Note: This chapter is set in an alternate universe where Serah and Vanille are in an established relationship. There are also elements taken from Ordinary Heroes.
X X X
In Another World
Fang bit back a chuckle as she watched Diana stare at the front door with all the ferocity a six-year old could muster, which wasn't much. Really, it was actually kind of cute the way Diana would snarl and scowl.
"What are you doing?"
Diana shot one final glare at the door and then turned to glare at the clock on the wall. Then she went back to glaring at the door. "They're late!"
"Are they?" Fang glanced at the clock. Well, wasn't that funny? Diana was right. They were late – by a grand total of two minutes. "Just wait, they'll be here any minute –"
Knock. Knock.
"I'll get it!" Diana leapt to her feet and pressed her ear against the door. "Who is it?"
"Your favourite auntie," Vanille shouted back.
Diana hurled the door open and jumped back. A little girl with red hair and blue eyes bounded through the door. For a moment, the two of them simply stared at each other. Then, almost as one, they burst into motion.
"Take this!" Diana drove one fist at her sworn enemy's jaw. "Super Mega Punch of Ultimate Doom!"
The other girl dodged and replied with a tremendously exaggerated kick aimed at Diana's stomach. "Invincible Kick of Gut Breaking Death!"
Alas, neither girl's blow got anywhere close to hitting, and the two tumbled into the living room. They scrambled around on the floor until Diana finally managed to get onto her opponent's back.
"Prepare to die to my Chokehold of Unlimited Strangulation… Version Five!"
The red haired girl squirmed out of Diana's grip and replied with the most crushing bear hug ever delivered by a six year old. "Deadly Bear Hug of Death… Version… Seven?"
As the two girls continued to exchange a dizzying array of ridiculously named – and ridiculously ineffective – blows, Serah and Vanille walked into the living room and settled down on the couch beside Fang. Claire, Serah and Vanille's older daughter, was content to watch the two younger girls fight it out on the living room floor.
"Where's my sister, Fang?" Serah asked with a grin. "Don't tell me you're making her slave away in the kitchen on her own again?"
"I tried to help but –"
"Mommy got banished from the kitchen again." Averia came in from the kitchen in a bright pink apron. "She almost set the kitchen on fire, so mom kicked her out." She eyed the squabbling girls on the floor. "Are Raine and Diana fighting again?"
Claire nodded. "Yeah. I think Raine's winning, but it's kind of hard to tell."
"You're right, it is hard to tell." Serah tilted her head to one side. Raine and Diana had resorted to hair pulling. "Although it is kind of cute."
Fang chuckled. Serah was right. Diana had always been a mischievous child, and in Raine, Serah and Vanille's younger daughter, she had found her best friend, favourite enemy, and rival all in one. Both of the little girls loved mischief, and when they weren't teaming up to cause as much of it as they could, they were locked in an epic contest to decide which one of them was cooler.
In the past, their contests had involved everything from who could build the best paper airplane to who could make the biggest splash in a puddle. Right now, however, both of them were avid fans of some fighting robot cartoon that came on at seven o'clock each morning. In a tribute to this new cartoon, both girls had taken to naming their attacks and yelling those names out whenever they fought.
"Behold!" Diana yelled as she broke free and jumped onto the arm of the couch. "My Body Slam of Unbearable Agony!"
"Wait –"
Fang reached out to stop her daughter, but it was too late. Diana leapt off the couch.
Thud.
"Hah!" Raine danced around the body of her fallen enemy. "My Fantastic Dodge of Total Dodging totally got around your Body Slam of Unbearable Agony. Now the only one in agony… is you!"
Fang couldn't help it. She laughed. Diana shot her a nasty glare, but she couldn't stop. Raine had actually managed to come up with a pretty good line.
"Ouchie." Diana scowled. "Mommy, you're supposed to be on my team!" She jabbed one finger at Raine. "You must have cheated. Nobody can dodge my Body Slam of Unbearable Agony!"
A deep sigh left Averia's lips. With her mommy, her two aunts, and Claire in the room, it was left to her to be the sensible one. Before anything else could go horribly wrong, she stepped between her sister and her cousin.
"That's enough."
The two girls continued to flail at each other, so Averia put one hand on each of their heads. Her extra height meant that neither of them could reach the other. However, that didn't stop both girls from continuing to windmill their arms as furiously as possible.
Finally, Raine and Diana stumbled back. Waving their arms in the air for the better part of ten minutes had left them exhausted.
