Too Much

Riku glanced up from his boat, shielding his eyes a bit from the bright midnight moonlight. Though the canopy of palm trees filtered it a bit, there was still enough brightness to make him squint.

Being back on the islands after so much time in darkness… It was strange. Foreign. Yet… Strangely peaceful.

His eyes shifted away from the moonlight and over to the boat he had parked against. He frowned. Sora was never up this late. Not unless there was a storm keeping him awake; tonight was completely void of clouds.

Frown deepening, Riku climbed out of the wooden boat and made his way across the dock. He began to quickly check the places he knew Sora usually hung out: the pond, the beach shack, even the back of the island cliff, where they had once raced each day as kids. There was no sign of the spiky brunette. Riku, becoming increasingly worried, checked the top deck where Tidus used to practice his swordsmanship. He scoured the sand for footprints other than his, having no luck. He even went as far as to walk the perimeter of the island looking for his best friend. Nothing.

That left just one place.

Riku grimaced as he approached the opening for the secret place. The weeds seemed to bore down at him, swaying tauntingly in the gentle breeze, daring him to walk past. Riku had never once tried to enter the secret place. Not after he had opened the door to darkness the first time… The day their journey had began.

But this was the only other place Sora could be. And Riku had to find his missing friend. Sora was his responsibility to watch, after all.

Trembling only a little, Riku pushed the weeds aside and briskly walked into the secret place.

There was Sora, kneeling on the ground in front of a crude drawing on the far wall. He showed his back to Riku, but the silver haired boy could see him tracing the lines of a sketched girl. As Riku approached, he could see the rest of the drawing: a boy, facing the girl, feeding her a paopu fruit. Across, the girl was doing the same. The drawings obviously resembled Sora and Kairi.

Riku sighed. Of course Sora would be here, after their argument.

Sora flinched, and as the brunette turned, Riku wasn't surprised to see those cerulean eyes filled with tears. Sora had always been so sensitive. It seemed not even the events of their latest journey had changed that. It was one of the things that made Sora, well, Sora, after all. Riku gave him a bit of a smile. "Thought I'd find you here."

Sora quickly wiped his eyes. "Yeah... "

Riku waited. When the brunette didn't continue, he approached, taking a seat directly beside him. He raised a hand, smirking as he touched the drawing of Sora. "Jeez. When did you guys make these? When you were six?"

Sora mumbled, "we were eight. You've seen them before, remember?"

"Not really," Riku shrugged. "I've kind of blocked this place from my memory."

Sora seemed to have no answer to that. Instead, he changed subjects. "Riku… Do you think I'm annoying?"

Riku blinked, thrown a bit by the question. Sure, Sora had a few… annoying qualities about him. The brunette talked a lot, for starters. And he was almost too innocent. For a seventeen year old, you couldn't talk to him much about "adult" things. Sora could also be a bit irrational, which could sometimes get him into trouble. There was also the crying thing, but that tied in with the innocence. But to call Sora, his whole person, annoying? Riku probably wouldn't go that far.

The silver haired teen shook his head. "Why would you think that?" He glanced over at the boy, who was once again fixated on the drawing of Kairi, already knowing the answer.

It took the brunette a few moments to confirm. "Well… Kairi called me annoying. She's never called me that before."

Riku had to resist the urge to roll his eyes. "C'mon, man. Kairi's probably just in one of her moods. You know how she can get-"

Sora cut him off, eyes shining once more with tears. "No, Riku. She meant it. Kairi can say some mean things, but she always apologizes afterwards. But this time, her eyes were so angry. She's never looked at me like that before. And she didn't apologize after, either."

Riku took a moment to stare at his friend. Ever since the two had officially declared their relationship, they had had some arguments and a couple full blown fights, but they never lasted long. The two were have Kairi legitimately angry with Sora wasn't good.

He was about to ask what the brunette had done, when said brunette cut him off again. "So, Riku, do you think I'm annoying?" Those cerulean eyes searched frantically for an answer, looking just the tiniest bit hopeful.

Riku stared back evenly with his emerald ones, deciding to answer honestly. He shrugged his shoulders, moving his eyes back to the drawings. "Well, Sora, you talk a bunch. You're almost too enthusiastic sometimes. And sometimes your maturity can be questioned…"

He broke off to side-glance in his friend's direction. Sora looked on in horror, looking ready to completely break down, and Riku decided it was time to get to the point. "Let me finish."

"No, you've said enou-"

"I said let me finish," Riku firmly commanded, pausing until Sora quieted and sat back down, hugging his knees. RIku continued on. "You may do some things that could be considered annoying. But are you annoying? I wouldn't say so." He grinned. "Nah. Think about it. If you were really annoying, do you think I would have hung around you this long? I did have other friends on the mainland. And if you were really were annoying, do you think that Kairi would have agreed to be your girlfriend in the first place? She's picky. We both know that."

Sora snorted lightly. "Yeah. I still can't believe she held out so many years for me to come home. Turning down so many guys on the mainland must have been difficult… Some of those guys are really good looking."

Riku smirked. "Don't sell yourself short, spiky."

Sora managed a tight smile, which faded as he traced Kairi's drawing once more. "I'm camping out in the beach house tonight. I figure she wants a little space." A sudden grin surprised Riku as the brunette turned to him, eyes flashing mischievously. "You know what that means?"

It took a moment for it to register, and Riku groaned. "Aw, no."

Sora smirked. "Yep. Sleepover!"

Riku was really starting to regret his promise to the King to not let Sora out of his sight. "You know I don't have to be there, I just need to know where you are at all times."

Sora stood up, shrugging and putting his hands behind his head. "Yeah, but a sleepover is more fun. Come on!" The brunette began to head towards the entrance of the secret place, his worries temporarily forgotten.

Riku stood heavily and followed, pondering the chain of events that had just happened.

Yeah, Sora could talk a lot, and sometimes be a bit too enthusiastic.

But it would never be "too much."

AN: This is a re-upload of the same one-shot I posted last night. After a scandalized review, I realize that my intentions in this story were not correctly received by readers, and took it down to edit the ending so I could hopefully express my intentions correctly. I apologize for any negativity that may have been incorrectly perceived by prior readers, and apologize for any offense I may have caused. In my defense, I wrote the first draft within 20 minutes, at midnight, after having no sleep. I read the angry review at around 2:30 AM that night, and decided that taking the story down until I could edit it was the best course of action. Once more, I apologize for any offense I may have caused prior to the update.

This story was inspired by a tumblr post that was posted to my Facebook feed. Remember that none of you are ever "too much." You have people out there that will listen to you, and will support you no matter what. You can never be annoying to your real friends, and there is always someone that shares your interests, even if they don't seem to be apparent. Keep strong, and always be proud of your interests and yourselves.

- EA