Not According to Plan

Snow x Lightning

The truth is that life never goes according to plan or turns out the way you thought it would…

Instead, it's even better.

Lightning Farron scowled irritably, rummaging through her closet for what seemed to be the hundredth time. It was as if she were still searching and hoping that there was something in her wardrobe she had overlooked. But she found nothing. Anxiously, she whipped her head around in the direction of the alarm clock resting on her nightstand. It was almost five o'clock.

Dammit. He'd be here any minute…

Lighting turned back around to face her closet-full of clothing, which in all honesty wasn't much. In her defense though, she mostly only ever wore her Guardian Corp uniform and rarely had opportunities to sport causal clothing in public. And Lightning certainly wasn't a "girly-girl" like her younger sister was, so the clothing she did have was just plain shirts and jeans. For a split second, Lightning contemplated asking Serah for an outfit to borrow, but she quickly thrashed those thoughts.

She was being ridiculous! She knew she was. And on top of it, she was working herself into a froth over nothing. Absolutely nothing.

It's just a stupid date, Lightning told herself. It's not a big deal what you do or what you wear.

And yet at the same time, it was…

Just as Lightning was throwing down another T-shirt onto the accumulating pile of rejected clothing, there was a knock on the open bedroom door. Lightning's electric blue eyes glanced over to find her younger sister Serah watching her from the edge of the room.

"Hey," Serah said cheerfully, smiling brightly to her elder sister, "You almost all ready?"

Lighting sighed, rolling her eyes dryly. "As ready as I'll ever be," she replied monotonously. She was the epitome of ecstatic.

Serah giggled, shaking her head disapprovingly at her sister's lack of enthusiasm. As her laughter was expiring, Serah's bright and curious eyes wandered around her older sister's bedroom. She smiled silently to express her amusement of the disastrous mess that had taken over and then turned her attention back to Lightning.

"Are you sure about that?" Serah questioned gently, casually folding her arms as she gazed around at the messy room again, "You seem kind of frazzled Sis."

Lightning frowned slightly. She wasn't exactly sure if what she was feeling could be called "frazzled", although she was a bit uneasy and irritable. After all, she couldn't recall the last time she had gone out on an actual date...

Serah giggled, bringing Lightning's mind back into focus. "I'll bet Snow would love to see you getting this worked up over your date."

At this, Lightning shot her sister a dangerous look and Serah winced as if the glare physically hurt her. Lightning pinched her brow, her mind fuming the longer that she stared at her meddlesome sister. Serah always had good intentions and was always looking out for her big sister; Lightning was sure of this. However, Serah had really screwed up this time when she set Lightning up on a date with a man that Lightning already detested.

"Aw, come on Sis," Serah pleaded before her sister could retort something foul, "You don't even know who he really is. Trust me, Snow is a really, really nice guy, and he'd be so good for you if you gave him the chance."

Lightning frowned. Quite frankly, she already knew everything that she needed to know about Snow and his gang of pretentious heroes. She had seen him before on multiple occasions heedlessly running around town trying to be everyone's protector, and she found the whole ordeal completely childish. Snow was arrogant, hotheaded, irresponsible, and had no respect for rules or authority; everything that Lightning was not. And that description wasn't even scratching the surface of how Lightning really thought of him.

"It doesn't matter whether or not I give him a chance," Lightning stated candidly, "That won't change who he already is."

"Sis, please," Serah was begging now, her bottom protruded out in a pout, "You can't just go into a date with that kind of attitude. Do you want to be single forever? I certainly don't want that, and I know deep down that you don't either. But listen, you're never going to connect with someone if you already shut them down. Please, just try, okay?"

Her expression remaining neutral, Lightning sighed inwardly. She knew Serah was speaking logically, but that still didn't change what was already firmly set in Lightning's mind.

She did not like Snow.

Judging by the grudging look of stubbornness locked in her sister's eyes, Serah sighed in defeat. But she dared to try again. "How are you so certain that it won't work out between you and Snow?"

"Because," Lightning replied sharply, "I know Snow and I know what kind of relationships that his type gets involved in." Even a complete idiot could see how much of a ladies-man Snow was; he was a flirt and had girls fawning over him everywhere he went. In his universe, relationships never lasted long because he had no sense of long term commitment. Lightning knew for a fact that even if she opened up to Snow, their "relationship" wouldn't ever amount to anything, so why should she waste her time by going out with Snow on this date?

"Really?" Serah questioned dubiously, "Okay, so enlighten me then." She smiled mischievously, "You know, since I obviously don't know as much about Snow and his past relationships as you do."

Ignoring her persistent sister, Lightning crouched down and began rifling through the pile of clothing, examining the garments before tossing them aside again.

"Also," Serah went on, "If you really don't like Snow, why are still fussing over what you're going to wear on the date?"

Lightning frowned. She was really wishing Serah would get of her case already. "This is ridiculous Serah," Lightning scowled, standing up and facing her abruptly, "I just need something presentable to wear in public. I'm certainly not dressing up for that idiot."

Serah shrugged, doubting the truth in her sister's answer. She pushed those thoughts down however, tilting her head to the side thoughtfully as she looked over the outfit her sister already had on. Lightning was wearing a semi-formfitting black tank-top coupled with frayed, bleach spotted denim shorts and black high top sneakers.

"What's wrong with what you're wearing? I like it," Serah told her genuinely, "Snow will think it's hot too."

At that, a feral growl escaped from Lightning clenched jaw. "That's it, I'm changing," she declared irritably. But no sooner did she say that, the doorbell rang.

An excited squeal exploded out of Serah and she beamed at her sister. If Lightning didn't know any better, she would have assumed that Serah was the one going out on a date that evening.

"That's him!" Serah shouted with glee, running forth at her sister and grabbing Lightning's wrist. "Come on, come on!"

Lightning struggled with minimal effort against her sister, "No! I'm changing out these clothes first."

"Oh no you're not!" Serah laughed, stumbling as she tried her best to drag Lightning out of the bedroom, "You can't leave him waiting on the first date. Besides, you look beautiful Sis, I promise you."

Lightning scowled, giving in to her sister with much reluctance. Serah squealed again, trying to pull Lightning down the hallway quickly. Lightning broke free from her sister's grip, sighing as Serah bounded ahead, running down the stairs for the door. Lightning followed behind at a casual pace, just stepping down onto the landing as their house door swung upon and revealed a tall, broad shouldered man standing on the doorstep. Lightning sighed and rolled her eyes inwardly.

This is it…

"HEY!" Snow greeted Serah with a booming voice, grinning jovially.

Serah smiled reply, "Hey yourself. I'm so glad you could make it tonight."

"Are you kidding?!" Snow chuckled, "I wouldn't miss this date with destiny for the world."

Lightning scowled as the two of them chatted idly, finally coming forth from where she had been standing at the bottom of the stairs. Snow's eyes shot up from Serah as Lightning appeared from the shadows, his entire expression changing. His eyes widened, taking in the sight of Lightning's beautiful silhouette making her way over to him. Her stride was so easy to recognize in a crowd; she walked with a captivating air of confidence, like a stoic model strutting down the catwalk, and with her chin held high.

