Final Fantasy XIII fic, Struck by Lightning 17 (On Seduction By…)
title: Struck by Lightning chapter 17
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: 3348
Antsy, with hands in his pockets, Hope fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot as he stood outside the entrance to M&M Bridals. The women were still inside: Serah was finishing up the paperwork, working out the payment method, and getting her measurement taken for the dress that she'd chosen, while Lightning and Vanille were browsing through the bridesmaids' section as they waited for her. Beside him, Noel stared at the store across, eyes skimming away when he felt his face redden, then attempt to surreptitiously gaze back at Ars Amatoria Love Shop. The younger man cleared his throat, and Hope's eyes darted towards him and he was given a slight nod towards the store.
Sucking in his cheeks, Hope looked behind him, finding the three women seemingly still busy inside the bridal shop, and gave an answering nod back to his brother.
Appearing casual, with Noel mutely whistling to himself, his hand was on the door to the love shop when they both felt a hand on each of their shoulders.
"And where do you think you're going?" Vanille asked in a sickly sweet voice. Startling them like this made her seem as though she had come out of thin air.
"Ahem," was all Hope could muster while beside him his brother's reply came out in a sputter of unintelligible words. Taking pity on him, Hope thought quickly and mentioned the first thing that popped into his head. "Inside to check out their boomerang display."
Over her head, Noel stopped stuttering long enough to frown at him. That's the best you can come up with?
She gave him a dry look. "Boomerangs. In the sex shop. What."
Hope shrugged, appearing nonchalant and just ran with the idea. "You'd be surprised at the kinky stuff they could come up with."
Blinking, unamused, she just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow instead of voicing out her question, and he raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying that people who make sex toys are weird."
"Do I even want to know what kind of stuff you've done with your boomerangs?" Vanille grimaced, and shook her head vigorously. "You know what? Nevermind. I don't want to know. Is that why you collect them?"
"Didn't you just say you didn't want to know?"
"Okay! Shut up. I really don't. Eugh. How would you use it for that anyway?"
"You just said-"
"Shut up!"
Hope placed his hands in his pockets, stifling his laughter. "Make up your mind."
"I really don't want to know."
"Then stop asking questions."
"Fine. I'm stopping."
"Or you might give Noel ideas."
At this, his brother finally snapped to attention and hit him on the head. "Fuck you."
He couldn't help but laugh, staggering away from the couple.
Surprising the two males, Vanille grabbed Noel by the arm and hauled him forward into the store. "Oh, all right. Might as well see the toys."
"Oh, so now you want to see their boomerangs, don't ya?" Hope quipped, chuckling at the rude hand gesture Vanille sent him as they disappeared through the door. And then he felt the hairs at the back of his neck rise. Lightning.
"Boomerangs, huh?" Her voice was low, husky, and so close to his ear that it sent shivers down his spine, making his stomach jump.
"Uh-huh." He suddenly felt as though his mind was suffused by a haze, making it difficult for him to concentrate or think clearly whenever she happened to be near. "I believe you felt my boomerang yesterday."
Shit...I just said something stupid to add to all the stupid things I've been saying, didn't I?
Despite the embarrassment that diffused the fog in his mind, he couldn't help turning to face her to see her reaction, and only then did he realized just how close she was as his nose brushed against hers.
If ever there was a single word to describe him, it was "know". His mind was but an empty vessel that he could fill with everything there was for him to "know". Learning things just came so easily. Reading, looking, seeking...sometimes he didn't even know exactly how knowledge came to him, only that it did, and it led him to a place, to Academia, where there was nothing else to do but learn and know.
But here he was facing a whole universe's worth of knowledge in a single person that his mind couldn't seem to fully encompass. What were her thoughts? What were her feelings? Why did a simple barely-there brush of her skin against his seemed to reduce him to mush?
Strung along by the incessant, ineffable need to know everything there was to know about her, he felt his heart hitch, and expand. And with a small grin playing at the corner of his lips, he asked, "Miss Farron, would you do me the honour of allowing me to seduce you with ice cream?"
