Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.
Authorial Notice: I guess this is what happens to me when I've had about five plus Diet Mountain Dew's… I wanted to make the wedding all in one chapter but oh well! There's 2 parts to the wedding. So here you go guys. Wedding Part 1. Wedding Part 2 will be posted tomorrow (4/12/10) when I get home from work. By the way, special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212 for helping me out. Thanks again!
Lost Then Found
Chapter Four [Part 1]
"Real happiness comes from inside. Nobody can give it to you."
--Sharon Stone
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Bodhum Community Cathedral
1445 Hours (2:45 PM) - Monday
Serah sat on the short wooden stool while her sister gently combed her silky hair from behind her. From the mirror, Lighting could see the blank look on her sister's face. "Are you okay?" she asked her, setting the comb down on the little table next to her. Serah let out a small smile.
"Yes. I'm just nervous. That's all," Serah whispered, playing with the small bracelet on her left wrist.
Lightning smirked as she grabbed a small clip and placed it gently between a few locks of hair, pushing it in place, "I bet you are... Are you happy?"
Serah smiled half-heartedly at her sister through the reflection, "of course I'm happy. I just… I wish Mom and Dad could see."
Lightning's hands fell from her sister's hair. That was the first time Serah had mentioned their parents for years… Serah looked in the reflection of the mirror, at her sister's emotionless face. "Claire?" she questioned softly before turning to actually face her.
The sergeant looked down at her hands and cleared her throat. "Turn around I have to finish your hair… We only have fifteen minutes before-"
"Claire," Serah interrupted, staring into Lightning's blue eyes, "what's wrong?"
"Nothing's wrong, Serah. Just… give me a few minutes, okay?" she half smiled, forcing her sister back to look at the mirror. The room was filled with an uncomfortable silence as Lightning fixed Serah's hair to get it to her liking.
Breaking the silence, Serah spoke. "So, when are you going to settle down?" Lightning scoffed in response, choosing not to answer. "Come on. There has to be somebody."
"There's nobody, Serah… I'm too busy with my work. You know that…" she lied, a slight blush appearing on her face.
"You're lying. You always blush when you're lying!" Serah giggled, "Come on. Tell me!"
"I'm…" Lightning sighed in defeat, "there might be somebody. But I'm not telling you."
"Please? Consider it my wedding gift!" The prodding woman begged desperately.
"Your wedding gift is me paying for the honeymoon. Now, stop moving and let me finish your hair. We don't have much time," Lightning said, putting a small hair tie in Serah's hair.
"Claire," she said sternly. "Tell me." Ignoring her, Lightning pulled the bun tighter in warning. "Ow! What was that for?!"
"You're prying again. Well… I'm done," she said, stepping back to admire her work.
The braided bun in her hair was simple, yet elegant. The silver hoop earrings dangled gently from her lobes. The necklace around her neck was reflective silver. It had a heart with three simple diamonds on its left side. It was given to her by Lightning for a previous birthday.
The white wedding gown came down just below her feet, flaring out slightly to make it more comfortable to walk. It was strapless, revealing Serah's soft and smooth shoulders, with small embroideries on the front. When Lightning saw it, it made her struggle to breathe.
'She looks beautiful,' The sergeant thought to herself with a small half-smile.
"Do I look okay?"
"You look great, Serah," Lightning said softly. "I have something I want to give you, Serah." She reached into the small bag of makeup and hair supplies they had gathered from the house and pulled out a small black box. "Open it," she demanded softly, handing it to her sister.
She pulled the box open, revealing a silky white hair ribbon, roughly three feet long and a picture. "Mom wore it when she married Dad," she whispered, putting a gentle hand on Serah's shoulder.
Serah pulled out a picture of their mother, in a white wedding gown and the ribbon draped from her bun. "I had forgotten what she looked like…" Serah said softly, "she looked gorgeous."
"And so do you. Before Mom died…" Lightning struggled, clearing her throat, "she gave this to me. I think you should wear it since you're getting married. Keep the tradition alive," Lightning said as she took the ribbon from Serah to tie it in her hair.
She saw a tear fall from Serah's eyes through the reflection of the mirror. "Don't cry; you'll ruin your makeup." She grabbed a tissue and dabbed lovingly at her sister's eyes."What's wrong?"
Serah smiled and laughed, wiping a tear from her eyes. "I'm happy, Claire. I just wish Mom and Dad were here to see this."
