AN: This chapter unfortunately took me a bit longer to complete than I would've liked - sorry for that guys, I know you've been excited to read Fang and Vanille's next date. I just haven't been feeling too well lately and that hindered my efforts to proofread the chapter, that's why it took a few days longer than I thought.
But enough with that, I'm feeling better now and I hope you enjoy reading! :)
Chapter Seven
Vanille was so excited, she had been running around the house for nearly an hour now, doing all kinds of more or less important things.
She shot another glance to the clock on the wall. Fang would be here in about half an hour. She still couldn't believe she had called her yesterday. But she had, it was no illusion. Not at all.
She smiled widely as she remembered Serah's reaction. Her best friend had been eternally happy for her, and of course the younger Farron had insisted to point out how she'd been right that Fang would not let Vanille down and call her with a big "I've known it all along" smile on her lips.
Vanille sighed as she stood once more before her wardrobe. She still couldn't decide what to wear, same problem as usual. And this time, Serah couldn't help her choose. Her best friend was on a date herself with Snow.
After some more minutes of thinking the matter through, Vanille just shook her head. "Whatever, I just pick something now!", she said out loudly to herself before blindly reaching inside the wardrobe, grabbing the first garment her hand touched.
She nodded contentedly as her gaze fell upon the green top in her hand. "That'll do!", she said happily before reaching inside the wardrobe again, this time to find a skirt.
The skirt her hand came into contact with first made her nod in approval again. It was a khaki skirt which would look good on her with the green top, she was sure. She completed the outfit with some open shoes and finally a silver necklace.
As she glanced at the clock again, she was a bit shocked to realise that it was already quarter to eight. She would be here in a few minutes. Vanille quickly went downstairs and found Lightning in the living room, tidying up.
The policewoman turned around the moment Vanille entered the room. "You look good", she approved of the girl's outfit with a slight smile on her face.
"Thank you. I hope Fang will like it too!", Vanille exclaimed excitedly at which Lightning rolled her eyes before turning around again to resume tidying up the shelf before her.
Vanille sat down on the couch and watched some TV and it wasn't much later when they heard the doorbell. "That must be Fang!", Vanille cried out.
"You stay here. I'll get it", Lightning ordered and before Vanille even had a chance to react the policewoman had already stormed off to the door.
Fang nervously looked around while waiting for Vanille to answer the door. She hoped she had really rung at the right house.
Her gaze immediately shot back to the door as she heard it open. But it was not Vanille who stood before her.
Fang smirked when she saw that in fact, it was the girl's housemate Lightning.
She had already briefly seen her when the pink-haired woman had picked Vanille up after their first date, and it had already been then that she'd gotten the impression Lightning wasn't really fond of her. Especially when she considered what Vanille had told her about the woman's hostility towards each and every boyfriend of Serah.
She had a hunch Lightning wouldn't treat her much differently. Vanille wasn't Serah, sure, but from what the redhead had told her, she had gathered that Lightning pretty much saw her as some sort of second sister, so it was likely that Vanille shared almost all of Serah's 'privileges'.
"Hey, I'm Fang, nice to finally meet ya in person. I'm here to pick up Vanille", the guitarist began, her smirk widening a little as she reached out her hand politely to Lightning.
Lightning kept the stoic expression on her face, completely ignoring the reached out hand as she only nodded curtly and flatly said "Come in" before walking inside.
Such a warm welcome, she absolutely loves me already apparently., Fang joked inwardly while following the woman inside.
Lightning could've directly led her to the living room where Vanille was waiting for her. The concerned policewoman, however, had something else to take care of beforehand. And so she did, as she abruptly stood still in the middle of the hallway and turned around to the slightly taller woman behind her.
"There's something I want to mention before you drive off with her", Lightning calmly said with a coolness to her voice that could've made hell froze over.
"Sure, bring it on", Fang nonchalantly answered with a hand on her hip. She had a feeling she knew what awaited her already.
Lightning's voice was barely above a whisper now as she spoke, her eyes coldly staring back at Fang. They seemed to pierce right through her very being.
"Listen, I'm only gonna warn you about this once. If you fuck her over, if you hurt her in any way, I will break you, and I mean it. Is that clear?", the pink-haired woman threatened, her face only inches away from Fang's, her hands firmly placed on the guitarist's shoulders. Her facial expression was completely absent of emotion, stoic.
Even though Fang could feel the seriousness of the threat not only physically by the painful grip on her shoulders but also emotionally, she couldn't help but smirk at it. In a way, it was just adorable how Lightning got all protective over Vanille.
