"Come on Riku, we're gonna be late!" Sora whined at his boyfriend through the bathroom door.

He heard Riku chuckle on the other side of the thick wood.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming!" Riku said, sounding just the slightest bit annoyed. Sora had been badgering him to hurry up for the past hour, which had Riku wondering whether or not he should be worrying about the surprise Sora said he had for their anniversary. Sora seemed unusually nervous about tonight. Riku walked out of the bathroom to see Sora sitting on their bed, fidgeting nervously with one of the many cinnamon-colored spikes that made up his hair.

Hearing the door finally open, Sora looked up at Riku and gave him a very relieved smile. He walked up to his silver-haired love and wrapped his arms around his waist, resting his head on Riku's muscled and yet amazingly soft chest. Riku put his arms around Sora's shoulders and buried his face in the younger man's soft spikes, breathing in the light coconut scent left there by Sora's shampoo. They stood like that for a minute before Riku pulled back slightly to give Sora a gentle kiss on his soft, pink lips. Sora smiled up at him before glancing at his watch.

"Riku, we really do need to leave. If we're not there on time, I won't be able to give you your present." Sora said with a small pout.

"Well we can't have that now, can we?" Riku replied with a smile. Sora beamed up at him before proceeding to drag him through the house and out to the garage. Riku chuckled at his boyfriend's child-like enthusiasm, but allowed himself to be dragged along to the car. He climbed into the driver's seat and waited for Sora to get in and put on his seatbelt before starting the car.

"So, where are we off to?" he asked Sora.

Sora thought about it for a second.

"Just start driving and I'll give you the directions as we go, OK?" Sora asked. Riku nodded and they were off.

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About ten minutes later, they arrived at their final destination.

It was a coffee house.

Riku couldn't deny that he felt slightly disappointed upon making this discovery, but he tried not to let it show on his face. Sora grabbed his hand, looking nervous again, and walked them into the small building. They found an empty table near what was apparently meant to be a small stage, ordered a couple of drinks, and just talked for a few minutes.

Sora looked at his watch again and shivered slightly. He was REALLY nervous now. He looked up at Riku and said:

"So, are you ready for your surprise?"

Riku smiled at him and said yes. Sora stood up and gave Riku a light kiss and then started to walk away. Riku grabbed his retreating boyfriend's hand, giving him a worried look. Sora squeezed his hand.

"I'll be right back, I promise." he said with a small smile. Riku nodded and let him go.

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Sora walked into the back room of the little coffee house, looking for the guitar he had brought there earlier. Upon finding it, he let out a nervous sigh and thought to himself, 'Please don't let me screw this up.' He then sat on a small stool in the corner to practice his song before it was time for him to perform.

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Riku was starting to get nervous. Sora had left half an hour ago, and had yet to make another appearance. Riku was beginning to wonder if the younger man had simply left the building when a light splashed onto the small stage nearby. Riku watched as a couple of guys came out to check and make sure that the microphone and stage lights were working properly. Quickly growing bored of this sight, Riku returned his attention to looking around for his missing boyfriend.

A few minutes later, Riku heard a voice come through the microphone about ten feet away from his table.

"Hey there everyone!" a heavy-set man that Riku assumed was the owner of the establishment said into the mic. He immediately had the attention of everyone in the shop. Riku raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what was going on.

"Now," the man continued, "I know that our open-mic night is usually on Thursdays, but I got a very special request earlier today, and it was one I just couldn't turn down." he said with a smile.

"So, I would like you all to give a warm welcome to: Sora Nomura!"

Riku almost choked on his coffee, sure that he must have had heard wrong.

'There's no way my Sora would do an open-mic performance,' he thought, 'he could barely stand up during role call in school because he was afraid to embarrass himself!'

But, sure enough, there was his Sora, walking onto the little stage, with a guitar in his hands.

'But he doesn't even play guitar!!!' Riku thought to himself.

The amount of cheering and applause Sora received told Riku that he must have performed here before, much to Riku's surprise.

Sora walked out to the middle of the stage and sat on the stool that had been placed in front of the microphone for him.

"Hi everyone!" he said cheerfully, waving to the crowd.

"Well, I bet you're all wondering why I'm here tonight, but I'm sure at least one of you has figured it out by now." he said looking at Riku with a smile. Riku just looked shocked. This was his surprise.

"Tonight is a very special night, you see." Sora continued, his sapphire eyes never leaving his boyfriend's aqua ones.

"Tonight is me and my boyfriend's 5th anniversary, and this song is his gift." he said, blowing a kiss to his love. Riku had come out of his slight shock-induced stupor, and pretended to catch the kiss and put it in his pocket, earning a big smile from Sora. He never noticed that the spotlight left the stage and focused on him, the entire shop catching his last little gesture.

The light swung back onto the stage as Sora started to speak again.

