A/N: So... I know this took me a hell of a long time and for that, I apologize. I was having issues with where I wanted the story to go and then I couldn't write the characters. I've been reading waaay too much Ran/Ken (Weiss Kreuz), so feel free to berate me if Riku's too scornful or cold or if Sora's too... feisty or something. I think I wrote a lot of Ken into Sora. Oops. Anyway, hope you all had a great holiday (they definitely weren't a month ago. Nope)! Here's my (immensely late) present to you!

Chapter 2 — Moving in and Memories

You miss a lot when you blink. In that split second that passes while eyelids are closed, everything can change. Sometimes it's not anything too monumental ­— the grass might grow a few more nanometers or the cat across the street might swish its tail. Other times, though, you can miss something so huge it's devastating.

Sora blinked. When he opened his eyes, he found that something had indeed occurred — the hot body that was Riku had disappeared back into the shadows. He glared at the empty doorway and then blinked a few more times, as if daring the powers that be to make something else happen. When the earth didn't spontaneously combust, he walked through the door.

"Er... is there a light switch somewhere?" he posed the question tentatively, already feeling quite the idiot and not entirely sure why. His response came in the form of a curtain being pulled away from a large glass door in the wall across from him. Sunlight suddenly flooded the room. Sora blinked a few more times.

When his eyes finally adjusted to the change in light he looked carefully about the room, feeling slightly awkward, partially uneasy, and somehow very unwelcome. On one side of the room, Riku's things were precisely organized — a sleek silver laptop and a few CDs in a pile on his desk; various books actually on a bookshelf (he'd have to try that some time); and, most notably, nowhere were there clothes residing on the floor. Sora almost groaned. He was the epitome of messy and this guy was a total neat freak. He was definitely going to be unwelcome. The other half of the room, his half, was completely bare, the bed frame and mattress against one wall and a desk and small closet on the wall adjacent. He supposed he was lucky to get a balcony room — the glass door which had just been revealed let out onto one of the brown-railed balconies, made complete by a few white, plastic deck chairs. He liked being outside; he'd probably spend a lot of time out there. But the most interesting feature of the room by far had to be the man currently lounging on his own black-and-silver-silk bed sheets. Sora's attempts to stare (and drool) were quickly and effectively thwarted — he looked over only to find Riku already staring at him. He turned away quickly, not wanting to have to face that stare, and pulled his suitcase into the room before dumping both it and his duffel bag onto his bed.

Sora could feel those stunning aquamarine eyes bearing heavily down upon his back as he went about unpacking his things. Riku said nothing, nor did he; every click and clatter he made setting things down seemed like an intrusion upon what felt to Sora like an almost sacrosanct silence. He knew the things he was setting about would never stay in the places he was setting them in; he was too disorganized for that. But Riku, of course, did not. For the oblivious ones out there, Sora was stalling. He slowed his movements, made jerky and fast by his nervousness, hoping to delay the time at which he and Riku would either be forced to make conversation or be left staring at one another. He had a feeling he would shrivel under that unnerving gaze before he could muster the courage (or coherent thought) to make conversation.

His alarm clock here, his beaten-up old laptop there, some clothes folded uncharacteristically neatly by his mother in the closet. Sora could tell by how precisely his things were packed that his mother was very worried; she was usually almost as much of a mess as he was. His expression softened and his tenseness ebbed a little. His parents hadn't really understood what was wrong with him after his sophomore year. Sora had changed, it seemed for the worst, and even he hadn't really known what was going on. They had tried hard to be accepting towards him once they realized their little baby wasn't coming back, just as he had tried to still be that little baby they missed once he had realized they missed him. He loved them just as much as he had always loved them, he just... he just... he didn't really know what was wrong with him either. Perhaps, he told himself, knowing that the only other reason for his change would be his own fault and wanting desperately to deny what had hurt his parents and him alike, he had just grown up. Something deep in his heart, however, told him that that was not the case.

He walked carefully over to his suitcase, having the odd sense that if he moved too quickly or was too loud his thoughts would collapse around him. He pulled out a silver-framed photograph of his parents and gazed softly at it. They both looked weary and somewhat past their prime but Sora could feel their contentment radiating from the picture. He blinked at the picture a few times, grateful for the moment of happiness it had captured, rather than the almost despairing expressions he had unwittingly made common on his parents' faces. He sat the frame on his desk, near his bedside, and then flopped backwards onto his bed and lay reminiscing for a few moments.

