Author's Notes:
I'd like to thank all of you who reviewed! I was so pleased with all the responses. I wasn't sure what people were going to think of my creative liberties at the beginning by calling Riku a girl... when he's so obviously not.
Chapter Two: Bare-chested Rich Boy
-o-o-
"Since when are you a guy?!"
A single silver eyebrow rose in surprise, a smirk crossing Riku's handsome face. "You never saw me wearing any sundresses, did you?"
And as those words sank in, Sora's last chance at love and the little girl in his memory became something completely different. He took a moment to gawk and blink in disbelief, and during those few seconds, Riku's smirk faded into a solemn frown as he studied Sora's reaction.
"You mean," he began, his eyebrows drawing together as he spoke, "you actually thought I was a girl all these years?"
Sora's reply was immediate. "Yes!"
"I can't believe you're that dense," Riku forcefully sighed, his muscles tensing as he raked a hand through his hair and turned his green eyes to stare out the large window he was standing in front of.
A thick silence filled the warm air. Sora remained standing where he had dropped the box he had carried up, his wide blue eyes still trying to take in this new Riku before him. No, not new Riku... He (not she) had always been a boy? All those times when they went swimming, why didn't Sora ever wonder why 'she' wore swimming trunks, not a bathing suit? All those times when Riku was being picked on, why didn't Sora realize those boys were calling Riku a girl not because he was a girl, but because he was a boy?
This gorgeous, sweat-covered, half-naked epitome of all things sexy and perfect was his Riku?
And he was a boy?!
When Riku turned back around, Sora was still staring, his face filled with the kind of look a person has when he realizes that, for one, all of his memories of his childhood sweetheart were a lie; for two, his first kiss had been with a boy; for three, his love life was totally screwed over; for four, he found that the grown-up version of the boy was attractive; and for five, he was having indecent thoughts about that aforementioned grown-up version of the boy.
Thankfully, Riku didn't recognize the strange look on Sora's face, nor could he read minds, so Sora was safe from any interrogation. But something in Riku had changed; he seemed to have lost that spark or whatever it was he had when he had first greeted Sora with that tease about dropping the box. Now he looked disheartened as though his own hopes had just been crushed, just like Sora's hopes of ever finding a girlfriend had.
He has no reason to look so depressed! Sora silently huffed. It's not like his childhood sweetheart turned out to be a guy. Wait. I am a guy. Then...
"I used to be mistaken as a girl all the time back then," Riku said quietly, but even then it broke through Sora's thoughts before he could think any further. Sora opened his mouth to apologize, or say something at least to wipe that defeated look off Riku's face, but the older boy spoke again before he could. Raising his eyes to meet Sora's, he sighed, "So I don't blame you. It's not like I was trying to keep my gender a secret, but I didn't really flaunt it around either."
"Why not?" Sora asked, almost demanding.
Riku's eyes turned towards the window, wistful. "I guess I liked being seen as a boyish girl more than a girly boy. I didn't like being teased about how I looked, but when you did it, it was okay." He suddenly smiled again, a pure, light smile. "I guess it was because you were Sora, and nothing you ever said was bad."
That's right. Riku had never cried when Sora had teased him about being weak or girly. Sora almost found himself smiling back, but he caught himself just in time. If he smiled now, Riku would probably think he was a jerk. After all, he had just admitted that he hadn't truly known his best friend all along.
His eyes lowering in apology, he sighed, "I'm sorry for overreacting like that, Riku. I must seem like an asshole who only liked you because you were a girl."
"A little," Riku admitted, grinning at the appalled look Sora suddenly gave him for his blatant honesty. "But I can see how I gave you such a shock, so I forgive you. And I apologize for being such a disappointment to you. You must have come here, expecting me to be the same old Riku, ready to woo me."
Geh. So Riku had seen right through it!
"Well," Sora said, managing a short, silly laugh as he rubbed the back of his head, wondering how Riku had read him so well, "you haven't really changed... Except the whole crybaby girl, shorter-than-me and really adorable face things."
Riku raised an eyebrow at that as though he didn't really believe Sora, his grin spreading. "Really? Well you're the same Sora from ten years ago..."
"Eleven," Sora immediately corrected, unable to stop himself, and then blinked as Riku suddenly started laughing.
