Hope and Snow

Waking up on Snow's back was, after trying to kill him, something I never thought would happen. After the explosion, Snow had wrapped me in his arms and protected me from the impact. And now he was carrying me to our destination: my house. The man who I had blamed for my mother's death was the same man who I tried to kill and was the same man who has protected me.

All of a sudden hating him seemed stupid, he didn't deserve it. In fact, I should be thanking him for not letting me get hurt.

"Snow." I whimpered, it hurt a little to talk.

"Hope! You're awake!" Snow sounded like he was in pain.

"Yeah, but are you okay?"

"I'll be fine, I just want to make sure you're alright." He had a hard time talking to me, he was definitely hurt. I slid off his back and on my own two feet. I was a little shaky, but I could walk. I slid under Snow's arm and did my best to support him.

"Let me make sure you're alright now!" Snow looked at me and flashed me the famous half-smile. I smiled and felt somewhat, nervous? No it wasn't nervousness, but what was it?

…

Hope smiled at me and my knees started to wobble. Was I having feelings for him? No. I'm engaged to Serah, I'm getting married to a woman soon. I couldn't be having feelings for Hope, especially since he was 14 and me being 21 that wouldn't exactly be okay. I pushed the feeling aside and focused on the street.

Hobbling into Hope's home and into the bedroom, I laid down on the bed. Lightning had bandaged me up and had me rest. While I laid there in the bed alone, I couldn't keep the thought of Hope out of my head, I mean I loved Hope. Like I love my family though, nothing more nothing less. Right?

During the night while everyone was asleep, there was a knock at the door. I quietly answered the knock with permission. The door opened and it was Hope.

…

I couldn't sleep even though everyone else was fast asleep. I couldn't stop thinking about Snow. I didn't know what I was feeling. I mean, now that I didn't hate him, I didn't know what I was feeling for him now. Am I in love?

Maybe if I talked to him I could confirm how I was feeling about him. Since I knew the house I moved silently passed Lightning and Fang, passed Vanille and Sazh. Now, just to make it down the hall. I got to the door and tapped on the door with only a finger because anything louder would have Lightning out here. I heard Snow quietly say, "Yeah?" The sound of his voice made my heart flutter.

I entered the room and shut the door behind me. I didn't know how to start talking to him so I just acted like I was there for another reason, "I know it's late, but I'm gonna change your bandages so your cuts and burns don't get infected." I nodded my head and smiled a bit.

"Alright kid, you're gonna have to help me sit up though." Snow sighed. He sounded like he expected something else to come out of my mouth.

I walked over to his bed and held out my hand, he grabbed it and I began to pull gently. Snow winced as he began lifting himself up. I slid my other hand behind his back and added the slightest pressure to help him the rest of the way. Poor guy, he was out of breath when he finally got up.

"You alright Snow?" I asked with my hand still on his back and my other held in his.

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Good! Alright tough guy, I'm gonna take them off starting with the back." I was just talking to talk now.

…

Having Hopes hand on me sent a warm, healing feeling throughout my back. I let go of his hand so he could remove the bandages. His hands were so delicate and I could hardly feel the bandages peeling away from me. When he lifted the gauss away from the wound that would completely expose it, I shuddered.

Hope dropped down in front of me and looked me in the eye, "Snow?! Did I hurt you?" I looked into Hope's blue-green eyes and saw that he was concerned about me. His eyes were beautiful, two things I could easily get lost in.

I put my hand on his head and rustled his hair, "Don't worry Hope, that was the first time I actually felt that you were changing them." I smiled at the boy and he smiled back.

Hope nodded and resumed his spot in the removal. He was so gentle, unlike Lightning, when he re administered the bandages. His hands were cool and smooth and felt so good against me. Hope wrapped me up around my shoulder, across my chest and back. The entire time he kept asking me if I was alright.

"Thanks Hope!" I smiled, I motioned for him to sit down next to me and he obeyed. "Are you alright Hope?

"Yeah I'm fine, just a couple of cuts and bruises. Nothing bad." He looked at me with a sort of soft expression.

"No, I mean alright." I looked at him and he sank into himself.

…

Physically I was fine, but mentally and emotionally I wasn't sure, "I don't hate you Snow. Like I said before, I needed someone to blame to keep on fighting. But that's not it anymore."

"I understand. I would do the same thing. But Hope, you need to know that I'm sorry." Snow looked at me with those deep blue eyes and I knew he meant every word.

I didn't know what to say, so I began to cry, "I'm so sorry Snow! I'm sorry, I don't hate you." Snow put his hand on my shoulder and pulled me into him. He was so warm. Snow held me tight, but gently. I felt safe.

"I know, it's okay Hope." Snow spoke to me softly while I cried into his chest. This was the first time I cried in a while about anything so it was all coming out at once. He put his other hand on top of my head and fingered through my hair. Snow pulled me in closer to him, "I'm here for you Hope. I'll protect you, help you, anything."

I lifted my head to look at him, "Snow?" I sniffled.

