Warning: Lightning name spoiler. May contain other spoilers. Beware.

Definitely Rear

Proto-ecology Belt - Gapra Whitewood

Hope jogged in front of Light, then turned to face his companion with a hard gaze.

"It's not a question of can or can't."

"Now you're learning," Light said proudly, nodding for Hope to take point. He obliged, then slowed down at Light's next words. "Keep your eyes front. I'll watch the rear." He paused, then nodded.

"Got it." He walked on with determination.

Light smiled fondly at the young boy, watching him as he bravely scouted ahead. In all honesty, Light had told him to keep his eyes front, because she didn't want to be found staring at his rear. As guilty as she felt for this (because of their age difference), she still found she couldn't help herself. Hope was…beautiful. He was brave, and strong, and all too willing to risk his life for their safety. As young as he was, he acted like a man twice his age. She was proud.

Holding her shimmering gunblade up, she stayed a dozen yards behind Hope, scanning the area around them with her trained eyes. However, a glimpse ahead of her was inevitable. And she was happy with the sight she saw: Hope's rear was definitely something she'd rather be looking at then the boring white glow of the forest around them.

Light shook her head, humiliated by herself. She took a deep breath and focused once more on actually caring more about their safety than the state of which Hope's being was currently in as it moved with his gentle footfalls…

"Light!" She responded as quickly as she could to Hope's cry, whipping her head up to analyze the situation. Two Thexterons, bioweapons created by the Sanctum, stood before Hope, saliva dripping from their parted silver lips; a deep growl welled up from within the beasts' chests, rattling the young boy's feet. He reached for the boomerang tucked in the back of his pants, taking a step backwards. "I've got the one on the left," Hope said quietly.

"Alright." Suddenly, two more Thexterons jumped from beneath the wardwalk. "Scratch that idea," Light said with disdain.

"Bring it on!" Hope shouted, putting his boomerang back in its place. He shot off multiple lightning and ice attacks, copying Light's strategy. Within a couple minutes, all four opponents had been defeated. "The Sanctum is insane," Hope gasped.

"Yeah," Light said with a scowl on her face. "Insane." She looked over at Hope, who was hunched over, hands on his knees, panting.

She adored his face in profile. His nose was soft, his eyes angular and lovely. He seemed delicate, and maybe he still was, but Hope was definitely crawling out of his previous state of helplessness. That slighty comforted Light about her feelings for him.

"Let's get a move on." Hope stood up, determined to not let anything halt his efforts to become stronger.

"Hope, let's rest for a moment. If there's more bioweapons ahead of us, then we should conserve our energy." Light folded her gunblade and placed it in its holster, straightening herself. She was worried for the boy, weakened just from their first battle in the Gapra Whitewood. She cast a healing spell on him, then started her way over to him. "Hope-"

"No! We can't stop! We have to keep going, Light. Alright?" He yanked his arm from her grasp and stared at her with a hard face and glinting blue-green eyes. "If we stop, then- then we might not want to keep going again. So- So we can't stop. We have to keep moving, and get stronger with every battle."

"Hope! Listen to yourself! That's not the way a soldier thinks. A soldier thinks about the well-being of his comrades before executing his mission." Light gave Hope an angry glare, daring him to challenge her words. She would not let him drive himself to self-destruction. He would not be like her. She would never let that happen to him.

"You're fine! I'm fine! What other well-being do I have to be concerned about?"

"Your mind, Hope. Your mind. If you keep going on like this, you'll end up dead." She felt something like cigarettes being jabbed into her eyes as she said this. The reality of his death was all too possible. She turned away from Hope, concentrating her stone cold gaze on the carcasses of the Thexteron.

"Why would you care what state my mind is in?" Hope was quiet, looking off in the distance ahead of them. He felt his heart beating painfully loud in his chest.

There was silence for a moment before he felt a pressure on his shoulder. He looked up and saw Light, her face inches from his. Everything about her was void of emotion. But her voice told a different story.

