
"What?" Vanille tilted her head and blinked.
"Anyway, I'm going." Konnor waved at the two of them and left.
Vanille waved after Konnor before seating herself on the bed beside Fang, who was sprawled out so that there was barely any room. "What're you gonna do tonight, Fang?"
"You mean besides stuff my face at the feast?" Fang smirked.
Giggling, Vanille nodded. "The feast isn't for a while."
"Well, first I'm gonna do everything I can to get you good and scared in the spirit of the season," Fang replied with a grin, laughing when the other girl gasped as though betrayed, "and then I'm gonna search for some spirits in the woods."
Vanille gasped, covering her mouth. "Fang, what if you find some?"
"I'll ask them a question or two," Fang replied with an indifferent shrug.
"I don't think you should do that, Fang," Vanille whined, scooting closer to her and taking her hand. "What if they're evil spirits?"
"Are you worried about me?" Fang teased, grinning when Vanille blushed and reaching out to touch her cheek. "Well, don't. I go out and do this every year, and I've never found a single thing."
Vanille felt her cheek warm and lowered her eyes. "O-Okay."
Fang smiled as she suddenly sat up and stretched her arms. "Well, it's time to get going, I—oh Gods, Vanille look!"
"What?" Vanille cried, spinning around and examining the room.
"No, look at the window!" Fang cried, her eyes widening with horror. "What is that?"
"What?" The pink-haired girl twisted to look at the window, her eyes wide and petrified.
"I-It disappeared, but I think it was trying to get in here. I could almost hear it pounding against the window," Fang exclaimed frantically, her face ashen. "It has to have been a spirit."
"You really think so?" Vanille's voice was barely a whisper as she hugged herself.
Suddenly Vanille heard a thud that was so powerful that it shook their bed. With a screech of horror, she immediately turned and dove into Fang, throwing her arms around her shoulders as she buried her face in her chest.
"They're coming after us!" She cried in terror. "Fang, what'll we do?"
"Let's just sit tight," Fang whispered gently, wrapping her arms protectively around Vanille's waist and smiling to herself. "Do you hear something?"
"No. What is it?" Vanille whispered, terrified as she pulled back to look into her eyes.
"It's there. I can hear it…but it's faint…" Fang frowned thoughtfully.
Suddenly the pounding sound began again and the bed shook even more violently.
Vanille screamed again and hid her face in Fang's shoulder. "We have to get out of here. Evil spirits can be really scary."
"I don't think they're evil," Fang murmured as she ran her fingers through Vanille's hair. "But I can tell they want something. I can almost hear them whispering."
"What're they saying?" Vanille gasped.
"Shh. We gotta be completely quiet so I can hear them," Fang mumbled, resting her cheek against Vanille's hair.
A few moments of silence followed.
"Can you hear them, Fang?" Vanille whispered fearfully.
"Yeah, I think I can." Fang grinned widely. "They wanna know where you're hiding the chocolate you always steal during the holidays."
"Why would they wanna know that?" Vanille pulled away and looked at her, but when she realized that Fang was smirking playfully, she gasped and hit her shoulder, whining, "Fang!"
"Well, that was a lot easier than I thought it'd be," Fang commented with a grin.
"You're so mean!" Vanille cried, pouting and crossing her arms as she pulled away. "I don't think I'll go to the feast with you."
"If you don't go with me, who's gonna protect you from the evil spirits?" Fang teased cheekily as she climbed off of the bed and motioned for the other girl to follow her. "Come on. I never get to play pranks on you."
"Fine," Vanille grumbled as she stood to follow her. "But I'm gonna play a prank on you, too, and it's gonna be mean. Everyone will laugh at you."
"Careful, Vanille." Fang smirked widely. "No one's ever successfully played a prank on me. Konnor's been trying for years, but I always outsmart him."
"Then maybe I just won't talk to you ever again," Vanille replied stiffly.
With a warm smile, Fang wrapped her arm around the other girl and tugged her closer, murmuring, "That'd be the worst punishment in the world."
Vanille bit her lip as she tried to hide her smile. "Well, you deserve it!"
"Sure I do, but you'd never stop talking to me." Fang laughed lightly. "I'm just too lovable."
