"Ya know, you promised a drunk speech if this actually happened."
Sora snorted into his glass of wine, spilling some of the contents down his rented black suit. He'd have to get that washed before returning, he noted, looking down at the quickly forming stain. He hadn't noticed the young woman walking up behind him, unsure if it was due to her stealth capabilities or the fact he was currently on his fourth glass of wine. He placed his half full glass of red liquid down on the white clothed covered table and leaned back in the chair, his back still facing the woman behind him.
"Yeah well, we all promise a lot of things we don't always keep, don't we?" He muttered, a slight shrug in his shoulders as well as a slight slur in his speech, tinged with the tiniest bit of sarcasm. The woman made note of the derision with a small smirk and took a seat in the empty chair next to him, making sure not to step on her purple dress as she did so. She reached over a bare arm to grab his glass, still dripping from the wine he spilled earlier. She picked it up and examined it as though it were a sort of science experiment, moving it back and forth in front of her eyes. "How many of these have you had?", she asked without looking up, her lilac eyes still on the drink.
"Not enough," the man responded with a smirk, as if pleased with his response. If Sora was facing the young woman he would have seen her roll her eyes so far into the back of her head he would have thought her pupils disappeared. "Yeah well, you've always liked free shit," the woman said, earning another shrug from Sora in agreement. After a few moments of silence, she lifted the glass to her crimson painted lips and finished the rest of the dark drink.
"Careful, aren't you worried about my cooties?"
Yuffie snorted, and made a sarcastic gesture with her hands, wiggling her fingers in pretend fear of Sora's deadly germs. "Oh no, I've never had those before, now have I?" Sora let out a small huff of air as the table went back into silence, the only sounds being the hooping and hollering of the rest of the party enjoying the festivities on the wooden dance floor, the moon in the night sky shining on the gathering.
"Still weird, isn't it?" Yuffie said after a moment, breaking the silence as she stared into the distance, also watching the party-goers. "Which part?" Sora asked a little solemnly, still surveying the people dancing ahead with nearly half lidded eyes.
"Ya know," The raven haired woman started, gesturing with her left hand a little wildly as she did. "Them. Kairi and Pence. Like, who'd have actually thought?" She finished, dropping her hand on the table as she did so. Sora couldn't help but notice the ring on her finger out of the corner of his eye as her hand fell, glimmering in the darkness.
"As long as she's happy," Sora said, wishing Yuffie hadn't finished the rest of his alcohol.
"Don't you mean as long as they're happy?" She asked with a chuckle, elbowing Sora in his side as she asked. Sora couldn't help but let his lips curl into a smile. "I know Pence is happy. Look at him, Kairi is a babe, he still looks like a bridge troll. I feel like he's gonna ask me to solve a riddle every time I pass him," he said, as Yuffie stifled a laugh with her hand, not wanting to reward Sora's rude comment with her amusement. "I'm surprised she hasn't cut his stupid hair yet, she'd have killed me if my hair looked like that," he mused, running his fingers through the brown bangs that had fallen in his eyes.
"God, you're still such an asshole," Yuffie said, rolling her eyes again.
"You didn't seem to mind before," Sora said, finally looking in her direction, their eyes finally catching each other for the first time that night, and in many nights. Sora couldn't help but notice the tingle that went down his spine as a feeling of deja vu suddenly hit his body. He didn't like the feeling, yet for some reason, didn't mind it.
Maybe that fourth glass of wine was a mistake.
"So how's ol' what's-his-face?" Sora questioned suddenly, breaking the awkward silence that had formed between them, waving his hand in a circle, as if trying to reel in the memory of his name. Yuffie made an annoyed face that Sora recognized all too well. It was the face she used to make whenever Sora said something inappropriate, such as making a joke at the expense of one of their friends, or whenever they passed a particularly ugly dog and Sora would point it out.

"You know his name," Yuffie told him, her eyes narrowing at the not quite sober man.
"I do, I just don't care."
