Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Square-Enix!
Warning: SnowxHope hints! Though they are very minor... Contains Spoilers.
Yep! It's a FF13-2 AU. I have this idea of a prompt while ago and it wouldn't go away until I write it down. I got the idea from reading The Fragments Before where Snow and Hope met in Palumpolum.
The story is self-beta, so there's errors. Enjoy!
A Hope For A Future
It was another day at the Yaschas Massif; quiet and serene. The sun was already setting, enshrining everything in an orange glow. The air was sooty and dusty where a concoction of Pulse civilization in ruins now brightened in human technology. The scientists and soldiers that now roamed and investigated these lands were in the process of packing up their belongings as nightfall closely approaches. One scientist however was still in his work mode, sitting at the base camp while scraping up ideas that were meant to be set in motion now and stretched into the distant future. There were papers, unorganized and scattered around the desk, all containing information about 'spacetime anomalies.' However, on a paper in front of the Director of Academia was a design of a large, floating sphere. This large shell will be their new Cocoon.
After seeing the prophecy of Cocoon's fall due to the collapse of the crystal structure, Hope began tinkering of a way to stop this prediction from ever coming into fruition. He had run other ideas in his head, like re-floating the old Cocoon but with the Cocoon's fal'Cie in hibernation, Cocoon didn't have a compatible power source to stay airborne. He had another idea which he scrapped recently. It was a design of a proto-fal'Cie project. The objective of this new man-made fal'Cie was to re-levitate Cocoon just like the Cocoon's fal'Cie but he had abandoned it a week ago when the oracle drive reacted on its own and shown Serah yelling at him for creating the proto-fal'Cie. In the end, creating a new Cocoon was the most practical solution which will save the populace and minimize the damage of Cocoon's falling. There were still some loose ends left to figure out like resolving how to keep the new Cocoon afloat but he had Academia and five centuries on his side to search for a solution.
Hope slumped back in his seat, rubbing the space between his brows while contemplating for a moment as he looked around his unorganized desk. There were a lot of platters on his plate, too big for any ordinary person to solve. Still someone had to do it and Hope had resolved himself to fix this mess while Serah and Noel fixed the timeline. He hoped with the timeline fix, everything will go back to normal. This task of building a new Cocoon wasn't just to stop the prophecy of Cocoon's falling, but also to bring back everyone who he had lost over time. He wanted things to go back to how it was, with everyone. He wanted to relinquish Fang and Vanille from their burdens from their crystal stasis no more and bring back Lightning, Snow and the others home.
Hope then felt a stricken sharpness, a growing fear tightening in his chest. Everyone he knew had all gone or unknowingly disappeared, leaving him alone. He always formed a close attachment to those around him and held them close in his heart; initially this had only included his mother, but later the extent of his attachment reached his father and Vanille, Lightning, and even someone careless like Snow. Time, however, was daunting and unfriendly, an accomplice to Hope's own restlessness. He watched as time took everyone he loved away from him, one by one. His mother to the purge. Lightning, Fang and Vanille to Cocoon, and Snow to the world, somehow. Hope longed for all of them to be together like before and fill the aching emptiness inside in his chest. He was seventeen and Serah was next to disappear from New Bodhum with a mysterious man named Noel. The members of NORA had sent him a message about it, several days after the 'gate' had appeared. He rushed quickly back to Pulse but it was too late. Everyone were all gone now. Every single last one of them. He wanted to find a gate so badly at the time, to just slip through and follow the others. But now a timegate was sitting at the Yascha Massif, but he couldn't use. The gate wouldn't open for just anyone. Only a chosen few. And Hope wasn't one. If only he could use the timegate and then maybe somewhere in future his wish would be realized. He had been in Bodhum by chance, went into the Vestige by chance, and Anima probably branded him by chance as well. He wished that he met them sooner. He wished he actually had real bonds to them outside of being l'Cie. But he didn't. They had all left to save the world again, and this time no amount of chance could allow him to catch up to them. A pair of green orbs turned his gaze to sky, seeing the orange glow blanketing the grey clouds in the sky. Night will be upon him in a few hours.
