Disclaimer: I don't, won't, or ever will own Kingdom Hearts.

A silver haired man walked along the shoreline, intending to go to his favorite little island that hadn't been visited in years. When Sora and he got back, they hadn't had time to go back to their childhood play place. And then they had also needed some time to settle back into the swing of things. But now he was settled, and now he had time, so he would go there, just like he used to before the whole thing started…

He intended to swim out to the little island, and did just that. Arriving at the small ladder that allowed him to climb onto the island with ease, he shook some of the water off of him, resembling a sort of dog with the way the water flew off of his body with each shake. At least he wouldn't be completely soaked, but then again it had been a hot day, and he had needed the refreshment of cool ocean water on his skin. Now. as dry as he could be by simply shaking himself off, he began to climb the ladder. He was barely even one rung off the ground before he heard voices from two people above him. He wondered silently when they had gotten there, how they hadn't been able to hear him approach and…why hadn't he noticed two other boats at the small dock…

"Have you gotten it?" a feminine voice asked. He could tell right away the voice belonged to his redheaded friend. Letting go of the ladder, he stood there and strained his ears to hear what she was asking about. He was also curious as to whom she was talking to.

"Yeah," the other said. He knew immediately, like he had with Kairi's voice, that it was Sora. He shook his head, berating himself. Of course it was Sora. The two were rarely ever seen without each other nowadays, he suddenly realized. His eyes lowered to stare at the ground sadly, but listened on intently. He heard shuffling of sand coming closer to him, and he realized that one of them, or maybe both, he wasn't sure, was walking closer to the edge he was currently standing near. He pressed himself against the natural wall of rock formed by the raised land, hoping that they wouldn't notice the mop of silver hair below the edge.

"I wonder if that old legend's really true…" Kairi said. He could almost imagine her staring out across the ocean with a dreamy expression. His mouth turned to a miserable frown, as he was almost certain of what they were talking about.

"We'll never know until we share it," Sora replied to her. He was right. It was that wretched thing. Of course, he didn't completely loathe it. It was just that, at this moment, he wasn't very fond of the yellow, star-shaped fruit.

"I hope it is. Then we won't lose each other again, like last time." Again, he could almost hear Kairi smiling as she said that. More shuffling of sand coming towards him sounded. Sora was probably coming closer to Kairi, since he sounded louder, closer now as he spoke.

"Yeah. I don't want that to happen ever again."

Silence reigned in, causing him to think over what they said. They were going to share a paopu fruit with each other. He squeezed his eyes shut as he felt a wave of depression come over him. He couldn't stay here, so close to his two friends. He couldn't…he had to get away. His mind began to whirl, a bit frantic at not knowing how he could get away from the island without making noise that would attract their attention almost immediately. Even if the two were doing something…intimate, they would still hear the noise. Another wave hit him as he thought this, but pushed the thought back as soon as it surfaced. Suddenly there was a distant slapping of sandals on a wooden surface that was coming at a leisurely pace.

"Hey Tidus," Kairi called out happily, identifying who the approaching person was. He could hear the muffled footsteps getting further from him. Just a bit more, and then maybe they wouldn't hear the splash of water when he waded in.

"Hey Kairi, Sora. What're you guys up to all alone out here?" Tidus's voice sounded.

"Nothing much. We were just talking until you came," Sora told the blonde boy.

"So you guys are finally gonna do it?" Tidus, apparently, had spotted the fruit.

"Yeah. I know it's just an old legend, but I'd do anything not to have us separated like that again," Kairi replied.

"Right. Well, Selphie sent me over because she needed your help with something Kairi," Tidus said.

"Oh, right! That!" the girl exclaimed. "Sorry Sora. We can't do it today. But tomorrow would be a better time to do it anyway, don't you think?"

"Yeah. That'd be perfect!"

"Okay, I'll see you guys tomorrow then." Muffled steps and then the clomping of shoes hitting wooden boards reached the silverette's ears.

"Oh, and since Kairi's helping Selphie, that reminds me. Wakka and I need your help too," Tidus told the other brunette boy.

"Okay." He heard two sets of footfalls upon the bridge begin. He heard Sora speak up again, but couldn't quite hear it clearly enough to make anything out.

