Yes, this fic is rated "M" there is a sexual encounter below, and it's not really too graphic, but even so, you can't help but to be careful.

-Rachel

Sighing to herself, she never clearly understood why she took this job. Maybe for a decent change of pace, from the long centuries of fighting on Cocoon/Pulse and Valhalla. Wearing civilian clothes for it? No problem. Being told that your 'name certainly can't be 'Lightning' and that you need to provide a 'normal' name? A pain. Not being called 'Claire' for over 1000 years was also a predicament. Serah herself abstained from saying Lightning's real name, only ever saying it on occasion. Her boss was also a jerk, spouting off nonsense and drivel about this and that. Muttering about the fact that had 'Hope not vouched for (her)' she'd never have attained this job in the first place.

Maybe the office life wasn't the thing for her. Giving up the life of the sword, struggle and fight for collating, photo copying, filing paperwork..it was dull. There was also the sense that her coworkers had a dislike for her. Always averting their eyes, and, on one occasion, Lightning had heard them saying things about how she'd only been able to get this job through a connection. That she dyed her hair, though pink was her natural color. Staring at the clock, it broke her concentration for the moment.

For the majority of the work day, all she could hope for was to go home. Yet another sigh, and recoiling at the bitter taste of her cold coffee, she was losing her patience. Out of desperation, she called Hope directly. After a few rings, he picked up.

"Light?" hearing Hope's voice soothed her for the moment. Shutting her eyes, she imagined herself anywhere but in a stuffy office building, in the exact same cubicle as the hundreds of workers within. "Are you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here." Lightning didn't know where to begin. Talking to a friend helped retain her sanity.

"What's wrong?" how was it that Hope could always immediately tell something was wrong with her?

"Starting to think that I hate this place." Lightning decided to be blunt about it. She'd tried hard, and she really did, but it was becoming unbearable. How did humans in this world hope to live like this?

"It's just not for you, is it?" Hope asked, "I thought this would happen." he added, "Don't get me wrong, Light- you're great at a lot of things, but I didn't think this setting would be right for you. And it's no big deal that it's not. You don't need to stay, if it makes you miserable. It's pretty safe to say that you gave it your best shot."

"Even though you stuck out your neck for me?" Lightning asked.

"It's not a big deal, Light." Hope tried to be assuring, and she heard his new assistant in the background. Also a few students that he had taken on, asking a multitude of questions. He was thoroughly answering them at the same time he was speaking to her, though some scolded him about being on the phone while in class. She didn't know how he did it.

"I think this is one thing you've got me beat at." Lightning once more glanced back to the clock. Her lunch break was almost at an end, and she didn't want to return to menial tasks.

"It's not a competition." Hope scolded her lightly, "Maybe...I can help you find something better suited to yourself."

"Thanks, Hope." Lightning smiled a bit, letting out another sigh, this time only a small one.

"No problem. Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?" Hope offered, he knew that their time was finite on the phone, but he still wanted to make sure she could make it through the day.

"Don't think so." Lightning said, "Plus, don't you have a class to teach?"

"I can do a multitude of things at once, Light. I've been a researcher for over a thousand years. Well, maybe subtract those 169 with Bhunivelze." Hope hushed his voice a bit at the mention of the god. "The technological advances here aren't quite as sophisticated as Cocoon and Pulse, but it seems like a happy medium between the two."

"I'm glad you're enjoying things." Lightning could hear how thrilled he was at being able to study more.

"Sorry, I uh, go off on tangents, don't I?" Hope asked, "We were talking about you, but I made it about me."

"It's fine." Lightning heard her coworkers start to return, and instantly felt smothered again. "I have to go now, Hope. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"No problem, Light. Oh, and remember that reporter I mentioned earlier? She still wants to speak with you, if at all possible. Don't worry, I didn't tell her where you are. That's your business, and I wouldn't dream of interfering."

