A/N: This tale, with the Fangrai pairing – Futa!Lightning/Fang (married) – will be in two parts. First part is SFW, part 2 is NSFW (smut), which Lightning is a professional poker player and Fang bartends at the venue the tournament is held at, with Locke as a fellow bartender and Celes running security. Side note, neither part of this tale is very long. Seven and Sice [newlyweds] make a brief appearance here as well, with the part two of this tale being a partner fic for the NSFW piece with Celes and Locke.

A/N #2: This part I must say before I go on with the tale. When it comes to ships ANYWHERE and by ANYONE – regardless if it's in video games, anime or television/film – we are allowed to ship WHOEVER we want, ESPECIALLY if it's not a canon ship confirmed by the original source these come from. We have our reasons for who we individually ship. This isn't the Cold War Era, where if one didn't think like the rest then they're a bad person. This is 2019. Whatever happened to respecting opinions that differ from one another?

Poker Face, Part One

You got the tournament in the bag and you know it, Sunshine. We'll be cheering you from the bar...

Lightning couldn't help but smile at the text from her wife, yet she couldn't help but wonder why Fang put 'we' in the text instead of 'I' as the Oerban native usually does. Ever since the couple got engaged several years ago and then married six months after they got engaged, Fang and Lightning wanted to start a family of their own. For the pinkette, who had to silence her phone to help concentrate for the annual poker tournament, she felt at ease knowing that Fang will have Locke Cole's help with bartending, as he's a long time friend of the Yun-Farron couple. Like Lightning and Fang, Locke and his wife Celes have had trouble starting a family of their own, for one reason or another. Although the text could have meant that Fang included Locke and Celes' wishes for the older Farron to do well in the tournament, Lightning wisely chose not to dwell on the matter further, until the tournament is over with at the very least, regardless if the pinkette won it all or not. Upon viewing her competition for the tournament, Lightning spotted two of her closest mates, Seven and Sice (who just got back from their honeymoon), in the crowd, with Sice being the cheeky one and showed a small sign saying "Go Farron" in Seven's handwriting, putting the older Farron at ease.

When the announcer for the tournament announced the five minute warning to all competitors, some of them were in a hurry - not Lightning though: she was at her assigned table and for some time, knowing that she'll need all the support she can get while remaining focused on the 6 million gil prize money and a custom bracelet for the winner, knowing that it'll help her and Fang secure the future for both themselves and start the family they've wanted for so long. With the crowd getting pumped up for this particular poker tournament, partially because Claire "Lightning" Yun-Farron is the youngest female to have made it to the Grand Finals on the global level, after having won numerous poker tournaments while on both Cocoonian and Gran Pulsian soil but never competed on the global scale until just this year. To put it kindly, this was nerve wrecking for her, partially because Serah and Snow welcomed their first child, a healthy baby boy named Noel (Noel Kriess gave them permission to name their son after him) two months ago. With the last of the announcements now out of the way, Lightning greeted her competition as politely as possible, making all strides to keep her attention to what is in front of her.

It would be Fang's text message that guides Lightning in the tournament.

XXX

Locke and Fang serve the patrons at the bar their drinks, while making orders for those who are seated at the poker tournament, both with a smile on their face and making solid tips for their efforts. In unity, both Locke and Fang are sporting ginger ale as their beverage of choice, since Locke knows something about Fang that would make her dreams with Lightning a reality at long last. Fang is one of Locke's closest mates outside Celes, which the Coles defended Lightning to no end about varying issues involving the older Farron and her condition. "When are you gonna tell Light about them?" Locke asked the Oerban native about results of the pregnancy test she took earlier in the week, when he, Celes, Vanille, Snow and Serah all accompanied her as Lightning's schedule with the poker tournament forced the older Farron to be unable to be with her wife. Fang was saddened by the schedule of the tournament forcing Lightning to be unable to accompany her, but was relieved when others came with the brunette, even Serah mentioning Lightning's predicament. In this instance, however, the timing of Locke's question threw Fang off guard, knowing that she would have to let Lightning know about those results at some point.

"After she wins the tournament, Cole..." is all Fang could answer, with Locke acknowledging the response as a good time to let the older Farron know. The sooner Lightning knew, the better off it would be for all involved. They would continue to serve drinks of all kinds to the patrons all over the venue while watching the tournament from a monitor, as a means for Fang to cheer her wife on from a safe distance. It was Celes' way to keep Fang posted on whatever's going on in the tournament, which they caught a tidbit from the tournament, when the announcement team mentioned that Lightning was a huge favourite to win it all, noting her runs on Cocoonian and Gran Pulsian soil and the wins she had racked up there. Fang couldn't help but chuckle upon seeing Seven and Sice in the crowd, remembering that they just got back from their honeymoon and are close mates with Lightning. The brunette's hands kept caressing her abdomen, something that had Locke smirking non-stop, and for obvious reasons. It made perfect sense why the two drank ginger ale, as a means of friends supporting each other in times like this. I wonder how Light will take the news about Fang when she tells her... the male bartender muses to himself, recalling that he and Celes too have been struggling to start a family of their own as well.

All Fang could do now is hope that Lightning wins the tournament.

