I should probably get disclaimers out of the way before anything else. To sum things up quickly, I don't own a single thing involving Final Fantasy XIII. Unless stated otherwise, any and all characters belong to Square Enix. The only thing that belongs to me is this specific fic's storyline.

I realize that it's a bad idea to state right off the bat that this is my first fan fiction ever. But, it seems my nature is hardwired to apologize nonetheless. But please don't prejudge my writing capabilities; just 'cause it's my first time writing a fic, doesn't mean it's my first time writing narratives. To tell you the truth, though, I chose to start writing this fic more because I wanted to become a beta reader than anything else. Not that I'm going to half-ass my writing, or pack in a bunch of meaningless words just to reach the word-count requirements to become a beta reader. For years I've wanted to write a fan fiction of my own, it's just that I've been too nervous to take the initiative to actually get my ideas down into words. I'm the kind of person that hates inaccurate details when it comes to series I know. And because of this, I obviously hope to be as accurate as possible with my fics as well. But 100% accuracy in character personalities, backstories, locations, battlestyles, names... etc. can be tough to achieve when series fail to spell out every bit of info out for you in a neat little bite-sized package. Maybe I'm just unobservant, or too paranoid about this kind of thing, but that's what's been holding me back all these years.

And there's one thing I should probably get out there right away, for those who are impatient readers. I'm a loyal fan to realistic stories. I don't believe in fics that have two people who are total strangers one day, and are sucking face and madly in love within a week's time. A believable romance needs time to build, so that the readers can feel the progress of the characters' relationship, and truly appreciate when the "big moments" finally arrive. Otherwise the love seems rushed and unnatural, and becoming emotionally attached to the story becomes a difficult task, for both the writer and the readers. This is my opinion, anyway. I'll try my best not to lag either, but just don't expect love confessions in the first chapter.

Also, a huuuuge thank you to my awesome beta reader, Jabbertalky, for all of her advice and epic editing skills. Without her help, people would probably cringing at my poor writing skills xD

But I'll stop digressing... I tip my nifty hat to anyone who took the time to actually read this massive rant of mine. Now, without further ado, on with the story~!

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Hope brushed his gaze along the shops lining the seaside street of Bohdum. Fruits and clothing poured from the stalls in a mix of colourful blends, the wave of people making the oranges, yellows and greens seem to come alive. Some steps left Hope in the sunlight while others shielded him in the shadows of lush palm trees. There weren't as many stores here as in Palumpolum, but the air here seemed so much more lively. Hope blinked when he realized his mom wasn't walking in front of him anymore.

"Oh, Hope, how cute!" Nora had her palms squished against a glass display with a nest of baby chocobos huddled together inside. Hope jogged over to his mom and blushed a bit.

"You like this kind of thing, Mom?"

"You making fun of me?" She poked a finger on Hope's forehead. "When you were younger, you used to love these guys too. Always crying, 'I want one, I want one!'"

Hope's face grew hotter. He tried to hide it with a laugh. "That was forever ago, Mom."

A man with a name tag and a t-shirt with the pet shop's logo walked up to the two. He smiled and reached into the chocobo container, cupping the fluffiest one, and lifted the chocobo for Hope to see up close. Without realizing it, the boy stroked a finger along the tiny bird's forehead. "These are really good with kids," the clerk explained, "they're clever, and they become easily attached to their owners. Real popular these days, too."

Nora shook her head politely. "Unfortunately, we're only here to window-shop today. We're just visiting."

"Hope?"

Drawn back to the present, Hope twitched his head in the direction of Serah's voice. She stood a few feet away, one hand partly reaching toward him.

"Are you okay?" she asked. Puffs of her breath floated up in the frigid air.

Hope fidgeted with the yellow wristband poking out from the gap between his jacket sleeve and his glove. Despite being almost completely hidden behind heavy winter gear, Hope felt bare without his brand mark. He turned to face the building before him again and shivered.

