Hey Guys! So sorry if this is late! Anyway, I did my best since this is my second Yaoi fic I have no excuse not to! Anyway, this is dedicated to Daigomi Yuu. Lots O' Love!
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There was Dislike.
No. Not a strong enough words, but as Kairi stood by, watching on, it was the only word she could pull out from her sugar sweet vocabulary, but even she could tell she was sugar coating it way too much.
Anyway, that thing which she dare not think was present in the room to the highest degree.
It was etched clearly on the faces of each of the two boys, standing across each other, kept a good one and a half meter's apart only by Sora's spindly arms and pleads. One boy was tall and lean with silver hair and sharp, penetrating, green eyes. The other, more boyish and shorter in comparison, had honey blonde, spikey hair and stubborn blue eyes.
"Riku, please, it's only for a little while! We have to go pick up some groceries, for the party later, and we're on a tight schedule as it is so…" Kairi trailed off not sure if anything she could say would or could penetrate the silver's conscience. She felt a cool hand on her shoulder and looked up to meet the violet blue eyes of her blonde counterpart. "Step aside" she said coolly, "I'll handle this".
Kairi grimaced. Now she was worried…for the boys.
It had been agreed upon a long time ago, that when she and Sora or married, it would be Namine standing beside her, dresse din pink from head to toe. With that in mind, Namine would not let ANYTHING at all- especially arguments amongst the would be guests- to ruin her hopes for this all too human, all too real experiences.
True the marriage wouldn't actually happen until another five years or so, but Namine was prepared to be a bitch for that gown, oh yes, she would scratch the boys faces out if necessary if it meant the stress they put on Sora and Kiari would lead them to reconsider holy matrimony.
"Sora let me take care of it" she said once again laying her hand on a waiting shoulder this time belonging to the dark haired key blade wielder. Sora struggled between the two, by now Riku was spewing taunts like forest fire and Roxas was aiming a kick to the groin only to topple over every now and then as Sora struggled to make him lose his balance each time.
"No, Namine" he huffed, "I got this" a bead of sweat rolled down the side of his face, "I've got thi-". The light hand immediately tightened and it felt like banshee nails were digging in to his tendons. Before a single peep could escape him once more, he was effortlessly tossed to the side landing in a box full of phony spider's web which he would later spend a full half hour cleaning out of his hair.
With the sudden departure of their only barrier, the two sprang forward taking their chance to get at each other's throats only to each earn a respective plastic scythe to the head. They took the time to stop for a minute and rub their heads. Immediately Riku's eyes fell on Roxas in distrust who in turn glared back, but upon seeing that neither held a scythe or any other plastic toy weapon of doom, their eyes fell on the petite blonde.
"Listen, I know you don't like each other, but Sora, Kairi and I are really busy. We've been planning this Halloween party for months, not to mention this is the first time everyone is coming together again and don't forget, there's still trick or treating later and we still haven't gotten the stuff for the kids!" she handed the scythe to Sora who was still bemused as to how he ended up in a cardboard box, a piece of his memory lacking from the blow.
"Now. Can you two act like men, or do we need to give you a Halloween loot bag for your services?".
She was dead serious.
The look on each of their faces was priceless. Were they talked down to just now? Did she really think that the wielder of darkness and the Keyblade Master's mirror image needed to be bribed by such a childish gourmet as candy?
Five minutes later and the three were out the door leaving Roxas and Riku standing by the doorframe as far away from each other as the small rectangular shaped piece of wood could allow. "Ok, now you guys just need to watch over the place, make sure no one get's in-"
"Seriously Namine? Seriously? Are we really talking about a kiddie Halloween party or Kingdom Hearts".
At that moment, Riku ducked, allowing a plastic scythe to spin in an arc of doom for his head and miss lightly thwacking the wall behind it and leaving a light dent.
Roxas quickly stepped up , holding his hands up in a defensive manner lest he unintentionally invite another rain of cheap plastic scythes. "We'll take good care of the place. Or at least I will". There was an exchange of glares and the couple who owned the house glanced at each other with worried expressions.
