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Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance	By : JesABee Category: Final Fantasy Games > Final Fantasy XIII-2 Views: 1884 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: It's a work in progress focusing around FINAL FANTASY 13-2 AND 13-3 and I don't own FF or the characters. I do not make money off these stories.

Chapter List
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“Sazh!!” Hope yelled as he got out of his car, nearly falling on his face as he ran to the door of the small but cozy ranch-styled home Sazh and Dajh lived in.

Lightning just laughed watching him turn into the boy he was when she met him. She calmly followed at a normal pace as Sazh came to the door and welcomed Hope with a big hug. Her shattered heart was being put back together one piece at a time.

“Hey, guys!” Sazh greeted them and Lightning could tell he was fighting back tears. “I didn’t think you’d actually come all the way out here.”

“Are you kidding?! I had to talk this one out of coming last night!” She joked, pointing shamefully at Hope. “He was acting like a little kid on Christmas. I don’t even know if he actually slept.”

Hope recalled the night before and just nervously laughed at Lightning’s comment, running his hand through his feathery silver hair.

“Well, come on in! Dajh is going to be so excited. You’re like his idol, kid.” Sazh opened the door allowing them to enter.

The house was definitely smaller than Hope’s but it was perfect for their small family. Upon entering, they stood in the blue-gray living room. Behind their brown, fluffy sectional was a burgundy accent wall with various photos and a couple guitars mounted on the wall. Across from the couch was an antique record player that doubled as a radio with a large TV hanging above it and various gaming systems on top of it.

In the same room was the kitchen. Dark wooden floors and golden yellow walls with an orange door leading outside and a washer and dryer hidden behind white sliding wooden doors. The appliances were all black and nicely placed across from a beautiful granite counter top and island.

“Oh my G-“ A young voice started speak but was instantly met with an disapproving glare from his father. “You’re…Hope Estheim! You’re in my house!” Dajh could barely contain his excitement.

“Hello, Dajh.” Hope politely said, offering his hand.

“I have so many questions!” He squeaked as he shook Hope’s hand.

“Dajh, why don’t you show Hope some of your inventions. I’m sure he’d love them.” Sazh suggested.

Dajh wasted no time leading Hope down their small hallway to the shared office space leaving Lightning and Sazh to talk.

“So, he doesn’t remember us?” Lightning asked quietly, sitting on the couch.

“Nah,” He replied as he joined her. “I’m not sure why. Maybe it’s because he was so little when all that happened? I don’t know and, honestly, I’m okay with it. The less he remembers, the better.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Lightning replied, her voice soft as she remembered everything they went through.

“Any news on your sister?” He asked, hoping to refocus her attention.

“No, Hope said he’d ask around and see what his contacts can find out but,” She paused, leaning back and crossing her legs. “Nothing yet.”

“I’m sorry, Light. I know you miss her.” His voice filled with compassion as he recalled the feelings he had when he remembered his son.

Lightning smiled silently, fighting back the urge to cry or break something. She definitely did miss her. After everything they had gone through, she just wanted to find her and finally be able to live her life peacefully.

“Pizza sound good for dinner? I know y’all live the fancy life now but we ain’t fancy.” He laughed as he pulled his phone from his pocket.

“We are still easy to please. Pizza sounds great.” She replied with a small chuckle and a grin.

As the night grew to an end, Lightning realized that she truly did miss the quiet life. Away from the busy life she led now. It was refreshing to be away from it for the day and spending much needed time with her old friend. Hope spent the majority of the night with Dajh improving his devices with him leaving the other two to reminisce about their past lives and share stories of their new ones.

“Hope, it’s getting late. We need to go. You have a lot of meetings to make up tomorrow.” She called down the hallway, listening to the two laugh.

“Okay, I’m coming.” He replied as he hurried down the hall. “Here. When you’re in town next, stop by my office and bring Dajh and his devices. He has a lot of awesome ideas and I’d love to present them to the board.” He said with confidence as he handed Sazh a business card.

