A.N. Updated! Enjoy!
Éclair Returns
Chapter 2: The Wedding
Lightning went with her sister through the neighboring city called New Palumpolum. What a surprise. Since they 'only' had two weeks until the wedding and because Serah wanted to get her a dress, she dragged her to this town the next day. They wouldn't run into their friends, because they met with Snow to discuss what they could do for Oerba. But something was strange. The people around them watched them in shock and amazement and whispered something. What the hell was going on? "Serah?"
"Yes?"
"What's going on here? Why are these people staring at us like that?"
"Well..." Before Serah could answer her, a little girl came to her and stood in front of Lightning. The soldier looked down at the girl and raised an eyebrow. "Aren't you the heroine who saved Cocoon?" She asked, while looking at her with wide bright eyes. Heroine? Was that the reason why the people behaved so weird? Because they thought she was a heroine? "No—"
"Yes, she is." Answered Serah and the people immediately gathered around them. The little girl's eyes gleamed and she hugged her suddenly. And before she knew it, she was surrounded by people who gaped at her. Lightning glared at her little sister. She wanted an explanation! "Well, what can I say...? Five years ago, you saved all the people here."
"Are you a goddess?" Asked the little girl that still embraced her. "Only the gods are able to accomplish such a miracle." The people around them suddenly asked her out just like some annoying paparazzi. "Quiet!" Shouted Lightning and immediately everyone went silent. "I am no goddess and I'm not a hero! I was a l'Cie with the Focus to destroy Cocoon!"
"But instead of destroying it, you saved it." Said someone from the crowd. Lightning couldn't stand it anymore. She had to get out of here. She pushed the girl away from her and fought her way through the crowd. Serah followed her. Lightning was really glad that they let her go, otherwise she wouldn't have been so nice.
"Oops, I completely forgot to tell you that everyone's seeing you as a heroine and goddess." Said Serah and giggled nervously. "Thanks for warning me." Grumbled the older Farron. "I'm sorry, I forgot!"
"How did it happen? How did they know what I've done and how I look like?"
"I guess we are to blame." In an instant Lightning glared at her darkly. "I'm sorry. We were so proud of you that we talked about you. What you've done for Cocoon. We thought people should know what really happened." Lightning sighed. Somehow she could understand them. However, she didn't know what she'd prefer. People who wanted her dead, or people who adored her. "Come on, let's buy you a nice dress."
"Serah..."
"No, you won't wear this uniform at my wedding. We'll get you a dress." She interrupted and dragged her through the city.
"Look, Light, what do you say?" Asked Serah and showed her a yellow dress. "Hell no." Answered Lightning and looked for something else. Serah sighed and put the ugly yellow thing away. "Black would be okay."
"No, you won't wear black at my wedding!" Lightning sighed deeply and let Serah search. "And this?"
"Pink? You kidding me?" Serah giggled, but put the dress away again. "Would fit with your hair." Lightning rolled his eyes. She's one to talk. A few seconds later she pulled out another dress. "Look, that's perfect!" She said and showed her a purple dress. Before Lightning could say something, Serah interrupted her. "Try it on please." Sighed once again, she took the dress. At least it was better than all the things Serah showed her. "Whatever." Serah smiled happily and then pushed her to the dressing rooms. Lightning went in there and put the dress on.
It had frills and...other stuff, but she had to admit that it wasn't so bad. The neckline was fortunately not as big and covered her brand. It really wasn't bad. (*) "Come out!" Squealed her little sister, pulled back the curtain and got everyone's attention.
"Serah!" Hissed Lightning and pulled the curtain back before anyone saw her. It was enough that anyone addressed her every five minutes...Serah opened the curtain again and looked at her. "We'll buy this! What do you say, Light? Is it good?"
"Not bad." She answered as she closed the curtain and put on her old uniform again. When she came out of the changing room, Serah took her dress and went to the checkout. Lightning felt really pathetic. Her little sister had to buy her clothes...Before they searched for a dress, Serah insisted to buy her some regular clothes. Lightning followed her, but was addressed by some people again. But luckily Serah saved her from her fans and then they could finally go home.
