Final Fantasy XIII 1. Chapter 1

alright, here goes nothing. This was an idea I came up with after finding an overabundace of haters for the Hope x Light pairing just because of the age difference. I thought about why the fact that he is fourteen never bothered me and came to the conclusion that I figured it didn't matter to me when they got together because the age difference would always be the same. And I would think they would rather start the relationship bfore Lightning was basically knocking on thirty.

This story starts with an alternate ending. YAY!

I disclaim ownership.

* * *

Orphan cried out in pain as he was once again struck by Hope's thunder spell. The fal'cie leader moved to hit the young boy but was stopped solid by Snow's mediguard.

"Move oaf, I have no time for your petty resistance." came the thundering voice of Snow's attacker. Snow held fast, hardly moving a few centimeters towards Hope, his glowing arms blocking off the harsh attack.

Lightning planned quickly during the stalemate.

'Orphan is weak and almost knocked out as it is. If I can get a proper hit then I could probably finish this no problem.' The pinkette nodded to herself in assurance, looking to Snow, who looked at her for a plan. With a few military hand motions from Lightning, the plan was set.

Orphan laughed as Snow suddenly eased up on his footing, allowing the doombringer to slide the large man forward.

"Is that all you have, petty l'cie?" Orphan bellowed. Snow smirked.

"Nah, all just part of the plan, though." he said, watching in amusement as Orphan was too late to see Lightning jumping over Snow's head, bringing her gunblade down in a deadly arc.

Orphan stumbled back to across the pool of odd liquid, screaming in agony at his defeat. He didn't seem to recover, but the fal'cie looked up to the six triumphant l'cie with the look in his eyes saying that he was taking somebody with him. Mech arms shot out for Lightning, but were literally melted away by what might have been the largest fira spell Hope had ever used. Orphan plummeted to the pool, defeated.

The six friends let out a sigh of relief, looking to each other with smiles on their faces. The quiet celebration was short lived however, as the room began to shake almost as soon as they smiled. The pool seemed to be the source of the disruption, and a viewing screen above it showed that Cocoon was losing its power, beginning to plummet towards Gran Pulse.

Vanille and Fang stepped forward, realizing the significance of their collective vision now.

"Somebody must become Ragnarok. It's the only way to stop it." Fang said, shocked that this was how their journey would end.

"And how exactly does that happen?" Sazh yelled, dodging some debris falling from the ceiling.

"If you step into the pool, your l'cie powers should change you into Ragnarok." Fang replied, looking towards said pool with disdain.

"I'll do it." Lightning said, beginning to step towards the pool. Snow grabbed her arm lightly, stopping her advance.

"No. I'll go." he told her, showing everybody that the 'hero' thing wasn't an act after all. Snow would risk it all.

"Not a chance, kid. I'm old, and you need to live your lives. I'll do it." Sazh said, stepping in as well. Vanille and Fang both stepped in, attempting to state the reasons why they should do it over everybody else. A small argument began, as nobody was willing to let the other go through with throwing their lives away. Snow stopped and looked around his legs for a second, as if searching for something.

"What's wrong now?" Lightning asked exasperatedly, annoyed at his antics now when he had been serious for at least an hour straight. Snow looked up, searching everybody else's sides as well.

"Where's Hope?" he asked worriedly. Lightning paled considerably, knowing the answer immediately. She turned to the pool of darkness, finding the silver-haired boy facing them with a guilty expression. Snow immediately charged to try to get the kid away from the danger but was shocked back by a harsh aero spell.

"I'm sorry, guys." Hope said, a tear running down his face. "You've all been protecting me this entire journey, and I'm really appreciative of that. Snow, you became my brother. Vanille and Fang, you guys are like my sisters. Sazh, you've become my grandfather. And Light... I can't place you. You helped me become stronger, helped me get over my mom, did so much for me. I could never replace you guys, any of you, and I can't stand to lose anyone anymore." The wind wall died, but the five remaining l'cie were still stuck in place, tears streaming down their faces at Hope's speech.

"Goodbye." he whispered, eyes closing, stepping over and into the pool, being swallowed by the murky darkness.

