Some things never change [I don't own Kingdom Hearts] and some do [but I still don't own Kingdom Hearts}
Warnings:
I'm sugar high! *bounces around* ehh..and here's a little more shonen ai than usually ^__^ Sora realizes something. Feelings, feelings, feelings ^^
Author's Ranting:
Thanks to baka coconut and her wonderful idea I was able to update!! ^-^
Go thank her by reading and reviewing her story, ne? I'm gonna thank her by crawling on my knees, worshipping her ^_^
Thank you thank you thank you thank you! *huggles* thank you. really. thank you so much!
Okay, okay, I'm sorry, I'll stop. Here goes the 8th chapter! I hope you have fun!
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"Let's see.... we got...uhh...ow damn." He sweatdropped as he saw that there weren't many coins left. He had spent his entire money on Riku's clothes, food and the cinema. Only a few more coins to play but that was all.
Riku stared up at the big screen where he saw two figures standing ready to fight.
"Sora!" he called, pointing up.
"Huh?" The brunette looked up from his money and followed the direction of Riku's hand.
"I wanna play that!" Riku said, ignoring the fact that he couldn't even reach the buttons on the table.
"Uhhh, Riku. This is a very serious fighting game, I don't think kids like you should play that." He glanced at the screen, which had started to show an in-game scene. He arched an eyebrow.
"I don't think anyone should play that."
The blood was spluttering out whenever the figure was hit and the whole moves seemed to be far too brutal to let anyone sane play. This was a massacre.
"I wanna play!" Riku insisted, crossing his arms in a stubborn way. Sora shook his head. Riku pouted. Sora shook his head again. Riku punched Sora's leg.
"Ow!" The brunette frowned, shaking his head in a disapproving way. "No, Riku. That's nothing for us. Let's play something else."
The silver haired boy clenched his teeth and glared at Sora. "I'm not afraid! I can play that game!" He began to jump, trying to reach the buttons to play. Sora watched him a while without doing anything at all. He was sure Riku was going to give up after a while.
Riku jumped, trying all kinds of tricks to get up there. However, he was too small and he never even brushed the surface of the little table let alone reached the buttons.
"Riku, give--"
"NO!" Riku cut him off before he could even say it and continued to jump. As Sora watched him a little longer he cocked his head in wonder. Riku moved exactly like he would move if he were grown. Of course the movements were a little awkward because of the tiny body but the knowledge was there. Riku still knew how use his strength correctly to get the most efficient result. That didn't change the fact that he didn't have much strength, though.
A few minutes passed and Riku was still jumping, already getting looked at by other people in the arcade. Sora gave them an apologetic look and tried to persuade him to give up, which of course didn't work. Riku was determined. Well, stubborn would be the word.
Eventually the brunette decided. It was unfair to take advantage of his size but he had no chance.
"I'm sorry, Riku but this is ridiculous." He walked to the boy and grabbed him, taking him into his arms. Riku screamed and kicked, trying to wriggle out of Sora's grasp.
"Lemme go! Lemme go! Lemme gooo!"
Sora chuckled and held Riku was tight as possible without hurting him. "Nooo." He imitated Riku's whiny voice and stuck out his tongue. Riku did the same, adding a "baaaahhhhhhh" for effect.
He then pinched Sora and managed to get free, jumping down to flee from the other boy.
"Riku!" Sora snapped, running after the little boy. The two were getting looks from everyone now, some started laughing.
"Riku, get back here! Don't run around by yourself!" Sora did his best to catch up with Riku, how could a three year old be that fast anyway? But Riku's advantage was that he was very small and he could run through the crowded hall without getting much attention. Sora was stumbling over this and that while catching his friend.
Finally Riku came to a dead end. He turned around, a look of panic crossed his face as he saw that Sora was coming towards him. He looked to his side, checking his surroundings. There was no way out. He frowned, glared, and then sighed.
As Sora finally reached him, Riku was standing calmly leaned against the wall, wearing a superior expression, which looked oddly intimidating even though he was just three.
"You're so slow, Sora," he coolly stated, rolling his eyes in mock disappointment.
The brunette blinked, then raised his eyebrows. There were times he thought this little boy's mind wasn't the mind of a little boy at all.
"Let's play that one!" Riku suddenly squealed, pointing at another game on a big screen. He began to climb Sora's leg to get him to carry him so he could sit in Sora's arms to get a better view. Sora smiled. He was still a kid, after all.
He turned to look at what scary game Riku was pointing this time but to his surprise it wasn't a bloody game about maiming. It was... Dance Dance Revolution.
"Hey that looks like fun. Okay, let's go play that."
They went over to the platform and Sora inserted a coin. Riku stood by the side, eyeing the platform suspiciously. It hadn't looked that big when he had spotted it.
"This is huuuge.." he muttered, frowning slightly while Sora stepped onto the platform.
"Yeah I guess it'll be hard for you to play."
Riku's head snapped up to Sora's. "I can play, too!" He had a look of determination as if he had just been challenged and who was he to refuse a challenge?
