Author's Note.
Hey! Look whose back with the next instalment of this fic? Been a while, has it not?
I was very unhappy with the whole beginning of this chapter for a long time, and couldn't bring myself to just sit down and fix it. Before I knew it, the months had passed and no progress was made. I kicked myself in the butt and told myself to just sit down, drink some coffee and get this bastard finished! Sorry for the wait, guys. XD I tried.
Serendipity – Befriending the Stranger.
"Pass the crackers!"
"No."
"What? Why? …Don't be so fucking selfish Leon."
"I'm not I am however saving the only food I managed to grab before you scoffed the rest of it for yourself, you greedy ass." Leon growled lowly under his breath, ignoring the stubborn pout Cloud sent his way.
"I did not scoff the rest of it! Now just share, you stubborn mule!" Cloud bellowed, making a feeble attempt to swiping the crackers, which was clutched safely in Leon's hand, and very much so out of Cloud's reach.
Now, I would have usually smirked at this.
I may have attempted to voice a sarcastic comment to the pair of horny bastards who probably would enjoy nothing more than to feed each other those crackers off one another's stomachs.
I might even have chosen to join in and snatch the crackers from Leon and run down the aisle with both of them hot on my trail…
Except there was one tiny insignificant problem to all this that I kinda forgot to mention.
A small occurrence that doesn't usually happen here in this store, which I'm obviously not worried about. No… not at all, I'm fine and fucking dandy.
…
Riku.
Yes, Riku was sat next to me this very instant, happily watching those two pin each other to the floor, scrambling most ungraciously to win the crackers.
With slight raised delicate eyebrows and an amused expression on his face, he's just sitting here, quietly observing whilst he occasionally plucked a white chocolate-covered pretzel from the bag and popped it into his mouth.
That's right.
Just.
…Sitting...
…There.
Like I said. I'm fine, really I am. Why wouldn't I be?
Yeah. Why Wouldn't I be just fine?
…Because that 'drop dead fucking absolutely molestable hot dude' as Cloud put it, who I just want to put into a glass case and observe forever, and also want to screw until he can't move for the next month, is goddamned sitting right here, next. To. Me!
So close I can smell that faint drifting scent of musky vanilla and some delicious expensive product he uses swirl up my nose and settle on my taste buds, I can see those delightfully soft locks of beautiful silver hair sway gently around his shoulders, and I can see those enticing aqua eyes melt into view with those luscious, soft, pink… lips.
"Sora…?"
Oh, and that voice. That perfectly spoken voice of his, which twirls around in your ears, tugging playfully on your earlobe, before entering and making sure to send a jolt of warmth to trickle down your spine. Oh gods… Riku, get on that floor now!
"I think he's spaced out again."
"What makes you say that?"
"The drool running down his chin is a pretty big clue."
Did I forget to mention his clothes are even sexy? That crimson shirt falling loosely over his shoulders and flowed until it stopped at the floor and folded in loose folds, just covering a small part of the floor behind him. Those tight black trousers tugging in all the right places as he sat crossed-legged and graceful…
"Think we should snap him out of it?"
"No, its amusing… anyone got any coloured felt tips? It's about time I brushed up on my artistic skills."
"But I wanna prod him with a stick or something…"
"Somebody might wan' to do something, he's fucking making a puddle of drool on my floor, for fucks sake."
"Riku, go stand in the corner of the room, I wanna see if his eyes will follow you."
…With those arms gently resting on his thighs, as one of those chocolate pretzels lay effortless between his finger and thumb, and the way he is getting up so elegantly and is smirking ever so slightly as he walks to the other side of the room. Oh, look how he is swinging his arms gently as he is moving down an aisle out of my view…
…
Eh? …He's gone.
Blinking rapidly I turned around, only to squeak and shout a bunch of abuse as I tumbled back away from the two blondes, who were smirking broadly and were crouched down right in front of me.
"What the hell are you guys doing?"
"We were admiring your gorgeous blue eyes Sora … what the fuck do you think we're doing?"
I grunted and sat up, rubbing my elbows from where I hit them on the floor. "I don't know, you guys are acting weird." I pouted as I found I had grazed my elbow.
Leon ran a hand through his hair as he gazed at me for a second. "Is that really fair, Sora? You were hardly with us long enough to judge if we're acting weirdly or not." He took one of the few remaining crackers from the crumpled bag and took a bite. I saw Cloud nearly flinch at the sound of a cracker being munched without his consent. Swirling around he faced Leon and growled.
"Leon, don't make me hurt you, you said I could have the rest of them!" Cloud growled and took a few steps closer to the man perched on the floor.
"Tch, whatever." Leon shrugged and finished it off. He smirked a little too much, as if slightly challenging Cloud to go on.
"Why you--."
Those two were left to bitch at each other further more whilst Cid sat next to me and tapped my foot with his worn-down boot.
"You've fallen bad, Sora." He chuckled as he searched his pockets for his trusty lighter.
I scrunched my face up for a second trying to figure out what the fuck he was going on about until I realised. Riku.
I sighed and rested my elbows on my knees. "…Yeah, I guess I have."
Cid gave his hollow laugh and scratched his chin. "You guess? … You do realise that you were spaced out for 10 minutes just starin' at the frickin' kid, don't ya?"
