[Fic] Dissidia: Final Fantasy - Rainy Day
Title: Rainy Day
Pairings: Lightning Farron x Tifa Lockhart
Rating: G
Summary: Bad weather can lead to good things.
Warnings: None
Notes: Request for debilitate.
Just by looking at them, anyone who knew the group of six wouldn't assume anything out of the ordinary. Lightning was her usual sullen self, Laguna chattered on endlessly, and Kain traveled a small bit away from the others with the precise and dynamic movements that only dragoons were capable of. No one would have guessed that they were on a mission of both the utmost importance and the gravest of danger. Despite their normal demeanors, each and every one of them knew that there was little chance of returning alive.
Which was why it was all the more important that they remained themselves. Short on supplies and with the hot sun bearing down on them, when they came across the crumbling buildings of what looked like a small village, they decided to stop to restock and rest. Kain immediately took to the rooftops, both to explore and to avoid conversation with anyone else. Laguna wandered around aimlessly while Lightning and Tifa were a little more organized in their search for anything usable. Vaan and Yuna stood in an open area talking.
"Do it again, Yuna," Vaan begged. "Please?"
Yuna made a big show of thinking about his request. "Well...all right. But this is the last time for today. Remember to be on your best behavior." She raised her staff and the skies brightened, and a large winged creature descended to the land below and landing at Yuna's side. She reached up to scratch her under her chin. "This is Valefor. Valefor, this is Vaan."
Valefor regarded Vaan curiously, surprised that she hadn't been called to fight. She dipped her head lower, down to Vaan's height, and moved forward to get a better look at him. Vaan shrinked back at first, then got over his initial surprise. Best behavior, right. Yuna told him that her Aeons were sentient beings with personality and should be treated with the utmost respect. Because if he didn't, they'd probably attack him and nobody wanted that. Not even Lightning.
"Nice to meet you," Vaan said, and carefully reached a hand out. It was Valefor's turn to pull back with a surprised shriek, and he withdrew his arm, afraid that he might have offended the Aeon. But as quickly as she jerked back, she butted her head against his hand. Without thinking, Vaan pet her and Valefor let out a contented rumble, happy for the chance to be pampered and make friends for once.
Meanwhile, Laguna was having a ridiculous amount of fun poking around the ruins. He encountered a moogle and bought some items from him. Ten minutes later, he found another one and bought some items from that one as well. Twenty minutes after that, he saw a third moogle and bought a few more.
"This place is crawling with moogles!" he proclaimed. The moogle he had done business with three times in the past half hour kept his mouth shut. If he kept quiet, he'd be swimming in Kupo by the end of the day.
Unfortunately for the moogle and fortunately for the group's Kupo supply, the skies soon turned dark, thunder rumbled, and it started to pour rain. Laguna sought shelter under an awning while Valefor shielded Vaan and Yuna with her wings until they were able to get inside the remains of a house. Kain hardly seemed to notice the downpour and continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He slipped once during a landing, and was secretly glad that nobody was around to see him jam his spear into the roof tiles to avoid falling.
Lightning and Tifa had scurried over to the closest building. Tifa grumbled a bit about getting wet, and Lightning didn't seem to mind, occupying herself by looking out a window to watch and listen to the rain.
"Oh hey, there's a bar here!" Tifa exclaimed, rain forgotten. "This must've been an inn. A tavern on the lower floor with the rented out rooms on top." She inspected every aspect of the bar. It was different than the 7th Heaven, but in many ways exactly the same. She was completely in her element as she admired everything the bar had to offer despite its less than pristine shape.
Lightning paid her no mind, preoccupied with other things. They had found a fair amount of usable supplies in their search, and when the rain let up, they could go again. Idly she wondered if Laguna and Vaan were all right or if they had gone and caught themselves colds like the idiots they were. If either of them were sick, they would slow the group down considerably and they had to get to their destination before Chaos' warriors figured out what they were up to.
"Light!" Tifa called. She had found the tavern's alcohol supply and much to her delight, it was still good. "Light, come over here and order something." Lightning gave her a look that questioned whether Tifa was serious, joking around, or had lost her mind. "Oh come on, Light. Humor me."
Walking over to the bar, Lighting picked up an overturned barstool and sat on it, one elbow on the bar and resting her head on it. Fine, she'd humor Tifa for a bit, and well, she could go for a drink. "What do you have?"
"Not much," Tifa admitted. "But just watch, I'll make something amazing." Lightning watched as Tifa mixed different drinks, pouring the finished product into a clean glass. "Go on, try it." Lightning obliged, picking up the glass with her free hand and taking a good long sip.
"Strong," she commented. "Not bad at all."
