Chapter 5

Serah frowned as she watched Lightning move around the kitchen swiftly and quietly as she prepared breakfast. "Claire." She sighed as she looked down at the table. Lightning glanced over at her. "What happened with you and Fang last night?" she asked. Lightning stopped all her movements for only a second before she continued on. Serah frowned at her sister's reaction.

"I don't know what you're talking about…,"she mumbled.

"Yes you do Claire!" Serah said as she sat up a bit more. "You maybe able to hide things from others but I can read you like an open book! Something happened between the two of you…I could tell the moment the two of you walked into the house…You both was acting so strange…"She mumbled as she looked down at the table once more with a frown. Lightning sighed but her eyes never left the eggs she was currently making. "Claire please…I just wish you'd talk to me for once…"She whispered.

Lightning stopped what she was doing and turned around to her. "I want to tell you Serah I really do but-"

"Then tell me." Serah said as she looked up at her. Lightning stared at her younger sister before she frowned and looked away. Serah sighed as well as she looked away. That look often met that she wasn't going to be saying much more. She looked down at the table and it was silent between them before Lightning sighed and closed her eyes.

"Serah." She whispered and Serah looked back up at her. Lightning sighed as she lowered her head. "I think I…I think I might…" Serah leaned a bit closer as her sister began to lower her voice. Her eyes widened slightly at seeing the small blush that had rose to her sister's cheeks. "Last night…Fang and I…it happened once before…" she took a deep breath before she stood up straight and turned towards her sister. "Fang and I seem to be getting pretty close if you know what I mean and I can't seem to stop the growing attraction between the two of us." She said before releasing another sigh feeling as if a weight was lifted off her shoulders

"Mornin'." Fang yawned as she walked into the kitchen. Lightning noticeable tensed at her presence before quickly spinning around to face the stove. Her eggs already starting to burn. Fang arched an eyebrow before she looked over to Serah who sat wide-eyed with her mouth hanging open. Serah was at a complete loss of words at her sister's confession. Lightning and Fang? Attraction? For how long? She had so many questions to ask but her mouth wouldn't speak. "Hey, you'll catch flies like that if you keep your mouth open like that Serah." Fang said as she walked more into the kitchen and over to where Lightning stood.

"Ah…"Serah mumbled as she stared at her before looking over at her sister. Lightning and Fang? Fang and Lightning?

"Right…"Fang said slowly with an arched eyebrow before she looked to Lightning. "I think your little sister has been hangin' out with that meat head to much Light. She's goin' brain dead or somethin'." She said and watched Lightning stir her eggs quickly almost knocking them out the pan as she gripped the handle of the pan tightly in her other hand. Fang eyed her tense stance before looking back to Serah who was still staring with her mouth open. "Hm. I walked in on somethin' didn't I?" she asked as she looked back to Lightning. She stared at her with a small frown.

"Don't stare at me…,"Lightning mumbled with a small sigh. Fang nodded her head before she looked away from her. Vanille walked in and Fang smiled to her. Her smile quickly dropped as Vanille only half returned it. She frowned as Vanille quickly looked away from her, lowering her eyes to the ground.

"I'm going to the store." She said quickly before walking back out the room. Serah frowned as she watched Vanille leave.

"She's been down all morning. What's wrong with her?" Serah asked as she looked over to Fang who shrugged her shoulders.

"Hell if I know. Your guess is as good as mine. She's been givin' me the cold shoulder all mornin'." She sighed as she crossed her arms and leaned back against the counter. She glanced back at Lightning before she looked back to Serah. "Well I'll let you guys get back to your secret siblin' conversation and get in the shower. See you in a bit." She said as she walked back out the room while waving over her shoulder. Serah watched her go while Lightning sighed and cut off the stove before she put the eggs on a plate.

"Claire." Serah called as she turned her attention back towards her. Lightning turned around to face her with the plate. "Forget the food. Come talk to me." She said and patted the table across from her. Lightning frowned as she sat the plate down before she walked over and sat down across from her sister. "How long as this been? I mean…you were always leaning away from the boys when we was younger but…you're into girls?" she whispered as she leaned closer to her. Lightning looked down with a frown as her eyebrows came together.

