Written for cheerupcharms on tumblr. Decided to upload it here because why not.

AU of sorts, does not include DDD.

Here was how it went: there was no big, intimidating step involved. There was no confession which sprung them from being strictly friends and into the realm of full-blown dating; but rather, there was an easy incline into what they had now.

Riku couldn't pinpoint when he started doing tiny, subtle things, like ruffling Sora's hair with a slightly, only slightly, different sort of affection. If he was asked to give a time frame, he'd shrug. It was just hard to say, because he'd been close with Sora before he even started remembering.

But, he could give a somewhat less vague answer to when Sora started doing the same in return. Or at least, when Riku first started noticing, but even then it was hard to tell when he started to notice, because Sora, with his bright eyes and bright smiles, was always so warm to everybody.

It didn't help that Riku had been quite sure that Sora had a crush on Kairi anyways because really, anyone could tell from the way he looked at her.

And he really was more than content to let them get together. They were both his best friends and after falling into darkness, he felt he didn't deserve to be with people as kind as they were. Which was why he tried to leave, after Sora and Kairi reunited at The World That Never Was.

But Kairi, she had reunited him and Sora as well. If it weren't for her, he would never have had the chance to reconcile with Sora, after battle, on the dark and lonely beach that almost sounded like home.

And Sora forgave him. In fact, Sora had forgiven him a long time ago. Inside, he was choking up because Sora really was an amazing guy and somewhere along the way, he forgot about that and tried to hurt him.

But sometimes - after their differences were settled, after their bond quietly repaired itself from the test of betrayal, but had also grown and rebuilt itself into something even stronger than before - Riku thought Sora started looking at him the way he looked at Kairi.

He thought it was his imagination at first.

—

When they finally returned from their long absence, summer vacation was just starting.

Once the initial shock and joy of their return had passed, Sora figured returning to a normal life went smoothly enough. He and Riku took summer classes on the mainland (the high school on the island was closed for the summer, but they didn't want to fall behind either), went home for dinner, and slept in beds they've more or less outgrown.

It was routine. It was predictable.

And it was a welcome relief, for there was no need to keep a watchful eye for suspiciously dark patches of shadow once night fell.

But, that didn't mean that their experiences haven't followed them home.

Sora had dreams. Of his worst battles. Of losing his friends. Of Anti-Form's manic rush of darkness. Nightmares.

Often, he would jerk awake in a cold sweat in the odd hours of the night, Keyblade flashing into his hand, before realizing he was safe at home and okay. Then he would groan, turn over and try to sleep again.

He didn't just dream at night, either. He would dream when he dozed off in the morning, on the ferry to the mainland. Riku could tell though, and he would never fail shake him awake before the nightmare got too far and its grip too tight.

And he did the same for Riku too, shake, pinch him whenever his expression became pained and fearful. When Riku's eyes finally snapped open, Sora would slide his hand over Riku's, give his fingers an understanding squeeze and a shaky smile. If anything, Riku had even worse dreams than Sora did, because he knew Riku had suffered even more than he had, having lived in the darkness for such a long time, even though Riku didn't like to speak much about his time away.

They knew how it was like for each other because they've both lost to the darkness before.

It was kind of a comforting thought, in a way, especially when nobody else on Destiny Islands really understood what they went through. Not even Kairi, Sora thought a little sadly, could sympathize with the lingering effects of his trials like Riku could.

Today was better. He had slept relatively well last night, but Riku didn't, so he let him lean against his shoulder when he nodded off.

Riku's side was warm, and his face stayed peaceful. When the ferry ground to a halt, he pinched Riku's nose until he spluttered awake and before he knew it, Sora was cackling and bolting for the exit.

—

Riku asked Kairi to cut his hair a few weeks into the summer term, his reasons being that the classroom was too humid and stuffy and it was annoying to have his bangs keep falling into his eyes whenever he looked at the board. And, well. He kind of wanted to start fresh, metaphorically.

"About time." Kairi remarked as she rummaged through the drawers. "I was starting to think I would have to tie you down and hack it off because just looking at you in this weather is driving me nuts. Ah-ha! There we go." She held up a pair of scissors, snipping them open and closed for a good measure.

Riku swore he could see them reflect the gleeful gleam in her eyes.

—

Sora dropped by Riku's house later that evening bearing a copy of Quadrilateral's new game. Which he so graciously spent a good part of the day lining up under the hot sun for, don't forget it's your turn next time, Riku, he planned on saying.

Instead, he gaped.

"Whoa." Sora eventually uttered, because over half of Riku's hair was gone, and really, it was a bit of a drastic change when it came to Riku and his general grooming habits.

Riku looked much more alert and… lively. And his eyes looked all the more stunning when there was no hair in their way.

