Chapter Five: The Breaking Point
Sora was the worst roommate. He ate everything in sight. He left his clothes, books, pens, games everything strewn about the floor of their room and seemed confused every time Riku asked him to clean them up. He put his dirty socks and underwear into Riku's laundry basket so he doesn't have to clean them himself. He sung in the shower, loudly. He let himself in to any room he likes, no matter what Riku was doing, just to tell him the thought that popped in his head that needs to be shared. He invited Kairi over every day, and their other friends every so often, without checking if Riku is okay with it. He snored, clung to Riku like a limpet on the post of a dock, and woke up absurdly early every morning.
Riku wouldn't change anything for the world. He was happy, for what feels like the first time in years. Sora was there, with him, they were together. At almost any given point, he could turn his head and see the brunet nearby—doing whatever, but there.
Sora's nightmares settled down. He got them only a few times a week now, instead of every other night—unless there are storms, in which case they were as bad as ever.
Riku was content to think they could all keep going on exactly how they are. He ignored the restless doubt, the part that knows something was going to change. That they couldn't just keep going on the edge, that one day something was going to tip something over.
One last hurricane tied off the season. One of the worst in years. The island's electric lines were broken, and it might be months before they were all back up and running again. A paopu tree, from who knows where, smashed through their bedroom window and took out half of the wall with it. Sora's mother freaked out, and dragged him home 'until the house is back in liveable condition'.
Riku's dad was a boat maker, making fishing boats and repairs for the island. They'd always been a little estranged from one another. Riku had been always close to his mother, and their little family had been devastated when he was nine and she died. He'd done his best to raise his young son, but…
Well. When Riku had come back from the End of the World with Sora, the only thing his father had said was: "I thought you'd taken that poor excuse for a raft and left for good."
When Riku asked him to help rebuild the wall of his house, he'd expected to be rebuffed. Instead he agreed, coming by to help every day he could spare. They used the wood from the paopu tree that had done the damage. It was hard, gruelling work—paopu was one of the most unforgiving to work with, but he did his best.
By the time the weather had gone from suffocating humid to roasting hot, they stood back to admire their finished work.
"You probably ought to finish it off. Match with the rest of house."
Riku just shrugged indifferently. "Why fix what's not broken? Just because it doesn't look pretty, doesn't mean it won't work."
His father gave him a long look. "You know, son…" He paused, then seemed to force himself to go on. "You and me… we worked well together doing this." Another awkward pause. "If you wanted to come work for your old man, I could use an apprentice."
He made an involuntary noise, shocked by the offer. He could only stare, words sticking somewhere between his brain and his tongue. He blinked a few times, watching his father get more and more uncomfortable.
"Look, you don't have to answer. Now, or later." He gave an awkward shrug again. "But you're finished school now. And it's good, honest work. That you're good at." He nodded towards the house repairs. "It's not saving the world or anything. But maybe you don't want that anymore."
"…what happened to your old apprentice?" Riku asked uncertainly.
"He married this pretty girl from the mainland and shipped off to put down roots."
"Well, what if I do that?"
His father's watery grey eyes slid past Riku, to the pathway from the gate. "Somehow I doubt that."
Riku looked over his shoulder to see what had caught his eye, and smiled slightly when he saw Sora clambering over the fence. Instead of passing through the gate like any normal person would.
"So, if you'd like. Come by the workshop sometime. I'll teach you the tricks of the trade."
Riku nodded. "…thanks, Dad."
"Well. Get some sleep, son. You look dead on your feet." His father left rather quickly, exchanging greetings with Sora as they passed on the path.
"Hey, you finished it!" Sora said, coming to stand next to Riku and looked at the wall. "Looks good! Better than that raft you made anyway!"
Riku rolled his eyes. "We made."
"It was mostly you."
He snorted. "Yes, Sora. It's done. No glass yet, but I've got the storm shutters up and mosquito netting hung inside." Sora nodded happily, but he seemed sort of distracted. "So… are you coming home tonight then?"
