Author's notes: Well...to be honest I'm not feeling well. There are so many things to do and I don't get to finish anything. I hope this chapter doesn't show my lack of abilty, though. Even though I feel like I can't accomplish anything at this rate I hope the chapter is still all right and you'll like it.
I also apologize for the super long delay. I know it's horrible when people don't update for ages. gomen ne *bows*
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"I have something for you."
Riku raised an eyebrow as he felt Sora tug on his hand. There was no time to contemplate the situation, or think about the ridiculous blush he had on his cheeks, for Sora pulled him along, through the door and into the living room. It surprised Riku again how small the whole flat was - his room was probably bigger than everything together.
"Do you wanna eat something?" Sora then asked, pushing him towards the couch, ordering him to sit down. Riku obeyed and shrugged, still looking around the room.
"Not really," he answered, raising an eyebrow as he found a small, framed picture hanging on the wall. There were three people. The boy was probably Sora when he was little. The man and the woman must have been his parents.
Sora crossed his arms in thought and pouted.
"Are you sure you don't want anything?"
Riku shook his head again.
"Really sure?"
He blinked. Turning his eyes from the picture and back to Sora, he stared. Suddenly, he was too caught up in the way Sora's eyes twinkled and couldn't do anything but stare. It was like being hypnotized by sparkling gemstones. Riku silently wondered if that was the way people saw his eyes. They would often stare at him like he was some kind of magical being. They never understood that he actually hated being stared at like that.
"Ehm…you know what? If you're not hungry that's ok. I'll get something for me, though," Sora eventually mumbled, shaking his head slightly as if he was trying to dismiss the disappointment.
Why disappointment? Riku frowned at that. Had Sora expected him to be hungry? But why would he?
The silver haired boy sighed as he heard Sora walking away. He had turned his eyes away from the hypnotizing blue gemstones and was now staring at the little photo again. He leaned back against the rest of the couch and watched in silence. The afternoon had been rather awkward and Riku wasn't too sure if he wanted it to continue. He had been so eager to spend time with Sora, to see his home and be alone with him. But now that it was actually happening, things didn't go as he imagined them to. Everything was weird and he found himself too nervous to act properly. The incident on the bed had proven that.
The sound of something hitting the small table in front of him shook him out of his thoughts and he looked up from his brooding.
Sora was cursing under his breath and placed a plate on the table. He rubbed his knee and sighed in exasperation.
"Already two weeks in this house and I'm still not used to that table. We never had a table in front of the couch in our old home," the brunet explained as he wandered around the obstacle to plop down next to Riku.
"Even if you're not hungry…please try at least one of them. Just one and I promise to shut up."
Riku blinked and cocked his head in wonder. Sora was leaning back, letting his head fall back so he was facing the ceiling. He stretched and then relaxed, sinking completely into the cushions. Watching him, Riku pondered over the boy's words. His gaze wandered to the plate on the table where he spotted some cookies piled up. He raised his eyebrows and snapped his eyes back to Sora, opening his mouth to question him but he stopped when he saw Sora staring at the ceiling with an anxious expression.
He would have asked him about it. He really should have. But then Riku didn't know how to do it, since he had never been good with people. Sure, he was considered the genius boy, an angel with the dozens of fangirls and everyone adoring him. But that didn't mean he knew how to interact with people properly, like people his age for example. All he knew was how to act in front of stuck up grown ups like the friends or business partners of his parents. He knew how to deal with his classmates - which was to ignore them most of the time and only flash them a smile to shut them up. A mere look was enough for them to be happy enough to feel special.
But he had never learned how to be friends.
Sora was still staring at the ceiling in obvious worry. Riku narrowed his eyes and turned once again back to the cookies on the table. For a while, he just looked at them, wondering where they came from. He couldn't remember buying them the day before when Sora and he had been at that store. Also, they didn't look like they were bought. In fact, he suddenly wondered if they had been made by Sora. But then again, how could he assume those things? Why should he?
Riku sighed a little annoyed with his own thoughts and decided to fulfil Sora's request before getting deeper into his musings.
He reached out and it was in that moment that Sora turned his eyes to him, watching him intently. Riku hesitated as he felt the eyes on him, feeling like he was doing the wrong thing, but then he took a deep breath and grabbed one of the cookies, bringing it to his mouth.