"Thank you, Hope." Lightning hung up, and prepared to be grilled by her boss for whatever else he demanded. Why couldn't she have had someone like Amodar as her superior? Maybe it had been far too much wishful thinking on her part.

"Farron." three gentle knocks came at her cubicle, Lightning nodded and stared at one of her coworkers.

"Yes?" Lightning waited patiently for a response.

"The boss wants to see you."

Maybe it was fate. Lightning stood and walked directly to his office, bypassing more coworkers that shot her semi-sympathetic glances. That could only mean one thing; whatever she was being called into his office for, was definitely not good. She wouldn't be sad to walk away from this job, it was more unnecessary stress that Lightning could do without. If it weren't for the fact that Hope got her these dead-end office jobs, she'd give them one look over, and walk away. Maybe it was strange, that after 500 years of sleeping in crystal, and waiting patiently for the day that she and Serah could be together again- she couldn't make it through a singular office day. Knocking softly on his door, she waited.

"Come in."

Lightning twisted the doorknob and walked inside, closing it promptly behind her. "Sir?" she stood as tall as possible, using experience garnered from her Guardian Core days.

"Farron I'm guessing you know why you've been called in here?" the man at the desk looked expectantly at her.

"No sir." Lightning shook her head.

"The quality of work you've been producing up until now has been..."

Lightning braced herself to hear that she had been doing a subpar job. And that maybe, she was being fired from the corporation. That wouldn't be such a big deal- considering she was going to quit, anyway.

"...phenomenal."

Lightning's eyes widened a bit in surprise at his statement, her mouth even parted ever so slightly. "Sir...there's something I've been meaning to speak with you about, for a while now."

"And that would be?"

"Sir, I don't...I don't think that this job is the right one for me." Lightning averted her eyes for a moment, before making complete eye contact with her boss.

"Well..I'm sorry to hear that, Farron." he paused, "Because I was going to put you up for a promotion."

"I'm sorry, but I'll have to...respectfully turn it down." Lightning did her best to offer a small, kind smile.

"It's a shame to see all of that talent go to waste." he didn't seem pleased with her choice, but undoubtedly understood it.

"I'm still...searching for a place, in this world." Lightning spoke truthfully, "I don't know where I'll find myself, from here. And, I'm not sure if I'll ever find that something I'm searching for. But I won't know if I don't try."

"We'll be sad to see you go."

"Sorry." Lightning couldn't help but to apologize. And just like that, she severed ties from yet another corporation. Maybe he hadn't hated her, like she initially thought. But it wasn't as if he was a drill sergeant, how was she supposed to know that he was being an ass to motivate her further? Checking the time on her phone, she knew Hope still wouldn't be done with his lectures for another hour or so. More often than not, his students stayed behind and questioned him for a good chunk of time.

Sighing to herself, she resolved to go and see him. That is to say, she wasn't about to barge into his classroom and disturb his lesson plan, but an unannounced visit to his apartment might do the trick. What was a couple hour train ride? Making her way to the station, she paid for a ticket and waited patiently. Having to wait half an hour before boarding was a bit of a pain, considering she'd be on for two hours. She took a window seat at the back of the train, mainly so nobody would sit next to her. Glancing out the window, she recounted the last time she'd been on one of these.

It was one of the days that would link the "chosen six" l'Cie. The dark days of the Purge, where she tried in vain to save Serah. Dragging down Sazh with her, vividly remembering the fight they had with that mechanical monstrosity. But the fighting didn't just stop there, they were swarmed with PsiCom personnel the whole way through. Finding Serah, fighting the fal'Cie Anima, falling to the crystallized lake Bresha below. Maybe they survived the fall because of being marked. Pulse himself had personally seen to it that they were made l'Cie. Ganging up on Hope, for blaming Serah on their troubles.

