It was a sunny, warm day with only a few cumulus clouds decorating the sky. Music filled the air, as the band Of Peace and Love performed a crowd favorite, "Pseudo-American Dream." Snow Villiers and his friends were right in front of the stage, cheering on their favorite band. Life was good.
Life had been good, ever since Snow decided he wanted to leave home and join a group of his brothers and sisters in the quest for world love, peace, and environmental tranquility. That was what he called it, anyway. His parents called it being a hippie. But they couldn't do anything about it- Snow was 21 now, a full-grown adult, and he paid all his bills himself with his job as a crate carrier at the harbor in Bodhum. Well, his old job. He'd quit, packed up all his belongings in his Volkswagen van, and set off on the road. Even if his parents came across him now, they wouldn't recognize him. He'd let his blond hair grow past his shoulders, and traded his signature beanie for a tie-dye headband that he tied around his head tightly, knotting it on the left side. He usually walked around shirtless these days, with a pair of loose-fitting dark gray pants and a pair of Asian sandals that he'd found at a concert somewhere.
One might wonder how Snow kept himself afloat without a job. Well, he had a job of sorts whenever he stopped at concerts: he sold headbands. Whenever his clothes tore to the point that he couldn't wear them in public anymore without getting arrested for indecent exposure (it had happened before) he'd cut the fabric into small strips and dye them funky colors, and sell them. They sold surprisingly well, well enough for him to continuously buy gas for his van and pick up a few bites to eat. One time he was even able to buy a new pair of pants.
At this particular show, Snow came across his old friend Gadot, who worked security at this particular venue. "Snow?" Gadot said. "Snow Villiers? Man, you've hit rock bottom, huh?"
"Not at all!" Snow replied. "You see, the government has you believing you need all this stuff- a job, a house, showers. But you don't, man. I've been experiencing like outside of the influence of the Machine, and it's pretty sweet. Maybe you should try it too. Me and my brothers and sisters would welcome you with open arms."
He spread his arms, and Gadot cringed from his potent smell. "Uh, no thanks," he said. "Snow, man, you know you're still my bro though. Come over to my place- we can talk over dinner. You can get a shower too."
Snow thought about this. "Normally, I'd say no," he said, "but I can't find it in me to refuse such a generous offer from such a good friend."
Gadot had since become engaged to Lebreau, and they lived together in a house on the hills; Lebreau made a big fuss over Snow when she saw how he looked. "Are you sure you don't want to shave?" she asked.
Snow narrowed his eyes and shook his head. "That's what society would want me to do."
"Well, society or not, I'm still packing you some food for on the road. Be safe out there, okay?"
"And don't be afraid to call us if you need help with something," added Gadot.
Snow nodded. "Oh, I almost forgot; I have something for you too." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a bunch of apple seeds. "Plant them. It's the least you could do for our Mother Earth. You know, since your house probably killed his brothers when it was built here and all."
And with that, he walked out of the door.
"Did he just insult us?" Lebreau asked, staring at the man as he walked to his van.
At the next concert that Snow stopped at, Twelve Teens was opening for the Sunshine Lifters. As the former cranked out their song "Blooming Rose," Snow set up shop. He wasn't a huge fan of either band, so he didn't mind listening from the edges of the field. As he completed his last transaction from the small group that had formed, he saw a petite redhead standing not very far from his van.
Hey, I've never seen her before.
Snow had at least seen most of the people who showed up to these shows, but not her. She wore a pristine white dress, her curly hair flowing freely, and a wreath of flowers in her hair. She turned and caught sight of Snow. Instantly, she found herself drawn to his rugged handsomeness, and slowly walked up to his van.
"You're a lot cleaner than my usual customers," Snow remarked.
She giggled. "I don't travel quite as much as everyone else here," she told Snow. "I have my own band: Spirit Desire. I thought it would be nice to watch another band perform that's similar to us."
"Oh." Snow smiled. "I'm Snow. I make headbands."
"They're very nice headbands. And I'm Vanille, by the way." She picked up a headband. "How much do they go for?"
"That one would usually be a dollar," Snow said, "but I'll let you have it for half off."
Vanille smiled and nodded, and then paid. "Why don't you come out here and watch the band perform?"
"I have a better idea." Snow climbed up to the top of his van, and then held out his hand. "How about it? Best seat in the house!"
Vanille giggled again, but still took his hand and, with a considerable amount of help from Snow climbed up to the roof of the van. They listened together, and between songs, talked about their favorite bands, their favorite flowers, and how great life on the road could be.
When the concert was over, Vanille asked, "So I guess after this concert, you'll be leaving town?"
Snow nodded. "There's a factory in the next town over that we're gonna protest against. You should come with us."
"I can't. My band plays tomorrow." Vanille looked sad.
"Oh, I see." Snow nodded.
"Well, then, I hope we'll see each other on the road someday," Vanille said, about to leap off of the van.
"Wait." Snow smiled slyly. "Since we don't know if we're ever gonna see each other again, how about we have a little fun?"
Vanille thought, and then, without a word, slid from the roof into the van, and beckoned for Snow to follow.
This was going to be a good night.
[A/N:] This is why people shouldn't stay up until seven the next morning…
I got the idea of Snow and Vanille being hippies from their ridiculously optimistic personalities in the game. It also helps that I recently saw an episode of Futurama where Fry and the gang were hippies following after Bender and Beck's band. Also, in my senior year of high school, I had a teacher who talked to us about the free love thing, which coincided with the hippie era.
So there are a lot of music references in this story:
The title, "Free Love on the Streets," is a lyric taken from Fall Out Boy's "I Don't Care."
Of Peace and Love is a play on Of Monsters and Men.
"Pseudo-American Dream" is a play on "American Dream" by Sky Ferreira.
Twelve Teens is a play on the band Eleventeen, which nobody knows existed. "Blooming Rose" is a play on one of their songs, "Black Rose."
The Sunshine Lifters is a play on the Silversun Pickups.
The name of Vanille's band, Spirit Desire, is taken from "Teen Age Riot" by Sonic Youth.
In addition, Snow's former job as a crate carrier was taken from Fable 2.
This is my first one-shot: I usually write ongoing stories so forgive me if it seems like it stopped in the middle of nowhere ;)
Once again, I'll be around for the fandom. (Also, I changed my name on here, it used to be legionfulminante... and now it isn't. Still me. Heyyyy.)
Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy, but if I ever do, I'll be sure to tell you the moment it happens.