Aki could see them from the corner of her vision. She gripped the bottom of her Kairi dress with her bare arms as the boy in the Dabi cosplay wrapped his arm around a girl in a beautiful revealing mmo character cosplay that she doesn’t recognize. The thought of how he easily threw her away like that made a pit grow in her stomach.
She knows that they met up at this con to bury the hatchet but it felt awkward seeing him walk around with her, the person he left her for. It hurt really, she felt inferior to this beautiful and stunning woman who was a veteran in cosplaying and was way more experienced than her.
If she were to be impulsive, she would hit him in the head with her Destiny’s Embrace prop and shrugged it off saying “Oh you were a villain of Darkness.” But she doesn’t want to antagonize him any longer, she just wanted this pit to go away.
“Aki.”
“Huh??” Aki faced forward in shock. Two irritated (or concerned?) faces looked down at her. The one with the spiky brown wig gave out a disappointed sigh, looking back at the taller man with the silver wig. “You ready?”
The Riku cosplayer nodded, turning back to Aki with his hands out as if to attack.
Aki blinked at the two boys, her lips parting nervously. “J-Jeri?? Frey??” She nervously took a few steps back.
“Combo attack!!”
Aki yelped as the two boys attacked her face with cheek pinches and cheeks paps. Making her groan between her embarrassed chuckles. “Boys!! My makeup!!” She laughed out, attempting to push the two off her. “I took 2 hours!!”
“Right right! The makeup!!” Jeremiah was the first to take his hands off of her, raising them up in the air. “We are not ruining the contour of that $15 dollar palette I bought you.”
“Oh right the palette.” Freyr replied in his usual tone, stepping away and putting his arms in the air as well.
“If we can’t put our hands on you, then we can….” Freyr had a smirk on his face, something pleasantly surprised Aki. She gave him a nervous smile, gripping unto her keyblade. “W-What?”
Freyr smirked and leaned down, planting a short kiss on Aki’s cheek. She felt her face rise in heat but it went unnoticed by the amount of layers that were on her face.
Freyr then pecked another area of her cheek before Jeremiah let out a knowing “oohh” and swooped in to do the exact same thing on the right side of her face.
Aki started to laugh more, probably from either embarrassment or amusement but either way her laughs were quite loud. Drawing the attention of a few con-goers who immediately took out their phones to take a few pics and videos of the three.
“B-Boys there are so many people here!!” She exclaimed embarrassingly as she tried pushing the two away. She felt each of the two hold each of her hands though, leaving her defenseless, their other hands wrapped around her and they pulled her closer to them, sandwiching the small girl in a myriad of kisses.
Soon it took them a moment to realize the crowd that surrounded them, even noticing a few people that they recognized. Jeremiah was the first to pull away, his cheeks flaring up in embarrassment as he scratched the back of his neck in a Sora-esque way. He looked around at the crowd and had an idea.
“Sorry, Kai. Couldn’t help ourselves there.” He said, making his voice sound more young and upbeat.
Aki blinked for a moment and felt her heartbeat quicken. She couldn’t believe this was happening.
Freyr knew exactly what Jeremiah was doing and pulled away as well. He crossed his arms in and took on a serious stance, he then looked at Aki with a slightly sexy smile, making Aki notice some of the audience starting to swoon. “We just wanted to cheer you up, Kairi. You seemed down.”
Aki never thought she wanted to punch Freyr, her sweetest boyfriend, in the face for looking so fucking sexy. If she was herself, she would punch the boys for worrying too much and say that she’s fine, but she wonders if that’s something Kairi would do.
She decided to go for the more passive approach, wrapping her arms around her boyfriends’ shoulders and pulling them down to her height, nuzzling their cheeks with her’s. “I’m so lucky to have the bestest friends in the world! How did I get so lucky,,,” She groaned, letting her full weight rest on her boy’s shoulders.
Jeremiah gave her a playful grin and took her arm away from Freyr’s shoulders and carried her into his arms and spun her around. “We’re the lucky ones here, Kai!!”
“Sora!!” Oh how Aki wanted to scream her boyfriend’s name instead of the character’s. She let out a laugh as he continued to spin her around. “Let me down you bum!! We’re on a mission—!!” She exclaimed, hoping to put some fun plot to their little roleplay.