And it wasn't just any snicker or giggle, it was true laughter, his sharp, mature voice ringing almost musically in the hot, humid air. One hand went to cover his eyes and the other went to clutch at his stomach as he slumped forward, still laughing. Sora, for the life of him, didn't see what was so funny. But after a long moment, Riku finally fell into a series of short, breathless chuckles, his green eyes glistening with happy tears as he removed his hand.
"Eleven," he said, grinning. "You counted, too."
Sora smiled back, and for the first time since entering the room, he thought that perhaps this change in Riku wasn't so bad after all. No, he was rather glad his old friend could still so shamelessly laugh with him. And even though Riku wasn't a girl, Sora had a feeling that his friendship with him wouldn't weaken any; actually, he was confident that it would strengthen, now that they were full grown and both bachelors and living on a small island with nothing to do.
Wait. Was Riku single?
Wait. Why did it matter?
For some reason, he had a feeling he wasn't curious about it just because he didn't want to be the only loser without a girlfriend... It was more like... Jealousy. But of whom? Riku? Or his possible girlfriend?
Sora brushed the feeling off as a friend's green envy. After all, if Riku did have a girlfriend, that meant he wouldn't get to spend all of his time with Sora, but had to spend it with her too. Sora would have to share.
Wait. Why did that matter?
Because he was, and will again be my best friend! Sora assured himself, nodding in confidence. And I'll finally have someone!
Too caught up in his thoughts, Sora didn't notice that Riku had gone back to crouching on the floor until he heard the older boy loudly sigh, followed by the sound of wood sliding against wood. Sora turned his gaze back to his old friend, who was actually inserting drawers to an antique dresser and then stuffing them with clothes before pushing them closed.
Sora took a moment to glance around the room, tilting his head as he inspected it. It was rather empty, though Sora didn't understand why. The rest of the house still had furniture, even though it was all still covered, which was a standard way to protect valuables from dust and sun over long periods of time. But this room, aside from the few boxes that were already up here, and a frameless mattress and the dresser, was empty. The large window in the center of the room didn't even have a curtain. Sora mused that maybe this room had been a spare or something, considering only Riku and his two parents had lived here before, and it was way too big for just a three-person family. Hm. But if this room was a spare, why was Riku settling into this room, instead of using his old room from when he was a kid?
Actually, this whole house was weird. Out of all of the hovels on the street, Riku's old home was the only one that could actually be called a house, and it was quite large at that, about five times the size of Sora's. Maybe more. After Riku's parents had died, and after Riku had been dragged away, the house had been cleaned and locked up, and over the years Sora had found himself wondering why it hadn't been sold. He realized, now, that Riku's parents had probably left it to Riku in their will, and he was coming back to claim it. Or something. It was kind of a waste though... Just Riku and his aunt living in this huge, old house. No wonder Riku had gone outside so much with Sora when they had been little; who would want to stay cooped up in such a creepy place?
Sora took a moment to glance up at the beams over head before he blinked over at Riku, who was almost done with the dresser. "Um..."
Riku glanced up, his eyes partly hidden in the shadows created by the furniture. He briefly smiled before turning his attention back to the dresser, stooping over to reach the lower drawers, unknowingly giving Sora a nice view of the muscles of his back and the curve of his spine, down to his... Er. Yeah.
Sora looked away, puckering his lips before he could think anything weird or say something stupid. Thankfully, Riku spoke, breaking the silence.
"How long are you planning on staying here?"
"Oh... Um... As long as I want."
Riku looked up again, resting one hand on the dresser for support as he straightened his back and turned a little to face Sora again. The way he moved was awfully graceful... a lot like a girl, actually, but without all the soft curves. And the way his silver hair filtered the morning light into shadow as he sat there in front of the window... He seemed almost ethereal.
Riku fell into a warm smile. "Good. You can help me unpack and move furniture," he said, the smile spreading into a wry grin as he went back to the dresser. "I scheduled my helpers to come later so I'd have some time alone with you."
Sora promptly blinked. "You knew I would come?"
"Well, yeah," he said with a chuckle, "like you're the only one who understood me, I'm one of the only people that understood you. That's why I didn't look surprised when you showed up."
Brow furrowing, Sora crossed the floor to stand next to Riku, saying, "But I don't understand you. I'm the one who thought you were a girl."
"No, you understood me," Riku replied, shaking his head as he closed another drawer. "You saw me as a girl because that was the image I projected... Sort of like my shell to hide in. But you understood that I hated it, that I wanted to become more like you, and that's why you helped me become stronger back then."
"Wow." Sora fell into another smile. "You're really smart. I mean, you were smart before, but now..."
