Chapter 8 - Control
The girl standing at the doorway looked exactly like Lightning, minus the fact that her eyes had a deeper blue colour, and that her facial features were not as sharp. There was no doubt – this girl was that smiling girl in the soldier's family portrait – this girl was Lightning's younger sister.
"Why…"
Lightning's voice rang in Vanille's ears.
She went on, "What is this…?" The words were small and weak; it was almost as if she didn't want to try.
Her sister knew this was coming. Whether she was scared or not, she still had to answer, "Onee-chan, I—"
"I don't want to see you." She reworded. It was a command – her voice grinded in her throat.
This thick air could kill. It felt lethal. Vanille could hardly breathe, and she couldn't bring herself to look at such a frightening Lightning, so instead, she turned to the younger sister. For some reason, it surprised the redhead to see that girl looking so eagerly – desperately – at her sister. It looked almost as if she wanted to beg… beg for something.
"Onee-chan…"
"Shut up," The soldier spat.
"Please listen to me—"
"I am not your sister," She said simply.
An invisible knife stabbed into her heart – those words were that painful. Though Serah knew it was coming from the beginning, she realized that she actually wasn't as prepared as she thought she would be. "Please, just listen—"
"I don't want to! Just get out of here!" She yelled, her brows furrowed as she glared at her sister.
Not only did Serah, but Vanille also winced and took a step back from the loudness of her voice.
Lightning could only view Serah as her enemy; she couldn't control it but to rant everything out, and she wasn't backing down at all. "I'm selfish, aren't I?" She grunted her words, "I thought you couldn't stand me, and yet you're…" The woman cut herself off – for a huge shadow, a huge shadow suddenly covered the door and distracted her. Lightning widened her eyes – mixed emotions – and then she tensed up so much, her body began to tremble.
And Vanille reacted very much the same. There was a tall, gigantic man standing at the doorway. She knew it wasn't good to judge people before she got to know them, but… his messily-shaved beard, black bandana, and that huge beige coat that covered most of his body just made him look like a… not a very friendly person.
The said 'unfriendly' person stepped into the flat. A look of determination on his face, he stepped in front of the younger strawberry-blonde, in a motion that looked like he was shielding and protecting her. Taking a deep breath, he began, "Nee-san…" and waited for some sort of reaction from the elder sister, so that he would know that he could go on.
Lightning twitched.
"Please, just let Serah—"
She couldn't take anymore – she was going to die if she heard any more from these two. "I don't want to know." She interrupted.
"—she just wants to talk to you!"
"Get out of my sight."
"Nee-san!"
Lightning snapped her head up. It was hard to say what kinds of emotions she was going through; by the time Vanille could catch those azure eyes, the woman had already ran past her, and before she knew it, the huge man was thrown onto the ground by a punch.
"Snow!" Serah cried and knelt down beside him.
Everything happened so quickly, everything was literally a flash – there was no better way to describe it.
Although she wasn't wearing her gloves equipped with those deadly brass knuckles, that punch still hurt like hell. "I-I'm fine…" He stammered as he tried to get up. Looking back at the furious soldier, he knew that it was wise to stop whatever he wanted to do, but he didn't feel like giving up. Biting onto the side of his lower lip to ease the fear those eyes gave him, the man stood back up, "Nee-san, just listen—"
"Don't call me that!" And she threw him another punch, making him land the same way.
Vanille shut her eyes, tight. She couldn't watch this… she couldn't stand this anymore. Whether she had anything to do with this or not, she had to do something – she had to stop Lightning…
The man called 'Snow' was trying to get up again, only to be stopped by Serah, "No!" Then she turned to her sister, "Onee-chan, please stop!" She begged as she held the man down, preventing him from continuing his stubbornness.
Yet he, for some reason, still had the will to smile at Serah. Perhaps it was his way to reassure her that he was fine. Once again, he sat up and prepared to consult the woman.
Her fists clenched tightly, Lightning's short nails dug deep into her own palms. "Why are you doing this…!"
The instability in the woman's voice… "No… onee-san…" Vanille's voice refused to come out clearly. She could only hear herself whisper.
Lightning drew her arm back, about to punch him one more time when—
"Onee-san, stop it!" The girl yelled.