Hope stood up from his seat, walked around to the oracle device sitting on the opposite end where he brought his right palm over the device. After Serah and Noel fixed the paradox from a different timeline a few months back, the oracle drive began to work properly. When he met Serah and Noel, he was delighted. It was the first time he saw or heard from anyone that was related to that one incident that changed the world forever. Hope didn't know Serah that well, but they could be called friends, if only barely. But then Serah told him about 10 AF. He believed her of course, if time travel was possible, then alternate universes had to be possible as well. But then that raised the question, what happened to those paradoxical timelines? What happened to the millions of people living in the world that Serah and Noel just fixed? Did the other him know, he wondered, that by helping Serah he would cease to exist? That begged the question, will he cease to exist? He could not sleep that night. Or the next night. Alyssa seemed more quiet than usual. He realized on the third night though. It didn't matter. As long as one version of him in the infinite number of Hope Esthiems survived to see his friends again, it didn't matter. The next night he began the blueprints for the proto fal'Cie project.
The oracle device glowed a strange green before emitting a beam of light to the fal'Cie of Paddra causing an image to project itself in the sky. The projection shown Cocoon's falling and Lightning fighting some strange man somewhere in the future once more. He always watched the foretold prophecy in the oracle drive once before the day was over because seeing Lightning fighting for the future also gave him the needed encouragement to keep pushing forward in his research. He couldn't stand by and left this catastrophe to come true. Serah, Noel and Lightning were all doing their part to stop this destruction and he had to do his which was to build a new Cocoon. And then maybe everyone will be together in the end.
"Looking at the prophecy again, Director?" Alyssa asked, appearing from the stairs. However, Hope didn't respond. She raised a brow seeing the contemplated yet wishful look on the Director's face as the silverette just stood there and watched the prophecy until it's over. "You've been watching that every day for the past month. Is something on your mind?" She questioned, looking slightly concerned.
"It's nothing." Hope only stated and began gathering the scattered papers around the desk together.
"Are you sure? You haven't been acting like yourself lately?" Alyssa pressed on. It wasn't nothing when someone made a face like that and then brushed it off like it was nothing. She had some ideas from watching the silverette gazing at the prophecy to know what was causing the Director to act like this, but it wasn't her place to say so.
"I am fine, I assure you." Hope said and offered a soft smile.
"If you say so." Alyssa said, but wasn't fully satisfy with the Director's response. She walked to where the Director was and glanced at the paper on top of the stack together. It was the design of the new and alpha Cocoon to which will be replacing the old Cocoon. She picked up the paper and studied the schematic of the new Cocoon. "Do you really think the Academy will support your proposal?" Alyssa inquired to Hope.
"They have to." Hope answered. Even though he was the Director of the Academy, he couldn't do anything without the consent from the joint staff committee whose decision making was supported and gained from the general populace through a vote of confidence. This way the people had some saying when it come to Academy's decisions and how it will affect their lives. Academy was made after all for the will of the people after the Cocoon fal'Cie and Sanctum were dismantled.
"That's saying it lightly. Do you have any understanding of how much resources we are talking about to complete this project? I don't know where to start on building something like another Cocoon?" Alyssa inquired, feeling her head drone in pain from looking at the huge digits of numbers on the paper. The budget for building the new Cocoon and manpower required will be big, expanding over nearly five centuries. This wasn't a simple building project. This was building an entire continent which took millions of fal'Cie to do.
"It's not about understanding, but accepting it." Hope stated. "This isn't a choice we have to make freely. We have to choose it. There is no way around Cocoon's falling."
Alyssa let out a weary sigh. "When the Director made up his mind, he certainly made up his mind."
Hope smiled, amused with the response. "Are you worry?"
"Not at all. I just hope you have everything figure out before you present your proposal on the next board meeting."
Hope knew cold hard facts when he saw them. There was no room for doubts in his head. If he expected his plan to work, he had to have faith in it, just like he had faith in Serah and Noel to correct the timeline. He also had faith in the Academy and everyone else because the best blaze in people burns the brightest when circumstance are at their worst. He had to be resilient and leave no space for error, and then hopefully, everything will work out as he wished it to be.
"Director! Come quickly!" A female voiced called from below the stairs.
