Inevitable Disillusion

Co-Written by The Carpet Shampoo and The Ambitious Blank

Disclaimer- Kingdom Hearts isn't ours. If it was, well.. hrm.. let us plot for a few minutes, and we'll get back to you. ^_^ But it's still not ours.

Comments- Fwee, Blank here, with the next chappie. Lyrics are from Nickelback's "Someday".

~*~

How the hell did we wind up like this?
Why weren't we able
To see the signs that we missed,
And try to turn the tables?

I wish you'd unclench your fists,
And unpack your suitcase.
Lately there's been too much of this,
Don't think its too late...

~*~

Sora woke up to another day in his own bed, something he had yet to be accustomed to. Sure, the beds in Traverse Town and wherever else he'd stayed hadn't been all that uncomfortable, but there was nothing compared to the feeling of someone's own bed. He stretched his arms high over his head, carefully easing his stiff muscles into the new day.

"Ahh.." He yawned and reached over, grasping the edge of his dark blue curtains and pulling them open, the bright sunlight streaming through in a golden flash that nearly blinded Sora's pretty blue eyes. He jerked in surprise as there was an agonized groan from the floor.

"Ugghhh.." The figure on the floor looked like a shadow, a striking contrast against brilliant sunlight that was now streaming into the room. The figure rolled over and moaned piteously. Sora blinked, his groggy mind slowing comprehending all this.

OH! Riku, I completely forgot! Grinning sheepishly to himself, he shut the curtains again and Riku fell still again. The silver-haired boy had been spending the past few days at his house, with full permission from Sora's mother, as she decided the two boys needed to talk, and so that Sora could take care of Riku. It had become almost routine by now. Sora would wake up everyday, surprised at finding his own room surrounding him, and he would open the curtains, be reminded of the second presence in his room, and immediately close them again.

"Sorry, Riku. I guess this takes some getting used to, huh..?" He asked, scratching the back of his head. Riku had been sleeping on a futon on his floor for the nights he'd been staying over.

"You said that yesterday, too." Riku grumbled, rolling over. Another part of the routine. Riku would roll over, and Sora, without fail, would always be surprised at the lack of those piercing yet playful aqua eyes, replaced by the ugly fabric of that blindfold. Sora missed those bright eyes.. how everyone else would look away from that sharp gaze, and how he was the only one who dared keep full eye contact with his friend. But compared to that bright, swirling gaze that Riku had, the blindfold was ugly. Something that didn't belong, something completely unworthy of being there in the first place. Sora sighed and shrugged.

"Sorry." He apologized again, grinning. Riku's eyeroll was practically audible in the silence that followed. Sora sighed, throwing on some clothes he found lying on his floor.

"Come on, we'll go grab something to eat." He said cheerfully. Riku rose from the bed without another word and trailed after him slowly, with a delibrate sort of pace. Sora trotted down the stairs, knowing Riku had memorized his house by now, and into the kitchen. His mother greeted the two boys cheerfully.

"Good morning, Sora, Riku!" She said brightly, beaming at them. "Hope you don't mind some cereal and muffins.. I'll make you guys a big lunch and dinner to make up for iSora remembered a time when he was little, when he'd asked his mother if she was the sun, because her smile was so bright. His mother had laughed loudly, and had been even more cheery the rest of the week.

Riku, on the other hand, reminded him of the moon. Sora eyed his friend over his bowl of cereal, watching him eat slowly. Riku's pale face was like that of the moon, his platinum-colored hair, seemingly wound of gossamer strands of moonlight, reminded him of the bright, silvery beams of light that would stream between the cracks in his curtains at night, illuminating his room almost as brightly at the sun. Even now, with his seafoam green eyes hidden beneath the band of leathery fabric, his face was like that of the moon, strikingly beautiful against the dark black of his clothing. Sora smiled to himself.

Well, isn't this sappy.. he's turning me into a poet. The boy laughed to himself softly, earning a look of questioning from his friend. Sora shook his head.

"Don't ask." He said, smirking a bit. Riku stared at him for another moment, before silently returning to his food, which he seemed less than interested in. Sora frowned slightly, but decided not to nag his friend about it today. He was sure Riku had gotten enough of it from Kairi. The thought made him smile again as he stood up and went to clean their bowls out.

