Come Home
Description: Inspired by the Ashika Sakura story of the same name. A single night's mistake separated them for six years. When chance throws them back together, it will take more than love to heal the wounds and bring them home. Cleon, Soriku, AkuRoku, Zemyx, and Yuffietine.
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts belongs to Square-Enix. This should be nothing new to anyone.
A/N: Well, I didn't get it done before the kids came back, but I am finding time to keep on plugging. One more chapter after this, and then a little surprise. :)
End Part 3: Riku and Sora
Mid-February:
When Riku stepped into the Strife house on the Friday after Valentine's Day, it felt like coming home. He was still extremely nervous about the evening the two of them had planned with Roxas and Kairi, but something about the atmosphere of the house made him feel like he belonged there. Maybe it was the way Roxas had smiled at him when the blond opened the door, or the way Cloud had greeted him without any distrust or anger before returning to his conversation with the brunette woman he didn't recognize, or the way Destiny had attempted to lick his face off when he had leant down to pet her. Whatever the reason, just being in that house again made him feel like everything was going to be all right from now on.
Sora was waiting for him at the top of the stairs and, as soon as he saw him, called down for him to come up. Riku climbed the steps dutifully, focusing on that happy smile instead of on the anxiety that churned in his stomach. Although he was glad that Sora had invited him over early, he had a feeling he knew why. He reached the second floor, and Sora turned to lead him down the hall. When they reached Sora's room, the brunet shut the door behind them, then sat down on the edge of his bed and invited Riku to do the same.
"Riku," he said, confirming the blond boy's fears, "we need to talk about some things."
Swallowing heavily, Riku sat down and tried not to wring his hands in his lap. So he had been right. Even though Sora had forgiven him, they couldn't just pick up their relationship where they had left off. Riku didn't even want to pick it up where they had left off. Too much had been built on top of his lies. He wanted to start over as much as Sora clearly did; he was just afraid of what starting over actually meant.
"You're right," he managed to say. "We do need to talk. Where did you want to start?"
"Boundaries," Sora stated without a moment's hesitation.
That surprised Riku a bit, but he recovered quickly. "All right," he agreed. "Boundaries, then." A little thread of pain twisted through him at the idea, but he stamped down on it as hard as he could. He had told himself back when they had broken up that he would do anything for Sora, anything, if it meant his love would take him back. He wasn't about to go back on that promise, not now and not ever. "What am I allowed and not allowed to do?"
Sora smiled at him and scooted a little closer to him on the bed. "You don't need to look like that," he said gently. "It's not like I'm going to put some sort of crazy restriction on you like you can only touch me on days that don't have an 's' in them or something."
Almost against his will, Riku's mind did the analysis. "That's only Monday and Friday."
"I know. Crazy, right?" Sora grinned at him. "That would be silly if I made you do that."
The sight of the other boy's cheerful face slowly drew a small smile from Riku's lips. "All right then," he asked, feeling a bit less apprehensive, "what do you mean by boundaries?"
Sora drew himself up to his full height and put on a serious expression. "Okay. Well. Roxas and I have been talking. About what we think is appropriate for ourselves and our futures, speaking in a romantic sense. He has someone he's interested in, too, but his is kind of complicated so I decided that to help him out and show my support and everything, I would abide by the same rules he has to abide by and neither of us would go any farther with our boyfriends than the other was at least allowed to, even if he wasn't quite ready to. Does that make sense?"
"No," Riku said truthfully.
"Well," Sora tried again, frowning, "I guess the most important part is this: Roxas and I have both decided to remain virgins until we turn eighteen, and anyone who wants to date us has to agree to respect that." He blinked his big, beautiful eyes at Riku and asked, "Is that clear enough?"
Riku thought he might faint, although whether it was because Sora was trying to have an open-book sex talk with him or the fact that he would have to wait years to make love to the brunet, he wasn't entirely sure. "Yes," he managed after several moments and a few false starts. "That's clear enough."
"Good," the devil in the disguise of an angel replied with a little nod of his head. "Now, that doesn't mean that we can't kiss and touch and … and …" His face was starting to turn red, but he pushed forward. "… and fool around a bit, but it does mean that there will be no actual sex for about thirty months. And that's why I wanted to talk to you, Riku, because to you sex isn't that big of a deal because … well … you've had so much of it …"
Something powerful and slightly sad surged through Riku, pushing him forward until he had captured Sora's hands in his own. "Sora," he breathed, trying to keep the emotions from overpowering him, "ask me anything, and I'll do it if it means I can be with you. I'll be celibate for the rest of my life if that's what it takes." He dipped his head a bit, not wanting to see the expression in those wide eyes as he said, "I can think of only two times when someone walked into my life and actually made me feel alive rather than empty and alone. The first time was when I met Kairi; the second was when I first saw you. When you walked away from me that day after school, it felt like half of my world had been ripped out from under me. If the price to get that back, to get you back is to spend the next thirty months without sex …" Swallowing hard, he forced himself to find the courage to lift his eyes again and connect with Sora's gaze. "I'll take it."
