A few tiny warnings: boys love, as in Sora and Riku being gay for eachother [obvious enough, wasn't it?], spoilers for KH:2/KH: BBS.
Another small notice: the fic is based off a drawing of mine- opallight .deviantart .com /gallery/ #/ d3byot5 [remove the spaces and gogogo v.v]
Sora was busy trying to claim a coconut from a tall palm, having lost a rock-paper-scissors game to the two of them and bringing to get them a total of three ripe, extra-fuzzy coconuts in order to recompense his loss.
"You look bothered," the auburn haired girl which was standing a few good meters away from the palm tree Sora was climbing commented, hands neatly clasped behind her back as she watched him through a curtain of eyelashes.
"So do you," her silverette friend commented, gaze not moving from Sora's frame for a moment.
"I'm afraid he might fall off and break a limb," the girl cocked her head, indigo eyes blinking at him slowly. "Don't you, Riku?"
"He won't fall," Riku snickered, shoving his hands in his pockets and turning to look at his friend instead. "Have some trust in him, it's Sora we're talking about. Monkey-boy, remember?"
"Hee… Guess you're right," Kairi chuckled, her smile hidden behind a dainty hand.
"Kairi! Riku!" a call came, followed by a pair of loud thumping sounds. "Pick the coconuts!" Sora ordered, hugging the tree with all four limbs as he hollered out to his friends down below.
"Guess that's our call, huh?" the girl smiled, fixing her hair behind her ear and taking off, lavender sneakers leaving shallow footprints in the dry sand and tiny gravel mix.
"Guess it is," Riku let out a short puff of breath, following behind lazily.
It had been a while since they've come back, and Riku was starting to have his own regrets about coming back home. Sure- he got his previous life back, his old friends, his home and family… Everyone was safe now. But that was just it, what he got back, he figured all too soon, wasn't exactly as good and fulfilling as he'd remember it to be. Maybe it was because Riku himself had changed.
He was no longer satisfied with only being one of Sora's best friends, no longer satisfied with being someone Sora came to in order to ask for advice, it just didn't cut it anymore.
He wanted to be Sora's only one. He wanted to be the one Sora was always thinking about, the one he ran first to and the shoulder he leaned on. But the boy was too good for this, too selfless. He'd be afraid to hurt any of his precious friends.
The silverette ran his fingers through his hair, releasing small knots formed by the occasional billows ruffling his hair. Kairi was right- he had been bothered. In fact, those same thought hadn't left him for more than a month now, and the more he tried to fight them off, the more they invaded his mind.
"Three coconuts, as promised!" Sora exclaimed, dusting his hands over the front of his shirt and placing them on his hips afterwards. "Since I got them, someone else has to open them!" he announced next, his blue eyes shifting between Riku and Kairi, giving them both meaningful looks.
"I'll go get us a sharp rock," Riku rose his hand, then dropped it quickly before it even reached his shoulder level. "You two have to peel the fibers off the nuts though," he informed and stretched both hands up, tilting his head back and shaking it from one side to another in an attempt to stretch his neck.
"Guess I'll do the cleaning job then!" Kairi chimed, collecting the coconuts and placing them next to a rather big, flat rock which she dusted with her palm before sitting on and pinching a small group of fibers from the top of the coconut and yanking it off.
Riku's shoulders slumped. Being with Sora was getting harder with each day; he was developing an unhealthy obsession towards the boy, and he was too scared he would blurt something about it to Sora, or worse, lash out at him.
"I don't want to hurt him again," he whispered as he kneeled down to examine a shard, triangular rock that looked like it had been fractured off. "This should do," he muttered, standing back up and heading toward his friends.
