Notes: Greetings from Otakon, where I've seen a lot of AMAZING FFXIII cosplays! Seriously, I think I've seen more Lightnings than any other FF character, which is awesome. Haven't seen any Hopes though. ;( Anyway, thanks for all the feedback. Hope you guys enjoy this chapter.
Chapter Seven
Lightning leaned closer to the bathroom mirror, studying her reflection as she outlined her eyes with liquid liner. It had been awhile since she had actually bothered to wear makeup, and she already had to wipe off her previous two attempts. This time she had finally managed to get a smooth line above her lids.
"So I figure that Snow can just sleep on the couch till he goes back home," she called out to Hope as she capped the eyeliner and moved on to the mascara.
"No," Hope answered from down the hall, where he was straightening up the living room. "He can have my bed. I'll crash on the sofa."
Lightning furrowed her brows. "Hope, he'll be fine," she said.
She heard his footsteps echo through the hall as he approached the bathroom. He poked his head in. Their gazes met in the mirror. "He's a guest. I'm not banishing him to the couch."
"Oh for shit's sake," she replied, exasperated. "Don't worry about it. He'd probably like it better than taking your bed."
Hope folded his arms across his chest and leaned against the door frame. "Why are you putting on make up for him, anyway? I thought you disliked him."
"I do dislike him. I just look like I haven't slept in days. I don't want him seeing that and trying to include me in his pity party." She fluffed her bangs, then turned around to face him. "Why are you so grumpy today?"
"I'm not grumpy," Hope said. "And you don't look awful."
"Whatever. Let's go."
Snow had finally gotten up with Lightning the morning after he had left the devastating message on her cell and recounted the events leading to Serah's death. They had gotten into a bad car accident; and though initially everyone involved had seemed fine, Serah started to have contractions. The ambulance that had responded to the scene rushed her to the hospital, where she began hemorrhaging internally. They had been unable to stop the bleeding, and she had gone into cardiac arrest. Their baby boy was delivered and managed to hold on for a day, but being three months early, he hadn't been developed enough to survive.
"Tomorrow night we, er, I'm flying into Eden International with the…with them," Snow had said, voice thick with emotion. "To bury them next to your parents at Bodhum Memorial. You know, in the garden."
Lightning had remained mostly quiet throughout the entire exchange, if only to swallow back the tightness in her own throat to keep from crying. Hope had agreed that Snow could stay with them for a few nights until after the funeral.
The pair walked through the underground garage towards Hope's parking space. "I'm taking the couch," he said again.
Lightning stopped and put her hands on her hips. "Are we still seriously going on about this?"
"No. I'm just telling you." Hope kept walking ahead of her, and Lightning followed after him.
"Do you need to run back up to the apartment and change out of your pissy pants?" she asked, trying to keep her tone light.
"I'm not pissy," he snapped at her.
"What the hell? What is your fucking problem today?" she demanded.
"I don't have a problem," he countered, unlocking his sedan.
"You're really moody today," Lightning told him as they got into the car.
"You'd know all about that, huh?" Hope jammed the key into the ignition. "Considering that's your permanent state of being and all."
Lightning turned towards him, eyebrows raised. "You know what? Forget it." She put her hand on the door handle, intending to get out. "I'll just get a taxi or something."
Hope pinched the bridge of his nose. "Light, no. I'm sorry, okay? I am being a jackass."
After a moment, she settled back in her seat with a sigh.
"What's the problem?" she asked again.
"I'm just…I'm not looking forward to this I guess. I dunno. I'm sorry."
"You're not looking forward to this?"
"And some other stuff. I'm really stressed out. Don't worry about it though."
Lightning gave him a concerned look. "You know…after this is over, and Snow goes home, do you want me to leave? I know I've overstayed my welcome and all. I don't want to abuse your hospitality. I'm sure dragging you through all this isn't really helping you out."
Hope whipped his head around to look at her, then back at the road. He slammed on the brakes, narrowly missing hitting the car in front of him that was also exiting the garage. Lightning braced herself against the dashboard.
"Do you want me to drive?" she asked dryly.
"No. I'm fine. And no."
"No what?"
"No, I don't want you to leave. You aren't abusing my hospitality."
"I told you I'd only stay a few weeks," she protested. "Those weeks are definitely up."
