Disclaimer: Ari does not claim ownership of the characters or settings below; she has merely taken them for her own devices. She does not claim these to be the true or false implications of the real owners of Kingdom Hearts, but feel free to take them as such!

Notes: To 'flame!': Thanks for the flame. I gave it to Riku in this next drabble, seeing as it's so cold on Destiny Islands right now. :D

Origin: A drabble for flutteriffic, another community on LiveJournal.

Suggested Music: Between, by Vienna Teng.

Rikairu Graffiti
II — Early-Morning Chill


It was unnaturally cold that morning.

He shivered slightly, pulling the blankets up to his chin and tucking them as best he could around his body, then rolling to the side and curling into a ball.

He wouldn't be moving this morning. It was too cold, he reasoned, and most everyone else on the islands would be staying in bed as well. In a few hours, the sun would have banished the clouds away and the sun would have warmed the room to a comfortable eighty degrees. At the moment, outside his window was fog. Fog so thickly white he couldn't see past to the trees that surrounded the house.

Another good reason not to move. If he left for the islands like he'd been meaning to, he could easily get lost and end up at another island.

An arm poked out of the blankets, rubbing his eyes. Who was he kidding? He'd woken up already, and wouldn't be able to go back to sleep. Unless he got up and began moving, all he'd be able to think about was how cold it was.

Finally sighing, Riku rose from bed, quickly pulling his pants and a shirt from the dresser before heading into the bathroom. He showered and dressed quickly, then left the house, locking the door and tucking the key into his back pocket. Kairi would be at the island already—he had to wonder if she was ever late for anything—and Sora would still be in bed, pointedly ignoring his mother's warnings that he would miss breakfast. Riku smirked in amusement, biting into an apple as he passed the tree-chair that marked the halfway point between the shore and his home. The only thing more important to Sora than food was sleeping—or perhaps sparring. Or Kairi.

Riku frowned as he took another bite, absentmindedly trailing a hand along the bushes as he passed. It was obvious he liked Kairi, the way he was constantly looking her way, then looking away hurriedly when she turned toward him. The way he avoided touching her, but wasn't afraid to sling an arm over Selphie's shoulders when asking for a favour. The way he looked at her when she was talking. It both amused and irritated Riku, for nearly the same reason. He believed that if Sora liked Kairi, he should let her know, and didn't like that the boy wouldn't admit it.

Of course, he didn't know if he'd admit to liking her, either.

It was all fair and well while saying it to himself, but when it came to saying it aloud, Riku drew the line. He didn't know what kept him from saying it, but whenever he came close, he'd shake his head and sigh. He couldn't help liking her. She always had a kind word for anyone who needed it, and wasn't as aggravated by children as he could be. When he was ready to tell someone to just get over something, Kairi would show them how it had helped them. She had a tendency to see the light in the darkness, and that was what he loved about her.

The trip to the island was perilous; if he hadn't rowed to the island so many times before, he probably would have found himself at another island. However, he reached the dock without problem and lashed his boat to a pole carefully, watching the surf make it sway slightly in the water.

Once assured that the boat wouldn't drift off, Riku loped toward the smaller island, the one with the paopu tree. He was sure Kairi would be there; they met there every morning. As he crossed the bridge, her figure appeared, sitting with her back to him, staring out into the fog. 'Morning,' he murmured, coming to a stop just behind her left shoulder.

'Morning,' Kairi greeted back, eyes never straying from the horizon.

'How're you?' asked Riku, sitting himself on the ground next to her. He rested his elbow on his left knee, turning to look at her as she answered.

'Cold,' she said, somehow managing to sound upset and irritated at once. 'The fog's really thick today, isn't it?'

'Yeah,' agreed Riku, turning back to the sea. 'Like a dead man's fog . . .'

They both smiled at each other momentarily. The dead man's fog was a reference to an old pirate tale, about a ship that brought with it a fog so thick it held people's doors shut. Not that they would have wanted to open them, of course, lest the pirates raiding the town killed them, as well, but it was said that the fog brought with it the souls of the people the pirates had killed, desperate to keep more from suffering their fate.

There was silence, then. An odd, awkward silence that had never graced their presence before. Then—

'I had a dream last night,' Kairi said abruptly, glancing over at him.

