"'Kenny The Crow says Happy Yule'," Gladio read, eyeing the overly bright poster plastered to the diner window, the bright mascot grinning widely with a floppy Yule hat perched jauntily on his feathered head. Never mind the fact Kenny, as a crow, shouldn't have teeth or be able to grin at all with a beak rather than a mouth, it was just a Yule poster.
"They start earlier every year," Gladio complained, cocking a thumb at the poster. "Not even December, and they've got these things everywhere." He scoffed, rolling his eyes at the dozens of similar posters plastered on the walls of the diner, a large, plastic Yule tree glowing on the counter, a bright, cartoonish Shiva smiling atop it. She looked rather happy for someone with a tree shoved up her butt, Noctis though, wryly.
"But it's Kenny!" Prompto declared, shooting the thumbs up at the poster, grinning widely. "Be cool, Gladio!"
"...did you escape an after school special?" Noctis asked, crossing his arms, eyebrow raised. "No one says that anymore." He smirked, to show he was kidding.
"Everything I do is wrong," Prompto mock grumbled, shoving open the door, as Ignis sighed. "Gladio, don't spoil his fun. There's so little enjoyment on this trip."
"Gee, everything I do is wrong," Gladio cracked, heading inside. He got a booth, Prompto already at the counter ordering a massive dinner for them all from the weary looking cook. They needed it after the last hunt, which had taken them high into the mountains to hunt a goblin pack that had been killing cattle. One thing led to another, and the fight took almost four hours to win, black blood and goblin parts strewn across the mountain pass, each of them tired and wrung out like a used rag. They deserved the relaxation.
Noctis' phone blipped, and he pulled it out with a sigh, assuming it was another call from the overly impatient farmer they had taken the goblin hunt from: it wasn't. He didn't remember the number or area code, but the customized icon on his phone let him know who it was. He'd never had a head for number, so every single person whom he called regularly had a special icon programed into the call log. The golden crown blinked again, as he answered.
"...ra? Sora? Hey, the connection's really bad in...ere..."
Sora frowned, worrying the call could drop, and stopped rowing to try and help the already weak signal stabilize. "Sorry!" He said, laughing it off, "I was rowing. I think it messed up the call."
"Do you live in that boat?" Noctis asked, deadpan, before chuckling. That was his way, always had been: his sense of humor was very dry for most people, but Sora was more than used to it by now.
"Only on weekends," he said, waving to some guys he knew from school, fishing off the nearby docks. It was around 4pm, and most of the teens had gathered at the beach for a bonfire, collecting dried logs and bits of drift wood to set ablaze the second the sun went down. Sora had been invited, and probably would show later. Maybe...
"So how's things?" He asked, holding his gummiphone to his ear carefully, so he didn't drop in the water like his last one.
"Ah, well... you know..." Noctis hedged. How did you explain being on a roadtrip with your royal entourage to meet your soon to be bride? With various missions to earn some gil on the side, adding to their time on the road, plus other...incidents. Sora wouldn't understand, and Noctis wasn't in the mood to even begin explaining all of it.
Sora, however, had moved on, as he did, bouncing from topic to topic. Noctis liked talking to his brother, yes, but the ADHD quality of his conversations wore him out sometimes. He mostly listened, making the odd reassuring noise to let Sora know he was listening. The signal blared in and out, as the distance between them worked hard on the wires, making Sora fuzzy.
"Sorry," Sora said, after finishing a lengthy story about an incident with a escaped frog in science class, and the frog deciding that under the skirt of Quistis, the most popular girl in class, was the place to be. Chaos had ensued, Quistis requiring first aid to ward off warts in a few unfortunately places. The frog eventually escaped, and wasn't ever found again, but hopefully was alive somewhere.
"That's pretty insane," Noctis agreed, chuckling about the incident with Sora, who clipped in and out as if going in a tunnel. "Sounds like you liked her, though," he added.
"N...no I don't!" Sora protested. Noctis could almost hear the blush in his voice, chuckling.
"I'm just joshing with you, bro," Noctis drawled, nodding at Prompto, who was jabbing a finger at the menu, pointing out some greasy, possibly deadly bacon chili fries displayed in lurid colours. "You and Kairi are still a thing, right?"
