The wedding was beautiful. Taking place at the sandy shores of Bodhum, down at the beach right behind their parent´s old beach house, with white wooden chairs for the guests and a beautifully decorated altar and a small rose arch for the bride to walk through, dressed in her magnificent white wedding gown, Serah received the wedding of every girl´s dreams.
Lightning didn´t quite remember how she did it, but somehow she managed to play along, managed to keep a friendly smile plastered on her pretty features, managed to feel happy a bit for her little sister as together the two of them enterted the tent, all the faces turned towards them, towards Serah really, the only real family member her little sister had left, Lightning walked Serah down the aisle, the younger woman's eyes twinkling with joy, with happiness.
It felt good to see her sister so cheerful, so sure, it gave Claire Farron the impression that maybe, just maybe, she was doing the right thing letting Serah go.
Closer and closer the platform came with every step, closer and closer, the moment came that she would hand Serah over to Snow.
It wasn't easy. The pink haired bridesmaid's feet felt like lead.
It was helping Serah up onto the dais that she knew the inevitable was right before her.
Looking up at Snow Villiers, she found the man Serah had chosen for herself standing there with a big fat happy smile, waiting in his immaculate black wedding suit and a pair of polished dressshoes, his blond hair up in a neat ponytail. Lightning couldn't help but admit she was impressed.
Never had she seen Snow look so put together, never had she seen him look so sure.
It were his eyes that gave him away.
Snow Villiers was beside himself with nerves.
It made Lightning feel a little tiny bit sympathetic with him as she led Serah towards him. And it was with an encouraging small nod that she led go of her sister's hand to let it glide into Snow's significantly bigger one.
There.
She'd done it.
And she hadn't even arched a brow.
Surely she deserved an oscar.
Her heart somewhere in her stomach, she strode over to her designated place at Serah's side, mirroring Gadhot who was stepping in as Snow's best man.
'We have all gathered here today to watch this man and this woman join in matrimony...' the voice of the priest rang out right in front of them.
This was it.
The big moment.
The moment her responsibility for Serah ended and Snow's began.
It wasn't exactly the most encouraging of feelings.
Her eyes sweeping the listening crowd, Lightning made to study all the happy faces. Angeal Hewley had donned a suit for the occassion and was crying into an embroidered handkerchief, while Genesis was sitting next to him wearing a red flower patterned kimono that looked as though he'd stolen it from his last love affair who must have been at least 60 years old.
Next to them were the rest of her soldier friends dressed in proper shirts and pants and of course Maqui, Yuj and Lebreau each of them wearing fancy things themselves. Especially Lebreau who was donning a big revealing blue dress with a lot of ruffles.
All of their faces were trained at the happy couple in the front. All except on.
Her gaze stopping at the first class general, Lightning found the man who'd made her overcome her childhood fears just the days before looking straight back at her.
Sephiroth...
The silver haired first class dressed in an elegant dressshirt that wold have rivalled the turk's, it was from his place in the second row that he looked up at her with wonder, curiosity and longing.
They had almost kissed last night. Lightning was aware. Would have kissed there had she not stepped away.
Somehow she wasn't sure she regretted it or not.
The way he'd looked at her back then, the way he'd touched her when he'd reached out for her, the way he'd held her hand all that time after they had jumped into the waters, the way he'd pulled her close when they'd tumbled from that boat, the way he'd felt there underneath her skin...
All in all Lightning had a hard time concentrating on the wedding.
Her thoughts carrying back to the silver haired man in question again and again, in the end Lightning had the feeling that it were those thoughts had kept her sane.
Had kept her calm and silent and relaxed as she watched the inevitable happen before her very eyes.
Her sister's marriage to Snow.
Maybe Sephiroth was right.
Maybe the brand new Lightning 3.0 would find other ways to hold herself over water, other things, no reasons, to keep herself alive.
And if she could survive this wedding. Surely she could survive anything.
All in all Lightning was not too disappointed by her performance.
The corner of her lips might have twitched the moment the pastor asked the community if anybody had any objections, but of course she´d stood her ground, a silent spectator as she watched her little sister married off to that oaf of a man, Snow Villiers.
