Author's Note: Hey! If you're celebrating the holidays, I hope that you are having a good one! I wanted to thank everyone who has been keeping up with the story, sending in reviews, and adding this to your favorites and alerts. I'm glad to hear the feedback. I hope that you will enjoy the next chapter!

Chapter 4: The Offer:

Inside a secret military room in New Bodhum, high ranking soldiers were sitting in a discussion about a problem that had come up. In her chair at the table, Lightning had her arms and legs crossed as Fang was seated beside her. Both of them listened in on one of the soldiers informing them about the new mission they have. After their briefing was over, the two of them headed outside. Fang placed her hand on her side. "So? I guess it is official. We are now on the lookout for this mysterious Director and the Academy will send us more information soon."

Lightning stopped as she looked toward the ground. "It doesn't make any sense how you could just lose someone like that."

"Don't worry about it. Just be on the lookout. Anyway, what are you going to do on your days off now? Maybe have fun with a certain new guy?" Fang leaned forward toward her, interested. The pink haired soldier closed her eyes as she sighed and walked away. She wondered why Fang still had to be on that subject. A smirk came across Fang's lips as she watched her walk off into the distance. "Oh come on! It was just an idea!"

During the afternoon, Lightning stepped outside of her door onto the steps. Her arms stretched up into the air, relaxing on her day off. Once she looked around, a confused expression appeared upon her face. For some reason, there were women walking nearby her yard without crossing over into it. Some were standing around gazing from far off. When she followed the direction of their eyes, she saw a ladder on the side of the house. Her eyes traveled upward to see Hope on top of the roof working alone. Her confusion was soon replaced by a dull look as she let out a sigh. Seriously there couldn't have been women standing close to her yard just because of one guy. Pushing that thought aside, she wondered if there was something she could do to help. For a few seconds, she thought about it before she decided what she wanted to do.

Hope continued working until he heard something nearby. When he looked over, he saw Lightning crawling on the roof next to him. He was surprised, not expecting her to come up there with him. "Hey."

Lightning sat on the edge. "You need any help?"

"If you want." He took some time to explain what he was doing and how she could help. Afterwards, Lightning started crawling further upwards than he was which he began to get concerned. "Be careful! It's easy to slip on a surface like this."

She glanced back at him. "I got it. I'll be fine." Afterwards, she continued going up. Hope wanted to stop her still worried about her safety but he kept his words to himself. Soon, he realized that his eyes were staring toward her hips. It took some time to tear his eyes away but finally he turned them to the side nervously, thinking that it wasn't right to stare too long. Lightning looked around on the roof until she caught sight of something he told her to watch out for. She pointed to the spot. "Hey! I think I found a weak point." She was about to move over to it when suddenly she felt her foot slip. Unable to stop herself, her body began to slide down. Her fingers tried to grab onto something but there wasn't really anything she could grab on to.

A worried look came across Hope's face. "Light!"

Lightning turned her body over to where she was sliding on her back. At least that way she could try to land on her feet when she hit the ground. Before she could fall off the edge, she felt herself stop. During her slid, her body became aligned with his. Quickly, he reacted. With one hand, he grabbed onto the edge of the roof so that the force of her couldn't knock him over the edge and he could catch her. Fortunately for both of them, Hope managed to hold on to the edge and kept both of them on the roof. One of his hands pressed against the middle of her back as the other grabbed the back of her leg. Her arms were wrapped around his neck as they rested on top of his shoulders. Hope sighed with relief. "Are you okay?"

Lightning was surprised by his catch but more with how she was sitting with him and how close they were to each other. Her legs had him caught in between them near his waist. "Yeah." She got over her hidden nervousness somewhat and thought of some way to help ease the tension. A frown came upon her lips. "Don't even think about saying I told you so."

A smile appeared on him. "Really? Not even a little?"

"No." she replied as she looked serious.

Hope moaned playfully in disappointment as he held his head down. "Fine..."

The playfulness even got Lightning to smile a little. "I doubt that you still want me up here."

The silver haired man lifted his head to her. "You can still help. I just won't be able to catch you every time."

