A/N: Dun dun dun! The streak is broken. I am so sorry for missing yesterday's update. I was knocked out with a fever all day. But here's another chapter, with a little bit of Cloud's background story. I thought a lot about this and it was really hard to write, especially because I needed to get a bit creative. I definitely wanted some aspects of Cloud and Lightning's story in tact from the game, some of their struggles who make them who they are. Thankfully it came out in the way I wanted it to. Maybe it sucks. XD Anyway, always happy to hear your thoughts!
Big thanks to ATK1734 and Lumina for always leaving a review *sniffles*. I appreciate you guys! The couple's not moving on to, ahem, the next level all courtesy of your homegirls Serah and Vanille XD I threw in a little action in this chapter, I'm blaming it on the fever *runs* Hope you enjoy this chapter! :)
CHAPTER XVI.
Acceptance
Cloud
My eyes opened to greet the loveliest vision I had seen in years. It was already bright outside, and the light fell on Lightning's face who slept peacefully, still. Her head was resting on my arm as she was curled up next to me, long pink hair draped all over our pillow. My arm was wrapped around her waist as I faced her, our legs tangled together. I lay still, not wanting to stir her. I smiled, pushing some of her locks away from her face so I could silently admire her some more.
Long curtain of eyelashes lifted, revealing the icy blue underneath.
"Good morning Strife," she said groggily. Her hand gripped the fabric on my back as she stayed there, blinking the sleep away to look at me. And then she smiled - very slightly - like she had seen something she liked.
"Good morning, Farron," I repeated, running my fingers through her soft pink hair.
"What time is it…?" She tried to move but I only pulled her closer. She chuckled, pressing herself into me. "Slept well?" She asked in her deep voice.
"The best in years," I replied as she nodded, her head tilting to look up at me. Lightning and her inviting eyes…. One of her hands moved to touch my hair. I groaned softly as I felt her hand run down the side of my face, down my chest before stopping at my torso.
Lightning inched closer to my lips, her hand feeling me up over my shirt. I wanted to return the favor, so my own hand slid over her spine slowly. Lightning let out a sweet moan.
"Maybe they're still asleep…" I heard Snow's voice outside our door. I backed away and Lightning did the same.
"But they need to wake up eventually. Light was so hungover last night, I want her to eat something." Serah said.
"Yeah, but what if they're naked? Let's not knock." Snow said out loud.
Lighting let out a frustrated groan, which I found amusing because I just couldn't seem to stop smiling. I released her. The pink haired girl rolled out of bed, grumpily walking over to the door and sliding it open with an urgency.
"Yikes! You scared me!" Serah shouted. I lifted myself up to look at the visitors. Snow waved at me over the two girls and I waved back, getting out of bed as well.
"Um, so…" Serah started, but Lightning cut her off.
"Hungover, need food. Got it. Also we're not naked," she scolded Snow who just rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly.
"Alright well, then we'll just wait for you downstairs," Serah grabbed Snow's hand and dragged him away quickly.
Lightning mumbled something under her breath in annoyance, zipping open her bag. Pulling out a fresh set of clothes, she stood up again, fumbling with her clothes. "I'll go take a shower. Helps me wake up."
I nodded as if to say 'go ahead' and Lightning disappeared into the shower.
The sound of running water was heard a few minutes later, and I walked over to the balcony, spacing out. The snow was sticking to the ground - we would be at least knee deep if we were walking in it. The sky was a clear blue, with fluffy clouds floating around like they had nothing better to do. The wind had settled, pine trees gently swaying. Steam rose from the water in the open air bath. I couldn't even remember a time I was out for a trip like this, with a big group of people. All of them were kind and accommodating, and accepted me even though I didn't talk much.
Everyone compared Lighting and I, and sure, some similarities were there. But the differences were obvious - the way Lightning carried herself with pride, like every step she took had purpose. She was fierce and strong-willed, I doubt she ever hesitated once she set her mind to something. She talked more than I did too, faced people straight ahead, looking them in the eyes. From what I knew about her, she lost her parents young, but unlike Tifa and I, she took all her anger, blaming no one, just striving to be the best she could be for Serah's sake.
