A/N: Thanks very much to those who decided to give this fic a chance! I hope you like this chapter :)

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2 belong to Square Enix.

Chapter 2: Boomerang of Love


At fourteen, two months before he was set to leave for Gran Pulse to study in Academia, Hope accompanied his parents to Bodhum to oversee the opening of the city's smaller branch of Estheim Industries. It was very seldom that Bartholomew brought his family with him on business trips, but considering the fact that his own son would be departing for another world, he had to make every small moment that he could spare count.

But even through this good intention, Bartholomew still couldn't escape from his job, and Nora ushered Hope out of the office with a sigh and commanded him to explore the beach. Trudging down Main Street despite the heat, Hope wandered through each and every single shop, browsing through their wares, even occasionally buying something: ultra-sweet ice cream from the fudge factory; and the Airwing, the latest model of hunting boomerang that he had seen at a catalogue back in Palumpolum that seemed to have been quickly sold out everywhere—except for here, apparently, of which he felt truly lucky.

After finding a wide enough spot that didn't have much people around, he'd try some practice swings with the new boomerang, just to break it in and to get himself used to the feel of it, mentally trying to come up with strategies on how to move from third place to first at the next championship in Palumpolum, despite knowing he wouldn't be able to compete anyway because he'd be at the Academy.

Lowering himself at a bench scattered along the boardwalk, he folded and unfolded his new toy, wondering what it would be like for him to live so far from home, away from everyone he knew, and down at Gran Pulse at that. While the fal'Cie still thrived and looked after Cocoon like they always had, the fal'Cie of Pulse seemed to have abandoned their duties, and it was still impressive that for all the wildness of Gran Pulse, the humans there built a city that rivaled the advanced technology of Cocoon, even going so far as founding the most prestigious school that specialized in furthering research and knowledge in its growth and advancement.

While he felt fortunate at even being accepted to study there at such a young age, trepidation still filled him. He'd been practically lonely his whole life; he made friends easily, but maintaining it was a different matter since he found that he was only befriended because he was smart and those so-called "friends" figured that he'd do their schoolwork for them. Naturally the friendship would devolve into bullying. He'd gotten proficient at boomerang-throwing initially out of self-preservation from the schoolmates.

He sighed. This wasn't really how he pictured his life—and he knew how futile it was to even begin to dream to live in a different situation. He knew that for all the bad things that happened, the good things far outweighed them. He could only look forward to what the future had in store, and shape it through his own mind, his hands, and his experiences.

A female voice interrupted his musing. "Are you a lost little boy?"

He looked up. Two girls close to his age ogled at him, and he almost shrank back at the bench by the weight of their stares. He couldn't help but take issue with what he deemed to be the most important part of their question.

"I'm not little," replied Hope.

The girl with her red hair in pigtails giggled, her green eyes flashing mischievously, and he assumed she was the one who'd posited the question.

"Let's see," said the other girl with pink hair held in a side ponytail, grabbing his hand and pulling him from the bench. She held her other hand from the top of his head and pulled it towards her. "Hmm, just a little over my eyebrows. That means you're still little compared to me."

Somehow, he felt his hackles rise at that.

The red-haired girl released another giggle as she took his other hand. "Well, it doesn't matter to me how tall you are. You're still cute and you're now my boyfriend."

Whoa, what? Did he really just hear her say...? Hope tried vainly to pull his hands from their grasp. "I don't even know who you guys are. And how do you know I don't already have a girlfriend?"

"Well, my name is Vanille," said the redhead. "And I don't care if you already have a girlfriend." She leaned close to whisper in his ear, "What she doesn't know won't kill her." She stepped back and winked at him.

"Well, Vanille, he does have a girlfriend," said the pink-haired girl as she began to tug him away from her friend. "Her name is Serah, and she is me."

"No way! I saw him first."

"He's mine!"

"No, he's not!"

"Let go of me!" yelled Hope.

"Yeah, Vanille, let go!"

"No, you let go, Serah!"

"—please stop!—" Hope interjected, finally managing to wrest his hands from their grip. "Sorry, but I'm not interested in either of you."

The pink-haired girl—Serah—looked suddenly contrite, scuffing the toe of her sandals on the ground. With a pout, she asked, "So, you don't want either of us?"

Vanille held her hands behind her back, swinging gently from side to side, with an apologetic look on her face.