Sora was talking animatedly with Kairi, swinging his arms wide in order to empathize his words. Riku swallowed thickly; this was the exact reason why he hated those feelings he had developed. They had brought him nothing but pain and awkwardness. Sure, they didn't digress far from his initial emotions from a year or two ago. He always wanted to be special to Sora, yes, but those new feelings he acquired were different. They were more intense, making Riku's heart clench with jealousy whenever the brunet was around someone else, and unlike before, he couldn't just quench his need for attention by sparring with the boy or racing by the beach so he could get his full attention.
Sometimes, after a long conversation with the other boy, he would feel better. Or maybe even more than better. He felt good, smiling widely and laughing, allowing himself to do silly things without the society's watchful eye on him, expecting him to get the best grades and charm the sweetest girl in school so he could marry her later and live in a fancy house with a veranda facing an ivory beach.
When was it that Sora turned into his sanctuary of a sorts? A place to let go of fears and lies he held so dear, let them melt away for just a small while. Those long conversations with Sora were few, but the ones he did have left him feeling light for days.
"And then, Tidus told me that Wakka got grounded because he came back with his most expensive pair of pants covered in mud! When he was trying to make it in time for dinner after having a date with this girl he likes! Hah!" Sora waved his fist. "His mom is so tough! They say it's because her mom, Wakka's grandma, used to be the mayor son's nanny, and was soooo strict!" he paused then, head turning and eyes taking in Riku's form.
"Riku! Listen! You gonna hear this story I just told Kairi! I found out why Wakka got grounded last week!" the younger male grinned, drumming his fingers over the ground.
"Oh? About his dirty dress pants? That's old news, Sora," Riku snorted, sitting down next to the boy and reaching his hand out to Kairi so she could give him one of the cleaned nuts.
"Whaaat? But Tidus just told me about it today!" the younger male exclaimed, his expression clearly unsatisfied.
"You're just uninformed," Riku dismissed him easily, a playful smirk playing on his lips.
"Oh you…" Sora narrowed his eyes at him, pursing his lips and pressing his knuckles to his hips.
"You are a bit out of the loop sometimes, Sora, Riku's right," Kairi chuckled, handing Riku a naked coconut, ready for cracking.
"Not you too!" the brunet groaned with frustration, slapping his hand against his forehead. "This is so unfair! My two closest friends are turning their back on me!" he added in a mock dramatic tone, hunching his shoulders for some added 'woe is me' effect.
"There there," Kairi shook her head, grinning as she patted Sora's shoulder lightly. "I could teach you some social skills to have, don't you worry! You'll be the greatest gossip girl on all Destiny Islands!"
"Thanks but no thanks," Sora shot the girl a dirty glare, scrunching his nose and watching Riku crack the nut against a flat stone and placing the two halves over his lap and using the knife to separate the flesh from the hard shell.
"I don't think Sora here fits the title… He's too much of an airhead to gossip properly," the older male teased, sending a playful grin at his friend.
"Riku! I thought you were with me, not against me!" Sora groaned, throwing his hands up in the air and flopping back on the sand, limbs falling around him spread-eagle.
"It's all good natured," Riku shook his head, silvery bangs falling in front of his eyes in the process. "You know I only want the best for my little goofball, right, Kairi?" the small notion, however harmless might have seemed on the surface, held a thick air of competition to it.
The redhead nodded in return. "I only want the best for you too, Sora," she grinned, her small retort hidden behind a brilliant smile.
The younger male lolled his head sideways and blinked at Riku slowly. "You're still being mean to me," he insisted, shifting his hands over his stomach and lacing his fingers together.
"I'm sorry," the taller teen chuckled, extracting a small piece of coconut flesh and pressing it against Sora's lips. The youth slid his eyes shut and opened his lips willingly, taking a small bite off the coconut with a dull crunch.
"Good boy," Riku nodded, lips curling into a content smile as he held the fruit against Sora's lips so he could eat it right off his hand.
