Chapter 11 - Vanille

"Kid, let's go! We have to get out of here now!"

A dilemma – she shook her head. "I-I can't just leave them…!"

"There's no time!" His brows furrowed and the wrinkles on his forehead became more visible even in the dim corridor. "You've gone this far already! If they catch you now, they won't just kill you, they'll—"

She wanted to tear her heart out. There was no way she could just… "But I can't leave them behind!"

He grunted with impatience. "Kid, it's now or never!"

Those words felt like a stab in the heart. As pathetic as it was, she knew that from the start, but she did not have the courage to face the truth. She believed that there would be a tiny hint of hope for someone like her. She believed that her 'heroic' efforts would awaken the gods, and somebody – just somebody – would rescue all of them. This childish, ridiculous fairy tale-way of thinking would only bring death upon herself. "I…"

"Come on!" The man called to her.

The tears rolled down her cheeks when she closed her eyes. The girl took one last look behind her, and she ran. She never looked back ever since.

"And because of this one, simple, selfish decision—"

The voice – no, their voices called to her. They bind her down like heavy chains, they strangle her until she was unable to breathe, and they haunt her day and night. She thought that she could simply ignore them, and that one day, these ghosts of her past would perhaps disappear, leave her alone, and just let her live in peace. The girl told herself that perhaps by living with a façade that showed her happier and more carefree side, everything would be covered up. Everything, including those sins that she would never be able to compensate for—

"… sorry…"

"Would apologizing make a difference? Would it erase everything that you have done? Would it make you forget?" The voice often asked.

"I…"

"Would acting as if nothing had happened help?"

"Please stop…"

"You're just an empty shell, Vanille."

"Don't… don't call me that…!"

"Vanille,"

"Stop it…"

"… Vanille, wake up."

She opened her eyes. For a moment, she thought she had died. The dark space made it hard for her to see where she was, and the chilly air brought goosebumps to her skin. As her vision adjusted, she found a beautiful angelic woman above her, and that was when she finally realized what was going on – she fell asleep on Lightning's thigh. They must have been out here for a while now, as the red sky had turned completely dark. She pulled the woman's sweater higher up her shoulders and smiled, "Hello."

Lightning combed through her soft orange hair as she continued to gaze at her. It was weird to see the poor girl talking and crying in her sleep one moment, and then smiling with such genuine beauty the next. And although she had seen her like this before not more than a month ago, she realized that she had never actually stopped to think what it really was that bothered her in her sleep. Asking her would be the logical start; so she began, as casually as possible, "I can't believe you can fall asleep like this." She brushed against the girl's cheeks with her thumb, wiping those tears that were still present on her skin with subtlety. "It's cold out here, want to go back?"

"Mmm…" Vanille moaned tiredly and snuggled closer to the soldier. "No… we came out to eat, remember? I don't think I'd want to go out again after we go home…"

She pursed her lips and shrugged her shoulders. "Fine." Lightning said and looked up into the starry sky, her body bent back and her arms supported her weight from behind. "But of all places, why waste time on a beach? Do you like sleeping on sand or something?"

The girl giggled. The soldier's bluntness was always amusing to her. In fact, Vanille thought it was rather cute and charming – probably even most of the time. Still tired, or more like half-asleep, she replied with her eyes closed, "No, I just think it's romantic."

Lightning had the same thoughts, really. But she wasn't going to go as far as admitting it out loud. Something more important was on her mind right now. "Hey,"

It wasn't often the soldier would call to her. The girl immediately shifted all her attention to the strawberry-blonde, looking up at the area below her chin as the woman's eyes were too occupied with the night sky.

"What were you dreaming about?" As she asked, her eyes went ahead to trace the stars, making out random shapes and patterns out of habit. She wasn't really focusing, however, as she was more concerned about Vanille's answer. Though, Lightning didn't want to make it look like she cared. Common sense told her that it would only give the redhead pressure.

She remained smiling. Vanille knew very well why she asked. Or more specifically, she knew that Lightning saw her crying; she knew the woman was wiping her tears away, and there was no way she was going to let her worry about this. Something as stupid and trivial as a dream was should never bother an admirable soldier like her.

"No, you just don't want her to know of such humiliating things."

The voice was right. It was always right, as much as Vanille hated. She decided to improvise, "Would you laugh if I told you?"

Confused, Lightning's head shot back down, her soft pink bangs bounced with her movement. "Why would I?"

"I'm pretty sure you will," Vanille chuckled. "So, in my dream, you… kind of ran away from me because I told you that I was an… erm… alien. I tried to explain, but you said that you never wanted to talk to me ever again." She sat up, and the soldier's lilac sweater slid down to her lap. Lightning supported her back with an arm as she draped her legs over the side of the woman's leg. Vanille leaned into Lightning's chest and listened to her heartbeat. "So…" She continued with a soft voice, "I was just sad that you… y'know, ran away…"

She sulked. "I ran away because you were… an… alien?"