It was the only right thing to do.
The latter looking completely over the moon as he made to put that golden ring on Serah´s finger, as he leaned down to kiss her, sealing their bond. Lightning thought that maybe he wasn't even such a bad guy after all.
Maybe he hadn´t been such a bad guy all along.
There was applause and rains of confetti and the commotion of everyone wanting to congratulate the happy couple all at once and it was only very very slowly that the procession made it's way over to the clubhouse where the people from NORA had dutifully prepared for the feast thereafter.
And what a feast it was. There were tons of people to be served after all. Snow´s family counted thirty people alone and the Farrons... Well they had a whole bunch of friends to make up for the family they´d lost.
Claire Farron was sitting at the dining table, squeezed in between Zack and Angeal, the latter stuffing his face with food as usual.
It was always a joy to watch him dine.
'What is this? Pork? Tastes awesome!' the burly First Class sputtered between chews.
Looking up at Sephiroth who Serah had `coincidentally´ put right opposite from her when she had decided on the seating arrangements, their gazes locking for tiny moment, Lightning couldn´t help but crack a smile.
It didn´t matter where you were or what had happened, some things just never changed!
'No Angeal... It´s Behemoth steak! Gadhot and Snow took it out on their watch last night.' She managed between giggles that turned into bursts of laughter the second she took in Genesis' disgusted expression as the realization of what it was he had been eating all along began to dawn on him.
The redhead sitting right next to her favorite First Class General, he let the piece of meat he´d been chewing on fall back onto his plate with a tiny clatter, than grimaced comically to take a few long swigs from his half empty glass of wine while demonstratively he pushed the plate away from him.
'Hmm... Never thought they´d taste that good!' said Angeal Hewley, who didn´t seem to care at all.
The redhead only rolled his eyes at him.
'Genesis! Aren´t you going to finish this?' the burly first class asked when he took in his childhood friend who kept eying the piece of meat in front of him as if it was going to attack him any minute.
'Here, it´s all yours!' Genesis offered somewhat generously as he shoved the plate into his mate´s direction.
'I don't know why people here keep eating catfood.' he added sourly at an afterthought.
Well, it was just so him to play the diva again.
Maybe that was what came from reading too much poetry.
The remainder of the evening passed with speeches, games, dancing and of course booze.
Lots of booze actually.
So much that Cloud Strife was seen actually taking off his shirt as he made to dance with Yuj and Lebreau even allowed herself to be seduced by Zack. Right there on the dance floor naturally.
Well, it wasn't really much of a surprise.
Lightning even spotted Snow´s sister Crystal give Angeal a peck on the cheek as the two of them were having a go at Serah´s wedding cake together.
Of course Genesis was reciting from Loveless again. And it was at least at this point of the evening that Lightning was happy she had had a few sips too much of that applejack the red haired First Class used to carry with him wherever he went.
Dancing with yet another guy, some old, fat relative of Snow´s that did remind her a lot of Martin Heidegger himself, the pink haired female guessed she wouldn´t have made it through the evening without getting herself tipsy anyway.
The old fool shamelessly checking out her cleavage, it was when the song ended and the music changed to a more romantic tune, that she turned away from her current dancing partner, just to find herself face to face with Sephiroth.
Startled by his sudden appearance as usual, her heart skipped a few crazy beats before allowing itself to give a tiny flutter, she couldn´t help but feel tiny pleasant shivers running down her spine the second that he gently took her hand.
His other hand coming to rest somewhere at her silk dresses' waist, Claire Farron couldn't help but swallow.
Never had she thought she'd dance with Sephiroth.
Not even after all the things that had happened in Palumpolum.
Never in a million years.
It was unfamiliar having him so close again, was something she somehow never seemed to get used to. It was her body remembering the giddy feeling from the night before that she looked up at him with big blue eyes.
They hadn't really seen each other since she'd left him on the doorstep the day before and except for a few exchanged glances at the wedding ceremony and at dinner. They had actually not talked at all. Suddenly it seemed they didn't need to.
It was as if he understood her anyway.
