A/N: So, I'm excited for FFXIII-2 for the sheer fact that I get to see older Hope. Mm, he grew up so nicely. Light's going to have a hard time accepting that. Hahaha… Ahem, so anyway, this is my first shot at a cute, fluffy yet semi-serious, FFXIII fic - actually it's my first FF fic ever. I'm more of a Resident Evil and Silent Hill fan than anything else though my favorites section says otherwise.

Anyway, enough of my ramblings, I hope you enjoy this little wittle fic of mine. :]

Disclaimer: I do not own. Square does, duh.

Oh, you'll be coming across these babies; heterochromatic – having two different colored eyes. Thousands, spiders, and palms – they're all different shapes that fireworks take. Also, 'thousands' is another name for multi-break shells. Those are my favorite fireworks! :D

"I remember my first glimpse - of a face,
I saw you smile - then I smiled,
I was straight blown away..." - Epik High

I - First Glimpse -

"…Estheim, Estheim!"

Hope groaned, muttering a few obscenities under his breath, and shifted in his seat. There was a collective jumble of noises, chuckles and mutters of disapproval, but Hope only registered them as annoying attempts to disturb his sleep. He groaned again and lifted his head as he tried desperately to blink the sleep out of his eyes. A hard smack at the back of his head made stars pop in front of his vision and he yelped, his hand immediately going to nurse the throbbing area.

"Sleep in my class again and I'll kick yer ass, kid. I don't care if you're the son of the new Primarch, no special treatment here." The teacher folded his arms, fixing Hope with a glare that threatened to set him on fire. Hope sighed, muttered an apology, and leaned back in his seat. The teacher rolled his eyes and went back to the front of the room, resuming his lesson. Hope sighed once more and dropped his head to the desk; the students on either side of him chuckled.

"I know you're an A-student in this class, hell every class," A voice whispered to his left, Hope registered it as his friend Maqui. "But damn, at least try to stay awake."

"I can't," Hope paused, a yawn escaping his lips, and stretched. "I barely got any sleep last night, I got off at one." He yawned again and dropped his head to the desk, groaning. "It's been like this for the past five days."

The student to his right spoke before Maqui could. "Why don't you just get money from your dad?" He asked with a blue eyebrow quirked in question. "I bet he's loaded with tons of gil."

"Yuj, you should know why, asking my dad for gil will make it seem like I can't live on my own," Hope leaned forward and rested his chin in his left palm. "And he'll just say, 'I'll pay for your housing expenses as long as you go to University here in Eden' and I do not want to live there so the media can just follow me around everywhere I go."

Yuj's 'hmm' of acknowledgement was cut off mid-way by the bell. The three stood up, gathering their belongings as they did, as the teacher spoke loudly over the rising voices of students. "Drop off last night's assignment on your way out and remember, your blueprints are due tomorrow! I don't care if Eden's celebration goes on 'til the morn'; get yer asses and those blueprints to my class."

Hope rolled his eyes as he strolled up to the teacher's desk and dropped the assignment off. "Geeze Rygdea, another personal stab? You know I'll be here."

"Yeah whatever, and that's Mister Rygdea to ya." The man glared playfully and waved him off. "Now get out of the way, yer holdin' up my line."

Hope chuckled and waited for Maqui and Yuj at the door. They left the room and Maqui nudged Hope to get his attention. "Are you going? I mean, it'd be cool to support your pops."

"I didn't tell you?" Hope asked, his eyebrows rose with disbelief when Yuj and Maqui shook their heads in respond. "Oh, sorry about that, but I'll be on the float with him."

"What, what?" The two exclaimed, disbelief mixed with excitement dripping off their tones.

"Dude, do you know what that means?" Maqui exclaimed as he clapped his hands down on Hope's shoulders. Hope stared at him as though he had a thousand heads. "It means you'll be surrounded by the Daughters of Eden!"

"Daughters of Eden?" Hope repeated, the terms sounded so familiar but an image refused to surface. "Who are they again?" Hope asked, feeling left out that he couldn't share the level of excitement that Maqui and Yuj shared. The two males shared a glance at each other before their looks of disbelief turned to Hope.

