Title: Chemistry
Author: Page of Cups
Pairing: Cloud Strife/Riku
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Rating: M
Theme: #14 Radio-Cassette Player
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts totally doesn't belong to poor little ole me. It belongs to a bunch of rich people at Disney and Square Enix. Being as poor as I am, I am not affiliated with the rich people at either of these companies. I'm not even worthy to clean their toilets. So there.
Author's Note: This turned out less pornographic than I thought it would. Riku wasn't as confident as I thought he was. Also worth mentioning: I've been fighting with Riku on this story for two months now. Yeah.
Second Author's Note: Four paragraphs were taken out of this because I felt I was already pressing my luck posting this here with Riku's little tape recorded profession of lust. The entire version can be found at my livejournal, username december-sins. That hyphen is very important (fanfiction does not permit me to post my url, of course). So if you really want to read my pathetic attempt (did I spell that right?) at smut, there you go.
WARNING! CAUTION! WARNING! Yeah, there's sex in this story, and other sex-type things. This sex and these sex-type things will occur between the boys in the designated pairing (Cloud and Riku). It's AU, though, so Riku's not underage this time.
His body felt warm and heavy. The sting in his eyes wouldn't subside; his eyelids fluttered, popped open, and drifted closed. Cloud's head jerked and his eyes snapped open. He yawned, hunched forward, and propped his head on the heel of his hand; his elbow rested on his thigh. His forehead dropped, dipped into the crook of his arm, and then his eyes were shut again. A sharp sting pierced at his skin, and Cloud snorted before popping up in his seat.
"So nice of you to join us, Mr. Strife," said Axel, Professor Vexen's teaching assistant. "How was your nap?"
"Short," said Cloud.
"Your grades are suffering, Cloud," said Axel. "It really isn't in your best interest to sleep through class. If this happens again, Professor Vexen is going to hear about it. I'm not your friend, and I really don't care if he fails you for it. Got it memorized?"
A few chuckles resounded through the lecture hall. Cloud grumbled and slumped in his seat. His attention wavered in and out for the rest of the lecture. Axel called on him a lot for answers, and when the two hours and forty-five minutes of torture ended, Cloud shoved his things haphazardly into his bag. He left the room.
"Wait!"
Cloud turned to see Aerith walk out of the classroom, running to catch up. She slowed her pace as she approached, and readjusted her book bag when she caught up. He resumed walking; Aerith trotted beside him.
"Hey," said Cloud.
"Sorry," said Aerith. She offered a small smile; her fingers nervously played with the flowers in her long braid. "You were falling asleep."
"You pinched me."
She frowned.
"You need to get more sleep. We only have a few more weeks left, and finals are coming. You can't afford to mess up now. Not when you've already come so far."
"I know finals are coming. I'm tired because finals are coming. I have papers to finish, work, a meeting with my advisor, two study groups . . ."
"You're working yourself too hard. Weren't you ever told a good breakfast and plenty of sleep is just as important for tests as studying?"
"Yes, and if I click my heels three times, Axel will die."
Aerith sighed.
"It's not nonsense, Cloud. It helps you think better. That's why we have the term 'brain food.'"
"Aerith, I think I need more than a good night's sleep and a balanced breakfast at this point. You heard Axel. My grades are suffering. I need to do well on the final or I'm screwed. I need my study groups."
"You need better time management. If you'd just let me make up a schedule for you . . ."
"I can handle it on my own. I'll talk to you later."
Cloud turned down the next corner, walking faster in the hopes of shaking Aerith off. He twisted through several corridors until he came to the doors, and walked out onto the campus. Professor Vexen's class, Organic Chemistry, was the last he'd have to deal with today. Since it was already after five, he ducked into the cafeteria, got a sandwich to go, and headed back to the dorm.
Murderous thoughts about strangling Axel turned to murderous thoughts about strangling Riku when he reached the third floor of his residence hall. Loud, obnoxious rock music (the kids these days called it 'emo', though the same term applied to whiny, rock music) blared through the closed door to his dorm. He slammed the door open, slammed it shut, and ripped the stereo plug from the outlet before Riku ever looked up.
"Oh, hey," said Riku. "Didn't even hear you come in."
"I imagine not. Do you have to play that shit so loud?"
"Sorry . . ."
Riku bit his lip. He marked his place in his textbook, closed it, and set it on the floor. He glanced back. Cloud was already unpacking his school bag, throwing things onto his desk and the bed before he kicked the empty bag under his desk chair. Riku quirked an eyebrow.
