A kick to the teeth is good for some
A kiss with a fist is better then none
Snow was watching Lightning from across the campsite. The others were asleep, while they kept watch. In the soft glow of the firelight, with the stresses of being hunted on Cocoon mostly erased from her face, she looked younger. Softer. Almost like...
The sisters were more alike than they - or anyone else - believed. There was a core of strength to them both, firm and unyielding, as well as a depth of compassion that still surprised him from time to time. Most people didn't see Serah's strength, and Lightning fiercely guarded her softer side, but they were there. All the things he loved about Serah were present in Lightning - they just took a little digging to find.
Almost without thinking about it, Snow stood and walked over to the log were Lightning was perched, polishing her Blazefire Saber. He settled himself down beside her, stretching and smiling at her quizzical look. "You looked bored."
She just raised an eyebrow at him. "I looked bored? I was busy."
"Okay, fine. You looked like you were doing something boring. And I was bored."
She huffed in exasperation (and amusement, he thought) and shook her head. "You're supposed to be on watch. We are in 'hell,' you know."
"Better not say that where Fang can hear you. Besides, we cleared this area before we camped. Everything's quiet."
Lightning was fun to talk to. She was focused, practical, and caustic, but there was a considerable amount of dry humor underneath all that. Fang seemed to be the best at bringing that part of her out, but Snow was always secretly thrilled when she snorted or shook her head at one of his jokes.
Snow watched as Lightning quietly folded her gunblade away and holstered it, turning her full attention to him. She was saying something, but Snow was struck by how much she reminded him of Serah in that moment. Both women had a way of looking at you as if they saw past the outer layers, the bluster and the heroics. It was one of the things that drew him to Serah in the first place, and that was the only way he could explain to himself what happened next.
Lightning's lips were soft under his own, but firmer than her sister's. The hair felt the same, though, silken strands sliding easily between his fingers. Feeling no resistance, he curled his other hand around her hip and deepened the kiss. She tasted clear and bright, in some way more shocking than Serah's heady sweetness.
It was about that time that he registered the pain in his stomach, knocking him backward off the log. Snow sprawled on the ground, feeling a little achey and fuzzy from the kiss and the fist. Lightning was standing above him, dragging a hand across her mouth, and staring down at him like she'd never seen him before. Snow readied himself for the furious outburst, but it never came.
"Who did you see when you did that? Me, or her?" Her voice was calm, level, but Snow thought he heard an undertone of hurt in it.
"I...don't really know." It had been some strange fusion of the two - he knew that he'd never be able to look at Lightning without seeing Serah, and he'd never be able to think of Serah without Lightning there, too. They were one, in his heart - two sides of the same coin, both occupying the same space. He didn't know how to put that feeling into words, though.
Lightning's eyes hardened into ice chips, cold and sharp as Serah's crystal tear. She balled up her fist like she was going to knock him senseless again (he probably deserved it, to be honest), but then just turned and stalked off into the jungles of Pulse.
Snow flopped back into the grass, rubbing a hand over his face. What the hell had he gotten himself into?