The brunet shifted, and gave Riku a quick glance. "Uh…" A pink blush crossed over his cheeks. "Well… uh. Mom invited Kairi over for dinner," he explained carefully. "Then we were gonna go watch out for turtles coming up to nest."
"Ah." Riku looked away, inspecting the house for flaws again. "Well. Tell them I say hi."
"…you're not mad, are you Riku?"
"Of course not," he reassured. "It would've been nice to get some proper sleep. But it's fine. Tomorrow I guess? Have fun with Kairi. Protect the baby turtles from predators."
Sora settled him with a confused look. "Are you sure you're okay?"
"Just tired," he dismissed. "I have to go get some groceries first. Then I'll probably get some sleep while you two are out. Have fun with Kairi."
"…you already said that part."
"Right. Sorry. Tired." He rubbed a hand across his face, his exhaustion washing over him in waves. Sora hadn't had a good night's sleep since the hurricane—he'd been catching what sleep he could here and there, but with rebuilding the house during the day he hadn't had all that much spare time.
When he lowered his hand, Sora was still giving him that confused, concerned look. So he reached over and messed up the soft, brown spikes. "See you in your dreams, Sora."
Sora apparently decided he was well enough to leave alone, because he left to go off with Kairi. He dug out some of the munny he had, counting through it carefully and calculating what he would need with Sora back home. Too much. But he had enough munny for it, luckily.
He trudged through the streets in the pink light of the growing twilight. He hadn't meant to leave it so late. Where had the rest of the day gone? His feet led him where they knew to go, and he only came to a stop when a pair of shiny black shoes appeared in his vision.
"You know, I've seen corpses fresher than you."
"Axel!" he cried, surprised. The fiery redhead just rolled his eyes, didn't bother to correct him. "What are you doing here?"
"King's been worried about you," Lea drawled, in that particular accent of his. "Volunteered to come by and check on everyone's favourite heroes."
"Sora and Kairi are going to protect baby turtle eggs," Riku answered helpfully.
"Well, that's…" The other fell silent, staring at him. "When did you last sleep?"
Riku just shrugged, not knowing how to answer that question. He'd have to know what day it was to give a proper response.
"…okay. How about you turn around and go home. Get some shut eye."
Riku shook his head. "Groceries."
"Well. Alright. But I'm coming with you. And if you pass out like a damsel in distress, I'm going to rub it in your face later, okay?"
Riku just rolled his eyes. He couldn't stop Lea from following him however, and filling the silence with all sorts of inane commentary. Judging him for his grocery basket, badgering him about why he bought this and that instead of those or these. At the counter, he gave the cashier a look – she gave a good natured roll of her eyes that clearly said 'Mainlanders. What can you do?'.
He didn't know why, but he decided to walk along the beach back to his house.
"Gotta hand it to you," Lea was saying. "This world sure is beautiful. Maybe I should come by and visit more often."
Riku snorted. "You're not staying with me."
"Don't be like that." He laughed. "Fine, fine. I'll go stay with Sora."
"I just said you're not staying with me."
A grin crossed Lea's lips. "Ohoho," he said. "You two finally decide to stop making googly eyes at each other and get together then?"
"What? No." He gave Lea a frown. "Axel. Sora isn't gay."
"I don't know if it's that simple," the redhead replied, rolling green eyes. Green like the grass. Strange. That's what Kairi had said too.
"We just live together," Riku insisted.
Lea waved a hand. "I give it a year."
Before Riku could come up with a response to that, his eyes caught. Standing on the old wooden dock, Sora and Kairi were standing close. Very close. Even as he watched, Sora leaned over and pressed his lips to Kairi's.
Why was it so hard to breathe all of a sudden? His head was spinning, a large bell tolling in his eyes. Like the tower in the City of Clocks.
"Riku? What are you looking at?"
Lea's voice sounded distant, like he was underwater. Something was heavy on his arm.
The tide was rushing out again, and he was tipping. Not backwards, now, but forward. He waited for the lights to swallow him, to drop him into Sora's dreams.
"Riku? Riku!"
But the light didn't take him. He fell and everything went black.
