Chapter 10
Mine First
Hope didn't consider himself to be what you'd call the 'jealous type'. But then again, he didn't have much to be jealous over until now. Hope couldn't help but find that he desperately wanted to pull Kobi's eyes out and squeeze them into jelly.
"What's wrong?" Lightning asked as she pulled her needle through the piece of cloth in her hand. "You look as if you are about to kill something."
Hope shook his head and smiled at her. "It's nothing," he said and went back to sharpening the arrows he made. Ever since arriving in Yampeir a week ago, he found he had a talent for making and working with weapons.
"You were always a bad liar, Hope," Lightning said lightly, a smug smile tugging at the corners of her lips.
Hope looked away and didn't respond. What was he going to say? That he was sick of Kobi's eyes being glued to Lightning while he worked at repairing one of the huts? Lightning didn't need to know how badly it bothered him.
For the most part, Hope's experience at Yampeir was turning out to be a pleasant one. The village made him an orange and brown short sleeve shirt decorated with symbols unique to their village. They also gave him matching brown shorts and two strips of leather that he tied around his waist to keep them up. He was able to keep his comfortable leather boots. Hope thought he looked a little foolish wearing the Pulsian garb, but Lightning insisted that if she had to wear it, he did too. He didn't tell her that he thought that she looked a whole lot better in her skirt and midriff-bearing top than he did.
"Hey, guys!" Melissa greeted with a wave as she walked over towards Hope and Lightning. "How long have you two been working? Aren't you tired by now? I gave up an hour ago. This heat is unbearable," she told Hope as she fanned herself with her hand.
Hope liked Melissa. It was hard not to like her. She was upbeat without being annoyingly perky. She was a good listener and it didn't take her long to figure out Hope's feelings for Lightning. In fact, it only took her a few days.
"Your staring is pretty obvious, but I hear I'm not much better," Melissa said one night during dinner. Lightning had just left to get some food for them. Hope obviously watched her as she left.
"What are you talking about?" Hope asked, hoping that playing dumb would make her think that she was just seeing things.
"Nice try. You've got it bad for the pink haired lady, don't cha?" Melissa teased and Hope could feel his face turning red. "Well, I guess that makes sense. You wouldn't go searching for someone in the middle of nowhere if they weren't special to you, right?" she asked and Hope knew that there was no way to keep her from finding out.
"Please don't tell her," he choked out, looking down at his hands in his lap.
"Why don't you?"
"Because we haven't seen each other for such a long time. I was a kid the last time she saw me. I don't know if she can look at me as anything more than that," Hope said with a sigh. Who knew if Lightning would ever look at Hope differently? He didn't want her to see him as a kid. He wanted her to see him for the man he was.
"Oh, I don't know about that. She talked about you a lot," Melissa told him and Hope's eyes widened in shock.
"She did? What did she say?" Hope desperately asked. Lightning talked about him? That was a good sign.
"And why should I tell you? What do I get out of it?" Melissa asked with a sneer and tossed her wavy red hair over her shoulder.
Hope paused and thought for a second. What could he possibly do for Melissa that would make her tell him? He didn't have anything worth giving her and he wouldn't be able to take over her duties as he didn't know the first thing about sewing. What did he know about her? Not much. All he really knew was that she was good friends with Lightning and that she liked…
"I'll help you out with Kobi!" Hope quickly offered without a second thought.
Melissa choked on the water she was drinking. She pounded on her chest while she coughed. The sounds emitting from her throat slightly resembled a cat choking on a hair ball.
"You okay?" Hope asked and gently patted her back.
"I'm fine," she said weakly, waving a hand at him. "Water just went down the wrong way, and a lot of it. What do you mean by 'help me out with Kobi'?" she asked, quickly directing the conversation back towards his offer.