Going with the flow, the woman in the pinkish silk dress let her companion steer her through the crowd. Allowing her eyes to drown once more in those brilliant seas of mako for what seemed like an eternity, her feet just moved completedly on their own, miraculously missing his despite her abysmal dancing skills.
'You look stunning in that dress.' the silver haired first class finally brought out and it made the pink haired female give a little smile.
'I should have told you the evening I first say you in it.'
The dress, the shoes, her makeup... As pretty they might look, the truth was Lightning hated them, couldn't wait to get them off her body. Her feet already hurting in those dammned pink peep toes Serah had selected for her to match her dress, her skin wet and sticky with sweat from hours of dancing and drinking and parading around, her head slightly spinning with the effect of the alcohol and the noise of the music, with the bodies of people pressing against her own she knew she needed to get out of there. And soon.
A tiny bit of space, a tiny bout of fresh air, a tiny gust of cool fresh seabreeze.
It was exactly what she needed.
Looking up at her dancing partner apolegetically, she decidedly took a step away from him again.
Surely Sephiroth would understand.
Their dancing having led them to a less crowded area of the room somewhere near the exit, it was upon realizing nobody was giving them any attention, that Claire Farron quickly took her opportunity and bolted.
'I´ve got to get out of here.' the pink haired female suddenly stammered, sounding as though the air was hard to breathe.
General Sephiroth Crescent didn´t understand what she was talking about. They´d been barely dancing a minute and there she went, looking around to check whether anybody was watching.
This definitely wasn´t a good sign...
He had been waiting the entire evening to catch her on her own so he could approach her, so that he could talk to her, had even asked Angeal to help him brush up on his dancing skills for the occasion, so he could impress her,had been biding his time to find an opportunity to ask her to dance with him all evening and there she was slipping away from him again.
As usual.
Suddenly he wasn't sure what he had expected.
Of course she would push him away again.
She always did.
Had done the same the night before.
He should have guessed that, of course, tonight would be no exception.
It just was so her.
He was about to accept his fate, had been about to get himself over to the bar to pour himself some drinks, when suddenly he felt her small hand close around his, felt her tugging at his arm tentatively.
Turning aroud to meet her big icy blue eyes, it was for a few seconds that she looked up at him questioningly before finally the woman of his dreams let go and pulled away from him to sneak out through the front doors.
Pausing to look back at him for a tiny moment before she turned and left, his mako eyes followed her receding form as she vanished into darkness.
What was he supposed to do?
Did she want him now to come or not?
Couldn't she have just said so?
Hesitating only for a few seconds, the silver haired first class decided to follow her out onto the beach.
No matter if she wanted him to come along or not, he wasn´t going to let her walk out there alone.
The memory of what had happened in Costa del Sol still etched into his mind, he wasn´t stupid enough to let her venture out on an unpatrolled beach all by herself again. No. It was certianly not a mistake he was going to repeat.
No lonely beach strolls for Lieutenant Farron anymore...
But where had she gone off to?
Scanning the beach infront him with his superior eyesight, it took him a few moments to find one of her pretty pettite pink shoes, carelessly tossed in the sand.
How could one possibly loose one´s shoe? The general wondered.
She hadn't seemed that tipsy back at the bar, but how much did she drink exactly?
Picking up his comrade's shoe, he quickly followed the trail of mismatched footprints until he found the second too.
General Sephiroth Crescent couldn´t help but chuckle.
But of course. It was so like her to get rid of those as fast as she could. Albeit she did look beautiful in them, he guessed they weren´t exactly very practical.
And Lightning was a very practical woman. Or so he thought.
Continuing a few meters further down the shore, the sand grains glistening in the moonlight like tousand tiny diamonds twinkling in the dark, he found finally found her silhuettte down by the water.
And what a sight it was.
The usually deep blue waters that had been nothing but of patch of pitch black darkness just the night before, suddenly they had transformed into a bright luminous blanket made of huge blue shiny dots, stretching endlessly in front of them.
'What kind of magic is this?' the general asked somewhat taken aback once he approached his fellow first class.
The spectacle infront of him leaving him utterly amazed, he found himself staring out into the see with his mouth gaping stupidly.