"Maybe you shouldn't actually make that speech for them after all," Yuffie quipped at Sora. She surveyed the surroundings with her purple eyes, looking away from the crowd of people and into the distance around her. Sora twisted his back in his chair, trying to follow her gaze of the outside wedding venue. Their eyes both landed on the shimmering body of water; the serene lake appeared calm in contrast to the slight chaos that was the party happening on the island they were currently inhibiting.

"Who the hell has a wedding at a lake?" Sora asked, still staring at the water. He adjusted himself in his chair, he was now straddling the seat so that he could lean his arms on the backrest, placing his chin in his hands as he did so. Yuffie chuckled, also adjusting herself on the side of her chair, so she could stare behind them, crossing one leg over the other, adjusting her dress as she did. She propped her elbow on her own backrest.
"Yeah, well your plan was to get married at a children's theme park," Yuffie chuckled.
""And you used to pretend to be a ninja," Sora muttered, not bothering to move his chin from his arms as he said so.
"Hey, that wasn't pretend," Yuffie said, feigning defiance, slapping Sora on the shoulder at the attack on her shinobi capabilities. "I am The Great Ninja Yuffie," she said as she turned to face Sora, striking a pose as though she was about to attack him. Sora snorted, finally lifting himself up from his makeshift armrest and mockingly shrinked away from the impending attack, pretending to plead forgiveness as he did so. They both chuckled slightly, being on the same page for the first time since this little reunion. Yuffie sighed quietly and returned her gaze on the water in the distance. Sora followed her gaze once again.
"Wanna check out the lake?" He asked quietly. He remembered how much Yuffie always loved water, his brain suddenly filled with memories of beach trips and random water park visits. Yuffie glanced at him out of the corner of her mascara'ed eye; seeing Yuffie's face tinted with make-up was not a sight he was used to. She had a puzzled face, as if trying to figure out if Sora was playing some sort of trick or mindgame.
"...Do you?" She finally asked, quirking an eyebrow questioningly. For what was not the first time that night, Sora shrugged.
"Yeah, why not?" Yuffie still seemed a little uncertain. Sora couldn't help but notice her face, as though she was working through a million different equations in her brain at once.
"Besides, I fucking hate this song." Sora said, motioning with his thumb behind him towards the dance floor as the speakers blared music overhead; a man was singing about being happy. Yuffie laughed, nodding as she did so. "Yeah, seems like the kind of song you'd hate," she said, uncrossing her legs as she did so. She flattened out her dress and prepared to stand up.
"What's that mean?" Sora asked in a jokingly upset tone; he also began to rise up from his chair. He almost groaned in relief as he did so, not noticing just how numb his body had become from the extended period of sitting.
"Oh, you know what that means," Yuffie said as she stood up, careful not to fall in the heels she wasn't quite used to wearing. "You always hated anything that was popular."
"I did not!" Sora said in defense of his music tastes. They began to walk towards the water. Yuffie walked slowly, extra cautious due to the combination of high heels and moist ground; Sora was walking slowly due to being drunk. "Yeah you did," Yuffie continued her attack on Sora's musical preferences. "You didn't listen to anything that wasn't depressing and make me want to cry," she accused.
"That's not true!" Sora continued his defense. "I liked that one song, the one about being up all night or whatever," Sora said, speaking with his hands as he tried to remember more about the song he claimed to enjoy.
"Oh yeah, so much that you don't even remember the name."
"You can't expect me to remember the name of every song that gets played on the radio, can you?" Sora said; they were closing in on the beginning of the water.
"No, but I can expect you to know one song that isn't about the end of the world.
"Not every single song I listen to is sad, ya know?" Sora said with a joking eyeroll; he crossed his arms as he did so, as if protecting himself from Yuffie's verbal jabs.
"Yeah, yeah, sure thing pal," Yuffie mocked, waving her left hand as she did so as if dismissing Sora's explanations. They fell quiet again,
They reached the edge of the lake. Yuffie stared into the distance, taking in the sight of the beautiful scene ahead of her. Sora tried to stare at the lake as well. He was struggling not to glance at the woman on his left.
