A.N. Enjoy the prob longest chapter of the storyxD

Again: All technology has been brought down from Cocoon to Pulse

And yes, Hope is a lightweight xDD

Hope waited for his third confession till he grew taller. At the very least to Lightnings height. So then she wouldn't treat him as a kid anymore but as an adult. Even though he was only sixteen by that time. Still he waited two whole years till he finally grew taller. In the meantime he did everything to keep his promise to Light. To become a man worthy of her. He was back in school and worked his ass off. And since life in Pulse was still pretty dangerous with all these monsters roaming around he also volunteered to fight them, hunt and protect the people in their newly found Village, New Bodhum.

His relationship with his father was...definitely better than on Cocoon. They were literally neighbors of Light, Serah and Snow; who back then lived together but around a year later Light moved to her own house, also just next to them. Lightning joined the new Guardian Corps, Serah learned to become a teacher and Sow...Well he literally did the same as Light, fighting monsters and protecting the people but he wasn't a soldier. Of course together with his friends, his NORA gang. Surely he just did what he used to do back in Cocoon. Sazh volunteered to help around, too and since he was a great pilot, he came around a lot. Serah and Snow offered to take care of Dajh but Sazh said as long as Dajh was allowed to stay with him, they'd stay together. Understandable. He wouldn't want to lose his son ever again.

Anyway, Hope and his father spent much more time together, especially the first year. They both were busy with work and school, but spent as much time as possible with each other. It was nice. After that first year he was co-founding a research facility, simply called the Academy. And more often than not it forced him to travel for his work. Hope couldn't say he completely hated it though, since the place he'd stay in the meantime was at Lightning's. Bartholomew's reason for it was that since she took care of him for their whole journey, there's no one that suited that job better. And Light accepted. And no, she wasn't his babysitter! Hope hated people assuming that and he always had to clarify that they were in fact friends! Best friends! Partners even! By then he got his own room and left quite a lot of his belongings at her place. So yeah that was his routine. School, occasionally fighting monsters and hanging out either at home when his father was there, or at Light's when he wasn't. Oh and studying.

There was only one problem, though. Or was there? He wasn't quite sure...Despite his confessions, Lightning didn't treat him any different than before. As if it never happened. He just couldn't tell if it's good or bad. Well at least she didn't feel like building up her walls again around him and just being herself. But sometimes it felt like she's too carefree. For example when her shirt was gliding down her shoulder one time and gave him a little look at her bra. Or that one extreme time where he caught her walking from the bathroom to her room only in her underwear! Light acted like nothing happened, but he couldn't look at her for the rest of the day. He just didn't know what to think of it...Was she doing this on purpose or...was that how she usually acted around...family?

Well maybe Serah -and Snow- could give him some answers. And today was a good time to ask, because they've planned to have a family dinner together. It also became a routine for the four of them to have family dinners once a week. Light was still at work, or she was supposed to be, when Hope went over to Serah's. He didn't visit for quite a while now -he was too busy with studies-, so he wasn't surprised when Serah literally jumped on him when she opened the door. "Hope!"

Hope was towering over Serah by now, so she had to stand on her tiptoes as she hugged him tightly. Not to mention that she leaned all her weight on him, that meant the only thing that prevented them from falling was Hope himself. "Hey, Serah." He gasped for air, carrying the woman with ease but was nearly choked by her tight hug. Sometimes he really did wish Light was as small as Serah. Maybe then he didn't have to wait so long to get taller than her. But the thought of a smaller Lightning was...kinda scary. Lightning could already be pretty scary if she wanted to be, now imagine a smaller version of that. Having to fight even harder than she already did, surely having an icier glare and was even less afraid to kick everyone's ass that would laugh at her for her height. Not that she's not already doing all this stuff. But since he knew how it was to be the smallest of the group, being laughed at and underestimated was extremely frustrating. That happened a lot when he volunteered to fight the monsters off. But they'd quickly shut up when he showed off his skills. Or Light just kicked their asses -despite his protests not to.

Finally Serah let go of his neck and was back on her feet. "My, Hope, have you grown again?! You're probably as tall as Light by now!"

