Summary: ' It wasn't their first kiss—oh, no, it was far from the couple's first kiss—but, in a way, it was. After all, it was their first kiss that wasn't bound to secrecy.' In which Sora realizes he's more than just a Keyblade Master—he's in love. [SoRiku]
Rating: T(een)— Only because the muse of homosexuality and society's tolerance towards it is a touchy, mature subject, even though those ideas are only implications within this story.
Disclaimer: Nahh. I don't own the characters. I do have some donuts, though. –offers-
Author's notes: Oh, my God. I hope you all can stomach a lot of sugar and I hope that all of your teeth are strong enough to resist cavities from a lot of sweet crap, 'cause this turned out to be way fluffier than I expected.
I was going for a slightly realistic view on how it would be if Sora and Riku really were together. I hope it came out decent! Onward!
A Closet Romance
Cheerful voices filled the chilly December night air. Bright colors of every hue adorned the bodies crowding the large, brilliant chamber of Disney Castle. There were tables dressed in white, silk tablecloths lining the sterile walls of the room, each holding its own bowl or container of something consumable for guests. Colorful balloons floated above the many heads chattering throughout the hall and soft music flowed into every ear before out another.
December 31st; the last night remaining before a new year began for each world. It was also the night King Mickey and Queen Minnie hosted their annual New Year's Eve ball. It was always an extravagant event where everyone they knew was invited to attend.
"Oh, Kairi!" A high-pitched voice squealed over the sound of the music, "You look beautiful! I love your dress!" Exclaimed a petite, teenage girl with chestnut loops of hair wearing a turquoise dress that dangled and flared just below her knees.
Kairi, the girl aforementioned, brushed her soft strands of burgundy hair out of her crystalline eyes and offered the girl in the turquoise a brilliant smile. Smoothing down the front of her elegant, pearl-pink, strapless dress, she replied, "Thank you, Selphie. You look gorgeous, as well." She extended her arms—fingers, palms, and forearms covered by decorative, white gloves—to embrace the other girl affectionately.
"Aw, thanks, Kai." Selphie smiled delicately, toying with a diamond earring dangling from her right ear. "Who are you here with?"
Kairi's laugh was like wind playing notes on a wind chime. "Who do you think, silly? Sora, of course!"
Selphie rolled her eyes, but gave a playful smile. "Duh. I should have known!"
Nearby, a silver haired man rolled his aqua orbs to the ceiling, his expression filled with boredom as he viewed the girls' exchange. He was leaning against the white walls of the castle nonchalantly, watching emotionlessly as people came and went, back and forth, greeting one person and then moving on to the next, each conversation consisting of the casual 'I missed you!'s, 'how have you been?'s, and 'you look great!'s—nothing too intimate or deep.
"Riku!" Another boy with incredibly spiky mocha locks and beautifully tanned skin seemingly bounced up next to the bored one, gleaming ocean irises locking onto him. "I've been looking all over for you!" A broad, toothy grin spread across the tanned boy's face as he clasped his rough hands together enthusiastically in front of his lean body that was clad in a heavy-looking, navy blue suit that made his bright eyes glow.
"Hm?" Riku raised a thin eyebrow, willing the smile that was tugging at his lips to stay hidden. He brushed his silver tresses out of his face, blinking long eyelashes slowly. "I'm sure you have, Sora. I'm probably the most interesting thing here."
Sora punched Riku in the arm lightly before motioning to Riku's ebony suit. "I think I could find something a little more interesting." He teased, smiling still, "You look nice." He added as an afterthought distantly.
Riku feigned an expression of hurt at Sora's first comment. "Oh, Sora, how you wound me with your words." He joked, a smile slipping onto his lips unknowingly. "And, thanks," He chuckled, the sound a sensual chime to Sora's eardrums. "You clean up pretty well yourself. Although, I like you better when you have less—"
Sora's cheeks burned with an unwelcome flush as his hands covered Riku's mouth hastily, cutting the older boy off. "Riku!" The younger boy hissed. "Don't! I'm here as Kairi's date, remember? Which means if anyone hears you talking about, er, us, then they'll start to think things!"
