[Final Fantasy XIII] Crystal Dreams of Eternity
Chapter 7: (I.2) When They were Adolescents
A Final Fantasy XIII Fanfic
By Jen-chan
February 1 - February 10, 2011
CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: Pre-game. Details an event that occurred in Fang & Vanille's older childhood which defines their relationship.
Comments and Criticisms are greatly appreciated!
When Vanille was fourteen and Fang was sixteen, the boys would just *not* *stop* *bothering* *them*.
By then, they had moved out of the orphanage. It had been a tough and hard fought battle for Fang to declare her independence. At sixteen, she was just a little shy of official adulthood, even though her success at the hunt should have allowed her to support herself, just barely.
It was not until she had loudly proclaimed to Schala and Tombas that if she was old enough to take Fal'cie Anima's trials to become L'Cie, then she was old enough to live the rest of her days as she saw fit, that the orphanage administrators finally had a change in heart.
And so, reluctantly, they let Fang and Vanille move out of the orphanage. It was a little bit of a stretch for them to get their own place. They didn't quite have enough to furnish their new home, so they ended up taking the old bunk beds from the orphanage (they were getting tossed out anyway). The place was small and cramped and slightly run down, but it was hers and Vanille's and they loved it.
In theory, the home was Fang's, while Vanille technically was still a child of the orphanage. In practice, however, Vanille lived with Fang. Their caregivers, long familiar with their closeness, had seen the futility of trying to separate them, and so looked the other way, so long as they stayed out of trouble.
This had been, unsurprisingly, somewhat difficult, considering the amount of attention they were suddenly getting from people.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that between the both of them, they grew almost eleven inches in height, six inches in hip and seven in bust.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that the boys were finally starting to grow up, and were now viewing Fang as the exotic beauty she'd always been, rather than the hated rival who always managed to show them up. Vanille's sunny dependency, once viewed as an annoyance, was now seen as ego-boasting charm; she could really make a fella feel *good* about himself.
Maybe it had to do with the fact that Fang's newfound adulthood freedoms finally gave her the space to really come into her own. It became clear to just about everyone in the village not blind, deaf and dumb that Fang was going to be the best warrior of her generation, and that she was meant to go places not meant for normal fates. Many bet that she would attempt Fal'cie Anima's trials before the year was out. Without the constant adult badgering to fit her into more traditional women's roles, Fang was largely able to do what she wanted and mellowed out significantly, becoming happier, friendlier, if not downright flirty, with her peers.
Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Fang, in her attempt to discourage some suitors, had boasted that she wouldn't even *consider* dating anyone who wasn't at least her equal on the hunt and in combat. Unfortunately, rather than scaring the boys away (as this tactic once used to), now they would challenge her as she walked down the street! Though Fang pretended to be annoyed with these challenges, secretly, she enjoyed them, as it allowed her to sharpen her battle prowess. Sometimes, she would openly flirt to *get* someone interested enough to challenge her!
It may have been any number of these factors, but the fact that adolescence hormonal imbalance practically drove Vanille certifiably insane with bubbly, bodily touchiness *definitely* had something to do with their popularity.
Some days, Fang would come home from hunting and find Vanille and a few gal pals surrounded by a crowd of young men, all angling to take them to the lake, or on a walk, or down to the market.
"Alright lads, try your luck tomorrow. I'm hungry enough to eat the arse end of a low flying chocobo, so get yourselves outta my house, yeah?" Fang said, one day, booting the small party out of her home. There were some disappointed groans, but eventually everyone left with a smattering of 'cheers' and 'see you tomorrow'.
Vanille leaned out the door, hanging onto the door frame as she waved to her friends, practically singing out, "bye-bye!" before coming back inside and giving Fang a hug. "Fang! Fang! Guess what happened today!" She said excitedly, even as she went to grab some plates for dinner as well as the pot of leftovers from the fridge.
