A/N: Interestingly enough, I just noticed that my original second chapter had no author's note :P Well, I've added that to the list of revisions. Most of them are minor – aesthetic really, but I had to make this effort to polish off some of the rough edges. As always, happy reading!

(revised 29SEP11)

Order Up New Parts

Crossing the plains of rampaging beasts in the makeshift aircraft would have been a nerve-wracking experience under any other circumstances, but in this case, the sounds of roaring animals blended with rattling metal to create a welcome distraction from the awkward silence. Snow's constant barrage of chatter did not count.

"I really expected to lose on that bet! Thought you'd know Hope anywhere after all that time fighting together. Guess it's been a while, but seriously –"

"Sorry to disappoint you," Lightning snapped, cutting Snow off in an attempt to salvage what pride remained and hopefully end the discussion.

How on earth did I not recognize Hope? Slap in the face to my target identification training.

Snow wisely decided to change the subject. "So anyway, Serah's gonna need some help with the wedding stuff before long – wouldn't think of having it without you. Now that you're back, I figured the sooner the better!"

"Sure." Better to not fuel this conversation. Does he never shut up?

Lightning sat with her arms crossed, strapped in with the harness to a hard bucket seat across from her sister's unfortunate choice of a fiancé, annoyance practically oozing from every pore.

"What's with you? Stuck as a crystal for five years without any of us around and you still won't hold a normal conversation!"

"Give it a rest, Snow!" Hope yelled over his shoulder from the pilot's seat. "Obviously she's still in shock, so make yourself useful and check the rear sights – I can't tell if they're tailing us from here!"

"Roger that!" Snow reluctantly dropped his mission to snap Lightning out of her apparent 'shock' and left the main cabin.

As far as Lightning could tell, this new reality was going to take serious adjustment, not the least of which was based in recognition of the people around her. Snow didn't seem to have changed much, which she considered a loss for the good of her sanity and mankind in general. She wondered for the thousandth time what Serah could possibly see in him, aside from his "never give up" mentality. That she could appreciate, after the whole l'Cie incident.

Hope, on the other hand… All that came to mind was an image of the 14-year-old she had, in her mental time-frame, just seen in the battle with Orphan and the chaos of Cocoon's destruction. The terrified but determined boy that healed them time and again and cast incredibly powerful magic, but had at one point resigned himself to stay behind and die for the sake of the group. The Hope who had yet to recover from the loss of his mother, and was forced to let go of his father.

That Hope and the one sitting up front piloting the ship were refusing to blend properly in her head, and she wondered just how much of the boy she had protected and fought with remained after so much drastic change.

Maybe I should ask him some questions, gauge the responses—

Lightning's contemplation was interrupted as Snow barged back into the cabin, shouting toward the front, "All clear, Hope! You should've seen the way that cruiser hit the side of this massive adamantoise! Blew into a million pieces!"

"At least we lost them," Hope called back, and then added a little more quietly, "Would it have killed them to just turn back?"

Good to know the new Hope still prefers sparing lives. That's one question down.

"So Sis, back to the whole wedding plans thing—"

"Don't call me Sis," Lightning hissed, barely restraining her fist from connecting with Snow's face.

Screw it all. I need a new approach to survive this trip, and I can't give Snow the opportunity to open his big mouth again.

"Okay, okay, fine," Snow relented, a new conversation already in the works. "It'll be true soon enough anyway; just thought you should get used to –"

"Hey, Hope!" Lightning yelled toward the pilot, intending to find an excuse to be quietly occupied somewhere else, preferably alone.

In the moment that her words hit their target, the craft jerked sharply to the left, Lightning's head slammed against the bulkhead, and the unfortunate Snow, unrestrained, flew across the cabin and let rip a string of expletives before Hope had managed to steady the course and finally respond with a shaky "What's up?"

Should be asking YOU that question, but let's not get sidetracked.

Recovering her composure and rubbing what was surely a nasty bruise, Lightning managed to get the request out. "Hope, give me a task – menial, useless, I don't care."

"Sure thing! Oh and sorry about that turn – svarog came out of nowhere! Anyway, you could umm, come up here and help with landing clearance procedures," Hope offered, a bit unsteadily.

Well that backfired.

"It's simple – I'll tell you exactly what to do," he continued, sounding (for lack of a better word) hopeful in his attempt to fill the brief but uncomfortable silence.