The more I thought about her, the more I thought about how someone like her had agreed to date me. I had my fair share of insecurities, and I was indecisive when it came to things I cared about. It took so much courage to kiss her, and then to ask her out. I even acted out and was angry and possessive, but she always had a clear head on her shoulders. She pushed me away, but then came back with raw honesty. Would she accept me… if she knew what my life was like? What it had been?
"Strife?" Her voice penetrated my thoughts, snapping me back to the moment. I turned around to observe the girl in front of me, who was wearing fitted black jeans and a baggy black sweater that hung off one of her shoulders loosely, baring her delicate collarbones and shoulder. Her hair was in a messy bun as always, with a few long strands falling over her cheeks. I walked over to her, in a daze of sorts, and took her hand. Before I knew what I was doing I was hugging her. I buried my face in her neck, nuzzling it.
"Strife, hey, what's wrong…?" Her hand gently ran up and down my back, one arm wrapped tightly around my waist.
"Sorry, I was thinking of something," I answered but Lightning looked at me with concern, eyebrows furrowed. "It's nothing, seriously. Let's eat." I smiled as we moved away from each other.
I watched Lightning get tackled by Serah as we made our way downstairs and into the living room. Serah clung to her sister's arm, and then there was Zack with his arm around her shoulders, taking over the other side, leaning down to say something to her. And Lightning was smiling, only slightly, but what a moment it was to witness.
"You look like a man in love~" Aerith's voice distracted me, and I let out a soft 'humph'.
"It's not like that," I said hurriedly. Aerith playfully looked at me, but the expression in her emerald eyes was serious.
"It sure looks like it~ Plus, I have known you for a long time, in case you forgot," she teased.
"I doubt you'll let me forget," I shrugged as I leaned against the wall. Aerith stood next to me, smiling at the trio.
"You know… after everything that happened, all that pain… all the hurt… I never got a chance to tell you that I always really wished for this kind of day." She said softly to me.
I turned sideways to look at her. "This kind of day?" I repeated.
"The day when you'd look at someone the way you were looking at her just now." With a smug smile, Aerith patted my shoulder. I grunted, trying to shake her words off. She only laughed as she called out for my blue haired best friend. Zack turned around, along with Lightning. Our eyes met and she showed me a full smile. I couldn't help the smile that stupidly broke out on my own face.
"Ahem, see what I mean?" Aerith whispered quickly before running over to Zack. "I am hungry!" She complained and Zack wrapped his arms around her, quickly picking her up, pecking her lips and setting her down.
"For me?" He flirted and Aerith grabbed his shirt, pulling him down and pecking his lips in return. "Food!"
I couldn't imagine kissing Lightning in front of everyone.
Oh wait, I already did, I remembered as images from the Ferris Wheel flashed in my mind and I tried to push them back where they came from.
"How do we decide who's cooking?" Zack asked. "Light, when's your birthday? I'll calculate your feng shui number-"
I saw Lightning's smile vanish. She visibly tensed, looking away awkwardly. "I-It's a secret, ha-ha!" Serah said quickly, glancing at her sister before her eyes returned to Zack. "How about tic-tac-toe?"
"I have a feeling nerds like Light and Hope will win that, so how about flipping a coin?" Zack replied, also recovering from Lightning's reaction.
"I can hear you," Hope grumbled as Zack ignored him.
In the end, Lightning and I lost the coin toss.
"Oh no… we are doomed… we'll all die before the blizzard…" Serah agonized. Lightning just grumbled like she was annoyed, opening the fridge and looking for ingredients. After a minute, she slammed the fridge door shut.
"Eggs?" She asked hopefully as Serah pretended to cry on Vanille's shoulder.
"Light… the fridge is fully stocked and you only came up with eggs?" Vanille's horror was visible on her face. Lightning grunted again as she took out eggs.
"Eggs it is," she said in an annoyed tone, taking out a bowl and whisk.
So there was something Lightning couldn't do.
I chuckled, opening the fridge and looking through. I could easily think of ten things to make.
"Farron, don't beat the eggs. I'll poach them. Here," I tossed muffins over to her from the bread cabinet. "Can you toast these?"
