Final Fantasy XIII 1. Teaser

_*Note: This is written under the assumption that the events at the end of the game turned out much differently than they did. In other words, Fang and Vanille did not sacrifice themselves to become Ragnarok. Don't ask me what did happen, because that isn't the point of this FanFiction. The point of this FanFiction is to glorify the most amazing pairing in the world, FangxLightning. Also, I do not own anything Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy related. Those rights belong to Square Enix and etc._

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Their breaths came out in harsh pants as lips pulled away from each other, trying to grasp on to every last moment of the kiss. It wasn't long before they met again, crashing down with the intensity of the passion of their love for one another. Each touch was intensified, a new spark, a new flame. Fingers traced up her back, coming to rest where her bra clasped together and paused as if asking further permission. For a moment, lips remained apart as aqua irises gazed deep into mysterious golden-hazel ones. Words did not need to be exchanged as once again lips found one another and embraced and hands fumbled, moving to undo the clasp._  
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	2. Chapter I: Never Again

_*Note: This is written under the assumption that the events at the end of the game turned out much differently than they did. In other words, Fang and Vanille did not sacrifice themselves to become Ragnarok. Don't ask me what did happen, because that isn't the point of this FanFiction. The point of this FanFiction is to glorify the most amazing pairing in the world, FangxLightning. Also, I do not own anything Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy related. Those rights belong to Square Enix and etc.  
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A fierce scowl seemed to have permanently taken place on the Guardian Corps sergeant's visage. Fingers drummed impatiently against the chair's armrest as happy humming continued to fill the tension-ridden silence. Every so often aqua irises would wince and gain a further look of irritation to them, if that was even possible. Soft pink lips that had been held firmly in a solid line finally moved from their puckered position to speak. The words spoken were smothered in a poisonously sweet honey tone that completely contradicted the wonderful beautiful appearance of the woman who spoke them.

"Serah! How can this be taking so long?"

This was torture. No this was worse than torture in the elder Farron's mind. Why she had willingly agreed to this was beyond her. Her lips formed into a fierce scowl, as there was a plume of steam that came from behind her and a tugging at her pink silk locks of hair. She was getting ready to make another comment when the younger Farron's head popped over her own, a satisfied smile on the girl's features. That couldn't be a good sign.

"Geeze, you're so impatient Lightning," The younger girl mused before handing her sister a hand mirror. "Go on, look."

With a small, but emphasized exhalation of breath that had irritation diffused into it. Taking the mirror from her sister, the elder Farron stood, and turned so that her back was facing the mirror before moving her arm out and adjusting it so that she could see what her sister's project on her hair had been for the past . . . Well she'd lost time of how long she had been sitting there, but it seemed like hours. Her precious, gorgeous pink hair had been styled into an upswept style* that shaped her heart-shaped face perfectly with controlled; cascading curls that just reached where her neck met her shoulders. It was easy too tell that the younger Farron had put much effort into her work and it turned out beautifully. The scowl on the elder Farron's turned into a softer expression as she continued to admire her younger sister's work, exchanging the mirror from one hand to another, resisting the temptation to reach up and touch all of the delicate and intricate work. As her awed silence continued, a pout formed on the younger Farron's face. Although it was easy to tell that her older sister, at the very least, liked what she had done with her hair, the Serah wasn't about to give up a possible chance to tease and _try_ to get at least a smile from her sister.

"You don't like it, do you? Not even after all the hard work I put in to surprise you."

Lightning blinked her azure irises and turned to look at her sister. There was a sense of shock in the soldier's eyes at her sister's words. Just where in the world had she gotten the idea that she didn't like all of the work she had gone through? It was more like Lightning was awestruck more than anything. She'd been so caught up in the annoyance that her sister was going and playing dress up with her that she hardly even noticed what her sister had actually done.

"Serah, I -"

"HONEY I'M HOME! Now where is my gorgeous bride to be?"

An irritated sigh escaped Lightning's lips. This was after she had pushed Serah behind her and taken a defensive stance, reaching for her weapon that wasn't there, expecting that someone had broken into the Farron home by the racket that had been made. The loud booming and exuberant voice that resounded throughout the entire apartment, however, told them otherwise. That voice could belong to no one other than Snow Villiers, the younger Farron's fiancé and the elder's sooner–than-she would-like-to-be brother-in-law.

A wide smile seemed to pass over Serah's features after she got over the shock of the entire ruckus and having been protectively been put behind her sister. That smile always seemed to take a place on her features when _he_ was around "Wait, no! He can't see me!"

