Chapter 3 - Familiarity

"Sorry,"

"… Don't worry about it."

"But… if only I…"

Lightning stopped walking. She turned around to face the girl, who was trailing behind, "Look, you didn't know, and neither did I. So… let's just let it slide, okay?"

Vanille was still unconvinced. "Yeah, but still…" She looked behind her at the building. Apparently, the lost-and-found department closes at three in the afternoon.

She's blaming herself for spending so much time deciding on what to wear. In the end, Lightning picked a pink thick-strap tank top for her. Sadly, her size was too loose for the girl, so she had to run into the other room again, and get a smaller grey tank top for her to wear underneath that loose pink one. To complete the set, Vanille chose to wear a pair of black short-shorts, along with borrowing a pair of sandy-brown flip-flops – just to match.

"If only I chose faster, then maybe we could have…" She clasped her hands in front of her lap and bowed apologetically, "Sorry!"

"Would you cut it out already?" Lightning persisted, "I told you; it wasn't your fault." She was saying this honestly, "They used to get off at five. I don't know why the higher-ups are letting them slack off like this…" And she had to admit, there was a hint of jealousy in her voice. Why was this department the only department that was allowed to get off early? Their job was the most slack and non-stressful compared to the other military departments in the first place. What unfair and bullshit planning were the stupid higher-ups doing!

"Well…"

Lightning stopped herself from thinking anymore. At this rate, she might not be able to control herself, and she would run to Lieutenant Amodar again and complain. A hand resting on her hip, she waited for the girl to continue. "Is there something you want to say?" She spoke upon seeing the hesitance in Vanille.

As usual, the girl responded by smiling first, "Since we still have the whole evening, do you want to do something fun?"

"…"

"Y'know…" Vanille had her hands clasped behind her back as she circled around the woman playfully, "If you don't mind, we can go shopping or something. I'm pretty sure the malls aren't as lazy as that," She pointed behind her, at the lost-and-found building.

Lightning crossed her arms and looked away, narrowing her eyebrows. She grunted, showing signs of unwillingness.

"Aw, come on!" She whined, "You wouldn't want an innocent and vulnerable like me to get lost again, right? Plus, I can't wear stuff from your wardrobe forever; it'd be quite rude of me, wouldn't it?"

Still unconvinced, the soldier refused to give the girl an answer.

"Hmm…" Vanille sighed. Perhaps it was best to leave this woman alone. It was her day-off after all, and who knows how often she gets that? Maybe she wanted to stay home and sleep longer in the first place anyway. "Sorry, onee-san,"

"Why are you apologizing again?" She asked in an annoyed manner.

"Am I bothering you at all? Please, you can tell me honestly." Vanille's voice turned from being joyous to bland.

Lightning raised a brow. "What's this all of a sudden?" She felt somewhat bad upon hearing that question. It felt like… it just didn't feel right to have the girl look so down.

"The fact that I'm living in your apartment," She continued, "Onee-san, I can actually leave anytime – actually, I was going to find a hotel for myself in the first place—"

Out of reflex, Lightning replied, "It's only been a day." Wait, that wasn't what I wanted to say! "Uh – erm…" Yeah, you better feel bad for taking advantage of my hospitality, "No, no – it's not that—"

"… Onee-san?"

She jumped back. Whether it was because of nervousness or embarrassment, she did not know. The strawberry-blonde's mind was telling her to kick the girl out of her life, but her body won't behave, and all she could do at the time was act like an indecisive and dumb person.

"A-are you okay?" Vanille took a step towards her, but each step she took, Lightning only backed up another one.

"… Are you okay?" The question she asked the girl last night when she was sleepwalking was now being asked upon her. It was like the two have exchanged roles or something – or that was, what the woman's paranoia was telling her. "I-I'm fine…" She looked down, avoiding eye contact.

"Really?" And she kept on coming closer and closer, until the woman decided to stop backing up.

"Just… just that…" Lightning could feel blood shooting up her into head; she was probably blushing like mad by now. Come up with something, come up with something! "I… I'm… I'm just hesitant about going shopping with you because I don't want to watch over you and your ankle,"

Vanille blinked. "Eh…?"

