A New Story: Chapter 2
-EDIT- Okay guys, I've finally decided to pick the metaphorical pencil back up, and get back to work on this. I've rewritten it so it's not painful to read anymore, and I hope y'all can forgive me for taking so long to get my act together. Shit is getting real!
Sora continued to sit on his motel bed, silently bawling his eyes out over a foolhardy silver headed boy. Said boy was watching the brunette's distorted image from Maleficent's magic crystal ball, a frown grimly set on his worried face. When Riku had decided to check in on what he had assumed was his former best friend, finding him crying was definitely not what he had expected to see. It lead him to conflicting emotions, ones that came from the darkness in his heart, and others that came from what good still lie in wait. The darkness still going strong, the thoughts of guilt and remorse began to die down. Before his dark thoughts could begin to elaborate very far, Riku heard a fairly audible 'thump' from inside the crystal ball. The sound had come from Sora, of course, but the reason for the noise caused the silver headed boy's heart to ache. The small brunette had attempted to fall gracefully on his side on the bed, but instead ended up on the floor, face down on the hard wood.
The sight pushed down the negative feelings Riku was having mere moments ago, amusement at the child's antics welcomingly nostalgic. It turned Riku's thoughts back to Maleficent, and what she had told him about Sora. She had said that Sora didn't want to actually help Kairi, or save the many worlds he traveled to. That he didn't care about his traveling companions, or what happened to them once this was all over. That he was selfish, and that the best thing Riku should do is stay away from him until the right time arose to put him in his place, once and for all. If it weren't for the darkness constantly eating away at his once pure soul, he would have never even considered registering a single word she said. To the old Riku, it all sounded like nonsensical poppycock. However, the current Riku was a different story. Constantly surrounded by darkness, using its powers by letting it eat away at his heart, he'd believe almost anything at that point.
However, he hadn't been using his powers lately, relying mostly on his original physical prowess he had back on the island. This left his mind without the thick cloud of evil weighing down on him, and for him to ponder his thoughts and memories in peace. In fact, looking at the scene in front of him now, he found it ridiculous that he would ever even consider Sora being less than one-hundred percent pure innocence. this left him with only one plausible explanation.
"Maleficent lied to me..." Riku stared at the image of Sora as he said this, so intently that he could almost feel like he was right there with him. He heard light sobs from the still face down child, who seemed to not want to conjure up the effort to get up off the ground. It saddend the silver headed boy to see his best friend like this, but it couldn't be helped. Sure, teleporting over there with the darkness would be easy, but he wasn't in a position to be heading over into enemy territory without some heartless, ready to back him up. But then again, it wasn't like he wanted to go over there to fight, he just wanted to help one of the people he cared the most for.
"Riku..." The small sound came from the crystal ball, from Sora. "I want you here..."
The older male wasn't entirely sure what had happened to him at that point. His heart ached and pounded, compelling Riku to clutch his hands to his chest, not used to the immense pain it was creating. He wanted the pain to go away, for Sora's pain to go away. Before he could register what his hand was doing without his permission, Riku had already begun to reach towards the image of Sora, the angle changing and the picture sharpening. It had become so vivid, like the silver-haired male was right next to Sora himself, reaching out to pat his hair like he would often do back on the island.
It only was when his hand came into contact with the fluffy, mussed hair that unquestionably belonged to his best friend, that Riku realized what he had done. He had used his powers without meaning to, sending himself directly to where Sora was residing. Before he could even begin to try to send himself back, Sora's head snapped up, eyes red and face wet from the tears, the most astounded look on that moist face.
Both boys froze the second their eyes met, Riku's hand frozen in Sora's hair, who's eyes were wide with shock. The stared at each other, stock still for what seemed like the longest seconds of their life, the time dragging by so slowly it was like time had frozen just for the two of them.
It was Sora that snapped out of it first, slowly but surely whispering the name of the one he had been wishing to see. "Ri...ku?"
Upon hearing his name, the boy in question blinked, just once at first, but then many times more afterwards, seemingly trying to dispel the absolutely REAL figure in front of him. The soft strands of hair still in contact with his fingers was proof enough of that. Finally getting a grip on the situation, Riku ripped his hand away from the brunette as fast as he could, focusing letting the darkness portal surround him, take him back to Maleficent's lair. His eyes were squeezed shut for concentration, trying to get out of there as quickly as possible.
A sudden and panicked shout caused Riku to open his eyes in surprise, only to find himself being tackled against the floor. Wisps of darkness disappeared into the air as the silver-haired boy's concentration was shattered, rendering his only means of long-distance travel useless. As his back collided with the hard wood floor, Riku let out grunt, half in pain and half in the effort of not letting his head collide with the floor.
