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. ]

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[ Something stupid. She won't do it. She leans back on the stool, staring very intently at the tile floor. On the upside, she didn't destroy the bath curtain. ]

But she didn't hurt you.

[does it have anything to do with how grateful Lea's going to be at some point that Isa got that experience and knows approximately how to please a lady in bed? also i assure you, whatever Lea's imagining went on is probably incorrect. Isa folds her arms on the edge of the tub and rests her cheek on them.]

Xehanort was the only one who ever hurt me, directly or otherwise. She was the only one who hurt any of us, really. Even in the maze, when Xemnas almost killed you, it was Xehanort puppeting her body. That was all that was powering most of us at that point, either direct control or heavy mental influence.

[ She holds up a hand, not so much to silence her completely but gently, because it really is a request. ]

Stop. I don't want to hear it.

[ But quickly, as an afterthought: ]

...maybe later.

[ Is this compromise? Is she doing it right? She's trying, a little, since she can see now that there's something more important that Isa has only now given her a little glimpse of. ]

[she is! enough so that Isa's expression clears and she stretches up enough to be able to smooch Lea's cheek before turning back around in the tub.]

Thank you. And... I am sorry. We were doing so well, and then I ruined it.

[story of her life tbh.]

[ She seems... pacified, but not back to her full mood. She's too ready to be mad again, but she'll cool off. ]

What'd you ruin?

[ Besides her general image of Isa as someone who didn't bang their former boss and probably Lea's worst enemy, if you get down to it. She pokes her in the back of the head, then turns on the water right over it. Here, this is your punishment. ]

Edited 2019-09-06 02:18 (UTC)

The relatively good time we were having.

[she sputters, once she's partially out from under the water. and really, Xemnas was the worst enemy? not anyone from the coup, or Xehanort?]

...so is there anyone I should know about?

[ The coup was just that, and Axel took care of them. Easy peasy. Xehanort was the brains behind the entire operation in the end, but... with Xemnas it was personal, for Lea. She still holds her responsible for some things she maybe shouldn't. ]

No.

[ She squirts her with the water again for that question. ]

Who would it even be?

[yeah she really shouldn't, at least by the canon i'm coming up with, which was that Xehanort had fairly heavy influence on everything Xemnas and Anfemme did, and while Anfemme was still a goddamn asshole most of the time without the influence, Xemnas was fairly neutral, morally speaking, and just kind of an idiot.

Isa flicks some water over her shoulder at Lea. P: ]

I dunno. Demyx wasn't terrible to look at. No one was, really, but the personalities on most of them were less than pleasant.

[ Yes, but. Lea is a dick. That's really what this boils down to. Also even if you learn new things and shift the blame, it's hard to just ignore everything else. ]

I'm offended Demyx was your first suggestion. Not my type, not even to shut her up.

[ She's too much like Lea Lite, except without the need to please her friends, or the generally pleasant personality. ]

No one even came close, although I will say Larxene tried.

[ "Shame I'm so gay and all." ]

Ew. I admit I assumed he and Marluxia had something going on. And I feel like Demyx would've been the only person who wouldn't have caused problems about it later on.

[are they just playing smash or pass now? Isa will just have to lay on Lea and kiss her until she stops being a dick, i guess.]

They definitely had something going on, but it might be different than what you're imagining. Marluxia would've had better luck with me, by the way. Than Larxene or Demyx. Trust me. I hung out with all of them at some point.

[ She didn't try, though. Also yeah, that's what they seem to be doing. Why not, honestly. ]

I'm trying not to imagine anything, honestly. And you have my sympathies. I never really did ask you about what it was like there, only about what happened. I assume it was awful, considering who else was there. You don't have to talk about it, but.

[not like, the bad memories shit that went on, just like. interpersonally. Isa never spent much time in close quarters with any besides Lea and Xemnas, so a lot of personality stuff for the others is kind of a mystery, apart from who did best at what kind of mission, and who annoyed her the most.]

[ Lea annoyed her the most, right? It was Lea? She scoops up Isa's hair in one hand so she can hold it while she rinses it free of shampoo. ]

Oblivion?

[tbh no, or maybe it was just that Lea's annoyingness was more familiar and tolerable. Xigbar and Demyx were probably tied at the top of the list, for being a nosy pervert and useless, respectively.]

Yeah. I was only there a couple of times, but the whole place gave me a headache.

[ Disappointeeeed. ]

Stuck in a castle with Thing One and Two, and the science division? Oh, it was the time of my life. Sneaking around, sniffing out traitors... Getting rid of anyone in your way.

[ Hah. ]

And I do appreciate it, believe me. I was very impressed that you managed to do that and get out in one piece.

[even though it ended up being pointless, and fuck, she just remembered another thing but 1) it'll make Lea sad and/or angry again and 2) it involves having some level of trust in anything Xemnas has said ever, so she'll come back to that later. in like a week. right now she's gonna try and help with her hair because it feels weird just sitting here doing nothing.]

Tell me you expected anything less and it's gonna hurt my feelings.

[ She's not necessarily proud of everything she did there, but it's in the past. She got shit done that other people wouldn't have been able to. She'll let her help, but she's gonna gently brush the back of her hand against the back of Isa's neck, kind of but not really accidentally. ]

Well, you are a dumbass. Sometimes. And you did have me a little worried when the Dusks came back with initial reports that everyone was dead.

[Isa shivers appreciatively, and then yawns a little. she's gonna need a little coffee or something after this if she's going to make dinner. about all she wants to do at the moment is crawl back in bed with Lea, though.]

I couldn't really have them blowing my cover if I was trying to lay low, could I?

[ Bed would be nice, but Lea kind of want to take a quick shower herself after this. ]

True. That entire place was a mistake, but I'm glad you got out alright. The kids weren't the only ones relieved when you finally turned up.

[taking the bag of candy to bed with the two of them sounds ideal. Isa's even finally relaxing for real, now that there isn't a potential fight looming.]

Fooled me at the time.

[ She says, but she's gentle about it. Isa's hair is clean of soap! Lea's going to let her do whatever else she does in the bath. ]

[not much, since she usually does the smart thing and hoses off in the shower before sitting in a bath. but this was to relax more than to get clean, so if Lea's through, Isa's through. where towel?]

Yeah, well.

[...nope, that's all she has to say about that.]

[ Hanging to dry, probably. Or in a pile that needs to be washed. ]

Well, I'm done with your hair. Want some privacy?

[true, Lea hasn't been here, so it's hanging up somewhere like it should be. /...]

Nah, just hand me that towel. Am I doing food now, are we going back to bed, what?

[ Unbelievable. Where are her couch towels. ]

Your choice. I'm not super hungry, but I won't say no, either.

[ She stands up to grab the towel, but stops to stretch first. Then she'll pluck it off the rack and hold it out for Isa, now avoiding looking at her since it would... be from the front.]