"Oh, you think?" He said, feigning ignorance. It wasn't like he was measuring his height everyday for two years now or something. Nevermind, that's exactly what he did.

"Come on in!" Grabbing his hand, Serah pulled Hope inside -kicking the door shut once he was in- and led him to the backyard where Snow was. "Snow has already started the fire."

"And where's Light?"

"She'll be here soon." Snow looked up from the grill when he heard them. And as soon as he saw Hope, the giant ass man walked over to him. "Hope! My boy!"

"Hey, Sno-!" Hope couldn't even finish his greetings, Snow nearly crushed him in a bug bear hug. Both of them really needed to learn to hug people more gently...But thankfully Snow let him go seconds later again.

"Man, someone's really grown here." Said Snow and ruffled Hopes silver hair roughly. "Just a little more and you're as tall as me."

Well that wasn't really a height he wanted to reach. Snow was absurdly tall. "I don't think anyone can match your height." Hope said, still needed to catch his breath from the hug, while Snow only laughed. Then he turned to his wife. "So, how long till sis brings the stuff?"

Serah quickly checked the clock. "Hm, I don't know. She's off duty soon and said it won't take too long..."

"What stuff?" Hope interrupted, looking confused at the couple.

"Oh, sis' bringing the meat. She said, and I quote, 'a nice fresh Behemoth'." Answered Snow, doing a terrible job at mimicking Lightning. It was so bad in fact, that Light would've punched his lights out if she ever heard it.

"A...what?" The silver haired boy looked at him in pure shock, his eyes were as wide as humanly possible.

"Behemoth." Snow repeated nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders as if it's no big deal at all. "You know, these big things. They have horns and-"

"I know what a Behemoth is!" Yelled Hope, slapping at his hands that he formed horns on his head with. "Are you telling me you're not gonna help her?!"

Snow was silent. Too silent and for way too long. He looked at Hope. Then at Serah. Left, down, right. Back at him. "...Should I?"

"Aaaargh!" Hope turned away from that dumb idiot, his hands flying to his head and he'd rather want to pull his hair out from frustration. "You-stupid-how could-I can't-you-Argh!" If only he could kick or punch anything!

Snow and Serah watched his mental breakdown, while he still couldn't finish a single sentence. He was just having a full blown meltdown. "Hey there, little guy..." The big idiot walked to him, grabbed his wrists and pried it away from his head. "Now calm down. What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? Light's out there fighting a Behemoth all by herself!"

"Yeah. So? It's not the first time."

"Wait, what?" Now Serah got it, too. "This is what you two mean when Light says she's bringing fresh meat?!"

"Well...yeah, of course. Couldn't be fresher than that, right?"

Hope facepalmed. Light may be ridiculously strong, but a Behemoth...all alone?! "I'm gonna call Light." He said, grabbing his phone quickly.

"Yes, please do." He heard Serah say, when he put his phone to his ear. The thing was, it didn't even ring, it went straight to voicemail. He tried again. And again.

"Voicemail..." He hissed frustrated.

"Maybe she's still working. Or she forgot to turn her phone back on." Light may have her phone with her at all times, but during work she usually turned it off. Understandable, no one could need distractions on the field.

"I can't believe you, Snow!" The boy yelled at the big idiot.

"Hey just trust in sis. She'll be alright. She fought many monsters almost all by herself when we were l'Cie."

"Well, we're not l'Cie anymore!"

"Even before that! Don't worry, Light is strong! A Behemoth is just a piece of cake to her. I bet she'll come in without a scratch." Even if Snow was right for a change, he was still worried about Light. She wasn't a super human. Not anymore.

"Come on, Hope. Let's go inside." Serah sighed and gently guided him to the backdoor to get in. Snow was left alone outside. They went to the kitchen and Hope flopped down on the first chair available. "I can't believe these two..." The woman mumbled more to herself and went to the fridge. "Oh! Hope, you're sixteen, aren't you?"

"Yeah?"

Serah took a bottle of wine out of the fridge. "You're old enough to have some wine with me. I'm sorry that I forgot it on your birthday!"

"Oh. I am?" Well, since Hope has never been interested in alcohol before, he didn't bother to remember when he's allowed to drink it.

