Author's Notes:

Ah, the second chapter. Well, here's a heads up for new readers. Stygian Solace was, I think, the first (from my knowledge, and I DO read a lot) KH fanfic to have a... er.. "strict" father, so this, like many of my ideas, is not taken from any other fanfic. After all, Stygian Solace is almost as old as KH itself, and was one of the first successful KH fanfics, yaoi or not, posted at ff.net.

This chapter has more to do with Sora's side of the story, and how he feels about Riku.

A look ahead:

Raging parents, raging hormones. Conflicting names. And Exhibit A: wet bishounen!

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Chapter 2: The Sky's Feelings v. 3.0 (redone November 2003)



Narrow jade eyes bore into each other like rusty daggers, the hatred between father and son so strong, so acrid that any outsider to Riku's family would be appalled by their behavior and demeanor around each other. But for Riku, this "love" he received from his father was familiar. Almost routine. Did he cower when the hand cracked across his face? Did he cry when he was slammed against the wall and called vile, derisive names? Did he scream when the fingers wrapped around his throat, jerked at his silver hair, or twisted his arm into unnatural positions?

No. Riku did none of those things.

Instead, when his mouth filled with the bitter, metallic taste of blood, he spat it back into the man's face and leered afterward, crimson staining his teeth and lips. He simply laughed when his father hissed the word fag and threw him to the ground, screaming that his son should bring home proper girls instead of dreaming wet dreams about his best male friend. Screaming that his son had no future. Screaming that no one loved him for what he was. Not even Kairi. Or Sora.

That's right. Sora and Kairi had each other, didn't they? Riku was the odd one out. He was just... there.

When his father took a break from screaming, his mother would whimper and sob and blubber and wonder what she had done wrong when she had raised him and then would ask him why he did the things he did, when in reality, he had done nothing. They expected him to bow before them and grovel at their feet like some filthy dog when they did practically nothing for him. He cooked for himself, he fixed things around the house, he took care of himself when he was ill (because it would certainly soil their hands if they ever helped him), and he even had to sneak fictional books into the house to read, for his father only wanted him to study physics and law. They reprimanded him for having grand dreams and they slapped him when he said he didn't want to follow in their footsteps.

When they had first found out about Riku's infatuation with Sora, they had lost their minds. As if their son wasn't horrible enough already. Now he was gay.

And every day since then had been almost the same. They would come home in the morning from work or somewhere of the like as he was waking up, or eating breakfast or something normal, and they would immediately find something to harp at him about. Most days he got off clean without punishment. Then they would leave together again for a brunch or something banal like that (they supposedly had friends, but Riku never saw them), and Riku would leave for the play islands to spend time away from home in case his parents returned early.

His friends always helped him forget his problems --- Tidus with his daily challenges, Selphie and Kairi with their girlish fantasies, Wakka with his Blitzball obsession, and Sora…

Just being able to see Sora always brightened his mood.

But when Riku returned home to eat or sleep, he again would be met with furious parents. At night he rarely got off without punishment. This was why he spent many nights over at Sora's house… To escape.

Tonight was no different, and Riku had already been in an especially sour mood because of Sora rejecting his paopu fruit.

He took his undeserved punishment quietly, accepting the names his father spat at him, welcoming the pain that accompanied them.

It would be all over soon anyway. So soon. Just two more days. Just two more days until he and Sora would be on that raft and away from the islands….