"I'm not sure Serah. Fang just…."She blushed slightly at the thought of the other girl. "She's just…Fang. She's just Fang and I've found myself thinking about her more and more. She's started to even invade my dreams…,"She said as she shook her head before she looked back up at her sister through her bangs. "And the first time we kissed sparked a flame in me that I can't seem to put out." She whispered while shaking her head slightly. Her eyes burning with the flame that she was speaking off and Serah swallowed hard at the sight of it before slowly nodding her head.

"Well Claire…"She cleared her throat as she looked away from her. "It sounds like…to me it sounds like you might be…in love with Fang." She said and heard Lightning gasp at the words. She looked up at her to see her sister staring at her with a look of shock before she quickly looked away with a blush.

"D-Don't be ridiculous Serah." She scuffed as her fist balled up slightly on her lap her face becoming more and more flushed with every passing second. "There is no way that I'm...i-in love with Fang. That's just-that's just ridiculous!" she said and Serah smiled softly as she watched her sister in complete denial. "I mean I have Cid and she's clearly in love with Vanille." She said with a nervous chuckle. Serah frowned as she looked down at the table.

"I'm not so sure about that last part." She sighed and Lightning looked to her. "I mean I'm sure she still loves Vanille but I don't think she's in love with Vanille anymore. You know what I mean?" she asked as she glanced up at Lightning to catch her small nod before looking back down at the table. "I mean you was there when Vanille was expressing her doubts about her and Fang's relationship and did you ever notice how when Vanille says 'I love you Fang' Fang's all like 'Mm yeah' or like 'I know baby'. Well when someone tells you that they love you, you're normally suppose to tell them that you love them too. I haven't heard Fang say it at all…"She sighed with a shake of her head.

Lightning appeared in thought as she tried to think back before looking up at her sister who was watching her and waiting for her to say something. "Your right." She sighed before shaking her head. "I haven't heard Fang say it back neither." She mumbled as she frowned slightly. "But that still might not have anything to do with me." She said with another shake of her head and Serah sighed as she shook her head. Lightning frowned as she looked back up at her.

"If she has feelings for you the way you do for her then this has everything to do with you Claire." She said with another sigh.

"What do I do?" she asked as her eyebrows came together once more. Serah frowned at the look on her older sisters face.

"I don't know…,"She whispered.

Vanille frowned as she stared out at the sea as she sat on the beach. Her knees pressed into her chest as she hugged her legs tightly to her. She rested her chin on her knees as she allowed her eyes to dance over the endless waves. Her frown only increased as she thought about the night before.

Fang.

Her Fang wasn't in love with her anymore…She was in love with Lightning now. It explained everything. Why Fang had been pulling away from her, why Fang never wanted to make love to her anymore, why Fang never said I love you anymore. Vanille closed her eyes tightly at feeling the tears starting to burn in them. She rubbed at her eyes as she sniffled. Had she done something wrong? Had she changed or did Fang change? She didn't understand it…

"Hey Vanille." A rather cheerful voice said from behind her. She gasped slightly at not hearing anyone walk up behind her. She quickly looked over her shoulders to see the blue haired boy from NORA. One of Snow's good friends. He stood there with his hands in his pockets and a bright smile on his lips. "I thought that was you sitting way over here. What are you doing?" He asked as he stepped closer to her. She sniffled once more and quickly whipped her eyes as she tired to smile.

"N-Nothing. I was just enjoying the nice weather…"She tried to answer with a normal cheerful voice but it didn't work and her voice had creaked halfway through her sentence. He immediately frowned as he moved even closer to her.

"Have you been crying?" He asked as his eyes narrowed. Being closer he could know see the tears that had run down her cheeks and how red her eyes were. "Did someone do something to you! Who was it! I'll kick their ass!" He snapped and she quickly shook her head as the tears gathered once more and she closed her eyes tightly. He frowned as he watched her trying to whip them away. He glanced around the beach hoping to spot Fang or Serah. He wasn't really good with comforting crying girls. He sighed as he turned his attention back towards her. He moved forward and sat down in the sand next to her. "What's bugging in you then?" He asked.