Sora was the first to recover. "It'll be fine, Kairi. They can always pay for the damage done".
…
Waves and happy smiles guided the trio out, reassuring them that they were indeed leaving their home in two pairs of capable hands and that everything would be in tip top shape when they returned.
Then the door closed.
Time to get back to reality.
Riku turned around ready to say something snippy, perhaps to command Roxas to fetch some tape to draw the boundary only to see the other sprinting down the corridor and towards an open window. At once it clicked and Riku sprang forward. "Oh no, you don't!".
He had been so close. So close to freedom he could practically touch the borderless island sky…only to feel a strong set of arms wind around his waist and send him crashing to the floor. Gone. Snatched away.
There was a second or two of silence. Riku flourished in his brief moment of triumph, Roxas mourned over his loss. But of course silence, and all it's distantly related cousins such as peace, bliss and content could not last long with either in the same room. Roxas slammed his hand on Riku's face trying to push the other away. "Gerrof me!" came his muffles voice as he spoke into the other's chest.
"If you think I'm staying in this house for another second, you are nuts!".
Now Riku had never disliked Roxas. It's just that ever since he had helped drag the other to DiZ, Roxas had never missed a chance to get back at him, but even though, to hear that he was so deeply disliked for coexisting in a singular house to even be impossible…that hurt.
"Come on, don't be a baby" he responded quickly, toughening up. "We don't have to talk or anything, we can stay in different rooms, god, we just need to watch the house".
"NO!" Roxas quickly sputtered, "don't force me to stay in this house then leave me by myself!". Suddenly the frantic pushing away reversed, and instead Roxas took a firm hold of Riku's jacket, it was almost comical to see the sudden change in positions.
"WHAT is your problem? You said you couldn't stay in the house with me for another second!" Riku finally said after successfully ripping Roxas's hands- and a piece of his jacket- off. A brief look of confusion passed over the blonde's features followed by realization. "No" he corrected, calming down slowly, "I didn't say I didn't want to stay in the house with you, I said I didn't want to stay in the house".
A WTF expression plastered itself on the silver's face only to slowly disappear bit by bit as he took in the blonde's movements. Those deep blue eyes stared at each and every skeleton, mask and decapitated head with an uncanny suspicion of not….fear.
Silence passed.
"…Oh…".
…
It was…weird for total lack of a better word.
Riku sat across Roxas who was by now feasting on a tub of ice cream wrapped up in a blanket the horrendous color of vomit. The younger teen licked the spoon off of the last drops of mint ice cream as he engaged in a wary staring contest with the hooded grim reaper Riku had just hung up.
"Roxas" he cleared his throat, "have you considered…seeing someone about your…problem?". Blue eyes narrowed and shot a glare at the silver . "My problem?" he repeated lowly, "Have you never watched a horror movie before Riku? Sure they sit there not doing anything but when the lights go off and the kids are out trick or treating, these 'decorations' go around stealing internal organs or something, Sora said so!".
Riku dead panned and he face palmed.
That Roxas…he was so naïve. He'd probably believe Sora if he told him that there were magical little goblins in the television who made pretty pictures out of fairy dust and sprinkles.
'Oh…Sora. I'm going to get you for this, this is all your fault that I have to baby sit a paranoid ice cream freak'.
He leaned back with a sigh. He had seen Roxas fight off armies of heartless, wield darkness with a steel grip, openly defy the Organization and even nearly wipe the floor with him time and time again…and yet that very same Roxas was now spooked out of his mind by a plastic skull wrapped in a black towel hanging from a crudely nailed in screw in the wall…
He had never been so ashamed of himself for losing before.
"Roxas, how old are you?" he began suddenly.
"Sixteen " the other answered absent mindedly taking another scoop of melted mint ice cream. Riku shook his head, "no, I mean when did you come into being?". The blonde paused, spoon and ice cream inches away from an open mouth. There was a slight pause and Riku could see a flash in Roxas's eye as he computed.
