A/N: Hello there everyone~ Welcome to the first chapter of Kaleidoscopic. It was just something I thought about while I was picking a color to paint my nails. Lol.

This is going to be a series of one-shots (which, by the way, may or may not be interrelated with each other; could be AU or not) dedicated to Hope and Lightning! I'll be using colors for Chapter names (thus the title was born. lol) and each color will be representing something. (Could be an emotion, action, or a thing. Anything relating to/symbolizing the color.)

Anyway, sorry for the long author's note and the suckish writing. (I'll get better, promise.) Enjoy!

KALEIDOSCOPIC

Their love was like a Kaleidoscope- colorful and ever changing; unpredictable, yet so beautiful at the same time.

CHAPTER ONE: "Blue."

It was the start of another day for a certain silver-haired boy and his five companions. A brand new sun was peeking out from the mountain tops on Gran Pulse, and the silence of the previous night was quickly fading away. The Behemoths and the Gorgonopsids could be heard roaring their 'good morning' greetings to each other in the distance, while the Wyverns were already soaring the Pulsian skies in search of potential breakfast. Oh, how lively the beasts of Gran Pulse were, so early in the morning. At the exiled L'Cie campsite, however, the scene was nowhere near lively. Six beds made from large leaves were spread around the remains of burned firewood. On each bed lay one person, all of them varying in sleeping position. But one thing was certain, they were all in deep slumber. Well, except for maybe one.

The pile of leaves in between the beds of Hope Estheim and Sazh Katzroy was empty. This empty bed was supposed to belong to Lightning, but she was not in it. She wasn't around the campsite either. But of course, no one was aware of the soldier girl's absence. Everyone was too busy floating in the sea of dreams, losing themselves in their own fantasies. Everyone aside from a certain fourteen-year-old boy, that is.

Yes, one person seemed to realize that Lightning was, indeed, missing in action. This person tossed and turned in his bed. He was desperately trying to get back to sleep and trying to keep his eyes shut, only to be forced to open them as the sunlight hit him square in the face. He squinted at this, placing his gloved hands in front of him to block the rays of sunlight from his eyes before opening them once again, and turned to his side. That was the very moment he noticed that she was gone. He sat up on his bed when he didn't see any trace of a pair of sparkling blue eyes- and no, the ones he were looking for weren't Snow's- and long pink hair; His green orbs travelling around the campsite in search for even just the slightest hint of the pink-haired soldier.

He caught sight of Sazh and his chocobo sleeping peacefully on his left and turned away, not wanting to disturb them. He then saw Snow in an odd position, lying on his chest as he snored loudly and muttering incoherent sentences to himself. Hope, of course, did not want to wake the sleeping giant. The only time of peace at the camp was when Snow- and maybe, Fang- was asleep. He wanted this peace to last as long as possible, so he ignored Snow and carried on looking for Lightning. Instead, though, he caught sight of another empty bed- Vanille's. This confused him for a moment, until he found the cheery girl sleeping next to Fang on her bed. He decided not to wake them, fearing that Fang might turn him into tonight's dinner if he chose to. So he looked around once more and frowned, only to find that the person he was looking for wasn't anywhere near.
Hope gets up on his feet, deciding that he would wander around Vallis Media for a few minutes. Who knows? Maybe he'll come across Lightning in the midst of his little exploration. That, though, motivated him to get going, all the more. So he slowly walked around his friends to check if they really were sleeping. Once he had confirmed that they were indeed, lost in the sea of dreams, he sets off North towards the Fingers of Stone. After evading countless Flans and Alraunes- even managing to defeat some of them on his own- Hope finally reaches his destination. Atzilut's tears, his favourite area in Vallis Media. He smiles, quite proud that he made it on his own, and sits at the water's edge as his eyes drift at the small waterfall linked to the river. He notices a treasure sphere in some dry land on the middle of the water, and was about to try to get to it on his own when he remembers that the sphere was already emptied by Fang, two days ago.

The silver-haired boy remains still at the edge of the water, admiring the sheer beauty of it all- the scenery, the sky, the sounds of the rushing water, everything. He then uses his hands to scoop up some water and splashes it on his face, repeating this a few times before a coconut tree nearby catches his eye. This made him he recall the day he got his Eidolon, Alexander. It was, to him, one of his greatest achievements ever. Yet at the same time, he was quite embarrased that Lightning and the others had to find him collapsed next to the river. But still, she did smile at him that night. He remembered it like it was yesterday, her blue eyes staring into his own as she held up his chin and smiled at him.

"You don't have to go through this ordeal alone, you know,"

He smiles unknowingly as he recalls the soft expression in her piercing blue eyes. He remembers how gentle they were. How those eyes only focused on him that night. He's looked into those eyes so many times, yet only found time to appreciate their striking beauty now. Those eyes that reflected the color of the sky, the blue orbs containing the secrets of the sea; he loved looking into them. The eyes that he thought were cold and heartless when he first looked into them turned out to be the eyes of the woman he was falling in love with. Her eyes were beautiful. She was beautiful.

And someday, she would be his. Someday.

Hope was lost in his own dreams at the moment, even though he was awake. But he couldn't enjoy these fantasies any longer, as a high-pitched sound cut him off- the sound resembling the roar of a Rakshasa. He growls, and turns around in annoyance. How dare they interrupt his little daydreams of Lightning! He scoffs.