"I-It's nothing…,"She whispered as continued to whip her eyes but nothing stopped the tears from running down her cheeks. He frowned once more as he rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well do you want me to call for someone to come pick you up? Like Fang?" He asked and she tensed before crying harder at the sound of the name. He turned towards her quickly and began to rub her back. "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to upset you! Are you and Fang fight or something?" He asked as he titled his head trying to see her face better and she shook her head slowly as she tried to calm back down. "Did something happen to her…?" He whispered and she shook her head once again.

"She doesn't love me anymore…"She whispered before turning and literately throwing herself at him. He tensed slightly as he stared down at the girl crying on his chest. He glanced around before he wrapped his arms around her in a hug and allowed her to cry into his chest.

"There, there. It'll be alright." He said as he patted her back and waited for her to calm down once again before speaking. "Did you try to talk to her about it? I mean did she out right tell you she didn't love you? Or break up with you?" He asked and she shook her head in his chest. He pulled her back and placed his hand on her head as he looked her in the face. "Then how do you know she's not in love with you anymore silly?" he asked with a small chuckle and she bit her lip as she fought back the tears that was rebuilding in her eyes.

"B-Because she doesn't tell me she loves me anymore an-and I see the way her and Lightning are always sneaking glances at each other-and and she thinks about Light when she masturbates!" she broke down into tears once more and forced her face back into his chest. He blushed at the last part before clearing his throat.

"Well Vanille I think you need to talk Fang about all this and let her know how you feel. Maybe in return she'll tell you what's been pushing her way and you two can work on it together." He said and listened as she sniffled in his chest. He looked down at her. "You know this shirt is really expensive I don't want all your snot on it." He said with a small chuckle and she giggled softly as she pulled away from him while whipping her eyes and her eyes.

"Sorry Yuj." She said with another sniffle as she smiled at him softly. "But your right. I should go talk to her about this. Fang and I have been together for a long time. I'm sure we can work though this together!" she said with a nod of her head as her smile grew and he grinned as he nodded his head as well.

"That's the spirit!" He said as he rose to his feet and put his hand out to her. "Now get up and go get your woman!" He said and she giggled and nodded her head as she took his hand and allowed him to help her back to her feet.

"Thanks Yuj!" she said before pulling him into a hug. He blushed slightly as he returned it before she pulled back. "I'm going to go now! I'll talk to you later and tell you how it goes!" she said with another nod before running off. He sighed as he watched her go before putting his hands on his hips and shaking his head slightly with a small smile.

"Done with the chit-chattin' I see." Fang sighed as she walked into the kitchen to find only Lightning sitting at the table. Serah appearing to have been gone for sometime. Lightning said nothing as she reminded in the seat Serah had told her to sit in. Fang looked around the kitchen and her eyes feel on the plate full of cold scrambled eggs. "Damn Sunshine. Didn't know you were one for wastin' food. I would have ate this shit." She said as she walked over to it and stared down at it. "I'm hungry…,"She mumbled.

"Fang" Lightning sighed her name and Fang turned around to look at her.

"What is it Love?" she asked as she eyed her.

"Tell me…that you love Vanille." She said as she turned in her chair to look up at her. Fang arched an eyebrow.

"Excuse me?" she chuckled as she walked around the table to sit where Serah once was. "Your kiddin' right?" she asked and the look on Lightning's face told her otherwise. She frowned slightly as she watched her. "Why? What the hell was you and your clone in here talkin' 'bout huh?" she asked with another arched eyebrow.

"I just need to hear you say it Fang. Just tell me. Just say 'I love Vanille.' I need to hear you say it." Lightning sighed as she leaned closer towards her. Fang stared at her for a moment.

"No. Not until you tell me why." She said while shaking her head and Lightning clenched her teeth before she looked down at the table and relaxed once more allowing the frown to take over her face once more.