Great. Can't back down now, but at least I won't have to listen to Snow up there.

"Sounds good," Lightning hastily replied as she unstrapped and moved to the front, squeezing into the tiny cockpit and occupying what must have functioned as a co-pilot's seat.

Why isn't there a co-pilot? Isn't that an important position?

Then the question took form unbidden.

"No need for a co-pilot, huh," she said bluntly.

"Well, I wouldn't say there's no need, but I fly better alone, when it's quiet. If there's a legitimate need for a co-pilot I can call someone up here. Thanks for volunteering, by the way. Saved me having Snow talk my ear off again!" Hope rattled off nervously.

"Perfect. Just tell me what to do and we can stick to the 'quiet' plan," Lightning said in her usual no-nonsense tone.

Maybe that came out a bit harsh. She practically felt Hope's spirits wilting as he absently tested the radio controls and focused on the dash.

"I mean, talk if you want, just trying to support your safe flight system," she quickly tacked on.

That just sounded stupid. Best to take my own advice and shut it for now.

Lightning could clearly see that Hope, despite being attentive to his task, was amused by her clumsy attempt at civility – it showed in his crooked grin and laughing eyes. However, he quickly wiped the look off his face and proceeded with the routine instructions like it was business as usual.

"When we start to approach the landing site on base, I'll need you to flash this signal three times – no, not the green button, the red one here – and then listen for the tower to make contact on the radio." He handed Lightning the transmitter and showed her the channel frequency and volume controls on the dash. "We're on channel six now, but if there's interference when we reach a certain point, I'll tell you to change over to ten, and if there's still no signal, change to three, in that order. Basically, just wait for my instructions. Like I said, incredibly simple. Got all that?"

"Yes. Simple. But what am I supposed to use this transmitter for?"

"Oh, right! Sorry, guess that's kind of important," Hope replied with an unsteady laugh, but he immediately got back to the issue at hand. "Ground control will contact us and ask for our ship's identification code – works like a password. At that point, just press this button," he briefly pressed the side of the handheld transmitter to demonstrate, "and say, 'BARTHOLOMEW731 requesting clearance to land'. They will confirm."

"Got it." With that, Lightning replaced the transmitter and sat back in silence, resigned to monitor her periphery as Hope returned to checking gauges and adjusting settings every so often to make sure the clunky little patchwork aircraft made it safely home. At the mention of the name Bartholomew, Lightning thought back to their time as l'Cie and recalled the run-in with Hope's father in Palumpolum. She wondered what exactly had become of that Bartholomew, last known to be in custody of the Cavalry before Cocoon's destruction. She knew enough about the realities of war to doubt the likelihood of his survival.

Lightning decided that it was probably not the best time to bring up such a touchy subject, so long as their safe arrival depended on Hope's competency to fly, so she directed her thoughts to the immediate surroundings instead. Hope seemed a confident pilot, obviously well-trained with a decent amount of experience, and she speculated that Sazh could very well have been responsible for that. If Serah, Hope, Snow, and herself had awakened from crystalstasis, it made perfect sense that Sazh would have as well. What she couldn't seem to reconcile in the whole scenario was Hope the person, there in the flesh. Her mind continued to register the Hope sitting on her right as a separate entity from the Hope in her mind, even after speaking with him and realizing the obvious connection with Bartholomew.

I should get a better look at him.

Lightning had botched her opportunity during Hope's instructions before, having switched into soldier-in-training mode and completely zoned in on the task. She rapidly sorted through options for an effective and risk-free means of regaining his attention.

Settling on a plan, Lightning faced the pilot and addressed him.

"Hope, is there a map of the area in here? I'm not familiar with the terrain."

Wow, I sound stupid to myself.

"What? Just a sec," Hope said, coming out of a state of sharp concentration and shaking his head briefly to clear his thoughts. "Oh yeah, the map. It's right there, in that compartment." Without so much as a sideways glance, he smoothly and mechanically reached over to open the drawer, rifled through a stack of documents, and pulled out a worn, folded paper, which he handed to her. "It's a bit sketchy though – any maps available since Cocoon 'landed' are just handmade, usually based on a lot of guesswork. This one's a little more accurate – former team NORA scouted the terrain for months to make this edition," he added with a sense of pride in his fellow rebels. He shut the drawer and continued to monitor the dash and make a few adjustments, setting a more southerly course.

