Work Text:
The mountain air was chilly and thin, and as Lightning continued her trek up the narrow path, she wished that she'd taken Amodar up on his offer of providing her with some additional clothing. She was a l'Cie, she'd told him back at the Steppe base, and she was more than able to handle a little cool weather.
Lightning stopped for a moment, her breath rising in mist in front of her face, and she looked down at the border town tucked in at the base of the Aelsii Ranges. Over the past few months there had been an influx of reports from the area, detailing the attacks of a dragon-like creature upon the growing town's livestock and warehouses. Eventually, as was getting to the the norm these days, the Guardian Corps had been called in to deal with the problem. Things had gotten out of hand as the military and the brass had vastly underestimated the strength of their unknown opponent, and the monster had wiped out the two squadrons they'd sent.
That had been when Lightning had gotten involved. As an ex-l'Cie, she was stronger, faster and more durable than even the most elite of PSICOM or the Corps, and she had access to better magic than any manadrive the Corps scientists could construct. She'd also been more than happy to have been offered the challenge, especially when she'd been stuck on monitoring the transport lines between Gran Pulse and Cocoon for the past month.
The fact that Lightning had then spent the rest of the day going over Fang's memory of monsters in the Aelsii region had only made the deal sweeter. These days, unsure of her role in Serah's life, Lightning had found herself spending more and more time at Fang's place in Oerba. Lightning couldn't say she minded, because if she was honest with herself, she was hard-pressed to name a person she would rather spend her free time with - Serah excepted.
Going in blind to face Aelsii's monster had worked out poorly for the other squads, so to help jog Fang's memory, Lightning had offered the seasoned hunter all of the information she'd been given by Amodar. The file had been detailed - blurry photos, maps, recordings, even a list of taken livestock and supplies that had been ruined - and it seemed to do the trick.
After some minutes of pacing back and forth in her kitchen and muttering under her breath, Fang had turned to Lightning with a smile that hadn't quite reached her eyes. She'd slid into the seat across from Lightning again, those quick, green eyes scanning the livestock reports and maps one last time, as if she needed to be sure.
"Thought that bastard would be dead by now," Fang had said finally, her voice falsely light-hearted as she'd lounged back in her chair. She had rested her chin on the palm of her hand, those pale green eyes intense as she had met Lightning's questioning look. "Judging by the area alone, I'd say your townsfolk ticked off Fafnir."
Lightning had looked down at maps, frowning. The seriousness of Fang's expression had set off warning bells, even then.
"What exactly is Fafnir?" Lightning had asked, and Fang had laughed shortly.
"Trouble - that's what he is." Fang had tilted her head, giving Lightning an openly concerned look from across the table that had made Lightning's high-necked sweater feel a little tight. "I'll tell you what I know, but having never killed him myself, best I can manage is guesswork and supposition, and whatever the other marksmen told me. Still interested?"
Without reservation, Lightning had nodded. "I'll take whatever I can get. I'd rather not die on some forsaken mountaintop in the middle of nowhere."
Fafnir, Fang had told her over the following hours, was a dragon-type monster that had been said to have ruled the Aelsii region with fire and an iron claw. The monster was also meant to be ageless and nigh-invincible, and now knowing that the creature had been alive during the five hundred years that Fang had been in crystal stasis, Lightning was rather inclined to believe at least some of the rumours.
Still, Lightning thought as she continued her walk up the mountain pathway, the information Fang had shared regarding its possible strengths and weaknesses had been invaluable. Lightning wouldn't need to waste any time using her usual array of elemental magic, and would instead focus on what she knew worked. The other trick was to try to avoid those poisonous jaws.
Fang had mentioned that there was something she had been forgetting about Fafnir, though, even if she had tried to remember it for the remainder of the afternoon they'd spent together. Running frustrated fingers through her wild, dark hair - Lightning hadn't been trying to decide how that hair would feel knotted between her fingers while Fang hadn't been looking, of course - Fang had given her a sharp, unhappy look.
"I think it was important, too," Fang had said with a deep sigh, and Lightning had shrugged.
"I'll make sure that I'm careful, then."
Back in the kitchen, Fang's smile had been brilliant, and even as she trudged up the mountainside a day later, Lightning felt the corners of her mouth twitch in one of her own at the brightness of the memory.
It was good to have Fang back, and not only for the extra help the woman provided, with her knowledge of Gran Pulse's insane fauna.
As she neared the mountain's peak, Lightning shook her head and pressed herself up against one of the outcroppings.
