A/N: I'll keep this short, as it is down to the wire for me to post. This little gift-fic was written in honor of reviewer Tracez and his fiancée, but I do hope everyone out there who's read AiR enjoys it too XD Merry Christmas all, and Happy New Year. I'll see you all again in February!

Hthar

Reflections

"Snow, no offense to you and Serah, but honestly…" Hope huffed, pausing as he brought his axe down onto the deepening notch again, "I can think of a lot of other things I'd rather be doing right now than this Solstice Festival nonsense."

Laughter echoed in the otherwise quiet woods from the man standing on the opposite side of the massive, fallen trunk. Snow planted his axe on the snow-covered ground and leaned on its handle, collecting himself enough to reply, "You sure it isn't just one thing you'd rather be doing?"

Hope gritted his teeth and viciously hacked into the tree. "Hypocrite," he muttered. "At least you two have your own hut. We are on separate mats in the same room as Sazh and Dajh, not to mention my dad." He shivered involuntarily, more from that thought than from the biting cold.

"Hey, it's just for a few days, and the only reason for the special treatment is because we're married – it's the tribe rules of Aerma. We can tie our cord on the door and no one's allowed to disturb us," Snow declared proudly, giving the trunk a final blow to separate the largest portion of the base from the rest of the evergreen.

Tossing his axe aside, Hope grumbled, "Thanks for rubbing that in." He plopped down on the severed log and slumped forward, wiping off the sweat that had collected under the front edge of his beanie with the end of his matching green scarf.

In the sudden silence on the mountainside, they both heard the loud rustle of underbrush very near their position. Hope felt his pulse quicken.

What could that be? We haven't seen a single sign of wildlife—

"Get down!" Snow whispered sharply, and without warning he lunged over the trunk and took Hope with him, pushing him face-first into the snow. Both of them lay flat, briefly pressed up against the safer side of the log while they listened to the crunch of snow as whatever-it-was approached, and Hope hurriedly rubbed away the flakes and ice that were clouding his vision.

When Hope lifted his stinging, reddened face, his eyes were met with the sight of Maqui and Yuj laughing their heads off.

"Oh man," Maqui gasped, actually crying in his hysteria. "You thought… we were… monsters?"

For his part, Yuj decided it would be more effective to scoop up a wad of snow and hurl it in Snow's face. "That's kind of insulting, fearless leader. The villagers were pretty clear about having a limited safe zone. How far off did you thinkwe'd be, trying to find a good tree for NORA on the same little piece of mountain?

"Far enough away that we haven't heard a sound out here for hours!" Snow exclaimed, shaking off the slush as he stood. "And where exactly is this almighty tree you've chopped down?"

Maqui shrugged and explained, "Meh, we're still working on it – really is a gigantic one, probably older than the Primarch was and just as hard to take down, if your stories were accurate." He gestured with his arms to demonstrate the size, and his mittens were still a meter from completing the circle.

"Gadot's taking a shift on his own at the moment so we could scout and see where everyone else ended up," Yuj added, adjusting the long, yellow cap on his head. He offered a hand to help Hope up from the ground, and Hope went ahead and took it – he was feeling fatigue settle in a bit more than expected.

Maqui noted the change. "Dude, you look pretty beat. Don't tell me you let some tree kick your ass, even with Snow's help."

"Nope, this is sleep deprivation at its finest," Hope scoffed, dusting off his half-soaked pants. The cold refused to be deterred by any amount of layers, but he was honestly thankful for its ability to keep his senses fairly alert and the tiniest bit more subdued at the same time.

Not that I won't end up more and more frustrated the longer we stay in Aerma. As it stands, Light might strangle Snow if he gets on her bad side right now.

A high-pitched whistle assaulted everyone's ears as Snow called his pet back from leisurely hunting, and it took Snuggles the Dastardly no more than a minute to come swooping down through the branches overhead and alight on the log. The rather large wyvern only gave a sharp "Rrrak" in greeting before it settled into a low, steady growl that they had determined was more of a purr. Hope fished around in his pocket and tossed up a treat – it was devoured in a single bite.

Maqui narrowed his eyes shrewdly at Snuggles and then glared at Snow in open accusation. "Wait a sec… You're gonna use your monster to move your log down to the village while we have to do it all ourselves?" he complained, and at Snow's careless shrug he snapped his goggles over his eyes defiantly.

Ah, here comes the rant. I tried to tell him the goggles won't make people take him seriously, but did he listen? No.

"As if we hadn't been shafted enough," Maqui started in, "you had to go and one-up us! I still say you and Hope should've been a part of team NORA's effort – every family is supposed to take a log down for that ceremony or whatever, and both of you are a part of our family."

"Look, you've got three guys to handle this task," Snow shot back, taking a rope from Snuggles' saddle to wrap it around the center of the log. "I got married last year, genius, which means we count as a separate family unit according to the village, and we got Lightning, Hope and Bartholomew by extension. That's only three men to start with – it isn't my fault that Aerma's got some backwards tradition against women chopping down trees. We already sent Bartholomew with Sazh to give them an extra set of hands, and Gadot really counts as two people anyway. That more than evens things out. Besides, this isn't a race – we're only required to finish up before it gets dark."

Hope automatically looked down at his watch. "Speaking of that, you guys might want to get back to work. It's two-thirty now."

"Already?" Yuj exclaimed with a start. He grabbed Maqui by the arm – before the ruffled mechanic could argue further – and rushed them around the log and back into the trees, calling out as they went, "We'll catch you guys later!"

Snow waved as they passed and finished securing the rope to the log, straightening up to stretch once he was satisfied. He whacked Hope on the back in the usual way that always left his victim winded and said cheerfully, "Well, looks like it's just you, me, and Snuggles again. Let's get a move on!"