"Three years ago".
"Ah…" the silver began, "so I'm baby-sitting a three year old".
The blonde stood up abruptly and off the blanket fell. Riku could tell by the look in the other's eye that Roxas had been at first hurt, then enraged. His theory was proven true when a second later a tub of ice cream flew over his head and splattered against the wall leaving a dripping mint green stain on the usually impeccably clean floral wall paper of Kairi's sitting room.
Riku crossed his legs and rested his head on his hand smugly. "Oh, you missed. Not used to such long arms, toddler? Come on. Key blade Masters aren't afraid of cheap plastic skeletons and rag doll reapers, but hey guess it's what's to be expected of an incomplete-".
"YOU'RE A JERK!".
The coffee table flipped and the silver slammed his hands outward, catching the ridiculously short legged piece of furniture just as he heard the front door slam. The sudden silence was sickening. Slowly Riku set the cowering piece of furniture down and it let out a creak of relief upon feeling it's legs on the firm carpeted floor.
"What a sensitive guy…" he mused , his voice indifferent with a slight tremble of annoyance. Great. Now the blonde was free and he was stuck with the responsibility of decorating and watching the house until Kairi and Sora or at least Namine returned. Resisting the urge to flip on the couch and doze, he marched over to the cardboard boxes in the hall. Digging a gloved hand in its contents he pulled out the nearest décor, an inflatable pumpkin , and picked a random table top to set it upon.
This was going to be a bust, he wasn't so good with the whole decorating thing and now with no one to annoy it would only end up a total bore. He glanced outside with a sigh and caught sight of dark, heavy clouds looming over the usually serene crystal sea that surrounded destiny islands.
He frowned. A storm?
Indeed it was silent, very much so. He strained his ears to catch the sounds of the leaves swaying or the seagulls gliding about. Nothing. All he managed to hear was deafening silence before little by little the sounds of a tiny pitter patter was heard.
He continued to watch the sky darken, rolling another inflatable pumpkin in his hands nonchalantly. The clock struck six with a tiny chime as out popped a miniature Daffy on a stick.
"Quack! Quack! Quack!".
Thunder resounded.
"Aw! Damn it all!" he tossed the pumpkin to the side and it rebounded on the wall with a little squeak. Jamming his hands in his pocket as he hunched over, he skulked through the corridor until he arrived at his destination and ripped out one of the two umbrellas leaning in the corner. He paused at the door way. Already he could feel the ice cold patters of droplets on his skin.
Turning around he grabbed the vomit colored blanket for good measure and with that he was out the door.
…
"Incomplete, so what if I'm incomplete" Roxas grumbled.
He hugged his knees as he pushed himself further in the corner of the tiny little bus stop with roof just enough to keep his head of spiky blonde hair to get soaked.
"Damn that Riku, damn for getting me pissed and wet and…" he trailed off.
Come on. Key blade Masters aren't afraid of cheap plastic skeletons and rag doll reapers, but hey guess it's what's to be expected of an incomplete-
"Just because he's a somebody…" he muttered.
Outside the rain got harder.
"The Jerk".
A snap.
His head jerked up , eyes wide and he surveyed his surroundings. By now the wind was howling and the waves that crashed upon the bank grew stronger and more violent and came closer and closer as if creeping up on the soaking blonde.
…
Riku groaned. How hard could this be?
'Obviously harder than you expected'.
Riku stood in the middle of the nearly non-existent forestry of Destiny Islands. The palms trees swayed menacingly as rain battered against him and his umbrella shield. Despite all he simply growled and trudged forward, glaring at the thunder clouds as if threatening them to move or else get sliced by his Oath Breaker. In response they only darkened further and seemed to loom closer.
Knowing better than to pick a fight any more than he already had, he put on a sour face and took another step in the wet sand.
…
Snap!
Smash!
Creak!
Roxas jumped to his feet. He couldn't take it anymore! Was it the wind playing tricks on him? Was it the sea that he heard moan? Was it the palm trees that shuffled about in the gloom?
