­Chapter dedicated to the one and only axenator and her awesomeness. Happy birthdayyyy my love. And as for your second part of of your gift? Well, let's just say one word. sequel. What? Who said that! Yes, did i say sequel, i know i barely I update this, but i realized just now where this is going and the whole plot structure and stuff. It will make sense. And the sequel, i tell you now, will be entirely different. Which is dedicated to her by the way. Er... happy late birthday? ; D sorry for the delay. again.

Stranded With You
Darkness

"So you're Sora."

The brunette felt himself flinch from the dark voice. As quickly as he could, he scooped the unconsciousness Riku within his arms, whilst trying to drag the boy away from the stranger, holding him more so by his underarms than much. The silver-haired teen's shoes made drag marks on the sand, as his head hung to the left, face completely pale. Cold and pale. All the while Sora kept repeating to himself one phrase. ÔI won't let them take Riku.'

"Where are you going?" Questioned the voice.

Sora flinched once more but continued to pull Riku slowly from the far end of the beach down to where he assumed everyone else was. But he wasn't making much progress at all. Sweat rolled off his face as the rain plundered his head, making his brown locks droop down into his eyes.

"There's no reason to be afraid, Sora."

Sora felt his body tense further as his arms soon became numb from the strength he was exerting. But he couldn't stop. Whoever this was, this stranger, he couldn't let them speak to either of them. They seemed cruel, dangerous, and a threat to the two.

"Leave me and Riku alone!" Sora attempted in between painful pulls. And all that received was a soft chuckle from the stranger sa he made his way closer. Sora closed his eyes instantly, as if he thought that if he didn't see the man, he would go away. However, he reopened his eyes once more, too afraid that if he blocked his vision Riku would be hurt.

"I'm not here to hurt you." The man clarified, leaving Sora freezing in his spot, Riku's body falling limply down to his ankles.

"Who are you?" Challeneged Sora, now possessively resting his arms around the base of the fallen Riku's neck.

xxxxxx

"It's raining pretty hard."

He was sitting at the edge of the cavern, watching the wind whip the rain about outside as lighting flashed and thunder clapped in the distance. Blue eyes filled with worry before he twisted his neck a bit to the side to look back at the man in the cave who seemed awfully silent. Running a hand through his locks of blonde hair, Demyx arose to his feet and paced over to the other.

"Is something wrong?..." His voice trailed off before he placed his chin in his hand in deep thought before raising his hand in the air as if he had an idea. "Is that rain contaminated or something? I mean, first Riku and then you."

"What about Riku?" Zexion questioned, moving his hand away from his lilac-toned hair. Demyx tried his best not to stare at the scar but ended up pacing around the cavern, thinking, which was rare for the mullet model.

"He was being really odd. I mean, he started asking all these questions. Creepy." Demyx declared and then paused, across the 'room' from the other. "Why'd you ask?"

"Well, then it's not the rain. I'm not asking questions, am I?" Zexion countered, lightning flashing along with his statement.

Demyx walked up to the other and pointed an accusing finger at him, wagging it in the air diligently. "You see? That was a question right there!" He seemed proud, very proud that he had caught that.

"Regardless of that..." Zexion paused and looked out the cavern for a moment before turning his attention back to Demyx. "I feel that it's in your best interest to try and get some sleep. After all, there isn't much to do on a rainy day."

"And you will, what? Stare at me while I Sleep?" Questioned Demyx, leaning against the wall and then literally slipping down it so he was in sitting position.

"I want to know if Leon found Cloud or anything. I'll be back shortly." Was all the man said before leaving the cavern to the blonde. Demyx blinked for a long moment. Since when did Zexion become so distant. All right, he had always been distance since the crash, but still. Puzzled, Demyx crossed his arms as the night soon rolled in. Sunset, even though it was hard to tell due to the storm.

xxxxxx

"Give me your friend and soon this all will be over." Declared the man with a slight smirk rolling across his face as he extended a hand in the air, as if waiting for the brunette's approval that he could snatch the other away.