Vanille lifted a hand to play with the pink strands of hair that rested on Lightning's shoulder. She curled her fingers around its softness and replied, as enthusiastically as possible, "Mhmm!"

No. There was no way that was it. The girl was hiding something, the dream was an excuse – utter nonsense – it couldn't be the reason for those tears. "Are you sure?"

She dropped her hand into her lap. "Yep!"

… Yes, she was definitely lying. But Lightning did not have the courage to break through the girl's pretence. She was definitely not going to force her – in fact, if it was so hard for her to face the truth, then she would much rather let her avoid the topic. Those dreams were most likely remnants of whatever happened that night—

"Get away from me…"

… But… on that night when they met, on the first night Vanille slept at her house, she already sleepwalked, and she was mumbling similar things back then. This happened even before she got assaulted by those thugs, so did that mean something else had happened to the girl…?

She had to ask. She had to confirm it; she wouldn't be able to forgive herself otherwise. "Vanille…"

"Hmm?"

If there was one thing Lightning was certain of, it was that deep inside, she could not control this strong desire to protect the girl. Cradling Vanille in her arms like this wasn't enough, she wanted to hide her from those dreams, and whatever in the world that would hurt her. Lightning held out a pinky finger. "Do you remember what you promised me?" She started.

Vanille blanked out for a second. How could…? For a busy soldier to remember something as pointless as that, Vanille felt—

"You told me that whether I like it or not, you will come straight to me if any of those memories come back."

"Tell her. Tell her that you're a selfish slut."

No…

She clenched her fists. It hurt so much to hide, especially when Lightning was so willing to help. But she couldn't do it. Anything but that. She couldn't let her know – she couldn't afford to lose her. "Onee-san," Vanille snuggled closer to the woman's neck and hooked her pinky around hers, "I'm fine."

"Again with the lies,"

"As long as you're with me, that stuff won't come back."

"Filthy liar. You can hear me right now, can't you?"

Lightning looked down and found Vanille smiling. Yet it seemed as if it was the most tragic smile in all of Cocoon. She sighed and wrapped both her arms around the girl. "You know I'm not going to buy that, right?"

Vanille moved up high enough so that she could return the woman's embrace. As she thought of a way to respond, other questions rose to her mind. To be loved by this innocent woman… was it really okay? She knew that someday, the truth would for sure tear them apart—

"Staying with her, lying to her like this. You are a selfish slut."

… Yeah. She really was nothing but selfish, for she knew that the longer she stayed, the more pain it would bring to Lightning in the future. But then… she had never felt this way before. Vanille did not understand – was it wrong to feel protected for once? Was it wrong to finally fall in love, and be held like this? Maybe just for a bit…

Just let me be selfish for a bit longer…

"You don't believe me… because my dream is too stupid?" Her words muffled into the soldier's white tank top.

Lightning ignored her little joke for she was more inclined to get down to the problem. Vanille's delay in answering her pretty much confirmed that something was indeed wrong. She turned to her ear and began, "You can lie to me all you want, I don't care." Her hand stroked the back of her neck, feeling the tiny, soft little hairs that were light on her skin. "But I'd listen to anything that comes from you, whether it's a lie or not." Lightning paused momentarily; she could feel Vanille flinch.

The girl bit hard onto her lower lip.

Onee-san, stop being so nice to me…

She went on, "And if you don't want to talk about it, then it's fine." Pulling away, she found tears in her green eyes, about to stream down her cheeks. Lightning smiled lightly, "So, can you smile for me?"

Vanille choked as she chuckled. The tears rolled down immediately when she closed her eyes.

"You don't deserve her."

She hadn't been this happy for a long, long time, but everything was done for the wrong reason. She agreed; there was no way she deserved any of this. "Oh man, I… can't believe I'm crying…" Vanille said softly, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. "Onee-san, you really are good with words…"

When she pulled her arms away, Lightning leaned down to plant light kisses on her eye.

Vanille gasped. She felt even guiltier when the woman's lips came in contact with her skin. It would be so much better if they never met, it would be so much easier to leave if this woman did not fall in love with her. Beauty, intelligence, strength, kindness… divinity… Lightning had them all, perhaps even more. She deserved someone who would bring her happiness in return. And it hurt so much more to think this way, but Vanille knew that there was no way she could bring the woman any sort of pleasure. She was a walking form of misfortune, and perhaps even sadness itself. "Onee-san…

"Leave her before you rob her of everything, before you break her heart."

Yeah. It was probably best to let go while she still can.

"What is it?"

… But she wanted to know why before everything ended. It was probably her only wish right now, and she had to ask. "What do you see in me?"

Lightning blinked with confusion and stared at Vanille blankly.

