AN: I am just stunned by my reviews. Wow. Thank you all, every single one of you--you really have no idea what it means to me to know that people are actually responding to what I post! Thank you a hundred thousand times over; I could not be happier! I heard some crazy rule that we're no longer allowed to respond to our reviewers? Is that just a rumor, or is it true? Because I fully intend to thank you all by the end of this story, regardless of whether or not it's "allowed." Thank you all SO MUCH!
Sorry this chapter is so short! Normally the chapters will be longer, but I cut this one off a little early because I wanted their whole outing to be a separate chapter. So this part ends a bit abruptly...couldn't think of a great way to end it...
Chapter warnings: More RikuxCloud and LeonxSora; spots here and there of RikuxSora and a little LeonxCloud, if you squint. OOC-ness; sorry for not mentioning it in the first chapter. And profanity. I need to watchidy my languidy.
The Ugly Duckling Effect
By azneyez
"...I just can't believe he got fourteen phone numbers just walking to the baggage claim."
"You are? Huh, with that walk, I'm just surprised no one tried to bang him right there in the airport."
"...thanks, Cloud. I desperately needed that visual."
"Oh, and if you counted that porter who offered him ninety-six bucks to sleep with him--?"
"Um...yeah. That too."
"He can sure strut his stuff," said Leon, startling Riku and Cloud as he entered the room with a few suitcases. They smiled carefully at him, uneasy to be caught gossiping about his boyfriend, but Leon just gazed back at them with a small smile of his own. "I'm sure he was just turning on the charm to make you mad, Riku."
"Surmised as much," Riku muttered. "And he did a damn fine job. Fourteen numbers..."
"Yes, his average in that setting is usually only seven," said Leon.
Riku groaned and pretended to put his head in the microwave.
"Don't take it personally," Cloud comforted, setting his soda on the counter and patting Riku's shoulder. "It's only because he's...like...Pretty-Boy Version 5.0. A sort of flavor of the month. He's not exactly dark and handsome, and he's not quite a hot punk like you, Riks...he's just...pretty. Very, very pretty."
Riku glared at him, crossing his arms defensively. "How so?"
"Seriously? Look at him! His eyes, his smile--"
"Not a bad ass, either," said Leon nonchalantly, making Riku choke.
"Dude, that's my best friend you're talking about!"
"The same one you were talking about when you called him ugly," Cloud pointed out.
"I SAID HE'S FRIGGIN' HOMELY!" Riku screamed, snapping.
Leon cleared his throat delicately.
Riku went rigid. "He's..."
"Right behind you, yes," said Sora.
His face pained, Riku slowly turned around. Sora had returned from the upstairs guest bedroom and was standing in the kitchenette's doorway with his hands on his hips, smiling slyly. "Thanks, Riku, I think I get it," he said sweetly, launching himself into a sexy little cheerleading dance. "U-G-L-Y, I don't got no alibi; I'm ugly!"
"That's why I close my eyes when we make out," said Leon, totally deadpan. Cloud cracked up, then hastily struggled to turn his laughter into a coughing fit as Riku shot him a furious look.
Sora strode across the kitchen and spun into Riku's arms with the air of a ballroom dancer. "Don't worry, baby," he murmured in the same husky voice he'd used in the airport, making Riku shiver. "Where we're going, you won't be able to see this revolting face--all you'll see is stars."
"Hey, now," said Cloud, grinning. "I got dibs on the tactless one. Hit on your own, Dancing Queen."
Leon smiled and shrugged. Sora moonwalked back to him.
"Just look at you!" Riku burst out, finally finding his voice. That wasn't just some haphazard hip swaying; Sora could really move. "What happened to the good old days, when we used to take those square-dancing lessons at the community center?"
"I've since developed this crazy love for dancing," said Sora. He grinned, closing his eyes and swaying to some internal tune. "It's great. I can just lose myself when I'm moving to a beat, y'know?"
"Oh, I know," Leon said pointedly, and Sora laughed and poked him in the stomach.
Cloud raised an eyebrow. "Are we missing something?"
"That's how I met Sora." Leon wrapped his arms around his boyfriend and squeezed, kissing his neck. "It was at some wild college party, and at the time, Sora was just ending it with one of those shallow frat boys. There was a breakup scene, right there in the living room, and Sora got a little down. He...well, he..."
"Got drunk off my ass," Sora admitted with a small smile.
Riku glanced disbelievingly at Sora again, who met the gaze and shrugged embarrassedly.
"To make a long story short, I got it in my head to do a little table-dancing, and I did a header into the crowd and knocked myself out. Four consecutive shots of vodka probably aren't too beneficial to one's sobriety. Especially since I'd never had alcohol before in my life."