She quickly resumed a more serious expression, though, as she began to speak. "I understand your concern, really, I do.", she started, trying to ignore the coldness in the blue hues that stared back at her.
She saw that Lightning opened her mouth to say something but Fang quickly beat her to it, continuing her explanation.
Completely occupied with each other, the two women, however, did not notice that in the meantime, Vanille had come looking for them just in time to silently watch Fang explaining herself to her housemate from the doorframe to the living room down the hallway.
"As I said, I can absolutely see why you're sceptical about this. And I guess whatever in the world I may say now, you probably won't believe one word of it because you don't trust me, and again, I see your point.", Fang tried diplomatically, her voice calm and serious.
"So I guess all I can do is ask you for a chance to try and show you that I don't intend to hurt Vanille in any way. More I can't do. So please, just give me this chance. My words, obviously, can't convince you but maybe my actions can.", Fang continued calmly. And she was even a little surprised herself at her diplomatic attitude towards Lightning. Normally, it would've been much more like her to mock the pink-haired woman for her hostility.
But not now. And it seemed she was successful, as Lightning slowly loosened her grip on the brunette's shoulders before stepping back a little, nodding.
"Okay", the policewoman finally said, her voice much more peaceful now and the hostility absent from her blue eyes again as she gazed at Fang.
"You have your chance. But remember my words. They still count, and I will not hold back should it be necessary to protect Vanille from you", she reminded Fang seriously.
The guitarist nodded understandingly and Vanille, who had been watching the whole scene, quickly withdrew to the living room so as not to be caught.
But Fang's words stayed in her mind, and it made her feel good about her. She'd assured Lightning she wouldn't want to hurt Vanille, and even though she could've just said that, there had just been so much honesty to her words that Vanille believed her without doubt.
The two women turned around and walked down the rest of the hallway together before entering the living room where Vanille sat in front of the TV, pretending to have watched all the time.
She turned her head when Lightning and Fang entered. "Hey guys, it took you a while", she happily stated before switching the TV off and getting up.
"Yeah we talked and got to know each other a little", Fang explained nonchalantly with her typical smirk. Lightning glared at her, obviously not too happy about her little joke.
"I see", Vanille answered with a smile, trying to pretend she hadn't in fact watched them 'getting to know each other a little' in the hallway.
"So, are ya ready to leave?", Fang asked and Vanille only nodded, picking up her purse from the couch.
They made their way to the door with Lightning directly behind them and when they stood outside, the policewoman gave Fang a reminding look again before wishing them a nice evening and closing the door behind them.
Fang gentlemanly opened the door of her car for Vanille to get in before closing it behind her and taking a second to look around for paparazzi. But apparently, she'd done a good job in losing them on her way here - something she'd grown quite good at since they'd gotten famous - and so none of the nasty guys was to be seen. Perfect.
Nodding confidently, she got in the car, not wanting to keep Vanille waiting. She smiled contentedly to her as she started the engine.
"Is this your car?", Vanille curiously asked when they drove down the street.
Fang laughed a little. "No, I rented it. My own car is at my apartment in Eden"
The brunette shortly glanced over to the girl beside her and she was certain she saw a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. "Oh. When do you have to go back?"
"We'll be stayin' here for another two or three weeks for holiday", Fang explained truthfully. She didn't mention that there was an option for the band to move to Bodhum and work there in the future if the record label and the guys agreed.
Seeing that she wanted to find out if it was in fact something serious with Vanille first before setting everything in motion to try and move to Bodhum, she didn't think it was right to tell the girl about this option now.
Even more so because Sazh had briefly talked to her before she'd driven off to the date, mentioning that there'd be some serious matter regarding the record label they'd have to discuss tonight once Fang was back. She had a hunch that - whatever it was - it'd have an impact on the idea to move.
"I see", Vanille responded quietly, staring down at her hands.
Fang, noticing the girl's momentary sadness, decided to quickly change the subject. She didn't want to see her unhappy, much less so on a date.
"You look great, by the way", she said, smiling over to the girl and it seemed to work as a smile once again played around her lips.
"Thank you, Fang. You look great, too, even though it's nothing like your usual style today!", Vanille voiced her thoughts about Fang's outfit. To say she'd been surprised when she'd first laid eyes on the outfit tonight would be an understatement.
And it was true, Fang was indeed wearing a sort of clothes she normally only wore in private but never on stage: She had gone for a white skirt that was a little longer than knee-length, a blue shirt with a low neckline and open shoes with small heels.
