Disclaimer, et al: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Future Riku/Sora, so if that isn't your cup of tea then move it along. AU, despite what this little taster may look like.
I tried counting sheep, but there's one I always miss. - Eels, I Need Some Sleep
00: Three Thirty-Seven
Riku dreams that he is back on the beach, but this time he's alone. He'd have to make his own way down to the water, sinking his fingers into the sand to claw to the surf, and even if he could force his muscles to drag him the distance, he's not sure he could convince his arms to push him upwards: to sit there instead of having the water wash against his face. He settles for sitting where he is, elbows collapsing under his weight several times before he can manoeuvre to lean against one of the odd jutting things he can't really focus on.
He's aware that it's a dream. The tide slowly moves towards him. Watching the water move backwards and forwards soon makes him nauseous, but he doesn't worry when he heaves, because the black mass he's leaning against, the sand and even his own legs are shifting like a heat wave, preparing to vanish when he wakes up. The feeling in his stomach will vanish too.
A shape materialises in front of him, and it's only through familiarity that he can distinguish this shape as Sora. Sora leans towards him and he starts to pick out individual features: nose, eyes, mouth, hair. He holds out his hand to Riku and Riku just stares at it, trying to make out the lines in his palm. When he can't, he looks away to the vague moon and thinks: at night there is always somewhere the sun is still shining.
Sora situates himself between Riku's line of sight and the moon, leans in and smiles beatifically. He nods. Riku fears that maybe he spoke his thought out loud, or he was too right about his eyes' inability to lie, but he stops thinking at all when Sora reaches out and presses a finger to his lips. Sora grins and says 'shh', and his voice sounds like the sea.