Chapter 5 - Empathy
It was sheer pity, and nothing else. How could there possibly be anything else? Lightning could picture what happened to the girl earlier this afternoon; it was blatantly easy to tell what went on between those thugs and the girl. … But how far did they get?
"If it is okay with you, I'm going to use the shower first,"
She looked down at the girl beside her who just took off her sandals. It was bloody obvious that the smile she was bearing was fake. Her real smile was no way in hell like this – no way. It just wasn't right that the girl wasn't… shining… like she usually did. Then there was also her voice; there was always that cheery and high-pitched noise that she so often found annoying… right now, it has turned near deadpan. Taking off her own boots, "Alright, go ahead," Lightning answered simply.
Should I ask?
She watched as Vanille walked on ahead, taking the slowest steps ever. She was walking almost robotically – a depressed robot-style. It looked almost like she was unwilling to move away… away from the woman – away from her presence. Suddenly, the girl paused. Standing still, Lightning noticed that she was turning around.
"Onee-san," She called weakly.
Lightning looked at her. She has yet to turn on the lights in the apartment; all the light there was in the room was from the stars that shone into the flat through that huge window each and every night. It was a dark blue, white… melancholic… lonely light – all mixed together in the strangest, and yet most beautiful way. The girl's eyes appeared forest green to the woman from their small distance.
Vanille swallowed hard. It was difficult to tell how the woman looked right now, for she was hiding in the shadows, away from the starry lights. "I… about earlier…"
The woman listened.
She clenched her fists. Her muscles stiffened, and she couldn't bring her head up – it felt as if it weighted a ton. "I… I… t-they…"
She stood still and listened.
But a sudden wave of fear washed over her, and Vanille decided that it was best to not talk or think about it. "Never mind," She quickly turned the other way, heading down to the washroom. It was the right decision, yes, because it didn't matter. There was no way that someone as cold as Lightning would be willing to listen. There was no way that stuff would interest her anyway.
Lightning watched as Vanille dragged her feet down the dark hallway, and then turned to enter the washroom. The door closed lightly behind her, and the light went on, peeking underneath the tiny space between the door and the ground. She sighed. It couldn't be helped if the victim herself did not want to talk about it, but still, was she okay with it? Lightning made her way down the same dark hallway, with the thought that just, perhaps, it was best to ask the girl if she was feeling unwell. After all, her smile just now… Lightning couldn't get that depressing and fake smile out of her mind. Already standing directly in front of the door, she actually had no idea what her next step was going to be.
Knock?
No, why the hell would she do that? Lightning reached for the doorknob, her palm gripped onto the brass lightly.
Then why do you care?
Uncertainty.
She's nobody to you.
Lightning released the handle. She stepped back quietly – almost hesitantly – in confusion.
Doesn't matter if she was…
But then, a surge of determination overcame her; she grabbed onto the doorknob again, this time gripping it tightly, almost as if she were holding onto her gunblade.
… raped.
Turning on the knob, she swung the door open, hard.
So why do you care?
Such intolerable, abrupt, barbaric behaviour… never once has she done it in her life. But she couldn't help it; that was just the way she was – at least, when she's worried. Lightning found the girl leaning against the wall at the end of the room, looking down at her feet, with a hand clenching onto the pink tank top at her chest. It seemed as though she did not care about that rude and sudden intrusion. In fact, it didn't seem like she noticed the woman at all. She walked towards the girl. It was odd; Lightning wasn't really sure what she wanted or was going to do, but she knew that she needed to come closer. She needed to be close to her, otherwise…
Why not just leave her alone?
Vanille looked up upon seeing a shadow covering her. She tried her best to remain silent because she did not want to trouble her anymore. It has been far too much. Still, when she caught those blue eyes that are filled with concern – no longer with distance and bitterness – Vanille couldn't help it. She just could not hold it in. The tears lingering in her eyes streamed down her flushed cheeks the moment she blinked, dripping onto the floor below, and her hand that was clenching onto her chest began to claw at her own flesh. Perhaps, subconsciously, she was trying to stop herself from acting so pathetically, especially in front of Lightning. Vanille looked to her side, embarrassed by those miserable tears that were rolling unstoppably down her cheeks.
