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 4: Realization, part I
A sudden screech elicited from the pack of crystallized monsters as the Cie'th charged towards the party. Snow quickly switched from sentinel to commander as he watched Fang and Lightning charge forward into the pack, stabbing and tearing away at anything in their path. Sazh kept a safe distance, shooting the Cie'th in their legs and trying to slow down their movement as Vanille began casting fire spells on the wounded, cursed creatures burning them to ashes. Hope was bestowing protection and resistant spells onto party before switching into ravage role, casting multiple spells to the Cie'th attacking Lightning and Fang. Noticing that Hope was at a safe distance from the blasted creatures, Snow tackled the closest crystallized monster into a pillar, sending a fury of punches to the Cie'th's stomach before slamming the monster onto the stone floor. Another Cie'th suddenly appeared within his right vision, raising his large arm at him but Snow quickly took a defensive stance and absorbed the blow before pushing the creature back. The Cie'th wobbled a three steps back and that was all the opportunity Snow needed to charge forward and deliver an ice, cold punch to the monster's skull, knocking the creature unconscious to the floor.
Snow returned his attention to the group. Everyone seemed to hold their own ground until a louder screech emitted from a wounded Cie'th, nearly causing his eardrum to burst. The entire party ceased fighting to cover their ears as the sound immobilized the group and stopped them from attacking. But the other Cie'th, who were not affected by the painful cry, continued their charge. "Guys, take down that screaming piece of shit!" Snow gritted his teeth covering his ears to keep them from bleeding.
"I'm on it!" Hope cried as he cast a firaga spell towards the wounded Cie'th, causing a big explosion of heat within the vicinity. The creature cried out in pain from the scorching flames that fed from the air, burning the crystallized creature's flesh to dust. The party watched as the smoke cleared away, leaving only a big black patch of ashes on the stone floor and the surrounding pillars. They sighed in relief as the grating noise dissipated to nothing, but the other Cie'th continued their advances, showing no empathy to their fallen comrade. Before the group could make the next assault, a sudden crack from one of the pillars grasped the party's attention. The stone structure near the explosion site from the firaga spell began to break apart. Each l'Cie gasped as the ruin's support started to break apart and collapse.
"Hey! Hey! Hey! We have to get out of here! The place is coming down!" Sazh yelled frantically before sprinting off, with the other members following his lead. They glanced back, hearing screams of agony from the unfortunate Cie'th being crushed by the falling debris and broken struts. They watched from a distance, in awe as the last pillar fell, pulverising the wobbling Cie'th's attempts to escape. Their suffering cries ended, only to leave nothing but a huge cloud of dust in their wake. After some moments, the dust cleared, giving a clear view of the rubble that littered the plaza and the lack of Cie'th to combat.
"Not bad kid. Not a single one survived." Fang whistled commemorating the silver-hair l'Cie skills.
"Hope!" Vanille cheered, hugging the younger teen to her chest. "That was awesome."
"Yeah." The teen muttered embarrassingly. He glanced at Lightning, earning a genuine smile from the gunblade wielder.
"You saved our butts, kiddo." Snow said as he threw his arms over the other male's shoulder, pulling Hope away from the pig-tailed girl's clutches.
"Well... I was just... trying to help." Hope stated with difficultly, trying to avoid the man's gaze. He felt happy for some, unknown, reason. He glanced at the blond who was smiling warmly at him and he heard his heart beating in his ears. His body was becoming uncontrollably hot and flustered again whilst standing beside the handsome, blond-haired l'Cie. 'I don't understand this feeling. Everything feels weird. The experience is similar to last night when we were to..get..ther...' Hope's heart was running a mile as he was recollecting his thoughts from what happened the other night.
"C'mon guys, let's see if we can find a way to get rid of these funny looking tattoos." Lightning stated surveying the ancient civilization, breaking Hope's trail of thought. He felt a warm and fluttering feeling in his stomach from having Snow's arms wrapped tightly around his body. Quickly, before anyone could notice his strange demeanor, the silver-hair teen untangled himself from the man's grasp. "We'll separate in groups of two to cover more ground." The pink-hair female commanded, gaining the approval of the remaining party members.
"Hope, let's search together." Vanille inquired. Hope didn't get a chance to answer her request as the girl began pulling him further into the ruins. Snow was about to follow his cute silver-hair companion, but a sharp saber appeared in front of him distancing himself from the teens.