"Well, you like him, right?" Hope wasn't an idiot. Sure he could be a tad bit dense at times, but Melissa's feelings were pretty obvious. Apparently just as obvious as his feelings for Light. They were quite the pair. "I was just thinking that maybe we should team up. You help me out with Light and I'll help you out with Kobi," Hope proposed. He had watched movies where girls would often help others girls out with the guys they liked. Hope figured that maybe he could do it too.
Melissa was silent for a moment as she digested Hope's offer. "Well, you'd probably help me more than Lightning. She doesn't want to have anything to do with my situation with Kobi. Alright, you have yourself a deal," she said and extended her hand to Hope. He took it and gave it a firm shake.
"Alright, now what did Light say about me?" he said and leaned in closer.
"Well, she referred to you as her 'special someone'," Melissa said with a small giggle and Hope could feel his temperature rising. He was pretty sure his face was turning the color of a radish.
"You're lying."
"I'm just telling you what she said. If we're going to be a team then we need to be honest with each other and I swear, that's what she called you," Melissa said and patted the top of his head. "You're cute when you're flustered."
Hope wacked her hand off and she laughed. Hope was lost in an abyss of confusion. What did Light mean by that? Light would always be his special someone but did she considering him to be her special someone in the same sense? Of course they were special to each other, but in what way? In the way that friends were special, or something more? Hope was beyond the realm of confusion and deep in the land of bewilderment.
"Sorry I took so long. There was a long line, like always," Lightning said when she returned and handed Hope his plate. He tried to avoid her eyes and kept his head down as best as he could. "What's wrong with you? Your face is red. Did you get sun burnt?" she asked and sat down next to him.
"No. I'm just feeling a little warm," Hope muttered under his breath and took a bite of his food while Melissa had a giggling fit next to him.
"You're doing that poor lying thing again," Lightning said and took a bite of her own meal. Hope couldn't figure out why she saw through everything.
"I'll do my best to improve. It's nothing, really," he said and she shrugged. Thankfully she didn't bring it up again.
Hope was brought back to reality as Lightning gave him a light shove.
"Having fun in dream land?" she asked with a small grin.
"Oh, yeah, the heat. It's pretty bad," Hope said and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the back of his hand. He honestly wasn't even sure if they were still discussing the weather but he figured it would be safe to return to the topic he last remembered. "Is it always this bad here?"
Melissa shook her head. "No, not really. We have periods of cool weather and periods of hot weather. We just entered a hot period is all," she said and took a seat beside the two of them.
"I wish there was an ocean nearby," Lightning said absently mindedly as she put down her sewing needles and looked up at the clear blue sky. "Back in Bodhum we would just jump into the ocean if things got too hot. It was pretty convenient," she said and Hope knew that she really did miss her home. It made him sad too because he had wanted to watch the sunset with her. He imagined there would be other sunsets though.
"What about the spring?"
The three spun around to see Kobi standing right behind them topless. His perfectly chiseled and tan chest was gleaming with sweat. Hope tried not to throw up.
"What spring?" Lightning asked and Hope couldn't help but be annoyed that her interest was piqued. Which in turn only made him frustrated with himself. Why was he acting like this? "You can't be talking about Suulya."
"Suulya Springs isn't the only spring on Gran Pulse, you know," he said with a wide smile.
"We should go!" Melissa exclaimed, hopping to her feet. "I've only been there once last year, but it was amazing! The water is so nice and cool," she said and a dreamy expression crossed her face as she slightly swayed back and forth.
"Sounds like a plan. I'll go tell my mom. We'll leave in twenty minutes. Make sure you pack a dry change of clothes. We've got sleeping bags covered," Kobi quickly rattled off as he ran towards Aaina's hut.
"This is going to be so much fun!" Melissa shouted excitedly and Lightning sighed and shook her head. Hope smiled at the two of them. Although he wasn't happy about going on a trip with Kobi, he really didn't feel like working anymore.
