Hey, everybody! The promised 100-review celebration. Not much, for now, but I'll add to it when the mood strikes me.

Disclaimer: Obviously not mine. Square-Enix and Disney, 100%. My own (completely unoriginal XD) twist on things, sure. Other than that? Nope, not mine.

Homecoming

Rating: Low T for implications. Better safe than sorry. Should be good for most, though.

Pairing(s): Soriku

Genre: Pure, unadulterated fluff.

Storyline and Placement: Original timeline. Post-KHII, somewhere between the return to Destiny Islands and the post-credits letter scene. Maybe after.

Sora's scent greeted him as he woke.

Which, when he thought about it, wasn't surprising, seeing as he had his nose buried in the younger teen's spiky brown locks. Lifting his head brought him soft puffs of sea air instead, through the open doorway where he could just barely glimpse the remnants of the sunset.

He hadn't been asleep for all that long, then.

Carefully detangling himself from the sleeping brunet, he pulled himself to his feet, tucking the convenient blanket they'd found among their things in the boat around Sora's bare shoulders. As he watched, the Keyblade Master stirred slightly, murmuring something incoherent as he readjusted to the loss of warmth, then settled back into peaceful dreams again. A tiny smile tugged at one corner of Riku's lips; it was high time Sora was able to sleep without having to worry about anything. No Nobodies...no Heartless...no missing friends.

He tugged his jeans on, then walked out onto the wooden path that led down to the shore. Out here in the gentle summer wind, his skin prickled as goosebumps rose along his arms and torso. His front was the worst; pressed up against Sora's back, it'd been just warm enough to leave him slightly sweat-sticky, which was cold in the night air. Even so, he had no inclination to go back inside yet; he was much too busy enjoying being back on the Islands, and much too awake to consider going back to sleep yet.

Although, watching Sora sleep wouldn't be so bad...

Something caught his eye, down on the shoreline; there were several blotches of darkness on the sand. The sight of them brought him to full alert until he realized they weren't moving. No Heartless he could think of off the top of his head stayed that still for that long. Leaning over the rail, he noticed a lighter-coloured blob in the sand, and chuckled at his foolishness when he recognized his white vest. They'd left a bit of a trail on their way up...

'Idiot. You've gotten paranoid.' He chided himself gently. 'Although, that's a little conspicuous. Maybe we might want to collect all that. Don't want to be scaring people too badly, if someone gets here while we're still asleep in the morning.'

Quietly, he walked over to the ladder and went down, nearly stumbling over one of their shoes as he touched the stone ground again. That could be left down here; going barefoot on the play island wasn't exactly uncommon. The soft trickling noise of the waterfall serenaded him as he retraced their route back to the boat, picking up jackets, gloves and shirts along the way.

Getting back up the ladder was somewhat problematic, but it only took him a few moments to puzzle out a solution to that. And when he walked back in the door, he noticed Sora had turned on his side and curled up, wrapping the blanket more tightly around himself. Fighting a chuckle, Riku quietly set their things down in the corner before working an edge of the blanket from the brunet's hands and slipping beneath it. With a deep breath, Sora's eyes flickered open momentarily.

"Riku?"

"Go back to sleep, Sora." The silver-haired teen murmured, gently stroking a few rogue spikes away from the Keybearer's face. A soft noise of contentment left the brunet as he snuggled closer, tucking his head practically under Riku's chin before he settled back into slumber.

Soon enough, Riku drifted off as well, to the sounds of the waves, the waterfall, the rustling leaves in the wind, and Sora's steady, even breathing in his ears. The scent of the sea, and the wood floor beneath him, and the soft caresses of the breeze; all those things he missed while he'd been away.

It'd been so long, but damn, he was glad to be home.