(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

[cinderlea]

I'm the nerd?

[ She's thinking about the kiss (kissing?) back home now, and slightly pink but she looks relaxed and casual otherwise so it's easy to miss if you're not looking at her face. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

Yep. Move your legs, I need water after all of that.

[she loev u, Lea. this slow buildup is good, though, Lea's new to stuff like kissing girls, and Isa's... extremely out of practice. /uh. not that this is anything like that, and they'll probably end up talking about that eventually, but for now Lea's getting a pat on the knee to move her noodle legs.]

[cinderlea]

[ Lea is new to kissing, but was it ever a question of if it would be girls? Probably not. She moves her legs one at a time, and with apparent great effort. When Isa moves she will absolutely curl into a ball on the couch and bury her face in the back cushions. ]

Do we have any milk?

[moonstrualcycle]

Probably, lemme look.

[they... do! the DR has apparently kept their fridge stocked even though she hasn't been here very much, and doesn't drink milk by itself anyway. she comes back to the couch with a water bottle for herself, a glass of milk for Lea, and a box of saltines tucked under her arm. everything gets set down when she comes back, though, so she can sit down and drape herself over Lea.]

[cinderlea]

[ Oh thank god. She's always been more partial to milk than water, and takes it with a mumbled noise of thanks. Time to down three quarters of it in one go. She's dehydrated and sad and wants a full stomach for comfort. After she drinks and takes a deep breath: ]

You said two months. Where've you been? What happened when I went back?

[moonstrualcycle]

[take some of these crackers, they'll help. not the best option to go with milk, but they'll still probably help. Isa sips her water and leans on Lea's shoulder, or whatever part of her is available.]

You disappeared in the middle of a sentence, scared the hell out of me. But then I went over to Axel and Kai's to see if it was just you or if it was everyone gone to catch up, and he was freaking out because of what he'd seen in the game version and hadn't been able to tell anyone about. So I stuck around to tell him about how it'd actually gone for us, and he made grilled cheese, and yeah.

[she probably sounds more like teenaged Isa than her usual self, actually like, excited about something, but she made a friend! a friend who's a guy! someone she has a disturbing amount in common with!]

[cinderlea]

[ Lea looks somewhat stunned by all of this, and then confused for a few seconds before she realizes it makes perfect sense. She might also be a little jealous, because she makes Isa grilled cheese. ]

Why was he freaking out? What happened in the game?

[moonstrualcycle]

Sora died, or went to limbo or something, maybe Kai also, it wasn't clear. It was stupid as hell.

[and Lea's grilled cheese are significantly better, but Isa's never met a bad grilled cheese, so. also just as Axel's leaving some things for later, Isa's not going to bother with the Xigbar news yet, they're both preoccupied and slightly fragile right now.]

[cinderlea]

What?! Why would that happen? Why would any of us let that happen?

[ It's Sora, for fuck's sake. They would never. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

We wouldn't, that's why it was stupid. I don't remember Kai getting kidnapped without a fight, either, but I was berserk at the time.

[Isa caps her water bottle and sets it aside so she can wrap her arms around Lea.]

[cinderlea]

That definitely didn't happen either. I thought Kairis had more bite to 'em. Is Kai just too powerful?

[ Seriously, the fuck. She drapes an arm across Isa, looking disturbed. Kai was right there with her in that 2v2. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

Probably. Knowing what I know now, I'm surprised Kai didn't just finish Xemnas off right there, he probably could have.

[canon Kairi was just a victim of bad writing and several different tropes. what's up, friend, how u doin.]

[cinderlea]

[ o, u no, just craving physical contact because I've had two kids hanging over me for weeks and I got accustomed to having my friends and family of choice around at all times. ]

...yeah, I think he could have. He's got a handle on all that Light stuff.

[moonstrualcycle]

[Isa wishes there was something she could say to make things better right now. she wasn't nearly as attached to people as Lea, and didn't have the history involved, so she adjusted pretty quickly once she was here. Lea's lost a lot more by coming back, and only time will help soften the edges on it, but she still wishes there was something she could do to help or distract or anything. they're talking about Kai to avoid talking about the elephant in the room, but what else is there to do?]

I almost wish I'd gotten to see her get defeated, even if it wasn't Kai that did it.

[cinderlea]

You should've, if anyone.

[ If she was going to see anyone defeated, or if anyone deserved to see her defeated. Both, maybe, knowing Lea. It's okay, Lea's already internalizing everything upsetting her, she'll be back to normal in no time! Just with random weepy episodes around Isa and Isa only. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

[yeah, but Isa did say "almost". the part of her that was genuinely attached to Xemnas, even though she hated it, wouldn't have let her just watch, and especially wouldn't have allowed her to take the killing blow. it's complicated, what the two of them had, and Isa hopes she never has to talk to anyone about it, which is why that just gets a vaguely affirmative noise.]

I'm just glad it's over, finally.

[cinderlea]

Oh, yeah. Can't wait to run into the losing team around here. Has it happened yet?

[ Defeated Xehanorts and various little shits spawning here and all that. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

I haven't seen anyone new around, but I haven't been looking, either. The only people around with silver hair I've seen are Rikus.

[like that nice, if slightly weird one that lives with Axel and Kai. who is she to judge weirdness, though, at this point. Isa's in need of more physical contact now, so she gently manhandles Lea until they can both be comfortable about like they were before she got up.]

[cinderlea]

Guess it's for the best. No idea what would happen if they came here now, though most of the ones who popped up before just cause a little chaos and disappear.

[ Do they go home? Do they find homes? She doesn't know. She allows herself to be manhandled without complaint. ]

[moonstrualcycle]

[if they weren't all such shitheads they could just be adopted by locals, but alas. Isa's considering just gathering Lea up and dumping her in bed now and kissing her face a bunch. maybe in a while.]

I wouldn't mind tossing a Vanitas into a lake, that might be fun.

[cinderlea]

[ Lea... probably would not object. After a pause: ]

We could go find one.

[moonstrualcycle]

Not right now, you need a nap and I need to... do this.

[she goes very slightly pink and gestures vaguely at the two of them on the couch. but that includes more kissing maybe, so yeah.]

[cinderlea]

[ There's a longer pause this time, and you can see her eyebrows go up and her brain short-circuiting clearly. ]

This?

[moonstrualcycle]

[BIG EYEROLL. some things never change.]

This, us, being close to you. Assuming that won't finish frying your brain.

[cinderlea]

[ She huffs a little out of embarrassment and drapes an arm across her eyes. ]

Not my fault you're so vague. Gonna hang out with my body while I nap then?