Note: This is set after the end of Stetsons and Fal'Cie

X X X

Old Enemies, New Friends

Jihl didn't think too much of drinking, but she had a lot on her mind. She'd spent the last few years of her life chasing someone only to have them just up and die on her. She snarled. That whole mess with Cocoon had been the worst sort of business, the kind that really got folks talking, and not in a good way. But some of that talk had gotten to her. There was Yaag, and then there was the Bahamut Bandit.

She shook her head. Yaag… he'd been a good man once, a little wild sometimes, but she hadn't figured him the kind of man to get mixed up with Barthandelus. Sure, she wasn't exactly perfect, but there were lines even she wouldn't cross. He'd been a friend of hers, a good one, and knowing he'd gone bad was like a lead weight in her stomach.

Then there was the bandit.

She growled and banged her hand down on the counter of the bar. The bartender hustled over. She was a real pretty young woman with long black hair and eyes the colour of whiskey. Still, Jihl didn't like the look on her face one bit. It made her feel like a cheap drunk, and damn it she wasn't drunk yet, not by a long shot. Besides, she didn't want anybody's pit. She was Jihl Nabaat, and damn it, that still had to count for something!

"I think maybe you've had enough," the bartender said.

Jihl looked up and glared. "I'll tell you when I've had enough." She waved one hand. "Get me another bottle of whiskey." The bartender's eyes hardened. "Look," Jihl murmured. "I'm not looking to cause trouble. I'm just… I'm just… drinking, drinking to a…"

"A friend?" the bartender asked, her eyes softening a touch.

Jihl laughed softly. "I wouldn't say we were friends."

"I see." The bartender sighed. "I'll get you another, but I'm warning you, marshal or not, I'll throw you out if make trouble."

"Seems fair." Jihl waited for the next bottle of whiskey and then poured herself another glass. How many was that now? She wasn't sure.

The whiskey went down real smooth. That damn bandit! She'd put some much time into catching her, and she'd been damn close too. If that stupid partner of hers hadn't shown up, she'd have got her. Jihl had been right angry for a long time after that, just chomping at the bit to try again. She'd been sure – damn sure – she'd get another chance. But now the Bandit was gone, buried in some hole in the ground near the Al Bhed.

And Jihl… Jihl wasn't sure quite what to do with herself. Sure, she'd pulled jobs since then, even collared a few bandits, but it just wasn't the same. She wanted a challenge. She wanted the thrill of not knowing if she'd win. The Bandit shouldn't have died like that. They were supposed to settle things good and proper, just the two of them.

Just then, someone else pushed through the doors of the saloon. Jihl could hear the doors slapping back and forth, but she didn't bother to turn. In a town place Bodhum, there wasn't a single person worth a damn except maybe Farron, and she and Farron had never gotten along too well. With this much liquor in her, Jihl wouldn't have stood a chance anyway. Heck, Farron would probably drop her before she even cleared the holster. Still, maybe she should swing by Farron's place later. The word was, Farron had finally gotten herself a deputy, and folks said that deputy of hers was real tough, the kind of woman who could actually keep up with Farron. Jihl shook her head. There weren't many like that around, and most of them were on the wrong side of the law.

"Evening Lebreau." There was something familiar about that voice, Jihl thought, as someone sat down at the bar, a few stools over. "Mind getting me some whiskey? I've had a good spell of trouble today, and I could use something to drink."

The bartender – Lebreau – laughed, light and easy. "You sure that's a good idea, Fang? Last I heard, Farron doesn't like you coming home late. The way folks tell it, she keeps you on a mighty short leash – not that you seem to mind too much."

The other woman – Fang – chuckled, and again Jihl couldn't shake the sense that she knew her from somewhere. Even so, she didn't bother to look up. She had whiskey to drink, and she didn't give a damn about what Farron was doing. If the woman wanted to shack up with some floozy that was her business.

"Seems like there's a lot of talk about the two of us," Fang said. There was a rustle of cloth and Jihl heard this Fang woman settle down on the stool next to her. "Say, what's got a fine marshal like you drinking so much?"

