:Sand In My Shoes:

:Chapter Three:

Author's Note:

Welcome to chapter three. Thank you for all your wonderful reviews. I love you all to bits. Sorry about the overly long wait. There are no excuses.

Disclaimer:

I am not the owner of any of the characters. Thank you.

'You were dreaming of me.'

'It's okay.'

'Why are you so afraid?'

'I only want to be in love with you…'

:Day Two: Tasting Your Name:

Tuesday 7th August

I was a little afraid when I went into the café that morning. It took me a while to get through the door. When I finally did, I walked straight up to the counter.

The owner was there, smoking his cigarette and sipping his own coffee. I cleared my throat. He jumped and sloshed coffee over his shirt. I hid my smirk as he rushed towards the paper napkin dispenser and tugged to frantically try to save his scalding skin.

"Shit, kid, don't do that!" He scolded me. I just continued to try to keep a straight face. I was expecting Sora to appear any minute, to see what the fuss was about. But it was just me and the owner, facing each other.

"It's Sora's day off. He'll be back tomorrow," The owner said, out of the blue. My eyes widened.

"How did you know…?" I asked. He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

"It was obvious, lad. Sora had his head in the clouds the whole day yesterday, and I would bet he was thinking about you. I think you were thinking of him too, that's why you're here… Why else would you come back to this little café so far from the main hotel complexes?" He asked. I just felt foolish. Was I that easy to read?

"Uh, well… If you see Sora… Tell him I was looking for him… Thank you," I was about to leave when the owner stuck out his hand to me.

"The name's Jonathan Herald," He introduced himself. I was a little relieved. I had felt awkward talking to him so deeply without knowing even his name.

"Riku Cordele," I replied. He nodded, then he had an idea. It was almost like a light bulb appeared on top of his head. He headed to his counter, getting out a paper serviette.

"Here, this is Sora's phone number and address…" He scribbled something barely legible on the serviette and passed it to me. I squinted down at it.

'Sora Matsukazi. 54 Seaview Terrace. 0115-455-889.'

"It's round the back of the big shopping mall, away from all the hustle and bustle. It don't look much from the outside, but Sora's a proud housekeeper…" Herald said. I nodded and left, thanking him over my shoulder.

I wandered back to my hotel room. I had nothing to do today, I was afraid to go to the bar in case I ran into that nutball Kairi again. I found myself running my fingers over Sora's name on the piece of paper over and over. The indentations on the serviette were deep and it felt as though his name had been embossed on it.

"Sora Matsukazi…" I said aloud. It was one of those names that just rolled off your tongue. I loved that name. Already I was thinking about the future…

"Sora Cordele?" I snickered. Nah, I don't think so somehow… It doesn't flow so well…

"Riku Matsukazi…" I fell into a state of dreaminess, and had to literally slap myself to pull me out of it. This was crazy. I was acting like a stupid school kid with their first crush.

Sora was a real person, and it wasn't going to be smooth sailing. For a start, I was going to go home in less than two weeks time… That hit me like a brick wall. I had two weeks to be with Sora… Then that was it… I went home to Errol…

It was then that I decided not to tell Sora how long I was going to be there. I would just let him believe whatever he wanted about how long I was going to be here. I knew, I couldn't admit to him, or myself, how limited our time was.

I didn't want it to be looming in his mind that I would be leaving soon. I didn't want him to hold back. I didn't want him to give it a miss because I would be gone soon anyway. I was selfish as hell. I wanted him to fall in love with me. I wanted him to damn well hurt when I left, because I would be hurting too.

Selfish. Yeah, but I am.

I wondered what the hell I could do today. I decided to consult my guide to the island. I smirked as I selected that day's activity.

"Oh for heaven's sake, get a room!" I complained as Leon and Cloud started making out again. They looked about them.

"We've got one. Yours," Cloud replied, before returning to the love bite he was making on Leon's neck.

"I am going to get mental scarring from you two…" I mumbled. Leon chuckled.

"You know you like watching really Sora," He teased. I bit down on my tongue. Sure, both of them were damn hot. I knew I'd been staring at them, it's hard not to when two people are discreetly trying to have sex on the sofa next to you. (Note to self: sex can never be discreet when other people are in the room. Never try it…)

"Sorry, Leon, you don't do it for me," I retorted. He smirked and Cloud sat up, glaring at me.