Jeremiah laughed along, he stopped spinning her but kept her in his arms. “Nothing wrong with a lil fun!!”
Freyr coughed into his hand to grab the other two’s attention. They were surprised by how Riku-esque he started to look but shrugged it off, they looked at each other before Jeri put her down, both looking off to the side, embarrassed.
Freyr sighed with a smile and grabbed the top of both their heads. “Come on you two! Focus!!”
“Right!!”
“Mhmm!!”
The two younger ones looked at each other before saluting at Freyr with playful looks. They saluted at him and stiffened up, looking straightforward as they both exclaimed at the same time.
“Yes, Master Riku!!”
Even though they were all playing a character, both of the youngest ones swore Freyr stiffened up at the sudden praise. He shrugged it off quickly though and took his and Jeremiah’s keyblade props (Braveheart and Kingdom Key respectively). “Alright you knuckleheads, let’s go get some snacks.”
“Snacks!!”
“Snacks!!!!”
The two changed before locking arms with Freyr, swinging a bit to add more childishness to their movements. As the two walked off, they heard applause and suddenly they were surrounded with picture requests.
——-
“Hey, is that your ex-girlfriend?” A short, armored girl asked, pointing at the auburn haired cosplayer being sandwiched in kisses between brown and silver spiky haired boys.
The heavily scarred cosplayer looking at the direction she was pointing at. His eyes widened at the crowd surrounding the three. His eyes scanned the crowd then back to the auburn haired cosplayer, her smile was big and he could even hear her laughs from where he was. She looked like she was having fun.
He shrugged at the sight and turned to his companion. He wrapped his arm around her and faced her away from the crowd. “I don’t think so. Let’s check somewhere else.” He said.
She nodded at him and started walking off, without noticing his sudden glance back, looking intently at the two men embracing her casually.
——-
Freyr passed a chocolate shake to Jeremiah as he clenched his chest, panting. “That was the scariest moment in my life!” Jeri exclaimed, taking the shake from Freyr and taking a long strong sip.
Freyr sighed. “Be careful, you’re going to get a brain freeze.” He said as he passed Aki a mango shake. “And besides, I think you did very well.”
“I wanted to book it the moment I started that roleplay. I regret everything.” He sighed before sipping the cold drink again. Soon his eyes widened as he groaned, clenching his head. “Arg! Brain freeze.”
“I warned you.” Freyr sighed, rubbing his boyfriend's head. “Stop trying to punish yourself. That was the most photo request we’ve ever had. If we go to the page and ask for photos of us, we might get a loaded number of message requests.”
Jeremiah laughed, nuzzling into Freyr’s hand. “Yeah yeah. I’ll use the joint account.”
The two shared a few soft laughs before remembering their third party. They faced Aki who was looking down at her cup, tapping her fingers against the thick paper with a pout on her face. It looks as if she hasn’t drank it yet.
Jeremiah pulled away, placing an arm on her shoulder. “Aki?”
“Why did you two do that?? What was so embarrassing!” Aki covered her face with the cup, Jeremiah noticed her bare shoulders turning red out of embarrassment. He laughed, cupping her cheek with his gloved hand, making her look up at him.
Her pouted eyes made him want to kiss her there but he held back. He sighed, giving her a reassuring smile. “I noticed you weren’t feeling well. You were staring off in the direction of your ex-boyfriend so Freyr and I had to use…” He trailed off, chuckling at his next words. “Drastic measures.”
“It was drastic alright! We lured in a crowd! It was like everyone was playing Pokémon Go and we’re the only PokeStop in the entire building.” Aki exclaimed, making Jeri laugh at her analogy. “Yeah we just wanted to cheer you up, make you smile. The crowd was an on-the-spot thing.”
“And the roleplay?” Aki smirked, raising a brow.
Jeremiah laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head. “That was very impulsive of me.”
“I thought you didn’t like crowds, Hero.” She giggled, somehow seeing Jeremiah so nervous cheered her up.
“It wasn’t my idea to start kissing you!” Jeremiah defended, pointing back at Freyr who was just sipping on cold coffee, listening in to their conversation.
Freyr pulled away from his drink and walked to Jeremiah’s side. “I mean you joined in.”