If only it would come more quickly.

~~~

Sora had been thinking about paopu fruits and his two best friends, dreamily listening to the shrill cry of cicada outside, when he heard the shuffling of shrubs just below his bedroom window.

He was supposed to be sleeping, but like many nights recently, he just couldn't close his eyes.

What he saw when he did filled him with a lot of weird emotions.

He saw Riku when he closed his eyes.

Riku grinning at him, Riku teasing him, Riku peacefully sleeping, Riku looking frustrated, Riku laughing uncontrollably…

Sora knew what he felt. Sora knew why he sometimes woke up in an embarrassing state and had to use the restroom soon afterwards…

He wasn't sure when it had happened, but he had fallen in love with his best friend. His best friend who, as far as he knew, was only interested in Kairi.

Today had been an interesting day, that was for sure. A lot of things had happened that had confused Sora… But the one thing that stood out the most was Riku and the paopu fruit.

What the hell had that meant?

Sora had almost taken it the wrong way, that Riku was teasing Sora about Kairi --- that was rather upsetting. But when Sora had gotten home, he had realized that maybe, just maybe Riku had meant something else. That maybe Riku had given the fruit to him as a sign.

It was a little too hopeful, but it had been enough for Sora to row back to the play island, find the discarded paopu fruit, and take it home with him to cherish. After all, Riku had given it to him. No matter what the intention behind the gift had been, Sora was keen on keeping it for himself.

As much as he really liked Kairi, what he felt for Riku was something much more than just like.

This was why, when Sora heard the bushes outside his window shuffle and indicated that someone was there, he sat up in bed and panicked.

There were only two possibilities of whom was sneaking around outside his bedroom window: some kidnapper, or Riku.

And right now Sora would have preferred the kidnapper because he was only wearing his navy-colored boxers, and the prospect of Riku seeing him in this kind of state of undress (especially after today, with Riku teasing his pudgy belly)....

Urk, how embarrassing!

Cheeks flushing, Sora cast a glance around his room to search for a shirt nearby, his brown hair lightly bouncing at the movement. His blue eyes widened when he realized that his mother had picked up his laundry today, and that the only things littering the floor were magazines, action figures, and his red jumpsuit --- no time to put that on!

He launched out of bed and scrambled to his closet to find a top, snatching the first one he saw --- some really old, really small black dragon shirt that he had only kept because Riku had given it to him for a past birthday. He pulled it over his head, struggling with it and wincing at how small it was, hoping he wouldn't end up tearing it. To his surprise, once he got his arms in, the rest of the shirt fit quite nicely, even if it did expose his tummy now.

Crap. Tummy.

But there was no time to find another shirt, for the first rock had tapped against the shutter of his open window.

Making sure the paopu fruit was carefully hidden beneath his bed, Sora scrambling back on top of his mattress and peeked his head out into the warm night air, turning his blue eyes down to stare into the shrubbery.

There Riku stood, pale face turned upward and his bright green eyes filled with uncertainty.

The moon was behind him, casting his back and the top of his head in a silvery light, and even at such a distance, Sora could see the shallow bruise on his cheek.

Shit. His parents had done it again.

Riku didn't even have to ask --- Sora saw the pleading look in his friend's eyes and he quickly nodded, silently telling the silver-haired boy that he could come up.

Relief filled Riku's face and he smiled, already grabbing at the tropical vine-covered trellis to climb up to the window.

As Sora leapt off his bed and skidded to a stop in front of his door to lock it, he wondered why he was suddenly blushing. When he turned back around, Riku was already hoisting himself over the windowsill and lifting his head to glance at Sora.

Riku's eyebrows rose upon seeing Sora's clothes, and Sora remembered just why he was embarrassed. The blush deepened, but Riku didn't seem to mind as he stepped off the sill onto the bed, eyeing Sora's shirt.

"You still wear that?" he asked quietly, sounding almost amused as he stared at his friend.

"I-I haven't touched it in a long time..." Sora admitted as he lowered his gaze and nervously raked his fingers through his spiky hair, silently chiding himself for being so stupid. "I look stupid, I know... I couldn't find anything else to we--"

"I think it fits nicely," Riku interrupted, and Sora's head snapped up and his startled blue eyes locked with Riku's intent green ones. But Riku didn't stop there. "You look cute. I mean it."

He wasn't joking. There was no sign of sarcasm or ridicule on the older boy's face. Sora didn't know whether to feel complimented or uncomfortable.

"I-I thought you were going to make fun of me again," Sora stammered, falling into a sudden laugh as Riku smirked at him.

"I might have, on any other day," was Riku's reply, that smirk faltering as he narrowed his eyes and stared at the floor. "Is your mom already asleep?"

Sora crossed his toy-strewn floor to stand before Riku. The silver-haired boy was sitting on Sora's bed and had brought his knees up to his chin, feet on the bed, and had his arms wrapped around his legs; the distant look in his eyes gave him the aura of a lost child almost.

Like he was about to cry.

But Riku never cried. It was unheard of.

Beginning to reach out to pet his friend, or comfort him at least, Sora caught himself and instead moved to sit next to Riku on the bed.

"Yeah. She's asleep," Sora replied, intently studying Riku. "You know her. She could sleep through a tsunami."

This elicited a small smile from Riku. "Yeah. She could."

"Do you want to spend the night? I can try to wake her up," Sora suggested, rising back to his feet and moving as though he was heading towards the door. "She could bring in some extra blankets, or--"

"No!"

Riku's hand shot out and wrapped around Sora's arm, causing the boy to freeze in mid-step, his brow raising in surprise as he turned back to face his silver-haired friend. Riku's eyes were dark with some emotion Sora didn't recognize, but when he saw the startled look on Sora's face, those green eyes softened again and he relaxed, dropping his hand.

"I mean... You'll let me stay, won't you? We don't need to wake her up..."

"Riku, you're always over here anyway," Sora replied quietly, reassuringly. "We're like brothers."

When Sora saw the angry look that crossed Riku's face upon hearing his words, he supposed that maybe he shouldn't have said that last part.

"Brothers, huh?" Riku murmured, peeking up at Sora through his silver bangs. "What about Kairi then?"

Sora's blue eyes narrowed. "Kairi? What does she have to do with this?" he nearly demanded, upset that Riku just had to bring her up, now of all times. "If that's why you came over...."

"No." Riku shook his head as he lifted his chin, his pretty lips forming a dark frown. "No, that's not why I came. You know why I'm here. I can't stand another minute in that house. I'm not going back when they're there. Never."

Eyes softening in concern, Sora moved back to stand in front of Riku, slightly stooping so that he was level with Riku. "What happened this time?"

"The usual. Blamed random crap on me, and when I refused to acknowledge it, my father did things his way."

"That can't be all. What really happened?" Sora asked, his voice tight with anger. "Tell me, Riku --- I'm your best friend!"

"That's why I can't tell you!" Riku suddenly cried, his face twisting with distress as his green eyes grew wet. Then, as though just realizing what he had done, the silver-haired boy buried his face in his hands and cursed before mumbling, "Sora... I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell at you."

"It's alright," Sora sighed in response to his friend's muffled voice, his eyes solemnly lowering in understanding.

Sora did understand. At least, he thought he knew most of it. Riku couldn't report his father's harsh "punishment." Well, Riku wouldn't. He abhorred his father's behavior, but he respected him and the high prestige he held in the Islands' society; the man was well-loved and reflected that esteem onto his family. Riku wouldn't, couldn't ruin that reputation, because then his parents would suffer.

And besides, who would believe Riku? Who would believe that such a seemingly perfect family could hide such an atrocious secret? Even if someone of importance knew the secret, his father had all the ties and "friends in high places" that could silence the problem.

So Riku needlessly suffered alone at home, which was why he could rarely be found there. Sora generally snuck in as much as possible to visit his friend in the mornings, when Riku actually chose to sleep at home. To wake him up was Sora's excuse, but the truth was that Sora went to provide Riku with a friendly face, to give him the love and support he needed.

Which is what Sora needed to do here as well.

Riku put on a facade of cool, calm and in control when actually, inside, he needed the attention his friends gave him to disprove the word of his parents, to confirm that his life had meaning, that someone (if anyone) loved him.

Well, Sora loved him. Always had, and always would.

Not caring about friendly boundaries any more, Sora reached forward and slid his bare fingers into Riku's hair, hoping it provided some form of comfort for the distraught boy.

Much to his surprise, even though Riku didn't raise his head, he reached back, his arms blindly wrapping around Sora's waist and drawing him closer. When Sora was practically leaning over him, the older boy buried his face in Sora's stomach and clutched at the old tight shirt, letting Sora gently pet him.

It felt nice soothing Riku like that, having Riku depend on him a little, seeing some of the weakness that he carried with him. Sora had begun to think that Riku had no imperfections, aside from the obvious, but now this...

Riku could take his love. All of it, if he needed it.

His friend still wasn't crying though. Riku never cried.

Mmm... Then there were the physical aspects of it. Riku not only smelt nice, but his hair was unbelievably soft. Sora had never expected Riku to be the clingy type, but here they were...

"I can try to find a sleeping bag," Sora quietly suggested after what seemed like an hour of silence, "or do you want to see if we both can still fit on the bed?"

Riku took a few last seconds to nuzzle his nose into Sora's belly before he pulled away, still averting his eyes as he muttered, "Bed. But I need something to sleep in."

Forcing back a blush at Riku's strange cuddling, Sora hesitated a moment, his eyebrows drawing together as he pondered. "I dunno if you'll fit in any of my stuff."

Riku's eyes promptly narrowed. "You calling me fat?"

Sniggering, Sora playfully shoved Riku. "I wouldn't call it fat, Riku. Are you blind? Do you realize how much muscle you have now? Or how much taller you are than me?"

"I try to train you every day," Riku laughed, shoving back against Sora. "It's not my fault you're a runt."

"First I'm pudgy, and now I'm a runt?" Sora said, a bit vindictive as he pushed his friend a little more forcefully. "Jeez, Riku, at least I don't have a girly waist!"

"But you have girly hips," Riku retorted, roughly shoving Sora backwards. "And you're weak."

"Groar!"

Sora pounced on his friend and they both fell onto the bed, causing it to rock noisily against the wall, the brown-haired boy giggling playfully as his fingers attacked Riku's stomach with insane tickling. The stomach --- one of Riku's secret sensitive spots. Sora had discovered it one day a long time ago when they had been drawing on each other with paint to prepare for a rather long game of war. To think that someone like Riku had such a weak spot.

As Riku thrashed around, his silver hair whipping here and there and his feet trying desperately to push Sora back, he stifled a howl of laughter and squirmed around Sora's hands.

"Invincible Riku's weakness is his tummy!" Sora jeered as he giggled.

But as if by some silent signal, both boys collapsed into a heap on the bed, long limbs tangled and chests heaving for breath as they tried to control their laughter.

After a moment with only the sound of ragged breathing in the silent air, Riku absently blew the silver hair out of his eyes, and as a final retaliation, Sora weakly shoved his friend's leg off the bed.

"Need to get dressed..." Sora off-handedly murmured.

"Too comfortable to move," was Riku's tired response.

"You can't sleep in that."

"Why not...?"

"Dun wanna rub against it all night. And takes up too much space anyway..."

"So you want me to sleep naked?"

"No nekkie... I find clothes for Riku."

"Er... I thought they wouldn't fit me?"

"...mmm..."

"Sora?"

"Hmm...?"

"Sora."

"Nighty, Ri-ku..."

"H-Hey! Sora, you can't fall asleep! I don't want to sleep in this...!"

"...poo..."

"Gah! Don't cling to me like that! Sora...! Soooora!"

