Chapter 5: Readjustment

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Fang had Lightning's top halfway off as the two hesitantly broke off from the heated exchange of brief and fierce kisses when they heard loud footsteps coming from outside. Lightning quickly placed her hand on the pulsian's forehead and pushed the older women away before swiftly pulling her top back down and hopped off the sink. "Damn it they are back already?!" Lightning spoke with a bright flush coloring her cheeks rapidly. "This way!" Fang whispered as she swiftly grabbed the pinkette's wrist and tugged the frustrated women behind the kitchen counter to hide when the door opened.

Serah and Vanille entered through the front door with the younger pulsian carrying four bags of new clothing, two dangling on each wrist. Serah continued their conversation from outside as they walked into the living room. "-I know Snow only wants to help by bringing in some extra gil to help support us but I hate that new job he got over at the bar. Every time he leaves I'm scared something will happen to him and every time I try and convince him.."

Serah stopped midsentence as her eyes scanned through her kitchen. Plastic cups and letters that was placed beside the sink was scattered all over the floor and across the kitchen. Vanille paused for a moment in confusion before she followed her gaze and saw the chaos. It looked as if a small hurricane flowed through the pinkette's kitchen and tossed around everything that was not already attached to something. Vanille dared a glance over to Serah's face who drew a scowl just as intimidating as Lightning's if not worse. The smaller pulsian could sense Serah was about to explode any moment as she pressed her hands on Serah's back and pushed the girl towards her room. "Come on let's go try these on and tell me what you think!" Vanille squeaked as the two disappeared into the hallway.

Fang peeked up from the kitchen counter to make sure the two was gone before letting out a relieved as she stood up still half naked. "Phew! That was a close one." Fang spoke with a cheery smile before she scanned the room and saw their handy work scattered about. "We sure did make a mess huh?" Fang grimaced. Lightning stood up beside the tanned women as she furiously fixed her hair and looked to Fang with a rather menacing scowl.

"Just shut up and let's get this cleaned up before they get back." Lightning spoke as she bent down to pick up the plastic and paper debris as she went around the room. Fang watched the women for a bit before sighing and dropping down to mimic the soldier. "Hey what happened to the affectionate and cuddly Light that I woke up to this morning?" Fang teased. Lightning did not respond as she fully occupied her attention with restacking the debris back to where it belonged as Fang started to do the same.

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Vanille twisted the knob and opened the door to Serah and Snow's bedroom before the two girls waltzed in as the younger pulsian released her captives wrist. Showing no sign of self-consciousness or care of privacy, Vanille quickly stripped off her old garments, letting the rags fall to the floor as she started to dig through the bags for a matching pair of clothes. "V-Vanille?! We do have a bathroom down the hall if you needed to change." Serah turned her head to shield her innocent eyes with a crimson blush painting her cheeks as Vanille ruffled around the bags.

Serah was unsure why it bothered her so much to see another girl nude, Lightning and her both used to have no problem with it back when they were growing up but they was sisters so it felt normal. Though here she was now with a girl that she couldn't exactly label as a close friend now fully naked standing in front of her. Serah found her will slowly bending as she started to feel herself wanting to look over at the girl and it took everything she had to stop herself.

Vanille reached into a large shopping bag and tugged out a short-sleeved t-shirt that had a animated gremlin graphic drawn across the front that the younger pulsian thought was the cutest thing she had ever seen. Laying the shirt down on the bed, the young perky red-head dug back into the same bag to pull out a pair of blue jean short-shorts which barely covered much of anything. Vanille grabbed both items and presented them in front of Serah as she cocked her head to the side.

"Well? What do 'ya think?" Vanille spoke out in her normal carefree tone. Serah slowly peeked over to Vanille and mentally sighed in relief as Vanille had the clothes over her exposed body. The pinkette gave the clothes a quick scan before looking back up to Vanille and giving the women a curt nod. "I like it! I think it looks great on you." The young red-head giggled before dropping the clothes back on the bed before giving Serah a quick hug. "Thanks! I'm going to go take shower and throw these on then. I'll be back!"

