The next morning wasn't some big cliche of Lightning waking up to Hope's green eyes staring at her with a big smile on his face. He was sleeping soundly, still having a firm hold over her as he did so. Slowly and as gentle as she could manage, Lightning freed herself from his grasp and started to get off the mattress. The springs creaked a bit, and with every disturbance she gazed over at Hope, to make sure he was still asleep. Thankfully, he wasn't much of a light sleeper.
Grabbing her clothes, she made her way to the door, twisting the knob slowly and pulling it open. Shutting it behind her, she made her way to Hope's bathroom. She placed her clothes on the counter, turned on the shower and climbed in. The hot water felt nice, and she welcomed the feeling of cleanliness. Looking around his shower, she found what she was looking for; soap and shampoo. Picking up the bottle of shampoo she flicked open the top and took in the scent. It smelled just like Hope. Well, maybe that was obvious. Putting a small amount in the palm of her hands, she placed the bottle down and lathered the liquid in her hands. Thoroughly cleaning her hair, she moved on to his soap.
It too had a very nice scent. Running the bar beneath the shower head, she lathered the soap on her hands. Every move she made to clean her body, only invoked a memory of the previous night. Her and Hope. Maybe she'd been too forceful when it came to yesterday. If she made him do something that he didn't want to do, then how could she bring it up? Give him some form of apology? Sighing to herself, she shut off the water and climbed out of the shower. Lightning inspected herself in the mirror, while drying herself off. She didn't remember being on the receiving end for a hickey. Well, at least her blouse would be able to hide it.
Lightning buttoned it up to the top, slipped on her jacket, and fixed herself up proper enough to go outside. She opened the bathroom door, and checked to see if Hope had gotten up yet. Since he was still asleep, she decided to slip out and grab a few things. Lightning grabbed his keys from the coffee table and promptly left his apartment complex. If she was quick enough, he wouldn't get up and be worried over something like her 'running off' before they could have a proper talk about what had happened. It seemed like a typical Hope thing to do. Over analyze the situation, complicate things a bit.
Her phone buzzed, and Lightning wondered if it was Hope. Pulling it out of her pocket, she was pleasantly surprised to see Serah had been the one calling. Hitting "answer" she waited for Serah to talk first.
"Lightning?" Serah asked, waiting patiently for her sister to respond.
"Serah...it's good to hear your voice." Lightning smiled, walking to the store while she spoke.
"How are things going with you? I've been...wanting to visit you, you know? Snow, Fang, Vanille, the whole gang. We all really miss you." Serah understandably sounded a bit sad. It was evident that she missed her big sister, after not seeing her for so long.
"The big idiot isn't all the company you need?" Lightning joked, trying to keep things a little lighter between the two of them. She didn't want her sister to feel like she wasn't welcome, it was just that Lightning felt like she needed the space. For now, all she had was Hope to keep herself company, and that had been enough. Maybe it was a bit 'lonely' not seeing her only family. But after being dead for 500 years, Serah deserved to live her life, and not waste another second on Lightning. It could have been rehashed guilt over her having a hand in Serah's death that made her stay away, but she couldn't say for certain.
"Hey! I heard that, you know?" Snow called in the distant background.
"Snow says 'hi'." Serah laughed a little bit, "You know it's not like that, Lightning. If it's not too much trouble, we should have a get together sometime."
"Count on it." Lightning agreed, "I don't know when, but I'll find the time."
"Is that a promise?" Serah asked, waiting for Lightning to answer.
"Of course it is." Lightning finally made it to the store, grabbing a basket and grabbing all of the basic necessities Hope had somehow learned to live without. She wouldn't survive another meal of boxed store sushi- Lightning immediately stocked up on fresh produce, moving on to spices and other things she deemed 'necessary'. Back at his home, she saw that he drank canned forms of coffee, so she stocked up on those, as well.
"Then it's settled! And if you don't drop by soon, then I guess we'll all just have to hunt you down then, won't we?" Serah sounded much more chipper and excited at the premise of Lightning coming.
"I hear that's a pretty hard task to accomplish, these days." Lightning joked, getting in line at the grocery store to pay.
