Technical Difficulties Sequel: All Aboard
So, yeah: as it says above, this is a sequel to my other SoRiku oneshot "Technical Difficulties". You don't have to read it to get this story, but I'd love it if you did! R&R please~!
As per usual, Kingdom Hearts and the beautiful characters don't belong to me. But Ace does. ;D
My hand shakes, the marker in it threatening to send the answer to 6n2 x (12.6n2)3 over 26g2 x n equals zero when 'n' equals pi across the board. Review always makes me nervous. If I'm right it's nothing special; we learned it last year. If I'm wrong, however, then I look like an idiot.
The answer, g=14.09, shows up on the white board with no worries and the teacher smiles at me, motioning for me to go back to my seat.
I gladly oblige, head down until I take my seat beside Kairi.
"Good job," she says. I nod but figure there's nothing to say.
"The rest of the review sheet is due on Tuesday," the teacher looks at the clock. "Class dismissed."
I sling my backpack on and follow Kairi to the front of the school to meet Riku. I smile when I see him and we wink at each other.
"Ready for the movie?"
"Ready? I'm pumped," Kairi punches the air, smiling as wide as she can.
"I've wanted to see this," I say. "I'm glad we're all going together."
It took a lot of talking on my part to convince my mother that we were all going.
-Flashback-
"Mom; I'm going out Friday after school. I'll be home around six-thirty, okay?"
"Sure, Sora, but what are you doing?"
"To the movies with Riku and Kairi."
"Is it a date?" Mom smiles at me sideways while she does the dishes.
"No, Mom; Riku's going to be there," I pour a glass of milk and take a swig, trying to cool the blush I've acquired from lying.
"Are you sure? You could always ditch Riku," she giggles.
"I'm not going to do that! He's my best friend!"
"Please?" she pleads. "You know I want to see you on a date."
"Well, Mom, you'll have to wait a little longer. I don't plan on going on one soon and, when I do, I'm certainly not telling you."
"Would you tell your father? Or Roxas, perhaps?"
"No. I'm not telling anyone and I'm not letting them tell anyone, either. Destiny Islands is a small community and if anyone finds out then everyone will know within a day."
"That's true. When I started dating your dad all of our teachers were bugging us the next day."
I nod and head up the stairs. "I'm going to do homework, now, Mom. Make sure no one bugs me, okay?"
"Sure," she calls back.
Sighing with relief, I close my bedroom door behind me and check my closet for any spying younger brothers. Finding nothing unwelcome or missing, I open up my History textbook to Chapter 6: World Re-Connection. I hate this course. Everything just seems so off about the whole Shadow War thing. At least Riku's in History with me, I think, bringing out my cellphone. I dial the silveret's number from memory and press the green button. It rings twice before the other boy picks up.
"Hey Sora. What's up?"
"How are you doing with History? Are you ready for that test tomorrow?"
Riku sighs. "I think so. I hate that course."
"Me too. I wish it made more sense."
"Maybe when we're older we can rewrite the textbook."
"That sounds like an awful lot of work..." I cringe, imagining writing a whole textbook.
"I'm sure we'll find something to do to spare ourselves from the torture that is History."
"Like the movie on Friday?"
"And dinner afterwards. What time did you tell your parents you'd be home?"
"Six-thirty. I figured that'd be plenty of time for an early dinner after the movie. Or whatever you've got planned."
"You make that sound so sinister."
"Really? I wasn't trying to," I smile.
"Yeah," he says sarcastically, "sure you didn't," he pauses. "Well, I've got to go, actually. See you tomorrow?"
"Of course. Smooch you later."
"S-s-Sora! What if your mother heard you?"
I simply laugh and hang up, skimming through my History notes yet again.
-End Flashback-
I hike my backpack a little higher up as we step off of the bus, one of my books jabbing into my spine.
"The movie doesn't start for an hour, guys, do you want to get some ice cream?" Kairi smiles, taking Riku and my hands.
"Yeah," I look at Riku," how about you, Riku?"
"Sure," he starts towards the parlour, causing Kairi and I to follow.
