Chapter 2 - Dream

Her mind continuously screamed at her as she went through the drawer for clothes.

Why was she doing this anyway? How stupid could she be? Why would she offer a complete stranger such kindness?

She closed the first drawer, moving onto the second one.

How stupid could she be, to offer the complete stranger clothes? Or, even more so, how stupid could she be, to let her freaking stay for the god damn night!

"Great," Lightning mumbled sarcastically. Quite obviously, none of the clothes from her wardrobe would fit the girl; she was way too tiny compared to herself. The soldier closed the drawers and stood up straight, stretching her arms and legs for she had been crouching down for a while now. "Where else can I…?" She paused. Well, of course there was elsewhere she could search, but she preferred not to.

Did she have a choice though? She couldn't just walk back to the girl and go, "Hey, sorry, no clothes for you. Just wear your torn ones."

Walking out, she entered the room directly beside her own. It was closer to the end of the hallway, and to her, it always seemed to emit this weird… feeling? No, perhaps aura would be the proper word. It was a room that she rarely entered – she didn't even come in here during cleaning days, because—

Insecurity.

Yes. Coming in here gave her a sense of insecurity, every single time. She regretted it right now, however, for the room had gotten quite stuffy, which, in her opinion, was the most disgusting feeling in the world. Lightning grimaced at the dust-covered shelves and whatnot, and then proceeded to the closet. Before opening it, she took a deep breath, as she didn't want to breathe in any dust from the clothes, after all.

Jackets, sweaters… "Nah, too thick…" She said with dissatisfaction. The girl needed pyjamas for the night and then clothes in the morning so she could actually walk outside without looking extremely strange – "Ugh, what the hell." Again, the pink-haired soldier started to scold herself for being all to caring. She then randomly grabbed a milky-pink tank top and a pair of white gym shorts. She decided to worry about her outdoor-clothes the next day, since there really was no need to rush. With haste, she exited the room she despised, and headed for the bathroom, which was right across the hall, in front of her room.

As she approached it, the sound of running water became louder and louder; the redhead was already taking a shower. Lightning gave a quick knock.

"Yes?" Her soft voice blended in with the showers.

"I got your clothes,"

"Oh, please come in. I have the blinds shut, so—"

She entered before the girl could finish. "I don't think it matters anyway. We're both women." Lightning said blankly and stepped into the steamy room. She caught a quick glimpse of the girl's silhouette behind the white blinds. Not paying much attention to it, the soldier started, "I'll put your clothes here," walked towards the stool beside the sink and placed the said items onto it.

"Un! Thank you, onee-san,"

Lightning made her way towards the door. Before she exited completely, she looked one more time at the shadow behind the blinds. The droplets of the running waters from the shower bounced onto the curtains, making the fabric sway in a wavy motion. At the same time, the girl's figure looked as if it was following the movements, and the longer Lightning kept her eyes on it, the more she could see that wonderful frame— "Oh my god…" – the righteous, strict, cold, proud soldier finally noticed what she was doing for the past few seconds, and she could not believe that she actually did that. Closing the door quietly and swiftly, she could only pretend as if nothing had happened.

With the TV at its lowest volume, it wasn't even possible to hear the sound coming from it. Sometimes the woman wondered why she would even turn these things on; it wasn't like she really needed them. The TV, the lights here and there, the laptop, her phone… and even the refrigerator, because she rarely ate. Buying takeout or ordering food was far more convenient than cooking. Yet she did this, every single night, almost as if she was waiting… waiting for something to happen. She followed this routine for countless nights.

Such boredom always made her want to sleep. That was why she would rather be at work. It'd be much more productive than this…

A soft wound of a door closing could be heard from the hallway; Lightning figured that the girl was done with her shower. Though, she did not turn around to look – it was pointless and was a waste of strength. So she simply listened with her eyes closed.

Almost tipping her toes as she walked, Vanille walked down the narrow way, heading for the brightly lit room. "This is where the living room is… I guess…?" She whispered to herself. Indeed, she saw a TV on at the end of the room, yet the sound could barely be heard. She looked around for her host, and only found herself being an idiot for not realizing that she was sitting on the sofa in silence. Perhaps her hair colour was too pale to be noticed? "Err, onee-san…?"

