Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you CrazyNinjaPenguin for editing for me again on the quick! The characters are not owned by me, but of course by Square-Enix, so I should thank them as well.

Paradise

"I want to show you the best view on all of Gran Pulse. It's my way of saying thank you for saving me," Vanille had said regarding a mishap from the day before."

"That's okay," I assured her. "It wasn't that big of a deal."

"Not a big deal? I would have died if you hadn't come to my rescue. Choking kills people where I come from! Lightning, please. I promise it's not far from camp."

I couldn't come up with a good reason to say no; certainly not the truth. Vanille, I'm attracted to you, being alone with you will be too distracting. It was difficult enough of a situation when I threw my arms around her and thrust my fist into her stomach to dislodge the meat stuck in her throat. The violent embrace was quickly followed by her wrapping her arms around me as her tearful face burrowed into my shoulder, repeatedly thanking me. Her scent filled my nostrils; it was some exotic flower, and I stood there dumbfounded as our group surrounded us. I couldn't really hear what they were saying until Fang touched my shoulder and said thank you before she took Vanille into her own arms.

They were not lovers, but I was struck by jealousy as her warmth left me. The next day, I did my best to ignore the both of them and my own feelings the best way I knew how: Fighting. We would have made better distance if I hadn't scouted in advance the night before the route most heavily populated with large beasts. Several times Vanille tried to engage me in conversation but conveniently, something would appear around a corner or from behind and that would be the end of it until the next time. It was as we made camp for the night that she was able to make her proposal. Dusk was falling upon us as I reluctantly agreed.

"Great!" She exclaimed and grasped my hand. "We have to leave right away then, it's not far, but we have lots of climbing to do."

She tried to pull me along, but people needed to be informed of our whereabouts. As it turned out, Fang already knew of Vanille's plan and would dispel this information to the group. She said that we would be able to see their smoke signals if we needed to return. Part of me wondered if the two were scheming something but I went along with it. As much as I didn't want to be alone with Vanille, the opportunist in me was pleased.

We didn't talk much on the way to this place she called the beacon. I was too occupied trying to keep up with her as we climbed the cliff side; I was surprised by how fast she was. When I reached the top, I saw her disappear into a wooded area as night engulfed the world. Her laughter was my guide as I entered the forest which was dimly lit with blue along the pre-cut path through the thin, tall trees. I kept a hand close to my gunblade for whatever predators may be lurking, but as it turned out it was unnecessary. Vanille was standing at the edge of the other side of the woods; there was a look of child-like wonder on her face as she gazed up at the trees.

"It's beautiful!" she exclaimed, acknowledging my presence. "It's exactly the way Fang described it."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

"Glow bugs. Nothing lives here but the little blue bugs on the tree bark. They're quite poisonous to you and me though, so we can't stay here."

I fully exited the woods, looking ahead to a small clearing before another edge of cliff. The only thing I could see growing there was the fat stem of a large plant. My eyes followed it upwards perhaps another hundred feet before it ended at the head of the flower.

"There it is," she said, "a beacon flower. Fang says hunters use them to find one another if their party gets separated."

The large silver orb of moon was rising but the world was dark. I couldn't fathom what she had to show me up there what she couldn't show from the ground. But I followed along as we began the surprisingly easy climb using strong leaves as steps towards the top.

"Thank-you for joining me," Vanille spoke as we made our way up.

"It's okay," I replied. "So far it's been an interesting journey."

"I know, it's great! And the best is yet to come."

"How do you know? It seems like you've never been here before," I asked her.

She stopped.

It was odd how quiet she became considering the girl even talks in her sleep. She looked back at me for a moment; in the moonlight I could see her eyes, wide and thoughtful and lips were slightly parted. My heart skipped a beat suddenly, struck by her beauty.

She smiled then, and I wondered if somehow my still face gave away the feeling I was hiding. Then she spoke and giggled.

"Well, if I'm wrong, I'll kiss you as payment for your trouble.

I stood alone as she disappeared further up the stalk. What a dilemma!

While it seemed likely that if I made advances towards her she would welcome them, there was also a chance she was teasing me. If that were the case, my ability to lead could be damaged having been caught in a moment of weakness. On the other hand, I could just tell her I didn't like the view…

That settled it.