Focus on the task at hand, not on your ridiculous infatuation with her smile, Lightning told herself severely, drawing her Omega Weapon and quickly inspecting the razor edge for the fifth time that day. You promised her that you would be careful, didn't you? Then stay sharp.
Lightning craned her neck to look around the outcropping of rock that she'd crouched behind, and she narrowed her eyes as she started to look for signs of Fafnir. Aside from the obvious - the broken and charred remains of plant life - Fang had said, like most dragon-types, Fafnir would have a nest in some sort of high, hard to reach crevice in the mountainside. As Lightning eased herself out from behind her hiding place, she looked for the signs that Fang had mentioned - rock worn and gouged at by claws and scales alike.
There it was, at ten o'clock from her position, and up as high as Fang had theorized, too.
Lightning snorted softly to herself as she eased closer - she'd have to remember to thank Fang when she was done with Fafnir. Extending her hand, she let magic gather in her palm and thread through her fingers. Aeroga did not come to Lightning easily, and it had only been with Fang's assistance that'd she'd added it to her reportoire recently.
Just in time, as it turned out. Lightning didn't like her chances in facing down Fafnir without the extra edge up her sleeve.
The high-level wind spell streaked from her fingertips as she drew her hand back, and the spell impacted within the deep fault that Fafnir had been using as its home. She was already moving before she heard - and felt - the roar of rage from somewhere inside the mountain, and magic gathered at her fingertips as she layered on protective and enhancing magic with every step. By the time Fafnir burst into the grey skies above the mountain, Lightning was more than ready.
With a scoff and a wave of her hands, she seized the monster's attention with provoking magic. It wouldn't do for her to lose Fafnir and set it on the unsuspecting townspeople below, Lightning thought, her eyes narrowing as she felt herself smile. Fafnir bellowed and streaked down at her, and she easily evaded the huge, poisonous jaws snapping at the place she'd been just a heartbeat before.
"He's got a lot of status magic at the ready, and he'll start layering them on through bites and touches. After that, when you're riddled with poison and all sorts of nasty stuff, he'll snap you in half. He's fast, but you can use that to your advantage."
As Lightning narrowly avoided another of Fafnir's passes, she nodded to herself and blasted the dragon with a scorching fira spell when he banked before letting another aeroga sweep from her fingertips to hamper the dragon's flight. Fang hadn't been kidding when she said that Fafnir was dangerous - but that had been five hundred years ago. Five hundred years of being the apex predator in his region, five hundred years of going unchallenged...
Fafnir was no longer in his prime, and Lightning was an advanced l'Cie without the time limit of a Focus. Her lips quirked into a genuine smile. She was actually looking forwards to telling Fang all about how she took down the 'legendary' dragon without so much as breaking a sweat...
She pivoted as Fafnir shrieked and swooped by her, easily evading the tendrils of status magic emanating from the dragon's scales. She saw her chance and took it, whipping Omega Weapon out and using the force of her own strike and the high speeds that Fafnir was travelling at. The razor edge of Omega Weapon scored along the dragon's body, raising sparks as the metallic scales buckled and broke under the force of Lightning's strike. Dark blood spattered to the ground with a hiss, but Lightning paid it little heed as the unexpected blow threw off Fafnir's flight pattern and sent the monster careening straight into the weathered rock face of the mountain.
While Lightning's plan of attack had been to strike Fafnir hard with magic and to keep her distance from those poison jaws, neither she nor Fang had expected Fafnir to be showing his age. She changed her tactics in an instant, and she streaked forward. She used every shred of magic and strength available to her, desperate to capitalise on her unexpectedly good fortune.
Fafnir roared as she approached, wings thrashing and heavy jaw lashing out for her. Lightning evaded easily, letting wind and fire flash from her fingertips as she darted and under Fafnir's left wing -
Omega Weapon plunged deep into the soft hollow under Fafnir's wing - a crippling blow in most cases, but Lightning wasn't about to let it go to waste. Keeping in mind what Fang had explained of a wyvern's anatomy not a day prior, she heaved upwards on her blade until the muscles in her arms screamed. Fafnir thrashed beside her, and as hot blood sprayed out over Lightning, she knew she'd gotten the main brachial artery running through the wings.
Fafnir's struggles quickly lost their ferociousness as he bled out, and it wasn't long until the dragon - one that had long ruled the Aelsii region - finally stilled. With a grim practicality, Lightning withdrew Omega Weapon with a sharp yank, thick and dark blood oozing down the blade's edge.
