Thanks for all of the lovely reviews!

ben4kevin: Yes Hope can still use his magic but not as well.
kingdomheartsgurl369: Yeah poor Hope and I have alot planned for him
Roxprincess741: Hope does have a tendency to get hurt.
OMFGhehehe: Glad you like a worriedNoel, Because he will do alot of worrying in this story.
Rizuvel: Be afraid be very afraid. (evil laugh)
simply anonymous: yes he still has his boomerang. As for you was watching them. Yes they are a person(s).
kaori kuni: The behemoth is the least of their problems. Just wait to you meet the villain.

AN: Here's chapter 6. Chapter 7 is done and I am just starting on Chapter 8. I have a lot of projects coming so updates will be slower for awhile. This chapter will have a little more Noel and Hope action. The next two chapters are real heavy on the emotional drama. After that the main story will start. With the villain. A surprise character, two originals, and two cameos! Any guesses on the surprise character?

AN2: for the sake of drama I am ignoring positions, phoenix downs, and anything that easily brings back a character from the brink of death.

Chapter 6: Searching

Hope hissed in pain as began to once again clean his wound or more like tried to clean. He managed to win the battle with the behemoth but not without a new set of deep scratches and a broken arm. If it had been a full grown one the outcome would have been very different.

After he cleaned them he began to rewrap them; which was difficult thing to do with only one arm. Still he managed to do it. He looked outside and felt his heart sink. It was still raining and it had been two weeks since Noel had left. He feared that something terrible happened to his friend.

Hope decided that tomorrow he would go and look for Noel even if it was raining. He knew that he was injured and he would have to go on foot but it wasn't in him to just sit by and wait. He also wasn't about to lose someone else he cared about. Besides it was his fault that Noel had left in the first place.

He tried to sleep that night but it eluded him. Every time he would drift off he would have a nightmare of Noel dying on the plains. Hope eventually gave up on sleep altogether. He decided on packing his bag for the journey and tried not to think about his dreams. Once the sun was up he grabbed the map that showed where the settlements and shelters were then headed off.

As soon as the rain turned into a drizzle Noel finally decided to head home. The ground was pure mud and what made it worse was that he had bought so much stuff that he had to get a wagon to put it all in; not to mention the second chocobo. The muddy ground was almost impossible to get through.

Noel eventually gave up on driving and walked next to it instead. He kept having to dig its wheel's out of the mud. In fact the going was so slow that Noel ended up staying at the first shelter; he usually bypassed this one on his way home.

When he woke up that morning wet and to find very angry chocobos. It took him a good long while into coaxing them to once again pull that wagon. Luckily the drizzle had turned into a light mist. Even though it made traveling slightly more comfortable it was still a slow and arduous process.

It was around midday or what Noel assumed was midday; he couldn't be sure as dark, gray, clouds still covered the sky that he saw someone walking along the path towards him. At first he thought that it was an old man by how slow they were walking and the color of their hair. When he got closer Noel realized that he had been mistaken on who the person was. He tethered the chocobos to the nearest tree and hurried over to them.

"Hope what do you think you're…" Noel started to scold but it died on his lips when Hope launched himself at him.

"Noel you're alright…" Hope said sounding completely exhausted.

"I'm fine," Noel said surprised by the other man's show of emotion. As he returned Hope's hug Noel could feel that he was trembling.

"When you didn't come back I thought that you…" Hope said as he tightened his grip.

"I got delayed by the storm," Noel told him having a feeling that there was something else driving Hope to look for him. Noel reluctantly pulled out of the hug and frowned when he looked at his friend. Much like himself Hope was covered in mud but it was the fact that the other man's right arm was in a sling and the fact that he could see bandages peeking out of the collar of his shirt that had him worried. "What happened to you?"

"Got attacked by a young behemoth," Hope said nonchalantly.

"You what! When did this happen?" Noel asked.

"A few days ago. The generator stopped so I went out to fix. That's when I heard it in the yard. It didn't give me much choice but to fight it," Hope said still looking calm.

"So you came out in this weather on foot and inured!" Noel yelled.

"I thought that you might be in trouble," Hope said his eyes turning cold.

"I told you I got delayed because of the storm," Noel told him feeling upset himself. He couldn't believe that Hope would come out in his condition to look for him.

"I didn't know that when I left. All I knew was that you weren't back yet and the reason you left in the first place was because of me. If something were to happen to you…" Hope said with such a mix of emotions in his voice that Noel knew that Hope actually believed that something had happened to him.

"Hope I…" Noel said as he reached out to his friend but Hope pulled out of his reach so he let his hand fall limply to his side. "I understand what you're saying. I really do. How do you think I would feel to know that you died rescuing me."

"I had dreams, nightmares really of you being dying on the plains," Hope said quietly. "I couldn't sit by and do nothing." Noel felt his blood run cold at Hope's admission of his dreams.

"Do you have these types of dreams often?" Noel asked afraid of the answer he was going to get.

"No," Hope said looking confused. "I mean I had a few when I was a l'cie but never before or since really."

