Hi all. Welcome back for Chapter 2. I just wanted to say thank you to the reviewers, and even the silent viewers who bothered to at least read the summary. I feel so much better about coming back. :) Thank you!

Alright, here it is. On with Chapter 2.

Sora's eyes widened at the suggestion, and immediately Riku wished he hadn't let it come out of his mouth.

"Practice on you?"

"Just to make you feel comfortable about it...for the real thing. You don't have to if you don't want to."

Riku wondered how much more awkward the situation would have been if he punched himself in the face right then. There were dozens of alternatives he could have suggested. There were all kinds of books at the library, there were pillows, and he could have suggested he use the back of his own hand. He heard somewhere that Tidus learned to kiss by practicing on a cheeseburger, and even though Riku wasn't certain how that could have even been even remotely successful, it would have been a significantly less outrageous recommendation. If all else failed, he could have even suggested that Sora talk to Kairi about it, after all it was their relationship.

Riku himself had just kind of doneit, and the girls he had kissed in the past had hardly been what Riku would call serious kissers. A couple of pecks here and there, a few deeper kisses he hardly remembered and an awkward experience in a high school gym pretty much summed up his kissing resume. He didn't remember being taught per se, but anything he could have made up would have been an adequate replacement for what came out of his mouth.

And the fact that this could potentially (hopefully, and preferably) turn into something apart from objective on his part was tickling the back of his mind...

No, that was no good. Those certainly weren't traits a good friend should display. To save himself the guilt, he insisted to himself that he had only made the suggestion out of Sora's best interest, nothing more, nothing less.

Still though, he was still having trouble keeping the fists his hands were balled into from connecting with the sensitive flesh of his face. Sora wasn't saying anything, and if his wide eyes and the 'O' his lips had formed in were any indication of what he was thinking then—

"Well, I guess that makes sense," Sora said slowly, nodding as the thought sunk in. "It could work."

Riku went slack-jawed. "What?"

"Yeah!" Sora started, feeling a bit more optimistic. "I mean, practicing on Kairi would completely defeat the purpose, finding another girl to go around kissing would be a bad idea to put it mildly, and you're not going to make fun of me...right?"

"Of course not."

"And," he added, to complete his string of logic. "You already know about it. If I find someone else, it'll just increase the number of people who think I'm romantically inept. That isn't any good either."

"You've got a point."

"So, then it should be okay?"

Riku nodded, trying to suppress most of the thoughts that were bubbling up inside. "And you don't think it'd be awkward?"

Sora considered this for a moment then looked at Riku with a mixture of apprehension and determination, if such a combination was possible. "Desperate times call for desperate measures. Besides, it's only awkward if you make it awkward, right?"

"You've got another point there."

"Okay, then." Sora decided, punctuating it with a nod. "What do we do first?"

Riku was still considering how many friendship tallies he was going to lose for even agreeing to this, but he grabbed Sora's wrist anyway and dragged him off to the living room.

Sora felt Riku's fingers curl around his skin, and immediately he felt nervous. He knew that just moments before he was gung-ho about it, but he had still never kissed anyone before, including any practice kisses with Riku. He didn't know what to do, much less what to expect. He just hoped the experience wouldn't be too catastrophic.

Riku sat down in the middle of the cushions, and Sora sat down just off to his right. Their knees bumped in the process, and Sora muttered an apology before looking up at him.

Riku draped the slightly wet towel over the back of the couch. "Okay," he said with a huff. "Let's er...try it."

Sora flushed all the way to the tips of his ears. Not making a situation awkward was easier said than done, apparently. He looked up at Riku, then shifted his gaze right back down to the tops of his knees.

Riku regarded Sora with a look of sympathy. He supposed that Sora was really the only one of the two of them that had the luxury of being nervous, after all, however this turned out would really only affect him. With that in mind, he swallowed hard, and forced himself to grin. "I'll be Kairi, you be you."

Sora looked startled, flushed even more, then nodded. "Right."

"Uh," he sifted. "You're going to have to get closer than that for this to work."

"Oh. I know. I was just...er...okay." He scooted towards Riku awkwardly, running into his knee again and muttering another apology.

This time Riku didn't have to force himself to smile. He felt somewhat sorry for Sora, but at the same time, he was deeply amused. The way he was fretting like he was...it was almost cute. "Just lean forward and go for it."

