A/N: Long read ahead…
Chapter 18 – Truly Eternal
"Mmm."
"… still can't believe you, onee-san. I mean, how can you be so last minute…"
She nodded. "Uh huh, of course."
"… never like this before…"
Lightning wasn't even listening. She blew at the ends of her bangs, making them bounce upwards as she stared with little interest at the redhead's back. Her girly voice was entering one ear, and exiting from the other; everything she said was not going through her head. She sighed. Might as well just make her stop completely since she wasn't listening from the first place. "Okay, I'm sorry, but can you at least let me help you pack?"
"No!"
The woman literally bounced back. Geez, she thought; this was only the first time she acted so hastily. Couldn't Vanille forgive her for that, at least? Right now, her punishment was to sit down and 'rest'. Lightning purposely breathed out, loud enough to make the girl turn her head to glare at her.
Eyes narrowed and lips slanted in a half-frown, Vanille held onto her hips as she looked at the soldier 'seriously'. "Is there a problem?"
Lightning bit onto her lower lip to stop herself from chuckling. Honestly, that 'angry' face right now should be better described as 'adorable'. She cleared her throat and leaned back, crossing her legs at the same time to remind herself that she needed to act calm… and it wasn't like Vanille's motherly-behaviour scared her or anything. "No, nothing." Resting an elbow on the desk, "Just that I think you're really cute when you're angry." She finished with a wink.
Vanille's cheeks instantly flushed scarlet; she spun back around to pack, pretending as if she never saw what Lightning just did.
Of course, Lightning couldn't help it but to finally break into that chuckle she was holding in for so long. She stood up soundlessly from her chair and walked over to the girl. Just mere centimetres apart, she closed their distance by wrapping her arms around Vanille's neck, holding her gently.
Startled upon contact, the redhead couldn't say anything; as she tried to figure out what was going on, she felt a warm, soothing breath blow against the back of her neck. The sensation quickly crept to her bare shoulder, and a shiver shot up her spine. Her delicate hands lost the will to grip on to the shirt that she was holding onto, and the light fabric dropped lifelessly back into the pile of clothes where it was picked up from. Vanille's hands disobeyed their owner's mind – it proceeded to travel upwards, to touch that woman's skin… to encourage that woman to do this, because what she really wanted, what she really, really, really liked was when Lightning held her in her arms.
"Not yelling at me anymore?" She whispered into Vanille's ear.
The girl responded by turning herself around and wrapping her arms around the soldier's waist. "Shut up," She said without much threat, "I don't like it when you suddenly do this to me."
Lightning smirked. "It seems to me that you're really enjoying it right now, though."
She looked away. "I… I need to pack…"
"No, leave that for later," The taller woman said. "I want to hug you for a bit longer."
Vanille sighed. "Onee-san, don't you think you're acting a bit strange…?"
"Mmm, strange." Diving into the shorter girl's neck, Lightning nibbled at her most sensitive areas. "You smell good." Her teeth scraped and her tongue tickled at the redhead's skin – it was getting both of them so damn lightheaded.
"S-stop…" Oh god… the vibration in the woman's feminine voice was getting her so damn tingly and she could feel her head spinning. Higher and higher Lightning's lips went; Vanille didn't even realize that Lightning had already reached her lips.
As the woman pushed herself into Vanille, she wondered to herself: so, why did this happen so suddenly? Why the sudden clinginess? Well, perhaps it was because the thought just randomly came to her – never had I felt this much in love – and then her desires just kicked in. Lightning was accepting and realizing this now – what she felt for this Pulsian was true and genuine; there were no doubts at all. But because she was so sure of that, she did not know what she would do if she lost her. Lightning just could not imagine what it would be like without Vanille in her world. The more she thought about it, the more irritating it got. For that reason alone, she would, by no means, allow Vanille to even know of the PSICOM from now on.
This… this wasn't like Lightning at all,Vanille thought. The soldier was rarely so… well, weird. The kiss itself was also unlike usual; everything was just so not Lightning-like. Vanille pulled away. It wasn't like she hadn't an idea, though. Leaving her alone with Sazh… Vanille had already expected some sort of revelation of the past – particularly her past. It was inevitable from the start, even if she were present with them. A palm reached up to cup the woman's cheek as she looked into her darkened blue orbs. No matter how much she wanted to escape from reality, she knew that all dreams eventually come to an end.
And this dream was no different.
Vanille smiled. "Onee-san, is there something you want to tell me?"
She took the redhead's hand into her own, encouraging the latter to hold onto her waist once again. "What's suggesting that?"
Vanille bit onto her lower lip. "Just… y'know. You're being strangely affectionate and girly all at once. Shouldn't I find that weird?"
"I thought you liked me better when I'm like this?"
"Well, yeah, but…"
"Or should I revert to my normal self?" She smirked.
Vanille narrowed her eyebrows. "Onee-san, if you're trying to change the subject…"
"Change what subject?"
"That you're hiding something from me!"
"I am?"
"Are you?"
"Are you?" Lightning playfully mocked.
"Me what!"
"Kiss me."
"Wha—!"
Lightning moved in to catch her lips, deliberately pushing the girl onto the bed. She trapped Vanille down with her weight – all of this was done while their lips were connected. Gently, Lightning caressed Vanille with her teeth to ask for entrance, to which the latter obviously granted without much thought. As Vanille's delicate fingers combed through her pink hair from the back, Lightning's hands moved to the hem of the girl's tank top, slipping herself under to feel her smooth skin.
A soft sigh escaped her when the woman parted briefly to breathe, and Vanille eagerly pulled her back in to resume the kiss. She didn't even know how it ended up like this, but she kind of had an idea why Lightning was suddenly so… clingy. "Ne…" Vanille called, pulling away.
"Hmm?"
She sighed. Ridding the last of her hesitance, Vanille started, getting straight to the point. "Sazh… he told you everything, didn't he?"
Lightning's heart skipped a beat – oh shit – but she quickly recovered. "Told me what?"