"You're not taking Riku!" Declared Sora, now holding his arms tighter around the other's neck.

"What do you see in the boy, that's what I'm wondering." The man further questioned, glancing down at the soaked and fainted Riku with interest. Sora paused, parting his lips to answer but came up with nothing. How could he explain what he felt about Riku? Only one phrase came to his mind.

"I love him." Sora stated, flashing blue eyes at the other, narrowing his eyes.

"I've already caught onto that, but why do you claim you love him? Do you even know anything about him? Has he ever told you he loved you?" The man questioned, crossing his arms.

Sora paused, looking down at the teen in his grasps. "Of course I know everything about Riku! I know about his sister.. his brother.. his dad.." Sora began but was cut off by a laugh from the man. "What's so funny?" Sora demanded.

"Do you know his birth date? Favorite color? Favorite Foods? Dreams?" The man questioned as Sora's heart dropped, looking down at the other nervously. "Middle name? Hometown?" The questions kept plundering the small boy.

It had only been one week. One week to get to know the teen in his grasps. He loved him, and yet he barely knew anything about the man's past, except for his family. He never told Sora much of anything about himself. Feeling a bit sick in the stomach, Sora looked back at the other.

"T-that stuff doesn't matter!" Sora countered, feeling that he knew enough about Riku to know he loved him.

"I'm sure it doesn't." The man laughed and then crossed his arms once more. "But you never answered the question. Has he ever told you he loved you?"

"..." Sora couldn't answer that. Hurt flashed in his young blue eyes as he shot a glance downward at Riku's head. So he was right after all... Riku had never said ÔI love you', only kissed him. And even then... "I know Riku loves me!"

"But has he said it?" Questioned the other, arching an eyebrow.

"He doesn't have to say it if he doesn't want to!" Snarled Sora, still holding the other possessively.

"You're not getting the picture, Sora. He doesn't love you, he's just using you. He barely knows anything about you and you know little of him and yet you claim there's love? And you've met how long ago? A week? My my.." The man snickered as if this was amusing to him.

"Riku saved me from dieing!" Sora answered harshly.

"You don't see him saving you now, do you?" The man further inquired leaving Sora speechless.

"H-he's hurt.." Sora stammered, just wanting to bring Riku into the shelter and wait for him to wake up. "Who are you?!" Sora demanded once more.

"My name's not important. What is important that I have Riku. All he'll do is hurt you. He'll betray you, and end up killing you. Besides, if he did love you, he wouldn't have kept breaking your kisses." The man further nagged at the spiky-brunette.

"Shut up!" Sora hissed, feeling tears well in his eyes. He knew Riku loved him, that's all that mattered.

"Give him here, and you'll never have to worry if he loves you or not." The man coaxed on, beckoning the boy to bring Riku to him.

And Sora even thought about doing such. Giving Riku to this stranger who kept questioning his actions. But it was when he looked back down at Riku when he snapped out of his delusional thoughts. He'd never give Riku away. Even if they were practically strangers, they had something. Something stronger than love.

"I'll never give you him!" Sora declared. The man frowned slightly.

"If that's your choice..." The man turned around and Sora blinked in confusion.

"W-wait!" He called. The man turned once more to gaze at the brunette. "A-all I had to say was that you're not taking him?"

"No.. but it doesn't matter. In the end I'll have him. And remember that you forced what ever happens to happen." And with that the man stalked back into the forest.

Sora was beyond confused now. What will happen? What did that mean? And why had he wanted Riku so much? And where did he come from? Was he on the plane and delusional that he wasn't? Mind hurting badly, he lowered his gaze, still unsure, but then came to his senses once more. Pulling Riku into the shelter after several moments, he leaned the boy's body against the side of the shelter.

