Just For The Night
Chapter 3 ~As these eyes linger~
Disclaimer Applied
A/N: I know this update took forever but I have been busy with school, sports, etc. I want to make a promise that my update next time will be faster but I don't want to make any false hopes. ENJOY!
Hope chatted endlessly as he and Lightning made their way to the light festival. He thought that maybe Lightning wasn't listening but her nonchalant nods gave him reassurance that she was, although her mind was a million miles away or in better terms thinking of someone she shouldn't be thinking about who was at that moment shuffling around while looking up at the lights and half listening to his fiancée.
"Don't you agree Lightning?" Hope asked immediately shaking Lightning out of her thoughts. Her blue eyes searched his for a second, then she gave him a small nod.
"You have no idea what I am talking about do you." Hope stated with humor in his voice.
"I am." Hope opened his mouth to question, but he quickly closed it when she gave him a dismissive glare.
"Well I was talking about when we see Snow he is going to act exactly the same maybe even more annoying."
"Yeah … the same." Hope looked up at Lightning in confusion then his gaze traveled down her body to only look away when his eyes reached the cleavage that was for the first time revealed in a low cut v neck shirt. He tried to fight the blush growing, but he couldn't help it she looked so beautiful.
"Do you think they'll finally set up a date for their wedding?" Hope tried to change the subject after a long silence fell upon them.
"I don't know, Serah hardly has the time to speak to me anymore. I'm sure they'll do something soon." Lightning sounded slightly detached to Hope, for a short moment he said nothing only looked at the lights of the festival in the distance.
"You don't want them to get married do you?" Lightning hid her shock well.
"I gave them my blessing Hope, I want my sister to be happy." She wanted this conversation to end .
"Lightning, that doesn't tell me anything. Do you want Serah to be with that big Oaf?" Hope fell behind Lightning as she increased her pace.
"I don't see why my opinion matters, I just want my sister to be happy, I owe her that."
"You know Lightning, you remind me of my Mother." Lightning looked back at Hope in question.
"Your Mother?"
"Yeah, you care so much for others that you don't take care of yourself although my Mother was sweeter about it, and she wasn't as tough as you, but she never once thought about herself."
"Hope I do take care of myself." Hope, exasperated, got straight to the point as they neared the entrance to the park where the festival was being held.
"You like him don't you? Snow I mean." He did not portray any of his own feelings through his words.
Serah looked up in awe as the lights changed frantically in the sky, there really was nothing more beautiful than those lights in the night sky. Serah tore her eyes away from the lights to look at her companion who was loosely holding onto her hand.
"Snow?" He looked down at her with one of his signature grins etched in his face. He wanted this to work, he wanted to make her happy. He felt like such a fool for ever getting in an argument with her earlier in the day, and now he almost forgot what it was about in the first place. If anything he thought he was in the wrong like usual with her, he didn't like the fact that he always felt in the wrong, but when Serah was involved he would sacrifice his own wants for her.
"Hmm?" Serah opened her mouth to say something but looked past him and her face lit up, causing Snow to turn to look at the direction she was looking. His grin came back when he saw Sazh, and Dajh walking in towards them, frantically waving their arms in Snow's and Serah's direction.
"Snow, Serah!"
"Sazh, Dajh!" The two groups met each other half way when they all exchanged hugs, and in Snow's case giving Sazh an incredibly uncomfortable bear hug.
Sazh roughly slapped Snow on the back multiple times before speaking.
"How's my brother doing?" Then before Snow could answer he directed a question towards Serah, "Is he treating you right? If not…" He then punched his own hand for emphasis. Serah only giggled slightly and nodded her head.
"Of course I'm treating her right, Lightning would have gotten rid of me a long time ago, if I were doing anything less."
"I'm just playing with you. How have things been going?" Sazh pointed this question towards both Serah and Snow.
"Alright." "Good." They answered at the same time.
"Good." "Alright." Dajh giggled slightly at what had happened, and Sazh let out a dry chuckle, though it sounded forced.
"We're living life." Snow finally answered with a thumbs up and his signature grin on his face.
"Aren't we all?" Sazh said, as he shook his head.
