A/N: Okay, I realize I haven't updated this in a long while but I've been really busy. I had to finish my classes and actually complete my graduation, which I have done. Although, now with the end of that I really have to get a job so the time I have to write is going to be very limited.

I think now is a good time to reveal that I seriously have no plot line for this story, a few of you have pointed that out and it's true. I just kind of started writing it and then went with the flow, so everything that happens is a surprise to both you and me! I may sit down and think really hard one day for a direction for this story to take, but for now you get what you get.

Also, thank you to all of you who have taken the time to review it means a lot. I'd also like to thank those who have added this story to your favourites and such!

Without further ado enjoy this chapter, bit of drama up in here, and some explanations.

I Wont Walk Away

"Fang." a soft voice penetrated her subconscious, but the huntress refused to wake up just yet. Her body was screaming for sleep and her mind was going along with that simple need for once. Although it seemed that a certain someone wouldn't go along with this. A stern hand shook her into consciousness, "Wake up already."

She grabbed the arm that ruined her peaceful slumber and glared up at Lightning who was not looking like the joyous girl she had tucked into bed only hours ago. Instead of warm eyes that welcomed her there were the cold eyes that Fang had loved oh so much back during their little adventure, but now she arguably hated them. What the hell had gotten her panties in a bunch now?

"What time is it?" She looked out behind the cold soldier to gaze out the window, it was still dark out.

"It's 7:14 AM. They said I can go." Her voice mimicked her eyes, the strange business only attitude coming through once again. Fang was beginning to think she had dreamed of the girly Lightning.

Nevertheless she stood up and stretched out her limbs, "You aren't going to visit Serah?"

"No," she looked away from her gaze, "not yet."

Oh yes, something was terribly wrong here. Lightning normally would jump at the chance to see her sister, she had busted her ass to save her after all and then went off and disappeared for years on end. You'd think that the woman would be itching to see her sister, but instead she seemed reluctant to do anything. The two of them were going to be having a nice little chat that was for sure. For the time being she followed the pink haired woman out. Fang offered to drive, but Lightning would have none of it. She knew where she was going.

The drive back to New Bodhum was quiet, neither woman wanted to break the silence. If there was a time and place to prod into the soldiers brain now was not the time to do it. She was driving, she could crash, and they could die before they even got home. This was not something that was on Fang's to do list. Plus, a new concern popped into Fang's mind when she pulled up in front of the house.

"So Light, I did a bit of cleanin' before I found ya. It's still not sparkling, but I thought you might wanna come back to a tidy home."

Lightning arched an eyebrow at her, "You really didn't have to."

"Believe me Sunshine," she shook her head and eyed the house cautiously, "Snow is not a good housewife."

She froze in front of the house along with Lightning in the wake of her words as the reality of what she had said hit them both simultaneously. Snow had been alone in that house for a couple weeks while Fang had been out hunting, even though she told him to clean up on the phone there was still a very real possibility that this was going to be the last straw to unravel the already frigid soldier.

"Er... it can't be that bad! I told him to clean up yesterday, it should be fine!" She opened the door and instantly regretted her words. The place was as messy as it was before she left to hunt. Fang turned to look over at the Lightning who was actually shaking in disgust and anger. She wasted no time marching through the dirt and picked Snow right out of bed slamming him against the wall.

"What the fuck have you done to my house?" She screamed at him. The poor guy was still half asleep when a fist slammed into his head, "How can you make a mess out of my house like this? You're a real piece of work you moron!"

Snow cowered in front of the enraged woman and looked at Fang fleetingly. She only shrugged at him and gave him a look that said I told you so. "Sis, it's not what it seems-"

Lightning cut him off with a smack upside his head, "Really? Because it looks like every inch of this place is covered with dirt and the only one to make it like this is you!"

After a couple more good punches Fang felt that he had had enough punishment for one day and pried Lightning off of him and led her into her own room, or rather the only clean room in the entire house to let her cool her head, "I'll clean it up, you can sit in here and cool off that precious little pink head of yours."

"Fang, you really don't have to-"

She cut her off, "No worries, love. I want to."

"I can help."

"In your current state you're more likely to make a bigger mess." Lightning was about to interject when Fang spoke over her, "Your hands are shaking Light, you'll probably break the dishes if you tried to wash them."

Grunting Lightning let her leave without protesting much further. Now Fang could tend to the bigger mess at hand, the entire house. Thankfully Snow was out of commission at that particular moment so she could clean without him making an even bigger mess. She had to admit that she was becoming rather professional at cleaning in her short time back as it was practically all she had done. To her dismay though she couldn't leave it sparkling like she had done previously, that would have left Lightning alone for far too long, so she just made it look bearable. With a quick vacuum and picking up all the crap Snow left on the floor, she returned to fetch Lightning from her brooding.

