:Sand In My Shoes:
:Chapter Two:
Author's Note:
I didn't say how old the boys were, did I? Sora/Tidus/Kairi are 27, Riku/Cloud are 28, Leon/Errol are 29.
Thank you for the reviews. They were lovely. I'm really glad you liked the last chapter, even though there was no Riku/Sora action, well not really… I'm also glad no one had any really bad reactions to Errol, who is really only there for character development.
Since I wrote that, probably 6 months ago now (yes I have been writing this fic for that long… I'm up to chapter 8 ) Errol took on a greater part in the story, binding into the events of the prologue etc… Sorry…
Disclaimer:
I don't own KH.
'Bored, bored, bored.'
'Any magazines?'
'Shops?'
'That fly's funny…'
:Day One: Lost In Your Eyes:
Monday 6th August
Stupid plane. I hate it. It managed to get delayed, now we have to wait for three hours for the next ferry. Three damn hours… How am I going to survive the boredom?
All around me are honeymooning couples. It's a little bit strange to be sat here, a gay man, surrounded by about six straight couples making out. I tried my best to make friendly conversation with one couple but they soon disappeared, I hope it was to get a room.
I rubbed my arm, trying to take away the chill.
I could have taken the last ferry, however, after looking at the sea, I had decided against it. My name may mean Sea, but unless the water is calm, I get dreadful seasickness. There was no way I was chancing a storm.
I glanced at the clock for the third time in five minutes. Twenty-five past twelve. Twenty-six past twelve. Twenty-seven past twelve. Twenty-eight past twelve.
No, I don't think 'bored' cut it. This was agony. There was nothing here except a large white waiting room with some hard seats in it. No shop, no complimentary magazines, just me, a few couples, and four white walls.
I pulled out my CD player, and for a while I was happily listening to my classical music. I closed my eyes, planning my holiday in my head, imagining what it would be like.
Not even my dreams of this holiday were as wonderful as the holiday itself…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
I pouted. I usually loved the rain but today… Today something was wrong about it. I knew my boss, Mr Herald, was expecting me to goof off into the rain, like I usually did, but today… I don't know… It was weird.
I knew I had to stay inside. I was meant to be in here. I was waiting for something…
I didn't know what that something was. In the back of my mind I thought I was going crazy. In fact, I probably was. Leaving Kairi for an imaginary guy, thinking I could travel into his mind, thinking that there was some divine purpose to my meaningless existence.
'Stupid rain, stupid imaginary guy, stupid meaningless existence.'
"Hm… Okay, what's up?" Mr Herald asked. I looked at him and smiled. He was like a favourite uncle, I had worked for him since I dropped out of college, and we'd grown close.
I explained about Kairi, leaving out the imaginary love of my life, and told him all about the weird feeling I was getting. Mr Herald smiled when I'd finished and clapped me on the shoulder.
"You're a brave kid, Sora, to have even told Kairi. You know that she can be quite the bitch when she tries… And as to your weird feeling… Trust it, I think that you'll be surprised," He winked at me. I wasn't sure how to take that, so I just grinned at him. We heard the bell tinkle and he stood up.
"Customer," He said gruffly and went to serve the man, while I sat in the back, wondering what the hell was wrong with me… I heard Mr Herald start up a conversation with him.
"So, what's your name, kid?" He asked.
"Riku," My heart stopped.
A few hours earlier
I was finally on the ferry. It was an hour boat trip across the sea and when I got there, I saw the white sands, the palm trees and quaint little towns. I loved it immediately. I knew that this would be the perfect holiday.
I found my hotel easily, hauling my suitcase to my room and quickly unpacking. It was still raining outside, so I grabbed a pair of jeans and a woollen polo neck sweater, both in the colour I supposedly looked hot in, black.
I stepped out, eager to see some of the island and got half way into the town when I noticed a small island that looked more like my kind of place. Although the town had looked quaint at first, I noticed that close up, it had a lot of tacky tourist shops and was obviously trying to con money out of people as quickly as possible.
Noting that there was a small strip of land between the main island and the islet, and that there were boats to take me across if the tide came in, I quickly hurried across the sands, wincing as my feet sank into the wet sand with a sucking noise.
I turned into the first shop I saw to escape the rain. A café, The Paopu Café, to be more precise. It was cute inside, with intimate little tables and a fresh feel to it. It wasn't like the big city places, and I found myself wandering up to the counter.
