keeping a secret; au

Hope was pretty sure that he was losing his clothes.

And not in a good way, unfortunately.

Maybe, he told himself, he was just going a little crazy. Maybe he was putting far too much thought into this. Nothing disappeared into thin air - that was a fact. Everything went somewhere.

So where were his clothes?

If he was honest, it wasn't all of his clothes or anything. It was usually just a shirt or two that went missing; stuff he didn't even remember he owned until he wanted to wear it.

For a second, he wondered if he'd been leaving them at Lightning's place. Things had progressed quite a bit between them over the course of a year, and lately, he'd been staying overnight often enough to warrant leaving some of his stuff over there. They'd also given each other copies of their house keys, so it was practically like they were living together…just with a commute in the way.

But a moment later, he dismissed the thought. He usually took any dirty clothes with him so she wasn't stuck washing them, and he knew exactly which clean ones were over there.

And it wasn't any of the stuff that was missing. Sigh.

Hope ran a hand through his hair, sighing again. He'd been planning on getting some things done for work, but now, thinking about it, he realized he needed a distraction.

At least he had a perfect one, he thought, grabbing his keys. As always, when he saw the copy of Lightning's house key there, he broke into a little smile. It was still there as he hopped in his car and headed over.

Funny how Lightning had always been able to bring that happiness to him, even without actively doing anything.

The drive over there was quick, as usual. When Hope hopped out of his car and headed to the door, his first instinct was still to knock, but the jangling of his keys reminded him that he was welcome anytime.

He wasn't sure what he'd expected to see when he let himself in. Lightning's car was in the driveway, so he assumed she'd be doing something on her laptop, or maybe attempting to better her cooking skills.

What he saw, though, was his girlfriend curled up on the corner of the sofa, legs tucked underneath her as she dozed…

…while wearing a very familiar sweatshirt.

Hope blinked in confusion a couple of times. He was very sure he hadn't left that particular article of clothing here…but he suddenly didn't mind so much when Lightning shifted a little in her sleep. A smile crossed his face - he was a lot broader in the shoulders than she was, so she was swimming in the sweatshirt, and the collar of it had moved around quite a bit, revealing several inches of the bare skin of her shoulder.

As he drank in the sight, he vaguely wondered how he could feel so much love simply by looking at her.

…Even if she had somehow ended up with his shirt.

Quietly, Hope made his way to the couch, sort of nestling himself next to her. Instead of pulling away, she instinctively turned into him, relaxing even further at the addition of her human pillow. He chuckled, leaning down to press a kiss to the skin of her shoulder the sweatshirt was revealing. His lips lazily moved upwards over her exposed skin, eventually letting out a huff of amusement next to her ear.

Apparently that was the magic touch. She made a couple of quiet noises, eventually opening her eyes, immediately turning her head to the person holding her.

"Hope?" she asked, still sounding a little sleepy. He thought it was…well, cute.

"Hey." He gently kissed her temple. "Long day?"

"I guess so. I didn't sleep that well last night, either." She sat up a bit, only to adjust herself so that she was more comfortable in Hope's arms. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, y'know. Just thought I'd come see my favorite woman." He felt rather than saw her roll her eyes and chuckled. "By the way…"

"Yes?"

"Where'd you get this?" He gave the sleeve of the sweatshirt a tug.

For a second, it seemed like she didn't understand the question, but when it registered, she sat up a little more, her eyes wide as she stared at her clothing choice. Hope grew a bit alarmed at her expression, until he realized that she was actually blushing.

"Light?"

"I…" She looked away, clearly embarrassed…or as much as Lightning Farron could be embarrassed, anyway. Knowing better than to urge to her speak, Hope simply waited until she continued. "I…took it from your house about a week ago."

"…What?" He furrowed his brow in confusion. "How come?" He paused, something clicking in his mind. "…Did you take some other shirts, too?"

She nodded. "Don't worry, it wasn't my intention. It was when I went over to put those leftovers in the fridge for you, and I just…"

"Why?"

She finally looked at him, her cheeks still faintly pink. "Why what?"

"Why'd you take them?"

The blush seemed to deepen even as she scowled a bit, almost like she was annoyed by the question. Or maybe just with herself. "I guess…" She turned her body so that she wasn't facing him, but was still leaning against him. "I guess I just wanted a piece of you with me all the time."

Hope could've been knocked over with a feather. "What?"

A shrug lifted her shoulders a little. "They smell like you." She tugged at the fabric of the sweatshirt. "I know it's stupid, but it helps me when work is stressing me out, or when Serah's driving me crazy with her wedding planning." An annoyed huff escaped her, apparently mad that her secret was out. "I'll give them back. I - "

"No." In an instant, Hope's arms were around Lightning, hugging her tightly to himself, his chest pressed against her back. With a smile, he nuzzled the top of her head, wondering how the hell he'd gotten so lucky. "Keep them. It's okay."

After a period of silence, she turned her head slightly, sounding unsure. "Really?"

"Really." His head dropped so that he could kiss her bare shoulder. "This one looks better on you, anyway."

She snorted quietly. "I highly doubt that."

"Besides," Hope continued, ignoring that, "I like the thought of always being around you, even when I'm not physically here."

"Is that so?"

His lips pressed against her neck. "I wouldn't have it any other way."