A loud squeal awoke me from my thoughts emerging from the head of the flower. I raced upwards as Vanille's voice, while not sounding remotely fearful, was apt to attract something flying in the night. When I reached the top, I had to push some large petals out of the way to see what was happening on the other side. The surface of the petals was smooth and silky, and I nearly fell when I reached the opening to see Vanille lying on a brilliantly white mound of fluff.

She sat up, half reclining when she saw me. A welcoming position, but I stood my ground and instead took in the sights around us; or what I could see of them over the high walls about us, at least.

"Come sit," she beckoned, patting the area beside her, "It's so soft! You know, the most coveted pillows in all of Oerba were stuffed with these seeds."

She lay back again and stared up at the sky sighing happily.

Warily I moved forward, aware that my feet were sliding me ahead. Instead of waiting to fall, I leapt the two foot distance to the white mound which bore a spongy texture. I placed my hands down low enough that a whisper of seeds could caress my hand.

"You're right, this feels nice. But is this what you brought me to see? We need to head back soon if we're going to get some rest tonight."

"No, silly," Vanille giggled. "This is just the fulfillment of a wish I once had to climb one of these flowers. The view is out there."

She stood up then and moved to the highest point on the mound about a foot behind her. She took a panoramic look and sighed.

"Yeah, this is going to be spectacular at dawn."

"Dawn?"

I ascended the mound and looked to the north to see if there was smoke in the air. What I instead saw the large glowing orb of Cocoon hovering over the planet. It was breath-taking. I could only imagine that all of its inhabitants had never seen anything like I was witnessing at that moment. I fathomed I could sit and stare at it all night long, but the night seemed to promise more interesting events shortly.

"Vanille," I finally spoke without looking at her. I could hear her breathing. "You never told me what would happen if I agreed with you."

"Well," she replied, her voice was soft "I think you should kiss me as a reward then."

Cocoon would have to wait. I gazed upon her noble face, her large eyes meeting mine and in that moment I couldn't think of a single thing to say. Instead, I slowly stepped in to close the short distance between us.

"Light," she spoke softly, as my fingertips caressed the sides of her face, disappearing into her hair. They found the ends of her ribbons and deftly removed them, releasing her ginger tresses to fall past her shoulders. My fingers streamed through them causing her whimper and sigh.

I cradled the back of her head as I brought my lips to hers with first a gentle touch. An electric surge of desire filled my body, but I restrained myself as we kissed again and again, letting her set the pace. Her tongue first sought entry into my mouth as her dexterous fingers began playing with the buckles of my tunic which I soon was dropping to the floor.

I sat down, and in doing so, a few loose seeds burst from the floor. Those that didn't fly away, floated down on and around us as I pulled the Pulsian girl to straddle my hips to increase my access to her body. So much of her was already exposed, and she seemed to purr as I explored her, experiencing her contrast of strong muscles beneath skin, which to me, was indiscernible in softness from the surface beneath us.

She was unzipping my turtleneck as my hand, travelling up her thigh found her brand, just as she found mine. It was a cold step back into reality, feeling the ridges of her mark as she drew a finger about the ridges of mine. It was a reminder of the precious little time remaining; that this was not in any Fal'Cie agenda. The ruthless whim to fuck on that plan washed over me.

"Vanille, take off your clothes," I ordered, hoping she would obey swiftly before I had to tear them off her myself. Much to my delight, as complicated as her attire appeared, she was able to remove the beads, buckles and top in short time.

Ravenously, I claimed her breasts, one at a time with lips tongue and teeth and she pulled me closer to her as she cried out. Her other hand found one of mine and forced it to the underside of her thigh where her underwear still shielded parts of her from my sight. I kissed her lips again as my fingers teasingly crept beneath it, following the curve of her ass, lower towards her centre but avoiding where she wished them to be.

She thrust her hips forward in frustration, causing me to briefly graze her lower lips, coating my digits in her wetness. I removed my hand and gazed briefly at how it glistened. Her scent was on me, sweet, subtle, yet powerful. She growled in frustration as I brought my finger to my tongue and sampled her honey.

"Rrrr, Lightning, don't tease me!"

She zipped down the remainder of my turtleneck and kissed me hard, raising her hips so that her centre was pressing against my bare stomach.