That frightened voice made Lightning turn around to Vanille right away. The poor girl was shaking, and – she swallowed – that look… Lightning's seen that look before. The fear in her dazzling emerald orbs whenever she went through those painful memories… right now, it was the same. She didn't want to see Vanille like this.
The girl watched as Lightning softened her eyes. Anger and frustration erased, those eyes are now filled with uncertainty.
Slowly, the woman broke eye contact with Vanille, and turned around to look at her sister and that man.
The two returned the stare with a look of fear and confusion. Why did Lightning stop? Nothing ever stopped this woman from going out of control…
And that was the moment when Lightning realized how violent she has gotten. Suddenly, everything felt distant. She felt as though she lost hold of gravity; she felt as if she didn't belong to this world – like an alien, unwanted. All of them… that man, her sister, even… even Vanille was looking at her that way, so it was a given, right? Yes, they were all looking at her as if she didn't belong – yes… yes, that was it…
All that could be heard in the flat was Snow's heavy panting sounds. Nobody dared to speak.
Lightning hesitantly moved her empty hands up as she gazed down at them. Her nails that dug into them left small, half-moon shaped marks in her palms. She turned her right hand a bit so that she could see her reddened knuckles. Dropping her hands to her sides, she let out a sigh before walking past the two on the ground. Not even bothering to lay an eye on them, she put on her boots, and headed out the door.
Wait…
Without thinking twice, Vanille ran after her. She put on her sandals with haste and stormed out of the door, "Onee-san!" She called to Lightning who wasn't too far away.
The soldier stopped.
And so did the girl. "Wha…" Vanille realized that she didn't know what she wanted to say. Why did she have that urge to chase after her? … No, it didn't matter; all she knew was that she didn't want this woman to leave. "Onee-san, where are you—"
"Vanille,"
Stunned by her interruption, she cut herself off.
Lightning turned her head slightly, enough so that the redhead could see the corner of her eyes. "I… I'm sorry, but I want to be alone."
Quick and to the point. Vanille was definitely worried, but who would dare to go against Lightning Farron's request? It pained her to just let the soldier leave like this, but what else could she possibly do? Tie her up? Bind her down? How ridiculous…
Getting no response from her, the strawberry-blonde could only move on. She started to walk forward.
Vanille gasped. She was afraid… "Come… come back right after…!" She was afraid that the woman was going to leave her.
Lightning turned around, this time completely so that they could look at each other.
With effort, Vanille dropped that frightened look off her face and put on her usual cheerful one. She smiled; as fake as it looked, she had to be happy. "You will… right?"
An insecure, doubtful, yet hopeful question.
"…" She remained smiling as she hoped for the best and waited for the worst.
But unexpectedly, the sides of Lightning's lips moved upwards slightly. "I haven't eaten that cake yet, have I?" With that, the soldier turned around and headed for the opposite direction.
And as if a thousand pounds dropped off her chest, Vanille could finally let out a sigh of relief. How strange. This woman smiles at the most unpredictable times, but they were sure as hell always filled with warmth and comfort. She watched Lightning walk down the corridor, into the elevator, all the way until the doors of it closed. It was then Vanille remembered how all of this hysteria started. She started to make her way back to the woman's flat, though she was hesitant about it. After all, who was she to ask? Who was she to even… care? Regardless, Vanille knew what she wanted – she had to discover more about the strawberry-blonde soldier. The girl wanted to know what she had against her sister. Lightning was about to attack her for god's sake! She sped up until she reached the door. Almost by accident, she entered the room as if she were late for something.
Serah and the man turned around as she burst in.
Vanille blinked. Her abruptness must have startled the two. "Uh… um, I…" She bit onto her lower lip. Should she introduce herself first, or offer them something to drink? Or… rather, should she tell them to take a seat? No, that didn't make sense, this place belonged to Lightning and, obviously, her younger sister, so…
"Sorry about that,"
"Eh…?" The indecisiveness from her immediately slipped away. Vanille looked to the two on the floor, and realized that Serah was apologizing to her.
She stood up and bowed, her side-ponytail resting on her shoulder slid off and dangled with gravity. "For a guest of onee-chan's to witness something like this… I'm so sorry."
Vanille's mouth hung open. Honestly, she did not know what to say in situations like this, especially when the sister was being this sincere…
From behind, the man got up as well, albeit way more clumsily. He rubbed his bruised cheek a couple of times before starting, "We're really sorry!" And he bowed as well.
