Riku had found Sora that day almost moments after. Everything was okay afterwards. Riku didn't lead on to him eavesdropping and Sora didn't let one speck of evidence that the
conversation ever took place.
Two hours after their little 'chat' Kairi left Sora to stew in his Riku-thoughts. Sora and Riku sat on the Paopu tree, chatting about nonchalant things, as they hadn't done in far too long.
"SORA!!!" calls Kairi.
Sora and Riku turn as she comes running down the bridge. "What's wrong Kairi?" Sora asks hopping down from the trunk.
Kairi ran right into his arms sobbing her eyes out.
Riku couldn't help feel a little jealous at Sora's comfort act, wrapping his arms tightly around her.
"It's awful! They are sending me away!"
"Away?" Sora asks. "Why?"
Kairi looked at him, here eyes a little puffy and tear stained. Saying she was crying for sometime now. "They enrolled me in a boarding school."
"What?" both boys asked.
Riku couldn't help but cheering a little in his head. Kairi was always trying to be around Sora, he noticed.
"They just told me so I had no way to back out of it. My mom is in the boat waiting for me. I'm going now," she sobbed, throwing her face back into Sora's shoulder.
"That's awful Kairi." Sora says petting her hair lightly. "I'll miss you."
"I will miss you too." She sniffled in his shoulder
Kairi bid him fare-well, telling that she will be back around Christmas time. And that he better behave himself. She gave him one last watery smile and walked off to the dock.
Riku and Sora looked at each other. They shrugged.
"I'll get some sea salt ice cream, and we'll go sit on the Paopu tree."
"Alright. I'll stay here."
Sora nodded.
"Here." Sora sat down next to the white-haired boy, looking out at the setting sun.
Riku sighed licking the salty sweet blue ice cream. "Thanks."
"Don't mention it." Sora shrugs.
Riku looked at him for a moment, and Sora looked back. Riku couldn't help himself but stare for a moment.
"Are you okay?" Sora asks lightly.
Riku looked away, lightly blushing, his hair hiding his reddened cheeks. "Yeah. Fine," he managed.
There was a moment of silence. "It's strange huh?"
Riku looks at Sora, "huh?"
"Us sitting here. Just us here. No one else. Just like before huh?"
"I suppose so," Riku said sucking on the corner of his pop-sickle.
Sora bit the rest of his ice cream off it's stick and stood. "What if it was like this for the rest of forever?"
Riku looked up at the brunet and sucked the last of his ice cream off it's stick, "I donno. What if?"
"Do you think it would ever be the same?"
"Nothing ever is."
"So why are we wasting time now, doing the same things we use to? Seems all too familiar to me."
Riku looked up at him, then back out to the ocean. "We're afraid of it being different."
"Yeah," Sora sighs. "So let's not be afraid now."
"Huh?" Riku looked at him. Sora had slid off the back of the trunk and was stripping off layers of clothing. "What are you doing?" Riku asked with wide eyes and lightly blushed cheeks.
Sora didn't say anything and threw his shirt into a pile of his shoes, chains, and jacket. "This is me not being afraid anymore," he looked out to the ocean and ran to the edge of the
island, splashing into the water below. Riku couldn't help himself from keeping dirty thoughts from his mind.
"Come on! Your turn!" Sora called to Riku to join him, and looking up to Riku, he noticed his white haired friend, motionless. "Riku!" he called again. Riku looked at him and Sora waved at
him to come and swim.
"Alright, alright," Riku stood, pulled his shoes off, his jacket and his shirt, diving head first into the water. As Riku came above the water and shook his hair out, Sora smiled.
"What kind of look is that?" Riku asks.
Sora smiles a little wider, "nothing about my look."
Sora pulled himself up the latter on the side of the island and plopped on to the trunk of the Paopu Tree. Riku sat next to him. Through-out the two hours that they were swimming Riku
couldn't help himself but to watch and mess around with Sora as much as he could. Not seeing him for ten years was a good cover up.
"Let's go back to my place. It's almost eleven anyway."
Riku looked at him, then sighed up at the stars. "Yeah. It'll start getting chilly soon."
It was crazy how fast they were at Sora's house, taking their shoes off at the door. Riku followed Sora right up to his room, and sat leaning on his elbows on the bed as Sora blared
music.
After the radio clicked to life, he turned to Riku, who was leaning back on his bed.
Sora stepped up to Riku, and the aquamarine-eyed boy sat up. Sora took a step closer and Riku looked up to him.
As Riku sat, he touched the boy's hips, pulling him a little closer.
Sora looked carelessly into Riku's beautiful oceanic eyes. How close he was to Riku. He couldn't help but wonder what would happened if he'd just kiss Riku. His lips tingled at the thought.
Leaning down, Sora pushed Riku's face up to look at his. He leaned over enough to press their lips together. Sora's sudden kiss sparked every thought about him Riku ever had. He pulled
the little brunet closer. How amazingly good this felt. Sora's body melted into his as their kiss deepened. Riku slid one of his hands up Sora's chest and around his neck, deepening the kiss,
parting his thin lips and letting his tongue dance around in his mouth.
"You don't mind this do you?" Sora asks.
Riku smiled, "no. Not at all."
