Through the blue eyes of the fool:
I'm glad he's finally letting me do my share. If only he'd be this way more often, his body and mind wouldn't get so battered. What's the point of being friends if he won't let me protect him a little, too, sometimes? I want to tease him like always, say that he'll get a reward for being so well-behaved, but I know jokes like that will only make him even more adverse to letting me see his weaknesses. I have to protect him in more ways than he probably ever realizes.

Sora's hand reached the top and he immediately pushed Riku forward and up. His friend was halfway on stable land now. He just needed to push him the rest of the way and grab onto the blades of grass himself. They were both soaking wet, slick with mud from the climb, and Riku currently occupied his own, tiny mud puddle bath a few feet away from the edge.
The water really has over-saturatedthe ground... Sora panted, worn out a little behind his friend. He was still pulling himself up. There! Whew... They were safe from the edge now, but he still felt too close to it. If one of them were to roll over it would be terrible news, so Sora knew there was no time to rest just yet. He crawled in front of Riku and grabbed his arms, placing them over his own shoulders.
It's time for a piggyback ride, Sora thought in a far-too serious manner to ever be taken seriously with those words.
He pulled Riku's arms around him closely, not feeling satisfied until he felt his friend's breaths tremor through his own back.
"Riku, legs," he commanded. He was only met with a forehead bumping into the back of his head.
"Riku?" Riku began to shake his head ever so slightly. It tickled Sora's neck.
"Um..." Words wouldn't form for a while at the oddity of feeling this depended on by Riku. He really was vulnerable right now.
"Uh, um, Riku... Does that mean you're too tired to lift up your legs?" He felt Riku's nose rub against his neck during the exhausted nods he made in reply and stifled a laugh.
This is not the time.
"Okay, hold on as much as you can then, alright? I noticed something while we were walking here. It should get us out of the rain." Another weak nod.
Sora pressed on, hearing Riku's feet drag against the mud and earth around them. He had to hurry. Riku wasn't doing well. Fighting the pain in his own still-sore muscles, he ran in the direction from which they'd come.

Every ragged breath he felt against his neck renewed his worry all over again. Riku was in so much pain, all because of him again. That was when he spotted it: a treehouse covered in overgrowth like it hadn't been used or fixed up in years. The flora threatened to overtake the man-made organism. He stopped at the foot of the tree upon which it nestled, its weathered ladder still barely visible nailed to the trunk. He had to let go of Riku while he climbed.
"Hold onto me tightly, okay?" Reluctantly, Sora let go of his hold under Riku's arms that supported him. The arms around his neck tightened. He had to gasp for air; Riku's grip was still strong.
I can handle this much for a little while... He climbed and climbed, hoping every second that the old wood would hold their weight and that Riku's arms wouldn't give out just yet. Sora's wet hands slipped several times in his endeavor, but he thankfully never fell.

Finally at the top he pushed his center of gravity forward, making both he and Riku fall against the floorboards, but they were finally out of the rain partially. He quickly pulled Riku the rest of the way inside, closing the door as much as he could. The wind and rain were harsh against it, but the ruins kept most of it out. Though the place was unfurnished, they could finally dry off and rest.
He laid Riku down by one of the walls, the boy not even so much as opening his eyes.
"Riku..." Placing one hand on Riku's brow revealed an overbearing, icy cold overtaking him. Riku's eyes fluttered open just a bit.
"Your forehead is cold..." But he had been warm against him before, hadn't he? Sora couldn't even remember, his thoughts had been on so many things at once. It was possible that he mistook his own body heat in place of Riku's, or simply didn't notice due to the rain.
"But you shouldn't be sick from being out in the rain..." Mostly mumbling to himself, he was trying to figure out just what was wrong with his friend. He moved his hand to Riku's arm: it was just as cold.
"Hypothermia...?" Sora didn't like to say it aloud, because it only made it that much more real, but he needed to deal with this. Riku only looked into his eyes weakly as Sora's hand moved back to his temple for comfort.
"Does the warmth of my hand make you feel any better?" His gaze didn't break regardless of his labored breaths and hazy consciousness. He felt a slight nod, barely even deserving of the name "nodding." It was only the slightest twitch in nerves, but it was enough.
Sora moved Riku's rain-slick bangs off of his brow and began wiping his hands against the dry wood. He returned his hands to Riku's face and did what he could to smear off the excess water residing there.
"I have to get you dry, now." His voice was unsure, as he realized what that had meant.
No, no, no, no. I need a blanket. We don't have a blanket. Um, fire. Yeah, fire! He searched around the area, noting the dried leaves that had accumulated inside.
"Perfect." He gathered up an arm full and placed it in the center of the room.
"Uh... I don't have anything to put it on to prevent the whole place from burning down..." Sora was realizing this was going to be much more difficult than he thought, and he couldn't pretend not to know what he had to do.

