Disclaimer: Lightning Returns/Final Fantasy XIII does not belong to me.

Author's Note: My first AU fic and it was so much fun to write! I hope you guys enjoy it. There is a very small chance of a sequel being posted, but I highly doubt it. Leave me a review?

Sergeant Farron

o

Hope has a problem.

Hope, being the bright young man that he is, typically deals away with problems that rise up before him easily – this one, however, just so happens to tower above him and cast a great shadow of misery and despair. Its size is bigger than anything Hope has ever faced before, and he frankly doubts he ever will again.

Also, in this case, the problem quite literally towers above him. He usually has to crane his neck up in order to stare at it.

"All I wanted," his 6'7" roommate moans into his hands, slumped half-heartedly on the railing of their balcony, "is to get Sis's blessing for Serah's and my marriage, but nooooo, she just has to go and be a big – a big jerk about it! I can just see my future slipping away from me… I have nothing left to live for, Hope!" From his position at the balcony doors where he had just arrived at, Hope swears that he can see a few tears slip past the fingers Snow has over his face and fall to the pavement eighteen floors down. His eyes switch from the several empty bottles of hard alcohol littering the space around Snow, and back to the hulking man. He represses a sigh. It's not even seven PM, he thinks with a tinge of regret.

"So, let me get this straight… You've been out here drinking for the past several hours because Serah's sister doesn't think you're a good enough fit for her?" He tries out the words slowly, furrowing his brow as he attempts to get a firmer grasp on the situation and why it could have possibly brought his friend to this state. Snow gives a loud moan of misery in response; the lines on Hope's forehead continue to crinkle. "Aren't you, you know, over reacting a little? Serah still loves you, and you think the absolute world of her… so what's the big deal?"

"What—what's the big deal?" The blonde spins around with surprising speed for a man his size, his mouth agape as he sputters out the words. "It's the biggest deal! Her sister means everything to Serah! She's always thought that Sis would come around while we were dating, but it's been months and she still hates me! I can't go and marry Serah knowing how much Sis's refusal is hurting her! It's – it's the end of my world, Hope! I might as well jump down from this balcony right now, for all that it matters!"

Hope's eyebrows rise at the grief-stricken expression on Snow's face and the dramatic exclamation. "Jumping off the balcony? You know Serah wouldn't like that, Snow." She certainly wouldn't want a dead fiancé, he keeps to himself. Knowing Serah, she'd probably find a way to bring him back and then kill him herself.

He supresses a shudder – Serah Farron may have been as cute as a kitten, but she was a terror when made angry. And he had been caught in the unfortunate crossfire between her and Snow more than once – he had learned that the best course of action was to simply hightail it out of their apartment building and occupy himself for a good few hours.

"Man, Hope, all I ever wanted was a family…" Snow has gone from staring wildly at him to slumping back down against the metal railings, gazing forlornly at the traffic below them. "And when I met Serah I knew she was The One, you know? It's like time stopped and she was the only person I could see and I just knew she was someone special from the moment I laid eyes on her…"

The silverette lets his friend ramble on as he stands there awkwardly, both used to Snow's passionate speeches about his girlfriend (fiancée, Hope reminds himself, if all things go well again) and incredibly uncomfortable at the amount of emotion being poured into the words. Hope had never been all that lucky when it came to relationships - he always busied himself first with advancing through the ranks of the Academy and studying, and then working for the Academy and following in his father's footsteps. There had been a brief stint with an intern named Alyssa but, well – Hope tries his best to forget about that. It had ended catastrophically; his peers at work still gossiped about it.

Several minutes into Snow's rambling, salvation comes to Hope in the form of someone knocking on their front door. Glancing in Snow's direction and realizing that the blonde would continue talking regardless of whether Hope was there or not, he slinks away and makes way to answer. It's probably the pizza delivery man, he decides, not bothering to check the peephole and grudgingly digging out his wallet. Snow had a tendency to order pizza in bulk when drinking, and Hope was the one who usually ended up paying for it.

"Yes, hello, sorry about the wait—"

He stops talking.

In front of him stands possibly the most beautiful pizza delivery man – woman – that Hope has ever seen. Even the small frown on her full, bow shaped lips does not take away from the splendour of her. He realizes that his mouth has fallen slightly open in surprise, but as he stares into bright, blue eyes that seem to be narrowing at him, he realizes that he doesn't care. For him, it feels as if all passage of time has stopped. All he is suddenly aware of is her and the frantic beating of his heart.

The woman clears her throat. "It's no problem," she speaks and Hope thinks that her voice sounds like a chorus of angels singing the loveliest of hymns. "I received a call from one of the residents of this building, worried about a man that has been yelling about jumping off his balcony for the past several hours. Is everything alright in here?"

The question snaps Hope out of his trance and he blinks, taking in her appearance for the first time. "You're… not the pizza delivery guy," he slowly says, taking into account the dark blue uniform the woman is wearing, along with the black tie and a large belt slung around her hips (oh, and what nice hips she has!) that carries what he deduces to be a gun. He glances back at the woman's face, catching the quick flash of irritation there before her expression smoothes itself out.