"Yeah. You're legally allowed to have wine, champagne and beer at sixteen. Have some with me?"

"Uh, sure." Why not? Serah smiled at him and quickly got 2 glasses for them.

"But pssst, don't tell Light. It's supposed to be for dinner." Hope nodded and watched Serah pouring them both a little wine in their glasses. The boy waited till Serah put the bottle back into the fridge and sat in her chair. Then she took her glass and held it out to him. "Cheers."

Hope copied her and clinked their glasses. "Cheers." Well here goes nothing, Hope thought before taking his first sip. As soon as the liquid ran down his throat, Hope had to cough. It burned like hell!

"Too strong for you, huh?" Said Serah who wasn't affected by the alcohol. "It's supposed to be very mild and fruity, though. But don't worry, it's normal. No one's saying your first drink is gonna be tasty. Your first coffee will be too bitter, your first alcoholic drink too strong."

"Okay." Hope replied with a raspy voice. His throat burnt so much!

The pink haired woman leaned her head on her hands and stared at him with her blue eyes. "So, Hope. How are you doing?"

"Uh..." Hope took a second to think about his answer. Surely she meant how things with school are. "Well, I'm...doing pretty good in school. And dad said I can join the Academy right after."

"Hope, are you in love with my sister?" Hope was so shocked at this question that he must've choked on his own spit and coughed again.

"W-what...?"

"Are you in love with my sister, Hope?" Serah repeated in the same calm and gentle voice as if she's asking this question to every other guy.

Hope immediately felt his blood shooting up to his face. Sure he wanted to ask Serah for advice but not like this! Not with him being the center of the conversation! "Uh...well...uh..." Hope quickly downed the rest of the wine as a distraction, coughing again as the liquid burnt his throat. At least now he could taste something other than the burning alcohol...But just a little. Serah surely wouldn't believe him if he said no. He was acting so nervous and suspicious that she didn't need a spoken answer from him. But he probably should answer anyway.

Before he could get a word out though, he felt Serah taking his hand that was on the table. "I'm not mad if you are, you know." Serha shot him a big smile. "Actually I'd totally root for you."

"You...you would?" Asked Hope, unable to believe what he heard.

"Of course. You know, even before all this, I wanted Light to find someone and date. She never wanted to though. I'm not even sure if there's anyone that ever confessed to her. Even if she probably wouldn't have told me..." The rose haired woman sighed. "She always insists that she's happy as long as I'm happy, but...I want her to be happy, too. And" Now her gentle eyes turned mischievous. "I've noticed how you're looking at Light." Hope winced just a little, but since she still held his hand she 100% felt it. "And I know you two care for each other a lot. It's really not my place to say it but..." Serahs eyes turned a little sad then. "After having Lights attention for my whole life...And with you stealing it from me right now..." Hope grew quite concerned what she's about to tell him, but then she gave him a little smile again. "I'm a little jealous, but also quite happy. You know what I mean?" The boy nodded silently. "So...are you?"

Serah squeezed his hand gently and now all his concerns vanished. "Yes."

At his answer, she squeezed his hand tighter and let out an ecstatic squeal. "This is great! Now Hope...I don't want to pressure you or anything, but...Could you tell her?"

Okay, that's the last thing he's ever expected to hear from Serah. "I, uh...already did." Kinda. Two years ago.

Squealing again, Serah jumped on her feet and ran around the table, not once letting go of his hand. "Really?! What did she say?" Hope looked away from Serah and thought back. It was more of a speech that he should keep living his life, but no real answer. Serah's smile vanished. "Did she reject you? When did you tell her?"

Now he only looked away from her to hide his embarrassment. "Uh...two years ago." He mumbled, kinda hoping that Serah won't hear it, but of course she did. She looked more confused and surprised than anything else. "After we saved Cocoon."

"Oh! Right, I remember that you two were walking far behind us. It looked like you had a serious conversation. So that's when you confessed to her? That's so sweet!" Hope cringed at her choice of words.

"That was the second time..."

"Wait, you confessed to her two times? When was the first?"

"Uh...right before we came back to Cocoon...to fight Barthandalus."

