Disclaimer: I don't own Disney or Square-Enix
A/N: Out of all the KH pairings, I must say the sora-kairi-riku love triangle is my favorite. I think their friendship—which is basically what the while game is about—is just beautiful. I tried to capture it in this fic, and blur the line between their friendship and romance. I was inspired by the writing theory, the rule of three. It's so interesting!
- Rated T for language, love triangle, & implied sex. You've been warned.
the rule of three
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She can feel the grueling sun's rays beating against her skin; she can feel a drop of sweat sliding down her chin. She quickly wipes it away. Her muscles are aching, but she can't let Riku know that.
It isn't fair. Really. He's standing there, in all his sexiness. He's pointing the Way to Dawn at her, beckoning to her with his free hand. The breeze lifts his silver locks and he looks as beautiful as a fallen angel. She really wants to kiss him now, but she knows that will have to wait until later.
"C'mon, princess. Don't tell me you're tired already." He's teasing her, but Kairi can see the encouragement in his eyes. He doesn't want her to give up, not yet.
"Yeah, c'mon, Kairi. Show pretty boy here what you've got!" Sora cheers.
Kairi grins, glancing at Sora who is watching them from the docks. He is smiling widely, his eyes half-lidded, his arms lazily folded behind his head.
Kairi looks back at Riku, licks her dry, parted lips. She ignores the soreness in her legs and lunges at him as quickly as she can. She catches the look of surprise in his eyes as their Keyblades meet. Pretty, aquamarine eyes wide. Priceless.
They go head to head. Riku is quick, but so is Kairi, and she is light on her feet like a dancer. Kairi is exhausted and wants to give up, but she remembers the deal that she'd made.
The boys had promised that they'd never leave her behind again, that she'd go with them whenever duty called, whenever there were Heartless to vanquish and Worlds to protect—"But only under one condition…" Riku had qualified.
She would have to train; she would have to become the best Keyblade Wielder she could be. She wanted to train; she wanted to prove herself worthy. If she wasn't worthy, she'd just end up holding the boys back and being a burden during a battle. She promised herself that one day, she'd be as strong as them, she'd be able to protect them. They don't know how seriously she takes the training. They have no idea that sometimes she sneaks out at night and trains in the moonlight without getting any sleep at all. It's worth it. She loves them both horribly and she can't fathom being left behind again—even if she has to be in danger, so long as the three of them are together, that's okay. Tomorrow, the three of them are to report to Radiant Garden to control a horde of Heartless that have been causing quite a bit of trouble. She has to be ready.
Riku delivers a quick slash that almost knocks Kairi off her feet. She blocks it, pushes back with all her might, and Riku retreats, smiling slyly.
"Excellent, Kairi. You're progressing quickly," he slips out of his battle stance, and the Way to Dawn dematerializes.
Kairi exhales deeply and dismisses Destiny's Embrace.
"Thanks, Riku," she smiles wearily, waiting for him to ruffle her hair affectionately as he usually does. But much to her surprise, Riku has suddenly turned on his heel and is stalking towards Sora with purpose.
Baffled, Sora bristles and jumps to his feet. "W-what's up, Riku?"
Riku furrows his brow and roughly grabs Sora by the front of his shirt. Confused, Sora makes no move to defend himself, his eyes wide, innocent, and clear.
"You called me 'pretty boy', if I recall correctly," Riku reminds him with a smile.
Kairi takes note of how close Riku is holding Sora to him, notices how Sora's fingers grasp Riku's fists—not defensively—and linger there. She notices how Sora's lips are unconsciously parted and expecting. He doesn't look fearful or wary of Riku's wrath at all. It seems he's actually looking forward to it.
"Later, when you least expect it, you'll pay for that, Sora," Riku promises menacingly. Riku drops Sora and starts sauntering down the shore, toward the house the three of them share on an island just off the shore of the mainland.
"C'mon, Kairi. Let's go have breakfast, I'm starving," Riku calls over his shoulder, the venom in his tone gone.
"Coming, Riku!" Kairi answers, but she is still examining Sora, who looks quite comical.
Sora blinks once, twice, three times—and then a telltale blush creeps onto his tanned cheeks.
Kairi smirks, and runs off in Riku's direction. She knows that it's only a matter of time. She knows that she looks at Sora the way Sora looks at her, Sora looks at Riku the way Riku looks at him, and Riku looks at Kairi the way she looks at him. It's love. It has to be love. And soon, the boys will realize it too.
"Wait—Kairi! Riku! Wait, I'm hungry too."
It's only a matter of time, Kairi thinks, it's always been the three of us, and nothing else will do.
.