XXX

The first round of the poker tournament begins, with four tables filled with eight players each. With Lightning being at Table 3, her field of opponents there were a cake walk for her to tackle. She and three others wasted no time in winning their matches to move on to the second round, with the older Farron being seeded No. 1 for her flawless round. With the rest of the 1st round matches wrapping up, Lightning had some time to herself. The pinkette excused herself to the washroom, partially because she needed to go, after drinking some ginger ale of her own (Lightning didn't drink during the poker tournaments - she wanted to have a clear mind) but was feeling blue balled. Twenty minutes later, with a few additional minutes to spare, the pinkette returned to the area to help prepare for the second round of poker. Her appearance was slightly different, but it brought out the best in Lightning. In the second round of the tournament, the older Farron had stellar competition, which included the Top 4 from Table 2. Midway through the 2nd round, it was Fang's text message from before the tournament began that came to her mind, encouraging Lightning to kick arse and take names.

One of her opponents, a lass by the name of Cinder, who got her way in through luck but had no real skill to call her own, challenged the older Farron to go all in, knowing that the pinkette didn't have many chips left to bet let alone to be able to advance to the final round of the tournament. Serah, I wish I could use your energy here for this one, sis... Lightning thought to herself, just before the text from Fang gave her the mental energy she needed to accept Cinder's challenge. "I'll go all in alright Cinder, but only if you go all in too..." Lightning answered the challenge with one of her own, knowing that the lass' chip supply will push Lightning into the Top once again. After a few moments to think it over, Cinder went all in with her chips, just like the older Farron did a few minutes ago. It was either by Lady Luck's miracle or a one from Etro, the hand was in Lightning's favour, ensuring herself a seat at the final table by eliminating Cinder from the poker tournament, the real shocker of the event up to this point. Locke and Fang did a tiny dance at the bar, while Celes was doing an odd dance in the monitor room where her security team were dispatched.

It was the final round where it was Fang's energy - along with that from Locke, Celes, Seven and Sice in person, plus Serah, Snow, Hope, Vanille, Noel and Yeul who were all watching from the Farron-Villiers household, that gave Lightning all the energy possible for her to win the tournament. They all knew that the prize money would help Fang and Lightning start the family they've been struggling to start for so many years. Like the 2nd round, the competition Lightning was up against was stellar, as the final round had the reigning, defending champion there - a no bullshit woman called Edea Kramer. Edea was very skilled for a poker player, who had won it all five years straight. Unlike Cinder, she showed sportsmanship with all of her opponents, and Edea's only response to seeing Lightning at this tournament was "about fucking time" as Kramer knew of Lightning's caliber and what the pinkette can do for so many years. For the veteran poker player, she knew that having new blood at the final round would help better Edea's game, regardless if she won it all again this year or lose to another player at last (Cinder never saw it that way, plus it was rumoured that Cinder doesn't take to losing well on the poker circuit). She played fair at any cost, which is how she earned everyone's respect on the poker circuit.

It was Edea who encouraged Lightning to try her hand at being a professional poker player after an accident gave the older Farron an medical but honourable discharge from the Guardian Corps. You can say that Edea's heart went out to the pinkette: Edea was a childhood friend of Lightning and Serah's parents, and that her heart is in the right place. As for the relationship between Lightning and Fang, it was Edea who encouraged them to get together and later get married. For Edea Kramer - she was going up against her protege after so many years of Lightning's run on Cocoonian and Gran Pulsian soil. The final round would determine it all, and it got to the point where Lightning was up against Edea for the prize money and custom bracelet. The two women went back and forth, with neither of them gaining any real ground. It kept up like this until Edea tried the same trick that Cinder did, to have Lightning go all in with her remaining amount of chips. Like how she was with Cinder, Lightning challenged Edea to do the same, to go all in. The final hand resulted in Lightning BARELY edging Edea out on: they both had a three of a kind - at least. Edea's three of a kind had three 7's in her hand, while Lightning's were three 9's - plus two Queens. The older Farron beat Edea with a Full House!

"Congrats, Claire Yun-Farron. Well played, woman. Let's hope you and Fang have that family you wanted...and I want you to come back to the circuit, you hear?" Edea whispered to Lightning's ear as the older Farron was given a heartwarming and also sincere congratulations from the long time champion. Shortly after that, the pinkette was given a cheque of 6 million gil and the custom bracelet, which Edea proudly placed on the older Farron's wrist. The only thing Edea said about her loss was that the right person won it all, and made a vow to help Fang and Lightning in starting the family they wanted. Lightning herself thanked those she played against, along with her family at home who were watching along with her wife Fang that was bartending at the bar and her mates Locke, Seven and Sice for cheering her on in person. Celes was touched when Lightning mentioned Locke... it was a reason why the Coles and the Yun-Farrons were close friends all these years. Lightning had her picture taken with Edea and the other poker players, along with the varying fans of the field, with Seven and Sice being the most giddy of the audience.

It would be Fang that had varying plans for her wife later that evening...

...but first, she had to help Locke close down the bar despite her current state.

To Be Continued...

A/N #3: In Poker Face, Part 2... Lightning and Fang have some sexy times on the table after the older Farron's win (hence why Part 2 is NSFW), with a major revelation coming from Fang about their struggles to start that family. What is Fang hiding, and how will Lightning react to the news? Also, This will be on my AO3 page in a few days (currently cat sitting and not on my usual laptop).