"No, no!" Vanille waved her hands. This was getting more and more awkward by the second; she was completely not used to getting treated like this – to have people bow to her – her of all people – what! "Really, I…" She swallowed, "It wasn't that big of a deal—"
The blonde man lifted his head up.
God damn it. Not that big of a deal? Nice going there, Vanille. "I-I meant…!" The rapid beating of her heart wasn't making it any easier for her to deliver her words, "… it didn't bother me, so don't worry about it." It was a blatant lie – everyone in the room knew that, she was pretty sure; but how else should she have said it?
The younger strawberry-blonde finally stood straight and lifted her head up as well. She let out a small smile, "Anyhow, I apologize for the trouble." Then, she reached a hand out, "My name is Serah, I'm… well, I think you know already, but I'm her… sister."
There was a slight hesitance in her voice when she introduced herself as Lightning's sister, but she chose to ignore that. Reaching a hand out as well, she clasped onto Serah's gently, "I'm Vanille."
Perhaps she should say more?
"I'm… a friend of onee – sorry, Lightning's."
Serah chuckled. "It's much easier to call her 'onee-san' isn't it?"
Vanille blushed to the question.
"Well, I call her 'nee-san', and she hates it." The man behind Serah cut in. He almost said it hatefully, probably because he was frustrated by the fact that she wouldn't allow him to call her so? Still rubbing his cheek, he continued, "I'm Snow by the way."
The girl nodded and smiled in return, "Nice to meet you." Getting a wonderful grin from the man in return, well, now Vanille could definitely say that he did not look unfriendly.
"Let's not stand here all day," Serah suddenly said, "Shall we take a seat?"
Vanille nodded again. "Sure," And she followed the girl to the white sofa… the same sofa where she and Lightning almost—
"I'm going to get some ice," The blonde man said as he headed to the kitchen, turning on the lights in the darkened room at the same time. It was obvious that he has been in this house before; otherwise he would not be so familiar with the location of the switches. "It's hurting so damn much… you guys have ice, right?"
"Y-yeah…!" She snapped back to reality. Thinking too much about that would only make these two think strangely of her. "There's a lot in the freezer," She finished.
His back against the ladies who were already sitting on the sofa, Snow searched away the said freezer. "Thanks!" His cheerful voice bounced off the walls in the flat.
Right. To say that he looked unfriendly was totally a mistake. Despite his humungous body-size, this man spoke with a tone of teenager. Wait… who was he anyway? He wasn't included in the family portrait, and he looked nothing like the Farron sisters, so… maybe he was a distant relative of some sort?
"Don't mind him," Serah said, making Vanille turn around, "He's grinning, so he should be fine now…" Her eyes dropped to the floor, "… it isn't the first time this has happened anyway." Her voice trailed off weakly before she looked back up at the redhead, "So, how did you meet onee-chan?"
"Eh?"
"I mean, I'm wondering because onee-chan rarely brings people home, so you must be special."
Vanille gasped, "No – no! It's nothing like that, I'm just…!" She paused; Serah was… giggling?
"I'm sorry…" She cleared her throat, "I was just joking around – I didn't mean to offend you or anything, but…"
"…"
Her giggle turned into a smile, and her body loosened up. "I can't believe you stopped her,"
Oh, right. Come to think of it, Serah was begging her to the point where she was almost crying, but the woman did not ultimately stop until she called to her. The thought of it made blood rush up her head; Vanille clenched her fingers together and looked down at her lap.
The redhead's tense actions and flushed cheeks only widened Serah's smile. "Or perhaps she's special to you?"
Her head snapped up, and she waved her hands desperately again, denying her theory. "No…! She's just…" She isn't? A voice – her own voice – resonated in her ears. Why did she have to deny it? Looking back up at Lightning's younger sister, she gave her a look of doubt, "… I don't know if it's appropriate to say that she's someone 'special' to me yet."
"Hmm," Serah crossed her arms, "Well, I can tell you, knowing onee-chan, you're definitely someone special to her." The light in Vanille's green eyes returned; her words have caught all of the redhead's attention. She went on, "Nobody was ever able to stop her from being like that… like, how you saw her, moments ago…" The smile disappeared from Serah's face naturally, "Have you ever seen her like this?"
