Chapter 4-

Lightning and Hope sit in silence, admiring the sunset; the beautiful pastel oranges, lavenders and shades or pink canvassing the evening sky. The residential street is quiet, the sound of crickets and a cicada envelopes the silence, evoking a sense of soothing, mellow tranquility. Lightning suddenly breaks the silence:

"So.. what's on your mind Hope?"

Hope glances at Lightning and finds her looking at him with an expression of concern.

"Okay, if I tell you this ... do you promise not to say anything about it to anyone, Light?"

She rolls her eyes, annoyed by the notion that he'd even ask her that.

"Hope, really?.. If it's a secret and you're confiding in me with it, you honestly think I'd break that trust?"

Hope giggles, desperately attempting to reassure her he never thought that for a second.

"No, of course not Light .. but, I don't know... maybe you'd think the person would have the right to know..." he leaps off the wall, he spots a small rock on the sidewalk and lightly kicks it onto the street. "...you know what.." he continues. "..maybe it's just for the best if I don't say anything at all."

Lightning leaps off the wall as well, she crosses her arms and shoots him a stare of disbelief.

"Are you serious, Hope?.." she exclaims in annoyance. "..you drop this on me and now you just want to drop it all together? No way; whatever it is, you're telling me .. and you know that you don't have to worry about it getting out to anyone else, whatever is said between us, stays here... between you and me only. So spit it out already."

Hope let's out a soft but heavy sigh, he stands frozen for a moment then turns around to face Lightning.

Their eyes meet, Lightning can see a look of worry, even shame within Hope's eyes.

"Okay ... so, I uh... I think, I think I might be in love with someone.." he finally says and an odd sense of relief washes upon him, but then a chill of nervousness follows immediately by the thought of having to explain himself further to her.

"You really had me worried there Hope.." Lightning scuffs in relief at his statement. ".. and here I thought it was something extremely serious, not that this isn't serious but, you know what I mean.. so who is she, a girl from school?"

Hope's palms begin to sweat, a knot in his throat forms and his stomach begins to feel as if he's all of a sudden on a roller coaster ride.

"Uh... no, it isn't anyone from school..."

Lightning instantly picks up on his extreme discomfort and nervousness, it suddenly dawns on her that it might be her, he's referring to.

"Hope, listen..." she turns her back to him in embarrassment but also guilt from having to turn him down and potentially break his heart.

"... you're like the little brother I never had, we've been through a lot together and we've become extremely close, but.. I never intended to give you any mixed signals or anything. I'm sorry if you started to feel any kind of way towards me, but.. I don't feel that way—"

Hope realizes that she is under the impression that it's her he's in love with and cuts her off immediately.

"Oh gods Light.." he lets out a chuckle. ".. no, no Light it isn't you!"

A look of relief followed by instant embarrassment forms on her face.

"Okay... that's a huge relief.." Hope laughs, Lightning smirks. ".. alright, so who is it then?" she presses.

"I don't know if I should tell you..." Hope quickly replies.

"Why?.. wait, do I know this person? Like, do I know her well?.."

Hope looks at her, his eyes giving her a look of unintentional affirmation. "..oh geez Hope, Serah? It's Serah??.."

Hope becomes more anxious but also irritated.

"No! Gosh Lightning, ew! Serah, really? That's your sister and she's like, pregnant!"

Lightning confused now becomes irritated herself.

"Then who Hope, who is she then?!"

"IT'S NOT A SHE, LIGHTNING!" Hope shouts. Everything becomes silent again, only the crickets and the cicada can be heard.

"It's not a girl, Light.. I'm not feeling this way towards a girl.. it's ... it's a guy."

His shoulders drop and his head lowers, he feels embarrassed, ashamed, worried, even scared.

Suddenly he feels Lightning's arms wrap around him.

"Hey, Hope.. there's nothing to feel ashamed or embarrassed about, okay?.." her embrace tightens. ".. you're not any different than who you've always been to me .. if anything, you're that much more special because now, you're the genuine you."

Hope turns around and embraces her in return.

"Thanks Light..." he whispers.

"So... do you want to tell me who he is?" Lightning persists.

Hope gently steps back away from Lightning.

