AN: I actually have no ideas about any 'restricted warnings' this time Maybe you guys can offer some suggestions in the comments section. Anyways, on with the show!

Chapter 5

Hope was lying on his back, tossing a rubber ball against the wall of Mary and Sue's room. He didn't say much to his twin classmates, just a few conversations about school. Lightning's stoic face couldn't find its way out of Hope's head. The coldness of her words had put him on edge, and he knew he screwed up. She caught him in his lie and for all he knew, was planning on a way to torture him for eternity. She probably did remember somethings, and especially if certain parts of her body felt differently.

You're such an idiot Estheim! He thought to himself angrily. Of course Light knew! She was testing me! Now she's going never trust me again!

The possibility of Lightning losing faith in him was much more detrimental to his heart than actual physical harm. He had to speak to her, to tell her the truth as soon as possible. It was the only chance he had to save their relationship. He wanted to be with her, to make love to her, to protect her. What could a sixteen year old boy like him provide for a grown woman? They promised to look after each other, and no matter the outcome of this situation, he was going fulfill his end of the deal.

"Hey Hope," said Sue, who paused the video game she was playing. Mary was making sandwiches downstairs. "Are you okay? You haven't said much since you got here."

Hope turned his eyes and saw Sue standing before him. Mary and Sue were identical twins; sharing the same blonde hair, wide blue eyes, and slender curvy figures with minor differences. The personalities couldn't be farther apart though. Mary was a sweet and gentle soul, very much like a homebody. Sue on the other hand, liked to walk on the wild side a bit. She loved thrill rides, rock music, and showing off her body in the latest punk-style fashion that originally emerged out of Bodhum. Today's outfit was a black tank top with a jean skirt. Various accessories such as ear rings and spiked wristbands encompassed her ears and arms.

"I'm alright," replied Hope. "I just have a lot on my mind, that's all."

"That's becoming a popular excuse for you these days, Estheim." Sue flopped on the bed next to him. Her eyes were slanted from the impish expression she was making. "Has some woman stolen your heart?"

Hope stared dreamily at the ceiling for a moment. "I guess you could say that," he said. "It's a little complicated."

"Complicated how?"

Hope sat up and grinned. "You don't know when to give up don't you?"

Sue shook her head. "I just want to make sure my Hope is okay." With that said, she stroked a finger along Hope's chest, making him blush. "So come on, give up the beans! Who's the lucky lady?"

Hope paused, contemplating what he should say to Sue. She was a good friend, but was notorious for having a big mouth. He couldn't admit that his lover was Lightning, but he could beat around the bust a bit. He needed to get the past few days off his chest, or else he was going to go crazy. And who knows, maybe he'll get some decent love advice out of this. Sue dated enough guys to tell him something useful.

"Well I've been with this woman for a couple of days-"

"Woman!" Sue's eyes lit up like two fireflies. "You're dating an older woman! Oh man, this is too good to be true!"

Before Hope could say anything, Sue started bouncing on the bed, causing him to fall off. As Hope got up, he saw Mary walk in with a tray of sandwiches and lemonade. For some reason, she had a slightly troubled look on her face.

"And older woman?" she asked, staring at Hope with uncertainty. "What's this about an older woman?"

"He's dating one!" exclaimed Sue with a cheesy smile while giving the bed another bounce.

Mary looked like she was going to drop the tray. Sensing this, Hope took it from her and placed it on a nearby desk.

"Is this true?" asked Mary, who looked like her whole world was falling apart, but was doing her best to hide it. "H-how long have this been going on?"

Hope sat down. "For a couple of days now," he replied.

"How did you meet her? How old is she?" Mary drew closing, wanting to know more about this situation that completely turned her day upside down.

"Damn Mary, one question at a time!" Sue started laughing.

"We meet at the supermarket," Hope lied, taking a tuna sandwich. "I was doing some shopping for Lightning. She was doing some shopping herself. We discussed about a couple of things: music, air wings, the evacuation, and reconstruction. We clicked pretty well despite the fact I'm 16 and she's 23."

"What!" both girls exclaimed.

Hope nodded, feeling a little proud of his self on the inside. He felt like such a player at the moment, no matter what guilt remained deep down inside. "Yeah, she's 23. She has her own car and what not."

"What does she do for a living?" asked Sue. "I'm sure it's something awesome that regular adults don't even get to do!"

Hope nodded. "She's a guardian corps officer."

Both Mary and Sue couldn't utter even a word at the moment. Hope, their Hope has changed from sweet little boy to bad ass overnight all due to the fact that some military cougar couldn't keep her hands off of him. To Sue this was the sexiest thing she's ever heard. As for Mary, she felt like dying on the inside. She worked so hard to impress Hope with her grades and with the little things she would do for him. She really cared for him, and was his confidant for all his biggest dreams and fears. She was the one who held him during his last 'mother' breakdown. This was so 'out of character' for him, Mary couldn't understand what he would want with an older woman, unless...

"Did you fuck her!"

Yeah, like what her sister said.

Hope was taken aback by the language at first, but nodded once he stopped blushing. "She was my first," he proclaimed. "We did it last night. She was amazing."

Mary's mission was now over. Hope was just like every other guy. He wanted sex just as much as any other testosterone-driven male in the universe. She thought he was different from all the others; someone who was more sensitive and caring. She thought he was someone who was good potential to be her 'first'. For a couple of months she had felt this way about him, and wanted to wait till the end of the school year to reveal such a secret. She felt positive vibes from him, as if there was a chance he showed similar feelings towards her. Now due to recent revelations, Mary wasn't so sure about who Hope was at this point. Hope has been showing another side of him ever since that argument with Mrs. Phillips. This was a side which was never brought up when he discussed about his adventures with his L'Cie companions. He was becoming arrogant, but still held elements that made Hope who he was. Maybe the whole older woman thing inflated his ego?