The next two weeks were really stressful for everyone. Lightning worked actively to help Serah. But Serah didn't like that at all. She always said she should rest because she was trapped in crystak for five years. Lightning, however, said she should help because of it, since she'd rested long enough and they had a lot to catch up.
Now it was just a day before the wedding and Serah and Snow's nervousness was more than clear to see. Serah was so jittery the whole day that Lightning had difficulties to calm her down. But even Lightning was a bit nervous. After all her little sister's getting married and she had to let her go now. She decided to move out the next day, because someone like her was totally out of place on that day. The pinkette didn't know where to go and she didn't have a cent in her pocket, but it would be fine. She'd already packed her bags and was ready to move out.
Lightning couldn't really fall asleep that night so she lay in her bed in the guest room and read a book. It was already quite late, but she just couldn't sleep. Too many thoughts swirled in her head. Thoughts about the wedding, where to go and the anticipation to see her friends again. Her thoughts were interrupted when someone knocked softly on the door. Seconds later, the door opened a crack and Serah's head appeared. "Sis, you still up?"
Lightning put the book aside and looked at her. "Yes. What is it?" Serah came into her room and sat down on her bed after she closed the door. "I can't sleep." She mumbled, while looking at the floor. Lightning already knew why. "Excited about tomorrow?" Serah nodded. "And I don't like sleeping alone."
"Alone?" Asked Lightning and raised an eyebrow. "Claire, it's not allowed to sleep in the same bed before the wedding. That brings bad luck. This is just as bad as if the groom sees the bride in her dress before the wedding."
"Do you really believe in that?"
"Yes." Lightning didn't say anything about it. Of course she did and it was kinda cute, too. "Aren't you too old to sleep with your big sister?"
"Nope." Lightning just nodded and slid to the side, while Serah lay down next to her and smiled. She turned off the bedside lamp and turned to her. "It's been a long time since we've done this." Muttered Serah and looked at her in the darkness. "Yeah."
"Good night, Claire. I love you." Said Serah, while snuggling up to her. "Good night, Serah."
The next day Serah woke up extra early and dragged Lightning out of the bed, too. There was no sign from Snow, though. Serah told her he went to the Estheim's to get ready. And it was just six in the morning...The wedding took place at noon, so they still have at least six hours left. "We need to be ready quickly, Claire." Said Serah frantically. "There's still time, Serah."
"Yeah, but you know how long it takes until we're done?"
"Five minutes?"
"No! There's so much to do!"
"Like what?"
"The hair! I've planned something really nice for you." Lightning raised an eyebrow, her question was clearly written on her face. "You'll see it soon enough. This'll be great!" And from then on, the ordeal began. Lightning helped Serah with all the remaining preparations and a few hours before the wedding she had to put on the dress and let some pros make her hair.
It was a real torture and now her head hurt like hell. The hair that normally lay on her left shoulder, was pinned up on the left side and red roses were placed on it, too. It honestly didn't look that bad. When she was done, she went into Serah's room, who was done as well. Then she saw that her hair was pinned up in the same way as hers, except that she had white roses in her hair. Serah looked at her and smiled widely. "Light, you look great!"
"And you look beautiful." Said Lightning Serah showed her the wedding dress for the first time. Thank the Maker that it wasn't as massive as she thought. It went down smoothly, similar to her own dress, but of course nothing was open. It hugged her body perfectly well and reached to the ground. On the side of her hips hung a band that looked like a white rose.
Then it was time to go to the church. The two sisters went down the stairs to the front door. Lightning knew that this would be the longest walk of her live — even if the church wasn't far away — because Lightning had to wear high heels. Serah really made her wear these things, because it kinda fit to her dress.
If it wasn't her wedding, she'd refused to wear them. Reluctantly Lightning put on the torture devices and went off with her sister. They went a bit late, so that everyone's waiting in the church — of course everyone knew about it. When they finally arrived the church, everyone were inside. When the two sisters entered the church, Serah took her arm and went with her down the aisle.