"Can you stop distracting him please Sora!" The blonde protested. I chuckled.

"I can't help it if your boyfriend is more interested in me than you!" I replied. Cloud leapt from Leon's lap onto me and soon we were wrestling on the ground. It ended as it always did, with Cloud straddling my waist, holding my arms above my head and gloating.

"I win again," He proclaimed. Just then the phone rang. I couldn't move because Cloud didn't move, so I had to let Leon answer it.

"Hello?" He said. He listened for a second, then walked into the lounge with the phone. My little 'apartment' only had three rooms, a bedroom, a bathroom and a kitchen/living/dining room area.

"Who's Riku?" He asked. I blushed deeply, and with new-found strength, pushed Cloud off me. I answered the phone sheepishly and took a deep breath.

"Riku, I'm really sorry!" I began but I heard a light chuckle on the other end.

"Forget it. It's not important," He said. It finally registered in my mind that I had never given him my number. He must have gone to the café to find me. I found myself smiling as warm fuzzies attacked me. Riku liked me, Riku liked me, Riku liked me…

"Uh, okay… So, what are you doing today?" I inwardly cringed. 'Sora, you just sound nosy…'

"Oh, I was going to go shopping," He said. I swallowed. Shopping meant the mall. The mall meant five minutes from my house. That meant I could meet him, if I wanted…

"Um… What for? Souvenirs?" I knew I was snooping, but Riku didn't seem to mind. Cloud and Leon were looking at me strange and giving each other meaningful looks I tried my best to ignore.

"And other things. I was thinking of getting a CD, some clothes, a watch, general rubbish…" Riku replied. I bit down on my lip. It would be too much to ask him if he wanted any help. He would have to ask me. I couldn't ask that.

"So, what're you going to do today?" He asked. I glanced over at Leon and Cloud.

"Oh, I'm just messing around with some friends. They're over at my place," I replied. He seemed to think about this for a while.

"I'll see you tomorrow then at the café?" He asked. My lips drooped into a pout. He didn't want to meet up with me today then?

"Yeah, tomorrow…" The disappointment must have shown in my voice because the next think I heard was a light chuckle.

"I'll be there early, don't worry. Have fun with your friends Sora. See you tomorrow morning," He said softly. I found my throat tightening. Was this for real? He was arranging to meet me at work tomorrow just to… talk? Whoa… Mr Herald was right, he was interested in me…

"I'll try not to be late," I replied. He chuckled and hung up. I listened to the dial tone for a few moments before a grin spread across my features. I laughed, putting the phone down and jumping up and down squealing.

"Hm… Sora appears to be having a fit of some kind…" Leon deadpanned. Cloud rolled his eyes, smiling at my antics. I know that if Leon hadn't been there, he would have jumped up and down with me, getting into my excitement almost as much as I was. However, he always played it cool around his boyfriend.

"I think it's about time I told you about Riku…" I said, as though I were giving them a big treat. Cloud was obviously eager to listen, Leon less so, but when I sat down, they sat opposite me and got lost in my slightly fantastical tale, of Riku Cordele.

I smirked thinking about Sora. He had wanted me to invite him along, but hadn't wanted to ask. I would have liked his company but something told me that it could wait until tomorrow. I was an eager puppy, and I didn't want to scare him off.

Besides, he was with his friends…

I picked up his wallet and walked into the town. I found the mall easily, it was signposted and was easily one of the biggest buildings in the town. I wandered around for a while, through the clothes shops and various souvenir stores just browsing.

I finally came to a burger bar and froze.

What the hell was Sora doing there? He was there with three guys, two blondes and a brunet, laughing with his eyes dancing.

I was unsure whether to go in and buy my burger before leaving. It was then that I heard someone choke on their drink and a lot of extremely loud whispering.

I tried to ignore it, pretending I hadn't seen Sora yet. Let him approach me…

I ordered a diet Pepsi and fries. Even if I was on holiday, I couldn't bring myself to pork out. Girls aren't the only people who need to diet to stay in shape.

