Here's to the hype of Lightning Returns and Noel's return. Hugs to those that left a review. It means a lot! Don't be shy, take a little time to write and let me know what you think :)

Scene XXVI. Innuendos.

((In which Sazh and Hope misunderstand))

"Go to bed, Serah. You've been working too hard."

"It's no trouble," Serah muttered, rubbing her eyes.

Noel looked over his shoulder then walked over to her, pushing away the loose strands away her face. "Have I been keeping you up? It's fine, just go."

Serah yawned, standing. "I will and no, it's alright, Noel. I don't mind staying up late either."

Hope cut them a sharp look, hastily shuffling his papers in an attempt to divert from their conversation. "He's right, Serah," he said lightly. "Why don't you rest for now? Noel can stay with me. Even if it takes all night."

Noel's eye twitched but he kept a straight face. "I suppose that's true. It'll cut down the work so we'll have more time to relax."

"Maybe once this is done, we can visit that amusement park. I've been wanting to show you," Serah chatted, growing excited. Noel placed a hand on her shoulder to lower back down. "Oh Noel, I'll show you how fun it is!"

Noel gave her a faint smile, "I can imagine." Hope scoffed, masking it as a cough.

After much fussing to Hope's aggravation, Serah stood to leave. "If you need me," she threw over her shoulder, "You know where to find me."

Noel quickly turned but not before Hope saw a devious smile curve his lips.

...

"It's hot," Serah whined, retying her hair into a bun, irritated when her hair brushed her sweaty skin. "This wasn't a really good day for the expedition."

Noel swiped an arm over his forehead, sweat covering his face. He pinched a finger on his shirt, waving to get more air. She caught a glimpse of tight muscles before it dropped. "No helping it."

Hope lagged behind and Noel threw him bottled water. "I appreciate it, Noel. I've done this when I was younger but I suppose I lost my touch."

Serah suddenly growled and both men looked at her. She gave them pleading look, "It's too hot!" When she made a motion to take off her clothing, they shouted, "No!" Noel rubbed his neck. "Just bear with it for a while, Serah. You can take a shower once we get back."

She pointedly looked at Hope. "Mine doesn't have one."

"It's just for two days until they're done with the renovation and I promise you will not suffer with the inconvenience again."

"Two days for a shower?"

"Just use mine," Noel interuptted, gauging the distance. "You always walk into my room like it's yours anyway."

Serah looked thoughtful. "That's true."

Hope did a double-take, earning a neck cramp. "I would think you prefer your own private room for undressing, Serah."

"No, it's alright, Hope. I can wait for my room to be done. It's just it's too hot right now." She crumpled the edge of her top in her fists anxiously. It started to lift and back down like a fan, but for Hope it felt like the start of a strip tease. Noel took it in casually, wasn't even conscious that Hope feared he was used to the view.

"A little longer, Serah," Noel reminded again.

"I-I know. But...Noel!"

Noel's jaw clenched, a sign of his stubbornness and surprisingly growing temper. "You will. Hope's here. It's not right."

"You're being a grouch!"

And you are being childish."

"Now now –"

"Hope doesn't think of me that way. It's fine!"

Hope tried reasoning, "Yes, that's true but Serah –"

"I'm still a man."

With that thrown in, Hope felt the awkwardness of being a third wheel set in.

"You keep bullying me," she accused and he was amazed at how they simply throw liners like that around, "If I knew that time when I ran off to fight without you that you would hold it against me, you wouldn't be so crude!" Serah began to lead, her temper clicking in. "Let's just get this over with!"

"You're always on top of everything, Serah," Noel said absentmindedly, missing Hope's slack face. He swung one arm, gaining circulation. "It's no wonder you're never tired," he continued. Hope nearly swallowed his spit and choked. Noel glanced at him. "Hey, Hope, is the altitude getting to you?" He wordlessly shook his head. Then his head raised when Noel released an angry sound and spotted Serah dangling feet above them. "What the hell did I say, Serah?" Noel stalked off, cursing all the way as he climbed the edges, "I said if you do that again, I'm going to -"

And thank the gods, Hope didn't hear the rest.

...