~~~

"Hah! Don't tell me you're giving up already!"

"Argh! Get him!"

One palm resting casually on his hip, chin held high and his wooden sword clutched in his other gloved hand, Riku watched in amusement as Tidus charged at him, staff swinging wildly. Behind him was teeny Selphie with her jump rope and clumsy Wakka with his blitzball. All three of them looked determined to defeat him.

They were so desperate, actually, that all three of them were attacking at once.

The day was much like the previous day, though the clouds had gathered a bit more and the heat had somewhat subsided. It was still a few hours before noon, but the occupants of the play island were already bustling about. Or, in the case right now, they were already trying to kick Riku's ass. Actually, the fight had been going on for a few minutes now, and Selphie and Wakka were practically stumbling through their attacks because Riku had worn them down so much in such a short period of time.

He was actually going easy on them, mostly because he had had a great morning so far, and was in a generous mood.

Waking up in Sora's bed with the boy draped completely over him was, Riku had decided, something he could wake up everyday to for the rest of his life. It had happened that morning, and, granted, Sora had been embarrassed about it afterward and tried to play it off by complaining he was hungry (as always), but Riku didn't care.

He had loved it.

How could he not? Sora was just too undeniably adorable and innocent, especially when he slept.

The morning had continued with Sora's mother whipping up a quick breakfast before sending Sora and Riku off to the play island so she could go to work. She hadn't even hesitated when she saw that Riku sometime during the night had snuck in and slept with her son.

Sora's mother was a curious person like that… Sometimes Riku had a feeling that she knew about Riku's infatuation with Sora.

When they had gotten to the island, Kairi and Selphie had already been swimming around with Wakka. Tidus had made a late entrance some forty minutes after Riku and Sora had shown up. At that time, Kairi had taken it upon herself to list provisions for their trip on the raft, which they would be leaving on early tomorrow morning.

Was it really only one more day?

Riku felt himself smiling at the knowledge.

Anyway, Riku had finished gathering his share of the provisions rather early and had dropped them off with Kairi before returning to the beach, only to find the other three occupants of the play island conspiring against him. They had challenged him to a fight, and he had accepted, knowing full well that all three of them would end up working together against him.

Well, so much for their strategy.

As Sora was scavenging under rocks and through bushes for the items on his list for Kairi, Riku was ducking Wakka's blitzball and evading Selphie's jump rope handle. As the silver-haired boy gracefully swung his sword to meet Tidus' staff, he idly wondered whether he would have lost the fight if Sora had teamed up with the other children to defeat him. Sora's skill was improving daily, but was he good enough to best Riku yet?

Riku smirked to himself.

Sora? Defeat him? Well, if the day ever came, Riku would have to do something special for the boy. Granted, Sora was rather skilled at racing and sometimes beat him, but never in fighting.