Kairi pressed her thumbs together on her lap, watching the brunet's jaw moving in slow, even lapses as he chewed on the coconut. She didn't feel jealous per-se, just off. She wasn't competitive, far from it, actually… It was usually Riku's and Sora's role to push one another into races and matches to figure out who's best, but…
She felt defeated, the girl realized, her big, round eyes resting on the broken fruit laying next to Riku's knees. She was starting to feel uneasy just then, watching how Riku moved his hand to scratch behind Sora's ear with outmost affection, making the younger teen bend his knees just so.
"You want some coconut, Kairi?" a quiet voice startled the girl from her daze, making her blink up at a pair of curious, if not slightly worried blue eyes.
"I'd love to," she hummed, cocking her head and hunching her shoulders as a sweet smile took over her face. She was just over thinking things- that must have been it. They were friends, all three of them. There was no reason for her to feel like she was a fifth wheel.
Riku reached her a large piece, watching her with a soft expression on his face as their fingers brushed briefly. It was probably done on purpose, Kairi thought, after all, if anyone should know how bad it felt to be left out, it would be Riku. She smiled back at him, nodding once. It was a strange reality of how Riku and Kairi's behavior swung like a pendulum's pivot from being selfish and competitive, to consulting and understanding almost instantly.
The redhead girl gave Riku one final smile before taking the coconut piece with both hands and biting off a generous piece, sighing with content as the mildly sweet flavor filled her mouth.
She felt comfortable being like that with Sora and Riku. Maybe, if she didn't get her fairytale prince charming, she would still remain protected by her two knights. She didn't need much more than that, really, as long as she wouldn't be left alone, she could be fine, dare she say happy. For her it was more than enough.
Riku winced as his head hit the ceiling of the narrow entrance to the stone corridor that led to the secret place. His elbow was pressing awkwardly against the cave's wall as he bent his knees further, clumsily stumbling across the small bend in the pathway.
He reached the small hall a few minutes of scraping his elbows against edgy stones later. He straightened to full height then, popping a few joints in his spine and wincing as the wet shirt clung to his skin and dragged across it uncomfortably as he stretched.
He narrowed his eyes briefly, shrugging off the wet jacket and throwing it on a nearby stone that stuck from the wall in an odd angle. His black shirt followed suit, after being unzipped and peeled off his torso.
Riku decided to leave his pants on for now, settling on squeezing the excess ocean water on the ground instead. He did kick off his shoes and socks though.
He took a deep breath in, letting his eyes wander over the interior of the cave. Sora and Kairi were outside, deep in some sort of private conversation Riku felt like he shouldn't be interfering. They all agreed to go searching for some wood to light a fire with so they could spend the night on the small island. Riku was chosen to take a boat back to the mainland and inform their parents, as well as get some sleeping bags and dinner for the three of them. Unfortunately for him, after unloading the contents of the small boat he used for traveling from their island to the mainland, he lost his balance and fell into the water, rendering him wet and grumpy.
The young male rubbed his wet arms, taking a few slow steps forward and sitting right in front of a chalk scribble of two kids holding off paopu fruits and feeding them one another.
He swallowed thickly, a feeling of dread settling in the pit of his stomach. Looking at the door located at the far off end of the cave made him feel guilty. Looking at the drawing of Kairi and Sora on the stone wall, on the other hand, was making him feel helpless. He wasn't sure which was worse to look at.
Riku's jaw tightened as he squeezed his eyes shut. It was useless now, trying to chase those thoughts away. Ever since he came back from the darkness, he never really managed to get over the fear of Sora leaving him. And if the boy chose Kairi over him… He wouldn't have anywhere else to go.
An agonized groan tore itself from Riku's lungs as the teen hung his head low between his knees. He really did have nowhere to go- unlike Kairi, he doubted he would be accepted with cheers of welcome in Radiant Garden, and nor would he be welcome in any other world he had helped the Heartless conquer. He might have repented himself in front of Sora, Kairi, King Micky, and even Goofy and Donald, but the rest of the people he came across didn't know of his story like his friends did… And he couldn't blame them for it. Knowing his own judgmental way of evaluating people, he would have probably hated himself too.