Lightning almost didn't want to answer. "Don't tip your toes if you have so much trouble walking."

She gasped. How did she even – "Y-you can hear me! My footsteps!"

The woman had no intention of dragging on the conversation. "The sound of your right foot is heavier," Finally, she turned around. "I should check it again, you might have fractured a bone or something," the words came out unintentionally. It was almost as if her mind wanted to speak for her.

"No, no! It really doesn't hurt that much, you don't have to worry…" Vanille backed away, even though the soldier wasn't walking forward, "… besides, I've wasted enough of your bandages already. If you patch me up again—"

"You're right," Lightning cut in. Yes, that's right. "Suit yourself," Why bother wasting military-grade bandages for a stranger anyway?

The girl smiled awkwardly as an attempt to show her appreciation.

"…"

"…" Vanille looked around, searching for something to stare at so that she could avoid this strangeness in the air. She ran her fingers through her damp orange hair that was no longer tied up. They were full of volume and softness especially after blow-drying.

And the soldier was still staring at the TV, totally ignoring the presence of the girl behind her.

But she couldn't do it. She didn't like this one bit. She could not withstand this uncomfortable feeling – she was just not used to it. Vanille stepped up, almost leaping on one foot due to the pain, towards Lightning, and sat herself beside the soldier on the sofa. Gradually, the redhead turned inch by inch to glimpse at the admirable woman.

Twinkle.

Each blink,

Twinkle.

Every small, tiny motion that her azure eyes made,

Twinkle.

Vanille felt like she was in some sort of…

"Like," Lightning reached for the remote beside her and shut the pointless noise off, "You're freaking me out." She turned to face the girl, with the intention of glaring, but seeing the stranger in that tank top got her… for some reason, all embarrassed. She quickly turned away, because if she stared any longer, she was going to get red.

The girl giggled. "Sorry," She apologized and stuck her tongue out, "Sometimes I freak myself out too."

"…" The strawberry-blonde crossed her arms.

"But… I was just thinking; I wish there is some way for me to pay you back for such a favour…"

"There is no need. You'll be leaving soon enough. This will only be for a bit." She really didn't mean it to be so rude and blunt, but she just could not bring herself to show kindness through words at all.

"A bit is still something!" The girl talked back as predicted.

"As long as you stay quiet, it's fine for me," Again with the bluntness.

Yet the girl wasn't offended at all. "What if it's longer than a few days?"

The soldier almost – just almost – jumped back. "… Then…" She hesitated for a moment.

I'll freaking kick you out of here!

"… I'll have to start charging you for water, electricity, and food."

Vanille put a finger under her chin, "Hmm…" She thought out loud, "It's a good thing that those guys didn't try to go for my money."

Lightning narrowed her eyebrows. "Out of everything, you managed to keep the money?"

"Well, yes," The girl started to explain. "Actually I don't think they were after my stuff in the first place… why did I even drop them?"

Obviously, they were after your body.

"But, anyway," She yawned softly, stretching her arms at the same time. "At least I'm still alive,"

Lightning rolled her eyes. Yes of course, those thugs weren't even after her life. "I'm going to lead you to your room for the night." She stood up and gestured at the girl to follow her.

"Oh, thank you so much!" Vanille followed her, "I was beginning to get tired…"

You definitely don't sound tired.

The soldier thought about letting the redhead sleep in that dusty room, but… that would be rude, wouldn't it? This girl was a guest, after all. The least she could do was show some respect and hospitality.

Why do you care?

Sighing, she led the girl to her own room. "This is the only place in the apartment with a bed," She lied as she pointed inside, urging her to walk faster. "I'd change the sheets, but I just cleaned recently, so I don't think it's necessary to do it again. So if you don't mind…"

Vanille shook her head and smiled. "Oh, I don't mind at all. Thanks again, by the way." She walked in and sat on the bed.

Lightning watched. Those clothes somehow fit her quite perfectly, now that she looked closely. The tank top gripped onto the curves of her waist, and then those short boxers defined her long, white legs—

She shook her head violently. What kind of disgusting thoughts was she…?

"Onee-san?"

