Chapter 3

No doubts. No hesitation. No restraint.

Nothing.

No love.

Only lust.

Yes, that was it. Only lust.

She came after Lightning only because of lust. She got wet, just by looking at her – all because of lust. Her heart was pounding hard; it was fighting to tear out of her chest, she couldn't help it, and it was all because of lust. The way their bodies moved against each other, the way she was arching into her touch, the way she was moaning her name… it was all just lust.

Vanille thrust her hips at Lightning's fingers eagerly, aiding the woman with both force and speed, subsequently making the water at their chests splash wildly but, ironically, with rhythm, in sync with their filthy movements.

It was all so pathetic.

… No, it wasn't her failure in detecting the monster; it was the fact that she lured this pure, innocent, kind, and miserable girl into her grasp, into her dirty realm of lust. For what purpose?

"Onee-san…!"

Was there a reason to ask, or to even wonder? Lightning knew very well what the answer was. Right now, she was ravaging the girl in some god-forsaken pond, ignoring fate, hiding from reality, being immoral… she was able to put her mind off Serah for a bit, she didn't have a single care in the world… all because… because she was—

"Aahhn…!"

An accented cry – Vanille was close.

But Lightning didn't want this to end, she wanted more. She held her up higher, groaning quietly in her ear, "Don't come yet."

Vanille's fingernails dug into her back and clawed at her flesh. Why, of course she didn't want to come yet. She wasn't the only one who wanted this to last. If this ended, then they would have to go back to reality. She would have to act like nothing had ever happened again. No more comfort, no more freedom – even if it only lasts for so much. She, like the ex-soldier, wanted this more than anything right now. Vanille opened her eyes to find Lightning staring deeply into hers with need, and it made her realize; the utter sight of her pink-haired leader was able to melt her down to her last internal organ. She rocked her hips faster, eager to get more of Lightning, eager to have Lightning get more of herself.

And the woman gladly obliged to Vanille's desperate movements; twirling her fingers – crisscrossing, scissoring, circling… she made countless motions inside the girl, each creative action bringing forth a different yet extremely sexy reaction from her. Each cry, each call, each scream from Vanille confirmed that she was satisfying her, if not more than what the girl desired. Her emerald orbs called to her in silence, begging – no – they were trying to tell her something. They had this sort of… sad, pitiful look…

A look she despised so much. A look she could not stand. "Stop looking at me like that." Lightning intended to sound angry; she wanted to say it in a strict voice, but instead, she said it softly, pathetically, almost in a whisper.

But she couldn't help it, this pitiful woman. How could she not look at her like that? When Vanille heard her leader—no, when she heard this woman's gentle voice, tears began to build up in her eyes. It was her climax – yes, that had to be it. What other reason could there be? She couldn't possibly be – saddened, scared, sympathetic… in love – confused over her feelings towards this selfish woman, could she…? If anything, she should be feeling disgusted. She was feeling this way just because… just because of the rush of emotions that ran through her veins as Lightning violated her. Vanille bucked her hips one last time in a quick and smooth motion, finally bringing forth her violent orgasm.

The ex-soldier growled when Vanille's muscles gripped her fingers even tighter, which was then followed by a low, heavy moan. Lightning felt the young Oerban rest her head on her shoulder snugly, and usually, Vanille would be out of strength, giving her the chance to slip away, unbothered. But right now, she was caught in a death grip by the girl's arms.

She couldn't focus, think, nor could she breathe. She couldn't do anything normal, but her instincts told her that she couldn't let go. Vanille knew that she, at this moment, could neglect anything and everything other than that.

"I…" Barely having caught her breath, Vanille continued, "… I hate you."

For some reason, it felt good to hear that. The pink-haired leader sighed soundlessly. "Yet, here you are." She whispered. Then, she noticed that her own arms were still wrapped around the redhead's waist. Why didn't she let go? She could definitely slip away if she wanted to.

The water surrounding them did little to cool down her temperature – right now, she felt like she was burning up. Vanille rode out the aftershocks, gently rocking her hips against the woman. But whether or not it was the heat that made her speak, however, Vanille hadn't a clue. All she knew was that she needed to settle this. "Why am I like this…?" Her voice muffled into Lightning's wet, naked skin.

Each time she spoke, each time that guilty voice was heard, the weight in her chest got lifted off by a bit.

