heal; au-ish

Lightning liked to think that she was fairly good at handling stress. In fact, most of the time, she'd use it as a sort of motivation to move herself forward, as though working was the only way to beat it.

This week, however, it'd been one thing on top of another. Between work, helping Serah plan her wedding, and seemingly everything feeling like was out to get her, she felt like she was two seconds away from blowing up.

Not that she hadn't already, unfortunately. Earlier in the week, she'd completely lost her cool at Hope, despite the fact that he'd actively been trying to help her, as he always did. It resulted in her slamming the door to their bedroom in his face. She'd found him asleep on the couch the next morning.

She'd apologized and he'd accepted it, but he kept his distance. Somehow, she knew it was because he knew that she needed space to work out this ball of stress and madness.

…But at the same time, she felt guilty. He deserved a much better apology.

That was her excuse for lugging home several bags from the grocery store after a hellish day at work. The week was finally ending and they both had the day off tomorrow, so Lightning figured she could attempt to relax a bit and make Hope one of his favorites - a steak dinner. Not only would it allow them to hopefully unwind a bit, but it would give them a chance to finally talk so she could really apologize.

Honestly, if steak wasn't the best way to start the healing process, she didn't know what was.

After she put everything away, Lightning headed upstairs to change and to look for Hope. However, she suddenly realized that there was some kind of pungent, perfume-y scent in the air - not really overwhelming, but it was noticeable.

She furrowed her brow, so lost in thought that she nearly collided with Hope as he came out of the bathroom, letting out a surprised noise.

"Light?"

"Yeah." She frowned slightly, asking almost on instinct, "are you all right?"

"Uh huh." He pulled the bathroom door a little more closed, and she realized the scent was coming from that room. "How was work?"

"It was…work."

He chuckled a little. "I know that feeling." His hands rose for a moment, but then he immediately dropped them, which sent a stab of guilt through Lightning. If he was hesitant to touch her…gods, she really needed to fix this.

"Hope - "

"Did you have any plans later?"

"What?" She blinked at the interruption. "No. I was going to make us dinner. I bought steak."

Immediately, his eyes lit up and his expression grew a little odd, like he was deciding something. She wondered if it was whether he wanted to eat it or not.

I've had no reason to be mad at him, and yet he's taken the brunt of my stress…

"Dinner can wait," he said, finally taking a chance and reaching for her hand. She immediately curled her fingers around his, but not without some confusion.

"Why?"

"C'mere."

"What are you - "

Her question was cut off when he tugged her into the bathroom. Instinctively, she went to reach for the light switch, but realized a moment later that she didn't have to and she stared slightly open-mouthed in confusion and awe.

Candles were set all around - which explained the smell, though at least it smelled sweet - bathing the room in a dim glow. It was clean and organized, even more than usual, but most surprising of all was the full tub. It'd been filled recently, since she could practically see the steam rising from the hot water.

Lightning turned to Hope, her brows knit in confusion. "What's all this for?"

"Well…" He held onto her hand a little more tightly. "I know it's been a rough week, so I wanted to do something nice for you." He gestured towards the display around them. "I thought maybe you'd want to soak in the tub a little. Serah told me you used to do that a lot when you were younger."

Lightning remained silent.

Unfortunately, Hope misinterpreted this and let go of her hand, suddenly looking awkward. "I mean, I just thought it would be nice for you, but if you'd rather not, that's okay with…" His brow furrowed as he trailed off. "Light?"

Too late, she realized that her eyes had grown glassy. Damn it, it really must had been a stressful week if she was getting emotional over something as simple as Hope drawing a bath for her.

But it wasn't just that. It was the fact that she'd lashed out at him and had basically been horrible this whole time…and yet he still went out of his way to try and make her feel better.

There was no way she could put this into words without sounding stupid, so she just shook her head, nonchalantly wiping at her eyes. "I'm fine. I think it's just the candles or something."

"Oh…did you want me to put them out?"

"No." She shook her head. "No. I mean - " Lightning let out a long breath and somehow managed to compose herself, finally chancing a look at the wonderful man beside her. "…Thank you. You didn't have to do this."

It was as though those words were some sort of catalyst. Hope broke out into a wide smile and reached out to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear. "I wanted to." His hand came to rest on her shoulder. "I just want you to be happy, Light. That's all."

"I know." Finally, she felt a little smile form on her lips. "Thank you."