"That just sounds wrong," Hope remarked, and both of them had a good laugh before taking position at either end of the log. With Snuggles giving some amount of lift and forward pull while they would be guiding the log through the woods, the strategy had success written all over it.

At least, it certainly seemed to be working well for about three quarters of the trip. There came a point when the two of them hit a deceitfully smooth section with almost no trees that turned out to contain a deep snow bank. Hope was in the lead at the time and stepped backward onto the powder first, sinking quickly to his thighs and falling onto his backside along with his end of the log.

"Snow, watch out!" he called upon landing, but even if the other man had been able to stop, Snuggles was still trying to carry their cargo forward. The force pulled Snow around as the log swung ninety degrees to sink into the snow bank with a sudden poof of powder, effectively trapping Hope's legs. Snow landed belly-first, his arms still wrapped around the far end of the half-buried tree trunk.

Shortly afterward, Hope was being buried himself. The wyvern screeched and struggled to pull its burden, gravity on its side, and the log began progressing like a rolling pin over Hope's waist to lay him flat on his back. A whistle pierced the air again as Snow called Snuggles down before his pet's advance could drive them deeper into the snow bank.

Hope was grateful that the log hadn't made it to his chest, but its weight was firmly settled on his stomach, which still restricted his breathing. He looked up past the caved-in snow to see the pale blue sky between high treetops and tried to remain calm.

Gathering as deep a breath as possible, he called out, "Hey, Snow! Got a plan?"

There was a minor delay as Snow struggled to get around the log and assess the damage, but he quickly made it to Hope and towered over the sunken place where he had landed.

"Are you hurt?" he asked immediately, his expression grave as he looked from Hope's face to the log pinning him down.

Hope moved his toes in his boots and tested the muscles in his legs. Other than the annoying weight pressing down his abdomen and a sense of claustrophobia, his body seemed in working order.

"I think I'm fine – just really stuck," he gasped, taking in another slow breath. "Nothing hurts, though."

Nodding seriously, Snow pumped his fist and said, "Good, then just hang tight for a minute." He disappeared from Hope's view, but Hope could hear the shifting of his movements and Snuggles' light screeches of communication from nearby. Snow made a couple of beckoning sounds at the wyvern before he shuffled back through the powder and took a position at Hope's end of the log.

I really hope he can make this work…

Not that they had many options. Snow whistled again and waved his arm in the air to direct his pet, stooping to get a grip under the log – no small feat, considering it was stuck fairly deep in the powder. Still, while Snow lifted and Snuggles pulled from somewhere in the air, Hope felt the weight crushing him begin to lessen and slowly back off toward his legs. He sat up as soon as he could and pressed his palms against the side of the log to add more force. They still had to lift, push and pull for a few minutes to even get it past his knees.

Finally regaining movement of his legs, Hope wriggled out from under the log. Snow dropped his burden with a grunt and whistled for Snuggles to stop, only taking a moment to crack his back before he reached down into the powder pit and hauled Hope to his feet.

"Alright," Snow declared, planting his hands on Hope's shoulders, "you're not allowed to take the lead anymore. I know we'd decided to alternate, but that was way too close."

Hope looked down and crossed his arms, his light shivers making it impossible for him to be convincingly stubborn when he protested, "You say that like it was m-my mistake."

"No, I just don't want you taking another hit right now – you should play it safe."

"Fine," Hope conceded with a sigh. He knew Snow was in the right and that another foolish step would just force his big brother to bail him out again, not that it made him feel any less inadequate for the task.

Snow began to trudge back over to the other end of the log while Hope remained in place, both of them still waist-deep in the powder and just as surrounded by uncertainty over the rest of their trek. Looking at his watch, Hope deduced that their setback would put them at the base of the mountain by four-thirty at the earliest, and that was without meeting further incident.

This could end badly, if we aren't careful.

It was then that a boyish voice called out from the woods, "Hey, you guys wan' a hand?" Hope's eyes searched the tree line anxiously, finally landing on Dajh's distinctive royal blue, padded overalls and the red beanie that squashed down his fro, leaving a ring of dark poofiness around the base. The tall preteen was waving his arms like a signal from farther down the mountain, and Hope quickly waved back.

Cupping his hands around his mouth, Hope shouted, "You guys have to worry about your own log! We'll be alright, but thanks for the offer!"

"Are you nuts?" Dajh yelled back, his voice hitting a squeaky high note from the emphasis. "We a'ready hit the base! But our dads are being a couple o' worried old men, and they sent me up a little ways to check on you. Hurry and let me help, or they might come ragin' up the mountain after both of us!"

The conversation had gotten Snow's attention, and he laughed uproariously before bellowing in reply, "So get a move on, kid! I think we can use you on Snuggles!"

"Sweet!" Dajh exclaimed, charging up the mountain as fast as his growing legs could take him. He was careful to skirt the edge of the open snow bank where Hope, Snow, and their barely visible log were obviously stuck, and he fearlessly approached the large wyvern.

He made a downward hand motion to the monster and said with confidence, "Snuggles, lie down." The wyvern obeyed, lowering onto its belly for its new rider to take the seat.

"Now Dajh, all you've gotta do is encourage him, and make sure he doesn't get off track or carried away if we hit another obstacle, like what happened here," Snow instructed, making ready to lift the log. "It'll be easier for me to concentrate if I don't have to worry about controlling him, so I'm counting on you."

"You got it!" Dajh said with a thumb's up, grinning widely as he patted the wyvern's side and lifted off the ground. Hope steadied the log in place once it began to rotate again, and Snow gradually took the lead for their final descent.

Maybe dads do have a sixth sense, Hope mused, feeling uplifted.

Even if only a single detail had changed about the situation, it was just enough.

"Serah, remind me again how we ended up stuck with these crazy villagers," Lightning sighed, exasperated. The snow that had frosted her hair was melting rapidly and began to trickle down her neck – all her fault for refusing to wear a cap – so she shook her hair out like a wet dog. She had just come in the door to Serah's cozy little hut carrying a few loaded bags of the strange food products her sister had requested from the village's market.

