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It started with a promise, but it became so much more. “Look, it’s our vacation, isn’t it? Then that means I’m takin’ ya to the beach.” And so, Lea made arrangements with Riku, who in turn told them about Naminé. Then, Isa inexplicably appeared on their doorstep, tired and wounded but home at long last. Tears were shed, and invitations were sent.
It was a beach party to end all beach parties. And the icing on the cake? Kairi and Sora’s unexpected return, the pair called home by the Guardians and their allies’ hopes and happiness. Thus, the festivities went on and on as the sky turned pink-purple-indigo and filled with twinkling stars.
Lea more-or-less dragged Isa to the old paopu tree, where Sora and Kairi waited for them. “Hey, guys? There’s someone I’d like you to meet.” When Lea smiled, it was equal parts happy and nervous. “This is my—” Lea stammered “—uh, Isa. I mean, this is Isa.”
“Oh, I’m yours now, is that right?” Isa teased, Lea’s prattling a welcome distraction from his own nerves. All the others knew about them, of course, but Sora and Kairi’s return had been unexpected. Isa had no clue how they’d react to the news, so instead Isa took a deep, calming breath before leaving Lea’s side to stand before his former enemies. With his head bowed, he said, “It is an honor to meet you as… myself, although I have done nothing to deserve the privilege.”
Warmth beside him as Lea came forward, bumping against Isa’s shoulder. “Would ya listen to this guy? It was Isa—”
“And Even.”
“—who made sure we had replica bodies for Roxas and Xion’s hearts.”
“Demyx contributed, as well,” Isa added, worried—as ever—that Lea was overplaying his role. “I caused them a great deal of pain, as well as the both of you. It is not my place to ask for your forgiveness—”
“I forgive you!” Sora shouted, grinning widely. “What matters most isn’t all the bad stuff in the past, but how you learn from it for the future.”
“Sora’s right,” Kairi added. “And besides, I feel like we’re friends already. Axel talked about you all the time!”
Isa looked shell-shocked, too stunned to comprehend how easily Sora and Kairi had forgiven him, so Lea—who’d had a similar experience with the pair less than a year earlier—threw an arm over his partner’s shoulder and said, “Sure did. Now that’s out of the way, let’s head back before Roxas puts together a search party or somethin’.”
(In their relief, both Lea and Isa forgot to mention it.)
A couple more hours passed, and most everyone decided to camp overnight out on the beach, “just like when we were little kids. You remember, Riku?” Unfortunately, the King and his guardsmen needed to return to their world, as did the three Twilight Town teens. After all six had said their goodbyes and piled onto the King’s gummiship, Aqua and Riku gave them all small tasks to help set up camp. While the younger set goofed around as they rigged tents out of sheets, twine, and tree branches under Riku’s mildly-exasperated supervision, Terra, Isa, and Aqua sorted out their provisions as Lea set a roaring bonfire.
Of all the adults, only Lea was surprised when Aqua pulled two jugs of fruity rum punch out of her travel bag. Having caught Lea’s dumbstruck expression, Isa leaned in and whispered, “She’s a twenty-nine-year-old trapped in a nineteen-year-old’s body. What else would you expect?” Unfortunately for Isa, Lea’s thoughts had turned to static the second he felt Isa’s breath tickling his cheek.
After Lea and Terra volunteered to pick and cup open four coconuts for them to drink from, Aqua admitted to Isa, “I’ve been experimenting with different recipes. Each world has such unique flavors, and I’ve had so much fun trying them all out!” (In the nearby coconut grove, Terra grabbed Lea’s arm, stopping him before he poured any coconut milk out. “Trust me,” he said, smiling tightly. “You’re going to want to keep some of that.”)
Once they’d made camp, the partiers split into smaller groups of two or three, all of them too giddy or wired to even consider winding down. Isa stayed close to the bonfire, relaxing to the crackles and pops of burning driftwood, the combined scent of smoke and seasalt reminding him very strongly of Lea. He took small, almost tentative sips from the coconut “cup” Lea and Terra had fashioned for them—he hadn’t yet decided if he liked the fruity drink or not, but already he could feel its relaxing effects. However, his quiet reverie was suddenly interrupted by Sora, who sprayed sand everywhere as he skidded towards Isa at full speed.
