TT_TT I am SO sorry this chapter took so long! I actually had it done earlier this week, but every time I tried to upload it, the site would give me problems. I think it was down that night or something... But the good news is, is that I've got the next chapter in-progress! Like Law of Chaos, I've been writing it in a notebook, since I can't actually take my laptop with me to school. Annnd I've got three weeks left, and I'll have graduated from cosmetology school! ...so I've got tons of time to do nothing, since I'm almost done with my progress. Hooray for writing!

Like always, my disclaimer: I don't own any part of FF.

She didn't quite understand why, but when Light awoke few hours later, she felt warm and safe. She cracked her eyes open to find the fire reduced to a few smoldering embers, and someone was curled up at her back. She froze when she felt the warm body move, and slowly exhaled as an arm was wrapped around her torso. She felt safe… Hope must have fallen asleep. She wished she could sleep like this every night…

There was just something calming about having Hope so close. She felt more than just safe. She felt comfortable. She felt cared for. She felt happy. She was slowly coming to the realization that she wanted to be with Hope. Not as just a friendly companion, but something more. She wanted that small white house to share with him. She wanted to be able to fall asleep in his arms every night for the rest of their lives. She…she loved him. But...

But what if everything were to fail in the end? What if they were just going to end up dying? What if after this was over, they'd never see each other again…? There was no guarantee that they would live to see the next week, or day, or even the next hour. Hell, she almost died the previous day! How were they supposed to know if they would succeed? What if they ended up turning Cieth? Then they would live their endless lives in pure anguish…

Lightning couldn't stop all of the depressing thoughts that had flooded her mind. She had to tell Hope how she felt. But…but what if he didn't feel the same? What if he just outright rejected her? She couldn't take that. She was afraid… She was afraid of being hurt with the powerful feeling of rejection. And she didn't think that she could take that.

She jumped as the body next to her began to stir. What was she supposed to say to him? She wanted to tell him what she felt, but at the same time, she wanted to run in fear of the possibility of rejection. But what if..what if maybe, just maybe they could share the time they had left together? Not like they had been doing for their entire journey, no. Maybe they could be together like a couple. …even if it was for just a short time. At least then she could be happy for a while…and maybe Hope would be happy, too.

Hope let out a loud, slightly childish yawn, and pushed himself up off the ground. What was he doing on the ground…? Last he remembered, he and Light were curled up on the giant bean bag chair in his room watching some movie… So…how did he end up on the cold, dirty floor? …oh. Right. The l'cie thing. Why'd I hafta wake up, anyway? That was a good dream… He jumped when a hand landed on his side.

"Good afternoon, kiddo…" Kiddo? What the hell? "Sorry…I know you don't like it when people call you a kid…"

Even though Hope was just a kid, he'd been through far too much to be considered that. He was a kid on the outside, but no longer on the inside. She felt so bad for him… In one simple day, he'd had his mother and his childhood taken away from him. That was certainly no way for a boy to grow up. Once again, doubt began to fill her mind. How was she supposed to make this hurt feeling go away?

"Thanks, Light… How did you sleep?"

Hope was always so kind to her… "Oh, pretty well…" That was honestly the best sleep she'd had since this damned thing began. "Although…" Before she could voice the thought, she quickly cast a quick cure on herself. There. No need to make Hope worry!

"Light, don't use up your strength like that!" Or not. "You've gotta preserve your strength for getting better. Let me do it; I've got strength to spare."

"Hope… You need to save your strength, too, you know… What if we get attacked? I certainly can't take care of the enemy." She had a point, even though they were completely safe in their little cave. It's not that she didn't think that Hope could take care of it, but she was supposed to protect him!

"No, Light. It's my turn to protect you."

Right… They had both promised to protect each other. "…oh, fine…" She hated resigning to just…resting here, though. She felt like she was giving up. She couldn't fight; hell, she could barely move without the pleasing effects of herbal painkillers.