"Not so fast there hot shot." Lightning said. "Fang, go with them." The pink-haired l'Cie gestured towards the direction where the two younger l'Cie disappeared. She glanced back to blond man from the corner of her eyes. "You are coming with us. One could imagine the work that will be accomplished if we send the three of you together."
"But...but you guys are boring." Snow sighed in defeat. He'd rather accompanied the silver-hair teen into the ruins than going with Light and the old fart.
"Well, you better get used to it." Lightning smirked as she and Sazh walked off to another direction into the ruins, leaving a bewildered Snow standing alone.
'What's so funny?' The blond man blinked. There was something strange about the pink-haired woman's behavior, something he wasn't able to grasp. Was he forgetting something? The thought was quickly pushed aside as the blond followed the old man and the former soldier into the remains of civilizations long gone. The only thing that was preoccupying Snow's thought was Hope and his chance to get the silver-hair youth to sleep beside him again for the night.
In the Ruins of Paddra...
"Find anything?" Vanille asked as Fang exited another rundown house.
"It's weird." Fang stated, placing her hands by her hips whilst looking at the two teen l'Cie standing on the crevice stone road. "There's no trace of life, like everyone got up and left, leaving everything behind."
"Or maybe they turned into Cie'th." Vanille suggested.
"Possible, but we cannot make that assumption as of yet. For now let's continue our search." Hope stated before continuing his way down the cracked stone road, passing more hollow and deserted buildings. With each taken step, the teen's head dived further into a vortex of confusion. 'People don't get up and leave unexpectedly. What really happen here?'
"Guys, over here!" Vanille called cheerfully. Fang and Hope quickly ran toward the high-pitched voice of their comrade, seeing the pig-tailed girl standing at the other side of the ruins. "Think we could find something there?" Vanille asked as she pointed towards a giant stone building sitting alone on a hill that overlooked the ruins.
"It wouldn't hurt to take a peek." Hope suggested, walking pass his cheerful companion. He felt a slight push from behind.
"Well, let's go check it out." Vanille said as she walked merrily on the dirt path toward the building.
From a closer view the building appeared to be shaped like a dome, only with a ceiling. The building was made from intricate stonework and like the other buildings, there were cracks running along the walls and the widows were without glass. The party stood in front a two giant stone doors. Beside each door, there was a relic of a bird creature covered with ruins, possibly the deities the inhabitants had worshipped. Hope slowly walked up to the door and gently tried to push it open, but the door didn't move.
"It's stuck. I think if we could..." The silverette said, pressing harder onto the stone surface as Fang and Vanille assisted him, but, again, the door didn't even budge.
"The damn thing wouldn't move." Fang grumbled.
"In situation like this, we need Snow. He looks like he could move this door easily." Vanille said, stopping to catch her strength.
Hearing the blond's name, Hope felt his heart jump in his chest as his mind received flashes of the smiling brute. He knew too well what Snow was capable of and strength was one of them. However, strength wasn't the only admirable qualities that Snow retained. The man's caring nature was something he had grew loved, especially when the blond shown those qualities to him. And whenever that happened, Hope's emotions went into turmoil because it made him feel special. 'And for the past days, my head has been filled with nothing but Snow.' The green-eyed teen thought, his face flushing a deep shade of red.
"Hope, your face is glowing." The boy look up to see Vanille only inches away from his face.
"Wahhh!" The silver-hair l'Cie yelped, stumbling back against the stone door, his body ablaze from embarrassment.
"Awww, you look so cute." The Pulsian girl said as she gave the cute teen a hug. Fang just rolled her eyes at the sight.
"Save the hugging and kissing after we save the world, let's see we can open this door again." Fang uttered nonchalantly before she started pushing the stone door again. The two younger l'Cie did as they were told. "Put your back into it." Fang stated as the door finally gave way. With a little more effort, the wind blew from between the two stone doors for the first time in ages. The building inside was dusty and gloomy, but the three l'Cie were able to see where they were going from the streak of light emitting from the glassless windows. There was a row of columns near the circular wall and a large space at the center of the building. The most amazing thing that captured the party's eyes was the golden chandelier, candles long gone, hovering above them in the middle of the empty space. "It's a..." Fang stammered looking around unable to finish her sentence.
