Author's Note: Ack! This took me much longer than I'd hoped it would, and I'm not quite sure I like this chapter, so it might be replaced later on. Or not...I don't quite know. Anyway, Happy Holidays and especially a Merry Christmas (since it's right now!). Hope you enjoy this chapter!

Autumn Falling

Chapter One

"Your Words Were Goodbye"

"You're...hiding?" Sora repeated skeptically. When Riku nodded, firmly but shyly, the brunette let out a quick, sardonic laugh and shook his head in disbelief. "You're hiding," he said again, still laughing. "Well, that makes perfect sense."

"Yes," Riku agreed immediately, smiling almost gratefully and seeming pleased with the fact that Sora understood. Meanwhile, Sora scoffed and rolled his eyes, wondering just what in the world was wrong with this strange man.

"Exactly what are you hiding from, then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow and crossing his arms over his chest. His tone must have caught the other man off guard, for he blinked as his eyes widened and he stepped backwards in confusion. When he answered Sora's question, Riku seemed almost ashamed.

"I don't know who they are," he muttered, "what their names are, I mean. But I know that they want me back and I saw them when you left the field."

"I didn't see anyone then." Come to think of it, he hadn't seen anyone in the town at all.

"You wouldn't have; they didn't want you to see them."

Sighing, Sora shook his head and once more turned to the thought that Riku was absolutely insane. After all, Sora had found him, clothed only in what looked like white scrubs and nurse's shoes, standing in the middle of a field of snow, and now here he was in the same state standing on the balcony, talking about people who wanted him back. He was hiding from them because of this, and apparently Sora could not see them, simply because they did not want him to.

Wait...

Sora had found him in the field, then left and come straight home. Riku had still been in the field when Sora's taxi pulled away. He'd taken a car home, and yet, somehow, this stranger had beaten him here with enough time to get to the balcony...

But the front door had still been locked when he'd arrived. Riku hadn't broken in, it seemed. Leaning forward, Sora peered around the other, looking to see whether the fire escape had been used. The ladders were still compact, their rungs covered with snow. Had he gone up to the roof and hopped down, then? It wasn't a long fall at all, considering that Sora was on the top floor. There was no sign of that being so, and in any case that still didn't explain how Riku had gotten to the apartment in the first place.

"How did you get here?" Sora asked, his voice low and cracking nervously.

"I followed you." Riku's answer was immediate and delivered simply, as if he saw no reason for Sora to reject this explanation.

"Yes, I know, but...how?"

Blinking, Riku made a soft 'oh' sound as his expression settled. It was as if he had come to some realization. His lips pursed and he cocked his head to one side, his long sliver hair slipping over his shoulder. He seemed to be contemplating something for the next few moments before he spoke again.

"I just did," he stated. Nothing more.

"Right," Sora snorted, dazed. His head swam when he thought to attempt to pick out some meaning from the stranger's words and appearance. "Well, are you safe now? Can you go home?" He asked, now wanting only to be rid of the other man.

"No."

"What?" he couldn't help but ask. The answer had been so decisive and immediate, and unexpected. Sora had been sure that Riku would take the hint and be on his way.

"No. I'm not safe. I can't go home. I have to stay here for a while."

"Youhave to?" Sora was beginning to really get annoyed. The nerve of this guy...

"I have to. I can't go back there."

The brunette sighed and ran a hand through his hair. For a split second he felt as if he were on the verge of tears. What in the world was going on here? Who was this Riku, and why in the world did he have to be caught up in whatever mess it was the crazy kid was dragging along behind him?

"Please."

The earnestness of the word stunned Sora, and he lifted his face up to look into Riku's beautiful eyes. They were soft, and moist, and Sora thought that maybe – just maybe – the man really did have something to worry about. Maybe he really was scared, and really did need someone to just reach out and offer him some shelter for a little bit. Whose right was it to judge this so quickly?

"Okay," Sora answered, "you can stay. Come on in, it's freezing out here."

Riku nodded thankfully as the smaller man moved aside to allow him through the sliding glass door. The boy nearly gasped aloud as he moved, for underneath the silver-haired one's feet, the snow remained as untouched as ever. His footsteps made no sound as they touched down, and left not even the slightest imprint. Not a single snowflake was displaced.