I… I-what?
My elbow slipped off my knee making me stutter for a second and I just gaped at Cid openly.
"Fuck… I didn't." Cid raised an eyebrow at me, a glint of amusement in his eye.
I groaned and fell onto my back and just stared up at the boring white ceiling.
"…I did."
"Eh, don't worry too much over it lad, he only noticed for the last 4." Although I couldn't see it, I knew that bastard was smirking at me, amused at my torture, well… ugh, screw him.
I shut my eyes and took a long deep breath. This isn't normal behaviour is it? Is it normal for a kid to blank the entire world except for one angel who was sat next to him for 10 whole fucking minutes? No… screw it, who gives a shit.
"Where is he anyway?" I mumbled, fiddling with the hem of my jacket, I twiddled with the material while I waited for Cid to say something. Am I nervous or something girlish like that?
Humph, no….
I jutted out my bottom lip and continued to fiddle with the jacket.
…Well maybe a little.
Cid stood there looking down at me for a while, the old glint of amusement in his eye shone clearly as he manoeuvred his toothpick to one side of his mouth, while clucking his tongue.
"Well, we sent 'im off down one of the Aisles to see what you would do, hasn' came back since…" Cid shrugged as he slapped me on the shoulder which earned the best glare I could distribute whilst being thrown forward slightly.
We stood in silence for a moment, slightly tuning into the sounds around us. From Leon and Cloud still scrambling around over the crackers, to the wind whistling through the small gap that separates the door from the floor, to the distant sound of that damned rain continuously falling from the grey clouds that hovered over The Traverse Town Slums.
"Don't even think about it!"
"Cloud, get off me, for Christ sake!"
"…Is it causing you discomfort Leon?"
"Yes."
"Then no."
Those two were a pile of leather-clad limbs. I watched in amusement for a while as Cloud straddled Leon's waist even more, I saw Leon's face of obvious discomfort at Cloud's personal space invasion, but still held onto the last cracker in his hand, stretched out as far as possible from the persistent blonde.
"Uggnh." I blinked, Whatthe—
"Unh—Stop it, Cloud!" Leon hissed through gritted teeth.
Although I couldn't see Cloud's eyes as they were covered with a blanket of blonde fringe, I knew they were closed tightly for a few seconds, I could however see the triumphant smirk spread across the blondes face as he did it again.
…He grinded against Leon.
"Nngh, I… said stop!" Leon strained once more, although I don't think anyone who was looking, including Cloud, missed the tiniest regrettable movement of Leon biting his lip slightly.
I heard the intake of Cloud's breath as he felt the pressure harder than expected and he almost grinned and put on an extra bout of triumph if it wasn't for Leon's elbow shoving him back hard. He fell off Leon and sat up, breath slightly rooked.
Cloud looked up slowly and saw Leon was also sat up now, one leg tucked underneath him, one leg propped up to rest his arm on, the other arm supporting himself on the floor. Leon's head was bowed, but even through the brown fringe that was swaying gently across his face; I could still see his grey eyes burning with anger.
Whether angry at himself for responding to Cloud's actions, or angry at Cloud for grinding against him in the first place…. I wasn't too sure on.
But if it was the latter, I sure felt sorry for Cloud.
"Just what the hell was that Cloud?" Leon growled, he gave Cloud a loathing glare and waited for Cloud to answer, almost daring him to make up an excuse.
"L-leo--."
"Tch, whatever." Leon scowled and headed towards the back entrance of the store. Not even caring it was pouring down with rain out there, he slipped through the doors and out of sight.
I glanced back at Cloud who was just sitting there indifferently with his chin on his knee. I shuffled towards him a little bit and just as I was conjuring up the usual sympathetic words to calm my friend down, I noticed that smile spread across his face.
Oh boy, Cloud really was just a play boy; he didn't even look the slightest bit bothered that Leon gave him the cold shoulder and a scolding; instead he looked rather pleased with himself. Then again, grinding against Leon and being able to live to tell the tale IS an achievement, surely.
I don't think he'll be getting anymore freebies like that in a while though; Leon wasn't just about to lie down and let the sneaky Blonde pull a stunt like that again.
"Oy, spikey, I don't remember asking for a free preview of your late-night get-ups, eh? Save it for after hours, understood?" Cid scoffed as he looked at Cloud and raised a blonde eyebrow.
"Yeah, yeah... I get ya, old man." Cloud smirked and wagged his eyebrows at Cid as he got up, only to dodge the playful punch Cid threw at him.
"Guh, you're just like… a horny little mutt, ent'cha?" Cid rolled his eyes, in synch with his toothpick; Cloud smirked once more and mock saluted him.
"Only when I want to be. Then again, I'm pretty sure everyone is, I'm just more open about it, y'know? Take--" Cloud whipped round and grabbed my arm, yanking me forward he tucked me into his side and slung an arm casually around my shoulder.
"—Sora for example, nice quiet boy, yet up to the tallest chocolate-brown tip of hair, he is bursting with hormones. He's so horny, I bet he's eating Viagra for breakfast, and having to buy clean sheets regularly, catch my drift? …So to conclude my human biology session, I say we're all 'horny mutts' just some people like to hide it more than others, isn't that right, Sora?"
