AN: Phew, next chapter done, and it's the longest so far! I hope you like it, enjoy :)
Chapter Nine
It was a pleasant warm evening as Fang sat in her car, driving the way to Vanille's home. The sun still shone brightly as it was normal for the long days one experienced in summer.
After only a few minutes of driving, the guitarist arrived at Farron's, parking her car near before taking another look around.
Damn it. Not too obvious, but still more than blatant for her practised eye, she spotted a paparazzo in a small car on the other side of the road. She must've been so lost in her thoughts on her way to Farron's that she had failed to shake off this one.
This happened sometimes, unfortunately, and she was happy it was only one - she'd successfully lost the other ones on her way here. She scratched her head as she swiftly made her way over to the man who suddenly looked in every direction but not hers.
She smirked as she knocked against his window and luckily, the man complied and wound it down, looking at her as innocently as possible.
"No excuses, please. I know you're followin' me to take photos 'n stuff.", she cut him off even before he could say one word. Then she quickly took some money out of her wallet so that the man could see.
She held the money up in front of him. "Soooo ... will this convince ya to drive off and leave me alone for tonight?"
He stared at the money, and Fang had to smirk even more as she saw the desire in his eyes. Oh, this trick worked with all of them. You just had to find out their price.
"I think ... we have a deal", the man finally spoke with a hint of a smile and reached out for the money, but Fang was fast and pulled it away before he could get his fingers on it.
"Ah, ah. Wait a minute. One more thing: You forget you've ever seen me here. That also means deleting any photos you've already taken, got that? And I mean now. I'm waitin'", she said and leaned forward again, her gaze fixed on the camera he held in his hands.
The man gulped and quickly deleted the photos under Fang's strict look. After she'd made sure all were deleted, she gave him the money, winked lazily and wandered off with a smile as she heard him start the engine behind her.
When she'd reached the entrance of Farron's, she turned around once more and smiled contentedly with a bit of smugness as she saw the man's car disappearing in the distance.
She rang the doorbell and had to smirk as she remembered the last time she'd done this and had been let in by Lightning only to be aggressively reminded to be good to Vanille right afterwards.
She was sure whoever would open the door tonight, it would be much more pleasant than the last time. And she was right as the door swung open moments later and Vanille stood before her with a big smile on her cute face.
"Hey Fang!", she exclaimed excitedly.
"Hey sweetie", Fang greeted her before hugging her tightly. The embrace was followed by a quick peck on the lips, initiated by Vanille, before the redhead invited her in.
"We still have some time, haven't we? I'd like to introduce you to somebody"
"Sure, I'm a little early anyway", Fang answered while following the girl inside. She headed for the living room, apparently.
As they entered the big room, Fang could see Lightning sitting on the couch with Serah on her left, and beside Serah sat a man she didn't know yet. It must be the guy Vanille wanted to introduce her to.
"Evening guys", Fang greeted them with a smirk. Lightning only responded with an appreciative nod and a little smile while Serah got up, dragging the man beside her up with her only to practically storm right towards Fang to greet her.
"Hey Fang!", she said, smiling.
"Hello Fang, I'm Snow, Serah's boyfriend. Nice meeting you!", the man beside her spoke up, reaching out his big hand.
"Hey Snow, nice meetin' you too", Fang smirked before shaking his hand firmly. But there was something about him she couldn't get out of her head. It was something about his voice, it seemed so ... familiar. But why? She had never met the man before, had only been told a few things about him by Vanille.
"Something wrong?", he asked confusedly, obviously noticing Fang's thoughts raging on as she furrowed her brows a little.
"I don't know, it sounds weird but I feel like I know your voice from somewhere ... that's funny, isn't it?", she laughed.
And all of a sudden, everyone around her was laughing or giggling a little as well. She wondered if her comment had really been so funny or what it was they were laughing about.
"Actually, it's not weird at all. You must know my voice from the radio, I work at Bodhum 101", he explained, smiling.
"Ah, I see!", Fang answered as everything became clear to her. It made sense.
She was suddenly dragged out of their talk, however, as she was poked gently by Vanille.
"I think we need to go, Fang! The movie's starting in a few minutes", the girl piped up.
