A/N:

WHAT 17 REVIEWS? WHAT? YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME. SERIOUSLY. I LOVE YOU ALL:

TheBansheeQueen: ha :D I'm glad I inspired you! But don't be afraid! I was nervous too, because usually I write more canon relationships, but they're a lot of fun!

Hari-chan15: Thanks! when I have an idea, I can really blow through a chapter (my lack of ideas is probably why this one took a little longer...)

Daedulas: that's really nice. I love writing fanfic because I love trying to get their personality right. thank you!

CloudRed1988: If you thought the amusement park was, weird get ready for this one...:D

Go10: Read and see! :D

ssnw: (See above)

Darth Revan 192: I'm glad you reviewed! And I'll try to keep my posts fast (faster than this chapter...what fail)

busard: Same! I need to get further too...

Rinoas Shadow: Ha, really? I'm glad that actually happens in real life...I don't like cotton candy, so can't say I've eaten it enough to have the opportunity to get it stuck (not exactly a bad thing)

zenbun zakura: nooo, it's just a really light blond!haha

mellombror: I like rambling, don't worry! And I'm really happy you like my style of writing. I try to make it descriptive but not to the point where it gets dry and obnoxious. This is more casual I think, no?

LadyAlaska: please write a lot! I love reviews! And sorry if it was annoying to keep checking my account...

Angelinn: Sorry you had to wait this long!

UnVeRsEd: it's good to know I'm following the game pretty well (especially because I haven't finished it...) ugh. need to get on that one. And yay first pairing fic :D I'm glad you like them!

generalyao: Yeah, to be honest, I'm suprised I'm a fan of them...and I'll try to watch the grammar! It's not really one of my strong points, but I'll try to edit better!

HoplessRomanticist: wow. That's really, really, really nice. Thank you :D :D :D :D :D

TinierCR: Thank you! And I'll try not to be so dependent on Microsoft Word...(IT'S REALLY HARD)

Sorry for the obnoxiously long author's not. this is my sad attempt at making up for my sporadic posting abilities...

Lightning may be a little, um, off towards the end...but there's a solid reason for it.

Disclaimer: Nope, not mine (yet ;))

That scared him. That last thing she had said. What the hell did she mean by that? Maybe she means like age…that I'm still young.

But Hope knew what she meant by long. It wasn't about time or length. It was about difficulty, that whoever he was fighting for, it would be nearly impossible.

"Like I didn't know that already." He kicked a nearby empty soda can and looked back towards the Ferris wheel exit.

Lightning was already there, talking (and arguing) with Snow while Serah gently rocked baby Eira. Sazh and Dajh were exiting too, and Hope barely focused as Serah took Dajh's hand, leading him away from the ride.

Does she know too?

His illusion of extreme discreteness was blown when he realized Sazh was well aware of his 'crush'. So who was to say that Lightning didn't figure it out either?

And though a large part of him thought he should be worried that he absolutely didn't stand a chance now, there was something that wasn't sitting straight in his mind. If she knew that he liked her, why didn't she push him away?

"Hey, we're going out." Snow wrestled his arm around Hope's neck, giving the shorter boy a slight noogie.

Hope blinked, "I thought we were already out."

"Nah, this is kid stuff. I'll take you somewhere fun. What do you say, Sazh?"

The man looked to the little boy yawning next to him, "Dajh seems to be a little tired."

"Serah will take him back with Eira. So you in?"

Sazh must have seen the slight pleading look in Hope's eyes, "…Alright, Snow."

"Great! Sis, what do you say?"

Lightning turned to Snow quickly, and Hope expected to see more loathing in her eyes. But they look more concerned if anything. "Where?"

"Just Lebreau's bar, nothing too fancy. It'll be fun, Sis."

She began to shake her head, "Snow…"

"Have fun, Claire!" Serah took Dajh's hand while cradling Eira. "See you all later!"

"I should punch you in the face again." Her blue eyes glanced to her left to a now smirking Snow, holding his hand up to get Lebreau's attention.

"I don't know why you're angry, Sis. This was Serah's idea."

"And you agreed to it. I'm fine."

"Serah doesn't think so." Snow tapped his fingers lightly on the bar counter, then turned around towards the beach. "And yeah, I guess I don't either. You need to get out more while…"

Lightning huffed, "While I'm still young, huh?" She let her pink hair fall across her face, "That passed."

"Little early to be having a midlife crisis, huh Snow?" Lebreau smiled and handed Snow a tall glass of beer. She then turned to Lightning, "What can I get, ya?"

"Nothing."

Snow patted her back, "Which means something strong, Lebreau."

"Got it." Lebreau turned and handed Lightning a shot.

"This is stupid, Snow." Lightning grabbed the glass and sniffed, recoiling her head back at the smell.

Snow was practically laughing, "Didn't drink with the guys back at the Guardian Corps?"

She sipped the drink slowly then pulled her head back painfully, "Not really…"

"Good! The lower the tolerance, the cheaper this night will be. So tell me, what's on your mind, Sis?"

That was something she definitely couldn't answer. Not truthfully anyway. "Nothing important." She wished that was the truth; it should be the truth. But every so often her gaze wandered over to where Sazh and Hope were sitting, talking quietly to themselves about something she really wished she hadn't overheard before.

"You could just talk to him."

Her blue eyes became electric. What did Snow mean by that? "Excuse me?"

"We all know you cared about him, Sis. So yeah, maybe you watched over him for a different reason back then, but it's nothing to be…"

"If you're talking about Hope, I should really cut you off right now." But the glass Snow was holding was still half way full. There was no way he wasn't sober.

He took another sip of beer, just to spite her. "He's 18, Lightning. And if I'm being so ridiculous, why did you spend all day with him?"

