hoshiko's note: SO SORRY about not updating this past week. personal things and yeah and then my beta tells me my OC's overpower the others. i then realized she was totally right. so i combined two chapters together here we have this ubberly long one. sorry (shifty eyes).
so some of u may turn out to hate riku's dad, and that's the point. and if u think a parent wouldn't say "i'll disown u" after not seeing them for two years... well let's just say i've met a few that have said this.
i'm leaving town on thursday and won't be back until aug. sorry, no updates for two weeks. i MAY be able to get chapter 5 up before i leave, but don't bet on it.
ENJOY!

Chapter 4

"Are you sure it's all right?" Riku asked cautiously. He eyed Sora's house with apprehension. "Your parents may have said they would be okay with your choice no matter what, but…"

Sora laughed. He squeezed Riku's hand sweetly. "You're too nervous. It'll be fine, I promise. Look, I'll go inside and tell them and you can wait out here. That way if they get angry, you can make a mad dash for home."

Riku chuckled and nodded. "All right, but try not to die in there, all right? I saved your sorry butt enough times as it is."

Sora let go of the older teen's hand with a laugh. He went inside his house, looking for his parents. His heart raced as he thought of what to say.

"Oh, you're back?" Sora looked over to see his mother standing just outside of the kitchen. She smiled warmly at her son as she dried her hands on a towel. "How did it go?"

Sora's bright smile illuminated the room. "Great!"

"Who did you pick, son?" Kaze asked as he joined his wife by her side. The two waited for Sora's answer anxiously.

Sora fiddled with his shirt for a few minutes. It was an easy task to say Riku's name so many times, but now the word just couldn't come out.

"Riku…I chose Riku." The teen scrunched up his face, fearing for his father's yell or his mother's disappointed sigh.

Instead he was met with warm arms and soft kisses. Fuu encircled her son, a compassionate smile on her face. Kaze stood nearby with a proud smile and a hand on Sora's shoulder.

"You're…not upset?" Sora was in shock. He looked back and forth between his parents.

"No. We're just glad you were mature and finally made a decision." Kaze came forward. "We don't know what you did when you disappeared, but when we saw you, you had grown inside and out. It wasn't until now that you proved to us just how much you're grown up. We're proud of you, son."

Sora smiled again, hugging his mother happily. He let out a relieved laugh.

Fuu let go of Sora. "Where is Riku? You didn't just leave him, did you?"

"Oh! No! He's outside." Sora headed towards the screen door he had left open. "We weren't sure how you were going to react, so Riku decided to stay outside."

"Well invite him on in! He's more than welcome to stay for dinner. I missed that boy, been a week since we talked to him." Fuu went over towards the door. She saw the silver haired teen looking around the front yard nervously. She giggled. "Riku!"

Upon hearing his name, the boy snapped his head over. He waved at Fuu as she invited him in. Sora laughed, shaking his head at his mother.

"You can come in and have dinner with us, Riku," Sora called.

Riku nodded with a smile and came towards the house. Fuu gave him a tight hug and a pat on his head.

"It's been too long, sweetie," she said. Riku agreed with a light chuckle. He slipped his hand into Sora's as if on impulse. The younger boy didn't object, but rather reciprocated the action.

Kaze cleared his throat. "Before we get to any food, I'd like to talk to you two boys…" He eyed their hands warily. "There are some rules I must put down if you two are to be together in this house. One...no sex under any circumstance."

Sora laughed nervously. He rubbed the back of his head as blush crept up his cheeks and neck. "Ah hah…don't worry about that one dad. We're too young."

"Second," Kaze continued without missing a beat. "I don't want to find you two making out."

"Fine, but can we have a little leniency there?" Riku interjected. Kaze looked at the boy. "Can we get an announcement of when you'll be coming in the room? Hormones and all, you just never know when we can't control ourselves."

Sora was horribly red at this time. He couldn't believe Riku was negotiating with his father on when and when they couldn't make-out. The younger boy clenched the older one's hand as if to convey his embarrassment.

"Fair enough. We'll do that." Kaze crossed his arms. "Third, if you're to spend the night, Riku, you'll have to sleep on the floor or the couch. I don't want my wife walking in on you two sharing the same bed. I don't care if one of you is above the covers and you both have clothes on. I won't stand for it. And-"

"And that's all!" Fuu interrupted. She patted her husband on the hand. "How about some dinner now?"