"I believe it!" Serah laughed, "That reporter is still looking for you, you know? She said if we get any contact, to pass along the news her way. She's already met Caius, Yeul, and everyone here on Earth. Why won't you just meet with her, Lightning?"
"Because it's...not my spotlight to step into." Lightning explained, "So long as everyone can live in peace in this world, despoiled of Gods, fal'Cie, purges, then what more could I hope for? And, as long as you're in this world, smiling, happy and living your life, Serah, I have all that I want. 500 years, I waited for the day that I could make our promise come true." she kept her voice moderately low, so as not to spook the other patrons of the store. Not everyone was so accepting of the idea behind magic, Eidolons, Fal'Cie, l'Cie, and her being the savior. In this world, humans had many different beliefs on what happened in the afterlife. They hated the ideas behind Etro, Pulse, Lindzei, Bhunivelze and their rule over humanity. The Goddess...had faded away to oblivion, killed in her eternal slumber by Noel Kreiss, and extension- herself.
"And I want to see my sister, again." Serah chided gently, "The one who gave me this great life to live."
"Soon." Lightning tried to assure her this time, paying for the items she'd gathered.
"Okay, okay. If you say you're coming...then I believe you. I'll stop badgering you- for now." Serah joked.
"I taught you well." Lightning commented, making her way out of the store, and back to Hope's apartment.
"Yeah, you did." Serah agreed. "Where are you, right now Lightning? It sounds...busy."
"It is." Lightning agreed, "People all over the place, cars honking...it's quite the city life. I'm visiting someone."
"Is it...someone I know?" Serah questioned, suddenly sounded more intrigued to pry into Lightning's private life.
"Who could say?" Lightning said cryptically, she knew it was drive Serah crazy on some level. "You can't get into all of my secrets, you know? I'm a very busy woman these days, Serah."
"That's no fair!" Lightning could almost hear the pout on Serah's face. "Is it a boy? Are you meeting a guy?"
"Lightning? A guy?" Snow snorted.
"Snow!" Serah scolded him, and he immediately apologized.
"As a matter of fact, it is." Lightning enjoyed the silence ensuing after her confirmation of it being a guy she was seeing. Serah and Snow must have been shocked to hear that she was meeting with anyone, let alone a male. Serah attempted to say something, but Lightning cut her short. "I have to go now, bye." Using Hope's keys, she went back inside, putting the bags on his table.
"I thought you'd left." startled, Lightning jumped a bit, turning to face Hope, she could see that he'd been stressed over her.
"Is that what you think of me?" Lightning asked, "That I'd just..pull a stunt like last night, run off, then leave you to fall to pieces?"
"No..I don't think so lowly of you, Light. I just..." Hope trailed off, looking hurt and down to the ground.
Lightning closed the space between the two of them and hugged him. She felt him instantly return the gesture, his arms firmly wrapped tight around her. Hope was shaking a bit. "I'm sorry that I put you through so much."
"I was scared." Hope admitted, his voice shaky. "Scared that we did mess things up, that I...I somehow, what with yesterday...our friendship..."
"I told you that wasn't a possibility." Lightning scolded him, smiling up at the gray haired male. She could see tears welling up in his eyes, and instantly felt bad.
"I was so scared, Light." Hope held her a bit tighter.
"That wasn't my intention. I'm sorry." Lightning had never seen him this way, save for when speaking of his formerly deceased mother, Nora. "Do you...have to work today?" if she interfered with his day to day life, she didn't know what there was to do. Apologizing didn't seem to be enough.
"I called in sick."
At that, Lightnings heart sank. "We need to talk, don't we?"
"I think so." Hope was speaking so softly that it broke her heart.
"Hope...go and have a shower, get dressed in a new set of clothes, breakfast will be ready by the time you get out. I'll be here, waiting for you, I promise, okay?" Lightning tried to pull back, but he still had a firm hold on her.
"...okay." Hope said after a few minutes, Slowly, he let go of Lightning, turning to walk down the hallway. Stopping in the middle to turn and look back at her.