"You're pretty good." Diana flopped onto her back.
"So are you." Raine giggled. "And you had some new moves this time."
"Yeah." Diana perked up. "I saw them in this video game my mommy bought me, and I got another one from that wrestling show that was on television. My mom says its all fake, but it's still cool."
"Lucky." Raine grumbled and shot a pitiful look at Serah and Vanille. "My parents said that I have to wait for my birthday before they get me that game."
"You can always come and play it here."
"Thanks." Raine grinned. "But no complaining when I beat you."
"As if you'll beat me! I'm awesome at this game, like the most awesome there has ever been and –"
Lightning came in from the kitchen, and everyone stopped and stared. The oldest Farron's apron was covered in blood.
"Are you okay, Aunt Lightning?" Claire asked. "Uh… because you've got blood all over you."
"You haven't started murdering people have you?" Vanille asked. She gave Fang an amused look. "I always told you she'd snap and –"
"Do you want me to start with you, Vanille?" Lightning sighed. "Fang went hunting yesterday, and since she's proven she can't be trusted with any modern appliances, I'm the one who has to butcher it."
"Wow." Serah waggled her eyebrows at Vanille. "And you always said my sister got the better end of things."
Vanille rolled her eyes. "Quiet you." She leaned over and gave Serah a quick kiss on the lips, eliciting a chorus of disgusted wails from the kids. "Besides, I definitely got the better end of things when it came to us."
"Mommy, there are children present!" Claire had her hands over Raine's eyes.
"Fine, fine." Vanille couldn't resist messing around with her kids, and she waited until Claire had removed her hands before leaning forward to rub Serah's nose with hers.
"Mommy!"
"If you two are done scarring your children for life," Lightning said. "I could use a hand in the kitchen."
Fang cupped her chin with one hand. "Is it wrong that I think you're sexy when you're covered in blood?"
"Don't you start too, mommy." Averia scowled and Diana jabbed one finger at Fang. "No kissing stuff in front of us."
"So, can you two help me in the kitchen?" Lightning gave Fang a pointed look. "Someone can't be trusted to not burn it down."
"I have never burnt the kitchen down." Fang folded her arms over her chest. "Name one time that ever happened."
"The kitchen didn't burn down because we have sprinklers, and mom used the fire extinguisher." Averia winced at the look of betrayal that Fang gave her. "Sorry, mommy, but it's true."
"Yeah, yeah." Fang patted Averia on the head. "I get you. All right, I'll watch the kids. Serah and Vanille, you help Lightning in the kitchen." She smirked. "And Lightning… go make me a sandwich."
Nobody said a word as Lightning calmly wiped her hands clean, grabbed one of the couch cushions, and then hit Fang over the head with it.
"It was worth it." Fang smirked and danced out of range before Lightning could hit her again. "You're even sexier when you're mad and covered in blood."
This time, it was Averia who hit her with a couch cushion.
X X X
Diana and Raine huddled together behind the couch.
"Have you been practicing your sneaking?" Diana asked.
"Of course." Raine nodded seriously. "But I still can't beat my parents. My mommy is really tricky."
"My mom is worse." Diana shuddered. "She can see in the dark and everything. One time, I was going to try and sneak some ice cream out of the fridge in the middle of the night, and she was right there."
Of course, what Diana didn't know was that Lightning had gone downstairs for that exact same reason. Neither of them had gone back to sleep happy – Diana hadn't gotten her ice cream and Lightning hadn't either. She could hardly indulge in some middle of the night ice cream after telling Diana not to.
"We need to practice more." Raine peeked around the couch and pointed at Averia who was in the middle of solving a Rubik's cube. Beside her, Claire was offering some over the shoulder commentary mixed in with a few giggles whenever Averia made a mistake. "We can practice on your sister."
"You're right!" Diana grinned. "Let's go."
Slowly, the two girls crept around the couch. Diana slunk low, keeping as close to the carpet as she could. She hid her tiny frame behind the coffee table and then the couch cushion Averia had hit their mommy with before finally coming to a stop behind a stool. Not far away, Raine crept from the couch to the beanbag they kept near the television. Finally, she crouched behind Diana's school bag, which she had left in the middle of the living room. Their prey – Averia – remained blissfully absorbed with her puzzle.
Claire, however, had noticed them. The older girl gave them both a thumbs up and then returned to watching Averia work.
Diana signalled to Raine using the Guardian Corps sign language her mom had taught her. I'll distract her, try and take the cube!