"It's been five months since the Fall, and I'm just coming home now," he finally replied. But it's not home. Hope's gaze slipped up the remains of his house, the entire right section collapsed in, pipes and cables jutting out of crevices in the crumbled walls. The surrounding buildings' condition suffered similar fates. He was surprised to have even recognized his house among the rest of the debris. Although not nearly as devastated as Bodhum, which had received the impact directly, Palumpolum was nonetheless reduced to ruins; since Orphan's death, all of Cocoon had become an uninhabitable land. Eden, Cocoon's energy source, was dead, along with every other Fal'Cie necessary to sustain life. Not even warmth and light reached past Cocoon's outer shell, the loss of Phoenix transforming the continent into a desolate chunk of ice.

Impressively, though, the people of Cocoon had managed to find their footing again and adapt to the shock in record time. Just under half a year had passed, and already certain areas at the base of the suspended continent were replenished with new (albeit partially unfinished) apartments. Even a handful of businesses had managed set up shop again in the more populated areas. When Hope thought about it, the growing villages below Cocoon were a lot like Fang and Vanille's home in Oerba. The only plus side to the newer establishments was the advancement in technology. Cocoon's infrastructure was destroyed, but technology was more than salvageable.

With parents who both had no siblings, and whose last grandmother had passed away the previous spring, Hope was temporarily left with no family to return to. His father was still in witness protection, and would be for a while longer, after Barthandelus' near-annihilation of the Cavalry. Hope now found himself living with Lightning, Snow, Serah and the members of team NORA in a tiny apartment in one of the easternmost sectors on Pulse. In any other situation, living under the same roof with seven other people would seem unbearable to Hope, but with everyone constantly moving in and out of the house to help with construction, breathing space wasn't as scarce as one may have expected. The apartment served more as a refuel station than a home. Some days were more crowded than others, but overall the experience wasn't all that bad.

"Sorry." Hope pulled his gaze from the ruins to Serah, who was still waiting patiently in silence. Picking up the industrial-sized light he'd left in the space between them, Hope joined Serah, nudging her shoulder and nodding to the velocycle parked a few feet away. "I'm done. Thanks for coming with me."

Serah's expression relaxed, and a loose smile spread on her lips. She patted Hope's hair gently. "Any time."

By the time the two reached their apartment, Hope was sticky with sweat. His open jacket had slipped down to the folds in his elbows, his scarf was undone, and his gloves were shoved in his pockets. The sudden climate change from Cocoon to Pulse was like nothing else. It felt like they'd passed through a wall of heat when they left the abandoned continent.

Once Hope took a step inside, he nearly tripped over a pile of firearms lying in the doorway. Regaining his balance and maneuvering over the weapons, he spotted Lebreau wiping down her rifle with a kitchen towel in the next room over. She lifted her head from the gun and flicked a nonchalant wave at Hope and Serah.

"Hey, you're back," she laughed, brushing a few flyaway bangs from her face, "Good timing. We'll be needing the velocycle you were using. Gadot and Snow are already out, anxious to 'get things rolling,' as they put it."

"What's going on?" Serah asked, picking her way around the barricade at the entrance to join Hope. He noticed a bead of sweat roll down her chin.

Lebreau tapped a manicured finger on her lower lip. "Heard word that PSICOM and the Guardian Corps have their hands tied again. An extra wave of Pulse creatures are trying to push through the northern perimeters. It looks like they'll take any help they can get." Tossing her rifle over her shoulder and the towel to Serah, Lebreau stalked out of the room, ruffling Hope's hair as she passed.

Hope's interest piqued and he turned to call Lebreau before she disappeared into another room. "Where's Light?"

"In our room, I think. Mind telling her we're leaving in five?"

With a nod, Hope hurried past Serah to the girls' bedroom once he'd finished dumping his winter-wear in the foyer. After one knock, Lightning's voice sounded behind the door and invited him in.

Lightning stood at the foot of one of the three single beds packed in the room that she, Serah and Lebreau shared. She was fully dressed in her old combat uniform, one boot perched on the backboard of her bed as she propped her Blazefire Saber on her thigh. Muted clicks rattled from Lightning's gunblade as she loaded the weapon's cartridge. The gun fully loaded, she folded the blade into its compact form and slung the sheath below her hips.

"Lebreau wanted me to-"

"Leaving in five, yeah."