Hope and Alyssa walked to the stairs and looked down and saw Bridget, the Academy Lead Biologist, waving at them from the bottom at the stairs. She looked alarmed and over-exhausted, like she just run to a marathon from the valley to come see them. "Is something wrong Bridget?" Alyssa asked interestedly.
"The timegate in the valley was acting weird at moment ago and then a strange man suddenly falls out from it." The biologist informed the Director and his Assistant who were sporting a surprised look. A spark exploded in the ruin as the other scientists turned to biologist, looking shocked and curious too when they heard that piece of information, muttering amongst themselves.
"A strange man?" Hope blinked.
Bridget nodded. "He's a tall guy with blond hair wearing a large coat and he appear to be injured."
'Tall, blond hair, large coat.' Hope's eyes slowly turned round as those words rang inside his head. It couldn't be true? In an instant Hope was rushing down the stairs and striding towards the direction of the timegate with a group of curious researchers following his shadow. He quickly crossed through the sheer escarpments before entering the widened vault valley. A pair of green orbs shifted to the timegate in the distance and Hope felt something tighten in his chest when his eyes discerned Snow lying motionless on the ground near the time portal. He had worked so hard for this and suddenly something like this happen. He quickly made his way to the timegate and kneel beside the blond. His heart was filled with joy at the sight of a familiar face he hadn't seen in years.
"Snow! Snow!" Hope called out, trying to lift the man's head gently upward but the blond-haired man wasn't responding to his calls. His green eyes scanned Snow's body, noticing the man's weak breathing and the few bruises. He then heard a groan noise and his eyes snapped to Snow's face, seeing the blond fighting to open his eyes. When Snow finally managed to open his eyes, a pair of worried green orbs was staring into a warm cold-blue eyes and vice versa.
"Hope?" Snow only muttered, his lips curving into a smile before falling back into unconsciousness.
Hope blinked at the smile on Snow and then his face softened before shaking his head amused. Snow sounded relief when he said his name. And all this time he was worrying about nothing. Leave it to Snow ruffled his feathers and some. Even after eight years the blond was still easy-going as ever. "Get me a stretcher and fast!" Hope ordered over his shoulders to the small crowd standing behind of him. He turned back to the blond and felt a rouse of relief overcoming him. Snow was back, somehow.
"Director, look!" Alyssa said, staring at Snow's left arm.
Hope shifted his gaze to where Alyssa was looking and saw a familiar brand on Snow's arm. It was a l'Cie brand and that only meant one thing: Snow is still an idiot.
There were voices and movements around him that slowly stirred his senses awake. Snow struggled to open his eyes, finding his eyelids and body to be unbearable heavy. When he opened his eyes, he winced from the sudden luminosity deluding his vision. He raised his right arm to rub the brightness away but let out a groan instead when a sharp pain shot up from his chest and side. "Take it easy Snow." A familiar and concerned voice said. There was something at the back of his head telling him that he knew that voice but the tone in the voice was a little off. The brightness slowly started to fade as the world became clear around him and a pair of concerned green orbs were looking at him in what looked like a medical tent. It took Snow a few seconds to process the silver hair, the voice and other familiar features to figure out who was exactly looking at him. "Hope?" Snow inquired softly. Was he dreaming again when he saw Hope earlier?
"It's been a while." Hope said, smiling softly. The blond tried to raise himself up on his elbows, but let out a groan of pain. "Stay put! You're hurt." He quickly reassured. He was expecting this from the blond seeing that man still had the tendency to act instead of thinking. "Alyssa, bring me a bandage roll from medical kit."
"Is it really you, kiddo?" Snow blinked, still looking bewildered. There were other people and a short-haired blond girl who the latter was talking to in the room, but Snow couldn't careless about them especially when there was an older version of the fourteen year old teen he knew was standing before him.
"He thinks you're a ghost, Director?" Alyssa giggled, fishing out a bandage roll from a first-aid kit.
"So I wasn't hallucinating before. You look so grown up." Snow smiled happily.
"What do you expect? You've been gone for over eight years." Hope exclaimed.
'Eight years huh...' Snow mentally said. The last time he saw Hope it was only three months ago when he set off on his journey to find Lightning. He met the latter for a brief moment at Palumpolum where the teen was living a normal life. So this Hope was eight years older now. Snow's eyes raked up and down the silverette. The kid was now a man, however, he still saw some traces of fourteen year old under all of those mature features. "It's only been about three months for me."
