Lightning rarely got to see Hope drunk. A shame, really—drunk Hope was a train wreck and very amusing to watch. At least half of his otherwise impressive brain capacity seemed to go straight out the window after a couple glasses. She smirked as he approached her, slightly unsteady, his tie hanging uncharacteristically loose around his neck. Usually, she was the one who tended to have a drink too many at Serah's oversized dinner parties. It was refreshing to be the sober one for once.
"Hey, there," she said. "Having fun?"
"Not really." He leaned against the wall next to her, his eyes roaming the crowd taking up pretty much every single square inch of Snow and Serah's apartment. The other guests were clearly having a good time, just like always. Ususally, so did Hope.
"I thought you liked Serah's get-togethers," she said.
"I thought you disliked them." He clenched his jaw. The motion was nearly unnoticeable, but she caught it. "You seemed to have a good time back there. When you talked to that guy."
She shrugged. "One of Serah's colleagues. He was nice, I guess."
"You were smiling."
"I do that, occasionally. Believe it or not."
"At him," he said grimly. "You were smiling at him."
"So?" She crossed her arms. "What's wrong with that?"
His eyes, somewhat unfocused yet frighteningly intense, met hers. "It apparently puts me in a mood where I think downing three shots of tequila is a good idea."
She stared up at him, trying her best to ignore the sudden quickening of her heartrate. "Why?"
The look he gave her made her shudder, and she immediately regretted the question. She got the feeling that an honest answer from him would be like opening a Pandora's box. There would be no going back, and she wasn't sure she could handle that.
He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he looked up again, his gaze was steadier. She wasn't sure if it was possible for a person to force away the effects of alcohol by sheer will, but, well, if someone could do it, it would probably be Hope.
"I don't know, Light." He gave her a dejected smile. "I don't know."
"Right." She hesitated for a moment. "I… I turned him down, you know. That guy. He asked for my number, and I turned him down."
"You did?" She could tell he was trying not to smile, but he wasn't exactly succeeding. "Why?"
"I don't know."
"Right."
And with that, their conversation was over, fading into a silence heavily laced with words left unspoken.