Peanut

Lightning didn't pull away--she just changed her position. She leaned the side of her face against Riku's and spoke softly in his ear. "My Riku," she said quietly. That was who he was. He was her Riku: the one who broke down all of her walls and earned his way into her heart. Her Riku, who kept his word and devoted himself in both word and deed to those he cared about. Her Riku, who she deeply cared for.

Lightning smiled softly as she lifted both of her hands. She set them on either side of Riku's face as she brought it closer to her own. "I found you," she whispered again, shutting her eyes as she lifted her chin and gave him a kiss on his forehead. He was back with her, and she wouldn't let him go away again.

Lightning looked into Riku's eyes, seeing past the nervousness. Ever since the confrontation with his family and friends, Riku was better off. He was getting more sleep, eating more and talking more. He didn't avoid his problems: he started facing them head-on. No matter how bad the pain, Riku stepped forward. That was the Riku that she came to care for, and now he was back. "...I found you, Riku," she whispered.

"But what's lost can be found, right?" Lightning asked quietly as she gazed deeply into Riku's eyes. She lifted a hand, lightly placing it on his shoulder without looking away from his eyes. Both of them lost their way in the chaos, but now they were returning to the people they used to be. Their feelings were always there and they did shine in the darkness. She realized now that if Riku hadn't cared the way that he had through all this, she never would have found her way back to him. Back to Serah too.

Lightning let Riku stroke her hair for a minute, the young man before her having a privilege that no other did. This was her Riku, her best friend and boyfriend. He made two great promises to her earlier and kept them both. For the first time in forever, he was back. And now, she was coming back too. "I feel like I've been away for a while," she said softly as she gazed at Riku. It felt like who she really was disappeared in the midst of all the fear and the pain.

"Yeah," Lightning nodded. She looked over at Riku, meeting his eyes. "I will." I will recover. Now she had a very real way of moving forward. Before, she told Riku that she wasn't going to let the Darkness take her, but even so, it began to get to her. Her own thoughts of doubt and hurt and negativity brought her down. But now she had a glimpse of the dawn, and she was walking towards it.

Flashbacks of the day with Cedric came back to Lightning's mind, reminding her of the terror that she felt then. And Riku said she wasn't screwed up? "...I think you might be wrong, Riku," she said quietly. "What happened with him...It was worse than just being hurt." He should have seen her and how she idolized him. He was exactly who she wanted to be for most of her life and he came back and tried to kill her and turn her to Darkness. He did mess her up.

Light's eyes widened slightly as she stared down at her lap. She should have been terrified that the bullets had the power to shatter her psyche, but more than anything... "...I'm relieved," she said quietly. "So it wasn't a lie that I just couldn't overcome. He didn't...screw me up completely." She could be okay now.

Lightning nodded slightly, looking down at her legs. "I don't understand though," she said quietly. "Why would a potion help? It was all in my head..." That was what she still believed, even after all the pain. She thought that the pain increasing was a sign that her father deeply disturbed her to the point where she couldn't overcome the lie of pain. She thought that maybe he screwed her up permanently...

Lightning sat herself up more, daring to slowly swing her legs off the side of the bed. Yeah, it still hurt, but again, it was nothing compared to earlier. "Riku..." she called quietly. He didn't get it: that was a very important promise, and he kept it. He fulfilled his word. That time, it was more than his actions that were genuine. He said what he meant and meant what he said. She was grateful and wanted to thank him.

Lightning remembered something else then: a promise. "You kept your promise," she said quietly. Riku said that he would take care of Serah, and he did. Just knowing that Riku kept his word with something so important deeply touched her heart.

Serah. That's right, Serah had run out earlier in tears for some reason... "Is Serah okay?" Lightning asked, forcing herself to wake up for that important question. It was nighttime and her sister wasn't asleep in bed, and she was crying earlier. Lightning's state upset her--she knew it. She wished she could have prevented that, but she couldn't have.

"I'm...good," Lightning said, surprised herself at that truth. She was exhausted despite all the sleep that she just got, but she was alert other than that and in a lot less pain than earlier. Whatever pain she felt now was almost nothing compared to what earlier had been. She felt like she was forgetting something from earlier though--something important. She really hadn't been with it when she took the medicine, so naturally she didn't remember the events that clearly.

