playing the melody; au
(warning: this one is really, really long)

If he'd asked himself what he wanted to do after finishing school, Hope could honestly say that 'owning a coffee shop' had never been something on his list at all. After all, his degree was in temporal science. That had nothing to do with coffee.

But the job prospects were annoyingly dim, and he needed something to do with himself. He'd originally just worked behind the counter, but the old owner, a kind man named Sazh, had been so impressed with his work ethic that a few years later, simply handed the shop over to him like it was nothing.

Hope didn't really mind. It was better than sitting around doing nothing, and the shop generally only got super busy during the summer months. The tourists needed their iced coffee, though he couldn't imagine why someone would come to Bodhum voluntarily.

Maybe he'd been living here too long, to come up with a thought like that. Bodhum was a nice town. A beach town, something a lot of people would love, he knew.

It wasn't that he didn't like it. He did. But it was so...routine. Hope would arrive at the shop early - he only lived a block away, so it was an easy walk, even at dawn - to open things up, check the schedule for the day, and spend most of the time in the office doing paperwork and ordering supplies.

However, on one Thursday morning, that routine got out of whack. Both of the employees he'd scheduled called out sick. He didn't really have a long list of people who worked for him, but luckily, after some calling around, one of them could come in after her morning class. It would have to do.

At least Thursday morning didn't seem to be a big coffee time, or maybe everyone had gotten frustrated when he opened up the shop late. At any rate, he was standing behind the counter, just waiting for some customers, but mostly cleaning up the mess from last night. Apparently the closing crew didn't seem big on doing dishes. Honestly, he couldn't blame them.

When the bell on the door finally rang, indicating that there was a customer, Hope looked up and immediately noticed a big, floppy-eared dog with a golden coat nose its way into the shop. He sighed heavily. There was a huge sign on the window indicating how he felt about this.

"I'm sorry, but there's no - "

He immediately stopped when who was presumably the dog's owner followed in. The first thing he noticed was the unusual shade of pink her hair was and how it was cut in a way that had most of her bangs falling in her eyes.

The second thing he noticed was her incredibly disapproving frown. "Do you honestly think I'd bring a dog into a coffee shop if I didn't need him? Don't be an idiot."

Hope flushed, immediately wanting to retort - why did someone need a dog - but then he noticed the harness.

Guide Dog At Work.

He felt like an insensitive asshole.

"I'm sorry," he said in as sincere a tone as he could manage without sounding fake. He wasn't sure if he was successful. "I didn't see the harness. Of course service dogs are allowed."

"It's not as though I could see a sign otherwise," she muttered. "I've never had a problem here before." A pause. "Are you new here?"

"Uh, no. I'm the owner." Hope debated on holding his hand out, but decided not to. She couldn't see it, anyway. "Hope Estheim."

The woman frowned. "Yeul's talked about you."

"She has?" Yeul was one of his better employees. She was a sweet girl and he liked her well enough, but she never said much to him. He couldn't imagine her engaging in a long conversation about someone, much less about him.

"Yes." A smirk appeared on her face for some reason. She tugged on the harness slightly, which must have been some kind of silent command for the dog to sit. "She says that you never stop working and that you need to get out more."

Hope stared in utter disbelief. "What? Yeul said that?!"

"Unless someone was impersonating her."

"I highly doubt that." Hope sighed and shook his head. "It's not bad to work hard, you know."

Something in her expression shifted at that, but before he could figure it out, a tiny smile quirked the corners of her lips. "No, I guess it's not. As long as it's for the right reasons."

"...Right." He didn't need a lecture this early in the morning. "And right now I'm the only one here, so..." He gestured to the handwritten menu behind him. "What can I - " He cringed as he realized what he was doing. Shit, did he have to read off the menu or something? Not that he'd mind at all, but now he - wait, she said she'd been here before, so maybe...

"Relax," she muttered. "Do you happen to know what Serah's usual is?"

"Serah?"

"My sister."

Hope wondered if he was supposed to know that already, judging by the significant tone of voice, but he simply shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't know what it is. I'm not usually up front here."

"No," she agreed. "You're in the back, working too hard. According to Yeul, anyway."

Hope instantly decided that he needed to have a little talk with Yeul. "I can definitely make whatever it is, if you know it. I'm not completely helpless."

"I never said you were." There was that smirk on her face again. "I don't know the name of it, but it's something that involves too much raspberry syrup."

He scratched the back of neck with a hum. "A raspberry mocha?"

"I think that's it. She likes it with a lot of whipped cream on top."

That sounded like sugar overload to him, but then again, who was he to question a customer's order? "Coming right up."

It took a little longer than anticipated, mostly because Hope was so used to simply brewing black coffee for himself. He rarely indulged in anything fancier than that, much less anything with whipped cream on top. When he finally did finish it, however, he felt rather proud of himself, grinning as he put a squirt of whipped cream on top, as requested.

"More."

He nearly dropped the drink in surprise, practically forgetting that someone had even been there. "Huh?"

"It needs more whipped cream."

Hope looked at the styrofoam cup in his hands, which was practically overflowing. "How can you tell?"

