A friend and I have been doing a RP for a while now, and it has been scattered across several threads on two different sites. It started as a group story (about fast food of all things ) but then it transformed into something else entirely.

 

We request that nobody join in this RP or post anything on this thread; if you wanna say how awesome we are, message us some other way.

 

Um...You're free to read this for fun if you want to, but this thread has major Birth By Sleep spoilers. And since we've been doing this for a while, we will probably refer to things we've done in the past and you will have no idea what we're talking about. So if you want to save yourself from confusion, then you probably wanna stay away. If not, hey, whatever.

 

The plot was discussed and posted on another website, but here's a quick summary of the whole thing: It's the return of Xehanort.

 

Characters:

Peanut: Sora, Namine, Leon, Aerith, King Mickey, Terra, Ventus, Xehanort, etc.

Forever Love: Riku, Kairi, Roxas, Yuffie, Aqua, Vanitus, Tron, etc.

 

I believe I've said everything that needs to be said...Forever Love, let's get this show on the road, eh?

Lightning did stop when Riku grabbed her arm, and she found that it was tighter than he gripped her before. It's not just the shirt making him that buff; he has been working out. She dismissed the thoughts, looking down at the ground. "What?" she asked without looking up. What did he have to say? Whatever it was, it wouldn't help. He couldn't understand all that was bugging her.

Riku didn't speak for a moment, his eyes resting on the woman he loved. The only woman he loved. He kept his hold on her upper arm, his eyes softening as he looked at her. "...I know that bothered you back there," he said, acknowledging how she reacted to seeing Ella so close, "but I want you to know that it meant nothing to me, okay? Nothing. She's just some girl." He would probably never see her again. That was how pointless it was back there to him. He didn't care if he saw her again or not. Ella's efforts were useless.

"I know," Lightning said. She was just angry and possessive, and protective. Riku hadn't even been aware of Ella flirting with him, had he? Guys are too clueless for their own good. She almost wanted to file a complaint with the restaurant over what happened, but more than that, she just wanted to forget today happened.

Riku's hold loosened at the words, and he blinked in confusion, his eyebrows furrowing. "You know..." he said, somewhat questioning that statement. That's all she had to say? That was way too easy.

"Yeah. I know." Lightning lifted a hand and took Riku's off of her arm, starting to walk again. You don't have to convince me, Riku. You already make it obvious that I'm the only girl for you. But would you stop being so obviously amazing? I'm sick of all the other girls out there falling head over heels for you...That's my job. She didn't want to see girls going gaga over Riku anymore, but what was she supposed to do, dress him in rags? Keep him locked in the basement? She couldn't keep him to herself.

Riku's hand fell down to his side when Lightning moved it, but he could only stare after her for the moment. He released a sigh, shaking his head as he glanced away. Maybe today was a bad idea, he thought bitterly, frowning. Nautilus didn't work out, and now neither did dinner.

"Go home if you want to," Lightning added softly over her shoulder, looking forward again after that. She could imagine herself hitting the punching bag for the rest of the night, if Riku gave her space. If not, she'd have to find some way to cope with him around. But if he asked about her birthday again, she would lose her temper.

Riku turned his head at the words, ignoring the small amount of people in the area as he spoke. "Lightning, don't do this!" he hollered, frustrated. Don't push me away... He hated it when she did that.

Lightning stopped walking when Riku hollered at her, her hands in fists by her sides. You know how this works, Riku, she thought. One of us pushes the other away, we fume about it for a few days, then we make up. That's how we are. ...And I hate it. She didn't want to push him away in the first place, but what else was she supposed to do? He was as close to her past as she was going to let him be.

Riku stared at the back of Lightning's head, taking a step toward her as he continued. "Why does one of us always have to walk away?" he asked, his aggravation coming through in his voice. "Why can't we actually talk about anything?" He just wanted her to feel she could come to him if she needed anything, but she hadn't done it. At all, at least not what he could remember. And he hated it.

"Because, there are some things words can't express," Light responded softly, glancing down and over at the ground. I can't express to you the grief I felt when Serah turned to crystal. Once I got done blaming everybody else, I blamed myself. I can't let go of those feelings. "There's no point trying to say things if words can't do it justice." You can't understand me completely, Riku. Ever.

Riku's eyebrows pulled over his eyes even more, the teen not liking that answer. "So that's it?" he asked, lifting his hands slightly before they fell back to his sides. "That's how we're going to settle this? I go home and you walk away?" He didn't want it like that, ever. It just wasn't who he was. He wanted to settle things now and just be with her...

