Well, this is my first fanfiction! I love olderhope/lightning pairings! They just go so well together and I really wish that they did something at the end of LR to confirm their unofficial canon romance.
This is rated M for language, and a lemon in the future.
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy or any of its characters. Sadly.
Please leave reviews and let me know how I did and any comments are welcome!
Enjoy!
Chapter 1:
"Ugh, this is beginning to be such a waste of time." Lightning said as she threw herself onto her couch. "At this rate, I'll never find a job." She placed her face in her hands and sighed deeply.
At that moment her phone began to vibrate. She picked it up and saw that it was her sister Serah calling. "Ah great." She said before hitting the pickup button.
"Hello?"
"Hey Lightning! How did your interview go?" Serah said in her upbeat tone.
"Not so good. They said I had a problem with being "socially acceptable", whatever that means."
"What did you do?"
"I may have gotten into a yelling contest with another interviewee." Lightning sighed again.
"Oh, Lightning. I'm coming over to make you your favorite dinner and you can tell me all about it. Be there in 30 minutes."
Before Lightning could open her mouth, her sister had ended the call. "Tch. Why does she always need to make a big deal about things. It's not like it was the first interview I've blown." She then stood up and headed towards her bedroom to change into more comfortable clothes. I really hate having to dress up for these stupid interviews.
Lightning had recently left the military in order to move back to Academia in order to be closer to her sister, Serah. Serah had recently gotten engaged to a big oaf of a man. Snow. God, did she hate that man. It wasn't like he was a bad guy, Lightning just didn't think he was good enough for Serah.
Serah worked as a third grade teacher at the nearby school, The Junior Academy. A very prestigious school linked to the famous Academy. She was always good with children, and was way more "socially acceptable" than her older sister.
Lightning Farron had matured early in life. After their parents died in a car crash, she became the parental figure in Serah's life at the age of 15. She became protective of her younger sister, and began to push herself to give Serah anything she needed. She got a job and worked constantly in order to support her sister while still attending school herself. When she graduated high school, she enlisted in the military. She immersed herself in the discipline and structure of military life, and climbed the ranks fast while being able to support her sister back home.
When Serah announced that she was engaged, Lightning decided not to re-enlist and moved back to Academia to be near her.
And this is how she ended up in her current predicament. She had to find a job soon. Her GI bill would only last her so long. The trouble was, she was a terrible interviewee. She had little tolerance for people, especially stupid people, or anyone, really. She tended to answer questions with short, abrupt responses, and would remain guarded and standoffish. Not a good way to impress someone, let alone make an impression for a job.
At this point, she didn't care what job she got. She just needed one, if it meant sucking up her pride and end up flipping burgers.
When Lightning entered her bedroom, she went to her dresser and pulled out a black t-shirt and some jean shorts. She just about tore off her white, poofy blouse and black slacks. She hated wearing stuff like that. It made her feel uncomfortable, and found the clothes to be quite suffocating. She was used to fatigues and uniforms. Not frilly clothes that served no purpose.
As she put her t-shirt and shorts on, she heard the doorbell ring. She sure got here fast.
"Coming." She yelled.
She walked to her front door and opened it revealing a smiling Serah, followed by him. "Hey Serah. You didn't tell me that that thing was coming too."
"Ouch, sis. Right in the heart." The burly man said, clutching his hands to his chest in a dramatic way.
"I am not your sister." Lightning practically spat out at him. If my day wasn't bad enough, I now have to spend my evening with this brute. It's going to be a long evening.
"Ah, be nice Lightning. He's just trying to make your day better too. So, I'm going to start dinner. You two get along, okay?" Serah said while heading to the kitchen.
"I'm always nice, babe!" Snow responded.
"Hmmm." Lightning just walked towards her couch and slumped back into it, while reaching for the TV remote. She flicked the power button on and turned on the news station.
"So, sis. Serah told me you're having trouble in the employment department, huh."
"Hmmm." Lightning was not in the mood for his probing.
"You know, it wouldn't kill ya if you smiled and pretended to be something other than an ice queen." He joked. Snow plopped down on the nearby recliner and placed his hands behind his head.
"It just might..." She mumbled.