"I can see that. You don't look much different when we last met, but what happened to your hair?" Hope said, eying the mop of hair suspiciously. The blond had animal mane for hairs.
"What's wrong with my hair?" Snow replied, raising an interesting brow at the silverette.
"It looks ridiculous." Hope teased with a slight upward curve on his lips.
"Hey!" Snow huffed in offense and tried to raise up but let out a painful hiss from the sharp pain coming from his side.
Hope shook his head hopelessly and studied the blond's condition. The man looked like he took quite a beating. Leave it to Snow to get himself into a whirl of problems by himself. "You're a complete mess?"
"Well my search for Lightning so far wasn't exactly a cakewalk."
"Did you find Lightning?" Hope asked in a beat.
"Sort of." Snow replied vaguely.
Hope slightly cocked his head. "What do you mean by 'sort of'?"
"I couldn't find her but she is somewhere strange fighting her own battle."
Hope nodded in acknowledgment, satisfy with Snow's answer. It was no different from the images shown from the oracle drive and what Noel say about Lightning. "What happened on your search?"
Snow let out a chuckle which was followed by a painful groan from the pain vibrating through his chest. "Where to start?" He said out of the blue and managed sit up-right. "After I left Palumpolum, I traveled to Archylte Steppe in my search for Lightning where I became friend with a lone Cactuar." Hope raised an inquired brow at his sudden choice of companion. "Just let me finish before saying anything." Snow smiled and Hope made a hand gesture to continue. "As I was saying, I journeyed around a few side scene with the Cactuar after later finding out that the Cactuar was a pulse fal'Cie when it helped me fight a Behemoth King. Then I returned to Cocoon where I met Rygdea and then boarded on a ship with the Cactuar. As my luck may have it, the ship was then under attacked by the similar monsters from the fifth ark, but Cactuar and I managed to lure them away from the ship with a hoverbike. Somehow during the chase we ended up above the remains of Bodhum and Eden and we were surrounded by this strange black mist that came with the monster before being trapped in a distortion."
"A distortion?" Hope gave Snow a puzzled look.
Snow nodded. "It's hard to explain. We were in this strange time space before emerging at this strange coliseum where I witnessed the events from different time. Most of it was a blur, but I remembered seeing Serah traveling through time with a friend... and Cocoon is going to fall!" Snow quickly warned Hope, but choose to withhold some other details about what he really saw. The sight of Serah's dying made his stomach clench, but he couldn't tell Hope about that.
"I already know about Cocoon's falling in 500 AF. I am instituting a plan to minimize the damage of Cocoon's falling as small as possible." Hope informed the blond.
"So we're in the same page after all. Our goals are no different." Snow smiled widely.
"How so?" Hope raised a brow in the blond's direction.
"When the Cactuar and I managed to escape the distortion, a timegate appeared before us and we entered it. Inside we were back in that strange time space again before we emerged out in 300 AF at the Sunleth Waterscape."
"A time gate?" Hope passed Snow a questionable look. "You're traveling between timelines like Serah?"
"Well, not exactly. The timegate just take me wherever it please." Snow informed Hope before continuing his tale. "When I arrive at Sunleth, I take a moment to rest where Lightning came to me in dream. She warned me of a large flan that threatened to wear down Cocoon's crystal pillar and-"
"Don't tell me! You bite off more than you can chew again?" Hope inquired, giving Snow a tiresome look. One would think Snow had learned of his limit on their previous journey together, but that didn't seem like the case again. However, Snow was fighting for same thing as him; to stop Cocoon from falling. Hope was surprised what Snow's been through for the past few months and also there was Lightning. Hearing about the disappeared soldier reinforced his doubts that Lightning was really in the crystal pillar which proved that Serah was right.
"You could say that!" Snow shrugged.
"You have some strange friends, Director!" Alyssa said with a gentle smile.
"But I have to go back, I can't stay here." Snow exclaimed and tried to stand up but one of Hope's hand stopped the gesture.
"Not so fast. You're in no condition to fight that monster. The future can wait for a few days." Hope chastised. "Maybe next time you wouldn't be so lucky."