She raises one pink eyebrow and taps at a silver badge pinned to her chest (he tries not to stare – he's not a creep, for God's sake). "New York Police Department," she says with a hint of dryness in her voice. "Sergeant Farron. I was in the area when the call came in. Now, is everything alright in here?"

Farron, his mind mutters to itself in its hazy state. That name sounds familiar. Farron… "Oh, no, everything is fine!" He exclaims loudly, laughing somewhat awkwardly as he scratches at the back of his head. He had always been a little shy around beautiful women, but he doesn't think he's ever felt it – or acted – to this degree before. He half-heartedly wishes for the floor to swallow him up in his embarrassment; the other half doesn't want it to purely because that would mean not seeing the officer in front of him anymore. "It's just my roommate – he's been drinking, and he's always a little dramatic when he drinks, ha… ha…" He trails off, suddenly aware that he almost got caught rambling. He curses his still furiously beating heart. Way to go, Estheim. You're coming off like an absolute fool.

It's not like you even had a chance to begin with, some part of his brain mutters to him, sulking in a dark corner. She'll just walk away and we'll never see her again because we're idiots who put everything in our lives before our actual selves.

Sergeant Farron's other eyebrow rises. "I see," she replies, some suspicion leaking into her voice. "Well, just make sure he stops disturbing the neighbours and—"

"YOU!"

Hope nearly jumps in surprise at the sound of Snow's sudden and incredibly loud yell, whirling around to stare at his friend as the large blonde lumbers over to stand by their couch. Snow's mouth has dropped open as he gapes at the pink haired officer in front of Hope, lips soundlessly forming a stream of words.

Hope blinks. "You guys know each other?" He asks, turning back around to look at Sergeant Farron – only to nearly jump again at the sudden transformation her face had gone through. Instead of the fairly cold, irritated look she had been sporting before, she now looked positively livid, glaring daggers in the direction of his friend that almost had Hope scurrying for cover with their intensity. He also doesn't miss the way her hand twitches for the gun secured at her waist.

She looks so beautiful, some part of his brain sighs adoringly. Hope immediately destroys it. Wait… He examines the officer more closely, focusing on the long, pink hair held up in a ponytail and the slightly familiar narrowing of her also familiar blue eyes. She said her name was Farron…

"Sis!" Snow finally manages to get out, a drunken grin worming its way onto his face. "You came to apologize!"

"I am not your sister!" The Sergeant barks out immediately with a startling similarity to a certain Serah Farron, and all the gears in Hope's head click into place. He thinks that he can feel his face turning several shades paler. Oh, crap.

"And what do you mean, 'apologize'?" The officer continues, her eyes conveying so much hate that Hate is slightly surprised that Snow hasn't burst into flames yet (if he does, Hope hopes that he'll have the decency to move away from the expensive carpet he is currently standing on). "Here I am responding to a call about some man worrying his neighbours over possibly committing suicide, and what do I find instead? A drunkard! And Serah's fiancé, nonetheless! How do you expect me to allow you to marry my little sister when you start drinking in the middle of the day? And then you go and start talking about jumping off a balcony? Do you really think I'd be okay with someone like that marrying Serah!?"

The scowl on her lips has grown to epic proportions Hope has only ever seen on Serah (she must have learned it from someone, then) as she waits for a gaping Snow to gather his wits about him. When several moments pass with Snow only blubbering out half formed words with a scary resemblance to a nearly seven foot tall child, the officer scoffs. "You have got to be kidding me," she growls out before turning swiftly on her heel and walking out into the corridor. Hope stares at the spot she had just occupied for a few seconds, then at the still inebriated Snow, before rushing out after the woman.

"W-wait!" He calls out, managing to catch her as she waits for the elevator, one foot tapping aggressively against the carpet. Sergeant Farron turns, the scowl still on her lips as she sees him.

"If you're here to tell me how absolutely amazing and wonderful Snow is—" her voice oozes with sarcasm, pitched several tones higher in an imitation of a voice that he recognizes as Serah's, "—then don't bother. I don't know who you are and it is none of your business—"

"Wouldyouliketogotodinnerwithme?" Hope interrupts her tirade in one single breath, his body feeling as if he had just run a marathon. The frown on the Sergeant's face slips, instead being replaced by a complete look of perplexity.

"…What?" She states in a flat tone, boring holes into him. He tries not to gulp under the intensity of her stare.

"Or, well, even coffee!" His mouth opens and he is spewing out words before he even realizes what he is saying. "Doesn't have to be dinner because all of that is pretty formal, you know, and like you said I don't know you but I'd really like to even though you've reduced Snow to drinking with a seven year old's mentality and you're kind of scary but you're also really pretty too and you're the prettiest pizza delivery man I've ever seen – I mean, police officer! – but yeah we could totally go grab coffee sometime when you're free if you're up for that, but if you're not then that's totally cool too—"

His rambling, before he can make an even greater fool of himself, is interrupted by her sigh. His jaw snaps shut and he wishes now, desperately, for that hole to upon up beneath his feet and swallow him whole. Any place would be better than here right now. Great going Hope, his inner self berates him, scowling from the same lonely corner as before. Now if you didn't look like a fool before, you certainly do now.