It made the woman beside him give a tiny giggle.
'It's jellyfish.' She explained, giving him a pondering gaze.
'They shine in the darkness. Sometimes they come to the shore.'
'What are jellyfish?'
It was with this cryptic revelation that the pink haired female left him to shed the rest of her clothes, just to plunge herself forwards into the gentle waves.
'Hey Lightning, wait!'
There. That was what a jump from a cliff and a little bit of alcohol could do.
Yesterday, she'd still been scared of water. Hadn't been willing to put a tow in it. And now, just 24 hours later, there she was, ready to go skinny dipping in the dark, with a bunch of crazy monsters.
Putting off his brand new shoes, the general quickly made to unbutton his shirt.
Well, he'd better make sure she didn't get herself drowned. Or eaten by those 'gelfish'. Whichever would occur first.
Finally rid of his clothes it was only very slowly that he began to wade into the waters.
Those glowing 'gelfish'... Who knew what they where up to.
A few of the smaller specimen coming straight at him to approach his feet, it was quickly taking a few steps backwards that he retreated instantly.
It made the pink haired female ahead explode with laughter.
Okay. Maybe he would let the 'gelfish' have her...
'Come on... They're harmless!' she yelled from some ten meters away. Her face a shiny cream spot waiting in the distance.
Wading in to his hips watching one of the bigger beasts approach him, Sephiroth couldn't help but doubt her words. Those things were going to eat him alive...
'They eat plankton!' Lightning laughed.
The big blue luminescent blob almost reaching him now, it was with utmost relief that the general watched it change direction, found it was indeed just passing by.
Turning around to see where it was going, it was at the very moment that he felt it's enourmous glowing tail brush one of his tighs.
'Shit, it touched me!' he almost screamed.
Claire Farron only laughed.
'Come on.. They're harmless. You can even pet them when they let you close. They're all soft and mushy, they don't even have teeth.'
Swimming back towards her silver haired comrade it was with a big satisfied smile on her face that she said:
'It's okay to be afraid of things you know?'
'I'm not afraid of them...' the general assured her instantly.
Well, from the way he was behaving Lightning wasn't entirely sure that was ture.
Reaching out to take her comrades hand it was looking up into his big mako green eyes that she pulled him deeped into the waters with her.
'Don't worry, hero, I'll keep you safe.' she said with a weird mocking smile, Sephiroth couldn't remember having seen on her face before.
Throwing his companion one last skeptic look, he let himself get pulled into the waters.
The salty waves pleasantly cooling on his skin he embraced them, the way they embraced him.
Soothingly.
Gently.
Fully.
He didn't know how long they spent there in the waters. Suddenly the weird mushy 'gelfish' weren't all that bad anymore.
With their eerie turquoise glow, illuminating the shallow waters like a million tiny lamps it was yet another completely diffferent world to enter, a brand new adventure to escape to. And this adventure he would spend with her.
Lightning.
The woman from his dreams leading him away from the beach and to all kind of pretty places it was always staying close to her that he followed her over to the cliffs.
'How long can you hold your breath?' she asked him.
That question, it had come out of the blue.
'Longer than you probably.' Was all Sephiroth could think of as an answer.
'Good. ' was his companions swift reply.
'Make sure you take a deep breath.' was all he got as a warning before her hand closed over his wrist again and pulled him downwards.
It was diving past more peacefully bobbing jellyfish that the two of them went deep now almost to the ground. There were those towering tendrils of dark green mushy twines growing up from the ground there and tons of pretty little fish.
Grabbing herself one of the glowing jellyfish Lightning looked back to check on him.
'Are you okay.' her arched eyebrow asked. It made the general give an affirming tiny nod.
He was still within his limits. Everything was fine.
The girl infront of him giving him a tiny smile, thrusting the whobbly yellfish toward him she grabbed herself another, to lead the way over to what revealed itself now as an opening in the rock.
Great. A tunnel.
Suddenly the general didn't seem all that eager about their little adventure as he had felt before.
How long was she planning for them to hold their breaths exactly?
He was about to protest, was about to grab her by her arm and pull her back up to the surface but the annoying first class, she had already entered into that cave.
