For My Sister.

My protector, my best friend… My Lightning.

I'm really getting into this one-shot thing… Spontaneous thoughts and ideas and whatnot. : ) I know I don't usually write different pairings, this idea just came to me and seemed a bit fitting. Enjoy. x

Disclaimer:

The characters I write and the worlds I portray do not belong to me, they belong solely to Square Enix and affiliates. I just borrow them for your enjoyment and my writing addiction…

Unbreakable

"Serah?"

Lightning didn't hesitate to step quickly into her sisters bedroom, not caring about the noise her feet were making at such an unsociable time of night. Her brow was furrowed with worry and her voice highlighted her concern. Walking to the edge of the bed, she quickly grabbed the younger girl's shoulders, shaking her lightly.

"Serah wake up…" she asked a little more forcefully, shaking harder. The younger Farron continuing to thrash her limbs around violently. Lightning soon had to pin her arms to the bed, preventing her from lashing out.

"No! Let go of me!" Serah yelled quickly, arching her body upwards; away from the contact and struggling harder. Lightning groaned under the force her sister was providing; for someone so small, Serah sure could put up a fight.

"Serah it's alright, I've got you." Lightning whispered again, waiting for her sister to awaken from whatever nightmare had shaken her so much. This wasn't the first time that Lightning had run into Serah's room in the past couple of weeks in a mad panic, fearful of something having befallen her sister. It had begun to happen most nights now and the younger Farron was becoming increasingly fearful of what the nightmares might bring.

"Serah, hey…" Lightning gently squeezed the younger girls wrists tighter, attempting to shake her awake. She noted small vibrations running through her sisters arms as she shook, her body trying to fight off whatever was in her subconscious.

Lightning felt a little stab of guilt at the sight of her sister shuddering, she just wished she could chase away whatever Serah was scared of, that she could end her sleepless nights. It was something she had no control over, a fight she couldn't pursue. Instead she just had to be the one there when her sister woke up, ready to talk.

Serah stopped fighting underneath her suddenly as she managed to thrash herself awake. Opening her eyes, she looked up at her sister with a fearful look, one that would stick in Lightning's mind for a long time to come.

"Serah?" Lightning gently released the pressure on Serah's wrists and left her hands hovering above them, making sure that she was indeed awake and not about to start flailing about again. She had been on the receiving end of one of Serah's punches the other night, and for someone so small… She flinched just thinking about how much her jaw had throbbed; she got weaker hits from the boys in training.

Serah's reaction was exactly what Lightning was expecting them to be and it wasn't long before the soldier could see tears beginning to form behind those familiar baby-blue eyes. If there was one thing that Lightning could not stand to see, it was Serah crying.

She knew that Serah just didn't have the same way of bottling things up as she did. She had to try and talk it out, whatever the problem. Lightning herself, just preferred to keep it to herself as long as she could, eventually the bad feelings would go away. Its not like she tried to be distant all the time; since they had saved Serah and Cocoon, she found herself increasingly pulling away from those she cared about. After all, Fang and Vanille had sacrificed themselves to save the rest of them.

They were alive, here, on the planet the two Pulsian's used to call their own, and they were living the life Fang and Vanille should have seen. Lightning just couldn't bring herself to feel sorry for her own mixed up feelings.

Serah on the other hand, needed someone more than ever. Lightning even found herself cursing Snow for leaving. Even though he was trying to help their fallen companions; leaving Serah had left her more vulnerable and alone than ever. Lightning found herself wondering just how much more the younger girl could take.

"Come here…" she whispered, pulling the other girl across the bed and tightly into her arms. As soon as she made the gesture Serah broke down, seeking the comfort her sister offered. Free from her troubles, the despair and the memories of what had happened. With Lightning, she just felt safe.

"I've got you." Lightning whispered, brushing aside Serah's pink-toned hair, the perfect shade of her own. Serah just pulled herself closer, Lightning becoming her instant comfort blanket. Even just the presence of her sister could calm her down. If it had been anyone else clutching to her madly; the soldier would have been extremely uncomfortable with the contact. Not with Serah.

"What was it?" Lightning asked, running her hand from the top of Serah's head, down her back and rubbing circles gently. After all these years, the soldier knew just what to do to make the younger Farron relax. After everything with their parents, Lightning shipping off to join the Guardian Corps and what had happened with all the l'Cie business, the soldier was getting used to being there for her sister.