"Your ankle," She repeated, "It still hurts, doesn't it? You woke me from your pain this afternoon, and you were complaining about it earlier." She dropped her arms to her sides, "But if you really want to go, I-I guess I can come with you,"

The redhead grinned.

"… Since I…" She thought hard for the next word, "… Kind of… haven't… shopped for a long time."

Finally, Vanille let out a soft giggle. "Okay, onee-san," She walked on ahead, "Whatever you say!" The girl herself was getting suspicious with all her stuttering – it can't just be because she also wanted to shop. Though, she had no reason to ask; Lightning already accepted her request.

Shit, that went well. She wiped the sweat that was lingering on her forehead with the back of her hand. Taking a deep breath, she followed the girl who skipped a bit too far. Lightning had to admit, she wasn't entirely lying just to get out of that dangerous situation; she was somewhat worried about the girl's ankle because each time Vanille took a step that seemed too big, she could almost envision her tripping and falling down, face-flat.

"Onee-sa—n!" She called happily to the woman, waving her arms in the air, "Come on, come on!"

Lightning shook her head. She caught up to Vanille, "Be careful,"

The girl prolonged her grin, "Yep, I will!"

"So," She scratched the back of her head. Then, she noticed that she has been doing that quite a lot whenever she was engaged in a conversation with the girl, "Where do you want to go?" She finally asked, seeing how they were getting nowhere near a shopping district.

"Well, I don't know my way here…"

Ugh, of course. What kind of stupid question was that…?

"So I'll be following wherever you go, onee-san!" She finished with her usual cheerful tone.

The woman sighed. Truthfully, she was thinking about wandering around places that just came to mind, but seeing how the girl needed clothes, "How about the market place or the mall nearby? They have a large variety of clothing you can choose from."

"Perfect!"

"… Yeah," The two stood there awkwardly – or rather, Lightning stood there awkwardly for a few seconds before realizing that she should take the lead. "Let's go, shall we?" She began to walk ahead.

"Mmm… before we go…"

The woman stopped to listen, "What?"

Vanille kicked the gravel at the tip of her toes nervously, "Hehe… can we get something to eat first? We haven't had anything… and it's already late in the afternoon…" She said quietly, embarrassed to admit that she has been hungry all along.

The soldier blinked. "Oh, food," It didn't even come to her. Naturally, it couldn't have, because she rarely eats on a regular schedule. It was a wonder that she didn't suffer from any eating disorders at all. "What do you want to eat?"

"Anything is fine," Vanille replied.

Lightning rolled her eyes. Why, of course, anything is fine; she was expecting that answer anyway. "Then… how about something quick, like fast food?"

Instantly, the girl narrowed her eyebrows. Then, she leaned forward to the woman with a stern expression. "Onee-san…"

"… What?" Slightly frightened by her unnatural look, Lightning leaned back without moving her feet.

"Earlier this afternoon, I checked your fridge," The shorter girl crossed her arms, "And all you had in there was milk, juice, water, and microwave-goods."

"… Yeah…?" She waited for the girl to continue, for she really had no idea what she was trying to get at.

Vanille squint her eyes as she leaned closer, pressuring the taller woman to step back. "Let me guess; all you ever eat is take-out, instant food, and anything that is… fast and easy to make?"

"Yes…" Lightning stretched her answer, afraid of saying it out clearly. Well, now she understood; the girl was getting worried about her diet and such, how could she not have figured that out earlier? "Listen…" She turned to the pigtailed girl, but ended up cowering and looking back away. She wanted to tell her that it was none of her business, but she couldn't do it. Vanille, right now, looked… a bit too scary; almost as if she were older, more in charge, like a guardian – or perhaps… she was acting like a mom. The soldier couldn't bring herself to say something so rude to her at the moment. "N-never mind…" Damn it, stop stuttering!

As if she were scolding a child, the redhead grunted angrily and started, "How could you do that!"