“Because praising Aki with affection is like my number one talent.” Jeremih pouted, drinking his shake. Freyr scoffed at his words, taking a sip of his coffee.
Jeri gave Freyr a side glare. “What was that for?”
“What was what?”
“That scoff you just did. What was that for huh?” Jeremiah nudged him, suddenly feeling competitive.
Freyr looked off to the side, a grin on his face that made it obvious to Aki he was playing a role again. He shrugged, keeping his gaze away from Jeremiah. “I’m just saying I was the one who started giving Aki affection so..”
“So you’re saying you’re better in showing Aki how much we love her huh.” Jeremiah knitted his brows. Aki giggles at how gullible he’s acting, usually he could read right through Freyr’s acts but right now he seems completely invested.
“I’m not saying I’m better at it.” Freyr said with a slight slur, which caught Jeremiah and Aki off guard. Jeri looked at his boyfriend then at Aki who was stifling a laugh.
Soon it hit him, he let out an embarrassed laugh before playfully hitting Freyr’s arm. “You’re egging me on!!”
Freyr smiled internally, turning back at the two with his usual stoic face. “It was fun while it lasted.”
Aki giggled, making the two look back at her. She covered her mouth before laughing out loud, holding her stomach as she continued to laugh. Freyr raised an eyebrow as Jeremiah smiled, both still confused at Aki’s sudden reaction. Freyr was the first to speak. “You ok?”
“Y-Yeah! Yeah!! Haha.. ha.. h-hold on I’m…” Aki held her chest as she tried to steady her breathing. “Alright. Alright. I am. Calm.” She tells herself, however letting a few giggles escape.
She looked up at her boys with a big smile. “You two really acted in character a moment ago. And back in the crowd. It was funny.” She then looked down, her smile softening. “Thank you two for worrying about me. It would have kept bothering me if you two didn’t step in.”
“We love you, Kiyakya. We’ll always be there for you.” Jeremiah says, patting his girlfriend on the top of her head. Freyr nodded in response, walking behind Aki and wrapping his arms around her, resting his head on top of her’s.
“I love you two as well.” Aki giggled, nuzzling into Freyr behind her. “Cons are supposed to be for fun! I shouldn’t be hung up on my ex-boyfriend.”
Jeremiah then scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest with an irritated look. “He’s a cheater too. He didn’t deserve you.”
“We don’t deserve you..” Freyr muttered, nuzzling into Aki's shoulder. She pouted at him. “Who told you that?? I’ll attack em.” She exclaimed, holding out Destiny’s Embrace.
Jeremiah laughed. “He’s not wrong. You’re an angel.” He says, hugging her.
Aki puffed her cheeks. “You’re wrong and you know it.”
“Yeah I know but I love you so just shhhhhut up.” Jeremiah groaned before laughing at his own words. Aki joined in, taking a sip of her mango shake as both boys let go of her. She turned to the two and gave them both a peck on the cheek.
“I think I’m the one who doesn’t deserve any of you. You’re both incredible.” She says, causing Jeremiah to clench his chest and bend over, holding his shake up so it won’t spill. Freyr turned to his boyfriend with a confused look. “What are you doing?”
“I’ve been attacked. By an angel!”
“Shut up!! Stand up, you’re exaggerating.” Aki laughed, clearly embarrassed. Jeremiah continued to act however, putting his shake down and balancing himself using his other hand. “You, my princess! Are going to kill me.”
“I’m going to kill you now if you don’t stand up, Jerm!!” She groaned, putting her weight on her keyblade prop as Jeremiah stood up with a chuckle. “Right right! Sorry, babe.”
“Yo!”
The three turned to the sudden intruder, a shorter girl with a short blonde bob and elf ears. Even though Aki has never played the game itself, she could tell it was a short Zelda. Behind her was an even shorter link, their hands interlocked as they ran up to the trio.
“Vanya!!” Aki exclaimed, hugging the Zelda tight. Vanya hugged back, pulling away from her partner as she embraced her friend. “Mmm. How was your date, Aki?” She asked, pulling away from the hug.
“Date..?” She asked, confused.
Vanya gave her a confused look in return, locking hands with her lover. “We’re all on dates, remember? That’s why we agreed to do couple cosplays. Well for your case it’s group cosplays.”
‘Oh. Lmao.’