It stopped right before his lips and he could see Sora watching him in expectation as he looked at him out of the corner of his eye.
He ate it.
At first he didn't taste anything but he figured it was because he was too caught up in his thoughts to notice anything but that. After some chewing he began to taste the sweetness and as he ran down his throat he found himself grabbing another one, as though his hands were moving on their own accord.
Sora was watching with growing excitement, and his eyes seemed to get brighter with every bite Riku took.
The silver haired boy ate some more, three or four, and then he stopped. He turned to Sora and opened his mouth.
"You wouldn't happen to have milk?" He hoped it was not a rude thing to do. After all, he didn't know how to act around Sora. He couldn't be all polite and fake like he was around others.
Sora smiled and sprang up from the couch. In no time he was in the kitchen and then back with a glass of milk in his hands.
Riku smiled and extended his hand to take it. Their hands brushed as Sora gave the glass over to Riku and both felt the heat rise to their cheeks. Riku knew that he was blushing just as badly as Sora and he wished it would go away to save him all the embarrassment. However, it just got worse as the feeling of Sora's touch seemed to linger on his fingers, giving off a tingling sensation.
Sora sat down next to him then. Riku drank a bit of the milk, then placed it on the table. He turned to Sora, eyes still cast downwards to avoid showing him the blush on his cheeks. He cleared his throat and shifted.
Sora did quite the same and rubbed his head.
"Um…so…how did you like them?" he awkwardly asked, swaying his gaze towards the cookies.
Riku felt himself blush even more although he had no idea why he did that and just shrugged. He cursed his voice and its lack of cooperation. Why did he feel so warm? He had a strange feeling inside his chest and the room seemed to be a few degrees hotter than usual. This afternoon was definitely not what he imagined it to be. Why couldn't he act normal? Why was he acting like….like one of his fangirls…?
Sora relaxed and shifted, getting a little closer to Riku. They sat next to each other and both leaned back against the rest of the couch. He didn't know whether Riku was comfortable and it worried him a little that the other boy wasn't saying anything.
This day wasn't as it was supposed to be. At least it wasn't as he had imagined it.
Sora bit his lip and frowned at the current situation. He had given Riku the cookies - which he had not called Love-Love-Cookies simply because it would just make him seem queer. He didn't need his mother's strange ideas for something like that.
Riku hadn't seemed to be too thrilled with the cookies, though. Sure, he seemed eager for them and he ate them but that was all. Not that there was anything else to do with cookies but Sora felt a little disappointed at the reaction. He could have at least smiled…or thanked him or said something like 'That's the best I've ever had!' …Okay, so that was quite unlikely to happen. Sora slumped his shoulders in defeat and heaved a sigh. This was so not what he had imagined.
Suddenly, however, he felt something creep around his shoulder and then slide down to rest on his waist. Sora blinked as he was pulled into Riku's direction, head involuntarily swaying towards the other boy's shoulder.
His heart thumped in his chest but it wasn't faster than before. It just seemed louder, like a deep rhythm within him causing him to vibrate. It then occurred to him that it wasn't him who was trembling but that it was indeed Riku, shaking a little bit as though he was nervous.
Sora licked his suddenly dry lips and he thought he heard Riku doing the same; and the sound of it sent a shiver down his spine. Riku's hand was moving up and down on his side, caressing him slowly and lightly.
"What are…." He attempted to say something but the words died down in his throat before he could utter them. Instead, he heaved another sigh - this time it was a pleased sigh - and leaned his head completely on Riku's shoulder. He felt the silver haired boy lean onto him as well and then they sat like that for what seemed eternity.
The cookies were still in front of them, on the small table.
It seemed to be completely instinctively as Sora slid his hand onto Riku's thigh, running it towards and around his knee. He heard the silver haired boy murmur something unintelligible and wondered what exactly he was doing here.
He hadn't been in a situation like this before. He had never been like this with anyone before, so what exactly was he supposed to do? 'Too late,' he anxiously thought as he felt his own hand play over Riku's knee. It caused Riku to shudder and for a moment he stopped his caress and shifted slightly.
It was peaceful.