Lightning paused - her skin felt like it was burning under all the blood, and the feeling was getting more intense with every second. With a curse and a sharp intake of breath as the adrenaline abruptly wore off and her skin began to hurt in earnest, Lightning looked down at her hands and arms, and immediately summoned a waterga and doused herself in the torrential water. The spell seemed to do the trick, and got rid of most of the black, highly corrosive blood that she'd managed to get all over herself.
Her skin still felt raw, as if she'd just faced the full force of a juggernaut's flamethrower, and Lightning groaned as her breath became a little ragged and her vision swam alarmingly. She glanced down to her forearm as her teeth clenched, and horrified at the sheer damage, she closed her eyes and summoned her magic. The cure spell was cooling, like a salve to her burned skin as the wave of powerful magic washed through her. She looked down at her hands and arms again once the spell had faded, and she couldn't help but breath a sigh of relief. The raw burns on her skin had reduced dramatically, leaving only slightly reddened, irritated skin.
Her skin had been healed cleanly. The same could not be said of her soaking wet uniform, which was in tatters from her inadvertent acid bath.
With a shaky hand, she ran her fingers through her wet hair and let out a growl of frustration as more than a few strands came loose.
Her hair.
She buried her face in her hands, sucking in one shaky breath.
Fantastic.
###
Fang was taking up most of the space on Lightning's couch, her arms folded behind her head as she stared at the spotless ceiling above her. If she'd judged things correctly, Lightning would be getting home at any moment from the mission to take out Fafnir. Since she'd stumbled across Lightning's spare keys a week ago, she'd gotten the idea that she could surprise the other woman - and if she was being fair, Fang supposed that she was also pretty eager to hear how the mission had gone. A fight with Fafnir was nothing to sneeze about, but Fang had every faith that Lightning could handle the bastard once and for all.
Fang's lips quirked into a small smile as she closed her eyes. Maybe she wanted to spend a little more time with Lightning, too. Since waking up two months back, Fang had found herself spending more and more time with the woman that she was so similar to and yet so different from. Lightning had really gone out of her way to try to get Fang and Vanille settled into a new life on Gran Pulse with the rest of Cocoon's folk, and Fang had really appreciated the extra effort that Lightning was putting in. Over the course of their discussions and shared hunting trips since, Fang had realised that Lightning had quickly become her best mate. Other than Vanille, of course, but that was a relationship of a very different variety.
Maybe - no, there was really no 'maybe' about it, what Fang felt was definitely something more than friendship, Fang amended mentally as she exhaled quietly. Now that she had the chance to breathe, suddenly free from the impossible weight of the War of Transgression, the Purge and Ragnarok... It was good to finally breathe. It was good to be herself, without feeling that constant, exhausting hypervigilance over Vanille and the Focus.
Lightning had been helping with that, too, reminding Fang that there was a bright future out there and a place that she'd more than paid the toll for. Fang supposed that spending a bit of extra time with Lightning and enjoying herself was a part of trying to embrace that change and that future.
It had been difficult for Fang to allow herself to relax, and still was, but it was slowly getting easier. Fang had to feel proud of herself - she had only called to check up on Vanille once since she'd left Oerba that morning, and even if she was still driving her sister mad with her over-protectiveness, it was a victory and a sign that things were getting better.
Still...
A jolt of surprise ran through her at the the first jangle of keys at the door, and Fang immediately righted herself on the couch as she guiltily readjusted the decorative cushions she'd been sprawled over. Even so, the guilt did nothing to dampen the sudden eagerness she felt. How had Lightning fared against Fafnir? She wanted to see if she'd been right about the proper attributes and how closely it had been related to other dragon types -
The head of strawberry hair that poked in through the door was not Lightning's, and from the look on Serah's face, she seemed just as surprised to see Fang as Fang was to see her.
"Fang, what a lovely surprise!" Serah exclaimed, as she entered the house fully and hung her coat on one of the hooks by the door. She began to look around the house, craning her neck to peer into the kitchen uncertainly. "Is Lightning home?"
"Not yet," Fang replied, keeping her tone light and casual and carefully fixing a disarming smile to her lips. "Was stopping by to see Light, found the spare keys, and felt like escaping the nasty weather."
Fang deliberately left out the part where she hadn't exactly been invited or shown where said spare keys were located, but she was certain that Lightning wouldn't mind when she got home...