Lightning knew very well that she was never the type to comfort people. Actually, she has never, ever comforted anyone before. Not even… not even her…
The girl knew that she had to break the silence if she did not want the woman to worry. She quickly wiped her tears away with the back of her hands. "Onee-san, sorry, if you need to use the washroom first, I'll let you," She stood up straight and started to head for the door, "I'll just go out—"
Lightning instantly grabbed onto her bicep, clutching onto her skinny arm gently.
"…"
She had no clue why she did that, but she knew that it was necessary. Grunting with impatience, she started to improvise. "Don't hold it in,"
Goosebumps were appearing on her cold skin, Vanille could feel it.
The woman turned to face her. She could feel the girl trembling, and naturally, she just… she just wanted to… somehow…
Why?
The girl brought a hand up to cover her mouth to prevent herself from crying too loudly. It was pointless, however, as she was already sobbing.
Lightning just wanted to help her, somehow. This delicate and weak figure triggered emotions within that she has never once felt. Such a foreign feeling got her so curious, she just wanted to discover more of it. Releasing her arm, Lightning's hand hovered by the girl, not sure what to do next.
At that moment, it seemed like the soldier gave her a sign to… to… "Onee-san…" Much like earlier, Vanille hid her face in the woman's shoulder. Her arms wrapped themselves around Lightning's slim waist as she let herself loose; she cried as loudly as she could, as she wanted to.
She had to take a few steps back to maintain her balance. Lightning did not think much, but she naturally held onto the girl. Holding onto her with such delicacy, she was afraid that if she used any unnecessary strength, Vanille would crumble into ashes. Lightning had an arm around the girl's shoulder, and her other hand stroked her smooth orange head with care. It was such a wonder to herself, as she has never done this with anyone before. Lebreau and the rest of her friends always said that she 'sucked at comforting, because all she ever did was sit around and do nothing'. Right now… Lightning couldn't be confident about it, but right now, she was doing something, right?
Vanille's legs gave in; she could no longer support herself – it was too tiring. The girl collapsed, but not completely as Lightning has caught her in time. Her face remained hidden in her shoulder as they held onto each other whilst being on their knees. Her sobs have also died down as time went by; she was now trying to regain her breath, but those annoying spasms from her lungs prevented her from doing so.
"Take a deep breath," The woman said, realizing that the girl couldn't breathe.
She did as she was told, but it was too difficult – she couldn't even control her lungs.
Lightning started to rub the girl's back, helping to ease that uncomfortable feeling. It was just basic first aid, really; soldiers do this normally to the wounded that have trouble breathing after inhaling in too much gas, smoke, or anything lethal.
Almost immediately, Vanille felt better. Was it because of what Lightning was doing? Or was it because she felt… happy that she was showing concern? The girl had no idea. All she knew was that she did not want to let go. "Thank you…"
The girl's quiet mumble wasn't really clear, as her face was still hiding in her vest. Certainly, Lightning wasn't expecting to receive her gratitude right now when she was all torn up. She wanted to respond normally, but her weak and – yes, she had to admit – cute voice sent chills of nervousness up her spine. The soldier cleared her throat, "It's nothing." She managed to reply in her usual calm and collected voice.
Vanille pulled back. Her eyes still aching from all the crying, she rubbed the back of her hands against them. "I'm sorry," She started, "… for… y'know, everything," She clasped her hands together on her lap.
"You didn't do anything wrong," The woman replied naturally.
She remained still.
Lightning let out a quiet sigh. She was completely not used to this… this rare occasion where she had to show such a caring – humiliating – side; this side that destroyed her usual cold front, she hated it. The unfamiliar feeling of compassion… it was all too much for her. She wanted to pull away – she really did. She wanted to leave the redhead here.
Why did you come in, then?
Her body twitched. It wasn't anything special, really. It was just too unreal to leave that poor victim unwatched; she just could not leave her alone.
Is that all?
What else could there possibly be? This girl wasn't anyone special to her. They've only known each other for a week. They rarely talked, and she would ignore her whenever she had the chance. It was all just… simply… sheer pity.
