#comeonlight

She was dressed in a simple pair of leggings and an oversized shirt – usually the uniform of choice for makeup artists. A new one, maybe? Or an apprentice?

Whoever she was, Hope knew he was embarrassing himself by just staring. There was something very vaguely familiar about her, but that wasn’t why he couldn’t look away. It wasn’t even her incredible beauty either, although that didn’t hurt.

There was just something about her that drew him in. He’d never felt anything like it. People at school often told him that he had charisma, but that wasn’t quite the vibe he got from this woman.

No, he just felt that somehow, someway, they were meant to be standing here in this exact moment.

In the next instant, Hope realized how ridiculous he sounded in his own mind. He shook his head and walked towards the coffee. Who cared he usually drank tea in the mornings? Everyone needed a change now and then.

The woman dumped some sugar into her coffee, then glanced around before putting in some more. He smiled before he could stop himself and reached for the coffee pot.

She whipped her head around at the gesture, like she’d just noticed someone was right behind her. At the sight of him, her guarded expression visibly relaxed and she nodded. “Sugar?”

The word sounded so foreign that Hope momentarily froze, almost overflowing his coffee in the process. As it was, he filled it right to the top of his cup before fumbling with the pot and setting it down. “Uh, um – apparently not.”

Piercing blue eyes flicked towards his nearly-overflowing cup. She smirked. “And it’s still so early. Hard to imagine that we still have the whole day to go.”

Hope relaxed slightly. So she was a staff member. “Yeah, but that’s what the coffee’s for, I guess.”

“Tell me about it. I don’t know how I’m upright half the time without it.”

“Oh, yeah.” He tried to pretend that he totally drank coffee on a regular basis, yep. He totally wasn’t the only college student in existence who actually got a decent amount of sleep every night. “Kind of amazed I made it here without it.”

She eyeballed him again before another smirked formed on her lips. It was like she could see right through him, somehow. But that was completely ridiculous. “I know what you mean.”

They both chuckled in that sort of awkward way that Hope had only experienced a handful of times – when you knew there was somewhere else you had to be, but you didn’t want to leave the company of the other person and were trying to figure out if you could find a way to see them again.

At least that was easily done. “So, uh, are you here from one of the other studios?”

For some reason, the question caused her to grow quiet. She took a step back and stared – really stared at him, her head slightly tilted to one side. A thousand emotions flickered in those eyes of hers – surprise, amazement, appreciation, intrigue.

Before either of them could say anything, a woman with wild black hair he’d never seen before came out of the makeup studio and spotted the two of them. “Oi!” She tapped her wrist where a watch would’ve been if people wore them anymore. “Coffee break’s over! Get your ass over here!”

The rose-haired woman rolled her eyes in a spectacular fashion. “Sorry. Duty calls.” She turned away and took a sip of her coffee, but then glanced back over at Hope. “I’ll...see you later, I’m sure. Maybe we could talk more.”

“Oh. Uh.” Hope blinked a couple of times, wondering if there was anything that could have possibly warranted further conversation. Was coffee really that fascinating?

Apparently so, because he nodded a second later. “Yes. Absolutely.”

She quirked a bit of a smile before heading into the makeup studio, shaking her head at something the black-haired woman was saying. Maybe his hunch was right and she was a makeup artist. They tended to stick around during shoots in case there were any touch-ups needed or a new look.

Would he really see her later?

Why did he want to so badly?

Hope thought about this the whole time he slugged down his coffee. He thought about it as the rest of the staff arrived and his job got started. It distracted him so much that he couldn’t even concentrate on the whispers of who they were all supposed to be working with today.

“She’s already here?!” one of the photographers shrieked. “Her call time was at nine!”

“Well, you’ve heard the other studios,” one of the wardrobe people said. “She’s, like, notoriously punctual.”

“Punctual is one thing – being nearly an hour early is a whole different level!” the photographer continued, sounding dramatic. But this was typical for him, so Hope didn’t pay it any mind.

Instead, his mind continued to wander – and he kept his eyes peeled.

One of the worst parts of this job was the long, long stretches of time where everyone just needed to hurry up and wait. They had to get everything ready as quickly as possible, but then it was just a matter of sitting around and waiting for everyone’s jobs to finally finish. Hair and makeup, wardrobe, set design...not to mention that some of the celebrities that came through were ridiculously demanding and wouldn’t do anything until those demands had been met. He still had nightmares about the one model-who-shall-not-be-named that had put everyone behind schedule for three hours because she hadn’t had any vegan cannolis in her room.

And she hadn’t even eaten them.

Today though, things seemed to be moving at a faster pace than usual. Hope gladly threw himself into his work, which for now, involved standing on a step-stool and rearranging one of the lights to his boss’s specifications. Everyone was buzzing around with an energy he hadn’t felt in a long time.

Hope glanced at the other lighting assistant. “Hey, Noel.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know who the talent’s supposed to be today?”

Noel paused and glanced at him, looking both bewildered and amused. “What, were you not paying attention earlier?”

“I guess not.”

“Man, even I know about her.” Noel shared the same interest in celebrity culture as Hope did – that was, basically none – so this was especially intriguing. “She’s all over the place lately – I think she was on the cover of, like, six different magazines in the past month. She’s the face of a bunch of different charities and stuff, too. Yeul loves her work,” he added, referencing his girlfriend.

