Notes from me: Okay, this chapter was the result of a TON of sugar and a creative spur. Thank the sugar though.
I think the chapter's uber-cute, and strays away from the angst a little. The next chapter will be a little more dramatic. I'm not going to say why though, because you'll probably figure it out by the end of this chapter.
Well... I guess that's really all I have to say. Enjoy!
"Heads up!"
Aqua eyes snapped open in alarm as the teen lept into the air, his branch left wavering beneath him. An over-sized blue ball headed straight for him at an impressive speed, but, being Riku, he was able to catch it. He landed with a muffled thud in the sand about six feet away from his branch.
A blonde teen, fifteen to be exact, made his way across the bridge towards Riku.
"Sorry about that.. I don't really know what happened," he said, scratching the back of his neck with a nervous grin towards Riku.
The older boy responded, a lopsided yawn interfering slightly, with a grin. "I could've guessed that was your pass, Tidus. Straighten it up, man!" he joked, tossing the large, lumpy sphere back to his friend.
"Yeah.. What are you doing over here so early anyway? I thought you slept in all the time."
It was true. Riku was known to sleep far into the afternoons on weekends, but he had barely gotten any sleep last night. After the 'Kairi incident,' he had lay down on his branch, flipping and flopping restlessly as it got darker and darker. When he finally had gotten a few winks, he was attacked by some seagulls and decided that trying to sleep was just a futile attempt.
"Rough night. Slept here," he replied simply.
Luckily, Tidus wasn't nosey, so he didn't ask about why it had been a rough night. He only nodded, turning back to the rest of the blitzball team.
"Well, I've got to get back to practice.. See you around."
"Hey, Tidus, wait!"
"Yeah?" The blonde stopped, looking at Riku strangely. It was too early for he and Riku to be talking (not that they talked much anyway), especially during a practice.
"Have you seen Sora? I need to ask him something."
"Nope, sorry. I hate to rush, but I've really got to go. Bye." He hopped off the side of the bridge and headed back to the center of the beach to continue his little game of throwing, catching, and kicking. Fun.
Riku frowned. What time was it anyway? And regardless of the time, why hadn't his mom or dad called him yet? At the dock, his boat seemed misplaced and lonely. One just never seemed like it was enough.
There was only one way to fix that.
He crossed the bridge, hopped off the roof of the small shack, and made his way towards the dock, avoiding the blitzball players at all costs. Morning practices meant bad moods.
He untied his tiny wooden boat and kicked it off the side of the dock, jumping in and grabbing the paddles.
"We're getting a motorboat for Christmas." he mumbled, dropping said paddles in the water. "This is ridiculous."
Meanwhile, there was a crash in the kitchen downstairs. "Sora! Honey, get down here. I need your help with something!"
The lanky, spiky-haired teen rolled off his bed, landing on his backside and rubbing his eyes warily. "Five more minutes!"
"No, Sora, get down here now!"
He yawned, standing up and stumbling to his dresser. After he had arrived home from two years of saving the worlds, his mom had taken it upon herself to clean out his drawers. He had outgrown most of his clothes by then, anyway.
He pulled a pair of khaki cargo shorts out and pulled them on.
"Sora!"
"I'm coming!"
He trotted down the hallway and pushed the kitchen door open. A pause.
"Sweetie, please do something about your dog."
His Basenji, Gypsy, was encased in a trashcan by his mother. Apparently, she wasn't fazed at all, because her ears perked and her curly tail wagged insanely as soon as she saw Sora step through the door.
The boy couldn't help but laugh.
"What did she do to deserve the trashcan incarceration?" he asked as she lifted the mesh prison from over the dog's head and watched her jump into Sora's arms.
"Look around, honey," she told him, pointing to the trash that was scattered all over her floor. "She tipped it over, pulled the bag out, and, last but not least, ran around the house with it, leaving a trail of trash wherever she went."
He scratched Gypsy behind the ears and shifted her to his side as he looked around the corner of the kitchen.
