Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.
Author's Note: Here's another update. Sorry it's so lame. I've been trying to get my groove back. I'm hoping the next few chapters get better.
Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212
Not Over You
Chapter Ten – Baby, It's Cold Outside
It's hard to say I'm sorry / It's hard to make the things I did undone / A lesson I've learned too well, for sure / So don't hang up the phone now / I'm trying to figure out just what to do / I'm going crazy without you -"I Want You Back" by NSYNC
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"When I get back, can we please hang up the Christmas decorations, sis?" Serah pleaded with her sister as she wrapped a thick scarf around her neck. She was on her way to pick up Snow from the train station.
"I guess…" But she already had other plans going through her mind. She knew Serah would be out for a while. She already heard her making plans with her oversized oaf of a husband over the phone to have lunch.
"Thanks!" Serah hugged her sister and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you in a few hours." Lightning nodded and watched Serah walk out the door.
"Great…" Lightning walked into the kitchen and poured herself another cup of coffee. She leaned against the counter, facing the bay window. The snow continued to fall. Honestly, Lightning was surprised Bodhum had gotten snow. It hadn't snowed for years and for the last couple of weeks it had been nothing but snow. Well… she couldn't complain. She preferred the white snow and not the oaf Snow… She'd take what she could get.
'I can't set all this stuff up by myself…' Lightning cringed as she thought about one Christmas where she set the stuff up herself… it was a disaster.
She couldn't call Lebreau. She was too busy setting up for her Christmas Eve party at the bar.
She couldn't call Sazh or Hope, they were thousands of miles away.
She obviously couldn't call Serah.
She let out a heavy sigh before pulling her phone out of her pocket. She really didn't want to spend the next few hours alone. But the only person she could think to call was Fang. If she called her though, it may seem too forward of her to want to spend time with her again so soon…
Maybe that's what Fang wants? She might want to talk to Lightning – hang out with her. They were trying to mend things, right?
She pushed the call button after she found Fang's number. After a few rings, she picked up.
"Well, good mornin', sunshine."
"Hey," Lightning couldn't help the smile that broke through. It was like a teenage girl talking to her all time crush.
"I see ya made it home okay the other night and ya don't sound sick. I'm surprised ya actually listened," Fang joked. Lightning heard some rustling around. Sounds like she woke Fang up.
"Sorry if I woke you."
"Ah, ya didn't. Vanille did, actually… She's been buggin' me the last few days. Apparently she overheard our conversation… observed it too," Fang chuckled.
Lightning's eyes widened. Was that why Serah was acting funny the day after? "I'm gonna kill her."
"Oh, trust me. That part's already taken care of," Fang smirked. "So why'd ya call me?"
How was Lightning going to ask Fang probably the most embarrassing question she'd ever asked? "Well, are you free today? Serah wants to set up for Christmas, but I figured I'd surprise her by doing it myself but…"
"Ya don't have to explain nothin' to me, Light. I'll be over in a few hours. Want me to bring Vanille along?"
"I was maybe hoping we could have some time… just us, you know? Try to rebuild our friendship some…"
There was a slight pause before Fang took a deep breath. "Alright, I'm game. No funny business, yea?"
Lightning laughed softly. "No. Just two friends hanging lights. Promise."
"Good. I'll bring coffee and lunch. See ya in an hour, Light."
With that, the two hung up and Lightning looked at the boxes in the living room. She took a deep breath and started to go through them. Why did she always have to be the first one into the lights? Lightning and Christmas lights shared a hateful relationship with one another…
"Here we go…" She just hoped this year would be different…
She really hoped this year would be different.
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Fang hurried out of her car, pulling her scarf tighter around her neck in an attempt to keep the cold away. She grabbed the bag of food and the coffee. "Should have bloody stayed in Oerba…" She mumbled to herself before pushing the front door open without knocking, much like she'd done many times in the past.
"Don't come in here! Give me a minute!" Lightning yelled from the living room. Fang's brow rose as she kicked her snow boots off and took her jacket and scarf off. "Fuck!" The next thing Fang heard, was a loud thud from the living room. Thinking the worst, she ran into the living room and saw Lightning, wrapped in Christmas lights, sprawled on the floor.
"Trying to be a human Christmas tree, Light?" Fang smirked. "When you said 'hanging lights', I didn't think you meant yourself."
"I told you not to come in!" Lightning blushed.
"And when have I ever listened to you?" Fang looked in a box near Lightning and pulled out a star top, placing it on Lightning's head. "There ya go."