"That giant flan is going destroyed the crystal pillar if I don't stop it now. Just gimme some of your cure spells and I'll be good as new like always." Snow pleaded, but Hope just stood there and stared him. Snow held back a frustrating noise. "C'mon Hope, the future is at stake here." But Hope still continued to stand there and looked at him.
"Snow, you're a l'Cie." It wasn't a question.
The said blond straightened as the room turned silent. Snow shifted his eyes away from Hope's firm gaze to left arm. "Yeah. I am." He said solemnly and turned his cold, blue eyes back to the silverette. "So what about it?" He sounded like a corner cat.
"Everyone!" Hope called over his shoulders. "Please stop what you are doing and give us a moment alone?"
"What about your friend's injuries?" Alyssa said puzzled.
"I'll take care of him." Hope reassured and took the roll of bandages from Alyssa's hand. "And do us a favor and ignore what you're going to hear inside in here." He supplied with an innocent smile which everyone plus Snow himself gave him a weird and bewildered look. Hope waited as everyone began to disperse through the flop of the tent before turning to the injured blond on the bed. "If you really in a hurry, let's get you all patch up nicely then." He stated evilly, the smile still present on his face.
Snow felt a cold sweat run down his back. He mentally felt himself backing more to the bed head seeing the leer on Hope's face. He never knew Hope can make those kinds of expression. Something bad was going to happen, he could feel in his stomach.
Everyone within hearing distance stopped in task when they heard the pleading and crying of pain coming from inside the white medical tent. Alyssa, who was standing in front of the tent with an uncomfortable smile on her face, made a hand gesture to the surrounding people to disregard the noise of man complaining for his life inside the tent.
"Ouch Hope!" Snow hissed as the latter made another tug with the bandages around his midsection.
"There! I left some painkillers and a glass of water on a table beside you. Drink it and get a good night of rest." Hope said, dusting his hands off and walking towards the flops of the tent. He paused when lifted one of the flops and turned his gaze back to Snow who lying stiff on the bed sans his coat and boots, groaning in pain and covered in bandages from his harsh wrapping. "You haven't change at all? Always doing what you please without thinking about the consequences of your actions and how it affects those around you."
"Wait Hope-" Snow attempted to say but Hope had already left. He tried to lean up but collapsed back on the bed, his entire body feeling like a boulder. He was aching with numbing pain all over from the way Hope tightly bandaged his injured body. Hope was angry at him, that was definitely for sure.
It wasn't until the next day that Hope came back to see him. He hadn't seen anyone after Hope left yesterday than a nurse who had come in earlier to check on his condition before leaving saying that the 'Director' will be visiting soon. When Hope stepped through the tent flops, he was carrying a plastic container with a piece of pan bread in his hands.
"How are you feeling?" Hope asked, seeing the blond resting up-right.
"Still sore." Snow offered a smile. The silverette uncapped the container which contained what looked like some sort of homemade soup and Snow's stomach growled when a delicious aroma filled the room. He tried to hold back the drools since he hadn't have a warm and decent meal to eat in ages. "Is that for me?" He asked hopefully, gaining a nod from the silver-haired male. He watched as the latter pulled a chair beside the bed and sat on it with the container and bread in his hands. Hope scooped a spoon into the liquid food and brought it closer to him. Snow stared at the utensil skeptically and then Hope gave an impatient look before leaning forward and engulfing the entire warm fluid. There was a buzzing of favor in his mouth before he swallowed it down. "It taste good." He said, licking his lower lip. He suppressed a smile, feeling a bit giddy all of a sudden from the impromptu sensation of nostalgia. It was just like their previous journey to save Cocoon when Hope always took care of him when he got injured. His tongue was itching him to say something about this wishful situation but he held back his tongue because it could make Hope angry.
"You need something solid too." Hope said and broke off a piece of bread, dipped it in the soup, and hand-feed it to the him. This carried for the next ten minutes or so until the short blonde came inside the tent.
"Director, you have a call from the Academy." Alyssa cheered.
Hope nodded before standing up. "Can you manage eating the rest by yourself?" He questioned Snow.
"I am a grown man, I think I know how." Snow chuckled.
"Okay. I'll see you later." Hope said and just like that he left.
