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

Pairing: SnowxHope!

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

Like I say before, school is riding my ass hard. It's midterm week. Oh joy! Thanks to those who left a review :) Well enough of my problems, here is chapter 8.

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

Chapter 8: A Stranger and A Past

Hope's chest was trying to calm down from the sprinting, his heart still beating loudly inside his ears. He was sitting at the end of the pier, out at one of harbour in Palumpolum, his legs pressed against his chest and his hands huddled around his knees. His gaze was directed across the wide, gentle current of the ocean to the setting sun. A pair of light-emerald orbs was looking dim and broken as the world stopped spinning around him. His eyes were dry and puffy around the edges after he had rubbed away the fresh teardrops that had laid waste down his cheeks earlier. As the evening approaches, the warm weather seemed to drop by the second, bringing the bitter, cold winds. Hope just mentally ignored the shivers on his skin. It wasn't that he was cold. It was just that his body was too numb. With each inhale, the air felt as if needles were stabbing through his lungs, tearing away more of him, but the numbness continued to persist.

Hope couldn't believe. He didn't want to believe it. His heart was too torn and there was nothing that could've been done to ease the painful ache at the center of his chest. The one person he wanted… all that he craved for wouldn't reach him anymore. His heart, hidden behind a pair of emerald, was now forever lost from a pair of deep blues. Loneliness was the price he paid for waiting. He could feel the burn of helpless tears rising again to the surface, the painful emotions rocking him in their intensity. This pain was a more worse feeling than death. What did he do to deserve this? Some stupid war! Hope bitterly laughed to himself. He had never care for this pointless war with Pulse in the beginning. Then the war became part of him, that is until Snow came into the picture. Why did the blond has to come to The Riveria? Why did the blond have to nag him every night for his attention? Why did the blond smile that handsome smile at him? Why did he have to lose the one happiness he had found?

Snow was his everything to life; colorful and exciting. And even though their moments were short-lived, to Hope it was the perfectest short moments of his life and he would do anything to relive those moments again. Whenever he closed his eyes, he could lose himself into those happier times. But Hope could not. Not anymore. Love is a dreadful bond and yet easily severe. Snow was not going to come back. Hope would never be himself again. His one shred of love and peace was taken away from him. There will never be another person with sunny shine golden hair entering through those front doors of his mother's tavern, grinning that cocky grin as wide as his ego at him while making his heart tremble at those features. No more insistent nagging from a blond-haired man. And no more promises.

The persistent tears were back and this time Hope couldn't keep them back. Snow promised him! Snow promised him that he will come back! The man said so himself. All those shields and facade he had erected over for the past months were finally tearing down into pieces. How could he go back to life after waiting for so long? He wanted to scream the aching pain in his heart out across the ocean, let the waves carried this numbness away. Maybe then someone one the other side of the horizon would understand his pain. Hope wanted the numbness to fade away, to sink at the bottom of the nonexistent sea and to never see the light of day again.

His ears suddenly perked for a moment when he heard heels tapping against the wooden dock. A pair of feet were approaching him, but Hope chose to disregard them or the presence behind him. It was probably his mother, coming to comfort him. Hope did not want her comfort. However, this person wasn't his mother. Strangely the gaze boring into his back was warm and cheerful. The stranger didn't utter a word, just continued to approach him with a slight skip in her feet. Hope shifted his body more to the corner, indicating that he didn't want to be disturbed. He wanted be left alone with his thoughts and his transient memories of a certain blond-haired man. Hope wished to be somewhere where nothing existed other than Snow and himself, but this was his reality. He tried to control and held back his sobs and sniffs, not letting them comes out like a deluded stream. He didn't want to look like a crybaby near the strangers. He wore his emotions on his face for the world to see, but now he didn't want anyone to see him like this; vulnerable and helpless.

However, the person didn't understand his need for isolation when the individual came to a stop on his left, not saying a word. There was a strange scent of fragrance mixed in with wool in the air. The stranger then took a seat beside him at the edge of the dock, humming happily while swinging her dangled feet over the water joyfully in the air. After a long moment of silence, Hope glanced from the corner of his eyes and saw only bright colors. The girl had her gaze on the horizon, her face glowing from the warm, setting sunlight streaming on her face. The girl had a bright reddish hair, curled into two pigtails. She was dressed in a pink top and skirt, adorned with color beads on her body and bangles on her wrist. Hope grimly frowned at the girl wearing a short shirt in this weather. He will never understand the concept of skirts and winter together. Then the girl turned her eyes on him and cocked her head at him, smiling. Her smile was like a sunshine and her eyes were a brighter green, warm and comforting. He looked away instantly when the girl realized that he was looking at her.