Damn.
There was no way around.
No way was he going to let her dive into those tunnels with only their little luminenscent friend.
Oh what had he gotten himself into again?
Well, he didn't have much time to loose.
Following his companions example he grabbed his 'gelfish' tighter and holding it infront of him like a torch he pushed forward.
The woman infront him nothing but a tiny luminous bop in the darkness, mayking sure not to loose grip on his improvized lightsource he did the best to follow in her tracks.
It was an excrutiationgly long time later that he found himself at some kind of crossroads. Several tunnels forking out form the one he'd come from, it was down neither that he saw a sign of light. Down neither that he saw anything but pressing darkness.
Fuck.
The pressure in his chest building steadily, it was with a few bubbles of precious air escaping his lips that he turned around.
Where was he to go?
There had to be a way out somewhere.
Suerly Lightning hadn't meant for him to hold his breath forever.
Had she?
Feeling suddenly terribly abandoned there in the depths of this deadly labyrinth, it was turning around once or twice more that he realized he wasn't even sure where he had come from.
Okay. He needed to make a decision now.
He couldn't wait here any longer.
He needed to breathe. And soon.
It was slightly panicky that he made to peek down the tunnels again trying to find out where he had come from.
He wouldn't be able to dive all that way back. He knew that. Knew that if he picked a wrong tunnel he could end up somewhere even worse.
Shit.
He was about to panick for real when suddenly, mercifully, he felt his arm grabbed from above, felt himself pulled upwards and it was only shortly later that his head broke the surface.
'You are planning to kill me.'
It was the first thing he got out after he had managed to catch his breath, after he had overcome the short lived panick of being abandoned to drown there underwater.
Lightning only laughed.
'Where exactly have you been?' was all she offered as an appology and it was only then that the general realized they had ended up in a tiny air pocket in the depths of the rock. With no means of escape at all.
'Only a tiny bit further.' The pink haired female reassured as she took in his slightly horrified expression.
Who was she? That woman who'd been scared of drowning just the day before! And what had he gotten himself into?!
'It's the perfect place.' Ligthning promised.
'We used to go there scuba diving when I was a kid.' she added as some way of explanation.
Sephiroth could only raise a brow.
'Scuba diving?' he said somewhat disbelievingly.
Surely he had misheard.
'Yes. It's diving with a whole lot of diving gear.' the pink haired woman said looking at him crazily.
'You do realize people have air tanks with them when they go scuba diving, do you?' the silver haired first class reminded dryly.
It made the pink haired female laugh.
'Come on. It's beautiful. You've gotta see it.'
If the way ahead of them was the same distance as what they had already covered, General Sephiroth Crescent wasn't sure he would actually live to see anything at all.
They'd been diving through those tunnels for ages.
It had to have been minutes. Several minutes.
Surely she must have noticed.
'We should go back.' Was all he told her as he looked around the tiny air bubble to check for some hidden means of escape.
The otherwordly gloom of the two jellyfish bobbing along beside them cast themselves and their surroundings in pretty luminescent blues.
It was very unexpectantly that suddenly he felt her hand on his shoulder.
The tiny bit of skin contact, it made him whirl around instanly.
There she was before him, her face only inches from his and looking at him so intently that he thought she must have had the entire universe inside her eyes.
'We're monsters, Sephiroth.' she said, reaching up again to touch his face this time.
'Surely it has to be good for something.'
The tunnel she chose was dark and narrow. Holding the bobbly jellfish himfront him like a torch Sephiroth followed her into the unknown.
Staying close to her this time he managed to cover the rest of the way without getting himself lost, even began to appreciate the beauty of his surroundings. Because yes. The tunnel changed.
Where there'd been only dark rough rock before, there suddenly came pretty jewel like formations, glistening magically in their life-torch's glow.
It was the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen he thought, at least until finally he emerged from the waters in the most impressive place imaginable.
At first he thought it was a cave. A cave filled with more of those pretty glimmering gems hanging from the ceilings but then he realized it were the stars.
The cave had opened up to bright clear nightsky and it was the light of the moon now that was tinging their skins in otherwordly colors.