"No more battlefield, Sunshine, you can come out of your cave now." She smirked as Lightning shot a quick glare at her, "Awh, don't be like that! I cleaned your house for ya after all."

"I never asked you to, Fang." Her scowl deepened in intensity.

"I know ya didn't," she walked over to the bed and saw down beside her placing her arm around her shoulders, noting that the woman made no effort to shift away, "I wanted to impress you. Snow ruined it though."

The scowl softened slightly, "Thanks... I think." Her eyes turned questioning as she took in the later part of her sentence, "Why did you want to impress me, Fang?"

"Er... uh... Well you see..." Shit, she was not expecting Lightning to actually comment on that part of it. She really wasn't one to hide her feelings but she really didn't know how to word it. Lightning was looking at her for a logical response other than her sad attempts to prolong her. She was already digging her own grave may as well go for a more subtle approach. She plastered a large grin on her face, "Well, 'cause you're amazin' Sunshine!"

Lightning just stared at her blankly, like she was expecting something much more from the kind of build up she was giving. If the girl was disappointed she hid it well, "Right."

"It's your turn to answer some questions now Light," the woman before her simply arched an eyebrow prompting her to continue, "Why ya got a stick up your ass?"

Her eyes narrowed, "Beautiful way of putting it, Fang. Makes me want to answer you so much."

She laughed at her obvious sarcasm but the seriousness did not leave her emerald eyes, "Alright, alright. How about this then; why are you do much more distant than you were yesterday when I found ya?"

"I was tired and wasn't in my right mind." Although her words were clear she averted Fang's gaze. Somehow she knew the pink haired woman was lying, but was pushing her really such a good idea? Only one way to find out.

"Are you sure about that?"

"Yes I am, why?"

"Well that kiss at the hospital last night..." she smirked inwardly as she saw Lightning's face flush, "it really didn't seem like there was nothing behind it."

"I..." she sighed and turned her head to look at the bedside table, "I don't know." Hearing Lightning say that was surprising; the former L'Cie leader was always so sure of herself and to see her so confused was strange to say the least. After a few moments of Fang staring at her dumbfounded the girl continued, "I just got back and actually seeing you in the flesh was a bit of a shock I guess. Do I... like you? I don't know. I need time to sort out my feelings with everything going on."

Fang could respect that answer; it wasn't the answer of someone trying to make up excuses for their actions, it was the answer of someone who genuinely was perplexed about how they felt. Fang had the liberty of knowing how she felt for awhile now, even so she did remember what it was like when it first dawned on her that she wanted more than just a simple friendship with Lightning. It was scary at first but she had gotten used to the idea, she had to give Lightning the same time.

Feeling that the woman didn't want to continue about that particular topic she moved on to something else that she figured had something to do with her attitude. She placed her hand on the woman's leg in a caring gesture, "Light, can ya tell me one more thing?" the woman nodded and turned back to face her, "What happened to you in Valhalla?"

The woman seemed reluctant to tell her at first, but she softened after a few brief moments of silent deliberation and began to describe how she had become the guardian of the goddess Etro and about her battle with Caius Ballad. She then described how she turned to crystal to stop the chaos and save Serah from dying when she should have. Apparently Etro had recovered enough energy not too long afterwards and sent her back to Gran Pulse knowing Fang would find her.

"You thought I was a piece of trash." The woman smirked at her. How she could actually joke around after telling such a story was beyond her understanding.

"Hey, in my defence if you saw a something shiny in the distance in a place with no signs of civilization, you'd probably think it was trash too!"

"You keep telling yourself that, Fang. Maybe it'll come true."

She rolled her eyes at her tone choosing to ignore it. Instead she wrapped her arms around the woman in a tight embrace resting a hand on the back on her head, "I'm sorry ya had to go through that kind of thing."

The intensity of her voice must have shocked the pinkette because she stiffened in her arms before finally relaxing and wrapping her arms around her waist, "Thanks," she breathed into her shoulder and let Fang hold her. In all her days Fang never would have imagined the softhearted nature that Lightning actually hid inside. It was a side of her that she had never seen before and the girl had chosen to show it to Fang. She truly felt honoured.

As much as Fang wanted to stay in the euphoric moment forever her stomach had other plans as it broke the silence of the room with a loud grumble. Lightning pulled away and arched an eyebrow at her, obviously holding back laughter. Fang however did not find the moment so amusing. Casting a quick glare at her stomach she swung her legs off the bed and stood up facing Lightning with her hands on her hips, "Well, I guess it's time for some lunch."