Or was there something really out there?
Then …a giggle?
There it was again!
"Who's there?" he called out, voice shook ever so slightly as with a flash of light a key blade appeared in his trembling hand.
…..
Riku stopped.
He thought he had heard a voice but it had been distorted past recognition by the wind. He grit his teeth. The wind, the rain, the clouds…it was making everything so difficult. By now it had become so dark he could barely tell apart his own shadow from the gloom.
He shook his head.
Such familiar scenery. Why, there had been a storm like this too about two years ago. The storm started it all, his journey, his mission, his loss and his regret. Then again…it was almost exactly like the storm. Heck it even smelled the same.
'Smelled the same…..'.
There was a horrific flash of lightning and a boom of thunder and before to long a scream followed suit.
No more hesitation. No more speculation or thoughts of reprisal he was going there now. He darted off towards the sound. The rain ripped mercilessly at him, keeping him stumbling every now and then and the wind distorted his hearing while the clouds hid away his sight but neither could protect the sinful smell he now picked up.
Darkness.
….
Roxas let out a yell as he tumbled backwards, coming face to face with the rag doll reapers relative in full size. A pair of red dots blazed from inside hollow sockets and boney teeth rattled and chattered insistently from under a bony arm.
The wispy hair flew about its dead face and its body held a scythe in the free hand not already holding it's decapitated head. To make it worse the whole thing held a striking resemblance to Roxas's strongest memories as the specter had clad itself in the standard Organization cloak. To finish it off the symbol of the Heartless was smeared across its chest.
The blonde stumbled backwards as the scythe came down in a one handed strike, catching the other off guard. Out from his hand the key blade flew only to bounce of a rock and fall into the sand with a muffled thud.
Once again the scythe came down, and Roxas, in all his fear and surprise, leaped to the side to dodge the deadly blade only to suddenly feel a boney foot slam through his shoulder blades and smash him into the sandy bank. He began to struggle only for his eyes to widen in horror. Here came the water.
The wave smashed on to him.
He gurgled, caught off guard by the sudden lack of oxygen. He began to struggle as salt stung his eyes and his lungs tightened as they filled with water. He felt himself weaken as the foot showed no sign of letting up.
Damn Reapers…
Strength left his bones and the sting died into a dull throb as the water seemed to wash him away little by little. This was it. His last memory was going to be water logged and the last thing he'd ever see would be the dark, beckoning entirety of the sea…
Then as quick as despair had set in the weight on his back was no more and he felt himself grabbed from the back and hauled out to face another darkness. The sky was nearly black and the clouds billowed about him.
It was a very forlorn scene but the best part of it was that here, in this wondrous place, there was air.
"Roxas, Roxas!".
The voice was faint, and sounded very far away…
He saw a glint of silver, and from the side of his vision he saw the remains of the Reaper fade into nothing and a beaming heart shoot into the pitch black sky.
…
…..
…..
It was awkward.
The two sat back to back, their clammy skin brushing every now and then making each shiver. Their clothes hung from a haphazard clothes line constructed from a chain of plastic skeletons spread out and scotch taped to opposite sides of the room, a towel below to catch the drips of the soaking clothes and to protect the delicate oak wood floor boards.
In the middle of the room was a make shift bonfire mad out of a trash can, some matches and various pieces of Namine's practice sketches which she had placed in a 'Recycle box' just for occurrences like these. Riku sighed. What would they do without Namine…?
The power had already gone out by the time Riku had arrived, Roxas on his back and an umbrella hanging on his shoulder. He had snuck in the house, leaving a trail of puddles in the process and set down the blonde without too much hassle and without a single protest. Of course, it was probably because Roxas had been asleep. Ah….the most peaceful of hours Riku had ever spent with his best friend's nobody.
Then Roxas awoke and the explaining began from both sides.
