Final Fantasy XIII 1. Chapter 1

_Ze new fic is here! I posted two chapters because this first one is rather short. And I had Ch. 2 written, so I thought, hey, why not? _:P _Enjoy! _

_**And just a warning**, this has little (as in nothing) to do with the actual game. So don't expect every fact to be exactly right. I'll be molding the plot to make it work for me! MUHAHAHA! I'm just goin' with the flow! _XD _*shot*__ So if you're really anal about everything following the exact plot of the game...well, just press that BACK button, and find a different story to satisfy your tastes. Because you sure won't find it here!  
_

_I most certainly don't own these characters. THEY BELONG TO SQUARE ENIX! _XD_  
_

Devastation and Reform

Chapter 1

Wispy rain drizzles into my face as I step off the bus with my bag. With a heavy sigh, I throw up my hood. My first day in Bohdum, and it's raining. Go figure. Families rush around, umbrellas in hand, checking for everyone's luggage before slowly waddling towards their cars.

Rapidly blinking the rain out of my eyes, I turn off my iPod, stuff it in my pocket, and glance around. I spot them quickly enough.

Lightning and Snow take refuge underneath a small overhanging. They don't look any different. Snow has taken to wearing his bandanna on his wrist now rather than on his head, and Lightning's hair is a bit longer. Not much else has changed. Save for one glaring difference: a small, but noticeable bump on Lightning's abdomen that she keeps subconsciously stroking.

I vaguely remember hearing the news, but can't actually recall. We had all tried to keep in touch after our adventure together, but e-mails and phone calls became less and less frequent, slowly dwindling to random messages every few days, weeks, months, until they finally stopped all together.

But I figured it was natural to lose touch, so I wasn't terribly worried.

That was until my father died six months before I turned eighteen. Cie forbid the system allow a nearly legal young man take care of himself. When they asked about family, I could only think of two people I had ever considered family outside my parents.

Lightning looks around, brow puckered, and strokes her swollen belly again through her black raincoat. She asks Snow something, but he simply shakes his head.

Hoisting my duffel bag over my shoulder, I saunter over to them. Well, this should be sufficiently awkward. Hi! It's been so long! Three years, maybe? Now you're pregnant and we're all living together! Yay!

Just kill me now.

I take only a few steps before Lightning's head snaps up. Apparently, her razor sharp instincts haven't been dulled by her pregnancy.

She smacks Snow (who had been whistling and swinging his keys around his finger) in the chest and starts towards me, throwing her hood up as she enters the rain.

I stop and let her come to me. Her steps patter across the small puddles, slowly accelerating, until she slams into me, throwing her arms around my neck.

Another change: I am now taller than Lightning. I'm strangely proud of this fact.

"Hi, Light," I mumble into her hair.

She sniffs loudly, pursing her lips, and pulls away. Her eyes glisten brightly in attempt to hold back tears. Guess she isn't a complete superwoman, immune to all things natural and normal; even Lightning is affected by the hormones accompanying her pregnancy.

"You're taller than me," she states, still composing herself.

I shrug and scratch my ear, not really sure how to respond.

Turns out, I don't have to. Snow takes the bag from me and throws it over his shoulder.

I'm not taller than Snow. But I didn't really expect to be, anyway.

He looks at me for a moment before grinning widely and throwing an arm around me. "We've missed you, kid!"

I attempt a smirk, but it falls quickly.

Of course, this doesn't go unnoticed by Lightning. After three years, she can still read me like a book.

I can't decide if I'm insulted or flattered.

"I'm so sorry, Hope," she says, eyes boring into mine. "Bartholomew was a kind man."

I softly nod my head, eyes downcast. "He died a quick and painless death. That's the most I could've asked for."

"Doesn't make it any less unfortunate," she states.

The rain rhythmically patters against her raincoat, soft and fast like a rabbit's heartbeat. Snow stands next to her, looking between the two of us. I know they both expect me to say something, but I'm just not in the mood to go on a real tangent. I've cried every night for the past week. I'm sure I'll have plenty of time to 'let out my feelings.'

So I just shrug.

Lightning continues to stare at me, but eventually gives up with a heavy sigh.

Snow takes it from there. "Well then, to the car?"

I nod and Lightning starts towards the parking lot. We walk in silence, the howling wind and rain moaning around us.

"We've got your room all set up," Snow says suddenly, glimpsing at me.

I look up at him, mildly surprised. "Really?"

"Well, we _have_ had a week." Lightning glances over her shoulder. "It's not much, but I think we got the necessities."

"And we live right near the beach!" Snow adds, excited by this fact. "It's just across the boardwalk, actually."

