Work Text:
"Do you have another job tonight?"
Yozora took a second to finish his soda before answering her. "Nope. I'm off till Thursday."
Strelitzia froze, her hand halfway to grabbing another bite of her lunch, gaping at him. "No shit?"
"No shit."
Her face broke out into a wide grin. Her hand abandoned the quest of getting more lunch to reach across the table and shove at Yozora's shoulder. "You should've told me! I'd have planned something!" At Yozora's raised eyebrow she corrected her statement. "Well, I'd have planned more things to do. We need to take advantage of all the free time we've got."
"I didn't know I was gonna have more time off until I was on my way back yesterday." His voice was low and flat as ever, but his expression softened as he spoke. A little upward twitch of his mouth, leading to little crinkles at the corners of his eyes.
Yozora's flat affect was still hard for Sora to understand. He had to remember that it was just part of how he was, and not a sign that he was upset or angry. His reflexes were all screwed up. He kept expecting one response in place of another, editing his reactions on the fly. Like he and Yozora were trying to do two different dances at the same time, and all that came of it was stepping on each other's toes.
He liked Yozora though. He was so reserved and mysterious that he seemed incredibly cool. He’s not very attached to upholding that facade, though. It was easy to see him soften up, when he was worried about someone. Gooey center protected by a hard candy shell. It was a real shame he couldn't be around more. But hanging out with Strelitzia was just as fun. Her support and guidance was worth more than gold in this strange, unfamiliar world. She was willing to show him the ropes and offer a hand to help him keep up. In most worlds, Sora was the one leading the charge, exploring every nook and cranny. But here Strelitzia would lead the way, and pass the baton to Sora when she got nervous or shy. It was fun to pass it back and forth with her, like a game.He liked having a good friend in this world, especially one who understood feeling outside of everything. Besides, he'd have been lonely on his own, without Donald and Goofy.
Sora tuned back into the conversation enough to hear Yozora say "That would be great, if you're up for it. We'll probably end up trashing your bathroom again though."
"You think I've ever cared about a thing like that?" Strelitzia remarked offhandedly, "Things like that are Luxu's problem to worry about anyway." He watched Strelitzia start to wave down a waiter to pay for lunch. While Strelitzia took care of the bill (another of "Luxu's" problems to worry about) he opened his mouth.
Turning to Yozora, Sora asked with his biggest, most charming grin, "Can't you tell me anything about your latest mission? You were gone for so long this time!"
Yozora shook his head, shaggy hair and long earrings swaying with the motion "Sorry Sora. It’s all top secret."
Sora's mouth moved down into a frown, "Aw come on, that's what you always say about work! It's no fair that you can't say anything and we don't get to go with you,"
Yozora gave him a soft chuckle, "Maybe one of these days." He was interrupted by the distinctive techno ringtone from Yozora's phone going off. "Speaking of, I still have a few things to take care of." Sensing Sora's imminent protest he continued, "I'll be completely free once I'm back and I'll be done by tonight. Promise."
"You better be!" Sora exclaimed, with the addition of Strelitzia's nod.
"It works out anyway," Strelitzia said as she stood up to go, "Sora and I can get the things we'll need for tonight while you're out."
Sora turned to her, interjecting, "Yeah, what's the plan?"
Strelitzia turned her bright smile his way, "Yozora agreed to let me help dye his hair, since his regular stylist moved away last month. You wanna help out?"
Sora felt a wide smile cross his face as he bobbed his head up and down in a nod. Strelitzia laughed, taking in his answer.
"Don't go crazy. I'll see you tonight." Yozora said absentmindedly, as he started to drift away down the street. Off on some other secret mystery job. Sora and Strelitzia called out friendly goodbyes to his back.
"Where do we start?" Sora asked.
Strelitzia hummed, packing up her things. "We could probably get everything from the convenience store. But…if we want the good stuff we should really visit 104."
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Sora's first days in Quadratum were a hazy blur in his memory, even though they were less than a month old. A new world had never felt quite this strange before. It didn’t make sense. It wasn't even all that different from other places he'd been to. It had the tall, towering buildings of San Fransokyo, with all of Toy Box's bright lights and colors.
