Story Title: Judging Riku

Disclaimers: I don't own Kingdom Hearts…I would do awful things with the boys if I did. They would scream for my tender mercies…shudder

Warnings/Author Notes: This is YAOI! That mean's male/male lovin'! There will be sexual situations (aka lemon) later in this fic, though not now. So if you don't like guys getting it on…go the hell away. Thankie!

Story Start

Like a feather upon the surface of the water, barely disturbing its tranquility, the soft sound of a click filled his ears. Eyes squeezed shut tight; he laid his hand upon the surface of the locked door trying desperately to feel the person on the other side. There was nothing for it. He was sealed here and the only heartbeat he could hear was his own, now drumming endlessly in his throat.

Slowly allowing his aquamarine gaze to open, he turned his attention to his companion who was now chasing off the last of the heartless from their immediate area. At least now they'd be able to breath, to take stock of their situation. A barely audible sigh escaped his lips, fogging the cold air within Kingdom Hearts.

"Riku? Riku! Are you all right?" The voice broke through. It sounded slightly frustrated; as though this weren't the first time he'd asked this. Riku blinked a few times, one eyebrow shooting towards the sky as he realized he was not all together certain how long he'd been randomly staring. He could already tell that time moved differently here behind this damnable door.

"Fine," came his short reply as he called his own keyblade to his hand. True, he wasn't overcome with darkness anymore, but this blade was his alone and would always belong to him…a dark piece of his heart that he could hold in his hand. A reminder, always, of his fall from grace.

"Don't worry…Sora will open the door," Mickey said, his voice calm though his eyes spoke of slight fear. Reaching out, the king laid his hand on Riku's shoulder, smiling as though to reassure the young man. Riku, however, was far beyond consolation.

"Sora…will open the door," Riku repeated, his own voice sounding forced as he pushed the words out of his mouth. Did he believe those words? Did he, the one who had caused all this mess to begin with, believe that Sora would somehow come to his rescue? A part of him wanted to, but the vast majority of his being was screaming that not only was Sora not coming, but that Riku really didn't deserve it anyway.

So, fighting back the sting of tears that were threatening to overwhelm him, he shook his head and forced out a gentle smile.

"Yeah, Sora's coming…"

Change in Perspective

The soft grass tickled his ear as he rolled onto his side, eyes the color of autumn skies opening to greet the day once again. He'd been having a lovely dream, pale hands running up his sides while full lips pried his own mouth apart. He had just heard his own voice sigh the name of his seducer when a sharp poke to his ribs had jutted him into wakefulness.

"Sora! Sora! You were calling out in your sleep!" came the voice of his friend Donald. Pouting slightly at being so rudely dragged from his fantasies, Sora pulled himself into the sitting position. Why couldn't they have let him sleep just a little while longer? Long enough for those skilled hands to properly rid him of his clothes…long enough to…

Glancing down at himself, Sora blushed slightly and realized that it was probably a good idea that the dream hadn't made it that far.

"I," he began, eyes stealthily looking everywhere but the feathered creature in front of him. "I need to go get cleaned up, I feel nasty."

With that he rose to his feet and walked quickly through a grove of trees towards the sound of rushing water. He could have sworn he heard the sound of snickering as he left his companions to wait for his return, but Sora couldn't really blame them. He was rather certain that he'd been walking oddly when he'd departed…and hey, he would have laughed too.

'Why now?' he thought as he stripped his shirt over his head and threw it into a pile along with his pants and the rest of his belongings. The young Keyblade master's breath froze in his throat as he waded naked into the stream, instantly feeling his morning hard-on begin to disappear. Thank god…that sort of embarrassment was hardly what he needed.

But now that one problem had been eased it allowed other nagging dilemmas to bubble to the surface. Why now? Sora had spent years on the island with the older boy and the silver haired menace had never invaded his dreams like this before. Now it was a nightly occurrence, with each dream becoming increasingly more explicit. And now, to top things off, Sora was apparently calling for Riku in his sleep. Things were going downhill fast.

Throwing his wet hair back and out of this face, Sora allowed himself a small grin. Though he'd never been good at hiding things, his infatuation with Riku was somehow one that he'd managed well. Until now apparently. Now, blue-green eyes the color of ocean plants haunted his every thought, spurring him on to find his childhood friend, if only to know that he was alive. Sora wasn't so naïve as to think his crush would be returned.

"Whoa! Sora! Sorry bout that!" Goofy's voice shot out from the shore, making Sora nearly scream. Wouldn't do for the savior of worlds to scream like a little girl, would it?

Not turning around, he allowed the waist high water to cover his body as he called over his shoulder. "Well, I said I was going to clean up...what did you think I was doing?"

"You took so long that we started to get worried!"

Raising one eyebrow at this, Sora finally turned around and crossed his arms over his chest, wet cinnamon colored hair falling over one eye. Had he really been in here that long? He'd been known to allow his mind to wander from time to time, but losing whole spaces of time? Never. He had to find Riku and the king soon, before he started to wander off in the middle of the day and not come back for hours.

