Hello again! This one took me a while... I graduated, turned 20, got a job, and went to a convention all in one month! I'm sorry, readers! But it's here!

Disclaimer I don't own...

The bright sun was out, but the bird's chirp was drowned out by the howling sound of the wind. Lightning awoke with a start, only relaxing she felt an arm around her waist tighten. She gave the small cave a once-over and duly noted how the fire had once again reclaimed its life. She peered towards the cave entrance; it seemed the remaining four were formulating a plan. She strained her ears to tune in on their conversation, but she only heard hushed mumbles. An angry grumble came from Snow, one that matched his face entirely. He must have been defending his point. Fang pointed out side and stared at Snow with a hard look, and it was obvious what they were discussing. They had to move out.

She saw Sazh put a hand on the blond brute's shoulder, and Snow knew he was right. She caught Vanille's worried gaze, but replaced it with a smile as soon as she realized she'd been caught. Light gave a tired sigh, and decided to focus on the teen curled up against her back. "Baby…Hope…wake up…"

He swung his free arm at the hand shaking him, and snuggled closer to Light. "No. I'm sleeping in…"

"Hope…it's time to wake up. We've gotta get ready for the day, okay? We've got work to do." She continued to shake the teen until he opened his green, tired eyes. He mumbled a few words of greeting before pulling on his jacket, and headed to the cave entrance. Hope walked past the others, not even noticing them in his tired haze, and stepped into the morning light of the outside. His slightly girlish shriek brought Lightning barreling towards the entrance sans weapon, and doing no favors to her injuries.

Hope stumbled back into the cave with cold, bare feet, and an embarrassed look on his face. "Cold! When the hell did that happen?" He pointed an angry finger to the green ground, now covered in frost. "The sky was clear yesterday! Why's it so cold?"

Fang pulled the teen up by the back of his jacket, and roughly patted the dust off of his form. "I told you! Pulse's weather changes fast! If we want to survive, we've gotta get out of here. And we can't wait any longer. We've gotta leave today, or we'll all die. We have to travel light, too. Take as little as we need with us." She tossed a log into the fire as she spoke, and nudged Light with her sandal-clad foot. "You, little missy, are gonna do what we say without complaints. Got it?"

Lightning opened her mouth to protest, but Hope's pleading green eyes forced her to rethink her answer. "…fine."
_

The pink-haired soldier had certainly not known what she had signed up for. The sun was high in the sky, though it gave little warmth. They had traveled quite a considerable distance, given their late start. Lightning had found herself being carried by Snow, and feeling quite childish. She hadn't had a piggyback ride in years. They alternated carrying her by distance traveled, and soon, it would be Fang's turn once more. Hope and Vanille were exempt from the Light-carrying task, as they carried the medical supplies and food. The silver-haired teen made sure to walk next to whoever was carrying his love, and usually kept one hand on her foot. He knew she hated being treated like luggage, so he tried his hardest to make it better for her.

"You okay back there, Sis?" Snow felt a quick tightening on his shoulders as the group started uphill.

"I'm as fine as I can be in my situation. Hope…?"

The teen perked up at the sound of his name. "What can I do for you? A-are you thirsty? In pain?" Hope scrambled throughout the supplies he was carrying for whatever she needed.

"Can I have some water? And…maybe..a cure…? My muscles are just a little bit sore…"

"Sure thing!" Hope handed her a leather canteen they had made on Pulse, and cast a quick cure onto her. "That better…? If that didn't work, then I'm sure Vanille has something…" He certainly couldn't carry her, so he had to help otherwise. "Are you hungry? I can get something to eat for you…or maybe you're cold?"

"Hope…I'm fine. All I need is for you to stay right by my side… Keep holding onto my foot. It's comforting." She reached her hand out to Hope, just barely reaching his head, and offered him a smile.

Hope smiled in return, reaching up to grab her hand. "Tonight, I'll make us a nice little fire and dinner…maybe find some fruit or something, and have a makeshift date! And then we can curl up next to the fire, and just relax…"

"A makeshift date…? That sounds nice… I've not been on a date since high school…"

"Really, now?" The blond man shifted the pinkette on his back as he walked. "Who took the ever-feared Lightning Farron out on a date? Who was brave enough to, I wonder?"

"None of your business, blondie."

"Aw, c'mon, Sis! I'm sure little Hope here's curious, too!" Said blond ruffled the boy's hair, chuckling when he received a weak glare. "See? He's curious!"

"Shut up, Snow. It was only a few dates, so it's not important. Besides, I like Hope much better than anyone I went out with in high school."

