AN- MERRY FREAKING FFXIIIMAS. Tried to have this done by the 10th anniversary the other day but that was noooot gonna happen with how life is busy at this time of year. I hope everyone has a safe and excellent festive season, and for those struggling during this season, you're not alone, you are loved, family isn't just blood. Blood is obligation, the family you choose is life. ANYWAY HAVE SOME WORDS.

"I gotta admit, Farron. This is a full one-eighty from your... earlier reluctance." Rygdea said quietly as Lightning poured over the maps of the city, marking out vantage points and known strongholds. She glanced up at him, expressionless, before going back to work.

"I realised that hesitancy could have cost more lives," Lightning finally replied, sticking a pin in a corner of a map in an industrial district. "I don't plan on sitting on the sidelines, or hesitating anymore. I can't." She took a shuddering breath, trying to push the events back at the stronghold away from her mind. "I won't."

Rygdea sat on the edge of the table and gave her a sympathetic look, before grabbing a pin and helping. "Just remember to lean on your friends and family, Farron. You're not alone in this."

Lightning opened her mouth to make her usual dismissive response and realised it wasn't getting her anywhere. Instead, she straightened up and placed a comforting hand on Rygdea's shoulder. "Thank you. How are you holding up?"

Giving a non-committal shrug, Rygdea stabbed at the map with a pin. "Nothing a bucket load of whiskey won't cure when the war is done, old friend." He sighed. Lightning gave a short hum and turned to walk out.

"If we survive this, Rygdea? First case is on me."

"I'll hold you to that, Farron!"

Lightning rolled her eyes and left Rygdea to his own devices, wandering down the hall to the med bay. She dutifully did the rounds with the other soldiers wounded in the attack, until she came to a stop at a curtain that drew her attention. Soft, rapid clicking could be heard from the other side, and when she drew the curtain back she found Vanille typing furiously away on a laptop, her focus solely on whatever was on the monitor.

"Aren't you meant to be resting?" Lightning drawled, giving Vanille a marginally disapproving look. The redhead just clicked her tongue and kept typing.

"I can rest when the war's over, Light. Not before. Like an explosion is going to keep me away from my work."

Lightning conceded the point and sat down beside the bed, looking Vanille over. The bandages and copious amount of stitches didn't appear to slow her down at all, and she smiled to herself. "What are you working on anyway?"

Vanille turned the laptop towards her, to show overlaying maps and satellite imagery of the city. "I'm using thermo-imagery overlaid with data plots to uncover key points within the city that have established foot-traffic since the conflict started." She began to explain, sighing as Lightining's eyes were already glazing over. "I'm using satellite maps to try to figure out where the insurgents are hiding."

"You could have just led with that you know.." Lightning complained, looking over the maps with a critical eye. "So uncovered anything useful so far?" Vanille nodded with a hum and brought up new images on the screen.

"Here. It looks like they're actually using the subway system to move around the city, the exit points where the thermo scans are old service tunnels that the maintenance workers used."

The work was astounding and Lightning couldn't help but smile broadly. "This is good, Van. Real good. And all this from a hospital bed. God help anyone that gets on your bad side when you're well."

Vanille gave her a tight smile and nodded towards the curtain. "Put in a good word with the doctor so I can get out of here, and you won't end up there."

"Yeah yeah. We'll see. Promise me you'll get some rest in, and then I'll put in a word. Deal?"

"Ugh, fine." Vanille groaned, snapping the laptop shut and putting it on the table by the bed. "But you owe me. Ice cream, or something. I dunno. I'll think about it."

Lightning gave her hand a gentle squeeze and stood up, peering out the curtains to flag a nurse down. "My friend here is feeling a little peckish, you guys have any ice cream for a sweet tooth?" She asked. The nurse peered over her shoulder and gave Vanille a smile.

"For her? Absolutely. I'll see what I can find." The nurse answered, before heading off to the office. Vanille laughed and tugged the blanket up around her a little more, shaking her head in amusement.

"Never let it be said that you're not a woman of action, Light." She said with a giggle, before swallowing hard. "This… This was real scary. That's why I keep working. If I stop… I'll… Stop. And I'll probably just cry in a corner until I turn to dust. I'm… I'm tired, Light. I'm so tired."

Lightning's lips thinned and she closed the curtains, moving back over to Vanille and enveloping her in a hug. The sudden shift in mood was startling, though not entirely unexpected. "I know, Van. I know. I'll fix this. I promise you I will fix this, and let you go home so you can find a pink chicken for me."

Vanille sniffed and gave a soft laugh, nestling into the embrace to steal a small moment of comfort. "I've… Been fighting as long as Fang has. I know she has… Trouble sitting still. But I think with you, she can learn to be still. Will you show her? Come back with us?"