Lightning glared at Fang before shaking the star topper off her head. "Don't just stand there, help me!"
"I am," Fang said as she adjusted a few lights. "Should I plug you in?"
"If I die, I'm going to kill you."
'Same ol' Light…' Fang smiled. Lightning scoffed and struggled to take the lights off. "Fine, fine. Upsy daisy," she lifted Lightning to her feet and laughed. "How the bloody hell did this happen?"
"Oh, this? THIS happened because Serah insists on having Christmas decorations put up every year. I hate it when she does it. She always goes overboard. I thought that if I did it myself I could eliminate the headache that is Serah and Christmas…"
"Yea, look how that turned out."
"Why did I invite you over again?" Lightning blushed. 'This is way too embarrassing…'
Fang couldn't stop laughing. "Apparently to save ya from the evil demon lights here…" She started searching for the end of the lights. "How the heck did this happen? What were you doing to make you a human Christmas tree?"
"It's not my fault Serah just throws the lights in the box every year…" She grumbled.
"So… it's the lights fault then?"
"…. Absolutely."
Fang chuckled at that and shook her head. "Alright, let's find the end to this thing. Where was the last time you saw it?" She thought for a minute, "Oh yeah. It's on you… somewhere."
"Ha… ha…" Lightning faked. "Very funny."
"Come on, Sunshine," Fang laughed. "It's funny."
"Not really…" Lightning said solemnly. "They're poking me in weird places… Did you find the end yet?"
"Yep!"
After a few minutes of unwrapping, no pun intended, Lightning, they sat down on the couch and sipped their coffee. "So, I take it you and Christmas don't get along."
"Never have, never will."
"Ah, you will someday. I hated it. But the giddy redhead who lives with me made me like it."
For some reason, Lightning was always jealous of Vanille. She liked the redhead, but she couldn't help but feel jealous. She got to see Fang every day, Lightning didn't.
"Serah's tried for years to get me to like it… but honestly? It's just another day for me."
"Christmas is a time to start over. Let your personal issues go for a while to spend time with your family. And that's how I've lived Christmas for the last couple years. With my family."
Lightning sighed, "Yeah… I guess you're right." She stood up and walked towards the back. "Want to help me get the tree set up? It's just out back…"
"That was why I came over here, ya know," Fang winked.
The two trying to get the large tree in the house was… an interesting sight. "Push harder, Fang."
"Never had any complaint- Ow!" Fang dropped the tree when Lightning, literally, shoved it through the door. "Was that really necessary?"
"It was either that or cut a new hole in the wall. Sacrifices are necessary."
"I woulda helped ya cut the damned hole in the wall, ya know," Fang grumbled as the two picked the tree back up and headed towards the living room. "Where the bloody hell did ya get this thing? It's huge and heavy," she asked as they set the tree down.
"I got lucky," Lightning stretched her back and sighed. "Alright. Serah's gonna be home in an hour. We need to get this done before she gets back or she'll take over."
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A small smile played on Lightning's lips as she looked around the fully decorated living room. Everything looked nice. Nothing was overdone. It looked just as good as Serah would have done it. "Want a beer?" She asked Fang.
"Sure," Fang collapsed on the couch and put her feet up on the coffee table. "I could use one."
"I'll be back," Just as Lightning walked into the kitchen, the front door opened. Serah came through the door with Snow and nearly screamed as she saw the mess.
"What did you do?" She looked at Lightning. "Did you do this?"
"It was both of us, Serah," Lightning said coolly as she sat down on the couch, handing Fang a beer.
"So… Fang came over, you fought and tore everything apart and now you're enjoying a drink?" Serah saw Snow rub the back of his head.
"Uhm.. Serah? They're enjoying a beer together. The tree's set up…" He drifted off.
"Wait, Fang's here?"
"Right over here. If ya weren't so busy yelling at Sunshine you would have noticed."
Fang chuckled as Serah hugged Lightning tightly. "So you two ARE back together!"
Lightning's brow furrowed, and Fang noticed. "No," the elder Farron said. "Where did you get that idea?"
"Vanille…" Serah said sheepishly. "She called me as soon as you left."
"Look, Vanille sees what she wants to see," Fang said seriously.
"But you two kissed!"
Lightning stood up. "I… left something in the oven." She set her beer down and walked into the kitchen. From where Fang sat, she could see Lightning lean against the oven, rubbing her face tiredly.
"Ya got a biiig mouth, Serah…"
"Sis? I didn't mean-" Just as she entered the doorway, Lightning was coming out, nearly colliding with her.