Serah froze and immediately started blushing once more as she felt the small yet toned nude frame of Vanille press into her stomach as she gently returned the hug, now feeling a slight inner desire to just let her hands start to roam the women's form until Vanille pulled out of her arms and escaped through the room with the clothes in hand. Serah dropped her face into her palms before letting out a pitiful sigh. "What's going on with me..?" Suddenly feeling overwhelmed, Serah hopped off the bed and exited through her room and headed towards the kitchen.

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"Alright! I think that's all of 'em!" Fang spoke victoriously as she stacked the last plastic cup on the counter. The pulsian then looked over at Lightning who started to resume on washing the dishes and sauntered back over to the pinkette with a sly grin plastered over her face. Fang gently wrapped her arms around Lightning's back and around her middle before resting her chin on the women's shoulder before speaking.

"That sure was a close call earlier huh? I wander what they would say if they came in while I was just about to-" Lightning not ready t o give up the contact exactly just yet she looked over her shoulder at Fang to give the women a glare instead. "Shut up! It's bad enough they probably already know what we did this morning in my sisters guest room let alone their kitchen. Will you let me finish the dishes please?"

Fang smiled before giving the women's neck a gentle kiss, watching as Lightning shivered slightly at the contact before releasing her lover. "Alright-alright, I guess I can go see what those two are up to then." The pulsian smiled as she gave the soldiers back a swift rub before she sauntered out of the kitchen and through the living room to the hallway where she ran into a naked Vanille about to enter the bathroom.

Fang quirked her brow at the sight and let her eyes fall to the girls bag. "What's in there? Also why aren't you wearing any clothes?" Vanille looked up to her older adoptive sister as she pulled out the bundled up clothes for Fang to see. "Some new clothes Serah bought me today! Aren't they adorable?"

Fang snatched the clothes from Vanille's smaller hands and started to paw at the orange t-shirt before unfolding it. The pulsian did indeed find the animated gremlin to be pretty cute but her features switched around to a glare as she scanned over the shorts. Fang eyed the shorts for a bit before looking back down to Vanille with a very un-amused expression. "You know I'm never going to let you go into public wearing -these- don't you?"

Vanille glared back in return before snatching the clothes. "Fang! I'm not a kid anymore! I'm pretty sure I'm old enough to wear whatever I feel like." The young red-head sighed before turning around to open the bathroom door, looking over her shoulder to Fang before she went inside the room. "I can take care of myself alright? Besides, you got your girlfriend to worry about. Try not to ravage her anymore today please?"

Fang's scowl deepened and was about to make some sort of witty comeback until Vanille giggled as she slammed the bathroom door shut behind her. The huntress let out a aggravated huff as she turned to her side only to meet Serah coming up from the hall. Fang nodded to the smaller farron and put on a smile, regardless of what happened moments ago. Serah returned the gesture as she stopped in front of the much taller women.

"Oh hey Fang! If you're looking for Vanille she went to go take a shower." Fang gestured towards the bathroom door with a tilt of her head in response. "Yeah I know I just got done speaking with her actually. I was hoping to actually get to talk to you for a bit if that would be alright?" Serah nodded. "Oh sure that's okay..would you like to speak in the living room?" Fang smiled and followed beside the pinkette as the pair exited the hallway and into the living room where the two took a seat on the couch.

Lightning looked up from the dishes as the two came into view and watched them curiously for a few moments before turning her attention back to the dishes as the pair started talking. Lightning attempted to eavesdrop slightly but Fang kept her voice low, which was rare, causing Lightning to only make out mumbles between the two. The soldier's interest was only starting to get worse as the two shared a few laughs but she figured whatever they was talking about, Fang or Serah would probably end up filling her in later.

Fang looked across the couch toward the pinkette and smiled warmly as she softly spoke. "I don't think we have had a chance to be properly introduced yet. Lightning has told me so much about you and I'm pretty honored to finally meet you in person but it's hardly fair that I know this much about you and you not even knowing my name so I guess I'll start with that. I'm Oerba Yun Fang, happy to finally meet 'ya."

Serah shined a smile and nodded. "Nice to meet you Oerba Yun Fang. My sister told me quite a few stories about you and the others back when we were all l'cie. She mentioned the others as well but the topic of you came up a lot more often. She spoke very fondly of you, mentioning that she finally found someone to keep up with her and match her in combat like nobody else could. She spoke very fondly of you and that's a first, my sister never used to compliment anyone rather than me. You really worked wonders with Claire."

