If you don't know it by now you're stupid. I. Don't. Own. Kingdom Hearts. *sigh*
Warning:
be ready for the last day of chibi Riku!
Author's Ranting:
Um...sorry? I apologize for this chapter. It is not worthy of being called the last day. It was planned to be mortifyingly cute and sweet because it's chibi Riku's last day and...*sobsob* I'm just too sad to write it better. I don't want him to vanish! But it has to be...for the sake of this story *sobsob*
However! This chapter is twice as long as usually so yay!
Well, here we go. The bubble bursts! chibi's gonna be big again... I hope it's somewhat okay...
(I'm having a major headache so be gentle with it...I was really trying my best)
~~~~~~~~
It was early morning when Sora woke from his uneasy sleep and strange dreams. He didn't feel Riku holding him, not like it had been last night but he knew that the boy was still there, for he could hear and feel the soft breathing against the back of his neck.
His head hurt a bit and he felt dizzy and drowsy but that wasn't what bothered him. The thing that had kept him worrying all night was nothing like headaches or other pains regarding his body… it was rather the fear of this day. Today was the last day with Riku and Sora felt strangely anxious about it. He wasn't sure what it would be like once the magic was over. He wasn't sure whether Riku would remember and he wasn't sure whether he should pretend it never happened, pretend to not have that fluttery feeling whenever he saw his friend.
Sora sighed and carefully rolled over to look how Riku was doing.
A smile graced his lips when his gaze fell on his small companion, curled up next to him, wrapped up in the blankets. The small, round cheeks were flushed and his lips were thrust forward in an unconscious pout as little children often do in their sleep. He wrinkled his stubby nose for a moment and made a slight grimace before turning slightly to continue sleeping peacefully. The turning was kind of hard since he had wrapped the blanket so tightly around himself, making it nearly impossible to move.
Sora decided to sit up and shifted so that he could watch Riku from above. He tentatively reached out and brushed his hands over the boy's forehead. He stroked over the silver hair and played with it for a while before heaving another sigh. His smile faded and turned into a thoughtful expression. Surely, he would miss the young boy. Surely, he would miss the hugs and kisses. But didn't he miss his old friend? All the time in this week, hadn't he missed the cocky fifteen-year-old teen? His long time best friend and rival?
Of course he had. At day he was busy taking care of the kid but at night…there wasn't a night when he hadn't thought of the older version of his friend. And he had been constantly worrying about how it would all go on.
A wave of excitement flooded in him suddenly as he wondered what it would be like to receive those innocent kisses and hugs from the older Riku. It sent his stomach doing back flips and he felt his cheeks get incredibly warm, giving a tingling sensation.
"No…how can I think like that…" he muttered to himself, shaking his head a little. Riku wouldn't be like that once he was back to normal. The only reason little Riku did those things was…it was because…
Sora paused in his thoughts and remembered the drawing. The Paopu in their hands and the heart above them. If he only knew what the boy was thinking. Probably nothing, his inner voice reasoned. Little children didn't think much; they acted on instinct. But didn't that mean his instincts told him he loved Sora?
The brunet shook his head again. "No he doesn't. He doesn't love me like that. He likes me a lot…that's why he keeps saying those things…"
It was then that Riku stirred, causing Sora to focus his attention back on the boy. His eyelids fluttered curtly but they remained closed and eventually he fell, again, back to sleep. Sora frowned and looked down to contemplate further. However, the short moment of seeing Riku stir made his mind drift and he found his eyes glued to his friend again.
He couldn't help smiling as Riku continued to sleep in that tight cocoon of blankets and it got him wondering how exactly he had managed to turn into a living sushi role. No wonder Sora had felt cold all night long. Riku stole his blanket!
But how could Sora ever be angry with that boy? It just wasn't possible, so instead, he just caressed the flushed cheeks with his thumb and leaned down to place a soft kiss on his forehead.
"Sora…"
Sora's ears perked up and he pulled away to see Riku's lips moving. His eyes were slowly starting to open and his lips were parted, half moving to form words.