"I love you, Riku, and I hope you like your gift. Happy Anniversary, baby," he said with a smile.

"This song is called 'I Will Follow You Into The Dark'."

With that, Sora started to play his guitar. When he started singing, Riku looked amazed, marveling at his boyfriend's beautiful voice.

"Love of mine,
Someday you will die,
But I'll be close behind,
I'll follow you into the dark."

That second line threw Riku a little, but he just sat there, staring into Sora's eyes as he continued to sing,

"No blinding light,
Or tunnels to gates of white,
Just our hands clasped so tight,
Waiting for the hint of a spark.

If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the 'No's on their vacancy signs.

If there's no one beside you
When your soul embarks
Then I'll follow you into the dark."

Riku felt tears starting to well up in his eyes, but he couldn't have cared less. He noticed that all of the other couples in the room were holding onto each other tighter, marveling in the beauty of the song, and he wished that he could do the same with the man who was busy singing at that very moment. He contented himself with staring back into Sora's seemingly endless pools of blue and listening to his gorgeous voice.

"In Catholic school, as vicious as Roman rule,
I got my knuckles bruised, by a lady in black.
And I held my tongue as she told me
'Son, fear is the heart of love'
So I never went back"

Riku chuckled a little at that, knowing it was partially true. Sora had gone to a Catholic elementary school, but had his mom transfer him to Riku's school because the nuns scared him. They met that day and had been best friends ever since.

"If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied,
Illuminate the 'No's on their vacancy signs.

If there's no one beside you,
When your soul embarks,
Then I'll follow you into the dark.

You and me,
Have seen everything to see,
From Bangkok to Calgary.
And the soles of your shoes are all worn down,
The time for sleep is now,
It's nothing to cry about,
Cause we'll hold each other soon.
The blackest of rooms."

Tears of pure joy were now running silently down Riku's cheeks.

"If Heaven and Hell decide
That they both are satisfied
Illuminate the 'No's on their vacancy signs.

If there's no one beside you,
When your soul embarks,
Then I'll follow you into the dark.
Then I'll follow you into the dark."

With a last strum on his guitar, Sora finished his song. After a second, everyone in the shop stood up, cheered, and applauded the beautiful song. Sora said a quick thank-you and walked off of the stage.

When he came back to the front room after putting his guitar back in the case, he was surprised and more than a little disappointed to see that Riku had left their table. Sora walked over, intending to sit down and wait for Riku to return, when he saw a very short note on the table.

'Meet me at the car. -Riku' was all it said.

Sora turned around and attempted to go outside, but each time he tried he was stopped by a new person, praising him for his amazing song. After about five minutes, he finally reached the front door of the coffee house and quickly ran outside, glad to be out in the fresh air. He looked at Riku's car, expecting his boyfriend to be there, but was surprised to see another note under the windshield wiper.

'Walk to the corner.' was all this one said. Sora was confused, but did as the note said.

After reaching the corner, he found a third note stuck to the lamp post.

'Turn around.' Sora did, and almost had a heart attack.

There was Riku, hold a gigantic bunch of red roses with a huge smile on his face. Sora felt happy tears run down his cheeks at the sight.

"Oh, Riku, they're beautiful!" Sora cried.

But Riku wasn't done yet.

Laying the flowers on a nearby bench, he walked up to Sora and pulled him into a tight hug, kissing the top of the brunette's head, his heart pounding in his ears.

He pulled back from the hug and looked Sora straight in the eyes.

"I love you, Sora, so much. That song you sang tonight was amazingly beautiful, and I loved it," Riku said with a smile, "But I think I have something that will make you just as happy as you made me tonight."

With that, Riku released Sora completely from his arms and dropped onto one knee, taking Sora's left hand as he did so.

Sora's heart leap into his throat as he realized what was coming and he thought he might faint.

Riku reached his free hand into his pocket and produced a small black box.

"Sora," he started, staring up at his love, "I love you so much, and I honestly can't imagine my life without you. You've made me happier than anything else ever has in my life, and I don't know what I'd do without you. So, I ask you this:"

Riku opened the little box he was holding, revealing a beautiful silver ring. Sora stopped breathing.

"Sora Nomura," Riku said with tears in his eyes, "will you marry me?"

Sora knew what Riku was going to ask as soon as he had dropped onto his knee, but that still didn't stop his jaw from dropping when Riku spoke those last words.

"Riku…" Sora said after a minute, "of course I will!"

Riku let out the breath he had been holding since he first asked his question as a huge smile lit up his face. He slid the simple band onto Sora's finger and stood up.

Tears were running down both of their faces as their lips met in a passionate kiss. They pulled back only when they had no air left. Riku rested his chin on Sora's head as they wrapped their arms around each other.

"Happy Anniversary, Sora." Riku said after a moment.

"Happy Anniversary, Riku."

They met in another kiss, neither ever having felt happier before in their lives.

~FIN~