"...you're way too tight." That's what Hope heard one late afternoon while passing the double gated entrance to their private training area. Then Serah's low mewl of frustration just tipped it off. Hope froze. There was no way they'd be like that in a room that can be accessed by him, then again only by him that there would be none able to enter and be the perfect place for any discretion that had been plaguing his nerves. Hope mechanically put his foot down to continue on like he never heard but there were even stranger noises coming out now.

There was a feminine gasp that echoed against the walls then Noel's low voice, "Always be ready, Serah."

And Hope Estheim nearly rammed his pretty face into a wall. Unbelievable. He shook his head, blaming his over-analytic brain. This had happened before. There was nothing to it. They had strange word plays that never seemed to be anything deeper so Hope merely shrugged it off after many lessons. Even now, when he approached closer, there was another thud, a suspicious clashing of metal and Hope nearly sighed in relief until: "Harder," Noel was saying maddeningly and Serah made another small choked noise. But that was practically training so there was no point in assuming they were doing anything sexual -

But why, oh why, did Serah react like that as if Noel was denying Serah the pleasure and oh my goddess why did he actually think that!

There was a ripping of cloth. Nope. As long as the sounds of swords being swung as heard, it was practically safe. However weird it was that one of them was stripping. His eye twitched. Not going there. But then his worse fears were confirmed; the clanging of swords hitting the floor. Hope sweated. He really should have more faith in his comrades. There was absolutely no way, as many times he had caught them, that they were like that. But his feet were taking him to the entrance anyway to just peek at their progress and saw Serah straddling, from what he saw, a naked Noel with Serah's own tattered shirt spread at the base of her cleavage. "Stop!" he burst out, just in time to see them startled, looking up at his entrance.

He was running, he didn't know what he would do against an expert hunter and semi-violent woman but dammit all that he was going to allow that under his roof - and slipped on the icy residue of Serah's spell.

And for one blessed moment, Hope thought that one of them would come to his rescue but as his head hit the metal floor, and before his world turned black, Hope swore to Etro he was going to ban them himself.

...

"I'm telling you it's all in your imagination," Hope said to Sazh's incessant chatter.

"No, it's true man! I'm telling you it is! I saw it with my eyes!" Sazh insisted, jabbing two fingers in front of his eyes for emphasis and Hope could have easily taken the bait to push them further. "It was like, Oh honey, are you alright!" he said in falsetto. "'No darling, I need your warmth!"

Hope sighed in response. "Did they actually say that?"

"Well no, but -"

"Then your evidence is void."

"Just listen! Okay, so I was going around the park looking for Dajh's toy, yeah?" Hope nodded. "Then I see Noel and I thought, 'Hey my man, I haven't seen you a while. How's it going?' I haven't seen his pretty face since the last scouting! Man, that brings back good memories like when -"

"Sazh."

"So I was going to go up to him cause the guy was just staring off to space. When I'm close enough, Serah just comes falling off the tree and lands right smack onto him!" Hope winced. "I was rushing to go help them up but Serah just stays there on top of him, smacking him left and right! And Noel just takes it! I was going to save my buddy but well. . . "

Hope kept his face neutral, the ice in his veins was familiar but he was undaunted. "And?"

"S-she. . . kisses him."

"Really."

"Really! Man, I can't look at Serah the same way anyway with how she- err, pretty much . . . that is, uh, dominated him. . . "

Hope distantly thought back to all the instances he unfortunately ran into their accidents and might have agreed. "It may not what you think, Sazh," he warned, thinking of Noel's short temper when it came things like this.

"I know they were acting strange," Sazh muttered. "They were fighting two days ago. Is this how they make up? That Noel! I'm going to get him!" Hope had no choice but to run off to look for them and found them near an ice cream corner and trapped them. "You!" Sazh exclaimed. "Stop right there!" They turned in unison, startled and Hope caught the look of annoyance Noel masked quickly at their appearance. "I ain't leaving you two alone ever!" He tugged back Sazh's arm, already sweating at the look in Noel's eyes. "You kissed Noel!" Sazh accused and Hope panicked seeing the flicker of violence cross Noel's eyes.

Serah looked puzzled. "I did?" Beside her, Noel shrugged.

