A/N: Wow! You all left a ton of reviews for Chapter 7! Thank you very much for all the faves and comments. :)
I am having some house guests for a week at the end of the month, so I won't have a chapter posted next week. The next update will be July 7th at the very latest. Some interesting stuff to come ...
Snow no longer wanted the spotlight that came with being a hero. In fact, he didn't want to be a hero anymore. He sure didn't feel like one since he was given a second chance to 'help her' more than three years ago. Unable to keep up his end of the bargain, he hadn't helped her; the last important thing he had set out to do he had failed. Now he was just a man; just Snow.
His work with NORA had been busier than ever, and he was thankful to have Hope at his side as well as the others that remained. Yuj, Lebreau, Gadot and even Maqui had been the support he needed to make lemonade out of the lemons he'd been handed over the last few years and now the core of NORA was more close knit than ever. Yuj, the only one that desired notoriety, quickly became the face of the company, and as such, he was the one to take care of the public relations dirty work. Even though Snow was the founder of the group, all he wanted to do was what he'd always done; fight the bad guys. Since the fall of the evil Sanctum and in lieu of the 'bad guys' they had plenty of monsters to take care of on a daily basis.
Maqui had been pretty depressed when Serah had left, and Yuj had even told Snow that he heard the kid actually crying over it, though Snow was expressly not to know about that part. Maqui had begged Snow for forgiveness, explaining that because he was so close to Serah it hurt him to see her depressed over her deceased fiancee and he had just wanted to give her some peace. Betrayal never crossed his mind and he had the intentions of keeping things platonic, but the peace had snowballed into something else, and he no longer sought to comfort Serah. Instead he sought to take the place of their long lost hero; the man he modeled himself after. He knew he wouldn't have been able to take Snow's place in Serah's heart, and after Snow's return the simple peace he wished for Serah turned into an unhealthy and obsessive secret. Serah had been simply unable to see a future with Snow after she had accepted a future without him. How could she tell him that she didn't want him when he'd been her knight in shining armour? In her mind she moved on, and Maqui was just a means to an end, so when she broke things off with him, it was like she was breaking things off with Snow as well. Snow never pressed her about Maqui so she never felt the pressure to admit to her extra curricular relationship with him. The kid had been used, and Snow held nothing but compassion for the young man. Unfortunately he'd learned a hard lesson.
Snow didn't blame anyone for what happened; except himself. If he hadn't come back, he was convinced that so much would have been different. Death made people do strange things; Maqui and Serah were no exception. Everyone longed to make sense of death; to understand and to forget the sense of loss within themselves, and move on. That in itself was complex enough, but to have a loved one come back from the dead? That was unprecedented. No one could have predicted what would have happened after that. The only thing that Snow wished he had more control over was Lightning. The very idea that he could have any control over the spirited woman made him chuckle.
He'd been away with Yuj, Lebreau and a small squad for the entire week filling a huge contract outside of Palompolum. While near the city, he took the opportunity to stop in and visit with Hope's dad, giving him the skinny on his rapidly growing son. Snow was so proud of the man he was becoming that when he spoke to Bartholomew, his report was overflowing with praise.
"To be honest with you, Snow." started Bartholomew "Hope has really only two people to thank for the man that he is. His mother and you. I really had no hand in his upbringing. I was too busy with my work to ever be much of a father." he sounded regretful. "I just hope that some day he can find it in his heart to forgive his old workaholic dad."
Hope was growing towards adulthood in every manner, and he assured the older man that his son would come around. Eventually he would come to see and appreciate the support that Bartholomew offered. He'd done things right by not forcing the boy to stay with him when he didn't want to. Snow imagined it would have been hard to let his son go, but a good parent always looked out for the welfare of their children, or so he'd been told. After receiving high praise from Hope's dad, Snow's heart swelled with even more love for the boy turned man; almost like an adopted father's might. After a nice visit and the completion of the contract, the three left the city and headed for home.
It had been only a few short years, but things had slipped back into a pretty normal routine; well, as normal as it can be with NORA being a household name. It had taken him a long time to accept that Lightning was gone and that she'd come back on her own one day. She had to come back either way, but Snow hoped he wouldn't be too old to give her the ravishing she sorely deserved. That being said, he figured he had a lot of explaining to do before that could ever happen.
