A/N: Hey all. I have had a great night, and wanted to type before I go off to bed. Seeing Red is too dark and depressing for me right now, so I think I'm just going for a one-shot, something great for everyone to just read and say, "hey I like it!" or whatever. Heh. Okay, whatever, just read it.
Playground Fun
Riku sat on the swing, a flippant look on his pale face. Loud music blared into his ears through tiny ear buds, the song about an unrequited love, far away from his beloved. His emerald green eyes were distant as he watched his friend at the top of the wooden tower. Sora was much too old for the playground. So was Riku, but at least he pretended not to enjoy it. Wood chips covered the ground, the entire park was wooden. All of it an enormous dead tree in Riku's eyes. But Sora loved it. The brunet didn't play, he ran from tower to tower, watching, laughing at everything he saw. It was so much fun for him.
Riku sighed; at least they didn't come often. He swung slowly and stared at the boy giggling at the top of the tower. Twilight reflected off the soft spikes, orange glow adding to his already tan cheeks. Sora was beautiful. He was childish and sweet, naïve, his eyes the epitome of innocence. Riku blushed slightly as the brilliant cerulean connected with his bright green hues. He loved Sora, more than anything in the world, but he could never tell the boy. He couldn't risk losing Sora over something like that.
The elder boy brushed his silver hair out of his face and glanced down at his iPod. Another sappy song of love and loss. Riku frowned; he needed to get some better music. After scanning quickly for a new song, Riku looked back up, surprised at the sudden lack of the brunet boy. He raised an eyebrow and pulled the small speakers from his ears, "Sora?"
Fluidly, Riku was pushed from the swing, thin arms languidly wrapping around his waist.
"Riku!" Sora twirled easily around him, clinging to his chest now, "Come on! Up to the tower!"
"Sora…" He blushed and brushed away the boy's hands, "You're sixteen. Aren't you a little old for that?"
"It's not like I'm playing in the sandbox or anything. Please, Riku? I want to watch the sunset from the towers."
He sighed and allowed himself to be pulled up the childish wooden steps and through the small timber tunnel to the highest tower of the park. Already, he could see tiny bright stars scattered across the darkening azure sky. Red and gold painted the clouds and Riku smiled, Sora always knew the best days to watch the sunset.
"It's pretty, isn't it?"
"Yeah," Riku murmured softly, more taken with the boy than the sky. The soft gold light sparkled in his blue eyes and highlighted his hair, but Riku looked down and bit his lip, "It's great."
"What's wrong, Riku?"
"Hm?" His emerald eyes flicked back up to the sky, a small smile playing his pink lips, "Nothing, Sora. Just watching the sunset." Riku laughed softly and reached out to ruffle the soft brown locks of the other.
"You just seemed upset, that's all. Sad, sort of. You sure, Riku?"
The boy nodded and leaned against the wooden railing. He stood silently, peacefully, simply watching the sky with quick glances at the shorter boy beside him. Serene was the only word he could find for Sora, although it seemed far from the truth. He knew what was going through that boy's head was anything but calm. He always thought of so much, like a child. Sora looked to the taller boy with a cheerful grin, "Hey, Riku?"
He looked over to the brunet boy, "What?"
Sora blushed and shrugged, "Never mind. The sun's gone…" It was a slightly sad tone he used, his eyes down on the ground several feet below them.
Riku laughed softly, "It's alright, Sora, it'll come back."
The boy pouted, "Don't make fun of me."
"The park closes at dark, Sora."
Crestfallen, Sora clasped his hands together and turned to Riku, "Please? Let's stay, just a little longer?"
Riku stared, his expression rather bored, "Alright, but I am not getting arrested for staying after hours."
The younger boy's face lit up in delight, "It's alright. I just want to watch the stars for awhile, okay?"
Riku gave him a small nod and climbed back down the wooden steps, surprised to have Sora call after him.
"Riku! Where are you going?"
"Just down here. Just to the end of the slide, alright?" He laughed softly, "Jeez, Sora, I'm not just going to leave you here…" Lazily, Riku crawled into the slide and laid on his back, his emerald eyes directed at the small portion of the indigo night sky that he could see above the trees and below the plastic tube, "It's nice out tonight."
He heard the loud scuffling of Sora up on the tower, then a happy, echoing voice calling down through the slide to him, "It's pretty out, Riku. Really clear."
"Yeah. It is…"
"What's wrong, Riku? You sound upset."
I love you more than life itself and can't tell you Sora… "Nothing, Sora, I'm fine, really. Just peaceful, that's all."
More scuffling came from above and Riku glanced up, "Sora?"
"Can you catch me, Riku?"
"What?" As the surprised word came out, the elder boy was hit by bare feet; it was all he could do to brace himself and stare up the dark slide at the boy who'd so gracefully made his descent, "What are you doing?"
"Wanted to come down here and see you, Riku." Sora laughed and slid further, his feet now at Riku's waist, "You ever wonder how many people have had sex in this park?"
"Not… really? I don't think you could in a slide, Sora."
Silence ensued, until finally, "I think so."