"We've risked life and limb for each other over the last several days. On Pulse, in the Vile Peaks, and now here, in the Gapra Whitewood. We've gotten closer, Hope. We've gotten so much closer than what I would like, so how can you expect me to not care about you- every part of you?" She felt a pang in her chest.

He was staring at her with wide eyes, like a child staring down the barrel of a gun. He was disgusted by her, and the implications of her words. She knew it, because he pulled away from her and took several steps ahead. He took so many steps, that she thought he wasn't going to stop and look back; that she thought he would keep going, continue on with point like he said he would; that she thought he would pretend like she hadn't just put her heart on her sleeve like she'd never done for anyone but Serah.

Now she's lost Hope, too. Now Hope's rejection.

"What do you mean, 'closer than you would like?' Do you mean that you don't- don't like the fact that I wanted to travel with you?" Hope was wounded by her words. He was wounded deeply by what she was saying to him. He thought they were on the right path, that maybe one day, when Hope was old enough, that they could be together. He thought his friendship was dear to her, because hers was dear to his like none he'd ever had before.

"Hope, no, I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's fine. It's totally fine, Light. I get it. I'm fourteen, a useless little boy. It's- It's totally fine, I swear." He continued on, fighting the tears burning his eyes. What a fool he'd been…

"I-I love you- Hope."

He stopped immediately, stunned. It felt as if he'd just been struck by lightning (no pun intended, of course, because this was a cruel joke if he'd heard her correctly). He shook his head and turned around to face her.

"W-What?" He asked, as if the silence had been too loud for him to hear her properly. She cocked her head to the side, frowning at the boy.

"Don't make me say it again. In fact, I probably won't for a long time. Especially if you…don't feel the same. Because I understand that I'm seven years older than you, that I'm…a creep for saying that-"

"You're not a creep. You're human." Hope gave her a sad smile. Then the sad smile grew to the size of a full-blown grin. "Light, I love you, too."

For a moment, Light just stared at him, then she smiled along with him. Then, silence fell between the two that quickly became awkward. Hope decided to break the ice with something that had been on his mind since their arrival on Pulse.

"Sh-Should we consummate our love with a kiss?"

Light's laughter was a curt bark. She clapped a hand over her mouth and bowed her head. With a face the color of a tomato, Hope's eyes widened with his embarrassment. "Did I say something wrong?"

"N-No-" Light's response was broken by her laughter- "it's just the-the fact that you're so blunt- I mean, it's not you at all!"

"You're one to talk!" Hope was indignant as he grimaced. But his scowl didn't last long. Not when Light was laughing- and at something he had said. He smiled and laughed as well, glad that he seemed to be able to make her happy, something he'd never really seen before now. "I-I was totally serious, though."

"I know…I know." Light straightened herself, still smiling. She seemed to be glowing. "I am too when I say this. Kiss me." Suddenly, Hope felt as though a bright spot light was shining on him. He shrank into the blue bandana wrapped around his neck as an odd sort of stage fright overtook him.

"I-I-"

"Fine then. I guess you can kiss me later…I'll take point." With Light's smooth, long strides, she was ahead of Hope in no time. Stuttering, he ruefully let her walk away.

And for the entire time they were not fighting an inordinate amount of ridiculously determined enemies, Light did what Serah taught her many years ago when a guy would not do what you asked. She strutted her stuff, and her stuff she knew Hope liked.

"Oh, come on!" Hope yelled at Light, unable to focus as much as he should on the rear of their position and instead giving his undivided attention to the rear of Claire Farron.

"I love you, Hope."

"Your long time sure isn't very long…" But he thought her legs were, and to him, her response to his whining and her mile long legs were the only thing that mattered to him just then.

Definitely taking rear instead of point from now on, Hope thought cheerfully.

A/N: This was terrible, wasn't it? I'm actually kind of embarrassed about putting this up, but… I've done it, so. No take-backsies. So what's your opinion on this? I'm, uh. Skeptical. Obviously.

Review!