Lightning...
The feelings that washed over him when he woke stuck with him all day. He went through his day at the Academy in a daze. Light said, she said, she loves me too...Maker, I fervently hope that was not a dream...my senusal, beautiful Light...what a woman. He knew despite everything, he would do anything to ensure that Cocoon stayed safe...he'd do anything for Fang and Vanille...but most of all he wanted Lightning home with him.
"Boss, what's going on?" Alyssa Zaidelle walked in, a silly grin on her face. "I've never seen you so distracted before. Silly boy, we have work to do! Ha ha!"
Hope rolled his eyes at her, while gathering up his paperwork and trying hard to look like he was actually doing something substantial.
"Alyssa." He growled. "Mind your business, would you? I have work to do, and I don't need you bothering me right now."
"Sorry, boss," Alyssa said softly. " Just wanted to lighten the mood."
"Well, don't." Hope said bluntly.
Alyssa turned and walked out of the room, clearly hurt, but Hope couldn't manage to feel apologetic. She's always around, harrassing me. Her lovesick teenager crap is just old. I have my true love, who cares if she's not here with me...I don't need anyone else's affection right now.
Hope sighed. Well, might as well go home. This day has clearly been a bust. Maybe a long walk will clear my head.
Walking through the trees, among the wildlife, took him back to the days of being a l'Cie, looking up to Snow and Light. It seems like forever now since he was that silly fourteen year old kid, terrified of his own damn shadow. And here I am now, he thought, Director of the Academy. While thinking of the l`Cie days, a certain memory popped into his head:
Lightning had just taken down her Eidolon, Odin. Panting with exertion, she turned to Hope. Thinking she was about to ream him out again, he panicked. `"I`ll do better, I`ll try harder, I'll..."
"Hope!" Light interjected. "I'm not going to leave you behind."
"Really?" he said, both relieved and flabbergasted at once.
"Hope, I promise to protect you. You'll get the hang of it."
"Light-uh, you too. I promise, I'll try to protect you too."
The feeling of her arms around him, in the conciliatory hug she had given him, gave him shivers now, just thinking about it. She smelled of sweat and roses. It may seem strange, how wrapped up in the past Hope was, but those days as a l'Cie caused irreversible changes in him. The chance to be a kid died with his mom.
Mom...I wish you were here now. You could help me make sense of this.
Getting home was such a relief. The quiet one bedroom hut he built himself from the ground up was modest, but sophisticated. Orange walls, plain furniture, lots of windows. Sparsely decorated. There were pictures of his mom, dad, and himself as a kid on side tables, but other than that, there weren't any photos around. It was too hard to relate to people his own age, people outside of the former l'Cie he'd grown to know so well, grown so close with.
Cuddled up into his single bed, drifting off into dreamland, he could only see pink hair and white feathers...
"Hope. Hope. I'm here. Are you listening? It's alright. Just remember that I'm still with you, and you can do this. Don't worry. Snow, Sazh, Serah, Noel...they haven't forgotten won't. And neither will I. Be strong."
Hope woke up in a cold sweat. That's right. I am Director Hope Estheim. I can do this. For Lightning.
