A/N: All right guys, I posted the first chapter prematurely without letting a beta look over it or proofreading it myself. I was so excited that I have began writing again that I couldn't wait to get it up! So I apologize for my hastiness without looking over it. BUT! It has been edited now! If there is a certain element, plot device, action, etc. that you found particularly intriguing, I request you leave a review letting me know so! If you feel a character strays from character or there's anything you may have disliked, let me know as well! Constructive criticism and suggestions are welcomed! Enough with the rambling and on with chapter two!

Chapter 2: Begin Anew

Snow looked down into two terrified eyes. Two very young, terrified eyes. His grip on the boy's shoulder loosened slightly and Snow brought his fist down. It crashed into the wall above Hope's head. He pulled his fist from the wall; his knuckles bled where they scraped the edges of the punctured wall. Hope's face remained terrified.

"From now on, you don't mention Serah again," Snow stormed out of the room into his bedroom.

He dug through the pile of clothes in the bottom of his closet; the first aid kit was under a pile of magazines. Serah had insisted he kept it, even for the smallest nicks and cuts. He withdrew a cotton ball and some peroxide. After putting a healthy amount of peroxide onto the cotton ball he applied it to his wounds. The wound stung for several seconds as it was cleaned. Snow sat in his room for a few minutes alone, pondering what to do. After a confrontation like that he knew things were going to be particularly rough with the kid. He honestly didn't mean to scare Hope like that. Something inside him seemed to scream to teach him a lesson.

Meanwhile, Hope still sat in the living room, his whole body trembled gently. He had brought his legs ups to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, his chin resting on his knees. As the television reporters went on and on about the achievements his mother accomplished, Hope watched intently. Tears began to run down his cheeks. He knew his mother had died. He doubted the words at first, but it didn't take long for him to understand she was gone for good. There were no second chances or the gift of a do-over. But it was as if now the realization set in. He had last seen her all most a week before she died. She was so busy while she was gone that he didn't have the opportunity to contact her.

He remembered standing there at the airport with his mom and Fang, her secretary, who was off buying a pastry for Hope and a cup of coffee for herself. His mom kneeled down in front of him, her grin from ear to ear. He smiled back. She ruffled his hair and leaned over and whispered in his ear, 'I love you so much. You know you're my little boy and the most precious thing to me. I'll be back in about five days, six the latest. Once I get home I promise to do something special with you. I'll have a few days to think of a few things for us to do, maybe take a vacation or something,' she leaned back to look her son in the face. His cheeks burned bright red at the mention of being her 'little boy' but he nodded at her question. He threw his arms tightly around her neck and whispered, 'That's a fair bargain. I love you so much mom!' after a few more tender moments though her flight was called out and she had to leave. Hope was left there standing with Fang.

Hope heard the bedroom to Snow's bedroom open and he shivered, he remained sitting there in the same position. If he could pull his legs any tighter to his chest he would. But Snow just walked by the living room and into the kitchen. He heard him rattle around in the refrigerator and head back towards his bedroom. Hope peaked over the edge of the couch in time to see Snow with his arms full of beer cans. He isn't… Is he? Hope pondered mentally.

Hope shakily climbed to his feet and took the longer route to get to the bathroom, walking by the front door and his bedroom to get to it. As opposed to cutting through the dining room and passing Snow's room. He reached for the doorknob and as he opened it, a shocking image came into view. Snow sat on the toilet, empty cans of beer surrounded him and just as many that were full lay around him as well.

Snow looked up at the young boy; Hope stood frozen in place. He held the empty can in his head and placed it on the floor. Unsure of what to do at this point; he bent down, picked up another can, opened it, and emptied its contents into the sink. He continued this action for a few more cans before Hope spoke.

"Wh-what are you doing?" his voice quivered with a hint of panic.

"I'm sorry about what happened in the living room," Snow responded to the boy's question. He didn't even slow down when Hope asked the question or he responded. Can after can, slowly washing down the drain.

"It's okay," Hope attempted to add some assuredness in his voice, but if there was any it couldn't be detected.

"No, it's not. I'm supposed to be taking care of you, protecting and raising you. So far I have failed to manage either of those. I shouldn't have reacted in such a manor. But I did. My actions were obviously foolish and brash. Now that I have you in the house, my drinking habit has got to go. I've drank four of these since I brought you home. Obviously those four were enough to cloud my judgment in such a manor I nearly hurt you."

