[Final Fantasy XIII] Crystal Dreams of Eternity

Chapter 9: (II.3) Differing Societal Values
A Final Fantasy XIII Fanfic
By Jen-chan

January 19 - January 21, 2011

CHAPTER SYNOPSIS: During-game. Fang makes a fantastic discovery about the customs of Cocoon.

Fang's mind was absolutely reeling with the information she had just learned.

This...! This could change everything! She sped over fallen trees and puddles, paying little regard to the foliage she was quickly passing by until she finally reached the small clearing where they had set up camp. The object of her search was, luckily, in the middle of the clearing, readying the fire, in all her pink-haired glory.

Fang burst in on Lightning, an expression that could only be described as agitated on her face. With no preamble, she cried out, "Women can marry each other on Cocoon?"

Lightning, still squatted down by the campfire to light it, blinked up at Fang confusedly, with an expression on her face that said that she was trying to decide if Fang had just stated the obvious or asked a question. In the end, she evidently settled on the latter, as she decided to entertain the Oerban. Standing up, Lightning brushed the dirt from her hands and regarded Fang with amused eyes. "Um... yes?"

The tone in her voice made it clear to Fang that the other woman thought she might as well have asked if water was wet.

Fang decided to let the amusement at her expense drop for now. There were more important things. "For real?" She pressed.

Lightning arched an eyebrow. "Of course we can..."

Now the agitation on Fang's face turned to wonder. "... Blimey!" She breathed, putting her hands on her hips as she paced back and forth. "That's... that s incredible!"

Lightning gave a short snort of a laugh, crossing her arms over her chest. "Why, can't they on Pulse?"

Fang stopped her pacing and looked at Lightning like she had two heads. "Well... no!" She replied.

Now Lightning blinked, evidently understanding the cause of Fang's disbelief. "Why not?"

"Well, I..." Fang contemplated this for a moment, "... I guess I don't really know," she admitted, a look of slow epiphany dawning on her face. "I mean I just never... I mean..." She caught the amused look on Lightning's face, again at her expense. "Well, I mean, life is hard on Pulse! Every hunt is a risk - you don't know if you went out one day if you'd come back by the end of it, so it was important to, you know, prosper and multiple and carry on your family line and all that, right? I mean... if you guys have same-sex marriages... how'd you have kids?"

"I don't know the specifics, but I think there are a few different options. We have promulgation clinics that help with that sort of thing."

"Really..." Fang breathed. "That's... that's incredible!"

"Is it?" Evidently, it didn't seem all that incredible to Lightning. She shrugged. "Same-sex relationships have always existed on Cocoon. I mean, it's not like it's a big percentage of the population who prefer it, but there are some. There isn't any Sanctum guidance around it, so, we've always been free to be with who we want. Isn't that the way it should be?"

"Well... yes! No! I don't know!" Fang had to think about this for a moment.

She couldn't believe it! Here she'd always thought that Cocoonians were totally backwards and didn't understand a single thing about what was important in life, when in fact, they actually got some things more right than the Pulsians did!

But before Fang could curse her luck for being born on the wrong planet, she did have to remind herself that the people of Cocoon had never had to fight for survival on a daily basis. Societal values were probably thus more about personal achievement and fulfillment rather than genetic propagation.

Fang caught Lightning smirking. "Why are you asking all of this anyway?" It wasn't everyday that the normally cucumber-cool hunter was off balanced by anything; there was no way Lightning was going to let this chance to get back at her go; Fang certainly gave the soldier a hard time whenever she could.

"Do you wanna make babies with Vanille?"

Fang shut up, a massive flush darkening her cheeks.

But before the soldier could delight in scoring a direct hit for too long, Fang recovered. Crossing her arms, the Pulsian let the blush fade from her face as she roved her eyes up and down Lightning appraisingly. She'd done so many times before, but had never been so crass as to do so directly in front of the soldier before. "... Nah, I think our lovechild would be cuter."

And just like that, Lightning found herself on the defense, and all was right in the world. She gave Fang a dirty look, and stalked away.

The topic didn't come up that day again, until well into the night, when most everyone else had gone to sleep. Unable to sleep, Lightning got up and went to look for Fang, whom she knew was on sentinel duty. She found the hunter a little ways away from the group. Fang didn't acknowledger her as she approached, evidently lost in thought.

"So... what was up with all the questions this afternoon?"

"Hmm?" Fang turned to see who had spoken. Seeing Lightning, she gave a nod in greeting, before turning her face away from the soldier again.

"... so Hope asked Vanille to marry him this afternoon."

Lightning boggled. "What?"