I looked up at him weakly and sighed in defeat, once Cloud got going, he has to be right in his theories, or else he'd threaten to do nasty things to us, even if they weren't particularly threatening, we didn't want to hurt the blonde's pride.
"Yeah, it's right, accept if you haven't realised already, I can't buy sheets on a regular basis." I examined my shoe, which was bumped together momentarily with Cloud's nice black ones.
"Oh yeah, hard to remember you living by yourself all the time, sorry Sora." Cloud patted my shoulder slightly and let me go afterwards.
"Remember, if you need anything at all-" I cut Cloud off before he went into his lecture.
"I'm going to go look for Riku," I mumbled, swallowing the lump in the back of my throat, I hated those conversations. Staying true to my word, I turned around with a squeak of the floor and made my way in the direction I last saw Riku go.
I plodded along in my worn trainers and tilted my head to the side slightly to peak behind me where I saw Cid giving Cloud the scolding look. Yeah, I've noticed that Cid goes on the defensive when my past is discussed. He's the only guy I think that knows at least half of my miserable life, and he is one guy too many.
I sighed and brushed a stray lock of hair out of my eyes as I rounded the corner.
He had made me tell him during our interview, I was so desperate for the job I had ended up blurting out way too much than I had liked, It had seemed to work though. Although I had to suffer a week's worth of sympathy looks from my boss, I guess it was worth it now that I get a descent pay-check every month…
"…I understand that, I saw him 2 blocks away."
I blinked and looked up as I was brought out of my reverie. I caught myself in mid-step as I saw Riku halfway down the aisle leaning his hip on the side of a fridge, back turned away from me, talking into his mobile.
I stumbled forward quietly a few steps more and waited there. It was surprising to see Riku talking to somebody else I didn't know. I've only seen him talk to us guys and him having other contacts sparked something deep within me.
I don't know much about Riku. As much as I know his outer appearance by now, and oh yes, how I have gazed at every inch of him, I hardly knew anything about his inner self.
He is so God-like…
So... mysterious.
"No, don't come—" He shifted his weight to the other side of his foot as he blindly felt behind him for the fridge top to rest his hand upon casually.
I bit my lip as I watched him intensely.
What was he talking about? And Who exactly was he talking to?
"About an hour ago, look I'm fine …you're being too protective."
My teeth pressed harder together onto my lip and I felt the numbness affecting it. That sounded like someone very close to him, could it be…?
"I know what I'm doing. Please, let it be…" He stood still for a while whilst listening to the black and slick mobile phone that was connecting him and that other person. He held his head low, eyes on what I could only imagine be concentrating on the floor, as if he was thinking whilst listening.
"No, I'm not alone; I'm with some… friends."
My heart fluttered for a fleeting second as I recognized the so-called friends as us four. Although I know he may just be saying that to get this persistent person on the phone to let him be, it didn't stop the fact that he had thought to call us his friends. After our second meeting too!
I took another meek step forward, desperate to, if possible, hear more of Riku. Maybe his breathing? I don't know what I was trying to do really; maybe somewhere I thought I could decipher what he was thinking through any movements.
To simply learn more about Riku was naturally becoming an obsessive goal. Picking up on any of his mannerisms, any actions that I could relate to how he was feeling. This one person in front of me may have well been speaking Latin for as much as I understood him.
I could hear his words perfectly, but the emotion was well-covered in his elegance and suavity, his cool and collectiveness put him hard on the table to pin down and understand.
It just added more to how much I wanted to do naughty things to him, really…
"No, you don't know them. Do you have to know everything that I do in my life? What is my business is mine alone." Riku sighed as he gently picked up one of his silver locks that invaded his eyesight; he held it between finger and thumb as he looked up at it. I smiled to myself as I saw him frown at it and made a point to move it to the side and out of his way.
"If you must know, I'm in a shop … yes they work here. … Just a convenience store, nothing more… four guys… yes, they're good people… oh, seriously! Come on now!"
Man this guy was really buzzing him off; he raised his voice a little as he battled to get a word in. I just wanted to go over there and whip that nasty phone from his hand and throw it against the wall and watch it shatter into many, many pieces.
Nothing too aggressive.
I took another step forward once more. Riku was about 2 feet away from me and I silently stood behind him. My shoe made the tiniest noise on the floor and I stood stark still, daring to breath. It would seem rude of me to be eavesdropping into his personal business like this.
"I'm sure they'll take good care of me, I'll be there soon."
I sighed silently in relief; he didn't make any suggestions that he had heard me. I felt my hands which were slightly sweaty now.
"Alright, I have to go now, I'm sure they'll be waiting for me…. Yes, shortly. Okay, Goodbye." He clicked the mobile shut and slid it into his trouser pocket; he sighed and just stood where he was.
"Hello, Sora."
…
Oh.
So he heard, I guess.
…How?
"Err… Hi?" I made a nervous sound at the back of my throat and a jolt of cold shivers ran down my spine as I looked at my scuffed shoes. Riku cleared his throat and turned around slowly. I looked up and his eyes met mine before his body came to a halt.
"Sorry I took so long, I had an …acquaintance of mine who needed to speak to me." He offered a warm smile.
