Chapter 4:

Episode 1-3

Devious whispers

Snow wasn't the sort of man to shy away from much of anything, but when his wife-to-be made demands, he knew better than to question them. Snow wasn't the smartest of men when it came to certain things like advanced sciences and geopolitics, but he liked to think he knew a thing or two when topics of their hometown, family, and friends popped into question - he wasn't too shabby a handyman either.

For instance, he managed to whittle down the lighting issue in their basement a few months back. Precipitation from the plumbing had been dripping onto an exposed section of the wiring - a massive fire hazard, especially since the pipes weren't supposed to have any precipitation - which he dealt with by installing a small strip of plastic to act as a shield while he found and fixed the issue with the pipe. Turns out there was a small leak near the end, which he easily sealed up with some liquid cement.

There was also the fact that his wonderful Serah held some regrets towards that deal sis had convinced them to take. To be fair, Claire hadn't been too happy with how things turned out either. Seeing as Serah and Claire were indeed sisters, it made her importance to sis's part in the game inevitable.

Too bad they weren't properly prepared for Serah's full character design.

In the end, it tripled their royalties, but Serah was not fond of it, even if Snow himself found the costume eye-rolling at worst... So long as they didn't do anything outright extreme, he could reasonably chalk it up as nothing personal. But then again, he had been the patron of Yusnaan, so he wasn't sure his easy dismissal of these elements were all that fair.

Either way, Serah's provocative digital image, while he could appreciate how it looked himself, made things immensely difficult for the woman who often had trouble dismissing anyone's hard work. Naturally, this ticked him off, and so he'd gotten help from Claire to figure out what was going on, and what happened. Some yodeling later and they'd gotten the group to at least tone down her character's design a bit; probably no worse now than when she took that trip with Noel back in the Old World.

Besides, they still got a hefty chunk of change regularly from merchandising sales, but it was on the prospect that the game was allowed to alter her outfit depending on events, meaning the scantily clad version of her was still at large.

During all of this, his dear Serah had been ever respectful, professional even, and soft of heart with anyone who wasn't her family... or a student of hers - local children's myths still echo 'Meanie Miss Farron' across the playground behind the school, where he'd helped install a new swing set. With all of this, it shouldn't have come to anyone's shock - least of all his own - when he'd frozen upon hearing the delicate light of his life mutter something so dark into his ear right after bidding he meet with someone.

"I'll make you suffer."

He actually felt every bone in his body lock up with that one, and his eyes rolled over, scraping against their sockets as he set his sights firmly on her mildly mischievous and threatening expression. It was so, so cold, the way her words hit without even the playful sheet of flair the mention of a guest had offered; heck, he wondered if she even said it to begin with it - sounded so alien.

But nobody else owned that voice - damn... had he really pissed her off that badly from his little mistake earlier?

Yeesh. I know I should be better, but that would be cold even coming from sis.

"Well?" That playful heat returned, so unlike the previous declaration of murder. "Go on: get going."

"R-right." Swallowing thickly, Snow slapped his cheeks quickly, manned up, and marched along. He was sure both Noel and Yeul were behind him sniggering - traitors.

Within the kitchen, Snow found his breath betraying him anew, pausing momentarily when his eyes crossed the young girl sitting at their table and munching on a cookie. Like a deer in the headlights - somewhat common where they were, despite the treeline being a good distance away in all directions - the little pinkette paused, and the sudden stop caused a crumb or two to fall from the corners of her lips. She blinked twice, before slowly starting to chew again.

"This is Lulu," Serah spoke from his side, inadvertently restarting Snow's heart, and reminding him of something crucial. "Lulu, this is my fiancé: Snow."

Lulu tilted her head to the side, apparently getting a look at him all over, all the while Snow himself beat back any rogue specks of unwanted emotion from his throat, putting out what he hoped sounded like a purely and completely unbaffled friendly greeting.

"Hey there." Meh, a little gruff, but close enough.