"Morning, Riku," he greeted the boy, smiling brightly.
The little boy stifled a yawn and blinked his eyes to wake up properly. He attempted to lift his hands to his face, rubbing the sleep out of his eyes but he found himself trapped somehow. Blinking and frowning, he tried to move his hands again, just to have them blocked. He finally opened his eyes fully and looked around. There was Sora next to him, which gave him a feeling of safety. But there was a slight problem, he noted.
"Can't move," he complained, turning to Sora with pleading, helpless eyes.
The smile on Sora's lips broadened at the adorable statement and he reached out to unwrap the boy. That, however, wasn't as easy as it seemed and the fact that Riku had to squirm around only made it worse. "Stop twisting, I'll free you from it," Sora reassured, getting slightly annoyed at the tightness of the blankets. Somehow they were always winded up, no matter what he did.
Riku fought bravely against the evil blanket that prevented him from moving while Sora told him to stay still.
At least half an hour passed and they had made no progress. Instead, Sora was tangled in the sheets and blankets with Riku somehow attached.
"What the hell…?" Sora growled and kicked his way free, finally ripping the sheets away to push off the blankets. Riku looked at him with big, wide eyes and opened his mouth.
"You said a bad word!" he exclaimed, pointing with his finger.
Sora sighed and shook his head, making sure that he pushed all of the bed sheets and blankets off the bed so there was no chance to get entangled again.
"You said a bad word! You said it! I heard you!"
Riku seemed persistent and Sora could only think of one way of shutting him up.
He caught the boy in his arms and kissed him - on the lips.
Riku didn't seem too surprised, not by the kiss, that is. He was surprised that someone cut him off while he was busy scolding for using foul language but not because it was a kiss. He loved kisses with Sora.
After the brunet pulled away, Riku blinked at him for several times before shrugging his shoulders. He seemed to have stopped his accusations and smiled brightly and mischievously before tackling Sora's waist to rub his face against the other boy's stomach.
"H-hey!" Sora warned him as Riku giggled into his shirt, tickling him with his movements. As Sora tried to pry him off somehow, Riku clung to him and smiled.
He hugged Sora's waist again and then started to climb him like a mountain, starting from his stomach where he had been up to his face so he could lean down to his ear.
"We'll always be like this, right?"
It sent a shiver down Sora's spine and the words nearly broke his heart. Riku didn't know what he was saying. He didn't know what Sora felt for him, did he?
So instead of answering, Sora chose to pat his head and then pushed him off.
"How about breakfast, Riku?" he asked, changing the subject.
Riku nodded eagerly and hopped of the bed, rubbing his hands over his face. It was so adorable that Sora couldn't help smiling again. Might as well enjoy this last day, he thought.
~~~
Riku's parents were gone already so there was no problem in wandering around the house. Sora knew that he had seen his favourite cereal somewhere in the cupboards so he made his way to look for it. Riku always had Sora's favourite cereal in his house although he himself didn't like it that much. Sora wondered why he would keep the food if he didn't like it but shrugged it off eventually.
"Now sit down there and don't play around with things on the table, ok?"
Riku nodded and sat down like a good boy. Sora gave him a suspicious look but then proceeded to get their breakfast. He had the feeling that Riku was doing something again but when he looked back he could only see the little boy watching the surface of the table as though it was the most interesting thing on earth.
Coming back with two bowls of cereal he set them on the table, seemingly startling Riku as he did so. The little boy looked up at him a little puzzled and then eyed the bowl in front of him.
"That stuff?" he complained, screwing his face up in disgust. Sora frowned and then pouted a little, crossing his arms.
"Well, I think it's good. You can go make yourself something else if you don't want it," he huffed, sitting down to eat.
Riku snorted and crossed his arms, stubbornly sitting at the table and glared at his bowl.
"There's no way I'm eating this," he declared, giving Sora a serious look.