And so they did. Quickly saying their goodbyes to everyone, they left the house, hopped in the car and made their way to the cinema Vanille had suggested.
"So, you wanted to see that romantic movie, right?", Fang asked as they entered the cinema.
Vanille nodded excitedly. "Yep, definitely!"
Fang sighed with a smile. "Alright. I'm not a fan of those but never mind. We can watch it if that's what you wanna do"
Vanille giggled and linked her arm with Fang's as they went to buy their tickets.
Once they sat and watched the movie, Fang noticed it didn't take her long to regret having given in to Vanille's wish.
She didn't have a problem with romance, no. It was more that she found the women in these movies were often shown as some stupid love-struck girlies that weren't quite capable of thinking for themselves, especially once they found their Prince Charming.
Honestly, she despised that image of women. It was not appealing or cool or whatever at all, no, actually she as a woman felt offended by it more often than not.
But as she didn't want to ruin Vanille's good mood, she just sat there, shut up and watched in silence, hoping it would be over soon.
She smiled as during a particularly romantic scene, the girl took her hand in hers, intertwining their fingers. It made enduring that movie so much easier and soon she was redeemed when they saw the credits appearing on the screen.
"That was cool, huh!", Vanille exclaimed happily as they left the cinema.
"Yeah, totally. I don't get what ya see in these movies, but well ... you had a good time, so it's okay", Fang shrugged as they walked down the way to the parking area.
"Next time we can watch a movie you like! How about that?", Vanille suggested and Fang nodded in agreement, smiling to her. She turned to her when suddenly, Vanille stopped.
"Uhm ... actually, I think I'll need to go inside again ... I drank a bit much", the girl explained a little embarrassedly and Fang nodded again, smirking a little.
"Sure, I'll wait here", she said and leaned against a nearby wall as the redhead walked back to the cinema again.
As she looked around in boredom, she suddenly noticed a familiar-looking woman on the other side of the street. She narrowed her eyes a little in an attempt to figure out who it was, and in that moment, the woman turned her head and spotted her, the smile on her face indicating she'd recognised Fang as she walked over to her.
As the woman came closer, the guitarist realised who she was. Unsurprisingly, she was one of the women Fang had slept with not so long ago. She gulped.
"Hey Fang! What a surprise meeting you here! You remember me?", the blonde woman asked once she'd reached Fang, a suggestive smile on her lips.
The brunette's stomach tied to a knot immediately. It was blatantly obvious already what the woman wanted, why she'd approached her with this suggestive, almost seductive smile on her lips.
"Yeah I do. Rina it was, right?", she tried to play it cool, smirking to the woman. She had to quickly get rid of her before Vanille returned. She didn't want the girl to see this, it would certainly not make a good impression.
"Yes, exactly", Rina replied cheerfully, basking in the feeling that Fang had remembered her name. "You know, it's really a funny coincidence meeting you here! I'm just here on vacation, you see!", she went on excitedly, stepping closer to Fang.
"Uh-huh", Fang replied, smiling to hide how uncomfortable she actually felt and how little she cared about what Rina was telling her.
"Ah, you know ... now that you're here and we met by chance ... how 'bout we go to my place and have some fun? It isn't far away", she offered Fang, revealing what she'd wanted all along. She quickly made another step towards the brunette so that their bodies were almost touching, underlining she meant what she'd said.
With the wall still directly behind her, Fang was unable to move away from her as the woman suddenly threw her hands around her neck, pulling her close.
"No, don't say anything. I know you want it, Fang. Remember our last time? You were soincredibly turned on", the woman said lowly, her eyes filled with desire as she didn't give Fang a chance to word some sort of defence by swiftly closing the remaining distance between them, pressing her lips onto Fang's and pushing her up against the wall.
Vanille hummed contentedly as she made her way back from the toilets out of the cinema to find Fang. She smiled dreamily as she thought about this and that, happy with herself and the world.
Her happiness was violently killed off the moment she walked around the corner and spotted Fang. No, not only Fang. She was standing there, kissing another woman heatedly.
Vanille's mouth hung open widely in surprise as she just stood there frozen for a moment, not believing her own eyes. How... ? Why...? She felt tears running down her cheeks as she fully realised what was happening before her very eyes.