"So...you came to his rescue?" Cloud asked Leon, smiling. "Prince Charming on horseback, etcetera?"
"More or less. He was out cold, so I put him to bed and guarded the door."
"Good thing, too," said Riku, turning to Sora with a sharp look. "Thank god Leon was there. That could've been really bad, you know. Wild things happen at frat parties."
Cloud winced. "Yeah, seriously. Last time I passed out at a frat party, I woke up in high heels and fishnets."
"Same old Riku," said Sora affectionately, leaning in to hug him. "Thanks for being so concerned."
Riku grudgingly hugged him back. "You're not off the hook, Sora. Bambi-eyes or not, I'm going to have to lecture you on safety later on tonight."
"C'mon, Riku, I'm not a kid anymore!"
"No shit," said Riku without thinking, his skin still tingling where Sora's well-formed hip had pressed against him. A second later he seemed to realize what he said and reddened. Sora blinked at him with uncharacteristic shyness.
Lull in conversation.
"Yeah, so," said Sora, sounding awkward for the first time since their reunion. "I think I'm going to need a nap before we head out tonight. It was a long day, and I'm sort of jet-lagged."
"Fine," said Cloud after a pause, casting Riku a quick look before turning back to Sora. "Is the room okay?"
"It's great, thanks. Are you guys always so clean?"
"We're very dirty, actually."
Riku hit him. "He meant the house!"
"Oh! Sure, yeah, the house is generally clean. Heh. Can't say the same for--never mind. Leon, let me help you get your bags upstairs." Shamelessly, Cloud turned back to make a lewd tongue gesture to Riku as he and Leon ascended the stairs, sending Sora into a fit of giggles at Riku's scandalized expression.
"Wow, Riku, you sure know how to pick 'em. I adore Cloud. He's so funny."
"Try dating him," Riku grumbled. "Right in the middle of a nice kiss, he'll be suddenly moved by the urge to show you his Porky Pig impression."
"That'd be very sweet if you had a farm animal fetish, you know."
Riku glanced at him, grinning. "Yes. Mmm, roosters. Oh baby, oh baby."
For a long moment they just beamed at one another, content to be in each other's company again. Four years is too long a time not to see each other, Riku decided, abruptly struck by how many things he'd missed out on: Sora's first party, Sora's first time getting drunk, Sora becoming so passionate about dancing...as a rule, he liked to know what made his friends who they were, and there was such a large gap of Unknown between them now that he felt obscurely like he'd let Sora down. They'd made a promise to always be there for each other, hadn't they? Friends forever, and all those clichés.
"Look, things are okay," said Sora suddenly, startling him. "No hard feelings, right?"
"I hope not," said Riku. He squeezed Sora's hand briefly, then smiled at him, inwardly perplexed. Sora could read him like an open book. "Now I remember why we're best friends. Four years, and right away you start back in on the mind reading."
"Um, distance makes the heart grow fonder, or something like that."
"I'm not sure about this time." Riku pulled back to examine his friend. "Gah, you've really changed."
"Good change?"
"Hell, yes. You look incredible. I mean...you were never ugly...it's just--"
"Actually, I prefer the term 'homely,'" Sora corrected primly.
Riku stared at him in shock for a long moment before bursting into laughter. Sora joined him a second later, laughing hard, leaning against him for support.
"Ri, you were supposed to argue with me, not start laughing," he teased, elbowing him playfully in the side. "You're such an asshole."
"I prefer the term 'tactless.'"
"Oh boy, what a pair," said Sora, giggling. "Homely and Tactless."
"More like Beauty and the Beast, I think. Wherein you are Beauty."
"Shush, you."
When their laughter finally subsided, Sora leaned in to kiss Riku quickly on the cheek. His lips lingered for a moment, hesitating, then he reached back and touched a lock of his silvery hair. He pulled the strands around and held them out before Riku's eyes. "No split ends," he said, his voice light. "Not a single one, Ri. If you use any more of your hair-care products, you'll get mauled by women who want you for their Herbal Essences commercials."
Before Riku could say another word, Sora was skipping off to the stairs with a grin, swinging around to wave to him before disappearing into the bedroom with Cloud and Leon.
Riku stared after him for a long time, then resumed cleaning the dishes, a bit of a smile on his face.
Romantic cliché number one. I love you, Cloud, but wow, that one's a gem.
End of chapter two. Next chap, we'll have some drinking, some flirting, some of Sora's raunchy dance moves, and even more sexual tension! Fantastic!