Note: This isn't the ending I'd planned on, but I don't have the same drive to finish the story. So even though it's marked as complete, it just means I've left this behind. I have too many personal issues getting in the way of finishing the story properly. Sorry.

.

"The Dravanian Forelands (night version)" from Final Fantasy XIV: Heavensward

XX. Vermillion Bird of the South

We need time to reconnect…

As we made our way to Luxerion's crystal in the underground tunnel, I felt Fang retreat into herself. She didn't want to hold my hand. She barely looked at me. I had a feeling she thought I'd pull away eventually, and she wanted to prepare herself for it. She paid more attention to Vanille instead. I knew I had to wait until we got out of here before we could have any real time to ourselves. I really didn't want to wait. I knew something awaited us at the end of this tunnel, somehow. Rationalizing things didn't lessen the sting of her receding anger—it was a bad habit of mine. I had to stop doing that.

In the midst of everything, I'd forgotten that I still had on my blood-stained tuxedo. I changed my garb into the black outfit that Fang had bought me for my birthday. I noticed her staring at me as we neared the small room where the crystal was. Vanille and Serah skipped ahead to the flaming-red device, crouching down to decipher the old Cocoon script engraved into the base. I stood behind Fang, holding her from behind. She tensed out of surprise, not unwillingness.

"Fang," I said in her ear, hoping she might respond. She didn't. I tried again, differently: "I'm sorry. I'm not going anywhere… I only want to make things right." This time, she shifted into me, otherwise keeping her reactions to herself. I held her closer. I wanted more from her in these few minutes we had to breathe. I whispered, deeper, "Baby, don't pull away from me," and kissed her arching neck, tasting the shuddering breaths through her heated skin. She let me pull her into me all the way, falling a little more, a little at a time. "I missed you. I don't want you to think that I'm too cold to be this affectionate with you… You deserve every bit of love I have to give. I love you so much."

Fang let out a low moan, quiet enough for only me to hear. "It's rare that you get like this," she pointed out. She leaned her head back, writhing in my hold. "I can't even tell you to stop. We don't know what's gonna happen after we leave this place…"

"That's exactly why I can't go on without doing this for you."

She pressed her hands against mine, over the smooth skin of her midriff, and asked, "You really wanna make things better?"

"I'll do whatever it takes," I promised, holding her tighter. "I'd do anything for you." Fang sighed, watching Vanille deactivate the crystal. "Think on it. Whatever you decide, I'll make it happen. You can have something to look forward to while we escape the city."

Fang chuckled. "All right, it's a date," she said. "For now, let's put your linguistics skills to the test. Those carvings beneath the crystal—what's it say there?"

"To all of my children in whom Life flows abundant. To all of my children to whom Death hath passed his judgement… Look to those who walked before to lead those who walk after. The rest is unclear."

"Weird," said Fang, guiding me closer to the crystal. "That sounds just like…"

Vanille turned to smile at us. "Seems you two've made up," she noted. "Serah told me that part of our prayer is engraved here. Strange, isn't it? This is written in Cocoon's old script… Yet I could have sworn our prayer was from long before Cocoon existed. Perhaps they borrowed it from us?"

"Wouldn't be the first thing they stole," replied Fang, sour. "Light, Serah, you're the experts here. Got any fancy explanations as to why Gran Pulse's Pact of Chaos prayer is here?"

"I might know," said Serah. "Legends say that certain Pulse l'Cie brought the prayer here from your planet. It's a story of their grief—they didn't understand why they had to keep fighting hopeless battles just to stay alive. They made up this rhetoric of the fal'Cie speaking to them and soothing their pain."

"They went to Cocoon on purpose?" I asked. "If you say they had to keep fighting pointless battles, it sounds like they went around starting fights."

"That's one of the theories about how the War of Transgression started. A few of my history books mentioned these legendary Pulse l'Cie who were touched by the gods. They fulfilled their Focus with the gods' blessing and became heroes. Instead of turning to crystal, they were granted immortality—to all of my children to whom Death hath passed his judgment. But that immortality came at a high price—they risked falling into despair if they didn't keep nurturing their powers of chaos from the gods…"

That sounded exactly like what Vespair had been trying to do all this time—creating a bunch of problems, or chaos, in the hopes that Fang would stay healthy and happy. Right on cue, I noticed her in my periphery. Vespair stood in front of a set of seven clocks lined up along the wall. It seemed like someone—or something—had sapped all of the energy from her. That arrogance of hers was gone.