"Uh—" Troubled, she backed away, accidentally closing the door behind her. "S-sorry," Her vision was getting hazy due to the nervousness, and she wasn't sure where she wanted to go, or even, what she should do. "I, uh…" The soldier quickly turned around and grabbed onto the doorknob, without looking back at her guest. "Tell me if you need anything, I'll be right outside."

"But, wait, where are you going to—"

Slam

"… sleep if this is the only room with a bed…?"

Just right outside, Lightning was clenching at her vest, angry, frustrated, and pissed off at herself for thinking of such absurdity. Seriously, what – how could she be thinking of those things? She shook her head again, faster, with more force this time. She couldn't believe she was checking out a stranger. Taking a deep breath, she whispered, "I wasn't…" Because her paranoia told her that it would be better to admit it out loud. Lightning made her way to the bathroom. Yes, a shower would do the trick; it would wash away all this… heat.

Why does it matter though? You've slept with many people before.

The bathroom door barely closed, and Lightning was already stripping away her clothes. She nearly fell when she stepped into the slippery tub – the water had yet to dry from Vanille's shower. Regaining her balance without much difficulty, she turned the tab to the coldest. She clenched her teeth as the freezing water hit her head and ran down her slender body.

Sleeping with that girl wouldn't make a difference.

Yes, that was true. It was just another way of wasting time – it wouldn't harm her. And who the hell would mind?

"But she's different…" She whispered. The colder water was burning into her skin by now, and she would get hypothermia at this rate if she stood here any longer. Her hand reached for the tab, ready to turn the water back to lukewarm, but it just remained resting there, her mind too busy, too caught up with something else. "… Tch, just because she isn't like those people…" She gripped onto the handle and finally turned it to the other side.

Vanille awoke to the same nightmare she had had for the past few months. It was always the same – the people, the place, the things, the… enemies – "Oh man…" She moaned and rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "Now how am I going to go back to sleep?" Once she woke from that nightmare, it was near impossible to return to slumber. She would always sit until the morning, and in the morning she would become so exhausted that she would not have the will to go anywhere for the day. Stretching her arms, she got off the bed. No point in just sitting around as usual, she thought; it was probably a good idea to find something productive to do. Vanille stood up, but soon realized that she really couldn't do anything productive for she was in somebody else's house. Doing anything productive here would only mean to be rude. But maybe it was alright to get a drink?

She nodded. It was decided. She would go get a drink, come back, and force herself to sleep.

"Alright," The girl stood up lazily, as she actually wanted to stay in the warm bed. Her hands tried their best to turn the doorknob as quietly as possible, and when she pulled the door open, she poked her head out first to look left and right, afraid that she might wake her host. With caution, she opened the door wider, and tiptoed out of the room. "Good…" She whispered, "Just don't start hurting again, foot..!" It wouldn't be pleasant if she yelped now, after all. The girl made her way down the hall, towards the living room which was connected to the kitchen. Finally, a familiar environment in the house was recognized; it was the same room where she was in before with the soldier, so that means the kitchen was – "Ah-ha!" She let out a whispery cheer as she spotted the bright digital clock lights from the microwave which read 3:09AM. Still tipping her toes, she made her way towards her destination—

"What are you doing?"

"Eek!" Vanille spun around, totally neglecting her pain in her foot. As she put pressure on it, the pain returned in large spasms, making her tumble onto the ground – with her bottom landing first. "Ow… ow…"

"Whoops. Did I do that?" That looked awfully painful. Lightning walked towards the redhead and knelt down, "Are you okay?" She helped her up and slowly moved her towards the couch.

"I'm so sorry," She apologized, "I didn't mean to startle you…"

"I think I startled you." The woman laid her down gently on the leather softness.

The girl could feel the warmth on her seat; she looked beside her and found a thin quilt. Lightning must be sleeping here, she thought. Vanille quickly looked back at the soldier to continue the subject, "Well," She faked a chuckle, "Kind of, b-but I was just… um…"

"Calm down, don't be so scared. I'm not going to kill you."

