Snow never did tell anyone that he'd met up with him, Hope found out. Instead, Snow made frequent visits to pick him up from work so that the two of them could get something to eat together or just relax. By this point, the two had formed a sort of ritual: every other day was spent at the others house. Surprisingly, the ritual was working out fairly well.

"You know, the others are going to find out you found me eventually," Hope said from his spot on the couch. His bare feet were situated comfortably underneath Snow's thigh and combined with the soft cotton of his clothes, Hope could have easily fallen asleep.

Snow sighed softly, placing a hand against Hope's shin. "Yeah, I know," Snow admitted. He turned his gaze away from the movie that was playing on the screen to look Hope in the eye. "But I've been enjoying this, we've gotten so much more open with each other."

"Well, we just never had the chance to really sit down and talk before."

Snow nodded his head. "Yeah, but you can't tell me you haven't enjoyed it just being us."

Hope knew that Snow was telling the truth. He'd thoroughly been enjoying his alone time with Snow and that selfish desire in his heart grew with each day. Snow had become the easiest person he could talk to, his best friend, maybe something even greater than that. Snow never brushed Hope's feelings aside or made Hope's opinion feel unwanted. Snow genuinely was interested in what Hope had to say and treated Hope like an equal. And of course, Snow was Snow. The giant of a man had made a spot for himself in Hope's heart that fit him so well. Hope knew he was doomed to keep loving Snow, and maybe that was a good thing.

"Hope?" Snow asked, waving his other hand. Hope gave a quiet hum of acknowledgement. "Are you… mad that I haven't told anyone else?"

"Mad?" Hope asked, brows furrowing. "Why would I be mad? This has been the most peaceful and happy times of my life."

Snow's eyebrows shot up at the statement. "In your life? Are you really including everything?"

"I think so. You have to remember after we woke up from our crystal sleep, I went straight to work, I never had any leisure time, unless you count those centuries I was asleep through. You've…" Snow tilted his head and waited patiently for Hope to continue. "You've made each day worth getting up for." Seeing the other man's shock, Hope quickly continued to explain himself. "I still have nightmares, about a lot of things, our time as l'cie, what if's, B-Bhunivelze… But the worst is always the loneliness that came with everything. It's easy to feel all alone in a crowd…" Snow shifted Hope's feet out from under his thigh, and Hope at first thought that he'd annoyed the man, before Snow slowly inched his way closer to Hope. Hope didn't say anything until he was practically in Snow's lap. "You really are a hero, you know that?" Hope asked sofly. "You really are."

Snow let out a watery laugh as he pulled Hope into a hug. It was an awkward position to give a hug, but Hope felt truly loved in that moment. "You're special to me, Hope," Snow whispered into Hope's hair. "Really special. And I'm going to try to always be there for you when you need me. I may not have the best track record, but I believe I can do this for you now. I don't care if you need me at three in the morning and I have the first shift at the station, you call me if you need me."

"A promise then?"

"A vow actually."

Hope was quiet for a moment before pulling away slightly and pushing his forehead against Snow's. "You know we're still going to have to tell the others that I'm here, right?" The groan that Snow released made him flustered, but it was amusing nonetheless. "But I guess we could wait a while longer, but if anybody asks why they weren't informed, I'm blaming you."

The mock gasp that came out of Snow sounded like it belonged to Vanille. "You'd throw me under the bus like that?"

"I don't want to be the target of Light's wrath."

Snow winced at the very suggestion. "Maybe you can also throw in a good word for me, you know, say something like you wanted me all to yourself."

Hope rolled his eyes and tried not to think of the truth to Snow's statement. "You're a goof."

Snow shot him a pleased grin. "But I'm your goof."

Hope shook his head. Not quite, Snow, but maybe. But what if it what Snow was saying was true in a way? What if Snow was Hope's?

"Do…" Snow's voice was hesitant and Hope immediately tuned back into their conversation. "Do you want me to be?"

Hope looked at Snow with a confused expression. "Want you to be what?"

"You mentioned if I was yours, so I'm asking you, do you want me to be?"

Hope felt both mortified and scared at Snow's question. He wasn't counting on saying the thought out loud. He shifted to try and create a little distance between them, but failed to make any real difference. What was he supposed to say in this situation? He didn't want to ruin everything that he and Snow had built.