The one thing Lightning was good at was following instructions. She nodded, thankful for the task as she moved over to the toaster.
"Lightly," I cautioned. "No more than 3 minutes," I said as I watched her hesitate in front of the machine.
It was adorable. I didn't know Lightning had a side this cute to her.
"Alright, just melt this butter, don't cook it until it changes color and it shouldn't be too watery," I gave precise instructions again. Lightning nodded in gratitude and did exactly as I asked.
While we were cooking together the others lounged around. Zack was trying to teach Aerith how to play pool, Serah and Vanille were looking over magazines together. Fang and Vincent were watching TV. Snow and Hope were having a heated discussion about something.
I watched Lightning pour the melted butter in a bowl, a look of intense concentration on her face.
"Excellent," I praised her and watched her nod. The way her shoulders perked up a little indicated like she was happy to be praised, but she was trying not to give it away in the slightest. I smirked, passing her some lettuce and greens.
"Alright, just wash the lettuce and bring it over, I'll show you how to make the salad." As soon as I had finished talking, Lightning started moving.
It was my first time cooking with someone.
When we had finished preparing, everyone sat excitedly around the grand oak table in the kitchen.
"Okay, let's see the menu that will lead us to our deaths," Fang joked as I brought out the plates with Lightning.
"You might have to take that back," I proudly set our work on the table in front of the others.
"Oh my god… Is this Eggs Benedict?!" Serah and Vanille slapped their hands over their mouths in shock.
"Yeah, we also have bacon, sausages, scrambled eggs, smoothies and green salad with smoked ham." Lightning announced proudly as we brought everything over.
"Cloud, you're amazing~" Aerith praised as she dug into a sausage.
"It was a team effort," I reminded her coolly.
"What can I say… I have trained him well~" Zack boasted and I let out a chuckle.
Lightning's eyes widened in shock as her neck snapped towards me, as if wanting to confirm.
I nodded, "He's better at everything," I spoke the truth but Zack interjected me.
"Nah, that's a lie. Cloud has surpassed me in almost everything. But I'm better at some, very specific things," he joked as both our cheeks turned red. "Look at these perfect poached eggs," Zack said as he helped himself to some, "I remember the days you used to burn toast. I remember thinking 'who does that?'"
"I still burn toast," Lightning joked from next to me, putting her hand up with her usual poker face as the others burst into laughter.
Lightning and I settled next to each other and enjoyed our breakfast with everyone. When we finished eating, Hope and Vanille were assigned to do the dishes and clean up by an angry Serah, who reprimanded them for bickering over breakfast.
While they cleaned up, Fang and Vincent invited me to a card game. Snow, Serah and Aerith joined in. Zack and Lightning decided to play pool.
Zack took the first few shots, straightening up and stretching before inviting Lightning to take her shot. "It's kind of an exact science, you know." Zack joked, placing his hands on the table's ridge and leaning forward with a smug smile. "I'd teach you the secret art but then I'd have to kill you."
"No thanks," Lighting smirked defiantly at him, bending down and taking aim with deadly precision. The white ball struck a numbered one at an angle, sending it in, colliding against the ridge and bouncing off to the opposite side, where it did the same to another ball.
"Okay, I forgot you're a dude, this isn't fun," Zack teased as he chalked his cue stick.
"You're done," she challenged as she potted several balls. Zack was determined to beat her, but she finished the game in minutes.
"Okay, I need back up. Broody, get in here!" Zack commanded and I excused myself from the card game. I took over his cue stick and began chalking it. Lighting was setting the table, a smile playing on her lips.
"Who's next?" She teased and I smirked at her, shaking my head.
"Don't get cocky, Farron," I placed one hand on the ridge and leaned on the table. "Ladies first."
Lighting let out a proud 'humph' as she aimed, taking her first shot. Our game was much longer than her round one with Zack, probably because we were so evenly matched.
"Call pocket," she reminded me.
"Sorry. Top right," I answered as I began to take aim. Lightning was on the other side, in plain view.
