Bottoms Up

A/N: I've been listening to some FFXIII-2 music lately and was in the mood to write a short, lighthearted Serah/Noel story. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: Final Fantasy XIII-2 and all its characters are property of Square Enix. I own just the game.

"So, you are absolutely sure about this, Noel?" Serah asked as she watched Noel expertly pitched their one and only tent.

"I've told you already, I'm perfectly fine with it. It seems like you're the one with the problem even if you refuse to admit it," Noel answered back. He stepped away from the tent and placed his hands on his hips, keenly observing the structure to make sure it was perfectly intact. "Yep, that'll do."

Maybe he was right. Maybe she was the only one making a big issue over nothing, but sharing a tent with Noel certainly did feel like a big deal to her. She had been traveling with him for a few weeks now and up until tonight, they had been sleeping in separate tents, but a reckless fight with some monsters the previous day had ended up destroying half of their inventory, including Serah's tent. It was her own fault, mostly. She had miscalculated her aim and sent her Fire spells too far to the right, completely missing the Goblins and setting their stock supplies ablaze. She had been too distracted; her eyes trained more on her partner than on the enemies.

She had thought nothing of Noel other than a good friend at the beginning, but as the days went by and he proved to be more and more than just a caring companion, she had begun to take more notice of him, especially his sweet personality, handsome face, and that body…

She found her eyes roaming over his chest, arms, the outline of his taut butt beneath those floppy tribal pants—

Stop! Just stop it, Serah! Stop checking him out like that! You're engaged to Snow for crying out loud!

Guilt stabbed her heart when she considered her fiancé who was nowhere to be found. Was it normal for her to feel lustful like this, after not having seen the person she loved for more than three years?

She averted her gaze to the blades of grass beneath her feet when Noel turned to her. "So, let's call it a night then? I'm pretty tired. This place sure wears you out."

The plains of the Archylte Steppes seemed to expand endlessly around them. She had never felt so small and insignificant standing in one place, but she also had not seen a place that rivaled the natural beauty the plains had to offer—soft, lush grass stretching like a green ocean, the black sky that swelled with stars sparkling like diamonds. Serah inhaled a gust of the fresh air that permeated the night. As gorgeous as the Steppes was, it was still a dangerous area filled with daunting creatures. Luckily, they had found a secluded area near the base of the mountains to seek reprieve for the night. Mog would stand guard till morning, just in case.

"Yeah, s-sounds g-good to me," Serah replied, willing her voice to remain steady and strong. She felt her cheeks heat up when he walked past her and to the flaps of the tent.

He stopped suddenly, and she almost crashed nose first into his back had she not been alert. Noel sighed and smiled sheepishly at her. "You're too nervous, huh?"

"I…what? I mean, I'm fine! I told you!" Panic rose in her chest and her voice grew louder.

"No, you're not," he stated.

Serah's eyes narrowed. "I said I'm-"

"Continue this later! We got company!" Noel yelled, dashing for his sword that rested against the rocks next to their camp.

Serah turned around and saw Noel run past her with his dual swords in hands. Three Goblins had managed to creep up. She clicked her tongue in annoyance. She should have been keeping an eye on their surroundings, but as usual, Noel had to pick up her slack.

"Come on, Mog!" she called. Her faithful moogle chirped in agreement and flew towards her, his body changing into her bow in a single poof of white smoke.

The bow fell into her hands and she was once again reassured by the weight of the weapon in her grasp. She maneuvered carefully behind Noel, taking careful aim at one of the Goblins that was closest to her and fired. The monster was momentarily stunned so she took the opportunity to fire two more shots at it, supporting Noel's short-ranged attacks. It went down pretty quickly with the piercings of the young man's blades. There was just one more on the field now.

Wow, Noel's a quick and adept fighter, she thought, her eyes drifting away from the last target and towards Noel again.

"Damnit Serah, concentrate!" she berated herself.

The last Goblin was right in front of Noel and was severely wounded.

"I got this one!" she cried. As she aimed for the monster, her vision kept splitting towards Noel's back, and before she knew what was happening, her fingers slipped and she fired the arrow prematurely.

Expecting to hear the monster cry in defeat, she was startled to instead hear a painful moan escape from Noel's throat. She dropped her bow and gasped in horror when she found that she had accidentally sent the arrow flying straight towards Noel's behind, leaving him crippled on one knee.

"Noel!" she screamed, running towards her partner. "Thunder!" she commanded, and an array of bolts streaked around the Goblin, consuming its body till they conquered its life.

Mog transformed back to himself seeing that the battle was finished. He flew behind Serah and observed Noel with the concerned girl.

"I'm so sorry!" she cried, instantly helping Noel to a standing. "Are you okay? Does it hurt?"

"Of course it hurts!" he yelled back, sucking in a deep breath to suppress the pain. "Geez, S-Serah…what were you aiming for?"

She kept her head low and blushed as she draped one of his arms around her shoulder and walked him back to their camp. She heard Mog's giggles behind Noel and her partner's annoyed growl immediately thereafter.

"Aww, it's not so bad, Noel," Mog taunted cheerily. "Here, let me give you a hand. Bottoms up!"

Without warning, Mog dived towards Noel's hips and yanked the arrow from its wound.

"Owww!" Noel cried, his left hand reaching behind him to grasp his behind.

"Here, sit!" Serah nodded towards a large rock and helped lower Noel till he shook his head.

"I can't sit! It…hurts too much…" he whined almost pitifully.

Serah had to turn away to stifle her own giggles. It was too cute and amusing seeing him like this, but then she quickly felt bad again when she realized she was the one who had put him in this awkward situation. "Okay, stand still then. I'm going to cast a Cure on you."

She quietly chanted the restoration spell, a white aura and a gentle breeze enveloping them as Noel slowly began to loosen the tension in his muscles.

"Is that better?"

"I'm still a bit sore…" Noel groaned.

"I'm really sorry about that…I didn't mean to-"

Noel raised his hand, urging her to cease her apology. He offered her a small smile but it was the way his eyes lit up that told her everything was okay—that he was understanding of the situation and she was forgiven. "Forget about it, Serah. Just go get some rest with Mog. I'll keep watch. Not like I'm going to be comfortable sitting or lying down anyway."

Okay, now she was starting to feel really bad. He shouldn't have to suffer for her foolishness, but before she could retort back, she saw the immutable conviction in his eyes. There was no talking him out of it, not when he had that look.

"All right…" she relented slowly, "but if you need anything, anything at all, let me know!"

She reluctantly walked towards the tent and just when she was about to brush aside the flap, she heard Noel chuckle behind her.

"You know Serah, if you didn't want me in there with you, you could have just told me instead of coming up with some elaborate plan to get me outta there for good."

"What?! You think I had planned for this to happen?"

Noel laughed again. "I'm just messin' with ya. Don't worry about it…have a good night."

"Good night," she whispered with a smile. Mog quickly flew into the tent and made himself comfortable beside her sleeping bag.

I really have to stop checking him out…look at the mess I've caused…Okay…no more looking, no more, promise!

She got into her sleeping bag and plopped down comfortably against the soft cushioning. Not even ten seconds after she had made that promise to herself, she found herself unable to tear away from Noel's silhouette against the entrance of the tent. The campfire outside kept this shadow alive. She pulled Mog into her arms and snuggled with the moogle as she continued to watch Noel till her eyelids grew heavy.

Maybe tomorrow she'll be ready to have him in the tent with her.

Maybe.

-End