087 <3

[lindskaba.livejournal.com]

Challenge: [087] Snow
Title: Snowdrop
Word Count: 562
Notes: Spoilers for the end of Chain of Memories, mayhaps? Love to crimsoncookie for the perfect title, and to invisibledancer for input. ♥



"Come on, let me do it!"

"No."

"Come on!"

"No."

"Come on come on come on come on come oooonnnnnn!"

"He can do it, Riku, I don't mind."

"No. We decided that I'd do the frosting, Sora'd do the sprinkles, and you'd do the designs. You're best at it. Sora would just ruin it."

"I would not!"

"He might not…"

"He definitely would."

"Riku, you're so mean!"

"You'll thank me later when the cake doesn't look like someone vomited all over it."

"That was a little harsh, Riku."

"He knows it's true. Right, Sora? …Sora?"

When the brunet doesn't answer, Riku turns to look.

Sora is frozen with his face all contorted, eyes fixed on the window across the room. "You guys…" he murmurs as if in a trance, "Look…"

The other two follow his dumbstruck gaze, and they see it: tiny white flakes floating down from the sky in flurries, past the window, into the sand.

The three stand motionless in the center of the kitchen, mouths agape and eyes wide. Then, they scream.

Frosting and sprinkles and cake mix abandoned, three children bolt through the door, crying out excited words that get lost in the scramble. They flow into the street and keep running, stopping only to throw up their arms and spin, reaching for the open sky.

By the time they get to the beach, it's covered with a thick layer of white, stretching all the way down to the shore. They throw themselves upon it with gleeful shrieks, limbs flying, bodies twisting, tumbling wildly over each other. Within moments, their hair is soaked in soft powder.

It's the first time they've ever seen snow.

Riku is the first to attack. A tightly packed ball hits Sora square in the face, sending him backwards into a newly formed drift. He retaliates instantly, and the boys begin an all-out war, tearing across the beach with rowdy whoops of laughter. Their scuffled footprints dot the ground. Nearby, the girl burrows her toes into the soft blanket, wiggling them a little; she isn't cold.

None of them stop to ask why.

"Hey!"

She turns to see Sora waving at her. "Come on! We're gonna build a castle!"

"Sora, you build castles out of sand, not—"

"No!" She smiles, and feels tiny flakes wet the creases of her eyes. "I want to!"

A delighted grin spreads Sora's face, and his eyes sparkle, clear blue against white. "All right!" He shoots Riku a look of triumph; Riku pelts him in the head. The two take off across the beach again, Sora shoving as much fluff into Riku's hair as he can. Over the sound of her own laughter, she can hear them both calling:

"Come on, Naminé! Naminé!"

She blinks. Her vision goes white. Something falls soft on her cheek.

When she opens her eyes, it's still white: the walls, the table, the slightly frayed edge of her sketchbook.

The flower petals scattered across her lap.

She shifts slightly, and the petals slide away to expose a drawing of three children: lying on their backs, arms to the sky. She holds a blue crayon steadily over the page.

Again, something soft whispers on her cheek. "Dreaming of beaches again, pet?" The flower he holds between black leather fingers slides velvet across her nose.

She closes her eyes, and pretends that it's snow.