Vanille moved back to look into her azure orbs. "Why are you like this…?"

Lightning averted her gaze, down to the water that was at their chest. The girl was referring to her actions – her gentleness. Such confusion led her to pick the choice of staying silent; there was no point in answering her, it wouldn't change a thing. Instead, she focused on her brand on her chest, her eyes following the blackened arrows that had newly developed. The mere sight of the depressing sign of reality made her lose her grip. She released the redhead and drew her arms back – but to her surprise, Vanille didn't do the same.

Instead, she held her even tighter, her grip nearly suffocating. Strength returning, Vanille forcefully grabbed her leader's hands and held them so that they would wrap around her own waist. "You're so unfair…"

Unfair? I'm way more than 'unfair', Vanille.

"Why…?" The girl spoke.

There was no need to answer, nor was there a need to even respond.

Vanille raised her voice. "Lightning Farron, why are you like this!" She said with impatience. "Answer me!"

She blinked before looking back into her enraged eyes. "What do you want me to say?" Lightning questioned coldly.

The girl's arms moved up to circle around Lightning's neck. "Just tell me… please… why are you doing this to me? Why do you have to torment me? Why can't you just leave me alone…?"

She smirked, unwillingly. "Are you pushing responsibilities? Are you saying that I should be blamed for getting you horny and whatnot? That I should be the one to be blamed for making you come to me?"

Always with the cockiness. Vanille drew her arms back, and her nails began to claw roughly at Lightning's shoulders, scraping her white skin. "Yes…" She whimpered. "… I'm pushing responsibilities."

Lightning snickered. "You selfish—"

"I'm blaming you for getting me like this, getting me confused, luring me like I'm your prey, using me, making me cheat on Fang…!" Vanille cried. The tears in her eyes finally rolled down her cheeks; she could only hope that they wouldn't be visible given that her face was wet. "I'm blaming you… for… for getting me so… s-so…"

"Why… do you care…?" The voice of the dying Lightning from earlier echoed in her head.

Vanille shut her eyes, focusing her mind on something else to avoid the horrible flashback of that monster piercing Lightning's body with its giant blade— "I'm blaming you for making me worry…!" She sobbed, her voice shaken, "… I don't want you to die…!"

And Lightning couldn't take it anymore. With force, she moved in to capture her lips; her roughness surprising the latter. But the strawberry-blonde could care less of her reaction; she closed her eyes to fully enjoy, to fully cherish the moment. Slowly, very slowly, all the strength was transformed into gentleness. It was soft, easing, and it was like…

Why are you kissing me?

Like that kiss she gave her before she left her in the wild that night – this was exactly the same. It wasn't rough, forced, nor was it raw lust… it had something in it. Vanille, too, closed her eyes. She sighed into Lightning's lips and her arms that were draped over the woman's neck moved to hold her head closer so that she could deepen the kiss.

Lightning rewrapped her arms around the girl's waist, a hand moved down naturally to grope her, and Vanille immediately moaned into her mouth. The ex-soldier took the chance to slip her tongue into her, earning herself another erotic sound from Vanille. She loved this; when she invaded this girl, she felt so in power. This type of power was far… far grander compared to the victory she gained from fighting the monsters they have encountered thus far; it was something that exceeded that of pride or accomplishment.

Vanille threw her head back and arched her body when Lightning moved down to kiss her neck, following her muscles to her collarbone.

"Please…" Vanille breathed sharply as her fingernails raked through Lightning's soaked pink hair. "Onee- san…!"

Lightning moved lower, taking in her cries as encouragement. By now, the bottom half of her face was below the water, her teeth fondling with the girl's nipple, leaving only her eyes above so that she could watch Vanille's sexy reactions. Occasionally, she would resurface to catch her breath, but the girl's hardened bud was never spared.

Her body was getting sensitive again. Everywhere Lightning touched, Vanille could feel an odd stimulation shooting up to her brain, urging her to thrust her hips at the woman, to moan loudly so that she could ease the feeling, to hold her, and… and to ask her…

"Do you love me…?" Vanille suddenly breathed.

She froze. That heavy feeling in her chest returned by tenfold. Lightning moved to stare at Vanille, her eyebrows narrowed inward.

