starvation; au. also nsfw
It had been sixteen weeks and five days since Hope had last slept with Lightning.
Honestly, he couldn't believe that he'd actually kept track of the days - there was a ton of stuff to distract him, after all. Endless wedding plans, tux fittings, getting to see Fang and Vanille again…
Oh, who was he kidding? As amazing as his wedding had been and as much as he would cherish the day in his memories for the rest of his life, he just really, really, really wanted to get to the honeymoon.
Lightning's old friend Sazh, a well-known pilot, had been able to get them some discount tickets on the flight to Serendipity. It was as good a honeymoon spot as any, because all either of them really cared about was the luxurious suite their hotel offered.
Hope let his mind wander towards the pictures they'd seen of the room and slid his eyes over towards his - his wife, he couldn't help but think with a smile. Impulsively, he took her hand and twined their fingers together, distracting Lightning from where she'd been staring out the window. Almost immediately, he regretted doing such a thing.
If she doesn't stop looking at me like that, we're going to have our first time as a married couple by joining the mile-high club.
Instead, he let out a long, slow breath, barely audible over the noise of the plane, and squeezed her hand lightly. She did the same, never taking her gaze off of his.
A shiver went down his spine, and suddenly he wanted to kill Snow. Or was it Serah that had put this idea in Lightning's head? He couldn't remember, considering it was a little hard to think when his wife was staring at him like she was starving and he was a steak dinner.
It had to have been Serah's idea, because Lightning never would've taken "advice" like this from Snow.
"You know what would be interesting? If you somehow managed to abstain from sex until after you guys get married. It'll make the honeymoon a lot more intense."
"You know…that's not a bad idea."
Except it was. It had been an awful, horrible idea. Lightning had been determined to do it - or not do it, really - so she'd barely done anything more than kiss him in these past sixteen weeks and five days.
Sure, they'd had the wedding to distract them. It helped, yes. But going from finally being able to touch Lightning and feel her hands on him to pretty much completely cold turkey had been a total shock. Hope had never considered himself any kind of sex fiend, but Lightning…
…She drove him crazy.
Much like she was doing now, with those half-lidded eyes just staring in a dark, intense gaze.
It took every little ounce of self-control he'd learned over the past sixteen weeks and five days to not join the mile-high club. He continued to employ it when their plane landed and they took a fancy town car to their hotel. The check-in process actually went fairly quickly, but it still seemed like an eternity before the bellhop had delivered their bags and mercifully closed the door after Hope had hurriedly shoved a huge tip at him.
Finally, finally, after all of the wedding madness and traveling to Serendipity, he was alone with Lightning.
For a second, he glanced around the room. It looked just like the pictures he'd seen - elegant and luxurious, almost like a little apartment rather than a hotel. It was almost pristine, in a way. It would be a shame to destroy it this week…
…but then his gaze slide over to his wife.
Sorry, room.
"Well," she murmured, and he was pleased to note that her voice sounded incredibly husky. "Here we are."
"Indeed," he replied in just as low a voice. The tension between them was rising like a tangible being. Which of them would snap first?
"….This is a nice room," she continued. It was so quiet that every little catch of breath could be heard.
"It is." Hope wondered for a second if maybe he was mistaken, and that she was actually nervous. Had the past sixteen weeks and five days somehow dulled her desire for him?
One look at her told him the answer.
Not in the least.
Their gazes met at exactly the same moment.
He snapped.
Maybe she did at the same time, because it was the only explanation for how their mouths found each other's so quickly; not even starting off with anything chaste and loving, but diving right into a hot, fiery clash of teeth and tongues.
Hope groaned low in his throat, immediately stumbling back towards the bed. He vaguely heard something - a chair? a lamp? - fall to the floor, but hardly cared. They only pulled away so he could hurriedly whip off her tank top and toss it behind him.