"In the park, I saw you two!" Sazh shouted. "With my own two eyes! You kissed him!" He did the same jabbing motion to his eyes but Noel must have been in a bad mood because he pushed them right into Sazh's eyes. "You two are trait - ARRRRGGGH!" And watched as he crumpled to the ground.

Noel dragged Serah with him to avoid Sazh's rolling body. "Stop shouting things like that. I have no idea what you're talking about."

"In the park," Hope supplied to get to the bottom of this, feeling chilled when Noel's eyes slid over to his. Serah tried attending to Sazh but Noel just touched her shoulder once and she glared at him. Hope hid his hands behind his back. "He's rather disoriented when he witnessed Serah falling above you, slapped you around for some reason then engaged in a rather intense kiss."

"Oooh," Serah realized with wide eyes. "No, no! We were discussing what we were going to do next and I was resting on the tree. I literally fell and Noel broke my fall. He was unconscious and wouldn't wake up. Then I noticed he wasn't breathing so I performed CPR." She looked up at the hunter. "I'm sorry again, Noel. It really scared me when you didn't respond."

Noel waved away her concerns. "I'll try waking up earlier next time. You're heavy." Her cheeks puffed in indignation and Noel took interest in disarranging her expression even more. "What else kind of face can you make," Hope heard him mutter that made him want to ran away fast.

"Is that right!" Sazh exclaimed, blinking rapidly. "Sorry, Noel, knew you wouldn't do something to Snow's girl!" He reached a hand out blindly as if to cement their friendship again. Noel clapped his hand to pull him up, his grip crushing that Sazh yelped. "Whoa, that's some strength you got there!" Sazh righted himself, giving them a big smile. "Sorry you two, I panicked without knowing what happened. No hard feelings yeah?"

Serah smiled. "Nope, none. Right, Noel?" Noel kept his face neutral but nodded anyway when Serah glanced at him.

"Come on, let's get out of here." He left without another word, Serah rolling her eyes and mouthed 'moody' before catching up with the hunter.

Beside him, Sazh began to laugh sheepishly. "Whoops, you were right, Hope!" Hope hummed and from the distance, they watched Serah playfully push Noel. He banged into an edge of cart and turned with an expression they couldn't see but it made Serah squeak and run. Noel began to stretch, cracking his neck before vaulting over the rails to trap her and her playful scream echoed all the way.

Sazh's mouth gaped and made a noise to speak but Hope tiredly said, "Leave them alone."

...

Hope swiftly leaned away from the water bursting from Sazh's rather large mouth. "That's unsightly," he commented.

Serah looked to the door, her face lighting with a smile and the table clattered when she rushed away. Hope turned just in time to see an exhausted Noel, looking worse for the wear, drawing Serah into a hug. He nodded at him, flickering to the worn out patch Noel carried. The hunter tossed it to him, leaning heavily on the door for support. Serah drew back immediately, hauling an arm around him to help him. "Noel, let's get you to the clinic," Serah said, fear in her eyes. Noel grunted, trying to act macho to show her that he was mostly alright but Hope saw through it as did Serah. "Come on, we need to patch you up."

"What, you'll be my nurse?" his voice carried over as they left. Sazh scrambled to catch up and Hope heard the distant heft of weight being shifted and Noel's irritated groan. "Move me like that again and you'll be the one in the hospital."

Hope shivered at the drowsy threat but Sazh laughed it off. "Sorry, but we're in a rush, Noel!"

"Be careful," Serah protested even though she added, "Hurry, this way."

Hope decided to wait this one out. When he got the call later in the night, Noel's condition was stabilized. He decided to visit. He found the room marked with his name and entered. Hope scrubbed his face, immediately regretting so. Serah was asleep by Noel's bedside. Her legs were folded beneath her on the floor, her pink head resting on the mattress. Noel's head was slightly turned towards her as if he knew she was there and drew comfort from it. Before the mechanic doors closed, Hope watched Noel's eyes flutter open, his first sight blearily focused on the woman who stayed with him.

Hope sighed, walking to distract the rest from entering the room. It took some convincing but Hope thought it was enough time. So when they entered, Serah had somehow moved up onto his side.

Hope blissfully remained calm but he could tell Sazh was freaking out, thoughts racing across his face that Hope used to related with. "How are you doing, Noel?" he asked politely.