I guess Serah wouldn't be cooking with this stuff if it wasn't edible, but still…

Lightning put the sacks on the floor and shrugged off her coat, shivering at the sudden loss of heat. As she hung the coat on a hook by the door, Serah bounced over happily and gave her what felt like one of her "please bear with me" hugs.

The unmistakable pleading look in place, Serah blinked her big, bright eyes and replied warmly, "Sis, you know how it is – I couldn't just turn down Elise's invitation to celebrate the Solstice, not after she did our wedding last winter. Plus it was the perfect excuse to get the whole gang off work to spend a few days together!"

Funny how all this togetherness just seems to be isolating me from Hope. It's screwing over my plan to use this 'holiday' to my advantage.

Said plan involved a small, wrapped gift that had been burning a hole in her pocket for weeks. And while Serah had actually helped her make the item itself, Lightning had not told her the full intention behind it all.

Tch, perfect. At this rate, I'll never find the right opportunity to give him the present anyway.

Sighing again, Lightning released her sister and picked up the bags, taking them to the primitive kitchen area before she turned to speak her mind. As much as she understood and respected Serah's determination to make time for family, she was too tired and preoccupied to concern herself with stifling opinions.

"Serah, this isn't really like being 'off work'," she began, trying to be reasonable rather than sound as irritable as she felt. "The guys have been chopping down trees on the mountain all day – even Dajh! Lebreau is still off trying to turn that disgusting vat of village moonshine into something that won't taste like acid, and you? You're cooking for everyone… again."

Serah giggled, smothering some of her amusement with her hand but otherwise failing to sympathise. She shook her head and refuted, "This is fun for me, believe it or not. And from what I can tell, everyone else is having a really good time, too. I think you just need to get some sleep, Sis, so you can catch the festival spirit!"

Yeah, since it's that simple. Please tell me I won't have to spell everything out.

Aggravation made Lightning's left eye twitch involuntarily, and she stormed over to the sitting area, flopping down near the fireplace on one of the larger stuffed cushions to stare up at the ceiling. "Listen, Serah," she said, her voice quiet but dangerously tense, "I can't sleep right in these conditions."

"You're a soldier, though," Serah remarked thoughtfully as she put the perishable items into a small refrigerated box that resembled a miniature deep freezer. "Haven't you slept in horribly uncomfortable places lots of times before?"

Lightning rolled onto her stomach and groaned, burying her face in her arms. "Don't play dumb. You know that isn't the problem."

"Well you're always getting on my case for assuming things—" Serah began, hands already on her hips in preparation for battle, but she was promptly cut off as the door swung open, letting in a little gust of white flurries before two very snowy men dragged themselves into the hut.

Dead tired as he must have been, Snow still raised his hands and announced, "We've triumphed over nature!" Serah was on her literal snow-man in an instant, tackling him in an embrace before he could even get out of his coat.

Lightning slowly sat up from the cushion and watched while Hope de-layered at the door. He had found her eyes as soon as he came in, and he never moved his focus from them or lost his crooked smile the whole time, not even when he struggled to untie his snow-caked boots.

Snow and Serah had been carrying on their own excited conversation right next to him, and Lightning frowned slightly when Snow finally detracted Hope's attention by hooking the younger man into a choke-hold and rubbing his beanie-flattened hair into a disaster.

"Yeah, I didn't know he had it in him!" Snow remarked, obviously still chatting with Serah about their excursion and even mentioning Dajh in the mix, but Hope extricated himself from the trap in seconds and only took the time to give Serah a hug before crossing the room.

Hope practically collapsed next to the fire, right in front of Lightning, and took her face in his cold hands to plant a playful kiss on her nose. He had just opened his mouth to speak when she wrapped her fingers around the fabric of his charcoal-colored sweater and pulled him into a real kiss – the sort that was discreet, but only subdued by monumental effort.

My needs are simple. And I needed at least one kiss.

Which was why Lightning just glared over Hope's shoulder when Snow whistled at them from across the room. Serah let out a few giggles at the exchange, but Hope didn't even bother turning around. He wrapped his arms around Lightning's thick, navy turtleneck and thin frame to hold her for a moment, murmuring into her hair, "You are absolutely worth it."

"Worth this business of chopping ceremonial logs, Snow's teasing, or something else?" Lightning asked. She couldn't help smiling up at him from his shoulder, and she had never cared less about that particular sweater's wool fibers tickling her cheek.

Hope loosened his grip and leaned back to face her, smirking as he replied, "Oh, all of the above." He yawned and stretched, blinking his heavy eyelids from the exhaustion that was still trying to overtake him. Lightning could tell by the filmy gray cast to his eyes that he wasn't going to last much longer.

"Hey, come here," she said, her expression serious and concerned. She scooted away to back up against the wall next to the fireplace, motioning for Hope to follow. Once he had, she guided his head down to rest on her lap and let him settle in. Her fingers threaded into his hair while her other thumb traced over an especially soft, favored spot behind his ear, and she heard him breathe a small, contented sigh.

Serah and Snow had graciously decided to leave them be – that or given up – and were already busy with food preparation on the other side of the room. The sounds of rustling bags and quiet voices drifted over to where Lightning sat, but all she could focus on was the texture of Hope under her hands and his warm, steady breathing against her leg.

When a powerful wave of drowsiness hit her, she closed her eyes in surrender to the fuzzy, wonderful thoughts that inhabited moments between them. Lately, the clouds in her head hadn't been so much stormy with desire as they were puffed up and colored with feelings that clustered around a single theme. The words of it echoed in her head again.

I want to belong to you.

