Here is Chapter 5. Once again, thanks to my reviewers. You're all wonderful. If I could kiss you all, I would. ^_^ This will be fun chapter. Nothing but beautiful, beautiful Shonen-Ai fluff! But bad things will also happen. And I use some slurs and ugly names for homosexuals in this one so please don't be offended if you're homosexual. I have nothing against them and it's only used for dramatic effect.
[I use Microsoft Word for my stories and for some reason italics don't always go all the way through when I upload it so if anything seems weird, like a character is supposed to be thinking it instead of the narrator, chances are it was supposed to be in italics. Or maybe it's just bad writing. ;_;
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom…ah, feh you should know by now.
Tidus was lying down on the beach, listening to the sound of the waves climbing over each other, the tide moving in and out across the sand. Riku had gone off, saying he had to take care of another part of the plan to "make sure it would work." So he told him to wait here and not to worry.
Tidus hated this contradictory feeling he was having. He wanted it, but he didn't want it. The "it" being the object of his desire.
He brought a hand up to his forehead. Did he really think of Riku like that? Yesterday, it pounced on him, totally unexpected. Now what was he supposed to do? Tell him? How would he react? How would everyone react? Most importantly, how would his father react?
Guess he'll find out today.
He sat up and brushed the sand out of his hair. He looked out into the ocean; it's gentle breeze brushing across his face. It looked so peaceful out there. So calm. The sound of seagulls flying overhead added to the scenery. The atmosphere felt so serene.
Why? Why must the picture feel so pretty when he was feeling inner turmoil? He hated it. He hated this. He prayed for the situation to end and fast.
He waded out into the water until it reached up to his waist. He didn't know why exactly. Maybe he wanted to just feel the serenity of the ocean, he figured. All the other people were bored of the island life. Tidus felt he was the only person who still appreciated it.
And that was when, despite his turmoil, he decided he was still enjoying it.
"Tidus!" called Riku from the shore. Tidus looked back and saw the older teen wading through the water until he was right next to him. "Are you ready?"
The younger teen gulped. "You mean now?" His cheeks flushed.
"Not right now. We have to wait for Kairi's signal." Riku said. Tidus raised an eyebrow.
"Kairi? She's involved?"
Riku nodded. "I figured Jecht probably wouldn't believe it, so I needed someone who was convincing. Kairi used to be a bit of a tattletale, so if he were to believe anyone it'd be her."
"Oh," Tidus said, "So what is she going to do?"
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Kairi walked to Tidus' house, thinking about the favor Riku had asked of her. He told her that he and Tidus needed her help. She was to go to Tidus' house and get Jecht. She had to tell him that she caught the two boys doing something very shocking. And that Jecht had to follow her so she can point them out to him. When she reached the play island, make sure she's the first on the pier before Jecht. Then give Riku a signal and the rest will be taken from there.
She asked him what he was planning to do with Tidus. Riku had thought for minute, like he wasn't sure if he should tell her or not. He then grinned sheepishly and said he was going to kiss him. Kairi had burst out in laughter, yelling "you're kidding!" Riku's face turned beat red and said that it wasn't what she thought. This was a way to help Tidus get out of an arranged marriage. Kairi couldn't believe it, but agreed to help them.
Don't tell anyone, okay? He had said to her. Kairi nodded and proceeded to walking to Tidus' house, which was where she was at now.
A mischievous smile crept across her face. This was going to be fun.
She rang the doorbell and waited a few moments. The door opened, a tall rugged man standing in the foyer.
"Hello, Mr. Jecht. How nice it is to see you on this lovely day." Kairi said politely.
"Hey, Kairi. If you're looking for Tidus, he ain't here." Jecht said in equal politeness. He was always fond of Kairi. Most adults were. Kairi put on a sad and troubled face.
"As a matter of fact, I know that. That's why I'm here."
Jecht raised an eyebrow. "Is there…something wrong?"
Kairi looked around as if ready to tell a secret. Jecht was getting a bit worried. Kairi grinned inwardly. Man, I'm good at this, she thought, followed by a small laugh in her head.
She took a deep breath. "I caught Tidus and Riku doing something gross."
"Gross, huh?" Jecht said getting suspicious, "What are you talking about?"
Kairi sighed and looked toward the ground. "It's better to show you," she said.
"Then take me to 'em."
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Tidus pointed at the pier. "That's where they'll be?"
Riku nodded. "And I think that's pretty much it. Now we wait."
Tidus looked at the water surrounding them. "Should we go by the shore?"
"Nah, here's fine." Riku winked at him. "Besides, being wet makes it sexier."
Tidus flushed. "What the…?!"