But as he stands up and turns around, his eyes widen and he finds himself thrown back into reality. He was in Gran Pulse- a beautiful, naturey, yet monster-infested land which was also known as 'hell' on Cocoon. He was not on his bed. He was alone, and he kind of forgot what the weaknesses of Rakshasa were. And the worst of it all was that three Rakshasa were dancing in front of him, and he was positive that they were out to get him. The best thing he could do now was run and hope that they lose him...or something.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" He screamed as he ran past the three monsters. A high-pitched sound came from each of them and they started to dance in his direction. Hope ran faster, and found himself headed towards the Yaschas Massif. He increased his speed, running without looking back to check if they were still on to him. But suddenly, he felt a little stupid and stopped in his tracks. He sighed and slapped his palm against forehead. Nothing was chasing him, and he felt like a total idiot running around the Massif. "Great job, Estheim. Be thankful no one's here to-"

'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.'

Hope froze and his head turned slowly to the right. There stood a Behemoth King, saliva dripping from it's mouth as it growled. 'Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.'

"N- now, wait just a- AH!" He jumped as the Behemoth put one foot forward, while he was busy taking slow steps backward in the hopes of escaping. "I- I don't really taste good okay? You know what poop is? The gross stuff that comes out of your bu- YIKES!" He exclaimed as the Behemoth's growl became louder. "Yeah...I taste like that so..." The silver-haired boy froze as he felt his back hit something hard. He was leaning against a wall now, this was the end of his beautiful life. "Grrrrrrr." The Behemoth was only five feet away from him, and he didn't know what to do. He rapidly cast Haste on himself- 'Oh, why didn't I think of this earlier?' -and began running once again. But even with the Haste spell on him, the Behemoth was still able to catch up to him.

He looked back as he ran, seeing the Behemoth still on his trail, and tried to run faster whilst saying his goodbyes. "Goodbye life. Dad, I'm sorry, I love you. Bye. Sazh, thanks for being there for me, bye. Vanille and Fang thanks too, bye, S- AH!" He jumped, barely managing to evade the Behemoth's claw. "Snow, I used to hate you but you're cool anyway, bye. Light- WHOA!" He came to an abrupt stop at the edge of a cliff, flapping his arms and trying to regain his balance as he did so. Just then, the Behemoth tried to scratch him with it's claw once again and he fell over the edge, but was saved as he barely managed to hang on to a sharp rock. He looked up, the monster was still there, he would die if he tried to climb up. He looked down, but was unable to see anything below. He was certain, though, that if he'd die if he fell.

'I can't die...Not until after I tell Lightning how much I love her and save Cocoon!' He thought and for a second there, he thought he felt the ground bounce, forcing him to look up once again. The Behemoth was hitting the ground with it's claws. "Stupid beast won't give up...ARGH!" He winced in pain as the sharp rock he was holding onto slightly cut his hand. He knew he was near his death.

He closed his eyes. He only had one last wish before taking his last breath- To see those beautiful eyes again; to look into them once more; to be able to stare into them for the last time. He pictured her eyes in his head, smiling as the image of her bright blue orbs formed in his mind.

"Guess this is goodbye, Light. Anyway, I always wanted you to know I really like you...I may even love you and thanks for everything..."

The Behemoth pounded on the ground once more, growling ferociously as it's paw hit the rocky surface, and Hope's hand was slowly slipping off the edge. Then he heard a blade cutting through something, and for a minute, thought that he heard the ferocious beast scream in pain.

"Hope!" A familiar voice rang in his ears and his eyelids shot open. "Take my hand!" He looked down to see that the Behemoth was already falling before him. He looked up, Lightning was reaching out to him. "Hope!" He reached out to her as well, but the cut in his hand grew more painful as he tried to hoist himself up. "AH!" He winced in pain and closed his eyes. "Lightning!"

Next thing he knew, he was falling into the nothingness.

It was much like how his mother, Nora, had died.

"Hope!"

But he could still hear her voice.

"Hope!"

It was like she was right beside him.

"HOPE! For Maker's sake!"

His eyes shot open, and the blue eyes he wanted to see so badly were staring right at him. 'I'm not dead?'

"Finally...You're a deep sleeper aren't you?" Lightning stood up as the boy began to sit up on his makeshift bed of coconut leaves. "It was just a dream?" He said out loud, running his fingers through his hair and blinking the sleep out of his green eyes.
"What was?" Lightning asked.
"Nothing!" He smiled as he stood up and headed to her side. "Light, did I ever tell you how beautiful your eyes were?"
Lightning looked at him oddly. "No? But thanks anyway..." She said calmly, turning around when she felt her cheeks heat up. "Well if that dream was nothing, let's get going. Fang and the others are at the springs right now. They'll leave us behind if we don't get going," the pink-haired lady said, leading the way to the nearest waystone.
Hope, slightly disappointed by how the lady took his compliment, sighed and followed quickly. "Okay..."

Lightning was about to touch the waystone, but she stopped and turned to him before doing so.

"By the way, Hope...What was that earlier about goodbye?"

The color drained from Hope's face. 'I said that out loud?'

"W- what are you talking about, Light?" He laughed nervously.

"You said goodbye, and that you liked me and might even lo-"

Hope didn't allow her to finish her sentence, he took the initiative and touched the waystone quickly. And when they arrived at the Sulyya Springs, he swiftly ran off into the entrance, not allowing Lightning to question him.

The pink-haired soldier stared at the entrance with an odd look on her face, her eyebrows raised and her hands on her hips.

"That was weird."

How was it? Hahaha.

Concrit and reviews are greatly welcomed.

P.S. Help me think of something for the color Green, please? Something other than Hope's eyes. Haha.