Chapter Ten :
"You're not going to be all 'should we trust this guy' on me?" Sora asked Riku as they trekked through the woods of Neverland.
"Well, it's not like we were doing very well on our own, were we?" Riku asked.
Sora smirked, and took Riku's hand.
"I thought you were doing great," he said, smiling at Riku.
Riku snorted, and had to avert his eyes. The dark forest made Sora seem otherworldly. A mythical creature. A mythical creature holding his hand!
But with their hands linked, Riku felt strangely distant. It made the imps and Maleficent feel like they were worlds away. Like it was just Sora and Riku, following a fairy through the forest.
A child's game.
There was the sudden sound of a cannon.
The fairy darted behind Sora's head.
Sora turned wide eyes onto Riku.
"Hook?" he mouthed.
Riku nodded, and pressed through the trees.
A beach spread out before them. The huge pirate ship was moored close to it, the masts like sentries against the night sky.
Sora pressed himself against Riku, the fairy under his collar now. There was a commotion on the deck of the ship. A sound like drunken teens came down to them - a lot of arguing and singing mixed over each other.
But there was a small sail boat anchored to the ship.
"Wait here," Riku told Sora, and stepped out from the trees.
"That is the worst idea you've had all night," Sora said. "And you told me to 'keep walking until we reached the ocean.'"
The fairy made a jingling sound that Riku was sure was a laugh.
"If Hook sees you, he might not let me take the ship," Riku said.
Sora stared at him. His mouth was set in an almost pout. The fairy moved slightly; enough for it's light to catch in Sora's eyes.
Riku swore at himself. He couldn't say no.
"Just - hide that thing," he muttered, then started across the beach.
There was a gangplank on the beach. Maybe to hoarde supplies, but it was their way up.
"Hook!" Riku yelled across the sea of drunk toddlers.
The Captain peered out of his cabin. A smirk appeared on his face, and Riku remembered to school his own expression.
Sora was holding onto his elbow, and hopefully making an effort to hide his face.
"If it isn't Maleficent's little Prince," Hook said. His smile dropped. "What do you want?"
"You promised me a free ride," Riku said. It was amazing how easily he slid back into his colder self. "I'm cashing it in."
The Captain laughed.
Then he paused, gestured to the crew, who chimed in with their own guffaws, and continued laughing.
"My dear boy, I made that deal to Maleficent's heir - not a confused - vigilante and the Prince of the Destine Isles." Hook said. He went so far as to wipe his eye with his hook mockingly.
"I told you to stay in the forest," Riku muttered to Sora, who gave him a sheepish smile.
The pirates started to draw out weapons.
"How much do you think Maleficent will pay for the both of them, Captiain?" one asked.
"I think the rewards will be … lucrative," Hook replied. A cat who's caught a pigeon.
"That's not fair!" Sora stepped out form behind Riku. "You made a deal - a promise-"
A new wave of laughter hit the crew. Riku stepped to Sora, ready to cover his mouth and make a hasty retreat.
"The boy should have known better than to make a deal with a pirate," Hook said. His hand was on his sword.
"Riku risked a lot to make that deal - as much as you'd be risking by giving us that boat," Sora continued. "He's risked everything. Don't you - don't you know how much it hurts to lose everything that you've ever known?!"
There were a few more chuckles - Riku grabbed Sora's wrist - but the laughter died at a look from the Captain.
Hook examined Sora for a long moment.
"I do know how that feels," the Captain said thoughtfully.
"Then please help," Sora said. "Don't do it for me - do it for Riku. He deserves this."
The Captain turned his attention to Riku, who just stared.
What was happening?
"Okay," Hook said eventually. "I'll make a deal. You two get the boat; if you give me the little lady in your shirt."
The fairy heard, and whizzed around to hide in Sora's hair. Riku thought he heard a raspberry coming from it.
He opened his mouth to say 'fine, whatever', but Sora beat him to it.
"No deal," he said.