“Argh, matey!” Sora shouted as he thrust a wooden sword—of all things—high into the air. “Best be givin’ me some o’ that rum yer drinkin’!”
Looking perplexed, Isa asked, “Why are you speaking like that?” With his bravado faltering, Sora crossed his arms and pouted. Privately, Isa thought the stance was highly reminiscent of Roxas. He wondered if the blonde had gotten it from his Other, or if Roxas’s time in Sora’s heart had left an impression.
“Because I’m a pirate!”
“Ah, I see.” Isa did not, but he’d spent enough time with Lea to know when someone was about to tell a long and convoluted story. Best to get ahead of the tale, then. “Regardless, you’re too young to be drinking rum, or any alcohol for that matter.”
Sora pouted, and while a lesser man might have been swayed, Isa was unaffected. After all, he’d spent a decade giving orders and saying ‘no’ to almost every request he received. Sora’s pouting was good, but it didn’t hold a candle to Demyx, whose water-based abilities meant he could tear up on demand. (It was surprisingly effective, heartbreaking even to a heartless Nobody like Saïx.) When Isa didn’t capitulate, Sora sighed and holstered his sword. “Well, it was worth a shot.”
“A noble effort, indeed,” Isa reassured him. “Enjoy your… pirating.” Sora nearly bowled Lea—and Xion, riding piggyback—over as he raced off, shouting for Riku and challenging him to a ‘captain’s duel,’ whatever that was.
“...why does Sora have a wooden sword?” Lea asked, lowering Xion who, in turn, handed him his coco-cup. Xion scrunched her face up, giving the appearance of someone thinking very hard about something.
“I think— he, Riku, and Kairi used to play with them when they were little,” she said slowly, like she did whenever tapping into that weird memoryspace she, Roxas, Sora, and Ventus all shared.
“Gotcha.” Grinning, Lea elbowed Isa. “Like back when we were kids, remember? You used to have a toy sword yourself, as I recall.”
“A weapon infinitely more effective than frisbees, wouldn’t you agree?” Isa retorted, reaching for Lea’s empty cup and filling it with more punch. He then topped off his own, deciding that if Lea was going to share embarrassing childhood stories, then he would have to be at least tipsy to endure it.
“Thanks,” Lea said, his gaze meeting Isa’s. Both men blushed, which had Xion rolling her eyes in exasperation. She was thrilled for her friends’ shared happiness, however since the betrothal even she had to admit their sappiness could be a bit much at times. Xion waited for Lea to finish looking at Isa all moon-eyed—something Olette told her was like love, except kinda obnoxious—so that they could head back to shore, where Naminé was waiting for them to collect lustrous bonnet shells. When he kept staring, Xion huffed and grabbed his hand, all-but dragging him towards the water and the waifish blonde that awaited them.
“Geez, where’s the fire?” Lea whined, rolling his shoulder as soon as Xion released him. Naminé laughed while Xion rolled her eyes at her best friend’s antics.
“I never guessed you were such a romantic, Axel,” Xion teased.
“Psh, me? Romantic? Please,” Lea scoffed. “And who’s been teachin’ ya all this ‘romance’ stuff in the first place? It sure isn’t me.”
“I think it’s sweet,” Naminé said. “When you look at one another, it’s like you can’t bear to look away.”
Lea turned bright pink and took a hearty swig of Aqua’s rum punch, which left him coughing and spluttering. He waved off the girls’ concerned looks as he thumped his chest with his free hand. “This stuff’ll put hair on your chest, that’s for sure.”
A moment passed as Naminé and Xion first looked at one another, and then back to Lea. “Is it… some kind of hair-growing elixir?” Xion asked. Both teens leaned forward to peer into Lea’s cup, which he then lifted above his head.
“That’s just what people say when they get a drink that’s real strong,” he tried (and failed) to explain.
“Are we supposed to have hair on our chest?” Xion asked. “I don’t! Naminé?”
“N-no…”
“Heh, same.” Lea chuckled, but quickly realized the girls hadn’t joined in. He rushed to add, “I mean, technically we’re covered in hair, except you can’t always see it if it’s thin or light or if you accidentally singe it one too many times—”
“Axel, you’re not making any sense.”
“Ugh, I’ll tell ya once you’re a bit older,” Lea whined. “How’s that?”