"I'm just joking." Riku said, giggling. Tidus pouted. A few more moments passed and Kairi still wasn't there yet. Tidus was getting more nervous by the minute. He was afraid of what would happen next. Not of his father, but kissing Riku might actually confirm his feelings. As long as he forced himself not to enjoy it, he won't. He decided to try that.
"Riku, um," he started, "when you kiss me, don't use any tongue okay."
"Wouldn't dream of it," said Riku. "But it would be to our benefit to make this as believable as possible."
"Jecht might not care, though. Two boys kissing each other on the cheek is enough of a cause to kill them is what he says." Tidus informed. Riku looked at the pier, not responding to what Tidus said. It confused the blonde. Tidus wasn't good at reading people, but he wanted to know what Riku was thinking about.
"Jecht…don't let him discourage you, anymore."
"Huh?"
"After this…don't let him get to you. He does and says a lot of wrong stuff. Do what you wanna do and be what you wanna be. Don't let him lead your life for you. Just do what you think you should do. Okay?" he looked at the younger boy. "Okay?"
Tidus looked up at him, eyes meeting. Why did Riku say this all of a sudden? Was it something he said?
Tidus nodded. "Sure thing, Riku. Though I am way ahead of you on that."
Riku smiled. "Just reinforcing it." He glanced at the pier. Finally, Kairi had made her way. Jecht shouldn't be far behind.
She waved at them and gave them a thumbs-up. The signal.
"It's showtime." Riku said. Tidus gulped. Riku put his hands on the blonde's shoulders and looked into his eyes. Tidus' heart was pounding, nervousness encompassing him completely.
Riku's left hand moved from Tidus' right shoulder to Tidus' cheek, caressing it slowly and methodically. It was…relaxing.
Riku's face leaned in closer. Tidus braced himself for what was to happen next. He closed his eyes and felt Riku's lips brush against his. A simple, chaste kiss.
It was better than he thought. The feeling was overwhelming, exhilarating, enthralling! How did…how did Riku feel about all this? Tidus wondered.
Tidus put his arms around Riku's waist and pulled him in closer. Riku's hand left Tidus' cheek and landed on his neck, caressing it gingerly. Tidus, eyes still closed, parted his lips slightly. Even though he said he wouldn't, Riku took it as an invitation to slide his tongue into Tidus' mouth. Their tongues fenced with each other in total bliss. Tidus' response was of a warm nature. He didn't want it to end. He enjoyed this feeling to no end and he couldn't help but wonder if Riku was enjoying it, too. If he wasn't, then he was a damn good actor.
But Riku wasn't acting. He was completely lost in this new feeling. His hands trailed up and down Tidus' arms. He felt the blonde's most affectionate responses, wondering if he was just acting or actually feeling all this. And if it were for real, would he care?
Tidus was lost in the gentle touches of his silver-haired angel. Yes, it was true. To deny it any longer was pointless. He was in love with Riku.
After what seemed like an eternity, Riku pulled away, mesmerized at how long they lasted. Tidus, too, was awestruck and tried his best to hide the insane blush that was filling his cheeks. Riku noticed and smirked.
"How cute," he said. Tidus looked at him, not knowing what to say.
"TI-DUS!!!!" yelled an angry voice. Both boys' head whipped around to the pier and saw an angry Jecht. And he was very angry. The angriest Tidus had ever saw him. More veins were popping out of his head then last night when he found Tidus drinking his beer. His face was in a twisted scowl. Yeah, he was ready to kill.
The funny thing was Riku and Tidus had actually forgotten the reason why they had kissed.
Riku's eyes trailed off the angry Jecht and found a giggling Kairi…
…and a giggling Selphie…
…and a laughing Sora…
…and a guffawing Wakka…
Now Riku was feeling seven kinds of anger. At least it was to his benefit since now he didn't have to "act" like he was angry with Kairi.
"Kairi! I told you not to tell anyone!!!" he yelled. The other four kids were non-existent to Jecht. Right now, his eyes were only on his son and the boy kissing his son. The boy.
He jumped off the pier and ran straight towards. Tidus braced himself and prayed Jecht would at least demand an explanation before attacking.
Jecht splashed through the water and came up to the boys, teeth baring the intensity of ire.
He seized Tidus' hair, pulling it, making Tidus flinch in pain. But he did not cry.
"What the hell do you think you're doin'?" Jecht demanded. "Why the hell are you makin' out with this…this faggot?! Why the hell are you a faggot?"
"Hey watch it!" Riku said, but Jecht shoved him into the water.
"You've done enough for this boy, fruitcake! I'm kind of disappointed in you. You of all people, Riku." Jecht said. Then he turned his vicious glare back to Tidus and tightened his grip on the blonde's hair. "But I'm especially disappointed in you! Do you know what this says about you? About me?! What will people think about when they talk about the son of Jecht?! I ain't raison no faggot, boy!"
