So new story by me (which I'm sure most of the readers who's read my one other fic wasn't expecting). Bit of a surprise, but I had this idea playing on my mind for the past few days!

I love Cloud very very much, and so I wanted to my next fic to be based around him...and of course I had to pair him up with someone totally random; Serah Farron. But I thought they'd make such an adorable couple (since I actually hate Snow) and thought I'd give it a go at doing a crossover. Also, since the pairing hasn't really been done before, I feel like I can have much more freedom on how the characters interact between each other. It's gonna be a slow process mind you, so it may be a while before you see anything bloom between the two.

My one other story has spand over two years now and an author can really develop between that length of time. When I read over it (even the title makes me cringe) I can't help but want to delete the whole thing and start all over. But since I have a lovely bunch of readers who enjoy it I don't have the heart to do it. So this story is going to be in 3rd person and sorta be in Serah's point of view (if that makes sense?). I feel that by doing this I could make the storytelling much more serious and mature by allowing me to go into much more detail.

Just to emphasize, this is an AU fanfic, so the geography, timing, establishments etc. will all be used to suit the plot rather than follow the games. Also there are no OC's, just random characters that I selected from each game which I felt suited the role!

So yeah, please let me know what you think and hope you enjoy!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Final Fantasy XIII nor Final Fantasy VII.

...

Chapter One

It had been just three weeks since Serah Farron and her boyfri- well now fiancé, Snow Villiers had moved to Midgar. Snow had gotten a fantastic job opportunity here by the World Regenesis Organization (WRO), a company that believed to restore and protect the planet; an objective that Snow truly followed himself. They had evidently seen his work in NORA, a resistance group to the Sanctum, and recruited him to be a hand to hand combat trainer for the trainees. Serah of course was over the moon when she had heard the news but moving to a whole different continent was a massive life change. She had to leave everything behind; her family, friends and students she loved teaching. Snow gave her the choice to stay on Cocoon but despite how much she knew she was going to miss everyone, she was never going to let him go on his own in a million years!

The one person she missed the most though was her beloved older sister, Lightning. Their parents had died when they both were young and since then Lightning's always been the one to look out for her. No matter how much of a warrior she could be, Serah knew that her and Snow leaving pained Lightning as much as it did her.

'But I've got learn to stand on my own two feet...Lightning's not gonna be there forever.' Serah inwardly thought, as she made her way round on the streets of Sector 5.

Since those three weeks of being here, Serah found it pretty difficult finding a job at a primary school in Midgar. Midgar itself was quite a prestigious city and so when Serah attended the small handful of interviews she was able to get, most of them stuck their noses in the air declaring 'Bodhum Elementary? Tsk, never heard of such a place!" Despite having a degree, you needed experience to be a teacher and as none of them had heard of her school they disregarded her immediately.

'Bunch of pompous snobs!' Serah snorted childishly.

The dim lighting of the lamps reflected off of her metallic pink tinted hair (unusual right?) as it swayed from left to right. It was currently tied up into a side ponytail, the long curled tendrils reaching as far as her hip. The shorter strands on the bottom side of head were kept straight and untied, letting them sit neatly above her shoulders. As for her outfit, she wore knee high grey socks, her feet clad in kitten heeled pink pumps. The white playsuit fitted her body comfortably, the shorts stopping mid thigh and top half being held up by halter neck straps. It was covered in small pink polka dots (to match the shoes of course!) with golden bow shaped buttons along the front.

When she walked out the door it seemed like the the perfect attire! The sun was out, clear skies and no cloud in sight. But once she went under the plate, the sun was immediately blocked, the shade keeping the area cool and the some what underground city covered in a grey...smog.

'It's actually pretty miserable down here.'

Serah clasped her hands around her arms as she finally began to feel the cold. It wasn't until she finally observed her surroundings that she realised she stood out like a sore thumb. The previous times she'd been down there she wore more...lets say, inconspicuous clothing.

Once they moved here, Snow warned her not to go into, how they dubbed it, the slums. Serah pulled a face at the name. People considered the place as their home and to call it something so degrading was just down right insulting. He made her promise that she wouldn't go down there but god dammit she got bored. Midgar was infested with the filthy rich and being brought up in a working-class background, she found it difficult to blend in. Their pre-payed apartment came with the job description along with a healthy pay sum. There of course came a price to this, resulting to Snow having to spend ten hours, six days a week at work, leaving Serah practically on her own when she wasn't out looking for a job herself.