Her cheeks were slightly flushed, lips parted as she eyed me with interest. Her hands gripped the ridge, and she was bending down so the ball was eye level, trying to predict its trajectory. I knew she was completely focused on the game, but damn, she was distracting me. I gulped, trying to rid my mind of the thoughts she was inducing. I took my shot but my hand was slightly unsteady and I missed.
Lightning smiled triumphantly as the ball stopped shakily.
"Too bad," she said, taking aim. "Bottom left," she declared before making a clean shot. There was applause, and I noticed that everyone had abandoned their card game and was following our game passionately.
The others came over, wanting to play as well. Lightning put her cue stick away, her eyes trailing over to mine. Our eyes locked, and I felt it impossible to hold back any longer.
She blushed, awkwardly looking away from my gaze. I waited until the others were occupied with the game, then sneaked past them, took her hand quietly and led her upstairs to our room.
Lightning followed me quietly, without so much as a word. Sliding the door open and entering, I was surprised when I turned around. She threw her arms around me, our lips coming together like it was a necessity. I pushed her against the wall, my hands on the wall on either side of her waist. We kissed passionately.
I couldn't close my eyes. I had to see the beautiful girl I was kissing.
We parted for a few breaths, gazing into each other's eyes. Lightning tugged on my hair, inching into me. I took her lips again, deepening the kiss as I moved my hands from the wall and secured them around her waist. I hoisted her up, and she wrapped her legs around me tightly. The kiss continued and I could feel my mind get clouded. She gasped when we pulled away, encouraging me with her longing eyes. I kissed her more aggressively this time and she released a soft moan. The sweet sound pushed me off the edge, and I felt an intense desire to take her right now.
I walked to the bed, gently releasing her on it. I climbed on top of her, one hand on the pillow next to her head, the other on her waist as we both pushed into the kiss, neither willing to part.
"Bath time~!" I heard a loud voice outside as the door slid open with a loud bang. I rolled off Lightning as fast as humanly possible. We both sat up on opposite sides of the bed, looking out of breath and disheveled.
"Learn to knock!" Hope's fist came down on Vanille's red head gently as she covered her eyes, turning around.
"I am sorry I am the worst I am leaving!" She screamed but Lightning was already standing.
"You guys want to use the bath right, it's fine," she spoke calmly, completely regaining her composure. It was much harder for me. I closed my eyes, taking a few breaths. Opening them again I also stood up, running my hand through my hair, trying to make it appear like it normally was.
"I brought beer!" Snow thundered behind them, oblivious to the situation. Lightning chuckled and I found myself doing the same. I helped the blonde with the drinks, setting them outside near the bath. The boys in the group changed into swimming trunks, easing into the bath. The water was hot to the touch, but a soothing sensation spread over us as we got acclimated to the temperature.
Vanille and Serah joined us, but I could see from the glass window that Fang was trying to drag Lightning physically out. She finally gave up and entered the bath first. After a few minutes, Lightning appeared. She had changed into shorts, but she still wore her sweater over it.
"I'm just going to dip my legs," she said, a happy expression on her face as she moved her legs gently in the water.
"What a waste!" Serah complained as Lightning passed us each a chilled bottle.
"Oh," she said out loud. I swear I could see a light bulb going on in her head and it made me smile. She got out of the bath, wiping her legs with a bath towel and hurried inside the room. A few minutes later, music was heard from the room.
She came back and sat outside the bath, dipping her legs in again. "I just remembered we had a record player in our room."
"You're the best!" Serah smiled at Lightning and she returned her sister's smile.
After half an hour most of us were extremely warmed up, so we decided to exit the bath.
"Man… that made me sleepy…" Aerith yawned, leaning against Zack. Everyone was now fully dressed.
"Me too. We still have so much time until the evening. Should we watch a movie? There's a huge screen in our room," Fang recommended and everyone seemed to agree with her.
Most of us brought our blankets and pillows from our rooms. We settled on the carpeted floor as Hope and Vanille fought over the choice of movie.
"HORROR!" Vanille screamed, vehemently protecting the remote.
"You'll just scare yourself!" Hope shouted back.
"Horror's fun. Think about it, being in the woods and the wilderness. It's exciting," Serah suggested. I knew Lightning would agree with her sister. And… exactly as I dreaded, everyone decided on horror.
