A/N: I realized I had this marked as Humor for the longest time...man I am just drowning in this humor. (if you find any errors let me know orz)
Nervous, Lightning had never been so nervous before. It was a feeling she wanted to push away, the way her heart clenched in her throat like a poor girl with a hopeless crush. Weaknesses like this she was certain would get her in trouble in the future. She wanted to deal with it the only way she knew how, to run. But where? On the crowded dance floor of masked students, there was nowhere to run. No, she had lost her chance to run the moment she caught sight of the girl in her strapless, black dress at the ticket booth. She had lost the ability to do anything the moment the redhead smiled at her behind her onyx mask. The Halloween dance was themed as a masquerade, and though Lightning expected not to recognize most, it was damn impossible to not notice Vanille. Though she was dressed plainly, there was something radiant about the girl that Lightning hadn't quite noticed before.
She cursed herself, she hadn't dressed for the dance, she hadn't intended on staying for it, so she filed through the dancers in her usual school uniform feeling slightly foolish. She wanted to see Vanille, and she was beginning to wonder if it was a bad idea.
Most things these days seemed like bad ideas.
"Hey, soldier." Lightning glowered, 'soldier' was a thing a certain person had taken to calling her, she tossed a glance over her shoulder to spot Fang grinning at her, "you seem a little lost."
"Where's...my sister." She flinched slightly, if Fang knew she was looking for Vanille, she wouldn't hear the end of it. Best to play off the concerned sister role, she figured wherever Serah was Vanille would be.
It was almost impossible to hear the other teen over the pounding music, Lightning had to lean in slightly just to catch the end of her sentence, "...Snow by the drinks..." The pinknette was off in an instant, Fang simply shrugged, assuming she was off to cause trouble with the boy.
x- x- x
Vanille smiled as Hope offered to dance with her, "you don't have to stick around with me, Hope. Just because I don't have a date doesn't mean I'm not going to have fun still!"
The silver-blonde boy simply chuckled, "oh c'mon Vanille, I promised I'd dance with you at least once at every dance." He soon shrugged, however, "but if you don't want to dance, then I won't make you."
"Let's save our dance for Prom," she giggled, "right now, I think someone's a little jealous!" This caused the boy to blush and glance around for his partner, a nervous laugh escaping his lips as he walked off to search for him. The redhead began to wonder when she'd she Lightning. She remembered the girl telling her that they would meet up, but the way she was dressed at the ticket booth suggested otherwise. For some reason, this knowledge made her feel slightly sad.
"Light!" Vanille nearly jumped when she heard Snow bellow the girl's name, she turned around in time to catch Lightning brushing past Snow to talk with Serah, the pinknette ignoring his attempts at conversation until he finally gave up and sat down, slightly crestfallen. Serah smiled slightly and glanced in the redhead's direction, Lightning followed her gaze and nodded, this was when her sister beckoned Vanille over. Curious, the redhead complied with the silent request.
x- x- x
Nervous, Lightning swallowed slightly as the redhead approached them. Why was she so nervous? She had dated people, she had romantic feelings for people before, but she had never felt nervous around them like she did now, with a girl she wasn't even dating. Serah poked her, and she grimaced slightly, she still had fresh bruises on her body. "Have fun," her sister whispered and winked, and Lightning gave her a surprised frown, had Serah known?
Serah had left when Vanille approached, a confused expression crossed her face as she glanced up at the ex-athlete, "hey, Lightning. Staying for the night?"
Lightning, frowned and shook her head, "just wanted to see how things were going in here," she lied, "...I can stay, I mean, if you'd like." She quickly covered at the crestfallen expression Vanille had, did she feel the same way about Lightning? She offered a meager smile, it was hard to tell. All they did was fight some days, the ex-athlete was certain the redhead hated her.
"Do you want to stay?" Vanille smiled slightly, "I won't make you stay if you don't want to stay, Light."