“Seriously? Did you hear that, son?!” He called to Dajh. “Thank you, Hope. This is going mean the world to him. He’s so proud of those things.”

“He should be. They’re amazing ideas. You’ve raised yourself a smart boy, Sazh. He definitely takes after you.” Hope was overcome with emotion as he hugged Sazh goodbye.

“Don’t be strangers. My door is always open.” Sazh told them, walking them out.

“Same goes for you guys. Our doors are always open.” Lightning assured them as she hugged them both goodbye.

“Tonight was fun. It just makes me want to work harder to find everyone else.” Hope told Lightning as they entered their home.

“Yeah.” She replied, setting her things on the entryway table and removing her shoes.

“Are you okay?” He asked.

“I’m fine. I’m just tired. I think I’m going to take a shower and go to bed early.” She definitely felt the exhaustion settle over her from their last couple of days.

“Okay. I’m going to go do some work. I’ll see you in the morning?” He asked as he headed toward his office.

She just nodded and made her way to her room. The truth was, while she was in fact tired from the days before, she was also sad. Yes, she missed her sister but she really missed Snow. She almost felt empty without him like he carried half of her with him and she hated the feeling. She just wanted him there with her even if they simply laid in bed together and watched TV. Her need for him wasn’t just sexual and though, judging by the way she felt last night, she clearly missed that part of him as well. It was more than that. It was everything about him. His messy blonde hair, his sparkling blue eyes, his cocky yet some how warm smile that made her feel like a teenager, the way he touched her and made her feel everything at once, the way she felt so safe when he wrapped his arms around her and his passionate kisses that made her feel like she was the only woman in the world. They didn’t get enough time together before and she felt like it was happening all over again.

She fought her feelings off back then because of Serah but, once she accepted the truth about Noel, the only thing she could feel was regret for not spending more time with Snow before everything was ripped away from them.

She changed into her fleece pajama pants and a baggy t-shirt and crawled into bed. Hugging one of her pillows, she closed her eyes and buried her face into it pretending it was him. She couldn’t talk about her feelings with Hope. Not when it came to something like this. She couldn’t talk to anyone. Hell, she had a hard enough time admitting it to even herself.

As she drifted into her often dreamless world, she saw him. Standing before her in his tan trench coat and black bandana smiling at her with that arrogant smile that once used to piss her off. Her entire body relaxed at this sight. He reached his hand out toward her but, as soon as she went to take it into hers, he was gone. Leaving her standing alone in a sea of darkness.

The sun was barely up yet as Hope stood over her bed trying to decide the best way to wake her up. He really didn’t want to risk getting a black eye by waking her up too aggressively. His thoughts were interrupted by her making small cries in her sleep. Soon her body was twitching like she was running away from something.

“Snow.” She whisperer in her deep sleep.

His heart broke. Hearing her call out to him made him wish he was making more progress in his search. He knew she missed him, he did too, but he didn’t know he was even taking over her dreams.

“Light.” He whispered to her as he tried to wake her up. She didn’t respond. She was still stuck in whatever hell that was taking over her mind. “Light.” His voice got louder as he gently shook her awake.

“Huh…Hope. What’s wrong?” She asked, sitting up immediately.

“Nothing. It’s time to get up. You slept through your alarm.” He calmly explained to her, pointing to her alarm clock that showed to be 5:15 am.

“Shit, I’m sorry. I don’t know why I was so tired. I never sleep through alarms.” She rushed to her dresser, grabbing whatever clothes she saw first and rushed to the bathroom to change.

“It’s okay, Light. We don’t have to be there until 6. I just didn’t think you’d want me to let you sleep in much longer.” Hope told her as he looked around her room and noticed it was messier than usual. “Hey, are you okay?” He asked as he furrowed his eyebrows.

“I’m fine. Why?” She told him as she tossed her pajamas out of the bathroom onto the black couch that sat in front of her window.

“Your room seems awfully messy for your standards. They say that your living space is a representation of your mind. The messier it is, the more inner turmoil you could be facing.” He informed her, crossing his arms as he waited for her to answer.

