A/N: Hello, all! First things first: Just give this pairing a try. It won't bite you. I swear.

I have decided that there are definitely not enough Clouku fics on this site. As such, I have taken it upon myself to fix said deficit with a story of my own. I absolutely adore this pairing, and hope that maybe I can convert some others, as well! If you find that perhaps you might like to read some other CloudxRiku stories, I highly recommend those by Page of Cups; Jediempress has some awesome ones, as well.

Prepare yourself: Some cursing, slight sexual references, and lotsa fluff. This will be in three parts, by the way.

Stumble: to discover or meet unexpectedly, with surprise.

Cloud wasn't terribly fond of people. In fact, one could say that he rather didn't like them. And several people said just that. But it stands to reason that everyone must like somebody, and therefore his friends weren't too terribly concerned. Cloud pretended not to care about them of course, in order maintain his reputation, but those closest to him could see through the façade, as he tended to seek out their company.

So it stands to reason that when Cloud returned to Merlin's house after killing Sephiroth yet again, he was unnerved by the cacophony that greeted him. It took only a few seconds to recognize brunette spikes among the throng, swerving this way and that as the attached human tried to speak to five people at once. Cloud remembered Sora from the Coliseum; he was the keyblade wielder that Hades had wanted dead. Though merely a boy, he had a strong heart and had earned Cloud's grudging respect.

The duck beside him was another matter entirely. Cloud had seen him fighting alongside Sora in the tournament, but had yet to meet him face-to-face. His grating voice and apparent temper, however, were enough to make Cloud disinclined to remedy that situation.

Then there was the odd human-dog hybrid that kept 'a-hyuck'ing between sentences.

Cloud amused himself for a moment by imagining that Goofy (that was his name, right?) was a failed experiment of Hojo's. Cloud decided to avoid him, as well.

Standing quietly next to Sora was a redheaded girl of about the same age. She was rather pretty, in an innocent sort of way, and judging by the glances she was exchanging with Sora, Cloud assumed that the keyblade wielder had finally found his light. Not that Cloud was jealous or anything.

After a few moments of leaning against the doorframe, content to remain an unnoticed observer, a tentative voice called out from behind him.

"Um… hello?"

Cloud turned, only to see a rather tall boy with silver hair and bright aqua eyes staring back at him. Cloud's first thought was that the boy resembled Sephiroth. His second thought, though far less articulate, was something along the lines of "Damn, he's hot."

Wait… what?

Cloud had known, of course, about his preference for men, and had come out to his friends several years ago. Leon had been a bit unsettled until Cloud assured him of his platonic status, and Yuffie had let out the most girlish, earsplitting scream, followed by a glomp of epic proportion. Cloud suffered through it for about two seconds before he managed to slither out of her grasp, his ear buds taking a bit longer to recuperate. Cid had merely stared at him, shrugged, and lit another cigarette. Aerith had given him one of her all-knowing smiles, looking at him with eyes that apparently found something humorous.

No, Cloud wasn't fazed by his attraction to a male, but rather the fact that said male was a boy. As in underage. Underage, untouchable, and dangerously sexy.

Dammit. He's probably a friend of Sora's.

So what? He's gorgeous!

And underage.

Well sure, but…

You know, there's a reason guys like him are called jailbait.

If it's consensual, no one would have to know.

You're just a horny bastard.

Well, we are the same person, so…

… That's low.

Thus went the warring thoughts in Cloud's head. If he had been paying attention, he might have noticed the boy's expression turn from curious, to amused, to slightly concerned.

"Are you going to say hello, or let me inside or anything?" he asked. "It's not exactly warm out here."

It was then that Cloud awoke from his inner argument to notice a few inches of snow on the ground. When did that happen?

The snow was still falling, drifting into the boy's beautiful hair, and Cloud longed to reach out and gently brush it off.

Warning! Dangerous thoughts!

Apparently Cloud had zoned out again, because the boy's face was now showing serious concern.

"Are you okay?"