Unable to avert her gaze, she continued staring at the two in utter shock and sadness, seeing how Fang rudely broke the kiss by shoving the woman away.
But her heart was too broken to think about the reasons for that, and as the girl noticed the bus approaching the station on the other side of the road, she quickly ran over to get inside.
All she wanted was to go home, and now. "Vanille! Wait!", she heard Fang call behind her as she ran to the bus, but it only made her run faster. She didn't want this woman to be near her, she didn't want to talk to her.
Her tears flew freely as she sat down inside the bus and buried her face in her hands, crying with loud, desperate sobs. The bus was almost empty, and the few people inside left her alone with her sadness.
When she finally arrived home, she quickly ran up to her room and slammed the door shut, not answering any of the concerned questions Lightning and Serah asked her as she passed them. All she wanted was to be alone.
She cried unrestrainedly as she hugged her pillow, snuggling up against it. She felt so betrayed, so utterly ... hurt. She sobbed even more when she thought that Lightning had been right from the start. She should've listened to her warnings, she should've known Fang wouldn't be able to be faithful to her.
She should've known that Fang was probably not even really interested in her, and had quickly found a new girl - one that would immediately give her what she apparently only wanted: sex.
Sure, it made sense, she thought bitterly. She hadn't spread her legs for the woman, and so she'd lost her patience tonight, after the third date and no signs that Vanille would change that, quickly taking another girl she could immediately drag to bed.
It was only a few moments later when the girl heard both Serah and Lightning on the other side of her door, pleading her to be let in. But as she really wanted to be alone now, she only briefly explained them what had happened before they left her with herself again.
Fang tried to break out of the forced kiss, but Rina was stronger than she'd thought, pinning her to the wall. But no, she didn't want this! She squirmed, trying to get away from the woman, until finally, she managed to shove her away from her, breaking the kiss.
She stared at her in pure anger and balled her hands into fists, gritting her teeth. She was only distracted when she saw Vanille running over to the bus station on the other side of the street, obviously crying.
"Vanille! Wait!", she called out to her, but the girl only ran faster, entering the waiting bus. Fang sighed sadly when it drove off with her. She'd messed up.
No ... Rina had messed up. She turned to the woman again, who still stood there, now staring at Fang completely irritated and dumbstruck, obviously not getting what just happened.
"You...", Fang said, anger building up inside her once again.
"What's wrong?", the woman asked, still confused.
"WHAT'S WRONG? WHAT'S WRONG?", Fang repeated loudly, her fury overwhelming her as she quickly drew her right hand back as if to slap the woman in her face. The woman winced in fearful anticipation, but Fang forced her hand down again, instead balling it to a fist and hitting her own palm in furious frustration.
"You just made my date think I'm bein' unfaithful to her, THAT IS WHAT'S FUCKIN' WRONG", she screamed in pure anger to the woman, whose face lightened up in realisation before changing to a mix of fear and shame.
"I- ... I", she stammered helplessly, now understanding what damage she'd caused. "I'm sorry, Fang ... I thought you wanted this...", she said quietly after a second, looking at the ground in shame.
"It's a little late for excuses", Fang hissed in disgust. "If you'd given me a chance to react before kissin' me, I would've made it perfectly clear that I DON'T WANT TO", she spoke, almost screaming the last part again.
"Damn it!", she cursed in utter frustration as her fury slowly disappeared. She looked at the woman again, now much calmer, and saw tears in her eyes.
"Next time, you'll ask before kissin' someone, got that?", she demanded of the woman with a still harsh sound to her voice, though it had lessened.
Rina only nodded obediently, muttering another excuse before walking off in shame.
Fang sighed when the last remains of anger faded from her person and sadness overcame her at the thought of her little Vanille crying, most likely thinking Fang had just dropped her for another woman.
It hurt her to no end, even breaking her own heart to imagine the girl heartbroken because of her, because she hadn't been able to push Rina away from her in time.
She made her way back to the car, her head hanging low as she thought about Vanille. She took out her phone and tried to call her, but the girl didn't pick up.