Afterwards, things grew silence but their smiles remained in longer. As they stared toward each other, they tried to read what the other was thinking but more than that, what should they do about the situation they were in. Should they break away or stay as they are? As time continued to pass, they weren't sure how long they been the way they were. Still, they felt that someone had to make the first move to do something. Getting captivated in her eyes, slowly but cautiously he began to lean over toward her. She didn't move nor stop him. Thoughts came into her mind that they shouldn't and that she should move right then, but her body wouldn't response. Instead, it stayed still as it was. Once she felt they were inches apart, her eyes lowered. Her blue eyes couldn't break away from his emerald ones. Her lips parted a little along with his as she felt his warm breath on her lips. As she felt the moment upon her, she let her eyes closed and waited for it to overtake her.

"I didn't know that was the new thing now!" Interrupted, they immediately looked over to see Fang from down below watching them. "I don't know if I would do anything like that on a roof in the middle of the day but whatever you're both into!"

Lightning shook her head as she closed her eyes wondering why Fang stopped by this time. Hope smiled as he turned his eyes over to Lightning. "Hold on. I can get you down from here." She wanted to object and tell him that she was perfectly capable of getting down herself, but the words were never spoken out loud. Instead, she nodded. "Okay."

"Hang on to me tight." Her arms held onto his shoulders and neck as he placed one arm underneath her legs to hold her against him and the other to climb down the ladder. The moment they almost shared between them, they let slip away and pretended as if nothing was going to happen. Once they were close to the ground, Lightning jumped down and landed feet first. Right away she headed over to Fang and pushed her away by her shoulders before she could start making smart comments and jokes. Fang grinned silently. "What?" She turned around to her.

Lightning crossed her arms as she looked upset. "Don't start."

Fang shrugged and placed her hands on her hips. "Don't start what? I think it was better that I stopped you two from committing public indecency."

"Nothing was happening."

"Whatever you say. You know. I think I'm starting to understand why you have been using him."

Lightning didn't follow where she was getting at. She didn't think she was using Hope. "What do you mean?"

Fang looked over and smiled. There was only one conclusion she could come up with. "I think you might actually like him."

Lightning couldn't believe that was her one answer. Her eyes turned away from her. "That's stupid."

"Is it really?" Lightning sighed and looked over at Hope who was sitting back on top of her roof. She placed her hand on her hip as she began thinking. As she watched him, the same thought that she had been carrying around in her mind came back. Fang noticed her lost in thought. "All right! What's rattling around in that brain of yours?"

"Nothing." Lightning figured that she could solve it on her own.

Fang looked intrigued. "Really? You just staring at him or you just won't tell me what you're thinking."

"Even if I told you, why would I listen to what you have to say?"

Fang leaned forward so that she could see Lightning's face. "You do know when you actually listen to me, I'm right." Lightning pressed her lips together not ready to comment on that. Her eyes turned away. For days, she was unsure about what to do. "Come on. If you're not going to tell me then who else are you going to tell?"

Lightning frowned. "No one."

Fang sighed as she closed her eyes. She placed her hand over her face. "You really hold too much back-."

"It's about Hope."

Fang looked surprised. Finally, Lightning changed her mind and decided to let her know. Now they were getting somewhere. "What about him?"

On the inside, Lightning was a little concerned about the situation. "He thinks that he might have to move soon but he's not exactly sure where he can go."

"I know you're going to miss all that free housework." Lightning turned silence which Fang noticed again. "What else were you going to say?"

Lightning's eyes drifted off to the side. "Well…Serah came up with an idea that I wasn't thrill about at first but…"

"What's that?" Fang asked curiously.

Lightning looked over at her. "Well…I don't know if I should maybe… rent a room out or something."

Fang crossed her arms as she looked at Hope. "Hmm… let's see. Extra money. Free house maintenance. You like him. It almost seems like you're taking advantage of him. You trust the guy?"

At first, Lightning glanced toward the ground but then at Fang. "He hasn't done anything but help and Serah likes him a lot. He's helping her out with school and stuff. She's actually having more fun when he's around." She didn't want to admit it but she noticed Serah smile a lot more now than when it was just the two of them.

"He's even helped Vanille with school. She said that he was fun and nice. I say lay down the laws of Lightning and see what he thinks about it."

Lightning was interested to hear her opinion. "You don't think it's weird having a guy stay over like that?"

