A/N: Despite myself, I wrote a second part. Enough people said they wanted a happy ending, that I caved and wrote a second happier part. I wont write another part though, because if the trend continues, the next one will be a Disney movie with OOC! XD
This one takes place a week or so after the first part.
This part is not as good as the first, I dont like it nearly as much at least. But big props my amazing boyfriend who beta-ed this into oblivion for me!!
Lighting looks sharply up at him; she takes a deep breath and shakes her head, "What?" She asks, "Hope, I thought we talked about this..."
"We did." Hope looks down at the ground, and then back up at her, the ghost of a smile on his lips, "I just, thought you'd like it." Lightning sighs and shakes her head. Reluctantly, she reaches out and picks the rose from between his fingers. She looks at it, just as beautiful as the last, "I saw the way your eyes lit up last time," Lightning tries to ignore him, "And I wanted to see it again." She sighs again and shakes her head.
"Hope, please," She reminds him, "Try to understand," The ex-soldier turns away from him and takes a few slow steps away before deciding to sit down. She hears Hope sit down behind her, and puts a hand on him shoulder, "I don't want you to think that I don't..." She brushes some hair behind her ear as she searched for the right words, "I don't want you to think I dislike you."
"I… I know," Hope shrugs slightly and tilts his head to the side. Their silence bleeds on for a long moment before he takes his hand away from her reluctantly, "I understand, I'm fourteen... and you're twenty one."
"Right." Lightning nods quickly, after a moment she touches the rose again. It luscious and full, she notices. This one is white, elegant and mature, strong. The last one was red, sporadic and passionate. She distantly wonders if he'll get her a pink one next. Slowly, Hope stands up and looks down at her.
"But I won't always be fourteen." Lightning turns to look at him, catching the glint in his eyes, doesn't get a chance to recognize before its gone completely, "I won't always be fourteen, but as long as it makes you happy, I'll keep bringing you flowers." he says, smiling at her with eyes alight. Lightning swallows hard and pinches off a petal, then another, and another. Hope watches the falling petals, fluttering down like snow, littering the dirty ground. For a moment, he simply looks at them. Lightning holds it up to the sunlight spilling out from between two trees, it grows a halo of yellow, and blocks the sun with a silhouette over the bridge of her nose. She spins it and bites her lip, searching for the right words to explain.
"Seven..." She mumbles, "I took off seven." She sighs, "And you don't even notice because there are so many, it's just a tiny amount. But if there were very few," She brings the flower up to her nose and inhales the sweet scent that always reminds Lightning of her grandparents, even though she doesn't remember them ever having roses in their house, "If there were only a few petals left , it wouldn't even pass as a rose." Hope nods slowly then snaps his eyes up to hers.
"You mean-" Lightning makes a small sound, "So... Someday, I mean... Y-You'd consider...?" She reaches into her bag and slowly pulls out the red rose from a few days ago.
"I always thought red roses as more... bold, I guess, childish in a way," She commented as she stood up and turned to him, she offered it out to him, "Perhaps you should keep your impulsiveness for later." Hope smiles at her and walks forward to take the rose from her, knowing she kept it is enough to warm his entire body.
He looks at the rose in his hand, "I guess I'll have to keep bringing you roses then?"
"No," She says, "Just... keep making me smile. That will be enough for now." She looks down at her white rose, and slides it into her bag, gives him one more small smile, and walks away.