"Go, get ready." Lightning smiled at him, turning to the task at hand. She heard Hope walk down the hallway and the door of the bathroom close. It was a good sign. He'd have a good chance to calm down, while she prepared their meal. It wouldn't be anything special, just a simple breakfast of eggs, toast and fruit. Well, that with his canned coffee to drink. Kind of odd that they sold it either hot or cold. In either case, she heard the shower running, and swiftly cooked their meal. Cutting up an apple, she split it up between the two of them. Lightning put away the rest of the groceries she'd gotten, placed both plates on the coffee table, and sat down in wait.
Glancing at the clock, she saw that it was 9 in the morning. Every second that ticked by felt like an eternity.
The door to the bathroom opened, and Lightning stole a glance at Hope. He wasn't dressed in new clothes yet, just a towel hung loosely around his hips. Sheepishly, she looked away, pretending to have been eating.
"Like what you see?" Hope joked dryly, walking to his room.
"Sorry." Lightning felt ashamed at having been caught.
"Nothing you haven't seen before." Hope chided her, disappearing into his room for a few minutes. He came out fully clothed, sitting on the couch next to her.
"I guess so." Lightning agreed, "Hope...do you want to start?"
"What are we...now?" Hope asked, "That's the one thing...that I really think I need to know." he knew in the back of his mind that no matter what, they could never go back to just being the way that they were before. Even if Lightning said nothing would be different if they didn't let it, yesterday changed everything.
"What do you want us to be?" Lightning asked, he seemed really anxious. And she'd be lying if she said she felt any differently.
"After..after what happened yesterday, I think it's safe to say we're 'more than friends'. But..are we in a relationship? Or was this just a one time thing?" Hope looked at her, anxiously.
"You're asking if I'm going to be your...girlfriend?" Lightning asked, "You want to be my boyfriend?"
"You kind of avoided the question, Light." Hope noticed her being evasive in his questioning. Trying to change the subject, as much as possible.
"I'm not." Lightning shook her head, "I mean, you want us to talk about things.. and if we were dating, then it wouldn't have to be the end of..what happened last night, right?"
"I suppose so." Hope nodded in agreement, "So, what is this...between us?"
Lightning let the question linger in the air, thinking it over, herself. What was it, now? Hope still at her, not saying a word. Was it because he knew that she was thinking it over? Or was he just being polite? "Complicated." that was the easiest way of putting it.
"Complicated, huh?" Hope spoke the word as if he'd never said it before. "I'm not sure if I could live with it being just at that."
"Neither could I." Lightning said honestly, sighing a bit, she leaned her head on his shoulder. "You keep asking me what it is, that I want. But what is it that you want, Hope?"
"Someone that I love, and care about in my everyday life...to do things like this, with." Hope said honestly, staring down at Lightning, then gazing out his window "To sit, talk with, enjoy the simple things in life. That I could wake up next to, in the mornings. Someone that could help to balance me out, in my everyday life. Help me to enjoy things that I may overlook, and leave behind due to my overly complicated life-style." he paused, "I'm not saying that it'll be perfect...because there's lots of room for error, and that it may fail-" swallowing nervously, Hope looked at Lightning. "-will you...be my girlfriend?"
"Yes." Lightning didn't hesitate for a moment. His explanation said it all, what else could she say? He wanted the same things in life that she did.
"Really?" Hope couldn't help but to sound excited at her answer. When she nodded, a grin quickly spread across his face. He caught her off guard, giving her a small peck on the lips, hugging her tightly. "Thank you."
Lightning laughed a bit at his antics. "What a strange thing to say."
"What else could I say, Light?" Hope felt as if a little while ago he hadn't been a nervous wreck. That he hadn't cried in his kitchen, broken down a bit over the possibility of having lost Lightning.
Lightning shrugged her shoulders, "And I'll say this right now; don't go blabbing about all of this to anyone. Including Serah."
"What makes you think I'd tell Serah?" Hope asked innocently.
"Because I know the two of you talk. She mentions it every other time she calls. And that big idiot of hers, Snow will blab to the others, then, before I know it, I have Fang, Vanille and Sazh all trying to hunt me down and ask a million questions. I don't need people prying into my personal life." Lightning remained adamant in the fact that he not tell a soul.
"You really think Serah would tell Snow?" Hope asked, "I promise, I won't tell, okay?"