Xion crossed her arms and pouted. Lea grimaced—he was extremely vulnerable to a good pout—as she replied, “That’s what you always say! You still haven’t told me and Roxas what ‘third base’ means—”
“It means I’m going to be having words with Olette.”
“—or what a blow—”
“Aah! No!” Lea waved his hands, the wild gesturing nearly toppling his cup as he panicked. “No,” he repeated. “Look, I love you guys, I really, really do. But I cannot, nay, will not ruin your carefree youth like that!” Lea knew he was being overdramatic, but then again he and Isa had suffered getting “the Talk” from Even, back when they were still apprentices. Lea stalked off, all the while muttering under his breath about pervy teenagers and why do I always get stuck with the icky jobs?
As soon as he was out of ear-shot, Xion and Naminé burst into laughter. “When do you think you’ll tell him that you and Roxas already know all that stuff?” Naminé asked.
Wiping a tear from her eye, Xion answered, “Soon, probably. Did you see his face?” She cackled. “It serves him right. I can’t wait to see him react when he finds out that Isa gave us ‘the Talk.’” The pair cracked up again, as it was all-too-easy to imagine just how red Lea’s face would get.
Meanwhile, Isa watched Lea stomp off, bemused by his partner’s stilted request for (another) refill. “Did I hear him say something about… ‘tongues in unexpected places'?” Aqua asked, having rejoined Isa for a refill of her own.
“Roxas and Xion finally asked the one question Lea wasn’t prepared to answer,” Isa explained. Judging by Xion and Naminé’s laughter and the embarrassed hue of Lea’s face, Isa easily guessed what had happened, and felt himself smiling in response. “I take it you had, or will soon have, a similar conversation with Ventus?”
Aqua laughed, her cheeks lightly flushed. “Not yet. Terra and I agreed to flip a coin for the… honor.” She gestured at Isa with her coconut. “It’s not too strong, is it?”
Isa shrugged. “I can’t honestly say. This is only the second, maybe third time I’ve ever had an alcoholic beverage.” However, to assure his new friend, Isa took a somewhat-larger sip and ignored how it made his mouth burn. “It tastes good, though.”
“I hope I’m not interrupting anything.” Aqua and Isa raised their coconuts in greeting as Terra wandered over, Ventus in tow. Isa cocked an eyebrow as his gaze unconsciously lingered on Terra’s now-bare chest. (He loved Lea, but there were certain things he… missed. Isa was only human, after all.) “But a few of us decided to go swimming, and we wanted to ask if you’d like to join?”
Shaking himself, Isa awkwardly gulped his drink as Aqua asked, “Isn’t it too dark for swimming?”
“Not if we stick close to the shore,” Ventus said. “Between the full moon and the bonfire we should be—Isa, are you alright?” Flustered, Isa had accidentally inhaled some of his drink and was gracelessly coughing beside Aqua. He waved Ventus’s concern off, and guessing the culprit, Terra laughed good-naturedly.
“Guess I should have warned you about the punch, too,” he joked, much to Aqua’s chagrin. (It was, in fact, quite strong.)
A dozen or so meters down-shore, Lea had started a second fire for want of anything better to do. He plopped down beside the roaring flames, soaking in the heat of his own chosen element. Of course, given his track record it wasn’t long before his quiet relaxation time was interrupted by an enthusiastic keyblade wielder; however, as usual Lea didn’t mind at all.
“Hey, Axel!” Lea smiled at Sora as the teen wandered over, fingers interlaced atop his head in a relaxed stance. “Why are you over here all by yourself?”
Unwilling to admit to Sora that he was hiding from two pubescent (and curious) girls, Lea shrugged and took a swig of his drink. It was still strong, but the more Lea drank the less he noticed the alcohol’s burn. Plus, it was an excellent distraction. “What? Can’t a guy enjoy some peace and quiet alone with his coconut?” Lea asked, winking at Sora as the younger sat beside him.
“Where’s the fun in that?” Sora replied, grinning at Lea. He’d lost the sword at some point, and seemed genuinely relaxed. Unburdened. While Lea was closer with Kairi due to their training together in the Timeless Forest, he was beyond relieved to see Sora, too. There was just something about the kid that seemed to make the world a little less… serious, for lack of a better word. As Lea took another sip, Sora pointed and asked, “What’s it taste like? I’ve never had rum before.”