"That's good," Noel said as he sat down right where he was. It was a relief to know that Hope wasn't able to see the timeline. He could protect the other man for almost anything but not from that.

"Noel are you alright?" Hope asked worry shining through his eyes as he kneeled down next to him. "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine. It's just been a long few days," Noel said as he looked up at his friend and saw Hope looked just as exhausted and weary as he felt. "Listen I'm sorry that I snapped at you I…"

"Don't worry about it," Hope said giving him an understanding look. Hope then held out his hand which Noel accepted. "Come on. If we hurry we can make it to the shelter before nightfall."

"Right," Noel said as he let Hope help him to his feet.

"Let's go back and get the wagon," Noel said as he pointed back to where he had left it.

The two of them slowly made their way back not really talking. There was this odd sort of tension between them. Noel was afraid with Hope's injuries that he would have trouble keeping up but the other man did surprising well. Noel kept on of his job of getting the wagon out of the mud and Hope took over of handling the chocobos. The animals surprising listened to Hope very well. In fact Hope did better with them than he did.

It took them a better part of the day to get to the shelter and by the time they reached it they were exhausted. The shelters weren't the most comfortable of places and they weren't meant to be. They were set up to protect travelers from the weather and the monsters.

"You sure did get a lot of stuff," Hope said once they were both inside.

"The winters here are harsh. I wanted to make sure we have everything that we need," Noel told him. Hope nodded looking lost in thought.

"I never intended to cause you so many problems," Hope said as he began to work on getting a fire going.

"You're not causing me problems. Now get over here so I take a look at your injures," Noel told him.

"I've already taken care of them," Hope said hesitantly.

"I would feel better if I could look them over," Noel pressed.

"Alright," Hope said with a sigh and then gingerly pealed his shirt off wincing as he did so.

"Sit down and let me do that," Noel said. Hope glared at him but sat down on the edge of the one bed next to him.

Noel hissed as he unwrapped the bandages that went around Hope's chest and back when they revealed the red, angry scratches that started on his left shoulder, went diagonally across his back, and ended on his right hip. He didn't know how Hope was up and walking with these let alone trekking across a muddy landscape.

"If I could still use magic I would have these healed in no time," Noel said as he carefully began to clean the wounds. It worried him that they were such a bright red.

"You can't use your magic anymore," Hope said as he pulled away slightly.

"Sorry," Noel said with a wince. One of Hope's scratches had gotten dirty and he needed to get it clean. "Yeah. Ever since I returned I can't use anything."

"I can if I really concentrate but it tires me out. Healing completely exhausts me and I can't seem to heal myself…" Hope sighed. "Maybe that's why…"

"Why what?" Noel asked as he got out some clean bandages and began to rewrap Hope's scratches.

"Nothing," Hope said with a shake of his head.

"It not nothing if it has you this upset," Noel said as he moved so he was facing Hope wanting to look at his arm next. Hope shook his head and Noel knew he wouldn't get any more out of him. More gently than when he looked at Hope's back Noel check over Hope's arm. Hope only hissed once when he unwrapped it but he paled considerably when Noel began to look it over.

"It's definitely broken but it feels like a clean break," Noel said as he put the splints back in place and rewrapped it.

"I figured as much," Hope said his voice sounding a bit strained.

"Why don't you take the bed tonight," Noel offered. Even though Hope was trying to hide it Noel could tell that he was in a lot of pain.

"No it's bad enough that I have taken your bed back ho…back at your house. I am not going to do it here too," Hope said a stubborn edge to his voice.

"Hope you're injured," Noel thought that he would point out.

"I said I'm fine!" Hope snapped. Then as if to prove his point he grabbed the extra blanket and laid down on the floor.

Not feeling like arguing Noel thought that he would just let him be or that was his plan. He could here Hope rolling over trying to get comfortable. Noel ended up watching him for a while. Hope would lay on his stomach, rollover wince as soon as his back hit the floor then roll back over to his stomach. His arm, which should have been elevated, was either by his side or near his face.

"I can't sleep," Noel said as he sat up. Hope opened his eyes and looked at him.

"Why not?" Hope asked.

"You," Noel said a little more harshly than he intended.

"Sorry," Hope said as he looked away from him hurt in his eyes.

"That's not what I meant," Noel said quickly. "I can tell that you're in pain. I wish you would just take the bed."

"I told you that I don't want to take the bed from you again," Hope said looking tired and sad. Noel couldn't stand it when he looked like that.

"Why don't we just share it," Noel said and then realized what he said. It didn't help that Hope looked so surprised.

"Isn't the bed a little small?" Hope asked uncertainly.

"Not really," Noel said trying to sound casual about it. "Come on." He then held up the blanket. Hope only hesitated a moment before he got up.

"The ground is cold anyway," Hope muttered as he climbed into bed and Noel lowered the blanket.

It took a moment for them to get situated; it complicated the fact that Hope had to lay on his stomach. The bed was smaller than Noel original thought. The bed was so small that Hope had to lay half on top of him. Noel, surprisingly, wasn't bothered by this. He actually found it comforting. It had been a long time since he had let anyone get close to him. It was nice knowing that he wasn't alone.