“Whoever ‘they’ are need to mind their own business. I’m fine. I just haven’t had a lot of time to clean up. You should know. I’m always with you.” Her voice was growing with frustration as she stepped out and hurried to the door, all but pushing Hope out of her room.

“Okay, okay. Relax. I just want you to know that you can always talk to me, Light.” He told her as he stumbled out of her room.

“I know, Hope. Let’s go.” She huffed, clearly agitated.

The day was long and definitely not ideal for Lightning as she spent the entire day shadowing Hope as he went from location to location making up meetings he rescheduled when they spent the day with Sazh and Dajh.

She didn’t say anything during her work hours unless she absolutely had to and, even then, it was usually just to Hope. The people he dealt with were not her favorite. They were stuffy and often greedy or overly arrogant and snobby. She loved her job, though. She was doing what she was good at, protecting someone. It just happened to be a bonus that it was Hope that she was protecting. But, the rest of it, she could live without.

Hope seemed to enjoy it, though. This busy life was perfect for him. He was great as socializing with various types of people and he seemed to have an endless amount of energy that people seemed to love. He wasn’t just the face of his business. He was also the brain and he was not afraid to be hands on with the assembly or packaging process. If they were short on staff at his factory, he would quickly step up and help without being asked. His employees loved him and Lightning admired him for all of it. He was definitely a rare breed of human.

“Light, you ready to go home?” He asked her as he put papers in his brown over-the-shoulder messenger bag.

“I was ready 3 hours ago.” She joked, joining him as they neared the exit of his factory.

“I know, I’m sorry about that. They had an issue in shipping and I didn’t want to see them have to stay late to fix it.” He told her as he held the door for her. “Let’s walk home. It’s nice out tonight.”

Although it was time for the time for the holidays to start and the busy chaos of people shopping for the perfect gifts for their loved ones, it felt like it was the middle of summer. They were both used to temperatures dropping and snow falling by now because of how the seasons were before their arrived on this planet but they quickly got used to warm and sunny climate. In some parts of the world, the people did experience snow and cold but it was a part of the world that Lightning and Hope had yet to visit.

The street lights were decorated with colorful and vibrant lights and most business along the busy street had some sort of holiday decorations displayed in their windows. Hope loved this time of year. Where as Lightning on the other hand struggled each year to get through them as she didn’t get to spend it with anyone. At least, she didn’t before this year. The year her memories came back. This year she was determined to have a good holiday season. She may not have Snow or Serah with her like she had wanted but she did have Hope, Sazh and Dajh. Which she was beyond grateful for.

“So, what are your plans for the holiday? Do you have any traditions or friends you spend them with?” He asked her. He was clearly happy at the thought of some extravagant party.

“I usually go to the gym, get take out and watch TV.” She answered.

“Alone?” He couldn’t hide his sadness from her. Even though he didn’t have family to spend such days with, he would always have big dinners for his employees and their families. Saving them from spending their hard earned money. His work building would basically be opened to the public and he was okay with that. He just didn’t like the idea of anyone struggling or spending the days alone. He knew what that felt like and it was horrible.

“If you haven’t noticed, I’m not exactly great at making friends.” She joked, crossing her arms.

“Well,” His tone became filled with happiness. “I invited Sazh and Dajh over this year. So, you don’t have to spend it alone.” His face lit up with a giant smile.

“What about your work party? Don’t we have to be there?” She asked as she raised an eyebrow.

“Oh, it will still happen and I’ve doubled security but this year I want us to spend it with our actual family.” He admitted.

“I’ll have to check my schedule and talk to my boss about having the day off.” She told him as a smile slowly formed on her face. “He can be such a pain in the ass so I can’t make any promises.” She joked.

“Want me to beat some sense into him and scare him into letting you have it off?” He laughed.

“I’d love to see that. You really should.” She joined in his laughter as she pictured Hope beating himself up.

They grew silent as their laughter faded. They approached his gate and Luke appeared, opening it for them.

“It’s a beautiful night for a walk, sir.” Luke said as he nodded to the pair.