Without thinking, Lea said, “You can try some of mine.” Sora’s face lit up. “Just a sip, and ya gotta promise that you won’t rat me out to Isa.” Sora eagerly nodded, grabbing Lea’s cup. Sora sniffed the orangey-red drink, catching whiffs of citrus, pineapple, and an odd spicy sweetness he couldn’t quite place. “Careful,” Lea warned as Sora took a generous gulp, adding “don’t spit it out!” when the younger man’s eyes widened.
With effort, Sora managed to swallow before sticking his tongue out in disgust. “Ith uhns!” he shouted. “Eugh!”
“I tried to warn ya,” Lea replied, taking back his glass. “Aqua mixes a pretty mean drink.”
“Gee, now you tell me!”
“What’s our two resident troublemakers doing all by themselves?” With matching grins, Lea and Sora turned towards Kairi, who had changed into a pink-and-white tankini.
Lea gasped dramatically, “Troublemaker? Me? What could you possibly be talking about?”
Kairi giggled. Training with Lea, she’d discovered that when Lea relaxed he liked to joke and mess around. As their friendship grew, Kairi made a point to help Lea learn how to be himself again. Seeing him with Sora, smiling and carefree, filled her heart with joy.
“What’s with the swimsuit?” Sora asked, which had Kairi go from giggles to full-on laughter.
“That’s what I came to tell you, silly!” she chided him. “Everyone else is swimming. Right before he left Donald showed me an enchantment that turns our regular clothes into bathing suits, and I just figured out how it works.”
“Oh, cool! Teach us, too!” Sora was practically bouncing with excitement, however Kairi noticed how Lea’s smile waned as his posture become guarded. Lea caught her concerned look, and waved it off.
“Nah, think I’ll pass. You know how it is,” he added with a wink. “Water doesn’t exactly fit my personality, got it memorized?” The teens rolled their eyes at Lea.
“Pfft, you’re no fun!” Sora whined, but nothing, not even his highly effective pout, would get Lea to budge.
“What’re you talkin’ about? I’m a one-man party, that’s how much fun I am!” Lea laughed, and it sounded genuine enough for Kairi to relax. Lea did throw fire magic around like no one else; it made sense that he’d be wary around so much water.
Still, she had to ask: “Are you sure? If you want some company, I’ll stay here with you.”
Lea smiled, one of those soft, secret smiles Kairi had learned Lea only gave his closest friends. Despite his gregarious nature, Lea still guarded his heart. “It’s okay, Kai. Go on, and dunk Roxas for me, would ya?”
“I’ll do my best!” Kairi promised, helping Sora up to standing. When the pair kept their hands entwined, Lea’s smile widened as he reminisced about a certain couple of best friends who’d also taken way too long to admit to their feelings.
Unbeknownst to Lea, one of said best friends was under attack. Roxas and Ventus were taking it in turns to splash Isa, trying to goad him into a water fight. As such, he was drenched from head-to-toe despite not having waded in past his waist. He’d had enough rum to feel more loose and relaxed than usual—too much to risk swimming—and so Isa endured the playful barrage good-naturedly.
“Canon ball!”
Isa turned just in time to get a face-full of sea water as Sora crashed into the ocean, using wind magic to give his jump extra height.
“Pth-psh… Sora!”
“Nice move!”
While he remained quiet, Isa mentally thanked Sora for giving the blondes a taste of their own medicine, even if it meant he was now twice as soaked. As he wiped away the wet strands of blue hair clinging to his face, Isa heard Kairi call Sora a ‘show off’ as she made her way towards them.
“Hi Isa,” she said, waving. “Are you having fun?”
“I am, thank you.” It still amazed him, how quickly and genuinely Kairi and Sora had forgiven him. It was tempting to doubt them, to assume their kindness was a ploy to lower his guard and leave him vulnerable to attack. With some effort, Isa pushed those fears aside. That was how it was in the Organization, but that was in the past.
Isa had never been one for casual smiles even before he’d become a Nobody, and yet he found himself smiling at Kairi nevertheless.
Roxas, now just as waterlogged as Isa, swam over to ask, “Where’s Axel?”
“He didn’t want to come.”
