"Awww, you look cute," Serah complimented her sister's choice of clothing as she hopped down the stairs.
"You look nice too," Lightning replied, looking up to critique her sister's outfit. "But you forgot the rest of your skirt upstairs."
"Huh?" Serah twirled around and peeked behind her shoulder to try and get a glimpse of her own butt. "You think it's too short?"
Lightning gave Serah a look that answered the question much better than words could.
"Hmph. Your shorts aren't any better," Serah defended. "Looking to grab someone's attention tonight?"
"Please…" Light mumbled. "I'm only going because I owe Gadot a favor."
"Well once he sees you in those, he'll be trying to pay you some favors instead. Come to think of it, I think I'm even getting hot for you."
"Serah…" Lightning shook her head. It was bad enough thinking that Gadot might start leering at her, but she wouldn't be able to deal if Serah started making her 'Farroncest' comments throughout the night too.
She wasn't sure if she totally blamed her sister for her teasing though. Lightning liked to wear her shorts and skirts just as much as the next girl, but tonight she had picked a pair that she knew to be a bit higher and more accentuating than the rest. As much as she wanted to credit her choice to those shorts being the only 'party worthy' bottoms she had, every time she thought about them, one image popped into her mind…
Fang.
Ever since Dia Opie had mysteriously disappeared, Fang's mind had been somewhere else… somewhere far away from Bodhum. Everyone was on edge about why the old man would go missing right after learning about their dark secret, but Vanille and Fang seemed to be affected the most, Fang especially. She started paying less and less attention to what everyone else said during their group meetings, often causing them to repeat themselves multiple times. She'd also often drift off into deep thought, blankly staring into nothing. It was like she was there, but at the same time not there, and it bothered Lightning to no end. So no, she wouldn't admit so much as saying that there was a hidden motive for her clothing choice. She wasn't even sure if Fang would be at the party after the way she'd been behaving all week. But still in all, Light wouldn't be totally honest if she said that she wasn't hoping to grab someone's attention.
HONK! HONK!
Lightning turned her head to the door as Serah bounded back up the stairs to grab her set of keys. She released a stressed breath before she started her journey out to the waiting car.
Music blasted from the home as Lightning, Serah, and the cheerleaders who had given them a ride approached the house. The house was huge, pretty much a mansion, and located not too far away from Candy Court. It was on its own road that led further into a huge plot of land where the house sat isolated from the other residences in the area. How Snow and Gadot were even able to score this place to have their party at was beyond Lightning, and she wasn't going to ask for fear that she would one day be bothered to testify against them in court.
"Wow, it's packed already," Serah marveled as they walked across the lawn. Groups of teens were scattered across the grass, conversing, smoking, and drinking from plastic red cups. There was a heavy group in particular congregating outside the front door of the house, which was constantly opening and closing from kids entering and leaving. "Oooh, and there's Snow!"
"STEELGUARD!"
Lightning whipped her head around in just enough time to see some boy swing a wooden chair at one of her fellow l'Cie. The chair shattered when it collided into Snow's bare chest, sending wooden shards everywhere and eliciting a loud, "WHHOOOOO!" from the adolescent crowd on the lawn.
"Snow!" Serah gaped, running over to the center of commotion.
"Snow…" Lightning scowled, marching to follow her sister.
"Serah!" The large, blonde party host absolutely beamed on seeing the young girl jogging over to him. He opened his arms and made a move to meet her half way until his vision landed on the grouchier looking young woman behind her. "…and Lightning." The total loss of enthusiasm was transparently obvious in his tone.
"Huh?" Serah stopped a foot shy of Snow to turn and look curiously at her sister, who kept marching even after she had a hand gripped around Snow's huge bicep and had dragged him further across the lawn away from the crowd. Sly whistles and catcalls followed them until they reached a far enough distance for Lightning to feel comfortable.
"Snow, what the hell?!"
"What?" Snow returned, utterly clueless as to what her deal was. He peeked over her head to glance at Serah from across the grass and give her a dainty wave with his fingers, but his hand was immediately smacked down by the elder Farron sister who was still glaring at him.
"What?! More like what are you doing? Besides trying to blow our cover!"
"Huh?" Snow once again paused from making eyes at Serah to look down at Lightning inquisitively. "Ohh! Are you talking about the chair trick?"
Lightning was still glowering.
"Lightning, I do stuff like that all the time at parties! Post-Vestige or not! It's my thing!"
Lightning continued to give him the stank eye. The air was filled with the strong odor of beer mixed with grass and mud, and she was starting to wonder how much of that scent was coming off of Snow.
"Okay, okay. So maybe they've never been that impressive, but look! Nobody looks suspicious of anything! Sheesh." Snow lifted a hand to rub the back of his head. "You've gotta calm down a little, neighbor. We've had a rough week and it's not like we ever get to freely play with our powers. This is a party. Enjoy it."
"Enjoy it?" Lightning's nostrils flared. "I'd enjoy it if—"
"Hey, guys!" Lightning was abruptly interrupted by Serah darting over to jump in between herself and Snow. "Mind if I cut in?" The younger girl was looking dead at Snow and totally ignoring her sister.
"Yes, actually. We were in the middle of—"
"Great! Thanks, Light!"
And just that quickly, Serah had whisked Snow away to the other side of the lawn. Lightning growled after the two. As she watched them disappear into the house, she noticed the faces of the rest of her peers. None of them did seem to care about how Snow was performing such feats of strength earlier. They had all pretty much forgotten about it and had continued with whatever they were doing.
For a moment, Lightning found herself wondering if for once, Snow had a point. It was a party. And although they didn't have anything great to celebrate, it might be a long time before she'd get such a big chance to wind down again. Maybe she should just enjoy it.
With that idea in mind, Lightning headed to the front door of the house.
The inside of the home was surprisingly much more crowded than she would've guessed. The hall was strewn with bodies, mostly of couples leaning on each other and making out against the walls, and the living room was packed with dancing teens. On a platform raised above the dance floor was a DJ table, and from behind it, Maqui made faces and bobbed his head as he mixed different records. Lightning grinned lightly at how 'in the zone' her ex-associate looked.
"Heyyyy, beautiful." Lightning stiffened and her whole back warmed as a sweaty stranger leaned against her from behind and whispered those slurred words in her ear. "Wanna dance?"
Light tried to turn her head and meet the voice that was addressing her, but was halted by a tight hand gripping her waist and another hand pushing down against her back to bend her over. Lightning froze in shock at the crude actions, but was yanked back to reality when she felt a crotch roughly bang into her ass and begin grinding.
As if that pelvic thrust had contained some form of enraged kinetic energy, Lightning felt her anger ignite to the point where she swore she could feel steam bursting out of her ears.
"Hey!" She straightened herself up and quickly rounded on the perpetrator, a boy whose face looked familiar from the hallways of school. Not really giving a damn who he was, she forcefully grabbed a handful of the boys jeans, not even being careful to avoid skin, and gave a hard jerk upward.
"Eeeep!" The boy yelped and tried to push Lightning away, but unfortunately he was drunk while she was sober and super-powered. She easily batted both his arms down, still tightly holding his jeans upward near the crotch area, before aggressively pushing him so that his back slammed against the nearest wall.
