Title: The Dangers of Falling For You
Author: Katsumi Sinclair
Paring(s): RikuSora, and more pairings along the way!
Warning(s): BoyxBoy. Don't like, then stop now.
Rating: M for Language, Abuse, Rape, and Violence.
Summary: Riku led an okay life, until everything just had to come crashing down. Meeting Sora could have been the best thing to happen, and when nothing's right anymore and everyhting is just so messed up, the brunet is the only thing he has left to turn to.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy or any of it's characters.
A/N: Well, it's finally here! This is the SoRiku fic I said I was going to write...well it's the first chapter. I really hope everyone likes it, the summary sucks though. I want to eventually make the chapters longer, but that won't be until later. Sorry to say, but Sora will not be appearing in the first chapter, he will be in the second one though! This chapter is to let you all try to see what Riku's life is like now, and some things about his father. There will even be a little something about Axel, which will further be revealed later in the story, so it will make more sense. I don't want to say a whole lot so I'll stop here.
The Dangers of Falling For You
"Riku, can you come here for a minute?" The silver haired boy in question sighed. He was kinda busy at the moment. Well, not really, but Axel was grounded for the weekend, and he was trying to talk to him online before the redhead would have to get off. Whatever his mother wanted, couldn't she have waited until later to confront him about? "Riku!" Guess not.
"I'll be down!" He yelled back. She seemed to have heard him because she stopped yelling. He typed one last message to his friend before getting up and retreating to the living room. His mother sat on the sofa staring a piece of paper, her brows furrowed. "What it is?" He asked.
She patted the spot beside her beckoning for him to sit next to her. He did so willingly, wondering what she could have wanted. His mother sighed, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear. "Normally I wouldn't make such a big fuss out of this, but your father sure will so we'll just keep this between you and me, okay?" She smiled at him and Riku nodded slowly.
"The thing is, I just got your midterms in the mail, and well it's not so good." She handed the paper to him to which he accepted and scanned it, his eyes widening as he reread the paper over again. How did his grades plummet this far? He would've thought that he got a bad grade here and there, but this...
How in the world was he failing all of his classes?? He shot his mom a disbelieving look to which she only gave a sympathetic smile, and stood up. She put a hand on his shoulder looking down at him before speaking. "I want you to do anything possible, if that means doing make up work, or extra work then so be it. I'll speak to your teachers about it too, and if you can improve them then your father will have never known about this."
Riku knew that his mother wouldn't say anything to his father as long as he did something about his grades. But even so, if he didn't then he knew fully well that his father wouldn't be impressed at all. His father was a business man bringing in money, and expecting the best from his wife and son. The silver haired teen would be screwed if his mom told his dad. He folded the paper up and put it in his pocket, going back to his room.
Okay so this was a problem. A big problem. Who was he kidding? His father was not a nice person, always taking things seriously and expecting the absolute best in everything. His grades were one of the most important things his father expected from him. Naturally he wanted Riku to succeed all the time and when it was time, make it to one of the best colleges in the country.
The importance of his education was highly valued by his father. He hated studying and doing extra curricular activities, and such all the time just to make his education perfect in his father's eyes. But still, that didn't answer his question as to why he was failing....
Well the bright side to all of this was that his father was on a business trip. A business trip that would take a few weeks, so it gave him some time to try and work everything out. But back to the actual problem at hand, what would he do to get his grades back up?
He could always do what his mother suggested, that wasn't too bad and maybe if he talked to his teachers also he could get extra credit... Hmm, yeah but this was definitely going to be a pain in the ass. He was still curious why he had all failing grades though, it didn't make sense.
Maybe Axel was starting to rub off on him after so many years or something... Well that was certainly absurd, now wasn't it? He sighed again, there was nothing he could do till Monday anyway so what was the point in worrying right now? There wasn't one. Exactly. He'd just have to wait until then, and then he could worry about it.
He switched his computer off before lying down on his full size bed. What a way to spend a Saturday, just lying around in bed all day. Didn't he have any friends? Oh yeah, two. One who was currently grounded, which was his fault by the way, he wasn't even going to go into detail about that, and the other well who wants to hang with Leon anyway? He was just so boring, reading all the time, and never talking unless necessary, what a guy...
He'd have a lot more fun just hanging out in his room all day then hanging out with Leon. Wasn't there anyone else though? Well there was Yuffie, but she said she'd be out of town this weekend. Seifer? No that guy was too arrogant and cocky, why'd even know him anyway? Whatever. Tidus and Wakka were probably too engrossed in playing blitzball with other people from school so they were also eliminated.
Sigh. Who cares? He could just sleep for now. At least he wouldn't have any worries, and how could someone be bored when they're sleeping? They can't. That gave him more then enough reason to sleep, so thats what he planned to do.
He was kinda exhausted lately too, so it wouldn't hurt. The silver haired boy turned on his side closing his eyes, and giving off another small sigh before relaxing, and falling into the depths of unconsciousness.
