Ch1: Such a Stranger
"Hey Riku! Over here!"
The blonde jumped as the blitz ball flew towards him, catching it perfectly and landing back on the sand. "Hey, shouldn't we be playing this in the water…?" Tidus asked as he tossed it to Wakka, staring at the ocean beside them fondly.
"Nah." Wakka said, grabbing the ball and tossing it to Riku. "Too cold. Besides, I need a break from that kind of stuff."
Riku caught it and then threw it to Tidus again, who threw it back. "Yeah Tidus, its three days into spring break and you just want to go back into the water…" The blonde huffed at this. The other two laughed, and Riku threw it to Wakka. "He's such a fish."
The blonde crossed his arms and pouted. "Am not!" Then the ball collided with his head, toppling the teen over. Riku just stared, and then he and Wakka cracked up entirely at the disgruntled figure sprawled out on the sand.
Riku caught his breath pretty quick and then rolled his eyes at Tidus, who still wore his pout. He outstretched his hand and Tidus took it. "You know we don't mean that in a bad way Tidus…" This just made Wakka laugh harder. Riku rolled his eyes. "He's just an idiot."
Tidus smiled at this, but Wakka had stopped laughing. Then the blonde looked around. "Hey… Where'd the ball go…?" He looked at Riku, who was also looking around, then to Wakka who shrugged. "You didn't watch where it went!?" Tidus burst out.
Wakka half glared. "Well, it bounced off your head! You should kn-!"
"But you threw it!"
Riku sighed in exhaustion. They always got around to fighting when they had a game involving a blitz ball. His friends were so predictable sometimes… it was almost scary. "I'll find it…" He mumbled as he began his trek into the mass of plants that grew all around the island, but he went unheard.
He ducked beneath the large palm fronds and stepped over the occasional branch or trunk of a fallen tree. Then he pushed past a certain pair of giant leaves, and saw a smudge of blue in the corner of his eye. He looked more closely at the object in the distance, and confirmed that it was indeed the ball before going towards it.
He sighed and ran a hand through his hair to get it out of his face, before leaning down and picking it up, but something slid across the ball's surface when he pulled it away, and the teen stopped to look down. And there, hidden within the browned leaves and a few small branches, sat a hand… limp and tan… just sitting there…
Riku stared at it for a moment and then his eyes traveled up to follow the skin and it led to an arm, but the rest of the body was hidden behind a few tightly clustered ferns.
He gulped, pushing the idea of finding a dead body hidden behind the leaves to the bottom of his stomach. Slowly, he set the ball aside and then reached out to push the plants away, and his eyes grew in diameter. "Woah…" He breathed as his gaze took in the form of a boy… a form that was gently tanned and seemed to blend in amongst the leaves, and was also very… very… naked.
Riku could feel his face flush and he looked away, gulping again, his brain reciting the words 'Oh my god oh my god oh my god…' over and over again.
He slowly drew in a breath, and then let it back out in the same manner, before looking back up at the teenager at his feet. Riku began to inch his way around the body, his eyes fixed on the kid's face as he rotated around him until he was standing beside the stranger.
Slowly, Riku got lower to the ground, his elbows on his knees and weight balanced on the balls of his feet. He let out another faster, harsher sigh and ran his fingers through his hair again. Riku could see the kid's chest moving, which meant he was breathing, which meant he was alive… but he still didn't look that great.
He was a little too thin for Riku's comfort, and looked frail. Then the teen noticed two parallel cuts on the boy's arm. They were deep and the blood that must've been flowing earlier had dried to his skin. There was also a wound near the kid's hip that looked like a bullet had grazed his flesh… but one thing kept crossing Riku's brain… "Why is he naked!?"
He quickly turned away, flushing once more, and then gulped the feeling down again. Slowly, his eyes turned back to look the boy up and down once more, ignoring a certain region as he did, and then they locked on his face.
He looked so peaceful… so soft and kind… Those cheeks had also been kissed by the sun, and his skin tone was complimented perfectly by the wild organization of brown hair framing that near-angelic face. Riku couldn't help but stare, his heart slowly calming at the sight… his mind clearing all thoughts of Wakka and Tidus and the worry of why the kid was naked… his entire body locked in tranquility.