"OH! You know what, I think someone mentioned a job opening where I work. You should look into that. I heard it was a security guard position or something like that." He exclaimed, leaning forwards with his hands on knees. His was grinning like an idiot. A big, annoying idiot.
"And what makes you think that I want to work as a security guard? Let alone, why the hell would I want to work at the same place as you?"
"Ah, c'mon sis! Don't be like that. It was just a suggestion. I know Serah's been worried about you not being able to find a job. I thought that this would be something right up your alley. You'd get to wear a uniform again, and be all "Miss Serious Soldier" again." He smirked.
"I don't need your charity job. I'll be perfectly fine without your help." She turned and gave him a piercing glare. Snow shrugged it off and leaned back again in the recliner, with his hands once again behind his head. At that moment, Serah walked out of the kitchen.
"You know, that's not a bad idea. ETRO is a great company to work for. Everyone knows of ETRO. You should at least try it. What's the worst that can happen?" She grinned at her older sister.
"Hmm.." Lightning grumbled back.
"Don't 'hmmm' me! I can tell you've been feeling down about not getting these jobs. Whether you admit it or not. I know you need a job, and I'm pretty sure you don't want to move in with Snow and I." Serah ended with a sarcastic giggle.
"C'mon, sis. The I'll set it all up for ya. All you have to do is show up, and blow 'em out of the water!" Snow had that idiotic grin on his face again.
Lightning just sighed and hung her head. She turned the TV off, and looked at them out of the corner of her eye.
"Do it for me...Claire.." Serah furrowed her brow, and her eyes were pleading.
"Ugh...really Serah? Using my name to guilt trip me?" Lightning leaned back on the couch with her arms crossed. She closed her eyes with an annoyed look on her face. The side of her mouth twitching a bit.
"If I say yes, will you two drop the subject for the rest of the night?" She replied dryly.
"Of course! Oooooh, this will be a great opportunity for you! Snow, get it all set up! I'm so happy, Lightning. I just know you'll succeed this time!" Serah clapped her hands together with a grin that was almost as goofy as her fiances.
"Tch. Yeah yeah." Lightning turned her head to the side, refusing to look at them.
A buzzer sounded in the kitchen.
"Oh! That would be dinner. Snow, come help me set the table!" Serah bounced off into the kitchen with Snow following closely on her heels.
"Babe! It smells great! I'm the luckiest guy to have such an amazing cook for my future wife." Lightning glanced over through the entry to the kitchen. Snow was standing way to close to her sister, his hands on her hips.
"Snow! Not in my house!" She got up quick and started stomping towards the kitchen. Snow backed away like he had just touched a fire.
"Sorry, sis. Won't happen again." He smirked.
"For the last time, I am not your sister." Lightning stalked off to the other side of the kitchen reaching for the plates. "You going to help set the table or just stand there grinning your ass off?"
"Uhh..right. I'm on it sis!" Lightning quickly grabbed the plates and bolted towards the dining room table, her face contorted in annoyance. She was seriously debating punching the oaf in the face. She took a deep breath, and began setting the plates on the table.
After dinner, Serah helped Lightning clean up the dishes and when everything was cleaned up. Serah hugged her sister with a small smile.
"You know, Lightning, I just want you to be happy. You've done so much for me our whole lives. It's time you got something in return." Serah pulled away from the hug and looked down at the ground. "And I can't help but feel that it's my fault you're in this situation because of me."
Snow wrapped his arm around Serah's shoulder and pulled her closer to him. "Don't worry so much, babe. Lightning's a fighter. She'll be fine. Right, sis?"
Lightning could feel her brow twitching again. She cocked her head to the side and looked at the two. Serah really looks happy with him. Her lip curled up a bit on the side of her mouth.
"It's fine Serah. Don't worry about me. Now drive home safely, and I guess send me the information about the job when you can, Snow." She opened the door and waved goodbye as the walked out.
When Lightning closed the door, she leaned her back up against it and shook her head. This job better be worth my time. And with that, she locked the door and turned off the lights. She stalked off towards the bathroom in order to take a shower. Afterwards, she felt refreshed. She changed into a long nightshirt, pulled the covers to her bed and crawled in.
