Every year, Bodhum celebrated its founding day the exact same way. Downtown open markets in the morning. A carnival in the afternoon. And a brilliant fireworks show at night to close it all out. As fun as all of the events were, it was always the fireworks that drew the biggest crowd. There was something just magical about watching the sky light up with dancing figures of light that made most of the city want to crowd the streets and stare.
PSICOM had particularly been looking forward to this event. There would be more people in the square and less people in the streets, making them easier to search.
A particular group of young adults had been looking forward to this event as well. Although it held a lot of risk, there would be more people than usual in the square, making it harder for them to be picked out and identified by searching officers. Therefore, it was in the heart of the crowded square in downtown Bodhum that the young group of l'Cie now stood, awaiting the fireworks like everyone else around them.
Lightning looked over her shoulders warily, not really trusting the crowd as sufficient enough cover. She would've preferred their team meeting be held in her room, which was being so sloppily monitored by the PSICOM agent that she was sure he didn't even know she was missing, but since this was supposed to be Fang and Vanille's last night in Bodhum, the rest of the group voted that they should do something a bit more special. So they found their own ways to sneak downtown and meet on top of their usual building, where they finalized Snow, Fang, and Vanille's travel plans on how to sneak out of the city undetected.
A loud 'ahhhh' sounded from the crowd as the first few lights began to shoot across the sky.
"Whoa… Look at that one," Hope marveled, pointing up towards the sky as one firework turned into a dragon that swirled in bright circles around the stars. Lightning gazed at the sparkling reptile thoughtfully. She felt somewhat relieved that Hope was still able to relax enough to still just be a kid sometimes. She looked to her other side, curious as to whether Vanille was just as excited, but she found the look on Vanille's face a bit harder to identify. One corner of her lip was slightly tilted upwards and there was a somewhat hopeful gleam in her eyes as she watched the fireworks, but somehow, her expression still seemed morose. Not knowing that Lightning was watching her, the redhead looked down to her hands and closed her eyes, interlocking her fingers to murmur a short prayer to herself. The action almost made her look like a monk with the oversized hoodie that Snow had given her to better help hide her features.
As for Snow… she didn't know where in the hell Snow had run off to, but she knew that his ass had better show up before the fireworks ended so he could drive them home.
Then there was Fang.
Lightning first looked down to her hand, which was snuggly grasping Fang's. The two had been standing close, arms pressed together as they leaned on one another, and holding hands ever since they had stopped in the square. She didn't know who initiated it. She just knew that it had happened without a second thought from either of them.
Light's eyes traveled up from their conjoined hands to Fang's bare wrists, moving over the nylon sleeve covering most of her arm and continuing past the visible patch of skin at the top of her shoulder before hitting the top of her sleeveless shirt and moving further upward until they stopped at the rim of the baseball cap that was pulled down to cover half her face. Fang's chin was tilted up towards the sky. Even though the cap made her eyes barely visible, Lightning could tell that she wasn't paying attention the fireworks. Her mind was elsewhere, in the same place it had been all day… Eden.
As they had walked the short distance from the roof of the taco hut to the middle of the square, Fang told Lightning all about the PSICOM raid and Dane's rescue plan. As much as Fang was trying to hide it, Lightning could tell that all of the guilt was starting to wear her down.
Light sighed and let her eyes sink down from Fang's face to rest on her naked neck instead. It was weird seeing Fang without all of her jewelry (a sacrifice she had to make in order to look less Gran Pulsian), but she did find it a bit comical that the girl was still carrying all of her bands and necklaces around in a small sack attached to her belt loop because she thought they were too lucky to travel without.
Not being spurred by any reason other than just wanting to do it at that very moment, Lightning leaned her head to rest on top of Fang's bare shoulder before pressing her lips against the skin in a soft kiss.
"Mm?" she heard Fang lightly hum.
She looked up to see the girl's eyes shining down on her from the shadow of the baseball cap. "Everything okay?" Lightning quietly asked.
Fang's lips twitched in an attempt at an assuring smile. "Yeah. Just thinking."
"I know… You're worried about your people."
The rim of Fang's hat tilted downward in a guilty 'yes'.
"Don't beat yourself up about it." Lightning gave Fang's hand a comforting squeeze. "Dane seems like a resourceful guy. He'll get to Eden and rally the Gran Pulsians there. They'll be okay."
The hat twitched a bit as Fang's brow wrinkled beneath it. "What suddenly makes you so sure of Dane?"