Sora, glad for the disruption, happily complied. "Yeah! What're we having?"

"I thought some fresh salmon would make us all comfortable with Sora's wonderful decision. It'll be to celebrate the start of your relationship!" the mother exclaimed happily with a clap of her hands.

Sora and Riku laughed quietly, both averting their eyes from the adults. Their eyes happened to glance at one another at the same time sending blood rushing to their face.

Was this real?

"Why don't you help me in the kitchen, dear?" Fuu grabbed her husband's arm and dragged him away from the new couple. Once out of earshot, Fuu hissed at Kaze. "You really need to let it go, honey."

"I can't!" Kaze exclaimed. Fuu shushed him. They stood in the kitchen together. "I know I said I'd be okay with Sora's choice, but I just… I liked Kairi!"

"I like Kairi and I'm sure she's still Sora's friend, but I like Riku too."

"I do too…but as a friend to Sora." Kaze rubbed his arm as a nervous habit to show his discomfort.

"Well Sora's happiest with Riku being more than a friend and I'll accept that. I want my boy happy." Fuu kissed Kaze's cheek. "Don't you?"

Kaze shot a look at his wife. "Of course I do! I have ever since he was born."

"Well then!" Fuu patted Kaze's hand, turning to go to the refrigerator. "Learn to accept their relationship."

"It'll take time… but I will… I'll do it for my boy… I had to get over not asking him constant questions of where he was last year."

Silence filled the kitchen. From out in the living room, it sounded as if the two boys had turned on the television. The adults stared at each other.

"We can't ask… Sora's not ready," Fuu whispered.

"I know… Riku and Kairi were obviously involved too as they both were gone for awhile. It looks painful to ask Riku and Kairi seems like she's confused in certain things. I can hear them mutter about it outside sometimes, but I remember I can't eavesdrop. Not on this topic." Kaze sighed, taking out some vegetables.

"Yes… In time they'll tell us what happened." Fuu looked out the window, then at the door leading to the living room. "Hopefully…"

♥

It came to no shock as Sora begged his parents to let Riku spend the night. The parents knew it was coming and had already agreed to the request. Both boys were happy, promising to not stay up too late and not make too much noise. After cleaning up the dishes, the two went up to Sora's room.

"You sure it's okay for you stay in those clothes tomorrow?" Sora asked. He flopped down onto his bed with a content sigh. The day was perfect.

"Yeah. When I want to change I'll just sneak back home and change quickly." Riku sat on the floor against the bed with his own happy sigh.

It was silent for a few minutes. The boys listened to the peace and quiet that Destiny Islands brought them. It was something they missed while out on their adventure.

Sora slid down to the floor next to Riku. Slowly, the teen put his head on his friend's shoulder. It wasn't something new; Sora had fallen asleep on his shoulder many times before when young. However, this time it brought about a different sensation to the action, especially as Riku placed his head on top of Sora's. The older boy slid his hand across the floor to intertwine his fingers with his companion's.

This is real…

♥

The couple was rudely woken up by a shattering ring from the house phone. Bolting up in surprise, they found that they had fallen asleep holding hands on the floor. Sora reached to answer, but the ring was cut off. Riku looked at the clock; it read 1 a.m.

"Who the hell is calling this late?" The older teen mumbled groggily with a ruffle of his hair.

"I'm not sure, but my parents must've answered it." Sora got up slowly. He stretched himself out, craning his neck to the side and twisting his back until it cracked. The brunette turned back to his boyfriend with a sigh. "Wanna go down and see who it is?"

Before Riku could reply, Kaze banged on the door. The younger teen jumped in surprise bringing a chuckle to the silver haired boy on the floor. Sora's father opened the door quickly. He did not look pleased at all.

"Downstairs. Now."

The boys looked at each other in fear. What exactly where they in trouble for now? They had been told those same directions many times from Sora and Riku's parents when they grew up. Somehow they just knew that this time, it wasn't going to be for breaking a vase or picking a fight with the neighborhood children. No, this time it had something to do with them being together.

Sure enough, when they reached the living room, they saw Riku's parents and Kairi's father, Sen. Kairi was the only one sitting as she looked down at the floor sadly. The poor girl looked the most uncomfortable.