"Yeah," Lightning said, starting to walk away again. "Sorry." That was how they were going to settle it, at least this time. She would go back where she belonged, and he would do the same. What else was there to do? She wasn't ready to open up about some demons from her past that were haunting her, even if Riku was ready to be there. She needed to fix herself first, to be good enough for him.

Riku's eyes hardened as he stared after Lightning, but then he glared at the ground. Great. Just great, he thought, his hands curling into fists. He ignored the light sting that was still in the bite from the chocobo, not even caring about that right now. This whole day was a disaster. I try to make things fun and only manage to screw them up.

Even while walking away, Lightning could practically hear Riku seething. Sorry, she thought again, truly regretful. But this was the only way they could solve things today. Maybe someday they'd be able to forget about their emotions and talk things out, but right now, they just couldn't do it. She couldn't do it.

Riku looked up after a moment, seeing that Lightning was even further away. He decided that he would go the other way, to a secluded area so he could get his armor and glider ready to go. He wasn't at all happy about this, and he was sure people saw that as he passed them. He would go home, sleep, and wake up to go back to work. He wouldn't be talking to Light, not until she was ready.

A few days later

 

Serah finished washing her dishes, drying them before she started putting them away in the right cupboards. She was home alone, but that was alright with her. Shockingly, Lightning had requested to take Snow for the day. Never thought I'd see the day where Lightning wanted to be stuck with Snow. But Serah could easily figure out why. Lightning realized that Snow was somebody she could talk to without any pressures, and he could take whatever punches she threw out in the process. Serah just hoped that today helped her sister; it was time for her to let go of all her guilt from the past.

Snow leaned against the fence surrounding the area, he and his sister-in-law in the heights of Bodhum. She wanted to talk, and they did that as they walked. They ended up here, not too far from the beach. It was a nice view, he had to admit, but the circumstances weren't so great. Lightning was ticked, and once he figured that out, he understood why she took him for a walk instead of Serah. She really needed to vent.

Lightning leaned back against the fence, her gaze on the ocean they were overlooking. "I already know how Serah feels about this," she said, picking up where their conversation left off. "But I'll never stop blaming myself for not believing her that day. If I had, it would have saved her a lot of heartache." Everything would have been different if Lightning had believed Serah wasn't lying to her. She chased her out of the house and said so many harsh things...and she wasn't able to apologize until Serah woke up. Her sister accepted the apology, but it didn't make a difference. Light wouldn't forgive herself for being such an awful sibling.

Snow kept his hands clasped, glancing down at his wedding ring as he leaned against his arms placed on the gate. "You were in denial, Light," he said, keeping his voice calm. "You didn't want to believe your sister was cursed." They all ended up being cursed, and that was when nearly everyone accepted it. But he accepted it the day he found out from Serah. He loved her despite that, and he was sure Lightning did too. They were family.

Light shut her eyes, arms folding over her chest. "I didn't have a reason to be in denial. Serah doesn't lie, so if she presented something crazy like becoming a l'Cie and being engaged to you, I should have believed it." Simple as that. Serah was too sweet to lie, and too sweet to make a sick practical joke like telling Light she had become a l'Cie and engaged to a "creep" on Light's birthday.

"Well, now that you've admitted that, do you feel any better?" Snow asked, turning his head to look at Lightning. She couldn't keep reflecting on this. It wasn't good for her, and apparently it wasn't good for her relationship with Riku, from what he'd briefly been told at the start of things.

"Nope," Lightning said without hesitation. She didn't feel any better, because she knew that it was the truth all along. Everything would have been much cleaner if she had just believed Serah from the get-go instead of throwing a temper tantrum. She even had time to reflect and say it was her worst birthday ever instead of focusing that Serah was going through the worst time of her life. Some big sister I am.

"Then you need to stop dwelling on it so much. Thinking about it is only gonna put you down," Snow said, shaking his head a little as his blond hair was pushed into his face by the wind. "Serah forgives you, and she'll always forgive you. You're her sister." The family bond was strong.

"I know, Snow," Light said with a sigh, lifting a hand to her forehead. I've heard all this before. Your past mistakes are forgiven as long as you get grace from the person who you hurt. But it's not that simple. I can't forgive myself. She didn't know how she could truly forgive herself for betraying her sister in her time of need. She hoped the feelings would fade away eventually, and that they were just being brought up because this was the anniversary of it all, but she didn't know.