After Fall: 37. The Realized Dream
It feels... like a miracle, Vanille. One that I can't quite believe, even though I've longed for this moment for years.
Noel - our Noel - is back.
It all started yesterday, early in the afternoon. Hope had gone off to the memorial stone and I... I'll admit, I was a bit worried. When Snow and I both expressed our concern to Claire, I expected my sister would join us in going after Hope.
Instead, she... she told Snow and I the truth of the matter with Bartholomew Estheim.
It was hard to take. I'd been so angry at the man I'd only ever seen once, and to learn that my anger was misplaced... was upsetting. Not nearly as disturbing as learning that Hope's step-mother, Sylvia, is apparently half-fal'cie and out to use Hope for some unknown reason.
And then Claire told us that she believes Sylvia may remember the world as it was before Bhunivelze remade it as it is now. That Sylvia could also be aware that Hope was once the vessel of Bhunivelze, and that perhaps a latent power resides within him. Everything clicked then: the strange events at Paddra, the night Hope was nearly kidnapped, the mark on his wrist... It all made perfect sense.
It terrified me at first, Vanille. Not because I was suddenly afraid of Hope, no. I was afraid for him - afraid of the powers he might possess, and yet be unable to control. Bartholomew had to be made aware of his son's abilities, whatever they might be. I was convinced of it.
Unfortunately, Hope overheard when I... called him dangerous. It wasn't how I meant it, Vanille - I know you understand that, at least. But Hope had been... understandably upset. Snow tried to get Claire and I to explain the context of our conversation to him, but we... couldn't. I don't think Claire was ready to tell Hope just yet, and I...
I just had this awful feeling in the pit of my stomach.
Neither of us were surprised when Snow went after Hope. I think, in a way, we were both glad for that. We stayed behind, discussing quietly what we should do - if we should tell Bartholomew, and if so, when. How.
Hours later, after a large storm seemed to have settled over the entire area surrounding the Archylte steppes, Claire and I were still talking when the front door opened and Snow collapsed inside.
I... I was so scared, Vanille. Even as Claire helped me get Snow onto the sofa, I was imagining all of the horrible things that could've happened to my husband. I didn't even realize that Snow hadn't come alone until he pointed towards the door...
And there he was. Noel Kreiss, looking just as I remembered him during our adventures with the paradox timeline.
I was just... so happy to see him, Vanille. I never even thought to ask how he had returned to us, or why.
I'd forgotten how Claire tends to hog the blankets in her sleep. Spending a night sleeping in the same room - the same bed - as my sister is a quick reminder of how much has changed in the last year, not that I've slept much.
The truth is, my mind is too turbulent to rest. I catch snatches of sleep here and there in tantalizing, thirty-minute naps that are littered with nightmarish thoughts. By the time the clock beside Claire's side of the bed reads six, I can't even pretend to go back to sleep. I slide out from the handful of blanket I managed to hold on to through the night and tip-toe out of the room.
After I've shut the door to Claire's room behind me, I look at the door that leads to the room that I shared with Snow - where Noel slept last night. A part of me wants to open that door, to look in on Noel to make sure that I wasn't imagining the whole thing, but I... I should let him sleep.
I make my way past the door, and walk down stairs. Snow is sleeping on the couch where I'd left him last night, his injured leg propped up on some pillows. He's snoring a little in his sleep, but more worrying is the way his chest makes a rattling noise when he coughs. He must've gotten sick spending so much time out in the rain looking for Hope, I guess. I brush the hair away from Snow's forehead and press a kiss there: he's a bit feverish, but it's nothing that I can't handle. It's probably a good thing that Snow can't move around easily, injured the way he is. At least this way, he won't be able to run off when he should be resting.
With a smile, I make my way towards the kitchen and set a pot of water to boil for morning tea when I hear the bathroom door open. At first, I think maybe Hope's up early - he missed lunch and dinner yesterday, so I think he must be hungry - but then Noel walks around the corner.