As she sat in the car and started the engine, she decided the only way to make things right again was to drive home to her now and talk to her in person. She winced at the thought of getting past Lightning, who would most likely want to kill her slowly and painfully after what'd happened.
Fang let out a long sigh as she parked before Vanille's home and turned off the engine. It wouldn't be easy to go there now. Her heart raced like crazy at the thought of it. But she wouldn't back down, she had to do it. For Vanille.
She closed her eyes a moment to calm herself down before getting out of the car and approaching the house, ringing the doorbell.
As no one opened, she rang it again, clasping her sweaty hands nervously. She was just about to ring once more when the door swung open abruptly, revealing Lightning, her free hand already balled into a fist.
"What do you want?", she hissed coldly.
"I want to talk to Vanille ... please", Fang said, staring into the woman's eyes without fear. Though she quickly added the last part as she felt the nagging feeling of guilt rise up within her, making her look away from Lightning for a moment.
"Give me one reason why I should let you in. You'll only hurt her again, that's what you'll do!", Lightning spat out in disgust. She didn't notice that in the meantime, Serah had appeared behind her, watching the women silently, a worried expression on her face.
"I know it sounds stupid, but I ... I wanna explain the situation to her. What she's seen, it's ... it's not what it looked like", Fang responded, biting her lower lip in nervousness.
"Oh sure, it's never what it looked like, right?", the policewoman responded coldly, not believing one word.
She'd known it from the start. She'd known all along that Fang was only interested in bedding Vanille, and as that apparently hadn't come to happen, she'd given up on her and had looked for a new, more willing girl.
"Lightning ... please", Fang begged of the woman, her gaze more pleading than she thought it could ever be. But this matter was important to her, Vanille was important to her, and so she was willing to do whatever was necessary to convince Lightning to let her in.
"Don't call me that", Lightning hissed again, balling her fist even more, almost painfully.
"I promise I won't hurt her more if ya let me talk to her", Fang said almost desperately, her pleading gaze not leaving Lightning's.
And that's it. Lightning's eyes flickered up with pure, uncontrolled anger as she suddenly drove her fist into Fang's stomach before swiftly pulling it back, hitting her again, and again, and again.
"You dare ... promising me ... that ... again ... after already ... breaking your word ... once?", she pressed out between hits, feeling her fury flow through her entire body, empowering her. She would punish this woman for hurting Vanille like that.
Fang only stood there bent, taking in the hits she felt she deserved for what she'd let happen. And the more hits she took, the more she felt guilty as her face contorted in pain, gasps leaving her mouth while her body winced with every hit.
"Lightning, stop!", it suddenly sounded behind the policewoman and Fang opened her eyes when the hits abruptly stopped. Serah stood behind her older sister, gripping her right arm tightly.
"She's had enough, don't you think?", Serah spoke up calmly to her sister, who stood still for a moment, gathering herself. Lightning then nodded as she withdrew her fists that still hung motionless in the air.
Fang sighed in relief once Lightning had taken her hands down. She immediately moved around a little to check if the woman had broken something, if something hurt in an unusual way. But as the policewoman had mainly hit her stomach area, the only thing she felt at the moment was a feeling of nausea and the want to throw up. It already lessened, though.
"Are you okay?", Serah asked the guitarist in concern as she noticed her checking her body for damage.
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Are ya ... lettin' me in, Serah ... ?", Fang asked with an unusually shy smile, directing the question at the girl as she felt the younger Farron was more likely to let her in.
And she was right. Serah only nodded, gesturing for Fang to follow her. Lightning shot the guitarist another glare before disappearing in the living room, letting her sister take care of Fang. She hoped she wouldn't regret having complied to her sister's wish.
When the two reached the door to Vanille's room, Serah stopped abruptly, knocking on the door. "Vanille? It's Serah"
"Go away, please ... I want to be alone, Serah", came the reply from the other side. It made another part of Fang's heart break as she heard how awful Vanille's voice sounded. She must've cried a lot.
"Actually, I'm not alone. Fang's with me. She wants to talk to you", Serah explained empathetically.
There was a short silence before they could barely hear sobs reach their ears through the door. "Why isn't she with her other girl, having a good time?", it finally bitterly came back between heavy sobs.
