The sun rose high in many beautifully bright colors. They formed together as hues and tints in the deep, blue sky over Destiny Island. The day was clear and open for the only possibility of constant out door fun.
And a certain brunet teenager, with eyes the same color, if not even brighter than that beautiful sky and a name that meant and sounded as if he soared through the vast, open air was running with happy determination to his best friends home.
The sand was warm and soft between Sora's toes as he ran. The day was so nice he chose to go bear foot. Something he hadn't done in forever. He had even left his jacket behind to feel more of the perfectly cool air. His silver chain necklace, bobbed up and down as his chest heaved with breath. His arms and legs pumped with excitement as he jogged. The brunets spiky hair blew only slightly as air rushed past him. Sora even wore a large, goofy smile that was befitting of his mood.
The chosen key wielder that connected every world to each other, was finally home.
Or at least home to the place he spent all of his child hood until the fate full day he had to leave to search for his friends Riku and Kairi. Now it was more of a constant reminder of where he thought he would never leave. But didn't care to much if he did or not as long as he was with is friends. And so much had change since he was able to come back. Now their was a whole separate island right next to theirs. And apparently that was now his home. It took quite some time for Sora to become accustomed to it. But with Riku, who also had to adjust, they were both back in the swing of old times. At least as far as those old times could really go.
Soon Sora would have to do things like go to school. Since their was one on the new island. And that he partially dreaded. He missed just playing every day. And then at least learning some things from his parents or from his friends. But lucky for Sora he had saved every one and brought Riku back just as school had ended and summer break had begun. So he had time before.
Though always thinking of this, Sora missed traveling with Donald and Goofy. He missed seeing new worlds, meeting new people or those that wouldn't be considered people in his world and the rush of fighting nobodies and heartless.
But even with school on the way and the yearning for something he had become so used to, Sora wouldn't do it all over again. He wouldn't want to because that would mean having to be separated from the one person he missed the most.
Riku.
Now don't get him wrong. Sora had missed Kairi a great deal. She was also his friend. And he even gave up his heart to bring her back.
But the thing was Sora would have done it a hundred times over if it had been Riku.
Riku was his friend from the very start. The one person that loved to rival him and play with him and do everything with him.
Though he was miss guided by darkness, Sora didn't feel any hate for him. Sora new how much Riku wanted off their island. And at the time he had wanted the same thing. Not as much as Riku. But enough to want to go if it meant that Riku was with him.
The true reason for this, that Sora only knew deep down in his heart was because he loved Riku.
His shining silver hair that glowed when he swam under the ocean water. His faded, teal aqua eyes that made Sora think of a sad darkness that only he could even out with his happy light. His pale and muscular body that amazed Sora.
The brunet could never understand how Riku was in the sun just as much as he was. And yet compared to Sora's thin, tan body, Riku was a very tall white beauty. But it did fit him well. Sora couldn't imagine Riku with a tan. It would be too weird.
It wasn't just Riku's looks that would catch Sora's attention. It was his deep but light voice, his personality and kindness that only Sora saw the most. And Riku's obvious want to be around him.
Sora's cheeks would rush a bright red when he thought of Riku.
Though he loved him a lot Sora sometimes felt these emotions were wrong. And that he should like a girl, like Kairi. He did like Kairi. Just not in the way that was expected. He could even say he loved her, but again not the way others would think. Sora more cherished her as a sister. And his determination to save her was built solely on that. She was like family to him. And he didn't want harm to come to her. She did just show up one day with out any one knowing who she was, so Sora felt the instinct to protect her like he was an older brother.
But if he ever said anything like that, Kairi and Riku would both probably laugh at him. Then the key wielder would feel the need to hide in their old cave, block it and never come out again.
So because of all this and even as bold as Sora usually was, he wasn't going to risk ruining the great friendship he had with Riku. He'd prefer if it stayed locked away and never brought up unless the chances of his feelings being returned went up.
But Sora didn't see that happening any where in the near future.
…...
After thinking this over for what seemed the millionth time, Sora finally arrived at the place that Riku used to live before everything happened.
