AU.

For Claire, losing her hearing wasn't as bad as she had anticipated.

She knew the risks of being in the military, as did her sister and parents, but she didn't let her initial fear stop her from enlisting once she turned eighteen. She knew that anything could have happened to her once she was on the field, that she could have had it a lot worse.

So when she was found a few feet away from a bomb that had went off, everyone thanked her their lucky stars that she had only lost her hearing and not any other vital body parts.

Sign language was easy enough, and after years of practice, she was having day-to-day conversations with her sister as if she wasn't deaf. Claire could still speak, of course, but hardly did so unless absolutely needed, such as when bumping into people.

Like she had just done on her way home from her afternoon jog.

The man she had bumped into was polite enough to say sorry, and offered his hand to help her up from her fall. He said something, and Claire waited until he finished before signing her thanks.

The silver haired man looked surprised for a moment before grinning, signing back, "It's no problem. I wasn't looking where I was going."

"No, it's okay. But I'm actually surprised you know sign language." she signed, the corners of her lips curving into a slight smile.

"One of my friends lost their hearing as a kid, so I picked it up when I was young. I'm a little rusty." He hesitated, then added. "My name is Hope. And yours?"

"Claire. It's nice to meet you, Hope. It's rare I get to talk to someone who isn't my sister." The rosette smirked, knowing Serah would be excited to know she met someone.

Hope chuckled, "How old is she?"

"Eighteen. She studies at the university in the city."

"I teach there," he signed, almost excitedly, "Is she a first year student? With hair like yours?"

Claire nodded, surprised by the fact. She didn't know if it would even go anywhere, but the thought of her dating one of Serah's professors definitely made her feel weird. "Small world." she signed, wanting to laugh.

She would never admit it, but she was secretly glad she bumped into Hope that afternoon. A year later they were signing "I love you" to each other regularly.