"You really need to start paying attention to the news," Yuj said, shaking his head with the lingering look of disbelief on his features. He held up his hand and wiggled the fingers in front of Hope's face, making the platinum blond roll his eyes. "The five Daughters of Eden are," He held up one finger. "I wish I had the issue with me! By anyway, they're equally the number one most beautiful women in all of Cocoon!"

Maqui rolled eyes and nudged Yuj away with his elbow. "That's true, but no one knows what their real purpose is. Some people say they've been blessed by the fal'Cie, others say they're a completely different species that's gone extinct but since there aren't males to help their species expand they're under the protection of the Sanctum." Maqui folded his arms and added a moment later, "I say the species thing is way more believable but being blessed by the fal'Cie gives them a purpose to be so guarded by the Sanctum and why they're constantly surrounding the Primarch."

Hope felt his eyebrows disappear under his bangs and he suddenly exploded with laughter as he started down the hall, Yuj and Maqui following closely. "Oh man," He choked out. "I knew it was weird of my dad to say that!"

The men beside him glanced at each other before they voiced their curiosity in unison. "Say what?"

"That he had to have died because he was surrounded by angels." Hope grinned when their eyes widened briefly before their growing chuckles turned into laughter.

"Your dad's a cheese ball." Maqui teased. Hope shrugged, nodding his head in agreement. "I know, I told him he was." But there was a slight, downward tug at his lips and he slowly fell out the new conversation as they left campus.

That was our last conversation, The thought made Hope's frown deepen. And that was weeks ago.

"Why does this place have to be so high?" Hope whimpered as he stepped away from the window. The view of Eden was amazing, that much he could admit, but the distance from ground to the Primarch's office was less than appealing. "Don't you ever get queasy being so high up?" He asked, turning to the man in the chair.

It had only been a few weeks since Bartholomew Estheim had been made Primarch, the previous having died of old age a month prior to the promotion, and Hope still had not gotten used to his father's new… uniform. The regal attire looked fantastic - a perfect fit - on the man but that was the opinion of others. Hope, on the other hand, thought that his father outside of the normal business suit and inside the white and gold robes of the Primarch, looked absolutely silly.

At least his robes aren't as over the top as the previous Primarch's robes, Hope almost laughed at the image of his father in a head dress. I would've never let him live that one down.

"You get used to it," The middle-aged man shrugged, a smirk tugging at his lips. "I didn't know you were still afraid of heights, son."

Hope rolled his eyes and kicked his foot at imaginary dirt. "Let's not touch that subject, dad." He muttered as a dark blush began to tint his cheeks. Thankfully, before his dad could further tease him, there was a knock at the door.

"Come in," Bartholomew called. Not a second later and the door opened, a PSICOM officer strolling in. The officer bowed before he straightened up and nodded his hello to Hope. "Your eminence, wardrobe is ready. The Daughters are already waiting in the Hall." He informed. The mention of the Daughters reminded Hope of his conversation with Maqui and Yuj and he waited for the PSICOM officer to be dismissed before his attention turned to his father.

"Dad, who are the Daughters of Eden?" Hope asked as he folded his arms, a single, platinum brow rose. "Maqui and Yuj told me about them but it was all what the media and the people think they are."

"Those speculations are somewhat true though," Bartholomew answered as he rubbed his chin absently. "Those girls are Cocoon born, their real names are only known to them. They're human though – but I think to an extent–"

"What do you mean by that?" Hope interjected, ignoring the slight glare his father sent him for the interruption.

"They can use magic without the use of manadrives, that's where the speculation of them being blessed by fal'Cie came from, but according to one of the legends, they were each born with a different part of Etro's power. I think those parts are called; the sight, the mind, the body, the spirit and the voice. I've yet to see anything, though." Bartholomew sighed and shook his head. "I honestly don't see why they're here, they're normal girls and I'm trying to get them to have normal lives because they've been holed up in this place since the Sanctum discovered their powers… I'm guessing that's been since they were mere children."

