Summary: What was supposed to be a smooth training session for Lea and Riku turned into a crash landing. And all over a silly sandwich. LeaKu (LeaxRiku). Canon worlds. Rated M for later chapters.
A.N.: Hello, hello, sorry for the long wait! For waiting so long, I wrote even more than I usually do for all you patient readers. I am a little embarrassed about what I wrote...I was thinking about splitting this chapter up. But, then decided not to. Omg, sorry for everything XD
Riku's limbs snapped forward as Rafiki suddenly climbed along the branches.
For an old monkey, he got away fairly quickly from Riku, making it difficult for him to even keep the mandrill within his eyesight. The silver haired lion was already panting and was growing more frustrated by the moment.
"Wait up!" Riku yelled, ducking under the twigs that were in his way. He maneuvered his way through the roots of branches, his paws barely making it over.
Riku couldn't avoid everything though. His face came into contact with a web and he coughed and sputtered, his eyes flinching shut and not seeing the path ahead of him. His body got caught in some vines and he comically flipped right onto his stomach. Riku huffed in annoyance, knowing by now he must have lost sight of the monkey by the time he just wasted.
But, as if mocking him, Rafiki stopped in his tracks, hanging from a branch with his hand. He held his cane and gave a good whack upon Riku's head, running away just in time before Riku's paw swatted.
"Come! You follow Rafiki!" The mandrill gave out a hearty laugh as Riku shook his way out of the entrapped vines, growling as he continued to run, now on plains ground. The moment he got this monkey, he would be getting his answers.
Riku chased Rafiki into a lush, green small forest, but soon lost sight of the fast traveling monkey. His instincts came in to stop right before a thick bush of grass that had given the smallest amount of movement. Riku couldn't see what lied beyond there except for a shadow of a figure. He crawled down low on fours, smirking as he approached.
Riku suddenly lunged forward and yelled out, "Gotcha!" before he was on top of a lion much like himself. Riku blinked at the green eyed lion beneath him and murmured, "Axel? What..."
"It's Lea," Lea corrected, but his eyes were wide in shock. "Why did you pounce me?"
"I'm- there was-" Riku stuttered as he looked around him. He climbed off of Lea and checked his surroundings. His gaze flicked among the scenery in search for something that Lea was unknowing to.
Lea rolled over onto his stomach, slowly stretching out the kinks out of his lion body. "What are you looking for?"
"I- never mind. Where are we?"
"You didn't even answer my questions. Why would I answer yours?" Lea sighed a little frustrated since Riku had acted so casual with him. Had the silverette just ignored his hurtful words just moments ago?
Riku walked past Lea ignoring the question to his question. Instead, he focused on the nature of his surroundings. It seemed so much healthier than the pride lands and outlands combined together. There was a large waterfall right over the edge of the grassy cliff they were looking over and Riku could almost see where it led to another body of water with an adjacent waterfall.
Riku then saw another two lions float along on a large heart shaped leaf and watched as they neared the end of the falls. His promise to Simba to watch his daughter and his adrenaline from fear kicked in, so Riku ran along the grassy ledge to jump onto another floating leaf, surprised to find it stable underneath his paws.
Meanwhile, Lea watched from the edge in horror as Riku managed the landing. But, he too was after a similar goal in watching the two lions that he was going to keep a secret just to impress Riku in the end when he had accomplished it. Lea tentatively stared at the water and wondered if he could actually make this wet jump of death.
"Riku, whatever you're doing, I'm not doing it," Lea called out as he finalized his decision. He could clearly see that Kovu and Kiara were together and that was enough information to relay back to the outlanders.
Lea felt a poke on his shoulder and turned around, immediately meeting the face of a mandrill. "Woah!" Lea yelled out at the closeness and skidded backwards, landing into the water.
Lea's paws flailed against the surface of the water. His panic managed to keep his head above the surface for a short amount of time before he submerged. At the moment Lea went underwater, a pair of teeth grabbed him by the base of the back of his neck, pulling him upward.