Though she may not have liked it, Hope had helped her to grow. Every step of the way, she fought him trying to follow her. In the back of her mind it was "for his own good", but in actuality, she had lots of doubts. On whether or not she could keep him safe, and her worry mistranslated as annoyance/frustration. If Hope had died, she couldn't have dealt with that on her conscience. That would have been a sin, never to be washed clean. Odin had reinforced her insecurities, closing her eyes, she heard herself getting to her very limits of frustration. You wanna get tough? Do it on your own! When her Eidolon had summoned, Odin must have mistaken Hope for her, because he tried to kill the boy. If she hadn't dove out of the circle...then all of it could have been avoided. Thankfully, she made it to Hope in time.

One thing she'd never regret, is becoming a l'Cie. It helped her to regain her humanity. Through Hope, Snow, and the others. She'd been so cold, for so long.

Snapping out of her thoughts, the train had finally reached its destination. Standing up, she quickly made her way to the exit, bypassing many other passengers. Checking her phone, Hope would just be wrapping up his lecture. Now it was just a race of who could make their way to his apartment fast enough. This was something at the very least she wouldn't lose to him over- she wasn't called "Lightning" for nothing. Walking out of the station, she tried to hail a cab. To her annoyance, none of them decided to stop. Calling one wouldn't make any bit of a difference, the city was always so busy, and cab drivers were all so snobbish. Fed up with her efforts not turning out, she took off her high heels and decided to run there. People gawked at her, but she didn't care.

If she wasn't wearing such a restrictive skirt, then she would have been able to close the distance that much faster. There was only a few more blocks left, and it was safe to say that her pantyhose were ruined. Not that it really mattered, she never liked the tedious things, anyway. Her phone vibrated, it was most likely Hope. She tried to hold off from answering until she made it to his place, but she could tell it was on the final ring. Pulling it out of her pocket, she hit the "answer" button.

"Light?" sure enough, it was Hopes voice on the other end. She didn't have enough time to check who it was calling her, but it was refreshing to hear his voice again.

"Hey." Lightning was a little out of breath, but atleast she'd finally made it to his apartment complex.

"You okay? You sound...out of breath." Hope sounded concerned about her. In the background she could hear the busy sounds of cars honking, people talking, and the beeping of a crosswalk.

"I'm fine." Lightning managed to catch her breath and talk normally. "I quit my job."

"I thought so." Hope laughed a little bit, "So, what are you doing now? Sounds a little busy, wherever you are."

"Nothing. Well, actually, I'm waiting for someone."

"Yeah? And who might that be?"

"It's a surprise." Lightning said coyly, leaning against the entrance of his apartment. She glanced around to see if Hope was near, but she couldn't spot him.

"Is that so?" Hope smiled softly upon seeing the pink haired woman.

"Yeah, it is."

"Well, seeing as we won't be needing this to speak anymore, it's safe to say we can hang up." Hope took his phone away from the side of his face, hanging his up.

"You're late." Lightning said smoothly, looking over at the silver haired male.

"I got caught up in my lesson plan." Hope shrugged his shoulders gently, offering an apologetic smile. "I also ran an errand. We can't all have spare time to run around, you know?"

"How do you do that?" Lightning asked, as he unlocked the front door to the complex.

"Do what, exactly?" Hope asked, glancing over at Lightning while he held the door open for her.

"Know when I'm coming by." Lightning said, walking past him.

"Call it...intuition." Hope shrugged again, opening the door to his apartment, again waiting for Lightning to go in first.

"Quite the gentleman." Lightning walked into his apartment, glancing around to see if anything on the inside had changed. Hope liked to live a simplified home life. He mainly only had the basics when it came to living, probably due to the fact that he was rarely ever home. Pictures of Bartholomew, Nora and himself littered the apartment. Even the odd one of Fang, Vanille, Sazh, Dajh, Snow, Serah, Noel, Yeul and himself.