"I didn't hear the whipped cream can for long enough."

Trying to hide how impressed he was at that, he obediently continued until the woman called out for him to stop. At this point, the whipped cream was about two seconds away from falling over the side of the cup. He had no idea how she would get it back to her sister without spilling some all over herself. A part of him wanted to ask, but, well...that probably wasn't his place. Instead, he put a lid on it just in case, even though he usually only put them on when requested. People typically threw them out less than a minute later, anyway.

"There you go." He nodded towards the cup on the counter before realizing that duh, she couldn't see it. "I mean, uh - should I hand it to you?"

"I need to pay you first." She said this in a flat tone, like he was stupid for thinking otherwise.

After a moment, Hope shook his head, mostly to himself. "It's on the house."

Now she seemed surprised. She wasn't wearing dark glasses or anything, so he could see the emotion flickering in her eyes, which surprised him. Maybe it was so pronounced because she presumably couldn't see anything else. "Is this out of pity?"

"Not at all." And he was serious about that. "Consider it an apology for not noticing the harness. You and the dog are always welcome here."

The silence that followed went on for so long that Hope wondered if he'd said something wrong again, but then his patience was rewarded with another slight smile. "Odin."

"Excuse me?"

"His name is Odin."

He chuckled. "Does he have any puppies named Thor?"

"Hell if I know." They both chuckled, and she suddenly lifted her hand a bit. "But I suppose it's ironic that my name is Lightning."

Hope watched as her arm extended slowly, hesitantly, as though she was searching for something in the air. He abruptly realized that she wanted to shake hands and gently took hers, shaking it with a smile that he was sure she could hear. "Ironic, but fitting. Nice to meet you, Lightning."

Some kind emotion that he couldn't quite place flickered across her expression as she shook his hand, but it faded when she dropped it and reached for the counter. He watched with raised eyebrows as she deftly felt for the styrofoam cup Serah's drink was in and curled her fingers around it. She tugged on the harness and Odin got to his feet, immediately going back to work, but they both stopped in the doorway just before leaving. Lightning raised the cup in thanks.

"Call me Light."

Over the next couple of weeks, Hope starting coming out of his office more and more often, usually around the time when Lightning and Odin would show up. Sometimes she'd have her sister - Serah - with her, but most of the time it was just her. Well, her and Odin. Every single time Hope would appear at the counter after hearing the telltale click-click of dog claws on the floor, Yeul would smile a bit secretively and remind Hope about the extra whipped cream. He always put the drink down on the exact same spot on the counter, and to what seemed like everyone's amusement, it was always on the house.

He couldn't understand why he liked talking to her so much...besides the fact that she was sharp, quick-witted, and her occasional little smirky-smiles made his stomach do somersaults. He had no explanation for the smiles, but he supposed that her snarky replies came from how long she'd been blind, which he'd discovered during one these many conversations.

"How long have you..." he'd started to ask.

"Been stuck like this?" she'd muttered. Her expression spoke of someone who was extremely unimpressed. "You can just come out and say it."

"I didn't.." He'd cleared his throat. "I was just curious, since you seem so at ease. How long have you been blind?"

"Softening the direct approach with some humanity. Interesting." There'd been another one of those smirky-smiles, but it'd faded slightly. "Since I was fifteen. About seven years now."

"Really?" For some reason, this had surprised him. Seven years was a long time, yeah, but fifteen years was even longer to have your sight. "That's..."

"I don't want your pity."

"...Impressive."

Her mouth had fallen open slightly and somehow, she'd known exactly where to look to stare right at him. It'd made his stomach do flips again.

He hadn't asked exactly how she'd lost her vision, because after explaining that it wasn't a total loss - she could still see some blurry shapes sometimes -she'd gotten visibly irritated and he'd hurriedly dropped the subject.

Honestly, Hope couldn't say why he felt so drawn to her. A part of him wondered if it was because he was a little fascinated by her. It wasn't as though he'd encountered many blind people in his life, or people with any kind of visible impairment, really. It was hard to know how to act sometimes.

But the more he talked to her, the more he realized that Lightning didn't define herself by her blindness. She was just a person who happened to be blind. She was...she was...

"I'm screwed," she muttered.

"Huh?" Hope shook himself out of his thoughts. "What's wrong?"

Lightning was listening to something on her phone with a grimace. It was a little strange seeing her right now, because it was during the evening - almost closing time, in fact. She'd shown up out of the blue, claiming that she needed something caffeinated because some friends of hers were taking her out somewhere, and they tended to stay up 'til dawn. That'd been two hours ago, however.

Not that Hope minded the company.

Instead of answering him, Lightning held the phone close to her mouth. "Call Serah," she ordered, and within seconds, Hope could hear the vague noise of Serah's voice, though it was covered with Lightning groaned a moment later. "Voicemail," she muttered, though when there was a rather loud beep, she spoke at a normal tone. "Serah, Fang just called me and said she got a flat tire, so everything's off for tonight, thank god. I don't know where I'll be, but I'll let you know so you can pick me up later. Love you." She paused. "End call."

After she'd put the phone away, Hope raised his eyebrows. "What's going on?"