Vanille shook her head. "Onee-san… it's okay." She moved in to peck the woman's lips, and then pulled back to look her in the eyes, "I mean, I was expecting it already. So please, don't lie to me."
Naturally, she wanted to continue and play dumb. She wanted to ask her, what the hell are you taking about? Prolonging this lie was the most she could do to shield her from her memories. But no, she couldn't do it. Not when the girl was begging her to tell the truth. "I'm sorry." Her heart ached when Vanille smiled weakly in response. "I just didn't want to say anything about them. I… don't want to remind you of them."
The girl shook her head again. "No, onee-san, that's not what I'm worried about."
"…?"
Even though Lightning dropped this subject long ago, Vanille still could not put her mind off of it. "Y-you really don't mind it?"
Her brows furrowed automatically. She knew exactly what Vanille was getting at—
"The fact that I let them do it, every single time, as if I'm really a—"
"I already told you," Lightning said sternly, "You're not."
That wasn't enough to convince her. Vanille looked to the side, too ashamed to meet the woman's gaze.
"Even if you are," She suddenly went on, her voice bringing the girl's eyes back on herself, "I don't care."
"…"
"I love you and I don't care about anything else."
The redhead blinked. "L-love…" Did… did Lightning just…?
"And yes," She rolled her eyes. "I just said it, so would you stop thinking so much about the past already?"
"…" It was like, at that moment, her heart gave in to an outburst and a frenzy of excitement. At the same time, Vanille's subconscious went wild; she could feel somebody tickling her insides, pumping all the blood in her upwards, causing her cheeks to burn into a colour that did not belong to the wheel. Her eyes became blurred up as well; she was probably tearing up due to overwhelming-happiness. "Y-you…" She covered her mouth with a hand, which, of course, was shaking from disbelief. That was it, she had lost it.
Lightning was freaking out. W-why was she crying? Was it something she said? Okay, of course it was something she said, but what the hell could it be? Oh, maybe she didn't say it sincerely enough? Was that it? Lightning cleared her throat to ease away this feeling; she could remember the last time she'd been this freaked out – and that was when Serah threatened to drop out of school to marry Snow, all because she was not returning home earlier. "Uh… um…" The mighty sergeant stuttered awkwardly. Perhaps she should reword it? Yes, she should definitely do that. "V-Vanille…" Lightning gulped. Her dry throat doubled the amount of nervousness that was rushing through her body. "What I mean is…"
Her heart was beating, pounding, thundering against her chest. She couldn't breathe anymore.
"… I lo…" She sulked, "… I-I… lov…" God damn it, why is this so freaking hard! "… I…" She said it moments before, so why couldn't she say it now!
The soldier was struggling, desperately. And it was probably the cutest thing in the world to watch. At least to Vanille it was. As Lightning's voice became increasingly weak and uneven, the tickling feeling intensified.
Lightning clenched her fists. She was going to do this, in one go. "Vanille," She said as she looked straight in her emerald orbs, "I love y—"
Ring, ring
"…"
The interrupted soldier literally dropped her jaw. She said it. She could swear; she freaking said it. The fucking loud-ass ringtone just had to just wipe out her voice at the most crucial moment. Wasn't that the most hilarious thing in the world? Lightning's mind shouted out all the curse words she knew in alphabetical order, because she was so pissed off, she could probably lift up Cocoon on her own—
Ring, ring
The annoying sound brought her back from her anger, and it was then the woman realized that she was still staring straight into Vanille's eyes. For a brief second, Lightning felt embarrassed to be doing such a thing. Yes, embarrassed. She felt like a little girl, avoiding her crush due to a fail confession (literally). And damn that stupid phone!
Ring, ring
Of all times, why would you ring now? Who the hell was calling!
Ring, ring
"Onee-san… t-the phone …" Vanille said quietly. She would go get it herself (not that she wanted to, as they were locked in such a loving, tender, wonderful moment), but she was still pinned down by Lightning's body.
Ring, ring
She bit onto her lower lip. "Yeah… I'll go get it." Initially, Lightning wanted to suggest ignoring it, but her shyness got the better of her. She got off Vanille, immediately running out the room.
Ring, ring.
Ring, ring.
Ring—
Vanille's heart seemed to thump with the sound of the phone's ringtone (times one thousand beats per ring), and when the sound stopped, she thought time itself had halted as well. Lightning probably picked it up, she thought. Obviously still lost in her trance, Vanille sat up slowly while holding onto her chest, and, wow, she could actually feel it hitting against herself. This throbbing sensation… it was almost comparable to the night they told each other of their feelings; only, this was probably more intense. Yes, no doubt. This was far more intense, but it couldn't be explained. How could it be? Questions like 'why was it that she felt like she was falling in love all over again?' had no answers! The more she thought about this, the hotter it got.
… Hot?
The girl wiped the sweat off her forehead with the back of her hand. T-this was not right. She wasn't being her natural self, it was way too hot to bear—
Her lower body went numb; she was feeling slightly woozy all of a sudden, and she was shuddering. "What…"
… And then she remembered this feeling. It was the same as the one she felt at the mall two days ago. It was that same, strange, swaying, burning, sensual, embarrassing feeling she felt when she imagined herself and the soldier on the bed, doing stuff like—
"…!" Vanille gasped. She could almost see herself turning red.
"… I already said…!"
Lightning's voice could be heard outside. It sounded like she was having an argument or something. Vanille decided that it wouldn't hurt to go out and have a look. It wasn't like she was going to melt on the spot if she saw the woman, Vanille thought. So she stood up and headed out the door, down the hall, and into the living room.
Just a look, nothing else.
Lightning was standing there, talking on the phone with her back against the girl. Not that Vanille was thinking of sick things, but while these strange feelings were still clouded up in her head, she couldn't help but to stare at the strawberry-blonde's elegant body. Lightning still had that baggy, lilac-coloured cardigan on, hiding most of her upper body's slim figure, but at least she was wearing short-shorts; with that, she could see those long, milky-white legs that she always admired and – by the gods – wanted to touch—
Holy crap! Vanille, what are you thinking about!
"… no, it's fine, really—" Lightning said to whoever was on the phone.
