Title: "Green Finch, Linnet Bird, Nightingale, Blackbird"
Author: Hurrah, it's me.
Pairing: Riku/Sora, of course. Sorta Sora/Kairi. And implied Roxas/Axel.
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Theme: 22. Nightingale
Genre: Fairy Tale/General
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I don't even own the plot! Isn't that sad?
Author's Notes: This is loosely based, well, mostly based on the Hans Christian Anderson tale "The Nightingale". So, really, to understand this, you have to read his. He's a better story teller than I am. Look it up on Wikipedia, and it should have a link at the bottom of the page. Haha. Yeah, it's awkwardly written. Half fairy tale-half story. Oh knows!The title comes from a Sweeney Todd song. It was the first one I thought of, hush! Also! This is AU. Alternate Universe. Totally forgot that.
--
Once upon a time there lived a boy named Sora. Sora was very beautiful and could get anything on demand with just a simple smile. He had many friends and they were willing to get him anything he asked without question. It could be said that Sora was a bit spoiled, but he just smiled and tilted his head and any ill thought toward him was forgotten.
One day, Sora read a magazine that had an article on new and upcoming bands on the islands when he saw the most beautiful person he had ever seen. He promptly left his room and went to find his brother Roxas, who was into the local music scene because of his rocker boyfriend. He found his blond brother sitting at the dinner table, a piece of toast in his mouth, reading the paper.
"Roxas, I want him."
Now, Roxas was a jerk. Sora thought he was jealous because he didn't get as much attention as him. So, it was no surprise when Roxas snorted and continued to read the paper, ignoring his statement.
"Rooooooxasssss", Sora whined.
The blond turned to glare, taking his toast out of his mouth and put it on its plate. "What Sora? I'm busy."
Sora put the magazine on the table and pointed at the picture of the band. A silver haired boy stood in the foreground, a brilliant smile across his face while his other two band mates were laughing at something. "I want him." Then Sora turned on the smile.
Roxas refused to look up, already knowing what was going on. But he looked at the magazine, curious to see who his brother's new fancy was. "Riku? Why him?"
"He's the prettiest boy I have ever seen."
The blond laughed. "Don't let him hear you say that."
"So you'll introduce me to him!?" Roxas opened his mouth to protest, but Sora kept on talking. "You're the best brother ever. I'll clean the house so he can come over here." Sora then zoomed off, looking for their mother so he could tell her to clean because company would be coming over.
Roxas almost laughed again, but instead he pulled out cell phone from his jeans pocket and pushed number two on his keypad. The phone rang for a few seconds before a groggy 'hello' came from the other end.
"Axel, wake up. I have something hilarious to tell you. You're going to need to to call Ri."
A groggy mumble only met his excitement.
--
A few days later, Sora was practically bounding out of his shoes. Roxas had told him that today Riku would be coming over. Though they wouldn't be alone, as Roxas and Axel would also be there, he was thrilled that the silver haired teenager had actually chosen to come over. Sora was about to squeal when he heard the doorbell ring. Jumping over the couches, and reaching the door, the spikey haired brunet threw it open only to be met with Axel's smiling face.
"Oh. It's only you", Sora mumbled, opening the door a little more so the skinny red head could get in.
"Don't look so down , So-So. Look behind me!"
There on the sidewalk of the freshly manicured lawn, stood the boy from the magazine. He was even prettier in person than he was in the magazine. He looked up to the brunet still standing in the doorway, his aquamarine eyes glittering.
"Are you Sora?"
The brunet nodded and smiled. He could already see Riku melting.
Weeks began to pass as Riku and Sora became best friends. The brunet loved the way Riku sang so beautifully, and had him sing for him every time he was over at the house. Sora was so often moved by the powerful voice that he was lulled into a deep, comfortable sleep. And every time Sora would offer to pay him back, Riku would brush him off with a hug.
"As long as you are happy, that's all I care about."
And all of Sora's court of friends agreed that Riku's song was one of the finest that they had ever heard.
But, as it were, there was another girl on the island, who could sing just as beautifully as Riku. And she was much like Sora; a smile could get her anything. She wanted Sora to herself. Her name was Kairi and she would do anything to get the brunet as her own.
--
One day, she appeared on the front steps of Sora's house in her finest golden dress and her prettiest sapphire, ruby and emerald jewelry. A satin ribbon was around her neck. When Sora opened the door, she immediately belted her song, and Sora was dazzled by the glittering girl. She was stunning and was immediately drug into the living room so she could sing more for him. Sora had absolutely no idea who had sent this beautiful red head to sing for him, but he was glad.
Ten minutes later, Riku arrived and he was stunned to find Kairi perched in Riku's usual spot with all the aristocratic poise she could muster.
"What's she doing here?"
"She came to sing for me", Sora replied, a delighted smile across his face. "Maybe you two could sing a duet", he suddenly thought. "It would be so beautiful."
Seeing the delight on Sora's face at the mere thought, Riku agreed. So they sat and sang together, but a few minutes later, seeing Sora's eyes were constantly trained on the redhead, Riku left unnoticed. Kairi cheered on the inside, but only sang louder to compensate for the loss of the other voice, glad that Sora was lured in by all of her pretty things.
--
A few weeks later, Sora became very ill with a strange disease. He was confined to a bed, and his violent cough and high fever were only soothed by Kairi's singing.
Half a week passed, with Kairi visiting everyday, singing loudly for him, impressing all his neighbors. But one day, there was a hitch in her voice and she couldn't sing. Sora panicked and immediately had her driven to the doctor to see what was wrong. The brunet sat anxiously in the waiting room, a fit of coughs occasionally breaking his concentration, worrying about what had happen. Twenty minutes passed, and the doctor appeared to tell him what was wrong.
"Her voice is very tired. Now, she may only sing once a week, for fear of losing her voice forever."
Sora sighed, and nodded. They headed home in silence.
--
Five weeks passed and Sora continued to get worse. Kairi didn't seem to be helping when she sang those few times. The brunet was pale, and barely breathing. The red head could not bear to see him like this, so she went away, and no longer came to even visit him. Things began to look grave for the sweet brunet and it was like death was sitting in the very chair that Kairi once occupied. Sora was disoriented, confused and he felt like death had already come and taken him. Roxas no longer visited his brother everyday, either. Instead, he had gone out with his mother to begin planning for his little brother's funeral, as the doctors said there was no hope.
But, a new voice appeared, familiar and so beautiful. Surprising all his doctors, Sora got better. And when his fever broke, he opened his eyes to find Riku sitting there, gently humming a song holding his hand. The brunet could not have been happier.
"You sang for me", he whispered to the humming teenager.
Riku smiled and stroked Sora's hair out of his face. "I did."
"I'm sorry I ever listened to Kairi's singing. She can't compare to you."
"It's alright", Riku whispered back.
"Stay with me", Sora asked tentatively.
"Forever."
And with a smile, Riku leaned down and pressed a delicate kiss to Sora's lips.