* * *

The spell that had come over them had dispersed, and the four adults rushed forward while Vanille stayed back, crying and holding her head in her hands. Those who rushed forward were stopped by an invisible wall about five feet from the pool, and they mourned over the loss of the youngest of the group.

Snow smashed the ground with a fist, causing cracks to rush throughout the floor. Fang and Sazh did some quite colorful cursing at Hope's stupidity. And Lightning... Lightning just sat there. For the first time in years, many, many years, Lightning was openly crying. Crying in sadness. Crying in anger. Crying for the heck of it.

Crying for Hope.

Her heart had been shattered in those few moments, and she was now reliving them. She had finally realized the feelings she'd been experiencing this entire time, and mourned for her now-lost love.

A sudden and radiant golden glow caught the attention of Snow, who looked over to the source of the light. His face changed drastically from despair to happiness and he shouted to the others immediately.

"Guys! Look! Look at the pool!" he shouted, going to grab Lightning, who was sulking in a far corner. Her grasped her shoulder, shaking the poor girl violently. Lightning whipped around and slapped him in response, already aggravated.

"What the hell could you possibly be happy about right now?" she yelled, voice cracking in her sadness. Snow paid no mind to the soldier's ranting, running behind her and pushing her in the direction of his happiness. Lightning's eyes widened, and her expression turned Hopeful.

"Hope?" she breathed out, looking at the figure floating over the pool that was most definitely the silver-haired boy she'd come to love.

Whatever had happened definitely changed him. His eyes glowed the same color as his hair, and on his back were large golden wings, fire licking along the tips and going across his back. Lightning realized that it wasn't just that. The wings themselves were constructed entirely of flames, moving along in a million patterns. His shirt was literally burning off before their eyes, revealing red, glowing markings across his chest and down his arms. Was this truly Ragnarok? Had this been what Fang had turned into five centuries before?

"That's Ragnarok?" Snow asked, stepping back a bit from the heat of Hope's new wings.

" Worse. Firehawk." Fang said, pulling Vanille away. "Everybody take cover. Snow, grab Lightning." There was no time to protest, nor was there any time for questions. Everybody did as they were told, though Lightning looked around from behind her and Snow's hiding spot, still trying to convince herself that this was real.

Hope, or Firehawk, observed the viewing screen with interest, before being engulfed by the flames that were his wings, disappearing with the fire, and crating a burning shock wave across the room. Lightning ducked down to avoid being singed, and hurriedly ran to look at the screen once the flames had dissipated, the others right behind her.

They saw Hope appear in a burst of flame, hovering over the falling Cocoon. His eyes glowed brighter, and his wings grew larger as he summoned tendrils of flame to assist him. The flames shot through the ground of Cocoon, reigniting the thrusters and anti-gravity devices at the bottom of the floating structure.

Pillars were created out of crystal where the gaping holes from the tentacles were made, adding to the stability of Cocoon. They watched as glowing beams appeared in the sky, bringing up hundreds of fal'cie. They were brought in front of Firehawk, and he spoke in a clear and loud voice.

"For the crimes of conspiring to destroy Cocoon, treason, assault, and many more crimes upon Cocoon and her people, you are to receive penalty of death. This verdict is immediate and final. Enjoy your afterlife." With the final words, the fal'cie began to burst into flames one by one, leaving no survivors.

The wings once again grew brighter and larger as essences from the burning fal'cie were absorbed by Firehawk. The sun finally sunk below the horizon, causing the powered-out city to only be lit by the flames of Firehawk. When the final essence was absorbed to the wings, the light became blinding, and Firehawk once again wrapped himself in his wings.

There was an explosion of great fire.

And the l'cie were thrust into blissful darkness.

* * *

Well, I guess that's it for chapter one. Not much fluff or actual plot in this, but it was all required for setup. Hope you enjoyed. Please review.

This chapter was fueled by five bottles of water, a carton of milk, and an entire pot of mashed potatoes. I hope their sacrifices were not in vain.


	2. Chapter 2

Alright, chapter 2 coming at you (as usual) kinda late. I'm sure you could guess why. I'm in all honors and AP courses as a freshman. Got a lot of stuff to do. Once again, sorry for not having much anythng to progress the story in the last chapter, but I had my reasons for putting everything as it was. So now, if you will, the official chapter 1! Joined by my two new helpers, who will anounce chapters and diclaimers!