"You okay?" Hope slightly jumped when he heard the girl's voice her concerns, piercing the silence between them. It was high-pitched, chirpy, and welcoming. He continued to ignore her, hoping that strange girl understand that he wished to be alone. "It's too much, isn't it?" The girl said again and Hope in response clenched his fingers into a fist, his nails almost digging into the flesh. Everything was painful and overwhelming; the pain and loneliness. "Everything will be fine. You know-"

Hope felt something snap inside of him. "Don't!" Hope bit back angrily. He turned his head and glared at the girl. His jaws were clenched tightly feeling a burning sensation in his chest. "You don't know anything!" He snapped angrily, seeing the pigtail-haired girl flinch and giving him a worried and sympathetic look. The girl was talking like she understood his pain. There was no one who could comprehend the aching and numbing pang in his chest. There was nothing anyone could say to change what happened. Snow was gone. His throat constricted tightly, too hot, almost like he was being strangled, and the tears once more swelled up in his vision when the raw emotions were too strong to conceal.

Hope did not protest when the older girl pulled him into an embrace and ran a gentle hand through his hair. Surprisingly, the girl's skin was warm and Hope let himself relax into the girl's chest.

"Everything is going to be alright." The girl said soothingly again.

"How can you say that?" Hope choked out, pulling back and rubbing the tears from his eyes away with his hand. "How can you? When…" Hope did not even know his lips could form the words. "When he is gone."

"But he isn't gone, is he?"

"Huh?" Hope said, his face scrunching into sheer confusion and his eyes turning wide at the girl. The pigtailed stranger just giggled.

"He is still alive. He had never left you." The strange girl said wholeheartedly.

"I don't…" Hope blinked, his brow pressed together. He couldn't follow the girl for the life of him. The weird girl was not making any sense whatsoever. Maybe she hit her head hard. Was the girl hearing what she was saying? Did she even understand what happened to Snow? Or maybe Hope found it strange how the girl did not know exactly what she was say?

"Here!"

Hope looked down at the finger pressing against his left chest, the exact spot where his beating organ was located. His heart. Then it hit him. Snow had always been with him, residing within in his heart. The blond-haired man had never left him. Hope had never forgotten the memories and the moments Snow and him shared together. And he will never forget them, even if time itself may not remember Snow and their memories, he will hold them dearly to his heart. He will cherish the part inside of himself where his love of Snow still resided, the single thing that kept him breathing, that kept his heart beating. He will honor Snow's existence very day of his life.

"See! He was never gone." The girl said with a cherry smile.

Hope felt his heart becomes lighter. Even if Snow was really gone, the man will still live on in his heart and thoughts. In the end, his moments with Snow were over, but Hope will still keep pushing forward and make Snow proud. He will not meet another person like Snow but Hope will continue to exist even knowing what true happiness was. "Do you think we'll meet again, even though he is gone?" Hope asked sadly to the girl.

"You will. Just believe and one day you will."

Hope let his brain digest every words. No one ever said that living was easy. Even if his world seemed colorless, he just had to hope and pray that it will get easier. If his wishes could be realized just by praying, then he should pray with all of life and soul that someday Snow and him will meet again. He then shifted his gaze back to the horizon, feeling the world slowing begin to spin around him. "The sunset is pretty today." It was one of the amazing thing about Palumpolum. He came here sometimes when he wanted to forget about everything except for the crashing waves against the shore and endless wide sky. It was something that Snow had fought and protected until his last breath. The sun setting in the horizon always brightened the city and his mood, but not much today. The day was coming to an end. An end to waiting.

The girl nodded and shifted her gaze back to the horizon, basking in the majestic sight. "It sure is. I could sit her for hours." She singsonged and stretched before getting comfortable beside the silverette.

"Thanks." Hope said after a moment of stillness grew between him and the girl.

"Vanille." The girl only replied.

Hope's brows just furrowed, giving a puzzled look at the pigtails girl.

"It's my name." Vanille said, smiling brightly.

"I am Hope." Hope introduced.

"Hope." Vanille said smiling brightly.

Hearing Vanille say his name so cheerfully and vibrantly dispelled some of the fears in his heart. But it still lingered, deeply inside of him. The fear will always linger there, never leaving. Hope will bear with it, despite how painful it will be.