"Yeah?" Snow's eyes were soft and the corners of his mouth were at an upward angle.

"Thanks." Snow brushed away a tear on my cheek, but never took his hand away. Without the gloves on his hands, I now knew what they felt like. Snow's hands were soft and warm. He just looked into my eyes and then I knew how I felt about him.

"Don't mention it!" Snow's hand still on my face firm, but gentle, he inched closer to me. I moved closer to him as well.

Our foreheads touched. Our noses brushed together. I could feel his breath, and his lips were only that far away from mine. A breath.

…

I held Hope close to me, nothing keeping us from the small final distance between our lips. Except one thing: Serah. I wasn't thinking of her until I began the small journey to meet his lips with mine when Hope whispered, "What about Serah?"

I didn't care, I just wanted Hope. "She's not important right now. You are." Then I knew it. I pushed my lips against Hope's. The feeling was electric, lighting up every part of me as if I had been asleep all my life until now. I never felt this way before, call it love or just the heat of the moment, but it was something I would never forget. Hope's lips were so soft and gentle against mine.

I felt Hope's reluctance so I lightened up a little. As I did this, Hope kissed me back. Hard, but with ease and reassurance that he wanted me to kiss him back. I ran my fingers through the silver hair that fell in our faces and Hope put a cool, tender hand on my face.

…

I had never kissed anyone before, and I had never thought it would be Snow. He kissed me gently, but was rough in the way that told me he meant what he was feeling. It was amazing! His strong arms held me close while our lips moved together in perfect rhythm. The stubble on his chin tickled mine and I smiled into our kiss.

It was this first kiss that made me completely forget about my blaming him and was replaced with love. I was now in love with Snow Villiers.

I placed my hand on Snow's face and he brushed my hair out of our faces. Snow's lips were soft, strong and wonderful. It wasn't much longer before we both needed to breathe. We broke our lips apart and nuzzled our noses.

We opened our eyes and looked at each other. I could see it in his eyes that there was something there for me inside him. "Snow?" I whispered.

"Yeah?" He whispered back.

"That was my first kiss." My cheeks got red.

…

When we broke our kiss off my world was spinning, I definitely at this point had feelings for Hope. Although he was so young, he never acted like it. I looked into his eyes and saw how he felt about me.

Hope told me I was his first kiss, "Really?" I laughed in surprise, "I never would've known, that was the best kiss I've ever had!"

Hope smiled and began to blush, "So I wasn't bad?"

Just to prove to him that I wasn't lying, I pressed my lips to his again. "Do you believe me now?" I smiled.

Hope giggled and hugged me around my neck, even though it hurt I didn't care. I was glad that he didn't hate me anymore. I hugged him and pulled him in as close as I could. I held him tight. Hope smelled like something, something good. I couldn't remember what it was, but the smell brought me home. Then I remembered it: home. Home was Bodhum. Hope smelled like the breeze that blew through the fruit trees. The sweet smell of fruit and the saltiness of the sea.

"Hope, I'm thinking it's time for us to go to bed." I loosened my arms from around him and he broke himself loose of me. "Help me lay back, will ya?"

Hope stood behind me with a hand across my shoulders and with his other held one of mine. He set me down as if I would've shattered. He released my hand and put both hands on my back and didn't remove them until I was completely on the mattress. "You okay? Are you cold? Do you need anything?"

He asked me all these questions and I was astounded at how much he cared, "Hope, Hope, I'm fine. Thank you for caring though, you really are the sweetest person I know." I smiled at him and he smiled back.

"Thanks Snow, it means a lot." He knelt beside me, "If you need anything, I'll be here for you. I'm just down the hall, okay?" I was supposed to be his hero, but it looks like through all of this, Hope was saving me.

"You bet. Now go get some sleep alright. Who knows the next time we're gonna get a good nights sleep again." I rustled his silver hair that seemed to almost glow in the dim lighting of the room.

Hope stood up and kissed me on the forehead, something that I was never used to, and walked over to the door. "Goodnight Snow."

I didn't want him to leave. I wanted to him to stay with me. "Please don't go Hope." He stopped. I wanted Hope to stay here in this room with me. I wanted to wrap my arms around him. I just wanted Hope, "Will you stay with me?"

Without a word Hope strode over to the bed, his silk boxers hanging low on his hips reflecting a little light with every step. His beater showed off his arms, which showed some muscle, and the neck swooped low enough to see some definition forming in his chest. The boy was beautiful, and to see the smile on his face when he crawled into the bed with me made it better.

Hope snuggled right up next to me and I wrapped an arm around him, "I feel safe with you Snow. Did I ever tell you that?" He was drawing circles on my chest and looking at me.

"You never had to." I squeezed him and ran my hand down his side. He giggled, "So you're ticklish?"

"Yes!" Hope laughed quietly.

"I'll have to remember that." I laughed and kissed him on the head, "Goodnight."

Hope shifted himself to make sure that he was as close to me as humanly possible, "Goodnight Snow."