"I see," Lightning quietly responded, secretly wondering if Hope could in fact make a sandwich, read a schematic and construct an explosive while operating the aircraft. There seemed to be no interrupting him. She unfolded the over-used map, noting the locations of Cocoon, PSICOM, and their eventual destination, the rebel base. After a brief perusing, Lightning realized that she had yet to achieve her original goal, and she was not about to be deterred.

Time to be more direct.

"Well, I don't see the facility we escaped from on this map. I thought Snow said it was a PSICOM outpost, and I only see their headquarters marked here," she stated matter-of-factly, holding up the map and pointing to the northeast corner.

At that accusation, Hope decided to temporarily shift into full auto-pilot and took a serious look at the map, knitting his brow in frustration. After a few moments of investigation, he brightened up and pointed emphatically at the paper.

Alright. Let's see just how much of the original Hope remains.

"It's southwest of the settlement's outskirts, there!" Hope said with a satisfied smirk, oblivious to Lightning's intense stare. "Just lightly marked though – it's been a confirmed outpost for a while now, so we really need to update the map." Upon looking to Lightning for approval and meeting that scrutinizing, icy gaze, Hope's expression of pride in the accuracy of the map melted into an odd mixture of embarrassment and concern.

"Light, is something wrong? Seriously, is there something on my face?" Hope inquired, completely caught off guard and progressively turning darker shades of pink. "Because you look really, umm, focused."

Lightning, opting to avoid prolonging Hope's state of discomfort, diverted her gaze to the map and decided to take the most direct approach possible to his questions, if only to eliminate the awkwardness. She was at least pleased to find that the he had retained the scared puppy look; it was textbook Hope.

"No, there's nothing wrong and there's certainly nothing on your face, besides that smirk a minute ago. As for me, I'm focusing on getting the facts straight about our current situation. You should be used to that look."

In all fairness, maybe that's not true after five years.

"Oh. Right. Anyway, I hope the map can help you with that, then," Hope sheepishly replied, abruptly switching out of auto-pilot and returning to the controls with a renewed dedication.

"Thanks," Lightning belatedly replied in an unsuccessful attempt to soften the force of her last conversational blow. Hope was already lost in concentration, mostly through sheer willpower.

Her objective achieved, Lightning distractedly looked at the map while reflecting on the recently gathered spoils of her observations.

Same green eyes. Same expressions. Same attitude, albeit cockier at times. Can't picture that smirk on the face of a younger Hope, though.

More obvious traits came through as well. Hope had a decidedly more defined jaw line, though still more curved than squared off, as well as somewhat shorter, shaggier hair, particularly in the back, and broader shoulders. Increased muscle mass was a given, though he was nowhere near Snow's size – completely different, lankier body type. Lightning also estimated that he was most likely taller than her by about four inches, give or take an inch, but it was hard to guess from a sitting position. While none of these features were remarkable in isolation, the combination of everything was more than a little unsettling for her.

Concentrate on the familiar. Those eyes haven't changed a bit. Making that my focal point for now.

Lightning enjoyed nearly fifteen minutes of uninterrupted contemplation before Snow shattered the barrier to the 'quiet zone' like a rock busting through a window.

"Holy crap!"

Lightning and Hope both jumped in their seats at Snow's outburst, and then exchanged looks of exasperation at the sounds of mayhem coming from behind. The soldier turned to look into the main cabin and discern the source of the commotion.

Snow's back was turned to her, but he appeared to be struggling with something – a loud, shrieking something – while kneeling on the floor, before being jerked to the ground completely by a force beyond Lightning's view.

"Snow, what the hell is going on?" she yelled toward his back.

"Nothing – got it under control! Just opened the cargo hatch – hold still you crazy vulture! – and this giant bird flew right in!" Snow shouted back between grunts as he struggled with the creature. It was in plain sight now, locked in both of his arms and thrashing, and Lightning did a mental face-palm at Snow's pathetic attempt to gain control with wrestling maneuvers.

Idiot.

"Why did you even open the cargo hatch in the first place?" Hope yelled to the back, trying to listen for contact from the base and irritated at the pointless disturbance, especially that close to landing.

"Geez, I just wanted some fresh air! It's freakin' hot in here, and it – oww that's my ear! – seemed like a good idea at the time," Snow futilely defended, wincing at the creature's assault on his head.

