My Dear~ A Final Fantasy XIII Fanfiction
AzureKate
Lightning kissed Cid gently, her arms around him. He was smiling at her, and she was smiling at him. "I'll be back soon," Cid said, his forehead against hers. "It's probably nothing, there can't be anything on Cocoon. I'll be back in a couple of days."
"You better be. I've read books about this, when the man gets the woman pregnant and then runs away," Lightning said with a smile.
"You don't really think I'd ever think about doing that, do you?" Cid asked her.
"Nah, I guess not."
They hugged for a moment more before pulling away. "I have to leave now, they're waiting. Make sure you take good care of that little thing while I'm gone," Cid said, touching Lightning's stomach. She smiled and nodded. Cid looked at Serah as he started toward the door. "And could you make sure she doesn't do anything stupid while I'm gone?"
"Of course, I was planning on it, anyway," Serah replied with a giggle. "We all know how Lightning can be. Sometimes I think she forgets the baby's there."
"All right, I'll see you all in a couple days then," he said, opening the door to leave.
"Bye, Cid," Snow and Serah said.
"Bye, I love you," Lightning said.
"I love you, too."
And then he was gone, walking toward the distance where a small transport ship had landed, waiting to take him to the Lindblum. Lightning stood in the doorway, watching him walk away. She looked up at the ship in the distant sky and sighed. Once Cid was out of sight, she turned and went back into the house and right to the kitchen, feeling hungry. Serah followed behind her while Snow disappeared down the hallway. Lightning opened the cupboard and surveyed the food they had. Serah sat down at the table and watched her as she gathered the things to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. She stuffed so much of both between the bread that Serah giggled a little.
"Why so much?" she asked.
"I'm hungry."
"That hungry?"
"Yes."
Lightning took a huge bite of the overfilled sandwich and some of the jelly dripped from the back. Lightning wiped it up from the counter and licked it off her fingers before taking another bite. Serah laughed at her again and Lightning rolled her eyes. Snow reappeared with a crossword puzzle and sat down beside Serah, asking her a question about one of the words. Lightning stared at him, dumbfounded.
"Why are you doing a crossword puzzle?" she asked before taking yet another bite.
"I'm bored."
"Don't you have something to hunt? Don't you have to go pretend to be a hero off somewhere stupid?"
Snow looked at her, stared, and then resumed trying to solve his puzzle. Serah leaned over and helped him with the word he was stuck on. And then the two came to a word neither of them had any idea as to what it was. "Hey, sis"—
"Not your sis."
"Yes, you are," Snow snapped. "Now…what is a word for a 'chattery or flighty lightheaded person?'?"
"Hmm," Lightning thought about it as she took another bite of the disappearing sandwich. "Oh, I know this one. It's a flibbertigibbet."
"A...A what?" Snow asked.
"A flibbertigibbet. F-L-I-B-B-E-R-T-I-G-I-B-B-E-T."
Snow counted the letters and the boxes and stared for a moment as he realized the crazy word did indeed fit. He wrote it down with his pen and set the paper down on the table. Serah was giggling. Finally he mumbled, "What the hell kind of word is flibbertigibbet…and how the hell do you even know a word like that?"
"My friends and I used to have insult wars before my parents died. Some of our insults and name-calling were a little ridiculous."
"Ha, a little! Hey, what's the word for"—
"I have better things to do in life," Lightning said, waving him off and taking the remainder of her sandwich into the living room. She sat down and picked up Serah's new book, opening the cover. She engulfed the remainder of the sandwich and licked her jelly-covered fingers, wiping them on a tissue before starting to read. She made it through two chapters when there was a knock on the door. Serah called for whoever to come in and the door opened. Lebreau skipped inside, holding a book and looking cheerful. She went to the kitchen, not noticing Lightning.
Lightning could hear their conversation. "Hey, Serah, Snow. Is Lightning here?"
"I'm right here," Lightning called and Lebreau looked and did a double take.
