Final Fantasy XIII fic, Struck by Lightning 28 (Rousing Carousel)
title: Struck by Lightning chapter 28
author: caledon (the_tower_room)
pairing: Hope/Lightning, various
rating: M
summary: AU. Six years have passed, and Hope moved to the city where he first met his destiny. Everything should fall into place now that he was back and grown up. Now, if only she would stop resisting...
words: 3271
When they parted for air, he couldn't help but blink disbelievingly.
That really just happened, right? thought Hope. We kissed. When her friends are still nearby... Wait. So does that mean it's okay for everyone to know? Or is it just Fang and Jihl?
Lightning's hand was still on his chest, fingers bunched at the fabric of his shirt.
"Hello," her voice came out in a husky whisper, still breathless, still reeling from the tingles she was feeling all the way down to her toes. She held on tightly, part of her not wanting to part from him just yet, but she forced herself to uncurl her fist and attempted to smooth the creases she'd made of his collar.
"Uh-bwuh-huh," responded Hope, green eyes still half-mast, darting between her lips and her eyes. Then he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Hello, Light."
Blue peered at him from beneath dark lashes before looking over to the side. She gave a small cough that might have sounded like "missedyou" to his untrained ear, but he couldn't really be sure.
He moved his head so he was in her field of vision. "Sorry, I didn't catch that," he said teasingly.
Rolling her eyes at him, she huffed and crossed her arms. "I didn't say anything."
Straightening, he shrugged, appearing nonchalant. "Ah, well. Must be just my imagination." Green roved her from head to foot, drinking in the sight of her after so long. "For what it's worth - and it's probably not worth much - I missed you."
Lightning bit her lip, feeling incensed at herself. Why was it so hard to express how she felt in front of him? She could only blame her lack of experience in having a relationship with someone.
Communication. Words. Right, she needed those. She couldn't simply expect that he would automatically be able to read what was on her mind, and that him missing her, too, meant a whole lot.
Wetting her suddenly dry mouth, feeling a little hesitant, she reached out and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his.
This is okay, right? she asked herself. Small gestures are still things that can show how I feel, because I know I can't simply shout them out loud. I can't.
"It's..." she began, pausing as she tried to catch the words stuck at the back of her throat, and willed herself to voice them out. "Worth a lot. You missing me, I mean. Because. I missed you, too."
He looked...hopeful and floored. As though expecting some sort of reprimand or jibe instead of the stuttered staccato that came out of her.
"Really?" As though he really could not believe it.
She tightened her grip on him.
"Ow! Yeah, okay, thank you, I believe you." He shook their clasped hands together in an attempt to get the blood to flow through his hand again. There were thirteen-thousand butterflies fluttering inside his stomach, and he couldn't wipe the giddy grin spreading on his lips. He wanted to touch her all over, but had to really muster up some restraint and simply kept his hand clasped in hers.
The seconds of them looking at each other and grinning like loons (or, in Lightning's case, a more reserved version, but the expression was there) stretched to minutes that eventually bordered on awkward, and so it fell to Hope to finally get around to fill the silence.
"Were you having some sort of girls' day out or something?"
"Something like that," replied Lightning, shaking the bags she was holding, then frowning down as she realized that only one of the three she was carrying was actually hers. The other bags contained clothes and various toiletries that her housemates had bought. Oh, well, she thought, figuring that she could just give these back when she got home.
"I didn't mean to interrupt or-"
"You weren't. We were pretty much done. Or at least, I was. Even before we came here."
"Oh."
"I didn't really feel like shopping. But Fang and Jihl dragged me here."
"I see." He couldn't help his expression from visibly drooping, eyes drawing away from her face.
She flicked his forehead to get him to look at her again. "I'm glad they did, though."
And just like that, Hope felt light and floaty all over again. "So am I." Then a frown came over his features. "Wait. So, um, they know? About us?"
Lightning released a tired sigh. "For some reason, they figured it out on their own."
"Oh, okay."