Well, provided that Fang wasn't then ignored by Lightning in favour of Serah. She tried not to feel too disappointed about that very real possibility, because petty jealousy was not an attractive trait. Fang was far worse with Vanille, she tried to remind herself, and Lightning never seemed to mind it.
She'd just been really looking forward to talking monsters and battles with Lightning, to watching Lightning's face light up in that odd sort of intensity as she pulled out more tactics to counter Fang's claims, and Fang realised that she was not going to get the same unguarded honesty about the viciousness of the fight while Serah was around.
Lightning didn't like worrying Serah, and it was a stance that Fang could well appreciate.
"So what brings you to New Bodhum, Fang?" Serah asked, and her tone was conversational as she sank down onto the couch next to Fang. "It's a bit of a trek from Oerba."
"Light had a mission today that she'd asked me a bit of advice on. Was wondering how it all went." Fang's glance cut over to Serah, wondering if she'd downplayed her eagerness enough. Serah was nodding to herself, her blue eyes suddenly very far away. Lightning's eyes were a shade lighter than Serah's, Fang noted vaguely, and she looked up at the pale ceiling as she swallowed her own reservations.
"But anyway, same question goes for you. What's brought you to this part of tiny little New Bodhum?" Fang forced herself to smile, and for a moment, it almost felt real.
"Just a social visit." Serah laughed softly, as if to herself. "These days, it can be hard to keep tabs on her, the way she zigzags all about Gran Pulse."
Fang frowned a little at that - it certainly hadn't been Fang's experience in dealing with Lightning. She didn't have time to dwell on that thought more as she heard heavy, tired-sounding footfalls on the wooden veranda outside the house, and she knew immediately that Lightning was finally home. Fang brutally crushed her first instinct, which was to rise to her feet and meet Lightning at the door. Crossing her arms against her chest, Fang schooled her features into a cool mask as she watched Serah push herself up and move to the door.
"Oh Eden, Lightning! What happened?" Serah gasped out, and Fang felt herself jerk as she looked up sharply, cold fear suddenly flooding her every fibre. That did not bode well for Lightning at all -
Oh.
Oh.
Lightning stood in the doorway, whole and mostly unharmed. Mostly. She was lacking the modified Guardian Corps uniform that Fang had never really seen her without before, and instead was wearing some rumpled gym clothing that must have spent a week stuffed inside the bag at Lightning's side. The woman scowled at Serah, and then at Fang, before turning sharply to toss her bag into the corner of the room with an abruptness that would have normally started to raise warning flags.
Fang couldn't stop staring, though. It wasn't so much the lack of uniform that was the kicker, and as Lightning ran a fevered, almost nervous hand through her shortened hair, Fang felt herself swallow - hard. It was the hair. The short, layered hair that still fell into her eyes but -
Fang stopped herself from making a tiny, strangled sound in her throat, feeling as though her entire body was blushing as her face grew hot and she started to blink rapidly.
Oh Etro.
That hair was just the right length to - Fang brutally shut those thoughts down, because they made her blush harder as she watched Lightning move about the room and throw herself down on one of the other couches.
Blushing was, in all fairness, the least of Fang's troubles at that moment, if the sudden heat pooling in her abdomen and between her legs was any indication. Etro, she wanted to get her fingers in those fair spikes and just bury her face in the side of Lightning's neck. The sudden, fierce desire for closeness and the feel of Lightning's body hard against Fang's was dizzying, and Fang was finding it hard to breathe, let alone focus.
"Lightning," Serah's voice was dismayed as she finally shook her head, moving around to sit on the arm of the couch Lightning had seated herself in. "What did you do to your hair?"
That is a damn good question, Fang thought, feeling just a little desperate as she noted the way Lightning's new haircut framed her profile. Etro, had she ever really noticed those cheekbones without swooning?
Lightning's gaze cut towards Fang unexpectedly, and her blue eyes betrayed nothing as the woman slowly shrugged. "Your notes on Fafnir were good, Fang. I took him out with little trouble."
Fang frowned and didn't say anything, glad that she'd been of some help but not exactly sure of what that had to do with Lightning's new haircut.
"It was just a bit too bad that you forgot to mention the acid blood. A cure spell only fixes my flesh, so I had to throw my uniform in the garbage, Fang." Lightning's mouth pressed into a hard, flat line, and she looked towards Serah as Fang swallowed in a vain attempt to get her throat and voice to work properly again. "A lot of my hair was damaged by the spray, so I got it cut. Story ends there."
Serah shot Fang a fierce look that was just a little unfair, and Fang crossed her arms defensively. At least the blame-game was keeping her mind off of how ridiculously attractive she was finding Lightning at that moment.