Lightning half-shrugged. "He's a hardheaded Gran Pulsian. From what I've seen, they tend to be good at executing horrible plans and surviving them against even the worst odds. And right now, I'd really like my hardheaded Gran Pulsian to be focused on her trip tomorrow, because if Snow is the main one calling the shots for everyone, then they're all fucked."
Fang allowed herself to lightly chuckle. She leaned down to rest her head against Light's. She nuzzled the lower part of her cheek against the soft pink hair and murmured, "I'm gonna miss you. Ya know that, right?"
Lightning smiled to herself and slowly nodded. The fireworks were still popping above them, but she knew that it wouldn't be long before the show would end and they would have to say their final goodbyes. Now that PSICOM knew their identities, there was no way that Fang and Vanille could stay in Bodhum, and with Lightning's father being such a high ranked PSICOM officer, she would be jeopardizing all of their safety if she ran off with them. Lightning could only wish that they had more time…
"Are you two sleeping at Sazh's again?" The words seemed to slip out of Lightning's mouth.
"Mmhmm," Fang answered, lifting her head so that she was now looking into Lightning's face again.
"Well, if you want… you could spend the night at my house. Then Vanille would have a bed to herself at Sazh's and you could maybe share. With me. But only if you want."
Lightning could feel her cheeks burning red as the rim of Fang's hat slowly lifted in surprise at the offer. She kind of wished that she was the one wearing a hat that covered half her face instead.
"Are ya sure?" Fang asked, a slightly concerned look on her face as her thumb idly caressed the side of Light's hand.
"I'm sure," Lightning replied with a resolute nod.
Fang continued to study Light's face, almost as if she was waiting for the pinkette to suddenly change her mind. "Okay then." She gave Light's hand a gentle squeeze. "Yeah."
Fang lay horizontally across Lightning's bed. Her head hung upside down over the side as she rolled a plush ball around in her hands. Meanwhile, Lightning sat on the edge of the bed, twiddling her fingers and watching the other girl carefully.
She seemed to be lost in her own world.
Lightning quietly sighed to herself as Fang's face hardened into a scowl before gradually softening into a longer, more languished expression. It was a cycle that her face had gone through multiple times already as she lounged in different positions across the room.
"Fang."
Fang's head popped up on hearing her name.
"If you squeeze any harder, it's going to rip."
"Huh?" Fang stared at Light questioningly for a moment before her eyes widened in realization. "Oh." She loosened the vice grip that she had on the plush ball before simply tossing it over her head. "My bad. It's just—they're gonna get away with it. They always get away with it."
Lightning looked down at her lap, not really knowing what to say. Her father had been at the reservation raid. Her father was going to be a soldier who got away with it.
"Know what? Light, I'm sorry."
Lightning looked back up to Fang, confusion written across her face.
"I'm sure ya weren't expecting to listen to me mope about PSICOM all night."
"No. You've got good reason," Lightning replied in a quiet tone. "And it's better than any conversation I've had with Serah lately. When she's not avoiding me, she's talking about how great homecoming is supposed to be."
"That is this weekend, isn't it?" Fang asked, curling her body upwards into a sitting position. "Guess I'm sorry about that too. Messing up your whole princess swerve and all."
"Tchh. So I could be out with Lebreau trying to find the perfect dress to 'bring the boys to the yard'?" Lightning asked sardonically. "I think that's an experience I can live without."
"Heh." A soft smile passed over Fang's face. "I wouldn't have minded seeing that. Hell, I'd be the main one hawking you for a dance. I'd probably try to steal you away from your date or—"
"Fang."
Fang looked up to see Lightning's crystal blue eyes staring dead into her own.
"It would've been you."
"Oh." Fang's smile lingered. It was the longest smile Lightning had seen on the girl's face all day. "Of course. Then, uh, would ya mind if we had one right now?"
"Huh?" Lightning asked, an eyebrow slightly lifting.
"A dance. Since we won't be at homecoming."
"Like here? Right now?"
"C'mon," Fang encouraged, rising to her feet and reaching a hand out to Lightning. "Think of it as my going away present. And ya might not remember it, but at Snow's party, you did say ya were a good dancer. I can't go the rest of my days knowing I was this close to finding out whether it's true or not. …Please?"
Lightning stared at Fang's outstretched hand for a brief moment before relenting. She grabbed the hand and allowed Fang to pull her off the bed and into her body. Immediately, she felt Fang's hands loosely grip her waist as her own arms reached up to wrap around the taller girl's neck.
Lightning rested her head against Fang's shoulder as the two gently swayed back and forth together.
