Disclaimer: I do not own anything from Square-Enix. Really? Nothing :(

Pairing: SnowxHope!

Warning: Contains Yaoi. Mild angst mixed in with the usual fluff.

I know it's been long, but I was on vacation for a month. I even already miss a week of school. What can I say? I was having fun :) Well enough of my pathetic excuses, here is chapter 6. Enjoy!

Also, I would like to thank LightPhantom742 for editing this chapter.

Chapter 6: Alone and Waiting

"Ngghh..." Hope panted as he clung to the sturdy back and neck as the thick length currently was driving into his body's opening with each thrust. The world blurred around him, dark and cold. From what he could make out, his body was flushed, hot and aching between a soft mattress and another naked warm, bulk body. One of his legs was lifted high into the air by a large palm while the other leg was wrapped around the lower back of the man above him.

"Ahh! Ahh!" Hope moaned and clutched helplessly onto the man like his life depended on it as the thick shaft continued to pummel his prostate with each zealous thrust. He writhed and moaned wildly, his toes and fingers curling from each shock of pleasure that coursed through him whenever his sweet spot was brushed. His fingernails dragged into the slick and firm skin, leaving red shaped marks on the shoulders. He lost himself into a pair of lustful blue orbs, blue as the high heaven and the wide ocean, which was looking back at him intently. The man leaned forward and he finally got a clear view of the blond's face. His heart thumped and his eyes swelled up with tears when he saw Snow's face inches away from his own. His hands cupped the man's, staring wildly into a pair of bright baby blues, and then pulled the handsome man down into a sloppy and passionate kiss. He held back a choking noise into the kiss, grinding his hips against Snow, meeting every strokes and eagerly offering himself up willingly to the blond's will.

"I missed you Hope." Snow muttered deeply in his throat after breaking the kiss, the low guttural sound shivered down his skin.

"I missed you so much." Hope pleaded, his hands running through those golden locks to encourage his lover more. And as one deep thrust buried into him and Snow's head in between his neck and shoulder, sucking and kissing the sweet skin of his throat, Hope cried out as he came, hot spurts of cum shooting from his cock. "S-"

"Snow!" Hope gasped, his eyes opening abruptly to the sight of his room. He was panting and his skin was on fire and sweaty, tangled under the thick blanket. He looked around the room and took a deep breath to coax his rapid heartbeat down. As he tried to untangle himself from the blanket, he came to realize that his underwear was sticky and wet. He looked down under the blanket and groaned, his head flopping back on the pillow.

It was another one of those dreams again and this was the second dream where he woke up to another morning mishap. The first incident had happened three weeks after that fateful night of pure love and heated passion. A red blush smeared across on Hope's cheeks, recalling the sight of a naked Snow hovering over him, flushed and covered in sweat, pounding into him through the mattress. He had longed to live and see that view once more, to be held in Snow's strong and warm embrace while they made sweet and carnal acts together throughout the jarring winter's night. But wishful thinking was all he had for now.

"Hope!" There were three knocks on the other side of his bedroom door followed by his mother's worried voice. "I heard screaming. Is everything alright in there?"

"I'm fine Mom." Hope replied. He wasn't exactly fine. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he saw was a smiling blond-haired man before him. In his dream, with all of his heart- Hope prayed that this warmth was a reality. Snow was the first person who had ever made him feel this way, so special, so loved and so cared for. It was an amazing feeling, the kind that would break apart Cocoon's shell so that he could see the man again. Call Hope selfish but he only wanted that unbearable happiness in his heart again whenever he saw that smile on Snow's face. But when he woke up, the brief warmth disappeared, leaving nothing but heartaches and dry tears.

"Okay. Hurry up sweetie or you will be late for school."

With that saying from his mother, Hope kicked out the covers that had stubbornly wrapped itself around his feet. He opened his drawer to grab a clean pair of underwear and walked to his closet to get a clean set of clothes. However, Hope paused after he opened his closet when he saw a large coat draped in the confined room. He stared at the coat for a moment and let out a heavy sigh, trying not to think too much of the person whom the coat belonged to. He grabbed his clothes and stealthily ran into his bathroom down the hall to get ready for his morning rituals with the added early morning laundry. When he joined his parents for breakfast, his mother was behind the kitchen counter flipping through a woman magazine and his father was sitting around the table, reading some legal documents while taking a sip of his coffee so often. Hope let out a sigh, seeing that not much has changed amongst his parents' habits after three months. He dragged his feet to the table where his breakfast was waiting for him.

"Is everything alright Hope?" Nora asked when she saw the unenthusiastic look on her son's face while the teen played around with his food.