"Oh! I didn't even see you!" she exclaimed, walking back into the living room. She held up the book for Lightning to see. The title read, "A Guide to a Successful Parenthood." Lebreau smiled and handed it to Lightning, who stared at it. "Look what I found! I thought you might want to read it."
Lightning skimmed through the book and thanked Lebreau, setting it down on the coffee table and reopening Serah's book. "I'll take a look at it."
Lebreau nodded and went to the doorway of the kitchen so Serah and Snow could hear. "We're all going swimming again later. Do you guys wanna go with us when we go?"
"Yeah, I'll go," Serah said. Snow agreed to go with her. Lebreau looked at Lightning.
"I'll pass today."
"Aww, okay, Lightning. Maybe next time. But if you get lonely here by yourself, since Cid is gone, you can come join us if you change your mind! And later today I'll be in the NORA house if you feel like just talking."
"Okay, thanks Lebreau. Sorry."
"Oh, no problem." She looked back to Serah and Snow. "We're going around four. Come and join us when you're ready."
"All right, we'll be there!" Serah said happily. Lebreau nodded and waved to everyone before leaving the house. Lightning continued reading the book. After another chapter, Serah walked in. "Oh! You're reading my book! Do you like it so far?"
"I guess," Lightning replied. "I don't think I'm far enough to be able to tell."
"I've read it already. The ending is great!"
"I'm sure it is," Lightning said, continuing to read.
"Well, Snow and I are going to go and get lunch at the NORA house. Do you want to come?"
"Hmm…I guess. I'm not very hungry though."
"Well, just tag along anyway. I don't want you to get lonely here all by yourself."
"Why is everyone so concerned with me being lonely?" Lightning said, closing the book and standing up.
"Well, Cid is gone," Serah replied with a shrug. She walked over to the door and put on her shoes as Snow appeared. He followed suit while Lightning ran upstairs, feeling a teeny bit winded, to grab a better shirt. She found one and quickly changed before leaving her room and gliding back down the stairs to put her shoes on. She took a minute to breathe before she followed Snow and Serah out the door. They walked together to the town square and across the beach to the NORA house. Serah and Snow were having a conversation with each other as they walked hand-in-hand, but Lightning was left out. She was too busy looking up at the sky. She found herself looking for the Lindblum even though she knew it wouldn't be there. She looked to the distant Cocoon, glistening and shining in all its crystalline glory. She tried to see if she could see the massive ship sailing toward or around it, but she couldn't spot anything. Then, caught up in all her gazing, she nearly tripped on the first stair up into the house with a gasp. Serah released Snow's hand and jumped back down the steps to her sister's side.
"Are you okay?" she asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine," Lightning said. "I was distracted."
"Since when is the great and almighty Lightning clumsy?" Snow asked from the top of the stairs. Lightning ignored him and walking up the stairs and into the house. Lebreau, who was behind the counter talking to another townsperson, smiled and waved at them.
"Hey, guys, long time no see!" she said sarcastically. Serah played along and acted like they hadn't seen each other in years. Lightning chuckled at them and sat down beside the other townsperson, who smiled and greeted her.
"So I hear you're pregnant," she said.
"Yeah, I heard that, too," Lightning said, fidgeting with a tiny wooden chocobo figurine that was sitting on the counter.
"Congratulations," she said. "Being a parent is so amazing. I have two children…they are the greatest thing that ever happened to me!"
"Yes, I'm…I'm looking forward to it."
In the corner of her eye she saw Lebreau smile and she and Serah started to whisper excitedly. Lightning rolled her eyes at them.
"I can't wait to see the little thing!" the woman said. "The whole village is going to be all over this, you know."
"Yes, the various NORA members have made that clear."
Lebreau giggled. Lightning looked as Maqui walked into the house, holding a gun. She realized Snow was nowhere to be seen. Maqui sighed in irritation and everyone else looked at him. He walked over to the gun rack and returned the firearm, before practically throwing himself down onto the couch. Lebreau smiled and walked over to him, her hands on her hips. She looked down at him.