No matter how busy the days got, and no matter where he went, he always waited for the phone call that would herald her return. He'd had the house number transferred to a cell phone; his cell, so if she called the Farron family number his phone would ring. He always answered the line. It didn't matter what he was doing. If he was eating dinner, playing football with the guys, hunting some dangerous monster; he always answered it. An unusual number on the display would make his heart lurch with anticipation, but it had never been her on the other end. Someone trying to sell him life insurance or a subscription to a magazine was kindly refused as his heart would, once again, take it's place at the bottom of his gut. Year after year he remained in the drought of unrealized love from the older sister but, ever the optimist, he never lost hope.
He thought several times that he should talk to one of his friends about it, maybe ease his mental burden, but he became unable to even speak her name without a lump in his throat. Being on the edge; teetering between hopelessness and sheer bliss at the mercy of her ignorance to reality made him almost giggle with ironic madness. If she'd only call; misunderstanding would be understood and wrongs would be righted. Just pick up the phone because she missed Serah, or Hope or anyone else and discover the truth. He was waiting for her to discover him and the fervent adoration he wanted to spill over her.
Just pick up the phone...
"Snooooooow!" Lebreau's voice trilled, summoning him back to reality.
"Wha...?" He looked up from the cell phone in his hand.
"Are you ok? We've been talking to you, but you're all spacey."
"Oh. Yeah. Sorry. It's been a long week." Lebreau was eying his phone. Self consciously, he pocketed it.
"You expecting a call?"
"No, why?" he smiled questioningly at her.
"Oh. Looked like you were." replied Lebreau casually, turning back to watch the road.
No one ever calls. Not anyone important anyway. Snow changed the subject to something a little more safe. "How far out are we?"
"Couple hours." replied Yuj from behind the wheel.
"Ugh, I need a real shower when we get back to Bodhum. This travelling is for the birds." complained Lebreau. Snow nodded in agreement. It would be nice to get back home to sleep in his own bed. He had sneakily stripped Lightning's bed of it's comforter and now used it on his own. It was an odd sort of comfort he got from falling asleep under the very blanket that she had slept under. His heart couldn't feel any closer to her than it already did, but somehow, sleeping with her blanket draped over him made him feel physically closer.
"We did good though. Cleaned up the whole area!" said Yuj encouragingly, looking at the boss in the rear view mirror. Snow was staring absently out the side window at the passing scenery.
"For now." scoffed the raven haired woman. "More idiots will buy those pests as pets and we'll be back out there in a month..."
He put his hand in his pocket, contact with the device lessening his slight anxiety. Lightning's birthday was next month. He wondered what he should get her this year. Feeling rather silly about it, he never told anyone that he bought her gifts for her birthday, or that they were piling up in his closet unopened.
NORA was busier than ever these days, and they had to resort to spreading themselves pretty thin. Usually a group of at least three was dispatched to complete a contract, but today it was just Snow and Hope. They'd been called out to a small farming community outside Bodhum that had an Ochu with a nasty disposition on the loose. As if there were any other kind.
"I thought you were going to buy something new, Snow..." The blond glanced over at Hope with a grin. "We should have taken my car..."
"What's wrong with the ol' girl?" asked Snow, feigning offence, patting the dashboard of his ancient piece of metal. Everyone made fun of his ride, so he was used to it. "She still works real good." As if his beloved two seater heard him, it coughed and sputtered insubordinately. Snow raised his eyebrows at the protest.
Hope laughed. "It sounds like she wants to die, Snow. You should just put her out of her misery." he teased. It sputtered again. "Is this hunk of junk going to get us there and back?"
"Well..." Snow paused. "I hope so." He grinned at Hope again, making him laugh louder than before. He really enjoyed these outings with the lanky kid. Nearly nineteen, Hope was beginning to fill out. 'A late bloomer' Snow labelled him teasingly, much to Hope's dismay. In the last couple years though, even Snow couldn't deny that the kid had grown. Not just physically, but emotionally and intellectually as well. In fact, they both had grown emotionally. They trusted each other implicitly; they had each other's back no matter what. Everyone in NORA was pretty close, but nothing like Hope and Snow. That's why Bartholomew's words had honoured Snow; once the kid had hated him, but now they had a bond closer than that of the closest friends. They were comrades; cohorts; partners in crime. Most of all they were family, and they would be family until their end.