XXX

In the days to follow, Hope and Snow's first kiss, the sparks began to fly. After big battles like Barthandelus, the two would run off together and celebrate with touches and kisses. Pretty soon the rest of the group was asking questions amongst themselves. Lightning only thought that they had grown to be the best of friends. Vanille, Fang and Sazh knew better. Although they did grow to become best friends, their feelings for each other grew immensely.

When the party reached Gran Pulse it was soon discovered that Snow was extremely protective of his young lover. Whenever Hope and Snow battled together, Hope's magic was stronger.

XXX

It was late and the fire was dying down. Vanille, Fang and I were still awake while the other three were fast asleep. Fang poked at the fire with her spear, "So? Hope? Vanille and I have been talking about you and your friend over there." The dark-haired woman nodded her head at Snow.

My face began to get hot, "What about us?"

"Well, it seems to us that you two make a cute couple!" Vanille giggled.

I turned my head away from them, but only to have my eye land on the man who captured my heart, "How do you guys know?" Were we that obvious?

Fang kept stabbing at the fire, "Come on, we're not stupid. If anything steps foot near you, Snow is right there to fight it off. At night, I can hear the two of you talk. It's nice, though, you guys make each other stronger in the best ways." Vanille got up and sat next to me.

"You guys won't tell Lightning will you?" That was my worst fear. If she found out about Snow and I, she'd more than likely kill him.

Vanille burst out, "Of course not!"

"That's not our place. But anyways kid, we should be going to bed. We've got a lot of traveling to do tomorrow." Fang stood up and walked around to find a suitable place to sleep and Vanille followed.

"Goodnight guys." I couldn't wait to lay next to Snow. I was always so excited to go to sleep because he would wrap his strong arms around me and pull me in tight. He kept me warm. And in the morning, if he woke up first he would cover me with his trench coat.

I laid down facing him. He looked so calm, happy. I wondered what he was dreaming about. I reached a hand out and touched his face. He had become a light sleeper lately so he woke up when I touched him. He smiled when he saw that it was me, "Hey! You comin' to bed now?" He spoke softly and it was magnificently sexy.

I moved closer to him so I could give him a kiss, "Yep!" I smiled, "Hey Snow?"

I turned around so he could pull me into him, "Yeah babe?" My face began to get hot once again when he said that.

"Fang and Vanille know about us."

Snow squeezed me tight, "I know, but I don't care." Snow kissed the top of my head like he did every night, "Goodnight Hope."

…

I woke in the morning to Hope still in my arms. I always smiled seeing him there. Hope constantly adjusted himself so he could fit his body into mine better. After each adjustment I would hold him tighter and he would sigh. I looked down to see the boy's face. He was sound asleep and peaceful. He was beautiful, I never found any other way to describe him since I couldn't find the right words. It made me happy knowing that I was the one Hope wanted to be close to, talk to, be with.

I watched him sleep for about ten minutes before the small body in my arms began to squirm. He groaned into my chest and I rubbed his back, "Good morning!" I spoke softly since I knew he hated noise when he first woke up.

"Just a little longer please?" I could never deny him anything.

"Of course, go back to sleep. I'm not going anywhere." I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed him.

I cradled him and watched him sleep once more. A couple of minutes later Hope began to whine. He started to cry out into my chest, "No, no!"

I shook him, "Hope babe, wake up!" I shook him again.

He woke up. He sat up and immediately started crying, "Snow!" My heart shattered seeing him cry. I sat up and hugged him. I rubbed his back, "Snow." He kept crying.

"I've got you, you're alright! It was just a dream. Just a bad dream." I rocked him and squeezed him. His sobs mellowed out to sniffles. He lifted himself from me and I wiped his tears. I kissed him and he relaxed, "Do you want to talk about it?"

"I saw my mom." He sighed, "She told me that she had to go." The tears welled in his eyes and began to fall again, "She told me that she was sorry." Hope buried his face in my chest and sobbed.

I held him and just let him cry. I knew that all of this was too much. I was surprised this was the first time he had broken down since Cocoon. After he had calmed down enough to speak he looked up at me, "Thank you Snow!" He kissed me.

"No need to thank me." I hugged him tight.

…

We made it to Oerba in about four or five days and we were all excited about one thing: the beds. Snow and I had claimed an apartment on the other side of the small main square. All of us decided to stay until the next day before we continued on. In the meantime, we could bathe, eat and relax.

Snow and I went down to the spring to bathe. Snow took his jacket and shirt off and the sun reflected off of his golden skin. His torso was perfectly chiseled. His back was muscular and perfect. Snow was perfect. I just stared at him. He noticed, "Like what you see there big guy?" He laughed and walked over to me. He slipped his hands under my jacket and slid it off. When it hit the ground, Snow's lips had crashed into mine, "I'm all yours!" He whispered in my ear and my legs turned to jelly.