The silver-haired teen took both of her hands in his, once again breaking her from her depressing thoughts. "Lightning…whether you're hurt or not, regardless of whether or not you can fight, I will protect you. I swore to protect you… Light…I…I really, really like you…so…I've gotta protect you! If I can't protect you, then…then what am I supposed to do? What does it mean if I can't protect the woman I l…" At that moment, Hope realized just what he was saying, and his embarrassment colored his face like a red rose on pristine, white paper.

She reached up to grasp the yellow fabric of Hope's jacket, and urged him to continue. "No…tell me, Hope."

He took a deep breath. He had hoped that he could calm himself down. "I-I…uh..I l—"

Before he could continue, Lightning roughly tugged him back towards the ground, leaving absolutely no space between their lips. It was a bold move on her part, and she was proud of it.

Hope's eyes slid shut as soon as he'd realized what was happening. He was kissing the woman of his dreams. Not only was this really happening, but she started it! He never thought this would happen. He thought that as soon as he'd said how he felt, she would smile sympathetically and ruffle his hair like she always did. But no…this was happening. And as much as he wanted it to continue, his small lungs couldn't seem to hold out much longer. "…I love you, Lightning...I…I've kind of been afraid that if I didn't tell you now, then…then I'd never get the chance to tell you. I mean…who knows how long this l'cie business is going to last? Who knows if we're going to—"

Lightning simply silenced him with another kiss. They didn't need to be dwelling on the 'what-if's right now. "I love you too, Hope…and…as much as I don't want to dwell on it, you're right… We don't know how long this seemingly fruitless search going to go…but…" She sighed a somewhat content sigh. "At least we'll be together in this."

What was Lightning saying? She hadn't even asked Hope if that's what he wanted. It was what she wanted, maybe even dreamed of, but what did Hope want? Yeah, he reciprocated her feelings, but that didn't mean that he wanted the same things she wanted, right? …apparently not, judging by the huge smile that spread across Hope's face. He couldn't help but wrap her up into a tight embrace and nuzzle his cheek against hers. He was so happy! He felt as if everything was right in the world, for once. He wanted nothing more than to be able to stay in this little, secluded cave of theirs forever…but…they couldn't do that. The cold, harsh wind of reality was throwing itself against the outer walls of their temporary inn.

The howling winds outside only served to remind them that they had to move as soon as possible. They couldn't feel the temperature slowly dropping outside, but as the day went on, it grew colder. They had to migrate with the rest of Pulse… There was no way they would survive a winter in the wild of Pulse, and they knew it. They had to travel to where it would be warmer, or they would fail to protect what and who they cared about.

"…We'll leave tomorrow morning, after sunrise."

"…ahaha, no. Sorry, Light, but you're not ready. And besides, you can't just make a serious decision for the whole group. You know as well as I do that once you even think that idea around everybody else, they'll read your mind and give you a big fat 'no.'"

"Who gets a big fat 'no'? And for what?" Snow had returned from the outside sporting his usual big 'hero' smile, and a big pile of firewood. "Your hero has returned!" He dropped the pile of wood on the cold, dry stone floor, resulting in a loud clatter.

"Really, Snow, could you be a little less…obnoxious?"

Snow looked down in the direction of the voice, only to find the owner of said voice curled up quite comfortably in Hope's arms. "What's goin' on here…? Hope, did you hook up with Sis? Should I leave so you two can finish?"

While Hope was busy covering his reddened face from embarrassment, the pinkette picked up the nearest stone, and pelted it at Snow's head. The silver-haired teen peeked through the fingers that were covering his face at the sound of an 'ouch, damnit!,' and had to stifle a laugh. "What's wrong, Snow? I thought you'd be used to getting beaten up by your sister!"

"Shut up, that really hurt! I forgot how painful her reactions to my jokes were… Anyway, what's goin' on with you two? You look so comfortable all curled up together by the fire...I miss my princess…"

"Don't worry, Snow…we'll get her back. We just gotta get through this first, okay? Did you see any of the others heading this way..?"

"Nope…they should be here soon, though… How you holdin' up, Sis? You look a lot better than you did last night, that's for sure…"

"Thanks…I do feel a bit better…I mean, I know I shouldn't move around or anything, but I don't feel too tired or worn out. Hope's been taking such good care of me…"

"Yeah? Good. So…what's goin' on here? You don't seem like the type to cuddle, Sis…hell, is he your teddy bear or something?"

