Title: Romantic Irony
Author: Kirrae
Pairings: CloudxRiku, RikuxSora (one sided), CloudxLeon (one sided)
Summary: Was it too much to ask for an intelligent best friend who knew without being told?
Disclaimer: Like everyone else on this site, I do not own the characters, they belong to Square Enix, their creator Tetsuya Nomura, and Disney. I only own these words.
Chapter Note: This one took me a bit, because I wasn't sure where to go with it. I hope it isn't too wordy at the beginning and too dialogue heavy at the end. I'm sure it is, but I'm hoping you don't care. Please review, tell me what you like and what you hate, what doesn't work, and what is completely useless.
Thanks!
Riku could not wait to laugh his ass off at Sora's attempt at dancing that night. Oh the wonders of dance club fridays! Some people just didn't have any sense of rhythm... or shame. Sora was the kind of kid you liked to laugh at on the dance floor, messy and awkward. Zack was somewhat similar in terms of being over-enthusiastic, but he tended to have more grace than the short brunette. Most things had more grace than that short brunette. Even Cloud, and watching him dance was a bit like a train wreck, was less of a fiasco on the dance floor. It was almost terrifying that Cloud was better than anyone when it came to dancing.
Riku used to think it was a damn shame. Considering that Sora is now dating the resident dancing queen, Riku has revised his opinion so he now finds it ironic and hysterical. Of course, Riku, being who he is and finding the thought of Sora dancing hysterical, presumed to cackle manically while sitting at a booth in the crowded diner. Aerith, who was sitting at the boys left, could only shake her head and pat him on the shoulder. It would wear off soon.
Or in twenty minutes. Usually somewhere between the two.
This time, it took Riku about five minutes to return his breathing to normal. At which point he finally noticed the odd looks he was receiving. He shrugged. These things should be normal by now.
"Hey, Riku, care to enlighten us?"
"Eh. You know. Friday dance night and Sora."
"Uh huh."
"They're coming. Think so. Got a text message. It was all jumbled, so I had to translate it to 'we is are coming to dance cat party of our baby cheetah (or cheater, not sure which) cotton.'"
"That was the translation?"
"Uh huh. Wanna read the original?"
Sadly, no one took Riku up on his offer. It was a shame.
"So, what do you say, Aer? You wanna go dance with the kiddies this evening?"
Aerith giggled softly into a raised hand and nodded. Cloud proceeded to punch Zack in the shoulder. Riku sighed, being the long-suffering saint that he is.
"Not funny."
"Considering this morning, I thought it was appropriate."
"What- how?" And Cloud sputtered off into a mess of unintelligible syllables and half-questions. Riku proceeded to rifle through his bag, pull out a different shirt, grin, and place it back into the bag. He had a plan for this one. He then proceeded to hunt through Cloud's clothes like his life depended on it. The blonde just stared in shock until a shirt hit him square in the face.
"Change. Now. We don't have time for you and your dramatics. Go."
And the shirt he was currently wearing was ripped straight off his head, with the average, minor difficulties. Zack was, of course, laughing his head off during the entire process of getting Cloud into appropriate attire, complete with fixed hair and all. In the end, the blonde upperclassman actually looked decent. Riku, on the other hand, looked as if he'd fought a war single handedly and lost.
The IRHC (Inter Residence Housing Committee) got a lot of stupid ideas. A lot of them. Most of them were thanks to Demyx, one of the treasurers, as he'd waged a 'campaign' against 'boring college activities' and so tried to make dorm/college events awesome. He usually failed, but hey, at least he tried right? And the Friday Night Dance Club was probably his most successful invention, being that it had survived three consecutive weeks and is going on to its fourth.
The main dining hall - a large, flat building usually filled with tables, chairs, and cooking equipment was now decked in black lights and streamers. A typical crappy DJ was working away at his computer, mixing every pop song with a crappy fake drum beat. Because that always sounded good. Every song needed the same bass line, because you can't dance to something without the stereotypical dance beat. At least they hadn't started in on the rock songs. The Rolling Stones should have performed with a drum machine, you know.
Riku wasn't a fan of automated music, but he liked to dance, so he suffered. Cloud wasn't a fan of anything. Zack liked to laugh at Cloud's poor attempts at dancing. Aerith, well, she was too much of a sweetheart to deny her friends and boyfriend anything, especially when it gave her the chance to drag Zack off into a corner, away from the blind idiots, so that they could get some time alone. As alone as you can be in public.
"Hey, Ri, seen the dynamic duo yet?"
"Which one? Sor and Kai or Squall and Rinoa?"
"The two most likely to end up here."
"So... Sora and Rinoa. Okay, I'll scout 'em."
"Riku..."
"You know as well as I do, Cloudy darling, that Squall- Leon- would never come of his own free will, and Kairi is still probably holed up in her room going through all of her clothes trying to find something that isn't skanky."
"Riku, what did you do?"
"You really like to say my name, don't you?"
"Riku!"
