"I loved you once, you know."
Riku was dragged from his wandering thoughts by the gentle voice. His eyes widened in surprise but soon regained their normal, passive look.
"You did? When?"
Sora smiled at him, then turned away to the sea. They were perched on the crooked trunk of the Paopu tree. His knee was pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around it. His gaze was dreamy, trying to remember things he'd forgotten, or just lost track of.
"I dunno. It was a long time ago. We were just kids."
Riku pondered why Sora had brought this up. He might've suspected at one time that Sora's feelings had stemmed beyond friendship, but not anymore. Besides, Sora wasn't one to randomly bring up things unless he had an ulterior motive. It was part of his charm. So, why now, and of all places, had he brought such a thing up?
"Why me?"
Sora looked into Riku's eyes and admired their strength and beauty for a moment before turning his gaze downward. That should have been obvious, he thought, but he decided to humor him. After all, it was kind of an awkward subject.
"Because... Because of a lot of things. Some more apparent than others. You're beautiful for one. That's something about you that's always appealed to me. That sad beauty. And maybe that's what turned me away."
Sad beauty? Perhaps, Riku thought. He never looked genuinely happy. Maybe it was because he had so much to be sad about. His mother had died when he was five, around the time he had met Sora. He had so many good memories of her, but when he tried to remember her like that, it only made him miss her more. On top of that, his father had been severely affected by her death. He was never happy anymore. Riku was afraid he'd turn out like him, so he wanted to get away from there. He wanted to go somewhere far away, maybe have an adventure; anything to take his mind off of the distorted memories and broken home. His island prison.
"I don't mean to be sad."
Sora sighed. He rubbed his friend's back reassuringly. He didn't want to give him another reason to be upset. He wanted so desperately for him to be happy, really happy, if only once. He leaned his head on Riku's shoulder, enjoying their closeness. He watched the sun fade in the explosion of color: reds, violets, blues, and that perfect seagreen below that matched his friend's eyes so well.
"I know. I don't want you to be sad anymore. Do you think you could ever be happy again, Riku? Like you were when we first met?"
Riku looked down. He didn't know. Happiness... Sora seemed to be happy enough for them both, but of course that wasn't enough. Why was such a simple emotion so hard for him to feel? He hadn't meant to, but he'd been shutting people out, more now than ever before. He didn't want to shut Sora out too. He wanted to hold on to him, to his joy and pureness. Sora felt everything he wanted to feel again. If he couldn't feel it himself, it could always be through him.
"If it would make you happy, I could try."
Good, Sora thought. It would make him happy. He wanted his friend to be happy with him. He had begun to feel that Riku's withdrawn behavior was his fault, and was now trying to get closer to him, to warm his frozen heart. He idly draped his arm around Riku's shoulders, pulling him closer. Maybe Riku needed to be touched, to be held and told that everything would be ok, even if it wouldn't be. He turned his face to his friend's neck, taking in his scent: salt, sweat, and something oddly sweet. He smiled as the other's soft hair tickled his nose.
"That would make me very happy."
And I live for your happiness, he thought. He gently wrapped his hand around Sora's waist and placed it on his hip. His touch was intoxicating. The only time was happy was when he was with the younger boy. He cherished moments like this, keeping them in his memory to call up whenever he felt lonely. At least one person still loved him. I love you now, he thought. And I always will. Now and forever. Leave me and I'll die.
"Could you ever love me again?"
Sora looked up at his friend, and back into those deep eyes. They showed an earnest he'd never seen before. It was a little unnerving. Those eyes penetrated to his very soul, and he couldn't help but look away. Should he answer honestly?
"I dunno. Maybe. But you're my friend, Riku! It would be too weird."
Riku gave him a nod of understanding and smiled, trying to make it seem like a joke. But it hurt. He hid the depression behind his eyes and tried to put up that stone façade once more. He looked back out to the sea. The sea, with its welcoming emptiness, its waves which went to nowhere. There was something inviting about this multi-colored oblivion, calling him to jump over its edge.
"Yeah... I guess it would."
Sora had known Riku far too long to be fooled by the fake calmness in his voice. Perhaps he had said something wrong? He didn't want Riku to hurt. He didn't want his best friend to be lonely. Sora sat up and looked one more time into those soulful green eyes.