"See? This isn't so bad, is it?"
Lightning smiled to herself and lifted her chin so that it rested on Fang's shoulder. This actually felt quite nice. Fang's body was soft and warm and faintly emanated the smell of some perfumed soap that made Lightning want to bury her face in the other girl's neck just to get a stronger whiff. "It's not too bad," she finally replied. "A little weird, just dancing in the middle of my room with no music, but not too bad."
"Oh?" Fang asked in a soft yet playful voice. "You want music, do ya?"
"Don't ruin the moment, Fang."
"There is this one song I know…"
"Please don't."
"Tale as old as timeeeeee…"
"Gods…"
"True as it can beeeeeee… Not exactly friends, until Lightbright bent, when they became l'Cie…"
Lightning shook her head and sighed, finally giving in to the urge to nestle her face more into the crook of Fang's neck as the other girl continued to sway and sing.
"Just a little change… small to say the leeeaaasssstttt… both a little scared, and one has pink hair… Lightcup and the…"
Beast.
Lightning lifted her head as their swaying bodies slowed to a stop. She leaned back a bit to see Fang staring downwards at nothing in particular. That lost look was once again present on her face as she mulled over the last word of the song.
"Hey," Light said softly, pulling back a hand to gently cup Fang's cheek. Fang's eyes glumly lifted to meet Lightning's, and once again, Light couldn't think of a single word to tell her. So instead, she snaked her hand back around Fang's neck and pulled her down into a kiss.
Lightning could feel the hands that had originally been holding her waist snuggly wrap around her lower back and pull her in closer as she continued to coaxingly move her lips against Fang's. "Promise me," she murmured against Fang's lips when she finally found her words, "you'll be careful out there, okay? I like you just the way you are and… I don't think I could take it if something happened to you."
"I promise."
Suddenly Lightning was no longer on her feet. Fang's lips were on hers once again and her legs had somehow wrapped themselves around Fang's waist. Fingers dug into her thighs as the two moved across the room. Lightning lightly grunted when she was plopped down on top of her desk. Her hands were cupping Fang's neck while Fang was tightly gripping her waist, pulling it closer to grind against her own pelvis as she leaned forward between Light's legs.
"Mmm," Lightning groaned as Fang parted her lips to deepen the kiss. Her fingers started to rake up Fang's back on their own accord, at some point grabbing the bottom of the girl's shirt and pulling it upwards. Fang parted from Lightning's lips in order to fully remove the garment before lunging back in to attack the pink-head's neck.
A sharp hiss escaped Lightning's lips when she first felt the sting of teeth nipping at her neck, immediately followed by the warmth of Fang's lips sucking at her skin. Light tightened the grip that her legs had around Fang's waist as her hips rolled against the Gran Pulsian. "Fang," she breathed hotly, wanting more but finding their current position a bit cramped. "Bed."
And just like that, Lightning was off the desk and instead falling onto her mattress. Just as she hit the cushion, Fang appeared, hovering over her like a predatory animal. She grabbed both of Lightning's wrists and pinned them with one hand over her head while she dipped her head down to suckle the pinkette's earlobe before trailing hot, wet kisses down the girl's neck.
Once again, Lightning's hips began to instinctively roll, wanting so badly for something to address the pulsating between her legs. As if she could sense Lightning's frustration, Fang's knee quickly slid up the bed, between the girl's thighs, to grind against her. Lightning hummed in slight approval as her hands reached up to explore the front of Fang's body, roving over the girl's toned stomach until they reached the plump bulges on her chest. She felt such a rush of satisfaction on feeling the small tremors run through Fang's body as she massaged the girl's breasts through her bra. It was then that she stopped her ministrations to lightly push up on Fang's shoulder and remove her own shirt. Fang leaned back on her haunches, just watching in captivated awe as Lightning peeled off her clothes, but as Light reached down to undo the button for her pants, a tanned hand quickly reached out to stop her.
"Wait."
Lightning looked up to see Fang staring down at her, a questioning expression on her face.
"Are ya sure you wanna do this?"
Lightning took a hard swallow. Did she really want to do this? It was hard for her mind to come up with a rational answer when her body was screaming at her the way it was. "We might not see each other again."
Fang's expression softened at the statement. "I know… but this doesn't have to be the way we say goodbye."
Lightning searched Fang's face earnestly. She looked so concerned. Despite everything that she had been through, even the things that had been done under Colonel Farron's order, Fang was honestly looking out for Lightning. And Lightning realized then, whether Fang was leaving the next day or staying in this room forever, she wanted this more than anything in world. "I'm sure," Lightning finally answered, never breaking eye contact with Fang. "I want this. I want you."