"Let's go pack, Lightning," Melissa said and she bent over and tugged on Lightning's arm. "We'll meet you back here in a bit," she said to him and he nodded. Lightning shot Hope an apologetic look before allowing herself to be tugged away by Melissa.
Hope stood up and walked over to where Quincy was lying in the shade of a nearby hut. The bird was happily lounging around and Hope suspected that he was happy not having children crawling over him. The whole village had been fascinated by him. Many of them had never seen a chocobo before. Hope was thankful that he had been so patient with everyone.
"Hey there, Quin," Hope said and crouched down to stroke the bird's neck. Hope was doing his best to be extra nice to Quincy. After all, he did save his life. He owed everything to him and he was real grateful that Sazh picked him to be his companion.
Quincy lazily opened one eye and stared up at Hope so he knew he had his attention.
"I'm going to be gone for a day or two. You stay here, alright?" Hope asked and looked for some sign of understanding. Quincy shut his eye and went back to his nap. Hope wasn't too worried. He knew that they would take care of him. The kids were so eager to do it that he didn't have to do it himself.
Hope went into Aaina's cabin and found his bag and gunblade next to his bed. He secured his holster around his back and slid his gunblade into it. He wasn't about to go out into the wilderness without it. He didn't have any other clothes that resembled the rest of the village but he figured it wouldn't be a big deal if he wore his old clothes with the three of them.
He stuffed a change of clothes, a towel, and his canteen in a smaller backpack and pulled it on. He left the cabin and went back to their meeting place to see that Lightning was already ready with an animal skin pouch on her back. She always was quick when it came to getting ready.
"Are you going to be okay with your arm?" Hope asked when he stood next to her. Lightning had explained that she found Yampeir after being attacked by a large fiend. Part of Hope was happy that he didn't see the extent of her injuries. It would have made him feel far too guilty.
"It's still a little tender. I'll be fine if I take it easy though," she said with a reassuring smile. "I'm just glad I don't have to wear the sling anymore. My crutch was the worst though."
"I'm sorry you got hurt, Light."
"I'm sorry you ate poisonous berries and nearly died," she teased and reached up to ruffle his hair. He smiled, but he couldn't help but be concerned. They were acting like they had before. Hope was thankful for this but at the same time, he didn't want her treating him like some kid.
"Nice gunblade," Lightning said with a smug smile as she eyed it on his back. Hope noticed that she had hers with her as well.
"Yeah," he said and pulled it out. It gleamed under the sunlight and he could see his reflection on the metal. "It's pretty special to me. Guess it isn't too heavy for me now," he said with a proud smile spread across his face.
"You remember that?" Lightning asked and the surprise in her voice was clearly evident.
"I remember everything you told me, Light," Hope honestly told her. Without realizing it, he reached out and placed a hand on her shoulder. "You made a huge impression on me when I was younger."
"I…I guess I didn't realize it," Lightning admitted and stared into his eyes for a moment. He felt a chill rush down his spine at her intense gaze. It wasn't hostile by any means. It looked more as if she were trying to figure him out.
"You're not the same boy I once knew," she stated and Hope shook his head.
"No, I'm not."
"Are we interrupting?" Melissa said as she and Kobi approached them. Yes, yes you are, Hope thought bitterly. They were obviously interrupting and Hope felt a little twinge of annoyance.
"No. You're not. Did you make sure it was okay that we leave?" Lightning asked Kobi who shook his head.
"Mom said it was fine. She even seemed excited. Sometimes she feels guilty for working us so hard," Kobi told them.
Hope saw that Kobi had a very large bag on his back with four sleeping bags secured on top of each other. The bags were wrapped as tightly as they possibly could so they wouldn't take up as much space.
"Shall we get going?" Melissa asked and Kobi nodded.
Kobi looked up at the sky to check the positioning of the sun. "It's nearly noon. If we walk without any breaks we can be there by three which will give up some good swimming time before nightfall."
"Do you know how to get there?" Lightning asked with a skeptical look.