"Naaww! Oh my god, Hope, this is so adorable! You've got a crush on my sister all the way back then?" The boy cringed again at this. Can it be a crush even two years later? "I'm sorry, Hope. But it's really just too cute." Serah pulled his head to her chest and hugged him. Now he really regretted having told her. "I think I can guess what Light told you then. 'You're still young, live your life, meet new people, date some other guys', in your case girls, 'you don't know if he's the one if you never dated anyone else before."

"Uh, yeah, kinda like that." Hopes voice was muffled, as she won't let go of him anytime soon.

"Light told me exactly this when I dated Snow. Or at least...when she eventually found out we dated. Probably was around your age right now. But Snow and I just knew we were meant for each other. Do you feel the same for Light?" Hope didn't have to think about his answer and nodded instantly. "I'm glad." Serah squeezed him for a second before finally releasing him. "Look, Hope. I know for sure Light cares a lot about you too. I think maybe she'd want you to wait till you're legally an adult, as Snow waited, too, with his proposal. We both know Light is not really a...feelings kind of person and she has the bad habit of running away from this stuff..." It sounded like Serah could tell her many tales about this..."But if you really do love her...Please don't give up on her, okay?"

For the first time that day Hope felt confidence flooding him. "I won't. I did promise Light I'd watch out for her, too."

Serha gave him the biggest smile he's ever seen on her and pulled her in for another choking hug. "You're too sweet, Hope! Now I expect you to become my brother-in-law, you hear me?"

Hopes eyes widened in shock at Serahs words and he stopped fighting her hug. "What did I hear about a bro-in-law?!" Oh great...Finally, Serah let go of him but now an even bigger threat was walking towards him. "Hope, we'll be bros?!" The boy tried to duck his way out of his reach and, if he was lucky, out of the room, but the Behemoth of a guy grabbed him and hugged him tightly. "This is amazing!" Hope panicked a little when his feet didn't touch the ground anymore.

Thankfully Serah was there to save him. "Snow, calm down." The boy sighed in relief when Snow put him back down and let go of him. He'll never get used to this...And he totally understood why Light was not a hugger. At least...not with Snow. "They have to get together first. We need to give them some time."

Snow pouted. "Fine. But I'll still call you 'bro' when sis is not around." He said and hit his back. Hope guessed Snow meant this to be gentle, but it made him stumble forward and knocked the wind out of his lungs. "I think you're meant for each other. Sis needs a boy like you."

And in an instant Hope was back at hating Snow. Not as much as to kill him as back then, but close enough. The trio looked up when they heard someone knocking on the door. "Oh, that must be Lightning!" Serah quickly went to the door and opened it. "Sis!"

Lightning came in carrying around a big cooling box that hung on her shoulder. "Hey, Serah." Before she could greet the boys, Serah hugged her. The older Farron was visibly and understandably confused and petted her sisters back. "Is something wrong?"

Immediately Serah let go and glared at her older sister. "'Is something wrong?' Yeah, there's something very wrong, Lightning!" Lights eyes widened slightly at her sudden outburst and instinctively shot a glare in Snows direction; he in turn raised his hands in defense. "We tried to reach you! But your phone is off, again!"

"Oh." Light reached into the pocket of her uniform and took her phone out. And turned it on. "Why, did something happen?"

"Light, did you just hunt a Behemoth?"

"Yeah, of course." Light said as if it's not a big deal at all. "I told you I'd bring some fresh meat, didn't I?" She petted the cooling box that has the meat inside.

"How could you do something so dangerous?!"

Lightning raised an eyebrow. "Dangerous?"

"You should've taken Snow and Hope with you to help you!" Serah scolded. Times like this showed how similar the Farron sisters were and how Hope never wanted to be the target of their anger.

The older Farron chuckled. "Why? It's a piece of cake. I don't need help with that."

"Told you. Sis is strong enough to beat multiple Behemoths and won't break a sweat." Said Snow, foolishly joining in on the Farrons argument. And it looked like he immediately regretted it, when Serah glared at him.

"If I knew you'd gonna hunt them, then..."

"I told you I'd bring fresh meat. Can't be fresher than this, right?" Snow held up his hands towards Light to get his point across. Weird how these two agreed on something..."Got a nice little profit with the rest of it, too." Without waiting for anyone to say something, Lightning went towards the back entrance that led to the backyard.