"Morning, Serah." Noel says with a smile.
"Good morning!" I grin back at him, happy to have proof that it wasn't all a dream. "How'd you sleep?"
"I've been up a while, actually." Noel replies, sitting on one of the barstools and watching as I pull out the containers of loose tea. "Snow was coughing pretty bad around three. I gave him some medicine from the cabinet, so he should be okay for another hour or two."
"Thank you." I say, deciding on oolong for breakfast and placing two heaping teaspoons of the leaves inside the infuser.
"I looked in on Hope, too, but he seems fine." Noel adds. "Though I am curious where that stuffed moogle came from."
I have to cover my mouth with my hand to keep from laughing too loudly and waking up Snow. I pour hot water over my tea to let it steep, then sit beside Noel at the bar.
"That... was a gift from Snow." I explain. "We'd just told Claire and Hope that we were pregnant and moving out, and I think Snow felt guilty for abandoning Hope. He wasn't really... getting along all that well with Claire at the time."
"I see." Noel replies, glancing over his shoulder to where Snow sleeps on the sofa like he's seeing Snow for the first time. Then again, Noel hadn't really ever known Snow before Nova Chrysallia: the brief meetings they'd had during our paradox adventures only showed Snow's recklessness, his need to prove himself as my hero and protector. Snow... doesn't talk much about his life during Nova Chrysallia, but I can tell from the look on Noel's face that whatever experiences they'd had together were probably... not pleasant. "That was... thoughtful of him."
"Yeah." I agree.
Silence stretches between Noel and I as we sit at the bar. I should offer Noel some tea, or at the very least, start brewing coffee for Claire. But there's something comforting about this quiet familiarity, knowing that Noel is sitting beside me and that my family is safe and sleeping in the house around me. I don't want to move, don't want to speak, for fear of breaking this spell - this moment where everything is as it should be.
"Claire's gonna be getting up soon." I murmur, glancing at the clock that now reads half-past six. "I better get breakfast started."
"Let me." Noel puts a hand on my arm and slides out of his seat. "I miss cooking."
It's a nice change of pace, being able to sit and enjoy my morning tea while someone else does the cooking. Noel moves around the kitchen like he's made breakfast here a thousand times before, pulling out pans and a whisk for scrambling eggs before measuring out coffee grinds to start the perkolation process. By the time Noel starts frying up thick strips of gorgonospid bacon, I hear the door of Hope's room open.
My heart beats a little faster as Hope's light tread moves reluctantly towards the kitchen. I know he's probably still upset, maybe even mad at both Claire and I...
Hope is barely around the corner when I jump out of my seat and run to hug him.
"I'm so sorry!" I apologize, squeezing him tightly. "I know it must've hurt you, hearing me say what I did. I can explain, just -"
"It's okay." Hope replies, gently pushing me away. "I... think I understand. It's for the lawsuit, right? To manipulate my dad into letting Lightning take care of me, right?"
"Well... sort of..." I reply, biting my lip nervously. It's... not the entire truth, but if it's something that Hope can understand, something that he can accept... I suppose it's okay for now.
"What smells so good?" Hope asks, glancing over the bar to where Noel stands in the kitchen. When Noel turns around to face us, Hope's eyes widen and his face pales.
"Hey there." Noel says, putting a cup of coffee in front of one of the empty barstools. "You look a lot better than you did last night. Feeling okay?"
Hope takes a step back, then looks from Noel to me.
"Don't you remember last night?" I ask Hope. "Noel came home with you and Snow."
"In his defense, he wasn't exactly conscious when we met." Noel replies helpfully. "Hope you're hungry, though. I might've gone a little overboard."
"Th-thanks but... I'm not hungry." Hope replies before quickly scurrying past me towards the front door. "I'll be at the garage. Bye!"
I find myself staring at the door after Hope leaves, uncertain as to what's just happened.
It's almost like... like Hope recognized something about Noel. Something that scared him off.
~fin ?