Sora could see Riku leaning back in a calm manner on his old wooden steps. His back pressed against a few of them with his arms behind his head, eyes closed and calm expression faced towards the sky. He wore what Sora had first seen him in when he went back to looking like himself and not like Ansem. His baggy blue jeans with the large pockets. But what really caught Sora's attention was that was all he was wearing. Riku's shoes sat next to him in the sand along with his sleeveless jacket. Folded up neatly on top. So his pale, built chest lay open and bare.
Sora's face darkened a shade of pink as he had finally stopped to a quiet pace and could see his friend hadn't moved at bit if he knew that Sora was their. But he quickly willed it away.
He seemed to be a sleep. So Sora took the opportunity to try and wake Riku up the many times he had failed before. Some how the older of two always knew when he was coming. So a mischievous grin spread on his face and the brunet quietly snuck up to Riku. He leaned over without a sound and proceeded to poke the silver haired teen, smack dab in the middle of his forehead to see if he could get a jolt out of him.
But before his hand was less than half way to it's target a larger, paler hand snatched up his wrist.
Sora jumped with a jolt himself and let out a surprised yelp.
"R-Riku!"
One of Riku's eyes slid open and a small grin appeared.
"Hey Sora. You really should try something else. This hasn't worked once since you first tried."
Sora's cheeks almost lit a bright red at the sarcastic advice. He knew he should try better. But it being the one thing he could never do always bugged him. Sora had never been able to sneak up on the other while he was asleep. It was as if Riku had super senses while his eyes were closed.
" Maybe it's from wearing that blind fold to keep the darkness at bay." Sora thought.
"I-I wasn't trying anything. Your being paranoid Riku!" Sora tried to play innocent and deny it. But he knew that Riku wouldn't fall for it.
"Mhm. Yea sure, okay." Riku said with an obvious mocking tone. He then unlocked his careful grip on Sora's wrist and sat up. He stretched his arms, cracked a few things for comfort and stood.
The whole time in doing so Sora had to keep himself from letting his eyes roam over the muscles that shifted with every movement. So Sora kept his eyes locked on Riku's face. But even that was hard not to just stare off at.
"So Sora what exactly did you have in mind that we do? The silver haired teen asked with a playful curiousness.
But Sora hadn't noticed. He quickly snapped to attention and thought for a moment.
"Um I was thinking we could spar and swim. You know stuff we used to do. Especially since we have the key blades now. And I have no idea where the old wooden swords went." Sora laughed at the last part as he thought of when he and Riku used to sword play. Riku usually won but Sora had his moment every now and again.
The Brunet looked to his friend for a response on his idea.
Riku seemed to be thinking it over before pulling a sly grin that Sora again did not notice.
"Sounds fun. But after sparing I know a great place we can go to cool off besides the beach, okay?"
Sora was surprised at this sudden tell of another area besides the beach and the whole island. They had lived their for years and he had no idea their was a place he wasn't aware of. But never the less he was happy to be told by Riku.
"Okay! Then lets get going."
So like when he and Riku were at the ages of seven and eight, Sora whacked his friend hard on the shoulder before quickly jolting in to a break neck speed.
"TAG! YOUR IT!" Sora shouted with amusement. The key wielder went straight for the deck by the paopu tree that many of their battles had taken place.
"BET YOU CAN'T GET ME BEFORE I GET THEIR!" Sora figured he had a great head start.
But he was dead wrong.
Riku was a ways behind and gaining very fast.
"Like he always does. With that damn cocky grin of his!" Sora thought dreadfully.
So Sora pumped his arms and legs as hard as he could. He knew he was smaller but he definitely wasn't slow.
With the wind rushing even faster past him than when he came to meet Riku, Sora knew he was proving he was faster this time. He could even see the steps to the deck.
"Just a few more feet!" He thought happily.
Then that happiness disappeared and was replaced by full on shock when Sora felt a cool, heavy weight rap around his middle.
Sora's sky blue eyes widened in startled surprise as he was swiftly yanked down to meet the sand.
He yelped again before going down.
And he was pretty sure he even ate some of that sand.
Everything went dark and quiet for a moment.
Then a muffled voice pulled at Sora's senses and he was flipped over on his back. Sora felt dizzy from the sudden rush and could taste the grounds grain on his tongue. So he quickly began spluttering up the foul tasting substance.
"Eeew." He mumbled out loud. Sora rubbed at his mouth and propped up on his elbow.
The tainted saliva rubbed on his fingerless gloves. But he didn't really care at the moment.