Lulu gave a little wave, and Snow steadied his breathing. Her resemblance to Lumina, the mischievous specter summoned by sis, was a little shocking, but unless Claire had suddenly split herself in twain, this couldn't possibly be the same one they had both the fortune and misfortune of tangoing with.

Lulu's appearance being so much like the memory still left goosebumps along his skin though.

Snow was immediately left a little lost when Serah wandered over to the table, patting the space next to her and silently ordering - not asking - him to join. Carefully, he took his seat, with Noel and Yeul about to join in before Serah stopped them.

"Noel," she began, spreading a pleasant, friendly smile across her face. "Would you be a dear and run our crowbar back down to the cellar? Snow left it by the bathroom door again."

Crap. Snow swallowed quickly, knowing he'd once more goofed - and tonight was not a good night for it.

"Roger that." Noel gave a playful salute, sporting a cheeky grin his way before taking off. Serah then focused her attention on Yeul.

"Yeul, would you mind finding something for us to watch together; I believe we can use something to relax for the rest of the night."

Yeul's answer was to nod curtly, albeit casually, and she went to do just that. Serah then, surprisingly, turned to Lulu, who looked far more spooked than she realistically should have being a guest… Granted, Meanie Miss Farron's influence may be in play here.

"Why don't you go out and join her? I'm sure you have a more... up to date sense of taste when it comes to what's seen as acceptable nowadays."

Lulu, being just as wise as the rest of 'em, calmly stood, grabbed a certain doll from the table and took off. That doll... that was one of Serah. Not only that, but Serah had seen it and not said anything. And now, he was alone with her, on a night when he'd ticked her off, right after she'd seen something else to shove her deeper under the waters...

He was in trouble, wasn't he?

"Snow... I need a word."

Oh yeah, he was screwed.

"Y-yes dear?" Attempting not to make things even more messy - a little easier now that the alcohol was mostly worn off - Snow cautiously turned to face her while hiding his trepidation. Serah, however, looked to lose some of her edge.

"Do you think I'm a bad influence?"

"Huh?"

"Lulu mentioned her family, and how at least some of them see me as... unfit, in a sense, to be around." Serah shushed a little, curling in a tiny bit near the end. "Do you think I maybe should have just declined the offer Claire gave me?"

Okay, so he wasn't super screwed, but to be honest, this was just as bad. Shaking his head, he leaned over on a propped elbow, letting his free hand support his head as he went to work reassuring her.

"Not at all." Of all the things to prioritize, Serah over fixated on the silliest things. "Last I checked, Serah Farron is midway through her apprenticeship, and a hand-toss away from becoming a full fledged teacher."

"I know that," she admitted, only to stumble a little under her breath, keeping up a solemn, but firm expression. "But not everyone sees me as a teacher. Most people probably only know me from the game, and it's clear not all of them understand that I'm not so... flashy, as that."

"And not all people are all wise," Snow chuckled, shaking his head and sighing as he lifted himself and wrapped an arm around her, pulling his Serah close. "Heck, I'm pretty sure I can outsmart a good many of them." Pausing a moment later, Snow made a tiny alteration. "In the sense that I don't believe everything in fiction."

It made her giggle a little, a small snort really, but it did the trick. Serah relaxed, aptly letting whatever was held up in her chest subside. Yeah, some people were always going to make assumptions, but there was only one thing to keep in mind in the wake of that.

"Besides," he peppered his voice with a bit of spice. "It doesn't matter what people think when they'll never see you outside of their fantasy land."

"I guess." Brushing him off, she stood. "Come on. Yeul and Lulu have probably found our time-waster by now. Let's go see what it is."

"Alright." A cheeky grin split Snow's face as he strolled over to link an arm with hers. "I could use some cuddling."

"Of course..." It was too late before Snow registered the splash of sourness dripping from her words. "You're still sleeping on the couch tonight." Cringing, he peeked with one eye at her face, seeing the little bits of sadistic glee hidden behind her perfect mask of serenity. "It took me too long to get the carpet clean, and neither of us have work tomorrow."

