Arguing Is Half The Fun

Arguing Is Half The Fun (Making Up Is The Other Half)

Fang loved a good argument. She also loved Lightning. So a good argument with Lightning was like Christmas come early. It didn’t matter what they argued about. It could be about tomorrow’s weather. It could be about what brand of toothpaste they should buy. Heck, it could even be about whether they spent enough time in bed.

Lightning, of course, wanted them to spend more time in bed. Fang disagreed – if only because she thought Lightning looked good in the throes of passion in the kitchen… the shower… the couch… hell, Lightning looked pretty awesome in the throes of passion anywhere.

Lightning had a certain glow about her during an argument, and Fang couldn’t get enough of it. Perhaps it was the imminent threat of bodily injury. Fang always had loved danger. Or perhaps it was the way Lightning’s cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkled when she was doing her level best to prove Fang wrong because she couldn’t stand to lose. Well, neither could Fang.

An argument was good. Lightning was good. An argument with Lightning was very good. But an argument with Lightning that Fang won? There weren’t too many things better than that, and most of them couldn’t be done in public or in the presence of their friends. They could, however, be done in Lightning’s office at the Guardian Corps head quarters. Call Fang a little kinky, but there was something so… hot about Lightning taking charge. Hopefully, next time Lightning would remember to throw her stapler off her desk because Fang still had a stapler-shaped bruise on her back.

The only bruises she wanted were in the shape of Lightning’s fingers.

Fang didn’t mind it too much when Lightning won their arguments. Lightning was always happy when she won, and a happy Lightning was a frisky Lightning. However, there were times when Fang simply could not bear to lose. Now was one of those times. Nobody, not even Lighting, got to make fun of her sari.

“Look.” Lightning was draped over Fang’s lap. “It’s not that I don’t like how your sari looks, I do.” She proved it by taking a long look at Fang’s sari and the toned body beneath it. “I just don’t think it’s very practical. It probably gets caught on things all the time.”

Fang willed herself to be strong. Lightning was clearly trying to use her feminine wiles to win the argument. It would be so easy to give in, but her sari was not something people got to make fun of. “Lightning, I’ve been fighting in my sari for years. Have you ever seen it get caught on anything?”

“No, but I bet it’s happened before. The fact that you’ve been lucky so far is no reason to avoid changing into something more practical.” Lightning leaned over, and Fang’s face was suddenly only a few inches from her bust. Damn her feminine wiles!

“And what would be more practical?” Fang forced herself to meet Lightning’s eyes. Oh, Lightning knew exactly what she was doing. That minx. “I could always fight naked if you don’t want my clothes to catch on anything.”

Something dark stirred in Lightning’s gaze. Fang’s belly clenched at the sight of it. “Fang, you are not fighting naked. The only who gets to see you naked is me.” Lightning’s voice was all silken menace and velvet steel. She patted Fang on the cheek. “Understand?”

Fang bit back a smirk. Possessive and murderous Lightning was so cute and cuddly. But she did have a sneaking suspicion that Lightning probably was crazy enough to carry out some of her threats. Oh well, Fang liked to live dangerously. Fang tugged Lightning’s hand over to her lips and kissed her knuckles.

“Fine, fine.” Fang leered at Lightning’s clothing. “But I don’t think I should be taking fashion advice from you.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Lightning pulled away and glared.

“You wear a skirt into battle, Lightning, a skirt. And you wear a cape too, an honest to Etro cape. I know it looks cool and everything, but those are way more likely to get caught on stuff than my sari.”

Lightning glanced down at her skirt. It had ridden up quite high due to the way she was sitting. Fang had decided, as she so often did, to replace Lightning’s skirt with her hand. She stroking Lightning’s thigh gently but firmly. Lightning frowned and pushed Fang’s hand back down before it could venture up into more dangerous – and distracting – territory. As for her cape, it hung over the end of the couch.

“This would be the first time I’ve ever heard you complain about my skirt. And there’s nothing wrong with my cape.”

“I didn’t say it looked bad.” Fang tried to move her hand up again only for Lightning to slap the back of her wrist. “Ouch. Damn it. Look, I’m not saying it looks bad. I’m saying it isn’t very practical.”

“Really?” Lightning slapped the back of Fang’s wrist again. Fang was nothing if not persistent. Not that Lightning minded much.

