DISCLAIMER - I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

WARNING - Homosexuality

RANT- This story was inspired by a song called "Linger" by the Cranberries. Its only a partial song fic, since it isn't circled around the song. A few lyrics from it are just sung a few times by one of the characters, and only at the beginning. This song doesn't have anything to do with the story, but it's just the way it sounds and the way it's sung that makes me wanna dance in the rain... Which I've done before, and to this song.

Enjoy?

"Dammit… Why does this keep happening to me?"

Riku Mizuru was running as fast as he could to avoid the oncoming rain that attacked his body and sweat jacket in a merciless assault. He had taken his coat off just as it began to sprinkle in order to carry it over his head to try to keep his hair dry, due to being horribly susceptible to colds, but alas... The jacket, not being water proof, had fallen victim just as every other inch of Riku's clothes had- now nothing more then just a useless rag that hung over Riku's clenching palms.

Riku began looking about frantically, coming to the slow realization that he had no idea where he was.

Ugh... I don't recognize any of these buildings! I should have paid more attention to where we were going when Kairi drove me in here...

The whole district was a jumble of broken houses and yards. Below his feet was a mix of concrete and grass which spread all across the district, making it impossible to tell if he was still on the street or in a front lawn.

If Kairi finds out I got lost again, I'll never hear the end of it... Mizuru thought bitterly, never having cared for that girl's speeches on his sense of direction. The poor male shivered a little more violently, feeling his nose begin to drip.

"Hmm..." Riku's frantic running slowed down carefully to a light trot. Maybe I'm just panicking... or maybe it's the flu finally setting in... But there's something odd about this area.

Looking around, he had a rather forboding sense of being watched. Not just from a particular spot or only one set of eyes... But from everywhere, from everything. The forgoten stones, mossy fences, wild plants, and even the dead grasses.

That's just dumb to think that way. I don't have time for that kind of nonsense! Riku thought, before giving a rather indifferent look to a small bush that desperately needed to be trimmed. He dismissed his thoughts, looking instead for any street signs he could find as he kept trudging through the thin layers of mud growing beneath his now soaked, dirty sneakers.

Why did I let Kairi drag me to that party again? ... Ugh… How many times do I have to tell her I hate being in large groups until she gets it? And what a weird place to have a party. This district isn't fit to house mice, much less be party central. Riku sighed to himself, blowing some water off his lips. Then again, with all the illegal things going on in there, a warehouse in the middle of no where is probably the best place to have a party.

A particularly large drop of water had just caught Riku in the eye, making it sting immediately. He had looked up to examine just how thick the clouds were and immediately regretted it.

Grr... Why does Kairi even hang out with those people anyway? She hates drugs. And everyone there was an idiot. Bunch of brain dead weasels... I can't even stand watching them breathe, much less want to hear their drunken rants of nothing... Riku finally gave up on his jacket, just tossing the wet thing over his shoulder as he continud to look around and wander. Not to mention the girls there were so skimpy. Much more boob, ass, and slutty behavior then I could ever want.

The rain didn't seem to be letting up any time soon either. There were only some thin trees available for hiding under and the houses in the broken neighborhood looked ready to crumble at any second, so seeking shelter was a waste of time.

"Dammit… why me?" He muttered to himself.

It was only something like twenty minutes later, feeling closer to a few hours, when honest panic began to set in. The sun was already getting rather low to the ground, meaning sunset was approaching. Riku had hoped to find his way out before dark. Riku stopped running completely and desperately looked around for a sign of some kind. Anything to tell him where he was and where he should be going in order to get home. When not even a street sign could be seen, it began to look more and more impossible, as if he would be stranded there forever.

Riku frowned deeply as he stared on through the thick curtain of water, his feet moving once again. He couldn't pout or cry, he was too manly for either, but he certainly wasn't above growling like a dog in frustration. Which he did, and it was a low menacing growl at that.

There's no point getting mad... Riku sighed heavily, the growling ceasing. And to think, people call rainfall peaceful.

That's when the faint sound of footsteps on damp grass came wandering to his wet ears. He stopped in his tracks, jerking to stare straight in the direction of the noise. There was indeed someone there, moving about in a wild hurricane of blurry arms and legs. They might have been humming something, but Riku couldn't hear them well enough over the rain to know. Not that the flat, annoyed look on his face showed any indication of caring. He looked again, taking into account their strange body fluctuations.

