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085. Cool

Serah went to the bar on the second day she was in Bodhum. It was exactly the kind you'd picture on the beach; palm trees leaning on it, a leafy ceiling and wooden walls that made her think of the elaborate tree houses she'd dreamed up as a child.

"Hey, you came!" It was her voice that greeted her as she walked into the building with a tentative step. She searched for him and found him a way off, behind the bar. He was giving her that grin she'd come to expect from him, and a hand raised in Welcome before he got back to making whatever potion it was in the glasses before him.

"Yep." She walked over, nervously, and slid onto one of the stools, looking around the place.

Warm, comfortable and welcoming, it seemed to match the ambience of the town. It made Serah wonder if Lightning ever would have chosen this place if she hadn't been stationed her. A dozen face looked at her, smiling, and kind.

"It's pretty empty tonight," Snow said, as he came back over to her, having given the strangely coloured drinks to the retreating beachgoers. "Want one?"

"Uh, no. Thank you." She declared hesitantly. She'd never had a chance to go to college in the city, never been able to go out to the wild high school parties. She'd never drank so much as what was required at toasts before in her life. She couldn't help but see the irony in her being so infatuated with a Bartender, then. And infatuated she was.

She watched him distractedly as he shrugged, and moved a few things around behind the bar that she couldn't see. She admired the way his the muscles in his arms moved and twitched and flexed under his skin, how the veins stuck out ever so slightly, and how his eyes were so focused on what he was doing before him…

She barely registered when he walked around the bar to stand next to her. Flustered, she only just caught what he said to her in that kind, rumbling voice.

"Here, come down this side. I'll introduce you to everyone." He gestured for her to move down the some of the smiling faces she'd seen before.

"Hey everybody." They moved to turn to Snow, with just one use of his commanding voice. With a mental scolding, she blinked rapidly and focused back on the conversation at hand, tearing her eyes away from Snow. "This is Serah. She and her sister are new to the area."

She smiled at the crowd. She could still feel the heat that seemed to radiate from him, and smell that slightly sugary scent of perhaps fruit juices on his skin.

"I'm Lebreau, I own this place." The only woman smiled at her with a wave. "I'll make sure that Snow doesn't hit on you too much."

Serah only just caught the giggle behind her hand.

"I'm Gadot," the tall, imposing man said, reaching out a hand as the orange hair on his head wafted slightly in the breeze. Serah took the hand and was surprised by how light his grip was. "These two brats are Yuj and Maqui."

He waved a noncommittal hand over at the other two boys - one with long, blue hair, the other with goggles and an almost manic looking smile, black oil - or maybe grease - in his blonde, spiky hair.

Together, Serah decided, they made an odd bunch. And Snow was most definitely the handsomest.

She risked a glance back up at him as the two boys made arguments in their defence - that Yuj was, after all, the same age as Lebreau, and that they never woulda made anything without Maqui. But it seemed as though their arguments fell on deaf ears.

Blushing when she realised, it appeared that Snow had had his attention focused on Serah; Lebreau had gone over to the bar, taking a cloth from the belt pocket that was almost as long as her skirt, and resuming polishing glasses. For his part, Gadot had taken a book out of his pocket and was reading it - or perhaps more accurately, 'reading' it - and held a hand up to the younger boys.

"Together", Macqui explained to Serah, after Yuj heaved a dramatically heavy sigh and turned away, "we form NORA."

"NORA?"

Snow shifted next to her. "We get together, protect the village."

Serah frowned, and cocked her head. "Isn't that what the army's for?" Lebreau made a distance scoffing noise, and Serah felt her heart clench very slightly. It wasn't in her nature to anger quickly - but that could be different, when it came to lightning.

"Her sister's part of the new recruits, Lebreau." Snow's voice was slightly lower than usual, and warning. He was just so cool…

Lebreau stopped, and turned to face them. She looked at Snow searchingly, in that way that Serah remembered her mother doing, and nodded. "Fine."

"Anyway, it's not that the army's doing a bad job- shut up Gadot. It's just that there are some places us locals only know about."

"That's one way of putting it." Gadot scoffed.

Serah could feel her heart start to pound and a very faint blush grown on her cheeks.

Snow sighed. "Hey Lebreau, am I alright to leave for a bit?"

Serah was shocked from her anger-induced trance at his words, and turned her head sharply to look up at him.

Lebreau nodded, with a sweet smile. Serah couldn't tell if it was genuine or fake.

Snow looked at Serah and jerked his head outside. He took her out to the waterfront, and they strolled down the beach together, for a while with a comfortable but empty conversation, and then with a calm silence as the sun began to set behind the water, casting the entire beach in a fiery, rosy glow.

All the other dates she'd ever been on had ended in silence. That awkward kind of silence, where you rehearse things to say in your mind, but then they get stuck in your throat as you're about to say the words because suddenly the ensuing, boring conversation, just doesn't seem worth it. But the silence that had fallen between the two was nice; it washed over them like the waves lapped against the smooth sand. She didn't feel the need to say anything - just being was enough. That ultimate comfort that she'd only ever really felt with her family before.

It was one of the most refreshing things she'd ever felt.

"Sorry about the guys, earlier." He leant forward as the pair of them sat on the sand, watching the waves roll in and out like the ocean was breathing as it dreamt deeply, spilling water here and there as it sighed in delight.

Serah shook her head. "It's okay. I guess Lightning was brought here for a reason."

Snow stayed silent. Serah thought that was probably for the best.

"I've known Gadot since we were 6. Yuj since he was twelve, and Lebreau since she moved here five years ago."

shifting slightly to watch as he spoke, Serah examined his face closely. He truly was really hot. A strong jaw with a vague hint of deep blonde stubble, a straight nose and always slightly upturned lips. And his eyes, that sparkled with the giggling, jumping water. And that were looking at her.

"What?" He said it with a laugh, as though he already knew full well what she was doing. The fact that he probably did made Serah's heart squeeze and she turned back out to the ocean. Clearing her throat just a little, she took a deep breath and prompted him to carry on.

"What about Maqui?"

"Oh - him?" Snow chuckled to himself. "I only met him a year and a half ago. Shy little kid. He barely had any friends, but I called on his house one day, told him he should come to our picnic on the beach. The poor kid showed up with half a dozen things he'd baked and the shiest, most painfully awkward expression I've ever seen on his face." He laughed happily at the memory.

Serah couldn't help but laugh along with him.

She watched him, as the sun finally gave in and slipped beyond the end of the everlasting ocean, and night overtook the fiery sky.

He was handsome, sure. And it would've made all her friends back home insanely jealous to see her sitting here with him, like they were two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle fitting together. But beyond all that, he was just so kind. As he carried on, talking about all the memories he'd had with his friends over the years, she could hear in his voice just how much he cared about them. How much he cared about everyone.

He really was cool.

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