Raine signalled back. Okay! Try not to die.
Diana nodded solemnly. Her older sister loved her very much, but Averia possessed the most powerful of noogies. Slinking toward her sister, she reached out and poked Averia in the leg. Quickly, she dropped back to the ground and scooted behind her sister.
"What?" Averia looked around and then down at the floor. Nothing. Eyes narrowed, she put down her cube.
Creak…
"Got you!" Averia spun and grabbed Raine's arm. "Hah! Did you think you could sneak up on me?"
Diana looked from Raine to the cube. If she could get the cube, they could still win…
"Ah!" Diana screamed as Averia turned and grabbed her too.
"You're too noisy." Averia pointed at the television. "And I could see your reflection there."
Diana pouted. "Drat."
"You're too tough, Averia." Raine frowned. "You should take it easy on us because we're littler."
"And then how would you learn anything?" Averia took back her cube. "Remember what I said, and try again in five minutes."
Claire chuckled. "And try not to whisper so loudly. We could hear you from all the way over here."
X X X
Serah struggled not to laugh as the four children eyed lunch like it was something out of a dream. It wasn't often that Lightning permitted junk food, but when she did, she went the whole nine yards. For this particular family get together, Lightning had put together pizza, cake, steak, and a few other things. Of course, Serah and Vanille had brought their own goodies, but Lightning liked to remind people that she wasn't just a soldier. She was also pretty handy in the kitchen too.
For her part, Fang spent at least ten minutes lavishing praise on the pink haired woman. As much as Lightning claimed otherwise, Serah knew that her sister enjoyed the attention. Fang hadn't married Lightning for her cooking – if anything, it was Lightning's ability to stab and shoot things that had sealed the deal – but she was nothing if not appreciative. Fang knew how lucky she was, and she wasn't too proud to admit it. Plus, Serah had a sneaking suspicion that Fang would be rewarded for her good behaviour later.
The thought of cooking brought another smile to her face. Unlike Fang, Vanille was perfectly fine with modern appliances. In fact, the red head's main weakness was her tendency to go overboard when it came to experimenting with even simple dishes. Well, there was that and the fact that Serah had a hard time cooking with Vanille trying to feel her up. She didn't mind getting frisky in the kitchen – their kitchen counter was the perfect height for it and the strawberry sauce was right there for Vanille to use – but Raine and Averia were old enough now to start asking awkward questions.
The most recent one, courtesy of Raine, was: mom, why does mommy have her hands down your pants? Serah had been in no condition to respond. In fact, she'd been only a few seconds away from enjoying the fruits of Vanille's manual dexterity. Luckily, Vanille had always been quick on her feet and even quicker with her mouth – both in the bedroom and when making excuses.
Vanille's answer: because your mom is cooking so she can't scratch her leg, which means that I have to.
Classic.
And somehow, Raine had actually bought it. They'd gotten lucky. Claire wouldn't have believed that, but the older girl was usually better at steering clear when they were getting affectionate.
"You don't have to just stare at it, you know." Serah chuckled. "You can eat."
Raine and Diana moved to get their food with visible aplomb. Averia managed to resist the urge to rush right up until she noticed Claire and Diana loading up several slices of cake.
"Cake is dessert!" Averia growled and stepped between her sister, her cousin, and the cake.
"But cake is yummy!"
Averia used her glare to pin Raine in place when she tried to sneak past. "And you three will eat all of it before I get any unless I stop you."
"Meanie!" Diana waved her spoon at Averia.
"I am not." Averia crossed her arms over her chest. "But if we're going to eat cake, we have to do things fairly and split it between the four of us."
Serah watched as the kids argued over how they should divvy up the cake, all of them ignoring the fact that there were eight of them in the room, not four.
"I like how none of us get any of the cake," Fang drawled. "But then again, you know how they around sugar…" She trailed off.
A slice of the cake was missing.
The kids seemed to have noticed to.
"What happened to the cake?" Raine wailed.
"Cake might be dessert, but there's nothing wrong with eating it first every now and then." Lightning cut another piece of her cake off and lifted it to her lips. "Besides, I'm the one who made it. I should get the first piece."
The look of absolute betrayal on the girls' faces was priceless.
"Mommy!" Diana grabbed Fang's leg. "Mom is eating all the cake!"
A big grin spread across Serah's lips. It was always nice to see her sister like this. The older Farron was usually the serious parent, so she always caught the girls off guard when she decided to work a little mischief of her own.