"Riku, um...!" He was trying to work up the nerve to say something about it. "You have to, um... clothes..." His bangs fell over his eyes as he wanted to hide, but slowly approached Riku anyway.
"We have to... get you warm... It'll be no different than when we took baths together! Ahaha!" He was saying it more for his own benefit, but didn't know why he was making such a big deal out of it. Riku still had the same hazy look in his eyes that he did before, offering no reaction to his words.

"Riku, don't stare at me. I have to do this, come on." He began to tug on the bottom of Riku's shirt, pulling it up over the resting boy's abdomen. The further up it went, the more wounds were revealed to Sora's field of view. He bit his lip, and moved Riku's arms straight out above his head. The shirt was almost off and Riku had barely reacted.
He must be tired. All he knows is that this is what I have to do to make him better, I'm sure. He knows I have to do this. Muffled breathing could be heard as the shirt engulfed its wearer's head. And then it was off. Sora began to wring it a few feet away and the water pooled at his feet. Sora sighed in relief.
At least this will help a little. He looked back at Riku who had closed his eyes now. The older boy didn't look well at all, his ragged breathing shaking the lacerated skin over his ribcage.

Sora touched one of his pant legs, but quickly realized he couldn't do what needed to be done, so he came up with a make-shift solution. Sora began to roll up each pant leg, wringing them out as much as he could. He'd then systematically wipe the water from Riku's legs each time he did so. They were both now just above his knees.
It's better than before, at least, Sora thought. He absentmindedly went to warm Riku with his own body but then realized his clothes were just as wet, and groaned audibly. Quickly throwing off his shirt and rolling up his shorts a bit, he figured it was enough. His heartbeat was thrumming in his ears loudly.
Why...? Questions and worries pricked the back of his mind, but he needed to help Riku now. He took his place on Riku's right side a few feet above his head so that he would be the taller one. Draping an arm around his shoulder gave Riku something to rest his head on while simultaneously giving Sora a way to pull him close. The silver head of hair ended up cradled against Sora's chest as the two were now on their sides facing one another. He spread his fingers across Riku's back, trying to use friction to warm his skin from the kneading.

Sora tried to block out what was happening, feeling he needed to be calm, and closed his eyes. Doing that only made him that much more aware of his best friend's close proximity to him.
A frown. Why is this bothering me so much? It didn't make sense.
He could feel Riku's body heat slowly returning from his efforts and that revelation shook him free of the confusing thoughts he had found himself surrounded by. It hadn't been hypothermia after all. His grip tightened slightly for a moment, unconsciously using that as a means to share with Riku his relief. The raspy gasps had quieted into sleeping breaths over the course of Sora's actions, and he felt better knowing that the other boy was asleep.
He can rest... and also, he won't know how embarrassing this is. Sora exhaled in relief and leaned his head forward, resting his chin on Riku's forehead. In all the hell that had occurred that day, what was happening now was peaceful, warm and above all else, felt safe. He surrendered himself to the land of dreams to accompany the battered boy in his arms.
"Sweet dreams, Riku."

He woke up an unknown amount of time later. It hadn't been his idea. Sora's sleep-covered eyes opened as he tried to make sense of what had woken him. His dulled senses looked over the situation. He was keeping Riku warm after his body had lost too much heat. Their shirts were off in order to rid themselves of at least some of the water clinging to their bodies. He was holding Riku in his arms. Riku was holding him in his.
Nothing strange. Wait...
Sora blinked and looked at Riku's arms, slowly surveying them to make sure they were really connected to their owner. He froze. This hadn't been the way things were before he had fallen asleep. At some point while he had been asleep, Riku had started to hold him. Sora had been holding him in order to warm the other boy up, for survival's sake, but there was no reason for Riku's arms to be returning the favor.

Sora's mind tried to make sense of the dilemma he found himself in. Riku was holding onto him tightly, in a way that made him feel a bit awkward.
Maybe he... he just felt the hug, so he returned it in his sleep? Yeah! He must be hugging a girl he likes in his dream, or something... Sora had decided that is what he would believe.
"Jeez... I'm not them." A forced smile played across his features as he lightly patted Riku's back. He paused. "I'm sorry." He didn't know why he was apologizing for not being the person he was sure Riku had been imagining. What he did know, however, is that he had been sad ever since he thought Riku had someone else in mind. It felt wrong to be receiving the affection reserved for someone else. He didn't want to be a replacement.
It's almost like I... Haha, I must still be half asleep. What am I even thinking? He wrote it off as soon as it appeared in his head. It wasn't though it had been the first time such a thought had crossed his mind, but he always dismissed it. They were best friends. It's how things had always been. That's the way things would always be.
Right...?

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Author's note: I wrote this around the time I wrote the rest, but I never uploaded it because I didn't want to make them half-naked. However, that's the most sane thing to do in that situation, and if Sora really suspected hypothermia, all of the clothes should have come off. However, I didn't really want to do that so... Don't actually follow the advice of this story if you ever find yourself in that situation.