A blitzball whizzing past his head brought him out of his thoughts.

Oh yes. He was in the middle of a fight, wasn't he? Well, it had been going on too long. It was time to end it.

He leapt back as Selphie's jump rope came zipping towards his eyes, and before it could escape, Riku reached out and snatched the end of it, jerking it out of the girl's hands. She cried out and stumbled forward and Riku gently pushed her, throwing her even more off-balance. With a long whine about always losing, she slumped into the sand.

Tidus suddenly vaulted over her and flew towards Riku, his staff arched high above him to strike the silver-haired boy down. It was so like Tidus to take a dramatic approach. With a small grin, Riku shot the end of the jump rope towards his attacker as Tidus landed in the sand in front of him, staff already coming down...

The rope curled around the staff and hooked, and Riku used it to pull the unsuspecting Tidus towards him. With a knee to his unprotected gut, Tidus was down, and Riku only had one more enemy to contend to.

As soon as the blitzball came flying towards him again, Riku swung his wooden sword, timing the strike so that it hit the ball and sent it hurtling straight back at Wakka, who saw the counterattack too late to stop it. The blitzball struck his head and bounced off, and Wakka comically fell head-over-heels into the warm sand behind him.

Hmm... That had been a bit too easy.

Too bad Sora was busy gathering things for the journey tomorrow. Riku, now that he was warmed up, was in the mood for a good challenging fight, and the other three fighting kids were out of commission.

With a long sigh, Riku said, "You guys seriously need more practice."

Dropping Selphie's jump rope next to her, Riku left them there, swinging his sword over one shoulder and placing his free hand on his hip as he walked away.

Sora had disappeared sometime during the course of the fight, which made Riku assume the boy was on the other side of the island looking for the items on his list. With nothing else to do, Riku headed in that direction, coming to a decision that he'd take a nap on the tower to pass time.

Really, there was nothing else to do. No wonder Kairi made a sport of collecting seashells.

As Riku passed through the door leading towards the cove, he could only think one thing.

Thank goodness they were leaving tomorrow.

~~~
After counting the seagulls flying overhead, Riku's eyes had finally begun to slide close when he heard someone scrambling around in the bushes below the tower he was laying in. He considered ignoring the noise, but when he felt the vibrations of that someone climbing his tower, Riku decided to find out who it was. Sitting up, he turned to lean over and take a peek at the person climbing the ladder.

Two blue eyes blinked up at him, no more than three inches away.

Promptly pulling back, Riku turned his face to hide his sudden blush. If he hadn't, he might have seen Sora's own cheeks turn a nice roseate color as well.

Sora's lips had been so close to his...! Riku had actually felt the boy's breath on his cheeks!

"I didn't know you were up here, Riku," Sora said, his voice slightly shaking.

The statement was obviously a topic changer, though there had been no previous topic. Small talk. Sora needed to talk to ease the sudden tension between them.

"I was trying to take a nap when I heard some beast making a racket in the bushes down below," was Riku's reply, lifting his face and turning back to face Sora, hoping his blush wasn't as bad as he thought it was.

"Ah. Haha. I didn't know I was being that loud," Sora laughed, rubbing the back of his head and managing a sheepish grin. "Sorry about that."

"So you're still gathering stuff for Kairi?" Riku asked as he sat back, allowing Sora room to climb into the tower next to him.

The boy did so, his crown chain noisily jingling as he shifted his hips to get comfortable. "Yeah. I'm almost done though... Just need to find two more mushrooms and gather some coconuts. Oh. And the fish."

"Fish? Can I go with you?" Riku asked, thinking that going fishing would keep him entertained for a while. And fishing with Sora was always fun, as Sora preferred to use his hands rather than a fishing pole like any sane person.

"Sure. But I'm doing it later tonight before I go home for supper."

Riku grinned. "Dinner or supper?"

He loved to tease Sora, who had about five meals everyday, starting with breakfast, brunch, lunch, moving on to dinner, supper and ending with dessert. It was amazing that Sora's pudgy belly wasn't getting bigger, rather than smaller with all of the food he ate.

Then again, Sora's mother was pretty firm about Sora eating healthily, which meant small, but many courses in her definition. Plus, Sora did all that running around and fighting all day, so even though he ate so much, the calories were burned off anyway. It also excused his bouncy behavior most of the time.

"Supper, Riku. Stop teasing me," Sora said, lightly smiling. But then his blue eyes widened as he remembered something. "Ah! I saw you fighting Selphie, Tidus and Wakka!"

"And?" Riku asked, sensing more to Sora's statement.

"And I heard you kicked their butts!" Sora finished, beaming.

"Of course I did," Riku inserted matter-of-factly.

"Tidus told me about it," the boy continued, but he hesitated for a moment, as though recalling something Tidus had said that had bothered him. "He said that Kairi would always have you to protect her."

Huh. That was a strange statement, coming from Tidus, who knew that Riku liked Sora.

Riku waited quietly, watching the changing of expressions across Sora's face.

Finally, Sora's forehead wrinkled as he looked to Riku, asking, "Do you think I could beat them?"

Riku reached out to ruffle Sora's brown hair, reassuring the boy with a smirk. "When you beat all three of them at once, you might stand a chance against me, Sora."

Sora bristled defensively, his eyebrows drawing together. "I can beat you!"

"Yeah, like at what?" Riku teased, pinching Sora's cheek.

The boy brushed the offending hand aside and frowned. "Racing!"

"Then we'll race later, like say after you collect all the coconuts. Okay?"

"You're on!"

~~~

As soon as Sora had left to browse the island for coconuts and mushrooms, Riku had given up on his nap. He figured every time he would close his eyes, he would see Sora's lips hovering in front of him. How could anyone concentrate on sleeping like that? So, to take his mind off his hormones, Riku had retreated from the tower and decided to focus on other important things, like the raft.

Hm... Wasn't it unlucky to travel on an unnamed vessel? The raft didn't have a name yet.

