A/N: *announcer guy voice* Rated M for mature.

Chapter Two

Lightning's eyes slowly opened as her body stirred. She got up, feeling the effects of the peculiar position in which she fell asleep in. Arching her back, her mind tried to get a grasp on the events of last night. The last thing she remembered clearly was the seriousness in those blue-green eyes before her ward sexually assaulted her. After a few more stretches, she looked in the mirror. Her blue eyes had no traces of the usual dark circles that accompanied them. In fact, this was the best sleep she had in quite awhile.

At least something good came out of this, she thought to herself. That silver-haired runt have better have a good reason why he made the move he did, without forcing me to cause him bodily harm!

Lightning could still feel the aftershocks of Hope's actions, her most personal area still throbbing from its latest release. It was as if his fingers were still inside of her, doing his bidding, playing her like a human piano. Instinctively, Lightning crossed her legs, but it did nothing to relieve the situation. Her breasts felt different too. After a moment of touching them, she realized they were at their normal size. What caused this to be entered her mind like a slide-show, remembering Hope's wet face. What the hell was she thinking letting him do such a thing? How could something so taboo even enter his mind? Better yet, how could something so taboo turn her on! Shame hovered over her like a black cloud, raining on her already horrible morning. She deserved to feel this miserable condoning such actions. The boy was under age, and she was seven years his senior! On top of that, she was his guardian! The government (well what was left of it) entrusted him into her care (not really, she just took him in), so that she could provide a normal childhood (what was left of it) for him to live in (while being in the middle of nowhere in a place they hardly knew anything about). Right now, she was the world's worst mother figure.

No matter how intense her orgasm was.

As her shattered thoughts begin to piece themselves together, she wondered where Hope was. She called out his name, but there was no answer. She glanced at the clock on the wall, and realized that he was in school for over an hour. What were his thoughts on the matter? Did he even know what he was doing? The boy looked possessed, like some kind of evil fal'cie took control of him for its vile purposes. That was impossible for the fal'cie was destroyed after Fang and Vanille became Ragnarok.

She couldn't blame him for it probably wasn't easy living with a grown woman while going through all those urges as a teenager. He probably couldn't take it any longer and needed release...like she needed it. Was it in fact okay to let this one go, for the mere fact this was something they both needed? After all, they both knew and cared for each other. It was safer than doing something with a stranger. Hope didn't have to risk practicing his intimacy with one of those 'whore-ish' high school girls! She was a woman who knew what she wanted, and she could guide him through the challenge of pleasing a wo-

"No!" Lightning struck herself across the face. No excuses! Shame on you Lightning Farron!

The pink-haired soldier sighed for a moment, letting the silence of reality settle in. She should confess this to the psychologist. That was the only way to help her out of this situation. Hope might have to move in with Snow and Serah, a couple with no weird hang ups...like her. She failed him as a guardian and it was time to take responsibility for her ac-

"Wait." Lightning glanced back at the clock. Hope was in school for an hour. This meant she was two hours late for her job. The job that paid the bills, that put food on the table, the job that supported her and Hope.

"Tch!" Lightning scrambled for her bra and ran as quickly to her room to get dressed. She would have to shower at work and think up of good excuses for her tardiness along the way.

She would deal with Hope Estheim later.

How Hope paid no attention through most of his classes and got away with it was a mystery to him. How he passed a biology exam with flying colors without studying the night before left him even more clueless. His thoughts were elsewhere, stuck on the events of last night. When he first woke up in the bathroom, he thought it was some kind of bad (or good) dream, and waited for the moment he would wake up. There was no way in the physical realm Lightning would ever be laying half naked next to him, with his fingers carrying her scent. After several painful attempts at pinching himself, he realized that this was as real as the now reddish marks on his arm. He wanted to wake up Lightning to ask what happened, but his memory came back to him and showed him the part he played in the scenario. Hope was speechless and was a little embarrassed. He was also surprised that she let him do such a thing.

The Lightning he knew would've drop kicked him from here to the Archylte Steppe.

It didn't matter how many times he helped saved the world, Hope was always shy when it came to the opposite sex. He never had a real girlfriend before; much less experience any real form of intimacy outside of kissing on the lips. He was still a freaking virgin for crying out loud! How did he pull a Casanova-like maneuver and make Lightning pass out in his arms from pure sexual pleasure? And why did he still continue even after the fact? And what the hell was up with her lactating! And why on Pulse did he suck the milk from her ti-

"Hope?" His science teacher, Mrs. Phillips interrupted his thoughts.