"You didn't tell her about the acid blood?" Serah demanded, thrusting a finger in Fang's direction and rising to her feet.
"Hardly on purpose," Fang shot back, rising to her feet and using her full height to her advantage as she loomed over Serah. To Serah's credit, she didn't even flinch, but then Fang supposed that she'd grown up with Lightning as her sister. Lightning... as if drawn by some sort of magnetic force, Fang glanced over to the woman again, feeling her cheeks flush even hotter.
Etro damn her hormones, they picked one hell of a bad time to get rowdy again. But the way Lightning's hair fell across her eyes now...
"Right," Serah bit out after a few moments, her eyes narrowing suspiciously at Fang before she turned back to Lightning. Fang shifted her shoulders irritably - was it her fault that she found Lightning's new, shorter hair incredibly attractive? "But... Lightning, your beautiful hair-"
"Will grow back." Lightning cut in over the top of Serah's complaint, exhaling sharply. "I'm lucky I got off so lightly, because the stuff could have gotten in my eyes. If that had happened, a cure spell would not have done a thing to help."
Fang felt a little ill at that statement, even if she was struggling to even glance in Lightning's direction. Serah was shaking her head, as if she couldn't believe it, and Fang irritably wondered what it was that Serah had been expecting. Maybe Fang was still a little put out over the fact that she had to share Lightning's attention, however wrong that was.
"I'm glad you're okay, but... Be more careful, next time. I'd rather you safe and whole." Serah sighed then, finally smiling at Lightning and darting across the room to give her a hug. "Snow's made plans for tonight, so I'd better be off."
As Fang carefully examined the hem of her tshirt, she heard Lightning scoff softly.
"Just checking up on me, then?" Lightning asked, her tone both long-suffering and amused. Fang heard Serah swat the other woman with a small laugh.
"Sometimes I like to know that you're still alive, and with your job, it doesn't hurt to go out of my way to check," Serah huffed, though there was no venom in her voice. "You should drop by after work more often."
"Right," Lightning agreed, walking Serah over to the door. "I'll make sure I do."
Fang wanted to say that Lightning seemed to have no trouble stopping by Oerba after work, so surely she could manage to cross tiny little New Bodhum once in a while, but she wisely held her tongue.
As Lightning opened the door for Serah, the younger Farron shot a mockingly severe look in Fang's direction.
"I hope you're going to make up for her hair, Fang," Serah said, before smiling. "But the same goes for you too. You're welcome at our place any day."
"Noted," Fang drawled, giving Serah one last lazy wave from where she sat. With that, Serah was gone and Lightning shut her front door with a weary sounding sigh.
Fang didn't say anything, unsure if she trusted herself to look in Lightning's general direction without making a damn fool of herself. She heard Lightning move over to the kitchen and lean against the countertop, and as the silence became more and more awkward, Fang knew she had to get a grip.
She was here because she enjoyed Lightning's company, and she'd wanted to talk about the mission with Fafnir. Acid blood aside, it sounded as though Lightning had made quick work of the beast in the end, and Fang wanted to know how much credit she was allowed to take for that little victory.
"Corrosive blood, huh? It rings a bell - probably heard something like that from the mark hunters who used to go after him," Fang finally said, finding her tongue as she looked over to Lightning. That hair almost made her forget how to speak, but she forced herself on in spite of how uneven her voice became. "So you say you got him?"
Lightning made a small sound in her throat - whether it was one of agreement or frustration was anyone's guess, and Fang looked down at her clasped hands.
"Weaknesses were as you said they were, and your guess as to Fafnir's nest was also correct. After five hundred years, though, he was far from the prime of his life. Against a l'Cie who went in prepared..." Lightning trailed off, and out of the corner of her eye, Fang saw the woman shrug. "I wouldn't have taken him down so easily if not for you."
"And the anatomy?" Fang ventured, casting Lightning a sidelong look. That was what she was most interested in. Was Fafnir an amphisbaena on steroids, or something unique?
"Your sketch of a wyvern's brachial arteries were dead on." Lightning snorted softly to herself, and it seemed like a great deal of her earlier irritation was fading. "I was able to get in and under Fafnir's wing."
"You used my strategy," Fang said, feeling her smile grow even as she tried to unsuccessfully stifle it. Yesterday, Lightning had been all about keeping her distance to Fafnir, while Fang had advocated ending it quickly. It was just a little flattering that Lightning had ended up seeing fit to take her advice...
