[FFXIII-2] Anonymous (Part4b) 8811words

[shamera]

Title: Anonymous
Fandom: Final Fantasy XIII-2
Character/Pairing(s): ...Hope and IT'S A SECRET
Rating: PG
Warning: Wordy. I just rewrote Hope's life, part the third.
Summary: Hope's got a secret admirer who only leaves presents on Valentine's Day.



He expected pain: perhaps something sharp before a numbing sensation, or a blossoming pain that would render him unable to breathe within moments. Hope had admitted anticipating various types of pain stemming from his experiences back when he had been l’Cie, of various gunfire that would slip through his shields to strike vulnerable flesh. He thought that a single bullet wound shouldn’t hurt as much as, say, claws ripping up skin and muscle, or pressure that broke bones. As it stood, Hope had fully expected that his words and actions would lead to pain, and possibly mortal peril.

What he had not expected was the harrowing breeze as Noel tossed his sword the moment the field went down, and for the absolute absence of pain.

The pressure on his back disappeared, but it was the look of surprise in Noel’s eyes which alerted Hope to something amiss.

Hope turned sharply where he stood, expecting to see Alyssa on the ground, knocked unconscious or perhaps bleeding heavily from a wound which might later be repaired back at the Academy. Instead the space behind him was empty, silent and still as if she had never been there. There was no evidence of a dropped gun, or even that another living person was there. Noel’s footfalls were near silent as he approached, quick and tense from the situation even as the hunter went to collect his shortsword, which had clattered to the ground after it knocked into a console and dented the metal.

Hope leaned back against the terminal, feeling the steel dig uncomfortably against his spine, and processed this information in his head, expression blank.

“Where did she go?” Noel asked, still terse and cautious.

Hope just shook his head in response as the other turned his attention toward him.

“It doesn’t matter.” Noel told himself as Hope elected to stay quiet. “We’re getting out of here.”

—

The other guards and engineers were tense when they were called back, confirming that there was not much damage to Augusta Tower; either the intruder hadn’t the time to inflict worse or it had all been a ruse to lure them out here. They were grateful that Director Estheim hadn’t been hurt but skeptical when Noel insisted that the would-be assassin was still at large.

“That can’t be.” A middle-aged female engineer insisted, pushing up large wire-framed glasses higher up her nose. She was frowning at a tablet in her hands, the glowing screen tinting her skin a pale green. “There are no signs of life other than us here. If anyone had snuck in at all, the Tower would at least record something — heat signatures, motion detectors, even an abnormal amount of oxygen usage within certain floors.”

In fact, according to the monitors, there hadn’t been signs of anyone other than their group in the Tower all day.

So unless Alyssa was invisible, weightless, heatless, and possessed an ability which allowed her to cease breathing, she was not in the Tower. It was worrisome, and Hope resolved to check in with the guards once they were back at the Academy. The confused escort with him now couldn’t possibly have known how she broke out of custody.

Hope should have alerted security the moment Alyssa was gone. He should have used Augusta Tower to contract Academia the moment Alyssa appeared, even. It wasn’t that he didn’t understand the scope of treason Alyssa committed, potentially against all of humanity, and he had certainly stepped back and allowed her to be arrested the first time when there had been no proof of her crimes other than intent and the words of a time traveller.

He acknowledged his lack of action as his own weakness; his own sentiment. He had worked alongside Alyssa for so many years, and had spent countless hours together. Hope tried to turn his belief in people into a strength, into an icon that everyone could trust that promoted the idea that through a common interest and a common goal, humanity could work together and achieve things greater than what the fal’Cie could provide.

If Alyssa was guilty of treason against humanity, then Hope wasn’t entirely blameless either. He had always known of her ambitions, of her willingness to do whatever it took to achieve them, and of her faults. He had the same faults buried within himself, and thus had looked the other way in those rare moments Alyssa’s expressions blanked and her smile became much too false.

(Or had he ever noticed them in the first place? Had he just ignored that part of her, or the rest if her as well?)

Hope had worked hard the past three days to push the questions and self-doubt from his mind. He had other things, more important things, to focus on.

“It doesn’t matter,” Noel repeated, interrupting two of the engineers who had devolved to debating over the impossibility for Augusta Tower to be infiltrated in the first place, of whether perhaps it was the work of some super-hacker (who definitely needed to be found and hired by the Academy) or whether it would be their first encounter with a paradox. He was frowning even as he stood closer to Hope, arms at his side and looking deceptively calm. “If there’s no emergency here, then it’s time to head back to Academia.”

Hope felt more than saw Noel’s fingers twitch against the very edge of his sleeve, an action which shook away any protest he might have had.

“He’s right.” Hope agreed pleasantly, feeling no need to share the phantom feel of a gun pressed against his back. All the others knew was that someone else had been there, but was now gone. A full report would be made once he got back, but until then Hope was sure that Alyssa wouldn’t… that she would <i>strike</i> again. “If there is a danger here rather than a mere intruder on the premises, then it may be best to send for reinforcements. Better to be safe than sorry.”

The guards looked up approvingly, and even the engineers seemed to quiet after that, actually thinking about the actual threat of danger for once. Hope gave them a few moments to digest this thought before suggesting that they move back toward the Academy immediately.