Snow continued to undress himself and I just watched. He removed his shoes and socks. He dropped his pants and underwear to the ground and he was fully exposed, for the first time, to me. I didn't get a good view of the front, but his ass was round and firm. I knew it was firm since I would grab it when we would make-out sometimes. He pulled the bandanna from his head and jumped into the water. When he came up, he called to me, "Come on Hope! The water's warm!" He had this grin on his face that made me excited.

…

I looked up to Hope, his silver hair shining in the sunlight, waiting to see him. All of him. There was something tempting and sexy about the boy. I think it was the most revealing he had ever been in front of me, was him without a shirt. "Turn around!" Hope called out to me and I could see the blush on his cheeks, so I listened to his command.

Shortly after that, there was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and there he was. Fuck he was beautiful. His pale skin was lit up by the sun. The water was clear so I could see everything. I had never wanted to touch something or someone so much in my life. "Hope, you are so beautiful!" I had a shortness of breath.

He giggled and rested his head on my chest and I lifted him up. I held his legs in one arm and his torso in the other. I started nibble on his neck. His skin was soft and cool. Hope ran his fingers through my hair while I made a trail down to his chest. I nibbled and kissed his skin. Hope sighed. I went down farther to his stomach. Hope started laughing, I remembered that his stomach and sides were really ticklish. I kept kissing his stomach and sides. He laughed and kicked his feet. "Snow! I can't breathe!" Hope laughed and laughed, and it made me happy to hear. When I stopped and looked at him, he still had the biggest smile on his face, "Snow, it's not fair. You know where I'm ticklish, but I don't know where you are."

My feet and the backs of my knees. Those were the only places. "Well, babe. You're just going to have to find out yourself!"

We swam around together for a bit. Every once in a while Hope would wrap his arms around my waist and ask me to give him a kiss. I was pretty sure that there was nothing he could want that I wouldn't give to him. I was completely head-over-heals for him and he knew it. After we had gotten out of the water and dried off, I finally got to see Hope without the distortion of the water. He was pale and thin, but had muscle. His ass was great and I got excited when he bent over to pick up his clothes.

Whenever Hope would see me looking at him, he'd blush. "Hey Hope. How come you always get red when I look at you?"

He smiled, "I don't know. I mean back on Cocoon no one ever looked at me the way you do. All the girls wanted the older guys. When you look at me, I just get excited that you actually like me." He tried to hide his face by slipping his shirt on, but I met him when his head poked out with a kiss. I always loved the way he would sigh and relax when I kissed him.

I smiled at him, "Well baby, you better get used to it. I don't just like you, I love you." I finally said it. I had felt it for a long time, but never knew when to tell him. I didn't want to scare him off.

…

I couldn't believe what I just heard. Snow Villiers loves me. I was breathless, "You, uh, you do?"

"Yes I do, I love you Hope." Snow smiled and I just stood there dumbfounded. He took my hands and kissed me, "Hope, when I see you I'm happy. I've never felt this way about anyone. Not even Serah."

I was surprised, excited, happy. I was a mess of emotions, but good ones though, "Snow, I know I'm young and I haven't been around long enough to know what love feels like, but I love you too." When I told him this, Snow's expression looked scared, until I told him I loved him too.

"You do?!" Snow smiled as wide as he could and hugged me. He lifted me up off the ground and spun me around. I looked into his eyes and saw that the icy blue that had frozen him, melted. Snow's eyes looked more amazing than I had ever seen before. He kissed me, "Alright babe, let's get back to town."

We walked back up the ramp laughing and giggling. For the first time, in a long time, I knew everything was going to be alright. I had Lightning, Sazh, Vanille and Fang here for me, but most importantly, I had Snow. He had his arm around my shoulder and I leaned into him, "Snow, what are we going to do after all this?"

He squeezed me, "After we save the world? We are gonna live happily ever after." He laughed.

I pulled away and looked at him, "I'm being serious Snow, what's going to happen when Serah comes back? Are you going to leave me or stay?" I really had no idea with Snow what he was going to decide.

He looked at me with those beautiful blue eyes and smiled, "Hope, you are the one I love, I don't think about Serah anymore. The only things I have to worry about are you being happy and safe, and saving the world. Not Serah." He took my hands in a warm hold and kissed my fingers, "I'm going to stay." It felt amazing to hear all this.

We kept walking to the town square and I was in a total daze. My head was in the clouds and I wasn't coming down anytime soon. I had butterflies in my stomach and I couldn't stop smiling. 'So this is what love feels like?' I thought to myself. If that's what it felt like then I never wanted to not feel this way again.

"Hey Snow, I want to show you something." I took his hand and guided him into the center of the square, "Watch this." I stepped back from him and summoned the magic from my brand. I cast a single bolt of lightning into the sky and I immediately shot a fire bolt into the strike and it exploded. It showered sparks and ashes.

"Fireworks?" Snow smiled.

"Yep, I've been practicing. Come here, I'll show you." He stepped closer to me, "Hold out your hands." Snow held them out and I held onto them. "Alright, now focus on a straight line going from our hands into the sky. Pick an element of magic and send it into the sky."