"Hey! I think I see it! Stop the car!" said Hope quickly, pointing out the passenger side window. In the distance there was a huge Ochu lashing out at a small building destructively, pieces of splintered wood flying high into the air. Snow pulled over onto the shoulder of the dirt road and before he knew what he was looking at, he flung open the door and threw himself into the sunlight, sprinting towards the beast. Hope had given up his original l'Cie weapon, the boomerang, in favour of something more deadly and, sliding his crossbow onto his back, he followed suit, keeping pace with the older man quite well. As they got closer to the scene, they saw that this particular Ochu was on a rampage, destroying everything in its path. A man and a child stood at a safe distance from the rickety shack the Ochu was devastating, waving their arms when they saw Snow and Hope approach.
"Are you two ok?" shouted Snow towards the panicked pair.
The distressed man spoke hurriedly. "My wife -"
A terrorized scream came from the shack. Both Snow and Hope's heads snapped in the direction of the noise and Hope took off like a shot. He saw Hope run around to a window near the back end of the shack. Snatching something off the ground, he smashed the glass to climb inside. Snow needed to get that Ochu's attention and he had to do it now.
"Hey! Over here!" he yelled at it. Snow got close enough to launch a fair sized rock at the Ochu. The green monster ignored his shout and projectile. Dammit. The shack started to lean dangerously as the Ochu relentlessly continued it's frenzied attack.
"I've got her!" he heard Hope shout from within the shack, over the breaking and creaking of boards and trusses.
"Hope! Get out of there! It's gonna collapse!" Snow planted his feet and lept forward to slam his fist into the soft body of the Ochu, stunning it. Backing off, the attention now on himself, he egged it on hoping that Hope would be able to escape with the person inside before the structure gave out. "Yeah! Now you see me, huh? Damn, you're ugly." taunted Snow, grinning devilishly, holding his fists out in front of him, poised for a fight. There was one last groan of abused wood before the great racket of boards collapsing against boards as the shack finally gave out. It all happened so fast. Snow's face drained of colour as he watched his friend become buried in the rubble. "Hope!" A tentacle whizzed past the tip of his nose, a little too close for comfort and he forced his attention back to his own pressing situation. One hit and Snow would be dealing with some serious poison from the barbs on its tentacles. He had left his bag stacked with antidotes back in the car though...
Dodging the quick attacks from the green skinned monster, Snow waited for a good time to launch an attack of his own. Damn this thing's fast... he lamented, his legs starting to ache from all the jumping and ducking. Reaching into a small pack on his side, he grabbed a flash grenade but before he could pull the pin, a great flash and tremor seemingly came from nowhere, temporarily blinding both attacker and defender. As the tremble from the ground subsided, Snow's vision returned to him and he assessed the Ochu. It looked like it was still incapacitated from the flash. Glancing to where Hope was buried, he saw the kid running towards the father and daughter with something in his arms. He handed the package to the relieved looking man and turned around, dashing back towards Snow. How did he...?
With a great wet slap, a slimy tentacle met Snow's unguarded chest and knocked him off his feet. "Ow!" he exclaimed as the breath was knocked out of him. "Ah, you jerk!" he wheezed. Dizziness forced him to stay lying down as he started to feel the Ochu's poison in his system. The great beast towered over him and prepared a final assault on the prone blond. Before it was able to continue, Snow witnessed a crossbow bolt wedge itself in the Ochu's right eye; gore squirting from the puncture. A few seconds later a matching bolt was lodged in the left eye as well and the monster shrieked, slumping over, tentacles falling limply to the ground. Snow lay still as the poison coursed through his veins; his body slowly becoming paralyzed. He saw Hope taking off back towards the car and the next thing he knew a bitter liquid was dripping down his throat, cooling the poisonous fire in his veins. Feeling quickly returned to his extremities and Hope helped him to his feet. The family came running towards the pair, the little girl leading the pack as she wrapped herself around Hope's knees.