~*~

Eventually, Sora and Riku left the house, heading out to Sora's boat. Sora rowed them over to the island where they'd all left on their big adventure. Selphie, Tidus, Wakka, and Kairi were all there, playing around as usual. Sora watched them for a minute after helping Riku out of the boat, clambering up onto the dock. The three younger kids said their cheerful hellos to Riku, and he waved a hand at them in return. Sora didn't miss the strange lights they had in their eyes.. he knew what they were thinking, what they had probably started thinking a long time ago.

Things aren't the same.

Those haunting words echoed again and again in Sora's ears, and he struggled to shut it out. Luckily, Kairi provided a distraction, running over and enveloping Sora into a tight hug. She pulled away with a smile.

"Hey, Sora." She said, casually. Sora blinked then gave a small laugh.

"Hey, Kairi." He returned, grinning. Riku watched them in the silence he seemed to have sworn himself into. Sora frowned over at him, and Kairi's gaze followed him. Riku's mouth twitched slightly, Sora knew that he knew very well that they were watching him. Sora turned back and gave a slight shrug at Kairi. She didn't need to say anything, her face expressed the same wish that his mother had for him a few days ago.

Take care of Riku.

Sora had no objections. Riku meant the world to him. Without him, he'd been missing what felt like a complete half of himself. Kairi and the others, of course, also held a special place in Sora's heart, but Riku always had the biggest piece to himself.

Heh. Just like always, right, Riku..? Sora thought, smiling faintly as he turned to go with his friend. Riku watched them, a small smirk quirking at his lips.

"Y'know, I might not be able to see, but I can hear.. so if you two are trying to plot against me over there, it's not going to work." He teased, crossing his arms. Sora's grin widened. He treasured the moments when Riku would tease them like that, because it gave him that small bit of flickering hope that maybe things really could end up the way they used to be, after all.

~*~

The two boys wandered along the shoreline. Sora was barefoot, letting the ocean wash over his feet, while Riku wandered farther up, within the shadows of the palm trees. Sora watched him for a minute. It was so strange. Riku was so familiar to him, and yet this dark figure on the beach seemed so out of place. He scowled slightly, then decided to voice his concern.

"Um, Riku..? Do you think you'll ever be able to take off that blindfold and stuff..?" He asked. Riku's head snapped to him, and Sora could almost feel the glare through he blindfold.

"Are you still stuck on that?" Riku asked sharply. Sora stopped walking, staring at the ground.

"It's just.. you can't stay like that forever, can you? I mean.. you weren't in darkness for that long." He said, hesitantly, his gaze slowly travelling back up to Riku again. Riku had lowered his head in thought.

"I don't know, Sora. I gave into the darkness in my heart.. and this is the price I pay." He spread his arms out, and Sora looked his friend over for what seemed like the thousandth time. He wanted so desperately to see those bright, sparkling blue-green eyes. To see the familiar bright colors of Riku's clothes. To see Riku smile.. honestly smile. It would mean the world to him if he could see that again. Yet, it seemed so virtually impossible, with this.. this thing standing in front of him now.

A fist clenched in determination. He had to try and help Riku, like he promised. He had to try to get things back to normal. Back to the way they were. Before everything had happened.

They kept walking in silence, while Sora thought over what he had to work with, and what he had to do.

Well, we have to find some way to try and get Riku able to tolerate light.. and that way, we can at least get him looking normal again. And.. and maybe, if he's able to move around like he used to, maybe he'll start acting normal too!

Sora nodded to himself, looking up to the figure in the shadows. Riku noticed Sora's gaze on him, and turned toward him, one slender brow raising upward curiously.

But.. I don't know if we can do anything but wait for that. So.. I guess I'll just have to treat him like he's normal until he thinks he can stand the light.

"Hey, Riku!" He said, running up to him. "Remember the Secret Place? Let's go back there! I wanna see if it's changed any, and if all our drawings are still there!" He said, grabbing his friend by the arm and leading him. Riku gave a few squeaks of protest as he was led through brief spots of sunlight, until they paused before the cave.

"Let's go!" Sora said. Riku hesitated. He'd memorized most of the island already with Sora's help, but they hadn't been back to this place yet.

"Sora.. I can't see.." He said, quietly. Sora smiled a bit. He knew how hard it was for Riku to admit to his weaknesses like this. Sora's hands grasped Riku's, and he pulled him gently.

"Don't worry, I'll guide you.." Sora said comfortingly, giving a careful tug. "Duck down a little.. we aren't as short as we used to be." He laughed softly and then turned, one hand still grasping his friend's as they entered the old cave. Riku seemed to relax slightly as they entered it. It was pretty dark and shadowy in there. Finally, they reached the room where all their drawings were. Tiny dots of light filtered through the ceiling, and Sora looked around him. Riku frowned slightly.

