One Hundred Reasons

by RainbowSerenity

100 Theme Challenge for HopeLight. They're two halves a whole, because after all ...there's no light without a little bit of hope.

92. sacrifice

sacrifice; the super long AU where Hope finds a baby on his doorstep

---

Ever since this new world had given him life straight from the Crystal Age, Hope Estheim felt that things had truly fallen into place. Not only were his parents nearby, but his other family – the one he'd found out of fate – were now all in contact with each other as well. It was everything he'd never known he wanted until he had it.

Or as Snow would say, "Big happy family, huh?"

Despite this gift and everything that was right with it, there was really only one thing missing…

Not that he hadn't tried to take his relationship with Lightning Farron further. He often invited her over for dinner alone, or they would go out together to events around town. She always seemed hesitant to refer to him as anything more than a good friend, and while normally that would cause Hope to back off, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were both just waiting for something…though what, he couldn't say.

At least until that 'something' appeared on his doorstep.

It was a storm that'd woken him up – a loud roll of thunder that shook his house like it was alive. Hope, having never been fond of storms, bolted up in bed with his heart racing, immediately wondering if he'd left any windows open. He couldn't hear any rain, so perhaps the storm hadn't fully come in yet.

When he glanced at the clock, it was only about ten minutes until his alarm was set to go off, so he decided to just get out of bed. He padded downstairs after using the bathroom, eager to get a cup off coffee, when something caught his eye as he passed a window.

The sky was red.

"What the…?"

But just as he blinked, it was gone, and the morning sky was as clear as ever, with no indication that there'd been a storm at all.

Then what had that noise been…?

Maybe something had fallen outside. There were a couple of trees with scraggly branches that were just a windfall away from snapping off and crashing onto his car or something. Perhaps that was what happened.

But when Hope opened his front door to check, there weren't any branches at all. Instead, there was a tattered-looking basket on his doorstep. Inside was a bundle of blankets.

And a baby.

Hope made a noise that sounded, honestly, not unlike a dying animal. He instinctively looked around to see if anybody was watching, but his yard was deserted. It was just him and a...baby.

After a moment of hesitance, he carefully picked the basket up and brought it inside. The baby barely shifted, only making murmuring noises in its sleep. There was a worn knit cap on its head. The blankets were mostly nondescript, except for one with an oddly familiar swirled design stitched onto it.

Hope grabbed his phone after getting the baby inside, intent on calling the authorities, but then the baby opened its eyes and his finger reflexively hit a more familiar contact.

"Um…Snow? It's Hope. Could you and Serah come here? And…" his voice cracked a little, "…bring Lightning."

–

"I gotta say," Snow murmured in awe, shaking his head, "the resemblance is seriously uncanny."

"I know," Serah added. "I mean…"

"I don't see it," Lightning interrupted.

"Light," Snow practically laughed. "Are you kidding?! This baby looks exactly like you!"

Honestly, Hope was glad that he wasn't totally crazy. This was exactly the reason he'd called the others over – because once that baby had opened its eyes, it honestly could have been Lightning's twin. The eye color was a little off, but other than that…

"This doesn't make any sense," Lightning replied with a huff. "It's obviously not mine."

"You sure about that?" Snow teased, but quickly shut up when Lightning glared at him.

Hope was barely hearing the conversation. "I know I should contact the authorities, but I just…"

"Let's get this little oogly-boogly comfortable first," Serah interrupted, gently taking the baby out of the basket. Lightning rolled her eyes at her sister's baby talk, but Snow was already grinning a mile wide. "Do you know if it's a boy or a girl?"

"I'm not sure," Hope admitted. "I haven't taken it out of the basket." He'd been way too much in shock over the fact that, one, a baby had been left on his doorstep, and two, that it looked ridiculously like Lightning.

"Then let's find out!" With a swift and gentle motion, Serah took the now-awake baby out, unbuttoning the plaid onesie it was dressed in and carefully shifting its diaper around. "It's a girl!"

For some reason, that information made Hope smile, his eyes flicking to Lightning. A neutral expression remained on her face, though he couldn't help but notice that her eyes had softened slightly, though whether it was from the resemblance or just because of the baby herself, he didn't know.

Serah gently bounced the baby on her lap while Snow took it upon himself to dig through the basket. "Huh. Nothing really in here. Just blankets and…aww, it's got a little moogle doll! I didn't know they made those in this - "

Lightning's head shot up at Snow's words. "Did you say a moogle doll?"

"Yeah, right here." He took out the little plush toy. Hope had to admit that it looked rather well-loved. In fact, it was yellowed with age to the point where that there was no way it was brand new.

"I…" Lightning carefully took the took the toy from Snow, staring at it with a shocked, intent expression. Hope immediately moved beside her.

"Light?"

"…I had one just like this. Exactly like this, actually." She was holding the moogle with a reverence Hope had only seen reserved for Serah. "I remember on mine, I accidentally ripped the arm off."

"Mom sewed it back on," Serah added as she continued to hold the baby, who actually looked quite content in her arms, like she was used to getting held by strange people. "Remember? She didn't have any white thread though, so she used - "

" - Pink," Hope and Lightning said in unison.

Stitched on the seam of the moogle toy's left arm was barely-noticeable pink thread.

"This is impossible," Lightning breathed out, looking at the moogle and then the baby. "Is…is this baby me?"

"What do you mean?" Hope asked.

"Maybe something happened when all the souls traveled to this world from the old one. After all, Bhunivelze was meant to create this world, but he didn't, not really. There could be some sort of paradox at work here. So maybe…he…" Lightning's voice trailed off, and Hope was about to ask why until he saw the reason. Serah had taken the cap off of the little girl's head.

The baby wasn't Lightning.

She had silver hair.

–

For Hope, the only logical thing to do after a shock like that was something he'd done many times as a kid – call his parents.

His dad was at work, but his mom came over right away – and, to his shock, was armed with formula, food, diapers, and some clothes. Seriously, he had the best mom in this or any other world.

"I can't believe that was your instinct when I told you what happened," Hope said to her with a little smile. "Did you have this stuff laying around or something?"

"Moms are tough," Nora replied, expertly changing the baby's diaper and dressing her a new onesie. "Not to mention that we're always prepared."

"I guess so." For some reason, Hope's heart clenched painfully at the sight of the baby in Nora's arms. Maybe it was because back in the Crystal Age, it was a sight he was sure he'd never get to see.

Not that this made Nora a grandmother or anything, but even so.

"What's her name?"

"I…don't know," Hope was forced to admit. "She didn't have anything identifying on her. Just the blankets and that moogle doll that apparently used to be Light's." The moogle doll was exactly why Snow and Serah were in the other room, scouring the internet for any clues or explanation. Maybe there was some plea for a missing baby somewhere. Who knew? Lightning had long since disappeared in the bathroom. Hope figured she was in shock and longed to go comfort her, but the baby prevented him from doing so. Light probably needed some time alone, anyway.

"…I think there's something else," Nora suddenly said, her voice cracking a little.

"Mom?"

"Sweetie, this blanket." Nora wrapped the baby in the one Hope had noticed earlier, with the swirled pattern. "It's yours."

"…"

"I knit it myself while I was pregnant with you." Her voice had gotten tight, as though trying not to call that life during the Crystal Age, when things were so uncertain. "And then I made my own tag for it. See?"

Sure enough, when Hope flipped the tag on the blanket over, there were four letters written there in faded permanent marker.

HOPE.

"This is…mine?" Now he knew how Light must have felt when she realized the moogle doll was hers.

Like fainting.

"Hope? Sweetheart?" Nora grasped her son's hand. "You look a little pale."

"I…" He cleared away the squeak in his throat. "I'm fine."

This baby isn't Lightning and it isn't me, so how does it have our stuff…?

"Oh, look," Nora murmured after a pause. "There was a little addition to the blanket."

"What is it?"

"This." Sewn in the corner of the blanket – one neither of them had seen yet because it'd been tucked around the baby – were the letters VII. "What do you think it means? Are they initials, maybe?"

"Maybe," Hope replied slowly, though he didn't sound too convinced. "Or maybe…it's a roman numeral, for whatever reason. That one's seven."

"Guh!"

Both Nora and Hope's gazes snapped to the baby. It was the first loud sound any of them had heard from her all day. In fact, Hope hadn't been sure at all that'd she'd been capable of noise, despite the fact that Nora had earlier claimed that the baby looked like she was about eight months old, though she couldn't know for sure.

"…Seven?"

"Guhhhhh!"