“Yes, really. I love you, you know that, but my sari is at least as practical as your outfit, maybe more.” Fang succeeded in getting her hand where she wanted only for Lightning to hop off her lap.

“I see.” Lightning adjusted her skirt and cape. Fang was very good with her hands. “We’ll see about that.” She pointed toward the backyard. “You and me, right now, Yun.”

“Right now?” Fang waggled her eyebrows and started to take off her sari. “But it’s only three o’clock in the afternoon.”

Lightning blushed and threw a couch cushion at Fang’s head. “You know damn well what I meant, and we both know that you don’t care what times it is or where we are.”

“Neither do you.” Fang lips curled. “Or have you forgotten that time in your office? You had to redo all your paperwork.”

“Shut up.” Lightning looked for something else to throw. The only thing was the coffee table, and she liked it too much to break it over Fang’s head. “What was I supposed to do with you prancing around in front of my office?”

“I don’t know. Maybe not drag me into your office and throw me onto your desk so you could have your wicked way with me.” Fang cackled. Lightning was equal parts adorable and sexy when she blushed. “Not that I complained. In fact, I remember encouraging you very loudly.”

Lightning took a deep breath. It was at time likes this that she had to remind herself how much she loved Fang. Plus, the coffee table had been a gift from Serah. Fang’s head was thick enough that the table probably wouldn’t even kill her. “Fang, we’re going to go outside right now to settle this the old-fashioned way. Last one into the backyard has to fight with their off hand.”

Fang’s eyes widened. Since becoming a couple, their sparring had not only become more frequent, it had also gotten more interesting. They often added extra rules to spice up the battle. One day, it would mean fighting without weapons. Another day, someone would have to fight with certain restrictions. What made their sparring even more fun was that the winner usually got a reward – a very sexy reward. Well, most of the time. Sometimes, Lightning had her clean the shower. At least, Lightning usually joined her in it afterward.

“What?” Fang asked.

“You heard me.” And then Lightning was running through the house toward the backyard.

If there was one thing that Fang hated about Lightning when it came to these little competitions, it was how damn fast she was. Once Lightning got in front of her, it was rare for Fang to catch her. Fang vaulted over the couch, leapt over a chair, twisted around the dining table, and stumbled through the assortment of baskets in the laundry room.

Lightning was already in the backyard.

As Fang ran out – she could still win their spar if she jumped Lightning while she was celebrating – a powerful gust of wind blew the laundry room door shut. The door slammed shut… right on the end of Fang’s sari.

Fang had a split-second to realise what had happened before her forward momentum screeched to a halt. The durable fabric of her sari held firm, and Fang went down like she’d been clotheslined. She gave a strangled yell before her legs went up and her head jerked back.

A few seconds later, Fang became aware of Lightning peering down at her.

“Are you okay?”

Fang nodded slowly. She’d been hit harder than that before. Then she followed Lightning’s gaze back to where her sari had gotten caught on the door.

“No.” Fang tried to slap her hands over Lightning’s mouth. “Not one word.”

Lightning didn’t say a thing. She laughed her ass off instead.

X     X     X

Serah Farron loved spending time with Snow after a week of teaching at the local primary school. She enjoyed teaching, but there were times when she was tempted to hogtie a few of the children and use them for target practice. Luckily, she had yet to snap. Cuddling up to Snow and watching the sunset while drinking a few glasses of wine and enjoying the dinner they’d cooked together was a wonderful way to spend the evening. As for how they’d spend the night… well, Serah had a few ideas. Snow probably had a few of his own too.

Their peaceful meal came to an abrupt end when Fang stomped onto their porch with murder in her eyes. This could only mean that another pointless argument with Lightning had gone too far. Serah sighed and gave Snow an apologetic glance. He smiled back and went inside to get some more wine. They would probably need it.

“You! Little Farron!” Fang grabbed Serah and threw her over her shoulder. “I need advice.”

“Whoa, whoa! Hold on.” Snow ran back out of the house. “Serah isn’t going anywhere.”

Fang seemed to notice the set up on the porch for the first time. She scowled and tightened her hold on Serah. “Can I bring her back later? I kind of need her for something.”

“Oh no.” Serah squirmed out of Fang’s grasp and glared at the taller woman. For good measure, she jabbed one finger at Fang’s face. “I’ll help you win whatever idiotic argument you’re having with my sister, but I’m staying right here.”