His ocean green eyes saddened even more from what they were as he replayed the small bits of conversation he had heard earlier. He was happy for them. They were together and happy with each other. And now the were even going to share a…paopu fruit…

Two tears streamed down his cheeks as he looked dejectedly into a dark corner of the secret place. He had swum back to the shore after he made sure no one else was there to see him. Deciding that he didn't want to go home, he came here. It was his second favorite place on their little play island, aside from the island with the lopsided tree that held the paopu fruit until it was ripe and fell off with ease. The same tree his two friends had gotten that…fruit from. He sighed heavily, trying to gather himself even the slightest bit, and pushed the thought back again.

He was supposed to be the strong one in their friendship. He wasn't supposed to go crying in a corner, wasn't supposed to seem like he had been hurt, wasn't supposed to…

But…he wasn't supposed to be left behind either…

"Damn it…" he swore under his breath. He felt so…alone. Sora and Kairi were happy together, and so wrapped up in their love for the other that they'd forgotten about their other friend. He didn't matter to them anymore, and that simple fact hurt. What hurt him more was the fact that they were leaving him behind by sharing that fruit. The one thing that, in the legends were true, would keep them together no matter what.

But he didn't want to tear them apart. No he could never do that. And it's not that he liked Kairi. No…maybe it would have been once, before all of this, but it was just a fleeting infatuation. In truth he thought of her as a younger sibling that just had such light and joy and innocence in her eyes, that he needed to protect that at any cost. And Sora, like Kairi, seemed like a younger sibling too. Always being ditzy and light hearted and just so naïve sometimes, that it made him want to protect that boy's innocence too. They were the closest things he had to a family, and he wanted the best for them since he was an only child and his parents were almost never home except for maybe a few days every other month, or the occasional holiday. And now that they were together, he wanted to protect them even more. Protect their innocent love any way he could, but…

Even if he wanted to protect them with all his heart, he still couldn't help feeling hurt…betrayed…by it. Neither could be see without the other that much anymore, as he realized earlier, and when he was with the couple, he felt like a third wheel. Like he was only intruding on their time together, and they just weren't saying anything about it.

A few more tears slid down his cheeks, willing the rest to stay back, as he realized this. Of course they wouldn't say anything. They were both too nice to do such a thing to anyone unless they were very angry or annoyed. Or maybe…they just chose not to say anything so they could play with his emotions. To make him feel uncomfortable because they liked to see him squirm under the awkwardness of the situation…

Quickly he shook his head. No. That wasn't it. Neither of his friends disliked him that much…or at least that's what he thought. He buried his face in his hands, shaking his head occasionally.

He had to stop thinking about this. He was over analyzing the situation, and there was nothing more to it. Sora and Kairi were still his friends, and still liked to be around him. They weren't betraying him in anyway. And of course, his heart most definitely was not cracking in anyway whatsoever. He thought this as he stood up from his spot on the sandy floor of the secret place. More tears fell down his cheek, but he wiped them away quickly. Why should he be crying, his mind said, if there was nothing wrong?

His heart disagreed and he knew it as he felt it crack a little further. Ignoring the cries of his heart, he made his way to the small dock to go home. It was already dark, and long past when the last light of the twilight of dusk had been visible. Stars twinkled happily above his head around a nearly eclipsed moon, and silently as he rowed himself home, he wished that the stars didn't look so god damn bright and happy tonight.

The next day he woke up again, pushing all thoughts of yesterday that were trying desperately to resurface to the back of his mind. He groaned, and got himself up like he did every other day his parents were gone and headed downstairs to fix himself breakfast.

A piece of toast and a glass of orange juice. That's all he had. What could he say, he wasn't one for a huge breakfast, especially if he was the one who had to make and clean it. He finished the small quantity of food quickly and got himself dressed for the up coming day. He wore swim trunks underneath in case he felt like swimming that day, as he did everyday, for it was natural for an island child such as himself to get spontaneous urges to go swimming in the crystal clear ocean surrounding Destiny Islands. As he headed for his door to go outside, he paused momentarily as he passed the calendar on his room's wall, as it happened to catch his attention. He checked the date on his alarm clock, and looked back at the date that had been sloppily circled by Sora when the boy had noticed the thing hanging on his wall.

"Sora what are you doing?" he asked. The small brunette boy was standing in front of his friend's calendar with a bold red marker in hand. The cap was off, and was being held in Sora's other hand. He looked back over his shoulder at Riku and grinned.