The pink-haired girl narrowed her eyes. "Not when you play so many pranks!"
"You used to like my pranks," Fang reminded her.
Crossing her arms, Vanille grumbled, "You never played them on me."
Laughing heartily, Fang mumbled, "Come on. We've got a lot to do before the party starts."
"What do you mean?" Vanille asked with wide eyes.
The dark-haired girl raised her brows playfully. "You'll see."
Xxx
A few hours passed and Vanille walked beside Fang, her arms crossed stubbornly and her eyes narrowed. She was a little irritated with her companion, who continuously did everything in her power to frighten her, using her fear of the spirits against her. Even though Fang always apologetically wrapped her arm around her or promised her that she would stop, the girl continuously seized every opportunity, making Vanille feel sympathy for everyone the older girl had ever pranked. She was no longer having fun, so she was determined to frown until Fang took the hint and finally left her alone.
"I really made you mad, huh?" Fang frowned as she glanced at her companion.
"Yes," Vanille replied flatly, her cheeks slightly red. "It's not funny to make fun of my fears, Fang. This is just like when you and Konnor were making fun of my nightmares."
"We weren't making fun of your nightmares," Fang smiled faintly at the memory. "You were just saying things in a…tricky way—making jokes you didn't realize you were making."
"Well, it still wasn't funny, and you still laughed at me." Vanille pouted faintly.
"Sorry." Fang crossed her arms awkwardly before clasping her hands behind her back as though she did not know what to do with them. "So, um…can I ask you a question?"
"No. I'm too mad at you," Vanille huffed.
"You sure?" Fang smiled faintly, raising her brow. "It's a pretty important question."
"I bet it's not." Vanille narrowed her eyes at her. "I bet you're gonna say 'Here's an important question, Vanille. What's that creepy spirit doing sitting on your head?' Then I'll scream, and you'll start laughing."
"I swear I won't scare you again. I've had enough fun for one night," Fang insisted.
"You said that you wouldn't scare me again four times already." Vanille refused to look at her, keeping her eyes on the ground as they wandered along the southern forest. "I won't believe you this time."
"I swear…on my life," Fang exclaimed. When Vanille did not look at her, she mumbled, "No? I've got nothing else to swear on…"
Vanille glanced at her out of the corner of her eyes.
"All right, fine." Fang raised her brow as though in challenge and placed her hand on her heart. "I swear on my ability to become a hunter that I will not scare you again—tonight."
"You better keep that promise, 'cause I bet I could convince Chief Torren not to let you hunt anymore," Vanille murmured with a faint smile.
"You forgive me then?" Fang grinned.
"No, but I'll listen to your question," Vanille replied promptly.
"All right, fine." Fang smiled, amused by her companion's stubborn nature. Although she forced a confident smile, the dark-haired girl felt particularly nervous as she mumbled, "It's about something Konnor said before."
Vanille noticed the way that Fang lowered her eyes, and her brows furrowed with worry as she tried to remember anything that Konnor might have said that would cause Fang to ask her an important question.
"Would you want to—?" Fang suddenly paused, her entire body tensing as her head turned in every direction.
"Would I want to what?" Vanille prompted, raising her brows at the other girl's behavior. "Is everything okay, Fang?"
"Shh." Fang held a finger to her lips as she strained her ears. Her voice was a barely audible whisper as she demanded, "Did you hear that?"
Vanille stared at her for a moment before her face turned slightly red. "I can't believe you Fang! I really thought you were going to stop playing this stupid prank on me. I—"
"It's not a prank," Fang interrupted, stepping closer to her as she strained her eyes looking into the shadows all around them.
The pink-haired girl attempted to listen for a moment, but when she heard nothing she was even surer that Fang was attempting to frighten her. Placing her hands on her hips, Vanille grumbled, "This isn't funny, Fang. I'm so mad at you. If you keep this up I'm really never gonna talk to you again—"
"Shh," Fang hissed, grabbing Vanille and placing her hand over her mouth as she closed her eyes to listen more carefully.
