Chapter One

Author's Note: Hi! I'm finally back with another story. This is a Christmas tale featuring the FFXIII characters. It will probably be short. It's pretty AU, and I'm not sure that I've managed them in character, but I hope you enjoy the story anyway. I started with a comedy in mind, but it turned out rather dramatic so we'll see where it goes. Anyway, the story is set in a world where there is no sequel to FFXIII (since I did not play FF13-2). Hope you like it!

WARNING: This story contains some minor mature themes, minor spoilers for the FFXIII game, and lesbians. Continue at your own risk.

Disclaimer: I own nothing. It's very sad.

'Twas twelve days before Christmas, and all through the town of Troth, not a creature was stirring, (thankfully) not even a King Behemoth. In the Farron residence on a secluded country road, three bodies slept peacefully while outside it snowed. Holly trims hung 'round windows and doors, while strings of lights dangled from railings outdoors. The tree was majestic and the stockings were hung; though it was early, all the preparations were done. The cards had been mailed and the presents all bought; everyone was ready for what the Christmas season brought, but what was disguised by joy one could not contain was that no one was ready for Christmas with Fang.

Enthusiastic knocking hammered against her bedroom door, creating thunder that promptly awoke Lightning from her semi-pleasant dream. She threw the covers off and her feet landed on the floor in a swift, fluid movement.

With a glare, Lightning dragged herself across the room. A part of her had considered simply shouting that she was not yet ready to leave her room, but she thought that it would be worth it to see Snow wet himself in person when he saw the look on her face. Besides, punching him always made her feel better no matter what the situation.

The eldest of the two Farron sisters had long ago accepted that Snow was going to marry her baby sister within a year. Although she was still somewhat touchy on the subject, since she was the one who was supposed to protect and care for Serah, her journey as a l'Cie had shown her that Snow was willing to go to the ends of the earth for his fiancee. She still considered Snow to be a giant idiot with a pea-sized brain at times, but he was more devoted to Serah than any other boy the younger girl had dated and Lightning had to admit that he was pretty strong.

Well, she didn't have to admit it out loud.

Yes, Lightning Farron, the externally cold-hearted ex-soldier and ex-l'Cie, had decided that Snow was allowed to marry her beloved little sister, on two conditions. He was never to hurt Serah or make her upset for any reason, and he was never, ever to speak of anything that he and Serah did in their private time. Actually, Lightning had told Snow that she would tear him limb-from-limb if he ever so much as touched her little sister (even after they were married), but he probably knew what she meant.

In spite of deciding that it was fine for Snow to marry her sister, Lightning did not feel that she had to give him any indication that she liked, respected, or approved of him. In fact, now that their journey was over, it was her duty to her sister to frighten Snow into submission so that he would never even consider hurting her or breaking her heart.

When the knock sounded again, Lightning realized that she was just standing in the center of the room staring at the door. She crossed the room in three bounding steps and took a moment to prepare herself, the biggest glare she could muster growing on her face, before she threw the door open.

"What?!"

"C-Claire, are you mad at me?" Serah smiled nervously. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"It's fine. I'm not mad." Lighting's look softened somewhat. "What do you want?"

Serah gave a relaxed sigh, smiling pleasantly. "Well, everyone's coming today. I didn't think you'd want to be asleep when they got here."

Lightning stared blankly at her sister for a good minute.

"You know, everyone's coming for Christmas—all our friends." Serah bit her lip. "Remember? You said it was fine if everyone stayed."

"Oh. Right."

Serah had somehow managed to convince her that it would be a great idea for all of their friends to stay in her house during the holidays. After all, Serah had explained, they had not seen each other in quite some time. After the destruction of Cocoon and the rescue of Fang and Vanille from their crystallized prison, everyone had decided to go their separate ways. Sazh had opted to live in the city of Korrin, the capital of New Cocoon, so that his son could have a proper education. Meanwhile, Lightning, Snow and Serah had decided to move to Troth, a town that was only about fifteen minutes from Korrin during good weather. Hope, upon discovering that his father was still alive, had decided to remain with his family in Korrin. Vanille and Fang, much to everyone else's dismay, had disappeared completely, telling their friends that they would travel back to the ruins of Oerba to salvage what they could and sort out their memories.

Lightning had accepted that she would likely never see them again. Fortunately—or unfortunately, she was not always sure—they had received a letter from Fang not long ago that read: Heard you were having a party. Sounds like fun.