"And as far as I'm concerned, they're the only ones who know about us."
"...Right." A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he tried to suppress the disappointment that threatened to rise up and overfill his chest at the notion that they still had to hide whatever kind of relationship it was they had. "I suppose you trust them with the secret."
"The three of us usually keep to ourselves, so we can trust them on that."
The air between them grew heavy and tense. Unspoken words and feelings hung, like balloons suspended between them on invisible strings. And Hope knew that if he wanted to keep on being with her, he had to let those go. Even as it was beginning to get harder and harder with each meeting.
With a sigh, he released the bonds, let the repressed feelings and held-back words dissolve unencumbered into the aether of his mind and his heart, shook free the dismay from his features and instead focused on living in the present and simply enjoyed meeting Lightning here by chance and getting to spend time with her.
"Alright, Miss Lightning Farron," he said. "Any ideas? What do we do next?"
She took a step up to him. "Well, do you happen to be free for the rest of the day?"
His brows rose up to his hairline then furrowed over his eyes as he gave careful consideration to her question. "Hmm...well...I think that there's a..." Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, a look of dismay came over his features.
Her hopeful expression faltered. And Hope couldn't help bursting out a small laugh.
"I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I'm yours for the whole weekend if you want."
Not finding his teasing amusing, she punched him on the arm.
Bodhum was not lacking in sights and sounds to tourists and residents alike. All the Fal'Cie that maintained the city performed their duties punctiliously, with the Phoenix sun making sure that the sky and the sea were always awash in majestic colours as it set over the horizon.
It was always a sight to behold, and usually people would ceremoniously stop what they were doing simply to take in and relish the vibrant hues of orange and gold that faded into mauve and indigo, mirrored so exquisitely on the surface of the sea. As the city's lights flickered on with the coming of night, activity resumed, and those that witnessed another marvelous sunset were left with a feeling of wonder and contentment, voicing out their enjoyment at what Bodhum had to offer.
Bordering the sea were cliffs that granted splendid views of the city. Lookout points were established that afforded sceneries of the always-growing highrises of downtown or the sprawls of luxurious hotels and apartment complexes along the beach.
On one such cliff that was surrounded by trees a car was parked, secluded from the highway that led to further parts of the city. Its passengers, on any other time, would probably have been among those who had come up here to enjoy the Fal'Cie Phoenix's exhibit of the cycle from day to nightfall, but instead they were too engrossed with another activity to bother paying attention to watch.
The car shook, its tires squeaking from an activity it wasn't made to withstand, its windows were fogged up, and sounds of muffled breathlessness could be heard from within.
Inside, the two that were generating so much heat were lost in frenzied movement against each other. Lightning sat astride Hope's lap, eyes closed tightly as she concentrated on rhythmically impaling herself on his shaft, one hand tight on his shoulder, nails digging into his skin. The other hand was braced on the ceiling of the car, just marginally preventing herself from rising too high to bump her head. Hope had been sucking on her left nipple, intermittently letting it go between moans of her name and declarations of how good she felt on him. Eventually, she let go of his shoulder and placed it up alongside her other hand on the ceiling, and Hope took control, leaning back against the backseat and taking hold of her hips, pounding up into her and watching her breasts bounce with his movements.
Knowing he was close, his thrusts became erratic, and moments later he was shooting his load up in her with a groan, mind hazy by the starburst behind his closed eyes, only fuzzily able to hear the litany his name became as she yelled it out over and over as he felt her contracting around him. Feeling as though her bones had liquefied, Lightning collapsed against him, riding out the aftershocks that still racked up and down her spine. The only movement she was capable of at that moment was to lift her hips a bit to dislodge him from her, and then afterwards resumed her previous position, nuzzling her face against his neck.
Hope ran his hands down her back, waiting for his speeding heartbeat to slow down and for his breath to catch, every now and then leaning forward to kiss her shoulder or her cheek. Feeling how stuffy the interior of his car had become, with as little movement as he could muster so as not to displace Lightning from her perch, he reached over and opened a window.