"I'll take care of it," Lightning grumbled, climbing into the main cabin and making her way to Snow amidst the rumbling of the ship and cloud of dust and debris now stirring up in the back. "Let go of the bird and back off!"

Snow did as he was told and rolled out of the danger zone. Lightning steadied herself and kicked the young wyvern squarely in the side of the head, knocking it unconscious in one swift motion.

"Done. Toss it back out of the cargo hatch."

"What? That seems kinda cruel – it can't fly off like this!" Snow protested, ego irrevocably smashed, but nonetheless feeling his sense of justice.

"Glad to know you have a soft spot for Pulsian monsters," Lightning retorted derisively. Her memories of encounters with the wildlife of Pulse were visions of carnage, so she was understandably less than thrilled at the prospective new passenger and Snow's stubbornness.

"It's wrong and you know it, so just let me handle the clean up – humanely," Snow pressed, sticking to his guns.

"Fine. Maybe you can teach it some tricks later," Lightning continued to jab. "For now, since you like your new pet so very much, I suggest finding something to tie it down for the rest of this trip."

"Light, get back up here! We've got an ETA of less than five minutes, and I need you for the landing procedures," a somewhat peeved Hope shouted into the main cabin.

For a split second, surprise registered on Lightning's face at the commanding tone in that voice. She shook it off, turned on her heel and climbed back into the front, leaving Snow to bind up the avian pest.

"I can already see the landing site – go ahead and flash the signal," Hope ordered, continuing to adjust the flaps and thrusters to reduce speed.

It should have been the most effortless task she had ever tackled, but Lightning could not for the life of her remember if Hope had said green or red, at least not after the little run-in with Snow's latest screw-up. Her brain kept inexplicably making a connection with the green, so she went with her instinct.

Lightning started to hit the green button, but before she could make contact, a larger, gloved hand gripped the top of hers and moved it over the red button on the right.

Hope sighed audibly. "I told you. Red."

I am incompetent.

"Right. Sorry," Lightning said quietly, mashing the red button three times. She was relieved to have remembered that part correctly.

"It's okay, just don't forget the clearance code – BARTHOLOMEW731," Hope reminded her, and the little smirk was there again. He seemed more amused than anything else with catching Lightning in a mistake.

Suddenly, a familiar voice came over the radio. "We received your signal – please identify." Even through the static, Sazh was easy to recognize.

Lightning pushed the button and spoke into the transmitter, a bit unsure of herself, but determined to get it right. "BARTHOLOMEW731 requesting clearance to land," she said, hoping any uncertainty in her voice would be disguised by the background noise.

"Confirmed. Hey wait! That you, Light?" Sazh yelled over the radio, confused but excited.

"Umm, yeah, it's me," she replied. "Good to hear you Sazh."

"Glad to have ya back! We got a lot of catching up to do, but for now, happy landing!" Sazh shouted enthusiastically, ending the transmission.

"Nicely done," Hope said with a smile, taking the transmitter from Light and securing it quickly. "Now tighten your harness – this can get bumpy. Landing thrusters seriously need a tune up," he warned, putting every ounce of attention into maintaining his heading.

"Well that's comforting," Lightning remarked, more to herself than anyone else.

"Hey Snow, strap in!" Hope yelled into the main cabin. "We're coming in hot, but don't worry – I got this."

Certainly hope he lives up to that confidence.

As they hit the first wave of turbulence from the drag on the flaps, Lightning tightened her harness straps in a vice grip, looking to her right at Hope's determined expression for reassurance. He hastily swiped the hair out of his eyes, becoming irritated with the hot gloves on his hands – in the space of less than five seconds he had removed each glove in turn with his teeth, casting them to the floor and making certain to keep his hold on the steering with at least one hand at all times. For some inconceivable reason, it occurred to Lightning for the first time that Hope was actually quite attractive when he zoned in like that.

Disturbing. Must be nervous tension messing with my head.

Lightning glued her attention to the front and remained intensely interested in the switches on the panel and the limited visible scenery.

The base's control tower was getting closer by the second, and just as Lightning began to suspect that they might in fact graze some of the taller vegetation, Hope lowered the landing gear, calling out "Hold on guys!" as he engaged the lower thrusters and pulled up hard on the steering.