After contacting all of their friends, everyone assured them that they had had no contact with Fang since her departure with Vanille, which left them questioning how she possibly could know about their celebration plans. They had also been able to assume that letter meant that the two Gran Pulsian women would be joining them. No one had been more pleased than Serah.

"Won't it be so exciting to see everyone again?" Serah gushed conversationally. "I've been so busy teaching in the Troth Schoolhouse that I haven't had much time to think about it, but it's been so long."

Lightning scoffed, crossing her arms stubbornly. "I have more important things to do than stroll down memory lane."

"Like what?" Serah smiled knowingly.

Lightning merely pursed her lips.

Serah giggled, insisting, "You're excited to see them, too. I know you are."

Lightning did not respond, shrugging past her sister as she walked toward the bathroom. It was cold in the house, but she did not bother putting on her slippers because her bedroom was so close to her destination.

"It's cold," Serah informed her with a frown. "You'll get sick."

"I don't get sick."

"I put clean towels under the counter for you!" Serah chirped, shaking her head and smiling wryly when her sister shut the door on her.

Turning away, Serah hummed to herself as she practically skipped down the hall.

Although Christmas was a rather unusual tradition that had gained popularity throughout their new world very recently, the idea of the celebration filled Serah with a warm, mushy feeling that she could scarcely explain. It was difficult to imagine someone thinking it a good idea to cut down a tree, lug it inside of the house, decorate it with shiny trinkets, and place presents beneath it that could only be opened on a special day, but somehow it all seemed very magical. The only day that gave her more excitement was her wedding day, but since that would not come for some time, she could not wait to see her friends smiling faces as they opened their gifts in twelve days.

When Serah reached the bottom of the stairs, she turned toward the kitchen. A squeak of surprise escaped her lips as arms suddenly wrapped around her waist.

Snow rested his chin against the top of her head, smiling warmly. "Did you finally get Claire out of bed?"

Serah nodded, giggling as she turned around and buried herself in Snow's chest. "Don't call her that. She doesn't like it."

"But she's practically my sister now," Snow argued cheerfully.

Serah bit her lip, smiling as she hugged his arm. "Did you make breakfast?"

He looked away sheepishly. "I tried to make breakfast, but..."

With a warm smile, she placed her hands on her love's shoulders and leaned up to kiss his cheek. "I bet it's is fine. Let's go try it together."

"You may not want to." Snow gave her a guilty look. "I kind of burned the eggs, and I don't know what I did to the bacon, but it's not really edible."

Serah covered her mouth to conceal her giggle and took one of his giant hands into her own before tugging him into the kitchen. When the smell of ruined food drifted into her nostrils, Serah wrinkled her nose as she attempted to conceal her reaction, but ultimately she found herself unable to resist teasing him.

"I'll make something else. While I'm doing that, will you check the smoke alarm?" Serah inquired as she began washing out the pan of ruined food.

"Sure. Why?" Snow gave her a perplexed look. "Has it been acting up?"

"Well, it must be broken if it didn't go off while you were making this," Serah replied with a playful giggle.

"Oh." Snow laughed lightly and stepped forwards to wrap his arms around her from behind. He kissed her cheek before pulling away. "You're right. I'll go check it."

Serah watched him go with a brilliant smile on her face before she resumed washing the pan out and humming to herself. The Christmas season was going to be absolutely magical.

xxx

An hour later, after showering and getting dressed, Lightning walked into the kitchen, her wet hair hanging loosely over her shoulder. She found her sister seated alone at the table flipping through a bridal magazine. Ever since the younger girl had decided on a spring wedding, it seemed like she never stopped planning. Lightning swore she had seen her sister come out of the shower with a bridal magazine in her hand once, but Serah steadfastly denied it.

Serah had never asked Lightning to help her with any of the planning, so the ex-soldier assumed that everything must be going well. More evidence of that was the fact that Serah had not yet clawed someone's eyes out. In spite of her sweet and innocent demeanor, Lightning had witnessed one or two true bridezilla moments—one of which had led to Serah totaling her older sister's air car as she chased a wedding planner all the way from their home in Troth to her office in Korrin.

"Good morning again," Serah chirped happily as she glanced up from her magazine. "Do you want some breakfast?"

"Yeah, just not whatever he set on fire."

Serah pouted. "Claire, he means well."

"Well, don't let him mean well in my kitchen anymore." Lightning rolled her eyes. "The whole house smells."

"Well, I love him, Claire, and he wants to learn to cook, so I'm going to encourage him," Serah replied with a pout. "Isn't that a good thing? When we have kids, they'll see that both of their parents know how to cook."

