A/N: I love Snow/Serah, a lot, and I just really wanted to explore that relationship more in-depth than what we get in the game - and I've been wanting to see it from Serah's POV. And yeah, part of this is me just blissfully ignoring everything from the ending of XIII-2 for the time being. Shhh, I like my denial. XD

CHAPTER ONE
I knew when we collided
You're the one I have decided
Who's one of my kind
-Train

Serah was sitting alone on the train back to Bodhum, perusing the thick stack of pamphlets and other assorted literature she had received at Eden University's orientation seminar earlier that day, wistfully wishing that Lightning had gone with her. It would have been nice to have someone to talk to on the long ride from Bodhum to Eden and back again. Plus, maybe seeing the campus and hearing about the curriculum firsthand would've been reassuring to Protective Big Sister.

Serah sighed affectedly. She knew the reason Light worked so hard, she did. Because of her. To ensure that she could have everything she wanted. But sometimes, all she wanted was to tell Light, Hey! I'm an adult now! Stop worrying about me!

But most of all, she just wanted to be a family again, like they were before the accident.

She made a face at her reflection in the window, chastising herself for her melancholy thoughts. Life was what it was, dwelling on the past wouldn't change it. Of course she missed her mother and father, and of course she wished that Light hadn't had to give up her own youth just to ensure that Serah could have one.

But maybe now, with Serah leaving home and getting out from under Lightning's protective wing, maybe Light could relax.

Maybe she'd even be Claire again.

Serah's thoughts were interrupted by the train as it put on its brakes in anticipation for the next stop, a small fishing village about an hour away from Bodhum. she looked around the already crowded train car that she was in and hoped that not too many people boarded here. She hated when the train was overcrowded.

She looked out her window again, resting her chin in her hand. The platform here was pretty empty - it was a sleepy fishing village, after all - save for just a few people milling about ... and heyyy, she knew those guys! Well, she didn't know them personally, but they were pretty famous - or rather, infamous - in Bodhum. For the first time this whole trip, Serah was glad Light hadn't come with her. Light hated NORA, and would have made a scene, most definitely.

She tried not to gawk too much as they boarded. She heard raised voices, followed by the sound of a calmer female voice. Within five minutes, the three members of the resistance group were in her train car.

The first one, a pretty brunette with big brown eyes and a butterfly tattoo on her bare shoulder, sat down unceremoniously next to a middle-aged woman in the row closest to the door. Serah recognized her as Lebreau. She was only a few years older than Serah, and she managed the beachfront café in Bodhum that was the not-so-secret headquarters for NORA.

Serah watched Lebreau as she waved her two companions on lazily. "What? You gonna sit on my lap? Find another seat!" she snarked at them, throwing her head back against the seat and closing her eyes.

Serah regarded the first man, a stockily-built fellow with hair as bright as fire, as he walked up the aisle, looking for another empty seat. She vaguely remembered the newscasters calling him Gadot, or something like that, and she was prepared to offer him the seat next to her own, because he looked like he might be interesting company for the rest of the trip, but he ended up finding a seat a few rows up from her own.

And now she was finally able to get a good look at the third NORA member who had boarded with the others.

Oh, holy ... Hello! She didn't know how she'd managed to look at the other two at all, now that she was looking at him.

She'd seen Snow Villiers on the television, of course, everyone had. he was NORA's leader, after all, and not shy about it. Several of her friends from school had had massive crushes on the guy, but Serah had never really thought about it one way or the other. She'd never really had any crushes, she'd always been so busy trying to do well in school, so Light would have less to worry about. Snow had just been another good-looking face on her television screen, and not someone to entertain silly schoolgirl thoughts about.

But she wasn't a schoolgirl any more, and he was no longer just a face on TV.

For one thing, he was huge. 6'5, at least, and broad-shouldered to boot. He was smiling good-naturedly, and Serah liked that it seemed to reach his blue eyes, making them twinkle with a bit of mischief.

Lightning would hate this guy. Lightning does hate this guy, she reminded herself, thinking about every time he was on the television, how Light would sneer and shake her head in disgust.