Lea allowed himself to be dragged up until his torso was half over the edge of the leaf. He spit a stream of water from his mouth in annoyance as he hoisted himself the rest of the way. There were no words to describe how much he hated water right now.
Riku mildly looked over Lea, not sure if consoling him was the best option now. He decided to look the other way instead and focus on his current mission that was unknowingly the same as Lea's.
Lea's eyes narrowed as Riku turned his head away. The silverette could have showed just a little bit concern. The red maned lion pouted and shook out his wet furred body, droplets flying in every which way. Maybe that would get Riku's attention.
Riku shielded some of the water that flew in his direction with his paw. "You did that on purpose," he snarled out at Lea.
Lea blankly looked at Riku as he lazily licked his fur. "No, I didn't," he lied casually.
"And to think I helped your lying ass."
"I don't need your help," Lea indignantly growled. "Besides, I think a certain someone would think the same of me."
Riku's jaw slowly closed and turned his head away from the redhead. There was the guilt trip. Now, he refused to look at Lea.
Just then, Rafiki hung from a vine and his feet balanced on the heart shape of the giant leaf. He looked curiously at the two, stroking his chin with both of his fingers. The two did not even want to face each other at the moment. Rafiki thought for a moment and he snapped his fingers at an idea. His head leaned down between the two and with a smile, he asked, "Do you know where we are?"
"Somewhere I don't want to be," Lea gruffly answered.
"You're not the only one," the silver haired male next to him scoffed.
Rafiki shook his head, delivering a mighty blow upon both of their noggins. The two lions complained with a pained noise.
"What was that for?!" the two yelled at the same time. Upon realizing they were in sync, Riku suddenly turned his head away and Lea looked at him in confusion.
Rafiki smiled as he turned their heads toward the leaf right ahead of them. The laughing pair of Kovu and Kiara were in plain sight. "That is your answer."
Riku squinted, not quite getting what Rafiki was saying. He already knew that Kovu and Kiara were the key to uniting the Outlands and Pridelands. What did that have to do with anything?
However, Lea saw something completely different. The way Kovu smiled at Kiara, the way Kiara's eyes twinkled at Kovu. What the senile mandrill was slowly and finally starting to make sense...but how did it relate to them?
"We are down in a special place in your hearts," Rafiki answered as he turned Riku's head toward Lea. "Called Upendi."
"Upendi?" Riku and Lea repeated. Riku glanced at Lea as they spoke again in unison.
"Uh...well...what is Upendi?" Lea asked.
The mandrill cackled as he pointed at Kovu and Kiara. "They will show you the way!"
"W-wait!" Riku yelled as Rafiki jumped off, landing on the grass beside the water. He blinked and he looked at Lea with a shrug. "Do you know what it is?"
"Uh...no idea," Lea answered nervously, now paying more attention to the two lions ahead of them.
"Of course," Riku sighed as he slumped on the leaf.
"But...maybe we could find out together if we could just get along for once. Maybe that's what the crazy monkey was saying," Lea explained as he gestured to Kovu and Kiara.
Riku looked in that direction and frowned a bit. As far as he knew, cats didn't like getting wet, and lions were just giant cats. How could they laugh and get along so easily when at any moment they can just fall over the upcoming waterfall? But, perhaps Lea was right. They haven't been on good terms ever since they landed in this world. In reality, Riku really did want to apologize about what he had said to Lea.
"I guess we can have a temporary truce," Riku relented. "As long as you don't do anything stupid."
Lea groaned out. "See? This is what I'm talking about! It always comes back to me doing something wrong."
"Because you can't properly do anything that a real Keyblade Master should do."
"Of course I'm the one at fault-"
"Which is why I'm going to try to be patient with you for once," Riku cut off.
"...Really?" Lea perked up. Riku noticed the uplifting spirit Lea had when he was actually nice for once. It was an effect from his kindness and Riku wondered if he actually preferred the upbeat stupidity instead of the more tame quietness Lea would have when Riku upset him.
"As long as it makes you happy...I guess," Riku quietly added. He looked again at Kovu and Kiara, trying to decipher what this Upendi was. His eyes examined around the small forest until he saw other animals committing strange actions he would never see in his own world.