"Then no boat, boys," Hook said. He turned to leave.
The Pirates unsheathed their daggers, grinning to each other.
Riku had to do something.
"What about a gamble?" he called out.
The Captain stopped.
"We gamble everything - us, the fairy - against your sail boat," Riku said.
"And a sea chart." Sora added.
Riku nodded.
"And what would be the nature of this gamble?" Hook asked.
"What better game to gamble with than poker?" Riku asked, but he hadn't finished the sentence before the crew had started to call out "fight! Fight! Fight!"
Riku swore at himself again. Poker was good. He knew how to win with poker. He knew how to cheat.
"Neither of us are armed," Sora said, turning to Riku with worried eyes. Riku squeezed his hand - 'I'll think of something.'
"Well, I'm nothing if not a gentleman," Hook said. "Someone gave the lads a sword."
One was tossed onto the deck. They both stared at it.
"What are you waiting for?" Riku asked Sora. "Take it."
"You're the Guard," Sora said, a smirk on his face.
"This is not the time," Riku said, feeling his face warm. How did Sora reduce him to a blushing mess so easily? "You're better than me. You do it."
"It sounds to me like you're scared," Sora said.
Riku stared at him. How could he make jokes at a time like this?
"Do it," Sora repeated. He knelt and pressed the blade into Riku's hand. His lips brushed the shell of Riku's ear as he murmured. "You're the one with shadow powers."
Riku nodded and adjusted his grip on the sword.
Sora stood to one side, the fairy peering out from over his hair.
Hook stepped forward, his own rapier at the ready.
Riku took a deep breath.
He had to do this. He had to win.
Their lives were at stake.
Hook lunged. Riku darted to one side. Threw up his sword in a sloppy parry. Recovered at the next blow. Parry. Parry. Overhead.
Riku was losing his ground. Stepping backwards with each hit.
Had to do something.
He slipped his sword out of the deadlock, arcing his blade toward Hook. Gained room. Gained space.
Now it was Hook stepping back. Salvaging a defence against Riku's attacks.
Something hit his ankle.
Riku landed on the deck heavily. Saw a flash of Hook over him.
Rolled and stumbled to his feet. Deflected a lunge.
"That's not fair!" Sora's voice yelled from the sidelines.
So one of the pirates had tripped him.
Riku panted. He Deflected more blows. His hair was in his eyes. He tried to avoid the pirates.
There were no openings.
"No," he said, gathering the shadows of the boat towards him. "This isn't fair."
He threw the shadows outwards. In a burst.
Hook stumbled back. Riku plunged forward.
They were on equal terms now. Parrying each other's strokes. Neither one losing ground.
"What - do you - think you're - doing, boy?" Hook asked between parries.
"He - loves me," Riku said. He could barely think, let alone talk. "I - owe him - everything for - that."
Hook's sword slowed slightly.
Riku planted a foot forward - the opening- but before he could take the stroke, a light flitted in between the pair.
The fairy flitted around Hook, pulling at his hair and clothes. Tugging him backwards.
It paused. So close to Riku's nose that he went cross eyed looking at it.
But the tiny girl was smiling.
And then she floated back to Hook. Darting out of his reach whenever he swiped at her.
"Catch her!" Hook cried. "Catch Tinkerbell!"
The pirates lolloped forward, and the deck became a mass of people bundling over eachother, all reaching out meaty fingers to catch the tiny light.
"I think they've forgotten about us," Sora said. "I'll get the map, you free the boat."
Riku nodded, still a little confused at everything - at himself most of all, and headed to where the boat was tied to the main ship.
Sora appeared moments later, a chart stuck into his belt, and Riku watched as the Prince shimmied down the rope.
He gave one last nod to the fairy - Tinkerbell - then slid down the rope, and cut them loose.
The boat bobbed in the water.
"Free that sail," Sora said. He was tying and untying knots, pulling on some of the ropes to get them to face the right way.