Gods, her skin. He'd missed it so damn much this whole time, but he was all too eager to reacquaint himself with it - and all of her. Her back was sinfully soft under his fingertips, a stark contrast to how hard and hungrily she was kissing him.
"Hurry up," she gasped across his lips, the words sending heat straight through him.
"This was your idea," he muttered in response. That got him a nip to his bottom lip, which somehow convinced him to push her down onto the bed, their lips still connected as he hovered over her, covering her body with his.
Lightning tugged at his shirt impatiently, so he somehow managed to pull away from their kiss to tug it off and throw it somewhere. When his lips returned to her, they didn't capture hers again, but instead left blazing trails on her neck and collarbone. He basked in the sound of her moan, one hand coming to cup her breast, still confined by the lacy bra he was sure she'd bought specifically for this trip.
Hopefully it'd last to see the rest of the week.
Though he could tell that was clearly enjoying his wandering hands and lips, he still wasn't too surprised when she threaded her fingers in his hair, tugging slightly to lift his head up so they could see eye to eye. Their mouths were close enough so that their hot gasps for breath could mingle, which only ramped up his desire, really.
"Hope," she said in a trembling, needy voice that nearly unmade him right then and there, "it's been four months. Hurry. Up."
"Actually," he replied in an equally shaky voice after he'd manage to compose himself enough to speak, "it's been sixteen weeks and five days."
She glared daggers at him, though it wasn't quite effective since her hands were sliding down his back, fingertips skimming along the waistband of his pants as she unbuttoned them, all while still looking him in the eye.
"That's also known as too long. I'm sure you're well aware of that." One of her hands slipped inside his pants before he could stop her and he was unable to help the jagged groan that tore from his throat at feeling her touch after so long. "Remember all of those times I would accidentally go in our room after I showered?"
"Too well," he murmured in response, feeling lightheaded from the way her hand was moving.
"I'd just be in a towel," she continued as if she hadn't even heard him. She lifted her head, lips skimming over his neck and up to his ear. "And you'd stare at me like all you wanted to do was rip it off and forget about this idea crazy idea of abstaining until after the wedding."
"Yeah…" It was getting hard to concentrate, probably because all of the blood in his body seemed to be moving elsewhere. How the hell had she taken control of him so effortlessly?
"Well, now we're here, Mr. Hope Estheim." Her voice was right next to his ear now, her lips caressing the lobe, and somehow, her hand was still moving. "We promised we'd belong to each other forever." There was a smirk he could feel as she nipped at his earlobe. "Aren't you going to make me yours, the way you've been wanting to for the past four months?"
In a different context, those sort of words were probably meant to sound romantic, but there wasn't much of that as Lightning said them. Instead, they were laced with absolute need. She needed him as much as he needed her, in more ways than one.
And there was really one way that was first and foremost on his mind right now.
With a primal noise he hadn't even realized he was capable of, Hope moved her hand from out of his pants and pinned her arms down to the mattress, capturing her lips in another frenzied kiss that she returned instantly. They simultaneously kicked their shoes off as they scooted their way up onto the bed better, still connected by their kiss as their desperate gasps filled the air.
Somehow, they managed to get the rest of their clothes off as well, though hell if he knew how. The only thing that remained was the bra Lightning was wearing, but it hardly seemed necessary to remove it right now when they were both aching for more than mere wandering hands and lips.
She didn't seem to care either, because the second they were unclothed, she immediately pulled him down and nipped his bottom lip. "Don't make me say it again."
"Can't argue with my wife," he replied with a stupid little grin that was probably inappropriate, given the situation. But he couldn't help it - even thought he was this close to physically being with Lightning again, the thought that they were married now just made him giddy.
And now he was about to find out if married sex was as good as fiance sex. Or boyfriend/girlfriend sex. Or trying-to-do-it-while-your-future-sister-and-brother-in-law-were-two-rooms-away sex.
She wasted no time welcoming him into herself, her legs coming to wrap around his waist, as though to keep him right there. Like hell he was going anywhere, except with her.