Riku's father, Yama, grabbed Riku's arm roughly. "Come along, son, we're going home now."

"Why?" Riku asked calmly. He didn't resist his strong father.

Yama sported the same silver hair as his son as well as the muscles and glare. His eyes, though, were a heavy black; a stark contrast to Riku's aqua eyes. Next to the towering man stood a little woman, Riku's mother. She had soft black hair, not quite grey and not quite black. The woman was short in stature and in words, but her bright green eyes conveyed anything she didn't offer. Her name was Suna and she had to be the strangest match to Yama.

Much like his name, Yama was a mountain of pure strength. It was no wonder his son turned out the way he did. However, Suna was a quiet and sweet woman of unbelievable warmth. She brought about the kinder side to her son. Put them together and you have the kind of boy Riku once was; a boy full of a shy love and a determination to never make his father disappointed for fear of something else. Take them apart and pour in some darkness and you have the Riku standing in the room now.

If one was to look in on this situation, it would be considered a miracle that Sora and Riku were friends. Yama and Suna were very well off and raised their son to be cold and strong. Kaze and Fuu were middle class and taught their son to see the light in everyone. The families had never truly gotten along, but put up with one another for their children's sake.

"Why don't we discuss this alone?" Fuu said suddenly. She eyed her son cautiously.

Sora took this as his chance to duck into the kitchen. Soon after, Riku and Kairi followed. They closed the doors, leaving silence at the door. The shouts and protests from the parents in the living room could be heard through the door.

"This is unacceptable!" Yama's voice boomed. Riku sighed and shook his head. It was a phrase his father had often used with him many times.

"Please Yama. The children have been gone for two years… This is no way to handle the situation…," Fuu said quietly. "Keep your voice down, please."

"Uh hey, you guys want something to drink?" Sora asked suddenly. This broke the awkwardness of the situation. "I've got water, juice, soda, milk…"

"Alcohol?" Riku asked. He laughed, though, so the other two in the room knew he didn't mean it. However, alcohol sounded pretty good.

Kairi wasn't even participating in any acknowledgment. She kept staring down at her feet, an embarrassed blush across her face. It was her fault this rather loud confrontation was taking place in the other room. The poor teen wasn't exactly comfortable being around her two friends. Where they still her friends?

"Kairi?" Sora asked quietly. "Are you okay?"

The redhead looked up at him, tears in her eyes. "Why wouldn't I be? I was just rejected by you for another guy."

There would have been an awkward and painful silence that followed those words, if the parents in the other room were not yelling by now. Riku was especially hurt and uncomfortable to hear Kairi say those words with such contempt. However, he had heard far worse during his time in Castle Oblivion. The boy could deal with her words.

It was Sora he was most concerned with. Glancing over at him, the teen could easily see the brunette was pained.

"I do not want my daughter around either of those boys!" Sen exclaimed. "She's fragile!"

"Are you fragile, Kairi?" Riku asked without a trace of sarcasm or joking in his tone. He stared right at her, knowing the answer.

"Was I fragile when I jumped off a balcony for Sora?" Kairi asked, not meeting the older boy's eyes.

"Then say what you want to say," Riku said.

Sora looked at Riku in a bit of surprise. This wasn't normally like his friend. It used to be that Riku would hold back what he really felt as would Kairi. The two danced around their true words, using little hints and obscure meanings hiding what they really wanted. Now they both were being almost bluntly honest. The teen briefly wondered if he was that way now as well.

Kairi looked at Sora with almost a glare, but she softened it upon seeing his hurt eyes. He still meant a lot to her. "I just feel like… I got gypped. I make one mistake and you can't forgive me?!"

Sora's mouth dropped. "You think that's why I'm not gonna go out with you?" Now it was the brunette's turn to be upset and brutally forward. "Kairi! I can't believe you just said that! You're smarter than that! If that was true I wouldn't be talking to you right now and trying to make things better!"

"It's just not fair…," Kairi mumbled. "I waited for you, for an entire year I waited for you! We got two months together and I thought…"

"I'm sorry Kairi, but that's not it. It's not your fault, okay?" Sora said, his anger melting away at hearing the wavering in the girl's voice. "I just…don't like you that way. I did, I really did. You still do mean a lot to me. It's just…not in the way you want…"

That broke the stick on the redhead's back. She began to cry into her hands. Sora moved to hug her, but she refused. The action was just as painful as the words the girl spoke earlier.

