Equivalence, a kingdom hearts fanfic

Title: Equivalence
Rating: T/PG-13 so far, rating may change later
Pairings, if any: Riku+Sora, Riku/AntiSora, and later Sora/Riku, plus other pairing.
Summary: Part 1 Riku despised being manipulated, while AntiSora only curled closer and begged for it- for attention.
Word Count: 1284
Warnings: Mild angst, boys kissing and the like
A/N: There is supposed to be three in this little arc, they will be of different lengths and pairings, but I'm hoping that it turns out interesting. Any thoughts or suggestions that you can come up with would be wonderful, since I haven't written a chapter fic in years and this is just a baby-step back in that direction.

Edit: Thanks to Marliau for betaing this for me and correcting grammar and whatnot. :)

"Riku. This is boring; why don't we just go and swim or something?" Sora asked, looking up from where he was stretched out on the couch. In between his fingers he held a pencil, still attempting to perfect a trick Tidus had been trying to teach him for almost a week now. "At least let's just go out to the island and play tag- I'm sure that Kairi is with Selphie and the others- we could-"

"No," Riku very nearly snarled, feeling himself wince at his tone. "Sorry, Sora, I didn't mean to snap. We just don't get any time to spend together anymore, you know? If you don't…"

Sora shook his head hard, an abashed look flickering over his face. Riku was right, they hadn't done anything together in a long time and they were due for some fun time together. Setting the pencil down with a quiet click of wood against glass, he slid off the couch and knelt next to where Riku had a simple board game out- the one that they had played when they were very young, on rainy days. "Do you want the green piece or blue?"

"I'm sorry, Ri," Sora apologized, his hands held out in a placating gesture, that small worried look on his face. "But maybe tomorrow, okay? I promised Kairi I would help with gathering shells for her necklace before it gets dark. Definitely tomorrow, though, okay?"

What was he supposed to say? "Yeah," Riku swallowed hard and then looked like he was going to add on. "Yeah. Tomorrow it is, then."

Sora smiled widely and turned around to jog back down the beach to where he was no doubt going to meet their friend. 'But maybe tomorrow, okay?' his mind mocked, leaving him staring hard at the sand as if he could melt it into glass with his frustration alone.

"You really want to leave the island?" Sora asked quietly, as if saying the words would spirit them away from the only life he had ever known.

Riku sent the younger boy a look. "I've only been talking about it for forever now. I'm completely serious- there has to be so much more out there than what is on this island. It's boring here and I want to know what is out there." He sighed heavily, knowing from the conflicted look on Sora's face, that he wouldn't be able to convince him fully for a little while yet. "Aren't you even curious?"

Sora blinked thoughtfully, shrugging after a moment of seemingly intense thought, before sighing lightly. "Yeah, kind of. I mean, it'd be cool to see what's outside of the islands, but leaving? What if we can't ever come back?" The brunet leaned forward so he could loop his arms around his drawn-up knees, clasping his wrists loosely. "What about everyone else at home? What would happen if we didn't come back to them?"

'So what?' Riku wanted to demand. "We would, Sora, don't worry."

Maleficent was watching him again, her and that bird that only seemed to leave her shoulder when it was doing spying around the castle- it was her eyes when she was otherwise busy. The sorceress herself had been keeping a keenly analyzing eye on him more frequently. Riku pretended not to notice most of the time, because after all, what good would it do if she knew he was more aware than she thought? He would be better off trying to play the part of the conflicted little boy who was slowly falling into darkness- she didn't need to know that he was only pretending.

Maleficent laughed as she watched Riku fight his friend; she laughed as that pained look of horror swept over his features when it dawned on him that he was no longer pretending and the darkness had dragged its shadowy claws through his heart. "You've returned," she said with that teasing tone to her voice. "Did you find what you're looking for?"

The boy was trembling almost imperceptibly, his green eyes wide with his pupils dilated, his face paler than normal. "I don't know," he answered quietly, trying to fight off the feeling that he was going to be sick. What had he even been looking for in the first place? I don't know.

"Mm, of course." The sorceress shrugged gracefully, one arm sweeping out to curl around Riku's slumped shoulders, her lips pressing to his ear. "I can help, you know. You have the potential to be so much more than this, if only you would let me aid you."

No. He didn't want aid, or at least, the kind of twisted assistance that she offered. He could do this on his own; he didn't need someone trying to manipulate him into doing what they wanted. Riku stiffened in her grasp, staring straight at the wall in front of him as he debated. He'd already taken the first few steps down the stairs- what were a few more, if it meant getting what he wanted?

Open your heart to darkness.

Anti-Sora was the best possible thing that could have happened to him, while at the same time, it was the worst. It represented all of Riku's dark thoughts, while at the same time serving to remind the boy of everything he had lost. The Heartless was everything that Sora was and wasn't- such blind, utter, undivided attention and obedience. It wasn't spineless because it didn't have the capacity to be so; it was simply like a puppy trying to please its master. It just so happened to be a puppy that was deadly and preferred the hearts of people, to anything else.

A soft, awkward sound escaped Anti-Sora, the noise sounding more like attempted human speech with every passing attempt. Beside his creation, Riku reached out and pulled it closer, the smoky yet slick feel of the Heartless not even registering anymore. Anti-Sora cooed again, pressing itself to Riku's warm body, tilting its head up to accept the kiss that it knew would come next.

The imitation of the hero called Sora, Riku thought with a quiet sigh. The artificial creature that would do anything- no, did do anything, that he desired or demanded for it to do. There was no palpable cheer, but there was always the dead excitement at serving Master and serving him well.

Another little whisper escaped it, echoing in the quiet cabin of the ship they were in. Riku flinched but kept his arms around the cool body, keeping his eyes closed if only to keep himself from remembering it wasn't really Sora there. "I know," he murmured quietly, pressing his forehead to the slender shoulder of the Heartless. With a swallow, he opened his eyes and met glowing golden ones, searching for something that he knew he wouldn't find.

Eager to please, Anti-Sora curled closer, its thin fingers stroking down Riku's chest, over the heart that it knew it would never manage to get, yet still craved. "No," Riku breathed, pushing the hands away with a frown. With a simple thought-order, he made the Heartless back away and stand before him, ignoring the whisper of confusion from it. "Right hand, up."

Anti-Sora obeyed without a second thought, its hand raising up as it waited for the attention it had been denied. Instead of physical contact, Riku drew his knees up close to them and sank back against the wall, waving one hand down and dismissing the creature into the shadows once more. From her place in the castle Maleficent laughed, the sound echoing off the cold castle walls.

Edited 10.29.06