Somehow, their sudden change in demeanour to something wholly innocent and pure but still with a devilish glint made him swallow thickly, and he could feel heat traveling up to colour his cheeks red. What's up with these girls anyway? he thought. He tried very hard not to notice a couple of things below Vanille's neck that were swaying along with her, or that Serah's very short dress was...well, very short.

"Er..." was all he could accomplish.

"We're really sorry," began Serah. "Obviously, we started on the wrong foot here, and if you don't mind, can we start over?"

"Yeah," continued Vanille. "We were just teasing, and we didn't mean for it to turn out this way. Can you forgive us?"

Hope couldn't help the sudden guilt that overcame him at that question. Despite his mistrust and misgivings about these strange girls, he couldn't help feeling flattered by their attention. He hardly had any friends his age as he was usually surrounded by older students in school, and he had to admit that, even if they were only teasing, them fighting over him made a small part of him swell up in pride.

"Sure. I'd like to start over," he conceded, and held out his hand. "My name is Hope, and it's very nice to meet you."


Lured back to the present, Hope heaved a sigh and rubbed the back of his head. Walking down the boardwalk with Noel, the sights and sounds, although different now, still somehow brought back memories. Across the street, he noticed that Sig's Arcade still stood, now with updated games. He remembered spending a lot of time there with the girls, competing with each other, and sometimes even trying to win prizes for each other. Hanging out with them had certainly made that summer invigorating. It saddened him that he hadn't been able to keep in touch with either of them when he left for Gran Pulse. They had been his first true friends.

Straight ahead, proudly standing at the centre of the boardwalk was a place called Sazh's, an open and airy place that offered shelter from the hot sun and refreshments to the beach-goers, and seemed to be populated by gorgeous girls serving drinks. As he felt the tips of his ears heat up, he knew he wouldn't mind checking the place out later. And he wouldn't really have a choice with it, judging from the sudden spring in Noel's gait.

Something colourful caught his eye as they passed by a sports and weapons store, and he tapped Noel on the shoulder and tilted his head toward the place. They both headed in, but Hope gravitated straight towards the boomerang display. He remembered buying the Airwing from here years ago, and he was held by a sense of nostalgia as he gazed upon the rows of new and old models alike. He lifted a sleek, grey boomerang, checking its balance and weight, and testing how it fit in his hand.

Nue, he read the tag. The design was a little flashy, but he couldn't help succumbing to its pull. It was seldom that he felt that out-of-control "must have it, must buy" feeling, and he had to go with his gut instinct for this one particular quirk.

"You're seriously gonna get that?" exclaimed Noel from his spot by the double swords section, shaking his head.

"It's sexy," quipped Hope.

"It's a boomerang."

"That's why it's sexy."

"The hell?"

Hope just laughed as he made his way to the cashier.


Outside again, he started playing with the boomerang as he sat on a bench, waiting for Noel, who'd gone off to buy some drinks.

He quite liked the handle on one end, appreciating the curvy design and knowing it was to better control the trajectory and flight. He couldn't help but do some practice swings as he sat, getting used to its weight, and feeling muscles wake to the memory of the boomerang throw.

"Well, well," a familiar voice interrupted his moment of enlightenment with his new toy, his ears perking up as his eyes traveled up from nimble feet on a pair of sandals, running up to bare, slender legs to a flowy, short dress and up into a pair of playful green eyes. "I never thought I'd see this ever again." She shook her head as a big smile began to stretch on her lips. "Are you a lost little boy?"

He couldn't help the answering grin that splayed on his lips as he rose to his full height, spreading his arms wide. "I'm not little."

With a squeal that made him fear for his hearing, she launched herself at him, giggling madly. "Hope! I can't believe it!"

"It's great to see you, Vanille," he said as he squeezed back.

"You remembered me."

"Of course. Why wouldn't I?"

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe I thought the prestige of Academia had gone over your head or something." She held him back at arm's length. "But my, you've grown. You're so tall."

"Can't stay fourteen and short forever, you know."

"Oh, you." She playfully swatted his shoulder. "So, what are you doing here? Vacationing?"

"Actually, no. Work."

"Really?" She thought for a moment. "Oh, for your dad's company?"

"Yeah, but just for a couple of years or so. So, what are you up to now?"