Fang leaned back to avoid Serah’s finger. “Planning on getting busy after dinner, huh?”

“That was the plan, yes.” Serah poked Fang in the chest. “We are engaged you know, and it’s not like you can complain. I hear all about the things that you and my sister get up to from Vanille. Honestly, the dining table, Fang? You eat there.”

Fang snickered. “You bet I ate there.”

“Gah!” Serah would have slugged Fang across the jaw – she did not need to know about her sister’s sex life – but Snow managed to grab her in time.

“What?” Fang chuckled. “Are you saying that you and Snow haven’t thought about…” The blush on Serah’s face and the silly grin on Snow’s said it all. “Heh. You’ve done more than think about it, haven’t you? Wait until your sister finds out – gah!”

Snow might have been able to hold Serah’s arms back, but he hadn’t counted on her landing a solid kick to Fang’s gut.

“Damn it, did you have to kick me?” Fang rubbed her stomach. At least Serah hadn’t been able to put her weight behind that kick.

“Yes, I did.” Serah stalked back toward the porch and grabbed her glass of wine. “I plan on marrying Snow, and I plan on marrying him without my sister turning him into a eunuch. So, I’ll thank you to keep quiet about what we get up. Or don’t you want my help?”

“Fine. I’ll keep quiet.” Fang settled down onto the porch across the table from Serah. “Pass me some of that wine. I could use it right about now.”

Serah grumbled under her breath. Her “Snow time” was rapidly decreasing. However, she wasn’t annoyed for very long. By the end of Fang’s story, she and Snow were barely able to breathe through their laughter. Okay, Fang’s story might have changed the mood from romantic to hilarious, but how often did the pride of the Yun clan almost kill herself with her own sari?

“Let me get this straight.” Snow slapped his knee and ducked the punch Fang threw at his head. Fang was fast, but Snow had spent years getting punched in the head by Lightning. “You got beaten up by a door.”

“I did not get beaten up by a door.” Fang bared her teeth. “I simply ran into a brief, one-time, technical difficulty.”

“No.” Snow laughed. “You got beaten up by a door.”

Serah finally managed to stop laughing. “Why were you two even arguing about what you were wearing? Snow has told me all about your journey. I’m under the impression that one of the reasons you let Lightning take the lead was so you could stare at her ass.”

“It is a very fine ass,” Fang said archly. Serah had the annoying habit of being right most of the time. It must be a Farron thing.

“She once ran into a tree, she was staring so hard.” Snow ignored the vicious frown on Fang’s face. “And then there was that time we got caught in the rain. Lightning got soaking wet, and all Fang could stare at was –”

“Hey!” Fang banged her fist on the table. “Aren’t you two supposed to be helping me?”

“I guess.” Snow folded his arms behind his head and leaned back. “But why are we helping you? Serah, isn’t Lightning your sister?”

“You’re helping me because I need dirt on Lightning.” Fang leaned forward. “And Serah is the only one who has it. Besides, we all know how much Serah likes messing with her sister.” She smirked at Serah. “Isn’t that right?”

“It might be.” Serah and Lightning had argued a lot over the years since both of them could be incredibly stubborn. With the exception of few, truly horrible arguments, they enjoyed arguing with each other. Now that Fang and Lightning were a couple, they did most of their arguing with each other. As the person who had previously done most of the arguing with Lightning, Serah felt a certain kinship with Fang. Besides, Fang winning some of her arguments with Lightning would keep Lightning from getting too big a head.

Serah also loved the way that Fang’s eyes would light up whenever she found out something new about Lightning. It made Serah feel so much better to know that someone loved her sister that much. She took another sip of her wine and then crossed her legs. “How would you like to know why Lightning wears her cape?”

Fang smiled toothily. “This sounds good.”

Serah lips twitched. “Believe me, it is.”

Snow looked from Serah to Fang. Oh hell, this wasn’t going to end well. It might be best if he went inside for a bit. That way, when Lightning came around looking for revenge, he could honestly claim that he knew nothing. If he needed to, he could always ask Serah to tell him later.

X     X     X

Lightning wasn’t the sort of person to revel in victory – okay, she totally was – but she knew she’d probably gone a little too far in making fun of Fang’s sari. It probably wasn’t all that nice to laugh at her after she’d almost strangled herself with it either. But come on, it was funny. She was pretty sure that Fang would have laughed too if their positions were reversed. Heck, Fang laughed whenever Lightning dropped her toast although she was always happy to share hers while Lightning made some more.

