Back to writing for this. Which I do enjoy so.

Chapter 43:

"I'm asking you Light, if you want we could totally just go to see the movie series they are binging here... it is a lot better than you going out in the rain. And possibly getting sick." Vanille said as she started to walk over to the bed as she just watched intently at the sight of Lightning continuing to do the routine that she had gotten used to seeing.

A routine that Vanille was very happy to watch intently as Lightning just seemed to accept that she was here. Something that she wasn't sure why she was so happy at the sight of it, but she just was. It wasn't even a case of her wanting to rock the boat. She was more than happy to watch this.

Frowning a little Lightning just rested flat against the floor for a few seconds as she took a deep breath before lifting herself up again. "That is probably the one thing that has never happened to me. I've never been sick. Not even a runny nose. Even if I did, the medical wing seemed like it is well stocked enough to cure any sort of cold." Lightning said as she started to push up so she was sitting on her knees.

As she placed a hand back down she just quickly got into a position as she lowered herself she could see Vanille laying down on her bed staring at the ceiling almost. "But I also don't mind the rain. It makes running a lot more relaxing. Especially when it is closer to misting than rain pelting down like it is right now. So I don't see any reason staying in."

'Might make your cold icy heart even colder and harder... so I'm all for this. Maybe we'll get the bubonic plague... that would be fun. Or the less fun tuberculosis.'

"I've been vaccinated for one recently, and the other I can only contract from a rat or a flea who was previously on a rat biting me. Neither by the way I could catch from just being out in the rain." Lightning said softly as she just smiled at the sight of Vanille sitting up as though she was about to question it but decided against it as she just moved back towards the edge of the bed. A smile as she stood up.

"So ignoring the obvious questions, we should probably go get some breakfast." Vanille said as she walked towards the radiator with her arms crossed behind her back. Spinning around she could see Light pushing off the ground again. Vanille knew that she was just using Light's room, but she felt the need to do this. It was the only punishment that she really deserved for telling on Light, but she knew that this would be the easiest place to do it, it just so happened that she was going to be using Light again.

"I wouldn't venture much closer to those pipes... they're hot... stupid old designs." Lightning said causing Vanille to jump. As Vanille could feel her heart pick up as she could see Lightning shifting herself around as she stood up with a sharp pop. Spinning around she could see Vanille just taking a few defensive steps backwards.

"How did you..." Vanille asked as she felt the heat on her forearms. A comfortable heat as she could see Lightning just grabbing her leg behind her giving it a sharp pull.

"What passes as a mirror. But seriously you may want to take a few steps away from that. Burns aren't a pleasant feeling." Lightning stated as she quickly switched what leg she was holding onto. A little concern for what Vanille was doing just because she didn't want the woman to be harmed.

Or at least didn't her to be harmed while she was in Light's room. Especially so close to another incident where someone was injured in her room.

Letting go of her leg as she could see Vanille take a final step backwards. Biting her lip hoping that she could at least get a little bit of a burn. She had to ignore the feeling of of Light's strong hands almost forcibly removing her from the pipes. The look of concern on her face was something that was a thing that confused Vanille as they walked over towards the bed once again.

Forcing Vanille to sit down, Lightning just was glad at the sight of Vanille presenting her arms to her as though it was an instinctual response. Something that just made Lightning even more worried about the woman.

"Why would you do that Vanille?" Lightning asked as she brushed the sleeves up Vanille's slender arms noticing properly the bandages covering the length of her arms. "And what is with all of these?" Lightning asked calmly as she stared up into Vanille's eyes.

"Same reason as what you just stopped me doing before I could get any more damage." Vanille said as she pulled her arms back and started to fix the sleeves she had. "Everyone is here for a reason Light... but promise me you aren't going to tell the staff Light. As you can imagine they aren't fond about this kind of thing." Vanille said as she grabbed Lightning's hands and quickly pulled her up. A smile being present as she could see the confusion on Light's face.

'Damn... the bitch is clearly crazy... I think I actually like her now. I can see why you want to touch her butt now... just cop a feel while you can.'

Shaking her head a little Lightning just spoke up, "Why would you harm yourself like that? Burns are a nightmare to heal and can get infected super easily." Lightning knew the hissing tone wasn't going to be the one that Vanille would respond to in any positive manner, but she still had to let the woman know how much she was against this. Even if it meant that she would be destroying a friendship.

