Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from Square Enix!

Pairing: SnowxHope

Rated M for Mature! Yaoi XD

Also, thanks the-true-freya for editing the story.

Chapter 11: Breaking Hope

Hope didn't know when he started crying, maybe when he was running away to seek solitude or when the pain in his chest had become unbearable but as he tried to wipe away the clear liquids running down his face, more fresh tears kept deluding his vision. The wind was starting to pick up, turning bitter cold. Hope continued to run, his legs not halting for a second despite his body's protest. He felt the muscles in his legs straining, loosing its strength as his heart continuously beat against his chest. His brain was running amok and all he could think to do was to distance himself from the blond-haired man for now. He could not face Snow after the scene he just witnessed. This was the price he had to pay for having naive hopes. He wanted Snow to monopolize his love and Hope took the risk, waging everything on a flicker of hope, but everything was ripped away in an instant. There could never be a place for him in Snow's heart. He had lost to a girl who possibly wouldn't wake up for the next hundreds of years. Hope was burdened with bluntness and cynicism about life and love. No matter how many steps he took forward, the world only pushed him back.

Finally, his petit legs gave in from exhaustion. He was standing in large open space in Oerba, facing Fang and Vanille's home. Hope was panting heavily, feeling light-headed. He clutched his stomach, biliously holding in the morning breakfast before it could regurgitate. He tried to take deep breaths and calm his body's sudden abnormal reactions. He needed a distraction from his thoughts. His feet instinctively decided to walk into his two companion's extinct home. He walked up the steel stairs and entering the deserted living room. A pair of green burning, teary orbs scanned the room, before falling on a picture on a table. It was a photo of Vanille and Fang years ago with their hometown in the background. His eyes stared, transfixed on the image. The picture was proof of Vanille and Fang's life in Oerba, on Gran Pulse. He took the photo out from the frame and placed it in his back pocket as a token that he saw Gran Pulse with his own eyes. Something nudged his feet and as he looked down he saw Vanille's robotic pet. He crouched down, feeling sympathy for the robot. It would be left alone again. Hope pet the robotic creature and flinched from the cold metal touch. He was too engrossed with the mechanical pet to notice a figure walking into the room.

"Hope?"

Hope stiffened, solid like ice when Snow entered the living room. The man's breath laboured as his chest heaved with each breath. A pair of soft aquamarine eyes stared into dull green orbs. There was remorse and regret in those blue eyes. Hope stood up and as Snow took a step forward, the boy distanced himself and took a step back.

"Hope? I-I..." Snow called out unsure what to say. He didn't know how to make the situation better. At the time, he was too preoccupied calming his brain after his encounter with his fiancée to discern Hope's feeling. And thanks to his impulsive behaviour, he screwed up his opportunities for whatever potential future with Hope. He noticed the redness and the bags under the teen's eyes. He felt his heart cringe for making Hope cry. And as he entered the room, it seemed his sudden presence was only making those green depths on the verge of tears again. The boy was staring at him, scared, looking like a lost puppy. He took another step forward.

"Don't!" Hope's voice cracked.

"I'm sorry." Snow walked to the teen, pulling the youngster into an embrace before Hope could take yet another step back. The boy, however, tried to squirm out of his hold. But Snow was relentless. He held on firmly with his face buried into Hope's shoulder. Hope continued to shove, squirm or try anything his mind could prompt to do to push him away. After some time, Snow felt the squirming had seized and only left a light sobbing from the teen in its wake. His blue vest soaked up the wetness running down Hope's face. Snow only responded by tightening his hold around the teen's waist while running his hands up and down Hope's back as to calm him.

"Hick... I... I was... Hick... being selfish." Hope hiccupped. "I wanted to be... Hick...with you. I don't want anyone else to have you! Hick... But it seems that was all in my head."

Snow stared, hopeless as he was, watching the glistening tears fall from those light-emerald eyes. His chest tightened much like the same feeling he got at Archylte Steppe when he awoke to Hope crying.

"I cannot continue with this, always second guessing on your feelings. And Serah is your first. No matter how much I want you, I cannot take you away from..."

Snow softy kissed the boy, hushing his statement, finally hearing enough. He felt the body within his grasp tense before slowly becoming relaxed. The teen returned his gesture, though the sobbing didn't stop. When he finally pulled away from the kiss, his heart clenched at the sight of the teary boy before him. He was lost, having no idea how to make the situation any better. All he can do was offered a shoulder for the teen. It was obvious by his actions earlier that he fucked up his chances with Hope.

"It was just wishful thinking on my part." Hope voiced, becoming hoarse. He continued to sob, his barriers crumbling. The events of the past day with Snow, turning into l'Cie, and chasing shadows finally taking its toll on him.

"Hope-" Snow finally spoke but was interrupt by an unexpected presence.

Snow jumped from a sudden knock on the steel wall in the deserted room. He could sense the presence of death looming in the room. He let out a sigh knowing exactly who was staring furiously at him. He knew standing with his back towards Lightning wouldn't make the woman go away. He gulped, his hands becoming sweaty. He had to face her sooner or later so he slowly turned around, coming to face a pissed off Lightning. The situation just kept falling apart. Hope was still muffling his sobs, which eventually slowly died away. Snow gently tugged the teen behind him. If anyone needed punishment, it was him. Not Hope.

