WARNING. Tooth-rotting fluff ahead
A/N: First Kingdom Hearts fic! Post KHII. Sorry if Riku seems really out of character here, it's just my brain destroying angst with fluff. As of right now I'm thinking of making it multi-chap but I'm not sure, so drop me a review? :3 R&R pleeeeeease!
The Keyblade slashed through the air, freeing dozens of hearts in its wake. The Keyblade Master fired a Thundaga at a flying Heartless, making it disappear in a puff of black wisps. It looked like he was going to win this one. As if someone was reading his mind, he heard a voice.
"I wouldn't be too sure about that."
That voice. The Keyblade Master turned, stunned, to look at his best friend. Except it wasn't his best friend, whom he had known all his life. The silver-haired teen in front of him was just a ghost, an empty shell of what his friend had been.
"Y-You're not Riku! What have you done with him?" The Master demanded.
The not-Riku smiled. "Don't let your guard down, Sora," it taunted. Sora growled. That was one thing Riku always told him when they sparred so long ago on Destiny Islands.
Sora, Keyblade Wielder, turned to find himself face to face with tens of Heartless that weren't there before. They caught him off guard, slashing at his shoulders and legs and anything within reachable distance of their short arms. The boy parried their attacks, barely keeping his footing.
New Heartless rose from the dark mass. They extended their long black claws to reach inside him, take his heart. Sora gasped as the Heartless were becoming too much, in sheer number and size. They overwhelmed him, and it was all Sora could do not to scream.
In a small home on Destiny Islands, Sora awoke with a start. Sitting up in his bed, he ran a shaky hand through his chocolate brown spikes of hair. Nightmares were becoming a common thing for him since he came back home. There were great parts of his epic journey, but sometimes to him it felt like the cons outweighed the pros. Like Riku, turning against him for the darkness, or Roxas, having to sacrifice himself to be a part of Sora.
Riku. He needed to see Riku. In most of his nightmares, he would see Riku at some point, never being on the side of light. Sometimes he would watch helplessly as Xemnas killed Riku. Sometimes he would stand helplessly as Riku killed him.
The Keyblade Bearer threw on a white button-up shirt and blue capris to make the journey to Riku's house. Tripping over his own feet, Sora tried to walk silently down the stairs. His parents were asleep; it was around two in the morning. Slipping silently out the door, he didn't even bother putting shoes on.
Footsteps making no sound, Sora made his way to Riku's. He paused at the back door. He knew Riku's parents were never home, and Riku was probably asleep, so he decided to quietly slip inside. The interior of the house was dark, but he knew the layout just as well as his own home's. He remembered when he was younger, coming over to this house nearly every day to hang out with Riku; they were best friends after all. Then the storm came, and he was away for nearly two years…
Navigating the halls, Sora counted the doors till he got to Riku's room. He cracked open the door to see the older teen's sleeping form. He let out the breath he didn't know he was holding, and crept stealthily into the room. Watching Riku sleep gave him a feeling of calm, and protectiveness. He was never going to let anything happen to him again. Also, it gave him the faint feeling of butterflies that made his heart flutter. He didn't know when, but sometime after they returned home did Sora realize he had more than just best friend feelings toward the silver-haired teen.
Standing just beside the bed, Sora took in Riku's features. The delicate curve of his jaw, his high cheekbones, his clear, pale skin. His hair that was silky smooth and his soft pink lips. His stunning, bright aquamarine eyes.
Sora blushed, feeling somewhat like a creeper, and was about to move away when Riku's eyes fluttered open. Sora gave a quiet yelp, shuffling back a step, then relaxed and breathed a small sigh.
"Sora?" Riku mumbled sleepily. "What are you doing here?"