"Or he'll poison them to death," Lightning muttered under her breath as she pulled a coffee mug out of the cupboard.

"Claire!" Serah gasped. "Please, don't say that."

The two of them sunk into silence as Lightning began to pour herself a cup of coffee.

While Serah resumed paging through her bridal magazines, Lightning tried to imagine what kind of children her sister and Snow would have together. Then suddenly it dawned on her that since they would be married within the year, they would most likely begin their married life in her house. What they would do with each other in order to have children notwithstanding, there was no way that she could tolerate little Snow replicas running around trashing her home.

Lightning was just about to ask her sister if she and Snow were looking for somewhere else to live when Serah mumbled, "Do you think we'll have enough room for everyone here?"

Knowing that her sister would not give her a chance to reply, Lighting shrugged and began to serve herself some of the eggs that Serah had made.

"Let's see." Serah pushed her magazine aside and tapped her index finger tentatively on her chin. "You have your room, and Snow and I have our room. Then there's the bedroom in the attic, the couches in the family room, and the sofa bed in the basement. It would be kind of cruel to make the girls sleep on the couches, right?"

Lightning scoffed. "I thought Fang could sleep outside."

"Claire, it's so cold out!" Serah gasped, shaking her head. "Anyway, two of the boys visiting are just kids, so I think that Sazh and Dajh can take the sofa bed... You don't think Fang and Vanille will mind sharing a room, will they?"

Lightning stared at her sister. "No."

"Are you sure? The bed in the attic is kind of cramped, and Fang is so tall." Serah frowned thoughtfully. "Claire, maybe Fang could sleep in your room, I could sleep in Vanille's room, and Hope could sleep in my room with Snow. Then everyone would get a bed."

"I'm not sleeping with Fang," Lightning assured her sister.

"But the bed in the attic is so small! Fang will be uncomfortable," Serah insisted.

Lighting rolled her eyes. "They didn't mind sharing one sleeping bag."

"Really?" Serah tilted her head curiously. "Why didn't they just buy another one?"

With a scoff, she replied, "Why do you think?"

"Oh." Serah blinked, her eyes widening faintly, and then cleared her throat. "So, Fang and Vanille can share the attic. I guess Sazh and Dajh can sleep on the sofa bed and Hope can either sleep on the couch in the basement or in the family room. We'll let him decide. That way if he's afraid of the dark or something, he won't have to be embarrassed."

Lightning nodded absently, her mind beginning to wander. She had many concerns about their friends staying with them, because she had purchased the house only a year ago. When she had first discovered it, it had been in rather poor condition, but Lightning had been unable to find a job while her sister became a teacher and Snow maintained his position as the leader of NORA, which had become a large police force. Thus, the older Farron sister had decided to spend all her time and much of her money refurbishing the house. It was now gorgeous, appearing practically brand new, and she did not want everyone else to destroy it.

"What are you thinking about?" Serah asked curiously.

"Nothing." Lightning shrugged. "Thanks for breakfast."

"You didn't finish," Serah pointed out with a pout.

Lightning ignored her sister, pushing her plate away and moving to leave the room. Ever since the destruction of Cocoon and the start of their new life, she had been a bit antsy. Adjusting to her new position as an unemployed ex-soldier who people did not seem to readily trust or empathize with continued to be difficult.

"Wait!" Serah called out hastily. "Everyone is coming at one o'clock, Claire. Don't forget."

Lightning did not acknowledge her sister, but she would not soon forget.

xxx

The doorbell rang at precisely one o'clock in the afternoon, causing Serah to jump away from Snow and then giggle at her silliness because it was not as though they were doing anything too inappropriate. Serah believed that she and Snow should show their love and respect for each other by waiting until they were married to move forwards with their physical relationship. Snow had enthusiastically agreed with Serah when she had suggested their abstinence, all the more convincing her that he loved her dearly and they were meant to be together.

"Is Light back yet?" Snow murmured gently as he hastily slid off of the bed.

Serah was about to tell her fiancé that she had not even realized her sister had left the house when they heard the door swinging open downstairs.

"I guess she must be." Serah smiled faintly.

They walked out of their bedroom hand-in-hand and reached the bottom of the stairs just in time to see Hope excitedly throwing himself into Lightning's arms. The adolescent looked so excited that he might burst, but the ex-soldier looked a little uncomfortable as she patted his back.

"I missed you," Hope cried as he squeezed her tightly.