Hippos were swinging from jungle vines and rhinos were doing the conga. This world was definitely a strange one indeed, but it looked like it was fun. It made Riku's insides as fuzzy as the fur he had.
Riku felt the leaf shift slightly and saw Rafiki balance himself on the stem. "I don't think we know yet," Lea answered truthfully.
Rafiki leaned more of his weight on the right side of the leaf, making Lea lose balance and bump noses with Riku. The two immediately moved away from each other and Lea hushed out a quick, "S-sorry," before he moved away.
Riku blushed whilst looking away, thinking that what had just occurred was almost like a kiss. But the thought was as ridiculous as the animals were acting and Riku remained calm as always. "Just be careful next time," he murmured.
"R-righ- oh shit."
Riku stared at what Lea was staring at and soon had the same fearful expression as him.
"Prepare for Lover's Leap!" Rafiki screeched out in laughter, jumping off the leaf as soon as Lea and Riku floated right to the edge.
"Are you insaaaaaaahhhhhhhhh!"
The two fell over and Riku held on to the leaf for dear life with his claws. This was one crazy leaf boat ride he never wanted to participate in ever again if he even lived after this.
Lea was not too keen about falling in the water again so he held onto Riku instead, who looked over at him in the midst of falling down. Even past the fear in Riku's eyes, he still looked a little peeved from Lea being so close to him.
No, peeved wasn't the right word. Riku's expression was too soft to be considered annoyed. But, Lea had no time to think on the spot as they landed right on the surface of the water nearly screaming as he almost fell over.
The landing was anticlimactic when the leaf, along with Lea and Riku, just plopped right onto the water. The two were still as statues, thanking the heavens that they had landed safely on the comparatively still water. "Are we dead yet?" Lea whimpered out.
"No," Riku whispered. Then he gasped as he hissed out, "Kiara, where..." Riku turned his head at the laughing pair, seeing the damp pair just floating ahead of them. Even when the female lion was in possible danger, she was still laughing. "Unbelievable. Why are they laughing so much..."
"Did Rafiki say Lover's Peak?" Lea asked out of the blue.
Riku looked at Lea, not quite relating the question to their current situation. "What?"
The mandrill walked onto the edge of the leaf again and sighed. Rafiki shook his head. Getting the message across was certainly becoming a more difficult task than Kiara and Kovu. His eyes looked above at the trees and he smiled, climbing off the floating leaf.
Lea stared as the mandrill climbed away, calling out, "Hey, where are you going? We still haven't figured it out yet! And we nearly died!"
"Upendi is where the passion fruit grows sweet," Rafiki sang, shoving the fruits past Lea's and Riku's mouths.
Riku's eyes widened as he saw Lea chew on the unknown food, soon getting one of the stupidest expressions yet. Lea's eyes were hooded and his tongue hung out of his mouth ridiculously.
"Go on," Rafiki encouraged with a grin and Riku slowly chewed, his cheeks as big as a chipmunk's. The sweet taste flooded his mouth with one bite and he gulped down the fruit's fluids. It settled into his stomach warmly and Riku immediately felt himself relax with a deep exhale. The feeling was too pleasant for Riku to even grow irritated at the fact that they almost died today.
At the end of the river, the leaf stopped at the edge of the grass plains. Riku slowly walked off the leaf and watched the two lions sway and hum the words, "down in Upendi". This feeling that flooded him made him feel...purified to say the least.
Lea yawned lightly as he slumped next to Riku. He looked curiously at the silver haired lion, seeing a smile across Riku's face. "Hey, you're smiling..."
Riku turned his head towards Lea with a curious look. "Huh?"
"It's just, I barely ever see you smile. Especially around me. It's nice."
Riku blinked his gaze towards the ground, suddenly feeling consciously embarrassed. "Well, I...I just feel like there's this bubbling feeling inside."
Lea swiped at the grass with a paw before he pondered his words. "I think I know what it is." Riku gave him a questioning look before Lea continued, "It's Upendi."