"W...well...we never made it official..." Sora said, voice a bit rusty. He quickly cleared his throat. "We haven't...uh...kissed or anything..."
"So?" Noctis scoffed, rolling his eyes. "Take it at your own pace, man."
"Well, Tidus has already done it," Sora said, a touch of teenage jealousy in his voice. "So has Wakka."
"Sora..." Noctis sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, "Tidus is the living embodiment of a himbo, and a walking condom ad. Don't base your life choices on what he does."
"Himbo?" Ignis asked, softly, pushing his glasses back up his nose. He'd been listening, leaning against the wall casually, and trying to make it look like he wasn't listening. Noctis shook his head, mouthing "Later", Ignis stifled a chuckle, a gloved hand to his smirking lips.
Sora had been lamenting Tidus and his conquests, and Noctis had had more than enough of that nonsense. "Sora, there's more to life than getting it on with people. Tidus is gonna end up in a home for pervs somewhere, riddled with STDS."
Ignis chuckled softly at this, walking to the counter at a dirty look from Noctis, ordering a salad. Noctis blew the hair out his eyes, and went outside, leaning against the wall of the diner. "So, besides your friends trying to be porn stars, what's new? Mom doing okay?"
"Oh, you know," Sora said, a bit flippantly. "She misses dad a lot this time of year, you know..."
He cleared his throat, going quiet. An awkward silence followed for a few moments, Noct's cheeks feeling like they were burning, his throat dry. He always felt so guilty when Sora mentioned how their mother felt about the distance, even when it wasn't exactly his fault in the first place. Noct visited when he could, but it was sadly rarer than he'd like. The visit earlier in that year had been far too short, only lasting a few weeks.
Yule had always been his father's favorite time of year, spent in a month long celebration, with lavish decorations and sumptuous feasts. Noctis and Sora's mother had only spent one Yule with their father, but she spoke of it often, according to Sora, making some of the same lavish recipes for their admittedly simpler celebration. It made Noctis feel awful every year, the Yule month becoming more and more painful with each passing season.
"Yeah, bud... I know she does. He's going to try and visit after the first of the year, you know. Go see you guys on the island for a couple of months."
It was only a partial, white lie: Regis had talked about it, and there was a listing in his calendar for a cruise to the islands, but Regis talked about a lot of things, scheduled a lot of things, that were later cancelled. It meant absolutely nothing beyond a cursory remembrance out of the spirit of the season, and it would probably be forgotten in a week.
Noctis glanced at the counter, Ignis watching him closely, Gladio checking his phone, and Prompto all but diving face first into a plate of bacon fries. Ignis didn't say anything, but his eyes all but screamed at Noctis to hurry it up already.
"I should get going," Noctis said softly, feeling even guiltier somehow. "I'll call as soon as I can, though," he added, brightly.
"Oh, yeah, it's fine!" Sora was always bright, always excited to hear from Noctis, no matter how fast the calls had to be. "Just call before Yule, okay? Riku's having a beach party, and getting him outside these days isn't easy."
Noctis knew all about Riku's issues: His mother had kept in touch during the "Absence" as they called it, where Sora just disappeared one day, not returning for a year and a half. The truth was overly complicated, and the family decided to just get over it and move on, not questioning it too much for fear of Sora running off again. Riku had been severely depressed for the past year, so hearing he was throwing a beach party was a rarity.
"Say hi to mom for me," Noctis said, holding up a finger to Ignis' angry look, Gladio making a "What's the hold up" sort of shrug, rolling his eyes. Prompto, for his part, was too busy finishing off the slices of cheesecake the tired looking waitress had brought over, his own portion joining Ignis and Gladio's.
"I will!" Sora half yelled, the sound of water crackling over the phone. "Crap, a ton of water got in!"
"Don't drown, kiddo," Noctis chuckled. "Stay safe."
"By-" Sora began, but the call dropped in a burst of static. Sora must've dropped the phone in the water again.
In reality, the call had dropped when the sun vanished behind the clouds, Sora frowning. "This thing," he muttered, stuffing it in the pocket of his school blazer. He'd ditched the tie before starting out, stuffing it away in his school bag with his homework. Technically, he should've been at home doing the math and science work sheets Mr. Snow had sent home, but it was Friday; no one did all their homework Friday. Besides, Riku's beach party was more important right now, so...