"You'll see," he replied simply. The silverette sighed and rolled his eyes with a smile at the other's childishness. Sora moved the marker over the paper, flipped to another page, and marked that one. He repeated the process until he was satisfied, and then recapped it. He stepped away and showed what he had done, flipping the pages of the calendar to show his friend.

"I marked the holidays, along with Kairi's birthday and my birthday," Sora explained. Riku now took the calendar and looked through it slowly.

"I know you forget some of the holidays during the year, so I marked them for you so you wouldn't forget!" Sora said happily. Riku stopped on the month of August. The 22nd was circled in a thick, red, sloppy circle. He smirked a bit, but enough for Sora to see.

"What?"

"You circled my birthday too," Riku replied. Sora didn't say anything for a bit.

"…Well then you won't forget your own birthday now either," he said with a pout. But the pout was soon replaced with a grin as he ran to the doorway. "Now come on! We have to meet Kairi, and we're already late as it is!"

Riku sighed and shook his head with a smile. Sora ran happily out of the house with his silver-haired friend following right behind him.

He shook his head to clear the memory, and stared at the date Sora had circled once again. It was his birthday today. It was the twenty-second of August. He smiled a bit. Maybe Sora was right about him being forgetful. He really hadn't noticed that his birthday had come up so fast. His smile faltered as he remembered what Sora and Kairi were doing today, but once again pushed it away to the back of his mind. It was his birthday. He wouldn't let that get him worked up. At least…not today he wouldn't.

He headed for the front door, grabbing his wallet on the way out. There wasn't really a need to lock one's house on Destiny Islands. After all, it was a fairly small community and almost everyone knew everyone, and therefore, there weren't many crimes or break-ins. He stood outside his door, trying to decide what he should treat himself to on his birthday.

The silverette rarely ever spent much money on himself for things other than those that were essential. But, since his parents were never really there to give him a present, he would treat himself to something nice that he may have wanted but never got. Shrugging, he began heading for town but was stopped by two voices calling his name.

"Riku!"

"Riiiiiiiiiikkkkuuuuuuuuuuuu!!"

He smirked. He could tell before turning around, just by how they had called out his name that it was Selphie and Tidus. The brunette girl and blond boy ran up to him with big smiles. They stopped to catch their breaths a little before speaking.

"Hey Riku!" Tidus said.

"Happy birthday!" Selphie called out happily. She seemed especially…giddy today for some reason.

"Yeah, happy birthday man," Tidus repeated.

"Thanks guys," Riku replied. He rubbed the back of his neck with a small smile. Suddenly, Selphie grabbed his hand and she began dragging him along with her as Tidus followed along happily. Riku stumbled after her, nearly tripping since he hadn't expected the sudden tug on his arm.

"Se-Selphie! W-What are you doing?" he asked as he regained his balance.

"Come on! We have a surprise for you!" she exclaimed. They continued jogging with the brunette still dragging Riku along happily. He smiled, glad that they were doing something for him on his birthday. Despite the fact that he could occasionally be a jerk, or that he wasn't especially close to Tidus or Selphie (or Wakka for that matter) like he was with Kairi and Sora, they had chosen to do something for him. And that small fact made him happy. They arrived at Tidus's house, and the duo pulled the birthday boy into the back yard. Riku almost gasped as his friends jumped out at him.

"Surprise! Happy birthday!" they all shouted. He grinned as he looked at the grinning faces of his friends. Tidus and Selphie, of course, were there, but Wakka, Sora, and Kairi had also come as well as some other people he had known somewhat.

They all pummeled him with hugs and 'happy birthday's. They gave him presents and split the small cake that Selphie's mom had baked with for the party. Not many people ate the cake though, because, like her daughter, she loved sugary things. And because of that she had made it so sweet, only someone with a real sweet tooth could eat more than half a piece.

And Riku loved every minute of it. For him, his mind only focused on that time, this one moment when friends surrounded him, he was happy, and ignorant of the problems his mind contained. He was laughing, and having fun for real for the first time in a while.

But then he saw Sora and Kairi off by themselves in a corner talking to each other. One would think they were just having a normal conversation, but he could see the special looks they gave each other. The way they smiled at each other and laughed as if there was nothing bad in the world. He smiled sadly before turning back to his other friends. He tried his best to regain his earlier mood, but felt he just couldn't put his heart into it. Sighing he plastered on another smile. Most everyone had left already anyway, so they wouldn't mind him leaving.

