"Sora!" Riku shouts. I try to look for him but I can barely keep them open with the smoke stinging them. I groan in pain, moving the slightest inch cause the burns to flare in pain. A violent cough erupts from me as I shout his name.
The flames engulfed my house at this point, a blazing inferno. The air is full of smoke you can't see anything and can barely breathe.
It's just a matter of time before it collapses in on itself.
Riku bursts through the door of my bedroom, sees me, and rushes over.
"It hurts, Riku..." My throat aches and I can barely do more than whisper.
"Come on, Sora." He says, his tone urgent. He then picks me up and starts to run. I don't know where we are going, at this point I want nothing more than to close my eyes and sleep.
I can hear the distant voice of my mom. A new pair of hands grab onto me, their skin abnormally warm.
"Oh, my baby!" She cries.
"Monica, he needs a hospital!" Riku yells, the volume irritates my ears and makes my head throb.
I groan loudly in pain. The pain is so awful I can barely keep myself from thinking of nothing more than being numb. Someone squeezes my hand as I am being unloaded onto something.
"It's alright Sora, we are on our way to the hospital. You're going to be fine."
Riku? I don't remember him being here. Wait, he's the one who got me out of the house. God, if I can barely remember that. Fatigue suddenly consumes me. It takes everything in me to keep my eyes open.
If... No...
Maybe it would be okay to close them... Just for a bit.
"NO! Sora stay with me! Please! I love you..." Riku's voice fades as the world goes black around me.
888
I bolt up gasping for breath. sweat drenching my entire body. Damn it, why do I keep dreaming about that night? It's been years...
I was what, eighteen when the fire happened? It all seems like a dream... Well, more like a nightmare really. The most difficult part of it all is even though I keep dreaming about that night, I can barely remember any of it once I wake up. I remember what I feel; pain and fear.
I remember the heat, the panic, and the one thought that races through my mind; I am going to die here...
I do remember, although faintly, that Riku was there. I hear his voice fading in the back ground every time I wake up. Always the same three words; I love you... But it has to be wishful thinking. Or my mind made it up as a way to cope with the pain...
Riku doesn't feel that way for me, he can't.
Sighing, I get up out of the bed and head towards the living room.
Here I am, twenty-three years old, and I still lack the courage to tell my best friend that I am madly in love with him. Have been for years, since I realized I was gay really. Which was a few months before I became the Keyblade Wielder. Being fourteen and having a gay crisis over your best friend is a trip, I can tell you that.
I had a lot of fantasies about Riku. Fantasies that would make me beet red at the worst of times. His smile, his laugh, even his hands would make my thoughts go dirty at very inconvenient times.
To make it even worse, no one at the time even know about my being gay, so I had to keep my thoughts to myself. Couldn't confide in anyone...
The only ones who even know now are Donald and Goofy, and that was only because we traveled together for months on end to places that weren't my island. We live in such a close-knit town where everybody knows everybody and I didn't want to risk telling my friends and family just to keep everyone from knowing. I love this town, and I love the people in it but they are horrible gossipers.
I know my mom and dad would accept me for who I am, my friends too. But even if they never told a soul, everyone would find out somehow.
I sigh heavily, rubbing my temples in a soothing motion and I plop down on the couch in my living room. I look at the clock that is hanging on my wall, it's eight in the morning. Which means Riku and Kairi will be here soon.
Ugh.
Don't get me wrong, I love hanging out with them but for the past past few weeks they have been a constant thorn in my side. Normally I would relish the company what with how busy we all are with our jobs. But the nightmares being stacked on top of my feelings for him... It has led to nothing but stress.
Suddenly, there is knocking on the front door of my apartment.
"Sora, let us in!" Kairi exclaims. I sigh, heading to the door and opening up to see them holding hands.
A sharp ache slams into my chest.
When Riku and I returned to Destiny Islands Kairi ended up telling me how she felt about me. The awkwardness that followed the moment still makes me cringe...
I didn't feel the same way about her and just as I was about to put my foot in the mouth Riku ran over to ask me what flavor of ice cream I want from the ice cream truck. I can't even tell you how much relief coursed through as he convinced Kairi to come help him carry the ice cream into the house.
However, I spent the following month deflecting and distracting her. She eventually had enough and demanded that I tell her if I feel anymore more for her than just friendship.
In that moment I wanted nothing more than Goofy's shield as I told her I only saw her as a friend. To my surprise however, she just shrugged it off, claiming that it wasn't the end of the world if I didn't like her like that.