Jihl's eyes narrowed. She wasn't going to take talk like that from some middle of nowhere hick. She turned, an insult on her lips and then froze. "You!" She jerked off her stool, nearly tripping as she reached for her pistol.

Before Jihl could draw her pistol, a strong hand clamped down on her wrist. Damn it, all that liquor was making her slow, and even worse it was making her weak. If she were sober, she'd have nailed the other woman by now, or at the very least, broken free. She growled. She was a damn fool. She should have known there was no way the Bahamut Bandit would die so easily, and now she was paying the price. If the Bandit wanted to settle things right here, Jihl doubted she could stop her.

"Easy." Fang tapped the star on her chest. "It's not polite pulling a gun on a deputy."

"A deputy?" Jihl tried to pull her hand free, but Fang's grip refused to budge. "What kind of fool talk is that?"

Fang's eyes narrowed just a little, those green eyes as keen as razors. "You can sit down, marshal, or I'll put you down, it's your call. The fact of the matter is, I am a deputy here, and I won't think twice of throwing you in a cell."

Jihl growled. Fang's damn eyes were just about glowing, and those lips of hers had curled up into a smirk she remembered all too well. But from the way everyone else was acting, Jihl could tell she was in a tight spot. These folks, they were acting like they knew Fang, like Fang really was a deputy. She'd have to bide her time then, play it cool for a spell. "Fine."

"Good." Fang let go of Jihl. "Now, how about you sit down and have a drink with me, or do we need to go outside and finish up?" She grinned. "Honestly, if I were you, I'd have a drink. You're in no condition to fight."

Jihl made a disgusted sound. Fang was right and she knew it. Still, if they were going to drink, then maybe they could talk, and she had a lot of questions. "So… it's Fang, is it?"

Fang grinned. "That's my name." She slanted a wry look at Jihl. "But you know, the Bahamut Bandit really did die out there."

"You're retired then." Jihl's eyes narrowed. "And you really think I'll stop chasing you?"

"You're a lot of things, marshal, some of which I won't say in polite company, but you're not stupid." Fang poured them both some more whiskey. "You're also a good woman too when it comes right down to it." She smirked again at the look on Jihl's face. "I've asked Lightning about you, Quistis too. You might bend the law sometimes, but you know which side of it you're on. You know what justice is."

"What's that got to do with anything?" JIhl was just itching to do something, but there wasn't a thing she could do. Fang was fast on the draw, fast enough to drop her if she went for her gun, and even if she did get the jump on the other woman, she had a feeling that Lebreau had a shotgun under the counter, a shotgun she wouldn't hesitate to turn on Jihl. Whoever Fang was now, Bodhum seemed to like her.

"Oerba," Fang said, and Jihl almost flinched at the old pain she saw in the other woman's eyes. "My real name is Oerba Yun Fang."

It took a few moments for the words to really sink in. There'd been talk about Oerba during the trial, about all the things that Barthandelus and Hojo had done. A whole tribe wiped out, burned alive for nothing more than a profit. It made Jihl sick to her stomach. "Maker…" she breathed. "No wonder you hated Cocoon so much."

Fang nodded. "That's about right." She smiled teasingly. "And that's why I know you're not going to say anything about this to anyone." She held Jihl's gaze. "Am I reading you about right?"

Jihl's hand tightened on her glass so much she was afraid it might break. There was a part of her that wanted to reach over and just knock Fang's damn teeth in. The woman had robbed who knew how many places, and she'd found a way to get away with it too. But she hadn't done it for nothing. If anything, she had a pretty good reason.

And Fang hadn't been some two-bit killer. The Bahamut Bandit had robbed places, sure, but they'd been Cocoon's places, and she'd never shot anyone she didn't have to. Damn, Jihl thought, it hurt her head just to think about all this. What a mess.

"You know," JIhl drawled, downing another whiskey. "I think I hate you."

Fang chuckled. "Fair enough, but I figured you I owed you an explanation or two." She glanced down at her whiskey. "After all, out of all the marshals they sent after me, you were the only who even got close. It was fun, I guess, having someone with a head on their shoulders coming after me."