"Aren't you cold?"

"It's not too bad."

"Vanille!" A woman's voice expressed.

Both Hope and Vanille turned around to see a bronze-skinned woman dressed in blue looking at them. "Fang!" Vanille said happily and stood up. Hope stood up also and watched the cheerful girl walk away from him to the older woman.

"Oh." Vanille said as she stopped in her pace all of a suddenly. She turned around and faced the silver-haired teen who was watching her.

Hope was caught off guard when Vanille ran back to him and attacked him into a hug, one arm wrapped his shoulder and the other hand gently patting his head. He let himself be embraced, resting his head against Vanille's right shoulder. For some reason, Hope could breathe a little better now, but not harder. He wanted this closure as much he couldn't for the dear life inside of him admit it.

"Just try looking at it from a distance. It will get better." Vanille reassured in the embrace before pulling back, her hands resting on both side of the teen's shoulders. The silverette nodded promptly and she smiled brightly. "Ciao! And I'll be rooting for you." Vanille waved and skipped off to older woman, her hands swinging back and forth with each step.

Hope stood, numb and alone while emotions choked in his throat as the girl distance herself from him. But he wasn't alone. "What was all of that about?" He heard the older woman question Vanille as the cheerful girl caught up with her companion. "I just want to say hi to Hope." Vanille replied back to the older woman. He watched as the duo walked away, side by side together to the city, wondering ever if he will see the strange girl again.

Three days passed through Hope's colorless and dreary reality and the strain in the silver-haired youth's heart still wasn't showing any small signs of subduing. He tried taking Vanille's advice and took a look at life from a distance. However even with the distance between Snow and him was no more, his head was still filled to the brim with thoughts and images of the past. Everyday the same thoughts, fears and longings still continued, never ending. He was anticipating the point somewhere in his insipid living that everything will become easier. He wanted to take that one step forward, but he couldn't muster the courage to take that leap alone. It was impossible to move when he only wanted to disappear from this world. As the living went on living, Hope remained the same like a rock in a moving current. People were going about their business and Hope was once again at The Riveria, a place full of memories and pain, standing behind the counter still waiting for his break through in life as he wiped a set of wet glasses with a clean white cloth. It was a meaningless chore like the many more which had possessed him recently. It didn't require much thoughts, just a mindless and soporific routine.

"Are you finished with those glasses yet?" Bartholomew asked, stepping in the room from kitchen while carrying a wood case which contained bottles of wine.

"Almost." Hope only replied. His father was helping in today also, but it was more of a request from his mother. He didn't need them to spell it out that they were worried about him and his father stepping in to help at the tavern was just an act to keep an extra pair of careful eyes on him.

"Lunch will be finished in a moment." Bartholomew said brightly as he unloaded the wine bottles and placed them in the built-in wine rack under the counter.

However Hope remained empathic about the news for food. Food seemed to lose its taste over the course of the winter. It was always hard and dry, and difficult to swallow down which settled uneasy in his stomach. There wasn't anything that could bring back that wonderful taste again. Then the front door slammed open, causing Hope to jump out from his depressing thoughts. He and his father turned their gaze to the direction of the door and saw Gadot bend over on his knees, panting heavy like he was chased by a pack of wolves.

"Gadot?" A pair of sea-green orbs blinked in surprised. Hope was sure from their previous encounter the other day that he will not see Snow's best friend again. There weren't any reasons for the fiery-haired man to stay in Palumpolum anymore. There was nothing here left for the man other than hurtful memories.

"Hope... it's..." Gadot hastily approached the counter, finding his voice to be a bit difficult seeing that it was coming out in deep breaths.

"Slow down there and take deep breath." Bartholomew advised which the man did and his breathing gradually started to calm down.

"Gadot, why are you here?" Apprehension was getting the better out of Hope. Every time Gadot made an appearance it was always something about Snow and Hope didn't think his heart could take it anymore. He was trying to forget and now Gadot's appearance was making it all painful again. Why is reality so cruel to him? Even when Snow was gone, the blond continued to reach out to him while disregarding his fears and pains. However, something else was mixed in with the apprehension when he saw the spark and brightness in the fiery-haired man's eyes. It was joy and it was making his heart hammer against his chest. He did not dare to think. He did not dare to hope. He was basically coaching himself in his head, telling himself to keep it together. His stunted heart was already nearing it's breaking point.