Once Riku was in the apartment, he turned and smiled at Sora, waiting patiently for him to follow. The latter did so reluctantly, looking back over his shoulder at the print-less snow several times during the process.

"You can sleep on the couch, I guess," Sora offered absently as he closed the door behind him and crossed the living room. There was a linen closet by the short hall that lead to his bedroom, and he took out a spare pillow and some blankets, handing them to his curious new house guest as he yawned. "I'm going to bed now, if you'll be alright on your own."

"I'm fine," Riku answered, placing the bundle of bed linens on the couch, appearing to be completely disinterested. "But, um...is there any way you could adjust the temperature? It's a bit..."

"Sure, no problem," Sora interrupted. The balcony door had been open for some time now, so it was only natural that it would be chilly in the apartment. "Goodnight," he called over his shoulder, readjusting the thermostat so that it was set to rise to 71 degrees rather than his usual preference of 69. He'd have to remember to change the program once Riku left.

A small pout puckered Sora's lips as he entered the living room the next morning. The blankets he'd given Riku last night were still sitting, neatly folded, on the couch. Riku himself was nowhere in sight. He wasn't on the couch, obviously; he wasn't on the floor, or in the hall. He wasn't in the bathroom, or the kitchen, and he most definitely had not been in Sora's bedroom.

Furrowing his brows and pouting, Sora scanned the area once more, just to make sure he hadn't missed something. It was in vain, of course, but Sora justified the look by telling himself that there really was not much else he could do. Had Riku left, then? Had he just gotten up in the middle of the night and returned to...where-ever...the field?

A small tap sounded from the balcony, like fingers on glass, and Sora instantly realized where Riku was. For it was just that, fingers on glass, that had made the sound, and as Sora turned around to face the sliding glass door, he found the curtains pushed back to reveal a smiling, waving Riku. What in the world was he doing on the balcony?

Crossing the room, Sora sighed and opened the door. "Riku?" he asked as the man continued to smile down at him. Sora hadn't realized that the other man was a fair amount taller than him.

"Good morning, Sora," Riku crooned, his fingers trilling in a quick little wave.

"Yeah...uh...what are you doing out here?"

"Don't know," he shrugged, "I just got a little warm last night, so I came out here."

The brunette's eyes widened. "Did you...you didn't sleep out here, did you?"

"I did."

"But it's freezing out here, Riku. You could have died!"

"I could have died in there too..." the other man murmured, seeming a bit confused by Sora's concern.

"Well...yeah, I guess," Sora sighed, "if there was some sort of freak accident or something, but you really could have died out here."

Riku's eyes glazed over for a moment, his thoughts clearly turned inward. He blinked slowly during that time, and Sora watched him carefully. He seemed worried about something, and a little bewildered. The brunette frowned. This man was getting stranger and stranger with every moment that Sora spent with him.

After a long while of waiting for Riku to say something, or snap out of his little daze in any way whatsoever, Sora sighed and folded. "You can come in now, you know," he muttered, feeling a little ridiculous explaining this to someone who was, by all appearances, older than himself.

"Yes, but...would you mind if while I'm staying with you, I continue to sleep out here. It's just...it gets very warm in there."

"Suit yourself," Sora mumbled, shaking his head as he decided to give up on trying to understand the other man. Apparently that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

In the meantime, his stomach reminded him with a low growl, he was very hungry and something had to be done about it. He made his way to the kitchen with heavy steps, motioning over his shoulder for Riku to follow him. It was only when his foots landed in front of the fridge that he recalled his search of the cupboards and shelves the night before, which hadn't turned out well.

Muttering a curse under his breath, he turned around to sigh at Riku. "I...," he paused, not sure of exactly what he wanted to say. He had to go grocery shopping, that much was obvious, but he wasn't sure what to do with his temporary room mate. Doing such a thing together seemed a little too...intimate?...considering that they had only just met a handful of hours ago. But neither was Sora about to leave this strange man who was 'hiding' in his house alone here.

He was beginning to really regret having allowed him to stay.