A frown appeared on Snow's face. Hope was acting usual quiet. Was the silverette really that angry with him? "You and the Director are really closed, aren't you?" Snow looked up and saw that the blonde-haired girl was still standing inside the tent. He raised a brow towards the blonde direction.
"And what makes you say that, sweetheart?" Snow asked. He already knew the answer to that question. Hope was important to him just as he was important to Hope.
"He wouldn't say those things yesterday if he didn't care for you. Only someone really close to you will scold you like that." Alyssa winked at him before a contemplated expression appeared on her face. "But for the past two years, I've been working closely with him and I noticed how the Director keeps people at an arm distance except for a few."
"A few?" Snow inquired with a brow.
Alyssa nodded. "First was Serah when she came out from the timegate. At the time, the Director was relief to see her. The way he changes when you arrive is no different or probably he is more happier when he met Serah. You know, he puts all of his efforts in his work so that one day he can see everyone he had lost over the years. There is never a moment he stop thinking about his friends."
"I see…" Snow reckoned, his eyes cast down. He understood it now. Hope was alone all this time and Snow couldn't blame the the young man for feeling like that. Snow would feel lonely too to know that everyone he had cared about just suddenly disappeared or took off. Hope had it tough on his own for the past eight years. "Thank you." He said sincerely to the young woman who smiled at him.
It was nearing sunset and Hope didn't come back. Snow had spend the past hours ruminating of a solution to better Hope's situation but so far, he couldn't think of any. Sighing in defeat, Snow swung his legs to the side of the bed and with some effort, got himself out of bed. His body was sore and heavy all over but thankfully his l'Cie power was already pulsing energy throughout his body. He slipped his feet inside his boots and grabbed his long coat before stepping out the tent. He was greeted by the sight of the Paddraean Archaeopolis, but other than Cie'th roaming these ruins, there were scientists and armed soldiers. Some of the researchers and soldiers, mostly the males, gave him a glance but that was about it. The females, on the other hand, passed an interesting look in his direction but he didn't give a thought about it since he was looking for a particular silver head. However, he didn't see Hope anywhere though noticed the same short, blonde-haired girl conversing to two young females researchers. Maybe she may know of Hope's whereabout. He walked towards the trio, hearing the giggles and chuckles in their conversation.
"Errr..." Snow said, shifting the blonde attention from her peers to himself. The other two scientist offered him intriguing, yet curious look but he didn't look too deeply into it.
"I see you're looking well." Alyssa brightened.
"Ummm yeah… where is Hope?" Snow asked, getting to the point.
"The Director? He isn't acting himself today." Alyssa said, gaining a set of nods from the two female scientists. She then turned her gaze towards the Yaschas Massiff. "He went in to the valley earlier for a walk but he hasn't returned yet."
Snow muttered a quick 'Thanks' in appreciation before setting off towards the valley as the beginning of dusk began to stir the blue sky. He passed by more researchers who was whispering to themselves while looking at him curiously like he was some weird species that they wanted to experiment on. He followed the zig-zag steel stairs leading into the ravine but stopped at the top when he spotted a certain silverette sitting on one of the stones in the distance. Hope's hands were wrapped around his knees which were pressed together against his chest. His chin was resting on his knees while carrying a brooding expression on his face, staring away silently into the distance. 'Still a kid as ever.' Snow's lips curved upward at the sight. Under all those mature features and articulate speeches, Hope was still the fourteen year old boy he always knew. The sulking young man noticed his presence and glanced at him for a brief moment before returning his gaze absentmindedly back into the distance. Snow scratched the back of his head before walking to the former silver-haired l'Cie and taking a seat beside Hope on the stone.
"Are you going to leave now that you have recover?" Hope inquired bitterly, knowing how easy a l'Cie heals quickly.
"You know that I have to." Snow said airily but when he didn't get a response, he glanced at the silver-haired man beside him whose green eyes were bright and glossy. Within those ocean of green reflected the enormity of loneliness and yearning. Snow turned his gaze to the scenery around him because he didn't know what to say to comfort his friend. The setting sun had cloak the clear blue sky into a burning orange while a long silence developed around them. A cool breeze swept passed through the valley causing their locks of hairs to dance into the moving motion with the gentle current. "Brings back memories of our journey, doesn't it?" Snow said wishfully and Hope hummed in reply.