A moment passes by in silence, and Hope considers just slinking back into his apartment in shame. He starts turning around when the Sergeant opens her mouth, having finished staring at him with a frightening intensity and a (cute!) furrow between her brows. "Fine," she says, one eyebrow twitching upward when he jumps as if he had just been electrocuted. "But only because I want to know what sort of people Snow surrounds himself with, if he is to become my brother-in-law," she spits out the last part, glowering for a moment before slipping back into a calmer expression. "You can… You can get my number from Snow," her lips curl with distaste at the idea. "I know that Serah gave it to him in case of emergency. You got that?"

Hope nods his head, admittedly somewhat intimidated by the woman in front of him but also feeling as if he could jump off their apartment's balcony like Snow was threatening to and fly away, carried on a cloud of happiness. "Yeah, totally!" The two stare at each other in silence that quickly turns awkward. The look on the Sergeant's face softens just the tiniest bit (Hope's stomach seems to be practicing for the Acrobatic Olympics at the sight) and she glances beyond Hope to the still open door of his and Snow's apartment.

"Make sure he doesn't actually jump, or do anything equally as stupid. I wouldn't want Serah to end up a widow before she even gets married," she says before turning and stepping into the elevator that had just arrived. She turns to face the front again. "Good luck," she calls out, a wry note in her voice.

Hope does a pathetic impersonation of a salute and tries not to wince too hard at the amused look on her face. "Yes ma'am!" He calls out and watches the doors shut with a ping, before the elevator begins its lazy descent to the lobby. He stands there rooted to his spot for several more moments before dazedly making his way back home.

He has a feeling that after the Sergeant's visit, he should lock the doors to the balcony and hide the keys from Snow. He just hopes that the blonde won't be desperate enough in his drunken stupor to break through them.

.

.

The next morning, Hope stands at the stove preparing breakfast as Snow nurses a large cup of coffee and an even larger hangover. The two stay in companionable but awkward silence, and Hope tries not to shift under Snow's intense gaze on his back.

"So…" the man finally drawls out, both suspicion and awe lacing his voice. "You're telling me that you actually got a date with Sis?"

Hope's cheeks darken and he pokes at one of the pancakes on the pan before him. "It's not a date," he mutters out, praying to God that Snow can't see the tips of his ears turning red with embarrassment. "She just wants to know more about… you, I guess, and whether or not you're good enough for Serah."

Snow snorts into his coffee, the mug failing to hide the large grin that stretches across his face. "That's just like Sis… Serah tells me she's always been difficult when it comes to dating." He pauses for a moment as a thought suddenly strikes him. "…Wait. Do you even know Sis's name?"

Hope's entire body stills, save for a small tremble in his fingers. He just knows the redness of his face and ears have reached epic proportions. "No," he manages to get out through gritted teeth, "But I am sure you'll be more than happy to tell me what it is."

Snow's booming laughter comes behind him as a reply as the older man pounds away at the table with a large fist. "Oh, man, that is hilarious, Hope! You didn't even catch her name! Though, with how angry she was, I doubt you even had much of a chance of getting it out of her." Hope just grunts in reply and considers burning Snow's pancakes as revenge. The air between them is filled with silence again, until—

"Wait. Does she even know your name?"

Hope begins wishing for that hole again. He doesn't think he's ever wanted one so badly and often ever before. "No, Snow, like you said, we didn't really have a chance for introductions, what with your drunk ass coming in a making a scene." Hope can't necessarily see Snow, but he just knows that the blonde is shrugging as a way of apology.

"Sorry, Hope. It was just such a great shock to my system to see Sis standing so casually in my doorway." He takes a sip of his coffee, humming out his appreciation for the hot liquid. "But this is totally great. You can let her know just how much of an amazing person I am and how much I love her sister and how I would never, ever let Serah come to harm…"

Hope tunes him out as he typically does, until—

"This is so awesome, Hope. And here I was wondering if I should be trying to set you up with Gadot—"

He snaps around and flings a half-finished pancake at his roommate, face completely burning and one eyebrow twitching with irritation.

"Snow. Shut up."

The silence doesn't even last two minutes.

"...her voice sounded like a chorus of angels? Good Lord Hope, you have got it bad."

Hope resists the urge to bang his head on the stove. Repeatedly.

.

.

Extra:

"Hey Claire! So Snow just called to tell me that you have a date with his roommate Hope! That's great! Hope is such a sweetheart and so smart and you are going to absolutely love him and— Claire? Claire? Did you just hang up on me!? CLAIRE! I am coming over right now! Expect me in twenty minutes! Seriously…"