"Huh," he muttered, eyeing the blinking stars in the sky competing with the city lights. "We missed the sunset."
The pink-haired peered from underneath his chin. "Oh. Yeah."
"Oh, well. There'll be another time to see it together. I don't think we missed much anyway."
"Hmm." Her snuggling closer with a contented sigh was the only reply she gave.
Most of the afternoon since meeting up had been spent browsing and window shopping at the mall, uttering light, uncomplicated conversations along the way. Hope never did get around to going back to the boomerang store, but he found that it wasn't such a big loss considering he'd gained Lightning's company in return.
They'd gone to his car afterwards and simply drove around, with her pointing out sights that she hoped were interesting enough before suggesting this lookout point to watch the sunset. Because of the seclusion and privacy, and the seemingly long wait for the Fal'Cie Phoenix to finally get around to setting over the horizon, they'd found themselves reaching for each other hungrily, eventually making their way to the backseat for a bit more room to manoeuvre in, discarding bits of clothing along the way.
Hope had to admit he'd never really considered having sex in his car before since he'd assembled it after Elida left him. But he was always open to new experiences, and having sex with Lightning in his car-well, really, sex with Lightning anywhere-was always an experience he'd welcome anytime.
It would be nice, though, if they could contact each other and meet up on a more regular basis. Serendipitous happenstances like these weren't that bad, per se. Surprises, after all, could be good things, and the surprise meet-up with Lightning certainly fell into that category. But could anyone really fault him for wanting something more, despite his vacillations between simply accepting things as they were?
Sighing, he pulled her closer, tightening his arms around her as he felt her shiver from the blast of night air impacting on her cooling skin. The night was just beginning, and already he didn't want it to end.
After waking from the nap they'd inadvertently fallen into, Hope and Lightning were left floundering around in the small space of the car, looking for their respective articles of clothing. With Hope, they'd only managed to pull his pants and boxers down to his thighs, so he only had to tuck himself back in and look for his shirt, but Lightning wasn't so lucky, having only her skirt left on, bunched at her waist during coitus. The pink-haired managed to locate her tank top and bra at the front passenger seat, but her panties... The last she could remember of it was it dangling from her ankle as she managed to pull a leg free from it as Hope reached for her, his tongue inside her mouth and his fingers between her thighs effectively robbing her of further thoughts.
Inciting him to look for it for her as she grabbed handfuls of tissue from the box between the two front seats, Lightning went about wiping up the spillage from between her legs before pulling her skirt back down and smoothing out the creases, then putting her bra and top back on. He eventually located her underwear somewhere on the floor, and she donned it after thanking him, hoping that the both of them weren't too redolent of the just-had-sex smell when they finally made their way back to town.
Properly clothed at last, they simply sat back, hands entwined, chuckling at each other as a loud grumble was heard.
"Hungry?" she asked with a smirk, feeling her cheeks heat and her belly flutter as his eyes roved over her figure, landing at the part of her body that she'd recently covered up.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, then Hope licked his lips. "Well, I'm kinda torn between wanting to eat you out and eating actual food," he admitted.
Face positively inflamed, she reached over and clapped a hand over his eyes, covering them. He, laughing, grabbed her by the waist, and proceeded to muffle his laughter with her lips, her tongue readily meeting his after he coaxed her mouth to open.
They would have gone for another round of lovemaking were they not interrupted by his stomach expressing its objection with a series of loud grumblings that made even Hope crimson with chagrin and embarrassment.
Parting from the now-sheepish silver-haired young man, the corner of Lightning's lips turned up in a small smile as she quipped, "Alright, food first. And then, if you're a good boy, I might let you have me for dessert."
"So, where do you want to eat?" asked Hope as the car wound down the highway.
"Anywhere's fine," replied Lightning.
The green-eyed young man licked his lips, almost nervous about the subject he was about to broach. "We could head over to my place?" he suggested. "I could cook something up, or we could order. And then, maybe you could stay the night. I-if you want."