**Darkflame: I do not own Final Fantasy and/or any of its affiliates**

_Blitz: Gettin' a bit fancy there, eh?_

Hope: I miss Light...

**Darkflame: Shut up, Hope, you only turned into Firehawk for like fifteen minutes!**

Lightning: Why am I left out of this conversation?

_Blitz: Stop fightning guys. And you two, Hope and Light, get back into the story. We have plans for you!_

*Darkflame grabs Hope and throws him in while Blitz does the same with Light*

_Blitz: There. Also, here's what happened at the end of the last chapter._

* * *

The wings once again grew brighter and larger as essences from the burning fal'cie were absorbed by Firehawk. The sun finally sunk below the horizon, causing the powered-out city to only be lit by the flames of Firehawk. When the final essence was absorbed to the wings, the light became blinding, and Firehawk once again wrapped himself in his wings.

There was an explosion of great fire.

And the l'cie were thrust into blissful darkness.

* * *

Lightning's eyes fluttered open quickly as she sat up from whatever she had been laying on.

"Damn I got a headache. How long have I been asleep?" she asked herself, eyes still adjusting to the darkness of the environment around her. She jumped when she heard a voice from somewhere in front of her.

"About five years, nothing too big." the voice said, causing Lightning to narrow her eyes. They widened, however, when a fire was lit almost right in front of her, revealing the speaker to be Hope, oddly still looking quite young for nineteen.

"You look the same, how could I have been asleep for five years?" Lightning asked, perplexed. Hope laughed for a second, pointing to Lightning's right and left side. She turned to see crystal shards on her right, and Snow's crystal form on her left.

"I woke up about a week ago." Hope said, pointing to the shards next to her. "I walked for a while and found a traveling scholar who told me it's been five years since the whole 'near-fall of Cocoon' happened. Apparently, after it happened, parts of Pulse grew up from the ground to connect to Cocoon. We are on one of those pieces of land, since they have not been developed. After that I came back to watch over you guys."

"Thanks for that." Lightning said, looking up to the moon, which was shining brightly now that she could see. "It would have been pretty confusing without your explanation." A flashback entered Lightning's mind, when Hope was about to step into the pool at Orphan's Cradle. "Do you remember anything from before our crystal stasis?" she asked, still sitting in the same position she came out of stasis in, as every movement made her sore and nausious right now. Hope shook his head.

"Nothing after stepping into the pool, and the scholar guy wasn't around to see what happened. Was it anything interesting?" he asked, genuinely curious. Lightning quickly debated in her head whether she should tell him or not, settling on not.

"No, not really. After you jumped in Cocoon stabalized and we all turned to crystal." she lied, half-wondering why she didn't just tell him the truth. Hope nodded.

"Alright." he said, satisfied with the vague answer. He then jumped to his feet, rushing over to Light and looking like he had forgotten something. She didn't realize this until she came face to face with him, their eyes locking and remaining in place. After a few moments of the prolonged gaze, Hope pulled away and seemed to inspect every part of Lightning he could see, manually raising her arms or tilting her head a few times for better access.

"Are you hurt?" he asked, voice laced with worry, and locking his eyes with her own again. Lightning became entranced, staring into the deep pools of green. Hope became fixated on Light's eyes as well, looking for any sign of pain, emotional or physical.

"I'm fine." she stated, breaking out of the trance and pulling away with a heavy scarlet blush. She had never been more thankful for the glow of the fire, but she was sure Hope noticed it a little bit at least. She looked over to her companion, attempting to see if he had noticed when she zeroed in on his blush, which, while not being as bad as her own, was heavy.

"I just... I don't want to lose you, Light." Hope said, blush growing, but he turned towards the woman regardless, his voice growing somber with his next words. "It's why I did those things during our journey. Getting stronger, trying to get you to leave me... stopping Orphan. I just... I don't want to lose you, Light!" the boy -young man- finished, a few tears falling down his face.