The teen shook his head, separating his semi dry locks by raking his fingers through them. Sora… If Sora would stay with him, then he would be fine. If Sora would stay with him, he knew he wouldn't make stupid mistakes again. As strong-headed and short tempered as Sora got sometimes, he was still an anchor for the older male to hang onto and prevent him from getting carried away by his own negative feelings and thoughts.
Riku smiled then, looking at the drawing with sympathy. Kairi probably deserved the boy better, he thought, and yet… He couldn't give up on Sora. Not when he was so weak. She was stronger than him, he knew. While she might be able to accept the fact she was second best and go on being their best friend like she always had been, he couldn't say the same for himself.
He turned around then, leaning against the cold stone wall, his back covering Kairi's head. His hand reached up to trace the spikes of scribble-Sora. The stone felt rough against his fingers, and he soon enough resolved to simply curling his palm over the back of Sora's head and slipping his eyes shut, head resting back against the cave wall.
It was wistful thinking, he knew, but just for now, he wanted to pretend Sora was reaching out that paopu for him and him only, telling him they should share it because Riku was such an important person to him and that he didn't want to ever lose him… Riku bit the inside on his cheek, sucking a deep breath in. He longed to hear that so badly. Even if Sora's everyday actions proved that he liked needing Riku by his side, they both knew the brunet could easily manage on his own. In his dreams, Sora would say that yes, he probably could do very well on his own, but it was so tiring and hard without the older teen by his side, supporting him and being that elder figure he could lean against when things got bad, allowing himself a few precious moments of weakness before rushing back into battle head on.
Riku's eyes slipped open as he watched the setting sun filtering through the hole at the top of the cave. He bit his lip, willing his racing heart to slow down as he stood on his knees, pressing his large palm against Kairi's head and pressing his lips to Sora's cold, textured smile.
Not too long later, Riku was back outside, picking the sleeping bags and packed dinner he left outside the entrance to the cave and lazily dragging himself towards the bent paopu tree Kairi and Sora were sitting on, his humid shirt and jacket back in place.
"Riku!" the brunet exclaimed, waving his hand at the tall figure slowly wandering towards them. "What took you so long?" he called, crossing his hands on his chest and swinging both legs forward so he could jump off the tree trunk and help his friend carry the food.
"Ah, I fell into the water when I unloaded the boat… Lost my balance," Riku shook his head. "I went away for a while so I could dry off," he reasoned. Sora was frowning at him right now, not entirely sure whether his friend's reasoning was justified, but he shrugged it off less than a moment later nonetheless. "Well, nevermind! Let's eat, I'm starving!" he announced, digging through the bags Riku brought along.
"Marshmallows!" the brunet bit his lip, looking at Riku with huge eyes full of excitement. "Oh! That's so great!" he cheered, turning back to grin at Kairi whom was still sitting on the trunk, watching the younger teen with great amusement. She nodded at Sora, grinning back as she watched him wave the pack of sweets up and down.
"We eat them after dinner," Riku instructed, snatching the bag away and shoving it back inside with the rest of their dinner, looking at the scowling Sora pointedly.
"Come on," Kairi slipped from the tree trunk, legs hitting the ground below with a dull 'thump'.
The taller male nodded once. "Could you unpack while Sora and I start the fire?" he pondered, gaze turning to the redhead girl now standing in front of him.