The nervousness seemed to die down slowly and all that was left was calm and peace. They sat together, strangely comforted by each other's presence. Sora had never been so close to anyone save his mother or his father when he was very little. But this was different. It gave him a strange feeling of safety, similar to the feeling he had had as a child, but it was also something else. He suddenly could smell Riku's cologne again and it mixed with the scent of the Love-Love-Cookies on the table.
Sora nuzzled closer and Riku did the same. The hand was still teasing over Sora's waist, caressing him with the ease of a feather. Strangely comforting, Sora thought.
Riku felt the calm take over him and relaxed completely with Sora close to him. It was the strangest feeling but it was good. He couldn't remember when he had last been like this, if at all. He had never been held by his parents when he was small. His father had carried him a few times but there had been never been a real hug or embraces like he had seen other children doing with their parents. He had assumed it was okay like that. Later, he had seen the kids in kindergarten and school hug each other - but he had never been hugged. It hadn't bothered him, on the contrary, he was glad they didn't because at that time his mother used to tell him that those people were stupid and not worthy of his presence. It had worked its way into his soul then and he kept thinking like that. Not that he thought he was somehow superior but he just felt like he didn't need them to hug him.
That is, until now.
Feeling Sora like that, feeling someone close to him like that was the most amazing thing he had ever experienced. He wanted it to last forever.
Suddenly, his eyes turned to the picture again and he saw the happy family. A woman, looking very young and childlike although she still seemed mature in a way, was holding a small boy in her arms with the gentlest smile a human being could have. A man was behind them with his arms around them, giving them affectionate looks.
"Are those your parents?"
Riku found himself speaking for the first time in twenty minutes although it hadn't been what he wanted to say. He should have said something nice, he figured, something that would let Sora know how much he liked being like this. But instead, his voice brought out those words.
Sora suddenly pulled away and Riku felt like he had been burned, narrowing his eyes at the loss of warmth.
Sora looked about the room, then came to rest on the photo on the wall. His eyes seemed to be distant for a moment and his expression became a little saddened. Riku couldn't help feeling responsible for the sudden change of his attitude.
However, Sora forced a smile on his lips and nodded at Riku.
"Yup, that's mom and dad when I was three. It's…it's the last photo we ever took. A friend of dad used his camera to take it 'cause we didn't have one."
Riku raised his eyebrows. "The last you ever took? Why's that?"
Sora shrugged. Riku waited for an answer but there was none. Instead, Sora just settled back on the couch and into his former position. Riku was surprised to feel Sora drape his arm over his stomach as he leaned his head onto his shoulder again.
They were silent again. Riku chewed on his lip and wondered what they were supposed to do.
"Mom said to keep it…so we never forget dad. She said that even if he's not here anymore…he'll be with us when we look at the photo…" Sora's voice was so quiet that Riku almost didn't hear it.
It hit him as the words sank in. Sora's father wasn't here anymore. Did it mean he was dead? Or had he just left them? He couldn't bring himself to ask but he knew that Sora missed his dad. He squeezed the boy in an attempt to comfort him, although he didn't know if that was the way one would do it. He could only guess when it came to things like that.
The peaceful idyll lasted for a bit longer but suddenly there was the sound of the front door opening.
Sora's ears perked up and he wanted to sit up properly. However, his body wouldn't move and instead he just remained against Riku, inhaling the beautiful scent. Riku seemed to tense at the sound of the door but he wasn't moving either.
Eventually, the door opened, revealing Sora's mother. She didn't seem to notice the boys at first and just flung her keys across the kitchen table as usual and proceeded to brush off her clothes and hair after a day full of work. She would have to go in an hour again, for her second job, so she needed to rest.
Strolling towards the couch, she kept her eyes to the floor as though she was thinking over things. As she was a few feet before the boys she looked up and raised her eyebrows at them.
She blinked and cocked her head, brushing over her messy hair.
"Uhh…okay. One of you is Sora. The other one…ehh… last time I checked I only had one son, so am I supposed to know you?"
Sora finally found the strength to pull away and did so, pushing Riku a little too violently so that it seemed like he was shoving him away in shock.