"Well, unfortunately I'm not psychic nor am I equipped with internal radar," Riku laughed, "so I'm going to need your help meeting people and setting up my job. I only remember so much from back then, and the structure of the town isn't part of it." He glanced up yet again from his work to seek Sora's response, and Sora took only a second to think about it, giving Riku a toothy grin.
"Of course I'll help!"
"Good. You can start by bringing up all the boxes labeled 'stuff' from downstairs. Then tomorrow we can do renovations and after that there's gardening, decorating, shopping..."
"Hey, hey!" Sora cut in, his eyes wide. "I'm not getting paid for all this, am I?"
"It can be your welcome back present to me," Riku said as he paused to inspect a nick in the wood. "After all, you didn't bring me flowers or chocolates when coming here. And it's not like you're going to be busy with a girlfriend all day, right?"
"H-Hey, how'd you know?"
"I took a wild guess."
"Well, you don't have one either, do you?"
"They're not that interesting," Riku admitted, sliding the last drawer closed as he climbed back to his feet. He gave Sora a quick once over and, as though really looking at him for the first time, he raised both eyebrows and said quite plainly, "You're still scrawny. And what the heck are you wearing?"
Sora felt his eyes narrow and his lower lip stick out in a defensive pout. "Scrawny?! If I recall, I was the one who used to fight off all the bullies that picked on you! And what do you mean 'what the heck are you wearing'? So sorry that I didn't dress for you, Mr. No Shirt!"
But Riku's grin didn't falter as he stepped closer to Sora. With one smooth gesture, Riku gathered his loose silver hair and tied it back with a tie Sora hadn't seen him retrieve, and with his other hand he reached forward to ruffle Sora's already messy hair.
"I wasn't complaining, you goof," was what he said as Sora blinked at him in surprise, easily warming up to the way this new Riku acted so casual with him, even calling him a goof like the old days. "I'm used to the safari look you used to have when you were younger, so it's a nice change of attire." Then Riku paused a second to tug playfully at Sora's tight red shirt, a fond smile crossing his face. "It's cute."
Cute?
Was Riku flirting with him?
"So, are you going to get those boxes or not?" Riku asked, slightly inclining his head to study Sora's face.
"Uh.. Yeah. I'm going. Haha." Sora managed a small laugh as he headed towards the door, Riku trailing after him to retrieve the one Sora had dropped earlier. He was kind of eager to leave the room. It gave him this weird feeling. Rather, Riku gave him this weird feeling. It wasn't all-too unpleasant; quite the opposite, but he didn't want to accidentally make a fool of himself in front of Riku again, and a laborious task would take his mind off things for a while.
And after finishing lugging those fourteen equally-heavy boxes up the stairs to Riku's sweltering room about two hours later, Sora collapsed onto the wooden floor with his lanky limbs sprawled out, fully aware that he was now as hot and sweaty as Riku was. He was never going to move away from home, if it took that much effort to move boxes! At least it had kept him busy and free from Riku's questions, though he couldn't say he was safe now.
Upon hearing the loud thud that resulted from Sora's dramatic fall, Riku looked up from filling his large bookcase with novels and comics. He had a few boxes scattered in front of him, and Sora briefly wondered just how many books he owned. Meanwhile Riku took a moment to watch Sora's chest quickly rise and fall as the boy struggled to catch his breath, before he went back to arranging his books, dryly commenting, "I bet you're wishing for an air conditioner too. It's being installed tomorrow."
Sora rolled over onto his stomach, propping himself up on one elbow, and squinted at Riku through his wet bangs. "How can you stand it? I mean, now I know why you're Mr. No Shirt, but... Even so, it's too frickin' hot!! It's hotter in here than it is outside!"
"How's your mom?"
"Eh?"
Riku turned away from his bookshelf to raise an eyebrow. "How is your mom doing?"
"Er... She's still only seventeen years older than me, and still acts like she's seventeen, if that's what you mean," Sora replied, blinking a few times at the sudden question that, as far as he could tell, had nothing to do with the house being too hot. "She doesn't tell me weird stories anymore though. I guess I grew out of them."
"That's a shame," Riku said quietly, carefully rising to his feet and lifting two empty boxes by their folds.
"Well, she'll come up with one once in a while," Sora smiled, watching Riku as the older boy tossed the empty boxes towards the unpacked side of the room. "She should have been a children's book writer."
"Or a cook."