Lightning didn't say anything, simply looking at Fang from where she leaned over the kitchen countertop. Fang felt her face flush a little hot again as she couldn't help but notice everything from the curves of Lightning's body to the relaxed posture the woman was lounging in. Fang swallowed, only now fully appreciating what it meant for Lightning to be so relaxed around her.
"Well," Fang tried eventually, disliking how weak her voice sounded. "Since I'm here, you want to do something? I can go grab us food, we can trade notes properly..."
Lightning tilted her head, her blue eyes questioning.
"Serah did say I had to make it up to you," Fang muttered, looking off to the side sourly as she hugged her knee to her chest.
"It was hardly your fault, Fang. Serah just likes to fuss over me." Lightning smiled a little, and the warm expression made Fang's heart flutter oddly in her chest. "On my way back from the Aelsii Ranges, I picked up a few of those trashy horror films you seem so fond of. You in?"
"You're on." Fang felt herself return the smile, and a part of her wondered if she'd be able to get through the evening without doing something monumentally stupid. She was willing to take that chance, though.
###
The discussion on the possible changes to Pulsian fauna and the possibility that Fafnir had not been a unique occurrence had been useful - and better yet, challenging. Fang hadn't had a chance to discuss her favourite, simple pleasures like hunting and bestiary since before the War of Transgression, and it was easy to simply lose herself in the arguments with Lightning.
Fang had even allowed herself get roped into checking out Fafnir's old nest with Lightning the next day, though that hadn't exactly been a tough thing to promise, especially when Lightning had been the one suggesting the visit.
Lightning had completely embraced the discussion, and seeing those blue eyes calculate and consider all of Fang's knowledge and conclusions had been dizzying in a whole new way. It had been enough to make her breath freeze in her throat and for butterflies to begin in her stomach - sometime during their hasty dinner at Lightning's kitchen table, Fang had to quietly admit that she may have fallen a lot harder for her closest friend than she'd first thought.
That haircut's impact on Fang's libido had faded a little as the evening had progressed. Now that they were watching the second of the C-list horror movies on Lightning's salvaged TV, Fang had allowed herself to try and relax.
Fang had seated herself on the worn-out old couch next to Lightning. She had both of her arms slung over the back of the couch, but every so often, she'd feel the press of Lightning's thigh or knee against her own when Lightning shifted her position. It was a battle not to react to the touch, for Fang to feign casualness when her entire being zeroed in on that touch and felt it awaken that hungry fire in her stomach.
Fang tried to focus her attention on the supernatural madman slaughtering the idiots on the tv screen, she really did, but she couldn't help but steal sidelong glances at Lightning. Lightning had her arms crossed, and Fang noted that she hadn't poked fun of the terrible special effects in close to fifteen minutes.
Her brows drawing sharply together in a frown, Fang tilted her head and looked more closely. She felt herself flush hot again as she examined Lightning's profile, only lit by whatever pale light was cast from the tv screen. Etro, that haircut. No matter the circumstances that it had been gotten under, no matter how grudgingly Lightning must have given in... It really highlighted all of the right features, and every little thing that made Fang go weak at the knees.
It made Fang's palms slippery with sweat, her mouth go dry, and she'd never wanted anything more than to just slide her hands through those feathery spikes and pull Lightning up against her - hard.
Lightning hadn't so much as twitched under Fang's now blatant stare, and Fang slowly realised that the woman had actually dozed off.
Fang laughed softly under her breath, because that was both adorable and amusing - and again she was struck by the level of trust Lightning had placed on her. Fang was still barely able to choose a spot to sit in a room without weighing up the combat benefits and choosing an exit strategy if things went to hell...
These were simpler times, there was no doubting that, but never before had the information hit her so soundly. Fang needed to make the most of her second - third - chance. She bit her lip as she considered Lightning, snoozing lightly on the couch.
Fang closed her eyes. Lightning trusted her, and Fang knew better than to risk that trust by doing something incredibly stupid, she really did. She still couldn't help the sudden, sharp desire to thread her fingers through Lightning's short spikes and see how they felt. Were they as soft as Fang thought they were?
"Fang. Are you okay?"
Fang's eyes snapped open, her entire body freezing as she wondered desperately if her expression had betrayed her, Lightning's eyes were open now - half-lidded and entirely unreadable. Fang's mouth felt like it was packed with sawdust, and her cheeks felt as though they were burning.
"I - I just. I'm sorry, Light." Fang swallowed unsteadily. Etro, did her voice have to sound so throaty?