Stepping back, she peered at him with a raised eyebrow. "Ice cream."
"I know a place that makes the meanest banana split, guaranteed to make you melt." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll even let you have three-quarters of the banana."
He was delighted to see the almost-smile teasing at the corner of her lip. It's a start, he thought.
An exaggerated sigh escaped her. "With an offer like that, how can I possibly refuse?" With a tilt of her head and a mocking flourish of her hand, she said, "Lead on."
Even though she hadn't intended for him to do so, he took hold of her hand, noting her startled expression, feeling bold and just a slight bit euphoric. I just hope that ice cream place is still there or else I'll look stupid. His brows furrowed as he tried to remember the direction to The Moogle Creamery, feet taking them out into the main promenade of the mall where they were greeted by what seemed to be the whole population of Palumpolum, singing along to the blasting loudspeakers.
How can I hope for you?
How can I hope for you?
How can I hope for you?
I can't reach you
He felt his ears redden and his grip on her hand tighten, reminded all too well of last night's phone call, and had half a mind to turn back but for the throng that surrounded them making it nearly impossible to move anywhere but forward. But he pressed on, persevering through the thicket of people to a side gallery of small boutiques where a directory map stood at the centre, and headed for it. With a quick skim, he was relieved to find that The Moogle Creamery was still in the same spot, and mentally mapped out its location. Spying the escalators near the exit doors at this part of the mall, he led Lightning to them, relieved that she hadn't once tried to retract her hand from his.
Through the ascent, Hope couldn't help staring at her profile, green eyes glassy as they traced over the line of her nose, the curve of her cheek, and the wisps of her hair.
An amused smirk lifted the corner of her lip. "Watch your step," she warned.
"Wha-ooaaagh!" He stumbled as his foot caught on the top step of the escalator, and were it not for her hand in his he would've utterly lost his balance.
"I told you," she said with a bemused sigh, helping him right himself.
Cheeks aflame as he chuckled out his embarrassment, he mumbled, "Yeah, thanks."
Lightning brushed an errant lint from his shirt, and seeing the amusement in her blue eyes made his clumsiness seem worth it. "Your 'seductive techniques' need some work."
At this, he couldn't help throwing back his head and laughing out loud, tugging her along as he indicated the direction that they should head into. "The seduction hasn't started yet. Ice cream, remember?"
"Hmm, so that escalator ride isn't even part of the preliminary seduction?"
"Totally discounted. And I'd be much obliged if you forget that whole fail there. Or if not, then count yourself to be the one to blame for distracting me."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I wasn't even doing anything."
He bit his lip, chagrined. "Well, to be honest, you don't really need to be doing anything to distract me."
And then, she caught him by surprise when she stepped in front of him, halting him in his tracks. She grabbed him by the collar and gave him a series of quick pecks on the lips. "Fine, I'll let it go," she murmured, so close that he felt more than heard what she said.
"Thank you," he replied between kisses. His euphoric level was rising with each meeting of lips, and he was sure he was not alone in wanting to take things further. Even though this part of the mall was deserted-no doubt with most of the shoppers converged in the main atrium to meet popular idol Elida Karmic-he and Lightning were still in a public place, and for all that she wanted whatever was between them secret, continuing this here would defeat the purpose of keeping it as such. So it was with great reluctance that he drew away, nuzzling his nose against hers before smiling as he once again led her by the hand towards The Moogle Creamery.
Unusual from what he remembered, The Moogle Creamery was not packed up for a Saturday. The last time he had been back to Cocoon, Hope never liked coming by during the weekend because it was nearly impossible to find a seat and the lineup for even a takeout stretched outside the shop. He supposed he had Elida to thank for the nearly intimate ambiance The Moogle Creamery was exuding for this day.
Inside, the walls were painted in shades of pastel and the seats were shaped like moogles, cactuars, tonberries, and chocobos. He and Lightning took a table near the back, and he only took a minute glance at the menu before deciding what he wanted to order (that way he had more time for resting his eyes on someone more appealing to look at).