"..is everything still here..?" He asked. Sora nodded.

"Yeah. All our drawings and everything."

"What about that one you drew a while ago when Kairi first came here? You know, that one where the dragon's attacking.. and you're protecting Kairi while I jump in to fight..?" He asked. "I think it was near the ceiling.. you almost fell when you finished drawing that." [1]

Sora knew which one he was talking about. His eyes flickered up to the familiar drawing near the ceiling.

~*~

"There, I'm done!" The young Sora announced as he finished up his drawing and stood back proudly to admire it, remembering too late that there wasn't any place to step back to, except what seemed like a very long fall. Riku made a small noise of surprise and dashed forward, seeing Sora's mistake.

The young boy toppled downward several feet, and Riku caught him. Or, at least, tried to catch him, only to be dragged down with him. The two boys ended up as a pile of arms and legs on the ground. Sora scowled, investigating a bruise on his knee as his racing heart began to slow. Riku snorted at him incredulously.

"What, you're not gonna cry or nothin'..?" He asked. Sora blinked, then grinned.

"Nope! You told me not to cry anymore, Riku, so.. I won't!" He chirped, smiling. "'sides, if you're here, you'll protect me, right?"

Riku thought over this for a few moments, then grinned.

"Right." He said. Sora smiled.

"And.. in case you're ever in trouble, I'll do my best to protect you, too." He said, grinning. Riku smiled up at him, then frowned again.

"Well, that's great.. I have something you can do for me right now, as a matter of fact."

"What's that?" Sora's big blue eyes blinked down at Riku's face.

"Get off me!"

~*~

Sora was snapped out of his reverie by a pair of strong arms sliding around his waist, pulling him close. His heart thudded violently against his ribcage.

"Riku..?" He asked hesitantly. Riku didn't say anything, just held him there. Sora bit his lip, tilting his head back a little to look up at the silver-haired boy. Riku still did not offer any words, but his grip tightened a little around Sora. Sora turned himself around in Riku's arms and laid his head against Riku's chest, letting himself be held for a long time. Sora tilted his head up and captured Riku's lips in a warm kiss.

This…this is what I've been missing…

Sora fell into a torrent of his own thoughts, swirling around his head as Riku's lips softly pressed against his. Riku's lips were cold against his own, like the ocean at midnight softly caressing against the warm sandy lips that Sora had. It was a moment frozen in time, an ancient legend that had been forgotten, the tale of two star-crossed lovers who met after years of not seeing each other. In Sora's mind, the kiss made he and Riku into a fairy tale, but one where there was no princess or peaceful kingdom. There was only a noble prince, and his fair cool-headed knight, sworn to guard him always. The dragon was defeated and the world was safe again. Sora was safe again.

            Never again…things can never change between us again…

Riku broke away from the kiss, his expression hidden by the shadows, but Sora knew he had to be smiling. Riku always smiled after they kissed. Everything was still the same. Everything had to be the same. He imagined Riku's smile as the silver haired boy faded off into the darkness, slipping into the shadows that surrounded them.

            Riku couldn't stay there anymore. He slipped out of Sora's sight and watched the brown haired boy…after all these years, Sora was still a boy to Riku, he watched him slip away into his world of light.

            How even through this blindfold can I see more clearly than you Sora…?

Riku sighed and put his hand up against his forehead, the end of his palm was just able to feel the area growing damp from where his tears stained the fabric. The world was so clear to him, to Riku. He could see now the only way, the only path to make Sora see how different things were.

~*~

How the hell did we wind up like this?
Why weren't we able
To see the signs that we missed,
And try to turn the tables?
Now the story's played out like this,
Just like a paperback novel.
Lets rewrite an ending that fits,
Instead of a hollywood horror.

Nothin's wrong,
Just as long as
You know that someday I will...

Someday, somehow,
Gonna make it alright, but not right now.
I know you're wondering when.
(You're the only one who knows that.)
Someday, somehow,
Gonna make it alright, but not right now.
I know you're wondering when.
(You're the only one who knows that.)
I know you're wondering when.
(You're the only one who knows that.)
I know you're wondering when...

~*~To Be Continued..

Author's Commentary: Shampoo here. Once again I am completely and totally responsible for the lateness of this chapter. ^^