It already felt like an oven in the cabin, but the crew would still have been sweating bullets from the bone-jarring force of the thrusters. Hearing the grinding and groaning noises of metal all around, Lightning was certain the aircraft would tear to pieces. She clenched her teeth and silently waited for the inevitable.

"Almost there…" Hope mentally counted down to the touchdown. "C'mon c'mon c'mon… Now!" He cut the thrusters and the ship dropped the final few feet to strike the landing pad, metal gear grating on stone. The three on board took a collective breath of relief.

"I've really gotta… do maintenance… on those thrusters. Still running too hot," Hope muttered, out of breath and wiping the sweat that was beginning to run down his face with his old turquoise bandanna.

So he kept that thing.

Lightning hadn't been aware that she was watching him, and she hastily looked down and fumbled as she undid the harness straps, still a bundle of tension in the aftermath of their tumultuous descent. Her uniform was completely soaked with sweat and stuck uncomfortably to every part of her body and the seat. She wanted to get out of that sauna of an aircraft as quickly as possible, and got up to squeeze out of the cockpit.

"Hey Light, wait a sec," Hope said, grabbing hold of her left forearm. Lightning whipped around, intending to communicate her firm desire to get the hell out with a well-aimed glare, but the look disappeared with her confusion at Hope's face. His expression was inscrutable, but he obviously had something important to say. Despite the already sweltering temperature, Lightning felt her face getting hotter under that gaze. She didn't have room to fidget or run – she was trapped.

"What?" Lightning asked simply, willing herself to remain calm and trying to focus on something other than his eyes, which were supposed to be a source of comfort and familiarity. That was not a comforting look.

Backfired. Again.

"I just, umm, wanted to thank you for helping me," Hope stammered, his tone still serious as the grave. "That's all."

He had to have been just as uncomfortable as she was in the stuffy cabin, white t-shirt thoroughly drenched and clinging to his body. Lightning decided it was safest to stare down the deck. She was determined to remain in control of the situation, emotions in tow.

Hope slowly relinquished the loose grip on her arm, letting his hand slide down to brush her fingertips and fall away. Lightning's head felt fuzzy, like she was losing mental focus.

Think I'm suffering from heat exhaustion. Getting out of here NOW.

"It was nothing," Lightning replied shortly, swiping a hand across her forehead as she swiftly turned and moved out of the cramped space. She picked up the pace and all but ran out the main cabin's exit and down the ramp, bumping into a confused-looking Snow in her path.

Stupid overheated thrusters.


Snow already had the bound baby wyvern on a modified leash out on the landing platform and was trying out a string of ridiculous nicknames, touting his refusal to back down from Lightning's "pet" challenge.

"Think I'll call him Freakazoid. Nah, too long," Snow considered, half talking to himself, half asking the creature. "Or maybe just Ragnarok, Rocky for short!"

"Rrraaakkk!" the nameless reptilian bird screeched.

"Yeah, I agree. That just seems wrong," Snow admitted, with a pained expression reminiscent of the four l'Cie's feelings five years before, as they had watched Fang and Vanille float away to become the dreaded beast, helpless to save them. He brooded for a moment and kicked a small rock across the clearing.

"I got it!" He suddenly perked up as inspiration hit. "Snuggles, the Dastardly. I like it!"

Had "Snuggles" been sentient, it undoubtedly would have rolled its glassy eyes and gone for a second bite of Snow's ear over the name. As it was, the only eye-rolling came from an exhausted Hope, as he gathered a few tools and headed down the ramp toward the unlikely pair of man and beast.

"Don't tell me you took her seriously," Hope said, laughing at the scene. He knew the score, especially after Snow's play-by-play of the mission during the never-ending awkwardness at the start of their trip, and Lightning held a commanding lead over everyone in her path since awakening. Snow was an easy target; all she had done was imply a challenge to train the creature, and his ego had nearly imploded.

"Nah, I just thought it over, and having a guard-bird like this around might come in handy," Snow defended. "Not for me, ya know – for Serah," he clarified.

"Sure," Hope said absently, setting the tools on the ground and stretching his limbs after the long flight. "Let me know how your little experiment goes. Oh, and make sure 'Snuggles' stays out of the hangar. At all times."

