~ During The Storm ~

I do not own Final Fantasy 13

Hope sat in his room, glaring at the brightly lit TV gleaming in the darkness. The sound was muted, leaving his room in dead silence minus the muffled yelling from the next room. Serah and Snow were fighting again; the two truly could not get along. These arguments fascinated the young boy; causing a smirk to run across his face and then fade. Ever since he had confronted Snow about his deep feelings of revenge, Hope had grown a sudden fondness for the elder.

"You know what Snow, I'm DONE! I can't do this anymore! Lightning was right, you ARE AN ASS!" Serah yelled through sobs. Hope laughed to himself; he always thought Serah was the ass. "Snow...I want you to leave. Please. Here take your ring, I'm done with you!"

"Fine! I'm done with you too! I heard you slept with Maqui anyw..." the sound of a vase breaking filled the house. This made Hope fly out of his bed and out his bedroom door. Snow couldn't be hurt!

The silver-haired boy stuck his head around the corner to hide his presence but yet still see the situation. Serah had thrown the vase at the wall, not Snow. But Snow still stood there in shock, like he had not expected something like that from the teen.

"Snow, get out now. You're a disgusting human and and...I HATE YOU!" tears were streaming down her face. She brought her fists to her eyes and turned away from her ex-fiance. Then, in one swift motion, she disappeared from the room and into her bedroom.

Hope stepped into the living room and tried to think of words to say to Snow. All that would come out was a few mumbles that not even Hope could understand. This made Snow do his signature smirk and a little laugh. "I'm ok kiddo, really. Don't worry about me. Do me a favor though, can you clean this vase up before Light gets home?" The younger boy nodded. Snow patted Hope's head and turned to walk out the door.

"Snow, wait." Snow turned and met his eyes with Hopes. "Uh... sho-should I tell Lightning that Serah broke it?

"Nah, tell her I did it. She hates me already... Thanks though." and with that he left, leaving young Hope with a racing heart and blurred thoughts.

Hope held the broken fragments of the once very beautiful china vase in his petite hands. In many ways, it symbolized Snow, and Serah's relationship. When it was new, it shined, gleamed as brightly as the morning sun. But now, all that was left was different sized pieces of what it used to be, and he was the only thing left standing, left to clean it up. Like he always did...

He sighed as he ventured off into the kitchen to retrieve the broom from the closet. This wasn't the first fight that Snow, and Serah had had-this one was definately the most climatic-in fact, things started going downhill after they were reunited back together. The chemistry just wasn't there; maybe it was because they had spent so much time apart, it got them both thinking that maybe this marriage was planned too soon, and maybe they weren't meant to be.

The silverette swept up the shards onto the dustpan, cringing when one of the pieces cut into his finger. "Ah." Hurrying to the wastebasket to dispose of the vase, he then went over to the sink, and ran cold water onto his finger; he watched as the blood rushed down the drain.

Hope didn't even know what Snow had seen in the young girl. Sure, she was pretty, but that was all she had going for her. Her "sweet-as-sugar" personality had been all a charade, crumbling to dust the day Snow walked in on her, and Maqui. He had known about the thing he had with her, but would've never guessed he'd go through with it.

She cried-fake tears, now that Hope looked back on it-and begged for Snow to forgive her, which he did. Snow knew it was better to be in an unhappy relationship then to not be in one at all.

Hope turned the tap off, rolling a paper towel around his finger. It stung a bit, but most of the blood had been washed away. Just like Serah, the blood was gone now, and he couldn't be happier.

Hope made his way to the living room couch where he sat with his small hands in his lap. He had to await Lightning's arrival so he could tell the story before Serah did. The two were like children, constantly fighting with each other to get Lightning's attention. Of course, Serah always won. She was Lightning's flesh and blood after all. All Hope was to Lightning was a child who desperately needed a place to stay. She pitied him, or so he thought. Why couldn't anyone love Hope? His mother seemed to be the only person to truly love him. Vanille told him a few times she loved him, but it never really affected him in anyway. Vanille was an obvious lesbian who loved everyone and everything.

"I'm home." Lightning called from the door as she wiped her boots on the mat. Hope quickly made his move towards her before Serah could even make her way out of her room.

"A- Hi Lightning. Serah and Snow fought again. I don't think they're engaged anymore. And Sn-Serah broke the vase out of anger. I cleaned it up though so nothing to worry about." Lightning's eyes blared and she sneered.

"See, I was right about him. Thanks Hope, I better go console Serah." she patted his fluffy hair before quickly disappearing from the room. Hope made fists against his side as his body slightly shook. Anger boiled deep within his skin, everything that he had held up with his new family was finally too much. How could Lightning console Serah after her wrongings? How come no one ever consoled him? He needed consoling too!

And then, without any thought, Hope let out a loud yell and punched the wall. He whimpered from the pain that aroused from the impact, he hadn't thought about the costs of punching a wall.

"Hope?" Lightning called as her footsteps drew nearer. Hope couldn't face her like this, he couldn't let his weakness be shown. So, he dashed out of the house and onto the street. Where would he go at this hour? He didn't have many friends, especially ones to complain about Serah and Lightning to. He shook his head and took off running down the emptied streets. His steps matched the rhythm of his breathing which mimicked his quiet heart beats.

After his numbed legs finally came to a stop, Hope let out a loud sigh and fell to the ground. What kind of life was he leading? All he cared about was leaving Lightning's household, and gaining Snow's attention. Both seemed completely unrealistic but not impossible.

Hope hadn't even realized the throbbing feeling in his right hand; the hand he had punched to wall with. It was slightly swollen, with slight bruising around the small knuckles. "Crap, why'd I punch the wall..."

"Hope?" a familiar comforting voice called to him from behind. Hope pulled himself off the ground and looked behind him, his eyes meeting a beautiful pair of light blue ones. "What're you doing here in the dark?"

"I-My hand..." he held the bruised hand in the air and then brought it back down. He hadn't realized that his running had led him straight to Snow's house.

A/N - An rp me, and my friend Alyssa have been writing for a few days through Youtube messages. (If you know my work, you should be able to tell who wrote what.) Thought I'd share it on here, seeing as how there's not enough of this couple; hope you enjoy, and review!

P.S. - If you notice some grammatical mistakes, I will fix them when I get the chance.