"How are you doing Dajh?" Serah bent over to ask the much younger boy.
"Great! Papa smiles all the time now!" Dajh gleefully flapped his arms up and down and then grabbed hold of Sazh's hand.
"That's good!"
"Have you guys seen Lightning and little man yet?" Sazh inquired while he shifted his gaze to the lights, before looking back down at his son.
"No, but knowing her I don't even know if she'll show up or not."
Lightning and Hope walked in silence the rest of the way to the park, she put even more distance between them.
She was feeling a mixture of anger and confusion, Hope was wrong to assume that she could not possibly like Snow.. She grew to like him as a person yes, but it would end at that and after her sister married him it would be over and down with. Or so she tried to tell herself, in the back of her mind she knew that when staying in Gran Pulse she felt herself growing affections for him, and she was disgusted by it at first, her and Snow! But now, it was different her feelings felt like a nudge on your side that you grew used to or an annoying person you grew to ignore, but still noticed.
Lightning knew that it wasn't going to be the same when she would see him, she would have to try her hardest to keep up her stern look when looking at him, and she would have to threaten him not to screw over her sister.
"Lighting I'm sorry for what I said, it was way out of line." Hope spoke up meekly.
"It's okay Hope."
"No, I know I made you angry, suggesting that you like someone like him when he is engaged to your younger sister Serah. I made it seem as if you are a bad person, and you aren't, and for that I am sorry."
"Snow I said it's okay." Hope gave her a weird look.
"I'm not Snow." Lightning detected her mistake the moment it escaped her lips, but she had hoped that Hope wouldn't have noticed unfortunately he did, and for once she was at a loss at what to do.
Hope shifted uncomfortably as they both stopped to look at each other although Hope tried his best to look anywhere but at Lightning who was giving him a slight glare.
"Lightning, I won't say anything about this to anyone!" Lightning's face slightly relaxed though her voice was still full of a mixture of venom and something else Hope couldn't quite put his finger on.
"There is nothing to tell Hope." Then she gave him one last look before she turned to walk towards the park only now more hesitantly.
Hope clenched his fists even when Snow wasn't around he still made such a loud impression on his life. He didn't see how someone like Snow could make Lightning such a different person in his eyes Lightning was always the truthful and levelheaded person, not someone who would be afraid to talk about some dumb guy.
He kept his eyes on Lightning's hair, although he wanted more than anything to walk next to her. He wanted to show her that he could be mature and be as strong as her, and that he was a man not a little boy that he thought she saw him as. He wanted to be the one to set an example for Lighting to show her what type of man she should really be with.
Lightning did her best to keep her cool and precede walking to the park where she would inevitably see her Sister with Snow. Damn. She couldn't think about it without getting jealous, or angry, or something. She just couldn't stay calm when thinking of them, no the real thing that sickened her was that she was sickened by that idea of them together. She wasn't supposed to feel the way she does about Snow, but she does.
The way he talks, well maybe not all the time, but his voice, his crystal blue eyes, his long blonde hair, his muscular body, everything began to draw her in. And now she was going to see him share all of his happy moments with Serah.
The entrance to the park was beautifully decorated with festive decorations made of lights that were the colors of blue, purple, white, and green. The gates were open, so Hope and Lightning walked in with ease.
"It looks so cool, just imagine how the lights look!" Hope gasped aloud, Lightning gave him a small smile even though she wanted to do not nothing but turn around and go back home.
"Should we eat first or should we look for Sazh, and Dajh?" Lightning opened her mouth at first to scold him about not eating at home when she offered but instead nodded her head, and kept walking towards the center of the park where she knew Snow was.
"I'll take that as a let's find them first."
Snow chuckled slightly as Sazh spoke of his misadventures with his son, and how he almost forgot how hard it was to care for a young and growing boy.
"Ah don't tell me the all knowing Sazh can't handle his own son." Snow said in good humor earning him a laugh from Sazh.
'Don't say that until you have a son of your own." Immediately blood rushed to Serah's face, and she turned her slightly so Snow could not see. While said man scratched his scarf and then an uncomfortable silence ensued.