"It's all right." Serah smirked at Lightning. Two could play at that game. She knelt in front of Diana. "When I was little, your mom always used to steal my cake too."
Lightning gaped.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Mom, that's mean." Diana scowled. "You always tell me and Averia to be nice to each other, but you stole Aunt Serah's cake!"
"No, I didn't." Lightning scowled. "If I remember correctly, I usually gave most of my cake to you, Serah, since you always finished yours first."
"That sounds like someone I know." Fang gave Vanille a pointed look.
"Technically, we didn't really eat cake much back then." Vanille giggled. "But you always shared your sweets with me when we were little."
Ever mindful of ways to increase her own share of the cake, Raine turned speculative eyes on Claire. "If older sisters always share their cake with their younger sister, then you need to share some of your cake with me."
"Hey, that's right!" Diana smiled sunnily at Averia. "Now, you have to give me some of your cake."
Averia took one look at her sister's smile and did what she always did – she folded like a paper bag. "Fine. I guess you can have some." She paused. "But only a little, and only if you're good."
Serah went over to whisper in Lightning's ear. "Yep, she definitely takes after you."
"Brat." Lightning put on a fake frown and then reached over to brush some of Serah's hair away from her face. "It's no wonder you get into so much trouble. I spoiled you rotten."
X X X
Lightning waved as Serah and Vanille headed back over to their house next door. The pair had spent the past few weeks working hard to get all of New Bodhum's schools upgraded with the latest technology. They deserved their weekend together, which left Lightning and Fang with the girls, not that Lightning minded.
Claire was more like Serah, warm and caring with a hint of mischief. Raine, however, was very much Vanille's child. It was no wonder she and Diana were so close. And speaking of Diana, the little girl couldn't be happier to have her favourite cousin around, and Averia was always glad for Claire's company. Despite the mischief she sometimes got up to, Claire provided a welcome contrast to Diana.
Right now, Diana, Averia, and Claire were playing with one of Raine's favourite toys: plush chainsaws. They were, apparently, from a popular zombie movie franchise that Raine liked. As for Averia, she was deep in conversation with Fang about what would be the best practice spear for her to get.
"Take this!" Diana charged at Claire, all the while making loud chainsaw noises. "Die, you evil zombie!"
Claire dodged the blow and struck back with her own chainsaw. "I, the super zombie who uses a chainsaw, will totally kill you back, little girl."
"Run, Diana!" Raine swiped at Claire's back. "My sister, the super zombie, is too strong for you."
Lightning settled onto the couch and joined Averia's discussion with Fang. She wasn't bad with a spear, but Fang was definitely the expert. Still, she was happy to get a word in here and there, especially when the conversation drifted to swords. However, Averia was already shaping up to be a spear user, not a sword user. Lightning sighed. Fang had crowed about it for days when it had become obvious that Averia had a natural talent for the spear, not the sword.
However, the relative peace and tranquillity came to an end when Diana leapt off the coffee table, pirouetting through the air with a cry of, "Flying Kick in the Back Technique… Version One!"
Twirling through the air, Diana timed her kick to land at the exact same time as the swing of her plush chainsaw. It was supposed to hit Claire in the back, but the older girl was too quick. Claire ducked and Diana sailed over her, hitting Averia instead. There was a moment of absolute silence as Averia tumbled to the ground.
"Cool!" Raine shouted. "You got her right in the back!"
Averia got to her feet, her expression utterly unreadable. "You're dead. Both of you are dead." She glared at Claire. "And once I'm done with them, I'm coming back for you."
Diana and Raine looked at each other and then ran, screaming, out of the living room.
"Should we save them?" Lightning asked as Averia stomped after the two girls.
"Nah." Fang chuckled. "It'll teach them to be more careful next time." She grinned at Claire. "You should hide while you can too."
A few minutes later, Averia came back, dragging Diana and Raine behind her by the backs of their collars. Both girls looked dazed, and judging by their rumpled hair, Averia had given both of them a liberal dose of her dreaded noogie… version five.
"Where's Claire?" Averia plonked Diana and Raine on the couch. She scowled. "It doesn't matter. She can't hide from me."
Fang wasn't sure whether she should be proud or scared when Averia came back less than five minutes later dragging Claire behind her. The other girl looked at Fang for help, but Fang was having none of it. She'd learned the hard way that getting in between a Farron and revenge was not worth it.