Hope glanced up from his plate and saw the worried expression on his mother's face. He heard the rustling of papers across the table and saw also his father's eyes above a sheet of paper, staring at him also. Every day he tried to hide the dreadful and painful feeling growing inside of his chest. From the outside, he appeared calm and quiet, but from the inside, his body was a current. It was an unstable state of restlessness, like a ship braving against a stormy sea, ready to be pulled underwater by the ebb and tides of the brutal waves. Even though he did a good job concealing his feeling from his friends and out in the public every day, he could never hide the longing feeling inside of him from his parents, especially from his mother. Very little got past his mother, even though she was far from a helicopter parent. After all, his mother was there when he broke down crying in her arms the morning when he awoke to an empty bed and saw that Snow had already left. His mother had reassured him that everything will be fine, time and time again, but it wasn't. He didn't tell his father about his prospect with Snow, but from the concerned look his father was giving him also, he could guess that his father already had some vague idea of the story. "I'm fine. I didn't sleep too well, that's all." He answered with a smile. He knew it was not a very convincing answer but his parents didn't delve too much into it. He needed space and he was grateful that his parents were giving it to him.

"If you would like, you don't have to help your mother after school today. I can step in." Bartholomew suggested to his son.

"No!" Hope quickly voiced his thoughts, gaining two surpised looks from his parents. His face flushed embarrassingly and shyly glanced away. "I mean... I already promised Mom."

Nora giggled at the teen's reaction and walked up to her son, pushing the silver bangs away from the teen's forehead and placing a warm kiss on his temple. "Okay honey. Don't be too late." It was always nice to see Hope acting so responsible like he usually did. She knew how painful it must be for Hope to try and not think about the past. Anyone would be tormented and burdened by losing someone they loved, drowning in despair and anguish. She and Bartholomew were taking careful precautions being around with Hope, walking on thin ice and not overstepping their boundaries, as if Hope would break if the wrong word is said. However, Hope was taking a strong front by controlling his emotions and pushing forward in life. It was brave of her son, but she didn't know how long the boy could keep this emotional strain in check until he cracked and was consumed in despair. It was only a matter of time.

"I won't."

"Make sure you dress warm today. It will be a very cold and windy day." Bartholomew advised.

Hope's face fell, his body somehow feeling exhausted at the idea of walking in that cold. "I will."

His father wasn't joking about the weather as Hope huddled within himself as he walked through the streets in Palumpolum to the school. The perpetuation of an unruly and grim winter rolled off of Hope, making his skin shiver from each gust of air. It was nearing the end of November and the cold was staying for another good four months in Palumpolum. The early morning sun was weak and the wind was bitingly cold. He was practically clothed from head to toe, anything he could afford to do to keep the warm in and the cold out. He was strutting behind a group of girls from his school, which would take one or two glances at him and then giggle like mindless creatures they are. There were people mingling in the streets, trying to get to their destination and out of the jarring cold.

It was another day in Palumpolum and he already wanted the day to be over. Life was a waiting game for him, just a mindless trudging along, the passage of time, without anything to look forward to, nothing really to live for, except the ringing of the school bell day in, day out, the mindless chatter with friends and keeping up with the late hours at night as he worked on his homework. Reality was definitely harsh and cruel. Hope had never known how one person suddenly could make his life so dreary, empty, and insipid.

It's been about three months now since Snow had left and yet Snow hadn't left within his heart. However, he hadn't expected that Snow leaving was going to be easy, but life went on as people resumed their comfortable life. The world didn't stop three months ago when the soldiers left and went to fight the war with Pulse outside Cocoon. Now Hope was left with only a promise that they will see each other again. He carried those words with him that rainy night like they were part of his body, an extension of his soul; if they were severed he wouldn't be himself anymore, but some lonely and pathetic kid. He tried to gather any intel his hands could grab about the war with Pulse by watching the news, however, anything related to the word Pulse was forbidden on Cocoon. He also tried to sneak into the military database from his father's computer, but only higher up echelons in the military and government could access that information. Hope was slipping and with each passing day, it was becoming difficult and harder to keep believing in Snow's promise. Hope wanted to feel relief and not think about the world anymore. He just wanted bury his head in Snow's neckline just like the last time and have Snow soothed away his pain. And then he wouldn't have to think about anything. He kept on telling himself to be patient. It would be horrible and he'd be lonelier than his heart could stand, but he'd wait. It's the only thing he could do. Wait.