"That's horrible," Hope muttered. "Their parents had no say in anything?"

"Apparently not." Bartholomew answered with a shake of his head.

Another knock at the door and before an acceptance to enter was spoken; the door had flown open to reveal a woman with long caramel blonde hair and emerald eyes, her glasses making them glitter in the glare of the sun. "Your eminence," She bit out, her voice struggling to keep her annoyance hidden. "Please hurry, we're behind schedule as it is."

Bartholomew sighed and headed over to the woman, motioning for Hope to follow as he did. "My apologies Miss Nabaat, I lost track of time. It's not everyday I get to have a nice conversation with my son."

Nabaat 'hmm' in acknowledgement, her eyes flickered to Hope briefly before she turned, her obnoxiously long hair whipped out behind her, and left the room with them following behind. Hope rolled his eyes behind her back, his impression on the woman wavered between annoying and impatient and… well, just plain annoying.

Hope backed up against the crystal throne his father sat on as he swallowed a large lump in his throat. He knew he had to ride a float alongside his father and five women who were said to be the 'most beautiful women in all of Cocoon' but he had not expected this; a float nearly hundreds of feet tall that was not decorated innocently enough to distract him from the fact that they'd be flying thousands of feet above Eden. Of course, in reality, the float was only forty feet tall and it was on the Grand Prix road which was only a few hundred feet from the ground. Okay, maybe it was a thousand or two but Hope wasn't prepared for that kind of reassurance. Then there was the problem that not only Eden, but all of Cocoon, would officially know that he was the son of the Primarch.

He obviously didn't think through the offer to ride a float.

And their first image of me is in weird white and gold robe things draping over my shoulders – at least mom doesn't have to endure this kind of embarrassment. The thought made him frown as he realized she didn't have much of a choice to attend or not. I wish you were here, giving me reassurances like always.

"Hope, let's not frown when the parade actually starts, yes?" Bartholomew said with a sad smile that gave away his thoughts; they mirrored his son's. Hope nodded and tried in vain to wipe his face clean of pessimism, getting as far as a lopsided smile was.

"Siren, Phoenix, Ultima, to the left," Nabaat directed, her voice grabbing Hope's attention. "Lightning and Shiva, you two are to stand next to the Primarch's son."

Before Hope could look over at the two women that would be on his right, the float began to rumble and the sound of rushing wind drowned out all thoughts and voices. The float gave a sudden jerk, and without warning, Hope almost fell to the floor – his fall had been stopped by a strong grip around his forearm. Hope's gaze travel up the gloved hand and was soon captivated by a pair of sapphires that contrasted a peach flushed face framed with wispy, strawberry blonde hair. A pink eyebrow rose and the grip around Hope's arm disappeared.

"Be careful." The woman said tersely before her attention turned away from him. Hope snapped out of his trance and stuttered out an apology and a thank you all at once. The woman looked back at him – her perfect eyebrow arched once more, and she nodded her head as a silent 'your welcome' while the woman beside her giggled. Hope felt his cheeks burn and immediately snapped his head forward.

Real smooth Estheim, real smooth. Hope let out a barely audible sigh and shut his eyes tightly, hoping he could redo his first impression on the women.

"You'll get better," He heard his father's teasing tone to his left and he was just about to glare before the sudden flash of sunlight hit him. He immediately brought up an arm to shield his eyes until they adjusted to the light properly. Muffled cheers, explosions and music fluttered to his ears as the float pushed forward towards the Grand Prix, the sounds becoming clearer as they neared.

"All this, for me," Bartholomew muttered breathlessly.

Hope looked over to his father and caught the ghost of a genuine smile on the middle-aged man's lips. Hope nodded, smiling sincerely, and clapped a hand onto the man's shoulder. "That's right, and I'm pretty sure they'll give you one for every birthday you have, like they did with the previous Primarch." He said with a chuckle.

