hold my hand; au
Lightning figured she might have been a little biased, considering it was her hometown and all, but she thought that Bodhum was really the perfect place for a family vacation. Even without their annual fireworks ceremony, there were a lot of little shops to explore - not to mention the beach, which seemed to be her husband and son's favorite part.
She sat up on her beach towel, legs stretched out in front of her as she watched the shore with a little smile. Even though Soren was tall for a four year-old, Hope still had him sitting up on his dad's shoulders as the waves crashed around them. They weren't even really moving too much, but Hope had gone into deep enough waters that the waves managed to often hit the bottom of Soren's feet, which made him squeal in delight.
It was so strange. Five years ago, she never would have imagined herself in this position. She and Hope had never discussed having kids when they'd gotten married, but it'd slowly become obvious that he wanted one badly. Somehow, she'd managed to convince herself that she wouldn't be a terrible mother. Soren was slowly proving her right.
"Mommy!"
Lightning blinked in surprise when she suddenly had a lapful of soaking-wet son, apparently having been so lost in thought that she hadn't realized the boys had returned to the towels. She smiled, settling Soren in her lap. "Have fun in the water?"
"Uh huh." Soren bounced in his mom's lap. "Me and Daddy saw a shark!"
"It was a clump of seaweed," Hope murmured under his breath when Lightning's eyes widened. She immediately relaxed.
"And you weren't scared?"
"Nuh-uh, 'cause Daddy could protect me." Soren hopped off of Lightning's lap, grabbing her hand instead and attempting to tug her up. "C'mooooon, Mommy! I wanna play more!"
Lightning's eyes slid over towards Hope. He grinned in response and stood up. "How about a walk instead, kiddo? We can go over to the other side of the beach. Maybe you'll see another shark."
"Yay!"
The older two smiled at their son's enthusiasm. Lightning wondered, as she rose to her feet, where he'd gotten it from. Probably from his aunt. Serah had been just as charming at his age, as Lightning could recall all too clearly.
Figuring their stuff would be fine - the beach was pretty empty, not to mention they didn't have much, anyway - the three of them began a slow stroll along the shore. Lightning and Hope stood on either side of Soren, holding his hands. Occasionally, when the surf got close enough, they'd lift him off his feet and swing him through the water, which always got a shout of glee. Even though they were both more than strong enough to lift him, Lightning couldn't help but feel like in a year or two, Soren would be too big for it. He was already growing up so fast.
Funnily enough, Lightning couldn't remember feeling so nostalgic for the past when it had just been her and Serah walking along this very same shore. Maybe because their situation hadn't been nearly as settled. All they could think about was surviving the day.
And now, with her boys, Lightning could savor each moment without thinking too heavily about how they would get through the next one. It was amazingly comforting.
Not to mention that the sight of Hope merely in swim trunks was extremely distracting.
"Seagulls!"
Though not as distracting as her son's yelling.
He tugged on their hands, trying to drag them along with him to the huge flock of seagulls on the sand about twenty feet away. When his parents didn't move fast enough, though, Soren let go and put their hands together instead, so they would still have something to hold onto.
"I'm gonna play with the seagulls! Hold on, 'kay?"
Lightning chuckled under her breath when he took off shouting out random happy noises only a child could come up with. The seagulls all flapped and flew away at their random intruder.
Hope's fingers easily twined with Lightning's at their son's insistence, a silly little smile forming on his face as she leaned against him. "Better hold on."
She smiled in return, keeping one eye on Soren as her hand melded against Hope's. "No worries there."