"It's alright, I was just wondering where you disappeared to, is all." I tried my best to keep my voice calm, man what this guy does to my nerves, its pleasantly unbearable. Heh…
"Yes, he does know when to call at the worst of times." His eyes twinkled in the light and he once again looked angelic. Was this guy from this world?
"Oh…" That was such an intelligent reply, well done brainless.
My eyes widened when I realised that Riku was now by my side, looking down at me with a small smile tugging at his lips.
"Are you alright, Sora? You seem a little out of it." Riku analysed as he studied my face, his warm aqua eyes staring directly into my own sky blue ones. I felt my cheeks grow warm as I fought to control my eyes fleeting across his face, taking in every fine polished detail.
"Err… yeah, I guess. I was just thinking that you didn't seem too happy with that guy, you are okay, aren't you?" I mumbled hurriedly.
Riku stared at me a little while longer with an unreadable expression, I was nervously looking anywhere but his face.
Riku ended up smiling even more and reaching out to pat my shoulder. I stared at the hand in awe and nearly squeaked as it landed gently on my shoulder.
"You're a good guy, Sora. I appreciate your concern."
Whatthehell. Did I just die? Ahm'I an Angel?
No, no. Just sex-on-legs is touching me. Yep, that's right. Touching me.
I think I feel my arm melting off my body. I could actually feel the warmth tingle through my body and unfortunately straight to my crotch. Fuck!
Damn, what the hell IS this guy? Just one touch and I'm about ready to explode a hole right through the front of my pants? It's insanely addictive.
Gathering all my strength I looked up into Riku's eyes, which glowed warmly still, and meekly smiled back.
"You're a good guy too, R-riku." I managed, face growing warm even more.
Riku breathed in slowly and removed his hand from my shoulder. "You think so?"
He didn't wait for my answer, as he began to walk slowly back towards the front of the store. I'm guessing it was rhetorical. I stood and watched Riku a while longer until I noticed him slow to a stop and turn to face me.
"You coming, Sora?" He waited patiently for me to click out of my reverie and jog to catch him up.
"Sure." I replied as we both made our way to the front together.
Together…
Man, that has a nice ring to it. Together, TogetherTogetherTogether, Sora and Riku, Together. Yeah, I like.
My heart swelled with nice feelings as me and Riku turned the corner and made our way over to Cid and Cloud.
Cloud was at the tills, feet up on the desk and lazily reading his Ps2 magazine with great interest. He was looking at the reviews for this new game out which he loved to criticize and make fun of on a weekly basis. He looked up from beyond his blonde bangs and smirked when he saw us.
"You found him then, Sora? My, my… you sure took your time returning here, eh?" He wagged his eyebrows at me and smirked harder when he saw Riku raise an elegant eyebrow at him.
"Yes, we were quite a while weren't we, Sora?" Riku smiled, voice as calm as ever. "Who knows what we could have been up to?"
My cheeks went bright red as my mouth fell open like some kind of gaping fish. Cloud saw my face and threw back his head and gave a hearty yet evil chuckle.
"No, Sora couldn't do that, he's too innocent, besides… to bag you, Sora's just like… 20 leagues below." Cloud winked at me and my eyes widened even further. Hey! I resent that! …30 leagues at least!
Riku bowed his head to study me who was at his side for a second then looked back up thoughtfully, he smiled at Cloud. "Oh, I don't know. I think if Sora tried he could have anyone he desired."
Fuck it, I'm dead.
Ri-riku just. He just. Ugh, I'm dead, I swear.
Cloud smirked as broadly as ever. "You think? I'm not so sure, his confidence is below the ice. Anyone you say? Hmm, not if they're taken."
Riku seemed indifferent about Cloud's answer and replied as though he knew the answer all along. "Well he best be careful on who he picks now, mustn't he?"
I-I… Well… I… I'm just kind of speechless here.
Cloud saw my face and I fear it was the gas to his flaming smile. He could be pretty blunt at times, the dizzy blonde.
"Are you single?" He blurted out, confident of thinking he has the right to ask any question he wants.
Wow, Cloud needs to be skewered right about now.
Riku, however, just raised that eyebrow again and didn't seem to be faltered in the fact that it was a personal question. Was he ever surprised at anything?
He studied Cloud's face for a moment, as if wondering the best way to answer the blonde. He had been pretty still during the whole encounter; I wonder if a passer-by outside think we decorated the shop by adding a manikin in here or something.
Cloud leaned forward; apparently he found this conversation more interesting than his Ps2 magazine as it slid off his lap with a dull 'thunk' to the floor.
"…Yes, currently."
I suddenly felt dizzy and pressed my fingernails into the palms of my hands as I swallowed the sudden burst of joy down.
Cloud appeared to be getting more interested by the second as his eyebrows rose above his fringe for a few seconds.
"Oh, really?"
Riku simply nodded. I just stood by his side, looking up at him admiringly.
"Well, that's very good news to hear, very good news." Cloud chirped.
It was Riku's turn to become interested, or at least appear to be.
"…Really now?"
Cloud nodded knowingly and stood up and stretched his lazy limps, he scratched his stomach a little as he made his way round to the front of the till where he leaned against the side.
"Yep."
"How so? Who's to say you're my type?" Riku asked calmly, almost jokingly.
Cloud was baffled until he chuckled loudly and shook his head, his soft golden bangs swaying gently across his forehead.