"Yes?" Hope did the best he could to look like he was paying attention.

"Could you explain to the class the definition of a eukaryote?" The teacher's smug looked pissed him off more than anything.

"A eukaryote is any organism with one or more cells that have visible nuclei and organelles." Hope paused for a moment to let the shock and awe settle in. "The group contains all living and fossil cellular organisms except bacteria and cyanobacteria. Mrs. Phillips, if you think your little ruse was going to catch me off guard, you were sadly mistaken."

"Oooo..." The class sounded in unison, turning from teacher to student, and then back.

Mrs. Phillips turned as red as a tomato. She was doing everything in her power to not explode in anger. "First off, I want to say very good Hope. Secondly, I would like to see you after class. Disrespect like that will not be tolerated in my classroom!"

"Oooo..."

But yet you can give me a B last semester because you felt like I had it too easy, you freaking hypocrite! Hope thought to himself and crossed his arms. When Mrs. Phillips turned around, he spoke again.

"By the way, it descended from an ancient word called karuotos, meaning 'having nuts', which came from karuon, meaning 'nut'."

Which is probably what you have between your legs you hag!

Lightning was right. Oerba Yun Fang was definitely a bad influence.

Lightning dragged herself throughout the work day. She patrolled the outskirts of the city with her team, without much conversation. A couple of orders here and there made it seem like nothing were out of the ordinary, but she wasn't able to fool her superior officer. He could clearly see something was on her mind when she came back from patrol, and offered the option for her to leave early. With the amount of time Lightning spent at work, her lieutenant didn't mind giving her some time off. He told her she seemed a little too into her work anyhow. With her remaining hours now free, Lightning thought about seeing the psychologist, but she would rather beat Hope home and deal with what needed to be dealt with.

She got back home just in time to fix herself an early dinner, and was able to dress comfortably before Hope's arrival. She heard Hope's voice through the door, saying goodbye to his friends before he opened the door to their home. This, if things went for the worst, would be referred to as her home. It was now her job to make sure that didn't happen. She didn't want Hope to leave, she just wanted him to understand nothing wasn't going to happen between them again, ever.

Her heart (and her hormones) almost took over when the youth walked through the door. The way his silver bangs fell over his eyes was very reminiscence of last night when he forced himself on her. His eyes were filled with frustration, probably something having to do with school. He was coming home later than usually, especially since he didn't have practice today. He looks more like a man who wanted the world to stay out his way, than the boy who welcomed everyone with a smile. No matter how Hope felt at the moment, they needed to discuss things ASAP. He almost walked by her without saying anything before she spoke up.

"Hope," Lightning began. "We need to talk." She was channeling her serious persona, the soldier of fortune who answered to nobody but herself.

Hope turned his head slowly, his facial expression being a mix of fear and ire.

"What is it Light?" There was no playfulness in his voice, no hint of love or concern. Whatever happened to him today must have been bad. They would talk about that later though.

"Sit down." When Hope didn't budge, her eyes narrowed. "That's an order."

Without complaining, Hope obliged to her demands and took his place on the sofa next to her. "Go ahead," he said. "Talk about it."

Paying no mind to his attitude, Lightning continued. "Before I start, I just want to say that we will be here all night talking about what exactly happened and why, so I want to kinda bypass that. I just want to tell you that it's not happening again."

"Fine." Hope stared at the painting of Lake Bresha on the wall. The sound of voice gave a hint that he didn't want to deal with this situation at the time.

Lightning sighed. "I'm not trying to be mean, I'm not trying to put you down Hope, but whatever happened last night has to stop. I don't know what got into you to do such a thing to me, but whatever it is get it out of your system immediately. I am not your lover Hope. I am your guardian, and as your guardian I-"

"Bull." Hope's interruption triggered shock and frustration within Lightning.

"Excuse me?" Lightning blinked a couple of times to make sure she was hearing the boy's disrespect clearly.

Hope narrowed his eyes at her. "I said its bull. Everything you said so far is complete bull! If it wasn't, you would've stopped me last night."

Lightning was silent before uttering a word. She knew that would be his first move in the conversation. She was ready to counter that response.