A hand made its way down to cup the woman's moist cheek as her eyes stared deeply into Lightning's. She leaned in to kiss her briefly. "The feelings I have for you…" Vanille buried her face on the woman's shoulder, embracing her fully, "… it isn't just lust."

Lightning breathed out.

"I don't want our relationship to be like this."

No. No, no, no, no, no. She's pitying you, she's pitying you, she's pitying you—

"I want us to be more—"

You want her to scream, not to show you sympathy. Stop her, stop her, STOP HER.

"Don't." The strawberry-blonde interrupted.

Vanille pulled back hesitantly. The simple word had thrown her off the edge.

You don't need compassion from others. It's a hindrance; it's a weakness.

Lightning pushed the girl away gently. "You've mistaken," She said with a straight face. "I don't want to hear any of your bullshit."

"…"

She walked past Vanille without giving her the slightest hint of eye contact, whispering, "You're simply here for me to fuck; nothing else. That's how I see it." And she headed towards land.

Yes… throw her away. You can easily find someone else to entertain you—

Vanille snapped her eyes shut and clenched her fists. Just before the woman got too far, she turned around to grab her wrist under the clear, nightly water, stopping her.

Lightning knew she shouldn't, as she would definitely regret it, but she looked back; she looked back and saw a shaking figure of a l'Cie. Vanille was crying, but she was trying so hard to hold it in.

When she could contain her breathing once more, Vanille started weakly, "Then do it…"

What?

She opened her puffy eyes to stare at the sadistic woman. "Do it until you're satisfied…"

Lightning couldn't believe her ears. "What are you—"

"Just don't go…!" Vanille cried. "I'm in love with you, don't you understand!" She gripped onto Lightning's wrist; by now, she was certain that it was bruised up. "I don't care what you see me as, I just want you to stay—"

Fear.

The ex-soldier couldn't feel herself. What was this… cold, empty feeling inside? Why was she like this all of a sudden…? She forcefully flung her arm away from Vanille and took a few steps back abruptly, creating violent ripples in the water around them. Yes, she, Lightning Farron, backed away.

Like a coward.

Vanille had never seen Lightning like this before. The leader was… she looked traumatized. She was frightened, stunned, unable to move. Taking her chances, she moved forward. "Onee-san…" Vanille called quietly, reaching for her once more, "Please, don't go…"

"…"

"… don't go…"

It was getting harder to breathe.

What was there to hide? Why was there a need to hide? This sadistic woman made it clear – obvious, even – that she had some sort of feelings for her the last time they did this. Yet, she was denying it with so much effort right now. "Stop lying to yourself…"

Finally, "Shut your mouth, girl." Lightning spat. Her steps continued to move back, creating more distance between herself and Vanille. "Get away from me."

But Vanille didn't listen. Her hands moved on forward, getting closer and closer to her—

"I said get away!" She yelled. What was wrong with her? Why couldn't she say it in a more calm and collected way like she always did? Why was she shaking? Why was she… scared…?

"Onee-san…"

"Shut up! I said shut up!" Lightning barked, freezing the younger girl immediately. "I don't…!" She muttered, her words unclear, "… I don't need this." She watched as disappointment filled Vanille's face. "You're… nobody to me."

For some strange reason, it didn't hurt when she said that. Perhaps, Vanille decided, that she already half-expected her to say something like that. "Nobody…" She sighed, repeating after the woman.

"Yes, nobody." Lightning said. She drew her arm back to herself. This time, the girl willingly let go, and, Lightning had to admit, she didn't like the sudden loss of contact.

The two stood still for what seemed to be an eternity, staring at everything but each other. In the end, it was Vanille who moved first, with the intention of returning back to the group.

"Why are you like this?"

"…"

"If I die… if I don't make it, would it matter to you?"

She looked away, as if her question was never heard.

"Fine," The girl said quietly. "If that really is what I am to you, then please," She paused hesitantly, sadly, "… please don't talk to me anymore. Don't even look at me. If you do, I-I don't know what will happen. I might not be able to control myself."

Lightning watched Vanille turn back to shore, get dressed, and leave. She wasn't surprised that the girl didn't persist any longer – no; she was more surprised that she was, yet again, acting like a coward – unable to move, to stop her on her own… unable to stop another person from leaving her.

"Nothing, I tell you, NOTHING hurts more than having your Eidolon coming out of your brand!"

