Crap, Lightning thought as she once again tried to get out of bed. This is way harder than it should be.
Her plan had been simple: Wake up, get out, save the world. The waking up part had been unexpectedly hard. The comfort of the warm and soft bed was one of the reasons. The comfort of the warm and not so soft body beneath her was another. Hope's calm and heavy breaths had threatened to lull her right back to sleep. One more hour, she'd thought. One more hour won't hurt anyone. The goddess resting inside her had violently disagreed, and had once again filled Lightning's mind with images of the deaths she'd caused. The goriness had left her wide awake. Her need to stay in Hope's embrace had been frighteningly intense, but she'd still initiated step two of the plan; getting out of the house, preferably without anyone noticing it.
Lightning knew what she had to do. She also knew that none of the house's inhabitants would let her do it. Therefore, she'd tried to sneak out of bed without awakening Hope. This task had turned out to be even harder than waking up. She'd almost succeeded on her first try. She'd managed to remove the arms wrapped around her, and had almost reached the edge of the bed when Hope moved in his sleep. He'd turned over to his side, and had somehow managed to crook an arm around her waist. Before she knew it, she'd once again been enclosed in his arms. As a final touch, Hope had wrapped one of his long legs around her, effectively trapping her against his body.
Lightning sighed and enjoyed a few more seconds of spooning with Hope. Her heart rate sped up when Hope nuzzled his face against her neck. Her cheeks flushed, and a tingling sensation spread through her chest. The reaction caught her completely off guard. She couldn't even remember the last time her body had reacted like that. It's almost as if I'm… She pushed the thought away, sorting it into the do-not-open-ever category of her brain.
Lightning could feel Etro getting inpatient. She reluctantly tried to remove the hand placed on her stomach, but Unconscious-Hope did not approve. He grumbled a little in his sleep and pulled her even closer.
She ended up having to crawl out of his grip. The procedure took a ridiculous amount of time, and she could feel Etro's amusement. I liked you better when you were dormant. She took a quick visit to the bathroom, changing back into her uniform. She looked longingly at the shower cubicle, but the sun was rising, and Serah had always been a morning person. Serah. Lightning's heart ached. For a moment, she'd almost felt like she had a home again. A family. She pushed away the pain. I don't have time for a pity party.
Lightning went back to the guestroom to fetch her gunblade, hidden beneath her pillow as usual. Hope was lying right where she left him, arms still formed in an empty embrace. He looked lonely. Lightning stalked towards the bed, trying not to look at him. I don't have time for guiltiness either. She carefully lifted the pillow and grabbed the saber. Just when she thought she'd actually pulled off step two of her plan, a large hand caught her wrist.
"What are you doing?" Hope sounded suspiciously alert for someone who was supposed to be newly awake.
"I'm just… Uh…"
"You were going to leave, weren't you?" Hope's voice was cold and leveled, but his eyes were burning with anger and betrayal. Lightning averted his gaze, letting her silence answer his question. Hope grabbed her other wrist, the one holding the gunblade.
"It's not like I'm surprised or anything. I know you, Light. I know you're planning on doing some altruistic crap, otherwise you wouldn't run away like this. Not when you've finally reunited with Serah."
"I don't have a choice."
"Why does it always have to be you? You're always so willing to sacrifice yourself. What about the rest of us? What about the ones you leave behind?" His grip around her wrists tightened, forcing her to drop her blade. "What about me?" Lightning winced. Her guilt threatened to swallow her whole. I don't have time for this.
"I have to go." She couldn't bring herself to even look at him. "You have to let me go."
"Do I really?" Hope mumbled, more to himself than to her. "Do I really have to let you go?" Without a warning he flipped her over, and Lightning suddenly found herself lying on her back with her hands trapped above her head. "I'm not fourteen anymore. I'm stronger than you now. I don't care if you hate me; if physical force is the only way to stop you from hurting yourself, I will use it." Lightning tried to move, but Hope was right. With his l'Cie strength, he was stronger than her. She could see the muscles of his bare torso – wait, are those abs? work as he lowered himself over her. With his face mere centimeters from hers, she was forced to finally meet his gaze. The intensity in his eyes left her speechless. He was serious; he really would do anything to keep her safe, whether she wanted it or not. It scared her.
"Let me go," she hissed, refusing to let her fear shine through.