I put my arm around Lightning, who sat between Zack and myself. The first jump scare made every muscle in my body tense and Lighting sensed it. She leaned against me, trying to comfort me as she caressed my hand, before intertwining her fingers with mine.
I was startled several times, and it wasn't the movie as much as it was Serah and Vanille's blood curdling screams.
"Shut up!" Hope shouted as Vanille clung tightly to him, cowering in fear.
"Don't read from the boooooook!" Serah shouted as the character summoned some shit from hell. Meanwhile Lightning and Zack were thoroughly enjoying themselves.
"Yeah, go ahead and open the door," Zack shouted at the screen.
"Split up, you morons!" Lightning joined him as they both laughed at the poor decision making in horror movies.
I turned around to watch Lightning laughing, not holding herself back. It was nice. After what she had told me about her mother, I really wanted to be a part of her life and make sure that she had endless moments like these, where she could truly enjoy herself.
Lightning noticed me staring and she looked at me questioningly. I shook my head and returned my eyes to the screen, only to be frightened to death.
"Kyaaa!" The chorus of Vanille and Serah came crashing on my ear drums as Lightning and Zack burst into sadistic laughter again.
"This guy is going to die a hundred percent," Zack predicted and Lightning agreed with a nod.
"I think the girl will survive for the sequel," she said casually. Aerith also clung onto Zack for dear life, and I realized that I was gripping Lightning's hand too tightly. I released my grip, only to grab onto it with twice the force as another jump scare almost knocked me out.
How could people enjoy these movies….
When we had watched the whole movie and the sequel, the group came downstairs for dinner.
"Let's make pizza! I want to use the oven," Aerith suggested, all eyes on Zack.
"It's going to be hard to beat Cloud, but I won't let you all down!" Zack flashed us a smile.
Zack's pizza was insanely good. Everyone went for seconds, and soon the entire ordeal I had gone through because of the wretched horror movie was forgotten.
After cleaning up, we all did a round as a group to secure the doors and windows. The blizzard would hit us in the late evening and go on until tomorrow night in the worst case scenario. Hope had packed flashlights and other supplies for our rooms in case we lost power, so he distributed them to us. We also brought in logs and extra blankets from the storage room, making sure everything was prepared.
"Alright," Hope rubbed his hands together, shivering slightly. "Now we just need to survive the storm."
"Let's call it a night, we might be woken up anyway," Snow recommended. The others agreed with him and after drinking a few more rounds, we went to back our rooms.
There was an awkwardness between Lightning and I. We avoided looking at each other as we prepared to sleep. Lightning changed into her shorts from before, leaving the sweater on as it was. I changed into track pants as well, throwing on a loose shirt. She kept a change of warmer clothes near the bed, adjusting the heat and drinking a glass of water - all the while avoiding looking at me.
She paced near the bed for a while. I sighed, walking over to her as I gently grabbed her shoulders, stopping her. Her eyes shied away from me, face breaking into a full blush. I also fought back a blush, clearing my throat awkwardly.
"So um, I am sorry about the afternoon…Kinda lost control," I started. Lightning shook her head, still not looking my way.
"It's fine. I also-" she bit down on her lower lip, frustration apparent in icy blue eyes.
"You're angry?" I asked but her expression quickly transformed into one of surprise as our eyes met.
"No… not at all. Why?" She asked softly.
"Too soon?" I asked, trying to read her mind.
"It's… really stupid," she warned me. I chuckled at her cute hesitation, while something was clearly bothering her this much.
"Surprise me," I challenged.
"I am sorry… before we came here, Tifa told me about a 'Jessie'," she said nervously. I took a deep breath, facing her properly.
"You want me to tell you about her? I don't mind," I offered. Lightning shook her head again.
"No it's not her specifically. It's just you've been with other girls, which is completely fine, honestly. But I have never been with anyone, never even thought of anyone this way. There are a lot of feelings I don't understand, and I really, really want you-" she paused as I stroked her cheek, nudging her to continue with a nod, "But all of this is really new to me. It's confusing and it's always at the back of my mind."
I nodded, pushing a few strands of hair away from her face. I tilted her chin up slightly with my thumb, so that our eyes could meet again.
