Disclaimer: I do not own FF7 or FF13.

Lightning never once looked back at her. As always, she was walking up ahead with her head held high as if nothing could stop her. Nothing could... in a sense; that was what Tifa had always thought shortly after meeting Lightning, but the longer she spends with the pink haired woman, the more she thinks there is to her. She's not only an Academian, she's not an egotistical arrogant jerk, she's not a perfect soldier, and she's not only a beautiful Ice Queen with a different touch of grace than what Tifa's used to. Making sure Lightning's not looking, Tifa patted her head where Lightning had moments ago and could already feel a slight warming of her cheeks. She was certain that there was a nice side to the soldier now and she was excited with the aspect of uncovering her. The gentle smile, the soft voice, they were all new. "Tifa?" Her eyes darted up to Lightning's visage, seeing her give her a strange look. Wow... she must look stupid. Tifa pulled her hand away from the top of her head and desperately fought a blush of embarrassment this time. If Lightning had thought anymore of it, at least she chose to remain quiet. "Everyone's here already."

They traveled faster than she had realized. Barret, Wedge, Biggs, and Jessie were already there. Cloud stood off to the side with his arms crossed while Aerith was playing with Marlene, who in turn was grasping onto both the moogle and chocobo as if her life depended on it. "Looks like she likes your gift." Tifa laughed.

"Tifa's guide to kids 101 right?" She looked at Lightning, mouth hanging before she let out a short unbelievable laugh. Was Lightning joking with her? Even though she had no smile or any outward hint that it was supposed to be lighthearted, Tifa just had a gut feeling. "What's next prof?" That just confirmed it.

The fighter looked, seeing Marlene run up to her as fast as her short legs could carry her while stumbling along the way with the stuffed animals in her hand. "Light!" The little girl was practically fluttering around them, eyes wide with a huge smile on her face, "Thanks! Light, thanks!"

There was that smile again. Tifa held her breath when Lightning knelt down to Marlene and poked her forehead. "You're welcome." With out word or warning, the girl suddenly lent in placing a sloppy kiss on Lightning's cheek before she pulled back blushing madly. She gave a bow before darting back towards Barret to hide behind the large man's leg.

"Now, now," Tifa laughed seeing Lightning's shock, "better be careful or they'll start calling you a pedophile."

"W-What?" The soldier shot up onto her legs giving Tifa a deadly glare, yet she found it more humorous than terrifying this time around. "She's four years old. A kid."

"I was just joking, sheesh." Rolling her eyes, she waved the soldier off, "I didn't know you were expecting kisses on the cheek though as thank-yous though."

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Huh?" Tifa stammered before she blushed madly. What was wrong with her today? Blushing left and right. "I-I-"

Lightning smirked; battle won. She turned away, leaving Tifa to her thoughts, but it wasn't long before her phone buzzed in her pocket at the same time as the sound of a transport neared. "It's Fang!" Marlene yelled, pointing up at the sky where the transport hovered. The said woman could be seen hanging out before she jumped off, much to everyone's surprise. The spear wielder landed on her feet with a loud thump, enough to make Tifa wince. She was sure that was painful and she wasn't the only one considering she had heard Lightning mutter 'idiot.' Even if it was painful, Fang stood up as if it was nothing, smiling cockily. "That's so cool!" Marlene fluttered around the agent, acting like a child her age for once. It was a relief.

"Hahaha!" Fang snickered before she pointed at Lightning challengingly, "I. Am. Cool."

"Yeah, and idiotic to boot." Lightning retorted evenly before watching the transport land behind. Walking forward with a shove to Fang, Tifa almost caught Lightning's smirk when the other staggered to regain balance on her numb legs.

Aerith laughed before she followed Lightning, patting the other on the shoulder, "So close."

"Don't worry, I'm sure Marlene still thinks you're cool." Tifa offered as she walks past as well.

The transport door opens and everyone tenses, not sure what to expect. Raines' professionalism? Lightning's coldness? Or... simply Fang-like? What they didn't expect was a baby chocobo to hover out, chirping enthusiastically. "CHOCOBO!" Marlene yelled, running up to the fluttering animal.

"H-Hey! Come back here!" A man staggers out, dressed in beige pants and a green uniform jacket. The wrinkles on his skin show his age, not too old, but older than all of them. As Tifa had suspected, he had an afro. So 'afro' does mean the same thing in Academia, it's just his use is... different. Grabbing the chick in his hands, he almost falls down the steps but quickly recovers by jumping down them. "That was close." Looking up, he smiles when he sees them, definitely giving off the fatherly vibe. "Well, well, well, it looks like AVALANCHE has got their fair share of pretty ladies as well." A smile blossomed on his face when he saw Marlene before he lent down, handing the chocobo chick to the young girl, "Hello there little lady, what's your name?"

"Marlene!"

"It's time to leave." With the simple statement, the soldier climbed onto the transport. Tifa wonders if Lightning had made it her job to be such a kill-joy.

...

It never hit her as to how ridiculous she had to look, never crossed her mind that some might think of her as some country redneck, but she was simply in awe at the city before her. It was beyond her imagination, and to think, Lightning was from a place like this. Academia was the epitome of technological advances; grand skyscrapers, whizzing air cars, and neon fluorescent lights illuminating the city in a spectacular light show. With her hands, and nose pressed to the glass windows of the transport as it glided through the city, Tifa thought to herself that she would never forget the experience.