"That so?" Jihl felt a little better, somehow. She'd come the closest to catching Fang. She'd been the best. Still, there were some things she needed to know. "Say, that time I almost got you in the Vestige, how'd you get away?"

Fang grinned. "If we're going to be talking about old times, we might need some more whiskey." She waved Lebreau over. "As for how I got away. Well, it was like this…"

X X X

Fang sighed and glanced at the boarding house one last time before she turned and headed off. It'd been fun shooting the breeze with Jihl. They'd had their fair share of run-ins over the years, and most of them had been fun. It was even more fun talking about them, now that she didn't have to worry about the marshal blowing a hole in her.

It was real interesting listening to Jihl too. The woman was surly and a bit grouchy, but only half of that was her, the other half of it was the whiskey. Besides, it had been pretty nice to hear about things from the other side. Maybe the best part was listening to Jihl talk about some of the cases she was doing now. She'd even asked Fang for advice. After all, who better to catch a bandit than another bandit?

They'd talked for a good long while before Jihl had finally dropped. Turned out, she couldn't handle her liquor as well as Fang could, that and she'd been going for a while already by the time Fang showed up. It had been pretty tempting to let Jihl sleep it off in one of the cells in the sheriff's office, but Fang had decided to just carry Jihl back to the boarding house she was staying at. There'd be less trouble that way, and the last thing she needed was to give Jihl a new reason to go after her.

And that was maybe the funniest thing of all. Fang was dead certain Jihl wouldn't be coming after her anymore. Sure, she had a feeling that she'd be seeing the marshal again, maybe to talk about old times, maybe to pick a fight, or maybe even to ask for more advice, but the marshal wouldn't be looking to arrest her. Even if Jihl would never say it out loud, they both knew she'd have done the same in Fang's place. They might not be friends now, but they respected each other, and that counted for a lot when it came to people like them. Besides, as far as the law was concerned, the Bahamut Bandit was dead.

Her only problem now was, she was running late. Lightning wouldn't be too happy, but Fang figured she had a pretty good excuse this time. She paused, eyes drifting to the porch of a nearby store. The place was closed up on account of it being so late, but she could feel eyes watching her from the shadows. There was only one person in Bodhum who could sneak up on her like that.

"You mind maybe stepping out of there so we can talk face to face, Lightning?" Fang asked.

Lightning peeled out of the shadows. "You two were looking awfully cosy in the saloon, Fang."

Fang slanted a look at the other woman, a ghost of a smile on her lips. It was always fun trying to read Lightning right, and even now there were times when she couldn't quite do it. "You feeling a tad jealous, sheriff?"

Lightning walked over, cool and calm and easy, and stopped just shy of Fang. They were so close now that Fang could almost feel the other woman against her. "And why would I be jealous, deputy?"

"Well, I kind of figured you would be." Fang smirked. "Takes a pretty confident person not to worry when someone's chasing their woman."

Lightning's lips curled. "Then it's a good thing that I'm a pretty confident person – and that you're my woman, Fang. Mine." She leaned forward until there lips were almost touching. "And she can chase you all she wants, Fang. She'll never catch you."

Fang eased back, keeping a hair's breadth between them. The two of them were fighting, only it wasn't with the guns, and it was the kind of fight where both of them could end up winning. "And how do you figure that?"

Lightning reached up and with deliberate slowness draped her arms around Fang's neck. Her next words were a whisper, spoken for just the two of them, almost lost in the kiss that followed. "Because, Fang, I've already caught you."

X X X

Author's Notes

As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.

So… someone asked for a Stetsons and Fal'Cie omake and here it is. Seriously though, I've had a few ideas bouncing around in my head for a while now, and this is the one that rose to the top. It's been a while since I've finished Stetsons and Fal'Cie, but I have to admit, I kind of miss it sometimes. Maybe one of these days I'll get around to writing a sequel or something (although, Headed West probably should get one first, considering its been waiting longer).

Probably my favourite part of this chapter is letting Jihl meet Fang again. Jihl's spent a long time chasing Fang, so I figured she could use some closure, especially since I think they could have been friends under different circumstances. Sure, they'd be antagonising each other the whole time, and they'd probably try and kill each other at least once, but I think they could be friends.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.