A frown furrowed her brows as she perused the menu. "They don't seem to have banana split in here."
"Oh, don't worry. They have their own special banana split."
She put down the booklet and leaned her arms on the small table between them, almost brushing his own. If she came forward a bit more she could easily kiss him again.
"So."
"So."
"Are you going to tell me just what I'm store for?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?"
"At least give me a clue."
"Well, alright." Hope picked up the menu and opened it to the last page. "It's one of their specials."
Her eyes darted from the section he indicated and back to him. "Is it 'Final Heaven'?"
A smirk wormed its way on his lips. "Sadly no."
"Don't tell me it's 'Omnislash Version 5'?"
He couldn't help chuckling and just shook his head, listening to her finger tapping on the table as she perused the extensive list of specials in the menu.
"Somehow, I'm betting it's either going to be 'Last Resort' or 'Army of One'."
"How so?"
"Well, they're the only ones that have 'banana' listed as one of the ingredients."
Hope peered at their description. "Ah, but those are banana ice cream, not just the fruit."
The tapping stopped and she narrowed her eyes at him, and seeing this, he put the menu down and held up his hands in surrender. "Relax, you're in good hands."
At the mention of said body part, Lightning couldn't help remembering Fang's comment about them, and she inwardly cursed herself for the heat that was suddenly permeating her even as her eyes traced over their shape and size. She cleared her throat in an effort to prevent her mind from straying to the desire to go find someplace more secluded just to test how much in 'good hands' she was.
It was to her great relief that a waitress in a Moogle outfit bounced their way, offering welcome distraction.
"Hello, kupo! Welcome to The Moogle Creamery, kupo. Are you ready to order, kupo?"
Smiling, Hope replied, his eyes on Lightning, "Yes, we'll have one Limit Break, please."
The waitress's eyes rounded in wonder. "Wow, really? Sure, kupopo. Limit Break coming up, kupo."
Frowning, the pink-haired grabbed the menu and looked up said order. Upon seeing it separated in its own section, her frown deepened with each item she read. "You can't be serious," muttered Lightning.
"It'll be fine," reassured the silver-haired. "It'll be fun. Us working our way through it will give us plenty of time to get to know each other."
Her narrowed gaze turned to him. "I'm feeling like I'll be too busy getting an overdose of sugar to notice your seduction."
Laughing, he lightly ran his fingers in random patterns on her arm. "That's the power of the Dark Side. The Dark Side of ice cream."
A half-exhale, half-laugh escaped her, the corners of her lips stretching a little, and he felt the pitter-patter of his pulse at the sight of it. Her smile was small, barely there, but the way her eyes brightened and the crinkling at their corners made him feel as though he'd accomplished something grand, something so much better than getting magna cum laude at the Academy.
She cleared her throat again. "So..."
"So..." he repeated, putting his hand back down on the table.
Her eyes darted away from him as she scrounged around her scattered mind for something, anything, to talk about. Her gaze landed on the muted television perched in the corner near the ceiling, seeing a familiar news anchor on the screen while a headline flashed along the bottom followed by the image of the world below Cocoon. Turning back to him, she asked, "Do you miss being in Academia?"
Surprise lit his eyes, but before he could answer, she pressed on, "I mean, you've been living there by yourself for a long time, right? Being back in Cocoon must seem strange to you."
He shook his head. "No, not really. Academia's been home, but Cocoon is also my first home. There's been a lot of things that have changed here, but that's only to be expected. I couldn't visit often because it's far and expensive, but of the times I did manage to come back while I was studying, I did things that made the trip worth it."
"And you're going back down there?"
Hope bit his lip, nodding. "They made me an offer that I'd be a fool to turn down."
Her brows furrowed. "So you being back here instead of there taking this offer...?"
"It's them giving me time to think things over. The offer they gave...it's the most tenure of all tenure-y things, you might say. At least, by the Academy's standards."