Her attention was once again taken away by the mysterious blueness beneath those pink bangs that swayed with the gentle ocean breeze. Each time she looked into Lightning's eyes, she would be in trance, and the feeling was different each time – never would it be the same. "Why did you kiss me?"

Her mouth hung open and her brows narrowed. "What's this all of a sudden?"

She didn't answer. Vanille quietly waited.

The girl's unchanging expression strangely urged her to reply without having anymore averseness. So she answered, "… Well, I see in you…" Lightning tilted her head; it was an attempt to get the specific words out of the tiniest cracks of her brain, "… a silly, clumsy, and weak girl. I kissed you because I wanted to."

Vanille was horrified upon hearing those words. Chills shot to every limb and she felt as though she was going to break into pieces.

Lightning smirked. Before the girl could show an even more depressed expression, she quickly added, "You are silly enough to put up with my bitterness, clumsy enough to attract me, weak enough to make me have the deepest desires to protect you."

Shocked, her cheeks flushed red almost instantly; even the beating of her heart became faster. That chilly feeling also disappeared.

So cute. "And I wanted to kiss you because I couldn't help it anymore." She finished.

Well, she definitely did not expect that. How could she possibly leave this possessive woman now? No longer able to face Lightning anymore with those flaming cheeks, Vanille hid her face. "Honestly, onee-san… was this how you flirted with your past lovers?" She muttered.

Lightning had no idea what she was talking about. "Lovers…? What are you talking about? I thought I told you… I never made any moves to get the people to come to me. If you think about it, it's not even appropriate to call them my exes, more or less lovers."

A surge of happiness rushed through her veins. "Really? So… I'm technically your… first?" She asked with anticipation.

The soldier rolled her eyes. "Yeah, sure. My first official one."

Lightning had emphasis on the word official, and Vanille couldn't believe her ears. So just now, she basically… admitted to her that she was her lover? Vanille's heart rate increased again; she could even hear her heart pounding against her chest. "I'm your first official… what?" She tried to confirm.

The woman sulked again, this time with annoyance. She had a feeling that the girl was going to tease her, but she didn't know that she'd be this unprepared. "Figure it out on your own," Lightning said coldly and turned away, "I'm more concerned whether your parents will… like me or not."

A smile came back to her face. "I'm sure they do." She said in a reassuring voice.

"Do?" Lightning said, "I haven't even met them."

Vanille started to play with the strands of hair on her shoulder again. "Neither have I."

What…? Shocked at first, Lightning quickly recovered herself, because she realized that she could empathize. She knew how it was like to have no parents – the years after they got into that accident taught her what it was like to be independent, grown up, mature, and, above all, lonely. It was then she could no longer enjoy life as it was before. Sighing, Lightning reached for Vanille's delicate hands on her shoulder, "Sorry,"

"No, don't be," Her smile never faded, "But… I'm pretty sure that my parents would like you, onee-san."

"… Why?" She inquired, as she completely doubted her statement.

Vanille giggled. "What kind of parents would hate a person who loves and cares for their daughter with all her heart?"

The soldier took some time to absorb her words, and then narrowed her eyebrows suspiciously, "So… you're claiming that I'm in love with you?"

She chuckled. "Hmm? What was that? I didn't catch the last few words…"

Lightning smiled back slyly. "Oh, you didn't catch it?"

"Nope."

The girl was obviously playing with her. Lightning held her closer and leaned in. She crushed her pursed lips against Vanille's cheek and nibbled gently at her skin. "Are you sure you didn't?"

"Onee-san!" Vanille resisted, giggling playfully like a child. The woman's kisses were strangely tickling her, and pulling away only made Lightning tighten her grip at her waist which, at the same time, was tickling her too. She squealed and when her reflexes kicked in, she literally bounced out of the woman's grasp and fell onto the sand. This was like a game of tag or something – Vanille's initial reaction was to get up quickly so that she could run, because she knew that the soldier was going to catch up faster than the speed of light.

Lightning, of course, was up to the challenge. Nobody runs away from her, after all – at least not successfully. She got up, taking her sweater with her, she ran after the girl. Lucky for them, the beach was empty, so they could run as freely as they wished. That redhead was actually pretty fast, Lightning thought. As skinny, weak, and delicate as she looked, Vanille was actually pretty sporty, as seen in the volleyball game a few weeks ago; it was near necessary to run at top speed to catch up to her. As she came close enough, she threw her arms around the girl's waist and prevented her from running any further. "Where do you think you're going?" Lightning asked deviously, not even breaking a sweat even though they sprinted pretty much across half of the beach.

The woman's touch was once again tickling her, and Vanille was already out of breath – it was hard enough for her to gasp for air. "Aah! Okay, okay, I give up!" She panted through her laughter. Vanille turned around and hung her arms over Lightning's shoulders. Her bright grin shone into the woman's eyes.