When Sora came jogging up to Riku, announcing he was finished with the coconuts, Riku had already come up with the perfect name for their raft: Highwind.

But, of course, when Riku asked for Sora's opinion, the boy came up with an alternate name for it in about a split second.

So, to sort out their differences, it was time for that promised race of theirs. However, it was also an ideal time to test Sora's feelings, and Riku thought he had the perfect way to do it: bring up the paopu, of course.

Yes, he was still bitter about the boy taking his hint the wrong way last night, and yes, he was still hurt by the way Sora had so casually tossed his token of love off the bridge and into the sand.

Today Riku was taking a different approach and had decided to stick with his original Plan A: Exploiting Kairi to get to Sora. If he tied Kairi into the deal, Sora would most definitely get defensive.

"Deal? The winner gets to share a paopu with Kairi," Riku said nonchalantly, not even bothering to look at the expression on Sora's face. Somehow he didn't want to. He was almost afraid of the look that would spread across that adorable face of his.

"Wha... Wait a minute...."

He sounded so helpless, so confused.

Keeping his eyes focused on only Kairi, who was now standing in the doorway with an innocently sweet smile on her pretty face, Riku frowned. She had followed Sora, and, upon hearing that they were going to race, she had made herself referee. The two boys had been keeping their voices low so that Kairi couldn't hear them. Riku almost felt guilty for bringing Sora's feelings for Kairi into this, but he forced the remorse aside by remembering the discarded paopu fruit.

He had to do this.

You should have taken the hint last night when I gave you the fruit, Sora, Riku thought reproachfully. Narrowing his eyes, he bitterly added, Which, by the way, you so casually tossed into the ocean, along with my feelings. I have no choice but to stick with Plan A. Even if it betrays my true feelings.

Then again, why had Sora thrown it away? He could have kept it for Kairi if he liked the girl so much more than Riku.

Kairi's voice broke him away from his thoughts. Hand raised, she cheerfully called, "Okay! On my count..."

Riku watched Sora quickly position himself to race, the boy's face and body locked with determination. Determined to win against Riku? Determined to be the one to share the fruit with Kairi...?

Or determined for some reason Riku kept overlooking...?

Riku had about two seconds to wonder before Kairi's hand came down, and the race was on. The two boys broke off into sprints at the same time, but something seemed to have settled in Sora's fighting spirit today, and he quickly cut ahead of Riku.

A little over a minute later, a disgruntled Riku leapt back onto the ledge of the starting point and almost crashed into a gleeful Sora, who was throwing his fist into the air in victory.

"Yes!"

The boy laughed and did a little spin and dance to show his pride. At any other time Riku would have been laughing as well and maybe even joining in on Sora's victory dance, but not now.

Riku didn't even have the heart to stare at the boy's butt like he should have been.

This was bad.

Yes, Sora was exceptional at racing, but Riku had the distinct feeling that Sora was beginning to surpass him. When had been the last time Sora had been so determined to win against Riku in anything? He couldn't remember, and Riku had a feeling he'd be seeing less and less of Sora's cute pouty face. No more jutty bottom lip, no more furrowed forehead or disappointed blue eyes. Sora could now run off with Kairi and share his paopu fruit with her and leave Riku behind with the seagulls and crabs.

At least...

At least he could have one more pout, right?

Forcing himself to look smug, he turned to Sora and said as bluntly as he could, "Man, lighten up. It's just a name after all."

Sora shot him a dirty look of contempt, and already Riku felt better.

Yup. His Sora was adorable.

But then Kairi came walking up, her face bright with her usual happiness. "So what's the raft going to be called?"

"Excalibur, since Sora won," Riku said with a sigh. A

ctually, Sora hadn't picked that bad of a name, which was to be expected, since both of them had similar tastes in things. Except when it came to love, obviously... since Sora was so attracted to Kairi, as opposed to Riku who was attracted to Sora.

The boy himself gave Kairi a small smile as she giggled and said, "Excalibur then! I'll see you two later. I'm going to go find Selphie --- she wanted to tell me something. You two behave and watch Excalibur."

With a casual wave, she skipped off to the door and left, leaving the two boys behind. As soon as she was gone, Sora's smile fell and he turned to Riku, his brow furrowed. It was so like Sora to put on a happy facade around Kairi, only to come to Riku with the real problem irking him.

"The paopu thing...." he began curiously, but for some reason he didn't finish it.

Riku frowned yet again.

So Sora was angry that Riku was trying to beat him to Kairi? Or was Sora concerned about Riku's joke for some other reason? He couldn't tell anymore... Sora was slowly becoming as unreadable as a closed book.

"What's that?" Riku asked, turning to Sora and faking confusion. "Oh, the paopu thing. It was just a joke." Yes, a joke! Don't let Sora share the paopu with Kairi! He paused there and continued with a short laugh, grinning, "You should have seen your face."

Sora glanced away, looking crestfallen. This reaction confused Riku even more. Did Sora really like Kairi that much...?

"Are you upset or something?" he asked lightly, this time his concern real. "It was just a joke."

The boy quickly shook his head and turned towards the broken bridge, slowly trudging in its direction. The way his shoulders slumped, the disappointed look on his face... What was wrong with Sora?

Well, he might as well take advantage of the situation.

"So, how about another lap then, Sora?" he called cheerfully, flashing Sora a large grin that he hoped would ease the boy's mind of... well, whatever was troubling him.

The grin was fake of course, but Sora didn't have to know about Riku's fears yet.

The brown-haired boy paused and turned, a single eyebrow raising in question.

Something strange was present in those soft blue eyes that Riku didn't recognize. After a moment of staring quietly at each other, Sora finally matched Riku's grin, unable to resist another challenge.

"I'm going to leave you in the dust!"

"Oh really?" Riku's grin fell into an impish smirk at Sora's proud statement. "Then how about we change the rules this time?"

"Anything goes?" the younger boy asked, echoing Riku's thoughts. It was proof that some things hadn't changed between them yet. Both of them loved a good challenge.