Vanille could hear Snow talking as she approached camp. She put on the best smile she possibly could, despite how much she wanted to cry. She couldn't let Fang see through her – not after what she had done with that sadistic woman.

"Oh, kid, you're back!" Sazh greeted with a wave.

Snow grinned. "Perfect! You can come and listen to my little observation."

She didn't want to talk to Fang, nor did she want to be close to her. Vanille felt that if she got anywhere around the older Oerban, a familiar feel of guilt would resurface, and she couldn't bear to carry on anymore after all that had happened. So, she sat down beside Hope, who gladly scooted over a little to make room for her. "Observation?" Vanille said in her usual tone. "What observation?"

"Snow, here, wanted to compare pain. He says that nothing hurts more than having your Eidolon summoned for the first time," Hope explained as he rolled his eyes. "Dumb, isn't it?"

Vanille smiled at the boy. She was quite surprised by the fact that she was still able to act normal. "Well, I can't really give any opinions since I haven't met mine yet…"

"It's a good thing you haven't yet, kid," Sazh said, "It's not as cool as it looks."

Hope nodded. "Having met your Eidolon only means you're that much closer to turning into a…" He covered his mouth and then looked at everyone awkwardly. "S-sorry…" Apologizing right away, he had obviously brought up an uncomfortable subject. "I didn't mean to, I—"

Vanille wrapped an arm over his shoulder and shook him gently. "Hey, it's okay!"

Fang snickered. "At least you got the pain over with. You can laugh at Vanille when she has to face hers."

The girl looked up at the huntress, who winked at her in return. If this was before, Vanille knew that she would most definitely have blushed to that. But no, not today. Perhaps not even anymore in this lifetime.

"You would just help her take care of it by the time we arrive, Fang." Snow remarked, "Like we were ever needed."

She smirked. "You make it sound like we're building sand castles or something."

Everyone broke into a small chuckle, and Vanille could only laugh along, though her mind was obviously wandering elsewhere.

"Ne, Vanille-san, where's Light-san?" Hope finally asked the inevitable question.

She stiffened a bit before answering. "She… should be coming back soon."

"How was her wound?" Snow joined in.

"I… s-she's fine." Vanille answered in an unnaturally quiet voice.

And only Hope took notice of it. He dropped his laughter upon seeing that not-so-cheery expression, and started softly, "Vanille-san, are you okay? You seem… I don't know, tired?"

"E-eh?" She blinked and turned to the boy. Oh, he was talking to her. The redhead quickly forced a smile, hiding any sort of unnaturalness within. "I'm fine," She said, "Just… yeah, I guess I am kind of tired."

"Hmm, yeah. Healing Light-san completely with that fatal wound… I can't imagine how much energy you've used."

Vanille swallowed. Erotic images of them doing unsightly things in that pond flashed through her mind. Yes, Hope, you have no idea. The thought of those fingers diving into her— no. No, Vanille, stop it. Stop thinking about it. Stop thinking about her—

"I think you should probably sleep early tonight or something, Vanille-san…" Hope suddenly said.

The girl looked at him, confused.

"I mean, you look like you're out of this world. I usually feel like that too, when I use too much power."

"Yeah, kid. Go sleep. It's not like we're going to travel anywhere at this time. Plus, our leader's missing." Sazh encouraged, his expression as kind as usual.

Tch. Leader? Missing? She was no leader to her; nor was she missing. That bitch was hiding. "O-okay, then…" She spoke softly. "Sorry…" That bitch was hiding from her.

"What are you apologizing for?" Snow laughed, "Go ahead and rest!"

"I… yeah…" Vanille nodded, too tired to say anything more. She walked a few feet away from the group, far enough so that she wouldn't hear their voices, and close enough so that they wouldn't have to worry. But it didn't make a difference – it wasn't like she needed company, anyway. Right now, what she needed most was some alone time, to think about what she had done… to get her mind straight again.

"You're nobody to me."

But when she closed her eyes, when she was this close to seeing her dreams, all that filled her were those words. That, and the woman's face.

Perfect bone structure, well-defined jawline, smooth, white skin, deep, piercing, azure eyes, and that soft, silky pink hair.

God, did she want to see her – did she want to get touched by her again. Vanille shivered at the thought; realizing how disgusting and unsightly she was, she could only curl up into a ball. The feeling will go away, it'll go away… she chanted repeatedly in her head.