The land here was so different from Gaia, the city was so different from Midgar; it was a land of imagination, like a dream for people like her coming from the place that she is. After flying through what felt like endless nature and lush greenery filled with plants and animals of all sizes and species she had never seen before, she comes to this sight. There was an upheaval of awe, leaving her stunned as the modern and futuristic landscape suddenly appeared as they flew past a tall mountainous area.

Buildings reached up, seemingly past the sky and into the heavens. They were clean and bright, reflecting the sun's rays, blue skies, and the fluffy white clouds drifting above. Her eyes were wide, her jaw slack and when she looked down, her knees felt weak seeing how far the ground was from them. Fluorescent walkways ran left, right, up and down, of either bright blue or red with layers on layers; it looked like an endless maze. Her eyes moved all over, seemingly want to take in everything but simply incapable of processing it all. Electronic signs, flashing dashboards, a smile played on her lips as she saw a large promotional video of a Academian singer. It reminded her of the posters of Loveless.

This is Lightning's city. Tifa pulled herself away from the breathtaking view of the city zooming by and turned to look at the pink haired soldier seated not too far from her. Legs and arms crossed, her eyes were closed and her face was always set with that petulant scowl. She had half expected Lightning to be happy to be back home, but perhaps she should've known better. After all, nothing much fazes the soldier. "So you're from the future huh?" Tifa laughed as she sat down beside Lightning, "Academia's incredible. No wonder you hated Midgar."

"I guess."

"I would've thought that you'd be happy to be home."

"Our Light? Happy? No, never." Fang snickered as she stepped out of the cockpit, leaving the door ajar. "You can't even make her crack a smile, her face just wasn't made to do that."

Rolling her eyes, the fighter leaned back comfortably on the chair and slowly tuned in on the music playing in the separate room. "Is that Academian music?"

"Academian music?" The spear wielder raised her eyebrow, "You could say that, though I doubt it's any different from what you've got in Midgar. Just your typical pop. Vanille can't stop singing it. Drivin' me up the wall." Fang breezed past them before she suddenly dropped, hooking her arm around Lightning's neck, "That's Elida Karmic. Hope's new girlfriend."

"Hope?" Lightning stared blankly at the other woman before shaking her off, "He has a girlfriend?"

"Nah! Of course not!" Pulling back, a Cheshire grin crept up on Fang's face, "He's too busy crushing on you to even notice her!"

Now that was interesting. "You have a boyfriend?" Tifa asked, genuinely surprised. Not that it was surprising that Lightning has someone that likes her, but the idea that Lightning was involved with someone romantically was a surprise. With looks like hers, she could have men and women lined up to get a chance with her but it had never crossed her mind that Lightning, herself, would be interested in anyone in that way.

"Hope's just a friend."

"Yeah, a friend with more than friendly intentions." Fang laughed.

"Don't be ridiculous."

"So you do have a boyfriend." Tifa grinned.

"He's crushing on her." Fang repeated, "He'd die of happiness if Light actually notices."

"Like I said; he's a friend."

"A friend that's been crushing on her for six years! Poor guy doesn't know when to give up. Elida Karmic's knockin' on his front door and he's too busy day dreaming about Sunshine here."

"Sunshine?"

Tifa could hear Lightning let out an audible groan. "Fang. Shut. Up." There was a deadly glare that could freeze hell over and make behemoths whimper like kicked puppies. Fang knew when to back off, and did so with her hands held up in surrender.

"Alright, alright, no need to get pissy. I know when my life is in danger so cool your pretty head off." With a smirk directed at Tifa, Fang moved onwards to antagonize the rest of AVALANCHE.

"So... Hope huh?" Tifa almost flinched underneath Lightning's glare and decided the best course of action this time was to laugh it off, "Y'know, I'm curious now. About the Special Ops and the Guardian Corps. For some reason, I kind of expected everyone to be a little like you. Serious, a workaholic, but... then I met Sazh who has a chocobo living in his hair, heard of a singing Vanille, Hope who's been crushing on you for six years, and Fang. You're all so different."

"If you want serious, that would be the PSICOM then." Lightning answered, eyes drifting out the window to watch the passing city, "Let's just hope you don't meet Jihl."

"Jihl?"

"Jihl Nabaat." The soldier murmured, "Colonel of the PSICOM. If you think I'm bad... then she's your worst nightmare."

"Is that suppose to be a word of warning?"

"No. What I'm saying is that you don't want to get involved with her. Don't talk to her, don't even think about meeting her. You'll regret it."

"This from personal experience?"

"I don't regret what I've done... but that doesn't mean that I don't hate it."

That was it; end of the conversation. Lightning hadn't budged, never made a move nor hinted that she didn't want to talk, but Tifa understood somehow. She had never known Lightning to be one to say something in such a round-about way, even if it was only for a single sentence. That subtle change reminded her of the Lightning she had encountered in the Golden Saucer, and it told her that she was starting to tread into darker waters.

Here's a little FF13 trivia. Kudos to anyone who recognizes Elida Karmic!

Thanks for the review too! (You know who you are~) ;D