"Yeah you're right about that, sweetheart. I only wear stuff like this in private and only rarely so.", she explained with a smile but her gaze focused on the road.
"I'm glad ya like it", she added after a moment.
Vanille nodded approvingly. "By the way, will you tell me now where we're headed?", she asked, her voice laced with curiosity.
"We're almost there, you'll see in a second", Fang smirked before taking a right onto a parking place. When she stopped the car and turned off the engine, Vanille stared in wonder.
"The beach? You're taking me to the beach?", she asked.
"Yep. You don't like it?", Fang replied while they were getting out of the car.
"I didn't say that", Vanille smiled as they wandered off together. She gasped softly in surprise, however, when she saw that apparently, Fang had really done her preparations and had somehow managed to get the city authorities to cordon off the area of the beach they were at for the evening.
Seeing her reaction, Fang smirked at the girl. "I didn't want us to be disturbed by nasty reporters or fans.", she answered the question that was written so clearly on Vanille's face.
Vanille nodded in understanding as Fang led her to a small restaurant that overlooked the beach. The sight was astonishing and it made the meals they enjoyed there even better.
And slowly, Vanille got a little, just a little used to the thought that there was an entire beach area cordoned off just for her and Fang's date. But that was just one of these unusual things you experienced when dating a famous rockstar, she guessed with an inward smile.
The sun was slowly disappearing and painted the sky in a deep orange as they left the restaurant. They stood outside, just watching the ocean for some moments before Fang broke the silence.
"Wanna take a walk on the beach?", she suggested nonchalantly. In her dream, they had been doing this as well, she wanted to see if it would turn out just as wonderful in reality.
"I'd love that", Vanille replied before beginning to walk down the stairs from the restaurant to the sandy beach with Fang following her. Once the girl was on the last stair, she took off her shoes, carrying them in her left hand.
She waited for Fang to do the same before their gazes met for a brief moment and Vanille offered the older woman her free hand. Fang took the smaller hand in hers without thinking twice, smiling as they wandered through the still warm sand together.
They walked in a comfortable silence until they got to the water and went inside a little, continuing to saunter down the almost completely empty beach together.
Slowly, Vanille stopped, turning to face the ocean. Fang stood beside her, tightening the grip of her hand on the girl's a little and received an approving squeeze from her.
"It's really wonderful here tonight. I've been here on the beach numerous times, often with Serah, but still it feels different tonight ... special", Vanille finally said with such a calm voice that it almost got lost in the wind.
"I'm glad you like it", Fang responded, feeling utterly at peace right now.
"I do. The evening was really great and...", she paused, a slight blush coming to her face before she continued a bit shyly. "...and romantic, you know", Vanille smiled, the blush on her face more visible now.
Fang smiled. The statement warmed her heart. In fact, it warmed her so much she felt the sudden urge to kiss the girl beside her. But she wasn't sure if this wouldn't be too early or plainly too bold for Vanille, so she approached it slowly and with care.
"You know ... we could make it even more romantic", Fang began carefully, turning a little so she was now facing Vanille.
"W-what do you mean by that..?", Vanille self-consciously asked while turning around herself to face the brunette.
Fang made a step towards the girl so that she stood directly before her, their bodies only inches apart.
"Kiss me, Vanille.", she whispered. Her jade eyes stared back at Vanille's emerald ones, and there was a fire burning in them as she spoke these three words, hoping Vanille wouldn't deny her that which she craved so much right now.
It seemed like she got all the answer she needed as she saw that very same fire burn in the girl's eyes that her own gaze held. She wanted it.
But she saw something else there as well. Fear. She was afraid, but why?
"I- I...", Vanille stammered helplessly, both fear and love fighting for dominance inside her.
Fang smiled softly as she leaned forward slowly without another word, trying her luck.
All resistance was broken as her lips made contact with Vanille's own soft ones. And as they engaged in their first kiss, Fang realised why Vanille had been hesitating moments ago.
It was her very first kiss, obviously. It all made sense to Fang now as she taught the inexperienced girl how to kiss.
Slowly, Vanille began to relax more and wrapped her arms around Fang's waist, pulling her closer to her body.
Fang snaked her own hands slowly around the girl's body as well, one hand landing on her back, the other on her hip.
Their kiss grew more intense and Fang decided to take the next step, carefully seeking permission to enter the girl's mouth with her tongue.
Vanille complied almost immediately and opened her mouth. Both released a pleased moan into the kiss as their tongues met. Vanille was still a little shy, letting Fang lead and dominate the kiss, trying to learn from the experienced brunette.