"Well, then." Hope brushed his fingers over the letters stitched into the blanket, purposely ignoring the tag that bared his name. "I guess that explains this. Maybe that's her name."

"Kind of an odd choice, don't you think?"

He jumped and whirled his head around when Lightning's voice came from behind him. "Light? Are you okay?"

"There has to be some logical explanation for all of this." She sat down on the other side of Nora and stared down at the baby. "There has to be. There's no way she can have my moogle and your blanket."

"You heard all that?!"

"We're going to find out what's going on," was Lightning's reply. "We have to."

"I'm sure you will," Nora began gently. "But in the meantime, what will you do with her?" She looked at the baby. Seven.

"Mom has a point, Light," Hope said. "If Seven's connected to us somehow, I don't…I mean, I don't want anybody…"

Taking her away, he couldn't say. It was strange – mostly because he'd barely interacted with the baby so far – but the moment he knew her name, the thought of the police taking her to some foster home or something just didn't sit right. And they couldn't explain the possibility of a paradox, since no one but their friends and family remembered the Crystal Age.

"I don't really have much going on," Lightning replied after a pause. "I could take care of her, if you'd like."

"With Snow and Serah around?" Lightning lived in what was essentially Snow and Serah's basement – it was fully furnished and she paid her own bills, but it was hardly a place for a baby.

"Point taken." She sighed in defeat, though a small smile crept up on her face when Seven's toes broke free of the blanket, wiggling in victory. That smile was what convinced Hope to blurt out his next words.

"You can stay here."

Lightning's gaze shot to him, a blush exploding on her face. "What?"

"I mean – this place is pretty big," he said quickly, trying not to trip over his own words. "And I could be around to help if you needed it. I've got that big guest room on the other side of the house and it has its own bathroom, so nobody would be in anybody's way."

There was a long, tense pause after Hope finally stopped babbling. Lightning was still staring at him with an unreadable expression, her eyes flicking over his face in that way that always made his heart clench with want.

"…Okay."

He nearly fell off the couch. "You will?"

"I mean, it – it makes the most sense." Her face grew a little more red. "For the baby."

"Oh, yes. Of course."

Nora was glancing between the two of them in what looked to Hope like amusement, finally smiling when Hope and Lightning came to an agreement. "I think that sounds perfect," she said. "Hope, why don't you let Serah and Snow take care of Seven for a little while? I'll take Lightning to get some things for the baby, and you can get your guest room ready for her."

Immediately, there was protest from both sides. "Mom, you don't have to - "

"Nora, that's not - "

"Wherever this baby came from, right now, she needs stability," Nora said in a firm voice. "She needs care and basic necessities. Helping out is the least I can do in return for what you all did for my husband and son all those centuries ago."

Hope met Lightning's eyes again, both of them instantly flooded with memories of their old lives – lives that should have been much more peaceful, that should have been filled with family, friends, and happiness.

They'd gotten that in the end. Surely they could help give a little girl the same for awhile.

"…All right," Hope finally agreed, along with a nod from Lightning. He gently took Seven from his mother. "I'll let the other two know what's – why are you guys staring at me?"

Lightning immediately looked away like she was embarrassed, but Nora smiled warmly. "It's nothing. You just looked…very natural with a baby in your arms."

It was strange, but the moment his mother said that, Hope knew she was right. It felt natural. Though he'd dreamed of having his own family and being a father someday, he never would have thought it would be like this. Would it feel the same with any other child?

Would it be the same someday with his own?

"Anyway," Lightning blurted out, quickly getting up. "We'll be back soon."

"Okay." Hope watched the two women leave, staring at his closed door. In just a few short hours, he'd gotten a baby and Lightning had moved in with him.

What a day. And he hadn't even had his coffee yet.

–

Lightning and Nora eventually came back with what seemed like an entire baby store. When Hope insisted on paying his mother back, she said she'd have none of that and kissed his cheek, wishing him luck as she went back home. With what, he couldn't really say, because Seven had started wailing and no amount of goo-goo noises from Snow and Serah would calm her down.

Lightning was off in the guest room – her room now – so Hope took the poor wailing baby from Serah's arms, shouting over the cries. "You guys can go. You've probably had enough of this for today."

"No way!" Snow shouted, but it only served to make Seven cry louder.

Serah huffed and pulled her sheepish husband behind her. "We'll talk to you two later, okay? Take care of Light!"

"You mean - " Seven, he didn't get to say as Snow and Serah went out the door.

Ignoring the implications of Serah's words, Hope gently rocked Seven in his arms, realizing that besides finding her in the morning, this was the first time he'd been alone with the baby all day. In fact, this was the first time he'd been alone with a baby ever. There was probably a good reason for that, because she wasn't really calming down at all.

Even though he was tempted to just look up online what the heck anybody was supposed to do with a crying baby, he just went along with instincts he didn't even know he had and paced around the room, trying to rock her and humming a little at the same time. Seven was having none of that, though. Damnit, did he need to get his mom back over here…?

As though the thought of his mother had prompted the memory, Hope suddenly recalled an old lullaby she would often sing to him when he was very young; mostly when he was sad. He hummed what he believed was the melody under his breath, words soon forming and getting stronger with familiarity.

"Walk on, wandering soul, for your respite we pray," he sang. "Let our humble song clear your heart of dismay. Rekindle the flame in your soul and set you free…to walk on and become the light that guides the way."

To his astonishment, moments after the last word faded away, Seven drifted off to sleep with a happy noise. Did she recognize the song? But how?

"Good job."

Only years of practice kept Hope from jumping in surprise when he heard Lightning's voice. She was standing in the doorway of the kitchen, smiling softly at him and Seven. There was a look in her eyes that he couldn't quite decipher.

"Thanks."

"I guess she likes you." Lightning walked closer to them, peering down at Seven's face. They stared down at the sleeping baby, the three of them wrapped up in their own comfortable little cocoon. It felt like…

…Family.

Though he'd never imagined much of life beyond Lightning completely reciprocating his feelings, he realized that this right here was it. This was what he wanted with her – family, the comfort, this…joy that was squeezing his heart in a way he never could have possibly dreamed of in this or any other life. Maybe somehow, Seven was proof that they would have it someday, preferably without some weird sort of paradox involved.

"There's a crib set up in the guest room," Lightning murmured. "We…you can put her down, if you'd like."

Hope tore his eyes away from Seven only to have Lightning's gaze just inches away from his own, impossibly close in a way that made his heart race. Moments like this seemed to happen between them more often than not, and honestly, it gave him, well…hope. There was something special between them and there always had been.

Right now, however, all that was between them was a sleepy baby. Hope let out a long, slow breath and eventually nodded. "I'll go put her down."

"…Oh. Right."

Their steps were quiet as Hope walked into the other room, taking care not to jostle Seven awake. She remained asleep, however, as he gently set her down the in the crib, automatically smiling when she gave a little snore and her head fell to the side.

For a few quiet minutes, he and Lightning remained there, watching the baby. This felt oddly familiar, like they'd done it before – but that was impossible. It had to be.

"Where do you think she came from?" Lightning eventually asked. "Between the moogle doll and the blanket, she had to have been left with you on purpose."

"I wish I knew, Light." Hope wrapped an arm around her shoulders in another move that felt purely instinctive. Lightning must have agreed, because she leaned into the hold effortlessly. "This isn't like the Crystal Age, where there was magic and prophecies and gods. I don't think we have much to work with here."

"Maybe we should talk to Yeul."

"Yeul? Why?"

"When you mentioned prophecies just now, it made me wonder if maybe she would think of something," Lightning explained. "I know that she's not a seeress anymore, but she is a lot more intuitive than the average person. Maybe she could help."

"Maybe," Hope agreed. "It couldn't hurt to ask, I guess. I'll call Noel and see if we can arrange a visit."

"Okay." Lightning rested her hand on the side of the crib. "Your mother bought a car seat, too, so bringing Seven won't be a problem."

"She thought of everything, huh?"

"She's pretty amazing." A sigh. "I wonder if I'd ever be half as good if I ended up a mother."

Hope's heart began to race wildly, but he managed to keep his voice even. "You've thought that far ahead?"

"Not particularly. Just in general." Her hand fell back to her side. "I guess Seven will be good practice until we figure out why she's here."

"Guess so."

Another comfortable silence fell over the two of them, but seconds later, Lightning suddenly jumped, as though she'd just now realized how close she and Hope were. He quickly dropped his arm and cleared his throat. "Sorry. I guess, uh – I'll let you get to sleep."

"You, too." She smiled a bit at him, heading towards the bed. "I'll call you if I need anything."