"The group got together, and took that one." Hope explained, seeing how interested she was in the picture. "We all wished you could be there, Light, but you were busy. And, well, I know you're still trying to find your place in this world." Hope smiled fondly at the picture, it was a good memory to have had.

"It's strange, isn't it?" Lightning asked, no longer staring at the picture. Turning her attention to Hope, "Out of all of them, you're the only one I don't avoid."

"You're not avoiding anyone, Light." Hope shook his head, "If you're not ready to see them, then it's just not the right time. Forcing yourself into doing things the way you think others want you behave isn't good. You won't be happy if you don't go at your own pace."

"When did you get so deep?" Lightning asked, smiling a bit.

"When you disappeared for a couple centuries." Hope smiled back at her.

"I did that alot, didn't I?" Lightning asked.

"Yes, but you didn't have a choice."

"That's not exactly true. There's always a choice. I just..happened to pick the 'right' one." Lightning said, cutting herself off. "So, what's in the bag?"

"Dinner and, well, drinks." Hope said, lifting it up and showing her.

"Store bought sushi and alcohol. You're a man of refined taste." Lightning raised a brow at the odd dinner.

"When you work late office hours, you tend to...not have the time to make your own meals, and as such...you go for the easy things." Hope explained, his cheeks a light pink.

"I get it." Lightning nodded, "It is pretty late." she walked into his living room, discovering it to be a disaster. Trays of convenience store dinners, empty drink cans littering the table.

"Something I've been meaning to do..." Hope said sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "I don't really have the time for cleaning, so, it's one of those things I've been putting off."

Lightning shook her head, "Even when I worked in the Guardian Core Bodhum security regiment I still found the time to keep a tidy home." she just couldn't stand a mess. Picking up a few stray cans, she tossed them into the garbage.

"You don't have to do that." Hope felt a bit flustered that she'd barely been in his apartment 5 minutes and already began to tidy it up.

"It's in the way." Lightning shrugged, tidying up the rest of the mess. Once finished, she sat on the couch, staring at the dusty television in front of her. Why he had something that he'd only neglect, she didn't understand exactly.

"Thank you." Hope was still clearly flustered at having her clean up his place. She was very thorough about it, too. Placing his bag on the coffee table, he brought out two trays, sliding one in front of Lightning. He also placed a can of beer in front of her.

"What's the occasion?" Lightning asked.

"A visit from an old friend." Hope smiled.

"So, do you have any actual food in this place, or are we stuck with the boxed sushi?" Lightning stared down at the barely edible food. It wasn't her kind of thing, and though she may not have been as good as Serah in the kitchen, she'd still be able to cook something better than this.

"Unfortunately, yeah." Hope nodded, "Sorry."

"It's fine." Lightning shrugged, "Thanks." she cracked open her can and sipped it. Maybe the alcohol could dull her senses enough to eat the sushi.

"No problem." Hope followed suit with her, eating a few select pieces at first.

"How do you eat this stuff?" Lightning asked after a few minutes of silence.

"Don't like it, huh?" Hope chuckled a bit at her. "It's kind of one of those things you just..get used to."

"That sounds terrible." Lightning took a large drink from her beer. She couldn't tell what was upsetting her stomach more, the sushi or the beer. It tasted like dead yeast, and she couldn't stand it.

"When you're barely home, you don't really have the time for tidying things up, cooking for yourself...you just kinda focus all of your time and efforts into work. What little energy you have left, is put into sleeping." Hope explained.

"It sounds very...thrilling." Lightning said as she finished her beer. Grabbing another one, she ate more of her sushi.

"If it's your niche, then yeah, it is. It's not the life for everyone, but I love making new discoveries. Furthering my knowledge of the known world, and if I can somehow help future generations, then all the better." Hope sounded very enthusiastic, while speaking about his drive behind being a scientist for centuries.

After her Guardian Core days, being a Knight of Etro, and the Savior, what was left, for Lightning to do? All of her days after that, were dull. There wasn't any large scale threat for her to deal with. Just more...office days, and isolation. Thinking about her future only seemed mildly depressing. "That's a good reason." Lightning conceded.

