cinderlea | (no subject)

(no subject)

[ Riku disappears first. Vanished in her sleep, in the middle of the night, collapsing in on herself in a shimmer of starlights. This isn't like last time. No warnings, no chances to say goodbye, no hesitation or resistance. She just isn't there.

Lea goes minutes after Riku, in the same way. But she's awake, lounging on her couch, having a conversation as she flips through her phone. Here and then gone, like a flame. This isn't the first time either of them have gone home, but it's the first time it's so abrupt. At least it isn't death. The last time Riku went home was seven years ago. She was gone for a month, and she came back with shorter hair and the Mark of Mastery. The last time Lea went home, no one really noticed. She thought she was used to it by now.

Things are different this time. Disorienting. Lea meets Kai in the training, for real this time. Riku has her memories, or at least most of them. They're hazy, dreamlike, but real. She has them all. She remembers how old she really is and how long she's been gone. She remembers everyone she cares about, and everyone that won't change here. She keeps her ice magic and takes what she's learned here to use there. But time is fluid. She doesn't feel like she's been gone for seven years.

Lea's are gone, for now. She lives everything new and fresh, with the dressing room appearing only in dreams vivid enough to unsettle her.

Things aren't the same for every world.

Things go better than expected.

The core story is the same. The heroes rescue the ones that need it, they bring everyone back, they defeat the darkness, and they go home. How and when and who — these things vary, but they do it all together and they go home together. And then their story is over, at least for now, and they come back.

Unlike how they went out, Lea and Riku reappear together on the beach. Coming back is just as disorienting, and neither has their phone, so they get their bearings and confirm memories with each other, of the dressing room and of home, and then separate to find their friends.

They've been gone two months. ]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[behind the scenes, Isa's like 👀👌💦]

If it doesn't I can just brutalize a wall until I get tired. It won't be as satisfying, though.

[Isa takes Lea's empty bowl from her and stacks it in her own so she can set them off to one side, because we're adults here who take care of messes, or something.]

Probably not. I'd still root for you.

[ It'd be like that one gif of the guy who walks into a pole and then he starts beating it up so his friend starts beating it up too. Also jeez, what a momfriend. ]

Thanks. For the food, not for telling me. I guess for that too, but I could've gone a little longer without knowing. Weeks.

[ She tilts her hand a little. Weeks, months. It's flexible. ]

If I told you weeks from now you'd pitch a fit about why I didn't do it sooner.

[someone has to be, and also why do you think she slotted into her role as second in command of the Organization so easily?]

That's a problem for future me.

[ She leans back against the pillows and tilts her chin up. ]

Man, what do I do now that I have all this information?

[don't say anything resembling a cheesy pickup line-]

Ignore it? Leave it for future you? There's more mac and cheese in the kitchen, or I guess you could go back to sleep again.

[nailed it. the secret fifth option is lesbians.]

I think I've slept twice since I got back. More mac and cheese is definitely an option...

[ Lea 'hmmmmm's. ]

Should we go back to Halloween Town so you can show off your new costume? I dunno, you pick something.

[fuck, why would you give her an opening like that. she's trying not to always be the one initiating stuff!!!!! it makes her feel like she's being pushy, because of course she has doubts about how anyone really feels about her at this point. she was probably having to be coaxed into going much of anywhere with more people than Lea and the kids.]

We could, yeah. And then more food when we come back, and we can go from there.

[HT is probably just going to lead to depression tho, because of a detail Isa forgot to mention that i added because i'm a dick and we like angst here.]

[ She's not being pushy!! Lea's the one suggesting Halloween Town in the first place, so there. Get outta here with your insecurity, I will burn it. She stretches hard, the kind that sort of makes you vibrate all over, with her arms up above her head and her legs stretched out. Too much time in bed, as usual. ]

Sounds good to me. Let's raid the candy stashes while we're there.

Do they even have actual candy there or is it just weird stuff like bugs and eyeballs?

[we've been here too long, everything happening is too meta, i can't deal with it. that's the best kind of stretch, also. and also also, pushy specifically in she doesn't want to always be the one initiating kisses! gosh. Isa's gonna reach across Lea and get the milk glass, also, and get up out of bed with the dishes to take them to the sink, brb.]