Fang chuckled. "Relax. The poor kid didn't realize what he was doing."

Somehow, Hope had managed to convince Fang to take him hunting with her and Vanille. Normally, Fang would have said no, but after the boy's harrowing encounter with Alexander, she figured he could use some confidence building.

And so, they had gone hunting that afternoon. And, as luck would have it, the first prey they came across, was the elusive palarex antelope. Fang pointed the animal out to the other two and saw Vanille's face light up when she saw it.

"You're in luck, Hope!" Vanille said quietly to the boy. "That's the palarex! In Oerba, when a boy wants to become a man, he hunts the palarex. If he's successful, the whole village will then acknowledge him as an adult, for he's hunted and provided a meal for the village! Oh, I haven't had palarex in forever! It's delicious!"

"Really?" Hope looked... well, hopeful. He gripped Fang's spear in his hands tightly.

Fang 'shhed' her younger companions. They didn't want to scare the beast away.

Formulating a plan, they proceeded to track and corner the animal for the next little while, until they were able to strike.

Normally, the palarex was a very challenging hunt, requiring years of experience. For the l'cie, it was not quite as difficult, as they were able to use their magic in somewhat unorthodox ways.

Vanille casted Aeroga, lifting the beast up into the air and trapping it momentarily. During this instant, Fang and Hope were able to rush the beast.

"Now!" Fang cried, "Slash its throat, quick as you can. Make it clean and painless!"

Steeling himself, Hope did as Fang taught, and soon, the beast laid still. The Oerbans taught Hope to touch his fingers together in prayer, and give a word of thanks to the beast that had passed on so that they could live.

"Oh, wow, good job, Hope!" Vanille beamed. She gave the boy a congratulatory hug, then quickly pulled a knife from one of the pouches around her waist and handed it to the silver-haired boy. "Quick, cut off its tongue!"

Hope turned a little green as he held the knife and took a look at the dead palarex. "D-do I have to?" He swallowed back the bile rising in the back of his throat. Now that the hunt was over, the adrenaline that had kept him going all afternoon was quickly leaving him, and he wasn't entirely sure he ever wanted to hunt again.

"Yeah! It's the best part!" Vanille declared.

Fang couldn't help but chuckle at Vanille's enthusiasm. Of course she'd tell the boy to go straight for the palarex's tongue - that delicacy was the whole reason Oerbans men hunted the challenging prey.

Hope didn't look like he believed Vanille, but none the less, he managed to steel his nerves once more, pry open the animal's mouth, and sever the item. Lifting the slimy organ out, he couldn't quite stop himself from wrinkling his nose, thought he did try.

"Congratulations," Fang said proudly, clapping the boy on his back hard enough to stagger him. "Your first kill! By the customs of the Hunters of Oerba, this makes you a man, Hope. Treasure this victory."

Hope gave Fang a weak smile. "Um... thank you, Fang. But, I couldn't have done it without Vanille." He turned to face the red headed girl and offered the palarex tongue to her. "Here, Vanille. You like this, don't you? Why don't you have it? I, uh, I'm not sure I'll be able to... uh... properly appreciate such a... delicacy..."

Vanille's mouth dropped open in shock even as Fang's eyebrows arched towards her hairline at the unexpected offer. They both stood there, dumbfounded, until Vanille woodenly looked over at Fang, with an unmistakable expression of 'help!' in her eyes.

But Fang did no such thing. Instead, she clenched her fists as tightly as she could and locked her jaw to stop the laughter that was threatening to burst out from her gut. Shaking as she tried to contain herself, she put as innocent a look on her face as she could when Hope looked over at her and said, "Oh, don't look at me, Vanille. He offered it to you. What's your answer going to be now?"

"Fang, stop it!" Vanille cried, a blush springing to her cheeks so red, it almost matched her hair. She looked back down at the silver-haired teen. "H-Hope, you... you really should keep that yourself!"

The boy wasn't a fool, and knew something was up, but the thought of having to eat such a thing overruled all other thoughts for now. "But I thought you really liked this? Please, I insist!"

"Oh I do! It's a delicious dish, but I... I really can't accept it!"

"Why not? Please, Vanille? I... I really want you to have this." The expression on his face begged her to take it from him.

Vanille's mouth opened and closed in protest, but she couldn't quite seem to get the words out of her mouth. Instead, she turned away from the boy, hands over her face, desperately trying to calm her blush down. "H-Hope, you shouldn't say stuff like that! Especially not in front of Fang!"

Hope's face crinkled in confusion, and now he looked over at the older woman, who, at the moment, couldn't hold it in for any longer and started to laugh uncontrollably. "Wha... what's going on? Fang? Stop laughing and tell me!"

