AssasinZAssasin: Your reviews are always something to look forward to. ^^ About your request about the story when Hope's sick, that'll be incorporated into this story later.

Scion of Hades: If you think that was a cliffhanger, you won't like the end to this. xD

Revan Farron: Thank you! Hope this one isn't one-sided, as well. Tried to make it seem more general.

FFLightXHopeTifaXCloud: Psh, Light's the only thing on Hope's mind right now. 8D By the way, I'll make the wedding story and accident story as two separate ones, okay?

xXAnime4LifeXx: Aw, thank you so much! :)

Serah was the one who answered the door, brightening at the sight of the two. "Sis! Hope! You guys are on time! Surprisingly," She added, which earned her a look from Light and a sheepish grin from Hope. "Well, what are you doing, standing out there? C'mon in!"

Hope blinked in surprise and raised an eyebrow when Serah smiled mischievously at him behind Lightning's back as she hugged her.

"You're looking a lot better, now." Light smiled as Serah wrapped her arms around her, returning the warm gesture afterwards. Serah had recently given birth to boy and girl twins; her and Snow's first two children. They were being carried, one in each arm, by Snow, who appeared behind his wife, greeting his friend and sister-in-law.

Snow winked at Hope, jerking his head towards Light, who was still asking about Serah's condition. Hope adopted a dry expression and mouthed a "What?" to his friend.

"He~y, Hope! Sis! Glad you two could make it! Say hello to your aunt and uncle, you two!" The blond man set the baby boy, Ethan, into Lightning's arms, before gently handing Nora, the girl, to Hope.

"H-Hey, I'm not really their uncle..." Hope protested weakly. To be honest, he quite liked it, that title of "Uncle Hope."

The silver-haired teen smiled as he cradled the small baby. "Hey, Nora..." He whispered, as he touched her tiny nose gently. The baby, head covered in a thin fuzz, gurgled happily and reached for Hope's own nose, latching on tight and refusing to let go.

Everyone, even Hope, burst out laughing at this, though Hope's laugh was squeaky and nasally sounding, thanks to the fact that Nora didn't seem to want to let go.

Nora. His mother's name. He would get used to it, he knew, calling someone Nora. His mother had died two years ago, when she and Hope had been forced onto the Purge Train. Lightning and Sazh had actually been on the same train, and had derailed it. Nora had joined Snow and his, ironically named, NORA group in the battle against PSICOM soldiers. An explosion injured her, and before she died, she had asked Snow to take Hope home.

Misunderstanding the whole situation, Hope had actually blamed Snow for his mother's death, bearing a strong hatred towards the tall man. Hope had also done something he had always regretted afterwards. He had, in his rage, tried to murder Snow.

Learning that Hope was Nora's son, Snow understood Hope's grief and reasons, accepted full blame, and Hope forgave him. The two became good friends afterwards.

Hope could also remember when Snow asked Hope if he and Serah could name their first daughter after Nora. It actually had not been timed particularly well, on Serah and Snow's part. Since Serah had moved in with Snow, Hope had begun to visit Light more often, so it had been at her house, with him present, as well. Naturally, Lightning would never admit it, but Hope knew her better than she thought. He could tell she was lonely without Serah.

They had been eating lunch, the four of them. Serah and Snow had been a little awkward and nervous looking the whole entire time, so finally Light had set her eating utensils down with some force, and put her arms on the table in a very business-like fashion, staring her brother-in-law and little sister down. "Okay, you two. This has gone on long enough. What is going on?"

Snow had looked up at the ceiling, then down at his plate, before shooting a glance at his wife. Serah herself picked at a bit of pasta before setting her fork down with a sigh. "Sis. I'm pregnant."

Hope had choked on his water, and began to beat wildly on his chest. Light, extremely pale in comparison to the red-faced boy, had brought a fist down mightily on Hope's back without even sparing him a glance as the boy gave an exclamation of pain. She was too busy staring at Serah in a mixture of horror, shock, and disbelief. "Wh... What... You two..."

