Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy XIII-2

Hello! This is the first in my quick little series of one-shots that I've got here. These three are pretty similar in effect, but gosh-damn it I just wanted to write about this adorable pairing! So here we are. And maybe, you're already familiar with my work/recognise who I am. I don't know, but I suppose that if you're at all active in the Final Fantasy fanbase - from IV-XIII almost in its entirety - then you might do! Welcome back, and oh I'm so flattered you remembered me!

Well anyway, I'll be posting every week on this very day (whatever day it is to you - I've recently relocated, and my timezones are completely all over the place! I'll have a note on my profile for the intended day, and you can check there if you're so inclined.) for three weeks. I'm happy that you decided to join me today and I hope that you'll stick with me for the rest.

Enjoy!

060. Spring

In spring, the daisies bloom. They push up from the ground, bulging green stem ready to burst. And then the flower springs forth; a yellow sun for the centre, and fine, white petals leaning back from the centre tipped with magenta.

They say that Spring represents rebirth. That the flowers blooms and the animals that are born symbolise the resurrection of the yearly cycle.

It was the spring after the world went back to normal. Snow and Serah had just married, on the brink of summer. Happily gazing into each other's eyes, they held hands and became tied in this life and whatever comes afterwards on the beaches that recreated their hometown, two worlds ago, on Cocoon. It was quiet, with not many left alive who knew them. Well, people who knew them outside of the stories. There was nothing stronger in the air that day than relief - that finally, after everything, they were married.

And yet I could not help but feel slightly jealous at their joy; bitter that mine was stolen from me.

Yeul was still gone. Vanille came back, Fang came back, Lightning reappeared. And yet Yeul did not. Hope said that she wasn't dead; that she would still be alive, somewhere, as the newest incarnation of herself. I'm starting to believe that he lied.

Summer passed in a blur. Hope and Vanille married, I began to work in Academia, and the world span on. Nothing changed; time passed. Life went on. I started to think that maybe I was deluding myself. Every time I saw a flash of blue hair it was dyed, or the wrong shade. Every time I thought I heard her voice, it turned out to be the wind whispering through the brilliant green leaves. She was gone, they told me. It was time to move on.

There would never be a time to move on. I encountered countless versions of Yeul, watched countless versions of her die. I felt her die in my arms. And yet throughout the broad spans of time, there was one thing that connected us, entwined us through the tangles string of time. She saw the love that she would have for me. I cherished the love I had for her.

And so Autumn came on, and I cared about it as much as I cared when yet another leaf fell from a tree.

I sat again in the park. It lay in the centre of Academia, the new Academia, and at this point in the morning, there were few people here. Trees circles around the field, and wherever else they wished, all bright red and orange and yellow at this time of the year. Piles of the browned, fallen leaves scattered around the mud-laden grass, and the dust paths were kicked up under the stress of thousands of walkers.

A stack of papers made a quiet companion beside me. Not too interesting, but ever since time was repaired - at least, somewhat righted - there had been lingering incidents. A monster from before the fall here, a stray person, or extinct species there. Once a portal opened up on the other side of the planet. And, being the seasoned time traveller that I was - and the only one unoccupied by family, or other work, I was sent to deal with the issue. It was lonely work, but I treasured the time alone, away from humanity in the wilderness. There, I could delude myself into thinking that she was still alive. Waiting for me to return.

A rustle of leaves shocked me back into reality. The leaves were still red and falling, swirling down. The air was still crisp and autumnal. And she was still not with me.

"Noel..." I heard my name echo on the wind; like a presence was behind me. I didn't turn. I didn't want to splinter the shards of my slowly healing heart.

"Noel, is it you?" The voice called me again, louder. I stiffened. I heard rustling, and the sound of something dropping. With my quick reflexes still intact, I turned around.

A daisy lay on the pile of leaves behind the bench. A daisy - fleshy green stem, flower head and big as my palm - just like one of her used to love, and sometimes carried.

A swish of blue hair, just right, and the smell of flowers. Home. Yeul.

"Yeul!" I called out to the girl and caught her hand. "Yeul."

She turned and faced me. It was her - no doubt. The same delicate features with a solemn touch of sadness. The knowledge of all life, all death in her grey eyes. And yet there was something slightly different. Her clothes were less ragged, and her hair was shorter. And she no longer wore a headdress, but a band of small daisies across her hair.

She caught me looking at it. "Vanille suggested I change it. She told me to find you here."

She met my eyes shyly. No, she was not the same Yeul, but she was still mine.

"I know you, Noel. I know how my past incarnation felt."

She placed a hand on my face.

"It is time for us to start anew. I may be able to see the past and all of my past lives, but I cannot see the terrible future any longer. The timeline will not change - not for a very long time. I will be safe here; I won't have any visions."

"You won't leave me?"

"Not unless the goddess wills otherwise."

It was not certain. Nothing was ever definite with Yeul. Expect that, as the warmth of her palm crept into my skin, the warmth crept back into my heart too.

They may say that Spring is the season of rebirth, but that Autumn, amid the fallen leaves and red covered sky, my heart was reborn.

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