Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. Square Enix owns it. I do not own anything. Do not sue me.

Authorial Notice: ZOMG! UPDATE! Hehehe... I am so sorry. Please forgive me for the belated update. Family life has been hard for a few months. This chapter is nearly double the others, I think… So… Here ya go. :) Special thanks to Haruka-Chan 212. If it wasn't for her, I probably wouldn't have wrote this. She did dialogue, while I did description. It sure helped me out! Thanks!

Lost Then Found
Chapter Nine

"Love is an irresistible desire to be irresistibly desire."
- Robert Frost

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Lightning's Apartment
2016 Hours (8:16 PM) - Friday

The rain continued to pour. The thunder outside beat in a rough rhythm. No one pulled away. No one pushed away. To Fang, it felt right, like she was meant to be there – holding Lightning, leaning down slightly. She felt Lightning's left hand reach up and pull her in closer, if that was even possible.

'This… I should stop this before it goes further. She's hurt and…' before she could even finish her own thoughts, Lightning pulled away slowly. They were mere centimeters apart, lips touching ever so slightly. She was taking in the taste of Lightning's soft lips. What did it mean? Why did Lightning initiate it? So many questions went through Fang's mind, but she wouldn't get an answer from it. She needed to know – from the one who started it.

'Lightning.'

"Fang… I…" Lightning couldn't speak. She couldn't find the words she wanted to say. In a way, she felt like she had made a mistake by kissing the taller woman. This wasn't Lightning. She knew it. Lightning wouldn't start something like that – it's just not her. It was out of character. "Fang…" Fang somewhat feared a slap, a punch even. She opened her eyes, noticing Lightning still had hers closed. "Fang… I'm-"

"Don't… say sorry," Fang said as she allowed her right hand to caress Lightning's cheek. "You have nothing to be sorry for…"

Lightning bit her lip, looking down at the ground. Was she embarrassed? Or just aroused? She wasn't sure. "I don't know why…"

"Don't worry about it, Light. I… liked it," Fang said as a finger trailed down to the sergeant's chin, lifting it up. She then closed the distance between them once again.

She wouldn't admit it, but Lightning liked it too.

She cupped Lightning's cheek, pulling her in even closer, if that were possible. She felt the woman's tongue run across the bottom of her lip and smiled. Fang obliged, allowing it to gain entrance. Her tongue was soft, tender, and tasted of honey.

The loud clatter of the thunder broke them apart.

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Lightning's Apartment
0850 Hours (8:50 AM) – Saturday

They had fallen asleep on the couch that night. The couch was large enough for the two of them in a lying down position, allowing Fang to hold Lightning in her left arm protectively. Fang hadn't been able to sleep as much as she would have liked.

For two, maybe three years, she had wanted the elder Farron. She didn't know why but something about her intrigued her. Maybe it was the selflessness when it came to her work. Maybe it was her prowess to keep herself in perfect shape. Who knows?

Another reason Fang couldn't sleep… well, she basically wanted to enjoy it. For the first time ever, Lightning Farron was in Oerba Yun Fang's arms. She was holding the woman who had stolen her heart.

She was comfortable. Never would she have thought, in a million years, that she'd be holding Claire 'Lightning' Farron in her arms without losing them both. The feeling of her sleeping, relaxed form against her own felt amazing. They fit together, like a perfect piece of a puzzle. Her hand stroked the sergeant's hair gently. 'If only she knew-'

Underneath her, Lightning stirred – interrupting her thoughts. Fang lay still, waiting for more movement from the woman next to her. As if on cue, Lightning groaned and tensed.

She cursed under her breath and tried to sit up, but failed miserably. She took a moment to breathe in a few times in an attempt to regain her composure. The sweet scent of Fang's perfume helped her to relax some. The soldier then placed her hand on Fang's thigh and tried to push herself upright, only to crash back against the raven haired woman's shoulder when her arm buckled.

"Need help…?" Fang whispered. Not even waiting for a response, she moved slightly and helped Lightning to a sitting position carefully. "On a scale of 1 to 10, how bad-"

"20," Lightning mumbled between gritted teeth.

"Where does it hurt?" She asked. Lightning just grumbled in reply, causing Fang to chuckle. "I can't help ya if ya don't tell me what hurts, dearie."

Lightning ignored her, struggling to stand on her own. "I'm going to take a shower."

'Great, our little ball of sunshine is pissed off.'

"Light, what hurts?" Fang repeated. She helped Lightning stand but she pulled away roughly.

"Everything…" She managed to say between ragged breaths. Fang paused, trying to think of a reason she'd be in this much pain. It clicked.

"Probably from how we slept," she said as Lightning made her way towards the bathroom. "Do you need any-" the door slammed shut, "-help…?"

'What did I do now?'

Behind the door, Lightning was looking at herself in the mirror. The night prior was one of the best nights of her life. She hadn't felt more comfortable and secure than last night. Her healing fingers went up to her lips, touching them gently. "Why… did I kiss her…?" she whispered to herself, "why can't I control myself when I'm around her…? What is it that… makes me want to throw myself at her like some love-struck teenager?" She sighed and attempted to remove her shirt, with no success. She cursed.