A bell rings above the door when we enter and I scan the parlour. A long freezer runs to our left, showing off virtually fifty ice cream flavours. Tables and booths are on the right side and a small arcade sits in the back, various-sized prizes lining the back wall. A tall redhead sits in one of the booths. I smile when he looks at me and I lean on his table, Kairi and Riku behind me.
"Hey, Sora. What are you guys up to?" Axel smiles, raising an eyebrow.
"We're just grabbing some ice cream before heading over to see Advent Children."
"That's a good movie. I've seen it, like, five times."
"It only came out yesterday," I say, suspicious.
He makes a chain-link with his fingers. "I've got connections, bro. Cloud may be all big-time now but, back in high school, we were tight. Him, me and Demyx were inseparable when we were seniors."
I laugh, not surprised. A mop of blond comes from around the arcade corner, carrying a large rubber hammer.
"How'd you get here so fast, Roxas?" I watch my brother slide in to sit next to Axel, putting his prize on the seat on the other side of their table.
"Axel gave me a ride, of course! I had to get some more sea salt ice cream; I'm all out," the blond leans on his boyfriend.
"I thought Mom banned you from that stuff," I wrinkle my eyebrows.
"That's why I got Axel to drive me," he speaks slowly, giving my a 'duh' look. I laugh again.
"Well I'll leave you two to your date," I say, turning to the ice cream display.
We buy our ice cream and sit around a tall, circular table on stools. Riku has a beige, nut-filled cone that could possibly be pralines, Kairi has something electric blue with pink chunks of something...could be herpes, I don't know, and I have chunky monkey.
"I didn't know Cloud Strife lived on Destiny Islands," Kairi's eyes glint as she sucks a piece of herpes off of her ice cream.
"He went to high school here after being deported from Radiant Garden for five years," I play with a chocolate chunk between my teeth.
Kairi smiles. "He's, like, my favourite actor! If only I was Axel's age so I could have gone to school with him," she sighs blissfully.
"You're so boy-crazy, Kai," Riku murmurs, leaning back precariously. "I'd be sad if you weren't our age. Then we wouldn't know you and everything would be screwed up!"
"You mean that if I wasn't your friend in the first place then you would be a completely different person?" I catch a devilish glint in her eye.
"Well we would." I sigh, "We might not even have met each other!"
Kairi reaches over and punches me lightly. "You dummy," we all laugh, finishing up our treats.
Once we finish our cones we cross the street to the cinema. I don't bother saying goodbye to Axel and Roxas; they're too busy lip-locking to answer, anyways.
We get our tickets, then disperse. I go to get candy, Riku for drinks and popcorn and Kairi to get seats since she bought the tickets. I stand in a fairly long line-up. Well the movie only came out yesterday. My pocket tingles so I flip my phone, pressing 'read' without looking at it.
"Phone on in the cinema. Naughty, naughty."
I smile, responding. "Like ur 1 to talk. Hows your line?"
A few seconds pass before Riku replies: "Long. yours?"
"Not 2 bad. Getting better. Hope K got good seats."
"No doubt. She'll want the best view of Cloud Strife. lol"
"lol Do u want anything specific?" I can vaguely see the candy, at this point.
"Jolly Ranchers. u?" of course. They're his favourite.
"Get one of those straws with two suck-ends."
"That's what she said."
"lol but srsly" I roll my eyes, snickering.
"The one shaped like the heart?"
"R u ok with that?" we've never been really open but I want to be...
"Only if u r"
"Why not?"
"...alright." I smile, glad that Riku's ready to show the public that we love each other.
"see you there."
"love you." and I mean it. I turn my phone off, shoving it back in my pocket. The guy in front of me leaves with his arms full of candy.
"Hello; what can I get for you?" the friendly smile on the woman in front of me brightens my mood all the more.
"Jolly Ranchers, Red Vines, Fuzzy Peaches and Junior Caramels," I list the various sweets we'll stuff into our mouths along with our popcorn.
The girl places them all on the counter in front of me in record time and tells me the price.