“I bet he doesn’t know how to swim,” Sora added, kicking his legs so that Ventus and Roxas got splashed again. The twin blondes let loose, Isa forgotten as they tried to dunk Sora, who shouted for Kairi’s help. Meanwhile, Isa frowned. Despite his affinity for fire, Lea loved to swim. As children, they’d spent every summer in the lakes near Radiant Garden.
Isa looked to the shore and found Lea sitting alone beside a second bonfire. Isa excused himself—although he doubted the teenagers heard him over their yelling—and returned to the beach. Isa flushed as Lea shamelessly looked him up-and-down, whistling as he did.
“Lookin’ good,” he said. “Too bad it’s winter in Twilight Town, otherwise I’d be suggesting a new everyday look for ya.”
Blushing despite himself, Isa sat beside Lea, the ambient heat from the bonfire rapidly drying him off. “I’ve noticed the residents of Twilight Town are fairly conservative regarding fashion. We’d better avoid upsetting our hosts with such unseasonable outfits.”
“What a shame.”
“I seem to recall you sporting a rather offensive pair of swimming shorts when we were younger,” Isa said. He could tell from the way Lea tensed that he’d entered a metaphorical minefield, and took Lea’s hand into his. Isa knew what was troubling Lea, and felt his own anxiety rise as well. Since they’d gotten back together as Somebodies, Lea had either kept his shirt on or turned the lights off whenever they were intimate. At first, Isa had been worried; before he’d been a Nobody, Lea was self-assured in his body and with himself. Even their awkward fumblings as pubescent teens hadn’t dampened that confidence. And as Axel, he’d been more-or-less incapable of self-consciousness.
At first, Lea’s uncharacteristic modesty had Isa doubting himself. He wondered if Lea truly wanted him, or if his closing off signalled something deeper: that he was only with Isa out of pity. Old habits they thought they’d left in the past made an unwelcome reappearance as Isa stewed in silence and Lea pretended nothing was wrong, up until Xion and Roxas decided to act, using their keyblade to lock the couple in their bedroom until they opened up and talked it out.
Despite the progress they’d made, Isa knew Lea still struggled, and as such was unsurprised when his lover tried using humor to avoid the topic. “You’re just envious of my totally rad taste in swimwear, admit it.”
“Never.” A moment passed before Isa asked, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“About what?”
“Lea.”
Heaving a mighty sigh, Lea ceded to Isa’s worrying. “It’s just— uh, gimme a sec.” Lea pulled his knees up, hiding his face as he curled into himself. After a moment, Isa began rubbing small, reassuring circles on his back.
“Take all the time you need.”
Several minutes passed, the silence broken only by the distant splashing and joyful screaming of their friends. Eventually, Lea sat up, shifting so that his legs were draped over Isa, Lea taking Isa’s free hand into his own. “I, um, don’t want you to take this the wrong way—”
“Hush,” Isa interrupted. “None of that. I want you to be honest with me, all right?”
“Just… promise me this won’t upset you.”
“I promise.” A pause, then Isa added, “Or, if it does, I promise to tell you so that we can work through it together. No more secrets, got it memorized?”
“Hey, stop stealing my lines!” With a sigh, Lea rested his hair on Isa’s shoulder, uncaring that his still-soggy fiancé had gotten him wet by proxy. “Look, I won’t lie and say it doesn’t make me self-conscious. But that’s… I don’t know. I think I’ll get used to that, and it won’t bother me so much.
“I just don’t want people to see it and feel sorry for me. Like I’m a victim, you know?”
For a long moment, Isa sat quietly, processing what Lea had said. He rubbed his thumb across Lea’s knuckles, the back-and-forth motion reassuring his partner that he wasn’t upset, rather thinking. Eventually, he asked, “Are you worried about what they’ll think of me?”
Lea sighed. “A bit, yeah.” After all, that was what had been troubling Lea—that Isa would see his chest and the enormous jagged scar he carried and blame himself. To an extent, it was Isa’s, or rather Saïx’s fault, but Lea had been a Nobody, too. He remembered the numbness, the empty void, and all the lies and manipulation. All alone and on the run, Axel might’ve done the same to Saïx if he’d had the chance. Looking back, he couldn’t really blame him. “It’s just… everyone’s having so much fun. I don’t wanna spoil that by— ugh, I don’t know. Flaunting it, I guess?” Lea sniffled, brushing stray tears away with his free hand. “S-sorry, it’s the alcohol. Makes me all weepy about the littlest things.”
