pRiku and Taela were walking down the long corridor, searching for more heartless. After last night's intrusion, there was still a chance that there were more around./p
pTaela was only following though, her feet automatically taking her where he decided to go. Her mind, on the other hand, was in a completely different place. She kept on thinking of how she woke up that morning with Riku sleeping right next to her, his body so close to hers./p
pShe woke up early and found his arm resting on her waist, his body heat keeping her warm. Taela couldn't move, so she pretended to be asleep until he woke up. He immediately noticed their closeness and removed his arm, and he warmth, but still kept somewhat close. /p
pA tap on the shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts, and Riku signaled for her to be quiet with a finger to his lips. She nodded, finally observing that they were back outside near the gummi ship, but someone else had landed next to them./p
pThey walked quietly towards the ship, hiding behind the plant life. The door opened, and someone stepped out, causing the two to gasp. It was King Mickey. /p
p"Your Majesty, what are you doing here?" Riku asked, coming out into the open and pulling Taela along with him./p
pHe turned around and looked at them, his face grim. "Where's Sora?"/p
p"He's in the castle with the Beast and Belle."/p
p"We should go meet up with him."/p
p"Are you going to explain why you're here?"/p
p"When we meet up with Sora, I will."/p
p------------------------------------------/p
p"So what's going on?" Sora asked./p
pThe group had gathered in a private study to converse, as promised, with the king./p
p"Maleficent has grown stronger and needs to be stopped. She has taken over Castle Oblivion, and I think she has a goal somewhat similar to her previous one; to find a certain princess, though that's all I have been able to find out so far." He looked at them warily, judging their reactions./p
pSora was very worried. "You don't think that she'll kidnap Kairi again, do you?"/p
p"I don't know."/p
p"So what are we going to do?" She asked./p
p"Well, I was thinking that Donald and Goofy would meet up with Sora on the next world to look for Master Xehanort….and you and Riku could look for Maleficent, find out who she's after, and stop her."/p
pThere was silence. None of them wanted to split up, especially Sora since he spent so much time looking for his friend before, but deep down they all knew it had to be done./p
p"I know it's not something you wanna do, but—"/p
p"But," Riku cut in. "It has to be done."/p
p"And maybe this war will be done sooner." Sora piped in, forcing a grin onto his face./p
p"Alright Sora, Donald and Goofy will be waiting for you in The Land of the Dragons. Taela and Riku, I think you two should check out a couple of different worlds before you head to Castle Oblivion, maybe find out what she wants beforehand."/p
pTaela nodded in agreement, and Riku just stood there next to her./p
pMickey left the room, probably headed back to his ship./p
p"Well, I guess it's goodbye for now." Sora said, shuffling his feet./p
p"Yeah." Riku said./p
p"But it's not forever guys." She added. "We'll see each other soon."/p
p"I hope so."/p
p-----------------------------------------/p
p"So it's just us two now." Riku said, punching coordinates for the next world./p
pShe just sat in the co-pilot's seat staring out the window, ear phones in place. She felt bad about being separated from Sora, so she turned to music to make her better. Music was the solution to almost anything./p
pHe saw the cord and pulled one out of her ear, crouching down next to her chair and listening along with her. Taela hummed along, making him smile, and in turn making her head swim. His smiles were intoxicating./p
br
pibThe truth is hiding in your eyes, and it's hanging on your tongue/p
pJust boiling in my blood/p
pBut you think that I can't see/p
pWhat kind of man that you are, it you're a man at all/p
pWell I will figure this one out on my own/b/i/p
br
pThey looked at each other when the song changed, just staring into each other's eyes for a moment, faces slowly coming together. Riku got down on his knees and reached up, cupping her face in his warm hands. Her heart accelerated at his touch, eyes fluttering closed, remaining as still as possible./p
pTheir lips met in a slow and shy kiss, his hands pulling her closer to make it deeper. She complied, wrapping her arms around his neck to eliminate any remaining space. They remained that way for another minute of two before they had to pull away for air, panting slightly./p
pRiku and Taela were both blushing slightly, but still remained close./p
pRiku pulled her hands and dragged her upwards, sitting in his seat with Taela sitting on his lap, slightly cradled in his arms. She leaned her head up against his chest to listen to his irregular heartbeat. After time though, it began to slow down./p
p"Hey." He said quietly. She tilted her head up to look at him./p
p"Hmm?"/p
p"Well, what did you think?"/p
p"About w-oh, um…" She bit her lip, face flushed./p
pHe laughed. "I'm guessing that this was your first kiss?"/p
p"How did you know?"/p
p"As I said, it just a guess."/p
piSmart ass./i/p
pHe sighed, seeing the reaction on Taela's face. "I'm not making fun of you, it was mine too. I really do like you, you know, even if I don't know exactly how I'm so drawn to you."/p
pShe huffed. This doesn't sound a lot like the Riku I met? Then again, I haven't known him that long, and have never been involved with him in any way./p
p"This doesn't sound like you." She confessed./p
p"It doesn't?"/p
p"No."/p
p"Would you prefer it if I pushed you to the ground and—"/p
p"No!" She almost yelled, making him laugh. "That's not funny!"/p
pTaela tried to get up, but was trapped by his strong arms. "It was to me. Don't assume you know me completely." His tone became more serious. "I'm easy going when I'm with people I know and trust, but I can be very serious also. War can do that to a person. Change them, I mean."/p
p"Yeah, you're not the only one who's been affected by it." She looked out the window in front of them. /p
p"Are you ever going to finish telling me that story?"/p
pShe looked confused. "What story?"/p
p"The one about the person you knew?" Riku questioned./p
p"Oh, maybe…..maybe some other time."/p
piHe remembers, damn it./i/p
p"That's a promise." He said adamantly. "And you had better keep it; otherwise I iwill/i force it out of you."/p
p"Alright, can I get up now? I'm tired and I want to read some before I sleep."/p
pHe let her loose so she could grab her book and go to her room./p
piIs this really real? Last time I thought my life would be okay everything fell to pieces. All I can do, I guess, is trust him./i/p