On the way to the altar, the people gaped not only at Serah, but also at her in shock. The surprise was successful. Of course, no one moved, and she was extremely grateful for that. In the front row on the bride's side were Fang, Vanille and Nora, who looked at them with mixed feelings, too. And on the groom's side were Sazh, Dajh and Bartholomew. Snow stood at the altar in a white suit and next to him was...a man in a black suit. He had silver hair and from this distance, she saw his emerald green eyes that looked at her in shock — open mouthed and with a bright red face.
Snow pushed his elbow into his stomach gently and whispered something to him. Then he looked away, his face was even redder than before. Lightning's heart stopped for a moment when she finally recognized him. It was Hope! Lightning looked him up and down and as if he could feel her eyes on him, he looked back at her.
Their eyes met and Lightning immediately wondered why she didn't recognize him earlier. After all, his eyes hadn't changed a bit. Obviously. Lightning broke eye contact when they reached the altar and she handed her little sister to Snow. "Take care of her, you hear me?" Whispered Lightning, while Snow looked at her seriously and nodded. During the whole ceremony, she felt a pair of eyes from a certain silver-haired boy on her that bore holes into her and watched her every movement. Lightning tried to ignore it and concentrate on the ceremony, but it was easier said than done...With each elapsed second, she felt increasingly uncomfortable. Finally, the ceremony ended and Snow and Serah kissed.
Applause filled the hall before the newly married couple left the church. Lightning followed them outside and Hope went beside her. From the corner of her eyes she noticed that he frequently gave her secret glances. Lightning pretended to not notice them and looked straight ahead.
The guests followed them outside and then it was time to make some group photos. There was still no time to talk to the others. Lightning stood beside Serah and Hope next to Snow. However, she couldn't see where the others were.
After a few photos were taken, Snow and Serah got into a white coach — which was ironically pulled by a white Chocobo — and drove to Lebreaus bar. When they were gone she was surrounded by the guests. She knew only a handful of them, but at least she wasn't surrounded by complete strangers.
The NORA Team greeted her first — even if they didn't know each other well. Then she was suddenly embraced by Vanille. She grew up a tiny bit, but otherwise she hadn't changed. "Light! It's so great to see you again!" She squealed and held her tighter. The pink-haired woman patted her on the back and then someone put an arm around her shoulder.
"Hey, sunshine. Nice to see you again." Said Fang and grinned. "Hey, Fang." She greeted back and smiled slightly. "I can't believe it, our soldier girl is back." Said Sazh then, grinned at her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Welcome back!" Greeted Dajh happily. He'd grown up — he was even taller than Hope back then — and he also got a deeper voice.
Then Nora and Bartholomew came to her and greeted her warmly. They also seemed to be quite happy to see her. "When did you wake up?" Asked Bartholomew. "Two weeks ago."
"Two weeks ago? And you don't even greet us?" Asked Fang in mock anger. "Serah wanted it to be a surprise."
"Surprise succeeded." Said Nora, smiling. "You look beautiful in that dress, Light!" Complimented Vanille as she let go of her. Then Lightning noticed that there was still one person she didn't greet yet. In this moment she felt someone staring at her intensely and bore holes into her back. She turned around and looked right into a pair of emerald green eyes. The silver-haired boy, no man, went toward her slowly. "Light..." He mumbled, while looking at her still dumbfounded with wide eyes, as if he still couldn't believe that she was really here. Lightning decided to tease him. She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at him as if he's just an intruder.
"Excuse me, do I know you?" Her voice was threatening. Hope looked at her in shock and came a few steps closer. "L-Light, it's me, Hope!" He said quickly, desperately. "Hope?" She asked and raised an eyebrow. "I don't know anyone named Hope." The look on Hope's face was really priceless. His eyes were as wide as saucers and his chin almost hit the ground as he stared at her in pure shock. Then she smiled at her old partner. "Your face is priceless, Hope. I just wanted to tease you." Hope smiled sheepishly and seconds later, she suddenly found herself in a tight embrace.
Lightning was pretty surprised, but she didn't push him away — like she'd do when someone else ever dares to touch her like that — but hugged him back. She wrapped her arms around his midsection and laid her head on his shoulder. He was really tall now. She even had to look up at him now. "You've grown..."She commented and felt him laugh. "Of course I have. Five years have passed since then..." Lightning nodded. She didn't know that he missed her so much. Because he still didn't want to let her go, she patted him on the back, telling him that it's enough now.