"You want to know what it says about you? As far as I'm concerned it says you're a pretty crappy father!" Tidus said definatly. Jecht let go of his son's hair and crossed his arms.
"You tryin' to pin this on me, boy?" Jecht growled.
"When you kicked me out last night, I had nowhere to go. I found Riku and he offered to take me inside. That's when I told him everything. I told him about this stupid marriage and every other thing you did that completely crushed me before. After I broke down, he offered his arms to me and I took them. That's when I…that's when we realized we had something for each other. And I took it because it felt so nice to be loved after all the horrible crap you put me through. You never loved me Jecht, but Riku does. And you know what? I love him, too." Tidus said. He made it all up, off the top of his head, except for that last part. He actually did love Riku. But nobody knew that.
Jecht's jaw dropped about twenty feet. He didn't know how to react to what his son just said. He quickly regained his composure and sputtered out, "Y-you l-love him?!"
Tidus nodded. Riku, who had gotten up, was glancing back and forth between Jecht and Tidus. Kairi, Sora, Selphie, and Wakka were now off the pier and on the shore, watching what was going on, none of them muttering a word.
"B-but son," Jecht continued, "I do love you."
Tidus' eyes widened. When was the last time he heard those words come out of his father's mouth? Never!
"I do love you, son! That was just my way of showing it." Jecht explained. "I wanted you to become the biggest hardass this side of the world. I thought by actin' this way, it would toughen you up. Make you a force to be reckoned with." Jecht sighed. "But I guess you take after your mother too much. You ended up getting scared and running away. Guess now you're going to be running to your new fruitcake boyfriend. This is going to make the arranged marriage very difficult."
"Yeah, well, if you had never gotten me into it, this would never have happened," Tidus smirked. "Maybe I should thank you for that. It helped me find my one and only."
Tidus put his arm around Riku and kissed him on the cheek. Jecht glared at both of them. Riku waved his hand at him, smiling and chuckling nervously.
"Take your arm off him or I will rip it off." Jecht growled.
Tidus shook his head. Riku whispered in his ear "Just do it. We don't want to get in too deep."
Tidus reluctantly took his arm off. It felt nice.
"Okay, so being in the marriage got you into this. Am I correct in assuming, that if I got you out of the marriage, you'll get out of this?" Jecht asked him. Tidus held a finger up to his chin, pretending to think.
"It'd be a start." he confirmed.
"Done." Jecht said. Tidus smiled. It worked. The plan worked. He was out of the arranged marriage and his path was his own to choose once again.
Jecht grabbed his hand. "You should probably stay inside for the rest of the day. Contact with guys is bad for you at the moment." Jecht lead Tidus out of the waters and to the pier to take his boat home. Tidus looked back at Riku and gave him a wink. "Thank you" he mouthed. Riku returned a thumbs-up and mouthed "Anything for you."
He walked out of the water and onto the shore. His four other friends each greeted him wearing a smile or a smirk and ready to collapse in a fit of laughter. And they did.
Riku's anger resurfaced and glared at Kairi.
The auburn-haired girl shrugged. "Sorry," she said through giggles. "I came across them when I was bringing Jecht here and they wanted to know what was going on. I couldn't tell them I was helping you fool Jecht so I told them to just come along." She continued giggling.
"Aw, you two were so cute!" Selphie squealed between her giggles. "You guys looked so into it."
"Tidus was a good kisser, ya?" Wakka chortled. "Am I invited to the wedding?"
"You think you know a guy," Sora snickered, elbowing Wakka. "Then they go and do something like this."
Riku's glare multiplied by twenty. He jabbed a finger at each and every one of them and growled slowly.
"I…will kill…each…and every…one of you."
The laughing stopped and gulps were heard. In the midst of their levity they forgot one thing: don't mess with an angry Riku.
"Run." he commanded in a low voice. The other four darted off, running for their lives, with Riku chased them arms outstretched. Oh what terrible fate awaited the person who was caught by those hands.
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It had been a few days since Riku kissed Tidus. He hadn't seen him since then. He really wanted to know how things were going, but when he called his house, Jecht would always answer and hang up.
After he was done chasing his other friends that day and giving them a good beat down, he explained to them what had been going on. Now everyone understood and talks about Riku and Tidus stopped.
Sora and Wakka hadn't seen Tidus since, either. Jecht would always turn them away. Riku guessed he was serious when he told Tidus he couldn't have any contact with guys for a while. How paranoid.
Girls were completely fine, though. However, Riku was still a bit sensitive about asking Kairi for help again so he asked Selphie to visit Tidus for him earlier today.
He laughed at the memory of Selphie walking towards him when he and Sora were sparring. Her face was red with anger or embarrassment or something. It was just really red!