I looked at Snow while he closed his eyes and concentrated. His brand glowed and from our hands an icicle shot into the air, "Good! Quick, shoot something else into it!" Snow sent another icicle into the air and it crashed into it's twin. When they collided it produced a small flurry.

"Did it work?" He had just opened his eyes.

"Yep! Try it again except this time, try fire. Fire is hard to control, but I know you can do it!" Snow blushed for the first time, that I had seen. He looked into my eyes and focused himself on me. A ball of fire had formed between our hands and Snow cast it into the sky. This flame was different though, it was green. The green had matched my eyes, "Snow!" I was sort of confused, I couldn't even change the color of my magic. He sent the second flame in after its mate and this one was blue! A blue that I only saw in Snow's eyes.

"Look up babe!" I did as Snow said and I saw the two colors swirling around each other. I looked down at Snow and he was looking up too. I soon found out that wasn't a good thing. Snow was the one controlling flames and I was his focus. He wasn't looking at me any more so his focus was gone. This meant his control was gone. I looked up to see the flames, which had spread out, falling.

Since Snow was much taller than me, I knew he would've been burned first, so I blew him back with an aerora and he landed on his back. The flames were closer now and getting bigger somehow. I summoned all the power I had to throw up a blanket of waterga into the flames. Conjuring that much of an element like that took a lot of power and I almost couldn't handle it. I threw it all up as hard as I could and the liquid blanket snuffed out the run-away flames.

With the last bit of energy I had, I sent a cura to Snow to wake him up.

I blacked out.

…

I woke up to see Hope laying there on the ground, soaked. I don't think I ever moved as fast as I did to pick him up. I held him tight and walked over to the stairs that led to 'our apartment'. When I got to the top, he woke up. "Snow, are you alright? Did I hurt you?"

"Oh sweetheart, don't you worry about me. We need to get you into bed alright?" I kissed him on the head and he put an arm around my neck. I pushed the door open and laid him on the couch, "Hope, we are gonna have to get you out of those clothes, you're soaked."

He sounded tired, exhausted, "Okay." He tried to sit up, but slouched back down. I lifted him into a sitting position and took his jacket off. I ran my hands under his shirt and took his arms out one by one and finally up over his head. Poor guy was too tired, he used all his energy making sure I didn't get hurt. That was my job, to protect him. I untied his shoes and removed them along with his socks. "Hope, babe, you can lay down again." This was going to be fun... his pants. I unbuckled them and slid them off. I felt his underwear to see if the water-soaked him all the way through, and sure enough, it had. I peeled off his underwear and tossed them aside.

Once again, Hope's lovely, pale body was exposed to me again. I was lost in him and stared at him. I was in my own world until I heard him say, "I'm cold." I snapped back to reality in full alert mode.

"Okay, I'm gonna take you to the bed and then I'll find you a blanket or something alright?" I lifted him up, and his skin was freezing. Hope shivered and I wrapped my arms tighter around him. I brought him over the bed and laid him down again. I quickly began to dig through cabinets and cupboards searching for something to keep my boy warm. I finally found a blanket, but it wasn't in the best condition. I gave up and just took off my trench coat. I went over to the bed and climbed in with him. I wrapped Hope in my coat and then pulled him close, "I'm so sorry Hope!"

"Don't apologize Snow. I love you." Hope said quietly and for some reason tears burned in my eyes. I pulled him into my chest so that way he wouldn't see. Hope spent all his energy on me because he loves me. If anything, I should have pushed him out of the way and took the hit. Not Hope. My Hope.

…

I remembered falling asleep, but that was it. I woke up in Snow's coat and only his coat. It smelled like him, but where was he? I sat up and looked around the room. He wasn't there. I was confused. I looked out the door to the see if he might have been out there, but I only saw my clothes hanging over the railing. "Snow?" I called out to no one.

"Nope! Try again!" I heard a cheery voice with a strong Pulsian accent. Vanille. She came into the room from outside holding some fruit, "Here!" She tossed me a piece of fruit that I had found to be my favorite one here on Pulse.

"Where's Snow?" I bit into the fruit.

"Fang and him went hunting. What they'll find is a total mystery to me!" She laughed and sat down on the bed beside me, "They'll be back soon. Don't worry. Besides with you having a boyfriend, we haven't hung out in a while!" She frowned a bit.

"I know, I'm sorry. Do you wanna go walk around the village? I need to make sure my clothes are dry first." I stood up and my legs felt a little weak, but I could manage.

"Dry?"

I laughed, "I'll explain."

I dressed and we left to explore the town, "So you guys were making fireworks? Are you sure you've never been to Pulse? We would make fireworks all the time!" Vanille got really excited, "And he could change the color of his flames?!" The smile on her face couldn't describe how happy she really was.

"Yeah, and I can't even do that! Can you?" I was kind of annoyed, since my main job in battle was being a ravager.