"Exactly."

With a shake of his head and a light laugh, Sora practically bounced back over to Riku and the starting point. "Alright then... on the count of three...!"

Good. Already the morose mood had lifted and they were back on friendly terms, not that they had been angry with each other in the first place.

It was just... Something was obviously nagging at Sora's mind, but the boy didn't seem to want to share it with Riku.

This was familiar.

Actually, it was kind of like their short argument last night that had stemmed from Sora suspecting something was bothering Riku, who wouldn't tell him.

Well, how do you tell your beloved that you can't tell him the problem because the problem is that you love him and fear telling him?

Yes, this situation was much the same as last night, only Sora probably wasn't hiding his love for Riku like Riku had been hiding his love for Sora last night.

Er… right?

To take his mind off it, Riku began the count.

"One..."

Sora exchanged a quick glance with him, grinning as he said, "Two..."

But before Riku could even begin the last count, Sora suddenly took off ahead of Riku.

"H-hey!!" Riku cried.

Not to be outdone twice in a row, he sprinted after his friend, only a step behind him. Really, when he wanted to, Sora could play downright dirty. But Riku could too. Just as Sora was touching foot on the broken bridge and preparing to leap over the frail planks, Riku lunged forward and grabbed hold of the boy's hood, yanking him backwards.

"Anything goes does not mean starting before the count!" Riku exclaimed as Sora was jerked into his arms.

Into his arms.

Sora didn't even seem to hear what Riku had said. No, the younger boy immediately blushed as his back hit Riku's chest and the older boy held him tight to keep from escaping.

"Are you listening to me, Sora? Hey, Sora!"

Sora blinked upon hearing his name, and then something seemed to come over him. As if to cover up his embarrassment, he retaliated, his arms suddenly flailing out as he cried, "Hey! That was cheating!"

Ducking Sora's arms, Riku fell into a bout of laughter, replying, "You said anything goes, and you were the one who chea--Whoa... Watch where you're swinging those fists, Sora. Whoa!!"

Riku didn't see Sora's arms the second time and was knocked off-balance. Teetering on the edge of the bridge, he threw his arms out to grab hold of something, anything.

Unfortunately, that anything happened to be Sora, who was also fighting to keep his balance.

Unable to defy gravity, they both went tumbling over the edge of the bridge into the shallow waters below. Riku landed hard, just barely grasping the concept that he had actually fallen when Sora suddenly landed on top of him and he fell backwards, momentarily submerging.

"Gah! Get off...!" Riku cried as he resurfaced, trying to push the younger boy off him but laughing despite himself.

"I'm try---" Sora began as his friend shoved him, but he fell backwards into the water, making a small splash. He sat up, now soaked. "Perfect," he mumbled, glaring at Riku, who was equally wet. The glare didn't seem very threatening, not with Sora looking like a miserable puppy there with his brown hair clinging to the sides of his face. Actually, there seemed to be a hint of amusement in Sora's eyes.

"It's your fault," Riku retorted playfully, crossing his arms over his chest. He winced at the sudden coldness that spread throughout his body and wisely thought twice about taking the defensive stance. Instead he lowered his arms back into the water, shivering and unsure of what to do.

Here he was, alone with Sora again, given another chance to explain himself and whom his real crush was, but his fear of rejection held him back.

If only he could just say it. Say it and get it over with.

Just say those three words and kiss him or something.

The two of them stared at each other in silence for a few moments, Sora with that unreadable expression on his face again. Riku frowned, intently studying the boy's face to attempt to discern the look.

And very suddenly, Riku sneezed, and the spell between them broke.

There went another love confession moment.

"Aww.... Is lil Riku cold?" Sora suddenly teased, jabbing his friend in the ribs.

"Hey, stop poking me, you--" he paused, both of his gloved hands moving to cover his nose as he sneezed yet again.

Sora took the hint. "Jeez, you not only look miserable, but you sound like it too."

Sighing, the younger boy climbed to his feet and brushed the wet sand off his bottom, carefully eyeing Riku, who had turned his jade eyes to intently watch him. A blush crept over Sora's cheeks and he immediately retracted his hands.

Riku had been looking at him, and it hadn't been just any look... Riku suddenly blanched, fearing that Sora had finally caught him in one of his stares. He had, hadn't he?

"H-hey, stop staring at me like that..." Sora mumbled, his cheeks a delicious, embarrassed red.

It was then that Riku knew that Sora knew, that Sora had suddenly pieced together all of the clues and now knew Riku loved him.

But the younger boy continued innocently, almost rambling. "I'm just getting up to find a towel for you so you don't get a cold and die or something... You know, back when we were younger, we used to always play in the water! But now..." he hesitated, letting his sentence trail off.

Riku looked down, another shiver coursing through him.

So, even Sora missed those days...? Then maybe the boy would understand Riku's feelings after all, if he ever got around to expressing them outright... If Sora wasn't already disgusted, and leaving Riku to actually leave.

"Anyway!" Sora suddenly exclaimed, interrupting Riku's thoughts. "I'll be right back with a towel or something for you! You go wait by the raft. It should be a lot warmer there at this time of day."

Riku stared after him in silence as the brown-haired boy sprinted through the water, heading in the direction of the sea shack.

A part of him had a feeling Sora wasn't coming back… Sora had to know Riku's feelings now... The way Riku had been staring at him, the way Sora had caught him staring, and had acted so shyly after that…

Slowly he rose to his feet, his body shuddering as the wind hit his wet clothes. He knew he should have been worried about his health --- they were leaving tomorrow on the raft, after all, and it would be extremely inconvenient if Riku fell ill. Would Kairi and Sora leave him behind if that did happen?

…would Sora leave with Kairi, now that Sora probably knew Riku's unnatural love for him?

He also knew he should have been worried about what their parents would do when they found out the three of them had left home tomorrow. Sora's mother would freak. His own parents would only freak because he had disobeyed them.

But all that came to his mind... All he could wonder about at that moment was...