Vanille shook her head, "No, this was the first time…" She probably should ask more – not because she was curious, but because she had a feeling that it was important to know. More specifically, it was because she wanted to know more about Lightning. "Why did she give you such a big reaction? You're… her sister, aren't you?"
"You're saying she should be happy to see me?"
She nodded.
"That's never going to happen."
Vanille tilted her head slightly. What did she just say? For her to answer so straightforwardly, everything was getting odder. She kept quiet and listened.
"It's… quite complicated…" The younger girl forced a smile back onto her face, "You see, onee-chan doesn't… she doesn't approve of our marriage."
"Marriage…?" Vanille looked behind herself, at the man who was filling ice into a plastic bag. Then, she slowly turned back to Serah, who was simply prolonging that forced smile of hers'. What! Her eyes widened. She could swear that she almost said that out loud.
The younger girl chuckled again. "Yeah, I know. It's unbelievable…"
Vanille was seeing stars by now.
"That's why I ran away."
For a moment, her jaws dropped slightly. It was almost as if she were solving a complicated math question, because everything in her mind went blank. Right now, she could only picture Lightning and Serah arguing. She had no idea how it truly went, but for some reason, she could just see them fighting.
"Vanille-san?"
And then she finally pushed the words out of her mouth, "I-I'm sorry, you… onee – ugh – L-Lightning disapproved of your marriage, and so you… you ran away?" She could hear anger in her own voice. Yeah, strange, anger – she could hear anger.
Why anger…?
She remained smiling and answered, "Half and half,"
The redhead blinked.
"I used the excuse of a marriage to run away from onee-chan."
"Wha…?" She was getting dizzy. This was all too confusing.
"It's hard to understand," Serah started to fiddle with her globe-like silver necklace, "But… if I didn't leave any time soon, onee-chan would probably have gone insane…"
Vanille clenched her fists. "What…"
"She's too caught up with the responsibility of taking care of me,"
"What are you…" She was unable to speak clearly.
What was this? Why was she feeling so…
Serah continued, "She would throw away everything, just for me. I can't bear to—"
"What right do you have…?" Finally, the voice she was searching for projected through her gritted teeth.
She was feeling so…
"Eh?"
"What right do you have to just leave her like that!" Vanille asked – screamed – and glared at the girl.
… angry.
Ignoring that shocked expression on her, she went on, "If she's going to go insane, then shouldn't you stay with her! Shouldn't you look after her? She's been looking after you all this time; isn't it natural for you to do the same?"
"You don't understand—"
Unable to hold herself down, Vanille stood up, "And then for you to come back without warning – wouldn't that drive her insane!"
"Vanille-san…" Serah stood up with the girl. Her hands were in a position that indicated she wanted to calm Vanille down, but was not sure whether it was right to do so. Deep down, she knew that she deserved this – she wanted someone to yell at her like this.
"Onee-san would burst if she heard the slightest sound of your name… because she missed you that much…!" Getting nervous, she clenched onto her shirt at her chest. "So much… to the point where she doesn't even know whether it's love or hate she has towards you…! So much that she… would lose herself…"
Shutting her eyes, "I know…" She whispered.
"Then why…?"
Serah sighed. Taking a deep breath, she began, "Coming back was completely stupid, I admit that…"
"Nee-san is her only family. Serah only came back because she missed her." The two turned to the kitchen. Snow was leaning against the refrigerator on his back, and held a package of ice, rubbing it on his bruised cheek. "Even if she said that she was leaving her, Serah can never do it."
The younger girl nodded. "Vanille-san…" She eyed her sadly, "It's all very simple, but in a way, extremely absurd. I am… like a prison to her."
"…" Her shoulders relieved themselves, though her fists were still clenched. "Prison…?"
"She is weighed down by the responsibility of taking care of me." Slowly, Serah sat back down onto the sofa, "My onee-chan, she… she doesn't know how to express herself. She doesn't know how to do anything for herself."
As she listened, Vanille's breath began to even out, though her heart was still pounding painfully against her chest.
"She thinks about nothing but me; I am put ahead of anything and everything. It's almost like onee-chan doesn't have any purpose in life other than to take care of me. I kept telling her that I'm fine, I'm grown up now, I can take care of myself, but… ever since my parents died, she's been like this." Serah hid her face in her palms, "Onee-chan tries to grow up quickly, so she threw away her childhood – even her name – all, for me."
