Sea Salts to Heal.
Disclaimer: I co-own Riku, but only in spirit. I could write a poem about it but I'm awful at poetry. Hitler was one uncool dude. I don't own Kingdom Hearts. Sometimes I wish I could fly. My room is disgustingly messy, and so I don't own Your Song by Elton John. Now Elton John, HE is one cool dude.
A/N: So here it is! Finally, I know. I don't really like this chapter at all but, I HAD to get SOMETHING up, so I hope you enjoy it at least.
Shoutouts: Oh, I love you all, but I can't do shoutouts now because I have to shower. No one likes a dirty Squffie writer! That's what my mother said to me. Anyway, I'll double shift it next time, because there are a lot of things I need to answer to!
I LOOOVEEE YOU!
Another chapter half-dedicated to Ann, because I totally psyched you out and completely changed the Tyku-ness. Love ya, darlin'
Aerith smiled at the man seated across from her and thought, yet again, she couldn't believe she was doing this. The August air was thick and moist, tinged with the unmistakable smell of alcohol and vomit. She loved Squall like a brother, but really. There were limits to the lengths she would go to celebrate his birthday, and serving alcohol to the unstable people of Traverse Town was one of them. She glanced around the Café, studying every drunken brawl and unconscious face, and noticed that Squall wasn't even present.
"Curse that man." She muttered, swiping a dirty shot glass with a towel. "Cloud is thoughtful enough to throw him a party, and he doesn't even show up with vomit for me to clean up."
If anything made her feel better, it was Jat, who had approached her quickly at the party's start and apologized for his behaviour during the Fighting Tournament a few weeks before. Then Cloud had arrived, chasing the young man away with a growl. The blond hadn't left her side since.
Which of course she didn't mind, except Cloud was a very, very, sad drunk.
"Tifa used to do that." He murmured, blinking up at her from where his head rested on the counter. "Clean glasses."
"She taught me everything I know. About cleaning glasses." Aerith replied lightly, serving something to a woman and returning the odd look she received with a bright smile. "Cloud, I warned you not to drink so much."
"I know. And you're just--"
At this point he began to cry, leaning over the table and drifting his lips across her face. Aerith clutched the sleeves of his shirt, shooting an apologetic look at Cid (who immediately took her place) before swinging herself daintily over the countertop. Cloud's barriers were down, and she knew that as she pulled him into the backroom of the Café and held him as he cried, that he would wake up the next morning feeling much better.
"Well, what a surprise. You really need to find a better hiding spot, Squall."
Squall glanced at Yuffie through their reflection in the water. She stood with two hands on her hips, a knowing smile on her face as she watched him watch her. His heart gave a funny little jolt and he rolled his eyes at himself, splashing his face with the mucky water.
"I wasn't hiding." He told her, ignoring her disgusted protests.
"Oh?" She poked him. "Your birthday party is all happening, and you're all here and not at your party? I'd call that hiding."
He snorted. "Most of the people there aren't even there for me. Its just an opportunity for them to get drunk."
"Hey, I'm not judging you!" She said, even though she was. "You shouldn't be drinking anyway, in your condition."
"In my condition " He mimicked, raising an eyebrow as he finally turned to face her. "You're turning into Aerith."
She huffed, plopping down onto the damp rock beneath her feet and pulling off her shoes so she could put her feet in the water. Squall watched her uncertainly; unsure of how he should act around her. Which was insane, because this was Yuffie. Baby girl, happy-lucky, Ninja-not-Cute-As-A-Button Yuffie. And yet now…
"Squall? Hullooo!" She waved her arms around wildly. "Sit down, would ya?"
"I…" He glared at his feet. "I'll get my pants dirty."
"Translation: Yuffie, you're the hottest thing with two legs and I wouldn't be able to control myself if I were that close to you?" She smiled up at him, and he knew she was teasing, but he couldn't help feeling a little miffed.
" You the hottest thing on two legs." He scoffed, dumping himself on the ground, leather pants be Damned. "Out of your mind…"
"Oh, I'm glad you're feeling better!" She said sarcastically. "What happened to you telling me that I was the prettiest girl in Traverse?"
"Yuffie, you were twelve and stupid when I told you that. Besides, I never said you weren't pretty." He rolled his eyes but opened his arms and legs when Yuffie moved over from her rock to curl up against his chest, and it became absolutely official that something had changed between them over the coarse of his illness.