"You listen, and you listen good," she snarled, leaning close to his ear and trying to ignore the stench of cigarettes and mixed alcohol on his breath. "Thrust that thing at me one more time, and I will kick it so hard that everyone will remember tonight as the party that had the public castration. Then, as the years pass, I will continuously send you pictures of children. You don't want that, do you?"
"N-n-no," the boy stuttered.
"Good." Lightning releasing the boy's jeans and took a step backwards. She couldn't help but feel somewhat accomplished as she watched him scurry off down the opposite direction of the hallway.
"It's Lightning, isn't it?" A lean, blue-haired boy holding a tray with shot-sized cups on it materialized next to her.
Lightning quirked an eyebrow at the kid and nodded. "Yuj, right?"
"Yep. You're a friend of Lebreau's, huh?"
"Yeah," Lightning nodded guardedly. After her previous two encounters at the party, it didn't seem as if she were on a roll socially.
"Hah. Then word from the wise, don't let her know you're not on the dance floor, or she'll put you to work." Yuj raised the tray he was holding to drive home his point. "But after seeing your run-in with Steve, I figured you could use one of these. Or two."
Lightning leaned forward to inspect the small cups that Yuj was toting around. They were all gelatinous and either blue or red in color, pretty much the type of things that Lightning would never even consider ingesting on a regular day… but she was starting to get in bed with the idea that maybe she should force herself to wind down. So what the hell.
She grabbed a blue one from the tray and quickly slurped it down, cringing when the not so familiar sting of alcohol hit her tongue. "Agh. What is this?"
"Flan shots," Yuj replied, still smiling. "Sorry if they're not that strong. They're the jump starters before the jungle juice rolls out. Here. Take another."
Lightning reached forward to pick a red one from the plate this time. The alcohol still tasted harsh to her untrained mouth, but this one did go down a bit smoother than the last. She took a long gulp and placed the two empty cups back on the tray before nodding her head in Yuj's direction. "So Yuj, why are you walking around handing out drinks instead of dancing or something?"
Yuj shrugged modestly. "I have a track meet tomorrow, so I'm trying to save my energy."
"You're on the track team?" Lightning reached for yet another small cup. Yuj had implied that the shots were weak but nevertheless her throat and chest were starting to grow warm as the previous two shots travelled through her. "I'm actually going to your track meet tomorrow. I've got a friend on the field team."
Yuj laughed which caused Lightning to ruffle her brows. "Then you must be friends with Fang," he chuckled, turning his head to look inside the room with the dance floor.
Now Lightning's face began to heat. She couldn't tell whether it was from embarrassment or anger. She didn't want it to be explicitly known that it was Fang she was talking about, but she wouldn't have expected that type of reaction if she had anyway.
Yuj looked back to Light and shook his head after seeing the upset look on her face. "It's nothing against Fang," he clarified, still laughing. "It's just that Fang IS the field team. Well, the only one worth coming to one our meets for. Although she isn't taking the whole 'save your energy' idea as seriously as I am."
Yuj turned to look inside the living room again, and this time Lightning followed his line of vision. Sure enough, near the front of the dance floor she was able to spot Fang and Vanille. Fang's head was rhythmically swinging back and forth and her hands were raised high to clap on beat with her movements. Across her face was a brilliant smile of pure enjoyment, something that she hadn't seen on Fang for the past couple of days and something that she truly missed. The girl was radiant. In front of Fang, Vanille bounced around, alternating throwing her fists in the air along with the beat, looking jolly as well. So all of the other l'Cie were able to find it in themselves to have a good time…
"Lightning!"
Lightning cringed.
"I was wondering when you'd show up." Alyssa Zaidelle maneuvered through the crowded hall, her friend Stacy close behind her, to stand next to Lightning and Yuj. "Did you know that there's an intense game of Truth or Dare going on two rooms over? You should totally come play with us!"
"I'll pass," Lightning answered callously, snatching one last shot from Yuj's tray to squeeze into her mouth. She only winced a smidgen as she swallowed the gelatin whole. "I'm looking for Lebreau. Maybe later." She glanced across the dance floor for only a brief second more before turning to wander through more of the house.
Alyssa stared after Lightning with a look of contempt on her face. She then snapped her head towards Yuj, but the boy knew better than to stick around a woman who was wearing that kind of expression, so he turned in the opposite way to continue handing out shots.
"Lyss," Stacy called, leaning forward so that she was closer to Alyssa's ear. "It's been months now. Are you still trying to suck up to Lightning Farron?"
Alyssa shook her head and turned to look in the direction that Light had walked off in. "No. Playing nice went out the door the moment that bitch tried to embarrass me in front of my own friends," she tensely replied. "Tonight, there's a new game plan. Tonight, we make Lightning Farron feel like a fool."
Fang rubbed the back of her sweaty neck as she meandered down the hallway. She was taking a break from the dance floor while Vanille chatted up some boy from her Algebra class who 'liked the way she moved'. Fang shook her head at the amateur line that Vanille so easily fell for… although she guessed if a hot enough girl told her the same, she wouldn't think twice before entertaining it.
Speaking of…
Fang froze in mid-step down the hall right after passing the opening to the kitchen and immediately took two long strides backwards to stare through the open doorframe. Leaning over the counter, back arched and butt pushed out as she stretched forward to look into one of the top cabinets, was her favorite pink-head.
Fang arched an impressed eyebrow as her eyes rested on the round backside that was pointed up in her direction before allowing her eyes to travel down the long, slender legs that were more exposed than usual due to Lightning's choice of clothing. There was one thing she couldn't deny about Lightning Farron, and that was that the girl definitely had a body. With an impish smirk on her face, Fang allowed her feet to aimlessly wander into the kitchen, following the instructions that her eyes and hormones were shouting at her. "Hey, you," she said congenially when she was only a couple paces away from Light, forcing her eyes up and away from the other girl's lower body.
Lightning's head turned to peer over her shoulder as the rest of her body remained stretched across the counter. Her cheeks looked pinker than usual and her expression was surprised, as if Fang were the last person she thought she would see in that kitchen. "Hey, yourself," she finally replied. "How are you? I wasn't expecting you to be here after… well… you've just seemed out of it this week."
Fang tried to fight staring at Light with a puzzled expression. It wasn't often that she would just come out of the blue and talk about l'Cie stuff in public, especially in a place this crowded. Maybe her change in mood after Opie's disappearance had been that palpable, just like Vanille had said. Fang let out a thoughtful breath and hiked her shoulders. "Yeah, I know." She leaned her back against the counter adjacent to the one Lightning was stretched over. "I wasn't really planning on it. Van convinced me to come though. Said I needed to relax. But it's been fun; I'm glad I showed up. Got a chance to go out on the floor and show my mooooves." Fang balled her fists and made little bouncing motions with her shoulders.
The corner of Light's lips twitched upward as she watched Fang begin to sway left to right as she continued to bounce her shoulders along in a silly fashion. "I'm glad you showed up too."
Fang stopped her dancing and softly smiled at Lightning's statement, feeling that the words meant more than being glad that she physically showed up to the party.
"I missed you."