"Yeah, it gets noisy. _Too_ noisy, if you ask me."

Casting a glance at Snow, I notice of flash sadness cross his face, but it fades quickly. He catches my gaze and rolls his eyes, jabbing a thumb at Lightning's back, who continues walking obliviously in front of us towards the car.

I smile, like, a genuine smile. Well, that's a pleasant change. Maybe it's not so bad that I have to be here. I have missed these guys. But I'm slightly worried about the hormones raging inside Lightning. I've seen Lightning pissed off before.

It wasn't good.

The last thing I want to see is Lightning both pissed _and_ pregnant.

She reaches for the car handle and attempts to pull it open. But when it refuses to comply, she glares at Snow. "Unlock it."

"Oh right! Sorry." He reaches into his left pocket, then his right one, then his back one, and so on until he finally looks at her sheepishly. "Oops."

Rather than respond, her lips press into a tight line and her eyes narrow.

I sigh heavily. Just like the good old days, I suppose.

END

_Special thanks to Pulse99 for putting up with my crap over the title! It was so hard thinking of one! _:P

_I got the title from the song "Devastation and Reform" by Relient K. I LOVE THAT SONG! Go listen to it...NOW! _XD _Thanks for reading! Please review! _:]_  
_


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter Two! _XD

_I SO do not own the characters...but I wish I did. _:P

Devastation and Reform

Chapter 2

We eventually found the keys, but it probably would've been a favor from the gods if they'd just been lost forever, swept away with the rain into the sewers. It might be a hover-car, but Snow's car swerves whenever a breeze barely whispers over it, gags its way down roads, and since its brakes are a "little slow," we have to coast a half a mile before a stop sign.

Seriously, this car is a piece of shit.

When I asked Lightning about how they came to acquire this car, she just rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Snow _refuses_ to get rid of this old tin can."

"Hey!" Snow exclaimed. "Don't be calling Roxanne a 'tin can!' I bought this car myself when I was seventeen." He patted the dashboard appreciatively. "She's my baby."

"No, I'm carrying your baby," Lightning shot back. "And Roxanne isn't suitable for carrying a child. It's not safe."

"Roxanne would never hurt our kid!"

"Please tell me you're kidding," she said dubiously. "Roxanne can hardly hover anymore! She just groans and moans across the highway. We need a new one."

"We've talked about this," Snow said coolly. "We'll get a new one when the little guy is born. But until then," he stopped and stroked the steering wheel, "Roxanne stays."

Lightning grumbled under breath and glared out the window, but otherwise relented.

So now, a half hour later, we're hovering down the interstate with 'Roxanne' groaning beneath us and the rain ricocheting hard off the tin-piece-of-crap body. I'm quite content because, personally, I've always enjoyed the sound of rain.

But it's starting to annoy Lightning.

"How can water be so loud?" she asks, flicking a hand at the front window. "It's just water, for goodness sake."

Snow glances at her, confused and worried. "You okay?"

Sighing loudly, she closes her eyes and rests her head against the window, massaging her temples rhythmically. "I have a migraine," she finally admits.

"Oh, well, I think I have something somewhere…" He reaches his hand deep into the side compartment, shuffling around for anything to ease Lightning's pain. "No, well maybe, it's in my pocket…" Cue more shuffling. "Not there…oh, wait!" He reaches under his seat and digs, all the while trying to keep his eyes on the road. Snow's tongue is ever-so-slightly sticking out of his mouth in deep concentration. "No, not there. Well, maybe…"

"Glove compartment?"

He looks at me in the rear-view mirror, contemplating, before snapping his fingers. "That's it! Glove compartment. There's medicine in the glove compartment."

Lightning immediately whips it open and searches, not caring if the various fast-food napkins and tampons residing in there spill out onto the floor. She eventually finds a white capsule and pops it open, pouring out two pills. She just tosses them in and swallows them dry.

Geez, she must _really_ have a migraine.

"Light! We have bottles of water in the back," Snow exclaims, jutting a thumb behind his chair.

"I'm fine," she mutters, returning to her previous position against the window.

Snow sighs and mumbles under his breath.

o-o-o

It's only fifteen minutes later when Lightning hangs her head between her knees and clutches her stomach. Both Snow and I look at her worried.

Obviously, she has more than a migraine now.

"Hun, are you okay?" Snow asks, rubbing her arched back.

"Just give me a minute," she replies hoarsely. My eyes meet Snow's for a second before returning to Lightning. Suddenly, her hand flies to the door. "Pull over."

