A/N: Because I seem to have a little writer's block with my other stories, here's a new chapter of this one. Sorry, once again, for the time in between, and I KNOW it's short, but I hope I haven't lost too many of you. I won't make excuses, and all I can do is thank you for hanging in there! So, thank you!
It would have been nice if she'd actually had a little time to herself before having to catch the shuttle to Pulse. As it was, she had barely been able to take care of her neglected paperwork before she was practically kicked out of her office by Amodar. One day all to herself wasn't going to be enough to unwind.
Although, she didn't feel as though she needed time off until she was faced with it, in the form of silence as she watched her alarm clock flip from 5:29 to 5:30 in the morning.
She didn't have to catch the shuttle until just after noon, and as strange as it felt to wander around her empty house, it was like something inside of her exhaled. There was no one to report to and no one to give orders to.
It was just her, and she enjoyed the change of pace. In fact, she took her sweet time showering, and eating and reading the paper, packing her bag, and still ended up ahead of schedule.
Being early and on time for things was something that was in her genetic makeup, she figured. She remembered that her mother was always on time too. There were plenty of occasions that Lightning recalled her mother playfully nagging her father into moving a little faster so they wouldn't be late. Sometimes she even sent Lightning into the fray to do her dirty work; prompting her about what to say and how to say it in order for the matriarch to get her own way.
Lightning's father could never say 'no' to his little girl, and everyone knew it.
After unnecessarily triple checking all her preparations, Lightning found herself standing outside her parent's room once again, hand on the cold metal knob. She had to go in eventually; had to face whatever reason she avoided the room. There was something else in it besides old family photos and blankets that had lost their scented comfort long ago.
It had been ages since she'd been in there last, and she couldn't even remember why she didn't want to go in in the first place. There was no reason to be so hesitant. It was just a damn room. It had stuff in it; a bed, a vanity, a closet, windows...
Lightning drew in a deep breath and began to turn the handle.
...clothes, her mother's favourite jewellery box, her father's reading glasses...
Then there came a rap at the front door.
Stopping the twist of the knob, she squeezed it, unwilling to let it go right away.
With a great exhale, she finally released it, and padded down the wooden hall to the front of the house.
But her visitor was the last person she expected to be standing on her doorstep.
"Hey Light."
Tall, gangly, silver-haired, bright-eyed, and mildly handsome, it was one Hope Estheim.
He wore a nervous, crooked smile and fine clothing; the combination strange on him. She'd seen him a handful of times over the years, and had always been surprised to see how different he'd look at each meeting. Expectantly, he had been going through teenage phases, long hair, short hair, no hair. Once, she swore that he'd been wearing eyeliner, but she never confirmed it.
He said he had pierced 'some things' he said last time they talked, but she wasn't privy to a picture or a face-to-face meeting then, and she tried desperately to not use her imagination.
As he stood on her front stoop, there was no visual evidence of any piercings other than both ears. She guessed he must have pierced them back then – which, when she thought about it, wasn't wholly unattractive on his feminine looking face; silver loops perfectly placed in the middle of each lobe. Honestly, the eyeliner phase that came right before the piercing news prompted her to expect the worst.
She'd gone through some phases of her own, having been a tomboy during most of her formative years, but suspected – with an inward laugh – that they were probably more manly than any phase Hope had been through lately.
She might have only really seen him once or twice a year, but she was involved enough in his life that she could see him growing up.
And she never really got over the fact; phases or not.
"What are you doing here?" she asked flatly. It wasn't that he was unwelcome... the timing was just weird.
"Uh. I was in the area."
Lightning cocked an eyebrow.
"Visiting your father?" she supplied skeptically.
"Uh. Yeah. But I was about to catch the shuttle to Pulse."
So that's what all this was about. Serah wanted to make sure that her big sister wasn't going to go back on her word, huh?
If Lightning hadn't have already thought about doing just that, she might have been a little insulted.
Turning around, Lightning waved her hand to invite Hope inside.
"So Serah sent you to make sure I show, didn't she?"
"Serah? Uh, well..."
The door – heavy, solid wood – slammed noisily shut as was its way when left to close on its own.
"Ah!" Hope exclaimed in surprise, voice echoing loudly in the vestibule. "Shit. Sorry."
Lightning was already casually making her way to the kitchen. "Swearing now, are we?" she chided.
"Uh..."
She resigned not to give the kid a hard time about the real reason he was there. He was just doing a favour, or whatever; an innocent in the conflict – and there was no reason to turn him into a casualty.
"Relax, kid. I'm just giving you a hard time." Plucking a mug out of the cupboard, she turned to see Hope had taken refuge on the far side of the island in the middle of the kitchen.
He wasn't a kid anymore.
That much was obvious in his face. A bit more than mildly handsome, Lightning found herself actually proud of the way he looked. Nothing over the top, nothing too daring; sensible and clean, and attractive. He must have been beating the girls off with a stick.
"The shuttle doesn't leave for another hour. You want some coffee?"
The silver-haired youngster shook his head in refusal. "No, thanks."
He looked jittery. And nervous. Perhaps he'd already had too much coffee.
Even though Hope was developing the body of an adult, it appeared he had a long way to go when it came to an adult personality. For some reason Zack Fair's grinning face popped into her mind, and she grimaced.
What a time to think about an idiot like that.
Hope was anything but a creep. There wasn't even a comparison.
Banishing annoying thoughts, she drank deeply of her stained and well loved cup. She liked her coffee black, and, on occasion, spiked, and it didn't always have to be good, but it was always good when it was hot.
And she drank so much of it at work, that it had lost it's caffeinated edge a long time ago. Now she was just used to the taste and the comforting way it was warm all the way down.
Watching Hope – who shyly looked away when she met his eye - over the edge of her mug, she was tempted to retrieve the flask of spirits she stowed away in her carry on and get her vacation started early.
It was going to be a long trip.
On a whim, Serah had suggested that a swing for the porch might be a nice touch, and Snow took that suggestion and ran with it. He was hesitant to leave Serah, even after she assured him she was okay, but he made for the city to see what he could find.
He wanted to do whatever he could in preparation for Lightning's visit, and to make his girl happy, so of course he had to go.
There had been pre-made swings at the hardware store he frequented, but they didn't look rustic enough for Snow's tastes, and since he'd always been good with building things from the ground up, he decided to continue with his do-it-yourself trend.
He had designed the deck, so it was only natural that he'd design all the relevant accessories.
And when the time came, he would even build a playset for his kid.
He was really looking forward to it.
That's what Dads did, afterall.
Reaching out to examine a packet of nails, his phone rang in his pocket.
Looking at the display, he smiled.
It was about time.
"Hey, kiddo. You on the train with her?"
If he had any hand in it, he would make sure things turned out as best as they could for Serah and his family. That included making sure Serah was happy, and making sure Serah was happy meant doing what he could to get Lightning to Pulse and get along with her once they were in the same room together.
That was, historically, the part that was out of his hands.
But there wasn't any other option this time.
If she didn't hate him when she left after her stay, he'd consider things a win.
Even better if she liked him.
...But he wasn't hoping for miracles.