A/N:

This update is a little quicker, no? Okay! First things first: thanks to everyone who read and reviewed chapter 5! As always, I really appreciate the time it takes to read a fanfic and review. A special thanks to my reviewers; I know how easy it easy just to skip that whole part, but, to be honest, it's what makes posting worthwhile.

And so I'm taking this opportunity to answer some reviewer questions (bare with me):

Ointmentjar: I wasn't going to go into detail (but maybe I will...) but I will tell you that it was not that innocent and most likely (and by that I mean most definitely) about Hope.

Hari-chan15: sad face was because I felt sorry for delaying this story so long.

Also, thanks: ssnw, actionliker, busard, CloudRed1988, RinoaShadow, LucksFullmoon, Kokomo7, and dattebayo1213

As always, I hope you like it!

To say breakfast was awkward would only be the tip of a very, very, very large iceberg. Though, to Lightning's extreme surprise, this awkwardness appeared to be incredibly one sided. Hope just continued to shovel spoonful after spoonful of cereal in his mouth, acting like this was just any other day, that Lightning had not just walked in on him perfectly naked.

It's no big deal.

At least, it shouldn't have been a big deal. So what? She saw his chest. Okay. It wasn't like she had never seen it before. If Hope ever got an injury there four years ago, of course she would help him tend to the wound. But he wasn't….he didn't…

"Light?"

She blinked furiously, realizing to her utter disgust that she had been staring at him. Lightning dug through her untouched cereal, "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

That was a loaded question. She decided to avoid it completely. "We have to get ready soon, Hope."

"Well good thing I already showered."

She flicked her head down afraid of an impending blush. What is wrong with you, Lightning Farron? She looked back up to Hope, only to see his bright green eyes staring at her openly.

"Do you miss Serah?"

"Of course I do."

Hope nodded at her straight answer. "You miss her a lot?"

"You already know the answer to that." Lightning got up from the table, accepting that there was no way she could eat her cereal. "But I'm fine, Hope. I know she's safe. I don't want her back here."

He looked confused at this. "But you're lonely."

That irked her for some reason, even more than when Serah said it. She was fine. She was strong and independent and she didn't need anyone, especially barely pubescent boys. Lightning didn't offer a reply. She simply threw her cereal bowl into the sink and walked out to take a shower, reminding herself to lock the bathroom door.

"How's things going?"

They had met Sazh on the boardwalk right in front of the little amusement park. Serah had thought it would be the perfect place to bring little Dajh, and Hope couldn't agree more. His mother had brought him there four years ago, and although he felt too old for it at the time, he was sure Dajh would like all the little rides and games it had to offer.

Hope sighed, watching as Lightning was slowly leading Dajh up to the ticket booth. He didn't really think she was one to be so thoughtful towards little kids, but he guessed being an aunt changed her. "If you mean with Light you may as well shoot me now."

Sazh patted his back, "Doubt things are that hopeless."

"No, they are. I mean, she seemed to have forgiven me for calling her old yesterday." He cringed at his own stupidity. "But this morning she would barely even look at me after she walked in on me."

That made Sazh's eyes narrow, "Walked in on you doing what?"

"Nothing! I mean…I was just about to shower when I realized she was out of shampoo, so I was just going to look through her linen closet when she just came in."

Sazh blinked, "Came in?"

"Yeah."

"While you were supposed to be in the shower?"

"Yeah, then at breakfast she barely even glanced an inch in my direction. And it wasn't like I was even completely naked, so I don't…"

"Hope." Sazh's calm voice stopped him. "That's good."

Hope raised an eyebrow, extremely doubtful. "What?"

"That's good. She doesn't think of you as a child anymore."

"Oh okay, then why doesn't she even look at me?"

Sazh shook his head, "She's embarrassed. She's probably, well…um, how do I put this…attracted to you."

It was one of those moments that, if Hope were drinking anything, it would have been splattered all over Sazh's face. Luckily for Sazh, Hope just stood there, dumbfounded. "She is?"