Meanwhile, Vanille's head was still debating with itself. Going back on topic, it wasn't wrong to think about such things, right? Like… Lightning was her lover…
"… yeah, I'm leaving tomorrow morning…"
Vanille crossed her arms tightly to stop herself from shaking.
"… of course Vanille is coming with me…"
To feel this way towards her…
"… what do you think, I'd leave her?"
… this desire, this… growing warmth inside…
Lightning grunted, "… No Lebreau, we're not coming to the bar tonight…"
To long for her touch this much… it wasn't a sin, right…?
"… no, I already said I don't want you guys to come send us off!"
No more questions. What Lightning was saying and to whom she was talking to did not matter. The girl wanted this, and she wanted it now.
"… Listen, I'll talk to you later, okay? I have to pack…"
She found herself moving towards the taller woman. It was like her legs had minds of their own…
"… Alright, you too—"
She was a few centimetres behind her…
"… Bye."
The moment she hung up, the second she put down that stupid phone, Vanille wrapped her arms around Lightning from behind. Her touch made the woman jump, but she had no intentions of stopping.
"Vanille…?" Lightning started quietly, feeling a weird strength in the girl's arms.
"Don't talk," Vanille brushed her lips across the nape of the soldier's neck.
An expected shock shot up her spine; Lightning bit at the insides of her mouth to stop herself from calling out. But when Vanille slid her soft hand under her shirt to feel her toned stomach, a weak whimper escaped her lips.
Vanille was quite pleased with herself for making Lightning create such a noise; it was always the opposite that happened. Continuing on, the girl moved her hand upwards until she could feel the rough fabric of Lightning's lacy bra. Her lips had already travelled to the crook of the woman's neck, and were already creating red marks here and there; she couldn't stop herself anymore. Eagerly, she turned Lightning around so that she was now facing her, and went on suckling at her white skin.
Lightning, of course, wasn't entirely left out. She mirrored the girl's movements, slipping a hand of her own underneath Vanille's tank top, and reached up far more viciously until her fingers came in contact with the latter's bra. She couldn't believe it – was this her imagination? – finally, she was able to do this with Vanille. This wasn't one of those flings or one-night stands – everything was true; her feelings, her emotions, everything. This girl was Vanille she was touching, it was Vanille who was in her grasp, and it was Vanille who she was going to ravage, ruin, rape— "No…"
The soldier snapped her eyes opened and pulled back, taking a large step away.
Cheeks still dyed crimson, Vanille blinked several times before coming back to senses. A look of confusion filled her face. "What… onee-san…?"
She swallowed hard. It took all of her to avoid eye contact. "No…" Lightning whispered. "We… I-I can't…"
"I don't understand…" Vanille said, fear slowly taking over her expression.
She looked at the redhead sadly; Lightning didn't know how to tell her.
"Is it because… you mind it, after all? That other people have—"
Lightning responded quickly. "No. No, it isn't," How was she going to explain this? "It's nothing like that."
"Then what's wrong…?"
She had to at least try. The woman sighed. "Vanille, I… I don't deserve you."
Horrified, Vanille clenched her fists. "Why… why would you say that…?"
Lightning meant what she said, but she had no intentions of breaking up with her or anything. So, she explained on, "You know about me and my tendencies before I met you. I played around with people's hearts; I didn't give a damn about the outcome. I did it to have my own share of fun—"
"Do you see me as one of those people?" The redhead questioned, taking a step forward, closing their gap once again.
"… Never had I once considered to," She said.
Simple enough. "Then you're not doing this with me to have fun. You're not playing with my heart."
"I'm not." Lightning admitted. Her muscles tensed up when the girl rewrapped her arms around her waist. "But I don't know what it's like to do this with someone I care about. I'm scared that it's going to be the same as the others. I'm scared that I'll remind you of them, I'm scared that I won't be able to stop, because—" Images of the day she nearly killed Vanille in the alley flashed in her mind. Everything was so clear, it made her feel sick, "—I'm just like the PSICOM, and you can do so much better than me – you can find someone who treats you much better—"
Vanille caught her lips to stop her. She didn't want to hear anymore – nothing else mattered; she just wanted Lightning, and she wanted Lightning to know that she wanted her. Vanille moved back down to the woman's neck, sucking at her white skin the way she did earlier as her hands roamed freely over her slender body. Feeling her curves and smoothness, the girl mentally wished for Lightning to do the same.
"Vanille…" Lightning sighed weakly. She'd be telling the biggest lie if she said that she didn't want or enjoy this; her hands wanted to touch the girl so badly, she felt that she would die if she didn't do it soon. Lightning felt that she might even lose control if the girl didn't stop now. "Don't… Vanille, I can't—"
"We all have our flaws," She cut her off, her lips brushing against the soldier's collarbone. "But like you, who do not mind my past, I don't mind yours. Onee-san, I want this, with you. Only with you."
The woman looked at her, emotionless. Deep down, she was still debating with herself. Fucking devour her already, one side was screaming, and the other side was telling her to restrain herself. The larger part of her was slowly obliging to the former side's words.
Yes, devour her. Take everything that's yours.
Lightning's lips slanted upwards and Vanille believed it to be a smile, however odd it looked. "You won't regret this?" She cupped the girl's cheek. Her other hand slid to the small of the girl's back, and she pulled her closer abruptly.
Vanille swallowed. The woman's touch was getting dangerously suggestive. But she wasn't afraid; this was what she wanted, after all. "Is there a reason I need to?"
Her smile became more evident. Lightning's fingers tugged at the hem of Vanille's tank top, almost as if she were giving her a precaution that she was going to rip it to shreds in a matter of seconds. "I won't be able to stop,"
The girl could hear her own heart again. The vicious side of her soldier always fascinated her – she had always secretly wanted to see more of this.
"Even if you begged, even if somebody were to call again, I don't think I'd care." Lightning purred.
Oh god, now she couldn't breathe.
"I might be just like them. I might hurt you the same way, I might bring back those memories you've hidden away." She combed her fingers through the girl's pigtails, "So I'm going to ask you one more time: are you sure about this?"