"What was I suppose to do Hope? You're my ward and the only way I was going to get you off of me was going to be through a physical altercation. I wouldn't dream of hurting you, not in a million years!"

"You wanted it just as much as I did!" Hope yelled. "Don't pin this on me and try to look like the saint! Don't try to walk around here and say there's no attraction between us! I notice you get just as aroused as I do when we're around each other. Like for instance..." Hope nodded at the nipples showing through Lightning's tank top. "Right now, we can barely contain our urges..." Hope nodded at the bulge showing through his pants. "I'm sexually attracted to you Light, and you are to me. Get over it."

Hope's sudden aggressive behavior was quite the turn on for Lightning, but he just didn't get it. This was more than just the urges; this was about saving their friendship.

"Hope, you know this is wrong!" she exclaimed. "I can't even begin to describe just how wrong this is! And here I am so desperate to save what we've built, that my..." Hope looked down at her chest. "My body is fighting the mindset I may develop if this is left unchecked. I need you Hope..." Lightning's eyes grew soft. "But not just in that way."

Hope pouted and crossed his arms. Why does he suddenly feel like the bad guy? Why is it she got to get off on what he did to her, and here he was getting the riot act! He knew that she was doing everything in her power to try and deny her urges, to become the cold person she once was, but it's not working. It may seem wrong to conventional society, but something about it felt right. He was still struggling with the idea himself, but he didn't want to stop it. Just seeing her dressed like that last night had set off something inside of him he didn't know existed. No man would make her happy the way he would...no man could please her the way he did last night. He may have been inexperienced, but when it came to Lightning, her body was a blueprint to him. He just knew what to touch, where to kiss. He was devoted completely to making her happy, sexual or otherwise.

Deep down inside, he knew that was what she wanted most out of a lover. If there was anything the events of two years ago did for him, it helped him express himself in ways that most kids his age didn't know how to, for better or worst. His maturity was sometimes more developed than even those who taught him at New Bodhum High. But yet, he understood the fear of this situation. He was just as scared as her, just as freaked out. He wanted to share those fears and concerns, but he didn't want to throw it out of the window and make like it didn't exist. Things happened for a reason.

Hope stared into those lonely blue eyes, searching for a way in. For the first time in a long time Lightning once again had her walls up. It was his entire fault, and there was no way she could completely trust him again. Maybe she was right to pin this on him. She was trying to live a normal life after all they've been through and he ruined it by thinking with his other 'head'. It sounded like the quintessential guy maneuver. The 'push the red button' move when a guy wanted to screw things up.

This duality that was building within was tearing him apart. The Hope that hid in the shadows, afraid of the world, the Hope that wanted to crawl under a rock and wish the world away was coming back to haunt him. He worked so hard to be strong, to make everyone proud of him. He was doing so well, and now the woman that helped forged the sword of his manhood has become the meaning of her name, thus destroying the meaning of his own.

Before Hope was about to burst into tears, Lightning's cell went off, thus creating a diversion for him when she answered. When she looked in his direction while she talked to Serah, he was gone.

Lightning paused for a moment, listening to the sound of feet running up stairs, followed by the slamming of a door. "Go ahead Serah," she said softly.

"Well Claire, I called you to see if you wanted to go out tonight. I'm becoming a little stir crazy in this house. And I figured we could have a girl's night out! Fang and Vanille are in, so what do you say?"

Lightning looked towards the stairs one more time before answering. "Yeah, that sounds nice. Count me in, Serah."

Tonight, alcohol was going to be her boyfriend.

A/N: Can't always have a steamy scene in ever chapter huh? But at least the drama still exists! I want to thank everyone who reviewed so far, I think I got like 6 or 7 in the first couple of hours! And I received over 150 hits! I must be doing something right I guess. I really enjoy writing this story, and though I haven't abandoned my other ones, most of my energy will be put into finishing this one. And yes there will be a 'club' scene next chapter involving the girls of FFXIII! Before I make my exit, I want to thank my gf, Alpha T. Sigma. The shipping idea was originally hers as well as the 'lactating'. Everything else you've read was my psychological strong-arming of the pair, taking the idea in a completely different direction than she thought I would take it. I have a lot of juicy things to add, and I'm going to add a few more 'steamy' things to chapter one in the coming week. Until next time...*poof*