They began to move, walking along the shore of the lake, Yuffie closer to the edge of the water than her taller companion. Sora shoved his hands in his pockets, unsure of what to do with them. He had to fight muscle memory.
He wasn't used to walking next to Yuffie without placing his hand in hers.
The silence was quite loud as they walked. It was only a minute or two, but Sora felt like they'd been walking for hours. They finally stopped as they reached a rowboat, floating at the edge of a dock in the water, as well as a makeshift counter with what appeared to be props and silly outfits where people could take pictures to celebrate the moment and create new memories. Yuffie almost chuckled at the sight.
She raised a finger to point at the booth, and seemed as if she was about to say something but stopped suddenly, letting her hand fall to her side; she tried to play her hand motion off as brushing something off, as if swatting at an imaginary insect. Sora didn't buy her awkward hand gesture and followed her signal to the potential photoshoot on the dock. "Wanna take a picture of this not-at-all-awkward moment?" he joked.
"Oh please," Yuffie answered with another eyeroll. "You always hated taking pictures. I used to joke that if you ever got kidnapped I'd have no pictures to show the cops," she said. Sora scoffed at that statement. "Who would have kidnapped me?" Sora asked in jest, with a jokingly tough tone in his voice. His arms waved at his body as he said so, as if showing off an invisible muscular frame. "Oh please," the raven haired woman said. "You used to weigh like ninety pounds. I could have suplexed you if I wanted," She said.
"Um, excuse me, I was at least ninety-five pounds, thank you very much. Sora said, leaning in as he corrected his companion, a wagging finger in the air pointing towards Yuffie as he did so. Yuffie let another huff of air escape her lips as he did.
"Sure thing, big guy," she quipped.
Yuffie took a step onto the dock that was currently keeping the rowboat from drifting into the darkness, a heel clacking on the wooden plank as she did so. She made her way towards the end, where the wood met water. Sora followed after, taking his place at her right as he did so. They both surveyed the water some more, the silence between them growing as they did. Sora placed his hands back in his pockets once again; he silently cursed himself for leaving his phone in his car so he would have something to do with his hands that didn't involve being awkward.
"It's beautiful, isn't it?"
Sora wasn't sure if she was addressing him or just speaking to the night sky. He decided to say something regardless.
"What is?" He muttered quietly.
"Ya know… this. All this," she stated, a little wonder in her voice as she said so, her hands sweeping in the direction of the water as her eyes surveyed the surrounding nature.
"Oh, I just assumed you saw your reflection in the water," Sora said. Yuffie snorted in laughter; it was the first time either of them had genuinely laughed in each other's company that night. Sora smiled as she rewarded his joke with a laugh. "I'm not that vain anymore, ya know," She informed the taller man to her right.
"So it doesn't take you four hours to get ready anymore?"
"Well, I never said that," she corrected. Now it was Sora's turn to laugh, though his chuckle was more on the quieter side. "I'm assuming the mirror is still your best friend?"
"Wow, you're being awful mean today," Yuffie joked. Sora thought for a second, the corner of his lips pursed into a smirk.
"Yeah, well. We've both had 'mean eras', right?" Sora said, eyes looking down at the boat in front of him. The silence returned after that comment; both traces of happiness had been erased from their faces. The lack of conversation was heavy; Sora felt as though he could have cut it with a knife and served it in a sandwich. Sora scrambled to find something to say that wasn't pure nonsense.
"Wanna take a ride on the boat?" He asked, kicking a black dress shoe in the direction of the rowboat underneath them, not bothering to remove his hands from his pockets.
"Why, planning on throwing me over?"
"Nah, I know you're a good swimmer. It wouldn't work."
Yuffie let out a small huff of air through her nose; it was a mix of laughter and indignation. Their eyes both left the wooden vessel floating in the air and returned to the shimmering lake in front of them. The silence continued as the water reflected in their eyes.
"How's old what's-his-face?" Sora finally spoke up, his quiet voice breaking the awkward quiet. His words barely audible above the sounds of the festivities behind them. Yuffie made another strained noise, much softer this time, as if she didn't want to be heard. She focused her line of vision away from her companion. She rubbed her hands on her thighs, as if unsure of what to do with her hands.