She smiled back, "Caught you," Lightning stated like a little girl. Her hands rested at the redhead's waist.

Vanille shook her head. "You caught me already, onee-san, when we first met."

Lightning loosened up upon hearing that. "I can't recall catching you back then."

She tiptoed. Her half-lidded eyes came in contact with the woman's soft ones, "No, I meant…" The redhead whispered, her breath tickled Lightning's sensitive skin on her lips, "… you caught my heart."

The soldier blinked. "Vanille—"

She didn't give her the chance to finish. The girl caught Lightning's lips again, this time, fully. Her hands moved up pull the woman's head closer to deepen the kiss. Lightning reacted quickly; she parted her mouth and Vanille immediately slipped her tongue into her, exploring her domain as the woman fought back without hesitation.

Lightning tilted her head to the side, giving both the girl and herself more access to each other. It was done out of habit – her hands began to wander around the redhead's body; sliding down to feel the curve of her back and then up again to hold her tight. She could hear Vanille moan as she pushed herself into the girl. The sound gave her entire body this tingly feeling, but it quickly faded as Vanille suddenly gripped onto her biceps – she must be getting excited, or perhaps, turned on. The thought of it gave her a rush of adrenaline within her body. Encouraged, Lightning pushed deeper, but when she did, Vanille winced and drew back.

Gasping desperately for air, Vanille attempted to step away, but the soldier held her close. She clearly wasn't letting this slide without a proper explanation. Vanille could tell that she was way into it after all. She looked down at her feet, half-buried in the cold sand and started, "Onee-san… I'm… sorry."

Lightning lifted her chin, making the girl face up.

Yet she wasn't able to look her in the eye, "… I'm sorry… that this is all I can give to you…"

Hearing that, a gentle smile spread across her face. "Vanille, you're… apologizing to me because of this?"

She nodded. "I'm sorry I can't give you any more than this,"

Lightning let out a sigh. For a second, the sounds of the tides consumed her, but when she snapped back to reality, she did something that shocked even herself. Reaching up, she pinched the sides of Vanille's soft cheeks, lifted her skin up, and literally forced a smile on her. "You really are a silly girl,"

"Ow… ow…! Onee-san!" She cried. Although Lightning wasn't pinching hard, it still hurt to have her flesh tugged like this.

But to the soldier, Vanille looked incredibly cute – and she couldn't stop grinning. Releasing her, Lightning planted a soft kiss on her forehead. "Vanille, I don't need anything else, so as long as you stay with me." She finished and rubbed on her cheeks to ease the pain.

The redhead pouted, making those reddened cheeks look extra puffy. She really did not know what to say. On one hand, she was delighted that the cold soldier was showing her happy side so much now, but on the other – which she tried hard not to think about – she knew that it was going to be very difficult to leave her. It would definitely tear her apart, but if she didn't go, then it would bring so much more pain to both of them…

"The sooner, the better."

I can't do it.

She really couldn't. Lightning was the only one left – she was the one, bright, shining star left for her to cling onto in this universe, she really couldn't lose her. If she did, then she'd be comparable to a corpse—

"Hey, what's with the angry face?" Lightning teased, poking the tip of her nose.

Her words brought her back; she was spacing out again. "N-nothing…" Vanille stuttered nervously.

Hide in the happier thoughts, Vanille.

"Lie in your so-called happier thoughts, Vanille."

Just hide…

"Yeah, just hide from reality."

You'll be safe like this.

"You coward,"

Nothing will hurt you.

"Stay in your little fantasy."

"Then should we get going?" The woman asked, her feminine voice cut through the echoing words in her mind.

As Lightning helped to fix her orange bangs, the girl swallowed the conflicting emotions down her throat and nodded. "Un, let's go!" She hooked her arm around the strawberry-blonde's and rested her head on her shoulder.

"Why did we end up coming here, of all places?"

Her tone was obviously annoyed. Vanille simply chuckled at her question. "Well, you still need to thank Lebreau-san and them for taking care of you that night. You were really, really drunk. I heard that you could have done some real bad things if it wasn't for them…"

The girl's explanation wasn't convincing at all. "I never asked them to take care of me." She said coldly.

"Oh, come on," Vanille stepped in front of her and prepared to get serious, but Lightning quickly turned away for she could see an upcoming lecture from her. The redhead grimaced and turned the woman's head towards herself. "Onee-san, don't be such a kid! You need to thank those who have helped, regardless of who they are. Surely, you know that, right?"

She rolled her eyes. "Tch."

Vanille groaned. "Gee, I don't understand how you can be nice to me but not to your friends…"

"You're… different…" Lightning crossed her arms. She could see at the corner of her eyes, Vanille was holding in some sort of… joyful expression? She didn't know, but she figured that she probably said something wrong again. Going back on topic, she went on, "I've known them since I was a kid. They've seen me like this for the longest time, so it'd be weird for them if I suddenly started acting… nice."