"What's up?" she asked. Maqui sprung up, reading to spill his life story.
"This group of spiceacilians jumped me out of nowhere!" Maqui cried. "I was just walkin' along…all quiet and stuff. You know, just minding my business. And then all of a sudden I was ambushed! Seeing as how they were so pathetic I killed them quickly but there were so many!"
"Uh huh…"
"And there was a little group of like six nektons, too! And I swear they were laughing at me! And then they ran away!"
Lebreau laughed at him and ruffled his hair, irritating him. He let himself fall back onto the couch, burying his face in the pillow, mumbling "stupid ugly toads…someday…"
"Huh? Where did Snow go?" Serah asked, looking around. Snow was still nowhere to be found. Lightning glanced around but didn't care enough to continue searching. Lebreau walked to the staircase and looked around the beach, pointing off toward something that neither Lightning nor Serah could see from their places.
"He's over there. He ran away with Gadot," Lebreau said. Serah pouted and crossed her arms.
"Way to make me feel special."
"Want me to go kick his ass?" Lightning asked.
"No."
"It is seriously going to take us a while to get you to realize that there is a small child inside of you, isn't it?"
"I don't even have a bump yet."
Lebreau sighed and walked back around the counter. "So are you here for lunch or something?"
"I am," Serah said.
"I'm making some wacky sandwiches today. Want to try one?" Lebreau asked. Serah nodded. "Gadot insisted I put some new freaky meat on it. He didn't tell me where he got it from or what it is. He said he wanted us all to try it first." Lebreau gathered up the things to make it, including the new mystery meat, and began to make a sandwich for Serah. Being quick, Lebreau finished it quickly and handed it to Serah, who inspected it carefully.
"It smells funny," Serah said, staring hard at the meat.
"Yeah, tell me about it. I haven't tried it yet. I don't want to be the first."
"Oh, so I'm the guinea pig, here."
"Yes. Now eat it and tell me if you survive."
Serah rolled her eyes and took a bite of the sandwich. She chewed for a second, staring at the counter. Her fact scrunched up, and then relaxed, and she looked disgusted again, and then she looked like it was the best thing ever. And then she looked disgusted again.
"Make up your mind!" Lebreau cried, reading Serah's facial expressions. Serah swallowed the mouthful and sat for a second, apparently debating on what to say. She continued to stare at the countertop even when Lebreau asked how it was.
"I have absolutely no idea," Serah finally responded. Quicker than lightning, she took another bite and the whole sequence repeated. When she finally swallowed, she stared into space for a while longer, and then gave the same answer. "I have absolutely no idea. Where's Gadot?"
She sprang up, holding the sandwich, and left the NORA house, looking around for Gadot. Lightning and Lebreau followed, both thoroughly interested about the whole thing. Serah spotted Gadot, who was showing Snow something, and sprinted over to him. When she reached them she held up the sandwich and Gadot looked shocked.
"What kind of meat is this?" she asked. Gadot stared at her, apparently at a loss for words.
"Uhh," Gadot said, scratching his head. "I was kinda hoping Lebreau would try it first…"
"What kind of meat is it?" Serah repeated. Suddenly Snow looked panicked.
"What did you feed my wife!?" he exclaimed. Gadot backed off when Snow was suddenly all over him. "What was it, Gadot?"
Gadot whispered something in his ear and Snow suddenly looked disgusted. Serah inhaled and she looked at the sandwich nervously.
"What is it?" Serah asked, looking back to the men. Snow came over and swatted the sandwich from her hand, grabbing her and hoisting her up into the air like a bride.
"Babe, trust me…You don't want to know what it was," Snow said. "Come on, I'll get you some water."
Lightning watched as Snow carried Serah back into the NORA house. She looked back to Gadot, who immediately seemed to panic under her stare. "So what was the meat?"
Gadot walked over to her with shame painted all over his face. He leaned down and whispered into her ear what Serah had eaten. Before he had the chance to back away or run for his life, Lightning kneed him hard and he collapsed. She looked to Lebreau. "Get rid of all the meat. Burn it or something."