"I remember always being scared of Pulse when we came that time, but I wasn't too bad when I was surrounded with close friends. I thought if we stick together we can accomplish anything." Hope said happily before a somber expression shifted back his face and bowed his head. "But now everyone has gone. Mom, Fang, Vanille, Lightning, Sazh and now you too."
"Sazh?" Snow gave Hope a strange look before an imaginary light bulb switch on inside his head. "Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that when we were crossing through the dimensions, I catch a sight of Sazh and his boy going the other direction."
Hope gave Snow a mildly surprised look. "What? Is that true?"
"Yeah. For some reason, the old man and his son are traveling through time too." Snow stated.
Hope's mind digested that one piece of information. So Sazh and his son were somewhere in the future also, traveling in between time like Snow and Serah. What Snow say made sense since he searched like months for the afro-haired man and his son but couldn't find them after they strangely disappeared. So in the end, it was futile effort on his part searching for someone who didn't exist during his time. For some odd reason, Hope didn't feel as relief he should be after hearing that Sazh and his son were still alive and somewhere safe. "So I am really all alone after all." Hope said with a pitiful chuckle.
"Don't say that Hope!" Snow stated softly. "I am still here, aren't I? And what about your old man?"
Something then logged inside Hope's throat as it swelled up in his chest, making it unbearable to breathe. Hope clenched his finger into a fist, trying to suppress the sudden rising pain. "Snow, dad is sick?" He told Snow, his throat becoming tight. He could feel all his shields and facade he erected through the years breaking down, leaving a crumbling mess of despair.
"What?" Snow said shockingly.
"He is getting treatment but I don't know what's going to happen after." Hope said mournfully. He yearned for the strength to believe that his father will be alright but no one was there to consolidate any to him. He was losing people dear from him left and right and he couldn't do anything but watched as they disappeared. "Why do you have to leave?" He asked, curling his fingers tighter. "If you just stay... then maybe things wouldn't be so bad."
"I left to search for Lightning because of Serah. She is important to me. I left to make her happy."
"What about me? Wasn't I important too for you to stay?" Hope declared, turning his head to Snow, a pair of sad green orbs meeting a pair of shimmering blue orbs which slowly widened. Snow gave him an incredulous look before he looked away. "I guess not." He mumbled to himself but loud enough that Snow could heard.
"Hope-" The word somehow slipped out of Snow's lips. He was stunned and confused by Hope's sudden confession that he couldn't coherently process any train of thoughts through his mind. The young man was trembling slightly, his face sullenly like he was about to cry. Snow couldn't bear to see his friend like this; alone and in despair. Hope was serious about his feelings and the latter really missed him, of all people. Snow felt a strange current travel through his body and to his chest as he did the only thing he could do and reached an arm around the young man's shoulder before pulling the silverette into a warm embrace. "Hope, I am sorry." Snow murmured sincerely. The silverette didn't pull away from the contact and he felt a set of fingers gripping the fabric of his shirt. He held on to Hope and eventually the fingers let go of his shirt as the lithe body relaxed against his own for the first time in eight years. "If we solve this problem then everything will back to normal. Everyone will be back together."
"We don't know what's really going to happen if all the paradoxes are corrected." Hope said honestly, gently pulling back from the embrace.
"I don't understand?" Snow's brows furrowed together. "If we save Cocoon, I can go back to New Bodhum with everyone and you will-"
"You can't Snow!" Hope quickly said, causing the blond to look at him confusingly. Was the man's head really that thick? "Don't you get it? You don't exist in 2 AF anymore."
"I don't…" Snow blinked.
Hope nodded, his eyes lowered and filled with sorrow. "When Serah traveled through time at New Bodhum in 5 AF, Lebreau called me and told me what happened. I quickly made my way to New Bodhum but the timegate had already disappeared. Also the Academy sent a squad overnight to check the timegate you mention yesterday at Bodhum but they didn't find anything. Don't you see? The gates are disappearing because time is correcting itself."
"So I can't go back to New Bodhum?" The realization of his reality and his life was starting to sink in. "Serah, Gadot, and the others, I wouldn't see them again?" Snow asked, sounding afraid of the thought.