"No problem," the girl smiled, already pickling the bags Riku had brought along and setting them away from where the boys were arranging some stones in a circle around a bunch of branches, snippets of wood and dry grass. She sucked a deep breath in, watching how the two of them passed branches and stones between them. Their relationship… She wondered how long would it take for Sora to figure out his best friend wanted to be more than just that…
Earlier that day, when Riku was off to the mainland and Sora and her were done picking firewood, she asked him if he felt any different while being alone with her. At first, her friend tensed, then shifted uneasily on the trunk, then quietly admitted he never thought about those things. Not with how he is still worried that their next journey, the final one, he hoped, was approaching them with huge steps and cutting their peaceful time together short with each day that flew by. Being whole with his decision to undergo the test for the Mark of Mastery together with Riku didn't mean he had no fear about what awaited him… Them, he corrected less than a moment later. He said he wasn't ready to commit himself to being someone's whole world just yet, and that right now, he was looking for reassurance above everything. And then he hugged her and told her he was sorry that he couldn't be there for her.
Her little hero friend was starting to look so troubled and worn out, she noted with a sad smile as her gentle hands unwrapped a loaf of bread from it's brown paper bag. Sora didn't need her to cause him more worries to fuss over… He needed someone whom he could rely on to take his place when needed, and to be strong and collected when Sora himself was collapsing- in both body and mind.
She couldn't think of someone more fitting than Riku, really. She only hoped she wouldn't be forgotten within the easy comfort and understanding the two boys shared.
"Riku," Sora began, his brow furrowed in what the other male learned to be doubt.
"Yes?" his taller friend hummed after a long moment of silence, in which he figured Sora was probably waiting for his permission to go on.
"Do you think this will all be over once we pass the test and defeat Xehanort? You think the other worlds will be sealed forever?" the little brunette breathed out, arranging some wood snippets and dry grass for Riku to light and start their fire with.
"Where did that come from?" the taller male turned to look up, watching Sora's face with a somewhat worried expression.
"I was talking to Kairi earlier… About… About everything, really," the young wielder lowered his eyes almost as if he was ashamed in admitting his weakness in front of his friend.
"Everything?" Riku was looking up at Sora with curious eyes, not quite getting to the bottom of Sora's mind and at the same time trying to ignore the uneasy feeling that was slowly but surely settling at the pit of his stomach.
"She asked me if… I felt different around her. I think what she meant was if she was special to me," the brunette muttered in a clipped voice, his fingers digging into the grainy sand. "I told her I couldn't feel that way around anyone… Not with… All of this coming up," he swallowed thickly, refusing to meet Riku's eyes still.
"It's nothing to be ashamed of, if that's what you're getting at," Riku answered after a long moment of mutual silence, keeping his voice carefully calm. "If there is anything I've learned throughout our journey, is that you can't just not be scared. You don't have to be scared for a noble reason, either," he shook his head. "I was scared of the darkness once, not because I might hurt you and Kairi, but because I would be left alone. I was fearing for my own hide and it's normal… It's human," he finished quietly, reaching out to squeeze Sora's shoulder comfortingly. "It took me a while to understand it, and even longer to accept it and move on."
The younger male was looking at him silently for a few long moments, letting the words sink and settle inside his head. "I think… You might have a point," he smiled then, letting his fingers slip from the holes they dug in the sand. "I was right when I said you were always ahead of me… How come I never reach those conclusions first?" he chuckle, sitting down cross legged on the ground.
"It could be one of two reasons, or both," Riku snickered back at the boy. "One is that your brain is addled with all the hits you got from fighting all the time, other is… Simply because you never made silly mistakes that would make you think about such things," his voice turned soft by the last sentence, taking an air of regret and self-blame. He collected the two flint stones then, clashing them together and sending sparks flying at the grass and wood.
"I think I might have," Sora smiled, leaning down and blowing gently over the newborn flame that was spreading over the dry grass.
"Do tell," Riku chuckled, leaning back on the palms of his hands and watching Sora taking measured breaths of air through his nose before blowing them out ever so gently through his lips.
"Later," the younger wielder promised with a sweet smile, looking up at Riku with what the older teen could only define as mischief.
"Don't keep me waiting too long then," Riku's heart fluttered in his chest at Sora's words, and he had to muster up every shred of self restraint to keep his voice even in front of his friend.
"Kairi! We're done!" Sora called out, a wide grin gracing his lips as he waved his hand at the girl sitting a few meters away.