Riku's eyebrows rose as he peeled Sora's fingers away from his face gently, letting the pad of his thumb run over the sensitive skin of Sora's wrist teasingly in the process, relishing in the struggling look upon Sora's face. "I was only going to say I like you better when you have less formal clothes on, but hey— if you want to think dirty, I'm not complaining."
The blush on Sora's cheeks deepened. He chewed on his bottom lip as his eyebrows pulled together. "Shut up." He eventually muttered out, drawing his hands away from Riku's and glancing around. No one was paying them any mind. "Still, I don't want people seeing us like… like… this. I mean, if people found out about us…" Sora paused, looking slightly guilty as he glanced over at Kairi, his best girl-friend. "Especially Kairi, Riku. She likes me."
"Yeah. She's had that crush on you since you were five." Riku agreed, his tone greatly sarcastic. "And hey, that's right, so have I! And to top it all off, you're my boyfriend—in the closet, of course. And I get to sit back and watch you go have fun with her. And flirt with her. And dancewith her." The jealousy was prominent in Riku's expression as he shot an unnoticed look at Kairi.
Sora's guilty look returned. His eyes shown with held in emotion. "Riku… You know I don't like her. I'm with you. I'm just scared… I don't want everyone to know about—"
"Sora!"
Kairi's light voice interrupted Sora's speech. The sound of her high heels clicking upon the tile flooring grew louder as she approached the two boys near the wall. Sora stopped speaking, shooting Riku a guilty, apologetic look before turning slowly to face his date with a plastered on smile.
"Kairi, hi." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously. He pretended that the blush on his cheeks was from Kairi's presence. "You look… amazing." It wasn't a lie.
Riku clenched his jaw as he watched the scene before him. Kairi's cheeks swelled with a pink hue, quenching the pallor of her features. When she smiled softly at Sora and reached out to take his hand delicately to lead him to the dance floor, Riku tore his eyes away.
So, he was a jealous man. Sue him.
But in Riku's eyes, Sora was his.
Sora spared a quick glance over his shoulder at his boyfriend who was left leaning against the wall, looking slightly frustrated yet gorgeous all the same. He hated seeing Riku upset, yet he didn't want to hurt Kairi, either; the girl was fragile. Riku was not—well, maybe he was, but not as fragile as Kairi.
"I'm really glad you came with me tonight, Sora." Kairi's smile was one of joy as she placed one hand carefully in Sora's, positioning her body in the stance to waltz. Sora moved to follow suit, a painful knot of guilt forming in his stomach. Kairi raised a small hand to her friend's cheek, running one of her glove-clad fingers down his jaw line affectionately before placing the hand upon his toned shoulder.
Sora held back the urge to pull away from her gentle touch when she caressed his skin; that wasn't Riku's hand—it wasn't right. But he ignored the urge, forcing a smile back before placing his remaining rough hand upon her waist. "I'm glad I did, too, Kairi."
That wasn't a lie, either. He was glad he came. Kairi was his best friend. Unfortunately for Kairi, that was all she was, and all she would ever be.
Back upon the wall, Riku ground his teeth together, watching Sora and Kairi glide fluidly next to one another upon the dance floor. They looked perfect together. Beautiful. They looked like the pictured couples that could be found in magazines. They were both stunningly attractive. They both had amazing personalities. They both had played a part in ridding the worlds of the Heartless and Organization XIII. Hell, their nobodies even made a wondrous match.
Riku sighed, sauntering over to one of the tablecloth covered tables to pour himself some punch. Once he completed that said task, he moved back to the wall to mope and wallow in his jealousy a bit longer.
Closing his eyes, he rubbed his temples. And the night has just begun.
After a moment or two of relishing the darkness of the back of his eyelids, Riku felt a warm hand resting upon his forearm. He opened his heavy lids to take in the sight of Queen Minnie, dressed in an elaborate silver, golden-trimmed ball gown with her glittering crown placed gently between her ears, smiling softly up at him.