The other boy was smiling at him, the emotions thick in his sky-blue eyes. "I'm so glad," he replied in a half-whisper. "I was really hoping you'd say that." Carefully, he removed his hands from Riku's only to slip his arms around the older boy's neck and settle himself against his body in a light hug. "Thank you, Riku. This really means a lot to me."
"Sora …" Riku murmured, unable to stop his boyfriend's name from slipping past his lips. He pulled the smaller body closer to his own. "I should be the one thanking you. For giving me another chance." Sora simply hummed lightly and snuggled deeper into the embrace. They held each other like that for a long moment, savoring each other's presence, until Riku's curiosity finally got the best of him. "So, what exactly am I allowed to do? Kiss you, of course, and hold you. But where? Anywhere above the waist? Or am I allowed first base only?"
Sora cleared his throat and wriggled backwards out of Riku's grasp. His face was serious again, although it was slowly but surely turning very red. "Well," he said solemnly, "what Roxas and I decided was that anywhere above the waist is just fine. We also decided that anywhere below the waist is fine as long as there's a layer of clothing between you and me. Of course, that depends on my own personal comfort level which isn't nearly ready yet, but once, you know, it is, it'll be okay to … touch me and … you know … stroke … me …"
Riku fought to keep his grin from getting too wide. Sora's face was tomato red and he was looking pointedly at the wall, but he was still talking, or at least trying to talk. It was extremely funny although, granted, it was also embarrassing and more than a little arousing. "So a hand job is out," he stated baldly, watching as it made Sora flinch at bit, "because that's skin on skin. But dry humping is okay? And I could even bring you to completion with my hand as long as it stayed on the outside of your pants?"
Sora's eyes were screwed up tight and he looked like he was going to faint or implode or both, but he nodded in response to the question. "But I'm not ready for all that!" he clarified, snapping his eyes open to stare at Riku, almost angrily. "It'll be okay when I'm ready, but I'm not ready!"
"Well, yeah, that much is obvious."
"Riku!" his beautiful boyfriend shrilled, but Riku just laughed and pulled him into his arms once more.
xXx
April:
Sora moaned and fell backwards onto Riku's bed. He couldn't take this anymore, he just couldn't! It felt like his head was going to explode into a mess of sticky, slimy bits, and as much as it was Riku's fault that he was like this, he didn't really want to stain the other boy's sheets. If only his boyfriend would give him a break, just a little breather. He moaned again, louder this time.
Riku, from his seat at his desk halfway across the room, lifted an eyebrow in questioning amusement. "Sora? Are you all right?"
In response, Sora just whimpered and curled up into a tighter ball. His script for the spring play lay open next to him. "I can't do it," he whined. "There are just too many speeches, and they're all so long. It's not fair. She said Roxas and I are splitting the part, so why do I have to memorize all these words?" He whimpered some more and tried to bury himself in Riku-scented cotton. "My head isn't big enough for all these words. I can't do it."
"Yes, you can, Sora," the older boy insisted. "I know you can." He crossed to the bed and gently sat down. Careful fingers picked up the discarded script and tried to find the last page they had reviewed. "Why don't we start over with the opening speech for Act II?"
"No," Sora immediately whined. "No, no, don't wanna." On a sudden impulse, he abandoned the sheets that smelled like Riku and made a grab for the real Riku instead. His arms settled firmly around the older boy's hips and absolutely refused to let go. "Can't we take a break?" he asked Riku's stomach. "Just a little one? Please?"
His boyfriend sighed, but capitulated. "I suppose. A little one. But don't fall asleep, okay?" he added in a sterner tone. "My father comes home in about an hour, and if he catches us like this, I'm dead."
"Mmm, I won't," Sora promised. He was a little upset that the two of them had to hide their true relationship from Riku's father, but from what Riku had said - and Kairi and Kadaj and anyone else who had met the man and felt inclined to comment - keeping it secret for a little while longer was a very good idea. "Lie down," he ordered, lifting a hand and blindly groping at Riku's upper body. "Wanna hold you."