Fang's smile faltered. As endearing as that last statement was, it was another uncharacteristic thing for Lightning to say without having it coaxed out of her. Fang narrowed her eyes and took a step closer to better examine the pinkette's face. "Have you been drinking?"
Lightning quickly turned her head to look away from Fang and back into the cabinet. "You do remember we're not supposed to be talking in public like this, right? Alyssa's here and she's on the prowl."
"Hm," Fang let her eyes linger on the back of Lightning's head for a moment before folding her arms and looking across the room. She was definitely sure that her fellow l'Cie had partaken and was even surer that some of her usual defenses had disappeared as a result. Maybe this could be a little fun… "Firstly, Alyssa can go suck a Chocobo tit. Secondly, this is a party. People are supposed to mingle. Thirdly, with my reputation, and your shorts, it'd be weirder if I wasn't over here talking ya up. Can ya flutter your eyes and giggle a little to make it look more authentic?"
"I haven't drank that much."
"Hehe. What are ya doing over here anyway? Housecleaning?"
"Looking for a cup." Lightning looked around the cabinet one last time before settling back down on her feet with a conceding sigh. "But I guess that's not going to happen."
"Here."
Seemingly out of nowhere, a red plastic cup was thrust into Light's face. Lightning eyed the cup skeptically. "You don't need it?"
"Not really. I've only been drinking water. Got that track meet tomorrow, remember?"
"Uh huh," Lightning murmured, crinkling her nose at the cup. "I'm not sure if I trust it. With your reputation, I don't know where your mouth's been."
"Aye." Fang grinned. "The alcohol should kill it. Hopefully. And who knows. Mess around and ya might learn firsthand about my reputation."
"Again, I haven't drank that much." Light smirked as she plucked the empty cup from Fang's fingers.
"Yet," Fang joked, waggling her eyebrows.
"FARRON!" The cabinets almost shook from the intensity and volume of Gadot's excited shout as he entered the kitchen. "There's the guest of honor!"
"Why—"
"C'mon! Come here!" Gadot grasped Lightning's hand and pulled her away from the counter before she could finish. "There's the most epic game of Never Have I Ever going on! You NEED to see this!"
Lightning frantically cast a long look at Fang before being nearly carried out of the room by the overzealous Gadot. Fang just smiled after the two. There was something comical about how contrasting their facial expressions had been when they left the room.
"Heyyy, Fang. Enjoying yourself, I see."
Fang released a tired breath and turned to face Alyssa Zaidelle, who somehow appeared directly in front of her as she continued to lean back against the counter. "More like trying to," Fang replied curtly. She stood straight and moved left in an attempt to walk around the class president but was instead blocked when Alyssa mirrored her movement.
"You know, there's a great game of Truth or Dare going on in the game room. You should join! It would be SO MUCH fun!"
"Sorry, but no."
"Why not?" Alyssa shot, planting her hands on her hips. "What have you got better to do?"
Fang looked down at Alyssa, sizing the girl up before staring over her shoulder at the rest of the house that signaled her freedom. "Anything," Fang matter-of-factly answered, before grabbing Alyssa by the waist, picking her up, and moving her out of the way so that she could quickly slip past her.
"Ugh!" Alyssa gasped in an offended tone as she watched the Pulsian girl retreat to the hallway. It was a minor setback, but the night was still young. She'd have her way yet.
"Never have I ever been able to keep my arms and legs safely inside the vehicle at all times when having sex on the Eidolon Unleashed rollercoaster in Nautilus."
Three fingers went down among the circle of people in the group, and consequently three cups lifted to the air as their holders took a big gulp.
Lightning leaned forward on her knees, still holding all five of her fingers up. Her cup, however, was damn near empty. Even though she wasn't supposed to be drinking, according to the game's rules, she still freely partook in the action due to her boredom. Maybe if all of the questions weren't centered around her peers' crazy sex-ploits, she'd have more of a chance to be involved.
A warm shoulder pressed against her arm, and she turned her head to see Gadot leaning over her. "Farron, I can't tell whether you're really good or really bad at this game. But either way, looks like you're winning. Do you need a refill?"
Lightning just nodded. She found it much easier than talking. Whenever she opened her mouth to speak, she found herself stumbling over her words.
"Here." Gadot tipped his cup into hers to pour her half of his drink. Lightning couldn't tell whether it was chivalry or laziness.
"Thanks," she bluntly responded as another sex question was asked.
Lightning continued to lean forward and blew a strand of hair that had fallen into her face upwards. Not finding anything better to concentrate on, she rolled her head sideways to get a glimpse of what may be happening in the hallway. What she saw immediately made her blood boil.
"Serah?!"
Sure enough, dead in the center of the hall, Lightning's younger sister was pressed up against Snow. She stood on her tippy toes, with the blonde brute leaning down, in order for their lips to meet.
Light rose to her feet but the ground wobbled beneath her, almost causing her to fall over. A pair of strong arms immediately gripped her around her waist to keep her steady. "Whoa, there," Gadot's voice tried to calm her down. "You got it?"
"Yeah," Lightning roughly dismissed, reaching a hand back to swipe Gadot's hands from off of her. When she looked back to the hallway, both Serah and Snow were gone. "Which way'd they go?"
She took another unsteady step forward but was halted by Gadot grabbing her upper arm. "Farron, you don't need to worry about it. I've talked to Snow, and he respects your sister. Plus, she definitely wears the pants in that relationship. Nothing'll happen that she doesn't give the okay to."
"That's what bothers me…" Lightning growled, still intently staring at the Snow-vacant hallway. She couldn't wait until their next training session… But Gadot was right. It'd be useless chasing after them now. Snow definitely knew more about the house's layout than she did.
So instead of taking chase, she raised her cup to her lips and chugged the rest of her drink. Her chest immediately burned afterwards, but it was a good distraction from the horrors she had just witnessed in the hall a moment ago.
"I need another refill," she stated, pushing her cup into Gadot's chest.
Gadot stared at the cup in surprise before taking it. "Uh, sure thing. Let me go handle that for you. You… you just sit down and take a moment. Enjoy the game."
Lightning grunted in response as Gadot left the room to go to the den, where Lebreau was busily working behind a nice sized, built-in bar. "Breausky!" Gadot called, pushing his way to the front of the crowd and waving Light's empty cup in the air. "Need a refill!"
"Already?" Lebreau asked with uplifted eyebrows. "With all the drinks you've been getting, I'd expect you to be doing the forbidden scarf dance on one of the tables by now."
Gadot gave a hearty chuckle as Lebreau took the cup from him. "It's not just me. I've been filling up for two. Farron's really been putting them away up there."
Lebreau halted before opening the spigot to the jungle juice cooler. "Farron?" She turned around. "Which Farron?"
"Older Farron. You know Snow doesn't trust anyone with the younger one."
"Is she drunk?"
"She can barely walk straight."
"So you're getting her more alcohol?!"
"Hey," Gadot said defensively, "You know how rough she can be! Who am I to deny the lady what she wants?"
Lebreau rolled her eyes as she twiddled the cup in her hand. "I've got an idea. Want to start getting some of our boos funds back?"
Gadot leaned across the bar. "I'm listening."
"Tell Lightning that Lebreau's cutting her off."