Chapter Six: Lull
They hadn't finished with the turtle eggs until way past midnight. Sora might've gone straight back home, but the house was already dark. He could spend another night at his mother's, and say goodbye to her properly in the morning. He was gonna have another nightmare, no doubt about it – but Riku could handle one more night.
He dressed in his pyjamas and settled himself in bed. It was daunting, staring up at the roof. The night was too quiet. Like he was alone in the world. He shivered and tugged the blanket up over his head. Squeezing his eyes shut, he took deep breaths. Calmed himself down, and letting himself drift off to sleep.
He and Kairi and Riku were at the paopu tree on the play island. Riku was standing down on the ground, back pressed up against the tree. The setting sun bathed him in pink and orange, and he seemed to glow with it.
The two of them were sat up on the trunk of the paopu tree. Even as he watched the sun sink down towards the horizon, he felt Kairi's small, delicate hand slip into his. "Guys?" He said. Two sets of eyes, blue as the sea and one more green, turned to look at him. "Let's always stay together. The three of us."
"Always," Riku said, his voice low and calm.
Kairi answered by turning his face and pressing a kiss onto his lips. He blushed, or at least felt like he needed to. He and Kairi had never kissed before, not out in the waking world. But who could blame him for dreaming?
"Hey!" Riku's voice interrupted, playful. "Aren't you guys forgetting about me?"
Kairi broke away with a little laugh.
Sora turned to his best friend and grinned. "Who could forget about you?" He teased. Leaning down, he gave Riku the same kiss with a smile.
Kairi's giggling abruptly cut off. Confused, he turned to look what had caught her attention. But she was gone. "Huh…?" He turned back to Riku, to ask if he'd seen what happened to Kairi. But Riku had vanished as well.
He jumped down from the trunk, looking around. "Guys? Hey! Guys! Where'd you go?" His voice echoed around the island, and he realised with a wave of fear that it was empty. No Tidus, Wakka, or Selphie even nearby. Where was everyone? "Guys?" He called again, his heart beginning to thump heavily.
He turned around, but suddenly the ocean was gone. Replaced by an ebbing mass of glowing-eyed heartless. It pulled back, like a wave, and began to flow towards him. With a shout, he turned and ran. As if he could escape it on foot.
"Riku," he called. Even in the middle of a dream, he knew that if he called to Riku, his best friend would come to save him.
…but he was usually faster than that.
"Riku," he called again, louder. The heartless reached him, little clawed hands grabbing at his feet and trying to trip him up or keep him still.
His feet began to sink into the shadows, like quicksand. "Riku!" he shouted now, panicked. "Riku, where are you?"
The heartless swarmed him, swallowing him up in the darkness. He screamed Riku's name, desperately, before his mouth was flooded.
He woke up screaming, jolting upwards in bed. He couldn't catch his breath, his heart racing. He scrambled around, searching for his keyblade.
"Sora?" His head jolted up at the sound of his mother's voice in the doorway. "You were having a nightmare. You kept shouting for Riku…"
He shuddered, stood up and grabbing his clothes. "I have to go. Something is wrong. I need to go."
"Sora, it's the middle of the night," she said. "Go back to sleep."
"I can't," he said. "I have to go home. Something is wrong."
She sighed. "I'll check up on you tomorrow. Don't you go waking up Riku if he's asleep already! That boy always looks ready to drop."
Sora only waited long enough to change into proper clothes, and then he was racing out of there. Something was wrong. It had to be. Riku was always there to protect him.
The door was bolted. Who would do that? He hammered his fist against the door. "Riku!" he shouted. "Riku! Riku!"
The heavy sounds of the bolt sliding relaxed him, just a fraction. It opened outwards, and he stepped back to let it. He stopped quickly, then ended up gaping at the figure standing on the other side. "Lea?!"
"Sora," he sounded oddly subdued. "It's late." He stepped out of the way so Sora could step inside. "I didn't think you'd be getting home until the morning," he said through a yawn.
Sora's eyes skated across the room, taking in the details. The door to their bedroom was closed, firmly—Riku never closed the door. The study door was open, and Sora could see the spare bed through the gap, sheets rumpled. Lea must've been sleeping in there. "What's going on? Where's Riku?" He demanded.
