So, here's my obligatory Shoujo-ai pairing piece. It was originally going to be a one shot, but as the chapter got bigger, I decided to split it in two parts. I chose Lightning and Lebreau for this pairing because hey. The smexy barmaid doesn't get enough script time. Anyways, I hope you enjoy it, and all dat Jazz, so... yeah.

On A Whim

ACT 1

Nora Bar, New Bodhum-2AF

"Welcome back Light! What can I getcha?" Lebreau, the bubbly Raven haired barmaid greeted.

"Oh hey, the usual please." Lightning Farron replied with her neutral tone.

Lightning looked around the colourfully lit room as she took a seat at a stool infront of the main bar. There were only a handful of people scattered about the place tonight-regulars at that. It was just the way she liked it. With no slackjawed losers to hit on her, she could simply wind down (or at least pretend to keep Snow and her sister from worrying about her) after a day's worth of 'work'.

...And she could quietly admire Lebreau as she went about her trade.

Lightning found it hard to believe that only 6 pulse months ago, New Bodhum was just a collection of shanties defended by her, Snow, Lebreau, and what was left of NORA against constant monster raids. But thanks to Hope Estheim's newly formed Academia, those days were long gone. With the Academia's rapid development of post Fal C'ie technology, New Bodhum now rivaled the beauty of its former Cocoon counterpart. Lebreau, and her other NORA comrades had more or less disbanded themselves as NORA-there was no longer any need for it to exist other than as a fancy name for the bar. And Snow and Serah could finally have their happily ever after(despite Lightning's continued doubts about him), now that New Bodhum had a full strength Guardian Corps batallion to watch over it-with Lightning as its Garrison Commander. For her personally, saving Cocoon yielded bittersweet results. She had a well paying job(albeit a boring one when compared to fighting on the frontlines) to keep her mind distracted from the painful sacrifice Vanille and Fang had made for all of this to be possible. But nothing more.

In an average day, Lightning's only highlight, was visiting Lebreau at her bar for an hour or two before heading back to her lonely abode by the beach to bury herself in whatever deskwork she hadn't finished during the day. Lightning and Lebreau had grown close to one another during the initial resettlement phase, and Lightning continued the comradery simply for its own sake once things had settled down. At least that's how it was initially. At time marched on to the here and now, Lightning and Lebreau found more and more to talk about, and Lightning often found herself staying till closing time and occasionally 'convinced' the patron or two who had too much alcohol to leave for her. When thoughts about Lebreau deprived her of sleep, Lightning began to question what Lebreau had meant to her exactly. Once the dreams began to occupy the few good nights worth of sleep she got, the questioning stopped. Lightning cared deeply for the barmaid, she knew that much. She wanted to call it love, but she was no expert in the field by any sense of the word, so Lightning settled on labelling her feelings as 'long term infatuation'. But it made little difference in reality. Assuming Lightning even knew how to act on such feelings, he held herself back out of fear of rejection. Fear of losing their friendship. And fear of letting somebody past the gates of her iron clad heart.

And there were plenty of reasons to become infatuated with her as well. Lightning observed her intently as she reached up to grab a bottle from the cabinet. She wore a yellow and teal variant of her usual attire. Lebreau was the only one Lightning knew of who could make wearing a bikini top over a loosely worn shirt look fashionable and not dorky. And those tight hotpants where short enough to be counted as briefs, which she covered poorly with a coloured sash. Not that Lightning minded one bit. Infact, it made her wish that Lebreau was the Guardian Corps garrison commander, just so Lightning could be an 'ass-kissing lower rank'. Fantasies aside, what really drew Lightning towards her was her character. Lebreau was a complete enigma to her. Most would never have recognised her to be a soldier. Even Lightning herself would never have picked up on it had she not known her through Snow. And the amount of loss she had suffered during The Purge alone made the personal losses Lighting could count on a single hand look childish in comparison. And yet here she was. A carefree bubbly barmaid. It puzzled Lightning to no end over how Lebreau appeared upbeat and cheery while she brooded for all the world to see(albeit alittle less when she was in the bar).

"Here ya go." Lebreau cheered, returning with a grape coloured beverage in a fleuro blue glass.

"Thanks." Lightning smiled.

"So about about something to eat?"

"Hmmm..." Lightning pondered out loud as she browsed the menu above the drinks cabinet. "Sunleth Salad."

"Wow. Haven't made one of those for a while. I'll get right on that." Lebreau said as she briefly dissappeared into the back kitchen.

"Don't rush."

Lightning secretly cursed herself for the seductive tone she used(or at least it sounded that way in her head). Somehow, being exposed to Lebreau's flirtateous manneurisms had corrupted her indifferent soldier persona ever so slightly. To the point where some of the comments she made to Lebreau sounded flirty, at least in her head. Lightning considered a leave of abscense from Nora Bar to purify herself. Only problem was that the bar was her only source for a decent meal, with her only other option being to try to cook something(and fail miserably at it). And how else could she keep tabs on Snow without being blatant enough about it to bother Serah? Of course, all this was merely justification to enjoy Lebreau's company, not that anyone needed to know that. Lightning only had time to take a single sip of her drink before the cheery barmaid returned with her dinner-a green salad filled with various edible vegetables found in the Sunleth Forests.