"I don't know if I should be grateful or terrified that I'll be reminded of my birthday every time it comes." Bartholomew said, his and Hope's chuckles rising to laughter as their smiles grew wider.

The translucent, clear road and smooth, metallic stands that were flooded with people slowly came into view. There were multiple floats in front of their own but Hope hardly gave them much notice when something tiny caught his attention. They fluttered in the air alongside white petals and their surface bounced light at him at certain angles. Hope raised his hand as one of them fluttered by him and with a timed reaction; he caught one in his hand, the softness of it surprising him. He held the petal-like object up at eye level and stared in amazement as it glittered like a diamond, colorful prisms dancing along his fingers. In his peripherals, and through the soft translucent petal, a single burst of colorful light exploded with a bang and was closely followed by a rally of colorful explosions in varied forms of thousands, spiders and palms.

There was a collection of gasps and he looked over to the sound, noticing the three women on his father's left for the first time. Despite the shared hairstyle of an updo, each had their own length and shades of brown hair and their eyes were completely different from the other – one even had heterochromatic eyes. They also shared the same shocked visage, clearly a reaction to the fireworks display, it was as though they had never seen one before. Hope looked over to the strawberry blonde women to his right and their expressions, save the very discreet one of the woman who broke his fall, mirrored the others.

Bartholomew's voice fluttered into his thoughts as Hope remembered their earlier conversation about the women. Then it would make sense why they're so… so awestruck. Hope thought as he absentmindedly stared at the woman closest to him, taking in every one of her soft features. She was the tallest of the five, merely four or five inches shorter than him, and had a figure that was more muscular than feminine. Of course, that didn't take away from her soft curves which were hinted at by the way the short white dress hugged her. He noticed that she and her sister, and possibly the other women, adorned the same dress, save for a few differences that he couldn't pin-point in just a glance.

Sapphire eyes turned to gaze at his emerald ones and his cheeks burned in embarassment at being caught. She gave no reaction to his stare, despite the strange ghost of a smirk at her lips, and merely tilted her head ever so slightly.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" She asked suddenly, her voice wispy but lined with confidence and deepened by a natural edgy spunk.

She noticed! "Ah - what - I - no!" Hope blurted out suddenly.

"No?" The woman feigned hurt, her slight smirk giving her away but Hope didn't notice. The young man had been to busy trying to apologize.

A louder than normal explosion of fireworks went off above him and he was saved from his sudden embarassment when the woman snapped her head forward, an odd look of annoyance and caution crossing her features. Hope was left with a rapid heartbeat and an odd feeling of danger that fluttered around the pit of his stomach.

He wasn't sure why.

Another bang of fireworks and Hope's attention traveled upward as the remnants of a thousands firework rained down slowly, the colorful lights flickered in and out of focus around him, and bounced rainbows off the diamond-like petals, right before they disappeared completely at his feet. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips as more bangs and pops of the light show exploded around him, the music's thrum muffled along with the crowd and voice of the spokesman whom he never gave attention to since the parade started.

Then, in the time frame of a single minute, the entire world came spiraling down upon Hope and he was more or less unprepared for the events that unfolded in that single minute. He could only register that the world had been swept away from beneath him, the cheers turned to screams of horror and the explosions of fireworks that no longer excited him. He could hear his father's voice among the collection of others before they were suddenly gone from earshot.

What's going on?

The blue sky above him still exploded with bright, colorful lights and he could feel the diamond-like petals that grazed his cheeks and the tips of his fingers.

But they no longer brought a smile to his lips.

They blurred with his vision, melted into watery blobs of colors before becoming obscured by thick trails of red. The red broke off into various sizes of dots as they traveled upward and away from him. He was vaguely aware of an unbearable sting that engulfed the right side of his body before his sense of touch caught the tips of something warm and soft brushing across forehead.

Mom?

"Hope, it's okay, you're safe now." Wispy... Confident... Edgy... But, who?

You're not mom… Why…? Who...?

Then there was darkness - warm, blissful and inviting as he spiralled down into its welcoming arms.