"You sure you're sorry?" Lightning asked, her voice soft. She hadn't moved, but the expression in her eyes had softened, and Fang dared to let herself begin to entertain something that felt a lot like hope.
"Nice catch. That haircut..." Fang sighed. Honestly was always the best policy when it came to Lightning, so it was time to bite the bullet. "It's screwing with me. Hard."
Lightning actually looked a little surprised at that confession, and then she nodded to herself. Fang numbly watched as Lightning reached out, almost hesitatingly, to cup Fang's face with both of her hands. Her breath sticking in her throat, Fang blinked rapidly as Lightning swiftly leaned in, pressing her lips gently against Fang's. The sudden sensation - of Lightning's soft lips against her own, of Lightning's slightly shaky breath on her skin - sent shivers down Fang's spine and she felt dizzy for a moment.
This can't be real, Fang told herself, letting her eyes drift closed.
The desire that Fang had almost crushed flared up, scorching hot inside her stomach and between her legs, and it made her whimper against Lightning's mouth as she dared to taste Lightning's lower lip with her tongue. Lightning broke the kiss, and Fang could hear that the woman's breath had become ragged. Good.
"Fang." Lightning's voice was unsteady, and Fang let herself lean into the hand that Lightning still had against her cheek. "Fang, I want - I've wanted -"
"We both do," Fang said, just a little breathless herself and unable to help the smile curling the corners of her mouth. She leaned forward, capturing Lightning's lips again in something hotter and more intense, her hands moving from where they had clasped at the crook of Lightning's elbows to slide her fingers through Lightning's fair spikes, feeling her whole body flash hot and prickle with sweat and need as she combed them through to the back and gripped -
Fang made a tiny sound of need in her throat as she felt Lightning pull her forward by the front of her shirt, letting the other woman tug her over until she was straddling Lightning's hips. She pressed herself up against Lightning's body, the fingers of one of her hands still tangled in Lightning's short hair as she cupped the other woman's jaw with her other.
Fang bore down on her with a heated kiss that was sure to make Lightning's head swim. It was only when she felt Lightning's breath hitch that she pulled back slightly, a deep sense of satisfaction curling inside her as she took in Lightning's slightly dazed expression.
Need, Fang noted, carding her fingers through Lightning's hair and squeezing her eyes shut. Lightning needs it the same as I do.
A low groan escaped Fang's lips as the ache between her legs became sharper at that realisation, devouring every shred of her focus and leaving her desperate. Etro, kissing was all well and good, but it was nowhere near enough. She needed to go home and take a cold shower, stop or...
Keep going, Fang thought lazily as Lightning's arms wrapped tightly around her waist, pulling her close and tight again as Lightning nuzzled into Fang's chest.
"Stay a while longer?" Lightning's hands trailed down, rubbing hard and hot over Fang's thighs, trailing delicious friction from her hips and down to her knees. Fang arched her back at the touch, wondering if she was going to melt then and there in Lightning's lap. When Lightning's hands settled on her hips again, she realised that Lightning was waiting for an answer.
Blinking to try to focus her thoughts long enough to formulate some sort of coherent answer, Fang leaned in and breathed in Lightning's ear,
"You know I want to."
Lightning shifted under her, her hands pushing up and beneath Fang's shirt. Fang shuddered as Lightning's mouth tongue trailed over the curve of her collarbone, wet and hot and completely eliminating any stray thoughts of heading home to Oerba that night.
Fang took a hold of Lightning's shirt, tugging it swiftly over the other woman's head as she leaned forward to nip at Lightning's earlobe and neck. Lightning shuddered into her, breath ragged and her hands moving quickly as she returned the favour, tossing the garment over the other side of the couch as Fang revelled in the press of heated, smooth skin against her own.
This, this was exactly what Fang wanted. Warmth, heat and Lightning willingly taking every last shred of affection that Fang had left to offer. As Lightning pressed forward, slanting their mouths together hard, Fang groaned and broke away. It was a struggle to keep her head above the heady sensation and the scent of Lightning, of everything feeling so close. She felt Lightning's fingers pull at the belt and buttons of her jeans, felt Lightning's breath hard and hot against her chest as the woman trailed long, lingering kisses down from the hollow of her throat to between her breasts -
Fang heard herself murmur something vague and encouraging into Lightning's ear as the other woman pushed the jeans down as far past Fang's hips as their current position would allow. It was hurried and more hasty that she would have normally liked. Through the fog of lust in her mind Fang knew that, but she felt desperate and she needed it now.
