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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[wow, i had no idea Isa was friends with a ghost, that's so cool.]

I guess that's fair. I must still be traumatized from that buffalo chicken and ranch pizza you made me try that one time.

That pizza was great, I don't know what you're talking about.

[ This pizza is waiting in favor of the sushi. She's gonna stuff her face. ]

[the sushi is good, but the ham and pineapple is better. Isa makes a noise over the fact that Lea is clearly wrong and also gross, and goes quiet for a couple of minutes to chow down herself.]

[ It really is good, and Lea was hungrier than she thought. How long has it been since the mac and cheese? Which they still have leftovers of! Who knows how much else is in the fridge, since she's been gone so long. They'll have to pick up more milk...

Lea stops suddenly, and draws her fourth piece of sushi away from her mouth. ]

Fuck. I'm going to miss the bistro, aren't I?

Yeah... It might exist here, but it wouldn't really be the same without everyone else around.

[it's been a while since the mac and cheese, but there was candy (and pie for Isa) in the interim. the fridge probably has whatever basics it usually has, since Isa hasn't been around a huge amount.]

I don't think I'll bother.

[ She pops that entire piece into her mouth before reaching for the chopsticks. This entire roll has sauce and she wants at least half of it before she moves on to pizza. ]

You know that means you have to learn how to make that beef stew, right.

Shouldn't be too hard, and I bet Kai can help me figure it out, if he hasn't already.

[three slices of Isa's pizza have gone away, so it's time for another bit of sushi, one that isn't covered in sauce. she just uses her hands, like some sort of caveman.]

[ Oh please, like Lea wasn't using her hands for the nigiri. Oh shit though, she looks excited now. She just likes good food. It's a shame she doesn't have the stamina for it that Axel does. ]

You think so?

[listen, it's just like certain sexual practices, if you do them often enough your body adjusts and then you can go further. just keep eating huge amounts of food all the time and she can at least pretend she can keep up with him.]

Maybe. I wish we had some here to let Axel smell, he could probably identify everything that's in it.

[ She doesn't have his metabolism though. Okay, she has good metabolism, but not his. On the upside, bigger boob. ]

Would that work?

[ Of note: neither of these idiots are thinking to ask Sora. ]

[one fear, when i read this tag, idk why. what Sora? where? does Lea just mean any Sora who's gone home recently? also Isa likes Lea's boobs just how they are.]

Probably. He's got a better nose than Zexion or Riku, it's pretty wild.

[ Why fear. Also Lea means nothing, because Lea has not considered asking Sora for the recipe, even though she logically knows Sora worked there.

Lea would be glad to know Isa liked her boobs, though. ]

I know. That took some getting used to. But would he know all the ingredients?

Even if he didn't know the names of things he could just match the smells, probably. It's worth a shot.

[mmmm sushi was good, but pizza is better, back to cheese heaven she goes. and fuck, i want ham and pineapple pizza now, little caesar's or papa john's, either way.]

Can't hurt. Maybe if we make it a thing Kai will be even more inclined to help. There's no way Axel wouldn't like the stuff.

[ That stew is her favorite thing there, okay. Lea's going to finish off a couple more rolls before pushing the tray aside and reaching for her own pizza. But first: time to chug some water. ]

[is Lea aware that Sora was being assisted by a rat. i can't remember if anyone actually found out besides Sora, Donald, and Goofy. Isa's slowing down on the food, at least, and leans over to just kinda. rest her head on Lea's shoulder b/c dokis. she's missing everyone left behind now, and is thinking back on a lot of things, so don't mind if she's quiet suddenly.]

[ Lea is probably not aware, but other people probably are. She's seen weirder shit, to be fair.

She pauses after taking a bite and pulling the slice away from her mouth just to see the cheese stretch, and glancing down toward Isa to see if she can see how cool it is. But what is this sudden melancholy. ]

Mm?

[this is just how she is sometimes, when she's given a chance to dwell on things. sadly she did not see how cool the pizza was, and shakes her head slightly in response to the questioning noise.]

Nothing, just missing everyone.

[does that include Xemnas? the world may never know.]

Yeah.

[ She gets it. If it does include Xemnas she probably doesn't want to know, let's be real. Not yet, anyway. She finishes off a couple more bites and then rests her head on top of Isa's. ]

[tbh the only people it doesn't include is everyone from the new Organization apart from Xemnas. everyone else who was there can stay dead forever, hopefully. but no, it's primarily the kids and everyone. Isa sighs a little and gets back to her own slice of pizza without picking her head up.]

We'll be okay.

'Course we will.

[ Because they have each other, and all that. She tilts her arm to offer Isa a bite of her own pizza. It's tasty! ]

[nomp. it is, especially with no hot sauce on it. she holds out her own current slice for Lea.]

How long do you think we'll both sleep after all this food and candy?

Mmmmnn at least an hour, maybe two.

[ At least they're both clean and smell nice. She will take a huge bite of that, thank you. ]

I mean, it's nighttime, we could and probably should just go to bed after this.

[bed, or "bed"— no, stop that, they literally just went over this. intense cuddling sounds better right now anyway.]

Not like it matters. Did your sleep get messed up when you came here?

[ She doesn't really want to sleep... more like move to the couch and zone out, since she's too full but Awake. However, cuddling would be A+. ]

[they could try and find something to watch that isn't going to remind them of anything sad or uncomfortable, and make out a little and cuddle a lot.]

Yeah, a little. It hadn't really settled down at that point where I was anyway, though.