“No, that’s just you,” Isa teased, his tone still reassuring. “You do realize that you don’t need to remove your shirt in order to go swimming? I doubt anyone will say anything of it.” Lea shrugged, but stayed quiet. A moment passed, and then Isa, speaking quietly, added, “I know what it’s like to worry that your scars define you. Sometimes, I still wonder if Roxas and Xion see my scars more than they see me. Or really, if that’s all anyone sees of me.”
“You know that’s not true—” Lea protested, but Isa quickly interrupted him.
“Yes, most of the time I can put aside those doubts, but that doesn’t mean I’m entirely convinced. But, I’d rather not wallow,” Isa said, gently tracing his other hand across Lea’s side and the mottled skin hidden beneath his clothes. “I’d rather people see me in spite of the scars, if that makes any sense.”
Lea relaxed into Isa’s touch, gaze unfocusing as he stared into the bonfire. “No, that makes sense. It’s like what Sora said earlier… what was it again?”
“I’m paraphrasing, but I believe he said something to the effect of ‘the past matters less than what we learn from it for the future’.”
“Smart kid. I knew Roxas must’ve got it from somewhere.”
“He certainly didn’t get his smarts from you.” Lea shouted in mock offense, twisting around to tackle his lover to the beach. Isa was snickering quietly, cheeks flushed and obviously pleased with himself for the unsubtle dig. Lea couldn’t maintain his feigned outrage for long, and soon both men were laughing uncontrollably, tensions easing as they wrestled in the sand just like old times. By the time they’d finally calmed down, Isa’s salt-soaked hair was splayed beneath him, his bare chest heaving as Lea straddled his hips with a smug grin.
“You’ve got sand in your hair,” Lea said unhelpfully, trying (and failing) to run his fingers through tangled blue locks. “Want help rinsing it out?” Isa watched as Lea’s smile softened, becoming something more vulnerable. Were he entirely sober, Isa would have helped Lea stand and gone with him, a bulwark of support against the staring and well-meaning concern.
But Isa was not entirely sober, and with Lea right there and oh-so-tempting, he decided that he’d rather be selfish for once. So, rather than letting Lea up Isa traced a hand up his back, guiding him down until they were pressed nose-to-nose. “Perhaps later,” he murmured, before surging upward, catching Lea in a passionate kiss.
“Uh, guys?” After floating closer to shore, Sora, Kairi, and the others had inadvertently drifted towards Lea and Isa. “Are Axel and Isa, you know—” Sora gestured towards the beach, where the pair were tangled up in one another. “—dating? Or something?”
Kairi whirled around, shrieking with delight when she spotted them. “Aww, that’s so sweet! Axel talked about Isa so much, I just knew they were more than friends.”
Roxas rolled his eyes. “Ugh, not you, too. Everyone thinks it’s great, but you don’t have to live with them. They’re always kissing.”
“Roxas is just jealous,” Ventus quipped.
“Am not!”
“Are so!” Ventus splashed his lookalike, who splashed him in return. “Ever since Isa and Lea got engaged—”
“They what?!” Everyone, even Lea and Isa, stared at Kairi and Sora, who’d cried out in unison. Splashing ensued—even more than before—as Kairi raced toward the shore with Sora on her heels. By the time the teens made it to them, Lea and Isa had already separated; luckily for Isa, this put him out of harms’ way as Kairi dived at Lea, knocking him flat.
“You’re engaged?!” she shouted, hands twitching like she couldn’t quite decide whether she wanted to hug Lea or smack him. Isa watched, dumbstruck, as the (so-called) Princess of Heart gave into temptation and bopped Lea’s arm. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell me!”
Lea managed to sit up, laughing as he did. “I’d tell ya sorry, but since you told me to stop apologizing...”
Kairi grumbled, and poked him in the chest. “Nu-uh, I’m mad at you,” she said. “Just wait until we start training together again, then you’ll see.”
“I’d be scared if I were you, Axel,” Sora added from where he stood, next to Isa with his hands threaded through his hair. “Kairi can hold a grudge longer than anyone I’ve ever met! And that’s a lot of people!”