Fang gazed at Lightning dumbly for a brief moment before leaning forward again. She didn't say a word, but slowly descended on the girl, connecting their lips in a heavy kiss. Light's whole body warmed at the feeling of Fang's mouth dominating hers in such a sensual fashion while her hands slowly rubbed up Light's legs, her thumbs slightly stroking her inner thigh as they moved up. Gods, she was damn near trembling with anticipation.
"Augh!" Lightning's body jerked as Fang's two thumbs pressed upwards to rub tight circles against her center.
"CLAIRE!"
Almost instinctively, Lightning's hands flew upward into Fang's chest, forcefully pushing Fang off of her and over the side of the bed when she heard her father's voice down the hall.
"Ow! What the shit was that?" Fang hissed crossly from her new spot on the floor.
"Claire!" Heavy footsteps could be heard thumping up the stairs as Colonel Farron's voice grew louder.
"Fang, you can't be here," Lightning stated worriedly. She quickly sat up and snatched her shirt from off her pillow to pull back onto her body. Fang just sat on the floor, a befuddled look on her face. "Fang!" Lightning said in a harsh whisper. "You've got to get up!"
"Can't I just hide under the bed?" Fang asked, peeking below the mattress. "Holy shit, it's like the land of the lost down there. Is there any room in the closet?"
"He checks the closet." Lightning had already jumped up from the bed and was hurrying across the room to pick up Fang's shirt from off the floor. "The bathroom too. Hide in Serah's room."
"Really?" Fang asked, as Lightning hoisted her up from the floor by her arm.
THUMP! THUMP! Lightning and Fang both froze on hearing the two loud knocks against the bedroom door. "Claire? I need to speak with you."
"Serah's room," Lightning stated, pushing Fang into the bathroom, her eyes still anxiously glued to the door. "Now."
"What do I tell Serah? We're not exactly mates, ya know."
"Be creative." Lightning leaned in to give Fang one last kiss before flinging the girl's shirt into her face and slamming the bathroom door, leaving Fang alone, half naked, horny, and somewhat confused.
"Wellllll, fuck…" Fang mumbled.
Nevertheless, she quickly pulled her shirt on and lightly tapped on the younger Farron's bedroom door.
"Serah?" she whispered cautiously, holding her ear against the door as she listened for an answer. From the other side of the bathroom, she could hear Lightning and her father's voices through the door. She didn't have much time. "Decent or not, guess I'm coming in."
Fang slowly turned the knob of the door and crept into Serah's room.
"Serah?"
No answer. The room was empty. Girl must've gone downstairs for something.
Once again, Fang could catch a muffled voice from Lightning's room drifting through the air. She looked over her shoulder to the bathroom door cautiously. If Colonel Farron was really in a door-opening mood, then it was probably best for her to play it safe, just in case. She turned to scan the room, looking for a quick hiding spot. Her eyes landed on the closet. It wasn't the most original of ideas, but it would have to do for now. Not wasting any more time, Fang darted towards the door and quietly slipped into the small room.
"Whew…" she breathed once the door had closed and darkness had fully surrounded her. She tried wiggling her arms around, but oddly, Serah's closet felt much more crowded and stuffy than she would've originally guessed. She couldn't blame the girl for the clutter, though. Who would've thought that she would end up hiding in the closet of little Farron's room? "Fuckin' Farrons…" Fang muttered under her breath, more upset over a certain itch that desperately needed scratching than her actual predicament.
"Fang? Is that you?"
"Holy shit!" Fang nearly jumped out of her skin and into a puffy pink coat that was hanging behind her on hearing another voice right beside her in the closet.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Calm down. It's just me. Snow."
"Snow?" Fang asked, futilely squinting in the darkness of the closet. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"What do you mean 'what am I doing here'? What are you doing here? This is my Farron's closet."
"I don't care what you're in the closet for! I'm just pissed you're in it at all! If Light catches you in here, then all my chances of getting any go kaput!"
"You can't blame—wait. Noooooo! You were about to get some? From Lightning? Seriously? I've been talking to Serah for at least twice as long and I'm not even close to getting any."
"If that's the case, then I really hope that pokey thing by my leg is a hanger."
"Huh? Oh, uh yeah. See? All gone."
"Mmmm hmmm. But riddle me this. I thought you and Serah were on the outs."