The younger Farron moved quicker than her sister had ever seen her move. Within seconds, she had gone from behind her sister to the bathroom and shutting the door behind her. Not even Lightning had noticed that she had vanished behind her until the soft _click_ of the door shutting behind the girl had issued. She had turned on her heel towards the noise beside her, seeing the door close the last centimeter with her sister safely behind her, leaving the elder Farron to deal with her fiancé. Alone.

"Serah," Lightning hissed as she took a step towards the bathroom door. Just as she did so, the door to the other side of her, the door that led to the main part of the apartment opened, and the sergeant froze.

"There you are! I can't believe you were hiding from me!"

The dull _thud_ of boots on the floor vibrated from behind Lightning. Before brawny arms could capture her in a rib-crushing bear hug and one of those utterly disgusting lips were put anywhere near hers because the male mistook her for her sister, the elder Farron whipped around to face Snow. Upon doing so, she seemed to take the bear of a man off-guard.

"Lightning . . .Is that _you_?"

The tone of the pale blonde male's voice was almost skeptical as he looked at the elder Farron. It was quite a sight to see compared to what the Guardian Corps sergeant normally looked like. Of course, there was her hair that was still up in the delicate, eloquent, and intricate style that Serah had just completed. Not to mention that she was wearing a black strapless silk corset that accented every curve of her body with her tan mini skirt of black high-topped shorts. Although the latter part of her current attire was easily defined as part of the elder Farron, the former didn't do so as much. Snow found himself at a loss for words for a moment before the woman placed a hand on her hip and took a stance that had Lightning written all over it. Snow chuckled lightly, scratching at the back of his head that was covered with a black bandana, as usual. Sheepishly, he greeted his soon-to-be-sister in law. "Well hey there Lightning. You look . . . Uh . . . Nice."

Azure eyes rolled at the pale blonde's comment. It was such a typical snow comment that it wasn't even funny. Then again, he wasn't used to seeing Lightning all dolled up, hell, she wasn't exactly used to it either. The last time she had let Serah play dress up with her was . . . Well when they had been a lot younger.

"'_NICE'?_ Snow Villiers, is that _all_ you can say?"

Well it seemed someone was unhappy as the younger Farron yelled out without opening the door to the bathroom. Snow winced slightly, half expecting his fiancée to come out from behind him or something and start hitting him for not complementing her sister correctly. No such action came however, and he looked around, sapphire eyes scanning for the younger Farron, before looking at Lightning questing. An exasperated sigh escaped the pinkette's lips at his stupidity before making a slight motion with her head towards the bathroom. The ever-present goofy grin that was normally on his face returned as he started towards the bathroom.

"Serah, I didn't know that we were playing hide-and-seek."

"Go away Snow!"

"Serah . . ."

"I said _go away_!"

"C'mon Serah, don't be like that. It's just that I've never seen Light all . . . Well, like _that_. Please come out."

"_No_!"

"Serah! _Why not_!"

"Because it's bad luck to see the bride before the wedding."

"But it isn't even the wedding. It's just the rehearsal dinner."

"I don't care!"

"_Seeerraaaah_!"

"Lightning! Do something about him! Kick him out _or something_!"

Snow turned to the elder Farron with a frustrated look on his visage. He could not, for the life of him, figure out why his fiancée was being so completely and utterly difficult. The quizzed look on his features caused a small smirk to form on Lightning's face. Sometimes he was just a little too hard headed for his own good. When his sapphire gaze met her aqua one, however, the smirk disappeared and was replaced with a look of indifference. She simply shrugged in response, as if saying there was nothing that she could do about her younger sister. Snow clenched his fist and looked as though he was going to take out his frustration on something for a moment before releasing his fist and a heavy exhalation of breath. What other choice did he have but to give into his fiancée's demands?

For the longest of times, the pale blonde male seemed to stand, trying to think, mulling over ideas of how he could get to see his Serah. He would go crazy if he didn't see her for much longer. All the while, the Guardian Corps sergeant stood, waiting for his next move. Technically, she _did_ have her sister's permissions to "kick him out." Once again, Snow let out a heavy, but this time defeated, sigh. Once again his boots made dull thuds against the floor as he headed for the bedroom door, which he had left open.

"Well then . . . I guess I'll be seeing you later then Lightning."