After… After… Lightning hadn't stopped to consider after. What would be next? Go back to her tiny apartment in Londres and go back to talking to Fang over video conference? She had spent so long hanging on for dear life that she hadn't considered what would happen to just… Let go, and fall with Fang.

"I…" Lightning paused, and cleared her throat. "We'll see. It sounds perfect." She stood as the nurse returned with a little bowl of ice cream and smiled at the little colourful sprinkles that covered it. Vanille's beaming grin at the sight lifted her spirits and she gave the redhead's hand a squeeze.

"Thank you, Light. For everything."

"Eat your ice cream, Van. I'm gonna go check on Fang and whatever mischief she's up to." Lightning stood up with a stretch, and with a final look over her shoulder, shook her head at Vanille's focus already on the ice cream in front of her.

"Stupid… Ngh… Skin… Why are you… Like this…"

Fang winced as she passed the needle through her arm, stitching up her own wound in the comfort of her own quarters. She wasn't interested in taking up a bed in the med bay, and having an unknown go near her. Still. It was always easier patching someone else up than it was herself.

The door clicked closed behind her and Fang turned her head, smiling softly as Lightning wandered over. The pinkette took the needle from her hand with a quiet sigh, sitting down and giving her a mildly admonishing look. "You… Don't have to do that, sweetheart." Fang said quietly, watching as Lightning got comfy on the chair beside her.

"Someone has to, besides, I can finally return the favour for Palumpolum." Lightning replied with a wry smile, Fang raising her eyebrows with a bark of laughter.

"Oh we keeping track, sweetheart? I remember you were quite cross with me for taking care of you back then." Fang reminisced of the argument they'd had back when they first met, the untrustworthy glare in the soldier's eyes a distant memory to the love they held for her now.

"I doubt you need little reminders like I did." Lightning answered, leaning forward to kiss her gently on the cheek. "I try to be less of a stubborn asshole these days."

"Still stubborn. Less of an arse."

"Flatterer."

Fang smiled and winced as Lightning continued working, hitting a particularly tender spot. "Well of course. I wouldn't have gotten far with you otherwise, darlin." She leant forward and gave Lightning a nuzzle along the jaw, interrupting her. The pinkette laughed quietly before falling silent.

"You know, with everything that's happened we... Um... We never really had the chance to talk about after." Lightning finally mentioned, her voice hesitant. Fang looked up with a questioning hum and looked around at the cramped quarters in the building they had holed up in. It was a holed out janitor's closet with a small cot and a tiny card table where they sat. She was no stranger to confined living spaces, but this was a little much, and made her miss her ranch terribly.

"Hm. Yeah. You've thought about it though." Fang observed, seeing the critical gaze in those beautiful cerulean eyes.

"I've tried to," Lightning hummed, tying off a stitch. "We live on opposite sides of the world. I could hardly expect you to leave your home and leave Vanille alone, but being away from Serah…"

Fang knew the cost of war all too well. She had fought in enough of them. But what she was unfamiliar with was slow pace, relaxing, to just be. She was born into war, and the sudden screeching halt of conflict in the New World had brought her restless unease, like there was something waiting around the corner, ready to strike. If Fang was being honest, it was a relief when Lightning had come knocking to enlist her aid. War was familiar. Battle like flexing an old muscle.

"I wouldn't want you to be far from her either." Fang replied with a sigh, thinking over their options. "It's never simple really. Either were at war or domestic stuff like distance gets in the way, Huh?"

Lightning nodded with a sigh, leaning forward to burrow into Fang's neck. There was always something trying to steal their time. She was sick of it. Fang put her good arm around her and stayed silent. Just enjoyed her being close. Lightning leant into her and sighed. There had to be a way to find more time… She paused, and looked up at Fang.

"That time you came over to Londres to see me, and we talked about your home... You said... there were ruins out your way... right?"

"I did, yeah."

Lightning thought more for a moment, and then looked up towards the door. "Maybe I can detour that expedition to Iemen. Go out your way instead. I don't have to give up my work, will travel frequently on the museum's dime, and you and I can just... use it as a convenient excuse."

Fang beamed. "That sounds lovely. I can travel with you too, you know. I did say I'd be happy to guard an expedition or two."

Lightning laughed and ran a finger along Fang's collarbone, stopping at the top button of her shirt. "My hero. But first I absolutely want to go somewhere nice. Isolated. Preferably with a lot of sea breeze. And rum."

"Somewhere tropical, maybe?"

"Mm. Somewhere that's peaceful, where you and I can catch up on all our lost time. Maybe you can tell me stories."