"Just like you heard. Friend got a flat tire." She sighed heavily. "I would just walk home, but it's getting late and I don't like walking with this." She held up a cane. According to an earlier conversation, she had it with her instead of Odin because it was obviously much easier to transport into a car. "Walking home, I mean. I don't know." A little groan escaped her. "Shit, and you're about to close up the shop, aren't you?"

"How'd you know?"

"Noel's washing out some of the coffeepots," she said absentmindedly, referring to one of the evening employees. "You said you only do dishes when it's time to close up."

Hope listened for a moment and he could indeed hear the sound of the sink running. "I guess," he answered a bit awkwardly.

"Would you mind if I waited here? Serah's doing a project with someone. Some class for for school. I don't know how long she'll be. I don't want to keep you here any longer, but..."

"I could walk you home," he offered. The words popped out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Lightning was silent for a full thirty seconds before replying. "You don't have to do that."

"Seriously. It's no problem." He smiled, hoping it could be heard in his voice. "I only live a block away from here, so it's not like walking around town is new to me. And it's better than waiting around, right?"

"...Right." Another one of those little smirky-smiles formed on her lips. "I guess if you don't mind..."

"Not at all. Just let me finish closing up."

"Sure."

Lightning swiftly used her cane to find a seat and settled herself into it. It was a bit odd to watch her use it - it almost seemed as though she was uncomfortable with doing so. Maybe it was because it actually made her seem disabled, however far that actually was from the truth. At least when she had Odin with her, people might assume it was a pet at first, like he had.

He sighed and sent Noel home so he could quickly finish the rest of the closing duties. When he went back out to Lightning, he smiled at the look on her face - intense, since she was probably listening to everything around her.

"I'm to your left," he said.

"I know that." She got to her feet. "Are you done?"

"Yes." Hope headed to the door and she followed, the cane lightly clicking on the floor with her steps. "Where do you live?"

"The apartments on Pulse Court."

"Which isn't that far of a walk," he replied teasingly. "Hang on, I need to lock up."

She nodded and waited as he pulled his keys out and locked the door. After he put them away, he gestured to the sidewalk in front of them. "This way..." he started to say, immediately feeling like an ass.

Luckily, Lightning just seemed amused. "You do know where Pulse Court is, right?"

"Yeah. It's not that far from where I live."

"Then go ahead." Now she was the one who paused, like she wanted to ask him something. "Can I..."

"What is it?"

"Do you mind if I hold onto your arm?" To his surprise, a slight flush formed on her face. Was she embarrassed about asking for help? "Not that I think you'll run off without me, but it's easier that way."

"Yeah. I mean - no, I don't mind." Hope held out his arm, brushing it lightly against her so she knew where it was."

"Thanks," she murmured. Hope simply nodded and slowly started walking, ignoring the way his stomach flip-flopped when her fingers curled in the crook of his elbow.

She was surprisingly deft with the cane, for as much as she claimed she didn't like it. It swung back and forth easily over their path, although he noticed that anyone else using the sidewalk veered far out of their direction. He tried to tell himself that it was because they wanted to give her some space.

They didn't talk much, but that was okay with him. Words seemed unnecessary with her most of the time. Even though Lightning couldn't see him, it felt like she could see into him at times, like she knew all of his thoughts before they even formed. Maybe it had to do with being blind, or maybe it was a magic all her own.

When they got to the apartments on Pulse Court, Hope wondered how she found her way back when Odin or someone wasn't with her. To his surprise, she stopped suddenly, tapping the cane against the ground.

"What is it?"

"Building C, right?"

Hope looked up, and sure enough, there was a large sign in front of the building with a giant 'C' lettered on it. "Yup. How'd you know?"

"There's a point here in the sidewalk that's a little smoother than the rest of it." Lightning tapped the ground again, and when he looked closer, Hope realized that he actually could see an imperfect smudge of cement on the sidewalk - probably from when a pothole had been filled or something. "And it's only in front of this building."

"Impressive."

"Not really." But she was smiling.

He grinned in return, hoping she could feel it, but it faded as they both stood there awkwardly. If she knew where her building was, surely she could get to her apartment without help. "Uh..."

"Did - " she started to interrupt, hesitating before she continued, "did you want to come up with me? Like I said, it'll be awhile before Serah comes back, and, well..."

Hope recalled how she was supposed to have gone out with some friends tonight. Somehow, he had a feeling that was a rare occurrence and she'd actually prepared herself for it. Maybe now she just didn't want to be alone.

And honestly, neither did he.

"Sure," he replied, squeezing her arm gently. "I'd love to."

She smiled - one of the rare ones that made his stomach flip-flop - and nodded a bit. "If you're sure."

"Absolutely."

They headed inside the building and he noticed that she used the cane less and less as they walked further up. She grabbed the handrail as well as any sighted person would and slowed in front of what was presumably her and Serah's apartment as naturally as anything. Hope had no idea why he found this so fascinating. She must have climbed these stairs thousands of times, after all.

"Just one thing," she said as she took her keys out of her pocket. There were several of them, and he noticed that the tops were covered in different designs of puff paint, probably so that she could tell them apart.

"What?"