There was no need to worry anyone further, not when Noel was obviously tense and on high alert already.

Hope resolved to work on a more detailed report as they made their way back to Academia, somehow more subdued than they had been been on the way out.

—

The rest of the prophesied day was a rush of paperwork, interviews, meetings with important people, and all the while Hope was surrounded by a mire of both soldiers and a rather irate Noel. There were no more attempts on his life, although whether it was because Alyssa’s attempt had been the one Snow had been trying to warn him about or because the Academy dealt rather promptly with any threats in his proximity, Hope couldn’t draw a solid conclusion.

“Mr. Estheim,” a young man with wide-eyes and a somewhat awed expression who continuously wiped his palms on the edge of his Academy uniform nervously, stammered as Hope looked in his direction. It was late in the evening already, and the majority of scientists had left for their homes. Hope smiled encouragingly to the other even as he tried to remember the name of the other scientist. “Sorry for the interruption. I, uh. We just— we needed a confirmation on your report on what happened earlier today?”

It was not the first time his report had been called upon, and Hope felt his smile strain. He didn’t know if it was because security still hadn’t figured out how Alyssa managed to escape them, but no one had told him anything on the matter when he asked (discretely, of course).

“Of course.” He agreed easily, stepping away from the computer terminal he had been researching on. He still had too much to catch up on, and until the day was over, the Academy’s military had asked him to stay within premises to make their jobs just a little easier.

Noel, who had dragged up a seat while waiting since he was now far too used to Hope’s habit of researching hours at a time without noticing anything else about his surroundings, watched their interactions closely.

The young scientist (Blunt? Brune? Hope remembered an earlier introduction, but couldn’t make out the scientist’s excited words which stumbled one upon another) looked relieved as he held up a datapad with Hope’s report on it. “You said that you encountered a colleague of yours — Alyssa Zaidelle. And I’m afraid, uh.”

Hope stood straighter as the other scientist stammered nervously. Maybe now he was going to get answers after all.

“My belief is that you encountered a paradox in Augusta Tower.” The scientist blurted out, and then turned pink slightly before he continued. “A-ah, I mean it’s a paradox that resolved itself, or sorted itself out, or something like that… It’s just that— I’m afraid we don’t have an Alyssa Zaidelle in our system. Not that anyone doubts your story, since I kind of think that name sounds familiar, but if it really is a resolved paradox, then things will fix itself in time.”

Hope’s breath caught.

What Alyssa had said, about this timeline being a paradox…

“...I just thought you’d like to know.” The other scientist finished off quietly, looking both sheepish and a small amount of miserable at having to tell Hope this. “There are a few people questioning the validity of your statement, since there’s no record of Miss Zaidelle, but that should be straightened out soon.”

“Her name might be on the memorial at Bresha.” Noel spoke up, and Hope turned his head to see the hunter looking thoughtful. “The first time I met her, she was convinced that she died.”

“Then I’ll check the list of names there.” The other scientist looked relieved, and made a polite acknowledgement before hurrying away.

Alyssa knew (of course she knew) that she shouldn’t have existed in this timeline.

Hope wondered if he would eventually fade away as well.

But how was it that he remembered her so clearly while it seemed that no one else in this time period did? Noel did, of course, but he was one who travelled through time. Hope was given to understand that Noel had seen many different timelines, and somehow remembered all of them (perhaps due to a clause of travelling through time. After all, how effective would someone who was trying to change time be if he or she couldn’t remember what had happened before?) , so it was Hope who was the anomaly in this situation.

An anomaly he was glad for. As much as he didn’t currently want to think upon her actions, he didn’t want to forget that Alyssa existed, either.

He twisted his gloved fingers together in front of his stomach in a childish gesture he used to employ while in deep thought, brows furrowed as he tried to understand.

If what Alyssa said was correct, then there was no knowing what could and could not exist in this timeline soon. She disappeared and took all memory of her existence with her with the exception of from Noel and his own mind, and yet the accomplishments she helped to create were not gone… were they? Perhaps all her research would be credited to other people. Perhaps her research would also slowly fade away with her. If that was the case, then Hope would have to work hard in order to record everything Alyssa managed to discover.

(It seemed callous, but it may be that the best thing Hope could do for Alyssa’s memory was to ensure her work not be forgotten. There was also the chance that Hope might disappear as well, just as she did. It would make sense as he was the only one outside of Noel to remember her still, and he wondered if possessions were all to disappear as well. Perhaps he could give his research to Noel to keep safe?)

“You’re overthinking things.”

Darkened, calloused fingers pulled his hands apart carefully, pulling Hope’s attention to just how tightly he had been twisting his own fingers together. Noel, who had walked over to where Hope had been standing, looked quite calm in comparison and Hope wondered if it would be impolite to ask now if the hunter was willing to take Hope’s research, before anything could happen to it.

“There is no overthinking the matter.” Hope denied, pushing the previous thought away. He pulled himself from Noel’s touch, and looked away. His mother would have sighed in exasperation at his rudeness, but Hope had no time for niceties right now. But still… he paused briefly at the look on Noel’s face when he glanced back. “...I apologize. There’s still far too much work to be done tonight.”