"He'd probably overhear it in the background." Lightning sighed, "Thank you."
"One of these days, if you wouldn't mind...Light, would you like to meet my mother, Nora?" Hope obviously felt anxious, as he was fiddling with his hands while asking the question.
"Sure." Lightning nodded, "She's the only parent of yours I haven't had the pleasure of meeting, yet. When were you thinking of making a get together?" she neglected to mention the fact about visiting Serah. It would probably be something for her to do in the next week or so.
"Mom and Dad invited me over for a dinner on the weekend, how about then?"
"Sounds great."
"I'll let them know that for once, I'll actually have someone coming with me for a change."
"So, I'm the first one to come over and meet the family? Lucky me."
"Well, yeah. I thought we went over this...yesterday." Hope was getting flustered all over again.
"I guess we did." Lightning nodded, "It's too bad our parents weren't here. I know my dad would probably like to meet you. Our mother would also probably end up liking you alot."
"What was he like...your father?" Hope always wondered about it, but Lightning never really mentioned him or wanted to speak of the long dead man.
"He was...like Snow, really." Lightning had a bitter-sweet smile. "It's...one of the reasons I was so angry at Snow, during our time as l'Cie. It was just misdirected rage, at our father. It wasn't either of their fault why I was angry. He just..left us at so young an age, our mother too was gone, and I was left alone to take care of Serah. Our parents were dead, and I didn't have a choice...he was the reason I ended up joining the military, and by extension, Guardian Core."
"He sounds like a great man." Hope could see how fondly she spoke of him.
"I think he'd scold me, if I were to tell him the story of how we met. Tell him exactly what I said when Odin was summoned, just before he tried to cleave your head off."
"Oh, that story..." Hope laughed, "That's a keeper, for sure. I was scared out of my wits, then everyone decided to attack that fal'Cie, Anima. All of us getting marked, our lives never really being the same."
"We wouldn't be here today, if we all didn't receive that mark. It bound our fates, and gave us all a new family." Lightning recalled the time Vanille and Fang fought Hecatoncheir, and how she had remarked to the younger girl that they had a new family. It was an idea they had to hold onto, when stumbling into the ghost town of Oerba. Vanille's usual calm, collected and bubbly demeanor changed to one of despair and sadness. Fang looked shaken up, but trying to hold it together for Vanille's sake.
"You guys were my drive behind my studies." Hope nodded, "I think..in some ways, we all helped each other to grow. In our journey, we were all missing something, people who weren't really living. That thing we were searching for, was something beyond the simplified bonds of 'family' or 'companionship' we wanted people...to care for, and accept us for who we really are. If it weren't for you, Lightning, then I don't think I would be here, today."
"If it weren't for you...I never would have learned patience." Lightning teased him.
"I really made you slow your pace down, didn't I?" Hope smiled.
"Are you kidding? I could have been there a day earlier, if you hadn't fallen asleep on me. Not to mention the whole Pulse robot fiasco. You're lucky to not have fallen into the Vile Peaks- oh, and with that other robot, in the caves on Pulse." Lightning folded her arms, giving him a stern look.
"Alright, I'll admit it- I didn't make things easy for you. But it still got rid of those robots, and that fal'Cie was brought to a halt by them saving me. So, I think I kind of helped as much as I hindered." Hope pointed out, smiling innocently at her look.
Lightning was about to say more, but ringing interrupted their conversation. Both of them checked their phones, Hope because he thought it may be work, and Lightning because it may Serah.
"I have to take this, excuse me, Light." Hope answered his phone and stepped out onto his balcony.
Relieved, Lightning answered her own phone. Sighing, she spoke first, "Hey, Serah."
"I'm fine, Mom. You don't have to worry-" Hope tried to be assuring, but Nora wasn't buying it.
"I'm just worried about you! You're not working today, and I thought something might be wrong. Whatever bug is big enough to keep you from work must be pretty serious. Are you sure I shouldn't swing by?" Nora was going about a mile a minute with her words, not even giving Hope the opportunity to respond.