And slowly, as the need for air became too great, the two broke apart, both breathing audibly. Their gazes didn't leave each other's for one second as they just stood there, still holding each other.
And they both noticed that this kiss had changed something between them. It was as if the simple and yet so meaningful act had managed to make them feel so much more at ease with each other now, so much more ... intimate. It made them feel so connected, just as if they'd already known each other for a lifetime. It was as though a big part of an invisible barrier between the two had broken, just like that.
"That was really good for your first kiss, ya know", Fang finally broke the silence with a loving smile on her lips.
Vanille blushed, suddenly looking away from Fang in shame.
"Hey, nothing bad about that", Fang said softly, placing her hand on the girl's cheek to make her look at her again. "I don't mind, really. And as I said: you were pretty good considering that it was the first time you did this"
"R-Really?", Vanille tentatively responded, slowly tilting her head to lock eyes with Fang again.
"Yeah, really", Fang nodded and Vanille smiled gladly, relaxing once more.
"See, that's much better", the guitarist approved before placing a soft kiss on her forehead, still holding the embrace.
"So, what now?", she asked while wiping a strand of dark hair from her face.
"Mhh...", Vanille contorted her face, obviously in thought. But it wasn't long before it lightened up again and a slightly devilish smile found its way on her lips.
"I've got an idea", the redhead announced before freeing herself from the embrace and running off, slowly at first.
Fang stared at her in complete confusion before the girl stopped some metres away from her, turning around. "Catch me if you caaaan", she shouted over to Fang before running further off again, giggling.
"Ohhh just you wait till I get ya, love!", Fang exclaimed with a devilish smile of her own as she ran after the girl.
Both laughed playfully as Fang finally managed to catch Vanille, throwing her arms around her abdomen to hold her in place. "Gotcha", she laughed before letting the girl go again.
The redhead giggled happily before leaning forward, placing a quick peck on Fang's lips, who was totally caught off guard by the sudden unusually bold action of the girl. Not that she had any complaints, though.
They decided to sit down in the sand for some more minutes to enjoy the ocean and see the last rays of sunlight slowly disappear. It was almost dark when they
Fang accompanied the girl to the house and when the redhead noticed she had forgotten her key Fang rang the doorbell.
She turned to face her when all of a sudden, something came to her mind and it seemed her hand acted out of its own as it disappeared in her pocket, taking out an old small piece of paper.
"Do ya have a pen or somethin'?", she asked the girl, who had an irritated look on her face but nodded, quickly finding the pencil in her purse she always carried with her alongside other useful things.
"Thanks", Fang reached for the pencil and wrote something on the paper before handing it to Vanille.
"This is my number. Please don't give it to others without askin' me for permission beforehand. I trust you on that", she explained before looking down in thought for a brief moment. There were still these nasty doubts raging inside her, telling her that it had been wrong to just give her the number after only the second date.
And more so the doubts inside her mercilessly tried to keep her from telling the girl openly what she felt right now. But there was no use, as she wiped her doubts and fears away completely, if only for a moment, to be able to say what her heart screamed.
The brunette didn't notice, however, how the door opened and both Serah and Lightning stood in the doorframe in silence, listening to her explaining her feelings to Vanille.
"Listen, I know that this was only our second date and you have all the right in the world to laugh at me or whatever if this sounds ridiculous to you, but I just wanted to let you know that this all means somethin' to me", she explained, her gaze fixed firmly on Vanille's.
"You mean somethin' to me, Vanille, this is how I feel. I realised this tonight. I never thought I could feel this way about someone, especially not after only knowing her for a few days, but seems that reality proved me wrong", she added with a soft smile.
Her features lightened up even more as the redhead answered with a smile of her own, her ability to speak momentarily lost at the heart-warming words.
But she quickly found her voice again. "I feel the same, Fang. And no, it's not ridiculous. Some might find it fast, hasty even, and maybe it is, but who cares if it feels right for the both of us?", Vanille smiled, taking Fang's hands in hers. She had certainly lost a good part of her shyness towards Fang during the evening, especially after their kiss.
Fang went to say something when she was interrupted by someone to her left clearing their throat. She jumped a little in surprise, turning her head to see Serah and Lightning standing in the doorway.
Serah had a huge grin on her face and even Lightning could not hide the hint of a soft smile on her lips.
"Sorry for kinda spying on you guys but we didn't want to interrupt", Serah apologised and Vanille immediately blushed. Even Fang smiled sheepishly now as Serah began to laugh happily.
"This was really cute, you know", the younger Farron enthusiastically commented on the scene she had witnessed but was quickly elbowed by Lightning.