It almost felt like arguing with the older Riku. Sora remembered doing that quite often, actually. Riku would always complain about how Sora could eat that sugary junk and it always had to be cereal and nothing but cereal. Sora could almost hear the older boy in his head and he rolled his eyes. So what if he had a slight obsession about cereal. Riku had no right to condemn him! He was…
"Then don't. Tell me, what do you want?" Sora eventually asked, reminding himself that it was not a fifteen-year-old boy he was talking to but a little helpless kid. A little helpless kid that sounded awfully like a teenager.
Riku mumbled something but it was too quiet to be heard and Sora just waited for him to say it clearly. The boy shook his head, though and began taking up the spoon into his hand. Sora watched with interest as Riku began to eat. His movements were clumsy and he spilled half of the milk but he did eat on his own. Sora didn't know whether to be worried about the fact Riku didn't want to be fed or proud because he managed to eat on his own.
After a while he stopped and frowned. He bit his lip, still holding the spoon in his hand and then held it out to Sora.
He looked down at the spilt milk and cereal and lowered his head in shame. Sora raised his eyebrows at that and took the spoon from Riku's grasp. He didn't say anything because it seemed Riku found it more than humiliating to be so helpless. Such a pride even as a little kid; Sora shook his head with a small smile. They finished breakfast then and it was time to do something.
But what?
Riku had climbed onto Sora's lap again and was playing with the silver chain Sora was wearing around his neck. It was so shiny; he liked it.
Sora, however, was slightly bored. He didn't know what to do, nor did he want to do anything but then again doing nothing would only make it more boring. It was the last day, after all. How would they spend it? Of course, he couldn't tell Riku that it was the last day, he wouldn't understand.
Sighing in annoyance, Sora closed his eyes and only opened them when he felt that Riku was leaving the spot on his lap.
"Where are you going?" he asked as the boy began to make his way out of the kitchen.
"Where's Tao Tao?" Riku asked, looking around.
Sora pointed towards the door. "In the bed. I can get him for you if you want," he offered, already getting up to walk towards the bedroom. Riku waited until Sora was back with the panda in his hands. He held it out towards Riku and expected the boy to take him. He didn't, though.
"No, you take him. He's yours. But take good care of him because then I'll take good care of you too," Riku stated and it sounded so logical and rational even with his childlike voice. Sora chuckled and nodded, tugging the panda under his arm as he followed Riku out. It seemed the boy was heading somewhere and Sora just followed, finding himself outside the house all of the sudden. Riku knew exactly where he was going and Sora just followed him. They ended up on the beach where they used to play in their childhood. They sometimes even played here now. But most of the times they just trained and dueled.
"Here," Riku announced, plopping down on the spot he had pointed at. Sora lifted an eyebrow and kneeled down.
"What's here?" he asked, looking around.
Riku rolled his eyes heavenwards as though Sora had just asked a very stupid question. He shook his head in a dismissing motion and then began to heap up the sand around him. The waves of the ocean grazed them and Riku giggled at the tickling feeling of water hitting his feet, making Sora smile once again. It seemed he had to smile the entire time.
Riku made a heap and worked with full concentration as the heap developed into something interesting. Sora watched the boy, still holding the panda bear in his hands, as Riku built a sand castle.
"Someday I'm gonna build a castle big enough to live in!" Riku happily announced, spreading his arms to emphasize his words. "Thaaaaat big," he added, gesturing around with his hands.
Sora laughed and nodded. "I'm sure you'll do that."
Riku grinned and went back to work. The sand was everywhere, even in his hair, but he didn't seem to mind. Sora occasionally reached out to brush it off his head or clothes while Riku formed towers and rooftops. He had a talent for building those things, he'd always had. Sora remembered the time they used to build sand castles together. Sora would always make them small and plain while Riku had to make them huge and fancy. His were also better built and so he often helped Sora with his own so that the castles were equal.
"When the castle's big enough you can come live with me," Riku absently murmured as he formed out the windows. He used his little fingers to dig small holes into the towers, carefully hollowing them out.
Sora had to smile again. The little boy was focusing all his concentration on the windows and extra decorations just as though the castle meant everything to him.
"That would be great," Sora then replied, ruffling the boy's hair. He felt how the boy pushed up against his hand and chuckled at the protesting whines coming from him.