Her elbows on the table, she perched her chin on her steepled fingers. "A job for life?"
"Yeah."
"So this job-for-life means you can't ever come back here?"
He appeared to think for a moment, making a clucking sound. "Hard to say, but for certain events or things, I think I'd be required to."
A heaviness hung in the air, and silence fell between them. Left to his own thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a smidgeon of disappointment he sensed in her voice, or perhaps it was simply his imagination. He felt as though he was standing at the crossroads of his future, split down between Lightning and Academia, when all he wanted was to have both.
For her part, there was a niggling in the centre of her chest, feeling as though she'd already lost something before she could even claim it. For most of her life, she'd gotten used to simply letting go of things that had passed on, not dwelling on their loss. But for once, she felt different. For the first time, she wanted to hold on to something that might prove to be more precious to her than anything she'd ever considered as important in her life.
The heaviness dissipated with the arrival of the waitress, plucking down what seemed to be a gigantic wine glass, and a look of horror briefly passed on Lightning's face.
"Kupopo-popo, please enjoy!"
Inside the glass bowl were nine scoops of ice cream (three of each of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla); on top were sprinkled bits of mini-caramel creams, bite-sized tiramisu and brownies, tiny chocolate chips and chocolate truffles; over all of these were a liberal dose of hardened chocolate syrup and whipped topping, and of course, scattered all over were sliced pieces of bananas.
"Goddess Etro is gonna die," mumbled Lightning. "This is mean. You're right. This is the meanest banana split I've ever seen."
"We can make it," said Hope, brandishing a spoon and already popping one of the brownies in his mouth.
Rolling her eyes, she picked up the other spoon sticking out from the...confection, feeling as though it was almost sacrilegious to mar the way it was expertly put together. She decided the scoop up the safest thing within her vicinity.
"Three-quarters of the banana, right?"
"You can eat as much as you want, whatever you want, you know," said the silver-haired with a laugh, breaking through the chocolate shell for the strawberry ice cream underneath.
At his example, Lightning succumbed, and went for the vanilla ice cream under the syrup. She had to admit, despite the overwhelming feeling it first imposed, Limit Break was delicious. While the sensible side of her was clamouring that it would take months to work all these sugary goodness off, the rest of her stopped caring and just let her enjoy herself.
Before she knew it, they were more than halfway through and still going strong, in between learning about each other, in between letting him in step by step and bite after bite into her heart, in between letting him see facets of herself that only a handful ever got to see.
Under the small table, their knees and feet were touching, playfully bouncing against each other as they were almost forehead to forehead leaning over the ice cream dish.
Slicing the last piece of banana, Hope pushed one half towards her before scooping the other into his mouth. After swallowing, he cleared his throat. "So, um..."
She made a humming sound as question as she chewed on the last piece of the fruit.
"Can you envision yourself leaving Bodhum to live someplace else? Like, um, Academia?"
Putting her spoon down, she reached for a serviette and wiped her lips with it. "I can't say I really thought much about leaving Bodhum. Never really figured there's much out there for me in places like Palumpolum or Eden, much less somewhere much farther like Academia."
"Ah. So that's a no?" His voice sounded small at the last word.
"Why?"
He couldn't help the loud gulp that issued from his throat. He couldn't very well scare her off by telling her he wanted her to come with him to Gran Pulse when it came time for him to leave. He didn't want to ruin things this early. And he had made his resolve, right? The one he decided on but seemed to always waver over. About first seeing how things would work out between them. This early in the game, she was only still just letting him in, but at any time she could up and close herself off again.
He made an attempt at being flippant, and shrugged. "Just curious." Straying his gaze from hers lest she see just how affected he actually was, his eyes wandered over her head to the other television set on the corner, and couldn't help grimacing when it showed Elida Karmic on the screen. Remembering last night and Lightning's reaction after he answered his phone-as much as it was painful, he wanted to clarify something with her.
"Light..."
"Hmm?"
"About last night...there's something I need to tell you."