Acquiescing to her need, I used one hand to hold her bottom while the other, going in between us, lightly stroked her on the outside of the fabric above her clit. Her breathing became labored as her eyes fixed deeply into my own and arms around my shoulders pressed us closer together.

"I," she began, struggling to form a sentence. "I need…more…uh"

"Like this?" I responded huskily, going beneath the barrier, and entering her swiftly with a single finger.

"Oh!" She cried out, arching back "More!"

Her warm walls welcomed a second and third finger, as my thumb circled her sensitive nub. Her hands dug into my shoulders as her back arched back further with every thrust, giving my mouth access to a very erect nipple.

"Lightning," her voice could barely wheeze with her throat so far back. Her sex was tense and I increased the speed of my thumb. The insides of her began to quiver as her release began to overtake her. She sighed deeply, and rode the waves of her orgasm at first arched back, but as she calmed, found my lips again, vibrating with her contented purr.

"Unbelievable," she whispered, caressing my face.

"What?" I asked, slowly pulling my fingers from her to hold her closely with both arms.

"I've wanted you since we first met. I never thought this could happen. Sheesh, I thought you hated me, actually."

I chuckled in regard to the past. "Sorry, I was such a prickly bitch. I've wanted this too."

Her bright smile lit up the night and I barely noticed she was pulling my unzipped turtleneck down my shoulders and fully exposing my breasts.

She proceeded to me cover me in her kisses with that clever mouth; quickly taking me to the edge again and again, holding back before I could climax. In desperation, I begged her to let me come. Despite the darkness, I could see the playful glint in her eyes that this is what she had been waiting for. In the back of my mind, I promised myself that she would pay for this, but the thought faded as I was shortly again at the brink of insanity before explosions started bursting up my body and my back violently twisted and arched of its own accord; my throat released a deep primal roar. My eyes agape, blinked only for a second, and when I could see again she was covering my body with her own, her face full of concern. She claimed I blacked out for a full minute and as I tried to argue, I realized I didn't care. My body felt like jelly; I could barely muster the strength to hold her closely. Yet strength did return to me for a short while before we both collapsed from exhaustion several hours later.

When I awoke, my head was on her stomach; her fingers were stroking my face. She softly said the name she'd wrenched from me in a particularly tender moment,

"Claire, wake up. It's almost time for dawn."

We had slept naked, kept warm by the warm Pulse air and each other. It was still dark, but cracks of light were opening the sky. We found a place to sit where we could push the petals to the side easily. She sighed happily, resting her head on my shoulder.

Before us, in the horizon, the sun slowly ascended. Cocoon was visible in the periphery as the land emerged from shadow lush and green, decorated with hills, lakes and rivers. The sky itself went through phases of gold and pink, slowly settling into its natural blue. It was an okay sight. Perhaps she sensed that I did not share her awe when she spoke,

"You know, I lied to you that this is the most beautiful view on all of Gran Pulse. I just wanted to be alone with you."

I smirked and snuffed amusingly in response.

"Truly, I could be just about anywhere and could honestly say that I was at the most beautiful spot. To you, this place is Hell, but to me, this is Paradise."

I took in what she said, and re-evaluated my initial thought of our view. Perhaps in time I could appreciate what she saw, but this is the place she came from. That would have to be enough for me.

"I understand," I said and our eyes met. "Thank you for sharing this with me."

We shared a last moment, kissing sweetly before reality returned in the form of the new day. I couldn't look at her as we redressed quietly. Chances were good that this would be a one-time thing and I needed to return to being a leader. I couldn't endanger our group again by leaving like we had for so long.

There was an interesting yet familiar scent on my clothes where they had lain on a pale pink flower petal. This was the fragrance that Vanille wore. In time, I would return to this flower to bottle its essence and watch the sun rise on my own.

I would remember how she held me from behind as I tried to walk away.

"Claire, promise you won't forget me if I don't make it" she spoke, knowing already what she was destined to do.

"Vanille?" I clasped her hands gently. "It's not over. I'm fighting for you too, okay?"

"I know. I'm protecting you as well."

She kissed the back of my neck before letting go.

Five days later she was gone, and a new fight for me had begun.

I will find her.

Hey there, I'd appreciate a review/input if you wouldn't mind. Even if you didn't like the story. It can only help me become a better writer please and thank-you! :D