"What's wrong, Selphie?" he asked.
"I went to see Tidus and was greeted by Jecht." She huffed.
"And?" pressed Sora. Selphie looked to the side.
"He asked if I could come back later and slip into something a little more revealing!"
Riku chuckled when he remembered how he and Sora burst out laughing. Paranoid Jecht.
"What's so funny?" asked Sora. He was lying down on the paopu tree. Riku was leaning against it and Kairi was sitting between them. It was evening and the sun was setting.
"Just remembering Selphie earlier today." He answered. Sora chuckled.
"Oh yeah. That."
"What?" asked Kairi. "Tell me. I wanna know."
"Well…" Sora began to explain, but he was interrupted by a distant cry.
"Riku!"
The silver-haired boy looked up and saw Tidus waving at him, inviting him to come over. Riku smiled. He turned to his two friends and said, "Finally. Better go see what he wants."
"Fine. Go to your boyfriend." Sora said, teasingly. Kairi stifled a laugh, but not by much.
Riku rolled his eyes. "Sora, don't be so immature." He ran across the bridge and jumped off and into the sandy ground. He walked up to Tidus casually and waved.
"What's up?"
Tidus smiled. "Nothing. Just wanted to see you. It's been awhile."
"Oh, it's only been a day or two. No need to get sentimental." Riku said, playfully.
Tidus nodded. "Heh, sorry. But Jecht's kept me under lock and key. He's been doing nothing but making me watch movies with scantily clad women."
"Oh such horrible torture." Riku said being playfully sarcastic. Tidus cracked a smile.
"The only reason I'm out here is because Jecht is out drinking with his friends and my mom is visiting a sick friend."
"Well it is nice to know you're still alive." Riku said. "But I'm sure things will go back to normal soon. Good luck."
Riku turned away to walk back to his friends, but Tidus grabbed his shoulder.
"Riku, wait."
Riku turned around to face the younger boy. Tidus was biting his lip, like he had something to get off his chest.
"That kiss you gave me…" he began. Riku raised an eyebrow in concern. He knew Tidus would want to talk about this. He even had an idea of what he was about to say.
"That kiss…it was the first one I've ever had." Tidus admitted.
"Oh." Riku said quietly. Tidus closed his eyes.
"I-I had liked it. It was very…good." He confessed. The blonde hung his head, afraid what Riku might say.
A million thoughts raced through Riku's head. He liked it? He liked it? He was afraid of that. The kiss he gave them was very heavy. But it was all for show, right? That's why he went as far as he did…right?
No. Riku had to admit, it was enjoyable. He placed a comforting hand on Tidus' shoulder. The boy looked up at the older boy, wondering what he was going to say.
"If you enjoyed my kiss so much, wait until you kiss a girl." He said in his most lighthearted tone. "Is that it?"
Tidus looked at him, stunned. He was okay with it. But the feelings…he didn't return them. He felt…dejected.
He mustered up a fake smile. "I'll keep that in mind. Thanks."
"No problem." Riku said. He turned around and walked back to Sora and Kairi. And this time Tidus didn't stop him.
Tidus reached out his hand as if to grab him, but didn't. Slowly, he pulled it back and said in a small, whisper, "I love you."
Riku walked very slowly back to the paopu tree mini-island. A small tear slid down his face. I don't know what I'm feeling, but you can't know. I don't want things becoming difficult for you again.
Tidus walked away, unsure of what to do now. He visited the Secret Place and looked at all the drawings he, Selphie, Wakka, Sora, Riku, and Kairi did when they were little. He went into a small corner. A blank area, none of them had visited yet, because nobody knew it was there. Completely obscured by rocks and fungi. He picked up some of the leftover chalk and began to draw. He drew two boys, holding each other in a loving embrace. Tears welled up in his eyes. Under it he wrote: Tidus loves Riku. And he'll never let him go.
~*Owari*~
Aw, how sad. I probably shouldn't have ended it there, but it seemed more realistic. The main plotline (getting Tidus out of the arranged marriage) was over so it seemed right to end it. This was never intended to be a long story anyways. And I really grew to like the TidusxRiku pairing even if it just started out as an experiment. Think I'm starting to like it as much as SoraxRiku. I think I might do a sequel to continue this storyline since the arranged marriage part is over, and TidusxRiku kawaiiness has just begun! Would people be interested in full-on TidusxRiku? Cuz I think I might do that. Make it sort of a part 2 to this "saga." And I apologize for making Jecht a really big meanie. I'm not going to lie, he was the hardest character to write. Tidus is so adorable in KH. I like him so much!^^* Okay, I'm rambling now, so please review and have a wonderful day/night!
Remember: If you read this story and don't review, that makes you a thief. :P