Disappointed, the redhead sighed. "If you insist…" She turned around to look at the entrance to the bar; it seemed like tonight was busy as usual. "… But it wouldn't hurt to say a thank you, would it? Besides, you're hungry, aren't you? And since we're here, we might as well go in to eat, right?"

Lightning took a deep breath. Much to her dismay, she had to agree. If this were coming from anyone else, she'd probably be long gone, but it wasn't like Vanille's request was going to kill, "Alright, fine." So she gave in, "But we're leaving as soon as we're done eating."

"And thanking," Vanille finished.

"Whatever." She stuffed her hands in her sweater's pockets and walked forward, pushing the half-transparent door open. The girl followed closely behind, with a grin present on her.

Once they stepped in, Lightning first made sure nobody from the Guardian Corps was around, since she didn't feel like talking to her co-workers even after her shift. Luckily, there really wasn't anyone she knew of in the bar, but then, when she turned to the counter, a certain pink-haired girl caught her eyes, along with a huge, familiar-looking man sitting beside her. The two were talking to the barmaid behind the counter, who was none other than Lebreau.

The barmaid, having built the habit of greeting every single customer that walked into the bar, looked to the entrance once the bell hung on it made its routinely noise. She was about to say welcome or something, when she realized that it was Lightning and Vanille, she stood up straight and waved at them with glee, "Hey! Light, Vanille!"

The two sitting in front of her turned to look at the entrance.

"God damn it." Lightning grunted.

Vanille wasn't sure whether it was because of the fact that Lebreau shouted their names out, or that her sister and future brother-in-law were also present that got her pissed off, but she knew that they had to get this over with. She stepped forward and dragged onto the soldier's sleeve, pulling her towards everyone. "Hello!" She greeted cheerfully as she always would.

"Onee-chan! Vanille-san!" Serah called with delight. She stood up and prepared to give her sister a hug, but seeing that grumpy look on her, she instantly lost the idea. Instead, she turned to the redhead and smiled sweetly at her. "It's nice to see you again!"

She nodded. "Yeah, I didn't think I'd be seeing you here!" Pausing momentarily, she looked behind the younger girl to find Snow, grinning gingerly at her. Vanille returned that grin, "Hi there!"

The man's teeth showed, but what showed even more was his puffy, purple left cheek. Those punches from his to-be sister-in-law on that night actually left huge bruises; Vanille could only imagine how much it hurt. "Hi Vanille! Good to see you!" He looked to the soldier, who still had her arms crossed and was looking elsewhere. "Hello, nee-san!" He said as politely as possible.

Lightning jolted her head to glare at him, her blue eyes nearly pierced through his soul. "Don't call me that," She ordered quietly.

Her quiet voice was enough to make Snow snap his mouth shut, however.

The younger strawberry-blonde kind of saw that coming. She sighed and was about to tell Snow to just keep quiet for the rest of the night, but then—

"Onee-san!" Vanille called strictly at the tall woman, her hands at her hips. The posture seemed to frighten the soldier slightly, as her initial reaction was to avoid eye contact. "You shouldn't be like that!"

Serah's expression twisted in surprise. Did Vanille just…? She just… scared her sister, didn't she? Who would dare to do such a thing? Who would lecture the mighty sergeant like that? Who would even have the chance to live through that! Serah knew that she would never have the courage to, because her sister would always fight or argue back, and she would always, always win. Though, right now, the woman was simply looking at the redhead with subtle irritation.

"Please try to be nicer?" Vanille requested softly.

… And the girl was talking to her sister as if she were taming a puppy! Serah had her jaws dropped by now. The fact that Lightning was actually listening – that she was actually keeping quiet and paying attention to everything Vanille was telling her just put her in awe. She turned to Lebreau, who had her eyes widened in shock. Serah let out a breath of relief. Yes, good; she wasn't the only one who was surprised. Even the barmaid found this strange.

"Fine. Just tell him not to say anything stupid." Lightning suddenly said.

The redhead turned to the blonde man, who instantly wiped the beads of sweat on his forehead upon hearing that. At least he wasn't going to get punched today. Vanille nodded. "Good," She pulled the woman towards the stool next to Serah and pushed her down, while she herself took the seat right next to her.

Lightning crossed her legs and leaned an elbow on the counter, supporting her chin with the same arm. It didn't take her long to feel two pairs of heavy eyes planted on her, and she knew very well why they were. "Just you working today?" But she had her ways of breaking the tension.

"Uh—" The question was directed to her, and the barmaid was brought back from her train of thoughts. "No, Gadot and the boys are working at the back. Truck's just arrived with new delivery and they're taking care of it."

"I see." Her answer wasn't interesting, but she had nothing else to say. The stares were getting heavier and heavier by the second; even the air was getting thicker, and she was near her limit for enduring this strange aura. "… Would you two please stop looking at me like this?" She asked without having to give them the infamous and deadly glare.