Riku nodded, and the white sail billowed out in the air like a ghost. Like a balloon.
They were flying away with a balloon.
The boat started to drift away from the Pirate ship. Cresting the waves with ease.
Riku held onto the tiny mast, watching their progress anxiously. Everyone would be after them.
Sora kissed his cheek.
"I knew you could do it," he said, beaming up at Riku.
"You-" the sentence died in Riku's throat. He leant forward and kissed Sora instead.
"And now you're armed," Sora said, wrapping one arm around Riku's neck. "So you can really be my guard now."
The boat tilted dangerously, and Riku clung to the mast in order not to fall overboard.
Sora tugged at some of the ropes, and the boat righted itself.
"Then, as your guard, I think you should concentrate on sailing this thing."
Riku had been put in charge of the sea map, whilst Sora did the steering. He had found where they must have been - roughly, from the shape of the land - and they had made their way from there.
Sora struggled with the ropes, fighting against the waves. The little craft made Riku feel vulnerable. At the will of the elements. And why should the elements save a murderer?
"Back on the ship," Sora said. His eyes were on the horizon. "You listened to me."
"I guess I did," Riku said, still fighting the map against the wind.
"We - worked together," Sora said. He turned back and grinned at Riku. "That was-"
He trailed off, his eyes searching Riku's face.
Riku shrugged, and bit his lip. His heart was fluttering.
"Well, I-" he couldn't think of what to say.
They stared at each other. Their eyes examining the other's features.
The boat mounted another wave, spraying them both with sea foam.
"You should get some sleep," Sora said. "It'll be a long day tomorrow."
"What about you?" Riku asked.
"We need someone to help us stay on course," Sora said. He tugged some of the ropes again, and the hull of the small sail boat moved.
"Well, then I'll stay up with you," Riku said.
Sora smiled at him, then glanced at the map and out to the horizon. As though they would be any closer to the Destine Isles than a few moments ago.
"Did you know the other day was the first time I saw the sea?" Riku said.
"Seriously?" Sora turned to stare at him. A rope slipped through his hand, and he swore as he caught it. It had left an angry red mark across his palm.
"These war meetings - they've been the only times I've been allowed out of Maleficent's Castle," Riku shrugged. "How else would she maintain all her lies?"
They crested a wave.
"Is that why you were so upset about missing one?" Sora asked.
Riku nodded. He stared at the stars. Had they always seemed that far away?
"So? What did you think?" Sora said. He was watching Riku's face intently. "Of the sea?"
"It's…big," Riku said. "I knew waves were a thing, but - it's weird…I thought it would be more blue."
Sora blinked at him.
"Neverland's seas are some of the bluest seas I've ever seen," he said.
Not as blue as those eyes.
He must have read Riku's expression, because then his face flushed, and he turned away. Back to the horizon.
"How are you doing? Being away and, well, leaving…" Sora said.
"I'm trying not to think about it," Riku said. "Honestly, I didn't think I'd live this long."
Sora glanced at him. He looked worried.
"Finding out I'd been lied to my whole life kind of sucked but…at least I'm not alone," Riku said. It didn't settle the nervous feeling in his stomach. "Maybe - when things cool down - I'll talk to someone."
"You can talk to me," Sora said. His eyes glittered.
"Thanks, Sora. You're-" Riku broke off. "Rock."
"I'm your rock?" Sora asked.
"No - rock!" Riku dived forward and pulled hard on one of the ropes.
They narrowly avoided a sharp rock. Like a shark's tooth.
Sora gave him a sheepish grin and a shrug.
"What was that you were saying about not surviving this long?" he asked.
Riku rolled his eyes, settling back against the bench.
He was tired, he realised. He couldn't remember the last time he had had an easy sleep. His legs ached from the horse ride and the trek.
He'd just close his eyes for a second.
But the rock of the boat was soothing. Had he ever had a cradle?
He was soon asleep.
Riku was furious.