Beautiful…

Serah turned in acknowledgement to her approaching sister, scooting out of the way so that Snow could enter the house sister and approach Lightning in return. Lightning came to a compete stop behind Serah and folded her arms impatiently as she met Snow's eyes.

Snow continued to take her in, admiring the clothing that hugged every curve on Lightning's thin, athletic body. Lightning's luscious waterfall of hair, the color of pink champagne, was gathered over one shoulder and her long feathered side bangs pooled into her aquatic eyes. She wore very minimal makeup, just a small amount of eyeliner and mascara to accent her alluring eyes, but she honestly didn't need any makeup to look as beautiful as she did.

Lightning frowned, eyeing Snow suspiciously as he gazed upon her. She had never known him to act so…earnest and sincere. She almost liked it. But Snow ruined the moment the minute he finally opened his big mouth and blurted out, "Wow…you look hot Light."

Lightning pinched her brow and she growled. Nope, this was still the same Snow that she loathed. Cynically, like a disapproving parent, Lightning looked Snow up and down. There was no denying that Snow was a handsome man, everyone in the town of Bodum thought so. But even still, Lightning refused to admit that out loud. He was almost 6'7 in stature, a good foot taller than Lightning, and his structure was comprised entirely of pure muscle. Snow had chin length platinum blonde hair, bright blue eyes, and a faint dusting of blonde stubble on his jaw. His skin was pale, but still inhabited a sun kissed glow from all the hours that he spent outside on the beach. He was wearing his usual getup; a long, unbuttoned khaki trench coat, a white T-shirt, black pants, dark working boots, and a black bandana wrapped around his head. Lightning could tell from his apparel that he hadn't put much thought into getting ready for their date.

"Oh I almost forgot," Snow said hastily, hoping to redeem himself as she revealed from behind his back a lovely bouquet of red roses. He cracked an earnest grin, "I bought these for you."

To her shock, Lightning felt a patter of girlish joy in heart as gazed upon the flowers and then stared up into Snow's cerulean eyes, their color deep and ever changing like the ocean. But once she was aware of what was happening, she hastily she looked down and berated herself inwardly for falling to his charm. Lightning glanced back up, her expression foul again. "If you're looking to impress me with some cheesy bouquet of flowers, you've got the wrong person," she mocked.

Roses on the first date? How cliché was this guy?

"Ha-ha-ha…" Serah fake-laughed uneasily, making her way in-between Lightning and Snow and smiling apologetically up at Snow, "She's kidding, don't worry. Here, let me take those from you, and I'll go put them in a vase of water." Serah held her hands out to take the flowers from Snow, and Snow turned them over.

"Yeah, sure thing. Thanks," Snow said with a wink. He hardly seemed fazed by Lightning's rejection.

Serah smiled politely to him again and nodded before leaving. She gave Lightning a dirty look as she turned away so that Snow didn't see it. Lightning frowned, and Serah hurried off into the kitchen with the roses. While Serah was gone, Lightning made an effort to ignore Snow as much as possible. But Snow had different intentions.

"You know…I'm really glad you agreed to give me a chance tonight," Snow told Lightning, sounding earnest again. But only for a split second. "I know really do you want to go out with me, so you can stop pretending that you hate my guts. If you don't mind that is," Snow smiled.

"Hmmp," Lightning hummed rudely, not making eye contact. If he only knew how much I actually despised him, Lightning thought. It took a lot of self control not to repel some snarky comment back at him, but in the end, Lightning realized that Snow wasn't worth her time or energy.

Snow exhaled loudly, looking up towards the ceiling as he causally folded his hands behind his head. He was silent for a little while before trying again. "So Light…umm…"

"What?" Lightning snapped hastily.

Snow looked down to her and lowered his arms back down to his sides. "I was just going to ask why you agreed to-"

"Okay!" Serah called as she reentered the room, and Snow and Lightning looked towards her. Serah eyed the both of them, as if trying to tell whether or not they had hit it off yet. "You guys better head off now on your date. There's no point of staying around here."

Lightning frowned and stepped away as Snow attempted to take her by the arm and escort her outside in chivalric fashion. Snow then tried to take her hand, and again Lightning sent him a murderous look.

"I can walk by myself," Lightning informed him coldly.

"Okaay…" Snow shrugged, turning away and walking out the door with Lightning following behind him. But before Lightning could go far, Serah abruptly took hold of her wrist and held her back.

"Wait! Serah spoke up, "Snow, would you mind if I just talk to my sister privately before you whisk her away?"

"No, of course not," Snow replied cheerfully, stepping out further onto the porch as Lightning stepped back inside. Serah quickly closed the door and turned to her scowling sister.

"Whisk me away?" Lightning repeated foully, "What the hell was that all about?"

Serah stared up at her sister sternly, unafraid. When she wanted to be, Serah could be just as firm and intimidating as her elder sister. "Lightning, you better not treat him like this the whole date. He's trying, so the least you can do is reciprocate just a little."

Lightning adverted Serah's gaze slightly and said nothing.

Serah released a small sigh, her angry expression relaxing as she took her sister's hands. "I know you're mad at me for setting you up on this date, but I did it because I love you. You're always making me go out on limbs and try something I'm not comfortable doing, all because you know what's best for me." Lightning met Serah's eyes again at this and Serah went on, "And I know what's best for you too."

"Serah…" Lightning said softly.

Serah smiled kindly, "Besides, you never know what might happen. Things could work out and you might actually fall for him."

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Tch, yeah. I don't plan on it."

Serah shrugged her shoulders naively, "That doesn't matter. If something is meant to happen, than it will happen."

And with that, Serah encouragingly pushed her sister out the door so Lightning could join Snow on their date. Snow grinned in greeting and Lightning reluctantly allowed Snow to loop his arm around hers and lead them down the stone pathway away from the house.

"Have fun!" Serah called after them from the doorstep before then retreated into the house, giggling ridiculously with glee.

Lightning glanced over her shoulder, making sure that Serah was gone before retracting her arm with a jerk and pulling away from Snow.

"Whoa, whoa," Snow said in alarm, pausing his stride as he turned and looked questioningly at Lightning. Lightning glared at him darkly, turning on her heel sharply and marching down the path without Snow. Snow hastened after her. "Hey! So what, you're putting on some show while your sister is around, but once she's gone you go back to treating me like dirt?"

Lightning ignored him even as he cut in front of her and blocked her path. She scowled, refusing to make eye contact as she tried to get past him, but Snow blocked her at every angle she tried. Finally Lightning looked up to him. "Listen," she told him firmly, "We go on this one date, do you hear me, ONE date, and I'll be as civil as absolutely necessary. Just so long as you don't try anything funny with me. Are we clear?"

