“Doesn’t it hurt?” Naminé gasped as Xion rolled up her sleeve.
“It used to! Mostly it itched a lot, and I wasn’t allowed to scratch it till the bandage came off.” Xion flexed her arm, looking smug. “Axel’s been so jealous, I’m pretty sure I can convince him to get a matching one within a week.”
“Can I touch it?” Forgetting to wait for an answer, Kairi ran a thumb over the dark ink swirling on Xion’s bicep. It was a heart, stylized and graceful, surrounded with whorls of gold and red. Kairi looked up at Xion, her smile sarcastic. “Don’t you think the symbolism’s a bit obvious?”
Xion burst out laughing. “I can’t help it! Remember when I reabsorbed all those memories and turned into a giant armored laser-thing, and did a big dying speech to Roxas? If I’m not being overdramatic, I’m not being me.”
“I think it’s nice.” Naminé smiled at her.
Kairi rolled her eyes. “And if it was any subtler, I don’t think anyone would get it.” She groaned, propping her chin up in her hands. “Ladies, why are all the guys in our lives so absolutely stupid?”
Xion nodded solemnly and Naminé wrinkled her nose. “I don’t know if that’s fair,” she said, poking at the eggs on the plate in front of her.
“Name one guy we know who’s smart!” Xion replied, rolling her sleeve back down.
“Um.” Naminé fidgeted with her fork. “Even?”
“Even wouldn’t know common sense if it hit him upside the head,” Xion snorted.
“He is the reason people got to have bodies instead of living inside people’s hearts, I think.” Kairi waved a waiter over for a mimosa refill, which Naminé appreciated.
“That whole thing was unclear, and I’m not giving him credit for it because it didn’t make any sense.” Xion stabbed her omelet with the strength of a true Keyblade Master. “Was this about a specific thing, Kairi, or just a general boyfriend mood?”
“I mean, Sora put dish soap instead of detergent into the dishwasher and flooded the kitchen again, but mostly it’s just a general mood.”
“Again?” Xion shrieked and Naminé giggled at the exaggerated way she clapped her hands to her face. “How have you guys not lost the deposit on your place yet?”
Kairi shrugged. “Property values on Destiny Island are really low since it gets dissolved into darkness every couple of years, I think the landlord is mostly glad we’re still living there.”
“I, personally, cannot believe that you saved all the worlds in the universe and you still have to pay rent.” A piece of egg flew off of Xion’s fork as she waved it around for emphasis. “Aren’t you a princess? Shouldn’t you live in a castle?”
Kairi scrunched up her face. “And have to clean it? Nooo thank you. And I’m not getting one of those brooms with arms that King Mickey has to do it either, those things creep me right out.”
“Mmm, fair.” Xion shrugged and shifted her gaze to Naminé. “So when are you and Reynold getting a place together instead of him squatting in that run-down mansion?”
Naminé flushed under Xion’s direct gaze. “Well, we’re enjoying traveling right now. He’s still trying to get the hang of the Gummi ship-“ Kairi tried unsuccessfully to stifle laughter- “but once we get to a place we have a lot of fun. We actually just got back from the kingdom of Corona, it was really nice there.” She smiled at the memory of Reynold shrieking at an Emblem Heartless that had popped up unexpectedly and ruined their picnic. “So, no time soon. Plus Reynold swears that in a year or so there’s going to be another world-ending cataclysm with a whole new group of evil people with vague motives. He doesn’t actually know about anyone doing anything evil, he just says it’s “pattern recognition” and doesn’t want to settle down until after that.”
Xion groaned. “That guy is incapable of relaxing. Naminé, I don’t wanna be rude, but I am gonna be rude real quick- what in whole fuck do you see in him?” She spread her hands wide, almost knocking Kairi in the face. “He has the personality of a feral cat, and if I hadn’t seen the way he looks at you I’d swear his scowl was permanent.”
Naminé looked down at her lap. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Kairi elbow Xion and glare at her. “What? He’d agree with me!”
“Reynold’s your friend, don’t be a jerk-“
“He makes me feel safe,” Naminé said, still looking down. Kairi and Xion looked at her, surprised, as she went on. “And he- I know that when he’s looking at me, he doesn’t see anyone else. I’m just me. And that’s who he likes.” She looked back up at the two other women who shared her face. “Just me, for being me.”
Xion sighed. “Naminé-“
“Plus he broke DiZ’s arm for me that one time.” Naminé smiled and took a sip of her mimosa. “That was very sweet of him.”
Kairi grinned, and Xion laughed out loud. “You’re the only person who would think that’s sweet,” Kairi said affectionately.
“If I remember correctly, you started dating Sora and Riku to keep them from fighting over you, which you thought was very romantic,” Naminé said primly, her mouth twitching to conceal a smile.
”And I stand by that!” Kairi leaned back in her chair with a smug smile.
“It didn’t actually stop them fighting all the time, it just shifted their focus,” Xion interjected. “I’ve seen them fight over who gets to hold the door for you!”
“Gotta keep them entertained somehow! They tire themselves out eventually. Plus, Xion, I know for a fact you aren’t above exploiting your boys for personal profit, and neither of you is even dating Axel.”
“Exploiting is such an ugly word, Kairi! I prefer reparations.” Xion batted her eyelashes innocently, convincing absolutely nobody. “If they just happen to feel bad for the fact that they forgot about my entire existence and that happens to encourage them to always have my favorite ice cream stocked in the fridge, that’s not my fault.”
“I managed to convince Reynold to get an actual bedframe instead of a mattress on the floor just by saying my back was a little sore the last time I spent the night.” Naminé smiled down at the remains of her brunch.
“Yes! Naminé! That is what I am TALKING about!” Xion punched the air, making the others laugh. Naminé smiled at her friends as Kairi tried to keep Xion’s voice down so they didn’t bother the other patrons of the café. Traveling through exotic worlds was fun, and saving them was exciting. But her favorite place to be was here, with her friends, finally feeling at peace.
Author's Notes:
Written 12/20/2019. Kingdom Hearts will never let these girls all hang out but I am not a coward.