-
The next day had been boring as ever also, but Monday morning had arrived, and Riku was feeling better already. He would be able to get everything straightened out about his grades, and also he'd get to hang with Axel again today.
Grades were first on his list though. It's not like he actually felt like trying to get them back up, but he reasoned that the sooner the better the less he'd have to worry about it. Even thinking that, he thought it was stupid to be worrying about it so much. I mean it's just a simple thing like grades, right? Yeah thats all...
So why is it that the more he thought about it, the more he grew nervous about his father finding out? He could trust his mother, she'd do anything to prevent his father from knowing, he just knew it. Besides, it's not like she hasn't covered for him before. He should have been use to things like this happening, but it still bothered him.
There was almost a month before his father would be back anyway, that would be enough time to work everything out, and make it so it looked as if he didn't falter at all. This was going way too much into his head, he was being too paranoid. Maybe he should just stop thinking all together...
That was what he was going to do then, just get to school and start working, and then just not worry about it for the rest of the day. He'd catch up with Axel, see how he faired over the weekend, and talk to some other friends, maybe see how everything went with Yuffie and her trip.
The silver haired teen gathered his things and left the house, bidding farewell to his mother before officially leaving. As he closed the door behind him, a cool breeze swept through the early morning air making him shiver a bit. He lazily swung his bag over his shoulder, and walked down the few concrete stairs leading up to the porch.
He didn't live too far away from the school or anything, it was only a ten minute walk. So, as Riku was lost in his thoughts the whole time he was walking, he didn't even realize he was at school until he was actually standing in front of the doors. Sighing, which he seemed to be doing a lot frequently, he pushed through the doors into the hallway. Students littered the hallways here and there talking to friends and catching up with stuff that occurred over the weekend.
Making his way through the hallways, he ignored the students, intending on getting to the English room. A figure appeared somewhat down the hallway, and as they neared, Riku instantly recognized the person. "Leon!" He called out. The brunet looked up at Riku, his face expressionless as he stopped in front of the other teen.
Riku sensing that Leon was awaiting an explanation or something of the sort, started to speak. "I'm going to the English department, Setzer's room, so if Axel asks, that's where I'll be." Leon gave a small nod before setting off down the hallway again, no doubt on his way to the library.
Walking down the rest of the hallway, he took one last turn finally arriving at the classroom he was searching for. Opening the classroom door, he slipped inside. Setzer, who seemed to be placing some textbooks on a tall shelf, turned to see who had entered. He grinned as he recognized the silver haired teen.
"Ah Riku, what brings you here?" The younger sat his books on a near desk, absently tugging on the long sleeves of his shirt.
Setzer abandoned the textbooks to come closer to the teen as Riku opened his mouth to speak. "I was kind of hoping I could use your classroom to get some work done."
"It's all yours, I have some work I need to attend to anyway. I'll catch you around." Riku gave a nod and with a small wave, Setzer slipped past him and out into the hallway.
"I guess I should get started." He muttered, staring down at the books on the desk. He had at least thirty minutes to kill, so opening his Algebra textbook, he decided to start with the work he hadn't finished yet.
Since Riku was so engrossed in his work, he didn't even notice someone coming into the room exactly half an hour later. When he did finally register that there was indeed someone else in the room, he stopped working to see who it was. He put his pencil down, when coming face to face with none other than Axel.
Axel smirked at him as he took a seat in the desk next to Riku's. Riku noticing the slight sluggish appearance of his best friend, quirked an eyebrow. "What happened to you?" He asked. The redhead yawned, relaxing back in his seat.
"Got no sleep last night." Riku nodded understanding. He'd had numerous nights when he couldn't sleep because of nerves, or his father and mother arguing. There was always something keeping him from sleeping at night when his father was at home.
Axel decided that he'd rather change subjects, questioning Riku with a, "What's this about you trying to get some work done?"
'So he did go to Leon after all.' Riku thought. He sighed once more before slumping down in his seat. Picking up his pencil, he began to tap on the desk. "Grades. My mom said she'd keep it from my father, but I have to get them back up." Axel already knew about Riku's small problems at home with his father, so he had no reason not to tell Axel.
The redhead furrowed his brows. "Grades? What wrong with 'em? I mean it's not like your failing or anything."
Riku snorted. "That's just it, I am failing. I'm failing every single class."
Axel's brows shot up. "How?"
"I have no clue."
"Definitely explains why you're in here." Axel kicked his feet up on the desk, tilting his chair back onto the back legs.
"Yeah."
"So what now?" Axel inclined his head to look at Riku, his hands folded comfortably behind his head.
Riku shrugged. "I guess I'll just be doing as much as possible to get them back up. I have a month until my father gets back, that should be enough time."
"So you're really only worried about your dad finding out?"
The other teen nodded. "Mmhm."