The younger girl felt her breath quicken as Fang's fingers touched her lips, and anxiety grew within her chest as she examined her friend. The dark-haired girl was completely tense, her muscles tight as though she were ready to pounce, and her breath was calm and measured as though she needed to conserve it. Even though her eyes were closed, her face was anything but serene with her brows furrowed and her ears pricked.
When Fang finally opened her eyes again, she placed her hands on Vanille's shoulders and looked her in the eyes, instructing firmly, "Go back to the village and get Chief Torren. Tell him to send hunters and warriors out here immediately."
The older girl released her and attempted to move away, but Vanille caught her by the arms. "Fang, wait! What do you hear? You can't just go out there on your own. You said yourself that the forest is too dangerous for one person."
"I don't have a choice. If I hear what I think I hear, we could all be dead," Fang replied as she gently dislodged Vanille from herself and touched her cheek. With a reassuring smile, she murmured, "I'll be fine, so do as I say, okay? Go get Chief Torren."
With that, the dark-haired girl pulled away from her, gripped her staff tightly in her hand, and disappeared between the trees, her powerful legs carrying her away.
"Wait, Fang!" Vanille watched her go with a desperate look on her face.
Even though she knew that she should do as her friend had asked and gather the village adults, Vanille could not simply allow the other girl to face whatever she had heard on her own. She would be all but useless to her other than serving as a distraction, but if she could reach her before her friend faced whatever evil was upon them, she might be able to convince her to return to the village and wait for the others. It was with that thought in mind that Vanille raced into the woods after the other girl.
By the time Vanille reached Fang, she was so exhausted that she leaned forwards, resting her hands on her thighs as she attempted to catch her breath.
"What're you doing here?" Fang gasped, grabbing her quickly by the arms and tugging her to the ground.
The two of them crouched together in the underbrush as Vanille caught her breath, and when the younger girl finally looked up to see what could possibly cause such a horrible tearing sound, her heart nearly stopped. A giant Cocoon fal'Cie was tearing trees right out of the ground, and several strangely dressed people appeared to be standing guard. They were looking right and Fang and Vanille's hiding place, but she knew that they must not be able to see them.
"Those're Cocoon l'Cie," Fang snarled, her eyes dark. With pursed lips, she mumbled, "You didn't happen to get Chief Torren before you came running out here, did ya?"
Vanille shook her head. "I'm sorry. I was worried about you. I—"
"It's all right," Fang interrupted harshly, her hand clenching tightly around her staff. "If there's no backup, then I'll just have to take 'em out myself."
"What?" Vanille gasped, turning to look at her. "Fang, you can't!"
"Sure, I can. People can do anything they set their minds to," Fang grumbled as she began to stand.
"No!" The younger girl grabbed her by the arms and pulled her back down. "Please, Fang. Look at the direction they're headed. They're not even going toward our village. They won't hurt us."
"They won't hurt us today, but what about tomorrow and the next day?" Fang demanded angrily. "Those bastards'll do anything to kill every last thing on Gran Pulse. No amount of fighting on our side will ever be enough to stop them. Worse than that, they lure our people up to their haven with sweet lies and then they probably find some way to use 'em like all our resources."
The dark-haired girl glanced over the brush and watched as the fal'Cie and its l'Cie companions began moving farther away from the village, apparently having gathered all of the resources that they needed that day.
"I've gotta get them before they get away."
Fang started to stand another time, but Vanille wrapped her arms around her neck and used her body weight to hold her back. "Fang, they're not even headed toward Oerba. They might not know it's there. If you attack them, they'll know there's a village nearby."
"Not if I kill 'em all," the dark-haired girl snapped. "Let go of me."
"No!" Vanille cried. "Fang, you've got to think. Fal'Cie and l'Cie are really powerful. Don't you remember the war stories?"
"Yes, I remember them. That's precisely why I've got to do this," Fang cried irritably, placing her hand on Vanille's shoulder and forcibly pushing the girl off of her.
Vanille fell backwards with a gasp of surprise, hitting the ground with a squeak. Even though her shoulder hurt from the impact of the hard-packed dirt beneath her, Vanille scrambled off of the ground and practically tackled Fang into a tree as she was attempting to race into the clearing that the fal'Cie had just left.