Fang could only smile helplessly at the girl, she was cute as she was sweet. "Yeah I guess I did huh? " Fang spoke as she started to look down at her lap when her smile started to twist into a feint frown. "Though I had my doubts at first about whether it was right or not to try and pursue her back then. The future was so uncertain for all of us and the last thing I wanted to do was fall in love with someone that I might end up losing just a few days or months later. I thought Lightning deserved better than that, she deserved to be happy with someone that would not all of a sudden disappear one day and never to return, most of all she deserved to have you back in her life."

Serah's heart started to sink at Fang's story, it was so beautiful and almost poetic in a way. The smaller farron reached over and placed a comforting hand on top of the pulsian's as Serah spoke. "What changed your mind? To pursue Lightning, I mean." Fang looked over to watch the hand that rested on hers before returning her gaze back over to Serah. "Well the more me and Lightning started to spend more time together fighting with each other, laughing, sharing moments alone it started to become nearly impossible to get her 'outta my head. I tried so hard to keep my feelings at bay until we got separated that one night in Sulyya Springs. I dared myself to just give in just once to see what it would be like to kiss Lightning and whenever I finally gathered the courage for it..I knew there was nobody else in all of Cocoon or Gran Pulse in the world like her. I fell madly in love with your sister and I wanted nothing more than to see her happy."

Serah laced her fingers gently through Fang's as she followed the huntress's emerald orbs. "Well I think you succeeded in that Fang. Ever since Lightning brought you back here last night, she has been in the happiest mood I've ever seen her in after our parents passed away. All I ask is that please just continue to take good care of her. My sister deserves nothing but the best and I hope you can live up to that responsibility." Fang gave the girl a nod in return as she gripped Serah's hand slightly tighter in reassurance. "I will Serah, you won't have to worry about that. I'll never hurt Lightning the way I did again. I promise to never leave her side anymore like what happened after Orphan." Serah shined a warm smile before releasing Fang's hand and giggled. "I'm glad to hear it. I really appreciate what you did for both me and my sister Fang, it means the world."

Fang smiled weakly at the young pinkette as she slowly started to slide her hands free and peered above the younger farron to the older who was watching her closely for some reason. After realizing she was caught, Lightning quickly dashed her gaze away and back to the dishes as she started to stack the last few remaining plates into the dish rack beside the sink. Fang curiously watched the women for a bit then moved her eyes back to Serah as she started to lift herself off the couch before giving the top of the smaller farron's head a gentle rub. "It's no problem. Your sister seems to be off about something so I'm going to check with her for a minute alright?"

Serah giggled and gestured for Fang to go ahead. "Sure thing, Vanille should be getting out of the shower soon anyway." Fang nodded as she sauntered her way back into the kitchen and looked over her shoulder back to Serah before entering. "Oh yeah and don't let Vanille wear those shorts out in public, she'll never get people to stop chasing her around afterward." Serah laughed softly before getting up as well and exiting back into the hallway. "I'll try my best!" With that, Serah quickly disappeared out of sight and heard the girl's door shut shortly after.

Fang approached Lightning from the side as her arms came to rest on the counter top beside the pinkette and watched her for a moment before Lightning finally started to speak. "You two was talking for quite a while, what about?" Lightning spoke as she flicked the water down the sink before turning around to rip off a piece of a paper towel to dry her hands. "Oh just about how everything ended up the way it did, what happened after Orphans, and then you of course." Lightning turned her head to meet Fang's teasing look before giving the women a scoff in return. "Can't say I'm really surprised."

Fang was about to make another witty comment before she heard the door from Serah's room re-open and heard the women talking to someone. Fang could not make out Vanille's loud and distinct voice on the other end so it was obvious the girl was still in the shower and the pulsian found her curiosity building as the smaller farron returned into the living room before the girl flipped closed her small phone.