What she hadn’t expected was for Fang to run off to Serah and Snow’s place. Her significant other and her sister were probably conspiring against her right now. Who knew what kind of horrible schemes they’d already concocted? Oh well, at least she knew that Fang got on with her family.

Lightning was startled out of her musings when the door slammed open and Fang sauntered in. That was her first warning. The way Fang sidled over to sit next to Lightning on the couch was her second warning. The smirk that spread across Fang’s face was her third and final warning. By the time Fang had one arm draped around her, it was far, far too late. Lightning was screwed – or about to be screwed, one way or the other.  

“I had an interesting conversation with Serah.” Fang tilted Lightning’s face toward her and pulled something out of the folds of her sari. “She told me a few intriguing little things about you.” Fang twirled the photograph in her hand and then showed it to Lightning. “For instance, why you wear that cape of yours.”

Lightning stared at the photograph. Her jaw clenched. Never mind sisterly love, she was going to kill Serah. She tried to jump off the couch, but Fang’s arm held her firmly in place. It also copped a bit of a feel while it was there.

“Not so fast.” Fang tugged Lightning onto her lap. She leaned over to rest her forehead against Lightning’s. “So, you liked comics when you were young?”

Lightning made a grab for the photo and missed horribly. Fang had seen that coming from a mile away. Damn it. Where had Serah even found that photo? She was sure they’d lost it when Cocoon fell. It showed a much younger Lightning running around their front yard dressed as Spectaculargirl, one of Cocoon’s most famous comic book superheroes. Her uniform was mostly blue, but hanging from her back was a very familiar red cape.

“Maybe.” Lightning was definitely going to kill Serah. Yep, she’d shoot her with her own bow.

“You look pretty cute in that.” Fang tucked the photograph back into her sari and cupped Lightning’s cheek. “But you really shouldn’t be lecturing me on practicality. You wear your cape because of a comic you liked when you were a kid.”

Lightning did her best to ignore Fang’s amusement, which was much harder than she liked. Fang looked really good when she was amused. The cape had been a safety blanket of sorts when she’d joined the Guardian Corps. She’d known full well what she was giving up when she joined – her childhood, amongst other things – and the cape had been a reminder of better times. It also looked cool.

As Lightning opened her mouth to reply, Fang cut her off.

“Comic book, Lightning.” Fang’s eyes twinkled. “You picked your cape out of a comic book.”

Desperate times called for desperate measures. Lightning sighed. “Fine. You win.”

“Seriously?” Fang pulled back a fraction, more than a little suspicious. “You’re going to give up just like that?”

“Maybe.”

“Oh, no.” Fang shook her head. “You’re planning something – mmmph!”

Lightning was indeed planning something. That was why she had decided to put her feminine wiles to work. Fang was an absolute sucker for her feminine wiles.

Besides, it was the weekend. They could afford to get up late in the morning. They could even stay in bed all day if they wanted to.

X     X     X

Vanille wondered, and not for the first time, why she hadn’t found her own place to live. Then she remembered why: Fang and Lightning hadn’t exactly been getting it on everywhere when she and Fang had moved in. In fact, they hadn’t been together then. Instead, they’d been circling each other like a pair of hungry sharks.

Lightning’s house was also in a very convenient place, and looking for a new place was such a hassle. Not to mention, all of her previous attempts to move out had been interrupted by Fang. Her older sister wanted to keep an eye on her – when she wasn’t keeping an eye on Lightning, or rather Lightning’s “assets”. No wonder Vanille and Serah got along so well. They had a pair of overprotective – but loveable – psychos for sisters.

On the upside, Fang and Lightning were two of her favourite people, and Serah’s house was within walking distance. Lightning also kept a fantastically well-stocked fridge and pantry. The only downside, really, apart from walking in on Fang and Lightning, was Lightning’s tendency to come running to her for help when she needed revenge against Fang. As Fang’s younger sister, Vanille knew all about the skeletons in Fang’s closet. And it wasn’t so much a closet at as a vault, and there weren’t a few skeletons so much as there was an entire freaking graveyard in there.