Lightning was hesitating though, trailing her lips over and sucking on that delightful spot on her collarbone. She was trying to draw it out, maybe trying to take her time. Fang couldn't bear the idea of waiting any longer for Lightning, not when the feeling of desperate need was close to overwhelming. Fang nipped Lightning's ear again, bucking her hips hard against the teasing hand resting on her abdomen.
"Hurry up and damn well screw me, Farron," Fang hissed against Lightning's ear, and she felt Lightning's hot breath against her neck and throat as the woman laughed quietly at her demand.
Fang tightened her fingers in Lightning's short spikes, feeling her whole body shudder deliciously as Lightning's fingers pushed down and under the waistband of her underwear. The pressure was maddeningly teasing as Lightning ran a slow finger up her centre, but as gentle as it was, it made her breath go ragged and that awful, wonderful ache between her legs. As Lightning's fingers slipped down further, Fang bit out a curse as her legs began to tremble, and used her free arm to clutch at the back of the couch to steady herself.
"You really are more than ready," Lightning murmured, sounding a little smug about that, as she arched up to press a breathy kiss against the base of Fang's throat. A part of Fang was almost afraid that she was hurting Lightning with the sudden way her grip of Lightning's hair had tightened, hard.
The first, tiny circles of movement of Lightning's fingers against her had Fang groaning long and low. Fang buried her face into the crook of her arm, helplessly pressing herself against Lightning's hand more fully as she felt her thighs begin to tremble even harder, Fang started to vaguely wonder if her legs would continue to support her weight. As Lightning's fingertips twisted and pressed against Fang's clit in a way that made every nerve ending in her body seem to prickle, made her bite down on her lip as she muffled her moans against her forearm, Fang found that she no longer cared.
Scorching heat built up quickly inside her, sharp, dizzying and sweet, every muscle in her body going taut as Lightning rubbed faster on that spot that made Fang whimper and cry out -
Fang climaxed hard with a shudder and a deep, ragged groan, and she rocked into Lightning's hand as she rode out the last of the aftershocks. Her head swam, and everything seemed so fuzzy all of a sudden. Still struggling to breathe, let alone think, Fang let herself collapse bonelessly against Lightning, resting her forehead against the arm she'd slung over the back of the couch as the other woman withdrew her hand from Fang's jeans. Lightning wrapped both of her arms around Fang's waist, fingertips trailing over some of the old, raised scars on Fang's back.
"Better?" Lightning asked in a low voice as she shifted, and Fang lazily tilted her head to look Lightning in the eyes. In the pale light cast by the tv, Lightning's blue eyes were still intense and heated, her short spikes were in disarray, and Fang felt a smile curl the corners of her mouth.
"Much," Fang breathed. In spite of still feeling like she'd been run over by a pack of gorgonopsids, Fang's smile grew, and it must have looked as goofy as it felt, because Lightning began to laugh softly as she leaned over to kiss Fang on the lips.
With a lazy growl as the kiss ended, Fang reached a hand across to brush Lightning's warm cheek, before sliding it over to tangle in Lightning's hair again.
"That might be me taken care of, but this night is not nearly over," Fang said, feeling just a little pleased with herself as Lightning's eyes narrowed challengingly. "I am going to take my time with you."
"We'll see," Lightning said, shrugging almost imperceptibly, and Fang chuckled.
There was no better way to prove it than do it, right? As Fang rose to her feet - still feeling a bit unsteady as her muscles continued to insist that they were jelly - she turned to offer a hand to help Lightning to her feet. The other woman accepted her hand, but as soon as Lightning had gotten to her feet, Fang moved in close, dipping her head down and trailing languid kisses down Lightning's jaw and throat as she tried to wrap her arms snug about the woman's waist. Fang heard Lightning make a small sound of frustration and desperation that made a shiver of desire run down Fang's spine. Lightning slowly disentangled herself from Fang's hold, before beginning to tug her towards where Fang knew the bedroom was located.
It was going to be a long night, Fang realised with a lopsided smile as she pressed Lightning up against the closed door and let her kisses trail down Lightning's neck and over her breasts. Here, with Lightning, was where she needed and wanted to be. She couldn't help but feel like it was a real sign of things in her life getting better, of moving to embrace that future she'd never considered having for herself.
A future with Lightning... Fang smiled as Lightning groaned raggedly and dragged her bodily into the bedroom. Yeah, she liked the sound of that.