Coolmegan123: Glad you liked it and found it intriguing! And yeah, I did cosplay Meli. I may be a dork for cosplaying my own fanfic OC haha, but it was really fun seeing something that I had designed come to life like that.

Today's request is another from Enamis09! This time she asked for a conversation between Riku and Sora about Riku's relationship with Meli. I had actually already thought of doing something like this, but had forgotten about it, so I was glad for the reminder! I decided to place the conversation during the boys' time in the Realm of Darkness after fighting Xemnas. It kinda fills in the gap between Sora trying to figure the two of them out at the castle, and him calling Meli Riku's "girlfriend" when they got back home. Hope you all enjoy!

Chapter 53.5

(Falls in between/runs parallel to chapter 53 and 54)

Sora's perspective

Nothingness.

That's all that Sora had been able to see for what seemed like hours. Just empty space, not dark, but not light either, stretching on in front of him for eternity. There was nothing to see, nothing to focus on, nothing to keep his thoughts from wandering back time and again to the wounded friend who was leaning heavily on his shoulders.

He had never seen Riku like this, ever. Riku was always the strong one, the one who very rarely got hurt and could just shake it right off when he did. He never showed weakness if he could help it, even though as his best friend Sora could tell better than anyone else when he was actually hurting. And right now, despite his efforts to keep it all concealed, the slow, limping steps and the frequent little grunts that escaped him told Sora that he was hurting really badly.

Sora pressed his lips together and adjusted his grip on Riku's belt. He wanted to ask if he was okay, but he had already done that several times, and the answer was always the same and was always a lie. He knew better than to think that Riku was going to actually admit to the kind of pain he was in. Instead, his mind grasped for a subject to bring up. Something, anything, to fill the deafening silence and keep his mind occupied.

"So, uh..." Sora cleared his throat. "Since there's not much else to do right now except talk...I'm still waiting to hear about you and Meli." He cringed a little, realizing belatedly that Riku might not feel up to talking. "I mean, if you feel like it, that is."

Riku huffed a quiet laugh, and Sora's heart quickened. That was a good sign, right? If he was still able to laugh, then that meant he must be okay. Riku's laughs weren't often any louder than that, anyway.

"Gosh, I don't...really even know where to start." The older boy's voice was a little strained, huskier than usual, but anything other than the short, one- or two-word answers Sora had been getting out of him so far was encouraging.

"Well, how about at the beginning?" Sora grinned.

That's what Riku did. He explained that Meli had stumbled upon the place where he and DiZ – who was apparently the same person as Ansem the Wise, though Sora was still a bit confused about all of that – had set up their base of operations for spying on the Organization, and how she had not long afterward discovered her ability to wield the Keyblade. He told stories about training her, and traveling to other worlds together, and even, though hesitantly, kissing her for the first time.

"Whoa!" Sora breathed. "So you two are like, together? But she was...you two were...I don't know. It was weird. You acted like you liked each other but maybe kinda didn't at the same time. So I'm confused."

"Patience," Riku replied. "I'll get there."

So Sora listened patiently as Riku explained how she had just gotten out of a bad relationship and wasn't ready for another, but that they had remained good friends for a while after that. There was a lull in the conversation then, and Sora wanted to press for the rest of the story, but he bit his tongue and let Riku take his time.

"Then I went after Roxas," he finally admitted. "I tried to leave her out of it, but she followed me. And when I gave into the darkness and changed into Ansem...he hurt her." Sora felt Riku shake his head. "I hurt her. It may have been him using my body in that moment, but...to her, it was me. And I couldn't really blame her for that. I should never have let it happen."

Riku fell silent again. The sound of their footsteps and Riku's heavy breathing once again filled the still air as Sora struggled to find something to say to that. "Well, it doesn't sound to me like it was your fault." The reply felt lame, even to him. "Did you two talk about it? Make up?"

"She couldn't trust me anymore. She left, and I didn't see her again until you guys were in Port Royal. I had asked her to look out for you when you first woke up, make sure you got to where you needed to go alright, and she did that. I'm not sure how she got convinced to actually join you on your journey, but I was glad to find out that she had. I'm grateful to you for looking out for her."

Sora ignored the last part, his mind having latched onto something at the very beginning. "Wait...you were in Port Royal?"

Riku grunted another laugh. "Briefly, yes. Meli and I talked...or more like, argued...one night on the ship. And then one other time, in Land of Dragons."

"So that was you." Sora stuck his lower lip out. "I was looking for you everywhere, but seems like you knew where I was the whole time."

"I told you, I didn't want you to find me. I didn't want you to see me like that."

