cinderlea | (no subject)

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. ]

I wish I could've told you about them before you disappeared from here, but it's probably for the best. I would've had to carry you here in a bucket if I had, you'd be a total lost cause. But I know what you mean, the whole idea of the four of us living together is pretty surreal. Just... doing things that normal people do, every day.

[Isa understands, completely. she misses them too, though not nearly as much as she missed Lea. neither of them had time to adjust to it, which is probably also for the best.]

No, you're right. If I had remembered it clearly I would've fucked everything up. I forgot about most of this place, but y'know.

[ She sounds salty about it, but she's actually okay with it. It's probably a sign that if she had remembered everything clearly she actually would have messed something up. ]

[that's because she's dumb sometimes. <3 at least she's aware of it.]

That's good, I don't think any of you needed the distractions. What was going on when you got pulled back here, was it the same time I came from?

Frisbees on the beach, right? Everyone was there?

[ God, what a weird experience, comparing notes about if you were at the same place at the same time with the same person. ]

Yeah. That's bizarre, that was more than two months ago for me, but you just experienced it.

[how about that not-first kiss that absolutely happened again while Lea was there, because Isa is nothing if not predictable. >3> ugh, she's missed Lea so much, just being close to her like this. Axel was nice but he's also a dumb boy.]

Like, half an hour ago. Can I just like, opt out of any future time travel?

[ She hates time shenanigans. Also she is not bringing that up ~~yet~~, good fucking luck. Also good luck getting her to stop being close any time soon. She's gonna be like one long house cat just on her lap the entire time. Longcat, if you will. ]

Hey. You could've at least told me Nami got his own body, or Riku's dumb clone.

Nah, you're not that dumb, you might've drawn conclusions about who else could have come back if Nami did.

[that's okay, she can do that. she's already pretty attached herself, with both arms around Lea's waist and her head on Lea's shoulder.]

Tch. Nami's a little different.

[ Okay no, she absolutely would have thought about Roxas immediately, whether she tried to or not. She's just mad that other people knew things she didn't know, okay. She's staring hard at Isa now, and is a huge mix of emotions. She's irritable and sad and relieved and stressed and it's all starting to fade out. That's it, you know: it either fades out fast like this or it blows up and consumes her for a while. She needs to really accept that there's nothing she can do now, but it's hard.

But also she's still adjusting to everything. ]

They don't deserve this place.

No.

[a moment, while she goes through and discards various things she could say that might or might not help, then: ]

I'm sorry you didn't get more time with them. It's not fair.

It's not.

[ But when is her life fair? Haha. ]

... I don't know what I'd do if you weren't here.

Be an even bigger mess, probably.

[Isa's waiting for a more complete meltdown to happen at any moment. she can only imagine how Lea feels, but it's almost certainly awful and more crying can really only help at this point.]