Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Square-Enix!
Pairing: SnowxHope
Warning: Contain Yaoi! Mature Content.
Thank you the-true-freya for reediting this story.
Chapter 2: Seeking Comfort
Hope found himself in a situation he really disliked. As the party commenced their journey towards the ruins, Hope felt confident of his strength and totally refused to acknowledge the blond's gesture back at the camp. Within fifteen minutes of walking, the young l'Cie felt his breathing increase as his bodies strangely became weaker and weaker with every step. He took a moment to catch his breath whilst looking ahead, only to notice the three females and the older male member in their group vanished within his sight. He glanced back, only to see Snow folding his arm, smirking and waiting for him to continue moving. 'Conceited jerk.' Hope gave the man a defiant look before continuing walking. The blond was just waiting to catch him before he fell flat on his face, which is exactly what transpired about five minutes later.
"See isn't this much better." Snow said smugly as he continued walking through the ravine, only to receive an affronted glare from the youth.
"No, and why do you have to carry me like some damsel?" Hope grumbled, trying to squirm out of the man grasp.
"Snow! Hope! What's the hold up?" Lightning yelled from a distance.
"Light, please tell him to put me down this instant?" Hope pleaded, trying to push the man away.
"C'mon kiddo, quit being difficult. Putting strain on your body when its recovering will only make you more weak." Snow said as he caught up to Lightning. Hope huffed and looked away. The kid was acting too stubborn for his own good once again.
"We found a small spring up ahead." Lightning informed. "We're taking a quick break there to freshen up before we advance. And Hope, just bare with Snow for a little while until we reach the spring. If you regain your strength after the break, then I won't let Snow carry you."
Hope nodded weakly. The woman gave them a quick look before moving ahead, leaving the two males alone.
Snow set off following Lightning's footsteps towards the small fount. He stopped for a brief instant to adjust the teen into a better position in his arms and with Hope's arms now wrapped around his neck for better support. The boy was looking at everything around him except at the blond brute. Snow couldn't help to hold his gaze on the teen the entire walk. He smirked when he noticed the light red tint on the teen's face. From this angle, Snow had never knew who beautiful Hope was. The silver hair, pale but perfect soft skin, an innocent pair of green eyes and a pair of sweet soft lips waiting to be devoured. His eyes wandered down toward the teen's neck. He gulped, suppressing the urge to lick his lips in anticipation. For some odd reason, he could feel something stirring inside of him. Something mixed with desire, fire, and lust. Snow could feel his body starting to react instinctively, never noticing that the teen had such an effect over him.
Hope's heart was thrumming against his chest anxiously. He had never have this much physical contact with anyone before. He was too close to where he could smell Snow's strong cologne. Hope tried his best to ignore the heat radiating from the older man's body against his own and the man's light touches under his sensitive thighs. It felt strangely comforting but Hope felt too embarrassed thinking about it.
Both males knew that they were approaching the spring by the sound of Vanille's voice, which seemed to echo throughout the ravine in Vallis Media. Snow shook his head, sighing. 'With a voice like that, that girl would either attracts or scare away the wildlife residing in the area.' Snow mentally muttered to himself. They came to a more open floral area and saw two of their teammates centered around a body of water.
"Hope. Hurry up." Vanille chirped. Snow placed Hope back on his two feet and watched as the youth slowly walked toward Vanille and Sazh. 'Still weak huh...' He smiled and let out a heavy breath. He chose to distance himself from the party for a minute to calm down his body's unexpected reaction. His hands were itching so badly and the adrenaline was scorching through his veins. The man never felt this way before. He watched on as the two youngest members interacted before joining the group, right after he had quelled his body's reaction. As he got closer to the spring, he noticed Hope and Vanille sitting on a rock barefooted, splashing their feet in the water.
"Where are Fang and Lightning?" Snow curiously asked whilst watching the two teens enjoy themselves..
"Ohh... they went ahead." The afro-haired man replied nonchalantly. "Here." The man threw a bottle of water from the ship's emergency food supply towards the blond.