From the corner of his eye, he watched as she sat straight and rigid in her seat, hands curling at the hem of her skirt.
"O-or not," he quickly amended, swallowing as he trained his eyes back on the road.
Lightning's head whipped fast as she turned to look at him, and she forced herself to let go of the tight hold she had on her skirt, her mouth opening and closing as she sought for words. "I just - i-it's just - I mean." She took a deep breath. "Noel's going to be there, isn't he?"
Briefly, he turned to look at her before concentrating back on the drive. "I-I guess, yeah."
Discomfort and silence fell between them. Lightning knew she could suggest her place since her housemates knew about them anyway, and it wasn't like it wasn't normal for any of them to bring someone home. But she rather like the thought of her and Hope just having the place to themselves, without anyone getting underfoot or being annoying. And the thing was, to her, Hope was different. He wasn't a one-night fling like the other men and women she and her housemates had brought home. And if she brought him to her house, to her, that was what he would seem like. And she didn't want that.
And she was really getting tired of this claustrophobic atmosphere that seemed to fall between them every now and then.
The bright inviting lights of Main Street met them as they reached the city proper. The hotels that lined along the beach were flashing their signs almost mockingly, and an idea formed inside her mind that, more than anything, she wanted to squash. This area, being such a tourist spot, reflected that stature in their pricing. And she knew she couldn't simply blow her money willy-nilly in this kind of place, no matter how tempting it might be.
Stopping at a traffic light, Hope peered through the windshield at the buildings that surrounded them. "Maybe we could rent a hotel room or something?" he proposed.
Lightning nearly got a whiplash as she turned to gaze at him, tongue ready to lash out a declining reply, but the words died in her throat when she saw his hopeful expression, and she found herself giving a nod as assent. "I suppose. That'd be nice. Okay, I guess."
A small smile stretched the corner of his mouth, and he had to stop himself from letting it bloom out into a full-blown grin lest she change her mind. "Okay, then," he found himself saying, eyes roving for vacancy signs, spotting a discreet one from one of the most opulent hotel on the block. Reaching over and taking her hand, he brought it to his lips for a kiss. Since he wanted his time with Lightning to be special, he figured he might as well make it extravagant, willing to make a dent in his bank account.
Hope felt her hand tighten in his as she watched him turn the car up to the lavish driveway of The Ark.
Parking outside the palatial steps that led up to the lobby, he gave her hand another kiss before letting go and opening his door. "Wait here. I'll see what they have available."
"I'll come with you," said Lightning, quickly freeing herself from the seatbelt, feeling mildly anxious at being in such a place.
"No, no. I want to surprise you-"
"But it's not exactly cheap here, Hope," she interjected.
"That's fine. Don't worry about it." He reached over and rubbed her arm in an attempt to placate her.
"But-"
Sliding down his hand to squeeze hers on her lap, he implored, "If this is how we can be alone together, Light, then to me, it's worth it."
She clutched at his hand tightly for a good few seconds before relenting to his plea, leaning forward to touch her lips to his and whispered her assent. "Alright. But try to go for something simple. And not so expensive, if possible."
"If I do, will you let me have my dessert?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes and pushed his face away from her. "Only if you satisfy me."
He considered her choice of words for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you'll be the one who will be satisfied during dessert."
A rose couldn't compare to the blush that suffused her cheeks at his rebuttal, and the best response she could offer was to push him out of the car. "Go already!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Hope gave a mock salute, nodding to the puzzled valets waiting bewilderedly in their post by the stairs, and made his way up the steps to The Ark.
==================================================
APPENDIX:
"Alright, Miss Lightning Farron. Any ideas? What do we do next?" - reference to the beginning of Lightning Returns when Lightning says: "Alright, Mr Hope Estheim. Any ideas? What do I do next?"
previous chapter | next chapter
author: caledon (the_tower_room)
pairing: Hope/Lightning, various
rating: M
summary: AU. Six years have passed, and Hope moved to the city where he first met his destiny. Everything should fall into place now that he was back and grown up. Now, if only she would stop resisting...
words: 3271
When they parted for air, he couldn't help but blink disbelievingly.