"Okay." Hope cast one more look at Seven and started to leave, but turned at the last second. "And Light?"

"Yes?"

"It's not a guest room while you're here. It's your room."

He couldn't be certain in the relative darkness of the room, but he was pretty sure she was smiling.

–

It was official: Hope loved having a baby around. Seven was an absolute delight in the car and much more talkative than she'd been the other day – she kept happily wriggling around in her car seat, flapping her hand at things out the window with an enthusiastic, "Guh!" Though it probably happened a hundred times over the span of the car ride to Noel's, Hope and Lightning couldn't help but smile and laugh every time.

Lightning was incredibly natural with Seven in a way he never would have guessed. He wasn't surprised that she had a soft spot for children, given how she'd raised Serah during the Crystal Age, but this was different. The proof was there when he'd woken up this morning, all bleary-eyed and just itching to get to that first cup of coffee.

But Lightning was already awake with Seven in the crook of her arm, easing a bottle into her mouth and humming a random tune, swaying in time with it. It was…it was…

Everything he'd always dreamed of.

Hope had just stood there and stared until Seven had squawked in delight at seeing him. Lightning had just blushed and handed the baby over, though he couldn't really complain. At least Seven liked them well enough. Hell, she almost seemed to recognize them, but clearly that was impossible.

Hopefully Yeul would know something.

"Here we are," he said, pulling into the parking lot of the apartment complex where Noel and Yeul lived. Lightning got out and unstrapped Seven from the car seat, hoisting her up in her arms.

"Buhhh guh!"

"Right." Lightning shook her head in amusement, trying to flip her hair over her shoulder when Seven tried to grab onto it.

"Here, let me." Before he could stop himself, Hope gathered Lightning's hair in his hands, gently pulling it away from the grabby baby hands. It hung down her back in perfect waves, which his fingers slowly traced in wonder.

"Guh!"

He immediately jumped, just barely hiding his strangled gasp. "S-Sorry. Um. Shall we?" Lightning simply nodded, ducking her head…but not before Hope caught the blush on her face.

They walked up to Noel and Yeul's apartment in relative silence, except for Seven's babbling. It was only after Hope had knocked on the door that Lightning murmured, "She's a happy one."

"Yeah." He smiled, gently poking Seven's nose. "Sweet, too. I wonder…"

"Wonder what?"

"…Why her parents gave her up."

Before Lightning could reply to that, the door swung open and there stood Noel. "Heyyy, guys! Glad you could – what the heck?!" Noel's jaw dropped. "Did I – miss something…?"

"No," both Lightning and Hope said quickly.

"…"

"It's kind of a long story," Hope said sheepishly. "Is Yeul here? We wanted to talk to her."

"Yeah, we were just hanging out in the living room. Come on in."

Even though Seven had busied herself with looking around, the moment they stepped inside, her gaze went straight to Noel and -

"Buh-buh-buh-guhhhh-guh!"

"The hell?" Lightning muttered, struggling to keep her hold on the baby. "What's gotten into you?"

"She must know him."

All three of the adults looked up at the sound of that voice. Yeul was sitting primly on the couch, gazing at Seven with her head tilted to the side. Even though Hope was well aware that there wasn't a seeress in this world, he still half-expected her eyes to glow with the telling of a prophecy.

"What do you mean?" Lightning asked, finally walking inside and sitting down with Seven in her lap, although the baby was still babbling and trying to get to Noel.

Yeul didn't answer the question directly and instead dropped her gaze to Seven. "How did you find her?"

"Good question," Noel agreed. "Uh, Lightning, do you want me to…?"

"That's okay," Lightning tried to reply, but got gently smacked in the face by Seven for her effort. She sighed and gently transferred Seven to Noel's lap, watching them both like a hawk.

Hope reminded himself that Yeul needed an answer. "I found her yesterday on my doorstep." Quickly, he gave a condensed version of the story, including finding remnants of his and Lightning's childhoods in the basket, plus the hint to Seven's name.

"What?!" Noel blurted out. Seven just just made an enthusiastic noise. "Are you serious!? I thought that stuff only happened in books!"

"Apparently not," Hope replied with a sigh.

Noel glanced at him, then Lightning. "So, wait. How come the two of you are here if the baby showed up on Hope's doorstep?"

"Take a look at her." Hope gestured to Seven, who was wiggling around on Noel's lap like she was made of gelatin. It was actually extremely adorable to watch. "You see the resemblance, right?"

It seemed to take him a minute, but Noel's eyes finally widened when realization dawned. "Wait. Is she – you two…?"

"No," Lightning interrupted immediately, though Hope noticed she was blushing again. "I mean…we're not sure."

"That's why we came to see you guys," Hope explained. "Yeul, we were hoping that maybe you could…get a sense of where she came from. I know that you no longer have the power to see the future, but obviously we're at a loss here."

"I can certainly try." Yeul leaned in a little to stare at Seven, who immediately reached for her hair to grab onto it and gave it a gentle tug. "You're a darling," she murmured, carefully grasping Seven's little hand – only to suddenly break into a sharp gasp that had her bolting to sit up in a straighter position, her eyes going wide.

"Yeul?!" Noel immediately cried out, handing Seven back to Lightning without a second thought. "Are you all right?!"

"I'm fine," she said, still staring at Seven, who was now securely in Lightning's lap, babbling baby nonsense to herself. "I just…"

"What is it?" Lightning's brow was furrowed in worry that Hope honestly wouldn't have expected to see on her.

"When I touched her hand," Yeul explained quietly, "something felt familiar. Not Seven herself, but something…about her."

"What did you feel?" Hope asked.

"Chaos."

Utter silence.

Never in a hundred – a thousand years – did Hope ever think he'd have to deal with Chaos ever again.

"That's impossible," Lightning finally said, sounding breathless with shock. "When we defeated Bhunivelze, Caius and the other Yeuls – they stayed behind in the Unseen Realm to control the Chaos."

"And they still are," Yeul said. "That hasn't changed."

"Then what do you mean, that you felt Chaos?" Noel asked, looking worried – probably more for Yeul than anyone else. Hope couldn't blame him.

"I haven to admit, it's not quite the same sort of Chaos. I think…the best way to describe it would be otherworldly."

This time, Hope couldn't help himself. "…What?!"

"There are many gods besides Bhunivelze. There are many goddesses besides Etro. There are many fal'cie besides the ones that we relied on during the Crystal Age." Yeul's voice was steady and calm. "Just because we no longer rely on any gods or fal'cie in this world doesn't mean there aren't others out there who do."

More silence. Even Seven had grown quiet and was playing with her toes.

Hope finally spoke again, his need for answers coming over his shock. "So you're saying that there are other worlds out there who rely on gods and fal'cie."

"Yes. I've felt glimmers of them when I was wandering the Unseen Realm myself."

"Why didn't you ever tell us? Why wasn't this ever more common knowledge back then?"

"It would have complicated things." Now Yeul sounded more like a seeress rather than the calm, quiet girl she was here in this world. "The timeline had already been out of order. To involve other words, other universes – it would have complicated things beyond repair and would have been more than just a simple paradox begging to be resolved."

"So…" Now it was Lightning who spoke. "None of that is valid here, since we have no gods or fal'cie."

"Yes."

"But you felt otherworldly Chaos in Seven?"

"Yes."

"So you think that Seven is from another world?"

"Yes." Yeul's face and voice softened. "But with the care that she was brought here in, I'm not sure if this is a paradox, though her being here may cause one if I'm right. My guess would be that she was brought here on purpose."

"On purpose? Why?" Hope asked.

"I'm sure you two recall all too well what the end of the world was like." Yeul's gaze fell back to Seven. "Perhaps her parents wanted to spare their daughter of that same fate."

Hope and Lightning exchanged a glance before looking down at Seven. He knew they were thinking the same thing.

If Yeul was right about where Seven had come from, there was no longer any doubt as to who her parents were.

Which meant that in some other world, some other universe…Lightning loved him enough to have a child with him, and they loved that child enough to give her a second chance.

–

Yeul's explanation had changed everything.

Before, Hope had figured there was some sort of logical reason for Seven – why she was here, the blanket, the moogle doll – everything. And while the thought of there being other worlds out there made sense to him, he knew that the average person in the world wouldn't buy it. They would assume that Seven was his and Light's biological child without any strange Crystal Age stuff going on.

Well, she kind of was theirs, but…

Contrary to most things in his life, Hope felt it was best if he didn't think about it much. After all, for the time being, Seven was with them, and he and Lightning had taken it upon themselves to be responsible for her.