Sharp blue eyes pinned on him. "Doing great, thanks."

"She's tired?" Hope referred to Serah, still dreaming. Noel nodded. "We'll take our leave then," he said quietly and shoved Sazh out of the door.

Scene XXVII. Waltz.

((Noel))

He does not know what to do.

She comes to him, crying, desperately clinging as if she cannot live without him but her lips voices the name of another man. "He -" she explains in a sob that makes him hold her tight, breaking down all his walls. He rebuilds it again when she walks away, ensures that it won't fall again and promises himself that he won't feel that way again. "Noel," she calls, the smile in her eyes captivates him immediately and he gives her all his attention. "Will you come with me later?"

Inside, brick walls are cracking. But he says, "No." He is resolute. She looks thoughtfully at him, sees his iron resolve. "You can't come to me every time you're having problems with him." He avoids saying the name because it feels like his tongue is burning.

"It's not about him."

There's an echo that cautions him to tread lightly. They have been through this many times. So many times he thinks she will be his, only to realize she still holds the older man in her heart. There's an ache that exists to haunt him. She always returns to the other man in the last moment and Noel pretends it does not matter even though he breaks even more inside. This complicated tug of war and transition from friendship to lovers drives him crazy. He cannot handle it anymore if she does it again. "What are we going to do there?"

She finds her place beside him naturally, fingers brushing against his as if for thanks but Noel steels himself. From the corner of his eye, Serah glances at him then away, concealing her expression to him. "I thought we'd just take some free time off. You're always so busy when I find you." That is because he cannot stand the thoughts of her and seeks to distract himself, away from her.

She turns to the right and he stops, stares until she looks back and beckons him to follow. Like a fool, he takes the steps forward, familiar in these ritual. "There's a lot needed to be done. People need help and I've got nothing better to do." He notes how her fists clench for a brief moment. She refrains from talking for a while and he is fine with that. "We need your help too, Serah."

"Why do you always push me away?"

Noel carries on without a care before stopping. "Is that what you think this is?" Serah looks stricken before masking her expression. He does not what to think anymore. At the cost of protecting himself, she hurts in return. He scrubs his face, runs a hand through his hair. "Just tell me what you want, Serah. I'll do it. Whatever you want." They are miles apart yet he closes the distance. Dust flows and brick walls tremble.

Serah hurries back to his side, smiles at him quickly. "I want you to go with me," she repeats and for the life of him, Noel almost gives up with women and their secrets. But she meets him halfway just when he takes two steps back.

"Where?" he patiently asks. They circle each other, hands barely touching as they move in the same ritual. He is getting tired and assumes the leading position. "Just this once and I need to go."

"I'm sorry for taking your time, Noel," she says and he refuses to feel guilty. "It's just a bit longer."

She tries to step forward in this imaginary dance but he twists her around so that he may continue to lead. "I'll be leaving if it takes another half hour to get there."

She huffs, breaks the tension in the air by saying, "You're no fun. Just wait till we get there!" And Noel stays quiet, rewiring his thoughts elsewhere.

She finally leads him there. It's a small area, barely noticed to any passerby so he is wary when she fits herself through and signals for him to do the same. He emerges on the other side. It captures his attention. It is never like this, not from his memories and it pains him a bit to remember. The world is laid out in front of him in its metallic shines melding with natures rule over the land. Her hand timidly twines with his and Noel thinks about it seriously before tightening his grip. Then her head drops to his chest and Noel finally sighs in relief.

Scene XXVIII. Vigilant.

((3 Small Ways Noel is Overprotective))

"We need a guide," the scientists explained. "Director Hope approved of this mission, however, advised that we find a suitable fighter that knows the way."

"I can do it," Serah said and Noel looked up. "I'll help you find the way." He wearily eyed the bony, pasty skin of the men who never ventured out to the sun. He opened his mouth to reject her offer but she stood up, explaining the route by the map provided. They began discussing that Noel felt left out. He shot a look to Hope who pretended not to see.

Noel let her know exactly what he was feeling during a spar. He gripped her weapon during her swing, forcing it back, leaning his head close and she was caught by those electric blue eyes. "You think it's okay for me to let you go on that mission surrounded with useless men? I find it disagreeable, Serah."