"I got you something." She said softly, after a long moment of comfortable silence. She took one arm from its resting spot on his leg to dig around in the pocket of her shorts. With a small, triumphant sound she pulled out a small box and handed it to him. "Happy Birthday."
"You got me a ring?" He asked, staring incredulously at the tiny package in his hand.
"Not just any ring, silly." She poked him and smiled. "Open it up and see!"
He hesitantly complied, snapping open the velvet box and pulling out the tiny object. He stared at the piece of jewellery in his palm, the light that shone off its bright silver as it glinted. Yuffie smiled contently and rested her head against his neck, looking at the ring as well.
"Yuffie." Squall whispered, his voice hoarse. "Where did you get this?"
"I found it right after you lost it." She told him, taking the ring to examine it more closely. "When you got that big burn on your hand from the Red Nocturnes and Aerith had to melt it off? She threw it away, but I knew how much it meant to you so I got it out of the trash. Then I got the Moogles to fix it."
"When?" He couldn't believe he had missed this.
"Years ago." She yawned, handing the ring back to him. "But I had to find the perfect time to give it back to you. Its…Griever, right?"
"Yeah." He said softly, slipping it on to his finger. Yuffie began to chatter incessantly but he wasn't listening. Her gesture was anything but casual. Yuffie had known how much he'd loved that ring when not even Aerith had. Yuffie, who couldn't have been much older than fifteen at the time, had bothered to get it fixed just for him. And she'd just spent the last month and a half caring for him…
"Eep! Squall!"
"Thank you." He breathed into her neck. He heard her let out a small breath of her own. She shifted around until she was comfortable in his tight hold on her waist; she was never prepared when Squall decided to sporadically hug her. But she held on just as tightly to him as he was her, petting the sleeves of his arm and listening to him breath. She knew how much this meant to him.
"Anything for you, Squall."
"I hope you don't mind. I hope you don't mind that I put down in words
how wonderful life is now you're in the world."
Riku breathed in the night air, throwing his arms out as he spun in circles. The stone ground of the Alley was smooth against his feet as he moved, although a few pebbles had snuck into his shoes, but he didn't care. Tynan sat off to the side, dangling her legs off the side of a crate and trying to be as quiet as possible. Riku was happy…Riku was singing.
"So excuse me forgetting but these things I do. You see I've forgotten if they're green or they're blue."
She watched as he danced around, unsure of what to do and feeling very awkward indeed. What was one to do with a happy, singing Riku? She'd only just learned to deal with him while he was mean and broody. It was just like Riku to use alcohol as a weapon against her.
Very suddenly, with a snap of his neck, Riku seemed to notice her perched on the wooden crate, and smiled in a way that scared her. She winced as Riku grinned, twirling his way over to her and taking her hand.
"What are you doing?" He asked, as if the fact that she wasn't dancing was the oddest thing he'd ever seen.
"What do you mean, what am I doing?" She snapped, letting out a high pitched yelp as the silver haired boy pulled her off the crate and into his arms, spinning her around as he tilted his head up to the sky.
" I know it's not much but it's the best I can do. My gift is my song and this one's for you."
"What are you doing!" She yelled, struggling against him, but he held her tight.
"Dance with me!" He grinned, taking hold of her arms and wrapping them around his neck. Tynan blushed fiercely.
"Stop it, Riku!" She demanded, but Riku smiled lazily and swept her off the ground, twirling her around with such a look of such pure joyfulness that she couldn't help but lose her aggravation. He stumbled a bit after a few spins, letting her drop to her feet. She stumbled a bit out of dizziness and he held her upright. She gave him a tiny annoyed smile and he laughed wildly and began to sing again.
"Anyway the thing is what I really mean. Yours are the sweetest eyes I've ever seen."
"You're drunk." She accused, sensing the lack of the usual stiffness in his shoulders and the smell of whatever he'd been drinking on his breath.
"What makes you think that?" He sounded genuinely curious, amused but a little off-hand as he concentrated on swaying her from side to side.
"Well, you're not brooding, for one thing." She said, ticking off her fingers behind his head. "And you're relaxed, and not being a jerk and you're singing."
"A guy's not allowed to sing?" He asked innocently. Tynan shot him a look and he laughed. "Okay, I'm a little tipsy. Anyway, my thinking is you're a little under the influence yourself."
"I'm not!" Tynan insisted, shocked and appalled. "I haven't been drinking anything, I--"
"Oh, I see." He smiled again, amused, and pulled her even closer, ignoring the little squeaky noise she made. "So you're dancing with me and not abusing me on your own free sober will?"