"They…"
Lightning looked down at her, who was still unwilling to bring her head up.
"… They held me down." Her fingers dug into her thighs, clawing at her white flesh, "I couldn't move,"
The girl's body was shaking. Lightning wanted to tell her to stop if she did not want to talk about it, but a part of her wanted to listen.
Swallowing hard, she continued, "They tried to rip away my clothes, but I resisted – I ran, but they held me back, and they used a knife, they… they cut me – they pinned me down again, and then they… t-they…"
With that, "Hey…" Lightning knew she had to intervene.
"Their hands – they were all over me…" Her eyes shut tightly, she gritted her teeth as she spoke, "… I told them to stop, I begged them… they w-wouldn't, they just kept touching and touching – and I… I couldn't help it, I—"
"Stop,"
Her voice began to rise, "I couldn't break away – I yelled for help, but they dragged me to the end of the dark alley and I couldn't… nobody – I c-couldn't…!"
Lightning held onto the girl's trembling shoulders, shaking her gently to try to get her to listen, "That's enough—"
But it was useless; she continued on, as if the woman's actions weren't reaching her senses, "Those disgusting, repelling, sickening noises I made – I couldn't stop…!" She snapped her head up, her tearful emerald eyes finally visible, "Nobody helped – I screamed and I screamed, but nobody…!"
"Stop!"
"—it's just like that time—!"
… That time?
"Vanille!"
She gasped and cut herself off. The heavy tears in her eyes once again streamed down her cheeks, soft dripping sounds could be heard as the droplets hit the floor.
"It's fine," Her grip on the girl's shoulders loosened. She moved a hand up to rest on her orange hair, "If it hurts so much, then don't talk about it." Lightning noticed that her voice has gotten softer – a whole lot softer. It was something done out of reflex, but never has she reacted like this if it was merely reflex.
"Onee-san…" Vanille's quiet whisper cracked as her breath became uneven again.
And Lightning could not bear to see that face again. Without thinking twice, she pulled the girl to herself, embracing her, hiding her, shielding her from those violent memories because she just could not stand seeing the girl with such a depressing face. Such a sad, sombre expression did not belong to Vanille… it did not belong to the cheerful girl. It just wasn't… right…
Driven by surprise, Vanille no longer had the strength to cry. The tears still flowed endlessly out of her eyes, though. But right now, she just wanted to close her eyes and get used to this warmth. It has been a long while, after all, for her to be held like this. She relaxed, letting her weight loose as she leaned into Lightning's soft chest. The woman's heartbeat sounded gently against her ears, and the rhythm of it made her breathe along. She closed her eyes as her arms rewrapped themselves around the woman's waist. "I'm sorry…"
Naturally, she held onto the redhead more securely. "Relax, just close your eyes."
Although she knew that Lightning could not see her face in this position, Vanille smiled at her kind response. Gradually, as time went by, her eyelids no longer had the will to open up. She fell asleep in the woman's arms, and vaguely, she could feel herself getting carried and laid down on a familiar, soft, and comfortable bed.
"Make her take them off,"
"No…"
"If she resists, then do it by force,"
"Please, no…"
The man nodded. He grabbed the girl who was hiding in the corner by the wrist, forcefully dragging her up, "Come obediently,"
She could see the disgusting smirk on his face. She fought, she pulled, she resisted, "Please stop—!" But it didn't make a difference.
"Stop squirming," The man grunted impatiently, "Or I'll kill them all,"
"…"
"… Right in front of you."
Her body trembled uncontrollably.
"Or better, I can do this right in front of them," He leaned in to whisper into her ear.
A tear rolled down her cheek. Her muscles tensed up as the man's large hands traced her inner thighs. "No…"
"And then I will deal with their pathetic lives."
"No…"
"How do you like that?"
"No!" The girl screamed and snapped her eyes open. She immediately sat up on the bed and looked around cautiously, anxiously, trying to figure out where she was. Her cones unable to adapt to the light of the rising sun from the large window, all she could see was a fog of white brightness. Scared and unable to see properly, she stood up and struggled to walk straight. The girl literally had to feel her way towards the door. She reached for the doorknob, turned it, and pulled the door back with force. Vanille actually had no idea where she was going or what she wanted to do; she just needed to run and escape from that haunting nightmare. She ran into the hallway, clueless as to which way she was heading, until something grabbed onto her wrist from behind.