Lightning strode over to the doorway and stopped in front of Hope. She gestured for him to move. Hope made a noncommittal "yeah," but didn't step aside. Lightning crossed her arms. The silence stretched out for a few more heartbeats before Hope started to speak again. "Light, I-"

"Hope, you're staying here." With that, Lightning pushed past him and started making her way down the hallway, but was stopped by a small hand gripping her forearm.

"You didn't let me come last time, or the time before that. Why can't I go?"

Lightning sighed, turning and placing her hand over Hope's, but not lifting it from her arm. Her voice softened slightly. "You're still just a kid. You shouldn't be out there fighting if there's an alternative."

Hope's grip tightened and his eyes narrowed, swinging up to meet Lightning's directly. His brows furrowed in frustration. "You used to not be bothered by it."

The woman slackened her hold altogether on Hope's hand and twisted to walk away. "The circumstances were different," she breathed as she rounded the corner into the room Lebreau had disappeared into earlier. Hope followed.

"C'mon, Light, why are you so against this? I can handle myself."

"No."

"What's up?" a boy's voice piped up from one corner of the room. Lightning rolled her eyes at Maqui as he snapped his goggles over his hair and stumbled over a perfectly clear space of floor.

"Lightning's not letting Hope come with us again," Yuj guessed, knelt over fixing the laces on his boots. Hope's sulking expression confirmed Yuj's statement.

"Aww," Maqui giggled, wrapping an arm over Hope's shoulders and patting his chest sympathetically. "S'alright, buddy, I'll stick around with ya too."

"Nuh-uh." The blonde was yanked away from Hope, Yuj's arm hooked around Maqui's elbow. "No way you're getting out of this," Yuj scolded as he dragged him into the hallway. Maqui's whining about always working and never having breaks bounced throughout the apartment.

Hope stared incredulously at where the two boys had left, then back at Lightning and Lebreau, who were just about to do the same. His mouth gaped open and closed a few times before he was able to sputter out words. "You're forcing him to go with you, and I can't even volunteer to come? He's more of a kid than I am!"

"Hey!" Somewhere from the hallway, Maqui whimpered. "I resent that."

Lightning's steps slowed and she looked over her shoulder to Hope, then to Lebreau. Her eyes flickered between the two, her gaze becoming increasingly tougher to tear away from the boy behind her as his lower lip curled into a pout. She sighed and rubbed her temple, shoulders slumping slightly. Lebreau placed a hand briefly on Lightning's back before saying she'd give them a moment alone, then slipped away to join the arguing boys outside.

Lightning paced back over to Hope and fluffed his hair roughly with her fingers. She leaned down a bit, so that she and Hope met eye-to-eye. "There's no doubt in my mind that you're far more mature than most boys your age. You've fought through and seen more than most people couldn't even begin to imagine doing. But just because you've been through these things doesn't mean you should have been. You're still too young to fight."

"But Maqui-"

"Even though he's more annoying than Snow in some ways," Lightning cut in, "I can't deny the fact that he's experienced with firearms and that he's the only mechanic we have access to. He's an essential contributor to the group."

Another silence fell over the two. Lightning's expression was indecipherable. Hope huffed and threw her hand off of his head. Why did everyone keep petting him like he was a clueless four-year-old? He ground his teeth together and glared up at the woman in front of him. "...Whatever," he muttered. Shoving past Lightning, Hope strode to the boys' bedroom and slammed the door behind him.

He kept his back pressed to the door until he heard the soft clapping of Lightning's boots fade and the apartment's entrance click shut. Letting out the mouthful of air he'd been holding, Hope pushed away from the door and flopped on his bed, body spread-eagle. He closed his eyes and dropped his arms over his forehead. "Not a kid... like hell." Running off and sulking was exactly what a kid would've done. I even stomped my feet. Nice touch, Hope.

"...Nice touch." Hope rolled over and dug his face into the pillow closest to him.

Hope laid there for what must've been hours before a faint knock sounded at his door. Someone started speaking on the other side.

"May I come in?" Serah asked, her voice slightly muffled.

Hope lurched from his faceplant on the bed and shook his bangs out of his eyes. "Y-yeah. Sure," he replied.

After a moment, the door was pushed open and Serah stepped inside. Hope eyed the tub of cookie dough ice cream and two spoons tucked under her arm.

