Just a cute little fluff piece for my awesome couple Snow/Hope!

Review!

Under The Stars

Hope shivered and sighed. He slowly sat up and ran his hand through his hair. He stared at the blazing fire intently. They only kept this fire going because Vanille didn't want "monsters" coming for her in the night. It was strange since someone born on Gran Pulse would be afraid of imaginary creatures but can handle real ones like the Adamantortoise.

Luckily, Lightning and Fang had found a raised plateau where they could rest for the night. It was very hard to climb up but that meant that it would be hard for the wildlife too. Vanille slipped getting up it so Hope had grabbed onto her before she fell to her death. Hope strained his arm to lift her up but he still did it. His shoulder hurt terribly and cure wasn't doing a thing for it. He didn't want to tell anyone because he didn't want to be more of a burden than he already was.

Hope looked each of his companions over. First he looked at Lightning. She was sleeping up against a small rock in a sitting position. Her gunblade was held on her lap and she snored quietly. Hope gazed at Sazh who was snoring up a storm. He was lying on his back throwing snores into the air every now and then. Vanille was sleeping next to Fang who had her arm around Vanille's shoulders. Finally, Hope looked at Snow.

Hope marveled at the form before him. His hat was a makeshift pillow so his blonde hair was sprawled across the grass and he was sleeping on his side so Hope could see his handsome face. Even though Snow could be an idiot at numerous times Hope had a special place for him in his heart. Hope wondered whether this was because they were both l'cie but he never knew why every time Snow was around his heart would race. It didn't make any sense at all. Hope thought he was going crazy and the whole saving the world thing was messing up his judgment.

Hope knew he wasn't going to get much sleep with this much pain so he chose to quietly stand up and sit on the edge of the plateau. He started getting up but his arm gave him a jolt of pain and Hope involuntarily yelped. He covered his mouth with his good hand and froze. He surveyed the campground and was relieved to see everyone was still asleep.

He slowly staggered over to the edge and caught himself before he fell off. He soon realized that sitting was a lot easier than standing since he fell flat on his butt once he reached his destination. With the glow of the fire behind him, Hope stared in wondered at the rest of the Archylte Steppe. Many of the monstrous creatures were gently sleeping on the grass below them. Even the Adamantortoise and Adamantoise were sleeping away the night. Of course this was when the nocturnal creatures came out the play but they stayed strangely away from Hope and the others.

Hope looked up and gasped. The stars were brilliantly illuminated and Cocoon was also very bright in the sky. Hope smiled and closed his eyes. He felt the night breeze brush against his arms and it caused goose bumps to surface. He let out a breath and relaxed. He hung his legs happily over the edge and hit his heels up against it.

Hope heard a sound and it caused him to quickly turn his head in turn giving him a sharp pain in his shoulder. He cried in pain and turned back around. He clutched his right shoulder and lowered his head. His shoulder hurt ridiculously and it was bringing Hope to the verge of tears. He sucked them in every time they tried to escape but he couldn't hold them in this time.

He let the tears roll down his cheeks and he sobbed silently. His shoulder throbbed menacingly and Hope cried even more. He sucked in a breath and straightened up. He tried wiping away the tears but he didn't want to take his hand away from his shoulder. He let the tears stay there and the night breeze caused his hot tears to feel like icicles trapped against his skin.

He heard footsteps but ignored them. His mind was too focused on the pain erupting from his right side. The footsteps grew closer and closer until they stopped. Hope let more tears grace his cheeks and finally noticed someone sitting next to him on the left. He turned his head and gasped.

Snow was staring at him with his bright sapphire eyes. Concern was obvious within his eyes and Hope had to look away before his heart started beating fast.

No…don't look at me. Hope thought. Not like this…

"H…Hope?" Snow whispered.

"What do you want, Snow?" Hope croaked out.

Snow had woken up to Hope's first cry of pain but he kept his eyes closed. Once Hope turned his back Snow snapped his eyes open. He sat up and watched the silverette sit on the edge of the plateau. Snow accidentally hit a chunk of wood and it fell into the fire causing it to crackle. He heard Hope cry out again and that was when Snow had sprung into action.

"Are you alright?" He asked ignoring the harshness in Hope's voice.

"Fine," Hope snapped.

Snow gently placed his hand on Hope's shoulder causing the younger man to shutter. "Hope, why are you crying?"

"I'm crying because my shoulder hurts lik—" Hope mentally cursed his brain. "Never mind,"

"Does your shoulder hurt?"

Hope shook his head and immediately regretted it. He winced and dropped his head into his lap.

"What happened, Hope?" Snow asked desperate for an answer.

Hope choked back some tears and gulped a huge breath of air. "I hurt it when I caught Vanille."

"And you didn't bother telling any of us?" Snow asked staring Hope down.

"I'm already weak as it is…" Hope trailed off not wanting to meet Snow's gaze.

"You're not weak Hope." Snow growled quietly. "You're taking all of this more maturely than us and we're almost twice your age! Don't worry; your hero's got your back."

Hope didn't reply. He slowly started taking his hand away from his shoulder but put it back on when an intense pain splashed against his skin. He started breathing heavily and his hands shook.

"Did you use cure?" Snow whispered.

"Of course I used cure." Hope sighed. "It didn't do anything."

Snow nervously ran his hand through his hatless hair. He scooted a bit away from the edge and sat cross-legged facing Hope. He gently slid his hands around Hope's chest and lifted. Hope started saying that the pain would kill him but was surprised when he only felt a tingle. Snow sat the smaller man in his lap so now the boy was staring down at him.