"I'll be rather lonely," he tried, making his final stand at swaying her decision.

"You'll survive." Only to be gunned down on the spot.

Waving the white flag, Snow stifled a grumble deep within his throat and let her take the lead, all the while Serah moved with a skip and a hop. Oh well, at least she was in a better mood. Besides, absence makes the heart grow fonder as they say.

.

.

"And there we go." Taking a step back, Noel smirked upon the sight of the tool-covered backboard above the workbench. "Now, was that so hard?"

To tell the truth, Noel wasn't entirely sure how Snow kept forgetting to put his stuff away. Yeah, the man could be a little loopy when he was face-first into the thick of things, but he was usually good for remembering where his stuff was. Noel remembered the rebuilding of the shed after the unfortunate fire, and how Snow could point out and direct everyone towards each individual nail laying both in the grass and beside the beams which were awaiting a good knock or two.

So Snow wasn't exactly forgetful of where he put things down; he just never put them away.

"I'm thinking way too deep into this." Shaking his head, Noel twirled around. For all he knew, Snow left things out in preparation for other projects, rather than sheer neglect. Thing was, Serah liked to keep a tidy house; despite what she claimed, the girl was incredibly self-conscious about appearances, unlike her fiancé. Unfortunately, she could get a tad too caught up in it at times, scrubbing every surface and leaving herself sweating and ragged just because either them or her sister paid the pair a visit. Snow was the complete opposite: he kept himself at the pinnacle of "good enough" nearly twenty-four seven.

Mix 'em together and you'd have a decently kept individual; although, a part of Noel liked the usually unaware obsession and paradoxical laxness of the duo - it made them interesting to be around.

Noel had been about to start up the stairs when something graced his ears, an almost ethereal whisper that he wasn't quite sure even happened. He'd helped Snow plenty of times with repairs and upgrades to the house, being compensated for each despite not asking for anything, so he liked to think he had a solid grasp on all its creeks and skitters.

"I'm going to kill her." So when he heard Snow's voice vaguely whisper a completely uncharacteristic threat that could only be referring to his love, Noel had to do a double take.

The silence drowned out everything for the duration of his pause, and Noel strained his ears while trying to pick up whatever it was he might have eavesdropped on; if not for a repeat, then for a continuation. Snow was upstairs, and last he checked, the vents down here connecting to the main house could carry noise from all around, so it wasn't entirely impossible to hear a comment or two every now and then. But it didn't seem right, neither by feeling or intent, and so he simply must have heard it wrong - or at least lacked the context of what Snow had meant.

What felt like minutes passed before Noel eventually gave up; he wasn't getting anything. And so, he returned upwards, leaving behind the cellar, but unable to eject just what he'd heard.

.

.

"Seems horny."

Yeul curled a brow at that response, but she ultimately had to agree; most of these fantasy films tended to go more than just a little overboard on their character outfittings. Granted, they were reading the synopsis for a classic 90s barbarian film, so she supposed the furry speedo wasn't completely out of line with the subject matter. But it wasn't exactly family friendly, now was it?

This was not a night to bother the swan; Serah had neither the mood, nor patience.

Clicking to the next in the 'New Recommendations' line-up, Yeul heard Lulu verbally shudder.

"We're not doing bugs."

"I'm not sure they're referring to actual bugs." Yeul read through the description, only to scowl, pucker, shut her eyes, and click over to the next. She'd heard of this one, and despite its label as a horror movie, Yeul found the concept of being connected mouth to backside indescribably revolting. "On second thought, you're right."

A few more clicks and denials later had Lulu's patience had reached its apparent limit.

"Isn't there anything normal on here?"

"Normal is subjective." And in came Serah and Snow, with the latter still in one piece. The taller pinkette smiled playfully, casting an eye to the screen. "It's just a matter of giving new things a chance."