What the hell? Is that guy... dancing? Great, I'm going to have to rely on some demented romantic for directions. Riku looked around one more time to make sure he had no other options, before moving cautiously closer until he was just a few feet away. Maybe he's one of the drunks from the party?

"Um... excuse me!" Riku began politely, having to yell to be heard over the rain. The man still didn't seem to hear him, however, so he tried again much louder. "Excuse me!"

From what he could see, the dancer or drunk was a male with dark-brunet locks, his hair flattened due to the rain. He had his eyes closed, blissfully unaware of another presence.

He at least looks my age... and he's no bigger then me, so I can take him if he causes trouble.

The brunet just continued to fly about in his own little world, twisting and turning his body in every direction it would go. He seemed to be circling around a white, moldy fountain depicting the statue of a baby cupid that seemed to be spitting a green ooze down its boyish chin. The water in the little bowl was yellow, egg infested, and filled with soggy leaves that floated in slimy chunks along the surface. Riku wrinkled his nose at it.

Just how many insects are living in that decrepit thing? Disgusting...

Riku turned his eyes from the fountain and back to the young man as heard the footsteps stop. Whoever it was had stepped in rather close while the teen hadn't been paying attention, barely half a foot away now. Riku's eyes widened considerably as he peered through his soaked, silver bangs to see a pair of lips forming into a silly smile.

"I need directions." Riku stated casually, looking as indifferent as possible after the shock.

The brunet's smile had grown into a full blown, toothy grin, as if Riku had said something wonderful to him. The brunet took another step forward, quickly grabbing Riku's wrists in a firm grip, making Riku's jacket drop onto the ground as he was pulled forward suddenly.

"Let me go, you psycho!" Riku yelled, trying to kick furiously at the other's legs, which was difficult. The brunet had begun twirling their bodies about, jerking Riku in different directions so fast and so much that he even relied on the grip holding his wrists to keep from falling into the muddy ground.

Yeah, this is what I need at the moment. "I said let- " Riku glared up to his captor's face, catching sight for the first time on a pair of bright, friendly eyes. They seemed to dance merrily behind his thick lashes, offering comfort and warmth from the cold air. They were the most exotic color of blue...

No other blue like it in the world, Riku had subconciously decided. A feeling of calm suddenly engulfed him as the brunet stared back. It was then that he knew he wasn't being attacked or being dragged away somewhere for something awful to happen. The brunet had been dancing with him around the same cupid fountain. He still was, though they had slowed and calmed down considerably.

Riku didn't bother to notice anything else about the brunet, or rather he couldn't. He was caught in that magnetizing gaze of deep blue. Riku let himself be dragged in a bad slow dance as he stared into those beautiful eyes, eyes that stared back with the same feeling of awe.

That's when Riku heard it, seriously heard the stranger's humming. It had begun again and grew louder and louder until the brunet was finally singing. Riku listened all too willingly to the most velvety voice he had ever heard. It made Riku think he might fall, and he might have done just that (face first, perhaps) had the brunet not brought himself closer. After wrapping his arms around Riku's shoulders to keep him steady, they continued to sway their hips and carefully move their feet in that same dance. Riku was on auto as his arms responded, taking the stranger by his waist and gripping there firmly. During their adjustment, their faces came closer and closer until they were only apart by a few inches. He could feel the brunet's warmth through his thin, red top, bringing life back to Riku's frosty fingers.

"If you… if you could return-

Don't let it burn, don't let it fade…

I'm sure I'm not being rude,

But it's just your attitude-

It's tearing me apart…

It's ruining everything…"

Riku closed his eyes some as his whole body seemed to relax under a warm light, despite all the cold, piercing rain that still poured down from the sky. The brunet moved in even closer, so much that their fronts were gripping together perfectly. They were like parts in a two piece puzzle, only whole when brought together.

"And I swore… I swore I would be true-

And honey so did you

So why were you holding her hand?

Is that the way we stand?

Were you lying all the time…?

Was it just a game to you?"

The stranger placed his forehead against Riku's as his eyes began to close, locked in that same light Riku was feeling. Now their lips were close enough for their breath to mingle, to combine as one as both their hearts moved at exactly the same beat.