Lightning slid a key with a striped design into the lock. "Don't move anything. Or if you do, let me know immediately."

"Okay..." he started to answer, but the word trailed off when she opened the door and he stepped into the apartment. Instantly, he could tell why she'd issued that warning - the place was completely immaculate. A part of him wondered which sister was the neat freak, but when Lightning drifted her hands against the wall only to rest her cane in a little nook, he realized that it was this way for a reason. It had to be, so she could live in her own home without feeling like an invalid.

He heard the familiar click-clack of dog claws and smile when Odin came trotting out of a room down the hall. He barked once, his tongue hanging out of the doggy smile on his face.

Lightning smiled. "Odin, sit." The dog immediately obeyed, but it was clear that he was excited. His tail was thumping against the floor and he was practically vibrating from his sitting position, desperately wanting to greet everyone.

She wandered away and came back with the harness a minute later, strapping Odin into it efficiently. It amazed him how well she did things simply by touch - she didn't even turn her head to what she was doing. Not that it was necessary, of course, but it was still oddly fascinating to him.

"I need to take him outside," she explain apologetically. "Do you mind waiting for a few minutes?"

"Not at all."

She gave him another little smile and got up, grasping the harness. Odin immediately calmed down and looked alert, ready to look out for his master. Hope had known about guide dogs since he was a kid, of course, but seeing one in action was another thing all together.

They left after she promised to be back in a few, leaving Hope to look around the apartment. It wasn't very big, but it seemed spacious enough because of how clean it was. There was a sofa, a dog bed, and a television - maybe Serah watched it? - off to one end of the wall. To his surprise, the other side of the wall was home to a large piano.

He wandered towards it, something in his chest clenching painfully. Did Lightning play it? It seemed unlikely, but not impossible. Maybe Serah did, but he heard during one of her infrequent visits to the coffee shop that she was majoring in education. Musical education, perhaps? Or maybe it was just a hobby?

He stared for so long that he hardly noticed when Lightning returned, her presence only becoming known when Odin barked. He jumped a little, blinking rapidly.

"Hope?"

He cleared his throat. "Yes?"

For some reason, his response seemed to make her relieved. "Where are you?"

"By the piano."

She made a noise of acknowledgment and hurriedly took Odin's harness off, disappearing to put it away. When she came back out, she walked right up to him, so easily like she could see exactly where he was. "You can sit down, you know."

"I know." He chuckled a little. "It's just..." He paused, wondering how to word this. "Who plays the piano?"

Something flickered on her face, but it passed as quickly as it came. "Serah," she replied. "Sort of, anyway. She's not very good."

Hope laughed this time, hoping she wasn't offended. She didn't seem to be. "Really?"

"It actually..." Lightning shrugged. "It's actually more of a memento from our old home. Nobody wanted it, so we brought it back here. Serah wants to make use of it someday."

"Good thing you kept it." Hope stepped forward, pressing a key. A low note rang through the room. "It's a nice one."

"You play?"

"...I used to." He'd stopped when he was fourteen, after the accident. After all, the lessons had been her idea...

"Do you remember any of it?"

"Some," he admitted. Another key fell under his fingertips. Body memory, his instructor had always told him. That's why you practiced - until you got good enough so to the point where you didn't have to think about what you were doing and it came from you effortlessly. "Do you mind if I...?"

Lightning tilted her head slightly, like she was listening harder. "Be my guest."

Hope pulled out the bench and sat down, his fingers hovering over the keys. He pressed down on a couple more. At least the piano was in tune, if nothing else.

For a moment, nerves gripped him and he worried he was going to make an utter fool of himself in front of Lightning, but then he played a couple of scales and those nerves simply melted away. His fingers moved in unison with what was in his mind. It was something that often happened when he'd done anything in his chosen science, but this was more...uplifting, somehow. The piece that he played was slow and sweet, the melody bringing a little smile to his face as he played. He could almost imagine his mother singing along with the tune, making up a song on the spot...

"That's amazing."

He jumped a bit, losing his momentum for a second before he stopped playing. "What is?"

"Your playing." Lightning was staring right at him. Obviously she knew where the piano was and that was probably why she was looking there, but it honestly did feel like she was looking at him. Even her eyes seemed a little more focused. "It was amazing."

"It was nothing," he replied modestly. "I'm pretty rusty."

"Still," she argued. "How come you don't play more often?"

"I never had time." He swallowed heavily, unsure of why he wanted to say this now, of all times. Maybe playing that melody had lifted his heart a little. "I...my mom had me take lessons when I was a kid. I complained a lot, but I actually really liked it. I'd play for her all the time." The little smile he got in response compelled him to continue. "But when I was fourteen, she...she died. It was a car accident. Head-on collision."

For whatever reason, the words caused Lightning to stiffen. She stood a little straighter, turning her head away from him for a moment, almost like she needed to compose herself. "You didn't play in school?"

"No. I was a temporal science major." He shrugged. "Not much time for piano-playing there."

"You still obviously remember a lot. You should play more." Her tone became wistful. "Honestly, I've always wanted to learn how to play, but..."

"But...?"

