Title: Just Go for It
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Characters/Pairings: Riku, Sora; heavily implied RikuShi
Rating: G
Warnings: Speculated post-series. Sequel, though more like a companion, to "Guidance."
Disclaimer: I own nothing but the stories I write.
Summary: In which Sora laughs at Riku's expense.
Word Count: 367
Submitted: 12 December 2011


.

"Is it really okay?"

The single question was enough to reduce Sora to a shaking mass of laughter, which knocked him promptly off the signature bent paopu tree trunk and onto the sand.

"Is there a reason why you're laughing at me?" Riku questioned through clenched teeth with his cheeks aflame—though not in anger—as he stood over his friend's convulsing form.

"Sorry," gasped Sora as his laughter subsided, but only after much effort. "It's just that Xion asked me the same thing when I told her it was okay."

That slackened Riku's jaw and stole the blush from his cheeks, horrified. "She asked you about asking me out?"

Sora straightened up and replied, "No. Not about asking you out. Just acting on her feelings."

"Wait. What?" Riku's cheeks filled with color once more and his jaw succeeded in reaching the limits of how far it could drop. Apparently, the silver-haired youth's eyes decided to join in and widen to the point that it looked like it hurt.

It was one of Riku's more undignified moments of speechlessness to date, and it nearly sent Sora right back into gut-busting laughter, but he settled for restrained chuckles instead. The brunette also took some pity on his friend and waited for the older teen to regain some of his usual decorum.

"It doesn't matter where she comes from, only that she's Xion, right?" Asked the younger boy, to whom his friend nodded in the affirmative.

"And you want to be with her because you love her, right?" continued Sora as he leaned forward, mouth drawn into a clinical smile and eyes peering intently into Riku's. For a brief moment, Riku saw the piercing, judging gaze of a father sizing up his daughter's potential love interest. It sent a chill down the spine of Way to the Dawn's wielder.

"Yes," responded Riku, the single word drawn out with the weight of its truth.

The warmth returned to Sora's smile and his eyes regained their usual cheerfulness. As if on cue, Riku let out the breath he hadn't even known he'd been holding.

Sora chuckled at this and rested his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Good. Just have her home before eleven."

.


Yes. Xion asked Riku out. What can I say? She's a girl of action. This was originally suppose to be Sora almost peeing his pants laughing at Riku's expense all the way through, but I couldn't bring myself to go through with that. I'm happy I changed my mind.

I cannot express to you guys how pissed I am at myself. Last night, I was fixing some typos in some previous chapters when I accidentally deleted CH22, "Moonlit Walks Along the Shore." Recovering the story was no problem as I have uploaded it to my accounts at LJ and DA. What could not be recovered were my Author Notes at the end of the chapter, which included my shout-outs (a feature exclusive to my FFN readers besides the RikuShi songs and previews). I am SO sorry. It's because of my own negligence that this happened. I hope you guys forgive me. If any of you just so happen to have a copy of CH22 WITH the ending Author Notes, could you please let me know?

Amatus, don't worry about it. The fact that you reviewed at all makes me happy. Yes. More hand holding. The squee-ing and fawning over it was just too much to ignore. Mwahahaha ... It was like doing another scene interpretation but not. The whole writing experience for it was just absolutely glorious. Hmm ... Maybe if you steal Naminé away, you'll be able to lure Roxas out. It works like a charm. After all, she's a lot more easier to get a hold on than Roxas. Ooh! Yes! Scene interpretations are fun, if you couldn't already tell that I thoroughly enjoy them. So ... was "Guidance" the story you were thinking about?

RoseOfADifferentColor, thanks for the heads up on the anonymous review. When I originally read the review, I figured that it must have been you. You addressed my shout-out from the previous chapter, so the doubt was down to a minimum. And like I said in my Author Notes in the last chapter, the KH opening was just too perfect (hence the squee-ing). Hugs? Of course! Xion needs as many as she can get.

Knight-Dawn, I feel the same way with the opening now. When I was re-watching it for reference, I honestly did squee. It's just too perfect. Ooh! Irony. I like it. I love my readers who catch things in my stories that I don't. Thank you. And don't we all like indulging in sad stories every now and again?

RikuShi song of the day: "So Contagiously" by Acceptance. -sings- Could this be out of line (could this be out of line) to say you're the only one breaking me down like this ...

Next Time: Le gasp! It's another sequel. This time, however, it's a requested sequel. -hint hint-