“Oh it’s fine.” Aki replied nonchalantly, looking back at her two boys with a smile.
“What was the whole commotion though, the three of you seemed to be swept up in a crowd.” The Link asked, their arms crossed in front of their chest. Aki looked at the side at her best friend, slightly embarrassed to explain what happened.
“Well, Regan you see...” She tried to start before another figure walked up to them. Wearing a black coat, a black fuzzy wig and white mask. She walked up to Aki and grabbed her arm.
“Aki! You may need to run.” She says between pants. Aki turned to her confused. “Eleanor..? What.” She muttered out. Behind Eleanor another thief looking person in white walked up to them, looking worried. She straightened herself up, almost bumping Eleanor with her red crow mask.
Aki looked at the two rivals with confusion in her face. “Worm too? What’s going on???”
“Cheater McCheater’s trying to look for you.” Worm said nervously, pointing in a certain direction. Aki leaned over and her eyes widened at the scarred cosplayer who was speaking to an awkward looking Sophie cosplayer.
Aki then realized it was her ex-boyfriend talking to one of her best friend’s Soph (kind of perfect right?) for her location. “Ah shit.” She muttered, looking back at her boyfriends who immediately read the situation.
Freyr was the first to act, grabbing Braveheart and wrapping his other arm around Aki, pulling her to him. He turned to Jeremiah with a determined look. “Why don’t we have a photoshoot outside?”
Jeremiah, who was their main photographer in the first place, got excited at the idea of an outdoor photoshoot. He nodded, understanding the situation and took Kingdom Key and walked up to the other two. He then realized he didn’t have all his stuff with him. “Wait, Elliott has our bags.”
“All covered for.” The three looked to see a Howl cosplayer holding out two bags in their direction.
Jeremiah chuckled and the two bags from him. “Elliott you’re a lifesaver!” He said, putting the larger backpack strap over his shoulder and passing the other bag to Aki.
Freyr raised an eyebrow though. “Where’s mine?” He asked.
Suddenly the coat over Elliott’s shoulders shifted as a smaller San cosplayer that was around Aki’s height peaked through, holding out a small off-shoulder bag in their direction.
“June, that was so cute.” Aki cooed as Freyr took the bag from her. He looked down at the shorter girl and nodded, June nodded back, recognizing his thanks.
The trio then looked at each other with determined looks. Jeremiah laughed, pointing his keyblade out in the direction of the convention exit. “To the Gummi ship!!” He exclaims before carefully speeding out of there. Aki followed behind him, giving Worm and Regan a quick “See you laters” before bolting out, careful to not spill her drink. Freyr was the last to leave, telling Worm to tell Connor where he went before following the other two out of the convention.
-----
“Sorry, we split up this morning. I didn’t see her.” Soph said, trying to get the scarred cosplayer off her back. Sure he was cosplaying one of her favorite characters but the fact still stands, this man played with one of her best friend’s heart and she’s not going to deal with it.
It was her idea to do “Operation: Ready Set Get Out of Here”, it was a very impulsive idea but she knew since the trio got so much attention the moment they just started kissing each other in public, that Cheater McCheater’s going to find her and realize she’s in a relationship with two men. The last thing she wants was for this dumbass to ruin all their dates but she’s taking one for the team here.
He sighed though and tried to negotiate with her. “Ok ok. I know that the Kairi cosplayer I saw with that Sora and Riku cosplayer was Aki. I just need to talk to her.”
“Sorry but I really haven’t seen her since this morning, and even if I did bump into her we all went completely different directions.” She said, trying to reason with him.
He didn’t seem to give up, Soph decided maybe just telling him she didn’t see her was enough. She crossed her arms in front of her chest and gave him the most serious look she can muster with her young face. “You ever considered how trying to meet up with her might just ruin her day? I mean you basically left her after talking about having sex with another girl. You think she still resents you for that?”
He was silent, he sighed and looked down. “I know she does. Honestly if someone cheated on me like that, I would feel the same.” He looked down as if he felt genuinely sorry but Soph wasn’t swayed, yet he continued. “All I wanna do is just see if we’ll continue being friends again. I know I can’t take back what I did but I just want.. Things to be back the way they were.” He put his hands in his pockets. “When we were kids again.”