"I'm not because I don't want her, I'm not interested in her. I'm only interested in you, Vanille. Please let me explain this to you, okay?", Fang spoke empathetically, hoping the girl would give her a chance.
"You kissed her..."
"No, she kissed me. I didn't want this, Vanille. Please, let me talk to you, please", Fang tried again, more desperately this time. She locked eyes with Serah, who seemed to be suffering almost as much as her from the looks of it.
"Okay...", there was a short silence before they heard steps and finally, the door opened, revealing Vanille. She looked as though she'd cried for hours with her reddened eyes and nose.
"Vanille...", Fang calmly said, making a step towards her. It hurt her to see the girl like this, even more so knowing she was responsible for her emotionally devastated state.
"I'll leave you guys alone", Serah quickly said and left before the two went inside the small room and Vanille closed the door behind them.
"So, explain", the redhead demanded as she sat down on her bed, taking the still soaked pillow back into her arms, hugging it to comfort herself.
Fang sat down on her desk chair and sighed. "Okay. So this woman you saw, she slept with me a few weeks ago after a concert. It was a coincidence that she walked by the moment she did, and as she recognised me, she quickly decided to invite me for a round two and kiss me without givin' me much of a chance to say no"
She made a short break, but as Vanille only stared at her, she continued. "I didn't want this, Vanille. I tried to get her off of me, but only managed to shove her away after a while. I wish it wouldn't have come to this. I really do"
"I want to believe you, really ... but ... why can't I, Fang?", Vanille finally replied as a single set of tears left her eyes, falling onto the pillow in her arms like so many more before.
"I swear to you, Vanille, I'm not even slightly interested in this woman.", Fang tried again, but Vanille only looked away from her.
I gotta show her that I mean it, the brunette thought with a sudden determination in her heart as she got up from the chair and strode over to Vanille, kneeling down before her.
"Vanille, the only one I am interested in is you. Remember what I told you after our last date?", she looked up at the redhead, her gaze lovingly as she stared into her reddened emerald eyes.
Hesitantly, Vanille nodded, meeting her gaze. "I said you mean somethin' to me, and that still counts as much as ever.", she said, briefly contorting her face in thought as something came to her mind.
"And if you believe I'm only interested in you for sex, then let me tell ya one thing: If it was only the sex, I would've openly asked for it right away, as I've done with every other girl I wanted just for sex before.", she continued seriously, carefully making a move and placing her hands on Vanille's knees.
The girl didn't resist, and Fang took this as a good sign. "No, with you it's much more than that. But I ... I wanna let you know that, I want you to be sure about this, that you can trust me. That I mean what I say. So ... will ya be my girlfriend, Vanille?", she then asked, a small loving smile forming on her lips as she gazed deeply into the redhead's beautiful eyes.
Any other, happier situation, and she would've laughed heartily at the utterly surprised reaction evident on the girl's face. But it was gone as quickly as it had come, being replaced by a small smile.
"R-Really? You mean it?", Vanille asked carefully, still a little suspicious.
"I do mean it. Be my girlfriend, Vanille.", Fang repeated her plea, stroking over her knees gently, her gaze full of sincerity as she continued looking into Vanille's eyes.
Even if she'd wanted to, the girl couldn't stop the little smile on her face from growing wider at the statement. And now she remembered, remembered how she'd actually seen Fang shove the woman away, breaking their kiss.
She'd completely ignored, more so banned this important part of information from her mind, it seemed. But now it had returned, and it was enough proof for her, along with Fang's words, that the woman was telling the truth.
"Okay. I believe you, Fang. And ... I'll be your girlfriend", she finally said, smiling as she put her pillow to her side and stood up. As Fang did the same, she quickly pulled her into a tight hug, pressing herself against the taller woman's collarbone, closing her eyes as she felt the last pieces of heartbrokenness leave her person.
Fang sighed in relief as she inhaled the girl's scent. "It's okay, I'm here for you", she said as she returned the hug, placing her hands on her girlfriend's back.
It felt good to hold her like this, to have made things right again. Fang closed her eyes as she held on to Vanille tightly, not wanting to let her go.
They stood like this for what seemed like an eternity before breaking apart, smiling at each other. "I'm so, so sorry that this happened", Fang spoke calmly, wiping a strand of hair from Vanille's face.