I slap a ten on the counter. "Keep the change," I smile before grabbing the candy and heading into the right theatre, showing the man my ticket at the door.
I see Kairi's cherry hair and head to the seats she's got on either side of her. She's in the sixth row; the perfect distance from the screen to see the whole thing without having to crane your neck. Kairi's got an instinct for that kind of thing.
"Could Riku and I sit together, Kai? That way we can share the Joly Ranchers," I have my ways of getting her to listen.
"Ew! Sure; I don't want you guys passing those nasties over me," Kairi moves over, leaving her jacket on the far left seat when I sit beside her. I don't know how she can say that when she was eating herpes earlier.
"For you," I hand her the bag of Fuzzy Peaches. She takes them greedily, placing the bag on her lap as if to warm it. "The Red Vines and caramels are for sharing, deal?" She nods.
It doesn't take Riku long to find us, holding a large popcorn, a large soda and a medium one. I smile, seeing the heart-shaped straw sticking out of the large soda's lid. He sits to my left and I pass Kairi her drink, which she takes a glug from right away, stuffing a handful of popcorn in her mouth at the same time.
I smile, taking a sip from the hard-plastic straw. I love these things. I wonder if Riku will let me keep it after the movie... Riku takes a sip from the other side, blushing a little and taking a glance at Kairi, who's too busy trying to open her Fuzzy Peaches to see anything. I laugh silently, thanking him with my eyes.
The theatre darkens and the curtain goes up. We open the candy bags while the previews are going so we won't disturb anyone during the movie, during which Riku and I sip cautiously from our shared drink and, when I feel particularly courageous (and bored - mostly during the parts with Aerith), I feed Riku a little popcorn. He blushes but eats it, smiling shyly.
The movie ends and the three of us file out of the cinema, exchanging favourite parts. Kairi won't stop going on about how hot Cloud was in this part and that part. At least her love of the actor gave us a shared hatred of the Aerith character.
Riku and I walk Kairi to the bus stop, seeing her off when her bus comes and telling her we'll see her on Monday. The three of us wave until her bus rounds a corner, out of sight.
After a few seconds Riku and I turn and walk back towards the restaurant beside the cinema instead of waiting for our bus.
"I don't think she noticed us acting like...you know...a couple," Riku says awkwardly.
I turn my phone back on. "I don't think so either. Knowing Kai; she would have said something, had she noticed." My phone beeps once it's on one hundred percent. I check the message I have from Kairi.
"Way 2 be all cuuuute in the cinema, guys. HAWT"
I turn to Riku, showing him the text. "Dude; I think she noticed."
Riku massages his temples with his fingers. "Damn," he mumbles.
I laugh a little. "I'm sure everything will be fine. Kairi knows when to keep her mouth shut, you know."
Riku nods. "So what do you want to do?" he looks at me, hoping I'll go with his change of subject.
"Let's go eat something," I oblige. "I'm hungry."
"Even after all that candy?" Riku grabs my hand and we start to walk towards the restaurant near the cinema, anyways.
We enter the restaurant, asking for a table for two. "This way, please," the waitress motions for us to follow. She leads us back a little to a cute two-person table. "I'm Ace and I'll be your server today," she hands us each a menu. "I'll be back in a moment," she smiles before leaving us alone.
"She seems nice," I note, leaning back a little in my chair.
"You think everyone seems nice," Riku snickers, looking down at his menu. "What do you want to drink?"
"I want a strawberry milkshake!" I say.
"Of course you do," Riku looks over the drinks section. He sighs. "Do you want to," he pauses and I catch a blush on his cheeks, "share that milkshake?"
I lean forward, getting close to Riku and speak in a hushed tone. "Are you sure, Riku? Usually I'm the one making the move."
Riku nods, turning his head shyly. "We might as well use that new straw before you hide it in your Secret Box, right?"
I smile, thinking of my Secret Box. When opened, I see every memory of Riku since I realized that I liked him. Honestly: Riku's knowledge of the box only makes him a part of it, especially since our relationship is a secret, too! "I'm going to wash it first," I smile, feeling silly and giddy.