"Why didn't you wake me up?!" he demanded.
Sora was pouting at him, tugging at the ropes again. It must have been around midday.
"It was…kind of nice to look out for you for a change," Sora said. "You looked…sweet. For someone who hated me a week ago."
It was Riku's turn to pout.
"How much further?" he asked.
Sora shrugged.
"It's hard to tell. If there's a strong wind - I'd hope that we're close," he said.
It was a hot day. Or maybe it was just a warm day. Most days at Maleficent's castle were cold and overcast.
The sun bore down on Riku, like a weight across his shoulders. He slipped off his large overcoat, but it provided little relief.
Sora tugged off his doublet and his shirt. He even started to sing as he sailed.
Riku's skin looked ghostly white compared to Sora's tanned skin, but now that Sora had gone topless, Riku realised how thin the Prince had gotten.
"Do you know any songs, Riku?" Sora asked. He was panting, and there was a sheen of sweat on his face.
Riku shook his head and turned away. His heart was pounding uncomfortably fast and his face felt like it was on fire. Not the usual warmth he got from spending time with Sora.
"They sing shanties all the time back home," Sora said. "Of course, it's usually the fishermen, and I'm always stuck in the castle studying. But they used to let me on their boats - and sometimes I sneak down to the docks to listen."
"Ah," Riku said, raising an eyebrow. "I see."
"See what?" Sora blinked at him. His chest was heaving.
"Are you going to start complaining about how restless you are and how you've always hungered for more in life than being a Prince?" Riku asked.
He was glad to see Sora's face flush.
"I - went through a phase," Sora said. Then he cleared his throat. "Really - I don't know. The responsibility and studying can be really tough but I'm grateful for it. I know - I'm really lucky. I wouldn't want to have been born a fisherman, if I'm honest. I'm - I can help people. Make a difference this way."
Riku's breath caught in his throat. Sora's face was practically glowing.
"Plus - the restless Princess never falls in love with the enemy, does she?" Sora asked.
Riku chuckled.
"Don't they always say beauty got Stokholm syndrome?" Riku muttered.
"Belle literally stormed out the castle. She was going to leave. She came back and stayed out of her own choice - to nurse Prince Adam back to health," Sora said. He leant his entire body back to swerve the boat. "She stayed because she was starting to fall in love with him."
"Let me guess, you know them?" Riku asked.
"They've come to the palace a few times," Sora said.
Riku rolled his eyes, and Sora laughed.
"I like this," he said. "Being between places. Just - us, you know?"
"I love this," Riku said. He stood and held on to a rope so that he could kiss Sora.
Sora was smiling too wide to kiss back. He pressed his temple against Riku's cheek, one hand on Riku's shoulder.
Riku dared to do the same. To touch Sora's bare shoulder. His bare back.
Sora's hips leant into his touch, he caught Riku's lips in his own.
He pulled away slowly. Kissed Riku once more, as though he couldn't bare to pull away, then murmured-
"Didn't you tell me to focus on steering this thing?"
"What if we just - floated?" Riku said. "And didn't face any of this mess?"
Sora smiled - his eyes sparkled in the sun - opened his mouth -
His stomach rumbled. Loudly. Like a whale.
Sora flashed one of his sheepish, crooked grins that made Riku feel like shattering stone.
"When was the last time we ate?" Sora asked.
Riku frowned. Now that he thought about it, his stomach ached for food too. With all of the running and not dying; he hadn't been considering eating.
"There's no desert islands around here," Sora said. "So I guess we'll have to go to the Destine Isles."
He looked beyond the mast - and gasped when he saw the shadow on the horizon. A cluttered, lumpy shadow had appeared whilst they had been talking.
Sora adjusted their course, and released the sail to full capacity.
The wind ushered them over the waves; closer and closer to the shadow.
"That's it," Sora whispered. "Destine Isles."
He turned to Riku. He was grinning from ear to ear, and his eyes were damp.
"Riku, we're home."