"We were. Until tonight. I borrowed a velocycle and asked her to meet me right before the fireworks. I guess you can say, things kinda took off from there."
"Well, good on ya. Just don't get your hopes up on getting action anytime soon. I swear, when we got arrested at the Vestige, Papa Farron must've put a lo-jack on my libido. Every time I get close to Light, he magically appears. Did ya know he was there for our first kiss…"
"Claire, there's something important downstairs that I need to show you. Are you busy?"
Lightning carefully looked over her father as he stood in the doorway. Something was different. His usually steely eyes were a bit more frantic, continuously darting to her window and back at her. His breathing seemed a bit more rapid as well. Something was wrong.
"Kind of," Lightning answered. She could still taste Fang on her lips and feel her warm hands running up her legs. She wanted nothing more than to just end this conversation with her father now and get back to exploring more of Fang, but the man was visibly shook, and that was no easy feat. Even if she couldn't always agree with him, he was still her father, and seeing him like this worried her. "But I can spare some time."
"Good. It's out by the jeep. Put on some shoes and come with me. Your sister is already downstairs waiting."
Lightning nodded and returned to her room to find her shoes. When she emerged, her father was waiting for her in the hallway. Lightning couldn't help but think that he somehow looked much older than usual as he leaned over the banister, rubbing his thumbs. "I'm ready," Lightning announced as she approached, still eyeing him with a worried expression.
"Good. Good. Um, Claire. One thing, before we go downstairs and meet your sister," the colonel gently placed a hand on his daughter's forearm to stop her from walking any further down the hall. "I want to give you something."
Lightning's brow furrowed curiously as she watched her father dig into his jacket pocket and pull out a silver, metallic band.
"A bracelet?" Lightning asked, looking over the plain piece of jewelry with an indifferent expression on her face. "I—uh, thanks, Dad, but Serah has always been more into bracelets than I have."
"It was your mother's," Farron asserted. Lightning's eyes widened in surprise, lifting to glance at her father's face before flitting back down to the bracelet. She remembered that her mother did like to collect jewelry, but she never remembered anything so dull and clunky-looking as this bracelet. She always recalled her mother being more of a lover of stones, whether they were expensive gems or just colorful rocks that they had picked up at the beach.
"It was mom's?" Lightning asked softly, still examining the metal ring in her father's hand.
"I know it seems a bit simple for her taste, but she used to love this bracelet. After she passed, I always knew that I wanted you to have it. She'd often say that of you and Serah, you definitely took most of my qualities, but I always saw it differently. There was always a fire within your mother, a fire that could never be tamed. It's what made me fall in love with her, and it's the same fire that I see burning in your eyes everyday, reminding me that you are your mother's child. I know that we've had our disputes lately, but I want you to know that I always have you and your sister's best interests as my top priority because there is nothing in this world that I love more than you two. And I thought that this would be the perfect gift to really let you know that."
"Dad…" Lightning looked up to her father with wide eyes. How many times could she become speechless in one day? "I-I love you, too."
Farron's lips curled into a half smile. He nodded his head downwards. Lightning took the cue and lifted her arm so that her father could snap the bracelet around her wrist.
"Now how about we go downstairs, hm?" Farron asked as Lightning twirled the bracelet around her wrist a couple of times, just staring at it with a hint of mysterious admiration. She found it curious that the clasp had seemed to meld into the band of the bracelet. She guessed that it was something created for a cool aesthetic effect and was probably the feature that made it so appealing to her mother.
"Yeah," she blankly agreed, following her father down the hall and stairs, all the while focusing on her new accessory… something that represented her parents' love.
Serah was waiting at the front when the other two arrived downstairs. She was tapping her foot and occasionally glancing upwards to the ceiling. "Is this going to take long?" she asked. "I've got a lot of work that I need to get back to."
"Don't worry about that right now," Farron said, checking his watch as he ushered his daughters out the door. "We've got more important matters to handle. Follow me."
Serah shot Lightning a hesitant look before pulling out her phone and falling in step behind their father. He didn't stop walking until he had reached the huge jeep parked in front of the house… a jeep that strangely wasn't the one he normally drove. He opened one of the back doors. "Get in."
"What?" Lightning asked, finally looking up from her wrist.
"Huh?"
"Get in," Farron repeated, this time leaning forward to pluck the phone from Serah's hand. "We're going on a trip," he stated as he quickly disassembled the phone and threw one of the small chips that had been inside of it over his shoulder.
"Right now?"
"Hey! My phone!"
