The second part to my other one-shot, "Best Friends Forever, Right?" Enjoy.
Disclaimer: I own nothing Kingdom Hearts other than the game...and the plot in this.
She and Selphie couldn't believe their eyes. It was just too cute!
Both had wondered where the silver-haired teen had wandered off during the bonfire they'd had the night before; all he'd said was that he was going to find Sora, who'd disappeared an hour or so before sunset. So they'd waited with Tidus and Wakka, but Riku had never come back, even after the large blaze had died down to nothing but red coals and they'd all gotten up and went home.
Now it was mid-morning, the sun climbing higher into the clear, azure blue sky, not a single cloud in sight. She and Selphie had come looking for Sora when they discovered he too had never went home the night before, and figured he was trying to skip out on the first day of school (he had, in fact, done that several times)...Which, luckily for him, was a half day in the afternoon, and wouldn't start for another three hours.
So here she and Selphie were, both trying to stifle their giggling at the sight before them. They'd found Riku, and Sora. Both had obviously fallen asleep talking while sitting against the Paopu Tree, and there they remained. This had happened several times before, so it wasn't anything uncommon; it was just how they were sleeping that was so adorable. Riku was leaning against the tree itself, and Sora was leaning on him. The brunet's arms were wrapped around the other's waist in a vice grip, head resting on Riku's chest, higher up towards his neck, snoring softly. Riku had his arms lazily wrapped around the younger boy's shoulders, head tilted down, resting on Sora's. They had obviously had their legs stretched out in front of the when they'd fallen asleep, but now they were tangled together, as Sora was more or less on Riku's lap.
"Oh, it's so cute!" Selphie whispered, grinning ear to ear. "I wish I had my camera! Don't you, Kairi?"
The redhead nodded, grinning just as widely. "Do you think we should wake them up? I mean, Sora does have to get ready. School starts in a couple hours."
The brunette shook her head, darting back off towards her boat. "Wait! I just remembered! My camera's in my bag! I'm going to go get it!" Kairi giggled as Selphie got her prized camera, made island-safe, encased in a waterproof plastic casing, before running back to where the other girl was. Not bothering with the flash, she wound the film, before raising it to her eye, tapping down on the shutter button. There was a small click before Selphie wound the film again, before flicking on the flash, taking another picture. At least one of the two would turn out for sure, she reasoned, as the two boys began to wake up from the bright flash. She dumped her camera into her pocket, she and Kairi trying to stifle their giggling again.
Sora was the first to open his eyes, blinking blearily at the girls. He stared for a moment, before yawning and snuggling up closer to Riku, still more than half-asleep...Unfortunately for him, Riku was already up and trying to stretch, mildly startled when he felt a weight on him, even more so when he felt it move. Lifting one hand to rub at his eyes, he noticed Kairi and Selphie, raising a thin eyebrow at the two, seeing their faces red from trying not to laugh. Letting a small giggle escape her, Kairi pointed down at Sora, as Selphie proceeded to stuff her fist into her mouth to keep herself from bursting out laughing.
Riku looked down, and felt a blush creep onto his face, seeing Sora curled up contently, sound asleep again.
'So that's what that weight was...,' he thought, while gently shaking Sora's shoulder. The boy gave an irritated grunt, opening his eyes a slit, blocking out the bright sunlight.
"Whassit...?" he muttered, still not fully waking up.
"Geroffa me," Riku said shortly, "you're heavy." At this, Sora blinked confusedly, before looking up to meet Riku's gaze...promptly turning red as he yelped and scrambled off the older boy. Forgetting just how close the Paopu Tree was to the edge of Paopu Island, he screamed as he fell off the edge, his startled cry ended with a loud splash. Riku choked on his laughter, getting up and hurrying over to the edge with Selphie and Kairi, laughing when Sora resurfaced, spiky hair refusing to be flattened even when wet, standing up in limp spikes. Said brunet sputtered, spitting out the salty sea water as he shook his head, before glaring up at his laughing friends.
"You guys suck!" he exclaimed, before making his way back to the nearby beach, grumbling in an annoyed manner not suited for his usually cheerful demeanor.
"Aw, Sora, don't be like that," Kairi said, giggling, as the seventeen-year-old boy stepped onto the sand, shooting a glare at the three.