"Hell if I know. But if it gives you enough confidence to go up and talk to her, yeah she is."

Hope half smiled and scratched his silver hair. "Right. You're right. I'm going to tell her, no matter what. I'll just…try and convince her more." He waved gently to Sazh and ran up towards Lightning who quickly handed him a ticket. "Thanks, Light! But you didn't have to pay."

She shrugged, "We get a discount." Her eyes flashed to Dajh running back to his father with a spare ticket in his hand. "This place is more for kids anyway."

"So you expect I'll have a lot of fun then, huh?" He said slightly bitter.

Lightning shook her head, "Not really a hangout for eighteen year olds. Though if you want to go on the tea cups, be my guest."

The comment made him smile. Maybe Sazh was right, even though the man himself didn't fully believe it. Maybe Lightning was seeing him as an adult, as a man. "Want some cotton candy?"

"You're asking if I want a pound of sugar on a stick?" She looked at him grimly.

"I'll take that as a yes. Come on." He grabbed her hand quickly, not giving himself enough time to even think about her reaction to it, and dragged her over to a nearby cotton candy stand. The man at the stand smiled at them and handed Hope one fluffy pink pound of sugar. "Here you go!"

Lightning took the object cautiously. "Where's yours?"

He liked that fact that she didn't object to him paying for it. "I'm still full from breakfast. Go ahead, eat it."

She held the cotton candy awkwardly towards her mouth and got ready to take one giant bite out of it, when Hope touched her arm. "Not like that, Light. Rip off smaller pieces."

"Like this?" She held some fluff in her hand.

"Yeah…Light, have you never had cotton candy before?"

She didn't answer, but placed the fluff inside her mouth. Her hands immediately flew up from the impact. "Hope!" She was half smiling, "It's so sweet."

"Too sweet?" Hope wondered.

Lightning shook her head and looked at her hand for more. She immediately looked confused seeing that the cotton candy vanished from her hand. "What happened?"

He laughed seeing her look closely at the floor then back at her hands. "Light…" She was still looking. "Light, here…" He ran his hands through her hair, tugging softly at the paper stick and handing it back to her.

Her hands immediately reached for the spot in her hair. "Oh great." She glanced at the cotton candy and saw faint strands of pinkish blond. "Forget about this one."

"Here, I'll help you." He grabbed her hand again, though he had to admit she did hold on rather loosely, and placed her on a bench. Hope sat down next to her and started to pick out the little fluffs of pink sugar. "This would be so much easier if your hair wasn't pink."

"It's not pink. It's a strawberry blonde."

He smirked, "Right, Light."

"At least I don't have grey hair."

"It's a really light blonde!" Hope couldn't help but keep smiling. He didn't care that Lighting couldn't even see. Her eyes were facing the opposite way, giving him better access to her now sticky head. "And oh, so now I'm an old man?"

She shook her head, causing more strands of hair to be stuck in the goo. Hope sighed but let her speak. "Of course not."

"Well, I'm not a kid either, so where does that put me?"

He wanted to hear it from her, wanted her to say it, to convince him that she did see him differently, that there was a chance of them together. And maybe, he knew that a part of her still needed some convincing as well. "You're Hope."

"…yeah." He wasn't sure what to make of that.

"And you don't have to do this." She turned around again, blue eyes completely focused o n his green ones.

"I don't mind."

He half thought she was going to say that 'she did', but there was no more rebuttal from Lightning. Hope peeled the sugar from her hair, bit by bit, all the while watching her breath, watching her shoulders rise and fall. It slightly memorized him, slightly made his heart pump dangerously, but fully made his cotton candy picking job much slower. He wasn't sure if he minded.

"You okay guys?"

For once in his life, Hope really hated to hear Serah's voice. But he turned nevertheless, to the Villiers family. Snow was looking puzzlingly at Lightning, while Serah was just smiling and holding Eira gently. "They're fine Serah."

"Claire? What's in your hair?"

Hope gave a guilty smile, "…don't worry. It's just cotton candy. I'll get it out."