It seemed that Sora had tackled Riku to the ground, most likely in a desperate attempt to keep him from leaving. Well, it worked. Not only was Sora looking at him with the cutest face at the moment, he was also establishing contact with the older boy by sitting on his chest, so he couldn't transport without taking him along for a ride, complete with letting him discover the secret lair of the Council of Evil. And that just would not do.
"Riku? Th-this is you, right Riku? Riku?" The small boy stammered, saying the other's name more times than necessary in his word stumble. It was amazing that he could still make coherent words after all that blubbering. A long, tense silence followed the seemingly silly question. Of course the boy being pinned down was Riku, who doesn't recognise their own best friend? If only that? However, Riku himself was hesitant to answer, not wanting to get the boy's hopes up, about anything. More silence hung in the air, slowly becoming stale before elder male gave in and sighed, finally answering the boy sitting atop him.
"Yes."
"You're really here with me, right now?" Sora questioned further, leaning his head towards Riku's, tears pricking the corners of the poor boy's eyes.
"Yes Sora, I'm right here." Riku answered, putting one of his arms around the smaller boy, wiping away the quickly forming tears with his thumb. He was slightly surprised when Sora buried his face into his shoulder, hiding his heating up face in the crook of his neck, and let his tears leak out again. "A-And you'll stay with me? At least for a l-little while?"
Riku relaxed on the floor and laid his free hand Sora's head softly, letting out a small sigh. "I'll stay." The elder slipped his eyes shut, not expecting them to move from their spot anytime soon. The tears stopped flowing after a short amount of time, but the two boys still laid there on the floor, in the same position for a matter of minutes. After he was sure Sora had calmed down, Riku opened his eyes and rustled his friend's hair, a silent sign they had commonly used when they were still children to ask if the other was okay. Suddenly the weight previously on top of him lessened, and the brunette was leaping off of the older boy, his face flushed. Riku sat up in time to see Sora clumsily sprint to a side door that seemed to lead to the bathroom. A confused Riku got up off the floor, dusting himself off before Sora whirled around to face him, expression serious.
"Stay here." Was the only thing he said.
Riku blinked and nodded, and the younger boy's face softened noticably before he shut himself in the bathroom. Riku heard the muffled sound of water running, presumably for the brunette to wash his face after crying so much. Riku went to sit on the bed Sora was on earlier, making good of his promise to stay with his friend. The silver haired boy propped himself up on the headboard, making himself comfortable while waiting for Sora's return. He heard the faucet turn off, but after some time, the smaller boy still hadn't come out yet. Listening closely, it sounded like rapid typing on a tiny keyboard, much like one of those fancy keyboard phones his parents had, back when he was still playing on the island. Riku shook his head, trying to shake off those memories. It would only make him feel worse, since the majority of this ordeal was his fault to begin with.
"Hey, Sora." Riku called, surprised when the tapping stopped and the door was tentatively opened by a certain brunette, who was looking rather, odd. Riku decided to ignore it, and beckoned towards his best friend, a smile playing his features. "C'mere will ya." Whatever odd look Sora had on his face before was gone now, happiness replacing it. He leaped for the bed, landing on top of Riku, yet again. However, he rolled off once the satisfying sound of his friend's "Oof!" upon impact, giggling as he made his own spot on the bed. Riku couldn't help but laugh too, the feeling contagious.
Once the laughter had died down, they began to question each other on simple things, harmless things that old friends ask to catch up. They hadn't talked in a long time, what was new, playful banter about sparring, whatever felt natural for the two. It was an easy rhythm to fall back into after the years the two had spent with each other on the islands. Riku found that he was glad he stayed, not even noticing the dark cloud always hovering on his heart being beaten away. Gradually, the conversation turned more serious, and Sora asked the question that had been on his mind since Riku disappeared into darkness on the island.
"Riku, why did you leave me?" Sora questioned, looking at his best friend with earnest eyes. Despite what has happened, despite the fact that they're on opposite sides of the fight, the small brunette still trusted Riku to be his best friend. The silver haired boy knew that, and he felt the same way, maybe even stronger than that. However, it was a difficult question to answer, some of it didn't make sense even to Riku himself at the moment. But still, he had to try. "Sora, I-"
"Do you like me?" Sora blurted suddenly. His eyes were downcast, ears red, and Riku knew what he was getting at. Still, stayed silent.
"D-do you like me?" Sora repeated, still refusing to make eye contact with his friend.
The elder boy turned a very slight shade of pink, plastering his best smile to his face, trying to act like he didn't know what Sora was implying.
"Of course I like you!" Riku started. "We've been friends since we were little brats!"
The brunette looked up at the older boy, face flushed red. "Not like...not like that. Like, h-how I thought I liked Kairi." For Sora, he might just die of embarrassment if he had to try and explain further. For Riku, he was confused. How he 'thought' he liked Kairi? Does that mean he was over her? But Sora did like her, he doesn't like guys! Riku's tried to force down the color his cheeks were trying to revive, looking straight ahead.