Removing Riku's jacket form his lithe body, Sora placed it back on its owner's body and he sat down by the other, as close as he could possibly get, resting his head against the other's chest. "I-i'm sorry Riku..." Sora whispered, a tear falling from his face. "I-i'm so sorry..."

xxxxxx

It was Four Days. Four Days until he would have to face down Sephiroth once more, and tell him face-to-face that he wasn't going to kill Sora. It was four days were his life might be put at risk. It was in four days that he'd have to tell Sora what was going on, in fear that he might not return. But right now all he could do was sleep.

Bright rays of sunlight leaked into the shelter and grazed both their bodies. The rain on their bodies had dried and left them damp but dry. Emerald eyes slowly opened, feeling a bit dizzy and quite queasy. He wasn't sure where he was at first. The last thing he remembered was talking to Demyx... and then to Sora. And then he drew a blank. What had happened?

Looking around the shelter slightly, he glanced down to his left, noticing the small brunette snuggled closer to his chest, sleeping peacefully. "Sora..." He spoke out loud, heart falling. Sora was here, and that was all that mattered. Gently he rose his hand and ran it through the stiff locks of brown hair that had dried over night back into shape.

"M-mrmm.." A small sound emerged from the boy in Riku's arm as he pushed his face deeper into the other's chest, hands gently flexing against the vest he laid upon. A smile spread across his face as he continued to run his hand through the locks. That was, of course, until he felt the brunette stir a bit and then raise his head, blue eyes meeting green ones.

"Riku?" He questioned, with a small yawn. The silver-haired teen gave a nod as his lips curled into a smirk.

"Who did you think it was?" He snickered, and then let his arms fall around Sora's waist as the boy sat beside him, facing the Riku's right.

"I'm so glad you're awake." Sora whispered, blushing deeply when he had realized that Riku was holding him once more. As before, but a bit different, he rested his head against Riku's chest. However, this time, he was practically in the other teen's lap, knees on either side of Riku's legs digging into the sand beneath him for support.

"Yeah... why wouldn't I be awake?" He joked lightly but then received a look from Sora who had situated his face so that his chin was resting against Riku's chest, as blue eyes stared up at him.

"You passed out and I was afraid you were sick or something." Sora confessed, leaving out the part about the man. Riku blinked at him for a long moment before gently craning his neck downwards so that he could kiss Sora's already lifted lips. Once the small kiss had ended the brunette blushed a darker color.

"My head does hurt a bit, I guess," Riku mumbled distractedly, rubbing his forehead as if he had suddenly been reminded of the pain. The pain itself was sharp and searing, but not to the point of excruciating, just annoyance. "What happened..."

"..." Sora said nothing, hands folded cautiously in his lap. How was he even to begin to explain to Riku what had happened. Riku would never believe him that some insane man was running around, throwing words of cruelty into the air, and whatnot. Riku would never believe that, so why should he even bother? "Well... like I said, you just got dizzy and passed out. So I brought you back here and let you sleep."

"Oh." Riku scratched the back of his head, trying to fill in the missing pieces. Something seemed off with Sora's retelling, but he would not push for more details. Sora had no reason to lie to him, so he did not suspect it. "How long was I out for?" Riku wondered.

Sora sighed softly at the question before burying his head once more into Riku's firm chest. It felt so nice to be overwhelmed with that copious amount of warmth the older teenager gave him. Just sitting like this made Sora happy, and he wanted this feeling to last forever. He really did not care what anyone had to say on their relationship. He knew how much he cared for the other, even if they had known each other for a very short time.

"Sora?" Riku inquired, not receiving an answer to his earlier question. Dexterous hands reached downward to hold the boy close to him once more, letting the younger of the pair rest in his lap.

"Just the night." Sora finally answered, small hands gripping the material of Riku's shirt with internal peace.

"Oh..." Riku echoed into the air, glad that he had not been out too long. "Did they find Cloud?" Riku questioned, fingers tapping gently on Sora's back.

