Chapter Three
Disclaimer: Ah...uu; ...me don't own Kingdom Hearts...
Settings: /// contains flashbacks! Okay? Okay!!!
Much thankies for everyone who reviewed!!! ::sniffles:: You guys are like my family!
Little Raven: ^^ Which is good, Nightshade, because your actual family thinks you're depressed and suicidal!
O_O; ...when did that happen? Eh, I guess it's time for another family reunion. ^_^ BREAK OUT THE TARTER SAUCE! Oh...heh, I guess I'll type this chapter first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sora woke up to find Riku laying next to him. Surprised, his eyes snapped open.
"Riku?!" he said, rather louder than he meant. The silver-haired boy's turquoise eyes opened slowly.
"Whaaat?" he groaned groggily. Sora blinked.
"What happened? Where are we?"
"An island," Riku turned his back to Sora, ready to go to sleep again.
"Well, I can see that! Which island?" the younger boy asked. Riku shrugged carelessly. "Awww, Riku!" Sora grabbed Riku by the shoulder and pulled the older boy so that he was laying on his back. "You don't know where we are?"
"Nope."
"NO! We're stranded! We're gonna die! We--...hey...I'm hungry. Is there any food here?"
"No," Riku looked at Sora. "I've searched the island," he partially lied. Glancing around was hardly searching.
"But I'm hungry!" Sora sat up, hands to his stomach. Riku rolled his eyes.
"Get over it, Sora."
Sora was hurt. Why was Riku acting so...mean? Maybe he was upset at Sora's ungrateful attitude? 'He DID save me and all...' Sora thought.
"Riku?" Sora asked softly. Riku looked at him, his face blank and emotionless as it almost always was. "Thanks for saving me."
A smile appeared on Riku's face.
"I couldn't let you drown. Sora, about that food...there is something we can eat."
"What?" before he knew it, Riku had reached into Sora's pocket. Sora let out a small gasp in feeling Riku's hand so close to his thigh. Riku then pulled out the paopu fruit. Sora just stared at it. He had forgotten that he had put it there.
"We could always eat this," Riku said. The sight of his friend holding the star-shaped fruit sent a shiver of excitement through Sora's body. The legend...if they shared it...Sora grinned inside his mind. But he couldn't be TOO obvious or Riku might wonder...
"But...what about the legend?" Sora tried to sound apprehensive. Riku shrugged.
"The legend just says that the two people will remain a part of each other's lives, not necessarily that they'll face in love," he said in monotone. Sora's face fell. "But, if you're afraid..."
"Afraid? I'm not afraid!" Sora said angrily. Riku raised an eyebrow.
"All right then," Riku gave him the paopu fruit. "Don't eat it all. Remember, I'm hungry too."
Sora nodded. He put the fruit to his mouth and took a small, experimental bite. The flesh was soft but firm like a pear's, yet its skin was fuzzy like a peach's. And it tasted...like sugar cane! Sora took another bite, a bigger one, chewing the succulent meat. He was suddenly aware of Riku's eyes on him. Those beautiful eyes...so intense in their colors, so bright, no dullness to speak of. And that lustrous hair...Riku was gorgeous.
Sora finished his half and handed the rest to Riku. Riku took it and smiled softly to show his appreciation. He lay on his stomach and propped himself up with his elbows, taking bites out of the paopu fruit. Sora gazed at Riku, the beautiful silver-haired angel.
'He's so beautiful...' Sora thought, totally in awe Riku's being. A drop of juice from the fruit escaped Riku's lips and trickled down his chin. Sora's eyes widened. What, was Riku TAUNTING him, or something?! Or maybe Riku was simply unaware of how pretty he was. While Riku finished the paopu fruit, Sora did everything he could not to throw himself on Riku and lick that paopu juice off Riku's chin.
Riku finished the fruit and turned back to Sora.
"Feel better?" he asked. Sora's eyebrows raised as he stared, dazed, at Riku.
"Huh?"