"We have to go run some errands," he stated decisively, watching Riku carefully as he spoke. The man's actions and mannerisms seemed very odd at the moment, and Sora frowned. Riku was pacing, ever so slightly, his face twisted in worry as a small bead of moisture rolled down his smooth, pale cheek. At the feel of it, his expression widened instantly, his eyes terrified and his mouth set in a thin line. His hand lifted quickly to wipe the small dew-drop away and he stared at the spot on his fingertip that had come in contact with it.

For a long while, he did nothing, though Sora thought he could see a nervous tremble course over his frame at one point.

"Riku..." he called softly, now seriously concerned about the sanity of the man he had taken into his house. And why? Because he had said 'please'. Sora could have kicked himself. "We have to...leave...you know, go...buy food..."

Shaking his head quickly, to bring himself back to the present, Riku blinked at Sora and then nodded. "Right," he murmured, smiling finally, and gratefully. He followed Sora anxiously out the door, down the hall, and down the stairs. The brunette listened carefully to the sound of his falling footsteps. It was so soft he had to strain to hear them, and then it was just a small, barely audible crunch, which was puzzling. There was no reason a footstep should make a crunching noise.

As they continued, though, the silver-haired stranger's steps began to fall more heavily, and frequently. Sora could hear Riku pacing in a small circle behind him whenever he slowed his pace. He listened more carefully now, and the sound of their falling became less of a crunch and more of a...well, almost a squish. By the time they reached the door to the city, Sora could no longer quell his curiosity.

He opened the door as he turned to furrow his brows at Riku, and a small gust of wind took his attention away from the other man. Beyond the doorway, out in the quiet streets of the city, it was snowing, almost blizzarding. Sora pouted; it hadn't been snowing at all only moments ago when he was out on the balcony, and the weather report he'd watched the other day had predicted a completely clear week. He shrugged. The meteorologists couldn't get it right all the time, and it wasn't that unusual for snow to start up so suddenly.

Opening his mouth, he returned his attention to Riku, on the verge of asking if he were okay. The question froze, teetering on the tip of Sora's tongue.

Riku was gone.

"What the..." Sora muttered. He glanced out the door, but found no sign of the man on the city streets, and so retraced his steps back to his apartment. The door was locked when he got there, and the rooms empty. For once, the balcony door was even closed. "Shit."

Reaching into his pocket, Sora found his cell phone and dialed, pacing and cursing to himself as he waited through several rings.

"Hey Sora," the answer finally came.

"Kairi," the brunette sighed, "I need your help." When he finished the sentence, he mentally added that he probably needed help from someone a bit more professional than his best friend.

"What's going on?" Kairi's voice was thin and worried now. Sora could almost see her sitting at her kitchen table, straightening her posture and leaning forward at his tone.

"I...I have no idea. I'm going insane, I think."

"Sora, just tell me what happened and I'll be the judge of that."

"There's...this guy...staying with me. I let him stay, and I have no idea why because I think he might be an escapee from the institution, and-"

"Woah, slow down. Start from the beginning. Who is this guy that's staying with you?"

Sora took a deep breath, then launched into a rushed explanation of how he'd met Riku, and how the man whose sanity was questionable had ended up staying at his apartment.

"I doubt it's as bad as you think it is, Sora," Kairi chided softly. "I mean, it really sounds like this Riku guy was terrified of whoever these people are that want him back. Like you said, maybe he really did just need someplace to stay for a bit. I'll admit he does sound kind of...odd...but if you'd like I can check up on you guys over the next few days to make sure everything's going okay."

The brunette shook his head, "Thanks, Kai, but I think I'll be fine...it's just...I kind of...lost him."

On the other end of the call, there was nothing but silence for a long while.

"You...lost him?" the girl asked tentatively.

"I had to go grocery shopping, and I didn't want him here alone, so I was gonna take him with me but when I got outside he was just...gone."

"You're not making any sense."

"I realize that. But it's just what happened. If I could make sense of it all, believe me, I would."

Kairi replied with a small, affirmative hum. "Alright, well, I'll be over in a bit to help you look for him, or wait for him; whichever you think is best. Sound good?"

"Yeah. Thanks, Kai."

The girl was very quiet for a bit, and when she did finally speak, her voice sounded strained, and almost cracked at one point.

"No problem."