“It sure is. Have a good night, Luke.” Hope said in passing.

“Stay out of trouble. I don’t want to have to come out here.” Lightning joked as she winked at Luke. She knew he was still a little afraid of her but she grew to actually like him. He was a man of few words and she could relate to that but he was also a jokester and would often play pranks on Hope which entertained her.

“What time do we have to be at the expo tomorrow?” Hope asked Lightning.

“Noon, I believe. Everything will be setup and ready for you when we get there.” She reminded him casually as she turned on the kitchen light and searched the cabinets for something quick and simple to eat.

“Why don’t you just call Chef. He is always ready to make us food.” He reminded her, placing his bag on the couch before falling onto it.

“I’m not even sure I’m hungry and why would I do that when I can make myself something to eat just as easily?” She said to him as she pulled out a can of chicken soup and began to heat it.

Hope watched her while she prepared her soup. He could tell she had a lot on her mind and decided that now was the time he had to ask her about her nightmare from earlier.

“Light?” He paused and searched for the best approach to his next question.

“Yeah?” She answered, stirring her the soup as it heated on the stove.

“Do you remember the dream you were having when I woke you up this morning?” He asked, laying on the couch staring at the ceiling.

“Uh, not really.” She said.

“Are you sure?” He asked, watching her as she carefully poured her soup into her bowl.

“Why are you asking?” Her voice was growing slightly annoyed.

“When I came in, you were twitching like a dog having a nightmare.” He said playfully with a small laugh.

“Thanks. That’s what every girl wants to hear.” She laughed, too. Soon joining him on the couch and sitting down with her legs crossed under each other. She grabbed the blanket that was neatly folded behind her and put it in her lap to protect her inner thighs from being burnt.

“But,” He continued as he sat up and mirrored her position. Now facing her, he knew he had to just ask her. “Then you called out for Snow.” His eyes moved to his hands as he nervously started to pick at his skin.

She didn’t say anything. She just took a sip of her soup and sat in silence. She didn’t expect him to tell her that. She knew she dreamed of him but she had no idea she called out for him in her sleep.

“Did you dream about him?” He asked, growing concerned at her lack of communication.

“Yes.” She finally admitted and her tone almost sounded ashamed.

“It’s okay that you did. I mean, you miss him. You’re worried about him…and Serah. It makes sense.” Hope’s eyes soon met hers. “Talk to me, Light. It’s not healthy to bottle all of this up.”

She sighed heavily and put her soup on the table. Her hands were picking fuzz off the blanket as a nervous way of dealing with her bubbling anxiety. She was scared to talk about it and Hope could sense it.

“I just…miss him. I mean,” She sighed again as she reworded her previous statement. “I miss both of them but,” her gaze left the blanket and met Hope’s. She could see his concern written all over his face and he formed a lump in her throat. “I really miss him, Hope.” Tears streamed down her cheeks.

“Oh, Light. I wish I could do more. I’m trying to find him, I promise.” He told her as he quickly wrapped his arms around her. He could feel her tears seeping through his shirt.

“What happens if we find him and he is happy with Serah or, worse, someone else? What if he has a family now. I can’t interfere with that.” Hearing her finally talking about her deepest fears made him join her in her sobbing. He hated hearing her so broken. The thought of him being with anyone else never crossed his mind. To him, it was always supposed to be Lightning that Snow chose.

“I-I don’t know.” He whispered, placing his hand on the back of her head as he tried to comfort her.

“What if, after everything we’ve been through, we can’t be together?” She asked him between sobs as she grabbed the back of his shirt and held him closer.

“But,” He gently pulled away and wiped her tears away. “What if he’s not with anyone and he’s trying to find you?” He said softly with a genuine smile. “It’s Snow. He’s too stubborn to settle.” He laughed which, in turn, made her laugh.

“Maybe.” She whispered.

“Stop thinking about all the negative possibilities. They’re going to kill you.” He ordered. “If you die, who’s going to keep me alive?” He joked casually, trying so hard to bring her some sort of relief.