Sora nodded again and actually had to force himself to move. He became painfully aware of the scent of soap Riku had used that morning in the shower—more aware than he would have been, say, two or three feet farther away, and not attempting to kiss him. Still, he managed to get his head at least six or seven inches closer to his face before Riku interrupted him.

"Uh, Sora?"

"Huh? What did I do?"

He smiled reassuringly. "Nothing. It just might be significantly less awkward if you close your eyes."

"But how am I supposed to see where your lips are?"

"Figure out where they are beforehand."

"But—"

Riku sighed and grabbed the back of his head and forced it towards him. "This is just weird, don't you think?"

Sora gulped. Riku's eyes were directly in front of him and their foreheads and noses were mashed together. Riku was certainly right. It was weird, but having his eyes closed was probably going to be just as bad. He nodded anyway, and with that, Riku let go of the back of his head.

Sora frowned. He was going to do it this time. He leaned in like before, this time remembering to close his eyes before their faces got too close.

Riku cheated and was perfectly fine with it. What Sora didn't know wouldn't hurt him, and how else was he supposed to make sure he was doing it right? He kept one eye slightly open, unable to quell the suddenly more intense thumping of his heart in his chest, and the warmer temperature of the blood flowing through his veins as Sora slowly closed the distance between their lips. He saw the whole thing coming, and he still had to keep himself from letting out a startled gasp when it happened.

Sora's lips connected with his a little awkwardly. Apparently Sora hadn't taken as good of aim as he had thought, because the kiss landed a little off to the side of his mouth. He had also come in kind of abruptly, but it was a kiss none the less.

They stayed that way for a few moments, but then Riku felt Sora's lips tremble a bit, and he reluctantly broke it off. Consciously picking his tone, he said brightly, "there now, that wasn't so hard, was it?"

Sora, who hadn't realized that he was holding his breath since before they even leaned in, took a few moments to catch it before answering. "No...I guess not." He had an odd look on his face.

Riku smiled and rubbed his head good-naturedly. "Good."

Sora nodded, wiping away the somewhat confused expression, and looked up at him a bit anxiously. "Did I...did I do it right?"

"Pretty much. Aim better, and not so hard next time."

"But...but practice makes perfect, right?"

Riku's left eyebrow arced upward sharply. "What?"

"Riku, I need to make sure I'm doing this perfectly!"

"You want to kiss me again?"

"I've only got one shot to prove to Kairi that I'm not some idiot."

"She's not going to think that."

Sora shook his head. "You don't understand. Kairi's been waiting for a really long time. I don't want to disappoint her. We have to do it again."

Sora had the innate ability to push his sympathy button. It wasn't that he was against the idea at all, in fact, if he really had to admit it to himself, he was actually rather keen to it. He just didn't think that such free-flying lip-locking was healthy. "Well..."

Sora's lower lip jutted out, a habit that he had yet to break. "It was your suggestion. You're obligated to see it all the way through."

Riku nodded. If Sora kept making all of those valid points, he would be in a world of trouble before he knew it. "Alright, we'll do it again."

He nodded, leaning forward again, almost forgetting to close his eyes. This time though, the kiss was closer to the mark, and the landing was softer, almost elegant. A tingle of self satisfaction welled inside him as he felt Riku's lips slide softly over his. Perhaps this kissing business wasn't as difficult as he thought. In fact, if kissing Riku was this easy, then perhaps doing the same to Kairi wouldn't be a disaster after all. He entertained the thought for another brief moment, before focusing back onto the slightly parted articles of flesh occupying his mouth.

Riku on the other hand was having a severely difficult time not testing out some of the more advanced modes of kissing he had acquired during his lifetime. He wasn't one to do these things very often, but he did know his way around an oral cavity, and the navigation of which wasn't something easily lost, even after a few years of traversing the Worlds.

He blamed it on the fact that he was kissing, not on the fact that he was kissing Sora. It was a natural urge, after all, one tended to immediately start chewing once food was placed in the mouth, and one tended to immediately start wincing when a fist was pointed at one's face. His urges were nothing more than reflexes, and any explanation other than that was simply not allowed to permeate his mind.

