Balance

XO'MagickMoon'OX

A/N: Inspired by my friend's birthday party, which I just got back from a few hours ago. It was at the ice skating rink, and the image of Riku and Sora ice skating just popped into my head. I do not own the song These Words (I Love You, I Love You) by Natasha Bedingfield. This song was actually played at the rink, and I thought it just fit so well with the story I'd come up with. Well, enjoy!

xoXoXox

xoXoXox

"Riku!" Sora tugged fruitlessly on the hand his friend had taken captive. "Let go!"

The platinum-haired boy just smirked, pulling the brunette along behind him. The night was fresh and cool, hinting at rain. The stars twinkled down on the two, an audience watching eagerly as the blossoms of Eros's magick bloomed. The flowers born from these blossoms were beautiful enough to wait by patiently as they grew into fruition. However, some flowers tended to die young before ever achieving their full potential, and their sad, premature petals would drift idly to the yellowed grass, as if in mourning. One could only hope that these particular flowers would survive.

"Come on Sora; it's only ice skating."

This hope was not in vain.

"But I don't know how to skate!"

As they climbed the stone steps of the sports center, Riku turned to the brunette. "Stop worrying so much. I'll teach you." Then he pushed the glass door, pausing as he caught a glimpse of his reflection. He almost blushed at how clearly it was reflected in his eyes. Almost. But Riku wasn't one to blush, and so he didn't. He pushed the door open and walked inside with an unwilling Sora in tow, thinking that if it was so incredibly obvious to him, why was it so invisible to the one person he wanted to notice?

The two stood in line at the counter. Soon, they were descending the stairs into the lower level to get their skates. Pulling Sora down beside him, Riku sat on one of the benches against the wall, shoving aside someone's haphazardly placed jacket and a bottle of water. From the double doors off to the left, there were flashing lights and the heavy pulse of some pop tune reverberating through the walls. Riku glanced over at the brunette who was vainly trying to lace his skates. With his lower lip caught between his teeth in concentration and his brow furrowed, Riku couldn't help but smile at Sora.

Finally, they were ready. Sora staggered as he struggled to find his balance on the ice skates, and Riku caught his friend around the arm. Together, they made their way into the rink. It was inundated with little kids darting, stumbling, gracefully gliding. Sora pouted as they stepped onto the ice, watching as a boy half his height, and probably half his age, too, skated by with the elegance and agility Sora could never even dream of achieving. He wobbled into the rink and immediately clutched Riku's arm to steady himself.

Riku laughed, earning himself a halfhearted glare. "Relax, Sora," he said. "We're here to have fun."

"No, you're here to laugh as I fall on my butt and make a fool of myself."

Riku feigned surprise. "So you've figured it out."

Sora punched his friend in the arm, only to grasp said arm again to keep from slipping. He quickly transferred his hold from Riku to the rim of the surrounding wall, leaning against it for support.

Riku stood in front of the brunette and held out his hand, smiling gently. "Come on," he said. "I'll help you. Just loosen up."

Sora nodded, his sulking mood having passed. He gripped Riku's offered hand and let the boy pull him away from the wall. Gliding down the ice a ways, Riku pulled his friend along behind him. And everything felt right. The strobe lights bounced off of the pristine sheet littered with snowy shavings, the temperature cold but not uncomfortably so; just enough to give one a chill. Personally, Riku favored the cold, so he had no problem with the setting.

Sora was still wobbly, however. Riku pulled the boy beside him and spoke in his ear, "Shift your weight from one foot to the other, and push your leg out behind you as you go." Briefly he demonstrated, still holding Sora's hand. He didn't want to let it go, anyway.

Sora tried what Riku had instructed, and promptly teetered on his skates, almost falling as another child zoomed past him. Riku scowled uselessly at the person's shrinking figure before returning his attention to the task at hand. Sora had regained his balance.

"Like this, Riku?" he asked, skating forward a pace before stumbling again.

Riku laughed genially. "Almost." Seeing a window of opportunity, he moved behind the brunette and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, holding him close. Suddenly, the chill fled his person entirely, as if it were never there. Perhaps it was going to report to the stars. He again spoke in Sora's ear, this time with more of a whisper. "Like this." He nudged Sora forward as Sora tried to push his feet like Riku had said to.

Sora promptly slipped backwards, knocking both himself and Riku to the ground.

Sora scrambled to get up, frantically muttering apologies, as Riku lay on the ice, just a bit winded. Just a bit. Sora held out his hand and helped Riku up, still apologizing. Riku blinked at his friend as he brushed the ice off of his back and then started to laugh. "Sora, c-calm down," he managed between spurts of laughter. "It's okay; everyone falls."

Sora blushed. "But not you."

"Only when someone knocks me down," Riku pointed out, poking fun at his friend. Sora made a face, sticking his tongue out at the platinum-haired boy. Oh, what I'd like to do with that tongue… briefly crossed Riku's mind. He expelled the thought with a shake of his head and took Sora's arm again. "Come on," he said. "You almost had it."

A new song started up, one with a lighthearted tune and air of innocent love.

"These words are my own."

"Threw some chords together,
The combination D-E-F,
Is who I am, is what I do,
And I was gonna lay it down for you.
Try to focus my attention,
But I feel so A-D-D.
I need some help, some inspiration,
(But it's not coming easily)
Whoa oh..."