"Farron, it's fine. We don't have to do that, or anything. I won't even kiss you if you ask me not to," I said seriously.
Lightning thought about it, gripping my shirt as she came closer, resting her head on my chest.
"No, I'd hate that," she said boldly.
"Alright, let's take it slow. Just tell me when something's going too far, and I promise you we won't take a step beyond that line." Lightning nodded against my chest, wrapping her arms around me.
"Horror movie did a number on you, huh?" She teased and I sighed sadly, recounting the trauma.
"Yep. K.O." I joked as she pulled away slightly. "I think it took ten years away from my life," I stroked her head gently.
"You know, I found a few records I wanted to listen to… with you. If that's fine," Lightning fidgeted with my shirt. I smiled at her, placing my hand on her shoulder.
"Of course," I replied. Lightning excitedly searched for the vinyl, pulling out a few records and weighing the options in her mind. Finally, she decided on one and set it, letting it play.
A song came on, a sweet, romantic melody.
"Sounds old, even by your standards. I know you listen to a lot of classics," I commented.
"Yeah… apparently it was my parents' wedding song. Weird, huh?" Lighting and I got the fire going, settling down on the rug in front of it.
"No, it's... wonderful. I don't know anything like that about my parents. I told you before that I lost them really young."
Lightning nodded, her fingers slipping in between mine, but she said nothing.
No questions, no looks of pity. Lightning was different. There was a stillness about her, as if she was only offering her presence. There was no pressure, no expectations. It felt nice to be together with someone, and still have this much space.
"I was around five years old. There was a fire… I don't remember the details. Just that I had managed to get out, and so did Tifa, but everyone and everything burned with the houses to the ground. I remember specific things, like how hot it was. The smoke… It was difficult to breathe. I still have nightmares sometimes." I paused. Lightning said nothing, but her grip tightened around my fingers.
"I don't remember much about my real parents, just that they were nice people. I remember a lot more about my childhood with Tifa. She was an outcast of sorts-" Lightning looked at me in disbelief. "I know, hard to believe, isn't it? But for some reason she had warmed up to me. I was a shy and awkward kid and I barely spoke. But we were good friends and we spent a lot of time together." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes for a while.
"We were both in a foster home for a while. It was a good place, and we were happy to be together, having both lost our families. But then my current family found me. Mother is a harsh woman, and her reputation precedes her everywhere. For some reason she took a liking to me and decided to take me in. I remember that I said I'll do as she says, and even go with her if she let me keep my family name. It was the first 'bargain' I made with her - a bargain that cost me a lot in the future."
I paused, watching the fire burn away the wood, turning it to ash. "My adoptive family had four sons, two of them you've met. Yazoo is the youngest, Loz follows after, then there's Kadaj. And finally… Sephiroth." Lightning nodded as if she was memorizing the names. "Their craziness is an ascending order of sorts," I joked bitterly. "But at the start, I worshipped Sephiroth. He was the older brother I never had. The way he carried himself, his strength and resolution, his ability to do everything… he was a hero to me. I wasn't close to my other brothers, although Yazoo was oddly attached to me since the beginning. I just wanted Sephiroth to approve me, to like me and he made me feel like he did. When I grew older, Mother shipped me off to boarding school. I wanted to learn as much as I could, hoping to return better, stronger. I met Aerith, and later Zack. Tifa kept in touch and visited me sometimes. All was well for a few years."
I looked back at Lightning, who was staring softly at me. Her hand reached out to touch my cheek. I kissed it, holding it close for the warmth it provided.
"When I came back, I realized my family was… into 'bad business.' They appeared to be a mighty global conglomerate, delving into different industries and succeeding everywhere. My eldest 'brother' led most of the operations, with Mother acting as a figurehead. But…"
"It's okay," Lightning said decisively, breaking me out of thoughts. "I don't care what they do, and I won't judge you."
"I know," I smiled at her, releasing her hand. My head fell down in shame and guilt. "They… harvest a form of natural 'energy', if you can call it that. And then they synthetically rearrange it. The result is a highly addictive substance…"
"It's a drug, then?" Lightning asked and I nodded.