"More or less," Kobi said with a wink and started walking off.
"Wait for me!" Melissa called out and dashed after Kobi.
Hope glanced over at Lightning. They stared at each other for a moment before Lightning broke her gaze and began following the two of them. Hope didn't know what was going to happen, but he had an uncanny feeling that something would.
Drops of sweat dripped down their faces as they walked under the blazing sun. They had been walking for a good two hours through what seemed to be endless fields of tall green grass. The air around them was still and dry. Hope wished that he had Quincy with him. It would have made the travel so much easier, and not to mention quicker.
"How much longer until we get there, Kobi?" Melissa asked. Out of all of them, she was having the hardest time. Hope and Lightning were used to traveling for long periods in all sorts of weather conditions. Kobi was a skilled hunter and spent a lot of his time searching for food. Melissa didn't have the stamina everyone else had.
"It shouldn't be too long from now. When we hit the forest, it'll be about thirty more minutes," Kobi told her and just as he did, a large gathering of trees appeared in the distance in front of them.
"Oh thank you, Goddess," Melissa rejoiced.
Hope felt instantly relieved by the shade the trees provided when he reached the forest. It felt at least ten degrees cooler. His comfort didn't last though when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.
"Hey, Light. Did you see that?" he asked and she nodded. The both of them drew out their gunblades, ready to fight off what was lurking nearby.
"Woah…" Melissa muttered under her breath.
"Stand behind us," Lightning ordered as she moved in front of Melissa and Kobi.
"Thanks, but I don't need your help to take care of a little fiend," Kobi said and Lightning shot him a glare.
"Now is not the time to be self-righteous, Kobi. Just shut up and do as I say," she said and raised her gunblade.
Hope carefully surveyed the area, knowing that it was not his chocobo lurking in the shadows this time around. Hope was barely able to see the beasts lunge at him, noticing just in time to react to the attack. It was all a blur to him. He barely had a chance to notice that they were a pair of amams. They were fast and their golden hides were tough. His eyes were focused on the long, piercing fangs of the one in front of him. He knew that if his arm fell into its mouth, he'd lose it completely. He took a few carefully executed swings with his blade. He finished it off with several furious blows after he caught it off guard. His blade and the front of his shirt and pants were spattered with blood when it was over. He looked up at Lightning to see that she was covered in just as much blood as he was. In front of her lay a completely decapitated fiend, its head barely hanging onto the spine. Close combat was not a clean business.
"Not bad," she said with a proud smile as she looked at the dead beast in front of Hope.
"The way you two fight…it looks exactly the same. That was amazing!" Melissa exclaimed in awe as she stared at the fiends they brought down.
"I spent a lot of time watching the best," Hope said as he looked over at Lightning. He saw her eyes widened in shock at the compliment before she looked down and away bashfully.
"We should get going. There are probably more where those two came from," Lightning said and stuck her gunblade back in its holster.
Hope turned to Kobi. It was easy to notice when he was quiet but the look he was giving made Hope sick to his stomach. There was so much admiration in Kobi's eyes. Hope couldn't help but be reminded of himself when he first saw Lightning's abilities.
"Are you coming or are you just going to stand there and stare?" Lightning snapped at Kobi who immediately dropped the awed expression and nodded his head in affirmation.
"Sorry, I was just lost in thought. It's right over this way," Kobi said, pointing east. The four of them rushed off in that direction. The last thing they wanted was to run into more beasts.
After about twenty minutes, they came to a dead end. In front of them was a large stone blocking the entrance to the side of the cliff. Kobi pushed the rock aside with ease, his impressive muscles tensing as they worked. Melissa bent over and inspected the hole that was revealed. It was about three feet tall and looked extremely tight.
"Are you sure we're going to be able to make it through there?" Lightning asked, giving Kobi a skeptical look.