"You know his name," she muttered. Sora clearly picked up on the frustration. He also thought he heard the smallest twinge of sadness.
"I do. I just don't care."
"Real mature, Sora," Yuffie said, still avoiding Sora's blue eyes, which had begun to look in Yuffie's direction. "Yeah well, always called me a child, didn't you? Sora said with a dismissive shrug.

"Well that was mainly because you never washed your damn dishes," Yuffie responded with an annoyed eye roll. Her line of sight finally landed on Sora's face. She took note of his half lidded eyes. His normally bright, beaming face was replaced with a look that felt vague and foreign to her. She didn't see the normal light behind his eyes that she was so accustomed to.
"Are you happy?" Sora asked quietly, as if to himself.
Yuffie didn't respond immediately. The brunette man turned his head to her, no longer just staring at her from the corner of his vision. Yuffie's eyes couldn't return his own gaze; she looked back down, staring at nothing in particular; it was as if she was looking inside her own thoughts.
"...Is this really the time or place for this?" Yuffie asked, clasping her hands behind her back. Sora recognized this as a sign of her being uncomfortable; it was a defense mechanism she's had since high school.
"Will there ever be a time or place for it?"
Again, Yuffie did not speak right away. Her eyes kept scanning the water in front of her. Sora's brain fought not to panic; his thoughts struggled as he imagined every possible response his old friend could say. He imagined how frigid the water would be as it attacked his skin when she threw him over. He imagined how he would explain away the fist shaped black eye to his coworkers. He basically heard the sounds of a wedding ring plunking into the depths below as she took the band off and hurled it in front of her and embraced him. He could almost smell her preferred perfume from years ago.
Sora didn't have to wait long to find out none of his imagined fantasies were right. Instead, Yuffie just shrugged.
"Probably not."
There was more shouts of jubilation behind them. Both slightly turned their heads behind them, trying to find the source of the noise. Pence was attempting to breakdance. It didn't appear to be going well; his suit pants nearly split as he attempted to do the splits, yet the crowd cheered on nonetheless.
"I should go see what's happening," Yuffie said, her gaze still looking behind her. She began to turn her whole body towards the gathering behind her. Sora stared at her for a few seconds, watching her start to walk away, illuminated in the moonlight reflecting off the water.
"Do you ever remember us?" Sora called out to Yuffie's back. She stopped in place as she heard his voice; he had no idea what she was thinking. Sora continued his last ditch effort to get Yuffie to turn to him. "Do you ever think about the good times?"
Yuffie still didn't turn around. The back of her body trembled slightly, yet not from fear. Sora tried to place what she could be thinking or feeling. He still had no idea. Time meant nothing in this moment to Sora. He stood completely still, waiting for her to react.
"The past should probably just stay in the past." Yuffie breathed out, her whisper barely audible over the celebration.
"I don't want to stay in the past."
Yuffie ran a hand through her hair. Her hair rustled as she scratched the back of her head for a few seconds before letting her hand fall to her side. Sora wished she would turn around; he wished he could see her face. He longed to stare into her eyes and be able to read her expression. He remembered how much he missed looking into her soul behind her eyes.
"Maybe in the next life," She responded, and finally began to walk away. This time, Sora did not call out to her. He watched her walk towards the distance, disappearing from the shine of the moon's light, her footsteps no longer audible. Sora turned to face the lake again. His bangs fell into his face. He hadn't realized how hot his body felt until right now. His face was flushed with a crimson red and his hands were shaking in his pockets. The sudden silence felt overwhelming.
The continuous silence that he was still not used to.
The young man, stood alone, a short walk away from a gathering of friends and acquaintances. He quickly pulled out his phone, struggling to type in his current address due to the smudges on it. After a few more moments of fighting to type correctly, he pressed accept and silently hoped his uncharged phone would not die within the next 15 minutes.
Sora pocketed his phone, and sighed once more. He look another long look into the emptiness in front of him.
I need a drink.