Hope had no idea how long he'd been sleeping, and he wasn't quite sure of the location for that matter. The smell of coffee wafted to his nose from somewhere nearby – it always had that rousing effect.

"Ngh, where…" he groaned, lifting his head from its resting place only to see a very familiar khaki pant leg. He smiled sleepily and looked up at Lightning, who was slumped against the wall, unresponsive. Even though he knew she had slept upright on many nights as a soldier, it didn't seem right to leave her like that.

Sitting up in the dimly lit room, Hope saw that someone had placed a blanket over him. He set it aside and grabbed a cushion from the floor, moving it next to Lightning and carefully easing her down from the wall. She barely stirred in her sleep, only making a soft sound and briefly wrinkling her eyebrows when her head met the cushion's surface. Hope draped the blanket over her and watched her peaceful face for another lingering moment before he turned to seek the coffee.

The first thing he noticed was how notalone they were in the room, and his face began to burn. Serah was cooking at the wood-stove, which didn't actually surprise him, but his father also sat there, sipping from a coffee mug and keeping her company. Even Sazh was lounging on a cushion on the opposite side of the fireplace with Dajh snoozing against his shoulder. Fortunately, Snow was nowhere to be seen.

Why didn't Serah wake us up?

Hope stood to his feet unsteadily, finding that his legs felt like boiled noodles and everything else ached – particularly his shoulders and stomach. Nevertheless, he dragged himself across the room, earning Serah's and his father's attention when he walked into their circle of lamp light.

"Son, you were in a crib the last time I saw you sleep that soundly," Bartholomew said as he looked up with a wry smile.

Struggling to hide his embarrassment, Hope just muttered, "Well, we did wear ourselves out today with that ridiculous log."

Serah poured another mug of coffee and handed it to Hope, flattening down the right side of his unruly hair with her other hand as she giggled softly.

"Here," she almost whispered, dumping a half-spoonful of sugar into his coffee and stirring it. "Thanks for not waking Sis – she was getting cranky. I even thought about giving her a 'special blend' of tea this morning." She made the air quotations around her phrasing for emphasis.

Snorting, Hope almost choked on his coffee. "Serah, I really shouldn't have to say this, but… please don't drug my girlfriend."

"Hey, she's my sister," Serah countered, tapping his nose with her finger. "I know what's best for her, and I can act accordingly."

Hope raised an eyebrow. "Well then, since you're my adopted sister, and I definitely know best, I'm telling you not to drug Lightning."

Beside them, Bartholomew shook his head and gave a low chuckle. "Seeing you two, I wonder if it might've been a good idea to have a second child, back then."

"If so, that kid would've been stuck in the fall of Cocoon with the rest of us," Hope noted somberly, his eyes darkening. He thought about it for a moment over his coffee and felt the need to make a request. "But I guess I would like to know why you and Mom decided not to have another child."

Bartholomew's mouth tightened with reservation – Hope had seen that look before, any time his father was going to say something that made him uncomfortable. Looking into his coffee, Bartholomew explained, "That decision was made for us, I'm afraid. I didn't want Nora risking the complications of her first pregnancy again, and those years before we had you were so uncertain that I feared the emotional toll on her. It wasn't our choice to wait nine years to have a child – it took that long to even get the chance."

"Nine years?" Serah said timidly beside them, her eyes widening. "That must have been awful."

Adjusting his glasses, Bartholomew gave her a thoughtful appraisal. "Well… nine years is uncommonly long, but it can take a while. Miss Serah, don't tell me you're worrying yourself because you don't have a baby yet. It's been barely over three years for you now, correct?"

"Yes, but…" Serah stammered, her hands fidgeting with her tea cup, "…I'm not worried, really."

Not worried, huh? You certainly were before.

Hope gave her a look that he knew was speaking volumes, and his eyes flitted down to the green tea in her hands. Admittedly, Serah did enjoy her tea in the mornings, but it was nearly seven in the evening, and she typically drank whatever everyone else was having on special occasions. It made Hope even more suspicious.

"Didn't feel like coffee, Sis?" he asked curiously. The way she tucked into her tea with deliberate enthusiasm only made him even more certain that he'd hit the mark.

It encouraged him to prod further. He cocked his head to one side, studying her, and asked more directly, "You're keeping a secret, aren't you?"

"Son, it really isn't polite to ask things like that," Bartholomew cut in. He had clearly caught on to the situation himself.

"It's not a big deal," Serah sighed at length, pulling on the front of her pale blue sweater with her free hand. "A-and you are right, Hope. Just… please don't tell anyone. I still need medical exam, and Snow reserves the right to know first after that."

"But I already know," Hope said with a smirk.

Serah brought a finger to her lips and shook her head, her face seeming to glow from the faintest of smiles. "No you don't. I haven't told you anything, got it?"

"Whatever you say," Hope conceded, but it didn't stop him from grinning until his face hurt.

I'm going to be an uncle!

The three of them basked in happiness for a few moments, letting the news settle until Hope felt a hand slip onto his shoulder.

"What's going on?" Lightning asked, her voice a bit hoarse from the long nap.

Hope distantly wondered if it had been her sister's soft voice or his own that somehow woke her. He turned to Lightning, the grin still plastered on his face as he explained, "Nothing, but you look like you could use some coffee."

Her eyes narrowed, the grumpy expression on her face making Hope laugh, and the entire atmosphere irrevocably lightened up when the front door suddenly flew open to let in the loud and energetic NORA crew. They all burst into the entryway at once, chatting and shoving each other around until their leader caught everyone's attention.

"Alright, alright – it's obvious who the real winner was," Snow announced, crossing his arms over his puffed up chest. Hope smothered his amusement when he saw how Lightning stiffened beside him – she always prickled up with annoyance when Snow got cocky, even though she no longer felt the need to knock more sense into him for it.

