A/N :

Wow, I finally wrote an FFXIII fic, a HopexLighting one at that! 8O For you FFXIII fans, I have never played FFXIII in PS3 before. I'm just watching the walkthrough videos all the way until the end and I fall in love with this pairing. This fic takes place a few years AFTER the ending and few spoilers are there, I'm warning you! There are few adjusments so it wasn't exactly like the game. Bear with me, please.

Title : COMING HOME

Rating : M (or NC-17 later...)

Pairing : Older!Hope x Lightning

Warning : BAD GRAMMARS, FEW ENDING SPOILERS, A BIT AU

.

Lightning raised her eyebrows, waiting for a response from the teenager-no- young man sitting before her. Perhaps it had just been too long since she had left the New Gran Pulse to start out on her mission. Perhaps two (close to three) years was just a really long time , he just couldn't wrap his mind around the fact that his mentor was back now, that he was really looking at Lightning once again. Perhaps Hope was just so happy to see her; he couldn't avert his gaze from her.

"Hope. I'm back." She said it again.

The mission had been given to her and her squad by the Head of the Gran Pulse Security Center, Amodar, to clear our the Northwest area, one of the most dangerous and unhibited area in their new world, the New Gran Pulse. Her just recently promoted rank had required her presence to lead one-hundred soldiers directly, leaving her new family for undecided period. She could still remember how she had told (more like ordered) Snow to take care Serah and their new baby, how she had patted Sazh's shoulder to keep the others happy without her, how she had clasped Hope's shoulder gently and told him to keep training.

It had taken her team close to two years to clear out the said area from many monsters like Adamanchelids, Behemoth Kings, Thexterons, and others that had roamed around the land. Still, one careless mistake from her part had caused her to part from the other soldiers as she dodged a powerful attack from one Behemoth King, making her battered form fall into the dark abyss below as the others screamed, trying to reach her falling form without success.

As she kept falling, falling, and falling down the darkness, the images of her close friendsand her past life had flashed before her eyes. She wouldn't know whether Snow and Serah had taught their daughter to call her aunt as Claire or Lightning; she wouldn't see the adorable Dajh growing up into a great man like his dad; she wouldn't know if Sazhs would marry someone again ; she wouldn't see her student, Hope, growing up into an adult she must be proud of.

She would die, she realized.

With the last of her strength, she reached deep into herself, calling the long forgotten friend she knew she had no more inside her.

"Odin...cut us a path!"

And she knew no more.

"Light...You're back...?" The young man – finally coming out of his shock- stood up and walked closer to her, his green orbs still stared into her own.

Lightning nodded, her gaze examined her former student lightly. It had been three years too long since she had last seen him. All her other friends, even Serah and Dajh, hadn't changed drastically over the past three years, but Hope... he wasn't even the same boy Light had remembered.

The previous teenager she had trained for months after Coccon crystallization was no more, replaced by a young man –nearly adult- whose height had put him a good head above Lightning. He had filled out – the black shirt stretched across a broader chest ; not overmuscled like Snow or Gadot but strong and lean enough for his height. His face was still as beautiful as Light remembered, completely and perfectly defined in every way possible but with stronger jaw, his thin lips opened in wonder.

"The others told me that I can find you here. You're certainly growing up, huh?" Lightning said with a small trace of amusement in her emotionless voice. It was a bit funny to see flabbergasted expression on Hope's older face.

Hope nodded, green orbs still stared at her face. "How...?"

She would have been dead if Odin wouln't appear in his familiar blue light. The Eidolon quickly caught her falling form and leapt with unbelivable power, circling them with lightning waves and clouds. She didn't know how she could get her l'Cie power back, but her heart warmed at the other's familiar presence. She now realized how she missed him and his dependable strength.

Somehow, she managed to make her way to a hidden cave miles away from her previous battle location, where she had fought to keep her bleeding wounds closed and treated. She hadn't been a good medic (It was more of Hope's ability) and it nearly took all her healing power to keep her alive.

It had taken three months for her to fully recover, and six more months for her to get back to the New Gran Pulse. Without maps and compass, complete with the path filled with so many monsters, her journey was nearly impossible. But she was lightning - it wasn't a question of can or can't for her; there were some things in life she just did. And got back she did.

"Walking bare-foot for close to five months that is. It's a long story." She answered calmly.

Only a few days ago had she returned. She spent most of her time in hospital, getting infused by some nutritional liquids because she was nearly dehydrated to death and cried for by Serah –even Snow-, getting hugged by Sazhs and a bit taller Dajh. Even the rest of NORA and the millitary had come to see her. Nobody left her with more than two minutes to be alone and for a lone-wolf like her it slowly grated her nerves.

Finally she had escaped from anyone else (ignoring the hospital's rule of course), wanting to be alone for a little while, but a nearly forgotten memory forced her to do something before that. She had been curious of why she hadn't seen her former student so far and a smiling Serah said that he often went alone to train at the edge of the New Gran Pulse monument; so here she was.

He was stretching out, gazing solemnly at the blue sky and the crystallized Coccon when she found him. From the many broken stones and destroyed ground and trees, it was clear that he just finished training.

"Do I have something on my face?" She asked, raising an eyebrow. In return, the silver haired young man blushed – his pale cheeks turned a little pinkish as he coughed, looking away for a second. Even though growing older and taller, Hope still held that shy attitude, she mused. In a way though, Light was somewhat glad. At least something of him had remained consistent while she had been gone.

