Just Once

Val's Note: Hello, everyone and Happy New Year! I come to you with a new HopexLightning story. It was during chapter eleven when this story came to me. Well, the ending came to me. The large majority of this story was not planned except the very beginning, and the ending which will come in chapter two. Everything in the middle to the end honestly wrote itself. I'm pleased with it though. It's a great thing when you squeal and get excited while writing your own story.

Enough of my blabbing. I hope you enjoy!

So this…was hell?

It was the question he kept asking himself. Hope still couldn't believe that everything he had thought about Pulse was wrong. It was far more beautiful and peaceful than he could have ever imagined. He didn't have to worry about PSICOM or anyone being afraid of him because he was a l'Cie. He was safe for the time being.

Hope lay awake under the night sky. He stared straight at Cocoon and felt a sudden pang of homesickness. He missed his father and wanted nothing more than to see him again. He tore his eyes away from the massive continent. He didn't want to think about the past. It would only bring more pain.

He closed his eyes once more, trying to force sleep upon him, but his eyes snapped open a few minutes later. The grass was soft enough, but something was keeping him awake. Perhaps it had something to do with the events that unfolded just a few hours earlier. He could still feel power pulsing through his veins inside him…his Eidolon, Alexander.

How could someone as weak as himself summon such a massive creature? He was small and frail, a general burden to the others…so he used believed.

He rolled on his side and gazed at Light's sleeping body only a few feet away from him. He secretly loved watching her sleep. He had done it more times than he would admit while traveling with her. He loved seeing her stone hard face relax while she slept. Hope wished she could find the peace she found in sleep all the time.

"The power I have inside…" he whispered to himself, recalling the words Light had said to him right before he proved himself to Alexander. He truly was a lot stronger than he led himself to believe; he just didn't realize that at the time. He didn't want Light to get hurt because of him. He promised he'd try his best to keep her safe and he felt that he didn't have enough strength to do it. Light allowed him to see how wrong he was.

He smiled gently at her sleeping figure and rolled onto his back. He closed his eyes, finally feeling like he would be able to get some sleep. His breathing steadied and the warm fire they had nearby comforted him. He felt himself slipping into a light sleep when he heard someone move next to him. His eyes shot open and he quickly looked to his right to see that Lightning had woken up. He kept his eyes on her, figuring that she probably just had to use the bathroom. He was surprised when she went to the edge of the river. He was even more surprised when she started removing her clothing.

Hope wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Pretending to be asleep and watching her felt wrong but closing his eyes and not watching felt like he'd be missing out. He was a hormonal fourteen year old boy, after all. He would be lying if he hadn't imagined this scenario at least once or twice.

After debating for a few second, he quietly stood up and looked at the others. They all seemed fast asleep. Fang was protectively holding onto Vanille who was cuddled up close to the other woman. Sazh was sleeping motionless on his side and mumbled a few incoherent words, a small trail of drool dripping down the corner of his mouth. Snow seemed to be in a deep sleep which was proven by his loud snoring. Even in sleep, the man was loud.

When Hope turned back to Lighting, he saw that she had already taken off her leather boots, gloves, sleeve, red bag around her thigh, and pauldron. She was working on unfastening the brown belt below her bust when she heard Hope slowly coming up behind her.

"What's wrong, Hope? Did I wake you?" she asked him, a puzzled but concerned expression on her face. He wasn't surprised that she would be worried about him after his earlier breakdown that evening.

Hope shook his head. "No. I was already up. I couldn't sleep. What are you doing?" he asked as she proceeded to throw her belt and uniform to the ground.

"I'm going to take a bath," she responded nonchalantly and pulled her brown turtleneck over her head. "Care to join me?"

Hope's felt his eyes widen in shock. Lightning Farron was standing before him in nothing but her brown miniskirt, lighting pendant, and bra. Not only was she standing in front of him with no shirt on, she had also invited him to bathe with her.

There was only one logical explanation: he was dreaming.

He crossed his arms and pinched himself as hard as he could. He winced slightly, the pain ruling out his dreaming theory. This was actually happening and she was waiting for an answer.

"O-oh. Sure," the young boy muttered and she nodded her head in acknowledgement.

He started removing his own clothes and tried to understand the situation before him. Did she not realize that he was a boy? A member of the opposite sex? Did his gender mean nothing to her?

No. Of course it didn't. At least, it didn't matter at the moment. To Lightning, Hope was probably still just a little boy. She didn't realize how mature he was for his age. Hope wanted nothing more than for her to see him as a man. He wanted to be strong and protect her with everything he had. Still, he couldn't deny the truth that he wasn't quite there yet. He still had a few more years to go.

After thinking about it for a moment, he wasn't exactly surprised about her indecency. Hope figured that Lightning wasn't a body conscious person. She most likely had to shower with other females after training for the Guardian Corps. This didn't faze her at all; not that many things fazed Lightning to begin with.

As he stripped his clothes, he couldn't help but admiring her. She stood before him in only a simple black bra and bikini cut underwear. He couldn't help but find it suiting on her. He didn't picture her as the kind of girl to wear sexy lingerie underneath her clothing. Even that was too flashy for her.

Her toned back and shoulders were illuminated by the fire behind them. Her long powerful legs drew his attention as his eyes wandered up them. He had the perfect side view of her flat stomach. He couldn't help but take notice of her naval piercing. He wondered how old she was when she got it. The thought didn't last long as his eyes were drawn to her ample breasts.

He quickly drew his eyes away, a hot flush crossing over his cheeks. Hope was thankful that it was dark or she probably would have caught him admiring her physique. He wasn't sure if she'd let him live that down or if it would make things awkward between them. Either way, he figured he wouldn't have liked the results.