"Thanks again." Lightning repeated, this time trying to sound less monotone with her gratitude.

"Hey, anything for my number 1 customer!" Lebreau winked, as she leant down against the main bar, intent on staying put to chat.

"And I'm serious about that when I say it."

Lightning gave only a light nod in response as she impaled a red mushroom in her salad and gently placed it in her mouth.

"So... Anything interesting happen today?" The barmaid asked.

"Yeah. Got to scare some recruits."

"Don't you guys have drill sergeants for that?"

"We're supposed to. Just that most of them have taken to being friends before sergeants." Lightning complained.

"Yeah, I can see your point. If I wasn't so easy on the boys, I bet I could get some actual help around the bar instead of having them constantly goof off in Maqui's workshop..." Lebreau trailed off.

"...But the times we live in now don't exactly require us to be tough. We've all gone soft with the peace we've been enjoying. Even you, Light."

Had anyone else suggested that she was going soft, Lightning would've fed them a right fist just to show them how soft she was. And yet in Lebreau's presence, she could not so much as even direct an angry tone of voice at her. Even in the back of her mind, she could only curse at herself for being so weak around her.

"I'm just worried that someday, something bad is gonna happen, and none of us will be prepared for it when it does." Lightning spoke before taking another sip of her drink with a few more mouthfuls of food.

"I can see your point. But you can't spend your life worrying about something that might never happen." Lebreau optimistically countered.

"Actually, it's kinda what I'm getting paid for."

"Well, at least your good at your job." Lebreau shrugged, as she scooted off to serve another customer.

With another sip of her drink, Lightning looked around the room to see that almost everyone else had left. And normally by this time, Snow would have returned from Maqui's Workshop by now-which he hadn't. Come to think of it, Serah would normally be here by now as well, since they both shared the apartment above the bar with Lebreau. She immediately assumed that Snow had taken Serah out on a date. This would've settled most people, but not Lightning. She needed to know where Snow had taken her, and what they were doing so she could be sure that Snow was treating her properly, and Odin hath mercy on his soul if she found out otherwise.

"So speaking of goofers, where's Snow gone to?" Lightning asked Lebreau once she'd finished with her customer.

"Oh, he's taken Serah out on a date." She replied.

"Did I miss something? Since when was Chocobo Hut considered as a romantic outing for people our age?"

Lebreau let out a small giggle, being the only person other than Serah on Gran Pulse who found Lightning's dry sense of humour funny-something that always forced Lightning to bow her head to avoid anyone seeing her blush.

"Actually, they're at that new restaurant that opened near the Acedemia Branch."

"The One Winged Angel?" Lightning questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Yeah, that's it. I'm surprised you know about it." Lebreau giggled nervously.

Lebreau was a woman of many talents. Lying however, was not one of them.

"One of the Captains that report to me talks about it all the time. It's where he does all his womanising, so I know it's no restaurant." Lightning said as she narrowed her eyes at Lebreau.

"They told me it was!" Lebreau tried to re-assure Lightning, despite her transfixing glare seeing right through her feigned ignorance.

Light mercifully broke off her glare and sighed deeply. Had she found this out from anyone else, Lightning would've instantly stormed off to rescue her sister before they had a chance to say 'they made me promise not to tell'. But for Lebreau's sake, she held back the raging storm of her temper.

"You know I'm not happy about the idea of the two of them getting wasted in some nightclub." Lightning calmly lectured before finishing a few more mouthfuls of salad.

"Y'know, you should try and put alittle more trust in those two."

"How can I? What, with all the assault reports my men on Civil Protection file involving nightclubs. In fact, knowing Snow, I wouldn't be surprised if I find his name on one of those reports. And if that happens, I swear by Odin, that-" Lightning's voice increased slightly in volume from frustration.

"Trust me Light. That's not going to happen." Lebreau said in a stern, yet calming tone as she reached out to place a hand on Lightning's shoulder.

Lightning could only sigh as her violent mood melted away at the touch of Lebreau's warm hand. Aside from Serah, Lebreau was the only one who could instantly quell Lightning's temper.

"I'm sorry Breau. I just... Well you know ho much I care about my sister." Lightning struggled to justify her outburst.

"Honey, I know how you feel. And I care just as much as you do about Serah." Lebreau said in a re-assuring tone, causing Lightning's face to turn the colour of her hair at the word 'Honey'.

"But sometimes, being over protective can do more harm than good."

"I know." Was all lightning could say as she tended to the last of her salad.