Even still, something must have overwhelmed him, those first few days. He can't remember his first steps out onto the street. Or what he did or had to eat. His memory started to kick back into gear when he'd formally moved in with Strelitzia. He remembered her leading him around the city, showing him how to read the train station's map. Her red hair, shining in the sun, and her voice whispering explanations. The first day he felt he could remember fully was when they'd gone shopping together, for furniture and decorations to fill her spare bedroom. Brought it all back home and left it in the living room while they lugged her office stuff out of the way. Computer and desk and chair all set up behind the couch. Before, he must have slept on that same stark white couch, even if his memory can't back it up. Not like he’d had anywhere else to stay.
"I was so nervous," Strelitzia would say about those early days, "I was so scared of messing it all up and making a bad impression. I guess it's a good thing you're so forgiving Sora."
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Sora absolutely loved visiting 104. There was so much to do and see that he felt overwhelmed by it all. Good overwhelmed. Strelitiza was nice about going on detours too. It was common for one or both of them to get sidetracked, and then they'd end up rushing to catch their train home. It was worth it though, to satisfy Sora's curiosity, or to help Strelitzia in her quest of collecting the weirdest things in the mall. Today though, they stood in a beauty store Sora had never been in. People weaved in and out all around them, going about their lives. This city was so large, he had to practically wade through an ocean of strangers to do anything in public. Oddly though, no one approached him. In other worlds he made friends quickly and easily, just by being cheerful. But here, even when people would stare they would never come up to him or Strelitzia. The crowds were huge, but they never felt lively.
"Have you ever done this before?" Sora asked offhandedly, shifting on his feet in front of the sleek display.
"A few times," Strelitzia said softly, "When Yozora's asked me to. I haven't tried it for myself."
"Hey, maybe we should try it sometime! Might even be able to do it with magic." He'd only tried dying his hair once before, in middle school. Selphie had lent him the last of her hair dye from halloween. She'd laughed it up when he showed up to school on monday with his whole head electric blue. He'd gotten in trouble with the school (for violating dress code) and his parents (for staining the bathroom) but it was worth it.
Strelitzia gave an absent minded hum, "Maybe. I think I'm too attached to my natural color though."
That was no surprise. Strelitzia's long red hair was beautiful, and it suited her equally well. It was no wonder she did it the same way every day, only changing the color of the ribbons she tied it with. Today’s color was black.
They both stopped in front of a wide mirror in the middle of the display, mulling the idea over. They blinked at each other for a moment, standing shoulder to shoulder.
"What about cutting it? Go for a short hairstyle?"
An unmatched look of shock and horror crossed Strelitzia's face. Sora hadn't even seen her look like that from one of her horror movies.
"No!" She exclaimed, "Are you crazy? I'd look like a completely different person!"
Sora laughed easily at that, "That's fair. It's hard to imagine on you anyway."
"I could maybe put some highlights in," She said, twisting in the mirror, "Or tinsel. But I don't wanna do the whole thing. What about you? You could add to how much red you wear by dying it."
Sora laughed. "Aw I know how I'd look already. It was cute."
"Really?" Strelitzia asked. “You mean as like a form change thing?”
"Yeah! I got to be a like, cat monster to fit in with a whole world full of monsters. I had a big red mop on top of my head! The claws were pretty nice too."
Strelitzia gave a hum of appreciation, "Did it make you feel different?"
Sora shook his head, following her down the rows of shelves, "Nah not really. Form changes don't really do that, at least not for me."
Strelitzia hummed for a minute, thinking. "But you don't get to pick them, do you? That's a little disappointing."
"Aw, it's not bad. Donald always does a good job, at least with my forms. Some of his own come out kinda wonky though. But it's always fun getting a new form! You never get to stay in it for long, so it stays exciting. Besides, I liked being a big cat monster. I looked cool."
Strelitzia laughed, "You would make a cute kitty."
Suddenly she came to a stop in the middle of the aisle, leaving Sora to scramble to not run into her.
"Do you remember what color Yozora said he wanted?" Strelitzia asked, standing in front of a wall of grey and purple.
"Yeah," Sora said, fumbling with his pocket as he fished out his phone,"said he wanted something darker, more purpley than white this time. Same brand though"
"Gotcha," Strelitzia said slowly, her hand hovering over a row of purple cardboard, "Think I remember which kind that was from the last time I did this. Was back in…December probably. His regular stylist was out of town for the new year." Her hand hovered in the purple section, counting down, one, two, three shades darker from his current lilac.
"I didn't think he'd go for a new shade," Sora said.