Sora began to stumble again, but Riku grasped his waist and held him steady. Sora leaned into his friend to find his balance, and once regained, he started to get the hang of ice skating. The chill of the rink nipped playfully at Sora's cheeks, tingeing them with a pink that Riku thought was just completely adorable. Then again, Sora was always adorable. Especially in Riku's eyes.

"Trying to find the magic,
Trying to write a classic,
Don't you know, don't you know, don't you know?
Waste-bin full of paper,
Clever rhymes, see you later."

Riku's hand slid from the brunette's waist to entwine their fingers, alternately pulling each other along. Nothing had ever felt so perfect. Riku smiled gently, gliding along the ice with ease, Sora beside him. Together they weaved through the crowd in perfect harmony.

"These words are my own,
From my heart flow.
I love you I love you I love you I love you.
There's no other way,
To better say,
I love you, I love you..."

The constant laughter of the surrounding people mingled in the air with the music, the colored lights flitting from face to face, illuminating the area along with the glow of the upstairs cafeteria that overlooked the rink. Riku couldn't help but note how warm Sora's hand felt in his, as if they were molded to fit together. No one else's, Riku thought. His hand will fit with no one else's. Possessive, perhaps, but that was what crossed Riku's mind.

"Read some Byron, Shelly, and Keats,
Recited it over a hip-hop beat.
I'm having trouble saying what I mean,
With dead poets and drum machines.
I know I had some studio time booked,
But I couldn't find a killer hook.
Now you've gone and raised the bar right up,
Nothing I write is ever good enough."

"Whoa!" Sora gasped as another irritating eight-year-old blur breezed by them, nearly bumping into Sora and only missing him by a hair's breadth. Riku felt the brunette lean into him again and sighed as the latch on the cage in his stomach was flicked, releasing the black-striped monarchs fluttering around inside. Perhaps there was a Karner blue butterfly in the flock, as well, but Riku wasn't sure. Whatever they were, they were quickly making him lose track of himself.

"These words are my own,
From my heart flow.
I love you I love you I love you I love you.
There's no other way,
To better say,
I love you, I love you..."


And of Sora. Riku glanced up to find the brunette on his back. He sat up, rubbing his abused behind. "Why'd you let go, Riku?" Sora whined. Riku blinked. When had this happened? Stupid butterflies. Oh well; they were gone now. Probably ran off with the chill to report to the stars.

"Sorry," Riku muttered, helping the boy again to his feet. He aided Sora in brushing the rest of the ice off of the younger boy's back, his hand straying precariously close to the brunette's rear. He almost blushed again. Almost. But Riku wasn't one to blush, and so he didn't. "I zoned out there, for a second."

Sora pouted for the second time that night. "Don't let it happen again; I'm going to get run over!" Sora waved his hands about to emphasize his point, only to nearly fall again. But Riku caught him this time; Riku would always be there to catch him.

"I'm getting off my stage,
The curtains pull away.
No hyperbole to hide behind,
My naked soul exposes.
Whoa… oh… oh… oh… Whoa… oh…"

They skated another lap around the rink. Sora was still gathering his bearings, but he was improving. Riku was almost crestfallen at the thought of Sora not stumbling all over him anymore; he'd rather enjoyed it, despite the inevitable pain that entailed, what with being sandwiched between Sora and the ice, being knocked on his behind, being bumped into, etcetera. It was definitely worth it. If only you knew, Sora. Riku cast his friend a sidelong glance, any dejection he'd been feeling immediately dissolving at the brunette's carefree grin. If Sora was happy, Riku was happy.

"Trying to find the magic,
Trying to write a classic,
Waste-bin full of paper,
Clever rhymes, see you later."

"Agh!" Sora teetered yet again, practically shoving Riku into the wall. Riku unceremoniously fell back against it, his shoulder smacking into the glass upper half. He winced, but any imminent soreness was quickly ignored as Riku realized that Sora had his face buried in Riku's chest, his arms clutching the older boy's waist tightly. He tentatively glanced up, a healthy blush painting his heart-shaped face. "S-Sorry," he muttered. Riku wondered how Sora could have fallen so randomly like that and began to suspect that perhaps it hadn't been an accident. But then again, he was probably just reading too much into it.

"These words are my own,
From my heart flow.
I love you I love you I love you I love you."

"Come on," Riku said, straightening as Sora regained his balance. "Let's get something to eat."

Sora grinned, nodding ardently. "Okay!"

Riku laced his fingers in Sora's and, together, they skated off the ice, their skates clacking across the stairs as they ascended to the cafeteria. The butterflies, the chill, and the stars watched through the windows at this spectacle, laughing at their own private joke. These would prove to be the most beautiful flowers of them all, perhaps, beautiful enough to rival those of Eden. Perhaps.

"That's all I got to say,
Can't think of a better way,
And that's all I've got to say,"

The last line faded into the distance as Riku closed the glass door of the cafeteria behind him.

"I love you, is that okay?"

-End-

xoXoXox

xoXoXox

A/N: Even though she'll probably never read this (as she's not a particular fan of RikuxSora), happy birthday, Yoona:)

xoXoXox