Lightning groggily sat herself up, rubbing at her eyes to make sure she was seeing things right. There was Riku, reading a book in the corner. Serah was elsewhere in the castle, reading a novel that would keep her mind occupied for a while. "Hey," she called tiredly to Riku as she began to sit up in bed. What was he doing?

Later That Night Lightning rolled over in her bed, tiredly realizing that it was empty. She knew that she had been passed out for a while, and she assumed (correctly) that it was night. And if it was night, Serah should have been there with her. She peeked her eyes open tiredly, seeing that her initial assumption was correct. The room was only lit by one light in a distant corner, which she guessed was on far away so that it wouldn't disturb her. She doubted any light would have disturbed her though; she was knocked out for fourteen hours.

Serah looked up, seeing the hand that beckoned to her. A hand that invited her to think more brightly about the future. She reached out and grabbed it, rising to her feet. But she did more than that--She embraced Riku when she stood, both her arms weaving around his back. "Thank you," she said quietly.

Serah nodded faintly, looking down at her hands. "Is the nightmare over, then?" she inquired quietly. This whole experience, that was what it was. It was nothing shy of her and Lightning's worst nightmare. Their father dying hurt both of them, but Lightning really was daddy's little girl. She aspired to be just like him until the day he returned as a villain. Even then though...Serah had a feeling Lightning didn't want to believe in his corruption. Serah was heartbroken for herself, yes, but Lightning had it worse than she did. But now that there was physical recovery, would their hearts heal too?

Serah set her hands back in her lap, turning more serious as she spoke of her sister. "She's asleep, isn't she?" she checked. She didn't think that Riku would come after Serah unless Lightning wouldn't notice his presence, so he must have waited until she was asleep.

"It runs in the family, trust me," Serah smirked with a small laugh. It wasn't just Lightning who would keep Riku in line by any means necessary; Serah would too. She doubted her tiny fists would do as much impact as Lightning's though--Her sister was trained in battle, after all.

Serah squeaked when Riku poked her on the stomach, the girl ticklish. But when she took in his words, she cracked a small smile. "And you have plenty of people who aren't afraid to kick your butt when you need it," she added. She leaned forward and poked Riku on the cheek, rubbing it in. "Like me." When he was upset, all of them came together to get Riku to get better, and she was one of those people who cared enough to travel worlds to help. Even if it wasn't for Lightning, she still would have come to help Riku.

"You're kind," Serah said simply. She and Lightning both had run-ins with a lot of nasty people in their lives. In Bodhum, people often teased Lightning because of her cold exterior and maturity. Not to mention the fact that she was orphaned. People wouldn't attack Serah so much because she was in the popular crowd, but Lightning wasn't that privileged. She pushed people away and they hated her for it. But Riku got in somehow; surely his kind nature helped.

Serah forced a weak smile, in disbelief of Riku. He wasn't upset with her at all over what she did. Okay, he was upset she didn't tell him sooner, but he was eager to forgive her because of her intentions. "I can see why Lightning likes you," she confessed then. Riku was a good guy.

Serah wiped at her eyes, a stray tear escaping her. "I felt bad for her," she reasoned. "She's been so vulnerable lately and she hates it. So when she told me not to tell you, I thought it was okay. It was saving you from worry and her from embarrassment. But I was wrong..." She should have been honest from the start, even if it did cost Lightning some of her pride.

"Why aren't you mad at me?" Serah cried. She slowly lowered her legs so that she could look at Riku in front of her. "I was lying to you when I knew just how bad she was..." Maybe she did realize that this wasn't all her fault and that Lightning would be in pain anyway, but what she didn't understand was why Riku wasn't mad at her.

"Of course I am," Serah said into her knees. "If I had just told you when things started to go bad, maybe she wouldn't have been in that much pain. She wasn't Lightning then. Lightning's never not in control of herself and unaware of her surroundings but when she looked at me her eyes were just...blank. Lightning wasn't Lightning...because of me."