"When'd you get the ice cream?" Hope scooted over as Serah sat next to him. She handed him a spoon and popped open the tub's lid.

"Went for the freezer when you stormed off to your room," she chuckled.

"How long ago was that?"

"Um, about six minutes?"

"Agh." Hope let himself fall back onto the bed again.

Serah patted his knee and scooped a few mouthfuls of ice cream for herself. Hope glanced her way, then sat up and shoveled a wad of the treat into his mouth as well. He winced as the cold bit the inside of his puffed-out cheeks. He managed to swallow the ice cream after a few failed attempts. Hope licked the spoon clean out of habit.

"I'm such a girl for eating ice cream over this, aren't I?"

Serah hesitated, taking a moment to think. "I don't think so," she answered, and took another scoop of the ice cream. "The temperature change from Cocoon to Pulse just made both of us really hot, is all. We're eating ice cream to cool off."

Hope let a smile twitch on his lips at the double meaning of her words. "To cool off," he agreed.

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"We're home!" Snow's voice boomed from the apartment's entrance, so loud that the door crashing behind him was muted. Hope jumped a bit in his seat, then leaned under the kitchen table to pick up the playing cards he'd dropped. Serah smoothed her cards on the table, and with a sheepish grin, excused herself from their game of cheat.

Snow's boots clomped down the hall until he swung into view outside of the kitchen. "Serah!"

"Snow!" Serah practically leaped into the man's arms, caught without hesitation in a massive bear hug. She giggled and reached on the tips of her toes to press a kiss on Snow's chin. Hope rolled his eyes and tried to sneak past the couple to get to the hallway.

"Hey, kid." Hope ducked when Snow reached to ruffle his hair. Eyes all on Serah, he seemed to have barely noticed that he was grabbing air instead.

Hope nearly choked when he walked directly into Lightning in the hall. Their eyes caught briefly before he sputtered something stuck between an apology and an irritated grunt, then rushed past her to get outside. He bit the insides of his cheeks once he was out of Lightning's sight. There you are, acting childish again. Maybe everyone had reason for thinking that he was still a kid. "No," Hope huffed. He would prove to them that he wasn't.

"Lebreau, why did you want to bring so many guns again?" Hope turned in the direction of Yuj's exasperated voice. He and Lebreau were walking from one of their velocycles, weapon cases hanging from their arms. Gadot and Maqui were unloading similar cases from another velocycle a few feet away. Hope's eyebrows raised at the massive weapon Gadot hauled on his shoulder. That thing had to weigh at least as much as he did.

"You never know when you'll need a little extra fire-power," Lebreau replied, bumping her hip teasingly into Yuj.

Not impressed, Yuj sighed and shook his head. "There were six of us. You brought thirteen different guns. Over-kill much?"

Lebreau chuckled. "I just call it being prepared." She nodded to Gadot, who had made it to the apartment's entrance. Hope shied to the side, letting the man through. "Wouldn't you agree, Gadot?"

"But they're heavy!" Maqui groaned, dropping the two weapon cases he'd been lugging at his feet. Lebreau smacked the back of the blond's head with her elbow as she passed. Maqui tangled his fingers in his hair, rubbing the spot she'd hit. He whimpered a round of complaints.

Hope found himself choking again when Gadot's voice rumbled directly behind him. "A little variety never killed anyone," he laughed. Hope shrunk away from the man and tried to shake away the wave of vertigo that had him nearly pass out on the ground. Despite having known Gadot for half a year, Hope still wasn't able to entirely let go of the nervousness he felt around the guy. Although shorter than Snow, Gadot was far bulkier, and that feral posture he always seemed to carry was enough to make Hope shiver.

"Y-you guys need help?" Hope managed to cough out in a small voice. He adverted his gaze from Gadot, and shot to one of the velocycles as soon as he said sure.

"Thanks," Lebreau called out to Hope as she carried her load inside.

Hope gave the woman a weak smile before bending to pick up one of the weapon cases Maqui had abandoned on the ground. The blond flashed Hope a grateful expression and retrieved the other. A few moments later, Snow and Serah joined everyone outside and offered a hand as well.