"Good. I got it from some shop downtown. Said it was 'New age' or something like that. I kinda like it."
Riku looked at the brunet boy still standing by his radio, deep bass music pulsing around him. "It's kinda entrancing huh?" he said quickly to lead on that he too was talking about the
strange hypnotic music.
"HEY!!" snaps a voice throwing open his door.
Roxas stood in the door, his eyes scrunched at the light, hair messed up in a pair of pajama pants, no shirt.
"Oh," Sora clicked down the volume. "Sorry. I didn't know you were here."
Roxas stared at him. "Keep it down. I have the worst headache and that is not helping," he pointed to the radio.
"Alright, I'll keep it down."
"And who is that?" Roxas asks looking dead at Riku.
Sora looked at a petrified Riku, then back to Roxas. "Who's who? You're drunk again aren't you?" he looked close into Roxas's eyes. "Hanging out with Namine again I see. All those rum
shots you two make are really getting to you man. There isn't anybody here."
Roxas looked at him for a moment, hiccupped and smiled, "yeah. I love those. Suppose you're right. I'm going back to sleep."
"Careful down the stairs," Sora said as Roxas turned from his door.
Riku looked at Sora for a moment until he shut the door. "Did he really see me?"
Sora turned to Riku. "I thought you said only I could see you."
"That's what I was told," Riku says, tapping his chin. "You think maybe more people will start seeing me as I get closer to completing my mission-thing?"
Sora crawled up behind him and plopped on the bed. "Maybe. Maybe that's how you know if you are doing the right thing."
"Then I'm doing something right," Riku laid down next to him.
"What have you been doing a lot?"
Riku pondered for a moment. "I've gone back to places we have hung out. And kinda done stuff we use to do. I've been with you most of the time. That's kinda hard to get out of in more
way then one though…" And accepted that I want (need) you as more then just a friend. He shrugged, "otherwise I don't really know."
"Then you better keep doing it. It's been a week already."
Riku turned on his side to look at him. "Really? A week and I'm getting close enough…" he laid back down on his back. "…if I could complete it in a short amount of time, there is no chance
of me failing…"
Sora leaned on his elbow closer to Riku. "Good. I really want you to stay here with me," he laid his head on Riku's shoulder. "And I know that Rena will let you stay here. She lets Namine
stay here, and in Roxas's room. Those two have going at it for a long while now too, Rena knows it."
Riku shrugged and yawned, "I'm wiped."
Riku being around always made things hard for Sora. Being around Kairi did kind of the same thing. He couldn't really help himself. Having Kairi For his only friend for a long amount of time,
and losing Riku for ten years made him skitterish around them.
None the less, dusk rolled around Riku managed to get Sora to stay at the Island just a little longer. Tonight was a meteor shower and Riku didn't want Sora to miss it. It was one of the
past times that couldn't be done any-ol'-time like the others.
"No really Riku. I think we should get back," Sora says lightly.
Riku pulled him down the beach away from the dock. "I swear on my life this is worth it. Lookie! Even Namine and Roxas are down here. And look, there is Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka," he
says lightly.
Sora peered down the beach. There was Namine and Roxas laying on the roof of the shack, and on the beach line was Selphie, Wakka and Tidus. "Huh. What is this Riku?"
"Hey, don't worry about it," he said pulling Sora through the shack, ignoring Roxas and Namine calling for Sora from the top.
Riku drug Sora out to the small island and laid down on the sand, looking up at the sky. "Well, come on," he said when Sora just looked at him.
Sora laid down next to the silver-haired boy. "Might I-"
"Just watch," he said grabbing Sora's hand in his.
Sora looked up to the stars as Riku just did. A silver dot shot across the sky. Riku had kept him out here to watch the meteor shower. Sora felt kinda bad for wanting to go back home. He
looked lightly to Riku who was smiling contently at the sky as another rock shot through the air. He remembered the shower he drug Riku out to before. The first one they saw. They were
seven:
"What's so big about flaming rocks across the sky?" Riku asked.
Sora looked at him with a pouted lip and big eyes. "Please Riku, it is suppose to be really pretty!"
Riku rolled his eyes. "Really?"
Sora hit him in the shoulder. "Don't be a punk."
"'Punk'? Me?"
"Come on Riku, I bet you will like it."
Riku rolled his eyes and let himself be taken away by the small brunet. Whatever Sora liked, besides colors, Riku normally found interest in.
Sora laid down on the sand.
"What are you doing?"
"You can't very well see them in the sky if you aren't laying on the ground. Duh."
Riku looked down at him. "Serious?"
"Come on, don't be a bully. Lay down, you'll miss it if you keep going on like this."
Riku rolled his eyes again and laid down in the sand next to Sora. The small boy scooted over and laid his head on Riku's shoulder. "Was that so hard?" he muttered.
Riku shrugged.
"Stubborn."
The first few 'stars' shot across the night sky. Sora cooed. Riku couldn't help himself but to marvel at the sight of the rocks hitting the atmosphere and flashing out in a streak.
Sora pulled his eyes from the sky for not but a moment as fingers slid into his hand, and laced through his. He pretended not to notice, smiled and looked back at the sky.