Farron once again glanced at his watch before sternly looking to his daughters. "Haven't you two always wanted to take a vacation? Well, that's what we're doing. We're leaving Bodhum for a few days and taking a nice, long vacation. I've already packed clothes for the two of you and set up all the plans."
Both of the girls stared at the colonel incredulously.
"Are you serious?"
"Now's not really a good time. Can't this wait like an hour?"
"GET IN THE CAR NOW!" Colonel Farron erupted.
Serah's jaw dropped at the sudden outburst and her eyes widened in fear, as she anxiously looked inside the open door of the jeep. Lightning just gave her father a hard stare, watching as the man's face reddened to the point where it almost matched his hair. "Something's wrong," she stated. First the bracelet. Now this. Something was definitely amiss. "What's going on?"
"We don't have time for questions. Get in the car so we can leave. NOW!"
"No."
"Excuse me?"
"I don't want to go. Not until you tell us what's going on."
"This isn't about what you want," Farron said in a low, threatening voice. "This is about you obeying your father and getting in the jeep because I told you to."
"I'm sorry, Dad, but I'm not going," Lightning answered firmly. "And it's not like your decision-making has been too great these past months anyway. I'm staying. I've got school in the morning."
Lightning turned to go back into the house but was immediately brought back by Farron's hand yanking her elbow. "Listen—" Farron's words caught in his throat as his eyes landed somewhere below Lightning's chin. His eyebrows crinkled curiously as he reached out to slightly pull down at Lightning's shirt.
"Is that a hickey?" Serah voiced from behind them.
Farron's eyes widened in horror before shooting up towards the second story of the house and slowly rolling back down to his daughter's face. "It's bad enough you're all over the net fooling around with that piece of trash," he growled, "but for you to have the nerve bring her into my house?"
"She's not a piece of—" Lightning froze in midsentence as the loud bleat of propellers reverbated in the distance. She looked past her father's shoulder to see the small outline of a PSICOM skytank, searchlights and all, travelling through the sky in their direction. "What did you do?" she breathed, her eyes glued to the sky. The tank was coming in fast. "I have to get back inside!"
"No. We're leaving." Farron pulled at Lightning's elbow before she could sprint back to the house.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Lightning flung back around to point an open palm straight into her father's chest.
The only problem was…
Nothing happened.
Lightning stared at her hand with a bewildered expression on her face. What was going on? She couldn't even feel that regular tingling that signaled her powers were at work.
"How dare you…"
Her eyes shot up in shock on hearing her father's sinister bellow.
"…try to use those gods forsaken abilities on me."
Her father's eyebrows were tightly slanted downward and his face had twisted into a malicious scowl. Panicky and not knowing what else to do, Lightning tried to twist around to thrust her free elbow into her father's gut, but the move had been anticipated. Her elbow was caught in her father's strong grip and a sharp sting pricked at her neck.
Lightning gasped as the world around her immediately grew blurry until it totally darkened.
"…and then he interrupted us that time when I wanted to have that personal talk with her, so of course he shows up right when we're about to get it on," Fang continued to grouse in the confines of the dark closet. "How can I be THAT unlucky? And—wait. What's that?" Fang stopped her grumbling when a small light flashed on in the closet, momentarily illuminating the small room.
"A message from Serah," Snow announced, thankful for the small break in their current conversation. "Their dad's bringing them outside to show them something important."
"Betcha no one's gonna interrupt him…" Fang muttered.
The two stood around in the closet for a few more moments before Fang finally emitted a loud sigh.
"It's getting stuffy in here," she stated before feeling around for the knob and swinging the door open. "Ahh, that's better. You know if Serah has any good magazines lying around—huh?"
"I know she's got a stash of fashion ones under her bed," Snow said as he stumbled out of the closet behind the Gran Pulsian. "And some of the models—"
"Shhh…" Fang held up a finger and stilled, seemingly focused on something that Snow wasn't picking up on. "Ya hear that?"
"Hear what?"
Fang's eyes suspiciously narrowed on the window. There was now an unmistakable beating sound coming from outside. Taking slow, deliberate steps, the girl crept up to the window and peered through the glass.
"Ohhhhh crap," Fang peeped, her eyes widening at whatever she had seen outside.
"What is it?" Snow asked as he curiously eyed the girl from the center or the room.
As if to answer his question, a blinding light suddenly flooded through the window, illuminating Fang's entire silhouette in the process. Fang froze in shock as she stared directly at the pilot of the PSICOM sky tank that was hovering outside of the Farron household.