"Yep! I learned how to. It's very easy. You just have to feel the color from your heart, since that's what we had to do before becoming l' Cies. The magic will express itself through your brand since it's an easier way to come out. You can even teach yourself to change the colors of the other elements too ya know. Watch." She cast a water spell and it came our purple.

"Well, I'll practice later, I'd rather not chance it. Maybe when Snow and Fang get back, we can put on a show when it gets darker! Does Fang ever do magic?" I thought it would be fun to put on a fireworks show for everyone.

"Not really, but she does have a few tricks up her sleeve too!"

We walked around for a while and talked about just everything there was for us to talk about, but it always seemed to end up with Snow and I. The best part, was that it wasn't even me bringing us up, Vanille kept bringing it up. She asked about every aspect of our relationship. The question that made me choke was, "So Hope, have you two had sex yet?"

I was caught off guard and I just as quickly felt embarrassed, "No, are we supposed to?"

"No! I didn't mean it like that! Don't do it until you know that you're ready." She nodded her head in a serious way to make sure she got her point across.

"I thought about it and today I saw him naked. To be honest with you..." I looked at her with wide eyes.

"Wha-" She looked down and then back at me, "Oh! OH! Well um." She blushed and giggled in a nervous way.

"Yeah."

…

I held Hope tight to make sure he was warm. I held him even after he fell asleep. He must've been really tired since he started to snore. I smiled and kissed his head. Then there was a knock on the door, "Yeah?"

"Well you don't have to be so rude about it." It was Fang, "I was thinking you and I could go hunting since we are all dying to have some meat instead of fruits all the time."

"Sure, I just have to figure out a way to not wake him up." I knew it wouldn't be hard since he was sleeping like a rock. I slid my arm out from under his head and he didn't move. I slowly crept off the bed and he just dug himself deeper into my coat. He looked beat. I just wanted to kiss him and hold him, but I knew that I should go out and have some fun without Hope for once.

"What's with him, he alright?" Fang looked at him with a worried look.

I felt awful, "Yeah, he saved me from a fire. Well fireworks, actually, but he used so much magic and energy saving me from it, that he passed out."

"Oh, well. How bad were the fireworks?" She put a hand on her hip.

The picture of the spirals flashed through my head, "They grew big enough to take up the entire square. Hope used enough water magic to put all of it out before it could hit the ground." I looked back down to Hope laying on the bed, "He saved me." I knelt beside him and ran my fingers through his hair.

"Well let him sleep. I'm sure he'll be alright without his boyfriend for a little while." She snickered at me and I looked at the floor. I kissed him on the head and we headed out. We decided to go hunt in the woods just passed the crystal-sand desert.

It was weird, none of us had ever been through a Pulsian forest, besides Fang and Vanille. "Some of the beasts around here aren't good to eat. Most of them are the ones we fight, but there are some other ones that hide in the trees. So we need to watch out." Fang looked at me with the most serious look.

"You got it boss!" I nodded my head to make sure she knew I understood.

We kept walking and we talked quietly so we didn't scare any of the animals, "Snow, I've got a question for ya." There was something in Fang's voice that sent a rush of paranoia through my entire body.

"Alright."

"Do you see a future with Hope? Because if not, then you ought to leave the kid alone. I've got a feeling that our journey here is almost over, and if you get your girl back and leave Hope. There will be hell to pay." Fang stopped and looked me dead in the eye.

I knew she meant every word and I was about to be completely honest with her.

…

Vanille and I returned to the square to see Lightning, Sazh, Fang and Snow sitting around a fire. It had started to get dark so Lightning jumped up when she saw us, "Where have you two been? You know there are C'eith around here!" Lightning tried to sound mad even though she knew we could handle ourselves. I looked passed her to Snow. He mouthed a 'hello' to me and smiled. I tried not to laugh.

"We were just walking around the village, but we were mostly down by the basin." Vanille had decided to speak up and tell Light where we were.

"Alright, next time tell one of us before you go." With that she went to resume her place at the fire. I walked over to Snow and sat next to him, and Vanille sat next to me. Since we couldn't exactly kiss or touch each other in an affectionate way Snow, just swung his arm around my shoulder.

"So Hope, Fang told us that you know how to make fireworks." Sazh said with excitement.

"Yeah, so can Vanille. We were gonna wait until it got darker before we started that." I got red since all eyes were on me. I wanted to get closer to Snow so I wouldn't feel so on the spot.

We had talked for about an hour and by that time dinner was cooked and it was pretty dark outside. We ate what Snow and Fang brought back and cleaned up what was left. Vanille and I stood up and began shooting magic into the air. First, we started mixing fire and lightning and everyone else clapped and cheered. "Hope, you wanna try something cool? I call it the 'static breeze'." I nodded my head, "Alright, I'll throw up a thundaga and you throw up an aeroga. You've gotta get it before the lightning explodes." Vanille shot into the sky a powerful thunder spell and I threw up the wind after it.