Afraid of facing whatever grabbed her, she refused to turn around. She started trembling, very much like the way she did in the dream.
Lightning was about to open her mouth to say something—
"Don't…"
She narrowed her eyebrows and paused upon hearing the girl speak.
"I… I don't want this anymore…" Vanille continued to mumble, "… I-I'll let you do whatever you want with me, so please…"
Her grip on the girl's wrist loosened.
"Please don't… don't hurt them…"
Lightning could swear; when she said those words in such a weak and helpless tone… she just wanted to… wanted to… "Turn around," Lightning said as simply as possible, as she was trying to hide the fact that she was getting quite concerned.
Vanille did so slowly, though she still was unable to bring her head up.
The woman sighed. Her fingers reached for the girl's chin, lifting it up so that their eyes could meet. Upon doing so, Vanille's scared expression immediately softened. "It's me," Lightning started.
She blinked, and instantly relaxed. Letting out a deep sigh, or more like a breath of relief, she crumbled to the ground, landing hard on her knees.
Lightning, being unable to catch her in time, knelt down with the girl, unsure of what to do next.
"Sorry," Vanille said, "That was… rather rude of me." She looked up at the woman, their eye level meeting, she smiled forcefully. "I didn't mean to run out like that. It was just the dream – it was so… so real…" The woman's straight and uninterested expression made Vanille realize that there really was no point in explaining. She let out a sigh again, this time quieter, "S-sorry…"
Silence filled the air. The light from the living room shone into the hallway, and faint purple, green bruise marks were visible on the girl's skinny arms. Lightning twitched at the sight; gently, she reached for her.
"Ah!"
The pain in her voice sent electric currents up the woman's spine. She shivered at the sound subtly as she observed those bruises. Whatever happened, whatever those thugs did to her – whether they got that far or not – all Lightning knew was that she wanted to help her. "Did it hurt?"
Vanille, still recovering from those shocking spasms of pain, looked at the woman, curious as to why she even showed concern for her. Swallowing hard, the dryness in her throat prevented her voice from projecting clearly, so she shook her head instead. As Lightning continued to massage her arm to relieve the pain, she bit onto her lower lip to stop herself from making any noises – this peaceful silence felt good, too good to be ruined. To draw her attention away from what the woman was doing to her, her eyes moved up to Lightning's face. The same, cold, and expressionless face she saw on the first few days of their encounter, to yesterday and right now; it was the same, cold, and expressionless face, but Vanille discovered something… just something different. It was probably there all along; it's just that she has never looked close enough.
She released her arm. "Is your wound hurting?"
Dumbfounded, the girl simply shook her head once again.
Lightning narrowed her eyebrows, "Let me check, just in case." She stood up to walk around the girl, and then sat down behind her. "If you're fine with it,"
She nodded lightly.
Naturally, almost as if she were working in the Fifth Arc a few years ago, the woman lifted Vanille's tank top from behind. This action was done many times in a day when she had to check on the soldiers' wounds. It was all the same right now. "You haven't bled at all. That's good," She released the loose fabric, letting it fall back in place. "Go take a shower. Make sure you take off the bandages first. I'm going to wrap you in new ones later." Lightning stood up and walked back around the girl, reaching a hand out to her.
She took it and got up easily. "Thanks…" The girl straightened her shirt out, "But… onee-san, don't you have to go to work today?"
"I took the day off." Lightning answered.
Vanille widened her eyes. Yesterday, didn't Lebreau and Gadot say something about this woman being a workaholic…? They said that she was known for never taking day-offs no matter what important events or cases come up—
"Don't get the wrong idea," Seeing the look in her eyes, she had to interrupt. The soldier narrowed her eyebrows, "I just thought it wasn't right to leave someone like you alone."