"You said you were hungry. Do you feel better now that you've eaten?"
"Huh...oh...yeah. Thanks," Sora finally snapped out of it.
"Good. Let's go." Riku stood up. Sora jumped to his feet and followed as Riku started walking down the beach.
"Where are we going?" Sora asked curiously.
"We're going to look for the boats."
"Didn't they get destroyed?"
"Well, I know at least one did." Riku said. "But the other might have survived and washed up on shore."
Sora suddenly noticed that Riku was walking with a slight limp. He looked at Riku's legs, seeing that one was hurt. He gasped loudly, causing Riku to stop and look back at him. "Something wrong?"
"Riku...YOU'RE HURT!" he said in horror. Riku blinked.
"No, it's okay," he replied casually, continuing to walk. Sora scampered after him.
"Rikuuuu..." he whined. The silver-haired boy chuckled and began to walk faster. Sora saw there was only one way to get Riku's attention. He ran to Riku and glomped him onto the ground. Riku let out a yell of surprise as they rolled onto the wet sand. Sora pinned Riku down and looked sadly into his friend's eyes. "Riku, are you sure you're all right?"
Shocked, Riku stared at Sora, mouth open wordlessly. He had been craving Sora's touch, and now he had it. He then smiled and ruffled Sora's hair.
"I'm fine, Sora. Trust me." he said. Sora smiled warmly. He hugged Riku, snuggling up against his friend's body. Sora knew it was a big step. What if Riku rejected him..or killed him?! But he had Riku where he wanted him, and Riku hadn't seemed too freaked out...
Riku, meanwhile, struggled not to swoon with joy at Sora's touch. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy's waist as Sora rubbed his nose softly against Riku's cheek. Riku moved one of his hands to stroke Sora's hair. His head swam with thoughts.
'What's he doing? Is he getting at something? Or is this just an act of friendship?' he thought. Of course...this felt like a lot more than friendship. But Sora might not realize what he was doing...
"Riku?" Riku felt Sora's lips moved against his skin.
"Mmm?"
"We'll always be best friend...right?"
"Of course," but deep inside, Riku knew there was a huge possibility of them separating. When they were younger, it seemed that best friends stayed together no matter what. But now they were grown, and things were so different....
/// Ten-year-old Riku paddled the small boat steadily through the dark, calm waters. Now that he was old enough, he could travel on his own back and forth between the Destiny Islands. He knew the paths well, Sora's mother had often rowed them to their island. That's when he noticed the strip of shore not too far away...
Sora peeked out from under the large piece of cloth on the floorboards of the boat.
"Hey, Riku, is that another island?" he asked.
"I think so."
"Ooo...let's go over there!" Sora exclaimed. Riku nodded and smiled, happy to oblige. As they got closer, Sora scratched his head. "Riku, doesn't that place look familiar?"
"Yeah..." Suddenly, it dawned on the boy. "Sora, remember a few years ago when your mom had to paddle us back and forth 'tween the islands?"
"Mm-yep!"
"Remember when we saw that island? I think this is it!"
Sora's large eyes narrowed in concentration.
"...I don't 'member that, Riku." he said. Riku wrinkled his nose in frustration.
"Well, it happened. And this is the island we saw!"
"Ooo...nifty!" the younger boy said. Riku raised an eyebrow.
"Nifty?" he laughed. "Where'd you learn that one?"
"Kairi!" Sora answered. Riku's heart suddenly felt heavy as he frowned. This had been the first time he had gotten alone with Sora since Kairi had come. And he wasn't going to let a girl who wasn't even with them right now ruin it.
"Well, don't say it anymore."
"Why not?" Sora asked defensively. Riku chose to ignore this question.
"We're here," Riku said flatly. The boat scraped onto shore. Sora wasted no time in bounding out of the boat, the cloth flying in his hand; leaving Riku to drag the boat up so that it was beached.
"Riku! Lookit!" Sora yelled. He stood by a small tree growing at a bent angle. "Doesn't this look like that tree growing out of the island near the pier?"