The difference in the soldier's tone encouraged her to speak freely. She brought enough will to look the woman in the eye. "Actually… I just wanted to get a drink. I woke up from a bad dream, so I…" She stopped herself. There was nothing else to inform – a drink was really all she watned. She waited for the soldier to say something, but as she was doing so, she unintentionally turned to the woman, and stared at her from head to toe. Lightning's sleeping attire was quite attractive too, Vanille decided. Her pink waves that usually rested on her shoulder were held up with a hair clip from the back, and her outfit was exactly the same as her own except both pieces of clothing were white in colour.

Lightning stood up. "You don't have to act like a thief if it's only a drink that you want," She walked around the couch and headed for the kitchen.

"I… well, I…" Vanille didn't know how to respond. "I didn't want to wake you… your ears are so incredible, I had to act like one, otherwise you'd wake up, and I'll trouble you…"

"It doesn't matter," She took a mug from the cupboard. "Is there anything you're allergic to?"

The girl blinked. "No, nothing in particular…" She was surprised that the woman even bothered to ask.

Lightning proceeded to open the fridge. She took out a carton of milk and poured a cupful into the pink mug.

"So… did I wake you?" The girl asked hesitantly.

"No," She popped the mug into the microwave, and set the timer to a minute. "I wasn't even sleeping."

Vanille blinked again. "Not even sleeping…? It's… it's three in the morning!"

The woman crossed her arms and leaned casually on the counter behind her as she waited for the timer to stop. "I don't sleep much. Besides," She looked down to her toes, "It's my day off tomorrow, I don't have to wake up early or anything."

"Day off?" The girl began, "And you're willing to waste your day by going to the lost and found department with me? Wouldn't you rather… like, go shopping or… find something interesting to do?" She wanted to tell the soldier to go hang out with her friends, or even boyfriend, but she didn't even know this woman, so she had to be careful with what she said.

Lightning smirked and shook her head. "Believe me, I lived in this town all my life. There are no more interesting things for me to do here." At that moment, the microwave's timer ended and a cute ring sounded. She took the warm mug out and headed towards her guest. Not even bothering to sit down, she handed it to her, "Here, drink. You should be able to sleep better after this,"

"Thank you so much," She smiled and took the pink cup, holding it tightly in her cold hands. "But… it's not going to work."

"What was that?"

Vanille jolted her head up, "Oh, n-no, it's nothing. Thanks again, you should probably go to bed soon!"

"You're sitting on it." She said it just before she realized how important it sounded.

"Oh – I'm so sorry, I—"

"No, no," Lightning shook her head and waved her hands. "Sorry, that came out rather rude… erm, I meant…" She stuttered as she tried to figure out the best way to put the words she wanted to say.

The girl finished the milk in the mug in a couple of big gulps and quickly stood up.

"… You're going to get a stomach ache if you drink so fast…"

"Now you can go to sleep!" Vanille exclaimed cheerfully.

Her bright smile then reminded her that it was now night time. How could she smile so brightly as if it were daytime? How could she even have the strength? Lightning watched as Vanille made her way towards the kitchen sink, and placed the mug in it. "Just leave it there, I'll wash it." She said. The girl didn't listen, however, as she proceeded to rinse and clean it.

"It's not a lot of work, so it doesn't matter."

Lightning could still hear that cheerfulness in her voice, and she couldn't help it but to loosen up. Funny how she wasn't getting annoyed with this, for if any of those lower-ranked soldiers from her squad show even a hint of disobedience, she would suspend them of their position, excuse them from the military, and send in a file of their personal information to the higher-ranks so that they would never have the chance of redeeming themselves, let alone promotion – The sergeant shook her head, hard. She was getting too caught up with work lately.

Finishing her work, the girl made her way back to the strawberry-blonde. "Thanks again, onee-san!" Her hands clasped behind her, the smile on her face widened into a grin, "Thanks for helping me,"

"I didn't help you," She replied coldly.

Vanille shook her head, and without letting the smile disappear, she answered, in a softened voice, "No, you did. You did, onee-san,"

The woman remained still, confused by her sudden seriousness.

"Well then," And her voice somehow easily returned to that cheery and annoying one once again, "I'll be trying to go back to sleep now!" She headed towards the hallway, back to the host's room. Holding onto the doorknob, she looked at Lightning one last time, "Goodnight, onee-san, thanks again!"