"Hey,"

She opened her eyes, and found the one person she could not face in this universe, right in front of her.

The raven-haired woman grinned. "Need a pillow for the night?" She said happily, sitting herself beside Vanille as she patted her lap gently.

Oh, she was such a hypocrite, Vanille thought as she stared into Fang's forest green eyes. Whatever this huntress just said, she didn't hear; all Vanille knew was that just less than an hour ago, she told Lightning that she didn't want to see her again, but right now, all she wanted to see was Lightning. "Hey, Fang…" She started quietly.

"Hmm?"

Vanille forced a smile. "Walk with me?" No. That wasn't what she intended to say. What are you doing?

The huntress shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, why not?" Standing up first, she offered a hand to the shorter girl to help her stand. "But it can't be for long, okay? It's already dark."

To which she automatically reached for, even though her mind and body were telling her to stop because she knew very well what this was going to lead to – you're simply using her. You're using your childhood friend—

"C'mon, let's go this way, it's safer than the any other." Fang pointed to a path. Obviously, she would know, since she was one of the ones of the group who bothered to venture in this lifeless world every day.

When they've walked far enough from the campsite, Vanille couldn't hold back. She wanted it now. "Fang," She called softly.

The huntress turned around, but before she could respond, Vanille walked forward and wrapped her arms around her neck, pushing her up against a tree as the girl's lips found their way to her own. She widened her eyes in surprise, as she had no idea what this was all about, but she didn't feel like asking; if this was what Vanille wanted, then she would gladly comply…

I love her I love her I love her I love her—Vanille chanted in her head—Fang's the one I love Fang's the one I love Fang's the one I love— with force, she reached for the huntress' hand and directed it to her exposed waist, encouraging her to feel her, to pleasure her. Vanille moaned into the kiss as Fang's calloused hand ran up her back, intentionally slipping under that pink fabric at the same time to feel more of her soft skin. She bucked her hips forward as her hands ran through the huntress' wavy raven hair – this was exactly the way she wanted; this was gentle and passionate at the same time, this was so wrong but it felt so right, this… this was exactly the way Lightning did her—

"…!" She gasped and took a step back when one of Fang's hands wandered to her breast, surprising the latter once again. For a second, Vanille gathered up enough courage to glance at Fang, but that courage instantly faded; she resolved to look onto the grass below. It was so clear – there was no way she could face her. There was no way she could look at Fang the same way again, because right now, all she could see was her.

"Why'd you stop?" The taller woman asked coolly, her expression blank. Getting no reply, she took the queue to approach the redhead, this time pushing her against the nearest tree. Luckily for her, Vanille backed up without much difficulty – it was almost as if she wasn't even trying to play hard-to-get… or whatever she was trying to do. With ease, Fang reached for the girl's wrists and moved them above the latter's head, pinning them against the rough bark with one hand. Smiling, she figured that Vanille wasn't fighting back because she wanted this, so she leaned in until her lips came in contact with her smooth, white skin at her neck. Fang kissed, nibbled, and bit onto her most neck, experimenting with her most sensitive parts, and taking in her whimpers and gasps as encouragement with joy. She wanted to do this so long ago – before the crystallization, to be exact – but never had the opportunity. She thought that Vanille wasn't ready, and that, perhaps, she didn't even want this. Plus, it wasn't like they had the privacy or the time to do it. But now… having sex in the middle of Gran Pulse? Who knew Vanille had such a wild side to her? And she was the one who initiated, too. This girl must be pretty damn desperate, Fang figured.

"Aah…" The girl moaned and threw her head back. She was trying so hard to enjoy this. She was trying so hard to fall in love with this woman all over again, she was trying so hard to forget about her mistakes… she was trying so hard… to imagine Lightning being the one kissing and touching her. Yes… no matter how hard she tried to denyit, Lightning – that sadistic woman – was all that came to mind. Vanille fought the urge to moan out her name, she tried not to let this scent that wasn't Lightning's bother her, she tried she tried she tried—

Fang's teeth scraped down the redhead's throat, toying with her reactions. She loved the way Vanille would gasp when she sucked too lightly, and she loved how she would sigh so damn sensually when she did it too hard. But what amused her most was that she wasn't really vocal during sex; which was really odd because she was usually loud during any other situation. Regardless, Fang continued on, pleasuring the younger's skin like there was no tomorrow. But she decided that it was time to elevate this to another level; she wanted to be rougher, she didn't want to hold back. She was sure as hell that Vanille wouldn't mind, otherwise, why would she have initiated in the first place? Taking her chances, Fang unclasped her fellow Pulsian's accessories from the back; she let everything fall to the grass as she hurried to remove the last of Vanille's clothing – she was dying to see her.