Hope understood and let her go. She looked into his eyes and saw that they're glistening slightly. He had tears in his eyes? Lightning patted him on the shoulder and smiled slightly. "Let's go to the party." Hope smiled broadly and nodded. Then she looked at the others. "Let's go." She repeated in a slightly commanding tone. The group agreed with her, and together they went to Lebreau's bar.
After lunch the party really started. The majority of the guests amused themselves on the dance floor, but not Lightning. No, she stayed in her seat at the table and massaged her aching feet. These shoes were pure hell! In this moment someone came up to her and sat beside her. "Hey." Lightning looked up. "Hey, Hope." The silver-haired man smiled at her before his gaze wandered further down. "Your feet hurt?"
"Yeah. Just try to wear these things the whole day and you know how I'm feeling right now."
"I'll pass." Then there was a silence between them. Even though she still had so many questions, she remained silent. She didn't know where to start. "How did you like the food?" He asked suddenly. Although Hope was sitting right next to her, they couldn't talk to each other because Vanille kept asking her things.
"Very good. Mapo Doufu's my favorite food. I'm sure Serah has done that on purpose." She replied. "Really?" He sounded quite interesting. The pink-haired woman nodded in reply. "And the dessert? Do you even like sweets?"
"Yeah, I love sweet food. I just don't eat it so much."
"I see." Hope smiled, then looked back at her still hurting feet. Suddenly he took her left ankle and put her foot on his lap. "Hey, what—?" Lightning trailed off as he began to massage her bare foot. Lightning sighed blissfully and leaned back against her chair. Where did he learn how to do this? It felt as good as if some professional massage therapist would do this.
"Does it feel better now?" He asked, while Light just hummed in agreemend and closed her eyes. "Keep doing that." Hope did as he was told. Then her head was free enough to ask her first question. "Where did you learn that? Do you always do this with your girlfriend?" Hope remained silent for a while before answering. "I don't have a girlfriend."
"You don't?" She asked and opened her eyes again. Hope stared at her foot but didn't stop massaging her. Lightning pulled her foot away, ignoring his confused gaze. She leaned over to him and ruffled his hair gently. "Don't worry, you'll find someone."
"Yeah..." He mumbled and looked down. Then she leaned back and laid her left foot on his lap again. "You're not done yet." Hope smiled slightly and massaged her again. "I heard you're the director of an organization called...Academia?"
"Academy. Academia is the city."
"Whatever." Said Lightning, waving it off. "And yes, I am. For about two years now." He informed her proudly. "Tell me about it. What is this Academy? What are you doing there?"
"Well..." Began Hope and searched for the right words. "There are a lot of departments...But to put it simply: it's a kind of a Sanctum. We take care of practically everything."
"...Everything?"
"Yes, we take care of the food, technology, research, medicine, everything."
"I get it. And in which department were you?"
"Research."
"And what did you research about?"
"Anything possible. But I've especially researched about the l'Cie."
"L'Cie...? Why?" Asked Lightning and raised an eyebrow. "Well..." He began and stared back at her foot. "I just wanted to help the l'Cie. I wanted to find a solution to get them out of crystal stasis."
"Any success?" She asked with interest. "Unfortunately not. We haven't found any crystallized l'Cie to experiment on. Not even these Cie'th stones. Apparently, there are no l'Cie anymore. Apparently all the l'Cie became normal again when you saved Cocoon."
There were no l'Cie anymore? Was she the only one left? In that case she could volunteer as a test subject, but no. She didn't want to drag him into this again. Then she pulled her foot back. "Thank you, Hope. This feels a lot better."
"You're welcome." He answered and smiled at her brightly. Then she put her right foot on his lap. "You don't mind doing the same on the other foot, do ya?" Hope chuckled and massaged her other foot. Lightning leaned back and closed her eyes. Then again, there was a long silence between them.
Lightning couldn't believe how grown up Hope was. But fortunately he hadn't changed too much. She opened her eyes when he suddenly stopped. He looked past her and raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?" Then he looked at her again and let go of her foot. "Excuse me." He said and went away.