"Now?" Snow asks, eyes wide. "But there's cars—" She's already clawing at the handle while the other hand remains on her stomach. "Okay, okay! Hold on." He swerves over onto the shoulder, Roxanne coughing at the sudden movement, and Lightning rips the door open before we're completely stopped. Pivoting her whole body out the door, she vomits onto the side of the road.

"Shit!" Snow exclaims, quickly throwing the car into PARK. He leans over and scoops her hair back as she gags and burps. I shrink in the back-seat; I don't do well with vomit.

A car horn blares as she coughs one more time before spitting onto the curb. We're all quiet for a moment, watching as she gets her bearings. Eventually, she grabs a napkin off the floor, trembling slightly, and wipes her mouth before throwing it away and sitting properly in her seat again. Only now, she's sopping wet from the rain.

"You okay?" Snow asks, a hand still resting on her shoulder.

Pushing her wet fringe back, Lightning nods her head. "Yeah, it's just morning sickness." She swallows and grimaces.

I immediately start looking around for the bottle of water Snow mentioned before as he mumbles, "It's almost 5:00 though..." Four bottles lay behind Snow's seat, all of them half full. I choose the one with the highest water line, and hand it to Lightning.

"Thanks," she says with a weak smile. We both watch as she takes a swig and swallows it down. It's not long until she notices us staring. "Don't stare at me," she states blatantly. "I'm fine. Just wet and tired."

"We're not far," Snow assures her. "We'll be home soon."

She nods and squeezes the rain out of hair onto the floor. "Good." Shaking her head and closing her eyes, Lightning melts back into the chair with a heavy sigh, her hand gently returning to its former position on her stomach.

o-o-o

Ten minutes later, we pull into their driveway, but Lightning's already fast asleep. Their house is...cute. Very beach-y and homely. Warm, I guess you could say. Purple and pink flowers swallow most of the house's faded yellow paneled front, tangled and wild. They need trimmed, I decide while stepping out of the car. The air's humid and heavy from the rain, making it hard to breathe. But the sun makes up for it as it reflects off all the rain drops still resting on leaves and petals.

"Can you go unlock the door?" Snow asks, pulling me away from my amazed state.

"What?"

"The front door?" he repeats, tossing his keys at me. "Can you unlock it? I'll bring your stuff in."

I stare at the keys in my hand before nodding my head. "Yeah, sure. Which one is it?"

"The brass one. It's kinda bent 'cause the lock's a little rusty. Just give it a hard twist and it should open."

Nodding my head, I walk towards the door. Are the flowers always this aromatic? Or is it just because of the rain? Because as I walk up the dainty front porch steps, it's like all of my other senses have been overpowered by their scent. Weird. I've never cared about flowers before.

"Uh, Hope?"

I look up to see Snow standing right beside me. "Huh?" I ask stupidly.

He points past the flowers, and says, "The door?"

Shaking my head, I say, "Right, sorry. I just...like your flowers."

Snow's brow puckers and he turns to look at them, as though he's never noticed that they have flowers before. Eventually, a grin erupts on his face. "Lightning likes them too. But she'll never admit it." He winks before taking the keys out of my hands. "I got it. Can you wake up Light? Don't worry. She won't kill you."

I nod and walk back down the stairs towards the car, a little confused over my minor obsession with their flowers. Pulling open the door, I gently poke Lightning's shoulder. "Hey, we're here."

She doesn't stir.

"Lightning?" I call, shaking her a bit. "You, uh, have to wake up now."

Suddenly, she sighs heavily and whispers, "Teigan..."

My brow puckers. Teigan? Who's Teigan? "Lightning!"

She awakens with a jolt, blinking her eyes awake. "What? What? What?" she asks, annoyed.

"Um, we're here." I tentatively point a finger at the house.

Rubbing her eyes roughly, she looks up. "Oh, right." With a heavy sigh, she lifts herself out of Roxanne. "Sorry."

I shake my head. "It's fine."

Who the hell is Teigan? I must admit, I'm awfully curious. And it's not exactly a common name. Then again, neither is Lightning or Snow. Hope's pretty common. Just...not among the male gender.

I'm just about to ask her when I notice that her brows are puckered in deep thought. "Snow!" she calls suddenly. "Did you remember to put the pizza away before we left?" No answer comes. "Snow?" We both listen intently before Lightning finally walks up the steps into the house. I follow close behind.

"God damn it," she spits when she sees the aforementioned pizza sitting cold on the kitchen counter with a few horseflies to match. "Snow! Where are you?"