He smiled again, giving her shoulder another little squeeze before dropping his hand. "I'll let you get in there, then, before the water gets cold. Did you want me to bring you anything?"

Lightning shook her head a bit, but not before her eyes slid towards the tub. It was huge - something that'd come with the house when they'd bought it, and usually just a place they threw their wet towels. She couldn't remember the last time she'd used it.

But she knew that it was big enough for two.

"Actually…" She reached out and caught Hope's arm when he'd turned, presumably to leave. "…Why don't you come in with me?"

The expression that Hope's face took on almost made her laugh. It was a myriad of them - surprise, confusion, happiness - that ultimately melted into another one of those smiles that she loved. "Are you sure?"

"There's plenty of room," she replied teasingly. Suddenly, she was eager to let the hot water heal her muscles and pulled off her shirt and skirt, setting them aside. When Hope had gotten most of his clothing off, she turned around and he quickly unhooked her bra, letting the straps fall over her shoulders and arms. She turned around and kissed him sweetly once all of their clothing had come off, tempted to linger over his lips…

…but the temptation of a hot bath was almost as good.

As though he read her mind, Hope grabbed her hand. "Come on."

The moment she set foot in the water, Lightning immediately started feeling better. Maybe it was because this was the first time in ages she was allowing herself to relax.

Or maybe…being around Hope just made everything better.

He settled in first, leaning against a wall of the tub. The water came halfway up his chest, which was perfect, since when she sat down as well, it came to cover hers completely. There was enough space for both of them to stretch out on opposite sides, but she would have none of that.

Another surprised little noise escaped him when Lightning settled in between his legs to lay against his chest. She smiled when his arms automatically draped around her waist, only murmuring when the water stilled after all of the motion, "Are you comfortable?"

"Very." She sighed in contentment, her head falling back against his shoulder and letting her hands cover his under the water. It was absolute, utter bliss to simply soak in the hot water, her back molded against Hope's chest perfectly and his quiet, steady breathing the only noise in the room.

How long they sat there completely wrapped up in each other was anyone's guess, though Lightning figured that it wasn't that long since the water was still plenty hot when Hope spoke.

"Feeling better?"

"Yes." She opened her eyes, lifting her head a little to look at him with a slight smile. "This was a good idea."

"Not a good idea as the steak, I have to admit - hey!" he protested when she teasingly elbowed him in the side.

"I'm going to pretend that's your hollow leg talking," she huffed in amusement, shaking her head.

"Yeah, yeah." There was a smile on his face, however, and it remained there when he slipped his hands out from under hers, smoothly settling them on her waist. "Hey…could you scoot up a little bit? Just a little."

She arched an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Trust me."

Lightning rolled her eyes a bit at the lack of a real answer, but she obeyed, easily scooting across the floor of the tub, just a couple of inches away from Hope. It'd be pleasantly warm lying against him, so she was a bit disappointed when that left her…

…Until his hands covered her skin.

Immediately, she let out a surprised noise that trailed off in a quietly pleased one. She'd always known that Hope had good hands - in more ways than one - but he'd never given her a massage before. Somehow, his fingers knew exactly where to find where she needed his healing touch the most, and she felt herself practically melting under his ministrations.

"It really must have been a bad week," he murmured, his fingers working at a particularly nasty knot at the base of her neck. "Your entire upper back is in knots."

"At least I have you to fix that," she replied in a rather dreamy tone. Between the hot bath, the massage, and, well…just him, Lightning felt like she was seconds away from falling into the best sleep she would've had in ages.

Instead, a soft, welcoming kiss to the side of her neck woke her up and she smiled again. Everything in her neck and back seemed to loosen under his skillful fingertips. It was as though he was literally pulling the stress right out of her, and she'd never been so grateful.

"You know…" she said quietly what felt like hours later. His hands slowed a bit when she spoke, but didn't stop. "Sometimes I wonder what I did to deserve you."

Now his hands stopped. She could tell he was surprised. "Funny," he finally replied, letting his hands drift over her back and into the water. "I find myself asking the same question."

She leaned back against him, letting his arms naturally slip around her again. "Why?"

"Why?" he echoed, looking totally confused. She could practically see the cogs turning in his mind, but in the end, only answered with a chuckle. "You're making me a steak dinner, which makes me a lucky man."

She playfully rolled her eyes and leaned her head up to kiss him, this time lingering over his lips until the water went cold. Maybe he was right, in a way.

Whatever she did to deserve him, she didn't want to question it.