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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: 3348
Antsy, with hands in his pockets, Hope fidgeted, shifting from foot to foot as he stood outside the entrance to M&M Bridals. The women were still inside: Serah was finishing up the paperwork, working out the payment method, and getting her measurement taken for the dress that she'd chosen, while Lightning and Vanille were browsing through the bridesmaids' section as they waited for her. Beside him, Noel stared at the store across, eyes skimming away when he felt his face redden, then attempt to surreptitiously gaze back at Ars Amatoria Love Shop. The younger man cleared his throat, and Hope's eyes darted towards him and he was given a slight nod towards the store.
Sucking in his cheeks, Hope looked behind him, finding the three women seemingly still busy inside the bridal shop, and gave an answering nod back to his brother.
Appearing casual, with Noel mutely whistling to himself, his hand was on the door to the love shop when they both felt a hand on each of their shoulders.
"And where do you think you're going?" Vanille asked in a sickly sweet voice. Startling them like this made her seem as though she had come out of thin air.
"Ahem," was all Hope could muster while beside him his brother's reply came out in a sputter of unintelligible words. Taking pity on him, Hope thought quickly and mentioned the first thing that popped into his head. "Inside to check out their boomerang display."
Over her head, Noel stopped stuttering long enough to frown at him. That's the best you can come up with?
She gave him a dry look. "Boomerangs. In the sex shop. What."
Hope shrugged, appearing nonchalant and just ran with the idea. "You'd be surprised at the kinky stuff they could come up with."
Blinking, unamused, she just crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow instead of voicing out her question, and he raised his hands. "Hey, I'm just saying that people who make sex toys are weird."
"Do I even want to know what kind of stuff you've done with your boomerangs?" Vanille grimaced, and shook her head vigorously. "You know what? Nevermind. I don't want to know. Is that why you collect them?"
"Didn't you just say you didn't want to know?"
"Okay! Shut up. I really don't. Eugh. How would you use it for that anyway?"
"You just said-"
"Shut up!"
Hope placed his hands in his pockets, stifling his laughter. "Make up your mind."
"I really don't want to know."
"Then stop asking questions."
"Fine. I'm stopping."
"Or you might give Noel ideas."
At this, his brother finally snapped to attention and hit him on the head. "Fuck you."
He couldn't help but laugh, staggering away from the couple.
Surprising the two males, Vanille grabbed Noel by the arm and hauled him forward into the store. "Oh, all right. Might as well see the toys."
"Oh, so now you want to see their boomerangs, don't ya?" Hope quipped, chuckling at the rude hand gesture Vanille sent him as they disappeared through the door. And then he felt the hairs at the back of his neck rise. Lightning.
"Boomerangs, huh?" Her voice was low, husky, and so close to his ear that it sent shivers down his spine, making his stomach jump.
"Uh-huh." He suddenly felt as though his mind was suffused by a haze, making it difficult for him to concentrate or think clearly whenever she happened to be near. "I believe you felt my boomerang yesterday."
Shit...I just said something stupid to add to all the stupid things I've been saying, didn't I?
Despite the embarrassment that diffused the fog in his mind, he couldn't help turning to face her to see her reaction, and only then did he realized just how close she was as his nose brushed against hers.
If ever there was a single word to describe him, it was "know". His mind was but an empty vessel that he could fill with everything there was for him to "know". Learning things just came so easily. Reading, looking, seeking...sometimes he didn't even know exactly how knowledge came to him, only that it did, and it led him to a place, to Academia, where there was nothing else to do but learn and know.
But here he was facing a whole universe's worth of knowledge in a single person that his mind couldn't seem to fully encompass. What were her thoughts? What were her feelings? Why did a simple barely-there brush of her skin against his seemed to reduce him to mush?
Strung along by the incessant, ineffable need to know everything there was to know about her, he felt his heart hitch, and expand. And with a small grin playing at the corner of his lips, he asked, "Miss Farron, would you do me the honour of allowing me to seduce you with ice cream?"
Stepping back, she peered at him with a raised eyebrow. "Ice cream."