Ok maybe Soph was convinced. She could tell he was genuinely trying to patch things up with Aki. But she’s not on his side, she wants what’s best for her best friend, and what’s best for Aki is to spend some good amount of time away from this son of a bitch.
“Look. I know you’re trying to be better and I know Aki would love that.” She started, noticing the hope in his expression. “But right now just isn’t the time. Aki’s still recovering. Just let her be happy man. She’s on a friggin date so you don’t gotta butt in--”
“Wait she’s on a date?”
‘Ah shit.’
“Wait. With who???” He exclaimed, suddenly shocked. He then flashbacked to the crowd and how those two men easily kissed her as if they had done it everyday. “Wait.. were those two guys--”
“Did I say date?? I didn’t say she was on a date!!” Soph suddenly exclaimed, she felt like sweating. She knew that Aki didn’t want him to know she was with her two boyfriends at the moment, in fact, she wasn’t ready to tell the world she was in a polyamorous relationship in the first place. She shook her hands in front of her, suddenly turning defensive. “I said… I was on a date! Yes!!”
He tilted his head. “But you said--”
“I’m on a date and you’re ruining it!! So uhh go run off and take picture or something- just not outside!! Go.. Go buy some cool merch for your new girlfriend or something!!” Soph laughed, then realized what she said. ‘New girlfriend??? That sounds so fucking petty UGH me and my STUPID MOUTH.”
“Wait-- I don’t.” He started but shook his head. “But what about Aki--”
“Soph, what’s taking you so long?” Soph turned around to face a 6’5 ft tall Ashitaka cosplayer, his gaze burning into the scarred cosplayer’s form. He wrapped his arm around Soph protectively as she gave him a relieved and excited smile.
“Connor!! Hey!! See. This is Connor, my boyfriend!!” Soph exclaims, holding unto his arm. “See you’re ruining our date just by being here so gotta go!!”
Connor looked down at Soph with a confused expression but went along with it, sure it was weird to see a Sophie calling Ashitaka her boyfriend but in this case it looked like she needed help. He pulled her to his side as she tried to walk away with him before he suddenly called out.
“Are you sure he’s your boyfriend?? You’re from completely different universes--” He starts, not completely convinced. “If you’re just using him as a decoy then it’s not workin--”
“I’m her fucking boyfriend ok.” Connor started. Turning to look back at him with his brows knitted and the ends of his lips in a frown. That plus his tall stature made him look intimidating, that plus Ashitaka’s usual garb making him look more warrior like. “If you keep bothering my girlfriend like that, then I should make sure you won’t fucking bother anybody.”
The cosplayer took a step back, a sweat dropped formed on his forehead under his wig. “Sorry, I’ll.. I’ll just skedaddle like what you said.” He said, turning away and walking briskly into a crowd, making Soph sigh in relief.
“Was he actually bothering you?” Connor asked in a softer voice, looking down at Soph with concerned eyes. She looked back up at him, giving him a small nod. “A little, but he was actually there for Aki.” She replied, causing Connor to raise a brow. “Why would that Dabi look for Aki?”
Soph waved a hand in front of her face, leaning her head on his arm. “Remember “Operation: Ready Set Get Out of Here”?” She asked which told Connor everything.
“Oh fuck. It’s the cheater.”
“Yup!” Soph giggled, remembering how low his voice was when he intimidated him, she felt her insides go all over the place at the sound of his voice. Connor raised an eyebrow at her but shrugged it off. “You know, I could have beaten him up if you want. Freyr would want that.”
“Wha?? Freyr would never.” Soph teased, leaning up to her boyfriend.
Connor looked down and nodded. “He would. You have no idea how fucked up his brain is.”
“Ah, I should be wary then.” Soph replied, almost reaching the crowd with her friends and the other half of their cuddle pile. However, she had a small thought wanting to tease her boyfriend just a little more.
She stood on her toes and pulled Connor down a bit so she could reach his ear. “I like how intimidating you were. I would love to hear that voice back at home.”
Connor’s cheeks flared as red as his natural hair color as he looked down at his girlfriend’s smug face. He grabbed the top of her head and glared daggers into her. “Do you want to get fucking slammed????” He whispered, a low growl escaping his throat.
