Writer's. Block. Sucks. As such, I'm sorry it took me so long to get this out…::sighs::… For some reason this fic has decided to start being a bitch and it's annoying…

Anyway…I hope that it doesn't affect the quality of this chapter. If it does, I'm sorry, but it really shouldn't. I was hit with inspiration once I finished chapter six of "Understanding," so yeah…

Enjoy!!…

WARNINGS: language…

Disclaimer: the characters and worlds of Kingdom Hearts belong to Square Enix and Disney…all the songs from the Right Where You Want Me album belong to Jesse McCartney...and he belongs to…well…himself…LoL…

Part Eleven:
Surprises…

The next few days were quite possibly the most frustrating of my entire life. Everyone, and I mean everyone, hovered over me as if I were sick or something. If Naminé and Roxas weren't with me, they were calling me at least every half an hour to know how I was doing. And don't even get me started on my mother. She had decided that it was her right to take off work so she could help me "deal with the emotional strain." What emotional strain? There was nothing for me to be emotional about.

Well, except for the fact that I had no idea when Sora was going to get to the Islands. All I knew was that he was coming. Whether it was by bus, train, or air, I had no idea.

Other than that, I had absolutely nothing to worry about. The weather was wonderful and I couldn't resist heading down to the beach at least once or twice to read a book and lay out in the sun. Not to get a tan, though. No, gods forbid I get a tan. Hell, I didn't even burn. What the hell was up with that?

I would have been perfectly fine if everyone had just left me alone. The fact that they were worrying about me only helped to aggravate me even more. They were the ones who were causing me emotional strain. I mean, you would think they'd understand that it was easier not think about Sora coming to the Islands when I wasn't reminded of it every five seconds. Unfortunately, they all seemed to be born with an idiot trigger that was immediately set off whenever they were in the vicinity of drama.

Needless to say, it was just a little bit annoying. Would it have been too much to ask for just a little bit of silence? For a little bit of calm? It was almost impossible for me to try and decide how I was going to react once I was face-to-face with Sora since the night I had kissed him with all the commotion that was going on around me. And I couldn't say anything about need some peace and quiet, either, because then my mother just looked at me as if I had no idea what I was talking about.

"You don't know what you need," she muttered while bustling around in the kitchen making dinner.

I narrowed my eyes and leaned against the counter with my arms crossed over my chest. "I'm twenty-two. Don't you think I'm old enough to think for myself?"

She laughed out loud, throwing back her head. And it wasn't just a normal laugh, either. It was one of those laughs that said "That's what you think." I hated that laugh.

"Age doesn't matter, Riku. Apparently you're not old enough to handle your own love life in a half way decent manner…"

"So," I scoffed.

"So…if you don't know how to handle your love life then you obviously don't know what you need. It's as simple as that."

I rolled my eyes and threw my hands up into the air in frustration. "I don't need this," I grumbled and left the kitchen.

I heard Mom saying something, but I didn't catch a word of it. Not only that, but I really didn't care, either. I shoved my feet into my flip-flops by the door and left the house. I had no idea where I was going to go, seeing that I couldn't go to Roxas' without getting the same treatment as I got at home, so I just started to walk. It was a beautiful day and it would be nice to just wander around by myself.

Unfortunately, the gods didn't seem to care about what I wanted anymore. Not even five minutes into my walk I spotted Naminé through one of a shop's big sidewalk windows. I cursed quietly under my breath and started to walk faster, but the damage was already done. The brief pause I had taken in my surprise at seeing her had given Naminé enough time to catch a glimpse of me through the window. She was walking out the door just as I was getting ready to go past it.

"Nice day for a stroll, eh?" she said, a knowing smile on her face.

I rolled my eyes and shoved my hands deep into my pockets. "Oh, yeah. A wonderful day for a stroll…by myself."

"Now, now. You don't have to be so mean, Riku. It's not like I was wandering through that shop because I knew that you were going to go for a walk and that you'd stop if you saw me in the shop and then I could meet you outside and pretend that it was all just an accident." She smiled sweetly. "I'm good, but I'm not that good."

"Whatever," I grumbled.