“Luke.” She replied with a laugh between sobs.

“You almost killed him during your interview. That Reaver would have killed us both. Light,” His voice turned serious. “I need you around. Please, don’t let yourself fade back into the darkness. You’ve come so far.”

“Thank you, Hope. For…everything.” She said as she stood from the couch and took her bowl to the kitchen. “I’m going to bed. See you in the morning.”

“Good night, Light.” He replied as he fell back onto the couch and turned on the TV.

She turned off the lights for him knowing he would fall asleep there and headed to her room. She thought about what he had said and he was right. They didn’t know anything. Her mind was fixated on the bad that it didn’t allow her to imagine the good. As she crawled between her heavy blanket and cuddled up to her pillow, she again imagined it to be Snow.

This time as she fell asleep, she only thought of the good times they spent together and the possibility of them being reunited. Spending the rest of their lives together. She could see him again. This time, he looked as he did in Yusnaan so long ago but with shorter hair. She hated the way his hair was then.

She saw him standing before her with his arms open and, for the first time, she was able to finally embrace him. She could feel the warmth of his body against hers and his big arms wrapping around her. She could almost smell him. She felt relaxed for the first time since her memories were fully restored. In her heart, she knew she’d find him again.

As they entered the busy building, Hope’s excitement grew as fans asked for autographs and pictures. Lightning was in high alert and did her best to keep people a safe distance from him.

“Light, relax. They did a security sweep before we got here.” He laughed as he pushed her aside gently and signed pictures for people.

Once they made it through the initial crowd, they entered his presentation room. It could easily seat 500 people. He had a massive stage with tables setup in front of a large projection screen behind them.

“Why don’t you go look around? I know you hate this part of your job. I’ll be okay. See.” He pointed to the several security personnel that were scattered throughout the room.

“Okay, keep your phone close. If anything happens, call me immediately.” She demanded.

He nodded and rolled his eyes, opening his binder and preparing his speeches.

She left the room and walked down the busy entrance area. The place was packed and she really didn’t want to be there so she made her exit and looked around for somewhere close she could sit.

She chose a small Café that was a couple doors down and had outdoor seating. She could still clearly see the expo center and, if she had to, she could be there in a few seconds.

The place wasn’t all that busy but she soon realized she must have just missed the first rush. The dessert displays were almost empty and the workers were already looking tired.

“Can I help you?” A slender boy asked her.

“Yeah, just a large black coffee, please.” She said as she reached her pocket for her money.

“It’s not every day someone orders something so easy.” The boy joked.

“I’m pretty basic.” She admitted, handing him cash. “Keep the change.”

“Miss! This is too much…” He called out to her but she politely ignored him. She knew they didn’t make a lot and on days like today, they deserved all the help they could get.

She found a cozy spot at the corner of the patio under an opened umbrella. She watched as more people arrived at the expo, thankful she wasn’t stuck in there. Most of the people interested in such an event were pretty young. Between the she’s of 15 and 30 but the fan girls drove her insane with their constant screaming as someone they admired entered the room. She was never that girl and she didn’t understand the behavior. She’d rather sit alone and listen to the sounds of the busy streets.

A couple of hours had passed so she texted Hope to see if he was almost done. The lack of an answer told her he wasn’t. She sighed and looked back at the groups of people waiting to get inside.

One man stood out to her. He was tall and blonde and was wearing a thin black zip up hoodie and a black bandana to hide his messy hair. She smiled when she thought of Snow but, right before he went into the building, he had held the door open for a group of girls. She saw his face it wasn’t just a man she thought could be his twin…it was him. It was Snow.

She froze as she watched the door close behind him like she suddenly forgot how to move. Her heart was racing.

“Miss, would you like a refill?” The boy from earlier asked her.

“Uh,” She reached into her pocket and pulled out more money and handed to him. “Keep the change. Thank you.” She stumbled through the patio to the small gate. She struggled to open it and just jumped over it.

“Miss! Your coff…ee.” She was gone. She darted across the street into traffic. To her, the cars didn’t exist. Nothing else did.