The soldier's strict voice was enough to throw the barmaid and her sister's eyes elsewhere.

Lebreau quickly recovered and broke into a quiet laughter. "Sorry, Light," She apologized and poured two cups of ice water for Lightning and Vanille, "But, like… y'know, it's just kind of interesting to see you obeying someone without question."

The strawberry-blonde could see her glancing at the redhead, who wasn't paying much attention to their conversation as she was too enticed by the menu in her hands.

"Isn't that right, Serah?" Lebreau asked, hoping she could get some sort of back-up.

The younger Farron sister instantly nodded her head. "Yep," She replied enthusiastically. She was beyond amazed that her older sister actually listened to what she said for once, for she was quite positive that back then on the beach, everything she told her would only disperse into thin air. It was like this all the time when they were young; when their parents told them to do chores, the older sibling would disappear to some place and then return when the task was no longer needed to be done, and when she herself told Lightning to focus on a single, serious relationship and to stop toying with random strangers, she would brush off the subject coldly. Needless to say, the older strawberry-blonde was very much a rebel, and would never listen to other people unless they had something important or serious to say. Of course, Serah was now delighted that Lightning had, for once, considered her words. "Onee-chan, about what I told you that night…" She wanted to confirm it, however. "… have you put some thought into it?"

Lightning lifted a brow. She had a feeling that somebody would ask her this. Most of the time, she would plan ahead before doing things, but when it comes to personal businesses, especially those that revolve around relationships, she would only improvise. Her sister's eyes gleamed with anticipation as she waited for an answer; Lightning had no other way to reply, so she turned to the redhead on her left, and tapped her on the shoulder. "Vanille,"

The girl drew her eyes away from the menu and turned to the woman. "Hmm? What is it, onee—"

She captured her lips, cutting her off.

Vanille's eyes widened as her entire body tensed up. Her hands searched desperately for something to grab onto. Although the kiss was soft and gentle, unlike the one they shared earlier in the evening, but in the current setting, it felt more like an aggressive and forced one. Still, the feeling of it surprisingly brought her a sense of calmness, as much as it made her heart race. Finally adapting to the moment, she closed her eyes and gripped onto Lightning's sweater, tugging onto it with her shaky fingers.

The woman smirked into the kiss, as she could feel Vanille's rising excitement. But instead of prolonging their intimate moment, Lightning suddenly pulled away.

Vanille's half-lidded eyes shyly brushed across Lightning's pale red lips, and her cheeks flushed into a similar colour.

That unbearable cuteness on Vanille just made her want to do so much more, but the soldier restraint herself. Turning only her head around to her sister, she started, almost in a cocky manner, "Did that answer your question?"

Serah was covering her mouth with a hand, perhaps she wanted to hide that overjoyed-expression. "O-onee-chan…" She spoke through her hand. She spun around to look at her boyfriend, wanting to share her happiness.

Snow had the same expression, as figured, though he didn't bother to cover his mouth. "Wow." He said simply in astonishment.

Lebreau, who was trying hard to hold in the joy, excitement, and need to scream everything out, breathed with relief, "Finally."

"I'm glad that onee-chan actually listened to me for once." Serah added. She also had the biggest need to express how happy she was.

The barmaid snickered. "Aren't you happy that Light confessed, Vanille? Now you know that your love for her isn't one-sided,"

Vanille was covering her flaming cheeks up with her palms, "I… I'm…" She knew that long ago, but hearing those cheesy words out loud still got her embarrassed.

"What, she told you?" Lightning asked the raven-haired barmaid.

Lebreau shrugged her shoulders. "She didn't really have to. It was obvious from the start, but yeah, she… hinted it to us a few weeks ago." Leaning onto the counter with her elbows, she continued, "Although, she was rather concerned about the competition…"

"Oh, n-no! No, no!" Vanille shot her head up and waved her hands, "Onee-san explained it to me, so I'm not thinking about it anymore—"

"… Anymore?"

"See? Onee-chan, your past bad habits got Vanille-san scared…" Serah said in a faked-concerned voice. She obviously wanted to get her sister to show more affection towards the poor girl.

"No, onee-san, that's not it—" Vanille denied with fear. The last thing she wanted was to have Lightning do something crazy in front of them again – though it wasn't like she didn't enjoy it, it was just that she'd rather have the woman do it somewhere private. "— I… just didn't know if you'd like me or not…" She muttered.

The soldier frowned. "Are you kidding me? How many times do I have to tell you that those people were nothing compared to you?"

She could never get used to Lightning's way of talking – to get straight to the point no matter how uncomfortable the subject was. "I-I wouldn't know…! I can't read minds, and this is only my first time dating—" She covered her mouth. Vanille could not believe she just said that out loud.