"Bad day?"
"Axel is an ass."
"He isn't that bad. Really. Whatever he said, he's probably just looking out for you. Roxas says . . ."
"I don't care what your weird, little friends say, okay? Right now all I want to do is finish my chemistry paper and finish my anatomy assignment for Thursday."
Cloud dropped on the bed, picked up his tape recorder, and hit rewind. Riku stared.
"You study a lot, you know. You should take some time off. Sora and I are going to the Fireplace on Saturday. You should come with."
"I have my study group and work on Saturday, and even if I didn't, I wouldn't want to go. I hate that crap you like to call music, I hate all your friends, and I don't feel like wasting a perfectly good Saturday hanging out with you when I could use my extra time studying."
"But finals are almost here. A healthy dose of fun will help you retain the information better, and then you won't be so stressed out. What time do you get off work?"
"I'm not going to the Fireplace with you."
"We don't have to go there. We could just rent a movie or something."
"I already had to listen to this shit from Aerith. I'm not listening to it from you, too."
"But . . ."
"Riku, we aren't friends. We're roommates. Campus housing made things this way, and if they should separate us next year, I won't cry about it. Let it go. I don't want to spend time with you."
Riku huffed. The tape recorder stopped rewinding. Cloud set his laptop on his lap, popped it open, and pressed play on the recorder. Axel's voice issued through the little speakers, and Cloud began typing notes into the computer.
"You know you're actually to supposed to do that during class," said Riku.
Cloud grunted and hit pause.
"You know you're really starting to piss me off. Get out."
"What?"
"You heard me. You have a thousand friends. Go bug one of them."
"This is my room."
"It's my room, too, and I need to study without you running your mouth."
"Go to the library."
"Out."
"No."
Cloud glared. Riku shifted for a few second before his shoulders slumped forward. He sighed.
"Fine," said Riku. "But I'm not happy about it."
"I don't really care."
Cloud turned back to his computer. He pressed the play button again and turned up the volume, tuning out the disgruntled moans and groans Riku made as he packed his things. Riku opened the door, but paused before going into the hallway.
"I'll see you later," he said.
Cloud nodded, making a noncommittal sound. Riku huffed and slammed the door.
-----0-----
By the time Cloud went to bed, he still hadn't heard Riku come in. He tossed and turned for over forty minutes, brooding. Pangs of regret coursed through him. Perhaps he shouldn't have been so rude, but he was still in an awful mood about Axel and then Aerith . . . It wasn't a good one, sure, but it was still an excuse no matter how shoddy.
Who was he fooling? Cloud had been out of line. For the last eight months he roomed with Riku, and yes, maybe his music and friends got on Cloud's nerves, but that didn't mean they hadn't developed some sort of friendship. Cloud was a perpetual loner (despite having a close-knit group he called friends), and with Riku he'd at least found a way to pleasantly coexist. That had to count for something.
It wasn't like Riku was a real bother. He cleaned up after himself. His friends never hung around the dorm too often, and if Cloud had work to do, Riku either politely asked them to leave or went out himself. Sure, his music drove him crazy, but Riku always used his headphones if Cloud was around. He even offered to help with subjects he knew things about that Cloud might be struggling with.
Why had he gone and snapped at him like that? Maybe it really was the stress with final exams and papers approaching. Maybe he did need to lay off the books a little. He still wasn't going to the Fireplace with Riku and his friends, but maybe they should rent a movie or something. At least to apologize. Riku was just trying to help.
Cloud fell asleep still worrying. When he woke up the next morning, Riku was already gone. He went through the actions of his day. There were two classes to attend and more lectures to sit through. After class, he dropped his things off in the empty dorm and went to work. Wednesday evenings were usually pretty slow at the restaurant, but he got decent enough tips save for one old, unpleasant-looking couple that left thirty-five cents for a thirty-four dollar bill.
All through the day guilt continued to nag him. He got off work at nine, and as he walked back to the dorm, guilt turned into apprehension. What would he say if Riku were there? Just apologize for kicking him out? Apologize for the way he'd been acting all week? Was he even supposed to apologize in the first place? Maybe Riku wasn't even annoyed anymore. Maybe all Riku wanted Cloud to do was make an effort to lighten up. They did have to share a room, and maybe Cloud's negative attitude was starting to rub off on his roommate. Considering Riku's resistance to letting himself get down about anything (which, apparently, had something to do with a bad depression spell Riku went through from ages fifteen to seventeen), Cloud could understand why Riku would be annoyed about that.