The aeroga collided with the thundaga just as it exploded. When the wind opened up, the lightning ran all throughout the gust in a dazzle of blue surges. Everyone's hair stood up, besides Snows because of his bandanna, "That's why I call it 'static breeze'!" Vanille laughed as well as all of us. "Alright throw a little water in there before the lightning's gone." I did as I was told and when the water hit the electricity, it burst into flames. I concentrated as hard as I could to turn the flames into different colors. The flames went white and Vanille fed more fira and aero into the blanket of light in the sky. The flames turned blue, deep blue, like Snow's eyes. Everyone cheered and I heard Snow over everything.

"Alright you guys, throw some water up there! Keep the fire too." Fang had come over to us with her staff. Vanille had sent some water into the cloud and I threw more fire into the mix, "Thank you! Now go have a seat, time for the big finish!" We went to sit down and Fang leaped into the air.

She stabbed the center of the cloud and it all spiraled in toward her. When the flames hit the water it created a massive cloud of steam and Fang was lost. Out of the bottom, Fang dropped to the ground and the steam began to fall like a solid ball of blue. The steam glowed a bright blew. Fang swung her staff, and when it hit the blue mass the head of a dragon came out and opened its mouth. The cloud wasn't a cloud any more, it had become the rest of the dragon. And it was flying at us at an incredible speed. It opened its mouth to swallow all of us and as it was about to devour us, it dissipated and lifted into the sky. Fang was standing before us when the beast was gone, "How'd you guys like that?"

We all cheered and clapped. Vanille nudged me, "I told you she has a few tricks up her sleeve. The dragon is her trademark and she has only done it a few times. She was the only person in Oerba to be able to do something of that level."

"Yep, so that means you guys are pretty special." Fang laughed and sat down.

We all sat in silence for a minute and then something happened that I never thought could've happened.

…

I knew that if I didn't say now, I never would. There was a knot in my stomach as a I took in a breath to speak up, "So everybody." All eyes were on me, "After we destroy Orphan, I'm not going back with Serah." There, I said it. But not all of it.

Lightning jumped toward me and pointed her gun-blade at me, "Why? I knew I should never have trusted you!" Lightning shouted at me. Next thing I knew I was on the ground looking up at the stars and my jaw hurt.

"Light!" I heard Hope yell and he ran to stand over me. "He's not going back with Serah because he's staying with me!" Lightning was in mid-swing when Hope jumped in the way. I slowly began to get up.

"What are you talking about?" I could tell that Hope was scared. I stood behind him and wrapped my arms around him.

"Light, um Snow and I are kind of..." He trailed off and all I wanted to do was make him run so he wouldn't have to deal with this.

Vanille, Fang and Sazh had already rushed over to us, "Lightning, don't be mad at them. I know you're pissed at Snow and probably even hate him, but right now you need to listen. When the two of us were hunting, I asked him if he saw a future with Hope. You know what he told me? He told me that he would die if it meant that Hope would be happy. He told me that he would do whatever it took to save the world just so that way Hope would be alright. He loves him Lightning, you can't change that." Fang had stepped in front of me and Hope.

Vanille came and stood next to Fang, "Hope told me that he loves Snow. Hope said that if when we save the world and Snow wanted to be with Serah after all, that he would let him go. He wouldn't even put up a fight because he would rather be hurt and alone than Snow to ever have to not be happy." Lightning face was still unchanged, but I could hear Hope sniffle.

Hope turned around to face me, "Did you really mean that?"

"Yes, with all of my heart. I don't want to lose you Hope. I haven't loved anyone like I love you." I wanted to cry hearing what Vanille said, "Did you mean what you said?"

I wiped a tear going down his cheek, "Every word. I love you Snow." Hope started crying and I just held him close to me with everyone else standing between us and Lightning. I squeezed him and I let him cry.

"So you really do love him?" Lightning put a hand on her hip, "Then when Serah comes back you're going to tell her." She stormed off into the apartments.

We all let out a sigh of relief when we finally heard the door shut, "Thank you guys!"

Sazh finally spoke up, "Well if you guys do love each other, then we are here to support you. Lightning's just upset cuz you're supposed to be engaged to her sister, that's all." Sazh patted me on the shoulder, "As for me, I'm going to bed! Goodnight guys!" Sazh headed to the apartment that he shared with Lightning, I had a feeling that he would try to talk to her about all this since Sazh had a way of being a mediator between Lightning and who ever else it may be.

I sighed and decided I was ready for bed, "Alright, I think we've had enough excitement for one night, right?" We all laughed and said goodnight. Hope and I began to walk toward our own apartment. I felt something cool slide its way in between my fingers. This was the first time Hope and held my hand when we were walking. I tightened my hand around his and he squeezed his fingers. I could get used to this!

…

I could not believe that Snow told Lightning. I was glad though, now we didn't have to run around behind her back, right? On top of that, ever since Vanille and I talked earlier I couldn't stop thinking of Snow... below the belt. I wasn't ready for sex, but we could do other things without having to go all the way. Naturally, Vanille's instinct to fill people in on every piece of information imaginable, forced me to find out about these 'other things'.

