Title: Just This
Author: Page of Cups
Pairing: Cloud Strife/Riku
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Rating: K+
Theme: #29 Sound of Waves
Disclaimer: Kingdom Heart totally doesn't belong to poor little ole me. It belongs to a bunch of rich people at Disney and Square Enix. Being as poor as I am, I am not affiliated with the rich people at either of these companies. I'm not even worthy to clean their toilets. So there.
NOTE: This is a companion piece to Anatomy of a Relationship.
"Everyone's been worried about you. No one's seen you for weeks."
"I'm in Costa del Sol."
It was that simple these days. "I'm in Costa del Sol," was the only answer he needed to provide and whoever may be calling—Tifa, Barrett, Aerith, Yuffie, Leon—would jump to apologize or end the conversation. Cloud would flip his phone shut, stuff it in his pocket, and thus would end another attempt by his well-intentioned friends to check up on him.
Cloud leaned back on the sun chair, stretching his legs out as he allowed his feet to dangle over the edge. His skin felt hot in the crisp fabric of his black, sun-absorbing pants, but it didn't bother him. He gave one pass across the beach coastline from his vantage point on the balcony of his hotel room—at children running and laughing in the sand, people building little sand towns, and sunbathers basking in the soft, warm heat of a popular resort spot. A smile curled the corner of his lips, hardly recognizable, and then he closed his eyes, dropping his head back, face turned toward the sky. The crash of water against the shoreline remained.
Riku.
Costa del Sol was never a place Cloud particularly liked. He wasn't a real surf and sand kind of guy. It didn't even hold any special or dear memories, but now . . .
Cloud met Riku while he was still working for Hades, before he knew Sora, before he knew there was any light left within him. They came together by similar stations in life and stayed together because of understanding. They got to know one another, became friends, and eventually a relationship blossomed that Cloud had never known could exist. It was the kind of thing he thought happened for other people, but would never happen for him.
They were so good for each other. Riku taught him how to open up again, how to love again. When Riku beat the darkness, turned into Ansem, and managed to wield his weakness as a weapon with his head held high, Cloud liked to think he might have helped him, too. Cloud thought when Organization XIII was defeated, they'd come back together again. They'd have a real chance at a relationship. If nothing had beaten their love for each other yet, nothing would.
Then Organization XIII was finished. Cloud even managed to defeat Sephiroth for good. Riku returned to Destiny Islands, and the worlds sealed themselves off again. Some travel between worlds was possible. Cloud managed to get back to Radiant Garden and stopped off in Traverse Town once or twice, but Destiny Islands was nowhere to be found. The king said something about it being because it was Destiny Islands. Two Keyblade wielders lived there. It wasn't safe any other way.
So Cloud withdrew. Pulled away from everyone. He returned to Edge and took his delivery service back up again, which was how he found himself in Costa del Sol.
It was the waves that did it, Cloud thought, in retrospect. The sound of ocean water lapping against the dunes that reached his ears, and in an instant, he thought of Riku. He wasn't sure if it was because Riku was from an island and talked about it so dearly, or if it was because Riku's personality was just like this kind of place. Yuffie could be overbearing and Sora could be a little naïve, but Riku's warmth was soft and infectious, often energetic, sometimes cruel.
For whatever the reason, Cloud found himself thinking of Riku. He started finding excuses to come here and just listen to the water as the sun beat on his face. When he was in Costa del Sol, he felt as if Riku were still there beside him. All anger and anxiety, tension and heartbreak, just faded away. In Costa del Sol, there was still hope.
As Cloud opened his eyes to gaze back to the water, the small smile returned. He ensured his cell phone was still on as he stood to go and procure a drink. Perhaps hope was never really lost. After all, it couldn't be that long until the Keyblade master was called on for another journey, and if that happened, Cloud wouldn't miss the notice. Until then, though, if this was all he had . . . just this . . . Cloud wouldn't mind if he had to wait a little longer.
Thanks for reading. Review if you feel so inclined.