Title: Things He Would Never Say
Rating: T for mentions of OT3 stuff
Pairings: RikuSoraKairi in any order, so yaoi and het
Summary: There were so many things Riku would never say, but so many of them were understood that it didn't matter.
Word Count: 1624
Warnings: OT3, spoilers for Music Box
Disclaimer: I'm too tired/lazy/not!rich enough to fight for them, ugh.
Note: Thanks to marmaladecat for betaing this and leaving kind words of encouragement. She makes my day a little bit brighter every time she takes the time out of her day to help me out. :)
Also note that if you are unfamiliar with Music Box, it might be a good idea to read it. This is part of a chain of fics that are all inter-related and I don't want to lose you!
Riku would never say it- he'd never say a lot of things, actually. He would never say how when they got back, his side was throbbing with pain and every step he took made his breath catch and the world waver.
(In the end, Kairi had watched him stumble over air and slipped a tiny arm around his waist, holding him up lightly enough so it seemed that she was just happy to see him and not that she was keeping him from falling to his knees. He'd never said it, but when his fingers brushed her shoulders, rough with calluses and there, she knew it was a thank-you.)
He would never say that adjusting was hard, because everyone else had their own issues to deal with.
(He had sworn Kairi to secrecy because he didn't want Sora to worry over him too. That night, the King and Sora's other two friends left, leaving them on the beach, staring at the fading light of the portal. Sora had pasted a bright smile on his lips after that, but he had blinked at seeing Kairi and Riku so close and part of Riku cringed and hoped that Sora didn't get the wrong idea, or worse, was hurt.)
He would never say that getting back to his house was one of the most painful things he could remember.
(It was not because of his injury, but because of the distraught look on his mother's face as she stared up at him-he had been so young when he had left and now he was tall and solemn and she wasn't truly sure if it was her son anymore. It had hurt even more when he realized that he was able to read all of that from the expression on her face and the look in her eyes. Part of him wanted to just yell out that it was him and that he was real.)
He would never say that he was so relieved to see his parents, regardless of if they recognized him or were mad at him.
(They were neither- his mother had taken one long look at him and then hugged him tightly, her slim frame shaking with sobs that drew her husband downstairs, his glasses perched on his nose. His father had frozen where he was, pushing up his glasses a little more and then making his way to his wife and child, hugging both of them tightly.)
He would never say that his side hurt even more after that, after their over-zealous greeting.
(Neither of his parents noticed the gasp of pain that happened when they hugged him so tightly, too far gone in their relief at their only son being home again. Kairi did, her lilac eyes watching him far too carefully with that warm smile on her face; and he knew that he was the only one who could pick up on her concern.)
He would never say that he was a little glad to leave his house for a bit and head down to the spray of waves, heated sand under his feet and bite of cool air on his face.
(Sora was waiting there for him, barefoot and wearing just his shorts and a simple black shirt, tan skin almost bronze in the light and when Kairi stood next to him, all Riku could think was this was right. It was even more right when Kairi took their hands and intertwined them sloppily- three hands shouldn't be able to fit together like that but they did.)
He would never say that when his dizziness, nausea and the steady throbthrobthrob of his side caught up to him, he was glad.
(Not glad, of course, that he was hurt because hurt it did, but because Sora instantly dropped to his knees and helped support him to keep him from falling face-first in the sand like he had in Nothingness. Kairi moved to Riku's other side, slender fingers pulling at the zippers on his shirt parting it just enough to see his chest where an ugly, blackyellowblue bruise was on his pale skin. Sora hissed in sympathy and a dash of anger, touching the edges of the mark with callused fingers, the touch still light enough that it didn't hurt but was still there. Kairi, on the other hand, whispered out a curse word that made Riku laugh shakily and Sora blink with surprise.
"Riku…You're so stupid," Sora breathed, his blue eyes dark with anger and with worry as he fumbled in his bottomless pants for something. "Damn it; I emptied out my pockets before I came 'cause I sounded loud an' stupid when I walked." He scowled and then directed a glare to Riku. "Didn't think someone would be stupid enough to not tell me that they needed a potion."
