A/N: So, it's been some time. Sorry about that. I've had some major life changes (for the good!) happening, but it's left me with very little time to do anything. Since the muse has been finicky for a while, its hard to find the drive as well.
If you're looking forward to one of my other stories, be assured that I am working on a chapter of 'Don't Forget My Name' at this time as well. 'Sister, My Sister' will be delayed for a little while longer and may see an update in November.
It was a giggle. She couldn't have mistook it for anything else.
Serah's bubbly giggle.
If she had to witness anymore public displays of affection between her sister and Snow she thought she just might vomit.
Another giggle with a flirty lilt. She heard that giggle way too many times in her life. That was Serah's obnoxious, little noise for Snow's stupid jokes.
"Hey, Light!" greeted Hope.
Eavesdropping wasn't her style, nor was being caught off-guard, but when Hope's soft voice liked to have pierced her eardrums, she reacted with a start.
"Hey." she greeted quietly, turning her body deliberately toward him and away from the obvious voices behind the door, but kept an ear open.
Eyeing Hope suspiciously, she questioned without speaking.
"I was, uh, going to get a snack -"
"Serah!" An unfamiliar voice boomed, causing Lightning's adrenaline to spike, and she took a quick step toward the kitchen door. "You said -"
Hope caught her elbow and shook his head, stopping her advance on the unknown situation. They looked at eachother's concentrating faces, both unseeing, both awaiting Serah's reply.
"I know what I said." Serah snapped, then sighed. "It's just not ... the right time yet."
"It'll never be the right time with you, will it?" the voice demanded, gaining a few haughty decibels.
Lightning squinted, listening intently, though she couldn't tear her eyes away from Hope's. He looked just as baffled as she was.
"I have to be... delicate." Serah added.
Delicate?
Lightning's eyes flitted away and back to the kitchen door.
Who was Serah talking to? What was going on?
"I know." The other voice sounded hesitant. "I don't want him to get hurt."
"Then just let me deal with him."
"But the stress..."
Lightning's eyebrow arched.
Him? Is she talking about Snow?
"Don't worry about me. I'll see you tomorrow night. Eight o'clock." cooed Serah softly, her voice muffled at the end of her sentence, punctuated with a quick, wet smacking sound.
This time Lightning grappled onto Hope's arm, yanking the kid around the corner and into the living room to hide. Once out of sight, she kept her face turned toward the threshold to see what she could, but didn't want to know bad enough who Serah had been talking to to risk discovery.
She had a feeling this wasn't going to be the end, anyhow.
The front door opened and closed as the guest was shown out, Serah none the wiser to her eavesdropping older sister and friend.
Light footsteps made their way upstairs and once the sounds were gone, the tension in Lightning's shoulders relaxed even though a frown tugged at the corners of her mouth.
"What the heck was that?" Hope spoke, still hushed.
The pink-haired soldier could only shake her head.
"Will you get that done before everyone starts to show up, Snow? I don't want a big mess all over the yard!"
Serah seemed to be on edge since he'd returned from town. There were a million different reasons she might have been a little stressed out. The party, her sister, their baby...
"This?" he motioned to the swing laying in pieces strewn all across the lawn and then flashed a confident smile. "Oh yeah. I got this."
Serah regarded him in silent skepticism for a moment then turned on her heel and headed back into the house. He watched her go, his smile disappearing as quickly as the screen door slammed. There was definitely something eating her; she wasn't usually snippy – that had always been Lightning's thing.
Looking back down at the 'mess' surrounding him, he checked his watch.
It was little later than he thought.
"Well, I better get started."
First he glanced at the booklet of assembly instructions, but scoffed.
Heroes don't need instructions.
Grabbing a marked board, he turned it around in his hand, trying to discern which side was supposed to be used first and where. Picking up another in his other hand, his eyes narrowed as he attempted to piece together the various bits in his head.
Picking up piece after piece, Snow began to get an idea of how it was put together and soon he was screwing pieces together left and right, the swing finally taking shape.
The sun was hot overhead in the cloudless sky, the day shaping up to be a little hotter than usual. Taking a second to appreciate it, he peeled off his dampened shirt and chugged a glass of what once was the ice water Serah had brought him earlier. Ice having long since melted, it still tasted good running over the edges of the glass, down his chin, leaving warm, tickly trails in its wake down his barrel chest; perfectly refreshing even without the chill.
With a big, silly sigh, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and stretched, enjoying the warmth on his bare skin.