Cloud finally snapped completely out of his reverie and stepped aside without a word, allowing the gorgeous boy (Stop it!) to enter the room. By this point, the majority of his friends had noticed him, and seeing that he was in danger of another Yuffie glomp, he quickly dodged, causing Yuffie to fall headfirst into the growing draft of snow. It was still coming down in sheets, and Yuffie had landed in a draft of about seven inches, which meant that Cloud didn't feel the least bit guilty. He actually found the pout on Yuffie's snow-covered face quite humorous, but didn't dare smile. Reputation and all that.

He turned back around to see Aerith smiling at him, Leon staring at him, and, as per usual, Cid ignoring him completely. Merlin was humming away, sitting at a small table and drinking a steaming cup of tea.

In the middle of the room, causing most of the ruckus, was Sora, clinging to What's-his-name gorgeous boy (Are you trying to torture yourself?) Said boy then reached into his pocket and handed the girl (Kari? Kylie? Cloud could have sworn he'd heard her name somewhere before,) a small star-shaped charm, earning him a smile and an enthusiastic hug. When he replied with a small smile of his own, even Cloud's heart was distracted. It resumed its beating a moment later, but Cloud's eyes remained glued to that gentle face.

Sora tried to shout despite the ice cream in his mouth, only managing a sloppy "Rigu! Or o oham! I ot i uz osd or zur!"

At the confused looks he received, Sora swallowed his ice cream, took a moment to overcome the brain freeze, and then clarified: "Riku! You're so awesome! I thought it was lost for sure!"

This was followed by a glomp.

Cloud could tell that the boy (Riku, Cloud assumed) hadn't expected this reaction, because he ended up on the floor with Sora straddling him.

Cloud, who wasn't jealous at all, just barely refrained from chuckling at the way Riku rolled Sora over, pinning him down instead. In one smooth motion, he pushed himself up, offering his hand to Sora with a sexy smirk. (Okay, Cloud. Control yourself.)

Sora, his pride bruised, turned away from Riku with a pout. It was then that he noticed Cloud.

Sora made a squeal that rivaled Yuffie's and took a running start, but dug his feet into the ground when he saw the death-stare Cloud was giving him. Momentum, however, refused to be overcome, and Sora rolled ungracefully to a stop against Cloud's legs, looking for all purposes as if he'd just performed a solo trinity. Today just wasn't Sora's day, apparently.

Cloud didn't even notice Sora recover, because he was too busy watching Riku snicker behind his hand, eyes shining.

Sora had wisely decided not to hug Cloud, but instead dragged him by his sleeve over to his entourage to make introductions. Thus were Cloud's plans foiled as he was brought before Donald and Goofy.

Heh. What fitting names.

Kairi chose to introduce herself, cutting Sora off midsentence and completely ignoring the trampled puppy-dog look he was giving her. Cloud liked her already.

Sora then introduced Riku, who had been standing a bit behind everyone, and although Cloud had done his best to pay attention to the other introductions, he couldn't help but notice the stares Riku was giving him. After Sora made the reverse introductions, repeating Cloud's name for each of his four acquaintances, the man was greeted with a smattering of 'hi's, 'hello's, and 'nice to meetcha's. He simply exchanged nods with Riku, whose brows immediately furrowed, an intense look on his face.

Cloud was feeling a little self-conscious under the scrutiny, and was relieved when the boy offered up context.

"You look kind of familiar. Have we met before?"

Cloud raised an eyebrow.

"No, I mean, before today."

"No."

"Really? I could have sworn…"

At this point, Riku ran a hand through his hair, cocking his head to one side before folding his arms.

Cloud's brain clicked.

"Wait… you worked for Maleficent."

Riku had seemed much younger then, a reckless, desperate, yet determined boy who had been caught up in the darkness. Damn. How did that kid grow up so fast?

Riku's face dropped, and he looked at the ground with a mix of surprise and shame. "Oh, yeah. You were with Hades, right? I saw you a few times."

Cloud nodded, wondering why the boy looked so put out.

Cue uncomfortable silence.

"PIE!"

All five jumped at the exclamation from Sora.

Aerith had indeed just come out of the kitchen carrying a freshly baked apple pie. Cloud figured the boy had some sort of sixth sense when it came to food. It was creepy.