"Well, he's in the bedroom," the redhead replied hesitantly, "but—" Sora didn't wait for the rest of the answer. He pushed past him and went to the door, throwing it open.
His eyes immediately locked on Riku in the bed. He was aglow by moonlight streaming through the net over the window. He almost looked ghostly pale, with his silvery hair and pale skin. He didn't move at the commotion. He was lying flat on his back, head resting on the pillow, arms lying limp out beside him over the top of the blankets; breathing deep and steady.
"Riku…?" Sora asked, approaching him carefully. His best friend didn't stir.
"He passed out," Lea explained, leaning against the doorway. "He was acting all weird, staring at nothing, and then he just tipped forward. I brought him back here, and decided to just… leave him to it. Never seen anyone look so completely exhausted before."
Sora sat down on the edge of the mattress, picking up one of Riku's hands to hold. "This is my fault," he whispered, devastated by the thought. "I did this to him."
"…okay?" Lea said uncertainly. "Look, I'm going back to sleep. Do you want your bed back or are you gonna…?"
"I'll stay in here with Riku."
"Yeah, I thought you probably would." He ran a hand through the messy spikes of his hair. "We'll talk in the morning. You let him get some sleep. Got it memorized?"
~Λ~
He woke up slowly. Hearing the voices first.
Kairi was yelling. "This is exactly what I said was going to happen!" What was? "But do those two blockheads ever listen to me? No!"
Lea replied, the tone of his voice unmistakeable, though he couldn't hear the actual words being used. He was calm, conversational. Things couldn't be too bad then.
"There has to be something we can do!"
Next, he could feel how heavy his own body felt. Like he was made of stone. He tried to open his eyes, but they felt like they were gritted with sand. He groaned.
"Riku?" A familiar voice whispered.
He grunted in acknowledgement. That was Sora. Probably the warm spot tucked up at his side. Strange, that wasn't how they usually slept. The brunet must have slipped in after he'd already gone to sleep last night.
Last night.
What had happened last night?
He forced his eyes open, though it was a monumental task. Colours and light swum, but eventually settled into the picture of their bedroom ceiling. Sora's head appeared in his vision, face tired and drawn. "You're awake?"
He glanced towards the door, eyes heavy. Why was it closed. "Who could sleep through that racket?" He asked, his voice rough with disuse.
"You," Sora replied. "There's been a lot more yelling this morning."
He grunted, letting his eyes fall closed again. It was uncomfortable on his back. Gathering up his energy, little that he could muster, he turned onto his side more comfortably. Sora moved with him, and then ended up facing each other, one arm looped around each other's waist. "Can we deal with it later?" He murmured. "I'm still tired."
"Yeah," Sora said, in a soft voice Riku didn't have a chance of understanding through his sleepy fog. "I'll be right here with you, Riku."
He didn't reply. He was already drifting off again.
Chapter Seven: If I Just Lay Here
When he woke up again, Sora was breathing quietly in his ear. The late-afternoon sunlight was spilling through the window. It was warm, and dim. He stayed where he was, an arm holding him tight around the middle. His back was to the window, and when the door opened his eyes could drift lazily towards it.
Lea was giving him a curious look. He raised his free finger and pressed it to his lips, gently shushing him. "Sora's still asleep," he whispered. Peacefully, for once.
"…alright," Lea replied dubiously. "But when you're both awake, we all gotta have a talk." He left them alone again.
Within half an hour, Sora had stirred. Sky-blue eyes opened, blearily settling on Riku's face. A familiar smile broke over his expression, and the arm around his waist tightened. "You're awake!"
"I have been," he replied. "I was waiting for you. Apparently Lea wants to yell at us some more."
Sora groaned, "five more minutes."
Riku laughed, ruffling his hair with a weak hand. "Take your time."
They lay in silence for a little while. Eventually, Sora took a deep breath and reached up to flick his ear. "I'm mad at you, you know?"
Riku stared, mouth gaping. What was Sora mad about? What had he done? He must've passed out. Sora must've had a nightmare and he hadn't woken up to come save him. His stomach twisted in guilt. "I'm sorry," he said honestly. "I didn't mean to… I should have been there to stop your nightmare. Forgive me?"