"Cook?" Sora repeated, arching a single eyebrow. "I take that as a hint that you want me to invite you to lunch."
"My kitchen isn't unpacked, and the fridge doesn't have any food in it yet," Riku said, as though that was every reason for him to leech off other people for his meals. Then again, Riku's reason was pretty justifiable.
"I don't think my mom knows you're a guy," Sora said, smile widening as he returned to lying on his back, tilting his head back to watch Riku from upside down. "And she kinda thought that you would be the one for me. Y'know... the one. She might not be as lenient as I was."
Riku shot Sora a doubtful look. "Lenient? You gaped at me like a dying fish."
"But I still like you the same!" Sora called, lethargically waving his arms through the air as though to prove his point.
Shaking his head with a soft laugh, Riku smiled in amusement. "Then tell her I'm your new girlfriend."
"She'd probably believe me."
"Good. Now help me move this dresser, and then we'll go eat lunch at your house."
"You must be some sort of masochist," Sora groaned as he struggled to his feet, staggering a few steps before he caught his balance. "It's too hot."
"Precisely why we're going to your house," Riku said with another grin as he motioned Sora over to him. Letting out an exaggerated sigh, Sora stumbled to him and placed his hands on the dresser, just as Riku was planting his feet firmly against the wooden floor, one hand grasping the top edge and his other hand clutching the frame of the dresser. "Alright. It's going over there against the wall. See?"
Sora nodded, and then asked, "Won't it scratch the floor?"
"No, it won't. I put those little foam thingies on the feet. Ready?"
"Yeah."
Both boys tensed in preparation. The dresser wasn't wide, so both boys were standing close to each other in order to move it. And when Riku began pushing, Sora felt his arm and thigh brush against his own, giving him a weird feeling, but he quickly forgot it as he too began to push against the dresser. At first it didn't budge—just how heavy was this thing?—but with a little more effort it began sliding easily across the smooth wooden floor towards the corner Riku had pointed out.
Both of them were putting so much energy into it that when it finally slammed against the wall, Sora's momentum nearly sent him falling on top of Riku, but two hands shot out just in time and grabbed hold of his arms to keep him steady. Sora glanced up to meet Riku's eyes and laughed, feeling a bit foolish.
But Riku didn't say anything about their position or Sora's clumsiness. No, it was Sora's own stomach that spoke, letting out a painful growl that even Riku heard. The boys exchanged short laughs before Riku began to pull the younger boy towards the door by his arm.
"Let's go eat!"
"Alright, alright. You don't have to drag me, y'know," Sora said as they reached the hallway. "Is your aunt coming?"
Riku glanced over at him before releasing his arm, his smile falling. "Nah. She's gone back to her hotel room across the ferry," he explained as they bounded down the stairs, sending loud echoes throughout the still furnished house.
Oh. So that was why Sora hadn't seen her after she had answered the door. "So she's not staying with you?"
"Nope, the house is all mine."
Sora hesitated in mid-step, watching Riku walk ahead towards the front door. "What do you mean? You're living in this huge house all by yourself?"
"Yeah. My aunt's only here to help me settle in; she has her own place back on Atropos."
"But... Why move back here? Why not just buy an apartment on one of the main lands like Atropos? You're certainly wealthy enough now, right?" Sora asked, and this time Riku paused and turned to study the other boy. "It seems such a waste to live in such a huge house all by yourself," he continued, his forehead wrinkling as he spoke. "It's the biggest one here! My mom's place looks like a little pebble in comparison."
"This is the job I needed your help setting up and meeting people for, Sora," Riku explained patiently. "I'm turning this antiquated piece of shit into a boarding house for tourists. On Atropos and the other main islands there were no nice beaches or seascapes." He paused here and opened the door, motioning outside as though to further his point. "This island is beautiful, nearly untouched by the industrial mess they have over there. It's a paradise from their eyes. I heard people talking about wanting to visit here all the time for vacation... But this island doesn't have a hotel or anything, and people have to settle in on neighboring islands to visit here. So I'm turning my 'huge house' into a boarding house. As soon as my aunt leaves, I'm hiring some people to help renovate it and turn it into something decent, and then I'll be hiring a housekeeper, a chef, and a clerk."
Sora stared in disbelief. "A boarding house? You have that much money?"
"A lot of it is coming from my parent's insurance and inheritance," Riku said.
"I thought your parents were poor?" Sora wondered, then thought twice as he remember the size of this house and how rich Riku's aunt was.