"Who said it was for me? …Besides, as hot as your skinny little ass is, it appears that I prefer tall, brooding brunettes, well according to my lower regions that is." Cloud shrugged, as if that was a normal comment.
I blushed even harder, seriously, does Cloud have no shame?
Riku, who somehow found that amusing, chuckled. "Fair enough. I'm guessing this guy would be the one who is absent presently?"
Cloud smirked. "How could you tell?"
I blanched; these two guys could talk about anything as though it was casual.
"Mmhmm, you're not all that discreet, Cloud" Riku mused, his eyes flickering over Cloud's shoulder to where the ice-cream machine swam into view, the 'Out of Order' sign scribbled quickly on a piece of card and taped to the side of it. His eyes flickered back to Cloud calmly.
Cloud sheepishly grinned and scratched the back of his head, his rolled up sleeve falling slightly back down his arm. He rolled it back up to above his elbow and sighed. "Yeah, I know this." He chuckled.
"I see your ice-cream machine is currently out of order." Riku noted, nodding his head ever so slightly in the direction over Cloud's shoulder. Cloud widened his eyes somewhat and turned his head so his chin rested on his shoulder and looked to see Riku's point.
"Heheh, yeah. It's been broken for about 3 weeks. There was a dent in the side when we saw it, which by the way Sora, looked strangely like the shape of your shoe." Cloud smiled knowingly.
Riku chuckled and looked at me too. "I can see why, noisy little things, aren't they?"
I smiled back and agreed, Riku could be so understanding. I have to thank Cloud later too, him knowing it was me yet not running to Cid to grass me up was good. Although, if it wasn't for my fine aim of a boot, we wouldn't have got that nice display of Leon's bum.
Guess we all win then. Well, apart from the ice-cream machine.
"I could fix that for you, if you wanted?" Riku politely suggested. Me and Cloud gave each other looks and then broke out into big grins. Riku, fix that piece of junk? No way! That thing is as good as dead.
We've had me, Cid, Cloud, who actually only increased the dent in the side of it, and Leon have a look at it. No way was that thing ever making a double caramel deluxe again.
"Is there something wrong?" Riku asked, the corner of his lips tugging up gently. Cloud and I just laughed, although Cid had nagged us to keep trying to fix the thing, we gave up a long time ago, and just dismissed it as me having a very bad mood that day.
"No no, by all means try Riku, but you won't have much luck, Sora really did kill the thing." Cloud laughed off.
"Alright then, let's take a look." Riku smiled while unbuttoning the cuffs of his crimson shirt and rolling up the sleeves much more orderly than Cloud's efforts. He walked casually over to the ice-cream machine and lifted up the lid gently and placed it against the wall next to him.
"Sora, do you have a foot stool and a few general tools, please?" Riku asked, peeking a look at the inside of the machine.
"Sure, I'll be right back." I said dashing off to find the stool in Cid's office, and getting the tool kit Leon not long ago used to try and accomplish the same goal. I shoved the stool under my arm and grabbed the kit with two hands and picked it up heavily. I limped quickly back to where Riku stood waiting for me, hand resting on the machine and the other offhandedly placed on his hip.
"You managing there, Sora?" Smiled Riku, who looked me up and down, watching me struggle with the heavy box of tools. I faltered in step and mumbled a quick 'yes' as I reached him, dropping the box to the floor with a clang.
"Thank you." Riku said automatically, while already busying himself with setting up the foot stool. He rummaged through the tool box and pulled out a few picked tools and placed them on the floor near the machine. He rummaged for a while longer and stood up with a small frown on his face.
"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, looking not the least bit surprised.
"You appear not to have a spanner." Riku acknowledged. I blinked. I swear we did have one, I'm pretty sure I had one when it was my turn to look at the blasted thing. I remember throwing it back in there stubbornly when I realised I was too weak to undo a tight bolt. Cloud looked like he was thinking on the same lines as I was, we definitely remember having one.
"…That's because I dropped in it in the machine." Replied a voice from behind me. I swivelled round and saw Leon leaning against a shelf with his arms crossed.
I scrunched up my nose in thought and remembered that Leon did drop it in there, and got all pissy over it as he couldn't find it again.
"Oh yeah! He did, and he couldn't see it, so we left it in there …whoops." I rubbed my arm embarrassedly, as Cloud just chuckled. Riku raised an eyebrow yet smiled nevertheless. He stood on the stool and looked down into the machine.
Cloud gazed at Leon with a small smile on his face, I had almost forgotten about their little escapade earlier on and how Leon just left the back exit to do… well, what ever it was he did.
There was a lot of tension rising between those guys already. Leon had only been with us a couple of days, yet between Cloud and Leon, it felt like they were trying to figure each other out completely, like a discreet battle. What they win after they accomplished their goal? Only those guys know.
To think that those guys could get wrapped up in each other so quickly was really hard to accept. Taking one look at Leon you'd think he wouldn't care about anything, or anyone. Even now when you look at him, you'd think he was giving off 'get-the-fuck-away-from-me' vibes, but after knowing him for just a couple of days, I know different.
It's hard to believe that the dizzy blonde standing next to me now has shown this amount of interest in any guy before. Looking back at Cloud's past story-telling times, all I remember him saying was how he got lucky once again, and how he had never seen the same guy again.