Serah frowned, trying to block the warmth from his thinly veiled, violent words which strangely made her happy. "I know you don't like it. But there's no other choice. You have to man the position here and I'm the only one capable escorting those men." She tightened her grip to hold dominance over her weapon but Noel locked them in place.

His jaw locked. It was clear to Serah that he was finding the words to rebuke her, and it was getting strange staring into his eyes while he did so. "I'll escort them," he finally said.

"No, you can't. Hope needs you here since you're the only one who knows how to work that machine," she said patiently and Noel's brows drew down. "This is a time-sensitive mission, Noel. We have to leave now before the next sunset or we'll never get that-" she stumbled, "that rare, metal rock thing. Apparently it's only visible for a short period in a year. So, let this go, Noel." He wasn't happy, waiting a long moment before he finally released his grip.

But he went with her anyways to see her off. "Don't be such a grump," was her parting words before turning to the group of scientists. She motioned for them to leave as she led. The scientists, however, wanted to thank the young man but words were stuck in their throat when they saw the look in his eyes addressing them; cold, murderous intent written in his scowl. He pointed at them then punched his fist into an open hand, pointedly showing his aggression to this favor. And he watched them straight until they disappeared from view.

...

"So you let them have it," Noel affirmed.

"Hell yeah, I did," Sazh declared. "You don't mess with the law."

"Was that when we arrived back and you looked a little worse for wear?"

"Bastards ruined my face. I couldn't even move my jaw and my eyes were popping! That was a stressful day looking like that," Sazh sighed. Noel was still scouting, half-listening while Serah was resting, rubbing her arms that said she didn't want to be disturbed. He crept up on her, shouting "Whoa!" while grabbing her shoulders.

She flinched, then glared. "I'm not in the mood," Serah snapped, moving away.

"Try that again," Noel said offhandedly, suddenly, glancing over his shoulder at any approach, "And I'll have that look back on your face for several weeks."

...

"I cross the time continuum," Serah tried explaining, hoping to let him down gently. "If I do visit, it's probably going to be odd hours so I don't think I will."

"I'm up all night in the laboratory researching so I wouldn't mind if you stopped by anytime."

By chance, Noel looked over. He met her eyes then darted to the man beside her, brows furrowing as if searching his memories. Then Noel casually turned and strolled towards them, eyes locked onto the unknown man and Serah recognized the look in his eyes when he approached. It was the same look when he was about done measuring the enemy and delivered the killing blow. "Listen, that's still not a good idea. I'm not really looking for anything right now."

"Well, you know where to find me."

He arrived. "Hey, whose -"

"A colleague of Hope," Serah intervened. She pushed at his back. "We'll be leaving now."

"Nice meeting you, Joe," Noel called over his shoulder. Serah sighed. Nothing escaped his eyes.

Scene XXIX. 101, ABC's, 1234

((Noel's (harrassing!) Guide))

Her body twisted, stretching the aches and pains then reached for the floor without bent knees. She leaned back, arching her back as her hands went over her head. Her hair fell over her face like a wall and through her tresses, she saw Noel leaning against the wall, watching. She moved to her stomach and arched upwards, then stretched like a cat, sighing in relief. "That's enough," Noel ordered, approaching closer. Serah shook off the weight of stress from yesterday's training and raised her weapon.

He was still, sharp blue eyes tracking her movement. Her foot slid harshly to the side and Noel didn't even flinch. Serah eyed him wearily. Then he was lunging towards her, arms outstretched so fast he knocked the sword from her hands with a solid downwards swing. Serah gasped, bending back when Noel followed with a thrust, eyes like a hawk beneath those bangs. Noel shifted forward, almost horizontal from the ground until he launched himself for a low strike. Serah stumbled to the side with a clumsy parry and with a step, Noel twisted his arms to bring his blades down. It missed by a hair but it was enough for Serah to collapse from the strength of it.

He followed her down, trapping her hands with both of his and an elbow pressing lightly on her collarbone that became troubling for breathing. Her legs struggled beneath his weight and she caught the narrowing of electric blue eyes. "Noel!"

There was another purposeful heartbeat of silence before he moved off. "That's what you get." He gave her a quick glance and left her sprawled.

She really disliked sparring with him.