"Don't mess up my hair!" the silver haired boy complained, shaking his head like a puppy. A lot of sand flew off the silver strands and hit Sora's face.
"Hey, hey." Sora rubbed his face to clean off the grains.
Riku just grinned and stuck out his tongue. "Serves you right!" he gleefully spat before focusing back in his former task. Sora pouted and slumped his shoulders. Still, he couldn't do anything but smile when he continued to watch his little friend building the sand castle of the century.
Time passed and Riku grew tired. He neglected the castle for a while and crawled towards Sora, who was lying on his back with his eyes closed.
"Soooora?" Riku poked the older boy but got no response except for a light grunt.
"Sora Sora Sora!" He took Sora's collar and began shaking him almost violently. That caused Sora to open his eyes and he heaved a long sigh.
"What is it?" he wearily asked, rubbing his forehead and eyes as he moved to sit up. He did feel a little dizzy but he assumed it would pass.
Riku let go of him and blew out his breath, putting a hand to his chest.
"I was worried," the little boy confessed, sighing again before looking up at Sora. "You look bad." He pointed at Sora's forehead, which was considerably flushed. Maybe he was getting sick? Sora refused to think that. He was probably just tired from taking care of Riku.
"Oh I'm fine, it's nothing," he assured, patting Riku's head. "Thanks for worrying, though."
Riku frowned and reached out to grab Sora's arms, pulling them together. He then climbed on his lap and stood on Sora's thighs, holding onto his shoulders for balance. One of his tiny hands came up to Sora's head and he gingerly placed it over his forehead.
"You sure you're okay?"
Sora's arms caught Riku in an embrace and the small boy was pulled close. "I'm really fine," Sora responded, pulling Riku even closer. It seemed he was trying to find some comfort in the embrace and Riku wasn't disinclined at all.
And then, after a few minutes of hugging, Riku began to squirm.
"Need to finish," he explained, trying to wriggle free. Sora reluctantly let go, hanging his head as he did. Riku frowned and bit his lip, watching Sora with a concerned look. He glanced back and forth between the sand castle and Sora as if he was trying to decide which one was more important. He looked longingly at his work but then shook his head and jumped right back into Sora's arms; catching the older boy off guard: they fell to the ground.
"Riku!" the boy exclaimed in surprise. The silver haired boy just smiled and wrapped his tiny arms around Sora's neck.
"I said I'll take care of you," the boy whispered, and then he placed a kiss on Sora's forehead. The older boy couldn't help blushing and swallowed audibly at the tumult inside him. Riku was just too adorable like that. But he wanted his old friend back, and the boy was going to be himself in less than a day and the whole magic would be gone. Why did it hurt so much? Sora felt confused and afraid of how Riku would act once everything was normal. Suddenly, he remembered something. He could hear the girls' voices in his memory when they were at the cinema.
"We need to take photos of this!" Kairi suddenly exclaimed, a light bubble appearing over her head. Selphie's eyes widened and she nodded in agreement at the superb idea.
"Yeah, that's it! Riku's just too cute! We need photos of him before he's back to normal!"
He remembered that they had taken a lot of photos and wondered if they were already developed.
He felt Riku letting go of him again and blinked as the boy grinned.
"You're smiling again!" he happily squealed before scampering off to his sand castle. He hadn't even realized that he was smiling until Riku pointed it out to him. But the thought of having photos, at least something as remembrance, made him more than happy. It would be all right, he thought, mentally nodding to himself. Riku was going to be himself again but at least he had those photos…which could turn out to be quite some blackmail material. Sora smirked at that thought.
***
It was late afternoon when Riku had finally finished his masterpiece. He insisted on putting something over it to shelter it from waves or rain. Unfortunately they couldn't find anything proper for this purpose and eventually gave up, praying that it would stay at least for a few hours. Riku had put so much effort into this that it would be a pity to have it washed away.
"What are we doing?" the boy inquired as he watched the silver chain around Sora's neck. He was being carried by Sora, as always, and they were going somewhere he recognized as Kairi's place. Monster alarm.