As the smile seemed to become slightly more genuine Lightning at least felt a small bit relieved. "Some people cut, others bite... I just happen to have an affinity for burning myself. As for the healing process, I do get these changed frequently. Just please don't tell them about this time... I can't afford for them to find out. It wasn't even long so I probably don't have any new injuries." Vanille said with a slight laugh that Lightning just continued to stare at the woman. "Light... please... just for two days... that is all I'm asking... after that I'll have my visitation rights secured with Fang and then they are meant to be changed and some more antibacterial cream applied... so everything will be fine."

'Damn... that bitch really is coo coo bananas. Go on... touch her butt. If I had control I would totally would... I'd do it so long that our hands would fuse with that ample tushie would be part of our hand... maybe we should bite it to mark it as our property... that is how it works with humans right?'

Shaking her head Lightning just continued to keep a straight face as she took a deep breath. "I wasn't going to Vanille. Because frankly I knew it wasn't going to be long enough to damage your arms. I'm just worried. What made you do that?" Lightning asked as she pulled back to just stare at the woman. As if that would contain the answer she was looking for.

"Are you positive that you aren't going to tell?" Vanille asked with a calm expression. As she noticed the look in Lightning's expression it just spoke enough for her to respond. "I've just been going through things mentally... and some of which I can't exactly talk about... hence why I ended up here with a suicide watch... which has happened a few times. Not as fun as you think... lost the right to even have a door. Because did you know they can actually remove them easily... just need to be on the inside. And there is someone sitting at the far end off the hall all the time just waiting. As some narks every couple of minutes passby." Vanille said with a slight laugh as she just took some deep breaths.

"Is it because of me?" Lightning asked before she took a breath and looked away as she balled up her fist as she debated if she barely restrained herself from punching the wall she knew was solid. As she just spoke up again. "I'm sorry if it is Vanille... but you can talk. If not to me then to any of the psychiatrists. I'm sure they would enjoy talking to you about it." Lightning continued as she quickly turned back towards Vanille.

'Aw... do you want to touch the cute butt too? I kind of wish we were back in the eighteen hundreds so you could touch all the cute butts in this place and not get in trouble. I mean we do come from money... and influence... we could probably burn this place down with no ill effects right now... in case you ever get bored.'

Laughing a little, Vanille just grabbed Light's arm and gave it a light tug down towards her. "Light, not everything is about you. And the thing with depression is sometimes even when you do talk about it, it doesn't help... I mean I had a near break down yesterday talking with Yuna and one of the many reasons why I do it did come up... and the antidepressants I'm on are mostly hit and miss... I just happen to have had a few too many miss days recently. Which is just bad luck really... I mean they work nine out of ten times." Vanille lied as she could see Lightning just smiled faintly at her.

"Why would you take them if there is a ten percent chance they won't work?" Lightning asked trying to understand the reasoning behind it as Vanille just pressed her lips into a thin line.

"Besides of course I have to to keep my visitation rights? They are the best option really for them... when I don't take them it really is mostly miss days... like swap the ratios... leaning if anything more towards miss... trust me these demons are a lot easier to get a lid on compared to yours." Vanille said standing up just giving Lightning's balled up fist a gentle squeeze. "Now come on... can we get food? Just pretend this never happened? Just... a few days of pretend... that is all I'm asking here Light." Vanille continued to plead as Lightning unballed her fist to just hold onto Vanille's hand.

She could feel some comfort in the small, but a lot softer hand compared to her own... something that confused her profusely as to why it brought her that comfort. She didn't even really like the girl. "I was going to anyway Vanille. It is just a small load off my mind that I'm not inadvertently the cause of it..."

'I'm starting to think this girl would be terrible at poker... see if she can beat a pair of twos... because I've got a new addition to my sweet pad riding on this. I'm thinking a sauna is what I need up here... get your fear of naked people up here as well.'

Shaking her head, Lightning just didn't want to seemingly pile onto the woman. Especially because she didn't want to see this woman to get hurt further. Especially if she was the one to do it herself. But she could at least see why Serah would stop her at points but none of that really mattered because she also knew that if it made sense for the person it probably did.

At least that was her experience with it. But she also knew that Serah was very emotional over the petty things that happened in her life. None of which really made sense to Lightning, but she also knew her sister was trying to 'protect' her.

