Author's Notes: I do not own "Misty's Song." If I did, it wouldn't be associated with the series that it is associated with. This chapter will be song fic-esque, utilizing the lyrics of the said song. The song actually won't start until later in the chapter, though. I wonder... Could it thus be called a song chapter?

I just can't make anything easy when I write, can I? Oh, well... This one's for those die-hard fans who've actually made it this far into the story waiting to see some kind of action between Tracy and Riku! I know there's at least one! Enjoy!


Chapter XIII: Beneath the Stars

Yeah, thought Tracy, Like I can get any sleep.

Tracy Starlight stepped outside into the starlight of the night, carrying his clipboard, paper, and pencil. The cloudless night sky greeted him, and his eyes welcomed the calming sight of the sky. Never before had it seemed so calm and peaceful, yet so alien at the same time. It was the sky of another world, and though it was so much like his own world, it wasn't, and looking at the twinkling stars made him realized that fact. He wouldn't be going home, no matter how much he wanted to or didn't want to.

Away from the heavens, the peaceful world was enshrouded in the splendor of the dark night. Creatures of the night, owls and crickets and such, sounded throughout the vicinity, adding to the natural setting with their calls. Their sounds were far more calming than the most silent silence, and Tracy stepped further into the outdoors, allowing the night to surround him entirely. The rolling hills expanded in front of him, covered with blades of grass that moved in unison as the wind played against them. The entire scene was like something from a picturesque dream, and Tracy never wished to awaken from it.

"This is actually real," Starlight reminded himself, "Another world, another sky, another life — my reality was never this interesting or beautiful." The youth continued walking aimlessly towards the hills, wondering why he even decided to bring his writing items. Whenever he was in a setting like this, he could never concentrate on anything except the surrounding beauty. Every unwelcome thought left him, every trouble drifted away like water down a river until it was too distant to be recognized. The Heartless, the Keyblades, the darkness and the light — every problem, every question that his mind pondered over ever since his adventure had begun scattered and dissipated as he walked deeper into the temporary high, the harmless intoxication of natural peace.

Peace, however, was something that was often short-lived with Tracy Tobias Starlight, and he feared the end of it. When his wandering eyes caught sight of another person, he thought that his recess from his reality had been broken. Much to his surprise, though, he discovered that it was not.

Riku laid down on the hillside, several meters away from him. The handsome youth watched the drifting stars with an almost child-like interest as his body was at rest amidst the surrounding grass. Riku's presence didn't disrupt the calm of Tracy's thoughts, and he suddenly found himself spying on the fifteen-year-old from a distance, maintaining a dead silence so he didn't disturb the boy.

As quietly as Starlight could allow himself to be, he sat himself down on the hill, keeping his eyes on the young boy nearby. The equipment he had brought with him proved useful and with the light of the shining stars and moon as his only light source, he put the mechanical pencil to work.

Though I've known about Riku for several months now, I've only recently met the real boy. Every physical feature that he had in Kingdom Hearts, he has kept in perfect beauty and detail. If I were talking to someone on this subject, I would say only this, "He is one hot, fruity hunk!" Of course, I'd never say that here, in this writing. I've had about four days to get to know him beyond what I already know from my gaming, but I'm afraid to report minimal success. However, I have seen a few instances of regret and painful remembrance of his actions when he was with the side of darkness. He also possesses an abhorrent feeling when it comes to anything pertaining to Ansem. I can only speculate what Riku went through while he and Ansem shared his body. Just recently, when we were in Memoria, he was forced to relive a memory from Hollow Bastion, the moment when Sora confronted him over Kairi's heart. That clearly left lasting scars on the boy's heart, no matter how much he might try to cover them up.

The question presents itself as to Riku's sexuality. It is the belief of this not-so-straight-minded individual that he has strong, romantic feelings for Sora. Whether he's conscious of them or not, I think that they're there. To my displeasure, I've been unable to confirm this beyond a shadow of a doubt. It's one thing to watch and observe, as I have always done before, but it's another thing entirely to simply ask Riku, "Are you gay?" I can only say that he thinks I have pretty eyes, and even that might have been a joke born of a confused mind. In any—

"So, how much more are you going to write about me, Tracy?" Riku asked him from afar, keeping his eyes to the stars.