"I know a place that makes the meanest banana split, guaranteed to make you melt." He wiggled his eyebrows. "I'll even let you have three-quarters of the banana."
He was delighted to see the almost-smile teasing at the corner of her lip. It's a start, he thought.
An exaggerated sigh escaped her. "With an offer like that, how can I possibly refuse?" With a tilt of her head and a mocking flourish of her hand, she said, "Lead on."
Even though she hadn't intended for him to do so, he took hold of her hand, noting her startled expression, feeling bold and just a slight bit euphoric. I just hope that ice cream place is still there or else I'll look stupid. His brows furrowed as he tried to remember the direction to The Moogle Creamery, feet taking them out into the main promenade of the mall where they were greeted by what seemed to be the whole population of Palumpolum, singing along to the blasting loudspeakers.
How can I hope for you?
How can I hope for you?
How can I hope for you?
I can't reach you
He felt his ears redden and his grip on her hand tighten, reminded all too well of last night's phone call, and had half a mind to turn back but for the throng that surrounded them making it nearly impossible to move anywhere but forward. But he pressed on, persevering through the thicket of people to a side gallery of small boutiques where a directory map stood at the centre, and headed for it. With a quick skim, he was relieved to find that The Moogle Creamery was still in the same spot, and mentally mapped out its location. Spying the escalators near the exit doors at this part of the mall, he led Lightning to them, relieved that she hadn't once tried to retract her hand from his.
Through the ascent, Hope couldn't help staring at her profile, green eyes glassy as they traced over the line of her nose, the curve of her cheek, and the wisps of her hair.
An amused smirk lifted the corner of her lip. "Watch your step," she warned.
"Wha-ooaaagh!" He stumbled as his foot caught on the top step of the escalator, and were it not for her hand in his he would've utterly lost his balance.
"I told you," she said with a bemused sigh, helping him right himself.
Cheeks aflame as he chuckled out his embarrassment, he mumbled, "Yeah, thanks."
Lightning brushed an errant lint from his shirt, and seeing the amusement in her blue eyes made his clumsiness seem worth it. "Your 'seductive techniques' need some work."
At this, he couldn't help throwing back his head and laughing out loud, tugging her along as he indicated the direction that they should head into. "The seduction hasn't started yet. Ice cream, remember?"
"Hmm, so that escalator ride isn't even part of the preliminary seduction?"
"Totally discounted. And I'd be much obliged if you forget that whole fail there. Or if not, then count yourself to be the one to blame for distracting me."
She narrowed her eyes at him. "I wasn't even doing anything."
He bit his lip, chagrined. "Well, to be honest, you don't really need to be doing anything to distract me."
And then, she caught him by surprise when she stepped in front of him, halting him in his tracks. She grabbed him by the collar and gave him a series of quick pecks on the lips. "Fine, I'll let it go," she murmured, so close that he felt more than heard what she said.
"Thank you," he replied between kisses. His euphoric level was rising with each meeting of lips, and he was sure he was not alone in wanting to take things further. Even though this part of the mall was deserted-no doubt with most of the shoppers converged in the main atrium to meet popular idol Elida Karmic-he and Lightning were still in a public place, and for all that she wanted whatever was between them secret, continuing this here would defeat the purpose of keeping it as such. So it was with great reluctance that he drew away, nuzzling his nose against hers before smiling as he once again led her by the hand towards The Moogle Creamery.
Unusual from what he remembered, The Moogle Creamery was not packed up for a Saturday. The last time he had been back to Cocoon, Hope never liked coming by during the weekend because it was nearly impossible to find a seat and the lineup for even a takeout stretched outside the shop. He supposed he had Elida to thank for the nearly intimate ambiance The Moogle Creamery was exuding for this day.
Inside, the walls were painted in shades of pastel and the seats were shaped like moogles, cactuars, tonberries, and chocobos. He and Lightning took a table near the back, and he only took a minute glance at the menu before deciding what he wanted to order (that way he had more time for resting his eyes on someone more appealing to look at).