"Riku..."
Riku suddenly lost control of himself. He wasn't willing his body to do what it did, but he wasn't resisting it either. In fact, he was enjoying it. His hands cupped Sora's face as he stared into those endless blue depths. They were more inviting in their warmth than the heartless ocean could ever be. He closed his eyes and leaned into the other boy, letting their lips make light contact. To his surprise, he felt the kiss deepened by the younger boy, the other pair of hands moving up his back to his shoulders, bringing their bodies closer together. This is happiness, he thought. This is what I wanted, just to be with you. Sora finally broke the contact, looking into his eyes a bit worriedly, even afraid. He released Riku and hopped off the trunk of the tree.
"Maybe I should go now."
Sora started to walk away, confused by the feelings which had erupted during that brief moment of closeness. He'd felt them before, but that was so long ago. He had just stepped onto the bridge when Riku spoke.
"Hey Sora. Maybe one day, we could get off this island. We could explore other worlds together, maybe even have an adventure."
Sora turned and smiled again. Maybe it was just spur-of-the-moment? He was glad to see his friend thinking a bit optimistically for once.
"Yeah... Maybe we could."
Riku smiled and turned back to the fading sunlight. His dreams now had a basis in reality, but if the sky knew, it didn't care. He saw nothing special there; Just another Sunset.
+++
AN: Ok, I'm mentally disturbed. Thought I should be straightforward about that. You see, I have a million stories in my head, about faceless, nameless people. So many willing me to tell their stories. I can't tell them all, but some stick, and evolve, and are told. This started out as that first line. They all start out as a first line, but some keep going. It also started with two faceless, nameless people. I liked the line and the direction it was headed, so I turned them into Riku and Sora, because I can. The timeline on this is roughly one year before the game, so Sora's 13 and Riku's 14. I really liked this. It's a one-shot, so don't expect sequels. BTW, if you're reading Hate This Place, this is one of those unforeseen events which will delay Chapter 7. Sorry! HAPPY TURKEY DAY!
Riku was dragged from his wandering thoughts by the gentle voice. His eyes widened in surprise but soon regained their normal, passive look.
"You did? When?"
Sora smiled at him, then turned away to the sea. They were perched on the crooked trunk of the Paopu tree. His knee was pulled up to his chest, arms wrapped around it. His gaze was dreamy, trying to remember things he'd forgotten, or just lost track of.
"I dunno. It was a long time ago. We were just kids."
Riku pondered why Sora had brought this up. He might've suspected at one time that Sora's feelings had stemmed beyond friendship, but not anymore. Besides, Sora wasn't one to randomly bring up things unless he had an ulterior motive. It was part of his charm. So, why now, and of all places, had he brought such a thing up?
"Why me?"
Sora looked into Riku's eyes and admired their strength and beauty for a moment before turning his gaze downward. That should have been obvious, he thought, but he decided to humor him. After all, it was kind of an awkward subject.
"Because... Because of a lot of things. Some more apparent than others. You're beautiful for one. That's something about you that's always appealed to me. That sad beauty. And maybe that's what turned me away."
Sad beauty? Perhaps, Riku thought. He never looked genuinely happy. Maybe it was because he had so much to be sad about. His mother had died when he was five, around the time he had met Sora. He had so many good memories of her, but when he tried to remember her like that, it only made him miss her more. On top of that, his father had been severely affected by her death. He was never happy anymore. Riku was afraid he'd turn out like him, so he wanted to get away from there. He wanted to go somewhere far away, maybe have an adventure; anything to take his mind off of the distorted memories and broken home. His island prison.
"I don't mean to be sad."
Sora sighed. He rubbed his friend's back reassuringly. He didn't want to give him another reason to be upset. He wanted so desperately for him to be happy, really happy, if only once. He leaned his head on Riku's shoulder, enjoying their closeness. He watched the sun fade in the explosion of color: reds, violets, blues, and that perfect seagreen below that matched his friend's eyes so well.
"I know. I don't want you to be sad anymore. Do you think you could ever be happy again, Riku? Like you were when we first met?"