Sora smirked. "Don't cry if you lose."
Riku snorted and climbed onto the platform, losing some of his confidence as he saw the huge distances between the arrows. Okay, so it wasn't really huge, but to him it looked really scary. He had to look at the screen and step on the right arrow, after all.
The game started and Sora smiled, having no problems in playing. So he had practiced a lot but that was a secret. Riku, however, had his troubles reaching the arrows in time and began to get frustrated. Eventually he gave up, which was very unlikely for him but he did, jumping off the platform.
"This is stupid!" he whined, going into sulking-mode. Sora chuckled and decided to play a little longer while Riku sat on the floor, watching him. He felt a little sorry for his friend since Riku had never lost in any kind of game. But then again, as he looked at the silver haired boy from the corner of his eye, Riku didn't seem to take it very seriously.
Sora suddenly blushed slightly, noticing that Riku was watching him intently. He tried not to get distracted by it but Riku's eyes were burning into him causing his stomach to twist slightly. It was the feeling again. He had had it a few times before. Even before Riku turned into a little boy. Before that, Riku would sometimes look at him in that odd way and Sora would feel his eyes on him, getting a strange feeling inside. And since a few days ago, when Riku suddenly turned into a little boy, this feeling was intensified. He'd first had it when Riku kissed him on the first evening.
Sora missed the arrow. He didn't really notice, though. He was suddenly thinking about this feeling. He missed again. And again, and again until he stopped moving completely, lost in thought.
Riku blinked, getting up to walk to Sora.
He tilted his head, tugging on Sora's pant leg. No reaction. Riku frowned, feeling a little worried as Sora didn't respond.
"Sora?" he quietly asked, wondering what was wrong.
Sora was staring off into space. Then, suddenly, he looked down at Riku, seeming concentrated on something. He looked at Riku, and the silver haired boy looked back at him so that they were looking into each other's eyes. They remained like that for a moment.
'What's this feeling? It's like...like... oh, no...' He mentally slapped his forehead as he found the right description. 'Butterflies.'
It felt like a swarm of butterflies moving in his stomach whenever Riku looked at him like that. And that was not a good sign. Because, butterflies indicated that you were...well... in love .
Sora paled.
"Sora?" Riku frowned as he saw Sora's strange expression. "Sora? Can we go home?" He was worried that Sora could be sick and wanted to go home because there he would feel save.
The brunette slapped himself lightly to regain his wits and closed his eyes for a second. When he opened them he smiled gently at Riku and nodded, taking him into his arms. He was blushing more than ever and Riku touched his cheek in worry.
"Are your sick?" Riku asked, poking the reddened cheek.
Sora laughed lightly and shook his head. "Not really. I'm fine. But let's go home, it's going to be evening soon." He quickly brushed off all his strange emotions and left the arcade with Riku in his arms.
"Ne Sora..." Riku began, as they were on their way home. The sun was beginning to set.
"Hm?" Sora looked down at Riku, unable to ignore the adorable flushed face. The little boy was getting tired.
"'m tired..." Sora smiled as Riku's eyes became half-lidded. Riku leaned his head on Sora's shoulder, snuggling closer to him as a quiet yawned escaped his lips. "mmm..." Riku attempted to say something but his words were muffled by Sora's shirt as he buried his face in Sora's shoulder. His tiny arms were around Sora's neck, holding him in a loose, yet possessive way.
Sora felt the warm breath of his friend on his neck as Riku turned his head slightly to the side. The light puffs flew against his skin and the blood rushed into his face. There was the feeling again. And it was accompanied with images he would have never dreamed of. He couldn't help imagining the older version of Riku holding him like this, breathing against his neck in that soft, calm way.
Sora felt like he was going insane.
He wanted to shake himself to make those thoughts go away but he stopped himself as he realized Riku had fallen asleep. His breathing was steady and slow and his grip had loosened, his fingers were half curled.
Sora felt a sudden wave of calmness come over him and soon he was walking slowly and steadily towards home. The sun was descending into a pool of orange colors. It felt relaxing to look at it, to watch everything get darker and eventually, Sora felt like falling asleep. He was worn out, after all. Taking care of Riku was a lot more exhausting than he had ever imagined.
Even though he kept walking, he was getting sleepier and sleepier with every step he took.
Suddenly, however, there was a whistling sound and then a loud bang, shaking both Sora and Riku awake.
Sora looked around, then turned his head upwards to the sky. Riku was clutching to Sora's shirt, seeming scared of whatever had woken him. He looked at Sora and saw that he was looking at the sky. Imitating the posture he looked upwards - and gaped.
Above him, colors were exploding! It looked like shiny colorful rain spreading into the air.
Then, another whistling sound followed by a bang, and there was more shiny rain. Riku's mouth was wide open in awe and wonder, eyes fixed on the spectacle.
Sora blinked a few times. "A firework at this time? Is there a celebration or what?" he asked himself, wondering if he had missed something.