Touched, and too embarrassed to face her directly, Vanille looked away. She fiddled with her fingers nervously as she tried to think of a way to break this awkward tension. Unbeknownst to herself, her cheeks were flushed red for god knows what reason, and she couldn't understand why her heart was pounding so quickly. Who knew that Lightning had such a soft side to her? Forget about what happened last night, but to actually show such compassion through words? This was something unexpected. Dropping her hands to her sides, Vanille took a deep breath, "Onee-san,"
"What?"
"About yesterday,"
The woman stood still.
"… I don't know how to thank you enough," She stuttered as her cheeks got even redder.
Lightning crossed her arms and tilted her head a bit. Well, the truth was, she was just glad that the girl was no longer crying or going through mental breakdowns. "You've said it a few times already."
Vanille swallowed. "W-well… yeah, but, still…"
Dropping her arms to her sides, Lightning walked closer towards the girl. "What's wrong?" She bent down and pressed a palm against her forehead, "Your face is unnaturally red," Then, her other hand moved up to feel her own, comparing their temperatures, "Do you have a fever?"
"…" Her body stiffened; she couldn't move – she couldn't possibly move a muscle. Beads of sweat grew out of her skin as blood shot upwards to her head. It was getting stuffier and stuffier, and it wasn't because of the morning heat.
"You might be infected from the wound after all…" The soldier said, "Let me take off your bandages – it might be because they're dirty or something. The germs must have gotten you sick,"
As the woman pulled back, Vanille let out a sharp gasp. She quickly covered her mouth upon hearing herself make that noise. The girl quickly glanced up at the woman, who was bearing a worrisome look, and then she looked back down on the hardwood-floor. "I-I'm fine!" She exclaimed breathlessly.
"…"
Clutching onto her shirt, Vanille could feel her heart pounding hard, violently against her chest. The sound was almost audible in the narrow hallway – or maybe it was just her paranoia. What was this strange feeling? Why was she so scared? Why couldn't she look up at the woman?
"Are you Light's new prey?"
Gadot's words from last night suddenly echoed in her head. She tried to remain calm, but it was obvious that she was shaken by the surprise her conscious gave her. She did not want to check, but right now, to Lightning, she should be looking pretty stupid. "Prey? What 'prey'!" Vanille scolded herself. It was just a joke, why would it come up now? Why was she even thinking about it? Why…?
"Erm… are you okay?" Lightning finally asked.
"Y-yes!" She gasped and turned around to run for the washroom, "I'm fine!" She yelled as she closed the door behind herself as if a freak were chasing her.
"… Huh?" The woman was more than confused. She walked up to the door and knocked, "Uh… are you sure?"
"Yes!" The girl squeaked, "I j-just… just need to go to the washroom… b-badly!"
"Okay…"
What was that all about?
Vanille came out with her hair untied, and a towel dangling on her head as she dried her damp hair. She made her way to the living room where she was expecting her host. Indeed, the strawberry-blonde was sitting on the usual sofa, going through her usual routine with the TV at its lowest volume while she flipped through a magazine.
"Done?"
"Yeah…" She said softly.
"Let me see,"
"… W-what?"
"Turn around."
"O-oh, yes – uh…" She did so quickly, crossing her legs on the soft seat as she turned sideways so that Lightning could get a better view.
Lifting the girl's tank top up quickly, "I don't think it's necessary to wrap you up completely anymore," The woman grabbed a large, rectangular cotton pad, large enough to cover Vanille's cut, and strips of bandage-tapes from the medical kit she took out earlier.
"So… I can wear a bra again?"
Lightning choked on her tongue, "You… weren't wearing one yesterday…?"
"Well, I wasn't after you wrapped me up…"
"What the hell?"
"I couldn't have… The bandages were in the way…" Vanille said quietly. Then, the look on her face became more serious, "Onee-san, you would have done the same thing!"
She rolled her eyes as she finished patching up Vanille's wound. "Unbelievable," Lightning mumbled. "But…" She let out a low breath, "… at least you're feeling better now."