"Ha ha, oh god Sora I'm sorry. You okay?" Riku suddenly said between chuckles.
His friends comment caught Sora's attention and he looked up with sudden realization.
Riku was right over him. One hand over his bare stomach to hold in the laughter. The other by Sora's head. And his silver hair almost obscuring his eyes like it usually did, though it didn't matter anyway. They were closed from his need to laugh. His pale cheeks were even flushed from their sudden race.
Sora's face tinted bright red with out him being able to stop it. He wasn't quite sure if anything could come out of his throat, so he lay their silent.
When Riku stopped trying to muffle his mirth he looked at Sora with a smile. But it faltered when he noticed Sora's now tomato like visage.
"Hey Sora you feeling okay? Your face is really red." The older reached out a hand to touch the red flesh.
But Sora quickly put up a hand to block the concerning gesture.
"I-I'm fine. Probably just from hitting the ground. Lets just go already. I'm itching to beat you." Sora said this with a nervous hint in his voice. Though he tried desperately to seem fine. So he pushed at Riku's chest for him to move.
He did.
And Sora stood. The key wielder kept from eye contact for a moment. Then pulled a grin and looked at Riku again.
"Okay come on. You got me before I got their so you win again. But I'm not going easy on you." So the shorter of the two turned and began walking to the deck.
But it was a moment or two before Riku actually followed again. He had an uneasy look on his face that Sora had failed to notice many times before when he acted odd at their close contact.
…...
Once both key wielders reached the rounded wooden deck by the paopu tree, Sora took stance on one end of it. With a small, relieved sigh he looked to his best friend again.
Riku seemed fine and was ready as well.
"Okay you ready Riku? This is the moment when I really whoop your ass." A large grin plastered his face and Sora was really raring to go. His body felt pumped with adrenalin he needed to release. Not to mention a little anger he felt towards himself and Riku for the feelings he'd been keeping bottled up.
"Oh you think so? Well we'll have to see won't we." Riku was acting especially cocky.
And that had Sora set. He closed his eyes for a moment. Feeling the need to concentrate on his key blade. He hadn't used it in about a week or two. So he was already feeling a little out of place.
But when that rush of strong warmth filled his heart and soul and a light glowed in his mind he knew the key blade was their.
And with a quick flicker of crystallized shards the cool metal handle of Sora's first key was set gracefully in his palm. The shining, silver and gold steel seamed to sing to him it's joy of being released again.
The brunet smiled with pure excitement and glanced towards his opponent.
Riku's blade flickered a black swirl of fire over his hand before completely materializing.
He wore the same thrilling smile. After lightly loosening and tightening his grip at the feel of the blade, Sora knew they were both ready.
So he started off like they did every fight.
"Ready!" He shouted. Feeling the hairs on his neck stand.
"Set!" Riku called back. His faded eyes sparking with something.
"GO!" They both called in unison. And setting off at one another.
Sora found air rush by him once more as he raced towards Riku. The thrill of using the key had his blood pumping to a point he thought his heart might burst.
Then their was a loud clang of metal as both key blades clashed. Neither teen let out a single breath as they vanished and appeared again to make contact. Both boys laughed as they each pushed hard enough that it sent both of them sliding back on their feet.
"Good thing this wood isn't splintered." Sora suddenly thought as he remembered that they both weren't wearing shoes. Then his thoughts went back to Riku as he ran forward and Sora had to lower and block himself. His knee nearly buckled at the contact of Riku's strength. But gritting his teeth he pushed back and swiped. As far as he could tell he had been a few inches from making contact to Riku's skin. He didn't want to hit the other. But he figured if it happened then they would stop.
Then Sora made the next attacking move. He sped forward and swung. Key blades met once more near Riku's side.
When Riku smiled from his defensive move, Sora was nearly distracted by the way Riku's hair fluttered down from their make of the wind. But he pulled from it just in time to keep from being swiped at himself.
And suddenly both teens launched in the air to start a series of attacks.
Swipes, jabs, ducks, spins. They did everything they possibly could while off the ground for those few seconds. Though to them it felt like an eternity that they could be up their.
Most of the time they vocalized their attacks. Letting out their voices to be easily heard by the other. And then part of the time staying silent to try and release surprise attacks.