He didn't get a chance to even feel out the situation. The room was unusually quiet for nine-thirty at night, and when Cloud flipped on the light, he saw why. Riku was lying face down on a textbook, his cheek pressed against the pages. He lightly snored. Cloud smiled and shook his head.
For a second, Cloud spared a thought of how adorable Riku looked lying there like that with his face smashed and lips parted. He quickly shook the thought from his head and crossed the room. Grabbing the book, he gently slid it from under Riku's head, marked the page, and set it on his desk. He picked up the folded blanket at the bottom of the bed and shook it out. Cloud draped it over Riku, took a moment to look at him again, and sighed. He dressed for bed.
-----0-----
Riku said nothing about the blanket or the argument over the next few days. Cloud followed his direction, keeping regret and apologies to himself. It almost was like things had never not been normal except for the tension between them. Riku immediately shut off the stereo when Cloud returned. He didn't try to make conversation or encourage Cloud to take time away from the books. Now that he had gotten what he wanted, Cloud thought that perhaps being left alone wasn't what he really that great.
The guilt was still there. Though Riku seemed less annoyed, he continued to be careful around Cloud as if he were going to snap and kick him out of the room again. It only increased the regret he felt, though Cloud didn't know why he was beating himself up so much over this. Sure, he and Riku were somewhat friends, but they didn't have to live in harmony much longer. Finals were almost here. It wasn't like this was the first time he'd pissed him off. There was really no reason to feel so bad.
When did he start caring about Riku so much? When did he start caring about what Riku thought of him so much?
Cloud tried to pretend the tension wasn't there. He talked to Riku same as usual, inquired about his day. Riku was short on answers, but his mood brightened as the days went on. On Friday, Cloud took a leap and suggested they do something together on Sunday. You know, to make up for bailing on the Fireplace and being in such a bad mood on Tuesday (he failed to mention the argument). Riku brightened.
"Why are you being so nice to me now?" he asked.
Cloud just shrugged.
"It's not like I hate you or anything," Cloud answered.
"You said you didn't like me very much."
"I was frustrated about Axel and my chemistry grade. And then Aerith was riding me about it. You just pushed the last button."
Riku smiled a little and regarded him for several seconds before he nodded as if Cloud's answer was satisfactory.
"Okay. Movie on Sunday. And maybe I'll give that crap you like to call music a try."
Cloud laughed.
"Yeah. Okay."
Riku grabbed his book bag off his bed and walked toward the door.
"Hey, by the way . . . thanks. You know, for the other night."
"What?" said Cloud.
"The blanket."
Riku winked and left the room.
-----0-----
"He's messing with my head," said Cloud, sliding into a booth.
Cloud worked lunch shift on Saturday afternoons at the bar and grill, but he was notorious for oversleeping. In an attempt to make Cloud arrive on time his best friend and co-worker, Squall, called his cell phone until he answered every Saturday morning. Even if it took twenty attempts (one Saturday in late January). They met at nine o'clock at a local diner, had breakfast, and went straight to the restaurant to clock in at ten-thirty.
These Saturday morning breakfasts were something that Cloud both looked forward to and dreaded every week. Squall was always keen on grilling him about anything particularly stupid Cloud had done over the last seven days. Cloud was a little too overeager for his own liking to complain loudly about everything particularly awful that was a great injustice in his life. Today's subject was Riku.
"How is he messing with your head?" said Squall. "So far all I've heard is that you kicked him out of his own room, pissed him off, and then you felt bad because you kind of like him. So you asked him to hang out on Sunday. What's the big deal?"
"He winked, Squall. Did you miss that part? He brought up the blanket and he winked."
"Well it was rather gentlemanly of you. Didn't think you had it in you."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence. Where the hell is our food?"
"Simmer down. And don't change the subject."
"I'm not."
"You are. I don't know why he winked, except that may he's finally caught on to what everyone but you has."
"Oh, yeah? What's that?"
Squall shrugged. He took a sip of his coffee and set it back on the napkin.
"You like him."
"Of course I like him. I wouldn't have felt bad about being a prick if I didn't like him."
"No, Cloud. You like him. You want him."
"I do not."
"You do, too. Come on, Cloud. We used to date, all right, and it wasn't all that long ago. I think I still remember the way you look when you're interested."
"You're wrong. I am not interested in him."