"You… I wasn't supposed to say that out loud," Hope said, his voice barely a whisper. "I- you can forget I ever said anything, it really doesn't matter all that much."

"It does matter," Snow insisted. It seemed their light-hearted evening was disappearing rapidly. "You can tell me, it won't change anything."

Hope shook his head. "But it will," he chanced a look at Snow, but quickly diverted his gaze when he saw the intense look Snow was giving him. "I like what we have right now, I don't want that to go away."

"Hope, just tell me. I promise that I'm not going to be mad and things won't change and we'll still be friends and everything will be-"

"Yes."

Snow paused his pledge and furrowed his eyebrows at Hope. "What?"

Hope heaved a heavy sigh. "You asked if I wanted you to be mine," Hope paused and tilted his head to look at the ceiling. Was that water stain always there? "My answer is yes."

"Oh," Snow relaxed beside him and turned his attention to the neglected movie still playing on the screen. "Well that's a relief." Hope made a choked noise and Snow cracked a smile. "This makes everything a lot simpler then."

"Wha- how is it simpler?" Hope asked.

"Well, I like you, you like me, so that's all there is to it, right?"

Hope looked at Snow with disbelief. "It's a little more than just like, Snow."

Snow made a noncommittal hum and grabbed Hope's hand in his. Hope allowed the soothing warmth of Snow's hands to calm him, but still looked at Snow for more of an answer. "I love you, Hope, a lot if me not telling anyone else I found you says anything about that. So we continue what we're doing, we get together, we hang out, maybe we go a little farther, whatever you're comfortable with, that's where we're heading. There's no rush to try and figure this all out now, we can take it at our own pace."

Hope felt a pleasant warmth settle in his chest and a heat settle in his cheeks. He'd wanted this for a long time, and he never thought he would ever get it. He never expected Snow to like him back, and he didn't really know where to go from here. He was sailing in uncharted territory, he'd never been in a relationship before. But Snow was right, they could take it at their own pace.

The two were quiet for a while, Hope still awkwardly smooshed to Snow's side, with his legs across Snow's lap. Snow's thumb rubbed absentmindedly against his knuckles.

"Snow?" Hope asked, as the credits of the movie started.

"Yeah?" Snow asked, turning his attention to Hope, his expression soft.

Hope wondered if he should even ask this of Snow already, but gathered up his courage. "May I- I mean if you're okay with it, may I… k-kiss you?"

Snow didn't seem bothered by the question at all as he smiled at Hope and leaned forward slowly. Hope snorted when their noses bumped, but Snow just accommodated to the change. The warm, chapped surface of Snow's lips felt foreign on his own, but not bad. He didn't know what to do with his hands, so he settled them on Snow's shoulders. Hope let Snow guide him through the kiss and basked in the gentle ministrations.

When the two broke apart, Hope let out a shuddering breath. "Are all kisses like that?" Hope asked, looking at Snow.

"Some are, some are a little more intimate, some are a little dirtier, but I think these are the best," Snow said, leaning his forehead against Hope's.

"Why do you do that?" Snow's raised eyebrow made Hope continue. "We lean our foreheads together a lot, why?"

Snow shrugged. "I feel like I can maybe hear what you're thinking like this."

"Is it working?"

Snow gave Hope a helpless look. "That's yet to be concluded."

Hope laughed and felt his eyes soften. "I think we're going to have to do that again."

"Kiss?"

Hope nodded his head. "I still need to figure out how I'm supposed to breathe."

Snow snorted. "Practice makes perfect, Hope. And try breathing through your nose, everything else we can figure out together. We'll find out what we both like to do while kissing and work with each other."

Hope smiled. "So, more kisses then?"

"Definitely more kisses."

Hope and Snow were going to have to tell the others a whole lot more than just that Snow had found him. But he hoped that the others would be supportive, and they probably would be. Maybe. Eventually. But right now, Hope was going to enjoy the time he had with Snow.

These two deserve some fluff and I wanted to give it to them~

Thank you all for reading! *gives you a plate of cookies and a glass of milk* Please leave a review if you have time! :D