"Why, cause you know he's not just tryin' to score?"

"Didn't I tell you to shut up? Don't listen to him, Hope. But…if you really wanna know, I'll tell you later, okay?"

"Yeah…okay." Hope was curious. How many people had Light dated? All what had they done? Surely anything they did would outmatch what he could do, especially on Gran Pulse… He was just a wimpy fourteen-year old. He'd never been on a date before, so what could he do? All he knew was what happened in movies and on tv…and he couldn't do any of that on Pulse. The best he could do was make a pathetic dinner, and curl up under the stars by the fire…

Wait a minute.

Hope internally smacked himself in the head. Light didn't seem like the kind of girl that liked to be romanced by cheap movies and stereotypical city set-ups. No, she was a simple, yet…specific woman. She seemed like the type of woman who preferred more heartfelt things, rather than having money thrown around for her. In fact, she'd probably get mad at them for flaunting their money regardless. Hope smiled; he was in luck! He came from a wealthy family, but it didn't matter here on Pulse. He would make her anything she asked for, or at least try his hardest. Everything would be perfect tonight!
_

Later that evening, everything was almost set up for perfection in Hope's eyes. They had set up a camp in an essentially empty forest clearing after having travelled quite a long distance during the lighter hours. There were only a few birds and small harmless creatures scampering about the tree-covered ground as the pinkened sky turned dark. The group set up a large fire with a few tasty gorgonopsid legs. It wasn't much, but it worked. The silver-haired teen smiled at the woman curled up on his lap. He couldn't have asked for a better first date.

The pink-haired beauty switched her gaze to the two bright green eyes above her, and for a moment, she lost herself. "Do you think we'll make it back to Cocoon?" He voice was just above a whisper, but Hope heard her perfectly.

"I think…" Hope took a deep breath. What if she disliked his answer? He wasn't the pessimistic teenager from before, but… "I think that…even if we do make it back…we won't be welcome l'cie or not." Hope didn't like his answer very much, but it was true. Hope wasn't just some kid from PalumPolum. He was the son of a highly respected government official. He was a son that ruined his dad's career. Not only that, but they sought to destroy the world's primary official. Not all of the people of Cocoon would understand their reasoning, or ever attempt to. To Cocoon, they were the enemy, with or without power.

He was slightly shocked to hear her agreement after a long pause. "…you agree with me?"

"Yeah…I mean…I'd like to have things go back to the way they were, at least the everyday normalcy of life, but…that can't happen. Once we destroy Barthandelus, the majority of Cocoon will want us dead. And…we'll probably be forced to live in exile…"

"Lightning…do you think it'd be for the better if we just stayed on Pulse…? We could build a civilization up… Make our own cities and rules."

"…well…that's what we may have to do, Hope…" Lightning sighed, and placed a hand on his shoulder to pull herself up. "Would you mind helping me to the spring the others found…?"

Hope smiled, lifting himself off the ground. "Mhm!" He took hold of her arm and latched it around his shoulders, making sure she was holding on before helping her off of the forest floor.
_

When they reached the moon was high in the sky, and the stars were twinkling brightly. "It's beautiful out tonight, Hope… Could you ever see the sky like this in PalumPolum?"

"No…but when Mom and I went to Bodhum, I was pretty amazed the first night we went out to the beach… There weren't any bright, annoying lights from the city to invade the sky. We stayed out on the beach until eleven thirty that night…"

"Yeah…? Serah and I did that a lot… Our house was right by the shore… We used to lay blankets and sleeping bags on the floor right under this big window we had in the living room all the time. That was before Mom died, though… Before I joined the Guardian Corps, I'd let Serah sleep in my room. It was so hard for her back then…she was only twelve when Mom died…" Lightning took a moment to regain herself, finding comfort in Hope's arms. "But every night we slept under that window, Mom would bring us a mug of hot chocolate with exactly three big marshmallows."

Hope smoothed down her rose-colored hair, and placed a kiss on top of her head. "Maybe when all this is over, you could bring her some hot chocolate… That sounds like something she'd like, yeah?"

"Mhm. She'd love it.."

"..I know I don't really know her, and my first…opinions…of her weren't very good, but I think differently of her now. I'd actually really like to meet her. She…she almost sounds a little like my mom…"

"I can understand that. Serah's a very maternal person. And…I guess that's good, since she and Snow are hell-bent on having a big, happy family…"

A comfortable silence filled the air, except for the soft sounds of the nature around them. The light from the moon was bright, and Hope couldn't help but admire the way it lit up her features. How her porcelain skin glowed…how her eyes sparkled and held such light and beauty…how the corners of her mouth curved slightly upward in a small smile just for him… He wouldn't give this up for anything. His hand ran from the top of her head to her temple, slowly moving down to brush against the height of her cheekbone. Lightning copied his movements, only stopping to pull him into a passionate kiss.