It is months later when it happens, when their friendship blossoms into something much, much more. They return home one night after vanquishing a horde of Heartless in Twilight Town, and Sora has been injured. They step out of the portal of darkness and onto the familiar porcelain shores of Destiny Islands, illuminated by the starry sky and the luminous moon. Riku is carrying Sora, who has slipped into unconsciousness, and Kairi is watching, walking by Riku's side, wide-eyed and worried.
"Riku…he's not cursing anymore, I think he's unconscious."
"Good. I was tired of listening to him anyway."
"Riku!"
Riku sighs, glancing at Sora, and then looking away quickly. "Sorry, I didn't mean that. But he'll be fine, Kairi. I promise he just needs some rest, that's all."
But Kairi can see that Riku is worried too. His lips are pulled taut into a thin, expressionless line, as if he's about to shatter.
They walk quickly to their home. Kairi opens the door for Riku and he steps inside, heading up the stairs, carefully, as if he'll break Sora if he hurries.
Kairi pauses at the door, closes her eyes, and makes sure the safeguard they created around their house years ago is still there. It's something she always checks—because gods forbid if a band of Heartless follows them home one night and catches them off guard. But it's there, she can feel that it's there; she can feel the presence of the Light, the Light that creates an invisible, protective bubble around their home. She lets out a sigh of relief, and then she hears Riku calling her.
"Kairi, he's awake."
"Coming!" she calls, racing up the stairs.
Riku has placed Sora in a chair by the tall window in their bedroom. The moonlight is spilling through, irradiating their figures.
Sora is uttering a string of colorful vocabulary as Riku gingerly peels off his shirt to get to the wound.
"Ow…shit, Riku! That fucking hurts!"
"You're such a potty mouth when you're hurt, Sora." Riku rolls his eyes. "And you should have told us you were hurt in the first place. You shouldn't have hidden it and endured it to the point of passing out, moron," Riku is trying his best to sound venomous, but his trembling hands betray him.
Sora pouts, "I just didn't want to bug you guys about it…I figured it wasn't that bad."
Riku sighs and ruffles Sora's hair comfortingly as Kairi presses her fingers to the wound. Sora hisses as Kairi murmurs a quick Curaga spell, and the wound left by the Heartless's claw diminishes to nothing more than a thin silver scar that will be gone by morning.
"Oh gods…Thanks, Kairi…that feels a lot better." He smiles wearily and Kairi sweetly presses a kiss to his lips.
"Sora," Riku's voice is serious and huskier than usual. Kairi arches an eyebrow and is surprised by the purely carnal look he's giving Sora. "Promise us you'll tell us you're hurt next time. No more secrets, okay?" Riku's hand is cupping Sora's cheek, and they are so close that Sora is speechless.
Riku's free hand touches Sora's and their fingers interlock. "Promise me," he presses.
Sora nods slowly, enchanted. "No more secrets." Riku smiles softly, and it is beautiful. He pulls Sora closer, and crushes their lips together. Sora doesn't falter or fight it. It feels right, so he cups Riku's face, wants him closer.
When the kiss is broken, both boys simultaneously gaze at Kairi predatorily, and she feels as if her heart is singing. There are no more words. Clothes are discarded, Kairi stands on her toes to kiss them both, and the three go to bed.
In the moonlight and beneath the sheets, they spill their hearts, and they realize that this is it—this is how they were destined to be. It's all part of growing up, and realizing it just couldn't be any other way. Three, it was always supposed to be the three of them.
When they are spent Kairi and Riku reach over Sora's body—their fingers meet and interlock. With their free hands, they grasp Sora's. They are silent, smiling dreamily and feeling completely satisfied. They know their friendship is changing, maturing into something—something nameless and beautiful—betwixt or beyond love and friendship. A bond that can't be broken.
Sora, who lies between them, breaks the silence, "Is this okay?" he questions innocently. "I mean, I love both of you. Loving two people—is it normal?" he looks into violet eyes, aquamarine eyes. It is Riku who answers.
"This is normal, for us…" Riku is lazily tracing a heart over Sora's chest, feeling the pulse beating quickly beneath his fingertips.
"But there's nothing normal about us," Kairi adds. "Normal eighteen-year-olds and nineteen-year-olds don't have to worry about saving Worlds, losing their hearts, and battling Darkness."
"Right, so I think we're exempt from the cliché relationship standards," Riku breathes, smirking. When Kairi laughs, Riku kisses her hand.
Sora nods thoughtfully. "True…but even if it's not normal, I don't think I really care. My heart tells me it's meant to be this way."
He feels Kairi's lips press against his shoulder and his breath hitches slightly. "And that's all that really matters," she whispers. And Kairi is right, there's no questioning it; they won't second guess their hearts.
It's destiny, it's perfect, it's love—it's the rule of three.
Omne trium perfectum: everything that comes in three, is perfect.
A/N: Oh my gosh, this was so difficult to write, but it was also tons of fun. If you enjoyed it, please let me know and R&R! :]