"Hmm... Karl asked you to go fishing, Nabaz let you copy from his homework, and Donda bought you something?" Fang sighed. It was complicated juggling. A girl had to be friendly enough to sustain male interest enough for one of them to marry her, but too friendly, and she'd never be married, and Fang didn't wish that on anyone, much less Vanille.
"Close! But it was Donda who let me copy from his notes and Nabaz bought me lunch!" Vanille grinned triumphantly.
Fang laughed, shaking her head. "Damn, Vanille. I have no idea how you manage to keep them all straight in your head."
"Well, sometimes, I forget too!" The red-headed girl admitted, though she sounded far too cheerful to be apologetic. She giggled as she served dinner. "I kissed Volker on the cheek today to thank him for the flowers last week, but it turns out the flowers were from Nabaz! He was so angry with me, I had to kiss him on both cheeks!"
Fang's eyes narrowed. "Next time Nabaz gets angry at you for anything, you tell him to come to me."
Vanille winced. Maybe she shouldn't have told that story; Nabaz was a sweet guy who didn't deserve what Fang would put him through. She quickly changed the topic of conversation to something else.
Besides, there was something that she had been wanting to bring up.
"So... uh, say! You know those mini donuts we had at the fair grounds yesterday? Weren't they delicious?"
"Hmph? Oh, yeah!" Fang sighed. "Goddess, I wish that vendor would come by more often. Once every 10 years is just too bloody long."
"Wanna go get some more tomorrow?"
Fang considered this, and nodded.
They said a prayer, and started to eat their meal.
The Festival of Anima was the largest celebration in Oerba. It only happened once every 10 years, and would last for a full month. During the festival, the Temple of Fal'Cie Anima would open to the general public to pay their respects to enshrined L'Cie crystals, some of the greatest heroes in Oerba's history. Offerings of food and clothing would be left at the Temple, but also shared with all the villagers.
The festival was famous throughout all of Gran Pulse, and for that month, the population of Oerba would dramatically swell to three or four times its normal size with a flood of visitors and merchants.
Certain days during the month had special values which were celebrated on the fair grounds; for example, the first night celebrated 'bravery', while the last night celebrated 'family'.
Tomorrow night however, was celebrating 'lovers'. While one did not have to be in a relationship to celebrate (families still went out with one another to enjoy the festivities, and so did friends), one could be sure that the merchant and vendor booths would be geared towards romantic wares.
"So what time to you want to go tomorrow?" Fang asked between spoonfuls.
Vanille winced internally. Damn! She was hoping she'd be able to structure the conversation to flow a bit more in her favor, but Fang had beaten her to the punch. Well, it was now or never. Keeping her energy up, and trying to phrase the question as casually as possible, Vanille was careful not to even look at Fang as she said, "actually, Fang, could you take Trella to the festival tomorrow?"
Fang blinked, mouth still open with a spoon full of food halfway to her teeth. "Trella the Tramp?"
"Fang, don't call her that. It's mean, and she's my friend." Vanille complained, annoyed, even as she chewed on her own food.
"Well it's her own damn fault." Fang shrugged, snorting. "If she didn't want the reputation, then maybe she shouldn't throw herself at men so often." Fang paused. "You know, Vanille, maybe you shouldn't hang out with her so much. You don't want that sort of name following you around either."
Vanille sighed; this was a familiar conversation. "Don't worry, Fang, I'm not totally brain dead! I wouldn't give it up just like that! Besides, everyone knows they'll have to get through you to get to me; they don't even try!" She rolled her eyes. Vanille very well knew what her reputation was with the boys: look but don't touch.
"Yeah? Well what about that bunch that was here earlier?" Fang challenged.
Vanille coughed. "Never mind that, thaaaat's besides the point. The point is..."
Here, Vanille's voice quieted. "The point it, Trella's dad is marrying her off next month to some guy in Paddra whom she's never met before. This is going to be one of her last chances to have fun, but they're not letting her go to the festival unless it's strictly in the company of her gal pals. But Trella... Trella doesn't have many gal pals anymore, you know? Everyone else's parents are telling them to stay away from her, on account of her being 'a bad influence' and all. But she's not, Fang, you've met her. You liked her! You said she was fun!"