Although she'd opened up to Lebreau on a casual level, Lightning continued to do what she'd always done with her personal problems. She bottled them up, and kept them away from everyone else. Even in these days of peace. Her pride as a soldier dictated her to never be seen as weak. Even to her former L'Cie comrades, and especially to Lebreau.

"Hey, if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to pay now." Lightning asked.

"Light, you know I'm happy to feed you on the house." Lebreau offered.

"I'd be happier if you'd let me do my part to keep my watering hole running." Lightning insisted.

With a sigh of defeat, Lebreau handed Lightning a gil transaction unit. Lightning then pulled out her card from one of the tiny satchels in her pocket and scanned it in the machine. After punching a few numbers into the holo-display, her transaction was complete. Before Lightning could contemplate another thought, the entrance burst open to reveal an intoxicated Snow and Serah. Thankfully, only Lightning and Lebreau were there to witness it, as anyone else had already left prior. The former dressed in a smart leather jacket and matching pants, whilst the later was dressed in a cute pink one piece dress with matching thigh high legwarmers. Lightning admitted that she looked cute-at least she would have without the shameless half-coherent face she wore from too much liquor.

"Honey, we're hooome!" Snow shouted, barely holding himself up with Lightning's sister leaning on him ready to fall.

"Oh hey sis! I didn't know you moved in. W-when did you move in?" Serah asked, barely putting her sentence together.

Lebreau giggled at the endearing couple before shifting her focus to Lightning, who was far less amused.

"Hey Breau... Y'think y'could maybe y'could uhhh... close the bar up early? Just that Serah an I have a few issues to work out, and we may probably make alotta noise." Snow asked.

Snow mercifully used a double entendre to describe what they were planning to do, though it did little to numb the sting of the reality. They were going to have sex. Snow was going to have sex with her sister. The idea and imagery played over and over again like a looped recording in Lightning's mind, causing her to grip her knees almost tight enough to break them. Even despite fighting side by side with Snow and saving Cocoon with him, Lightning still found the idea of him doing those things with her sister repulsive.

"Hey hey hey!" Serah chanted. "Y'know, I'm not sure they understand whatcha mean."

"Basically, we're gonna go FU-"

"Serah!" Lebreau cut in as she gracefully vaulted over the bar.

"We totally get what you mean! Now you two hurry along upstairs and... work out your issues." Lebreau urged, sparing Lightning from her sister's graphic description.

"Oooookey Dokey." Snow replied as he scooped Serah up in his arms and staggered up the stairs at the other end of the main bar.

"Thanks, Breau." Lightning said softly once she was sure Snow and Serah couldn't hear her.

"I know you don't like the idea of them being together thrown in your face like this..." Lebreau replied.

"But this could've been a lot worse. Snow could've come back with another girl..."

The Pinkett soldier knew what Lebreau was implying. Deep down, she knew her reasons for openly resenting Snow for being with her sister stemmed from childish jealousy-no matter how mature she tried to make it sound. Lebreau had a way with words that forced her to see this fact, but her pride always won out in the end, and she continued her hostility towards Snow(albeit with less intensity around the barmaid). Lightning sometimes wondered just how transparent she seemed to her. Often, something she said would shake Lightning to the core, often bringing about yet another sleepless night wondering if the barmaid had figured out something she didn't want others to know. Lightning stared at the ground contemplating these thoughts, when she felt Lebreau's eyes burning into her skull.

"Hey Light?" she asked, with a nervous tone different to when she was caught out lying about Snow and Serah's whereabouts.

Lightning looked up to see a bashful looking Lebreau with her hands behind her back, and her shoulders tensed up. She had to fight off a blush over how adorable the barmaid looked there. It also confused Lightning. She'd never seen the normally confident barmaid act this way before.

"Would it be OK if I hung out with you at your place for a while? They're gonna go at it like behemoths all night long, and I really don't wanna spend the night trying to block out the noise."

Lightning's eyes widened at Lebreau's request. The idea of guests was daunting enough as it is, with the only people to have ever visited her house being Serah and Snow. The fact that it was Lebreau, whom she'd been harbouring unrequitted love for was something that she might not ever be ready for. Lightning wracked her brain for an excuse, as she could not bring herself leave her response as 'no' like she could with everyone else. Her mind struggled to pick between deskwork and early morning, only to be interrupted by the unmistakable sound of giggling from upstairs.

"Please" Lebreau worded silently.

Lightning's resolve shattered when she saw the desperation in the barmaid's eyes. Had their roles been reversed, Lebreau would've offered Lightning an escape from the sounds of Gran Pulse's mating season without a second thought. Leaving Lebreau at the bar now, would've meant yet another sleepless night feeling guilty about it, followed by prefusely apologising out of character for it the next evening. Despite the soldier side of her conscience telling her to just leave, Lightning found herself making what would either the best, or worst decision of her life.

"Sure"

aaand, we're done. So I'm gonna leave all the main notes on the foot of the second chapter.

...

why are you still here? Go read it, lol. XD