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Once the artillery was carried inside and the velocycles were put away, the entire atmosphere around the apartment seemed to drop to a deep level of exhaustion. Yuj and Lebreau announced that they weren't making dinner that night, so everyone had to fend for themselves for food. The sun had only just set, yet already Serah and Snow were out cold on the couch together, and Maqui and Gadot had gone off to bed. More due to boredom than tiredness, Hope decided that he would go to sleep early as well. After mumbling a half-hearted goodnight to the two still awake, Hope shuffled off to the boys' bedroom.

Making his way down the hall, Hope found himself slowing his pace in front of the girls' bedroom. The door was left partially open, and he spotted Lightning rummaging through the drawer next to her bed. One hand gripped just below her shoulder, a dark cloth tied crudely around it. Leaning in closer to the entrance, Hope overheard Lightning mutter something about not being able to find any gauze.

"Light?" Hope lingered at the room's entrance, his face just barely peeking through the crack in the doorway.

Lightning twisted around to see who had just said her name. Her guilty stance melted into a more relaxed posture as soon as she spotted the face behind the door. Now that she was facing him, Hope realized that the cloth tied around her arm was dark only because of the blood it was saturated with. He pushed into the room until he was a foot away from her. "L-Light," Hope gaped, reaching forward to get a better look at her arm, "you're hurt."

Lightning turned back to the drawer and tried to brush off Hope's concern. "I didn't want Serah to fuss over it," she defended, "and I think Snow left the first aid supplies in the kitchen..."

Hope reached again, but Lightning pulled away. "I'm fine," she insisted.

"Light, please, can I at least take a look at it? Either way, you're gonna have to change that cloth soon."

Lightning shook her head and kept blindly searching through the drawer that she'd combed three times already. A minute passed, and she made the fatal mistake of peering over her shoulder. Lightning's defences dropped the second she was caught in Hope's pouting eyes. "Right," she hissed under her breath, giving in. She tugged at the knot around her arm until the makeshift bandage was able to be peeled off. The blood made a dull sucking sound as Lightning yanked the final bits of fabric from the half-dried gash underneath.

Hope nodded to the wound, relieved that although the cut looked nasty, it wasn't as deep as the amount of blood suggested. Instinctively, he raised his hands to Lightning's wound and closed his eyes, focusing all of his energy to the tips of his fingers. A few heartbeats of silence passed before Hope noticed that the familiar warmth that should have flooded through his body was missing. Cold realization hit him, and his cheeks flushed with embarrassment. He couldn't cast magic anymore, as he was no longer a l'Cie. The silence hovered over the two. Hope saw a flash of sympathy cloud Lightning's features before he wasn't able to look at her anymore. Empty words escaped his lips before a coherent sentence made its way through.

"I-I'll go get the first aid."

Hope kicked himself internally, but couldn't help but smirk at his situation as well. Ironic that I want these powers now that they're gone. After a few cupboard sweeps and a visit to the bathroom, he managed to find the first aid kit and a damp towel, then returned to the girls' bedroom.

Hope found Lightning sitting at the edge of her bed, gaze locked on the room's only window. He sat down next to her, on the same side as her injured arm, and cracked open the first aid kid to pull out a fresh roll of gauze. After dabbing at the gash with the damp towel, Hope nudged Lightning gently to get her to lift her arm enough for him to start wrapping the gauze. She didn't seem to respond.

"Hope..."

The boy looked up. He thought he heard Lightning mutter something, but wasn't entirely sure. His stomach flipped when he caught her looking directly at him.

"Sorry." As suddenly as it had happened, Lightning looked away again."About earlier," she clarified after sneaking a glance at Hope's confused expression. Her mouth opened as if to add something else, but she seemed to think better of it and bit her lower lip instead. A heartbeat passed, and she lifted her arm for Hope to wrap the gauze around it.

Too shocked to respond, Hope mechanically went through the motions of winding the bandage around Lightning's arm. He felt his hands quiver slightly, and his lips curl with the tiniest hint of a smile, but said nothing. For the first time that day, Hope found himself content with the silence left between Lightning and himself.

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And that's the end of the first chapter. Sorry about the slow pace... I promise that things will pick up in later chapters. Lol. Introductions. They're tough to start full-throttle. xD Please feel free to rate and review and whatnot~