[FFXIII] Old Scars (Fang/Lightning, PG)

[wallwalker]

Title: Old Scars
Author: wallwalker
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIII
Characters: Fang/Lightning
Warnings: None
Summary: Fang helps Lightning fall asleep on Gran Pulse.
Notes: Written for fic_promptly.


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It was night on Gran Pulse, and the birds were singing in the trees. Fang thought it was very relaxing; she'd missed the night music, the wind rustling through the trees and the birds and insects that cried. Lightning didn't seem quite so relaxed, she noticed. Fang could tell that she was trying to sleep, but every time something cried out her eyes snapped open.

"There's nothing coming for us right now, you know," she said, softly and calmly. "Vanille would wake us if there were. Besides, if I heard anything, I wouldn't be lying here."

Lightning looked at her. Her exhaustion didn't show, not much, but Fang knew what to look for. Her eyes were bloodshot, her face worn. "I know," she said, her voice raspy. "I'm trying."

"Yeah, well, you've barely slept since we came here. You're not going to last long if you don't try to get a few hours tonight." She smiled. "Why don't you come here? I'll help you relax."

Lightning frowned. "What are you suggesting, exactly?"

"It's easier to sleep when you're close to someone else. That's all I'm offering, unless you ask."

"Tch. Fine." Lightning shifted, moved closer to Fang.

"Thought you'd agree." Fang let the other woman pillow her head against her shoulder, heard her breathing slow. Lightning had taken her jacket off, and now that Fang was closer she could see jagged scars on her upper arms and shoulders. "What happened to you? Those scars are a real sight."

"Hmm?" Lightning sighed. "Routine patrol. Something went wrong. Don't... don't like to talk about it."

"Yeah. I can see why." She ran a finger over the scars. They were rough under her fingertips, but Lightning didn't flinch, not once. "Never had anything like this happen. I mean, I've taken plenty of cuts, but they never left scars like this."

"Maybe we don't get scars once we're l'Cie." She made a vague notion toward her chest, her brand.

"Guess not." She would've shrugged, but Lightning was finally starting to relax. Seemed a shame, really.

The birds started to sing again, and Lightning didn't even flinch. Apparently it was working, she thought with satisfaction, not all of it entirely innocent. She felt herself smiling as she drifted off to sleep.