"Lightning. Don't go, okay?" He gave her a beseeching look.
Why? Why the hell would you want me to stay?
"Okay. If you say so."
"Besides, you can't get a job if you're homeless - which, by the way, you now have. A job, I mean."
"Hm?" She shot him a questioning glance. "What do you mean?"
"I talked to a friend of mine, and she said she could give you a position in her club…" Hope glanced over at her. "Unless you don't want it."
"What kind of club?"
"It's a strip club. A classy one. You'd be a server, not a stripper," Hope assured her.
Lightning crossed her arms and looked out the window. "A 'classy' strip club?"
"Do you want it or not?"
"Yes. Of course I do. I'd be insane to turn that down."
Hope smiled. "Good. I'll have to call Fang and tell her so you guys can get in touch. I meant to tell you about it a few days ago, but…things came up."
"For sure," Lightning murmured.
The closer they got to the airport, the more anxious she became. She was dreading this encounter. She knew Snow would be a blubbering mess and make everything worse - if that was even possible. It was magnified by the fact that she hadn't seen him in years.
Serah. How could this have happened to you?
"Hey," she said as they pulled into the airport's parking lot. "When we meet Snow, don't say anything to him about my situation. I already told him we're roommates. And I'm still in PSICOM, just not on active duty."
Hope hesitated, then answered, "Fine."
"Thank you." Lightning undid her seatbelt.
"Can I ask why, exactly, you're trying to impress this guy?"
"I'm not trying to impress him." Lightning turned in her seat to look at him. "I just don't feel like sharing my personal shit with him, okay? I haven't spoken to him in years, and he's already a mess."
"Okay, okay, I was just wondering." Hope shook his head. "Calm down."
"Calm down?" Lightning didn't bother to hide the disbelief in her voice. "Are you kidding me? You've been acting like a complete brat to me all day for no reason, and you tell me to calm down?"
She could see him cock his jaw stubbornly. After a minute passed with no answer, she turned away from him and got out of the car.
They walked to the gate in silence and waited for Snow to disembark. He was easy to spot, even among the bustling throng of people; he seemed to tower above them, his shaggy blonde hair like a yellow beacon. He spotted Lightning as soon as she did him, and hurried towards them.
"Hey, sis," he greeted as he approached them. He gave her a rib-breaking hug, and she winced as her back wound stung. She managed to compose her face before he stepped back. "You look great."
She couldn't say the same for him. He had days worth of stubble built up along his jaw, and his eyes had dark rings under them that stood out in dark contrast with his sky-blue gaze.
"And you must be…Hope?" Snow shook the other man's hand. "Thanks so much for letting me stay with you guys. I could've gotten a hotel or something."
"Think nothing of it," Hope replied, smiling. Lightning could see the muscles in his jaw working, though, and wondered for the umpteenth time that day why he was so agitated.
"To the baggage claim?" Lightning suggested.
Snow held up the duffel back that he had been carrying over his shoulder. "Nah, this is all I brought."
"Oh." Lightning looked around. "What about, um…"
Snow swallowed. "The funeral home is picking them up. They're taking care of everything. All we have to do is show up tomorrow."
They stood for awkwardly for a minute, before Hope finally broke the silence. "Well, then, shall we?"
The tall blonde nodded. "Yeah, definitely. Let's get out of here." As the group turned to head back to the car, Snow hugged Lightning one more time. "I'm glad to see you, sis. I really am."
"You too, Snow." This time she returned the hug, but not before she noticed out of the corner of her eye that Hope's fists were clenched.
…
A loud pattering noise on glass startled Lightning into wakefulness. She sat up and pushed her hair out of her face, trying to orient herself. She slipped out of bed and walked towards her window, pushing the curtains aside. An icy rain was pelting the side of the building. As she looked out over the city, she noticed it seemed darker than usual.
The power is out, she realized, rubbing her bare arms. No wonder it was so damn cold.
She opened her bedroom door and peered down the hall. She could hear Snow snoring like a freight train from Hope's bedroom - clearly he had not noticed that the temperature in the apartment had dropped significantly. She wondered how long ago the blackout had started.
Lightning walked out into the hallway, hugging herself. She knew that she should probably change from her cam and shorts to something warmer to sleep in. She noticed that there was a faint light coming from the living room, and went to investigate.