The water ebbing away into a pretty hidden beach, it was a few strokes further that he finallly felt ground beneath his feet.
Glimpsing his comrade some meters up ahead it was on slightly shaking legs that he approached her.
She had stopped a few meters awway from shore, the water reaching just up to her belly button piercing.
Her pale smooth skin glowing mysteriously in the moonlight Sephiroth found her gaze trained skywards, as once again she stared up at the stars above.
'I just love looking at the stars.' she said once she sensed him near.
'Watching the night sky... Pondering what is up there.'
Following her gaze to the sky above General Sephiroth Crescent only smiled.
He had already guessed that much. He had caught her doing that on plenty of occasions, hadn´t he?
He couldn't claim that he did not enjoy it himself.
'Sometimes it just feels like something inside of me is reaching out for it...' his friend added, her voice taking on a dreamy quality.
Yes. He knew what she meant. He felt it too. It were the Jenova cells inside of them, craving the infinite depths of the universe. Craving home.
He didn´t bother to explain it to her.
She wouldn´t like to hear about it anyway. He was aware. As was with everything consiering their extra terrestial heritage.
It was a miracle she had mentioned it all back there at the air bubble.
It had surprised him big style. As had the touch of her hand on his shoulder, on his cheek.
Risking one last look at the sky above it was slowly, carfefully that he approached her from behind.
Suddenly the stars seemed so much closer. Closer then they'd ever been.
He could feel the jenova pull inside himself, reaching out for the stars.
Maybe if he reached out with his hand he would be able to touch them. Maybe not.
Who knew.
Looking back to the woman infront him he chose to close the distance between them instead.
Who needed the universe?
He had everything he wanted here, right in front of him.
Bringing up his hands to rest them at his companion's hips, he carefully leaned in to very gently kiss her neck.
It was pushing his luck. And not only by a little. He was aware. Still, there was nothing else on this world he'd ever wanted to do more.
She had almost drowned him. Surely he could take some risks.
Feeling her skin under his lips erupt in goosebumps, he couldn't help but hold his breath.
Her body had suddenly gone so utterly still, gone rigid.
Maybe it had been a stupid idea. Maybe she didn't even want that. Maybe she didn't even want him.
Was she going to drown him for real this time?
It was very tentatively that he continued. One of his hands coming op to remove her hair from the back of her shoulder he made to plant another small kiss there. Then another.
There was a soft small sigh escaping from her lips, was a slight shift in her posture that allowed him further access to her neck and it was continuing to trace tiny butterfly kisses down her neck that he slowly felt her body begin to relax against his, felt the skin of her back rest against his chest and his abdomen, felt the curve of her buttocks on the front of crotch.
It made his skin erupt in goosebumps, was sending tiny shivers up and down his spine, left him urging for more, more of her.
It was with a soft low groan of himself that he brought his arms up around her to just hug her from behind, to pull her into him, tracing soft kisses down the remaing curve of her neck and down onto her collarbone.
It felt so good to have her close to him again. To feel her body beneath his fingers, to taste her skin under his lips.
Was bliss. Was paradise.
He had been craving the feeling of her skin on his ever since he had first felt it there.
The truth was that he had missed her.
He really had. And terribly so.
His body reaching out for her's, for General Sephiroth Crescent there was no difference betwen the jenova cell's wants and his, no conflict, no distinguishing. They were one in their desires, were in agreement, were inseperable.
Those weeks after the night of Meteor fall, every day that he had let pass without talking to her, without touching her, without kissing her, without showing her how much he needed her, watching her going about her daily business, knowing that she was there only meters from himself, but unable to just find the courage to reach out to her because he didn´t know whether she´d want him to, they had been terrible, had been torture.
How much time had it been going on like this exactly?
Weeks?
Months?
Years?
Suddenly he wasn´t sure.
It didn´t matter. They were together now.
'Hey Angeal... Have you seen Sephiroth anywhere?' Genesis asked. 'Can´t seem to find him, and that son of a bitch´s still owing me a few drinks!'
Lightning and Sephiroth...