Fang sighed, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms. "Yeah, a little bit *too* fun, Vanille. She was all over those boys you keep dragging around here and me too!"
Vanille giggled, evidently remembering the episode. "Hey! I don't remember you discouraging her!"
The hunter grinned rakishly, shrugging helplessly. "Alright, alright, fine fine. I'll do it." She smirked. "... at least she won't be boring."
"Great!" Vanille piped. Excellent! Phase one, according to plan! "Show her a good time, yeah? It's her last date, ever."
Fang waved Vanille off. "Yeah, yeah. I know how to have a good time." She paused as something evidently came to mind. "Hey, wait a minute, what about you? Why can't you go with her?"
Vanille winced. Busted. "Well... I kinda... told Nabaz I'd go with him already. You know, to apologize for the mix-up about the flowers. Besides, you know how this festival's geared towards couples..."
Fang gave a short snort of laughter. "Ah. So that's it! You want to keep *ME* preoccupied so that *YOU* can go mess around!"
Vanille squirmed. Time to whip out the big guns. Concentrating, she closed her eyes for a moment, then opened them and turned the biggest, roundest, watery-est, most puppy-est-doggy-est eyes in all of Gran Pulse on Fang. "Pleeeeeeeeeeease?"
The older girl didn't stand a chance.
The next day, Fang and Vanille went to pick up Vanille's friend Trella before they headed down to the festival grounds. There, Nabaz met Vanille and promptly took off, but not before Fang managed to pull the boy aside for a few words.
"Hi! Nabaz, is it?" Fang smiled, offering her hand. "I'm Fang."
"Aaah, Hi Fang," Nabaz took the hand, shaking it firmly. "Vanille's told me all about you! I'm NabAAAH!"
"Fang, stop it!" Vanille cried, slapping at Fang's grip, which was currently crushing Nabaz's fingers into a pulpy mess.
Fang's smile only grew toothier, before she released the boy's digits. "Respect Vanille and I won't be forced to do that to any other parts of your body, okay?"
"Y-yes ma'am!" The boy squeaked.
"Good. Now go have fun and bring Vanille home at a decent hour."
Vanille grabbed the boy's arm, gave Fang a dirty look over her shoulder, and wandered off with the boy.
Fang heard a soft chuckling at her side, and looked over at Vanille's friend. She grinned. "Ya see, Trella. THAT'S what your father *should* have been doing."
The chuckling stopped and Trella shot her a pained look. "Ha ha, funny. Look, I know I made my own bed, and I have to lie in it. I really appreciate you and Vanille bailing me out for the night, but if you're just going to lecture me the entire time, then you should just take me home right now."
Fang quirked an eyebrow. She hadn't expected that. The last few times she had come in contact with the other girl, she had been significantly... shallower. "Err... is something wrong, Trella?"
The other girl sighed. "No. Yes. I don't know. Aaargh, I don't want to think about it." She rubbed her face and then pasted on an obviously fake smile. "Look, don't worry about me, Yun Fang. Let's just have fun, alright? You're gonna be the last date I'm ever gonna have, so let's make it a good one." The smile morphed into a sultry grin, a few shades more sincere than the smile had been. "Or do you know how to show a girl a good time?"
"Oh, you'll get your good time, Trella." Fang winked. She'd promised Vanille she would after all. She offered her hand to the other girl, who's grin widened again as she accepted it.
So fun was had!
They went through the market place, taking the time to shop through every tent. One of the last ones they went into was a jewelry shop. They found some earrings which Trella liked, so Fang purchased them for her. Trella also found a necklace made of white bone and beads, but declined when Fang offered to get that for her too.
"I want to buy this for Vanille as a thank you present," she explained.
"Thank you for what?" Fang asked.
"Getting me a date with you." Trella winked.
Fang grinned.
They went to a material supplier. Fang browsed the merchandise, ready to settle on the gargantuan claw, but the other girl shook her head. "If you're wanting to boast EXP, go with the sturdy bone. It's more bang for your buck."