"Yes," Vanille breathed. She couldn't feel her feet anymore. "Éclair, I want this more than anything." They probably turned into jelly for all she cared.
The call of her name put her at a loss of words. She didn't know how to put this in a more serious manner without sounding stupid. The soldier felt an odd sensation rushing up her neck, to her cheeks; she was probably bright red by now. "So… will you let me have you?"
Every part of me belongs to you already! "Y… yes…." Vanille squeaked. "Hurry…"
"Then…" Gulp.
Her fingers slipped under the redhead's tank top, and, tugging at the hem, she pulled the pink fabric over, leaving Vanille's upper body clad in nothing but a bra. Of course, the redhead's initial reaction was to cross her arms. It did help, to an extent – help as in, her arms pushed her breasts together, making her cleavage deeper and— Lightning shook herself back to reality. When she saw Vanille avoiding eye contact, inner brows arched upwards with concern (anxiety, nervousness, excitement), cheeks red as tomatoes, she didn't know what to say. The strawberry-blonde's shaky fingers gripped onto Vanille's tank top that she was still holding onto; she tried to swallow the little saliva she had left in her mouth as she brought the tank top to cover the lower-half of her face.
"Crap…" Lightning muttered behind the cotton fabric.
Hesitantly, Vanille glimpsed at the soldier, wondering why nothing had happened as of yet. "W-what is it…?"
She tried to wet her lips with her tongue, only to have them dried within a second again due to this nerve-wracking atmosphere. "Can you please calm down…?" She cleared her throat. "Y-you're getting me nervous…"
"Eh…?" The girl blinked. When her green eyes caught the soldier's blue ones, Lightning immediately looked away. I see, Vanille thought, so even the mighty Lightning Farron gets nervous? That's… kind of cute…
With all seriousness, Lightning actually hadn't a clue what to do. Here she was, finally having the permission, the right, and even the mood to do it, but… where was all the drive? What the hell was with this sudden, random shyness? This was utterly ridiculous. She couldn't lose to herself now!So, taking a deep breath, she improvised, "D-do you want to go back into the room first…? Or would the sofa be alright with you?"
Vanille couldn't think. "A-anywhere is fine…"
"…"
Oh god – what are you talking about, Vanille! 'Anywhere'? How stupidly open can you possibly be! "I-I mean! No, not a-anywhere, err, whatever y-you prefer, onee-san…"
She nodded lightly. "Okay," Lightning was acting solely on instincts by now. She lifted the girl's legs and wrapped them around her hips; making her way towards the sofa, she set Vanille down, using the head of it as leverage. "Try to relax."
Vanille's arms tightened around Lightning's neck. The woman's head was already buried in the crook of her neck before she realized it. A small moan went past her parted lips as she arched into that skilful soldier's soft touch and bucked her hips forward, much to her embarrassment. But she didn't stop there; Vanille's hands were making daring moves as they were slithering their way up Lightning's curvy waist, all the way up until they were at her full breasts. Boldly, her hands squeezed them as gently as possible, and right away, a low moan and a warm breath of air tickled her left ear – it was Lightning. She just made the Lightning Farron moan, and Vanille had to admit – she was pretty damn proud.
Sneaky Vanille, the soldier thought. She smirked and pulled back, just enough so that they could still hold each other close. "You know, for doing that…" The woman watched with excitement as her hands removed the buttons of Vanille's short-shorts, "… I would usually tie them up as punishment,"
The girl intended to gasp, but what came out instead was a weak whimper.
"But you're exception." Lightning snickered. Swiftly, she pulled down Vanille's short-shorts and threw them somewhere behind herself. Right now, the redhead was in nothing but a matching set of black bra and panties. Lightning didn't waste any time; she knew that after they leave for tomorrow, she would have all the time in the world to enjoy this, but right now, she just wanted to look at Vanille. The girl was very skinny, yet she had the perfect curves that any woman could ask for. The one thing that bothered Lightning was the scars that remained on the girl's chest – those scars that the girl gave herself. Lightly, the soldier grazed her fingers across those faint lines. Her touch sent shocks through Vanille's senses, making her jump, but Lightning's fingers travelled on. Finally, she placed her palm flat on the girl's abdomen, stopping there. "I would never tie you up." She whispered and then leaned in to kiss her.
If possible, Vanille would find all the words in the English vocabulary to define the emotions that were going through her at this moment. 'Being in love' could not explain these feelings, because from the start, there was no way she could fathom the love she had for Lightning. Just… just being in the woman's arms like this multiplied the word 'love' by a hundred – thousand, even. "I love you…" Vanille managed to whisper in between the breaks of their kisses. "Onee-san… I love you so much…" Her legs folded tightly around Lightning at their own accord; Vanille couldn't wait any longer – if she didn't get this now, she was going to—
Lightning smirked into the kiss. She could feel Vanille's desire, need, and even her warmth. Her fingers responded cleverly to the girl's words, as they were already unstrapping that annoying bra. Meanwhile, Vanille was trying desperately to tug off the cardigan that was getting her so damn sweaty, but Lightning wanted to deal with the girl's clothing first, so she struggled to take control – hence, the two engaged themselves in a silent, barbaric, stripping-battle.
Beep, beep.
Both breathless, Lightning and Vanille pulled away from their kiss unwillingly and stared at the entrance in horror.
"See, I told you," Serah's voice. "Onee-chan wouldn't delete my fingerprint from the scanner."
"Yeah, well, Light's always soft on the inside, so it was obvious from the start…" Lebreau.
"C'mon! Open the door, this stuff isn't exactly light, y'know?" Gadot.
"Well, you're freaking buff, so it doesn't seem like a problem at all…" Maqui.
"Oh, just – Serah, why are we still standing here?" Snow – that idiot.
Oh god oh god oh god— "… You're joking me." Lightning whispered to herself.
Vanille couldn't even figure out what was going on and the door swung open, and – what do you know – she could see the guys at the bar, Serah, and Snow bursting in, with god-knows-what in their hands.