Knock Knock

"I have your medicine, sunshine," Fang said through the door. She ignored her though, still fidgeting with her shirt. Another knock came. "Do you need any help in there?"

"No!" She cleared her throat, "no. I'm fine. I just… I want time alone. Could you leave…?"

'Yes… yes, Fang. I do need your help. I need your help. Just your help…' Lightning thought.

"Why do you want me to leave so badly?"

Lightning sat down on the toilet. She fought back tears. She didn't know if it was because of the pain she was in because she hadn't taken her meds, or if it was because she felt hopeless. Probably a bit of both. "Because I'm fine."

"It sounds to me like you need some help, dearie," Fang's muffled voice observed.

"I'm fine, really," she sighed. She reached over and turned on the water as a distraction. 'Please, Fang… just leave. I've never been more confused than I am when I'm near you…'

"Alright, sunshine. I'm coming in."

"No!" Before Lightning could get up, the door opened.

"Next time, if you want to keep someone out, lock the door first. Though… that might not have stopped me. I'd of kicked the door down," Fang smiled, the two of them locking eyes for a moment. Lightning looked away first.

"Why don't you ever listen to me?"

"I already told you," Fang closed the door behind her, "I care about you…" she walked a little closer, "I'm not going to let ya push me away again," she smiled.

All Lightning did was sigh, 'I always did like that about her…' she shook herself free of the thoughts and locked eyes with Fang. "I'm. Fine."

"Well. I. Don't. Believe. Ya," Fang mocked. "Now swallow your damn pride and let me help." Lightning fell silent. "It's not like it's something I haven't seen before." The sergeants' head shot up.

"Excuse me?" She glared.

"Oh come off it. Remember the tub? Right after your teammates tear gassed you?" She smirked, "What were you doing in there?"

Lightning blushed, "I was relaxing!"

Fang laughed as she walked over to Lightning. She tensed up as she felt delicate fingers touch her hand, her arm being pushed through the sleeve ever so gently. "You had a look of pure bliss on your face…" Then the hand was on her stomach, pulling the shirt up.

"I told you," Lightning started, pushing Fang's hand away, her blush slowly turning to crimson, "I was relaxing."

She steps closer to Lightning, their lips barely a millimeter apart, "Relaxing… how, exactly?" She grinned. 'Oh, how I love torturing her…'

'This is too much…' the strawberry blond haired girl thought, "Fang… Last night…"

"Yea…?" Fang coaxed her to continue with a hand sliding further up her torso, pulling the shirt up just under her breasts.

"I…" Lightning struggled, but then whispered, "Never mind," before pushing her lips against Fang's.

Fang, though taken by surprise, did not falter. Her hands let go of the shirt, placing them softly on her stomach. She took in the softness of Lightning's skin, the softness of her lips, the needfulness of the kiss. But as soon as it had started, it ended.

As they pulled away, Fang leaned her forehead against Lightning's. "What… were you going to say…?"

Lightning swallowed deeply, "I… didn't want to stop…" Her eyes stayed shut, both of them still trying to regain their breath.

"I didn't want to either…" Fang said as she eased Lightning out of her shirt, "but… it would have hurt you, way too much." It came out as a whisper, neither of them making eye contact.

"I don't… I don't want to move too fast."

"I don't either… Slow is good…" She placed her hands on Light's shoulders, turning her around softly, not wanting to hurt her.

"Yes…" Lightning swallowed again, "slow… is good…." Her heart was beating wildly. 'What… will Serah say? What would the others say? I don't even know what I'm doing with her, for Eden's sake! I just want to scream! … At her! For making me feel this way…!'

'What's… wrong with me…? Oh Etro… she looks…' Shakey fingers traced the small cuts and bruises, eventually making their way down to Light's ribs, stomach, and back. 'She's so beautiful.' She removed the smaller bandages from deeper cuts and threw them in the garbage can.

Fang's hands were on the waistband of Lightning's sweatpants. She stopped Fang abruptly. "I can… I can get it from here…" She said, body tense.

"I understand," she smiled, walking towards the door and closing it behind her.

Lightning immediately found herself gripping the counter. She opened her eyes for the first time and looked at herself in the mirror. Just as before, her fingers reached for her lips, caressing them gently. She could still taste Fang. It… 'is nice…'

She shook herself out of it, managing to remove the remainder of the clothing in the process and stepped in the shower. "What just happened…?"

In the living room, Fang had been cleaning up. She folded the blankets and moved the pillows back to the closet. As she sat down, she didn't know whether or not to smile, or frown. "What just happened…?"

About a half hour later, Lightning had managed to dress herself without any help. She looked up at the clock above the door and furrowed her brow. 'Saturday… What was supposed to happen on…'

"Oh, shit!" Fang heard Lightning scream from the bathroom. She rushed towards the bathroom but the door swung open, revealing a fully clothed Lightning. "We have to go to the train station. Now. I forgot, Serah and Snow are coming home today." Lightning limped past her, reaching for her keys. "We have to go now," Lightning demanded.