Some things about it were surprisingly easy. Since Lightning still didn't have any sort of steady work, she took care of Seven during the day. When Hope came home from working with his research team, he'd take over, mostly to give Lightning free time, but she never seemed to want to leave.

That was the hard part.

In theory, it was easy to take care of Seven if they could do it in shifts. That way, Lightning could keep to herself like she no doubt wanted to. However, she was always continuing to help out when Hope came home and always insisted on helping put her to sleep, even though Seven could usually only drift off after Hope sang that one-of-a-kind lullaby.

And Seven…

She was adorable. There was really no way around it. She thought it was the funniest thing to fling baby food into Hope's immaculate hair, and he always found himself laughing about it as well. As he'd figured out early on, she loved to pull on hair – especially Lightning's – and would make an exasperated noise and flop against whoever was holding her if she couldn't reach any hair. Luckily, she was also a fairly quiet baby and rarely cried out during the night.

Not only did she look like the perfect mix of himself and Lightning, but it felt like she was, too. After Yeul's explanation, he wondered how he ever could have thought that Seven was anything else but his and Lightning's daughter.

Too bad she only was in some other world, where her parents were most likely dead.

Hope couldn't imagine giving up Seven otherwise.

"As soon as you're old enough, I'm getting you a toy chemistry set," Hope told Seven, who was more intent on banging some blocks together than listening to him. "You'll be a scientist and change the world, right?"

"In your dreams," Lightning teased. She was supposed to be cleaning the guest room – or her room, rather – since it'd gotten a little messy over the past few weeks, but she was out in the living room with Hope and Seven instead. "Watch her be more like Serah and be interested in cooking or something instead."

"Still a noble profession."

"Without a doubt."

Hope smiled, his eyes flicking from Seven to Lightning. Sometimes he felt breathless with what these past few weeks had meant to him – living with Lightning had just made him even more enamored with her, especially since she was so good with Seven. Neither of them had discussed what the future would hold, but for now, that was more than okay. He could get used to this easy living situation, since they had Seven in common.

Not that that was the only thing…

More often than not, Lightning had taken to sitting closer to him or even giving his arm or shoulder a lingering touch. Hope was fairly sure that this was unconscious on her part, since they were constantly in close proximity now. It was only natural that they become more comfortable with each other…

But then again, this was Lightning. He'd known and admired her literally through another lifetime, and in another world, they loved each other enough to have a baby together.

Maybe he needed to be the one to break the ice.

"Lightning…"

At that moment, Seven flopped down and started crying, rolling from side to side on the rug like a turtle caught on its back. It was admittedly a funny sight, but it still brought immediate concern from Lightning, who shot off the couch to pick her up.

"It's your naptime, isn't it?" she said in a gentle voice, cradling Seven against her hip. The sleepy baby buried her face in Lightning's chest, her cries growing louder. "You're tired, aren't you?" Seven just wailed some more.

"I think she's agreeing with you," Hope said with a weak smile, his heart pounding at the fact that he'd almost said something. He couldn't. He shouldn't. Lightning knew how he felt, right? He should definitely let her take the reins.

As soon as the baby went down for her nap, maybe.

"Can you come with me?" Lightning said loudly over the cries. She was already headed towards her room.

"Why?" Despite this, Hope was already on his feet following her.

"She only goes to sleep when you sing that song."

True enough, Seven didn't drift off for a nap when Lightning set her down in the crib, and gave Hope an expectant expression. Oops.

"Walk on wandering soul, for your respite we pray," he sang quietly. "Let our humble song clear your heart of dismay. Rekindle the flame in your soul and set you free…to walk on and become the light that guides the way."

Like magic, Seven's cries slowly quieted. Hope sang the lullaby three more times before she finally drifted off to sleep with a happy gurgling noise, her breathing even and deep.

Lightning breathed out a sigh of relief. "Impressive."

"If it works, I'd rather not question it," Hope replied quietly with a sheepish smile. "Mom told me she used to sing that to me when I was a baby."

"Nora did?"

"Yeah. Apparently she made the lullaby up and it was one of the few things that would calm me down." He stared down at Seven, content in her crib. "I guess…I'm just passing that along."

Lightning made a quiet noise of agreement, and it seemed that would be the end of that conversation before she murmured, "…What do you see in her future?"

"…Light?"

"Even if it's true, and she does come from another world, that's not stopping us from turning her into the authorities. I…I'm sure someone would love to adopt her." Despite the words, Lightning's voice was unsteady, like she couldn't believe what she was saying. "She isn't a doll or some experiment. This is a baby. Someone's daughter." She crossed her arms, saying it before he could. "…Our daughter, if Yeul is right."

"Light…" After a moment of hesitance, he reached out and rested a hand on her shoulder, giving it a gentle squeeze. "I never imagined I'd be a parent, not for years. But…" His gaze went towards the crib. "I love Seven already, and honestly, I think you do, too."

There was no reply at first. Eventually, Lightning turned her head and stared at him. "…What about me?"

"What?"

"If that's how you feel about Seven…" She let out a breath. "Then how do you feel about me?"

Instantly, Hope's heart began to pound. Was this a real question? Had she been that oblivious to his (admittedly) meager advances prior to Seven's arrival? Knowing her…probably.

But if she was asking…

"Light." He gently tugged on her arms to make her uncross them, grasping her hands in his own, hardly daring to believe his own boldness. "The fact that we're here together on this world is more than I ever could have imagined. I've loved you since that moment you protected me from Odin during the Crystal Age, and it hasn't stopped after after a thousand years and a new world." His grip on her hands tightened. "And I can promise you that it'll never stop."

She stared at him in absolute wonder. It was the gaze of someone who was truly seeing a person for the first time.

Hope never would have thought he'd be on the receiving end of that look from Lightning.

"You're serious," she finally murmured, eyes widening a bit.

"Lightning." He felt like laughing a little, maybe just a bit ironically. "I've always been serious about you, even before we apparently had a baby in some other world."

She slowly slid one of her hands from his, but he didn't have time to be disappointed about that before she leaned up and connected their lips.

For a split second, all he could do was stand there in utter shock, his eyes wide and heart pounding wildly to alert him to the fact that his breath was caught in his throat and, oh yeah, Lightning Farron was kissing him.

Luckily for whatever sense he had left, Hope finally had half a brain to reciprocate, his lips gentle and insistent against hers, wordlessly letting her know that this was very much okay, even though he wasn't quite sure why this was happening now, or what had provoked it. It didn't really matter.

This kiss was everything he'd been dreaming of for centuries.

When they gradually pulled away for air, neither of them went far. He could feel the shuddery breaths of air from her ghosting over his lips, caressing them in a way that felt far too intimate to be real. For that moment, it truly felt like they were the only two people in the entire world; that they were in a cocoon that consisted only of each other and no one and nothing else.

Slowly, their eyes blinked open. Lightning was still staring at him like this was the first time she was seeing him. "You…"

"Light?"

Please don't tell me she regrets this, please…

"The way you're looking at me." She lifted a hand to cup his cheek. "You've always looked at me like that."

A quiet sigh of relief escaped him and he couldn't help but smile. "I'm pretty sure I'll always be looking at you like this, Light. No matter what world or whatever we are, I just…" He covered her hand with his own. "I've never been able to see myself without you. I'd always hoped that we'd end up here like this."

Lightning reflexively glanced towards the crib. "Exactly like this?"

"Maybe somewhere farther down the line…" He chuckled her playful eyeroll. "But I still wouldn't change it for anything. Light, I – regardless of what happened in whatever world Seven came from, I want us to raise her together as though she was truly ours. I want us to be a family and finally have some semblance of normalcy for us." His grip on her hand tightened a little. "Do you remember what I told you before the world of the Crystal Age ended? After I came to get you?"

A look of nostalgia sparkled in her eyes. "…We'll be together."

"Exactly." He honestly felt lighter as he continued to speak, as though this huge weight of uncertainty was finally being lifted off of him. "That's all I've ever wanted, Light. You and me together – as long as that's what you want, too."

It wasn't surprising to him when Lightning's response was to lean up and kiss him again, smiling across her lips. After all, she'd always let instinct guide her, because some things in life…you just do.

"Now I know that it's what I want," she said, and he replied with another kiss, pulling her close with the intention of never, ever letting go.

–

Nobody was at all surprised by Hope and Lightning's new romantic status. In fact, despite Lightning's insistence that they keep it to themselves a few days, Hope's constant smile tipped both Serah and Nora off pretty much immediately. Serah had taken it upon herself to welcome Hope to the family, while Nora did the same with Lightning. Luckily, Seven had needed attention before things had gotten too embarrassing.