She just wanted to know if her feelings were reciprocated or not, and now that she knows she will let it go. She told me a little over a month and a half ago that she now has interest in Riku, of all people.
Riku must have felt the same because they have been dating for a month now.
I walk back over to the couch with them behind me, and turn on the TV. "Will you turn it up?" Riku asks.
"Sure."
888
We are only thirty minutes into the movie when Kairi jumps up off the couch.
"I'm going home." She says. Riku and I both bid her a goodbye and continue to watch the movie. Kairi just rolls her eyes at us and heads out.
We then spend several more minutes in a very awkward silence.
"So..." Riku starts.
"What?" I peek at him through the corner of my eye, trying to contain the blush that wants to cover my face.
"Like what you see?" He asks teasingly. My eyes widen and I turn toward the TV again. My cheeks no doubt look like a cherry tomato, I can feel them burning as if they are.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to stare..." I bite my lip, fidgeting in my seat nervously.
"Sora." He says, his voice gentle.
I turn to him only to see he has moved close enough to me for our lips to almost touch. I gasp quietly, my stomach turning in knots.
''Y-yeah?" I ask.
He just chuckles. "It's so cute when you stutter." He says quietly before touching his lips to mine. I don't have time to respond before he pulls away.
"What was that?" Shock coloring my voice. He strokes my cheek.
"What do you think that was?"
"B-but you have a girlfriend! Kairi is your girlfriend!"
Riku rolls his eyes, and sighs. "You are so gullible."
''What?!" I yell angrily, pushing him off of me. He leans back on the couch arm and stares at me lazily.
"Kairi aren't really together, we just pretended like it."
''Why?!"
"To make you jealous. That's why."
My eyes widen. "To...make me jealous?" I ask weakly. "But why?!"
Riku grabs my shoulders. "This is why." He kisses me again but more force. Whimpering, I wrap my arms around his shoulders, deepening the kiss. He starts to lick and nibble my bottom lip. I part them and his tongue roams over every inch of my mouth. Within seconds our tongues are tangling for dominance in the kiss.
Riku wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me on top of him. I run my fingers through his hair, sucking his tongue as he grinds our lower halves together.
Moans pour from both our mouths. The little zings of arousal that are soaring through my veins are becoming unbearable. "Riku!" I gasp as his lips move down my neck. "R-Riku... I don't want this to happen on a couch."
Riku picks me up, bridal style, as soon as those words come out of my mouth and takes us to my bedroom.
"Seriously?'' I ask. Riku chuckles before tossing me on the bed.
"Take your clothes off." He commands. My groin throbs in response. I can tell you that I have never taken my clothes off as fast as I am in this moment. Riku smiles, and takes off his clothes in a similar fashion; fast and hastily.
As soon as our clothes are off, he joins me on the bed grabbing me into a tight embrace and starts kissing me again. The full-on skin to skin contacting is sharpening the arousal in my gut.
~Fades to Black~
"That was..." I can't even form words to describe it.
"Yeah." He agrees. After a few seconds, he speaks again. ''You were amazing."
I blush, covering my face in his neck. ''You weren't that bad." I say in response. We both chuckle and spend several minutes in silence before I remember what was said before this all happened.
"So, you and Kairi aren't together? Really?" Riku nods. "Why the deceit then? You could have talked to me."
He sighs heavily. "And what? Risk having you avoid me like you did with Kairi?"
I mutter. "That was different and you know it..."
He sighs. "Can we please just forget about it? You know the truth now."
"Did she know about this?" I ask, completely ignoring him.
"She's the one who planned this whole thing. She said she was tired of pretending she was in love with me and if I didn't let you know pretty soon, she would go all keyblade master and whip my ass." I smirk. That does sound like something she'd say.
I snuggle closer into his chest. "You are lucky that I love you, otherwise I wouldn't forgive you so easily."
"Sora, you once forgave Donald for turning you into a goldfish."
"It was an accident!"
"He left you like that for a week! How on earth was that an accident!"
"You heard him! He didn't know what spell turned me in the first place, let alone how to turn me back!"
"You better be glad I love you, otherwise I wouldn't put up with your naivety." He says, his voice teasing.
"Please, you put up with me when were kids. Even if we didn't feel this way for each other you would still put up with me."
He smiles at me, love in his eyes. "That is true."
The End~