A/N: A short bonus chapter to one of my most popular fics! Please enjoy! Prompt: stuffed, prompter: nicayal
Stuffed
Riku sprawled face down on his bed with a sigh, glad he was done with classes for a week. The transition from high school to college had been surprisingly challenging, and more than exhausting. He had every intention of making the holidays as restful as possible. Or at least fun.
He squirmed over to the edge of his bed, groping for the XBox controller. Instead, his hand found something soft and squishy, so he picked that up in lieu of hard plastic, rolling over onto his back with the plush in hand.
The stuffed Meow Wow had seen better days. Really, it had seen the best and worst of Riku. His birthday when Sora had gifted the thing to him. Sleepovers when Sora and Riku would stay up all night playing video games. Awkward weeks, and then months, while Riku began thinking about Sora as more than a friend. Then the anguish, as he waffled over whether or not to bother the brunette with his thoughts. Restless nights when he couldn't sleep without dreaming indecent things about him. And of course, the day it all fell neatly into place, partly thanks to the stuffed animal itself.
The Meow Wow was threadbare in some places, now, and of course, his fingers immediately found the crooked stitches along one seam. They were no longer shiny white, the thread a little dingy and grey, from all the times he'd traced Sora's little operation.
Riku smiled to himself. He'd been so upset and embarrassed, when his cherished toy had burst, bits of stuffing trying to escape, that he'd hid it away. Just as he'd hid his heart away. But Sora noticed, even if it wasn't right away.
Sora always noticed.
And then, of course, he made it right. Because that was what Sora did, and Riku couldn't count himself any luckier than that.
Riku reached into his pocket for his phone and brought the Meow Wow up near his face, turning his iPhone camera on himself. Tapped his thump to capture the moment. Satisfied by the selfie with his Meow Wow, he typed a short message to his boyfriend and sent it.
Boyfriend. Even after a few months, the word made him feel warm with happiness, and, lacking a Sora to squeeze as an outlet for his joy, he wrapped his arms around the Meow Wow.