Riku looked down. He didn't know. Happiness... Sora seemed to be happy enough for them both, but of course that wasn't enough. Why was such a simple emotion so hard for him to feel? He hadn't meant to, but he'd been shutting people out, more now than ever before. He didn't want to shut Sora out too. He wanted to hold on to him, to his joy and pureness. Sora felt everything he wanted to feel again. If he couldn't feel it himself, it could always be through him.
"If it would make you happy, I could try."
Good, Sora thought. It would make him happy. He wanted his friend to be happy with him. He had begun to feel that Riku's withdrawn behavior was his fault, and was now trying to get closer to him, to warm his frozen heart. He idly draped his arm around Riku's shoulders, pulling him closer. Maybe Riku needed to be touched, to be held and told that everything would be ok, even if it wouldn't be. He turned his face to his friend's neck, taking in his scent: salt, sweat, and something oddly sweet. He smiled as the other's soft hair tickled his nose.
"That would make me very happy."
And I live for your happiness, he thought. He gently wrapped his hand around Sora's waist and placed it on his hip. His touch was intoxicating. The only time was happy was when he was with the younger boy. He cherished moments like this, keeping them in his memory to call up whenever he felt lonely. At least one person still loved him. I love you now, he thought. And I always will. Now and forever. Leave me and I'll die.
"Could you ever love me again?"
Sora looked up at his friend, and back into those deep eyes. They showed an earnest he'd never seen before. It was a little unnerving. Those eyes penetrated to his very soul, and he couldn't help but look away. Should he answer honestly?
"I dunno. Maybe. But you're my friend, Riku! It would be too weird."
Riku gave him a nod of understanding and smiled, trying to make it seem like a joke. But it hurt. He hid the depression behind his eyes and tried to put up that stone façade once more. He looked back out to the sea. The sea, with its welcoming emptiness, its waves which went to nowhere. There was something inviting about this multi-colored oblivion, calling him to jump over its edge.
"Yeah... I guess it would."
Sora had known Riku far too long to be fooled by the fake calmness in his voice. Perhaps he had said something wrong? He didn't want Riku to hurt. He didn't want his best friend to be lonely. Sora sat up and looked one more time into those soulful green eyes.
"Riku..."
Riku suddenly lost control of himself. He wasn't willing his body to do what it did, but he wasn't resisting it either. In fact, he was enjoying it. His hands cupped Sora's face as he stared into those endless blue depths. They were more inviting in their warmth than the heartless ocean could ever be. He closed his eyes and leaned into the other boy, letting their lips make light contact. To his surprise, he felt the kiss deepened by the younger boy, the other pair of hands moving up his back to his shoulders, bringing their bodies closer together. This is happiness, he thought. This is what I wanted, just to be with you. Sora finally broke the contact, looking into his eyes a bit worriedly, even afraid. He released Riku and hopped off the trunk of the tree.
"Maybe I should go now."
Sora started to walk away, confused by the feelings which had erupted during that brief moment of closeness. He'd felt them before, but that was so long ago. He had just stepped onto the bridge when Riku spoke.
"Hey Sora. Maybe one day, we could get off this island. We could explore other worlds together, maybe even have an adventure."
Sora turned and smiled again. Maybe it was just spur-of-the-moment? He was glad to see his friend thinking a bit optimistically for once.
"Yeah... Maybe we could."
Riku smiled and turned back to the fading sunlight. His dreams now had a basis in reality, but if the sky knew, it didn't care. He saw nothing special there; Just another Sunset.
+++
AN: Ok, I'm mentally disturbed. Thought I should be straightforward about that. You see, I have a million stories in my head, about faceless, nameless people. So many willing me to tell their stories. I can't tell them all, but some stick, and evolve, and are told. This started out as that first line. They all start out as a first line, but some keep going. It also started with two faceless, nameless people. I liked the line and the direction it was headed, so I turned them into Riku and Sora, because I can. The timeline on this is roughly one year before the game, so Sora's 13 and Riku's 14. I really liked this. It's a one-shot, so don't expect sequels. BTW, if you're reading Hate This Place, this is one of those unforeseen events which will delay Chapter 7. Sorry! HAPPY TURKEY DAY!