"Mom! That's-that's-that's Riku! I-I told you about him, you know, the boy-we-and-" Sora stammered with the brightest blush on his cheeks, giving his mother nervous looks in a silent plea to save him.
The woman could see that he was embarrassed by this all, probably because he didn't really know what was happening. She also noticed the plate of cookies, her Love-Love-Cookies on the table. She suddenly felt a little sheepish for barging in when they were trying to be alone. Smiling, shook her head, walking over to Sora to pat his head. "Calm down, Sora," she chuckled before turning to Riku, who was trying to regain his composure. It worked and soon the silver haired boy was back - in all his glory. Sora's mother couldn't help noticing the beauty of this boy, how angelic he seemed. But something seemed wrong and she frowned.
Leaning in, she inspected him. They were nose to nose and Riku looked like he was caught off guard, glancing nervously at Sora as the woman took a close look. He forced himself to keep calm and then looked back at her with his trained eyes. He was used to charming women, there was none who could resist him. It wasn't like he was that proud of it but it was a fact. A fact that wouldn't change.
Sora's mother hummed to herself and then pulled away, much to the boys' relief.
"Well, I don't like you," she simply stated, crossing her arms.
Sora's eyes widened and he jumped up.
"What?!" He couldn't believe what his mother was saying! This was Riku! How could she?
Riku looked surprised and confused. He stared at the woman - the first woman who said she didn't like him - and frowned.
"Why's that? What have I done to you?" he demanded, forgetting to stay polite. He covered his mouth quickly after his question and frowned. His mother had taught him to always be polite. He had to act like he always did. He had to use his charm.
The woman snickered and then bent down to place a kiss on Riku's forehead, catching him off guard again.
"There, there. Now I like you a lot better," she winked, smiling at him and Sora.
Riku blinked in confusion and Sora stared in disbelief.
The woman laughed and shook her head. "You need to be honest to have people like you. You were trying to fool me with your fake charm, so I didn't like you. Easy, right?"
Riku couldn't say he understood. Neither did Sora, it seemed. The two boys just stared at her and then exchanged a look before shrugging their shoulders.
Sora's mother extended her hand towards Riku and smiled.
"Well, now that we've cleared that," she paused, running a hand through her hair to fix it, "I'll introduce myself. I'm Sora's mom. You can call me mom, too if you want. If you don't like that, call me Ryoko. Or simply Ryo. Or call me 'hey you!' 'cause that's what most people do anyway."
Riku chuckled and nodded. As he took her hand, he felt strangely happy. There was something about her that made him feel happy and safe. It was like he was experiencing the presence of a mother, for the first time in his life.
***
The afternoon passed rather quickly then. Riku and Sora ate some more of the cookies while Ryoko chattered to keep their moods up. When she left for work again, the two boys were alone but the awkwardness was gone.
Riku was smiling a lot more and he was talking a lot more than before. Sora was less nervous and somehow they got along without any more awkward situations. There was only one incident when Riku insisted to share the cookies with Sora and began to feed him. Sora hadn't been able to hold back the blush on his cheeks when Riku placed that cookie into his mouth.
It was late afternoon, early evening maybe, when Riku decided that he had to go.
"Aww but do you really have to go now? You didn't even help me with my homework!" Sora whined, trying everything to have him stay.
Riku smiled apologetically and sighed. "I'm sorry, Sora. I promise to help you some other time. Or just call me and I'll explain it on the phone."
Sora pouted and crossed his arms. "But…" He then sighed and let his hands fall back to his sides.
"I suppose you really do have to go…" he muttered, wondering where the boy was going to go. He still didn't know where Riku lived and what he did. He didn't know much more about him than he did before that afternoon. Sora sighed again.
Suddenly, he felt two arms wrap around him. Riku embraced him and nudged his head with his chin.
"I promise to call you as soon as I get home, okay? We can talk then and I can help you with whatever you need… but I have to go home before it gets dark…and before…my parents freak out." He finished the sentence with a slight growl and it was obvious that he didn't like talking about his parents.
Sora understood the importance of his departure and nodded sadly.
"We'll see each other tomorrow morning, right?"
Riku smiled. "Right."
He was about to turn around and leave when Sora caught his hand. "Um… wait…" he murmured, forcing Riku to turn around again.
