Disclaimer: Frankly, nobody cares.

Author's Inane Ramblings: I'm thinking about wrapping the story up soon… I doubt there'll be too many more chapters. Just giving you all fair warning.

It seems the pranks were well-received, for the most part. I enjoyed making them up, that's for sure.

Now: When Riku arrived, it was the first day of term three, i.e: Middle of winter.

Now let's have a blast, okay?

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Chapter 14: Letters from Home

And so time passed, our couple's love going continually tested. Mostly by annoying girls bugging Sora about his 'mysterious lady friend' since he never told them. While he madly loved Riku, he didn't want to tell anyone. It just didn't seem like the right time for that.

The end of term was fast approaching, bringing with it two weeks of relief from the hated practice of sending children into a building for seven hours every day to have knowledge forced down their throats. It was nearly a week away… It was the weekend, the Saturday before school broke up for the spring holidays. It was that day that the letter arrived…

The boy wriggled a little, snug and warm in his lover's embrace. The mornings were still cold, a testament to the vicious winter that had just passed. The best thing about sharing a room with the one you loved, the sleepy boy decided, was that cold mornings were bearable. He buried his face in his lover's chest, marvelling at the silky skin rubbing against his nose.

It was lovely and cosy here, the two of them wrapped up in the blankets. The two customarily slept like this now, having found it was too cold otherwise.

Sora sleepily burrowed his head out of the blankets, looking over at the clock. "Hmm… ten o'clock…" he murmured, his eyes gliding shut.

They snapped open and he sat up. "TEN?!" he yelled, practically leaping out of the bed. "Hey, Riku, c'mon! You gotta wake up, or you'll miss breakfast!"

As we all know, Sora values his food.

Sora slid into a seat next to his brother, who was busy devouring a plate of bacon and eggs. "Woge uf rafe?" Roxas said around the eggs occupying his oral orifice. Sora nodded. Roxas swallowed then gave him a sly look. "Up late last night?" he asked shrewdly, his eyes flicking between the two lovers meaningfully.

Sora glared at him. "As a matter of fact…" an evil glint entered his eye. "Yes. I can't get any sleep lately."

Roxas' mouth dropped, raining bits of bacon into his lap. They went completely unnoticed. "I… I wasn't expecting that answer," he said hurriedly. "Jeez, the mental images!" he wailed, holding his head.

Sora patted him on the back. "There, there. Sorry to spoil your hopes, but we didn't do anything. We haven't, not yet."

Riku laughed, his hand covering his mouth to stop the toast from escaping. "You know, we really need to find you a nice guy," he announced once he had finished his mouthful. "Or a girl, I suppose…" he added thoughtfully when Roxas glared at him hard enough to peel skin.

"He's got a girl back home, and she's even blonder than he is!" Sora said brightly, grinning widely. Roxas socked him on the arm, making him spill his forkful of scrambled eggs. "Dammit, Roxas! What was that for?"

"You know very well. On another note, Pinecone, you got a letter. Did you see it?"

Riku cocked his head. "A letter? No, what did it look like?" he inquired suspiciously.

"It… looked like an envelope, addressed to Prince Riku Zephyr. And the address was written in big, curvy letters," Roxas said, thinking. "Apart from that, it looked like an envelope."

Riku grimaced. "A letter from home. Lovely. I wonder what it says?"

The silver-haired teen picked up the letter cautiously, as if it would explode at any moment. "Please, please, please don't be bad," he prayed. He wedged his thumb under the envelope's flap and slid it along, breaking the seal in the process. Riku slid the letter out and unfolded it, the white parchment crackling slightly.

Dear Riku,

I hope you have had an enjoyable time this term.

As you know, it is nearing the end of the term, and you will be returning to Radiant Garden for the duration of the holidays.

Sora, reading over Riku's shoulder, winced. "I guess the lack of tact must run in the family, huh?" Riku elbowed him lightly and read on.

If you wish, you may invite a friend to stay in the Bastion for the holidays. I look forward to meeting him.

Someone will arrive to pick you up next Friday when school finishes. Riza and I will meet you once you arrive at the Bastion.

Until then,

Mom

Riku groaned. "I forgot about that," he said forlornly.

"What's wrong?" Sora asked curiously, his face blank as he tried to guess the problem.

"Sora, could you come with me for a while? There's… something I need to tell you."

Author's Note: Ooh, the suspense.

Riku led Sora out of the boarding house and up towards the school proper, headed for a large tree that sat in the middle of the courtyard. It shaded most of the courtyard with its widespread branches. Riku sat down on one of the tree's roots, bidding Sora do the same.

The boy was silent for a moment, trying to choose the right words. "Sora… You know that I am a prince, right?"

Sora nodded. "Of course I know that," he answered, puzzled.

"Well, one duty a prince has… is continuing the royal line."

Sora's head bobbed up and down slowly. "Yeah, so?" he asked, clearly not getting the full picture.

Riku sighed. "Riza is the girl my parents selected for… for me to continue the line on with."

Sora's head shook. "Still don't get what the problem is," he muttered.

Riku groaned loudly. He felt like shaking the kid by the shoulders. "How can you not understand? This letter only just reminded me of the fact. I had nearly forgotten… but Sora, we may not be able to be together."

Sora's face paled instantly. "Wha-What? You mean… Oh no…"

Riku nodded. "Oh yes. Sora, I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner… I really should have, I just didn't want to make you sad," he said, trying to explain himself.

Sora's eyes brimmed with tears, he looked away. "But… but… that's just not fair…" he moaned, the tears streaking down his face. "That's just not fair!" he yelled, startling several birds into flight as he fully burst into tears. Riku's arms slipped around him, drawing him close against the older boy's chest. "That's just not fair," he insisted, his hands gripping Riku's shirt as his tears stained it. The silver-haired boy rested his head on top of Sora's, crying as well. "I know… Oh dear Gods, don't I know."

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Author's Ending Rambles: Hmm. This was an important facet of my actual story, so I figured that I should bring it to light eventually.

Okay, I've run out of threats. Please, if you love cookies/pancakes/SoraXRiku, please please please review.