Riku sighed; was that in annoyance? "What do you want from us, Kairi?"

Kairi looked up at the teen standing next to her. "What…?"

"We're not gonna just stand by and see you cry. We both risked our lives to save and protect you," Riku said. "I know for a fact I'm not just gonna dip out of your life. You're still one of my best friends."

Kairi cried a little harder. In her heart, the girl felt the same thing. No matter what jealousy and bitterness she felt, the two boys standing in the room with her would always remain her best friends. They were the ones that found her, that stayed by her side when strangers turned away from the "strange" girl, that shared their deepest secrets with her, and saved her from darkness. There was no way she could truly hate them.

"You two are too!" she wept. "I don't want to lose you guys! But! …I still feel so hurt and betrayed!"

"It's okay to feel that," Sora said suddenly. He put his hand on Kairi's shoulder gently. "You can feel whatever u want, Kairi. We won't stop you. Just…please don't shut us out…"

The sincerity in her friend's words made Kairi cry harder. This time, though, when Sora hugged her, the girl didn't move to pull away. Riku eventually consoled her as well. The kitchen filled with her talks of the redhead's thoughts on the entire matter and the parents' constant arguing. Both boys could only sit there and listen to both sides; one side unable to accept their actions and one willing to eventually forgive the two. It was painful no matter what.

"Say Riku," Sora said once Kairi had stopped crying. The redhead was washing her face at the sink by now. "When did you become so honest? You too, Kairi."

Riku shrugged as he leaned against the island in the room. "DiZ, er, Ansem the Wise. He and King Mickey both taught me the matters of the heart. I had a lot of free time while you slept, lazy bum."

"Hey! I was getting memories back in place, thank you very much!" Sora exclaimed with the first smile on his face of the night.

"Yeah I know," Riku chuckled. "I remember when I forgot what happened. It was confusing, like a bad case of amnesia. I was suddenly in an old mansion with a girl, an old guy, and a mouse."

Kairi laughed loudly causing the two boys to jump and look over at her. "That sounds like some bad fanfic!"

"One you wrote?" Sora joked. The three friends cracked up.

The fit of giggles brought the parents into the room. The fathers didn't look too pleased, but the mothers remained calm. Yama was red in the face from his loud protests from the past hour or so. What time was it anyways?

"What's going on?" Fuu asked, a smile creeping up her face from the infectious laughter.

"You wouldn't understand, mom," Sora said, calming down.

Fuu looked at Sen with her arms crossed. There was a look in her eyes like a child taunting another saying "I told you so!" "Well it seems Kairi is okay with my son and with Riku."

"Are you?" Sen asked. Kairi nodded through her laughing.

Sora's face lit up instantly and he hugged the girl. An immense weight was lifted once more from his shoulders. As long as he had Kairi and Riku, nothing, not even furious parents, could stop him.

"Well I stand firm in my decision!" Yama boomed. Sora jumped slightly; after all the years he had known the adult, his voice and ever condescending gaze never ceased to scare him. The tall man grabbed Riku's arm firmly. "I knew having him be your friend was going to be a problem. We're taking you away from him, Riku."

"I refuse to never see Sora again," Riku said defiantly. The teen roughly snatched his arm back. Though he wasn't as tall as his father, he was the only one who didn't have to tilt their necks up to stare him in the eyes. "I'll never have that happen."

"I don't care what you want. You're too young to know what you want!" Yama stepped up, about to take Riku's arm again, when Suna stepped forward.

The meek woman's whisper was such a contrast to her husband's that everyone had to strain their ears to listen. They had just winced in pain from Yama's constant yelling.

"Riku…?" Suna shuffled forward. Riku's eyes softened as he looked at his timid mother. He had always loved and admired her for her inner strength and the love she offered him through the years. Out of the few people he missed when in the darkness, his mother had been the third. "Are you okay with this…? With upsetting so many people in your choice to be with your best…male friend…?"

Riku stared hard at his mother. He knew that she was trying to voice up the gentler side of what his father was arguing about. The teen sighed.

"Yes. I don't care what anyone thinks. I've held off my feelings for Sora for years… And now that he's willing to return them, I refuse to push those feelings back down into my heart. I will not sacrifice his happiness or my own for you or father's consent."