"I'm going home to get ready for school," he said irritably, stomping off to where his boat was still tied to the dock, climbing in, still dripping wet. As he untied the rope and started rowing back to the island his house was on, his three friends stood there in shock. It'd been quite a while since Sora had gotten angry at them; it'd been even longer since the Keyblade Master had actually gone to go get ready for the first day of school willingly. Normally it took a lot of whining and shrieking on Sora's part, and Riku, Tidus and Wakka dragging, threatening, beating him, whatever it took to get him to get ready for the first day of school.
"I think he's sick," Riku said after a few moments, shaking his head. "Or something like that. Been a while since Sora's gotten pissed off like that. He was fine last night...Maybe he's PMSing..."
"Mmm..." Kairi bit her lip, shaking her head in negation. "No, I don't think that's it. I think he's upset about you leaving again..."
"Really?"
"Yeah. That's why he was sulking yesterday..."
"Huh..." Riku frowned, crossing his arms, watching the soaked brunet row back towards the main islands, sneezing occasionally whenever the wind blew a cold draft over him.
After a nice, long, hot shower, and now dressed in dry clothes, Sora felt like he could face his friends and apologize for storming off like he had. But as he headed for the dock where he kept his boat, he stopped, looking over at the children's island, looking completely serene in the mid-morning sun. He sighed, running a hand through his wild hair, frowning.
He'd missed so much of his teenage years playing hero for all the worlds, away from home with so much responsibility dumped on him literally overnight. He'd only just turned fourteen when the islands had been destroyed, and he had been thrown into a role destiny had given him that he had no interest in. Riku had gotten a year more than him on the islands, being a full year his elder, but had also had been dealt a more dangerous hand, becoming seemingly entangled in the darkness forever. That hadn't happened, however.
Nodding, he climbed into his boat, more careful than usual since he was wearing his nicest outfit for school later in the day; in other words, a pair of clean shorts, a red shirt and his black vest. He hadn't gotten his school issued uniform yet. Making sure the boat was fine (he most certainly didn't want this one to sink like his last one had; he'd been stuck floating for several hours between two islands, yelling for help as his boat sank slowly, having accidentally run up on a coral reef), he began rowing back out to the island he'd spent most of his childhood on. His friends wouldn't be waiting there for him still; it'd been an hour or so since he'd went home, and they knew where to find him most of the time anyways.
As the island wasn't too far away from the one he lived on, it didn't take him too long to get there, tying his boat to the old dock and climbing out. Taking a quick look around, he confirmed his suspicions; his boat was the only one there, meaning he was alone on the island. As he walked back towards the shack with the stairs leading to the bridge out to Paopu Island, he paused, looking over at a nearly concealed hole in the stone wall between the waterfall and the large tree house.
"The Secret Place..." he muttered, before walking to it, realizing something. Out of all the worlds he'd been to, he'd never locked Destiny Islands' keyhole! Should the Heartless have ever returned, the islands would be at risk again. He snickered, seeing just how small the entrance to the cave seemed (he knew he was small when he was younger, but, this small? He'd sure grown in three years...), having to get on his hands and knees to get in. Clearing the tight entrance, he walked down the natural stone hallway, down to the large open cavern at the end.
The walls here were still covered with drawing he and Riku had made over the years, depicting the adventures they always dreamed of. Only one in the entire cave had been etched by Kairi, and it was just a small picture by the strange wood and gold door on the wall opposite him. He grinned as a intricate keyhole appeared in the wood, the magic in it instantly recognizing him as the Keyblade Master.
Summoning the Keyblade to his hand, he held it out in front of him, as the very tip of it glowed, and the Keyhole glowed right after, before a beam of light shot out of the key, and a locking noise came from the Keyhole, before it disappeared. The old door looked the same as it always had now, the same worn wood, with a chunk out of one side where Riku had broken his pocketknife trying to pry it open. The broken blade was still there in the wood.
Smiling, he sat down with his back to the door, drawing one knee up to his chest, leaving his other leg stretched out on the cold ground. He glanced at the watch his mother had given him when he'd returned; he only had half an hour before he needed to get to the high school to pick up his schedule. He sighed, closing his eyes, resting his forehead on his knee. He honestly couldn't believe he would be graduating two years after the rest of his class because he was gone. Maybe he could lie, saying he'd continued to go to school while he was away; it wasn't entirely false. Aerith had tried to help him keep up with his studies the entire time he was fighting the Heartless, trying to help prevent this from happening to him.