"They're watching, Serah. They're always watching," Lightning said as she pulled the bride-to-be into her arms for a tight hug. She put her lips to her sister's ear and said, "if he hurts you in any way… I'll kill him."
"He won't. I love him, sis," Serah said, pulling away to look into her sisters eyes.
"And I have to accept that," she said with sincerity, smiling slightly.
A knock at the door interrupted the two sisters. "It's time, girls. You have one minute," they heard the wedding coordinators voice say from behind the door.
Lightning looked at her sister as she pulled away. "Are you ready?"
"Yes," Serah nodded, "are you?"
'No…' she thought, sighing as she opened the door, "as ready as I'll ever be."
Her sister giggled, "since you just did my hair and there's no risk of you messing it up… Who do you like?"
"So help me Eden…" Lightning warned through gritted teeth.
"Tell me… Please," Serah begged.
"30 seconds girls," the wedding coordinator said.
"Claire!"
"I'm not telling you who she is," Lightning said, as she stopped in her tracks, mentally slapping herself for the slip up.
"She?" Serah giggled as they waited for the music to start.
As the music started, the two walked towards the chapel doors. "Don't say a word to anybody about what I just said. Or I'll murder Snow," Lightning threatened.
"Claire, we're in a church," Serah giggled yet again.
"You think that matters?"
"Okay girls, go ahead," the coordinator said. Serah wrapped her left arm around Lightning's right arm as they walked down the aisle.
The small gathering stood up, staring at the two with smiles on their faces. They remained quiet, taking in the small chatter about Serah's beautiful dress as they walked. Serah leaned closer to her sister. "I always knew."
"Knew what?" Lightning glanced down at her.
She lowered her voice even more. "That you'd love a woman."
Lightning rolled her eyes and turned her attention straight ahead again. There she could see Fang standing at the end of the aisle, watching her. The feeling of the crowd's eyes on her had no affect. Yet, Fang's eyes sent chills down her spine.
In her eyes, she looked like an angel. Fang was thankful, right then and there, that the attention wasn't on her as she watched the Sergeant escort her sister. She felt a heat rise to her cheeks.
The dress Lightning wore hugged all of her curves perfectly. Curves there were just as amazing covered, or uncovered. Fang's mind slipped back to the incident a few days ago where she admired the naked woman in the tub. Her eyes flickered down to Lightning's exposed calves and the muscle that flexed with each step she took. They traveled up to her hips, then her midsection, then to her breasts. They paused for a few moments to admire the shape of the perfect breasts that were Lightning's. The way her hair curled around her face brought attention to her delicate features. Features that Fang already knew the ins and outs of.
She was perfect.
As they reached the end of the row, they stopped, waiting for the priest to speak.
"Who gives this young bride away?"
Hesitating slightly, Lightning cleared her throat, "I do. Her sister."
"Please lower the veil and give your best wishes to the bride and groom."
"Do I have to?" Lightning smirked, causing a few people in the small crowd to laugh.
"Claire!"
She sighed and looked at the two, "I wish you both the best."
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Bodhum Community Center
1615 Hours (4:15 PM) - Monday
After the wedding, the crowd had gathered at a community building not far from the church. The new married couple was sitting down at their table with Gadot speaking as the best man. "I'm glad these two are finally married. I'm relieved that Lightning finally approved it without killing the poor guy," he said as he winked at Lightning, who was glaring at him from next to Serah, "Congratulations to the new couple! Mr. And Mrs. Serah Villiers."
Serah looked over at Lightning, only to see her cringe. "It's going to take me a while to get used to that."
The new bride laughed as she took her sisters hand. "Just admit you like Snow. He's a good guy."
"I'm not admitting to anything. The day I say that I like him will be the day Cocoon falls apart," Lightning said as she took a long drink of her champagne. "Never."
"You have to dance with him, you know," Serah said as she let go of Lightning's hand to prod at her food.
"I have to do what now?" Lightning asked, mouth slightly agape.
"You have to dance with Snow for half of a song," she repeated, causing Lightning to put her champagne glass on the table carefully as if she was trying to understand what Serah was saying.
"I have to what…?" She asked again, teeth gritted.
"Claire. You have to… You promised," Serah pouted.
"I promised I'd dance with you for half of a song…"
"You were drunk when you promised me you'd dance with Snow," the bride giggled.