Angeal Hewley had been watching the pair of them all evening and it was therefore that it had not escaped his notice how the both of them had sneaked out together. Still, it was not his place to reveal those happy circumstances.
'Hm... I can´t find Claire anywhere either!' Serah piped up from somewhere behind them.
The bride throwing him a knowing glance, Angeal Hewley had a hard time hiding his smile.
'I think I saw the both of them sneak out about half an hour ago.' Zack threw in from right next to him, raising his eyebrows suggestively. Angeal was surprised he had had time to notice this at all while busy flirting heavily with that girl, Lebreau.
'Well... It was about time.' Angeal said somehwat happily.
His statement earned cheerful smiles from everybody except Genesis, who just scrunched up his nose in mock disgust.
Well... It was not exactly any of his business anyway.
Claire Farron woke up the next day with a hangover.
A hangover and the memory of one of the most beautiful nights she had ever had.
Her second night with Sephiroth.
They had spent it out in the cave of the cliffs behind the NORA clubhouse.
What had originally started out with an innocent little swim in the sea had turned into something more serious the second the silver haired general had joined her in the shallow waters of the cave.
The memories of that night, Lightning was sure she would not forget them in a hundred years.
She could still taste him on her lips, could still feel the ghost of his touch on her skin.
And this time she didn´t regret anything.
The night had been cloudless and she had been standing there with the waters reaching to her waist looking up at the stars and she remembered having said something about how much she loved to look at them.
She couldn´t remember what had led to it exactly but the next moment she had felt his hands on her hips, had felt his chest against her back had felt his lips on the back of her neck and on her shoulder, the contact of their skins making her shiver, before she felt his arms wander to her midsection and hold her in a tight embrace.
'I really missed you.' the silver haired man whispered into her ear, his voice slightly husky.
Ligthning found she simply loved the sound of it.
He had missed her...
Her heart giving a crazy flutter she let her hands go up to find his own and tilting her head to try and look at him standing there behind her, she felt his lips gently brush her cheek.
She didn´t remember what made her do it then but it was pulling slightly away from him that she turned to look into his face.
Looking back at her somewhat shily, unsure of what to do, the man in front her let his arms fall back to dangle at his sides.
'Claire... I...' he began tentatively but she didn´t let him finish.
Taking a step forward she quickly made to close the distance between them again to lean up and connect their lips.
Screw it.
Her reaction seeming to take him completely by surprise, it took the man infront her a few moments to respond, to finally start and kiss her back, took a few moments before she felt one of his arms at the small of her back and the other come up to gently cup her cheek.
'I think I missed you too.' she said first thing they broke apart.
It was the biggest understatement in the history of mankind.
The thought of him living in the same house with her, sitting at the same dinner table only feet away, knowing him close to her at all times without the opportunity, an excuse really, to touch him, to feel him, to breathe him, it had been torture, had been killing her inside.
Why had she been holding back in the first place?!
Suddenly she couldn´t even remember anymore.
'You `think´ you missed me?!' Sephiroth asked somewhat skeptically, his arms loosening their embrace a bit, Lightning let herself lean back a little to better see his face.
The silver haired general standing there in front of her, he couldn´t hide one of those adorable half smiles forming on his face.
'As in you´re not even sure you -'
The pink haired warrior silenced him with yet another kiss.
There was just no time for stupid banter. Not anymore.
She needed him, wanted him, needed to feel him close.
It was as if her body was taking over, her mind shutting off completely that taking little tip toe steps, she steered him back to the shore.
Their lips not parting for even the tiniest of seconds it was not until they had reached the shallower parts of the waters that they broke apart.
Their somewhat tangled feet getting caught on an upturned stone, it caused the silver haired First Class to tumble backwards and the two of them came crashing to the sandy ground with the pink haired female fortunately landing right on top of him.
'You are going to be the death of me.' the general chuckled.
'How often do I have to tell you?If I had any intention of killing you, you´d be dead already.' Claire Farron shot at him, giving him a challenging little smirk.
'Sure...' her companion replied as he reached up to tug away some strands of dripping wet pinkish hair that had fallen into her face.
'I had the best of trainers after all...' she added, a stupid grin spreading all over her face.