"What? She—"
"Just listen! Tell her that I'm cutting her off unless she comes down here and does me a favor. Okay?"
"Okay," Gadot nodded. "What's the favor?"
"You'll see. You'll probably enjoy it yourself."
"Good thing I trust you," Gadot grinned, pushing back from the bar counter. "I'll get her down here for you."
"Thanks, boo!" Lebreau called with a smile as Gadot began to push his way back through the crowd. Now next things next… She reached under the bar to grab a handful of paper towels to dry the surface off with. She then shooed a few people who were leaning across the countertop away before hoisting herself up to stand on it.
"May I have your attention, please!" she yelled across the room. "In ten minutes, we're going to start doing body shots!"
A roar of cheers erupted from the crowd.
"50 gil for guys, and free for girls!"
The cheers were immediately replaced with boos.
"Hey, hey, hey! Calm your asses down! These won't be just any regular body shots! These will be my SPECIALTY body shots! And just to prove how special they are, we're going to start with a live demonstration! So listen! Whoever finds and brings Oerba Yun Fang to me in the next few minutes, gets to do a shot off of me! For free!"
There were a bunch of appreciative whoops and grunts from some of the guys in the room, followed by shuffling as some rushed to the stairs.
With a sly grin, Lebreau climbed down from on top the bar and dusted off her hands. Her plan was now set in motion.
"But wait…" Fang lifted a questioning finger as she and Lebreau conversed behind the bar. "Why me again?"
"Why anybody else?" Lebreau returned. She grabbed a small, peach colored fruit from the mini fridge under the bar before pulling out a pocketknife to cut it into thick wedges. "Fang, it's obvious you've got the hots for Lightning. And with you being two of the hottest girls in our class, this'll definitely help bring in sales. So just look at this as me scratching your back while you scratch mine."
"Okay…" Fang said, looking down for a moment to continue to think the request through. "But what about Light? I don't really see her agreeing to something like this. And it's not like anything would come of it anyway. Every time I make a move on her, she looks at it like it's either a mistake or a joke."
"Good."
Fang gave Lebreau a puzzled look that urged the girl to continue.
"You say Lightning doesn't see you that way romantically, then good. This doesn't have to go anywhere. You get enough crap from people on a daily basis, you deserve a chance to finally indulge in something you want. So if you get that chance and don't have to worry about the mess of feelings, blown chances, or the like, then I say go ahead."
Fang stared at Lebreau thoughtfully, obviously rolling the idea over in her mind. And from the growing spark in her eye, Lebreau was positive that she had been given all the coercion she needed.
"Lebreau?"
Perfect.
Lebreau turned around to see Gadot ushering Lightning through the crowd. The brunette had to laugh to herself. Light's hair was a bit more disheveled than usual and her face was definitely more flushed. But despite whatever level of inebriation she was at, she still had that hard, 'classic Lightning' expression on her face.
"You said something about a favor?" Lightning's eyes flicked curiously to scan over Fang before returning back to Breau.
"That I did," Lebreau said with a smile. She leaned over the bar to get closer to Light before continuing. "You wouldn't believe the shit ton we had to spend on alcohol for this party, and since we didn't charge an entry fee, we thought we'd find another way to get some of that money back."
Lightning just eyed her suspiciously. She couldn't see what their little group's financial problems had to do with her not being able to get a refill.
"So we're going to start charging for body shots."
Light still didn't comprehend.
"But they're a bit on the pricey side. So we need something that'll convince them the price is worth it, especially the guys since they're the ones paying. So I want to give them an example."
Lightning's eyes widened and her head once again swung to look in Fang's direction. She totally understood where this was going now.
"Lebreau," she warned in a low voice, also leaning over the bar so that no one could hear them. "No."
"Fine." Lebreau simply answered. "Then you're cut off."
Lightning just stared at her friend for a moment as she thought about her options. The alcohol was making her time here much more passable. She wasn't privy to the idea of leaving the party early, especially since she knew that Serah would try to stay with Snow. Plus, she was only friends with a couple of people here, most of whom were busy or she was not supposed to be seen talking in public with. The alcohol was a must.
"Okay," she relented. "But does it have to be Fang?"
"No." Lebreau shook her head. "The other ideal choice would be Gadot."
Lightning's eyes widened to incredulous proportions.
"It is his party," Lebreau explained, shrugging her shoulders. "Choice is yours."
Lightning glared at Lebreau for a brief moment before breaking eye contact to look at the ceiling. She knew her friend well enough to understand that this was not just a tactical moneymaking strategy. This was basically her way of sticking her nose into Lightning's business, even when Lightning had explicitly told her not to. "Fine. What do I do?"
Lebreau smiled sweetly at Light and opened her hands out to the bar. "Barely anything at all. Just lay back and relax."
Lightning gave Lebreau one last scornful look before trying to climb onto the bar with wobbly arms. When she was finally laid out across the bar, Lebreau picked at the bottom of her shirt to roll it up so that it bunched up right beneath her breasts.
"Lebreau… I think I love you," Gadot breathed, staring at the expanse of finely sculpted pale skin that had previously been hidden under Lightning's shirt.
"So this shot is what I'd like to call the Naughty Nectar!" Lebreau announced. She pulled out one of the fruit wedges that she had cut earlier and ran it in a wavy line along the side of Lightning's stomach. Lightning flinched at the coolness of it against her skin and had to lift her head to peek down her body when she felt something rough and grainy rubbing against her side along the same line that the fruit had gone. "Sugar," Lebreau informed, once she had finished. "And now for the main event… the alcohol!"
Hoots and hollers erupted from the crowd as Lebreau pulled out two bottles from behind her back.
"Okay, Light. For this to work, I need you suck in your stomach a bit right here… just like that. Now, stay absolutely still. Got it?"
"Yeah."
Lightning's stomach cooled as Lebreau poured a little pool of mixed liquids over her bellybutton area.
"And last but not least," Lebreau lifted up the fruit wedge that she had placed against Light's skin for the crowd to see, "Open up, Light."
"Huh—" but as Light was questioning the moves of Lebreau, the girl had taken her chance to stuff the wedge into the pinkette's mouth.
"No talking," she commanded, pointing a warning finger at her friend's nose. "And now, let the body shots begin!" The crowd yelled and screamed in delight. "Fang, she's all yours."
Fang grinned and gave Lebreau an appreciative nod as she stepped next to Lightning.
Alyssa and Stacy quietly watched the action on the bar from the steps leading down into the den. "Soooo… guess this throws a wrench in your plans, huh Lyss?"
"No, not at all." Alyssa rubbed her chin and grinned as she watched the action below. "This just makes it all the better. Have you seen Tammy around?"
Back at the bar, Fang took a moment to let her eyes slowly travel the length of Lightning's body until they locked onto Lightning's own anxious stare. She let a faint, yet highly devious smile play on her lips before ducking her head and moving further down Light's body.
Lightning decided to stare intently at the ceiling. She wanted to brace herself for whatever was to come. She had seen these things done on TV hundreds of times, and they never took more than a few seconds. This would be a piece of caaa-ohhhhh… A violent shiver ran up her spine on feeling Fang's warm breath tickling her bare stomach. Etro, anticipation was a bitch. The waiting was probably going to be worse than Fang actually taking the shot.