"Something came up, but I'm okay now...starting to feel better." Hope mixed the lie in with the truth, that way he couldn't feel entirely bad about deceiving his mother. "I'll be okay, I promise. Oh, and mom...I'll be...bringing someone along, to dinner."
"What!?" Nora could barely contain her excitement over what he'd just said. "Who is it? Is it a girl? Girlfriend? A boy?"
"Mom!" Hope was embarrassed that she thought he was gay.
"Well, I'm sorry. It's just.. for so long, you didn't even show a hint of interest in dating anyone, and so I thought that...well, maybe. It isn't as if I'd love you any less if you were, you know?" Nora tried to explain herself as best as she could.
"Thank you." Hope smiled, she was still the woman he knew over a thousand years ago. "Yes, it's a girl."
"What's her name?" Nora really wanted to know, it was definitely something she could get excited over.
"A surprise." Hope laughed a bit at hearing his mothers indifference.
"Fine, if you won't tell me- then maybe I'll see if I can't get your father to drag it out of you." Nora teased.
"Dad? I don't know if he'd be up to it." Hope missed their banter, talking so casually during the day.
"So, what kind of person is this woman my baby boy is bringing home to meet his parents?"
"She's..." Hope looked inside, seeing Lightning walking around his living room, talking on her phone. "...focused, kind, strong, brave, hardworking, she always achieves the impossible, even when the odds are stacked almost entirely against her. A person that I could see myself spending the rest of my life with."
"Sounds like a special girl." Nora could hear how enthusiastically he spoke of her. "Have you told her how you feel?"
"Yes, she is...and I have. I mean, not entirely...we've only just...begun to date." Hope explained, "But I have known her for a very long time."
"I'm happy for you...to have found someone like that." Nora decided not to pry any further, though there were still many questions she had for her son.
"Thank you." Hope couldn't help but to smile, if Nora were here talking to him, he wasn't sure if he'd be red in the face or ginning stupidly. She'd probably question Lightning about every aspect of their relationship, all the while grilling him over it at the same time. This was one of the many trials one had when dealing with a doting mother.
"Just remember to bring her by for dinner." Nora reminded him.
"Of course! I'm not cancelling on you at the last minute, promise!" Hope smiled, "I have to go now, Mom. We'll talk later, alright?"
"Don't keep her waiting." Nora hung up, leaving Hope to his own devices.
"Sorry about that." Hope apologized to Lightning, seeing her just wrap up her own phone call.
"No big deal. I was busy with my own call." Lightning shrugged, "So, since I know it wasn't Serah- who called you?"
"My mother." Hope still felt excitement from his talk with Nora. "She's excited to see who will be coming with me. Probably because of the fact that I never bring anyone over."
"It'll be nice to meet her." Lightning nodded, "Must have been some talk. Does she know who I am?"
"I've...told her about you, she just doesn't know who's coming with me." Hope explained, "She doesn't know everything, but for the most part, she does know about you."
"Well, then I look forward to meeting Nora."
"I'm looking forward to it, too." Hope sat beside Lightning again, "Do you think...I mean, should we..." he trailed off.
"If you want to." Lightning guessed what he was thinking, and nodded.
"But when?" Hope asked.
"Is it something you schedule?" Lightning blinked in surprise.
"No, I guess not...I mean, some people do- so I just thought it was the norm."
"You've met some strange people." Lightning snorted.
"Maybe." Hope laughed, "Come on, let's go."
"Okay." Lightning stood up, her and Hope both walking opposite directions. She, toward his room, and he toward the front door.
"Wait- you didn't think...?" Hope blinked in surprise.
"No!" Lightning looked away from him, "I was just getting something."
"Okay..." Hope waited by the front door, embarrassed he'd been wrong in assuming she'd thought he was propositioning her.
"Let's go." Lightning put her heels on, waiting for Hope to respond.
"Uh...yeah." Hope nodded, "I'm ready." he smiled, walking out of his apartment, hand in hand with Lightning. It was so strange, yet it just felt 'right' at the same time. Maybe what happened the previous night between the two of them had just been something brewing for a very long time. And if it was, then maybe he'd been dense to their situation. Having the relationship that they did for over 1000 years, maybe it was only logical that one or both of them would have romantic feelings for the other.