A frown furrowed her brows as she perused the menu. "They don't seem to have banana split in here."
"Oh, don't worry. They have their own special banana split."
She put down the booklet and leaned her arms on the small table between them, almost brushing his own. If she came forward a bit more she could easily kiss him again.
"So."
"So."
"Are you going to tell me just what I'm store for?"
"It wouldn't be a surprise now, would it?"
"At least give me a clue."
"Well, alright." Hope picked up the menu and opened it to the last page. "It's one of their specials."
Her eyes darted from the section he indicated and back to him. "Is it 'Final Heaven'?"
A smirk wormed its way on his lips. "Sadly no."
"Don't tell me it's 'Omnislash Version 5'?"
He couldn't help chuckling and just shook his head, listening to her finger tapping on the table as she perused the extensive list of specials in the menu.
"Somehow, I'm betting it's either going to be 'Last Resort' or 'Army of One'."
"How so?"
"Well, they're the only ones that have 'banana' listed as one of the ingredients."
Hope peered at their description. "Ah, but those are banana ice cream, not just the fruit."
The tapping stopped and she narrowed her eyes at him, and seeing this, he put the menu down and held up his hands in surrender. "Relax, you're in good hands."
At the mention of said body part, Lightning couldn't help remembering Fang's comment about them, and she inwardly cursed herself for the heat that was suddenly permeating her even as her eyes traced over their shape and size. She cleared her throat in an effort to prevent her mind from straying to the desire to go find someplace more secluded just to test how much in 'good hands' she was.
It was to her great relief that a waitress in a Moogle outfit bounced their way, offering welcome distraction.
"Hello, kupo! Welcome to The Moogle Creamery, kupo. Are you ready to order, kupo?"
Smiling, Hope replied, his eyes on Lightning, "Yes, we'll have one Limit Break, please."
The waitress's eyes rounded in wonder. "Wow, really? Sure, kupopo. Limit Break coming up, kupo."
Frowning, the pink-haired grabbed the menu and looked up said order. Upon seeing it separated in its own section, her frown deepened with each item she read. "You can't be serious," muttered Lightning.
"It'll be fine," reassured the silver-haired. "It'll be fun. Us working our way through it will give us plenty of time to get to know each other."
Her narrowed gaze turned to him. "I'm feeling like I'll be too busy getting an overdose of sugar to notice your seduction."
Laughing, he lightly ran his fingers in random patterns on her arm. "That's the power of the Dark Side. The Dark Side of ice cream."
A half-exhale, half-laugh escaped her, the corners of her lips stretching a little, and he felt the pitter-patter of his pulse at the sight of it. Her smile was small, barely there, but the way her eyes brightened and the crinkling at their corners made him feel as though he'd accomplished something grand, something so much better than getting magna cum laude at the Academy.
She cleared her throat again. "So..."
"So..." he repeated, putting his hand back down on the table.
Her eyes darted away from him as she scrounged around her scattered mind for something, anything, to talk about. Her gaze landed on the muted television perched in the corner near the ceiling, seeing a familiar news anchor on the screen while a headline flashed along the bottom followed by the image of the world below Cocoon. Turning back to him, she asked, "Do you miss being in Academia?"
Surprise lit his eyes, but before he could answer, she pressed on, "I mean, you've been living there by yourself for a long time, right? Being back in Cocoon must seem strange to you."
He shook his head. "No, not really. Academia's been home, but Cocoon is also my first home. There's been a lot of things that have changed here, but that's only to be expected. I couldn't visit often because it's far and expensive, but of the times I did manage to come back while I was studying, I did things that made the trip worth it."
"And you're going back down there?"
Hope bit his lip, nodding. "They made me an offer that I'd be a fool to turn down."
Her brows furrowed. "So you being back here instead of there taking this offer...?"
"It's them giving me time to think things over. The offer they gave...it's the most tenure of all tenure-y things, you might say. At least, by the Academy's standards."