Sora flicked his ear again, more painfully this time. "Not about that, you idiot!"
"Ow," Riku complained. "Then I don't understand why you're angry."
He huffed and rolled his eyes. "Come on."
Riku didn't want to leave the bed but he did reluctantly sit up. Together, they went out to the living room. Every footstep felt like too much effort, but he kept putting one after the other until he could sink into the cushions of the lounge. Sora sat down directly beside him, pressing their thighs together.
Lea was leaning against a wall. Why is he always leaning? "Glad to see you two finally emerging from your lovenest."
Riku just rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Axel."
"I'm sure I would find you more threatening if you hadn't fainted into my arms last night," Lea replied. "Kairi filled me in on what's been happening. You're both being irresponsible idiots." He glared hard at Riku. "In the meantime, you need to start sleeping, if you didn't get any the night before."
"In the meantime to what?" Sora asked, confused.
"I'm taking Kairi with me, and we're going to pay Yen Sid a little visit. Learn more about this Dream Eater thing." He put his hands on his hips and glared at them both. "Until we get back, Riku you're on bed rest. Sora, you better wait on him hand and foot. You owe him that much."
Sora saluted him, grinning. Riku just scowled and folded his arms. "You're lucky I'm too tired to argue," he muttered.
"Well. We'll all work on getting you back to fighting spirit." He pointed at Riku. "You. Get some rest. Got it memorized?"
Riku rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say, Axel."
Lea rolled his eyes right back at him. They were good friends.
~v~
"It's way too hot," Riku complained. It was midday. Kairi and Lea had been gone for three days. He was starting to feel like his strength had recovered, but then the heat was so oppressive he didn't feel like moving.
At that moment, he was laying prone on the living room floor, trying to stay away from the hot air rolling through the windows. He'd tried to shower earlier but the pipes had spat out lukewarm water that did nothing to cool him down. He was wearing nothing but a pair of boxers, pressing himself to the ground to try and leech out any coolness they had left.
He heard footsteps approaching him, and Sora settling into a sitting position beside him. An ice-cold finger suddenly touched his back, tracing a line up his spine and beginning to trace the pattern of his tattoo. He moaned in relief and turned to look at Sora.
The brunet was grinning at him around the ice cream pop in his mouth. His other hand was holding out another, a few sticky drops already running down the shaft. "You're a hero," Riku groaned, reaching up to take it from him.
"Phil-certified and everything," Sora said smugly.
"Mhm," he mumbled, around the salty-sweet treat in his mouth. The ice-cold seemed to flood through the rest of his body in moments. He popped it out and looked across at Sora again. "I didn't even know we had any of these left."
"We didn't," Sora replied. "I bought some this morning after the Blitzball game with Tidus and Wakka." He moved his cold hand up, pressing it under his hair and against the sweaty skin of Riku's neck, eliciting another grateful groan. "This is why you should cut your hair short again."
He grunted, mouth full of ice cream. He popped it back out. "Some of us didn't get to play splash with their friends this morning. Some of us are being mothered by bossy keyblade wielders with spiky hair."
"I'm sure Lea will be back soon," Sora replied consolingly.
"And what if he doesn't have a solution?" Riku replied.
"We'll figure something out," Sora replied. "I promise." He laid back on the ground next to Riku, looking up at the ceiling. "We've faced bigger stuff than this."
He sighed, roving his tired eyes over Sora's relaxed, face. "Yeah. I guess we have." He groaned. "I just wish it wasn't so damned hot."
"When the heat drops, I'll take you down to the beach," Sora promised. "A quick swim will cool you off. We just have to remember to get you back indoors before your skin burns."
Riku grunted, watching him. Sora had been around a lot more over the past few days. Whether it was because of the heat, or school being over, or wanting to be there in case he wanted his help, he couldn't guess. He had been out a couple days, going to play games with their other friends, or buying groceries, but for the most time they'd been right here, together. It was nice. Riku craved Sora's company, but even this much didn't seem to be too much. He could probably spend every moment, waking and otherwise, with the brunet and never be satisfied. The thought scared him a little.