"I can't dance," the pinknette admitted, the lights covered her slightly flushed face, perhaps it was the sudden understanding of her feelings that made her nervous. She looked off to the dance floor and caught sight of Hope glancing around for someone, further in the distance she saw Fang and Lebreau chatting quietly in a corner. To their left, Snow and Serah were awkwardly dancing a distance apart form each other, Lightning had figured Snow was too scared to even hold Serah's hand while being in her line of sight. "Can we go outside?" She finally asked, Vanille shrugged, muttering something about it being too hot in the gymnasium anyway.
x- x- x
"Ah...!" Vanille gasped as the two girls left the boiling gym, "fresh air!" She giggled to herself as she twirled to face Lightning. The other girl seemed puzzled about something, the expression hadn't lifted until Vanille got a good look at it, "whats wrong?"
"Nothing," Lightning covered, absently clutching at the pendant on her necklace. It was an action Vanille always noticed, she had wanted to ask the girl about it, but thought better of it. "Sorry, were you having fun? You didn't have to come out here, it looked like Hope was looking for you. You two are together, aren't you?"
Vanille guffawed, how had Lightning not known? Hope was practically her little brother, "no, no Lightning we're not dating. He has someone else." She quickly corrected, if Lightning didn't already know, then Hope obviously had his reasons for not telling her.
"Really?" She pressed, crossing her arms before she finally decided to drop the subject, it wasn't her problem anyway, "do you...have someone as well?"
"Do I..." Vanille paused, relationships never really seemed like something Lightning was interested in, "I don't...have someone. I do like someone," her face heated up slightly. She had spent days considering the things Fang had been hinting at since she and Lightning had started talking. She would never admit her feelings to Lightning, however, not yet at least.
"Oh." Lightning stated simply, Vanille thought she heard a hint of disappointment, when she glanced up the girl had looked away. The redhead wondered if there was something to be said in her actions, but she dropped the thought all together. She wasn't going to press the matter, if Lightning was avoiding eye contact she obviously hadn't wanted to talk about it. "What is he like?" Lightning finally asked, catching Vanille by surprise.
'She' she wanted to correct the pinknette, instead she shrugged, "a lot like Snow, actually. They would never admit it, though."
"Like Snow?" She furrowed her brow, "two Snows in one school, you'd think I'd know of him. Too many idiots in one place."
"Well, there are some differences." At Lightning's raised brow, Vanille continued, "let's say, a mix of Snow and Fang, if we have to be specific. Hotheaded and protective, yet is still levelheaded in situations that call for it. They also like to tease me sometimes, it's really annoying."
"Fang? Levelheaded?" This time Lightning was smiling, "maybe, I guess, since you know her better than I. From what I've seen? She is the most hotheaded person I know."
"Fang knows how to dance," Vanille countered, a momentary pout crossed Lightning's face before the girl continued, "seriously? You don't? I thought you were...joking. Or embarrassed because Snow and Serah were around."
"So what if I can't dance? I can do other things.."
"You certainly can't cook."
"There's more to life than dancing and cooking..."
"And there's more to life than fighting and training."
Vanille chuckled and stepped closer to the pinknette, she tugged at her arms and pulled them away from her chest, "let's try this..." Vanille muttered, dropping her arms, "move your hips a little."
"What?" Lightning stared at her, uncertain, what did she want? "No way."
"Don't be a spoilsport!" Vanille moved her hands to Lightning's hips and forced her to sway them slightly, this action caused the ex-athlete to frown, but she allowed the girl to guide her hips, "like this, it's not hard, Light. If you can walk, you can dance."
"This is ridiculous..."
"If you're good, I'll teach you how to cook later."
"..."
"Do it on your own, now." The redhead giggled and released the girl, who immediately stopped swaying her hips, "oh, come on, Light!"
"I'm not going to dance.." The girl sighed again and glanced away, she admittedly missed the feeling of Vanille's hands on her hips.
"What if I lead?"
"What?"
"What if I lead? Will you dance if I lead?"
"Are you...asking me to dance with you?"
"A little, yes," Vanille blushed slightly, Lightning had caught it.