Lightning just watched helplessly, wishing she knew what to do. She was never one much for comfort, but she had to try, for Hope's sake. She took his hands lightly into her own, using them to pull the boy over to her slim frame. The older woman brought his head to her chest, hoping the beating of her heart would calm him as it used to do for Serah. He wasn't necessarily crying, but his eyes were shut tight, and he looked on the verge of breaking down.

"I-I already lost my mom, so I can't lose you, Light! You're all I have left!" he said, moving his head to rest on Lightning's shoulder and hugging her slim frame to his own tightly. She felt the blood rush to her cheeks, and thanked her lucky stars that Hope couldn't see her face at the moment. She moved her arms to wrap around him as well, completing the embrace.

"Don't worry, Hope. I'm not going anywhere." Lightning breathed out, feeling sad for the boy in her arms. Hope tensed up and suddenly drew back, untangling himself from her quickly. Lightning willingly let him put some distance between them, and spoke when he finished moving, as he kept his gaze to the ground.

"Is something wrong Hop-?" she asked, cutting off when she felt her lips enclosed by something soft. 'Is Hope kissing me?' she thought, both looking forward to and dreading the answer to that question. She enjoyed it while it lasted, a short few seconds, before he pulled away.

"I-I think I'm falling in l-love with you, Light." Hope said, stuttering over his words and blushing. His eyes had an alive and happy shine in them though, making Lightning smile.

"I think... I think I like you too, Hope." she said, surprisingly not putting up resistance. Hope's eyes got brighter at her words.

"Really?" he asked, hopeful. (no pun intended. God, I can never use that word the same again!) Lightning nodded, but shifted her expression to a stern one. The one she used when giving orders.

"Yes, Hope. However, you know we have to hide this, right? Nobody will look kindly on this relationship, and I'm not putting you through that. No if's and's or but's. Got it?" Lightning said, making sure she made eye-contact with him the whole time. Hope nodded, looking at her with joy in his eyes.

"But we can still do things when nobody's around, right?" he asked, kissing Lightning for emphasis. They both blushed, and Lightning smiled.

"Definitely." she breathed, feeling any and all remaining soreness leave her body. Hope pulled her to a bedroll laying next to the fire, laying down and bringing Lightning with him. He pulled her close, so they were lying down chest to chest, having their breath mingle. Hope looked into Lightning's eyes, enjoying how her light blue irises sparkled. Her cheeks were a flaming red, from what he could tell, and her lips were slightly parted and shining in their usual way.

"You're beautiful." he told her. Lightning smiled at the compliment, wrapping her arms around him and moving in for another kiss. Hope kissed back happily, placing one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head. Lightning's arms stayed woven under his and wrapping around his shoulders until they heard a noise like glass breaking, and a high-pitched voice rang out around the clearing.

_**"What in the world are you two doing?!"**_

* * *

_Blitz: FLUFF! YAY!_

**Darkflame: Suspense!**

Hope: I got a kiss!

Lightning: We got caught.

_Blitz: Who cares? You two finally got together!_

Unknown person: But they were kissing!

_**Darkflame, Hope, Lightning, and Blitz: SHUT UP!**_

_Blitz: Drop a review please, it speeds up development by improving morale and getting the author off his lazy ass with the multiple email alerts._


	3. Chapter 3

Blitz: *Pant Pant* Computer... *Pant* Virus... *Pant* Please Forgive...

Darkflame: Yup. The boss was an idiot and let his computer get a virus and delete everything he ever had on it, not to mention breaking it. He's lucky Christmas just rolled around.

Blitz: Yup. We're also going to do mail call, as a make-up for disappearing.

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ChainzOfThePast- "I love this story and many others i just wish u guys would update more often cause these stories are awesome plus im a big HopexLight"

Blitz: We thank you for your support, and if you want us to update more, keep reviewing. It gets the boss off his lazy A$$ when he recieves more hatemail for not updating. And going out to everyone, if you're a big Hope x Light and want him to, the boss takes requests. Feel free to drop one in a review or PM. ^-^

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CorruptDream- "Very nice groundwork for possibly awesomeness in the first chapter. One of the hopeful's in this chapter was unnecessarily capitalized, but saw no other typo/grammar error in either chapter."

