Chapter 10: Partners

After the reunion Hope's life had become quiet again. No more disasters. He had gone back to work at the academy but, nothing was the same. He couldn't work properly as he was always thinking of other things, 'Well other people actually.' he added to himself, thinking of the pink haired and icy blue eyed beauty that had kept his attention for so long. For the first week after Lightning, Fang and Vanille returned, they lived with Hope. He was happy to have his home full of people. 'It's better than being alone.' he thought glumly. In the first week Lightning and Hope had gotten up early every day to have coffee together on the balcony and watch the sunrise. Lightning always declared that the sunset was beautiful and Hope always answered, "It's the second most beautiful thing I've seen today." He knew it was clichéd and cheesy but it made Lightning smile and that's all that mattered.

More recently he had been estranged from his friends once again. Lightning had gone to New Bodhum to help Snow and Serah with wedding preparations and Vanille and Fang had moved back to Oerba. Hope was alone again, except for the occasional visit from Sazh and Dajh which was always appreciated.

'It just isn't the same without her.' Hope contemplated while staring at some blueprints. While he wallowed in sadness the phone started ringing. He got up slowly and reached for the phone. 'Alyssa probably.' He thought but was pleasantly surprised to hear Serah on the other end of the line.

"Hiya Hope!" She said jovially. "Oh… Hey Serah is something wrong?" Hope uttered, taken aback by her sudden communication. "Not at all, I just thought that I should tell you Light is going to be arriving at Academia station soon. I want you to meet her so you can show her where the best cake shop is in Academia." Serah replied. "Okay…" said Hope warily, knowing things were never as simple as they seemed. "You won't be alone though." Serah continued. "Noel is heading down to the station to help as well."

Hope was overwhelmed with joy. He practically jumped out of his seat as soon as he put the phone down and sprinted out of his office before returning to get his forgotten coat and umbrella. He soon found himself outside in the rain. He was grinning despite the bad weather because the prospect of seeing Lightning again made his heart skip a beat.

Lightning didn't like trains much. They were too slow for her liking, 'But they get the job done I suppose.' Her anxiety however, stemmed from not seeing Hope for over a month. She wondered if he still liked her. 'I should have called him.' She thought, regretting her over-involvement in Serah's wedding.

It was raining when the train arrived but Lightning thought nothing of it and walked off the train, fully intent on following Serah's instructions perfectly. 'Hmm… I need to find Hope.' She decided. It wasn't long before she heard approaching footsteps.

"Light!" Hope gasped out of breath. "Sorry I'm late…" he managed before regaining his composure. "You're going to catch a cold if you stay in the rain." Hope mentioned caringly. Lightning was surprised by his compassion but had learned to expect such things from Hope. "I can look after myself." She answered sternly without thinking. Hope looked down at his feet for a moment. Lightning sighed and gave an excuse for her meanness. "Sorry… it's been a busy week." Hope nodded understandingly. "Here." He said holding the umbrella over Lightning's head. "But you'll get wet." Lightning protested as Hope's hair began to sag. "I don't mind as long as you're okay." He muttered smiling and blushing at his heartfelt words. Lightning couldn't believe what she was hearing she simply smiled back and felt her own cheeks begin to colour. Nobody had ever made her feel this way before. She felt like she would do anything for Hope knowing that he would do the same for her. She inched closer to Hope and grasped his hand tightly. It was a lot warmer than her own. "We don't have to be alone anymore." She started before considering her next words carefully. "You and I are partners Hope." She said smiling while Hope opened his mouth in surprise. He soon reciprocated her smile though.

Hope and Lightning continued walking until they exited the station only to be greeted by Noel, "You took your time." He joked. Hope was used to his joking nature but Lightning didn't know him as well. She smiled at the joke anyway. Noel looked at the two of them for a moment his purple eyes meeting Lightning's blue ones for a few seconds before he focused back on Hope. "So Hope, what's the plan?" "Well we need to get a wedding cake for Serah's and Snow's wedding…" Hope started. "So I was thinking we should go to Academia Bakeia. I don't think it's far from here." Noel smiled "Sounds like a good plan, let's go."

It seemed it was further than Hope had originally thought. The rain had stopped but hope was tired from the walking so he told Noel and Lightning to carry on without him. "Don't worry about me get that cake ordered." He commanded. Lightning and Noel followed his instruction and continued on without him, Hope rested for a few minutes and then resumed walking. Before he had made it to the bakery Lightning retuned. But she was different her hair had dried and now it had highlights of purple in it. 'That's odd.' thought Hope. "Hope. Thank the maker I found you." She started. "What is it?" Hope asked genuinely concerned. "Noel and I couldn't decide what cake to get we need your help." She finished anxiously. "Oh…" Hope muttered. Lightning was not acting like had at the train station and Hope decided that he needed to get to the bottom of it. "Hey Light? Are you feeling okay?" He asked while following the woman. "Yes. Why?" she replied with another question. "No reason." Hope answered. 'Maybe if I tell her I like her she'll start acting normally.' "L-Light…" He murmured his voice faltering because of his nervousness. She glanced over her shoulder for a second. "Light, I need to tell you something." He said more authoritatively. She turned around. "What?" she asked. She seemed slightly annoyed. "I… um… I've kinda liked you for a long time-" "Great" she interjected. "Let's keep going shall we?" she asked. "No Light wait." Hope said grabbing her firmly by the shoulder. "I really really like you." He whispered, his face mere millimetres from hers. 'Well here goes nothing' he thought courageously and moved in to place a kiss on her lips.

For a few moments he felt like the happiest man in the world. He opened his eyes to see Lightning's were wide open in shock. What made it even better was that she kissed back but only briefly. "I'm sorry Hope." Light mumbled breaking away from the kiss. "I'm not sure I'm ready." She said tears welling up in her eyes. She ran. Hope was going to run after her but he decided she needed some time alone, besides her personality and hair had returned to normal, so his experiment worked. Although he couldn't help but think 'What did I do wrong?'

Lightning ran back to the bakery only to run right into Noel. She buried herself in his chest trying to understand why she couldn't accept Hopes love. But she felt her face being lifted. Noel looked her in the eyes. "There's no need to cry." He said. "I'm here." He finished and then kissed her full on the lips.

KABOOM!

Authors Notes

Sorry I haven't updated in ages guys. I was getting overwhelmed with schoolwork. Fortunately I've overcome that obstacle so I should be able to write more now. On a side note, what did you think of this chapter? Give a review and tell me. Or just favourite the story to show your support.

All I can say for now is that these two lovebirds definitely have some trials ahead of them. You'll find out more in the next chapter. :D Hope (pun intended) you have a good week guys.