Lightning had never had such a wrong thought in her entire life.
The first contact had the effect of an electric shock being flew through her system. Lightning's eyes flew wide open as a hot, wet sensation spread across her lower abdomen, below her bellybutton and right above the top edge of her shorts… nowhere near the alcohol or sugar.
Lightning's head shot up from against the bar to look down her body. Fang had jumped onto the bar and was crouched over her, dragging her lips across Lightning's skin to finally meet in the long, slow kiss that she had spread across the girl's lower stomach. Her gaze never lifted to take in how Light might be reacting to her treatments, but instead remained focused on the skin she was currently cherishing.
Lightning spit the fruit out of her mouth and let it tumble down her chin to land on her chest. "What are you doing?!" Her question was forced out as a mixture between a frenetic hiss and a pant.
"Light!" Lebreau scolded. "You dropped the fruit!"
"It's alright." Fang's eyes finally lifted to meet Light's in an undeterred and calm stare while she still kept her predatory stance over Light's lower body. "Is there a problem, Lightbolt?"
Lightning's expression looked incredulous. "You're not… taking… the shot," she ground out in three exasperated breaths.
Fang's face remained as calm as could be. "Yea, I am."
"You're not doing it right."
"Hmmmm. My shot. My way."
"What?!"
"She's right," Lebreau agreed, earning her an angry look from Lightning as well. "Only person with set rules right here is you, because if you don't sit still and cooperate, I'm cutting you off." She narrowed her eyes at Lightning to emphasize her point and used two fingers to push the girl's head back down against the bar. "Now shut up and relax for once!"
Lightning clenched her jaw furiously, glaring at Lebreau through fierce eyes as the back of her head met the bar again. She had half the mind to say screw the alcohol and just jump off the bar right no—oooohh! Lightning's head lifted up again to check down her body to see the new actions that had gotten her feeling wired again.
Fang was now placing light, gentle pecks along her side, starting from below her bellybutton and leading up to where the line of sugar started. Just as before, she was giving all of her attention to Lightning's stomach, never looking up as she placed her lips against Lightning's skin, lifting them up just enough to barely graze her side before softly planting them down again at their new destination.
Lightning knew that everyone in the room had to be laughing or cheering or whistling at them, but she couldn't hear a thing besides a mute, muffled background noise. She knew the crowd was there, but her senses just refused to care. They were only focused on one person in the room. Nevertheless, Lightning tried to control her breathing. She was starting to feel self-conscious that her chest might be heaving so visibly that everyone would notice how nervous Fang was making her, how inadvertently excited her body was getting.
That's when the kisses stopped. Lightning looked down again.
Emerald green eyes locked onto hers, and an uncontrollable surge of heat suddenly exploded in her lower stomach, spreading a warm tingling feeling through her legs.
Never breaking eye contact, Fang lowered her head back down to drag her tongue along the long line of sugar up Lightning's side. Lightning had to fight to suppress the involuntary jerks her body made as Fang's course muscle rubbed against the grainy crystals. The Gran Pulsian pulled up once she had almost reached the end of the line just so she could dip back down again to take one final, deliberate lap at the last patch of sugar.
Her eyes were now fixated on Light's stomach again as she zeroed in on the small pool of liquid at her bellybutton. She leaned back on her haunches and planted her hands on the bar counter, one on each side of Lightning.
She dipped in again.
Lightning took a sharp inhale at the warmth that engulfed her stomach as Fang's mouth attached to it and sucked. That tongue of hers went to work again, causing Lightning's breath to hitch as it made circles around the small dip in her belly. This made no sense. This couldn't be for show anymore, or could it? The crowd couldn't see the way her tongue was currently caressing and stroking her belly. So why do it, if not to just try and draw a reaction from her? Lightning grit her teeth and prayed to Etro that a moan wouldn't accidentally fly out. She couldn't help but be thankful, albeit still a but upset, when with a soft slurping sound, Fang's head lifted from her stomach.
The dark-haired girl then crawled up to finish off the last part of the Naughty Nectar, the fruit.
Fang bent her head to take the piece of fruit between her teeth and drag it across Light's skin until it was resting in the center of her neck. Light tried to train her eyes to the ceiling and focus solely on steady breathing, although at this point she couldn't see the use. Fang was so close now. There was no way she couldn't pick up what Light was feeling from the rest of her body. No way the girl couldn't hear how loud her heart was beating, or at least feel how violently it was banging against the inside of her chest. She had to know the effect she was having on her. She especially had to feel the quickened pulse in her neck as her lips ran across it to take the fruit to her mouth in one go.
Lightning's senses had reached such an overload that she didn't notice Fang lean further up against her body until she felt her breath rustling a few of the hairs in front of her ear as she leaned over to whisper, "Guess ya know where my mouth's been now, huh? OOOMMPH!"
The next thing that Fang would feel would be a prominent ache in her stomach as she went tumbling over the side of the bar and crashing onto the sticky floor below. The excited sounds from the rest of the crowd once again became loudly evident as she lay, panting on the floor and trying the catch her breath from the surprise knee to the gut that she had received. The noise still didn't stop her from hearing the low, "Jackass," that Lightning muttered before reaching over the bar to grab a nearly finished bottle of alcohol and sliding off the counter to march to the door.
"Wow."
Fang looked up to see Lebreau looming over her with her hands on her hips and her eyes fixed on stairs that Lightning was now ascending.
"Strangely, I think that went better than I expected."
Fang found Lightning leaning against the doorway of the living room, staring out at the crowd of gyrating bodies on the dance floor.
"Found ya," she said, standing a few inches behind her to lean forward on the inside wall and peer over her shoulder.
Lightning didn't turn to greet her.
"Look, I'm sorry about what happened downstairs. It was juvenile, and messed up, and I shouldn'ta taken advantage of ya like that."
Lightning continued to stare at the dance floor for another moment before finally turning her head to face Fang. Her cheeks were definitely redder at the tops and her face shimmered with sweat. Her eyes were a bit pinker in color, and her movements, although perfectly fine compared to a regular person, seemed a bit less controlled than usual for Lightning's standards. "You humiliated me."
"I know," Fang sighed, studying the pinkette closely. She wondered how much more she had had to drink since carrying that bottle upstairs. Even as she stood in front of her now, it looked as if her body was starting to sway a bit. "Want me to make it up to ya?"
Lightning snorted and turned back around. "As if you could."
"But I can," Fang pushed in a lighthearted tone. "I humiliated you, so how 'bout I repay ya back by humiliating myself? Sound good?"
Lightning's head turned around to eye Fang again. "How would you do that?"
The corner of Fang's lip lifted up into a sheepish grin. "Dance with me."
"No." Lightning had turned around again.
"You'll enjoooyyyy ittttt," Fang sang.
"I don't dance."
"I can't dance either."
"I didn't say I can't. I said I don't."
"Even better!"
Lightning turned to glare at Fang again. In response, Fang gave her best innocent smile. "Listen," she began, "When me and Van first integrated public school, we didn't know too much about Cocoon culture and stuff. So when the first school dance came about, we didn't wanna miss out on a chance to mingle with the local folk. But we also had no idea how Cocoonians danced, and it's not like we were gonna walk up and ask anybody to teach us. So we tried the next best thing. The next day, we went to the library and went on the net to search for the most popular online dance videos."