Oh, boy. Lightning tried to look away casually, intimidated by her raised voice.

Vanille ran around the strawberry-blonde to face her directly. "You can't just feed off those unhealthy stuff – they're full of MSG, excessive flavouring, artificial stuff… and, and, and… all kinds of unhealthy things! Yet you…" She paused to briefly look at the soldier's well-toned body. Tall figure, slim waist, long and slender legs… A hint of jealousy shot up her spine, which she quickly shook away, "Anyway, it doesn't matter that you're able to maintain such a nice body (yes it does!) even with all that junk. You still need to eat fruits, vegetables, and just… properly in general!"

"Okay." Lightning went along with her, agreeing with everything she said so that this lecture could end quickly.

"Oh, you…!" She huffed and pouted angrily. Her patience was running low. The woman wasn't even paying attention, so there was no point in going on. Vanille had her hands on the sides of her waist, "Well then, onee-san,"

"…" Lightning turned back to the girl with a subtle scowl.

And almost immediately, the angry face on Vanille was replaced with a smile. "Let's go grocery shopping,"

She widened her eyes. "What!" Lightning was actually more surprised in her quick change in expression; one minute, she was pouting angrily, and now, she's smiling so damn innocently—

"Grocery shopping!" Vanille repeated happily.

"W-why!"

"Why? Isn't that obvious?" She laughed, "I'm going to cook for you tonight!"

"What…!" Does this girl have any idea what she's saying! "You? Cook? For me!"

"Yep!"

"B-but…" She tried to come up with something, "W-what about your clothes? Don't you want to shop for them? Aren't you in desperate need of them? A-aren't you…" She was on the verge of giving up, "Aren't you hungry right now? Don't you want to go eat like… now?"

"Oh, onee-san…" Vanille clicked her tongue as she shook her head, "You don't trust my cooking?"

"No, it's not that," She answered straight away, don't you find it strange to cook in somebody else's house? In this case, someone whom you've just met! "Like…" In truth, Lightning knew that she could easily reject her offer by saying "It's fine, we'll just eat at a fancier restaurant with healthier food". Sadly, her poor communication skills brought shyness to her throat, thus bringing upon this result.

"No?" The girl tilted her head in confusion.

"J-just that…" She took a deep breath, "… You're a guest after all, and I don't think it's appropriate for you to cook for me…" Angry at herself for not being able to say what she had in mind again, she bit on her tongue, hard. Why can't she just yell at her!

The redhead giggled. "Think of it like this: it's my way of thanking you for letting me stay in your beautiful apartment."

This conversation was feeling very one-sided. All the messages she wanted to deliver to this girl were not being done so, but what pissed her off even more was that everything the girl was delivering to her was. Looking down at Vanille, hoping that she was able to blurt everything out in one shot – those sharp green eyes – she couldn't do it. "F-fine," GOD DAMN IT! "Do as you like." Perhaps she just no longer wanted to argue, or perhaps she didn't even care in the first place… or just… just maybe…

"Okay!" She skipped on ahead again, "Which way to the supermarket?"

She pointed to a direction, not even sure if it was right because she was getting so confused.

… Just maybe, deep inside, she actually wanted someone to cook for her.

She had to admit, the redhead looked quite professional and respectable in an apron. Also, the smell coming from the kitchen was nowhere near burnt; rather, it smelled kind of good. Lightning found herself rather enjoying her day-off for once, for she was no longer just sleeping in and doing nothing. At least right now, she has something to look forward to.

"Onee-san,"

Lightning looked up from her magazine and turned to the girl, who had her back facing her because she was so occupied with all the cooking. Simply looking at her wouldn't give her an answer, the soldier realized, so she had to call out, "What?"

"It's my turn to ask if you have anything you're allergic to," Vanille appeared to be mixing something in the pan – must be some sort of sauce because the smell was quite strong, but her voice was still cheery and non-stressed.

Raising a brow, it took her quite a while to figure out what she was talking about. Then it came to her; turned out that Lightning herself has asked the same question the night before. "No, nothing,"

"Okay, thanks!" The girl said politely.