"It's Snow. He's alive. They found him."

Hope stood, eyes wide, and paralyzed from shock. The world had somehow taken a reverent minute of silence to indulge what he just heard. The silence was tangible until the noise of shattering glass into a hundred fragments made his heart resonance once again. The sounds of shattering on the floor had somehow alleviated the painful pressure in his chest. He could finally breathe again. When his mind reel back to reality, all he heard were voices.

"Hope? Did you hear me?" Gadot tried to repeat the third time when those green orbs refocused back on him after the kiddo's body turned completely still like a statue from the bombshell of news he just delivered. "Snow is here in Palumpolum!"

"What?" Was all Hope could manage to say. The mention of Snow in Palumpolum was like being plunged into a tub filled with ice-cold waters. Snow was in Palumpolum and he did not know. Nevertheless, Hope's chest soared in his chest. Snow was here and he was alive.

"Lunch is ready." Nora stated, walking into the room while wiping her hands with small apron around her waist. She stopped, however, and cocked her head at the sight of a familiar fiery-haired man on the other side of the counter, the incredulous disbelief expression on her son's face and broken glasses on floor around Hope's feet. "Did I miss something?"

"Where is he?" Hope asked in a heartbeat, disregarding his mother's question.

"He's being held at the Sanctum base, but-" Gadot didn't get to finish his speech because Hope then took off and was out the door in an instant, his white apron discarded on the floor. "Wait Hope!" He ran after the kiddo out the door but the young teen was already a few blocks away and was showing no signs of stopping despite his protest.

"Bart? What's going on?" Nora asked again, turning to her husband, looking lost and worried.

"That is what I like to know?" Bartholomew inquired, his gaze remained on the dark-skinned man standing outside the building.

Nothing didn't matter to Hope other than the fact his heart was in his feet which were trying to get him as fast as possible to military base at the outskirts of Palumpolum. The physical world swirled around his peripheral vision and Hope did not, even for the slightest, bat an eye towards it. If a cute and defenseless cat was stuck on a tree, or a old lady needed assistance crossing the road, or bank robbery was in place and he somehow miraculously acquired superpower to save the day, Hope wouldn't even risk a glance. It was a total waste of energy.

His heart was beating erratically and his head was spinning due to feeling nothing but thorough happiness or similar other emotions bumping each other inside of him. Snow was alive and he wanted to see the man so badly. The military compound came into view and Hope did not give a second thought when he ran into the entrance to the lobby, his wide eyes desperately scanning inside the building for a particular blond while his chest continued to heave heavily with each breaths he take to fill his lungs. He was trying to get his nerves back down to manageable level, since his blood was singing with the high that only a surge of happiness and contentment could bring. Some of the occupants or soldiers in the room gave him a curious look but none of them did not look like the man he was hoping to see. He tread into a long corridors to left and a few corners which ironically led him back to entrance.

"Hope!" His mother's voice suddenly appeared from behind him. The said-teen turned around and saw his parents and Gadot running from the entrance towards him.

"Gadot, where is he? I can't find him. Where- Please." Hope asked hysterically, looking at the man frantically.

"Calm down for a second Kid…" Gadot tried to reassured. The kiddo looked at him pleading and waiting, but the last thing he wanted to crush any of the teen's hopes. In the end, he gave into those puppies eyes. "You can't see him. Not now at the moment."

"What? Why?"

"It's not that simple to explain." Gadot exclaimed, scratching the back of his head.

"What so simple about this?" Hope demanded becoming frustrated with fiery-haired man. "Snow is here and that is all what matters now."

Gadot took a deep breath and let it out as a sigh. The kid was certainly persistent to get to Snow by all means. "Snow is under arrest." He simply said.

Hope felt a cold chill tingle up his spine when he heard the word 'arrest' from Gadot's mouth. Snow is under arrest? Did Snow do something bad? He did not believe that for a second. Hope could not think without a shadow of a doubt that Snow would commit a crime which will tarnish the blond's heroic deposition. Snow would never. Hope understood that man could be senseless sometimes, but Snow would never do something to throw himself in jail. Jail? Then a pair of light-emerald orbs slowly widened when a sudden realization dawn upon him. Talked about serendipity. He knew where Snow is.

To be continued...

A/N: So the story is coming to a close. Maybe one more chapter or possibly 2 and that's a wrap. After this story, I'll be switching back to A New World and that story is almost reaching to its end soon too. Hope you guys enjoys the stories so far.

Please Review!