He couldn’t depend on Noel’s warmth or his closeness. Alyssa had been the same, although for some reason Hope had never been as susceptible to her wide smiles as he was to the look of concern being directed at him right now. Rygdea, Hope thought, would have laughed at him to know that little tidbit.

Except Rygdea was long dead. The people Hope had grown up with were all long gone, and the ones that remained had to take his attention now. He couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by Alyssa’s disappearance, by her non-existence, just as he couldn’t allow himself to be distracted by Noel’s concern. Hope’s one constant now had to be his work. Alyssa had not succeeded in destroying it, but if the timeline changed any further many things might still be erased anyway, and he couldn’t allow that to happen.

Hope turned back to the computer terminal, this time pulling up blank schematics rather than research. If he were to disappear, then he had to record everything relevant before that happened. Both his own research and Alyssa’s, and there might be a limited time frame to work with.

Before he forgot her, or before he would be forgotten as well.

“You should get some rest.” Hope told the hunter softly, willing a subject change. He didn’t turn his attention away from the holographic monitor, although he could feel the other’s warmth from just a step away.

Noel didn’t respond for a long moment, and it felt like the faint whirring of computers was the loudest thing Hope had ever heard.

“I’ll stay.” The brunet finally decided.

Hope frowned. “There’s no danger here, and I won’t be leaving.”

“I’ll stay.” Noel repeated, and that was that.

—

The sunrise from the top of the Academy was a spectacular sight.

But far too cold to be properly comfortable, Hope found out quickly. While it had been a good idea to come out and finally watch the sunrise as opposed to being stuck inside the past three days (the trip to Augusta Tower was not one he counted as going <i>outside</i>, per say, seeing as they travelled in an armored vehicle and then barely managed to spend seconds in the open air before they were in an Academy-controlled building once more), this time it was Hope who had forgotten to take into account that it was still early spring, and thus the pre-dawn air would be several degrees colder than pleasant.

He spent the entirety of the previous evening copying down the work he had brought with him into multiple formats, as well as recording everything he could remember of Alyssa’s magnitude of research. It wasn’t until the small hours of the morning when Hope finalized what he could and requested for a back-up copy to be made from the newest material created by Academy scientists, one that was fiercely resilient to damage and could store enormous amounts of data per square inch.

It was the smell of coffee that alerted him to Noel’s presence, seeing as the hunter was good at keeping his footsteps silent. Hope looked away from the sunrise, datapad slack within the grasp of cold fingers as Noel sat down next to him and handed him a steaming cup of dark coffee, keeping a much lighter colored cup of liquid for himself.

“So I was just told that you really shouldn’t be having a third cup this early in the morning.” The hunter commented lightly as Hope reached for the coffee gratefully. “And they refused to do more than two shots of expresso per cup.”

“That’s fine.” Hope said blithely, mentally reminding himself to go to different people for coffee on different days to make himself seem less of a caffeine addict to those around the Academy. “Let’s say this is a celebration.”

And not mention the fact that he barely scrapped two hours of sleep in front of his desk while waiting for the computer to finish several calculations.

“Oh?” Noel asked, hands around his own steaming cup of tea. “Is that what this is?”

“Four days since they left.” Hope told him, not having to specify who ‘they’ were. Snow and Serah hadn’t sent word back yet, and it was easy to see how antsy Noel was about that, but Hope was used to waiting a very long time for those important to him to get back to him. “It appears Snow was wrong, after all.”

“And here I thought celebrations called for more than drinks out in the cold.” Noel joked, and Hope smiled at that. The hunter nudged him with an elbow after Hope took a long sip of his coffee. “Is it too soon to take that vacation day?”

Hope blinked and made a questioning noise.

“That walk around the city.” Noel explained. “You said it yourself: it’s day four now. No reason to stay in the whole day.”

He could have easily protested. Hope had far too much work, especially now, to be spending time doing what could be considered as absolutely nothing. The frivolity of just wasting away the hours walking about and getting nothing accomplished felt horrendous to him; repulsive, almost, to be idling away the precious time left before the end of the world.

Instead, Hope said, “I’d have to let people know. And we’d have to be back before three.”

Noel’s responding grin was brighter than anything he’d seen in the past three days, easing a bit a tension that Hope hadn’t known he had wound up within himself. Maybe that had been the correct answer after all.

“That’s plenty of time.” The hunter enthused. “We could get going now.”

“Now?” Hope echoed, wide-eyed. “Noel, it’s dawn.”

“Well, you can finish your coffee.” Noel conceded generously. “And call up those people you need to talk to first. I know better than to just spirit you away like that; everyone here would think you’d been kidnapped.”

Hope hummed quietly in a vague agreement, bringing the warmth of the coffee up to his face to breathe in the steam. He withdrew his gaze from the other to direction his attention to the sunrise, the light brightening the sky of Academia and the swirls of color which were quickly fading to a pale blue. There were clouds gathered on the horizon, diluting the color to an almost grey and indicating that it might rain later on.

He thought about spending the day away from his work and about his revelations the night prior. It would take a while before the datachip he requested would be ready, and until then there was nothing urgent for him to attend to.

