A Cat, a Building, Love, and Chips

MissErahMar- Sometimes, you just never realize how hard it is to write something...

Today, the day I post the first chapter of this story, is Cinco de Mayo, a very special day to me. Not because I'm Mexican, or like the half-off pitchers of margaritas, but because it is an anniversary. This story is a collaboration of several badly spent lunches, endless yaoi talk, Legal Drug picture ogoling and a surprisingly productive school-funded Cinco de Mayo party --hence the anniversary.

This Cinco de Mayo marks the two year anniversary of this story being in the works. ((Two years for a little over a ten chapters? Sad!))

This new story is very special case, though, embarked on by my friend and I. ((For all extensive purpouses, I shall call her Yaoi-Magnet.)) We discovered that at the point in time of revelation, there was only one RikuxLeon yaoi in existence on this site ((either that or we just weren't looking hard enough...)).

We took it upon ourselves to write another because, honestly, it's a very interesting combination that doesn't really get much thought put into it... That, and it's set between one and two, but not exactly in Chain of Memories. We just kind of pretended that that one doesn't exist and started from there.

For god's sake, no flames. I hate them. I'm sure Yaoi-Magnet would, too. Well, I'm sorry for taking up so much time with the informalities, so, ON WITH THE SHOW!!

--

Prolouge

Riku wandered around Kingdom Hearts, checking everything, and bored out of his skull. There were no Heartless. There hadn't been for a long time. But how long?? Weeks? Months? Time was difficult to gauge in here, but he was very certain that it hadn't been a year yet. Or had it?

Riku shook his head and picked up a rock, giving it a strong throw. He sighed as it bounced off some distant boulders and felt his spirits fall even further than they were. Sora... The thought of his friend --the holder of his heart-- made him pick up another stone to huck it into the distance. Before he could even pull back his arm, he felt a presence. Hah. He thought, spinning around. Finally, a little act--!!

He felt the color drain from his face, and felt a bead of cold sweat make its way from his temple to his jaw. Standing free of anything was a large door. It reminded Riku painfully of the door in the secret place, of Destiny Islands, and Sora.

This one was different, though. Different by far. The door itself seemed to be made of blue painted stone, and was housed in a frame of crystal. Riku warily paced around it, looking to see if there was anything more to it. There wasn't. Nothing behind back, no Heartless, no Ansem, nothing. Coming back to the front of the door, something caught his eye. Set inside of a large, golden heart was a key hole, smack dab in the center of the door. That wasn't there before...

Placing a hand on it, Riku felt the cold metal, the cold stone, and a feeling of hope. Maybe this was the way out! Maybe... maybe he could finally get back to Sora. Giving it a hopeful, albeit, useless shove, Riku decided that he would find out how to open it no matter what. Besides, he knew that doors like this were fickle, and every minute counted.

Searching every inch of the door itself, front and back, he started in on the frame. After three and a half hours of searching the door, the frame, and the surrounding area within ten feet of it, he fell to his knees before the door, near both defeat and tears.

"Why won't you open, dammit?!" He beat on the door with his fists as tears silently slid down his face. Looking up at it, the key hole seemed to glint tauntingly at him. "Why can't you just open?!" I guess I'll never see you again, Sora... His body shook violently from the sobs that came soundless from his mouth. Sora... Sora... door... key...hole?? Something in his mind seemed to slide into place. Door... keyhole... key... Keyblade!! I have to use the Keyblade to open it!

Standing up and wiping off his wet cheeks, he concentrated and called his keyblade to him. It appeared to him in small bursts of darkness, settling itself into his hand once again. Riku stared at it, and gave a small nervous gulp. What if it didn't work, though? The only person Riku had known to use a Keyblade on doors was Sora. Well, the King too, but he was a mouse...

With some difficulty, Riku pushed all doubt out of his mind. It's worth a try. He brought the Keyblade up level with the keyhole, and let his eyes slide closed. He concentrated with all his heart, hoping that he had gotten the right idea, hoping that it would open the door for him. He waited for what seemed like forever, beads of sweat welling up and dripping down his face.