Snow moved his hands away and stared up at Hope. His eyes were puffy and red and his face was streaked with tears. He tried his best to look away but couldn't. His hand was still clutching his shoulder and it was clear he wasn't going to let go.

Snow softly touched Hope's cheek and was surprised when Hope didn't pull away. Maybe he couldn't and that was probably also why he didn't jump off of Snow's lap. Snow felt discouraged and felt like he was taking advantage of Hope. He looked down at Hope's pants and then back up at the silverette. While Snow was thinking Hope had closed his eyes. He was shaking either from pain or fright. Snow didn't know.

Snow took his gloves off and placed them on the ground beside him. With his thumb, Snow brushed away the tears glistening against Hope's cheeks. Hope shivered but didn't jerk away. He felt his heart thumping against his chest and was worried Snow might hear. He was afraid of what Snow might think seeing him like this, vulnerable and fragile. Hope let out a shaky breath and realized Snow had stopped wiping the tears away.

He slowly opened his eyes and green met blue. Snow looked away and stared at Hope's shoulder. He gently placed his hand over the one Hope was holding to his shoulder. Hope gulped and didn't move. Snow, ever so slowly, started pulling Hope's hand away. Hope strained to keep his hand in place but soon gave up.

Snow brought down Hope's hand and carefully pulled Hope's orange jacket off. Hope didn't fight him off and let him. Hope, now in his black shirt, looked down at Snow. He looked him up and down. He flexed his fingers and felt that same pain again. He started bringing his hand up to hold his shoulder but Snow stopped him. Snow shook his head and brought his own hand up to Hope's shoulder.

He brought up the sleeve to reveal Hope's pale shoulder with a faint purple ring around it. Snow leaned up, careful not to hit Hope, and pressed his lips to the skin. Hope gasped and felt goose bumps form on his skin. He shivered and was taken aback by how soothing it felt.

Snow kissed every spot on Hope's shoulder and Hope felt the softness of Snow's lips arousing. His breathing grew heavy again but not because of the pain that had magically disappeared. Snow pulled Hope closer and wrapped his arms around the smaller man's waist. Hope placed his hands on Snow's broad shoulders.

Snow continued kissing Hope's injured shoulder with so much care that it even freaked himself out. Snow kissed up Hope's neck and could feel Hope's breath against his own neck. Snow kissed Hope's previously soaked cheek and reached Hope's mouth.

He paused not knowing whether he should do this. He saw Hope's lips quiver and knew he couldn't just stop now. He loved Hope. He thought he loved Serah but now that he's met Hope…it's all changed. He only liked Serah and he loves Hope now. He'll still save her because she's very dear to him but he'd have to break the engagement.

To him, Hope was what made him strong. Someone once told him that someone special will give him the strength to do the impossible but he'd have to find that person on his own. Hope's that person. With just his presence Hope makes Snow feel like he can do anything. He loves Hope. He loves him…

Snow closed the gap between their lips and enveloped Hope in a passionate kiss. Hope gripped Snow's shoulders tightly and kissed back. He whimpered causing Snow to hesitate. Did he hurt him? Snow was about to pull back but was stopped by Hope wrapping one arm around his neck and pulled him closer. Snow, choosing that as an a-ok, traced the contours of Hope's back with his hand and used the other to entangle his fingers in Hope's hair.

Snow finally pulled away and stared up into Hope's lusciously peaceful blue-green eyes. Hope, panting, smiled at Snow who returned it. They stayed there for a moment just staring at each other. The chirps of the various bugs, Sazh's snores, and the crackling of the fire were the only things heard in that serene moment.

"Are you alright, Hope?" Snow asked breaking the silence.

Hope chuckled slightly. "I think it's obvious that I'm alright."

Snow smiled and was about to take Hope off of him but Hope stopped him. "Um…S-Snow? Can we stay like this for a bit longer?"

Snow nodded silently. Hope wrapped both arms around Snow's neck, ignoring the pain. He placed his head in the soft curve of Snow's neck and breathed in Snow's scent. Snow raised his hands on Hope's back and they were now on his shoulder blades. He lightly pressed his forehead up against Hope's injured shoulder.

"Serah…" Hope breathed against Snow's neck. "What about her?"

Snow remained silent for a minute and then replied, "I thought I loved her. I thought she was my soul mate. Then, I met you…"

Snow trailed off and Hope tightened his grip on Snow's neck. He cringed in pain slightly but it was enough for Snow to notice. Snow started rubbing his forehead side to side against Hope's shoulder and the latter shuttered. The sensation eased the pain and Hope sighed.

"Hope," Snow paused. "I love you."

Hope's breath caught in his throat. He found himself a loss for words and bit back tears. He didn't even know if it was because of pain or happiness. He decided for happiness and let his tears roll down his cheeks again. It dampened the skin against Snow's neck and Snow quickly pulled Hope away so he could look at him.

"H-Hope?" Snow stuttered. "I'm…sorry. I didn't—"

"I love you too." Hope cried. His eyes were unnaturally bright underneath Cocoon's artificial light.

Snow smiled and softly kissed Hope again. Hope moaned and dug his hands through Snow's blonde hair. For some reason the pain had disappeared completely. In that moment, Hope felt absolute bliss. Everything seemed right. Everything seemed so clear now. Hope had loved Snow all along. That strange feeling he got when he was there and when he wasn't was…love.

I didn't know where to end it so I chose right here!

Ugh, it was so hard to write this because I was squealing too much! I guess if I had the same reaction I want my readers to have then it might be an awesome story!

Hope you loved it!

LostInRoses