"It's alright, Fang. It was just all a big misunderstanding. I forgive you", Vanille replied softly, and Fang sighed in relief as she heard the kind words that reassured her that the redhead really wasn't angry at her anymore. A good feeling.
Vanille smiled to her as she noticed Fang's reaction before glancing at the clock. It was already quite late, and she felt fatigue overcoming her.
It certainly hadn't helped that she'd cried so much, it had tired her quite a bit.
"You look tired, love", Fang remarked, voicing Vanille's thoughts, smiling deeply.
"I am, actually. Would you be mad at me if I kicked you out now?", the girl asked with a sweet smile, holding Fang by the shoulders.
"Not at all. You just go and get some rest, sweetie. You've had a rough day", Fang smiled and leaned in to go for a deep, loving kiss. She needed to feel Vanille now.
With all that'd happened tonight, all the strong emotions, their kiss quickly grew more passionate, and Fang pulled the girl to her own body tightly, enjoying the closeness and her sweet scent that once again reached her nostrils.
She felt Vanille's hands land on her hips, holding her tightly. Overwhelmed by the passion of the moment, Fang let her hands wander down Vanille's back to her bottom, gently gripping and kneading the soft flesh.
Vanille reacted with a surprised moan into their kiss and if Fang had kept her eyes open, she would've seen the light blush that had crept on her face on top of that.
But the girl quickly managed to regain her composure, and not wanting to be outdone, she let her own hands wander to Fang's buttocks as well, mimicking what the brunette was doing to her.
Their tongues were fighting for dominance now and the kiss grew more heated by the second. Slowly, Fang felt herself losing control as her desire got the better of her and made her hands knead Vanille's bottom more roughly now.
But the brunette knew that this was definitely not the right time to be going further.
Vanille seemed to have the same thought as she slowly pulled away from Fang, breathing heavily, her face flushed.
The girl's facial expression showed a mix of uncertainty and fear but also love and desire. "N-no. Not yet", she stammered, obviously assuming Fang had wanted to take the next step.
Fang smiled softly, cupping her cheek gently with her hand. "Hey, it's alright. I was just about to stop myself when you beat me to it."
Vanille nodded but there was still this strange expression on her face. Fang decided it was probably best to clarify something - especially after all that had happened tonight - and so she took the girl's hands in hers, gazing at her in a loving but also serious way.
"You don't have to be afraid, love. I don't know if you fear what I think you do, but in any case I'd like to let ya know that I would never force myself on you.", she started, stroking over the redhead's hands.
And it was true. She certainly didn't want to make her feel bad in any way again after they'd just successfully mended their relationship minutes ago. Not only that, but she meant what she said.
"I don't have a problem with waiting for you, and you can trust me that the moment you say you don't want somethin' I will stop, promise. Okay?", she continued, trying her best to reassure her girlfriend, sincerity sparking in her jade eyes.
Vanille released a breath she hadn't realised she was holding and slowly, a soft smile returned to her face as her emerald eyes stared deeply into Fang's.
"Okay. I believe you. And thank you, Fang", she nodded and placed a peck on Fang's lips.
"That's much better", Fang approved, kissing her on the forehead in return.
"Now that that's settled, I wish ya a great night's sleep and we'll talk on the phone, yeah?", the guitarist said and Vanille nodded with a smile before leading Fang to the door of her room.
She'd just opened the door when something came to her mind. "Fang?"
"Yeah? What's up?"
"You said to me you'll soon have to go back to Eden to organise the move and everything ... when will that be, and for how long? I wondered", Vanille voiced her question, leaning against the door.
Fang scratched her head in thought. "Mh... Well, I suppose if Sazh doesn't suggest somethin' else, we'll leave Friday next week. And as for how long ... I can't really say, love. But I guess it'll only be for a few weeks, two or three maybe. I don't know"
Vanille nodded, content with the answer. "Okay. Keep me updated about this, alright?", she asked of her girlfriend, and as the woman nodded with a smile, they made their way downstairs.
"Good night, Fang", she said softly once they stood before the entrance door.