Nothing, that is, except to reveal his thoughts to Noel and beg a favor.

“Alright.” Hope agreed, but then reached out a hand before Noel could get up to prepare for the coming day, clasping onto the hunter’s elbow and halting his movement. “Noel. I need to ask. You’ve visited other timelines, where I am… different, correct?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say different.” Noel’s answer was nonchalant, accompanied by a shrug and a wry smile before he noticed Hope’s more serious expression. “You’ve always been the same. Why, what’s going on?”

“Nevertheless,” Hope continued, ignoring that question for the moment, “Those were timelines which I always theorized would have eventually faded away due to them being paradoxes. In the end, only one true timeline emerges. That must mean there existed different versions of different people despite no one remembering such events coming to pass. Very few people these memories, and if I’m correct, that number amounts to those who are chosen to travel through time.”

“Well, I guess so.” Noel frowned, although he didn’t shake off Hope’s grip. “I never really thought about it. Guess it never came up between me and Serah.”

“According to the Academy database I accessed last night, Alyssa Zaidelle was never an employee. In fact, she doesn’t exist on Academy databases. Further searches found her name as a victim of the Purge in Bodhum before the Fall of Cocoon, just as you predicted.” Hope took a breath, feeling the cold air rattle within his lungs as he braced himself to confirm what would not leave his thoughts. “They found her body along with several others underneath a collapsed building. She never walked away from the Purge, so she never grew up and never joined the Academy. No one remembers her, not even the computers she helped design.

“I don’t remember any other timeline than the one I live in right now. If I’ve done anything differently in any other timeline, I wouldn’t know it. But for some reason, Alyssa is still sharp in my mind. If she was the only paradox, then wouldn’t I forget her as well?”

He was an outlier in this scenario. There was only one conclusion which made sense.

“You don’t give yourself enough credit. Snow just barged in four days ago to tell you that your life is what guarantees a future for humanity, remember? You might just be more special than you think.” Noel didn’t sound worried about it at all, which nagged right below Hope’s skin.

“Maybe.” Hope agreed, although he wouldn’t have bet on it. He wasn’t about to argue with the other on that when he had other worries closer to the surface of his brain. “But so far I haven’t proven the most valuable in this situation. I believe what Snow needed in order to save the future was the research I may have gathered. It’s a rather conceited thought, I admit, to entertain the notion that it was somehow my research and mine alone which might alter the course of the future. In any event, the progress of this timeline is not something I’m willing to gamble upon and so I’d like to ask a favor from you.”

“You’re speaking in circles again, Hope.” Noel grumbled, although Hope counted it a success that he didn’t outright refuse. The brunet waited a moment, but when Hope didn’t continue, he added, “I’m going to say yes, but telling me what you want would be nice.”

“You’re the only one who retains the memories of all the timelines you’ve seen, which amount to far more than anything I could lay claim to. I don’t remember anything from erased timelines other than Alyssa’s existence, which only postulates a correlation between myself and her as of the moment, rather than any measure of significance you may have placed upon my person. She theorized that the changes caused by the correction of this timeline’s paradox is unquantifiable, and therefore it stands to reason that the entire world might be different before the changes are through. To imagine her disappearance as the only alteration may prove to be folly.”

Noel frowned, and then poked Hope rather hard in the ribs with his free hand, making the scientist yelp in a manner unbefitting of his current celebrity status and nearly dropping the rest of his coffee. “That’s not telling me what you want.”

Hope took half a moment to sulk, drawing back to rub at the stinging spot. It seemed like Noel was going to continue that verbal promise of jabbing each time Hope got lost within his own thoughts and vernacular.

“I need you to take the most valuable thing I can offer you.” Hope told him as plainly as possible, watching as Noel’s blue gaze sharpened upon him. “Everything I know.”

“I don’t know if you’ve noticed,” the brunet’s tone was dubious, “but I’m not sure that’s something I can just take from you.”

Hope felt his lips quirk upwards unwittingly as he lowered his nearly empty cup of coffee down towards his lap “It’s a far simpler process than what you may be imagining. I’ve arranged for my research to be copied onto a storage drive. It’ll be like… a small trinket. I’m only asking that you take it with you when you leave so that should my circumstances change in a way that erases the data I’ve gathered, then at least it will exist with you.”

It was a large gambit to make, assuming that whatever Noel held on to would be safe from the corrections of the timeline. Alyssa’s very existence within the Academy, which she had a huge influence on, had been written out of history. Hope might have thought himself delusional had Noel not very casually corroborated his memory of her. It might very well be a back-up drive would be erased by the timeline correcting itself as well.

The heat of Noel’s stare prompted Hope to look away, wondering how he could possibly explain better.

“Are you…?” The hunter paused in his line of inquiry and took a sharp breath as understanding dawned. “You think that because Alyssa disappeared, you might disappear too? That’s not going to happen.”

“It’s not about that.” Hope insisted. “Whether the idea proves true or false, the erasure of all my research, which coincides alongside Alyssa’s research, may very well prove the same conclusion as Snow’s prediction for my assassination; yet there is no sure method to preserve the gathered data, so I’m turning to you on this matter.”