There was actually a look of hurt to the male's features, especially apparent in his sapphire eyes. Not being able to understand what Serah was doing to him seemed almost agonizing to him. The indifferent look upon Lightning's face faltered slightly as she saw that look on his face. It almost looked as though he actually doubted himself. Wait. Snow? Doubting himself? Did those words even go together in the same sentence? The elder Farron moved across the room to where he was standing in the doorway, staring at the door, which his fiancée was hiding behind.

"Don't worry, she's just trying to make things special."

One of life's rarities then appeared on the elder Farron's face, a smile. She gently placed a slender hand on one of Snow's brawny arms in reassurance. Sapphire orbs met azure orbs and for a moment, they were silent. No words really had to be exchanged. The two shared at least one thing in common, their love for Serah. A sheepish grin once more made its way across Snow's features, all traces of doubt disappearing.

"I guess you're right Lighting." Snow stated with his hopes reassured. He started to go but paused from exiting once more and in a louder tone said, "Serah, I love you!"

A heavy sigh escaped Lightning's lips at his loud eagerness. Did he _want_ the neighbors to hear him? Wait. Just scratch that last question. The gentle giant of a man finally made his way out of the Farron residence. Lightning made sure that he was gone before locking the deadbolt on the front door, the lock on the bedroom, and closing all of the curtains. Only then did she go to the bathroom door and rap lightly on it with her knuckles.

"He's gone. Let's get the rest of this over with."

FIN Chapitre Un

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End Notes:

*Lightning's hair: .

So I may have lied a little bit. Yes, this is a FLight FanFiction. Now I know you're going to ask, "If it's FLight, where the hell is Fang and all the sexing D:" It's coming, it's coming, I promise. Just be patient. Such things age as wine, time progresses, patience holds, and the drink is of God's ambrosia.

English


	3. Chapter II: Summer Love

_*Note: This is written under the assumption that the events at the end of the game turned out much differently than they did. In other words, Fang and Vanille did not sacrifice themselves to become Ragnarok. Don't ask me what did happen, because that isn't the point of this FanFiction. The point of this FanFiction is to glorify the most amazing pairing in the world, FangxLightning. Also, I do not own anything Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy related. Those rights belong to Square Enix and etc.  


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The sky was painted with the yellows, oranges, pinks, purples, and other various colours of the sun setting over the horizon. They blended together from the lightest of hues closest to where the water appeared to meet the sky fall off the earth to the midnight black of the night sky appearing high in the atmosphere. There was not a single cloud in the sky, void of imperfection. The sea was calm as the waves gently and rhythmically lapped up onto the white sand of the beach. It was a perfectly beautiful summer night, a perfectly wonderful night for a party, or in this case, a rehearsal dinner for a much anticipated wedding.

"Well Farron, I must say you look quite stunning."

Black folds of satin fluttered as the Guardian Corps sergeant turned at the familiar voice that had addressed her. She had been resting her forearms against the railing of the patio that looked out to the ocean. There was a murmur from the inside of the restaurant where all of the guests were waiting for the arrival of the bride and groom to be. The elder Farron had taken a moment to slip away from the crowd to be by herself, knowing she wouldn't get such a moment again for the rest of the night. If the elder Farron's appearance could even be put into words, stunning was definitely among the adjectives that would be used to describe her beauty. Serah had definitely taken advantage of the fact that her sister had allowed her to play beauty artist, especially seeing that it could be the last time.

As the light caught the silk pink locks styled in the intricate updo, it seemed to glow and sparkle. This was due to small, glitter covered white rose clips that had been interwoven into the delicate curls and waves of her hair. When they captured the light, the gleamed and glittered, subtly spreading the radiance all about Lightning's appearance. Every feature in her visage seemed to be further defined and enhanced by the way Serah had done her make-up – something Lightning never wore.

Perfect posture was even more pronounced by the lack of covering of Lightning's shoulders. A black strapless sweetheart dress draped over her slender, albeit toned, figure, fitting to the curves of her torso before fanning out slightly from the waist down. Although the neckline, which gracefully curved over her bustline and met in the middle, easily defined the elder Faron's figure, the silk corset, which was worn underneath the dress, seemed to add an extra emphasis. At first the black gown, which adorned her body, seemed fairly simple – black, strapless, with a classic sweetheart neckline, and a flowing skirt that cascaded down to the floor, gently brushing the ground and covering the silver heels which her feet adorned. Despite its simple appearance, the dress was actually quite intricate much like anything the Guardian Corps sergeant wore. Jewels lined the upper part of the bustling, meeting in the middle and trailing down and ending at the waist. The inner part of the skirt was also adorned with the gems. The outer part of the skirt was a chiffon layer that wrapped from the sides of the waist and around the back. While standing, the dress seemed to simply be of one piece, but when Lightning moved, the chiffon flared and flowed out with her graceful movements.

