Four Times

The first time Hope proposed he was eighteen. She was twenty-five. It had been a year since he last saw her. What, with his school and her piles of military work seeming to swamp whatever little time was left for either of them to really see each other. Just like the good old days before Lightning enlisted back into the army where Hope would stop by to indulge in the presence of his old mentor, watching movies or just having a simple dinner with her- not that he'd admit it. He was perfectly aware that Lightning more or less thought of him as a younger brother and that was fine. It still made him deeply smug knowing that he was one of the few people besides Serah Lightning would actually let into her house uninvited.

So when Hope decided swing by the neighborhood, self-claiming he was just bored, it was no surprise to see the shock on his face when he found the mailbox actually cleaned out. He normally did that for her. Stepping across the neatly trimmed lawn, another chore he willingly took up in her absence, Hope knocked on the door, hands shaking in anticipation for the woman he'd been recently dreaming of.

Lightning hasn't changed a bit. The years made no indication of weathering down her complexion as her light, rose colored hair was still swept over her shoulder, ice blue eyes still striking, and those pink lips still pursed into a straight firm line. Good Eden, she was beautiful, Hope immediately thought. The only difference he'd noticed was that Lightning was now a good head shorter than him. It somehow made the age gap between them seem smaller and to Hope, well, maybe he'd have a chance.

"Hope." she nodded, her eyes wandering up and down his form silently, her face still maintaining her stoic demeanor. He felt himself blush and silently cursed himself for not hitting the gym more often this year. Then maybe he'd appear manlier to her. "I see you've been keeping the peace around here."

He found himself grinning like an idiot. "Y-Yeah...I thought you'd like to come back to a nice house as all."

"You did a good job."

"Thanks."

"So what have you been up to?"

"Working out." He blurted. Lightning raised an eyebrow, looking over his tall but slim form. "Uh, well, only just recently and I...well, thought it would be nice to get into shape now that I'm graduated and older and, heh, you know guys...Um... Light will you marry me?"

Smooth, Estheim. Smooth.

Hope ended up with a nice shiner, something Snow made note of the next time he was over at his and Serah's place. That and, he'd have to start developing his physique during the week Lightning would forbid him from her house.

The second time Hope proposed he was nineteen. It was her twenty-sixth birthday. Hope was drunk, and it was Snow's fault. Hope and known his limits but that didn't stop Snow from coaxing him into more. Hope would retort that he wasn't like him, all talk and had the inability to recognize a bad situation before it even happens. But since Snow's an idiot and Hope just wanted him to shut up he did it anyway. Hope consumed far more alcohol than for a man of his stature, which was, impressively, to the point where he was finally rivaling that of Snow's. It was a miracle in itself that he managed to seat himself at the dining table where everyone else was. Hope smiled. It was nice to see all his friends together long after they were fugitives.

It's too bad the room they were in would not stop twirling.

Fang said something in his ear and, goodness, it was the most sensible thing he had heard all night. Hope's eyes wandered over to Lightning, who was chatting with her sister while blatantly ignoring Snow who would try to join in on their conversation only to shut up when Lightning threw an icy glare his way. Fang was so right, when Lightning was smiling she looked so beautiful and happy and -

"I have an announcement!" Hope suddenly stood up, teetering to the side a bit as he tried to balance on his feet. Everyone in the room looked at him, all eyebrows raised at the red-faced boy who looked like he was about to pee himself any minute. He pressed a hand over his heart and stared pointedly at Lightning who looked more annoyed than anything else. "Light I love you more than anything in this world, the stars, or even the whole universe put together! Your eyes are like brilliant sapphires, your hair like the most beautiful of cherry blossoms, and your soul even more boundless and free like the sky. And the universe. Marry me, Light." All their companions seemed to stare in what seemed like complete horror than surprise, their jaws hanging as low as humanly possible.

Lightning got up from her seat, ignoring the silent pleas from Serah to not murder anyone on her birthday. Her cheeks were red from embarrassment and icy blues blazing with intensity that seemed to be piercing straight into the depths of Hope's soul. Snow let out a cough. "Well, it was nice knowing the kid."

Hope's wrist was seized rather painfully and he found himself being practically dragged into the kitchen. With a violent shove, Hope found himself being pinned against a nearby wall with Lightning only inches from his face.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Lightning tightened her grip around his wrists, eyes threatening despite the height difference. "You better be grateful that you're drunk because mark my words Hope I will not hesitate to kick your ass the next time you pull a stunt like this on me again."

Lightning's words were like buzzing noises in his mind, so Hope wasn't sure how to respond. "I-Is that a yes?"

The soldier only groaned, rolling her eyes as the fire behind them seemed to cool down. Hope smiled, somehow recognizing even in his intoxicated state that she wasn't going to gut him and sell his organs on the black market tonight. No, Lightning cared about him too much to do that.

Hope brought his head down and planted a light kiss on her mouth, relishing in the slight hum in her throat as he did. "I love you Light."

The third time Hope is twenty and she is twenty-seven. There is something about the way she moves tonight, the way she ruthlessly impales herself on him, her mouth kissing him hard with each thrust, and those breathy whispers that seemed to barely form themselves into coherent words laced with churlish undertones.

Mine, mine, mine.

Odds are she'd probably clock him if he asked her about it now. Not while she is bent on wringing out her release and certainly not after their encounter with an old classmate he'd been particularly close with during Lightning's absences when he was younger. Ellena was a nice girl, Hope was certain of this, with childish quirks and a wide-eyed, somewhat idealist outlook on the world. She almost reminded him of Vanille, another and his first companion he thoroughly missed during his high school years.

Lightning did not look the least bit amused when the girl had planted a chaste kiss on his cheek in the middle of the shopping district. It was a harmless form of greeting, Hope knew but it didn't change the fact that his girlfriend looked ready to up the younger girl in terms of superiority. He'd have to exchange a few brief words with Ellena before whisking Lightning away before she scared off one of the very few friends he had that were outside of their circle of ex-fugitives. Lightning seemed to stay close to him the rest of the day, even when they got home.

It was kind of cute.

Lightning reached her peak at the same time he did. She muffled her cries against his shoulder as both their bodies shook with delight, his arms wrapping around her waist as her arms gave out, collapsing into a heap of exhaustion. They remained like this for a while, allowing for their heavy pants to gradually descend into small pants and eventually a steady pace of breathing. Hope stared at her, his fingers toying with strands of pink hair.

"What?" Lightning blushed.

"Marry me." He said, planting a kiss on her head.

She was silent, choosing to remain in his arms and let sleep come to her.

He is twenty-one and she is twenty-eight. Hope looked over at Lightning. She was gazing up at the black sky, illuminated by explosions of color and its glow tinting her face with it. Her hair seemed to dully reflect each color, radiating her full attention towards the sky and he's immediately reminded the of time spent in Bodhum and the way his mother looked when she had made a wish. He wondered what Lightning would wish for. If she was, anyway.

"Claire?" It sounds so foreign and feels unsettling on his tongue, but she insists that he calls her that anyway. Just like when she had first insisted he would call her Light. He feels so priviledged and smug and silently wonders if they would later move onto pet names. Okay, maybe that was a bit of a stretch. She would rather shoot herself in the foot than let him call her 'sweetie pie' or 'love muffin' anyway.

Lightning looked up at him. "Yes, Hope?"

"Will you marry me?" She said nothing for a few moments, her eyes glinting in the luminescence with each crackle light, creating a downpour of an array of colors above her. She flung herself forward, wrapping her arms around his neck and burying her face in his shoulder. Hope felt her body quivering.

She finally said yes.