“You’re not going to disappear.” Noel repeated, more firmly than before.

Hope let out a breath. Obviously, the younger man wasn’t going to let go of the topic. “You can’t be certain of that.”

“I can. I’m not going to let that happen.”

The statement was frank and for some reason the words startled Hope. His breath felt caught in his throat although he couldn’t confirm the exact reason for that. His own reaction made no sense, seeing as it was a reiteration for the statements that Noel had said over and over again the past several days regarding the outcome of the oncoming assassination attempts. When Noel said it like that… well, Hope didn’t understand why, but there was a small part that believed him no matter how unreasonable that seemed.

Hope curled his fingers tighter around the cup of coffee, ducking his head in an attempt to hide a smile.

“Alright.” He agreed, this time believing it. The connection between him and Alyssa was still there, yet for that moment he could ignore the facts. “But I’d feel better knowing you had the information.”

“Fine.” Noel agreed reluctantly. “If it’ll make you feel any better. But you know… you’re not exactly the type of person anyone can forget.”

Alyssa wasn’t the forgettable type either, yet they might currently be the only ones to remember her existence. Hope only nodded, knowing by now that any sort of disagreement would be fiercely argued by the other. Instead, he reached with a hand to pick up a discarded datapad and say, “You’re more unforgettable than I am, Noel. Now… where did you want to go today?”

—

Hope ended up foregoing the jacket of his Academy uniform, along with a greater number of pouches than he felt comfortable with. He also left off the distinctive Academy-colors tie, although he refused to undo the top of his button-up shirt.

“We could switch clothes.” Noel offered, to which Hope very adamantly refused. After a short deliberation, the answer came from the very same scientist from the night before who asked a confirmation for Alyssa’s existence. It was the other researcher who overheard Hope and Noel’s exchange, and very nervously, entirely awe-stricken, offered his sweater to the former Director once he heard of their little day trip.

“It’s not much,” the scientist (Bryne. That must have been his name) stammered.

“Are you sure?” Hope asked instead, tone gentle as the other man turned a bright red. The sweater was a dark green knit, fashion similar to people who shopped around the city. The yarn was soft and obviously worn in.

The researcher nodded quickly, eyes darting over to Noel standing behind Hope just for a moment. Hope couldn’t see the hunter’s expression, but whatever it was, it must have convinced Bryne to leave as soon as possible with barely a stammered goodbye for politeness.

“It’ll do.” Noel said after a bit of speculation after Hope pulled on the sweater, reminding himself to thank Bryne profusely for helping with such a ridiculous thing. Really, he would have to actually make a point of shopping for clothes in the next few hours, even if merely in passing.

“So you wouldn’t be able to find me in a crowd?” Hope joked, gloved hands smoothing down the dark green yarn.

“I never said it would work miracles.”

The scientist chuckled softly under his breath, taking amusement in Noel’s indignant expression. He wondered if he should respond that Noel was the type of person easily found in a crowd as well, even if he wore something different than his distinctive blue outfit. It was the way he carried himself, the way he stood and walked with that confident grace. It was the manner in which Noel tended to gesticulate and the enthusiasm the younger man brought to a room, practically lighting a place up.

They left through the front doors without anyone giving them a second notice, which Hope marvelled at. Perhaps the scrutiny of the past several days had gotten to him, but he was tired of the double-takes and the careful monitoring from others. It had been flattering at first that people took his safety so seriously (and wasn’t it a strange thought from nearly four hundred years and just a few weeks ago for him?), but that novelty wore off fast.

Noel, it seemed, had overestimated the amount of attention they would draw. Without the Academy uniform and at that early hour in the day, very few people paid them any attention at all. Most were in a hurry and on their way in such a manner ope was fairly certain a Behemoth might have snuck past them unnoticed if said Behemoth was quiet and minded its own business. Others seem more drawn by the brightness of Noel’s clothing than any feature of Hope’s, squinting slightly before seemingly deciding that they had better things to pay attention to.

Overall, the streets weren’t as crowded as the few times Hope ventured out into the city, and Academia’s people much groggier and tunnel visioned in the morning. It seemed that a simple sweater really was all it took to fool them… or the times had finally come to a crux where people minded their own business.

Somehow, as strange and illogical as the former seemed, Hope doubted it was the latter reason.

“You really don’t have a destination?” Hope asked again as he lengthened his stride under the morning sunlight, enjoying the brief anonymity and fresh spring air. It wasn’t as cold as the day prior, which he was plenty grateful for.

Noel shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I would. It’s not exactly as if I know this city of yours all that well, either. This place can be a real maze. As long as we’re not looking for those Brain Blast stations around, we should be fine, though.”

Hope flushed, feeling rather foolish and flustered all of a sudden. For all their talk about getting out after the three days was up, he always imagined Noel would have a solid destination in mind since he didn’t. “You should have informed me. I would have made a plan for today.”

“Yeah, that’s why I didn’t.” Noel responded glibly, and then turned a youthful grin in Hope’s direction as they continued on, apparently without a destination in mind. “When’s the last time you just took things as they came? Let yourself get lost? Heck, when’s the last time something really surprised you?”

“You and Serah surprise me plenty.” Hope responded. “As did Snow’s appearance.”

