A/N:

Alright! Let's get this show on the road! This chapter is one I've been looking forward to writing, as it is from Light's point of view.

Thanks to those who reviewed, I really appreciate it. I hope that this chapter will live up to your expectations.

"Serah? I'm back!" Lightning called through the quiet house, carrying a good amount of grocery bags on her arms while keeping the door open and therefore unable to hit her with one booted foot. At Serah's request, she had made a trip to the store to pick up a few things for dinner and now she was back, out of breath and irritated because the cashier kept her waiting while he talked to his girlfriend. What happened to a good work ethic?

"Serah?" She called again, louder, Serah's lack of response seeming strange to her. The younger pink haired sister rushed into the room with her finger to her lips in a silencing motion, a hint of anger in her eyes.

"The kids are all sleeping! You'll wake them up!" She said in urgent and irritated whispers, placing her hands on her hips to emphasize her unhappiness. Don't irritate momma bear…

"Ah, I'll try to keep it down. Here's what you asked for," Lightning said, setting the loaded grocery bags on the counter and marveling at the amount of food she had bought. "Now, why is it that we needed this much food, Serah?" She asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"We're having company, Sis, didn't I tell you?" She said sweetly, plastering on an innocent looking expression on her face. That look sent off some serious warning bells for Lightning.

"Serah," Lightning said menacingly, stepping closer with an unconsciously powerful aura. It had the desired effect, causing Serah to cower a little and put her hands up in a pleading gesture. "When were you planning to tell me? Who is it?" Lightning demanded, gritting her teeth slightly in annoyance.

"Relax Sis," Serah chuckled nervously, "It's just Hope, he's okay, isn't he?" She asked backing a bit further away and finding her back against the wall.

Lightning snarled. "Fine, I'll go home and cook for myself,"

"Sis, don't be that way! Stay!" Serah pleaded.

"Auntie Light? Will you stay with us, please?" A small voice called, the source tugging lightly at the edge of Lightning's skirt to make her presence known. Lightning had to smile a bit when she saw the timid look on the young girl's face.

"I suppose, since you said please," Light said in clear surrender, picking Ame up and hugging her close. Lightning definitely had a soft spot for Serah's kids, she just couldn't help herself.

"Aw, how touching, Sis! Didn't know you had it in ya!" Snow said, totally ruining the moment. Lightning smiled a wicked warning smile at him before setting down Ame and punching him in the shoulder. He tried his best to tone down his language in front of little ears. Lightning figured she was being generous by not knocking him to the floor in front of his child, and the look on her face told Snow that as clearly as if she had spoken it aloud.

"Get along, children," Serah said with a grin, giggling a little.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Snow and Lightning both asked at the same time. They turned to look at each other in irritation. Lightning turned away from him and crossed her arms over her chest with a scoff. Snow looked at Serah and shrugged.

As the two lovers were about to embrace, the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Light told them, thankful for an excuse to bail out when things were getting too lovey dovey for her liking. She rushed out of the kitchen and down the hall, hearing Snow mutter something about her being in an awful big hurry.

She opened the door to find Hope, as expected. He wore jeans and a black T-shirt that had a white video game controller on it saying, "I have control issues". His hair was as it always was, spiked and slightly messy.

"Come on in, Hope," She said, stepping aside to let him in, the picture of hospitality. His face lit up in a smile and he surprised her, pulling her into a tight hug. She awkwardly hugged him back, noticing for the first time how tall he had gotten. Lightning's head reached his shoulder. The hug ended as quickly as it had started and she let out a breath she didn't realized she had been holding.

"Smells good, Serah!" Hope called through the house. Light grimaced at the volume of his voice, remembering the twins were asleep. Sure enough, Hiro and Vedette began to call out for Serah.

"Since you two woke them up, you get to keep them busy until I finish dinner," Serah called, a conniving smile almost audible in her voice.

"I didn't wake them up!" Lightning countered, frantically hoping that she wouldn't have to entertain the kids. Ame was one thing, the twins another thing entirely. She would never admit it, but young kids were scarier to her than any behemoth could ever hope to be.

"Oh? But who forgot to tell Hope they were sleeping, Sis?" Snow said, grinning mischievously at Lightning from the living room.

"Jerk," she muttered.

"Come on Light, it can't be that bad!" Hope said, chuckling and placing a hand lightly on her shoulder. She flinched slightly at the contact, but realized it was a friendly gesture. She shrugged in surrender and led the way down the hall to the twins' room, Ame and Hope both following like little puppies. Lightning repressed the urge to laugh at them.

Hiro and Vedette both sprang up to rush at her and hugged her legs, smiling up at her. For some reason she couldn't figure out, these kids seemed to love her. Ame, feeling left out, hugged Hope's leg, earning a chuckle from him as he ruffled her hair lightly.

"Play, Auntie Light!" Vedette sang out, doing a happy dance. Her pink curls danced around her small face, looking very much like her name's inspiration, Vanille.

"Let's play house!" Ame suggested in her most confident and happy voice, all shyness washed away at the opportunity to have playmates other than her siblings.

"Not again!" Hiro said, stubbornly shaking his head.

"Pwease bwother?" Vedette asked, puppy dog eyes aimed for her brother. Hiro struggled a minute, many emotions flickering across his face as he looked at his sister. Finally, with a look of surrender, he agreed.

"You can be the mommy and daddy, since you're the oldest!" Ame decided, pointing to Hope and Lightning. Lightning's eyes opened wide with surprise, as Hope's likely did as well. They turned to look at each other, both knowing that once a child decides something; it's easier to go along with it than try to change their minds.

"Um, fine," Hope managed to spit out. Ame decided she wanted to be the maid and Hiro and Vedette would be the kids. This is going to be a long and dreadful game, Lightning decided, groaning and mentally hitting herself in the forehead.

"No, no, no! You've got it all wrong! Mommy and Daddy are supposed to love each other! Like this," Ame chided, placing Light's hand in Hope's. Lightning was shocked by her sudden change in attitude. Maybe she would grow out of the shyness after all.

Then she realized the situation she was in. Her hand felt strange being held in Hope's. A faint pink was painting her cheeks, and she found Hope's facial color mirrored hers. However, his hand tightened briefly on hers, causing some serious surprise on her part.

For the first time, Lightning was thankful to have Snow around. Just as she was contemplating the best route of escape and mapping it out in her mind, he yelled to the group that dinner was on the table. A sigh of relief passed Light's lips and she made her way down the hall.

"Uh, Sis?" Serah said, nodding toward Light's hand. She looked down in confusion, and then realized she hadn't let go of Hope's hand. Dropping his hand in embarrassment, she took a seat at the table.

Needless to say, Lightning's idiot brother-in-law tried to make jokes over the hand holding incident over the table. All of her thankfulness from earlier vanished as she kicked him a few times under the table, effectively silencing him, though she knew she would never live this down.

A/N:

This chapter was really fun for me to write. I dunno why, I just thought it was really cute. The kids got a little more attention this time around too. And a little interaction between Hope and Lightning, though nothing substantial yet.

Until next time.

-Micchi-Chan-