"You might be right. You might end up liking it too much. Once things get complicated, you'll have no choice but to kick him out of the house."

"I'm serious."

Fang grinned. "It's up to you. It might be something good and it could be something bad."

"I know that he has to leave earlier from here because his house is across Bodhum and he has to walk at night alone."

"So you're just looking out for him?" Fang could see a little of her concern. She gave her a nudge with her elbow. "Now when did you become a big softie?"

Lightning frowned. "I'm not."

The smile on Fang's lips grew bigger. "Can I move in with you too?"

Lightning rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Please. I rather choose him over you."

"One day, your mean comments are going to get to me and what would you do without me then?"

"Be happy."

"You know one more advantage of him staying? His room won't be too far from yours so you could sneak in any time you want."

Lightning walked forward. "Thanks. I'll keep that in mind." she replied sarcastically.

As they walked over, Hope climbed down the ladder and jumped down onto the ground. The two women stopped in front of him. He smiled toward Fang. "Hi!"

"Hey! Still won't change your mind about that drink with me?"

His nervous smile returned. He could see that she still wasn't going to let that go. "Probably not any time soon."

Fang sighed as she looked disappointed. "She has you on a tight rope doesn't she? All the housework she's making you do."

Lightning didn't believe that she had him on some kind of rope. "Don't listen to her. She wasn't raise in civilization."

Hope was surprised. "What do you mean?"

Fang didn't seem to take offense by it. "It's her cruel little joke. I wasn't born here on Cocoon. I was born on Pulse in a village along with Vanille."

Hearing that, Hope became interested in learning more about her and where she came from. "Oh! I would like to hear about that sometimes. I don't even think I've been to all the places on Pulse."

"Ah! So you have been? I could show you around sometimes when I get a chance." Fang placed her hand on Lightning's shoulder. "Anyway, I just came to see how this one was doing on her day off. Lucky." She turned to Lightning and smiled. "You don't have to worry now. I think that you scared all the women away when you pulled that little stunt of yours. It's hands off for them." Afterwards, she took off walking, leaving Lightning and Hope behind alone. Hope was confused as to what she meant by that. "What was she talking about?"

Lightning turned around from him. She knew exactly what she was talking about and thought it was best not to bother Hope about it. "Like I said. Ignore her." She was about to head back inside when she suddenly felt her arm being grabbed. Her eyes looked back to see Hope with a serious but concerned look. Lightning turned to him as she wondered why he stopped her. "You got scratched up there when you slid. You should probably take care of those. There's no telling what has been up there and how long."

She took her arm away. "You worry too much." She began walking and Hope followed behind. Out of the corner of her eyes, she noticed him. "Not working on it anymore?"

"Thought I would take a break. Is it all right if I take a shower again?"

There was no need for him to keep asking. "I told you before it's okay." They stepped inside and went their separate ways. Lightning went to shower in the hallway bathroom while Hope used the one in the same bedroom as before. Lightning was done first and got dressed right after. As she sat on her bed in her room, she began to think about the move in situation she discussed with Fang earlier. Would it be all right for him to stay for a short time? She didn't think that Serah would have a problem with it and it would help him after he helped them. The only disadvantage would be if some part of his past that she didn't know about was bad and the possibility that it could hurt or affect them in some way. The only way to ease the questions on her mind was to talk to him personally.

She stepped into the hallway and knocked on the door to see if maybe he was out of the shower. "Hope?" She opened the door and saw him sitting on the bed in just a towel wrapped around his waist. She was just glad that she didn't walk in on him changing. "Sorry. I thought that you were done."

Hope smiled. "It's okay. I just got out. What's up?"

Lightning's eyes drifted toward the side as she debated whether she should discuss what she was thinking now. Then, she decided that she would wait until another time. "It's okay. I'll say it later." She was about to walk away but Hope called her back. "Wait." Lightning stopped and looked back. "I…have a surprise for you."

A surprised look became written on her face. She had no idea what it could be. He held out his hand at his side. "Please. Sit." She walked back in and sat beside him. Hope reached away from her onto the floor. Lightning leaned over curious as to what he was getting. Then, he placed her gun blade on his lap and rechecked the work he did before he handed it to her. As she placed it on her lap, she looked at the area that he talked about repairing. "You fixed it. When did you do this?"