Serah just shook her head, unwilling to converse with what had happened in her nightmare. Lightning knew to give her a little time, after a while; the younger girl would tell her what was wrong. She always did. For now, all Serah needed was time; time spent like this, with one of the people in her life that mattered.

"L.. Lightning, it was horrible!" Serah grabbed her sister tighter around the middle, her grip slightly knocking the wind out of the older woman.

"Sh, it's alright Serah. It was only a dream…" Lightning smiled at her sympathetically, trying to pry her arms away, wanting to re-gather her breath.

"W…Was it? It wasn't last time!" Serah noticed what Lightning was trying to do and reluctantly removed her arms from her sisters waist. Immediately missing the protection the older woman provided. Although, Lightning breathing might help with that. Better to quit whilst she was still ahead.

Taking a deep breath, Serah attempted to stop her limbs from shaking, some of the original terror draining from her body. Lightning's words were ringing in her ears and she scanned the dark room carefully.

Everything was where she left it, nothing had even been moved, bar her blankets which were now all lying on the floor in a heap. She looked down at her hands carefully, shuddering as she remembered her nightmare.

"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Lightning pushed the younger girl, knowing that talking was the only way to relieve the fear she was feeling. Serah took another deep breath, wondering how to put her words without seeming childish. Compared to everything Lightning could do, what she could block out. Serah paled in comparison.

The more she thought about it, the more ridiculous the voice in her head sounded.

"It… It was just…" she paused for a moment. Wondering the best way to continue. She shook her head, feeling annoyed with herself. This was her sister, she should be able to talk comfortably with her, no matter what. She just didn't want Lightning to get mad, or to be disappointed in her. Lightning had been distant enough recently without being driven further away. Serah knew deep down that Lightning would never get mad at her feelings, they had been through too much over the past few months.

As she looked around the room once more, she felt a sudden tight feeling grip her chest. Even though this place wasn't exactly perfect, the temporary 'house' they were living in was far from nice. Yet everything she needed was right here, even through the nightmares.

She had Lightning, that should have been enough.

But it wasn't. Snow was gone, Hope was living with his father, everyone they used to know, NORA, Sazh, Fang, Vanille. Even little Dajh. They were all gone; and it was all because of her. Because she had stumbled across the Pulse Vestige that day; because she had been made a l'Cie.

Now all she could see when she closed her eyes was the inside of a crystal prison. Seeing every step, every battle for her safety. Everything that the people she cared about had given up for her. Sure, there was personal motives, Fang was trying to save Vanille, Sazh was looking out for Dajh, Vanille was running away from her future and Lightning and Snow were trying to save her.

Deep down she knew, if she hadn't become crystal, if she had just stayed away from the strange Vestige instead of letting her curiosity get the better of her. Things would be fine, and everyone would have been normal again.

Now she looked up at her sister with a different expression in her eyes, a blanked one that wasn't meant to pass to Lightning yet hung on an invisible thread, silently passing to the soldier's waiting gaze. She knew what the look must have felt like to the older woman. It was what she felt in her heart every time Lightning looked her way. It was a look of guilt, of sadness, of fear. Everything Lightning herself kept bottled up inside her.

If Lightning was anything like her, the feeling running through her chest right now would have felt like an electrical current. A sudden urge to help, to take the pain away from something you couldn't fix. Something you couldn't alter.

"Serah?" Lightning snapped the younger girl out of her thoughts, her brow furrowed with worry. She had seen he way Serah looked at her in the last few moments, something big must have been on the younger Farron's mind.

"Is all of this my fault?" Serah whispered, looking up and locking her eyes with Lightning, the coldness in her eyes made the soldier recoil; suddenly surprised at the outburst.

"What are you talking about?" Lightning asked softly, shuffling closer to her sister.

"Everything, Cocoon, the others… Snow leaving." Sarah paused, a silver teardrop running down her already tear-streaked face. She didn't even bother to wipe at it, she wasn't sure how many more tears she could cry.

"Serah…" Lightning began, being cut off by the continuation of her sisters sudden speech.

"It's me, it's my fault… If I'd just stayed away we wouldn't be here right now. None of us would be in this mess, Fang and Vanille wouldn't be crystal. Everything was fine, it was perfect. Now, every time I close my eyes, I imagine I'm back in that place. I'm back in crystal; Light, I can see you, hear you but I cant help you. You were fighting for me whilst I slept and I couldn't move. It was like a constant reminder of my mistakes and you were paying for it…"

"Serah. Listen to me." Lightning was taken aback at her sisters words. She had no idea that was how Serah felt.