Right now, in this era, Vanille realized that nobody except for Lightning had seen her completely exposed. "Fang, I…" Her voice shook nervously as she spoke; her arms moved to cover herself as the older Pulsian stared at her with mesmerized eyes. I don't want you to look at me.

The girl's hesitance and the lack of light did little to stop her from staring. Fang had never felt so vicious in her life. At this moment, all she wanted to do was to devour this sweet little prey in front of her. She smirked and moved in; close enough so that her breath could tickle Vanille's skin. "What's with the shyness all of a sudden?" She purred, "Not having second thoughts, are we?"

Yes, as a matter of fact, Vanille thought. Actually, I don't even know what I want right now. I don't even know what I'm doing.

"No answer?" Fang whispered. The redhead jumped at her voice, feeling slightly disgusted when she questioned her like that, but unable to word her feelings out. "Then, let's go on."

No. No. No, she didn't want this, Vanille finally decided – she couldn't do this to her closest friend. Before the huntress could feel her again, she reflexively grabbed onto the former's wrists and stared at her sternly. She had to put an end to this. She had to tell her. "Fang, no, I…" Just say it just say it just say it— "… I-I can't…"

"Hmm?" She raised a brow, confused. Just a moment ago, she was being so submissive… "Vanille, what's wrong?"

"I am." The girl answered without thinking. "For… doing this to you, I'm wrong."

Fang chuckled. "What are you talking about? Surely, there's nothing wrong with this. I mean, it's not like—"

"Fang," Vanille interrupted. When all was silent, she went on, "You don't understand,"

"Well, of course I don't understand! You're pretty much talking in riddles!" She laughed, taking everything in as a joke – like she always did.

The girl's grip on her wrists tightened. She was at her limit – she couldn't hide this any longer. Even if this wasn't going to benefit her, even if this wasn't going to make that woman admit her feelings for her, Vanille was going to tell her. "Listen," She began, "Fang, I'm not the innocent little Oerba Dia Vanille you've known five hundred years ago."

She blinked. "Of course you're not, you've grown up so much—"

"Please," Vanille cut her off, "Listen to me, I'm really, really not who I used to be…"

Her brow still arched, Fang was getting somewhat impatient. What the hell was this girl trying to say? Why the hell did she look so damn serious?

"In just two days…" Vanille swallowed, "… I fell in love."

"…"

"I fell in love with someone else, Fang, and it wasn't because I was losing feelings for you."

"What…"

She had to finish, "It had nothing to do with that silly fight we had – it was all because of me. I fell in love with her because…" Shutting her eyes tightly, Vanille tried to put it in words. But how could she possibly do so? It was humiliating just thinking about it. "… I-I… we…"

"That's enough," Fang said quietly.

The forest suddenly became twice as quiet. Vanille remained still as she didn't dare to agitate her childhood much more.

Then, the huntress started to chuckle unexpectedly. It sounded so malicious, Vanille had never heard Fang like this before. "You…" Her chuckling stopped, "… you're trying to be funny, are you?"

Vanille could only shake her head.

Fang clenched her teeth. "Tell me you're joking."

She shook her head again.

The huntress wasn't buying this. "I bet you the others are hiding somewhere, and they're all going to jump out and yell 'surprise' when I fall for this—"

"No, Fang. They're not." Vanille said, shame in her voice, "It's just you and me. Nobody's going to jump out. What I'm telling you is true – every single word."

"…"

Vanille could hear the wind blowing in the trees, and that was all. Silence had never sounded this dangerous.

"What exactly…" Fang started quietly, "Would come out of this…? What do you want me to do?"

Pathetically, she shook her head again. "I don't know…"

"Do you want me to tell you that it's okay? That I don't care that your heart has changed? Is that what you want, Vanille?"