"It's fine," Riku snapped back hoping that they didn't notice how he leaned a little more into them because it had been so…so long and he'd missed them and they were warm and the feeling of right was overwhelming. "I-I'm fine. Really."
Sora's bright blue eyes had narrowed to midnight blue slits, his eyebrows furrowed. "You're lying."
Rolling her eyes at the boys, Kairi started to zip Riku's shirt back up, and the older teen vaguely thought that this would be extremely awkward to explain if anyone walked up to see them. "Sora, why don't you run back and get the potions and we'll stay here for a bit. You're faster anyway.")
He would never say that it was sometimes terrifying to look at Kairi and Sora with their blinding smiles, welcoming eyes and their bright, bright light and find that they were all too willing to accept him.
("Come on!" Sora had grinned, tugging Riku along through the rain and the wind, their feet squishing in the sand as they hurried to Kairi's house. Swinging up the trellis with ease, both boys were inside and Sora gratefully accepted the towel thrown at him. "Sorry it took so long! Ooh, cookies!"
Riku had chanced a small smile at that, startled when Kairi came close enough that there was only an inch or so between them and gently draped a towel over his head. Breath catching, both of them froze in place, Riku's eyes darting from her barely parted lips to her bright lilac eyes as Kairi slowly removed her hands and stared at him.
"Feeshe cookiesh 're good," Sora commented helpfully, breaking the spell as Riku pulled back with a quiet thanks and worked on drying his hair while Kairi busied herself doing something else. From the speculating look in Sora's blue eyes, Riku thought that most likely the brunet had picked up on the awkwardness in a rare moment of clarity.)
He would never say that through all the awkwardness, he was nearly complete with everything he had.
("I really, really want to kiss you two," Kairi admitted through the crash of the storm outside, her cheeks flushed with embarrassment and just a tinge of desire. Both boys fumbled for words, glancing at each other as if that would solve their problem and Kairi let out a noise that was a cross between a huff and a laugh. "You're both hopeless; Selphie was right. We'd just be dancing around each other if someone didn't say something."
Sora seemed to come to his senses quicker than Riku did, blinking owlishly and then putting his hands on his hips. "You're listening to what Selphie has to say? Is there something wrong with you, by any chance?" he asked, one of his hands rubbing the back of his neck absently as he tried to force a grin on his face. "I mean s-"
Rolling her eyes, Kairi leaned up and pressed a gentle kiss to his lips, pulling back with bright pink cheeks but a tiny smile. Sora was still standing there, staring at her with shock when she turned to Riku and did the same to him, bare hands soft and cool against his suddenly burning cheeks. Then she pulled away without a word; her lips made his own tingle pleasantly. Both Riku and Sora were staring at her strangely until Sora shrugged and turned to Riku, throwing his arms around the taller boy's neck and tugging him down until their lips pressed together. It was awkward- Riku was almost too tall, too stiff, too worried but Sora didn't give up. Pulling back, he tugged on Riku's hair gently and eased him into another kiss, relieved when the taller teen accepted it and hesitantly reciprocated. )
He would never say that even though things had not turned out the way that they wanted, with the note, Mickey's death and being forced to leave the Islands again, he was content wherever they were. He would never say what they so easily said to each other, whispered into someone's ear, breath tickling as, "I love you," broke the silence. No, he would never say it because it wasn't in his nature; instead, he kept them close and loved them silently and was glad that they never demanded the words from him. He didn't have to say those words because they were understood.
Oh, Music Box-verse, why are you so fun to write, hmm? Please drop me a line with your thoughts, good or bad. :)
ALSO. Now that ffn has that thing where it alerts you to who favs, I know who you are. ::squinty-eyed glare:: Come on, guys, if you have enough time to fav, just leave me a little thing to say if you liked it. Please?