Snow immediately laughed, "Sis, you're eating cotton candy?"

"Bye Snow." Lightning waved him off.

"Fine, fine. We'll catch you guys for lunch in a couple of hours, okay? Bye Hope, Little Sis."

Hope caught her rolling her eyes and placed his hand in the middle of her back, making her flinch slightly upwards."You two still don't get along, huh?"

"He's just as big as an oaf as he was before." Lightning turned slightly, "You almost done, Hope?"

If he had the option, he'd never be done. "Yep, almost." Okay…time to move things forward. He gulped before continuing. "You have really nice hair, Light…I mean, when it isn't coated in sugar."

He wanted to look over, see if she was smiling, but Lightning's head was faced downwards. "ha, even though it's pink?"

"Especially because it's pink."

She froze for a second and then scooted herself up. "Thanks." Her voice was practically deadpan. "Come on, Hope. Let's find something to do."

Apparently, finding something to do in an amusement park built for eight year olds was very hard. Hope offered to win Lightning one of those stuff Carbuncles, but she refused. She didn't want him to waste so much money on something so simple. And the rides were nothing spectacular. The one ride he did go on, Hope got stuck next to ten year old that decided it was a good idea to bring a drink. At the first incline, that soda ended up all over Hope's shirt.

"Not disappointed I skipped that one."

"You sure? You could have sticky stuff all over your shirt to match your hair…"

Lightning smiled again and walked on. He wasn't sure he had ever seen her smile so much in one day. Then again, he never really saw Lightning in such a …harmless setting before. It was nice.

What was bugging Hope more than anything else was why Lightning was hanging out with the whole time. Could it be that she didn't want to interfere with the other's family time? Or maybe…just maybe…

"I hate that thing."

Hope focused on what Lightning was talking about and saw, to his surprise, that it was no more than a Ferris wheel. He could see the Villiers and Dajh and Sazh already on line, planning to enjoy the newly lit ride. The sun was just setting over the water, painting the sky and ocean in multiple hues of purple and pink. He couldn't think of anything more romantic in his life. What would be the best possible moment for him and Lightning than riding on a white light Ferris wheel, watching the ocean rock back and forth as they glided upwards towards the clouds?

"You sure?"

"They're boring."

I could think of ways to make it more interesting. But he kept the thought to himself.

"And besides, they always make me think of those corny movies. You know, where the guy suddenly decides to spill his heart out to some naïve girl while they're stuck in the air." Lightning grunted and placed her arms on the edge of the railing, the only barrier between her and the ocean.

Hope was rethinking that perfect plan. "Why's that so awful?"

"It's almost cowardly. He feels like he has to tell her on top of some moving object, where she can't run away."

"Maybe it's just the moment. You know?" He was watching his friends board the ride. "I think it's beautiful. Why not share that moment with someone else?"

Lightning shook her head, "You wouldn't understand…"

"Why?" Hope turned her towards him, that frustration suddenly boiling inside him again. "Why? Because I'm just a kid?"

"You're not Hope." She said it softly to herself, and he could see her surprise in her eyes from her own words. "You're not a kid." Lightning turned to face him, her blue eyes reflecting the purple from the water. "You're…you're like Snow. You think that everything is black and white, that just because you love someone, everything will work out perfectly. That you'll live happily ever after. And I'm not saying you won't, Hope. But…"

"But what, Light?" He was smiling from her previous words.

Lightning looked up, half speechless, half frozen. He felt dying words fall from her lips as she turned her gaze back to the Ferris wheel. "Things aren't so simple. They're grey. Love isn't that easy."

"I know that." Hope turned to face the water next to her, "But it worked pretty well for Snow, right?"

"Hmph." Lighting didn't turn.

"And besides, you taught me to fight for what I want, not give up and run away."

She smiled, "I did, didn't I?" Hope felt her blue eyes cut him, and he speedily turned back towards her. Lightning's smile was still on her face, but her eyes read something different. It looked like she was prepared to apologize, almost as if she wanted to cry. "You have a long battle ahead."

A/N:

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