“And Alyssa?” Noel’s question was quieter, but genuinely curious.

Hope hesitated. Did she…?

Yes. Alyssa had always managed to surprise him.

“She’s—” He paused, and cleared his throat slightly. “Was, an unorthodox person. I think she enjoyed defying people’s expectations of her.” Including his own. Not only a brilliant researcher and assistant, but entirely different than how he imagined her to be.  “She’s… atypical and extraordinary.”

That was something he could still say about her.

“So the unforgettable type.” Noel summed up rather succinctly. “That must be why you still remember her.”

Or it could be another reason entirely, but Hope fought that thought down even as he attempted a weak smile. “That could be it.”

Despite his intention, Noel seemed to pick up on his hesitance and slowed his steps. “You know, Hope, I’d be more worried about you forgetting Alyssa before I worry about people forgetting you. Without you, I don’t think we’d have this future at all. So it might be impossible for this place to exist without you. I’d be more worried about you forgetting…” The hunter gestured to the air a moment, “This place. Other people. Maybe even me!”

“That is highly unlikely.” Hope objected. “You and Serah, perhaps even Snow, have been immune to the changes in timelines so far. You’re one of the only ones who remember that there existed other times to begin with. If there’s anyone who would be unaffected by a paradox currently residing in this time, it would be you.”

“And here I was hoping you’d say that it was because I’m unforgettable as well.” Noel teased, leaning in for a brief moment but pulling back before Hope had the chance to be uncomfortable. The younger man was smiling, looking far more relaxed than he had been the previous few days. Perhaps it was because the prophesied assassination was over? Hope wasn’t sure.

“You are.” Hope confirmed with mild surprise. Who could possibly forget about a time traveller who dropped into their lives? Who not only changed the course of the future but also that of the past? To be able to rewrite history… He bit his lip, and then offered hesitantly, “Not just because you would be unaffected by changes in the timeline. By your definition, due to my ability to remember Alyssa, it’s extremely unlikely I’d be able to forget you.”

Noel had a type of charisma to him, Hope decided before, one that was rare and captivating and somehow casual at the same time. It wasn’t the type of charisma that people usually trained up for, but one that was natural and— and entirely unlike Hope.

“Not just, huh?” Noel grinned, but let the subject drop as they walked. “Alright. So where would the great Director Estheim like to visit in this great city, then?”

I don’t know. It was strange to admit that in his head, and so he said instead, “What about you? Weren’t you going to be the one to show me around?”

Noel shrugged, and then pointed to a shop in the distance. “What do people in a city do, anyway? What’s that shop supposed to be?”

Hope looked at the shop. “That… looks like it sells toys.”

It had been a long time since he had seen a toy store. The last time was back on Palumpolum, and the displays hadn’t been quite so extravagant or high-tech.

“Yeah? What about that one?”

“That’s…” Hope dragged the word out as he tried to connect the strange future font to words he actually knew. “Skin care? Fragrances. I’m sure they have both.”

“Really?” Noel seemed doubtful, and stopped walking. “Huh. She would have loved that.”

Hope stopped as well, smiling. “I take it you didn’t have perfume shops where you’re from.”

“We didn’t have shops.” Noel corrected, the nonchalance in his tone softening the actual words. “I get what they’re for. If you have something, you can sell it. Food, clothes, weapons… I just didn’t think anyone would sell smells. Or how to take care of your… skin?” The hunter shrugged. “It’s good to see stores like that around.”

“I suppose it may seem frivolous.” Hope agreed. “There’s quite a few novelty stores on this level. I heard there was a button store that’s made it over a century somewhere here.”

“A button store.” Noel didn’t look like he believed it for a moment, but then he laughed and raised a hand up to scratch at his forehead. “Of course. We should find it. Hey, what about that store?”

He pointed once more, and Hope turned to look.

“Ahh.” The words died in his throat for a moment before Hope swallowed heavily and blinked away the swell of uninvited emotion. Here was something he thought he left behind in the past, and… “That’s a florist shop.”

The windows were large and brightly lit, filled to bursting with various exotic flowers and potted plants with small cards and positive slogans scrawled across the paper, and even on the glass. The shop looked small and friendly, and the centerpiece of the window display was a large bouquet of red roses in a clear glass vase filled with what looked like circular water bubbles, wrapped in a red ribbon tied into a bow.

There was a thick white card at the base of the display, and printed on it in gold script was ‘For all occasions!’

“They even sell flowers?” Noel’s eyes were wide when Hope looked back at him, and there was a sneaking smile. “This I really need to see.”

They ended up heading in that direction, and Hope couldn’t honestly say that he remembered why he didn’t stop Noel or even say that perhaps they should go find that button shop first because wasn’t that more novel? What he did recall was the sound of bells when they pushed past the door and looking up to see an old fashioned gold painted bell at the top of the doorframe.

It was colder in the shop than it was outside in the spring air, but the chill was a pleasant one that smelled of flowers and a cool, dewy morning. There was soft music playing in the background, and no one behind the counter of the shop.

