There was only one more thing that Riku felt like he had to do. Just one more thing. This would be why Sora stood waiting for him on the small Paopu island. Kairi had gone back to school
the night before. After the whole scene in the hall, Rena let Riku stay in her house. Roxas traded rooms with Sora so that he and Riku could share the big room in the basement.
Last night, Sora and Riku lay quietly on his bed, in the pitch black.
"Sora?" Riku lifted his head off Sora's chest.
"Hmm?"
"If I'm not here in the morning, will you meet me out at the Paopu tree when you wake up?"
Sora opened his eyes. "Why wouldn't you be here in the morning?"
"I want to go to my father's house."
"Of course I will." Sora said lightly, closing his eyes once more.
Riku thanked him, raised their intertwined hands and kissed the back of Sora's. Neither one of them had said anything about that kiss four days ago. Nor had it happened again. But it
didn't make it any different then it had before really. At least, Riku didn't seem to think so. Had he have noticed that sooner, he would have made a move on the boy sooner.
Once Sora had fallen asleep, Riku quietly left the house, and stood in front of this father's house. He let his wings spread out. A rain of feathers blew off into the wind. He'd known that his
wings weren't gone yet. But he knew that he was so close to finishing his mission. The pain and bleeding stopped, but the loss of feathers had increased.
He took a deep breath and sighed it out. He didn't want to go inside the house. How foolish he was for thinking that he would even think about going into that childhood hell.
Sora looked around at the water, looking for some sign of Riku to show up. He was out here after he'd woke up. Riku wasn't. Sora figured that Riku would have been out here before him.
"Hey!" called a voice. Sora turned and smiled at the boy walking up the bridge. "Sorry I'm late." He walked right up to Sora.
"What did you want me to meet you here for?"
Riku held up a Paopu he'd gotten before Sora had come. "Remember these?"
"How could I forget?"
"I want to share one with you."
"Again?"
"No, for the first time," he winked. "Do you want to break this one in half?"
Sora chuckled. "No. We'll take a bite together."
"Alright. One…"
"Two…"
"Three," they said loudly and took a bite of the yellow fruit.
They smiled at each other widely. Riku finished his bite, and Sora swallowed his. Riku swept the brunet boy closer to him and pushed his lips to the sweet, soft, tangy, brunet boy's lips.
Sora's whole body was tingling as Riku wrapped his arms around him. He didn't know that a kiss could feel so…right. Sora slithered his arms around Riku's neck and pulled him closer still,
melting into the silver-haired boy's arms.
When they pulled away, Sora leaned his forehead on Riku's and smiled. "I'm so in love with you," he muttered.
"I always was." Riku told him.
As their lips clashed once more, Riku knew this time, that his wings had gone. They unfolded from his back, and slowly fell in to dust and floated off in the wind. Something hard thumped
into the sand.
Both boys looked at the silver sparkle in the white grains of sand. Riku bent and picked it up. It was a pair of aquamarine wings, made of his feathers, on a medium-thick chain.
"Is that…are those…?"
Riku looked at the wings hanging from the silver. "Yeah," he looked to Sora. "Now you have to deal with me again."
"Oh no," he teased. "Deal with you again." He put his hand on his forehead dramatically. "What ever will I do?"
Riku laughed. "I have a good idea."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Riku swept him back, locking their lips once more.
Sora pulled away a little. "You know, my house is empty."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." Sora gave him a mischievous smile.