The café was almost empty, except for an old couple in the corner who were garbling on in another language, I think it was German, but it could have been Dutch…
I was soon met by the person who I assumed was the owner. He was tall, gruff looking, but with happy eyes. He had a good deal of stubble on his chin, and a cigarette tucked behind his ear. It was not what I had been expecting.
"Um…" I lost my voice. He grinned, and he let out a rough bark of laughter.
"Not what you expected, eh?" He asked. I smiled, glad that he hadn't taken offence.
"No, I was expecting some sweet little old lady or something," I admitted. He chuckled.
"So, what's your name, kid?" He asked. I was a little annoyed at the term 'kid' but I still grinned as I replied.
"Riku."
I heard a strangled yelp from the room and frowned. The owner frowned too.
"I'm alright!" A voice called from, what I assumed was, the storeroom. The owner shook his head.
"What can I do you for?" The owner asked, obviously he was used to his employee's weirdness. I smiled.
"Oh, whatever. I'm in here to escape the rain mostly," I explained. The owner nodded, turning around to get a coffee.
"Yo Sora! Get some more plastic spoons will ya! We're running out in here!" He barked through. I wondered if I should sit down and he'd bring it over, or wait for him to give it to me. While I was thinking I felt eyes on me.
I looked up, thinking to be a little rude to the person staring at me but when my eyes met his… It's hard to describe, but I will try…
It seemed that all the colour was pulled from the room, just to make his eyes bluer. They were large, bright and widened in fear. He had frozen in the door to the storeroom and behind him, I would have seen the owner trying to push past.
Wouldhave, but I was too busy staring into his eyes.
"For Yevon's sake Sora, don't stand there like a rabbit caught in the headlights!" The owner snapped. The man, Sora, moved and I was finally free of his eyes.
I hadn't known that my heart could beat that fast. At first I thought I was having a heart attack. Then I recognised the signs. The breathlessness, the racing heart, the butterflies in my stomach…
I glanced back at Sora, this time a little more shyly. He was trying to avoid looking at me, I could tell. He was blushing terribly and nibbling on his lower lip.
He had messy chocolate hair, resting on top of a boyish face. God, he was cute. He wasn't muscular, but he wasn't scrawny or chubby either, except for his cheeks. He was dressed for comfort, rather like me, in a pair of red trousers, slightly baggier than I would have chosen, and an oversized T-shirt.
He caught me staring and I hurriedly looked away, all too aware of the fact I was blushing too.
What was wrong with me? I was never shy! I was arrogant and cocky and would never let anyone stare at me like he is… Why am I being… so weird?
I was only shy when…
… I was in love…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
I caught him staring at me again, and he looked away, a blush forming on his cheeks. I wasn't sure what to do, I was a little afraid of him.
I had been inside his mind, or at least I think I had been. Was this the reason I had to stay inside? So I'd meet Riku? What now?
Mr Herald gave him his coffee, and he went and sat down, moving with a grace I could never hope to have. I watched the way his hips moved then shook my head violently, hoping that somehow this would scatter my thoughts.
Who was I kidding?
Mr Herald smiled at me in a knowing way.
"You think he's hot, huh?" He asked. I mouthed at him speechlessly. How could he say that so loud? Did Riku hear? I looked over to see him watching the sea. I swallowed.
"Not so loud," I managed to whisper. Mr Herald chuckled and clapped me on the back.
"Go speak to him. He's a nice kid," The older guy said. I took a deep breath, removing the apron I wore behind the counter and putting it on the counter. I tried to look confident as I walked over. I cleared my throat when I was beside him. He looked up.
And smiled…
Man, that was some smile. It lit up his whole face. In my opinion, he looked a little ill. He was pale, far too pale, and his silver hair was still drying from the rain so it was straggly and had dried in clumps. But those eyes…
"Hey, I'm Sora," I hadn't realised I'd even said that. He gestured to the seat across from him, and I sat down quickly.
"I'm Riku, I've just got here and was doing a little exploring," His voice was slightly quiet, but I detected that he was really quite a smart-ass at heart. I wondered why he was being so quiet around me?
"You're on vacation?" I found myself asking. He just smiled at me, and didn't reply. I wondered if I'd been too prying, but he wasn't giving off any signal that he was annoyed.