She tried to enter the building but was bitched at by everyone for ‘cutting’ in line and the guards stopped her. She was annoyed and shaking as she tried to find her ID badge.

“I’m with Hope Estheim. Excuse me.” She showed them her badge and pushed passed them not waiting for approval. She was ready to take them all out if they tried.

She searched the room for him but had no luck. There were too many people. She pushed through crowds aggressively making her way to Hope’s presentation but everyone had been hurrying out. It was over.

The guards let her enter, closing the doors behind her.

“That was awesome!” Hope yelled across the room to Light.

She didn’t say anything. Her legs went weak. The color in her face was disappearing.

“Light? Are you okay? What’s wrong? What happened?” He jumped off the stage and ran to her side guiding her to a nearby chair.

“I…I think…I just saw Snow.” She struggled to say the words.

“What?! Are you sure it was him? Where is he?” Hope’s questions, while valid, were clearly overwhelming her.

“I…I don’t know. Maybe my mind is playing tricks on me. Maybe it wasn’t him but…I swear it was.” Her eyes met his. She was shaking.

“I’ll go look. You stay here.” He replied quickly.

“No, don’t. There are too many people out there. It’s impossible. I tried and I’m taller than you.” She managed to crack a joke and smile. The color was returning to her cheeks.

“If it’s him…” Hope started to speak but Lightning interrupted him.

“It wasn’t. If it was him, he would have been here earlier for your stuff. That’s why most of these people came here. For you.” She said quietly, standing before him.

“If that’s what you think then okay. Uh, Light.” He pointed to the stage. “Let’s exit around back. There are too many people out there for you to deal with right now.”

She nodded in agreement and followed him to the exit.

“Let’s go home.” Hope said with a smile. “Tomorrow Sazh and Dajh will be coming over for holiday dinner and we will have fun.”

The doors slamming behind them startled her. The valet handed Hope the keys to his car and they drove home. The ride was mostly silent with nothing but the radio filling the air. Lightning just stared out of the window wondering if she had been tricked by her mind again or if he really was there. Hope hated seeing her so torn up.

When they arrived home, he quickly went to text his friend, Rhea, to ask if there was any update but he was met with dozens of missed calls and texts. He ignored most of them but he saw a few from her that had been sent him about two hours earlier.

Rhea: Hope, I think I found him. I can’t be sure as he doesn’t have much of a paper trail but I put out alert in my network about him there was a hit.
Rhea: There was a man that fit his description that checked into that motel next to the train station on the south side of town.
Rhea: Do you want me to approach him?

Hope’s heart went to his throat. He couldn’t tell Lightning. Not yet. He didn’t want to get her hopes up again. Not after today. He had to go himself.

Hope: No, thank you. Send me what information you have, please. I’ll take care of it myself. I really hope it’s him.

She quickly replied with an address and he stared at it, trying to think of a way he could sneak out without her knowing. He knew she’d insist on going with him for security reasons. No matter where he said he was going.

He got lucky. He peeked into her room to find her fast asleep on top of her blankets. It looked like she had just collapsed and passed out. He quietly entered and grabbed a blanket from the back of her couch and laid it over her.

“I think I found him, Light.” He whispered. “I think I found Snow.” His voice filled with emotion at the thought of being able to reunite them. He tip toed out the door and made his way outside.

“Luke! C’mon. You’re going on an adventure with me. Do not tell Lightning anything.” He ordered. “You drive.” He tossed him the keys.

“Where are we going?” Luke asked, starting the car.

“Here.” He showed him the address on his phone.

“Uh, boss. That’s a horrible motel. Why are we going there?” Luke asked nervously.

“Just drive, please.” Hope said nothing else and, although he hesitated, Luke did as he was told.

“Oookay.” He said suspiciously.

So many possibilities flooded his mind. The good and the bad. He didn’t care, though. He just had to know if it was actually Snow. He would handle whatever was thrown at him after. He had to find out for Light.
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Sometimes Goodbye is a Second Chance