A/N:

I felt the need to give Serah and Snow a nice happy little family after all the hard stuff they dealt with in the video games. I hope that I succeeded in capturing their characters in this chapter and in their relations to Hope. Well, without further chitchat from me, please enjoy the chapter and thank you for your patience!

Chapter Two: Always

Rising from a fitful and nightmare-filled sleep is never a good way to start the day, but sure enough, that was how it began for Hope. With heavy feet and foggily troubled mind, he shuffled out of bed and slipped on his slippers. He then made his way to the hotel's tiny kitchen unit, his slippered feet dragging a bit on the way. Pouring batter into the small skillet provided by the cheap hotel he was staying in, he began making pancakes. His brain began to hum awake as he focused on cooking. No matter how simple it was, cooking always put Hope in a better, more creative mood. After eating four pancakes, he slipped his plate into the sink, a small clinking sound resulting.

He sat down on the bed, seeing as there aren't a whole lot of choices for seating in such a small hotel. So, what's the game plan for the day? No concerts today, no public events that he has to attend…. Surely there has to be something worth doing to get out of the cramped hotel. That's when he realized that he could visit Snow and his family, since they were actually within walking distance of the hotel on the outskirts of Oerba.

Before he knew it, Hope found himself at their front door. He ran a hand through his silver/white hair in slightly nervous anticipation. Maybe he should have called….But before he could convince himself to leave; he gathered up his courage and rang the doorbell. Shifting most of his weight from one foot to the other, he waited nervously for someone to open the door.

When the door did open, a small girl, no more than four years old looked up at him with piercing blue eyes and cotton candy colored hair, almost identical to her mother's. Something tightened in Hope's chest as the little one reminded him so vividly of another. Lightning…

"Um, is your mom or dad home?" He sheepishly asked the little girl, feeling awkward with the stare down he was receiving from her. She had no emotion on her face.

"Ame! What have I told you about opening the door for strangers! Let mommy take care of it, okay?" Serah began, rushing to the open doorway. She looked up at Hope in confusion. "You look familiar, I just can't put my finger on it…," She said to him, a look of intense concentration on her face. "Hope?" She questioned.

"Yeah, it's me. It's been too long, Serah. This little one yours?" Hope answered politely.

"My how you've grown! I hardly recognized you! You shot up like a weed, a handsome weed, that is," She amended lightly, giggling sweetly. "This is Ame, my oldest daughter. She's almost four, but she's still terribly shy," Serah continued, patting the young girl's shoulder length hair.

"Hi there," he said gently, crouching down to Ame's height. She smiled a small smile then made to hide behind Serah's leg. Hope chuckled softly. Shy was definitely the word. Hope guessed she wasn't quite as much like Light as he had originally thought.

"Come on in Hope!" Serah said, gesturing with her arm for him to enter. He obliged, brushing his shoes on the mat and removing them before entering.

The Villier's home was modest in size, but you could tell how much they loved it. There were small pieces of comfortable looking but not necessarily matching furniture everywhere in the main room and a few bedrooms and a bathroom down the long hallway to the left of the entryway. The kitchen merged with the living room and a few dishes were visible sticking out of the sink. The sign of a family who used their home. Hope smiled a bit as Serah fluttered over to the sink, apologizing for the mess.

"Not at all. You should see my hotel room!" He joked lightly.

"You're still staying in a hotel, Hope? Can you really afford to stay there for very much longer? I know you have your band and all, but it's not the best paying job in the world. Why don't you stay here? You'd have to use the couch, but we'd be happy to have you," Serah began rambling.

"I couldn't. You guys have enough on your hands already, it seems, but thank you for the offer, I appreciate it," The silver haired young man declined in the most polite way he could manage.

"You have no idea just how much we have on our hands, little man!" Snow's loud voice came from just behind Hope, mingled in with some light whining. Hope turned to find two young babies in his arms.

"Twins?" He inquired.

"You betcha! The little man here is Hiro, and the young lady's Vedette. Aren't they adorable? Serah says Hiro looks just like me, but I don't see it," Snow answered, gazing at his children with fatherly affection.

"Ha ha! I can see it, definitely. How old are they?"

"25 months," Serah answered, having the exact number of months on the top of her head as most mothers seem to. Wouldn't it just be easier to say two years and a month?

Hope reached out a hand in front of Hiro, curious to see if he would grab his fingers like most young kids tend to do. He did, and boy, his grip was strong!

Wincing a little at the considerable strength, Hope pulled his hand back. "Definitely his father's son!" he laughed, earning a grin from Serah and a confused look from Snow.

Snow set the twins down and they toddled away, walking in a slightly unstable way.

His hand came up to slap Hope on the back in what he supposed was a friendly gesture.

"So, you stayin' for dinner little man?"

"Naw, not tonight Snow. I've gotta use up the food in my hotel room before it expires," Hope answered honestly, a bit embarrassed about his current living situation.

"Tomorrow, then?" Serah asked, giving him a pleading look. "We'd love to have you over, Hope."

"Alright. I'll try. Thanks for the invite guys. I'm gonna head out now, it was great seeing you again," He said, ducking out toward the door.

As he walked out down to their driveway, he saw Light heading down the street towards the house on a small motorcycle. Something similar to adrenaline shot through him and he ran off towards her, smiling like an idiot.

"Light!" Hope yelled happily in her direction. She slowed down the motorcycle and stopped it near him.

"Hope? You've certainly grown," She said looking at him with a small smile.

"Ha, you haven't changed a bit, Light!" He said with a fond smile.

"No, I suppose not... Need a ride home?" She offered, patting the seat behind her in question.

"Um, that's alright…I need the exercise," Hope said, needing an excuse to keep her from seeing the cheap hotel he was staying in.

"Okay then. Catch you later Hope," She said, waving before starting up the bike and speeding past him towards her sister's home.

A/N:

As always, reviews would be lovely and would likely cause more chapters to be posted in the very near future… ;) I'd love to hear your thoughts.