Serah had never really thought that was fair. yes, NORA was anti-government, and therefore, anti-soldier and anti-Lightning, but for all that, Serah couldn't say that she hated them. She would never tell Lightning, but sometimes she thought NORA might be onto something. Not that she agreed with their more radical ideas, but as far as she knew, they'd never done anything overly violent thus far, they were mostly just big talkers. And facts were facts ... the government wasn't perfect. She admired that NORA didn't just roll over and accept things the way they were presented to them.

Snow was getting closer to her row now. Chewing her bottom lip nervously, she gathered up all her folders and stuffed them quickly into her bag. When he walked by, she reached out and touched his arm. The fabric of his grey trench was soft under her fingertips - obviously the coat was a well-worn favorite of his.

She froze when he turned and looked down at her. Massive, he was simply massive, and she hoped profoundly that her eyes were not bugging out of her skull right now. "Um, I was just ... there's an empty seat here, that's all. If you want to sit, I mean."

He looked at her, his face a mask of seriousness for all of two seconds, before he broke into a grin. Oh my, Serah thought, looking down when she felt her cheeks reddening.

"Thank you," he said genuinely, sitting down beside her heavily. "I'm exhausted."

Serah smiled wanly and scooted a little closer to the window. Not that he was taking up too much of the seat or anything, it was just ... he was awfully close to her now. He smelled nice, too. She wasn't sure if that was a nice bonus or an unnecessary complication at the moment.

Why hadn't she thought that part through before she'd opened her big mouth? She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and saw that his eyes were closed. He hadn't been kidding about being exhausted, she guessed. She figured it was safe to look then, if he wasn't going to catch her.

It was weird, she realized, to see someone in person when you were so used to them just being on television. For one thing, he was younger than she would've guessed. She had always figured him for about twenty-five or so, but no. He was closer to Lightning's age - he might even be younger than Light. There was a very youthful quality to his features that no television camera could capture, and when he'd smiled at her only moments ago, his face had looked positively boyish.

It was at that precise moment that he cracked his right eye open and caught her looking at him. She clapped her hand over her mouth and squeaked, her eyes widening unnaturally. "I'm sorry. I'm really not a creepy stalker-person," she told him, her cheeks burning.

He chuckled and the sound was warm and deep. Serah liked it very much. "That's what all creepy stalker-people say," he told her with an easy wink. His voice was nice, too. She sort of hoped he'd keep talking to her.

Relief flooded through her when she realized that he really seemed nonplussed by the whole incident. "Not that it excuses my rudeness for staring, which I am sorry about, by the way, but it's just ... well, I mean, you're kinda famous, you know?" Serah explained then, talking quickly, and hoping she didn't sound reverential or adoring or anything embarrassing like that. "But you look different in person, that's all."

"I get that all the time," he said with a confident smirk.

Something about that grin put Serah immediately at ease. She rolled her eyes good-naturedly and tried not to giggle. She didn't want to be one of those stupid girls. "Aren't we sure of ourselves?" she said playfully. "I didn't say that you looking different was a good thing, now did I? I mean, you looked pretty handsome on TV, but now that I see you in person?" She made a wobbly motion with her hand and scrunched up her face. "Eh, average."

Snow's expression was so dumbfounded that Serah almost burst into peals of laughter then and there. "Well. You certainly know how to make a guy feel good about himself. You really should think about reining in the flattery. It's embarrassing," he said drolly.

"Bet you wish you hadn't sat here now, huh?" she asked. "Just think, you could've found some nice girl who would've told you all kinds of awesome things about you."

"You say that as if it's a bad thing," he said, but he was grinning at her. "But since I seem to be stuck with the meanest girl on the train, I guess I'll make the most of it," he said with an affected air of resignation. "I'm Snow."

"I know. Snow Villiers, leader of NORA. Like I said, you're famous. Don't let it go to your head though. I mean, I wouldn't want you to think I paid attention to your interviews or anything. I just happened to see your big head on my TV screen a few times, that's all." She glanced up at his face to see his reaction. He was looking at her with an uncertain expression on his face. It amused her to no end. This time, she did laugh. "I'm joking. My name is Serah. And I am not famous."

He laughed then. "You should be, with a mouth like that." As if he'd just realized what he'd implied, he smacked himself on the head with the palm of his hand. "Okay, well, that came out completely wrong. Now who's the creep on the train?"

Serah shook her head, amused. "I bet you say that to all the girls," she teased.

