New Year's resolution

"Will you please just tell me."

"It's none of your business."

"But I want to know!"

"Well you're not going to know."

This has been the main topic ever since Hope had asked Lightning to help him with his Christmas shopping. Hope told Lightning that he had a crush on a girl and Snow just so happened to find out about it. So everyday he has kept asking Lightning who the lucky girl was that Hope admired.

"You're no fun." He said sadly. "I wanted to help out the little guy. I'm like a big brother to him and you know what that means. Big brothers help out their little brother." He did his famous fist pump getting excited.

Lighting just about had enough of Snow. She brought out her sword like lighting and aimed it right under his chin. "You're going to stay out of it."

He practically jumped from her reaction stepping back feeling her icy gaze. "Whoa, hang on their sis. No need to get worked up." He held his hands up in defense.

She kept her icy glare on him. "And who was the one getting worked up constantly asking me about a certain subject."

Snow started to rub the back of his neck. "Ok, you made your point. I'll back off. No need for violence."

Lightning satisfied with the answer returned her sword to its holster. "I'm going out for a while Serah. You can start dinner without me."

Serah frowned. "Are you sure? It's going to be ready in a little bit."

Lightning gave her a soft small smile "I just need some air. I'll be back." And with that Lightning left the house and started on her walk.

Serah pouted looking directly at Snow. "You do know this is all your fault. Why can't you just leave Hope alone? If he wants to keep it a secret let him. It's part of growing up."

Snow reluctantly agreed to his fiancés wishes. "Ok fine. No more asking. Alright?"

Serah smiled softly. "Good boy." She stepped up to him and gave him a peck on the lips. "Things will happen the way they should happen."

Snow smirked lifting Serah into the bridal position. "You mean like us?" he said slyly raising his eyebrows up and down making Serah laugh.

She gave him a small slug in the shoulder. "Yes, like us."

One week later…

It was finally the New Year. Everyone was celebrating in their own special way, making New Year's resolutions, and preparing to what would be a great year. Serah had invited everyone over for a meal, but not everyone could make it that day, so a few days after the New Year Hope and Sazh were the only ones who could make it. Serah was a little down but was glad that they still came.

"So has anyone made any new year's resolutions yet? Sazh asked curiously.

Hope shook his head. "Nope not me. I'm not really sure what mine would be."

Sazh chuckled. "Well you're still young. Enjoy life right now and worry about that later. You're what only fifteen rights."

"Yeah. It's been a long year, but a good one." Hope then blushed thinking about his Christmas confession.

Snow saw him turn red and knew something must have happened with his lady friend. It had been a week since he mentioned it but could never get the thought out of his head. "So Hope did the year end well for you." He said giving him a wink.

Hope somewhat stuttered. "Ya, I guess you could say that."

Snow grinned "That's the way Hope. Did you confess to your love yet?"

"I uh, um…"

This was the first that Sazh heard of this. "Wait. Hope, you have a crush on a girl? Who is she." He was now curious as to who caught the eye of Hope, but he had a pretty good guess on which it was.

Hope blushed an even more red now, unsure of what to say. "Well…"

Snow butted in before Hope could say any more. "It's a secret crush. No one knows except for Lightning." He glanced over to her; she had her arms crossed and her eyes closed. He swore he saw her eye twitch.

"Well Lightning would be the best one to keep a secret, unlike a blonde we all know." Sazh joked.

"Hey I'm not that bad." Snow defended himself.

Sazh threw his hands up. "Hey it was a joke. Besides if he doesn't want to say then that's his choice. I'm sure he doesn't want us to get in the way."

"Hey guys, can we just drop it please. It's embarrassing." Hope spoke up, hoping that everyone would just stop talking about it with Lightning around.

"I agree. It's his own personal business, so just leave him be." Lightning added, also annoyed about the subject.

Serah looked slightly worried and knew she had to change the topic. "So uh Sazh do you have anything for a new year's resolution?"

"Me? Just to spend more time with my son. That's all I need in my life." He said smiling. Glad to have his son back.

"So where is he? I don't remember seeing him when I came in." Hope wondered now the realization hitting him that Daji wasn't here.

Sazh chuckled. "Asleep on the couch. Poor guy is exsusated. We spent the day at his favorite place in the world…Square Enix World."

Hope's eyes brightened. "No way! You were able to get there?"

Snow quickly joined in the conversation. He was just as excited as Hope. "That's awesome man. I vote next time we all go together!" he did his famous fist punch.

"I think he would enjoy that." Sazh chuckled. "Anyway how about you Snow?"

He was still stuck on their next vacation together. "What about me what?"