"Just watch," he said and dropped to all fours. Hope couldn't help but smile at the sight. He kind of looked like a dog groveling at Light's feet.
Kobi crawled into the hole and they waited for a moment. "Come on!" he called, his voice muffled by the stone between them.
Melissa was the next to follow who was then followed by Lightning and Hope close behind her. Although there wasn't much light in the stone tunnel they crawled through, Hope could still make out the outline of Lightning's backside in front of him. He tried not to stare and often dropped his gaze, but he was an eighteen year old male with an ass directly in front of him. Not looking at least once or twice was pretty much impossible.
Hope crawled out of the tunnel and dusted the dirt off of his knees. When he looked up, he was speechless. All around them were many rivers that came to an end above them, creating beautiful waterfalls that fell into a giant pool of crystal water. Dark rocks were piled high around them and remained above the water level. The sides of the spring were lined with green grass that Hope's feet sunk into with every step he took. The majority of the spring was cast in shadow as the high cliffs blocked the sunlight.
"It kind of reminds me of Suulya. Wouldn't you agree, Hope?" Lightning asked as she stepped onto a rock that had been eroded so much that it was flat.
"It does," he said in agreement. "Only without a fal'Cie," he added with a smile.
"You've been to Suulya too?" Kobi quickly asked Hope.
"We traveled together," Lightning responded as she sat down on the stone and began unbuckling her sandals.
"So that means…"
"Yes. That would be correct," Lightning said and Hope felt a little lost. Did Kobi know that they used to be l'Cie? Hope already knew all about Yampeir and how their people used to be l'Cie as well, Kobi included, but he had a feeling that Lightning didn't want to discuss it.
"Enough with the chit-chat. Can we swim now? Isn't that what we came here to do?" Melissa asked impatiently as she pulled off her beaded shirt to reveal a tan bra that tied around her neck and back.
"Of course," Kobi said and took off his shorts. Underneath he wore cotton underwear that had been dyed red. He jumped into the water with a large splash and Melissa followed.
Hope and Lightning exchanged an uncomfortable glance at the other's indecent behavior. They weren't used to stripping in front of others.
Hope smiled reassuringly at her. "Come on. Let's go swim," he said and took his own shirt and pants off. He felt instantly cooler with the lack of clothing. He was thankful he had brought enough of his own underwear so that he wouldn't have to wear the ones from the village. His own dark green boxers contrasted against Kobi's, but he felt comfortable in them.
He looked over to see Lightning standing in her own matching dark blue bra and panties. Compared to Melissa, her underwear actually looked like underwear and it made Hope flush a bit. He tore his eyes off of her and looked over at Kobi who was eying her like she was a piece of steak. Hope scowled.
"Bet I can make it to the other side first!" Hope challenged, and Lightning grinned, clearly excited by the challenge presented.
"You're on!" she exclaimed and dove into the water. Hope leapt in right after her.
Jumping into the cool water after suffocating in the sweltering heat was like being able to breathe again. He felt all his muscles loosen as he swam after Lightning. His long arms extended above his head as he kicked with all his strength. There wasn't any way that he'd let Lightning win easily. He caught up to her and for a while they were swimming side by side. Hope could see the determination on her face as she put all her effort into beating him. At the end, they both slapped their hands on the rock opposite their starting point at the same time.
"Who won?" Lightning softly asked. Her chest was rising and falling quickly and Hope could tell that she was just as out of breath as he was.
"You did."
"No, I didn't," she shook her head, "it was a tie," she said with a small smile. "I didn't imagine a day when you'd be my equal. I guess training you as a kid paid off. Pretty soon you'll surpass me."
"Maybe, but I couldn't have done it without you," Hope admitted and swam off over towards Melissa.
"That was pretty good," she whispered as she looked over towards Lightning. "Thanks for thinking of a way to get her into the water. I was getting annoyed with the way Kobi was looking at her," Melissa said through pursed lips.
"Yeah, I know the feeling," Hope agreed.
