pain; what should totally be the Lightning Returns universe

It had been a long time since Hope had been out on the battlefield, up close and personal with vicious monsters - centuries, in fact, if everything she'd heard since awakening was true.

That wasn't really Lightning's concern at the moment, however. The biggest thing she was worried about was the fact that the Behemoth they'd been battling had turned on her and had taken a chunk out of her partner with its massive claws.

"Hope!" She reflexively winced when he cried out, managing to summon enough power - maybe from her anger - for a spell that easily felled the creature.

The moment it'd collapsed and faded into smoke, Lightning dashed over to him, kneeling down since he'd also collapsed, clutching his side. It was obvious that he was hiding how bad it really was, but she could see through his clenched teeth and the sweat beading out on his forehead.

"Hope," she said again, her voice calmer this time, instantly going into soldier mode. She supposed it was still instinct for her, even after all of this time. Or lack of, really. "Let me see."

"It's - it's nothing." Hope let out a shaky breath, attempting to sit up, but that only resulted in a pained yelp and a hiss as his hand went back to side.

Lightning rolled her eyes. "That's obviously not nothing." She pulled a Potion from her pack and tried to hand it to him. "At least take this if you won't let me treat it."

He reached out, but then immediately stopped. "…Is that your last one?"

A glance at her bag told her the answer. "Yeah, but it's no big deal. I'm sure we'll come across a merchant soon enough. What's important is that we get you back on your feet."

He still refused to take the potion. "You may need it, Light. I…I can't."

Lightning frowned in confusion, but obediently put the Potion away, even though forcing it down Hope's throat sounded like a much better idea. Why did he want to sit around in pain, seriously? "Then let me see the wound," she eventually answered in an oddly gentle tone. "Maybe I can help." It was doubtful she'd be able to summon up any kind of healing spell - she'd used an awful lot of power getting rid of the Behemoth, and it would take some time to replenish, but she still had the skills she'd learned as a soldier and human. Surely tourniquets and bandages still worked if they were needed.

There was an oddly suspended moment of silence and more hesitance on Hope's part, but eventually he obediently lifted his now-bloodstained shirt to reveal a large, raw wound. Strange how the beast's claws had done little damage to the clothing, but had ripped the skin a new one.

Luckily, the blood was already clotting. At least something was going right today. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the only thing.

"This could probably use stitches," she murmured after her keen observation. "I don't have anything I could use, though."

"I'm not sure it would work, anyway," Hope murmured, sounding more than a little out of it. Perhaps the blood loss was finally getting to him.

"Why not?"

"Time heals all wounds, right?" It sounded oddly as though it was more than the superficial one on his side that he was talking about. "And yet, we live in a world where time no longer exists. It's why Potions and the like have gotten so expensive."

She supposed that made sense, but that didn't mean it wasn't frustrating. Instead of answering him outright, Lightning stood up. "I'll be right back. There was a stream nearby." She started rummaging around in their supplies. "If you won't take the Potion, the least I can do is clean your wounds."

He looked faintly surprised for a moment, but eventually nodded slowly. "…Okay."

Not that she would have taken any other answer, of course.

Lightning made her way over to the stream and soaked a couple of rags she'd randomly accumulated, having an oddly fierce longing for the days of Cocoon. At least getting Hope healed would have been no problem there.

Then again, he wouldn't have been wounded in the first place if Cocoon still existed.

…But they might not have even met. It was a case of both good and bad, she supposed.

Her head was spinning. Lightning knew that she just needed to make her way back to him and quickly did so, settling the two of them against a rock and sitting beside him.

"Are you sure you don't want the Potion?" she asked, somehow knowing what the answer would be.

"You might need it."

"That's not what I asked." But she didn't press it, and only put one of the wet rags to Hope's wound, wiping as gently as she could as to not aggravate the marks and make it bleed again.

They stayed like that in silence for quite some time. It was only when she heard an oddly content sigh from Hope that she realized that they'd even grown quiet at all. After all of her time in crystalization, silence wasn't exactly something Lightning needed, but this was…different. It was much more comfortable, and it soothed her to know that Hope was right here. Maybe he felt it, too, and it was why they'd never felt the need to fill those lulls with chatter. They'd always been like that, she realized.

Funny how even though their lives had changed so drastically, some things remained the same.

"…How is it?" she eventually murmured. Her motions with the bloodstained rags had slowed somewhat - his wounds still needed care, but they didn't look nearly as bad as they had before she'd cleaned them.

"Bearable," he murmured. After a moment, a sudden huff of amusement escaped him.

Lightning hoped he wasn't going delirious or something. "What is it?"

"This is like back on Cocoon, when we were l'cie." Hope's voice had grown a bit shameful. "All these years, and I'm still just a helpless kid slowing you down."

"You're older than me now," she reminded him, but it was clear that Hope didn't really care about the technicalities. She sighed, gathering her thoughts before replying. "You're not. You never were. You've always helped me more than you will ever know."

"…Yeah?"

She glanced up, only to see his eyes open and staring directly at her. "…Yeah." She cleared her throat and looked away, wondering why her heart was suddenly pounding. "Back then, you helped motivate me. If nothing else, I knew I had to protect you and get you home." A huff escaped her. "I suppose…I'm doing that all over again. I know that if nothing else, I need to get you back to Bhunivelze and - "

"No," Hope interrupted so abruptly that it seemed to pain him. He winced, pressing a hand to his side.

"No?"

He shook his head. "You didn't save the world alone all those years ago," he said quietly. "Who's to say you need to do it alone now?"

Lightning didn't answer. She couldn't. How could he sit here, obviously in a great deal of pain and with so many other bigger things to worry about, and still be so determined to be by her side?

What had she ever done to deserve that? It just didn't fit. Not with all of the sins she'd committed throughout this ordeal, and throughout her life. Even by simply allowing Hope to sit here in pain when she clearly could have given him that last Potion or something made her feel completely unworthy to have such a capable partner by her side.

"Hope…"

As though he could sense her conflicting thoughts, he slowly raised an arm, and after an extremely awkward pause, slipped it around her shoulders, tugging the two of them close together. It was an odd sensation, because she honestly couldn't remember the last time she'd felt a touch so innocent and comforting.

It was something to hang onto if the world really did end.

"I should be okay by tomorrow," he murmured into her hair, sounding remarkably comfortable for someone whose side had been slashed. "Will you stay with me until then?"

Lightning closed her eyes, hiding the tears that'd welled up as she rested her head on his shoulder. There was so much more at stake here. She needed to move ahead and complete her task for the benefit of the world. The very souls of the human race were dependent on her.

But there was one right here beside here that still mattered. Hadn't she caused him enough pain?

She nodded slightly, not opening her eyes, even when Hope's arm tightened around her. Her answer was not simply for the night, should they even come to survive beyond that.

"I will."