"Any new year's resolutions you dult." Lightning said rolling her eyes.

"Ah that's right. Well I have been thinking about this for about a week now." He stood up suddenly and pointed to Hope. "Hope my new year's resolution is to get you in shape and to strengthen you for your girl."

Hope stared blankly at him unsure of how to react to his news.

Lightning dropped her jaw but quickly closed her mouth "your what?" her eye twitched.

"That's right. Hope I'm going to be your work out trainer. By the time I am done with you, you will be able to go up to your girl with pride as a man and show her that you can take care of her." Snow was on fire. He was so convinced himself of this that there was no stopping him.

Hope held up his hands "Now wait Snow. I never asked…"

Snow smiled walking around behind Hope, placing his hand on his shoulder. "There was no need to ask. This is something that I can do for my friend. My little brother."

Lightning face palmed herself. "You did not just say that."

Serah looked up at Snow perplexed. "I had no idea Snow that you wanted to help out Hope so much."

Sazh leaned over to Lightning. "I'm not sure it's all that."

Lightning looked through her fingers at Sazh "He just wants to butt into Hope's business and find out who the girl is." Lightning then sighed putting her hand down again. "This will all end in disaster."

"So first thing tomorrow morning we start your training Hope." Snow smiled pumping his fist. "The hero is here to save the day!"

Lightning rolled her eyes. "Oh brother."

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Serah was up bright and early making a warm breakfast. Snow had invited Hope to stay the night so that they could have an early start in the morning. Lightning refused, but unfortunately lost due to her sisters begging that Snow just wanted to help and gave in to her sister. She made sure to stay out of their way and went straight to her room without coming out once that night. Now with the two outside running Lightning finally came to the kitchen.

"That's a lot of food you know." She grabbed a mug and poured herself a cup of coffee.

Serah just smiled turning around from the stove where she was making some pancakes. "Do you think? They are working really hard out there. I think they might work up a really good appetite." She smiled. She was enjoying cooking for them. It made her feel useful, like she was also helping Hope.

Lightning looked outside. There was still snow on the ground. Thankfully it has been a warm year so far, otherwise Hope just might freeze outside before he got anywhere. "What are they doing now?" She asked with curiosity.

"Snow said he was going to have him run for the first few days to get his heart rate up and then start in on the weights." Serah then started to fry bacon in a pan and all you could hear was the sizzling of the grease. "Light?"

Lightning was drawn back from her thoughts. "Hm? What is it?"

Serah looked at her now wiping her hands on her apron. "You usually tell me everything, but you haven't said anything about Hope. Is it really that private of a matter?"

"I respect Hope and his privacy. This is something that he doesn't want anyone to know about just yet." Lightning sipped her coffee. "I just hope that Snow doesn't drive him crazy enough to spill the beans. He would never live it down."

Serah gasped. "Is it really that bad?"

Lightning smiled slightly and chuckled to herself. "No. it's just…cute."

Serah eyed her older sister. She didn't know what to make of it. Usually her sister would never use the word cute, but maybe since life has calmed down she is slowly coming out of her warrior woman. Just a little.

Serah took a peek outside and saw the boys run in the lawn. "Hey look, there they are."

Lightning looked out the window and noticed Hope was out of breath and panting hard. He looked as if he was going to collapse at any moment…which he did "That guy…" she said shaking her head. "When will he ever learn to butt out of people's business?"

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"He-hey, Sn-snow…wait…up." Hope was panting hard. This was almost like the time when everyone separated and he decided to go with Lightning. She practically almost left him behind, but he kept pushing forward. He was a little more fit then he was now, but he could barely keep up with him.

Snow turned around now jogging backwards to look at Hope. "What's up little dude." He smiled. The run hasn't even tired him out yet.

Hope stopped hunching over. He placed his hands on his legs using them for support to look up at Snow. "Can…w-we…take a…break." He wiped the sweat that was on his forehead. That couldn't be good in the cold weather like this.

"Is that how you're going to confess to your girl? Be a man! Push through it! I WANT TO SEE YOU MOVE. THOSE. FEET!" he placed himself behind Hope and pushed him forward making him run more.

Hope sighed. It was no use. There was no way he was going to beat Snow. His legs hurt, his chest hurt, soon his whole body will hurt to the gurgling workout plan that Snow had told him before the run. Why did he have to find out about this… he whined. Hope felt like he was going to pass out.

Hope looked up from the ground and there he saw it. The end goal of their run. Lightning's house. He picked up a little more speed from the extra energy he got from seeing that he was almost done. They ran into the yard with Hope collapsing to the ground laying in the dead brown grass, gasping for breath.