...

He threw ice particles at her. She countered with her own, bits of elements clouding him until she realized Noel had rushed towards her. She braced for the hard impact of his body. When there was no hard body against hers, she peeked. Noel was eyeing her, tapping his sword. Her heart sank. He was going to correct her posture.

"Spread your legs," he said, smacking his sheathed weapon on the back of her thighs. "Loosen up. You're way too tight." He ignored her sound of frustration, eyeing her posture. She moved away when he made another move to correct her and straightened herself in a stance. He raised a brow. "That's how I want it every time we do this, got it?" Serah hummed, giving him a clumsy wave that made him growl and approach her threateningly.

"Noel, wait!" she shrilled, raising her sword when he lifted his for a wide swing. "Relax!" His eyes were calm, underlining with tension in his concentration. When it was obvious he wasn't going to respond anymore, Serah redirected his swing upwards and aimed for the opening with a kick that Noel blocked with a knee. He fell onto his side to sweep her legs and the breath was knocked out her lungs when she hit the ground.

He sank to his knees above her and stabbed the sharp end into the ground next to her head. "Always be ready, Serah," he warned, his voice low.

"It's because you're being too hard on me," she squirmed, glaring up at him with a decidedly cute frown.

Damn. He grounded the blade deeper into cement. "You're asking for it."

Serah rolled her eyes, keeping her weapon between their bodies like a barrier. "Yes, Noel. Even when I'm shouting 'No, wait!' you'd hear differently."

His lips twitched. "You just can't admit it." He got off her, offering a hand to help her up. He slung his sword over his shoulder and gave her pointers that she nodded her head occasionally to. "And finally, in a fight, there's so no such thing as honor when the enemy is willing to kill you." Noel gave her a deep look. "Use whatever dirty tactic you have, Serah, to survive. Got it?"

"Got it," she affirmed. Serah swung her weapon lowly on the floor, contemplating on his words. Noel was right, it was about survival. No pretty words like pride and honor made its way on the battlefield when everything was on the line. "I need to live," she murmured. There was a whistle of metal flying through the air and Serah instinctively raised her weapon to block Noel's crushing attack.

"Harder," he demanded, using a bit of his strength to push her back. Her sword trembled and she put all her force on it to hold him back. "I'll take you down," he muttered. There was an alarm warning her of pain and she quickly side-stepped so that he stumbled forward when he put all his weight on the sword. She tackled him by the back, switching her grip to angle her sword by his neck. He grunted, dropping his weapon to find his balance and throw off her hold. "Not what I expected," he gritted, wrestling her grip. Her sword ripped through the back of his shirt and she gained distance between them. Noel shook his head, his shirt falling off him. He scowled, throwing the ruined remains off him. "Less defense is what you were aiming for?" he questioned, bending to get his sword.

Serah stuck out her tongue even as she admitted to herself that Noel had a great body. "I'll take anything," she retorted and Noel came charging again.

She parried his attack so his sword flew upwards and she thought wildly on how to unbalance him further. Serah grabbed his shoulder and pulled him to her, meeting his lips. His eyes widened. Serah shoved him away and Noel stumbled back, arms loose and swords dropping to the ground. He was looking bewildered even when Serah summoned icy elements to her palms. She threw her own sword away while he tried to counter with his own spell but Serah had only widened the rip of her top he'd taken a slash at that threw off his concentration and Noel went down hard.

She made herself comfortable on his stomach and planted her weapon by him. "It's like how you wanted, huh, Noel?" He was watching her under his bangs, taking deep breathes to recover, wordless. "You just keep pushing and pushing," she continued. "Well, this is good, right?" The rise of his chest beneath her thighs made her acutely aware of hard muscles pressing back. She leaned forward, resting a hand by his head to get the dominate position, "I win, Noel."

Hope burst from the double doors, looking frazzled. "Stop!" And they watched amazingly as the director slip on the floor and knock himself out.

They blinked slowly, glancing at each other. "Come on," Noel said tiredly, sighing as he nudged her waist to guide her off him. "Before he wakes up and remembers."

...

They skidded across the ground.