"Come on Serah, let's go inside and give them some more privacy, or would you want Vanille and me spying on you and Snow?", Lightning reprimanded her sister before dragging her inside, nodding apologetically to the women who stood there completely dumbstruck.
Vanille was the first to find her voice again. "Well, that was strange!", she exclaimed happily, followed by some giggling.
Fang couldn't help but smirk herself. "Yeah, you're right about that."
"And you're also right about what you said before we were interrupted. If it feels right for us then it is right.", Fang verbalised her agreement while softly stroking over the hands that still held hers.
"Yep", Vanille nodded. She turned her head to the still open door. "So I guess, uhm ... it's time to say goodbye, for tonight", she emphasised the last part on purpose and it cast a smile on Fang's face.
"Okay, then good night and sleep tight, Vanille", Fang said while letting the girl's hands go and slowly stepping back a little. She was just about to turn around and make her way back to her car when Vanille harrumphed.
"Don't you think you've forgotten something?", she smiled a bit cheekily though it belied her inner surprise at how much more forward she'd become towards Fang after they'd shared their first kiss.
It seemed that a good part of the fear inside her that had forced her to hold back and be shy had been erased by that one kiss. The kiss that had not only been her very first but had, moreover, proven her that indeed she meant something to Fang. She was glad that she felt more comfortable with the brunette now, that her trust in her had grown.
Fang found herself smirking as she realised in an instant what Vanille meant. She obliged immediately, stepping closer to the girl again before placing her hand softly on her cheek.
"Tch, how dare I..", Fang scolded herself jokingly. She just wanted to lean in for the kiss when Vanille beat her to it, quickly closing the remaining distance between them, pressing her lips against Fang's.
The older woman smiled into the kiss, enjoying the girl's increased boldness, though she still had to get used to it. But she would, and she was happy that the redhead had opened up to her more. It helped her, too, to feel more at ease.
Their kiss was slow and tender, neither of them in a hurry. They enjoyed every second of it before they reluctantly broke apart, smiling at each other.
"Good night, love", Fang said before stepping back again.
"Good night, Fang", Vanille responded and walked inside, waving again as the older woman had reached the car and turned around once more.
As Fang drove off, the girl closed the door, leaning against it with a big smile on her face. This was just too good to be true. Had someone told her before all this that she would be dating Fang Yun, she would've laughed, taking it as a terrible attempt to be funny.
She was pulled out of her thoughts, however, by Serah who walked around the corner, her huge smile still present on her face. But there was also this odd spark to her eyes, and somehow Vanille had a hunch that Serah had secretly watched their kiss moments ago.
"Seems like your second date worked out quite well, huh?", the younger Farron asked happily, her grin widening suspiciously.
"You've continued watching the entire time, haven't you?", Vanille bluntly asked her and got all the confirmation she needed as Serah blushed, quickly looking away.
"Well, uh ... it was sooo romantic! How was I supposed not to watch?", Serah defended herself weakly.
Vanille could only shake her head. "Typical", she grinned before the two wandered off to the living room where Lightning sat in front of the TV.
"She watched again, didn't she?", the older Farron asked knowingly as she saw the two of them enter. Vanille only nodded whilst sitting down beside her.
"I figured as much. She told me she wanted to go and fetch something to drink from the kitchen but obviously there was something more interesting on the way", Lightning said almost unemotionally, glancing over to Serah with that knowing look still on her face.
The younger Farron could only blush again as she apologised to both of them once more. But no one was really angry at her behaviour, after all it was just so typical for her. And they certainly did not want to change Serah, they loved her the way she was.
They spent another hour watching TV, with Vanille telling them about her date in detail before they went on to more general discussions about this and that and went to bed when fatigue threatened to gain the upper hand.
AN: Please let me know how you liked it! I had a lot of fun writing their date and I'm really happy how it turned out, hope you feel the same :)
About the next chapter, it might take a while again, as I'll be away this coming weekend and therefore my time to write is a bit more limited. But don't worry, I don't think it'll take too long!
Other than that I was very happy they announced that Vanille will be in LR. Sure, wasn't such a big surprise after Fang's appearance was confirmed, but I was still happy about the news. Though I wonder, as she'll be in Luxerion and therefore quite far away from Fang, what might've happened that they've been separated once again, just like in XIII. I'm already dying to find out and pray inwardly that SE hasn't somehow decided to drive them apart so they don't care about each other anymore like before or something like that.
Anyway, just wanted to share my thoughts on that with you - hope I don't talk too much, haha :) LR can't come fast enough!