That didn’t stop Noel from leaning into the various displays all over the shop, some put out to be sold that day and others in refrigerated units scattered around the small store. There were potted plants hanging from the ceiling, and even more flowers still growing in lines along the walls. The store was bursting with color, and for some reason, Hope was still trying to calm his heart.

“This one,” Noel said, not even pointing anymore but rather actually sticking his head amongst the large and viciously red petals. “Looks like it can eat someone!”

Before Hope could ask him, polite of course, to leave those flowers alone, another voice beat him to it.

“The original species actually can!” Came a cheerful female voice. “The one we have in the store is a tamed breed of a mix from the Archylte Steppe. These don’t actually eat people. They just feed off a more protein enriched soil. Great for when you want to prank a colleague, though.”

There was a woman standing at the edge of the doorway which must have led to a back room, arms wrapped around a large potted plant that was just barely starting to sprout. She had dark skin, dirt smeared across her face, and her hair tied up behind a handkerchief, with circular glasses perched low on her nose and a wide smile on her face.

“How can I help you today?” She asked cheerfully as Noel pulled away from the once carnivorous plant quickly.

“We’re browsing.” Hope assured her, and froze as she turned her attention to him only to widen her eyes in recognition, drawing in a sharp breath.

For a moment, he thought she might exclaim something, but the moment passed quickly enough and she just smiled at him, although she still seemed a bit awed and her eyes were the slightest bit wetter than before.

“Of course.” She said quickly. She placed the plant down on the counter and wiped her hands on her apron before pulling off her glasses to wipe it against the edge of her shirt and putting it back on. “You take your time looking around. If you need anything, just give me a hollar. I’m Maggie and I’ll— I’ll just be in the back here, right? Yes. Of course. Right.”

She stammered a bit more before brushing off the streak of dirt on her face with her bare fingers, and then spun around and left the front room again, this time without her potted plant.

People in this era stammered a lot, Hope observed. Perhaps it was like a new slang.

Noel, on the other hand, seemed to find the exchange extremely funny even if he was making the effort to not actually laugh.

“Didn’t you want to look at the flowers?” Hope asked him instead, prompting the younger man to snicker and turn his attention back toward the display of wildflowers picked up from an area close to Oerba. The scientist breathed a silent sigh of relief as he wandered over toward the counter instead, feeling a little too.. smothered by the amount of flowers there. It was strangely jarring to be a in shop like this when he had never been in a florist shop before; when his encounter with flowers had mostly been receiving them through his life and ordering them for graves.

He leaned his back against the edge of the counter, feeling it dig sharply into his back, almost like how the gun had the day prior—

No.

“Hey, I’ve seen these before.” He could hear Noel murmur to himself at the front of the store where he was eying a white flower with large petals.

Hope turned away instead, and found his attention drawn to the spool on the table with several rolls of thick ribbon— more than one of them a dark, velvet red. Unbidden, he reached with gloved hands to rest his fingers on the thick velvet, feeling the slight give. Did all velvet ribbons feel like this? It was certainly… familiar.

Unforgettable, he thought, remember the conversation just a few minutes earlier. He could imagine the exact texture from underneath his gloves, even if it couldn’t be the same as the ribbons he had received growing up. It had been four hundred years, after all. Everything started long before the Fall—

“How much do they sell flowers for, anyway?” Noel’s voice was startlingly close, and Hope pulled back his hand, clenching his fingers to his palm a moment before forcing himself to relax. Now was not the time to think about that. He left all of that behind, after all.

“Pardon?” He asked instead, pulling his attention away from swirling thoughts. “Oh. I’m not sure. You’d have to ask someone who works here — Maggie.”

Noel had pulled a single single flower from the bucket he had been glancing at earlier, the flower a bright thing with large petals and a straight stem cleared of leaves. The younger man lowered the flower as he frowned slightly even as Hope clasped his hands together in front of himself. “You okay?”

“Of course.” His answer was immediate, and Hope smiled briefly before he looked away. “Let’s find—”

“You hollered?” The florist poked her head out from the back room, this time looking much more put together. Her face was entirely clean, although there was a hint of lipstick, and the handkerchief was gone from her hair to reveal dark curls gathered into a tight bun. She smiled at them, stepping out and brushing her hands down a much cleaner apron.

“I’ll wait outside, if you don’t mind.” Hope told Noel, glad that the other man only nodded rather absentmindedly. The scent of flowers and fresh plants felt sour in his throat, bringing up something that he didn’t think he could feel anymore.

The bell rang again as Hope stepped outside, and he walked to the end of the store where he wouldn’t see the bright and happy displays anymore before raising a hand to hide his face, breathing out heavily.

Was this… homesickness? He had been warned about that. Culture shock. He had steeled himself against that long before he even entered the Gravity Well, knowing well enough that once he did this, there was no going back. There would be no room for homesickness because there would be no ‘home’ to go back to. This new era was to be his temporary home, and afterward, 500AF if everything went according to plan.

He planned this. He was prepared.

Somehow, just the sight of red roses and red ribbons had unsettled him until he felt like his stomach would drop out from underneath him.

His one constant.