Riku offered him an amused smile. "Well... They acted like they were, but they only lived out here because my aunt's family despised my mom. They had money." He glanced away for a second and brushed his bangs back. "And then I earned some of my own money from modeling for some of Atropos's big fashion magazines."
This time Sora's mouth dropped open. "You're not only rich, but you're famous?"
"I wouldn't say that famous..."
"And here I am, still stuck here," Sora sighed, rubbing at his forehead as he turned his gaze to the floor. "I don't get you. You gave up that life to come back to this boring place and open a boarding house?"
"I happen to like it here. The island, its people... You and your mom."
"My mom...?" Sora asked.
And then it clicked.
"She should have been a children's book writer."
"Or a cook."
"Cook?"
Sora leapt off the stairs and approached Riku, a dangerous, scrutinizing gleam in his eye. "You want to see my mom to ask her to be your chef, don't you, Mr. Boarding House?"
Riku grinned. "So what if I do?"
That was when Sora realized that this was going to be an extremely long day. He had already warmed up to Riku again, and accepted the changes in him, and was even beginning to like the idea about a boarding house directly across the street from his home (hey, he'd get to meet weird new people, right?), but he wasn't too sure about his mom becoming Riku's chef. And he knew that Riku wouldn't give up until his mom took the job, no matter how long or how much convincing it took.
The two boys were silent as they crossed the warm cobblestone street (past the moving van and The Dent) and climbed the steps to the hovel's porch. Riku hesitated under the vine trellis, his head tilting back so he could study its leafy madness.
"It's been so long since I've been here," the older boy mused quietly, reaching up to poke at a lady bug that was nestled on one of the larger leaves. The insect's wings flickered and then it slowly ran for its life to hide under another jumble of v-shaped leaves, and Riku smiled, watching it. "I can actually reach this high now."
"Stop reminiscing and come on," Sora sighed, pulling open his front door and stepping inside. "Mom! I'm home!"
No sooner had he called to her than she had pounced from the den's archway, pulling him into a tight hug, giggling as she ruffled his hair and kissed him.
"How did it go, huh?" she asked quickly, pushing him back to get a good look at his face, her eyes bright and eager. "Did you bring me home a daughter-in-law?" But before Sora could answer, Riku stepped over the threshold and into the hallway, and her gaze immediately shifted to study the newcomer, her eyes hardening.
Riku hadn't put a shirt on, but they both realized that too late. Smiling almost sheepishly, the silver-haired boy raised one hand in greeting. "Hi. I'm Sora's girlfriend."
There was a moment of silence in which Sora's mother blinked. Then there was a sharp, enthusiastic squeal, and she threw herself onto Riku, poking and prodding at his muscles as she also tried to squeeze him to death, all the while giggling, "I'm going to have a son-in-law!" and "Ooooh! And he's so sexy!"
It took Sora several tugs before he managed to detach his mother from Riku and, as calmly as he could, tell her, "Riku and I are not getting married, so would you please let go of him?!" Actually, he was rather irked she hadn't responded a little more negatively like he had. She could have gaped a little, so that Sora's own reaction wouldn't have seen so extreme. Well, her reaction had been extreme in its own way.
She managed to plant a soft kiss on Riku's cheek before Sora pulled her away. Straightening out her apron, she smiled brightly at the two boys, who both were giving her rather strange looks, though Riku's was more amused than Sora's vexed one. "Well, I assume you two came here for lunch," she said, practically bouncing towards the kitchen. "Don't worry! I'll have something out in a minute! Just close the door and have a seat at the table!"
And she was true to her word. As soon as Riku and Sora had sat down, she was already placing plates onto the tabletop. Lunch was, apparently, going to be delicately-made roasted chicken sandwiches sprinkled with rosemary and thyme and glazed with red vinegar on tediously-sliced home made fresh french bread. And ripe green grapes.
Mom had gone crazy again. For some reason Sora had a feeling that she had prepared these sandwiches, knowing that Sora was going to bring company home. Well, her hard work had paid off because Riku was certainly impressed as he inspected his sandwich, much the way Sora's mom had inspected him when he had walked through the front door. After a quiet minute, in which Sora had dug into his sandwich without so much of a second thought, Sora's mom sat at the table with her own plate and set out three glasses of orange juice, and Riku took this opportunity to tell her about his boarding house idea. When Riku finished talking, Sora was already half done with his sandwich and busy munching on the grapes.