"No, you--"
But Riku clamped a hand over her mouth, wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her to the ground with him before she could even get a word in. There he flung his arms and legs, taking as much space as possible in order to squish Tynan against the wall. She grumbled and moved to ease her way up, but Riku looked at her softly and she paused, startled.
"Tynan, we've been friends for awhile now, right? Three weeks, yes?"
She blinked, leaning back against the wall. "Yes…"
He turned his face to the sky, and she was surprised to see he looked perfectly serious. "So you think it would be alright for you to maybe relax around me sometimes?"
"No." She replied immediately. "Then you'd get me while I wasn't looking, and I'd end up super-glued to Sora with no clothes on."
Riku flushed. It'd had to be that particular dream that Sora and Tynan had learned about his habit of talking in his sleep.
"Hey, I'm being serious!" He insisted. "You were more comfortable around me when you hated me!"
"Well, that—" She stopped, and took time to flush and look away until Riku had to clear his throat with impatience. "Back then I didn't really--"
She took a deep breath and just as easily changed the subject, and Riku gave her a look that she pretended to miss.
"What ballad were you singing?" She asked, a bit guiltily. "I've never heard it before."
He laughed. "That wasn't a ballad. It was a song."
"A song…"
"You know…like a song you hear on the radio?"
She scrunched her nose in ultimate confusion. "A what?"
"A radio…the electronic box that plays music and news announcements through tiny little speakers…" He paused. How to explain electricity to someone who had never used it? "Anyway, its called Your Song."
"Your Song." Tynan repeated, her accent heavily weighing on her new word and she nodded. "You know it well, huh? Was it your favourite?"
He shook his head. "It was Kairi's favourite. She used to sing it all the time."
"Ah."
A moment, then…
"You miss her?"
He shrugged. "I'm used to it now. But sometimes little things remind me of her, and I start to think of her more."
"You loved her?" Tynan rolled on to her arms, resting her head as she watched Riku fidget and bite his lip as he contemplated his answer. She hoped to meet Kairi one day. A girl who was so well loved by both Riku and Sora…
"I think I did." He answered honestly, after awhile. "Maybe like a sister. I don't know. I cared for her so much but…I never loved her like Sora did. Or still does."
He sighed loudly, and then turned to look at her, a smirk lighting up his features. "And hey, look who's relaxing!"
"Riku…" She said quietly, for once ignoring the bait.
"Let's get back to the party, okay?" He stood, and he actually looked uncomfortable. "Sora has probably poisoned somebody by now."
"Wait!" She stood as well, tripping over her own feet as she reached out to wrap her arms around his waist. Riku started, his breath leaving him from both shock and the strength of her arms. Her cheeks were hot against his neck, and she squeezed too tightly and it was probably the most uncomfortable embrace he'd ever received. But the gesture alone was enough.
"C-cheer up, okay?" She murmured, and took off down the alleyway so fast it took him a moment to regain his senses.
"H-hey!" He called after her, and she stopped. His heart pounded. "You…uh…you never…you didn't hear the whole song!"
"Oh." She walked back and sat down on the wooden crate, swinging her legs and looking up at him as if he were a paid performer. He shook his head and resisted the urge to slap himself, finally reaching out his arms to her.
"Can I have another hug first?" He asked, and felt oddly smug as her face lit red. "I kinda liked that."
She stood and stomped over to him and muttered something that sounded suspiciously like 'you really are drunk' but this time she hugged him properly and her hair was mussed and her face got all hot again and he suddenly couldn't care less if Sora poisoned the entire Town.
The boy lay in the dark, staring dully at the large trophy sitting on the hearth across him. It didn't mean a thing at all, the stupid hunk of metal, and it probably would have made someone else a lot happier. He sighed and turned his back to it, pressing his face into a pillow even though it was hot and sweat-soaked and uncomfortable.
"Shuyin?"
He looked up at the door; the Keyblade master stood with a blanket draped over him and it struck Shuyin as funny that such an entity could look so childish.
"Did you need something, Sora?" He asked, sitting up fully and clicking the light on.
"Um, not really." The brunette shuffled forward and sat on the edge of the bed. "I kind of just wanted to talk."
"Ah." Shuyin nodded and made room for the younger boy to lie down. Sora lay down, ignoring the shock he felt that the Blitzer hadn't turned him away. The blond watched him expectantly, and Sora sighed, staring up at the ceiling.
"I can't stand it anymore…"
winces
Well, guys, there ya have it!
Umm…please review?