"Oh?" Lightning's frown turned into a small smile. "So I'm your first?"

Vanille backed away from her as she leaned in. "Maybe…"

Much like earlier on the beach, Lightning moved in, captured the girl in her arms and then nibbled on her cheek, "Yes or no?"

The redhead giggled. She had long given up on breaking free from the woman's grasp, but she knew that she still had to answer. "Aah! Onee-san!" She squealed, "Okay! Yes you are!"

But Lightning simply snickered into the girl's soft cheek and continued whatever she was doing.

Lebreau shook her head, "I like how you two are totally ignoring our presence." She stated. The barmaid wasn't annoyed though; she was actually enjoying herself – the two's bickering was rather cute and entertaining to watch.

"That's just what couples do." Snow commented casually. Hearing that, the younger Farron sister leaned onto his muscular shoulder and smiled up at him, to which the man smiled back; Serah had always told him about Lightning's unstable relationships with people, but now, seeing how close the two were, it was safe to say that Serah no longer had to worry.

The employee's only door behind the counter suddenly swung open, and Gadot's fiery hair caught everyone's attention. "Uh, hey! Can somebody come to the back and – oh, Light! Little miss! How are you—" Seeing the two so close together, he instantly forgot what he was going to say. Slowly, a priceless expression appeared on his tanned face.

"Gadot! Why are you slacking off? There's still a ton in the cargo!" A boy's voice came from behind. His bright blonde hair allowed everyone to identify him as Maqui. Popping his head out of the room, he had the same intentions of greeting Lightning and Vanille, but he, too, was overwhelmed by the similar feeling of shock.

Still in the woman's arms, Vanille tilted her head a little. "Hello," She said happily.

"H-hi…" Maqui whispered – he must be too surprised to speak clearly.

Gadot sneered, "Whoa, how… what did we miss?"

"Quite a lot," Lebreau laughed.

Snow and Serah nodded in agreement.

"Aw, damn! Dude, tell me later, alright?" He was directing that to everyone. "I gotta get some stuff done at the back…"

"What did you guys need?" Vanille asked curiously.

"Oh, we just need a couple of extra hands to move some stuff into the basement from the truck. But, of course, we're not going to have you, little miss, to help! I was planning to get Lebreau or Snow… just someone big and tough!"

"Uh, excuse me? Big and tough?" The barmaid grimaced, "I find that rather offensive."

"Sorry," He rolled his eyes and corrected, "I meant skilled and strong."

The redhead grinned; an idea came to mind. She moved in to Lightning's ear, "Onee-san, now's your chance to thank them! Remember to actually say it, though." She pulled back and turned to Gadot, "Onee-san's offering to help!"

"W-what?" Not only him, but everyone else around them stared at her. Lightning Farron was… willing to help…?

The soldier released Vanille and stood up. "Uh huh." She made her way to the door. "Let's just get this over with." She said quietly to the bartender and walked into the room.

Maqui stepped aside quickly to get out of Lightning's way. "Um… Light-san is strong, but we'll need more than that…"

"Alrighty, I'm coming too!" Snow finished his glass of water in one single gulp and stood up. He made his way to the door as well and disappeared into the room.

Gadot shrugged his shoulders. "Well, guess that means we don't need your help, big-and-tough Lebreau-san!"

She threw the towel in his face, "Shut the hell up and hurry up and get your stuff done! It's long past my freaking break, and it's your turn to stand here, you asshole!"

"Heh, love you too," And he shut the door behind him.

Vanille blinked. She turned to Serah, who was giggling throughout their argument, and whispered, "Lebreau-san and Gadot-san… are they…?"

The younger strawberry-blonde shook her head. Once she took control over her breath again, she answered, "No, not yet, but they've always been like this – ever since they were young, too."

"Aw…" The redhead imagined the younger version of the two snapping and bickering at each other, "That's cute…"

Serah chuckled. "Not as cute as you and onee-chan,"

"… Eh?"

"I mean, you changed her a lot. She's been talking a lot more now," She stared down at her empty glass, "… Onee-chan hasn't been this happy since our parents…"

The subject of the Farron sisters' parents had always intrigued her, but she never had the courage to ask. She was afraid that once she did, Lightning would go berserk and never talk to her again. These situations were pretty typical in the television drama series she had watched for the past few weeks when she was bored at home. But right now, she had the opportunity to ask Serah, who was much more passive and calm, compared to her sister. She had to take the chance. "I'm… sorry, you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to… but… what really happened?"

"… To our parents?"

She nodded.

Serah thought for a second. She started to trace the rim of the glass cup with her index finger. "They…" She said in a soft voice, "… were killed in a so-called accident, which could have been prevented if it wasn't because of the Pulsians."

Vanille gasped. Her heart suddenly felt like it was burning at the core of the sun's temperature.