She felt kind of bad for not helping at all, but at the same time, she knew that if she offered to help, the girl would push her back out into the living room. Still, she had to try. Lightning literally shoved the magazine off her lap, onto the white leather sofa, and stood up. She paused; thinking briefly – one more time – before she set out to walk towards the kitchen. Once there, "I think I should help after all," She managed to ask as casually as possible.

"Aw, but there really is no need! I'm nearly done,"

Lightning looked down at whatever Vanille was making; it was sauce after all, and—

"Oh, I know. Onee-san, you can help me taste this!" Nearby, she grabbed a spoon and scooped a fair amount up, pointing it towards the taller woman whilst keeping her hand underneath to prevent the sauce from dripping onto the ground.

"Wha—" Out of reflex, Lightning backed up.

"C'mon, say ahh!" Urged Vanille as she waited for the woman to open her mouth.

Lightning blinked. She was very much confused with the way the girl was acting. Aren't you being a bit too comfortable around the house…? "I-I can feed myself…" Somehow, her voice wouldn't project the way she wanted it to; then again, lately, everything her mind told her to do, her body would illogically reject its orders and did something else. Gently, she took the spoon from Vanille's nimble fingers. She glanced at the girl, who was waiting avidly for her opinion. Sighing, Lightning took one more look at the white substance in the silver utensil, and nibbled at the tip of the spoon.

"Well?" She asked right when her lips touched the utensil.

She was very, very, very obviously trying to keep a normal stance and facial expression. But… "This is good," Her words were muffled as the spoon was still inside her mouth. Then she realized; again, she couldn't control what she wanted to say. It just… slipped out of her mouth – she just praised the girl, unintentionally.

"Really?"

Yes, now give me another spoon— "Yes, it's good." She dropped the used spoon into the sink; but what she really wanted to do was to take another spoonful—

"Great! So you like it!"

"More or less," She shrugged her shoulders.

"Of course," Vanille laughed, "My cooking can't possibly be that good to make you say it's delicious or anything,"

Was she being sarcastic? Was she only saying that so she could counter her with another praise? All these weird thoughts were bursting out of the woman's mind – but a part of Lightning somehow convinced herself that she was actually thinking too much. "Well, at least you cook better than me." Lightning whispered to herself.

"Hmm? Onee-san, did you say something?" The redhead asked without turning her head to her, as she was too busy stirring the spaghetti that was boiling in the pot.

She sighed, "No, I didn't say anything."

"Oh, okay," Vanille shook the subject off, "Well, the food's almost ready, so…"

"I'll get the table set up," Lightning cut her off before she could finish.

The girl looked at her briefly to give her a smile, "Thanks,"

She nodded her head and took some silverware from a drawer, and some plates from a cupboard. Heading for the dining table that was right behind the white sofa, she set the things down carefully and as properly as she could; that was the least she could do, after all. Crossing her arms, she sat on the table and waited for the girl to finish so that she could bring the food over.

Vanille could tell that the woman was actually very hungry and was just not showing it, so she tried to work as quickly as she could.

"I wonder if she knows that she sleepwalks," Lightning thought to herself as she was getting bored. She eyed the girl in the kitchen from head to toe, "It'd be strange if she doesn't."

"Are you going to… me… as well?"

What did she mean by that? Not only did she sleepwalk, she also woke up from a bad dream – did this all connect? … Actually, more importantly, she knew nothing of this girl's background. She told her that she came here for a vacation, but… all by herself? Who goes on vacations all by themselves, especially at such a young age? This was getting all too confusing – the soldier had to ask. What if… what if she's from—

"The food's ready, onee-san!" Vanille said as she placed the plate of spaghetti and salad onto the table. "Please, sit down," And she did so herself, placing the handkerchief onto her lap. She looked up at Lightning, waiting for her to sit down as well so she could start eating.

Without responding, she sat down across from the girl. Crossing her arms, Lightning waited for Vanille's next move – she was a host after all, she couldn't possibly eat first—

Seeing her all motionless, Vanille figured that the woman was waiting to be served. She did not mind it one bit, so she stood up, grabbed the fork and spoon, "Onee-san, do you want salad or spaghetti first?"

