Noel and Serah stepped out of the largest building in Academia, a newly acquired artefact in their hands. The sun beat down on the time-travelling duo, light glinting off Mog's watch as he flew a series of high tight curls before settling beside the walking pair, enjoying being free of the building. 'That place is too stuffy Kupo!'
Serah laughed as she shielded her eyes from the sudden change in brightness: 'It was pretty intense in there, you have a point!'
'All those computers and displays', Noel mumbled in awe. He doubted he would ever get used to this amount of technology. 'Imagine the possibilities of all of Gran Pulse working towards the same goal… with all those machines and researchers I'm sure Hope will pull through', his words trailing off.
'Yeh, I'm sure he will' Serah replied, a smile creeping across her features. A few seconds passed - both her and Noel taking a moment to digest the magnitude of the project Hope was undertaking. 'Anyway, let's head to that gate we saw on the East side. It might be the one to react to this artefact Alyssa gave us!'
'Uhuh…' came the distracted response from Noel.
Serah cast a quick glance in his direction, sighing slightly at his reaction. It always seemed to take him that little bit longer to put all the pieces together. He can't help it, she thought, he's only a man. 'Everything OK over there Noel?' she questioned, one end of her mouth turned up in a grin.
Another mumbled 'Mmm' was all Serah got as a reply. Looking over at him, she noted a change in Noel's movement. He seemed to slow his pace, his eyes unfocused on what was in front of him, as if he was lost in thought. Serah had to say a quick 'sorry!' to a young couple after Noel had nearly kneed their toddler over the walkway, with Little Miss Farron's apologetic eyes only working so well on the daggers glared from the offended parents.
'Noel!' hissed Serah as soon as they were out of earshot, trying to be covert in her scolding. 'Will you get your head out of the clouds! You could've hurt someone back there!' She thought she saw a crack of a smirk begin to form on Noel's face before he snapped out of his daze, turning to face her.
'Oh, sorry about that Serah', Noel said sheepishly, 'It's just that it feels like we've been going non-stop for ages. I must be more tired than I thought! And it's so nice to finally turn up somewhere and not have to fight off hordes of things that want to kill us!' he added quickly. His right hand rose and cupped the back of his head, an action that suddenly reminded Serah of Snow.
A hopeful image flashed across Serah's mind of Snow materialising out of a portal, sitting astride his motorbike, a powerful hand outstretched, beaming a smile towards her. How she would love to have him whisk her away. Noel was… nice… but she would much rather have her fiancé by her side through this adventure. He would certainly make the lonely evenings more exciting…
Unfortunately for Serah, her vision was not one blessed by the goddess Etro, and her optimistic search of Academia's clouds was interrupted by the bulbous pink nose of Mog. Head tilting at a questioning angle, his tiny wings were suspending him in close enough proximity to be in reach of a batting hand.
Mog propelled himself backwards, and poked out his tongue for good measure. 'Can't catch me Kupo!' he giggled. Serah's eyes dropped to the walkway and she gave a heavy sigh.
'It looks like the two of you need to take some time off,' observed the Moogle, squinting at the two weary heroes from a distance. Rearing up and pointing his watch accusingly: 'after all, you are trying to change the past and future. The Historia Crux will always be there for you Kupo, why don't you take a day or two and enjoy yourselves?'
Noel and Serah stopped and looked at each other. They had arrived in front of their quarry, the mysterious gate shimmering before them. 'Let's at least see if this works first,' said the blonde motioning to Noel. Digging out the artefact from his pocket, he offered the crystal to the area in flux, which glowed brightly, and then slurred into existence.
'Would you look at that! What a stroke of luck eh Mog?' exclaimed Noel. 'Almost too lucky…'
'Let's just take it as a catching a break for a change, kay? We both know how long we spent trawling around finding those Gravitation Cores for Alyssa, so let's just be thankful that we have an obvious next route to take!'
She has a point, thought Noel. We have exhausted all the other routes. We took a chance by using those wild artefacts we found on gates that didn't always pay off. Oerba ate up lots of time with those frustrating puzzles, and Serendipity ate up our wallets as much as anything else!
He closed his eyes, and rubbed his lids with his index fingers. How he wished that the small concentric circled movements could dissipate his worries as well as waking up his tried pupils. Exhaling through pursed lips, Noel thought about how long he had spent with Serah.
Life on the road was getting claustrophobic. She was just always there! It was his duty to protect her, Noel knew that, but occasionally he needed some down time. He was used to being around the same people day in day out, that was how his era had ended up. The difference now was that he couldn't leave what little civilisation he knew behind for a while to have some 'Noel time'. There was no need for a long hunt and no chocobos that needed herding to give him an excuse to wander off for a time.
Serah was awesome, and a real beauty, so you'd think that a chap like Noel would live to spend all his time with her. That blonde hair and those doe eyes… Again, there was a difference to what should've been a recurring dream for teenage boys. Snow. Equal parts in jealousy and in awe of Serah's unwavering loyalty to Snow, Noel's love life was left, quite literally, in his own hands. Something that Serah, in all her naivety, seemed to not register.
Sneaking a quick look up and down Serah's lithe body through the gaps in his fingers, Noel's mind raced through numerous fantasies that had uncomfortably kept him up at nights. Damn that Snow!
A thought had crossed his mind whilst navigating the airborne pathways of the futuristic city. Serah was, for all intents and purposes, off limits. Noel understood this, but he also understood the will of his raging hormones. Something drastic needed to be done about his love life, but not with Serah around, poking her inquisitive nose into things. He would just get distracted…
He would need to try his luck with the ladies further afield. Or maybe just in another time or place…
Noel and Serah stood in front of a gate in Academia, the year 4XXAF. A decision had to be made. They both new that their mission had not ended, far from it, but the constant pressure and strain of altering the events of the past and future was visibly getting to them. Hair was knotting from exposure to the variety of elements locations entailed. Clothes and weapons were fast becoming more than a little worn in. Little nicks and scratches adorned both their bodies in a random scattering, coupled with sporadic bruising from punishing conflict. They could do with a rest.
Thankfully, they both knew this.
They turned, looked at each other, and at the same moment said each other's' name. Flustered, they both chuckled.
'Were both thinking the same think aren't we…' Noel began.
'Would it be so bad to take a break now?' Serah finished. 'I mean, let's face it, we could do with it! Look at you, you need to sort your hair out and wash that tunic of yours.'
'Oh thanks! You're looking lovely this afternoon as well! Careful that tan doesn't come off in the shower this time' Noel retorted.
Serah put on a face. Noel copied her. Serah's hands moved to perch on her hips. Noel's mirrored them with over exaggeration. 'Kupo kupo!' Mog interrupted, suddenly darting between them and spinning around, 'stop it!'
'Ok, ok' Serah said turning away from Noel. 'Let's take a few days to ourselves. I'm sure Hope will be able to put us up,' her mind already filling with visions of long scented baths and shopping trips with Alyssa.
'Sounds good to me,' Noel replied, smiling to himself. His plan was coming together...
A/N: You get three guesses where Noel is heading and who he is heading to... although you should only need one. Please review!