The pain in her chest was increasing. Soreness, straining… it hurt. The more she heard about their story, the more it hurt.
"… They were the ones who left. I couldn't control it."
Yes, that was what Lightning told her yesterday morning. Vanille did not fully understand before, but now, it all made sense.
"She acts like she's strong…" Serah shook her head and smiled to herself weakly as she thought about her sister, "She doesn't show it, but she's actually a very sensitive person." Looking back at the redhead, she went on, "Like, before, you saw; she would shatter – or literally go out of control if things do not go her way."
In her head, a different clip played; this time it was a replay of what happened just minutes before, when Lightning was still present. Yeah, it wasn't just this time. That one incident on the beach too – the woman could have broken Yuj's wrist had she not call to her and stopped her.
"That's why I left her," Serah said quietly, "I don't want to see her go mad for me. I want her to be free, but I don't know any other way to give it to her. Onee-chan is too innocent. She is too selfless…"
"Serah, that's enough," Snow placed the icepack down and headed towards the living room.
Ignoring his words, the younger girl continued, "… So selfless she gets…" She shook her head, "I only called her selfish to anger her, so she would let go of me – so she would let go of herself."
Snow placed his hands on her shoulders, "Hey…"
The girl responded by holding onto his hands. It was her way of telling him that it was necessary to go on. Looking up at Vanille, she explained, "With time, you'll see. Onee-chan is always so strict and serious on the surface, but deep down, she is only a child."
The skies were completely dark by the time Vanille decided to go out and look for her. She said that she was going to be back, but it has been far too long, and she was starting to get worried. Again and again, Vanille tried to reassure herself that someone as calm and mature as Lightning wouldn't do anything stupid, but seeing how out of control she was earlier… and from what Serah told her, she felt that she actually did not know the woman as much as she thought she did.
Though the annual fireworks festival was over, Bodhum was still one of the most popular tour attraction points on Cocoon; which explained why the crowds were so big in this market. Vanille could hardly squeeze herself through all these people. Actually, she didn't even know where she was going with everyone's faces in her way. To put it simply, the redhead was just wandering through them aimlessly, hoping that, out of dumb luck, she would bump into the strawberry-blonde. That complicated conversation she had with Lightning's younger sister… for some reason, it wore her out. It was weird; she didn't do anything that required her to use stamina, but just thinking about her words made her so… so tired.
"You're not staying?"
Vanille asked her. She could remember seeing the reluctance in Serah's movements – the girl really did not want to leave.
"I have to,"
She was smiling.
"Onee-chan would never come into this house if I was here."
If there was some way she could amend the sisters' relationship, if she could just figure out some way… Vanille would do anything. It just wasn't right to see them like this. They cared for each other, but were unable to show so much because they both have an invisible barrier that prevented either from… well, showing that they loved each other. In Serah's case, it was because she was afraid of being a so-called 'prison' to her sister. In Lightning's case, however complex it seemed, the matter was far more simple; she just could not bring herself to show that she care because she was confused about her feelings. The girl could try consulting Lightning, but the thing was, she would freak out if her little sister's name was mentioned…
"Vanille-san!"
A boy's voice called to her, and she quickly looked into the midst of people surrounding her, searching for a familiar face.
"Over here, Vanille-san!" Came the voice again.
She turned to the direction of the sound – it was Maqui, the youngest and most naïve out of the four. Vanille scooted past the crowd, finally making her way near the blonde. "Hi," She greeted as cheerfully as possible, "What brings you—"
"Thank god you're out here!"
"… Hmm?" Vanille tilted her head curiously.
Maqui shook his head. "Since nobody picked up the phone, I was heading towards Light-san's apartment to look for you – something's happened."
She blinked. "What is it?"
"Light-san… she's gone out of control at the bar – nobody can stop her… and we don't want to call in her people from the Guardian Corps – it would ruin her reputation – so Lebreau-san and them sent me to get you there…"
"Onee-san is… out of control?"
The blonde held Vanille by the wrist, "I'll tell you on the way, let's just hurry!"
"Onee-san!" Vanille burst into the bar. Still panting from all the running, she didn't even bother to catch her breath, and was already looking desperately for the soldier.
"Little miss!"
She looked to the tanned bartender and was about to greet him, until she saw a certain strawberry-blonde resting her head on the counter. Vanille ran to her, and without looking up at Gadot, she started, "Is she okay?"