"Snow. Come join us." Vanille requested. Snow turned and looked at the two smiling teens, but only the blissful image of Hope's upcurved lips was in his vision. Everything else in his sight, he mentally block out.
"Sure." The blond said, a grin plastered on his face before he took off his giant boots and seated himself near the silver-haired teen. He dipped his feet into the cool water and let out a sigh of relief feeling of the cool water against his skin. The blond just sat there, content beside at the silver-haired l'Cie, but he got this odd feeling that he was forgetting something. Something very important.
The sun was setting in the horizon by the time Fang and Lightning came back. Both females returned carrying fresh fruits in their arms to ease the hunger growing at the pit of the party's stomach. The group seated themselves in a circle, eating peacefully and watching as the last glow of sunlight dissipated in the sky while Fang and Vanille occupied the time with random stories and their little adventure around Gran Pulse.
"C'mon people. We need find a place to set up camp for the evening." Sazh said as he stood up and grabbed their supplies. Night will upon them soon.
"Why not here? It's peaceful and calm." Hope said.
"The area is too open for fiends to attack. We walked passed a cavern up ahead. Maybe we can stay there for the night." Lightning informed receiving nods from the entire company.
"You two boys will keep watch tonight." Fang informed in advance, looking at Snow and Hope.
Both of them nodded, knowing that they hadn't contributed much for the day. The female members were the ones leading the group and taking down the fiends within their path and the old man was pretty much carrying their supplies.
"You up for a walk, Kiddo?" Snow asked, smiling at Hope. The younger male nodded, feeling some strength returning to his body. The party set off following Lightning and Fang into the ravine. Despite the darkness that came forth by night, the group could see fairly well due to the many stars shining brightly in the dark sky and Cocoon shining like a moon over their heads. The chasm was quiet, only the sound of crickets and the wind whispered through the narrow pathways. As they ventured deeper into the ravine, Vanille and Hope preoccupied themselves by picking up dried sticks or twigs they came across as to build a fire later on. Snow was following the group, keeping a close eye on his new favorite teen. However, he couldn't help himself from sneaking one or two glances whenever the silver-haired teen would crouch down and collected a dried piece of wood. Throughout his life, Snow avoided making enemies being a self-proclaimed hero for all, but he realized he might've made an exception for those green pants covering Hope's lower body. It's was Lightning and Fang who broke his trail of thought before it could wander further when they pointed to the a small hollow in the ravine. The two women, accompanied by Sazh, entered the cave with their weapon in their hands to verify wether or not any wildlife inhabited the grotto. After a minute of quietness, they emerged and returned to the group waiting outside.
"It's clear and deserted of life." Lightning said returning with Fang and Sazh. "It's not too deep, but there should be enough space."
"If we keep walking, we'll reach the Yaschas Massif. The area is more open to explore but there are some nasty critters infesting those high plains. The ruins of the pulse society lie towards the south of those valleys. My guess another day of traveling will probably be enough to reach the ruins." Fang informed, receiving acknowledgement from the group.
Later that evening...
Hope was lounging beside the group around a fire that Vanille had been able to conjure using her magic and the pieces of wood and twigs. Other than Snow and himself, the rest of the party's members were deep in a peaceful sleep. The fire was enough to provide the group with sufficient warmth needed to sleep. The cave was quiet, well except for Sazh's snoring. He glanced around, seeing Vanille who was sleeping beside Fang. A soft smile appeared onto Hope's face, noting the older woman's arm that was wrapped around the teen's shoulder and the girl returning the embrace by wrapping both of her arms around the bronze skinned woman's middle. Despite the differences, Fang carried some traits of his mother, especially her very protective side. 'They look comfortable together...' he mentally thought when he turned his gaze away from the pair.
Tired of Sazh's snoring, the silver-haired teen stood up, brushed the dust off his pants, and made his way towards the entrance of the cavern. The air seemed colder as he distanced himself from the fire. He saw Snow crouched near the exit of the cave, keeping a watchful eye for intruders. The man turned and glanced at him after he heard his footsteps emitting from the hollow.