Snow scratched his head, furring his brow in bemusement. Lightning didn't wait for his answer before moving around Snow and carrying onwards. Snow turned around, staring after her in a daze before finally saying, "Uhm…Sure?"

They walked in silence until Lightning turned toward Snow once she was standing in the driveway next to his black Ford truck. "Where's your bike?" she asked him as he neared her.

Snow grinned, "I kinda figured you wouldn't want to ride on a bike with me. Ya know, especially because you can't even stand to hold onto my arm."

Lightning rolled her eyes with annoyance, stepping up into his enormous truck without waiting once Snow unlocked it with the car remote. She adjusted herself in her seat until she was comfortable, clicking in her seatbelt as Snow plopped himself down in the driver's seat.

"Ready to go Light?" Snow grinned as he glanced over to his beautiful, pink haired date. Lightning rolled her eyes and looked out the window like she wanted to kill herself. Snow chuckled softly under her breath, trying to suppress the smile that crossed his face as he put the car in drive and sped off.

"So, is there any place special that you wanted to go tonight?" Snow broke the silence. He went on when Lightning said nothing. "I was going to take you to this cool restaurant that I know, if that's cool with you. I have a friend who works there, so you know," Snow chuckled, "I'm pretty sure she could hook us up with a good deal."

That's just another way of admitting that he is looking for a cheap date, Lightning thought to herself with disgust.

"So Light," Snow spoke up again after a few minutes passed by, "Going back to what I was trying to ask you earlier, why did you agree to go on a date with me if you really didn't want to?"

"Hell, I don't know," she grumbled.

And she honestly didn't. At least…she thought she didn't.

The conversation dropped after that. As they drove past the familiar tropical scenery of Bodum, Lightning huffed her breath. In her mind she kept replaying the things that Serah had spoke to her just before they had left: "You never know what might happen. Things could work out and you might actually fall for him. If something is meant to happen, than it will happen"

What exactly did that mean?

Would she…Could she actually fall for Snow…?

No, Lightning quickly shot down the possibilities before even considering them for a nanosecond. No Lightning, she told herself firmly, you control your own destiny and never steer off on an unexpected path. She already had set her life on a specific plan that she was supposed to follow, and falling for Snow Villiers was not part of that plan.

She would make damn sure of that.

After parking in the busy parking lot, Lightning and Snow made their way up to the restaurant. It was a quaint casual place, set right on the beach. Once they were inside, Snow approached a pretty, dark haired waitress, sending her a wink and smile as he requested a table outside. Lightning recognized the waitress, Lebreau, from Snow's group and assumed that this must have been the friend that Snow had been talking about. Lebreau looked Lightning over as they were formally introduced, telling Snow that Lightning was 'out of his league' before leading them onto the open air patio. Everything was neatly decorated with cozy tables and brightly glowing tiki torches lined against the patio railing. But the best part was the incredible view overlooking the brilliant sunset on the horizon as it transformed the surrounding sky and the crystalline sea orange and gold.

"Best seat in the house," Lebreau declared cheerfully, gesturing her arms towards a table set for two. Lightning and Snow found their seats across from one another as Lebreau handed them their menus and rambled on about the specials.

"Okie-dokie," Lebreau said in closing as she began to back away, "You kids have fun now, you hear me?"

Snow grinned, glancing over to Lightning before looking back to Lebreau, "Oh we will don't you worry. And we'll eat a lot too."

Lebreau chuckled, "That's why you're a great customer Snow. But don't gross your date out so earlier on," she scolded him playfully, giving Lightning a mindful look. With that, she waved and hurried off to attend to the other customers.

Lightning stared after Lebreau silently, refusing to look in Snow's direction until he spoke up finally.

"Lebreau," Snow explained, "I've practically known her my whole life. She's like a sister to me."

"Oh," Lightning said simply with blatant disinterest. She honestly didn't care what his relationship with Lebreau was. Did he think she was jealous or something? As if…

Snow went on. "Yeah…Actually all of us are kinda like family. Ya know, by all of us I mean the rest of the NORA gang." He paused for a minute, his expression becoming solemn in that time. "Growing up, I didn't ever know my actual birth parents and didn't have the traditional family structure most people have. Those guys were all I had…and still are." Snow shrugged and smiled nonchalantly, his somber expression dissipating like it had never been there at all, "But you know, I wouldn't change any of that for the world. I think things have worked out just right for all of us."

Lightning frowned, "…And, what exactly was the point in telling me all that?"

Snow crinkled his brow in confusion, chuckling good naturedly. "Huh? Whaddya mean? That's what you're supposed to do on dates, get to know one-another. You can't exactly do that by silently staring off into space." He cracked a humorous grin, "Your sister wasn't kidding when she said you weren't good at this dating thing, huh?"

Lightning glowered at Snow resentfully for that remark, but she kept her composure. "So answer this to me. You asked me this same question, so now I want to know," Lightning implored straightforwardly, "Why the hell did you want to go out with me, or at least consent to it, even when you knew that I didn't like you?"

Snow laughed heartily. The cheerful, carefree sound of it added to Lightning's annoyance. "Well isn't that a loaded question," Snow replied, chuckling again. "Hmm, let me see…" He leaned back in his chair, supporting his hands behind his head as a thoughtful expression clouded his face. Within ten seconds he arrived at an answer, and he leaned forward in his seat again and folded his hands on the table. "Well it goes without saying that you're beautiful," he confessed, staring her straight in the eyes.

Involuntarily, Lightning's heart skipped a beat at this, but she recovered swiftly. "Really? That's best you could come up with?" Lightning provoked arrogantly.

"I wasn't done," Snow ensured earnestly, the corners of his lips turning up endearingly as he gazed upon her face. His bright blue eyes seemed to twinkle as he said this. "I also admire your intelligence, how independent and sure of yourself you always are, and your complexity. You're a tough person to place and I still haven't… I'd tried so many times to talk to you and figure you out, and for some reason the way you'd just ignore and reject me only made me want to talk to you even more." Snow shrugged, waiting for Lightning to come out with a snide remark.

But for some strange reason, Lightning disregarded what Snow had said altogether. "So, since you're so eager to talk, talk then." She decided to take Serah's advice and give Snow Villiers a chance to make a second impression. "Tell me about yourself."

Snow shrugged, "What about me?"

Lightning frown impatiently. Did she have to baby him completely? "I don't know…" she grumbled, struggling to think of a good question that would give her a clear sense of who Snow really was. "Do you have any kind of plans or aspirations for yourself besides leading around a bunch of kids for the rest of your life?" Lightning decided it would be nice to discover if there actually was a 'grown-up' and mature version of Snow.

But as she expected, Snow let her down in that department.

"Plans?" Snow repeated as if the word 'plans' was foreign to him. "I don't know exactly what you expect me to say. I haven't really thought the future or anything like that through much. I just have a general idea of what I'd like to do or have. How I get from Point A to Point B, that's just not important to me. Ya know?"

Lightning frowned. No, she didn't know.