After a great deal of screaming, pleading for mercy, and at least seventeen noogies, Averia sat back down beside Fang. Calmly, as though nothing unusual had happened, Averia picked up their conversation where it had been interrupted.
"So, you were saying something about the flexibility of a wooden spear?"
X X X
Raine shivered and tried to huddle closer to Diana. It was the middle of the night, and she was supposed to be asleep. But how could she sleep when there was a bogeyman under the bed? She should have been safe – she was sharing a bed with Diana while Averia was only a few feet away in her own bed, and Claire was asleep in the spare bed by the wall – but she didn't feel safe at all. As soon as she closed her eyes, the bogeyman would jump out from under the bed and get her.
"Diana…" Raine poked Diana in the cheek. "Diana, wake up."
Nothing. In fact, all Diana did was roll over and poke Raine in the eye with her hair.
"Ouch!" Raine poked Diana harder. If the other girl didn't wake up soon the bogeyman would get both of them. "Wake up! Wake up, there's a bogeyman under the bed!"
That got Diana's attention.
Diana grabbed Raine. "A bogeyman? What do we do?"
"I don't know." Raine held onto Diana as tightly as she could. Surely, the bogeyman couldn't snatch both of them at once. "But we can probably beat it up if we both try."
"But what if there's more than one?" Diana trembled. "What if there's a whole lot of them under the bed. I read somewhere that bogeymen don't work alone… they go around in packs… like… like evil gorgonopsids!"
Raine had been scared before. Now, she was absolutely terrified.
"Then we're doomed."
"Wait…" Diana looked at Averia. Her older sister was right there. "What about my sister?"
"You're right! Averia is way scarier than the bogeyman. I bet she could beat all of them up. Maybe we could sleep in her bed tonight."
"Yeah… oh." Diana's smile faded. "But what if she gets angry? She got really angry at us earlier, so she might still be mad."
"We could ask my sister for help." Raine sent a hopeful look Claire's way. Her big sister wasn't as scary as Averia, but she was still much bigger than her and Diana. Claire was the same age as Averia too, and everyone knew that bogeymen didn't go after big kids. "She'll help us for sure."
"Okay. But we have to be quick." Diana slid over to the edge of the bed and peeked under it. There was nothing there… for now. "The bogeymen might get us before we can get to Claire."
Raine nodded. "We have to run really fast then." She moved to the edge of the bed. "Okay… one… two… three… go!"
The two girls leapt off Diana's bed and ran full pelt toward Claire. Almost as one, they clambered in beside the older girl. Their elbows and knees dug into Claire's side, and she came awake with a furious scowl on her face.
"What are you two doing?" Claire growled. "It's the middle of the night."
Raine pointed at the thick, inky darkness underneath Diana's bed. "There's an army of bogeymen under Diana's bed! You have to let us stay here or they'll get us."
Claire stared at the two younger girls for a few seconds. There was an army of bogeymen under Diana's bed? Even if bogeymen were real – which they weren't – there was no way they'd be dumb enough to attack her Aunt Lightning and her Aunt Fang's house. They'd be dead before they even got through the door.
Her eyes drifted over to Averia who was sleeping soundly in her bed. Hmm… she could use this, and she did want revenge for the noogie that Averia had given her earlier. Besides, her mommy always said she had a mischievous streak.
"Bogeymen?" Claire faked a look of abject terror. "We're not safe here!"
"But you're a big kid. Bogeymen never attack big kids." Raine clutched onto her older sister as tightly as she could. "Do they?"
"Sometimes they do." Claire wrapped her arms around Diana and Raine. "And I'm not that tough. If only there was someone tougher around, we'd be safe for sure. Bogeymen never go after tough kids."
"My sister is tough," Diana said. "But she might still be mad at us."
"Maybe," Claire nodded sagely. "But she'll definitely forgive you if you tell her about the bogeymen." She pushed the blankets aside. "Come on, let's go. Now!"
All three girls pelted across the room toward Averia's bed. Diana and Raine ran with expression of stark terror, whereas Claire had to fight to keep from laughing. Diana reached Averia's bed first and hurled herself into her sister's arms.
"Help! There's an army of bogeymen, and we're going to die unless you save us!"
Whatever Averia was going to say – and it was probably not something very nice – she never got to say it because both Raine and Claire chose that exact moment to jump onto her bed as well. Claire landed across her thighs, but Raine landed on her stomach.