"Me either, honestly." Strelitzia said, "Yozora's such a creature of habit, I figured he'd want the regular one he gets. Guess he's looking for a change of pace."
"Yeah, maybe that's why he came to us in the first place!"
The conversation faded out and the two of them meandered all the way back down the mall, getting sidetracked on their way home. But the mention of Yozora's disappearing stylist stuck in his mind. He knew Quadratum itself was gigantic, and part of a larger world with larger cities beyond it. But whenever he tried asking details, specifics of what was out there, his friends froze up. Yozora always squirmed out of talking about his work outside of town, and the few times he'd asked Strelitzia she'd panicked. Eyes gone deer in the headlights wide, words stammering and winding, switchbacking in on themselves. It didn't quite make sense to him, they way they avoided the question.
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Strelitzia had been his guide in those first few weeks. Benevolently sharing her knowledge and experience.
"It's just how things are here," She'd explained to him, that first day on the balcony, "If you end up here, from somewhere else. It functions as an afterlife. A place for lost, scattered souls to stay." She picked at her nails as she spoke, hands clasped over the balcony's railing. Her green eyes downcast at the ground far below. The people, walking in droves. School of fish, in a sea of metal and concrete. Great, tall spires rising from the ocean floor.
"So, are all these people dead? Or reincarnated or something?" Sora spoke haltingly, sleep and confusion still clinging to his shoulders.
Strelitzia let out a quiet, humorless laugh. "No. Most of these people were born here. This is their world. Lost souls like us are rare stragglers. Outsiders."
"So...you're not from here either? What world were you from?"
For the first time in their conversation, Strelitzia glanced up to meet his eyes. Her expression of surprise folded gently into that same restrained smile she'd given him at the front door. "It's a long story."
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One of the best parts about living with Strelitzia was having a true, proper kitchen. Her apartment (a giant luxury as far as Quadratum's standards went, she'd informed him) had a beautiful kitchen that had gone virtually unused before Sora moved in.
"The whole thing goes to waste in my hands," She'd told him when he first moved in, "My brother used to do all the cooking, and since I've been on my own I haven't really done any for myself."
So here he stood, making dinner.
Strelitzia would be happy to eat just about anything he made, but Yozora was known to have pickier tastes. He'd probably end up making ramen again, as a solid staple and one of the only Quadratum dishes he could claim mastery over. Anyway, Yozora would appreciate having some fresh, instead of the instant kind he whined about having to eat all the time in the midst of working.
He'd already taken care of cleaning. Remy was very insistent about that, that it was no good to try and cook in a dirty kitchen, and that step number one was always to clean. Granted, there wasn't much to be done. Even with him cooking the kitchen didn't really get enough use to justify it's space. It was better used as a home for Strelitzia's plants. They always got the best sunlight off the wide kitchen window, their green leaves glowing in the sun.
He hadn't cooked properly since taking lessons with Remy. The gummi ship's cramped quarters were too small to fit much more than a microwave and minifridge. He liked cooking. Remy always said he was good at it, that he'd taken to it very easily. He liked being solidly good at something, that he could fall back on and do whenever he wanted.
From there he could move onto washing and chopping, slicing and dicing. Sometimes, his mind would wander while the went through the steps for a recipe. He'd think about friends back home, and hope they were doing well. Wish to talk to them. He'd think about worlds he'd been to, people he’d met. But sometimes, there would just be…blankness. Complete silence. Like everything in his brain had finally leaked out from his ears. Maybe it was part of being dead.
He was startled out of his ritual by a rhythmic knock at the door, followed by the sound of it opening.
"Yozora!" He called, the faint sound of Strelitzia's voice from further in the apartment answering a moment later.
Sora rushed over to the wide heavy door, he opened his mouth to say hello but Yozora beat him to the punch.
"Hi, Sora."
"Hi! Strelitzia and I got everything set up earlier, so we're good whenever you wanna get started."
"Sounds good," Yozora grunted out as he sat down to undo the laces on his chunky boots. "Sorry that I made you guys go out and get everything. I'd have brought some of my stuff if I remembered."
"It's fine!" Sora breezed over. "We like going shopping anyway, you know that."
Yozora chuckled as he wrestled his ankle out of the heel of his shoe. "Liza find another monstrosity for her collection?" He asked.
"Not really. I think she was tempted by this deformed plastic hello kitty necklace but the line to pay was way too long."