"But you let Meli see you," Sora whined.

"She was there when I changed, remember?" Riku sighed. "And I was trying to work things out with her, but she just couldn't forgive me. Not after what she had been through in the past."

Sora wrinkled his nose in thought. "That must be why she stayed behind when we went to the city to warn Shang about the dragon. To talk to you. But then..."

"Then she got kidnapped." Riku sighed again, heavier this time. "If I had just stayed a little longer, made sure she got there safely..."

"If the Organization really wanted her that badly, they would have just waited for the next opportunity. You couldn't have stopped them any more than I could have."

Riku ignored that bit of encouragement. "To answer your earlier question, she eventually did forgive me. She told me that when I saw her in the Castle. But she also said that she still wasn't ready to go any farther than forgiveness. I felt like she was starting to soften towards the end, especially once I was back to looking like myself, and Ansem's appearance wasn't looming between us anymore, reminding her of what happened. I was beginning to think that maybe she really could trust me again, that maybe there was some hope for us."

"So why do you sound so down about that? That's great!" Sora exclaimed. "When we get back home, you two can pick back up where you left off!"

"If we get back home," Riku emphasized. "Look at us, Sora. We're in the middle of nowhere. If I even make it-"

"Don't say that!" Sora scolded, his heart dropping into his stomach.

"And if we can figure out how to get home," Riku continued. "Even then, I don't know. Maybe I was imagining things. Maybe she'll never fully be able to trust me again."

He came to a sudden halt, and Sora was forced to a stop beside him. Craning his neck, he looked with concern over at the face that was normally well above his, but was currently hanging down at his level. "Riku? You okay?"

"Yeah. Just need to rest a minute."

His eyes drifted shut, and Sora watched as his chest rose and fell, each breath seeming to take more effort than it should. Sora closed his own eyes and tried once again to summon his magic, but the tingling response was weak, far too weak to be able to cast any kind of spell, much less the kind of healing spell that his friend would need.

"Even if she just wanted to go back to being my friend, that would be alright," Riku spoke up again after a moment. His eyes opened, and he stared off into the nothingness. "I just can't stand the cold shoulder anymore. I could tolerate only being her friend, if that's all she wants."

Sora looked over at him again, lips pursed in thought. "Could you? Really?"

Riku's mouth stretched thin into something between a smile and a grimace. "I...I love her, Sora. This isn't just some crush. I really love her."

Nodding slowly, Sora followed his gaze out into the distance. "Yeah. I can tell." It's why he had questioned whether or not he would really be content with a mere friendship. He never expected Riku to actually admit the depth of his feelings aloud. Sora was usually the only person who got the privilege of hearing those sorts of confessions from his friend, but the rarity of such a thing meant he was always surprised when it came. "I think...I think she loves you, too. Just...maybe she doesn't know it yet."

Riku finally turned his head slightly to give Sora a doubtful look. "What makes you say that?"

"Well, you said you were in Port Royal, on the ship, right? One time she got up in the middle of the night and left the bunk room, and when she came back she had been crying. When I asked her about it, she said she really missed her friend. She had to have been talking about you, right?"

"Yeah. Her 'friend'," Riku echoed dismally.

Sora rolled his eyes. "Just because she used the word 'friend' doesn't mean it wasn't more than that. What did you want her to tell me, that she missed the guy she was totally in love with? And anyway, I don't think she would have been crying like that if you weren't really special to her."

Riku didn't answer for a moment. Finally, he dropped his gaze to the ground. "Maybe. I guess...I guess I just have to keep hoping, huh? Hoping that...if we make it back, there will still be a chance for us, somewhere down the road."

"Yeah!" Sora nodded enthusiastically, excited to hear at least a shred of optimism. "It might take some more time, but I'm sure you two will be happy in the end!"

One corner of Riku's mouth lifted in a semblance of a smile. "Well, I guess we'd better keep walking, then."

Grinning, Sora pulled Riku's arm a little more snug across his shoulders, and they began their trek once more. Silence settled over them again, but this time Sora's mind was whirling with all the new information he had just heard. Riku and Meli. Together. Somehow, he could see it. She had always seemed to have up a wall when she was around him, so he couldn't say that he had gotten to know her well, but still, the bits that he had seen of her true character seemed to fit. The more he thought about it, the more the idea of his best friend finding love and happiness made his heart swell.

"Riku's got a girlfriend..." he sang quietly.

"Shut up."

Please let me know what you thought in a review, and if you have any special requests, shoot them my way! Ideas for scenes can be as vague or specific as you want. I'll try my best to do whatever I receive!