Sora climbed onto the Paupu tree trunk, noticing how much easier it had become since he had gotten taller.
"Hey," he said to Riku, and he nodded in response.
It was nostalgic, this place. The entire island held memories, but there were certain places that were sweeter than others. They'd spent so much time here on the little island connected only by a bridge. That bridge used to seem so long when they were little. Now, it was just a bridge, and the paupu just a fruit. It all seemed so stupid now that they were so old—sixteen was a ripe age for cynicism.
"What's on your mind," Riku asked, his eyes up on the clouds.
"Remember…remember when you used to beat me up here?"
Riku grinned, shaking his silver hair out of his eyes. "Yeah. You were such a whiny little brat. A real weakling."
"Hey! You were older than me!"
"Still am, and don't you forget it."
They lapsed back into comfortable silence.
Sora leaned back and swung his legs slowly, staring out at the sunset.
"Sora," Riku started.
"Yeah?"
"I've been meaning to ask you a question."
"What?"
"It's about Kairi."
He flushed hard, and looked away from the older boy. "What about her?" he asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"She's confused, Sora. Don't give me that 'what about her' shit."
Sora sighed. "It just doesn't seem fair, that's all."
"Why not?"
"Riku…" Sora sighed. This was difficult. "You—you like her too, don't you?"
"Sure."
"I mean—"
"I know what you mean. I said yeah, didn't I?"
"And you did so much more for her. You went to the darkness to keep her safe. All I did was goof around with a couple of idiots and pretended to save the world."
Riku smiled wryly. "Really? The way I see it, I was used by the darkness to help finish their plans, and then to make up for it, I sought it out again." He glanced at his hands. "You have no idea how lucky I am just to be alive and in my own body."
"What?"
"I mean, what if I had stayed stuck as Xehanort?"
Sora, fiercely loyal as usual, protested. "We wouldn't have cared!"
"No?" Riku turned to face Sora. "Look at me."
Sora turned. "Yeah?"
"What if, every time you turned my way, you're worst enemy, the one who had nearly killed off humanity and stolen the heart of the universe, what if that person were smiling back at you?"
Sora grinned back at him and shook his head. "It wouldn't have mattered. You would have been Riku, to me."
Riku stared at Sora for a long moment before smiling suddenly. "Idiot," he said affectionately. "I bet you believe that too." He shook his head. "You're so naïve, Sora."
"Hey! I'm telling the truth!"
"I know you are. But the truth in my world is that I nearly destroyed everything in the universe, and then I helped to make sure it was all right again. I'm even. Besides, it's not about deserving her."
"No?"
"Nah. Who has the oathkeeper, Sora?"
Sora pulled out the keychain and smiled at the lucky charm on its end.
"I brought it back to you," he said, smiling at her.
"Keep it," she said happily.
"She gave it to you."
"But—"
"You think it didn't hurt?" he exploded at Sora, and the suddenness made the younger boy cringe. "When we found you, when she hugged you, you think it didn't hurt? But then—but then it was the three of us again, wasn't it? She didn't forget me, and neither did you." He smiled out to the nearly dark horizon now, and stood up, hopping down easily from the tree trunk.
"We'd never forget you."
"That's all I'll ever asked for," he replied. "She's yours, Sora, because she wants to be. But that doesn't mean a little part of her heart can't be mine."
"You sure?" Sora got up and turned to face him.
"Yeah." Rikku smiled up at him, turned and began to walk across the bridge. He was so naïve, so happy, so…Sora, he thought wryly. The idiots were made for each other. "Sora?" he called back.
"Yeah?"
"Don't change." With that, he disappeared into the hut, leaving Sora grinning after him.
Please review, whether you like it or not...just gimme a reason :D