He nodded. "Another day then."
"Get everything sorted?" Sora asked, tilting his head and leaning against the wall.
Yozora nodded. "mhm."
Sora kept staring at him, blinking occasionally in a show of persistence. Yozora huffed, lining his shoes up by the door, "Most of it. We're here for fun anyway, I don't wanna talk about work."
"Yozora!" Strelitzia said brightly as she poked her head into the hallway.
"Hi, Liza." He said, turning toward her, "You've got everything set up?"
"You know it! Though dinner smells so good, we should probably eat first."
Sora looked up with a start. "Shit! I almost forgot," He ran back into the kitchen, Strelitzia and Yozora laughing and following him.
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Strelitzia's apartment felt different in the nighttime. The corners and crevices deepened as the sun went down, stretching without light to illuminate their reality. All through dinner he'd feel happy and content, chatting with Strelitzia, petting Chirithy, helping to make dinner and then cleaning up after it. All of Strelitzia's lights had warm, yellow light bulbs that drew the walls in close, made them cozy up next to you against the dark. But once she went to bed, and he was left alone something would change. Some strange new emotion would sit heavy in his chest, while he stared up at the ceiling. The city lights out the window would seem to soothe it, if he stared out at them. Turn it into a peaceful weight, rather than the heavy cobblestone it would be otherwise. But nothing drove it off. Not turning on the tv, not getting a warm cup of milk, not even leaving a light on, the single solitary bulb looking strange and creepy by itself. And so again, as with so many nights, the true peace of sleep would not come to him.
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Once dinner was done, with empty dishes strewn around the kitchen, the three of them meandered into Strelitzia's (objectively) huge bathroom to get to work. She'd dragged in a kitchen chair earlier for Yozora to sit in while they worked, parked between the closet door and the wide sink. Between the pristine patterned tile and the wide row of lights above the mirror, Strelitzia's bathroom looked like a cross between a pool locker room and a theater dressing room. Strelitzia had pulled out an old box of supplies from the last time they must've done this and draped a salon cape over Yozora's shoulders. He sat there now, occupied with his phone, looking for all the world like one of the ladies who sat out on the curb of mainstreet, getting their own hair done back home.
He and Strelitzia made for...unconventional hairdressers to say the least. Strelitzia, with her haphazard array of samples and conditioners sitting unorganized on her sink. And Sora, sitting on the tile floor next to her, ankle propped up on an ice pack from where he'd bashed it into the cabinet earlier, both of their attentions captured by the gray tabby between them. He'd been doing that a lot more lately. Both the paying attention to the cute kitty and the getting himself hurt in stupid ways. It was strange how every bruise and bump seemed to hurt more now. Like it nestled under his skin and made a home there. Before he came to Quadratum he felt like he could power through anything. Now, little more than a paper cut felt like the end of the world. He was lucky Strelitzia never seemed to mind his clumsiness. She'd only ask if he was ok, and help him get cleaned up. The current ice pack she'd given him was shaped like a round bouncy penguin, doing its best to help him feel better.
A sudden ring from Strelitzia's phone timer made her jump, Chirithy reacting the same way. "Augh, alright I'll get back on track," She said to Yozora's answering laugh, reaching up to silence the shrill beeping, Chirithy's ears laying flat again for Sora to pet.
"Yeah, you doing ok over there?" Yozora asked, leaning over the edge of his chair.
Sora flashed him a thumbs up. "A-okay. Can't even feel it."
"Just toss your ice pack in the sink," Strelitzia said, "If you need it later we can hit it with a blizzard."
Sora stood up to do so, taking a minute to stare out the window, and admire the night air. The cool breeze a welcome contrast to the acrid smell of bleach.
"Ok, I just need to mix the dye and then we'll have everything all set up-" Strelitzia trailed off as she reached out to find the ingredients for the concoction, her hands anxiously hovering over them. She looked like a witch, snapping gloves on her hands, unleashing a wave of noxious purple liquid, letting it fill her cauldron (a plastic black bowl they’d bought earlier so they wouldn’t have to destroy any of Sora’s nice cooking ones)
Sora looked curiously over her shoulder as she worked, Chirithy twining around his feet. That sure was purple. At least it didn’t smell as badly as the bleach they’d had to use earlier.