He received another sigh for this, but again, his boyfriend didn't resist him. Soon, Riku was lying down beside him, and Sora snuggled into his arms in utter bliss. He knew for a fact that if Roxas were to see them now, he'd make some comment about how sickeningly sweet they were, but Sora didn't care. Riku just made him so happy; all of his brother's teasing just sort of rolled right off of him.
About ten minutes passed in silence, perhaps a little less. When Sora felt Riku move beneath him, he assumed he was about to be told that his break was over and he needed to get his lazy butt back to work. Instead, the warm arms that held him tightened almost to the point of pain as the blond buried his face in the brunet's hair, his breathing shallow and shaky. As soon as he realized what had happened, Sora tightened his own arms in a brief, gentle hug.
"I'm not going anywhere," he whispered.
It was happening less often as time passed, but every so often, a terrible fear would grip Riku and paralyze him: the fear that Sora would leave again. Though his self-esteem continued to improve, the blond hadn't yet been able to completely shake the feeling that he didn't deserve Sora. Those thoughts always led to the fear that Sora would change his mind about giving Riku another chance or find some other reason to walk away. Sora always assured him that that wasn't going to happen, but he knew from experience that words only meant so much. What the boy needed most, he knew, was time.
While he waited, though, Sora was going to do everything he could to make both of their lives more comfortable. "You have no idea how happy you make me," he murmured soothingly as Riku fought to control his trembles. "I honestly can't imagine my life anymore without you in it."
"Sora," his boyfriend replied in a near-whisper, "don't say things like that just for my sake."
"I'm not," he protested. Determined, he wriggled around in Riku's grasp until he had enough room to look up into the other boy's piercing eyes. "I'm not saying it just for your sake," he told that proud, perfect face. "I'm saying it because it's true. I love you, Riku. Being with you makes me the happiest I've ever been. So please stop worrying," he finished softly, lifting one hand to trace lightly along the other boy's jawline. "I'm not going anywhere."
Riku's eyes were burning with gratitude and a gentle desire. The only word he said was "Sora," but it spoke of relief and joy and love. Before Sora fully realized what was happening, he was being pushed back into the bed, his breath stolen away by a passionate, loving kiss. Riku's hands were everywhere, touching him in a respectful, almost worshipful way. A low, appreciative moan built up in the smaller boy's throat and escaped before he could stop it.
The script with all of its words and long speeches tumbled off the bed, forgotten.
xXx
August:
Riku played with a spare coaster and listened with a small smile on his face to Loz and Yazoo give Kadaj advice about his first year in college in spite of the fact that Kadaj didn't want to hear it. The summer would be over soon, and the four of them had decided to go out to dinner at a local steakhouse to spend some time together before they would have to go their separate ways again.
"So, Kadaj," Yazoo asked as he picked at his salad, "what did you and Kairi decide about next year? Are you going to stay together?"
The third brother flushed lightly at the question but didn't fly off the handle as he might have done in years past. "I told her we could break up if she wanted," he answered, "so she wouldn't have to be tied down to a guy who wasn't there. But she bitched me out and went on and on about how she isn't that shallow and that I should have known better than to say anything."
Riku ducked his head to hide his smirk. Kadaj may not have realized it yet, but he was completely stuck with Kairi now. For one thing, Riku's death threat still held, and Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal had added their own to the pile. Apparently, it had taken one meeting for his best friend to completely charm the three now-graduated seniors, resulting in them declaring that she was the best thing to ever happen to him and he would be beyond stupid to let her get away. More important than the promises of bodily harm, however, was the fact that, even if he didn't realize it yet himself, Kadaj seemed to have whole-heartedly fallen for Kairi. Nothing spoke of that more clearly than the absence of his favorite mask. He still pulled it out occasionally, when he felt nervous or threatened, but the manic personality that Riku used to associate with his youngest elder brother was now all but gone.
"Guess if Yuffie can wait, Kairi can, too, huh 'Daj?" Riku commented gently.
His brother's wide eyes stared at him for a moment before crinkling into something resembling a smile. "Yeah," he answered. "Guess she can."
Across the table, the two eldest brothers were reacting to this change in Kadaj with similar expressions of surprise and disbelief. "Well," Yazoo said in his usual gentle manner, "this is certainly unexpected."
"Yeah," Loz returned with a sly grin. "Who'd have thought that the wildcat could be tamed, eh?"
"Shut up," Kadaj immediately griped, although there was no venom in his voice and his cheeks had flushed again. "Assholes."
Teasing Kadaj was also one of Riku's favorite pastimes, but considering how close the two had become over the last half-year, he felt the need to jump in and defend his brother, at least a little. "And what about you guys?" he asked, using a simple deflection tactic to give Kadaj some breathing room. "Don't tell me you're going to let your little brothers outdo you in the romance department. Surely guys like you have some prospects."
