Empty Words

It was Monday evening when Riku received a surprise visit from a certain somebody. The twenty-two year old had his own apartment in Bodhum. He lived by himself, naturally. He didn't have a significant other, and his parents were from The City of Dreams. This was where Riku chose to live his life; there was something about the beach that was very comforting and familiar to him. And the girl he talked to at the party, Light…He hadn't been able to get her off his mind. She was different from the other girls in Bodhum.

He heard somebody pound on his door, the young man snapping out of his daze as he pushed himself off the couch. He wasn't expecting anyone, so he briefly wondered who was on the other side of the dor. Regardless, he walked to the door in his jeans and navy-blue T-shirt and opened it up. He was surprised at who he saw on the other side of the door. "Light?"

Light wasn't the same as he saw her the other night. Her expression wasn't kind; it was irritated. Angry. She hmphed, lifting a hand and pushing Riku's chest roughly. He stumbled back as she let herself into the apartment, his expression confused. "Light, what's wrong?" And how did you find out where I live?

"Oh, I think you know exactly what's wrong," Lightning said through her teeth, glaring at Riku as she shut the door behind her.

"Um…no?" Riku asked with an arched brow. He folded his arms over his chest, looking at Lightning. "What's up?"

"You, that's what's up." She glared at him, eyes harsh. "You forgot to mention the other night that you were a part of PSICOM."

That's it? "I didn't think it was that big of a deal," he said honestly, shrugging a little bit. So what if he was a soldier for PSICOM? He knew that his branch of the military was rivaled with Lightning's, but that didn't make a difference to him. His position in the military didn't define him. He defined himself.

"Stop acting so clueless!" Lightning scolded. "This is serious."

"I can't help but act clueless when I have no idea what you're accusing me of," Riku said tightly. "Start from the beginning."

"Alright, fine," she said with a huff, staring across the living room. "When I came into work today, I was called in to see my boss, Lieutenant Amador. He said he heard I was talking badly about him and my other superiors. He said it came from a member of PSICOM, and the only person I talked to from PSICOM about the issues was you."

Riku's eyes narrowed. "So you think I ratted on you," he summed up.

"Not think. Know," Lightning said. Her eyes were narrowed, showing viciousness as she glared up at Riku. "How dare you go and ruin everything like that, after hearing how hard I've worked to get where I am today? How heartless can you be?"

"I didn't do it! I swear, I wouldn't!"

"Don't you dare lie to my face!" Light cried. She lifted a hand to slap Riku, but his reflexes were just as quick as her temper was. He caught her hand by the wrist, stopping it completely.

"I'm not lying," he said lowly, staring at Light's enraged face more calmly. "There's no way I could have. You said your boss talked to you about this today, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well I was in Nautilus all day today visiting my parents. I couldn't have spoken to your boss. Heck, I don't even know who your boss is. You were careful not to use names the other night."

Light was silent, taking in Riku's logic. He didn't release her wrist and she didn't tear it away, her pale blue eyes locked onto his greenish-blues. Even she had to admit that the logic made sense. Riku didn't know the infrastructure of the Guardian Corps. But… "But you were the only person I talked to about work last night, and we were outside," she said, her rationality coming through instead of pure anger. "Nobody could have overheard."

"I doubt that," Riku said, thinking on his feet. "Think about it. We went outside to avoid dancing. What if somebody else was already outside and listening?"

"But who would listen in, and who would want to rat me out?"

"…You tell me," he said after a moment. "Was there anyone at the party who doesn't like you?"

Lightning lowered her gaze to Riku's chest, eyebrows furrowed in seriousness. He could tell that she wasn't staring at his muscles, though he almost wished that she was. Instead, she was just staring at what was within her sight as she tried to sort this out.

After a few moments, she spoke up, though her voice was soft. "There was nobody from the Corps at the party that I don't trust with my life," she said.

"Anybody from NORA out to get you? PSICOM?"

"No, no…" Light's eyes flashed so they were wide open. She realized something. "Yes."

"Yes to which one?" Riku asked with an arched brow.

"PSICOM. I thought I saw Cid Raines at the party."

"Raines? He seems like a nice enough guy to me…" Riku met him before, multiple times. He was the boss of Riku's boss. He seemed very tactically minded, not emotional. What would compel him to rat out Lightning when she didn't even say anything very bad?