Lightning's mind was elsewhere, and it took her a few seconds to realize that the girl just asked her a question. "W-what?" She stared at Vanille, who was slouching over the table, waiting for her to answer whatever she just asked. "Oh—" Damn, where are your manners! She thought to herself, "Err, uh, sit… sit down, I'll do this," Keeping her cool, she stood up and reached for the fork and spoon in the redhead's hand.

"Oh? I thought you were waiting for me to serve you!" She laughed and obeyed, sitting down politely with her hands in her lap.

"Err, no… sorry, I was spacing out. So, which one would you like first?" She held the spoon and fork together, making it act as a tong.

"Mmm…" Vanille put a finger under her chin, looking at the food she made. Then, briefly, her eyes glanced at the woman's, and realized that she had them glued onto the spaghetti. The redhead giggled quietly, "I'll have the salad first, please,"

Lightning nodded. She took the girl's plate and quickly filled half of it with her desired choice. Then, she filled her own plate with the food she has been looking forward to for so long.

At the other end of the table, Vanille was watching. She couldn't shake that cheeky grin off her face, nor could she stop looking. This woman was too funny. The way she acted, the way she talked, the way she hid her needs… the girl loved these types of characters; she always thought that they were the most fun and interesting to, simply, look at.

She tried to eat with etiquette, but the food's too good. She hasn't had something this good for a long, long time. There was no way she could hold back, but she still tried to not eat like a glutton. Lightning still rolled the spaghetti up with her fork in her left hand against the spoon she was holding onto with her right, and when she rolled up enough (which was way more than her manners told her to roll) she dropped the spoon in the plate lightly, switching the fork to her right side, and ate the spaghetti in one mouthful.

There really was no point for her to so politely – almost too politely, as she was eating like she were with a group of higher ups or a bunch of businessmen. Vanille munched on her salad and watched the woman happily. The fact that she was trying so hard brought so much joy and entertainment to her eyes. "Onee-san,"

Lightning looked up.

She smiled, "Do you always eat this politely?"

The woman nodded naturally.

"Hmm," Vanille tilted her head a bit, "But I'm not someone with authority… so I think it'd be better if you ate normally… like, not so business-y… y'know?"

It was like relief to her ears. She dropped the spoon onto the table, letting it rest on a napkin, "You're right. Very well, then." She said simply, and continued to eat.

Vanille smiled at her bluntness. She then helped herself to another helping of the salad.

The two of them sat there silently as they ate; the girl looked as if she didn't have a care in the world, but for Lightning, she was having the time of her life. Not only was the awkward silence pissing her off, but the fact that she still has not discovered more of this girl was driving her off the edge. She knew she had to get this over with; she knew that she would die if she doesn't. Her grasp on the fork tightened, "Hey,"

The redhead looked up from her plate, "Hmm?"

Although Lightning usually did not care about impressions, she cleared her throat, starting politely, "I haven't gotten to know you yet,"

Vanille blinked.

She rolled her eyes, "You know, a proper introduction…?"

"Oh!" The girl laughed, "Yes of course, I totally forgot! Actually I was going to say something about it earlier today, but I got too caught up with all the shopping and stuff—" Her eyes caught a glimpse of the woman, who did not seem interested in her excuse at all. "… Anyway," Vanille continued, "Yes, we haven't introduced ourselves properly."

"No, we haven't." It sounded like she was pissed off, but she already held back her bluntness; perhaps it was just her voice?

She grinned and placed her fork lightly onto the table napkin, "I'm Vanille, just coming here for a vacation!"

"All by yourself?"

"Yep,"

There was no hesitation in her answer. "Where are you from?"

"Mmm… you can say that I'm from… Eden."

The capital? Lightning raised a brow. It didn't sound natural, but, guess that's why she's dressed so damn weirdly. Is this how schoolgirls dress up there nowadays? Lightning continued, "How long are you planning to stay?"