It was overpowering and strong, but still gently and tender like a soft caress all at once. It felt like it lasted for hours, all in a simple embrace. They didn't part for a second, even when Hopes hands cradled her cheeks, once softly sliding down to her neck. She barely noticed his mouth leaving hers, moving to kiss down her slender jaw line, or how his hand started to unzip her turtleneck to trail ghost-like kisses on the soft skin.

She chuckled when his hand shakily felt its way down her side, resting on her hip. "You don't have to be nervous, Hope. It's just me."

Hope almost chuckled in response. "It's because it's you. I don't want to mess up or hurt you. I have to make it perfect for you.."

"Love…it's because it's you that I know it'll be perfect."

"Light…you don't know that. I could be horrible…"

"Nope. You'll be perfect."

"But…I don't know how…uh…good I am! I-I've never done that before…"

"But you love me, and don't want to hurt me. That's all you need to know.
_

The couple was awakened just before the crack of dawn by Fang, with a, "bright an' early, Lovebirds!" She took note of Hope's arm around the soldier's bare waist, and his jacket covering her shoulders and chest. She briefly wondered exactly what was under the red cape covering the pair's lower halves. Was it something she could poke fun at later? Probably, Fang deduced, eyeing the pile of clothes by an adjacent tree with a smirk.

When the two refused to budged, the tall woman kicked a small amount of water from the spring on their faces. "Get up!"

Lightning swatted at the offending liquid, and promptly gave Fang the finger. "It's still dark out. Go away."

Hope only groaned in response, and pulled the pink-haired woman closer for warmth.

"Get up, or I toss your little boyfriend into the spring."

"Okay."

"Hn…? Wait…Liiight..Fine. I'm up!"

"Don't care. I'm tryin' to get her up."

"Lightning…I don't want her to throw me in the spring…" He reached a hand out to shake her shoulder. "Please wake up..?"

"…..fine." She somewhat reluctantly sat up, and just barely grabbed onto Hope before he could be tossed into the cool water. "Happy, Fang?"

"Quite."

"We'll meet you in the clearing, okay?"

"Fine, just don't waste time. "When Fang made her was back to the clearing, she spotted Snow prodding their breakfast with a stick. "Seems like the kid had some fun last night."

"What? Nah, he's too young for that."

"But Lightning's not."

"…you don't think she'd actually do that with Hope this soon, do you? He's only fourteen…"

"Actually, my fifteenth birthday's coming up." Hope quickly ended their conversation, stepping into the clearing almost fully dressed. Lightning trailed after him, still wearing his jacket. "What're we having for breakfast before we set off?"

"….just some meat." Snow prodded the food once more. "You seem awfully chipper this morning, Hope. Why in such a good mood?"

The teen only smirked at the blond man, pleased with his slightly shocked expression. "Sorry, Snow. That's none of your business. But I am in a wonderful mood today.."

"That's what worries me…Hey Light, do you know why Hope's in such a good mood?"

"Yes, but like Hope said, that's none of your business."

"…..uh-huh. Right. Food's done." Snow tossed a few sticks to the group, signaling for them to collect their food from the fire before it burned.

"Besides, Snow, what's it matter to you what I do in my love life?" Light stabbed a piece of meat from the fire, and handed it to Hope. "It's not your decision, anyway."

"Be that as it may, I still think you should wait."

"Wait until what, Snow? None of us know if we're gonna make it out of this alive. Hell, we don't even know when we'll turn Cieth or crystal. I need to spend as much time loving Lightning now, or I may never be able to again."

The muscled man was shocked, to say the least, upon hearing Hope's slight outburst. "…well…I guess that's true, but…but what if we do survive? What if we found out that we get to live out the rest of our lives peacefully?"

Light placed a hand on Hope's shoulder, almost to prevent a fight that would surely ensue between the two males. "Snow, that's enough. You know damn well that if we focus on the 'what-if's', we'll only destroy ourselves. We can't dwell on them. We just have to keep going."

"You have to ignore those 'what if's' too, Snow." Vanille piped up from her spot in front of the fire. "You've been ignoring them to focus on saving Serah, right?"

Snow contemplated the ginger-haired girl's words before turning to agree. "…yeah, I guess you're right…I've just been doing what felt right."