Her mouth formed no rebuttal. Probably because her mind was overwhelmed. All of these emotions were running, back and forth, contradicting at one instance and then agreeing the next. Lightning tilted her head to the side, eyes scanning Hope quietly.

She felt the wave of responsibility first, like she needed to protect him, to watch over him, just like she had four years ago. He was hers to watch, to look after, and she would make sure he would be okay no matter what happened.

Then she felt the companionship she had offered him. He had helped her get out of her shell, though she had never admitted to anyone, not even herself, before. Hope truly lived up to his name, at least to her. She may have made him stronger, but he offered her something greater than strength. He was her comfort. That weak, little boy was her rock, her soundboard, her momentum.

Then the last one came. And she couldn't help but look away.

"It isn't right."

Snow huffed, "Why not?"

"He's seven years younger than me."

"Serah's younger than me, and she was eighteen when I proposed to her."

That wasn't convincing enough, not for her.

Snow sighed and pushed another shot towards her. "We all mature differently, Sis. Heck, you know I'm still a big baby." He smiled seeing her do the same, "Hope's been through a lot. He's mature. And besides…" He took another mouthful of beer, "He's perfectly legal."

There was a long silence between them, Lightning swirling the still full shot glass and Snow looking mildly guilty. The blond man then spoke, "I was just kidding back then."

Lightning huffed, her mind flashing back. "You made me feel like such a creep. I should have left that part of the story out." It was when Hope had told her he would quit Operation Nora. Lightning had later relayed the details to Snow…only to have one of the worst conversations of her life.

"Wait, Sis…you're capable of feeling?"

"What?"

"You hugged Hope? What? Why?"

"Just because I'm only angry at you doesn't mean…"

"Please, try to restrain yourself from the underage boy, okay?"

"That was the hardest punch in my life." He rubbed his cheek bone at the memory. Snow's smile fell, seeing her un-amused expression, "I didn't mean to make you self conscious about anything. But Light, if you like him now…there's really nothing wrong with that. Age is just a number." He gestured towards Hope and turned back, "And as long as you didn't, actually feel that way back then…"

Lightning cringed, "Absolutely not."

"Then fine. No worries. Can you just relax now? Or should I call Hope over here to join us?"

She felt her eyes widen slightly, "Snow…"

"Alrighty then. Hey Hope! Sazh! Come join the party, okay?" Snow smiled widely and pushed the shot deeper into Lightning's hand, "You may want to drink that."

He wouldn't have pinned her as this type at all. But then again, he wouldn't have thought her to be an angry drunk and definitely not an affectionate one, so what was he expecting exactly? Her not to do this at all?

That probably was the most surprising to him. For some odd reason, Lightning kept listening to Snow, kept trying to 'loosen up' to a situation he didn't know was tense to begin with. At least for her. He had needed something like this, well, maybe not exactly like this. Hope didn't really want to be completely passed out, needing to be carried home on Snow's shoulder.

At least she was a little more lucid when they arrived back at her house. Hope could carry her by himself now, gently guiding her to the bedroom. Her eyes even broke open for a split second when he flashed the lights on to her room. He had the slightest, briefest notion to change her into her pajamas, but knew he would regret that come morning. Instead, Hope just placed her flat on her bed, making sure to rest her head on the pillow.

Lighting moved from the sudden change in position and rubbed her eyes, "…Where am…"

"You're home, Light." He couldn't help but think, even as a drunken mess, she was still beautiful. "You want anything?"

"No…"

But Hope left her room, returning with a small trash bag. "You may need this eventually."

Her eyes opened to see what he was holding, and she half smirked, "…This is just great."

Hope turned and sat on the edge of the bed by her feet."Don't worry, Light. You'll be fine in the morning…well, maybe not initially but soon…"

"No, no. Don't you see? The moron's smarter than he looks."

Hope blinked, "You mean, Snow?"

"Yes. He…he did this on purpose."

Hope laughed. This Lightning was strangely hilarious. She had the same seriousness as her old self, but was strangely more active, more energetic. She sprang up from the bed, back resting on the headboard. Hope touched her shoulders in an effort to calm her down. "Light…this isn't Snow's fault. Well, yeah…maybe he was convincing you a little, but you didn't need to listen to him. And besides what ulterior motive could he possibly have?"

"He wants me to admit it."

"Ha." Hope dropped his arms and turned back at the wall, suddenly embarrassed by the way she was looking at him. "Admit what?"

Lightning grabbed his hand, reluctantly making him turn back. He didn't want to kiss her. Well…yeah he did, but not know, and it was taking a whole lot of energy to try and restrain himself. Her sudden proximity definitely wasn't helping him out either. "That I think you're..."

He had no time to process. No time to understand that, yes, while Lightning was definitely not herself right now, there may have been some truth behind those words and the best option was definitely to NOT do anything about it until she was completely lucid. But she wouldn't let him. She was already kissing him, making his mind completely shut off.

It was what he had been waiting for, wasn't it? Here she was, right there, admitting that she did see him that way, truly…

Wait.

"Light…" It was painful, but he broke the kiss, holding her shoulders away from him, "What are you doing?"

She narrowed her eyes, a little hurt, "…Hope, I've always cared about you."

"Yeah, but not like this." He stood up away from the bed, "You're not thinking straight." He shook his head, silver hair running across his face, "And I can't do this, not when I'm not sure you mean…"

But she was already gone, head fallen back on the pillow.

"…it." Hope sighed and placed her comforter over her body. He ran his fingers through his hair gently, head swelling, and walked out of the room, praying, for some odd reason, that she wouldn't remember this come morning.

A/N:

A little less cute than last chapter, right?

But there's a method to my...not madness...more like plot progression...anyways, I hope you all enjoyed it :D And maybe we could beat last chapters review record?

Bye!