"Do I have something on my face?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. That stupid look." He reached over and pushed at his face with a slight laugh. "I hope things never change."
"Not even the weather?" Sora asked with a teasing grin.
"Okay. Maybe that."
The brunet laughed, turning his head slightly to look back at Riku. "We're always going to be best friends, Riku. No matter what."
He couldn't help the sinking feeling in his stomach at that comment. He looked away, turning onto his back to face the ceiling before he squeezed his eyes shut. "Yeah. Best friends forever." Whatever made Sora happy. That would be enough.
Chapter Eight: Burned Hands Learn Fastest
"Riku!" A familiar, eager voice yelled out from the direction of the front door. "Are you awake?"
"I'm in the kitchen," he replied.
Sora wandered in, glistening with sweat. "Still at those books?"
He raised his eyebrows at his friend. "This is rather important."
"Yeah, yeah."
Lea and Kairi had returned a week after their departure, laden down with all sorts of books. Yen Sid, it seemed, had sent them on a wild goose chase after a certain tome, only to remember that he had lent it to Merlin years ago. Merlin had many more books on the subject of Dream Eaters, and had required their help with finding them all.
In the end, Lea had dropped off Kairi and twenty or so books before heading off with a vague promise to return. Riku, never particularly studious, had been working slowly through the books—learning and trying to find something that could help them.
Sora had given up trying to help him after a few hours. During the day, he went out—to hang out with Kairi or play Blitzball with some of the boys. He'd come home before dark, and pull Riku from his books to insist they spend some 'fun' time together. Once Sora went to sleep, Riku would read again until Sora called out to him in his dreams, or he fell asleep with a book in hand.
"Hey, Sora?" Riku asked, that night when they were lying in bed together.
"Hm?"
"Do you want to go out to our island tomorrow? I'm feeling a lot more energetic.
"Mm." Sora shifted closer to him. "Maybe. I'm supposed to go see Kairi in the morning."
"After lunch then? If it's not too hot?"
"We'll see. Within a moment, Sora was snoring. He didn't have a nightmare that night, and when Riku woke up in the morning he was long gone.
He left a note on the front door, telling Sora that he had gone over to the island to wait for him. He took some of the books to read, if the wait went on too long, but his first task was assessing the damage on the island.
The wooden structures close to the rocky formations of the island were generally intact, though there was a lot of repair work to be done before he'd really classify them as 'safe'. But the docks and the free-standing structures were in ruins. The ladder to the paopu island was still there, but the bridge was not only a few support beams rising up from the water.
He waded out to it anyway, books held over his head to keep them dry. It was the first place Sora would come to look for him, he knew that much.
At sunset, he gave up waiting. He didn't want to be out when it was dark. He crossed the island, rowed back across the bay, tied up the beat-up rowboat and trudged back home, books heavy in his arms.
The note hung exactly where he's left it on the door. Angry, he tore it off and scrunched it up, shoving it deep in his pocket. Sora had probably never come home to see it. He tried not to get angry—Sora had been spending the day with his Most Important Person. It was no wonder he had forgotten about his best friend.
He had a shower, cold, hissing at the water on his pink, tender skin. There was an aloe plant in the backyard, from which he broke off a frond to drain of sap. Liberally, he rubbed it into his arms, shoulders, neck and face.
Halfway through, the door burst open to deposit Kairi and Sora, giggling, with their arms loaded up with wrapped parcels.
"Hi Riku!" they called, not even looking in his direction.
He gritted his teeth and didn't answer, busy rubbing green goo into his skin.
"…Riku?" Sora asked, hesitantly. Putting down his load and turning to look properly at his friend, he hissed through his teeth in sympathetic pain. "Yikes. What happened to you?"
He fixed the brunet with a look that spoke volumes about how stupid that question was. "Got sunburned."
Sora cringed. "Yeah obviously. I meant how?"
"Probably sitting in the sun for too long." He clenched his jaw and looked away from them both, coating his skin with deep concentration.
