Boom! My first Fanfic!

Title: Seeking Promise

Rating: M

Pairings: primarily Riku/Sora, some Roxas/Axel, brief Sora/Kairi

Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Kingdom Hearts characters, any images, or cultural references I use. If I did, Sora might've worn those short shorts during most of KH2 and not just in the first 20 minutes. Riku would also have long, silky hair forever.

Author's notes: This is my first fan fiction. That being said, please be gentle. I have a BA in creative writing, but that doesn't mean I'm the best writer ever, and it also doesn't mean I'm going to be grammatically perfect. I'm TERRIBLE at the arrangement of dialogue. "New paragraph? Meh, screw it." I'm doing this purely for fun, so I'm not too worried about criticism. I DO want you to tell me if you like it, so I know if I want to keep going.

This is your typical high school AU yaoi. Yaoi means boy x boy love, which means kissing and cuddling and occasional dry humping. Don't like it, don't read any further. I just saved your life, you're welcome. My inspiration mostly stems from Slashapalooza. Her writing is incredible.

The rating M is mostly me hedging my bets. The rules basically say ratings mean nothing and I'm just like, "...Why?" *squint* I might consider lemons in the future as an add-on you can e-mail me for... or something like that. This rating is me giving myself wiggle-room.

During this chapter Kairi interrupts Sora from listening to his music. The lyrics are no longer in the chapter, but the song was called "They Weren't There" by Missy Higgins in case you were interested. I do not own/profit from the song.

The tropical sun was blinding that day. You had to shield your eyes through parted fingers to see the small town sinking away behind the horizon. This kind of weather was Sora's favorite because it wasn't too hot for the breeze to ruffle the branches of the taller paopu trees. He felt the top of his hair quivering and smiled. It was just another gorgeous day on Destiny Islands. He nodded to himself. Today was the day he'd tell Riku how he felt. Thinking the name made his stomach flip over. Maybe I'm hungry, he thought as though to distract himself.

It wasn't two minutes later he heard Riku approach from behind. Riku stood beside him and wiggled his naked toes in the sand, "It's nice, right?" He closed his eyes and smiled the same crooked smile Sora loved about him. Sora nodded and didn't say a word. Riku knew even with his eyes closed. He sat down beside Sora and skipped a small rock effortlessly. Sora did the same, but the rock made a loud 'PLOP' as it sank straight to the bottom. Riku laughed, making Sora blush. He leaned back in the sand while Riku searched for rocks. Riku found a small shell and it made a whiffling noise when he threw it.

"We'll be starting eighth and ninth grade soon Sora," Riku sighed. Sora squinted against the harsh sunlight, "I know."

"You excited?"

"Not really."

Riku shook his head, "Me either."

Sora chuckled and this time Riku pinked and chucked another seashell. "You know," Riku drawled, "I've been thinking," he paused a moment, considering what he was about to say. "We're gonna start dating girls soon." Sora sat up. "Huh?"

"When that happens Sora, I don't want our friendship to end. You have to promise me Sora. Promise me we'll still come out here. We'll still be friends." Riku clenched his fists.

Sora tilted his head and looked up at Riku. "Of course Riku. Why bring that up?" Sora bit his lip. He hadn't planned for this. Riku grimaced and stared out at the ocean. For the first time, Sora couldn't pinpoint what was going on in Riku's head. This particular expression left Sora baffled.

Riku shrugged and sudden realization swept over Sora. He gaped and felt his stomach hollow out. Sora's eyebrows knitted together and he looked down at the sand, feeling his eyes well up. He kept his voice steady but Riku saw right through him, "Do you like someone?"

Riku nodded, "Yeah, I think so."

Sora didn't think it was possible for his stomach to sink any further and suddenly the summer sun seemed to burn and ache, mocking his misfortune. "Who?" Sora looked up innocently and smiled. His eyes glistened with unfallen tears. The smaller boy gripped Riku's heartstrings and his eyes widened before he could recompose himself,

"You don't know her."

Sora nodded, "Bring her around, I wanna meet her sometime."

"I will," Riku lied.

There was never a girl. Riku searched the horizon fruitlessly. He wanted nothing more than to cup Sora's face in his hands and wipe away his tears. But he had to do this. He had to distance himself from these nameless feelings he didn't understand. And what if he did like Sora? It would ruin them, and they'd be the biggest joke at school. Sora couldn't take that kind of bullying. Riku sighed and shook his head.

That day, Sora shut himself in his room and closed his blinds. "ARRRGGGH!" He screamed and threw a frame at the wall. He collapsed on his bed and sobbed, feeling his chest tighten, making it hard to breathe. He cried like that until he got tired and slept. The frame lay on the floor forgotten. Sora waved happily sitting on Riku's shoulders in the photo.

After a few years, they stopped going to the island altogether.

Rain sizzled in puddles like soda pop and the sun hid behind black clouds over the islands. Sora didn't hear it over his headphones. His big blue eyes searched the pavement listlessly as he shuffled his way to school. His brown hoodie dampened, causing his school bag to slip around on his shoulder. He was sixteen now, but his countenance hadn't changed much.

Sora's headphones fell away and he pretended to grimace, "Hi Kairi."

Kairi grinned, "My lil honeybear." She ruffled his spikes and skipped up to his side. Kairi was Sora's best friend now. "You ready to do some bitchin math problems?" Sora giggled at Kairi's comment and then his eyes widened, "HOLY SHIT, the test!" He started sprinting and Kairi tailed after him, "Don't tell me you forgot already? Sora, I just reminded you last night!" Sora looked at his phone frantically, "SHIT SHIT SHIT!" Kairi laughed and waved at Tidus as they flew by. Tidus tilted his head and waved tentatively. "OH MAI GAWD!" Sora screamed. Kairi laughed breathlessly, "Sora slow down! Sora!" Kairi tried to warn him but it was too late. The next thing he knew, he was on the ground in a pile of wet papers and his head hurt. He tilted his head. I don't remember carrying any papers….Oh. He looked up slowly and his grin fell away. Riku frowned down at him. A small crowd had gathered and was laughing. Riku's frown quickly turned into a smirk.

"Watch where you're going. .. That was my book report."

Sora blanched, "S-Sorry.." He started to get up, but Riku pushed him back down.

"Write me a new one. Tomorrow. By lunch."

Riku turned and walked away, taking the growing crowd with him. Kairi reached out and helped Sora up.

"What a dick hole," Kairi glared after him.

"Yeah…." Sora rubbed his head slowly, then smiled.

"Let's go, we're gonna be late."

Kairi smiled softly. She knew Sora's secret all too well, but she hated it.

"His loss Sora, you write the worst book reports EVER."

Sora laughed, "Shut up hoeface."

Next time: NEWSFLASH! Sora's book report really sucks. It's about ponies and unicorns and dewdrops and talking frogs with yellow spots, and we're all pretty sure Edgar Allen Poe didn't like any of those things.