"No..." Sora murmured, a bit saddened at the idea. The brunette kept his head buried into his friend's chest. Silence was heard for a few minutes before Sora dared to speak once more. "Can you tell me everything about you?"

"What?" Riku questioned, a bit taken back by the question. The wording was awkward, and he tried to decipher why Sora would be asking such a question. Especially at a time like this.

"I want to know everything about you, that's all." Sora whispered from the safety of Riku's chest, uncertain how long this really would last. The man's words were getting to him and he could not help but wonder if Riku felt this strongly also. After all, he had never said I love you. The words that proved that you were here forever. But he had wondered if this was what it felt like to be in love. Was that enough?

"Hmm." Riku hummed slightly at the question, beginning to mess with the shorter strands of Sora's hair that was near his exposed neck. "Let's see. My name's Riku Karada. Middle name, Hiro. My favorite color is blue ... I've always lived in Chicago with Demyx and his family... I was adopted when I was really young ... my sister, by adoption, died a few years back. I've always been a model since I can remember. I never really had any friends outside of the modeling world. Or a girlfriend for that. I guess my life pretty much sucked if you look at it in that way." Riku sighed at the end.

"Do you always want to be a model?" Sora inquired, cocking his head to the side in curiosity.

"No. When I get to Rome, after the photo-shoot, I want to go back into the field of actual acting." Riku shrugged, letting his arms loosen around Sora. "What about you?"

"Er..." Sora paused, raising his head from Riku's chest. "I really want to be an artist," He blushed slightly at the idea. "My adopted mom is paying for my tuition at an academy in Rome so I can finish high-school then hopefully go to an arts school there." He beamed at Riku. "...That reminds me.."

"Artist, huh? I can see that," Riku smirked, returning to playing with a piece of Sora's cinnamon hair. "Reminds you..."

"When we get off this island, can you help me find my uncle? H-he's my only living part of my real family, and maybe he'll know more about my parents... I mean, if it wasn't for my god-father I'd be dead too...so I want to see if my uncle even knows I'm alive..." Sora shrugged nervously.

Riku's heart dropped at once. The mention of Sora's parents sent him into a painful reminder that his father had been the ones to kill them. Not a storm as the parents and media had claimed. Not a stupid hurricane, but his father's own hands. Riku felt absolutely sickened at the idea, and it took all his years of being a shallow model to restrain the tears that were threatening to fall.

"Of course." Riku managed without choking on his words.

xxxx

"They're never going to find Cloud…"

Roxas sat shrouded by a cluster of trees near the north beach, watching the waves come in on the dark shore. It seemed so unreal, even now, that they were stuck here, and that people were going missing, and dieing. His heart, which usually was strong, dark, and locked up, seemed to be turning to mush lately. Maybe it was just because he was desperately trying to grasp for any part of reality. Any sign of life before the crash. Glossy blue eyes watched the waves continue to roll in. He then pried his eyes off the sight to glance expectantly to the lankly male beside him, awaiting an answer.

"Don't seem so negative, blonde." Axel offered, creeping smirk appearing on his lips as he attempted to snake his arm around Roxas' waist. The blonde teen shrugged the arm off the minute it touched his skin, only offering a low sigh. "Are you really this worked up?"

"Yeah. Three of us have already died, counting if Cloud really is … dead. I don't want to die, and I just want everyone to stop acting like everything will be okay when it won't," Roxas practically snapped, hugging his arms tightly to his chest in a pathetic attempt to keep warm.

"Stop worrying so much. If you constantly worry, you're going to make yourself sick," Axel offered in a nonchalantly manor, watching his younger friend with slight worry that was hidden by his seductive attitude.

"I'd rather be sick then dead." Roxas muttered back, wishing he was actually in Rome, cooking something and accomplishing his dream of being a chef. "I would rather be anything then dead."

"Would you rather be lonely then dead?" Axel pried, eyebrows arching curiously at the spiky blonde.

"What?" Roxas replied, uncertainty washing through him.