"I dunno…" Vanille dragged her response.

It wasn't because Lightning was afraid that she might stay too long, but naturally, several conclusions jumped into her mind: the girl either ran away from home, wanted to avoid school or whatever she was going through, she couldn't stand the pressure in the capital, or she was some sort of fugitive, on the run – wait, what?

"What about you, onee-san? You haven't introduced yourself yet."

Her train of thoughts broken, she stared at the girl. If this girl were a fugitive, she would know for sure, considering her occupation. Likewise, the woman placed her fork lightly onto her napkin, "Lightning Farron."

"…"

The girl did not answer, which confused her. She crossed her arms and looked to the TV mounted onto the wall, which was on her right, without turning her head a slightest bit. The power was off, but she was just looking at it to avoid such strangeness.

"Wow," Vanille suddenly went, making Lightning look back her way. "That was the briefest introduction I've ever heard!" She chuckled, "Have you been living here for a long time?"

Her arms still crossed, "Yes, since I was born, in fact," She answered the girl coldly.

"Hmm…? Onee-san, you're from the army, aren't you? You beat those two up yesterday so easily, you must be professionally trained!"

There was no need for her to sound so enthusiastic, but Lightning answered as humbly as she could, "Yes, I'm from the military."

"Wow…" Vanille awed, "You're not wearing it now, but your outfit makes you look like you're really high-ranked!"

She shrugged her shoulders, "A sergeant isn't really considered high-ranked…"

"But you still have power and stuff! It'll be cool to see you command people around, seeing how stern you look – oh, I meant in a good way… like, looking strict and stuff won't get you bullied," The girl giggled, "Unlike me."

The two had a very awkward argument over who should wash the dishes – well, at least it was awkward for Lightning (as always), but she ended up winning, so nothing mattered. As the girl occupied the bathroom, the woman had nothing to do other than returning to her usual routine: watching the TV with the volume at its lowest. Indeed, she wasn't paying attention to the screen, as she was too busy with the thoughts of the redhead's strange behaviours. Would one randomly suggest cooking for one's own host? Would one so willingly accept such a strange and cold-hearted person's offer in staying overnight? … Would one have nightmares and… sleepwalking events that are extremely similar? All these confusing questions rose in her mind, and Lightning could not find an answer for even one of them. She was known to be the best planner when it came to team operations; never had her squad failed a single mission. What she did not understand was why she never got promoted thus far even after showing such remarkable results—

… Shit, off topic.

Lightning closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her fingers, hoping that this pre-examination-like headache can quickly go away. Seriously, she was stressing out herself; she was thinking too much. It'd be better if she would just relax more once in a while, and not bring up such a big deal for every single thing. Perhaps this girl really was just as innocent as she looked? Perhaps she really was here just for a vacation? Perhaps… perhaps she just has really, really horrible insomnia, causing her to have such major bad dreams—

What are the chances!

That's true. All of this… they can't possibly be coincidences, right? Like… who would go on a vacation on their own? Who would be so damn vulnerable to everything? Who—

A loud shriek came from the end of the hallway, followed by a sound of a door banging open. Lightning instantly stood up, positioning herself in a fighting-stance, ready to take on whatever that would come in her way— Her eyes widened, "What… what the…!"

"Onee-san! Onee-san! Aaaah!" It was the girl, in nothing but a light-yellow towel, all soaked from head to toe, running towards her like some rapist was chasing her from behind. "Help me! Help me!" She jumped over the white sofa that was waist-high without difficulty as if she were an Olympic-hurdler.

The soldier, who was prepared for anything and everything, was not-so-prepared for this. "H-h-help—? What the f—!" She couldn't finish, as Vanille has cut her off by grabbing onto her shoulders so hard from behind; the girl was probably using her as a shield from whatever scared the shit out of her.

"Inside…! Inside!" The shorter girl pointed towards the bathroom at the end of the hallway, adjacent from the dusty room she never entered.