"Sora!"
The voice shook him out of his thoughts, making him look up" Kairi stood on the shore of the play island, arms full of logs and sticks, hair in her eyes, a smile on her lips. Sora waved, feeling his heart beat just a little bit faster as seeing her, his breath catching. He'd been doing that a lot lately, blaming the unfortunate hormones and feelings a normal high schooler felt.
Kairi being a literal princess might have had something to do with it, as all Princess of Heart were just easy to love, but he knew Kairi wouldn't ever use magic or whatever powers she still held for something so petty. He was just in too deep, and-
"Ya gonna sit in the water forever, or are ya going come help us find firewood?"
Riku, arms crossed over his chest, his blazer open to expose his lean body. He'd built up muscles over the past year, and Sora's self esteam took a slight hit to see the six pack and lean hips Riku was putting on display, in comparison to his own flat belly and unlined waist. Riku almost looked like the superior between them, but that wasn't anything new.
Shaking these thoughts aside, Sora smiled, picking up his oars. "I'm coming! Sorry!"
Kairi only had eyes for him, smiling brightly.
"You were on the phone for ten years," Prompto complained. He had sauce smeared on his mouth, droplets scattered on his shirt. He looked like he'd gotten more on his face than in his mouth in the end. Noctis smirked, biting on his knuckle so he didn't laugh as he slid onto a stool.
"Yeah, well, it's my kid brother... I didn't want to cut it short," he explained, passing on the offered food. Ignis frowned at this, but didn't say anything. There'd been a bit of leeway lately with how much Ignis told him what to do since they'd started out, and Noctis both liked it and hated it. He felt almost lost at times, shoved into adulthood quicker than he was used to after years of an admittedly coddled life. It made him feel uneasy.
"Prom, it's Yule," Gladio rumbled, on his second slice of rum cake, crumbs scattered across the table. "Lighten up. He doesn't see the kid but once or twice a year."
Prompto mumbled something about phone bills, and Gladio chuckled.
"Happy Yule, Prom," Noctis said, slapping the skinny blond on the back. Prompto yelped, and Noct chuckled, as Prompto rubbed the red mark. "I'm not a punching bag!" He cried.
Outside, a light snow started to fall, the flakes hitting the window with soft patters. They would need their Winter gear in the morning, but it was Yule tonight, and they were together for now. Everything would work out.
After the sun had gone down, they started the bonfire, the flames leaping into the air, crackling loudly. In the end, nearly everyone had bailed on the party, the last minute prep clashing with homework and other obligations. It was just the three of them again, like the old days, sitting on one of the smooth logs circling the stone firepit, watching the flames. Kairi was holding Sora's hand gently, rubbing her thumb along his palm. His heart pounded a bit at this, his throat dry. They weren't saying anything, just enjoying the heat of the fire, the sound of the waves, the distant call of seabirds.
Riku tossed another log in the fire, meeting Sora's eye: the long journeys had changed them all so much, and it was hard to go back sometimes, to just be teens, living their life. Riku had it the worse, knowing a dark part of himself was always there, always inside. He looked at Sora for a few moments, thinking back to the last time they'd been able to run on the island, as carefree children. Things were different now, and always would be.
Sora smiled at Riku, not sharing these dark thoughts, and Riku smirked, embarrassedly, getting to his feet. "I'm gonna find some coconuts," he muttered, stalking off into the night.
"He's so moody," Kairi said, softly, so Riku didn't hear. She didn't mean it unkindly, and smiled to show this, but Riku could've taken it wrong. Her grip on Sora's hand tightened a little.
"Well uh...you know...Riku," Sora said, lamely. Kairi laughed, tinkling bells in the heat of the night. She leaned slightly, resting her head on Sora's chest. His heart raced, and he swallowed.
"...happy Yule...Sora," she said, closing her eyes, enjoying Sora's body heat on her cheek.
"Happy Yule," he said. He gently put his arm around her shoulder.
They sat in the warmth of the fire, thinking about the past, and what could come in the near future.