That really just happened, right? thought Hope. We kissed. When her friends are still nearby... Wait. So does that mean it's okay for everyone to know? Or is it just Fang and Jihl?
Lightning's hand was still on his chest, fingers bunched at the fabric of his shirt.
"Hello," her voice came out in a husky whisper, still breathless, still reeling from the tingles she was feeling all the way down to her toes. She held on tightly, part of her not wanting to part from him just yet, but she forced herself to uncurl her fist and attempted to smooth the creases she'd made of his collar.
"Uh-bwuh-huh," responded Hope, green eyes still half-mast, darting between her lips and her eyes. Then he shook his head and cleared his throat. "Hello, Light."
Blue peered at him from beneath dark lashes before looking over to the side. She gave a small cough that might have sounded like "missedyou" to his untrained ear, but he couldn't really be sure.
He moved his head so he was in her field of vision. "Sorry, I didn't catch that," he said teasingly.
Rolling her eyes at him, she huffed and crossed her arms. "I didn't say anything."
Straightening, he shrugged, appearing nonchalant. "Ah, well. Must be just my imagination." Green roved her from head to foot, drinking in the sight of her after so long. "For what it's worth - and it's probably not worth much - I missed you."
Lightning bit her lip, feeling incensed at herself. Why was it so hard to express how she felt in front of him? She could only blame her lack of experience in having a relationship with someone.
Communication. Words. Right, she needed those. She couldn't simply expect that he would automatically be able to read what was on her mind, and that him missing her, too, meant a whole lot.
Wetting her suddenly dry mouth, feeling a little hesitant, she reached out and took his hand, entwining her fingers with his.
This is okay, right? she asked herself. Small gestures are still things that can show how I feel, because I know I can't simply shout them out loud. I can't.
"It's..." she began, pausing as she tried to catch the words stuck at the back of her throat, and willed herself to voice them out. "Worth a lot. You missing me, I mean. Because. I missed you, too."
He looked...hopeful and floored. As though expecting some sort of reprimand or jibe instead of the stuttered staccato that came out of her.
"Really?" As though he really could not believe it.
She tightened her grip on him.
"Ow! Yeah, okay, thank you, I believe you." He shook their clasped hands together in an attempt to get the blood to flow through his hand again. There were thirteen-thousand butterflies fluttering inside his stomach, and he couldn't wipe the giddy grin spreading on his lips. He wanted to touch her all over, but had to really muster up some restraint and simply kept his hand clasped in hers.
The seconds of them looking at each other and grinning like loons (or, in Lightning's case, a more reserved version, but the expression was there) stretched to minutes that eventually bordered on awkward, and so it fell to Hope to finally get around to fill the silence.
"Were you having some sort of girls' day out or something?"
"Something like that," replied Lightning, shaking the bags she was holding, then frowning down as she realized that only one of the three she was carrying was actually hers. The other bags contained clothes and various toiletries that her housemates had bought. Oh, well, she thought, figuring that she could just give these back when she got home.
"I didn't mean to interrupt or-"
"You weren't. We were pretty much done. Or at least, I was. Even before we came here."
"Oh."
"I didn't really feel like shopping. But Fang and Jihl dragged me here."
"I see." He couldn't help his expression from visibly drooping, eyes drawing away from her face.
She flicked his forehead to get him to look at her again. "I'm glad they did, though."
And just like that, Hope felt light and floaty all over again. "So am I." Then a frown came over his features. "Wait. So, um, they know? About us?"
Lightning released a tired sigh. "For some reason, they figured it out on their own."
"Oh, okay."
"And as far as I'm concerned, they're the only ones who know about us."