"Is it always like this?" He asked, gesturing to the weather. I shook my head. Now I was on home turf, I could easily churn out facts about the island, if that's what he wanted to know. It had been my home for the past twenty-seven years. There was nothing I didn't know about it.
"Nah, we have storms in the winter that last miles longer. This will be gone by tomorrow morning. In fact, I think we've hit the worst of it already. You should have been here last week, people were warned to get into their cellars because of the winds…" I knew I was rambling, I didn't care. I waited for him to say something.
"I'll count myself lucky then…" He smiled at me again. I tried to calm my heart. Couldn't he hear it?
Then his phone went off. He frowned and answered it, irritation in his tone.
"Yes?" He asked sharply. His eyes widened momentarily.
"Errol, I totally forgot! I swear… No I didn't- Please don't… Errol you can't…" He cancelled the call, standing up and running his fingers through his hair. I was confused.
If this was Riku, then who was Errol? Was he the partner? Why wasn't he here if Riku was?
"I have to go," He said, his voice tinged with something rather like regret.
"Um, okay. If you… If you run short of things to do, come find me. I pretty much know everything there is to know about this island," I boasted. He smirked, and I was immediately hit by that. He was humouring me, but man, he looked sexy when he did it.
"I'll remember," He said softly, then he put some money on the table and left, disappearing into the rain and sea spray.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
I leaned against a wall. What the hell was I doing?
Errol had phoned me, he had been right never to trust me. As soon as I was out of his sight, I was making eyes at someone else… But somehow, it didn't matter so much anymore…
He had phoned me up because I had taken the only card to our bank account. He was angry with me and he had threatened to close the account down. I wasn't sure what to say to him.
Was he only interested in my money?
Sora wouldn't be. He didn't even know I had money and he was obviously interested. Horny doggy interested in fact, but I wasn't sure…
Why wasn't I sure? Hell, I had felt more for him in five minutes than I had for any other lover of mine, including Errol, in five years.
I guess I was confused. I wanted to be in love with Errol. That was sensible, and he was back in New York with me. He was something that was always going to be there… Using me…
Sora was new, he was exciting, but would he be there in a few years time? Would he be there if I lost all my money?
I scolded myself. Sora knew nothing about me, and I knew nothing about him. How could I possibly be in love with him? Reasoning with myself didn't work.
I had to face the fact.
Errol couldn't make me happy anymore and a complete stranger with beautiful eyes, could.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"I can see clearly now the rain has gone. I can see all obstacles in my way. Gone are the dark clouds that had me blind. It's gonna be a bright, bright, bri-ii-iight, sun shiny day…" I sang to myself as I prepared to lock up. Mr Herald was watching me from behind the counter.
"You know, I think you were supposed to meet Riku today," He said finally. I shrugged, but privately, I hoped it was true. It would mean that someone upstairs wanted us to be together.
"When you came out of the storeroom…" He smiled and shook his head. "I've never seen anything like it. I've seen people fall in love before, but that was something else. The whole room just had that kind of electricity in it. I'm surprised you didn't pull your clothes off and throw yourselves at each other on the spot." He laughed at my blush.
It was that obvious? Of course it was, I was never very good at hiding my feelings. I was a little bit of a cry-baby at times, and everyone was always telling me off for pouting when they yelled at me because then they couldn't stay mad.
I kinda hoped that it would work with Riku too…
"I bet that's the last time I see him…" I said quietly. Mr Herald looked up sharply, to see me staring out at the sea. It had grown calmer now, and the rain had turned into fine drizzle instead of thundering rain.
"Why did he leave?" The elder man asked. I sighed.
"His partner was on the phone, yelling at him. He kind of bolted then…" I felt my throat tighten. 'Don't you dare cry Sora you big wimp!'
"Partner? But he was giving you all the signals he was interested. I could see them, and I'm not bent that way!" Mr Herald protested. I grinned at his rough mannerism but inside I was angry, scared, hurt and sad.
I'd fallen in love and lost that person, all in one day…
"Maybe he was up for some kind of fling then chickened out?" I suggested gloomily. Mr Herald appeared to be thinking.