"Nee-san!" The stupid blonde was the first to enter. "We've brought the party to you—" Before he could finish, a hard, red apple had already slammed into his face.
"Oh my god! Snow!"
However unnecessarily violent that was, she just bided herself a few seconds of time. "Go inside," Lightning lifted Vanille from the counter and set her down, shielding her body with her own at the same time. The crew was too distracted with the gigantic body (Snow) that was lying at the entrance, so she could assume that none had noticed what she and Vanille were doing yet…
The girl didn't say a word. She was still struck by the sudden appearance of the crowd, and she was struggling to regain her balance as she picked up her clothes on the ground. With haste, Vanille dashed into the soldier's room.
When she disappeared, Lightning cleared her throat and quickly fixed her hair and clothes. She walked over to the group, arms crossed.
"Onee-chan! Y-you didn't have to do that!" Serah exclaimed as she knelt beside Snow. The apple had knocked him out cold.
"Yes, I did, Serah. Yes I did." That was an understatement. She would have done so much more if she were given the opportunity. But at that moment, she only thought about hiding Vanille, so it couldn't be helped. "Words cannot describe how pissed off I am right now."
Yep. Her sister was definitely pissed off. It was easy to tell, especially when she was using such a calm voice. Serah swallowed as she helped her boyfriend up.
"Aw, don't be mad, Light!" Lebreau said cheerfully, she was the next to enter the house after the younger Farron. "We just wanted to throw you and Vanille a party, since you two are leaving tomorrow." The boys followed after her, and they were all holding bags that contained bottles of alcohol. "Drinks are on us tonight – we brought our best from the bar!"
The strawberry-blonde scoffed. "Didn't I say on the phone that I needed to pack?"
Lebreau totally ignored her question. "Where's Vanille, by the way?"
The soldier didn't even bother to answer. She simply stood in silence and watched as Maqui and Yuj enter the house.
"Don't be such a party-pooper, Light!" Gadot said with a grin on his face, one that looked almost identically stupid as Snow's. "You didn't say how long you're going away for, and we're all gonna miss you, so—"
"That still does not mean you can just break into my house." She directed her statement to Serah, who was now laying the passed out Snow on the sofa.
Serah avoided her sister's sharp eyes; she was still too scared to say anything.
"Actually, Light-san, we didn't break into your house…" Yuj put his bags over at the counter, "Serah-san invited us over. She said that you'd be fine with this—"
"Okay, stop!" Serah stood straight up. As if she wasn't dead enough, she needed to shut those guys up before she got into more trouble. "Onee-chan, I-I need to talk to you…!" She walked towards her sister, and, grabbing her by the hand, dragged her down the hallway. Lebreau and the boys didn't bother to question about the sisters' strangeness, however; they settled down and prepared the cups and drinks – as if they were using the place as their bar.
"…!" Vanille gasped when the strawberry-blondes burst into the room. Good thing she had clothes on now… "S-Serah, hi!" She squeaked.
The younger sibling pulled her sister in and shut the door behind herself. Then, suddenly, "I'm really, really, really sorry!" She bowed, low enough so that her head was at her knees, and her side-ponytail was dangling over the ground.
Lightning raised a brow. "Huh?"
"I…" She tried to bring up the courage to explain, "… I saw…"
The girl's cheeks instantly flushed red. She saw – she saw me and onee-san…!
"I-I didn't mean to interrupt you two – Lebreau told me that when she called, you were packing, s-so…! I didn't know that you two w-would actually be…!"
Lightning smirked, her amusement shocking both younger girls in the room. "This isn't your first time walking in on me, Serah. So why are you so worked up this time?"
"B-because!" She stuttered, "Because I actually know Vanille! The other people were different because I didn't know them!"
"Ah," The soldier nodded. "I see."
"So I'm going to say this again…" Serah said quietly, "Vanille, onee-chan, I'm really sorry."
"Huh," Fascinated, Lightning crossed her arms. "And what, Serah Farron, would you do to make up for this? You know when Lebreau called earlier, she also interrupted us?"
"Onee-san!" Vanille scolded. She speed-walked over to the strawberry-blonde and gripped onto the end of her cardigan, "Y-you don't need to be so direct!"
"What? We've been interrupted twice a day, aren't you angry about that?"
"Oh man…" A pang of guilt stabbed her in the gut. Serah shook her head, "That… was also my idea… I told her to call you…" Although she didn't really understand how a phone call could interrupt her sister (Lightning usually ignored the phone when she was at it), she decided to apologize anyway. "I… I don't think saying sorry would do anything… right?"
"No, Serah, it's fine! You don't need to worry—"
"Yes, Serah, saying sorry isn't enough."
Vanille glared at the taller woman. Was she being serious? Or was she just bullying her little sister…? The girl couldn't tell, so she tugged onto her shirt, and scolded again, her voice more solemn than before. "Onee-san, stop it. Serah already apologized."
"Hn." Fine, she'll stop. Only because Vanille told her to. "Alright then," Lightning changed the subject easily, "How are we going to deal with the people out there? I suppose kicking them out would work, right?"
"No, don't do that!" Vanille said. "They're here for a farewell-party, aren't they?"
The solider smirked. "Oh, so you could hear everything? Why didn't you come outside?"
"I was… still putting on my clothes…" Her voice became softer as she improvised for an excuse. Truth was, she couldn't bring herself to go outside – what if they had all seen her earlier? How could she face them ever again?
As if she could read her mind, "It's okay, Vanille, Snow was blocking the entrance, so there was no way they could see," Serah took the queue to reassure her. "Oh, and Snow couldn't have seen you either – onee-chan threw an apple at him."
"Tch." Lightning rolled her eyes. "I hope I killed him."
Again with her nonchalant attitude. Vanille shook her head. "I'm sorry, Serah. I hope he's okay by now…"
"He'll be fine," She smiled. "This isn't the first time, so I'm not concerned."
"Going back on topic," Lightning cut in, "What the hell are we going to do with those guys?" She threw her thumb over her shoulder, pointing at the closed door, where muffled noises could be heard. It sounded like they were deciding where to put the alcohol.