But Fang was in no state to be telling anyone anything.

"Hope..." Vanille turned back to face the boy, a chagrined expression on her face, "remember when I said that hunting the palarex was a mark of becoming a man for an Oerban boy?"

"... Yes..." Of course he had remembered; it was one of the reasons why he had wanted to do it in the first place.

"Well," Vanille pushed her fingers together awkwardly, "when a boy becomes a man... he... he takes a wife. Giving the proof of his success in the hunt to a girl is... is essentially a demonstration of his manhood and symbol of his desire to court her."

Hope blanched. He almost dropped the tongue in his hand. "W-what?"

"Oh yeah!" Fang managed to recover from her laughter to finally shed some light. She clapped a hand on Hope's shoulder to turn him around, grinning predatorily at him. "And it's pretty ballsy of you to give it to her right in front of me! You think you can provide and protect her better than I can?"

Telling a girl you wanted to court her in front of her family was essentially challenging them for her hand in marriage. Normally, the girl's father or older brother would take the challenge, and test the boy for his worthiness, but since Vanille had neither, Fang came the closest.

Now the silver-haired teen's eyes threatened to fall out of his head. Fang advanced menacingly on him, smiling toothily as she cracked her knuckles and shook out her shoulders. He backpedaled. "F-Fang! I'm sorry! It was a mistake! I didn't know! I would never! You know I'd never...! Oh god, please don't hurt me!" He threw his hands up in front of his face as Fang made a fist, and pulled it back.

But the punch never came. Instead, Fang reached out and ruffled his hair, pulling him down under her other arm to noogy him. "Hah! You ve still got ten years before you're good enough for Vanille, kid!"

"Aaah, leggo! Leggo!"

Eventually, Fang did, after Vanille gave her a smack upside the head, and they managed to share the laugh. The tongue was put into someone's pouch; Vanille promised she'd prepare it right and serve it to everyone for dinner. They prepared the rest of the palarex, and began walking back to camp.

Hope rubbed the back of his head. He was walking beside Fang, while Vanille was a couple feet in front of them. "Y-you know, Fang," he said. "For a moment there, I thought you might have actually been serious."

Fang laughed lightly. "Really? Now why would you think that?"

"Well," Hope laughed sheepishly. "I mean, I thought you might have been the jealous, possessive, no-one-mess-around-with-my-girlfriend type, you know."

Fang laughed again, although there was a slightly confused expression on her face. "What are you talking about?"

"You know," Hope shrugged. "Some guys can't take it when someone else hits on their girlfriend, you know? But don't worry. I..." there was a hint of sadness in his smile. "I really like Vanille, but I know she's with you."

The Pulsian hunter stopped walking, a quizzical expression on her face. "Wow, Hope, I know you're supposed to be a kid and all, but hasn't anyone ever talked to you about the birds and the bees before?"

Hope blinked. "What do you mean?"

Fang couldn't believe she was having this conversation. Geez, did they teach kids in Cocoon anything practical? "Vanille and I aren't together. Hello, we *are* both girls, you know."

The expression on Hope's face grew more confused. "Yeah... so?"

"... so anyway," Fang finished, "that's what prompted the afternoon inquisition. I didn't think Hope knew what he was talking about, what with him still being a kid and all, so I thought I'd confirm it." That she had also wanted to confirm the soldier's opinion on the matter, she didn't say; Lightning's casual acceptance had given Fang no clue as to what the soldier personal inclinations were.

Lightning hid a rare smile behind a hand. "Why didn't you say anything at dinner? I think Sazh and Snow would have really enjoyed that story."

Fang shrugged in non-committal. The truth was, the silver-haired teen had begged her not to say anything to anyone - he'd never hear the end of it from Snow if she had. She felt a little bad about betraying his confidence to Lightning, but, as she gazed at the mirth on the normally stalwart soldier's face, Fang felt a smile creeping onto her own.

It had been worth it to see Lightning smile. She'd make it up to the teen somehow.

Presently, Lightning shook the last vestiges of mirth from her lips, even as she said, "Still, an antelope's tongue? No offense, but that's pretty gross. On Cocoon, you'd give the girl a ring."

"Hey, have some respect for a warrior's custom," Fang scoffed. "You didn't think it was gross at dinner! As I recall, you didn't disagree when Snow said it was the most delicious thing he'd had since coming to Gran Pulse! Besides, anyone can buy jewelry, but risking your life for the hunt, and then presenting the finest of the spoils to a girl? Now that's a statement!"