"You should dance with the person you like," Lightning nodded towards the gym, "you'd have better luck with them." The fact that Vanille liked someone else hung over her like a cloud, the girl should have been with that person, not outside with her.
"I'd rather be out here with you," Vanille took Lightning's hands in her own and inspected them, she wondered how long, delicate fingers could be so dangerous. How, years from now when the girl would be a soldier, they would have so much blood on them. "Did you ever play the piano?"
"That was the only thing I did that my mother liked." What did she mean?
"Your mother loved you," Vanille glanced up and smiled, "maybe she just didn't know how to connect with you the way she did with Serah, and that scared her."
"I wish I had tried harder," she pulled her hands away and crossed her arms again, suddenly aware of the contact. "It's getting late," she murmured as the vibrations from the music inside died down slightly, soon the occupants would be shuffling out of the gym, loud voices and giggles.
"It's the weekend." Vanille smiled.
"I can...walk you home, if you'd like."
"It's late, Lightning, I don't want you walking home by yourself as much you don't want me walking home on my own."
"I can take care of myself.."
"You were in the hospital." Vanille glared at her, "you can't Lightning. You're not a soldier yet. You're not trained for this."
"I..." Vanille's anger took her by surprise, "I'm alive."
"Thanks to Snow." The redhead sighed, "you could have died."
"But I didn't."
"But you could have." Vanille lowered her head, but the tears hadn't gone unnoticed by the other girl, who awkwardly shuffled forward and pulled her into a hug, she could feel Vanille's wet tears drip onto her shirt, "you're as human as the rest of us, Light. You break just as easily."
"I'm here.." Lightning muttered she held the girl as tight as the redhead's grip on her heart, "I'll always be here." Vanille silently clutched at her, she could feel the redhead tense, as though the girl knew otherwise. As though she wanted to say something.
Sometimes she wondered if the redhead could see through her lies.
x- x- x
Noctis sat in the middle of a wide room, his legs crossed in a regal manner as he stared up at a large portrait of an elderly man. He had lived his life to impress this man, even as he rotted in his grave.
"You have to stop this," The blonde woman had strolled into the room not long ago, her presence had gone unnoticed until she had spoken up. "They're children, Noctis."
"They have a debt to pay, they will pay with their lives."
"Their uncle has a debt to pay. You took their parents away, isn't that enough?" Stella stepped in front of the man, her eyes narrowed in frustration, "how much further does this need to go, Noctis? Let old ghosts rest."
"She'll be a soldier," Noctis stood from his seat and paced across the room, inspecting a particular boring bookshelf he had no care for, "she'll be walking her father's path, soon enough."
"You're both trapped in past." The blonde paused for a second, "perhaps it's best to let go of those ghosts. They belong in graves, not forcing children to hold weapons."
"I'm not a child."
"You turned seventeen just last month," Stella stepped towards the door, "yet you're just as much that little boy I met ten years ago."
As she left, Xenris stepped into the room, he nodded at Stella when she smiled politely at him. His boss was always having disagreements with the girl. It was something he was used to. They were expected to be married the following year, he couldn't help but feel a bit of worry.
"Any news of Steel?" Noctis stepped towards the middle of the room, on the coffee table stood an elaborate tea set. A wedding gift from his distant family.
"It appears he has...turned a new leaf." Xenris swallowed nervously, Noctis only offered a surprised raise of the brow, "Right, yes...He actually..does not wish to leave his current holding." Sometimes his nerves got the best of him, he felt himself loosening his tie slightly as the teen before him remained silently sipping his tea. Finally, Noctis placed the cup down and clasped his hands behind his back.
"I certainly wasn't expecting this. However, it does take a man of great insanity to lock himself away. Sometimes the insane are saner than us." His mouth remained a thin line on his face as he stared at the older man, "so, I feel there is more to your report than that. Perhaps you found a replacement? Please, do not disappoint me, Xenris."