Shaking and stretching his limbs out, Snow surveyed the aftermath. The shack that once spelled certain doom for the mother of this family was now completely destroyed, but after the strange flash and quake, the rubble lay in a peculiar circled pattern. The body of the Ochu was lifeless; it's scaled skin glistened in the hot afternoon sun. Hope and the mother wore matching faces of dirt and abrasions. Staggering slightly, he went over to the forgotten pack Hope retrieved from the vehicle and pulled out a bottle of alcohol, dousing the Ochu's body with its entire contents. Dropping a lit match onto the body, it flared up. Dusting off his hands, he turned to the family and gave them a thumbs up. Noticing Hope inspecting his arm, he opened his mouth to inquire about how Hope managed to escape the wreckage with the woman intact.
The little girl looked up at Hope, her eyes sparkling. "Thank you for saving my mommy." Hope smiled at her and patted her head. His emerald eyes were so gentle when he regarded the girl, and Snow swore he saw them tear up a little.
"That was amazing you two!" shouted an excited voice. A young man with a camera around his neck and a pencil stuck behind his ear came upon them and introduced himself as a reporter from the local newspaper. "I need to get a picture of you guys!" He was trying to round everyone up for the snapshot and asked everyone's name. The little girl had permanently attached herself to Hope's leg, hiding shyly from the man, impeding Hope's movement.
"The guy you want is that silver haired kid over there. He did all the work." interjected Snow when the young reporter came to ask his name.
"Oh, ok. What's his name?"
Snow grinned. "Hope Estheim." he peeked at the reporter's notes and started to correct him on the spelling. "E – s – t – h ..."
"Hey!" Hope motioned to Snow while being monopolized by the gushing family. They thanked Hope over and over as he blushed shades of red Snow had never seen before. Hope really was a modest guy; almost too modest. He never took credit for anything and never sought fame. Snow decided that that should change. It was time for Hope to be seen for the brave guy he was. "Well, you gotta get in this picture too!"
"Naw, I'm good. Besides. You're the real hero here." said Snow, not budging from his spot beside the young newspaper man. "You'll have to beat the ladies off with a stick once they see your picture in the paper! See?" he motioned to the pretty little girl holding onto him. "You already have a fan." Snow's teasing grin only made Hope look more uncomfortable as the onlooking parents laughed.
"Buuuut..." Hope pleaded, walking out of the frame towards the blond, the little girl trailing him.
"It's lonely at the top. Sorry, kid." he said with a wink, picking up the little girl and handing her to Hope, much to her delight as she wrapped her little arms around his neck. Manhandling the younger man, Snow turned him around, pushing him back into the frame. "Sorry, he's ready now." Stepping back to watch the scene, he considered what had just happened. Hope had saved everyone; even Snow. First with the slaying of the Ochu and then with the administration of the antidote. He'd even come somewhat full circle by saving that little girl's mother. Snow couldn't help but smile widely at the days events, even though he still felt pretty terrible as the poison was cleared out of his bloodstream. Everyone was safe; everyone was ok. That had to make the boy feel pretty damn good, he figured. When did Hope grow up? Even though he'd seen changes in his young charge, he still felt like it had just happened in the blink of an eye.
The photographer smiled at their antics and got down to business with the subjects of the picture. "Ok! Give us a nice smile for the camera!" He directed and snapped a few pictures of Hope and the rural family. "Thanks, guys. This'll make the front page! You better watch for it!" said the reporter excitedly.
After a few more minutes of thank yous and hugs, they bid farewell to the grateful family and headed for home in Snow's rusted out car.
"Good job, kid!" Snow clapped Hope on the back affectionately. "Let's go home and celebrate!"
Once back in Bodhum the two men stopped at home, the Farron residence, to shower and clean up before going to the Shack for a celebratory drink or two. Snow contacted what he could of the NORA team, telling them to assemble there. Hope usually took forever to get ready, but Snow was way less maintenance, his beaten up old ride being the prefect example of this low maintenance, and once again he was killing time waiting for the younger man.
With their new found fortunes, each member of NORA had different things in mind when it came to what to spend money on. Yuj and Hope had each bought themselves state of the art vehicles. Lebreau dumped a bunch of gil into renovations for the Seaside Shack. Gadot's apartment was video game central. He had everything a gamer – young OR old – could have ever wanted. Maqui made a side business out of his tinkering. People would bring him old or broken things and he'd fix them.