Maybe it hadn’t truly hit him until that moment. It hadn’t really registered, hadn’t imprinted itself in his thoughts that… that constant was gone. Along with everyone else he knew. There was nothing of his childhood left here, and nothing of the life he used to have. No one from his old life, which wasn’t very old at all. It was just a few weeks ago for him, maybe a month…

Valentine’s was over and done with, and the ring sitting on a chain necklace underneath his collar felt heavy around his neck.

He didn’t know how long he stood there, only that there was a vague gladness no one stepped to disturb him. He didn’t want anyone to ask if he was alright, didn’t want anyone to talk to him or even look in his direction at the moment. He just needed a few moments to gather his thoughts, that was all. To… to pick up the pieces of his past and arrange them in a way that didn’t push all the air out of his lungs.

It was the ringing of the door that prompted him to bring his hand down and force composure, because if nothing else Noel shouldn’t have to deal with his problems. Not when the younger man was certain to have his own issues to deal with, not when Noel had been left behind just as Hope had gotten used to, and what was worse was that Noel had been left behind by Snow and Serah because of him. He had to make up for this somehow.

He just—

“You know, she gave me the flower for free. Pretty sure that’s not how you’re supposed to run a business. Next time I walk around this place, I’m going to have to check if this place just really likes to give things away or if it’s because I went in with you.”

“That’s nice of her.” Hope said, and swallowed. His throat felt thick, but that couldn’t be right. He smiled instead. “Maybe she just likes you.”

“Heh.” Noel looked amused, twirling the single flower between his fingers. “You might have missed something back there, Hope.”

Hope chose not to answer that, instead asking, “Will we be looking for the button shop now?”

“Sounds good. But hold up a moment.” At that, Noel rummaged around in a pouch and pulled out a long piece of red ribbon with a grin, offering it to Hope. “She was going to tie up the flower with this, but I asked her not to do that. This is for you.”

Hope didn’t dare take the offered gift, and after a second, Noel’s grin slipped.

“Hey.” The younger man’s tone was soft; worried. Hope hadn’t even noticed that his gaze had slipped down to the red velvet ribbon wrapped loosely around Noel’s hand. To Hope, the last Valentine’s had been over half a year ago on a snowy day only days following his father’s funeral.

He had written a letter to Elida before he left. Written multiple letters. Each consisted of a different tone and different subject, and yet he hadn’t been able to bring himself to send any of them, instead deleting everything afterward. In the end, Hope had merely send her a ‘thank you’ and left it at that.

It wasn’t that he meant to be impersonal on purpose. It was just that everything else felt… too personal. Felt like it was too much, and despite how they had grown up together, he and Elida weren’t close anymore. Ten years had changed them far too much for Hope to ever call her up and ask about her day, or even pass anything beyond the polite greeting when necessary.

And now… now she must be long gone. Everyone Hope had known in his life up to the past month, they were all gone and he would never see them again. He had cut all ties in hopes that he might be able to rescue the friends lost to a greater destiny than what he was given, and there was no going back. He knew this. Of course he knew this. He spent half a year dealing with it before Hope even set foot in this era.

(But in his mind, he wondered if maybe someday, before he left, someone would walk up to him with a smile. A stranger he didn’t know, or an acquaintance, or a colleague… he never could envision their features. He imagined that they wouldn’t need to say anything in greeting, only offer a long piece of red ribbon for him to recognize who they were.)

He looked back up at Noel in shock.

“What’s wrong?” Noel’s worry was obvious, stepping forward as if Hope might bolt at any moment. But where would he go? Where could he possibly— “You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I—” He didn’t know what to say. It was a coincidence. Of course. Noel must have noticed him with the ribbon earlier, and coupled with the florist who was eager to help… that’s how this happened. He had to compose himself. “I suppose the events of the previous days have finally caught up with me.”

“Should we head back?” Noel asked, gaze intense. “We could leave this for another day.”

“No, it’s—” He shook his head, forcing himself to relax. The florist shop may have caught him off guard, but Hope was not one to take any longer than he had to getting over shocks like that. It’s a good thing, he told himself firmly, because that meant something like this wasn’t like to shock him again. He was prepared for it now, and he would learn how to deal with it. There were more important things than for him take… however long, to fully make himself comfortable in this era. “It’s fine. Thank you.”

He reached out to take the dangling ribbon from Noel, the younger man still staring at him suspiciously.

It was just a ribbon.

It really was, Hope thought, thumbing the material. Just a normal ribbon that could possibly be purchased at many different locations, the design simple enough to survive the passage of centuries. Lots of stores would have them. It was probably used in all kinds of things: wrapping presents, for decoration, for— for anything. It was just a ribbon, and Hope had put too much emphasis on how special it was in his mind. It wouldn’t happen again.

“You’re welcome.” Noel told him, somewhat muted. He seemed hesitant. “You know, I can’t say I knew Alyssa as well as you did, but she caught me by surprise, too.”

Hope frowned, fingers tightening around the ribbon.

“So if you need to talk about her and since no one else seems to remember, I’d listen. She’s unforgettable, right? Maybe you can tell me why some time.”

“Noel,” Hope interrupted the younger man, putting a hand on his arm to stop the nervous gesturing. The hunter looked a bit strange, maybe a tad flushed in the still cool morning air, and perhaps that was the reason he was saying that.

“Who’s Alyssa?”