Lightning nodded intently, "You cleaned the house so I guess I'll cook." This would normally be a very appealing idea if it hadn't come from Lightning. The girl was known for her terrible cooking within the L'Cie group. When she was out patrolling the area Snow had told her horror stories of the woman's cooking that he had heard from Serah, and Fang would be damned if she didn't believe him. Lightning didn't give off a very homey atmosphere anyway which was why the cooking on their adventure had often been left to Vanille and Fang or Snow.

Quickly throwing her arm around Lightning to guide the girl out of the room and into the kitchen she covered her horror with hospitality, "No way Sunshine, ya just got back and I'm going to take it on myself to cook you something tasty!"

"Are you sure?" She narrowed her eyes at Fang upon her sudden offer, "You've been cleaning all morning. It wouldn't be that much trouble for me to cook us lunch."

"I'm more than sure Light. You just sit down and let me do the cookin'."

"Well, alright... if you insist."

"I do." Lightning left Fang alone in the kitchen and she finally let herself breathe a sigh of relief. One bullet dodged; now all she had to do was make lunch. Thankfully she knew how to cook, she wasn't anywhere near as good as Vanille, but she could at least make something edible.

She had already decided that the meat she hunted yesterday was to be for dinner so that was out of the question. Snow must have done some shopping recently because last thing Fang remembered the cupboards were virtually empty and now they were full. Her stomach gave her another loud protest at how long she was taking to decide so she chose something simple. Tomato soup with a grilled cheese sandwich. No one can oppose that.

Minutes later Lightning entered the kitchen wearing blue jeans and a black tank top. Fang gave a low whistle, "Lookin' good there Sunshine. Dinner's ready too, perfect timing."

Obviously flustered she averted her gaze taking the plate and bowl from the counter, "Shut up Fang."

"You'd like that too much." She grinned and sat opposite of her.

"Yes, I would."

Silence filled the house once more as the two ate, but Fang couldn't resist to push the girls buttons even more, "So Lightnin'," The girl looked up at her and took another mouthful of soup, "Who's sleepin' on which side of the bed tonight?"

Just like that Fang found herself covered in tomato soup, "What?"

"You said I could continue to sleep in your room, remember?" She continued to grin as she wiped the soup from her face and clothes.

"I suppose I do..."

"So which side?"

Lightning shot a glare so powerful at her that if looks really could kill she would have died right then and there, "Shut up Fang."

"The right?" Lightning continued to glare, "Okay, okay. You can have the right, Sunshine, I'll take the left then."

"No, you'll be sleeping on the couch." Fang had prepared for this reaction, but even so it didn't mean she had to like it.

"It's so cold out here at night though!" She complained waving her spoon around, "I'll die of frost bite."

"You've been in much colder weather without the comfort of a couch." She grabbed her wrist to make her stop flailing her spoon around, "Stop that, it's bad table manners."

Curse her, she had a good point. Oerba was a lot colder than New Bodhum was but even so she thought that plan was fool proof. Apparently not, "Yes ma'am, but what if I get lonely?"

"That's just too bad Fang. Go keep Snow company then."

"He's a meat-head though. We'll just end up fighting."

"Last time I checked you weren't the smartest person either."

Well that was a low blow, obviously Lightning was annoyed at her teasing now, "Ouch. Well if you're gonna be like that I guess I will sleep on the couch. Must be warmer than sleeping with the ice queen."

Lightning smirked, "You're probably right."

This conversation was going nowhere fast and if it continued any longer Fang sensed that there would be a fight, and for once she really didn't feel like fighting. She left Lightning to wash the dishes and went into the woman's room so she could change. She had been in the same clothes for a very long time and she was in much need of a change. Unfortunately, she forgot she didn't really have another change of clothes quite yet. She poked her head out through the door, "Uhm, Light?"

"What is it now Fang?" she snapped.

"Would you mind if I changed into some of your clothes?..."

"Change into your own clothes."

"That's kind of the problem. I kind of haven't had a chance to go shopping for any yet."

She could hear a exasperated sigh come from the kitchen, "Whatever. Just don't change into my underwear."

"Wouldn't dream of it Light." Plus her bra's wouldn't fit, but it was probably better to keep that to herself. Opening the closet she saw a lot of clothes that she wouldn't even expect the solder girl to have. Like a little black dress for instance. Best to leave that alone though so she settled for a white t-shirt and black jeans.