"I don't know…"

"Dragging me out here… making me do this to you… is it a way to provoke her? Do you want her to see this? Do you want your knight to come and stop me and save you?"

Yes, that was probably it. "… I… I don't know—"

"THEN WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU KNOW?" She raised her voice. Her fists clenched up, and she threw one to the side of the girl's head, right at the bark of the tree.

It was strange, Vanille couldn't react to her childhood friend's violence. The strength from Fang's fist sent shocks all over the tree she was leaning on, yet she couldn't find the reflex to even jump. Instead, an all-too direct answer came to mind, "… I-I just know that I don't want to lie to you again." She waited for some sort of response, but all she could hear was Fang's heavy breathing. "… You've already… already done so much for me, I don't want to hide anything from you anymore…"

"I've done so much for you… and you come to tell me this?" Fang nearly bellowed. "So, now what? Do you expect me to just walk away?

Remorse and shame aside, right now Vanille felt more stupid for repeating herself so much. "Fang… I really don't know."

The huntress scoffed. "Then, Vanille, tell me," Her voice softened significantly. "What is it that she has, that I don't?"

Good question. Vanille herself did not know. Beauty, elegance, power, or personality? The two women each have their own individual and unique traits; they each have their own positive and negative sides – it was utterly impossible to just compare two beings that were so different. But the real question here was… what the hell did she see in Lightning? What did Lightning had that Fang did not, and at the same time, how come she was able to pull her away from such a stable and long relationship with a mere snap of a finger?

"Vanille," Fang called.

The girl looked down at the grass. "I…"

"Answer me."

She shook her head. "… I don't know…"

Gravity had suddenly intensified by tenfold for Fang. It was like she could no longer stand up straight; the force of Pulse was dragging, pulling even the blood inside of her downwards, and she couldn't move. This feeling was anger and confusion mixed together – no doubt – but never had she felt it so strange. Maybe she was losing it? "Vanille…"

"…"

"If you can at least give me an answer that isn't so ambiguous, I would be more satisfied." Fang stated weakly.

She watched as the taller woman backed up, almost in a slow motion. "Fang…"

"I-if you can't give me one right now…"

Vanille could feel her arteries twisting in pain. Somehow, she could tell that Fang was feeling the same – perhaps even more so than the pain of twisting arteries.

"… I'll… I'll give you time – as much as you have left – to think it over. So please, come talk to me when you have an answer."

A tear rolled down her cheek. Vanille had never seen her childhood friend act this way before. Now, she could not fathom the amount of pain running through Fang's heart.

The huntress did not say anything else, nor did she allow Vanille to say anything. Soundlessly, she turned around and disappeared into the dark woods with haste, leaving the young redhead there, still leaning against the tree.

Even knowing that it was pointless, "I'm so sorry…" Vanille said it loud enough for her to hear. She sat down – her back scraping at the bark of the tree as she moved downwards. But the girl didn't mind that she was scarring herself, as she knew that she should go through much more than physical pain to repent for her mistakes and sins – because right now, she was still very, very sure what she stupidly wanted. Vanille wanted her, even at this moment.

"Come out." The girl whispered into the air, knowing that she was there to hear it.

A quiet call of a wild animal, a wind blowing in the leaves, and that was all.

Vanille buried her head in her knees. "Come out…" She said again.

This time, only the wind was heard.

She began to shake. Whether from shame or hatred towards herself, Vanille didn't care; all she knew was that she wanted that woman for no apparent reason at all. "Lightning…"

Footsteps.

She didn't want to raise her head, but she knew that she was approaching.

"What exactly did you think," It was the soldier's voice. It was getting louder because she was coming closer. "… would have come out from doing that to her?"

Vanille looked up. Sure enough, the strawberry-blonde was kneeling in front of her, staring into her eyes, emotionless as usual. The girl fought the urge to throw her arms around that heartless woman. Instead, she smiled stupidly at her. "Your presence."

Lightning remained still. "Just to see me?"

She nodded.

"Why?"

"I thought I told you."

Lightning looked down. "I meant why," She tried to dig out more appropriate words, "Why choose someone like me over her?"

Vanille merely stared at her leader. Her mind was blank; she really could not think of the answer right now. "Then why are you here? Why were you following me if I'm a 'nobody' to you?"

She narrowed her brows. "I don't need to answer you."