"You don't understand," Lightning said, finally lowering her hand back to her side as Riku released her wrist. "Raines was my instructor at the Academy. He tried everything within his power to get me to join PSICOM, but I didn't agree with all their policies so I joined the Corps. Ever since then, he's held a grudge."

"So it's revenge that drove him to squeal on you."

"Not necessarily." Lightning started pacing, piecing the issues together in her mind. "It's possible that he either wants me to hate the Corps more or get fired and join PSICOM. I heard rumors that he was trying to take G.C. members along with his most elite soldiers in PSICOM to create his own super-team."

Riku hmphed, a small smirk appearing on his lips as he tried to break the tension in the room. "If he's creating a super-team, why didn't he ask me?"

"Ignoring that," Light said, still pacing.

"I think I'll ignore it too," Riku said in seriousness, seeing that Light wasn't up for jokes yet. "So now that we know who ratted you out, what can we do?"

"Nothing."

Riku blinked.

"I'm already on the bad side of Lieutenant Amador because of the rumor. It'll be even worse when Raines brings in the recording that he apparently has to prove my crime," Light stated, stopping walking as she looked at Riku.

He was surprised at her expression, which was stoic. She was wearing a mask to cover up the frustration now that she knew that nothing could be done. Or so she thought. Why couldn't something be done to fix this? "That's it, then?" he asked. "You're giving up just like that?"

"Not giving up," she said. "Just letting Raines play his politics this time. I won't fall into his traps again."

I guess, that's smart, Riku thought, studying Light. She was already in trouble for what she said the other night, even if none of it was too terrible. She was just frustrated and venting. Wasn't she allowed to do that? It seemed unfair to him, but now he realized he needed to be careful as well. He didn't want to open his mouth and say something that he would regret.

"Riku," Light said, getting his attention as she stepped forward so she was right in front of him. "Thanks for helping me sort it out. And sorry for blaming you. I was wrong."

Riku nodded faintly in response to her, gazing at her for another moment longer before she turned and started towards the door. He opened his mouth and spoke despite his thoughts just a moment ago about not saying something he'd regret. But he didn't think he'd regret this. "Light, wait," he said when her hand was on the handle. She did as he asked, turning around to face him. "…I know I didn't cause this, but I'll make it right."

Light only laughed, shaking her head as she put a hand on her hip. She didn't take him seriously. "Leave it," she said. "It doesn't matter."

"Yes it does. You're not fooling me."

For some reason, Lightning looked surprised. Apparently people didn't see through her too often. "Look, I appreciate the offer," she said after a moment. "But whatever your plans are, they'll fall through, and I'll be left with another empty promise."

"These aren't empty words, Light," Riku said sincerely, taking a small step forward. "…But I see you won't believe me until I follow through." That was okay though, because he would follow through. He wouldn't leave her with another empty promise.

"Why would you want to follow through though? Sticking your nose where it belongs isn't a smart move when you're in the military."

This time, it was Riku's turn to laugh, though the laugh was a little bitter. "Probably right," he agreed. "But after this is done, you'll be in my debt."

"Ha," Light laughed, setting a hand on her hip. "Great. Because that's a place where I want to be," she said sarcastically.

"Don't worry, my request isn't unreasonable," he said, lifting a hand slightly to motion that he wasn't going to go over the top. Or maybe this was extremely over the top. He didn't know. "…One date."

Lightning blinked, her reaction more surprised than anything else. "What?"

"A date," he repeated, though he knew she heard him the first time. "If my words are empty like you think they are, then you've got nothing to worry about."

She studied him further, trying to figure him out, clearly. He was being sincere though; he…he liked Lightning. She made him feel happy, and that was what he really wanted in life. Happiness.

"Alright," she finally said. "You've got yourself a deal." She turned the handle on the door and finally stepped out, leaving Riku alone to his thoughts.

Now that he knew who caused Light's hassle at work, he just had to find some way to fix this. And he would definitely do just that, because he wanted to prove to Light that he wasn't another person who would continuously give her empty words and empty promises. But in order for her to see that, they at least needed to speak again in private, without work in the equation. A date was the only way he could think to accomplish that. And when he was completely honest with himself, he realized he was ecstatic that she didn't turn him down flat. He would take advantage of the situation.

He would set things right.