"I just need to know that if…you and Vanille don't work out that it wasn't my fault…I don't want to be responsible for ruining your relationship because you and Vanille have a good relationship Fang. I don't want to be the one that messed that up." She said and Fang sighed as she rolled her eyes.

"Damn it Lightnin'." She sighed as she shook her head while running her fingers through her hair before looking back to the other girl who was still staring down at the table. "Look here for me." She said as she leaned across the table. Lightning's frown only increased and she turned her head away slightly refusing to look up at Fang. Fang frowned as she watched her before she reached over and took Lightning's hand in her own. She pulled it towards her. "Look here I said." She said more sternly and Lightning looked to their hands before slowly looking up to meet Fang's eyes. "Nothin' that happens between me and Vanille is any of your fault alright? Nothin'. You hear me? If my relationship with Vanille goes sour, it's because of me. Not you. Got it?" she asked.

Lightning looked away as she nodded her head. "I got it…,"She mumbled and Fang nodded her head as she continued to watch her before slowly brushing her thumb along the back of Lightning's hand. Lightning looked back down towards their hands. She watched Fang's thumb move along her hand slightly before Fang held her hand tighter and she responded by making her grip tighter as well before looking up at her once again. Her eyes quickly darted to the door at seeing something from the corner of her eye and she gasped slightly as her eyes met Vanille's and she quickly yanked her hand out of Fang's.

Fang quickly looked over her shoulder at the look on Lightning's face. Vanille stood silently with a frown and tears in her eyes. Fang's mouth fell open a bit but no words came out. "I'm breaking up with you…" Vanille whispered and both Fang's and Lightning's eyes widened as the tears began to make their way down Vanille's cheeks.

"…What?" Fang whispered as her eyebrows came together and her eyes narrowed slightly in confusion as she stared at Vanille.

"I'm breaking up with you Fang!" Vanille said much louder as a sob made its way up her throat. She quickly covered her mouth as she turned away. "I-I can't do this…,"She whispered before rushing out.

"V-Vanille!" Fang yelled as she quickly jumped up from her seat and chased the younger girl into the living room. Lightning reminded seated still slightly shocked. "Wait a damn minute Vanille!" Fang yelled but Vanille continued her beeline for the door. She opened it and Fang slammed her hand against it causing the door to slam shut. "Damn it Vanille Dia Oerba! I'm fuckin' talkin' to you! You turn around right now and tell me why!" she yelled at the other girls back. Vanille's shoulders shook as she tired not to cry and Fang's anger quickly melted away at noticing how hard this was for Vanille. "Vanille…come on. Talk to me a bit first will ya?" she asked.

"I see the way you look at her…" She whispered and Fang clenched her teeth as she removed her hand from the door and backed away from Vanille allowing the smaller girl to turn around and face her with tears in her eyes and her fist balled up. Fang looked away from her as she felt her eyebrows come together.

"Vanille…what you walked in on…we was just…It's not what you think." She sighed and closed her eyes knowing she was lying to herself and to Vanille. Vanille released a sarcastic little chuckle and Fang looked back to her just in time to watch her shake her head.

"You can't even lie about it Fang! You and Lightning have this thing going on! I can see it!" she yelled and Fang sighed as Lightning came from out of the kitchen and stood in the doorway of the living room to watch on silently. "I don't think you've slept with her yet but… I know you will sooner or later and I don't want it to by while you're with me!" she yelled.

"Vanille-"

"Don't Fang! We've been falling apart for a while now…We've both noticed and we haven't tried to do anything about it. Why is that Fang? Huh? It's because we want to move on from each other…You want Lightning." She said as she looked over at the other girl. Lightning quickly looked away from her. She didn't want to see that pain and hurt directed at her. Vanille looked back to Fang as she took in another deep breath. "I care about you Fang…I love you…so I'm going to let you go now before this gets out of hand…before you cheat on me with her and ruin any chance of us ever being just friends because if I can't have you as a girlfriend I at least want you as a friend." She said and it was silent as they stared at each other before Fang slowly nodded her head.