Snow went on, "I mean, I love what I'm doing now with NORA." He grinned jovially "Ever since I was a kid, I always knew I wanted to be a hero, someone that people could depend on, someone who could help others. That, and I've always wanted to have myself my own big happy family. Besides that, I don't really have too many other huge expectations for myself. I'm more open for just letting life take me wherever it wants to. "

Snow paused, noticing the cynical expression glowering at him from across the table. He laughed it off, rubbing the back of his neck uncomfortably. "Of course, a solider like you is probably trained to plan out every second of their life, huh?" Snow lowered his arm back down and smiled mildly. "I guess I've always kinda thought like this ever since I was a kid. Back then I was put in situations that I couldn't control, so I learned to make the most of it. There's no point in making plans, because whatever happens, happens and you live through it and go on hoping for the best." Snow shrugged simply, "And that's it."

Lightning was hesitant, still trying to wrap her mind around everything that had just swiped out of Snow's mouth before she finally declared, "That's probably the stupidest, most irresponsible thing I've ever heard."

Not make plans? That was blasphemy to her.

"Maybe," Snow shrugged again, completely unfazed, "People are allowed their opinions, and that's just mine."

Grumbling inwardly, Lightning staring off towards the ocean horizon, preferring not to look or think about Snow. The natural light was now fading quickly, and the sky was darkening.

"So what about you?" came Snow's jovial voice.

Dryly, Lightning looked towards him. "What?" she snapped.

"I mean, tell me about yourself now. I've done plenty of the talking," Snow chortled.

Lightning frowned, "No thanks."

"Why not?" Snow pestered naively.

"Because it's none of your business."

Snow gaped at her, "Well hey, that's not fair. I just told you all those personal details about myself."

"Who said anything about fairness?" Lightning rebutted, "And besides, that was your own careless error, making mindless confessions. Perhaps you should have planned ahead on that one."

Lightning ended the conversation abruptly, turning away again. Snow opened his mouth to speak up, but Lebreau returned before he could. Snow and Lightning hastily flipped through the menu while Lebreau brought them drinks, and then they ordered their meals. Lebreau chatted with them for a little while and then hurried off, leaving the disagreeing yin and yang pair to themselves. After a while, Snow decided to try again with Lightning.

"Hey Light…do you believe that things happen for a reason?" Snow asked, his voice somewhat philosophical as he spoke. "Like, do you think certain people and things come into our lives for a reason to teach us a lesson or maybe to open our eyes to something?"

"No," Lightning replied sharply.

Snow didn't let that stop him. "I've always thought so…" he paused, looking out across the water. The sun had set completely now, and the only light around came from the tiki torches blazing that lined the tables. Snow gazed back across the table to Lightning, studying the majestic, mystical aura that encompassed her as the firelight and shadows danced across her face. Snow drew in his breath and went on, "All of our experiences and all the people one way or another shape our destinies. Good or bad, I think everything that occurs has a specific purpose. Even if you don't understand what that purpose is."

"That's just what people tell themselves to make their lives sound more meaningful than they actually are," Lightning mumbled pessimistically.

"I guess so," Snow agreed passively, smiling mildly, "But either way, all the good and the bad in our lives make us who we are."

Lightning's eyes curiously raised to meet Snow's, but said nothing. Snow smirked, Lightning's silence confirming that she finally agreed with him on something. Lightning frowned, breaking the silence again, "So that's why you don't bother making plans? You leave it all up in the hands of fate because you naively believe that everything happens for a reason?"

Snow nodded. "Well, hey, I wouldn't exactly say it's naïve. But yeah." He paused, "And even if it's not true, that things happen for a reason, I'd still believe in it anyway."

"Why?" Lightning asked incredulously.

Snow chuckled, "I dunno. I guess because believing that everything happens for a reason means that we don't need to worry about or try to control everything that could happen. We can just let life happen without making any plans, and hope for the best." Snow shrugged nonchalantly. "Maybe…something like that."

Maybe… Lightning thought in silent agreement.

An hour and a half later, once dinner had been served and eaten, Lightning and Snow were piling out of Snow's truck in Lightning's driveway. Their date was over now, and a great wave of relief flooded of Lightning. She was grateful she had gotten through the date as easily as she had. To be honest…it hadn't been as horrible as she had feared. And neither was Snow…

Of course, she would never admit that out loud to anyone.

Snow walked Lightning up to her doorstep, trailing behind her and not attempting to lead her by the arm. When they were standing under the patio lights, Lightning turned around to face Snow stoically.

"I had a really nice time with you tonight," Snow offered, clearing his throat.

Lightning nodded, "It was manageable," she replied monotonously, "Still not how I would have preferred to have spent by Saturday evening."

Snow chuckled, grinning honestly as his eyes raised up to the starry night sky. "You're something else, Light."

Frowning, Lightning narrowed her eyes, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Snow lowered his eyes down to Lightning's. "It's not an insult," he confirmed earnestly, "It's just that you're not like most girls. Most people in fact, who all just say exactly what they think or feel… But you…" Snow shrugged, at a loss for words for once. He gazed down at Lightning, and before he was able to stop himself, he began to lean down to kiss Lightning on the lips.

"Woah!" Lightning pushed Snow back violently away from her before their lips touched, "What the hell kind of move was that?!" She gawked at Snow, waiting for an answer as he staggered forward again, but all she got in reply was a stupid, amused smirk playing on his lips. Lightning frowned sternly, "If you ever try to pull that stunt with me again, I will punch your teeth clean out of your head, do you understand that?"

"Yeesh," Snow winced at the thought of that, holding up his hands in an act of surrender, "Yeah, yeah, sure. I understand."

"Good," Lightning announced coldly. Bubbling with fresh irritation at Snow and also herself for believing Snow could be different, Lightning whirled away and turned for the house door. She had just twisted the doorknob and taken a step into her house when she heard Snow's voice call out to her.

"Lightning?"

Lightning glanced over her shoulder, frowning unsurely as she turned her body towards him more and closed the door. She met Snow's eager, earnest eyes as he then asked, "Can I see you again?"

As the simple request left his mouth and the words echoed through Lightning's mind, she found herself unable to respond. All she could do was stare at Snow across the way as he did the same. The poor thing, Lightning thought, he looks so stupid and pathetic... and yet…

"What are you doing?"

Lightning turned to look at her younger sister standing under the doorframe of Lightning's bedroom. Lightning had been lacing up her vintage combat boots when Serah had decided to nose her way into her elder sister's business. Lightning finished tying her boots and stood up. With her brown boots, she was wearing a light brown T-shirt and long jeans tucked into her brown boots.

"I'm going out," Lightning replied matter-of factly, as if it were common knowledge.

"You are?" Serah came into the room with a puzzled expression on her face, "By yourself? Where are you going?"

Lightning sighed tiredly, pressing hand to her face. It was humiliating enough what she was doing, never mind having to admit it out loud to herself and her sister. "I'm….going out with Snow tonight."