"They shouldn't have survived," she recited, hollow. "Touched by the gods, their fates were transformed; forced to live forever in contradiction, lest they gave into despair, becomin' shells of human beings…"

Fang went over to her. "Hey, lighten up," she tried. "No one's gonna go mad. This world's filled with enough chaos as it is. So what if everything you did was for nothin'? I feel just fine!"

Vespair touched the centermost clock—the only one on the thirteenth hour. "I know," she answered. "You're all right—for now." She moved her hand to three of the other ones, all clouded by chaos. "All of you were affected by Etro at some point, but not enough to make you like those Pulse l'Cie. Four of you were touched directly by gods. Three by Bhunivelze and one by Etro. Those four clocks never move. The others keep tickin' up to thirteen like normal. Once they hit thirteen, they'll have their eternal peace. I don't get why these won't move—Hope's, Serah's and yours. It's like something's in the way…"

"Wait a minute," I said. "Hope and Serah I understand. He was God's literal puppet; my sister was brought back to life thanks to him. But Fang? When did this happen?"

"When I was in Elysium," replied Fang, "I was fine at first. The chaos hurt, but it wasn't that bad. Then once you killed Bhunivelze, it made everything worse for me. More chaos came outta nowhere and seized me. I knew it was him—like he came over and fucked with me right as he died."

"Before you start," added Vespair, "Bhunivelze didn't possess her or nothin' like that. I'd know if he did. I've gotta look at this from another angle and figure out what's goin' on."

"Vespair," called Vanille. "Could you help us disable this crystal? It's nearly done."

While Vespair worked on that, I stared at our clocks. The one in the center on thirteen had to be mine. Fang's and Serah's were closest to mine, both clouded in chaos. Next to Serah's, there was another one at midnight, steadily ticking up to thirteen. I wondered if it was Snow's. He'd gone through a lot out of all of us. Vanille's clock was near Fang's—hers was at around nine o'clock, and the smaller hands seemed to be moving faster than Snow's, but it was still a sluggish pace compared to a normal clock. At both ends, I saw Hope's and Sazh's—one darkened by chaos and the other at seven o'clock, ticking up. The little things that Vespair had stirred in our group, with Vanille gossiping about Fang to Serah, and that love triangle that went on with Vanille, Snow and my sister…had she done those to influence these times? To move them all up to thirteen? It seemed that way. Then I remembered that she hadn't done anything to Hope for some reason. Despite having a happy life on the surface, he was miserable.

Forced to live in contradiction.

That line repeated itself in my head. I suddenly had a bad feeling that something would happen to him. It felt even worse because I hadn't shown Hope that I cared. Compared to our days as l'Cie together, I hardly knew him anymore. Maybe I could help him somehow once we got back to Yusnaan.

Lumina appeared by my side. "It's too late," she whispered. "God influenced him the most out of the other two. Bhunivelze's dead—you can't make him release his hold over Hope now. All you can do is watch over him. If you care enough, that is. You two aren't exactly best friends anymore."

"That's why I feel so bad about it," I told her. "I should've been there for him…" I glanced over and saw Fang petting Vanille's head. Serah smiled at them, chatting as normal. "Does he have any idea about this? I wasn't with him when he activated Cocoon's crystal. Were these clocks there for him to see?"

"No, he doesn't know," she answered. "He's overworking himself trying to figure out what's wrong. It wasn't a complete lie when he said that to Fang. He's making things worse by not accepting his fate."

"What fate…?"

Lumina smiled sadly at me. "You'll see when you're back in Yusnaan," she said. "For now, try not to worry about it. I'll visit you again once you've seen him. I'm helping Vespair figure out what's keeping their clocks from moving. Since I'm closest to you, I'll be able to figure out if it's permanent like yours, or if it's something else. Etro and Bhunivelze might both be dead, but there has to be some kind of difference between them and the way they influence you and your friends, even after death."

