More Flight fluff. Haha :)

This was written for the 500theme Challenge: #476. White shores.

Usual minor spoilers!

She found her on the shore, boots off and standing in the surf. She paid no mind to the gentle caress of the water on her calves as she gazed into the sky.

Fang sat on the white, crystal sand near Lightning's neatly folded jacket, cape and skirt, which sat next to her discarded boots. For a moment, she wondered what had caught her attention so raptly that she hadn't noticed her approach. Lightning's back was to the illuminated shell of Cocoon. As Fang followed her gaze curiously, she could only see stars. So many stars.

A smile spread on her lips as she brought up her knees and allowed her chin to come to rest on them. Oerba offered Light something they'd mostly lacked during their journey so far; a widely open sky in a quiet area. They'd cleaned out the remains of the village hours ago, and were glad to see that it had stayed clear, affording them time to truly rest.

'She's probably never seen so many stars.' Her shoulders shook with a soft chuckle. 'Or real stars at all before coming to Gran Pulse.' Her smile softened as Lightning turned just enough for her to see the expression of wonder on her face. It was almost childlike. It certainly was a side of Light few ever had the opportunity to witness.

"How many are there?"

Maybe she'd noticed her after all. Fang lifted her head as Lightning turned to her. "Dunno." She gave a small shrug then tilted her head to the side. "Don't you study astronomy up there?"

"Only in passing really. Most people of Cocoon would never see real stars.. just the distant lights of other cities." Fang nodded as Lightning strode toward her, water splashing a bit at her feet. When she and Vanille had been making discoveries about Cocoon, she'd been disheartened to realize the stars were not real. She hadn't said much about it then, but it had made her feel even more isolated and even a little claustrophobic.

Once free of the water, Lightning sat down next to Fang. They lapsed into silence, both staring out over the water.

"Two different worlds." it was so soft, Fang almost missed it.

"Hmm?"

Light offered a rare, genuine smile. "We come from two different worlds." She shook her head absently. "I mean, they're so different, yet have such obvious similarities."

Fang wasn't sure what to make of the comment, so she stayed quiet.

Light shook her head again, wrapping her arms around her bare knees. "Sorry, I guess it's stupid."

"No, I think I understand. It's a lot like what I thought when I realized Vanille and I woke up on Cocoon. What I saw wasn't what I expected; it wasn't what i was taught. "

"What did you expect?" She asked softly, turning just enough to easily view Fang and the giant glowing orb pr Cocoon that constantly hung over them.

Fang was quiet as she thought about it, then chuckled softly. "Simple questions don't always have simple answers." She glanced down at her hands helplessly, a gesture Light had come to recognize as a sign of guilt or insecurity. "I guess I expected it to be inhabited by human looking monsters. But it was just people. Just people that were going about their lives like they hadn't a care in the world." She spread her hands and then sighed as she put them behind her to support her weight as she leaned back. "And I pushed that thought away, because I knew I had a job to do.

"I don't like hurting people. I grew up in a war. I fought to protect everything I knew. I never liked killing, but I did it, because it was either them or us. I got desensitized to it I guess. I don't think anything about killing soldiers who stand against me." She shook her head and let it drop back so she was looking at the night sky. "But after Euride.. I felt guilt like I hadn't before. Those people were civilians."

Light's hand found Fang's in the sand as she moved a little closer to her. "No one died at Euride."

"But they could have. And it made me realize I was becoming the very thing I always hated." She pulled her hand away and sat forward, arms wrapped protectively around herself. "But I couldn't give up. I can't."

Light moved again, this time to settle with a gentle, comforting weight against Fang's back. Her hands idly rubbed the muscles in Fang's arms as she rested her check against the back of her shoulder. And it was comforting to Fang, because of all in their group, she understood. Light had killed other soldiers in her quest to get to her sister's side, even before she'd been branded. They had both pushed aside whatever guilt they may have felt in those moments so they could do what they needed to protect those they loved.

But guilt never truly goes away and at some point it finally topple their neat little walls and try to drown them. Between them, nothing more needed to be said. It was in these moments when they would reach out to each other and work together to keep afloat.