Serah lifted herself and ran. He roughly shoved her, the push sending her farther away, faster. "That's," he gasped when they found cover. "Not how you're supposed to get some meat. Let's not do that again." Instead, Noel directed her over to a river where he rolled his trousers. Serah tried not look at the toned muscles. In the end, he caught more fish than she ever did. She would resort to her magic and sword but Noel had confiscated them earlier on. "Just pretend you lost them." It infuriated her further when he showed her how to cook on an open fire, courtesy of his own hands.

Her cheeks puffed on end in frustration. "Noel! Can't we just use a spell?"

"Don't always rely on that," he reminded her, already making his way to her when she was about to toss the materials. "Here, I'll show you." Noel gripped the back of her hands, arranging them to have the proper angle. "Then you just press down as hard as you can and-"

She flushed at the furious motion of his hands on hers in grinding the rocks together, reminding her clearly of how a man - "Simple physics," she supplied randomly. Over her shoulder, Noel turned his head a little too close. "It's the application of friction," she babbled on while Noel was looking at her strangely. "To make fire," she finished miserably, thinking of how she was reduced to this mess.

He let go and the cold air came rushing back. "Uh, thanks to that, it helps us get warm tonight," he said guardedly, eyeing her as if she was going to make a mention of other scientific laws. She could only nod her head without making a fool of herself any further. Satisfied, Noel turned his back to spread out their necessities. "Here," he said, reaching out a fish on a stick. He took a bite out of it to determine its cooked state when her face scrunched and offered it again.

'Indirect kiss,' she thought, feeling like a teenager when she took it.

"Not that bad, right?"

"Right."

Scene XXX. Legends

((The Unresolved Tale of Noel Kreiss))

The grave site was visited curiously upon by a woman cloaked in heavy garments. Rosy-pink strands peaked out from beneath the hood, heavy footfalls accenting her arrival. The woman folded her legs to sit comfortably, bowing her head in respect to glance at the ancient name written.

Noel Kreiss.

It was what the marked lines scribbled along the tomb said. The man whom traveled with ((rumored to be the very first in the died-out lineage)) seeress until the end of her days, beyond his duty did he still continue to serve her fallen grave. Then the darkness had taken his soul, poisoned his thoughts and corrupted his hands. Whispers among the villages said Noel Kreiss lived in two eras, always travelling to alter the timeline until the day the world itself changed and he roamed the same lands for hundreds of years.

She was told of the mysterious man clad in tribal clothing, heard the broken pieces of his history that the present was trying to understand. And so she remained, trying to recollect the bits of information she had on Noel Kreiss. Unchanged was his appearance that it began to spread of his dark magic. He had battled the one called Lightning who was fighting to save the world from ending, with streaks of white coloring dark tresses and with chaos clouding his eyes. His loyalty remained now only to the forgotten seeress who had longed for peace.

"He was unstoppable. At least he was taken down by the Liberator, god's servant."

"Wasn't that the sister of the seeress? I can't recall her name."

"Lightning?"

"No, the seeress."

"I don't think it's ever been recorded."

"Well, anyway, you'd think they'd have a friendship with their relations to the seeress."

"Who knows. They said it was Lightning that sent Noel Kreiss to the seeress, her sister. But we all know chaos had taken him, perhaps Lightning no longer tolerated his growing power."

"Maybe. Their fight did destroy that secluded part of town. There was a witness that ran away before he got caught up in it. Apparently they were having a long discussion before the Shadow Hunter attacked the Liberator. We'll never know what they were talking about."

Noel Kreiss was not human; they called him the Shadow Hunter. People had seen him entering portals, dark energy following in his wake. He erased criminals from Luxerion, brutal in his tact. The villagers were grateful but feared him. He spoke of events that wasn't known to the knowledge of humans. They said he was from the distant future and returned to the past, as the legends go, to assist the seeress then survived the ordeal to live in the present and the hundred of years.

"The one in the unusual attire? Everyone kept away from him when he appeared out of nowhere."

His title of Guardian to the seeress was discarded, no longer known except for the very seeress who was by his side. He beheld the memories of landscapes, people and towns that haven't existed. The man with the crazed look in his electric blue eyes had gone mad. Noel Kreiss was searching for something forbidden, the people said, something that wasn't suppose to exist anymore. And he had uttered a name, unknown by the lands and it had enraged him when they had forgotten.

