food; au-ish
Even before she'd gotten romantically involved with anyone, Lightning had enjoyed Valentine's Day for one big reason - the sweets. She would never admit it out loud, but she really did have quite the sweet tooth. There just wasn't much chance to indulge in it when she preferred to keep herself fit for her job with the Corps. But when there was a holiday based around chocolate and candy, how could she resist?
The only difference now, of course, was that she had someone who would buy it for her…and sometimes Hope didn't even wait until the actual holiday.
"I got you something." He sat down beside her, interrupting her thoughts from the book she was reading. At least it was a welcome distraction.
"What is it?"
"…These."
She finally looked over at him, her initial confusion melting away at the bag he was presenting her with. It was a pretty big plastic bag, the top tied with an elegant bow and filled with…
"Candy hearts," Lightning said with a little smile. "How did you know I liked these?"
"I know you pretty well." Hope smiled at her in return, but there was something…off about it. "One of my, uh, coworkers brought some in, so I, uh, figured I could take some to give to you."
"Smart of you." She chuckled in appreciation, so happy to have something sweet that she barely noticed Hope's awkward pauses and voice cracks. "Just imagine what the office will be like once it's after the holiday and everything goes on sale." She opened the bag, taking a few of the hearts and popping them in her mouth.
"Like a sugar-shocking paradise." Hope was watching her. "Do you…read the messages at all?"
"Not really." She shrugged. "These are actually Serah's favorite. When we were growing up, she'd always try to steal them from me whenever our mother gave us any, so I had to eat them as quickly as possible so she she couldn't." Another smile formed on her face at the memory. 'I think that's called defensive eating."
"Yeah, like I'm sure you didn't steal her chocolates in return or anything."
"…" Lightning popped more candy in her mouth. "I would never."
"I'll be sure to ask next time we see her - ow!" Hope cried out at the friendly punch to his arm.
"Like hell." But she clearly wasn't mad, as evidenced by the way she leaned over for a kiss.
And another…
And another…
"So, uh," he murmured breathlessly when they finally pulled away. They'd somehow ended up in a tangle of arms and legs, their hearts racing. "Maybe now you should read the messages."
"What?" Lightning didn't get dazed over much, but somehow, Hope's lips always managed to drive her right mind into dust.
"The, uh, candy hearts." He sounded nervous again, but she barely noticed. Quite honestly, she'd forgotten all about the candy.
"Oh, right." She sat up more fully, reaching for the bag again. "Do you like these?"
"Y-Yeah." He cleared his throat. "I do."
She hummed in response, still digging through the bag. The pink and yellow ones were her favorites, so she was trying to set those aside for herself, while finding some to give to Hope. She picked up a handful of mostly green and orange ones, her eyes flicking over the slightly blurry message on one. 'Marry Me', the little pink letters said. It was only from practice that she was able to hide her blush.
Can't give him that one.
Not that she'd be opposed to the idea, she thought, hiding another blush. They'd even discussed it once or twice, since it was something that was bound to come up when you'd been dating for over four years. She just wasn't sure of the answer.
Or am I?
She shook her head, mostly for her own thoughts, and continued going through the hearts in the bag. As per Hope's request, she kept silently reading the messages.
'Marry Me'….geez, what are the odds…?
Everything stopped. Her hand paused in its movements, her eyes still on the two words that she realized appeared on everything single candy heart in the bag - some of the words were blurry, others perfectly crisp, but the meaning was all too clear.
'Marry Me.'
'Marry Me.'
'Marry Me.'
Slowly, as though in a trance, Lightning lifted her gaze up to Hope, who was watching her intently. It was the same way he always seemed to look at her - a gaze full of a love, full of want, full of longing - only now, it was all tinged with that unspoken question.
He was clearly caught in that trance as well, because just as slowly, Hope reached into the bag of hearts. To her surprise, after digging around for a moment, he pulled out a little black box - all of the candy had hidden its presence - and quietly opened it.
Her gaze immediately went to the ring. It had a modest diamond with blue gems the color of her eyes dotting the band. It was real. This was real.
And Hope tried to make in concrete, asking the two words that accompanied the message on all of the dozens of hearts.
"Will you?"
If there was ever a time not to doubt herself, it was now. Not when the man she loved dearly was asking her the most important question of their lives, because he was the one who knew of her fondness for sweets, who knew how to brew coffee the way she liked it, the one whose hand fit perfectly in hers, the one who was always there when the things she saw working for the Corps sometimes woke her in a cold sweat in the middle of the night.
She wanted him to always be there.
With the extension of her left hand and two words, she set it in stone.
"I will."