Title: And That's What It's All About (part 2)
Spoilers: ... It's set post-KHII. So probably, yeah. XD
Rating: G
Pairing(s): Kairi/Sora and Kairi/Riku, if you squint. (No. I typed those TOTALLY CORRECTLY.)
Summary/Notes: Building on the idea of the first one. Shorter than the first one, but required more revision. XD
Really... everyone is a squishy squishy dork. WHY, BRAIN? WHY?
--
They were off again. When the letter had come from the king, Sora had gone into fits of excitement over the prospect of traveling with his friends again. Kairi had put her foot down and insisted that she was coming along. Riku could see that while Sora was pleased to finally go adventuring with his childhood friends, he was slightly uneasy about Kairi's involvement. Riku thoght back to when they were all little kids. He remembered the countless boasts, the teasing arguments, and the friendly competition over who would get to help Kairi this time.
But even back then she was tougher than people gave her credit for. Riku had to hide a smile as he remembered Sora running down the beach barefoot with a particularly irate crab in pursuit. He could still remember the panic he had felt when the crab had turned on him. It had been closing in on Riku's toes when Kairi's hand had suddenly grasped it from behind. She had picked it up and tossed it back into the water before turning around and giggling at the boys' hot and flustered faces. And now she was learning to wield a Keyblade, standing up to the two of them in practice rounds. No, Kairi could take care of herself.
And she could make Sora and Riku do anything. With cheerful bullying, with an upraised eyebrow, or an annoyed look. And then she'd smile and thank them and it would all be worth it. It was just... funny watching her employ these tricks on someone not in their little group.
Currently Sora was huddled in the corner again and Kairi was looking at Leon pleadingly. A debate had sprung up shortly after they had arrived at Merlin's house in Radiant Garden. Riku couldn't even remember what had set it off, but it had produced a result which seemed to have taken Leon completely off guard. At that moment he was hurriedly trying to coax Sora out of the corner while simultaneously avoiding Kairi's eyes. Riku felt for the man, he really did. He was just relieved that for once he wasn't the target of such ploys.
Yuffie chimed in from her place on the table.
"Leon! Come on, you can't let him sulk all day!"
"But what do you want me to do?" Leon asked, confused.
"We told you," said Kairi, looking even more pitiful, "You just won't."
Leon covered his face with his hand.
"It won't work," he groaned, "You've got to be kidding me."
Riku found himself speaking up.
"Yes, it will. It'll work," he said.
He almost felt bad about roping someone else into the same task he'd been faced with not long ago. But at this point he was half-convinced that it was all an elaborate prank on the part of Sora and Kairi. And he certainly didn't have any qualms about taking part in a prank, especially one of this brilliance. If it... was a prank.
Leon seemed to finally break under the combined force of Sora, Kairi, and Yuffie's efforts. He gave a groan which was all too familiar to Riku since it was one that he'd been making in his own head for years whenever Sora or Kairi had convinced him to do anything.
"Yuffie," Leon said in tones of defeat, "... close the door, will you?"
Yuffie stifled a whoop of glee and leapt up to comply. When he was sure the entrance behind him was closed, Leon turned to face Sora and Kairi and squared his shoulders determinedly.
"I'm a little teapot," he began, "short and stout."
Riku was impressed at how confident his voice was. Leon, having decided to proceed, had determined to give it his all.
"Here is my handle," he continued, placing one hand on his hip, "Here is my spout." One hand at and angle off to the other side.
Sora was watching over one shoulder, Kairi was smiling encouragingly, and Yuffie, perched once again on the table, was making no effort to mask the insane pleasure she was taking from the scene.
"When I get all steamed up, hear me shout," Leon was nearing the end, "tip me over and pour me out."
At the last line, he gave a surprisingly agile and graceful dip to one side, perfectly mimicking a teapot's pour.
He straightened up to a round of applause from his audience. Sora had spun around and was sprawled on the floor, grinning at Leon.
"I had no idea you were so good at nursery rhymes, Leon," came a quiet, cheerful voice from the previously closed doorway.
Leon stiffened slightly and turned to see Aerith smiling guilelessly from the entrance.
"I was just coming in to see if anyone wanted something to drink," she continued, still smiling.
Amidst a chorus of drink requests, Riku could hear Leon mutter, "You'd think making a fool of myself would be enough punishment to get me out of Aerith's lemonade..."
Riku chuckled to himself. Facing down crabs and singing children's songs in public would never be a barrel of laughs to him, but he knew it would always be worth it to see the kind of smiles that were on his friends' faces right now.
--
Yeah. I made a KH manga joke. Totally worth it! Aerith's lemonade can kill weeds, I'm convinced. Same chemical substance as Sophie's weed killer in Howl's Moving Castle. Truefax.
And did you know putting milk in it makes it taste better? 8D