Yuj rolled his eyes. "Thought he said it wasn't a race," he muttered in an aside to Maqui, and both of them face-palmed. It took one scary look from Gadot to straighten them up.

"Well, I'm tellin' you anyway," Snow continued, but instead of taking a heroic stance to accept the glory, he pointed his finger across the room and announced, "Dajh Katzroy's our man!"

The sleeping boy was startled awake at the sound of his name, and he sat up spluttering, "Wha'? Who's yellin', Daddy?" His hair was in a gigantic poof, which didn't help the situation.

Sazh began to chuckle and patted his son on the back, and in seconds everyone in the room was laughing except Dajh, who still looked sleepy and bewildered. Only after Snow's grandiose tale-telling of how Dajh had come to their rescue did the boy catch on and flash his glowing smile. He clearly hadn't expected the mass recognition for flying Snuggles.

There was only one person in the room who emanated more happiness than Dajh, and that was Serah. Hope had continued to monitor her at intervals after finding out her secret, noticing that her mood brightened a little more than usual around Snow and the others, but the biggest change happened when Snow had started pouring out his praises on their youngest member. Some kind of unearthly peace settled on Serah's face – a look that struck him as familiar, but not from her.

Apparently, Bartholomew had been keeping watch over her too, because when Hope's father shifted his gaze from Serah and looked back at his son, Hope saw the same flash of remembrance in the older man's eyes – a reaction to uncanny familiarity.

It was Mom, wasn't it?

"Hope, are you okay?" Lightning asked quietly, reaching down to intertwine their fingers. She understood that there must have been plenty of silent exchanges between him and his father over time, like the one she had just witnessed, but it baffled her as to why Serah had anything to do with it.

Hope squeezed her hand and kissed her cheek, which sent a blush creeping over her face. "Never better," he said warmly. "Just had a nostalgic moment, I guess. Family gatherings tend to do that."

I shouldn't be too surprised if your father has a soft spot for Serah, just like you do. Everyone does.

That thought made her remember the words Serah had told her the day they had finally reunited. She had said that everything revolved around Hope, but it occurred to Lightning that such a statement from her sister would've been flawed. From what she had witnessed over the past year and a half, the soldier was convinced that Serah was herself at the center of their efforts to build a new life, and the stabilizing force of their family, but Hope had formed such a close orbit around Serah that she couldn't have seen the full picture.

"Sis, I've got your coffee," Serah said, suddenly right in front of her and beaming her sunny energy through a sweet smile.

As always, Lightning reflected it. "Thanks." She took a sip, still thinking over the past and the future, and asked a more pertinent question.

"So who are we still waiting on? Isn't this festival starting in a few hours?"

"Umm…" Serah stalled as her eyes roved over the room. "Just Lebreau, now."

That did seem to be the case. The rest of NORA's members were grazing on several platters of Serah's finger foods – stuffed, colorful mushrooms, sliced-up Pulsian vegetables, pieces of a grainy flatbread, and palawan wings at Snow's request – before settling down on cushions all over the room to doze. The pre-celebratory nap appeared to be more essential to the Solstice Festival than Lightning had realised.

"Well, since everyone else is bushed," Lightning offered as she carelessly waved her hand at the bodies strewn across the floor, "I can go check on her."

"But it's so cold, and you haven't finished your—" Serah began to protest, until Lightning tossed back the last of her coffee and handed the empty mug to her surprised sister, who almost fumbled and dropped it.

The soldier had found a mission. She strode quickly to the door with Hope on her heels, but he somehow managed to reach out and grab her coat before she could try to lose him in the rush, wrapping it around her shoulders and snatching his own jacket.

Hmph, you're still so stubborn.

"Hope, you need to stay here and eat, or at least sleep some more," Lightning pressed, even though she knew it was a lost cause. "I can handle this myself."

Hope was undeterred. "I'm fine, and I'm coming with you," he said plainly as he shoved his arms into the jacket's sleeves. He had just pulled the beanie over his hair when both of them heard a shrill, girlish cry coming from just outside. The two of them shared a knowing look.

"That's got to be her," Lightning muttered, and they were out the door in seconds.

By the light of the lamp hanging against the hut's outer wall, they could only see a dark, bluish lump on the snow a little distance off, near the path. What really gave Lebreau away was the series of sudden giggles that came from that lump.

Their boots crunching quickly over the snow, Hope and Lightning hurried to her aid, but Lebreau just looked up at them from flat on her back with a silly, clearly inebriated grin, flapping her arms in the new powder to make an angel.

"Oh hey – hic – it's you guys," she slurred, trying to fix her dark, dilated eyes on their faces. "Aw, you look so nice together! You should get married and – hic – have pretty little green-eyed babies with pink hair, or maybe blue-eyed ones with silver hair…"

"Lebreau, I think you're losing it," Hope said with a nervous laugh, and Lightning felt herself blush like mad when she made the mistake of looking straight into those green eyes for a moment, framed by the wispy silver tips of his hair under the cap.

She's wasted, and that's pretty far out there, but… could I want that?

Lightning focused on the frigid air that was stinging her nose and took a cleansing breath, squatting down to scoop Lebreau up by the right shoulder while Hope took the left shoulder. They ended up mostly dragging the woman to the door, a somewhat awkward silence between them only filled by Lebreau's continuously unsettling chatter.

"But I'm – hic – totally serious!" she argued against their refusal to humor her conversation. "You're all happy and lovey already, and the matchmaker – hic – set you up, so it's like destiny! Plus that woman's a freakin' genius – I got to talk to her a lot today, let me tell you…"

It was thankfully a very short trip, and before long they had hauled Lebreau into the hut, not that it quite shut her mouth. While Lightning escaped in the first available instant to remove her coat and Hope deposited Lebreau onto the nearest cushion, the drunken woman grabbed his hands and giggled up at him as she declared, "Hope, honey, don't be so – hic – shy about your soldier girl. You blush like a little boy!"