"What are you two talking about?" Kobi asked as he swam up beside of them.
"What's it to you, Kobi?" Melissa teased and splashed him with a face full of water. Kobi spat the water out and splashed Melissa back with twice the amount of water. Hope laughed when he himself was unexpectedly splashed from behind. He turned around to see Lightning grinning mischievously at him.
"You're so gonna get it now," Hope said and dashed forward in the water. He placed his hands on the sides of Lightning's waist and lifted her up out of the water and into the air. Hope saw a quick flash of surprise spread across her face as he pulled her close to him and then threw her into the water. She reemerged a second later and whipped the water out of her eyes. She slowly raised her head and looked Hope square in the eye. She didn't say a word. Hope saw the corner of her lip raise slightly in a half-smile before she lunged for him.
Hope fell backwards into the water under her weight and she went under with him. He opened his eyes as he fell deeper into the water. Lightning still had her hands clamped tightly on his shoulders and her face was only an inch or two away from his. The water was clear enough to allow him to see the outline of her face and her pink locks of hair floating around her. Without thinking, he reached up and placed his hand on her cheek and for a moment, they gazed at each other in their own private ocean.
The moment ended when the need for oxygen kicked in. Hope removed his hand from her cheek and pointed up to the surface. Lightning nodded her head and they both kicked up towards the surface.
Hope took a large breath of air and felt immense relief the moment oxygen filled his lungs. He looked over to see Lightning pushing her hair out of her face. She was only half facing him and her head was tilted away. Still, he could see that her face was flushed.
"You two have amazing breath holding skills. I was worried that I'd have to dive in and save you!" Melissa said with a smile on her face as she approached them. "What's wrong with you, Lightning? Your face is all red," Melissa pointed out as she swam in front of her friend with a look of concern.
"It's nothing. Just the lack of oxygen is all," Lightning dismissed, swimming away from them and towards the opposite side of the spring.
Hope couldn't shake the feeling that someone was watching him. He looked over his right shoulder to see Kobi staring at him intensely a few feet away. While it wasn't a hostile stare, Hope knew perfectly well what it meant. He was giving him a warning. It was the look men gave to others to nonverbally tell them to back off their girl. Hope had no intentions of doing that. After all, Light was his first.
"What is it?" Hope asked, playing dumb.
Kobi shook his wet head, sending droplets of water flying around him. "It's nothing," he said and swam past Hope.
Hope wished that he could believe him. Things would be so much easier without him having a rival for Light's affection. Even though he had a feeling that Lightning didn't feel the same way about Kobi as he did for her, he couldn't help but still be worried. Kobi was tall, strikingly handsome, well built, had chest hair, and the most threatening aspect: he was older. How could he compete against that?
He looked over at Lightning to see her standing underneath one of the many waterfalls. Her eyes were closed as the water rushed over her shoulders. She looked so tranquil. He looked over at Kobi to see that he was staring at her as well. He turned his head and their eyes locked. Hope felt his eyes narrow slightly. There was no way he was going to let Kobi steal her away from him. Not after coming this far just to find her. If this was war, so be it. He would not lose.
AN: Hi, everyone. I want to apologize for not having updated in a month. I didn't plan on having it take this long but with two vacations and a family crisis, I didn't have much time to get writing done. Evey thing is more or less fine now and I plan on getting back to this story. I finished up Red and White which is another HopexLight fic I wrote so if you haven't check that out, I highly suggest you do. :) Yes, that was a self plug.
I'm also sorry for not responding to all of your wonderful comments! I haven't had the chance to but I promise that I read every single one of them and will be better at responding from now on. My second beta who I totally disappeared on (so sorry!) has not read this yet so it'll probably have some errors that my first beta missed. So I hope you don't mind them for the time being.
Super apologies for the delay and I hope you enjoyed this chapter!
Love,
Val (These end notes are getting longer and longer...)