"G'night, love. I'll make sure to call ya tomorrow", the brunette almost whispered and left with a smile.
Vanille smiled contentedly as she closed the door behind Fang, only to directly be approached by Lightning, who walked around the corner with her eyes narrowed suspiciously.
"How did it go with her?", she asked, showing her mistrust openly.
Vanille smiled. "You don't have to worry, Light. Fang has explained everything to me, and ... and afterwards, she asked me to become her girlfriend! Isn't that great?", the girl told the older Farron excitedly, feeling as upbeat as ever.
Despite herself, the policewoman smiled at the happiness she saw back in Vanille's still a little reddened eyes.
"That's nice, congratulations. But still ... I'll stay on guard. And if she ever does something like that again, hurts you in any way, I want you to tell me immediately, okay?", Lightning said seriously, looking Vanille deeply into her eyes.
"I'll do that, I promise", the girl replied and gave Lightning a quick hug before they wished each other a good night and she disappeared upstairs.
However, Serah was still curious to learn how it went with Fang, obviously, and so Vanille heard a series of soft knocks on her door shortly after she'd entered the room.
She walked to the door, opened it and saw Serah standing there in her pyjamas, smiling at her.
"Come in", the redhead invited her in, taking a seat on her bed beside her best friend.
"So how did it go? Are you guys okay again?", Serah asked, though she had a feeling she knew the answer already, seeing how upbeat and happy Vanille appeared.
"Yes we are.", the redhead started happily before going on and telling Serah what Fang had explained to her, and also the nice words she'd said after before asking her to be her girlfriend.
Needless to say, Serah almost screamed at the fantastic news and only managed to restrain herself because she knew very well that Lightning, who'd gone to bed by now, would most likely kill her for waking her.
"I'm so happy for you, Vanille! Really, this is just so great!", Serah said after she'd calmed herself down a little, smiling from ear to ear.
"But I guess now being her girlfriend doesn't make it easier for you that she's leaving for a while, huh?", Serah asked empathetically after a short silence, gazing at her best friend.
"No, it certainly doesn't... Actually, I wish I could go with her, you know", Vanille said, clasping her hands, her face suddenly having a dreamy feature to it as she stared into the room before slowly tilting her head again to lock eyes with Serah.
"I understand. When does she have to leave for Eden again, by the way? And for how long?", the younger Farron inquired curiously.
"She said they'll most likely go next Friday, though she couldn't exactly say for how long.", Vanille repeated what Fang had told her earlier.
Suddenly, Serah twitched a little and her face lightened up as if she was realising something. "But ... that's perfect! If she leaves then, you can actually go with her! Why don't you ask her? I'm sure she'll agree!", the girl suggested happily.
Vanille frowned. "But Serah! What about my studies? Not going there for a few weeks until Fang moves here is not an option", Vanille remarked.
"Wow, you've surely been distracted a lot by Fang recently, huh? Our semester break starts right at the end of next week, silly!", Serah reminded Vanille with a crooked smile.
The redhead could only open her mouth in surprise and arch her eyebrows at this. Could it really be that she, the always so neatly organised student, had forgotten about something so important? Serah must be right, she had really been distracted a lot by Fang lately.
Vanille scratched her head, blushing a little. "Now that you mention it ... yeah, I remember. I had really completely forgotten that it's already next week", Vanille admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.
Serah could only giggle. "Hey, it's ok! It's kinda cute, honestly.", the pink-haired girl reassured her friend.
"And you think I should just go and ask her if I can go with her? Don't you think this is a little ... I don't know ... too forward?", Vanille wanted to know, apparently still doubting the idea.
Serah found herself frowning a little at this. This was just so Vanille to be worried about asking a simple, harmless question. What could possibly go wrong? She was sure Fang wouldn't eternally hate Vanille for asking her that, should she not want her to accompany her to Eden.
"Come on, Vanille! Just ask her. Even if she doesn't want it for some reason, she won't kill you for asking a simple question!", Serah voiced her thoughts, trying to encourage her friend.
"To be honest, if I were Fang, I'd find it quite thoughtful and cute of you. After all, you're basically telling her with that idea that you like her so much that you want to spend your holiday with her, you know!"