In a contained burst of flames, the crystal was deactivated. Fang burst out laughing when Vanille and Serah both jumped back and screamed in fright. The three of them kept talking; occasionally, Fang glanced over at me, smiling. Each time she did, I felt fear mounting inside of me. What if her fate was the same as Hope's? If she led a happy life, without all the chaos—would she fall into despair, just like him, forced to live in contradiction? I fought against those thoughts. If I let them win, I'd only inhibit myself around her. Keeping a balance between her happiness and chaos didn't sound like a solution, either. Just before Lumina vanished again, she smiled at me, spelling out the answer plain as day:

I had to move bravely forward and love her without holding back, without regrets.

Vespair walked over to me. "Hey, Lightning," she said, monotone. "Look…I'm sorry about causin' so much trouble for you. What with this war and all. I'll admit it—a lot of it was selfish. I got off from all the mess I made 'cause it's in my nature, you know? Now that I know it was all for nothin', I feel like such a bitch. I'm gonna make this right. I swear I will."

"You don't have to apologize," I answered. "You thought it was the right thing to do at the time. At least you can rule that out now and move forward. I believe you when you say you'll fix things. You kept her alive when she would've died otherwise. I'll forever be grateful to you for that."

"Helps a lot to hear you say that," she replied. "I know you'll keep an eye on Fang in the meantime." Vespair hesitated before raising her hand to my face, caressing. "…I adore you. I really do. You've stood by her side when anyone else would have run away from all the unknowns. I'm findin' that I wanna do this for her and for you. It's strange…didn't think I was capable of feelin' close to no one but her. Guess that's somethin' else I was wrong about."

Vespair smiled as she disappeared into a vortex of chaos. I stared at the space where she'd just been. I hadn't expected that from her at all. I felt warmed by the gesture, almost as if she were a shadow of how things had been before. When Fang and I were just friends; when I didn't think about my feelings for her; when she had my back in a battle, or did something special to make me smile, I'd had this same feeling. On top of that, the echo of Vespair's words made me feel like she'd already followed up on her promise. Fang came over and held my hand, leading us all out to the exit nearby. She was in a very good mood, beaming as she continued talking with Serah and Vanille. I wanted to keep her spirits up like this. I wondered if there was anything else I could do for her—anything to make her far happier than she already was. Looking for an answer wouldn't do me any good. I knew it would come to me on its own.

.

When we made it back to Luxerion's surface, the others stopped abruptly. High above in the sky, a phoenix-like bird—Suzaku—died in a burst of vermillion flames, steadily dissipating the crystal barrier. Ash and soot darkened our view of the city around us. Through the gloom, I heard the familiar sounds of armored footsteps approaching. The person stopped a few paces in front of us. Noel scowled at me through the ashes. His cape blew in the darkened winds; he stood completely still, bloodshot eyes fixated on my wide ones. It looked like he'd been crying for hours.

"Claire," he hissed at me. So he finally remembered my name. "I should've known… I should've known it was you! How did you fool me into thinking you were one of us? None of my men are missing. All of their uniforms are accounted for." His grief scathed his shouting: "How did you do all of this? HOW?!"

Before I could say anything, Serah stepped in front of me. "Noel, don't do this!" she pleaded, drawing her bow and arrow. Noel gaped at her. "Please, don't hurt my sister! You and I used to be best friends… This isn't like you! You said so yourself—it was only a matter of time before Yeul died. You knew this would happen… None of this should be a surprise to you. Hurting other people won't bring her back!"

Noel lowered his head. "No one's getting hurt," he mumbled. "But only if you cooperate." He pointed to the tall buildings around us. Through the ash, I saw dozens of Secutors lined along the rooftops, aiming their rifles right at us. "Make one wrong move and this ends on my order. Do as I say and I'll let you leave peacefully." I turned to look at Fang. She didn't seem worried at all. She bore her eyes into Noel's, holding onto his promise without fear. "A wise decision. First things first: Vanille, Serah, I want both of you gone. My men will escort you back to the train station. You'll board and return to Yusnaan. Lightning and Fang will follow once I allow it. That's final." Vanille and my sister tried to say something to us. Noel grunted, and yelled, "No tearful goodbyes! Leave, now! Don't take advantage of my kindness!"