The sight surprised him, but he smiled back. "Hello, Your Majesty. You look lovely tonight, as always." He politely greeted the monarch, who giggled lightly.
"Why, thank you, young sir." Her voice was velvety and cheerful like all of the other peoples'. "I have a request, if I may?"
Riku straightened. A request? He blew his bangs out of his face and nodded. "Yes?"
The Queen smiled widely, outstretching her gloved hand welcomingly. "Come then, Riku. We can't have such a talent as the boy who helped save the universe playing a wallflower. Dance with me?"
Riku didn't know whether to be more surprised at the offer that the Queen was giving, or the statement about how he had helped save the universe. He had helped? Yeah, by helping the bad guys.
He shook the thought off before charismatically taking Queen Minnie's offered hand. Briefly, he questioned how he was going to pull this off—she was so much shorter than he was, after all. "It would be my honor, your majesty." He gave a beautiful smile and a respectful bow of his head before leading the mouse to the dance floor. Maybe it would help him to keep his mind off the thought of his boyfriend dancing with someone else out of guilt.
He had to admit, however, that this was probably the most respectful thing he had ever done. People would definitely look up to him for this. Not that he minded; Queen Minnie was a sweet, beautiful woman-mouse?
When Riku lead the Queen to the dance floor, Kairi raised her eyebrows quite high in surprise from her spot in Sora's arms. "Wow, Sora. Look at Riku."
At the sound of his secret boyfriend's name, Sora's mind jumped. Confusion flaring through him, he turned his head toward the direction Kairi—and many other people—were staring to see his boyfriend place his hand in Queen Minnie's and proceed to waltz as if it were a normal thing.
"Is that the Queen?" He exclaimed, his grip on Kairi's hand tightening subconsciously out of surprise—or jealousy? It couldn't be jealousy—it was the Queen. There was nothing to be jealous about there. She was married. To the King. King Mickey.
Nothing to worry about; no need to be jealous. Besides, in all due respect, she was a mouse.
Despite these comforting thoughts, Sora couldn't help the growing feeling deep down in the pit of his stomach. Maybe this was how Riku felt when he watched Sora dance with Kairi? Knowing the person that your loved one is dancing with isn't a threat isn't very helpful when you can't stop thinking about how that person they're dancing with should be you.
And when Sora swallowed and reluctantly turned his gaze back to Kairi, who had already lost interest in Riku's exploits in comparison to staring happily into Sora's dazzling blue eyes, Sora's guilt grew.
Later on that evening, Riku found himself leaning on the railing of the balcony of the castle's ballroom, staring up at the stars. The night hadn't been that bad. He had gotten to dance with the Queen—no matter how unprepared for that, he was— and had thoroughly enjoyed himself by occupying himself with other girls to dance with after the Queen, all the while successfully managing to keep his mind off of Sora and Kairi not fifty feet away—somewhat.
"I'm sorry."
Riku recognized the voice automatically. He stood up straight, tearing his eyes from the stars above as he ran a pale hand through his silken locks. Sora slowly made his way to the railing, leaning his elbows onto the wooden surface. He turned his boyish face to look at Riku, gnawing at his bottom lip.
Riku gave a small smirk, glancing at the boy next to him. "You should stop chewing on your lip. It's probably not good for it," He murmured, "And sorry? Sorry for what?"
"I—" Sora began. His features pulled into a scowl. Carefully and cautiously, he reached out and took Riku's warm hand in his own, running his callused fingers over the back of Riku's hand.
Riku allowed himself to give Sora a confused look. Why was he holding his hand? Wasn't he worried that people would see?
Exhaling deeply, Sora met Riku's confused gaze, his grip tightening. "Riku. I'm an idiot." He began once again, causing Riku to raise an eyebrow silently, the corner of his mouth tugging upward. "I… I'm the Keyblade Master." Sora continued, almost desperately. "I've killed thousands, millions, of Heartless and Nobodies in the span of—what?—three years? Four years? I've been to a ton of worlds, fought a gajillion of battles that any normal teenage boy wouldn't be able to do. I've flown a Gummi Ship in space when most kids our age would be driving cars on roads. I've been turned into a lion cub and a merman, for crying out loud! I've flown without the Gummi Ship because of fairy dust!"
