Lightning "Claire" Farron is one of the most ruthless warriors to ever exist in the New World. A soldier who could relentlessly march towards her goal, protective and brave in the face of danger.

Well, she was all of that but not so much nowadays as she's living an ordinary life with her Fiancé. Face beet red and eyes doubling in size she finds Hope lick a stain of chocolate off her cheek.

The very act sets her body on fire as a tingle speeds through her spine. And then, he says that she's tasty as she wonders how she's even still standing on her wobbly legs... Righting herself, she coughs into her hand as she finds him trailing his arms around her body.

And it isn't helping that Lumina is inside her mind screaming at her to just let him ravage her.

"I missed you, Light." Emerald-green eyes staring down at her as he trails his fingers on her back, "So, you were making a cake? For who?"

"I-It was for you..." She mutters adorably, eyes looking anywhere but at him, "N-Nora... I mean, mom... she was helping me earlier..." Nerves alight as she spies the kitchen covered in chocolate, "I-I wanted to surprise you... We were supposed to have dinner tonight." Hands tightening on his shoulder as she curses herself, "The cake... it was the most important part. It's what your mom used to make you in the Old World."

She was rambling, glare on full display as she felt angry towards herself. But before she can even continue, he pulls her by her chin and captures her lips. Words dying in her mouth she loses herself in his eyes as he deepens the kiss. Nerves already calming, he pulls her taut against him, and the utter pleasure of having her boobs squish against her chest makes her panty absolutely wet.

The two of them break the kiss, hot and bothered as they both catch their breaths. A thin string of saliva connects the two as they lose themselves in each other's intoxicating smell. A silent agreement passes between the two as she wraps her legs around his waist.

As Hope stares at her hungry holding her tight to him. And it's with him carrying her that they arrive at their bedroom.

/

"So, how was the dinner, dear?" Nora Estheim asks one day a month later, "I'm sorry I couldn't help with the cake, Claire..."

"I-It's fine, mom..." Lightning replies, face beet red as she sips at her coffee, "H-Hope really loved it. It worked out well."

"That's wonderful!" Nora chimed up, as she spied Bartholomew and Hope waiting in line for their own drinks, "By the way, how far along are you?"

Lightning, for her part, almost spat out her coffee as she found Nora with eyes reminiscent of an eagle pointedly staring her down. There was an audible yelp from her that still drew some customers' attention but not to the point that people were focused on them.

"E-Excuse me...?"

"There's no need to hide it, Claire." Nora answered, "I could see the glow on you when you came in." She further explained taking a spoonful of her sweet sponge cake, "I was a mother too, you know. So, let me guess, there was more than just the chocolate cake that night?"

"Y-Yeah..." Lightning muttered, a healthy blush covering most of her face.

"Does Hope know?" Nora asked, watching how both Hope and Bartholomew talked excitedly with each other.

"He does." Lightning answered, placing her cup of coffee on the table, "We wanted to keep it a secret."

"With a glow and smile like that." Nora muttered, smiling as she took a sip, "You could've told me, son." Caught off guard, Hope takes a seat next to Lightning as he finds her awkwardly smiling up at him.

"What's happening?" Bartholomew comes behind with his mug of coffee and a plate of muffins.

"Our son's gonna be a dad soon," Nora answered nonchalantly as she took another bite of her cake.

"W-What?" Bartholomew asked stunned, "Claire's pregnant?"

Sighing, Hope took his seat next to Lightning as he placed his hand on top of hers. The two of them were oddly content with a reveal like this. It's not long before the two couples fall into a talk about the future and the baby.

"That's actually why we planned this day out." Hope confesses as the four of them are sitting on a bench in the park, "Wanted to ease you both into it. But because mom's a detective we don't even know what to do now..." He explains further as they all share a laugh.

"Ice-skating ring!" Nora yelled excitedly clasping her hands together. It's not long before Nora actively pulls Bartholomew to his feet, the poor man looking as if death's upon him.

"My mom loves ice skating." Hope admits, as he and Lightning follow behind hand-in-hand, "She used to take me and Dad back on Cocoon."