A group of Secutors took them away in the direction of the train station. I watched them go, worried that Noel wouldn't keep his word. He had every reason to deceive us. Somehow, Fang's calmness kept those thoughts mostly at bay. She gripped my hand tighter, keeping my attention on her. Fang knew that I was anxious, and so she set an example for me to follow. In light of that, I felt it was best to follow her lead. I trusted her judgment.

Strangely on the same page as me, Noel asked her, "How are you so calm?"

Fang leaned on me. "You're a broken man," she pointed out. "If you killed us, it wouldn't bring Yeul back, just like Serah said. So, even if you did send us to hell, I'd get to laugh from those fires, knowin' that we'd always have this power over you. We're the reason behind your sadness. That's gotta sting."

"And you're an arrogant fool," he bit back. Fang laughed. "You nearly died, didn't you? I see the dried blood over your clothes. That's why you needed Yeul: someone to give all of that extra chaos to. You should still remember that pain. How can you laugh in the face of feeling it again? There's nothing anyone can do to bring you back if it happens again. Any sane person would fear for their life right now."

"You never got to know me, kid," she replied, blasé. "If you knew anything, you'd know that I've always had a few screws loose. I don't give a damn about your death threats. They're as weak and bitter as your heart. You've got the nerve to threaten your old friends like this and think you're justified? I know you've turned on my girl before, so she's used to this shit, comin' from you. But get this, Knight-Commander: no matter how much power you have, you ain't gettin' your happy ending. Kill me, and Light'll go to the depths of hell to find me again. I'd do the same for her. Yeul's gone to a place you can't reach. I'm sane enough to know that and hold onto it."

Noel regarded me coldly. "I've seen all of this before," he said. "You and Fang telling me that I've lost, even with the might of my military just an order away from shooting you down… I fought so hard against this vision of the future. Now that it's here, I finally understand that she was right…"

"Right about what?" I asked.

"Yeul said to me—once the time comes, and she perishes, that I will have two options: I can either kill myself or seek understanding. I'm not such a coward as to run away from my duties here. The people need me. I've lived with this sorrow for long enough to accept that… The only choice I have is to seek closure with the two of you. That is why I'm here. I'm not letting you leave Luxerion until I'm satisfied."

Fang scoffed. "Satisfied with what?" she wondered. "If you don't understand us by now, you probably never will. You started a war just because your precious Yeul wouldn't wake up and you blamed me for it! Pretty obvious your judgment's fucked up."

"What would you have done?" he probed. "If Lightning was ill, and the stars lined up to give you a single answer, wouldn't you pursue it? Wouldn't you destroy anything in your path if it meant saving her?" When Fang couldn't answer him, Noel shook his head. "I thought so. I may not know you that well, Fang, but I know your demon. She was the devil in my ear that helped start this war. Vespair made it clear that you would've done the same if you were in my shoes. Now she's the angel that's helping me end it all." He summoned a few Secutors to his side. "Luxerion will surrender on one condition: allow me to understand the love you two have for one another. Do that, and you won't have to deal with me again."

"Yeah?" said Fang. "And what the hell do you mean exactly? You want me to give Light a strip tease right here in the streets? You want her to make up some love poem on the spot and recite it to me? That won't prove nothin' to someone like you. What are you on about?"

Noel sighed. "Fang…you can't see things from my perspective," he told her. "This entire war hinged on Lightning refusing to hand you over to me. As a result, the Gestalt has fallen into disarray. Your entire government is about to fall apart over one simple fact: that she loves you, and values your safety more than the lives of Cocoon's entire populace. General Cid Raines can only begin to pick up the pieces once I surrender. All I want is to see a glimpse of why Lightning is this protective over you."

"If we show you," I said, "Will you let us go?"

"Yes," replied Noel. "You have my word. To make good on that, once you arrive to your first destination, I'll allow you to call your sister. You can see for yourself that she and Vanille are safely on their way back to Yusnaan, just as I promised earlier."

"And what do you want us to do after that?"

"Nothing unreasonable. I only want to see you act naturally as a couple. I want to learn for myself what it looks like when the Savior shows her devotion to her Pulsian Queen. That isn't too much to ask."

Fang grumbled. "Ain't like we got a choice anyhow," she noted. "Fine. Where are you takin' us first?"