"Me, too," Lightning replied stiffly, though her eyes smiled sincerely.

Hope pulled away from her and grinned widely as he realized that the three of them were studying him. He had grown since they had last seen him. He was still shorter than all three of them, but he at least looked his age, much to his delight. During their journey as l'Cie, Hope had always felt embarrassed by the fact that he was so short compared to the others, but what he had wanted more than anything was to be taller than Vanille. He assumed that the pink-haired girl was around his age, excluding 500 years of crystal stasis, and he knew that girls were generally attracted to boys who were taller than themselves, so he could never admit his crush to her until now.

"Welcome to our home." Serah cried happily. "It's so nice to see you."

Lightning moved to shut the door as Hope and Serah embraced, and when she noticed that the cab driver was still sitting in the driveway, she gave him an annoyed look and he took the hint.

As Serah pulled away, Snow moved forwards to hug Hope before patting him on the head. "Heya, buddy. I missed you."

Hope smiled brightly before he glanced surreptitiously around. "Is anyone else here?"

"Nope. You're the first one, kid." Snow ruffled his hair.

"You were exactly on time," Lightning added suspiciously.

"Do you want to sleep in the basement or the family room, Hope?" Serah asked. "You'll get a couch either way."

Hope shrugged indifferently. "The basement, I guess."

"Okay."

Serah stepped toward Hope to take the teenager's bags, but Snow swept forwards, intercepting the luggage with his giant hands and winking. "I'll get those for you, honey."

"Thanks, Snow." Serah giggled adorably and leaned forwards to peck his lips. "You're the best."

"I'll do anything for you, Serah," Snow told her seriously.

Hope and Lightning shared a look and rolled their eyes.

"Well, make yourself at home, Hope." Serah motioned him further into the house. "Do you want anything to eat or drink? I bet it was a long trip from the city in this weather. Did you come alone?"

"My Dad was going to come, but at the last minute he was busy." Hope frowned faintly.

"Well, don't worry, kiddo." Snow clapped his hand on Hope's shoulder. "We're going to have a great time here. I've got three game systems and the latest games for all of 'em. You've got to come check it out."

"Really? I've been playing Skyline with Dajh."

"Dajh is old enough for that crap?" Lightning snorted, musing that he was hardly old enough to go to school.

"Of course, he is." Hope looked incredulously up at her. "I've been playing since I was his age."

"What happened to going outside?"

The doorbell rang and everyone froze as Lightning crossed the room to tug it open and found Sazh and Dajh stood bundled up in winter coats and hats.

"Merry Christmas!" Dajh shouted excitedly, a huge grin covering his innocent features.

Internally Lightning's heart wanted to melt for the adorable child, but she unconsciously guarded her emotions. So, she merely nodded stiffly and stepped out of the way for them to come inside.

"Merry Christmas, everybody." Sazh grinned eagerly as he tugged his son through the door with one hand and balanced two pieces of luggage in the other hand. "It's good to see you all again."

"It's nice to see you, too, old man," Snow replied, grinning widely. "Wait until you see the new games I got. I have some classics, too, but I have some new stuff that's just for the boys. You'll love it."

Lighting internally scoffed at the insinuation that some games were only meant for boys, since none of them were as badass as her and they all knew it. None of them could pull off a cape, after all.

"Hi, Dajh. It's nice to see you." Serah crouched down in front of him and smiled.

"It's nice to see you, too. My daddy says we're staying here for Christmas since you're our family."

Serah grinned, enchanted. "Do you want some hot chocolate? I can get you anything you want."

"I want hot chocolate!" Dajh glanced excitedly at his father. "Can I have some, daddy? Can I? Can I?"

"Sure, son. Enjoy yourself," Sazh replied distractedly as he followed Snow into the basement.

The doorbell rang again and Hope felt his heart stop, because there was only one person remaining—or rather, there were two, unfortunately.

Hope had been extremely disappointed when Fang and Vanille had left on another journey, because he had wanted to stay in touch with the pink-haired girl. He also regretted that he had never told Vanille about his feelings for her, because he had grown quite close to her during their journey together and he thought she might feel the same way. She had been so kind to him after his mother died, and he would never forget that she had refused to give up on him. Hope had never had the confidence to voice his feelings for Vanille to anyone in the group, not even the chocobo, but he was determined to finally make his feelings known, and the Christmas season was the perfect time.

There was only one problem: Fang.