The silver haired man underneath her, he just propped himself up on one of his elbows to come up and kiss her again.
Oh, how much she had missed those kisses...
The general´s free hand softly caressing her shoulders, her back, her sides, she felt it sneaking lower and lower before breaking their kiss for just a few moments he shifted her weight so she could finally feel him where she needed him most.
And how much she needed him...
She hadn´t even been aware of how much her body had been yearning for him, for his gentle touch.
The fact that the two of them were completely naked suddenly a huge convenience, Lightning let her comrade take the lead.
And she did so completely uninhibited.
Suddenly, there in that pretty cave, under the twinkle of the stars, nothing mattered anymore.
There was no wedding and no party. No Serah and no Snow. There was no soldier, no Shin-Ra and no comrades to walk in on them, to bother them. No war, no jenova, no hard feelings and no pain. No insecurity, no fear.
There was only him.
As if he were the only reason she existed, her only reason to breathe really, had somehow been all along.
And it was there and then, beneath that starry sky, that Lighting knew, finally new for sure, 100 per cent and without a doubt, that she was really, completely, helplessly head over toes in love with him.
In love with General Sephiroth Crescent.
And suddenly, finally, for a few short hours at least, all of it made sense. For a few short precious hours everything was well.
She didn´t know how long they lay there afterwards.
With nothing but the soft breeze of the sea to dry them, they sat there until long after their hair wasn´t damp anymore, until the sun was already starting to rise.
It had to have been hours.
Hours they had just spent there in the cave, lying in each other's arms. Drowning in each other's presence, listening to each other's heartbeat, feeling the rise and fall of each their individual breaths.
They hadn´t even done any talking.
Well, there were no words to describe the way they felt then anyway.
It was the General who broke the silence first.
And his words, they pulled a plug inside of her, made the warm cozy feeling of bliss of happiness that had somehow accumulated in the pit of Lightning's stomach over the past few hours slowly drain and vanish into nothingness.
'When we are leaving for Eden next week you´re coming with us, aren´t you?' the General asked, looking up at her expectantly.
Claire Farron hated the fact that he had to bring this up now, had to bring this up at all.
This wasn´t something she was ready to face right then. If ever.
'I... I don´t know.'
It was true.
She really didn´t know.
What was she supposed to do?
Now that she had found her family again after all those years, she wasn´t sure whether she was ready to leave again. Not yet.
On the other hand, what else was there to do for her?
Sitting at their parents old beach house doing nothing, it was getting old fast. And besides she needed to earn some money too, right?
Things couldn´t stay like this forever. She was aware.
But now that she had returned and was reunited with her sister, she wasn´t eager to leave anytime soon either...
Oh, why did he have to do this to her...
Why was he trying to make her choose.
Why now?!
Looking up at the general in question she found his eyes gazing at her with disappointment, maybe hurt even.
'I´m not sure I´m ready to leave Bodhum again...' she tried to explain somewhat carefully.
She didn´t know whether he would understand.
He had no family after all.
'Please Lightning... I need you to come with me... I need you at my side...' his lips playing with her skin again, his mako green eyes pleading, she could only stare at him in amazement.
Had he really just said that?
That just so wasn´t him.
Now that she thought about it she realized nothing that had happened between the two of them the past few weeks really had been anything like the Sephiroth she thought she knew.
The silver haired general sitting up to take her hand, his mako killer gaze bruning into her´s with expectation, with longing, with need, she knew what he was going to say would be important, at least to him.
'We could... I don´t know... Find a place to live in for ourselves... Maybe something similar to what you have here... To what your sister had.' he began somewhat tentatively, hesitantly really, as if the words were reluctant to come out.
Lightning could tell it was hard for him to say this, to open up like this.
She wasn´t sure what was making him say it in the first place.
His sincerity, his openness, his honesty, it all gave her goosebumps.
'We could have a family of our own...'
Those last few words startling her to no end, taking her completely off guard, Lightning felt her eyes go huge, felt her mouth gaping open stupidly.
Right. A family.
Sure.
Who are you, imposter?! And what have you done to my First Class general?!
