Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts.

My house is small and cramped to say the least. Riku and I used to be able to run around when we were small, but Riku seems so big now. He had a hard time walking around the clutter, so when we made it upstairs to my room he plopped on the bed, refusing to move anywhere else for fear of breaking something. My mom was right, my room needed to be cleaned, and bad. I thought all guys my age had rooms like this, but apparently Riku is a clean freak who has to have everything in order and spotless. What a pain.

At first we didn't do much more than sit around and talk, but I really liked just listening to him. I didn't get to do this often since he really didn't talk much, but after that night on that dark beach so far away, he had opened up a lot more. Which was nice. It made me feel less vulnerable since I had always been the only one talking before that. "Hey Riku. Do you remember what you said about thinking you were better than me at everything?"

"Yes, but I don't think that way anymore."

"I know, but… it bothers me. What do you think would have happened to us if the message in the bottle hadn't reached us? What would we have done?" Riku was silent beside me. It was pitch black in my room, door closed and curtains pulled tight. I could hear his even breathing.

"I…don't know. I suppose we would have just stayed there. We would have been the darkness." I didn't know what to say. He had said that, back on the beach. That the two of us could be the darkness. Riku sighed and turned away from me. We were snuggled under the covers of my queen sized bed. Riku thought it was outrageous to have a bed that took up almost all the floor space in my room, but I liked it. I'm sure he appreciated it now, too.

"Oh. Just wondering," I answered lamely. We were both silent for a minute.

"Hey Sora. How do you feel about Kairi?" The question took me by surprise. Why he was interested in Kairi I had no idea. He had always found the girl irritating.

"Uh, I don't know. Why do you ask?" Curiosity was oozing in my voice.

"No reason." I see how it's going to be.

"Tell me."

"No."

"Yes." Our back and forth went on for a while, until Riku got tired of it.

"Fine, I'll tell you. It's just that sometimes… I get a little jealous." I almost laughed out loud. Riku getting jealous of me? This was a first. And he had always thought he was better at things than I was too… well. I'll show him who is better with this.

"You think I'm being stupid, don't you." Of course I do Riku. Listen to yourself.

"Of course not. Things like that don't really matter to me." At least they hadn't before. I wasn't going to miss this opportunity for the world.

"Oh." Was there a hint of remorse in Riku's voice? I must have imagined it. I figured I would make a move a flirt with Kairi right in front of him. Just to see him get all jealous. I cant wait to have that much fun, to show him that I am better at some things—picking up girls to be specific.

"Goodnight, Sora."

"Night Riku." Pretty soon he was fast asleep. I was nervous to have him in bed with me though, because I have a few really bad sleeping habits. Drooling is the worst one. It's so embarrassing! There's another one that isn't so bad to me, but still might be worse to him. I hug in my sleep. It doesn't matter who or what is in the bed with me, I'll hug it. It started when I was a little boy. I had to sleep with my parents; otherwise I couldn't get to sleep. Now I can sleep by myself. At least that part of the problem is solved. But I rather keep it to myself, and I would rather not have the secret get out. What a predicament.

Of course I couldn't stay away forever. I woke up in the morning to Riku slowly stirring. He had one arm wrapped around my waist and the other stretched above his head.

"Mmm, Sora. Sora?" A look of confusion crossed his face. "Sora? What are you doing?" At this point, I was only half awake too.

"Yea Riku?" I still hadn't realized why he was staring down at me, or why he had taken his arm from around me. He glanced nervously around. I still hadn't understood why he was acting so strangely. So I cuddled up to him. "Why are you up so early? Its only 9:00."

"…"

"Holy shit." I shot out of bed as fast as humanly possible. "I'm so sorry!"

"What the fuck were you doing?" I cringed at his mean words, but then noticed he was blushing furiously. He noticed a second after I noticed and buried his face into the pillow immediately. Now I'm curious. What was he thinking?

"What is it?" I poked him in the side, but the only response I got was a giggle. Once again, where had the Riku I knew gone? "Answer me!" I let out an attack on his side, making him squirm and laugh, rolling over. How cute! Maybe all the girls could see through his standoffish pretense to his soft side, and that's why none of them wanted him.

Of course I should have expected a counter-attack. By the time it was over, we both lay gasping on the bed, covers kicked onto the pile of stuff on the floor. Nonetheless, we went back to sleep. Luckily this time, I wasn't in a position to hug him.