Hope had originally thought that Fang was one of the coolest women he had ever met. She was strong, stubborn, and completely dedicated to her best friend. However, he could not help but notice that Fang was always around Vanille, which made it difficult to spend time alone with her. Vanille could clearly be apart from Fang, since she had been willing to leave her friend behind in the purge and do what she felt was right, which made it clear that Fang was clinging onto her friend and unwilling to let her move on with her life.

Lightning opened the door.

Hope immediately perked up, for his dreams had come true. Vanille stood alone in the doorway wearing a cute sweater that clung to her form, a hat, a scarf, mittens, her usual skirt, and a pair of stylish boots. The light from the outside seemed to catch her just right, causing a divine glow to envelop her.

"Brr!" Vanille shivered, smiling at Lightning. "It's so much colder up here than it is than it is down in Oerba. It never snowed once the whole time I lived there."

"Where's Fang?" Lightning asked, a force of habit.

"She had to run some errands in town, so—"

"Vanille, it's so good to see you again," Serah chirped happily as she emerged from the kitchen with Dajh's hot chocolate and set it on the table just outside of the younger boy's reach. "Where's Fang?"

Vanille stepped into the house and began to remove her scarf. "Oh, she wanted to run some last minute errands at the market."

"Seraaah, I can't reaaaach," Dajh whined loudly.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Serah passed him the drink and patted his head. "Is it too hot?"

Dajh shook his head and began to slurp his drink. "Thank you!"

"Vanille!" Snow appeared from the basement with a large grin on his face and raced across the room to throw his arms around her. "It's good to see you, shorty. Where's Fang?"

"I'm not short," Vanille huffed with a smile. "You're just tall."

"Hey there, little one." Sazh waited until Snow released her before hugging Vanille tightly. "What happened to Fang?"

"I'm not little, and Fang just went into town to run some errands," Vanille replied with an impatient look. "You make it sound like we go everywhere together."

Everyone seemed to share a look before Snow chuckled. "You do go everywhere together."

"What kind of errands?" Lightning interrupted suspiciously.

Vanille shrugged, grinning innocently. "Fang just patted my head and said it was a secret. I think she wants to surprise me."

"How?" Lightning demanded.

"I dunno." Vanille giggled. "Fang never tells me anything."

"Well, I'm sure Fang will show up later." Snow clapped his hand on Vanille's shoulder. "Now that almost everyone's here, let the fun begin!"

xxx

Night had fallen, and little snow crystals were falling delicately to the ground. There was still no sign of Fang, and everyone except for one person seemed concerned by her absence. The fact that Vanille was giggling happily with everyone as though she did not have a care in the world left Lightning certain that Fang was not really running errands. In fact, she was positive that Fang was instead going to pull yet another one of her irritating and usually dangerous pranks. Furthermore, Vanille knew about it but had been sworn to secrecy.

Lightning was so suspicious that when Vanille excused herself to use the bathroom, the ex-soldier hastily stood up to follow her. She would not question her in front of the others, who thought Vanille was so sweet. They would defend her, but as far as Lightning was concerned, Vanille spent enough time with Fang that she had to be as least three times less innocent than she looked.

Vanille was just opening the door to the bathroom at the top of the stairs when Lightning pushed her into the room, turned on the light and shut the door.

"What is Fang up to?" Lightning demanded, cornering the other girl. "This is a new house, so I swear if she burns it down or blows something up or—"

"Fang's not doing anything," Vanille interrupted with a giggle. "I think she wanted to get everyone presents."

"You expect me to believe that she still has to do her Christmas shopping?" Lightning crossed her arms and narrowed her eyes. "No one, least of all Fang, would be stupid enough to wait this long."

"Well, we didn't really have a chance to get any presents in Oerba," Vanille pointed out.

"Oh." Lightning frowned as she realized that Fang would not have had anywhere to purchase gifts. "What about you? Are you not giving presents?"

"I made mine in Oerba," Vanille chirped with a proud smile.

Lightning raised a brow and wondered what kind of gift someone could conceivably make in the wilderness. "Oh."

"I'm really excited to show everyone," Vanille squealed happily.

Unsure how to reply, Lightning sunk into her thoughts and tried to think of anything that Fang could do that might cause damage to her newly renovated house. Even if Fang had been Christmas shopping, it seemed unlikely that it would take her so long. Besides, it was well past dark. Why had she not simply decided to come back to the house and go shopping again tomorrow?

No, Fang was most certainly up to something, and Lightning was going to figure out what it was if it killed her.

Vanille bit her lip, shifting uncomfortably. "Sooo...can I go to the bathroom now?"