"How'd I know you'd be in here?"
At the sound of the voice, Sora's head snapped up, eyes locking onto Riku's. Seeing it was just his friend, he set his head back down, closing his eyes again. Riku frowned, wondering what exactly Sora was thinking.
"Hey, you alright?" he asked, sitting next to the brunet; Sora scooted over a bit to make room for him.
"I'm fine," Sora obviously lied.
"No you're not. You're lying." Sora sighed, keeping his head down, not pulling away when Riku put an arm around his shoulders in a friendly fashion.
"I miss being a kid," he said softly. "We missed out on so much, Riku, and we'll never get to relive it. Just because of some stupid "destiny" we got landed with." Riku stayed silent as Sora sighed, drawing his other knee up against his chest, hugging both of his legs. "I mean, yeah, if it all had never happened, I would've never made all the friends I did, but..." He shook his head, sniffing softly. "Now I'm so distant from all my other friends, even you, Riku. I have a hard time even talking to my mom now; she doesn't quite know what to think of me anymore, and she treats me differently..."
Riku was surprised by this news; he'd been welcomed home with open arms by his parents, and hadn't been allowed out of their sights for a couple days. Of course, he did recall seeing Sora sitting on the roof of his house the day they returned, looking rather upset... "Really? You never said anything about it..." Riku said, trying to force down the worry in his voice.
"I didn't want to worry you," Sora replied, keeping his head down still. "You were so happy when we got back, I didn't want to ruin it for you."
Riku frowned, staring at the back of Sora's head. "Well, what about you? Don't you think I wanted you to be happy when we got back? I wondered why you were sitting on your roof the night we got back..."
"You saw me?"
"Yeah, it's kind of hard not to. We only live a couple of houses away from each other. And, unlike your house, mine has two floors."
"Mmn." Sora was silent, the only sounds in the cave now the sounds of their breathing and the wind whistling through the hole in the ceiling. Silence settled in around the two boys, much like it had the night before, only it was a bit more uncomfortable than it had been before.
"I sealed the Keyhole," Sora said out of the blue, startling Riku out of his thoughts. "This world is safe from the Heartless now."
"You found it?" Riku asked in astonishment. Sora nodded, pointing at the door they were sitting in front of without lifting his head.
"Yeah. The Keyhole was right here. It was right under our noses the entire time."
"How'd you know it was here?"
"I guessed. I am the Keyblade Master, after all."
"Figures."
"Heh."
As Sora laughed at him, Riku crossed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at Sora, even though the brunet still had his head down. Rolling his eyes, the platinum blond turned to sit on his knees, looking at the old door.
Thunk. Plonk. "Grr."
Hearing Riku growl, Sora lifted his head finally, looking over at his best friend. "Riku, what are you doing?"
Said teen frowned, fingers grappling for something stuck in the wood. "I'm trying to get my knife out. I just remembered the blade is still stuck in this hunk-a-junk."
"Forget it. It's stuck in there and it's never coming o-" Sora stopped short, something silver shooting past his head, grazing the tip of his nose, to clatter on the stone wall a few meters away. Realizing it was the knife blade, the brunet spluttered, eyes wide. "Holy shit, Riku! Are you trying to kill me!"
Riku, eyes wide also, stared at the small blade on the other side of the cave, before looking over at Sora, who looked like a deer in the headlights, his eyes were so big. "Whoops? I didn't think it'd come out that easily...You alright?"
"I think..." Sora said, gingerly rubbing his nose, looking at his fingers with a frown when he pulled away. "Scratch that...I'm bleeding..." he muttered, seeing blood on his fingers, lightly pressing his vest's hood to his nose to stop the bleeding.
Riku frowned, watching his friend. "Let me see," he said, gently pulling away the cloth, while Sora made a face. Using his hand to tilt Sora's face up a bit more, he shrugged and let go of the other boy's face, letting him put pressure back on it. "It's just a scratch."