Hope sighed for a moment. "I need some advice from the both of you. Right now, we're not looking so well as a potential couple. The age thing is an issue, but I feel she is afraid to pursue something more because of other reasons."

Mary wanted to stay quiet, but she felt herself speak up. "Maybe that is the only reason. First off, it's illegal. Secondly, you do look slightly older than your age Hope, kind of like a freshman in college. This is probably unnerving to her. Look at her perspective. You're a very attractive guy, but sometimes, the things we want the most is what we can't have."

Hope stared Mary, finding that he had nothing to say. His mother used the exact same words whenever he wanted something he couldn't obtain. The last time she said those words was the night of the fireworks, the night where everything fell apart, the night that began their Purge and led to his mother's death. The floodgates of Hope's worst memories opened, causing him to fight the tears that refused to be held back.

"I-I gotta go..." Hope stood up, and walked out the room.

Mary tired to go after him to apologize, but Sue stopped her. "Don't," she warned. "He's having one of his moments. He's a big boy, he'll deal with it."

Mary nodded, but she couldn't help but feel guilty.

"Honey! I'm home!"

Serah heard the familiar cheerful voice after she heard the door closed. Normally, she would greet her husband, but she was far too busy preparing dinner. Tonight was steak and onions, and she knew how her man loved his steak and onions. Besides, if she fixed a good enough meal, maybe he'll return the 'favor' later on.

Snow came into the kitchen, and gave his wife kiss on the cheek while hugging her from behind. "Good evening baby," he said. "How was shopping with the sis?"

Serah was about to open her mouth, but she realized what was about to be said. She felt it wasn't right to be speaking about Lightning's business, but maybe, just maybe all Hope needed was a guy to guy talk. All that time living with a woman was driving the poor boy insane with urges he didn't know how to control. When they were dating, Snow was the perfect gentleman. Hope could learn a thing or two and perhaps put that knowledge into a girl closer to his age.

"Well," began Serah, chopping the onions. "I found out something surprising."

"And what is that?" Snow put his coat over a chair and leaned against the counter.

Serah stopped her chopping and pointed a finger at Snow. "DON'T tell anybody! You got that? This stays between you and me. Maybe you can perhaps even solve the problem without Claire even knowing."

"Knowing what?" Snow was becoming intrigued with a possible new development. He loved his marriage, but things were becoming a little dull as of late. Even when NORA started a band, there wasn't anything that really piqued his interests.

"Well Claire and I were talking, and she claims Hope has a crush on her."

Snow laughed, scratching his blond hair. "For real? That somehow doesn't sound surprising. How does she know?"

"He told her." Serah's eyes met Snow's.

"Oh. Well That's-"

"Just too good!" A female voice interrupted the conversation, hinting at a familiar strong accent.

Realizing who it was, Serah glared at Snow. "What is SHE doing here? This was supposed to be between us!"

Snow raised his hands as Fang walked into the room. "Hey! You're the one that wanted to drop sis' business!" he said, defensively. "I picked her up after work. She needs to borrow a couple of tools I have, and was hoping she would stay for dinner."

"Besides love," said Fang, taking a peppermint from a candy dish. "I won't bother the 'shocking one' with such trivial matters. Now as for Hope..." she grinned. "Snow, give the boy some pointers on what it means to be a man! Wait, maybe that's a job for Sazh." Fang sighed. "Forget about it, I'll teach the boy!"

Serah walked over to Fang and pointed a finger at her. "You'll be teaching nobody nothing!"

Fang shrugged. "Somebody's going to have to do the job! If he has strong feelings for our resident pink warrior, then he's going to have to learn to woo her. It's not like she's going to end up with anyone else, after all she's the poster girl for Ice Queens! So far Hope is the only thing remotely male that wormed his little way into her heart. I say, why shouldn't they be together?"

Serah shook her head. "But, it's wrong! Lightning is like a big sister to him! He's just confused..."

"Or the boy is figuring out exactly what he wants. He's becoming a sexy little thing too." Fang folded her arms. "Vanille still talks about how hot he looked that day he took off shirt last week. She said if she could get her hands on that body, she would-"

"Stop it! Just stop it!" Serah covered her ears and walked out the room.

Snow turned to Fang, disappointment clearly shown on his face. "Did you really have to do that?"

"Not really."

"Is that thing with Vanille even true?"

Fang shook her head. "Not really. I just like messing with your wife. What are you going to do about this situation 'Mr. Hero'?"

"I'm going to have a man-to-man with our little Romeo. I need to see what's going on in that head of is. By the way, you know your little stunt just postponed steak night right?"

Fang sighed. "True, but bugging Serah was so worth extending the waiting time of her delicious meals."

Snow shook his head. "I think you're the one that needs a man."

"That's kind of hard considering I have yet to find someone who is a man."

"And what do you consider to be a man?"

"Someone who can defeat me in one-on-one combat. That has yet to happen; therefore there are no men in this world." Paying no mind to Snow's face fault, Fang popped another peppermint in her mouth.

AN: I wanted to do the Lightning appointment with her psychologist in this chapter, but I fig that would be a good start for chapter 6. I wanted to go back and re-edit some of the sexual encounters to intensify them, but I think I'll leave them alone for now and put that energy into future scenes...mwahahaha.