Suddenly at a loss for words, Sora stuttered and scratched the back of his head awkwardly. "Well, I… I uh, heheh, thing is- "
Still half-asleep, Riku sighed. "Just come here," he quietly commanded. Sora gratefully got under the covers with Riku, happy that he understood. He threw an arm over the silver-haired teen and buried his face in his shoulder. Riku was never one for cuddling, but for Sora… why not? He'd actually had a decent sized crush on the Keyblade bearer since he took off that blindfold- literally and figuratively. Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's thin body and pulled him closer. Both breathed a silent, happy sigh.
A few minutes ticked by till Riku quietly asked, "Want to tell me why you're here?"
"Nightmare," Sora responded sheepishly, a faint red staining his face.
Riku snorted. "Who'd have thought that the great Keyblade Master, fearless savior of the worlds, would have a nightmare and come running to me?" he asked teasingly, though he secretly liked the fact that if Sora could trust anyone, it was him.
"Shuddup Rikuuu…" Sora whined, red in the face once more. Riku chuckled, but didn't press the subject, placing his cheek on Sora's head. Now that Sora was here, he probably wouldn't get to sleep any time soon. He lay awake for a few minutes, till he was certain Sora had fallen asleep. He gently placed a kiss to the top of the sleeping boy's head, and lay with his eyes closed. A few minutes passed and Sora started shifting in his sleep.
"No… Riku! Don't let him get you! Look to the light…" Riku looked on his troubled companion with concern. Was this another nightmare? "RIKU!" Said boy jumped in surprise. Now the poor brunette was full-on screaming. Tears were slowly streaming down his face, and now Riku could see why these nightmares scarred him so deeply. Riku decided that he had to do something, trying to wake the boy gently. He softly shook Sora's shoulder until he woke with a start, immediately curling into the source of comfort right next to him. Oops…
"'Sora… you okay?" At the simple question, Sora's eyes fell and he started fidgeting with his hands nervously. "Sor, come on, you know you can tell me anything," Riku stated, rubbing Sora's back comfortingly. The younger teen smiled weakly at the gesture, but he was nowhere near his normal peppy self.
Sora huffed out a breath. "Okay. Um. Where should I start?" He gave a short, fake laugh. Riku pulled them both up so they were leaning on the headboard, Sora on Riku's lap. Sora gave a small squeak and a light blush appeared on his face. Riku secretly thought it was the cutest thing ever.
Leaning his head on Riku's shoulder, the Keyblade Master began to speak.
"Well, I was fighting heartless, you know, the usual." Sora took a pause to sniff. "And then, you appeared.."
"What was I doing?" Riku asked quietly, unsure he wanted to know the answer.
"You.. You stood there, and you taunted me, except that it wasn't you! You were empty and cold a-and you didn't care about me at all," Sora sobbed quietly. "You wanted me to die."
"Sor… You know you're my best friend, and I would never let anything happen to you, not again," Riku told him earnestly. Sora could see the pure emotion shining through his bright aqua eyes and suddenly didn't feel threatened in the slightest. He enveloped Riku in a tight hug as tears poured slowly from his eyes. The older wasn't normally one for showing emotion, but for Sora, he always did. He hugged the slim brunette back and ran a hand soothingly through gravity-defying hair. It was a while before either of them spoke again.
"I'm glad you can trust me." The words were spoken barely louder than a whisper by the more reserved one of the two.
"Why wouldn't I?" asked Sora, blinking up at him sleepily.
"After everything I put you through.. I just - I feel so bad about it! And I know you know that, but I can't stop worrying –"
Sora cut off Riku's rambling with his own. "Riku, I've already forgiven you for that, at least a hundred times over. I could never be mad at you for that, and I already made you promise not to do it again, should the chance ever arise. I only ever felt sad that I couldn't find you, and confused when you kept running away. I guess it might have been that I just loved you too much to ever really be mad, or – what?" Riku was staring at him in shock, with an unreadable emotion in his eyes.
"You love me?"
It was then Sora realized his slip. "Oh! Umm I mean I- Well I guess-"
The scarlet blush on his face and lack of denial was all Riku needed to close the small gap between them and brush their lips together.