"It isn't going to be easy to hear this, or even for me to say it..." he softly says. "... I mean, I don't even really know what to make of it all .. it's like, it just happened, all of a sudden I started looking at him, feeling this certain way about him. I know it isn't right, not because he's a guy.. or because I'm gay; but because I know for a fact that he isn't and he's involved, connected to someone .. to people, I truly care about. I don't want to mess things up, hurt people... friends, that I consider family even. It's just all so messed up."

Tears well up within his light green eyes.

At this very moment Lightning realizes who it is that Hope is referring to.

"Snow?.. Hope, it's Snow, isn't it?" she asks.

Hope is taken aback by the sudden question. He knows he can't deny it, he doesn't want to deny it, although every fiber of his being is telling him that he should.

"Yeah... it's Snow.."

Lightning turns away from Hope, she slowly walks back to the short wall and places her hands atop it as if to hold herself up from the shock of all that's been said. She lowers her head and sighs.

"You know that nothing will ever come of this Hope .. it's Snow, like you even said, he isn't gay. He's madly in love with my Serah and she with him. They're about to have a baby even."

In hearing all of this, Hope realizes just how foolish it all sounds. Lightning is right, Snow doesn't, wouldn't ever feel for him; or any other guy for that matter, what Hope feels for him.

"This is all so stupid... you're right Light, it'll never happen. I feel so dumb, I regret even saying anything .. even thinking that it was something serious enough to bring up, to make a fuss about. Let's just please forget about it, let's pretend I didn't even say anything, okay... please?"

Lightning steps towards him and places her hands upon his shoulders, squeezing them gently.

"It wasn't stupid Hope, you shared something about yourself to me, nothing about that was pointless.." she hesitates, scratches the back of her head then continues. "..Listen, I get it .. it's Snow, big macho-man Snow, and you coming into your own, realizing who you are, who you're attracted to.. you developed a crush on him because you're around him a lot. Obviously you care about him, you both have become close, but maybe your feelings for Snow turned into an attraction because of you discovering your sexuality. The way I see it, It's just a silly crush and that's okay, it's natural even, because you're only human."

A sense of relief comes over Hope.

"You always know exactly what to say, Light.." he smiles, she smiles back. ".. you're totally right, it's just a silly crush..." Hope hesitates then asks her. "...you're not going to tell him or Serah are you, Light?"

A few seconds of silence pass by, Hope becoming anxious for her reply.

"Um, no..." she finally says. "... we definitely don't want any of that, besides it's just a harmless 'boy in lust' crush. We know nothing would ever come of it, so why make things weird for everyone?"

Hope darts at Lightning and hugs her tightly.

"Thanks Light, you're the best big sister ever!"

Lightning squirms a bit, expressing her uneasiness towards affection but allows him to embrace her, she even smiles at his loving gesture.

"Alright now, let's get you home.." she says. "..it's getting late."

They start making their walk down the street when suddenly Lightning slows her pace and asks.

"Hope... what about you being gay, are you planning on telling everyone else?.."

Hope is quickly caught off guard by the question, it honestly hadn't even been something he even considered. He thinks to himself for a few moments as they silently continue their walk, Hope finally replies after a short while.

"If it's okay with you Light, I'd rather have you be the only one who knows about it for now .. I know that it's something I should eventually share with everyone else, but honestly.. I don't know, honestly I'd rather just not have to for the time being. I hope you understand."

Lightning wraps an arm around his shoulder as they continue their walk to Hope's house.

"Of course I do, it should only be your decision to make and when you're absolutely ready to do so. Even if you never feel the need to let anyone else know, that's completely your right. Just know that regardless, I'll always have your back."

A few minutes later, Hope enters his and his father's house. The lights are all off but Hope can see the glow coming from his father's office, at the opposite end of the hallway that runs from the front door, all the way down the entirety of the house's first floor level. Hope makes his way down the hallway, towards the office.

"Dad?!" Hope calls in a soft shout.

"Yes son, I'm in my studio.. Hope, come here please, I have something to tell you."

Hope arrives at the room's door and lightly pushes it open, Mr. Estheim sits at his desks with a stack of work related papers and multiple open folders sprawled before him. Mr. Estheim looks up at Hope and warmly smiles.