All the while Sora felt all and any frustration, embarrassment or anything other he had release through his heart to his weapon. Doing this always seemed to let go of any worries or problems he ever came in contact with. And now his heart was thudding in his ears. Allowing him to know that he just needed to keep going and everything would be fine.
Though in reality Sora knew the moment they were done things would come rushing back. But he didn't want to think about it. He just wanted to keep fighting. To keep seeing Riku look back at him with that same but so different smirk he used to see before they both knew they could make the weapons called key blades.
After landing on the ground for what time Sora had lost count of, he and Riku were both huffing out air.
Sora could feel sweat start to trickle down his scalp and off his chin. He wasn't aware that they had been fighting for quite some time. Possibly already for more than an hour. But if he was then that would have explained why he was already feeling tired and slightly light headed. And as great as he felt he knew he couldn't keep going for to much longer. Over an hour was his limit.
And it was obviously Riku's too.
The older teen's silver locks were plastered to his skin. His pale cheeks red like Sora's. And sweat constantly trickled down his upper torso's bare flesh.
Sora had to steal himself from staring.
And though he was exhausted he had one more attack that could possibly help him win. All the while they had been fighting they had both snuck in some kicks that winded the other quite a bit. So Sora figured one more maneuver with just that. He suddenly sprinted towards Riku. Showing the other he was going to swing.
But in reality he wasn't. The moment he was merely less than a foot from his friend, he felt his reaction command kick in. Sora's blue eyes suddenly sparked a triangular insignia of green and in a second he was off. He knew Riku saw it the moment it happened. His teal aqua eyes had widened at Sora's surprise move. But even if he knew it didn't mean he knew what Sora would do.
In one flash step, Sora was hovering behind Riku and just as he was about to turn and block with his key blade, Sora launched his foot out and made contact with his stomach.
Sora felt the accomplishment widen his smile and set his feet on the ground.
Riku went skidding before tripping backwards and landing on his ass.
Both key blades vanished simultaneously and Sora released a heavy breath with his hands on his knees. He glanced towards Riku and saw a look of bewilderment set on his face. That in turn made Sora smile even wider.
"Heh. L-looks like I-I won!"
Riku just nodded for a moment before smiling himself.
"Yea. Looks like you really did." So the silver haired teen rose up with an exhausted grunt. He casually walked over to the brunet.
Then to Sora's surprise he wrapped him up in a hug. Sora's face made contact with skin.
"AH! Riku!" Sora yelped.
Riku just laughed. "Congratulations on finally beating me!"
Sora felt his cheeks warm up. But not just from embarrassment.
"H-Hey I've beaten you before! It's just been a while. And come on man your sweaty, let go!" Though Sora really didn't mind. He would have preferred it. He just wasn't sure how long he could last being so close to Riku again.
So Riku let go. But not completely. He took a hold of Sora's hand and started leading him back the way they had come.
"Uh Riku where are we going?" The brunet was completely confused and still slightly flustered.
But Riku's large hand squeezed his reassuringly.
"To the place I said we could cool down. I found it last year while searching for supplies when we were going to leave the island. But I never got the chance to show you."
The silver haired teen said it with what sounded like regret. And Sora understood why.
So he squeezed the hand back.
Though Sora wasn't aware how much that affected his best friend.
…...
After walking for quite some time to the other side of the island. Sora's legs were feeling numb. All the sparing and not really stopping for a moment was draining him. And he couldn't quite help complaining about it. Asking whether they had reached what ever Riku had been going on about before. But he would just keep telling him "Were almost their. Be patient." And not to mention it was getting pretty dark out. They had come out some time late in the afternoon. Though the sky hadn't shown any sign of it. And now the sun was just about to set.
"Okay were here." Riku suddenly announced.
Sora looked around the area that was mostly over run with palm trees and a large rock that disappeared in to what looked like a jungle wall. So he couldn't really see much. The shade of the trees were obscuring his view. He had forgotten their was an area like this on the island.
"Wheres hear exactly?"
Riku just smiled back at him before releasing his hand and walking to the large rock.
The key wielder had even forgotten that Riku had been holding his hand. And though he was always cool to the touch, Sora's hand was pleasantly warm.
When he looked back up he saw Riku shifting the large rock over like some sort of door. It scraped against the grassy hill with out much of a sound. And a calm air flew out and fluttered across Sora's skin. He couldn't even see much in the secret cave.