That, of course, only made the semi-conscious NORA gang burst out laughing, and made Hope even redder in the face. Lightning slammed her coat onto the hook with more than necessary force, rolled up her sleeves and stormed back to the source of her irritation. She signaled for Hope to back away.

I am going to silence her.

"Listen, Lebreau," she almost growled, kneeling to take the widely-grinning woman by the shoulders, "you need to get a grip. How on Pulse did you let yourself drink this much?"

"Huh? I didn't letmyself do anything," she replied, her logic hard to follow. "I was just – hic – testing the batch, and Maker is it a killer brew! Tastes like the greatest thing you've ever had, so I guess the –hic – best way to describe it for ya is to say it tastes like Hope." She dissolved into another fit of giggles, and it really did take all of Lightning's self-control to not knock the woman out cold.

It would be just as effective to choke her out…

"Don't kill her, Sis," Snow said as he planted his hand on Lightning's shoulder, suddenly standing behind them to graciously intervene. He took her place and squatted in front of his teammate.

"Alright Lebreau, you've gotta drink this right now or you're gonna regret it in a few hours, got it?" he insisted, helping her sit upright and holding a canteen directly in front of her dazed – and momentarily cross-eyed – expression. Understanding apparently got through to her and she didn't protest further, gulping down the water for a few seconds.

After that, Lebreau laid back and mumbled, "Ya don't have to look so serious, Snow! I was – hic – only having a little fun."

"Yeah, well your brand of 'fun' just ain't right, here," Sazh said sternly from his seat next to the fireplace, pointing down at his half-asleep son. "Try an' respect the family setting, little lady."

Lebreau rolled her head to the side, blinking in confusion, but the instant her eyes focused on Dajh she brought her hands to her mouth and gasped.

"Oh I-I'm sorry Sazh, I'm really really – hic – sorry!" she squeaked.

Across the room, Yuj and Maqui resumed snickering, and Gadot had a hard time keeping his cool as he instructed, "You'd do best to sleep it off, Lebreau, before that mouth of yours does any more damage."

"Yeah," Yuj chimed in, "we all remember the real reason you started working the bar – it's the best way to keep you sane around alcohol."

Groaning, Lebreau rolled over onto her other side to face away from her laughing accusers. "You guys are gonna – hic – pay for that," she muttered.

That instantaneously shut them up, and it made Hope chuckle knowingly to himself, earning an odd look from Lightning.

"Do I want to know?" she asked, tweaking an eyebrow.

"No," he said, lowering his voice and looking at her with a suspicious glint in his eye. "You don't ever want to see the results of Lebreau's revenge, or even her idea of a good joke. People… suffer. That about covers it."

Holding up a hand before anyone could put in an additional two cents, Sazh declared, "Well said, Hope. Let's all keep it kid-friendly from here on out."

Yuj and Maqui grumbled to themselves at having their fun shut down, but it really was for the best. Across the room, Serah shook her head and laughed quietly. She took a sip of her tea and remarked, "The past is past anyway."

Aerma village was a sight to behold, even before the Solstice Festival officially began. Down the centerlines of the many winding paths through the trees, every family represented in the village had cleared out the snow and constructed fire-pits in the uncovered dirt, and each pyre consisted of a single, massive log encircled by a cone of smaller branches and kindling. The pyres were already ablaze, having been set an hour early to give ample time for every fire to catch and stabilize.

That part of the celebratory preparation was itself merry and loud, with villagers laughing and eating, children playing in the snow far past their usual bedtimes, and an all-around generous spirit of goodwill as every family pulled together to set up and light their pyres. They had worked hard, rested up, and worked some more, and now it was down to the final few minutes before midnight.

Hope, for his part, wanted very much to know what it all would look like from the transport, if he had the chance to fly overhead. He thought about the many paths of the village and the number of pyres he'd seen, and in his mind he could picture the concentrated bursts of orange light stringing together to make the serpentine main street, joined on either side by thinner, glittering tributaries.

The three pyres of their visiting group were along one such tributary path, spaced apart only by ten-meter gaps – the Villiers-Farron-Estheim household's pyre was centered between NORA's and the Katzroys'. His focus diverted by that thought, Hope let his mind wander back to the fire warming his face and opened his eyes. His father, his adopted sister and brother, and the love of his life were all around their particular pyre, sitting quietly on blankets laid over the bare ground and just staring into the beautiful flames.

In fact, it occurred to Hope that everyone around had gone silent. He no longer heard the shouting and laughter from NORA, or from any of the other families in the vicinity. They were all just waiting for the signal.

"Hope," Lightning mumbled from against his shoulder, "were you trying to get a visual?" She chuckled once, turning him by the chin to face her.

He blinked down at her, perplexed. "What makes you say that?"

"After you closed your eyes, it looked like you were concentrating very hard on something," she explained, rubbing her finger between his eyebrows where they had crinkled together. "I've seen you do that in the middle of projects before."

Sighing happily, Hope squeezed her a little closer to his side. "You really don't miss anything, do you?"

"No, I don't. Attention to detail makes all the difference in fighting," she replied with all seriousness, but at the amused look on his face, she added awkwardly, "a-and, um… in other things like… well, mechanics, and in relationships…" Finally, she gave up and buried her face in his sweater again, bemoaning in a muffled voice, "Forget it."

Hope was shaking with laughter, but he refused to make too much sound. "Well, you guessed right," he said once he had calmed down. "I had a perfect aerial view of this whole village in my mind, lit up by orange specks of light while I flew over it."

"Do you always visualize from the top-down?" Lightning quipped, smirking when he choked on his own lack of a reply. Hope knew that she knew he was suddenly miserable because of what came to mind.

Would this be better or worse if you didn't know your own power, woman?