Lightning realized where they were and nodded swiftly, turning to leave the room. "Sorry."

By the time Lightning returned to the family, everyone was playing video games and Sazh was practically dragging his son away from the controller.

"It's bedtime, son," Sazh exclaimed.

"But I don't wanna go!" Dajh pouted. "It's not fair, Daddy. We're on vacation."

Sazh laughed, patting his head. "We can play more games tomorrow. We'll be here for almost two weeks."

Lightning pursed her lips, sitting down on the couch as she tried to figure out how her sister had convinced her that this was a good idea.

Dajh set down his controller and waved goodnight to everyone just as Vanille was coming down the stairs, so she picked up the controller that he left behind.

"You want to play?" Hope asked, eyes wide.

"Why not?" Vanille grinned at him, nudging his shoulder. "Are you afraid I'll beat you?"

Hope shook his head quickly back and forth. "I'll teach you how to play!"

In spite of Hope's desire to impress Vanille, it turned out that she was the best at every game that she tried. It was impossible for her to have played video games before, which left all the other players in awe of her talent.

"How are you so good at this?!" Hope gasped when Vanille won her fifteenth battle in a row on the two-player fighting game.

"I guess I'm a natural," Vanille boasted with a grin.

"Hey, if your aim was this good in real life, we could use your help in NORA," Snow commented lightheartedly, though he seemed just as amazed as the others.

Vanille merely giggled and continued playing.

xxx

The hours continued to pass, everyone laughing, sharing stories, and enjoying themselves. Even Lightning loosened up and joined in the antics, which made everyone feel like a family.

However, eventually Vanille began to look a little disturbed, frequently getting up to look out the window. As everyone began to sober, the laughter dying down, it was clear that they were all wondering the same thing: Where was Fang? All the stores in town would have closed around ten, and it was almost one in the morning. Even if the dark-haired Gran Pulsian had actually been Christmas shopping, she was certainly no longer doing so.

"We should go look for Fang," Serah mumbled, glancing at Snow. "Shouldn't we?"

"Yeah, we definitely should." Snow placed his hand on Vanille's shoulder and gave it a squeeze. "Don't worry. I'm sure everything's fine."

"We definitely should not look for Fang," Lightning contradicted with a grave look. "This is a prank. She wants us to leave the house."

"Why would she want that?" Serah asked.

Lightning pursed her lips. "I haven't figured that out yet, but I know it's a prank."

"Is it a prank, Vanille?" Sazh met eyes with the younger girl, who he had grown quite close to during their journey. "We gotta know before we go looking for her."

"It isn't," Vanille insisted, looking nervous as she wrung her hands together. "Fang said she was gonna shop in town for a few hours and told me to go ahead without her. I shouldn't have listened, but I thought she must want to surprise us. What if something happened to her?!"

"Maybe it is a prank and Fang just didn't tell you," Hope suggested.

"No..." Vanille shook her head. "Fang hasn't played a prank without telling me since she was fifteen. Maybe I'll go look for her by myself. If something's happened to her, I just have to help her. I won't lose her again."

"I'll go with you, Vanille," Serah assured her firmly.

"Me, too." Snow wrapped his arm around Serah's waist as he smiled at Vanille. "If Fang needs us, we'll both be there."

"I'll help you, too, Vanille!" Hope assured her heroically. "We won't let you lose your best friend."

"Oh, Hope, you're so sweet," Vanille gushed, throwing her arms around the younger boy's neck before smiling at everyone. "You're all so sweet. Thank you."

"I'll have to sit this one out," Sazh exclaimed apologetically. "My son's downstairs sleeping. I can't leave him in the house alone."

"I'll go," Lightning told the others with a dark look, "but this better not be a prank or I'll kill her."

"It's not a prank," Vanille insisted.

"And no one is going to kill anyone," Serah insisted with a stern frown.

"Speak for yourself," Lightning grunted. "Let's go. If she's hurt, we need to find her."

xxx

While Sazh went into the basement to check on his son, everyone else bundled up in winter attire. Lightning was the first one to leave the house, stomping outside partly because she had been cooped up for so long and partly because she was irritated with Fang. She hardly wanted to find the other girl, who she had befriended and grown to respect as they journeyed together, because she just knew that the Gran Pulsian would wreak havoc on her newly refurbished home.

How had Fang found out about Christmas anyway?!

Vanille was the last person to finish getting ready because she had to change into warmer clothes, and when she was halfway out the door, Serah put her arms out to stop her.