Yes, that was true, Vanille realized. Through that strange… interaction she had with the woman before she went for a shower, and that silly conversation about her bra – it helped clear away those disgusting memories. Well, at least it would be temporary. The same dreams would come back to remind her of those events again, as usual. No matter how hard she tried to run away, they always caught up; they would always bind her down, making it impossible for her to live normally, peacefully. Still, she needed to keep this up, no matter what it took. The only way to hide from this was to put on a happy, carefree façade. "So," Vanille turned around and started, "Now that you know I'm fine, you don't have to spend the whole day looking after me." She grinned as Lightning sighed, "What should we do?"
"I'm going to sleep." She replied immediately in a bored manner.
"What!"
Lightning reached for the remote and turned off the power to the TV.
"Don't waste your day-off like this, let's go out!"
The strawberry-blonde grunted as she combed through her soft pink bangs with her fingers messily, "There's a reason why I don't go out, you know?"
Vanille pouted, "Because everyone recognizes you? Or is it because your exes appear everywhere you go?"
She glared at her briefly, and then calmed down a bit to stop herself from ranting on her. "It gets annoying."
"Hehhh…" The girl hugged her knees together, she rested her chin on the hard bone, "So what Gadot said was true… onee-san is very popular with the people in town…" She chuckled, "No wonder he's jealous…"
"Just to let you know," Lightning started softly, "I never said yes to any of them."
"… Eh?"
She rolled her eyes. Seeing no point in repeating something so unimportant, she crossed her arms and looked into the black screen of the TV. "… Forget it," She stood up. "Help yourself if you need anything." Lightning finished as she headed down the hallway.
"Wha – onee-san, you're really going to sleep?"
"Uh huh. Oh, and," She turned around, "You're okay with me sleeping on the bed, right?"
Vanille blinked. "Y-yeah, of course! It's yours after all!" She laughed.
"Yes, how did I not figure that out?" Lightning mocked.
Having nothing else to do, the girl decided to head out into the streets once again. Whether it was because she wanted to shop or explore, she had no idea, however. Though, it was quite odd that she did not feel scared or traumatized or anything relating to fear after the incident from yesterday; as weird as it sounded, she was feeling… well, happier. It was probably because of the soldier – Vanille realized that she really needed to thank her somehow, even if the woman kept brushing it off. Perhaps buying her something would help, but she should first find out when her birthday is—
"Hey, Vanille!"
The girl looked to the source of the sound. She must have been walking for quite a while now, as she was standing on the empty western beach, right in front of the bar from last night. "Oh! Hi!" She waved happily as she walked towards Gadot.
The muscular man rested his elbows on the fence of the patio. He looked down at the redhead and grinned, "Did you miss me so much that you decided to come and pay me a visit before we close for the day?"
Vanille giggled, "Sure, let's go with that,"
"Don't play along with him, girl, you might give him the wrong idea."
She tiptoed to catch the sight of Lebreau behind Gadot's huge figure, who was locking up the door to the bar. As the raven-haired woman approached, Vanille let out a grin, "Aw, there's nothing wrong with him being a bit friendly!"
"Yeah, even she's fine with it," He nudged at the barmaid's arm playfully. "Hey, what's with your arms? They're all bruised up. Are you okay?"
"O-oh, I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about – I just tripped," Still smiling, Vanille changed the subject, "Anyway, you guys sure work hard…" She looked up at the cloudless blue sky, "To close this late,"
Gadot shrugged his shoulders, "Well, this is a night bar after all. People don't come at eight in the morning, y'know?" He grinned. "So anyway, I wanted to ask you this since yesterday, but couldn't because Light was around…"
"Hmm? What is it?" She clasped her hands behind herself.
"What do you think about her?"
"… W-what?" Vanille blinked.
The man gripped onto the black metal fence and leaned back, "You know…" Suddenly, in a flash, he bent back down, his face dangerously close to Vanille's, "What makes you attracted to her?"
"…!" The same feeling from earlier came back; blood once again rushed up to her head, and this time, she started to feel dizzy.
Lebreau sighed and grabbed onto the furry hood of Gadot's blue vest, "Okay – that's as far as you're going to go,"
"Ow, hey!"
"Sorry Vanille, don't mind him, but he asks the same question to every single person who comes in contact with Light."
