I forgot to put this into the last chapter, but thanks for the guess xxviolettxx - you were absolutely right! I finished reading Mitch Albom's 'The Time Keeper' a few weeks ago and I thought it was an appropriate book for Hope to be reading on the train. And thank you for the encouragement - I'll keep doing my best with this story!

I'd also like to thank all the people who have faved and followed Aftermath. Knowing that you like this fic and anticipate updates makes me even more eager to churn out chapters as fast as possible. If you've got any feedback or suggestions, do let me know!

And of course, a big thank you to my reviewers: MidnightFenrir, xxviolettxx, TheMysteriousGeek2345, and Guest No.1 (thank you, and I guarantee that you'll find out what Hope's issue is...eventually. ;D). Your reviews keep me going!

This A/N is a little long, but I hope that this chapter is worth it...please enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own FFXIII or its characters.


Aftermath: Chapter 4

After a few wrong turns (and some impatient murmuring from Lightning), they finally reached the place marked on Hope's road map – a narrow lane with houses along both sides. Sazh's house was a single-story villa, painted yellow, with a large garage beside it. Behind it she saw a wide open stretch of land, at least three times as large as the house, surrounded by a low fence.

They parked the car by the side of the road and walked up to the front door. Aside from the sounds of nature, the area was silent.

"Do you think anyone's home?" Hope's question mirrored her thoughts, and she shook her head briefly.

"Dunno. It seems pretty quiet." She rang the doorbell. When there was no response, she rang it again and tried to glance through the parted curtains around the window. "It's dark inside, too."

"He might be out," her companion suggested. But before she could respond, they heard the sound of footsteps dashing through the house. After a few moments, the door swung open and Sazh stood in the doorway. His clothes were covered in mud and he wore gloves on his hands, but his expression morphed into a familiar grin as soon as he set his eyes on his visitors.

"Soldier girl!" he exclaimed, pulling off his gloves. "Been wondering when you'd show up." He almost reached forward to hug her, but stopped at the last minute, realising that he would probably end up getting mud all over her pristine white shirt. So he settled for a handshake instead.

"Good to see you too, old man," she teased, an uncharacteristic smile on her face. She patted his shoulder with her free hand, her grin widening at the dumbfounded expression on his face.

He shook his head. "Lightning grinning…never thought I'd see the day." He stepped aside. "Why don't you come on in?"

As she entered the house, she heard him greet Hope as he trailed behind her. "And if it isn't Hope! Great to see you back to normal, kid."

"I'm not a kid anymore!" she heard Hope whine, and she bit back a laugh.

"Everyone's a kid once you get to be my age," Sazh sighed, closing the door behind him. "C'mon, I'll show you two around."

The inside of the house was mostly dark, lit in patches by the natural light that flooded in through the windows. They walked through a hallway and into a sitting room, where he instructed them to wait while he fetched them refreshments.

"You two must've come a long way, and I'm not lettin' you leave without a snack," he told them in a fatherly tone, before ducking out of the room. Lightning and Hope sat down in separate armchairs and silently looked around the room. The furnishings were simple – a few sofas and a centre table, and a television mounted inside a cabinet with a bookcase on either side. One of the cases was filled with novels; the other contained small figurines, some of which looked like they had been made by a child. Lightning smiled. 'Those must be Dajh's.'

"Where's Dajh?" Hope asked, echoing her thoughts, and she looked away from the bookscase only to see that Sazh had re-entered the room. He was holding a tray that contained a plate of sandwiches and three glasses of lemonade. He placed the tray on the table and sat down in a nearby recliner, leaning back and making himself comfortable.

"Help yourselves," he said, indicating the tray, and the two of them grabbed a glass each. Sazh picked up his own glass and took a small sip.

"Dajh's spending the day over at Vanille and Fang's place," he answered calmly. He then grinned as he watched their expressions change from relaxed to shocked in a matter of seconds.

"You know where they are?! Are they close by?" Hope asked excitedly, and Lightning fought to suppress her surprise as well. 'I didn't expect to find them this fast.'

Sazh nodded. "They live about an hour's drive away. They're plannin' on settin' up some kind of petting zoo, out here in the country."

"Well, Vanille always did like small animals."

"Now that you know they're here, I hope you two won't run out on me to go find them," Sazh joked.

"Of course not," Lightning insisted, shaking her head. "You're a friend, too. And we came here to visit you first."

He rubbed the back of his neck. "Well, I gotta say…I'm flattered."

They spoke for hours, asking Sazh about his life after arriving in the new world with his son. Lightning told him how Serah had tracked him down via the Internet. She had run his name through a search engine and found it on the repair shop's website. Upon hearing this, he laughed.

"So that's how you found me? And I'll bet you drove my car here, too."

When Hope nodded, Sazh turned to Lightning. "So? How's the kid's driving?"

A pause. Then, "He's reckless. He doesn't watch the road, and he drives with one hand when he thinks I'm not looking." She shot the younger man a mock glare, and the incredulous expression on his face was priceless.

"At…at least I can drive!" he retorted weakly, sitting up in his armchair and drawing himself up to his full height in order to look more mature. But the pout on his face made him look more like a child than Lightning had seen all day, and she shook her head with a faint smile, knowing that she had won this round.

By this point, Sazh was in hysterics. They turned to him as his laughter died down and he wiped a tear from his eye.

