A/N: My deepest appologies for how long it has taken to upload this chapter. I had most of the chapter drafted out already before I even uploaded the first chapter, however I've had problems with my internet playing up which made it very hard to ensure I had the flashback correct as it is a direct quote from the game. I also appologise for the length of the flashback and while I hope you don't I appreciate some people may want to skip it. My next chapter might be delayed as well as I'm in the middle of my A-level exams but I will do my best to make sure you're not waiting as long as you were for this one. Enough excuses. Many thanks to all who read and reviewed the first chapter. Your reviews were very helpful on days where I just couldn't get motivated. R&R. Baueros.
"You miss her don't you?"
Light jumped hearing the voice. She turned round to see Hope standing still, gazing softly at the dancing colours across the crystallised column supporting the weight of the slowly rebuilding Cocoon.
"Who?" Light asked innocently looking back to the column.
"Fang." Hope said, walking over to sit quietly beside her.
He glanced over to her the light blush in her cheeks answering even before she did.
"How could you tell?" Light replied, glad to finally have someone to talk to.
"Just look for the signs and it's obvious." Hope Laughed.
"The others don't know do they?" Light asked suddenly worried.
"I doubt it." Hope replied allaying her fears. "Sazh isn't thick but he puts your reactions when she's mentioned down to you and her often taking watch together and consequently she knows you best, even if he does realise I recon he thinks it's just his imagination and he's too busy with Dajh to do anything about it anyway. As for Snow we both know he's about as emotionally receptive as a brick to the face."
Light laughed lightly.
"Serah must have realised something's wrong though." Lightning mused.
"Why's that?" Hope asked looking over curiously.
"She delayed the wedding until I'm 'feeling better'." She said.
They sat in silence for several minutes, watching the light change as the setting sun continued to reflect off the crystal colours dancing across the open expanses of Gran Pulse shining on their skin.
"You miss her don't you." Light said a small smile appearing on Hope's lips as he recognised his own words.
"Vanille?" Hope asked. "Of course."
He laughed as Lightning looked taken aback by his open admittance of his feelings.
"I don't think the others know either, Sazh might actually, but I thought you'd have realised sooner. I know Fang knew." He said happily. "That Van and me are an item. Well were." He finished quietly when she still looked confused.
"So that's..." Light began realisation dawning on her face.
"Why it took us ages to get firewood?" Hope cut across lightening up again. "Why we always took the guard shift together? Why we'd run off ahead and appear behind you saying we got lost? Yeah."
Hope smiled mischievously, the distant look in his eyes telling Light that he was reliving the memories.
"What about you and Fang?" he asked eventually.
Light stayed silent.
"You ever tell her?" he pressed tentatively.
"I don't know." Light said after a small pause. "I tried to but I don't think she heard me."
Hope stayed silent comforting her just with his presence, his hair rustling slightly in the slight breeze that had picked up. Lightning sighed and lay down facing straight up at the sky, deep in thought.
"You could still hear them right? At the end." Light asked.
"Yeah. For a small amount of time at least." Hope replied.
"I tried to tell her then, I don't know if it was before or after we lost contact as I got no reply."
Hope nodded understandingly, remembering his own uncertainty of if Vanille had heard his final desperate plea for her to come back, not to leave him alone again, uncertain if his father was alright, only his mentor and idol sharing his pain although he hid what he knew at the time.
"Think we'll ever see them again?" he asked evenly.
"I don't know." Light said. "I honestly don't know. I like to think so though."
"Because of the vision?" Hope asked referring to their brief time as Cieth.
Light fell silent as the memory flooded back to her.
"Miracles out of misery. You've got to be kidding me." Sazh said striding towards Orphan pistols drawn.
"Yeah Fang." Hope said casting a curesa into Fang revitalising her so Snow could put her down. "Who's dumb enough to swallow that old crock?"
"Sure, we've all had better weeks" Lightning added striding forwards, gunblade currently in its gun form levelled squarely at Orphan.
"You're alive?" Vanille said shocked.
"But you can't be." Fang stated unable to hide the surprise from her own voice.
"Could be more fal'cie smoke and mirrors." Lightning agreed the serious tone in her voice proving that nothing was further from the truth.
"Fang, I'm sorry." Snow said turning to the pulsan women sombrely.
"We made you go it alone." Lightning raised her hand holding Kain's lance firmly offering it to fang her voice softer than normal and apologetic.
"Second time now isn't it" Fang said shaking her head.
She placed a hand on her lance nodding at Lightning determinedly who returned the gesture before releasing the weapon to Fang.
"But where were you?" Vanille asked confused voicing Fang's own question.
"Somewhere cold and dark," Hope answered his focus never leaving the Cocoon fal'cie they were fighting. "Just thinking about everything that happened up until now. And then... and then it was like-"
"It was like-I had a glimpse of the future. Everyone was smiling and laughing." Snow cut across him gazing off into the distance. He reached into his back pocket and pulled out Serah's tear. "Even Serah. Even Light."
"I don't know. It was a new focus, or something." Sazh added. "You know, I'm thinking, didn't make sense of course. I mean, knowing we were worm bait and all, but. As luck would have it, next thing I know I feel somebody pushing me right along."
"You were there to Fang." Light said turning to face her, her expression soft. "Same side. All of us. Together to the end."
She smiled as she looked back on the memory. Maybe there was more hope of seeing them again than she had dared to let herself believe. We came back. She reminded herself, what was to say that Fang and Vanille wouldn't as well. And since the fall of Cocoon more and more crystallised l'cie had been coming back from their crystal prisons. Even Cieth stones were beginning to revive however small parts of the original stone remained still showing marks and acting as way-stones.
"I'd forgotten about that." Light said honestly. "Now I'm certain we'll see them again"
"Maybe all they need is for some help." Hope suggested. "Maybe we just need to prove we need them for them to come back."
They sat in companionable silence watching the last of the light dancing over the open plains as the sun finally set bathing Cocoon's wreckage in a halo of light.
"How would we do that?" Light asked eventually.
"I'm not sure." Hope said honestly, "But digging them out is a good start I think."
"And what do we do when, if, we find them?" She asked.
"I don't know." Hope mumbled looking downcast.
"What do we do then?" Light repeated. "Just add to the torment of being unable to be with them?"
"I DON'T KNOW" Hope yelled at her. "But I refuse to sit here and just hope. I can't just do nothing."
Lightning just sat still looking taken aback by his sudden outburst and the emotion in his voice. Hope waited with bated breath hoping that he hadn't just offended his mentor and friend. Light's expression softened and a smile played across her lips.
"I taught you well." She ruffled his hair making it messier than normal "Give yourself an objective and stick to it."
"You mean you'll help?" Hope asked slightly surprised.
Lightning hesitated for a second.
"Yeah. I guess I do." Light smiled properly at the thought. "Although I blame Snow for you being so persuasive."
Hope smiled up at her happily, his eyes shining; she could tell that he was struggling to hold himself back from hugging her. Lightning pulled him into a loose one armed hug instead.
"How many others have you asked?" she said releasing him.
"No one. Just you." Hope said. "I didn't think any of the others had enough of a reason to be persuaded to help."
"I understand. Next time we're both off duty we'll go and see what we can find and what we can do to get started." Lightning said in the exact same tone she had often used when assigning duties around camp when they had travelled together and Hope new even better after joining her unit in the Guardian Corps.
If anyone has any ideas for this story then please share them as well as I only know what is happening up to a point. Also I appreciate the start has been a bit slow but bare with me it should get better.