Serah huffed in annoyance as she clutched her shoulder tote bag tighter to her body. Despite having been down the same sector a couple of times before, she found herself getting lost every time.

'This is ridiculous!' She inwardly moaned. 'I'm pretty sure I've been past that same moogle five times now!'

Manoeuvring herself around the cluster of people, she spent the next ten minutes taking different turns and routes before recognising a sign that stuck out the side of a building above the pavement.

'Bugenhagen's Bookstore'

Serah grinned as she found somewhere she finally recognised! She'd been to this store every time she came down to this sector, even buying the odd book from the dinky shop.

She made her way towards it, making sure she didn't trip over the cobbled stones as she did so.

The window display curved outwards, the plates of glass outlined by thin wooden panels. It looked like it was originally painted a deep burgundy however most of it had been chipped off from age. The glass itself was slightly foggy and the thick window drapes prevented any on goers from looking in. But what could be deciphered were the piles of books that sat on top of one after the other, the lighting from the chandelier inside casting their shadows.

Serah approached the door, it being the same colour as the window pains, gladly noticing the 'open' sign. Twisting the handle, she pushed the crooked door with slightly more force, the chimes of the door bell making her entrance known.

The store itself was a decent size, each row lined with shelves full of books; it was almost like a labyrinth! The walls were covered in old propaganda posters, the odd framed photograph placed on top of them. From what Serah could remember, at the back of the store was the counter where Mr Bugen tended to be with his canine companian Red (she had yet find out what breed he was!). To the left was a another room, sort of like a conservatory, where book groups and associations were held. Hot drinks and cakes tended to be served during the sessions (cold drinks and snacks when ever it was the children's group story telling time). Serah knew all this because as well as exploring the book shop herself, she had gotten to know Mr Bugen these past few weeks. He was a kind yet extremely wise old man with a rather strange sense of humour. Although it was sometimes unnerving every time he chanted 'Ho Ho Hoo!' at random moments in conversation, Serah still always found it intriguing the way he talked about both nature and machinery with such passion.

As she took a few more steps further into the store, she noticed something...different about it. Along with the musty smell of old leather books and faint coffee beans, she could smell...

'Flowers?'

Serah scrunched her nose at the peculiar scent. 'How odd.' She thought to herself.

She made her way down the isles, letting her fingers brush against the book binds as she walked passed.

Once she reached the counter, surprisingly no one was there. Not even Red.

She tilted her head in curiosity, noticing the set of yellow tulips set in a simple, clear vase next to the computer monitor.

'So that's where the smell is coming from.' she thought to herself.

She clasped her hands behind her back, taking a few steps towards the plant. The heels of her shoes echoed throughout the room as she gently placed her hand under one of the flowers, taking in its scent as she gently pressed her nose against the bud.

"Can I help you?"

Serah jumped in surprise, letting out a small 'Eep!' as she was startled by the voice.

"I'm so sorry Mr Bugen, I didn't mean to-"

She stopped in mid sentence, realising that the man in front of her wasn't in fact Mr Bugen. How did she not realise this from the sound of his voice?"

"You're not Mr Bugen." She stated dumbly.

"Yes, I'm not." The blonde hair stranger pointed out bluntly, "Thanks for pointing that out."

Serah couldn't help but let her cheeks flush.

'Oh how could have I been so stupid! Of course he's not Mr Bugen! Gah, Serah you are officially an idiot.'

She fiddled with her engagement necklace (a nervous habit she picked up) before looking back at the stranger in front of her.

The young man must've only been a few years older than herself (Serah had just turned twenty one a few months back), his hair in an array of platinum blonde spikes, his bangs just hovering over his eyes, a few reaching as far as his chin. His eyes were what struck Serah the most howeveer. It was an unusual shade of blue she noted, his iris' framed with a green hue. The colour of them were so intense that it appeared as if they were glowing.

It was then that she noticed that he wasn't looking back at her, but instead-

'...my hair?'

But before she could ponder any more on the thought his eyes were back on hers in an instant as if nothing had happened.

'Did...I just imagine that?'

