Vanille stood on the porch of their house, watching as Hope and Light drove up from the distance. Fang was off inside somewhere, probably cleaning up the mess she made by forgetting one of the patties while she went to the restroom.

Smiling, the two made their way off their bike and over to where the redhead stood.

"Umphh!"

Hope picked Vanille up in a huge bear hug and sat her down again with a smile plastered on his face.

"Uh no fair Hope...what happened to you being little? I would have been picking you up." She waved at Light and gave the strawberry blonde a hug as well.

"Whatever Vanille, you know very well even back then you couldn't pick me up...look at these." He pinched her tiny arm and chuckled.

"Noodle arms."

With a pout she grabbed the bag that Light was holding and peered inside while she started to walk into the house.

"Ohhhh wine...just in time."

Light followed on her heels with a slightly confused expression.

"Time for what?"

Looking back at the two of them as they stood in the living room, Vanille had a stupid smirk on her face.

"Why it's wine thirty in the afternoon, time to get eat and get plastered." Giggling she made her way to the kitchen where Fang was scrambling to get rid of the smell that now dominated the space.

"Hey Fang, you're supposed to cook the food not incinerate it." Light said with her arms crossed and a small smile on her lips. The raven woman looked up from what she was doing and walked over, giving her a huge hug.

"Hey Light, it's called a hug...defense stance not needed. I guess I'll have to get you drunk and then you'll hug me back." with a wink.

"Food's ready...most of it is cooked. Light can have the charcoal patty that I just made...for the rest of us the good ones are on the table." laughing.

The group prepared their plates and made their way to the living room to sit down. The food was actually pretty good.

"That was great. I guess Fang actually can do something besides turning into a monster and blowing everything up." The strawberry soldier remarked, causing the raven woman to raise an eyebrow in amusement.

Vanille got the bottle of wine and poured everyone a glass, and they all sat there taking in the afternoon.

"Oh I almost forgot...we brought you guys a house warming present."

Hope got up and walked over to the bag that he had brought in and pulled out a gift that was neatly wrapped, handing it to Vanille. Taking it, the woman squeaked ,causing Fang to roll her eyes.

The young woman opened it slowly and cupped her mouth when she saw what it was.

"Our box!" she whispered and looked over to Fang who's own eyes had tears building up in them.

"It's the box you gave me..."

Hope and Light looked a bit confused but happy that their gift was eliciting such a reaction.

"Thank you guys so much! This is the best gift in the world. Where did you find this?"

Shrugging her shoulders slightly, Light looked slightly embarrassed.

"I kind of stole it from a room in Oerba village when we were searching for you."

Fang threw her an amused smile and then took the box, eyeing it in disbelief.

"It's a good thing you're a thief then."

Downing the rest her wine she sat there grinning happily. Light shifted and then looked at the two women who were holding hands.

"I guess it's time I just get it over with and tell you two why me and Hope decided to come visit on such short notice."

Vanille looked up with a smile on her face, shifting focus back and forth from the two.

"You're getting married!" clasping her hands together, Vanille nearly squeaked at her own assumption.

"What? No!" Light got up and walked to where the wine bottle was sitting and poured herself another glass.

"We're here because we came to recruit you for a mission."

Fang quirked an eyebrow and looked at Light in anticipation.

"Oh finally! It's so boring here..."

Vanille slapped the raven's arm and looked back up at Light.

"Domestication not your flavor?" Light sat back down and sipped her wine, a small smile on her lips.

"As you know Sazh has been in charge of military operations in the eastern banks of Acleder...there have been rumors of strange activity there that seems eerily similar to what we all went through. I was hoping that you two could accompany us in finding out what's going on."

Vanille looked over at Fang who was sitting, rubbing the back of her head. She stood up suddenly and looked Light straight in the eyes.

"Sounds dangerous...when do we leave?"

Light chuckled softly and sipped her wine.

"You can sit back down Fang, we don't need to leave until morning if you both choose to come with us."

Sitting down, the raven woman looked over at Vanille with expectation. Squeezing her hand, the strawberry just shrugged her shoulders.

"Whatever you want babe, I'll come along."

Fang smiled and then grabbed another bottle of wine, opening it.

"In that case...I say it's time for a celebration." holding her glass up she made a toast.

"Here's to not being crystals, and not being being bored anymore."

"Agreed."

And with that, the four friends enjoyed the night, anticipating the mission they would start on together.

Note:

-I will never ever ever again write Lemon anything...especially straight lemon...that was a disaster.

-Writing is the hardest thing I have ever tried to attempt in my life...and what I mean is writing fiction...I am a finance major who's used to writing screenplays. I am bad at fiction...very very bad. I hope I am getting better though I thought fanfics would be a good way to practice.

-Thank you all for the reviews, it helps when you know someone is reading.

-I might write a sequel someday, if I need the escape bad enough. Sorry it took so long to finish.