Her elbows on the table, she perched her chin on her steepled fingers. "A job for life?"
"Yeah."
"So this job-for-life means you can't ever come back here?"
He appeared to think for a moment, making a clucking sound. "Hard to say, but for certain events or things, I think I'd be required to."
A heaviness hung in the air, and silence fell between them. Left to his own thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder if there was a smidgeon of disappointment he sensed in her voice, or perhaps it was simply his imagination. He felt as though he was standing at the crossroads of his future, split down between Lightning and Academia, when all he wanted was to have both.
For her part, there was a niggling in the centre of her chest, feeling as though she'd already lost something before she could even claim it. For most of her life, she'd gotten used to simply letting go of things that had passed on, not dwelling on their loss. But for once, she felt different. For the first time, she wanted to hold on to something that might prove to be more precious to her than anything she'd ever considered as important in her life.
The heaviness dissipated with the arrival of the waitress, plucking down what seemed to be a gigantic wine glass, and a look of horror briefly passed on Lightning's face.
"Kupopo-popo, please enjoy!"
Inside the glass bowl were nine scoops of ice cream (three of each of strawberry, chocolate, and vanilla); on top were sprinkled bits of mini-caramel creams, bite-sized tiramisu and brownies, tiny chocolate chips and chocolate truffles; over all of these were a liberal dose of hardened chocolate syrup and whipped topping, and of course, scattered all over were sliced pieces of bananas.
"Goddess Etro is gonna die," mumbled Lightning. "This is mean. You're right. This is the meanest banana split I've ever seen."
"We can make it," said Hope, brandishing a spoon and already popping one of the brownies in his mouth.
Rolling her eyes, she picked up the other spoon sticking out from the...confection, feeling as though it was almost sacrilegious to mar the way it was expertly put together. She decided the scoop up the safest thing within her vicinity.
"Three-quarters of the banana, right?"
"You can eat as much as you want, whatever you want, you know," said the silver-haired with a laugh, breaking through the chocolate shell for the strawberry ice cream underneath.
At his example, Lightning succumbed, and went for the vanilla ice cream under the syrup. She had to admit, despite the overwhelming feeling it first imposed, Limit Break was delicious. While the sensible side of her was clamouring that it would take months to work all these sugary goodness off, the rest of her stopped caring and just let her enjoy herself.
Before she knew it, they were more than halfway through and still going strong, in between learning about each other, in between letting him in step by step and bite after bite into her heart, in between letting him see facets of herself that only a handful ever got to see.
Under the small table, their knees and feet were touching, playfully bouncing against each other as they were almost forehead to forehead leaning over the ice cream dish.
Slicing the last piece of banana, Hope pushed one half towards her before scooping the other into his mouth. After swallowing, he cleared his throat. "So, um..."
She made a humming sound as question as she chewed on the last piece of the fruit.
"Can you envision yourself leaving Bodhum to live someplace else? Like, um, Academia?"
Putting her spoon down, she reached for a serviette and wiped her lips with it. "I can't say I really thought much about leaving Bodhum. Never really figured there's much out there for me in places like Palumpolum or Eden, much less somewhere much farther like Academia."
"Ah. So that's a no?" His voice sounded small at the last word.
"Why?"
He couldn't help the loud gulp that issued from his throat. He couldn't very well scare her off by telling her he wanted her to come with him to Gran Pulse when it came time for him to leave. He didn't want to ruin things this early. And he had made his resolve, right? The one he decided on but seemed to always waver over. About first seeing how things would work out between them. This early in the game, she was only still just letting him in, but at any time she could up and close herself off again.
He made an attempt at being flippant, and shrugged. "Just curious." Straying his gaze from hers lest she see just how affected he actually was, his eyes wandered over her head to the other television set on the corner, and couldn't help grimacing when it showed Elida Karmic on the screen. Remembering last night and Lightning's reaction after he answered his phone-as much as it was painful, he wanted to clarify something with her.
"Light..."
"Hmm?"
"About last night...there's something I need to tell you."
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