If somebody wasn't within his bed the 1st night he took interest in them, then he usually gave up and moved on, but noting his attention span has actually lasted longer than 24 hours while being focused on Leon simply amazed me.
Maybe it was how resistant Leon appeared to be of Cloud. He could be up striping in front of Leon, and despite of what Leon was thinking, he would just shrug him off as a mere annoying distraction. That man sure had will-power, I'll give him that.
Well, if that's the case, then I'm rooting Leon on. It's about time somebody showed Cloud that the world didn't revolve around him, and that he couldn't bed anyone he felt like it.
...yet… I can't stop thinking that Leon may give in. He seems pretty confident in himself now, but Cloud had ways to turn any straight man gay at the flick of his hips.
Well, fuck that, it's not my problem now is it? I have too many of my own to worry about who Cloud is trying to lasso into his bed.
I heard a small 'Aha' and looked to see Riku placing the tip of his toes back onto the stool from where he had left it to lean right into the machine, and saw him re-submerge from the top.
He turned around and looked at me, smiling as he wiggled the spanner in his hand.
Hey… he got the spanner.
Wait…
I missed a free-viewing of Riku's fine-sculptured bottom, just to worry about the other two pair of asses!
…Oh man… now I'm really pissed.
I scowled deep in my throat and glared at Cloud and Leon both in turn as if it was their fault. They both widened their eyes, surprised by the sudden evilness radiating off me to them.
"…You need something?" Leon muttered, not faltered by my look in the slightest.
I just growled under my breath and looked at Riku. My face became dream-like as I saw that delicious smile. Oh yes, Riku makes it alllll better.
"Well, let's see what's going on in here then." Riku hummed as he grabbed a few tools and inspected the inside of the machine.
"What in blazes fuck?" The toothpick hit the floor when Cid had walked into his store to see a happier, healthier looking ice-cream machine quietly purring in its spot.
Yeah, that's right… Riku had to just fix that machine didn't he? …Just because we all couldn't. Sod's law.
And what's more? It's fucking quiet! Isn't it!
Not only did he show us up… He made the machine better than it had been before it broke!
If he wasn't so gorgeous right now I would have… well, I would have…uh…
Fuck it; let's just settle for he's gorgeous.
"How the fuck…" Cid was quite comical looking with his mouth agape like a fish out of water and his eyes wide as if he had just got told he had more than 3 customers that day. I rolled my eyes yet couldn't help the grin that crept onto my face, he really was amazed.
Oh, the small things, Cid…
"He fixed it."
"He wha?"
"He fixed it. The machine."
"Fuck…"
"s'what I said."
The silence that followed was amusing. Riku was smiling to himself while observing Cid, cloth in hand to wipe up the ice-cream that managed to cling to his hands, making them all sticky.
Heh… Riku with sticky hands…
Okay, Mental slap. Off topic there!
Cid was still mumbling his favoured profanities which consisted of many varied ways of saying 'fuck'. Why was he so surprised that somebody had actually fixed his ice-cream machine?
He looked almost horrified. It just didn't add up. I was getting suspicious as to why he seemed so alarmed but was quickly stumped of all suspicion when Cid suddenly straightened and went to grasp Riku's (now un-stickier) hands for a 'manly' shake. He was shaking Riku's poor hand so hard I saw Riku furrow his eyebrow when Cid eventually let go.
He rubbed his shoulder blade tenderly yet kept quiet, as if saying something would insult the old blonde, who was jabbering his thanks happily.
"Ah Riku, tha' was real handy of ya, y'know? I just got back from the menders with a nasty estimated price of how much it woulda cost me to fix th' bastard thing, you saved me a pretty penny, I'm telling ya that much, kid."
He then proceeded to slap Riku whole-heartedly on the back a few times which threw the fragile angel forward a step or two.
I had to laugh when I saw Riku's genuinely surprised look when he recovered from Cid's 'kind thanks'. I wish I had a mirror so I could show him how he looked when he straightened back up looking thoroughly ruffled. He straightened his cuffs and tugged his shirt back into place, while trying hard to keep his eyebrows from shooting up in surprise.
Judging by his reactions, I don't really think Riku has been round our kind of people before. Maybe he was used to polite bows and soft spoken words from the posh side. It really wasn't hard to believe that he had drifted over from that side of town. Ah fuck it, who knows?
"Your welcome, Cid. I'm glad I could help you." He responded politely, eager to show Cid he indeed got the point.
"Good lad, good lad." Cid muttered happily as he went over to take a look at Riku's work. He peeked a look inside and saw everything looked pretty much the same. "How'd you do it, Riku? Eh… it looks all the same."
Riku turned his head to look over his shoulder and saw Cid with his head still poking inside, and out of view. "Hmm, well, it was simple really; I removed the dent and put the dislodged pipe back into place. After that it was a simple matter of re-connecting the pieces, and unblocking the nozzle from the old ice-cream. After that, a few times of trial and error and then there it was, fixed." He smiled, and looked at me.
"I couldn't have done it without Sora's assistance though. He was very helpful." His eyes roamed my face and then my spikes of bouncy brown hair for a moment until he locked eyes with mine. Warmth intruded my body, and I immediately felt myself welcoming it.
