A/N:

The previous chapter used to be an announcement, but has been updated - probably read that first, before this one.

On day two of shooting things with sloppily constructed placeholder artillery, Leon experienced his second assassination attempt. This time, a fishing net was flung over him, followed by a barrage of harpoons. The people of Traverse Town had appropriated anything and everything useful from the local fishermen and whalers during the night, following Leon's own advice.

He saw the net before it reached him, but not soon enough to roll away. In a rush that was more reflex than conscious action, he had Relic set the air around him aflame. Only ashy flakes of the disintegrating net reached Leon, and he briefly reflected that the smell of smoke was going to linger on his clothes and hair for the foreseeable future.

The harpoons were a different matter. Cloud redirected the first one with inhuman speed and his bare palm, allowing Leon to find his bearings. Leon used this opportunity to get properly angry. He let the next harpoon stab the ground next to his foot and gauged the trajectory, ducking out of the way of the five or so remaining missiles. Then he and Cloud were running, without ever having to communicate their intentions.

The chase was short. Cloud growled something unintelligible and put on a burst of speed, sparks flying all around him. He collided with one of the would-be-assassins shoulder first. Her back cracked loudly before she sprawled on the ground. She was only identifiable as a woman upon closer inspection - she was on the tall side and dressed in shapeless overalls.

The others, however many there were, got away thanks to Leon's preoccupation with Cloud's newly discovered abilities. It was just as well. They only needed one person to interrogate.

"Hello there," Leon said, picking the woman up by the back of her shirt. He flung her against the wall of the house they stopped by and let her slide down. Judging by the noise she made, something was definitely broken in her back.

Leon crouched over her, hand on her neck, and watched her carefully for any further surprises. "I don't think we've met. Care to explain why you think I deserve to die?"

The woman bared her teeth, but kept her arms limp at her sides. "Like that kind of thing could kill you."

"I'm pretty sure getting skewered is a lethal condition," said Cloud darkly. He loomed over the woman with his back against the wall, arms crossed, expression blank.

Leon put the slightest bit of pressure against her neck. Just to remind her that his hand was there. "You weren't trying to kill me?"

"Did I say that?"

"You implied it," Cloud snapped. He seemed uncharacteristically irritated. "You better have a good explanation, because I've had enough of looking over my shoulder wherever I go."

The woman snarled up at him. "No one's tried to kill you, have they?"

"No." Leon narrowed his eyes. "I'm the only target, but I'm not supposed to die. And the fact that the town is very nearly overrun doesn't matter to whoever sent you?"

The woman sneered. "No one sent me."

"You were asked, then."

She made an unimpressed sound.

"Interesting." Leon glanced at Cloud, though he kept most of his attention on the woman. "What do you make of it?"

Cloud sighed unhappily. "Someone's toying with us. What's there to gain by pretending to try and kill you? You're not exactly terrorised."

"No." Leon rubbed his mouth with his free hand. "But I am distracted."

"Maybe there's something here you aren't meant to see."

"What could Traverse Town possibly have to hide? A criminal underbelly? We're not law enforcement, and we don't have time for background checks before we save people. They know this."

Cloud traced distracted lines over his own bicep. "Could they worry you'd change your mind and abandon them?"

"I suppose. But then, trying to kill me is hardly helping their case."

"So maybe..." Cloud rubbed a hand over his mouth. "Maybe the mastermind isn't from Traverse Town."

Sora threw himself at Riku despite the nakedness and sticky reparation liquid.

"Hi, Sora," Riku croaked, hesitating with his arms hovering above Sora's back. The liquid was a bitch to wash out of clothes.

"I was worried," Sora said, pushing himself away to get a good look at Riku's face. He sunk a hand into Riku's hair and prodded at his skull. "Ew. This stuff is kind of gooey."

"Head injuries warrant extra caution, so I got the more disgusting treatment." Riku gave up and put his hands on Sora's shoulders. He was still a little shaky after floating for almost thirty hours. "You seem fine."

"Just a couple scratches." Sora's fingers got insistent for a second before retreating from Riku's scalp. Sora wiped them on his shirt which, Riku supposed, was a lost cause anyway. "You don't seem brain damaged."