Despite the fact that the way Lightning was dressed and looked could be described in words, there was so much more to it than that. Words cannot always explain everything, such as the wondrous and mysterious beauty that surrounded the elder Farron.

Lighting's right arm lifted, bent at the elbow at a ninety-degree angle and hovered several inches from the front of her chest as she addressed the person whom had approached her, "Lieutenant."

"At ease Farron. We're not on duty. We're at your sister's wedding."

"Rehearsal dinner . . . Sir."

Azure eyes met those of her superior, Lieutenant Amodar. It was difficult for the Guardian Corps sergeant to not act in the way she would on the field when on duty with her superior officer, even when he was not in uniform, but a suit of sorts that looked fairly awkward on his brawny body. The man was still the one whom she had been directly under for sometime now, and more out of habit than anything did she act the way she just had. Although she seemed slightly distressed by her behavior being pointed out, there seemed to be more to it than that. She actually seemed to be quite uncomfortable. The expression on her visage was quite the indicator that this social event was highly out of the elder Farron's comfort zone. Wearing a dress, heels, make-up, all of the mindless happy chatter, the possibility of having to dance, and deal with other people, were all factors that led to her discomfort. Not to mention that her younger sister that she loved so dearly was soon going to be married.

"You're afraid you are going to loose her."

"I'm sorry? . . . Sir?

"Your sister. You feel like you are going to loose her now that she's getting married, don't you?"

Lightning looked up to her superior, azure eyes portraying the fact that he was indeed correct. A light chuckle escaped from Amodar's lips when he saw that he was right. There was almost a feeling of déjà vu to the conversation. One of his burly hands found its place on one of the young woman's exposed slender shoulders.

"Think of your sister and your future Farron."

It took Lighting several moments to register what her superior. When she seemed to understand, the understanding reflected in her azure eyes and she nodded slightly. The sergeant then bowed slightly towards her superior before acknowledging his words, "Sir . . . Thank you."

The lieutenant's trademark grin appeared on his face as the inner turmoil his subordinate was feeling had been dealt with, if only the slightest bit.

"So I hear you're finally leaving the Guardian Corps for officer training, eh Farron?"

Surprise slightly colored Lightning's face before nodding, almost in an embarrassed way before replying, "Uh, sir, yes sir."

"Good to hear Farron. You are far past due for a promotion. Just keep your nose out of trouble, alright?"

A silence spread over the two as Lightning thought about Amodar's words. He'd said them to her before, before all hell had been released on Cocoon. Now though, it was actually coming true. In fact, her training for becoming an officer would begin shortly after all of the celebration events for Snow and Serah's wedding. Perhaps he was right, she was afraid of loosing Serah now that she was going on and getting married, moving on in her life. A gentle sigh escaped the elder Farron's lips as her mind started to wonder elsewhere. Luckily Amodar was there to bring her back to reality.

"Relax Farron, for your sister's sake."

Lightning was about to reply to the lieutenant, but was forced to look in the way he was tilting his head, seeing as it obviously was indicating something. The murmur from onside the restaurant had picked up an as Lightning turned to look at what the commotion was about. It seemed the much-awaited appearance of the bride and groom to be had finally occurred as people crowded around Snow and Serah.

"Shouldn't you be in there Farron?"

For a moment azure eyes blinked before the words that Amodar had said hit Lightning. When she realized everything that was going on, she wanted to smack herself in the face. Of course she was supposed to be in there, seeing as she had practically sworn that she would be there for Serah throughout the entire wedding thing. Why had she agreed to that again? Right, it was Serah, her sister who she loved dearly and would do anything for, even if it meant going to the ends of the world, or involving herself in the much too dramatic and stressful affairs of a wedding.

In a way, it was actually quite funny in how Lightning wasn't sure what to do. She seemed quite flustered and looked up to her lieutenant as of to what to do. Amodar simply chuckled and turned Lightning towards to indoor part of the restaurant.

The atmosphere from the calmness outside was much different than that of inside. It was noisy and almost chaotic in a way. People were _everywhere_. Since when did Snow and Serah know that many people? The elder Farron was fairly sure that they hadn't invited _that _many people. Then again, she could be wrong with all that had gone into planning the wedding and all of the other celebratory aspects to it.