Hope's feet dragged to an abrupt halt in the middle of a crowded street, trying to stop the dreadful feeling that was creeping up his spine, and looked up at the sky with a sorrowful and longing expression on his face. "I wanted to see you. One last time." He whispered to himself. Snow's voice and feeling could no longer reach him. He didn't want to believe that Snow leaving was a goodbye because goodbyes meant going away and forgetting. He couldn't do anything but push those thoughts away and wait for Snow. He let out a heavy sigh and resumed his pace because of the few eyes and soft whispers around him and from within a cafe he stood in front of people were looking at him strangely.

With work at the Riveria slowing down, school was the solace his mind needed. Hope mused grimly as he turned from the corner of the street and walked into the school courtyard. Being a diligent student with top-notch grades, school came easy for Hope. However, for the past two months, he found himself joining a few afternoon clubs and going to group studies with Alyssa and his best friend Kai after school, and not going to his mother's tavern. The random and spontaneous activities provided an extra distraction and a getaway for his thoughts, but barely. The ten minute warning bell chimed, breaking his train of thought as the other students slowly started to disperse around the school ground, chattering away with friends while they made their way into the building. Hope quickly followed the flow of students into the building and through crowded and noisy hallways. He went straight to his classroom, avoiding his locker after his period History. When he entered into the room, he spotted Alyssa, surrounded by two of her giggling friends, waving at him. Hope offered the blonde a placate smile and took his usual seat near the window beside the girl. He turned his attention to the panoramic view of Palumpolum during the sunrise through the window as more students walked through the doorway, chatting away, bringing some of the noise from the hallway into the classroom. The school bell chimed once more and the class turned to whisper as their teacher entered the room, sending a warm greeting to the class.

"Okay students take out your homework assigned from last class while I take attendance." The teacher informed the classroom.

Hope did what he was told and already wished for the day to end. The idea was very unlikely seeing as the days tended to drag on forever at a snail's pace, stretch out one minute to the next. Hope let out a sigh, knowing that the day was going to be dreary and long like the previous days.

Eventually the lunch bell came around, some of the students gathered their belongings and left the room. Some of the other students, like Hope, stayed and unpacked their lunches from their bags. His lunch wasn't anything special, just turkey and cheese sandwiches, an apple, strawberry yogurt and a bottle of water which he usually carried around. He bit into one of his sandwiches and turned his gaze to the window.

"You have been doing that a lot lately."

Hope blinked and turned his gaze away from the city to Alyssa, who took the empty seat in front of him with her lunch. He raised an inquired brow towards the girl. "Doing what exactly?"

"You know…" Alyssa made a head gesture towards the window. "Gazing off in the distance like some lost toddler. You have been doing that for almost the entire semester now. It's not like you to act this way Hope."

"I didn't know anyone was watching me." Hope commented simply.

"Are you by any chance thinking of something or someone?" Alyssa asked curiously. "It's probably something important if it makes you carry around that kicked puppy expression every day."

Hope felt a pang in his chest and shifted back his gaze to the window quickly just because he didn't want the girl to see the emotions that were floating in his eyes, the same emotions that were eating him up from the inside. "Just someone." He muttered softly.

"Did this person pass away recently or something?"

Hope visibly tensed and felt his heart skip a beat when those words slipped under his skin. His chest swelled up with more painful emotions and took quite some control to stop himself from shaking. His hands which were resting on his lap curled around his pants, turning into a white-knuckled fist. "I-I don't know..." He said in a weary mumble, his facial expression looking dejected. "But he is gone now. He went to fight the war outside of Cocoon."

Alyssa blinked, puzzled at the silverette's words, as she suddenly pondered back to a couple months ago during the time when Palumpolum streets were filled with new faces who came to join the military. It was a hectic time for the silverette knowing that the tavern his mother owned was filled with the young men dressed in uniforms. During that time Hope was very busy, attending the tavern as well. The teen was so skittish, something she never noticed seeing from Hope before. "Do you like this person?" Alyssa asked carefully and saw Hope's face turn beet red instantly. She raised a curious brow at the sudden expression on the teen's face and swallowed down a giggle, knowing that Hope already did himself the favor of answering her questions. "Well that sucks!"

"It's pathetic, isn't it?" Hope said grimly to himself. His situation was laughable, holding on to a promise. The soldiers went away and no one gave them a second thought. Maybe he should do the same and let everything go, let it blow away with the wind.

"Well that wasn't what I meant." Alyssa chuckled and winked at the silverette, gaining a confused look from the teen. "I know some people in this school, even in our classes that have a major schoolgirl crush on you," The smirk on her face then turned into a heavy sigh. "But it seems like you already have your heart set on someone else. It sucks to be them now."