"Hey guys, I'm gonna go now, okay?" he told Tidus, Selphie, and Wakka. Selphie launched herself onto him with a hug.

"Okay. Happy birthday again!" she said. He returned the hug, though not with the same enthusiasm, for that was something only someone like Selphie could have, and she let go. Tidus patted his back and Wakka ruffled his hair like an older brother would his younger sibling if he were proud of them.

"Bye mon," Wakka said.

"Yeah. See you later," Tidus said. Riku laughed a bit, batting Wakka's hand away from his hair. He may not be as close with them as he was with Sora and Kairi, but they too were his family. Wakka seemed like an older brother to him, whereas Tidus could play the role of both a younger and older brother, and Selphie…well she was like the crazy sister that annoyed the hell out of you, but you loved anyway. He waved to them and walked out. He glanced at Sora and Kairi, but seeing that they didn't notice him as he passed by, he simply went on as if he too hadn't noticed them.

Once again, he was at their play island. He sat on the lopsided paopu tree, glad at having found his favorite spot empty. No tears graced his face today. He was simply numb at the thought now. He let them flow in and out of his thoughts as they bounced around in his head. He stared out across the ocean. The sun was beginning to set, casting beautiful hues across the sky, catching on the underbellies of stray clouds and reflecting on the blue ocean. He always liked to watch the sunsets here. Usually he would feel peaceful and happy, caught up in the moment of the beautiful colors. Today though, was just like yesterday where he couldn't concentrate. His mind focused on his friends, but he had no tears today.

Wind rustled his hair, bringing it up in front of his eyes. He didn't bother to turn around when he heard thumping on the wooden bridge signaling the fact that someone was approaching him. He had seen two small boats coming, so he knew that they had seen him.

"Hey Riku." Sora, just the person he didn't want to see now.

"What're you doing out here all by yourself?" And Kairi was with him. Great. Just great.

"Sunset," was his simple answer. He hoped they would get the hint that he wanted to be alone right then, but apparently they didn't. The pair moved closer to the boy. Kairi stood near the base of the tree, leaning against it, while Sora pulled himself onto it to sit next to his silver haired friend.

For a while the trio just sat there, watching the slowly setting sun. As they did, Riku forgot what had been running through his mind earlier as he sat there with his two friends. A ghost of a smile was held on his face for a moment, feeling like he belonged there, that they wanted him there, and that he wasn't intruding on their time alone together. And now the smile dropped to a frown as that thought crossed his mind. That's right, they probably want to be alone. That's why they came here isn't it?

The silverette sighed and jumped onto the sand from his spot on the tree. He started walking away, but turned when he hears Kairi's voice.

"Hey, where're you going?" she asked. She had seen his face go from blank to peaceful to…something she wasn't quite sure about. Concern had been an underlying tone in the question. Riku shrugged.

"Dunno. Home I guess."

"Why? We just got here," Sora said. Painfully, he turned his head to look into Sora's eyes directly.

"I just…feel like I'm intruding on something. You guys want to be alone right? I understand. I'll leave," he said, never giving them a chance to answer. Sora and Kairi exchanged looks of concern for their friend before following after him.

"Riku! Wait!" Kairi called out. He didn't stop, and was now on the beach and heading towards the small dock. The two other teens ran after him, and then planted themselves in front of him. He stopped, expecting them to stand there and tell him what they wanted to say, but instead both teens hugged the older boy. His face showed confusion as he looked from brown to red. He stayed still, letting them hug him gently.

"Riku…" Kairi mumbled.

"You're not intruding anything. And we came here to be with you," Sora explained. "I don't know what's going on in that thick skull of yours, but we're your friends. We're here for you."

"You could have told us if you felt like a third wheel or something," Kairi added. "Trust me, you aren't intruding anything, like Sora said. So just stay for now. We haven't spent time together as much as we should. And we want to spend time with you on your birthday with just the three of us."

Sora agreed, and Riku sighed. Hearing this made him feel a little better, but he still felt like he was intruding. He remembered them saying that they were going to share the paopu fruit today. They let him go, and he simply sighed again, and looked out at the still setting sun once again. He sat down in the sand. Kairi and Sora joined him, Kairi on the right and Sora on the left. They sat in silence again, like they had only a few moments before.