Fang considered this for a moment, and realized that the other girl was right.
At some point in time, they went up to Fal'Cie Anima's temple to give thanks for the patron Fal'Cie's protection - well, the younger girl did anyway. Fang didn't particularly feel that she owed the Fal'Cie thanks for jack, but she respected the sacrifices of the successful L'Cie. As they walked among the enshrined L'Cie crystal, Trella reached out and put a hand on one of them.
Fang looked over at the crystal Trella was touching, recognizing him. She'd known him. His name was Samanth, one of the most respected hunters in Oerba.
"What do you think crystal sleep is like?" Trella asked.
Fang shrugged. "Not sure. No one's woken up to talk about it in the last fifty years, yeah?"
Trella smiled, sadly. "Tell me when you know?" Evidently, she knew of the older girl's future plans.
Fang laughed. "Sure."
They left the temple and went back to the fair grounds, bumping into Vanille and Nabaz in the food gallery. They spent some time sharing dinner with them at some of the food stalls, gorging on a plethora of unhealthy snacks and drinks almost to the point of illness, laughing all the while, before splitting up again.
There were various game stalls on the fair ground featuring skill testing contests. It didn't take Fang very long to win a stuffed toy, which she gave to Trella.
Soon it was approaching midnight, and most folks had hunkered down to watch the fireworks. The place was packed, and they couldn't quite find a spot.
Trella pulled at Fang's hand. "You know what, Fang? I don't really want to see the fireworks. Can't we just... I dunno, go somewhere to talk?"
Fang shrugged. "Alright, sure." So they went down by the riverbank, sitting on the grass, chatting about nothing of consequence. At this time, if felt like they had the river to themselves, as everyone else was on the other side of town, awaiting the once-a-decade fireworks.
Fang stared up at this end of the sky, sitting with her legs stretched out in front of her, crossed at the ankle, resting on her elbows. Though there were no pyrotechnics on this side of the village, the full moon and billion stars still provided more than adequate light. The only thing that was really spoiling the view was that damned viper's nest, hanging ominously just beneath the stars.
"Are you sure you're okay being here, rather than at the fireworks?" Fang asked. "Isn't there something about true love and blah blah if you see'm with your sweetheart or something?"
Trella shrugged. "Well, shouldn't make a difference then. It's not like either of us are with our sweethearts now, are we?"
"Ouch! Shot down!" Fang pretended to be wounded, pressing her hand to her chest to cover an imaginary wound.
The other girl laughed for a little bit... and then her laughter gently turned into soft sobs.
Fang sighed. Figuring that this was bound to happen sometime during the evening, she sat up a little and shifted her weight onto her other hand to free up an arm. She rubbed the other girl's back with her free hand comfortingly, then pulled her in close. She let the girl cry into her shoulder, while she rested her chin on the top of Trella's head.
Eventually, the sobs disappeared, and Trella wiped the last traces of tears from her eyes. "Sorry about that, Fang. I... I don't know what came over me."
"Don't worry about it. Just let it out, and you'll feel better. Always makes Vanille feel better."
The other girl smiled sadly. "Do you always comfort Vanille like this?"
Fang's lips quirked upwards. "Oh yeah. She's such a cry baby; gets hurt so easily. But, good thing is, she heals fast too. It's like she's brand new again after a good cry and a hug."
"... has she ever needed... more comfort than this?"
Fang paused. There was a strange lilt in Trella's soft voice. "... how do you mean?"
The younger girl removed herself from Fang's one-armed embrace so she could look the older one in the eyes.
No words passed between them.
And then the younger girl closed her eyes, and gently pushed her lips against Fang's.
The action didn't catch the hunter by surprise; she had see it coming several hours away, and decided not to be a prick about it.
The kiss started off gentle at first, but it didn't stay that way for long; the other girl wasn't a half-bad kisser, Fang thought to herself. Soon, she found herself being straddled by the other girl. Fang's own arms were planted on the ground, a little ways behind her to support the weight of them both, but Trella's hands were free to roam all over, which they wasted no time to do. She had pulled the top of Fang's sari off her shoulder and was now working her fingers under the bottom edge of Fang's cropped tank top.