"When was I drunk?!" Lightning whispered harshly.
"At my bridal shower," she answered.
Lightning sighed. She knew there was no use arguing with Serah. She muttered a simple "okay" and leaned against the chair, "where's the hard liquor when you need it?"
From another table, Fang could see the two sisters talking. She was leaning back in her seat, watching the sergeant intently.
"They did such a good job decorating, don't you think?" Vanille asked, playing with a napkin.
"Mmhm," Fang said, uninterested.
"I'm gonna dance with Hope later."
"That's nice."
"I'm really a guy," Vanille stated, knowing Fang wasn't listening.
"That's interesting."
"Fang!" Vanille pouted, shaking Fang's shoulders. "You're not listening to me…"
"Sorry, Vanille. What's up?" she asked, never pulling her eyes away from Lightning.
The perky woman smiled at Fang, "just tell her you like you already!" she whispered loudly.
Fang shushed her. "I enjoy havin' all my appendages, thank you very much."
"She looks pretty," Vanille said sincerely. Fang just nodded in reply, looking at the sergeant at the large table in the corner of the room. Vanille leaned in closer to her friend, "you gonna try to dance with her tonight?" she whispered with a smile on her face.
"No, I'm not going to try to dance with her. I will dance with her. Maybe break her out of that shell she likes to hide in so much," she replied confidently, continuing to stare at the young sergeant.
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During the reception, Snow had gotten bored and wanted the music to start. Which is what happened. Lightning regretted the moment she had to dance with Snow. "Come on, Light. You've gotta dance with me sooner or later," he had told her as she stood with her arms crossed, the small crowd waiting for the traditional dance.
Surprisingly, Snow did dress up for the wedding; his traditional black bandana was at home and he was wearing a tuxedo instead of his 'stupid trench coat', as Lightning always called it. His semi-long hair was put up in a small ponytail, greased back with hair gel. He had shaved the 'stupid stubble', as Lightning had also called it. It was truly something amazing and something the small crowd was not used to seeing.
"Lets get this over with," she said as he rushed her onto the dance floor. As he put his left hand at her hip, she moved it higher. "Keep your hands at the equator. They do not have special passports or permissions to travel. If they're found away from the approved boundaries, they are subject to a slow and painful removal. If your foot lands on mine, my heel will land on yours… twice as hard."
Snow just grinned as the two swayed to the slow beat of the music. "Can I call you Claire now?"
"If that word comes out of your mouth again, you'll wake up with no tongue," Lightning threatened.
"What about sis?" He asked, causing her to grumble.
"You call me that anyway."
From the side of the room, Serah giggled. "Aw! They're getting along!"
Fang chuckled as she placed her hands on her hips, watching Lightning. "She's swallowing every ounce of pride she has right now."
'Why me…?' Lightning asked herself. "Can I dance with my sister now? I'm never going to live dancing with you down."
"Come on, it's not that bad!" Snow replied.
Lightning looked up at him with serious blue eyes, "if you ever hurt my sister, you'll wake up the next morning, missing what little manhood I'm sure you have," she threatened yet again.
"You don't have to worry about that. I love your sister and I'm never going to hurt her. I give you my word," Snow said as he looked at Lightning.
"Can I cut in?" Serah's soft voice asked from beside them. Snow nodded and walked towards the group she had just left, leaving Lightning relieved. "It wasn't that bad, was it?" Serah questioned with a tender smile.
"It was the most painful experience of my life," she muttered as she allowed Serah to put her left hand around her sisters back and her other in Lightning's hand.
"Thank you," Serah said, making the near-twin look at her.
"For what?"
"Allowing this… Paying for the honeymoon. Paying for everything, even the wedding."
"Speaking of the honeymoon…" Lightning started, "I want you to do me a favor. Turn your phone off and make Snow turn his off. Just enjoy it without any interruptions."
"Are you sure?" Serah asked, "I thought you wanted my phone on at all times."
"It pains me to say this…" she took a long breath, "I might be your sister, but you're a woman now. Snow is going to take care of you."
"You threatened him again, didn't you?"
"Maybe," she mumbled.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the DJ started from the stage next to them, "please allow the bride to have her first dance with the groom."
"I love you, Claire," Serah said, hugging her sister.
"Love you, too," Lightning replied, allowing Snow and Serah to dance alone.
'I really hope he makes her happy.'