"When I had some time at home. I hope it's okay. You should test it out." He wanted to make sure that it was completely fixed.

Lightning nodded as she made a mental note to test it out later. She placed it on the bed out of the way. "Right."

Hope reached over and grabbed her hand. He flipped it over to where her palm was showing. There, he could see the red scratches she got from almost sliding off the roof. His eyes searched over and saw the marks still on her elbow. "You should take care of those."

Again, she could see that he was getting concern about her. To end it so that he would let it go, she stood up. "Fine." She left from the room and grabbed the first aid kit while he started changing. When she returned, all he was standing in were pants. Seeing that she came back, he sat on the bed and she sat in beside him. He took the first aid kit from her hand. Lightning watched as he opened it and started grabbing stuff from it. "I can do that myself you know."

"I know but I figured that it would be easier this way." Hope grabbed her hand and applied some antibiotic before bandaging it. He did the same for her elbow. She felt that it was unnecessary for him to go through the trouble but she was appreciative. "Thank you."

After he was done, he placed her arm back down gently onto her lap. "That could have been a hard fall if you would have hit the ground."

Again, she thought that he was getting worried over nothing. "I would have been fine."

Hope smiled. He would just have to believe her even if it was a long way down. "Whatever you say."

Lightning looked at him debating again whether or not she should say what was on her mind earlier. Now would be a better time than later. "Hope?"

"Yes?" he asked curiously.

"There's something that I wanted to say to you." Her eyes traveled toward the ground. "I've been thinking about it for a while." As she sat there, she thought about how she could phrase what she wanted to say but she knew there was a quick, direct way to say it. It was just a matter of getting the words out. Suddenly, she felt something touch her hand. When she looked over, she saw his hand on top of hers. "What is it?" Lightning raised her eyes to him, her words now temporary stopped. He smiled as he looked down. He lifted her hand from her leg and held onto it. "Your hands are soft."

With all the things she had done in the military, she was surprised to hear someone say that. "I don't see how." Once things turned silence, she found her eyes locked with his. There was still a gentle smile on his face. His thumb stroked across her skin. Usually, she would have avoided getting close like this but she didn't react immediately by pulling away. It took a few seconds but she moved her hand away from him. Then, Hope's eyes turned to the side. He felt that it was right for her to take her hand away. "This isn't right. What am I thinking?"

Lightning leaned over looking at his face. It seemed as if something was heavily weighing on his mind. "Something wrong?"

He turned his head to her. "No. It's nothing. Just…" Once his eyes caught glimpse of hers, he found himself stopping again. His words vanished. The feelings inside were starting to overwhelm him. She stared at him curiously. "Just…what?"

"You..." he whispered. Just once would it be all right to give in? Closer, his face moved toward hers. Her eyes traveled between his eyes and lips. At first, she was surprised by his action. She leaned back a little. "What are you doing?" she spoke softly between them. When Hope tried to think of an explanation, his mind came up blank. He was going based off of feeling. "I don't know."

Gently, he pressed his forehead against hers as the tips of their noses touched. Her eyes began to lower as she breathed out. She raised her hand and pressed it against his chest. Instead of pushing him away, her hand just stayed there. The tips of her fingers lightly brushed against his smooth skin. She shifted her body in closer to his, leaving no space between them. He placed one of his hands at the arch in her back while his other hand moved in underneath the pink strands of her hair hanging over her shoulder. The top of her short sleeve jacket became pushed further down her arm by his hand rubbing over her shoulder. He moved in but she moved back before he could catch her. His eyes opened partly to hers to see that she was staring at him. A faint smirk appeared on her lips. At that moment, he realized that this had become a game of cat and mouse. In return, his lips curved into a smirk as well. If he wanted her, he had to capture her.

At first, Lightning wasn't sure about letting him do this but then, she found it fun to just play around with him and afterwards, maybe it would be okay if it happened.

This time when Hope tilted toward her, she didn't move away. As much as his lips wanted to connect with hers while he still had her, he held back, thinking that he shouldn't. Finally, he closed his eyes as he pressed his forehead to hers again. Feeling that he was holding back, she placed her hand against his cheek as she leaned in toward him. She wasn't ready to let this end. His face tensed as he was trying to hold on to the last bit of resistant that was left in him. "Maybe I shouldn't-."