Hope's workshop was in the hangar, and he had absolutely no intention of letting some crazed, winged beast wreck the place and scatter his equipment from hither to yon. He rarely allowed other people to invade his space, much less Snow's new pet. In fact, the last time Snow himself had set foot in the hangar, an entire ratchet set had gone missing, only to not-so-mysteriously turn up in Serah's bathroom weeks later.

And the toilet was still broken. Typical.

Hope knew that Snow considered it an insult to his manhood to ask for help if he hadn't tried to fix whatever-it-was himself first. After declaring the situation beyond repair, he had finally told Hope that Serah was "going to make him suffer" if the bathroom flooded again, so Hope had taken the whole toilet apart and installed a new pipe, making a point to not use the ratchet set. He had calmly informed Snow that the next time he thought about sneaking tools out of the hangar, he ought to take the biggest hammer in the toolbox and shove it somewhere personal, then call for a professional.

He still laughed at the memory of Snow's flabbergasted expression. It was like having a goofy older brother, something he was foreign to as an only child, at least before his years at the rebel camp. They were like one big crazy family, consisting mostly of the former l'Cie, NORA, and a massive number of Guardian Corps members who defected after the new PSICOM leadership had started displaying the controlling tendencies of the Purge period all over again. Without the backing of the powerful fal'Cie on the side of PSICOM, coupled with limited manpower and resources on both sides, the rebel cause this time around was far from a lost one.

Hope took comfort in the prospect of returning to the norm of base life as he picked up his tool bag and casually made his way toward the control tower, but as his eye caught Lightning climbing the ladder to Sazh, he was reminded of just how far from normal everything was about to be. Hope was obviously ecstatic about her return; he had spent plenty of time wondering about when it would finally happen, what he would say, and how she would react. When she had unexpectedly awakened and was physically present, it threw him completely off balance, and Hope didn't do disequilibrium. His emotions were towing the line between excitement and anxiety, and it was beyond frustrating. He had felt something like that before, during the fruitless search for his father shortly after his own crystalstasis had ended. From previous experience, he knew that dinner was not going to be an option; it was like Snuggles had been unleashed in his stomach.

I just need to get started on the thrusters as soon as possible. Projects are always a nice distraction.

Sazh was waving to him from the tower, and Hope offered a half-hearted smile and waved a hand back, intending to wait for whatever interaction between Lightning and Sazh was over, and then find out if Yuj and Maqui had gathered the parts to repair the thrusters. He did not feel like making another attempt at conversation with Lightning for the time being, not in his fatigued condition; there was a high probability that the first sentence out of his mouth would be wrecked beyond repair.

From the ground, it looked like Lightning had relaxed a bit while chatting with Sazh. She was leaning her back against the side-panel of the observation window, gesturing toward the ship across the landing site, and then shaking her head.

Guess that was a fun first impression of our technology. Welcome to the future.

Hope couldn't avoid feeling a pang of disappointment about the whole 'rescue' mission. He used the term loosely – it was more like a collision between the rebel squad and an arena fight in progress. They had merely removed Lightning from a pile of unconscious PSICOM soldiers and the panicking reinforcements and fled the scene. In their defense, no one expected to encounter a flesh-and-blood Lightning, awake and with a vengeance, but Hope just could not get over the fact that the culmination of their efforts was a horribly rough landing – one that he still should have been proud of, given the condition of the ship.

Light probably thinks I'm incompetent. I need a do-over.

Hope sat with his back against the shaded side of the tower, sighing heavily and casting the tools to the side. His mind wandered to the barracks arrangement, recalling that the only livable space was next to Serah's quarters, and he wondered how long Lightning would be able to live near Snow for the sake of her sister before it came to blows. He would probably have to give up his own place next to the 'condemned' block for Lightning and take up permanent residence in the hangar, or else move over to the room adjacent to the happy couple.

I should just stay in the hangar.

Hope was already starting to doze off when Sazh jumped down from the end of the ladder and clapped him on the shoulder, shocking him out of his relaxed state and back into the present predicament.

"Hey, wake up lazy-bones! We gotta give Light the guided tour," Sazh scolded good-naturedly, chuckling at his protégé. "You look like some half-dead chicken a pack of lobos dragged in!"

"Ngh," Hope mumbled, stretching and trying to shake off his sleepiness. "Thanks a lot, old man. Good to see you, too."

"C'mon, you know I'm just messin' with you," Sazh replied with a wide grin. "Got some good news, too – the guys found those parts for the thrusters."

