World Refugees Final Mix

It seemed that Josiah's timing was a lot better than his luck. Aria's ship had returned that very evening, and Song was on her way back to Rainbow's End, taking the scenic route despite the cold. Radiant Garden was, to her, even more enchanting than usual when covered in snow. In fact, it was so dreamlike in the quiet stillness of dusk that the 'scenic route' quickly became that whole section of the city.

And it was somewhere in the middle of all this that she found she wasn't the only one just returning home.

She'd spotted the two of them from a good block away, and from behind, at that. Otherwise she would have waved, and called out... but Song was sneaky, and Song loved games... She knew a chance for a little harmless mischief when she saw one.

She trailed them carefully, trying not to rush. She knew very well how to move like a shadow along the walls.
This shadow was working something between her gloved hands as she went. Finally her impatience won out over stealth and she ran out into the road behind them, sending the snowball flying for the back of Josiah's head, and hoping a second later that he'd be lucky enough tonight not to turn around too quickly.

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He was quietly retracing the routes he had made so many months ago - it wasn't as if he had forgotten them, but he had never seen Radiant Garden covered in this much snow. It was distracting, to say the least, and it was getting dark. He wondered if he should just head back to the loft and try again in the morning.

Either way, he was sufficiently distracted enough not to notice Song's sneaking.

Lilith wasn't though. She despised the cold, having originally come from Egypt, and the swiftly falling night did little to improve her mood. But despite that, she was still a demon and her senses were still on par with the supernatural. So with a faint smile, she simply sidestepped...

...and the snowball hit Josiah right in the back of the head.

He stumbled slightly in surprise, and quickly turned to glance at Lilith, who only nodded her head behind them. Rubbing snow out of his hair, he turned back to look at Song and a mix of emotions passed over his face, none which were easy to read. He laughed quietly. "Hello to you too, Song."

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Aria had been planning to go straight to Rainbow's end but, Pancake had disappeared when she wasn't looking.

Not wanting to wake up to a half frozen dream hare she followed the little fuzzball's tracks. She found the bunny a short distance from Song just as her thrown snowball hit Josiah.

She stifled a giggle as she grabbed Pancake from the top of a small pile of snow.

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Song was grinning rather wickedly, but she managed to school her expression into a more reserved smile before she spoke.

"It seemed an appropriate homecoming."
A glance back revealed the source of the sudden giggle, and she flashed Aria another of those wicked grins, but a moment later her attention was back on Josiah. Clasping her hands behind her back, she strode slowly towards him, her eyes hidden under bangs that always seemed to need trimming. When she was just out of reach, however, she turned to Lilith and addressed her instead. "It looks like you managed to keep him all in one piece this time. I'm impressed."

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Lilith smiled faintly at the comment, glancing at Josiah with a curious look in her eyes. "Almost. Some humans have an awful habit of finding trouble. Especially this one."

Josiah rolled his eyes, even knowing that they couldn't the expression behind the sunglasses he still wore despite the fading light. "What can I say? I laugh in the face of danger... right before I get knocked unconscious." He rubbed the back of his head absently. "I'm just glad there wasn't a rock in there."

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"As if your head needs any more damage," she commented, turning on Josiah with an attitude that, only for a moment, was verging on mother hen. It changed to something softer, though, once she got a good look at him. There was a pause as if she wasn't sure what to say next. Her expression seemed to reflect this, shifting between warmth and careful blankness. Aria's presence might have had something to do with it.

In the end she settled for taking that last step between them and reaching up to flick a few remaining specks of snow out of his hair.
"You're not back for good, though, are you?" He hadn't been gone long enough, as odd as that seemed. Three months was nothing. At least, nothing worth the goodbyes they'd exchanged before he left.

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"I've survived falls, blows to the head, memory loss, and dead pirate possession," he mused with a grin. "I think a small rock won't do too much more damage... unless that's the straw that breaks the camel's back." He frowned suddenly. "Damn, I just jinxed myself again."

He glanced back at Song, a curious look appearing on his face that was replaced by an almost reluctant smile at her question. "I'm not. I'm just here for a week." Of course there were explanations as to why he couldn't stay, reasons he still hadn't the heart to give. Or maybe it was the courage. Either way...

He paused when he realized how close Song was standing and her absently brushing her hand through his hair, and he was suddenly driven by the urge to pull her into a hug and just hold her close. Even if only three months... Forget everything else and his reasons for leaving - he had missed all of them. He had missed her.

He pulled her into a close embrace and quietly asked, amusement in his voice, "Did you miss me getting into trouble anyway?"

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Now Aria kinda felt like she was intruding but, she couldn't resist interrupting whatever Song was going to say.

"At least your trouble doesn't involve bothering Sephiroth while in an enclosed space," she said obviously amused. "It's a good thing he seems to find it refreshing," she added a bit less amused.

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He glanced over Song's head and grinned at Aria. "Still playing chauffeur to your favorite silver-haired villain?" He had to admit though, Sephiroth hardly seemed to insane monster of his original universe. Still intimidating as all hell, but not exactly a bad guy.

Then again, who was he to judge?