Lea smirked, nudging Isa gently with his elbow. “Even longer than this guy? He’s still holdin’ onto grudges from when we were, like, ten.”
“I fail to see how reminding me of past indiscretions will help your cause,” Isa remarked dryly. Somewhat shyly, he glanced first to Kairi, then up at Sora before asking, “You’re… glad? That Lea and I are—”
“You’re getting married!” Sora exclaimed, throwing his hands up excitedly. “Of course we’re glad! I’ve never been to a marrying before, but I’m sure it’ll be so much fun and— oh, wait.” Sora’s smile fell, and he curled into himself a little bit. “We’re invited, aren’t we?”
Neither Lea nor Isa had yet put much thought into the guest list—after all, ceremonies are expensive and it wasn’t as if the Organization paid severance or… anything, actually—but really, it wasn’t even a question in either of their minds. “Wouldn’t be the same without ya, right Isa?” Lea slung a skinny arm across Isa’s shoulders, and were it not for the unbridled happiness Sora exuded at the gesture, Isa would’ve shrugged Lea off, just to taunt him.
“The traditional wedding, or—” Isa stammered. “Hm, marrying? Ceremony on our homeworld is called ‘hand-fasting.’ Unfortunately, the preparations are quite extensive, so it will be some time before the event in question, but as Lea said, you will of course be invited as guests of honor.” Despite his nervousness, Isa faintly smiled as the now-familiar butterflies fluttered in his stomach with the realization that, one day, he’d be married to the grinning redhead beside him.
“Oh.” It was endearing, Isa decided, that Sora looked so crestfallen on their behalf. However, before he could assure the young man not to fret about the delay, Sora’s entire face lit up excitedly. “I’ve got it! Wait here, I’ll be right back!” He sped off, leaving a rather-bemused Isa and Lea to answer all of Kairi’s questions. (Of which, several were specific enough to leave Isa wondering just what Lea had said to Kairi about him when they trained together.)
Lea was in the middle of explaining to Kairi why they weren’t exchanging rings (‘cause I’m allergic to most metals, and Isa would lose his earrings if he weren’t physically wearing them—don’t look at me like that it’s not my fault you lose jewelry!) when Sora came sprinting back, huffing dramatically as he held a bulbous star-shaped fruit out towards them.
“It’s a paopu fruit,” he explained, still panting as he collapsed next to Kairi in the sand. “It’s not like the… hand-thingy you have on your world, but it’s special for us here. Also, no waiting!” He smiled at Lea, who took the oddly-shaped fruit and looked at it like it was a strange science experiment.
“Er, thanks, Sora,” he said, scratching the back of his head with his free hand. “But, what are we supposed to do with it? Do we just… eat it?” Lea looked to Isa, who shrugged, equally at a loss.
Kairi laughed. “Here, like this,” she said, taking the fruit from Lea and splitting it into halves. She handed one to Lea, and the other to Isa. “The legends say that if two people share the paopu with each other, their destinies become intertwined and they’ll always be a part of one another’s lives.”
“No matter what,” Sora added, reaching for Kairi’s hand. The pair shared such an over-the-top saccharine smile that Lea started giggling, amused by their teenaged puppy love. (Admittedly, it was cute and he was tipsy.) Kairi stuck out her tongue and stood, pulling Sora up with her.
“We’ll leave you two lovebirds alone, but don’t think I’ve forgiven you yet, Axel!” she said, wagging her finger at the cackling redhead.
“I’ll ensure he makes it up to you,” Isa promised, and with that the younger two returned to the water, where it looked like someone had conjured a ball of light for an impromptu game of netless water volleyball. Isa felt the fruit’s sticky, syrupy juices trickle down his hand and wrist, and with a wry smirk he (gently) shoved the fruit into Lea’s still-chuckling maw.
“Mmph!” Lea flailed, nearly dropping his half of the paopu. Isa lost his composure, laughing so hard he had tears in his eyes; he didn’t even mind when Lea returned the favor, smashing paopu against his nose and mouth. The fruit was sweet, but with a slightly-tart undertone.
“Hmm, goes well with Aqua’s rum punch, don’cha think?” Lea said, smacking his lips, which were still shiny with paopu juice.
Isa rolled his eyes. “Shut up and kiss me,” he retorted. And gleefully, Lea did.
(What better way to end the greatest beach party of their lives?)