“I think this should be fine,” Strelitzia mumbled, “I feel like I didn't do it right, it doesn't look like how it does on the box…”
“It’ll be great Liza,” Yozora chimed in, “Do your worst to me, I'll live.”
She bit her lip nervously, looking dubiously at her creation. “Are you sure? I don’t wanna make you look, like, all weird,”
“Yozora’s always sorta scruffy,” Sora said, “I’d say we can’t make him look any worse!”
“Ouuuch,” Yozora said flatly, his wry smile betraying his teasing tone.
Strelitzia snorted out a laugh, pushing the bowl into Sora’s hands. “Alright then. No turning back now,”
“Yeah like, I promise it cannot look worse than the color I had a year ago,” Yozora said, leaning forward to let Strelitzia run a brush through his hair. Sora stepped forward slowly with the bowl, dancing around Chirithy, underfoot.
“Oh god yeah,” Streltizia mumbled as Yozora answered his unspoken question.
“It was this, like, neon green color. Don’t ask me why I thought that was a good idea I don’t remember. It was when my hair was really short too, made my eyes look like they were bugging out of my skull,”
“At least like this you won’t look like you escaped from a chemical vat,” Strelitzia said, pinning parts of Yozora’s hair out of the way.
“Yeah, how do I..?” Sora started to say, as he held up the bowl of dye.
Strelitzia handed him a little plastic brush, “I’ll show you. You gotta start up at the roots, and spread it back down.” She spoke slowly, focused in on demonstrating, “You gotta make sure you get everything. It’s like paint, y’know? You always need less than you think. And you gotta let what you’ve just done dry before you can move on.”
Silence settled over their shoulders as they set to work. Strelitzia leading, Sora following. The three of them were content with the quiet, enjoying each other's company. A moment of peace in the middle of a chaotic city. Nothing to worry about, no cheering up needing to be done. All he needed to do was sit with it.
Maybe it was the calm air, or the late hour, or any number of factors that led Yozora to break the silence. To spill his guts. “Thanks for, for helping me with this. I’ve been wanting a change for a long time now.”
“Of course,” “It’s no problem,” Sora and Strelitzia said together, still continuing their diligent work. They were over halfway done by now.
“I don’t,” Yozora swallowed, “I don’t know exactly what it is. Because normally, I don’t care about this sort of thing. I’ll skip stuff like this all the time. I’ll let my roots grow out and let it get all muddy looking without giving a shit. I could’ve waited for the regular stylist I go to, for her to get back in town. But I don’t,,It’s not,,It never turns out quite like how I want it. It never looks right. If I go back to her, she’s just gonna make it look the same again. And, I’m tired of just, walking around like that. Feeling sideways. I don’t know, it’s stupid.”
“It’s not stupid,” Sora said, echoed by the shake of Strelitzia’s head. “No one wants to look or feel bad. If you can do something to change it, to feel better, you should.”
“It’s scary, feeling that way,” She said, carefully unpinning his hair. “I’m glad we can help.”
“Me too,” Yozora murmured.
“Think we’re just about done anyway,” Sora said, “or we’ll need more dye.”
Strelitzia laughed, “Nah, I think it’s fine. Here, come and see,”
Yozora stood slowly, and shuffled forward to face the mirror. He took small steps, unwilling to get too close to the marble countertop. Slowly, slowly, he lifted his head to meet his own two tone gaze in the mirror. His eyes widened when he did, expression morphing from sullen thought to something new. Careful, fragile, hopeful. His head jerked and then twisted, first around one way, then to the other. One hand raised up to touch the strands before falling back down. Even with it all in his face, sticky and messy and unfinished, something about his expression seemed to fall into place.
Strelitzia turned to look at him, a cautious smile blooming on her face, “So..?”
“I…well I won’t know for sure until it’s dry but…I like it. I really think I do.”
“Good.” Strelitzia said with a fierce nod of her head. “Now you don’t have to worry about finding hats to wear for the next month.”
Yozora laughed, bright and clear, like the sound had been yanked from his own mouth.
“Do you want us to clear out so you can have a shower?” She asked, tossing tools and products into the no man’s land of her cabinets.
“It’s fine,” Yozora uttered, “I can just use the sink,” He still seemed sort of out of it, still staring at himself in the mirror. Sora caught a flash of movement behind Yozora’s back to see Strelitizia standing next to him, grinning widely. Sora was more than happy to return the expression.