Blitz: You confused us a bit on the first sentence, but thanks for the grammar alert. We'll get that fixed quick.

Darkflame: Hitting the boss for not checking his work.

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JadeFarron17- "Oooh, busted! I hope it wasn't Vanille...she can be so annoying...I love her but still... Anyways, let's not talk about me, let's talk about your story. You ARE going to put up the next chapter soon right? As soon as possible? (hint hint)"

Blitz: Don't worry, we took the hint for future reference. Wonder who it is? We DID say it was a high-pitched voice. ;)

Darkflame: She annoys me too. Acting all cutesy and trying to take Hope from Light. *shudder* That's not right.

Blitz: Darkflame... did you just support a fandom wholeheartedly?

Darkflame: Shut up or I will kill you.

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devilmania67- "haha great story so far, I'm going to throw my money on Snow or vanille for the pissed off voice at the end."

Blitz: Thankees for the compliment =P

Darkflame: Unless Snow suddenly sprouted a high-pitched voice, I think he's out.

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godly345- "...not sure what is going to happen but two things need to be figured out. 1: What will happen to Noel, Yuel, And Caius from ff13-2? 2: Did Serah and Dajh come out of thier crystal stasis when Cocoon was prevented from falling?"

Darkflame: It's supposed to surprise you, not knowing what happens.

Blitz: It's an FF-13 only story, the 13-2 character's don't show up at all. (Mostly because the boss hates them all) Sorry it wasn't said very clearly, but everybody's there in crystal stasis, including Serah and Dajh. They teleported there for some reason with the others. Probably because of Firehawk.

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Blitz: Mail call over, story time! By the way, if you didn't already know, there will be AT LEAST one person on Hope and Lightning's side, you may find out who in this chapter (hint hint)

Darkflame: Here's what happened last time.

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"You're beautiful." he told her. Lightning smiled at the compliment, wrapping her arms around him and moving in for another kiss. Hope kissed back happily, placing one hand on the small of her back and the other on the back of her head. Lightning's arms stayed woven under his and wrapping around his shoulders until they heard a noise like glass breaking, and a high-pitched voice rang out around the clearing.

"What in the world are you two doing?!"

* * *

The two lover's looked up from their position to see the next l'cie woken up.

Serah didn't look very happy.

Still covered in a light layer of crystal in some places, (obviously the source of the shattering noise) looking very tired and sore and completely surprised, the younger Farron sister repeated her words.

"I said, what in the world were you two doing?!" she screeched, seeming more surprised than angry. Lightning seemed to be embarassed, but Hope just sat there and decided not to lie.

"You must be Serah." he said sheepishly. "I was just uh... kissing Lightning." Serah, looked shocked, and beraded Hope again.

"My sister does not so much as kiss guys, much less make out with kids." she said angrily, and Hope snapped.

"We nearly died every five minutes trying to save you and Cocoon!" he shouted, going on even as Lightning tried to put a hand on his shoulder to calm him down. "I watched my mother fall to her death, and probably killed a ton of other people just to survive. I'm pretty sure I deserve to be able to love her!" he finished, grabbing ontp Lightning for emphasis. Serah opened and closed her mouth a few times, seeming sobered by his yelling.

"I don't care about your age, dangit! Lightning!" she yelled, turning to her sister.

"Yes?" Lightning replied, not bothering to move away from Hope after her sister's words. Serah began pacing back and forth, appearing worried.

"When did you start kissing people?" she shouted after a minute of pacing. "I wanted to see your first kiss! How could you do that to me?" the younger girl whined. It was Hope and Lightning's turn to be surprised, this time at Serah's priorities.

"Y-You don't care about the age difference? Or the fact that I'm a minor?" Hope stuttered out, unbelieving. Serah made a snorting noise, coming over to sit next to them.

"Obviously. Love is blind, remember? And I'm Lightning's sister. I support any desicion she makes." Serah said happily, putting her hands out and enjoying the warmth of the fire. Hope smiled, untangling himself and Lightning to take Serah's hand.

"That means a lot. Thanks, Serah." he said, hugging the pink-haired girl. He moved back to Lightning's side after he was done, and the two sisters stared each other down.