"No, I think that was love Sora. He'll be back. I have one of those feelings…"
I sighed. The last time Mr Herald had 'one of those feelings' I'd ended up waiting on a bench all afternoon in the freezing cold. (A long story that doesn't need to be told here. Lets just say, it all began with a pineapple and ended with a prostitute and leave it there… Try and make a connection, you won't manage it…)
Who could blame me for being sceptical?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
I lay on my bed, thinking. I had to sleep, I knew that, but I couldn't stop replaying the scene in the café in my head. It frightened me how clearly I could see his features, his eyes, his lips.
What frightened me more was that I couldn't remember what Errol looked like. I had seen him nine hours ago, but already I couldn't remember him. He had been replaced so soon by a complete stranger.
Glancing at the clock I noticed it was four o'clock and that I really shouldn't be trying to sleep at all, but maybe thinking about eating.
I headed into the 'social lounge' apprehensively. I wasn't one for joining in with the kiddie games and I wasn't a huge fan of the cabaret entertainment that these kind of places put on. I found a bar and ordered a drink, a large one.
I had just been given my double vodka and cranberry when a girl sat next to me. She was dressed in a white top, cut off to show her midriff and a pair of tight denim shorts. She certainly wasn't dressed for the weather.
"Hey," She said seductively. I wasn't interested, so I just nodded to her, staring into my drink with the hopes that she'd leave. Never that lucky.
"I'm Kairi," She said. I decided not to be rude, but at the same time, I wished she'd leave me in peace.
"Riku," I replied. Her mouth dropped open. She looked angry at first, then she seemed to get her emotions under control. I was confused, why such a violent reaction to my name?
"So you're the one that Sora left me for?" She asked. I blinked. What the hell? Sora had left her for me? I'd only met him an hour ago? Confused was an understatement.
"I don't understand you…" I said quietly. She looked slightly hysterical.
"I mean that six days ago Sora left me for you! Is that so hard to understand?" She asked. She was crazy. It was the only explanation. I hadn't even known Sora existed six days ago…
"You must have me mistaken for someone else… I only met Sora today… I've just come here from New York…" I explained to her. She frowned and bit her lip.
"But it must be you… Sora used to dream of you… He used to talk about you like he knew you really well. If you only just came to the island then…" She trailed off. I felt a little bit sorry for her. She was obviously off her rocker, unless I truly wanted to believe that Sora had psychic powers and could fall in love with me before ever meeting me.
Naah.
"Well, that's nice for him," I replied sarcastically. Her eyes flashed.
"I wasn't joking and I'm not crazy! I know that's what you're thinking but I'm not! Sora did used to dream of you! The night I left him he said you were in hospital because of stress!" Her voice was terribly high-pitched. Somehow, this was hurting her…
I however had been thrown completely. Sora had known me. That's why he'd yelped in the storeroom when he'd heard my name. He had been with me…
When I was alone…
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
That night when I went to sleep, I didn't dream as such, more like I slipped inside Riku's conscious. For the first time I saw what he was seeing. It was amazing, like meeting him had meant that I could finally get closer to him psychically.
However my happiness was short lived. He was talking to Kairi… About me…
"Sora's psychic?" He asked. I kept silent, listening to his thoughts.
He knows me… He's after my goddamn money… I knew it…
Wondering what to do, I sighed. I felt Riku tense up.
Sora?
I froze in fear and almost withdrew from his mind altogether. My last thoughts were clear in his mind.
'Please trust me…'
I didn't even bother to say goodbye to Kairi, I just walked away. I needed to be alone. Sora had been around… It was scary that he could hear my thoughts. I hoped he would stop, now I had caught him.
That night I dreamed so many dreams, of Sora mainly. One I remembered, quite guiltily, was a dream in which I made love to Sora. It was stupid, it would never happen, but it had felt so real, his touch, everything…
But when I woke up, all that was left was the longing for him.
Once again I was a puppy, pathetically trying to find it's master. Only this time, I think the master wanted me…
I would trust Sora. I had to. I would forget this incident, I would forget he knew me. I wouldn't build up barriers between him and myself.
For once, I wasn't afraid to be in love.
Ending Notes:
I couldn't think of anything else to write on this day. I hope I didn't go OTT with all the revelations. I just wanted to get all that out of the way. I wasn't too proud of my 'psychic' thing, but I think I did okay describing Riku and Sora falling in love right?
And Mr Herald may sound like Cid, but he is not, okies? Thank you…