"Just 'not bad?'" Tifa huffed, hands on her hips. She actually knew that it was a good compliment from someone like Lightning, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to give her a hard time for it. She knew how to deal with difficult people, and she'd get proper praise out of her Fearless Leader if it was the last thing she did. "Think about what I have to work with here, Light."
Instead of saying anything else, Lightning opted to finish off the rest of the drink in one go. "Fine then. It's great. Have any more?" Tifa nodded and poured two more drinks: one for Lightning and one for herself.
A few more drinks later, Lightning still seemed to be perfectly fine. Tifa wondered if Lightning could drink more than she could. But while she wasn't drunk, Lightning was definitely a lot more relaxed than she was before. Tifa glanced towards the window, and the rain didn't look any better. In fact, it seemed to be pouring even harder now. She could only hope that everyone else was comfortable.
Both of them finished drinking, Tifa started cleaning up while Lightning had a fleeting thought about what Laguna and Vaan would be like drunk before immediately pushing such horrifying thoughts out. Instead, she decided to offer to help Tifa clean, as it was the least she could do. While rearranging things to be neat and orderly, Tifa started plopping whatever she needed moved onto the bar, and one particular item caught Lightning's attention: a knife, but not one normally found in an inn. Tifa noticed her staring at it.
"It's a survival knife," Lightning answered before she could ask anything. Unsheathing it and noticing the blade was looking dull, Lightning reached into her pack and pulled out a whetstone, continuing to talk as she sharpened it. "Do you have one?"
Tifa shook her head. She wasn't the type to carry around weapons. Her fists were all she needed.
"You should. A survival knife is the most important tool you can have. It will get you food and wood and you can protect yourself with it." Lightning continued to inspect the knife. Despite its initial condition, it had a high quality blade and was well crafted. Who did it belong to, she wondered. The bar owner? One of the patrons who visited it in times past? It didn't matter. It had no owner now. She held it out to Tifa. "Take it."
"Me?" Tifa asked. Aside from perhaps Kain, she thought she was the last person in their group who could make the most use of such a thing.
"I already have one, and I wouldn't be surprised if Kain does as well," Lightning said. "Vaan also has a knife, Yuna has her Aeons to protect her. And...do you really think I'd trust Laguna with a blade? He'd fall onto it before I even walked away."
Tifa didn't answer. Not because she didn't have anything to say, but...did Lightning just make a joke? Or did she seriously believe that Laguna would hurt himself? It was difficult to tell sometimes. Tired of waiting for her to take the knife, Lightning took Tifa's hand and put the knife's handle into her palm, then closed her fingers around it.
"Please understand, Tifa," she said, squeezing Tifa's hand. "It's not that I think you can't take care of yourself." Far from it. Lightning believed that Tifa was one of the most capable people she had ever met. "It could be useful to you someday. If nothing else, it'll make me feel better knowing you have it. Just think of it as a gift from me."
How could Tifa say no to that? She was acutely aware of Lightning watching her with complete sincerity and the gentle, but firm way she held her hand. Lightning, a woman who guarded herself, at that moment, was letting her emotions show.
"...okay," she agreed, and for a fleeting second, she thought she saw Lightning smile. "I'll take it. But only on one condition."
"And what would that b-" Lightning didn't have a chance to finish as Tifa pulled her across the bar for a kiss.
When they went upstairs to for the night, there was only one usable bed. Lightning insisted on giving it to Tifa, taking the floor instead. Having none of that, Tifa carefully picked up the slumbering Lightning and carried her to the bed, holding her close until she too fell asleep.
The next morning, the skies were completely clear, perfect for traveling.
However, the party was forced to stay in the village for an extra day because of a sick Kain Highwind.
Inside the Rift, the battle weary group of six continued to fight their losing battle. Each and every one of them had known from the start it would turn out like this, but they didn't care. They went in with their heads held up high and with hearts full of hope.
Tifa gasped for breath as she knocked away a manikin with a kick. While it appeared that she was doing fine, she knew that her time was almost up. Her blows barely had any strength behind them, and she was surrounded by countless manikins. As if they knew that she was done for, the manikins turned their attention to Lightning, who still had fight left in her. However, one last manikin went after Tifa, wanting to get in the final blow. Unsure that a punch or kick would be strong enough to stop it, Tifa quickly reached for the survival knife clipped at her waist, pulling it out and deftly sliced it, stopping it in its tracks. When it fell to the ground, Tifa did too, her last stand now over. Turning her head, she could see and hear Lightning give one last battle cry as dozens of manikins descended upon her, burying her under a sea of souless, crystalline monsters.
You were right, Lightning. It did come in handy.