Suna smiled shyly. The mother secretly wished that would be her son's answer. She desperately wanted him to be happy with whomever he deemed worthy. To her, Sora was a perfect candidate. Mother's intuition again. That and she had watched as the two friends interacted with one another during the years. She caught those quick looks at Sora from her son, those tentative hugs, those dreams that Riku spoke aloud of before the mother awoke him.

"Well then… I think we've over stayed our welcome." Suna retreated behind her husband.

"What?!" Yama turned on his wife. The woman winced at his tone. "That's it?!"

"Yama, we've already set down rules and they agreed to compromise certain things. Why don't you do the same thing, since neither are willing to back down?" Kaze looked at the tall man, hoping he'd back away from poor Suna.

Yama returned his stare to Kaze. After a few minutes of thinking, the older man cleared his throat. "Yes…well… maybe that is the best choice for now…"

Riku was amazed his father had agreed to such a thing. He stole a glance at his mother. She had a sneaky, yet warm smile to her face. Something she said had affected Yama's decision.

"My rules are that there shall be no contact with each other in my house. None of any kind. And I refuse to let you, Sora, spend the night at our house ever again. Riku… well…you'll have to get permission from me if you want to stay here. Is that clear?"

"Crystal," Riku replied quickly. He knew there was no negotiating with this man. "May I stay the rest of the night here?"

"Whatever, sure." Yama waved his hand impatiently. "My other rule is… if our reputation is ever jeopardized…you will no longer be allowed to live under our roof again."

The statement left almost everyone in a stupor. Riku had braced himself for his father's rule. He just knew the man would set that down. Nothing mattered more to him than his reputation. It was how he made a living. That was why the teenager had worked so hard to excel at everything. If he didn't, there would be hell to pay from his father.

"Fine…," Riku mumbled. He had to agree. There was nothing more to it.

Yama stood up straight. "Right then. You must return to the house tomorrow, or well later today, at noon sharp. Any moment later and you'll be grounded the rest of your vacation." The man looked at Sora and his parents. He didn't say a word, but nodded. With that, he left the house in a march.

"If that is all, then I think I'll be taking my daughter home," Sen said. He nodded for Kairi to come over. "Good evening."

And with that, the house returned to normalcy. Everything instantly seemed lighter as the aggravated adults had left the premises.

"Well that was fun!" Sora said suddenly. He smiled at everyone. "Let's do it again! Same time tomorrow?"

Kaze shook his head, already heading for the stairs. Fuu hugged her son and gave him a kiss on the head. Riku shook his head as well, but laughed at his boyfriend's joke.

"Off to bed you too. You have to get up before noon this time, boys. Good night." Fuu then left.

Once everything had become still again, the two boys leaned on the island with a deep sigh.

"I thought they'd never leave…," Riku whispered. He sounded tired and upset.

"Are you okay?" Sora asked. He leaned over to look at Riku.

Riku didn't reply, but instead kissed Sora. The boy was caught up in a whirlwind of emotions to protest. He sank into the hold as they embraced each other. It was a sweet and short kiss.

"We better get to bed… You look tired." Sora nodded with a sleepy look in his eyes. It wasn't from being tired but overwhelmed by the kiss; short as it was.

Riku stood up, holding onto Sora's hand, but the younger teen wouldn't move. The silver haired boy looked down with a sigh. "Lazy bum…"

"Nothing…is broken…"

"Excuse me?" Riku bent down to Sora's eye level. "Where did that come from?"

Sora snapped out of his daze. "Oh! Sorry! No, it was, um, from this song I heard. It's pretty. You should hear it sometime."

"That's okay. I don't enjoy pretty songs, Sora." The boy laughed as Sora argued. He was so cute when he became defensive.

But Sora was right. Nothing was broken. They had suffered a humiliating and tense situation with the parental units and even managed to salvage their friendship with Kairi. With that task done and over with, they could step forward in their relationship a little more bravely. The next hurdle, though, would prove to be a challenge that could quite possibly break their wills. The couple knew it was something they had to rely on each other for support to get through.

That problem happened to consist of hundreds of girls and boys their age glaring at them, jeering them and taunting them, judging them, and ostracizing them.

There's a word for this. Oh yes, it's called high school. And they would have to face it head on in a week.