"...Right." A muscle ticked in his jaw, and he tried to suppress the disappointment that threatened to rise up and overfill his chest at the notion that they still had to hide whatever kind of relationship it was they had. "I suppose you trust them with the secret."
"The three of us usually keep to ourselves, so we can trust them on that."
The air between them grew heavy and tense. Unspoken words and feelings hung, like balloons suspended between them on invisible strings. And Hope knew that if he wanted to keep on being with her, he had to let those go. Even as it was beginning to get harder and harder with each meeting.
With a sigh, he released the bonds, let the repressed feelings and held-back words dissolve unencumbered into the aether of his mind and his heart, shook free the dismay from his features and instead focused on living in the present and simply enjoyed meeting Lightning here by chance and getting to spend time with her.
"Alright, Miss Lightning Farron," he said. "Any ideas? What do we do next?"
She took a step up to him. "Well, do you happen to be free for the rest of the day?"
His brows rose up to his hairline then furrowed over his eyes as he gave careful consideration to her question. "Hmm...well...I think that there's a..." Clicking his tongue to the roof of his mouth, a look of dismay came over his features.
Her hopeful expression faltered. And Hope couldn't help bursting out a small laugh.
"I'm sorry. I was just kidding. I'm yours for the whole weekend if you want."
Not finding his teasing amusing, she punched him on the arm.
Bodhum was not lacking in sights and sounds to tourists and residents alike. All the Fal'Cie that maintained the city performed their duties punctiliously, with the Phoenix sun making sure that the sky and the sea were always awash in majestic colours as it set over the horizon.
It was always a sight to behold, and usually people would ceremoniously stop what they were doing simply to take in and relish the vibrant hues of orange and gold that faded into mauve and indigo, mirrored so exquisitely on the surface of the sea. As the city's lights flickered on with the coming of night, activity resumed, and those that witnessed another marvelous sunset were left with a feeling of wonder and contentment, voicing out their enjoyment at what Bodhum had to offer.
Bordering the sea were cliffs that granted splendid views of the city. Lookout points were established that afforded sceneries of the always-growing highrises of downtown or the sprawls of luxurious hotels and apartment complexes along the beach.
On one such cliff that was surrounded by trees a car was parked, secluded from the highway that led to further parts of the city. Its passengers, on any other time, would probably have been among those who had come up here to enjoy the Fal'Cie Phoenix's exhibit of the cycle from day to nightfall, but instead they were too engrossed with another activity to bother paying attention to watch.
The car shook, its tires squeaking from an activity it wasn't made to withstand, its windows were fogged up, and sounds of muffled breathlessness could be heard from within.
Inside, the two that were generating so much heat were lost in frenzied movement against each other. Lightning sat astride Hope's lap, eyes closed tightly as she concentrated on rhythmically impaling herself on his shaft, one hand tight on his shoulder, nails digging into his skin. The other hand was braced on the ceiling of the car, just marginally preventing herself from rising too high to bump her head. Hope had been sucking on her left nipple, intermittently letting it go between moans of her name and declarations of how good she felt on him. Eventually, she let go of his shoulder and placed it up alongside her other hand on the ceiling, and Hope took control, leaning back against the backseat and taking hold of her hips, pounding up into her and watching her breasts bounce with his movements.
Knowing he was close, his thrusts became erratic, and moments later he was shooting his load up in her with a groan, mind hazy by the starburst behind his closed eyes, only fuzzily able to hear the litany his name became as she yelled it out over and over as he felt her contracting around him. Feeling as though her bones had liquefied, Lightning collapsed against him, riding out the aftershocks that still racked up and down her spine. The only movement she was capable of at that moment was to lift her hips a bit to dislodge him from her, and then afterwards resumed her previous position, nuzzling her face against his neck.
Hope ran his hands down her back, waiting for his speeding heartbeat to slow down and for his breath to catch, every now and then leaning forward to kiss her shoulder or her cheek. Feeling how stuffy the interior of his car had become, with as little movement as he could muster so as not to displace Lightning from her perch, he reached over and opened a window.