Hearing that, Vanille prolonged her smile. "Then, neither do I." She took the soldier's hand into her own.

"What are you doing?" Lightning's voice darkened. She hated physical contact.

The girl simply stared into those deep blue eyes in response. "Can you grant me a simple request?"

Confused, the soldier stayed quiet and waited for her to go on.

"Stay with me tonight," She shifted her position, letting her head rest on Lightning's shoulder as she slouched her body's weight towards the woman. "It doesn't matter what you want to do with me later on; I just want to see you beside me when I wake up tomorrow morning."

Lightning unintentionally relaxed. She sat down on the grass and found herself a comfortable position. "What if I say no?"

The smile found its way back to Vanille's face. Finally, her arms moved to circle around the soldier's waist. "Had Fang and I gone any further…" She randomly started, ignoring her leader's question. "… would you have come out to stop us?"

There was a reason why Lightning was here – why she was close by. And, yes, stopping them was one of the reasons. "No."

"…"

"But I can't say the same if had you been screaming her name."

Vanille looked up.

Lightning's nails dug into the skin of the girl's exposed waist as she held her closer. "I want you to scream mine. Only mine." That was a lie. The soldier couldn't say the same regardless; whatever Fang was doing earlier, she could see it all – and throughout the entire time, she was using the best of her abilities to hold herself back from pulling that trigger. "What you do and with whom you sleep with – I do not care," She continued to lie. "I just don't want you to scream anybody else's name but mine."

The girl closed her eyes and endured the pain that the strawberry-blonde was giving her. Lightning was scraping her nails on her waist, and Vanille was pretty sure that she was bleeding. Biting on her lower lip, she fought to cry out. "Y-you…" Through the pain, she managed to sit up to straddle her legs around Lightning, "… you're not very good at lying…"

Her brows narrowed. The muscles in her jaws flexed uneasily. A free hand moved lower to grope the girl's firm bottom as she dug her nails deeper into her waist. By now, she was clawing at the little flesh that Vanille had. "Give me another word of bullshit, and I'll tear you inside out."

She moaned to Lightning's dangerous grunt. Thrusting her hips forward, she made it apparent that she was dying for this. She was getting so damn wet from this pain… "Onee-san…!"

The soldier breathed in sharply.

"I…! Y-you're hurting me…!"

Her fingers softened immediately. With subtlety, she rubbed at the scars that she just gave the girl from the side of her waist to her stomach, easing the pain. "I want you to know,"

Vanille realized she couldn't sit straight when Lightning pulled away. Suddenly at a loss of balance, her weak limbs searched for something to hold onto—

"Vanille," A hand moved to frame the redhead's face. Those hazy emerald orbs screamed with need when she looked directly into them. "You're nobody to me." Her fingers moved between the girl's inner thighs and, brushing along those wet, thin panties, she continued to speak with that darkened tone. "That's why only I can hurt you."

Her breath uneven, Vanille was long lost in trance, but she was still taking in Lightning's words, and – god – were they fucking turning her on. No matter how heartless they sounded, the girl could tell – Lightning was a liar. The woman was just as much as a hypocrite as herself. "Yes…!" When those slender digits began to rub in circles at her clit, Vanille could see white. "I-I… onee-san, I… unn…!"

Lightning stayed quiet. She pushed the fabric aside and pushed her middle finger into her softness; at the same time, her thumb continued to perform its magic on that swollen clit. Not long after, a second finger joined in, and she dug her head into the crook of the girl's neck, biting onto her sweaty skin like there was no tomorrow.

"Ah…a-ah… onee-s-san…!" Vanille embraced the soldier with all her might as she panted wordlessly into the latter's ear. Vanille dug her fingers into the back of her leader's head, forcefully drawing her closer so that her teeth could bite deeper, harder, more violently—

"… So please, come talk to me when you have an answer."

Answer. An answer? Answer?

"Onee-san… onee-san…!" She screamed with rhythm as she rocked her hips wildly.

Hn. There was no answer. Even if there was…

"I-I… I love you…! I love you…!"

… it was far too simple to be a 'satisfying' answer.

I didn't forget about this fic, guys… just that… well, I wasn't sure if anyone would want to continue to read something so mean and over-the-top. Regardless, I decided to upload this because I actually like where the plot is going :3

Support L/V and reviewwwwwwwww please!