When things were out in the open, it was really only a matter of time before Hope posed the all-important question: "Do you and Seven want to move into my room?"

It only made sense, really. Though he and Lightning hadn't gotten physical at all yet, she often pulled him into bed after Seven was down for the night and tucked herself underneath his arm, muttering that she'd kill him if he told anyone about this.

Like he'd let the cat out of the bag that Lightning Farron was secretly a cuddler.

Since she had no trouble sharing a bed with him, though, it seemed logical to him that she and Seven move up into his room – it was bigger and his bed was a lot more comfortable. Plus, this meant they could someday refurnish the guest room into Seven's own room. Or perhaps he ought to get a bigger house? Maybe four bedrooms, with a big yard and a swingset. After all, who knew what was in store for the future?

Lightning had agreed after some logical coaxing, so there only left the matter of moving all of Seven's stuff. Unfortunately, Fang and Vanille were the only ones that had free time to help…but fortunately, Fang was able to do a lot of the heavy lifting with him and Lightning, which left Vanille free to babysit, despite the fact that she'd become a nurse in this world – her ability to heal was apparently innate, no matter what the world – and probably did a lot more heavy lifting on a daily basis in the form of her patients than Fang did.

"Look at you!" Vanille squealed, tickling Seven's toes. "You're just a little darling. Got ten toes and you don't know what to do with 'em, huh?"

"Don't get too close." Hope passed through the living room where Vanille and Seven were, carrying a box of clothes. He was convinced that baby stuff multiplied on its own, considering they hadn't had Seven for that long and she already had a room full of stuff. "She'll kick you in the face otherwise."

"Oh?" Vanille laughed. "Learn from experience, did you?"

"Unfortunately."

"Good girl! You show your dad who's boss!"

"Hey!"

"Buhhh guh guh!"

"Oh, see!" Vanille carefully lifted Seven to a sitting position. "She agrees with her Aunt Vanille!"

Despite himself, Hope couldn't help but grin. "Keep telling yourself that."

"And keep telling yourself that standing there is helping move all this stuff." Lightning raised an eyebrow, gently elbowing Hope in the side. "No breaks. We'll get this done faster."

"Yes ma'am."

Naturally, Fang came out of the guest room carrying a piece of the crib just in time to hear that, and let out a bark of laughter. "Already puttin' him in his place, Light?"

"He learned his place a long time ago, apparently." There was a sly little smile on her face, and to his surprise, she leaned up and kissed the corner of his mouth. "With me."

"Romantic, but it's sure as hell not getting' this done faster!" Fang stomped through the living room. "Come on, you two. You can make up for lost time when we're done here."

Hope immediately felt his face go red, and to his amusement, Lightning was blushing a little as well. It was one thing to privately cement their feelings for each other, but for others to know…well, it still took some getting used to.

Then again, if Serah's shouts of joy the other night were any indication, the whole gang had known about Hope's feelings for a long, looong time.

"Buh guh!"

"Talkative little girl, aren't ya?" Vanille grinned, playing with Seven's hands. "Wonder where you get that from. Certainly not your mother!"

"I'm not - " Lightning started to say, but abruptly cut herself off. Hope gave her a sad, understanding little smile. Even if they weren't biologically Seven's parents, they'd resolved to give her a happy, loving life here, no matter what had happened in whatever world she'd come from. That had to count for something.

Right?

It was just when they'd finally gotten all the stuff out of the guest room – though much of it was still cluttered around the house and needed to be carried to Hope's room still – that Seven started getting cranky, no matter how much Vanille tried to cheer her up. Hope was a bit amazed that he instinctively knew what this meant, but Lightning beat him to the punch.

"Sorry. She just gets like this." Lightning set down the box she'd been carrying and headed to Seven and Vanille, scooping the baby up in her arms.

Vanille giggled. "Glad it's not my fault. They usually only cry if I've got to give them a shot. Do you suppose it's naptime?"

"That's exactly it." Lightning stood and expertly cradled Seven in a protective hold. "Hope, is all the stuff out of the guest room?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm going to lay down with her." She gestured towards Seven, whose cranky cries had grown tired. "See if I can get her to nap on the bed."

"Good idea." Hope smiled, unable to help but steal a quick kiss. "Vanille can help with the rest of the stuff."

"On it!" came the enthusiastic reply.

Lightning simply smiled and headed to the guest room, kicking the door shut behind her. Hope could've sworn he heard her humming that familiar lullaby, but the sound was too muffled to know for sure.

Gradually, Seven's cries quieted down, though Hope was too busy moving all the rest of the stuff to listen too closely. Once he and Fang had gotten the pieces of the crib upstairs, he then had to figure out how to rebuild it. Thank goodness the instructions were online, seriously.

To his surprise, Fang and Vanille stuck around to help him unpack all the boxes and whatnot – honestly, where had all of this stuff come from in such a short amount of time?! - and he gave them a gift certificate for a fancy restaurant downtown as a thank you. Vanille eagerly took it with the promise that they'd visit again soon. Fang just warned him with a snicker to not mess things up with Lightning.

Though speaking of Lightning…

When Fang and Vanille finally left, he realized that several hours had gone by and wondered if Seven had been more tired than they'd thought. Or maybe they'd come out of the room without him noticing….?

The house was still empty and the door to the guest room was still shut, however, when he went to investigate. Slowly, he pushed the door open a crack, just enough to stick his head in. "Light…?"

His whisper trailed off at the sight in front of him. Lightning was curled up on the bed, sound asleep, with a hand resting protectively on Seven's belly. Seven was all snuggled up against her…mother, looking as quiet and content as Hope had ever seen her.

Instantly, his heart flooded with an intense love he never thought he'd be able to feel. It came on so quickly that he had to suck in a breath to steady himself, gripping the door for balance. Honestly, he never would have imagined that he wanted this that badly.

But now that he had it, there was no way he'd ever let it go.

He would protect Lightning and Seven with every fiber of his being.

Quiet, he shut the door behind him and slowly slid onto the bed on Seven's other side. He wasn't tired, but he wasn't about to leave this moment for anything. To his surprise, Lightning slid her hand more towards him, resting it on his arm while hers was still stretched across Seven's middle. He wasn't sure if she knew he was there or it was just an instinctive gesture, but either way, it didn't matter.

This was how things were meant to be. He was sure of it.

About ten minutes later, Lightning's eyes slowly blinked open, a rare, lazy smile forming on her face when she realized he was there. "Hey."

"Hey." He found her hand in his own. "Decided on a nap for yourself, huh?"

"It was pretty comfortable in here." She glanced down at Seven, then back at him. "What time is it?"

"Pretty late. Fang and Vanille left awhile ago."

"Sorry I didn't help see them off."

"It's okay. They understood." Hope lifted Lightning's hands to his lips, kissing her fingers. "Everything's all set up, though, if you wanted to move this upstairs."

She smirked. "Is that a proposition?"

"For sleep," he replied with a chuckle, his eyes flicking to the baby. "Think she's out for the night?"

"For now. She'll probably wake up at two in the morning, but I guess we'll see."

"Maybe playing with Vanille wore her out."

"That one's definitely a handful." Lightning squeezed his hand before pulling it away and carefully lifting Seven up. The baby didn't stir at all, which garnered a relieved smile from both adults. "This one, however, is down for the count. You said the crib's set up?"

"Yup." Hope couldn't help but smile again at the sight of Lightning holding Seven so very carefully. "Come on."

Quite little snores were the only indication that Seven remained asleep as they went up to Hope's room. He knew that keeping the crib so close by was probably overprotective, but, well – better safe than sorry, right? Even now, he figured he and Lightning still needed time to get used to the idea of being together and being responsible for a baby.

Seven settled into her crib easy, and to Hope's surprise, once they'd changed into comfier clothes – in separate rooms – he and Lightning settled into his bed just as easily. They gravitated towards each other naturally, though it took a few tries to get their arms around each other in a way that didn't have them squishing any limbs.

"This is easier in movies," she muttered.

"You watch romance movies?"

"Don't tell anyone."

"I won't," he teased, kissing her forehead, then her lips. She rolled her eyes, stealing another kiss before molding herself against him. They drifted off to sleep in blissful comfort, like things were always meant to be this way.

"Buh guh!"

When Hope blinked his eyes open, it was still dark. He figured that Lightning had been right, because sure enough, it was around two in the morning when he squinted at the clock. He was about to get up and go to Seven, when he realized that someone – Lightning, of course – was already calming her down.

"Walk on wandering soul, for your respite we pray…"

Maybe it was his sleep-addled mind, but something didn't sound quite right.