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Aria sighed, for the moment ignoring that Sephiroth most likely was her favorite silver-haired villain. "Bleagh. At least I had a choice this time," she paused thoughtfully. "I guess being on a different world when he asked helps."

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Song had not exactly been expecting the hug, but she responded readily enough, leaning into his embrace with a small smile. Whatever uncertainty had made her hesitate before seemed to have been resolved when Josiah greeted her with such affection. She was perfectly content to let him and Aria talk while she stayed like that, too.
She did, however, turn sideways after a moment to loosen his arms and shoot a sly glance in Aria's direction.

"Maybe Aria has been infected with our trouble-seeking bug and doesn't realize it yet," she murmured with amusement. "Perhaps she wants to know what it feels like to need a bubble..."

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"I already have a bubble handy if I need one," Aria replied, both amused and a bit annoyed. "And it's not like giving Sephy a lift once in a while is really that dangerous," she added thoughtfully.

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He gave Aria a wink. "Being on the lookout for trouble is in the job description for a Refugee. None of us can get out of it... especially when it comes to Sephiroth."

He would have said more but at that moment, Lilith sidled up to him and whispered something in his ear, so quietly that even Song wouldn't be able to hear. A slightly troubled look passed over Josiah's face but he quickly shook his head, the expression disappearing. He glanced back down at Song before distractedly murmuring, "Stay safe then."

Lilith very well near scoffed. "I'm not you." Then she gave Aria a slight frown before turning on her heel and departing.

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Aria frowned and absently played with Pancakes fluff as she watched Lilith leave. "Do I want to know what that was about?" she asked uncertainly.

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Song blinked at Lilith as the succubus came close and then just as suddenly walked away. Automatically, she squirmed out of Josiah's arms and took a single step after her, then simply stopped and watched her go.

She hadn't really listened to Aria's question, but her own almost echoed it. "Will I ever get to know what the two of you are up to?"

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He watched Lilith go, his face carefully blank. It almost seemed as if he didn't notice Song move away. But the moment she and Aria both voiced their concerns, a look of guilt passed over his face and he sighed, shaking his head.

"It's... complicated," he replied to both Aria and Song with a half-hearted smile. "But it's nothing really to worry about." He adjusted his sunglasses absently, despite the fact that night had fallen so quickly now that the glasses were pointless.

He hesitated for just a few seconds, and then quietly said to Song, "We probably need to talk."

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"Really nothing to worry about or there is something to worry about but, you don't want us to worry?" Aria asked half teasing. "It's hard not to worry about you most of the time," she yawned a bit while saying.

Whatever his answer, she would probably worry at least a little.

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She'd been about to say something similar, but Aria spoke first.

Aria wasn't the only one voicing Song's thoughts, either. She'd been waiting for the opportunity to say those very same words to Josiah, but he voiced them first. In a way, she was relieved.

"I was hoping you'd say that." It wasn't the exact truth, but close enough. There was probably more than one thing that they needed to discuss.

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"Nothing that you all need to worry about," Josiah replied easily. Which was true enough - he didn't need them to worry when he could handle it himself. He had already put his friends through enough stress this past year without causing them to worry about anything else. "Lilith is just... being herself." Also true, considering what she had just told him.

He ran a hand through his hair, the only sign of nervousness that he showed. "The best stories are usually told somewhere other than outside in the snow."

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She glanced again at Aria, and it wasn't too hard to guess that she was wondering if the other Refugee would be heading home soon or tagging along with them.
Song certainly had no intention of leaving Josiah, until he made it clear that he didn't want her around anymore. Nor would she deny that she wanted him to herself for a while, now that he was back, but she also enjoyed Aria's company and didn't want to seem rude by asking her to leave.

She'd just leave it for them to work out. She faced Josiah again and asked, "were you heading to the loft? I'll go with you, unless you'd rather talk at Rainbow's End."

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"Well, if you're going to Rainbow's End I'd like to at least walk with you there," Aria said tiredly. "Either way, that's where I'm going and I'm going to bed when I get there," she added, yawning again.

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Glancing up at the darkening sky, Josiah only nodded. "Rainbow's End is fine." He'd worry about the loft looked later.

As they began to head to the house, he asked, "How's everyone else been doing? I haven't really been keeping up with the network as much as I should have been."

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She nodded absently at Aria's weary comment. That worked.

"The Heartless are causing trouble, of course, but I think everyone's alright, relatively. Some of the Refugees know how to get through trouble unscathed," she teased mildly. He could get more detailed reports from the others. She never paid quite as much attention as she should, at least to those whom she wasn't directly involved with at the time. And besides that, she was finding herself sinking into a comfortable daze as she basked in the picturesque winter twilight and the presence of very good friends.
Yes, she and Josiah needed to talk, and it might be more worrisome than it was pleasant, but for now she was simply looking forward to ending her walk in the snow with a cup of hot tea, and perhaps something a little sweeter.

It was nice to have daydreams that were so likely to come true, for a change.

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Aria couldn't really think of much that was worth mentioning. Well, besides Pancake learning to use a camera. But she wasn't about to mention how she found this out. Roxas got teased enough as it was.

"Heh, I'm pretty sure everyone thinks I'm insane. And not the fun kind. I think I'm insane," she muttered just to say something.

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