About to scream in anguish, embarrasment, and anger, he heard a click. Riku's eyes snapped open, and he stared in amazement as the door softly slid ajar a few inches. He barely noticed his Keyblade dissappear back into the darkness from whence it came, as his gaze held by the opened door. Grabbing the stone door, he swung it open easily, and stared as the void before him. It wasn't black, and all darkness, but there was some sort of warm inner light that shown from the depths.

Sora... I'm coming.

--

Chapter 1- Paint Buckets and Ass Kickings

Riku stepped out of the door into very unfamiliar surroundings. He took a few steps and looked around. Buildings of heavy stone were everywhere, and they compromised every view he had to see anything but. Sora can't be here. This... he just can't...

Turning around to go back through the door, he saw nothing but a blank stretch of stone wall. Riku's brow furrowed in confusion and thought, and so he set off. If he was stuck here, he might as well look...

--

The silver-haired searcher had been walking around for an hour and a half without running into a single person. Well, that was about to change...

Rounding a corner with his hands laced behind his head, Riku happened upon a very lovely scene. On a long stretch of wall there was a mural being painted. The scene was of a lovely and beautiful sunset over the ocean, and gathered thickly around the edges was many types of foliage and tropical flowers. Seen in the middle of it all was a small strech of bare beach, waves crashing on the sand. Riku felt his heart pang with hurt and longing. It looked too close to the island that he and all of his friends had played on back at Destiny Islands...

As if to snap him from this painful reverie, movement caught his eye close to the far end, and he focused on it a little more intently. It was a man with long dark hair, and some very tight leather pants. Riku gave a small smile and caught his bottom lip up with his teeth. The shirt was a simple white button-down, but he could tell that by the way it was hanging, not only was it untucked, but it was unbuttoned as well.

Riku started to weave his way towards the man, sidestepping the numerous open cans of paint that were scattered everywhere in this small plaza, when the man gave a half turn, examining his handiwork. Catching a glimpse of the painter's face, he realized it was the man that he had seen with Sora in Traverse Town! The man wasn't clad in leather now, but it was him, Riku was sure of it.

Starting forward with a little more initative than before, Riku's fast-paced footsteps easily caught Leon's attention. His eyes widened a bit at the sight of this boy. He had seen him before, in Traverse Town. That glance of he and Maleficent out of the window in the small house seemed so long ago.

"You!" He heard the boy say. "You can tell me where--"

Before either of them knew what happened, it happened. Riku wasn't watching where he was going, so he tripped over an open paint can, somehow got it tangled up in his feet, and flung it straight at Leon. Riku landed paintless, but hard on his back. He gasped to regain the air that had been forced out of him, but only coughed after every one. He was soon enough able to catch his breath, and he looked up at Leon, which was easy because he had basically landed with his head resting on Leon's boots.

The man was covered in blue paint. It slicked back that lustrious mane of hair that he had, covered his face, and dripped down his well toned chest. Leon raised a hand and wiped it away from his eyes, only to end up staring at it. He got lost in the color; the paint was the color of Sora's eyes. That perfect sapphire-blue sucked him into memories he had told himself that he was better off forgetting.

What brought him back to reality was Riku.

"Oh, my bad." Riku's voice was laced with sarcasm as he gave a smug smirk. "Whoa!" he said, quickly rolling out of the way and standing to avoid dripping paint.

Sh-leck "You're dead."

Riku's smirk never wavered for an instant. "Aw... So soon?" He placed a fisted hand on his hip. "Not that it matters anyway. I have no time to deal with you physically."

"Too bad. You're going to." Leon's stormy eyes took on a molten look. Taking a glance over his shoulder, he was momentarily relieved to see that there was no paint splattered on the mural, unlike himself. Locking his eyes with the heated aquamarines, Leon slowly took a few steps backwards and grabbed his Gunblade, never once looking away.

Riku let out an amused huff, and tilted his head to the side, staring. "Well, if you want to play..." He flung out his hand, calling his Keyblade back from the darkness. "... then we'll play."