"Like I said, it's mean if you just kick them out…"
"Vanille, they interrupted us for the second time today."
"… Um, onee-chan, that was actually me…"
Knock knock
"Hey, you girls in there?" The raven-haired barmaid opened the door, "Ah, there you are."
"Is it, like," Lightning grunted with annoyance, "In everyone's custom to just interrupt me whenever I'm doing something important?"
"What are you talking about, Light?" The clueless Lebreau asked. "I'm just coming in to tell you that everything's set. We're just waiting for you girls so we can begin."
"Begin what?" Vanille started innocently.
The barmaid looked at the redhead with a cheeky grin. "Oh, just your typical drinking game. Just, come on out! I'm sure Light would love to see your drunken state again."
"E-eh?" She couldn't even reply – Lebreau had already grabbed her by the wrist and dragged her out, leaving the two Farron's standing awkwardly in the room.
When all was silent again, Serah gathered herself to speak up. "Wow,"
The older sister turned to her.
"Onee-chan, you're… not going to do anything?"
She breathed out. "What can I do? Vanille doesn't want me to kick them out."
The answer was so unnaturally natural, that Serah wondered if this was her sister she was talking to. So… Lightning was willing to let the crew stay just because Vanille didn't want her to be mean…?
Lightning headed for the door. "They're not staying for long. I'm going to have to kick them out before midnight. And I can't believe we're drinking hard liquor during the afternoon."
The woman was practically talking to herself as Serah was far too shocked to listen. Boy, had her apathetic sister softened up. Knowing her, if anyone had touched her property (Vanille) like Lebreau just did, she would have gone crazy and mutilated the said 'anyone'. That didn't happen, however; Lightning didn't show any signs of hostility towards the barmaid – which got Serah thinking – was her sister finally normal again? Did Vanille bring back the sister she had lost from the time before their parents' death?
"Serah,"
The younger sister snapped her head up and looked over to the doorway.
Lightning smiled. She gestured down the hallway, "Let's go."
It took her a second to realize that her sister was smiling at her, and she could swear – if she were a tiny bit more emotional, she would have burst into tears. But she managed to contain herself, of course. So, Serah ran over to her, "Yep, coming!" and looped an arm around her beloved sister's.
"You know, I'm still not happy that you invited them over." The soldier said as they treaded down the hallway slowly.
She sighed. "Well… how about this," Serah suggested, "I'll… clean up after the party? So you can take your time to pack?"
"You clean up? Seriously, Serah? You'd probably be the first one done."
"Oh," Snow said, seeing the sisters finally appearing, "There they are." He was pressing an icepack against his nose – getting hit by an apple wasn't exactly pleasant, so to speak – thankfully, he was still alive.
Serah and Lightning walked around the couch. The group was gathered around the oval-shaped glass table in the living room. "Onee-chan, you've never drank with me before, so how can you be so sure?"
"Hm, well, you just look like a real lightweight to me." She replied bluntly.
"Really, now?" Serah released her sister, as she was obviously heading over to where Vanille was at the opposite end of the table. "We share the same blood, onee-chan." She said as she sat down between Snow and Maqui. "If anything, I think you're weaker than I am."
"Uh, I don't know what's going on, but can we just start the game?" Gadot cut in, already holding an empty shot glass and a bottle of vodka.
Lightning made herself comfortable beside Vanille and Yuj. "Whatever. Just go."
"Right, I already told little miss…" The tanned bartender said. "We're playing Spin the Bottle!"
"Oh god." The soldier was not amused. "Are we seriously playing this 'high school' game?"
Gadot grinned. "Yeah, well, it's fun! Okay, so anyway, same rules – spinner asks the question or makes the dare. If the target is unable to complete the dare, cannot say anything about the 'truth', or lies about it, then you'll have to drink – straight up three shots all at once!"
"Yeah, yeah, we know. Let's just start." Yuj said impatiently. He set his shot glass onto the table and grabbed a bottle behind himself. "To make this more fun, everyone, let's start by taking in a shot!"
"Only?"
Everyone turned to Serah – the one person whom they'd least expect to say something so cocky.
"Err… then… Serah-san, how much do you want to start with…?" Maqui asked nervously.
She smirked, and – holy crap – when she did, she resembled so much of Lightning, it was scary. "At least three."
The boys swallowed. Her boyfriend beside her chuckled uneasily; this side of Serah would only show when she was competing…
"Alright, three it is." Lebreau said without hesitation. "Just take away the shot glasses. Get the paper cups – I need to fill three shots at once." She said to Yuj.
The teal-haired boy took out enough cups for everyone and set them in front of the barmaid, who, then, easily poured everyone the same and correct amount.
"Three shots – exactly." She took her own cup and held it up, "Cheers?"
"C-can we get some chase, please…?" Maqui stuttered as he looked into the content in the cup. "This is straight up vodka after all…"
"Shut up and drink it. Cheers!" Gadot exclaimed. He, too, held his cup high. Soon, everyone – including Lightning – did the same. "May NORA Bar become the best bar in all of Bodhum within the end of the year!"
"Lame." The soldier muttered. She quickly chugged down the liquid in her cup. To her, this was nothing, but that wasn't the case for her lightweighted-girlfriend. Placing her cup back onto the table, she turned to Vanille, who also just finished her share. "Are you okay?" She asked, her voice screaming with concern.
"Mmm…" The girl forced the contents down her throat, and then a burning, intense gag-feeling shot back right up. "Egh…"
Lightning rubbed at her back. "If you can't take it…"
"I-I'm fine!"
"Are you sure…?"
"Okay! Everyone done?" Gadot nearly yelled. "Good, I'll spin first!"
"And why do you get to do it?"
"Because!" He had already spun it. "Because I can."
The empty bottle rattled against the glass table – everyone watched with anticipation, hoping that it wouldn't point towards them—
"Oh, how convenient." Lightning smirked when the bottle stopped. "Serah."
The bartender grinned. "Okay, Serah, truth or dare?"