Lightning lifted an eyebrow at Fang, slowly becoming curious as to where this story was going.
"Now this was around the time when those three boy bands were real popular. So the most popular dance videos, of course, were from them."
Lightning's glare softened a bit. She remembered those boy bands fairly well. Serah had been in love with all of them. She also remembered how ridiculous their choreographed dance moves had been, each one trying to outshine the choreography of the group who had released a video before them. "So you went to the dance and did those type of dances?" she asked.
"Sure did," Fang confirmed with a reminiscent smile. "Got made fun of the entire night for it, too. I think that kinda fueled the whole social stigma thing for us at school more than anything else."
"And you'd want to do it again?"
"All's fair in humiliation and war, right?" Fang shrugged. "And it's not like I'm getting any more popular. So whattaya say? Dance with me?"
Lightning's brow creased in thought. "I don't kn—"
"That's the spirit!"
Fang didn't wait for the negative response that she knew was coming. She just grabbed Lightning's wrist and pulled her into the music filled living room, making sure to slow down when she could feel Light stumbling behind her. Once they had found a small circle of free space in the mass of dancing people, Fang released Light's wrist, took a few steps away, and turned to face her. She stood with her feet shoulder width apart and her hands clasped behind her back, an antsy grin pasted on her face that widened into a full on smile when she looked at Light. "One, two, three, and BOUNCE!" she mouthed before sliding to the left and spinning then sliding to the right before breaking into her dance routine.
Lightning couldn't tell if it was the liquor or if the scene was just that funny, but she couldn't even hold back the smile that had broken through in watching Fang slide, step, and twirl around in that small space as she perfectly copied the intricate dances from some of those music videos. She hadn't even been thirty seconds into her dance before a bigger circle of onlookers had stopped their own dancing to turn and watch, some of them even going as far to cheer her on. About another thirty seconds in, Maqui looked up from his perch behind the uplifted DJ booth to see what the commotion on the floor was about. Five seconds later, the room blasted with an actual song from one of the boy bands. Fang's smile somehow widened even more. She stole quick glances at Lightning, who stood still in her spot on the dance floor, grinning and softly shaking her head at her comrade, as the girl continued to dance and now mouth the words to the song. All around them, their mostly drunken peers started to sing along with the song at the top of their lungs and turn to their friends to do their own emulations of the dances.
"Light!" Fang called, when she had noticed most of the attention had been taken off of her as everyone else broke into their own dancing factions. Lightning looked to her curiously. "Come here!" Fang reached out a hand.
Light stared at that hand as if it had leprosy.
"Aww, c'mon! It'll be fun!" Fang encouraged, once again ignoring the obvious look of protest and grabbing Lightning's wrist to pull her in closer.
She must have misjudged the amount of balance Lightning had had before, because as she held both of Lightning's hands and moved their bodies, encouraging the other girl to try and copy her dance moves, it was becoming more and more clear just how little control Light currently had over her legs. She moved in discord to every motion Fang made and at times gripped Fang's hands tighter because it felt as if her legs would totally betray her an cause her to slip.
When the current song moved into the slow, breakdown portion near the end of one of its verses, Fang gently pulled the dizzy Lightning in against her chest for a momentary slow dance as she dipped her head down closer to the girl's ear. "Are you feeling alright? How much did ya actually drink tonight?"
"I'm not drunk," was the slurred response that Lightning gave, nuzzling her cheek against the exposed part of Fang's warm chest as they continued to slowly sway to the music.
Fang's eyebrow lifted dubiously. Light's speech had gotten a lot worse than it had been just minutes earlier in the doorway. She didn't know if it had something to do with the dancing or if some of the liquor was now starting to set in and hit her in a drunken wave, but either way, she had a feeling that it would only get worse from here. "Do ya wanna go to the kitchen and get some water?"
"I don't need water."
"Okay. Well, we can just stay here for awhile then… if ya want?"
Lightning didn't immediately answer, but closed her eyes and continued to slowly move in tune with Fang. She didn't mind staying here at all. It was comforting, standing there with her body against Fang's and rhythmically rocking to the beat. She didn't feel so dizzy. Or lost. Or off-balance. She just felt warm. And fuzzy. And right. She smiled to herself and opened her eyes.
And then her personal smile faltered.
Eyes were staring at her. She couldn't tell how many, or from which directions they were coming from, but she could feel them nonetheless. Staring at her. Judging her. Forming their own personal opinions about her and looking to each other to gossip about her.
"No."
"Huh?" Fang asked, pulling her head back a bit to look down at Lightning curiously.
"No, no. People are staring."
"What?" Fang looked around to scan the crowd. "Who?"
"They're staring. I-I can't do this. I need to go to another room."
"Wait, are ya sure?"
"I need to go," Lightning repeated with an air of finality as she roughly pushed herself away from Fang and stumbled through the crowd to the hallway, leaving a confused and crestfallen Fang to stare after her alone from the dance floor.
"…and with Homecoming just around the corner, I don't understand how you don't have a dress yet," Alyssa continued to speak to Lightning, who just blankly stared out across the room at the circle of teens sitting in the floor a number of feet away from them. They looked as if they were playing a game. They would take turns saying things that she couldn't hear from where she was sitting, then they would burst into laughter.
"Lightning?"
"Huh?" Light turned her head back to face Alyssa.
"I said, is there anyone you're thinking of asking out?"
"Oh." Etro, this conversation was trying. If not for the fact that she was avoiding all the people she considered to be her friends at this party, she wouldn't even be sitting here talking to Alyssa. But such is life… "No."
"But there are so many people dying to go with you! You should talk to…"
From one of the open side entrances, Stacy led a still downtrodden looking Fang into the room. "What did ya need me for again?" Fang asked, watching Stacy as she turned to look at the group of people sitting in a circle on the floor.
"We're playing Truth or Dare. Your name came up and we need you in order to get to the next turn."
Fang sighed. "How do I keep getting drafted for these things?"
"I dunno. Just lucky, I guess," Stacy said with a smile as she approached the circle with Fang a few steps behind.
"So what is it my name came up…" Fang began to ask, but her question slowly trailed off as she noticed Tammy rise from the circle, her eyes dead set on Fang with a predatory grin on her face. "…for?"
Back across the room, Lightning rubbed her eyes as Alyssa continued to talk to her about homecoming. "…because I'm wondering if wearing a light pink dress to match your hair would be overkill or just plain adorab—oh. Oh, look at that. That's just disgusting."
"Hm?" Lightning murmured, pulling her hands away from her face to give Alyssa a questioning look.
"If the two of them are going to be like that, they should just get a room."
Light turned her head to see what Alyssa was talking about. What she saw caused her stomach to drop. All the warmth that had been flowing through her body rushed to her face and the air in the room thickened to the point where breathing became laboured.