He was interested. Many of the elders of the islands had proclaimed that any dream you had would come to pass, a theory that most believed. Riku himself didn't hold much stock in these anymore, after once having a dream that he'd found himself travelling between worlds in seconds. How could that ever happen? It wouldn't. 'What was it about?' he asked.

Kairi took a deep breath, closing her eyes in thought. She looked up at him, biting her lip, and he was startled to see she was close to tears. 'The three of us.'

He waited. She wouldn't have confided to having a dream if she hadn't wanted to share it.

'We were all in a large hall, with stairs leading either way to the top of another, raised platform. Sora ran up the stairs and saw you, and you two exchanged words. I can't remember all of it, but I remember him telling you to give your heart back to you. Only he didn't say that. He said 'Give Riku's heart back to him.' I was trying to tell Sora that it was you, that I was sure it was you, but he didn't listen. He didn't even acknowledge me. It was like . . . like I wasn't even there. But I was there, too; I could see myself lying on the other side of the dais. But then you—' She stopped short, closing her eyes and taking another deep breath.

'You and Sora attacked each other. With actual swords. Neither of you had any of the protective clothing fencers usually wear, and it really looked as though you two were trying to kill each other. It scared me so badly, Riku, I woke up crying.' She looked up at him. 'Please tell me it's not going to happen. Please, Riku.'

His own thoughts were whirling, repeating what Kairi had said. But the thought that grabbed his attention the most was her final statement, and before he realised it, he'd repeated, 'It's not going to happen, Kairi. I swear. Why would Sora and I try to kill each other? And why wouldn't you be able to stop him? The way I've heard it, the dreams that come true are from your own point of view, not from an omniscient point in space.'

'You're right.' Kairi tried to smile, looking away. 'It was stupid. But it scared me.'

'Of course it would,' Riku nodded. 'It would have scared me, too.'

He reached out a hand, resting it on her shoulder. 'It won't happen. I'll never let anything happen to you, Kairi. I promise.'

'That's good,' Kairi murmured, leaning against him slightly. She needed reassurance. 'Don't ever forget that, Riku.'

'I won't,' he whispered, moving to sit behind her so that she could lean back. 'You've my word.'

There was silence again, but this time it was a companionable silence. The secrets had come out, and now it was merely relaxing to be like this. Kairi was leaning sideways against his chest, still watching the sea, and his arms encircled her waist, one of her own hands laying on top of them. The other hand plucked idly at the fibres in his shirt, tugging the shirt away from his body first, then letting it fall back.

Riku lowered his head to hers, nuzzling her hair gently. Her eyes fluttered closed as he did so, the corners of her mouth turning up in a little smile, and he smiled slightly himself, bending his head to plant a small kiss at the base of her neck, trailing kisses toward her shoulder. He felt a small shudder go through her body and smiled again as he brought her hand up to his mouth, kissing the fingertips. He twined his fingers within hers slowly, rubbing his thumb over her fingers gently as he lowered it to her side. The waves broke along the shoreline softly, with a calming sound as the water rushed back out to sea.

He never wanted this moment to end.

After a couple moments of this, merely staring at the sea, Riku felt Kairi's free hand move, reaching up and grabbing the back of his head, pulling him down to her level. For a moment he was nervous—was she offended?—but before he could stutter an apology, she was smiling and kissing him full on the lips.

Riku felt the relief coursing through him as she kissed him; so he hadn't done anything wrong. Her lips were soft against his, parted slightly as she nipped at his own, sending what almost felt like a jolt of electricity through him. He heard her sighing as his own lips parted, and soon he was sighing as well, sighing in happiness as she deepened the kiss, exploring his own mouth tentatively.

But all good things must come to an end, and as both parted to breathe again, he found himself wishing humans could go without air. Kairi tapped his nose once, giggling slightly, and moved again, so that she was back to leaning against his chest like before.

He closed his eyes, very aware of the smile that was probably upon his face right now, but found he didn't mind. Kairi had kissed him. And he'd kissed her, as well. However, Kairi had kissed him. He hadn't initiated that kiss; she'd done it of her own free will.

I will always protect you, Kairi. Even in death, I won't let anything happen to you.

. . . I promise.