Once settled in, she stared at the ceiling and once again took a deep breath, thought about what her sister said about it being her fault that Lightning was in this mess. Stupid Serah. I'd never blame you for anything. You're all I have left. I'd do anything for you. She turned over and closed her eyes and fell asleep.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
Lightning rolled over and slamed her hand on the alarm clock. She glanced at it. 7:30 am. Ever since she joined the military, she had a habit of waking up early. Which was fine, she was more of a morning person anyways.
She got up and went to the bathroom. She brushed her teeth and washed her face. Afterwards, she walked to the kitchen and started the coffee pot. As the warm smell of fresh coffee brewing drifted through the air, she returned to her bedroom to change out of her pajamas and into a pair of sweat pants and a tank top. She tied her hair up in a side ponytail to her left and proceeded towards the coffee pot. She poured herself a cup and drank it.
When she was done, she placed the cup in the dishwasher then went to put her running shoes on. She opened the front door, walked out, while making sure to lock the door behind her. She then set out on her normal morning jog.
Getting out of the shower after her run, she heard her cell phone beep. As she came out of the bathroom, she was drying her hair with a towel, and threw it into the hamper.
She picked up her phone, swiped the screen and noticed it was a text from Snow.
"Talked to HR. You have an interview at 3:00pm today. Check in at the front desk and tell them you're there for the job interview. Good luck sis!"
She hit the button to close the screen. Glancing at the time, 11:43am. Guess I have a few hours to prepare. Lightning texted a brief thank your to Snow and placed the phone down on her dresser.
Walking out towards the living room, she grabbed the TV remote and turned it on. She didn't care what was on, she just liked the background noise. She headed towards the kitchen to start making herself lunch.
5 minutes later, she sat on the couch with a sandwich and another cup of coffee and just flipped through the TV channels until she landed on a movie that she hadn't seen. She placed the remote down and began to munch on her sandwich.
When she glanced at the clock, it read 1:30pm. She got up, placed her dishes in the dishwasher and went to get ready for her interview.
She left her house and walked towards her velocycle. She put her helmet on and turned the key, revved the bike and took off towards the ETRO building.
Upon arriving, she threw her keys at the valet, and began walking towards the building. She stopped before entering and glanced upwards. That is one big building. I wonder how many floors it has. 30? 50? She took a deep breath and looked forward with a face of determination on her face. Let's get this over with.
Pushing through the revolving doors, she noticed a bunch of people running around all wearing similar uniforms. A white and yellow jacket with a teal tie. How tacky. She thought.
If she was impressed with the way the outside of the building looked, inside was even more impressive. The floors were all marble, and the walls were a smooth granite. It was beautiful.
Lightning looked ahead towards the front desk and just above it hung the ETRO logo, with Estheim Technology and Research Organization above it in gold plated letters.
Noticing she was just standing in the middle of the lobby gawking, she quickly shook her head and began walking to the front desk. A woman with blonde hair up in a bun smiled at her from behind the desk and waved her forward.
"Welcome to Estheim Technology and Research. How may I help you?" She beamed.
"Umm..Hi. My name is Lightning Farron, I'm here for a job interview at 3 o'clock." Lightning watched as the young woman looked at her computer and began typing something on her keyboard.
"Ah yes, Ms. Farron I see it. Just sign in here on this sheet. Here's a visitors badge, and just go down the hallway to the left, and take the elevater up to the 50th floor. Once you get off, there will be another desk in front, just tell them what you told me and that's it." The woman handed Lightning a badge that said Visitor on it, and smiled. "Good luck Ms. Farron."
Lightning took the badge and clipped it to her blouse and began walking towards the elevator. Pressing the up button, she climbed inside the elevator crammed with a bunch of other people. She pressed the button that had 50 on it and noticed it was the top floor. Hmmm. Didn't think security would be on the top floor. Maybe it's where human resources is.
When the elevator beeped at the final floor, Lightning walked out and headed for the desk in front of her. This time it was a dark haired woman who smiled at her. Lightning walked up and repeated what she told the other woman downstairs.
"Alright Ms. Farron, just take a seat over there and we'll call you in a minute."