Lightning looked after him for a moment before she looked to the full dance floor, where Serah was dancing with Dajh. The pink-haired woman smiled slightly at this sight. Then she saw Bartholomew and Nora dancing and also Fang and Vanille. But there was no trace of Snow and Sazh.
When the song ended, she realized that someone was standing next to her. She turned her head and smiled slightly. "Where have you been?" She asked her partner. "Oh...Snow just wanted to tell me something." Lightning just nodded and looked back to her sister, who now danced with Sazh. "Um..." Began Hope hesitantly.
Lightning looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "You want to dance? Uh...With me?" The pink-haired woman looked at him in surprise. No one had ever asked her to dance. The only problem was: she could dance just as good as she could cook. Means: she couldn't dance at all. "No thank you, Hope. I don't dance." She replied immediately and saw the sadness in his eyes. But it looked like he wouldn't take no for an answer. "Don't dance, or don't know how to dance?" She paused for a moment before she answered. "Both."
"I know how to dance. I can teach you."
"No thank you, Hope." She repeated stubbornly. "Come on, Light. This'll be fun."
"Fun?" Asked Light skeptically and raised an eyebrow. "Definitely more fun than sitting around here and watching how much fun the others have." He was right..."But I won't put on these shoes again."
"You don't have to." He laughed. "You say I should dance barefoot?"
"Why not?"
"Well, I don't want you to step on my feet."
"That won't happen, don't worry." The boy said and held his hand out to her. Lightning thought for a while. Actually, he was right. She shouldn't just sit here. Sighing, she took his hand. "One Song." She said, while raising her index finger to emphasize the word 'one'. Hope smiled even wider than before, and led her to the dance floor. The many pairs of eyes that followed her made her nervous, but she tried to ignore them.
Somewhere in the middle of the dance floor Hope stopped and turned to her. "Now what?" She asked, having no idea what to do now. "Now you just put your hand here." He replied and placed her left hand on his shoulder before he laid his right hand on her hip. "And now just follow my lead." Before she realized what happened, he already moved. Hope danced smoothly to the beat, while Lightning — gazing at her feet — stumbled clumsily behind. "Light." Lightning looked up when he said her name. "Look at me."
"I just want to make sure that you won't step on my feet because I'm too slow." She snorted. "That won't happen." Hope repeated and chuckled. Lightning sighed silently, but she trusted him. When she saw that he stifled a laugh, she glared at him. "What?"
"Loosen up, Light. Trust me."
"That's just not my thing." She grumbled and wanted to leave, but Hope wouldn't let her go and held her tighter. "Light...I know you can do it. Even on the battlefield, you're much more relaxed and move gracefully." In the battlefield I at least know what to do next...Thought Lightning grimmly. "Just imagine that we're not on a dance floor, but on a battlefield. Imagine that our steps are like attacks." Somehow that made sense. Then she focused only on Hope and shut out everything else, like she would do in a battlefield.
If Hope stepped towards her this time, she felt it clearly and 'dodged' at the same time. Then she launched her 'counter-attack' and took a step towards him, while Hope 'dodged'. They kept dancing like that and Lightning had to admit that it wasn't so bad. "You're doing great light." Said Hope then and grinned at her.
"Try that." Then he raised his hand where he held her hand and Lightning instinctively turned around. "Good. You've got it." Lightning smiled slightly as she saw Hope's radiant face. And for the first time she also noticed how quick her heart beating and how her skin tingled where he touched her.
She had no idea what this feeling was, so she ignored it and tried to bring her heartbeat under control. What she also noticed was how well he was built. If she could make out so many muscles on his shoulder, how would it be on the rest of his body? Hey, Hope was fourteen when she met him and now he was suddenly nineteen.
No wonder that she wanted to study his body a bit. But she could guess that he's still inferior to her. "And how do you like it?" Hope's voice jerked her out of her thoughts and now she realized she was so deep in thought that she stared at him. "What?"
"Do you like it?" He repeated and smiled at her. "It's not bad." She replied, not just meaning the dancing. "I told you it'll be fun."