"Great, great. Are we done?" Fang impatiently tapped her foot on the dry ground, and motioned for Sazh to douse the campfire. "The moon's out of the sky. We've gotta move!"

With a sigh, Lightning nodded and gathered her few things with Hope's aid. "I think I can walk today, Fang."

"No, you won't. You'll be preserving your strength. You use any of it traveling or fighting or other things, and you'll be out-of-order for another week or two." The tall woman stalked over to Hope, and placed a hand on his head, rather amused by his embarrassment. "No extracurricular activities with Light 'til she's better, okay kid?"

"Leave him alone, Fang. Besides, don't we need to get going?"

The woman ignored Light's order, and proceeded to poke at the teen's reddened cheeks. "You guys aren't ready, which I'm slightly annoyed at."

"Yeah, yeah, you're just sour cause you didn't get to toss Hope in the spring."

"Hmph. Let's just get outta here before the sun's done rising."
_

Lightning sighed as she was once again perched on the back of her future brother-in-law. "Fang, just how far are we gonna go today?"

"The further south we go, the better. We've probably got a few more days to go before the first wave of weather hits, so we'll need to cover as much distance as possible. And the best way to do that is…hmm…" Fang glanced the landscape around her, and smiled when she heard the familiar sound of chocobos trotting along the ground. "Grab yourself a bird! Hope, you'll share with Light. Vanille, you're with me. Snow, Sazh…so whatever."

Sazh had no trouble catching a chocobo for himself, as the little chick popped out of his hair and happily conversed with her fellow birds. Snow had stood proudly by hi chocobo, until the giant bird had plucked the black cap right off of his head, and made chase. Hope had something similar, having to play a game of cat and giant bird, until Sazh stepped in. Once the yellow creatures were caught, they had to begin the task of lifting Light onto the chocobo with Hope. She felt silly, and scowled as hands picked her up to move her. "I feel like a little kid at the fair on the chocobo trail."

"I always liked that one as a kid. Think of it as revisiting old memories, Light. Did Serah like the fair?" Before they started moving, Hope secured his love's arms around his waist.

"Yeah. But she always got so mad that she couldn't ride the bigger chocobos. She'd throw a fit until she got either cotton candy, or a caramel apple. One year, she threw such an annoying fit that she wouldn't stop crying and screaming until we won her a giant pink duck from the dart game."

"…really? Wow. Kind of reminds me of something they have in Nautilus…"

"I've never been to Nautilus. We never traveled much…"

"No? How come..?"

"Well…Mom had to raise Serah and I by herself, and she wouldn't have told us, but she didn't make that much money…"

"Oh.." Hope then realized why it was that Lightning didn't care for people who flaunted their money. It was rude to begin with, but when you're worse off financially, it would almost seem like an insult. For Light, the teen could easily understand that it was a matter of pride.

"But we always managed to go camping at least one weekend every year. It's almost like our entire time on Pulse has been like one, big camping trip."

"Yeah, love? What makes you say that?"

"Well, we'd always bring out own food that we could cook on the fire. Y'know, various meats, vegetables, soups…and for one meal, we'd fish, and eat whatever we caught. We wouldn't rely on any electricity, except for a few flashlights. Mom would always say, 'camping isn't electronic.'"

"Cool! The only camping I ever did was in the living room with my mom… But it was always fun! We'd make a tent out of the furniture and blankets, and watch old movies on her laptop. Then for dinner, she'd make some soup, and we'd eat it out of thermoses."

"That sounds like fun, Hope! Before Serah was old enough, Dad and I went camping once. We planned to do it again, but…"

"But…?"

"…he died before we could go a second time. That's when mom vowed to take us at least once a year."

Hope put a hand on her shoulder, offering her a smile. "I bet you guys had a lot of fun back then… I wonder if that's what it would have been like if I had a younger brother or sister…"

"You wouldn't be the same person you are today if you did. You wouldn't have grown up the same, but you would've had someone to bicker with…a lot, maybe. You probably wouldn't believe it, but Serah and I fought a lot. When we were younger, there would be times that that's all we would do. But…we grew out of that."

"Do you two still fight now?"

"Occasionally, but it's not much …but…these past few years, I…I've regretted a lot of stuff that I've done involving my sister… I wish I could apologize to her… I've said it countless times since this journey started, but…she's not here to hear it…"

Hope wrapped his arm around her waist in a comforting embrace, and gave a quick nod to motion Snow over. The blond reached over to place a hand on his sister's shoulder, still keeping balanced his chocobo. Don't worry, Sis. You can tell her everything you want when we save her."