"I figure I'd get in at least two pages before I think about stopping," Tracy retorted with good, playful humor in his voice. He then asked, in all seriousness, "How'd you know?"

"One," he listed, "you write loudly, and you have to click that mechanical pencil of yours to get more lead, so you're not exactly quiet. Two, only you write that much. Three, I actually wasn't sure that you were writing about me until now."

It seems that, Tracy told himself mentally, in observing Riku, I failed to realize that I was being observed. Ironic, is it not?

"Why don't you just ask me if you can sit next to me?" the other boy asked Tracy. "I don't bite."

"You don't bite," Tracy joked, "but you swing a mean Keyblade!"

The two boys shared a mutual laugh underneath the starlight as Tracy stood up and started towards Riku briskly, accepting the friendly invitation.

—————

Out here in the quiet of the night,
Beneath the stars and moon
We both know we've got something on our minds
We won't admit, but it's true

You look at me, I look away

—————

What is it with this guy? Riku asked himself. I swear, there's something about him that I'm just not getting.

Tracy dropped down next to Riku, laying himself out beside the boy with silver hair. "It's a wonderful night, isn't it?" asked Tracy.

"Brilliant," Riku agreed with him, "It reminds me of the sky back on my island." He sighed contentedly before he told Tracy, "There were nights on that island when I'd just get out of bed in the middle of the night and just stare at the stars. I've lost track of how many times I did that. Sometimes, when we were really young, Sora and I'd make plans to get together on nights like this one, and we'd just lay ourselves out like this and use the stars for a game of connect-the-dots." Riku laughed at himself as he realized what he was talking about, and Tracy joined in briefly before he finished, "I must sound so stupid."

Tracy made himself stop chuckling long enough to reassure his friend, "No, Riku, you don't. I like hearing stories like that, ya know. I think it's... sweet."

"'Sweet'?" the other echoed back at him. "I guess that's a nice word for it."

"What other words are there?"

"Childish," answered Riku, "foolish, history — my stargazing days with Sora are long gone. They've been gone ever since—"

"—Kairi came into our lives," Tracy and Riku finished together.

Riku's cerulean eyes looked over at the knowledgeable Tracy, muttering with a small smirk, "Know-it-all. Is there anything you don't know."

"Maybe," replied Tracy, happily giggling afterwards, "I'm not exactly omniscient, ya know. Besides, there's a question that's been gnawing on my nerves ever since I learned that the stories in my town were true."

Riku's interest was caught by this sudden revelation on the part of Tracy Starlight. "And that is?" Riku asked inquiringly.

—————

I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start
I wanna tell you, but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart
Oh, why should anything so easy, ever be so hard to do?
I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, and to sat that, I love you.

—————

This is it, Tracy resolved, Here's the chance. He took a deep breath and prepared for the worst and the best. "Sora," Tracy spoke softly, almost like he was afraid of being overheard, "do you love... him?"

Riku paused himself for a second, most likely unprepared for such a ridiculous question. "Sora?" he repeated, "Do I love him? Of course I do; he's my best friend!"

Why am I not surprised? Starlight's thoughts resonated through his brain. "I'm not saying it like that," he explained, "I mean... romantically. Do you... love... him?"

Again, Riku stopped, but his face took on a much more thought-filled expression than before as he seriously considered the possibility. That's a good sign if he has to think about it, Tracy thought.

"Do I love him?" Riku said back at Starlight, "Wouldn't that be... weird?"

Tracy grinned widely at Riku. After four days, he was finally making true, impressive progress with his work. "It's only weird if you don't want it," he said in reply, "There aren't many people in the world who give and receive comfort and pleasure from the love of another guy like them."

"There aren't?" Riku uttered, his tone sounding discouraged.

Tracy shook his head, trying to uplift the sudden depression that had set in. "Don't give me that tone, Riku! We're more common than they'd have us believe." When Riku's lovely blue eyes suddenly lit up with what Tracy believed to be new hope inspired, hopefully, by the emphasis on "we're", Tracy's mind began to race once again in preparation for the next phase.

—————

I practice all the things that I could say,
Line by line, every word
I tell myself today could be the day,
But every time, I lose my nerve

I look at you, you look away

—————

The single word opened a door into a whole new world more effectively than the strongest Keyblade, "'We'?"