"But I also agitated you; I poked the buttons that I knew would set you off," Hope tried to argue, Snow nodded his head no.

"That may be, but I should have been the adult and not let it affect me like that," Snow brought his attention back to the cans, he finished emptying the last can. He sat there, looking down and sighed. "Heh, why must horrible things happen?"

As he finished, he was caught off guard as Hope dropped to his knees and threw small arms around Snow's waist. They sat there for several seconds. He dropped the last can onto the pile of empty cans and snaked his own powerful arms around the young boy. They sat there for a few moments; Hope began to sob silently. His tears were beginning to wet the front of Snow's muscle shirt. After a few moments Hope pulled away. Snow stood and took Hope's hand; he helped the boy to his feet. Hope wiped his tears on his sleeve.

"I'm sor-" Hope began, but was interrupted.

"No, don't be sorry. I need some time alone, is that all right?" Snow asked.

Hope nodded before backing away to give Snow room. The blonde haired man left the bathroom in an obvious hurry and walked off, down the hallway. Meanwhile, Hope did his business in the bathroom before going back to his bedroom. He lay on his bed, reading from one of the paperbacks he picked up on the couch. It was a thriller, mystery. It kept his attention off any of the depressing matters at hand.

He lay on his bed reading for about an hour before discarding the novel, letting it fall to the floor. After tossing and turning for about thirty more minutes, boredom began to prey on him. The young boy couldn't take it anymore; so, he ventured into the living room. He looked at the plate Snow had prepared for him earlier, picked up the plate, carried the plate back into the kitchen, and heated the food. He ate it standing by the kitchen sink. The sausage is slightly overdone, but it doesn't taste too bad, he noted and placed the dirty dish into the sink.

Before he knew it, his legs had carried him down the hallway to stand before the Snow's bedroom door. He rapped lightly on the door a few times and paused. No response. He opened the peeked inside. No Snow. After closing the door and walking back towards the dining room, he peeked into the living rom. Snow wasn't there either. Noises came from behind the door Snow had never told Hope about; he could hear steady thumping noises and an occasional grunt.

Hope opened the door and stepped into a fairly large room. Green eyes widened the young man stepped into the room. Snow's back was to the door and he was wailing on a punching bag in the far corner. Various other pieces of exercise equipment filled the room. Trophies and medals were displayed proudly on a shelf that took up over half of the wall adjacent to the door; photographs covered the other walls as well as a few weapons modeled after older ones. Hope stared, his mouth agape.

Snow stopped his punching and turned to look down at Hope. He smiled, but Hope had all ready spun and darted for the door. A confused expression crossed Snow's face. He cleared the room in a few steps and caught Hope by the shoulder. The boy acted as if he would try to fight Snow off, but chose not to. Snow removed his boxing gloves, dropped them to the floor, and kneeled down to be on the boy's level.

"Hey, I see you found my little personal gym. I have to stay in shape somehow," Snow smiled softly. "No offense, but I do ask you please not come in here. It's private and special to me; do you understand?" Hope nodded. "I'm kind of hungry, want to grab a bite?" Snow asked as he walked towards his room, Hope on his heels.

"I actually heated up what you prepared for me for breakfast. It was really good, thank you," Hope's was voice just a few levels above a whisper.

"Hm," Snow pondered for a second, "All right. Come along and I'll still get you something. If you want, you can munch on it later. Does that sound fair?" Hope nodded in agreement.

Reaching into the mass of clothes on his floor, Snow slid on his black shirt, blue vest, and his trench coat. Not long after, the duo was out in his vehicle and pulling out of the driveway. Their drive to their destination was relatively unexciting. Upon arrival, Snow led Hope into the Bistro & Deli.

"Hey, Sazh! Prepare two of your steak sandwiches, to go!" Snow demanded of the man behind the counter.

"Snow? Is that you?" the dark skinned man behind the counter said spinning around. "Well hells bells! Where have you been lately? You've not came down to visit me, your dear friend. You know, that's kind of upse- WOAH! Snow! When did you get a kid? I know you have no siblings, so it can't be a nephew. Whose is he? He isn't…." Sazh trailed off looking down at Hope and up at Snow.

"No," Snow confirmed, he placed a hand on Hope's shoulder. Hope responded to this gesture by stepping aside as an indicator that he obviously didn't want his hand on his shoulder. "It's a long story, not something worth delving into right now."