"I dun like this place!" He pointed at Kairi's house and hid in Sora's shirt, burying his face to vanish. Kind of 'if I can't see her, she can't see me' logic.
Sora just smiled and patted him on the head. "It'll be quick, I promise. I just need to ask her something."
Riku's ears perked up. "Like…like…" he scrunched up his face in thought and put a finger to his lips. Then he nodded. "Advice!" he proudly declared, showing Sora that he could use the word he had newly learned.
The brunet laughed and nodded, ruffling his hair. "Right, something like that," he replied.
They reached the door and Sora knocked. No response. He knocked again but there was no one at home so no one answered. He sighed and frowned. Should he go to Selphie? He wanted to know about the photos but the thought of going to Selphie made him somewhat uneasy. Sure, they were friends and all but she did seem scary sometimes. He preferred Kairi.
Still, the only way to get those pictures was Selphie and so he decided to overcome his fear. If one could call that fear.
Riku didn't question him when they came to the hyper girl's place. They didn't have to knock because Selphie swung the door open just when they arrived, nearly walking into them as she kept talking on her cell phone.
Sora raised his eyebrows. Who would have thought that Selphie had a cell phone? Her family didn't seem that rich and honestly, a cell phone on Destiny Islands was something seen not so often. He shrugged, supposing that it didn't matter.
"Um, Selphie?" He waved his hand before her face and the brunette blinked, stopping in mid-sentence.
"Huh? Sora!" She immediately hung up, only to wince as she realized what she had done.
"Wait," she gestured at Sora to stand next to her and then dialed a number. Riku watched the 'monster', which he had promised not to call monster anymore, in a cautious way, clinging to Sora just in case she decided to eat him.
"Eh, Kairi? Sorry for hanging up like that - uh yeah, that's right - no, I don't know - yeah sure but - right. Yeah I'll tell him - no, not that - right, right. Okay. Don't worry about it! Yup, I'll do that. You too. Okay. See ya-what? No, he's standing right next to me! Ooh and he's there, too. Hmmm I dunno…okay. If you say so."
Suddenly Selphie handed the phone to Riku. "Kairi wants to talk to you." Sora blinked, wondering why she would talk to Riku and not to him. Looking at Selphie with a puzzled expression, the silver haired boy took the cell phone and frowned.
"He…llo?" he suspiciously spoke into that thing. He had seen those things before but he couldn't remember using one.
"Riku!" came a rather high-pitched voice and he grimaced.
"Riku, I got something to tell you! Selphie will give Sora a few pictures and among those, there will be a little note. You gotta take it before Sora sees it, all right? Take it, and keep it! You might need it someday!"
Riku wrinkled his nose and sulked. "But…but I can't read…" he muttered, sulking even more when he had to admit his weakness.
Kairi chuckled and 'aww'ed. "That's okay, you will sooner or later. Just take the note and keep it, ok? Please?" She paused and smiled. "Sora will be very grateful," she added and then hung up.
Riku blinked as the voice was gone and then handed the phone back to Selphie.
"What did she say?" the two teens inquired, although Selphie knew what Kairi had said. It was all part of their plan.
Riku shrugged and settled back against Sora's chest, snuggling up to him again.
"I got the photos." Selphie handed Sora a pack of pictures and smiled. "All yours."
At that moment, the silver haired boy quickly snatched it from his friend's hand and searched for the note that was supposed to be there. He found it and stuck it into his pocket. Sora, of course, would have noticed if it weren't for Selphie's distraction. He was a little confused as to why Selphie had known about his request without having him ask but her current ramblings about something that made no sense whatsoever distracted him well enough.
Then, when the note was safe inside Riku's pocket, Sora was allowed to look at the pictures.
He smiled at every single on of them and hugged Riku close. "That's you," he murmured in amusement as Riku stared at a picture of himself where he was crouched down with his hands over his head, trying to hide himself.
Riku snorted and looked away. "Stupid…" he muttered, shaking his head.