"That's awesome!" Hope exclaimed, looking very much like a kid who had just found his favorite toy. "You've seriously saved my life."

Hope was genuinely thrilled, and he heaved a sigh of relief and sprawled flat on his back, putting his hands behind his head and raising a knee. The drastic change in his mood over mundane aircraft parts earned a somewhat confused look from Sazh, who clearly wanted an explanation.

"Well you saw the landing – probably the worst one I've had since my first time flying!" Hope qualified, propping himself up on his elbows.

"Oh, it wasn't that bad, especially with the landing thrusters roasting the ship like a pig on the spit. I could feel the heat from the tower!" Sazh was laughing out loud about the incident, but Hope could tell he just wanted to make him feel better about the landing.

"I hope it didn't fry any wires under there, but I'm sure I'll find out tonight," Hope noted, his plans for a few days of solitude and reflection already in motion. "How fast can they get those parts to the hangar?"

"Done. I can take care of moving the ship myself – plenty of buoyancy transporters available, so you oughtta take a break tonight," Sazh offered, with that scheming look he always got just before setting Hope up for some situation that ended, without fail, in either boredom or embarrassment. He meant well, but forced socializing wasn't really Hope's thing.

"Don't really have the time. The hangar was a mess from all the mission preparations when we left, and I need to get it set up for this project," Hope countered, knowing full well that while his excuse was completely legitimate, Sazh had heard it all before, and he was not going down without a fight.

"So let me get this straight – you're tellin' me that on the day Light comes back after five years in crystalstasis, you're gonna spend the evening all by your lonesome cleaning up the hangar?" Sazh gave him a look that both resembled a father about to deal out judgment and a drinking buddy who could not believe what his friend just did. It was a hard look to pull off, and Hope wondered if Sazh practiced in the mirror at night just to dole out that particularly potent look of shame to destroy his pathetic teenage willpower.

No way he's guilting me out of this one. Time to man up.

"Look, it won't take long to clean up, and I'm not going out there until later tonight anyway. We can all show Light around the base first, then set her up in a room somewhere – she'll probably just crash. It's not like I can spend any quality time with her while she's unconscious, so I don't see the problem," Hope finished, sounding exasperated and hoping Sazh would leave him be.

"Fine. But I still say it's a harebrained idea. Really should be you finding a place to crash. And if I find out you fell asleep under the ship again, I'm not gonna come wake you up and drag your butt out," Sazh said with a note of finality, shaking his head at the stubborn teen he'd been training for the last three years.

"Got it," Hope muttered, laying back down and staring up at the cloudless sky. The sun was getting lower in the west, turning the landscape more dusky by the minute. It was impossible for him to resist the urge to sleep, so he closed his eyes and gave in to it.

Hope had no idea how many minutes had passed, but he vaguely heard Lightning quietly drop from the ladder and approach Sazh, who jumped a little at her sudden arrival. The mild sounds of conversation were nowhere near enough to disturb his nap.

"Hey! Glad you finally decided to join us. I was just talking about giving you a tour," Sazh offered, nudging Hope's side with a boot to wake him.

"Stop it," Hope mumbled, rolling onto his side. "Five minutes." Sazh just continued poking his back with the toe of his boot.

So tired…leave me alone.

Finally, Hope gave up and unsteadily pulled himself into a sitting position. "Alright, alright. I'm up. What's going on?" he asked groggily, rubbing his eyes, only hazily registering Lightning's presence.

His vision cleared, and he instantly perked up. "Oh, hey. Sorry about that – long day, I guess," Hope commented, stretching and trying not to look as caught-off-guard as he felt.

"You could say that," Lightning replied indifferently, and Hope wondered if anything ever really rattled her composure. The closest she had come to expression so far was frustration with Snow and some kind of confusion when he had grabbed her arm. If she was unsettled in the least by their new reality, it didn't show one iota.

Wish I could pull that off.

Hope was certain that all his emotions showed on his face, like an open book with the most embarrassing parts highlighted in bright green. Speed was on his side, so he quickly picked up the tools and stood, brushing off some dirt and turning his attention toward Sazh. "You were saying?"

Sazh raised an eyebrow at him, and then continued. "Right, tour time. Last stop, Serah's place."

"I'll get Snow," Hope offered, jogging to the other side of the landing site.

Sometimes that big goof can be pretty useful.