It was clearly the right thing to ask, for Yazoo suddenly turned a most interesting shade of purple and Loz started to laugh. "I don't have anyone special at the moment," the eldest blond replied, "but Yaz has this girl after him who won't take no for an answer, and I don't think he wants her to."
"Yeah, I can see that. Nice shading there, Yaz. Great color."
"Must we discuss this now? I hardly think this is the time or place to -"
"You should meet her, 'Ku," Loz continued, steam-rolling right over the young man beside him. "She's gorgeous. Amazing tits. And she's feisty and smart. All around fantastic girl. Yaz is resisting her, though," he finished with a sideways look at his blushing brother.
No one needed to ask or explain why Yazoo was hesitating before accepting a relationship with this girl. A year ago, Riku would have agreed with him and even advised him to keep his distance. Now, however, he knew first-hand how wonderful love could be. His mind turned back to the conversation he had had with his older brother over the Christmas break, and he found himself smiling with a kind of melancholy fondness at the memories.
"It's worth it, you know," he said. When Yazoo found his gaze with tentatively hopeful eyes, he added, "Remember when you asked me to tell you if it was worth it? It is."
"What if Sora hadn't taken you back?" his brother asked with his apology clear in his expression. "Would it have still been worth it then?"
Riku took the time to think about it before answering, "Yes. I won't deny that it hurt. It hurt like nothing I had ever experienced before, and during the worst of it, I just wanted to die and not have to deal with it anymore. But even before Sora took me back, I had started to change for the better. Kadaj can vouch for me on that." He looked to his brother who nodded at him solemnly. "Opening myself up to love," he finished quietly, "made me stronger. If Sora hadn't taken me back, I would have suffered for a long time, but in the end I would have been able to look back on the pain and know it was worth it, if for no other reason than because it would have given me the strength to try again and maybe find happiness the second time."
While Yazoo lowered his eyes and considered this, Riku let his mind wander further over the ways he had changed since meeting Sora. The most obvious difference was in his own self-esteem and confidence. By opening himself up to Sora, he had somehow allowed himself to finally listen to what he and Kairi had been telling him about his worthiness. And as his own belief in himself soared, his need to use his arrogant, self-assured masks faded away until the only one he ever seemed to use anymore was the detached, respectful one that he used for his father. That mask, he was certain, he would always need to keep around.
"So what you do think, Yaz?" Kadaj asked, trying to sound uninterested as he poked at his baked potato. "You going to give the girl a try?"
"I'm not sure," his brother replied, but a smile was starting to tug at his lips. "Perhaps I will."
"Well, good. You could use a hot firecracker to melt that icicle up your ass."
"Now there's the little brother I remember. I was beginning to worry that being around Kairi had made you soft."
"Ha, yeah right. When I'm around Kairi, the only thing soft is her brea-ah, um …" He trailed off as he met Riku's sudden death glare.
"Go on, 'Daj," Loz teased. "Finish your sentence."
"Yeah," Kadaj mumbled with his head down, "I don't think so."
Riku joined in on the laughter that rang around the table, and, after a few minutes, Kadaj did as well.
xXx
October:
"Here you go," Sora smiled, handing over the little plastic bag. "Thanks for shopping at Lionhearted Books!"
The customer returned his smile and thanked him before she left, leaving Sora to sort through some loose invoices that Leon had left for him on the counter. He had only been working at the store since the end of the summer, but he already had almost as much responsibility as Demyx did. He liked to think it was because he was trustworthy and a hard worker, but sometimes he wondered if it wasn't because Demyx was a bit on the scatterbrained side, especially when it came to invoices.
"Morning, Sora!" the object of his thoughts chirped as he came in from the back room, carrying a plate piled high with cookies. "How's everything with you this morning?"
"Good," he replied cheerfully. "Do you need help taking those over to the kids?"
"Nope, I'm fine. You can have one if you want, though." He offered the plate to Sora who eagerly snatched a sugar cookie with M&Ms baked into it. Demyx grinned at his enthusiasm, but the expression turned slightly devious a moment later. "Better take a second one," the musician advised, his eyes looking over Sora's shoulder toward the front door.
Surprised, Sora turned to see Riku entering the store, bells jangling as the door shut behind him. His long hair was a little wind-blown and his cheeks were a little ruddy from the autumn weather, but Sora thought he looked as beautiful as ever. When he gave his boyfriend a small smile, the return smile he received sent a little shudder down his back. Sometimes he couldn't believe that the two of them had been together for over half a year; every little thing Riku did seemed to affect him as much now as it did when they had first met.