Riku doesn't say anything for a second before bursting into laughter. He quiets down when he realizes that everyone's staring at him. "You are the cutest thing," my boyfriend whispers, leaning to breathe right in my ear. I giggle and Riku leans back again, smirking haughtily.
I blush, smiling. "Shut up," I mumble.
Our waitress, Ace, walks up to the table again. She looks from me to Riku, smiling. "What'll it be, boys? Can I get you something to drink?" she looks like she's trying not to giggle.
"Strawberry milkshake," I smile, trying to calm my raging blush.
"Just a water for me, please," Riku says. I can't see any hint of embarrassment on his face and I pout a little, jealous.
"Coming right up," Ace winks at us before leaving again.
We pick up our menus again, not speaking as we look through the choices. I notice that they don't serve 24-hour breakfast and, disappointed, scan the dinner section. It doesn't take long for us to put our menus down again.
Just in time, I think as Ace comes again, two drinks in her hands. She sets the water by Riku and the milkshake in the middle of the table, two straws sticking aesthetically out of the whipped cream. I reach, popping the cherry in my mouth.
We order and Ace leaves again. Once she's completely out of sight Riku removes the straws the brunette had so slyly given us and puts them on a napkin. I put the straw we'd gotten at the cinema in the drink and look at the milkshake, observing my handiwork. We look at each other before leaning in and drinking simultaneously. We only drink a sip before stopping and looking into the other's eyes. Again, we lean in but this time our lips do not meet cold plastic, but warm flesh.
"Mom! We're home!" I call as Riku and I kick off our shoes. "Oh, hey dad," I quiet when I see my dad on the couch.
"Your mother's out. How was the movie?"
"Good. Lots of explosions," I walk to the base of the stairs.
"Hello," Riku waves noncommittally at my dad, who nods in response.
"See you later, dad," I lead the way to my room. It's not until we're safely behind the closed door that I reach, taking Riku's hand shyly. I lean in, resting my head on Riku's shoulder, inhaling deeply. Riku puts one hand on the back of my neck and smells my hair. My boyfriend moves his hand, tilting my head up by the chin. We smile at each other before closing our eyes and kissing again. I suck on Riku's lip and he moans quietly. Riku maneuvers, leading us to the bed. He lays down, pulling me on top of him. Riku runs his tongue over my lips and I open my mouth hungrily. I run my fingers through his long hair before flipping us so Riku's on top.
"Sorry," I look at him with half-lidded eyes, "I'm feeling a little selfish today." Riku smiles devilishly, kissing me passionately.
I reach up, running my fingers through his hair again and using it to pull him closer. Riku grunts, stroking my face before running his hands down my sides, making me giggle.
I pull away from Riku for just a moment before attacking his neck, sucking on a vulnerable spot. I can tell he's biting his cheek to keep from moaning too loudly. Riku pulls me close, holding my head in place.
"I love you," he says.
"I mff oo oo," I attempt, my lips still latched on to Riku's neck. I go limp and Riku lets my head drop to the pillow.
Riku sits up on his knees, taking his shirt off and throwing it to the floor. I quickly take mine off, too, before staring at Riku's body. Sure, I've seen him before but here, in the sunset's glow from my window, his chest towers over me like a porcelain statue. My eyes wander up to his face. He's blushing and his eyes are averted.
"Riku," I whisper, sitting up and kissing his cheek, "it's okay."
He nods running his hands over my stomach, feeling every nervous muscle twitch. "That's what I thought," he chuckles. "Not so easy, is it?"
I blush, smiling shyly, nuzzling Riku's neck.
A thump alerts us to someone behind us and we turn, panicking. I squint angrily, seeing Roxas climbing in through my window. He looks at us and no one moves for awhile, Roxas still half outside. Slowly, he climbs in, closing the window quietly.
"I knew it," he smiles, his hands on his hips, holding a new box of ice cream.
I scowl, unable to get out from between Riku's thighs. "Yeah, well, just one more thing we have in common, I guess," I pout.
Roxas laughs. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. I don't want all this ice cream to melt!" my brother slips out of my room quietly.