The remaining three followed, Serah more pouty and frustrated than anything. "Light, I'm on Serahs side on this." Said Hope, once he joined everyone in the backyard. "You shouldn't hunt Behemoths all by yourself." Lightnings only reply was a roll of her eyes.

"Anyway let's grill them." Said Light and put the cooling box on a wooden table.

"Actually...Light?" Began Serah, getting her sister's attention. "Can you help me with something else in the kitchen?" Light looked skeptical and hesitant. "Don't worry, Snow will prepare the steaks."

The woman glanced at her brother-in-law who grinned goofily at them. Instead of trusting him, she went straight to Hope and put a hand on his shoulder. With a relatively strong grip, too. "Hope." She began with a very serious tone, as if it's about life or death. "I'll leave these babies to you. I'm counting on you to protect them from Snow."

They both ignored Snows 'hey!', as Hope grinned at her confidently. "Yeah. You can count on me." Lightning gave him a smile and a gentle pat on the head, before she followed her little sister inside.

"Sis has no taste. My steaks are always perfect." Said Snow with way too much confidence, despite what happened last time.

"Snow, you really can't grill anything. Your last steaks were tough and tasteless. Light has every reason to distrust you." Hope went over to the cooling box and took out the wrapped meat.

"Oh, so you think you can do it better?" Snow openly challenged him and shot him a confident grin.

Hope smiled back. "Of course." After all, Lightning showed him how to do it. She may not be the best cook, but she knew how to make the perfect steak.

"Alright, how about a little bet then? Whoever makes the best steak wins. And if I win you'll confess to Light in the middle of dinner." Snow looked way too confident...

And even though Hope knew that Snow will definitely lose, he still couldn't help but blush at the thought that he'd have to confess to Light, again, in front of everyone. "You're on. But if I win you'll say 'Hope, you're cooking the best steaks in all of Cocoon and Pulse'."

"Deal." They shook hands to seal the deal and then went to work. They evenly shared the steaks and prepared them the way they thought was best.

Sometime later when everything was done, they sat at the table, ready to eat. But before that Serah filled their glasses with the wine they secretly had before. Hope couldn't say he was looking forward to drinking it again, but he'd do it to prove to Light that he's adult enough. But before the bottle touched his glass, a hand covered it suddenly. "Serah?" The younger Farron looked up at her sister, who prevented her from pouring the wine in Hopes glass.

"Light?"

"What are you doing?"

Serah blinked. "I'm giving Hope some wine."

"He's underage." Said Lightning more sternly now.

"Claire, he's sixteen. He's legally allowed to have wine and beer." Hope watched Lightnings reactions closely. Although there wasn't much to see in her mostly expressionless face. But upon realizing Serah's right, Light gave his glass free with a sigh. Once Lights hand was gone, half his glass was filled with wine.

"Oh!" Exclaimed Snow suddenly. "Right, I totally forgot! I wanted to treat Hope at Lebreau's once he's legal! I'm sorry, Hope. But to make it up to you, how about we have some beer after dinner together?"

"Uh...sure." That's definitely not how Hope expected the day to go. But he guessed he could try it.

"Really?" Said Lightning more annoyed than anything and frowned at the guys.

"Don't worry, Light." Hope shot the woman sitting next to her a big grin. Lightning just rolled her eyes and reached out with her fork to get one of the steaks that were neatly piled on 2 separate plates in front of them. "Wait!" The boy suddenly exclaimed, making Light pause. "Here, take this." Hope quickly picked up a steak from his plate with his fork and knife and put it on Lightnings plate. She almost took one from Snows plate and there was no way she'd let her eat from that one, knowing that Snow surely ruined them as Light feared he would. Light raised an eyebrow at his weird antics, while Hope just shot her a big, nervous grin.

"Thanks..." She said, eyeing him to figure out what's going on.

"You're welcome!" Hopes grin widened, feigning innocence. Lightning glanced at him for a second longer, before cutting off a piece of her steak. Both Hope and Snow stared at Lightning as she slowly raised the fork with the piece of meat to her mouth. The woman looked at the guys with a frown, before putting it in her mouth. The stares intensified when she chewed on it and Lightning looked clearly uncomfortable that she's been stared at like this.