"Serah has no idea how to teach me." A little sigh escaped her. "And obviously we're not going to find someone who's qualified in this town. It's basically useless."

Hope stared quietly for a moment, glancing at the piano, then back up at her. "I can try."

She blinked in confusion. "What?"

"Sit down. Let me at least try something."

"Hope..." Lightning paused, as though she was trying to come up with an excuse to refuse. In the end, curiosity won out. She carefully slid onto the bench, sitting to his right.

"Okay," he murmured. "This just popped into my head, but..." He rested his fingers on some of the keys. "Can I have your hand? Your left hand."

She held it up hesitantly. Hope smiled and grasped it gently, as not to startle her, and lightly rested her left hand on top of his left one. Obviously, his fingers were larger than hers, but nevertheless, they seemed to curl around his perfectly. It honestly felt like it was one hand instead of two, if he ignored the way her arm was stretched out across his chest.

Which, quite frankly he didn't want to.

"Just move your fingers with mine, okay?"

"...Okay." Lightning smiled softly, quickly catching on to what he was trying to do. Hope smiled as well, watching her face as he slowly pressed his fingers over some keys. He didn't move his hand - not that she couldn't follow along, he was sure, but this was experimental - but kept with the same three keys, creating a tiny little tune.

Gradually, he slipped his hand out from underneath hers. "Keep going," he urged when she hesitated, but listened to him, pressing on the same keys herself. It was incredible to watch her expression light up as the notes flew through her fingers - her own fingers. She wasn't simply listening, nor was she just a bystander in a sighted person's creation - she was making her own music, music that would make sense to anyone would would listen to it.

After what seemed like hours, Lightning stopped, letting her hand fall from the piano. A shaky breath caught in her throat. Hope realized she was trying not to cry.

"Thank you," she murmured in awe.

"It was nothing." Liar. "I can try to think of some kind of more proficient method to teach you, if you want. I mean, if you have free time."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to." His tone was earnest. While it was incredible to watch her do things that someone with their eyesight could do without thinking, it was even better to see her smile like that - to see her expression glow with amazement and her hazy eyes clear with happiness.

Why did he want to see it so badly?

"...If you're sure," she finally replied, another smile lighting up her face. "Maybe Serah can help me look up better teaching methods you could use."

"I don't know." Hope reached for her hand again, carefully brushing his against it in warning before he grasped her fingers. "I was liking that impromptu method, come to think of it."

She chuckled, lightly squeezing his hand back. The two of them remained in a comfortable silence until she turned more towards him, her eyes moving around as though she was instinctively trying to see where he was. He remembered that she could see blurry shapes sometimes - could she see whatever shape he made?

"Can I ask you something strange?"

He made a noise of acknowledgment. "Sure."

"Can..." She bit her lip. Hope tried not to stare. "Can I touch your face? All I really know about what you look like is what Serah tells me."

"You asked Serah what I look like?"

"...So what if I did?"

He smiled. Honestly, he'd been wondering if she would ever ask to do this, or if it was a misconception on his part that it was done at all. Either way... "Yes, you can. I don't mind."

She seemed relieved, for some reason, and pulled her hand out of his grasp so she could lift it. It hovered there awkwardly until Hope realized that she needed him to guide it to his cheek. Once her fingertips were against his skin, he stayed still, simply watching her.

Lightning's other hand touched the other side of his face and her fingertips began to move, tracing his skin. They grazed over his smooth jaw, up over the sides of his nose, and mapped out his eyebrows. Her eyes fell closed at some point, as though she was painting a picture of what she could feel on the inside of her eyelids, her lips parted in concentration. Hope felt like his chest was going to explode.

"You know..." she said quietly as the pads of her fingers brushed against his hair, a surprised noise escaping her at how long it was, "I lost my mother, too. When I was fifteen."

It took all he had to speak in a steady voice. "But didn't you say that..."

"Yeah." Her hands were slowly moving down the sides of his neck. "It was a car accident, like yours. Only I was a passenger. Serah was the only one who got out completely unscathed."

"Light..."

"I actually woke up in the hospital on my birthday. Apparently I'd been out for awhile." She was moving back over his face again, like she needed to memorize it all now. "My only present that year was my loss of eyesight. Worst birthday ever."

"I..." He wondered why she was telling him this. Maybe because he'd opened up earlier and now she felt the need to share as well. Whatever the reason... "I'm sorry."

"I know." Her thumb grazed his lower lip. She was staring at him - really staring at him in that way that made him feel that she actually could see straight into him. "I'm sorry, too."

Her voice was soft, expectant. Sure, they were both sorry about the circumstances life had given them...but it was clearly that neither of them were sorry about the situation they'd found themselves in right this second.

"Light..." he breathed out, leaning in closer. She followed the noise and met him halfway.

The angle was a bit awkward at first - her lips were more on the corner of his mouth than anywhere else - but maybe it was intentional, because she relaxed far more when they managed to kiss properly than he would have thought otherwise. Her hands had moved back to his shoulders and she gripped them a little more tightly as their kiss slowly intensified. He felt rather than heard the little sighs that escaped her throat, the noise muffled in between their lips. A quiet, pleased noise came from both of them in unison when his arms tightened around her waist, pulling her close.