Lightning sent Snow a playful glare, and reached for the silver-haired teen's hand. "I've got someone to love and protect me. I don't need a teddy bear when I've got Hope to hold onto."

"Aww, how sweet!" The hero pulled out Serah's tear, holding it out in front of the pair. "Man, Serah, it finally happened! Wish you could be here, though. These two look so…adorable!" Snow pocketed the crystal, and smiled at Hope. "So Hope…you plannin' on marrying her?"

"D-don't you think that's a l-little soon, Snow…? I-I'm only fourteen!" Hope's face matched his love's in color, but he never denied the option. "A-anyway, since the others will be here soon, shouldn't we be working on some dinner o-or something?"

Snow chuckled, shooting a knowing look at Hope. "Ehh, we'll just wait until all of this is over. Then, you can make Lightning happier than ever. Aw, you two should go on a date as soon as everything's back to normal! You two can go out to dinner, see a movie, or maybe go dancing… Or…you two could have a romantic dinner at home, with romantic music and candles, and then you could curl up by the fire with some hot cocoa, and….no, no, you're too young to do that. You two aren't allowed to do that until Hope's eighteen."

"Oh? Because you're allowed to decide when we consummate our relationship? I know for a fact that you and Serah didn't wait until she was eighteen, which I've yet to kill you for."

"L-L-Light, what do you m-mean by—"

"Oh, c'mon, Light…we never had any 'accidents' or anything. But y'know, if it were to happen to you, you'd have quite a problem on your hands… It'd be a real cute kid, though… Anyway, we're getting' off subject. No consummating until all of this is over."

"We can do it whenever the hell we want, Snow! You don't get to decide that!"

"Light…"

"Ooh, looks like you've got a rebel on your hands, Hope! I do wonder just how long he can keep his hands offa you, though… He is just a teenager. Man, if I were him, I woulda jumped you a long time ago…."

"Snow!" Light picked up a near-by stick from the pile of firewood, and aimed it at Snow's head. "Are you saying that you'd actually try to cheat on my sister if you had the chance?"

"N-no! Listen, Sis, I was just sayin' that if I were younger than her, I'm not sure I'd have the restraint needed…'cause y'know, Serah's smokin' hot and all…"

"Lightning…" Hope mumbled between his hands, as they were once again covering his face in embarrassment. Were Snow and Light really talking about how soon they would make their relationship….sexual? That was none of Snow's business! But…he'd always kind of wanted to…experiment…with his pink-haired beauty… However, this was not the time or place to talk about it! "Light…w-we were talking about some dinner for tonight..? Y'know, to feed..everyone..?"

"Snow, do not talk about my sister like that when I'm around. And especially don't talk about what you might have done to her, whether I'm around or not!"

"Chill, Sis. We gotta give you nieces and nephews somehow. We're gonna have a biiiiig family, remember?"

Lightning covered her ears with her hands to try to block out any descriptions of her sister's love life. "Shut up! Neither of us wants to know about how you're going to do that!"

"Ehh, she's right. You're too young to know about this stuff, Hope. Now…shall we be making dinner for two, tonight? Shall I dish up some tasty gorgonopsid? Maybe an ectopudding-glazed rack of behemoth ribs?"

The pinkette sighed, but decided to play along with Snow's little game. "Serve us up whatever you've got, waiter.

Their dinner was far from romantic, but it was nicer than what they had thought it would be. Everyone had, for the most part, left Light and Hope in their own little corner for dinner. They dined on leftovers from the day before by a smaller fire in the cave. Hope fed her practically bite by bite, somewhat adorably against her will. She could do it on her own, damnit! But…she didn't mind. She enjoyed having someone to take care of her, for once. She liked it whenever Hope would brush aside her hair when it was in her face, or when he held onto her for just a little longer than usual… She felt most comfortable when Hope held her. That's where they were now, curled up in each other's arms next to the fire. Lightning didn't care about the strange looks she was receiving, or the sly looks Fang gave her. She loved Hope, and that was all that mattered.