“What do you need this time?” Vanille hadn’t taken her eyes off her computer. She was playing the latest MMO, World of Crystal.

“What is that?” Lightning leaned over her shoulder. There was a brief pause followed by an almost physical drop in the temperature of the room. Vanille had to grab Lightning before she could rip the computer monitor off the table. “Are you serious?”

“Let go!” Vanille pried Lightning’s hands off the monitor. “So they made an MMO about our journey, what’s the big deal? There are already action figures and toys. Why not a video game? Besides, it’s paying for half a dozen new hospitals.” Lightning stared. “It’s popular.”

“It’s a video game about our journey.” Lightning said the words slowly as though that would somehow force them to make more sense.

“I know,” Vanille replied, equally slowly. She pointed at her character. “See, that’s me. I’m a level 99 warrior.”

“You look like Fang.” Lightning shook her head in disbelief.

“Well, yeah.” Vanille turned back to the monitor but remained ready to grab it in case Lightning tried anything. “Fang is a warrior, so it makes sense to make my character look like her.” She cackled. “I’m the highest level warrior on the server. In fact, there’s only one other person who has hit the level cap and – there she is!”

Vanille growled as the familiar visage of PrincessPinky appeared on screen. The other player was a level 99 soldier who used the Lightning model. She was the only other level 99 on the server, and she and Vanille were mortal enemies.

Once again, they engaged in an epic battle. Vanille refused to believe that she could lose to someone dressed as Lightning, not when she was dressed as Fang. But she did lose. Badly.

“Damn it!” Vanille logged out and stifled the urge to put her keyboard through the screen. “That Army of One move is such crap. I’ve seen your Army of One, that thing does not hit the whole screen. And as if you can dodge Fang’s Highwind! Boo! Boo! Whoever made this game is full of crap.”

Suddenly aware of the fact that Lightning was staring at her like she’d grown a second head, Vanille switched her screen back to the document she’d been working on. It was a proposal for some modifications to Guardian Corps equipment to better suit the climate and conditions around New Bodhum.

“So,” Vanille said in her most serious voice. “What did you need?” She had to act cool. Nobody would suspect a thing.

“I need dirt on Fang.”

And there it was.

Vanille pretended to study her fingernails. “What can you give me in exchange?”

“A chance to not get strangled in the next five seconds.”

“That’s not a bad start.” Vanille put both hands on her desk and pushed her chair away from Lightning. Chairs with wheels were awesome. “But you’ll have to do better.” Lightning’s expression darkened, but Vanille played her trump card. “We both know how pissed Serah would be if you strangled her best friend.” Heh. Using Serah as a human shield was part of Lightning Psychology 101.

Lightning made a disgusted sound. “Fang may have found an embarrassing picture of me.”

“Oh, sweet Etro, please don’t tell you’ve been taking sex pictures of each other.” Vanille covered her eyes with her hands. Lightning and Fang were both beautiful women, but she did not need to see any more of them than she already had.

“No!” Lightning pulled Vanille’s hands off her face. “There are no sex pictures. She found a photograph of me when I was a kid.”

“Oh, it’s one of those pictures.” Vanille scratched her chin in what she believed was a sagely manner. It didn’t look very sagely at all to Lightning. “So, you want one of Fang?”

“Yes!”

“Well, I haven’t got any.”

Lightning took one step forward. She reached for Vanille’s neck…

“Wait!” Vanille grabbed Lightning’s wrists. “Don’t blame me. I didn’t build Bhakti until later and photographs don’t last for hundreds of years.” She waited for Lightning to calm down. “But I do have something else.”

“Is it good?”

“The best.”

“Then give it to me.”

Vanille waved one finger in the air. “That’s not how it works. What can you give me?”

“I know you’ve been stealing my chocolate.” Lightning glared. “I also know that you took my car out for a spin last week.”

Vanille froze. How did Lightning even know about the chocolate? She’d taken the ones from the back of the pantry. Did Lightning take inventory every week or something? Probably. And as for the car… she’d gotten it back into the garage in the exact same spot before Lightning had come home. “Uh…”

“I will continue to ignore both of those if you give me what I want.” Lightning folded her arms over her chest. “I’ll even throw in an embarrassing picture of Serah when she was younger.”

“Deal.” Vanille put one hand out. “Picture first.”

Lightning took the picture out of her pocket. “Enjoy.”