"I see…"She said as continued to nod her head. "And your right…I probably would have ended up sleepin' with Lightnin' while bein' with you." She said and Vanille looked away from her as she closed her eyes the tears falling down her cheeks faster because of it. "And because of that I'm sorry Vanille. I haven't been treatin' you right at all and you deserve somebody better. Much better" She said.

"Your damn right I do." She sniffed as she whipped her eyes. Fang allowed a small smile to come to her lips at her reply before she walked over to her.

"The point is we were always better off as best friends and I think that's the way it always should be." She said as she cupped her face and Vanille nodded her head. Fang leaned forward and kissed the top of her forehead before leaning back and whipping her tears away. "I want you to be happy Vanille and my mix and confused emotions let me know that I could never give you true happiness." She said and Vanille nodded her head.

"I want you to be happy too and you masturbating while thinking of Light let me know that I couldn't give you true happiness either…,"She mumbled with a pout. Fang's eyes widened slightly as Lightning's eyes narrowed and she blushed.

"What?" they both said at once and Vanille sighed.

"I don't want to talk about it right now. Maybe a couple of years from now I can tell the whole story over a Sunday dinner and we can all laugh about it then but….It's still kind of painful to know right now…'she whispered and Fang nodded her head as she removed her hands from her face. "I'm going to…go get some air…,"she said as she stepped back from Fang who nodded her head slowly with a small frown.

"Don't stay out to late…,"She mumbled as she looked away from her. Vanille walked out the apartment and silence filled the room. Fang sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck before turning around to face Lightning. Lightning frowned at her before looking away. Fang put her hands on her hips. "I know what you're thinkin'." She mumbled and Lightning's eyes narrowed as she continued to stare at the ground. Fang walked towards her. "And it's not your fault." She said while shaking her head.

"But I-"

"It ain't your fault Light." Fang said as she stopped in front of her. "You heard what she said. We been rocky for sometime now." She said while shaking her head before she cupped her chin and made her look up at her. "You shouldn't be feelin' any kind of guilt Sunshine. None what's so ever." She said as a small smirk came to her lips. "Vanille breakin' up with me might actually turn out to be a good thing." She said as her thumb brushed along her lower lip. Lightning nodded her head as she looked away from her again.

"Maybe…"She whispered.

Fang chuckled softly before releasing a heavy sigh and turning around to sit down on the sofa. She ran her fingers though her hair and Lightning watched her with a small frown. "I mean damn…Me and Vanille have been goin' out for so long I forget what it feels like to be single." She chuckled as she continued to run her fingers though her hair. Lightning watched noticing how Fang's hands shook slightly as she combed her fingers though her hair.

"Are you…alright?" she asked as her eyebrows came in slightly and Fang released a small chuckle.

"Of course I am Sunshine. What would make you ask that?" she asked before Lightning walked more into the room and sat down next to her on the sofa. Fang clenched her teeth and her eyes narrowed as she watched her. "What? I don't need any kind of pity you know." She said as she looked away from her.

"I know Fang...but even though you have these growing feelings for me it doesn't change the fact that you had and probably still have strong feelings for Vanille." She said and placed her hand on her back. "And you just said it yourself. You two have been dating for a really long time. It's okay to admit Fang…that your heart broken over this." She said as she rubbed her back softly. Fang chuckled as she palmed her eyes while rested her elbows on her knees. She chuckled once again but this time it came out a bit shaky.

"That obvious huh?" she asked and Lightning frowned as she continued to rub her back.

"It'll be alright Fang…you'll see." She mumbled as she moved Fang's hand from her face and held it in her own ignoring the bit of moister she felt there.

Poor Vanille! I felt really bad writing this chapter and yes Fang is crying at the end of the chapter for those of you who don't know why the palm of her hands are wet when Lightning takes them. Even though Fang is falling out of love with Vanille and falling in love with Lightning I still wanted her to be upset and hurt at the lost of Vanille which is why I had her try to stop Vanille from breaking up with her and had her crying at the end of the chapter. Anyways thanks for reading! Don't forget to leave a review.