The man blew upwards, "Oh man, you should've seen her when she was still at it."
The door to the entrance of the bar opened – it was Maqui, completely out of breath. "Va… Vanille-san…"
"Wow, you need to work out more," Gadot joked as he shook his head in pity. He poured two cups of ice-cold water and set them on the counter. "Can't even catch up to a girl?"
Maqui grabbed the cup and gulped the water down greedily right away, but Vanille kept her eyes on the unconscious soldier. She was told by the blonde that 'Light-san took twenty-one shots for her birthday plus a few obligatory ones with random strangers who were hitting on her'. Vanille didn't even want to imagine how much she drank in total; as long as she didn't get alcohol poisoning, then everything would be fine. Placing a palm on the back of the woman's head, she watched as it rose and dropped in sync with her breathing. Then suddenly—
"Who's next…?" The soldier mumbled. Strange, it sounded slightly… animated, enthusiastic, happy, jumpy… just completely not 'Lightning-like'.
Vanille had to shake her head to wake herself up. Was she hearing things?
The upper-half of her body sprung up; Lightning's cheeks were flushed red, her eyes tiredly opened, and her hair was messy. Obviously drunk, her weight slouched over to the redhead, who tried to hold onto her so that she wouldn't fall off the stool. "Are you here for me…?" Lightning asked giddily and buried her head in the crook of the girl's neck, giggling into her skin.
Vanille was a bit too surprised to say anything. She could only concentrate on balancing herself and the woman.
"Ugh, damn it." Gadot slapped his forehead and kept his hand there, "I am never going to make Light drink again – ever."
"Who knew Light-san can be so hyper when she's drunk?" Maqui laughed.
The taller man rolled his eyes, "Yeah, you're laughing now, but would you want to go through all of that again?"
"Okay, I'm sorry."
Lebreau came out of the 'employees' only' section of the bar, the front of her suit looked obviously soaked. Seeing Lightning's head up again, fear was written all over her face, "Oh god, is she still not wasted?"
"She got back up again," The man answered, his eyes still kept on Lightning. But then a terrible smell reached his nose, and he spun around to the maid, "Shit, you still stink!" He pinched his nose and jumped back a few steps.
"I know, I know!" She blurted, "You try getting yourself puked onto! It was hard enough for me to get rid of the stains, forget the freaking smell!"
While the workers were occupied with their silly argument, Lightning was moving around restlessly, making it hard for Vanille to keep her straight. "Onee-san, do you want to go home?" She whispered into her ear.
The soldier responded by wrapping her arms around the girl's neck. At the same time, she moved her head on Vanille's shoulder with annoyance, but it felt as though she was nodding.
"Um… guys, I think onee-san and I are going to go…"
"Yeah, I already called Yuj. He's going to drive you guys back home." The barmaid interrupted.
Gadot gave Vanille a wink, "Can't let two pretty ladies go home by themselves, right? Especially when Light's in that state."
The girl smiled. "Thanks," When Lightning's grip on her suddenly tightened, Vanille naturally held onto the woman's waist.
"By the way, Vanille-san, why didn't you come down here with her? Today's her birthday after all." Maqui leaned on the counter and asked.
Lebreau agreed, "Yeah, we thought you were going to join her soon, but… seeing how you never showed up, we thought you two were having a lovers' quarrel, and then Light's drowned in sadness, so she's drinking—"
"L-lovers—!"
"I was joking," She said in an aloof manner before Vanille reacted any further, "So calm down."
Vanille pouted and looked away. Not only did Lebreau liked to tease the boys and Lightning, it looked like she has become one of her victims as well.
"But seriously, this is the first time I've seen Light like this." The barmaid got back on topic, "Something big must have happened, am I right?"
She knew that she wasn't a very good liar, so it was best to tell the truth, "… I'm sorry, but… I don't think I'm the person you should be asking…" Her hand moved up to Lightning's neck and massaged her with her fingers; the soldier move snugly in her arms. "… Thank you for your concern though, I'm sure onee-san will be pleased if she knew that you are worried for her."
"Meh. Light won't show it even if she is pleased," Gadot waved his hand in one swift motion. "That's just the way she is,"
"Mhmm," Maqui nodded, "So don't get mad at Light-san if she appears… erm, too cold. Y-yeah, she just doesn't know how to… express herself."