"Hmm…" She looked at Snow, and then at Lightning. "I'll go with dare."
Lightning felt a chill in her heart. Why didn't she choose truth? Could it be that she was hiding something she had done with Snow—!
"Right, then." The grin never left Gadot's face. "This one should be easy, although I'm pretty sure I'm going to be killed." He rubbed his hands together. "Serah, I dare you to make out with Vanille for a minute."
"WHAT?"
"What…?"
"Eh…?"
Vanille, Serah, and especially Lightning were in shock. Actually, in the latter's case, it seemed more like she wanted to murder the man.
But he didn't notice – Gadot was a bit tipsy already. "Don't 'what' me, go make out! If not, then freaking drink, Serah!"
She scratched her cheek. "Um…" Yeah, it was true that her sister had softened up, but that did not mean she wouldn't mind if somebody else touched Vanille in that way. "Okay, I guess I'll just… drink…" She pushed her cup towards Lebreau, trusting her more in pouring her the amount as she was sober.
"Aw, this is no fun! Already chickening out on the first round?" The tipsy bartender went on rambling.
Lebreau shook her head. "With his alcohol tolerance level, I find it hard to believe that he's a bartender."
"I concur." Yuj and Maqui nodded.
Serah finished the contents in her cup with ease. "So, it's my turn to spin now, right?" She didn't wait for an answer and grabbed the bottle. "Okay, here we go…" It spun again, more slowly this time compared to before, and it stopped at Vanille.
The redhead stared at Serah and blinked innocently, avidly waiting for her to ask the question.
"Vanille, truth or dare?"
"Um…" Seeing how hardcore the last dare was, she chose to be safe. "Truth…?"
Serah's eyes lit up, and so did everyone else's – minus the soldier, that was. "Alright, okay. Vanille," She cleared her throat, "What does onee-chan do, that turns you on?"
Her cheeks were already flaming thanks to the alcohol she took in earlier, so she couldn't possibly blush any deeper. "Wha…" She glimpsed at the soldier beside her. "I…"
"You can choose to drink if you can't answer…" Serah hinted, her tone almost identical to that of her sister's when was teasing.
The redhead clenched her fists. She didn't want to drink another sip – she was already getting beyond dizzy. So, she had no choice but to answer. "I… I like it when onee-san…"
Even Lightning's attention was completely focused on her by now.
"… when onee-san—" Pretty much everything she does…! "—I-I think I s-should just drink!"
The boys scoffed in unison, Lebreau and Serah laughed unstoppably, and Lightning frowned. She actually wanted to know the answer… but, maybe she could ask later, when they were alone.
"Okay, Vanille, I went easy on you this time. It's half cooler, so it won't taste as bad."
"Thanks…" The girl said. Indeed, her throat didn't burn when she swallowed down the liquid. She put her cup aside and spun the bottle. "Ah," Vanille looked to the target when it stopped, "Lebreau-san…"
"Meh," The barmaid shrugged. "Dare." She said right away, not even bothering to wait for the question.
"Uh…" Vanille wasn't close with her, so she didn't want to make the dare too extreme – like, it might hurt their friendship or something. "Okay… Lebreau-san, I dare you to…" She looked around herself. The truth questions and the dare they had before all revolved around something risqué, so she decided to follow the trend. "I dare you to kiss a guy of your choice here, on the cheek."
"Oh, Vanille…" Serah covered her mouth as she giggled. "You're so innocent…"
The girl blinked at the mini Farron's comment. "E-eh?"
"Any guy, huh?" The barmaid said. "Easy enough," She bent over the table and grabbed Gadot by the collar to pull him towards herself. With no hesitance, she pecked him on the cheek and then sat back down. "Okay, done!"
"Wow…" Yuj spoke out, "I was so sure that she would pick anybody but him…"
Maqui nodded. "C-could it be that she's getting tipsy as well?"
"I'm not tipsy, you idiots. Let's just move on." The bottle spun again; the rattling noise it made never ceased to bring down the anticipation in the room. "Ha, ha, ha…" The barmaid laughed sinisterly. "Light."
"Dare. Get it over with." The strawberry-blonde relaxed her posture.
"Yes, I knew you'd choose that." Lebreau sneered. Her brown eyes moved to meet the redhead's gaze, and then she cleverly looked back at the soldier. This was a no-brainer – she had planned to do this from the start. She mixed a couple of suspicious-looking bottles together and then poured them in a shaker. Yes, she even brought a shaker from the bar. Finally, after showing off her bartending-skills with all the shaking, she formed an orangey-coloured cup of alcohol. Pouring the bright liquid into a fancy glass cup (which she also brought from the bar), Lebreau pushed it towards her target. "Hope you don't mind that I made the pineapple variation. I was missing orange and cranberry juice, but, yeah, here's your favorite drink."
Lightning glared at the barmaid. "What, you want me to finish this in one gulp?"
"Oh, no, it's never that simple…" She smirked. "I want you," Lebreau looked at Vanille, "To feed the innocent little redhead over here with your mouth."
The redhead in question gasped. "F-feed…? What is that…?"
"It's called 'Sex on the Beach', little girl." Just by hearing that suggestive name, Lebreau could tell that Vanille was embarrassed out of her mind. "Feed her until the glass is empty." She said to Lightning.
The redhead was still in shock. "T-that much…?"
"Calm down, little miss!" Gadot laughed, "It's like kissing, except you share more than tongue—ack!"
It was Serah who hit him on the shoulder lightly. As if it wasn't obvious enough that the poor girl was embarrassed as hell, this guy just had to tease her.
Lightning, on the other hand, was obviously fine with this – even in front of so many people, she was immune to extravagant-openness. "He's right, it's just kissing."
"In f-front of everyone…!"
She ignored her and took her first sip from the glass. Grabbing onto Vanille's shoulders, she pushed her lips against hers and parted her mouth carefully, slowly letting the cocktail flow into her.