"Right," Sazh nodded, "So two steak sandwiches? Want some of my special brew? I finished up a batch this morning!"

"Sorry, not for me," Snow nodded. "I've given it up."

"Wai- wha- Excuse me?" it seemed like Sazh's mouth would hit the counter if it dropped any lower

"Yeah, done with it," Snow verified, sublimely gesturing towards the kid.

Sazh nodded, "All right, if you say so. Two steak sandwiches, be up in a few seconds."

The man behind the counter turned his back to the two and worked quickly over the grill. He wrapped the sandwiches and placed them in a bag before sliding them over the counter.

"Take it; think of it as a gift from a friend. I don't get to see you around these parts any more, come around more often than you normally do. Familiar company is appreciated; hardly any of the guys come around anymore. I think everyone's either split or just too busy to care about the past," Sazh's voice held a hint of sorrow.

Snow nodded and smiled at the man. He reached over the counter and offered Sazh a pat before turning and heading for the door. Just as he reached the door he held a hand up in a thumb up gesture before exiting the building.

"Hey, Snow," Hope began as they drove home, but stopped himself from going on.

"Yeah, Hope? What is it? You can ask or tell me anything you want!" Snow's voice was full of comfort.

"Well," Hope continued, "Would you mind, maybe, if we could invest in a pair of shoes?" Hope looked over at Snow, "Mom had this thing about picking my shoes out for me and only letting me keep two pairs. Do you mind if I got some of my own?"

"The answer is no," Snow firmly responded, he never took his eyes from the road. "I don't have time to worr-" he finally cracked and began laughing. "I'm sorry, I can't be serious or tell a lie without laughing." Hope laughed along with Snow. Snow laughed harder, he noticed the boy's laugh. It was soft and really cute.

After the duo regained their composure, Snow turned into a turn lane and pulled into an empty parking spot. He and Hope briskly crossed the parking lot, as they neared Hope dashed off laughing. Snow was able to catch up in a few steps but purposely back-pedaled just enough that Hope would gain the lead. Hope reached the door first.

"Ha! I am the victory! You're not old enough to lose to someone my age are you, Snow?" the boy chuckled and gave Snow the gesture for 'loser'.

"I'm not too old to take you down!" Snow retorted, grabbing Hope up by his legs and lifting him off the ground. In that moment, Hope threw his head back and laughed that was full of genuine happiness.

After taking a few moments, the two stepped into the store. They were still trying to regain their composure. Customers and cashiers alike stared at them. Obviously everyone was puzzled by what had happened outside. Snow ignored them and led Hope down a vacant aisle.

"So, who was that Sazh guy you talked to at the bistro?" Hope inquired as he picked up a tennis shoe. He looked the shoe over and finally sat it back down.

"An old friend from my high school days, he was on the boxing team with me and a few others of us. You could say we were really close" Snow explained. A lot closer than you need to know about… He grinned at the memories that came to mind of him in what he would consider his glory days.

After pacing up and down each aisle at least twice, Hope excitedly chose a pair of shoes and he and Snow were checked up and back on their way home. Hope sat in the passenger front seat clutching the shoe box to his chest like it was a precious treasure. He had a million dollar smile.

"Hey, uh, Snow, I want to thank you for buying these for me. I really wasn't expecting you too. It was kind," Hope said, blushing from his forwardness with the man.

"Nah, it's nothing!" Snow reached over to ruffle the boy's hair.

Before they knew it, they were back in Snow's house. He cleared away a spot on the couch before sitting and working on his sandwich. Hope made a little spot to sit on the couch and they watched television for some time. Finally, Snow decided to retire earlier than usual. It wasn't but a quarter until nine at night. Still, he felt a heavy exhaustion flood over him. He left the living room, offering a good night to Hope, the boy didn't respond.

Hope continued watching television a little bit after and flipping through various magazines and paperbacks before growing bored and cutting the television off. He had long ago eaten his steak sandwich. But now he craved a snack, a little something to eat. Maybe things weren't so bad after all. Snow definitely meant well enough for the boy. Plus, he wasn't really mean or went out of his way to push Hope away. Hope originally imagined the guy would only treat him nice because he had to put up with him; because it would be the only way he would be paid. Yeah… Things aren't all that bad…he considered mentally.