"But Claire is pregnant..." Bartholomew trailed off sweat dripping from his brow, "Won't it be bad for her."

"She's in her early stages." Nora commented, staring back at them with a serene smile, "And if she's half as strong as she was for protecting my son, I doubt stuff like this will hurt her."

"Mom..." Lightning muttered under her breath as a certain fire raged in her eyes.

/

"H-Hold on!" Hope yells scrabbling to get any sort of grip with his skates, "I've done this a long time ago-!" Falling backward he finds Lightning holding him up, "I don't get how you are so good at this. Isn't this your first time?"

"Soldier reflexes." Lightning answers, a small smile on her lips as she pulls him along, "It's weird, back in the Guardian Corps we had to learn how to fight on slippery surfaces and this is bringing it all back." Exhilarating smile on her face as she almost let go of his hand to just enjoy herself.

"You wanna go ahead?" Hope asks, entranced by her beauty, "I'll be here go and have fun."

"Hope..." Smile on her features she nods and speeds off, "Be right back."

And then, he's left to stumble a stubborn refusal to not give up on his face as he slowly but surely finds his footing. To his left, he can find his mom helping his Dad, the poor man looking deathly afraid. Smiling to himself, he finally adjusts taking it slow much to the amusement of kids passing him by.

/

"D-Did you have fun...?" He asks, sitting in the audience as Lightning comes to sit beside him.

"I did." She answers, seeing the way he fiddles with his fingers.

"You can still go and skate if you want to..." Embarrassment and shame on his face as he stares at the ground, "If... If I didn't fall you wouldn't have to babysit me..."

"I don't mind." She replies, placing her hand in his own, "I... I was scared when I saw you fell... It's... It's like all those memories flooded back." Laying against him he could feel the trembling in her voice as she clutched him tightly, "It... It was like I was back in Valhalla... and you were killed again..." Eyes widening, he remembers Serah mentioning a paradox where had had died against his own Proto-Fal'cie. She had an unfiltered view across all of the time. That meant she had a full-on unfiltered view of all the doomed timelines.

Timelines where she must've witnessed countless deaths...

"You saved everyone, Claire." Hope whispers, planting a kiss on her forehead, "We're all safe in the New World, each and every one of us happy and alive." And she wonders if he's a miracle shaped in the form of a Human as she calms down in his hold.

"C-Can we go home...?" She asks, feeling all the tension leave her body. With her head against his chest, Hope finds both his mom and dad smiling.

"Sorry." Hope apologizes rubbing her back, "Light isn't feeling alright." He further explains as Light with an embarrassed look on her face tries to explain.

It happens with Nora enveloping Lightning in a hug as Nora whispers that it's okay. Seeing the broken look in Lightning's eyes reminded her that even though this was a New World - a New Happiness it didn't erase that they all had trauma. A piece of darkness from the Old Worl clung to them.

It was the very reason that Hope was approached by someone named Alyssa when he was younger. How she begged for forgiveness and doing everything she possibly could to prove herself changed in Hope's eyes. Her son suffering from nightmares, as he was plagued by PTSD growing up. Her husband used to relapse into fits of fear and depression thinking she had died. And she... she still felt the floor being ripped out from under her... she would scream and have a panic attack anytime it would happen.

The times when friends and family would just get lost in their thoughts sounding terrified when they were brought back to reality.

"I'm really sorry about this..." Lightning apologized, staring at both Nora and Bartholomew.

"It's fine dear." Nora affirms a smile on her face, "You just get home and focus on resting. You're gonna be a mother soon can't have you exert yourself." She feels a peck on her cheek as both Nora and Bartholomew bid them goodbyes, "We need to go grocery shopping." Nora continues hugging Hope as they both leave.

"...I-I'm sor-!" She's stopped when Hope plants a kiss on her lips and pulls her along. Smiling minutely, she entwines her fingers in his as a blush overtakes her as she whispers to herself almost religiously that she's in the New World with him and everyone.

They may have had chaos inside them, an unrelenting shadow cast on their lives. And maybe it would never truly leave them like a chain caging their hearts and minds but along with it they had each other and the promise of a brighter tomorrow.