"But I'm in so deep.

You know I'm such a fool for you...

You got me wrapped around your finger-

Do you have to let it linger?

Do you have to, do you have to-

Do you have to let it linger...?"

The stranger had slowly begun to stop singing, though he still moved with the teen secured in his lithe, though fit arms. Riku felt hazy as he squeezed the brunet in a light hug, wondering if he was just dreaming this all up. The scene around them even seemed more vivid and beautiful suddenly; the moss that grew everywhere became the landing for many little rainbows, bouncing between the white flowers that blossomed in the tiny green; the dead vines that were climbing up the front of the old, once white house they were standing before Riku could swear was put there just for them, every leaf glowing in gold; even the fountain seemed to become beautiful from this new point of veiw, looking antique instead of old and disgusting. There was grass and gravel crunching below their shoes, green breaking through the dismal gray that used to be a drive way long since abandoned to break apart. Wild flowers born from weeds bloomed all around this old front yard, in all the colors that nature could possibly give.

The last thing Riku came to notice, looking up as he was gently tickled by something that turned out to be a soft willow branch, was a gigantic tree. Riku hadn't even realized it was there before. It loomed over the scene almost protectively, covered in little pink blossoms as it hung over the little yard in gentle tangles of long, slender leaves and small, dangling branches. The tree looked to be growing into the side of the house, like it was born and raised just under the foundations, causing the house to tilt.

I feel so... so... at peace... I've never felt this way before. Everything seems so perfect, my head feels fuzzy... The dancing finally slowed until it halted to a gentle stop. Riku was staring deeply into those blue eyes again, feeling his cheeks burn red. It felt as if the world were sudden very fragile and might break should he even speak too loud. I don't want this to stop... Please, I don't want this feeling to go away. Even if... it has to.

Riku had his arms wrapped around the brunet's waist now, the two of them still wonderfully wrapped onto each other's bodies in that same firm, but gentle way. The figure Riku had once thought to be "demented" had moved his soft forehead away. Not far, just enough so that they weren't touching anymore. The brunet tilted his head, leaning forward toward Riku's quirving lips.

Riku shook from need, from the cold he had forgotten existed, as well as a deep rooted fear as foreign lips approached his own. The brunet noticed this and paused just before they touched, as if asking for permission. Without those blue eyes to keep Riku mesmerized, as the male had closed them to soft slits as he moved in for a kiss, Riku was able to jerk away.

"Let me go," Riku said in the saddest, most painful tone that he, himself, did not know he possessed. His body was instantly a hundred times colder then he had ever felt in his life once they seperated. He wouldn't even spare the brunet a fleeting glance, quickly jerking himself away and taking off as fast as he could, just barely able to retrieve his jacket from the ground as he stumbled over the lawn and under the large tree. The brunet watched as Riku ran past the house, past the tree, and down the road until a fence (which Riku jumped over like a monkey) caught in his line of vision. He was frowning sadly.

Riku began to slow down only when his lungs began to burn. He clutched his jacket in one hand, grabbing his knee with the other.

"Dammit dammit dammit..." Riku chanted to himself, gripping his eyes closed tight. The brunet and the odd house was far behind him and he was still incredibly lost.

"This is dumb..." He concluded, standing back up to his full height after he had finally caught his breath. "So fucking dumb…"

Riku gently wiped at his eyes before they could water too much, even if the tears wouldn't have shown from how wet he was if he had cried anyway. He sniffed in through his nose, frowning deeply at the ground. I'm not crying. It'd be stupid to get that emotional over a single moment with someone I just met. I'm just feeling fluish. That's all...

"... Dammit."

"Hey, there you are!"

Riku jerked around, noticing a familiar pink jeep. He sighed in relief, smiling at the girl he knew so well.

"Kairi! For once, I'm extremely glad to see you."

"Got lost again, eh? Somehow I knew you would." She stated smugly, chuckling at the state of her friend. "Decided to come look for you, knowing how hopeless you are without me."

Riku just nodded with a small smile and ran over to her vehicle, popping open the door and jumping in quickly.

"Just take me home. I'm wet, cold, and hungry…"

Read, review, no flames.