"I don't know why I'm surprised you're denying it. It's quite possible you haven't figured it out for yourself yet. You are pretty thick."
"I am not thick."
Squall waved a hand.
"That's really not here nor there, is it? The point is that you want him, and he's not messing with your head. At least not intentionally. You're just so . . . preoccupied, shall we say . . . You tend to confuse yourself. It's all really straightforward. You like him and he knows it even if you don't."
Cloud grumbled something unintelligible. Squall smirked.
"What?" said Cloud.
Squall shrugged.
"Nothing."
-----0-----
The day moved fast. Several grumpy elderly people, a few tables of parents with their whiny brats, and groups of brunch-goers later, Cloud pocketed his tips and left the restaurant. He mumbled swear words under his breath about the most unpleasant of customers on his way back to the dorm. It was already four-thirty and his chemistry study group was scheduled to meet at half past five in the library. Cloud hoped to get there early as his final chemistry paper was nowhere near finished (and he really needed a decent grade if he was going to get into med school next year), so he quickened his pace to the residence hall.
The room was empty when Cloud zipped inside. He found his books and notebooks, shoved them into his bag, and started swearing loudly when he couldn't find his tape recorder. It had just been here, sitting on his desk. He knew it was. He used it last night; his headphones were still there (into the bag they went). Yesterday's chemistry lecture was still on the tape. He needed that lecture.
Cloud dug through all the desk drawers, shelves, and all the little nooks and crannies he could find. The obscenities streaming from his mouth became louder and more colorful. If Riku were here, he'd be cracking up by now, questioning Cloud just what a "motherfucking son of a cock" was, but he wasn't here to break the tension. Five minutes later, Cloud found the recorder on the desktop, buried behind a canister of pens and pencils. He didn't remember sticking it there, but relieved that it was found again, it joined his bag. Cloud fumbled with the zipper as he dashed from the room.
He crossed the campus to the library, obtained the books needed, and settled at a table by quarter after five. One member of his study group, Yuffie Kisaragi, was there already, yapping away to Professor Valentine, who taught an advanced biology course Cloud dreaded next semester. He rolled his eyes. There was no peace anywhere. Cloud slunk in his chair, pulled out the tape player, and stuck on his headphones.
More members of the group showed up, and Cloud sat listening to Axel lecture for five minutes before the sound cut off and dead air filled the space. Cloud sat up, his eyebrows furrowed, and grabbed the player. He turned it over in his hands, inspecting the power and volume. He was wiggling the plug in the headphone jack when Riku's voice cut in.
"Hey," said Riku, his voice sounding awkward and nervous. "Uh . . . Wow, this sounded so much greater in my head."
Cloud snorted. One corner of his lips slightly turned up.
"Um . . . yeah. Well, it's Riku . . ."
"No shit," Cloud muttered.
"But you probably already knew that. Um . . . You know, I was going to give you this long speech about how you study too much, and that you need to loosen up some, and then I was going to offer you my sexual services to help you with that, but now I feel like an idiot."
Cloud shot up in his chair.
"And, you know," said Riku, "now you're probably just going to be mad at me for taping over your lectures. What kind of person tapes their lectures, anyway? I mean . . ." A long sigh sounded through Cloud's ears. "Yeah. So . . . you study too much. And you need to have fun. And I'm extremely attracted to you, and I want to have sex with you, and this would be so much less awkward if I were just telling you this to your face. It was really clever in my head. I promise."
Riku sighed again. Cloud shifted in his seat, his eyes darting around the library.
"Okay, so the plan was I was going to tell you all the nasty, dirty things I want to do to you. And I figured you'd probably be with your study group, so maybe I could get you riled up telling you about how I want to suck your cock, and how I want you to touch me . . . And I thought that you might, you know, share my desires since you've been really weird since that fight . . . Squall seems to think you like me, anyway . . .
"God, why am I talking about Squall? I am really bad at this."
Cloud didn't know whether to snort or gape. He gazed at the members of his study group, settling into the table. It was five twenty-five. Riku broke the silence again.
"So . . . yeah. I want to suck your cock, and I want you to fuck me . . . I masturbate about you a lot, actually. Getting to touch you. You fucking me so hard that I can't walk the next day. I just . . . want you. And it's been torture sharing a room with you, because it takes everything in me not to just throw myself on you. You're so gorgeous. I just want you to completely dominate me, and I want to be completely senseless while you do it. I want to feel your dick in my mouth. I want you to be completely helpless to me, moaning my name."