Lightning nodded and walked to one of the black leather seats, and sat down. Almost immdiately, another woman opened a door and called her name."Ms. Farron?" Lightning stood up. "We're ready for you. Please come right this way."
Following the woman, she glanced around the hallway they were currently walking through. There was a marble wall on one side, and a cascading waterfall on the other side. At the end of the hallway a double door.
When they reached said door, the woman knocked.
"Yes?" A muffled male voice answered from the other side.
"Your 3 o'clock appointment is here." The woman replied.
"Send her in." The man behind the door said.
The woman turned towards Lightning and nodded.
"Good luck Ms. Farron." She smiled and walked away.
Lightning took a deep breath in, and opened the door.
Inside was a huge office with windows covering the whole wall. Various plants were decorated around the room. A large desk made of dark cherry wood was in the center with a leather swivel chair behind it. That's when Lightning noticed the man sitting in said chair stand up.
"Ah, you must be Ms. Farron. It's a pleasure to meet you." The man walked towards her. When he was near her, he outstretched his hand. "I'm Director Estheim. Hope Estheim." Lightning stared at his hand for a second, before gathering herself and reached out to shake it.
"Nice to meet you, uh...Director?" She stuttered.
"Please, call me Hope." He waved his hand and gestured towards a couch and a couple chairs off to the left of his desk. "Have a seat Ms. Farron."
As he turned to walk towards his desk, she couldn't help but stare at the man. He was dressed in a similar uniform as the other employees, but his seemed to be more professional, better suited for him. He had very light blonde hair, almost white and she had noticed he was about a good head taller than her. He looks so young.
When he turned around with some papers in his hand, he caught her staring. "Something the matter, Ms. Farron?"
Lightning realized she had her jaw open, and she shook her head to snap out of her daze. "Uhh..no Direc..I mean Hope." Get it together Lightning!
She walked quickly towards the couch and sat down and crossed her legs. Hope took the chair across from her and looked over the papers he carried.
"Alright, let's begin. I see here you were in the military. Guardian Corps to be precise."
"Yes." She nodded.
"Looks like you joined up after graduating high school. Reached Sergeant. Very nice." He seemed so wrapped up in reading her resume, that he didn't even look up at her. "Alright, so Ms. Farron, tell me a little bit about yourself." He finally looked up and looked at her.
"I..uh..Well, as you saw, I was enlisted in the Guardian Corps until about 4 months ago. I moved back to Academia in order to be near my sister. Other than that, there's really nothing to say about me." She looked back at him. Lightning almost lost her breath. He had the most beautiful eyes she ever saw. A bright bluish-green that seemed to look directly into her soul. He was looking at her through his bangs that hung a bit over his eyes. They were piercing, yet they seemed to show an almost innocent gleam to them.
"Well...Claire...There..mu..."
"Lightning." She blurted out.
"Excuse me?" He looked at her with a confused face. His brow furrowed a bit as he seemed to ponder her outburst.
"Lightning. That's the name I go by. I'm not fond of my first name." Lightning mentally kicked herself for being so abrupt.
"I see. Okay, Lightning. Moving on. Can you describe your skills that would be beneficial to this job?" He pulled a pen out of his shirt pocket and clicked the top and looked up at her, waiting for her response. Heh, he's a nerd, pocket protector and all.
"I am proficient in combat. I am highly organized and always aware of my surroundings. I am skilled using multiple weapons but am well trained at using a gunblade. I also was top of my squad for hand to hand combat and have successfully completed every mission that was assigned to me. I have never lost a fellow soldier in my squad." While talking she had uncrossed her legs and sat completely straight with her head held high. She noticed that the man sitting in front of her had a somewhat confused look.
"Ms. Farron, I know that you were in the military, so those skills I assumed you already had. What I am asking for is what skills can you bring to this company while working as my assistant?"
"Your what?!" Lightning's eyes practically popped out of her eye sockets.
"My assistant. The job I'm hiring for is for my personal assistant." He cocked an eyebrow and waited for her response.
"I'm sorry Director Estheim..."
"Hope." He said.
"Yes, um..Hope. I'm sorry, but I think there was a mistake. I was supposed to be interviewing for a security guard position. Something must have gotten messed up." Lightning felt like a fool. Great, now I must look like an idiot. And in front of the Director of the whole company no less.