"A ballroom." Vanille gasped happily, skipping and twirling merrily towards the dance floor. "I know... I should show Snow this place. I think he'll love it." Vanille said, stopping in her track.
Hope halted his movement after hearing the man's name from his cheerful companion again. "Why?" He asked and looked at Vanille as if the girl had grown a second and third head on her shoulders.
"You know... For his wedding. I can see it now." Vanille said closing her eyes. "Snow and Serah dancing here. Everyone dressed up lavishly and music playing in the background."
Hope's eyes widened in realisation and felt a pinch in his heart the moment the girl mentioned the words "wedding" and "Serah". His chest then constricted and tightened as his emotions swelled up, ready to burst. His heart slowly sank as he mentally visualize Snow dancing with her, Serah, who was dress in whites from Vanille's description. For some reason, he didn't like that. He closed his eyes, but he couldn't stop the dancing images of Snow and Serah in each other's embrace, smiling happily together. For the first time, Hope didn't want Snow smiling at any person other than him. Then his eyes widened from a sudden realization. All the time he was thinking about Snow. He actually developed feeling for the blond. The thought itself was not disgusting, but more affectionate, like a warm fluttering feeling. Then the pain came afterward. Snow didn't see him like that. If anything, Snow felt like that to Serah. Hope felt his jealousy peak towards the pink-hair girl and at the same time, selfish because he liked the way how Snow looked at him and smiled at him. And strangely enough, he only liked it when Snow did that to him and him alone. 'But what can I do? Snow is fighting for something he wants to protect. He's protecting what he loves. He cares for Serah..." The silver-hair teen mentally despaired, hopelessly. Hope's heart then sank further. In a instant, he felt all those hopeful and warmful sensations, which developed from the past days, crushed by a single moment.
"There's nothing here." Fang stated, snapping Hope's dispiriting thought. "Let's regroup with the others before nightfall."
At Ruin's Entrance
"From the look of your faces, I guess no luck, huh?" Snow stated when they arrived to a setup camp. He glanced at Hope, but the teen didn't return his gaze. From the expressions on his face, the silver-hair l'Cie seemed distracted with his inner thoughts.
"What about you guys, find anything?" Fang replied.
"Nothing to help us to get rid of this unscripted curse." Lightning said as the air fell silent.
"But we found food!" Snow exclaimed optimistically, gesturing to the multiple exotic fruits on the stone floor. "I think we could fill our bellies before thinking of our next plan."
"Our only destination now is Oerba." Fang muttered as she sat down on the cold stone floor, grabbing a bite to eat. The two younger l'Cie were seated beside her, munching on the fruits.
"How long of a journey are we talking here?" The afro-haired man asked, seated across from Fang. Lightning and Snow lounged beside the gunner, with the blond facing the silver-hair teen.
"We needed to backtrack to where we started... And we need to also cross through the steppe heading north. Probably a five day travel." Vanille informed whilst taking off her pair of yellow boots. She began rubbing the sensitive flesh under her feet. "Geez I'm gonna get sores before we reach Oerba."
"Five days?" Sazh whistled. "That's a lot of time wasted on traveling."
"And we don't have the time to make any extra stops." Fang added.
"Well we better be ready when we set out tomorrow." Lightning said. Nods were exchanged between the groups as they began making preparations for their journey. "Snow, go gather more fruits." The gunblade wielder directly commanded. "We can stock up for tomorrow, so we don't have to make extra stops."
Snow's face dropped hearing Lightning's order, but suddenly a light bulb flashed on in his head. He glanced at Hope who was quiet during their conversation. 'Now is your chance to get some alone time with the kiddo...' A voice in his head said smugly, which Snow couldn't agree with more. "Hope, you wanna tag along?" He called out.
Hope felt his heart jerk when the blond called his name. He slowly raised his head to meet a pair of piercing and warm blue orbs. He wanted to say yes, but he couldn't. No matter how much his heart wanted him to be beside the man, he just couldn't. He couldn't get his hopes up for nothing. He needed to ignore these feelings and make a choice. As seconds passed, he felt the pain in his heart worsen. He refused to let these feelings get the better of him so Hope glanced away from the man's soft gaze, clenching his fists, knowing he only had one choice. "Why don't you asked Vanille? I think she has something important to tell you." Hope said.
To be continued...