Cloud shifted in his seat. Fire burned in his abdomen. The dick in question started to grow uncomfortable against his clothing.
"I'll be back at the room," said Riku. "Sent Sora off by himself. And since I've got the room to myself, I'll be thinking about you. And this message. I figure if you are with your study group when you hear this, and you wanted to do something about this little predicament I'm in . . . I'll be waiting for you."
Cloud hardly registered the sounds of Riku fumbling with the recorder. He ripped the headphones off, threw his things in his bag, and left the library. He made it back to the residence hall in record time.
Music blared obnoxiously loud through his third floor dorm room door. Cloud whipped the door open, threw his things on the bed, and ripped the plug from the outlet. Riku looked up.
"Hey. I didn't even hear you come—"
Cloud cut him off, grabbing him by the shoulders and shoving him against the wall. Their lips crashed together. His knee sank into the bed between Riku's legs, and he stretched his torso out over Riku's, pressing their hips together. Riku moaned.
"I take it you got my message," said Riku when the kiss broke.
"You're an idiot," said Cloud.
"Yes, but I'm a horny idiot. Besides, you really do study too much. I think you just need to get laid."
"Oh, you think so?"
Riku nodded.
"Did it turn you on?"
Cloud nodded. Riku grinned.
"Good. I felt like such a moron, and . . ."
"Riku?"
"Hm?"
"Shut up."
Riku smiled as Cloud's head bent down to catch his lips again. His breath hitched as Cloud's hips ground into his, and he arched up to meet the pressure.
-----0-----
It was probably the shortest he'd lasted since his first time, and that had only been an embarrassing thirty-four seconds.
Riku wasn't hindered by Cloud's orgasm. He actually smiled when it came, stopped moving (but stayed perched just where he was), and stroked himself to completion. The moans were of an astounding decibel when he came.
Riku smirked as he came down from his high. He slid off Cloud and stretched out next to him, wincing.
"You hurt?" said Cloud.
Riku shrugged.
"A little. You liked that?"
Cloud gave him a weak, flustered smile.
"Oh, yeah."
"Good. You were amazing."
"Me? I hardly . . . I mean . . ."
"Eh. That just means I did my job well. I was more concerned about giving you your orgasm."
"Oh, yeah? Why's that?"
Riku smirked again.
"Because now you'll want to do it again."
Cloud nodded.
"Yeah. Definitely."
"We should room together again next year."
"I don't know. I have a hard enough time getting my studying done now with you and your music."
"You'll get plenty of studying done. I'll reward you every time you get a good grade, and if you finish all your work early instead of procrastinating about it, I'll throw in a little something extra."
"Is that right?"
"Yeah. What do you think?"
Cloud snorted.
"I think . . . I think I knew there was reason I bought that tape player."
Riku smiled.
"Good. Let's get started. Go get your notes."
"Huh? But you aren't taking chemistry . . ."
"That doesn't mean I haven't taken it before. Go get your notes, and if you finish your paper tonight, I'll let you fuck me again."
"Really?"
"Really. You have to get it done, anyway. We have an in-dorm date tomorrow watching movies."
"So it's a date now?"
"It usually is if you make out during the movies."
"Who says we're going to make out during the movies?"
"Oh, you don't want to?"
"That's not what I said."
"That's what I thought. Now go get your notes."
"Okay. I just have to get dressed . . ."
"Nuh uh. Get your notes and bring your naked ass back here."
"But . . ."
"Naked studying is very liberating. You need to loosen up. Maybe I'll even rub your shoulders for you."
"You are a God send."
"Yeah, just remember that Monday when I'm blasting my music again."
"Notes?"
"Yes. Notes. Don't make me tell you again."
Cloud hesitated, and then he pressed his lips to Riku's before crossing to his bag.
Two weeks later, Cloud aced his chemistry final. Riku couldn't have been prouder.
Once again . . .
Four paragraphs were taken out of this because I felt I was already pressing my luck posting this here with Riku's little tape recorded profession of lust. The entire version can be found at my livejournal, username december-sins. That hyphen is very important (fanfiction does not permit me to post my url, of course).
So if you really want to read my pathetic attempt (did I spell that right?) at smut, there you go.
So I said it twice in case you didn't see it the first time.
I copied and pasted. ::smiles::
And I'm happy to say that's finished now. I can comfortably move on to chapter 54 of 100 Steps without thinking about my half-finished smut story.
Hope you enjoyed. Love to all.