And even if he were to admit that any emotions behind this exchange were something more than platonic, he certainly wasn't going to willingly offer up the experience for Sora to just turn around and use later on Kairi. This lip pecking was already something he was uncomfortable with, but he was willing to offer the service because he was not only Sora's best friend, but because this wasn't anything that required any actual emotional attachment. Sure, he would do anything for Sora, and his own willingness to help out his best friend in need was more than enough motivation to teach him how to kiss, even if it was ultimately for someone he didn't necessarily want Sora to share the kiss with. But he couldn't hide the somewhat guilty satisfaction resting in the back of his mind that this kind of kissing was reserved for preschoolers messing with each other on the playground.

Riku himself wouldn't have had much problem touching his face to some stranger's, because it was, quite frankly, boring. There was nothing like the deep, heart warming satisfaction of mingling tongues, lips, teeth, gums and flesh in the mind-blowingly blissful embrace of unadulterated passion. All of the sappy romance movies Kairi had made the three of them watch in the past had spelled that out pretty clear within the first ten minutes, and Riku could easily conclude that to be true after his own kissing experiences.

He would go ahead and admit that there was a spark of something when his lips met Sora's, and it ultimately made him curious about how something deeper might make him feel. He tucked that thought neatly away in the back of his mind though, because not only was it completely inappropriate, but then there was that "what-Sora-doesn't-know-can't-be-used-on-Kairi" thing he was keenly aware of.

Then he felt Sora pull away.

"Okay, how was that?" Sora asked, his face yet again adopting that strange, confused expression. Eagerness curled around his every word. "Was that right?"

"Yeah, not bad at all."

"Better than last time? Should I maybe not have come at you so fast? Too much pressure?"

Riku rubbed a hand over Sora's unruly collection of spikes. "No, it was perfect."

"Do...do you think Kairi would like it?"

Riku tasted something bitter in his mouth. "Don't ask me that. I have no idea."

Sora frowned, folding his arms. "Well, did you like it?"

Riku wondered how many times he had lifted an eyebrow that morning. "What?"

"Did you like it?" He repeated again, completely oblivious of the implications of the question. "Is it the kind of kiss you would be okay with getting? If it is by your standards, then maybe it will be by Kairi's too."

He stifled a grumble. He didn't want to be perfectly honest, so he just settled on a somewhat flat "Yeah."

Sora looked satisfied. "Maybe we should do it two or three more times, you know, just to make sure it's right?"

"Sora, I'm pretty sure you're good to go." Before he wouldn't have been so eager to dismiss such a readily available opportunity, but any further mention of Kairi was liable to completely wipe him out. "You don't want to wear out all of your lip muscles on me, right?"

A somewhat embarrassed expression crossed Sora's features, so Riku quickly added, "But if you have any more questions, or if you really feel like you need to practice, then just come back. I'll be here."

"Really?"

"What are friends for?"

A wide grin spread across his face, and he wasted no time enveloping his friend in a tight hug. "Riku, you really saved me. I owe you one!"

"Don't worry about it."

"I mean it. I'll buy you a popsicle, or one of those pineapple-sherbet cups you like so much."

Riku waved him off. "I don't need any ice cream. Just do me a favor and don't botch this, lest I look like a terrible teacher." He grinned.

"You're such a polite, chivalrous guy, aren't you? Thanks again anyway."

"Yeah, yeah." Riku leaned back against the sofa and prodded Sora's leg with his bare foot. "Now get out of here. I'm going to try to recover that hour of sleep you deprived me of when you banged my door down at seven."

Sora shuffled towards the front door. "I thought we already discussed that that was your fault. I'll see you later, okay?"

"See you."

With that, Sora headed out the door, unaware of the loud sigh of exhaustion that resonated throughout Riku's living room.

As he walked back to his house, he couldn't help but excitedly consider what had just taken place just a little while ago. Before he had walked into Riku's house, he had never kissed anyone, but now he was at least somewhat experienced. He hadn't expected the transformation to feel the way it did, but he was certainly glad he came over.

What had he been missing for all of those years? Kissing wasn't hard, or gross, or bad at all. In fact, he kind of liked it. He hadn't expected for the nerves in his lips to twist and jolt like that when they met flesh, and he certainly didn't think the cause of such reaction would come from such minimal contact. If it felt that good with a Kairi-proxy, as it were, then it surely would feel amazing with the real thing. Riku was an astoundingly good kisser—not that he had anything to compare it to—and he would have to remember to compliment him about it later.