As for Snow, the only thing he'd bought since their hobby turned lucrative was a grand piano. The Farron house had a large, mostly empty sitting room in which the piano was kept. While he grew up in the orphanage, the very pious ladies that ran it insisted that all their children develop an artistic talent. Some played violins or any other measure of ancient instrument, some sang, others were painters, but Snow didn't exhibit any sort of talent, or interest for that matter, in an art. He was too busy trying to get into trouble that he didn't care for any of the finer hobbies offered to him. The only thing he eventually showed interest in was the dusty old piano that sat in the foyer of the orphanage. One of their caretakers scoffed and told him that he was a clumsy boy and that he could never play such a beautiful contraption with any proficiency. Even then he was tenacious, and with a little help from a sympathetic teacher, he quickly learned to play. As the doubting woman once foretold of him, Snow never became proficient on the instrument, he'd come of age and had to leave the orphanage far before. He didn't have access to a piano then, so he just gave it up; never thinking he'd ever have a piano of his own one day.
Then when NORA started to get off the ground and they started to make some serious gil, Gadot questioned Snow about what he was going to buy with his first pay cheque. Honestly at that time, he was so busy that he rarely got to think about anything but work.
Shortly after Hope had returned from Palompolum, and Serah had already left for university, Snow and Gadot took Hope back to the orphanage where they were raised and volunteered some time there to help out with the influx of new kids. And there, in the main hall of the orphanage, sat the very piano Snow played hour after hour in an attempt to prove that he was more than what he appeared to be; that he could be more than anyone ever expected of him.
Now he sat sideways in the darkened room on the black stained bench, running a finger over the stark white keys. The points of failing light that shone through the vertical blinds in the room glinted off the piano's impeccably polished surface. He actually had the piano brought from New Eden – the same city in which Serah now resided. There was a master craftsman of ancient instruments there who he commissioned to make him the piano. It really was a masterpiece even though it would never be played by a master. It was a huge thing; almost made Snow look not so big. Turning to sit properly at the bench, Snow placed his fingers on the keys. His left middle was a bit crooked from being broken a few times, and the remainder were thick and clumsy and calloused; not at all like a piano player's fingers should be.
Very quietly, a forlorn melody filled the air as Snow's fingers moved from key to key; playing for a bittersweet few moments before letting his hands fall limply to his side. He wanted to compose something for her birthday, but when he sat down to play all he could ever express was sadness for that which he lost. He reached for his phone in his pocket, maybe he felt it vibrate.
It hadn't.
He looked blankly at it's inactive black screen until Hope came into the room.
"Hey, everything ok?" asked Hope quietly.
Snow looked up and smiled brightly, stuffing the phone back into his jeans pocket. "Yeah! Why wouldn't it be? I get to buy a drink for a real life hero!" He stood up from the bench and threw his arm around Hope's much smaller shoulders, taking them out of the room and towards the front door.
"But I don't drink..." started Hope, sounding a bit nervous.
"Tonight we'll change all that!" assured Snow with a grin.
"Fine, fine. But do me a favour and let's take my car. Give the beast a break, she had a long day." said Hope rather cheekily.
"Hey, don't hate. She was my first." He winked at Hope, trying to make him blush.
Hope grinned. He must have been in a good mood, rising to Snow's challenge. "Your first, huh? What about Serah?"
Snow laughed. "Let's go, kid."
When they got to the Shack, almost all of NORA was already there. Cheers erupted when Snow pushed Hope in before himself. He had told Gadot to spread the word to everyone about Hope's heroics earlier and apparently his old friend hadn't let him down. In fact, the redhead got to his feet and shook Hope's hand. Gadot and Snow knew that Hope had fought to be accepted by the rest of NORA ever since that day in Eden so long ago. That first meeting had seen Hope as an awkward kid of fourteen, but now everyone had grown up and attitudes had changed. The only attitude that didn't change was Hope's towards Maqui and Snow knew why. I wonder if he still holds a grudge against me... he couldn't help but wonder. Knowing what he did about the silver haired young man, he didn't think there was any harboured feelings left on Hope's end.
Tonight was the night that Hope became one of the group; tonight would be a celebration and Hope's coming of age.
Revelry was present in mass quantities as everyone laughed and joked and rough-housed with each other; Lebreau looking on, shaking her head in mock disapproval. And Hope was presented with a new drink before the old one had run dry.