"This was nearly seven years ago, when onee-chan was only fourteen, and I was twelve." She began. "Our parents were only simple medical researchers who travelled to different places from time to time to gather subjects. Somehow, the Pulsians found out that the Fifth Ark – which was where our parents were working back then – was the most unarmed, defenseless, and weakest area accessible to Pulse." The younger girl swallowed, "They infiltrated the area armed with weapons and such… they threatened to kill everyone if the researchers did not do as they were told. Cocoon's military never had the best plans, so when things got out of hand, they sent troops in to clear out the area." Her voice became softer; it was getting more difficult to breathe, "… Our parents most likely died in all the havoc. And because their bodies—because most of the bodies of the researchers were never found, the news only reported that an 'unidentified accident caused by Pulsians happened at the Fifth Ark'… not a single word was mentioned about the massacre."

Vanille clenched her fists. She was near tears.

"Onee-chan only joined the military at first out of anger and hatred; she wanted to take revenge, but when she found out from fellow soldiers what really happened back then in the Fifth Ark, she became lost, unclear, and uncertain of what to do anymore. She started to hate her job and even herself for being so caught up by those conflicting emotions. I've always asked her to share with me whatever that bothered her, but onee-chan doesn't want me to worry, that's why she always hid her true feelings from everyone. She's done that for too long, and… that's why she's become so antisocial."

Lebreau sighed. "Hey, cheer up, Serah! At least Light's got Vanille now,"

She smiled at the barmaid and nodded. "Yeah," Turning to the redhead, she was about to ask her about her family background, but was horrified when she found the girl trembling furiously; a hand was clenching onto her tank top at the chest, and another covering her mouth. Vanille was crying.

"I'm so sorry…" She sobbed.

"Vanille-san…" Serah placed a palm on the pigtailed-girl's shoulder.

Voices were audible once again from behind the employees' only door. Snow was the first to come out, followed by Gadot, Yuj, and Maqui.

"See, that wasn't so hard!" Snow said cheerfully, "Don't know why you guys made it sound like it." He turned to look at his girlfriend, "I'm back, Serah—" The man quickly stopped when he found the rarest expression on her gentle face. Serah was glaring at him.

"Where's onee-chan!" She mouthed at Snow.

"What is with the hold up? Get out of the way," A familiar feminine voice sounded from behind the men. The strawberry-blonde pushed passed them; she wanted to hurry up and eat, so that she could go home with Vanille as soon as possible—

"Onee-san…"

Lightning snapped her head towards the sad sound.

Vanille stood up and ran at full speed towards the woman. She threw her arms around her and when they collided, the force was strong enough to push them both back into the room. Nobody dared to enter the room, as they'd expect a fatal blow in the face from Lightning Farron.

"Vanille… what happened? Why are you crying?" She asked, stroking the girl's head.

She shook her head. There was too much guilt; she couldn't tell her. "Serah told me about your parents… and… I'm… I'm so sorry, onee-san…"

Lightning started to rub her back. "Hey…"

The girl sobbed harder into the woman's shoulder. The heavy pain in her chest intensified; it was near impossible to breathe, but Vanille continued to cry. It's all my fault. She wanted to say it out loud.

"It's all your fault."

"Why are you apologizing? It's not your fault…" The soldier comforted softly.

"Yes, it's all this filthy, disgusting, and selfish slut'sfault."

"I'm sorry…" Vanille could only repeat those words. She felt that if she said anything else, she'd be everything the voice called her.

"Lying again and again and again and again and again and again—"

She didn't care anymore. Everything this voice was saying was true – there was no hint of mistake or flaw from it. Vanille was starting to realize how low she really was. To cling onto such an innocent person whose family was ruined, whose happiness was taken away, all because of—

"Leave her before you rob her of everything, before you break her heart."

Yeah.

Vanille pulled away. She didn't give Lightning the chance to look into her eyes – she, herself, was afraid of looking into hers. Instead, she tiptoed and kissed the woman, almost as if she wasn't ever going to anymore.

I will.

"You can no longer stay in that little fantasy of yours, Vanille."

Cliffhanger ftw. And yes… as we move into the main storyline, everything will become darker and more uncomfortable, if you will. But of course, there will be times where I will slip in fluff and all, so don't worry. So, as I have mentioned back then in chapter one, READ ON AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Thanks to all the "motivation" from last time haha. You guys are so kind with the reviews! Oh, and thanks to all the anonymous/unsigned reviewers! I would reply to you, but you guys don't have accounts, so I can't lol. Keep them coming though, I get inspired when I read them hehe. Big shout-out to Ori0n by the way, who drew me my current profile picture on FF!

And finally, thanks to all of those who PMed me regarding the earthquake and tsunami. I don't actually live in Japan even though I am Japanese, demo watashi ha heki yo! Minna yasashi sugitte arigatou! :D