What a great day. It'd be a great night too if he had anything to do with it. Serah was looking forward to having everyone around again; Lightning included.
At the thought of her name, he glanced up at the window to the room the older Farron occupied.
And there she was standing in the window; staring at him.
He could see her pretty petal-coloured hair and white skin from where he stood in the yard, but it was her bright eyes, unblinking, that unnerved him a little. It wasn't the look of a casual glance, though. Perhaps she had been watching him from there.
And after a moment of her strange stare, he waved at her good-naturedly only to have her turn away.
Batting a hundred on the cold shoulders.
She couldn't enjoy herself. It just wasn't going to happen. Maybe it was predestined, but sitting in the company of her old comrades-in-arms and Snow's little gang didn't feel right anymore. Lightning hadn't ever really fit in with any of them; the only one she felt some sort of kinship with had been the kid. He obviously felt some connection with her as well, because it had been hard to shake him since they'd arrived, and tonight he'd taken a seat right beside her shortly after the gathering had begun.
"You don't look like you're having much fun." Hope commented both carefully and quietly.
Her eyes shifted to him, and then blinked away, back to the group playing croquet. How could she be having any fun? She couldn't stop thinking about what she'd overheard that afternoon between Serah and whoever it was she had been talking to. It really sounded like some form of illicit affair, but would Serah really do such a thing? And to Snow of all people? And why?
When had things gotten so complicated?
While I was out playing soldier, I guess.
And where had all that even got her? Sure, she had her own company of soldiers to lead and look after, but she wasn't much more than a glorified babysitter these days; no one to tell her why but everyone expecting her to carry out her duty like a good little lap dog. It didn't really matter, however. She ran her drills, filled in her paperwork, did what she was ordered and tried to avoid things like going home early, vacations, people like her little sister and Snow Villiers.
Snow was on the far side of the lawn, his humongous frame dwarfing the croquet mallet he held in his big mitts. He kept on whacking the ball too hard, having it veer completely off course and away from all of the little white, wire wickets.
And as a result, he was losing.
But he was laughing.
The whole time.
He was laughing.
It was a deep, pleasant rumbling. He had a nice laugh. She'd never noticed it before, and joined with the others laughter, it rang through the valley; happy and light-hearted.
Lightning looked at Serah who wasn't playing with the rest, but sitting beside Snow's young friend, Maqui. Lightning remembered Maqui as a high school friend of Serah's. She never had much to do with him personally, and since she discovered and he and Snow were close, she regarded him a little critically for choosing Snow as his role model.
They were deep in conversation, neither one of them even paying the slightest bit of attention to the raucous over the croquet game.
From what she heard earlier, she didn't have to wonder too much about why Serah wasn't hanging off Snow as she had been before.
Which Lightning thought was absolute bullshit.
If she was involved with one of Snow's friends, then she should at least let the brute off the hook and come clean. Snow, from what Lighting saw, was nothing but loyal, attentive and accepting of her little sister. And since he saved her life, she owed him that much.
She took a deep swig of her potent beverage. More alcohol, less girlie was her taste; but Serah had insisted she at least have one of those little umbrellas. It looked pretty silly in the whisky glass though...
Whether Lightning liked it was another story... but she figured Serah could have done worse for herself... and may have been doing worse for herself at this very moment. She may not have agreed with whatever Serah was getting mixed up in, but she had to remind herself that her little sister was an adult now and the actions that governed her life were completely up to her now.
She has no idea what she's throwing away. Lightning considered, still watching Snow attempt to control his brawn, but ultimately failing; so obvious he was trying to do well.
No way he could exercise finesse. He lacked the patience and skill to do anything delicate – the big hoss. He had incredible strength though, she had to admit, and was really handy in a fight. Tall and broad in all the right places, he could carry the entirety of NORA without breaking a sweat.
And this afternoon when she saw him out the window, all sweaty and shirtless; the light playing off his skin like it was glowing... those rivulets of water dripping down all those right places... She stood looking out the window watching him put the swing together – that she and Hope were currently sitting on – as if it were a child's toy, and quite quickly for a man with his specific skillset.
Lightning shook her head.
What the hell was she doing?
Complimenting Snow? Really?
At least it wasn't to his face or out loud; that would have been mortifying.
Snatching the silly umbrella from her short glass, she flung it on the ground and hastily downed the rest of her drink, with Hope watching bewildered.
She was either too drunk or not drunk enough but it was obvious she wasn't in her right mind, because what she did next was a huge mistake...