Padding gently out of the water (and enjoying Goofy's yelp of surprise at his boldness) he slowly began to pull on his clothes. It had been weeks since he'd sealed the door to Kingdom Hearts, and for weeks they had been walking down this damn road.

Well, at least now they had a goal.

About two weeks previous, they had somehow received a letter, a short note, telling them to keep going, that there was a destination at the end of their endless walking. And so, now, they journeyed with a purpose, and though Sora couldn't quite explain it yet, he knew that someone was waiting for them. Arms were waiting to wrap them in comfort. Hearts were holding out against the darkness that surrounded them.

And everyday they came closer to that place.

"Are you all right?" Donald asked as they began to walk again. Eyes half shut in contemplation, Sora glanced at the duck. Did he look all right? Sighing in answer to such a stupid question, he looked down at his shoes and tried to think of something other than the gravel that passed endlessly below his feet. Finding an appropriate subject, Sora was surprised to feel a sharp tugging on his sleeve and a loud voice in his ear. Why did Donald always have to be such a spaz?

"What is it!" Sora snapped, not able to stop the sharp tone that his words took on. He'd just gotten to the good part again.

"Forgive me for interrupting your sullied thoughts, but I thought you should see that."

Confusion creasing the young man's brow, his gaze followed the pointing feather to a light in the distance. A brilliant light. Graceful towers spiraled into the sky, reaching high above the houses and buildings that lay below, while a wall of shining ivory surrounded the entire expanse. Each building, each set of stairs, seemed made of shimmering sunlight turned solid, and Sora nearly had to shield his eyes from the brilliance.

Stunning.

"Wow," was all that came from Sora's half-agape mouth, his feet moving more quickly without him meaning them to. Before he knew what had happened, he and his two companions stood at the massive gates of the city, glancing around not quite knowing what to do next.

Sora,

Don't' give up hope. You will find what you seek. I'll hold him for safe keeping until your arrival.

KM

P.S. Is he always this fussy, or am I just lucky?

Sora smiled widely, even white teeth gleaming in his boyish face as he began to look around for a way to open the gates that barred him from his obvious goal. He could hear the bustle of numerous people all shoved into a very small space beyond the doors, and without meaning to he suddenly found himself growing overly annoyed. Why wasn't anyone even bothering to watch the doors? Any city with this much security certainly had to have guards at the gate…so why wasn't anyone calling to them? What the hell was going on?

"Hel-loooo! Is in anyone in there!" he called, growing more impatient by the moment. Donald and Goofy began instantly to try to shush him as he hit the shining white doors with his fist, but he was not to be deterred. He was absolutely certain that if he annoyed the living crap out of someone long enough that they would open the doors for him. Granted, he might be going into the city in chains…but hell, he'd be in there right?

"Honestly!" came a voice from high above them. "You'd think that someone who is so pure of heart would have a little patience."

Sora's eyes shot up to the source of the sound, not finding anything to settle his gaze upon until the gates of the city were flung open wide, revealing the person who the voice belonged to. An ivory cloak covered large ears, and a soft smile that spoke of both kindness and wisdom shone at them from beneath large eyes.

"Your Highness!" both Donald and Goofy cried in unison, racing forward a few steps and bowing, leaving Sora to stare.

His emotions, while at first happy and jubilant, were now a jumble. All at once he felt a sense of relief at seeing the king, but at the same time was confused and sad. Where was Riku? The letter had been very clear that King Mickey and Riku were traveling together…so where was he now. There was no way that Riku wouldn't have come to greet his best friend after all that had happened. There was simply no way.

"Where's Riku?" Sora's voice came out soft, nearly choked. He hadn't meant to sound so weak, but his heart was beating frantically in his chest, and he couldn't seem to stop the racing fear that surged through him every time his thoughts would settle on his silver-haired rival.

The king's only response was to glance down at the ground, then up at Sora's sapphire eyes, making the younger man grow even more annoyed and afraid. He was about to ask again when their gazes locked, and Sora could read a certain pain in the ruler's eyes. Something was wrong, and before the Keyblade Master could stop himself he was coming forward in long strides.

What on earth was wrong with him?

"What happened to him?" Sora said, his voice surprisingly even. The king merely shook his head, running his hand over his eyes as if tired. When Sora really took a good look at the king, it became apparent that he hadn't really slept in a while. Something had happened that was making him an insomniac. That couldn't be good.

"I'll explain when we're alone. Just follow me for now and don't ask anymore questions…okay?"

Nodding numbly, though inside he was seething with instant anger, Sora followed him down a small street towards a two story home in the center of a flowered courtyard. Little did he know that deep below his feet, hundreds of feet away, a young man with eyes the color of ocean water was chained in place, unaware that help was finally on the way.

Soft tears fell down the young man's face, and he couldn't hold back the tiny whimper that accompanied them.

"Sora…"