"And don't forget that she's your girlfriend now!", she added. "How could she say no to her girlfriend?"
Vanille smiled. Serah had a point, again. It wasn't the first time the younger Farron had been right about being more optimistic considering Fang. Maybe it was really about time Vanille became a little more optimistic herself as well. It would certainly make everything a lot easier.
"I guess you're right ... thank you Serah"
"Hey, no problem. I'm your friend, that's what I'm here for!", the girl answered while getting up from the bed, yawning.
"Anyway, it must be really late already. We better go to bed and get some sleep, okay?", Serah asked tiredly, rubbing her eyes.
"Sure, good night and thanks again for your support, Serah", Vanille hugged her friend tightly before the younger Farron quietly returned to her room.
Vanille found herself smiling contentedly as she lay down some minutes later and closed her eyes. Serah was right. She would ask Fang if she could come with her to Eden right the next day.
And if her girlfriend agreed, then Vanille knew she could look forward to probably one of her best holidays ever because she would be spending it with the woman that managed to make her feel so good and so happy even with her presence alone. After all that had happened today, she now knew this truth more clearly, more certainly than ever.
Fang sighed. She had spent the whole Sunday afternoon browsing the internet for apartments in Bodhum that she wanted to take a look at as soon as possible.
She had actually found quite a few that were interesting enough to be worth a visit but it had taken her several hours, and now she felt exhaustion overcoming her as she decided to take a shower to relax a little.
After she was done, she wrapped a towel around her body and dried her hair quickly before taking her phone with her to the bed. She let herself fall on the mattress with a loud thud before dialling Vanille's number.
It didn't take the girl long at all to pick up. "Hey sweetie, it's me. How are ya today?"
"Great, especially now that you're calling!", Vanille answered with a cute giggle.
Fang found herself smiling. Always the cutie.
"How's the search for an apartment going?", the girl wanted to know, reminding Fang of what she'd been doing all afternoon.
"Quite alright, actually", Fang chuckled. "I've found some nice places on the internet today. I'll go and take a look at them as soon as possible.", she stated.
"Great, hope it works out for you!", Vanille said and you could hear her smiling happily even through the phone.
"By the way, Fang? There's something I've been wanting to ask you all day. In fact, I've just waited for your call", Vanille said, her voice with a faint tone of nervousness to it, just as if she was trying to hide it.
"Sure, just ask away", Fang responded in her usual nonchalant manner.
"See ... the thing is, I had an idea... well, actually it was Serah's idea and, well-", Vanille stammered and she was so happy right now that Fang wasn't able to see her blush through the phone.
"Just ask, sweetheart. Whatever it is, I won't kill ya. Promise", Fang chuckled. She couldn't help but find the girl's sudden nervousness adorable and a tad bit amusing.
Vanille giggled uneasily. "Okay. Well, the thing is that my semester break starts on Friday and as this is also the day you said you'll have to leave for Eden, you know, I thought ...", Vanille started self-consciously.
"I wanted to ask you if I can join you.", she finally pressed out, biting her lip.
Fang arched her eyebrows in surprise, but it was gone as quickly as it had come, being replaced by a broad smile.
"Wow, I didn't expect that", she started, voicing her surprise at the sudden, unexpected suggestion.
"Oh. You don't want me to? I would understand, you know...", Vanille immediately blurted out self-consciously.
"No, no no! I didn't say that, sweetie. If you hadn't just interrupted me, I would've told you that I really like the idea. In fact, we've just fixed Friday as departure day today, so I'd love you to come with me. We'll just have to ask the band if you can travel with us, but I guess it shouldn't be a problem", she replied with a soft voice.
"Really? Oh that's sooo great!", Vanille exclaimed, apparently back to her upbeat self.
"Yeah, I think it's a fortunate coincidence that your semester break starts right the day I gotta leave.", Fang said, her smile not leaving her face for a second.
"Yep. Etro, this will be so awesome! I'm already looking forward to this sooo much!", Vanille voiced her excitement, feeling her heart practically jump in her chest.
After that, they continued talking for another hour about this and that, just enjoying each other's company, even if it was only over the phone. It was quite late when they rang off eventually, both losing themselves in thoughts and imaginations about their time in Eden together.