"Have you noticed whenever the voice says something you think is stupid you shake your head like that?" Vanille asked as they walked out of the room, she was glad that Lightning had continued to hold her hand, she didn't know why it felt as good as it did but she was just happy it did make her feel good.

"I've been told... but what else am I meant to do when it is asking a stupid question about poker and redecorating its house inside my head? Apparently it wants to build a sauna onto it." Lightning asked as she closed her door, just a smile on her face as she could feel Vanille tug her lightly towards the stairs. Something that made Lightning just enjoy the time with the girl.

"Point taken. I don't know how I would respond to that... is that seriously what most of your arguments with it are about?" Vanille asked worried that she may have made a mountain out of a molehill and possibly even get Lightning punished for something so foolish.

"Not really... just it so happens that today thus far that has been what the bulk of it has been about." Lightning said with a smile as she could feel Vanille try and tug her towards the elevator where the pink haired teen could see a bunch of people grouping up. Giving Vanille a light tug towards the stairs, Lightning just smiled at the pouting look on the woman's face. It was almost as if she hadn't wanted to climb down the few flights to get to the cafeteria.

'Well, at least you didn't tell her about the pair of twos... maybe you should just tell her about how you want to touch peoples... namely her butt. I mean is it necessary to continue to hold onto her hand for this long because it is seeming kind of gay. Like really gay. Like really really really gay.'

Biting her lip Lightning just took a deep breath as her and Vanille were walking down a few stairs. She was a little glad that they were a little alone at the moment. Just because it made her feel good to be away from some of the people. "What is your point?" Lightning hissed as she could see Vanille looking back at her with a raised eyebrow. One that was clear to her what it meant as Lightning just rolled her eyes at her as if to signify that it wasn't an important thing.

'No point. I like it. At least it is one of the many mysteries about us answered... now if you could just figure out why you have the compulsive self sacrificing need... I mean I know why, but I don't want you to cheat and get the answers early. That wouldn't be the right thing to do.'

Shaking her head again Lightning just continued to walk down the last flight of stairs. It was almost like Vanille had sensed that she wasn't in the mood to talk about it which just made her all that much more thankful. It wasn't even a case that she was uncomfortable. She just didn't feel like it was right to tell Vanille about it right now.

"So what's with the wanting to constantly take the stairs? Afraid people are going to bite you? Because honestly with some of rumours going around about you, most people don't even want to look at you for fear of what you could do." Vanille said as she slipped her hand free from Lightning's feeling her heart sink a little as she skipped over towards the door before flinging it open with a wide smile on her face.

"I don't care about the rumours. I just seriously don't do crowds too well. I can barely stand waiting in line to get food and even then I can barely stand being with the group to eat... and even then I can't stand it when people walk up on me or touch me when I'm not expecting it... as I'm sure you are well aware of it from yesterday's breakfast situation." Lightning said as Vanille just laughed a little as she reached up and started to rub her shoulder a little. "Your shoulder isn't sore is it? Because if it is I could give you a shoulder rub... according to my sister I can actually give pretty decent ones." Lightning said as she could see Vanille just smile at her like that had been the best news to her the entire day.

"I'd like that... but I'd also would just like to just eat right now... I'm super hungry. You'd think they would actually feed us enough... but I mean in their defence... I did eat like four bowls of pudding and none of the actual food... was good pudding though." Vanille said with a smile as Lightning just smiled back.

"I don't know about that... I only had a spoonful before I nearly gagged. I'm getting tired of eating sweet things though. The muscle spasms are starting to seem like a better thing." Lightning said as she could see Vanille just smiling an almost devious smile that Lightning did recognise from all the time Serah has forced her to be around that it was a devious smile. Or at least what was meant to be devious but Lightning didn't particularly care about.

Which if her history was anything to go off of, it just made people further confused when to her it just made so much sense. "Van, I don't care. You know I freely give that stuff away if you ask. I'm just not a sweet eating person right now... probably won't be for a long time the more and more I need to practically drink as you so playfully called it bee vomit."

"That's what honey is! There is one way out of any bee and it is the same is the same hole that takes stuff in. Ergo bee vomit. Not my fault you Cocoon born don't know where foods come from." Vanille pouted as Lightning just shook her head and walked into place at the line just behind the red head.

'Crazy and smart... Light, I've decided that we must have her.'

Author's Note:

And here is another chapter for you guys. I hope you all enjoyed it.