"Let me just finish cutting the cheese and I'll be right there!" the girl nodded back at him, pointing at the large piece of diary product resting on a flat stone.
Dinner was lively as ever, with Riku teasing Sora about his lack of manners around food, and Sora, in turn, shoving a whole hard-boiled egg inside Riku's mouth and telling him to shut up and just eat. Kairi, in her turn, got into an easy argument whether eggs, cheese, pickles and butter spread tasted good in a sandwich.
Eventually, with their stomachs full and tongues tiered from telling stories, the three of them fell asleep, each in his respective sleeping bag neatly placed around the warm fire.
"Riku," came a whisper and a nudge at his shoulder, stirring the silveret male awake. "Hnn?" he croaked back, blinking lazily at the young, anxious face looming over him.
"Let's go," Sora tugged on the collar of his shirt, wetting his lips.
"Five seconds," Riku murmured, stretching his limbs and stifling a yawn.
"What is it, Sora?" he asked in a quiet voice once he was up and out of his sleeping bag, searching for his shoes with squinted eyes. He tugged them on in a single movement and stood up, making his way to where his friend was standing.
"Let's go… I wanna tell you something," Sora replied quietly, shifting his weight from one foot to another.
"Go? Go where? We can talk here… If we're quiet enough, we won't wake Kairi up," the older male murmured, voice still coarse from recent sleep.
"No, it has to be in private. Please," the brunet demanded quietly, taking Riku's hand in his and squeezing it briefly.
"…Whatever," Riku answered after a brief pause, letting Sora tag him along as they made their way across the old wooden bridge, down to the shoreline.
"So, what is it you wanted to talk about?" Riku pondered, sitting down on the sand next to Sora. The scene was almost nostalgic; him and Sora sitting down on the shore, the water washing the soles of their shoes. He felt his heart give a painful yank at the particular memory. Back at the time, Sora had told him he was ready to stay in the darkness with him. They'd be the darkness, together. Him and Sora, and no one else.
"This sure feels familiar," the younger male smiled, allowing his body relax as he kicked off his shoes and slid his feet inside the cool water, feeling the waves washing his warm skin and burying his feet under the sand.
"It does… Only now we're home," Riku agreed, lolling his head sideways and looking at Sora with eyes at half mast.
"We are," Sora smiled, turning his head to face his friend as well. "You know… About earlier… When we were talking about being scared and I told you I might have made a silly mistake? Well, now's later," the boy lowered his look, wiggling his toes under the thin layer of sand that covered them.
"I think… I am able to feel something special towards someone, I'm just not sure what it is," he began, hunching his shoulders and pursing his lips. It wasn't hard to see how uneasy he was, Sora usually wore his heart on his sleeve, so figuring his emotions out was easy as eating pie, especially for someone who knew him as well as Riku did.
Riku swallowed his saliva, his eyes darting from one spot on Sora's face to another, trying to figure out just what his friend was about to say so he could brace himself for his words. He wasn't very fond with the idea of his friend discovering Riku had such intense feelings for him… It would turn their relationship awkward, unless it was mutual… But that was probably too far fetched, Riku figured.
"I want… Sometimes, I want to be able to lean on someone else for a change, know that there is a person strong and stable enough to accept my weakness and my fears," Sora licked his lips, blinking at the sand between Riku's fingers.
"And… I think… There has been someone like that for me, but I've been overlooking the possibility of that person being someone I could lean on… More than just occasionally," his smile was hesitant as he looked up at Riku.
Riku's breath was stuck in his throat as he took in Sora's face, the soft, rippling light caressing the boy's soft cheeks and tiny nose, reflecting inside blue so deep he could easily drown in. "I wish you luck then, with making that person your… Well, calling it significant other wouldn't really cut it, right?"