"… What?" Question marks were all that she could see right now. Her arm still dripping with water, Lightning's eyes followed the girl's trail of wet footsteps. Cautiously (with Vanille still clutching onto her shoulders from behind), she made her way towards the bathroom.

"Be careful…"

As the two stood outside the bathroom, the soldier began to wonder: what were they really after? There was no way that anything could break into this apartment, after all. The woman turned around to look at the girl, who was shivering as droplets of water rolled down every part of her body. "What's inside?"

Swallowing hard, she stuttered, "A-a, uh, a… s-spider…"

Lightning literally dropped her jaws. Shaking her head, "Ugh," She gently brushed the girl's hands off her shoulders, and stormed into the steaming bathroom. Glancing around briefly, she found the said spider lingering nonchalantly on the showerhead. Sighing, she walked over to turn off the tabs, and then she grabbed a few blocks of toilet paper, wrapping them around a hand. Swiftly, she reached for the black arachnid, trapped it with a hand, and crushed it, hard. It was half the size of her palm – pretty big, she had to admit; the moment she squeezed it in her hand, Lightning could feel and hear the crushing sounds of its shell and flesh… but it wasn't scary enough to make her cringe. "Egh," Lightning let out a sound of disgust and wrapped up the spider's corpse in the soft paper, throwing it accurately into the toilet and then flushing it down the drain immediately afterwards.

"I-is it dead…? Did you kill it?" Vanille peeked into the bathroom.

"Yeah, it's dead," Lightning answered as she washed her hands. For some reason, she felt more or less… proud, rather than annoyed. Like, she was glad that the girl came screaming for her help, because now, well, she felt… accomplished; almost as if she's completed a mission.

"O-okay…" The girl tiptoed into the room, holding onto the towel at her chest tightly.

Maybe it was because Bodhum has been eventless for months now – almost a year. Even if the two worlds were at war, this safe and boring town remained unaffected. Perhaps that was the reason why the soldier felt so good, even though all she did was taking care of a spider.

"Sorry about the mess…" The girl started sincerely, "All I've been causing is trouble, so—"

"Oh, no," Lightning shook her head. She really did not mind at all, but didn't know how to express it. "Err," I've actually been waiting for something exciting to happen. "… Uh, no," Frustrated, she bit onto her tongue, "D-don't worry about it. I don't mind that one bit… so, j-just…" She pointed at the tub, making the girl follow her finger.

"…" Confused, Vanille looked back at Lightning with a smile.

She let out a low breath, "I meant… you can shower at ease now," It took all of her to say that.

"Oh! Haha!" The girl laughed nervously, "Yes, of course! Thanks again, onee-san. That was one huge spider, there's no way I could've taken care of it."

Lightning nodded in agreement. She headed towards the door, "Just don't act as if a serial killer is chasing you the next time you see a bug,"

It may sound as if she was joking, but Vanille knew very well that she was being serious. "Hehe… yep! I'll be sure to remember that…!" She tapped the floor with her toes nervously and stuck her tongue out.

As she closed the door behind her, she shook her head to her illogical… incompetency. Why was it that whenever the girl was around, she started acting so damn strangely? The inability to do as she liked, to speak freely, to… well, pretty much to do everything. There was always some sort of wall there, in which she failed to climb through, causing such lame, stupid, and horribly embarrassing responses from herself. "Ugh…" Letting go of the doorknob, she dragged her reluctant legs back to the sofa; her whole body seemed dead, probably (most likely) because of the way she has been acting lately. Literally, she threw herself onto white furniture and closed her eyes, unwilling – unable to think all this nonsense anymore.

Vanille came out of the shower while drying her hair, ridding those pigtails she wore during the daytime. The girl actually wanted to apologize to her host once more, but stepping into the living room, the said person was nowhere to be found. "Hmm," She pursed her lips curiously as she looked to every direction of the room, until she heard a familiar soft breathing sound.