"Hn, how did you learn this stuff" Cid said, still examining it with great interest. His belt which had odd knick-knacks jingled merrily against the side of the metal occasionally when Cid fidgeted around.
"I picked it up from here and there" He said with a tone of politeness, yet laced with a tone that said not to pry. It was amazing how he could make people understand his point without seeming rude at all.
Cid simply dismissed it as he re-surfaced. "Ah, yeah. Okay, so how much do you want for your service?" Cid looked down at him, his chin stuck out as he balanced a fag in between his lips. He had a look of concentration on his face as he studied Riku's expression whilst rummaging around in his back pocket for his cheque-book.
Riku took a second to consider what Cid had said until he replied. "Oh no Cid, there's no need, I was just fixing it for a friend." Riku offered, but Cid didn't look like he was going to give in.
"Nonsense, Lad. I'm not letting you walk away here empty handed now."
Cloud who was watching the whole thing, smirked. "How about a shag with one of the lovely lads in here, eh Riku? Now that's a decent payment right there!" He leant against the counter on his elbow and continued to grin cheekily.
Riku spared Cloud a glance. "Oh, but surely my girlfriend wouldn't appreciate that, now would she?" He replied whilst flicking his hair over his shoulder casually.
My eyes widened as he said those words. A dull weight filled me as dread came crashing down around me. I watched in horror as Cloud just smirked back at him, how this could be good I do not know.
Cloud shrugged his comment off naturally. "You don't have a girlfriend, you're single." Cloud winked as he peeked at me. "…and you're not interested in women."
Riku's elegant eyebrow once again resumed its position above its natural place. "Really? What make's you so sure." He mused.
This caused Cloud to wear a rather smug expression as he flickered his eyes between me, Riku and Leon. "…Let's just call it a fellow vibe. If you've seen one gay, you've seen them all. Once a penis-lover, always a penis-lover… I'm catching all those vibes even if you do cover them distinctively well; get my point, Riku-darling?" Cloud muttered the last part sarcastically, still grinning madly.
Had the spot-light not now be on Cloud and Riku, and onto me, everybody would have seen an extremely red-faced utterly embarrassed me, standing fidgeting behind them.
How the fuck does Cloud find the nerve to say this kind of stuff? In the presence—no, to Riku, who was so innocently polite that fuck knows how he deserved to be embarrassed like that!
I looked up to see Riku, expecting him to be red-faced and horrified like me, but saw him staring at Cloud as calm as before, as though the comment had fallen upon death ears, or if it had not even been said at all. He just smiled. Smiled that ever smiling smile of his.
Doesn't his cheeks ever hurt?
Cloud was staring back at Riku, amused at the reaction he got, or lack thereof.
"It just proves my point right?" Cloud said, cocking his head slightly to the side and blinking a few times.
Riku acknowledged this with a soft "Hm?"
"…That I'm right? No straight would let me get away with saying that." Cloud mimicked Riku's smile, knowingly.
Riku looked down to the floor briefly and back up again through those long lashes. "Hmm, we'll see"
I felt myself squirm as I witnessed this. The way Riku could control the conversation so calmly whilst being questioned like this struck a chord within me. Along with all those other strings Riku seemed to like plucking within my body, I didn't seem to mind.
Bzzzzzzz
I saw Riku's eyes widen.
Bzzzz…. Bzzz….
Riku reached for his pocket as the buzzing sound emitted from somewhere within. His slender hand pulled out the same sleek black mobile I had seen him talking into earlier on. Although I tried not to, I couldn't help but scowl lowly at it. The damned thing kept going off! No effing peace alone with Riku and friends without it interrupting!
…Okay, well twice shouldn't be something to get all vein-popping over, but I still couldn't help the fact that Riku had other people who he talked to, and trusted. Laughed and smiled to.
Call it obsessive, but I didn't like it. Not one bit.
I chewed on my lower lip to keep myself quiet as I saw him look down at the little screen to see who was calling him in my time. One corner of his mouth tweaked downwards as he answered it.
I studied him closely; it was vastly becoming my favourite hobby. I watched as those remarkable aqua eyes looked down through thick dark eyelashes at the tiled floor. I noticed him bite the inside of his cheek gently as he listened and nodded occasionally at the phone. Goddamn it, all I wanted to do was run over to that piece of ass and jump… him… and molest his sexy little body until he was… panting on the floor and...Ugh…
I think I might dribble if I keep this up.
"…Yes, fine. I'll be there shortly." Riku sighed as he closed the phone up and placed it back into his pocket. I saw the shape of it resting on his -sure to be- creamy hip bone. He ran his hand through his hair in hopes of getting it off his face, where, much to his annoyance, slid perfectly back into place once more.
"What's up Riku, leaving so soon?" Cloud pouted as he played with one of his spikes, twirling it repeatedly around his finger. Guh. SUCH. A. Man-Whore.
"Sorry it's earlier than I would have liked, but I'm needed, so I must go." Riku glanced at me and Cloud sympathetically as he turned to look out the window, inspecting the weather.
"You coming back anytime soon?" Cloud asked as Riku was being shaken by the hand by Cid once more.
"I… honestly don't know. I'm a busy person." Riku answered truthfully, I could tell there was a slight sad tint in his voice, as he avoided eye contact with me.