There was a long, awkward pause, and then Sora and Kairi went back to their easy chatter. Ignoring his bad mood until it went away, like they always had. He didn't know why that pissed him off so much tonight.
He stood up silently, went to the bedroom and closed the door firmly—he didn't slam it. He planned on putting on a shirt and heading back out there to keep reading, but suddenly he didn't want to. Instead he lay down on the bed and stewed in his anger.
Eventually, Kairi left, and the bedroom door slowly opened. Riku didn't move. Sora's footsteps were tentative as he padded across the room, rustling as quietly as possible to remove his clothes and get into his summer pyjamas. He paused at the bed, hesitating. "Can I…?"
Riku lifted up the sheet silently to usher him in. Sora gave a sigh of relief and joined him, careful not to brush his burned skin as he climbed over to settle into their usual sleeping positions.
"Kairi said goodnight."
He only scowled, closing his eyes tightly and refusing to answer. Sora sighed again and settled down. "Traverse Town. Wonderland. Deep Jungle. Olympus Coliseum." He fell asleep before Beast's Castle, in that peculiar order of his.
Riku was too angry and unresolved to sleep. Just when he was thinking of getting up to get some reading done, Sora's breath began to quicken. A nightmare. He opened his eyes to watch, and wait for Sora to call out for him. Sora's breathing was harsh, he twitched and struggled, whimpers of fear catching in his throat.
His eyes narrowed dangerously. Sora was refusing him—purposefully. A week ago, there might've been nothing he could do. But he was better informed now.
He reached out, carefully turning Sora's head towards him. He pressed their foreheads together, taking a deep breath to concentrate, imagined unlocking a keyhole to Sora's mind. He felt the same familiar falling sensation, and when it stopped, he opened his eyes.
It was Xehanort again tonight. Or maybe him when he was taken over. Sora was struggling, screaming, beating at the heartless to try and get them to let go. "Stop it!" he screamed. "Let me go."
Riku's temper burned. His keyblade was in his hand before he thought about it. The heartless and the somebody controlling it shredded like wet paper under the teeth of his weapon. Once they were gone, he breathed hard. His back was to Sora and he could hear the other picking himself up slowly.
"…Riku?"
"You didn't call for me," he accused, not turning to look at him, "on purpose."
"I didn't want to bother you."
"And you didn't think refusing to call for me so I could fulfil my purpose wouldn't bother me?" He snapped. "You think it doesn't hurt me that you'd rather suffer than do the only thing I'm good for?"
"You were mad at me! I didn't think you'd want to help!"
"Because you left me!" Riku roared, whirling around to face him. "I burned to a crisp waiting for you on our island when you had no intentions of showing up! You were too busy on the Mainland shopping with your girlfriend! Never mind your best friend waiting for you!"
Sora was silent in the wake of his verbal onslaught. After a long pause, he weakly managed out: "Kairi's not my girlfriend…"
Riku gave him a scathing look at that. Really? That's all you have to say about that? He turned away, the castle around them vanishing—turning into the cavern under Traverse Town.
"Sora!" Kairi's voice called eagerly, already part of the dram.
He began to walk away, intent on leaving Sora to his dream with his dream girl. He didn't make it two steps, however, before Sora clenched tightly at his hand. "Riku don't! Don't leave me. Not like this!"
The weight of him grew heavier, and when he glanced back to look, Sora was collapsing onto his knees, clinging to him for dear life. It was so familiar it hurt.
"C'mon Sora," he said weakly, "you've got to pull yourself together."
A low sob came from Sora. "Don't… Don't."
Riku sighed. He turned around, letting him keep the hand he was clinging to so desperately. He knelt, using his free arm to hold the other close. Sora melted into him, releasing the hand to clutch at him with both arms.
"I'm not going anywhere, Sora. I'm just waking up." He raised a hand up, burying his fingers in the soft, brown spikes. "Don't do this again, okay? Don't hide your nightmares from me."
"Okay," Sora whispered. "Okay I won't. Just don't leave me alone."
"You're not alone. I promise."