"It's fine Serah," she turned her attention towards Fang, who was still sitting on the sofa. "Will you help me clean this mess up?
"Just as long as there's no Christmas lights in any of these boxes…"
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Lightning was bored. The problem with working as a detective… winter was extremely lame. It was boring. Nothing happened. Criminals didn't want to commit a crime in the winter. Why would they? It was freezing. They simply got paid for sitting on their asses all day long trying to find something to do. She was getting antsy.
"Hey, Light?" Drake smiled at her, "You got company." He pointed behind her.
It was Fang. "Hey, Detective."
Lightning stood up quickly, nearly knocking her desk over in an attempt to be generous. "Fang," she greeted after she straightened the papers out swiftly.
She was extremely confused… or… was it confusion or an overwhelming feeling? The last few days had been crazy for her. Fang and her made up extremely quickly. Though not dating, Lightning was grateful Fang even gave her a chance….
Drake found it amusing. He could sense her confusion by how quickly she stood up. He just sat there, a smile trying to not show. "So… this is the infamous Fang, eh?" He got up from his chair and walked over to her. "Nice to finally meet you. Lightning has told me so much about you," He held his hand out. She took it and shook it.
"Has she now?"
Lightning blushed. "Okay, no," Drake admitted, "but I do know that you were the talk of the station for a while. A long while. People used to hide behind their desks, one of those people being me, when she'd come in with a wide smile on her face."
Though his talking, Lightning tried to interrupt by calling his name, but nothing would stop the man. "Yeah, I seem to have that affect on people."
'Cocky as always…' Lightning leaned against her desk as she looked at Fang, wearing her work clothes with a VISITORS name tag on the collar. "So, why are you here? Aren't you working?"
"Yep. There was a special order that I had to help the bakery girls bring over and I figured I'd stop by to see ya," Fang smiled.
Drake smiled at the taller woman, "aw, isn't that sweet?"
"Don't you have somewhere else to be?" Lightning turned to glare at her partner in the silent hope that he would leave. Her actions didn't go unnoticed by Fang, who chuckled softly at her.
The man just stood there for a minute before shaking his head and stayed right where he was. "Nope, I think I'm good right here."
Lightning's arms came up to fold over her chest as her eyes narrowed at him. "Drake… go bug the recruits…" she hated how pleading her voice sounded to him, but she really didn't want him around while she talked with her ex.
"Right…" He left and finally disappeared, causing Lightning to become relaxed for the first time all day.
"I like him," Fang smirked. "He reminds me of me."
"You would…" She smiled softly before sitting down in her chair. "How long can you stay for?"
Fang carefully leaned against the desk near the detective. "Not that long… I guess I just wanted to ask ya something."
Lightning felt her heart leap into her throat, but did her best to maintain her composure. "What's that?"
"Well, I was just wonderin' if you were free after ya got off? Maybe we could get some coffee."
"Sure!" Lightning blushed when she realized how quickly she answered. "I mean… yeah sure if you want to. I don't…"
"Stop the act, Light," Fang smiled.
Lightning quickly cleared her throat to calm her nerves back down, "I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." Sadly though, she could feel the blush rising to her cheeks. No matter what happened, Fang always had that effect on her. Even before they started dating, the effects were the same.
Fang chuckled and pushed herself off the desk. "If ya say so, darlin'. I've gotta get back. I'll pick ya up after work." With that, she walked away and out of the police station.
"Yea… after work…"
'Is this a date? … No… it's not. Is it? That part of our relationship is over. Isn't it? It's just coffee with a… friend… right? Yea, that's all it is.'
Needless to say… the rest of Lightning's day went by extremely slowly.
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Hope you liked it. Look for a One-Shot posted by either me or Haruka. We're co-writing one.
By the way, anyone else play the FFXIII-2 Demo? I love FFXIII. I thought it was a good game but there were some bits of Gameplay I did not like. I'm glad they've fixed that in 2. J Anyone preorder FFXIII-2? I've preordered mine already. I gave in and got the Collector's Edition. Wasn't going to but it called for me. Lol. I'm just hoping it's $79.99 well spent.
ONE MORE THING!
If anyone has PSN and owns:
AC: B
RE5
Uncharted 2 or 3
CoD: Black Ops (zombies mode is the mode I like)
You can add me on PSN. My username is located in my profile. Just send me a message over PSN and let me know who you are. If you don't do so I won't add you.
Time for work (at 6 in the morning yippee). See you guys later.