He looked over at Riku, hoping to determine from his expression whether or not this was normal behavior. Instead, he caught the boy staring at him. As soon as they made eye contact, Riku snapped his head back to Kairi, who was telling him something or other about paopu trees. As Cloud turned to get a drink, he noticed a faint blush tinge the boy's cheek.

I guess he's shy.

Sora ran over to the pie, careful this time not to crash into Aerith and her precious cargo, and practically drooled over her shoulder as she cut the pastry into pieces. He of course took the first plate and tore through the room to his seat, obstacles be damned. Unfortunately, one of those obstacles just so happened to be Cloud. Who happened to be drinking from a glass of water. Which, no surprise, spilled all over him thanks to Sora's wild dash. At this point, Cloud decided to forgo the pie, instead opting to plop himself down on the comfy armchair by the fireplace.

The water dripping down his front was rather cold, and he hoped that the fire would help it dry faster. After vainly attempting to wipe his face dry with a soaked sleeve, he felt a light touch on his shoulder. Slightly annoyed, he turned in his chair, thrilled to see what anyone could possibly want with him now. To his surprise, he came face to face with Riku, who was standing a few steps away, eyes to the ground. He was nervously rubbing his neck with one hand, and offering Cloud a small stack of napkins with the other. That cute blush was coloring his face again, but Cloud convinced himself that it was just the firelight. Which looked pretty damn good along Riku's profile, if he might add.

"Umm… yeah. I thought you might, you know, need these."

Cloud took the napkins, trying his best to hide how grateful he was. Stupid reputation.

Riku stood there awkwardly for a few more moments while Cloud dried his face, finally sitting hesitantly on the floor next to the armchair, gazing into the fire.

A minute or two later, by which time Cloud had become an unwilling witness to the demolition of Sora's third piece of pie, Riku broke Cloud's concentration.

"I'm sorry."

Cloud, who could barely hear the boy, responded simply with a questioning expression.

Riku never moved his eyes from the fire, repeating only slightly louder, "I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"Earlier. When we were talking about, well, the past. I've been worrying that maybe what I said gave you the wrong idea."

Cloud repeated his earlier expression.

Riku looked up at the silence, and at the sight of Cloud's face, explained with a stutter.

"Well, I got all quiet and depressed when you mentioned that we had met while I was working for Maleficent. I thought maybe it might have come off as though I regretted meeting you. And that isn't it at all. I'm actually really glad I met you, you know? 'Cause you're just…umm…

"Never mind. Anyway, it had nothing to do with you. I just don't like talking about those times. They weren't exactly happy. I did a lot of stuff I'm not proud of, and if I could go back and do it all differently, I would. I guess I'm just having a hard time coming to terms with the consequences of all of my actions. I was doing terrible things, and was telling myself that they were all worth it. And when you said that about Maleficent, well, the memories all came back suddenly, and all of my faults crashed in on me at once. It really isn't your fault, though, because you had no idea how screwed up I am. I would have figured it out anyway, and since I keep things to myself, I probably would have just been brooding about it all night, isolating myself from everyone. I guess I just mean that it's nice to know that there's someone who at least understands a bit. Not that I'm saying you were overtaken by the darkness or anything, because that was just me.

"…I'm rambling, aren't I? Sorry."

"You shouldn't apologize so much."

Now it was Riku's turn to look confused.

"Umm… why not?"

"Everything we do feels justified in the moment. Unless you do something terrible to a person that you truly regret with all of your heart, you shouldn't apologize for doing what you thought was right."

"What about the rambling?"

"That's normal."

Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Even for you?"

At this, Cloud couldn't resist a tiny smile.

"There's an exception to every rule."

After a few more minutes of companionable silence, Cloud's eyes began to wander around the room. Leon was leaning against the wall, a worn-out Yuffie sitting next to him. Donald and Goofy were in the kitchen contemplating a map, their murmurs drowned out by the crackling of the fire. Cid and Merlin were off somewhere doing gods know what, and Cloud was perfectly content for it to stay that way.

It turned out that Kairi was the one truly responsible for the silence, as she was holding Sora's hand, leaning on his shoulder, and overall acting sleepy so that Sora spoke only in a whisper.