"Of course I'll be your chef!" she suddenly exclaimed, and Sora almost choked on his grape. "I think it's a brilliant idea! You alright, Sora honey?"
Sora took a long drink from his glass of juice before he slammed it back onto the table and rounded on his mother. "Mom! You can't be serious!"
"About what?" she asked, blinking innocently as she delicately raised her own glass of orange juice.
"About being his chef!"
"What's wrong with that?" Riku asked, finally lifting his sandwich to take a bite.
"Yeah, what's wrong with that?" his mom repeated, looking confused. "I like to cook, and I already get money for selling pies and things, so why not make it into a real job?"
"Oooh. This is excellent, Seiya," Riku commented from his corner of the table.
"Thank you, Riku dear," she replied sweetly before turning back to Sora and saying, "And people like my food, so I don't see why I shouldn't share. Stop being so selfish, Sora."
Sora didn't really know why he didn't want his mom working for Riku. It just made him feel uncomfortable for some reason. For the next few minutes, as his mother and Riku went on discussing the different foods they could serve on different days, Sora slumped into his chair and moped, prodding loose grapes around his plate with his forefinger. It didn't go unnoticed by the other residents of the table.
"Sora, what's wrong? You not hungry?" his mother asked, her voice filling with concern.
"He's pouting," Riku said off-handedly.
"No I'm not," Sora mumbled, shooting Riku a glare, who grinned in return.
"Yes you are," he almost laughed. "Your bottom lip is sticking out."
Shifting uncomfortably in his seat, Sora straightened up and grabbed his sandwich, taking a bite and holding it in front of his face so they couldn't tease him any more. It worked. Sora's mother returned her attention back to Riku, who was still grinning. The two of them looked like good friends. It was almost unsettling.
"So how was life on Atropos?" his mom was asking.
"Really boring," Riku admitted, and Sora glanced up from his sandwich, curious. He had always assumed the industrial life would be interesting, full of things to see. "The people there are always so concerned about trivial things, and running here and there, worrying all the time," Riku explained. "I didn't have a lot of friends there. There just wasn't time."
"Any pretty girls?" she asked, naturally.
"Nope," he laughed, waving a hand. "But I'm not exactly the most open person either. Most of them were afraid of me."
Sora gave Riku a questioning glance, wondering why anyone would be afraid of someone like him. Granted, Sora didn't know how much Riku had changed, but judging from what he'd seen... That shy little girly boy Riku used to be no longer existed. So what had he been like on Atropos? He had said he wasn't an open person, but that's all Sora had seen so far: open honesty.
"So was school hard?" she asked, not prying any further into what Riku meant. "I know the schools on the main lands are awfully strict, especially the private schools."
"Mainland schooling was strict, yes," Riku said. "Everyone had to wear uniforms. My school's uniform wasn't too bad though... Just plain black slacks and a Gakuran shirt."
"Gakuran?" Sora asked, not familiar with the word.
"Er... High-collared, long-sleeved, button-up. Standard boy's uniform for Shinra Academy," Riku explained. "And school was a little challenging, mostly because everyone was so anal on studying that the slackers couldn't, well, slack, or they'd look even worse. I was among the top of my class though." He paused for a moment to eat a grape, holding a twig of them between his fingers as he continued to speak again. "It was me, a girl named Quistis, and a cheerleader named Rikku who were in the top three. They made this huge deal out of our names sounding similar and even came up with songs to taunt us in the hallways. Riku and Rikku. I hated it."
"Hm... That sounds like school to me," she said, widely smiling. "I went to school on Clotho. They used to tease me about having a crush on Sora's father. I got pregnant my final year, and almost dropped out."
Sora's eyes widened in surprise. "You never told me that! I didn't know that you went to school on one of the main lands!"
She merely smiled. "You never bothered to ask, honey."
"But..." Sora lowered his gaze, frowning at his nearly finished sandwich. "But how come you moved here? And why did dad stay there?"
"Because I didn't marry your father," she explained, a little too happily. "He had an affair on his current girlfriend with me, and he married her instead. I didn't want things to be awkward, so I moved out here with you. No hard feelings."
"Oh," Sora replied quietly. He had always figured that was what had happened with his father, but he hadn't really wanted to ask. He thought his mother would have told him a long time ago, but she hadn't, and it had never bothered him enough to wonder again. But Sora, surprisingly, found that he didn't mind his mom's past. "It's a bit weird," he admitted. "I'm finding out all of this life-altering stuff today and it's not really affecting me. Riku's a guy, I'm...illegitimate..."
