[closed] on the edge of something wonderful

[finewithhalf]

Who: Maya Hart and Riley Matthews
Where: In a ripspace that's taken from the Coraline event
When: September 19th
Rating: These kids are pretty G usually
Summary: At the height of homesickness, two ninth graders get a sweet trip home. Sort of.
The Story:

Events seem to be hitting everyone over the head fast and furiously lately. But there's a usual committee on the case for that. But as she and Riley are maneuvering toward the kitchen for a mid-morning spaghetti break, they're suddenly back in a more familiar living room, a friendly new york loft among a sea of brownstones.

Maya doesn't question this either. She simply bellyflops on the couch and kicks off her shoes, stretching out.

"Well that was weird. 'Bout time we got sent home. Think we'll get a weekend before we have to go back to school?"

Like water from a duck's back, even a year of Wonderland can be easily shed.

Comments

[plutonicideals]

And when Maya bellyflops onto the couch and kicks off her shoes, Riley does the same. Right on top of Maya. It's just like any normal sort of day when they're just getting back from school.

The abrupt change is... surprising, but honestly not unwelcome. It's been a year without seeing her parents, or Farkle, or Lucas, or Smackle.

"I don't know. Maybe? Something's telling me probably not, though."

[finewithhalf]

The contact is missed and appreciated -- until Maya decides there's a reason to get up. She'll push sideways, pressing her cheek against Riley's cheek and maneuvering them both into an upright position.

"Guess we'll just have to deal with it how it happens. Do you remember if we did our homework before we left?"

Because if they didn't, it ain't getting done now. Being trapped in another dimension for a year should be a totally acceptable excuse to get them out of it.

[plutonicideals]

And of course, Riley just lets Maya move her. It's normal. Everything actually feels normal for the first time in over a year and she's already loving it.

"Nope. We'll be fine though, I bet Farkle and Smackle and Lucas will help if we explain things to them."

And Zay probably would too, but he mostly just does one liner zings, but surely there'll be a time and place for that in the explanation.

[finewithhalf]

"You think they'd believe us?" One of her eyebrows shoots up. "Smackle will accuse us of trying to get out of work, Farkle will take her side, and Lucas will say something naive and Texan." And she'll probably be so happy to hear it all that she'll have to pretend she's not crying.

"It's pretty quiet, though. You think our parents are at the bakery?"

[plutonicideals]

"They're our friends and I want to believe they'd believe our crazy stories about Wonderland."

It's a long shot, of course, but Riley's always been one to bank on the unlikely outcomes of situations, especially if the outcome would be good.

"And if they're not here, they're definitely in the bakery. Or at school, but I don't really want to go back to school before I have to even if I do love my dad."

[finewithhalf]

And as if summoned by the mention of love, figures fully resembling Cory and Topanga sweep into the space. They're fully identical, if one doesn't mind the quibbly issue of their faces and the fact that they both have buttons where their eyes ought to be.

Maya scrambles toward the opposite end of the couch, yelping.

"I love your Dad too, but that is a whole other level."

[plutonicideals]

Okay, that is startling and Riley finds herself jumping back too. There really isn't even that much room on the end of the couch, but they can make it work because of that. Even so, she still finds herself kind of drawn to the familiarity despite the buttons for eyes and stuff.

"... Hi."

And that's when the Cory goes to lean in to ruffle Riley's hair affectionately, as fathers tend to do with their daughters.