Teenage Dream

You make me feel like I'm living a teenage dream.

Cid x Lightning

The Fifth Ark was a training ground for l'cie, so why was he-? Lightning reached for her Blazefire saber when Fang held Snow back, asking her own questions. But Lightning had figured it out long before. She charged at Cid as he strode to meet them. "Raines!"

That bastard, she cursed, her feet moving to meet him.

"You traitor!"

She charged, but he evaded. She ran through his cape and swung around, lifting her head. He was facing her too. She raised her blade and slashed down, but he blocked with his arm. She lashed out again, but this time, she struck from the left. He blocked. Then, she struck from the right. Again, he blocked with his arm, forming an x in the air. She made a full-body turn and swung out, but he caught her right wrist.

Their eyes met, her piercing blue against his bright grey-blue ones. Anger flashed in her eyes, then recognition. She knew – Etro! He flipped her over.

Dammit! He used that move on her before! Before today, before he was a Brigadier General, before she was a Sergeant, before they were in the Guardian Corps, he had used that move on her! She should have known better.

They're in a military academy, his dorm room. It is a simple room with two beds. The door is locked. His roommate, Rygdea is nowhere to be found. It's convenient that Rygdea's gone while they practice hand-to-hand combat. The room is big enough to have a small punching match.

"Come on, Claire." He motions her to come at him.

"It's Lightning." She falls into a stance, her gloved hands curled into fists. Normally, it's not proper for a girl to fight, but this one has strength. She has a reason to fight – to protect her sister, to protect the young lady her sister would become. Cid admires her for this. "Time to fight."

She leaps, throws a punch. He blocks. She throws another punch, this time with her left hook. He blocks again. Next, she throws a punch with her right hook – her strong hand. He blocks, their arms crossed in an 'x'. She pulls back and goes for an uppercut, but he grabs her right wrist when she is close enough. She squeals as he flips her over and onto his bed.

A blush reaches her cheeks. She curses herself for letting him flip her over. Oh, the implications to hormonal teenagers.

At least, her back hit his bed and not the floor.

Cid has always had the height advantage over her.

"Ah!" She yelped, letting go of her weapon. Landing on her side and bruised, Lightning rolled over to kneel up as Cid caught her weapon.

She was betrayed more than her comrades would ever know. They would never know the truth.

"I put you on the path. That was my focus." Cid explained.

She doesn't remember when they started going at it, but she knows he initiated it although she gave him the approval. She shivers when he touches her, clothed or not. There's this chemistry between them. They've noticed. Rygdea is aware of it too. Everyone can see it.

"Light-" He groans. There's a hint of masculine pride in his voice.

She shakes her head. "Claire. Call me Claire."

He groans when she runs her hands over him, down his back, down his chest, tracing his abs. He kisses her gently first, lightly nibbling on her lower lip. When she licks against his lips, they become needier, rougher. They start fumbling, groping, grinding against each other. The bed starts to creak.

Her breath hitches before she moans into his ear when he kisses his way up to her earlobe – a sensitive spot, he remembers for later.

"Raines." She whispers like a prayer.

He shakes his head, smirking. "It's Cid. At least, in here."

It's an intimate moment. She is, he is – they are both vulnerable, alone together.

"I'd lost hope. I'd all but given up on dreams of freedom."

Lightning too had lost hope of everything when she became a l'cie. Her future was bleaker than before. She would never get to that dream – that dream. She was still a woman after all. Marry, have kids – she was slightly jealous of Serah, although she would never admit it in front of anyone.

But he was not just anyone.

"What are you saying?" Sazh asked.

Lightning was barely listening to the spoken dialogue. She only focused on his expression, their memories and what this would mean to them.

"I'm here of my own accord, not by fal'Cie orders. Seeing you fight brought it all back."

Seeing you fight brought it all back. Lightning shifted when his gaze fell upon her. That look in his eyes, it was the cool, calculating Brigadier General they knew. He was determined to end this. They both recalled everything. The words were unspoken. The connection missed by all.

No one had to know about it.

That first time together proves not to be the last. She thinks Rygdea's figured it out already, continuing to leave them alone. They become more comfortable around each other. More clothing gets shed each encounter until…

"Claire, are you sure?" He asks against her mouth.

She cuddles against him, nodding. "Yes, Cid."

He nibbles her ear, triggering her squirming beside him as he takes a hold of both her wrists and place them over her head. He takes her mouth and kisses her thoroughly. She moans into his kiss, fueling his arousal. He takes it slow as he releases her wrists, but her hands remain where they are.

He fumbles a little, not sure what to do. He smiles sheepishly. She laughs a little too before he smirks again, confidence returning. He places his hands on her hips, his grey-blue eyes asking once more. She nods.