"No," Sora chuckled, lips stretching up to form a small, warm smile. "But I sure as hell hope he wouldn't tell me to find someone else to count on," he bit his lip then. "I can be his shoulder to lean on, too, every now and then," he admitted, eyes watching Riku's face with outmost care as he inched closer and finally leaning his head on his friend's shoulder and slipping his eyes shut.
Riku's body was frozen solid when he felt soft spikes parting against his shoulder first, followed by a comforting, warm weight of Sora's head. "A shoulder to lean on, eh?" he spoke quietly, slipping his eyes shut as well and kicking his own shoes off before burying his feet in the sand right next to Sora's.
"You sure you want it to be mine? I'm not trying to avoid you now… Just telling you I'm not that strong and stable myself, Sora… I've betrayed you and Kairi because of my selfish fears. I've been hiding from you because I was unsure whether you would accept me if you see me as Ansem… As Xehanort's heartless…" he breathed out into the younger boy's hair, eyes squeezing shut almost painfully.
"I think that because of all those things, you would know the value of having someone you could always trust," Sora answered in a calm voice, folding his knees close to his chest and pressing his body against Riku's side, his arms circling the elder's body. "Plus, now you'll never be alone so you wouldn't get all those silly ideas about me not wanting to stick around with you simply because we'll be bound together so strong, you're gonna have to really twist reality to actually start believing this poppycock."
Riku chuckled, resting his arm around Sora's shoulder and pulling him close. "So, I'm special?" he hummed, lips still murmuring into Sora's hair.
"You've always been," the brunet shrugged, easing his form against Riku's large body and letting the warmth seeping from it relax his muscles.
"What about Kairi?" the older wielder asked quietly, forcing himself to stay calm at the question that came from his own mouth.
"She's great but… I can't let her know how weak I am, Riku," Sora's eyes slipped open, looking at the vast ocean in front of them almost sadly. "She can't take my place at the front of the battlefield, no matter how hard she tries. Comforting words can only do so much," he sighed. "I hate admitting it but… She's not enough… And you, you are everything I could ask for," he bit the inside of his cheek briefly. "Can I be selfish, just this once, and ask you to be the one who holds me? My strong person?" he swallowed, looking up at Riku with pleading eyes.
"Would you accept that I… I have feelings for you that are stronger than for just a friend if I said I was ready to take that place?" Riku felt his throat constricting as soon as the words slipped away from between his lips, making him pant quickly with anticipation and nervousness all at once.
"I think… It comes in the same bundle of being special, Riku," Sora nodded, leaning his head back on the older male's shoulder, but this time remaining with his face turned upwards so he was still watching his friend.
"It's a different kind of special, Sora," Riku warned, shifting somewhat uneasily under the intense gaze his friend was directing at him.
"It might not be all that different for all I know," Sora breathed out, curling closer against Riku's body and slowly blinking up at him. "I think that letting me be held by you… Well, it's not only comfort, but it makes me feel warm and welcome and satisfied… And… There is nothing more I would want than to see you happy and safe," he added the last sentence quietly, his cheeks growing hot.
"It might be liking, you know," Riku licked his lips and tightened his hand around Sora's shoulder.
"It's probably a form of it," Sora nodded, a smile easing it's way on his face.
"I'm sure it is," Riku breathed out through his lips, offering albeit small, but a warm smile of his own.
"I'll take it as a yes, then?" Sora bit his bottom lip, his voice almost giddy.
"Whatever," the older teen snickered, lowering his head down to plant a small, easy peck on Sora's lips.
"I'm taking it as a yes, then," Sora grinned back at him, pulling his body closer against Riku's and stretching his neck so he could plant a small kiss of his own on the bottom of his friend's chin. Or maybe, he was more than a friend already… Either way, Sora didn't bother thinking about it too much. As long as Riku was his, he would be fine. He would be happy, and strong, and able to live up to everyone's expectations.
As for Riku? He was grateful his little dreams about holding Sora in his arms weren't just wistful thinking anymore.