And then, she had whirled on Snow, half rising out of her seat while glaring down on the wincing man. "You... I am so... She's only..." Her mouth opened and closed, stammering out words every now and then, but couldn't form a complete sentence.

Finally, she sat back down, and put a hand to her forehead, leaning against the back of her chair weakly. "Serah..." She whispered. "You're only nineteen..."

Though she was just as pale as her sister, Serah just gazed at Lightning, a serious and determined expression on her face. "I know, Sis. But, I think I'm ready."

"Ready?" Hope gasped, finally catching his breath. His pink face was incredulous, yet rather amazed. "Serah, you're only four years older than I am!"

"Yep. But, we'll be fine. Snow's getting a full time job, soon, and I've already become a school teacher. Please, Sis." Her eyes turned back to her older sister, pleading. "Please, say you'll support me..."

Lightning's hand slid of her face and she sighed, turning her face back down to look Serah dead in the eye. "...How do you expect me to say no... When you're looking at me like that?"

The nineteen-year-old leaped up, a smile brightening her face. On the opposite side of the table, Snow jumped up, too. "S-Sis, you mean it...?"

Light's hand flashed towards her fork and she held it, poised threateningly, in front of Snow's face. "I'm warning you, Snow." She hissed. "You better take care of my sister."

Snow looked at the fork with a slightly worried expression, before steeling himself and matching Lightning eye for eye. "You won't have to worry."

"I pray you won't disappoint me," Lightning said, more calmly. She sat back down, and stabbed a pasta noodle, preparing to eat more.

"Hope, I've got a question for you." Snow now directed his attention to the silver-haired boy sitting next to him.

"What's up?" Hope's pink face was slowly reverting back to it's original color as he wiped his forehead.

"Would you... Well, I'll make it quick... Would you let me call our first daughter Nora?" Lightning's fork missed her mouth, and the noodle made a spaghetti sauce mark on the side of her mouth as she looked at Snow in amazement and disbelief.

Hope's eyes glazed over for a moment, his expression unreadable. After awhile, he simply said, "Okay." His voice, though, seemed a tad strained

Snow blinked in surprise. "J-Just okay?" Serah covered her mouth with a hand, watching Hope's face anxiously.

"Well, you'll have to talk to my dad, first," Hope said, in an odd tone of voice. His face was turned away from Snow and Serah, staring out the window. Light leaned over and looked at the boy. She straightened back up and wiped her mouth, her other hand rising and coming to rest on top of Hope's poofy locks.

Snow sighed, looking down at his plate. "Hope... I'm still really sorry about everything that happened... Please... It's my last way of truly apologizing."

Hope took a shuddering breath, and wiped his face, before turning back to Serah and Snow. "...Yeah." He smiled, pale, but back to normal.

Bartholomew had been most kind and agreeable in allowing the name to be bestowed upon the new born, but, geez, Hope thought as he gently pried Nora's strong fingers off of his nose. She's going to have one heck of a bedtime story when she asks how she got her name.

"Okay, well, we've gotten everything all set up," said Serah proudly as she ushered them in. "Let's go eat, let's go eat!"

The table was set for six, with three chairs on each side, one high chair in between two regular chairs. Lightning set Ethan in one high chair between Serah and Snow, and Nora went into the other one, between Lightning and Hope.

A lovely dinner of rosemary chicken with lemon, broccoli with mushrooms, and spaghetti was laid out on the table. Soon, the group was chatting and laughing happily, a little family having dinner. Lightning was gently teaching Nora that she had to wipe her mouth after getting spaghetti sauce on her face, Serah was forcing Ethan to use his fork instead of fingers to eat, and Hope and Snow were joking around about hair. Yep, hair. After all, Hope's head was covered in puffy white locks, and Snow had a piece of blond hair usually covered up by his bandana that never lay flat.

"Sooo, Hope." Serah smiled innocently. "Any... girls catch your eye? Ah, in school, maybe?" Snow chuckled, before trying to pass it off as amusement at Ethan and Nora, who were having a staring contest with each other.

"Ehhh... Maybe." Hope said, dismissively, biting into a chicken leg, avoiding everyone's eyes, but taking special pains to not look to his right, where Lightning sat.

