[Title] Practice

[Pairing] Riku/Sora

[Notes] Ermm...Originally started writing this to get some practice for another R/S fic idea I had. But then I decided I kinda liked this one. ^^ Hopefully it's not *too* sappy or plotless and the charas aren't *too* OOC *crosses fingers*

[Disclaimer] I do not own Kingdom Hearts or either of characters mentioned; I am making no money off this; ect. ect.





The wooden sword swished through the air; sand shifted under bright yellow shoes. Under the careful scrutiny of a pair of sea-green eyes, a boy was practicing swordplay, his natural clumsiness tempered by practiced grace.

"Higher," a cool voice cut into the routine. Wide sapphire eyes blinked into sea-green ones as the boy paused. "That last swing needs to be higher." The boy readjusted the sword and tried again.

"Like this, Riku?" he asked. The boy who had been watching shook his head, silvery hair swishing with the movement. He positioned himself behind the other boy, placing his hands over the boy's lightly.

"Like this, Sora." Riku demonstrated, moving their arms together. "Got it?" The younger boy nodded. "Good, then start again." Obediently, Sora returned to the first stance. Pushing out his lower lip, he blew upward, trying to get his messy reddish-brown bangs out of his eyes. Riku had to force himself not to lick his own lips, and to concentrate on the movements of the sword, not the boy holding it.

Grinning impishly, Sora suddenly turned. "En garde!" Almost before the older boy could respond, the brunette was swinging the sword at him in a wide arc. Riku met the sword with his own, the wood connecting with a crack.

"You'll have to be faster than that," he taunted. Gritting his teeth, Sora attacked fiercely, but each blow was parried calmly by his silvery-haired friend. "You've gotten better," Riku remarked, despite the fact he was still easily keeping the boy at bay. The wooden sword smacked against Riku's arm. He flinched; Sora really *was* getting better. Deciding to end it, Riku hooked his sword around Sora's and sent the smaller boy's sword flying onto the sand a few feet away. Smirking, the teen regarded his pouting friend. "You still swing too high on that move."

With a growl, Sora launched himself at the older boy, knocking him to the ground. Distracted by the warm body pinning him to the sand, Riku forgot to struggle. They lay that way for a long moment, a light blush spreading across Sora's cheeks. Suddenly Riku grabbed Sora's wrists, flipping him, so that it was the brunette's turn to be pinned beneath his friend.

"Give up?"

"Yeah, yeah," Sora muttered, still trying to free himself.

"Good. I'm hungry, let's get some lunch." Riku stood up nonchalantly, giving no indication that the long seconds pinned under his friend had affected him at all. Without waiting to see if the other boy was coming, he turned and headed toward the beach, grabbing the bag that held their lunch as he passed it.

"Riku! Wait up!" Sora yelled, chasing after him. Grinning to himself, Riku increased his speed, turning the short walk into a sprinting race.

"Hey," Sora panted, finally coming to the tree that always served as their finish line when they raced across the beach. "That...wasn't...fair...You had a head start." Riku simply tossed the sapphire-eyed boy a sandwich and continued eating. Giving up, Sora sat down next to his friend, leaning against the cool bark of the tree, overhanging branches protecting them from the afternoon sun.

"Hey Riku," Sora said after a little while.

"Hm?"

"How come you wanna get off this island so badly? I mean, I want to see other places and everything, but I still think our island pretty nice and stuff."

Riku stared out at the ocean with eyes the same color as the waves. "There's nothing left here that I care about except...you," he said finally.

"M-me?"

"Well, you *are* my best friend, aren't you?"

"Y-yeah." Sora looked at his sandwich.

"So since you're coming with me, it doesn't really matter if I'm leaving the island. But if you are coming, you're going to have to keep practicing with that sword," Riku told the boy with a slightly evil grin. "Never know what we might meet out there."

Sora groaned. "But I already practiced all morning," the boy complained. "It's too hot to practice with the sword in the afternoon..."

"If you're too hot, I could always toss you in the ocean. Bet you sink like a rock with those ridiculous shoes of yours." This time Riku's grin was more than only *slightly* evil. Sora stuck out his tongue.

"Riku! Hey! What're you doing?" Riku had picked up the protesting boy awkwardly and was carrying him towards the ocean. Almost to the waves, he stumbled, spilling Sora out into the edge of the surf and falling on top of him. For the second time that day, Riku found himself tangled on the ground with his copper-haired best friend. This time neither of them moved to get up. The tips of waves crept up around them. Finally Riku rolled off, fighting to control heavy, nervous breathing. For a while they lay in the damp sand and let the waves crash around them.

"So does this mean I don't have to practice anymore?" Sora asked cheerfully. Rolling onto his side, Riku looked at the grinning boy. He sighed.

"It's too hot." Despite the cool waves around them, the sun was intense in the tropical summer afternoon. "We'd probably end up killing ourselves if we did anything."

"Riku... did-did you mean it when you said I was the only thing left on the island you cared about?" Sora asked suddenly. Blue-green eyes turned once more to the boy, catching sapphire ones. 'Third time's the charm...' Riku wasn't sure where the thought had come from, but his body had seemed to move on it's own while the words distracted him.

"Yes," he said quietly, leaning over his friend once again. Their faces were close enough Riku could feel Sora's breath on his cheek. The boy's eyes, round with surprise when the older boy had rolled onto him, closed when Riku's lips brushed his. Awkwardly, he tried to lift his head to meet Riku's kiss, pressing his mouth hard against the teen's. He dropped his head to the sand, blushing.

"I-I, uh..." The boy had turned his head away from his silvery-haired companion. Now he turned back, flashing him a cheeky grin and blushing rosily. "I think I might need to practice that more." Obediently, Riku returned his lips to Sora's.


Owari.



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