Takes place near the ending of Dream Drop Distance.
Drink Your Tea
In an attempt to lighten the mood, Yen Sid, of all people, suggested that the three of them (Sora, Donald, and Goofy, that is) have a tea party while waiting for Riku to wake up. And before anyone could really agree to it, he already poofed it up.
It was a round table covered with a white tablecloth with three matching chairs neatly tucked in beneath it. On it awaited various pastries adorned with chocolate frosting and strawberries. There were three, fine china teacups around a steaming teapot with etched on heart designs.
"Oh boy!" Donald exclaimed as he scrambled to his seat.
Goofy came laughing behind him.
The king, who stood beside Yen Sid, smiled approvingly. His old master always knew what to do.
Sora, however, wouldn't leave Riku's side on the ground where he slept. "No thanks, Master Yen Sid," he said, dully.
There was a moment of silence. Everyone in the room, even the ever indifferent Lea, turned their attention to the boy. Was this really Sora turning down a tea party?
The boy's companions, Donald and Goofy, felt almost bad for getting so excited while Sora was still so down in the dumps. Their dear friend needed their support now more than ever.
They drifted away from the table and looked to Sora.
Donald was the first to try to get Sora to come to his senses. "Ah, Sora, he'll wake up. Don't worry so much and come drink tea!"
Sora just shook his head. "You guys can go ahead," he said, never looking away from Riku when he talked to them. Why did Riku have to go and dive to the deepest depths of his heart? Why did he have to put himself in so much danger just to save him? Sora couldn't stand to think of losing Riku again after all that time of searching for him. He needed him.
"I think what Donald means to say is that we're all worried about Riku," Goofy elaborated, "but worrying won't do a thing. All we can do is wait for now."
"Yeah!" said Donald. "And while we wait…" He turned eagerly towards the cake and smacked his lips. He resisted the temptation of gobbling everything up right then and there until Sora agreed to join in. It was difficult to resist, and he could have sworn his stomach was already grumbling just at the sight of all those delectable sweets, but for Sora, he'd do anything. Even wait for cake.
Goofy placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. "He'll wake up, Sora," he assured with a nod. "Yup! I know he will!"
Sora, reluctantly, agreed. "I guess so," he said, for he never was able to deny Goofy's endless optimism.
When he finally agreed, Donald took him by one hand and Goofy took his other. Together, they led him to his chair where he plopped down, saddened expression never changing.
Donald, apparently not noticing Sora's deep uninterest in the party, dove straight for the cupcakes, which were neatly stacked until he took one from the bottom of the pyramid and they all came tumbling down in front of him. Goofy poured the tea with a delighted grin.
Sora looked over his shoulder and stared at Riku. How long would he have to wait, exactly?
Lea, who was watching him, spoke suddenly. "Hey, Sora." He walked over and placed a hand on his hip. Donald and Goofy watched him curiously as they stopped everything they were previously doing.
"Here's an idea," continued Lea with an exaggerated hand gesture. "Why don't I watch over your friend for now while you just take it easy?"
His offer almost brought a smile to Sora's face. Almost. "Really?" he asked, jumping up from his chair and everything.
"Sure," Lea said, amused. "That's what friends are for, am I right?" he asked, although Sora felt as though it wasn't him he was directly addressing.
Sora offered Lea his chair. "You can sit here," he said, pushing it slightly in his direction. "I don't really want to sit right now."
Lea just shrugged and accepted it. He placed it in front of the sleeping Riku, spun it around, and sat comfortably. He stared at the boy, looking bored already.
Sora, feeling a bit better, turned back to Donald and Goofy. Still, he had grief on his face.
"Sora!" Donald yelled out, slamming his cupcake down on the table. He had yet to take a single bite out of it. But how could his guilty conscious when Sora wasn't even having fun yet?
"Remember what we told ya before, Sora?" Goofy asked, slightly irritable. His tea, like Donald's cupcake, was untouched, but the sweet, sweet aroma tempted him to take just one sip...
"You have to be happy! No sad faces, okay?" Donald asked, frowning. He looked at his cupcake briefly.
Sora attempted a smile, but it lasted for a fraction of a second and it was faint.
"Ya gotta look silly! Like us!" Goofy exclaimed, and the three of them felt an odd sense of déjà vu.
Upon hearing this, Yen Sid snapped his fingers once and a magic cloud appeared before Sora. When the magic disappeared, Donald and Goofy erupted in laughter when they looked at Sora. The king chuckled and Yen Sid cracked a smile for a moment before looking in the other direction.
Sora, almost offended, demanded to know what was so funny.
"Your face!" Donald and Goofy exclaimed simultaneously.
"Wha-?" Sora asked as he reached for the shiny teapot to see his reflection. Once he did, he stared for a second and he too laughed uncontrollably at himself.
He wore round, circular red glasses, a big nose, and a mustache. To top it off, Yen Sid added a colorful party hat on his head, just for laughs.
When the laughter calmed, Sora thanked Yen Sid for the random costume.
Yen Sid, not wanting to break his character of stern, mysterious wizard, did not take the credit for his own odd sense of humor and excused himself to wait for Riku to wake up with Lea. The king followed close behind wanting to leave the trio to catch up on their own.
Once seeing that Sora was himself again, Donald and Goofy proceeded to eat up without a care in the world.
Goofy handed Sora the tea he poured for him earlier.
"Thanks!" Sora exclaimed as he took it. Without thinking, he chugged the hot beverage down too quickly and burned his tongue. "Ah!" he yelled.
Donald snickered at the sight. When he did, Sora made a big show about sticking his tongue out at him.
Goofy, already used to the meaningless fights between them, simply ignored them and started cutting the cake down the middle. When it was all neatly sliced and ready to be served, he went back to savoring the sweet tea in his cup.
"Hey, there's cupcakes?" Sora asked when he saw them all on Donald's side of the table.
Greedily, Donald pushed them closer to himself and denied such existence of said cupcakes.
"Hey, come on, Donald! You're hogging them all!" Sora said with an annoyed voice.
"Aw, calm down, Sora and drink your tea," Donald shot back.
Before Sora could come up with a witty response, Riku, who was still behind him, sat up out of nowhere yelling out, "Sora!"
Sora jumped, very slightly, when he heard his name. It was a jump that was almost undetectable, just a faint movement, really, but Donald and Goofy both saw it. Seeing him jump in anticipation like that… They smiled at what was sure to be a happy reunion. Goofy put down his teacup, and Donald did the same with his cupcake. They wouldn't, couldn't, miss seeing their friend so genuinely happy.
The tea party would just have to wait.