"Serah. You saved us, don't you see? You're the reason we are here. Alive. If it wasn't for you, we would be in more of a mess than this." Serah looked away at her words, letting all of the emotions she had been feeling since she had first walked into the Vestige take her over, even through the outburst, she couldn't find the words she really wanted to say.

"Serah, look at me." Lightning reached over, carefully turning Serah's head so she could look directly into those baby-blues, trying desperately to pass a message.

"None of this is your fault… I believe that. If anyone is to blame, it should be me." Lightning sighed at her words, even if she wasn't comfortable with sharing this, it was something Serah really needed to hear.

"When you were crystal, when I thought…" she took a breath before continuing, a lump forming in her throat at the memories of what she had been feeling. "Serah, when you were sleeping. All I could think about was getting you back, about how I drove you away to start with. If I had just listened to what you had to say, I was so stubborn; so consumed with work that I pushed you away…"

She ran a hand through her hair in annoyance, if anyone had the right to nightmares, to feeling this guilt. It should be her. She felt it already, deep down in her chest; she just chose to ignore that it was there at all.

"The truth is. You saved us, you saved all of us…. You saved me…"

Serah blinked in a few times at her sisters words, it was completely alien for her to hear how Lightning was feeling. It was a rare occasion that Lightning shared her feelings, she had no idea that the soldier was feeling the same way. Lightning reached over and carefully wiped away the teardrop descending down the younger girl's cheek.

"Look, we can dwell on the past Serah. We can look back at what happened in guilt or in anger, or we can drive forward. That's what I'm trying to do, I'm trying to build a better future for the both of us. Not just for us Serah, for everyone. We changed our fates before. We can do it again; I believe that."

She smiled over at her sister, her heart lightening with each word.

"It doesn't have to end like this; you never have to feel like you did back then. When you were sleeping in crystal. Serah, I never want you to feel like that. I'm here, we all are; and that's a start…."

"Lightning…"

"Even if we can't change the past, the future is ours… and I promise, I promise things will turn out alright. You just have to keep telling yourself that…" Lightning placed her hand on her heart quickly, needing Serah to understand just how important her role was, how much she needed her to be alright.

"Lightning… I…" Serah felt herself choke up again, not so much because of the fear or the sadness that had originally gripped her, but because of the overwhelming bond her sister was igniting. She had everything she needed right here, she just needed Lightning to open her eyes to the possibilities.

"Save it…" Lightning whispered quickly, cutting her off. It started now, now they had to look forward. If not for the both of them, for their fallen companions. For a way to save those people they cared about. Together, anything was possible.

"Thank you…" Serah whispered, shuffling closer and burying her head in Lightning's chest once more. Lightning smiled at the gesture. Her Serah was back, the sister she loved so dearly. The sister she knew she would save the world for again... Over and over if she had to.

"Try and get some sleep." she whispered, running her hand through the other girls hair. Pulling back, she placed a kiss on Serah's forehead.

Standing up from the bed, she looked down upon Serah with a different kind of fire in her eyes. Serah had made her realise just what was left to fight for. A new mission they could throw themselves into. No matter what happened; she was never pushing her sister away again, never.

"Lightning?" Serah asked quietly, pulling her knees to her chest quickly, the original feeling of fear crossing her mind. What if she closed her eyes, and she was back in that place? Back in the darkness that had gripped her before.

"What's the matter?" Lightning was ready to talk, about whatever Serah needed.

"Stay… please?" her sisters voice was small, it made Lightning's heart quicken in pace, how could she ignore a plea like that?

"Of course." she whispered, settling back down on the edge of Serah's bed. She used to do this all the time when they were younger, when her sister needed her. She smiled at the memory, it seemed some things just never changed.

Serah shuffled closer to her sister and laid her head against the soldiers warm arm. Whilst she was here, Serah knew the nightmares would stay away, Lightning had always protected her, she knew deep down that even in her subconscious; Lightning could chase away any bad dream. She closed her eyes slowly, letting her body relax. It wasn't long before she lulled herself to sleep, gripping Lightning as close as she could.

Lightning attempted to make herself as comfortable as she could possibly manage, noting how Serah looped her arm across her waist, preventing her from leaving. She smiled to herself, it was nice to see her peaceful. She didn't mind sleeping awkwardly, its not like she had never slummed it before. Besides, if she had to. She would stay here for eternity. For her, she would do anything.

Even the impossible…