"Why did he use your window?" Riku murmured.
"The shed's right under my window, which makes it easier to access. Roxas sneaks in and out on a fairly regular basis and it's not a problem to me. Usually, that is," I rest my head on Riku's shoulder. "Oh, my life," I moan.
"He's going to tell,isn't he?" Riku asks, sighing.
"I have no idea," I say,l "but I expect so. Roxas doesn't really believe in big secrets, which is why he's always been really open about who he is, since he figured it out."
Riku kisses me again before standing up, putting his shirt back on. "Can we tell your parents?"
I look at him, my eyes wide." Are you sure?"
Riku nods. "I know you've wanted to come out for a few months, now. I'm sorry. I've been holding you back," he looks down.
I embrace my boyfriend. "Thank you," I whisper before putting my own shirt back on.
The door bursts open behind us and Roxas (speak of the devil) throws an airsol can towards us, sticky orange goo spraying everywhere. He laughs maniacally. "Ice cream's not all I got today!" he says, running down the hall and out of sight.
I pull silly string out of my hair before going to where the can landed, a piece of tape on the depressor so the can continues to ooze the crap, looking sad just sitting on the floor. We stare at it for a moment before I pick it up, putting all of the remaining traces of the silly string in the garbage.
"I wish I was an only child," I sigh, taking Riku's hand and giving it a reassuring squeeze.
"Me too," he smiles sadly.
I look up at Riku, giving him a look that says: Shut up and stop trollin', you only child. He only laughs at me.
We go downstairs, letting go of each others' hands before we're in sight of my dad (on the couch) and my mom (coming inside).
"Welcome home, mom," I say cheerily. "Why don't you sit down?"
"Why?" she asks warily. "Is something wrong?" she looks at my dad, who doesn't respond, as he's too busy watching TV.
"No," I shake my head, nerves starting to get to me. "I just think you'll want to sit down. I've got something to tell you."
"Don't worry about it, ma'am," Riku says, smiling calmly. "I ensure you: it's nothing you haven't heard before."
Something catches my eye and I look to the stairs. Roxas is sitting about halfway up, trying his best not to laugh out loud. Well, laugh it up, chuckles. At least I'm not disgusting with my PDA, Mr. Smooch-a lot. I scowl at my brother before looking back to my mother. She sits beside dad, narrowing her eyes suspiciously. She takes the remote from dad, turning off the TV. Before he can object she nods towards me and Riku.
We stand in front of my parents. I shuffle my feet nervously but Riku seems so calm and collected. How is that? I've been wanting to do this for a long time and now I'm working up a sweat. I wipe my palms on my jeans while my parents sit, waiting patiently for the news I know they'll be disappointed to hear.
I'm sorry, mom, but you're not going to be seeing grandchildren anytime soon.
"I've wanted to tell you for awhile, now," I say quietly. "It's not going to be easy to say so...uh, bear with me, I guess..." I trail off, not sure where to start.
"Take as much time as you need, honey," mom says, smiling. I return the smile, albeit more nervously. Her encouragement only puts me more on edge.
Riku puts a hand on my shoulder and I look up at him. "Do you want me to do this?" he asks.
I shake my head. "I have to tell them," I whisper to him. "They're my family."
Riku nods, giving my shoulder a reassuring squeeze.
I turn to my parents, a new determination washing over me. "Mom, dad: I can't settle down with a girl, like you want me to. That's because I already love someone. That someone is…" I take a breath, steadying myself, "Riku."
No one says anything for awhile so Roxas takes the opportunity to come downstairs, trying not to laugh maniacally. He leans forward, on the back of the couch, staring directly at me. I don't look at him, though; I switch my gaze from my mom to my dad, waiting for one of them to react properly. I don't like the silent shock I'm getting.
My dad clears his throat while nudging mom in the side. "Thank you for telling us, Sora," he smiles. "How long have you – ah – known?"
"My answer was 'about ten minutes,'" Roxas interjects.
I ignore my younger brother. "I guess I finally figured it out – properly – about a year ago," I look at my feet, suddenly guilty.