Naminé laughed and hooked her arm around one of my own. I aimed my most vicious glare at her, but she ignored it with yet another one of her smiles that said that she knew everything. Hell, she probably did know everything. I had a feeling that Roxas had been calling Sora and that he knew what was going on. And if Roxas knew what was going on, then Naminé knew what was going on too because those two just seemed to enjoy bothering the hell out of me lately.

"Where are you headed anyway?" Naminé muttered after we had walked for five minutes or so.

I shrugged. "Does it matter? I just wanted to go for a walk, so I'm walking."

She laughed. "Aw, did Mom's worry get on ickle Riku's nerves?"

I sighed and ripped my arm out of Naminé's hold. "Would you just stop?!" I growled. "Between you, Roxas, and my mother I'm going to go insane!"

Naminé snorted and continued walking beside me. "I'm sorry to tell you this, Riku, but I don't think you've been sane for a long time."

"Oh, shut up."

She laughed and shook her head. "I was just sayin'. If your feelings for Sora hadn't driven you crazy over the years, you wouldn't be acting like such a bitch right now. 'Cause that's why you're really pissed off. You're not mad at me or Roxas or Mom. You're pissed 'cause you dunno when Sora's gonna be here."

"I don't like surprises," I muttered dourly. "And would you stop calling my mom 'Mom'?"

She shrugged and went on as if she hadn't even heard a word that I had said. "I mean, it's completely understandable. I knew from when we first talked that you were a touchy person, but I never realized just how touchy you really were. It's not our fault. That Sora keeps calling Roxas, I mean. And it's not like Roxas is just going to ignore him or anything."

I stopped walking and watched Naminé with what I guess was a the most dumbstruck look that had ever been seen on a person's face, if her laughter after she'd turned around and looked at me was any judge.

"Naminé, would you please just stop talking? I don't want to think about Sora coming here, okay? I don't care that he's calling Roxas instead of me. I know I'm a touchy person, and I know why I'm really pissed off. I didn't need you to tell me any of that."

She frowned and furrowed her brow. "I was just sayin'."

I sighed and ran a hand back through my hair. Was it just me, or was Naminé talking a lot more than she usually did? It was weird. Usually she was quiet, but today she just seemed to be a chatterbox. Not only that, but she didn't seem to be able to come up with good things to say. If I had been anyone else, all the things that she'd already said to me would have severely pissed me off.

"I know that you were just sayin', Naminé, but please… Just stop, okay? All I wanna do is walk down to the beach and listen to the waves a little bit so I can gather myself."

She nodded, but still had a frown on her face. "Can't you just come to Roxas' for a bit? Everyone's there and they'd really like to see you. That'll definitely take your mind off Sora, won't it?"

I sighed again. Now that I thought about it, she was right. Between the entertainment of Axel and Demyx, it would be easy for me to forget about my constant worry about when Sora was going to get to the Islands. Maybe I would get lucky and they'd put on another lip synching performance like they had last time to the entire Right Where You Want Me album from Jesse McCartney. No matter how annoying it was, if that wouldn't take my mind off things, then I didn't know what would.

"Fine," I muttered. "But only for a little bit, okay?"

The smile that lit up Naminé's face was positively radiant. I groaned as she latched onto my arm and started to drag me off in the direction of Roxas' house.

"Everyone's gonna be so excited to see you!" she exclaimed. "Demyx was starting to think you weren't coming over because you hated him or something."

I snorted and shook my head. That would be something that Demyx would think. It was hard to believe that he was my age once he got into one of his moods. Then, it was hard to believe that he was any older than six.

"Promise me something?" I said once we turned onto Roxas' road.

"Hm?"

"That you'll make one of the most amazing meals ever while I'm here."

Naminé snorted and could tell without looking at her face that she'd rolled her eyes. "If it'll keep you over for longer than an hour, then fine."

I smiled happily; satisfied, if only for the moment. Even though I wouldn't admit it to myself—or to Naminé, for that matter—I was actually looking forward to getting to Roxas'. Who knew what was going to be happening today.