Noel gestured to a tall building down the street. "I'm inviting you to rest and clean yourselves up," he offered. "You'll stay in Luxerion's finest hotel for the day. Later in the evening, I'll have you go to another location. From there, I'll have an eye on you. After that, you can return to your friends."

"Awfully nice of you," said Fang, eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What's the catch?"

"You'll agree to stay away from this city once you leave. I never want to see you again after tonight."

Neither of us had any objections. If we had it our way, we'd leave right then. Delaying that for a few hours was downright generous compared to the alternative of getting gunned down by his Secutors.

Noel had us follow him down the block to the hotel. Secutors shadowed our path; others stood along the sidewalks as makeshift barriers, keeping the growing spectators out of the streets and out of our way. I expected the citizens to revolt as they watched us. They didn't. They stared in mixed awe and shock as I walked with Fang down the street, holding her hand tighter than usual. I felt a strange sense of pride from having all of this attention, as unexpected as everything was. Everyone got to see for themselves that I didn't yield to Noel's demands for this—what Fang and I had together. They stopped demonizing us; stopped dehumanizing us. They finally saw the humanity between us—the one they'd been denying—and maybe they could relate.

I never imagined ending this war just by letting Luxerion see our relationship.

When we arrived to the hotel, Noel and his Secutors escorted us to the topmost floor, high above the streets. The inside looked a lot like the Grand Cathedral. The building was deserted save for a few managers who'd obviously been ordered not to stare. Once we got to our room, the Secutors took our phones away. Noel promised we'd get them back once it was time for our train ride out of here. He ordered me to use the room's phone to call my sister instead. As Fang and I entered the room, two Secutors remained posted at either side of our door. Noel went into the room across from us, slamming the door shut behind him. I closed our door behind us, letting Fang walk in first to the warmth of our suite. She looked around the decorated room, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Talk about anti-climactic," she remarked. "When Noel first showed up, I was sure we were done-for. I was ready to die at your side this time. Him showin' us a good time in the Divine City of Light instead didn't exactly cross my mind. You were awfully quiet most of the time, too. You all right, babe?"

"I am. Your calmness kept me level-headed. Without that, I probably would have drawn my sword and made things worse. Serah was lucky he didn't hurt her for pulling out her weapon."

Fang gestured to the phone next to the bed. "Speakin' of that," she said, "You should call her. Make sure she and Vanille got on the train. It'll be a few hours yet before they get to Yusnaan. They need to know that we ain't dead. Not yet, at least." She sat down along the foot of the bed, picking up the glowing catalyst there. "Well, would you look at this? It's a catalyst for my crystal! I'd better save it for later. Don't want the big bad man to go off on me for smokin' in this Cathedral-room or whatever it is. Feels like a sermon's gonna start in here any minute now."

I was about to make my way over to the phone. The patience in Fang's gaze stopped me in my tracks. She knew what I wanted to do. Fang knew that I longed to have this moment with her: us, alone, uninterrupted for hours. Instead of letting me act on it, she canted her head toward the phone, reminding me that there were other people outside this room who worried about us. I let my eyes linger over her full lips as I called my sister's phone. I spoke to both her and Vanille, their voices loud enough for Fang to hear. They were on the train back to Yusnaan, just as Noel had said. I told them that we'd most likely be back later that night or early the next morning. Serah and Vanille calmed down a little, holding onto my assurances for hope.

Once the conversation was over, I waited for Fang to sit up against the headboard. I crawled over to her. She smoothed her hands across my neck, holding me there. I held my breath to hold onto her touch. The sleeve of her sari, I pushed down over her shoulder, getting a better look at the wound over her chest. Her black top was punctured, the opening covered in dried blood and dissipating chaos. I touched the chaos. The longer I lingered there, the more my hand trembled from the memory of nearly losing her.

"I'd do it again for you if I had to," she said. "If I could save you from that pain, I wouldn't hesitate. Just like before. Bein' pissed off about it seems like an afterthought now…" Fang pulled me closer. Sweet fullness of her lips against mine broke me down. Her heated whispers through my mouth made me sweat and shiver all at once, "Tell me…what did you feel in those moments? I know it hurts to remember. I won't ask you no more after this. I only wanna know what it was like for you."