Serah decided to just brush the thought off, 'strange boy' before realising that she hadn't answered his first question.

"Erm yes, could you, uh, tell me where your, erm, cookery section is?" It was a last minute thought but maybe she could find a new recipe she could make for Snow for when he got home from work. He would definitely appreciate a home cooked meal after he got back from a tiresome day.

'Plus I didn't want to make myself look any more of a numskull in front of this guy than I already have!' Serah inwardly groaned.

The man grunted before gesturing her to follow him.

As he took her around the maze of book shelves, she noted that he wore a simple v neck tee, combat trousers and military boots. All which were black.

Serah pulled a face at the observation, "Blagh! How bland!"

They finally stopped at one of the shelves by the wall, the blonde haired man addressing to the two rows, "I believe these are all the cookery related books we have in the store, if we don't have what you want then I'd suggest you go to a library."

And with that said, he turned on his heel and began to make his way to who God knows where.

"Wait!" Serah found herself calling. There was something about this man that she found...intriguing.

The man turned to her in irritation "Yes?"

"Where's Mr Bugen?" She asked innocently, completely oblivious to the irritated tone in his voice (being the sweet girl that she was, she tended to either block it out or look past it).

"Not here." He bluntly stated, clearly he wanted to go back to his brooding.

Serah dead panned at his answer, but next thing she knew she was placing a hand against her mouth to the prevent the giggles that she felt crawl up at the back of her throat.

The man looked at her as if she were insane, "That wasn't meant to be a joke."

"I know," she giggled, "But, captain obvious much?" she snorted.

He stared at her for one long minute before again, attempting to get himself as far away from the crazed woman as possible.

"Hold on!" She blocked his path, making sure she contained her laughter (though the grin was still plastered on her face), "I'm serious! Where is he? I've been sorta a regular customer here lately and I just wanna know where he's gone! For all I know you have him locked in a cupboard under the stairs."

"...I'm not Voldemort."

Serah's grin widened as he recognised the Harry Potter reference. Already she had gotten him a little bit out of his shell.

"How do I know if your nose is real?"

The blonde man swatted her hand away as she attempted to point at it "You are ridiculous. Find your book and go home."

"Fine, fine." She said, finally giving in to the stubborn man, "But you still haven't answered my question!"

He gave her a blunt look.

"Oh no, not the whether you have a nose question you silly goose-"

"Silly what?"

" -but the first one about Mr Bugen."

He didn't seem convinced.

"Look," She began to tug on her necklace, "in all seriousness, since I've moved here I haven't met many new people and Mr Bugen is the only person here that I probably consider my friend, so I'm just worried about him."

The young man looked at her with her guarded eyes, appearing as if he were giving her some consideration on her last outburst.

'I guess he's not that much of an emotionless guy!' Serah silently cheered.

"...What a loser."

'Why that-'

She picked up a random book from the shelf, hitting his arm with to emphasize each word she said, "YOU. ARE. AN. INCONSIDARATE. JERK. FACE.!"

Serah blew her bangs in annoyance, noticing the tiniest of smirks rise on his lips. Apparently the constant batting of book did nothing. And it was a hard cover.

"You know what, I don't want to even buy a book anymore! I hope your sales come crashing down!" She knew she was being childish but frankly she didn't give a rats.

"Yeah, as if this store is making hundreds of sales as it is."

'So he's a sarcastic butthead too huh?'

Before Serah could make her dramatic exit, she caught the blonde hair 'butthead' mutter something to her, "Bugen's gone to Cosmo Canyon with Red. I don't know how long he'll be but I promised I'd look after the shop for him. So you don't have to worry. He's fine."

And as she was about to interrogate the young man further, he had quickly picked up the book that she had continuously bashed against the poor soul with and made his way to the back of the store.

Serah stared at the place he once stood, deciding it was best that she left since she wasn't going to get any more out of him.

As she made her way out on the city street, a light gust of winder blew into her; it was a refreshing feeling after being cooped up in such a clustered room. As much as a jerk she thought that guy was, she couldn't help but want come to back to visit the store. There must be a reason why he was so uptight. Serah was never the one for brushing aside her own feelings let alone others; Lightning always pointed out how she was good at reading people!

She made her way to the station, the strange blonde insisting on staying put on her mind. It was just then that she realised.

'I never even got his name...'

...