The two stared each other down like rival beasts, neither moving, or seemingly, breathing. A gust of wind blew down the street, waving dark hair in Leon's line of vision. Narrowing his eyes, Riku's smirk dropped off his face as he took the offensive.

In an instant, the two were fighting fiercely, like the afore mentioned beasts. Every swing was parried, every close-quartered punch was blocked. They paid no attention to the surrounding paint cans, ending up with a multi colored fighting surface that was slick as oil.

Riku's quick eyes picked up on a opening, and he swung into action. Quickly diverting Leon's slash to the side, Riku took a run, and slid on the paint, right between Leon's legs. In the few seconds of confusion, Riku stood, and clamped a hand firmly on the leather clad ass. Leon yelped. Too tempting to pass up. Leon whipped around, arm flinging outward towards Riku's head. Riku ducked, blow missing, but slipped, and sent the contents of an untouched paint can sloshing towards the wall. Leon's eyes widened, watching the paint coming within mere inches of his masterpiece.

As Riku stood up, Leon eyed him threateningly. "You put one drop of paint on that," he said, gunblade gesturing towards the wall, "And you'll lose something very dear to you."

"Oh really? What--"

Riku's breath was knocked out of him for the second time as he was put flat on his back. Paint was seeping into his clothes and hair, and his head was ringing. Opening his eyes, he saw Leon, leaning over him, very close to his face. Trying to move his arms, he found that Leon had him pinned! Leon smirked as he watched the silver haired boy struggle underneath of him. Moving one knee to rest in between Riku's, Leon used it to press up. He heard Riku's breath catch.

"That's 'what'." he said in Riku's ear.

As soon as he let go, Riku scrambled away, and readied himself with his Keyblade. Leon brought the gunblade down in a slash, slinging paint off of it, and charged. CLANG!!The two weapons met, letting the crash of metal ring throughout, reverberating off the stone. The opponents stepped back from each other, circling, observing. The gray of Leon's eyes carefully watched the aquamarine of Riku's, catching all movement. Something was cooking behind those calculating eyes of his, but what, Leon couldn't exactly say.

Riku slid his tounge over his bottom lip, counting how many steps his next plan would take. With a quick lunge to the right, and a feint to the center, he saw Leon's boots lose traction on the paint, and he struck. With a cry, he slashed fiercely at the blue splattered chest. Leon saw the keyblade, and reacted quickly, dropping the gunblade, and bending backwards. For all his efforts, the keyblade caught skin, giving a shallow slice on his left bicep.

Grunting, Leon landed hard on his arms, with a shloop in the paint, covering his leather pants. Riku huffed haugtily, his signature smirk returning to grace his face. The man was as agile as the cat his name proclaimed him to be. Only without the keen ability of balance. Crossing his arms, he kicked the gunblade far out of reach, and allowed his keyblade to dissappear. He stared arrogantly down at Leon, who only glared back. A dull glint behind Riku caught his eye, and he decided that it was his only chance. Snaking out his leg, Leon knocked Riku's legs out from under of him, and sent him windmilling backwards.

Gonnggg!!

The back of that silver haired head hit impossibly hard on a tipped over paint can. The aim was perfect, and he blacked out instantly, to Leon's great amusment. Standing up, Leon, wiped off as much paint off of his good pants as he possibly could, and grabbed up his gunblade. Throwing a stare in Riku's direction, he started off, heading to his apartment.

But something kept bringing his eyes back to the downed boy behind him. The boy looked like a sleeping angel, the way his hair was cascading around him in a rainbow of color, instead of the snarky, petulant teenager he was. Leon looked up at the sky. It was darkening, and it was going to be night very soon. And here, night brought bitter cold. Paint didn't dry in cold, or dark. It just got cold. And cold caused sickness. And if left untreated, pnemonia, and then death.

"... Goddammit."

Leon stalked back over to Riku, wrapped an arm around his waist, and threw him over his shoulder. Ignoring the new amount of paint now dripping down his back and front, he trudged his way out of the street and towards the far end of town.