"You're what?!" Serah exclaimed in shock, and Lightning wanted to curl up in a ball and die of mortification as Serah began to babble on about how happy she was for her sister.

"You're not just teasing me right?" Serah tested, just to be sure.

"No, I'm not," Lightning replied, although a part of her wished that it all was just a joke.

"Wow, this is unbelievable though," Serah beamed happily for her sister, "I'm sure Snow was pretty shocked too."

If you only knew, Lightning thought inwardly, the moment replaying in her mind with such clarity.

Watching her sister thoughtfully, Serah finally said. "You must really like him, huh?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Lightning demanded, "Who said anything about me liking the guy?"

Serah smiled insightfully. "It's just…you've never gone on more than one date with anyone before. Actually," Serah giggled, "I don't think you've even made it through one whole date without storming out midway."

"So what?"

"SO?!" Serah exclaimed with exasperation. She sighed, shaking her head lowly, "Light, I love you, but when it comes to romance and admitting your feelings, you are so hopeless."

Lightning rolled eyes indifferently.

Snow came and picked Lightning up around five, same as before except this time they had decided to go see a movie instead of going to dinner. The movie they had picked was "Sinister", much to Serah's dismay and disapproval. Serah had tried to convince her sister that when first going out with someone, it was a good idea to see romantic comedies, not horror movies. "It doesn't exactly get you in the romantic mood," Serah had argued, but Lightning didn't care. And since Snow was up for anything, he didn't care either.

The movie date went well in Lightning's opinion, seeing how watching movie required zero socialization. At one point in the movie however, Lightning had actually jumped in her seat and gasped slightly, and Snow had tried to smoothly stretch his arm around her shoulders to console his date. But she didn't let him of course, elbowing him gruffly in the ribcage so that his popcorn overflowed all over the floor. After the movie, Lightning tired to pretend that she hadn't gotten scared at that one scene, and Snow had teased her about until she punched twice as hard as she had before.

Checking his watch as they walked out of the movie theater, Snow saw that it was only seven-thirty, and argued to Lightning that the night was still very young for her to go home already. It took some hard convincing on his half, but in the end, Snow persuaded Lightning to go out with him to have a late dinner.

"You see?" Snow was saying to Lightning, almost laughing from how much he was smiling as their waitress delivered their leftovers to the table in plastic takeout containers, "This is what I meant the other day about how great life is when you live without a plan. You have no idea where the hell you're gonna end up. You just get in your car and drive until you get somewhere. It doesn't matter where. I mean, how else would we have ended up here in this place?"

Lightning sighed, glancing around the small and quiet Chinese restaurant they had fortuitously stumbled upon, tucked somewhere on the edge of town. She stared back at Snow across the table and rolled her eyes, unimpressed, and Snow just smiled.

Their waitress returned to their table again, this time delivering the bill and two fortune cookies. Snow sighed, pushing the bill aside as he slid the fortune cookies towards Lightning.

"You pick first," he told her with a warm smile.

Raising her eyebrows at him as if to say "Are you serious?", Lightning took one of the cookies as she was told. Snow took the remaining cookie, tearing into the packing and cracking the geometric, golden cookie in half. The small sliver of paper with Snow's fortune on it spilled out into his palm, and after Snow tossed the broken cookie into his mouth, he held it up to read it out loud.

"The wise man is the one that makes you think that he is dumb." Snow declared, grinning goofily.

Lightning rolled here eyes. "How ironic," she mumbled under her breath, loud enough though so Snow could hear what she had said.

He laughed heartily, "Well alright then, what does yours say?"

Lightning opened up her cookie, resting the broken cookie on the tabletop uneaten as she read her fortune inside her head.

It said, "We all have a lot more in common than it seems".

"Well?" Snow repeated, watching Lightning expectantly.

Lightning raised her eyes to meet his, and then glanced back down and re-read her fortune. Wordlessly, folded it up neatly and shoved it down into her pocket.

"What?" Snow chuckled, "Wasn't a good enough fortune to share? It wasn't embarrassing was it? Come on, I want to hear it anyways."

Lightning rolled her eyes, "They're just stupid little phrases that don't mean anything. They're not even fortunes."

Snow smiled, "Yeah, so?" He paused, "Or maybe you just don't to share it with me because it says something incriminating about you, and you don't want to admit that you were wrong."

"You'll never know," Lightning told him, and left it at that.

Sighing, Snow folded up his fortune and put it away too. "Ya know," he said, meet Lightning's eyes across the table, "I was kind of hoping for a different fortune. A fortune that could possibly answer a question of mine."

"And what would that be?" Lightning asked, watching him wearily.

Snow smiled sincerely, "Whether or not you like me enough to go out on another date."

Lightning rolled her eyes with annoyance, exhaling like she was bored to death. "How many of these damn things are we supposed to go on?" she demanded harshly.

Snow chuckled heartily, his shoulders continuing to shake from laughing as he shrugged. "I don't know. There's no rule about how many, and even if there was a rule, it's not like I'd follow it."

"Hmm," Light hummed in dry agreement. She still couldn't believe how incredibly idiotic and immature this man was. But what baffled her most of all was why she was tolerating it the way she was now, or why she would be willing to tolerate it all over again if given the opportunity.

"So whaddya say?" Snow asked again, putting on a smile that no girl, not even Lightning could resist, "After all, third times a charm right?"

So Lightning had said yes…

And then yes again the next time Snow had asked, and again after that. It was only after the sixth date, on the ride home, when Lightning finally realized something critical, something she had conveniently turned a blind eye to when she had accepted all of Snow's invitations…

She was committing herself to a relationship with Snow.

Granted, nothing was official between them, meaning neither Snow nor Lightning had vocally expressed their feelings. But there was obviously a something, small and unseen, that was beginning to build between them each time they were together.

Lightning had to admit it: she had been wrong. She had assumed the worst about Snow before giving him a fair enough chance, her writing him off as an arrogant and reckless jerk. Of course, there was still some truth in that initial impression, but as Lightning had learned there was so much more to Snow Villiers than what met the eye. He was thoughtful, morally sound, securing, funny, and, much to Lightning's utter shock, intelligent. And Lightning liked all of that about him.

She liked him. She really did. Again and again, Lightning replayed this in her head as she inconspicuously glanced over at Snow. It made Lightning feel like a school girl again with her first huge crush. Reliving those feeling again after so many years was…albeit unnerving, but at the same time it was the greatest feeling in the entire world.

How had this happened? How had she transformed from hating Snow so ruthlessly to actually liking him and wanting to have him in her life. Lightning couldn't place her finger on it exactly, but for some reason, Snow's relentless optimism, which had once been her primary source of aggravation, now intrigued her to no end. It enthralled her, how simple Snow made it sound to live a happy, carefree life. It was something she had always wanted for herself; to be able to live by following her heart rather than her head. It was something she had wanted, and still wanted so badly, but deep down Lightning knew that she could never mold herself into that carefree lifestyle…

And that was why the thought of being in a relationship with Snow, although initially sounding wonderful and magical, scared her half to death…

Putting his truck in park and turning off the ignition as they arrived in Lightning's driveway, Snow turned in his seat to look at Lightning. "So do I even have to ask at this point if we have another date?" he asked her jokingly, a huge grin on his face as he laced his fingers with Lightning's.