"Ohh…" Hope could only say dumbly. He never thought of dating another person, someone amongst his own peers, like a normal teenager would do. It made logical teenage sense to date someone in school, paired up with someone, like the other teenagers did around him. The idea was strange to him though. It was mainly due to the fact that nobody seemed attracted to him or could ignite that spark in his chest. The only person who had done that was like Snow. Another reason was that he's never wanted to impress someone which seemed to take too much effort. He never put himself out there, hoping that someone would approach him. It wasn't like him.

"Enough talking about some hopeless girl's crush for now," Alyssa chimed, brushing the thought away with a hand gesture. "Kai and I are going to Sing Sing Karaoke after school with friends. You wanna join us?"

"Sorry, but I promised my mom to help out at the tavern after school. Maybe another time" Hope replied, seeing the girl's face fall into a disappointed pout. The school bell rung once again and then students began to flood back into the room. Alyssa stood up, muttering 'I'll get you another time,' and went back to her desk beside him, leaving him alone for the ten minutes he had to finish his lunch before class resumed. He turned his gaze back to the window like Snow existed somewhere out there, between the midst of the grey sky and the tall buildings.

To his surprise, the rest of the hours in school passed by rather fast. Hope only wished, as he pondered while walking down the streets of Palumpolum, that every day could fly by so quickly. With each passing day he tried not to think, feel or remember, but the memories in his head were so strong, almost to the point where he was having vivid dreams of a certain blond-hair man. Some days he felt like he couldn't breathe, much less eat and walk. It was getting tougher as each day turned into night and the knots in his shoulders became heavier. He didn't know how long he could keep holding on to a flickering promise. He didn't think he could stomach another day of this, but he would. Before he knew it his thoughts carried him to The Riveria and stepped into the warm and welcoming building where only painful and jagged memories sparked in the air like moths attracted to a single light bulb.

Coming to the tavern was the last thing Hope wanted on his conscious because of the permanent memories and wishes that never came through, which seemed to suffocate within the building. The strong wave of nostalgic memories was rolling off of him and they were becoming hazy as the days continued, one after the other. Since Snow and the other soldiers left, another batch of new recruits never arrived in Palumpolum. He had overheard some people in the tavern claiming it as a sign that the war was coming to an end and Hope began to wonder if that was true because that meant that he didn't have to wait much longer. However, there was no point dwindling on wishful thoughts to have them crushed later.

"Hello sweetie."

Hope's eyes swiveled towards the tender voice and saw his mother behind the bar counter with a wash cloth in her hands, wiping the black marble counter top. He walked up to the counter and placed his school bag on one of the empty stools.

"How was school?"

"Hmmm… it was okay." Hope said, his tone bored while shrugging his shoulders.

"Do you want something to eat then?" Nora offered kindly.

Hope only shook his head in response. "I'll get to work on the inventory right now."

"But don't you want to rest first? The deliveries can wait for a little longer." Nora continued to insist.

"Mom, I am fine." Hope smiled at his mother and the silver-haired woman smiled back at him. Before Hope could step into the kitchen, the doorbell chimed as the door creaked open and a male sanctum official, dressed in a uniform like his father's, stepped into the building. Hope blinked at the man who glanced around the building before his eyes fell on him and Nora.

"Hello. Can I help you with something?" Hope heard his mother politely welcoming the sanctum official and then shifted his gaze back to the stack of boxes. The man was probably here for some official business with his father. He offered the man and his mother one short glance and walked into the kitchen and grabbed his white apron hanging on a nail on the wall. With the apron secured around his waist and on his neck, he picked up a clipboard containing the list of items and returned back to the front.

"A delivery for Hope Estheim from the military?" Nora inquired.

Hope paused when he heard his name being said and turned to his mother who was looking more or less astonished. Hope blinked when the sanctum official nodded and handed a plain, white letter to his mother. He placed the clipboard on the counter and walked to his mother who was curiously examining the letter.

"It's a letter from a special PSICOM Squad Force from…." The man paused, now chewing on his bottom lip while contemplating with his thoughts or choice of words how to simplify his response. "Well it's from Pulse."

"What?" Nora asked, blinking at the military official.

Hope's eyes went wide in shock and he quickly snatched the letter from his mother's hands. He tore up through the top of the letter with his index finger and pulled out the folded paper. A pair of sea green orbs quickly scanned the paper and they slowly grew larger, "It's from Snow."

To be continued...

A/N: I think some of you guys/gals knows where this story is going. I really don't! I am still contemplating over ideas and I wants them to be realistically as possible. I wants this story to be enjoyable for my readers :)

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