"Wait, Vanille! I left my keys on the counter, but my boots are wet. Can you get the keys for me? They're on the counter." Serah smiled warmly. "We'll start looking for Fang, and maybe by the time you come outside, we'll have found her."

"Okay." Vanille smiled sweetly.

"Thank you!"

Vanille skipped back into the house, closing the door behind her to keep out the cold, and turned to face the kitchen. The reflection of a dark figure appeared in a mirror on the wall and Vanille gasped in surprise, spinning around. Before she could scream, a warm hand covered her mouth.

The familiar scent, the tender touch, and the playful chuckle caused her to relax. Only partially upset, Vanille demanded, "Is this a prank?"

"You bet it is," Fang replied enthusiastically, wrapping her arms around the smaller girl, who cuddled against her. "You weren't worried about me, were ya?"

"Of course not," Vanille sniffed, burying her face in her chest. "Why didn't you tell me it was a prank? I wouldn't have told anyone."

"I can't tell my secrets to little ones, now can I?" Fang teased in her ear, laughing when Vanille pulled away from her and crossed her arms.

"I'm not little anymore, so you don't get to say that," Vanille insisted stubbornly, though the corners of her lips turned up slightly because she loved that Fang remembered so much of their childhood.

"Now there's a pretty smile," Fang teased, smirking when Vanille blushed.

"I've gotta go back outside and pretend to look for you or they'll think I was in on the prank," Vanille murmured suddenly, promptly turning to walk into the kitchen.

"Where d'you think you're going?" Fang protested, wrapping her arms around Vanille from behind. "I could always just tell them I subdued you. I'll even tie you up if you want."

"Fang!" Vanille protested with a grin. "This isn't funny! I have to go. I told Serah I'd get the keys for her."

"I don't want them to have the keys yet," Fang insisted as she hugged her a little more tightly. "So, you'll just have to wait."

"Why don't you want them to have the keys?" Vanille glanced over her shoulder as she unconsciously relaxed into Fang's hold, her arms covering Fang's.

"I need them out of the house so I'll have time to set up a few pranks—harmless ones, really," Fang replied gleefully. "Of course, I'm a little disappointed. I thought you'd worry about me earlier."

"It serves you right for playing pranks," Vanille replied with a smile.

"Oh, really?" Fang began to tickle her sides.

"Wait, stop!" Vanille giggled. Lowering her voice, she insisted, "Sazh is downstairs. He'll hear us."

"Will you behave?" Fang asked playfully.

Vanille nodded her head, twisting to look at her. "Why do you have to play pranks, Fang? They're our friends."

"Exactly," Fang replied flippantly, kissing the top of her head. "You can't play pranks on anyone else. You get yourself killed that way."

Vanille laughed again, leaning back against her with a pleasant sigh. "I missed you."

Fang smirked. "I was only gone a few hours."

With a pout, Vanille asked, "Didn't you miss me?"

"I always miss you." Fang rested her cheek against the top of Vanille's head. "Anyway, you'll have to miss me a few more hours."

"You won't make me sleep alone, will you?" Vanille tightened her grip on Fang's arms.

"Don't worry. I'll set everything up quickly." Fang squeezed her gently around the waist. "No one's making you sleep alone. I just wanna have some fun before bed."

"Fun with the others?" Vanille pouted.

Fang smirked, pressing her lips close to Vanille's ear. "Doesn't mean we can't have fun after."

Vanille giggled lightly. "Do you really have to play pranks?"

"Yep. It's in my nature. I can't help the way I was born," Fang replied as she pulled away. "See you later."

The younger Gran Pulsian did not bother turning around to look for Fang, because she could hear the other girl sneaking up the stairs. She waited a few moments, not sure how long Fang needed, before plucking the keys off of the kitchen counter and leaving the house.

xxx

"I walked all over town, but I didn't see her." Lightning glanced around suspiciously as everyone reconvened inside the warmth of the Farron household.

Everyone looked chilled and miserable, but Lighting seemed to be in a worse state. Her cheeks and nose were red and her eyes were watery. Her nose was running and she appeared exhausted, which was unusual.

Serah came up beside her sister and wrapped a blanket around her shoulders, examining her face with a frown. "Are you all right, Claire? You don't look well."

"I'm fine." Lightning looked annoyed. "Are you all right? You're the one who was wandering through the snow for two hours looking for her with that big, useless oaf you call a fiancé!"

"Claire!" Serah pouted. "I thought you two were doing better."