Riku snorted. "I'm all right, and thinking clearly enough that putting on clothes seems like a pressing matter."

"Oh good, I'm not the only one thinking about it," said Kairi, from all the way across the room.

Riku's eyes widened. He very carefully kept Sora in front of himself as he looked at Kairi over the other boy's shoulder. "Oh, hey," Riku breathed. "Are you all right?"

Kairi half-turned her head away. She seemed to be blushing. "Oh, I'm great. I mean, I'm alive. Hurrah." She shifted her gaze to Riku before it snapped back to the door frame. "I am really glad that you and Sora aren't hurt."

"Right, how about we have this heart-to-heart later?" Sora patted Riku's waist. "You need a shower. This stuff smells funny."

Riku frowned in offence, but silently agreed. "You wouldn't happen to have brought a change of clothes for me, would you?"

"Ah, Riku, I am way more thoughtful than you seem to believe." Sora indicated the clothes strewn across the floor behind him. He must have dropped them in favour of that hug.

Riku wanted to kiss him, but it would be weird to do so while naked and in Kairi's presence. "Kairi, um, would you mind stepping out for a bit?"

"Nope." She stretched the word and popped the 'p'. "I think I'll, uh. Wait for you in the cafeteria. Unless you're not supposed to eat yet?"

"Nah, I'm starving." Riku smiled over Sora's shoulder.

Kairi returned it briefly and turned to go.

"I'll catch up," Sora called after her.

The door slid shut. Riku's shoulders slumped. He hadn't realised how tense he'd been. He wiped sticky hair away from his face. "Ugh. I need to wash this stuff off before it dries."

"Yup, that'd be disgusting." Sora touched Riku's shoulder, then went to wash his hands in the nearby basin. He picked up the clothes. "Isn't there a shower in the back?"

"There is." Riku considered the way Sora's wet shirt front was clinging to his chest and stomach. It was a nice view. "You might need to use it, too."

Sora's eyebrows rose. "Is that an invitation?" His gaze slid down Riku's body before snapping back up. Colour appeared high on Sora's cheeks.

Riku bit his lip to stop himself from laughing. "Maybe. It can be whatever you want it to be." He turned away and deliberately strutted out of the room. He smiled when he heard Sora stumble in his haste to follow.

Sora's head dropped to Riku's collarbone, wet hair tickling flushed skin. Riku stood with his back pressed to the cool shower wall. Sora was a line of heat from his chest to thighs, and his fingers rubbed nonsense patterns into the hollow of Riku's back.

Riku leaned his head back and enjoyed the moment.

"That was really nice, as first times go," Sora commented after a bit. He nuzzled the junction of Riku's neck and shoulder.

Riku shivered. "Your first first time, or just with me?"

"With you. Shouldn't you ask about that sort of thing beforehand?"

Riku hummed. He slid one hand down Sora's back, down the jut of his hip, then back up over the curve of his buttock. He traced Sora's spine, and smiled when he felt him arch into the touch. Riku was quickly learning the patterns of scars on Sora's body. Maybe it was a little morbid, but the familiarity soothed him.

"Especially since I'm not entirely legal," Sora added.

"You would be in my world, and there's no one here to judge, except maybe Leon if he gets into one of his moods."

"There's Kairi?"

Riku blinked. "Kairi?"

"I told her I'd join her in the cafeteria, remember? And very conspicuously didn't." Sora's chin rested on Riku's shoulder. "What do you want to tell her?"

"Uh." Riku hadn't thought about it. In Hollow Bastion, this sort of thing tended to be left out of conversation. Medics and technicians gossiped about their bosses and colleagues, of course, but otherwise, everyone was free to do what they wanted, with whom they wanted. Relationships were kept casual, because no one had the time for romantic drama, and making plans for the future seemed ridiculous in the face of the apocalypse.

The deepest relationship a combatant could have was with his partner. Now that Riku thought about it, not many combatant pairs were also couples in the other sense. He had to admit that what he and Sora were doing wasn't very professional.