Lightning frowned, hastily pulling her hand away from Snow's and turning her head away as well. She stared out the passenger window, noticing her stoic reflection faintly in the glass. She could see Snow's face in the glass as well…

Snow stared at Lightning silently, studying her and her body language curiously. Up until this moment, they had been having such a great time together. But now, just like on their first date, Lightning was completely shutting him out. "Light?"

Lightning closed her eyes, trying to block Snow out from her sight and mind, but his steady voice penetrated through anyway. She fought it as his voice stirred the fluttering feelings of deep agonizing longing, but it was no use.

"Lightning?" He said her name unlike anyone else. She liked the steady, gentle tone of his voice.

Lightning opened her eyes, turning towards Snow with an intense stare. She paused hesitantly, studying Snow's expression. "What the hell are we doing?" She finally asked earnestly.

Snow furrowed his brow ever so slightly with thought. "What do you mean?"

Lightning frowned, not wanting to voice the questions that were pounding in her mind or the agonizing woes that weighed so heavily on her heart. It would sound so petty. But despite that however, there was one question in particular that Lightning needed to have answered:

What would happen next?

Already, Snow and Lightning had gone out on six dates together, and now Snow was asking her out on the seventh. How many more dates did he plan on asking her out on? And how far did Snow intend to take their relationship? That is hypothetically even saying that Snow actually had aplan or desire to pursue a relationship with her.

Lightning knew that it was too early to really determine what the future could hold for them. They had only started dated and getting to know one another; there wasn't supposed to be any pressure or any concerns about future commitments or responsibilities. But even still, Lightning felt disorientated not knowing what her future could possibly entail. Maybe dating casually without ever considering the future worked for some people, but not for Lightning. For good or for bad, Lightning always needed to have a plan for the future. She had to.

Snow on the other hand was the exact opposite. Lightning knew for a fact that making commitments in general wasn't important to Snow. He lived his entire life by the mentality that one should live in the moment. And while that passion for life and the childlike simplicity of it captivated her, it terrified her because she knew that if she fully committed herself to a relationship with Snow, their life together would not, and likely would never, have any concrete plans for the future. They would go through life together, not knowing what would happen next and being unprepared for life's challenges.

And Lightning couldn't live like that.

She needed a sense of certainty about what the future could entail so she could always be prepared. That was why she needed to know what would happen next for them.

Lightning finally looked away. "It's nothing…"

Snow shook his head, "No, tell me what's wrong." He paused, staring at Lightning with a loss for words as he struggled to get to the bottom of this. "Is it me? Light, please, you gotta tell me. Did I do or say something that hurt your feelings?"

Lightning shook her head wordlessly, her eyes strained out the passenger window.

"Then what is it then?" Snow begged of her, a certain level of desperation ringing in his voice. "Lightning…?"

Lightning turned to Snow again, her expression cold and rigid. "Do you remember when you told me you don't think about planning for the future? How you only have a general idea of what you want and don't care how you reach those goals?"

"Yeah…" Snow nodded, confusion clearly written all over his face.

Lightning paused, her heart in her throat as she spoke. "…Where do you see yourself…with me in the future?"

Snow's eyes widened in surprise as he stared at Lightning. He had not been expecting that question to come out of Lightning, and it caught him off guard. Exhaling, Snow looked forward as he thought. "I don't know just yet, Light," he finally spoke, turning to Lightning again. "I like you… and I know I want to be with you in the future…but I just want to see where this thing can go on its own."

Lightning frowned slightly. "How can you be sure that we'll be together in the future if you don't plan for it?"

"That's the thing, I don't know," Snow sounded albeit frustrated now. Shaking his head, he stared Lightning directly in the eyes, "But why does that have to matter so much? I just don't know. The future is so far off from now. I just want to enjoy this time I have with you now. Nothing later down the road even matters to us now." He paused, shrugging helplessly. "That's all what I want, so shouldn't that be enough?"

Lightning lowered her eyes wordlessly. Everything Snow had just said had confirmed her fear, but now she knew for sure that things would never work out between her and Snow. And as much as she didn't want to, she knew it was time to end their game of whimsy. It had been great fun while it lasted, but no more… If she didn't end it now, Lightning knew that it would only hurt more in the long run.

Snow leaned forward towards her, "Lightning?"

Lightning met Snow's eyes, letting her gaze linger before turning away. "Goodnight Snow," she told him monotonously unbuckled her seat belt and open the passenger door.

Snow shook his head, "But Light! Wait!" he grabbed her hand in an effort to prevent her from leaving, and Lightning's eyes lurched at him viciously. Snow didn't let go of her hand, staring into her eyes pleadingly. "Lightning, didn't you hear anything I said? I want to be with you. I really do."

"Let me go," she snarled at him, masking the fact that her heart was breaking as she treated him so cruelly.

"But Lightning, why?"

Lightning jerked her hand away violently, "Just stay the hell away from me." With that, she jumped down out of the truck and stormed off. She hadn't gotten far when she heard the door on the driver's side open and slam shut as Snow chased after her.

"Lightning! LIGHTNING!" Snow yelled, "Just wait for one second and let me talk."

"What?" Lightning demanded as she whirled around on her heels to face him. Her eyes were sharp and murderous like daggers. "You don't have anything more to say to me."

Snow exhaled loudly, running a hand over his head in frustration. "Lightning, I didn't mean to offend you. I don't know what I said to set you off, but I'm sorry. I didn't want to do that. So can you just please tell me why the hell you're acting like this now?"

Lightning glared at Snow silently, contemplating whether or not she should tell him the truth. Would do either of them any good?

"I want to be with you," Snow persisted urgently when Lightning didn't respond, his eyes swimming with earnest devotion, "Why isn't that good enough for you?"

Lightning shook her head, keeping here eyes low. "Because…it's just not." She shook her head again, angrily this time, "Just leave me alone now."

"But Lightning-" Snow began, but he stopped short at the sight of Lightning hurtful gaze. He watched Lightning hesitantly, not wanting to leave her like this. But he didn't want to do anything to set her off any more. Finally he sighed, "Let me at least walk you to-"

"No, leave me alone," Lightning cut him off hastily, her glare intensifying

"Okay…" Snow said uneasily. His expression looked sad, and Lightning had to look away because of how unsettling it was to see Snow so broken hearted like this. "…I'll call you though…"

Lightning looked up at him silently, almost compelled to tell him not to call her. But she left it at that, turning away wordlessly and hurrying up to the house. Although it hurt her a little, Lightning knew had to forget about Snow quickly and needed to refocus and move on her life again. It was mandatory that she snuffed out all the feelings within her towards Snow… before they blossomed into something else.