Vanille studied the picture and then burst out laughing. “Serah dressed up as a chocobo when she was little? Mwahahahaha. I am so bringing this with me the next time I go over. Well, not the original, but copies. Lots of copies.”

It took five minutes for Vanille to calm down. Lightning tried to ignore the feeling she’d done a deal with the devil. “She always wanted to be a chocobo when she was younger.”

“She wanted to be a chocobo? No wonder she and Chirpy get along so well.”

“All right, enough laughing.” Lightning grabbed the sides of Vanille’s chair. The red head wasn’t going anywhere. “Give me what you have.”

Vanille wiped a few tears from her eyes. “All right. In the garage you can find a hidden compartment built into the floor near the back wall. It’s about halfway along. In that compartment you’ll find a box. Trust me, you can’t lose if you open that box.” She bit her lip. “And for the record, I totally didn’t have anything to do with anything in that box.”

X     X     X

Lightning went into the garage. There was a box in a hidden compartment exactly where Vanile said there would be. She was almost afraid of what she would find. Fang did have some weird habits although not all of them were bad – like Fang’s nonchalant attitude to walking around nude when they were alone.

The box was locked, but it didn’t take long for Lightning to get it open. There might be a password involved, but she knew Fang better than anyone.

Inside the box were…

Action figures.

Action figures of Lightning.

Since the Fall of Cocoon, the former l’Cie had become celebrities of a sort. Lightning had become especially famous due to her looks and position. Countless action figures of her had been made, and Fang seemed to have all of them.

There were action figures of Lightning in her Guardian Corps uniform along with a host of other costumes. One had her in camouflage gear. Another had her in full battle armour. One of them even had her in a cocktail dress – and that wasn’t even the strangest one. Her lips curled. As if she’d ever wear something like that into battle.

Now she realised why Vanille had sworn to have nothing to do with it. The red head was in charge of handling all of this kind of stuff. People were going to make merchandise one way or another, so it was up to Vanille to ensure they all got their fair share of the profits and that some of it was used to fund worthy causes. Lightning and Fang’s personal cause was an orphanage that both of them funded and visited regularly. No child should ever have to be alone.

Vanille had definitely known about this though. Lightning might have to talk her later. Depending on how Vanille answered, there might be more than talking involved.

At the bottom of the box – still in their original packaging like all of the others – was a special commemorative edition Fang and Lightning set that Lightning had never seen before. Her hands trembled as she took in the clothes the figures were wearing. One set of figures had Fang in a suit and Lightning in a dress. The other was the opposite. What made Lightning’s hands tremble was the kind of dresses they wore: wedding dresses.

Lightning felt something deep inside her clench as she read the title on the box: Oerba Yun Fang and Lightning Farron Special Marriage Edition Action Figures.

Was… was this what Fang wanted? Lightning had thought about it – she’d thought about it a lot – but she hadn’t known if Fang was ready to get married yet. Did the Yun even marry the way the people of Cocoon did? And what kind of ceremony –

Lightning shook her head. She could think about this later. Carefully, she put everything away and lifted the box into her arms. She had an argument to win.

What Lightning didn’t notice was that on the back of the packaging was a personal guarantee from one Oerba Dia Vanille promising the upcoming nuptials of two of the most important people in her life. She’d personally designed the action figures with the help of a certain Serah Farron. Accuracy, after all, was very important.

X     X     X

Fang got back from Lebreau’s bar and sagged onto the couch. The other woman had been short one bouncer, and Fang had decided to help her out. She hadn’t needed to do much. Her reputation preceded her, and it only took one decisive ass kicking for everyone else to realise that she did, in fact, live up to the stories.

The smile on Lightning’s face as she walked into the room put Fang on edge. Then she saw the box in Lightning’s arms. The thoughts that went through Fang’s head were the very opposite of coherent.

Oh crap.

Oh crap.

Damn Vanille.

Oh crap.

Oh crap.

Kill Vanille.

Oh crap.

Oh crap.

“Oh crap.”

“It seems I’m not the only one who likes some interesting things.” Lightning gently took a few of the action figures out and put them on the coffee table. “There’s me in my normal outfit. There is me as a combat medic. And here I am in camouflage gear, a cocktail dress… and is that me as a catgirl?” Lightning chuckled and then pulled out one last set of action figures. “And there’s the two of us getting married.”