On the far side of the room, Tammy was pressed up against Fang. Her hands were tangled in Fang's hair as Fang's arms wrapped tightly around her waist, holding them close together, and their mouths were practically glued together in a deep kiss that looked as if Tammy wouldn't be satisfied until she came up with Fang's tonsils. The two finally pulled away after a few more seconds, both taking slow, deep breaths as the circle of teens laughed around them. Tammy leaned in to whisper something into Fang's ear, and Fang numbly nodded her head in response, a glazed look coming over her eyes. Tammy then smiled and grabbed Fang's hand to giddily drag her out of the room.
Lightning didn't know she was still staring at the doorway that the two had run through. She could feel her brows furrowing into a deep scowl and she could hear the heavy breaths that she was taking. Her face still burned and her stomach was still turned in disgust.
"Well!" Alyssa glanced from Lightning to the door with a pleased smile on her face. "That was something else. That Fang, I tell ya… She pulls this at every party we go to."
Lightning ground her teeth and jumped off of the seat she had been sitting on, taking a moment to gain some balance before Alyssa asked, "Lightning, are you going somewhere?"
"I wanna be alone," she stated.
"Oh. Okay. Well there's a room upstairs that I know is empty. It's the one with the picture of the dog hanging on the door. If you look above the doorframe, there should be a key to unlock it. You can rest in there for awhile if you want."
Lightning vigorously nodded, her scowl still prominent on her face, before staggering to the doorway and pushing her way through the crowd.
Alyssa smiled after her as Stacy slowly slid beside her to take the seat that Lightning had just vacated. "Everything going like you expected?"
"Exactly," Alyssa answered happily. "Although, there is one last thing that I'd like to ice the cake with. You saw what Lightning did to Steve earlier when he tried to dance with her, right?"
Stacy nodded.
"Are there any really drunk basketball players roaming around? Starters, preferably."
"Jason's pretty off his ass right about now."
"Good. I think he'd be dying to know that Lightning Farron is upstairs waiting for him in the room with the dog picture on the door."
Tammy leaned into Fang as the two left the house with their arms interlocked. Fang had been able to find Vanille in the party and secure a trusted ride home from Yuj for her. From there, she and Tammy had begun walking to Fang's car. Apparently Tammy's parents were away again this weekend, and Tammy was not in the mood to be alone in the house tonight.
"I was starting to think you weren't interested in me after the last few times we talked," Tammy admitted in a high-pitched, cutesy voice, cuddling closer into Fang's arm.
"Really? What would make ya think that?" Fang asked, playing along. After that kiss, her mind was set on one thing right now, and she didn't mind playing any games that Tammy was going to set in front of her to get it.
"You're always blowing me off."
"What? I'm not always blowin—"
BOOM!
Fang and Tammy quickly turned around just in time to see one of the second story windows of the house shatter, and a huge plume of fire blow out of it before recoiling and disappearing into the night air.
Fang gaped at the spectacle, dumbfounded for a moment before quickly turning back to Tammy. "Ya know, tonight was fun but I just remembered that there's some other thing I've gotta do, so I've gotta pass on the thing we were gonna do. Cool? Okay! Talk to ya later!"
"What?! Fang!" Tammy called, but it was too late. Fang had already broken out into a sprint across the lawn and back into the house.
She didn't stop running until she had forced her way to the front of the crowd that had packed into the stairs to stare into one of the upstairs rooms.
"SHE'S CRAZY!" a tall, square jawed boy shouted, crouching against the far wall with a hysterical look in his eyes and a shaky finger pointed to the opposite side of the room.
"Touch me again, and I'll show you crazy!" a more familiar voice shouted. Fang turned her head to see a red-faced Lightning wrestling with Gadot (who despite his superior size, looked to be struggling to hold her back) as she tried to pull herself in the boy's direction.
"What's going on?" Fang asked in a loud voice, stepping into the room.
"And why are you here?" Lightning spat, now turning her enraged eyes to Fang.
"Hey, hey, hey!" the boy on the opposite side of the room called to Fang. "Don't piss her off! She can shoot fire out her hands!"
"What?" Fang asked incredulously, giving the boy the best disbelieving look she could pull off. "Calm down, man. I think you're drunk."
"What? No! Bitch is crazy and she shoots crazy fireballs out—"
"Hey," Fang said soothingly, walking up to the boy and placing a calming hand on his elbow. It took only a moment for it to have the effect that she wanted, and she saw the boy's face twist into one of discomfort. "You're talkin' crazy. Are you alright? Ya look like you're gonna be sick." And right on cue, the boy leaned over and vomited on the floor.
"Hey! Not on the hardwood!" Gadot groaned, loosening his grip around Lightning as he did so. The crowd in the doorway began to clear away as well, voicing their disgust as they left.
"Light, you don't look too good either," Fang said, now walking across the room with a displeased expression. "You actually look a bit dazed."
"Don't you dare…" Lightning growled.
But she did. Her movements were much sharper and more controlled than Light's were at the moment, and she was easily able to reach out and take Light's hand, letting her magic course through her and causing Lightning's knees to go weak and the environment to dull as she slowly felt her strength drain from her before she crumbled to the floor.
Between Fang's spell and the drunken anger-filled stupor that she had already been in, it was becoming harder and harder for Lightning to concentrate on what was going on around her. She could see some tall, athletic looking guys walk in and drag their sick friend out. She didn't know when they had appeared, but Snow and Serah had indeed entered the room as well. Serah bent down to touch Lightning's head and ask her a few questions about how she was feeling.
"We should go home. Only problem is, I have to find Dina to give us a ride back," Serah stated, standing up.
"Don't worry about it. I'll drive you," Snow said with a dismayed look on his face.
"No way. I can take her home," Gadot offered. "You two don't look like you're ready to leave yet, and Snow, you're much better at monitoring the house than I am. You stay. I'll go."
"I don't think I'm too keen on that idea," Fang interjected, eyeing Gadot suspiciously. Gadot glared back at her challengingly while Serah looked to Fang in surprise. She had heard that Vanille's friend had shown up to help defuse the situation, but she couldn't understand why she was interested enough to stay and involve herself in their going-home affairs.
"You don't need to be," Gadot replied sternly. "Farron, what do you think? Mind if I take you home?"
"Oh she's not drunk enough—"
"Gadot's good," Lightning said in a slightly garbled voice. "Gadot, did you know I couldn't stand you when we were kids? Or yesterday! Yester-d-day I thought you were such a douche! But you… you're good. I… we can go home."
Fang's face dropped as Gadot smiled at Lightning victoriously. "Well, whatta you know? Looks like somebody was mistaken."
Fang turned back to give Gadot a severe look before taking a step closer to him. "Maybe I should clarify. I meant to say that I'M not drunk enough to let ya take her home."
Gadot bristled at the new challenge and also took a step forward.
"Excuse me?" Serah asked, still confused by what was going on. "Why—"
"Fang should take Lightning home!" Snow cut in, jumping in between Fang and Gadot and pushing them apart. Gadot was a big dude, but Snow was well aware of what Fang was capable of. One l'Cie had already lost control tonight; there was no need for the number to rise to two. He turned around to face an even more baffled Serah and shrugged. "You can trust Fang. She'll take care of her."