Vanille shrugged, pointing to a quaint four-storey building set near the south end of Main Street. "I work as a waitress at the breakfast and lunch bar of the Fahrenheit Hotel."

He looked over his shoulder, a smirk teasing the corner of his lips. "Oh, really? I should go there some time and hassle you."

She crossed her arms over her chest. "No can do, Hope. We serve hotel guests only."

"Just kidding."

"I know."

They both laughed.

It was...strange. Here they were, clearly somewhat different people now, and yet, it felt so easy to slip back into how they used to be all those years ago, as though nothing had changed.

"Wow, don't tell me that boomerang is actually a chick magnet," came Noel's disbelieving voice from the side as he held two water bottles.

Hope held Nue aloft. "Told you it's sexy." He caught the bottle that Noel tossed to him. "Vanille, this is my brother, Noel. Noel, this is Vanille."

She caught his hand in a handshake. "Nice to meet you, Noel."

"Same."

A frown furrowed her brows. "Wait, I thought you were an only child, Hope."

"I'm adopted," answered Noel.

"Ah, well, that explains it. If you're curious but were afraid to ask, I'm Hope's ex-girlfriend."

"Ex-girlfriend? Are you serious? Him?"

"Hey!" exclaimed Hope, untwisting the cap from the bottle and offering it to Vanille.

"Thanks," said Vanille as she took it and sipped, a fond feeling overcoming her that he was as thoughtful as she remembered. "Yep," answered she as she handed the bottle back, addressing the brown-haired younger man. "He was two-timing me."

The continuous look of disbelief that held Noel expression was almost comical. "You're talking about this guy, right?"

"Two-timing? You and Serah were the ones fighting over me. I had no say in the matter." He turned to his brother. "No matter what she says, don't believe her. She and Serah had this habit of victimizing isolated boys and just claiming him to be their boyfriend."

Releasing a huff of aggravation, she began beating both her hands against Hope's arm. "It was just the one time, and it happened to be you. And it turns out you're still a prick."

Hope chuckled, edging away from the wrath of the woman scorned, chagrined at the thought that he had to resort to hiding behind his younger brother.

"Well, Noel, if you must know, he left me and Serah for another woman," claimed Vanille as she crossed her arms over her chest. "He saw her and then it was like no-one else existed in the world. Hmph."

"I think you should shut up now, Vanille," said Hope.

"I hit a nerve, didn't I?" Her smile held the promise of yet more torturous things to come.

An alarm was ringing inside Hope's head, but despite the need for self-preservation, he couldn't help but prolong the reunion. He knew he was going to regret the massive damage his pride was going to get later, but he was truly happy to see a familiar face that he was willing to risk it.

"Who's Serah?" asked Noel.

"Just another crazy woman like Vanille," quipped Hope.

"I'll tell her you said that!" exclaimed the redhead.

"It's nothing but the truth."

She gasped, but there was playfulness in her eyes.

"Where is she, anyway? I thought you're always together."

"She's working as a school teacher, and school should be out by now."

"Wow, that's great. I didn't know she wanted to teach."

"I think it's your smartness that got to her." She shook her head in mock disapproval.

Hope chuckled, rubbing the back of his head in embarrassment, the smile fading from his lips as he thought. "What about...?" he trailed off.

"Hmm?" Vanille drawled with a knowing smirk. "Come on, you can say it."

"Nothing. Forget it."

She laughed, hooking her arm through Noel's. "Well, Noel, what say we leave your meanie brother behind?"

"Sure. I'm all for it," replied Noel with excitement.

"Hey! I'm not mean!" objected Hope.

"Yes, you are." Vanille turned around to stick her tongue out at him. "Here we are in our reunion and all you can think about is the woman you left me and Serah for."

Hope felt his lips twist in a wry smile. That one was a particular memory he could never escape from, and in all these years, he never really wanted to.

"Oh, fine." She sighed dramatically as she dragged Noel back to where Hope still stood, hooking her other arm through his. "You can come along."

"Where are we going anyway?" asked Noel.

She nodded to the building ahead. "To Sazh's. I'm to meet Serah there. She'll be thrilled to see you again, Hope, I'm sure. And who knows, you might..."

"I might what?" Hope questioned puzzledly.

"Nothing," answered Vanille in a sing-song voice that had CODE RED-type alarm bells ringing inside Hope's head.


Thanks for reading :)
Apr/2012