"Hm..." Riku walked next to Sora, who now had the sheet over his shoulders, letting it hang like a cape. "Yeah. Sorta. 'Cept it doesn't have those little star fruits growing on it." he said. Sora yanked the cloth from his shoulders and tossed it over the tree, making a tent. The young boy laughed and crawled inside. Riku followed.
"This is fun, huh, Riku?" Sora asked. Riku nodded, genuinely enjoying his time with Sora. The brown-haired boy giggled and tackled Riku. The two flailed around in a tickle fight, each one laughing hysterically and rolling about.
Hours later, Riku awoke to find his friend draped over him, snoring softly. The silver-haired boy looked outside to see the sun setting. He gasped and nudged Sora awake.
"Huh?" Sora asked groggily.
"We gotta go, Sora," Riku said. "It'll be dark soon."
"Oh, okay," they crawled out form under the tent. Sora started to take the cloth off the tree when Riku stopped him.
"Leave it here. It makes a good tent."
"But we were gonna make a sail outta it!" was Sora's response.
"Don't worry, we can always get another cloth." Riku headed toward the boat. Sora bounced after him.
"Guess so. Hey, Riku, can we come back here tomorrow?"
"Sure! Just don't tell Kairi."
Sora's face was full of confusion.
"Why not?"
"Cuz this is a special place just for us two," Riku said seriously, pushing the boat back into the water and climbing into it. "Okay?"
" 'Kay!" Sora said as he climbed in as well.
Riku picked up the paddle and they rowed away, leaving the cloth to sway in the breeze. THey didn't go back to the mysterious island the next day, nor the day after that. Unexpected things had kept coming up....things always having to do with Kairi. ///
~~~~~~~
Whoot!! Now I need chocolate...Well, most of this chapter was a flashback, but the next chappie will be all present-day time. ^___^ ::skips away, trips over her boot that was laying in the middle of the floor, falls on the ground:: O_O; ...I be not graceful.
Disclaimer: Ah...uu; ...me don't own Kingdom Hearts...
Settings: /// contains flashbacks! Okay? Okay!!!
Much thankies for everyone who reviewed!!! ::sniffles:: You guys are like my family!
Little Raven: ^^ Which is good, Nightshade, because your actual family thinks you're depressed and suicidal!
O_O; ...when did that happen? Eh, I guess it's time for another family reunion. ^_^ BREAK OUT THE TARTER SAUCE! Oh...heh, I guess I'll type this chapter first.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sora woke up to find Riku laying next to him. Surprised, his eyes snapped open.
"Riku?!" he said, rather louder than he meant. The silver-haired boy's turquoise eyes opened slowly.
"Whaaat?" he groaned groggily. Sora blinked.
"What happened? Where are we?"
"An island," Riku turned his back to Sora, ready to go to sleep again.
"Well, I can see that! Which island?" the younger boy asked. Riku shrugged carelessly. "Awww, Riku!" Sora grabbed Riku by the shoulder and pulled the older boy so that he was laying on his back. "You don't know where we are?"
"Nope."
"NO! We're stranded! We're gonna die! We--...hey...I'm hungry. Is there any food here?"
"No," Riku looked at Sora. "I've searched the island," he partially lied. Glancing around was hardly searching.
"But I'm hungry!" Sora sat up, hands to his stomach. Riku rolled his eyes.
"Get over it, Sora."
Sora was hurt. Why was Riku acting so...mean? Maybe he was upset at Sora's ungrateful attitude? 'He DID save me and all...' Sora thought.
"Riku?" Sora asked softly. Riku looked at him, his face blank and emotionless as it almost always was. "Thanks for saving me."
A smile appeared on Riku's face.
"I couldn't let you drown. Sora, about that food...there is something we can eat."
"What?" before he knew it, Riku had reached into Sora's pocket. Sora let out a small gasp in feeling Riku's hand so close to his thigh. Riku then pulled out the paopu fruit. Sora just stared at it. He had forgotten that he had put it there.