Lightning frowned and looked away, since she was just in a bad mood.

"Let me check your temperature," Serah begged. "You might have a cold."

"I don't catch colds." Lightning have never so much as sneezed, at least not since her parents died. There had never been time to rest. "I don't get sick."

"Is your name really Claire?" Sazh suddenly appeared from the kitchen with a few cups of hot chocolate.

Lighting glared at him, since only Serah was allowed to use that name. "No. My name is Lightning."

Serah placed her hand on her sister's forehead and gasped. "Claire, you're burning up."

"Will you stop calling me that?" Lightning grumbled.

"You need to rest," Serah insisted. "I'll get you some warm soup and then you have to go to bed."

"I'm not sick," Lighting growled, "and I'm not going anywhere until Fang comes back."

Snow frowned. "That's sweet, Claire, but really—"

"It is not sweet, and don't call me that," Lighting interrupted harshly. "I know Fang is up to something. I won't rest until I know what it is."

"Claire, I really think you have a fever." Serah touched her arm. "Whatever Fang is doing, you have to rest or you won't get better before Christmas." Looking worried by that prospect, Serah suddenly announced, "I'm making soup for you."

There was suddenly heavy knocking on the door.

Everyone went quiet, pausing to look at each other as they wondered if it could really be that easy. Would they open the door to find Fang or would it be NORA?

No one moved, so the knocking resumed.

Vanille finally walked across the door and pulled the door open. She was genuinely happy to see Fang, so it was not difficult to act as though she were surprised.

"Fang!" Vanille flung herself into Fang's arms.

"Aw, did ya miss me?" Fang wrapped her arms around Vanille and grinned down at her.

"Where were you?" Lightning interrupted. "We looked everywhere."

"Probably not since you didn't find me," Fang smirked, holding out a bottle of wine. "I spent hours looking for this stuff. It's the best wine in all of New Cocoon. They had it last time I was here, but this time I had to walk all the way to Korrin to get it."

"You walked to Korrin for wine?" Lightning raised her brow skeptically.

"Sure." Fang shrugged. "They don't make wine like this anywhere else. It tastes just like a drink my best friend's mother-in-law made back in our village. It's worth the walk."

Lightning pursed her lips, attempting to figure out how long it would take someone to walk to Korrin and back on foot. She doubted it could be accomplished in such a short period of time.

"You can't come in," Lighting suddenly resolved.

Fang looked surprised. "What's that now?"

"You heard me." Lightning crossed her arms. "You got me sick, so you can stay out there for a few more hours."

"Light, it's freezing out here," Fang protested.

"I know. I spent two hours looking for you," Lightning replied, her tone clipped. "Maybe you should've worn something decent."

"There's nothing wrong with my outfit," Fang protested.

Although she wore her usual sari, she had used thicker fabric than usual to keep warm and had added a hat, a scarf, gloves, and thick boots.

"If you're stuck out here, I'm staying with you," Vanille promised, hugging her more tightly.

"Oh no, you don't." Fang patted the top of her head. "You'll catch cold. Go back inside."

Serah suddenly appeared from the kitchen with a bowl of steaming soup. When she noticed Fang and Vanille, she cried happily, "Oh, Fang, I'm so glad you're okay. We were worried about you. What are you doing out in the cold? Come inside."

"I'd love to." Fang did not release Vanille as she guided her gently through the doorway and kicked the door shut behind her.

Lightning glared but remained silent as she sat down to eat her soup.

"We looked for you for almost two hours. I'm glad you're all right."

"You looked all that time?" Fang feigned surprise and squeezed Vanille extra tight before releasing the girl and nudging her out of the way with a faint smile. "Where can I put our stuff?"

"The attic. Just go up until there are no more stairs. That is the only room on the floor."

"Don't let her go alone," Lightning protested. "She'll rig the entire house with traps."

"Innocent ol' me?" Fang pouted. "After all we went through, Light, you could try trusting me."

"I'm sure it'll be okay, Claire," Serah assured her gently. "We're all friends."

"Yeah, Claire, it'll be completely fine," Fang parroted, grinning widely.

"Serah gets to call me that," Lightning replied fiercely. "Not you."

"So, the room's at the top of the stairs?" Fang confirmed with Serah.

"Yep. Come back when you're done and we'll play more games."

"Aye, aye, captain." Fang grinned over her shoulder at Vanille, nodding her head subtly.

The younger Gran Pulsian did not need further prompting as she skipped up the stairs behind her.