"Promise me you won't sacrifice yourself. Promise me you won't try to save the world all on your own again." Lightning could see so many powerful emotions radiate through his eyes. Anger. Desperation. Determination. Then there was that other emotion, the one she'd seen on his face more and more often since she returned. The one that turned his boyish goofiness into passionate ferocity. She flushed. "Promise me." Hope's gaze lowered from her eyes and fixed on her lips instead.
Lightning panicked, and headbutted Hope with as much power as she could muster. The collision probably hurt her more than it hurt him, but it gave her the opportunity to follow up with a knee to his stomach. With the new momentum she managed to push Hope away from her body.
"Strength means nothing if you don't have technique," she said, giving him a dignified glare as she arose from the bed. Hope was still trying to regain his ability to breath. "Goodbye, Hope." She picked up her gunblade and left the room without looking back. Why does he have to make this so hard? Every step hurt. She wanted to turn around, to check if he was okay. She wanted to apologize for breaking her promise to never abandon him. Most of all, she wanted to stay. In this house. In this world. But we can't all get what we want, can we? At least, Serah was happy, and that thought gave her comfort. Serah was going to get her happy ending. That's more than I could ever ask for.
Lightning left a note on the kitchen table, and then walked out of the house she would have loved to call home. As she walked through the garden, she recognized some of the flowers in the flowerbeds. A pang of nostalgia hit her as she looked at the pink gerberas, Serah's favourite flowers back in Bodhum. Lightning had never said anything back then, but those had always been her favourites, too. I'm silly, she thought as she picked some of the gerberas and put them in her chest pocket. On some irrational level, she felt like she was now carrying a piece of home with her.
"Light, wait!" The door opened, and a fully dressed Hope rushed out. Serah had worked some magic on his white shirt, and it was now free from bloodstains. He awkwardly came to a stop a couple of meters away from her. "I'm so sorry. I don't know what got into me. I never should have…"
"You're right, you never should have." Lightning walked past the white picket fence, leaving the wooden house behind her.
Hope followed her. "But it doesn't change anything. I won't let you sacrifice yourself. If I can't make you stay out of harm's way, I'll simply have to go wherever you go. You can't stop me from following you."
Crap. Lightning sighed dejectedly, having a strong feeling of déjà vu. "I thought you said you weren't fourteen anymore."
"Yeah, but some things never change." Hope grinned. "Besides, you need me. I mean, how did you plan on getting back up to Bhunivelze? I might be a fugitive, but I can still pull some strings from down here. We'd be up there in no time." Lightning hadn't really thought about that. Hope was right; having the Director's influence would simplify things. In addition to that, even though she knew it was pure selfishness, she really didn't want to leave Hope behind.
"Don't slow me down."
"I won't."
Hope pulled out his cellphone and started to call around.
"A ship will pick us up in ten," he finally said after more than half a dozen calls. "We're still the main topic of every news station, but the ITP has been suspiciously inactive. They're still confiscating artefacts, but they haven't put that much power into finding us."
"That's because Caius knows I'll come to him."
"And you're still going?" Hope arched an eyebrow. "Even though it's a trap?"
"Yes."
"So, my guess is that Etro gave you an order, which you don't want to talk about, and based on that order you've made a plan on how to stop Caius, which you don't want to talk about either. Am I right?"
Lightning nodded. "Still happy you tagged along? It's not too late to change your mind."
"We're partners. I go wherever you go. But things would be a lot easier if you'd share your plans with me." Lightning gave him a sad smile, but remained quiet. I don't deserve you.
"You know, if you attempt to do something stupid, I will stop you."
"You will try." Lightning took Hope's hand in hers. Hope looked surprised for a moment, but then returned her melancholy smile, and intertwined his fingers with hers.
"I will try."

Hand in hand they walked through the empty streets of Oerba, as the sun slowly arose in the horizon. They both knew it was the calm before the storm, and that the path they'd chosen would lead them to an unavoidable battle. Lightning would fight to save the goddess, and Hope would fight to save Lightning. They had chosen their paths, and could now only hope their courses would not collide. The Director and The Warrior, walking side by side. An army of two, preparing for war.

On the kitchen table of Serah and Snow lay two handwritten notes. The first one was written with straggly letters, the other in elegant cursive script. The first one read:

Dear Serah
I'm sorry, but I have to leave again. I have to stop Caius, and I now know how to proceed. I wish we'd had more time together. Please, live happily ever after. I'll always love you.
- Lightning

The second note was considerably shorter.

I'll bring her home.
- Hope