"Huh," he muttered, eyeing the blinking stars in the sky competing with the city lights. "We missed the sunset."
The pink-haired peered from underneath his chin. "Oh. Yeah."
"Oh, well. There'll be another time to see it together. I don't think we missed much anyway."
"Hmm." Her snuggling closer with a contented sigh was the only reply she gave.
Most of the afternoon since meeting up had been spent browsing and window shopping at the mall, uttering light, uncomplicated conversations along the way. Hope never did get around to going back to the boomerang store, but he found that it wasn't such a big loss considering he'd gained Lightning's company in return.
They'd gone to his car afterwards and simply drove around, with her pointing out sights that she hoped were interesting enough before suggesting this lookout point to watch the sunset. Because of the seclusion and privacy, and the seemingly long wait for the Fal'Cie Phoenix to finally get around to setting over the horizon, they'd found themselves reaching for each other hungrily, eventually making their way to the backseat for a bit more room to manoeuvre in, discarding bits of clothing along the way.
Hope had to admit he'd never really considered having sex in his car before since he'd assembled it after Elida left him. But he was always open to new experiences, and having sex with Lightning in his car-well, really, sex with Lightning anywhere-was always an experience he'd welcome anytime.
It would be nice, though, if they could contact each other and meet up on a more regular basis. Serendipitous happenstances like these weren't that bad, per se. Surprises, after all, could be good things, and the surprise meet-up with Lightning certainly fell into that category. But could anyone really fault him for wanting something more, despite his vacillations between simply accepting things as they were?
Sighing, he pulled her closer, tightening his arms around her as he felt her shiver from the blast of night air impacting on her cooling skin. The night was just beginning, and already he didn't want it to end.
After waking from the nap they'd inadvertently fallen into, Hope and Lightning were left floundering around in the small space of the car, looking for their respective articles of clothing. With Hope, they'd only managed to pull his pants and boxers down to his thighs, so he only had to tuck himself back in and look for his shirt, but Lightning wasn't so lucky, having only her skirt left on, bunched at her waist during coitus. The pink-haired managed to locate her tank top and bra at the front passenger seat, but her panties... The last she could remember of it was it dangling from her ankle as she managed to pull a leg free from it as Hope reached for her, his tongue inside her mouth and his fingers between her thighs effectively robbing her of further thoughts.
Inciting him to look for it for her as she grabbed handfuls of tissue from the box between the two front seats, Lightning went about wiping up the spillage from between her legs before pulling her skirt back down and smoothing out the creases, then putting her bra and top back on. He eventually located her underwear somewhere on the floor, and she donned it after thanking him, hoping that the both of them weren't too redolent of the just-had-sex smell when they finally made their way back to town.
Properly clothed at last, they simply sat back, hands entwined, chuckling at each other as a loud grumble was heard.
"Hungry?" she asked with a smirk, feeling her cheeks heat and her belly flutter as his eyes roved over her figure, landing at the part of her body that she'd recently covered up.
His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed, then Hope licked his lips. "Well, I'm kinda torn between wanting to eat you out and eating actual food," he admitted.
Face positively inflamed, she reached over and clapped a hand over his eyes, covering them. He, laughing, grabbed her by the waist, and proceeded to muffle his laughter with her lips, her tongue readily meeting his after he coaxed her mouth to open.
They would have gone for another round of lovemaking were they not interrupted by his stomach expressing its objection with a series of loud grumblings that made even Hope crimson with chagrin and embarrassment.
Parting from the now-sheepish silver-haired young man, the corner of Lightning's lips turned up in a small smile as she quipped, "Alright, food first. And then, if you're a good boy, I might let you have me for dessert."
"So, where do you want to eat?" asked Hope as the car wound down the highway.
"Anywhere's fine," replied Lightning.
The green-eyed young man licked his lips, almost nervous about the subject he was about to broach. "We could head over to my place?" he suggested. "I could cook something up, or we could order. And then, maybe you could stay the night. I-if you want."