"Been a while since I last laughed that much," he said, still grinning. "You two sure know how to cheer an old man up."

"We weren't really trying-"

"You sure 'bout that?" He raised an eyebrow. "'cause if you weren't, then I'd say you've gotten a lot closer since I last saw you both. That exchange right there was proof."

Hope flushed slightly, shrinking back in his seat, and Lightning's cheeks turned pink. "And how exactly did that exchange prove anything?" she asked.

"C'mon. Even I could see through that fake glare of yours, Lightning." She gave him an icy look, but he only shrugged in response. "I'm just glad to see you're relyin' on someone else for once, is all."

"A-anyway." She cleared her throat, intent on changing the subject. "Why were you surprised when we said we found you through that repair shop?"

"Ah, that." He shifted in his chair. "I just tinkered around there for a little while. I got most of their cars and gizmos working pretty quickly. Then, they gave me a challenge – that jalopy you drove here. It was a wreck when I first saw it, but I had it fixed up in a couple of days. They let me keep it, as a present. If my name's on their website, they must've been really impressed."

"So…you don't actually work there?"

He shook his head. "I still drop by sometimes, but…farming's the only thing this old man's good for these days."

Hope looked at him with surprise. "You have a farm?"

Sazh grinned. "C'mon, I'll show you."


He led them into the kitchen and stopped in front of the back door. "This here's my pride and joy," he told them, pulling the door open to reveal the backyard. The entire plot had been converted into a large farm, surrounded by large bushes on all sides. An orchard had been planted near the back fence, and a few other trees were scattered between the small fields to provide shade. Each field appeared to be growing a different kind of vegetable – Lightning identified carrots, beans, cabbages, and various others.

"It's like Canopus Farms, only bigger," she whispered, stepping outside and looking around in awe.

"Mm-hmm," Sazh hummed in agreement. "Back then, I was in a real slump. Didn't wanna see anybody, so I hid myself and Dajh away on that cliff that no one could get to." He sighed. "But, you know, a man's gotta eat. So I came down every now and then, and I talked to the locals. Learned everything I could about farming from them, and I thought I'd try it out here."

"It really is impressive, Sazh," Hope told him, examining a nearby plant. "That orchard at the back though…did it come with the house? Those trees couldn't have grown that fast."

"You've got a good eye, son. All the trees were already here when we moved in. I planted everything else, though."

He gave them a brief tour of the farm, pointing out different fruits and vegetables. Because they were mostly self-sufficient, Sazh rarely needed to visit the nearby town for food, unless they wanted meat or other animal products. But because of this, he and Dajh had not had many opportunities to interact with other people. But one day, they ran into Fang and Vanille in town. Since then, the two "families" had kept in constant touch, visiting each other every weekend.

"I appreciate you comin' all this way," he told them seriously. "And I'm sure Vanille and Fang will, too. You should go see 'em – it's gettin' close to noon, so you'd better set out."

"But we haven't finished catching up yet!" Hope insisted. "There's still so much to talk about…"

"Don't worry about that," Sazh told him with a wave of his hand. "We can catch up at their place. I'll drop by later to pick up Dajh, so I'll see you two then."

Before Hope could interject, he said, "Oh, and you can take the car. I've got another one, anyway. Just…drive carefully," he finished with a wink.

Hope ran a hand through his hair, embarrassed. "You got it."


After saying their goodbyes, they set off once again, following the directions they had received from Sazh. The drive would be longer this time, but the route seemed more straightforward.

"It was nice seeing you act like a kid again," she told him as they drove along, the wind whipping through her hair yet again. He cast her a sidelong glance, puzzled.

"What do you mean, Light?"

"I meant to say that I got to see a different side to you, too, Hope." She smiled. "You weren't trying to act serious or mature – you really loosened up around Sazh."

"Well, he was always an easy person to talk to," Hope replied, not once glancing away from the road. "He…was like a father to me. To all of us, even during the few years after the Purge, before he vanished. It's hard not to be comfortable around him."

"So…" She hesitated. "Does that mean you're uncomfortable around me?"

He shook his head, his hair fluttering in the wind. "Of course not, Light. That's not true at all."

"So why are you always so serious around me? Why do you try so hard to act your age?"

He did not respond immediately. Then, she saw a faint blush spread across his cheeks. "It's…different when it comes to you, Light."

"How is it different?" She didn't understand – even his reaction didn't make sense. 'Why is he blushing?'

"I-" He cleared his throat, seemingly bracing himself for the words he was about to say. "I don't need to prove to Sazh that I've matured. He's seen it first-hand. But you…" A pause. "You've only ever seen me as a kid in person."

He took a deep breath and looked her in the eye, if but for a moment. "I-I want to show you that I'm capable of something more. That I'm old enough…and strong enough to protect you now."

Lightning did not respond for a few moments, as she processed his words in her mind. Then, her expression softened. She reached across and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't need to prove anything to me, Hope. I've already seen you accomplish so much during your lifetime, and I know that you're more than capable of protecting me. That is, if we ever need to fight again in this world," she finished with a short laugh.

He let out a soft laugh of his own. "…I guess you're right," he replied, still smiling faintly. Then, he broke eye contact and turned his attention to the road. Satisfied, she looked away from him and watched their surroundings, as she had done before.

'All this time he thought I didn't see him as an adult? Well, it sounds like he's convinced now.'

She did not see the look of disappointment that crossed his face when she looked away.