"Here's your drink and fries, sir, come again…" The assistant drawled. I picked up my order and turned round and THUMP.

"Ouch…" I hissed. I saw a mass of chocolate spikes and knew it was Sora. I flung my free hand out to catch him before he fell on his rump.

"Careful…" I said. He looked up at me, obviously horrified. His head was hard, and I knew that I was going to have one hell of a headache.

"S-Sorry…" He stammered. I just flashed him a grin, realising I was still holding his hand from when I'd stopped his fall. I let it drop discreetly, hoping it didn't seem like I didn't want to hold his hand, I did.

"Those your… friends?" I asked. I wasn't sure, but I could tell at least one of them was gay. Could it be that Sora was seeing someone else as well? He just grinned up at me.

"Yup. You wanna meet them?" It was a little daunting. It was a little like the 'meet the parents' scenario. But then again, I was curious. I found it a little hard to believe that Sora and I had only met yesterday… It felt like forever…

"Uh… Sure," I said, I felt a little uncertain. Sora led me over to the group, who stopped their conspiratorial whispering and looked up at me with guilty faces.

"Guys, this is Riku. Riku, meet Cloud, Squall-" At this the brunet at the table cleared his throat noisily, making Sora roll his eyes. "Sorry, that's Leon, and Tidus." I smiled at them and when Tidus budged up to let me sit down I hesitantly sat down.

Sora beamed at me from across the table. When I had come on holiday I certainly hadn't expected to be sitting in a greasy burger bar, with a group of strangers who were talking about, of all things, their sex lives.

"Hey, c'mon, you get more than is good for you!" Cloud protested when Leon mentioned not getting enough sex. I had to admit, I felt a little bit awkward. I was sure that I wasn't supposed to be listening to this.

"It's alright for you, you're getting some!" Tidus protested. I held back a smirk.

"What, isn't the blitzball life giving poor little Tidy enough groupies to bang?" Leon teased. Tidus narrowed in mock-anger. I hadn't had these types of conversations since I'd left school. It was… refreshing.

I had to admit, my city friends were all snooty. We never went out to just hang around. It was always a dinner party, a posh bar or restaurant. With some it was going out to, well, slightly illicit clubs and getting off our heads drunk but it was never so… simple…

"It's not my fault. Sora, the bastard, took the girl I'd been waiting for since I was knee-high and then dumped her. I heard it was for a guy too…" The table went silent after that comment. Sora blushed as red as a tomato. I raised my eyebrows and cleared my throat. Leon and Cloud were looking between Sora and me.

"You mean Kairi?" I asked. Tidus was glad to ease the tension and nodded.

"No offence but I think she's a bit of a nutcase. She, well… She started coming onto me, then went weird when she found out who I was. She tried to convince me that Sora was psychically having an affair with a guy… I think her break up with Sora sent her over the edge…" I said. Cloud began to laugh uncontrollably.

"Tell us something we didn't tell Sora everyday he was going out with her!" He chortled. I smiled. I liked Cloud. Not in that way, but from first impressions I just felt at ease with him.

"Yeah, well, Kairi was partially right, wasn't she?" Sora muttered. At this the table went silent again.

"About that, why the hell did you do it?" I asked. Sora's eyes flickered up to mine. I felt myself getting lost in them and tried to break eye contact.

"Trust me, more often than not it wasn't intentional," Sora reassured me. Well, at least he thought he was reassuring me. I honed in on 'more often than not' so that meant he'd decided that he was going to go see me quite a few times. A question popped into my head and had passed through my lips before I had the chance to stop it.

"Exactly when have you been inside my mind?" I demanded. I knew we were at a table with his friends, who were acting like I was the one who'd gone crazy but…

"Um… Too many times to count… Most of the time late at night when you were tired. Other times when you're guard was down…" Sora's blush confirmed to me when those 'other times' were. His friends obviously had put two and two together as well.

"Peep shows?"

"That's slightly pervy…"

"Don't, you're embarrassing him!"

"It wasn't out of choice, okay?" Sora protested. I just smirked. So he'd seen me in all my glory already huh? Perhaps Sora and me had known each other for longer than a day. Or more like, he had known me longer, it was only natural for us to be involved.