And then his breath was nearly stolen away when the stranger's eyes fluttered open, meeting his own with their brilliant blue coloration. "Wait… his eyes are open…?"
The stranger below Riku gasped and quickly scurried up into a sitting position, moving a few feet away from Riku. "N-No! It's okay!" Riku said quickly, reaching for him. The boy's hand suddenly lashed out, and Riku's arm drew back instantly, tiny beads of blood forming at the corners of the newly formed scratches.
Riku held his hand in front of his face, staring at the tiny cuts, the full path of them slowly turning red in front of his eyes. Then he looked back up at the brunette.
The boy flinched away slightly, as though he were preparing to run. "No!" Riku said again, but this time he stopped his natural reaction of reaching out mid-way.
The teen looked over the brunette in front of him… The stranger was panting in fear, his eyes fixed on Riku's and body tensed, ready to either attack… or run. It was like he had found a lost kitten… cowering in the depths of a city's alley, but still rearing to fight.
So Riku took that into consideration… He kept his eyes on the other's as he began lowering himself closer to the ground. "Just wait okay…?" He said softly. The brunette's body twitched a little and he stiffened, his legs preparing to run once more. Riku froze. He could see the obvious panic in the other's eyes as they flickered back and forth between his own pupils… Then when Riku saw the stranger's body relax a little, he slowly continued to lower himself until he was sitting down on the leaves, eyelevel with the one in front of him.
"I'm not going to hurt you…" Riku whispered to the other, keeping their eyes locked the entire time. "See…? I'm just moving a little. I'm not going to do anything…" All the time Riku spoke, he couldn't believe he was actually talking like this to a fellow human being…
Cautiously, the teen lifted his hand and outstretched it towards the other. The brunette's eyes moved back and forth between Riku's eyes to his hand and back again. "I won't hurt you…" Riku said again. The stranger looked up into his eyes at the words, and Riku's breathing was stopped by that intense blue once more. "I promise…"
He could see the other's body relax a little at the words, and his eyes remained on Riku's. Slowly, the teen's fingertips brushed the stranger's arm and he felt the brunette's body tense. His hand stopped and he waited for the other to relax again before continuing forward, now having to move the rest of his body in order to get closer.
The stranger's gaze moved to watch Riku's fingertips slowly go up and down his arm, before resting on his shoulder. Then those deep blues looked back up into Riku's eyes… the eyes that had never left his gaze… "There… that's not so bad… right?" He said softly, smiling a little.
The brunette just stared into his eyes for a bit longer before slowly letting his body relax completely and then he moved a little closer to Riku, experimenting with the idea, before laying down. Riku watched in slight fascination as he lay upon the leaves and curled in on himself… head resting upon the teen's leg… Riku's hand below his cheek. "Yeah…" The teenager breathed, more to himself than the other. "…this isn't so bad…"
His hands ran lazily over the other's side like he was stroking a common house pet, and the brunette's eyes closed at the feeling and Riku couldn't help but stare in awe. "Who are you…?" He barley whispered, feeling his curiosity being captivated.
"Rikuuu!" Both their heads jerked up to look at the sound of Tidus's voice, one in alarm, both in surprise. "Come on man! Where'd you go!?"
Riku felt the other's head lift away from his leg, and his gaze fell to the look of fear that had spread across the brunette's features once more.
"Riku!" Tidus called again. The brunette sat up, his body tense and at alert, like a dear that had just heard a twig snap behind it.
Riku reached out without really thinking, his hand wrapping around the other's forearm. Frantic eyes flickered to his gaze, and Riku could hear his breathing becoming quick with fright once more. "Wait here… okay? I'll come back." He wasn't sure what he was doing, but he knew that he couldn't just leave the kid out here on his own. "I'll come back and get you, but only if you stay here."
"This isn't funny anymore Riku!" This time it was Wakka's voice.
Riku's head snapped back up to the voices and crunch of leaves coming closer, and he suddenly had the feeling that he shouldn't show the guys what he had stumbled upon. "Coming!" He called back, before standing up to rush off and meet the others, hoping that the stranger had understood him. But something suddenly wrapped around his wrist, jerking him backwards slightly.
When Riku's eyes moved down to glance at the other, the look upon the brunette's face nearly broke his heart. A blue gaze screamed out the hurt in his gut, the feeling of abandonment seeping through those eyes and into Riku's soul.
He stared down into the brunette's pupils. Slowly, a smile crept up onto his lips and he leaned down a little, putting his forehead gently against the other's. "Stay here and I'll be back." Those deep blues softened a little, but they still had a hint of doubt. "…I promise…" He whispered.
Then he felt the hand slip from his wrist, and he stood back to full height before looking over the other once more. Riku stepped back, keeping his eyes on the brunette as long as he could, before turning and running through the leaves that concealed his little secret from the world. He jogged out of the ferns and grabbed the ball before rushing off to meet his friends.
Tidus turned to see Riku coming towards them and he put his hands on his hips and an angry look on his face. "Where were you? Didn't you hear us calling?"
Riku bent over panting, his hands on his knees. "Oh stop being such a girl… I swear, sometimes you sound just like Kairi." Tidus opened his mouth to argue, but Riku continued and cut him off. "I was just getting the ball anyway…" He stood back to full height and spun the ball on the tip of his finger. "…and I got it, so let's go back and play, alright?"
Tidus's eyes brightened a little at the mention of the game and he ruffled Riku's hair, taking the ball from him and tossing it at Wakka. Riku smiled at his friend's sign of forgiveness and ran his hand through his hair to straighten it. He watched as the two teens ran back towards the beach through the low hanging branches and ferns… and then looked back to the clump of bushes behind him…
…and his smile just grew.
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Riku waved the guys off, the sun setting in the background. "See you tomorrow, same time?" Tidus called back.
"Aaactually" The other teen's eyes moved to the forest beside him for a moment and then back to Tidus. "I think I'm doing something tomorrow…"
Tidus and Wakka stopped and gawked. "Whaaaaat!?" They yelled.
Riku flinched and then smiled. "Sorry!" He called.
"But-! But-!"
"Sooorryyy!" Riku called over his shoulder again, before turning on his heel and moving around the corner, and out of their sight.
He could hear their protests in the background, and then they died down to grumbles before Tidus yelled one last thing. "We hate you!"
Riku almost laughed at his friend's call, but he was too busy getting back to the starting place of their game to answer it. Once he had got there, he looked into the depths of the forest and sighed. "I wonder if he's still there…"
He stepped into the plant life and looked around, getting his bearings before heading off. But when he got to his recent destination… the brunette was gone… Riku's heart pounded a little faster as he looked around frantically for the boy, eyes scanning the entire area once again. Then he ran forward, rushing through the leaves and branches, searching for the other teen.
His legs finally stopped once he had hit the beach on the other side of the forest, and his throat seemed to tie knots around itself at the idea of having lost the other. And then he heard a rustle of leaves behind him.
Riku's eyes widened and he whirled around to look down at the teen, his head tipped to the side in a look that suggested innocence and slight confusion. Riku stared at him for a few moments and then rolls his eyes. He walked up to the other boy, attempting to ignore his nakedness once again, and kneeled down onto the balls of his feet like he had done before. "Where were you…? I was looking everywhere- - -" But his voice trailed off as he looked into those deep blue eyes once more.
"What's your name anyways…?" Riku asked softly. The other's head just tipped in the other direction. "Can't you say anything?" He said in the same patient and gentle tone.
The response was the same as before. Riku's brows drew together a little and he stood, looking at the brunette with utter confusion. "So you can't talk… and you don't seem to understand me…" He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair in exasperation. "Wow. This is a strange predicament."
Riku looked around and then took two steps backwards before leaning back to look off at something in the distance, the brunette watching in fascination at the other's strange actions. Riku had leaned back to check if he was correct about his house being just around the bend… which he was…
He looked back at the brunette, then to his house, and then to the teenager once more. "I'm out of my mind… I am out of my FREAKING mind…"
He sighed again, and then walked back over to the teen in the bushes, kneeling back down… "Wanna stay with me…?" Riku asked, looking into those big blues.
The brunette's eyes flickered back and forth between the other's aquamarine orbs. It was like he was searching for the right answer within the other's eyes… and it gave Riku shivers…
The brunette's head slowly moved down in a nod. Riku blinked in amazement, his lips cracking open a bit as he stared into those eyes. "You do…?" He asked in a tone of bewilderment.
The other nodded more securely, the brown spikes atop his head bouncing slightly with the movement. Riku smiled a little at the other and he stood back up, offering his hand to the brunette.
Blue eyes blinked at the extended appendage, and then blinked up at Riku, and then back again. Riku laughed beneath his breath a little. "You take it." He said with a smile, obviously amused by the whole thing.
The brunette stared at Riku's hand as his fingers wrapped around it cautiously, the feeling of the teen's hand below his fingers making him feel oddly secure… a feeling he wasn't familiar with at all… Then Riku stepped back slowly, letting the other stand on his own before letting his hand go. He spotted the brunette as he staggered forward on unsteady legs, and then balanced himself.
The kid blinked and then his eyes slowly rose up to meet Riku's once again. "You got it…?" Riku asked softly, ready to catch him if he fell. The other nodded again and then smiled. Riku smiled back and then moved to stand beside the other, taking his wrist gently and pulling the stranger's arm over his shoulder. Then his eyes met the blue ones staring at their feet. "This okay?" Riku asked. The brunette nodded again and then Riku slipped his arm across the arch of the stranger's back, steadying him further. "Ok… We're going to move now… You ready?"
After another nod, and a few more confirming questions, Riku and his newly found friend began their trek to his house…
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The two had maneuvered their way into Riku's room by going through the back door, avoiding the kitchen and his mother's bedroom, and then winding down the hall. Now Riku was pacing and wondering what to do next, as the other stared at the various belongings stashed around the room… hungry, dirty… and still COMPLETELY naked. But Riku tried not to think of that.
Then a light bulb seemed to go off in the back of Riku's brain and he turned to face the brunette, who looked a bit startled by the sudden movement. "Wait here. I'll be back in a second, ok?" The brunette nodded. Riku guessed he now knew it meant 'yes' or 'I agree', so he quickly walked out of his room and disappeared down the hallway.
The stranger stared at the door intently, not moving at all, until Riku re-appeared… his hands balancing a plate with a ham and cheese sandwich, a glass of milk, and some assorted veggies and fruits all piled on top. He put the plate down on his bed-side table and then brushed himself off. "There you go. I thought you looked hungry, so I made you…" He looked at his watch. "…I guess, dinner. Or a REEEALLY early breakfast."
But when he looked back up at the brunette, he found his visitor poking at the food in front of him and sniffing it every once in a while. Then he swallowed. It smelled good… but was it really his for the taking?
"Go on… It's yours, so you can go ahead and eat it." Riku reassured. The brunette looked up at him, and then back at the food his index finger was still prodding at. The teen rolled his eyes and then sat down upon the bed, next to the (still naked) stranger. "Here… like this…" Riku said as he picked up the sandwich, and took a small bite out of it. "Now you try it." He said, handing it to the other boy.
The brunette looked at it for a moment, and then slowly took it in his hands. He gulped again, and his stomach growled aloud at the smell of food. He slowly brought his lips around the side of the sandwich, and took a slow, weary bite out of it. Then he looked absolutely stunned… it was delicious…
Riku burst out laughing at the reaction, and the brunette dropped the sandwich upon the bed immediately in surprise. The older teen looked back up into his eyes and calmed himself down before speaking. "It's okay… I was just laughing a little…"
The brunette eyed him for a moment, and then picked up the sandwich once again, before taking another bite. Then another. Riku couldn't help but smile as he watched the other eat. It was like a hamster, rotating the food around in his paws as he ate… Then those big, shiny blues glanced up at Riku and the brunette blushed a little before dropping the sandwich back onto the covers again, drawing his hands into his lap.
Riku just rolled his eyes. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to embarrass you…" But the brunette just lowered his head, and stared at his knees. The older of the two smiled again, and sat on the bed in front of the younger. "Here." He said softly, picking the sandwich back up and ripping off a little piece of it. Lightly, he pressed the piece of food to the other's lips, those big blue eyes growing even wider at the movement.
The brunette drew away, staring up at Riku… but he just laughed below his breath and repositioned himself to sit cross-legged. "Here." He said again, putting his hand out with the piece of sandwich in his palm. The kid looked from the other's eyes, to the piece of sandwich and then his hand slowly moved from his lap, coming closer to Riku's… The brunette cautiously took the food from his palm and then put it into his mouth, chewing it up quickly. Riku snorted and lifted himself from the bed, a smile of amusement on his lips.
The stranger looked up as he exited the room, his eyes shimmering with the worries of him never returning, but then the door opened once more, and Riku's head popped in. "I'll be back. Don't worry." He said, leaving again, but the door was stopped mere inches from closing and Riku's head was suddenly shoved back through the doorway. "And eat your food… Ok?"
He waited for a moment until the other nodded and had picked up the sandwich once more before he closed the door and headed down the hall to the bathroom.
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Riku didn't quite understand why, but he had gotten used to seeing the stranger naked unusually fast… Normally, he had issues with that sort of thing. Even during P.E. at school, he hadn't enjoyed the idea of changing with a bunch of other people… It wasn't that he was insecure… it was just that he wasn't comfortable with seeing OTHER people's… parts… and most of the guys in his class were his friends… So Riku had no hope at understanding the way his brain worked…
But when he snuck the stranger into the bathroom down the hall, he didn't feel as uncomfortable as he thought he should have. Even when he had to sponge down the guy because he was incapable of knowing how to wash himself… Of course, that fact came as quite a surprise to Riku and he hadn't exactly… well… prepared for it, so he mainly just washed out the long spikes of brown and soaped down his back…
And now Riku found himself searching through his closet for a pair of pajamas that might actually FIT the stranger…
The brunette sat on Riku's bed, a big blue towel wrapped around his body, his legs tucked in close to his chest and hidden away. Actually, the only parts of him that showed were his head and toes, which wiggled and stretched a little as Riku fussed about the room searching in vain for a pair of pajamas…
Riku drew his fingers through his hair, and then put his hands on his hips, heaving a sigh as he looked around the room once more. Then he turned back to the closet in front of him and drew out some green PJs with long sleeves and pants. It was just a plain green, no patterns or any special markings, but Riku had never really been into that kind of thing anyways… He looked it over and heaved another sigh before walking back to the brunette, scratching the back of his head with one hand, and carrying the PJs in the other.
"I know it's not exactly your size… but it's all I've got." Riku said, looking up at the brunette.
The other just tipped his head to the side a little and then nodded as if to say, 'I understand… but I don't know why I have to wear anything in the first place…' Riku laughed a little at the look and then ruffled the other's hair.
Slowly, his eyes moved up to the mess of brown atop the stranger's head, his hand still deep inside its depths. "Wow…" He breathed. Slowly, his fingers moved out of the other's hair, one of them wrapping around a single spike. Then his thumb and forefinger pinched the tip of the brown spike and tugged at it lightly. "…I guess it is naturally like that…"
Then he noticed the gaze upon his face and he looked down a little to meet those big blue eyes once more. The stranger's face was unreadable, but Riku could somehow tell… he was happy… The older teen smiled down at him and let his hand fall from the brunette spikes. He held out the PJs, and the stranger just blinked at them, obviously unaware of the strangeness of his nudity.
Riku rolled his eyes, but kept his smile as he leaned forward and slipped the towel from the brunette's shoulders. "So…" He asked as he unfolded the shirt and positioned it over the brunette's head. "…you still haven't told me who you are."
The brunette let his body be manipulated by the older teenager, Riku maneuvering him into the shirt carefully. The kid's head tipped to the side once more and Riku knew he would never be able to answer… Slowly, he assisted the stranger in standing, and then held out the pants before dropping them to the floor. "Here… put one foot in there…" Riku pointed to the brunette's feet and then to the pant leg. "Then the other in there… Good… Yeah, like that." After the brunette's feet were in place, Riku slipped the pants on over the other's tanned skin… ignoring the certain region of anatomy.
But after he had tied a tiny bow at the top of the brunette's PJs, their eyes suddenly locked once more…
Riku was trapped by that gaze, his body unable to move, hands stuck on the bow of the stranger's pajamas. Those eyes were scanning his again, searching for something hidden in the back of his brain… and he had a strange feeling like now was the time to ask…
"Who are you…?" Riku barely breathed, his lungs restrained as the intensity of the innocent's search grew.
Then his lips cracked open a little, and his voice shook as he spoke. "S… Sora…"
Riku eyes widened at the singular word hanging in the air. "Who… Who are-?"
"Sora." The stranger said again, his voice having steadied itself a little more, but it was still soft.
The elder of the two stared down into, apparently, Sora's pupils, amazed by the answer. "Oh…" He breathed out, his lungs craving the release of air. Then he blinked, seemingly remembering his place, and let his hands fall away, his feet taking him a step backward. "Oh. Okay…" He said more to himself than the other before turning around to face his closet once more. Riku leaned forward, putting his palm against the wall, his other hand on his hip. Why did he suddenly feel like he had heard that name before…?
He pushed off of the wall, and his arms reached towards the back of his closet to grab a futon. "I'll sleep on this, okay? You can use my bed until you go…" "…whenever that may be…"
Sora nodded in understanding when the other had turned around. Riku had successfully shoved the thought of the brunette's name to the back of his mind by changing the subject, and he un-folded the futon in his hands. Sora watched as Riku took the extra pillows he had gotten earlier and placed them at the top of the make-shift mattress, and then they looked back up at each other.
Sora smiled, and Riku gave him an odd look before sighing and rolling his eyes. "Here." He said as he pulled back the covers on his bed for the guest. The kid looked at his uncovered mattress, and then at Riku, and then back again. Riku heaved another sigh before moving the other forward slightly, silently urging him to get in. "You sleep heeere, and I sleep theeere… Get it?"
Sora turned to look at Riku again, and then his legs stopped. They looked into each-other's eyes once more, and this time… Riku still had the notion, 'Sleep there' echoing loudly in his head.
The brunette seemed to understand and he turned, sitting on the bed, and then swung his legs onto the mattress. Riku smiled as Sora tucked himself in and then smiled goofily like he was saying, 'Look! I did it all on my own!'
"Okay… Now that you're in there… go to sleep. You need it, and I know I do…" The brunette nearly seemed to laugh at that. "So just do me a favor and go to sleep… Alright?" Sora nodded, and Riku turned to go and snuggle into his own covers, when a hand wrapped around his wrist.
Riku paused. Slowly, his head turned, and he looked at the other out of the corner of his eye… but Sora wasn't looking at him… Instead his gaze had moved to look at his feet. Riku turned the rest of the way around to look down at the brunette, the hand slipping from his skin and his arm suddenly felt very cold.
He stared down at those blue eyes, hazed over slightly as they looked into a place Riku couldn't see. The brunette nibbled unconsciously at his lip as he continued to stare into nothing.
He jumped a little at the hand suddenly ruffling his hair again, and his head jerked up to look into Riku's face. The teen smiled down at him. "Don't worry… I'll always be here…" He said softly. Sora blinked up at him, his eyes widening a little and his lips cracking open in surprise. But as Riku's smile widened, Sora returned it, the hand ruffling his hair beginning to feel very familiar. "Now…" Riku continued before yawning. "…I really have to go to bed."
This time when he turned away, he wasn't stopped by a hand… a sound or movement behind him… and he slipped into his covers comfortably. Then aqua eyes moved slowly up and met the blue ones across the room… "Good night… Sora…" He said softly.
It took another one of those stare-downs between them… but Sora smiled back and turned over in the bed. "N-Night… Riku…"
Riku's eyes widened a little and his breath was restrained once more in shock. "Did… Did he just…?" …And then he found himself smiling… his name sounding so sweet coming from such a stranger…