(no subject)

[cinderlea]

[ 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. ]

Comments

[moonstrualcycle]

[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.

[cinderlea]

[ 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!

[moonstrualcycle]

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.]

[cinderlea]

[ 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.

[moonstrualcycle]

[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?

[cinderlea]

[ 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.

[moonstrualcycle]

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.]

[cinderlea]

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?

[moonstrualcycle]

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. :( ]

[cinderlea]

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. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

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.]

[cinderlea]

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. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

[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?

[cinderlea]

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. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

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.]

[cinderlea]

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.

[moonstrualcycle]

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.]

[cinderlea]

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.

[moonstrualcycle]

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.

[cinderlea]

It's not.

[ But when is her life fair? Haha. ]

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

[moonstrualcycle]

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.]

[cinderlea]

Definitely.

[ Nope. We're gonna bottle this up nice and tight and then explode at a minor reminder later. She'll be eating ice cream and it'll all hit her really hard, or something. She's struggling with it now, and trying to tell herself that it's better this way. If she has to come here, so be it. Isa's here, they have each other. ]

Isa?

[moonstrualcycle]

Yeah?

[here it comes, either tears or makeouts, possibly both. (both would be fine, and understandable.) at least Isa hasn't really been around here enough while everyone was gone to deplete the ice cream supply; they'll need it later, along with hydration.]

[cinderlea]

[ It's closer to makeouts, unless Isa's responses are incredibly devastating somehow. She does shift her weight so their faces are closer together, and so it's less that she's laying on her and more that she's hugging her, very close and desperately. ]

Thank you. For everything that you did. For me, for Roxas, everyone else. And I'm so— so sorry.

[ Okay so it's not full-on tears, but she is choking up a little as she forces herself through this.]

You're my best friend. I never should've let you go through all of that alone. I think I did this already when you came back—

[ But honestly she was also a mess when Isa came back, and stayed in Radiant Garden to wait until she did. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

[the proximity and the words are enough to make Isa teary, though she's also smiling a little.]

Even if I hadn't come back it would've been worth it to know you had them back. I should've just left with you, but...

[but it was too late. but despite her hatred, she was still bound to Xehanort through Xemnas. but she didn't think she'd be welcome, at that point. but she'd single-handedly trashed their friendship and burned the bridge Lea left over. but she fucked up and didn't really deserve any of what she's gotten since recompleting. there aren't words to explain the complexity of her emotions right now, and how if anything she should be thanking Lea for helping shape those two kids into the sorts of people who would stand up to Xemnas and Xehanort and help save the universe. there's a slight tremor running through her, almost like a shiver, and she has to squeeze her eyes shut to contain it all, because that's what she does.]