Roxas had been hurt and being called incomplete, and had stormed out. Eventually Riku had reaclized just what a jerk he was and went off to find him. Then a storm brewed, as a result of a certain heartless –damn they really had to have those things taken care of some day. They never really identified what sort of a Heartless it was, so both just settled for calling it had been properly disposed off at the tip of the Oath Breaker, Riku had dragged Roxas home and here they were now.
Apparantly they had the house to themselves since Kairi, Namine and Sora were stuck over in Twilight Town, the storm making it near impossible to get back. Naturally the Halloween party would be held the next day, November first.
You'd think they'd all be much more calm considering the worst was over right?
That was not the case.
Riku steeled himself, resting his chin upon his knee as he wrapped the vomit colored blanket around him, careful not to pull too much lest he receive a tug from the other end to remind him that the blanket was being shared.
Roxas pursed his lips, his face flushed as he stared once again at the rag doll reaper from across the room warily. Riku could feel the other's aggravation and, following Roxas's line of vision he soon found the perpetrator.
"Don't worry" he whispered, "no Reaper's gonna getcha".
Roxas smiled weakly, "I know. You're here".
A faint blush spread on the older boy's cheeks. Wordlessly he rose, letting the blanket fall of his shoulders and he pulled up his pants lightly as he grabbed the Reaper by the neck, opened the door and threw it out in the hall along with a pile of other similarly fated Halloween decorations.
"There" he said returning to his spot and pulling the blanket around himself once more.
Once again silence reigned, that awkward, stuffy, yet excited silence. The clock ticked on, and Roxas watched with tired eyes, counting the minutes left, second per second, before the miniature Daffy would make his appearance with a 'Quack Quack Quack'.
"Hey Roxas".
"Yeah?" he replied absent mindedly, eyes on the little door in the clock.
"I'm sorry I made fun of you. I can imagine I might have said things that were a little out of line" Riku stuttered, the apologetic tone foreign to his tongue, making it twist.
Roxas nodded, "yeah, yeah, you were really a jerk". Riku's face fell and he bit his lip. "But not always…the Reaper thing was…rather nice of you".
The silver waved it away nonchalantly, "anyone would do it". He felt a grip on his arm, and looked down to meet wavering blue eyes, "yeah but, thanks anyway". He could tell Roxas was mincing up his pride as he spoke. The blonde never thanked him.
"You're welcome".
"Um…".
"Yeah?".
He glanced downwards again and nearly recoiled in surprise. Roxas was so close. "I've seen Sora and Kairi do this once in a while when one did something to make the other so happy" he fidgeted. Riku's eyes widened and a blush flared.
"J-jeez, do you know what it means when they do that?".
Roxas looked down downheartedly, "t-they l-like each other?".
Riku sighed, suppressing the urge to roll his eyes, blush burning bright. "You are really a toddler aren't you?". Roxas closed his eyes and pulled back, "you really don't like me…I understand if I'm complete, then who would-".
Riku grabbed his wrist.
"Roxas" he said fimly. "Don't always listen to everything I say, ok? Just listen to your heart. I know you have one".
The blonde blushed harder and it had become a contest to see who would become reddest. Tomato red, cherry red, strawberry red, yes! We have a winner, Roxas is reddest!
Then the insecurity died down and the wavering blue eyes stilled and although his voice still shook he smirked. "If you say so".
The littlest unit of measure was crossed and distance was closed and all Riku could do was close his eyes and pray that he didn't do something stupid like faint as their lips touched.
They pulled back, Roxas in a daze, Riku blushing profusely.
Finally someone spoke.
"You're blushing" Roxas murmured.
"You kiss like a girl" Riku countered.
"Shut up".
"You shut up".
"Jerk".
"Toddler".
They crossed their arms and pouted, facing away as they returned to fighting for the blanket back to back. The clock struck twelve and out came Daffy with the obligatory 'Quack Quack Quack'.
"Happy Halloween" they said in unison, pulling out a bowl of candy from under the couch which they had been saving for midnight.
It's Halloween. Who cares if you nearly get killed by a freak in a cloak. It's fine. There's still candy in the end.
All because of a Rag Doll Reaper