"We could always eat this," Riku said. The sight of his friend holding the star-shaped fruit sent a shiver of excitement through Sora's body. The legend...if they shared it...Sora grinned inside his mind. But he couldn't be TOO obvious or Riku might wonder...
"But...what about the legend?" Sora tried to sound apprehensive. Riku shrugged.
"The legend just says that the two people will remain a part of each other's lives, not necessarily that they'll face in love," he said in monotone. Sora's face fell. "But, if you're afraid..."
"Afraid? I'm not afraid!" Sora said angrily. Riku raised an eyebrow.
"All right then," Riku gave him the paopu fruit. "Don't eat it all. Remember, I'm hungry too."
Sora nodded. He put the fruit to his mouth and took a small, experimental bite. The flesh was soft but firm like a pear's, yet its skin was fuzzy like a peach's. And it tasted...like sugar cane! Sora took another bite, a bigger one, chewing the succulent meat. He was suddenly aware of Riku's eyes on him. Those beautiful eyes...so intense in their colors, so bright, no dullness to speak of. And that lustrous hair...Riku was gorgeous.
Sora finished his half and handed the rest to Riku. Riku took it and smiled softly to show his appreciation. He lay on his stomach and propped himself up with his elbows, taking bites out of the paopu fruit. Sora gazed at Riku, the beautiful silver-haired angel.
'He's so beautiful...' Sora thought, totally in awe Riku's being. A drop of juice from the fruit escaped Riku's lips and trickled down his chin. Sora's eyes widened. What, was Riku TAUNTING him, or something?! Or maybe Riku was simply unaware of how pretty he was. While Riku finished the paopu fruit, Sora did everything he could not to throw himself on Riku and lick that paopu juice off Riku's chin.
Riku finished the fruit and turned back to Sora.
"Feel better?" he asked. Sora's eyebrows raised as he stared, dazed, at Riku.
"Huh?"
"You said you were hungry. Do you feel better now that you've eaten?"
"Huh...oh...yeah. Thanks," Sora finally snapped out of it.
"Good. Let's go." Riku stood up. Sora jumped to his feet and followed as Riku started walking down the beach.
"Where are we going?" Sora asked curiously.
"We're going to look for the boats."
"Didn't they get destroyed?"
"Well, I know at least one did." Riku said. "But the other might have survived and washed up on shore."
Sora suddenly noticed that Riku was walking with a slight limp. He looked at Riku's legs, seeing that one was hurt. He gasped loudly, causing Riku to stop and look back at him. "Something wrong?"
"Riku...YOU'RE HURT!" he said in horror. Riku blinked.
"No, it's okay," he replied casually, continuing to walk. Sora scampered after him.
"Rikuuuu..." he whined. The silver-haired boy chuckled and began to walk faster. Sora saw there was only one way to get Riku's attention. He ran to Riku and glomped him onto the ground. Riku let out a yell of surprise as they rolled onto the wet sand. Sora pinned Riku down and looked sadly into his friend's eyes. "Riku, are you sure you're all right?"
Shocked, Riku stared at Sora, mouth open wordlessly. He had been craving Sora's touch, and now he had it. He then smiled and ruffled Sora's hair.
"I'm fine, Sora. Trust me." he said. Sora smiled warmly. He hugged Riku, snuggling up against his friend's body. Sora knew it was a big step. What if Riku rejected him..or killed him?! But he had Riku where he wanted him, and Riku hadn't seemed too freaked out...
Riku, meanwhile, struggled not to swoon with joy at Sora's touch. He wrapped his arms around the younger boy's waist as Sora rubbed his nose softly against Riku's cheek. Riku moved one of his hands to stroke Sora's hair. His head swam with thoughts.
'What's he doing? Is he getting at something? Or is this just an act of friendship?' he thought. Of course...this felt like a lot more than friendship. But Sora might not realize what he was doing...
"Riku?" Riku felt Sora's lips moved against his skin.