-Later that day-
"Lightning, are you sure you don't want to go swimming with us?" Serah asked, adjusting her bikini top. Lightning had resumed reading Serah's book and was about twelve chapters into it. She was getting into it and had begun enjoying it.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I might come along later if you're still out there. I want to read this," Lightning replied. Serah nodded and took Snow's arm. He led her to the door and stepped out, but Serah lingered for a moment.
"We'll see you later!" she said. Lightning waved and she disappeared, letting the door close behind her. She continued reading, enjoying the silence of the house. It wasn't often she had the house all to herself. Although she did love sharing it with Serah and Snow and especially Cid, she did enjoy being alone every once in a while. There were no overwhelming smells, no annoying oaf annoying her. She found herself thinking about how nice it was to be alone rather than actually reading the book. Finally she bookmarked her spot and set it down, and just daydreamed.
She jolted a bit as she was pulled out of her daydream when the phone suddenly rang. She sighed and reading over, taking the phone and bringing it to her ear.
"Hello?"
"Light?"
"Oh, hi, Hope. What's up?" Lightning asked, crossing her legs.
"I, uh, I was just bored. I thought I'd call."
"Just bored, huh?" Lightning asked, sensing he was calling for some other reason. "Is that all?"
"Yeah…"
"Well, how's school, since you're calling just to talk?"
"It's easy. I thought college would be harder."
"How'd you manage to skip grades?"
"I studied a lot."
"Maybe a lot isn't the right way to describe it."
"Well, yeah, the only time I wasn't studying was when I was going to the bathroom."
Lightning chuckled. "How's your father?"
"Well, uh…"
"All right, now I know why you're calling. What's up?"
"My dad's been getting mad at me a lot lately and I have no idea why. I just wanted to talk to someone other than him. Ever since not too long after I came home he's just been mad, mad, mad, and he's drinking a lot."
"Well maybe you should talk to him. Find out why he's mad at you."
"I tried to find out. He just yelled at me. He said something about being ignored and then stormed off."
"Hmm. Have you been committing all of your time—except bathroom breaks—to studying?"
"Yeah, I just told you that."
"Well, there you go. He thinks you're ignoring him."
"That's stupid…Oh, great, he's coming. Hold on a sec," Hope said. Lightning sank back into the couch a bit. She heard Hope say something in the background, and then she heard an agitated shout, obviously from his father. She couldn't understand what he was saying, but when Hope replied he sounded offended. His father shouted something again and she heard Hope cry out in what sounded like pain, a door slam shut, and then a stressed sigh. After a moment, Hope spoke to her again. "I'm sorry, Light…"
"Don't be," Lightning said. "There's nothing to be sorry about."
"Light, I really hate to ask this, but I'm on break next week. Can I come stay with you?"
"Huh?" Lightning asked, somewhat surprised. "Is it that bad?"
"Didn't you hear any of that?"
"Did he hurt you?"
"Can I just come stay with you next week?"
"Of course, Hope. No problem. Are you sure you don't want to talk about it?"
"Maybe when I get there…Thank you so much, Light."
"Sure."
"I'm sorry to bug you."
"No, no. You weren't bugging me."
"Well…I'll see you next week."
"Yeah…and Hope, if you need to come, you know, sooner… or you need to talk to someone again, I'm always here. They won't let me do really anything now that I'm pregnant. And I bet you'll probably get in on that once you're here…"
Hope chuckled, and Lightning felt a little relieved. "Yeah, probably. Something for me to do other than studying. And thank you so much, again, Light. I owe you. I promise it'll be like I'm not even there!"
"Really, it's fine."
"See ya."
"Bye."
Lightning hung up the phone and sighed. She stood up and walked to the door, putting on her shoes and stepping out into the now warm air. She walked to the beach where Serah, Snow, and the NORA members were swimming. It was a favorite pastime. She walked to the dock and Serah saw her. She swam over and looked up at her sister with a smile. "Hi, Lightning, you decide to come join us?"