At first, Vanille didn't know how to swallow – she thought that she'd forgotten how to. She gripped anxiously onto Lightning's biceps as she tried not to spill the sweet liquids. The soldier understood how hard she was trying and gave her time; slowly, a bit at a time, she pushed the contents into Vanille's mouth. Eventually, the girl was able to relax, and began to take the initiative to suck at Lightning's lips, allowing more of the drink to come out of her. When she had drained the woman of the contents in her mouth, the latter would take another mouthful, ultimately repeating the process.
The rest watched in awe. They were doing it so naturally, it looked as if they were just kissing.
"Lebreau, you sly dog," Snow smirked.
The barmaid bowed sarcastically. "I aim to please."
Serah chuckled. She took out her phone discreetly and aimed the camera lens at the couple. "I'm just going to…" Snap. The sound was miraculously quiet, and therefore the two did not notice that a picture was taken.
This was their last round. Lightning knew, and so did Vanille, but both silently did not want this to end. After this 'kiss', they'd had to continue on with the game. Vanille was way too boozed up to care by now – she just wanted to kiss her soldier. She realized that the liquids were long drained away, but their tongues continued to dance in each other's mouths. A delicate hand move up to cup the back of the strawberry-blonde's head, in doing so, Vanille drew her closer and deepened the kiss.
Lightning, on the other hand, was still sober, so at least she was still conscious of the fact that they were making out in the presence of other people. It broke her heart to do it, but she pulled away, breaking their sweet kiss. She stared into Vanille's hazy green eyes for a second before turning back to the table.
But, yeah, Vanille was actually drunk. She scooted closer to the woman and sat on her lap, side-straddle. Wrapping her arms around Lightning, she hid her head at the crook of her neck. "Onee-san…"
"Oh boy." Maqui's palm met his forehead abruptly. "Déjà vu man, déjà vu."
"Why does it seem like you're not enjoying this?" Gadot slapped the blonde's back, "Now we can ask little miss a bunch of questions—" He suddenly felt a pair of blue eyes piercing into his soul. "—T-that is… if Light lets us… ask…"
"Mmm… onee-san… where are you…!" Vanille's voice blasted to maximum volume without warning.
Lightning cuddled her in her arms. "Shh…" She whispered into her ear.
"I'm amazed that you let her drink, nee-san. Knowing how protective you are—"
She shot her icy-blue eyes at Snow, who immediately shut up. "I let her drink," The soldier explained, "Only because I'm here to watch over her." Holding the girl closer, Lightning spun the bottle.
"Well, what do you know?" He didn't know where he found the courage, "It's back to Vanille!" But Snow, for some reason, found it necessary to speak up something that would get Lightning pissed off for sure.
The woman decided that she would so throw something at him if Vanille wasn't in her arms. For now, she ignored him and lightly shook the redhead. "Hey, Vanille."
"A-another… drink…?"
The group chortled. Lightning smiled and spoke in her ear, "No, but the bottle landed on you."
"Dare!" She said instantly.
The soldier tried not to laugh out loud. "Are you sure? I wanted to ask if you want to sit this one out, since you're pretty much done…"
"I can still drink…" Vanille moaned. "Dare… onee-san, I dare you to kiss me again…"
"Aww!" Serah clasped her hands together – this was more entertaining to watch than any of the dramas on TV, and everyone in this room would agree to that.
Lightning shook her head. "Vanille… you got it mixed up. I'm daring you…" Even in games, she stayed strict to the rules – she was a soldier, after all.
"Oh… okay…"
But because she was a soldier, and a cunning one, on top of that, she decided to take advantage of this. It wasn't often she'd see the girl like this, after all. "Vanille, I dare you to answer the 'truth' that Serah proposed earlier."
"Ohhhh Snap!" Gadot slammed on the table. "Smart move, Light! Smart move!"
Amazed that she was able to flip the game around like this, Serah shook her head at her sister. "Onee-chan, you're incredible."
Snow, Lebreau, and the rest of the boys nodded to the younger Farron's words.
Contrary to her usual reactions, Lightning was pleased with everyone's comments. "What is it that I do, Vanille, that turns you on?" She repeated the question, as she was very sure that the girl was far too drunk to remember.
"Turn… on…" Vanille mumbled. "I… like it when you hug me…"
"Is that all?"
She shook her head. "No, no… there's way more…" The girl opened her eyes to look up at her soldier. When Lightning smiled in response, so did she. Vanille didn't really know what was going on, but she knew at least that she was asked a question, so naturally, she had to answer. "I feel weird w-when you wink at me… a-and when you cry, I—"
"Right, that's enough." Lightning stopped her. She didn't think ahead on this one – that things would go personal.
"No, Vanille, don't listen to her, keep going!" Snow encouraged. He was able to avoid that deadly glare from his to-be sister-in-law, as he was paying far too much attention on the redhead.
"When onee-san cries, I… I realize how vulnerable she is, a-and… and how alike we are… how lucky I am to have h-her… I…" Her droopy eyes closed again. "I don't want… anyone to h-hurt her…"
Lightning felt – butterflies in her stomach? – dizzy. Maybe she was blushing again. Whatever the case, she knew that this was happiness inside her. She didn't want to let go of the beautiful girl in her grasp – actually, she didn't even want to look away. The woman could even care less that she was surrounded by her friends and sister, because all that mattered right now was Vanille. With the back of her hand, she gently brushed aside the hair that covered the girl's closed eyes, smiling at the same time. "You're not even answering the question anymore."
The soldier's words obviously didn't reach her. Vanille went on muttering, "Mm… d-don't hurt her…"
She chuckled. Silly girl, "You're so done…" Stop speaking out my thoughts.
Happy New Year everyone!
Sorry this was so long. It was supposed to be longer until I realized that I've exceeded 40 pages… hehe. I don't think any of the future chapters would ever be this long.
Anyway, I've planned earlier on to upload this before FF13-2 came out in Japan (Dec 15), but, no, I couldn't. So, distracted by 13-2 (OMFG THIS GAME), winter break, parties, and snowboarding, I ended up writing a majority of this chapter in a hangover-state. I'll come back to edit this later on, but right now…
zzz （ーー；）
Please don't forget to review!