Hope stripped down to his dark green boxers and closed his eyes, a wave of embarrassment rushing over him. He stood there, his arousal clear. All she had to do was take one look below his hips to see it.

"You coming?" she asked, looking him directly in the eyes. Hope gulped and nodded his head. Why did this have to be so uncomfortable? It wasn't nearly as nerve-wracking in his dreams.

He followed Lightning into the cool water. He shivered upon entering and wrapped his arms around himself. He continued walking deeper into the water, stumbling a bit over a few rocks as he did. Suddenly, his foot caught a branch hidden in the dark water and he felt himself lose his balance.

"Careful," Lightning advised as she grabbed his arm to keep him from falling over. Hope looked up at her and was careful not to let his eyes linger too long on her chest. It was his first time actually seeing her brand so he couldn't help but stare a bit.

"Thanks. I'll try," he said and quickly looked away. It was wrong to look at her like that. He knew it was wrong but he didn't seem able to control his wandering eyes. She was far too seductive for the young boy, even when she wasn't trying to be.

Lightning let go of his arm and started to swim out into deeper water. Her long arms extended gracefully with every stroke. He followed her and found that he was barely able to stand. She immersed herself under the water and came up a few seconds later with her hair completely soaked. Her hair seemed so much longer wet. The pink strands clung to her neck and floated gently on top of the water.

"Hope, you're staring," she commented and before he had the chance to reply, a large splash of water hit him directly in the face. He coughed a few times and spat out some water that had gotten in his mouth when he was going to respond. When he wiped the water out of his eyes, he saw that Lighting's eyes reflected concern. He was fine, but she was probably worried since he had been so weak earlier.

Hope grinned mischievously, leaned back, and splashed as much water at Lighting as he could. The older woman put up her hands to shield herself from the water and let out a loud gasp. Hope couldn't help but laugh at her reaction.

"Hope!" she exclaimed and splashed him with an even more water than before. Hope was ready for it though and quickly ducked underwater. He opened his eyes and swam as quickly as he could away from her. When he came up for air, she was nowhere to be seen.

"Light?" he softly called out, looking around the river for her.

Everything was quiet around him. A warm breeze swept through the night air and the water around him was still. There was no sign of movement until water suddenly shot up around him. He felt two arms wrap around him and he fell into the water with Lighting on top of him.

They both emerged from the river depths a few seconds later, gasping in air and letting it out in laughter. Lightning was laughing gently, her blue eyes shining with light Hope only saw on a few rare occasions. He couldn't believe she was standing in front of him in only her underwear, dripping wet, and genuinely laughing. How was this happening?

"I wish you'd always laugh like that, Light," he admitted, a small blush creeping over his cheeks.

She smiled at him and reclined on top of the water. She floated on her back, staring up at the night sky. She was quiet for a few minutes. Hope could tell that she was deep in thought. Her prolonged silence revealed that much.

"I used to laugh…" she started. Her voice was calm but Hope could detect the melancholy in it. "When Serah and I were kids, we laughed all the time. Remember when I told you about my parents?" she asked and Hope remembered her mentioning their deaths. "Dad died when I was young. I don't remember him much. My mother died when I was fifteen from an illness," she explained and brought her legs down so she was no longer floating. She turned to Hope, her face void of emotion. "I know how it feels…to lose someone you love. I had to be strong for Serah though. It was around that time my laughter became less frequent."

Hope wasn't sure what to say. He had no idea that she could relate to his situation so well, being only a year older when she lost her mother. Hope knew that Lightning understood him better than anyone. She even admitted to being just like him after the death of her parents. It must have been harder for her though…then and now. Hope still had his dad. Without Serah, she didn't have anyone.

He took a few awkward steps forward in the water and stood in front of Lightning. She looked down at him and he could see the sadness in her eyes. He didn't mean to bring back such painful memories. He could tell she was hurting. Like always though, she was keeping it inside.

From there, his body took control. All he knew is that he wanted to comfort her. He reached out and wrapped his arms tightly around her cold, wet torso, and brought her close to him. His head rested on her chest and he could hear her heart beating.

"Hope…" she whispered softly, a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

"You told me that I didn't have to go through this alone. Well, you won't be alone either, Light. I'm here for you. We'll survive this. We'll survive this together," he confessed, his voice stronger that he ever thought it would be. He closed his eyes and tightened his grip around her. "Then I'll get to hear you laugh again."

She was silent for a moment. He couldn't hear anything but the sound of her heart beating and their breathing.

"Alright, Hope," she said and wrapped her arms around him. She rested her forehead on top of his head and held him for a moment. Hope found comfort and security in her arms. He closed his eyes, trying to commit the feeling of her holding him to memory.

A minute later, she let go of him and he took that as his cue to release her. She smiled at him a small sweet smile, a smile that was all his own. That smile that she only shared with him.

"Thank you," she said with the utmost gratitude.

"Sure thing. We're partners, remember?"

"Yeah…I do," she replied, her voice far off and distant. She looked back towards the shore and the fire. "Let's go sit by the fire and dry off," she suggested and started heading back towards shore with him following closely behind.

End Note: That's all for now! I hope you liked it and hopefully I kept the characters in character. I'm always afraid I bend them too much to my own will. I do my best to stay true to their personalities. Whether I accomplished that or not, I do not know.

If you enjoyed this chapter or want me to write faster, leave a comment! Comments greatly improve my desire to write. Leave a review, get a chapter, leave a review...get a chapter. It's a glorious cycle. :3

I just want to quickly thank everyone who commented/read/favorited my previous story, "It's a Possibility". They made me extremely happy since it was my first HopexLightning fic. I do have a sequel planned for everyone who requested it. I also have another story planned after this once is finished. I'll be busy writing. :)