"Aren't you gonna eat?" Asked Light eventually after she swallowed.

"Yeah, sure!" Both guys immediately grabbed a steak from their respective plates.

"Wait!" Exclaimed Snow suddenly, when Serah wanted to take a steak from Hopes plate, startling her. "Here, take this!"

"Uh, thanks..." Said Serah confused.

Then Hope turned to the older Farron next to him. "So, Light...How is it?" He asked, pointing at the steak she's eating.

Still looking at him suspiciously, Lightning replied. "Good. Very good. You really are a very good learner, Hope." Hope grinned at the praise, always proud that she liked his cooking. Then he glanced at Snow with a smirk.

"Hey, how do you know Hope made it? I could've cooked that!" Protested Snow, more pouty than anything.

"'Cause yours tastes like cardboard." Replied Light matter of factly, before putting another piece in his mouth. Pouting, Snow turned to his wife, who struggled to cut off her first bite.

"How's yours, Serah?"

Once Serah finally cut off a piece, she put it in her mouth and chewed. And chewed. And chewed even longer. As expected, Snows steak was tough, dry and when you try to eat it, it feels like there's always more in your mouth the longer you chew. It was more than obvious that Serah struggled with even that little piece of meat and that it didn't taste at all, but she still hummed as if she liked it. "Hmm, mh-hm, 's grea'." She said with her mouth still full.

Knowing he's lost, Snow let his head hang. "You don't have to lie to me..."

Once Serah finally was able to swallow it, she looked at her husband sympathetically. "It's...a little dry."

Hope was still giving Snow an evil-looking smirk, and even though the man wasn't looking at him right then, Hope knew that Snow knew. "So, Snow" The silver haired boy began innocently, even if his smirk said something else. "You wanted to say something, right?"

Surprisingly, Snow wasn't even hesitating. "Hope, you're cooking the best steaks in all of Cocoon and Pulse."

Hopes grin widened. "Why, thank you, Snow! That's very nice of you to say." Now that he won, even if his victory was obvious, the younger boy eventually dug into his meal as well.

"Did you two bet who can cook the better steak or something?" Asked Lightning eventually, who only watched them in silence. Hope noticed she's already on her second steak and it filled him with more pride that she took seconds.

"Yep. Snow didn't want to believe that I'm cooking better than him."

Light huffed amused. "That's a pretty unfair battle wasn't it? Snow didn't stand a chance before you even began to cook."

The way Snow pouted at Lightning was worth the whole bet. "Hey, I can cook, too!"

"Snow..." Serah put a hand on his arm and slowly shook her head, telling him silently that no, he couldn't.

"Okay, okay..." Frustrated, Snow threw his hands in the air, admitting defeat. "Serah, you can take one of Hopes steaks if you like. You don't have to eat my terrible steak."

"Uh..." Serah hesitated for a second, but resumed to eat Snows steak. "No, I like this one." Well, Serah sure was a good wife...doing whatever it takes to make Snow feel a little better. Even if it meant eating a terrible steak. Hope was impressed with her bravery. And so they all went back to their meals.

They kept eating mostly quietly then, only having a little small-talk between and before they knew if Hopes plate with steaks was empty. Eventually Snow and Serah gave up on the formers' tough and dry steaks and took from Hopes plate. This felt like another win for him. "Well, I'm gonna do the dishes then." Said Serah eventually and stood up.

"I'll help you." Lightning grabbed her and Hopes plates and everything else she towered in her hands and followed Serah into the kitchen. Once the men were by themselves, Snow gave the younger a mischievous grin.

Before Hope could ask what's on his mind, the blonde rose from his seat and left the living room in a hurry. When he came back, he had two bottles of beer in each hand. "Let's go!" Snow put two in front of him and the other on his side of the table, before sitting back down. "Know how to open it?" He asked smugly, pushing an opener towards him.

Hope glared at the older man and took the opener. "I know how to open a bottle, thank you very much!" Keeping that smug grin on his face, Snow motioned for him to open the bottles then. Which Hope did. Seriously, did Snow really think he's never opened a bottle before?