The boy's stammering brought the smile back to Vanille's face. It was cute to see how Lightning actually has people who cared for her; so the woman really wasn't all that alone. Actually, she should consider herself lucky.
"Hello?" Lebreau picked up the ringing phone at the counter, "Right, we'll get her out now," And hung up. Then she started again, "Yuj is outside,"
"Okay, little miss," Gadot leaned back and made his way out of the employees' area, "Let's get Light to the car? Yuj will help you on the rest; I have to stay here or Lebreau's going to kick my ass."
"Pft, I would let you help any other day, but there are too many customers today."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah,"
"Sorry… to make you do this on your day-off…" Vanille apologized as she and the boy laid Lightning down onto her bed.
"Oh, no, don't worry about it!" Yuj laughed, "I was on standby-mode anyway; if any one of them called me I'd head to the bar – it is Light-san's birthday after all." He looked down at the soldier, who was still half-smiling in her sleep. "And it looks to me like she isn't completely wasted yet…"
"Mmm… I'll take care of her," She said as she pulled the covers over the woman's body.
The boy sighed. Seeing how Vanille totally did not care about his presence, he admitted defeat. He stuffed his hands in his pockets, "Well, I'll be leaving now." Seeing any more of this would only bring down his mood even more.
"Yeah," She nodded and stood up. "Thanks for your help – I couldn't have carried her home by myself," Leading Yuj towards the entrance, she watched as he put on his shoes.
He smiled back politely, "Nah, it's nothing." He opened the door, and turned around one last time, "I'll, uh, see you later then?"
"Un, bye-bye!" Vanille waved. As the door slowly closed behind the boy, she couldn't help it but to wonder why he looked so sad. Perhaps he wanted to stay and look after Lightning? No… that shouldn't be it. Maybe… something happened between him and a… girlfriend of his? Yeah, that was probably it. Vanille knew very well that she shouldn't mind too much about other people's businesses, but Yuj was a nice guy, so it was only natural for her to show concern. Her mind too occupied by such thoughts, she did not realize that her feet have already brought her back in the soldier's room – though, the said soldier wasn't present on the bed, nor did it look like she fell off of it. "… Onee-san?"
The door closed lightly behind her.
Vanille spun around.
It was Lightning. She closed the door with her weight, and was now leaning on it casually. Her eyes half-opened, her cheeks still flushed, she had this… sly smile on her face. It looked almost malicious, but… more so seductive. "Hey there," She purred softly and approached the girl.
Scared, and completely not used to the current Lightning Farron, all Vanille could do was step back. "Onee… san…?"
Seeing how the girl was escaping, the woman's instant reaction was to speed up. Coming at the redhead at a quicker pace, she soon trapped her against the wall at the other end of the room, with her arms on either side of Vanille's head. Maintaining that rare expression, she leaned into the side of her neck, inhaling her scent at the same time. "Don't run away from me," She hummed flirtatiously.
Blood was rushing up her head for obvious reasons. Vanille shook away the weird thoughts and held onto Lightning's biceps, trying to brush her arms off, "Onee-san, you're drunk… please, lie down…"
"I'm not drunk, here, you are!" She argued childishly. Even her tone was playful and was not like her usual serious one. "And I said don't go!" By now, her lips were brushing against Vanille's ear. She started to whisper, "… Why… why are you so nice to me…?"
Feeling her hot breath against her sensitive skin, the girl began to tremble. Her hands that were holding onto the woman loosened, as they slowly made their way to rest on the strawberry-blonde's shoulder.
"Don't be…" Lightning took a step closer, their bodies now pressing against each other, "… Otherwise… I'll…"
Vanille shut her eyes tightly. She could smell the heavy alcohol emitting from her body, she could feel her skin, her breasts, and her knee… her knee that was trying to push her legs apart. "Onee… san…" She whispered. Breathing properly was out of the question, as her weight was pressing her down so much that her lungs could not expand properly.
Lightning's lips nibbled at the girl's jawbone. Slowly, gradually, she made her way to Vanille's chin. Pausing momentarily, she blew at her pink lips. "Do you like me?" She made her voice extra childish and high-pitched as she looked at the girl with puppy-eyes.