The silver haired boy turned and found himself being hugged by Sora again. He wanted to smile but then suddenly Sora leaned up and brushed over his cheek. It was more like nuzzling his cheek but Riku thought he felt Sora's lips brush against him, too.
Then, the boy pulled away.
"Thank you…" Sora whispered, before looking down.
Riku was unable to speak and instead he just squeezed Sora's hand before leaving.
On his way home, Riku felt overly giddy and mushy. He didn't know what had made him so happy but he felt like he could take whatever his parents were going to do to him. No matter what they would do to punish him, he would bear it.
So he walked home, quickly and too caught up in the happy feeling to think about anything else.
When he reached the gates, he paused for moment and took a deep breath. The iron bars of the gates seemed like the bars of his cage. He pushed the button and they opened after he announced his return.
Upon reaching the entrance of the villa, he saw two figures standing in front of the doors. It had gotten dark now so he could only make out their silhouette's from where he was standing. But his happiness was immediately gone, and all the courage he had brought up before faded into nothingness as he saw their expressions.
"Get in," the woman ordered in her icy voice.
Riku bowed his head and obeyed.
The man raised his hand and it seemed he was going to strike the boy but he stopped before his face. Riku didn't dare to look up. He couldn't look at his father.
"Look at me," the man ordered in a steady voice. Riku flinched visibly at it and shook his head. The man repeated himself. Riku gulped and looked up. He cursed himself as he felt tears well up inside him.
His father scowled at him like he had never before. When he looked at his mother he pressed his lips together to prevent him from sobbing. She was looking at him as always with that cold and hostile expression. Only that now, she seemed to be glaring at him and it hurt him more than he thought it could have.
They went inside. Riku trotted behind his parents, up the stairs towards his room. The servants were looking at them when they passed and Riku kept his head bowed.
The door was opened and Riku went inside. His mother followed him but his father shook his head and remained outside.
He left Riku and his mother alone.
And that night, screaming and shouting hollered through the mansion. Riku was too exhausted to carry on and collapsed on his bed after his mother left. She had screamed at him with such a force. She had thrown half of his things out, telling him that he would follow if he ever pulled stunt like that again. She didn't even ask for an excuse or the reason he hadn't been at home this afternoon. She told him that she didn't care and in her iciest voice she declared that he shouldn't have come back because all he did was make her worry.
Riku barked a laugh. Like she could ever worry about anything but herself.
He sobbed into his pillow at the memory of her screaming and covered his ears to stop it. His cheek still hurt from her slaps. It was after midnight. He remembered promising Sora to call him when he got home so he could help him with his homework but he wasn't sure if that was a good idea. Sora was probably already asleep so he didn't want to wake him. Even if he wasn't, all Riku would do was sob into the phone instead of explaining the wonders of mathematics.
Deciding that it was better not to call, Riku closed his eyes and rubbed his reddened cheek. Now it was not a blush but the mark of his mother's anger. He hoped to forget all the pain soon…
***
Sora was hunched over the couch, waiting for the phone to ring. He had waited for four hours now. Sleepily, he turned his eyes to the clock. It was after midnight. His mother would come home soon. He shook his head.
"I have to stay awake," he murmured to himself. Riku was going to call. He couldn't fall asleep.
There was still one cookie left, one Love-Love-Cookie. He took it into his hand and lifted it to his mouth. Then he stopped. He smiled and shook his head, placing it back onto the plate.
"We'll share that tomorrow," he told himself, already thinking of being with Riku. Somehow he was worried that Riku hadn't called yet but he would continue waiting. And even if the boy didn't call, they would see each other in the morning.
Sora smiled sleepily and felt his eyes drop shut. Tomorrow morning...he could hardly wait.
– To be continued –
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Ending notes: Um okay.. well I guess you hate Riku's parents, right? Especially his mother. She's awful. *sigh* But there's got to be a bad guy in every story I write so yeah ^^
Oh and tell me, was that chapter good? I think I need to pick up the pace now. It's been 10 chapters and nothing happens. Seems like what I did to Next Lesson is now happning here - just the other way round. I promise to pick up the pace now, really. There will be some real development in their relationship. I hope.
Kay, that's all. Review to tell me what you think and what you'd like to read.