"You should sleep. I will keep watch for the night." Snow offered with a smile.
"I was assign night duties also. And... I don't think I can sleep anyway." Hope said, looking out the cave and into the distance, too deep in thought.
"I'm always here if you want to talk." Snow noticed the distraught facial expression on the teen. He gestured at the spot near next to him.
"I don't know, maybe I'm scare of what lies ahead, the unknown." Hope said, his voice sad ad he looked down after seating himself beside the blond l'Cie. "What about you Snow, aren't you scared?"
"Of course I am, but I think I might be scared more if I was doing this journey alone. Being with you guys is more than enough reason for me to keep going." Snow said, looking down at the youth's innocent face. He sympathized for the teen. Hope shouldn't be here, spending the night in a cave. He should be in his bed, sleeping comfortably under his warm blanket. Hope should be worrying about homework and exams, not concerning if he would live to see the next sunrise. Snow just wanted to hold the kid in his arms and whisper words of encouragement to soothe the teen's distress.
Hope pulled his legs against his chest, wrapping his arms around them for warmth. He shivered hearing those words from Snow. He couldn't have imagined doing this trial all by himself. His thoughts were distracting him so much that he hadn't noticed the blond had relieved himself from his coat and, afterwards, draped it over the teen's shoulders. Hope glanced up and saw the man smile at him.
"You're shivering. It will keep you warm." Snow spoke calmly. Hope was about to object but the man stopped him. "Don't worry, your hero will be fine."
After a brief period of silence, Snow yawned from boredom. "Maybe you should sleep instead." Hope offered. "I'm not tired, so I can keep watch."
"Thanks for the offer, but Light will wring my neck if she finds out I was slacking off." Snow stated cheerfully.
"Maybe we can take turns. I can watch for a few hours and you can take over later. Lightning wouldn't know and by the way, you need your sleep." Hope suggested. Snow mulled over the idea for a moment and then nodded, agreeing with the boy's logic. He then tried to get into a more comfortable position to sleep and braced his back against the cavern's wall.
"Wait, you're not going to sleep here!" Hope began to protest, knowing that the man would actually do something this stupid. "You'll get sick. It will be better to sleep with the others near the fire."
"A little cold wouldn't kill me. And this way I can stay beside you throughout the night." Snow said confidently before closing his eyes.
Hope gave the man a glare. The man could be a stubborn mule sometimes. He couldn't decide whether it was idiotic or admirable. He took the man's trench coat from his shoulders and threw it over Snow.
"Hey, I don't want my coat..." Snow objected but stopped, only to open his eyes to find something wiggling under his coat. A second later, a shock of silver hair popped out from under the coat, inches from Snow's face. Snow's eyes widened when teen turned around and seated himself between his lap, the youth's back resting against the man chest.
"This way we can both stay warm." Hope said looking away, blushing whilst covering himself and Snow with the coat.
Snow's brow furrowed before a smile slowly crept on his face. He didn't know why but he decided to be bold and wrapped his arms around the teen, pulling the lithe body closer to the warmth. "Can I used your shoulder as a pillow?" Snow whispered, resting his chin on the left shoulder.
Hope nodded, staring the wall across with fascination. He felt a shiver run through his body from where the man's breath tickled the sensitive skin around his neck. He didn't know what overcame him to do this all of a sudden.
"I'll wake you when its your turn, okay." Hope said softly, still not making eye contact with the blond, despite the fact that the guy's face was just an inch away. He finally glanced at Snow from the corner of his eyes, but the older l'Cie was already fast asleep. He felt blood rushing toward his cheeks and a warm sensation of butterflies fluttering in his stomach, being so close to the man. Hope's eyes softened as he saw Snow's calm and sleeping features for the first time. Despite everything around them, Snow was able to slumber peacefully. The silver-haired l'Cie turned his head towards the cavern's exit, knowing that he still has a job to uphold.
To be continued...
A/N:I'll probably update the next chapter next week. Tell me what you think so far... I wrote another story of SnowxHope Protecting What's Yours, so check it out. The story is from a different universe though.