And before…

…it was too late.

Closing her bedroom door behind her, Lightning leaned against it and let her head fall back as tears welled in her eyes. Drawing in her breath sharply, Lightning trained her eyes upwards to the ceiling so the tears would subside. Even though she was alone, Lightning refused to cry, and she fought them even as they rolled down her fair cheeks. She balled her hand into a fist, slamming it against the door in a fit of rage. She hated crying almost above anything else, but she couldn't control it.

Distantly, Lightning heard Serah calling for her, asking to make sure her sister was alright, but Lighting ignored her. Locking the door to her bedroom, Lightning let her body slide down the back of the door until she was in a crouched position on the floor. Her shoulders shook as she drew in another breath, the tears finally discontinuing to fall as Lightning rested her head in her hands.

How the hell had all this happened?!

Lighting had gone from hating Snow to suddenly loving him; from being overjoyed with the prospect of being in a relationship to being horrified of it. Where was the sense in any of it?

This wasn't supposed to happen, Lightning thought to herself, shaking her head. What had happened to her plan? Falling in love with Snow wasn't part of that plan, and somehow she had foolishly lost sight of why she couldn't let her guard down with him.

It would have been so easy, just to live life the way that Snow did. Lightning would always envy Snow for the life and disposition that she could not have for herself. Snow had taken his devastating childhood experiences and turned them all into a positive…while Lightning had been permanent scared and traumatized by her own. So many times in her life, Lightning had been hurt by unexpected events, the nail in the coffin being the death of both her parents. It had been an unexpected blow that Lightning had never quite healed from, and was a devastation that she never wanted to face again.

So she had made herself a promise then, a promise to be stronger and smarter. From that day forth, Lightning became confident that as long as she stayed one step ahead of everything and everybody all the time that nothing bad would ever happen to her again. When she joined the military, she learned how to plan, how to anticipate for the worst, and how to prevent it at all costs. She grew stronger and stronger, and became better at planning and flushing out what she needed to do in her life to avoid getting hurt. Planning made Lightning feel as though she had some control over her whole life and her future. It gave her the bravery and confidence that she needed to face life with. That confidence…it had rebuilt her, and made everything seem alright again. It protected her through all of these years.

But now…all of that confidence was torn to pieces again. Because of Snow, everything concrete that she had once lived by had been challenged and made her question the only things that gave certainty in life. Because of him and the feelings he awakened inside of her, she felt like the scared young child she had been so many years ago.

Now…everything was changed, and everything was broken.

All because Lightning had vulnerably opened up to the unexpected.

"Are you sure you're all right Sis?"

"I'm fine," Lightning growled in reply. Her patrolling shift had just ended and she was on the phone with Serah. Serah had called to check in with her elder sister and the conversation had quickly escalated into an interrogation. Ever since Lightning had abruptly broke it off with Snow, Serah had been more worried than usual about her sister's well being, and didn't believe for one second the strong front that Lightning put up.

Lightning knew Serah meant well, like before when she had set her and Snow up in the first place, but she just wished that the whole thing with Snow could be put in the past. A week had already past by now, so that was plenty of time to recover and get over Snow. Lightning had moved on and had no inclination of going back to Snow.

At least, that's what she told herself.

Serah exhaled, "Alright, I believe you." She paused, "But hey, we don't ever get to hang out as much as we used to. I mean, since you're not on duty, why don't we just go out and have fun. You know, dinner and just girl time. My treat," Serah promised enthusiastically.

Lightening sighed, agreeing to her sister's invitation. The sister hung up after Serah gave Lightning the name of the restaurant and agreed that they'd meet up there. Lightning felt a little unsettled when she recognized that the restaurant she and Serah were meeting up at was the same place that she had gone with Snow on their first date. Of course, she acted indifferently when Serah had said it, like she had hardly noticed.

Freeing her mind from those haunting thoughts, Lightning hastily got in her car and began to drive. The area she had been patrolling wasn't to far from the main beach and where the restaurant was. She sighed, trying to concentrate on driving, but as she often did in the times when she was alone, Lightning wondered about what Snow was doing, and whether or not he was thinking of her like she was thinking of him. He had called her more than dozen times in the past week since she had last seen him, but not once had answered her phone. Lightning wondered how long it would take before Snow finally gave up on her…

Angrily, Lightning turned on the radio to provide some white noise so her mind didn't keep wandering. She pulled into the parking lot of the restaurant shortly after, and found Serah waiting inside. Serah was chatting with Lebreau when she turned and greeted her sister brightly. Lightning acknowledged both Serah and Lebreau, and Lebreau greeted Lightning in return as if she knew nothing. Lightning was sure however that she knew what had happened between her and Snow.

"Hey Sis, I'm gonna jet to the bathroom really quick," Serah told Lightning, "I'll meet you at the table okay?"

Lightning nodded, watching her younger sister hurry off before following Lebreau to the back of the of the restaurant. But as Lebreau was lead her outside onto the patio, Lightning's body tensed as memories surged through her veins like a devastating wildfire. She dug her heels in and stopped walking forward.

"Lebreau," Lightning spoke up, making sure her tone was even, "Can we get a table inside?" she asked, glancing around at all the empty tables inside. But as she looked forward again to Lebreau, she saw the unexpected staring right back at her.

Snow was standing there, his hands dug in the deep pockets of his trench coat and his eyes watching Lightning hopefully.

Lightning's heart hastened to a stop, furrowing her brow at Snow angrily before glaring accusingly at Lebreau.

Serah and Lebreau had set her up!

Lebreau smiled apologetically, although she didn't look the least bit sorry. "I'll leave the rest of this between the two of you." And with that, Lebreau excused herself, leaving Snow and Lightning alone as they continued to stare at one another in silence. Lightning glared disapprovingly at Snow a moment or so more before turning away abruptly for the door.

"Lightning wait!" Snow yelled hastily, coming forth strongly and grabbing her forearm. "Please don't go," he pleaded. Lightning fought against him, but finally Snow twisted her around so she was facing him again.

"And why the hell shouldn't I?" Lightning spat acidly in his face. She had no doubt that Snow had been a part of this conspiracy as well, which made her more angry at him than she already was.

"Because!" Snow exclaimed, his voice rising with frustration. Lightning eyes widened slightly and she blinked in surprise. She hadn't expected Snow to be bent out of shape by her inexplicit rejection. She stopped struggling in resistance, still watching Snow distrustfully as she watched his temper cooling.

Snow sighed agonizingly, woe setting in his deep blue eyes as his grip of Lightning's arm loosened. He let his arm fall back to his side as he stared pleadingly into Lightning's eyes, "Give me five minutes of your time, please," he told her calmly, "That's all it will take."

Lightning frowned, taking a step backwards from Snow. She crossed her arms, her eyes fixed on Snow stoically. "…I'll give you one minute," she told him firmly.