"I like to think so." Hope nodded, "What about you, Light? What are you going to do?"

"I have no idea." Lightning shook her head, what was there for her to do?

"What makes you happy?" Hope asked, looking over at her. His green eyes stared into her blue, a hint of concern and intrigue in his.

"Currently?" Lightning asked. Hope nodded, "You."

Hope choked on the drink he'd been taking, grabbing a napkin and wiping himself off. "Me?"

Lightning laughed at him a bit, "Yeah, you. Why, is there something wrong with that?"

"N-not really..no. There's..nothing wrong with it. I'm glad that I can do something to help you, Light." Hope smiled sheepishly, averting his eyes from hers.

"You've always been helping me." Lightning said, seeing the surprise on his face, she decided to explain. "Back then, on Cocoon, you helped me. You showed me that I was being too rash and careless. Going through the motions, when I should have seen things for the way they really were. And again, when I was the Savior. I was ready..to give up, and stay behind, if it meant I could contain Bhunivelze. Even if we were going to fight for eternity, if it meant you could be safe, that would be my fate."

"It wouldn't be living, if you weren't here, Light." Hope placed a hand on her shoulder, smiling softly.

"Yeah, and why's that? Everyone seemed to get along just fine, without me." Lightning wasn't so sure that it mattered if she were here, or not. Life goes on.

"That's not true, not one bit Light." Hope shook his head, grabbing her hand, "You know, we all did survive, without you, but it was hard. And even though you weren't physically with us, all of us, somehow felt as if you were there. Your strength...made us all want to be stronger, too. I was happy, when I found out that you were still alive, and not dead like we'd all been deceived. The thought that you could be alive, also gave me the drive to find out if I could bring back Nora, as well. You opened up so many more possibilities for our futures, that all of us could believe in a better tomorrow. The world literally went to Chaos without you, Light. We needed you then, and we need you now."

"You wanted your mother back, so bad...and you were willing to sacrifice a life here, just for a chance that you could save mine." Lightning was moved by what he had to say about needing her, maybe that was true. Even now, they still watched each others backs.

"What good would a whole life be, if I knew in the back of my mind that I let someone so important to me stay behind? I wouldn't feel a moments rest, or happiness, knowing what you gave up, so we could live. While it may be true we could have all met oblivion on that day, but at least we'd have done so together. You changed our fates, all of them...so why couldn't we change yours?" Hope asked, smiling at Lightning.

"I never...properly thanked you for that, did I?" Lightning asked.

"No thanks needed, Light. You'd have done the same for us, it was the least we could do." Hope took a sip of his drink, before turning his attention back to her.

Maybe it was the 'liquid courage' they'd been drinking, because Lightning leaned in closer to Hope, her eyes studying him as she did so.

"L-Light?" Hope asked, swallowing nervously.

Lightning closed the small amount of distance between them, planting her lips on his. His hand squeezed hers a bit, and she could feel him tense up. Hope spoke a muddled word, and Lightning took his opens lips as an invitation. Their teeth knocked against each other, causing only mild discomfort for either adult. Eventually, they found a happy medium, each progressively becoming a little better in their efforts. Hope gradually began to relax, his grip loosening up on her hand, and his body became less stiff.

"Thank you." Lightning said as she pulled back from Hope, going back to her seat.

"U-Uh...yeah.." Hope was trying to think, but after what had just happened, he was having an understandable amount of trouble. "Light...what was that for?"

"You didn't like it?" Lightning asked.

"No...I mean, yes...it wasn't...unpleasant." Hope clarified, he could feel his cheeks burning.

"Well, if you didn't enjoy yourself, then I won't do it again." Lightning stood up, walking past him. She only stopped when she felt him grab her sleeve. Turning to look at him, moderately puzzled.