"It was still in the trial stages when I came back. Perfect timing, I guess, because I paid back for keeping my name, my first act of defiance against Mother," It felt strange to talk about this with someone. "I was the guinea pig. I was exposed to it until I was poisoned, and I remember hallucinating, completely losing touch with reality. I almost lost my mind."
Lightning's body tensed, but she continued to hold my hand through it, trying to be there for me while I thrusted this information on her. "It was… worse than dying in the fire with everyone else. I lay there sometimes, doing nothing, thinking that I wanted it to finish the job. But then Zack found me in that state and he kidnapped me," I found a small, nostalgic laugh escape me. "I stayed with him for a year. I was almost a vegetable at that point. Thankfully I recovered in his care. After recovery, I realized that a lot of me had 'improved', like my ability to retain images and information. I was physically much stronger too. Of course, this meant that I was useful to Mother, so she found me, of course."
The wind had started picking up as it rattled the windows. Lightning shivered and I pulled her closer, finally facing her. "She thought I will become the new 'face' of the business, the ultimate ideal to sell her little product. So now all my brothers, who thought they will inherit everything as a natural right, are out for my blood. Our family is very influential, so they walk around like kings in a lot of circles, doing as they please."
"When Loz attacked me, the guards were there but they did nothing," Lightning shared and I nodded sadly.
"That's part of why I was so possessive. I am glad it was just his fists that time, but the thought that they could shoot you in broad daylight if they just felt like it… those thoughts killed me. I can't tell you how much I worried for you, and not because I thought you can't take care of yourself."
I finished, stroking Lightning's cheek again. My thumb caressed her lips, smiling as I pecked them gently and pulled away.
"I remember you said my eyes were really pretty," Lightning blushed immediately in response. Sadness spread inside me, but I tried to smile. "It's the poisoning. Overexposure. Changes your eye color."
Lightning stared at me apologetically, her hand now resting on the back of my neck. She faced me without any reluctance. "I am sorry," there was no pity in her words. "This just makes me realize I didn't really know you. I said something that hurt you. It was unintentional but I am still really sorry."
"I just told you all of this, and here you are apologizing to me." I laughed, pulling her closer and both my arms wrapped around her waist. "I have been meaning to talk to you about this. I am sorry I delayed it. Whenever we're alone, my thoughts are quite occupied with you."
Lightning released a happy sigh, her other hand also snaking around my neck as she said, "Me too. My brain sort of blanks out when we're close. I tunnel vision into you, and nothing else is important in the moment." I felt my cheeks heat up, noticing that Lightning was also turning redder. "But you know, I am glad we talked like this. I know it took a lot of courage for you to tell me. Whatever happened to you should have never happened to anyone, and I'm…"
There it comes… the sorry. I tensed, inching away from her.
"...I'm proud of you," Lightning continued, surprising me. "You're one hell of a friend to Tifa and Zack, and I know everyone from idiots like Snow to geniuses like Hope look up to you. You're not some tool for your Mother. You're a person."
What a weird thing to say…
Is this what I needed to hear all along?
"I'm a person…" I repeated in a low voice. Lightning moved away slightly this time, looking panicked.
"Did I say something wrong again? I am sor-" She started but I interrupted her with a kiss, finally pulling away with every cell of self control in my body.
"No. You always say the right thing," I smiled as I pulled her into a hug instead. Her arms tightened around the back of my neck as she breathed peacefully, like she was happy to be here. When we parted from our embrace, I stared at her seriously.
"Now you know everything, so… are you still willing to be with me?" I asked. Lightning smiled, playfully raising her eyebrows.
"I mean… now that I know of your questionable pool skills?" She challenged and I let out a growl in response, smirking as well. "Yes, I'll train you well. So, my answer is still yes," She said before falling on the rug softly, taking me with her as our lips met once again in what felt like complete bliss.
A/N: And that's it for now! I'll reveal Lightning's backstory in another chapter sometime in the future. Also, I am considering putting Hope and Vanille in some sort of situation but still working on it, so hopefully some inspiration will come to me by tomorrow. Isn't their fighting the cutest? XD Hope you guys have a great Monday! ^^
Until next time.