"This sucks." Axel's feet hit the ground, and he sat up straight to look at his friend again. "That bastard really pisses me off. He doesn't even see how much you try with everything you do, instead just expecting you to be absolutely flawless. You know if I could, I'd fucking beat the shit out of that guy."
Riku smiled in spite of himself. Axel had always hated his father, and the guy hadn't even done anything to the redhead. Him always ordering Riku around and getting on him about almost everything he did pissed Axel off. A thought popped into his head, and Riku's smile instantly faltered. He looked away as he voiced his thoughts, obviously knowing what Axel's reaction would be, but not stopping the words from coming out.
"You know though, this actually proves that what he said was at least half way true." The teen gave a dry chuckle. "I mean, he always told me that if I slacked off that I'd only become a bigger failure then I already am. I guess he was right. I let my grades drop so low that I'm failing all my classes, and now-"
"Dammit, Riku!" Axel's hands came crashing down on the desk before him, the noise resounding throughout the room, and his anger boiling. The metal chair he had occupied a few seconds ago thrown back carelessly in the floor. "What the fuck do you think you're saying?!" He planted his hands firmly on Riku's desk to get his attention. Riku only sighed and closed his eyes, turning his head to the side opposite of Axel.
Axel growled in frustration and anger. "Are you blind?! Riku, that fucking bastard that's supposed to be your father is obviously the reason you can't keep your grades up or sleep at night for that matter!" Riku whipped his head around, his silver locks catching through the air swiftly. His eyes narrowed as he set Axel with one of his sharpest glares he could manage. Axel wasn't even fazed by it.
"It's really pathetic Riku, when everything you do is affected by your father! He's not even here and your grades have dropped, I bet that you still aren't able to sleep at night, huh? That man is messing with you, he's already got you a nervous wreck all the time! Riku, do have any idea how I feel when I can always just see the fear and nervousness in you all the time?!
"I don't want to sound like an ass or anything, but I'm being serious, your mom or anyone else isn't going to always be around to protect you from that man forever. He's going to know when he's gotten under your skin, and he's going use that to his advantage. When that happens, he might seriously hurt you, Riku. Have you ever thought about that?! I know what I'm talking about, and you know it to."
Axel's anger quickly vanished as his eyes softened, and he stared down at his hands still on the desk. Riku's glare faded, and he turned his head to look at the surface of his desk blankly. "Look, Riku look at me." His voice sounded almost desperate. Riku slowly turned his head to look at Axel again, this time his face was unreadable.
Axel sighed. "Listen, I don't know everything that goes on at your house, but you have to trust me. Your father is exactly the same way that son of a bitch was, I know what could happen from past experiences. I really worry about you." His voice lowered into a soft almost whisper. "I mean you're my best friend after all, who else is going to protect you if I can't?"
Riku's eyes widened a small fraction. When Riku looked directly at Axel's face, he instantly felt very guilty; about what he wasn't sure. From the expression on the redhead's face, Riku could tell that he was telling the truth, that all he wanted to do was to fulfill his job of protecting his best friend. Axel would never act like this for anyone else, and it was also true that Axel's childhood wasn't the best. It scared his a bit that he had said his father was exactly like Axel's own father, who had years ago left Axel's family.
Everything Axel just said, all of it replayed itself in his head. Axel took a breath, watching Riku, as he seemed to be lost in his own thoughts. Riku meanwhile was pondering something that Axel had said.
'He's going to know when he's gotten under your skin, and he's going use that to his advantage. When that happens, he might seriously hurt you, Riku.'
Would his father actually hurt him? Sure he had received a few hits from his father when being disciplined, but would he really try to seriously injure him? He started to feel sick at that thought. If his father began to actually hurt him, what would his mother do? Of course she'd do something, but then again, what if she never found out? And how much further would his father go after that? Axel was right, he hadn't ever thought about any of this. Now he understood why his friend, no best friend was so worried.
Directing his gaze to his lap, Riku ran a hand through his hair. "I'm sorry." He murmured. "I didn't realize... I didn't realize what could happen. I don't want to believe it will, but a part of me knows that it could."
Axel's gaze softened as he looked at Riku, and he smiled. "It's okay, though." Turquoise eyes moved to stare at Axel, and he continued. "That bastard can't do anything, I won't let him. If he does, he's in for some serious shit." His mouth twitched into that all too familiar Axel smirk.
Riku chuckled. "Only you would insult my father and actually mean what you say."
"Hell yeah I would." Both silently knowing that they would have to get to class soon, gathered Riku's stuff. Axel's eyes were serious again when Riku looked at him, now with his bag on his shoulder, and standing up. "If anything does happen, once your dad returns, tell me. I really do mean it, you may be able to stick up for yourself, but no one hurts my friends, my best friends at that, and gets away with it." Riku didn't say anything as they both exited the classroom, now on their way to first period.
So much for him not thinking about his father for the rest of the day.