It made him wonder how he'd ever existed like this, without her lips.

When they did pull away, it wasn't very far. Lightning smiled softly in a way he'd never seen her do and carefully rested her forehead against his. "Do you always kiss unsuspecting blind girls?" she murmured.

"Only if I like how their hands feel on my face."

That answer seemed to startle her, but before she could reply, Odin trotted up next to them and rested his head on her lap. She jumped a little, but then smiled and moved away from Hope to pet the dog's head, her hand moving in graceful motions. "Seems like he's jealous."

"Of me? I doubt it."

"I don't." Lightning smirked, staring at him in that way that made him think that she actually could see him.

Who knew - maybe in her dreams, she actually did.

The next couple of weeks went like a dream. Lightning and Odin would come into the shop to get Serah's usual, and after they delivered it, she'd come back towards the end of the night and wait for Hope to lock up. Then they'd go back to the Farron's apartment where Hope would usually give her piano lessons, but sometimes - especially if Serah wasn't at home - they'd end up on the couch wrapped up in each other instead.

Lightning was a remarkably quick learner. Hope wasn't sure why he was so surprised by this, because he'd already known that she was incredibly smart. Maybe it was because this was a learning process for him as well. He'd never taught anyone how to play the piano, never mind someone who was blind. In fact, she'd come up with the brilliant idea of using masking tape to find certain keys easier. They just stuck a tiny piece on there, and Lightning was able to feel the texture of the tape, and therefore, the right key.

It impressed him. She impressed him. It was incredible to watch her face light up when she played a couple of scales flawlessly or when she found the right notes without his help. Every melody that came from her fingertips seemed...better, somehow, like she was truly putting her heart into it.

And it wasn't just the piano playing that was better, either. Everything seemed a little brighter now. It was easier to work such long hours when he knew she would be waiting for him at the end of the day. The amazing kisses aside, he genuinely did enjoy spending time with her and honestly wanted to spend as much of it as he could by her side. It was becoming second nature to have Odin with them, or for him to ask where he should put something in the apartment so he didn't mess up the order everything was in.

He just...

He liked her.

"Seems like you're in pretty deep," Noel said to him one evening.

"She's pretty damn amazing," Hope confessed. They were standing towards the back of the shop, out of earshot of customers, but close enough so that they could see anyone come in. Or Noel could, anyway; Hope wasn't paying much attention. "Everything she does, it's just..."

"Geez." Now Noel was laughing. "You're in way deep."

"I don't know about that." Yes he did. Every piano lesson made him want to stay longer, every time they kissed made him wish that they could take it further, and the nights where she'd grab his hand with her free one when they took Odin on a walk made his heart want to burst. He couldn't explain why, but he wanted to be around her. He had to.

"Judging by the dopey look on your face, you know exactly how you feel about her."

"My face isn't dopey," Hope muttered. Noel just laughed again, but Hope continued speaking a way that was, dare he think, passionate. "Seriously, she's amazing. She's picking up the piano so fast and she doesn't even care when I get all technical about it. Maybe it's the science major in me."

"Uh huh."

The bell rang, indicating that a customer was in the shop, but Hope paid that no mind. "I'm thinking of writing a paper about the correlation between blind people and sound - in this case, music." Noel's eyes widened. Was he impressed? "Of course, that means I'll need to watch her more, do more research. It's actually a fascinating subject."

"Uh, Hope - "

"And it isn't as though she's the first who can play an instrument, so maybe there's something bigger there that I haven't found out yet. Perhaps the notes sound differently when you can't associate the sight of a key or a string with a sound..."

"Hope." Now Noel looked something akin to horrified. "Shut up."

"What are you - "

"Research?"

Hope froze. He knew that voice.

He just didn't know how much she'd heard.

Immediately, he dashed out to the counter. Lightning was standing a few feet in front of it, Odin obediently sitting beside her. She had her head turned in the direction where he and Noel had been talking, but now tilted it slightly towards him when he began to babble. "Light, listen, let me explain - "

"Research," she spat out again, like it was a dirty word. "Is that all I am to you? Some kind of experiment so you can get your fix, even though it's not my damn fault that your degree was useless?!"

"It's not like that all!" he pleaded. "Please, let me explain!"

"You don't need to," she practically hissed out. Fire wasn't burning just in her eyes, but in her whole expression. "This - this is worse than pity. I'm not some kind of freakshow for you or anyone to...to research."

"Light - "

"Fuck you," she blurted out, tugging on Odin's harness. She must have heard him scrambling around the counter to dash over to her in an attempt to stop her from going, but she awkwardly held her arm out, heading right for the door and staring straight ahead. "Stay the hell away from me."

Hope's stomach did a flip-flop, then grew heavy like stone with regret as she left, anger in every step. He was too shocked to even try to run after her.

Noel came up to the counter after Lightning had left, staring at his boss's slackjawed, pained expression, offering his own brand of wisdom.

"You're boned."

It was the truth, honestly. Hope had never felt so...so desolate, and all because one woman was suddenly absent from his life. Lightning stopped coming by to pick up Serah's regular, obviously, but it wasn't just her missing physical presence that hurt.