Snow nodded, exhaling deeply as he dug his hands in his pockets again and looked up to the sky. Once he was done collecting his thoughts, he looked back down to Lightning. His expression was gentle, and almost vulnerable. Lightning bit her bottom lip slightly, keeping her own face vacant of any emotions as Snow spoke.

"Listen," Snow began, exhaling wearily again and shaking his head slightly, "I know I don't know. I don't pretend to try and know exactly who you are and what you've been through in your life…but I want to."

Lightning opening her mouth to interject, but Snow didn't let her.

"No, just hear me first, and then you can say whatever you want to say." Snow sighed, starting over again, "…That night, you know when you stormed off without giving me an answer…After you left and I spent the rest of that night just thinking…Thinking about everything you had said about making plans and what I wanted in the future." He shook his head, "It was strange…because the future wasn't ever something I even gave a second thought. But as soon as you had mention it…and started asking about where I saw us in the future, I realized that I would do whatever it takes to make sure we stay together. That's what I want."

Lightning lowered her eyes, wanting to tell Snow that he could stop talking, that she didn't want to hear what he had to say…

"I don't think you mean that," Lightning told him flatly.

Snow shook his head, "No, Light, you have no idea how much I really do mean that. I swear it to you."

Lightning glanced up at him, staring at him critically as she searched his face for the truth. She said nothing and Snow went on.

"Lightning…" Snow breathed, his eyes pleading into Lightning's soul with all the devotion in the world. Lightning felt a wave of shivers go through her, but she ignored them.

Snow sighed again, lowering his eyes dejectedly, "I missed being with you…hearing your voice…even having you constantly making fun of me." He looked back up into her eyes, "When I was by myself, I begin to wonder, and wonder when I was going to see you again. Then I start thinking about the future, ya know, wondering if we'd ever get back together and if we did how long we'd be together. And the more I thought about that…the more I realized that living without a plan is great when you're alone, but everything's different when you suddenly have someone that depends and counts on you. Suddenly it becomes your life's focus to worry about how to keep that person safe and with you for as long as you can."

Lightning stared petrified into Snow's eyes as she felt them pull her in, just like a feeble seashell on the shore being taken by the overpowering tide. And the tide would not let her go.

In the silence, Snow took a small step forward, raising his hand to lightly brush away Lighting's bangs so he could stare into her eyes with nothing in between them. Flinching uneasily at Snow's touch, Lightning looked away again. But still, Snow lightning traced the fine features of her cheeks with his thumb.

Lightning finally reached up and pushed his hand away, shaking her head firmly before staring Snow straight in the eyes. "Snow…please stop it."

Snow stared at her silently and finally shook his head stubbornly. "What I'm saying is that I want to make plans with you Lightning." He shook his head softly, "More than anything."

Lightning shook her head, fighting against what her heart wanted most. "Snow…" she shook her head more aggressively and looked down, "I know you think that's what you want…but that's just what you're saying now." Snow had never planned for anything in his entire life. Reckless was practically his middle name. How could she possible expect to believe that Snow would change so much of himself…just for her? "I don't want to hold you to a promise that I know you won't be able to keep."

But Snow wouldn't give up on her that easily. "Then give me the chance to prove it to you then. If you do that, I will do everything to make sure I never let you down." He exhaled in frustration, "I don't know what's gonna happen in our futures, but I just know that I want to be with you for as long as possible! I knew then that I needed to have a plan, or something that ensured me that I'd be able to be with you tomorrow, and the next day, and all the days that follow. And I know that it'll be hard, sometimes a living Hell, but I'll do it because I want you."

Lightning felt her throat tighten as the tears filled her eyes. She looked away so Snow didn't see the tears as they formed, but Snow lightly pinched her chin and forced her tear-filled eyes to meet his.

"Please Lightning." Snow paused, watching her intently. "I love you," he told her without restraint.

Lightning swallowed, willing back her tears as she stared critically into Snow's eyes. She believed everything that he said, with all of her heart…and yet…

So long, Lightning had lived her life with all of her walls of defense up, never letting anyone or anything penetrate through that could possibly cause her hurt. And yet Snow for some inexplicable reason had been the only thing to get through. It was beautiful, and yet it was also a terrible tragedy. Lightning realized than that when you have everything, you have everything to lose. And that fear still chilled her to the bones.

But Lightning also realized then that if one wastes their whole life working to prevent the bad, they'd end up missing out on all the wondrous and unexpected joys that made the grievances all the more worth it. At that moment, she knew more than anything else, that she finally wanted to abandon the transient safety that had protected her for all these years and to be liberated by a life of risk and uncertainty.

"So whaddya say?" Snow asked her solemnly, his gaze hopeful.

Lightning forced a frown, staring at Snow blankly for a moment or so, before letting the corner of her mouth turn up into a smirk. She leaned up onto the tips of her toes and pressed her mouth against Snow's. As soon as she kissed him, Lightning could sense Snow's surprise as he jumped slightly. She smirked slightly, pulling away from Snow only for him to pull her back into their lips embrace. She tasted his warm breath as he opened his mouth and kissed her passionately as his love for her filled her from head to toe. It was all that Lightning could ever want.

When the kiss ended, Lightning smiled against his lips. "You're the biggest, damn idiot I've ever met," she whispered, "And you're a sucker too."

Snow grinned arrogantly, "I guess that makes two of us then."

Lightning rolled her eyes, eyeing Snow defiantly for a moment before they both returned to their normal heights.

Snow chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck as he grinned like an idiot. "So um…uh, was that a yes?"

Lightning sighed tiredly, rolling her eyes again. "Yes, you moron."

"Whoa, easy," Snow laughed, "No need for name calling." He smiled as he gazed upon Lightning's serious face. "Ya know, you're even more beautiful when you smile."

Coiling her muscles, Lightening stared furiously at Snow as her face turned the exact color of a tomato. She could have almost punch him for that. She clenched her jaw however and said nothing.

Snow meanwhile couldn't control his laughter. As it finally died down, he shook his head and smiled to Lightning again. "So whaddya say we do now in celebration? Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Lightning almost nodded, but she stopped herself short. She had a better idea. "No." Lightning watched as Snow furrowed his brow at her in confusion, and she smirked slightly. "Let's just get out of here and drive."

Snow nodded agreeably, "Okay, sure. Where do you want to go?"

Lightning shook her head, "Anywhere… Just drive until we get somewhere."

At that, an enormous ear to ear grin formed on Snows' face, and he nodded in compliance. "As you wish," he told her, outstretching his hand.

Lightning smirked again, and accepted his hand as Snow led her away from the beach to their unknown destination. As she looked to Snow and he met her gaze, Lightning remembered what it was Snow had told her on their first date about everything happening for a reason. Before, the cliché expression had always angered her because she had never been able to see the sense or truth in it; but now she did.

Never had she expected to be making plans with a man committed to not making plans. Lightning laughed inwardly as she thought about the irony of that. But then again, as Lightning was beginning to understand, life was about expecting the unexpected and appreciating the things that do not go according to plan. Because more likely than not, they all happened for a very purposeful reason.