This is a one shot fic of Hope's view of the end of the game as he watches everyone reunite with lost loved ones.

I don't find it too good but hey, what the heck. I typed it up so might as well put it somewhere.

Hope Estheim couldn't believe it. His brand was gone! He was finally free of being a l'Cie! Not all was so wonderful though. Only moments ago, he and the rest of the group had watched as Vanille and Fang completed their focus and crystallized, turning Cocoon into a crystal planet as a result. That planet was their encasement, their grave in a sense. Hope glared at it as a picture of Vanille smiling at him flashed through his mind. Why did they sacrifice themselves? People hated them for being l'Cie and they did that to try and save those same people! Hope grit his teeth, his eyes filling with tears. Before they could spill over, he caught himself and dropped his gaze to the ground, allowing his silvery locks to hide his face. Just as he finished wiping his eyes, he felt a hand on his shoulder and the presence of someone standing near him.

"You okay?" It was Lightning.

Hope nodded, still keeping his gaze on the ground. The ground that was Pulse, the planet they'd have to live on from then on. "The sun just hurt my eyes. It's too bright." Hope said, sounding angrier than he intended to. He felt Lightning hover next to him for a moment but then she removed her hand from his shoulder and took a few steps forward. Hope followed her, lifting his gaze to see what had gotten everyone's attention. There were two people approaching them but the way the light filtered in behind them blurred their features. Suddenly Hope's heart clenched in his chest and began to pound. The tallest silhouette, she looked like his mother. It had to be her! Who else could it possibly be? A smile spread across his face as he flashed his teeth in a moment of true happiness. He wasn't alone! His mother hadn't died from the fall she- "Serah!" Snow suddenly cut his thoughts off, dousing his hopes and his joy. The person he'd thought to be Nora was an unfamiliar girl that he couldn't have cared less about.

Hope watched solemnly as Sazh was reunited with his son and Snow held the strange girl named Serah close to him. It was a happy reunion, for everyone except him. He sighed and looked at the ground, finding that watching them made a pain prick at his heart.

"Don't worry." Lightning wrapped her arm around him and pulled him to her. "You still have us." Hope looked up at her, feeling strange. Not really strange. He was just experiencing an emotion he only associated with his parents. The feeling of being welcome. Being home, where he belonged. "All of us." Lightning smiled at him, the light catching her eyes in a way that made them sparkle and shone. When Hope tore his eyes from her for a moment, a look of shock on his face, he saw the others smiling. Smiling for him.