When had Sora become so concerned about him? Granted, both boys had always taken care of each other, but…

Sora wasn't supposed to be that concerned about Riku's health or take care of him when he did get sick. Riku was supposed to be strong enough to take care of himself --- he had been doing it since he was little, since his parents didn't care about him.

And... Sora had just suddenly taken off like that. If he really was going to go get a towel to dry Riku off with, what for? Riku could get his own towel.

Agghh... this whole thing was so confusing!

Then again... Sora had shown similar concern last night when Riku had so unexpectedly shown up at his window. Sora had welcomed him then and cheered him up.

Maybe Sora really cared about Riku, more than Riku gave him credit for.

Walking towards the tiny beach, Riku sighed, drawing his arms around himself again to fight back the cold wind.

In any case, everything would be back to normal as soon as Sora came back with a towel, or so Riku reassured himself. That boy's mere presence had the power to lift Riku's morose moods.

Sora would come back… Sora hadn't run away from him. Sora wasn't like that. Even if Sora was uncomfortable with the way Riku had been staring at him, it wouldn't have been enough to break their friendship.

He was just collapsing in front of the mushroom cave near the raft when he heard Sora's splashing through the water towards him. Riku didn't even have time to breathe a sigh of relief that Sora had actually come back.

The boy came vaulting over the small fence in the water and landed on the sand in front of Riku with practiced grace.

In the boy's hands was a small bundle --- a towel, as promised, but it was wrapped around something oddly-shaped. This greatly interested Riku, but he inwardly hoped it wasn't a fish Sora had just caught, because then the towel would reek...

Lamely hiding the package behind his back, Sora crossed the sand to Riku and fell into a kneel before the other boy, his cheeks reddening.

There was that blush again.

This time it was a very happy blush though.

Riku very suddenly wasn't sure what to think. Why was Sora so happy?

"Tidus let me have his towel..." he explained with a bright smile, his red cheeks only adding to his charm. "But he wants it back later." Riku said nothing; he just watched Sora carefully, intently, trying to understand what was making the boy act so differently. "A-Anyway..." Sora's voice shook as he watched Riku watching him like that, and he hesitated, nervously clearing his throat. "I brought something for you..."

Slowly he extended his arms, the bundle resting in his hands. Riku took a moment to study the way Sora was bowing his head, his cheeks now a bright crimson, before he took the toweled bundle and mumbled a soft thanks.

But when he took it, he immediately recognized its hard, smooth, five-pointed shape. He didn't have to unwrap it to know what it was.

But...

But why would Sora give him one?

He had thrown Riku's away, after all... Sora didn't even like Riku in that way, not in the way Riku liked him....

Did he?

He took a deep breath and held it, swallowing nervously as he began to unwrap the towel, fingers trembling. As he peeled one corner of the cloth away, he stole a quick glance at Sora to see his expression, but much to his surprise, Sora was busy undoing his belt and stripping it. Fighting back a blush of his own and quickly turning his attention back to the towel, Riku ignored the jingle of Sora's belt as it was tossed into the sand, and simply yanked the towel away from the object to kill the tension in the air.

A yellow star-shaped fruit rolled onto the sand. A paopu fruit.

He stared down at it, unsure of what to make of it. Even though he had known what it was, actually seeing it with the knowledge that Sora had given it to him filled him with apprehensive hope.

Hiding the emotion in his voice, he quietly asked, "You actually believe the legend, Sora...?"

"I had a weird dream," Sora began as he jerked his shoes off and tossed them aside before reaching for his socks, not once looking up to face Riku. "You were standing there in the ocean, facing the horizon... I called your name and the tide began to recede," he explained softly, discarding his socks. Pulling off his gloves, he paused and finally looked up at Riku, managing a reassuring smile. "C'mon, take off your shoes. Your feet will swell up if you don't."

Riku slowly nodded and did as told, trying his best to keep his eyes averted as Sora began to take off his jacket as well.

Sora... stripping in front of him.

Forcing himself to think of other things, he asked, "What happened next?"

When Sora didn't answer right away, Riku slowly raised his eyes, only to see Sora reaching for the zipper of his red jumper. The boy slid it open, all the way down to its end below his groin, and began to shrug the article of clothing off, his damp spiky hair bouncing lightly from the movement.

Riku stared, wondering how Sora had mustered up enough nerve to so casually strip down to only his dark blue undershorts in front of Riku. Granted, they were best friends, but judging from Sora's gift of a paopu fruit, Riku wasn't the only one with a crush on his best friend.

As Sora tossed his red jumper into the pile of discarded clothes he had created, he continued, "Well, as the water was receding, I noticed a huge tidal wave forming before you, and as it came closer, you slowly turned around to face me and reached your hand out, like this...." he said, pausing to show Riku. "I ran for you and was just about to grab your hand to join you --- or maybe pull you to safety, I don't know --- when the wave crashed over us both."

Riku carefully set aside his shoes and stuffed his socks into them, wondering if he should remove his shirt too. One look from Sora told him yes, so he proceeded in taking it off, trying not to wonder if Sora was watching him.

"But the current was too strong..." Sora was saying. "I tried really hard, but I couldn't swim to reach your hand... And you were still standing there, against the current, smiling and waiting for me to grab your hand..."

He paused there and Riku looked up to find him being stared at with those blue eyes.

Carefully folding his shirt, Riku set it aside with his shoes, and a smile crossed Sora's face when he watched his friend scowl at his gloved hands. As soon as he tugged off his gloves, the silver-haired boy dropped those onto his pile and reached up with his bare hands to smooth his hair out. Only then did he realize how intently Sora was watching him.

It was the same stare he usually gave Sora.

Had Riku been misreading all of Sora's reactions all along? Had Sora really liked him all this time?

"What happened next?" he asked, trying not to feel uncomfortable. He reached for the towel to dry his wet hair, but he hesitated, seeing the paopu fruit there.