"Nothing?" he tried. "I mean, I don't want to hide it, but I don't feel like we need to discuss it, either."

Sora shrugged. "All right. I draw the line at actively denying it. I'm perfectly okay with spontaneity."

Riku noticed that they kept referring to whatever it was they were doing as 'it'. "Do you... want to talk about... this? I mean, just between us."

"Nah. Don't wanna put labels where they don't belong."

Riku smiled and let himself relax. Sora understood. "Good. Let's go apologise for making Kairi wait. The sooner we do it, the less pissed she'll be."

"Yeah." Sora pushed himself away with clear reluctance. It was nicer than Riku had expected, to affect someone like this. Someone he genuinely liked.

He turned off the spray and stole a quick kiss, giddy with all the positive changes in his life. He didn't need his home back so long as he had people to care about.

Kairi wasn't angry when they found her. Instead, she was fast asleep, sitting at an empty table and pillowing her head on her arms. Riku winced, feeling vaguely guilty.

"Oops," Sora said. "I guess no one was around to keep her company."

"That would be because everyone's off-world or busy." Riku sat next to Kairi and shook her gently. "Kairi. Kairi, wake up."

"I'll get us food," Sora offered. "Want anything specific?"

"No, just grab whatever." Kairi wasn't responding, so Riku poked her cheek. She swatted at him. "Kairi."

"What," she mumbled, and turned her face away.

Riku considered pushing her off the chair, but that would be a little too mean. He pulled her hair instead. "Kairi. I feel like you're ignoring me."

"Ugh." She made noises, some of which were probably unintelligible threats. Then she raised her head and rubbed at her eyes. "Oh. You got here finally."

Riku tried for his most innocent look. "Sorry. Washing that stuff off was a more involved process than I expected."

Kairi raised her eyebrows. Sora chose that moment to arrive with two trays full of food. "I got some extra in case Kairi hasn't eaten. If you're not hungry, though, we'll take it to Roxas."

Kairi smiled, and it might have looked like gratitude to anyone else, but Riku had known her for most of his life. "Ah-ha. I bet Sora was very involved and helpful in the process of washing off, Riku."

Sora's face registered shock for a brief moment before he started laughing. Riku reached up to steady the trays and help him lower them to the table with minimal spillage. "Respect the food, Kairi. And I wouldn't say that he was helpful, exactly."

"Oh yeah? What was he, then?"

"Distracting."

Sora snorted and threw a grape at Riku. There was just the hint of a blush across his cheeks. "This isn't what I had in mind when I suggested coming out to Kairi."

"Oh, grapes." Riku reached for them immediately. Someone must have paid a visit to the Coliseum.

Kairi followed suit. "Tough luck, Sora," she said through a mouthful of grapes. "It's what you get."

"It strikes me as extremely unfair for you two to gang up on me." Sora didn't look bothered at all by this fact. He bit into his sandwich happily.

Kairi surveyed the food and pulled the most colourful dish closer to herself. "I think you can deal with it. What the hell is this?"

"No idea," Sora said.

Riku squinted at the dish. "It's a pastry from a world I've been to. It's not as sweet as it looks, and kind of spicy."

Kairi took a bite. She looked surprised. "Not bad."

"Trying out the menu options I can't pronounce is so much fun," Sora told her. "I wish I could to try these things in the places they come from."

Riku sometimes fantasised about using the threshold for recreational travel, once the threat of the Dark Ones had passed. "I expect someone will figure out a way to use the threshold for profit. In fact, it will most likely be Xemnas. But we've earned the right to access it, too, I'd say."

Sora's foot tapped Riku's shin under the table. "You definitely have. Is that why you keep risking your life? To build up credit?"

Riku kicked back. "Shut up."

Sora laughed. "No, but we should do it, all three of us. Once this whole mess is over, we should go on a long trip and see all the worlds we've saved."

"Um." Kairi was looking at them as if they'd gone crazy. "I'm a little lost here, to be honest."

"Right." Sora looked at Riku expectantly. "I think the most experienced person should be the one to explain."

Riku kicked him again before turning to Kairi. "All right, where to start. Uh. Kairi, we're the saviours of humanity."