"Let our humble song clear your heart of dismay…"

He reached slowly reached a couple of inches across the bed.

"Rekindle the flame in your soul and set you free…"

Lightning was there, hogging all the sheets, but still in bed with him. Her eyes slowly opened, presumably hearing the voice too. Which meant the person singing…

"To walk on and become the light that guides the way."

Hope's halfway out of the bed before Lightning grips his arm and yanks him back, her eyes wide with horror. Because the person singing to Seven…

..Was him.

"Seven." Her real father was surrounded by a faint reddish light, his gaze mournful as he stared at his daughter. "You have to be strong, okay? We love you so much, we'll be right there, right behind you - "

"Buh!"

It was at Seven's happy cry that Hope found himself pleading, "Don't."

"What?" The figure turned from Seven and suddenly Hope found himself staring at his own face – though this one was scarred with pain and agony. It reminded him of the Crystal Age. "Where am I…?"

"Please," Hope gasped out, already halfway out of the bed. Lightning made another mad grab for him, which his other self noticed, his eyes going directly to her.

"Oh, damn. I – I'm sorry, I still remember - "

Just as suddenly as he'd appeared, he was gone. The air felt different – like a storm instead of the peace he'd grown used to on this world.

"Buh guh guh!" Seven babbled into the silence, her hands flapping wildly.

Hope was up in a second and gathered her into his arms. "He can't." Tears were filling his eyes before he could help it. "He can't take her back, Light."

Lightning got up and wrapped her arms around the two of them, not saying a word. She didn't need to.

The terrified look on her face said it all.

–

They made Yeul and Noel come over the next day. Lightning seemed reluctant to let go of Seven the entire time. Not that he could blame her.

"There's only the faintest trace of Chaos," Yeul said, once she'd observed his room. "Though it could be from Seven herself. You said this other you – he didn't seem to know where he was?"

Hope's gut clenched at the memory. "No. I'm not sure he knew Light and I were here, either. He didn't appear to notice us until I said something."

You can't.

Only now, in the light of day, did Hope realize how selfish he'd sounded. This him that was on another world – that man was Seven's rightful father. Who was he to say that the guy couldn't take his own daughter back?

Don't.

He glanced at Lightning in the corner of his eye, who was busy trying to keep Seven from grabbing on Noel's hair. Things seemed peaceful at the moment, at least. Normal. Would they stay that way? Was this just a one time occurrence?

"That does seem concerning," Yeul mused. "Unless he wasn't the one to bring Seven here, he should have recognized the feeling of this world."

"This whole thing reeks of a paradox," Noel said, stepping away from Seven's grabby hands and giving her his finger to grab onto instead. "I want you guys to keep Seven as much as anybody, but if it'll mess up the timeline in this world…"

"I don't think that's it." Yeul shook her head. "It's not the timeline that's been shaken." Her eyes drifted to Seven. "I truly believe that our world isn't in any danger. It's the world where she came from that's doomed."

Despite last night's visit, Hope suddenly realized that he hadn't really given any thought at all to the world that Seven probably came from. It was probably in bad shape, given that Seven had been taken here, but he honestly couldn't imagine the state it could possibly be in. He and his family – all of them – had made it to this world by destroying a god. He and Lightning and the others had literally seen the world of the Crystal Age end right before their eyes.

What could have possibly happened in Seven's world that would compare to that?

"At least she's safe here," Lightning said, after having been oddly quiet (even for her) this whole time. "Maybe that…other Hope won't come back."

"Let's cross our fingers." Noel sighed and shook his head. "And here I thought we were done with this kind of stuff."

"We are," Hope insisted. "It was just a one time thing. I'm sure of it."

Noel opened his mouth like he was going to argue, but Hope noticed Yeul glance at him and he simply nodded. "Yeah. You're right."

"Buh guh!"

Everyone laughed at Seven's babbling, which seemed to break all the tension in the room. Light's death grip on the baby loosened somewhat, though she still seemed reluctant to let go. "Did you two want to stay here for dinner? Hope's mother and Snow and Serah are coming over. I ordered enough extra to feed two more mouths."

"Ordered?" Noel teased. "What, not gonna grace us with your cooking skills?"

"Not unless you can find me a Behemoth in this world." Lightning smirked, adjusting her hold on Seven. "Speaking of food, I'm going to feed this one here." She nodded towards Hope. "Okay?"

"Okay." He couldn't help but smile when she leaned up for a kiss before leaving the room, despite Seven's babbles of protest. That smile was still on his face long after she left the room…at least until he noticed Noel smirking at him. "What?"

"You've got it baaaad." He chuckled. "I can't believe it took a baby from another world to finally get you two together."

"Me neither." Hope smiled again, vaguely hearing Seven's noisy appreciation for food from all the way downstairs. "But I wouldn't change it for anything."

–

Dinner went surprisingly well that night. The highlight, naturally, was Seven throwing a glob of baby food at Snow, who, to his credit, didn't even flinch. "Gotta prepare for that when me and Serah have our own, right?"

Though he'd never given much thought to Snow and Serah having kids, he realized that it would affect him more than ever. After all…now it would give Seven a cousin or two.

"That dinner was great, Lightning," Serah said. "Did you order dessert?"

"No," Lightning admitted. "I, well…" She glanced at Nora, looking a bit embarrassed. "Nora said that she had a family recipe for a cheesecake, and I was hoping that…maybe…"

Hope felt like he could've been knocked over with a feather. "Light…?"

Nora looked surprised, then pleased. "It is a family recipe, and you're family…" She winked. "Come on. It won't take too long to put together."

"All right!" Snow cried.

Noel groaned a little, patting his stomach. "I don't know if I have room for dessert."

"Trust me, you will when we're through here." Nora stood up. "Hope, you and the others can watch my darling grandchild while Lightning and I take over the kitchen, okay?"

Hope was so startled that he almost forgot to reply – hearing his mother refer to Seven as her granddaughter just made it feel even more real. "Yeah, we've got her." He scooped Seven out of her high chair, though he made a face at all the food on her bib. "That's supposed to go in you, not on you, silly."

It took a little while to wipe her down – her hands just did not want to remain still at all – and eventually joined the others in the living room. Serah and Noel were chatting and Snow was showing Yeul something on his phone. Instantly, Hope felt himself flood with contentment – with love. This was his family, Seven included. She helped bind them all together.

Damn if anyone would try and take that away from him.

"There she is!" Snow cried out happily when he noticed Hope and Seven. "C'mon, rumor has it that you learned a new word. Any truth to that?"

"Buh!"

"Not a shred." Noel snickered.

Hope grinned and carefully set Seven down, who clumsily crawled towards her Aunt Serah. He wondered if it was because she looked like Lightning. "Buh guh!"

"You are just so precious." Serah lifted Seven up onto her lap and poked her tiny little nose. "Do you think you'll be in my class one day? Or is Hope gonna send you to some fancy private school, hmm?"

"I'd definitely let you teach her," Hope said with a grin. "She could tell me if there's any truth to that 'Meanie Miss Farron' rumor I've heard so much about."

"Seriously, Hope?"

"If my memory serves correct, there's plenty of truth to it," Noel added.

"Hey!"

They all burst out laughing – even Seven started giggling and clapping her hands wildly. Honestly, what could be better than this? He had so much of his family right here in the same room as him. Two of the women he loved most in the world were close by, baking, of all things. Even back in the Crystal Age, he never would have imagined this for himself. It seemed too good to be true.

Just as that thought crossed his mind, there was an enormous clap of thunder that shook the entire house and make everyone literally jump out of their seats.

"What the hell?" Noel cried.

"A storm? This time of night?" Serah's brows were furrowed in confusion.

"It was clear outside just a second ago," Snow agreed.

Naturally, Yeul was the one who thought to get up and look out the nearest window. "I'm not so sure it's a storm."

Instantly, Hope was beside her, a sharp gasp escaping him when he peered outside.

The sky was red.

"No."

"Hope?" Lightning emerged from the kitchen, looking worried and confused. "Is it a storm? I didn't hear anything else."

He couldn't reply. There were dark clouds rolling in, centered right above his house, looking especially menacing against the blood-red sky.

"It's…it's…"

There was another loud crack that made everyone shriek, and a loud thump against the door punctuated it. Lightning immediately went for the door, while Hope stood there completely frozen.

"It's him."

Lightning pulled the door open, going still as well when she saw who was on Hope's porch stairs.

It was him.

The other Hope.

He was bleeding profusely as though he'd just come from a great battle. A strange red aura was pulsating around him, as though egging him on to keep breathing, to stay alive.