Riku was still staring and staring as there were a few more explosions. It looked like stars were falling down and the sun was starting to vanish, leaving a beautiful dark blue night's sky that was lightened by the firework.
Sora looked around for the source of it and eventually found a group of people standing together while behind them, the fireworks were being set up. Sora went over to them, wincing sometimes at the loud bang when one of the fireworks exploded. Riku didn't seem to mind the loud noise and simply stared at the beautiful phenomenon. He was enchanted by it.
"What's this firework for?" Sora asked as he reached some of the people.
A woman turned to him and smiled. "Don't you know? There's going to be a festival in three days."
Sora cocked his head, furrowing his eyebrows as he thought. 'Festival...festival...Ah!' Of course! He had heard Selphie talk about it some time last week. When he and Riku had been sparing, Selphie was telling everyone to go to that festival. Sora's thoughts came to rest on Riku again. He remembered the adorable look on his face when he slept and wondered if the older Riku would also look like this. He could see it clearly before him, which caused him to smile a little.
Then, he came back to reality and asked, "But then why's there a firework today?"
The woman smiled. "That's not the real firework. We're just trying and practicing a little. At the festival, the firework will be a lot bigger and it will also be much more impressive." She smiled proudly as she gestured to the other people standing around. They were all working on setting the fireworks up, Sora hadn't noticed before. Everyone was doing something, coordinating or lightening the fireworks.
"Oooooh." Sora smiled back, wondering what it was going to look like once the real big fireworks came.
Suddenly Riku tugged on Sora's shirt, gaining his attention. The brunette looked down.
Riku had a strange look in his eyes, he looked very serious despite his child-like face. Sora waited for him to say something and looked at him.
The silver haired boy narrowed his eyes slightly, then leaned forward.
Another whistling sound and bang caused both to wince slightly. Then the colorful rain descended and Riku leapt towards Sora, giving him a kiss.
Sora was shocked and nearly dropped Riku as he felt that the swarm of butterflies had turned into an army of planes. He was feeling oddly dizzy and couldn't quite decide whether he was cold or warm. Riku withdrew, looking down as if he was confused himself. Maybe he didn't know what he had just done. He was a kid after all.
The woman turned around, seeing the two boys stand there. She hadn't seen them kiss because she had been working on another firework.
"You two should really come and see the big firework. But for now, you should go home, it's getting late. Kids shouldn't stay out that long."
Sora nodded absently, feeling too awkward to answer and eventually began to walk. Riku remained silent for the rest of the way but he wasn't sleeping anymore. He just looked straight ahead while Sora carried him.
When they reached Sora's home, Riku jumped off, walking into the bathroom. Sora followed him and saw that the little boy was trying to reach the toothbrush. He helped him and brushed his teeth, patting his head and smiling affectionately when he was done. He hadn't complained about the toothpaste this time.
Riku went ahead into the bedroom and changed into his pajamas, all by himself, which surprised Sora a bit. He didn't know Riku could do that.
The silver haired boy lay down and stared at the ceiling. He hadn't say a word since they came home.
"Riku? Are you all right?" Sora eventually asked as he made himself a cup of ramen. Again. He didn't have anything beside instant noodles and it was getting on his nerves. But he had to eat something so he ate another one of those.
He came to sit beside Riku, eating while he watched the other boy lie in bed. There was no answer from him and Sora frowned.
"Is something wrong?" He placed the cup of noodles on the nightstand and climbed into the bed to lean over the boy.
As Sora's face came into Riku's vision, he smiled. "Tired..." he yawned, waving at Sora to leave him. The brunette seemed a bit puzzled but decided to take this as an answer. He lay down beside Riku, beginning to stroke over the soft, silver hair. Riku turned to his side facing Sora, then closed his eyes with a smile. Sora kept brushing over his hair until he was asleep and then bent to kiss his forehead.
"Sweet dreams, Riku."
Shifting slightly to lie on his back, Sora began to stare at the ceiling. He was definitely feeling weird things, things he shouldn't feel and things he didn't understand. He wondered what he should do about it. He couldn't ask anyone...how should he? And who would listen to such ridiculous things, anyway? Normally he would tell Riku, if anyone. Only Riku he trusted enough to ask about things like that. But that was currently not an option.
Sora sighed. Maybe Kairi? She was a girl after all. Sora yawned.
"Riku..."
And with that he fell into peaceful slumber.
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Ending notes:
Plot is coming, plot is coming! Or not... errr... I have already thought of an ending. There are going to be... 3 or 4 more chapters and then it's over! Yup, I hope you're all happy with that. I don't want this story to get dragged out too much although chibi Riku is just mortifyingly kawaii, ne?
But still. I have a beautiful ending for this story, or at least the concept of the ending. Let's see how long it takes to write it down.
So like I said, 3 or 4 chapters. Currently the 4th day is over, so there are three more days.
A few things are going to happen and of course after the three days Riku will be back to his old self.
And then. yeah. let's see. ^^
reviews are always appreciated and give me motivation to write more ^-^