Junior high hadn't been kind to the naïve boy that Sora had been (and still was, somewhat). He was "just so cute and funny and kind (insert girly sigh here)" and thus made the object of many girls' affections. Many of them had flirted shamelessly until they realized that Sora didn't care at all. Actually, the oblivious Sora hadn't really noticed, but people like to gossip and gossiping lends itself rather well to exaggeration. "Sora doesn't care" became all sorts of things, from "Sora's a gay-boy" to "Sora's a manipulative bastard". The general public (er... that is to say, his classmates) hadn't taken very kindly to him after many a melodramatic girl made sure this gossip was spread as far as possible. He turned his head to the side and sighed, catching sight of an unfamiliarly blank wall. This wasn't his room...

Suddenly and all at once he was painfully aware of where he was, and, more specifically, the other presence in the room, whose entrancing eyes were still observing him silently. Coming out of his reminiscence resignedly, he felt the anxiety of before wash over him. Sora swallowed. This would be a fabulous time to make a good impression... He sat up slowly and rested his hands behind him, fighting a blush that fought back just as hard. "Eh... hi."

"Hi." An eyebrow quirked.

"I... um... er..." he began his valiant attempt at conversation, "well... we did the introductions, so that's all good. I guess... uh... well, since we're going to live together, we ought to get to know each other... I mean... what year are you in?"

"Sophomore," Riku replied, rather amused by Sora's stuttering. Not that he showed it. Fuck, he definitely did NOT want a roommate... that was the last thing he needed... even if he was uncomfortably endearing...

"Yeah, I'm a freshman, so I'm pretty new to this college thing... I really have no idea how anything works," he said, finishing with a quirky grin. He had gotten the conversation started (sort of), and was feeling almost proud of himself. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad...

"Great..." his roommate responded, laying the sarcasm on thick and giving Sora's previous confidence a swift kick in the shins. And maybe it would... "Well, Sora. This was a nice chat, but I've better things to do... have fun." The silver-haired man rose and walked over to his closet to get dressed before he left. He pulled a tight black wifebeater over his head without much thought, not even bothering to change out of his pajama pants — not that he needed to. He looked pretty damned hot without trying, Sora thought.

Riku sauntered (rather sexily) towards the still-open door, turning his silver head to smirk arrogantly as he passed Sora. The smaller boy flinched powerfully and edged in the opposite direction. Riku's countenance faltered, his smirk falling away and a curious question forming behind his eyes. His usually iron will disintegrated when faced with the look of terror so alarmingly out of place on Sora's innocent face and, despite his decision to make the younger boy feel as unwelcome as he was, he found himself opening his mouth to ask what was wrong. Sora's look of fright turned into one of remorse — for showing his emotions? What? — as he turned away and seemed to curl into himself a little. Riku faltered yet again. He obviously didn't want to talk about whatever had caused his strange-bordering-on-aberrant response, but Riku wanted to know what it was. He looked at Sora's back hesitantly, brows drawn together in a very rare moment of uncertainty.

He would have expected that look if he had been, say, about to beat the crap out of the smaller boy. He might have expected it if they had been watching a really scary movie. But a smirk? He hadn't even really noticed the expression forming on his face; it came as naturally as a smile to him. More naturally, even. What was with that?

Sora's ill-at-ease and stiff fidgeting brought Riku back to reality. The brunet was still staring at a spot on the wall that just happened to be directly opposite his roommate. Woah. Wait. What the fuck...?

What the fuck! He was standing here, gaping like a fucking fish, wondering what was wrong with a boy who was going to screw his life up completely. Riku realized how close his will had come to breaking and was furious about it, more at himself than the younger boy but wanting an easier outlet. What the hell was still doing here? Why did he care? Hadn't he deemed Sora not worth his time? A roommate was just a complication in his life. A fucking huge one. He sent a livid glare Sora's way and spun around, storming out the door and barely restraining himself from slamming it shut.

Sora let out the breath he had been holding noisily. That moment had to be more uncomfortable than all the time he had spent with his roommate combined. He flopped back down onto his bed again. He was so stupid. Stupid for reacting. Stupid for letting his guard slip. Stupid for thinking his roommate would be like him. Stupid for thinking his roommate would touch him. A smirk didn't always mean a beating; a smirk didn't always mean being forced to do things he didn't want to. But Riku looked so much like him it was scary. It was his worst nightmare — a never-ending nightmare, as it had seemed then — come back to haunt him.