Tifa closed her eyes, still clutching the knife in her hand.
Pairings: Lightning Farron x Tifa Lockhart
Rating: G
Summary: Bad weather can lead to good things.
Warnings: None
Notes: Request for debilitate.
Just by looking at them, anyone who knew the group of six wouldn't assume anything out of the ordinary. Lightning was her usual sullen self, Laguna chattered on endlessly, and Kain traveled a small bit away from the others with the precise and dynamic movements that only dragoons were capable of. No one would have guessed that they were on a mission of both the utmost importance and the gravest of danger. Despite their normal demeanors, each and every one of them knew that there was little chance of returning alive.
Which was why it was all the more important that they remained themselves. Short on supplies and with the hot sun bearing down on them, when they came across the crumbling buildings of what looked like a small village, they decided to stop to restock and rest. Kain immediately took to the rooftops, both to explore and to avoid conversation with anyone else. Laguna wandered around aimlessly while Lightning and Tifa were a little more organized in their search for anything usable. Vaan and Yuna stood in an open area talking.
"Do it again, Yuna," Vaan begged. "Please?"
Yuna made a big show of thinking about his request. "Well...all right. But this is the last time for today. Remember to be on your best behavior." She raised her staff and the skies brightened, and a large winged creature descended to the land below and landing at Yuna's side. She reached up to scratch her under her chin. "This is Valefor. Valefor, this is Vaan."
Valefor regarded Vaan curiously, surprised that she hadn't been called to fight. She dipped her head lower, down to Vaan's height, and moved forward to get a better look at him. Vaan shrinked back at first, then got over his initial surprise. Best behavior, right. Yuna told him that her Aeons were sentient beings with personality and should be treated with the utmost respect. Because if he didn't, they'd probably attack him and nobody wanted that. Not even Lightning.
"Nice to meet you," Vaan said, and carefully reached a hand out. It was Valefor's turn to pull back with a surprised shriek, and he withdrew his arm, afraid that he might have offended the Aeon. But as quickly as she jerked back, she butted her head against his hand. Without thinking, Vaan pet her and Valefor let out a contented rumble, happy for the chance to be pampered and make friends for once.
Meanwhile, Laguna was having a ridiculous amount of fun poking around the ruins. He encountered a moogle and bought some items from him. Ten minutes later, he found another one and bought some items from that one as well. Twenty minutes after that, he saw a third moogle and bought a few more.
"This place is crawling with moogles!" he proclaimed. The moogle he had done business with three times in the past half hour kept his mouth shut. If he kept quiet, he'd be swimming in Kupo by the end of the day.
Unfortunately for the moogle and fortunately for the group's Kupo supply, the skies soon turned dark, thunder rumbled, and it started to pour rain. Laguna sought shelter under an awning while Valefor shielded Vaan and Yuna with her wings until they were able to get inside the remains of a house. Kain hardly seemed to notice the downpour and continued leaping from rooftop to rooftop. He slipped once during a landing, and was secretly glad that nobody was around to see him jam his spear into the roof tiles to avoid falling.
Lightning and Tifa had scurried over to the closest building. Tifa grumbled a bit about getting wet, and Lightning didn't seem to mind, occupying herself by looking out a window to watch and listen to the rain.
"Oh hey, there's a bar here!" Tifa exclaimed, rain forgotten. "This must've been an inn. A tavern on the lower floor with the rented out rooms on top." She inspected every aspect of the bar. It was different than the 7th Heaven, but in many ways exactly the same. She was completely in her element as she admired everything the bar had to offer despite its less than pristine shape.
Lightning paid her no mind, preoccupied with other things. They had found a fair amount of usable supplies in their search, and when the rain let up, they could go again. Idly she wondered if Laguna and Vaan were all right or if they had gone and caught themselves colds like the idiots they were. If either of them were sick, they would slow the group down considerably and they had to get to their destination before Chaos' warriors figured out what they were up to.
"Light!" Tifa called. She had found the tavern's alcohol supply and much to her delight, it was still good. "Light, come over here and order something." Lightning gave her a look that questioned whether Tifa was serious, joking around, or had lost her mind. "Oh come on, Light. Humor me."
Walking over to the bar, Lighting picked up an overturned barstool and sat on it, one elbow on the bar and resting her head on it. Fine, she'd humor Tifa for a bit, and well, she could go for a drink. "What do you have?"
"Not much," Tifa admitted. "But just watch, I'll make something amazing." Lightning watched as Tifa mixed different drinks, pouring the finished product into a clean glass. "Go on, try it." Lightning obliged, picking up the glass with her free hand and taking a good long sip.
"Strong," she commented. "Not bad at all."