Fang ambled back into the kitchen leaning against the door way to admire the girl while she finished washing the dishes, she had also taken it upon herself to clean every inch of every appliance in the kitchen so she wasn't aware of the Pulse born woman's staring. Truthfully, Fang was amazed at how well Lightning was adapting to this time, she was taking it a lot better than Fang herself had. She still had trouble trying to work the microwave, or the sandwich toaster and muchly preferred making things over the stove top. Although it shouldn't be much a surprise, Lightning was born on cocoon and their technology was far more advanced than Gran Pulses was in her time. Plus, apparently Lightning had been watching from Valhalla all this time as well. Fang smirked, it was just like her to keep a look out for her friends even if she was in an entirely different realm.

It seemed Fang was growing a new habit out of sitting on chairs and couches late at night thinking instead of sleeping lately. Here she was, on Lightning's less than comfortable couch, thinking about all sorts of things. Mainly the woman herself and their conversation in the bedroom. She was happy the woman wanted to give their current situation thought, but Maker the woman was such a tease! She walked around all day in those tight jeans and that black tank top that hugged her in all the right places as if it was no big deal, and expected Fang to keep her hands off. She had to give herself some credit though, she did manage to do just that, but only just barely. Well at least she was banished to the couch, it was probably a good thing. Even though she knew she wouldn't do anything to Lightning, she would not get a wink of sleep the way her mind was working.

Just then a small voice broke through her musings and snapped her back into reality, "Fang?..." It was Lightning. The woman had impeccable timing, "Are you awake?"

"I'm awake, Light. What do ya need?"

The woman seemed to fidget a little bit when Fang looked over at her. To her dismay she couldn't read the expression on her face due to the dark room, "I can come back at another time if you're busy."

Fang shook her head, "I'm not busy at all, I was just doin' some late night thinking." She pat the seat beside her smiling when the pinkette took it, "Can't sleep either I'm guessing?"

"Yeah," Lightning looked at her and then back to her lap obviously feeling awkward, "I didn't take you for the late night thinker type."

She couldn't help but laugh at the irony of it all, "It's something new." After really looking at Lightning she could see the girl didn't seem to be herself, usually she was so certain and cool headed but right now that didn't seem to be the case. She couldn't quite put her finger on what exactly was different, she just felt something off, "Is something wrong?"

"I... had a nightmare." She admitted.

Well this was shocking. Fang would have thought she'd be the last person Lightning would actually relay such a thing to, not that she was complaining. She liked being her go to gal, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I dreamed that Serah never woke up... It's been a long time since I've had a nightmare about losing Serah. She's the only family I have left, I don't know what I'd do if I lost her too..." Her hands clenched together so tight her knuckles turned white, "It's all my fault this all had to happen."

"It's not your fault Lightning. You were only trying to save the world from a cruel future, and ultimately you did didn't you?" She waited for the girl to nod before continuing, "Serah will wake up, and I doubt she has any regrets about what she had to do either. When her and Vanille wake up we can be a family again like old times ya? We can watch movies together, have parties together, make fun of Snow together..."

She smiled when Lightning laughed. Good, she managed to break the girl's gloom, "That sounds nice." Just as quickly as her smile came, it faded and was replaced by a serious frown, "You know Fang I thought that I'd never see you again when you were first crystallized. I was surprised when I had seen that you woke up."

"I know what you mean, I never thought I'd see any of you again when I was crystallized either. Imagine my surprise when I woke up in a hospital inside a huge city with cocoon in the air without a crystal holdin' it up. Then having a grown up Hope come in the room and tell me that you were gone." She chuckled darkly, "That was a shocker."

"You were in denial," she pointed out.

"Oh, so you were watchin' me then Sunshine?" She grinned as she saw the woman turn away for a moment before looking back, "You're right though. I knew you would come back one day."

"How did you handle that? What if I never did come back?..."

"Lightning, I would have spent my entire life waiting for you to come back if that were the case and then died still waiting. I've never really been one to give up."

"Pretty words Fang, pretty words." Even though she tried to keep her face composed Fang caught her smile, "You are rather stubborn too."

"So are you, love." She grinned and reached over to hug the girl, who surprisingly hugged her back, "It adds to your charm."

"Shut up Fang." she pulled away giving her a light punch to the shoulder, "Thank you though. I think I can sleep now."

"Well I'm glad I could be of service to ya." She grinned, "Night Sunshine, see ya tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you tomorrow. By the way, Fang, the meat at dinner was cooked very well." With that the pinkette retreated to her room leaving Fang alone on the couch yet again.

Even though she was still banished the the couch, she found it a lot warmer and had no trouble falling into a deep much needed sleep.

A/N: So let me know if you think I should keep continuing this, I'm divided on the idea myself to be perfectly honest. On the bright side I do have another Flight fanfic in the works so keep an eye out for that.

Tell me what you thought too and as always thanks for reading.

Oh, I also don't own FF XIII if that wasn't obvious by my occasional OOC Lightning.