Fang stood up and wandered over to the cot, sitting down and pulling Lightning into it with her. It wasn't the slightest bit comfortable, but with the pinkette in her arms, it was all she needed in that moment. "I do have some good ones. Remind me to tell you about my war buddies. You'll love the absolute shenanigans we got into."

Fang stayed silent for a moment after that, gently running her fingers over lights back. "I promise, Light. I promise we'll have our happy ending."

There was only a dim candle flickering beside the cot, and it gave Lightning's pale hair an orange hue as Fang looked up at her. "My shirt looks good on you, gorgeous." Fang purred, running her hands up the inside of the unbuttoned fabric, trailing her fingers over Lightning's abs.

"Mm. Lucky I have a good taste in clothing, and the people usually wearing it." Lightning replied in a husky tone, flicking her hair over her shoulder before leaning down for a kiss. "I want this in a comfy bed. None of this rushed end of the world nonsense."

"I hear you," Fang sighed, stroking the angle of Lightning's hips with her thumbs. "I want something that isn't going to do my back in from so many nights sleeping on this shit."

Lightning smiled and leant down, her hips rolling against Fang's as she continued to straddle the Pulsian. "I will make sure you sleep on a mattress that feels like a cloud. With lots of pillows." She squeaked as Fang awkwardly flipped her and the cot creaked beneath them.

"That seemed smoother in my mind." Fang muttered sheepishly and buried her face into the crook of Lightning's neck. The soft laughter was such a treasured sound, and Fang silently vowed to end the war soon so she could hear more of it. She brushed Lightning's hair from her face and leant down to kiss her. "You're perfect, you know that?" Lightning blushed and her lips parted to answer, when they were both startled by a frantic bashing at the door.

"BE NOT NAKED PLEASE." Vanille's strained voice yelled from the hallway. It seemed impatient, urgent, and almost feverish. Fang groaned and buried her head in Lightning's shoulder. The fates were determined to always interrupt their moments together. Once again their time was being taken from them. The longer she left it however, the more insistent and agitated the knocking became.

"We're decent, Van… For fuck's sake…" Fang sighed, barely even able to raise her head to address the door before it violently swung open, Vanille limping into the room with her laptop in her hand.

"Should you even be out of bed?" Lightning asked, frowning at the shaky way Vanille was wavering on her legs. The redhead collapsed into a seat and opened the laptop, giving a shrug.

"Don't care. Too important." She panted, feeling woozy from the painkillers still running rife through her system. Vanille brought up the maps she had shown Lightning earlier and opened another window to type code in. "Managed to… Create an algorithm based on thermos movements within the city, over the last forty-eight hours."

Pressing play, the screen started to show coloured patterns moving along the map, disappearing and reappearing in varied spots across the city. "What exactly are we looking at here?"

"Patterns." Vanille explained, speeding up the footage. It was odd, like coloured streams of water flowing in and out of odd ends of the city. She waited patiently as the other two stared at the screen and Lightning frowned, leaning forward to get a closer look.

"There." Fang said, pointing at the right corner of the screen. "While the other images tend to come in and out of different spots, that one there remains constant."

Lightning peered at it curiously and hummed. "You're right. But to what… The rest of them are access tunnels throughout the city, a network of maintenance shafts for the subway and sewer systems, from what I recall from one of the maps."

Vanille nodded, fast forwarding the image and overlaying another old map over the top. "See anything?"

"Holy shit." Lightning scanned the map and pointed at a larger area where there appeared to be vehicles entering in and out of an entry way. "There's a consistent point of entry and re-entry for all of them. That access tunnel there."

"Yep. I think it's safe to say that whatever is beneath there, is where the Neo Sanctum jerks are holed up. Problem is," Vanille sighed and zoomed out, highlighting a massive area of the central street within the city. "That's our only way in, and it's crawling with Neo Sanctum. The patrols had previously reported they figured something was behind the barricades and heavy fire, but nobody has been able to get close enough."

Fang sighed and looked the map over. "So we're against impossible, explosive odds as per usual then, in a race against time. Where have I heard that before?" She drawled, rolling her eyes in contempt of the situation. Lightning gave her a gentle kiss on the hand, holding onto it for the comfort.

"It wouldn't be the first time. We've beaten worse odds and you know it." With her hand in Fang's, she felt like she could still take on the world and come out unscathed. It was all the support she needed. "But this is good."

Vanille arched an eyebrow at her, incredulous. "How is this good, Light? They've practically got an entire friggin' army between us and them."

For the first time, Lightning felt a genuine, determined smile cross her face. "Because it means we have an end game, Vanille. We get through that, we win the war."