Then Riku held out his hand. "Come on Sora."
Sora was slightly hesitant at first. A pink shade crossed his cheeks and he hoped Riku couldn't see it in the dark that was becoming greater.
But he gave in. He couldn't say no to Riku. So he let his hand be held once more by his friend. And they carefully made their way in to the darkness.
…...
It was dark and quiet. Riku wouldn't even speak.
So dark and soundless it actually scared Sora. He hadn't been in a natural darkness like this before. All the other dark he had encountered before was of the kind that came from people's hearts. And that was a far worse kind. But this dark still made him uneasy.
But he wasn't uneasy for long.
Riku's large hand squeezed his once more and Sora automatically squeezed back. His heart slowed to a calmer pace and he felt the urge to try and walk just a little closer to his taller friend.
"R-Riku?" Sora finally chose to break the silence as they walked.
"Yes?"
Sora paused for a moment. "Nothing. Just wanted to make sure you were really here."
Sora felt odd for saying such a thing. But it was something he worried about. Whether Riku was actually their when ever he was in the dark. Or if it was just a horrible figment of his imagination. He had had dreams about things like that. That Riku would be their waiting for him in the dark. But not actually their when Sora reached him.
"Of course I'm here Sora." And Riku just left it at that.
So Sora did speed up his walk to get closer to him.
The sudden sound of water dripping was getting very close as well.
And then it wasn't much longer until Riku stopped. With Sora almost smacking his face right into his back.
"You okay Sora?"
"Y-Yea. Just warn me next time your gonna stop walking."
Riku chuckled lightly. "Okay."
"So whats down here? I can't see two inches in front of my face."
"Just give it a minuet. You'll see."
"Ugh. Fine." So Sora waited. And the constant sound of water dripping along with his and Riku's breathing was the only noise in the cave. Sora feared he'd be waiting even longer than what Riku intended. But again his friend was giving more surprises.
A sudden light started flickering a bit away above them. And it made Sora excited to see some light. But what started out as some, turned into a very large amount. It seemed to be shining moonlight from a whole in the caves roof.
And when their was just enough to see completely, Sora was shocked. He saw they were standing in a vast water cave. They had just stopped but a few inches from the water that rose and fell by their bare feet. Sora looked around at the beautiful rocks that rose from the ground or hung from the ceiling. They and the water shone like crystal from the moonlight. And though at first they had walked across smooth, rocky floor. It was now sandy like the beach above.
Happiness from this sight over whelmed Sora's senses.
"Riku. This-This is amazing!"
"I know." Riku said with happiness of his own. "But it's no where near as amazing as this."
Sora was about to question what exactly Riku meant when his another hand suddenly came up to cup the brunets face and close the distance between them.
Sora's body seized up in surprise. But immediately relaxed at the stroke of Riku's hand on his hand and cheek. A calm blush rested on his face and cool lips pressed tenderly against his. And Sora knew it wasn't his imagination when he felt the warm tingle of tongue flick over his bottom lip.
A life time seemed to pass before Riku pulled away. And Sora almost followed to have more.
"R-Ri-ku?" Sora's mind was swimming with questions. But he mainly just wanted that mouth back.
"Heh, I knew it." The taller teen suddenly said. "I knew you liked me."
Though his brain was still a bit buzzed, Sora was able to think. "You knew?"
"kind of. I just wasn't entirely sure. But Kairi kept telling me that you did."
"W-Wait! Kairi knew? How the heck did she know? I-I didn't say anything to her."
Riku just laughed once more. "Well I'm not sure. Some girl thing I guess. I told her how I felt about you and she said you felt the same."
Sora then stopped a moment. "Wha-what. Wait, h-how do YOU feel about me?" Sora said this with a series of finger pointing gestures between the two of them.
It was then Riku's turn to change a shade of crimson but with a playful smile. "J-jeez Sora. I know sometimes your slow but I thought that kiss said it.
Red burned on the brunets cheeks. "Don't make fun of me dammit! I just-I just..."Sora grew quite. He wasn't quite sure of what to say. He looked down for a moment. His hand was still with Riku's. Now their fingers were locked together.
