A/N: I've been planning this first scene for forever and a half. I hope you like it. Sora's scene is cute too, I think. In a Sora-like way.
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. :sigh:
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It was time for break during the long day. Riku scowled up at the sky that was dark with clouds. He was standing underneath a large glass awning attached to one of the back doors of the school.
"Hey, Rena," he said to his companion. "Maybe we'd better stay inside today." She stood with her back to him, her hands clasped in front of her. Her eyes were closed as she listed to the soft roll of distant thunder. A small smile played on her lips. Her skirt and blouse flapped gently in the wind.
"What do you mean Riku?" she said with a laugh, turning to look at him. "It's a beautiful day." Riku looked at her, dumbfounded, as she giggled. She held out her hand. "Well? Are you coming?" He shook his head and she shrugged. "Suit yourself." She slipped out of her shoes, tugged off her socks and shrugged her bag off her shoulder leaving them in the safety of the overhang, taking a few steps out into the open.
"Rena, I don't think that's safe," he called, eyes the sky nervously. Lightning flashed in the clouds high above – heat lightning, harmless, but there was usually more dangerous lightning to come.
"Just wait," she called back. She raised her arms, face turned upward toward the sky.
"Rena?"
She twisted to look at him and held a finger to her lips, winking at him. She smiled as she pulled her hand away from her face and pointed it at the sky at same moment the rain began to pour. She turned away again, opened her arms and laughed, welcoming the rain. She closed her eyes for a moment, opened them, and began to spin and twirl in the downpour, dancing. She didn't need music – the rain itself was music enough and the thunder was her drum. Her feet splashed slightly in the mud but she didn't seem to notice or care. As she spun, the tie came free from her hair, floating gently toward the ground. Her hair flew around her head as she continued to move, not caring that she was soaked.
Riku stared at her, watching as she danced. She was beautiful, completely enthralled in her dance. Then, as though she sensed his gaze, she stopped, facing him. She slowly raised her hand, stretching it out toward him.
"Dance with me," she said, her eyes sparkling.
Riku hesitated, then strode forward, taking her hand. She twirled into his arms, laughing. After a moment, he picked her up and spun her around like the day when they were reunited. Then he lifted her so she was reclining in his arms. She leaned backward, one arm around his neck, the other reaching out into the rain, her face turned up toward the sky.
He only held her for a few moments before he set her down again – he knew she wanted to dance some more. But just then, lightning struck not ten feet from them. They both jumped as they felt the heat streak past them. They glanced at each other and ran away from the place the lightning at just struck which, unfortunately for them, was between them and the overhang.
They didn't have to go too far, however. Riku spotted a small gap between two of the school buildings. The roof covered the top of it, so they would be safe. He turned into it, pulling Rena in with him.
Their hearts raced from the run, but they laughed anyway, water dripping off of them. They stayed that way for several minutes before their laughter died down. They could hear the storm moving on and the rain began to slow.
After a minute or two, Rena noticed something. "Um…Riku? You…you're standing awfully close…" It was true, he was. There wasn't that much space between the two buildings, but he was standing far closer to her than was necessary.
He smiled. "Yeah, I know." He moved even a little closer so she was pressed between him and the wall at her back. "You don't mind, do you?"
She blushed slightly and looked away. "I…well…no…"
"I didn't think you would." He chuckled.
"What's so funny?"
He grinned down at her. "You. You're so cute when you're nervous."
"Nervous! Who said I was nervous?"
He brushed her cheek with his finger. "Well, you're blushing, aren't you?"
Her blush deepened. "So? It was...from when we were running…" she said evasively.
"Uh-huh, sure," he said disbelievingly. He smiled at her, though she still looked away from him at the barely drizzling rain. He gently turned her head so she was looking at him, their eyes meeting. He lowered his head til their faces were scarcely an inch apart. He could feel her soft breath on his lips. They closed their eyes, but then-
"Riku! Rena!" They sprang apart as they heard someone running in their direction. A moment later, Hayner came into view. "Are you guys okay?" he asked, obviously worried. "We saw the lightning from a window and then we weren't sure where you went!"
Riku smiled, glancing at Rena before he spoke. "Yeah, we're fine. Just a little…nervous is all."
Hayner grinned up at them. "Oh good. Some of the others thought you'd been hit."
Riku shook his head.
"Oh, ok. Well, that's good." He grinned again. "Well, break's gonna be over soon. You two should probably change your clothes…"
Riku and Rena glanced at each other, laughed, and nodded. Hayner turned and lead them back to the school, the others following a few feet behind him. Riku looked down at her and took her hand. She smiled up at him for a moment before turning away again. Riku's smile for the rest of the day was quite smug.
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Back inside, the others eagerly waited for Hayner's return. Kairi looked around, noticing something. "Hey, where's Sora?" The others glanced around, too, realizing the spiky-haired brunette was missing. "He was here just a minute ago, wasn't he?"
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Sora hadn't seen the lightning strike so close to his friends. In fact, he wasn't even aware Rena and Riku were outside at all. He had just remembered that his library book was due back and that the library would be closing for the day in ten minutes. So, without a word, he turned and sped off down the hall as his friends came to a halt at a large window.
Sora skidded on the wooden floor as he almost missed the turn. He was panting by the time he reached the library. Normally he wouldn't have cared, but he had no munny and the librarian was very strict about closing time. He got there just in time. He handed the book to the woman, turned around and leaned against the desk, trying to catch his breath as he looked around. It had been a while since he'd been in the library and he liked being there. It was generally quiet and not many students visited it, which Sora thought was a shame. But at the same time he understood why. Everyone would start saying you were a geek if they caught you with a library book.
"If you're just going to stand there you can reshelf your own book," the librarian told him, handing the book back to him. Sora sighed and went off in search of the right isle.
A few minutes later he found it and the pretty red-haired girl who worked in the kitchens. "Hey Courtney," he said, smiling.
She was crouching close to the floor, a stack of books in her arms. It looked like she was shelving them. She looked up, slightly startled, but smiled when she saw who it was. "Oh. Hey Sora. What are you doing here?"
He held up the book. "Came to return it," he explained.
"'The Iliad and the Odyssey,'" she read aloud. She looked up at him. "I didn't think you were the type of guy who liked poetry."
He screwed up his face, remembering when he'd tried to read it. "I'm not," he said honestly. "That's why I'm returning it."
"You didn't like it?"
He shook his head. "Didn't understand it."
"Mm. I see." She smiled. "Well, maybe this will be more to your taste, then." She handed him one of the books from the stack in her arms.
"Dracula, huh?" he said, reading the title. "You like vampires?"
She shrugged. "I thought you might. It's interesting."
He grinned. "Thanks." She nodded in response. He paused, unsure if he should ask, but then he heard the words fall from his lips before he could stop them. "Hey, if you're not doing anything later…" She looked up again when he paused. He took a deep breath. "D'you wanna…I dunno…hang out or something?"
A slight blush crossed her cheeks, but she smiled and nodded. "Sure."
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A/N: Kind of an abrupt ending, but I like it. More of them to come and more Riku/Rena. Next is a Hayner chapter to explain what happened at the lake that one day. It's been a while, so I thought I'd interrupt this story with his and maybe add a Roxas on in there…we'll see. :D