Snow stood over him with a smile on his face. "Awesome job Hope, but guess what?"

Hope didn't realize that he had closed his eyes. He opened one of them to look at Snow, "And what's that?" he complained. He was afraid of what Snow was going to say.

Snow picked him up at the arm and pulled him up. Hope didn't have any energy left to fight back, so he just went with it. Snow put his fist in the air, with an all too eager smile. "We still have our short sprints to do."

Hope let out a groan and fell back to the grass. "No more. Please no more." He whined.

Snow crossed his arms "No can do little bro. Your training for your girl aren't you?" He said with confidence. "Now up, we just have a few more things and you can be done."

Hope groaned even louder. "Why me?"

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Serah continued to watch them now with a concerned look. "You know, I'm starting to feel sorry for Hope. Maybe Snow is pushing him a little too hard too soon."

Lightning threw her hand in the air. "You think?" she said sarcastically. "Hope can't even move anymore and that big palooka keeps dragging him along. Even I knew his limits." Lightning sighed from frustration.

Serah turned to look at Lightning now somewhat smiling. "Well it looks like Hope has more now. He's back up sprinting back and forth across the yard."

Lightning turned to look and to her surprise he was. She smiled softly. "He's still going."

Serah placed her hands under her chin "And to think he is doing all of this for a girl. You think they will get together after all this?" She asked curiously.

Lightning just sighed. She knew who it was and knew that it wasn't going to happen…well for now anyways. "Only time will tell. Anyway just leave him be with the questions until he is done with all of this and he is ready to tell. It would only stress him out."

Serah sighed "You're right; we know how guys can get."

Lightning just rolled her eyes. "Too much if you ask me." letting out a small chuckle.

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"Hope you're just about done." Snow had his arms crossed watching Hope from the side. One more lap and we can go inside. Take it easy though, this is what they call a cool down. It lets your muscles rest and to 'cool down.' Take your time."

Hope was so grateful to hear those words. His last lap. He rounded the last corner of the house and fell on the grass in front of Snow. His chest rising up and down fast, trying to breath. "Th…ank…you…Edon…I'm…done…"

Snow helped the boy up from the ground. "C'mon on Hope. It's not good to just lie there. Let's go get some food."

When the boys entered the house they could smell the goodness of Serah's cooking. The smell alone made Hope's mouth water. He hobbled inside and crashed himself down in one of the kitchen chairs. He finally got some of his breathing back to normal.

Snow went over to the counter and started making something. He was in the way so Hope had no idea what he was making; all he could concentrate on was the smell of the kitchen. Lightning happen to walk into the kitchen, sitting in one of the chairs across from Hope. She smirked at him.

"So did you enjoy your run?" She said teasingly, but only loud enough for them to hear.

Hope hit his head on the table and just stayed there. "I don't know how much longer I can take of that."

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "It was your first day."

He looked up at her. "And I never even wanted one day, but guess what? I'm stuck here being Snow's project." He laid his head back down on the table. "Why me?"

Lightning leaned back crossing her arms. "Because you just so happened to ask for my help getting a Christmas present and Snow just had to see."

"Don't remind me. That was so embarrassing." He mumbled from his spot.

Lightning sighed. "But you know. You're doing a whole lot better this time then when it was just the two of us traveling to Eden. You're doing a great job Hope. You've grown a lot." She said trying to be encouraging.

Hope lifted his head up to look at her, a slight rosy pink in the cheeks. "Thanks Light."

Serah then came and placed a big plate of pancaked, bacon, hash browns, and a muffin, in front of Hope. You could see the drool coming from the side of his mouth. "Thanks Serah." His eyes wide. He was about to take a bite of his bacon when Snow quickly snatched the plate and fork away. "Hey! I was just about to eat that!" Hope had a long morning; all he wanted was a good meal at that moment.

Snow just shook his head. "Nope, not during training you're not." He then placed in front of him a weird looking green shake. "You get to eat this. Full of protein and vitamins. Just what you need after a good workout."

Serah frowned a bit. "But I cooked that just for you guys."

"Sorry babe, but when you work out like we did today, he needs that shake."

Hope was so disappointed. He picked it up and just looked at it with disgust. "Should I even ask what's in this?"

Lightning just shook her head. "It's better not to know."

"Aw man." Hope put his head back on the table, hitting it a few times.

Ok people. That's all I got for now. If you want me to make another chapter give me some ideas…Im kinda stuck at the moment. Do I do a time skip a few weeks or just go with the progress? Hope you enjoyed it :D