"And you didn't think you could tell us?" mom's eyebrows furrow in concern. "We were fine when Roxas came out. Why didn't you think we'd accept you?"
"Well," I smile nervously, "you're always saying how you want me to have a girlfriend so you can have grandchildren so…" I suddenly feel foolish for hiding myself for so long. These are the people who accepted Roxas' simple and concise decision. Why wouldn't they have accepted me no matter when I tell them?
"You're not Roxas," mom says, reading my thoughts. "He's always known exactly who he is and never hides that. Sometimes it gets him into trouble - "
"Hey!" Roxas pouts.
"You're more cautious, Sora," mom ignores Roxas' interruption. "That's just who you are, but it gets you into just as much trouble," she puts her arm around my shoulders. "So, how long have you been keeping your relationship a secret?"
My face flares up an embarrassing pink. "Four months, give or take," I mumble.
"Well I guess you're a better secret-keeper than we thought!"
"Yeah. Usually Sora's a terrible liar," Roxas comes around the couch, punching me lightly on the shoulder. "What was it I caught you two doing upstairs again?"
My face heats, my smile dropping. "We were playing video games."
"Sora," my dad says sternly, "what were you two doing?"
"Letting Roxas in," I smile, glad to tell the truth. "He had just gotten home because Axel took him to the ice cream parlour after school. He sneaks in and out through my room all the time," I blink innocently.
"Seriously, Sora," mom doesn't let my change of subject slide, "what were you and Riku doing? Actually, on second thought, maybe I don't - "
"They were sucking face!" Roxas interrupts as if he's going to get this big reaction, and yeah: I'm embarrassed, but my parents look at Roxas, unimpressed.
"So? We all know what happens at Axel's place when you sleep over," my dad says. We all look at him, surprised. Dad's not the type to be so out-spoken and crude like that! It's Roxas' turn to turn red.
"Roxas has ice cream?" mom breaks the silence, staring at my brother, disappointed.
Roxas huffs, puffing out his cheeks and looking at me angrily. "Way to spill," he mumbles.
I put my hands behind my back, rocking back on my heels and grinning.
"No, no, Roxas, you're not in trouble," mom laughs. "I'm sure you brought enough for everyone, after all," she raises her eyebrow, daring Roxas to challenge her.
"Yeah," he scowls, going to the kitchen to retrieve the treat he'd tried his best to keep a secret.
"Are you two moving in together anytime soon?" mom smiled, her eyes twinkling like they do when she gets a hold on a particularly juicy piece of gossip.
"I...I don't know," I flush again, my shoulders hunching up around my ears. "Maybe after we graduate...? Depending on what Riku's parents think when we tell them, at least," I look at Riku, pleading for him to save me.
"My parents already know," Riku smiles, all proud of himself.
"What? That's not fair. When did you tell them?"
"I didn't. Let's be honest, Sora: while neither of us are the most flamboyant, we're certainly not the least. They figured out I was gay when I was about fifteen and it didn't take long for them to realize that I liked you, either," Riku rubbed his thumb on my shoulder reassuringly and I conceded.
"So," my mom pressed, "when are you moving in together?" she's not one to let up on a subject such as this.
"Once we both have steady jobs with enough income," Riku says. "We're not in any rush," he smiles calmly, in control. Mom nods, understanding. Riku turns to the kitchen as Roxas comes out with his box of sea-salt ice cream bars.
My brother goes around the living room, handing out the light blue treats. Dad refuses one but the rest of us are soon sucking on the salty-sweet ice cream. Roxas puts the box back in the freezer. "The last two are mine," he scowls. "I bought them, after all."
I slap Roxas on the back good-naturedly. "You got some, at least," I laugh, "even if you didn't get some."
"Hey!" Roxas punches me in the chest before stomping up to his room.
"Is he mad?" Riku whispers in my ear.
I shake my head. "He's just kidding. He'll be down pretty soon."
Riku leans down kissing me slowly. "I love you," he murmurs.
"I love you more," I sigh.
"I love you most," Riku takes my hand, leading me back up to my room so we can start our new life. Together.