Aerith was reading in a rocking chair in the corner, though how she could see the pages in the low light was beyond Cloud's realm of comprehension. Feeling his eyes on her, Aerith looked up at Cloud, down at the boy at his feet, and then back up to Cloud, another of her light smiles beginning to grow.

She knew.

She always knew.

Cloud had known her long enough to know that those smiles always held some sort of secret knowledge behind them. And it was nearly always things that he wanted to keep hidden.

Damn that girl and her otherworldly perception.

Aerith went back to her book, but that unnerving smile never left her face.

After a while, one by one, everyone started filtering off to bed. There were three rooms in the house, so the girls got their own, Sora and Riku got another, Cloud and Leon shared the room on the ground floor, and Donald and Goofy had opted to sleep on the gummi ship. Cid alternated between the couch and a pallet he'd set up in the computer room, and Merlin slept, well… somewhere.

Sora and Kairi were the first to retire, both yawning a 'good night' as they climbed the stairs. Leon woke Yuffie up with a light kick, at which point she dragged herself up the stairs as well. A while later, when the fire began to die down, Donald and Goofy rolled up the map and went to bed, as well.

Riku had fallen asleep against Cloud's chair, and no one had the heart to wake him. Instead, they listened to the footsteps dissipate until they no longer disturbed the ceiling, at which point Leon pushed himself from the wall and headed off down the hallway.

Cloud was so entranced by the way the soft light from the embers flickered on Riku's sleeping face, that he failed to realize that Aerith was still in her corner, reading,

He couldn't remain ignorant for much longer, though, because she got up and stood behind his chair, folding her arms along the top.

"You like him."

It wasn't a question, as they both knew she was right, but Cloud would never admit it, so he turned around to challenge her and her all-knowing smile.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Deny it all you want, but you know it's true."

Silence.

"You know," Aerith continued, "he likes you, too."

At this, Cloud stiffened, risking a glance at the prone form beside him.

He replied, a bit softer this time, "How would you know?"

"Call it intuition."

At a loss for words, Cloud grasped at whatever he could.

"He's sixteen, Aerith. That's what people call robbing the cradle."

"You know as well as I do that there are no age restrictions in this world. You're stuck back in the old laws. Times have changed, and possibilities like this don't come along very often. Age is merely a number, right?"

"Aerith, he's straight."

"So you admit that you like him."

Aerith smiled at the silence that followed that comment. He had stopped denying it.

"Anyway, you can't possibly know his sexual preference when you've only known him for such a short time."

"Look, the only other gay man I've ever met was that Marluxia creep, and we all know how that turned out."

"Just because you had one bad run-in with a crazy obsessive stalker doesn't mean that there aren't more homosexual men out there who are interested in true relationships. Or, in this case, teenagers who are."

"I'm telling you, Aerith. He doesn't like me. What boy in his right mind would like someone seven years older then him?"

"What man in his right mind would like someone seven years younger than him?"

Cloud glared.

"You don't know him as well as you know me. You intuition is probably wrong about this whole thing, which means that this conversation is pointless."

"I know that you're just trying to quash your own hope, but there isn't a whole lot of time for that. After all, he and Sora are only planning on staying here for a week or two. Then it's back off to Destiny Islands, and from what I've heard, Riku isn't too thrilled about that. I'm sure he'd much rather stay here, despite the mess he went through when it was Hollow Bastion. If he leaves, who knows when he'll be able to convince someone to take him back to this world? I doubt he'd have a problem staying here, so it's not like it'd be a long-distance relationship."

Cloud gave a weary sigh.

"That's not the problem, and you know it. I'm exhausted and I can't think straight anymore. Can't we just leave it at that and call it a night?"

Aerith sighed and left for her room, but not before putting a hand on Cloud's shoulder and murmuring a soft "Think about it."

Cloud took one last glance at the boy beside him before stealing a few blankets from the couch, and gently laying him down with one folded as a pillow, and draping the others across his body. Not wanting to leave the boy to wake up alone in the living room, Cloud settled himself back onto the armchair and contented himself with watching Riku sleep.