"Good boy." The silver haired boys eyes twitched in annoyance, but Snow ignored it and raised his bottle. "On your first beer!" Should he mention that he once sipped on it when he was fourteen and all alone at home back then? Nah. Humming, Hope raised his bottle too and clinked the bottom of it with Snows. They both took a big gulp of their drinks and while Hope was glad the alcohol didn't burn as much as the wine, the taste was...meh. But better than he remembered. "And?"

"It's...not good."

Before Hope could say anything else to describe that weird taste, Snow interrupted him. "Take another sip."

"Eh?"

"Come on!" It probably wasn't very smart to let Snow force him to drink more alcohol, but Hope did it anyway. "Another." The blonde said immediately after the bottle left Hopes lips again. Frowning at the older man, he took another sip. "How's it now?"

"Uhm...better I guess? But it's still not good."

"Take another sip then." Snow coaxed him all the way till his bottle was actually empty. "Atta boy! Here, take another." Before Hope knew it, Snow opened his second bottle and pushed it towards him. Only now did he realize that Snow finished his first bottle as well.

"I don't think I should-" Hope began, already feeling slightly dizzy in his head from all the alcohol he drank.

"What, are you afraid Light will be mad at you for being a bad boy and spank you?" Snow laughed heartily, while Hope glared daggers at the man and tried to ignore the blush creeping on his face and the images in his head.

"How about a race then? Whoever finishes first wins." Hope said without having wasted a single thought on his words or the consequences after. The alcohol was definitely numbing his brain and made him make stupid decisions.

Of course Snow agreed. "Oh, you're on, kid!" He exclaimed, grinning now more enthusiastically at him.

"I'll show you who's kid..." Hope mumbled more to himself, before doing the countdown. "Ready? Go!" The two chugged down their respective bottles till they're completely empty. As Hope finished first, he slammed the bottle on the table. "I won!"

Snow finished just a second later. "Okay, I'll give you that." But it didn't sound like he was too sad about the loss. "You're good, kid. Does it taste better now?"

Hope paused for a moment, concentrating on the remaining taste on his tongue. "I guess. A little maybe."

"That's a good boy!"

By the time Lightning and Serah were done and returned to the living room, both guys had downed 3 bottles of beer. "Snow! What the hell?!" Lightning yelled, making Hope jump up to his feet in an instant.

"Light!" Panic rose in him within seconds. He wanted to explain himself, that it was only Snows fault, but by standing up as fast as he did his head felt dizzy and he lost his balance. It only took seconds till Hope fell face first on the ground. He could barely hear anything through his heart thumping loudly in his ears, but he heard that Lightning was pissed off. And rightly so. And if he heard right Serah was angry too. Two pissed off Farron sisters were like a death sentence and Hope wished the ground would swallow him up to hide his shame.

But of course his wish wouldn't be granted and on top of all he felt a hand grabbing his upper arm and yanking him up on his feet. "Get up!" Lightning hissed through clenched teeth and under her glare he felt like a little boy again. "What the hell were you thinking?!"

To be honest he didn't think. And right now he was unable to. He couldn't even form a normal sentence. "I, uh...Snow!" He exclaimed, pointing at the big oaf that forced him to drink this. Technically.

Two pairs of icy blue eyes snapped to the only other adult in the room. "He's lying!" Snow shouted back like a child.

Lightning huffed in annoyance and pulled Hope along, towards the front door. "You both are at fault!" And she was absolutely right. "I expected nothing else from Snow, but you Hope?" The disappointment in Lightnings eyes made his heart clench painfully. Her being disappointed in him was a little worse than her being angry with him. "We're going home." Hope was pushed towards the door and he scrambled to put on his shoes. "See you tomorrow, Serah."

"Don't be too hard on him, sis." The younger Farron said sympathetically and even though it was nice of her, Hope knew he deserved any punishment Light will throw at him.

