The New World (Final Fantasy XIII) - Hope Estheim x [Reader]

Distraction

After several minutes of tossing and turning, you gave up on trying to get back to sleep. You had been plagued with a night terror, one with horrid fiends and a man whom you’ve never met aside from in your dreams.

“There’s no point in just laying here…” You sighed and pushed your blanket off, then swung your legs over the bed and sat up. You reached up to place a hand over your face, trying to remember the man from your dreams. Despite never meeting the man, his name was on the tip of your tongue. The feeling of being so close - yet so far - aggravated you, so you simply ignored any thoughts of the mysterious man.

Seeing as it was very early in the morning, you knew that Hope wouldn't be up quite yet. He was an early riser, but he was never up this early. When you headed out into the living room, you made sure to keep relatively quiet. You maneuvered around the couch, blindly making your way into the kitchen. If you were going to be up, you thought you might as well do something useful.

~•~•~•~•~

“Good Morning, Ai...”

Your cheeks flushed at the sound of Hope’s sleepy voice, and you tried not to lose your focus on the cooking.

“Good Morning’, Hope. Did you sleep well?” You carefully flipped over the pancake to allow the opposite side to cook. You slyly glanced over your shoulder at him, catching his gaze as you did so.

“Yeah… I slept pretty good, actually. How about you?”

“Could’ve been better.” You muttered as you moved the pancake from the pan to a plate. You could feel his gaze on you; you nervously changed the topic. “I made breakfast. I hope you like pancakes-” You suddenly realised that you didn't even know whether or not he liked pancakes! “Shit, you like pancakes, right?” You turned to face him, your eyes wide and filled with worry. When you saw the smile on his face, all of your worry seemed to disappear.

“Don't worry, I like them.” He chuckled softly and walked past you, heading to the fridge. “Syrup, or butter?”

“Both, please.” You turned off the stove and put the dirty dishes into the sink, then grabbed the two plates of food and brought them to the small dining table. Silverware and drinks were already set, so all that was left was the syrup and butter -- which Hope was handling.

Once you both became settled at the table, you reached for the butter -- only to have your hand brush against Hope’s.

“Sorry, go ahead.” You pulled your hand away and lowered your gaze in embarrassment.

“No, you use it first.” He laughed and smiled warmly at you.

“A-Are you sure?”

“Of course.” He nodded.

“Thanks.” You smiled sweetly and took the butter, then grabbed your knife and spread some of the substance onto your pancakes. Once you were done you passed him the butter, then took the syrup. You drizzled the sweet sap on top, then put it aside for Hope to use afterwards.

It was quiet for a while; however, it wasn't an awkward silence. You two simply kept quiet while you ate, enjoying each other's company silently.

“Mm, thank you for the food. It was delicious.” He smiled happily at you, causing a red tint to appear on your cheeks.

“I'm actually kind of glad it’s just the two of us.” You grinned, something that made you look very similar to your brother. “If Snow were here, I would’ve had to use the whole box of mix -- and I still don't think you and I could have had any!”

Hope laughed and you couldn't help but to laugh as well. He stood up and took both plates, but before you could protest he shook his head.

“It's the least I can do, seeing as you made breakfast.”

You watched him bring the dishes into the kitchen; however, it took a moment before he came back. When he reentered the room, you noticed that his cheeks were dusted a light rosy shade.

“Hope..? Is everything alright?”

“Ah, y-yes.” He chuckled nervously and grabbed the two condiments. Nothing else was said as he once again left the room, leaving you curious.

Why was he blushing?