One by one, the members of NORA left the Shack, bidding a good evening to Hope and Snow, who sat beside each other. Snow was a very capable imbiber of alcoholic beverages, only Gadot presenting a challenge when they tried to drink each other under the table. After a couple hours of drinking tonight, Snow had been freely handing out the jokes and jibes to the others, taking his fair share as well. Once things had started to quiet down a bit, Lebreau came to sit beside Hope, to stroke his ego a little bit.
"From how we heard it, you were very courageous, Hope. Climbing into that building to save that little girl's mom from the Ochu! Those things are scary!" Lebreau was laying it on thick as she touched his arm familiarly. Snow knew something Hope didn't. The dark haired cutie actually had taken quite a shine to the eighteen year old. She usually ended up with unappreciative jerks who took advantage of the fact she was like one of the guys, but when she wanted to be a girl, she couldn't be. She had told Snow all about it... like there was something he could do. Hope broke the mould for her though, and Snow was actually surprised that she didn't hit on the kid earlier. Watching them, he saw that Hope looked a little bit uncomfortable as Lebreau leaned into his personal space to talk to him. "You did a good thing." She was a beautiful woman, though. They might have made a cute couple.
"Hey, Lebreau! Phone call!" called a voice from behind the bar.
Snow saw the annoyance in her eyes at being interrupted, but her voice stayed even. "Sorry. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere." His eyes crinkled with a smile as he watched her touch Hope's chin with a fingertip, pressing a lingering kiss on his reddened cheek before leaving the table. As soon as she was gone Hope took a big swig of ale and shook his head, unbelieving.
"Heh. She looked ready to eat you up." Chuckled Snow knowingly, elbowing Hope in the ribs. "You should go for it!"
For the umpteenth time Hope blushed and shook his head, silver strands hiding his face, looking down into his lap.
"Oh come on, she's pretty cute, isn't she?" prompted Snow.
"Well yeah. But there's someone else." Hope took another long sip from under the curtain of hair.
Snow's lips curled into a wicked grin. "Someone else?" he asked suggestively, watching Hope's mouth clamp shut. "Spill it! Who is it?"
Hope shook his head stubbornly. "No one."
"Hope..." prodded the older man. For Hope to let something uncalculated slip meant that he was already drunk and Snow was not about to give in. He was having too much fun watching him squirm.
"I was just kidding!" declared Hope, a little loudly, a hiccup adding itself to the end of the proclamation. His eyes were starting to droop a little.
"No you weren't!" Snow leaned forward and made a big show of speaking quietly. "I won't tell anyone. Promise!"
Hope regarded Snow behind his squinted eyes; the blond inclining his eyebrows encouragingly. Looking away, the kid fidgeted with the bottle, rolling it around on the tabletop. He could tell Hope was on the verge of spilling his secret. Finally, his youthful lips parted and the words tumbled out meekly. "I wanted Light to be my first..."
Snow clapped him on the back, hearing but not realizing the meaning of Hope's words. "I don't know how much she could teach ya! She don't know much herself." he exclaimed which elicited a shocked look from his protege. During their encounters, Lightning seemed less than an amateur; she was wild and unskilled in her touches. Maybe that's what drove him crazy about her. She was -
"What...?" Hope turned in his chair to eye Snow.
"What?" Snow said dumbly, wondering what he missed in the last few seconds while thinking about the allure and mystery that was the girl in question.
"You just said that she doesn't know much herself. But... how would you know that?" Hope filled in his blanks, still staring, jaw slightly unhinged.
"Uh. I don't. I was just guessing." Snow raised his drink to his lips to shut his big mouth and drained the bottle. Ah hell. Hope wasn't the only one the alcohol was getting to.
There was silence for an awkward minute before either man spoke again, looking in opposite directions. Snow was trying to figure out what to say next, but he had a bad feeling that if he opened his mouth again something just as dangerous might come out. Hope just looked like he was trying to process what went unsaid. "What happened between you two?"
You'd hate me if you knew. Thought Snow sadly. He had to turn this conversation around, for the better of them both. His proverbial boat was sinking. There was no way he could tell Hope that he was in love with the older Farron. His head was hazy though, and he was sure it sounded like he was hesitating. Where the hell was Lebreau? He needed saving!"I don't know what you're talking about, Hope. You know Lightning would have killed me if I ever even looked at any girl other than Serah. Besides, she hates me. Remember?"