"No," Lightning replied, kneeling down so she could speak quietly. "Hope just called me. He's having problems with his dad and he wanted to know if he could come stay with us next week, and I told him it was okay. That's not a problem, is it?"
"No, of course not," Serah said. "What kind of problems?"
"He didn't want to talk about it but I think his dad has been hurting him."
"Hurting him?" Serah asked disbelievingly. Snow suddenly jumped over, splashing Serah.
"If he's been hurting him, I'll take myself right over to New Palumpolum and whoop that man's ass!" Snow said angrily, having been listening. The other people swimming looked over to see what was up. Lightning shushed him and looked back to Serah.
"So, he's coming here next week."
"That's fine. He can sleep in the guest bedroom. Lebreau and I shouldn't have any trouble feeding another mouth, haha…it just means the beasts will eat a little less of the leftovers!" Serah said with a smile, trying to stay optimistic. Lightning nodded. "Now, you should come swimming!"
Lightning sighed. "Fine. But only if your stupid husband promises not to throw me around."
Snow laughed.
-That night-
Lightning lay in bed alone, with the pregnancy book in her hands. The lamplight was just bright enough for her to read the words. She could hear Serah and Snow having a hushed conversation in their room across the hallway. Both her door and Serah's door was open, so she would catch a few words of their conversation every so often. They spoke briefly about Hope, Snow once again threatening to attack Bartholomew, before Serah changed the subject. She giggled a lot and Snow laughed once, almost loud enough for Lightning to get up and go ask them to be quiet. Finally, she heard Snow get up from bed and close the door. And then she couldn't hear either of them anymore.
She focused on the book. She was reading about what she should do as an expecting mother and so on and so forth. She read for a while before she finally bookmarked her page and set the book on the nightstand. She looked at the empty spot beside her. She felt lonely. She knew that she should be used to sleeping alone every so often, but every time she had to, she would stare at the empty spot and wish he was there. She also always used two blankets when he wasn't there. She couldn't snuggle up to him to get warm, and she would get cold. So, she would make sure she had another blanket so she wouldn't freeze, which she had learned the hard way.
She tossed and turned and found she couldn't sleep. She stared at the ceiling, and starting thinking about Hope. She couldn't imagine why his father would be having problems with him. He lost his wife and almost lost his son—more than once. And now that he was back, he was getting angry and maybe even hurting him? Lightning tried to think of a reason as to why that might be, but failed. She finally ended up counting the swirls on the ceiling. When even that failed to tire her, she sat up and looked out the window and found herself looking right at Cocoon. Even during the night it seemed to glow. She found herself looking for the Lindblum again, despite knowing she would never see it, especially at night. She just looked at the crystalline world, and wound up thinking about Vanille and Fang instead. Would they ever be freed? Lightning hoped so. They have given up their mortal life to be imprisoned in time to protect the world and the human race. They deserved to see it, at least. If only they could come back to life for just one day to see the new world and all of the ex-l'Cie.
Lightning sighed and pulled her eyes away from Cocoon and looked to the ocean, instead. She got up and opened her window, allowing not only the cold air in, but the sound of the waves. She listened to that for a while before closing the window with a shiver. She returned to her half-empty bed and curled up under the blankets. She lay there for what felt like an eternity, with one hand in Cid's empty spot. She finally warmed up. Placing her other hand on her stomach, she thought about her baby.
And she finally fell asleep, and had a dream about the day the baby would be born.
As I was playing through FFXIII-2 I thought it was funny Hope never mentioned his father at all. Especially when Hope left behind his dad to go 400 years into the future. He never even talked about him or anything! He didn't seem bothered at all that he had to leave his father behind. So, I'm kind of building up to that in my own way, since I do plan for this story to take a turn into a storyline more like XIII-2 rather than a lovey-dovey XIII sequel of my own…Oops! I've said too much!
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm hooked back on XIII…I'll try to get another one up before I completely forget about it again! Thanks for reading!