I held her shoulders, easing her down to the bed. For a while, I hovered over her, staring into her eyes; measuring how much she wanted my confessions. Zeal mixed with such need—I couldn't deny her. "A similar theme kept playing itself out," I began. The vulnerability I felt then was a mirror of what I'd felt before. "My love is dying…why is the world not ending? Why is it not on fire in reflection of my pain?" She moaned in mixed pleasure and surprise; again when I kissed her with the same gravity as my words. Fang gripped me harder around my shoulders, my back, fingertips digging into my skin and slipping down my spine. "When I realized that nothing had changed around me—that was when I knew you weren't going to die. That was when I accepted that there was a way to save you…and that I'd do anything to bring you back to me."

As the hours passed, I spoke more without words. Heat of my passions I made sure she felt underneath me, against me—in bed, in the shower, loud enough for anyone outside to hear. I didn't care if Noel listened to us. I wasn't embarrassed. I didn't feel bad for him. If this was what he wanted, then he'd have it. This was part of him understanding that I loved Fang more than anything in this world, enough to show my honor to her in the face of his loss…just as he would have done to me, if given the chance.

.

Later that night, the ashes from Luxerion's dead patron deity had mostly cleared from the skies. Noel and his unit of Secutors led us through the cobblestone streets in a similar fashion as last time. People packed along the sidewalks again, staring at us as we passed by. Fang had on her usual blue sari again. I wore my Equilibrium garb for formalities' sake and to truly be the Savior to our onlookers. I had her arm linked with mine this time as we followed Noel to an upscale restaurant not too far from the hotel.

Luxerion's lake was close by, shimmering beneath the moonlight, bringing a brisk breeze. The gas lamps we passed by warmed us with light. The open avenues and ornate, stone buildings actually looked nicer compared to the last time I was here. I wouldn't have minded spending more time in this city if things with Noel weren't such a mess. I had a feeling Fang would've agreed with me. She leaned her head against mine as we walked together, at peace with me. My heart swelled with pride again. Every now and then, Noel turned his head to glance at us. He saw the way I felt; how Fang felt. Each time he did, his scowl lessened a little more, a little more. Once we got to the restaurant, it was packed, much like that time I went out to that one with Fang, Snow and Vanille. I'd mostly gotten over those memories. They couldn't get in the way of my time here. The Secutors ordered everyone to abandon their tables and leave the building for the Knight-Commander. Everyone got up and left without protest. There was only one person out of the whole bunch who seemed to have a problem with it.

He was a tall and imposing man in blood red armor. His four arms were built enough to wield any type of weapon of his choosing. He glared at me as he passed by with his posse of shinobi. Then he noticed my Masamune over my back. His crimson eyes widened.

"You…!" he said in wonder. "That weapon…it is the one that slayed the Order's God! I demand to see it this instant!" I stared at him, uncertain if he was serious or not. He huffed at me. "Did you not hear me? I said I wish to have a better look at your sword, Savior! Or are you not the woman who killed the Almighty Bhunivelze? Where is your glowing pride from having bested God Himself?!"

One of his advisors stepped forward. "Your Majesty, please!" he cried. "This is not the time!"

"King Gilgamesh, we must away!" said another.

Gilgamesh scoffed. "Knight-Commander, a word!" he bellowed. Noel turned to face him, looking bored. "You invited me to your good city to appeal to my interests in weaponry, did you not? Are you not authorized to make the Savior show me her legendary Masamune? I am impatient!"

"Your Majesty must excuse me," said Noel, bowing. "The Savior is here on behalf of Cocoon as a last-minute diplomat. I allowed her to wield her weapon tonight for her own peace of mind. I cannot let her draw her blade—not even to give you permission to examine it. The citizens will panic, you see. You and I can continue this conversation later." Gilgamesh huffed again and stormed off with his shinobi in tow. I watched them go, feeling a strange sense of déjà vu. "Don't mind him. That was King Gilgamesh of Lorica, the so-called uncharted territory to the north. Lorica is a land of skilled weapon-smiths and warriors. It's no wonder he's so interested in your sword."