"Just 'not bad?'" Tifa huffed, hands on her hips. She actually knew that it was a good compliment from someone like Lightning, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to give her a hard time for it. She knew how to deal with difficult people, and she'd get proper praise out of her Fearless Leader if it was the last thing she did. "Think about what I have to work with here, Light."
Instead of saying anything else, Lightning opted to finish off the rest of the drink in one go. "Fine then. It's great. Have any more?" Tifa nodded and poured two more drinks: one for Lightning and one for herself.
A few more drinks later, Lightning still seemed to be perfectly fine. Tifa wondered if Lightning could drink more than she could. But while she wasn't drunk, Lightning was definitely a lot more relaxed than she was before. Tifa glanced towards the window, and the rain didn't look any better. In fact, it seemed to be pouring even harder now. She could only hope that everyone else was comfortable.
Both of them finished drinking, Tifa started cleaning up while Lightning had a fleeting thought about what Laguna and Vaan would be like drunk before immediately pushing such horrifying thoughts out. Instead, she decided to offer to help Tifa clean, as it was the least she could do. While rearranging things to be neat and orderly, Tifa started plopping whatever she needed moved onto the bar, and one particular item caught Lightning's attention: a knife, but not one normally found in an inn. Tifa noticed her staring at it.
"It's a survival knife," Lightning answered before she could ask anything. Unsheathing it and noticing the blade was looking dull, Lightning reached into her pack and pulled out a whetstone, continuing to talk as she sharpened it. "Do you have one?"
Tifa shook her head. She wasn't the type to carry around weapons. Her fists were all she needed.
"You should. A survival knife is the most important tool you can have. It will get you food and wood and you can protect yourself with it." Lightning continued to inspect the knife. Despite its initial condition, it had a high quality blade and was well crafted. Who did it belong to, she wondered. The bar owner? One of the patrons who visited it in times past? It didn't matter. It had no owner now. She held it out to Tifa. "Take it."
"Me?" Tifa asked. Aside from perhaps Kain, she thought she was the last person in their group who could make the most use of such a thing.
"I already have one, and I wouldn't be surprised if Kain does as well," Lightning said. "Vaan also has a knife, Yuna has her Aeons to protect her. And...do you really think I'd trust Laguna with a blade? He'd fall onto it before I even walked away."
Tifa didn't answer. Not because she didn't have anything to say, but...did Lightning just make a joke? Or did she seriously believe that Laguna would hurt himself? It was difficult to tell sometimes. Tired of waiting for her to take the knife, Lightning took Tifa's hand and put the knife's handle into her palm, then closed her fingers around it.
"Please understand, Tifa," she said, squeezing Tifa's hand. "It's not that I think you can't take care of yourself." Far from it. Lightning believed that Tifa was one of the most capable people she had ever met. "It could be useful to you someday. If nothing else, it'll make me feel better knowing you have it. Just think of it as a gift from me."
How could Tifa say no to that? She was acutely aware of Lightning watching her with complete sincerity and the gentle, but firm way she held her hand. Lightning, a woman who guarded herself, at that moment, was letting her emotions show.
"...okay," she agreed, and for a fleeting second, she thought she saw Lightning smile. "I'll take it. But only on one condition."
"And what would that b-" Lightning didn't have a chance to finish as Tifa pulled her across the bar for a kiss.
When they went upstairs to for the night, there was only one usable bed. Lightning insisted on giving it to Tifa, taking the floor instead. Having none of that, Tifa carefully picked up the slumbering Lightning and carried her to the bed, holding her close until she too fell asleep.
The next morning, the skies were completely clear, perfect for traveling.
However, the party was forced to stay in the village for an extra day because of a sick Kain Highwind.
Inside the Rift, the battle weary group of six continued to fight their losing battle. Each and every one of them had known from the start it would turn out like this, but they didn't care. They went in with their heads held up high and with hearts full of hope.
Tifa gasped for breath as she knocked away a manikin with a kick. While it appeared that she was doing fine, she knew that her time was almost up. Her blows barely had any strength behind them, and she was surrounded by countless manikins. As if they knew that she was done for, the manikins turned their attention to Lightning, who still had fight left in her. However, one last manikin went after Tifa, wanting to get in the final blow. Unsure that a punch or kick would be strong enough to stop it, Tifa quickly reached for the survival knife clipped at her waist, pulling it out and deftly sliced it, stopping it in its tracks. When it fell to the ground, Tifa did too, her last stand now over. Turning her head, she could see and hear Lightning give one last battle cry as dozens of manikins descended upon her, burying her under a sea of souless, crystalline monsters.
You were right, Lightning. It did come in handy.
Tifa closed her eyes, still clutching the knife in her hand.