"Have you eaten, Hope?" he asks his son.

"Uh, yeah. Had dinner at Serah and Snows. Have you dad?" his father averts his attention back to a stack of papers, pulls a sheet from it and begins to write upon it.

"Not yet, but I'll grab some leftovers from the fridge before I head to bed. Hope listen, I'm going to have to be away for a week or so.. I know, I've only just returned from a business trip not too long ago, but this new project I'm currently in charge of, it's—"

Hope quickly interrupts his father.

"Dad, it okay.. I know. What you're working on is really important, it's fine, I get it. So, do you want me to ask Serah if I can just stay there again while you'll be away?"

Mr. Estheim lifts the front of his glasses up the bridge of his nose while looking up at Hope.

"Yes .. or Lightning, you can stay at Lightning's while I'm gone, no?"

Hope knows he could stay at Lightning's but why miss out on any chance of catching Snow walking half naked around his house by deciding to not stay at Snow and Serah's place for a week.

"Nah, you know what dad, staying at Lightning's wouldn't be a good idea right now. She's been working real late lately, she's even getting in past ten some nights." Hope replies, he feels guilty having to fib to his father but it's only a little white lie and besides, Lightning does work long days. She'd most definitely not want to be babysitting Hope after a long, stressful day at work.

"Hm.. alright then, Serah and Snow's it is..." Mr. Estheim says while returning to his writing. "...I'll call Serah sometime tomorrow evening just to ask her personally and see if it's not going to be a bother for her and Snow."

"Oh, it's no bother at all dad." Hope quickly states back.

"I'm sure it isn't son, but it's only the polite and courteous thing to do..." Mr. Estheim glances at his wristwatch. "...you should head on up to bed son, it's getting late and you have school in the morning."

"Okay dad.. don't forget to eat something, okay?.." Hope gently closes the office door as he continues to say. "..good'night dad, I love you." he can hear his father's reply: "I love you too son, good night." as Hope completely brings the door to a close.

Hope makes his way upstairs to his room, he can feel the stickiness of the day's warm heat upon his skin: "I'll take a quick shower before bed." he thinks to himself.

He grabs a shower towel from the linen closet as he makes his way to the upstairs bathroom. Once inside, Hope undresses and turns on the shower. He tests the warmth of the water with his hand, getting it to the perfect temperature; warm but not too hot, he steps into the shower.

The water hits the back of his head, cascading down his back, down his firm, well rounded buttocks and legs. The warm water begins to comfort him, relaxing his body and mind.

His eyes are shut, the soothing warmth reminds him of Snow, recalling how deliciously sexy he had looked, dripping wet from a tower, in nothing but a damp, white towel.

How huge his bulge looked, perfectly framed upon the damp towel. And when Hope had accidentally brushed his elbow against Snow's member, when they were playfully horsing around. How heavy, thick and big it had felt.

Hope forms a full erection from the thoughts and visualizations overcoming his mind;

"He's got to have the biggest fucking cock ever.."

Hope thinks to himself as he takes his own penis into the grip of his hand.

Hope isn't huge, definitely not as large as Snow, who's most definitely packing close to twelve inches; but Hope himself is slightly above arrange. He had measured it once, out of curiosity and boredom, and his penis was slightly above eight inches.

"Oh how amazing his huge, fat cock would feel in my mouth..." Hope continues to think to himself while now stroking his erect penis.

"And even how much more amazing it'd feel if he were to fuck my tight, virgin asshole with that monster cock of his..."

Hope jerks his penis more quickly now.

"And.. and how fucking amazing it would feel if he'd suck my cock.." Hope's penis throbs in pleasurable excitement as he continues to jerk himself off. "And... what if he'd let me fuck that huge man-ass of his with my big, hard, throbbing co—" he ejaculates, a lot and heavy. A sensation of blissful fatigue rushes upon his entire body as he squeezes every drop of semen from the opening of his penis.

Hope rinses off, steps out of the shower, wraps the towel around his waist and heads towards his bedroom. Inside his room, he shuts the door, falls back upon his bed and within minutes falls fast asleep.