"And all of a sudden, the recommendations make sense." Yeul stifled a snort; Lulu had a mouth on her, just like the girl she unknowingly embodied. The resemblance was frightening in detail, but harmless in that it was just that: a resemblance. Miss supermodel had reclaimed her creation during the final hour - well, more so the final minute - of their time in the Old World, so unless Caius and the other incarnations of her were picking at Claire's soul from beyond, this was just the one-in-a-hundred of their day to day.

"Oh really?" Serah slid over, plopping herself right beside the kid, with Snow following shortly behind and taking the edge of the sofa. "And why's that?"

"It's hiding madness beneath a veil of cliche," Lulu couldn't possibly know how accurate of a statement that was, and Yeul sent a teasing grin towards her friend, of whom merely looked curiously at the screen. The previous choices were dipping beyond the left side, but provided enough clarity for Serah to get the gist.

Serah hummed, sending a pseudo-judgemental look at Lulu.

"I highly doubt you've gone your entire life without looking for the kind of stuff I'm seeing pop up."

Lulu then proceeded to turn everything right around on her host.

"I'm not the one whose taste is being filtered by an algorithm."

Before Serah could comment back, Noel unceremoniously returned to the fray, walking in just in time to save them from the miniature battle of evil-eyes the non-blood twins were waging.

"I'm back." Noel made for them, and Yeul had to scooch a little tighter against Lulu to fit her man on the other end of the sofa. Lulu didn't speak up if it bothered her, but her annoyance at being squished between a pair of taller viewers cloaked her face fittingly enough. "So, what did I miss?" His question was then retracted when he laid eyes on the TV. "Not wanting to judge anyone here, but the last time I tried watching The Human Centipede I was cleaning up vomit that wasn't my own."

"You know..." Yeul quickly began realizing, due to the almost random nature of these recommendations they'd been getting, "I don't think this is all that accurate with what you two watch."

"Yeah..." Snow seemed a little sheepish, scratching the side of his cheek and looking anywhere but at them. "Being completely honest, that one might be my bad. I may have made, and lost, a little bet last week at work."

Serah gave him an oddly silent stare, which raised his distinct discomfort by the second.

"Snow, what exactly were you betting at work?"

"Nothing serious, just a little game here and there to pass the time during the slow days."

"Does this have anything to do, at all, with why you're always running through bars of soap so quickly."

"So," Snow indiscreetly flopped his arm on the sofa's end. "I heard they've got one of those new superhero shows out. Who's up for a little binge?"

Seems someone hadn't lost the kiss of liquor yet, because Yeul knew for a fact the blonde wasn't this bad at covering up his tracks. Serah, thankfully, dropped her scowl when Lulu piped up.

"If we're going to do this, can we hurry it up? I've got to get home by ten."

Slipping an eye, Yeul noted it was currently 7:25 PM. Not enough time to finish a whole series, but maybe Lulu didn't mind that.

"If that's the case," Serah butted in, swiping the remote smoothly from Yeul's grasp and leaving the woman mildly dazed - was her grip really that loose? She could have sworn she'd kept a tighter hold. "I have a film in mind."

Somehow, sitting through a pseudo-PG 13 romance starring Serah's sister had Yeul wondering if this was some sort of jab at Snow, who continued to look increasingly uncomfortable with Serah's hawk-like gaze shooting to him during every scene with Claire in only an oversized shirt. She was being ridiculous now, but considering how angry she'd been prior, this was surely her way of getting back at her man. Serah didn't honestly believe Snow would ever have eyes for anyone but her, but it seems she was content with poking him until she got her irritation across.

Yeul hadn't even known the older Farron was in film now, but she supposed that was just another one of her many contracts.

Author's note

…

Short and simple.

Back again with an easy chapter this time; not too much going on. Again, these updates will be slow, so don't expect them too frequently. Serah's taken charge this time, everyone's trying not to whack the beehive, and dark thoughts are haunting the air.

I consider this good enough for now; until next time.