"Which is?" Riku inquired. Lea chuckled, his mane swaying side to side when he shook his head at the silly silverette. He stood up on his four legs and crawled to Riku, nuzzling his head against Riku's cheek in a cat-like manner. "What are you doing?"
As Lea rubbed against Riku, that soft red mane brushed against him. The silver haired male sighed in defeat, losing to his will. The sign of affection would have normally irritated him, but for some reason he didn't feel like fighting it now. It actually felt...nice.
Riku's jaw opened wide in a yawn. It's not that he was tired, but more so comfortable. "Listen, I'm sorry about what I said back there, in the elephant graveyard. I guess I just got a little impatient with you," Riku confessed with an apologetic look.
"It's fine. I had a feeling you didn't mean it," Lea said with a purr. Riku's ears slightly twitched as they caught the rumbling of Lea's purr. "I forgive you." Riku's eyes became heavy as Lea rubbed his forehead against his neck.
Riku felt a rough tongue lick at his mane. With each swipe from Lea, the hair became more tame. "Stop that..."
"But your mane is messy."
As Lea continued to lap at his fur, Riku shut his eyes. The closeness of Lea made him feel...weird. His heart was beating fast and this time, it wasn't from the adrenaline fighting heartless or running. These feelings made him lean more into the redhead with a defeated sigh.
His heart...wasn't that the key to Upendi? It was what Rafiki was saying all along, wasn't it? It was what Kovu and Kiara experienced. It was similar to how he felt whenever he looked at Kairi and Sora, except different. In all those several seconds of thinking, Riku finally got it. Lover's Peak, passion fruit, a leafy boat ride for two, uniting Kovu and Kiara; Upendi was love and it was supposed to somehow relate to him and Lea-
"AGGH!" Riku yelled out, suddenly moving away from Lea. Now he knew what Rafiki meant. The drawings, the drabblings of a senile mandrill; it all made sense! "G-get away from me!"
Lea was pushed away and he freaked out himself. "Huh?! What's wrong?!"
"U-Upendi!" Riku stammered out, backing away from Lea. "I-it's love!"
"Y-yeah. And?" Lea inquired.
"I, I don't know! You're making me feel...weird! This place is making me feel weird. I don't- just get away from me! Or something." Riku's voice was going through a roller coaster of octaves, going from high to low, calm to nervous, sane to insane.
Lea's eyes widened and he blushed, if it were even possible for lions to blush. "Are you saying that you're in love with me?" Lea whispered out in astonishment.
Riku froze like a cement statue, not even sure himself. "I...don't be ridiculous. There's no way I would like you. You're, well, you."
Riku's statement caused Lea to laugh loudly. It was amusing that the silverette would not like him because of him and not his gender. "Whatever you say," Lea sang as he walked away.
Riku didn't like the way Lea was teasing him, so he lunged for the swaying redhead. He pinned Lea against the grass and gave out a dominant growl. "Don't you dare make fun of me."
Riku expected a witty response, but instead he received a, "Got it boss." Lea smiled underneath him and leaned up to lick Riku's cheek, causing the male to back away and release the redhead.
"So, say if I were in love with you. What would you do?" Riku shyly asked. "Hypothetically of course."
"I would have to feel the same if I were to do anything about it," Lea answered truthfully, getting up to his feet.
Riku blushed, not believing they were even having this conversation. He was supposed to make sure Kiara was safe for Simba and that she would end up together with Kovu for Rafiki. But, here he was questioning his feelings towards Lea and feeling more confused than ever. "D-do you feel the same?"
Lea awkwardly ran his paw through his mane, scratching it. It was a habit he even carried over into this world when he felt embarrassed. "I-I think I do. I mean, do you?"
"We really shouldn't be dwelling on this. I mean, we should be looking for the gummi piece." Riku turned away to make his way towards the Pridelands. He shouldn't be thinking about his feelings, but rather when they were able to make it back to their world safely.
"H-hold up!" Lea called, lunging for Riku. The act effectively knocked the wind out of the silverette and sent the two rolling down a grassy hill. Riku gasped out as Lea pinned him down to a stop, them landing in the clearing of the forest where the moon served as light.