"Gah!" Averia squirmed out from under Claire and Raine, but Diana remained firmly attached to her, the younger girl's arms and legs wrapped firmly around her. "What are you three doing?"
"I told you," Diana cried. "There's an army of bogeymen under my bed, and Claire said she wasn't tough enough to fight them off, so we all came here since you're really tough, and now you have to protect us, or we'll all get taken by bogeymen!"
"What?" Averia gaped at Diana. "There are bogeymen under your bed?"
"Like… a million," Diana said.
"No, it was like… a billion," Raine said. "Or maybe more… like a bazillion bogeymen." She paused. "And they were all going to get us."
Claire grinned evilly at Averia, careful to make sure that the younger girl's couldn't see it. In a voice filled with fake fright, she added her two cents, "Please, Averia, you have to help us. If we have to go back to our beds, the bogeymen will definitely get us."
If looks could have killed, Claire would have died on the spot. Unfortunately – or fortunately depending on who was asked – Averia had to content herself with giving her cousin the most vicious, frosty glare she could manage. "Really?"
"Uh huh." Diana tightened her hold on Averia. "You're not going to let the bogeymen get us, are you?"
Averia sighed. She could try and explain to Diana that bogeymen weren't real, but staring into her sister's terrified eyes, she couldn't bring herself to do that. In the first place, Diana wouldn't believe her. And second, Diana would just think that she was making fun of her. Tomorrow, maybe, she'd ask her parents to explain it. For now…
"Of course not. I don't care if they are bogeymen. Nobody touches my sister." Averia winced at the hopeful look that Raine shot her. "Or my younger cousin."
Claire cleared her throat. "Ahem."
"Or my older cousin." Averia wrapped her arms around Diana. "If any of the bogeymen try to get you, I'll beat them up myself. Now, go back to your beds and sleep."
"But what if the bogeymen get us before you can beat them up?" Claire asked.
"That would be a real pity." Averia glared.
"Yeah… what if they're too quick for you," Diana said.
"We'll get snatched away!" Raine said.
"Fine." Averia forced the word out. "You can all stay here tonight."
"Yay!" Raine immediately tried to snuggle up to Averia's front only to have Diana beat her to the punch.
"No! That's my spot." Diana curled up against her sister. "Find your own spot."
In the end, Averia was stuck with Diana clinging to her front, the younger girl's hair poking her in the face, with Raine snuggled up to her back. Claire was on the other side of Raine, and Averia could practically feel the other girl's smugness. She waited until Diana and Raine were asleep before saying anything.
"I'm going to kill you tomorrow morning."
"No, you won't." Claire giggled. "You like me too much."
"Fine. I'll almost kill you."
Claire giggled again. "Only if you can catch me." She reached over Raine and pulled Averia's lips into a smile. "Now make sure you smile before you fall asleep, otherwise you'll wake up with a frown."
"Now I know how my mom feels whenever she lets your mom have her way."
Claire smirked in the darkness. "Get used to it."
Whack.
"You hit me!" Claire rubbed the sore spot on top of her head. She hadn't cried out very loudly, but it had still hurt quite a bit.
"Yes, I did." Averia smirked back. "I'm not my mom, Claire. Good night."
X X X
Fang snickered into her coffee as she watched the girls come into the dining room. Claire was rubbing a spot near the top of her head while Diana and Raine all but skipped to the dining table. Averia, meanwhile, looked like a zombie.
"So… I heard there was a bogeyman attack last night."
Raine eyed the pancakes on the table and hopped into her chair. "There were like a bazillion bogeymen, but Averia beat all of them up."
"Yeah! She was like… pow! Biff! Bam!" Diana punctuated each word with a punch.
"And then she was all ' take this evil zombie!' before she kicked them in the head."
"That was cool wasn't it?"
Okay. Fang took a sip of her coffee. Apparently, a sense of mischief wasn't the only thing Diana and Raine shared. It was almost like they'd had the same bizarre dream – either that or it was a shared form of insanity.
"I thought it was bogeymen." Lightning smiled faintly and reached for some sugar to put into her hot chocolate. "Where did the zombies come from?"
"The zombies were friends with the bogeymen," Diana replied.
"They're like evil twin brothers," Raine said. "The bogeymen… and the zombies." She paused. "Imagine if there were zombie bogeymen."
Fang barely kept herself from laughing at the look of wide-eyed horror on both Diana and Raine's faces.
"Where were you during all of this, Claire?" Lightning asked.