"Would you rather spend your whole life worrying and not have anyone there or would you rather not worry as much and have someone there?" Axel mumbled rather verbosely. Catlike eyes sought an answer from the other, wondering just exactly what that answer was.

"I don't know." Roxas answered honestly, letting his arms fall from his chest. "I just don't want to die."

"We all die sometime, kid." Axel replied, not too bothered by the aspect of dieing.

"But we're not supposed to die at this age." Roxas retorted in a mumble, trying to prove his point, but was finding it hard due to Axel's constant witty remarks.

"True…" Axel paused, letting his arms once more, relentlessly, wrap around the shivering boy beside him. "Just don't worry too much. We'll get off here somewhere. Worrying won't make that time come any fast." A smirk slid onto the lithe man's lips. "So why not try to enjoy it?"

"… I don't think I like where this is going.." Roxas stammered, blue eyes glancing to the side to be met with dark green ones.

"Really? Because I love where this is going."

xxxx

"I love the stars. They are so pretty out here. Wherever here is."

Sora let his feet hang out of the shelter. His lithe arms were tightly crossed to his chest to preserve the warmth he was emitting. Riku sat beside him, letting his hands trail slowly in the sand around him. After a few moments of silence, Sora turned his head to stare at his quiet friend, wondering desperately what he was thinking about, and if it involved him. Somehow, the idea of Riku thinking about him made him shiver with delight.

"Sora, you're blushing again." Riku spoke bluntly, hands raising from the sand to run through his strands of silver haired with boredom. Night time was always so peaceful and pretty.

"N-no I'm not!" Sora countered, hands sliding on his face to conceal the blush that he had not realized was there only moments before. Blue eyes snapped shut, figuring if he did not see Riku, he would not blush and thus would not be embarrassed.

"And now you're closing your eyes… nice, Sora." Riku offered with a murmur.

"Riku, stop being so…" Sora tried to grasp for the right word but instead settled on not saying anything else.

"So… what?" Riku inquired, a grin slipping onto his lips. Regardless of his better judgment, he let his arm fall from his hair to snag Sora by the waist and drag him closer beside him. "Are you going to answer me?" He smirked down at the boy whose eyes were tightly shut.

Sora slowly cracked his eyes open, being met with a pair of fierce green ones. The blush grew as he smiled nervously up at Riku. He soon found himself melting into Riku's touch, allowing the older teen to run his delicate and skilled fingers along his jaw line.

"Riku …" Sora began cautiously, wanting his answer more than anything else in the world at that moment.

"Yeah?" Riku whispered, his index finger tracing the outline of Sora's face, making the brunette shudder.

"Would you … be mad if I said I love you?" Sora whispered, blue eyes pleading with the other to say the same. He wanted Riku to say those free words. He wanted reassurance that Riku was not going to leave him, if they ever got off this island. He just needed to hear from someone that they loved him. Just him.

"I wouldn't." Riku replied, letting his lips fall against Sora's, just for that one kiss. Sora blushed deeper, feeling his body become numb from the contact. However, he pulled away slightly, looking longingly at the other. "… something wrong?" Riku dared.

"Uh…" Sora looked downward, uncertain if he really should be letting these thoughts control how he felt.

Riku somehow understood what was on Sora's mind. The teen's arms rose once more to cup both of Sora's cheeks in his hands. Fingers began to gently stroke the blushing skin as a gentle smile appeared on Riku's face. "If you're waiting for me to say it back, you don't have to." He let his forehead lean against the other's. "I've never said it to anyone before and actually meant it… so I guess I figured that…" He did not even know what he figured. "I should just stop talking. And just say I love you too."

"…" Sora grinned at Riku widely before wrapping his arms tightly around his friend's neck and burying his head into his chest. "I love you…" And for once in his life, regardless of the small time they had known each other, he really, honestly meant it.

Maybe, just maybe, things would work out for the better. Of course, for Riku, he was running short on days. Three days until he had to confront Sephiroth. Three short days.