A/N: All right guys, I hope everyone has enjoyed the story so far. Much more to come! I hope the plot doesn't feel like it's a bit on the sluggish side. Either way, I am sure there are at least six more chapters on the way and I hope to keep them on the lengthier side. Well, shall we commence with the story?

Chapter 3: Changes

It had been a few days since Snow decided to give up his beer for Hope. It was obvious the decision was made in a brash manor. Every time he opened the fridge, he instinctively reached down for the shelf that used to house all of his alcohol. Unfortunately, now the shelf held cans of various fruit juices and bottles of water. It was far more difficult to give up alcohol than he imagined; throughout all these years it became a security blanket. He never drank enough to be slobbering drunk, but he drank enough to numb his senses. Having to cope with the withdrawals and the feelings that hit him like a rushing tide was complicated. Yet, every time he looked at Hope, he felt strength from somewhere deep within him swell up. But Hope was off limits from him. It was nothing the boy had done, it was just he was straight. Snow knew from experience the dangers of falling for a straight guy.

No need to overcomplicate.

Snow was on his knees, digging through his closet, grabbing junk by the handful and disposing of it into the trash bag that Hope held. Ever since the young boy came to live with him, the older man couldn't help but feel guiltier with each passing day for his lifestyle. He was an absolute slob. He rarely threw stuff away. On even rarer occasions he would take out the trash. That was his first effort on trying to clean his home.

The duo made their way from cleaning his bedroom to the living room. After that it was the dining room and they ended in the kitchen. Two-and-a-half hours and six trash bags later they were done with that. Next came time to clean clothes and they were back in Snow's room gathering up dirty clothes from all over the floor and filling up hampers.

"Hey, Snow, may I say something?" Hope asked, sheepish grin on the boy's face.

"Sure, go ahead!" Snow smiled back at him.

"If I ever left my room or the house like you did, my mom would have probably grounded me for life," Hope commented as he picked up a pair of socks that smelled like they hadn't been washed in months. Before the older man could respond, Hope began laughing.

"Yeah," Snow responded. The comment was meant to be more humorous than serious but it wasn't that funny, the older man noted mentally. The young boy's laugh was infectious. It only took the blonde a few seconds to give in and he joined the boy in laughing.

"What's your story, Snow?" The silver-haired boy's tone was serious now.

"Well, I grew up with a great, loving family. A little crazy, but all families are. I started karate when I was seven. In high school I took up boxing as a sport and continued with karate. It was right after high school before I went off to start college. I was eighteen-years-old and my parents caught me and discovered something I had hid rather well. But now, my secret was out and they were furious. My father wasn't really open-minded, neither was my mother. So naturally, I packed my bags and scrammed while they discussed it. I haven't talked to them since. After I left home I never went to college, I just kind of went around taking up jobs and doing whatever I could to make a living. Then I met Serah and things changed for me. It was like life had given me a second chance, a real reason to live. But I left it fall through my fingers like water. But we had gotten this beautiful home and I didn't feel like living like I had used to. So I began working as muscle for hire. Now, something I'll never regret, you're living with me," he said,finishing his story.

"Wow, have you never thought of trying to reconcile with your parents?" Hope inquired. The man just shook his head. Hope didn't want to press the issue on any farther. When Snow mentioned him living with him and not regretting it, he could feel his cheeks turn scarlet red.

They headed off down the hallway, toting the hampers full of dirty clothes. The washroom had to be accessed through the back yard. It was attached to the house yet the only door leading into it was outside. They filled the washing machine to its limits and let it run, heading back towards the house.

The rest of the day was full of stories, the sharing of jokes, and cleaning. After dinner, the two watched some television before finally deciding to settle in for the night. Each of them headed for the respective rooms.

Snow lay on his side, it felt like it was going to be another sleepless. Because the night was rather warm he was stripped down to his boxers. He could hear the usual grunts, groans, and cries from down the hallway. Ever since Hope had come to live with him the boy seemed to be plagued by nightmares every night. Snow had tried everything to help the boy have a peaceful night of rest but no matter what was done, it just wouldn't work.

"NO! SNOW! OH NO! SNOW!" Hope's cries raised to a practical yell as he shouted the older man's name.

"I'm coming!" Snow whispered to no one in particular. Something's wrong!

He threw the covers from over his body and bounded for the door, being careful to avoid his dresser this time. He threw the door open and like a flash was down the hallway. Afraid that an intruder may be in the room to take Hope, Snow gently opened the door wide enough to peek inside. There was no one in there. The silhouette of the boy violently tossed and turned appearing as if he was trying to fight someone off. Snow leaned down and gently stroked the boy's cheek and whispered his name. The young teen began calming down and his eyes fluttered open drowsily.

"You okay?" Snow asked, his voice a whisper.

"Yeah," Hope's quivering voice was soft and terrorfied.

"What were you dreaming?" the man asked with concern.