He pulled away from the woman and tugged his vest back down, fixing it back in shape. "I'm just curious, man! I mean, she gets everyone. Like, literally everyone!" His brown eyes caught the girl's emerald ones, "Surely, she's gotten you by now, am I right?"
"W-well, I-I…" She tried to look at everything but the man, since she was really bad at lying.
"Oh? Blushing now, are we?" He grinned and leaned in closer. "Come on, don't deny it! You're obviously attracted to her! Tell me what she does, how she does it, and when she does it. I'm going to note it all down, and for sure, I'll get a date."
"I'll tell you what you need: looks." Lebreau interrupted sarcastically.
He glared at the barmaid, the fiery colour of his hair almost reflecting his mood right now.
Vanille, meanwhile, stood there as thoughts of the woman processed through her mind. Surely, she couldn't deny that she wasn't attracted to her, but she couldn't put a finger on what it was that made her feel this way.
"Come on, Vanille! Is it her looks? Her cold front? The fact that she's such a good fighter? What is it?" Then, unexpectedly, his eyes widened, "W-wait… could it be… she's into S&M, and t-that's why your arms are all bruised up—!"
"N-no! No! It's nothing like that!" Vanille shook her head and waved her arms rapidly.
"O-okay…" He was unconvinced, but knowing the righteous Lightning, it wasn't possible that S&M would be what she enjoyed. "Then… what is it?"
The girl calmed herself down before tapping her chin thoughtfully with a finger. Certainly, her beauty plays a big role; her cold and bitter personality brings out the mysteriousness within her, making her more… appealing, and the way she beat those guys up last night really made her look cool. "Well… onee-san is… really nice…" She muttered.
"HA!" Gadot exclaimed, throwing both Lebreau and Vanille back, "See! I told you you're attracted to Light—wait, what! Nice? Nice!?"
Still blushing, the girl turned away to nod.
"Are you kidding me! Light is everything but nice!"
The girl turned back to the man and pouted, "But onee-san is really nice…" She said quietly, a small smile appeared on her face, "I… I haven't been treated so nicely for a long time…"
"Aw, that's cute." The barmaid commented as Vanille started spacing out; clearly, the girl was thinking of a certain Guardian Corps sergeant.
"Uh – um…" The redhead shook herself back to her senses, "Sorry… that must've been… odd…"
"Oh, no, not at all." Lebreau laughed, "You're not the first one who's gotten so entranced by Ms. Lightning Farron's presence,"
Gadot rolled his eyes with jealousy. "Tell me about it,"
"N-not the first one…?" Vanille repeated with confusion and concern.
"Relax! I'm not saying that Light is a player," She couldn't stop chuckling at the girl's innocent reactions – it was just too cute to resist, "Rather, Light never said yes to any of them. Actually, now that I think about it, she was always the one getting pursued, and never did she pursue anyone. That's… that's kinda wicked." Lebreau cleared her throat, "Anyway, what I'm getting at is that she always shook them off and turned them down after a while. Like, she never took them seriously. Personally, I think she just hasn't found the right person yet."
The girl was paying full attention and listening closely. "Right… person…?"
Again, the barmaid laughed at Vanille's response. She continued, as reassuringly as possible, "I mean, I'm sure Light's okay with starting relationships. It's just that she hasn't found anyone suitable for herself. Because, honestly, if she had, then I think the town would be talking about it. Did I mention that Light's ridiculously popular, despite her quietness?"
"Y-yeah… that much I know…" Vanille replied nervously.
"Good," She placed her hands at her hips, "Knowing that you have competition, it'll act as a boost."
The girl blinked cluelessly, "Boost…?"
Lebreau smirked. "Heh, don't worry about it." Her gaze shifted to someone several metres behind the girl. "Oh, look who it is?"
Having an idea, Vanille spun around. Sure enough, it was the one and only Lightning. The woman looked like she just got out of bed, with an outfit so simple – a light purple, almost lilac, coloured zip-up hoodie that stretched to her upper thighs, zipped up to her lower abdominal section. Inside, she was wearing a black tank top inside that ended just above her bellybutton, making her silver naval piercing visible. The hoodie stretched so much that it nearly covered the khaki short shorts she wore underneath. Completed with a pair of sandals, her long, white legs made her look like a model as she approached the group. Before Vanille knew it, the woman was right beside her. "Onee-san!" She called with a smile.
