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Title<\/b>: Runs on Smiles [Sora, Strelitzia]
\nRating\/Warnings<\/b>: Gen
\nSummary<\/b>: Strelitzia is not buying Sora’s “this ship runs on smiles” nonsense. Set in Quadratum.
\nAN<\/b>: Written for Shiritori. <\/p>\n
Runs on Smiles<\/b><\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the real treasure was the friends we made along the way?\u201d Sora said. It took some effort to get his \u201cmaking a new friend please trust me\u201d smile onto his face, but it hadn\u2019t ever failed him before. <\/p>\n
Strelitzia, surprisingly, was not won over by his usual schtick. \u201cYou don\u2019t seem to think they\u2019re coming to find you, so they don\u2019t sound like that much of a treasure. Are these the same friends who taught you to paste on that fake smile?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHuh? No!\u201d Sora dropped his eyes as his expression faded back to a tense frown. \u201cWell, sort of. Our ship runs on smiles.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cThen I don\u2019t think it\u2019ll fly here,\u201d Strelitzia said tartly. \u201cFrom what you\u2019ve told me so far, it sounds like ignoring your limits is exactly how you got yourself stuck outside of your own reality.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cCrying about it won\u2019t help anything,\u201d Sora argued. His hands kept tugging restlessly at his jacket and hoodie, his clothes rubbing his skin in unfamiliar places. \u201cIf i just keep going and keep trying, it\u2019ll work itself out!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou really believe that, huh,\u201d Strelitzia murmured, quietly as if she was talking to herself more than Sora. She was silent a moment, and her lack of counterargument took some of the wind out of Sora\u2019s sails. \u201cLet me see your phone?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSure, I guess\u2026\u201d Sora pulled his phone out, thumbed it unlocked, and handed it over. Strelitzia held it up, pointed at him.<\/p>\n
\u201cSmile,\u201d she said. Sora complied, giving her a few of his usual selfie faces on autopilot as soon as he caught on. His smile started to strain around the edges as it went on longer than he expected, but eventually Strelitzia nodded, satisfied. \u201cCome look.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI know what I look like,\u201d Sora said self-consciously, rubbing the back of his hair as he came to stand at her shoulder. <\/p>\n
\u201cDo you?\u201d she asked mildly. She swiped back and forth through the dozen pictures she\u2019d taken until she settled on one, then unpinched it bigger until Sora\u2019s face took up most of the screen. \u201cDo you really see yourself?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cYou told me to smile, I\u2019m smiling.\u201d Sora felt defensive without knowing why. He looked the same as usual, same hair spikes, same ears sticking out, same smile. <\/p>\n
Strelitzia used two fingers to cover Sora\u2019s mouth, hiding his smile. \u201cHow about now?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t see what you\u2019re\u2026\u201d Sora trailed off because he did see. Looking at just the top half of his face, his brow was tense, the rings under his eyes were deeper, and his eyes looked somehow washed out from their usual blue. He looked tired and sad, like the way his heart was heavy lead in his chest. Nothing like a hero of light. \u201cFine, you made your point.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cHow about now?\u201d Strelitzia lifted her fingers back up, and oh, now it was even worse. The disjointed way that Sora\u2019s smile didn\u2019t match his eyes was all wrong, sort of creepy, like a him that wasn\u2019t him at all. <\/p>\n
\u201cStop it,\u201d Sora snapped, tugging the phone out of her hands and clicking it dark. \u201cOf course I\u2019m tired! Of course I feel bad! But feeling that stuff doesn\u2019t fix anything! If every time I got lost or was too weak I just sat there and cried, I\u2019d have never found Riku, or saved Kairi, or met Donald and Goofy or learned magic or saved the worlds or\u2014\u201d Sora\u2019s fists had clenched tight and to his horror, tendrils of darkness started to steam off them. His voice choked off as panic locked his chest tight, unable to stop himself or calm down. Could he turn into Rage Form here? What would happen if he did? \u201cGet back, I might, I\u2019m\u2014\u201d<\/p>\n
Strelitzia cupped one of Sora\u2019s fists in her hands, her touch cool and comforting. \u201cDon\u2019t you think all the feelings in you have a purpose, not just the happy ones? If you only let some out, but keep the rest locked inside you, what do you think happens to your heart?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know,\u201d Sora muttered. Tears welled up in his eyes, hot where they rolled down his cheeks, but Sora felt detached from them, like they weren\u2019t his, like when it had been Roxas\u2019s heart crying and just using Sora\u2019s face to do it. \u201cI don\u2019t know. I don\u2019t know anything, I guess.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cNone of that either,\u201d Strelitzia ordered, her sympathetic expression turning stern. \u201cYou don\u2019t have to play dumb or fake smile or anything else with me. Since we\u2019re stuck here, I want to see the real you, all right?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOk,\u201d Sora agreed, even though he didn\u2019t really understand anything that was happening. He scrubbed his hand across his eyes, willing them to stop leaking. They did not. \u201cNow what?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cWe should go for a walk, maybe that will clear your head,\u201d Strelitzia decided. She was already heading for the door; Sora trailed along behind somewhat helplessly. \u201cAre you hungry? We can get bubble tea!\u201d\n<\/p>\n