"Well…" Claire grinned. "I wasn't tough enough to beat the bogeymen, so I had to ask Averia to beat them up for me."
Fang chuckled. "She's Serah's daughter, all right."
"As if you don't do most of Vanille's fighting for her." The phone rang, and Lightning got up to answer it. "I'll be back in a second."
A second turned out to be several minutes.
"Lightning, is everything okay there?" Fang got up from the table, leaving the girls to devour their breakfast. On the way out, she made sure to take the sugar with her before Diana and Raine could dump all of it onto their pancakes.
Lightning was over by the phone, a horrified look on her face.
"Okay, now I'm worried. What's going on?"
"It's Serah and Vanille…"
"And?" Fang put the sugar down on the kitchen counter. "What? Are they okay?"
"They're fine… sort of." Lightning drew in a deep, deep breath. "Watch the kids, I need to go bring them a set of keys."
"Keys?"
"Handcuff keys."
It took a few seconds for Lightning's words to sink in, and then Fang was laughing. "Seriously?"
"Seriously. And they had to take my favourite pair too."
Fang shook her head. "Say hi for me."
X X X
Vanille looked up at Serah. "You know, this isn't quite how I expected this morning to go."
"I already said I was sorry." Serah winced. "I called Lightning, and she said she'd be here in a few minutes."
"I hope so." Vanille tried to pull her right arm down to scratch her stomach, but the limb remained firmly handcuffed to the head of the bed. "You know, I don't normally mind you tying me up, but then again, you normally don't leave me stuck here."
Serah flushed. "I thought I had the keys. I must have forgotten to take them when I took the handcuffs."
Vanille grinned. "Stealing your sister's handcuffs to handcuff your wife to the bed… kinky. Forgetting to steal the keys to the handcuffs… that's something you need to work on."
Unable to take the embarrassment, or the teasing smile on Vanille's face, any longer, Serah buried her face in her pillow. Oh, it wasn't supposed to be this way. After leaving the girls with Lightning and Fang, she and Vanille had gone out to their favourite restaurant before taking a walk along the beach.
They'd spent almost an hour there, talking and exchanging quick little touches and kisses that were only a prelude of what was to come. They'd walked all the way to the spot where she and Vanille had first kissed before heading home.
It was a miracle that Serah didn't crash the car on their way back. With Vanille's lips on her throat and her hands up her skirt, it took every iota of Serah's skill to keep them on the road. As it was, it had been more than a month since they'd had a full night to themselves. Vanille wasn't in much of a mood to wait, and neither was Serah.
They barely made it through the front door before they were tearing at each other's clothes. By the time they got to the bedroom, they were practically naked, and Serah wasted no time in getting Vanille onto the bed. The red head liked to talk big, but Serah knew exactly how to take charge. A touch here, a kiss there, and Vanille was like putty in her hands – really sexy putty.
The night had passed in blur of heated passion, and Serah had awoken the next morning to find Vanille still asleep. A sleeping Vanille was the perfect target. As quietly as she could, Serah had reached for the handcuffs she kept in one of the drawers of her bedside table. Serah might have started the previous night in charge, but Vanille hadn't let things stay that way for long. By the time Vanille was done with her, Serah had been a deeply sated wreck. Now it was time for revenge.
Serah had handcuffed Vanille to the head of the bed before proceeding to have her way with the other woman until she had almost passed out from the pleasure. Serah considered it a mission accomplished, and she had been about to remove the handcuffs so that Vanille could return the favour. There was just one problem. She didn't have the keys.
Fast forward a few frantic minutes, and she was forced to call Lightning for help.
"You should go wait for her at the door," Vanille said, poking Serah in the side with her free hand. "She might use her spare key to get – "
"All right," Lightning shouted as she opened the front door. "Where are you two?"
X X X
Lightning shuddered as she took in the clothes scattered in the foyer and up the stairs. Clearly, Serah and Vanille hadn't been in a mood to wait. To be fair, she wouldn't have been in much of a mood to wait either if it had been her and Fang in that position. Still, the last thing she wanted to see was her sister and Vanille… doing things.
She headed upstairs, stepping around each garment of clothing.
Sweet Maker, were those Serah's panties hanging from one of the hallway lights? And why did it look like someone had torn them off with their teeth – wait… that's probably exactly what had happened, and she really needed to stop thinking about it before…
Too late. Her mind had already put together a mental image: Serah shoved up against the wall as Vanille knelt and used her teeth to tug off Serah's panties before –
"We're in the bedroom, Lightning."