"Lightning!"

Despite the amount of noise in the room, the elder Farron could hear someone distinctly calling her name. Spinning on her hell, more careful than usual in order to not fall over, the pink haired woman turned towards the direction the voice had come from. Looking through the seemingly huge mass of people, azure eyes took in the sight of an all too familiar dark afro with a yellow speck sticking through. Sazh Katzroy made his way through the various people that Lightning didn't even know to meet the Guardian Corps sergeant. In one arm he supported another afro bearing person, his young son Dajh. Both sported suits, Sazh had cleaned himself up and Dajh looked as adorable as ever.

"Well it looks like someone is all dressed up and ready for the show."

"You don't look all that bad yourself for an old man."

The two shared a brief moment of calm within the middle of chaos. Although there had been a smile on both Sazh and Lightning's faces, the one on Lightning's soon faded as she looked around to find her sister, seeing that was where she needed to be. The older male noticed her searching and looked around as well. After all, Snow and Serah should pretty much be the center of attention, which they were of course.

Snow looked almost ridiculous wearing something other than his usual attire that was suited to his brawny figure. They had to have custom clothing made just for him so it would fit right. Currently he was wearing the suit, which looked, entirely out of place of him. He was no longer wearing the black bandana around his head, which left his head of pale blonde hair to be exposed. He'd refused to wear a tie, at least for the rehearsal dinner, which he tried to make seem as casual as possible, even though everyone else was for the most part, dressed up. It was Snow Villiers, what else would anyone expect? The large, almost impossible to miss man was entertaining a large group of friends. His voice carried around the room once one focused on it. He was talking about something "heroic" that he had done, obviously. His voice was filled with enthusiasm and optimism as he told the story of his fight. While talking he was highly animated, not only using hand motions, but practically his whole body to portray his words. A big grin was on his face as he spoke and it was obvious that he was enjoying being a show off and making himself seem so great.

Serah, on the other hand, was rather quiet. She stood to the side of her fiancé as he told his tale, a gentle smile on her face. She too, like her sister was quite stunning. Her silk pink hair, much the same colour as Lightning's was not in the usual side ponytail that she wore. Instead it was down, her bangs framing her face, while the remainder of her hair was pulled back on top, but the rest was loose and the curls cascaded down her back. Her dress was actually fairly simplistic for the bride-to-be, especially compared to some of the other dresses that were worn at the party, including Lightning's. It was of a dark coral colour with a halter neck. It hugged to her body perfectly and covered everything, save for the 'V' formed by the halter part of the dress and her shoulders and arms. The last half of the skirt flared out and swayed with the girl's movements, which there were few of as she stood by her fiancé's side.

It was odd how she stood off the side of Snow while he told his story. Then again, the way he moved and the build of his body, it was probably a good idea to keep some distance when he was moving about in such an animated manner. He, however, seemed to notice that she was off a little ways from him and frowned slightly. He then moved over to her, grasping the younger Farron in his arms and planting a kiss on her lips. At that, everyone around them seemed to cheer.

"Those two seem happy."

"Yeah."

"What about you Lighting?"

Azure eyes met brown ones for a moment before quickly looking away. Lightning had a brief answer for that, "I'm fine."

It seemed that Sazh had more to comment on that, but Lightning was already moving away from him and towards her sister and soon-to-be-brother-in-law. The elder man just shrugged, knowing that anything he had to say probably wouldn't get through to the woman anyways, instead he turned to his son.

"So you ready for your big day tomorrow?"

"Yes Daddy!"

"That's my boy," The father poked his son in the nose with his free hand and the Chocobo chick in his hair let out a happy chirp. Funny how things worked out, Sazh would have never seen his adorable son as the ring bearer at a wedding. Then again, who would have thought that all hell would have broken out on Cocoon as it had. Life had it

"Ah! There's the other wonderful woman who made all of this happen!"

Snow's voice was so much louder when you got close to him. He saw the elder moving through the crowd towards them and then people made a path for her when he pointed her out. Just what she wanted, more attention put on her. Walking around and trying not to trip in stilettos was bad enough. When she reached the happy soon-to-be couple. However, Snow pulled her into one of his massive arms, which he draped around her slender shoulders and grinned like the foolish man he was. If only this wasn't the rehearsal dinner for _his_ wedding, otherwise Lightning would be reminding him about some personal boundaries. Instead a half smile, half grimace took place on her features as she inwardly cursed Snow.