No, there's lots of actual candy. Christmas Town has cookies, or so I hear.

[ And like, milk, and hot chocolate, but she has yet to go there. Lea is maybe kind of intentionally waiting on her to initiate it, because she's not sure how to go about it herself, now that she's back and it's possibly a Real Thing they could be doing and not just some overload of Emotions. Although, perhaps, that's stop being a good excuse after the second time.

Also things are depressing. Maybe Isa doesn't want to kiss while things are depressing. Time to get up and stretch and change her clothes. ]

[tbh Isa wants to do a lot more than kiss, but baby steps. at the moment she's positively overflowing with good feelings because everyone's back but especially Lea, and Lea's sad, but that (hopefully) won't last, and maybe kissing will help. candy will certainly help, short-term. there are general sounds from the kitchen for a couple of minutes of Isa puttering around, and when she comes back around the wall to look for her shoes, hopefully Lea's through changing.]

Are we just gorging on candy there, since neither one of us will have pockets?

...yes.

[ Except said in that way that makes you realize she had no plan of that sort in place at all, and had probably not even thought about it. To be honest she probably only really swings by there much with Riku or for candy on her way somewhere else.

Lea's done changing in that her shirt has been replaced. The pants are still good, right? ]

[Lea's the one wearing them, not Isa, so i can't remark on that. Isa's now wondering how candy gorging will work with her enormous beast-maw. maybe Lea can get a bucket and just dump a bunch into Isa's face. sigh.]

You're a dummy, but that's why we're friends.

[said with the utmost affection~]

[ Isa probably does laundry more diligently than Lea, at least. But if they're going to Halloween Town she's losing the pants anyway. She stretches again, arms up above her head. Really, it should just make her Slenderman. ]

Hey now. When have my ideas ever disappointed you?

Uh. I can think of at least ten different instances immediately.

[one of those is Axel blowing herself up to help Sora, although "disappointment" doesn't really cover how Isa felt about that one, and she is absolutely never mentioning it. "grief-stricken" is probably closer. anyway, Isa's retrieved her shoes and put them on, are these two idiots ready to go?]

Wow. You could've at least been like 'well they haven't lately'.

[ In the most deadpan Isa-voice she can muster. It was a pretty good one, if she's allowed to say so. Lea's switched into a plaid tanktop so yes, they can go as soon as she gets her boots on. ]

That's fair, the latest ones haven't.

[Isa left Lea's boots right there by the bed, at least. hmm, got phone, got shoes, still got Lea's plaid shirt on.]

See, I'll take that.

[ Yes she found them, it just took a moment. Now they're on and she has her phone and they're out the door. Or at least, she's heading out the door. ]

[she follows Lea out the door, and takes her hand once they're both out, just because. at least Isa's more confident and less distracted this time around.]

Actually that's not true, the fact that you continued wearing the coat and everything for so long after leaving the Organization didn't make sense to me.

I had reasons.

[ They just feel kind of dumb now that she's looking back on it. If Isa doesn't lace their fingers she will. ]

[she absolutely does. are they dating now, is this how adults work? who even knows.]

Yeah, but were they you reasons or good reasons?

[but Lea's getting a shoulder bump to indicate that Isa's teasing and not being an asshole.]

[ Depends. Does everyone else look at them and assume they're dating? Do they not realize they're dating? If you answered YES to either of these...

God. Lea eyes her out of the corner of her eyes, looking smug. ]

Look. They were good enough at the time.

[what if the answer to both is yes, what then? no, neither of them is obtuse enough to not realize they're dating.]

Sounds about right. Something about motivating you and reminding you of what was at stake, or something about not deserving real people clothes until it was all over, I bet.

[she knows u, Lea. the problem is that your dumb reasons ARE good.]

You didn't have to call me out like that.

[ She could've pretended it was for stealth or Heart protection or something, jeez. Also yeah they're both smarter than Riku and Red at least— ]

[Red and Riku were dumbasses, it's true.

Didn't I, though. I bet Kai asked you about it while you two were training, especially since he also got new clothes.

[that's right, Axel showed her the part where you pulled ice cream out of your ass and then remembered something and then excused yourself so you could cry without really being aware of the cause.]