"Mouu, it hurts..." Sora whined softly. "First day back to school and I've got a big scratch on my nose because my best friend attacked me with a knife."
"Now you're being stupid," Riku teased, plopping back down next to Sora. "Speaking of school, doesn't class start in a bit?" Sora shrugged and looked at his watch, sticking his tongue out.
"I've got a minute. Screw that, I'm skipping today. There's no way I'd be able to row over there fast enough to make it there on time. Anyways, I've already missed three years. What're they gonna do about one more day? Give me a detention?" As Riku laughed, Sora made a face. "Now that I think about it, they probably will. You're so lucky, Riku. You don't have to go to school anymore."
Riku shrugged, glancing at his own watch, frowning. "You are officially late. Congratulations, Sora! Kairi and Selphie will probably murder you after school lets out now."
"Not if they can't find me."
"They'll find you. They can like, smell fear or something, I swear."
"Which will be bad for both of us, since they'll blame you for not dragging me into school on time even if you don't have to go anymore."
"Ah...That's right...Hmm...Well, crap..."
Sora laughed softly, making Riku smile. That comfortable silence from the night before finally returned to settle around the teens, as they both sat in front of the old door on the cold ground. Just like they used to when they were younger, hiding in the cave, the Secret Place, from the other kids on the island, making up grand, completely unbelievable stories, of adventures and battles they knew, even then, would never be real. Never stopped them from acting out said adventures and battles, playing around until both were nearly too tired to row back home. Some nights they actually couldn't, and had ended up sleeping out on Paopu Island or in the cool hidden cavern.
Riku closed his eyes, tilting his head back to rest against the door, as beside him, Sora shifted into a more comfortable position, leaning back on Riku a bit. The older smiled a bit, seeing the brunet was starting to come back out of his temporary shell of distress.
"Mouu...Riku...?"
"Mmm?" was the platinum blond's oh-so eloquent response to Sora's soft inquiry, while sorting through all the questions Sora was sure to ask, preparing answers for all of them.
"When you look at me...ano...what do you...what do you see?"
Okay, this one threw him off. Riku certainly hadn't been expecting that one..."What?"
Next to him, Sora rolled his eyes and let out a huffy sigh. "I said, deaf one, what do you see when you look at me? Just some kid that you've known forever, or something else? I wanna...no, I need to know."
"Well..." Riku started, trailing off as he slipped deep into his thoughts, trying to find an answer for his best friend's strange question. Sora waited patiently, but with an expression saying he wanted an answer, no matter what. "I see...a naive, goofy seventeen year old boy...with hair that's defied all laws of gravity since who knows when naturally...with sparkling blue eyes that reflect every flicker of emotion, hiding nothing. I see someone who's been a better friend to me than I even deserve, no matter what I've done. Someone who's got a big heart, one with enough room for everyone they've ever met, and wears that loving heart on their sleeve, rather than hiding it away safely so no one could ever hurt them." Riku paused, yet Sora stayed silent, waiting for him to finish.
"I see someone who's stubborn as a mule, and one they've got their mind set on something, they stick with it until the bitter end. Someone who puts others before themselves, selflessly giving all away to make sure the people they love are safe. But, most of all..." Riku gently took Sora's face in his hand again, faces now close enough that Riku swore he could feel the heat radiating off the brunet's face as he turned bright red at the closeness. "I see a boy who, no matter what, always accepted me for who I am...The boy I fell in love with as soon as we met."
Riku ended what he was saying by pressing his lips against Sora's, knowing full-well that Sora might freak and run. He also knew that he had just blown his biggest secret clear out of the water, and may have very well just killed his friendship with the brunet...Then again...was Sora...kissing him back?
Opening his eyes that he didn't realize had closed a bit, he saw Sora had closed his eyes as well, his bright red blush gone. Sora's eyes flickered open moments later as they broke apart, a light blush dusting his cheeks again. They just in perfect silence for a moment, as the brunet fidgeted slightly, both watching the other.
"I...I've always liked you too, Riku..." he finally muttered, averting his gaze to the ground, turning even more red than before. "I just wasn't ever brave enough to tell you..." He looked back up at Riku, startled realization visible in his wide eyes. "And you're leaving in five days...And I have to stay here..."