"All right…but I still feel like I'm a third wheel when I'm with you guys," he said quietly as he lay down on the sand, stretching himself.

"Why's that?" Kairi asked. He didn't want to answer that one, but he knew he'd have to at some point, so why not get it over with?

"…I feel like…you guys are just so close to each other. Closer than I could ever get to either of you, and…because of that I feel like I'm being left behind," he explained slowly. Neither of his friends said anything. He brought his arm over his eyes to block the sight of them and sighed for what seemed the millionth time since he'd come to the island.

"Never mind. Stupid isn't it?" he said. He heard rustling of clothing and thought that they were getting up to leave his pitiful self there to lie on the beach alone.

"Riku, close your eyes, and no peeking," Sora said suddenly. Slowly, Riku removed his arm from his eyes, but kept them closed as his friend had asked.

"Okay, now eat this," Kairi told him as one of them, he couldn't tell who since his eyes were closed, put something juicy but solid against his lips. He opened his mouth and what seemed to be a fruit dropped in. He chewed, slightly curious as to what his friends had just given him. It was sweet and tangy, but it tasted good. Well, to Riku at least. He didn't know about Sora or Kairi though. The flavor was something he didn't recognize, and couldn't even begin to describe. He had swallowed and figured that he wasn't getting anymore of mysterious fruit since he felt no more being pressed against his mouth.

"Can I open my eyes now?" he asked.

"Yup," Kairi said happily. She sounded almost like Selphie as she did, but he ignored that. As he opened them, he saw that his friends were no longer sitting, but were lying next to him, each holding one of his hands. Strange…he hadn't noticed the warmth his hands held now. When had they done that? He also noticed that the sun had almost completely set. The last signs of twilight were putting on a show across the ocean and sky.

"So what was that?" he asked.

"Something to make you feel less like a third wheel," Sora said.

"In other words…a paopu fruit," Kairi explained. Riku stared at them in disbelief. They weren't sharing it with each other; they were sharing it with…him. So that's why…!

Pieces fell into place as he puzzled together what he heard the day before and what he knew now. He shook his head. How could he have been so foolish?

"A paopu fruit…" he said slowly. "I always thought that you two would just go share one with each other. Not split one for all three of us."

"Why do you say that?" Kairi asked innocently. Riku snorted, and smiled at that.

"Oh come on. You guys are always together, so it's obvious to almost everyone that you guys like each other," he said. The two flushed red at that. "That's also why I kinda felt like a third wheel a lot when I was with you guys. I thought that you were together, or at least were aware of the other's feelings."

"Rikuuuuu! W-we're not together!" Sora said, embarrassed that his feeling for the red head had been reviled like that.

"It's true!" Kairi agreed, equally embarrassed for the same reason. The two were looking away from the silver haired male who was currently laughing, finding this all too amusing.

"Of course. That's what they all say," he said sarcastically. He would leave the topic alone for now. A wave of comfortable silence washed over them as the last of the twilight faded into night to show the twinkling stars once again.

He was happy now. Definitely happier than he had been the past couple of days. He didn't feel as though he were being left behind anymore for all that the two had done. Doubts that had been running in his mind had vanished, leaving him at peace. He knew he would still feel like a third wheel at times, but now he wouldn't be as bothered by it. He smiled happily; glad for the way things had turned out on this special day. Sora and Kairi both gazed up at the stars above them with Riku in silence, enjoying the company.

"Hey…" Kairi said, gaining the boys' attention. "Since we shared a paopu fruit…do you guys really think we'll stay with each other? That our destinies really are intertwined…?" Sora grinned.

"Definitely. If we all believe in the legend, then we'll be with each other forever," he confirmed. Riku's mouth twitched into another smile as he stared back up at the sky.

"…Itsumo…" he whispered into the wind, barely loud enough to be heard by his friends, but they did. The too smiled and looked back up at the sky. Lying there on the sandy beach, holding onto each other's hand, they were no longer a Princess of Heart, one who had almost lost himself to Darkness, or the Keyblade Master. No…here, now, and as long as they hoped possible, they were just three friends with an incredible bond.

A/N: Yosh! I'm happy I was able to write this! I've had this idea for a while, and I wanted to be able to write it down. Took me about three days to write the stupid thing though. I really hope it's good though. Thank you for reading this, and please review. It's nice to read people's comments on my writing!

(Itsumo means forever in Japanese in case you wanted to know.)