"Hey," Riku called as he approached the pair at the counter.
"Hey, Riku," Demyx replied with an easy grin. "You want a cookie?"
"Oh yeah, thanks, Demyx."
"You're quite welcome."
Munching on his own cookie, Sora watched as Demyx offered the plate to Riku, then carefully maneuvered his way around the counter to head down the aisles to the kids' corner. The noise level, which was pretty high already for a Saturday morning, spiked briefly, presumably as the blond and his homemade treats came into view. Sora's heart ached a little at the sound. He liked working the counter for Leon, but he would have much preferred to be over there with Zell and Irvine and all the cute little kids.
"What?" Riku teased him. "Taking over dear cousin Leon's spot as Angela's best-loved babysitter wasn't enough for you? You want more children?"
Sora whined at him and stuck out his crumb-covered tongue. Riku just laughed.
"So why are you here?" he finally asked, although he kept the annoyance in his voice.
Green eyes twinkled at him in amusement. "What? I can't visit my boyfriend?"
"Not when I'm working you can't. Leon will get suspicious if he finds out you're here on my shift, and we both know how he is when he gets like that."
"True," Riku conceded with a small nod of his head. Then, his expression softened, and when he spoke again, his tone was serious. "I did come here for a reason, though."
"Oh?" Sora questioned, turning to him. "Why?"
"Well …" Riku looked uncomfortable, but Sora did his best to encourage him with smiles and little gestures. "Today is sort of a special day to me. It's an anniversary. Well, really," he added quickly, "it's actually tomorrow, but you don't work tomorrow so I thought today would be better since you're here today. And it was a Saturday, I definitely remember that, so I thought it was fitting, you know?"
"Anniversary?" Sora echoed once Riku had stopped for a breath. "Of what?"
Riku's face was slowly turning red, but he forced himself to say it. "Of … of when I first saw you."
Sora's face broke out into an instant grin. "Riku," he said, "I didn't know you were like that. It's kind of corny, but I have to admit I like it."
"Yeah?" Riku asked, looking relieved. "That's good." One of his hands slipped into his pocket, and a moment later it reemerged with a small black box. "I got you a present," he said, holding it out for Sora to take.
"Oh Riku, you didn't have to do that …" Sora said, but even as he spoke, he was taking the box and opening it and the moment his eyes fell upon the present inside, his voice completely died away. Eyes wide enough to fall out of his head, he carefully removed the pendant from the box and let it dangle from his fingers by the silver chain. It was a crown, simple and almost plain, yet to Sora it was perfect.
"Um, I hope you like it," Riku was saying, his nervousness obvious. "I thought it would suit you, and, you know, since your dad bought Leon a necklace way back when, I didn't think you'd mind too much if I did the same for you. Although it's not an animal, so I guess it'd be kind of silly to name it …" His eyes traveled over Sora's face, looking for some reaction other than the shock that the brunet continued to wear. "If you don't like it," he finally said, "I can take it back."
"No!" Sora cried, snapping out of his daze and unknowingly clutching the necklace to his chest. "No, I like it, I really do, but Riku …" He loosened his grip and let his hands fall forward so he could look at the pendant again. "I can't accept this," he half-whispered. "It looks really expensive."
"Well, it wasn't cheap," Riku laughed, "but if I can't spend my money on you, who can I spend it on?"
"You shouldn't spend it at all!" Sora chided him. "You should be saving it."
Riku laughed again and plucked the necklace from his hands. "Take it," he encouraged as he leaned forward to do up the clasp behind Sora's neck. "Please. For me."
Sora wanted to protest more, but he allowed the necklace to be placed around his neck and when it had, the pendant fit snugly against his chest like it belonged there. Once Riku had finished, he stepped back and looked at him with a proud smile, causing Sora to bite his lip to keep the tears of gratitude at bay. His love swelled, pushing almost painfully against his chest. He wanted to throw himself across the counter into the other boy's arms, but he knew doing so would possibly hurt Leon's business and definitely cost him his job.
"It looks great on you."
"Thanks."
"You're welcome." Riku smiled at him, tender and loving and everything that Sora had ever wanted. "Happy anniversary."
"Yeah," he replied, and in spite of what Leon might say, he reached across the counter and linked Riku's long fingers with his own. "Happy anniversary," he echoed, then added with heartfelt honesty, "The first one of dozens. Enough to fill a whole lifetime with you."
End "Sensitive Pornograph"
A/N: Yazoo/Jessica (Dragon Quest VIII) is my other secret crack pairing that I love to death. Not even sure why. *shrugs* Hope everyone liked the chapter!