There was nothing wrong with it. If Sora had seen so much of me and still wanted more well…

I'll admit it, I'll give him all he wants… And more…

"Let's get off this subject," I said firmly. Sora looked at me gratefully, and I smirked at him. I certainly felt a little embarrassed now.

"So, where are you staying?" Cloud asked. I turned my attention to him, and I noted that Sora seemed quite glad about it.

"Oh, the Hotel Cabrera," I told him. Cloud raised his eyebrows.

"You rich?" He asked. I smirked. I had once made the mistake of playing down my money, pretending it was nothing. Then I realised that it made people more daunted. If you just admitted it, then it was less… there… It wasn't a barrier as such.

"I have enough money stored away to buy the hotel I'm in…" I paused, thinking about it… "When I last checked I was worth three billion, give or take a few million." I wasn't joking either. I know, it was a ridiculous amount, but I had been saving most of my money and to be honest, I was a damn skinflint.

"Whoa… That's like, enough money to buy this island…" Sora breathed. I chuckled.

"Not quite," I replied. His eyes were wide now, he was looking at me slightly fearfully.

"No offence but how old are you?" Leon asked. I smiled, to show I didn't mind being asked.

"Twenty-eight," I replied. Cloud choked on his drink.

"I'm twenty-eight. I thought I was well paid for my experience until a second ago," He joked. Sora was pouting into his food now.

"I didn't mean to upset you. If money makes you uncomfortable I won't talk about it," I said. Sora looked up at me and I knew. He'd never had that much money, or dreamed about owning that much. He was suddenly thrown together with someone who had cash flowing from his ears.

"It's-It's all right…" But I could tell it wasn't. Something was troubling him enough for him to withdraw from the conversation, he hadn't done it since he'd met me, and I doubted he did it often.

"Sora's parents committed suicide over money problems a few years ago. They were made redundant by some fat cats in Washington. They couldn't stand the shame and killed themselves. After that Sora dropped out of college and has been working at the café ever since," Leon explained. My eyes widened, surely that wasn't Leon's secret to divulge?

"Well, that's in the past," Sora said, although he seemed to be still hurting. I was sympathetic, even though I had never lost a parent, I could imagine what it must be like. Especially in those circumstances.

"So Riku, you Sora's new boyfriend?" That threw me completely. Such an abrupt subject change, compliments of Cloud, and I found myself turning beet red. How on Earth do I answer that question. Luckily, Sora answered it for me.

"We've only just met," He said quickly. We both knew precisely what was happening though. I knew he at least had a crush on me, he probably knew I loved him. It was inevitable that we would be together soon…

"Yeah, whatever. I heard your boss talking to Selphie about it. He's not the romantic type but, geez, I don't know how you two are managing to stay apart. From what I hear you were practically-"

"Enough."

Tidus shut up from Leon's sharp comment. I blinked. It had been abrupt and I had jumped a little. I looked at my watch. I really needed to find something for Errol… I had to at least have bought him a present…

Why?

I dunno, somehow I knew that I'd end up going home to him…

"I've got to go and buy presents…" I excused myself. I saw Sora's embarrassed smile turn into a pout. He knew who I was talking about.

"What you going to get him?" He asked. I looked at the ground. I felt so ashamed. Why wasn't my life simple?

"I don't know… He's picky…" In my head I added 'And if I don't get him the right thing I'll get a good thump for being so ignorant…'

"We could help," Cloud suggested. I smiled at him but shook my head.

"No… It has to be just right… Errol won't be happy if it's… not something he wants…" I left it at that and said goodbye, walking out of the mall. I was happy to have met Sora's friends, and through all the cringe-worthy moments, I felt I was closer to him for it.

I wandered through the shops but saw nothing suitable for Errol. I didn't see Sora or his friends either, I assumed they'd stayed in the burger bar. Sighing, I went for a walk along the sea front.

"Why are we doing this?" Leon asked. Cloud and I were laughing hysterically. It was fun, for god's sake. Then I remembered that Mr Goth-man wasn't allowed to laugh. It might give him laughter lines and that wouldn't do.