"I just waited so long. And I figured you didn't feel the same. I thought Maleficent or the organization would have to rule kingdom hearts before you actually felt the same." Sora was silent again. He feared if he spoke any more that he'd break out in to tears. His heart was swelling in such a way it almost hurt. Sora wasn't sure whether it was out of happiness or sadness from everything he and Riku had gone through.
Then Riku's other hand came back once more to hold his face and lips lightly pressed against the brunets forehead.
"I'm sorry Sora. God am I sorry." Riku said with complete regret.
It startled the key wielder to hear such an apology. So he immediately tried to comfort the silver haired teen. "Riku it's okay. W-What are you apologizing for?" What Riku was sorry for, Sora had no clue of. He couldn't see his friends eyes from where he was.
But then Riku chose to look at him again. His eyebrows were pressed together and his teal orbs were swimming with guilt.
"No Sora. It's not okay. I'm Sorry. For everything. For leaving you and Kairi just so I could get off this damned island. I thought we would have been able to go together but darkness is what I am. I was stupid for choosing to go that way in the first place. And nothing I do can take it back."
After having said all that, that was it for Sora. He understood that Riku felt horrible for deserting the island and choosing the easiest way off. Especially for leaving him and Kairi. Maybe not on the level that he knew the guilt. Since he hadn't been the one to do it. But Sora couldn't take it anymore. He was tired of trying to make Riku understand that everything WAS okay. And that no one hated or blamed him for going to darkness. It was a powerful force. But Riku had conquered it.
So the usually happy brunet did the best thing he could think of. He grabbed Riku by either side of his face in a bought of frustration and kissed him back, full on the mouth.
Sora put as much emotion he felt then and other less irritated ones in to that kiss. It lasted a few moments and resulted in Sora's arms around Riku's neck with his arms around Sora's waist and Sora practically hovering off the sandy ground.
When the key wielder pulled back for some much needed air he pressed his forehead up against Riku's and calmly looked into his eyes. Sky blue met aqua teal in a beautiful twist of emotions.
And the only sound in the cave was once again the teens now more erratic breathing.
But Sora then chose to speak.
"T-Their! You see that? That was ME, getting YOU, to finally figure out that it is okay. What you did wasn't the best possible thing in the world but seriously Riku. Anyone could have been over whelmed by darkness. But your not just anyone. And at least you over came it."
When Sora finished he had to admit he felt relived to have said anything. But it wasn't to helpful that Riku was just staring at him quietly. The staring was actually making Sora kind of squirmy.
"Um Riku are you okay. Did I saw something wron-gyahhh!"
Sora let out a startled shout as Riku kissed him back and swung them both to beach floor. He was suddenly over whelmed by a smother of kisses to his lips,temples,cheeks and the edge of his jaw. His body felt like a very warm buzz was building up and it caused him to let out a few breathy moans.
"Ngh R-Riku." Sora gasped as those lips went down his neck and large, cool hands proceeded to slide up his shirt.
The sudden rush was almost to much for him to hear when Riku chose to speak. When he pulled back Sora couldn't help but whimper at the loss.
"Sora your too great. Your warm and kind and I didn't do anything to deserve to know you. Or to even deserve your feelings. But I love you."
It was an understatement to say that Sora was shocked at Riku's confession. But it wasn't exaggeration that Sora pulled Riku back and proceeded to kiss the life out of him.
"I-I (kiss) love (kiss kiss) you (kiss) too." He managed to fumble and whisper between kisses.
And then both teens were set.
Riku's mouth was back against his begging for entrance.
Sora complied happily and shivered when Riku's tongue brushed against his. Sora noticed Riku tasted minty with a fruit twist. It caused him to laugh lightly which stopped the other key wielder.
"Whats so funny?"
Sora smiled happily before answering.
"Where you eating paopu today?"
It took the silver haired teen a moment to think it over. Then he broke into a grin .
"Yea. Maybe I had a piece before we went sparing. What about it?"
Sora giggled again.
"It's just, do you think our kissing has caused our destinies to intertwine since I could taste it?"
Riku's cheeks shaded pink at the question he found impossibly cute. Then he laughed as well.
"I don't know. I kind of figured we were already intertwined. But if you want to get another piece and check later we can."
Sora grinned wider at that answer. He pulled Riku back before whispering "Sounds great" and closed the distance once more.