Hearing the clicking sound from the closed door, Lightning collapsed onto the sofa. She wasn't completely lying when she told the girl that she wasn't sleeping yet, but she was still quite tired after such a long and boring day. She turned over so her face was up; her eyes glued onto the dark ceiling above. When was the last time somebody thanked her for something with such a kind smile? How long had it been since she had served somebody beverage in this house? How long… how long had it been since another human being talked to her with genuine kindness?

She sighed.

"Onee-chan, I'm.."

Lightning turned around, her back faced the younger girl. "Then go," She said with her teeth gritted, "And don't you dare come back."

Truthfully, she regretted saying those words the moment they came out; she wanted to go back… just a few seconds back so that she could rewind and rephrase. If she could do that, then she probably wouldn't be so alone right now. She sighed again and closed her eyes.

The screeching sound from her own room woke her. With haste, the soldier jumped out of the sofa and ran swiftly across the hallway, bursting into the room. Still dark, she quickly reached for the switch beside the door and turned it on. She turned to her guest, who was sitting up and hugging her knees with her head buried in her arms. She looked almost like a curled ball, but then, Lightning noticed – the girl was shaking uncontrollably, which was frightening because it gave her the feeling that somebody had entered the house or something. She looked around before pacing herself to the girl and sitting at the side of the bed.

"Hey…" She called to her, "… Are you okay?" The soldier wasn't part of the negotiation team, nor was a professional at starting conversations – basically, she didn't have a talent for the tongue. Even so, she needed to try; something was terribly wrong. Lightning reached for the redhead's shoulder and rested her palm there; she could feel the layer of cold sweat on her skin.

"Don't touch me!" The girl barked uncharacteristically without lifting her head up.

Shocked, the woman pulled back immediately.

Her body was shaking more violently. "Get away…" She whispered.

Lightning had no idea what to do. But at least she knew that she couldn't just… actually move away and leave this girl alone.

"Please… get away from me…" She hugged her knees closer.

Vanille had her teeth clenched as she said those words, Lightning could tell. What exactly was going on?

"Don't…"

Her voice was getting weaker. Lightning decided to try again – she had to try again. Resting her hand on the girl's shoulder once more, she hoped that her warm touch could somehow… just somehow calm her down. Was this a bad dream? Was she sleepwalking? Was this some kind of psychiatric disorder? "Hey," The woman called out gently.

Slowly, Vanille lifted her head, enough so that Lightning could see the upper half of her face. "Don't…"

And the soldier soon realized that those eyes were completely different. They were very much unlike the ones she saw on the beach last night – or, rather, a few hours ago. They were the same emerald colour, but there was some sort of thing inside that bothered her…

"Are you going to… me… as well?" The girl's voice shook with anxiety.

"What…?" Confused, Lightning waved her hand in front of Vanille's face. She showed no signs of response, and only sat there, staring fearfully into space. "Sleepwalking?" The soldier asked herself. She had never seen an actual sleepwalker before, so this was quite new to her. The least she knew was that it wasn't a good idea to wake sleepwalkers because it may affect their consciousness or whatever it was negatively.

When the younger girl blinked, streams of tears rolled down her cheeks. She was sobbing.

Lightning would much rather fight the entire Pulse Army right now. Like, she had never been in this kind of situation before. Cheering people was hard enough, but cheering a sleepwalker up? The woman looked awkwardly around the room, improvising on what to do next. "Erm…" She thought and thought, hoping that some sort of brilliant idea would pop out of her mind. Maybe it would be better if she just left her alone? Lightning looked behind her at the opened door.

Right when she was going to move, her attention went back to Vanille as her sobs grew louder and louder, filling her ears.

The woman sighed and turned to look at the girl. She didn't realize it, but seeing her crying face, some sort of sadness filled her. It came from deep within her heart, and it rushed through her veins. The feeling shot to every part of her body, and it did not feel good. Vanille looked so much like a lost child – it was just too… heartbreaking to leave her alone like this. She relaxed and moved the hand that was resting on her shoulder up to pat the girl's head. "Don't cry," Was the best she could do.