Clearing his throat, however, Snow decided to allow more words to come out of his mouth. "Well, I think everyone's here, so let's get this show on the road!"

There were cheers from the crowd and people started moving towards the tables that were set up. Snow stood with his arms around the Farron sisters while everyone else moved to their assigned seats so that the whole "rehearsal dinner" part of the rehearsal dinner could actually take place.

Once the mass of a crowd had moved to sit, Snow escorted the two beautiful young women to the front of all of them to where the table was set up fro the bride and groom as well as family. Lightning spent the entire time inwardly cursing and trying to maintain her composure, seeing how well she went along with events such as this especially events that put all the attention or her, or at least a good portion.

For once, not being totally clueless, Snow moved and pulled out the chairs for both Serah and Lightning at the table before sitting himself. In fact, after they were sitting, he didn't sit quite yet. Instead he moved to an area in front of their table that would later serve as a dance floor. Booming voice and all, he surely got everyone's attention as he addressed the crowd.

"Well, I just wanted to thank everyone for coming tonight. Hope you all have as much fun as Serah and I do-" The gentle giant of a man paused to wink for even more of a dramatic effect. Not only that, it also caused his bride-to-be to blush rather brightly and bring an even bigger grin to Snow's face. "And that's about all I have to say. But, Lightning has something to say before we eat."

The pale blonde then looked to his soon-to-be sister in law and made a slight motion with his hand for her to come up to center-stage. The look on the Guardian Corps Sergeant said she wanted to do anything but that. She threw a glance at her sister who shook her head, as if to tell Lightning that it wasn't planned. The elder Farron just looked at Snow, now with the desire to punch his face in and wipe the goofy grin off his face.

"Well go on sunshine. You got cold feet or somethin'?"

FIN Chapitre Deux

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End Note:

First of all, I wish I could provide you with links of all the dresses and hairstyles that I'm describing. It's probably make visualizing them much easier. Bear with me though; I'm trying to provide the best description possible for them. I probably, for the most part, will not be updating this quickly. Finals coming up, school in general, blah, blah, blah. I'm already guessing I went in and out of character, but crossing my fingers that I stayed in for the most part, hopefully. And I know I said that the FLight part was coming, just not yet. Next chapter! I promise! Feel free to bitch at me, as you will. I just feel that the set up is necessary. Hopefully, if you stick around, your patience will be greatly rewarded. ;D

English


	4. Chapter III: Can't Catch A Break

_*Note: This is written under the assumption that the events at the end of the game turned out much differently than they did. In other words, Fang and Vanille did not sacrifice themselves to become Ragnarok. Don't ask me what did happen, because that isn't the point of this FanFiction. The point of this FanFiction is to glorify the most amazing pairing in the world, FangxLightning. Also, I do not own anything Final Fantasy XIII or Final Fantasy related. Those rights belong to Square Enix and etc.  
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"D'awww. Fang, it looks like they already started!"

"Well, I s'ppose we're jus' gunna have to go crash the party then."

"_Fang._"

"You know I'm kiddin' Vanille."

Amongst the murmur of the waves and the party in the restaurant, the sound of heels _clacking_ against pavement echoed through the open air of Bodhum Beach. Torches burned brightly along the path that led to the restaurant. The sun had set further in the sky, making the once brilliant colours fade and become duller and allowing the midnight black begin to descend as if it were a curtain coming down to set the stage for the next scene.

Two figures moved down the path and glided up the steps to the restaurant at a slightly quickened pace. They were obviously late comers to the dinner. But better late than never, right?

A thickly accented voice filled the air of the entry to the restaurant as the two that had just entered stopped to take in the scene before them. "Hmph. Quite a party they got 'ere."

The entire restaurant had practically been transformed with decorations. The tables were covered in white tablecloths and all had extravagant centerpieces composed of flowers and candles that were surrounded by the place settings. Each place setting had a little card at it, indicating who was to sit at that particular place. Semi-transparent black cloth hung down from a center point in the ceiling and then swooped down and rose again as it reached the point where the wall met the ceiling. Above this canopy of sorts, lights hung down, dulled by the cloth and creating a sort of twilight affect in the room.

Men and women in their formal evening attire milled about what open space there was. Indistinct murmurs filled the air, which seemed to be filled with an overall excitement and happiness. It was a celebration for two people getting married after all; it should be something filled with happiness and joy. Yet a certain sense of discomfort filled the air around the two that had just entered the restaurant to join in on the celebration.