He leans over her, whispering in her ear, nuzzling his face in her hair. "Tell me to stop if it hurts."

She nods again. Then, her world turns white as he fills her completely. She catches her breath before a painful cry leaves her lips. He kisses her to muffle her noise. He moves out and in slowly, to ease her into pleasure.

He is on top, but he wants her over him. Eventually once the pain subsides, he figures. When she starts to buck against him urgently, he flipped them so she was on top. He closes his eyes and feels her and only her.

"Brought back that future I once strove for. I, too, will challenge my fate."

And as he changed, his gaze rested on Lightning. She knew the future of which he spoke of: a future where humans had their independent power to control their own destinies, where life would not be guided by the fal'Cie, where they could…be together. He had told her once after one of their many 'sessions'.

"Easy, guys." Lightning spoke, attempting to calm the others down. However, it was easier said than done. He had tossed her weapon back a moment earlier. He always liked a fair fight.

"If I can defeat you here, the fal'Cie plan will fail."

He hissed as something inside him pulsed. Her insides tightened. Together, they were floating, their fingers intertwined tightly. Release was golden. She sighed and collapsed against him. He wrapped around his arms around her, his heavy breaths turning her into mush.

He's seen all of her – the fragile girl behind the strength, the one who longed to be loved. He kisses her shoulders, pulling the sheets over their bare bodies. She smiles. Puppy love, it might be, but it feels good. They were in agreement. Puppy love occurs in an unlikely place, between two partners – between her and a young man one year her senior.

"Claire."

"Hm?"

"I have a dream. Maybe one day, I'll get to share it with you."

She clings to his bodily warmth. He inhales her scent; she smells of roses, a delicious scent mixed with his own musky, masculine scent. And when they awake, they will return to normal. They were not the kind of people who would openly date. That is just how they are.

She will bring her shields back up again, resuming that strong front, clinging to that desire to be empowered to protect her family. She becomes the headstrong, strike-first and think-later girl he fell for. He will watch her from across the way, his height allowing him to find her in a crowd, out of the corner of his eye. He shifts back into the cool strategist she is attracted to.

With that, they doze off in each other's arms.

"I will set you free!"

And I will too, Lightning thought as the battle begun.

She had the final blow. She had beaten everyone to the punch. They were simply too slow. With one slash of her Blazefire Saber, he fell and stumbled back. It was only him who saw a tear trickle down her cheek. For a half-transformed Cie'th, he was beautiful, his form still sculpted. Still, she preferred his human figure.

Her l'cie brand burned against her skin, forcing itself to appear. His own brand on his right hand glowed as well, reacting to hers. There was a bright light as time around them froze.

Lightning spun around to see her comrades with their weapons raised, rushing at her, still like statues. Then, she looked down to her own weapon, which was still in her hands, but she herself was unclothed. She dropped her weapon almost immediately.

"Once, I had a teenage dream."

Lightning slowly turned her heel to see him as naked as she. A blush would have formed on her cheeks if she was as young as Hope, but she had seen him bare-assed before. He was impressive, but that was beside the point. Lightning put a right hand on her hip, shifting her weight to her right side. "I know…Cid."

This moment was private. No one else would see it. He slowly walked toward her, his eyes fixed on her. "My dream is but a fal'Cie's fancy now."

Lightning scoffed. "Besides, it wouldn't have worked anyway."

Cid continued to advance toward her. Lightning made no effort to move away from him. When he was close enough, when he was sure she would not pull away, he embraced her and bent down to place a gentle kiss on her forehead. He mumbled against her skin, "This was long overdue."

Lightning felt her heart pound against her chest as she wrapped her arms around him. "Yes, it was."

"Trust yourself, Claire." He held her tight, nuzzling his face in her hair. Then, she felt a vibration rumbling through his chest and light chuckle reached her ears. She looked up. His tired, grey eyes said it all. I...love you. Goodbye.

He kissed her thoroughly one last time. Then, they returned to the world of the living, back to where they belonged, back to the separate paths they had to take.

Raines…

Ironic, isn't it? The only thing I wanted was a moment of triumph. How it ends isn't important. Just do what you know is right. Trust yourselves.

Then, he turned to crystal. Lightning never forgot how he reached out and pointed to her. No one questioned it. No one realized it. Lightning kept it to herself, but she had loved him in her own way.

Note: After watching the little fight Cid and Lightning had at the Fifth Ark, I HAD to write this. They are like my OTP. The suggestive flashbacks and the added bit at the end are of my creation and didn't happen in the game, but I do wish it did. Hope you enjoyed it.

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII. If I did, Cid x Lightning would be a canon pairing. And I do not own Katy Perry's "Teenage Dream", which inspired this.

Please read and review. It would make me really happy, plus I want to know if you guys liked the idea as much as I did.