"I'm too young to be thinking about all that old man. I have to get married first, don't I?" Sazh smirked and opened his mouth to retort back at Snow for his old man comment. But when he looked at Snow he was looking past him to something behind him with a grin plastered on his face.
"Sis?" Snow said more to himself than to anyone else causing both Serah and Sazh and even Dajh to look at the direction he was looking.
"Sis!' Snow said louder when he was sure that the woman that was walking in their direction was Lightning, with Hope trailing not to far behind. Deciding not to wait for Lightning and Hope to reach them, the group strode towards them with steps full of excitement and joy.
"Éclair!" Serah exclaimed as she ran over to her sister and enveloped her in a big hug. The old Lightning would have kept her arms to her sides, the old Lightning would have yelled at her sister by now, the Lightning would have never been at the festival. But the Lightning that she was now returned her sister's hug with as much fervor, and she actually smiled at the sight of her sister, and was excited and happy that she was able to see her again.
"I didn't think you were coming." Serah said as she pulled back from Lightning and held her away at arm's length. Lighting nodded, then pointed her head towards Hope who was getting engulfed by one of Snow's hugs and then patted on the back by Sazh, and then tackled by the much smaller and younger Dajh.
"I wasn't, but then Hope forced me to come."
"This is a surprise, you never do anything that you don't want to do." Serah said in mock seriousness, "You look really pretty today Éclair, I feel so average around you now." She smiled up at Lightning who looked as if she wanted nothing more than to not be complimented.
"So is there anyone new in your life now, any special friends I should now about?" Unbeknownst to Lighting, Snow's ears perked up as he waited for her answer. Instead of saying her answer out loud, Lightning simply shook her head then stepped out of Serah's embrace and turned to see Snow gapping at her with his signature grin.
Lightning felt her heart drop into her stomach, and a part of her brain told her to run away, but she wasn't a coward, so she told herself. Her body went tense, and her smile faded into a straight line.
"Hey Light!" He sounded so sure of himself, and anyone could tell that a part of him missed her whether he knew it or not. His blue eyes swiftly swept down Lightning's body then back up, he wouldn't admit it to anyone but her body enticed him like no other.
"Snow. It's nice seeing you again." Snow grinned at this, and Serah smiled at the fact that her sister didn't completely ignore him.
"Well what do you know Lightning actually does have a soft spot for Snow." Sazh said, Hope's eyes immediately fell on Lightning's face who didn't change her expression in the slightest.
"Of course Sis does!" Serah's small smile faltered.
"I'm doing this for my sister, if Snow's going to be my brother-in-law it's only right to be civil with him."
"Ah don't be so modest Sis, we're friends now." Sazh looked at Snow disbelievingly, he wasn't a fool he knew how conversations or arguments in better terms went between the two.
Serah watched on as Snow smiled at her sister, it wouldn't bother her normally but right now anything Snow did had some hidden meaning to it.
Or at least it did in her head.
"Hey Snow why don't we go watch the lights a little closer." Serah suggested, gaining everyone's attention.
Snow being the ever nice guy he was, asked everyone if they wanted to come along with them.
"I meant just the two of us."
Now it was time for Snow's smile to falter although only a little.
"Yeah, ha-ha of course." Everyone's eyes followed them as they walked closer to the source of the light. One set of eyes lingering longer than the others as they looked elsewhere. These blue eyes sharpened at the scene that had just unfolded before her, Was her sister always that dismissive of Snow? Even though they weren't on the best of terms, she knew a great guy when she saw one, and to her he was a truly great guy.
Snow and Serah stood silently side by side, as he looked at the sky without a smile on his face, it was the only time that night he allowed himself not to smile, to not pretend that he was really truly happy, as Serah looked at him with an unreadable expression on her face. She couldn't understand him anymore, to her he had changed.
But he hadn't, not really, she did.
Dajh chuckled gleefully with his father, Sazh as he sat upon his shoulders, this was how things were meant to be. Hope smiled at the memory of being with his Mother at a festival so similar to this one, things weren't so different he still was with a woman he cared deeply about, a woman he loved.
To anyone looking on the outside, the scene may have been one of normality but to those on the inside it was strange. It was strange that those that went through so much together could stand in the same place, and still feel so distant.