Vibrant green eyes flickered from one spot to another, taking in all the sights around them. Striking red hair flowed into gentle curls around a young feminine face and down slightly past the shoulders of the fairly short teen. The wide, shining smile on her visage, however, made up for the height difference. The dress she wore was cute and a little bit flirty, quite suiting for a girl of nineteen. Or at least for a girl who appeared to be nineteen. The dress was a deep crimson with only one thick shoulder strap that went from the right side of her body as a part of the bodice thinning into a strap as it curved over her left shoulder and met her back. The bust of the dress was adorned with sparkling crimson beads that glimmered in the light. Beyond that, the dress was quite simple, flowing down to just above her knees, leaving the remainder of her skinny legs exposed, save for the simple golden heel on her feet.

"Look, there they are!"

A twig thin arm popped into the air and pointed to the locus of attention of the partygoers. The cool emerald eyes of the second young woman followed the direction of which the arm was pointing and a small 'hmph' seemed to escape pink toned lips.

"Looks like tough guy is havin' himself a good time."

While speaking, the taller and elder of the two women shifted her weight to her right foot, having chiffon sway with the movement, and pacing her right hand on her right hip as well. Her sapphire dress seemed, well quite different from what most women would wear. Then again, Oerba yun Fang _was not_ most women. Everything until the skirt hit about mid-thigh was tight to every single contour of her tanned, lithe body. The halter and bodice were adorned with gleaming silver jewels, while the remainder was undecorated. Once the dress hit the middle of her thighs, however, translucent chiffon wrapped around the top in a thick layer. On the right, the dress would remain mid-thigh length, but would flow to the floor from the middle of the dress towards the left to the floor and wrap around until it met about the middle of her right thigh. Her neck was decorated in tribal jewelry, earrings that resembled purple fangs adorned her ears, an interesting beast-like tattoo was on her right shoulder, a beauty mark was under her right eye, and wavy dark brown hair with a tint of red that seemed to be perfectly disorganized all made the female distinctly unique. One could say that she was quite the sight to behold, especially at such an event as this.

The two Pulsians' eyes drifted to where the pale blonde headed Snow and the two Farron sisters stood. They didn't seem to be the only members of their new family present though. Through the crowd they could easily pick out two distinct afros and, albeit harder to pick out, a head of silvery locks. It seemed as though the entire gang was back together again, or at least in the same room, soon to be reunited. Starting to move through the crowd, the familiar, somewhat obnoxious voice of Snow boomed over the crowd, _"Well I think everyone's here. So let's get this show on the road!"_

"As quick to go as ever."

"Fang!"

"I'm just sayin.'"

"It's his wedding though. And what else would you expect?"

"Not much."

The bad thing about showing up late - not knowing where your seat is on advanced. The Pulsians watched as the guests began to fill up all of the seats until the only ones left were the ones at the largest table in the center of them all where Snow was leading his bride-to-be and soon-to-be sister-in-law. It wasn't surprising to see that the others whom they had picked out in the crowd were also sitting at the table.

"Looks like tha's where we're sittin'"

While the two made their way up to the place that they had to be sitting, because there was no other place, Snow's voice continued to vibrate over the crowd, thanking everyone for coming, hope they have a good time, blah, blah, blah. Then he said _it_, the most hilarious thing that the elder Pulsian had heard in awhile. Lightning, give a speech? At a wedding? Well that was something that Fang was glad that she was there to witness, because she wouldn't have believed it otherwise. She paused slightly as she and Vanille reached the table where the others were. The elder Farron had yet to move, which meant someone was improvising, and it sure as hell wasn't her. Fang placed her right hand on her hip once again and shifted her weight, waiting for the Guardian Corps sergeant to move. The whole time, an amused grin was on the Pulsian's face.

"Well go on sunshine. You got cold feet or somethin'?"

All eyes at the table, as well as those nearby turned their attention to the tan, lithe woman who spoke, or rather taunted.

"Fang! . . . Vanille!"

`It was the silver haired teen who called out the names of the two familiar Pulsians. There was a faint glimmer of pink to the Hope's cheeks at the mentioning of the younger Pulsian. All of the people at the table, including Snow had their smiles widen at the sight of the two members of their "family," save for Lightning, whom had more of a grimace mixed with a scowl on her face. Smiles were returned by Fang and Vanille, especially Fang who seemed to be enjoying the situation Lightning was in just a tad too much.

