Hey, again!

Thanks to all reviews, really. It meant a lot. All of my chapters for this story were revised this afternoon, I think it's impossible make a better shape out of them.

Wrote this whole chapter in one shot. My head hurts like hell and I'll have two hours of sleep, but it was so worth it.

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Disclaimer: It think it belongs to Square, mark my words.

Chapter 7 ~ Inevitable

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An artificial numbness overtook Lightning's body as she slowly regained her senses. Her body felt light as a feather and there was a constant buzzing in her ears; both probably indicated that she had hit her head somewhere along her fall. The soldier made an effort to roll herself sideways, which consisted merely of tumbling down off the unconscious Fang.

Her heart tugged painfully in her chest when she saw the condition of the woman who jumped to save her. The pulsian had a thin line of blood trailing down from her mouth to her neck and a significant pool of blood beneath her head. Her hand still clutched loosely the ripped fabric of her cape, the material torn apart on account of the abuse it had received.

Lightning forced herself into a sitting position and tried hard to ignore her lightheadedness while she removed her coat and unstrapped her waist pouch, searching for any potions or such almost hysterically. Had it been any other one, perhaps even Hope, she would have calmly remembered her first aid classes, reason overseeing it all. But something triggered deep in her when she saw Fang's condition, and fear and despair clouded her mind.

"Damn!", she hissed in frustration as she failed to find any restorative items within her grasp. Lightning faintly remembered assigning them all to Hope and overloading him with a pile of potions and elixirs, even a couple of phoenix down. The only item in hand was a half full ethersol, which meant that if Fang was ever going to get up from it, it would be on account of Lightning's healing magic; in other words, utter chaos.

The soldier took a deep breath in anticipation and moved to seat cross-legged behind Fang, gently lifting her head and placing it in her lap. The warmth of the blood dripping from the pulsian's unconscious body only made her all the more panicked. Somewhere in her subconscious she felt extremely surprised that she held so much feelings for Fang; truth be told, whatever it was that they shared, she didn't give much thought to it.

She felt so lost, and so bound to literally run around in circles dragging their comrades along if Fang hadn't suggested they came here. Ever since the day she lost Serah, the confidence she cultivated since the day her parents died was slowly fading away; she could feel it slipping away, as if every morning that she awakened, some of that confidence was missing.

And Fang, Fang gave it all back to her. She could finally rest in the rare moments they had together, truly close her eyes and let herself go. Lightning didn't remember what exactly made her return Fang's kiss, but if she ever had to guess, she would surely blame it on that peaceful feeling she got whenever the older woman was around her.

She did remember it on the second time, though. The second time Fang kissed her, and maybe the first time they properly kissed, it was the passion above all else. She had seen it in Fang's eyes; she had felt it Fang's touch. Unexpectedly, her body's reactions were pretty much the same. It was as if her body had started to yearn for Fang's touch all of its own, rebelling against her rational mind and screaming for Fang in every gesture.

She had to leave both times, she remembered clearly. If any other second was spent in Fang's overwhelming presence, she knew wouldn't be able to let go. And she knew she would have to, eventually; she needed to save Serah and protect Cocoon. So utopic, all of it. She didn't have any idea of how to do any of it.

At the beginning, Lightning did have a plan; a rather simple one at that, but a plan nonetheless. But since they fell on Gran Pulse, things began spiraling down. They were tired, all of them. Snow was the only one still mildly motivated, having his hope renewed every time he gazed at Serah's crystal. She wished she could be like him, hopeful enough to go to hell and back with a grin on his face. But she wasn't; she couldn't. Reality had hit her hard far too many times before for her to become a hopeful dreamer. She needed Fang for that.

Fang gave her hope. But it was so much more than that… It was like if every moment that Lightning felt truly broken, Fang would go and fix her up with a smirk. If she was indeed the sea her loved friend claimed her to be, Fang would undoubtedly be her shore. Her land. Her sanctuary.

Lightning closed her eyes and took a final deep breath before leaving her thoughts to the side and using the remaining half of the ethersol can on herself. She felt the substance kicking into effect not after long, feeling a powerful strength running through her veins. The soldier then put her hand over Fang's still unconscious body and focused all of her energy in one single Cura spell, damning herself for not have learned Curaga when she had the chance.

The faint green glow that emitted from Lightning's hands soon turned into a bright one, enveloping Fang's body fully before slowly fading away. The strawberry blond was exhausted, slowly trying to recover her breath as she watched carefully the body laid down in her lap for any signs of improvement. Her hand carefully made its way to Fang's hair and carefully brushed aside some of her bangles, her hands lingering on her wild mane afterwards.

Lightning didn't made any efforts to hide her smile when Fang's eyes slowly opened, her green orbs disoriented and confused. Her hand moved from the pulsian's hair to her shoulders, encircling the front of her chest and bending down for a one sided hug. Fang smiled at her display of worry and concentrated her only few strengths in bringing her hand up to her cheek, bringing their faces together and planting a soft kiss just beside her lips.

"I'm so glad you're okay", she managed to voice out after a few tries, the strong iron taste in her mouth not bothering her anymore. "Try not to do stuff like that anymore, okay? I don't think I'll be able to survive if you make a habit out this…"

Lightning smiled gently at her joke and met her green eyes all so full of life, and that was one the most joyful moments in her life. "Alright, I'll try." They sat in peace as Fang recovered from her injuries, closing her eyes and seemingly asleep in Light's lap.

"What do we do now? We have fallen quite a bit…" Fang trailed off. Even with her eyes closed, she could see the amused expression on the soldier's face as she uncharacteristically made fun out of question.

"You should have thought on that before, don't you think?", the pink haired girl replied with a grin.

"It sure as hell ain't my fault you decided to play damsel in distress… I just thought it would be better if our leader didn't resemble a pancake on her way back, you know."

"I had it under control.", Lightning countered her.

"Yeah, right…", Fang mocked her while cozying her head in the younger woman's lap like a cat. "Hmm, you make a really nice pillow, you know that?" She paused for her joke to sink in, and acquired a more serious tone when she spoke again. "I wish this would never end…"

The words cut through Lightning's heart the same instant they left Fang's mouth. The soldier glanced down at the pulsian's lying body and noticed that her eyes were opened now but she was still glancing sideways, giving her an air of ultimate melancholy. Neither of them had ever talked openly of their relationship, if there even was one. The thought made Light's heart race; what if they meant nothing?

"… What are we, Fang?", she asked, her voice barely audible. The soldier felt like her heart would melt down from all the pain while she awaited the answer.

Fang sighed. She knew this moment would come; it was inevitable. Ever since they shared that first kiss, it was all leading down to this. She was past denying she was in love with Light; she proved it to herself after jumping five floors into nothing just to soften her fall. And it was so different of what she felt from Vanille… Her heart would twist in her chest whenever they crossed gazes, and the passion she felt couldn't even be compared.

But she knew Lightning didn't need any of that. Not a lovesick fool that would only ultimately pain her when all was finally said and done. So, as much as Fang's mind wanted to scream that they were lovers and claim her right there, she sacrificed her wish to Lightning's greater good. They would be…

"…whatever you want us to be." she finished her thought out loud, shifting her body so that she would be able to look the soldier's reaction.

They stared at each other for a while, Lightning's eyes begging for understanding and Fang granting it to her. When the soldier opened her mouth to reply, a very know voice shouted from where the second floor would have been if the tower hadn't crumbled.

"Oi, Sis! You down there?"

thanks for reviews. going to bed, feel like crap. (physically)

~o/