Must be at the same place…

She approached the white sofa, its back against the hallway which was where she was coming from. Her ankle was aching even more intensely since she just ran so much a few minutes ago, but she tried her best to keep quiet. The sounds became more audible as she became closer to the furniture, and gradually, as she leaned over, she found her host sleeping, much like earlier this afternoon. Once again, she couldn't help it but to smile at that childlike-sleeping face. Quietly, Vanille slid the towel down her head, letting it hang loosely over her neck. She then made her way to Lightning's room to fetch the blanket that she stored away earlier.

Vanille felt like a mother, really, as she pulled the covers over the weary soldier's sleeping figure. Strangely, she found herself enjoying this, for she's never taken care of anyone before. The girl proceeded to turn off the lights in the kitchen and living room, and the soundless TV, thinking that she should leave the soldier alone. But when the room turned dark, the blue lights from the sky poured into the window, making the entire flat glow in a… beautiful yet melancholic light. Entranced, Vanille made her way to the window. She placed her fingers onto the cold glass and leaned in to get a better view outside. What was beautiful about this apartment wasn't because of the grand panoramic view that it possessed, but it was what the view gave the apartment. The endless stars above for some reason looked far more beautiful from indoors to Vanille – it almost felt as if she were in an aquarium, looking at sparkling fish. The black ocean helped emphasize the effect, as it was so clear that it reflected each and every star in the sky.

Lightning awoke to the unusual warmth. She opened her eyes and found her vision blurred with darkness, but when her rods adapted, she realized that it was because of the lack of light in the room. She sat up, and saw the girl a few steps away from the sofa, staring outside into the view, the light turning her figure into a silhouette as her shadow on the floor stretched to the foot of the sofa. Lightning let out a soft yawn and stood up, pushing that navy blanket Vanille covered over her to the end of the couch. She walked over to the girl with no intention of starting a conversation.

She felt the woman moving the moment she woke up, but Vanille just could not keep her eyes off the window. "Onee-san,"

Right beside the girl now, Lightning turned to her and answered, "What?"

"I…" Her mouth hung open; she actually had nothing to say, "… I didn't mean to wake you."

The woman frowned "You didn't. I can't fall completely asleep without taking a shower anyway." She followed Vanille's emerald eyes, looking at whatever vastness she was looking at. A feeling of déjà vu overwhelmed her – weren't they here, in the exact position, less than twenty-four hours ago? Unusually, she began, "Does Eden have little place for its residents to look at stars? Is that why you're so fond of them?"

Lightning's question drew her attention away from the window, "Actually, I'm fond of the stars because looking at them reminds me of my home,"

Then go home already! "Hm, I thought the capital was filled with buildings and skyscrapers, so that there would be no way for the people to look at the sky." She clenched her fists, frustrated that she cannot, AGAIN, speak out her thoughts to this god-forsaken girl.

"More or less,"

Her answer was quite inconsistent, but the woman chose to ignore it; it wasn't like she was particularly interested in the capital anyway.

"Ne, onee-san, you are certain that it is alright for me to stay here?" Vanille asked politely, "I think it's best if you would charge me of—"

"For the last time, it's fine," Lightning interrupted, "You're not that annoying, yet."

She brought her fist to her mouth, covering that quiet laughter, "Well, I'll try my best to remain as pleasant as I possibly can, in a way that I will not bother you." The redhead started to dry her hair again, "But you can kick me out anytime you like, okay?"

"It's my decision," The woman said simply. She crossed her arms and headed towards the hallway, "I'm going to use the shower now, do you need to go in anymore?"

"Nope," The towel wrapped over her damp hair dangled loosely with the girl's movements, "Don't worry about me, onee-san, you go ahead and do your thing."

Lightning did not know why – she only met this girl yesterday – but… "Alright, then," But she couldn't help it but to have some sort of absolute trust towards her. It was almost as if everything spoken by this girl was the truth, there was no hint of deceit, only honesty. She didn't want to admit it, but perhaps it was because she – Vanille – reminded her of someone.

Someone very, very close.

Someone whom she missed – a lot.

Not a very eventful chapter (in fact, quite a boring one if you ask me), but at least it didn't take me two months to update hehe.
More to come soon, like ACTUALLY.

Reviews are always welcomed :D