Riku looked up to see emerald orbs stare down at him. The redhead's eyes effectively made his heart skip a beat. Badump. Bmp. Badump. He slowly gave in to the strong beating of his heart. There was no use fighting what his heart was screaming at the moment.
Riku nuzzled his head against Lea's neck. He licked a few stray hairs before Lea returned the action. He heard a content purr from the redhead and for the first time, his throat rumbled with one of his own.
The thought of doing anything intimate was not awkward until a certain point. Lea was the first one to voice it with concern. "Uhm...Riku?"
"Y-yeah?" Riku panted, making sure to keep a somewhat decent expression on his face. All this nuzzling, cuddling, licking, and nipping threatened to have his tongue hanging out, something that would not happen as a human.
"What now?"
Riku's eyebrow raised quizzically. He sighed out in annoyance, "Well, the obvious. Sexual intercourse."
"You don't have to say it like that," Lea chuckled out in embarrassment. "What I mean is that we're lions..."
"Do I have to spell it out for you?" Riku hissed out. He wasn't angry, but was getting flustered over the fact that he had to explain the birds and the bees. More like the bees and the bees. "We...do it up the butt."
"That sounds like it would hurt for lions," Lea said hesitantly, nudging his head against Riku's chest.
"If you're going to be a pansy, then I'll take it first," Riku sighed defeatedly, rolling over onto his stomach. His tail wagged back and forth and he looked behind him expectantly with a look that said, 'Well, go on.'
'Did Riku even know what he was getting himself into?' Lea thought with a gulp. If Riku was offering then he must have really cared for him. Lea padded over to Riku and leaned over from behind, just allowing his animal instincts to guide him through this. "Uh, are you sure?" Lea asked as a precaution.
"As sure as I'll ever be."
"W-well, alright then," Lea said with enthusiasm. It wasn't as if he were going to argue with Riku anymore. He would just do his best to make him and his partner feel good.
One shift of hips later and a mighty roar erupted from Riku's mouth. It echoed through the whole forest and whatever sounds the animals that dwelled within it were making immediately silenced. Lea froze in fear, not expecting the loud noise to run cold shivers up his spine.
He was almost afraid to ask the words, but stammered them anyway. "A-are you okay?"
"Do I sound okay," Riku growled out ferociously, his head whipping around. The low growl seeped right through his bare teeth and it was causing the redheaded lion to shiver profusely.
"I, I'll get out."
Lea attempted to move away, but Riku's voice cut into his ears like a sharp butcher knife in soft, melting butter. "You pull out now, and I'll shred you into pieces. Move."
Although Riku's tone was altogether scary and made Lea actually want to shit his nonexistent pants, in a way it turned Lea on. He liked how Riku commanded him and the idea of actually having animal sex and doing it in this position...He wouldn't admit it out loud to Riku, but he enjoyed it.
After Lea was done, he slid next to Riku who currently had his eyes closed. His tongue slightly hung out of his mouth and he peeked a foggy, cyan eye towards Lea. The redhead gave him a sympathetic lick on the face and murmured, "Sorry..."
Riku looked as if he were about to say something, but he shut his mouth immediately. Instead, he rolled over to Lea and rested on his side. "It wasn't as bad as it sounded. Just so you know," Riku gruffly said.
With a smile, Lea laid his head on top of Riku's, appreciating the kind words.
To Arckahlys: I can agree with you on that one! Rafiki might just be the biggest shipper of all Disney characters, unless I'm missing somebody. I have this whole scene planned out for when Riku and Lea get back to Sora and Kairi. I'm going to enjoy it when it gets to that point.
To Ignie: I hope they include more of the Organization members' stories in KH3. Sometimes, I found Zexion to be a little sassy at some times and it was pretty hilarious. Every kingdom hearts character has that small little sassy line of dialogue that just makes me giggle.
To gaarasgurl101: I think Riku got the message alright. XDD And Lea did too!
To Sunset Yesterday: Aww thank you so much! I'm glad you decided to join this crazy ride with the rest of us! Hop on the LeaKu roller coaster because once you're on, you're never coming back. -gladly takes the cookies-