The younger boy decided to finish the story. "I was too weak. The current carried me off, and when I surfaced, everything was normal... Kairi was at the shore, waving at me, but you were gone." Sora scooted in the sand to sit next to Riku, the sun radiating off the boy's tanned skin but casting a dark shadow across Riku's own pale body. "I remember how hurt I felt, knowing you were gone... And that I couldn't help or stop you."

Cupping a hand around the paopu fruit, Sora lifted it from the sand and held it up, turning to Riku, their shoulders brushing together. Riku's eyes focused on the yellow star, almost scared to look away as though it would disappear. As though this was just a dream… But the warmth of Sora's body next to his reassured him, and he slowly raised his gaze to stare into Sora's blue eyes.

"I want to share the fruit with you, Riku, so we're always together, even if you disappear," the boy said, that bright smile of his lighting his face. "I want to be able to help you, even if I'm too weak."

Riku's gaze fell upon the fruit again.

For some reason, as he stared at the yellow star, he felt as though some heavy burden had been lifted from his heart, even though it happened to be racing in excitement at the moment. Riku already knew he liked Sora in that way, but to have Sora approach him about it... This wasn't real. It couldn't be! He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to think.

"It's the fruit you picked for me last night. After supper, after I had time to think about it, I went back and got it and had stashed it away under my bed before you showed up," Sora explained, and at this Riku lifted his green eyes to stare at Sora in surprise.

Sora had kept his paopu fruit after all?

"Anyway," Sora continued, carefree, "you have the right to refuse it. You don't have to say anything, or return my feelings... I just wanted you to know that, well... I really like you, Riku." He lowered the fruit and turned it over in his hands, blushing madly, not daring to look at Riku. "No... I mean, I think I love you."

Riku suddenly tensed, his breath catching in his throat at Sora's words.

Was it true?

"You're probably disgusted..." Sora was saying, the boy's voice falling sadly. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get in your way with Kairi. It probably looked like I was competing with you over her, but I was really jealous of her because you always seemed to like her so much, not me because I'm a boy like you, and, well, you know you're a boy... Agghh, I sound like an idiot! You can hate me now, and.... Riku?"

Sora looked up, raising an eyebrow as Riku suddenly snatched the fruit from Sora's hands.

The whole situation was ironic. They both liked each other, but were too afraid to approach each other because they both thought that the other liked Kairi.... Not to mention Riku had been leading everyone into believing that he liked Kairi, so Kairi would like him back and pay no heed to Sora's love, and then Sora would turn his attention back to Riku. It had been a brilliant plan, but Riku had overlooked the most important factor.

Sora's real feelings.

"Why didn't you say so in the first place?" Riku playfully demanded, narrowing his eyes, but then he broke into a wide grin and laughed, like all his worries in the world had just been erased by Sora's innocent confession. "And here I was, thinking you were going to run off with Kairi and forget about me. Here I was, worried that you wouldn't understand my feelings. I guess we're both stupid... or maybe I was just too scared."

"What are you sa...?" Sora began, his eyes lighting up with hope, but he fell silent as Riku pressed a finger to his lips.

"Shh... Eat." The silver-haired boy lifted the fruit in front of Sora and smirked, leaning forward to whisper, "I love you too."

Sora responded with a bright smile and he nodded, eagerly taking the fruit and gently biting into it. As he pulled away, some of the fruit's flesh tore away from the piece and slid down his chin, trailing juices along his throat. He chewed thoughtfully, a pleased smile on his face.

It was, admittedly, like a dream come true.

Sora loved him.

Everything was going to be alright between them.

Life was perfect now.

"Is it good?" Riku asked, curious, reaching out to take the fruit again. Sora nodded again, taking another bite before giving the fruit to Riku, who immediately sank his teeth in. Juice spilled out, most of it making its way down Riku's chest as he pulled away from the fruit. As he chewed, he managed to mutter, "Jeez, this stuff gets everywhere..." He gestured down his torso, as the juice was beginning to drip over his stomach. "I hope this stuff doesn't stain..."

They both laughed and Riku lifted the fruit again, taking another bite, this time quickly leaning towards Sora pressing his mouth against the boy's as Sora was laughing. Sora took the piece, caught by surprise, a serious blush running over his cheeks this time as he shyly kissed Riku back.

Their first kiss.

It wasn't much, just a touch of lips and exchange of fruit…

But it was enough.

With a smile Riku pulled away, the taste of honey and a hint of salt lingering his mouth from the fruit and kiss.

"Riku... Do you think it's okay for us to be doing this right now...?" Sora asked as he chewed, his mouth full.

"Why not?" Riku replied casually, leaning in again to peck at the boy's cheeks, who smiled in response.

"Well, what if someone catches us?"

Raising an eyebrow, Riku grinned. "Catches us eating fruit, or doing something else?" he asked, his voice full of not-so-innocent suggestions.

Sora took Riku's hands in his and leaned forward, taking a large bite out of the paopu and then paused to chew, grinning widely. As Riku sank his teeth in for another bite, he heard Sora's teasing voice say, "Aww... Are Riku's hormones out of control?"

The silver-haired boy narrowed his eyes at Sora's joke, a nefarious smirk twitching at the corners of his mouth as he chewed the fruit. As soon as he swallowed, he dropped the paopu fruit onto the towel and pulled Sora closer to him, taking his lips in his and gave him a real kiss.

A kiss that told both of them that this wasn't a mistake, that their love was real, that no matter what happened between them, this love would remain forever…

No matter what.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

Woo hoo! The plot is moving right along~~! Now that they're together, this show can get on the road. XD

Also, I'd like to point out that these early chapters actually have a lot of foreshadowing for the future chapters. Now, no one will probably pick up on the foreshadowing, or the symbolism, until much, much later… But I'd still like to make you aware that it is there, and staring right at you. ^^;

For those who are rereading the fanfic, you may or may not see it, depending on where you are in the future chapters. ^^; But I'd like to say that this story is much more deep that just some Riku/Sora get-together fanfic.

When I say this fanfic is an epic, it's an epic.

Review button: Feed me! Brawr!!