When we finally made it to the house, Naminé and I walked up the steps in silence. It didn't last long, however, as I was almost tackled to the ground in one of Demyx's violent hugs the second I walked through the door. Roxas and Axel laughed, and I could have sworn that I saw the smallest hint of a smile tugging at the corners of Zexion's lips before he returned his attention to the book that was open in his lap.

"We've missed you, Riku!" Demyx shouted when he finally let go of me.

Roxas and Axel "sh"ed the blonde at the same time. Demyx's eyes grew wide for a moment, but then he nodded and put a finger to his lips.

"Right. Gotta be quiet. Sorry." He gave me a quick smile and returned to his place on the couch beside Zexion. Zexion slung a shoulder over Demyx's shoulder so he could curl up to his side and twined a finger around a strand of blonde hair.

"How come everyone's gotta be quiet?" I muttered as I kicked my flip-flops off beside the door and took a seat in one of the armchairs.

"Larxene's taking a nap," Roxas shrugged.

"Ah." I had learned my lesson with the woman before. It wasn't that she was a bitch, even if she looked like it. She just didn't like being woken up before she wanted to. Hell, she was just like any normal person.

And then silence filled the room. It made my ears itch and I felt like I wanted to scream. It wasn't supposed to be quiet here. There was always supposed to be something going on, even if it really was nothing. Even the television was turned down so we could barely hear it over the sounds of Naminé bustling around the kitchen to start making something to eat. It was kind of irritating.

"What have you been up to lately, Riku?" Roxas spoke so suddenly that I almost jumped out of my seat, but I managed to recover with a small shrug.

"As if you wouldn't know," I said with a small laugh. "I was headed out for a walk to the beach when I ran into Naminé and she convinced me to come here instead."

Axel laughed. "Aw, poor Riku. You got hit with Nam's womanly powers of persuasion."

"More like womanly charms," Naminé commented from the kitchen.

I snorted, and Naminé threw a baby carrot at me, nailing me in the side of the head.

"Shut it!" she grumbled when I glared at her.

I shrugged and popped the carrot in my mouth. Demyx yawned loudly and pulled himself away from Zexion, smiling softly at his boyfriend when he looked at him in question.

"I'm gonna go out for a smoke," he stated and headed outside.

I accepted his silent invitation and followed after him. It would be easier to think once I was outside. Plus, I could talk to Demyx. As hyperactive as he was, he tended to mellow out a bit while he was smoking. And he was surprisingly understanding of my situation.

I settled down onto the wooden bench swing while Demyx settled down into one of the chairs and pulled my pack of cigarettes from my jean's pocket. It wasn't until after I lit one and took a hit that Demyx started to talk.

"Have you heard anything from him yet?"

I shook my head and sighed, letting a plume of smoke fill the air in front of me. "No. Roxas probably has, but he refuses to tell me anything. He's acting like I'm going to run away again if I know when Sora's going to be here."

"Well." Demyx paused to take a drag from his cigarette. "It's not like he doesn't have reason to think that you'll run. I mean, you did it before so what's stopping you now?"

I shrugged. "I suppose I'm tired of running and hiding all the time. I've spent the better part of four years hiding my feelings from him. Now that he knows how I feel, I guess he's just going to have to decide how to deal with it."

"It'll hurt if he decides to leave."

I sighed and closed my eyes. "Yeah. It'll hurt more than anything in the world. I dunno what I'll do if he wants to leave. There'll really be nothing left for me then."

"Riku…"

I laughed. "Not that I'm going to kill myself or anything. I'll just, you know, float through life, here but not really here. I won't know what to do with myself once I know that I can't love him anymore."

"Would you date?"

"I dunno," I said with a shrug. "Probably, but it would never work. I mean, I know it's probably weak and hopeless to say that Sora's the only person I'll ever love, but it's true. I might be able to convince myself that I love someone else, but I'll know that it's a lie."

Demyx laughed quietly and I sighed, snuffing out my cigarette in the bucket of sand that sat on the deck between us. Silence fell after that, and I relaxed in the chair with my eyes closed. It had been a while since I could just sit and listen to the waves in someone else's company without having the silence broken after a couple of seconds. After a while, Demyx picked up his guitar and started to play a simple song. The quiet sound of his voice when he started to sing must have lulled me into sleep. That or I zoned out so badly that I couldn't remember what was going on when I came back.