She stomps up the stairs to find him while I stand in the foyer, looking around at my surroundings. The kitchen is painted a zen green with white, summery cabinets and counters. A breakfast bar with white and green stools separates it from the living room where a leather brown couch and armchair surround a cherry-wood coffee table with various magazines, books, and video games lounging on it. A flat-screen television sits in the middle of an entertainment center, gaming systems and cords spewing out of every socket and input available.

I'm guessing that it's Snow's version of a 'man cave.'

Looking to my left, I see a round, wooden table with four chairs circling it. Two silver pet bowls, one filled with slightly furry water and the other with food, sit behind, pressed up against the wall. Apparently, Snow and Lightning have a pet.

"...I asked you to put it away before we left," Lightning scolds, walking down the stairs with Snow close behind. "What are we supposed to eat tonight?"

"I'll make something!" Snow offers cheerfully.

She turns around to glare at him before shaking her head. "You can't cook."

"But I'm really feeling it! I think I can do it today," he says, clenching his fist in determination.

"No." Lightning turns on her heel towards the kitchen. "I don't trust your 'feelings.' We'll just eat ramen tonight."

He grimaces and follows her. "Please, not more ramen."

Tossing the pizza away with a scowl, Lightning stacks the plates and says, "You think I want ramen again? I'm pregnant for goodness sake. I should be eating organic fruit and drinking weird protein shakes. But, no, I'm surviving off boiled noodles and chicken-flavored dust."

"We have beef-flavored too," Snow says, examining a pack he'd pulled down from the cupboard.

Lightning groans and rinses off the dishes before placing them in the dishwasher.

He starts pulling out supplies to make the noodles while she wipes down the counters and oven. "Uh..." I begin, raising a tentative hand, "what should I do?"

They look at me, recognition lighting up their faces. "Wow, sorry Hope," Snow says sheepishly, walking towards me. "Forgot you were here, kid!"

"Your stuff's already in your room," Lightning chimes in, her back to me, scrutinizing the different ramen packets. "Can you show him, Snow?"

"Yeah. Come on! It's upstairs." Snow pats me on the shoulder before loping towards the stairs; I follow not far behind. "So it's pretty obvious where everything is down here: kitchen, living room, dining room, all that jazz. I'll teach you how to use the TV after dinner. There's a bathroom there," Snow points to a door by the bottom of the stairs, "one in our room..." taking the stairs three at a time, he points to a door at the right. "...and one in your room." He opens the left door and walks in. "You have a shower, but no bath. You can use the one in our room if you ever want to. Oh, and it gets kinda cold in here, so Lightning put an electric blanket on the bed if you need it."

A small twin-sized bed is pressed up against the wall under a the window with a bed-side table residing next to it, an alarm clock and a lamp perching on top. A desk sits in the corner with a chair and a few empty photo frames. Across from the bed near a small closet, a dresser stands tall.

"We weren't kidding when we said we only got the basics." I start at Lightning's voice as she walks into the room, arms crossed. "We weren't really sure..." Her voice trails off, waving her hand to make up for her loss of words.

"No, it's good," I reply with a smirk. "Thanks."

She nods and rubs her eyes.

"We'll go make dinner," Snow proposes, "while you get settled. Sound good?"

"Yeah," I say, nodding my head, "that's fine."

"Alright, well, we'll just leave you to it," Lightning says, slowly making her way out the door. "We'll call you when it's ready."

"Okay."

With Snow not far behind, she swivels around and leaves. He closes the door with a kind smile.

I suddenly feel very alone, my only company the sparse furniture and my duffel bag. Picking the bag up and throwing it on the bed, I begin unpacking. Shirts. Pants. Socks. All the basics I need. Then I come to a crinkled picture of my parents and I at the bottom of the bag. Soft smiles play at their lips while I glare sourly at the camera. With a quick chuckle, I touch their faces. My grin slowly pulls into a deep frown.

Devastated tears half-blind me as I clutch the picture. Putting my head in my hands, I sit on the bed.

The thing about friends and family dying is that you never forget the image it leaves behind. All I see is my father battered and pulpy on a crisp white hospital bed-sheet, with doctors shouting and pointing all around. The older, happier memories seem far away and hazy.

This photo looks like it was taken in a different dimension.

I don't know how long I cry for, but eventually, I lie my head down on the pillow as the tears fall, taking my energy with them. It isn't long until I fall asleep, the photo still laying limp in my hand.

END

_Thanks for reading! Please review. This fic shall be GARGANTUAN in size, so expect MANY more chapters in ze future. _:P

_Oh, and Teigan is pronounced TEE-gen with a hard 'g.' _:]


End file.

Final Fantasy XIII, Drama, Family