Hope confessed to Lightning the fourth time when he was eighteen. It was the day his father and he moved to Academia for good. Hope would join the Academy and will do his part to make the world a better place for everyone. But it unfortunately meant saying good-bye to Lightning, Serah and Snow. They all helped him and his dad with the move and once the little rest of their belongings were loaded into the car, Bartholomew said his good-byes to the three ex-l'Cie, before entering the car to give them and Hope some private time for their farewell. He said to take as much time as needed, since he knew exactly how much these three meant to his son. And Hope was grateful for it. Honestly Hope even considered not leaving New Bodhum at all, but Lightning strictly told him to pursue the career he wants and that she doesn't want to be the reason to hold him back. Of course he told her that she would never hold him back and presented an alternative plan to join the new Guardian Corps, but she immediately dismissed this idea, before he even finished talking. She dismissed his plans B-Z and told him to stick to his plan A, which he really wanted to do. And so Bartholomew moved all the gears for his transfer to Academia. They agreed he'll live in a dorm for the time being, till he reached a certain level of education and become a full fledged Academy member. "Well…I guess this is it…" Said Hope eventually to his three friends.
Snow immediately stepped forward and enveloped him in a big bear hug. Hope may have gotten taller now, but he was still tiny compared to Snow. "I'm gonna miss you, Hope!" The blonde said, as he crushed the young man in his arms. "You're like the little brother I never had!"
"Thanks, Snow…I'll miss you, too." Hopes voice was muffled in the big man's hug. A second later Snow finally released him and Hope needed to take some deep breaths. Then he turned to Serah.
She, too, threw her arms around his neck and hugged him tightly. But not too tightly and more careful, since her baby bump was significantly showing already. It shouldn't take that long till she'll give birth to a baby girl. "It won't be the same here without you, Hope." She said and he could hear in her voice that she was close to crying.
"I'll miss you, too, Serah. Don't forget to send lots of pictures of your little girl."
"Of course!" Now Serah was openly sobbing and damping his shirt with her tears. The pregnancy made Serah cry so much, but no matter how much he was confronted with it, he never knew how to deal with a crying Serah.
"It's okay, Serah…we can text and talk everyday."
It was then that Snow saved him and helped comfort Serah. He basically repeated what Hope just promised and gently ripped her off him. At that, Serah clung to Snow. Hope gave the couple a sympathetic smile, before finally turning to Lightning. "So…" Honestly, he didn't know what to do. Should he hug her? Or even dare kiss her? In that split second he decided for a handshake, so he extended his hand for her to take.
Lightning glanced down at his hand and then back up at his face with a slightly raised eyebrow. It was so weird having to look down at Light now. He's grown at least half a head taller than her over the years. And Hope was sure it was equally weird for her to look up at him. Lightning scoffed a little 'tch', before gently pushing his hand away. Before Hopes mind could catch up and wonder what she'll do, she already stepped closer and wrapped her arms around his neck in a hug. Hope froze in surprise for a second, before returning the hug. "I'll miss you, Hope." Her words made Hopes heart pick up its pace.
"Me too. I mean…I'll miss you too, Light." He stuttered, unconsciously tightening his hold on her a little. "I could…you know…also stay here and…"
"No." Lightning interrupted him, knowing exactly what he wanted to say. They had this conversation a couple times already. "You go to Academia, Hope." The woman pulled away enough to look into his eyes, but kept her hands on his shoulders. "You go there and do what you love to do. You'll learn everything there is about the world to learn, you'll find friends that'll love your nerdy ramblings" Light was referring to all the times he gave her a speech about anything he found out and found interesting. And even though Light didn't know or understood what he talked about, she listened. Even encouraged him to keep talking. "You'll finish your school there, climb up the ranks and become humanities leader."
Hope chuckled nervously. She had some real high and impossible expectations for him. "Don't say this, Light, you know none of this will happen."
"Not with that attitude, it won't." Said Light and flicked his forehead. Hope was so used to this gesture that it barely even hurt anymore, but he still acted overly dramatic when she did it, pretending that it did hurt. "I won't let you throw away your potential. I don't want to be the reason for that, you hear me?" But his mood dropped very fast again. On one hand he wanted to join the Academy, but on the other he didn't want to leave New Bodhum. He didn't want to leave Lightning. He probably should've never voiced out his dreams to join the Academy, since Lightning did brushed off every other plan of his, insisting to stick to his dream that was plan A. "Hey." Hope came back to reality when Light flicked his forehead again. "Stop moping around. We can talk everyday, it's like you never left."
Hope only hummed. It would never be the same, except if he did stay here. But Light wouldn't let him throw away this opportunity. No, instead he should work hard to make her proud of him. The young man pulled her back into a hug and leaned his head atop hers. As he breathed in her flowery scent, he felt her arms wrapping around his neck again and one hand running through his hair at the back of his head. His heart thumped painfully fast in his chest. "I love you, Light." He whispered in her ear, so only she's able to hear it. Light stiffened against him as he said that. Almost as if this was the first time he confessed his love to her.
Lightning breathed out a little sigh. "Hope…" But he didn't want to hear it. Whether it was another lecture or a rejection, he didn't want to leave on bad terms with Light.
He quickly let go of her and stepped back, out of her reach. "Well…I'll see you guys around." Hope took a last look at his friends. "I'll come visit as often as possible!" Serah was still crying uncontrollably, while Snow hugged her close and gave him a thumbs up. And Lightning smiled. Well it was a little smile, but Hope knew it was the special one she only reserved for him. Waving one last time, he eventually climbed into his fathers car and they flew off to Hopes new future.