cinderlea | (no subject)

[ Down she goes. And here Riku meets her end: licked to death by an excitable husky. Sorry, Isa, she's trying to get to those questions between the furry assault and also being shocked to see Isa so happy. ]

Thank god. I was really worried when it was just us. We showed up on the beach and it was just— it just happened really suddenly. Lea's looking for you. She said she was going home.

[the happiness dips significantly at that, because she knows it's going to be bad. she's already turning and moving in the direction of the apartments.]

Sorry, I- she needs me, we can all catch up later. I'm glad you're all back, though.

[ Riku nods, because she understands completely, both of those statements, and she's grateful. ]

Go ahead. And— thanks. For whatever you did while I was gone.

[ She can't even fathom it right now but her dog is here and obviously likes Isa so it was something good. ]

[basically whatever Riku did the last time Kai vanished, but less morose overall and with more friendly fisticuffs. lots of laying around and whining and eating pancakes, mostly. but yes, Isa waves a hand at Riku in farewell and sets off again at a jog to find Lea. let's see, assuming Lea is now depressed since she's here and the kiddos aren't, she's probably not moving super fast, which means Isa will catch up with her before she gets to the apartments. yep, there's a familiar shade of red, probably slouching, too.]

Lea!

[ It's her, in the doofy endgame outfit that Yen Sid gave her. Also hey, she's only slouching as much as she usually does. She's definitely moving slower than Riku, but she's still walking solidly until she hears her name. Lea jerks and whirls around, and when she sees who called her name she does move fast. Brace yourself, Isa, she's going for a hug immediately. ]

[surprise, Isa is the one who's crying, but only a little and it's mostly happy tears as she actually swings Lea around once. she's so glad her bff is back, they didn't have nearly enough time together here before everyone vanished. the fact that she's wearing the yellow flannel that does indeed make her look like death should say a lot. she's gonna crack ribs with how tight that hug is, and doesn't even trust herself to speak anymore yet.]

[ Lea was quite proud of herself for not getting all gross and emotional on Riku immediately. It's not that she's not happy to be back — she is. She's so happy to be back here, with Isa here, and thankfully not having gone home while Lea was gone. But a lot happened that she's still processing, and now she's here without her kids and there's actually someone who understands enough that she can have feelings about it.

Also all the memories came back really suddenly, and now she gets it. She is absolutely in tears, more than just the quiet elegant Hollywood kind, but not quite to the point of being a gross mess yet. Good luck getting her to let go any time soon. ]

How did you go that whole time without saying anything?!

[muffled, into Lea's shoulder:]

I got your share of self-control along with my own the day they were handing that out.

[and to be fair, she dropped a lot of hints, most of which Lea willfully ignored. but ugh, come on, we can hug and walk at the same time, kind of, and this needs to move indoors somewhere comfy and stop happening in the middle of the street.]

[ Goddamn her height. She walks, but what she really wants is to curl into a ball and/or be toted around like a teddybear, this is too much emotional impact for her right now. She has mixed feelings of grief of being torn away from Xion and Roxas and the huge high she's been riding on since they AND Isa got back. They're probably never even going to know she's gone so it's not like she's abandoning them, but her kids!! She wipes at her face with one hand but the other arm has a death grip around Isa, like she'll straight up just die on the spot if she lets go. ]

No kidding. I can't believe you didn't even say anything about Xion. I didn't even remember—

[ Ah there's more tears. ]

[the feeling is mutual, at least; Isa's got her arm tightly around Lea's waist. it's probably slow going, but whatever. at least they're not far from the building.]

I know you didn't. None of us remembered him until suddenly we did.

[ She's more of a disaster than she thought she would be, honestly. But the pain is only because they're not here. Isa's here, and she— ]

I can't believe you got so good at keeping secrets. I thought I was the cool new hero, but you—

[ Uuuuuuuuuuggghhhh. ]

They'll be okay, won't they?

They'll be fine, they have versions of us who aren't going to be secretly sad about this place, and the biggest support group anyone could ask for.

[it still hurts, but the fact that there are versions of Lea and Isa somewhere who can enjoy it helps, a little. it's especially rude for Lea, but she'll be okay too, eventually.]

[ Lea continues with the upset noises but it actually does make her feel better, so the waterworks are stopping, at least. She does rub her eyes one more time with her free hand as they enter the building. As she's staring down and trying to blink away the feels: ]

That's my shirt.

I missed you.

[and that's said with the softest, most genuine smile that's ever been on Isa's face, probably. it's the truth, and she's been slowly relearning how to be that sort of person.]

[ Did we say the crying was cancelled? The crying is not cancelled. Lea stares at her for a few seconds and that smile, and then she sniffs and kind of visually breaks down in her expression as the crying starts again, starting with the eyebrows and spreading out. Noooooo, Isa's happyyyy, it's too much. She's basically at Ghibli tears level, and she's going to force herself on Isa in a wrap-around hug. ]

[success, Isa has gained one (1) crying koala. they'll never get anywhere at this rate, so she scoops Lea up into her arms (either bridal style or the way one would carry a toddler in meltdown mode, like piggyback but facing each other) and heads for the stairs because who has time to wait for the elevator. affectionately:]

Dork.

[ Whatever's easiest for her, to be honest. Lea's legs are noodles but her arms are firmly wrapped around Isa's neck and shoulders, and she might be crying into her hair. ]

I missed you so much. I'm so glad you're back. You did so much stupid shit that would've gotten you killed!

I got a lot of practice the last time around, it's fine. Was worth it, too. I hope you thanked Even at some point.

[toddler meltdown carry then, got it. and technically it did get her killed, indirectly, but w/e. through the magic of rp, here we are, and Isa's awesome enough that she can open the door without having to put Lea down. in we go, and the door gets kicked shut so Isa can go sit on the couch and Lea can arrange herself however she wants.]

[ Ugh. She's just going to melt into a puddle on Isa with her legs stretched out over her, once they're on the couch. She looks pissy, and it's unclear whether it's because she's here and the kiddos aren't, or because she brought up Even and thanking her. But— ]

Yeah, while I was waiting for you to come back. Could've gone worse.

[god. Isa rests her head on Lea's shoulder and sighs. she's alright with just knowing that some version of herself is with the kids, somewhere (no she's not, but she won't admit it for ages), but she knows Lea's going to be pretty fucked up over it. this place is great, but also it sucks sometimes.]

Did you at least get the couple of weeks with them that I got?

[ She'll be fine, she'll just internalize it like she does every other problem and try to find a way to fix it. Maybe? ]

Yeah, I did. It was great. Even better with us all there.

[ There's a pause, but— ]

I never thought I'd see you getting along with either of them.

I didn't either. I was so horrible to both of them, purely because you made friends with them so easily. They didn't deserve it and neither did you, and they would've been justified if they didn't want me around. Xion especially.

[but god is she grateful. she'd been missing out that whole time due to her own stubbornness and spite, but whatever, someone had to keep up appearances and keep all those plates spinning properly anyway.]

Well. Xion never got to kick your ass like Roxas.

[ Just saying. Lea's leaning against the couch staring off into space, andshe's down, but she's already becoming pretty resigned about it. She's not new to the dressing room, after all. ]

So, Twilight Town?

And I've never been more grateful for Roxas kicking my ass, believe me. What about Twilight Town?

[gonna rub ur back, friend. no one likes a sad Lea, but especially not Isa. :( ]

Living there. It's just not what I expected to happen. Like, ever, obviously. Although, until you showed up I was pretty sure I wasn't ever going to see any of you again, except like... maybe here. Versions of you.

[ Which is not even remotely close to being the same, as they all know. ]