I had a feeling that I'd run into that Gilgamesh character again someday. For the time being, I put the encounter in the back of my mind, heading into the near-empty restaurant. One of the few waiters who stuck around guided Fang and I to a table for two in the middle of the building. Noel and his unit sat at a table closer to the entrance, facing us to watch. I pulled out Fang's chair myself for her to sit down. When I took my seat across from her, she smiled at me, radiant as the lit candles not too far away.

"This is better than last time," she said. Fang hummed in approval when the pianist continued playing his romantic, bittersweet tune. "We ain't gotta worry about some creep messin' with our food. And we're on an unexpected date with a bunch of voyeurs in tin cans. I'd say this is a night to remember. Wouldn't you?"

I reached across the table and held her soft hand, saying, "Any time I spend with you is unforgettable."

Fang grinned. "It's sweet when you charm me like this," she replied. "You always know how to say the right things to me. It relaxes me…" She pressed her other hand over mine, squeezing on occasion. "I wanna say that we can relax for a while now. Somehow it don't feel right to point it out. Like there's somethin' else worse goin' on in the background…and I just don't wanna give it the time of day just yet."

"You don't have to," I told her. "Not yet—like you said. I think, for now, we can take a breather for a while. Once we leave this city, the war will officially be over. The Gestalt can rebuilt itself. You and I can go home together and not have to worry about anything."

"I wanna believe that," she whispered. Fang stared at my watch. "If it were as easy as ignorin' Noel over there and bein' off in our own world, I could do it. I was all smiles with Vanille and Serah earlier so they wouldn't catch on. But I'm tellin' you now, Light—I'm…kinda scared about the future. I know I'll have you by my side. It's everything other than that. Everything out of my control that's botherin' me…"

"What can I do to help?" I asked. "If it's part of me making things right, then you know I'll do it in a heartbeat. Just say the words and it will be done."

Fang smiled a little. "I know, sweet pea," she said. "It helps me to hear you say that."

We were quiet for a while as we ate dinner. From time to time, I glanced out the windows near the restaurant's dancefloor—out to the gleaming night, feeling grateful that I had this time with her. I watched Fang's worries spread across her expression. They disappeared for moments at a time whenever she sipped her red wine. Then they came right back as if they'd never left. Instead of holding her hand, I slipped mine down to her lean thigh, stroking her silk and her skin. She shifted in surprise, sighing as she stared into my eyes. I held her regard with the soft strength of my convictions.

"I started and ended a war to keep you with me, Fang… I'd tear the sky down if it would save you. If anything happens, I won't let you down again. You are my priority. I'll make sure you feel that every minute of every hour of every day from now on. You have my fealty."

"Is that so?" asked Fang, teasing. "If somethin' goes down again, you ain't gonna let some government orders keep me outta the know?"

"You'll be the first to know—orders or not," I promised. "I've learned my lesson about keeping things from you. Even if I could justify the secret, it's not worth risking your anger, or possibly blindsiding you. I know you also felt like I couldn't trust you. I can never apologize enough for what happened. All I can do is make up for it." I stood up and held my hand out to her. "Will you dance with me?"

Fang let me lead her closer to the pianist playing. I held her close to me around her waist; she wrapped her arm about my shoulders, kneading gently at the nape of my neck. Our free hands stayed interlaced at our sides. She swayed slowly with me much like during the ball. This felt so different. There were no secrets between us this time. I was fully open to her again—without the ball and chain of lies that I'd had last time. Here Fang branded her worries over me, sharing them, bearing them for me to carry with her. I knew that if she was worried about the unknowns ahead of us, then there had to be something truly unimaginable that awaited us. I didn't want her to focus on that for now. Steadily, she set those weights aside with me, staying in this moment. I lost myself in the smoothness of her hair, the clean smell of it from our shower earlier; the soft sinew of her arm along my shoulder, angled just so for Fang to let me support her as we dance. I'd forgotten all about Noel's eyes on us. My only reminders of his presence were the quiet sounds of his crying as he watched us. He'd lost the love of his life to fate. I was prepared to defeat any destiny in my way if it meant keeping Fang with me.

"Light, when we get back to Yusnaan…if you really wanna make things right, then I want you to do it. You should know what I want. I'll love you so much more if I don't have to say the words. Just this once."