"I...enjoyed it." Hope stood up, "So, please don't go."

"I wasn't leaving, Hope." Lightning laughed a little bit, "I was..going to the bathroom."

"Oh." Hope released her sleeve, once more feeling embarrassed. "Sorry."

"Don't be." Lightning shrugged, going down the hall to the bathroom.

Hope sat back down, feeling more flustered than anything. What was he going to do, now? Was it a thing that only occurred due to her current state? If so, did he just completely take advantage of Lightning? There was so many ethical quandaries over what had just happened between the two of them, and by now he was analyzing all of them. Anxiously waiting for her to come out of that bathroom, and perhaps say what had just happened was a total and utter mistake. His nerves were shot, and he found himself drinking alot more alcohol. Even going so far as to open a new one by the time she came back out.

"You look like you have something heavy on your mind." Lightning commented, sitting back on the couch.

"What does this all mean, Light?" Hope asked, looking over at her.

"What do you want it to mean?" Lightning countered his question with her own.

"I..I just..don't want to ruin our friendship, is all." Hope said, in the back of his mind, that was all he was worrying over.

"Who says this has to ruin anything, Hope?" Lightning asked, "If you don't like it, then tell me, because like I said, it will never happen again. Nothing will change, not if we don't let it."

"But it's different, now." Hope couldn't help but to feel that way.

"It is." Lightning nodded, "If you need time to think- I'll go home."

"It's too late for that." Hope pointed to the clock, "No trains run at this time. And..I don't want you to leave."

"I'm not drunk..if that's what you think the problem is." Lightning offered.

"If you're not drunk, then why all of the sudden..?"

"I don't know." Lightning shook her head, "It was just a spur of the moment thing."

"You certainly did pick the moment..." Hope said a little uneasily.

"It's late." Lightning glanced at the clock again, "How about...we go to bed?"

"Sure." Hope wasn't sure that he could sleep, though.

"Come on." Lightning grabbed his hand, and helped him up. When he stared at her with a questioning look, she just smiled. His hand squeezed hers again, she could feel him begin to tense up once more. Leading him into his own bedroom, she shut the door behind them. "Tell me, if you get uncomfortable." she said sternly.

"O-Okay." Hope stammered, Lightning sat him down on the bed, and once more began to kiss him. It was so hard for Hope to focus, there was so much going on, all at once. Before he noticed it, Lightning was unbuttoning his shirt, and he was working on her blouse. His heart was pounding so fast that he swore it was going to tear itself out of his chest, even though it was a physical impossibility. Hope's breathing hitched the moment Lightning began to straddle him. "H-have you ever...?"

That question lingered in the air between them for what felt like an eternity. "No." Lightning shook her head, "Have you?"

"No." Hope shook his head.

"Then I guess we'll both be surprised by the experience." Lightning stood off of him, pulling off her skirt, shuffling out of her pantyhose and stepping back over to Hope. She loosened his belt buckle, unbuttoned his jeans, and slid them off. Hope's arousal was apparent in his boxers, though his face told a different story. He seemed anxious, and she'd be lying if she said she felt any different. For over a thousand years, the two of them had been friends. And, now they were crossing a very dangerous boundary that so few were able to come back from, it was terrifying. But at this point, everything that happened, was instinctual between Hope and Lightning.

In the aftermath of it all, his heart was still pounding. "Light."

"Hope?"

"What happens, next?" Hope asked.

"We sleep." Lightning said sleepily.

"And after that?" Hope was full of questions, ones that she couldn't seem to quell away, no matter the answers given. He honestly had no idea how Lightning was being so cavalier about it all. He wished he could be the same way, but it didn't seem his mind was ever really going to be at ease.

"We'll just have to wait...and see." Lightning nuzzled herself closer to his chest.

"Okay." Hope held her a little more tightly, kissing her forehead. Shutting his eyes, he willed himself to sleep.