That was a little bit of a surprise. Fang casually pulled her face away from the other girl for a moment, quirking an eyebrow. "In a bit of a hurry, aren't we?"
The other girl looked back at her with a lost expression on her face. "Don't you like it?"
Fang chuckled. "It's quite lovely," she assured the other girl, "but you're getting married and I'm-"
"Vanille said it would be okay." Trella interrupted, leaning back down to take Fang's lips once more.
That had not been the right thing to say to soothe the hunter.
Any traces of mirth evaporated from Fang's voice. "Excuse me?"
"Vanille-"
Fang sat up, forcing Trella back.
There was an unreadable expression on her face. "... did Vanille put you up to this?" Fang asked quietly.
Trella didn't answer. She tried to look away, but Fang grabbed her chin and turned her back. There was no escaping Fang's cool, calm jade inquisition.
"I asked, 'did Vanille put you up to this.'" Fang repeated smoothly.
The other girl bit her lip. "... Vanille wants you to be happy, Fang. She wants you to experience all that life has to offer, even the things that she can't give you."
Fang quirked her eyebrow again, unamused.
It was in that moment that Trella remembered that Fang was *the* fiercest warrior of their generation. A shiver transverse down her spine.
"Aaah, look, Yun Fang. I know you'd never try to be with Vanille the way you'd want to. You care too much about her future to let her throw it away on you. But me? I don't have a future. You can do what you want with me." Trella's lips trembled, and she closed her eyes.
"I've been with a lot of losers, out of desperation. I didn't even like them. I was just... trying to run away from this arranged marriage. But for once in my life, just once, I want to be with someone I actually care about, someone I *want* to be with."
Clenching her fists, the other girl opened her eyes, and looked Fang in the eyes. "Please, Yun Fang. Can't you just... pretend?"
Fang stared at the shorter girl, silent, for a long time. And then she sighed, getting up. Trella had to scramble to avoid being up-ended onto the grass.
"Sorry Trella," Fang said, not sounding particularly sorry at all, though she did extend a hand down to help the other girl to her feet. "I feel for you, I do. And I can appreciate what you think you're trying to do for me. But ultimately, I'm not going to be your big experimental fling. Let's get you home."
Fang was very glad that Vanille's date did not decide to follow her home that night; the boy's standing raised a small step on her scale. The younger girl was humming happily to herself as she came in through the door. "Oh!" She gasped, when she noticed Fang sitting by the window, glaring at her. "You're, uh, home early, Fang. Shouldn't you still be... enjoying Trella's company?"
The dark expression on Fang's face answered Vanille's question for her.
Wordlessly, the older girl stood up and advanced on the younger one, raising her fist back.
Vanille cringed.
Fang bonked Vanille lightly on the forehead. "You've got some explaining to do, Missy," she knew the coldness in her voice would hurt the other girl a lot more than her physical strike. "And don't start with the crocodile tears."
Knowing she was busted, the younger girl turned off the puppy dog eyes before she had even gotten the chance to really turn them on, and followed Fang into the bedroom where they sat on the bottom of the adjacent bunks.
Fang continued to glare at Vanille, knowing she didn't really have to say anything at all. It would only be a matter of time before the younger girl cracked.
And crack Vanille did.
"Fang, I just... wanted you to enjoy a girl's company once in your life." Vanille finally mumbled, pushing her index fingers together awkwardly. "I thought... I thought that maybe if you experienced love, even once, then maybe you wouldn't take Fal'Cie Anima's trials..."
Fang stared at Vanille, the expression on her face quickly going from stern, to flabbergast.
Sweet, merciful Goddess, where had she gone wrong! There were so many things wrong with that sentence; Fang barely knew where to begin. Fang pinched the bridge of her nose, feeling a migraine coming on. "Vanille... you are *so* wrong, I don't even know where to start correcting you."