"Aww, I'm so loved. Don't forget it though, babe, you'll be screaming it later. Let's not tire out that throat of yours."
"I'm going to stop talking to you now."
"Okay. Fine. I may have told Kairi that Sora liked to stare at her ass in that pair of really low-riding jeans she loves to wear. And I may have then told her she was a prostitute. It was nothing, really."
"You're going to get killed one of these days."
"I'm gay, they can't kill me for my fashion advice."
"Riku, you have the fashion sense of a retarded kitten."
"Like Leon and his hate of salmon colored shirts?"
So, Cloud might have gone off sulking. Just a bit. Honest.
Zack might have laughed until his rib cage threatened to stab him in the heart.
And Sora might have cluelessly wandered in with his arm around a rather shy and conservatively dressed Kairi. Conservative being that she was wearing a shirt with sleeves that went past the waistline of her jeans. Scandalous, no?
"Hey Kairi, you really shouldn't listen to Riku. He's being a bitch today. Ow! Fuck that hurt you little piece of-"
"Shut up, Starshine."
Sora looked between the two, shrugged, and settled on a confused expression pointed at Zack, who shrugged in return.
"Seen Roxas?"
"Have you seen Axel? He's easier to spot and they're glued to each others... hips."
"Among other things."
"Riku! That's my brother."
"Hey! Fair started it."
"Real mature Masani."
"Fuck you Strife, you angsty little rain cloud."
"Okay, Cliff."
"It's earth or shore, okay douche bag?"
"Nice. And you made fun of me."
"So you two, when's the wedding?"
"Very funny Kai."
"You bicker like my parents, what can I say?"
"And you and Sora don't bicker?"
"My point exactly."
Riku's face met his palm. Swiftly.
"Let's just dance, yeah?"
"Smooth moves, Cliff."
"Moonbeam, I'm gonna kill you."
This was followed by a round of "Hey Leon"s (Squall, in the case of Cloud.)
"Did any of you see Yuffie? I'm baby sitting her."
"Tifa felt like dancing?"
"Rude."
"How's Reno taking that?"
"I don't think he's noticed. He's still laughing at Axel."
"Roxas is here?"
With a point in the right direction, Sora was off. Somehow not managing to loose Kairi. They must have missed their weekly twin meeting. Yeah. They scheduled when they would meet up. Mostly because they didn't hang out anymore. Something about separate identities in a place where no one had known them as The Twins since they were like five. Riku didn't understand, The Triplets of Doom were still that, then again, they didn't exactly have friends...
Sora was back after five minutes, they rescheduled. For Saturday. Which meant Riku would not be returning home until that night, if he came back. He didn't like intruding on the twin meetings. Axel somehow found them amusing. Riku found them creepy as all hell. They spoke in unison, while asking each other questions, it was evil.
Riku figured fuck it, and decided to walk from where they were standing at the back into the throng of people. He stood close to the edge, but far enough in that he wasn't completely visible or awkwardly standing by himself next to a crowd. He threw himself into the music, like always, swaying his hips and arms, letting his feet beat the ground when necessary, locking his knees alternatively. To Cloud, he'd always been the proof of a dancer's paradox, changing his movements to fit the specific song, he was something free yet chained. He moved as he wished, but was eventually relegated to the melody playing through the speakers.
Unfortunately, Riku's peace was obliterated, shattered like stained glass windows, as a hand roughly pulled him free of the mob of undulating bodies.
"Hey faggot."
"Siefer."
"I really ought to beat the shit out of you."
"I was just thinking the same thing."
Which, of course, granted Riku the pleasure of a fist to the jaw. Damnit, why his face? So, he kicked the blonde ass in the stomach. This succeeded in putting some distance between the two as well as calling attention to the conflict. Great. Sora to the rescue, huh?
"Siefer, leave him alone!"
"Sure thing runt, I'll leave your whore in one piece. Just let me rough him up a bit. He'll be more compliant that way."
"Fuck off Almassy."
"I said shut it, maggot!"
"And I said to keep you damn hands off him."
"Well, if it isn't Squall Leonhart. I was wondering when you'd show. I was just-"
It's always fun to shut that bastard up by sweeping his feet out from under him. And thanks to Squall, he had a distraction.
"Oh look, he's on the floor. Nice change, huh bastard?"
A kick to the ribs kept him from answering. Riku was sad to see that he hadn't been the one to deliver the blow.
"I can fight my own battles Cloud."
"Doesn't mean I can't get some fun out of it too."
"Uh, Riku, what did he mean by all that?"
"Seifer? Oh."
"Riku?"
"Sora, he's full of shit, okay. Don't listen to that bastard."
"Oh, okay then. Thanks Leon."
Sora went back to his girlfriend. No surprise there. Dodged a bullet there though.
"Thanks, Leon."
"Is that so difficult?"
"Yeah."
"Well then, Cloud, keep a better eye on your boyfriend. He's got a mouth on him."
"What?" Cloud was not happy. He's never happy, but he's more unhappy than usual. That didn't bode well. Riku was going to go hide now.
