"Urgh!" Another loud groan of pain cut through the cold night air. Lightning couldn't help herself, despite Fang's warnings about the pond not being entirely safe from the attention of a local nasty.
"Oh come on sunshine, I thought you were tougher than this. Anyone who thinks they can take on a Neochu single-handedly ought to have something to show for it."
"Shut up Fang!" Lightning whispered angrily. "One, I thought you were meant to be healing me, not hurting me, and two, I already told you it was an accident that I ended up in one of the most dangerous places on Pulse!"
"Alright, so I'm not the most gifted of healers. This is just what I've picked up from Vanille over the years. And you might not have intended to go all the way to one of the most dangerous places on Gran Pulse" - she said, placing special emphasis on the 'Gran' - "but its no accident that you decided to take on that beast. I'm sorry if this hurts, but I don't think I should be the one apologising here." Lightning failed to take the hint; either that or she ignored it. She settled for glaring at the now tamed Chocobo and snarling every now and then at Fang's healing spells. As the night passed without incident, Lightning above all appreciated a moment of rest, for her hands to rest comfortably on the short grass and to dabble her tired feet in the pond. For a few moments, there was no pressure on her to do anything.
"There, that should be enough for now. Maybe Vanille could take a closer look later, but you were lucky you weren't seriously hurt. I doubt that was because of your own skill though; I just don't think the Neochu took you seriously enough." Lightning took no notice of the taunt and leaned back on the grass, closing her eyes. Fang looked expectantly at her, waiting for a message of thanks. She voiced her expectations, but the soldier kept her eyes and mouth closed.
Frankly, Fang found herself starting to get annoyed with Lightning now. No apology, no thanks, even not calling Gran Pulse by its full name. Fang glared at the resting water on the pond; she watched the fish underneath, wandering around without a care in the world. No L'cie, no Focus, no irritable cow... Whatever goodwill she had felt for Lightning on the Chocobo was rapidly draining away.
"Thank you." Then all the goodwill - and perhaps something else - flooded back.
"You're welcome. Now sorry to disturb you from your beauty sleep, but we shouldn't stay here. The others will be worried sick about us as well."
"Ugh. Can't they wait?"
"No. This is only a temporary shelter. They'll sniff us out soon. I know you're tired, but that just makes it more dangerous."
"I'm not tired."
"Then why are you lying back with your eyes closed?" Lightning got up immediately. Fang smirked and let out a small chuckle as she advanced towards the Chocobo. Fang got to it first and, noting that her companion was still walking gingerly, flourished and stared at Lightning, her smirk wider.
"Would the lady like a leg up?" Lightning responded by almost tripping over; checking herself, she disguised it into a run and leapt on the Chocobo, expectantly waiting for Fang to get on behind her.
"Err, no," said Fang, lifting the smaller woman to the back of the Chocobo, "I don't think that's such a good idea, do you?" Even Lightning couldn't argue with that one.
Fang guided the Chocobo at a leisurely pace back to the main camp in the Southern Expanse. They were fortunate many of Gran Pulse's more ferocious beasts were not nocturnal. Once again, she refrained from a lecture towards the brooding soldier on how to handle a Chocobo, and rather hoped her expert riding was appreciated as a demonstration. As they passed the remains of the Gorgonopsids, Fang felt she had to interrupt the edgy silence.
"I hope this teaches you how not to go off on your own again. You barely know anything about Gran Pulse; you think some of the nasties you've seen are tough... Well, maybe I should introduce you and the Behemoth King sometime. You two have pretty similar personalities."
"I was doing pretty well until you arrived."
"Whatever you say sunshine." Fang snorted. "What is it with you and your little episodes of solitude anyway?"
"Nothing much. Sometimes I just need to get away from the chatter and the complaining and..."
"And the safety? Need a brush with death to pep you up?"
"Oh geez... I take it I can't go off alone for the rest of my days now."
"No, Light. I just don't want you to go off getting killed. We need you."
"Well... thanks." Lightning yawned.
"I understand what you mean about alone time anyway. Hope annoys me at the best of times."
"Hmm..." Fang got the feeling she was breaching a restricted area at this point and retreated slightly. She could tell Lightning was too close to Hope to appreciate any criticism of him. Glancing back, she noticed the soldier's brilliant blue eyes had dulled, drooping slightly, and weren't looking at anything in particular. Fang's gaze lingered for one second too long before she turned away. For a few minutes the Chocobo trotted in silence, oblivious to its rider's delicate social dance with a stubborn passenger.
"How does night in Gran Pulse compare to Cocoon anyway?" Fang asked, eager to start conversation. There was no reply. Not the silent treatment again... She wasn't that close to Hope was she? But then a pressure fell on her back; Fang twitched and was about to react when she realised it was only Lightning. Slowly checking back, she saw that the young woman had finally fallen asleep. Admiring her for a second, Fang quickly became conscious of the sleeper falling off, and gently placed her hands around her waist like before. She felt how soft Lightning's hands were; not quite what she expected for such an experienced soldier, especially compared to her own battle-hardened ones. Lightning's grip tightened in response, and her head rested on Fang's shoulder. She grinned slightly at the soldier's long, feminine pink hair; no matter how strong the Pulsian winds or how many flips her lithe form performed in battle, somehow it always looked good on her.
A part of Fang wished Lightning was aware of what she was doing. For now she would settle for this close contact, her heart rate quickening slightly whenever Lightning leaned in closer, her chest pressing against Fang's back or when her gentle breathing brushed Fang's skin. She had little time to enjoy it; the base camp was just coming into view. Fang considered a detour, but did not want to worry Vanille any further. The Pulsian smiled at Lightning's comatose form and imagined the group's reactions to her current predicament. The squeals of Vanille, the laughs and taunts of Sazh and Snow, the Estheim boy's annoyed face...
She would spare the soldier's blushes, for now. Reluctantly, Fang decided to wake her. She tenderly lifted Lightning's arms from around her waist and was about to let her head drop when Lightning awoke anyway, and Fang felt the pressure on her back abruptly lift off. The Gran Pulse dawn fell cold again. Fang couldn't help but smile though; as she looked behind her, the soldier's confused surprise and blushing face was a picture she could savour for a while.
"You enjoyed that, didn't you sunshine?" Her answer was a sharp, yet restrained thump in the back. Fang chuckled, and considered what little damage the full force of those soft hands would do.