"O-of course sir, i-in fact we did." He reached into his chest pocket and produced a photo, sliding it across the coffee table before he backed away and cleared his throat, Noctis picked it up curiously and glanced back up at the man, "Caius Ballad, sir."
"Looks like a clown." He set the photo down and returned to his tea, taking a seat at a chair and gesturing the man to do the same, "tell me more."
Xenris remained standing, such hospitality was only shown when the boy was upset. It would be foolish to accept his offers. "He is a transferring teacher at your targets current school."
"A teacher was the best you could do?"
"He is not, in fact, a teacher sir. We already hired him...er...my apologies for not having asked beforehand. He is undercover."
"It's risky."
"There's something else you should be...wary...of, sir."
"Oh?"
The dark haired man produced another photo and offered it to his employer, Noctis raised a brow, "this is..."
"We are being investigated, sir."
"Caius isn't a weapon," Noctis sipped his tea, realization crossing his face as he placed the photo down, "he's insurance. Watching the ones watching us. I should have known they were on to us."
"It appears they have been on to us for a long time." Xenris slid a set of files across the coffee table, "This is the information we suspect they have been able to find about us." He stepped back as the dark haired boy read through the files, the boy grimaced before looking up, "we...also suspect there may be a mole in our building."
"There's no other explanation," Noctis sat back and glanced up at the face that loomed over the room, "we need pest control, Xenris. But first, we need to get rid of Cid Raines and his little side kick."
x- x- x
When Lightning had left Vanille off at her home, the girl was smiling again. Tears still threatened to fall, but Lightning knew she was fighting past them. "I like it when you smile," She remembered stating simply, she wasn't sure why it had come out at all, but it surprised the girl and her smile had grown just a bit wider. It lifted the cloud from the girl's heart, but as the door closed and they said their goodbyes dread filled her once more.
When she reached the park it was well past curfew, she glanced around for any sign of Guardian Corps uniform. Finally she reached into her skirt pocket and produced her phone.
Three rings she remembered being told, she listened to it in silence before she hung up.
"There ya are!" The familiar voice caused the teen to glower and glanced over her shoulder, "relax, sugar, I'm not here to fight! Remus had to stick behind. We can't keep meeting like this, he thinks the boss is on to us or somethin'. Anyway, I've been waitin' all night..."
"Cut the crap," Lightning turned to face the man, her eyes still narrowed, "what do you have to tell me now?"
"Nothin' much, actually."
"I'm leaving. Your so called information has only led me to thugs and dead ends lately, I'm starting to question your credibility."
"Hey! Hey wait! I was jokin'! Look, Remus got some news..." Kenji stroked his chin thoughtfully, "it looks like there are more people involved in this than ya think."
"Like who?" Lightning was getting interested.
"Ever hear of the Cavalry?"
"Heard of them, yes."
"Seems like they have some issues with the Organization. Big issues."
"So?"
"So you have an ally. An' two of 'em go to your school."
"I'm listening..."
"Not now," Kenji glanced at his watch, "We've been in the open for too long, I need to go before someone spots us. I'll send ya a message with the information."
"Maybe you should start hiring messengers of your own," Lightning sighed as the man waved her off and walked away in the opposite direction.
x- x- x
When Lightning got home, Serah was sleeping on the couch. The older girl smiled slightly, walked to the hall to retrieve a cover and returned to place it over her sister. She thought back to Vanille, teary eyed and hurt, she thought of her sister. When she woke up at the hospital, her sister was furious, but as she watched the younger Farron sleeping peacefully, that image of Vanille crying turned into an image of a young Serah crying.
When they were in middle school, Lightning had gotten into a fight with a group of boys who had been picking on her sister. Lightning hadn't exactly won, but she managed to scare the boys off. Serah had found her sitting under a tree, covered in bruises and cuts. She remembered how the girl immediately started crying in Lightning's arms, "never do that again!" The girl had sobbed at the time.
"I'm only human..." Lightning muttered, brushing hair out of her sister's face, "I can't make promises."
Sometimes we hurt the ones we love.