"Why don't you stay here and I'll go pick them up? I'd rather have Serah murder you in private, not in public," Fang said, as she grabbed the keys from her. "She still doesn't know that you're hurt. If she sees you like this at the train station, she'll kill you, sunshine. I'll let her down easy."

"Fang…"

"Look, I'm doing this for your own safety."

After an internal debate with herself, Lightning caved. "Fine…"

"I'll… see you soon then, yea?" Fang asked, leaning down towards Lightning, kissing her softly. She pulled away and grabbed her purse, leaving the apartment.

'What… is this… between us, Fang?'

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Lightning's Apartment
1000 Hours (10:00 AM) - Saturday

"Now, Serah…"

"No! Don't, Fang. Oh, she gets me so mad sometimes! She's such an idiot! And why didn't anyone call me? I checked my phone for voicemails every morning. Why didn't you call me and tell me?" Serah had been fuming since they left the train station.

"Serah, trust me. Sunshine's pretty much learned her lesson. She'll be fine. She doesn't want you to be-"

"Mad at her? Well she's damn sure of that. I'm not mad. I'm FURIOUS!" Serah yelled.

"Serah, honey-" Snow tried to interrupt.

"Shut it, Snow," Serah said, teeth gritted. "Oh, I'll be nice. I'll just brush it off like nothing ever happened! Like I don't even give a shit!" Snow's eyes widened as he heard his wife curse. "No, I'm not going to do that. She's going to learn her lesson," She finished, opening the car door in a hurry, slamming it with a loud bang.

"… I think she's mad," Snow said softly as he and Fang grabbed their bags.

"You think?" Fang rolled her eyes. "You know what, here," she threw the bags at him, which he caught messily. "I gotta make sure Little Sis doesn't murder Big Sis. See ya."

Fang hurried up the stairs. She could already hear the yelling. She sighed and opened the door. "-amn it, Claire! Why couldn't you have just let it go?"

"Sera-"

"No! I'm sick of worrying about you all the damn time! You're selfish! You're the only family I have left and you're willing to throw it all away for that damn… what's his name? Bedlam? Belum?" Serah had been pacing back and forth in the kitchen. "Is What's-His-Face more important than me and the others?"

"Serah…" Lightning was leaning against the kitchen counter, rubbing her temples.

"I don't… I don't want to lose my sister…" Serah had finally broken down. "Don't make me lose my sister. The sister I used to play house with – the sister who always beat the boys up who hurt me… don't make me lose that." Tears were now flowing freely. Lightning walked up to her sister and pulled her into a hug – a sloppy one because one of her arms were occupied by a sling, but a hug no less. "You work up to 80 hours a week. You get off work and you go out and get drunk. I can't deal with that anymore…"

"Don't cry, Serah…" Lightning said uneasily. "Look… I know my job upsets you…" She pushed Serah away slightly to look at her in the eyes. "I know it does. But I got this job to protect you, okay? It's stressful. Once we catch this guy, I'll be home more… I promise. In two - maybe three years, I'll be working as an instructor. The pay is higher and I'll be home every night. It's a six to three job. It'll be fine. I'm protecting you, Serah."

"How can you protect me when you're like… this," Serah asked, teeth clenched while motioning to Lightning's healing body. "You can't protect anyone like this… This is why you need… you need to be more careful."

"I know… I'm sorry…" Lightning pulled her sister into her as Serah cried freely. "I'm sorry if I ruined your honeymoon."

"You didn't. It was already ruined. It rained all week. It's okay though… The best part of it was coming home to you and my friends."

"If it rained all week that means…" Serah giggled. "Oh Eden… That's… never going to get out of my mind. Ever…"

"Light…?"

"Yeah?"

"I love you," she said, wiping her tear stained face.

"I love you too, Serah. Now stop crying and help me put away dishes," Lightning smiled.

Fang had witnessed the whole thing. "That was sweet," she said, walking into the kitchen. "So sweet I think I need to go to the dentist."

"Fang. Shut up," the sisters said in unison.

"Hey, some help here?" The girls heard Snow yell from the front door. "Fang!"

"Comin'," Fang winked at Lightning and walked away to help Snow with the bags.

"What was that…?" Serah asked with a sly smile, putting a couple of plates away.

"Nothing," Lightning said monotonously. "So… is Snow living here now?"

"For now. We'll be gone soon though… He needs to find a decent job. We're going job hunting tomorrow. It's hard for him to get a decent job."

"I know. It'll be fine. Stay here as long as you can but… keep it quiet at night. I don't want to have to kick his ass like I did a few months ago…" she cringed as she remembered walking in on Serah and Snow having sex. That was horrifying.

"Don't worry about it. I think we're worn out," Serah giggled.

"I'm gonna kill him," Lightning started limping towards the hallway but was stopped by Serah.

"I was kidding, Light. Don't worry about it…"

"Right…"

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Well… I figured I'd reward you guys for your patience. I appreciate it. Thanks, guys and gals. Reviews make my world go 'round. :)