I laced my fingers into Snow's and it felt great to be able to do that, "Hey Snow?"

He squeezed my hand, "Yeah babe?" I looked up to meet his eyes.

"Thank you for telling Light." I smiled.

"She was going to find out anyways. Either someone tells her, or she finds out when I don't go with Serah." Just as Snow finished his sentence we were at the bottom of the stair case leading to 'our' apartment. He swept me up and carried me bridal style. I laughed. I kissed him when we reached the top. Vanille had told me to pay attention to him when we kissed, and that's what I did. He always closed his eyes, he tensed up a bit. If he was happy, like in this case, he could nibble on my bottom lip. When he was upset about something, he would wrap an arm around my waist and with his free he would put his fingers on my chin.

When I pulled my lips away from his I asked him, "Did you notice that when you kiss me, when you're happy, you bite my lip?" He blushed and looked down.

He looked back at me and smiled, "No, but I'm guessing you did? Did you not want me to do that?"

I kissed him, "I like it, so you should keep doing it!" I nodded with a smile. Snow had set me down and we walked into the room. I stripped down to my underwear and laid down. Snow did the same. Seeing him almost naked again made me excited, but I tried to contain myself. I burrowed into Snow's chest and he pulled me closer to him.

He kissed the top my head, "You know what I noticed when I kiss you? Every single time I kiss you, your shoulders relax and you sigh. When you're in a good mood, you arch your back and wrap your arms tight around my neck." He giggled, "But when you're pissed off, you keep your arms at your side. When you're sad you grab hold of my jacket and keep me close. But you know what's the best part about kissing you?" He rested his chin on my head.

"What?"

Snow wrapped his arms around me even tighter, "I fall more in love with you, and I can't wait for the next time I get to kiss you." Upon hearing this I smiled and tears formed in my eyes. I sniffled and hugged him.

"I don't ever want to be without you Snow. I love you and just being close to you makes me happy. Every time I've needed a friend you're here. If after we destroy Orphan and something happens to us, I want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. I know I'm young, but you make me happy." I kissed the spot where my lips were already touching his chest.

Snow ran a warm hand up my back and through my hair, "Don't worry Hope, your hero will always be here for you." I looked up at him and saw his smile in the moonlight. His face was lit up, especially his eyes. I looked in his eyes and saw complete honesty. I inched up to kiss him, and as if to prove him right, I sighed and wrapped my arms around his neck. "I love you Hope."

Snow grabbed my waist and pulled mine to his. He slid his hands behind me and squeezed my ass. All the while, still kissing. I didn't know how he knew exactly what to do. When he first grabbed me, I gasped and he smiled. His lips slowly moved up my jaw and started nibbling on my ear.

…

There was something about Hope, that just made me want him. He looked amazing casting those spells, he looked so sexy with the fire making his face light up. Walking away from the square, when he took my hand, it was like he had sparked a fire that was finally able to burn a bright as it wanted.

I kissed his neck and held on to him. Hope grabbed a handful of my hair and he let his head fall back. I kissed down to his chest, his skin was always so cool and soft. I began to trail my way back up to his neck, but Hope came down crashing his lips into mine. The sweet taste of his lips made it hard not to break down and fuck him on the spot. He laced his fingers into mine and pushed me on my back. He climbed on top of me and straddled my waist. He bent down to kiss me and the tip of his tongue brushed against my top lip. I kissed him back and he moved his tongue into my mouth. I was surprised and extremely turned on. He still held my hands down, even though I wanted to find my hands all over his body. Our tongues were moving in between each others as we kissed. For never having kissed anyone but me, Hope never failed to shock me with his lips.

I began to feel soft, cool kisses on my neck and a shiver went down my back. Hope released my hands and put his on my chest. He licked and nibbled on my nipples. I bit my lip in pleasure. Hope licked down the center of my stomach followed by his hands. He got up off on my lap and positioned himself in between my legs. He kissed at the skin just above the elastic on my boxers and something inside my head clicked, "Hope, I know you want to celebrate, but don't you think we are moving a little fast?" I didn't want him to stop, I wanted this to keep going, but I had to make sure Hope wanted this.

"Well I wasn't planning on having sex, sex." He shrugged.

I smiled at him, "Hope, unless you are completely ready, I don't think we should go any further. I'm not saying I don't want you, because I do, really bad. I'm just saying that your first time should be special and you should only do it when you are sure you want to." I took his hands and kissed his fingers. "Alright kiddo?"

"Alright." He smiled and crawled up to lay on my chest.

I laughed, "Do you have any idea what you do to me?" I put one hand on the back of his head and the other on the arm that Hope rested across my chest.

"I've got a pretty good idea." He giggled and I did too.

I ruffled his hair, "Alright babe, let's get some shut-eye." I kissed him on the head and shut my eyes.