"Oh my god!"

Serah, Snow, Noel, even his mother – suddenly everyone was crowding around in shock and horror, and they were all talking endlessly and this was – this was too much, and now Yeul was holding Seven, both of them hanging back despite Seven's babbling and Yeul's knowing expression.

In the midst of all the hubbub, of trying to get the guy inside without aggravating his wounds, his eyes flew open and he cried out. "Lightning."

She glanced at Hope – him, this real one, who was too dazed to do anything useful – before meeting the eyes of the other one, sticking close as Snow carefully lifted him up. "Hope…?"

"Light," he cried, more of agony of the heart than of his body. "Light, how do I remember you, I saw you - "

"Hope, calm down - "

Tears spill from the other Hope's eyes, his voice raspy and weary. "Light, you were – you were supposed to be crystal, but I saw you die."

Lightning stared at him in a mixture of confusion and horror, but there wasn't enough time to hear any explanations – whether it was because he had seen so many people die during the Crystal Age or simply out of human compassion, Hope wanted to help his other self.

"Get him up to my room," he ordered Snow.

"Isn't the guest room closer?"

"I've got more first-aid supplies stocked in my bathroom."

Snow nodded in understanding, carefully beginning the trek. The other Hope was breathing heavily, seemingly in and out of consciousness. Lightning continued to stare.

"He knew me," she said.

"If he's Seven's father…" Hope swallowed the lump in his throat. If his other self had come here to get his daughter… "Then of course he knows you."

Lightning a sound that he couldn't quite decipher, but simply squeezed his hand and headed upstairs. A moment later, Yeul approached him, Seven wriggling In her arms.

"You know what you must do."

Hope took one look at the daughter he'd grown to love like his very own and felt like bursting into tears.

–

It felt like a long time before Hope got the courage to go upstairs to the others. Fang and Vanille had even come over when Serah called them so Vanille could try and treat the other Hope's wounds. Even so, Hope couldn't bring himself to follow.

Surprisingly – or maybe not – it was his mother that convinced him.

"This may finally give you some answers. Maybe they won't be the ones you're hoping for, but it'll stop the wondering."

She was right.

Snow, Serah, Yeul, Noel, Nora, and Fang were all crowded in the hallway across from his room. Seven was resting in the crook of Serah's arm, looking around in confusion. The door was closed and he could just barely hear Lightning's muffled voice in there. The thought of her talking to some other version of him, comforting the guy…

The door opened a crack and Vanille stepped out, wringing her hands and looking morose.

"Well?" Noel asked.

"It's…bad," was all she replied at first, shaking her head. "If this were the old world and we were l'cie, it would be no problem. But I…I'm not sure modern medicine can help. His woulds are too different." She sniffled a little, and Fang immediately got up, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and kissing the side of her head. When she saw this, Nora glanced at Vanille for permission before disappearing inside the room, her motherly instinct apparently too much to ignore.

"Light?" The other Hope's voice was more audible now through the open door. "Light it – it hurts – I can't stand it…"

"I know, Hope."

"Seven? Is Seven okay? Where is she?"

"She's okay. I promise."

There was a cry that was made of both relief and anguish that made Hope's blood run cold, and he wondered if his other self knew in his heart of hearts that the Lightning talking to him wasn't his own. As selfish as the thought was, whatever had happened to his other self…at least it hadn't happened to him.

"I thought we were supposed to be crystal," the other Hope continued, sounding like he was trying not to cry out. "I thought – I was dreaming, I was in the crystal and…" There was a long pause. "I dreamed of this place. There's – where is he?"

Hope froze.

No. No, no, no.

Moments later, Nora appeared at the door, looking like she'd aged ten years for the few minutes she'd been in there. "Hope, can you come in here?"

He considered remaining exactly where he was, but what else was he supposed to do? He had to face this.

With a great deal of hesitation, Hope followed Nora back into his room. Vanille came as well, wringing out some cold compresses, which he figured hadn't done much good, because…because…

Death was coming for him, that much was certain. It was like something out of a nightmare to see what was himself, lying there on his bed, with Lightning on one side and Nora on the other, both of them looking utterly defeated.

The wounds on his other self were horrible. He couldn't tell if they were burns or something else entirely – they glowed with a faint red light that seemed to pulse, as though egging on the pain. It was clearly hard for him to breathe, though whether it from the shock or the wounds, he didn't know.

"I dreamed of you," the other Hope gasped out. "Weeks ago, when Tempus Finis came – I dreamed there was someplace where it wasn't all ending, where the sky and sea weren't red and - "

He wasn't sure he could take this. "It was last night," Hope replied quietly. It seemed like ages ago. Already, his mind was thinking of paradoxes and the timeline falling out of place. If this was a paradox, then Seven…

"What?"

"You were here last night."

"I was?" The other Hope grimaced as he moved to look at Lightning. Hope saw the affection in his other self's expression and knew without a doubt that his other self had loved his own Lightning unconditionally. To have any sort of semblance of her here right now was a complete blessing.

"Yes." She squeezed his wounded hand ever-so-slightly. "You were."

The other Hope looked stunned. "I brought Seven here because I'd dreamed of this place," he murmured in awe. "I knew there were other worlds out there, but I thought that only Agito could travel between them – but when Tempus Finis arrived, it – it made easier. But I – oh god."

"Hope?" Lightning gasped, her brows knit in concern.

"Don't you see?!" he cried out. "It's not a paradox. There's no world for me to go back to. I brought Seven here because I'd dreamed of this place and saw her here."

Lightning and Nora looked confused, but even though Hope could only understand some of what his other self was telling him, realization still dawned. "And she came here weeks ago. That's the only reason you saw her here in a dream."

"You know what that means?"

He did. They both did, he knew. It wasn't a paradox at all.

It was a complete circle.

The other Hope squeezed his eyes shut with a groan. Vanille immediately handed Nora more compresses, but it didn't seem to help at all. "I thought I was right behind Seven. Mom, you were – I don't know." He choked back a sob. "Lightning, you were crystal, but the light faded when the end came. It stopped shining and I saw you – I saw you die." He voice took on the same agony as it'd had when he'd first spoken. "Tempus Finis brought the Chaos out. It was literally the end of the world, the end of a cycle. I was going to come here with Seven. I thought that maybe – it was peaceful here and she and I…we could remember."

He said this last word with such conviction that a shiver went down his spine. Hope had no idea why, but he suddenly had the feeling that his other self shouldn't have even recalled Lightning at all. "Where did the wounds come from…?"

"Damn fal-cie woman," the other Hope gasped out. "She wanted Seven for a new cycle – she wanted all of us, everybody - but no. I can't let my daughter die over and over – not like – not like me."

Though most of that explanation left Hope confused, he knew one thing for sure. Surprisingly, Vanille seemed to sense it as well, and drew a syringe from the bag she'd brought. "Are you sure…?"

"Just," the other Hope gasped again. "Just one more thing, and then it needs to end."

–

Hope methodically dressed Seven in the plaid onesie she'd been in when she'd arrived, not even frustrated by how much she was wriggling around. She seemed to know that something was going on.

"You won't remember this," he murmured, swallowing the lump in his throat. "At least…I really hope you don't."

Snow was watching him carefully while the others paced around and murmured amongst themselves. "You okay, man?"

"I…" Hope lifted Seven into his arms and kissed the top of her head. "Honestly, I don't even know what I'm feeling right now."

Snow nodded as though he understood, but how could anyone possibly understand this? This whole situation was beyond any of them. For all the strange things their previous life had given them, this was nothing like it. Hope wanted to run upstairs and prove to Lightning that he was still here and always would be, that the other version of himself whose life was ticking away by the second wasn't him. There was nothing extraordinary in this world – no magic, no crystals, no fal'cie – but there was the ability to live their lives as they pleased.

He wondered if Seven's real parents had ever actually had a chance.

With a nod to Snow, Hope slowly made his way back to his room with Seven in his arms. She seemed pretty compliant…at least until she saw the man on the bed. Her eyes grew wide and she wiggled in his hold so much that he was afraid of dropping her.

"Buh! Buh-guh-guhhh!"

"Seven," his other self gasped out. He tried to sit up and cried out with utter pain and frustration. Nora and Vanille carefully helped him, mindful of the burning wounds on his skin. When he was sitting up enough, Lightning molded herself behind him, keeping him upright.

Got my back?

Hope stepped forward and carefully set Seven into his other self's lap.

She wouldn't remember this.

Please don't let her remember this.