"Lighten up!" I chuckled and followed Riku round the mall. He went into a lot of boring shops, and finally gave up, going for a walk along the sea front. We followed on the other side of the road, everytime he looked around we ducked out of sight.

"He's not doing anything. He's just staring out to see…" Tidus whispered. We looked over the top of the car we were crouched behind.

Riku was staring out to sea. The ocean breeze was ruffling his silver hair, pulling it from it's loose ponytail to blow around his face. He absently brushed it out of his eyes before digging into his pocket and lighting up a cigarette.

I was a little bit upset about that. I thought Riku was too smart to smoke. I had to admit though, the image fitted. He looked damn hot too…

"Let's go," Leon said. We didn't argue with him, the novelty of following him had worn off for all but me. It didn't count if I wanted to watch him, because I was in love with him.

I briefly wondered how long it would be before we recognised this in each other…

I had started to smoke again. I hadn't had a cigarette for over a year but… the fries had done it I think… Whatever had set off the craving had sent me half-mad. I felt a little better after, and made sure I had eaten plenty of chewing gum to clear my breath.

I walked for a while, but found nothing of interest on the beach. The beach was a place for two people, not one. I wandered around, got lost quite a few times, but when it got dark and I grew hungry, I returned to the Hotel Cabrera and ate dinner alone.

I went up to my rooms and read a while. At nine o'clock I grew bored of reading and decided to take a shower. I couldn't get Sora out of my mind, I wanted to look my best for him tomorrow. I wasn't an over-the-top gay guy, certainly no face packs or pink flannel dressing gowns but… I had plenty of hair products…

I made sure I looked as good as I could. I tried my best to draw some of the sickliness from me. The bags under my eyes could be cured by a good night's sleep and my pale skin had been tanned slightly by my time in the sun today.

I looked better than I had done in months… All for Sora…

I went back to my book for a while, but I my mind wandered. The next thing I knew I was picking out an outfit for tomorrow. I had everything laid out on the chair on the inside of the French windows that led to the balcony.

I had chosen something stylish, but not enough for me to be at all daunting to Sora. I had chosen the colours that someone had said suited me most. A black long sleeved button up shirt with silver embroidery on the back, it was rough looking, as though it had been scratched against metal and the silver wolf on the back stood out. The pants I chose reflected the silver and black theme, being black with silver zips and buckles up them. Gothic? Not really, I preferred the term, fashionable.

I finally lay down at ten o'clock. A nice early night for me… I slept soundly and dreamed of Sora.

In my sleep I murmured the words 'Riku Matsukazi' and it rolled off my tongue as I dreamed of a life that I should be living…

I lay awake most of the night, replaying the day's events. It was a fairytale, not my real life. Was it possible that Riku might give up his life in the city to come to the island and be with me?

Man, how much would I love that? I had to keep reminding myself, I had known him two days, I barely knew him at all.

But if I already loved what I knew of him, did that mean the more I knew about him, the more I'd love him. If I loved him anymore than I already did then it wouldn't be healthy for me…

Well, I would think about that in the future. There was a phone message from Kairi when I got home. She wanted me to drop in on Saturday at the hotel she worked at to help her with the children.

We had done it together when we were a couple, and she thought we should continue to. 'It'll be good for our friendship…' Yeah, whatever.

Well, there was always the chance I might see Riku if I worked there that morning, seeing as Kairi worked as a Rep at the Cabrera.

"Mmmm… Riku…"

It was slightly scary how I was obsessing over him. Maybe once we were together this would stop.

I doubted it.

I definitely doubted it.

Ending Notes:

Well? Good, yes? Are they too angsty? I'm not sure? I'm trying to give them quite distinct phrases and interests so you'll instantly know who's POV you're reading. I'm trying to stop them from leaping into each other's beds but it's hard, you know.

Errol is the only thing keeping them apart at the moment, and Riku's relationship that isn't so much of a relationship but a casual sex for money type thing, with him. I hope that I don't make Riku sound too pathetic but…

Although Riku seems to have barriers, I see him as quite a vulnerable spirit, that's why I had it that when he is in love, he's docile and 'puppy-like'. At first he will be like that, but don't worry, he'll grow more confident around Sora Trust me on that one…