TThat was right...The inevitable dawned on Riku; well actually, more like hit him on the head like a brick wall. He was leaving to the mainland in just a few days, but Sora had to stay to finish his last three years of school. Hundreds of miles would be separating them, and he wasn't stupid; a long distance relationship like that would only end up hurting both of them.
"Dammit, you're right," Riku groaned, covering his face with his hands. "I'm sorry, Sora, I should've never brought it up." Sighing, he went to get up, but was quickly pulled back down as Sora swiftly attached himself to Riku's waist once more, hanging on as if his life depended on it.
"Don't," he said, voice perfectly clear and steady, despite the tears welling in his sky blue eyes. "Don't say sorry. It's my fault; I'm the one who brought up the topic. It'll work out, somehow."
Riku sighed as he settled back down, pulling Sora close to him, the younger boy wedged securely at his side. "It's impossible, Sora. As it is, I'd only be able to visit once in a while. It's too great of a distance."
"Then I'll come with you." Startled, Riku looked down at Sora, inwardly groaning at the look on his face; it was that face. Sora's stubborn, I gonna do it no matter what you say face.
"Sora..."
"Don't "Sora" me! I wanna come with you!" Sora argued, setting loose his infamous pouting-glare. "The islands don't really feel like home to me anymore, anyways. And without you around, I'll feel even more out of place. I won't get in the way, either, promise!" Riku frowned, chewing on his lip, knowing he'd already lost this argument before it began. He'd love to have Sora come with him, but...
"Alright, Sora, on one condition." The brunet blinked, as Riku smirked widely. "Sing a song for me. Just one, I wanna see something." Hearing this, Sora opened his mouth to protest, turning pick at the thought of having to sing for Riku. The platinum blond, however, quickly cut him off. "Just one quick song. I promise not to laugh. But you have to sing like you mean it!"
Grumbling, Sora scrunched up his face in annoyance. "Fine. But just one, quick, short song. Just one!"
"Fine, fine. Get a move on it, already."
Sticking his tongue out at Riku, Sora took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he obviously tried pretending the older teen wasn't there; it was one of his biggest fears, singing in front of anyone. He blamed it on the stage fright gene his mother claimed was inherited. Then he started singing.
Listening to Sora sing, Riku grinned, his suspicion confirmed. Sora's already sweet contralto voice shot clear up to a soprano tone, something even he knew was very rare with boys their age. It wasn't quite as rare in younger boys, like they'd been the last time he'd heard Sora singing a simple working song as they repaired the tree house. And Sora still hadn't lost that sweet soprano singing voice, even after his voice deepened (well, slightly) from a high-range alto to a lower contralto.
"That's enough," Riku said, grinning as Sora instantly stopped. "That's all I needed to hear, although...We'll have to work on that stage fright of yours." Sora blinked at him, confused.
"Huh? Why?"
"Well..." Riku drawled, smirking wider than before. "I do need a singer for my band...And you just got the job." He chuckled hearing Sora squeak, before burying his face in the boy's soft brown spikes.
"Y-you mean...You're letting me into your band?" Riku nodded. "So now you have to let me come! Mouu, I've never been so thankful in my life that I can sing!" Riku laughed softly as Sora happily started to hum, bobbing his head slightly in time with whatever tune he was humming.
"Soooooraaaa! You'd better hope I don't find you, or else you're toast!"
Hearing Kairi yelling for him, Sora laughed, swinging his legs back and forth off of the Paopu Tree, as Riku snorted, standing next to him, leaning against the bent tree. From their vantage point on Paopu Isle, they could see Kairi stomping across the beach, searching in all of Sora's usual hiding spots, not even bothering to see if he was up on the small isle. Finally, however, she thought of looking, and her scowl could be seen, even from a distance, as Sora shot her his cheesiest grin, waving at her.
"SORA! YOU ARE SO DEAD!"
Her screech was loud enough to nearly shatter both boys' eardrums, as she turned and ran to the shack with the stairs leading up to the isle. As soon as she disappeared inside, Sora tucked what he had in his hand into his pocket, scrambling up to the top, leafy part of the tree, barely managing to stay perched there. He settled down as well as he could, knowing Kairi couldn't climb trees to save her life, taking out the small, yellow object in his pocket back out, taking another bite out of it.