"So when did ... this ... start?" she asked, vaguely moving a hand in the couple's direction when she said 'this.' Lightning and Hope blushed, and Lightning answered for her stuttering partner.

"You just saw both out first kisses." She said, making Serah squeal. A little lie never hurt, after all.

"I did see it! This is great!" she exclaimed, hugging her sister tight. Hope sat back watching the sisters, still in a daze.

'Do some people really have those kinds of priorities over the law?' he asked himself. The boy blushed when he realized that he had said it out loud and the pink-haired girls were now looking at him. Serah spoke, answering his question even though she knew it was redundant.

"Not really. Everybody else'll probably freak about this. I'm just a hopeless romantic, and who am I to get in the way of my sister's first relationship?" she said, sadness laced in with her voice. "A shame, too. You two look cute together." she pouted.

"Well, it might be better for you to feign ignorance if everybody finds out." Lightning said. "Snow'll probably be mad for you not telling him." Serah rolled her eyes.

"Fine, but I'm still going to support you guys." the younger Farron said, yawning on the final word. "I think I should sleep. Staying in crystal form really isn't a nap, is it?" she asked, looking to Hope, who she had deducted had woken up first, from his obvious lack of soreness.

"Yeah, I slept for a whole day after waking up. I'll go get some food in the morning." he said, walking over to a small pile half-hidden in darkness. "You want your own sleeping bag or...?" he let the question hang, looking at his girfriend with an awkward gaze and a scarlet blush. Lightning blushed and was about to say no before Serah gave her a hit on the arm, harshly whispering to her.

"If you don't sleep in the same sleeping bag, I'll tell Snow." Lightning glared at her sister, knowing the threat was very real. She whispered back quickly, hoping that Hope would just think she was taking her time choosing.

"Fine! But you can't use that threat again." she stated with finality, inwardly groaning at the look on her sister's face.

"You and Light are sharing, Hope!" Serah yelled, prompting a satisfied smile from the l'cie, and he quickly raced over with two sleeping bags and another bedroll. The three were completely settled in a matter of minutes, Serah placing herself close to the fire, in front of Snow's crystal, and Hope and Lightning settling in together on the side with no crystals, slightly farther from the fire than Serah. "*Yawn* Goodnight, guys." Serah said, drifting off to sleep quickly.

Lightning and Hope said no more words, allowing exhaustion to sweep over themselves in the quiet that came with Serah's sleeping. Before either could fall asleep, however, Hope pulled Lightning flush against his chest, spooning with her. Lightning felt his heart beat faster from the action, and a blush crept its' way up to her cheeks. She cuddled closer to Hope without questioning it, relishing in the feel of his body heat warming her cold skin. Her eyes fluttered closed, no longer denying the urge to sleep.

Hope opened his eyes after nearly an hour of lying awake next to the beautiful woman in his arms. He took a deep breath, becoming intoxicated on her sweet scent of srawberries. He moved a strand of hair away from her face, brushing it gently behind her ear and sighing at the soft contact between his fingers and her cheek. There was no denying it to himself.

"I love you, Lightning." he whispered dreamily, ever so gently placing his lips onto his love's cheek.

Hope once again resumed his sleeping position, holding the woman he loved in his arms.

* * *

Blitz: GAAAH! Don't kill us please!

Darkflame: I apologize for Blitz going all mushy at the end.

Blitz: *Teary eyes* You're so mean Darkflame!

Darkflame: Until next time. Would you kindly leave a review?

Blitz: Stop with the Bioshock reference. I don't think it works on them.

Darkflame: Would you kindly shut up!?

Blitz: ...

Darkflame: I know everything. Also, I will repeat it. **WE WILL NOT INCLUDE FF XIII-2 CHARACTERS IN HERE.** The boss, however, wanted to do a contest as a forgiveness and new years gift. A lucky reviewer, chosen out of a slip from a hat, will get their choice of either their own OC in this story, or a one-shot request, which we shouldn't be taking as we're piled with work as it is. So review, and if you don't have an account, leave an e-mail to be contacted by should you want to enter.


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Final Fantasy XIII, Drama, Romance