No, what also hurt was the lack of music in his ears from her playing. From his attempts at playing, even though she was already proving to be much better at it than he was. It hurt that he rearranged everything in his own apartment to be immaculate and have its own space, just because he'd gotten so used to knowing where things go. It hurt when he saw people take their dogs out for evening walks, but they were all on leashes and not on special harness.

It hurt that he missed her so damn much. The pain was like a physical presence at his side - the side where Lightning had been for weeks. He missed the way her fingers curled in the crook of his arm, how she'd touched his face like she needed to memorize him a hundred times more, how her lips felt against his...how the melodies they'd made under their joined fingertips played right to his very soul.

Damnit. It was all just a huge misunderstanding. Hope didn't see her as an experiment, or...what had she said, a freakshow? Sure, he found the way she dealt with her condition fascinating, but he'd grown to see her blindness as simply a part of her and nothing more. He'd never known her any other way.

He thought about what he'd said that day, to Noel, about 'research.'

...No wonder she'd lashed out at him like that.

Hope groaned and scrubbed a hand over his face, leaning over the front counter at the coffee shop. He had to find a way to apologize. He had to. Life was just...empty without her, like he could only really see when he was around her.

Now he was the one operating blind.

He glanced up when the bell rang, indicating a customer, and immediately stood up. His heart raced at the sight of pink hair, but...

"Serah?" he croaked out. Obviously, he hadn't seen her either since that whole...fiasco.

"Yeah," she replied, sounding a bit hesitant. "Look, I'm not here on behalf of Lightning or anything. I'm mostly here because the cafe on the other side of town doesn't make raspberry mochas as well as you do."

"Huh? Oh, right." Automatically, he starting making the drink. Of course Serah was here for coffee, duh. This was a coffee shop. He owned it and that was that. He had no business doing anything else, like...thinking about writing stupid papers or teaching anyone to play the piano. None at all.

After squirting on extra whipped cream, Hope handed the drink over to her, not caring if she paid or not. To his surprise, she did, and then gave him a nervous little smile. "Can I give you a tip?"

"A tip?" He frowned. "I don't have a tip jar."

"This one will be much more useful." Serah took a sip of her mocha. "...She plays it all the time, you know. The piano."

Hope stared. "What?"

Serah nodded. "She's trying to teach herself how to do it, but she gets frustrated really easily. I mean, it's kind of impressive, because it sounds like she is doing pretty well at it. And it's weird."

When Serah didn't elaborate, Hope knew he had to continue the conversation. "Weird how?"

The was a minute of hesitation before she spoke. "After the accident, Lightning learned really quickly how to be self-sufficient." Serah was talking into her coffee, like it was easier to look at than him. "I guess you have to, in that case, because she had to learn how to live her life again."

"I know," he breathed out. He'd often imagine what it must have been like for her. What if he'd been in her situation? What if he'd been a passenger in his mom's car when he was fourteen? Would he have been able to do what Lightning was doing now, just living her life like it was nothing?

Doubtful.

"She's so determined to do everything by herself," Serah continued. "And she's good at it, too. You know, it takes a couple of months of training for someone to be able to handle a guide dog. It only took Lightning a few weeks. She puts all of her energy into living as normally as possible, and it doesn't leave her with time for anything else." She finally looked at him. "Neither of us would consider learning how to play the piano something that's a part of normal life. But now...now she considers it a part of her life."

It took Hope a solid minute to understand what Serah was trying to tell him, but when comprehension dawned, it was as thought the lead in his stomach had faded.

Even now, after that horrible misunderstanding, after all that had happened...

...Lightning considered him a part of her life.

"Oh my god," he murmured, looking utterly flabbergasted. "I - I just..."

"I just wanted to let you know that," Serah said in a soft tone.

The thought that Lightning considered him to be so important to her was utterly mind-boggling. It was obvious that she enjoyed how she fit in his arms, how their lips meshed together so perfectly and how...easy it was for them to be together. Being around her had added a song he never knew was sung.

Just before Serah could walk out the door, Hope dashed around the counter. "I need to apologize to her."

She didn't mince words. "Yes, you do."

"I know." And he did. He knew. "But not just any old way. I'm going to need your help."

Hope wondered what the Farron sisters' parents must have been like, because Serah's smile was as dazzling as Lightning's...except Lightning's had something that went straight to his heart. He wanted to see it again. Needed to. Luckily, Serah understood.

"I'm on it."

Convincing Serah to get Lightning out of the house for awhile had been easy. Finding a piano to practice on had been easy. An apology was literally right at his fingertips.

It still didn't stop his heart from pounding with nerves.

"She'll be home soon," Serah said, coming out of the hallway. Hope was already seated at the piano, staring at the tiny pieces of masking tape on the keys. "Do you want me out of the way?"

"Not if you don't want to be," he replied truthfully. They'd definitely made up for any lack of conversation between them before over the past few days. Serah felt like an old friend to him now, one who was totally delighted to play matchmaker. "I just...I just hope she accepts my apology. That's all."