"I'm back!" Once they heard the familiar voice, they immediate back away from each other and looked over. Serah stood in the doorway as she looked curious as to what was going on. Lightning adjusted her jacket back onto her shoulder as she seemed calm. "Hey." she greeted her.

Serah searched their faces, trying to read if something was happening between them but it seemed as if nothing was. They weren't acting out of the ordinary but as usual. All she saw when she came in was the two of them quickly turning to her. "What's going on…?"

Lightning pointed out of the door. "Nothing. Go sit your stuff down."

"Okay." Serah decided to let it go, thinking it was nothing and left from the room. Hope and Lightning stared toward the floor in silence. What almost happened between them was still fresh in their minds. The two began to question if they had feelings for each other and if the other felt the same way. How else could they explain neither one of them pulling away at that moment? Soon, Lightning thought of something else that was on her mind. Once she looked at him, she came to a decision. She stood up from the bed in front of Hope and crossed her arms. "You still looking for a place?"

Hope lifted his head. A part of his mind was still thinking about a few minutes ago. "Yeah… Why? Do you know any?"

"I might…" Her eyes drifted off to the side. Lightning questioned herself one more time before she decided to stick to her decision. Then, she turned her eyes over to him. "Since you spend most of your time here anyway, what if I…let you rent a room here?"

The offer she made took Hope by surprise. "I couldn't-."

"Of course you wouldn't be staying here for free." Hope looked away from her. He didn't want to impose but he guessed it was a possibility. It might be a risk staying with her with everything that was going on but he wasn't completely against the idea. His eyes returned back to her. "And you wouldn't mind?"

Lightning shrugged. It didn't matter to her either way. "If you want to, I could let you stay."

Hope remained silence as he started thinking. He had to admit that he was interested. "I guess…it wouldn't hurt. Are you sure?"

"Before you actually decide, don't you want to hear what you will have to do around here?"

"Sure." He thought that would be the smart thing to do before he decided.

Lightning sat down on the bed with her body turned to him. "First of all if there's something I need to know about you, then you should let me know right now."

"What do you want to know?" he asked.

Lightning looked serious. "Any criminal history?"

"Not that I know of. There's really nothing interesting about me." Lightning searched his face for any sign that he was lying but he didn't seem to be. So far, he didn't cause reason for suspicion. "If you stay here, you'll pay for rent, food, water, and anything else. You'll have to clean up after yourself."

Hope nodded. It wasn't any different than what he had to do at his own place. At least now, he would have her help. "Okay."

"And soon, you'll have to cook."

Hope let a groan slip out. "Oh come on."

"Do you know how?"

"Maybe." He wasn't going to give her a definite yes or no yet.

"So? What do you say?"

Hope looked toward the floor. It didn't sound too bad. It was a little different than living by himself but this time he would have more help. Not only that but he wouldn't be alone anymore. This could be just the way to help him stay hidden. "What's your price?" After discussing it, they came to an agreement. Hope smiled, glad they got that settled. "All right. I'll move my stuff here."

Lightning stood up and headed for the door. "This will be the room that you'll be staying in." Before she could leave, Hope spoke again. "Before you go, can I ask you something?"

She stopped and looked back. "What?"

"It doesn't seem like you stay in this room. Who does this one belong to?" For a few seconds, Lightning remained silence as she thought back. Hope noticed a hint of sorrow in her eyes. "This room it…it belonged to my parents."

He didn't realize that the room was important. "Oh! Are you sure? I could-."

"It's fine. I said you could stay so you can stay." Hope was still unsure but he felt more at ease that Lightning said so. "Thank you for letting me stay here." Soon after, she left the room.

That's it for this chapter! The next chapter will be up next week. For now, I hope that you like this one. As always, let me know what you think~

Stand by: Do you like the Final Fantasy 13 series and want somewhere to express an open opinion about it or let your voice be heard? I'm interested in starting a forum here on the site and wondered if there are people who would like to get in on friendly discussions whether fun or serious. If you are interested, please let me know. Anyone welcomed! Thanks!