Hope looked down at the papers again. He narrowed his eyes as he reread the the paperwork. "Ms. Farron, there doesn't seem to be a mistake. Your resume was submitted for my assistant position. And, there is no position for security personel at this moment."
Hope looked at the woman in front of him. The way she was sitting, he could tell she was uncomfortable. Her back was rigid and she was gripping her knees hard enough that her knuckles were turning white. He glanced at her face, and noticed her pursed lips. She seemed irritated. He brought his gaze higher up and looked into her steel blue eyes. They felt cold and calculating, but hinted at another hidden emotion he couldn't quite place. Annoyance? Anger? Her hair was a startling soft pink color and was pulled over to her left side and fell softly between her...No Hope. Don't go there. You're a professional.
"Well, Hope. I seemed to have wasted your time. I hardly think I'm qualified to be your personal assistant. I'm more of the...hands on kind of person." Lightning went to stand up but was stopped by a raised hand.
"Wait!" Hope didn't mean for the abrupt tone. He covered his mouth with his hand and cleared his throat. "Please, sit back down."
Lightning looked at him and lifted her eyebrow. She sat back down and tilted her head still looking at him. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and waited.
Hope looked at the woman in front of him. He couldn't quite understand it but there was something about her that intrigued him. His logical brain trying to decipher this feeling, but it was beyond logical thinking.
He half smiled at her. "Well, Ms. Lightning. I think you may be what I am looking for. I've gone through four assistants in the past year alone. They always end up not working out. Something about being worked to hard or some other nonsense. I'm thinking someone with your discipline, and what seems to be a strong work ethic, would be perfect for this job. I'm assuming you know how to use a computer and a phone?" Someone not qualified for the job. This could be an interesting experiment. If she accepts...
Lightning couldn't believe what she was hearing. Hope Estheim must be a mad man if he thought she could sit behind a desk, idly twidling her thumbs waiting for him to require her assistance. She shook her head with a frown.
"You must be insane. I am not even close to being qualified for this position, nor would I be any good at it. I'm a soldier. Not a secretary." She pursed her lips while staring him down.
He smiled again. He must really be a mad man.
"Nonsense. Like I said, all my past, mind you, highly qualified assistants couldn't handle the job. I'm sure a hard working soldier like you could handle a little paperwork."
He had a cocky smirk on his face as he waited for her response. She really couldn't believe this man. He was seriously considering her. She scrunched her face up deep in thought. I really need a job. But do I really want to be his little lackey? Probably grabbing him coffee every morning and picking up his dry cleaning like a good little secretary. Tch...silly Director. You have no idea who you're talking to.
"I'm sorry Director Esth.."
"Hope" There's that cocky grin again.
"Director Estheim. I have to decline. There's no way I'll accept this job. I'm not someone's coffee slave." She stood up abruptly frowning at him. "Sorry for wasting your time. Good luck on looking for your, assistant...secretary...whatever position." She turned around and started walking towards the door.
When she reached for the handle and began opening it, a hand slammed it shut. She glanced upwards and saw that it was Hope's hand.
Hope lowered his brow and closed his eyes, not believeing nor remembering getting up and slamming the door.
She turned around and faced him with a cold, deadly stare. "Please, Director..." She emphasized his title with something acute to malice. "remove your hand from the door, or I will remove it for you."
He smirked. He opened his eyes and looked down at her. A fine experiment indeed. Hope leaned forward a bit, looking straight into her eyes, ignoring her piercing death glare.
"I'll see you tomorrow at 8:00 am sharp. Don't be late." And with that he walked away like nothing happened.
Lightning stared at his retreating back. She watched him return to his desk, picking up the phone and resume whatever work he was doing previously.
With an not so subtle "Humph", she opened his door and slammed it shut.
Hope just smiled at the door after it closed.
A fine experiment indeed.
Well, what'd you think? I know it's one long chapter but I just couldnt stop writing! I know that Hope may be a bit OOC. At the same time, I see him being more confident and cocky when he's older. But ever so polite. Lol.
Please review and let me know what you think!