Sora had moved into high school with rather shaky self-esteem. All the gossip spread about him made him uncomfortable, to say the least. He didn't like the wondering stares that followed him down the halls, or the way people all seemed to clump away from him as they discussed it in the cafeteria. As oblivious as he might be, he noticed all this. He noticed when the stares changed from wondering to an almost sizing-up kind of appraisal; he noticed when people stopped interacting with him all together. The usually carefree Sora became a tired, cheerless shell as he spent more and more time wondering how horrible a person he must really be. Everyone couldn't be wrong, he reasoned. And it sure seemed like everyone thought he was a bad person. So when he moved into high-school, it was only natural for him to shy away from everyone. He was just the sad loner kid, as adorable as he was depressed. This drew a whole other group, those who thought they could rescue him from his oh-so-lamentable plight. Just as Sora was beginning to enjoy himself and his host of newfound friends, however, his innocence drew in one last person. Sephiroth.

Riku was fuming. How could he have been so stupid as to let his guard down? His fist clenched and unclenched around the brass doorknob. It was all that damn boy's fault. He glowered at the door until he had regained his control. Woah... regained control? He leaned back against the closed door, his pale hand falling listlessly from the doorknob. He slid down until he was sitting, his knees bent and close to his chest, unbelieving. What the hell just happened? Why was he so agitated? Nothing ruffled him. Nothing ever. So how had that innocent face made him lose it? Twice! First he was concerned, then he was angry? What the hell! He was supposed to be playing with Sora, not the other way around. And yet the other boy had made him lose total control without even trying. That scared him more than anything...

Scared! The damn boy had him scared. What was going on?

He pondered this for a few more moments before realizing that he must look like an idiot just sitting here. His first instinct was to return to his room for a long session of thought, but then he remembered that cause of his problems would be sitting right across from him. He growled in frustration. Roommates were such a pain in the ass...

Riku tensed as the door opened suddenly. He was lucky he had such sharp reflexes, otherwise he'd be looking like a fool, sprawled on his back and staring straight up Sora's shorts. Not that he'd mind... oh, fucking quick reflexes. He hissed involuntarily as Sora's foot collided with his backside sharply and watched as the younger boy stumbled, a bewildered look making itself apparent on his face. When he had caught his balance (after an amusingmoment of arm-flapping goodness), he blinked down at Riku a few times.

"What are you still doing here?" he asked, not mocking the silver-haired man in the slightest. The smaller boy had probably forgotten Riku's earlier taunts already. Either that or he was far kinder than Riku could ever be. How... sweet. He felt that amount of kindness would be disgusting, but at the same time it made him feel rather guilty... His first thought was to answer with an insulting comment, but the sharp cynicism he was so famous for seemed to be rendered helpless by those blue eyes brimming with emotion. For once, he couldn't think of a comeback.

Frowning up at those eyes, he realized that there wasn't much point in trying to hate the other boy. As much as he detested admitting it, his resolve just couldn't hold under that kind of pressure — so innocent and unassuming, and thereby so effective. He found himself reasoning with himself, and that was a sure sign of his will's collapse. It wasn't Sora's fault he was his roommate. And besides... Riku thought he might like the younger boy. Ah, what the hell. Sora pouted, probably mistaking his silence for malicious. So Riku made a face and stuck out his tongue. Sora's eyes bugged out and Riku had to laugh.

"I was being an asshole earlier. I'm sorry," he said with an apologetic smile on his face. He was startled by how comfortably he could speak with Sora, especially while he was so thoroughly disgusted by himself. The brunet smiled down at him.

"It's okay. Don't worry, I won't hate you for it, I mean—"

"Plus I forgot my key. " He grinned wickedly at the pout — was that an attempt at a glare? — that appeared on Sora's face again. "Just kidding, Sora!" He felt the urge to ruffle the younger boy's spiky mop of brown hair.

"Hey... are you ticklish?" he questioned innocently. Riku didn't catch the telltale sugary-sweetness of a trap in his voice.

"Yeah, why?" Sora only grinned and pounced. He had the larger boy rolling around on the floor and giggling like there was no tomorrow in record time. Had it been anybody but Sora, Riku would have been righteously pissed — they were in the middle of the hallway after all, on display for everyone to see, and his head was aching enough without being jostled around. He was probably ruining his image right now... but somehow he didn't really feel like ending their friendly tussle, even if Sora was winning. "Ack, Sora, stop!" he finally gasped out after a few more moments. "I can't breath!"