Yup. There was trash, all right. Everywhere.
"Gyyypsyyy." he moaned, exaggerating her name to add emphasis that, of course, the dog would catch. Her reply was a yelp in his ear and a lick across the face.
Sora let out a short chuckle, ceasing as his mother sent him a weary look. "Sora, clean this mess up, and take your dog out."
Whenever she made a mess, she was Sora's dog. Every other time, she was the family dog. Hm. Funny how things work.
"Yes, ma'am." he said, setting Gypsy in a pen that was also known as the pantry with a gate.
"You know, I don't know how I lived in this house, with that dog, for two years, without you.." she sighed.
"Me neither," her son stated bluntly as he grabbed a banana peel from under the table.
She smiled down at him; Sora knew that look. His eyes widened, "Mom, don't. Mom.. Mom, please," he pleaded, but to no avail. She tackled him into a hug, pulling him into her lap, and ruffling his hair. "Mooooooooom!" he groaned, trying to pull away (which failed miserably and resulted in her holding him in a vice grip). "Fifteen-year-old boys don't hug their moms!" he whined.
She scoffed, ruffling his spikes again. "You're no fifteen-year-old. You're my baby. My little Sora-bug who used to crawl into bed with me every night when he got scared of the monster under his bed.. My Tinker-tot who used to bring his friends over just so that we could play pirates and I was the bad guy.. My little Bumpkin.." She sniffed. Sora stole a glance up at his mother's young face; she was about to cry. "You're my Sora. And my baby's been off saving worlds and growing up..."
"Mom, don't... Mom?" He scoffed lightly as she dug her face into his shoulder. "Mom, please.. Come on, don't cry.." he said gently.
She straigtened up, grinning as she wiped her eyes. "I love you," she told him, kissing his cheek.
He blushed, exposing his goofy grin as she eased him off and stood back up.
"I love you, too," he said with another chuckle. He was as tall as she wasnow, he noticed when he stood.
She pushed his shoulder gently with a laugh. "Take your dog out. She's been cooped up in here for days."
"But, Mom, don't you need help with this?" he asked, gesturing towards all of the trash.
She shook her head, light brown bangs sent flying at the sudden motion. "No, Sweetie. Go ahead. Take Gypsy. You can go to Destiny with Riku and Kairi if you like."
Sora smiled widely. "Thanks, Mom," he said, stepping over the trashy mess and over to Gypsy's pantry.
When he opened the gate, the dog didn't spring out like she normally would've. She just sat there; ears perked and tail wagging.
His mom giggled and crossed her arms, watching her son attempt to bring the dog from the pantry.
"Gypsy? Come on, girl! Heeere, Gypsy. Gypsy? Gyyyypsyyy.. Come oooooon!" he whined, patting his legs, whistling, and doing whatever else was meant to encourage dogs. He turned around and looked at his mother, who was looking at the dog with a twisted, sardonic smile.
It was almost surprising that the boy hadn't expected the dog to tackle him once his back was turned.
Sora... Meet the floor.
His mother erupted in laughter as the dog took her place on her master's back. Sora groaned, tilting his head to the side so that his cheek rested on the hardwood floor.
"Gyyypsyyy..."
There was a knock on the front door.
"Just a second!" his mom called, sending Sora and Gypsy one last grin as she stepped through the door towards the den.
Sora rolled over, sending Gypsy tumbling sideways. He rubbed his bare back, the Basenji at his heels when he stepped through the door after his mother.
"Yes, he and Gypsy are-" she stopped talking to the open door as Gypsy pranced to the door.
Sora tried to sneak a look, but his mom held the door at an angle, sheilding the guest from view.
"-Right here.." she finished with a chuckle. She looked to the boy. "Sora, it's for you, sweetie."
The guest entered the den with a wry smile.
"Oh... Hey, Kairi."
M'kay, well, there's chapter 2. Review if you like. Chapter three is already in progress. I'll have it up ASAP. Thaaakies.