“Oh.” Hope tried to imagine the newsstands. Something itched in the back of mind. “Who is - ”

“All right everyone, look alive!” The black-haired woman suddenly sauntered out and clapped her hands. “You’re lookin’ at the new face of Louis Vuitton right here, so you’d damn well better be makin’ her look good!”

“Shut up Fang,” a familiar voice muttered.

Very familiar.

He nearly dropped the light when out came the rose-haired woman, dressed in an extremely fancy outfit with a sheer black top with frilly designs on the back.

She wasn’t a makeup artist.

Not at all.

“Lightning Farron!” The photographer walked up and shook her head. “What an honor it is to have you here today!”

Of course, he said that to everybody, but it actually sounded sincere this time. And why wouldn’t it?

Hope couldn’t believe he’d been so stupid. Lightning Farron! The Lightning Farron!

Of course he knew of her – the woman who had appeared in magazines seemingly from nowhere, who was famous for being discovered in a kickboxing class. Earlier in the year, she’d worn a holster on her evening gown while modeling on the runway to bring awareness for gun control. She used her fame to start numerous charities and was, as he’d heard, notoriously punctual.

Lightning Farron, quite possibly one of the most famous models in the world.

That’s who he’d talked to.

That’s who he’d felt an instant connection with.

Oh, god. He was done for. There was no possible way anything could ever come from this.

But a few minutes later, when Lightning was directed into her first test shot, she glanced up and met his eyes, clearing recognizing him. Her lips, lined in a neutral expression, curled up ever-so-slightly at the corners.

“There!” the photographer cried. “That smize! Just like that!”

Somehow, Hope managed not to drop any of the lights or do anything stupid. Instead, he simply smiled back.

After all, he wasn’t supposed to interact with the talent.

“She had a fight with Fang, Daddy!” Dajh’s voice called out as he raced from the kitchen to greet his father.

Sazh immediately smiled and scooped up his son. “Oh, did she, now?”

“Yeah! She came over here to - ”

“Just to clear my head,” Vanille interrupted, though the bright smile that’d been on her face faded somewhat. “Fang and I hardly ever argue, you know, but when we do…”

“Sure wouldn’t want to feel her wrath,” Sazh agreed. “You did good by wanting to give her space. I’m bettin’ it’ll be easier to talk once she’s calmed down.”

“You think so?”

“Kiddo, I was married for years. I know so.”

This time, Vanille managed a giggle. “Maybe you’re right.”

“Damn right I am. Now c’mon, let’s go make some breakfast while you gather your thoughts.”

“Yay!”

–

A few weeks later, Sazh wasn’t as alarmed when he heard more noises downstairs, though this time, it sounded like typing. Had Vanille managed to hack into his computer…?

Nope, he quickly found out as he headed downstairs all bleary-eyed. This time, Hope was sitting on his couch, a laptop set on the coffee table as his fingers rapidly moved across the keys.

“The hell?!”

Hope jumped a bit, but his startled expression immediately turned to relief. “Oh, Sazh. I’m sorry if I woke you up. Dajh let me in.”

Sazh made a mental note to give Dajh a little talk. “Yeah, yeah. What’re you doin’ here?”

“I, um…” Hope’s shoulders sagged. “I…had an argument with Lightning. I decided it would be best for us to have some space for awhile.”

“Huh.” That was honestly surprising, considering that those two had practically been joined at the hip since they’d gotten together (which only made sense, since it’d taken them so damn long, but at least he’d won the betting pool). “Probably a good idea. I’ve seen Soldier Girl mad, and it sure ain’t pretty.”

“I mean, she’s always pretty.” Hope’s ears turned red. “But I understand what you mean.”

Sazh hid a smirk. “You want some coffee, kid?”

–

When Dajh let someone else into the house - seriously, he needed to have a talk with his son - Sazh immediately knew who was there and groaned, flopping a pillow over his face. Maybe this time, he shouldn’t get up…

“Yo, old man! You getting up or what?”

“Damn kids so impatient these days,” Sazh muttered, obeying the voice for some reason. He opened his door to see Snow with a sheepish grin on his face.

“Uh, hey. Sorry if I woke you up.”

“Impossible for you not to, since you’re walkin’ around like you own the place.” He looked up, taking in the guy’s disheveled hair and the slight look of fear in his eyes. “…Lemme guess. Fight with Serah?”

“How’d you guess?!”

Sazh sighed heavily and went to go put on the coffee. “Practice.”

–

When Noel showed up, Sazh wasn’t even surprised. Okay, he sort of was, but only because he didn’t know Yeul that well and was shocked a girl that tiny was capable of getting so angry.

Apparently she was very capable of getting pissed off, if the wild look in Noel’s eyes was any indication.

This time, Sazh didn’t even both with the coffee and went right for the tea, if just because Noel didn’t need to be any more jittery.

–

“This looks very promising, Mr. Katzroy.” The hiring director nodded and looked over Sazh’s resume. “Your piloting license is up to date, correct?”

“Yes, sir. And now that my kid’s gone back to school, it’ll be easier settin’ up other arrangements for him.”

“Good, good. I did have one question about your job history, though…”

“Yes?”

“You’ve spent most of your time working similarly to this, except for this one.” The hiring director squinted at the paper, like he was trying to make sense of the words. “How on earth did you become a relationship counselor for awhile there?”

Sazh chuckled. “Let’s just say it’s a role I was forced into. Kids these days, y’know?”