"I don't know..." Hope said softly and lowered his head. "You don't exist in the past anymore. Maybe somewhere in future wherever the timegate leads you when all of this mess is over." This was just like Snow, doing what he pleased and not thinking about how his action around him. "This could probably be our last time seeing each other." He surmised softly, his voice filled with anguish.
"No, it's not." Snow stated encouragingly. "When all of this is over, I'll come find you."
Hope gave Snow, who was smiling warmly, a puzzled look. He then felt something warm soothed inside his heart hearing those promise words. The warm was fleeting but it felt good even though it was more a moment. He breathed out a weary sigh. "Snow, you can't. And what about Serah?"
Snow rubbed the back of his neck unsurely. "Well... I'll bring Serah with me." He didn't know what exactly he was saying. He still hadn't figure out how exactly he was going to save Serah. He didn't know if he was doing a good job fooling Hope or himself by mentioning that Serah will be with him.
"Snow, you can't because I wouldn't be here." Hope informed the blond whose face contorted in pure confusion. "I am going to future. I want to be there and witness Cocoon's days of reckoning with my own eyes as I releviate the new Cocoon."
"Then I'll be there with you, I promise. We're partners, remember?" Snow said confidently, flashing the latter a set of pearl tooth.
"You really don't take 'no' for an answer." Hope said in defeat as a smile graced on his feature. Snow was always the caring type, always making admirable sacrifices to protect the people around him. He didn't care what happens to him. Damn the consequences, damn himself. Even it meant becoming a l'Cie. Snow was a caring idiot and that suited fine with Hope.
"And I already make up my mind…"
"We all knows how that's like." Hope chuckled, feeling light-hearted all of a sudden. Sometimes he forgot what kind of person Snow Villiers always was. A man who defiled logic himself using his own way of thinking.
"Hey!" Snow said and pulled the latter closer when he saw the cheerfulness returns back on Hope's face.
"Thanks." Hope muttered quietly, looking a bit flustered before pulling away from the man's grasp. He met Snow's eyes for a moment before glancing away shortly.
"No problem." Snow smiled and placed a reassuring hand on the silverette's head. Then there was a loud gurgling sound that suddenly came from his stomach and Snow gave Hope a sheepish look.
"Hungry?" Hope guessed, smiling.
"Don't stray away too far from the timegate…" Hope lectured to Snow. The two was standing alone before the timegate that dwelled in the small, opened valley the next morning. Snow was trying not look too bored from Hope's concerns. "Think before you act. Don't go fighting battles you can't win."
"You worry too much!" Snow said, gaining an annoyed look from Hope.
Hope only let out a sigh. "That's what I am worry about. You're too carefree but I only get myself to blame for that."
"Things will never changes, huh?" Snow grinned.
"When has it ever." Hope smiled and both exchanged looks before sharing a laugh together. It felt good to be with a similar face again where he could pace himself with. With Snow around, Hope could feel himself relax more and he didn't want this feeling to go. He wanted to treasure it some more, to feel relief and to feel like himself.
"Well, I better get going. We have a future that needs to be saved, again." Snow stated with his right hand reaching out.
"A Hero's job is never ah-" Hope muttered but gasped when he clasped his hand into Snow's palm who tugged him forward. He stumbled on his feet before crashing into the blond who wrapped his arms around him into a warm hug. "I am not going back on my promise. I'll come to you." He heard Snow say softly and he relaxed himself into the man's hold. "You know if I could stay, I will. It's just... it's just impossible the way things are at the moment."
"I know. Just... just be careful." Hope could only say. He let Snow hold him for a moment because he needed the comfort for so long. When he pulled back, his gaze was off at the side because he couldn't look into Snow's face.
"Is that a blush I see?" Snow teased with a smirk on his face.
Hope's eyes turned round, feeling his face burning red in embarrassment. "W-Would you just go already." He spluttered, trying to glare at the blond but it was rendered ineffective as Snow began to laugh boisterously while walking to closer to the timegate.
"I'll see you later then." Snow said with a smile before stepping into the time contraption device.
And like that, Hope was left standing alone in front of the timegate with nothing but a promise.
The End
A/N: So... do you like it?