He was actually thankful when she filled the silence instead of letting him dig a grave by speaking. "Well, you heard what Elise said – you won't believe what you see when the ceremony really starts," Lightning teased. "It's apparently beyond evenyour imagination."

"You have a gift with double-entendre," Hope sighed, leaning his cheek against her half-frozen hair. He had been trying to get her to wear a cap all evening, and it was still bothering him, so he wrapped the end of his scarf around the back of her head and neck to provide some sort of cover.

Lightning fidgeted for moment and said quietly, "Not sure about that, but I do have a different kind of gift. A real one, I mean – just something I wanted you to have."

"You have a present for me?" Hope's words came out slowly and with awe, not because Lightning was not generous, but because she never made a point of presenting an item to him as particularly special. She was more of a "giving through actions" type, which was honestly the same way he preferred to give back. The only single item of importance he had ever presented to her was his mother's necklace.

And the only item she had ever given him was her survival knife, which had just been temporarily loaned and ended up returned to its proper owner.

This was clearly not a borrow-and-return situation, though. Hope hadn't felt so anxious in a long time, but just as he started to ask her about it, Serah stood very deliberately from her place next to Snow and approached the pyre with a clay jar in her hands. Looking down at his watch, Hope saw that it was less than a minute until midnight – the opening ritual for the celebration was about to begin.

All ears were trained east, in the direction of the elder's cave where the first pyre had been established. From there, the order of events was simple – a series of horns would first signal families on the main street, followed by those on every branching path, to begin 'dusting' their fires, one at a time in succession with the contents of a clay pot. The villagers had been doing that ritual on the solstice for so many years that they knew the specific sound of each horn and what path it represented.

Perfectly on time, Hope heard the first horn resound across the village – soft at first, low and humming in the air but rising with power toward the end of the blast. He could have sworn that it was the only sound in the forest for that space of seconds.

And it was another thirty seconds of silence before they heard a second horn, still mellow and almost sad, announcing the progression to the first branch path. They couldn't see what was going on with the 'dusting' of fires along that route, being a little ways off from the main street and separated from the other paths by dark trees. The only real hints that something had changed were hanging invisible in the air. In addition to the pervasive, comforting scent of burning firewood, mixtures of sweet and spicy smells began to settle over the village, carried along by the smoke and light breeze, and it seemed that as the wonderful smells thickened, the noise of people cheering increased to match. Whatever the villagers farther down the street were witnessing, they were joyous about it, which only added to the mystery and exhilaration.

That strange sense of anticipation went on for some time – about twelve minutes by Hope's watch – before the horn at the head of their path was blown, its tone crisp and vibrant. The sound brought every person along the path to their feet, and only at that moment did the whole group really get a look at what had been happening to all the pyres.

Elise had been right. It was beyond what Hope could have imagined.

Each fire in turn, starting at the intersection of the path with the main street, crackled with a flourish of colorful flame and smoke the instant the contents of one of the clay jars was 'dusted' over the pyre. Hope quickly discovered that the powder in the jars not only produced a different color of flame each time, but the smoke released sent a variety of smells wafting over.

The Katzroy family was just before them in the line. When it came to be Dajh's turn, the boy slung his jar and sent a cloud of sparkling powder onto the pyre, causing the flames to burn bright red.

He jumped up and down with excitement, pointing at the fire as he sniffed the air and shouted, "Hey, Dad! Dad, it's cinnamon!"

Serah had been watching them fondly, her soft smile in place, but she quickly snapped her eyes forward to continue the ritual. She dispersed the contents of her jar in a sweeping arc, and their fire made an amazing transformation from its warm, sunset colors to a brilliant green. Right then, Hope felt Lightning capture his hand and squeeze it, like she was channeling most of her delight in the quietest possible way. He breathed in the smell of the smoke – undeniably fresh pine – and for some reason could not stop a ridiculous grin from overtaking his face in the moment.

"Whoa!" Snow exclaimed, his childlike wonder far from disguised. "That was incredible!" He laughed and stretched out his arms to their full span as if he wanted to wrap the fire in a bear hug.

Instead, his arms found Serah. He plucked her lightly from the ground and spun her in the air, freezing mid-spin at the sudden flash of bluish light that came from the next pyre in the line – it drew everyone's attention to NORA. Lebreau had actually emptied their jar out from her seat atop Gadot's broad shoulders, and she just about lost her balance in her surprised reaction to the fire's sizzling change, but Yuj and Maqui planted their hands on her back and pushed her upright again, all of them laughing and cheering.

From the blue flames' smoke, a cool, minty fragrance made its presence known more slowly among the other smells in the air that were beginning to dissipate. The line of colorful pyres continued, and it took a few minutes for their own fire to cease reacting and return to normal. During the whole spectacle, Bartholomew Estheim had stood to Hope's left, observing in reverential silence with his hands in his pockets, but as the green light in front of them slowly faded back to orange he took off his glasses and cleaned them, hastily rubbing his eyes.

"Dad?" Hope said, surprised by the concern in his own voice as he touched his father's sleeve. Lightning had apparently noticed something was up, because she released his hand and wandered off toward Serah to give them space.

Maybe the smoke just irritated his eyes.

Bartholomew turned, and Hope's assumption was proven false. It was easy enough for him to recognise sadness.

"What's on your mind?" Hope asked, but he had a good idea of the answer.

His father put a hand on his shoulder, half-smiling in a weak attempt to remain collected. "Well, I just remembered that I never did ask you about Bodhum's famous fireworks. I should've been there with you and your mother, and I know I don't deserve to even ask—"

"That's not true," Hope interjected. "Sure, you… made a mistake back then. But what kind of a son would I be if I refused to tell you now?" He looked down, not trusting his own emotions, and shoved his hands into his pockets before continuing.

"You know, you're the only other person who can ever understand how much I miss her. Ask me anything you want."