~v~
Sora was already awake when he stirred the next morning. Fingers were gently tracing the tattoo on his back. The burnt skin felt hot and tight, but Sora's arm was carefully placed so as to not touch any pink skin. He opened his eyes, face already turned toward the brunet, watching him slowly come into focus. The light was dim, the storm shutters pulled to so as to keep the morning sun from touching Riku's already burnt skin.
"It's that's fault, you know," he told Sora tiredly.
"What? Your tattoo?"
"Mhm. Human Dream Eaters in the past have worn medallions. Ones they could take off when they needed time to recover. It's part of me now. No Vacation Days for me." He'd said it light and teasing, but Sora didn't laugh.
His fingers kept tracing the pattern, round and around each loop endlessly. "Kairi showed me hers, you know. The Thalassa shell charm."
"On her shoulder-blade, right? Yeah. We went there together." Hers had been finished significantly faster than his, but she'd stayed with him.
"Maybe I should get one done. Like you guys."
"Sora. You would cry as soon as they put the needle gun on."
"…yeah. You're right." He sounded really disappointed about it. His palm flattened somewhere in the middle of the tattoo. Probably right in the middle of the heart, judging by the feel of it. "If I got one like this, would I become a Dream Eater too?"
"…maybe for Kairi." Riku turned his face down and started to push himself up. He grunted in pain at the pull of his skin. "I need to treat my burn again."
Sora's hand pushed him back down. "Stay here. I'll go get a fresh cutting." He carefully climbed over him and left the room.
Riku shifted so he was lying prone in the middle of the bed, closing his eyes and drifting off into a half-sleeping state. Vaguely, he heard Sora's footsteps as he returned into the room. But it didn't register until he felt a cool dollop of sap land on his shoulder. He hissed a cry of surprise, arching up reflexively.
"Sorry!" Sora said hurriedly. "I thought you'd gone back to sleep. I was just going to take care of it for you."
"It's fine. I just didn't… wasn't expecting it, I mean." He started to sit up again, but Sora coaxed him to stay put. "Hm. Okay." Gentle hands smoothed the cooling sap into his hot, itching skin. He relaxed into it enough that it took him a good few moments to notice Sora's hands weren't where they should be. "Sora. I don't think my tattoo got sunburned," he said, amused.
"Sorry." He didn't sound sorry at all. "Turn over. I've done all I can to your back side."
He snorted. "Phrasing, Sora." As if rubbing gel into his naked back wasn't bad enough. He shifted, sitting up and letting the sheets pool in his lap. "It's mostly my face from here."
"Except under your fringe." Sora pushed it out of his face, the remaining sap on his hands sticking it in place. He carefully eased the bridge of his nose and cheeks. "Alright. All this reading, you must've come up with something to help."
"There isn't. Not really. Some stuff, but I don't think it'd help us."
"Like what?" Sora asked, fingers pausing on his jaw. Riku kept his eyes anywhere but the oblivious face and sky-blue eyes. "Come on. It might help to tell me anyway."
He swallowed. "Well. There's a more… literal sort of… Dream Eating." He shook his head, fringe unsticking and falling back into his eyes. "Or rather like. Dream Inhaling." His hands clenched in the sheet. "I'd have to… breathe in your nightmare; and then breathe a good one in to you to replace it."
Sora tilted his head, one hand holding his chin while the other rubbed aloe into the skin of his neck with the lightest touch. "So? That doesn't sound so bad."
Riku cleared his throat, awkward. "There can't be… any part of the dream that escapes. Or it'll low back into you, worse than before."
"So…?" Sora asked, confused.
There had been illustrations. "I'd… we…" He could feel his face flushing, hoped that the burnt skin would hide it. "It'd be a kiss Basically. A deep one."
"Oh."
Sora's fingers had paused. "So now you know, why I wasn't going to bring it up. Unless there was nothing else."
"Not really," the brunet answered. "Would it be so bad about kissing me?"
"Just for the dream?" He asked, a knot clenching in his stomach. "Yes."
Sora gave him a long, silent look. "We'll keep looking then."
He scoffed at that, ruffling Sora's hair. "Yeah. Sure. 'We'."