(A/N): CAN Y'ALL TELL I'M STILL SALTY!?
I spent the entire afternoon writing this cause I got played. I had to sit through the "Let it Go" segment, but I couldn't be given the pleasure of listening to "I See The Light" when I was in Kingdom of Corona. Explain, Square. I'm also still rather salty about the way Sora and Riku treated each other throughout the whole game, so this is something I wrote to please myself and other fans who are about as salty or more salty that I am.
Side note: I'm just gonna ignore canon and pretend everything is fine and dandy. No one is dead, Xehanort is defeated, and everyone is living out their lives and occasionally having a beach party on Destiny Islands.
Without further ado, enjoy! ^_^
The night was quiet save for the faint chatter of the citizens in the town not far from them. Sora leaned against the side of the boat and peered at his reflection in the water with half-lid eyes as it halted in the middle of the lake. He noticed the few stars that were above him, how they dimly lit the sky despite trying their best to be brighter. If it wasn't for the dots of light from the town, the area would be pitch black. Despite this, it was somewhat hard to see Riku in the darkness if it wasn't for his silver hair.
Once Sora had found out the Kingdom of Corona was having its annual sky lantern festival, he practically had to beg the silver-haired teen to go with him so he could experience the lanterns for himself. The brunette had learned from Rapunzel earlier that day that they had decided to continue raising the lanterns on her birthday because she enjoyed it so much. The two of them had spent the afternoon in town, enjoying the sights and chatting with the citizens, and Sora had dragged Riku into joining him in the Kingdom Dance, not that Riku protested against it. Seeing the brunette smile and have fun made Riku's heart swell, and it just caused him to fall for Sora even more. When everyone was getting ready for the show, Riku had suggested they watch from the lake to have a better view, and Sora agreed whole-heartedly.
Sora pulled away with a sigh and glanced back at the castle, adjusting the flower crown he made for himself and Riku earlier that day. "I wonder when they're gonna start." He said with a tilted head and a lifted eyebrow.
"Maybe there's a delay?" Riku asked from the other side of the boat. Sora hummed as a response before turning to the silverette, and Riku noticed the sad look in his eyes, causing him to frown as a result. There were times where he wanted nothing more than to coddle the brunette with hugs and kisses to cheer him up, but he never had the courage to act on his feelings. Riku was never an openly affectionate person to begin with, but he made his feelings quite known throughout the years he and Sora had known each other; he had always made it perfectly clear that Sora was his top priority, his wellbeing more important than his own, and it showed with how many times Riku has had to sacrifice himself to keep Sora safe. That's how it's always been, and that's how it will continue to be.
While deep in thought, he noticed that Sora had returned to his position on the side of the boat, silently staring at the water with his head leaning against his arms with a sigh. Riku thought of something that would lighten his mood, however, the thought of hugging him still lingered in his mind. He pushed it away in fear of the result. Riku had been in love with Sora for most of his life, and whenever he thought about it, there would always be a voice in his head telling him the brunette wouldn't feel the same; that Sora only saw him as a friend and nothing more, and Riku had partially believed it. He saw how much Sora cared about Kairi and vice versa, and the thought of them together made Riku's heart sink into his stomach out of nausea and regret; Nausea due to the sickening thought of Sora being with anyone who wasn't him (nothing against Kairi, but it's still a rather unpleasant feeling), and regret for not telling the brunette his feelings before it was too late.
Riku felt the boat shift, and he glanced up to see Sora leaning towards the other end of the boat towards the castle, and his eyes widened at the multiple lanterns that slowly floated into the air. Riku forgot how to breathe for a moment, seeing how the lanterns brightened the area and illuminated on the water underneath them. He remembered taking a couple lanterns for himself and Sora to participate before taking the boat out onto the lake, but he couldn't bear to look away as they lowered themselves near the water's surface and spread across the lake like a blanket of lights. Sora glanced around with a smile on his face as he bounced in his seat before he and Riku locked eyes. Riku smiled and gestured his head towards the lanterns before pulling out the two he brought with him. Each of them was covered in swirls and dots and had a large paopu fruit spread across the front. Sora's smile grew and his eyes lit up in happiness before reaching out to take one in his hand. "When did you get these?" He asked.
"Well, I didn't want us to be left out," Riku responded before glancing at the lights once again and pausing for a moment. "Thanks for taking me. I needed it." Sora's gaze softened as he lowered his head with a smile. "I'll be honest. I wanted Kairi to come with us, but she's hanging out with Namine, so she couldn't make it," He shifted his form as his gaze lowered to the lit water before continuing. "But, I'm glad it's just the two of us. We haven't had a chance to be alone since we defeated Xehanort, and I've missed being with you. Whenever I go to a new world, meet new friends, I think about you being there with me, and that alone is comforting," Sora grabbed one of the lanterns from Riku's hands and gave him a warm smile. "When I'm with you, I don't feel scared. You know what I mean?"
Riku couldn't believe what he was hearing, but he responded with a gentle gaze and a smile with a nod, and it only brightened Sora's mood further. Riku leaned in, taking another quick glance at the lantern before turning to Sora once more. "Ready?" The brunette nodded, the smile continuing to stay plastered on his face as they both simultaneously lifted the lanterns into the air to join the rest. Sora gazed in amazement at the sight, but Riku was too focused on him to see how high they would go. The twinkle in his eyes and the happy look on his face made his heart melt, and he didn't think it was possible to feel more attracted to the brunette than he already was. The smile he wore was the reason they had met, and that smile would continue to be his motivation to fight.
Sora soon noticed he was being watched, and when he turned away from the lanterns, he paused with slightly widened eyes when he met Riku's gaze. The light from the lanterns reflected off of the silverette's skin, making it seem like he was glowing; it also brought out his eyes and made the older teen absolutely mesmerizing. Sora slowly reached out to him, wondering how someone could look that gorgeous and how long it took him to notice. He never thought of it often before because they were always apart on their own missions and being with other people. He had developed a small crush on Kairi when he was younger, but overtime, those feelings started fading away the more time he spent with Riku: the fond looks that Riku would give him that would cause his cheeks to flush red, the way Riku would drop everything to make sure he was alright that would cause his heart to swell. There would be many nights where Sora would question himself and his feelings towards both Riku and Kairi. He told Kairi he wanted to protect her and his friends in any way he can, but it felt different with Riku; with Riku, it felt as though he wanted to do more.
Riku blinked in surprise when he felt a hand cup his cheek, and noticed the curious expression Sora held. He slightly panicked, unsure of what to do, and it seemed as though Sora was waiting for his next move. He should return the gesture, right? To make sure he was okay to wherever this led. The moment Riku's hand made contact, Sora closed his eyes and leaned into the touch lovingly, causing Riku's cheeks to turn a light pink and shudder. Their eyes met again for another minute, taking in the sight before them before Sora closed his eyes a second time and began to lean in. Riku's shoulders began to relax and he released the breath he was holding in. Not wanting to waste any more time, he brought himself forward to press their lips together.
In that moment, nothing and no one else mattered. The taste of Sora's lips against his own was more than he could ever dream of. All of the fear Riku held in his heart disappeared as his free hand moved to grab Sora's hip and pull him closer. Sora's other hand cupped the silverette's cheek as a result as the lanterns continued to float around them. The two stayed in their position, hesitant to pull away from each other, but knowing it wouldn't matter whether or not they did. What mattered to them is they were always in each other's heart no matter the distance between them. Riku would always be Sora's light, and Sora would always be Riku's, and that was the way it should be.