Riku couldn't help but smirk a little. "You're letting the cold air out," he said, and Sora snapped out of his daze and closed the door behind him.

He let the game fall onto the coffee table with a dull clatter before he asked, "Did Kairi cut it?"

"Yeah. She was pretty eager to."

"She did a great job. A really great job." Sora grinned. "It suits you. I didn't realize how much I missed seeing your eyes."

At this, Riku tilted his head down and to the side, probably out of habit, Sora realized, so his bangs could cover most of his face back when they were still long, and…

He blushed.

Riku, who-everyone-admires-because-he's-so-damn-cool, who had nicely broad shoulders and arms that Sora envied, was blushing. It was just a tinge of pink above his cheekbones; Riku could have easily hidden it if he still had his long hair.

And damn, that was so fucking cute.

—

It was three in the morning by the time they gave up keeping their eyes open long enough to keep playing. They flopped face-down onto Riku's bed, almost immediately after they entered the room, almost at the same time.

"'m too lazy to go home." Sora mumbled into Riku's pillow.

"You're always too lazy." He made a half-hearted attempt to push Sora off. "Get off."

Sora made an incoherent sound in response.

"The bed's too small for the two of us."

"Too bad. Learn to deal." Sora replied, and then promptly fell asleep.

So that was how he and Sora shared a bed for the first time since they were children.

It started out with the both of them sprawled over and halfway off the bed. But somehow, during the course of the night, they rearranged themselves so that by the time Riku blinked awake at noon, he was lying on his side facing Sora, their bodies neatly tucked together.

He could feel Sora breathing, his arms snug around him and chest rising and falling against his own. He let his hand cup Sora's cheek, to which he unconsciously leaned into.

Riku had no bad dreams last night. From the way he was sleeping, he figured Sora hadn't either.

—

Midterm season came and went. When Sora woke up too early one morning and couldn't fall back asleep, he figured he might as well visit the Secret Place, partly out of whim and partly because he realized he hadn't been there since coming home.

There was a thick layer of plant growth over the entrance, probably because nobody else had bothered going in when he was away. Did nobody come to the play island anymore?

But that was a thought for later. No big deal, anyhow. He just summoned his Keyblade and cut away enough of the growth until there was enough room for him to slip through.

He wandered in, nostalgia rising in him as he peered at his childish drawings, until he arrived at the last drawing he'd done, right before the fall of the Islands.

It wasn't the same as when he left it, because now Kairi's picture was feeding him a paopu in return.

Sora looked at it for a long time.

In theory, he should have been ecstatic. Maybe over a year ago, before all this had happened, he thought, he would have immediately run outside, yelling in joy.

But, he changed. She changed. They all changed. And Riku changed the most. Now, he could only brush his fingers over the drawing with an apologetic smile before he moved on. She'd understand.

It was dawn by the time he left the cave and began rowing home, gazing at the mix of night and day above.

—

Later, on top of a grassy cliff overlooking the ocean, two boys lay side by side, linked by their hands, underneath a canopy of stars.

—

"I… I've always thought you had a crush on Kairi."

"I thought I did too," Sora began, "I guess I used to."

Riku waited for Sora to say more, but when he didn't, he decided to ask, very hesitantly, "What happened?"

Sora rubbed his thumb over the back of Riku's. He met his gaze, and grinned faintly but earnestly. "Well, feelings change, right?"

—

"Tell me, Riku, what do you call a tooth in a glass of water?"

"Sora, no -"

"A one molar solution!" Sora snickered and twirled a pencil between his fingers, having long given up on his homework in favour of telling Riku bad chemistry jokes. To his credit (and to Sora's dismay), he was still working diligently ten or so jokes later.

Riku suppressed a snort of laughter while he typed into his calculator. "I swear to god, they're getting worse and worse."

Sora leaned on his elbow and without missing a beat, said, "Sorry man, but all the good ones Argon anyways."

At this, Riku's concentration finally cracked and he laughed for real, even though the joke was really bad and he really shouldn't have found it this funny, it was Sora who was doing the telling, and it was hard not to smile around him anyways.

And naturally Sora laughed together with him, arm resting around on Riku's shoulders to support himself. When the laughter eased away along with the tension of looming finals, Riku found Sora's face very, very close to his.

It was a funny, tingly feeling.

He wasn't sure who leaned forward first, or maybe they both got the same idea at the same time, but what mattered now was that his mouth was pressing against Sora's.

It lasted briefly, because neither of them had kissed anyone before (although Riku had claimed he did once), but it felt very, very warm too.

Or at least, his face was feeling very warm when Sora rested their foreheads together, arms winding around his neck.

They didn't spare a thought for homework nor finals for the rest of the day.

—

"Did I ever say I loved you?"

"Aw, are you getting all sappy on me? Nah, but I know you loved me for most of our lives anyways."