"May~be? Could that possibly be a yes? Do any of us other than you know her? C'mon, you can tell us, right?" Serah grinned devilishly.

Hope raised his eyebrows. "Serah, I would not tell you anything, even for fifty bucks, after seeing that look you're giving me."

The pink-haired teen leaned back in her chair, pouting playfully. "Awww, c'mon... Tell us!"

Hope swallowed his bite of chicken and shrugged. "Why target me? Lightning," He finally faced the woman, giggling slightly, "was blushing today, when I picked her up from work. I think it was 'cause of a guy."

He was so intent on Lightning, and she was so concentrated on the ceiling, that Hope missed how Serah's grin spread to Snow's face, as well. "Oh, really, Sis?" The two asked in unison.

Light sighed, remaining cool and collected. "I was not blushing. I had just been running. Maybe next time, I'll just take my time and let you wait in the parking lot, Hope."

"Eee, just look at me a-shiverin', Light!"

Friendly jibes were exchanged among everyone, until the table was filled with laughter, with even the high squeals of the children joining in. However, from the look Serah gave Snow, it was clear she was not going to give up yet.

After dinner, Serah and Lightning were washing the dishes when the younger sister turned and looked up at her sister with puppy eyes. "Sorry, Sis, but could you and Hope go buy some fruit at the market? It's just down the road, through the park, so you won't have to drive. Pineapple, preferably."

Lightning nodded absentmindedly. "Mmm... I'll go right after... Hey." She looked at her sister. "If it's just down the road, I don't need Hope to escort me there."

"Hey, you never know, Sis. C'mon, Hope, go be a gentleman." Snow interjected from the couch, where he was entertaining the twins. Hope was wiping the table with a wet cloth when he heard the conversation and laughed. "I don't think Light of all people needs an escort," Lightning shrugged. "But, she is a lady, after all." Hope giggled, and Light looked away, back down at the dishes, which she scrubbed with new vigor. Her expression was a mask of mild annoyance, but a bit of a red escaped and flooded her cheeks.

Serah whipped the gloves off her sister's hands and nudged her towards the door. "Go on, Sis, Hope. Remember, pineapple. Or bananas." A shopping bag was hurriedly shoved into Hope's hands and a moment later the two of them were standing outside the apartment, looking at the closed door.

The two looked at each other and, at the same time, Light sighed and smiled as Hope started laughing. "Well, come on. Let's go."

This is... nice.

Hope and Lightning had gone to the market and bought both pineapples and bananas. Now, they were heading back through the streetlight lit park, back towards the Villiers' apartment.

Hope couldn't help but shoot glances at the pink-haired female quite frequently. She was beautiful, with her rare, lovely smiles, her heart-shaped face, her blue eyes... Hope blinked. Lightning was watching him, now, too. "What? You keep staring at me."

"Uh... N-No, I just, uh... I thought there was something your face."

"Is there?"

"No... Y-Your face is fine."

"...Ah, really?" Lightning seemed rather unfazed, simply continuing through the park. "Well, hurry up."

Hope hesitated a moment, before following, trailing slightly behind him. They soon reached the edge of the park, and the apartment was in sight. Lightning's step didn't slow a bit, but Hope stopped dead in his tracks, right beside the sign that read, in bright colors, Welcome to Chrysalis Park.

"Hm? Hope?" Light turned, blue eyes questioning.A red flush spread over Hope's face, contrasting with his pale hair. "Are you sick?"

"No... Light, I w-wanted to t-tell you..." Hope stammered, but didn't finish his sentence, inspecting his feet closely.

After a long pause, Light tilted her head. "...What?" Hope was silent.

Impatiently, Light folded her arms and stared at him, slapping her arm. "Hope, I'm going to be bitten by so many mosquitoes, I'm going to be one huge itch. Hurry up and spit it out."

Hope looked up, clearly more determined. "Light. I..."

Annnnd, I'll stop there. :3

Sorry for any errors in here. I wanted to post a new chapter for this one as soon as possible! ^^