He could hardly wait to see Kairi again that afternoon, and more importantly, later on that evening when they sat at the edge of the beach overlooking the sunset. If all went according to plan, she would think he was an experienced kisser, one who would make a more romantic boyfriend.

XxX

"So, what do you want to do now?" Kairi asked, sucking down the last of her dripping popsicle. Strawberry juice dribbled down her chin and she wiped the mess away quickly with the back of her wrist.

"I dunno. Whatever you want to do is fine."

The two of them were seated on a retaining wall just behind one of the sea shacks. It wasn't exactly a hidden area, but it was one of the quietest places on the island. The beach grass and a few tropical flowers kept the ledge from view, simultaneously adding beautiful colors to the scenery.

The two of them had just finished a movie, courtesy of Kair's home theater, and Sora offered to buy the two of them popsicles to complement the evening.

Kairi kicked her legs and hopped off the wall, tilting her head with a grin. "We could go to the beach."

"The beach?"

"Yeah," she said again, outstretching her hand and wiggling her fingers. "We can sit by the shore and watch the sunset."

Sora took the proffered digits in his hand and stroked them lightly, following her off of the wall. "Okay."

Together they headed down to the shore, the sand crunching underneath their still shoed feet. About half way down, they paused to unlace their footwear and enjoy the warm and gritty sand between their toes.

Sora knew that no matter how many Worlds he had been to, or how many sights he had seen, he would never get tired of the simple beauty of the beach on Destiny Islands. It was familiar, and inviting, something he had had a significant lack of when he was on his adventures. When he returned, he saw that the place hadn't changed at all, and this was one of the things he was most grateful for.

She spun around a bit, then sat softly on the sand. Daintily, she patted the sand next to her, which Sora sat on without hesitation. As if it was automatic, he laced his fingers with hers.

The two of them sat for a time, but the serenity of the moment soon vanished when they opted for running around in the surf.

Sora ran a little deeper into the water, scooping up a handful of water, giggling impishly as he squirted a thin stream of water in her direction.

She squealed, scooping up her own hand full of water, attempting to fire back. "Waugh!" Instead of it going in any particular direction, it sloshed down her legs and onto the sand. "How did you do that?"

Sora grinned and squirted her again. It was a trick he and Riku had learned early in in their childhood. "I'm just amazing like that."

"Is that so?" She ran forward and scooped up another handful of water, this time throwing it directly at him. For good measure, she flicked the remaining beads of water off her fingers in his direction, smiling satisfactorily as his hair matted to his forehead. "I'm just amazing like that, too."

"We'll see about that." He launched another attack.

The two of them played in the water until the horizon turned a muted tangerine and plum. The temperature cooled, and once again they were content just sitting in the sand, watching the sea, and the sky, and the disappearing sand.

Kairi laughed lightly as the spray from the incoming waves touched her bare feet. She had scooted her shoes a fair distance behind her. "This is nice."

"Yeah," he agreed, sliding his hands towards hers and intertwining the fingers. "It really is."

The sun slowly sank behind the ocean, the bottom of it rippled and distorted from the rolling waves in the distance.

The stars were visible soon, twinkling against a background of inky sky. The island had beautiful sunsets, each one more breathtaking than the last. The point at which the stars had just come out, and the faintest trace of sunlight was still visible from behind the slowly darkening ocean was Sora and Kairi's favorite; the beginning and end were still whispering secrets to each other, and nothing was definite in the stillness of the evening.

A warm breeze blew by and flicked a lock of Kairi's hair against her ear. "It's getting late."

"Yeah."

"I should probably get back." She smiled softly and squeezed Sora's hand before getting up to dust the sand from her body.

"I'll walk you back." He stood too, and walked beside her in the direction of her house.

Sora felt a little bubble of anticipation well up inside of him, and he had to consciously keep his steps at a slow walk. If he looked too eager, he might risk ruining the mood. He was going to put Riku's lesson to the test as soon as they reached her doorstep and said their goodbyes. If all went well, then he would take their relationship to a new level. Grinning inwardly, he squeezed her fingertips again, and shivered as the dull light from her porch was visible in the distance.

All too quickly he found himself standing on her porch, which was significantly quieter than Riku's. The light was shining off of her face perfectly, her lips were formed into a slight smile, and her eyes were bright and inviting and warm.