"Shut up." Said Light and broke eye contact. They kept dancing in silence until the song was finally over. "Okay, guys, it's time!" Called Serah suddenly and immediately the women gathered. First, Lightning wondered what they're doing before she remembered. Lightning went away from the crowd and Hope followed her.
"You don't wanna join them?" Asked Hope when she stopped. "No. The others can have it." She replied, as Serah climbed on a chair, turned away from them and threw her bouquet. Lightning shook her head, as everyone fought over it. Vanille was the worst. She jumped to catch it, but it slipped from her hands and kept flying.
Directly into Hope's arms. "Great, you've caught it." Said Lightning and smiled as she saw his bright red, embarrassed face. If you believe in this tale, he was technically the next to be married. Hope looked around quickly before he handed her the bouquet. The pink-haired woman raised an eyebrow, but took the bouquet.
He probably just thought that a woman should have the bouquet and she happened to be the only one next to him. If Vanille would have been next to him, he would have given her the bouquet. Lightning looked back at the girls, who looked at her dreamily. She rolled her eyes. "Light, you know what that means?"
"What?" She asked and raised an eyebrow. "Hope caught the bouquet and gave it to you. He practically proposed to you!" Squealed Vanille happily. "W-what?" Asked Hope in shock, but Lightning didn't believe her. "Don't be silly, Vanille. I've never heard of that."
"Maybe on Cocoon." Said Fang and grinned widely. "That's enough. Hope didn't propose to me." She was about to say that he was way too young for that but he actually wasn't, that's for sure. "Right, Hope?" Hope nodded, his face was still pretty red.
Then Lightning went back to her seat at the table to have a drink and put away the bouquet. She couldn't take it anymore though. It became really hot and she wanted to go out for a while. Lightning left the bar and breathed in the cool night air. That was much better.
Fresh, cool air, silence and plenty of privacy. Lightning looked at the sky, looking at the many stars and the full moon that graced the sky. But the silence was interrupted when she heard someone left the bar too and went to her. But she didn't turn around and just keep staring at the sky.
"Here you are." Said Hope and stood beside her. Did he search for her? How long was she outside? "Yeah." Was it just her, or did he clung onto her? But she couldn't blame him. He saw her as a big sister after all and didn't see her for five years. Then a glass with red wine went into her view. "Want a drink?" Lightning took the glass. "Yeah, thanks." The pinkette immediately took a little sip. When she saw that Hope also drank red wine, she raised an eyebrow. "What?" Asked Hope confused when he noticed her gaze. "I just can't get used to it. That you're an adult now, I mean."
"I see." He said and smiled at her. But a second later his smile disappeared and his expression became serious. Lightning looked at him worried, but before she could ask what's wrong with him, he spoke. "You can't even imagine how much I...we missed you..." Lightning noticed his slip of the tongue and ignoring the 'we'. "I wish I could say the same to you." Immediately Hope looked sad and bent, but she wasn't done. "I've been dreaming about you and the others the whole time. You were practically with me around the clock." Hope's smile returned. "You've dreamed about us?"
"Yes. I've been dreaming about our journey and what would happen if I wouldn't stuck in this pillar."
"I see." Then there was a silence between them. They just stared thoughtfully at the sky. But there was something she had to tell him. "Hope?"
"Yes?"
"I'm sorry." She said, without looking at him. "For what?" He asked confused. "I've attacked you back then."
"Oh, you mean the slap before Odin showed up? Don't worry about that, the pain was almost gone the next day." Said Hope and smiled at her again. To be honest Lightning completely forgot about the slap, but now he'd reminded her of that again. "I didn't mean that. But I'm sorry about that too."
"It's okay. What did you mean then?" Lightning still avoided eye contact and stared at the sky. "When we fought against Orphan. I've attacked you."
"Don't worry about this, Light. You just wanted to protect us." The Pink Haired raised an eyebrow. "You wanted to become Ragnarok, so that we didn't have to do it. So that we don't have to live with the guilt of having destroyed Cocoon."