"Please tell me you're not naked."
Silence.
"Put on some clothes, damn it." Lightning dragged in a deep breath. Serah was her sister, and she loved her. No strangling Serah. "Do you have clothes on now?"
"Yes."
"Good. I'm coming in."
"I bet you say that to Fang a lot – ouch!"
"Vanille, do you want her to help us or not?" Serah growled.
Lightning opened the bedroom door and gave a sigh of relief. Both Serah and Vanille were clothed. However, there was absolutely zero doubt in her mind about what they'd been up to before she'd arrived. Her lips curled as she took in the handcuffs linking Vanille to the head of the bed.
"Here." Lightning tossed Serah the keys. "Always make sure you have the keys first."
"Thanks." Serah undid the handcuffs. Lightning did her best not to puke as her sister kissed the sore flesh on Vanille's wrists. Admittedly, she'd done the same thing for Fang when they'd experimented with handcuffs, but that was completely different. Serah held the handcuffs out to Lightning. "Do you want these back?"
"… No." Lightning turned on her heel. The way that Serah and Vanille were looking at each other, she had maybe five minutes before they were naked again. She needed to get out of here now. "Enjoy your weekend."
X X X
Author's Notes
As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.
In a number of my other stories, I've joked about what things would be like if Serah and Vanille were in a relationship. This chapter is one possible answer to that question. It's basically an AU of Ordinary Heroes (making it an AU of an AU… which is kind of messed up already). But hey, it's all for the sake of fun, and I do hope you guys had fun with this.
Now, onto some of the changes that have occurred as a result of Serah and Vanille being together rather than Serah and Snow. First of all, Claire is still around. However, in this story she has pink hair and green eyes as opposed to the pink hair and blue eyes she has in Ordinary Heroes. She is also shorter in this story than in Ordinary Heroes but a great deal more mischievous.
The biggest change is Raine. Raine is Vanille and Serah's younger daughter, and she is the same age as Diana. As much as Claire mostly takes after Serah, Raine mostly takes after Vanille. As a result, she is a little terror who gets along perfectly with Diana. Averia might be Diana's older sister, but Raine is her partner in crime. The two are on the same wavelength, so to speak, and their minds work in the same strange way (e.g., the opening "fight scene" between the pair and the steady increase in ridiculousness that occurs during the "attack" of the bogeymen).
As with Claire, Diana, and Averia, I chose the name Raine for a reason. It's a pun, a big, big pun. Allow me to explain it in three steps:
The French version of the English word "vanilla" is "vanille." That's right – Vanille is simply French for vanilla (insert humorous ice cream joke here and possibly something about French kissing, etc, etc…).
Serah is a variation of the name Sarah, which means "princes" in Hebrew.
Farrron is Gaelic for "thunder."
Now what does the name Raine mean?
The name "Raine" has several possible origins:
It could be a variation of the Hebrew "Rani" which means queen.
It could also be a variation of the Latin "Regina" and the French "Reine" both of which also mean queen
As you can see, there is a bit of a pun here. Serah is a princess, but Raine is a queen. Adding to my amusement is the fact that the name "Raine" is derived from names that mean queen in Hebrew and French, French being the language that produced Vanille's name. If that wasn't enough, Raine looks and sounds similar to the word "rain" which is, of course, related to the word "thunder." Remember "Farron" means thunder in Gaelic. So yeah, Raine's name is one big pun that I probably had way too much fun choosing. Oh well.
So, there you have it. A glimpse into what could have been had Vanille and Serah formed a relationship. Let me know what you think, and let me know if you want to see any further chapters like this.
Finally, my second original short story "The Gunslinger and the Necromancer" is now out on Amazon – you can find a link to it in my profile. It runs to roughly 13,000 words. If you like Westerns with a paranormal twist, I'm sure you'll enjoy it. Here's the blurb (you can find a link to a longer preview in my profile):
When the Church needs someone to send the denizens of Hell back to where they belong, they go looking for Lizzy Stanton.
As gunslingers go, Lizzy's right up there with the best of them. No matter what kind of evil she's up against, she knows exactly how to handle things – put a holy bullet right between the eyes. But when she takes a job to go after a necromancer over in Pine Creek, she might just have bitten off more than she can chew.
With zombies, demons, and one tricky necromancer to worry about, Lizzy's going to have to be real quick on the trigger. In the gunfight between good and evil, she's the gunslinger who always delivers.
As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.