***
The last evening then arrived and Sora grew more anxious with the passing time. It was dark and it was late. Riku's parents were going to come back soon. They had eaten something prepared by Riku's mother because even though she left early in the morning, she found the time to cook dinner before leaving. They just had to warm it up in the evening.
After eating, Sora noticed that Riku was getting tired. Playing in the sand had probably exhausted the little boy, since he had spent all his concentration and power on it.
They changed into the pyjamas Sora had brought and Riku carefully placed his small pants on the chair at his desk, eyeing them one last time before going back to Sora. It was important to handle them carefully since the note was still there. He didn't know what it said since he couldn't read it but he supposed that Kairi was right and that he would need it sometime later. She said Sora would be grateful so he just had to take it.
Lying down on the narrow bed, Riku cuddled contently with Sora, curling up in his arms. They remained like this for a while, not moving, only breathing. Riku's breathing was light and slightly faster than Sora's, a child's breathing. Then, after a while, Riku stirred again and crawled up to nuzzle Sora's cheek.
"I want to stay with you forever," he whispered, sounding so earnest and pure but also very childlike, which made the whole thing so hard. Children did that a lot. Declaring their love and telling others to be with them forever. For them, it seemed like forever but in reality it was probably just a few days. Children just didn't think much.
"Forever's a long time, Riku," Sora bitterly answered, trying to hide the weariness in his voice. It was the last evening, after all. He should enjoy the last moments of this little boy with his adorable ways of showing affection. Grown Riku wouldn't do that anymore.
Riku suddenly pulled away and shifted to look right into Sora's eyes. His expression changed drastically and Sora almost froze at the resemblance. It seemed his friend as already back to normal, with that serious and mature expression on his face.
"I know that," the boy answered and this time there was no child speaking but the soul of a fifteen-year old boy. Sora could simply hear it. He could hear the difference between those voices, not because of the pitch, because that was still the same, but because of the way he spoke. It just felt different.
"And I still want to be with you forever."
Sora closed his eyes, feeling the heat rise to his cheeks. Should he really get so worked up on that? What if he was just imagining things? What if it was still the same, childlike voice talking, full of naïveté and innocence?
Feeling Riku snake his arms around his neck, Sora smiled, either a little sadly or a little contently. He couldn't quite decide which one it was.
"Me too," he whispered, pulling the small boy close.
No words were exchanged after that. Sora was awake for another three hours until he finally fell asleep. The sound of Riku's calm and steady breathing lulled him to sleep and the last day was finally over.
***
Sora opened his eyes as he thought he heard something rustle. There was the sound of sheets rustling. Blinking, he noticed how light it was, meaning that it was already morning.
'Morning!' his mind piped up, causing him to wide his eyes. He couldn't feel Riku hugging him so that meant… He turned his head to look at the source of the sheets rustling.
Now it was time to face the truth. It was time to look at what he had been awaiting in anxiety. It was time to see…
...A sleeping, fifteen year old - and very naked - Riku in his bed, the tiny clothes of the night torn from his growth.
Sora fainted.
~~~~~~~~
Ending notes:
Muahaha Riku's already back and we got a cliffhanger! I couldn't resist adding this last part! I wanted to have it in the next chapter but then I thought why not here? And can't you just imagine Sora seeing sleeping Riku with only the thin sheets covering his most private parts lol ^^
Nosebleed! nosebleed! Well, since I didn't feel like messing up Riku's bed with tons of blood, Sora just fainted. Which is pretty harmless considered that he's still in bed so no falling to the ground or anything.
Hmm...kay...that's it. Now it's only up to Riku how he handles the whole thing. Will he remember? If yes, does he still feel the same or will he pretend it never happened? Or will he not remember and everything goes as if there's nothing between them or might he even discover his feelings without remembering???
Okay..*blinks* now I confused myself. *blinkblink* Ehm...we'll see. Ja!
oh and review please, ne? *gets chibi Riku to beg*
chibi Riku: "Pwease pwease pwease give us lots and lots of reviews! I promise to hug you all!"
Awwww!