"There's not enough room, Sora, you'd have to―"
"You could to!" He laughed, and stared at Riku, "What do you mean, 'not enough room'? I mean, look at it, Riku―"
"There's no way that there's enough room," Riku growled, a smile on his face, "Maybe if they were midgets―"
Sora let out a small bark of laughter and shifted his weight, "Wanna bet?" Easily, he flipped his body so it was draped over Riku's, his face mere inches from the other's. Riku flushed a deep red shade and squirmed beneath his friend.
"I-it's sort of― Sora―"
The brunet yelped shortly as he was shoved off and landed in the wood chip ground with a soft "fwump." He pouted, "Riku…"
"Sorry. Guess you can." Riku curled up on his side, breathing a sigh of relief, "Sorry, Sora, didn't mean to throw you. You alright?"
"I'm fine," he said shortly, before climbing back up to the top of the wooden tower, "Riku?"
"What?" The small echoed thumps bellowed down the plastic slide, causing Riku to glance back up, "Sora?"
"I want to come down there with you, Riku… It's cold up here."
Riku shook his head, "Then come down here, Sora."
Without hesitation, Sora slid down headfirst, brown locks colliding with Riku's shoulder. Blue eyes connected with the emerald ocean hues and Riku just laughed and pulled him further down.
"Had to make it difficult, Sora?"
Now side by side in the dark tube, Riku laid his head on Sora's legs and the brunet leaned idly on Riku's stomach, "It's warm."
"Well, you were complaining about the cold."
Sora shook his head slightly against the black t-shirt Riku wore, "I didn't say the warm was bad. I like it."
Riku smiled and closed his eyes; it was comfortable, in a sense. Logically, physically, it wasn't, his feet were cramped and his leg was asleep, but really, it didn't bother him. Sora's thin body was against his, a tanned arm languidly sprawled across his chest, the other on his stomach, the entire plastic slide swirling with the soft scent of the brunet.
He grinned at Riku in the dark slide, his hand reaching for the layered silver spikes, "I like your hair, you know? It's so cool…"
With a soft laugh, the other male gently ruffled the cinnamon locks that fell onto his lap, "I know. Your hair's soft too, you know…"
And for a long time, the two were silent, nearly dozing in the sweet warmth of the park toy. Riku was distracted, Sora just happy. At peace was the only way to describe the two together, nothing more, nothing less, just a still tranquility curled in the gentle curve of the slide.
Finally, Sora looked up at the emerald eyes that stared at him, his emotion unreadable, "Riku?"
"Hm?"
"You ever think we're close?"
"Uhm… Sora? We're sort of all over each other in a slide. Of course we're close."
"No, I mean… do you ever get that stupid feeling in your stomach for no reason?"
Riku shifted to see the brunet's shy, cerulean eyes, "Stupid feeling?"
"Yeah…" he mumbled softly, "Like… a… never mind…"
"Sora?"
"W-what…?"
The elder boy closed his eyes and drank in the soft scent of Sora, then glanced up at him, "Really. Tell me."
"You won't laugh at me…?"
"Of course not, silly," Riku tousled the brown locks of hair with a smile, "We're close, remember?"
"…yeah…" Sora's cheeks were a dark, cherry red, even in the dark, "…You know… the stupid feeling… All… stupid. In your stomach."
"So-ra," Riku said with a sigh, "I'm not going to laugh at you, really. I promise."
"It's all fuzzy… Stupid… like… stupid, Riku, it just is!" He made a move to sit up, only to jump directly into the plastic of the slide and fall directly back onto Riku's lap where he'd started, "Oww…"
"Shit, are you alright, Sora…?" Riku leaned closer to brush his warm fingertips lightly across the reddened flesh on the boy's forehead, "Sora?"
"I'm fine…" he mumbled, "Ow…"
"You sure…?"
"I'm fine," he snapped, "It just hurts a little…"
"Sora, that feeling, can I… ask you something about it?"
Sora's eyes flicked to meet the sparkling emerald, then back down to the plastic of the slide, "…what…?"
"Come here, would you?" Riku pulled on the boy's arms and coaxed him to lay beside him in the slide, more awkwardly than before.
Sora stared down at the silver-haired boy, half draped over him, his arms on either side of Riku's shoulder and his knee in between the elder's legs, "…Riku…? What…?"
Fluidly, Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's neck and dragged his head closer, "…Sora, is this the feeling you're talking about…?" He breathed the words softly into the brunet's ear, receiving a delightful shudder from the boy. Riku pressed his lips against Sora's hot cheek, as if testing the waters.
"R-Riku―" Sora was trembling, his arms quaking to the point of collapsing beneath him. Miraculously, he held himself up and stared down at Riku.
"Am I right…?"
"Y-yeah…"
Gently, Riku placed his lips over the soft, surprised boy's above him, and smirk curving onto his own. He pulled Sora down on top of him and broke away from the quick, chaste kiss, "Guess there really is enough room, isn't there…?"
(x) (X) (x)
A/N: Well, halfway through, I lost my inspiration… I'm really sorry, but I tried. I had a bad day, but WANTED to finish this more than anything. So, here you go, and I hopes you likes it. Review me?
P.S.—Those of you reading Seeing Red or the other one, don't worry, I'm still working on them. I'm just distracted. I'll get it.
♥Much Love♥
♥Shiro!