Hope raised an eyebrow in Snow's direction.
"Yeah, you remember that time when she decked me out at Lake Bresha?"
The kid started laughing, the earlier tension slipping away. Snow's distraction attempt seemed to be working. "That was hilarious! She didn't do it just once either! She let you have it twice at least!" Hope was giggling inanely now.
"Well, I don't remember it as overly funny or anything..." muttered the butt of the joke.
"Huh?" asked Hope.
Snow recovered, laughing. " Three times! She slugged me in the vestage before that even. She's got a mean right hook!" He rubbed his jaw animatedly.
Hope cackled drunkenly, slapping his mentor's knee. If Snow was lucky, he'd be too drunk to remember any of this in the morning.
I wanted Light to be my first... Snow recalled Hope confessing to him last night. It confirmed that Hope had feelings for Lightning, but the thing Snow had been surprised by was the depth of those feelings and for the amount of time that Hope carried them. Snow reminded himself that he and Hope weren't unalike in that aspect. Here it was, three years since Lightning's untimely disappearance, and Snow still longed for her. He thought that Hope was the lucky one; he'd never experienced her mind numbing touch, tasted her honeysuckle lips, or been pressed against that responsive body of hers. Snow had images in his head he would rather be able to forget; especially if he would have to exist for a lifetime without a chance to relive them.
Although, Hope really had received all of Lightning that he could have considering their ages and the gap within. Lightning had accepted him into her inner circle and he'd been closer to her than Snow had. Even though Snow had more intimate dealings with the blossom haired woman, she still had a barrier up to keep him out. Hope had transcended that barrier and knew a side of the woman no one ever knew, possibly not even her sister. They connected in a way that Snow only wished he could have with her, so why should it surprise him that Hope held a flame after all these years. After all, Hope was a private sort, whereas he wore his heart on his sleeve.
Lightning had left because of him. Well, that was his theory anyway. If she felt something other than familial love for Hope he figured she would have stuck around, or at least kept in touch with him. But she didn't keep in touch with anyone.
Pouring himself a cup of strong black coffee, he headed down the hallway towards Hope's room. He wondered how the boy was feeling this morning. He knocked on the nondescript door. Waiting for a reply, he scratched his bare belly and yawned. "Hope? Are you awake?" Still no reply. Snow cracked open the door and peeked his head inside. "Hellooooooo..." Hope was nowhere to be found.
Hmm, he musta gone on ahead.
Snow had been hoping to talk to the kid about what happened out in the field yesterday, the strange tremors and flash of light had worried him, even though things really turned out for the better. He thought he saw Hope checking the same wrist his l'Cie tattoo had been on, but he couldn't see it for himself. Had something happened to Hope that granted him the strength to save himself and the woman from the collapsed building? He thought it important to find out.
Although, much to his trepidation, each morning for the next two days Hope was gone before Snow even got up. He was going to work, but considering how close everyone was, he must have been going out of his way in order to avoid Snow.
Early in the afternoon of the second day, Maqui had called Snow to tell him that he wasn't feeling well and wouldn't be accompanying him to Thamasa. He hated to call Hope on his day off, but he had to. The contract had to be fulfilled today or they'd lose it.
"Hey. I was supposed to go to Thamasa today with Maqui, but he's not feeling well. If you're not busy, I'd appreciate some help. I know it's your day off, and I feel like an ass calling you but I'm in a bind here, bud."
Silence on the other end. Snow had called him directly; he couldn't avoid his blond boss forever. "Yeah. I'll meet you there. I've got something to take care of first." Then the call ended. Snow looked at the phone, a bit exasperated at Hope's recent behaviour, and tossed it onto the passenger seat. He was already on his way to the small town.
When Hope said he had something to do, he wasn't kidding. Snow's stomach growled loudly. He had only had breakfast to eat today. He skipped lunch in favour of getting this contract in Thamasa over with early. So much for that. By his estimation, Hope was over three hours late and Thamasa was only an hour from Bodhum. "Where the hell is that kid...?" he muttered, leaning against his rickety vehicle, arms crossed. Snow sighed heavily. He thought Hope must have remembered what was said that night. That would explain why Hope was avoiding him; that had to be it. Ever since those words slipped out of his mouth he'd been kicking himself. If Hope ever forgave him he swore he'd swear off booze.