"…"

She sighed again. "And you can be so damn happy when you're awake…" Lightning felt like she was talking to a wall, but it didn't matter; her mind constantly spoke to the walls in her apartment anyway. The sobbing sounds gradually died down, and Lightning could see the girl's eyes getting droopy again. With her hand still resting on her head, she could feel that the girl had stopped shaking. "Sleep," She said quietly, almost in a hypnotic voice. "Don't think about it anymore,"

Whatever it was.

She watched as the girl's eyes closed. "That's it."

Going with gravity, the girl fell to her side, but Lightning and her quick reflexes caught her in time. Her breath uneven, Vanille's mouth began to move, "Give… back…" She moaned softly.

Give back? Give back what?

Lightning looked down at her, who was resting snugly in her chest. The sobs have stopped completely, but she was still shedding tears. Then, that sad feeling from before came back. It once again surged through her veins, flowed with her blood, and there was nothing the woman could do to stop it. "First, a nightmare, and now…" The tears in Vanille's eyes were getting absorbed by Lightning's tank top. She could feel it, it was getting uncomfortable, but it wasn't like she was going to complain about it. Carefully, she held the back of the girl's head with a hand and laid her down. Her body moved downwards with Vanille under her head finally touched the pillow. Releasing her gently, she decided that it was about time for her to leave, but the girl's tears haven't stopped. The woman knew that there was no merit to this, but her hand moved up naturally, and she wiped away the girl's tears with the back of her fingers. "Shh…" Lightning's mind was scolding her, telling her to leave before the redhead woke up or anything. The soldier's legs were already on standby-mode, ready to take off with her body turned towards the doorway. But still, her eyes were glued onto the girl.

Vanille's body shivered with her eyes still shut and tears still streaming.

Lightning's hand once again disobeyed her as it shifted its position from the girl's cheeks to her hand below. Unintentionally, she grasped onto it lightly, and the thought of letting go did not reach her senses. "You're having one hell of a dream," She whispered as her eyes followed each teardrop that streamed out of the corner of Vanille's closed lids.

The uncomfortable and sticky feeling from the afternoon heart got to Vanille. She finally forced her eyes to open and sat up. Her vision blurry, she rubbed her eyes roughly and yawned. Finally coming to her senses, she looked around the room and stood up. Vanille reached for the ceiling and then bent down to her toes. She reached for the ceiling again and let out one more big yawn before dropping her arms to the sides. She looked around the room for a clock, but her attention was taken away by the neatness of the room. It felt refreshing, for some reason, seeing the cabinets and drawers aligning together with symmetry, the walls being a pretty light beige colour, pretty hardwood floors, silky transparent white curtains… everything she saw in the room just somehow made her feel well and alive. Vanille walked towards the fabric and pulled them aside, revealing the bright blue sea and the sandy white eastern beach. Seeing the amount of people down there, the girl figured that it should be around noon time. After making the hostess' bed, she left the room to look for Lightning.

Something in her mind told her that the soldier was still sleeping. So, like last night, she opened the door as quietly as possible, and stepped out into the hallway likewise. The pain in her foot was hurting more and ever, so tiptoeing was kind of impossible. Whispering, "Like a ninja," She leapt down the hallway, thinking that she might see the woman sitting on the sofa like yesterday.

Instead, her gaze shifted to the humungous window which held the same view as the hostess' room because they both faced eastward. The living room had an even larger and better panoramic view around the beach, however. Vanille was about to walk over to the glass and look down at the people again, when she caught a certain strawberry-blonde lying peacefully asleep on the said sofa, breathing soundly.

"Hmm…?" Vanille smiled at the sight. She walked towards Lightning and crouched down beside her, their eye-level meeting. How extremely odd; such an angry and cold soldier could appear so vulnerable and… cute when asleep. Vanille realized that the woman was quite a heavy sleeper even though her ears were god-like and were so cautious all the time. "And you said that you don't sleep much…" She giggled. "Maybe I should go brush and wash up…" The pain in her foot shot up her spine once again before she could get up. She winced at the pain and then let out a loud squeak.

The unnatural sounds reached her ears, and Lightning shot her eyes open. She wasn't planning to move at first, but seeing Vanille right in front of her, she backed away in shock.

"S-sorry, onee-san!" She apologized whilst holding onto her ankle.

