I worked as fast as I could to finish my chores that morning. Around noon, I'd all but given up.

"Moooom, pleeease can I go now? I'll finish up when I get home." I gave her my best pout, standing there with a dishtowel in my hand.

She gazed at me disapprovingly with her hands on her hips, but she eventually faltered. "Oh, fine. I guess you've done enough for today. Go. Go play with your friends."

I grinned at her and hugged her, then hurried out the door. "Thanks, mom!" I called after her as I ran out.

I went straight to the dock and hopped in my boat. All that cleaning had taken a lot out of me, but I had renewed strength, wanting to get out there to the other island. If only to see him again...

Naturally, I found him sitting on the Paopu, watching the clouds drift by. I wondered if he still thought about other worlds when he looked out at that sky. This was the only world I needed. But if you want to go somewhere else, love, I'll follow you.

I sat on the trunk next him, sliding my arm around his waist. He did not stir, but continued to stare at the clouds. "Something wrong?"

"Huh? Oh, no, nothing." He snapped out of his trance and smiled at me.

"You sure? You looked pretty out of it." I tilted my head.

"Yeah, well, you know me. Always daydreaming." He leaned in and kissed me. I kissed him back, wrapping my arms around his neck. His hands slid oh-so- slowly up the back of my shirt and then back down to the waist of my shorts. I put my hands on his and looked into his eyes.

"Kairi was right. If we want to do anything like that, we should find somewhere more secluded." I smiled slyly at him.

"Like where?" He smirked at me. I paused. Yes, where? Well, there's only one place that's secret, I supposed.

"C'mon." I grabbed his hand and dragged him down the stairs of the Seaside Shack, up the ramp near the waterfall, and through the bushes to the Secret Place.

"Ha, yeah, I guess no one really comes in here often besides us." He casually leaned against one of the walls and let out a chuckle. "The looks we must've gotten when you dragged me in here."

I laughed and shook my head. "Who cares what they think? I don't need anyone but you." I slid my arms around his waist, kissing him as passionately as I could while we were both laughing. "Now where were we?" I grabbed the zipper on his shirt and pulled it down, trailing one finger along his chest as I did so. The loose shirt slid easily off his shoulders and he began to remove my own.

My shirt fell to the floor to meet his. He removed his gloves one finger at a time. When he had finished, he ran his hands down my back and then up my chest, resting them on my cheeks.

"You know, I've never really felt you. It's always been through gloves or clothes. I've never really felt /you/." He gazed longingly into my eyes.

"And how do I feel?" I crooned seductively into his ear.

"Like everything I've ever wanted." He kissed me roughly, slipping his tongue into my mouth. His hands trailed down my back again, this time stopping at the zipper on my shorts. He pulled it down, removing them along with my boxers. I moaned into his shoulder, my grip tightening on his hips. He moved his hands up my thighs, his fingers touching me lightly in places I'd never let another person touch. I took a sharp breath and instinctively moved my hips closer to him. I unbuckled his pants to the best of my ability. My mind was already foggy from want. I tried to mirror his moves but he stopped me. "Let me do this for you." He whispered in my ear, planting small kisses along my neck and down my chest.

He dropped to his knees, his hands still gripping my hips. I grabbed his shoulders, tense and expectant of what he would do next. My blood was pumping fast and the adrenaline produced a feeling similar to that of fighting. But this was a different sort of fight altogether.

His tongue against my body was incredible. That feeling... I tried not to scream. I'd never felt like that before. Physical closeness and emotional bonds were now two things I would forever hold in my mind as being of the utmost importance. His head moved in time with my hips. My hand tangled in his hair as I let out a strangled moan. I needed him so much at that moment.

So much...

"RIKU!" I came in his mouth, digging my fingers into his shoulder to the point that my knuckles began to turn white. I tilted my head back in sheer ecstasy, letting go of him and running my free hand through my hair. He released me and his lips met mine, sealing us together in a deep kiss. His mouth tasted bitter but inviting. I sucked on his tongue, savoring the taste of us on his lips.

He broke the contact and rested his arms idly on my lower back. I touched my forehead to his as we both panted heavily. I ran my fingers through his hair and kissed his nose. "Thank you." I smiled.

"Huh?" He looked at me questioningly.

"You said you did this for me. I was just thanking you." I laughed, and soon he did too.

"You can do the same for me later." He grinned and pinched me. I looked at him disapprovingly but laughed. Later...

We got dressed and slumped down against one of the cave walls. "I never thought we'd do anything like /that/ in here." I smiled.

"I did." I gave him a shocked look. "But only once!" He laughed and slapped me on the shoulder. "What do you want? I couldn't have the real thing, so I daydreamed."

"So /that's/ what you think about when you're all alone on that tree." I smirked at him.

"Well, not /all/ the time. I think about other things." He looked down and half-smiled.

"Like what?" I asked curiously.

"Like... What happened last year." He sounded sad, though he was still smiling. He had such a funny way of showing any emotion other than love... And jealousy.

"Don't. It's over, Riku. We don't need to care about it anymore." I pulled him closer to me, my arms around his neck.

"I can't help it. Those feelings... The things that I felt when I was lost... They're coming back. I think /he's/ coming back, Sora. I don't want him to. I don't want him to be near me." There was a hollow bitterness with those last words. I knew whom he was talking about. Riku had told me about what Ansem had done to him. I cried for him once, though not in his presence. How anyone could do such things for power I'll never understand.

How anyone could kill so indiscriminately...

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MERRY CHRISTMAS!