Once he finally had his shoes on, Light opened the door and gently pushed him out. Her hand stayed on his shoulder blades to push him forward and to steady him whenever his steps swayed. He felt like a little kid that's being escorted back home by his angry mother. But only for a second. When he tripped over his own feet, Light was there by his side to steady him and for good measure held up his right arm, ducked under it and put it around her shoulders. He definitely felt steadier now. His face burned as it blushed a deep red at their closeness. Or was it because of the alcohol? Maybe both. If he was sober he'd surely feel embarrassed that he got drunk over only a couple glasses of wine and 3 bottles of beer. But as of now all he could think of was Lightning. He stared at her unashamedly, as she half carried him back to her place. "Light?" The pink-haired woman hummed, staring blankly at the path ahead of them. "We're the same height."

Light glanced at him for a second, before looking straight ahead again. "Yeah. I know."

"I'm not a kid anymore." His words slurred a little.

"I beg to differ." She huffed out a sigh. "Letting Snow goad you into drinking that much sounds pretty childish to me."

Hopes face fell at that. He knew she was right. But that didn't mean he wanted to hear it from her. "Sorry..." The young man let his head fall and unintentionally put more of his body weight on her shoulder. Actually, his head leaned more on hers than anything. Lightning adjusted his arm on her shoulder, pulling him closer by wrapping her other arm around his waist, but kept dragging him along without a word of discomfort. "Light...?"

"Yeah?"

Hope didn't speak for a minute. Maybe even longer. But for him it only felt like seconds. "I love you." He slurred out and just then Light stopped moving abruptly. Then she looked up at him, her eyes a little wider than usual. Or so he thought. But only a second later she huffed out what sounded like a chuckle and kept dragging him along. Hope had no idea what to think of this. Was she laughing at him? "What...?"

"Hope...it's the alcohol talking."

Hope pouted like a little kid. "'s not." He slurred, but before he could say more, they arrived at Lights place. With motions that were too quick for Hope to see, she unlocked the door and helped him inside. Then, after putting away the keys and kicking the door shut, she helped him walk up the stairs. Hope was mildly confused when they walked past his room and his drunken mind tried to figure out where they're going. For a second he thought that maybe she'll bring him to her room and his face burned just at the thought of all the possible scenarios that could happen. But then they stopped in the middle of the hallway. "Wait here." Light leaned him against the wall, so he won't fall over and then she was gone. Before his dazed mind could catch up, she was back and held some clothes in her hands. Either she was incredibly fast or his mind was just extremely slow. "Can I trust you to get ready for bed on your own?"

Oh, right she gave him the clothes he usually wore for bed. And now he finally realized that they stood at the bathroom door. "'fcourse!" Hope took his clothes and entered the bathroom.

"Call me if you need help." Light said, as he closed the door behind him. Hope only hummed, as he got ready for bed. What time was it anyway? How long have they been at Snow and Serahs? It was pretty dark outside, but only now did Hope notice it. Well it probably didn't matter anyway, he felt kinda sleepy now anyway. Once he got ready for bed, Hope stepped out of the bathroom and almost ran against Light. Thank god she had lightning fast reflexes. She put her hands on his shoulders and stopped him from tackling her. "Are you done?" She asked, even if it was obvious and Hope only answered with a nod. Then she walked behind him and pushed towards his bedroom. "Okay let's get you to bed. And you won't get any alcohol till you're at least eighteen. Maybe twenty-one." To be honest, Hope didn't have the energy to argue and deep down he knew she was right. But above all he was happy and grateful she took care of him. Lightning kept her hand on his back till he was securely in his bed. She even pulled the covers over him. Hope couldn't help but pout at how she treated him like a kid.

"'m not a kid anymore, Light..." He mumbled, but Light only poked his forehead like she always did back then.

"Right now you are. Now sleep." The pink-haired woman turned around to leave and before his brain could catch up, Hopes body acted on its own and grabbed her wrist before she couldn't even go a single step. To be honest he didn't even know why he held her back. Or did he? At least he didn't consciously know..."Hm? What is it? Do you need something?" She asked as she turned back to him with a confused look on her face.

"Uh...I..." Again Hope talked without thinking. "I love you, Light."

And again Lightning huffed out a little chuckle, before freeing her hand from his grip and ruffled his hair. "Good night, Hope." And with that said, she left and closed the door behind her, leaving him in his dark room.