From the corner of his eye, he watched as she sat straight and rigid in her seat, hands curling at the hem of her skirt.
"O-or not," he quickly amended, swallowing as he trained his eyes back on the road.
Lightning's head whipped fast as she turned to look at him, and she forced herself to let go of the tight hold she had on her skirt, her mouth opening and closing as she sought for words. "I just - i-it's just - I mean." She took a deep breath. "Noel's going to be there, isn't he?"
Briefly, he turned to look at her before concentrating back on the drive. "I-I guess, yeah."
Discomfort and silence fell between them. Lightning knew she could suggest her place since her housemates knew about them anyway, and it wasn't like it wasn't normal for any of them to bring someone home. But she rather like the thought of her and Hope just having the place to themselves, without anyone getting underfoot or being annoying. And the thing was, to her, Hope was different. He wasn't a one-night fling like the other men and women she and her housemates had brought home. And if she brought him to her house, to her, that was what he would seem like. And she didn't want that.
And she was really getting tired of this claustrophobic atmosphere that seemed to fall between them every now and then.
The bright inviting lights of Main Street met them as they reached the city proper. The hotels that lined along the beach were flashing their signs almost mockingly, and an idea formed inside her mind that, more than anything, she wanted to squash. This area, being such a tourist spot, reflected that stature in their pricing. And she knew she couldn't simply blow her money willy-nilly in this kind of place, no matter how tempting it might be.
Stopping at a traffic light, Hope peered through the windshield at the buildings that surrounded them. "Maybe we could rent a hotel room or something?" he proposed.
Lightning nearly got a whiplash as she turned to gaze at him, tongue ready to lash out a declining reply, but the words died in her throat when she saw his hopeful expression, and she found herself giving a nod as assent. "I suppose. That'd be nice. Okay, I guess."
A small smile stretched the corner of his mouth, and he had to stop himself from letting it bloom out into a full-blown grin lest she change her mind. "Okay, then," he found himself saying, eyes roving for vacancy signs, spotting a discreet one from one of the most opulent hotel on the block. Reaching over and taking her hand, he brought it to his lips for a kiss. Since he wanted his time with Lightning to be special, he figured he might as well make it extravagant, willing to make a dent in his bank account.
Hope felt her hand tighten in his as she watched him turn the car up to the lavish driveway of The Ark.
Parking outside the palatial steps that led up to the lobby, he gave her hand another kiss before letting go and opening his door. "Wait here. I'll see what they have available."
"I'll come with you," said Lightning, quickly freeing herself from the seatbelt, feeling mildly anxious at being in such a place.
"No, no. I want to surprise you-"
"But it's not exactly cheap here, Hope," she interjected.
"That's fine. Don't worry about it." He reached over and rubbed her arm in an attempt to placate her.
"But-"
Sliding down his hand to squeeze hers on her lap, he implored, "If this is how we can be alone together, Light, then to me, it's worth it."
She clutched at his hand tightly for a good few seconds before relenting to his plea, leaning forward to touch her lips to his and whispered her assent. "Alright. But try to go for something simple. And not so expensive, if possible."
"If I do, will you let me have my dessert?" He wiggled his eyebrows.
She rolled her eyes and pushed his face away from her. "Only if you satisfy me."
He considered her choice of words for a moment. "I'm pretty sure you'll be the one who will be satisfied during dessert."
A rose couldn't compare to the blush that suffused her cheeks at his rebuttal, and the best response she could offer was to push him out of the car. "Go already!"
"Yes, ma'am!" Hope gave a mock salute, nodding to the puzzled valets waiting bewilderedly in their post by the stairs, and made his way up the steps to The Ark.
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APPENDIX:
"Alright, Miss Lightning Farron. Any ideas? What do we do next?" - reference to the beginning of Lightning Returns when Lightning says: "Alright, Mr Hope Estheim. Any ideas? What do I do next?"
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