Lightning smirked. "You're actually pretty old-fashioned, aren't you?"

Fang snorted. "Only about the important things."

They sat in companionable silence after that, gazing out at the stars. In truth, Fang had been lost in her own thoughts before Lightning had joined her, and those thoughts came unbidden back to her.

... had women been allowed to marry on Gran Pulse... would she be with Vanille now?

It was a bit of a surprise when she heard her very thought being echoed from the lips of her companion.

"... Fang?"

"Hmm?"

"If... if women had been allowed to marry each other in your village." Lightning's voice was strangely soft. "Would you have... you know... 'given your palarex' to Vanille?"

Fang felt something uncomfortable twist in her stomach. She turned a little to look at Lightning out of the corner of her eyes. Truth be told... Fang wasn't sure herself. She wasn't sure, and she wasn't sure she wanted to pursue that line of thought, so this was probably a good time to crack a joke - knock the soldier back with a flirt or a tease or something - 'nah, but then I couldn't marry you, yeah?' and leave it at that... but something about the vulnerability on Lightning's face told her she would regret doing so for the rest of her days.

So instead, she turned away from Lightning and sighed. It was hard enough to try to understand one's heart by one's self; harder still to try to articulate while doing so.

Once upon a time...

... once upon a time, they had only had each other. Once upon a time, Fang couldn't imagine there being anyone more important to her than Vanille. Once upon a time, Fang had sacrificed her feelings for Vanille's happiness, and then Vanille had sacrificed her happiness for Fang's feelings, and what could that had been but love? Once upon a time, Fang felt that as long as Vanille was okay, it didn't matter what happened to her, or the world, or anyone or anything for that matter.

But that was once upon a time ago.

Now, she and Vanille had so much more than just each other.

A new family.

Not just Vanille, but if anything were to happen to any one of them, Fang wasn't sure she could take it. Especially if anything were to happen to-

"You can be with her now, you know."

Fang blinked, not expecting an interruption, not expecting an interruption at that particular thought junction point, and certainly, not expecting *those words* as an interruption at that particular thought junction point. She turned to look at the other woman uncomprehendingly.

The vulnerability that had made Fang's heart ache had left Lightning's face, though there were still traces of fondness on her countenance. "You can be with her now. You may not have been able to be together in Oerba, but... but you're not in Oerba anymore. And I know none of us will care. Heck," there was a strange quirk at the edge of her lips. "We could throw you a ceremony if you want?"

Fang stared at Lightning feeling suddenly lost. Fang knew that the soldier was simply trying to encourage her, was going out of her way to be *nice* to her. Lightning couldn't have known how her words just then had felt like a knife in Fang's gut.

After a moment, Fang cracked a small smile. It took every ounce of her willpower not to run behind a verbal defense barrier, not to tease or make a crack. To leave her words sincere. "Appreciated it," she said weakly. "But... it's not quite as simple as that."

She bit her lip, warring with her heart and willing her lips to just be able to find the right words. "I love Vanille, but... well, it's more complicated than that."

Lightning's eyebrows lifted. At that moment, the vulnerability came back onto her face, and Fang was suddenly glad to be sitting down, for the strength had left her knees.

She tried to get the words out. She really tried.

It's not just Vanille I love, you know.

But they just didn't quite make it.

... and yet... some sort of understanding must have made it over, because, even though Lightning got up to leave after the extended silence signaled that Fang was not ready to say more, before she left, she laid a hand on Fang's back gently, and said softly, "... I know."

And then she left Fang to continue her shift.

Fang watched Lightning leave, and then closed her eyes, cursing her own weakness under her breath.

Author's notes and omake:

Thanks for reading!

The next chapter, Chapter 3, is also part III.2. It is set post-game. Lightning X Fang.

cheers,

jen-chan

OMAKE 1: The best part of a palarex - part 1

[HOPE has just finished bringing down the palarex, and VANILLE has handed him her knife]

VANILLE: Oh, wow, good job, Hope!

HOPE: blushing Thanks, Vanille! I couldn't have done it without you!

VANILLE: Quick, cut off its testicles!

HOPE: WHAT?

VANILLE: It's the best part!

OMAKE 2: The best part of a palarex - part 2

[EVERYONE is seated around the camp for the dinner that Vanille has made]

SNOW: [tearing into the meal with the frenzy of a starving grizzly-bear] Oh, wow, this is delicious, Vanille! What is it?

HOPE: [interrupting VANILLE] Don'taskyoudon'twanttoknow!

SAZH: [looks at the AUTHOR] I can't believe the only screen time you're giving Snow and I is for *this*.