Sora used to always say about how he loved walking on a beach in the rain. He would explain that it was because the water was fresh, the sunset was colourful and the sand would stick on his feet in a way that only a minority of people would find comfortable.
But really, it was because he was standing in the rain on a beach when Riku had finally confessed to him his feelings for the other. They had been best friends for what seemed like forever, so it just seemed natural for them to stay together like they had before.
The continued with their happy relationship for months, with the same daily routines – Riku attended work during the day, while Sora made a living with paintings. They didn't consider the fact that maybe they might just get old in the future, but they were young and happy, so that future seemed so far off that they just didn't care.
"Hey Sora, I'm home!" Riku would say when entering the house, "I got you something."
"Oh, hey Riku!" Sora would reply with a seemingly surprised smile, as if he hadn't been eyeing the clock every few seconds waiting for the other to return. "What'd you get?"
The silver haired man would present him with something small and either useful or pretty, and the brunette would be excited enough to tackle-hug the other until the two were on the ground, laughing and being playful with each other.
Sora would always say that he loved the presents, joking that he only stayed with the other so that he could get more free gifts, but really, he didn't care about them all that much. He just liked how Riku continued to show his affection for the other, and how he saw it as a sign that their relationship was still going strong.
But one day, the two had a fight, and their happy relationship was unravelled like a yarn being thrown off the edge of a tall building. It was all the work of one simple sentence yelled by a frustrated Riku.
"Sora, seriously, stop being so controlling all the time!" He hadn't meant to say it, and as soon as he saw the other's face fall, he knew he had struck a painful chord.
"Me? I'm controlling? What about you?" Sora said it calmly, but the other took it as an insult, and didn't back down just for the sake of trying to be in control.
"Yeah, you're always telling me to do this and that, just let it rest!" Okay, so that was a lie, but he kept going anyway. "I mean, you're always at home with all your art stuff, and you always expect me to do everything."
The dispute escalated, but after a while Riku regretted his outburst.
"Sora, I'm sorry, it's just... I feel so trapped, you know—" He cried, trying to reason with the other, but was cut off.
"No, I don't understand. I let you do everything! What brought all this on, Riku?" Sora pleaded. His mind reeled and he stopped listening to the other, almost as if he was talking in some foreign language, but finally, he saw no other way for it to be resolved. "You know what? Fine. If it makes you happy, just leave."
And without another word the other packed his bags and left, even though it didn't actually make him happy at all.
Sora tried to get back in touch, he really did. He knew where Riku spent all his time outside the house but, ignored, watched from afar as the other lived life without him, even flirting with strangers that Sora would have instantly hated had he not been such an accepting person.
But after a while he decided to continue those routines alone, thinking about what could have been if the other was there.
One day, however, he decided that it was the last day for him to be optimistic about the other's return. It was raining yet again, and when he left for the beach that night he brought all his sketches – except for the best one that he chose to keep as memorabilia – he laid them out for the rain to ruin.
As different colours started to bleed into each other and run down the canvas, he tried to convince himself that it was the right choice. As the passing minutes turned into hours of him walking up and down the beach, he was starting to reflect on his ex boyfriend, and hadn't given up the last shreds of hope left.
He briefly mulled over going over to visit the silver haired man, like they do in the movies – he always liked the happy endings, and never really considered the fact that plans may not always go that well in general.
But Sora had always been one to make his own traditions, even if he deemed them as somewhat childish.
Without thinking about it, he tapped his heals together – just like he had in seventh grade after overhearing Kairi say that she was sure Riku would say yes if she asked him out – and muttered, "Come on, Riku, please, just... Give me another chance..."
Not a moment later he heard someone desperately calling his name, and stood still for the ten or so seconds it took for the other to reach him and turn him around by the shoulder. Sora stayed silent, but let a warm smile spread across his face as the other rambled.
"Sora! I'm so glad you're here! I went to your house – well, our old house – and you weren't there, so I remembered that we used to come here all the time and here I am! I've uh, come to say that... well, uh... You know that it's our anniversary today? Well, I mean, what would be our anniversary if..." Riku trailed off nervously, looking down at the other's sea blue eyes.
"Yeah?" Sora prodded.
"I was wondering if I could... stay with you. Again. Like before. When we were together, and I was happy, and I hope you were happy too, and—"
"I was happy," Sora interrupted, "and it's okay. You're welcome to stay with me again."
"Oh, thank you so much, Sora, but," Riku took a nervous breath, "I just uh..."
He gave up trying to find a way to word it, and instead bent down, pressing an awkward kiss on the other's lips. Upon attempting to pull away, he found a pair of arms snaking around his neck and pulling him closer, deepening the kiss.
But after a few minutes, Sora pulled away and said, "Let's get you home, then, yeah?"
"Yeah, that sounds—" Riku stopped mid-sentence as he saw the ruined canvas spread across the wet sand, "hey, wait, what'd you do that for?"
"Oh, they uh... they were all just of the same thing... person, you know, I've got a good one at home, though."
"And... who was it, if you don't mind me asking?" Riku asked with wide, hopeful eyes.
"...You." The brunette looked up at the other with a grin, and took his hand, leading him to their new home.
This was written for a song themed contest on DeviantART, so I based it on Northern Downpour by Panic At The Disco. Feedback is really appreciated, thanks a lot for reading! :D