Hope was lounged on the couch in front of the flickering fireplace. His elbow was propped on the arm, and he was resting his cheek on his hand. As Lightning approached, he lifted his head to look at her. "Hey."
"Hi." She walked around the back of the sofa. "How long has the power been out?"
"A few hours."
Lightning looked over at the fireplace. "I thought that thing was fake. How can you have a fireplace in a condo?"
"Advantages to living on the top floor." He moved his legs so that she could sit down. She grabbed the blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself, then flicked half of it over Hope.
"It's not really all that warm. You must be freezing."
"Well it's not like I have a big pile of wood sitting around. It's just a starter log. I rarely use this thing."
They both gazed into the flames in silence for a few minutes before she turned to him and asked, "Have you slept at all?"
"Not really."
She looked over at him. "So…hey. Can we talk? About today."
Hope met her gaze. "What's there to talk about?"
"Really, Hope?" She got up and stood in front of him. "What isn't there to talk about? What's the matter with you? You've acted completely off today. I know you said you were stressed about unrelated stuff, but I call bullshit. I want to know what's wrong." When he didn't answer, she reached down and lifted his chin. "Come on. Talk to me. Friendship's a two way street. I want to help you too, you know? As much as I can, anyway."
Hope jerked his head out of her hand. "Fine. I was jealous, okay? I'm jealous."
Lightning stared at him, incredulous. "Jealous? Of what? What are you talking about?"
He tipped his head towards his bedroom. "Him. Snow."
"What?" Lightning started to laugh. "Why?"
"Because. I dunno. You're all weird about him, and you put on makeup and a nice outfit for him, and you act like you want to impress him..."
"Oh man." She passed a hand over her face and covered her smile. "Hope, you're ridiculous. You threw a hissy fit because you…listen, there is absolutely nothing between Snow and I. You couldn't be closer from the truth. I think he's a tool. All the stuff I did today was because I was trying to keep him from worrying and finding out what happened to me, which is exactly what I told you."
"Okay, okay." He shook his head with a sheepish smile. "I feel pretty dumb right now."
"I know he's kind of a lot to handle at first - " She paused. "Wait. You were jealous that Snow and I had a thing?"
Hope seemed to realize the implications at the same time she did. "Um…"
Lightning's mouth felt dry. "Hope."
"Okay. I might as well just lay it all out while I'm sharing, anyway." Hope spread his hands out in his lap, palms up. "To be honest, I don't know what it is exactly. The nature of my feelings, that is. I know that I like you a lot, and I care about you. I never really dwelled on the fact that my feelings might go further than that. I avoided it actually. I didn't want you to eat me." He laughed. His voice was a little breathless. "I didn't want to feel like I was taking advantage of you. Maybe it's a little fast or too soon or something, but I think they do go further than just - y'know."
Lightning just stared at him in a stunned silence.
"I'm an idiot," Hope said. "Shit! I'm really sorry, Light. This is so typical, isn't it? God, I feel so stupid. Let's just pretend this conversation never happened."
Lightning found her voice. "This is new territory for me, that's all," she answered.
"New…? What? What are you talking about?" He gave her an imploring look. "Are you really going to stand here and say that no guy has confessed being attracted to you? Ever?"
She pushed her fingers through her hair. "No, of course they haven't. I mean…shit, Hope. How the hell can you like me? You don't even know me. You don't know half the fucked up shit I've gone through or done. I'm sitting around in your house leeching your resources, I've been a complete bitch to you for the majority of the time I've been here, I - "
Hope stood abruptly, cutting her off. "Light," he interrupted. "Shut up, okay? Just stop. You're right, I don't know every single facet of your life but I don't need to. I've seen you open and raw, I've seen you bawling like you lost your last friend, I've seen you mad and irritated and in pain. I've seen you be a complete bitch - I've even been on the receiving end of it - and you know what? I still like you. In fact, I like you even more because of it. I think you're strong, and pretty, and smart. Hell, I think you're amazing, Lightning. I don't care what you did, because every single thing you do has justification. So why don't you leave worrying about details to me."
Lightning lifted her head to look up at him. "So what part do I worry about?"
Hope bumped his forehead against hers, resting his hands on her hips. "Nothing. You have me to worry about it." With that, he captured her lips in a soft kiss.