"Mmm?"
"We'll always be best friend...right?"
"Of course," but deep inside, Riku knew there was a huge possibility of them separating. When they were younger, it seemed that best friends stayed together no matter what. But now they were grown, and things were so different....
/// Ten-year-old Riku paddled the small boat steadily through the dark, calm waters. Now that he was old enough, he could travel on his own back and forth between the Destiny Islands. He knew the paths well, Sora's mother had often rowed them to their island. That's when he noticed the strip of shore not too far away...
Sora peeked out from under the large piece of cloth on the floorboards of the boat.
"Hey, Riku, is that another island?" he asked.
"I think so."
"Ooo...let's go over there!" Sora exclaimed. Riku nodded and smiled, happy to oblige. As they got closer, Sora scratched his head. "Riku, doesn't that place look familiar?"
"Yeah..." Suddenly, it dawned on the boy. "Sora, remember a few years ago when your mom had to paddle us back and forth 'tween the islands?"
"Mm-yep!"
"Remember when we saw that island? I think this is it!"
Sora's large eyes narrowed in concentration.
"...I don't 'member that, Riku." he said. Riku wrinkled his nose in frustration.
"Well, it happened. And this is the island we saw!"
"Ooo...nifty!" the younger boy said. Riku raised an eyebrow.
"Nifty?" he laughed. "Where'd you learn that one?"
"Kairi!" Sora answered. Riku's heart suddenly felt heavy as he frowned. This had been the first time he had gotten alone with Sora since Kairi had come. And he wasn't going to let a girl who wasn't even with them right now ruin it.
"Well, don't say it anymore."
"Why not?" Sora asked defensively. Riku chose to ignore this question.
"We're here," Riku said flatly. The boat scraped onto shore. Sora wasted no time in bounding out of the boat, the cloth flying in his hand; leaving Riku to drag the boat up so that it was beached.
"Riku! Lookit!" Sora yelled. He stood by a small tree growing at a bent angle. "Doesn't this look like that tree growing out of the island near the pier?"
"Hm..." Riku walked next to Sora, who now had the sheet over his shoulders, letting it hang like a cape. "Yeah. Sorta. 'Cept it doesn't have those little star fruits growing on it." he said. Sora yanked the cloth from his shoulders and tossed it over the tree, making a tent. The young boy laughed and crawled inside. Riku followed.
"This is fun, huh, Riku?" Sora asked. Riku nodded, genuinely enjoying his time with Sora. The brown-haired boy giggled and tackled Riku. The two flailed around in a tickle fight, each one laughing hysterically and rolling about.
Hours later, Riku awoke to find his friend draped over him, snoring softly. The silver-haired boy looked outside to see the sun setting. He gasped and nudged Sora awake.
"Huh?" Sora asked groggily.
"We gotta go, Sora," Riku said. "It'll be dark soon."
"Oh, okay," they crawled out form under the tent. Sora started to take the cloth off the tree when Riku stopped him.
"Leave it here. It makes a good tent."
"But we were gonna make a sail outta it!" was Sora's response.
"Don't worry, we can always get another cloth." Riku headed toward the boat. Sora bounced after him.
"Guess so. Hey, Riku, can we come back here tomorrow?"
"Sure! Just don't tell Kairi."
Sora's face was full of confusion.
"Why not?"
"Cuz this is a special place just for us two," Riku said seriously, pushing the boat back into the water and climbing into it. "Okay?"
" 'Kay!" Sora said as he climbed in as well.
Riku picked up the paddle and they rowed away, leaving the cloth to sway in the breeze. THey didn't go back to the mysterious island the next day, nor the day after that. Unexpected things had kept coming up....things always having to do with Kairi. ///
~~~~~~~
Whoot!! Now I need chocolate...Well, most of this chapter was a flashback, but the next chappie will be all present-day time. ^___^ ::skips away, trips over her boot that was laying in the middle of the floor, falls on the ground:: O_O; ...I be not graceful.