Her eyes snapped open and she looked at her immediately upon hearing that daring question. But seeing her with such a cute and innocent look, all Vanille knew was that she wanted to give the soldier a hug. Who knew that Sergeant Farron would be so childish and uncharacteristically talkative when drunk? Most likely, no one did, since Lebreau and the boys did mention that nobody has ever seen her drunk – as she has an incredibly high alcohol tolerance level. Perhaps even the woman herself has never been drunk. Smiling, the girl reached up to cup Lightning's reddened cheek. "Do you even know what you're asking me?" She knew it was a pointless question, but how often could Vanille see this woman at her inebriated state?
"I'm not drunk."
She giggled. "Okay,"
Lightning leaned down to kiss the girl's exposed neck, mumbling, "I'm not drunk," again and again in the process.
The feeling of the woman's lips against her skin was too much; Vanille couldn't take any more of this. Her grip on the woman's shoulders tightened. "Onee-san…! Y-you need to stop…"
Her hands roamed freely around the girl's slender body – from her neck to her slim waist, down to her thighs… "Do you…?"
Vanille tried her hardest to listen, but this sensation—
Lightning tugged at the girl's skin with her teeth, instantly leaving red bite marks. Then, without warning, she lifted the girl up by her thighs with ease, and threw her, along with herself, onto the bed right beside them. Pinning Vanille down by the wrists, their gaze automatically locked themselves together. The girl, surprised, or, more like horrified by her actions, lied there, stunned. Lightning, desperate for an answer, stared blankly down at those emerald eyes. "Do you?"
"Onee-sa—aah!"
She was cut off short as the woman started to nudge her knee at the area between her legs. She has released one of her wrists so that her hand could continue to explore the girl's upper body. Sliding under that pink tank top, Lightning stroked and felt, squeezed and massage, she caressed Vanille's breast through her bra as the girl moaned uncomfortably; she struggled to break away, but it was useless as Lightning's weight was trapping her down completely.
Vanille forced her eyes opened to look at the strawberry-blonde. The woman whom she admired so much, whom she adored, she… she was doing the same things as those men… and—
Lightning bent down to the girl's ear, "Do you like me?" Her voice was becoming more than desperate, "I just… I just… want…" She released her wrist. Her free hand made its way down to the girl's white short-shorts; Lightning unzipped them easily, almost as if she were an expert at it. Then, to the girl's surprise, the woman started to pull onto them, tugging at the hems furiously.
She squirmed to escape from her grasp as Lightning's hand under her tank top attempted to get rid of the bra. Vanille bit onto her lower lip to hold back her moans, "Stop… stop… please stop…!" She begged.
With that, "Oh…?" The soldier halted her movements. "You… you don't like this…?" She instantly released the girl, but collapsed onto her right after. Her mouth once again beside Vanille's ear, Lightning started weakly, "I…"
Catching her breath, she turned hesitantly to the woman. Vanille was near tears—
All those memories…
—What she wanted to do most was to push Lightning's hand out of her tank top, and the knee that was still in between her legs… "Onee-san…"
Lightning's eyes were closed. Her peaceful, sweet, sleepy face has come back, and the girl was glad to see that. "Vanille…"
The girl shifted her position slightly so she could face the woman. She waited for her to continue. It wasn't like she could forget about what happened just now, but more importantly, she couldn't stand leaving such a helpless and out-of-character Lightning alone. Vanille watched as her lips moved soundlessly. She moved in closer to listen – or, hopefully, to read her lips.
But this time, it could be heard, "I just…" Her eyebrows twitched with anxiety, making her look even more like a frightened and helpless child, "… want you to… to… hold me…"
Vanille froze. Her heartbeat increased again, this time even more so, as she could hear the sounds of it. Other than that, she could also feel it pounding violently against the woman's hand. Though, unlike before when she was scared, this time… this time, it was because she wanted to cry.
"With time, you'll see. Onee-chan is always so strict and serious on the surface, but deep down, she is only a child."
So she snuggled closer to the soldier, and wrapped her arm around that delicate figure. Lightning's head was buried in her shoulder, and Vanille held her close with her other hand. She closed her eyes, and she herself hid in the woman's soft pink hair, "I'm here," Vanille replied softly.
This has got to be the hardest chapter to write so far.
I don't know if I'm crossing the T line to the M section for that LV scene, but to me, this stuff is pretty T lol.
Tell me what you think, because I am definitely going to come back to fix this chapter up. So, please review! :D