"Vanille!" Fang struggled against her.
"I won't let you do it, Fang. I don't care how many times you push me," Vanille cried desperately, clinging to her and holding her as still as she could. Even though the other girl was stronger, she was certain that Fang would not attempt to seriously injure her.
"Vanille, those bastards killed our families!" Fang gasped, pushing her gently away and holding her by the shoulders at arms' length. "They killed your mother and your father in cold blood, and you're not gonna let me kill them?"
"I know what they did!" Vanille replied angrily, tears trembling down her face. "So, I'm not gonna let them take you too, Fang. I won't let them do it."
One look into Vanille's glassy eyes drew every last drop of anger out of Fang as she realized what she was attempting to do. She glanced into the clearing as she attempted to catch her breath while simultaneously tugging Vanille into her arms. The younger girl clung to her, crying into her shoulder as she leaned back against the tree.
"I'm sorry, Vanille," Fang whispered as she wrapped her arms around her back and held her more tightly. "I'm sorry."
"You're all I have, Fang," the pink-haired girl sobbed.
Fang rested her cheek against the top of Vanille's head and sighed, her eyes blazing as she stared into the clearing and bit her lip. There were tears in her own eyes, but she refused to acknowledge them because she was going to avenge her family. She did not know how or when, but someday she was certain that the time would come when she could take her revenge on Cocoon. Destroying one fal'Cie and three l'Cie would not be enough. After all the lives that had been lost…family, friends, allies from other villages… She would have to seriously scar the whole of Cocoon before she could ever be satisfied.
"Let's go back," Fang murmured in Vanille's ear as she finally tore her eyes away from the clearing.
Vanille nodded, pulling back and wiping the tears from her eyes with her arm before gripping Fang's hand firmly.
Fang knew that Vanille was holding into her so tightly because she was afraid that it was a trick and she would go bounding through the trees after the enemy before she could stop her. For that reason, Fang made no comment on the desperate way that the younger girl's hand locked desperately with hers. It was only when they were safely through the trees on the edge of the village when Fang finally wiggled her fingers free and paused.
"Fang?" Vanille exclaimed nervously. "Aren't you coming to the party?"
"There's something I have to do first," Fang frowned, lowering her eyes. "I've gotta do it alone, so you go on ahead to the party."
"Fang, I—"
"I promise it's got nothing to do with the fal'Cie," the dark-haired girl assured her. "I swear on everything I've got left that I won't go back into the woods tonight."
Another tear dribbled down Vanille's cheeks. "Do you really promise?"
With a slightly pained smile, Fang nodded and reached out to wipe away the younger girl's tear. "I'll you at the party soon, okay?"
Vanille nodded, biting her lip, and begged, "Be careful."
"I'm not doing anything dangerous," Fang assured her. "Go on then. I'll meet you at the party."
With a nervous nod, Vanille turned and scurried away.
Xxx
Fang pushed aside the old wooden gate and stepped through, shivering slightly in the cool breeze. The mist was so thick that she almost couldn't see the stones marking where the different urns had been buried, but her memory served her well. Her legs carrying her numbly toward the three stones that she always carried on her shoulders, and the tears remained locked behind her eyes as she knelt before the stones and bowed her head faintly. The first time that she had visited the gravestones, Head Matron Solstice had stood behind her with a sympathetic frown on her face. When the younger version of herself had begun to sob inconsolably, the matron had touched her shoulder and told her that everything would be okay.
"Everything's not okay." Fang bit her lip as she crawled forwards and lay down in between two of the gravestones, the only way to feel close to the family that she had lost long ago. She had never told anyone that she frequently lay in that place when she needed to think. "Nothing will ever be okay at this rate."
The fog covered her completely, making her feel as though she had entered the spirit world.
"I know I have a good life right now," Fang mumbled to no one in particular, "but what happens if it all falls apart again? I wanna avenge all of you, but it's more than that. I don't wanna die, and I don't wanna watch the people I love die."
