When Sora told me that he had to leave, for a little while, I didn't want to believe it. I didn't want him to go. I wanted him to stay by my side, where I could protect him. I had just almost lost him to the darkness, the same darkness that tried to take me two years ago. The very thought of losing him terrified me more than I let on, and saving him had been one of my hardest challenges. And here he was, telling me he had to do this. He had to go. There was something he had to do.

Ever since that fateful night on Destiny Islands, it hasn't got any easier. There were threats everywhere, and now that Xehanort was almost finished gathering his pieces of the puzzle (though severely hindered for now thanks to your's truly), it didn't seem like it was going get easier for awhile.

"Riku, please. I can't really explain what I have to go do." Sora said to me, in a tiny room in Yen Sid's tower. I had him pinned against a wall, both hands pressed against it on either side of him. He was looking at me with those huge blue eyes.

"Sora, I just got you back. You were almost lost, do you know that?"

"I was fighting it-"

"You were fighting a losing battle, and you know it. If it hadn't been for Ax-Lea- we might not have made it out with our hearts in tact."

Sora looked away then, gnawing on his bottom lip. He knew it was the truth. He knew what happened, he heard the whole thing. "But we're here now, and I know what I need to do." He reached up, hooked a hand on the back of my neck and pulled me a little closer, our noses almost touching. "Please, just trust me."

The proximity, his hand on my neck, his fingers almost tangling into my hair, the feel of his breath on my skin. It was almost too much for me to handle.

"Riku?"

I pressed my lips against his.

And God, was it perfect.

And he didn't fight it, he melted into it, fingers tugging against the back of my neck. I slipped my tongue in his mouth, briefly. He tasted like cake and icing. And I couldn't help but push my whole body into his.

A few moments passed and he pushed away for a breath of air. I rested my forehead against his. "Please don't go. Not without me..."

"You need to stay."

"No-"

"Don't make this harder than it has to be." He pushed away from me then, turned back to smile at me. "I'll be back. I promise."

And when I watched him leave with Mickey and the others, I put on a smile. I waved.

But inside my heart ached, because all I wanted to do was protect him.