When Hope finally pulled up, he totally ignored Snow, walking past him towards the area where the sighting was. Sighing again, Snow followed. The area was a sort of oasis in the desert around Thamasa. The residents would come to enjoy the waters of the oasis and had run into the imposing alien fauna. NORA was called in when the rogue monster had attacked a young man who took it upon himself to try and chase the huge animal away. They were advised that whenever someone would approach the waters, or entered them, it would charge, attempting to chase off anyone who dared get near. Snow picked up a small, flat rock from the ground at the water's edge and skipped it five times over the surface. It didn't take long for the problem to arrive in the form of an aggressive armour plated lizard thing. Snow remembered taking them on back in the day when they, as l'Cie, were the only ones to traverse the plains of Pulse. He remembered them being hard to kill. This one seemed different though.
"Hmm, did they always have a built in flail?" referring to the huge boney spiked ball on the tip of its tail. Hope didn't respond. He just pulled his crossbow off his back and readied himself for the attack. "Hrmph."
Snow was correct when he remembered it being hard to kill. He punched at the thing over and over and over to shatter plate after plate protecting the monster's only vulnerability. Once he'd broken the bone plates, Hope would shoot a bolt into the soft body underneath to stop the plates from regenerating. When they had most of the outer scales broken, Hope had run out of bolts. So it was up to Snow's two hands to finish the job. In a desperate attempt to escape, the huge beast swung it's flail-like tail around manically to try and sweep the men off their feet. The razor sharp edge of a spike caught the hem of Hope's loose pants as he jumped out of the way, and with a flick the monster brought the young man down out of the air, slamming him to the ground.
Snow sprung into action with the monster's attention now solely on Hope. Jumping on the thing's back, he delivered blow after devastating blow to the back of its cranium until it finally collapsed under the assault.
Hope sat under a tree with a ripped pant leg, surveying the wound. Snow scampered off the back of the beast and took to his friend's side.
"I had it under control." Hope spat out shortly.
"Hey, take it easy. We're partners. I was just trying to help." said Snow, completely taken aback by Hope's uncharacteristic reaction. Still he offered him a helping hand up.
"Well, don't. I don't need your help." Hope bypassed Snow's outreached hand and stood on his own, blood dripping down his leg. With the empty crossbow slung over his shoulders, he started the walk back towards the car.
Ok, that was not what I was expecting. Snow stood there, watching, feeling tension thicken in the air. Something was about to be said that couldn't be unsaid; something was about to boil over.
Hope stopped and rounded on the older man. "Tell me one thing."
"What's that?" Snow said as unoffendingly as possible, despite his own rising anger, trying to catch Hope's gaze. Here it comes...
"Are you in love with her?" Hope's face was set in a determined line. His question was not rhetorical.
How Hope turned his words in the pub into a matter of love was beyond him, but he reminded himself that that the boy was very astute. That must have been what Hope had been stewing about these last couple days. The kid bottled everything up inside, and even though he knew something was wrong, Snow had waited too long to address it. His reluctance to discuss Lightning stemmed from his own fear of this very scenario.
"Ah, Hope..."
Snow wrestled with that answer. Should he continue to lie to everyone even though it really didn't matter anymore? Serah didn't want him and Lightning was so unavailable that she may as well not even exist. If he kept the lie intact, people would be none the wiser, but he himself would know. For the last few years he had tried to keep so busy he wouldn't have time to think about her, but it wasn't fair that he couldn't speak to anyone about what was in his heart. Snow was constantly surrounded by people, but he was always alone.
No. Heroes didn't lie; and even though he wanted to relinquish the title he knew he could never be any less. The honour and the goodness was ingrained in him; it was undeniable. So even if the lie patched things up, it was still grounded in deceit, which could only lead to a path of darkness. One lie would lead to another; truths would become contorted or even forgotten in the false comfort and soon the light of honesty would be snuffed out. Even if the truth hurt more than the lie, this truth would make a clean cut; deep but clean.
He no longer wanted to hide his feelings. "Yes."
Hope stared blankly for a moment, then nodded and walked away, leaving Snow and the oasis behind.