"The word we," Tracy explained coolly, "is a pronoun that refers to oneself in addition—"

"I know that it means!" Riku couldn't help but snicker at his kidding friend, "but does that mean that... you're...?"

Tracy looked up at the sky, to distant worlds and stars. "I guess they don't have a word for it where you come from, do they?"

Riku shook his head negatively. Actually, Riku told himself, I never really considered the prospect that there could be a guy out there who has romantic interest in guys. Now that I think on it, I always tried my best to not think about it. Sora was just someone who I cared about more than anyone, and I love him deeply, in spite of his love for Kairi.

"Well, where I come from, at least," Tracy told Riku helpfully, "we call people with... those desires... gay. Well, there are more words for it, but that's the most commonly used one."

"So..." Riku determined with uncertainty in his voice, "I'm gay?"

Tracy chuckled at Riku childishly, nodding, "Well, that's really not for me to determine. It's up to you to find out. I can't really tell you if you're gay or not, but..."

"But...?"

"I can," the other boy hesitated as he looked at Riku, staring at him with all the caring seriousness that he could possibly have inside of him, "help you if you want."

—————

I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start
I wanna tell you, but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart
Oh, why should anything so easy, ever be so hard to do?
I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, and to sat that, I love you.

—————

It's like talking to a ten-year-old, Tracy analyzed the situation in exaggeration. Tracy had never before had a conversation like this with anyone who was actually willing to take that first step. Now that he was finally there, however, he didn't know where to begin. The basics seem to be the best place. Immediately, he moved his right hand to Riku's opposite one and held it delicately, taking some comfort from the feeling of another's warmth against his own, even if it was only a hand. It was moments like this that made him feel glad to be gay.

Riku looked at the joining of his hand with Tracy's in curiosity. He squeezed his fingers against Tracy's, and the other responded similarly. The blue eyes then traveled up Tracy's right arm, where a sleeve would've been if his overshirt was in perfect condition. The glance went over Starlight's shoulder and neck and ended with his dark, grass-colored eyes, looking comfortably at Riku, savoring the contact between the two.

"What's this called?" Riku inquired innocently.

Tracy closed his eyes and shook his head, telling him in reply, "Holding hands, Riku. It's called holding hands."

"Oh," the other voiced in realization, "I must've forgotten. So, is this helping?"

"Do you feel uncomfortable?"

Riku told Tracy, "No."

"Then it's helping."

Step two, Tracy thought with mild glee. Without warning, Tracy moved himself along the ground, bringing his body in direct contact with Riku's. The more enlightened gay teenager placed Riku's and his hand on his leg as he rested his head on Riku's cozy shoulder. Before closing his eyes, Tracy Starlight gave the starry sky one brief glance.

—————

Why?
Why do you turn away
It must be, you're afraid like me
I try, but I can't pretend that I
Don't feel for you the way I do
Can't you see

—————

Riku's eyes turned towards the sky as he remembered the nights from long before, when he and Sora had stargazed and wandered about other worlds, far-away places beyond their wildest dreams. Tracy's closeness to him brought to him exactly what had been missing from those nights of the past: comfort. Sora wouldn't want that, he told himself, and I'm stupid to want him. I shouldn't keep thinking about him, but I can't just give up on him like that. Then again, would I really be giving up? He is my best friend, and that'll never change. He's happy with Kairi, and I can be happy with someone else... Maybe someone like Tracy?

"Uncomfortable yet?" whispered Tracy quietly.

Riku dropped his sights from the stars and focused on Tracy, who looked like he could easily fall asleep in his current position. "Tracy," he spoke, trying to find the words inside, but he only managed to say, "Not at all."

"Good," Tracy smiled, "because I've never been more comfortable in my entire fifteen-year year life." He took his hand from Riku's and wrapped it around the other teen's shoulder. Responding to the movement, Riku brought his left hand up to his right shoulder, placing their two hands together again. Lastly, Riku let his head drop to the side, resting on Tracy's lazily as the stars drifted by in the heavens, either totally unaware of the couple or watching them with the greatest of interest. After the longest time, Riku's heart was finally at peace with himself; the past was where it should be, and the moment was embraced by two hearts with one wish.

—————

I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, but I don't know how to start
I wanna tell you, but now I'm afraid that you might break my heart
Oh, why should anything so easy, ever be so hard to do?
I wanna tell you what I'm feeling, and to sat that, I love you...