The offer was met with silence, so Hope looked back up. Tears were threatening to escape Bartholomew's eyes again when he finally asked, "What did she wish for? She sounded very excited over the phone about wishing on those fireworks, and I've been wondering about that ever since."

"Oh, that's a given," Hope said automatically, but he just couldn't trust himself or his father to hold together if he had to face him when he said it. He took a deep breath and hugged the man, who was already trembling slightly.

"She wished you could've been with us."

And really, Dad, I wish you'd been there too.

It was somewhere near three in the morning when Lightning opened her eyes to see the starry sky above through the trees. Puffs of smoke still drifted in the air from the dimming fires in the streets, their embers sufficient to keep the clusters of sleeping villagers comfortably warm, but a very slight breeze made the man curled up next to Lightning shudder in his sleep.

She noticed belatedly that he had layered her with his jacket. "Hope, wake up," she said softly, draping the garment back over him and shaking his arm.

A few seconds later, he rolled onto his back and rubbed his eyes.

Stretching, he asked sleepily, "Is everyone still out here?"

"I don't know," Lightning yawned. She sat up and looked around their pyre, identifying all of the shadowy figures buried under coats and blankets on the ground.

Her count complete, she shrugged and said, "We've got nine people – everyone's here, but they're all asleep."

"Guess we get the fire to ourselves, then." Hope sat up and repositioned himself behind Lightning with his legs on either side, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her in to lean back against him. He kissed the top of her head and asked tentatively, "So, Light… did you still want to show me that present, or did you want to wait?"

Wait? That would just be procrastinating.

She honestly couldn't have planned a more perfect setup – under the stars, in front of a smoldering fire and not likely to be disturbed. Melding into the warmth against her back, Lightning relaxed and reached for the gift that was nestled deep in the bottom of her coat pocket.

"Hold out your hands," she instructed quietly, and Hope did so without a word. It felt strange for his gloved hands to be the center of her focus when the rest of him was all around her. Still, it also seemed right, because of all the things that made Hope who he was, his hands were what gave the most. They separated and mended, guided and comforted.

Lightning took a deep breath and placed a small, white box in his palms that was tied with a red ribbon.

Testing its weight in his grasp, Hope shifted slightly to be able to see her face from over her shoulder. "It certainly looks special," he said, eyeing the red bow with clear longing. "I almost hate to mess it up by opening it."

"Hope, don't make me open it for you," she said with a short laugh. She took one of his hands and formed his fingers around the loose end trailing from the bow.

He sighed, and in one fluid motion he untied and removed the ribbon. "See? It was so easy to ruin it," he teased, wrapping the ribbon around his wrist for safe-keeping.

"Now what could this be…" Hope mumbled to himself as he opened the box, and Lightning turned to see his intrigued eyes fix on the red fabric inside. Lifting it out, the cloth unfolded into a small square. Hope didn't say anything, but his mouth opened in surprise when he ran his thumb over the embroidered designs – an all too familiar symbol was stitched in black thread on each corner.

Lightning shifted anxiously in his arms, unable to wait longer to hear his thoughts. "I-I know it might seem… strange to put the l'Cie mark on a gift, but it did bring us all together. That's why I thought—"

"It's perfect," he said suddenly. His voice was full of wonder, and it only intensified when he asked, "Is this… a new bandanna? You made it for me?"

"Well, technically I just cut the fabric, and Serah had to help me do the stitching," she rattled off, her heartbeat picking up from the way it felt when he tightened his hold around her and nuzzled his face against her neck. He breathed a string of thankful words there, and her nerves kicked in more insistently.

I can't over-think this.

Lightning added, "I-it wasn't too difficult. I already had the fabric – it's not like I'll be wearing that cape anymore, not with the new uniforms coming out."

"You cut up your uniform?" Hope pulled back to look at her, his face so full of surprise, gratitude and other emotions that it was overwhelming. "I can't believe— I mean I don't know what I've done to deserve this."

Lightning had to turn her attention to her lap, where his hands still stroked the bandanna. She lifted the pendant from inside her shirt and held it up in front of them, explaining simply, "You gave me something of yours. I wanted to give you something of mine that you could wear and keep with you, but then it didn't seem like enough, so I-I..."

How can I say this?

"Light, this is more than enough. Please tell me you didn't think I needed more encouragement to stay with you," Hope said, his voice quiet with concern.

"No," she sighed. "I just… wanted to wrap the present." Swallowing her fear, she grasped his wrist and partially unwound the red ribbon encircling it to run her fingers along its length. "And I knew you wouldn't throw away the bow. You kept every single one from your last two birthdays."

Hope chuckled at the memory, not quite understanding her point. "I know it's a weird quirk, but why does that matter?"

"You mean you don't recognise this?" Lightning pressed. She took the free end of the ribbon in her hand, doubling it around her own wrist to connect them.

"O-oh…" Hope froze for a long moment, and then he pulled their wrists closer to get a good look at the ribbon itself. She hardly dared to breathe as she felt his heart pound painfully fast against her back.

Maybe he thought I had gotten rid of that cord.

When Hope finally did say something coherent, it was still uncertain. "Is this really what you want, Light?"

Lightning turned and stared directly into his eyes. While the fear that she saw there was unsettling, that emotion was quickly drowning in his ever-resilient hope. It was all she needed to firm her resolve.

"What I want hasn't changed," she said matter-of-factly, punctuating her point by tugging on the cord. "I've just run out of reasons to keep it to myself instead of making it official. This is my way of asking nicely."

Hope was beaming by then, and before she knew it that mouth of his met hers in a kiss that held a different sort of power in it. The change fascinated her.

"You know I love you," he said, "so do I still have to say 'yes' outright?"

"I'm not putting words in your mouth, but you have to say something," Lightning insisted with a nervous laugh, settling into his arms.

"Alright then," Hope replied confidently. "I'm all yours, Lightning Farron."