Soph giggled. “Yes, go as hard as you want. As long as it’s you.” She said before pulling away from him. Turning back to him with a wink before running back to their usual group.
Connor knew at that very moment how much he wanted to make that bottom shut up.
-----
“Baby!!” Elliott felt a sudden force collide into him as he looked down, seeing the familiar braided brown wig. He smiled and wrapped his arms around Soph, nuzzling into her cheek. “Oh I missed you, Beautiful!!” He exclaimed.
“Ew!! You’re both so eugh!!” Soph turned to Worm who was pointing at her tongue in a puking motion. Worm then gestured at the two hugging with an annoyed look. “You do realize best fucking girl is still there!!”
“Hey!!” Eleanor exclaimed, pouting at Worm. “What do you mean ‘best girl’??” She asked, her voice spat with jealousy. June peaked out from underneath Elliott’s coat and ran off to Connor, letting him drape an arm around her.
Worm turned to her girlfriend and shrugged. “Oh I meant ‘prettiest girl’. Sorry!” She giggled, noticing her girlfriend suddenly fuming. “I’m your girlfriend, bitchboy! Wanna fight??” She exclaims, pulling out her prop gun from underneath her coat. Worm let out her best attempt of maniacal laughter before pulling out her prop gun. “Oh it’s on!!!”
“You two stop it!! You’re going to cause a commotion.” Regan exclaimed, holding both girls by the shoulders. Worm and Eleanor looked down at Regan before looking back at each other, staring at each other’s shirt collars.
“I know your whole dynamic is beating each other up but we cannot cause a commotion in a public convention.” Regan reasoned.
Vanya then walked up to Eleanor, holding Regan’s Master sword. She nudged her friend in the arm which caused Eleanor to sigh. “I’m sorry for starting another fight. I love you. Let’s hug and make up.” She recites as if she was reading off a script.
Worm, being terribly unconvinced, made the ugliest sinister smile she can manage and pointed her gun to her girlfriend’s head. “Case closed. This is how your justice end--”
“Bad Worm!!” Vanya exclaimed, taking her gun. “Apologize to Eleanor at once!!” She exclaimed.
Worm pouted. “My gun..”
“C’mon. Tell your Eleanor how much you love her~~” She teased, nudging Worm closer to her girlfriend. Worm pouted, feeling the warmth of her cheek as she puffed her chest, not wanting to relinquish her pride. She turned away from Eleanor, who in turn waited patiently for Worm, knowing how stubborn they were.
“I’m sorry. I was only kidding. You’re my best girl.” Worm muttered loud enough for Eleanor to hear. She awed and wrapped her arms around Worm, holding her tight. “You’re my best worm!!”
“Ew!! Yuck!! Booo!! Where was the fight!!” Eleanor and Worm pulled apart to glare at Soph who was giving them a thumbs down sign. “C’mon Eleanor!! You could have easily suplexed her and brought her to her coffin early!!”
“I could but I decided when I’ll do it.” Eleanor joked, earning a playful offended gasp from Worm. “How dare you!! Not even my girlfriend supports me!”
“Whine all you want but you know how much I love you.” Eleanor laughed at her bluntness which caused Worm to groan. “Shut up!!”
“By the way.” Connor stated, as everyone’s eyes turned to him. “Did the three of them escape?”
“Oh yeah!!” June replied, taking out her phone from her pocket. Everyone scooted to June’s side to take a peak at what she was showing.
She opened her messages and pressed on her and Jeremiah’s pm and pressed on a photo he shared 10 minutes ago.
It was a selfie with Jeremiah in his Sora cosplay sitting on a bench in the park nearby, the strap of his professional camera around his neck and shoulders. He was posing and smiling like how Sora did when he would take a selfie in-game.
Behind him was Aki who was standing on the bench, she bent down and held down the bottom of her Kairi dress with one hand to prevent any sort of flashing. She had a peace sign against her cheek and had a closed-mouth smile.
Freyr was standing in front of the bench, sipping his coffee and seemed to be in his own world, not realizing that Jeremiah was taking a photo. He was holding his phone in his hand and from the view, the crew could tell he was looking at pictures.
Behind them, on the bench, were their bags all piled up against each other with their keyblades sticking out in between them, using the bags as some sort of support.
Below the photo, Jeremiah typed out.
“Mission Success!!”