As they were sitting there, panting and laughing, Riku came to realize that somewhere in their tickle-fest Sora had ended up straddling his hips. He fought the urge to arch his eyebrow at their rather suggestive position. "Watch out, Sora," he said to fill what was going to become a very awkward silence when Sora figured out where he was. "I'm gonna get you back when you least expect it." The brunet stuck out his tongue.

"Not if I get you first!"

"You already got me, remember?" Riku propped himself up on his elbows, looking more directly into Sora's eyes, with the remnants of a pleasant smile on his lips. Sora pouted — Riku had looked nice lying there beneath him, his silver hair spread out behind his face, flushed pink from exertion... Oh boy. That definitely did NOT sound right. And it definitely didn't look right either! He scrambled up as quickly as he could without rendering Riku sterile and blushed a flaming red.

"I... I mean... uh..."

"Are you gonna help me up or what?" Riku saved his roommate from having to explain.

"Heh, yeah," Sora said, offering a hand and a cheeky grin as thanks. "Sorry 'bout that."

"No worries," Riku assured as he pulled himself up. He shook his head unconsciously to settle his hair back into place and brushed off his (rather hot) rump. "Now let me help you with your schedule..." The two walked back into the room together.

To be continued?

Yes, you dolt. XP

A/N: Agh... Have I mentioned that I'm really sorry that took so long? I said 'I'll do it winter break' and I didn't, so I put it off till our 5-day weekend and when I was about to decide to do it over spring break, I realized I'd end up putting it off till summer... which would make this chapter a year in the writing, and for 9½ pages, that's pathetic. My last chapter was a measly 6. I need to make these longer...

Anyway. Your guys' reviews really made my day! Thanks for reading & reviewing this, even when it seemed like I'd abandoned it. I promise I'll try to get the next chapter out much faster!

Thanks for reading, guys.
-Kat

Extra-special thanks to these guys, because I really appreciate their reviews:

teizonriku, for being extra sweet and writing amazing stories! Haha, I'm glad I don't sound too fangirly... I'd have to shoot myself if I did. I know how you feel about Latin... mid-terms suck, especially those in a language nobody else takes. Sorry this took so long!

SeekingRedemption, for being understanding. You're too cool for school. And about his hangover – it's supposed to be important, but somehow I forget those sort of things. I had to add those details in last minute in the last two chapters...heh... Thanks for the compliments :)

Damascus Ochre, in hopes that I can convert another fan to KH! Muahaha, we will take over the world!! ... I'm definitely not a psychopath. Nope...

Riku-soralover1, even if she won't be reading anymore. Go read her author profile; her dedication is amazing.

Legolas19, for dropping by and leaving a quick review.

Kili-chan, for having the 10th review! Eerk... almost 4 months later isn't exactly a quick update; I'm sorry! Yay for teen girl squad!

darkreality11, for appreciating hot college boy action just as much as I do.

Omega Weapon, for having a cool name.

DarkangelWings, for being cool enough to like teen girl squad.

T, for being cool with the z's and having the same initial as me.

Ink2, for leaving an awesome, if kinda hard to read, review. I usually hate Kairi too, but I didn't want to write her as a hateful bimbo. I didn't intend to make Sora sound crazy, but he's supposed to be kinda screwed up... as you can see with that bit about Riku smirking. I'll explain more of his backstory later. I didn't want to bore anybody with volumes on his past...

Raven's Light, for being so awesomely positive.

xXNotHeartlessXx, for being so nice. I know... they didn't exactly start off on the right foot... I was going to make them not get along with each other for a while, but... I just couldn't do it. I wrote a couple drafts (that's one reason this chapter took me so long), and all of them had them making up somehow. :P Look at me, giving in to the whims of the characters I'm writing!

Celestyl, because I did wait and I'm sorry!!

saigo hime, for having an awesome name. Does it mean something?

My buddy Claire, even though I don't think she's reading this, for filling me up with deliciously naughty thoughts to the point where I've become just as deliciously naughty...

My buddy Ross, for not laughing at me when I told him I was writing even though it wasn't assigned (but I can tell he wanted to XP) and despite the fact he teases me mercilessly about how effeminate (and not real) Riku is. ::Rants about loser celebrities and anime hotties::

THE EYND. (ah, The End of the World!)