The jolt of the swing moving as someone took a seat beside me is what jolted me back into reality. I moaned quietly, but refused to open my eyes. And if I didn't know any better, I could have sworn that someone was leaning against me, thin arms wrapping around my waist so a face could be buried in my chest. I took a deep breath and sighed. The hair that tickled my face smelled like rainy days and juniper, just like…

My eyes snapped open and I looked down, only to be met with a faceful of brown spikey hair. I looked up to see that Demyx was gone, but four pairs of eyes were peering at me from the window behind the couch. When I looked back down and saw that the brown hair was still there, I laughed and wrapped my arms tightly around him.

"Sora," I sighed and buried my face in his hair and took a deep breath. Tears prickled at the corners of my eyes, but I managed to hold them back. I could feel the fabric of my T-shirt getting wetter and wetter against my chest, and I wanted to be strong for him.

Sora looked up and I swear that my heart took flight as I looked deep into his blue eyes. My hands immediately went up to cup his face and I wiped his tears away with my thumbs. He sniffed cutely and I smiled.

"I was so afraid that you were going to leave," he whispered through a new onslaught of tears.

I moaned and pulled him into another hug. "I won't ever leave you again. I promise."

He smiled sadly and slowly moved so he was straddling my lap. I moved my hands to his hips and his arms wrapped around my neck. "How can I believe you? You left me once. How do I know that you won't do it again?"

I sighed. "I was an asshole, and stupid. I was terrified that you would hate me if you ever found out how I felt about you."

"Coming from the person who swears that I don't have a mean bone in my body," he muttered.

"Well, this was different."

He frowned and shook his head. "No, Riku. It's not different. Even if I didn't return your feelings, you're still my best friend. We've been through too much together for me to just throw you aside as if you were nothing to me."

"I would die," I whispered.

"I thought…" He paused to take a breath and gain control of his tears. "I thought that that's what had happened when I went back to your apartment and saw that you were gone. That you had died, I mean. I thought you had gone somewhere and killed yourself. And when you didn't answer any of my calls that just made me even surer you had killed yourself. I was so scared, Riku. You have no idea how scared I was. I was so sure that I had lost you forever."

I frowned and cupped the side of his face in a hand, sighing when he nuzzled his face into it. "I'm sorry," I choked.

He cocked his face to the side and ran a hand back through my hair, and the sight of the pain in his eyes was too much for me to handle. I used the hand on his face to move him closer to me and captured his lips with my own. It was chaste, but desperate. When we pulled apart, Sora's face was covered in a blush and I was breathing a little harder than I should have been.

"How long have you been here?" I whispered, resting my forehead against his.

"I just got in this morning. I flew. Roxas had to pick me up at the airport. I would have called you, but I was too tired."

I laughed quietly and made a mental note to thank Roxas later, but only after kicking his ass first. I guess I couldn't only kick his ass, though, since everyone in the house had known about it. So much for Larxene taking a nap.

"And don't be too angry with Roxas," Sora said as if he were reading my thoughts. "I asked him not to tell you because I was afraid that you would leave. I figured I had a better chance of seeing you if you didn't know when I was going to be here."

"Don't worry," I said with a cocky smile. "I won't kick his ass too hard. He has helped me quite a bit since I've been here. Well…if you can consider being called an idiot every five minutes help."

Sora laughed and shook his head. "That's my cousin for ya."

I smiled and tightened the arms that I had wrapped around Sora's waist. We were kissing again before long and I couldn't help but sigh into it as I thought about how different my life was going to be now that Sora was here.

But then Sora dipped a hand beneath my shirt and all thought seized to exist.

Sora was here and he was in my arms. Nothing else seemed to matter anymore.

TBC…
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A/N: Yay! Riku and Sora are reunited!! ::dances:: Sorry it took so long. LoL. Three or four more chapters left, though. Should be interesting…

Thank you to everyone who read and reviewed last chapter. Ya'll are awesome and I loves you! ::hugs::…

Until next chapter, adieu…