"You got some nerve Snow Villiers." Lightning hissed.

"Light, let me explain!" Snow stepped forward.

"Save it. I don't even want to hear your pitiful excuses. The damage has already been done. You went behind Serah's back with this kid. And here I was finally started to trust you." Lightning spat. "And don't even think about your engagement anymore, because I'm calling the entire thing off."

"Light..." Hope spoke softy, steeping away from the blond. There was anguish across his features. "You don't need to worry about Serah anymore, its over between us."

"Hope?" Snow called out, but the teen didn't acknowledge him. Hope kept walking away from him and towards Lightning.

The rogue soldier let out a sigh. She crouched down to Hope's height to look into those hurtful green eyes. Hope was making an adult decision.

"Some of it was my fault also." Hope admitted solemnly. He hugged himself, trying to disappear into himself or from the room. He felt like an emotional wreck.

Lightning shook her head, pulling the trembling boy into a tight embrace. She ran her hands through those soft silver locks. She had heard everything from Fang and Vanille. "You didn't do anything wrong. Snow was the idiot. He should know better."

Hope didn't believe those words. Both Snow and himself knew that starting a relationship was futile from the beginning. Nevertheless, they both still sought each other out for comfort and love.

"Okay, go to the others. They are... OUTSIDE." Lightning sneered at the end, turning her face to the door. The three occupants in the room heard whispers and people scurrying outside the building. With Hope out of the room, Lightning turned her divine attention to the blond bastard. Silence slowly and heavy developed between the two figures. Hearts had been shattered, and trust had been broken. All of this was done by one single man. The blond was speechless. Not a word or two to defend himself. She curled her fingers into a fist, wanting to wipe the devastated look on the blond's face.

Lightning was having high hopes to see what Snow could offer to her sister. She thought that Snow would protect Serah, and stay beside her until the end. But it seemed like the man had proven himself unworthy of her expectations. Now she needed to be extra careful as to protect Serah. And Hope. She let out a quiet sigh. She couldn't even comprehend what was going on in Hope's head. She only felt the rage boiling on the tip of her fingers, ready to slice the man apart after messing with the kid's head.

"No matter how much I would love to leave this hell hole with you scattered in pieces on the floor, it seems that is impossible." Lightning finally stated, quelling the silent atmosphere. She turned her back against the blond. "We've still got a job to do. You can stay here and ponder why you will be spending the rest of your life alone or you can continue this journey and see it through 'till the end."

Snow glanced away. His heart was still hurting from the pain he had caused. He contemplated over the woman's words. He made a promise to Lightning, Serah and Hope that he would protect Cocoon. Stepping away from the pledge would make him more of an idiot. He only hoped he could keep this promise to the others, even if he had already broken two of them.

"I'm still going..." Snow trailed off.

Lightning didn't say anything. She just glanced at him from the corner of her eyes before walking out of the room.

Snow clenched his fists and fell to his knees when the woman disappeared from his sight. He suppressed the urge to take out the pain in his chest on the floor. In the blink of an eye, he had lost everything. The beautiful and sweet Serah. Pure and innocent Hope. He lucked out from two of the people he had cherished most in his life. For some odd reason, he felt his world had become somewhat smaller. He could not continue with Serah's and Nora's promise. He had broken both with one swift action. There was almost nothing left to protect. His hands were trembling, feeling useless. He had lost Nora, and now he lost Hope and Serah.

"Some hero I am." Snow groaned to himself.

All that was left was to protect Cocoon. For some reason, that thought didn't sound too pleasing, but quickly brushed the thought away. Snow may have fucked up his future, but he couldn't fuck up Hope and Serah's future even more by quitting. They, at least, deserved to smile in the end. He still had a job to do; protect Cocoon. To protect Hope and Serah's future. There were still too many things left undone to quit now. With the little determination he could muster, Snow got up on his feet. He took a deep breath, knowing he had to face his team outside.

Everyone was quiet when Snow stepped outside of the house. His eyes fell on Hope immediately. The boy was holding Vanille's hands, not meeting his gaze. No one had yet said a word and the uneasy tension was killing him from the inside.

"You ready?" Lightning asked him and he quickly responded with a nod.

"And you Hope?" All faces turned to the silver-haired l'Cie. They all waited quietly for a response until the teen gave a confident approval.

"I know the situation is a little bleak, but that does not mean we have failed Cocoon." Lightning stated. "Our toughest battle is yet to come and we cannot allow even a slight mistake. Any hesitation will only result of our deaths. Let's just keep our head straight on our goals."

After receiving nods from her companions, Lightning walked back to the crumbling railway overpass with the other l'Cie silently following. One by one, they boarded the ship left by Barthandelus with Cocoon as their final destination.

To be continued...

A/N: We're coming down to the end. Maybe 3 more chapters and a epilogue. I forgot to post this chapter over weekend. I was debating if I should write more, but I don't want to rush into the story. I played Final Fantasy XIII-2 over the weekend, and was a bit disappointed. Anyway, I have some shamelessly ideas for some SnowxHope fics. I'll write them when I finished with this story.

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