But Vanille interrupted her. "Don't give me that, Oerba Yun Fang." Vanille balled her hands into fists.
"I *know* you're going to take Fal'Cie Anima's trials soon! You'll become L'Cie to destroy Cocoon, so you don't give a damn about your future because you don't think you'll have one beyond that! But if you could only get a taste... a taste of what love is, then maybe... maybe you won't go. I... I don't want you to go..." The force of her own words were, evidently, a bit of a shock to the younger girl, who suddenly found unbidden tears in her eyes. She hastily wiped at them, even as Fang sighed, walked over, and pulled the younger girl into a hug.
"First things first, Vanille." Fang finally said when the younger girl had calmed herself down. She held up one finger.
"One. Sex is not love. Never confuse those two. You've got so many boys on your tail these days that if you confuse those two, you'll be in a shit-ton of trouble."
She held up a second finger. "Two. I've had sex before. I didn't tell you because I didn't want to risk your toddler brain copy-cat-ing me until you were old enough to understand the consequences, which, evidently, you still don't. And Trella isn't exactly my type."
She held up a third finger. "Three. I know what love is. Love is what we have. Love is willing to give up everything for someone else for their happiness. I love you, and I know you love me. You will always be my number one, and everything I do is because I want you to be happy."
She held up her last finger. "Four. You can't be happy, and I can't be happy, and no one in all of Gran Pulse can be happy, until those bastard vipers in the sky pay for all they've taken from us, and are rendered absolutely *incapable* of taking any more."
Then Fang lowered her four fingers and took Vanille's hand, which she enclosed in her fist, and pressed to her heart. "Five. I also know that you're not ready to be without me yet, so I'm not going anywhere, anytime soon. Before I take Fal'Cie Anima's trials, you can be sure we'll have talked bloody long about it, and you'll have grown up and found someone you want to start a family with. I won't go until then." Fang paused. "However, this is not an invitation to never grow up, understood?"
Vanille could only mutely nod. Then she smothered her face into Fang's chest to weep softly.
Fang sighed and rubbed the younger girl's back until she was finished.
"Fang?" Vanille finally said.
"Hmm?"
"What was sex like?"
Fang rolled her eyes. Of course, that would be the one point out of all those she had made that would make it through Vanille's skull. Oh well. At least this meant things were more or less back to normal. "It was nice, Vanille. But don't you start, y'hear?"
"Yeah, yeah, enough with the lecture, more with the details!" Vanille pushed herself away from Fang, and the older girl was internally both relieved and exasperated to see the gleam in the younger one's eyes. "Who did you do it with?"
"I'm not kissing and telling. That's what got Trella in trouble, yeah?"
"Oh, come on, Fang! At least tell me what your type is?" Then Vanille paused. "It was with a girl, right? Oh, Goddess, please don't tell me I know absolutely *nothing* about you?"
Fang groaned, getting up to go to the bathroom to get ready for bed. She knew that if she didn't give Vanille something to chew on, they'd never get to sleep that night. And telling the younger girl what she liked wouldn't necessary put her on the path to figure who she'd been with.
Well, some of them, anyway.
"I like legs. That's all you're getting. Goodnight."
Author's notes & Omake:
One more chapter during Pre-game times out to round it off, I think! But that might not be for a while, I should get back to post-game times for actual plot advancement, and during-game for character development. *sigh* Please bear with me! -_-;; The next chapter will go to during-game for FLlight exposition!
Please find omake following; sorry only one this time.
Cheers,
jen-chan
Omake 1: Fang's type
VANILLE: [Annoyingly] Oh, come on, Fang! At least tell me what your type is? It was with a girl, right? Oh, Goddess, please don't tell me I know absolutely *nothing* about you?
FANG: Hmm... [Thinks about it] I like butts. Really big butts. When a girl walks by with an itty bitty waist and a round thing in my face, I get-
LIGHTNING: [Bursting on screen, eyebrow twitching] Ex*CUSE* me?
VANILLE: ... Isn't that song a bit old for a pop culture reference?