"And I'm getting a job," his mother added in with a bright smile as she rose to her feet, done with her meal. "And I'm relieved that you're not bothered by it..." She cleared her throat as if trying to shake off awkwardness. "So what are you two going to do after lunch?"
Riku stole a quick glance at Sora before he returned her smile. "Back to working on the house. Sora was only at it for two hours at most, and I still need to move some furniture up those steep stairs."
"Oh. Well. Sora, maybe you should ask some of those friends of yours to help," his mom suggested kindly. "Like Tidus. I'm sure he'd love to help."
Rolling his eyes, Sora opened his mouth to explain to his mother that Tidus would rather play blitzball than help move furniture around in a large, hot house, but Riku cut in before he could.
"I'm sure just the two of us can handle it," he said, finishing off his sandwich just as Sora did. He paused to drain his cup of orange juice before he too rose to his feet, grabbing the plate to take it to the sink. "That was really good, Seiya."
She smiled as she took the plate from him. "Thank you, Riku dear. Now I want you two to be careful about over-exerting yourselves, and drink lots of water."
"Don't worry, Mom," Sora sighed, leaving his plate on the table as he got up from his chair.
The trip back across the street took only a minute, and this time Riku just walked into the house, a draft of dusty, warm air seeping out to greet Sora, who stifled the urge to groan. It was only about two in the afternoon. Just how long did Riku expect him to help? Then again... Sora had been the one who had agreed to helping him.
"So you found your cook," Sora commented blandly as they climbed the steps towards Riku's new room. "Who else did you say you were going to hire?"
"A clerk and a housekeeper," Riku replied, reaching the top of the stairs. "Maybe a butler too, since I'm not sure I'd want to stay in the house all day to greet guests."
"Is that all you would do?" Sora asked as they headed down the hallway, the floorboards creaking noisily. "Just... greet guests?"
"Well... I haven't really thought about it," Riku admitted, entering his room. "It'll be their job to do their assigned tasks, because I'm paying them, and I can easily fire them... But since I'm the owner, I have the freedom to do what I want. It is my house after all. I don't know what else I would do."
"So will this be your life-long job? Tending to tourists?"
"I don't know."
Sora paused in the doorway, leaning against the frame and crossing his arms over his chest. "And you aunt is just leaving you here, when you're not sure of anything?" he asked.
Riku stopped a few feet into the room, facing the window, silent for a moment before he spoke. "We didn't get along very well. Me and her. This house was my excuse to leave her and Atropos. I hated life there."
"And I hate life here," Sora said casually, resting his head against the doorframe.
Riku suddenly rounded on him, green eyes burning into him as he planted a hand against the wall next to Sora's head, his other hand pressing against the boy's chest. Sora stared in awe, blue eyes wide as Riku inched closer to his face. He had never seen his friend look so angry before.
No, when they were little, Riku would rather burst into tears than narrow those green eyes in anger. At anything. But now, there was no doubt that was anger in those eyes, at Sora, no less. It was almost impossible to believe.
Meanwhile, Sora was fully aware of how close Riku was getting, and he was aware that the hand on his chest was slowly closing into a fist, tightly clutching his red shirt between white fingers. He was sure that in a few more seconds, if Riku continued to close the small gap between them, he would be receiving his second kiss from a boy.
But Riku paused, gently pushing Sora harder against the doorframe, who could do nothing but stare ahead at the older boy.
"Don't you ever say you hate it here," Riku whispered in a hoarse voice, his silver eyebrows drawing together. "With a mother like that... On an island like this... How could you hate it?"
Sora lowered his gaze, turning his face away from Riku's. "I don't..." he said quietly. "I don't hate it here. I hate the life here. Just like you said about Atropos, when you said there was no time to make good friends... I had plenty of time, but I don't fit in." Here he closed his eyes, feeling Riku loosen the grip on his shirt. "They don't like me like that."
"Why not?"
Sora raised his head at the question, lightly blushing when his nose touched Riku's, and then quickly turned to look away again. Why the hell was he standing so close...?!
"I don't know why not. Never bothered to ask."
"Who could not like you?" Riku asked, using his free hand to brush his fingers through Sora's hair, who found that he didn't really mind the kind gesture. "You're so likeable, Sora. Funny, daring, adorable..."
Adorable?
Wasn't that what Sora had always thought of Riku?