"Honestly..." Serah leaned over and tweaked his nose. "She'd be a fool not to."

Before he could reply, he heard the unmistakable noise of a key turning in the lock. He instantly froze, but Serah gave his shoulders a little squeeze. "Don't wuss out now!"

Right. He wouldn't. He couldn't.

Hope didn't start playing right away. Instead, he stared as Odin guided her into the apartment, his heart again pounding wildly. This time, it wasn't from nerves - it was simply his reaction to seeing her again. Did she miss him at all? Had she longed for his presence by her side, their hands moving together as they created a melody all their own?

"Serah?" Lightning called out, stepping into the apartment.

"On the couch, sis." Serah shot Hope a look, and finally, he obeyed.

Lightning was poised to answer her sister as she knelt down to take off Odin's harness, but immediately froze at the sound of the piano. Hope's first couple of notes sounded weak, pathetic, and he was sure her lack of reaction was out of disgust or surprise.

But then something amazing happened when he continued to look at her - the melody took over him and his fingers flew over the keys effortlessly. The music asked for forgiveness and made a promise of a better tomorrow. It was more than that, though - the longer he played, the more Hope realized that he couldn't just see her. He could see straight into her in that way that'd always mystified him.

Finally, he could see her...the way she'd always seen him.

At some point during his song, Serah had gotten up and taken Odin's harness off the floor to put it away, smiling to herself as she disappeared down the hall. Hope barely noticed. All he could focus on was his plea of forgiveness, on Lightning, and the way his chest constricted in the best possible way when she glanced in his general direction. She could hear the music, sure - but more importantly, she could hear what it meant.

Slowly, she walked over towards the piano, her hand finding the edge of it so she could feel for her normal seat easier - on the bench on his right. She slowly sank down, her face just staring straight ahead as she listened...

...Until she slowly lifted her hands, feeling for a key with masking tape, and joined in on his melody.

Hope relaxed considerably next to her. The music flowed from them easily, playing a melody that spoke to the two of them, meant for their ears and hearts only. It hardly mattered that Lightning couldn't see him. She knew him.

And dare he think it...he knew her, too.

It felt like hours before the last note faded away. The silence that followed was much louder than any music could have been. He was the one that broke it.

"I'm sorry."

She finally turned her head in his general direction. "I know you are." Her hands slid off the piano. "I heard."

Though he was immensely relieved, he couldn't help but keep on rambling. "I don't know why I said all that stuff. I mean, yeah, I find the subject fascinating, but you're not a subject. You never have been. I love spending time with you and these past few weeks have been absolutely..."

"Miserable," she finished. She smirked when he just croaked in surprise. "I know, Hope. They've been miserable for me, too. I just..." She shook her head, reaching out hesitantly to find his hand, resting hers on top of it. "There have been people in the past who have tried to use me just because I happen to not have my eyesight."

"What?"

"Yeah. You know, getting to the front of lines, trying to get free stuff out of pity. That sort of thing." She sounded disgusted, and for good reason. "That's why I got so pissed off. I didn't want you to be one of them."

"I'm not..." he started to say, but as he recalled his conversation with Noel that day, he realized that he really had sounded like he wanted to take advantage of her condition.

To his surprise, she smiled. "You're right. You're not."

"I'm not?"

Lightning reached up with her free hand, gently pressing on some of the keys. "I heard it in your song."

For the longest time, Hope felt utterly flabbergasted. How could she see into him so easily, without actually being able to see? How did someone like her even exist and how the hell had he ever gotten lucky enough to cross her path?

"Light?"

She made a noise like she was surprised to hear him speak. "Yes?"

"Can I kiss you?"

She turned to him fully with a smile. He knew her answer before she spoke when she slid her fingers in between hers. "Yes, you can."

Hope wasted no time in connecting their lips, only bumping his nose against hers in warning. They melted against each other immediately, and somehow, he knew in that moment he really was truly forgiven. Good thing, because if she considered him an important part of her life...

...Then he was the same.

Even so, he had to make sure. When they pulled apart slightly for breath, he breathed out his question. "Is this okay? Me and you, I mean. Do...do you want this?"

A smirk formed on her face as she kissed him quickly. "I think it's plain to see that I do."

He couldn't help the chuckle that escaped him, despite his exhilaration at her answer. "Was that a pun?"

"Maybe you're rubbing off on me."

"Can't say I mind." He grinned, about to capture her lips again, but then Serah came in the room. Judging from the huge smile on her face, it was clear that she'd been eavesdropping.

"What have you two been doing?" she asked in a teasing sing-song voice. However teasing it was, though, there was a gentleness in her expression that must have been apparent in her voice, because it made Lightning smile in approval.

"Just another lesson." Lightning turned to face the piano better, lifting Hope's hand. "Right?"

He chuckled again, kissing the side of her head. "Right."

They both ignored the way Serah squealed as Hope's fingers moved under Lightning's, guiding her to the right notes. The melody that came from their fingers thrilled him. It spoke of a promise, of a future he wanted to hold onto. It was clear that she wanted to keep it close as well, as evident by the smile on her face as they played on.

And on.

And on.

Thank you all for your kind reviews so far C: