Tropical Heat

Light Bloom

I wrote this for the Rikuroku contest on DA, but I only put up half or so. Felt it covered the topic well enough. This is the whole thing.

Hope you enjoy!

Roxas decided around midnight of the first day that he hated tropical weather with a passion. Rolling and groaning softly after an hour of tossing over his thin sheets, he finally sat up. Walking over to his window (who cared if he stomped or didn't bother to be quiet, his mom was a light sleeper), Roxas pulled apart his curtains and slid open his window. A cool ocean breeze came slithering in, instantly cooling his sweat slicked skin. Frowning, he opened the window further and clambered out. It didn't matter that it was almost two in the morning, or that the tide was high, or his parents were sleeping. His house had a balcony that lead out the ocean, the beach was cool and that was all that mattered.

Taking a small leap onto the white balcony, he hoisted himself over the rails and onto the beach. Grinning at the feel of sand between his toes, Roxas laughed softly. "I should camp out here from now on," He muttered, walking down the beach and towards the sea.

"Who's there?"

Roxas wheeled around sharply, heels slipping on the smooth sand and causing him fall flat on his back. Surprised and startled, he struggled to regain his pride and bearings as he rose up again. Chuckling, the boy he hadn't noticed earlier smirked at him, not even bothering to hold out a hand in courtesy.

"Practicing ballet there, twinkle toes?"

Fuming, Roxas glared his way. "No, and who are you? This is my property—"

"I wasn't aware you could own the beach. As far as I knew, that porch and house was all your family owned. And here I thought that the ocean was public property. How sad"

Roxas bit his tongue.

"What are you doing in front of my house?" He muttered angrily.

"Taking a walk like you, I suppose. Isn't this a free beach?"

"Why so late?"

"Don't you think I should be asking that too?" The boy smirked again.

Roxas hesitated, and sighed. "It's too hot to sleep. I used to live in Twilight Town when I was a kid, but then I moved to Traverse Town for a while before here. It's a lot colder there than it is here."

"Ah," The boy nodded seriously. "I can see how that could be a problem. It is unusually hot tonight though, so I don't blame you one bit for wanting to get out. Leave your windows open during the day, it should help keep the house cool at night."

"Thanks."

"No problem." The Stranger smiled. "So, you must Sora's cousin, the one he keeps going on about; the kid who rides a skateboard with 'mad skills' and would make a 'great addition' to our friends."

Roxas frowned, confused. "Um…I guess?"

"Do you skateboard?"

"…yes…"

"Do you have a checkered jacket?"

"Yea—"

"Do you have a constant bed head look that looks like the end of a ducks butt?"

Roxas scowled. "No—"

"Then you're him." The boy grinned. "I hear your name is Roxas, right?"

"Yes."

"Pleasure to meet you, I'm Riku." Riku smiled widely. "Now you need to get off the beach."

"No, this is a free area—"

"You don't understand—"

"I'm not getting off this beach—"

"BOMBS AWAY RIKU!"

"Damn it—Sora, stop the attack—"

A harsh sound met Roxas's ears as a large water balloon hit the ground nearby. Ducking, he ran for cover. Riku grabbed at his wrist blindly and tugged him in a different direction. "This way, hurry!"

With multiple balloons flying past his head at incredible speeds, Roxas didn't really feel like arguing. Struggling to keep up, he blindly followed Riku into the shrubs and bushes. Once through and fairly out of danger, Roxas took the chance to look up.

"…A tree house."

Riku scowled, but motioned for them to start climbing anyways. Roxas felt his heart drop a little. It was a long climb. "Shut up. It's a tree house, I know, but I was seven when we built it and it's still a good hiding spot during the early morning turf wars."

"Turf wars?"

"Sora and his friends—well my friends too—came up with the idea that we should have battles over sections of the beach, the best sections for swimming, eating, hanging out, surfing, you name it, we fight for it. I'm not all that interested in it, but since I'm the only impartial party, I get stuck referring every time one comes up." Riku extended his hand. Frowning, Roxas took it and easily hoisted himself up into the tree. "Don't get me wrong, it's fun to watch, but the idea behind it goes completely over my head."

"Yours and mine," Roxas muttered. "What's this house now for anyways?"

"Take a look outside." Riku pulled aside a curtain. Poking his head out, Roxas had to take a moment to gather his wits.

"You can see everything," he whispered in awe, feeling the ocean breeze wash past his face. He smiled and laughed a little when he spotted small lights down below, making their way quickly out towards the beach. "Including them."

"Hm?" Riku peered out the window, and nodded. "Well, what do you know? I guess that Tidus lost again. He's usually able to steal everyone's territory, but who knows, maybe he's not so good without Wakka…"

He looked over towards Roxas with a smile. "Don't you think?"

Roxas stared blankly, blush beginning to form as time kept moving by. "Um…I don't know what you're talking about Riku."

Chuckling, Riku pulled back. "Of course, sorry, I completely forgot you just moved here. "

"Y-Yeah…." Roxas cleared his throat awkwardly. "So, how old are you?"

"Sixteen. You?"

"Fifteen"

Riku smiled. "I forget that you guys are supposed to be the same age, and aside from that, I'm being rude." He turned around and headed to a darker area of the room. "Would you like something to drink or eat?"

"Um…No thanks—"

"Are you sure? Not even some water?"

"If you have cold water, maybe just a little—"A cold bottle was shoved into his hands. Riku grinned, plopping down onto a large beanbag. "We live on an island; do you honestly think we don't have cold water? Or did you expect barbarians?"

Roxas smirked, pulling up a chair nearby to sit on. "No, but it looks like a met one anyways," he muttered quietly.

"Haha, very funny." Riku rolled his eyes and downed his drink.

Roxas shook his head. "I can't imagine why Sora hangs out with you."

"To be honest, I think he had a crush on me."

Roxas choked loudly, sputtering as icy water spilled all over his lap. "W-What?"

Riku laughed quietly. "But then he started going all puppy dog eyed over Kairi this year, and I had nothing to worry about. We're just friends after all. It's a good thing too, since he's not my type."

Roxas cleared his throat, eyes watering from coughing so hard. "S-So he's not your type and you were totally okay with the possibility of your friend liking you?"

"Of course, he's my friend." Riku answered simply. "I can't hate him for something so simple and uncontrolled. And like I said, he's not my type anyways."

Roxas laughed weakly. "What is your type then?"

Riku smiled impishly, lowering his gaze to his empty bottle of Paopu Juice. "Something a little cuter," He murmured in response, glancing up at Roxas instead.

Silence fell over them. "So," Roxas began, awkwardly, suddenly painfully aware of Riku's gaze on him. "Why are you two friends?"

Riku smiled, getting up and leaning in closer. "I'll make you a bet. If it turns out that Sora won tonight, I'll tell you how we met. But if Sora lost…"

Roxas leaned back slowly, eyes widening as Riku got closer. The older boy grinned. "I'll tell you more about my 'kind of type'."

"But…how will we know—"

Fireworks banged loudly outside in the back. Riku smiled widely, motioning for him to look out the window. Bright white and blue fireworks burst in the air. He grinned, leaning in a little more. Roxas froze, face heating in embarrassment. "Whenever we win, we shoot up fireworks. Each of us has two colors, one for each partner. Sora was with Kairi, so his colors would have been red and blue tonight. Wakka and Tidus always use blue and white for victory."

He grinned. Roxas could feel his breath, distinguish each eye lash and watch his sea green eyes focus. Feel skin to skin. They were so close, that when they finally did touch, he could feel Riku say it before he even heard the soft whisper between their lips.

"So, do you still want to know what I consider my type?"