Seven was too young to know better. Too young to know that her father was in scorching pain, that she shouldn't have bounced in his lap or dug her little fingers into his skin. She seemed determined to climb up far enough to pull on his hair.

The sounds he made wasn't just from physical pain, though. Hope knew the man's heart was breaking. It was a sound he could recall all too well himself.

"Seven," his other self sobbed. "Sweetheart, you're going to be so happy here. It's all Light and I ever wanted for you. You – you have to be strong, okay? Just like Mama taught you. It's what she wished when you were born."

"Buh!"

The wounded man raised a trembling hand to stroke his daughter's hair. "Walk on, wandering soul, for your respite we pray," he crooned.

Hope sucked in a breath.

"Let our humble song clear your heart of dismay…rekindle the flame in your soul and set you free…"

Lightning carefully wrapped an arm around the other Hope's shoulders, almost as though she was further bracing him.

"…To walk on and become the light that guides the way."

The room grew silent except for Seven's delighted babbling. Hope wasn't even sure he could breathe anymore.

"Okay," his other self breathed out eventually. "Someone needs to take her now."

His gaze landed on Hope as he said that. It was like looking into some strange mirror – the reflection wasn't a hundred percent accurate, even without the wounds.

But their souls…they were…

Hope wanted to say a thousand things – that he already loved Seven as his own, that he and Lightning would raise her in happiness, that he wasn't mad for all of this anguish – but all he could do was swallow the lump in his throat, trying to ignore the tears that sprang to his eyes.

When he bent down to take Seven, their eyes met.

"You and Lightning have a perfect match in your souls," he whispered. "No one can harvest that or take that from you. You can have what we had."

Hope stood up straight, instantly understanding. It was always what he'd believed, even far back during the Crystal Age, but hearing that he and Lightning were soul mates, no matter what the world…he was grateful for the confirmation, no matter how dire the circumstances were.

"Buh!" Seven called out as Hope headed back towards the door. "Buh guh!"

"Buh guh," his other self echoed, then turned into Lightning's arms with a broken sob.

–

Hope gave Seven back to Serah to look after, but he didn't go back into his bedroom. The door remained half-open, though, and as his other self grew less and less lucid, everyone gradually filed down to the living room.

Except for him.

"I can't stand this anymore." The voice is wracked with pain. Hope couldn't help but wonder if he himself had ever sounded like that at some point during the Crystal Age. "I can't…"

"I've got something that'll help you go to sleep," Vanille said. "It'll only take a few moments."

"You can't heal this, Vanille, there's no magic strong enough."

"Shhh." That was Lightning's voice. "Just let her do her job."

"Light, I – I'm scared. It hurts."

"You're strong enough for this, Hope."

"No – I'm not, I can't…"

Nora's voice injected, sounding both calm and full of agony all at once. "Then let me be strong for you. After all…moms are tough."

"Yeah." There was humorless laugh. "How'd I get so lucky to have a mom like you, huh?"

"You're an even better son."

"I tried – I tried so hard to stop things from happening. I didn't know the end would come. I didn't know."

"It's okay, Hope." Lightning.

"I'm just so…tired…" A pause. "Light…?"

"I'm here."

"I love you, Light. I always have and always will."

There was another long pause, with only Vanille murmuring something. Hope instantly hated himself for the jealousy that surged within him when Lightning answered, speaking what she'd yet to say to his face.

"I love you too, Hope."

After that, it was quiet.

–

The others gradually left, two by two. Snow got Gadot and Lebreau to take the body, and Fang mentioned knowing a guy who could cremate him properly. Hope only listened with half an ear and stared at Seven, who was in her playpen in the living room.

Nora was the last one to leave. She stared at her son for a long time, eventually pulling him close and pressing a kiss to the top of his head like he was ten years old again.

"I hope I never have to see that again," she whispered, her voice and eyes both quivering with unshed tears. "Moms might be tough, but no mother is tough enough to see that."

Hope hugged her tightly before she left, wondering if his other self had seen his own mother before crossing over to this world. Surely that Nora had been just as wonderful – after all, she'd given her own son a custom blanket with his name on the tag, and had loved her granddaughter enough to stitch something on there to make it her own.

Lightning came downstairs when everyone was gone, looking weary and defeated. It was something Hope had never wanted to see on her face again.

She glanced at Seven, watching her with a flicker of fondness in her eyes before going to Hope and wrapping her arms around him, pressing her forehead into his shoulder. He gently returned the embrace, resting his chin on top of her head.

"Never do that to me," she said.

Though he knew it wasn't a guarantee, Hope nodded a little in agreement. "I won't, Light."

"Don't leave me."

That was an easy one. "I promise."

They stayed like that for the rest of the night, only letting go whenever Seven needed their attention.

–

It took another two weeks before he was able to sleep for more than an hour at a time, long after it was over and the ashes had been spread under a blue sky. He would keep waking up in a cold sweat, recalling the wounds he'd seen on his other self, the pain on his body and in his very soul. It scared him to think that there were still worlds out there like that, with magic and fal'cie and Gods that could destroy without warning.

"Maybe one day, the people on the world he came from can create their own world," Lightning said to him one night. "After all, it took us thousands of years, but we did it, didn't we?"

She was right, of course.

There were no gods on this world, no one to control the way they lived. They were free to raise Seven, to love each other without pause.

Still, Hope knew it would be a long time before he could think of his other self without horror, before he could think back to him without fear and heartbreak. Eventually, though, he knew it would come. Maybe the memory would always been tinged with sadness, but one day it wouldn't cause him such pain. Perhaps, in a way, it would even be beautiful.

When that day came – and when she was old enough – he would tell Seven about him, her real father. He and Lightning would both know the story of how brave he was, about how nothing in any world stopped him from holding his daughter one last time. Seven would know that he was surrounded by love at the end, with the assurance that, in its own twisted way, this was all meant to be.

It was hard to think that when Seven took her first steps about a month later. Lightning had gasped and immediately knelt down to the floor, trying to get her to walk closer, and of course, Hope had taken a video (though it had to be watched with the sound off, since it was incredibly loud otherwise due to their excitement). Even with a proud grin on his face, he couldn't help but feel guilty, because her real parents should have been here to see this.

"Don't think like that," Lightning had said when he'd brought that up. "You're as much her real father as he was. Trust me, guilt doesn't get you anywhere. The best way to honor their sacrifice is to love her."

She was right again.

As usual.

–

Three years later

When the music started, there was a part of Hope that felt like he was going to faint, or maybe throw up a little, despite the fact that he'd wanted this for as long as he could remember – literally beyond worlds.

More than one, that is.

He relaxed a little when Seven came skipping down the aisle, looking a little shy but definitely happy as she tossed rose petals everywhere. She beamed when her grandparents waved at her and ran the last couple of feet when she saw Hope standing at the altar, which got a polite laugh from the guests.

"Daddy!" she whispered, tugging on the pants of his suit. "Daddy, Mommy looks like a princess!"

He smiled, crouching down even though Vanille and Yeul were coming down the aisle, on the arms of Fang and Noel, respectively. Fang had said like hell she would get in a frilly dress, even if it was for the wedding of the century (in Snow's words, at least). They would be followed by Serah and Snow, the maid and man of honor.

"She does, does she?"

"Yeah! She started crying a little bit, but I got her some tissues and she hugged me a lot."

"I bet she did." Hope had to resist the urge to ruffle Seven's hair, since it was adorably styled with some flower clips (of which he was sure would eventually be torn out and tossed aside). "I'm going to hug you a lot, too, after Mommy and I say our vows."

"What's a vow?"

"It's…" Serah and Snow were halfway down the aisle, and Hope knew he didn't have time for a vocabulary lesson. "It's a promise. I'm going to promise to love her forever in front of all these people."

"Oh." That answer seemed to pacify her, but then she tugged on his pant leg again before he stood up. "Do you love me forever, Daddy?"

He smiled, the faintest bit of pain clenching his heart as he kissed her cheek. "Beyond worlds."

She grinned widely, as she always did when he told her he loved her. He returned the smile, standing back up just as the music changed and nerves once again wracked his body.

They vanished when Lighting appeared with a nervous smile, looking like a princess…just as Seven had promised.

Hope wondered if his other self had felt that swooping in his gut every time he'd looked at his own Lightning; if tears sprang to his eyes just at the very thought of them spending forever together. He wondered if he'd been surrounded by family like this, too, on their wedding day, so elated that he could barely breathe.

He probably had – after all, no matter what the world, his and Lightning's souls were bound.

Beyond this life and beyond worlds.

---

...Don't hate me too much? :D