Mild spoilers and references to 300AF Sunleth Waterscape. The characters of Final Fantasy 13 and 13-2 do not belong to me and I make no profit off this fiction. For new readers, the first chapter is a short POV of Snow, the second has light elements of hurt/comfort, the third is a fun one shot about the sheep wool sidequest, the fourth chapter is "extra" scenes added to a scene lifted directly from the game that has elements of hurt/comfort, and the fifth is a paradox chapter not set in the game.

Resonant Blue

The little things bothered him.

As they walked she clearly acknowledged him to the point of almost making Noel a third wheel but once a monster charged that attitude flipped. Though she left him to his own devices, he noticed that she didn't attempt to work with him at all. When Noel became hurt, she would be quick on the draw to cure him, but wouldn't notice his own wounds until he called her. Their chemistry in battle created a rift of jealousy inside him. They shared a communication that he did not with her, and with an intensity she never owned until now. He truly embodied the phrase "third wheel" in battle.

He could feel her pain when he said the marriage was on hold. He could feel the scorn of the kid as they parted ways when he asked him to protect her. That small scoff spoke a thousand words. Noel will protect her, and in the end he will take the credit and she will turn to his arms. He knew the kid would not act on any of his desires. People with his attitude held too much pride to steal away another.

The one to doubt would be Serah. A small part of him worried at the end of this she would not return to him. In the brief moments she held him, he could feel her growing fortitude and strength. Whether she realized it or not, that future kid changed her, and it bothered him to see the ripples of distance between them. Not that he could worry about that particular problem right now. The importance of their time shuffling trumped everything else.