Sora's voice rose an octave as his speech continued. Riku tilted his head, squinting slightly, setting his lips in a serious expression. "Yeah, I know, Sora. I was… part of that. Sort of. You're amazing." Riku's words were soft, still confused. "Extraordinary." Riku's last word came out in a breath.
Sora blushed lightly, running his free hand through his soft spikes of hair. "But, Riku. My point is: I've done all that, and I'm scared to let people know that I like you. Heck, who am I kidding? I'm in love with you." He paused to let his words hit Riku. "I'm so stupid. What do I have to be scared of?"—A rhetorical question— "I mean, all I'm doing is hurting you by hiding us. And Kairi. I… I'm just leading her on. I don't want to do that. I don't want to hurt you or her. I'm your boyfriend. And it shouldn't just be a closet romance. I should have been the one dancing with you tonight—Kairi should have been with someone else, and the Queen should have been with the King."
Riku didn't know what to say. For once, Riku was completely at a loss for words.
"Sora…" Riku's voice was quiet. He pushed a few stray strands of Sora's hair out of the boy's eyes to look into them completely. "Sora, that…" He stopped, letting his lids droop slightly. "God, Sora,I love you."
It felt like the right thing to say. He didn't know how else to respond. It was so touching, so incredibly touching, for Sora to think such things. Hesitantly, Riku pulled Sora by his hand into an intimate hug, wrapping his arms around his boyfriend's waist and nuzzling his face into those mocha spikes that smelled uniquely of Sora.
Sora squeaked in surprise, but relaxed, letting his head fall gently upon Riku's shoulder, his arms encircling his lover's neck loosely. "I… I love you, too, Riku. I'm so sorry." He pulled back slightly so he could look Riku in the face. "No more secrets? No more hurting you or Kairi…"
Riku smiled gently, reaching his hand up to cup Sora's cheek. It felt so good, so right. "Sure. If you don't want to hide anymore, then we won't hide anymore." His deep voice was low, sending chills down Sora's spine.
Sora let his eyelids drop, matching Riku's expression. "That's what I want." He murmured the confirmation, lips pulling up into a secretive smile. "One more thing, though."
Riku rested his forehead against Sora's closing his eyes for a moment before replying. "Hm, love?" It came out in a breath, barely audible.
Sora smiled, pulling Riku closer by his neck. He slipped his hands into Riku's soft tresses and tugged at them lightly—the innocent way he knew drove Riku crazy. Riku bit back a groan, letting his eyes slip closed again, awaiting Sora's reply. Sora leaned up, his breath teasing Riku's lips, nudging Riku's nose with his own in an affectionate manner that made Riku reopen his eyes to reveal aquamarine orbs.
"Kiss me. Right here. Now, please."
Riku stared at the boy in his arms for a moment, searching his eyes for a look of complete sureness. After a second, he smirked, releasing a quiet, seductive chuckle from his parted lips.
"Oh, Sora, it would be my honor."
Riku's lips pressed against Sora's in a gentle embrace, his hold tightening around Sora's waist. Sora kissed back eagerly, happily.
It wasn't their first kiss—oh, no, it was far from the couple's first kiss—but, in a way, it was. After all, it was their first kiss that wasn't bound to secrecy.
Sora felt the guilty knot in his stomach dissolve into tingling, fluttering butterflies when Riku teased his bottom lip with his tongue and teeth, smirking into the kiss as Sora melted.
And they were happy.
Fin.
There you are. FLUFFY. In my opinion, lol. Well, it's one o'clock in the morning, and I'm really glad that this story pretty much wrote itself, 'cause it made it easier on me! I was originally going to have this story about how people overuse the word "love" or use it when they don't mean it, and throw Sora and Riku fluff in there somehow. BUT, this is what I got. Totally different. But hey, it works. Well, since I have wonderful plans for tomorrow (save me, please), I shall be going now.
Really, it was my honor to write you all this story. Ha-ha, overused lines for the win.
Love, always.
Shoe.