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

[listen. Isa's just gonna goose Lea's ribs for that, and kiss her some more. between smooches:]

Didn't seem important, and also you would've been thinking less of me that entire time instead of just the last couple of years.

Hey, I stopped that a while ago.

[ She's just teasing, and hopefully she's saying it gently enough to get that across. She's not sure where she should put her hands, or what she can do with them that's okay — going right into groping isn't happening, so what if she puts them on Isa's shoulders, like she's trying to pull her closer? They're mostly lower, where her collar bones would be. ]

[dude don't ask Isa, she has no solid understanding of how any of this works either. but wherever Lea wants to put her hands is fine, and extremely welcome. Isa's hands are still settled at Lea's hips, with her thumbs just grazing skin under the edge of her shirt.]

I'm glad, I'd hate to know what I'd have to do if you hadn't.

[ She kind of wants to slide them up her neck, but she doesn't want to do anything that might remind Isa of Xemnas, in any way. ]

Could figure something out.

[ She's only half paying attention to the conversation at this point, and so the teasing is a little weak. But she's going in for another kiss now, gaze focused on Isa's mouth. ]

[oho, maybe she'll just let Lea steer this for a bit and see where things go. Isa's not really paying a lot of attention either, but honestly Lea's welcome to take anything Xemnas did and make it her own, that'll be fastest for both of them.]

Oh, I could think of several things, but I don't think you're ready for them yet.

[ Lea sighs, but it's a long-suffering drama ploy, and not really because she's upset. ]

Probably not.

[ Anyway, it's kissing time now. ]

[it's been kissing time this whole time, what are you talking about. Isa's gonna wiggle a little bit so she's a little more horizontal, and so Lea's a little more on top of her.]

Just let me know when you want your head exploded and I'll see what I can do.

[~~~]

[ Gay panic. Why is she on top suddenly. Why is Isa doing that. Why is she turning so red? This is so fun, going from 'okay my best friend from childhood is attractive and I am attracted to them' to thinking of them in a sexual way. How does one cope. ]

Didn't we just talk about this?

[pfffffgjfjgk okay no Isa's laughing now, in that subdued way of someone who hasn't laughed nearly enough in their recent years, and wraps Lea up in a hug, because the gay panic is so obvious and so innocent somehow, and it's honestly delightful to watch. it's also fun to fluster her, lbr. but she's also fully respectful of it, because while she was thrown into the deep end of the gay pool, Lea doesn't have to be. Lea's getting a friendsmooch on the cheek, through the snickering.]

Sorry. I forgot how fun it is to tease you.

For some reason I don't believe you.

[ The most deadpan she ever gets, that tone right there. Enjoy this dead weight on you, Isa, since you're gonna be like that. She's red, now because of gay panic and because she's getting laughed at by an asshole. She's not really mad, though. ]

[mwah mwah mwah all over your face, Lea. but she's also doing that cat-petting sort of rub up and down Lea's back that she was doing earlier.]

Which part, the sorry or that it's fun?

The part where you forgot.

[ She's placated, between the touching and the mwahmwahing, and is mostly just embarrassed that she's so unclear on how to deal with this. That's not her style, she's normally the one who jumps headfirst into things and figures it out as she goes!! Ugh. ]

I forgot a surprising number of things about you, and I feel bad about that now, and I'm going to try and make up for it however I can.

[mwah, right on your cheek. ♥]

Would talking about what you're comfortable with right now be helpful, or is that a dumb question?

No no, how about we go back to the part about how you forgot so much about me?

[ I forget, is Isa ticklish? Should she harass her this way as revenge? But more seriously: ]

What would I even say?

[probably, but also probably not anywhere Lea can easily get to right now, like the backs of her knees or something. how can Lea be thinking of revenge when she's being hugged and smooched, gosh.]

I don't know, it was a pretty dumb question. I... you don't want to hear this, but I don't really know how this part of this works either. Everything for me just sort of... happened all at once. But this, where we are right now and with the kissing, that's fine, right?

[she's trying to share without details. she gets it, she does, she just doesn't really know what to do with it after that.]

[ As if Isa wouldn't. Lea is slowly becoming a big cat like this, and seems to be resting a little more weight on her makeout partner, so she can prop her head up a little with one elbow on the couch and her cheek in her hand. She's (surprisingly?) not bothered when Isa brings that up, although she looks like she's busy thinking. ]

Yeah, this is great. But what would you do if you could?

[well. Isa opens her mouth and inhales like she's going to say something, but then closes it and lets the air back out. she's gone pink, so it should be fairly clear what she's thinking about. it depends on how um. advanced, Lea's imagination is.]

I meant it about the head exploding. I think we might both explode if I tried to actually put it into words.

[ She's not stupid, jeez. Or 15 anymore. Lea just has more experience with stupid shit and violence growing up. Now she's pink, and shifting up to rub the back of her neck. ]

Can I ask a dumb question?

[and where did she learn about anything besides the basics that they probably got in the school that i know they must've gone to but pretend doesn't exist, hm? did she find Xigbar's porn stash like my Axel did. /no.]

Go for it.

[ Look, she explored a lot once she was able to roam worlds freely. Axel should never have been left unsupervised. Now how does she phrase this in a way that doesn't sound bad, or make it weird, or make it seems like she doesn't have any idea what she's doing? ]

Why?

[ Nailed it. ]

[goddammit lea. y tho, you goober.]

You're right, that was dumb. So dumb I don't know what, specifically, you're asking about.

[you get your butt poked for that one, miss.]

[ Oh my god. C'mon, she knows that was dumb. She shifts up again, looking confused on how to phrase this. ]

I mean— why me?

[ Is it because they've known each other since childhood? Because they're bffs? Because she's here and available and they have heart confusion? Because she's literally and/or figuratively hot? ]

[o-oh. that stings a little for some reason, right in the chest. god, Isa's usually the one with enormous self-doubt. her whole expression softens and she bites her lip for a second, blinking back the wetness that just welled up in her eyes. her hands come up to cradle Lea's face.]

You idiot, it's always been you. There's no one else it could have been.

[ God dammit. You can't get emotional like that with her, she aborbs any strong emotions like that like a sponge, and amplifies it. She looks emotional and wibbly and also disbelieving? It's not that she doubts what Isa's saying, it's just that so much of their history contradicts it, while also making perfect sense. Lea doesn't know what to say, looking away so she can avoid tearing up because of Isa's reaction, but then she moves in to kiss her again. ]

[Isa gladly returns the kiss, because she gets it. that span of years was rough for both of them, and they're slowly recovering from it, but it was also an anomaly as far as things go for the two of them. Isa's known deep down that they were probably going to end up married or cohabiting or girlfriends or whatever since they were like, seven years old. it did seem extremely unlikely in light of the Nobody bullshit, but here they are, kissing on a couch in their shared apartment.]