Riku chuckled softly as Kairi came storming across the bridge, growling when she saw Sora in the tree, well out of reach. "Oooh, Sora...You are so lucky I can't reach you, or else I'd..." She trailed off, eyes wide as she noticed what Sora was eating, while paying attention to her. "Sora...Is that a Paopu Fruit!"
"Yup!" Sora cheerfully responded, popping the last bit into his mouth, savoring the sweet, sweet taste of the star shaped fruit.
"Selphie is going to kill you if she finds out you ate one!" she exclaimed, more shocked now than angry. Riku laughed as Sora grinned at Kairi, shaking his head.
"No she won't. I didn't eat it by myself, so she can't."
"...what?" Kairi asked, stunned. She looked over at Riku, who chose that exact moment to eat the very last bit of the half of the Paopu he had. The silver-haired teen grinned at her surprised face, crossing his arms."No...way...It's about time!" she suddenly squealed, clapping her hands as she bounced up and down.
"Huh?" both boys asked in unison, staring at Kairi as if she'd just grown an extra head. The redhead grinned at them happily, while bouncing around.
"Oh, me and Selphie have been trying to get you two to hook up forever! It was so obvious you two liked each other! I can't believe you never noticed until now!" She squealed again, not ceasing for a second in her happy bouncing. "Oooooh, I can't wait to tell Selphie!"
Sora watched her for a moment. "So, if I come down now, you won't kill me?"
"Of course not! Riku would probably kill me if I did! I'm not stupid; anyways, I'm just so happy for you guys!" Sora sighed in relief as he slid down the sloped trunk of the Paopu Tree, right into Riku's waiting arms. Kairi watched them, before her grin dropped clear off her face. "Oh, but, Riku...You're leaving this week..."
"So?" Riku quipped back, currently attempting to play with Sora's hair, as said brunet yelled in protest, swatting away the offending hands. "Sora's already decided to come with me."
Kairi's eyes doubled in size. "Really! Sora, you told me you wanted to stay here on the islands?"
Sora shrugged, still attempting to free himself from Riku's grasp, trying valiantly to protect his hair from the other's hand. "Yeah, well...The islands really don't seem like 'home' anymore. No one treats me the same, even my mom. Anyways, I have to go; Riku can't have a band without someone to sing!" He frowned and growled, writhing wildly. "Mouu, Riku, lemme go!"
Riku chuckled, "No," and continued playing with Sora's hair, tightening his grip around Sora's waist. He looked up at Kairi, nodding. "Yeah, little Mister "I-inherited-my-stage-fright" agreed to sing for my band, so long as I let him come with me. Of course I couldn't turn that down; I get a singer for my band and my boyfriend for the price of one!"
Kairi kept her surprised look for a few more moments, before smiling sweetly at the two boys. "Ah-hah! I see. Well, good luck to you two. And make sure you guys visit once in a while."
"Of course we'll visit, Kai," Sora said, smacking away Riku's hand again. "Aww, great, now I feel bad about leaving; we just got back, too. All that waiting for nothing. I'm sorry, Kairi." Kairi laughed and smiled again, waving it off.
"It's alright, Sora. I know that you two are safe now, so I won't be going through that anytime soon. Don't worry about it." She looked at her watch, before turning to walk off. "I told Selphie I'd meet up with her right now; see you guys later!"
"See ya, Kairi," the boys called as she ran off across the bridge. They watched as she hurried back to her boat, just as the brunette she was going to meet reached the dock in her own. Kairi told Selphie something, and the girl squealed, looking over in their direction.
"Seems Kai's passed on the news..." Riku muttered, finally giving up on Sora's hair. Sora nodded, as Selphie started jumping up and down, laughing.
"Aww, come on guys, kiss!" she yelled from the old wooden dock; Kairi laughed, before joining in on her chant of "kiss, kiss, kiss, kiss." Sora groaned and rolled his eyes, while Riku smirked, laughing slightly.
"Those two are crazy...No way; not in front of those two..." Sora muttered.
"I don't see why not," Riku countered, smirk growing wider. "Sounds like a good idea to me."
Sora looked up at his boyfriend, frowning. "Riku...No. R-Riku! Kn-knock it off! Rik-mmmph!"
"Whoo-hoo! That's so cute!"
Owari