Her heart has yet to return to its normal pace, but the woman started, "Are you okay?" She crossed her legs and sat up properly.

"Yeah, I was just checking to see if you were asleep, but then, when I tried to get up, my food…"

"No, I mean like…" Lightning interrupted, "… Are you… okay?"

Vanille blinked cluelessly. "I… my foot is hurting like crazy, but other than that, I'm fine!"

Lightning narrowed her eyebrows and stared into her green eyes. That unnatural thing from last night that made her eyes look different was gone. Those eyes from the beach that were full of life were all that she could see right now. She let out a breath of relief. "Well," Seeing how the girl didn't remember a thing, she decided to drop the subject. Standing up, she walked around the girl, "Need help?" Reaching a hand out towards her like last night, she waited for Vanille to grab it.

"Thanks…" And like last night, she took her hand. "Guess this time I scared you," She laughed nervously as she got up.

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah," Replying coldly, "You sure did."

You sure do. You and your split personality.

"But… onee-san," The girl leapt towards the curtain-less window, and stared outside with amazement. "I love your apartment." Her eyes followed the children in cute bathing suits who were playing tag and were building sand castles. "I would die to live in a place like this…"

Before she knew it, Lightning had already walked up and was beside her. "It's not so pretty at night,"

"Hmm?" Vanille turned to her.

She wondered why she even said that, but she went on, "It gets deserted fast, since everyone migrates to the western side of the town late in the afternoon so that they can get a spot to watch Bodhum's famous sunset."

"… Do you not like it to have so little people on this side of the beach, onee-san?"

Without turning her head, Lightning's azure eyes shifted to look at Vanille.

She gave the woman a smile in response. "Well, there are still the pretty stars. Y'know, the ones from last night – I saw them too, right? I enjoyed looking at them, and I think it's nice to be able to have such a grand view of them every night."

"The stars are always the same. They never change." She said bluntly.

Vanille was slightly lost for words. She looked back down at the children and waited for something to come to mind. The sunlight that was reflecting on the ocean waves shone into the flat; the redhead could see at the corner of her eyes that the woman was shining. Those brilliant blue eyes almost appeared aqua – and they were twinkling with the sparkling blue waves. Then, it came to her. She turned to the woman once more, "Do you dislike stars?"

Lightning raised a brow. "What kind of question is that?"

"Just curious," She smiled.

Sighing, the woman shrugged her shoulders. "I don't like them," She replied.

"Oh…"

"… Nor do I dislike them."

Vanille chuckled.

"… What?" Lightning crossed her arms and looked angrily down at the shorter girl.

"N-nothing," She stopped, "Just that… onee-san, your character is full of surprises. It's like… you're the most unpredictable person in the world."

"You met me yesterday." The soldier stated, remind her of the fact that she did not know her well enough to say those words.

"Well, yeah," Vanille answered, "That's why I said it." She smiled as she leapt off, heading for the washroom. But before she got any further, she turned around again, "I said you're unpredictable because it'd be fun for me to discover more about you."

"… What?" Lightning shook the look of embarrassment off her face, "W-what are you… you know you're really freaking me out?" She declared.

The girl giggled and stuck out her tongue playfully. "I freak myself out a lot too!" She repeated the sentence from last night before leaping off towards the washroom again.

Hearing the door close, Lightning took a deep breath. Was she regretting the fact that she let this stranger into the house? Was she getting annoyed by that girl? Was all this foolishness getting to her? She liked to believe so, but strangely, none of this was bothering her. None, at all. Did she like it though? Perhaps a bit – just a tiny bit, though. Having another voice other than her own present in this apartment definitely felt… more pleasant. Still, she had to admit – Lightning combed through her hair messily with her fingers – she liked this Vanille way more than the sleepwalking one.

The woman headed back to the sofa and turned to look into the hallway. Thinking about the things that happened last night, she crossed her arms and spoke to the empty air, "You're a total different person when awake," She sat down, "Who's the unpredictable one, now?"

I'd kill me if I were a follower of this fic. Sorry for the ultra-delay in updating!

Anyway, thanks for all the reviews so far, I usually reply to them if I remember, but if I don't, it doesn't mean I hate you or anything, it just means that I'm too lazy :P. Keep them coming!