Important AN: I cut a part with Hope and Bhunivelze. I decided to keep it seperate from this fic, so I will be uploading it in a bit after this. Where the asterisks are (*) is where it is supposed to be in the fic.
This is for VanilleHope Day over on Tumblr.
The New World... A place everyone had fought so hard for.
Beaten and tortured he was... Hope's thoughts often flickered back to that day 169 years ago...*
*Hope shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts from those memories. How he wished he could forget, but he couldn't run away from his past. He knew that.
He let out a sigh as he continued to walk down the streets of the very busy, bustling capital city with its skyscrapers that seemed to touch the heavens and big, electronic billboards flashed from all over these buildings.
Why he hadn't stayed across the seas with the others... He had a feeling he had to be here, though... like he was going to meet someone. He had been here only a matter of days and Hope longed to see his friends again. They had found everyone so far. Everyone except... Vanille.
The next few days after were spent in a daze. Hope spent his time writing many letters to his friends and building new things that would help make their lives easier.
One of those days, he had seen his parents in the square.
Hope hadn't seen them in so long... His heart yearned to talk to them, to catch up, and at first he wasn't going to see them when his mother had noticed him. She knew it was her son as all mothers do and she ran over to him and wrapped her arms around him and squeezed tight. Tears ran fresh down her cheeks and onto his clothes.
"Hope... It's you, isn't it?" Nora asked, stepping back and wiping away her tears.
"Nora. Calm down." Her husband, Bartholomew, said as he gently touched her shoulder.
"Bart! It's Hope! Our son." She exclaimed.
His father was shocked at her revelation and began to look at Hope.
"S-son?" He whispered.
Of course, Hope was older now. No longer having to bear the appearance of an adolescent.
"Mom... Dad... It's nice to see you," Hope replied, a small smile forming on his face.
The small family shared a warm embrace as a girl with her red hair in pigtails looked on at them, her smile full of pain as if remembering someone.
Nora had insisted that they go out to eat, to catch up and although father and son persisted, she succeeded in having the family go out.
After they were seated and comfortable, that girl passed by the restaurant window they were seated in front of.
Nora remembered a similar girl in appearance at Bodhum and The Hanging Edge and how she had helped Hope through his tough times and him doing the same for her.
"Whatever happened to the girl you were with Hope? The perky one with her hair in pigtails?"
Vanille.
Hope cast his eyes to the ground and said, "I'm sorry. I... I have to go."
He said goodbye and left his parents.
How silly that he had come overseas. Sure he had met his parents, but the person he wanted to meet the most was no where to be found.
Vanille... He missed her smile.
Unknowingly, he ran right into the girl his mother had seen earlier. They both fell to the ground, letting out a noise of surprise.
Hope gather his senses and quickly apologized.
"I'm sorry. My mind was preoccupied. Are yo-"
He was interrupted by the girl, hugging him and crying happily.
"Oh, Hope!"
She squeezed him before letting go and placing her hands on his shoulders.
It was Vanille.
"Vanille!"
Now, it was Hope's turn to embrace Vanille.
"I never thought I'd find you..."
"It's okay. We had our promise, remember?"
She hugged him again.
A promise that had lasted lifetimes... A promise that both held dear to their hearts.
To meet in another lifetime.
End.