The eyes of the guests were fixed on the group; all were waiting for something to happen. There was an awkward and unnerving silence that filled the room. Finally, a heavy sigh escaped from Lightning's lips and she moved to stand. The sound of her chair sliding against the floor, followed by the clicking of heels filled the room where a pen could be dropped and heard. As Lightning moved to the front, where Snow was, Fang and Vanille traversed the distance to their seats.

Snow's big goofy grin had yet to be wiped off his face, although as Lightning approached him, it did falter quite a bit. The azure glare that was directed at him was anything but pleasant. Of course she would be just a tad miffed by the stunt he had pulled, Snow had figured that much, but Lightning looked a hell lot more than just miffed.

"Light. . . For Serah?"

It took a moment for Lightning's glare to falter as she came to realize what Snow was trying to pull. Why in the world did he have to be such an idiot and have to do things without planning? Now it was up to her to try to make it look like this entire thing wasn't on the spur of the moment as it was. Sometimes she really hated cleaning up after him for her sister's sake.

The look on Snow's visage seemed to gain something of desperation as Lightning closed the gap between them and didn't respond. A slight nod from the pink haired soldier alerted him that she would go through with his plan. At that moment, obvious relief was on the pale blonde's face. He wasn't going to get his ass served on a silver platter, and Lightning wasn't going to make him look like an idiot. At least it didn't seem that way. As the two switched places, guests clapped, and cheered, and even cat called, but fell into a murmured silence as Lightning turned to look at them.

" . . . Um. Well I'm sure you would all rather be celebrating rather than hear me talk so I'll make this short."

Taking a moment to swallow the hard lump that had formed in her throat, Lightning tried to ignore the fact that she was standing in front of all of the people that were there. She took that moment to gain any thoughts she could in an attempt to make up some sort of speech on the spot. Sure she was one to think quickly on her feet, on the battlefield, but this was an entirely different situation. Snow was seriously going to owe her for this.

"I suppose that this would be a more. . er. . . formal of a toast if there was some champagne, but I suppose we'll have to do without."

Again, the elder Farron paused in order to further plan her speech out. Luckily her words had gotten some laughs. It may have seemed that her pausing was planned to draw a reaction from the crowd. Anyone who knew her well enough though knew that she was simply stalling. Those, whoever, her truly knew her would see the great discomfort that the soldier was feeling, that she was struggling and trying desperately to pull things together. The way she slightly gnawed down on her lower lip with her teeth, the way she stood with her back as straight as it could possibly go, the way her azure eyes stayed on one fixed position and nowhere else and the way her hands twitched slightly all showed signs that she was practically ready to bolt, but only a select few would ever notice these signs. Yet, the Guardian Corps sergeant stood and carried on as best she could.

"Honestly, I never thought I'd see the day where these two would be together, yet here we all are. I suppose the impossible was made possible. So, to Snow and Serah, may your lives be filled with joy and peace. Never let hope die."

Well Lightning was sure about one thing, making her speech short. There almost seemed to be a slight tremble to her voice as she finished, but showed no sign of hesitation. When done speaking, she didn't bolt out the door like it looked like she would of. She simply moved back to the table and sat down before everyone applauded her. Serah actually looked quite touched by her sister's words and a smile took place that would be there for most of the remainder of the night. She wasn't the only one smiling. All of those in their little dysfunctional family seemed to have a smirk, grin, or smile of some sort on their faces, Snow's being the widest of all.

Snow, never ceasing to be full of energy pumped his fist into the air as he yellrd out, "Let's get this party started!"

And the night of celebration ensued.

FIN Chapitre Trois

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End Note:

So, just to clarify things if you were confused at the beginning, I backtracked slightly. When I wrote chapter II, I really didn't have anything more than a vague idea where I was going with the story. When I was done, I realized that I just had Fang pretty much appear out of _nowhere _with no explanation. Whoops. So I wrote the beginning of this chapter I explained that little bit and then caught up to current time in the story. Think of it kinda like a DVR moment or something. Lol :/ Hopefully that cleared up any confusions you may have had, if you had any and didn't make you more confused. Yes if you were going to ask, I did hint at a little HopexVanille, but I really have no intention of expanding on that. At least not in this FanFiction Also, just a slight side note, with the announcement of Final Fantasy XIII-2, I have quite a few ideas in store, so hopefully that'll keep you hooked ;D. Thank you all for reading and all your comments! I really do appreciate it.

English


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Final Fantasy XIII, Drama, Romance