"Oh, yeah," Snow said dryly. "And it works like, half a percent of the time, too."

"Only with the classiest of ladies, I'm sure," Serah responded with a wry smile.

"Ha! That's nice, you thinking I know any classy ladies."

"Well," Serah said, doing her best to sound prim and haughty. "You know at least one now. And lucky for you, she's not offended."

"Whew," Snow said exaggeratedly. "I mean, I'd hate to have to endure another one of your tongue-lashings." He gave her a look, leaned a little closer to her.

Serah felt her face redden at the double entendre, and the way he leaned in, but she sidestepped it pointedly. "Yeah, they are pretty fearsome, I know," she said, laughing lightly. "My sister's scared to death of making me mad, and she's a soldier."

"No kidding?" Snow said, sitting up straight again, his eyes widening just a fraction. "What would she say about you fraternizing with NORA?"

"Fraternizing? Is that what I'm doing?" Serah asked. "And I didn't even make you buy me dinner first! Now I feel cheap." She pouted a little, aware that Snow was staring at her, and feeling pretty good about herself in this moment.

Serah could tell that he was about to say something else, but at that moment, the train pulled into Bodhum Station. She hadn't even realized that much time had passed already. "Bodhum Station. Last stop on this train!" came the announcement.

Serah didn't know if she was relieved by the announcement, or disappointed that she wouldn't get to hear whatever Snow had been about to say - she was pretty sure she'd been flirting with him, but she was sort of new to it, so she had no idea if he'd been about to reciprocate, or what. She put her bag over her shoulder and stood up, standing on tiptoes to stretch out her back a bit after the long ride. "Home at last," she sighed. She turned to Snow. "It was nice to meet you, Snow, even though you did insult me horribly," she said with a grin. "Maybe I'll see you around."

He didn't move. "Can I ... can I carry anything for you?" he asked, his expression earnest as he looked at her, right in the eyes. That was a little ... nerve-wracking. He looked at her like she was the only person on the whole train. "Do you need a ride home?"

Serah smiled at the offer, and seriously considered it for a minute. He was so nice. Genuinely funny, too, and cuter than any man had a right to be. Talking to him had come so easily to her, like she had always known him. Spending more time with him wouldn't have been a bad thing at all. Well, unless Lightning saw her with him. That might get a little ugly. In the end, that was the deciding factor. She really didn't want to do anything to piss Lightning off. "No, my house isn't far. And I've just got the one bag, I'll be all right." She offered him a shy smile. "Thank you, though. Snow." It was good manners to say a person's name, so they knew you remembered it. That, and she just liked saying it.

Nodding his head, he looked at his feet, and Serah was reminded of a puppy who had just been chastised. Nevertheless, he stood up then, and moved out of the way for her, and made a gesture for her to step out into the aisle between the rows of seats first.

"See you 'round, Serah," Snow said with a grin as she walked past him, and she smiled in return.

"Yeah, maybe," she said lightly, brushing past him then. It took all of her self-control not to look back over her shoulder at him as she got off the train, which surprised her. She wasn't used to boys giving her fluttery butterfly feelings in her stomach, but this one definitely had. Talking to him had been pleasant and amusing. Talking with him had been the most fun she'd allowed herself to have in awhile, and she knew to anyone else, it wouldn't seem like much, but to her, it meant everything. She wondered how easy it might be to "accidentally" run into him in the future. Bodhum wasn't very big ...

She shook herself mentally. That was crazy-talk. She'd had one pleasant conversation with the guy on a train. It didn't mean anything. Besides he probably had a girlfriend - more than one, maybe. Guys like him, well, they just weren't really the stay-single-for-long types. Besides, he seemed like a friendly guy. Just because they'd had a nice talk, and maybe a little flirty banter, that didn't mean he was actually ... well, it didn't mean anything, really.

Besides, it wasn't as if she could actually spend any time with him. Lightning would rather eat her gunblade than let her little sister associate with the resistance. Light got annoyed if Serah went to have lunch with her friends at the café on the beach that was run by NORA. Serah couldn't imagine what she would say if she came home and said Oh, hey, by the way, I think I like Snow Villiers a little bit!

She would just have to come to terms with the fact that the nice guy she had talked to on the train was always going to be just that - a nice guy on the train. And nothing more.