"Hmm, I remember the seeress had a lover."

"Think it was Noel Kreiss, right? It was said he was fiercely protective of her, the enemies before them was slain by his blade."

"No, no. Before she went to the ill-fated quest, she lived her life in peace and had a lover. In the earliest days when she journeyed, she was faithful to him."

"Never heard of him. I'm sure Noel Kreiss and the seeress were lovers."

"A hunter and a seeress? Sounds like a fairy tale."

He carried a heavy burden for the past five hundred years. No one knew about it, but it stayed his hand from the innocent, feeding his anger and frustrations to criminals. Was the Shadow Hunter trying to fulfill the seeress's wish till his passing? Years ago, there was a sighting of him by the edge of Luxion, lamenting in the distance; the Shadow Hunter whispered a name and lifted his face to the sky, misery etched in his features. Was it hunger for power, the cruel parting from the seeress, betrayal of her or love that made him bow his head down in memory? And the villagers wondered on what happened that fateful day.

"That's up for debate. Apparently when the seeress completed her mission, the gift given to her took her life in the end. Around that time, Noel Kreiss acquired the dark powers he had."

"There was evidence there was a goddess that was worshiped in their time too. Apparently that goddess gave the seeress her foresight but that goddess was slain by Noel Kreiss."

"You think he killed this goddess for revenge?"

"It seems suspicious. Why would the goddess take away the seeress life? Different accounts argue that the seeress was still alive when the goddess was killed and then she perished soon after. And whatever power Noel Kreiss held, it didn't come to him naturally."

"He betrayed the seeress?"

"Maybe. Maybe not. There's too many things we don't know. This is all based on ancient accounts and relics we've managed to dig up."

"I don't believe that," said a man, stepping into their lounge. "No man would betray the woman he was entitled to protect."

"It's human greed, director."

"Noel Kreiss wasn't human according to the standards he was judged with when he passed. Perhaps he did love the seeress."

"What about her first lover?"

"There were records of him. He was part of history too. He. . . wasn't there for the seeress's death. He was assisting the goddess on a quest as well and so they separated for a long time. But he still loved her. I don't know the exact details, but her lover and Noel Kreiss disagreed with each other on the seeress's decision about her quest and it drifted them apart. But the seeress was determined to fulfill her mission and it was Noel Kreiss who won the right to stay by her side. An account of her last moments said the seeress saw a vision that ended her life and would have fallen from the sky but Noel Kreiss took her into his arms and collapsed to his knees, wrenching a miserable cry to the heavens that turned the sky black. He held her body for a long time before Hope Estheim found them."

"You'd think Hope Estheim would clear things up but the Liberator visited him one night and he refuses to say anything about this!"

"Well, I really believe that the seeress and Noel Kreiss loved each other before fate tore them apart."

"We don't know about the seeress. . . but what we know about the Shadow Hunter, I suppose he cared for her as a lover would."

They had forgotten the goddess. The future the seeress had fought to save had forgotten her name as well. And they forgot his strong desire for a future where everyone lived under a blue sky. Under the guise of inaccuracies, false tales and rumors, the true Noel Kreiss faded away into an empty shell.

"You must have been lonely," she whispered. The cloaked woman brushed away the growing mold on the proud stone where he was remembered. The sword that was always in his grip was implanted in front of the tombstone, unused by its master for the time he was away. She didn't know how long she was there, undisturbed until she felt that quiet presence. There was gravel crushed purposely behind her and she breathed deeply, the nostalgic scent warming her. "How long have I been asleep?"

"Almost a millennium."

A long silence. "I see." The woman traced the engravings gently, straightened and faced the cloaked figure. She stepped closer, seeing eyes trained on hers intently. "You've changed but haven't." She searched those familiar eyes, seeing hundreds of years shadow his sanity beginning to fade at her inspection. She reached to grip the face she was entranced with. There was a low growl, hands flexing as if to stop from grabbing her. "Let's see the world; I hope it's as beautiful as it was left." The sword was uplifted, patches of soil and grass clinging onto it stubbornly as it was pulled from its nesting and with a swift strike, the bits of the earth was removed. And the cloaked figure sheathed the weapon and faithfully followed her footsteps.

TBC