Haha... Couldn't say that now.
"I think that's exactly the problem," Sora muttered a bit bitterly. "I'm too likeable. Everyone likes me. But none of them like me enough to consider me a close friend."
Riku's hand slowly came to a stop but remained in Sora's hair. "Hmm... Well. I don't like you, Sora. I don't even like you." He finally released his hold on the shirt and reached up to cup Sora's chin, forcing the boy to meet his gaze.
It was here that Sora fell into a pathetic grin. "You love me, right? I suppose this is time that I throw my arms around you and say," here his voice took on a kid-like innocence, "'You're my bestest friend ever, Riku!'"
"It wouldn't hurt," was Riku's laconic response, finally pulling away from the younger boy.
"It also wouldn't hurt if you figured out what to do with your life," Sora sighed as he ruffled his own hair in exasperation. "Why don't you go to a university on the island over and study to become a scientist or something?"
"Why don't you?"
Sora's eyes lowered. "Mom doesn't have enough money for college."
"Then why don't I give you a job?" Riku suggested as he stepped further into the room.
"Pfft. Me. With a job. Right," Sora laughed, winding his arms around himself. But then he paused, Riku's words sinking in, and turned a curious eye to the older boy. "What do you mean, you 'give me a job'?"
Riku suddenly sighed, lowering his face as he rubbed at his forehead. "I was going to tell you a little later, but... I came here for another reason." He glanced up, his green eyes distant as he focused on the wall next to Sora's head, not on Sora himself. "My aunt, who had, technically, become my legal guardian since my parents died, had taken it upon herself to fulfill my parents' wishes and map out my future for me. She dragged me away to Atropos, if you remember, and then forced me to go to that school..." Here he did glance at Sora, his frown deepening. "Then she wouldn't let me befriend anyone, worrying that they would 'soil' my personality, which was part of the reason I only had a few friends—the ones I could sneak in behind her back. Last year she even brought me a line of suitors for me to choose from, like I could just choose any girl to marry like she were a pair of shoes on a shelf, not an actual person."
Sora felt his eyes widening with each word Riku spoke, disbelieving that someone could have such control over someone else's life. No wonder Riku had wanted to get away from her!
"So... You didn't pick anyone," Sora said, rather than asked.
"Of course not!" Riku said. "I sent every girl home that she sent to me and shut myself away in my room or went out all night after school, refusing to speak to her. My aunt, being of a high-class life and therefore used to people ruling her life as well, didn't see what my problem was! So one day I told her."
"Told her?"
"Yeah. I sat her down and explained that I wanted to live my own life, not something orchestrated by her rich-life fantasies. And then I explained my boarding house idea, and how I could live off that. She, naturally, thought it would be a waste of my time, and made a deal with me." Riku paused, turning his head away again. "I could run off and open my 'filthy tourist bungalow' as long as I found a nice, wealthy fiancée. And if I should fail with the boarding house within its first two years being open, she would find a wife for me. To check up on me, she's visiting every weekend."
"And you agreed to the deal," Sora said, finishing the rest for him. "Okay, I get how badly you wanted to get away from her, but where do I come in? You said you would give me a job."
"Well..." There was a moment of silence in which Riku rubbed his forehead again, as though not wanting to continue, but knowing it was too late to stop. "I don't want to find a nice, wealthy fiancée. And if my plan doesn't work, I don't want her to find a wife for me either."
"Yeah. I remember you telling me that girls weren't that interesting to you," Sora said, trying to move the conversation along.
"Well, I found a way around her little deal," Riku said, laughing a bit dryly. "It would work. Even if she discovered that I wasn't looking for a fiancée, she wouldn't try to butt in any more when she saw what I was doing."
"And what is this brilliant idea of yours?" Sora asked.
"It has to do with giving you that job," Riku began to explain, but Sora got the distinct feeling that he was stalling.
"So? Tell me."
"Alright." The silver-haired boy took a moment to run his hand through his hair before he looked up to meet Sora's gaze, his green eyes solemn, yet silently pleading. "It would only be around other people, and it wouldn't get too serious---just enough to fool my aunt until she gets the hint. And I would pay you whatever amount you want. So... Sora... Would you be my boyfriend?"
-o-o-
I'm really not good at this romance/humor stuff, but I'm trying! There are just too many clichés. I'm trying to work around them, but they keep sneaking in. Don't forget to review! I love hearing your opinions and reading those questions of yours, which I do try to answer as much as possible.