"Nothing, Snow, it was the same as the others. It's me and mom in the airplane terminal, and suddenly she just falls into a pile of ash and a dark figure stands over where she once was holding a gun at me," Hope lied, hoping Snow would buy it.

"Hm," Snow stood there, his expression thoughtful. He knew the boy lied, but he wasn't about to tell him he heard the kid crying out his name; usually he cried out for his mom. "I wish I could find a way to help you with these nightmares. Well, get some rest." Snow tucked the boy in and looked down at him with a smile. Finally, he leaned over to kiss the boy on his forehead and head back towards his room. Right before he closed the door he heard a quiet voice.

"Good night, Snow."

"Good night, Hope," He offered in response.

The rest of the night, the boy didn't make a noise.

The next morning, a knock resounded through the house while Snow and Hope sat in the dining room, eating cereal for breakfast. They both stopped eating to exchange glances before continuing to eat. Three sharper knocks followed the previous one. With a grimace, Snow stood from his chair. He sauntered over to the front door and barely opened it to peek outside. There stood a tall, slender woman. Her pink hair contrasted with her blue uniform. She didn't look too pleased.

"Hello, Lightning." Snow's voice bitter.

"Look, no need to exchange pleasantries. What's going on with you?" she asked, straight to the point. "You haven't left your house in days now. Your neighbors thought they heard screaming last night and called us this morning to come and check it out. Is everything okay? What's going on?" Lightning took a step forward.

"Not much," Snow stepped aside as Lightning stepped closer the door opened a bit more as he did. "I've just been having nightmares lately."

"Since when did you start cleaning up your house? Last I saw you, you were pitiful, you let trash and junk pile up all over the place." The pink-haired woman's insults didn't bother Snow in the least bit.

"None of your business!" Snow grunted.

"Also," the woman looked towards the dining room, "why are there two plates on the dining room table?"

"You know, I've always hated how observational you are. Look, if you're here catch up with me, you'll be better to catch me at a different time. But if you're here to report a call, you can see everything is okay. I've just been busy lately. I thank you for coming to check on me officer. Have a nice day." Snow went shut the door but it was caught by a black boot.

"Look Snow, I know Serah's death has caused you as much hurt as me," her voice softened a little bit, it was nearly unnoticeable. "But if anything's wrong you can talk to me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know." Snow rolled his eyes subtly at the comment. "Have a nice day," he managed to say as she walked off.

The woman responded with a wave and she climbed into her patrol car and drove off. Lightning was going to be Snow's sister-in-law, before he lost Serah. She was Serah's older sister and she was highly protective of the younger woman. She also held bitter feelings towards Snow, even before Serah's untimely death. Snow was a ragged, destitute juvenile that showed no signs of a decent future. Yet he managed to get his act together, maintain a job, and eventually get a house. Yet still that wasn't enough in Lightning's eyes.

He returned back to join Hope at the table. They finished their breakfast and then Snow had to leave to run some errands. Hope pleaded for Snow to let him tag along but he insisted he must go alone. It would only be thirty minutes or so. Still, the boy couldn't help but find the idea of being away from Snow saddening. He tried reading a book, then watching television; he even paced around the house a few times. But things were so dull, boring, and lonely. As he paced, he found himself in the kitchen, looking at the door to Snow's exercise room. It was as if curiosity was an invisible force that pulled him towards the door. Before he knew it, he was standing inside the room.

Medals to his right were proudly displayed on a wall. Exercise equipment scattered about in no particular order or layout. Hope walked up to the back wall of the room and looked at some of the newspaper snippets; many contained articles written on Snow and his boxing talents. Some of the various photos on the wall included Snow and his friends. Some at the beach, some at someone's house, even a few taken at graduation. But then, there were a few photos grouped together that caught Hope off guard. In a few, Snow was hugged up to various males in these photos, and they were kissing on the lips. From what he could tell, they were open-mouthed too, very deep and passionate. But a car door outside interrupted his thoughts.

He ran from the room, closing the door behind him and darting into the living room where he flopped onto the couch. Snow came in the front door, a big grin on his face.

"I'm home!" Snow announced merrily.

"Great!" Hope returned the announcement with a huge grin.

Snow passed through the living room and placed the bags on the dining room table before heading back into the living room and dropping down on the couch next to Hope. He removed his bandanna and slid out of his trench coat. He placed them on the unattended sofa. He looked over at the young Hope, and threw his arm around him. Something was wrong.

"Hey, Hope, you look like something's bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah, it's really nothing."

"Are you sure?" Snow's tone full of concern.

"Well, I sort of did something I shouldn't have," Hope said ashamedly.

"Know this; you can never do anything that I won't forgive you for!" Snow patted the young boy's shoulder.

"Well, I kind of went into your work-out room and saw photos on the wall. It was you and guys. Are…" he carefully considered his next few words. "Are you, um, you know… Gay?" he whispered, the last word said as if it were forbidden to be spoken.