Hope really was like his mother. "I would have done the same for you." He added and smiled brightly at her. "Hope..." She didn't know what to say. "You don't have to say anything, Light. It goes without saying." How could he see through her like that? What the hell was wrong with her? She always thought she could hide her feelings with ease. Eventually, Lightning noticed that he was staring at her again. "Is something wrong?" She asked and raised an eyebrow. "No, nothing." He replied but didn't let her out of his sight. "I just can't believe you're wearing a dress like that." She knew this was coming...She wrapped her arms protectively around her upper body and turned away from him. "I knew I don't look good in it." The pinkette grumbled. "I never said you didn't."
"Well, you meant to say it!"
"I didn't mean..."
"Yeah, you did."
"You got it all wrong..."
"Shut up. This is all Serah's fault. She's the one who forced me into this dress." Lightning thought he'd just give up, but then he suddenly grabbed her by the shoulders, turned her around to face him and looked deep into her eyes. "Listen. You look beautiful." Lightning just looked at him, while her cheeks felt really hot. She couldn't even see if he was lying. Probably No one, and she meant no one was as honest as Hope! She could clearly see it in his eyes.
She was somehow touched by his compliment, but she closed her eyes and turned her head away to not look at him. Her expression remained unchanged and her voice still had the same powerful tone as she replied. "Thanks, I guess."
Hope laughed and let her shoulders go. "You guess? Did anybody ever compliment you?" Lightning thought for a moment and opened her right eye to look at him. "Does the ones count in which they told me what a great soldier I am?"
"No."
"Then no. Serah's compliments doesn't count either."
"Really?" Hope sounded pretty surprised. "Really."
"If you want I can overwhelm you with compliments."
"No, thank you, that one was enough." She said and closed her eye again when she remembered that she didn't even think about where she should sleep tonight. Lightning frowned intently. If she'd just had some money, she could spend one night in an Inn.
"Light?" Lightning opened her eyes and looked at him questioningly. Hope looked pretty worried. "Is something wrong?" Lightning shook her head. "No, everything's alright." She replied, while looking away again. If she doesn't get money, she would have to sleep on the streets, like a drunken bum. "Light, tell me what's going on. I can see very well that something's wrong with you."
Lightning sighed and decided to tell him. After all, she could trust him. "I just don't know where to sleep." The silver-haired man looked confused. "Don't you live with Serah and Snow?"
"Yeah, but I decided to move out. Think about it, Hope, they're married now. They don't need a big sister, watching their every move. Especially not tonight." Hope thoughtfully put a hand on his chin. "I see...Do you have any idea where you could stay?"
"If I had one hundred Gil I could stay in an Inn. But since I don't have a cent in my pocket the Inn is out of the question. My only alternative is to sleep on the street."
"Not necessarily." Lightning looked up at him and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"
"You could stay at Sazh's."
"No."
"Fang and Vanille?"
"When I'm alone with them for too long, I'll go mad."
"What about my parents? They would gladly take you and I also stay there for a few days." Lightning sighed deeply and looked at him seriously. "Listen, I don't want to be a burden..."
"You're not." He interrupted. "Why should you? I'm sure they'll let you stay with them, until you know where to go." Lightning went silent. She didn't want to impose on the Estheim's, but when Hope said it was okay..."Or would you rather sleep on the street?" Asked Hope then, as she didn't reply after minutes. Through this alternative she made her decision. "Alright, I..."
"Great! I'll go tell them, then we can get your things if you want."
"I..."
"Unless you want to stay a little longer."
"I..."
"Do you wanna dance with me again?"
"Hope..."
"You're right, we'll discuss this later. I'll be right back."
"Hope!" Yelled Lightning finally and grabbed his arm to prevent him from running away. "Let me finish!" Hope turned back to her and looked at her with wide eyes. "I just want to make it clear. I won't stay long, tell them this please." Hope nodded and was about to leave, but she didn't let him go and tightened her grip on his arm.
He looked back at her questioningly. "And we can dance one more time before we get my things." Hope grinned and went back inside when she finally let go of his arm. Lightning looked after him and couldn't suppress a smile. How could she be so worried that Hope will not be Hope, when they meet again? With the exception that he was much more mature he hadn't changed a bit and that was really a relief.
A.N. (*) I used Lights alternative costume Crescent Moon