Fang had to force the words out of her mouth. “How about we call it a draw?”

Lightning laughed. “I don’t know.” Fang was certain that Lightning just wanted to see her sweat, which was fair since she also liked seeing Lightning sweat. Not out nervousness maybe, but hey, all’s fair in love and war. “I guess we can call it draw. I’ll ignore the fact that you apparently like collecting Lightning action figures when you have the real one if you pretend you never heard a thing about my wanting to be a superhero.”

Fang gave a sigh of relief and pulled Lightning into her arms. “Deal.”

A light blush covered Lightning’s cheeks as Fang drew her into a kiss. When they parted, she gave the other woman a nervous smile. “Fang… about those action figures…”

“Oh, come on.” Fang didn’t want to talk about action figures now that she had the real thing in her arms. “I thought we were going to call it a draw?”

“You do realise that most of those would never come true, right? I am never going into battle in a cocktail dress.”

“I get that, yeah.”

“But that last set of action figures.” Lightning bit her lip. “How would you feel if maybe that came true?”

Fang could have sworn that her heart skipped a beat – or maybe ten. “Are you serious? Because if you’re joking –”

“Not just yet,” Lightning said quietly. “But soon maybe.” She pressed her lips against Fang’s. It was a chaste kiss this time, gentle. “If… if you wanted to.”

“Are you kidding?” Fang’s kiss was decidedly not chaste. “My only question is who wears the suit?”

Lightning’s eyes gleamed and Fang couldn’t fight the smile forming on her face. “I will.”

“No, I will.”

“No, I will.”

“Don’t make me go to Serah again,” Fang warned. “You know how much she wants to see you in a dress.”

Lightning laughed. “And you don’t think Vanille wants to see you in a dress?”

X     X     X

Author’s Notes

As always, I neither own Final Fantasy, nor am I making any money off of this.

This chapter was based on Fangrai Forever Prompt #211: Fang loses a (silly) argument to Lightning. She goes seeking advice from Serah to get advantage. Serah lets Fang know there might be a way to win. It can be a ticklish lightning or goofy childhood picture.

Strangely enough, this chapter didn’t start off with much romantic content in it at all. The original idea was simply to have Fang and Lightning engage in another game of one-upmanship with Serah and Vanille getting dragged into things. As I wrote the chapter, however, it occurred to me that I could probably insert more romance into it and still get the whole thing to work.

The original set of ideas didn’t include Lightning’s scene with Vanille or the ending scene with Lightning and Fang. However, I think the story reads much better with those scenes included.

One of the best things, I think, about being close to someone (romantically, filially, or platonically) is being able to argue with them. I argue with people close to me all the time. I still remember an argument on the train with one of my friends that ended with a stranger asking me if I was okay. I was, of course, perfectly fine - our argument was in good fun – but my friend is much larger and taller than I am, which could have made the whole thing seem a bit threatening to someone on the outside of the argument. I also argue with my sister about all sorts of petty things. It’s fun, and neither of us feels any guilt about occasionally kicking the other in the back or pushing them into a bush.

I can easily imagine Lightning and Fang as old women still arguing over the most trivial things because they can. Heck, I can even imagine them racing their wheelchairs if it ever comes to that. Love is all about compromise – and occasional acts of petty revenge. At least it is when Lightning and Fang are involved.

Also, the Lightning action figures are a nod to her new outfits in Lightning Returns. And, yes, PrincessPinky is Serah (World of Crystal is a poorly disguised reference to World of Warcraft).

As an aside, it’s November now, and in the spirit of the month, I have a few original fiction projects that I’m working on and planning. I’ll keep you posted on those (I do plan, in one of those, on putting my sense of humour to work). If you are interested in my original fiction, you can finds links to that in my profile. If you’re after some fantasy with a healthy dose of action, check out The Last Huntress and its sequel The Lord of Dark Waters. If high fantasy is more your style, The Burning Mountains might be for you. And if you like paranormal Westerns featuring zombies and demons, then have a look at The Gunslinger and the Necromancer.

Also, I hope that everyone who participated in the free Amazon promotion I ran for The Last Huntress and The Gunslinger and the Necromancer has enjoyed the story/stories they got. If you did enjoy them, it would be great if you could leave a review over at Amazon or have a look at my other stories.

As always, I appreciate feedback. Reviews and comments are welcome.