"Yo, Light," Gadot greeted, "Day-off?"
Vanille giggled.
The woman nodded briefly before glaring at the girl. "Why are you out here?" She asked her.
"There's nothing else to do at home," She answered happily. "Onee-san, didn't you say you wanted to sleep?"
Lightning stuffed her hands into the hoodie's pockets. "Too bright, couldn't."
"Hehe, of course," Vanille grinned. "Then… do you want to go for breakfast? Since you can't sleep…"
She shrugged her shoulders. "Might as well," She replied with her usual cold tone.
The girl prolonged her grin.
Lebreau smirked at their interaction. It was really easy to tell what's going on between the two, and it was rather pleasant to watch this. But being as cunning as she was, she knew when it was appropriate to stop. The barmaid faked a cough to catch everyone's attention, "Well, it's nice that we're gathering again, but we're getting kind of tired, so…" She grabbed onto the man's hooded vest again.
"Huh?" Gadot turned to the barmaid.
"What? Don't you want to go for breakfast together?" Vanille said.
The man nodded his head, "Y-yeah, I'm kind of hungry, so—ack!" He was cut short as the barmaid dragged him by the hood.
"Well, that's what you get for working through the night! Yawn!" She stretched her arms, "Tired, bye!" Smiling, she waved to the girls before walking down the patio, onto the beach. Gadot was still getting dragged behind her, his feet making a trail on the sand with the direction they were heading towards. It seemed like he couldn't talk as Lebreau was kind of… suffocating him with his own vest.
As Vanille stood there to scratch her cheek, oblivious to what the two were plotting, Lightning crossed her arms and pursed her lips with annoyance. Lebreau was always like this; whenever she has the opportunity to spend time alone with someone, she would conveniently find some excuse to leave her, making it extremely awkward for herself. Though… looking at the redhead, it did not seem like she understood the real point for the barmaid to leave so suddenly. Lightning sighed. At least this girl wasn't as obnoxious as those people.
"Onee-san?" Vanille called upon seeing the woman's troubled expression. "If you're tired, we can go home. I can still make you breakfast or something," She suggested. The girl reckoned that Lightning said earlier that she did not like to go out too much, as she might see her exes. But… did that not contradict the fact that she was out here right now? Coming out just because she couldn't sleep? What…?
"Doesn't matter," She shoved her hands back in her pockets, "We'll do whatever you want."
… Could it be that… that Lightning was… worried? Vanille's mind continued to come up with different conclusions, but none of them really matched the soldier's usual bitter personality, so she was getting herself more and more confused.
"Well?" She eyed the girl uninterestedly, waiting for an answer.
"Uh, uh…" Vanille started to stutter nervously. Too caught up with those thoughts, she must have been spacing out like a weirdo just now, "Yeah! L-let's go…!" She grinned and skipped on ahead.
Lightning raised a brow. It was nice to see her behaving so lively again, but what was all of that about? Slowly, she followed the girl, closely behind her. It still annoyed her though, the fact that she wasn't able to sleep. When the girl headed out – once the sound of the front door closing reached her ears, she couldn't close her eyes anymore. The only way to get that uncomfortable feeling out of the way was to come and look for her.
Why, though? What the hell was the point?
She stared at the redhead's back, trying hard to think, but was still unsure of the answer.
Worried?
No… there was no way that she could… possibly be worried, right…?
Then what? Why?
Perhaps it was because… Lightning picked up her pace enough so she could walk right beside Vanille. Upon doing so, the girl looked up at her and gave her a smile – the usual sweet smile. Which reminded her: yeah, it was… just because.
Of that smile?
Yeah. She took a glimpse at the redhead, who was still bearing that cheerful expression. "Yeah, probably… most likely." Lightning just wanted to see her smile.
Err… yeah… two pages less than last time, but it's still a progress, right? Not as long lol.
How'd you like Vanille's mindrape lol (writing it was a lot of fun) :P
Please continue to reviewwwwwwwww :D