Vanille leaned on the counter in Serah's kitchen and raised a brow at her sister. "I am not sure why you are making such a big deal about this Fang. All he did was bring me flowers,"
Fang narrowed her eyes at Vanille. "I never said it was a big deal Vanille... I just don't know the guy well so I am curious," Fang was doing an admirable job of putting on the protective sister front. She wasn't overly worried about Hope making eyes at Vanille, maybe because there was definitely respect and even fear coming out of the young man when he looked at Fang. Vanille didn't get a lot of suitors so she didn't get much of a chance to grill the now older woman and revelled in the fact that she could pick on her. Clearly genetics didn't mean much when it came to picking on a sibling.
Vanille put her tea down on the counter. "By the maker Fang! He's hope, you know him," she blinked her light green eyes. "Well you might not remember him, but you know him!"
"Well..." Fang tried to think of something on the fly. "I am not so sure about him, with his silver hair and his being in the military yeah?" Fang met eyes with Serah, who was grinning and sitting at the table. The younger Farron sister just grinned behind her mug, picking up on the game now.
"Fang! That is totally hypocritical! Lightning is in the military and you guys are-" Vanille continued to go on about double standards and judgements, not yet realizing her sister was trying for this sort of reaction. "And another thing! This is not Oerba, so it isn't like he has to impress you or fight you and you aren't older than me anymore. I cannot believe-"
"Vanille! She's just trying to get a rise out of you," Serah laughed and shook her head. "Look at how she is smirking. You'd think you never had a sister before," Serah rested a hand on her swollen belly. Vanille seemed to take this into consideration and narrowed her pale green eyes, meeting Fang's more vibrant ones.
"Oerba Yun Fang! That wasn't funny at all!" Vanille went into instant pout mode and Fang started to laugh.
"That certainly worked ya up Vanille... Ya must really like this guy," she grinned at her sister "to make a comparison with Light and all," she laughed.
"That's not fair Fang, why are you so mean to me?" Vanille was still pouting. Fang reached over to pull the shorter girl into her lap and hug her.
"Because you make an easier target than anything I have ever hunted yeah?" Fang poked her sister in the side and let her stand back up. No sooner had the Pulsian stood up before Eli came tearing into the kitchen and took her place. He reached across the table to grab a cookie, messily gobbling it on Fang's lap, leaving a cookie massacre all over her and the table.
"Eli Fang! Calm down before you hurt someone," Serah frowned. "Maybe Fang doesn't want a wiggly worm sitting on her,"
"It's fine Serah, really. I think the little wiggly worm is pretty cool," Fang winked at Serah and leaned to look at Eli "Maybe we should give your mom a break? Run around the yard a little?" Fang grinned as the boy lept off her lap in a flurry of blond hair and cookie, yanking her by her hand out into the yard.
"Come on Auntie Fang!"

Hope sat across from Lightning at lunch, putting his tray down and watching her a moment. His commanding officer and personal hero was eating a lunch from home, everything set out around her, carefully and just right. She was making a face and poking at something with a fork, lifting it up to sniff it.
"What are you eating Light?" Hope leaned over to inspect the spicy smelling food.
"I am not really sure. Fang made it for me and I am pretty sure it is mostly salt," Lightning put the fork down "I think it's something from Pulse or something," she looked around the cafeteria, pondering getting into the line and just settling for a greasy burger and if it was worth the gut pains that would no doubt happen later. She looked back to the lunch made for her and shrugged, picking her fork up again. Better heartburn than food poisoning she supposed.
Hope watched her take a bite and immediately reach for her drink. He chuckled a little and started in on his own burger. "How is Fang? Is her memory any better?"
"You ask me that everyday," Lightning looked over at him and gave a small shrug. "She remembers the odd thing here or there. Small stuff though, like when Snow tripped over that dead Cactaur and Vanille spent the evening picking needles out of his leg," she chuckled.
"That was pretty funny, I forgot that even happened. Nothing about you yet?" Hope gave her a sympathetic look when she shook her head. "I am sure it'll come back soon Light, she's only been awake for like a week," he smiled.
"I am not worried Hope," Lightning shrugged to hide how she really felt. She was a little sad that for the most part there was just a blank when it came to the soldier. "It isn't like we have limited time, we aren't l'cie anymore."

Serah sipped her tea and chuckled as she watched Fang chase Eli around the yard through the glass doors. "She seems to like kids,"
Vanille blinked and looked up from her mug. "Hmmmm? Who? Fang?" she smiled a little and leaned to look as well in time to see the woman in question scoop up the boy and swoop him through the air. "Yeah she does, she always has," Vanille shrugged. "She used to go by the orphanage in Oerba after hunts to tell stories to the kids there," Vanille smiled at the memory.
"When Snow would talk about you guys, he always implied that you were the more gentle one. He always said she was nurturing to you but kind of coarse otherwise," Serah looked to her best friend.
"Fang had a lot on her mind. When she gets worried and upset she gets like that or makes jokes," Vanille sipped her tea. "She has always been like that, I think she has a hard time thinking about herself above anyone else. She's actually sort of..." Vanille struggled to come up with a word.
"Squishy?" Serah offered. and Vanille laughed, nodding.
"Squishy is a great word for it. Fang is pretty driven and pig headed sometimes but she has a softer side to her that she lets out when her guard is down,"
"Claire is like that too, all seriousness and business most of the time but totally different sometimes," Serah smiled softly. "I wonder if they dropped the facades when they were alone and that's why Claire fell for Fang. I could totally see it. Claire doesn't let people take care of her but I know she appreciates it when they do. Well in her own way," Serah smiled.
"Fang doesn't remember much of anything and she never really told me what happened when she and Lightning went on their patrols, but I am pretty sure there were feelings there when it came to Light," Vanille got up to refill her mug. "She used to look at her a lot and I could tell she would worry about her like she does about me," She dressed her coffee and sat back down across from Serah.

"Do you think it will come back to her? What happened with her and Claire?" Serah moved her eyes from the taller Oerbian out in the yard to the shorter one at the table with her.

"Yeah sure. I think that Fang will make it happen on sheer will alone. I can tell she wants to remember what happened," Vanille smiled and shrugged. "Fang gets what she wants."

Lightning pulled into Serah's driveway and shut the car off. She took a deep breath and got out, heading up the walk and letting herself into the house. She took her boots off at the door and went to step in, having to step back as Eli tore past her making some sort of battle cry. Right behind him was Fang, who came to a halt in front of the pinkette.

"Hey Sunshine! Have a good day at work?" she leaned and gave Lightning a chaste kiss and a wink. "Gotta run... We got some fighin' to do," and Fang was chasing the boy out the front door.

"Those two have been tearing through the house for hours," Serah smiled at her sister from the kitchen doorway. "He's going to sleep like a rock tonight."

Lightning followed her sister into the kitchen, smiling a little, pleased that Fang had taken such a shine to her nephew and her sister.

"Hey Light! How was work?" Vanille was behind the island counter, working on dinner.

"Went by too slowly. I wanted to be here... Not there," Lightning sat heavily at the table. Serah blinked and looked to her sister in surprise.

"You'd rather be here than at work? Wow! This woman must really have a hold on you," she grinned a little.

"It's that obvious huh?" Lightning couldn't even hide her grin now.