"No...it's just...it has been a while, isn't it?" Much to her annoyance, he turned to stare at her AGAIN.

Wanting to escape those green orbs for some reasons that Lightning didn't understand, she turned her head to the sky, casually sitting down and mimicking what he had been doing before she found him there. She smiled a little at his statement, "It has been nearly three years, Hope."

"It sure had been, Light." He said quietly, following her action. "I...miss you."

Lightning blinked at the honest confession, opening her mouth to make a comment, but Hope stopped her. His hand tracing up the side of her face, something that he wouldn't ever do in his teenager years. The pads of his thumb carefully tracing over her lips as he turned her face slowly.

"Hope-" Lightning couldn't continue as Hope captured her lips with a kiss. Lightning's eyes widened, surprised at the feeling of pleasure that centered from their locked lips before slowly closed down. Brain signals shot from her brain to the rest of her body, warning her to stop and step back and run , but the feeling itself overpowered them, leaving her in a state where everything was moving on instinct.

His hand drifted from the side of his face to the back of her head, as he pulled her in even closer, pretty much crushing her lips to his. Lightning noticed his lips tasted srongly of sweat and –alcohol.

Maybe..maybe he is drunk. Lightning found herself thinking. Perhaps that's what was making him act so strangely because there was no way the young man like him would do this to her – a cold blooded and serious old woman and soldier. But, reason or no, she couldn't help but moan as he flicked his tongue just so, making her part her lips as he invaded her mouth, ravishing it with ways that Light had never ever thought the shy young man capable of.

Her body was responding though; she shifted her hips to try and quay the tingling and warm feeling she was getting in between her legs. And she was well aware that the once soft part of his lap became harder and harder beside her hips. She mumbled against his lips, as they finally broke apart, gasping for air.

Before she could say anything, Hope already bobbed his head down to her neck, nuzzling into the warm flesh hidden by her collar. His hand ran up from her chest, where Lightning just realized had gently been stroking the sides of her breasts, sliding up to hold her arms firmly at her sides as he pulled her further into his, making her breasts lifted up and pressed against his chest.

"I thought you were dead." Hope whispered, his voice cracked and forced. "You were gone for so long and nobody had found you. Everyone thought you had died." He muttered to her as he lavished her neck with kisses. He wasn't going to let her go, Lightning realized. He wasn't going to stop.

She needed to push him away – there were so many things wrong with this situation in the first place. She was his mentor (well, three years ago), his mother or older sister figure, and years older than his own. He was her former student, her apprentice, and a young one that trailed behind her years ago. They were nothing but that.

But she couldn't say those good reasons as her body and her mind went into overdrive when he kissed every surface of her face and neck, nibbling and bitting and doing other things that she had never ever dreamed him to do to her.

Her body was hot as sweats began covering her pale skin. Hope wanted to taste them so badly as he trailed his fingers over the other's rib cage before he paused. "Light..." He mumbled into her neck, placing another kiss on it – together with its brothers and sisters. "Can I...touch you...more?" There was a hint of hesistancy in his tone, far different than his previous actions.

"Ho...Ho..pe." Lightning panted, her breath was labored, and he could tell that she was searching for control. Hope stilled against her neck, waiting. He knew, whatever he would do next would be depended on the woman's next words.

Lightning took a deep breath, before looking down at the young man – no- the man who practically pulled her into his lap. The wave of lust and pleasure clouding her judgement slowly diminished as she finally finally looked at their situation.

This...this is HOPE! What the hell are you doing, Farron!

"We...need to stop this, Hope." She managed to whisper as she tried to compose herself – a difficult task when her body practically screamed for a release thanks to their previous action.

"I ...see." Hope eventually sighed, kissing the other's pale neck for the last time before letting his arms down. He closed his eyes, trying to calm himself down. As much as he wanted to continue, he respected Light's wish too much.

Both of them slowly and awkwardly disentangled themselves from each other - eyes away from each other as they tried to compose themselves and sat away from each other – lust forgotten.

There was a long period of silence, before finally Lightning broke it with a whisper as she looked up into the sky, unwilling to see the other's face yet. "Since when...?"

The silver haired young man sighed, knowing it was useless to hide it now. He practically had shown his hidden feelings to the other just minutes ago. "When you hugged me the first time...that's when."

Lightning raised her eyebrow, "That long...?"

Hope brushed the back of his head sheepishly, knowing his cheeks grew redder at his admission. He looked down into the ground, hoping to hide his blushing face with the long silver strands. "Yes. Although I plan to wait-well- until you stop thinking of me as a child, which is never I suppose." There was a hint of sadness in his words, Lightning realized.

Turning to see the other for the first time after their 'activitiy' , Lightning could feel something tightened in her stomach at the downcast image Hope presented next to her. She had known that the young man had a crush on her since they met years ago, but she always reasoned that it was just that – a crush. It would fade away in time as Hope found more attractive, beautiful, and kinder girl than her. There was no way he would keep interested in an old cold-blooded soldier like her.

But it seemed that she was wrong.

Sighing inside, Lightning slowly closing the distance between their hands. Ignoring Hope's surprised face, she took the other's hand into hers gently.

"Give me time, Hope. I need to think it over." She finally said. You will need it as well.

"A-alright, Lightning." Hope's growing smile was enough reason for her to smile back.

I miss you too, Hope.

.

.

.

The End...or Tbc?

A/N : So...? Do you like it? Should I continue it or not? Review please!

_Izky_