Silence echoed more loudly than sound ever could as she closed her eyes and dreamed that she was once again in the little house in which her family resided before her entire life had changed. The orphanage had been good to her, but Head Matron Solstice had always known that she was such an uncontrollable troublemaker when she first entered the orphanage because she needed to do something to keep busy so that she would not lose her mind. Vanille was not the only one who had had horrible nightmares, but Fang's reaction had carried into her waking life as well.
By the time she had met Vanille, that phase of her life had mostly ended.
"I know I should give up." Fang sighed wearily. "It's like Chief Torren said. There's no sense doing anything stupid. I just can't forget the day they took you away from me."
She lay there for a while longer, breathing in the frigid air, until she was so cold that she knew she had to leave. As she stood, she whispered her goodbyes and wondered if her dead family members could hear her on that night when the mists between the world of the living and the dead drifted into their village. There was no way to know, and she truthfully never had seen a spirit, so she was eventually able to drag herself away.
However, she paused at the cemetery gate, clenching her fists as she murmured to herself, "I won't forget."
Xxx
It was late by the time Fang finally reached the area where the feast was usually held. The fires were still burning, but almost everyone had left to return to their homes. A quick survey of the tables revealed that those who remained were either elderly people paying respects to spirits at little shrines that had been built, volunteers cleaning up the remnants of the feast, and Head Matron Solstice, who was watching Vanille. The younger girl had fallen asleep against one of the tables with a fur blanket that someone must have draped over her shoulders.
Fang felt a little guilty as she wondered how long the girl must have been waiting for her. When she reached Vanille's side, she placed her hand on her shoulder and shook her awake.
The pink-haired girl sat up with a gasp and looked around as though she did not remember where she was, but as the events of that evening came flooding back to her, she looked back to Fang with nervous eyes.
"Where were you, Fang? I waited a really long time."
"I know." Fang frowned faintly. "I'm sorry I missed the feast."
Vanille bit her lip. "Where were you?"
"Come on." Fang placed her hand on the top of her head, running her fingers through her hair. "Let's go back to the orphanage. We'll go to bed."
The pink-haired girl looked like she might protest, but a yawn ultimately convinced her that it was too late to stay awake any longer. She stood shakily as another yawn escaped from her lips and reached for Fang's hand.
With a gasp, Vanille pulled away and touched her cheek. "Fang, you're freezing!"
"I'm fine," the dark-haired girl assured her.
"No, you're really cold." Vanille pulled the fur blanket off of her shoulders and wrapped it around Fang, insisting, "Take this until we get back. I'm really warm."
"You'll get cold," Fang argued.
"No, I won't. I've been sitting by the fire all night," Vanille mumbled as she took Fang's hand and began to tug the other girl back toward the orphanage.
The younger girl was able to hide her shivering until they were halfway back to their home, at which point Fang wrapped her arm around Vanille's shoulders, sharing the blanket between the two of them.
"It's not a very nice night," Vanille commented gently as she glanced over her shoulder.
Fang smiled faintly. "We'll be inside soon."
Vanille nodded and rested against Fang as they walked, the panic that she had felt at the idea of the other girl disappearing from her life still fresh in her mind.
When the two of them reached the orphanage, they snuck into their room and changed their clothes as quietly as possible so as not to wake the others. Fang was the first to climb into bed, and although her thoughts were muddled by the dramatic night that she had experienced, Vanille was still at the foremost of her mind.
The younger girl slid underneath the warmer blankets that had recently been added to each of the beds and pulled the blankets up to her shoulders as she shivered.
"I hate the cold months," Vanille murmured gently.
"Really?" Fang murmured teasingly as she turned on her side and ran her fingers through Vanille's wavy locks. "I love 'em."
"Why?" Vanille inquired breathlessly, her cheeks flushing as the older girl's fingers brushed against her face.
"I dunno," Fang replied with a faint grin as she slid closer to Vanille, offering the other girl her warmth.
The younger girl turned on her side to face Fang and slid close to her, her cheeks still flushed as the two of them shared warmth until her shivering ceased. Just as she was drifting away to sleep, she felt Fang wrap her arm around her waist as she whispered close to her ear, "I know I scared you tonight, Vanille, but I promise I'm not going anywhere."
Vanille merely snuggled against her, her arms wrapping around her and holding her tightly.