"Hope called and said that he was stopping by here in a few minutes. I didn't tell him about Fang and Vanille coming back, I wasn't sure if you was ready to tell him yet." Fang quirked a brow at the statement before turning her head to look at Lightning. "When did you tell her that? I don't see a problem with it." Lightning released a sigh as she looked between both Serah and Fang for a moment before relenting. "It's because if people start to find out then the press will never leave you two alone. Though I guess we can trust Hope not to let everyone know."

At the mentioning of his name, Vanille almost bursted down the door with only a towel wrapped around herself as she rushed into the living room. "Hope's coming? Oh yay! I should probably get dressed then before he gets here. I'm curious to see what he's been up to since I've been gone!" With that, Vanille skipped outside of the room and returned back into bathroom where she started to change. Everyone found themselves staring at the door in confusion with the girls sudden excitement to see the silver haired boy.

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Snow leaned against the bar table surrounded by the NORA crew with Lebreau serving drinks over the counter. The blonde haired man reached down to lift up a small glass of scotch and took a few swigs. "I appreciate you guys coming out here to meet you on pretty short notice but I have some pretty big news." Yuj, Maqui, and Gadot all leaned in closer to the man as Lebreau leaned over the counter. "Well what is it boss? It's about your little woman huh?" Lebreau teased and Snow gave the women a nod. "Sure is! I hired a wedding planner last week and we decided to have it here in New Bodhum. I remembered Serah saying how she always wanted a beach wedding so It seemed obvious to have it here. Don't tell anyone though, It's still a secret. I plan on giving her the news next week on our anniversary."

The whole NORA gang gave one big celebratory shout as Gadot picked up his glass and offered a toast. "To the boss and his little lady!" The crew laughed and clanked their glasses together and downed their shot glasses with one go. Maqui had to settle for orange juice but decided to go along with the toast anyway. "A wedding?! Why am I always the last to hear about these things?" Snow turned around at the familiar voice to see Sazh approaching the bar.

Snow bumped himself off the counter and gestured for the man to join in. "Hey old man you made it! I was wandering when you was going to show up." Sazh gave a sigh and looked behind him over to Dajh who was currently clinging to the back of his coat and gave the boy's hair a quick ruffle. "I took Dajh out to get a bite to eat before we headed over this way. Now what's with all this wedding talk?"

Snow chuckled before setting his shot glass back down and gestured for the old man to walk with him. "My shift's over so I should probbaly be heading out anyway. Thanks for showing up guys." Snow waved off to the NORA crew as the big lug and Sazh walked along the beach. "I haven't had a chance to tell Serah yet but I plan on doing it next week. Have you had a chance to talk to Vanille or Fang yet since they got back?"

Snow didn't realize his mistake only until after he blurted out that the pulsians were back. Lightning had told him to keep his mouth shut for now and now surely she was going to have his head for it. Maybe he would never live to get married after all. "What?! They're back? When?!" Snow sighed and rubbed the back of his head as the two came to a stop. "Last night, I forgot I promised Light I'd not let anyone know until they was ready. Now she'll probably have my head for this."

Sazh chuckled as he gave the man's back a gentle pat. "Yeah probably. Soldier girl isn't the type to forgive easily. Though it's great news to see that they finally made it out of there, I figured it was only a matter of time with how stubborn those two are." Snow chuckled as the two resumed their walk down the beach. "Yeah that's what I thought. I'm sure Light will be ready to let everyone know soon, until then don't tell anyone I told you, it would be nice to have all my limbs in-tact whenever I finally do get married."

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Author's Notes: Hey guys here is once again another update! This chapter was very difficult for some reason for me to write so you might notice a few issues with some of the scenes and dialogue but for the most part I think it flowed alright. Now I tried to get in the rest of the gang into this chapter with Sazh and Hope both, however I was only able to get Sazh in without dragging this chapter out too long but Hope will definitely be making a appearance in the next chapter.

Also some of you may be noticing I have been experimenting with some Verah in this chapter as well. I really do enjoy the pairing though I'm finding it difficult to see any reason why Serah would have any desire to leave Snow and/or cheat on him after all the two has been through. However that does not mean that it will never happen and I may experiment with more Verah as chapters come and go. Please let me know what you guys think and I appreciate the kind reviews you guys leave and I hope to hear more from you soon! Thanks for reading :D!