"Would you be adverse to the idea, if I...did?" Riku couldn't look at Sora in the eye, instead inspecting how conveniently interesting the bed covers were.
"Well if you do...could you...k-kiss me?" Sora's timid voice was unmistakable, quiet as it was, barely more than a whisper. for a small second, Riku's dark side was screaming at him to go for it, to take this chance to control the keyboard master, who was practically begging to be taken. The actual Riku swept that aside as soon as possible.
"B-but, wait," Riku stammered, now turning his eyes to Sora, trying to get him to come to his senses. "Aren't Donald and Goofy in the room right next to us?"
"The hotel on the other side of the district." Sora countered.
"But we're on opposite sides of the battle!"
"We've been best friends for years."
"But, that's-" Riku sighed, his voice quieting. "Don't you know what that'll lead to?"
"I do. B-but!" Sora protested when Riku began to open his mouth once again. "You...you're far more important to me." Sora's voice quivered, knowing that when he said he cared for the elder boy, he didn't just mean as his best friend.
"But Sora!" Riku began to shout, stopping himself once he realized what he was doing, seeing the flinch it caused. He turned away once again, not letting Sora see his face. His voice grew quiet once more. "I don't want to hurt you. Not like that, not ever again."
Riku's gaze was pointed in the opposite direction of Sora, his guilt betraying him through his eyes. He felt a warm hand on his cheek urging him to face his friend. However, when the silver headed boy wouldn't budge, he felt a certain brunette climbing into his lap, straddling him. Riku raised his eyes to face Sora, to ask him what he was doing, their noses bumped, and all either of them could do was gaze into the starry depths of each other's eyes, vivid blue meeting cerulean.
Without a command from his brain, Riku's lips connected with Sora's, moving of their own accord. Sora's mouth opened slightly, now timid to the advance, blush steadily spreading across his cheeks. Riku's state was far different, poking his tongue into the wet cavern that was Sora's mouth as soon as he gave way. He set to exploring the new environment, tongue reaching into ever crevice he could reach, claiming his territory. It wasn't long before Sora was kissing back, throwing his arms around Riku's neck for good measure. He didn't try to fight back, this was what he wanted...right?
Riku brought his hand up to the smaller's face, delving deeper into the kiss, only to stop completely when he felt his fingers come into contact with something...moist.
The silver-haired boy pulled away from Sora, both taking a second to make up for the earlier lack of breathing. "W-woah, Sora, are you okay?" Riku could only gape at the tears the brunette was producing, which were increasing by the second. The now-crying boy buried his face in his hands, his ears betraying the red that had now spread across his entire face.
"I...I...I don't understand!" Sora blubbered, refusing to look back up at his friend. "I, I want to, but I just, gah!" He sniffled, trying to get his bearings, but with his shoulders trembling, and ever-growing tears falling hotly past his hands, and onto Riku's shirt, he seemed to be out of luck. As for the boy he was sitting on top of, Riku was at a loss on how to calm the quivering mess that was his best friend, if nothing else by this point. "Sora, it's o-" Riku started, only to be interrupted once again.
"No!" Sora shouted, trying to look stern as his head snapped up, focusing his gaze on Riku's. At the sight of the pure cerulean orbs, Sora only broke down again, shutting his eyes and laying his forehead on the other's chest. "D-don't say it's," he sniffled before continuing, " okay, because, it's not. I do like you, I know I do, and the one chance I have to see you, I screw it up!" Sora was ready to start up again, but he felt hand on his head, a familiar, warm hand. He leaned into the touch before the owner of the hand raised Sora's head to look at him by the chin. The act was so gentle, and followed by an even more stunning gesture. Riku was sitting there, a genuine smile plastered on his face, one that reached his laughing eyes. "Sora, you're so silly." He said simply, messing with the younger's hair.
"Sill- Riku I'm serious!" He huffed, his tears finally halting, forgetting to fall in his sudden aggravation towards Riku. How could he say he was silly? Sora was being totally serious and completely un-silly! "I know." Came the simple reply, as if every trouble Sora had with this had already been fixed in Riku's mind.
"Then you, of all people, should know what I don't like about this! I already hate all the fighting we have to do against each other, I never get to see you, half the time I don't know where you are, because you're always running off with your new evil pals!" Sora had blurted it out before he knew what he was even saying anymore, immediately clasping his hands to his mouth directly afterwards. It wasn't like he had been thinking any differently, but he regretted saying it. Now Riku would think he was a clingy, jealous fool. Not that he was, right? Of course not! Riku's silence wasn't exactly reassuring either. Sora hadn't realized he had averted his gaze until the silver headed boy raised the other's face yet again, giving him a small peck on the forehead as a positive gesture. "I'll just have to switch sides then, won't I?"
Well, I've always been bad with plots. Ehehe.. ;;; But I'll try to make this a good story, if I can remember to get off my lazy ass and type.