He didn't bother to start out slow like they normally did. Maybe it was the desperate need in her expression, or they way she clawed at his back like she needed something to hold onto, but either way, it urged him on. He held onto her tightly, listening for her gasps of harder or faster or more.
"Light," he moaned into her neck, vaguely hearing something rip. The sheets? A pillowcase? Who cared? He was only in tune with her demands or shifts of breaths that trailed off into quiet moans the harder he thrust. Lightning was never particularly vocal during sex, except to demand something, or unless -
"Hope!"
- he was doing something absolutely right.
Another moan escaped him, merely at the way she called out his name. His thrust grew even more vigorous, certain that neither of them were going to last much longer.
After being with Lightning for so long, he'd grown used to the signs that she was close - her breathing would grow rapid, she'd clench around him impossibly tight, and most the time, she'd slip her hand between their bodies to make sure she brought herself over.
Maybe it was from sixteen weeks and five days of build-up, but this time, all he got was a gasp of his name before it immediately turned out into a cry of utter pleasure, one hand gripping his hair like a lifeline, and he could feel her hips grinding against his, trying to draw it out. It seemed absolutely endless, like she couldn't get enough of him and everything he gave her.
He moaned her name again, managing a fleeting kiss - just a touch of lips - before his pace quickened. It was only a couple of rough, jerky thrusts before he felt about ready to explode, but it was the breathless words she murmured across his lips that made him come.
"Hurry up."
His body shook with the intensity of it all, such a sweet release he'd missed so damn much. He hadn't realized just how starved he'd been for it until right now. Everything was her hands, her lips, her legs...
"Lightning…" he murmured when it all wore down, wore him down, and he all but collapsed on top of her. She didn't seem to care and only adjusted herself slightly so that he wasn't crushing her uncomfortably and they simply lay there, their bodies spent and still trembling from utter satisfaction they hadn't felt in months.
It was kind of nice, he mused, to simply listen to her breathing. Or maybe it was both of them - they both seemed oddly in sync as their caught their breaths in an attempt to slow their racing hearts. He wondered how the hell he'd gotten through the past sixteen weeks and five days.
A smile crossed his face as he impulsively reached for her hand - her left hand - and twined their fingers together. He ran his thumb across her brand new wedding ring as though to remind himself that he'd never have to go without her again.
His likely too sappy for her train of thought was interrupted when Lightning murmured, "That definitely made the wait worth it."
"I agree," he replied instantly. The aftershocks were still coursing through him even now. "I mean, just…yeah. Wow."
"Eloquent." She smirked, her eyes finally fluttering open.
"Can you blame me?"
A chuckle. "I guess not."
Hope just grinned, letting go of her hand so his fingertips could drift over her sweat-sheened skin. She didn't seem to mind a bit and only hummed quietly in approval, especially when his fingertips traced the outline of her bra. "Is this new?"
"Yeah." She shifted around, further adjusting herself to be more comfortable. "Serah made me buy it. I'm kind of amazed it survived just now, to be honest."
"I'm glad it did." He hand rested on her chest, right over her heartbeat, which was still racing. "I like it."
"Yeah?" Another smirk slowly made its way onto her lips. "Good thing, because she made me buy some other things, too."
Instantly, his interested was piqued. "…Did she?"
"Yes." Slowly, she nudged him onto his back and rolled over, effectively switching their positions. "Luckily, you've got all week to find out what they are."
"You might need to break this stuff out sooner rather than later," he replied, running his hands over her thighs and up to grip her waist. "We do have sixteen weeks and five days of lost time to make up for."
"I don't know about that." She leaned down, engaging him in a slow, sweet kiss, probably the calmest one of the night so far.
"How come?"
Lightning smiled across his lips, feeling her words as much as he heard them. "We have the rest of our lives to make up for that. You're mine forever now."
Hope couldn't help but return the smile. "Forever it is."