Serah gave Snow an almost pleading look before turning to Fang. The Pulsian's facial expressions had smoothed out from the fierce look she had been giving Gadot earlier and now looked more comforting than ever. "I know where ya live. I can drop her off safely. And Gadot…" Her face now looked apologetic, but Gadot wasn't having any of it.
"Nuh uh. Not cool, Fang. Not cool," he replied, shaking his head and briskly exiting the room.
"Where are we going?" Lightning grumbled, an arm thrown over Fang's shoulder as the taller girl helped her walk along the dark road that led up to Candy Court.
"Your house," Fang patiently replied.
"Why aren't you driving?"
"Heh, in the condition you're in? Don't want ya to accidentally redecorate the inside of my car. Your house isn't much further from here, though. You'll be alright."
"Hmph…" Lightning groused. "It's your fault."
"Not all of it," Fang replied lightly, a hint of a smile on her face. "What was with you tonight, anyway? Drinking that much… Thinking of becoming a sailor when ya grow up?"
Lightning mumbled something incoherent and then let out a soft burp, which made Fang's shoulder's bounce up and down in a chuckle. "Don't laugh at me," Lightning scolded, still finding it in herself to be cross at everything. "And don't tell me not to drink. You're not my mom. My mom's dead."
Fang's shoulders stopped bouncing and the air grew a bit more serious. "Sorry to hear that… My mom's dead too."
"Is she really?" Lightning asked skeptically, sharply turning her head to look at Fang. "I thought your parents were alive."
Fang just released a lighthearted breath from her nostrils, not seeming upset at the morbid path that the conversation had taken. "Nope. Both me and Vanille's parents are gone. That's why we're so close. We met at an orphanage in Oerba not to long after we lost 'em. She became my only family. We've lived together ever since."
"Oh."
They walked silently in the dark for a few more steps.
"You shouldn't kiss Tammy."
It was now Fang's turn to lift and eyebrow and turn her head to study Lightning. "You're not my mom," she said jokingly.
Lightning ignored the comment and pushed on. "You shouldn't be kissing any of those girls you kiss at parties. It's not right."
"Gods, help me…" Fang breathed, not sure of where this conversation was heading now. "How about we talk about something else, hm?"
"No," Lightning said determinately. "Do you know how bad it looks when you're off touching and kissing and, and doing other stuff with girls all the time?"
"Wow, didn't know ya were so committed to guardin' my decency," Fang teased in a sarcastic voice.
"Well, obviously you're not," Lightning retorted. "Tammy, and Vanille, and—"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Fang slowed her steps to a stop to look at Lightning critically. "Why are ya throwing Vanille into this?"
"You don't sleep with Vanille?"
"No, I don't sleep with Vanille! Well, I sleep-sleep with Vanille but I don't SLEEP with Vanille. Vanille's as straight as a line."
"Lines can be curvy."
"Then she's as straight as a straight line," Fang corrected, securing her arm around Light's waist before starting to walk again. "Damn. Don't know what's more disturbing. That ya thought I was doin' the nasty with Vanille, or that ya thought I'd be cheatin' on her."
"Well you two need to define your relationship. Or wear tags around your necks stating it. No one knows what in the hell you guys are," Light mumbled. She decided she had had enough of being coddled and pulled her arm from off Fang's shoulder so that she could stumble on a few paces ahead of her.
"Hehehe, yea. Everyone seems to have their own interpretation," Fang agreed with a thoughtful smile, looking past Lightning to peep her house, which was starting to grow taller in the distance. "Didn't think it would matter much to you, anyway."
"It does," Lightning replied without turning around to look back at Fang. "I don't like thinking of other girls kissing you."
"Well, that's a—huh?" Fang froze and stared dumbfoundedly at Lightning's back as it continued to move unsteadily down the sidewalk. "Wha—hold up a second." Fang lunged forward to grab Light's hand and gently tug it backwards, causing Lightning to spin back into her. "What do you mean? That ya don't like 'other' girls kissin' me?"
Lightning's eyes looked tired and somewhat glazed over. She was definitely feeling the effects of the night's activities now, but Fang remained undeterred, keeping a firm grip around Lightning and searching her face for an answer.
"It makes me mad," Lightning replied, tiredly leaning forward to rest her forehead against Fang's chest.
"Why?" Fang asked hurriedly, feeling her heart starting to beat more furiously. "Why does it make ya mad?" She tried to lean away so that Lightning would stand straight again and look at her, but Light's head continued to droop and roll. "Light, please…"
Lightning slowly lifted her head from Fang's chest to look the girl straight in the eyes, but something seemed different. It wasn't the same, drunken glaze that had been there before. Her eyes just seemed… empty.
"Ragnarok…"
Fang's blood ran cold.
"Come day of wrath, o Pulse l'Cie. Embrace thy fate, thine home to burn... That fallen souls might bear our plea, to hasten the Divine's return... O piteous wanderer, Ragnarok. Make of this day a brave epoch. Deliver the Divine, Ragnarok."
"L-Light?"
Lightning's head dropped back down against Fang's now heaving chest. The pinkette emitted a low groan, before slowly lifting her head back up to look at Fang through squinted eyes. "Fang… I'm tired."
Fang just stared at her with a mix of confusion and bewilderment. "Uh, yeah. We're… we're almost home. Here." Fang bent down to scoop Lightning up in her arms, an action that was met without protest. She carried Lightning the rest of the way to her house.
All the windows were dark and everything seemed quiet from outside. Colonel Farron's anti-grav Jeep was parked in the driveway, signaling that the man was home, but Fang couldn't be sure if he was up waiting for his daughters or not. Either way, she wouldn't just leave Lightning at the doorstep. The girl looked as if she were in no state to even make that short trip into her house and up her stairs alone. So with a little coaxing, she was able to get Lightning to hand over her house key and sneak indoors.
The house was pitch black inside, save for the bits of moonlight that spilled in through some of the open windows. Fang made a stop in the kitchen to grab two bottles of water from the fridge before silently carrying Lightning upstairs to her room, thanking the gods that Colonel Farron had indeed gone to sleep not knowing what his offspring were up to.
When she was safe behind Lightning's locked bedroom door, she asked the Cocoonian to start taking sips from the water bottle she had given her. As expected, Lightning groggily refused, so Fang then challenged the girl to a water-drinking contest. At first, Lightning paid her no mind, but after watching Fang take a few uncontested gulps, Lightning quickly snatched her own bottle from off the nightstand to quickly guzzle down its contents before Fang could finish hers.
"I win," Light muttered, before dropping unceremoniously onto her mattress and curling into a tight ball. "You… you lose…" And with a long yawn, the girl quickly slipped off into unconsciousness.
Fang sighed and flopped down on the bed next to her, turning her head upwards to look at Lightning's face. It had been a long night for everyone, but she was sure that recent events would keep her awake for a few more hours still.
A/N: Hey, y'all! I think it's kind of funny that earlier today I was talking to someone who said, "It takes much more skill to write a short story than it does to write a drawn out novel." and hours later I came home and uploaded this extremely long chapter and thought to myself, "Well, shit..."
So if you made it to the end and are reading this... I appreciate you. And sorry for the update lag. Now that my finals are done, I'll try to squeeze some more writing in here and there so I can get back to the at least once a week schedule. Thanks again for reading!