His heart was thumping a bit harder in his chest, and he felt his lips tingle. He had to remember everything Riku had taught him that morning, lest he botch it up, as his friend had so kindly put it.

"Well, goodnight Sora," she said lightly. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"Yeah. Goodnight Kairi."

She smiled again and turned to her door, but Sora tugged on her hand. He saw that twitch of longing on her face again, and then he knew that he had to do it.

He leaned in slowly, making sure he knew exactly where her lips were. He had aimed, and the next step was closing his eyes. He remembered not to come in so hard, to keep his lips soft and tame. Everything that Riku had said was playing in his mind over and over like an instructional record. He spared one glance upward though and felt a twinge of contentment as her eyes widened a little in surprise. He faintly heard his name in her voice before he closed the distance between them.

Their lips met, and he could feel the excitement course through Kairi's body. She smiled against his lips, and pressed them together a little harder.

Sora waited patiently for the sparks to fly, and the world to stop for just the two of them.

And he waited.

And he waited some more.

There was something about this kiss, or rather, a lack of something. His lips were supposed to tingle, the electric sparks from before were supposed to intensify and set his lips aflame, and the two of them were supposed to melt into a blissful trance-like state where the only thing they would recognize was each other. He wanted that feeling from when he was kissing Riku, but he wanted it to be better, as he was kissing his girlfriend, not his best friend.

Of course he didn't dislike kissing her at all. In fact, he was thrilled that he made her so happy, and he liked the way her lips fit against his. He just wasn't feeling quite as much satisfaction for himself as he would have hoped. Maybe things would get better with time, just as learning to kiss had taken a few practice runs. He shook off his thoughts and pressed his lips against Kairi's again to continue the kiss.

Then he felt her hand slip onto his shoulder, and he suddenly felt awkward. A nagging compulsion in the back of his brain told he me ought to be doing something, as he was the one who initiated the kiss in the first place, yet Kairi had just made another move. He didn't want to waste a whole lot of time contemplating the issue, for fear of accidentally forgetting to kiss her back, so more out of will to do something rather than compulsion, he put his hand around her slim waist.

Was he improvising? Had he thought about it earlier, he would have immediately dismissed any ideas about deviating from the plan whatsoever, but here he was touching her waist as she touched his shoulder, and they were pressing lips together again and again. Riku would be so proud of him once he told him about it. He forgot about the sparks for the moment, and reveled in his cleverness.

Yes, this was certainly something he could do. Kissing wasn't so bad. The rest of the feelings would surely come later.

But then he felt it.

It was so alarming that he nearly shoved her away from him and ran down the beach back to his house—possibly Riku's—to regroup, and ultimately panic himself into unconsciousness.

Her lips moved again, but this time not against his.

They opened.

There was a distinct gap between them, and Sora felt his lips flailing out into space like a renegade Gummi ship, forever lost in infinite darkness. Riku didn't tell him that this could happen.

Thinking quickly, he pulled back ever so slightly, trying to hide his alarm. What on earth was he supposed to do when she opened her mouth?

A flurry of questions stormed his brain. He had thought he would be satisfied with just a little peck on the face, something light, and easy.He never imagined that it could get harder. Suddenly, images of every moderately romantic movie he had ever seen played through his head with overwhelming intensity. He remembered watching the man and woman move their mouths in some sort of hidden, complicated pattern, and Sora didn't even a vague idea of what was going on between them. He hadn't paid it much thought, but now he wished he had been just a little bit more curious about it.

Kari seemed a touch surprised that he pulled away, but the smile on her face never left. Her cheeks had turned a slight shade of pink, but it was a little muted by the yellow light on the porch.

Sora tried to hide his shame. Her smile erupted into a full fledge grin, but she seemed at a loss for words. Somehow "Thank-you" didn't sound like an appropriate thing to say at all. Instead, she just squeezed his shoulder again and said another quiet goodnight.

With that, she slipped into her house with a giggle.

Sora let out a held breath and contemplated banging his head against the outer walls of the house.

Since that had a high probability of making Kairi come out again perpetuating the feeling of awkwardness already spinning around inside him, he thought against it. Instead he would channel that energy into that of his fist for when He would all but tear Riku's door down the next morning.

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