Cloud just walked up to Riku and sloppily patted him on the shoulder as though they were good friends. "Hey, that didn't stop you from blowing away your afternoon with us in here, now did it? If I remember correctly, you actually had no purpose to be here in the 1st place." He grinned.
"…Or did you?" He winked and jerked his head in my direction. Riku, having been death on the last comment held that trademarked smile.
"You caught me there." He chuckled as grabbed Cloud's hand from his shoulder, and just shook it lightly and let go. Cloud just let his hand fall limp at his side as he studied Riku's face.
"You like it here, don't' you?" He smiled gently, loosing his cockiness and looking overall serious.
Man, I wish I had Cloud's confidence when it came to talking to people. It was making me jealous at how he and Riku were conversing whilst I was shoved in the corner as the spectator.
I knew Cloud had no intentions of putting Riku's ass as another trophy on his metaphorical sex achievement shelf, and the looks of things, Riku didn't seem interested in anyone, yet I still couldn't help but think that Cloud was getting a better chance than me.
Riku blinked slowly and opened his mouth a little, his lips barely resting upon each other as he replied. "Yes, I've never seen such intriguing guys like you, I admit. I had wanted to see more on what you were like."
Leon who had been sitting quietly on the counter throughout this whole ordeal cleared his throat loudly. I looked over at him and saw he had his eyes closed, looking bored.
"Isn't that a bit rude?"
Upon seeing Riku's face, it dawned to me a very important fact that I had been missing. I had the pieces I just hadn't placed them together.
Riku was obviously brought up well with charming manners and an extremely well polite personality. He was blatantly rich, with his fitted clothes and lovely scents of faint expensive cologne. He was from the nice side of Traverse Town no doubt, I figured that much. If not then from some other wealthy place out there.
Yet he chose to hang out here with a bunch of average guys?
It just didn't sum up, until now.
"No Leon, that's not it…" I muttered slowly. Riku turned his attention to me, his expressionless face becoming a small smile when he saw I had realised…
"Yes, that's right Sora. I've never had any real friends."
I felt my heart twist into one huge knot and the butterflies erupted in my stomach. Riku… he hadn't had a single friend in his entire life… I had heard that happen often to people in Riku's position. Too much rich and fame, with –must be- pushy parents who persisted that their sons were to make friends only to the people of their liking. A cliché concept.
Yet... for Riku not to have any…? That's insane. People would be dropping themselves from buildings just to know Riku, surely!
Cloud stood in front of him, baffled. "Sure you do! Who was that on the phone just now?"
"My father." He replied simply.
"Oh, let me guess. He's the kind who never lets you go out, the arrogant pricks who keep their son's on a leash and gives them a good spanking if he barks too loud?"
Riku chuckled softly, "No, I get along with my dad very well. Sometimes he's busy, but other than that we're an average family."
"Did you inherit your looks from your dad?" Cloud asked, intrigued.
Riku smirked, "You could say that."
"Fuck, I have to meet that man. Got his number? Oh well of course you do, well… you see, I don't, so be a star and give it to me, please?" He batted his eyelashes for effect and shrugged when I walked over and punched him on the arm playfully.
"Behave, you." I muttered while giving Cloud the 'warning' look.
"It doesn't matter, I get that a lot. He's a well known man on the business side of things; it wouldn't surprise me if you have heard of him."
"Was that who you were on the phone to earlier?" I said slightly hopeful. If it was his father, then that didn't matter at all, right?
Although I did feel guilty wishing that kind of thing on Riku, it must feel horrible not to have had a friend. Even I, despite not liking to say it out loud, cared for the guys here at the store. They've looked out for me as much as they can for what they know of my life. I appreciate it to an extent. I'd never tell them though. I think they knew I wouldn't either.
"…Yes, he was checking up on me, he said he would call after his meeting." Riku responded.
"Why did you call him 'your acquaintance?" I wandered out loud.
"I don't really know." He replied, shrugging it off with the wave of a hand.
"I'm sorry guys, but I must head back now. It was nice meeting you guys." He smiled, heading to the door.
I wanted to say something, to call him back and offer him eternal loyalty and friendship as I could possible emit, yet I was watching him walk away, friendless and sexy.. uh…
What did I have to offer though? If he wanted to experience something as great as having buddies one day, then surely he didn't want to start off with a broken down, poor kid like me.
So I'll let him go, and—
"Oy, Riku." I looked up to see Cloud leaning against the counter next to Leon, who was looking in the direction of Riku too, his brown locks of hair sweeping over his ear in a oh-so-sexy way.
"Do friends usually leave without making arrangements about when they were going to meet up next, huh?" He grinned. It took the silver haired boy a moment to understand what Cloud was saying and he walked back over to where we were.
"No, that would be rude…" Riku considered as he pulled on the cuff of his dark crimson shirt.
I melted inside as I saw the tips of his fingers play with the done-up button on the cuff, his slender fingers gently fidgeting with it. He had such lovely hands; It made my wonder what he was capable of doing with them.
The thought of him running them up and down my body, whilst placing many sweet kisses to my skin, making me feel free to groan out loud and grasp the sheets below me as I felt his hot breath entice my feelings was enough to make me suddenly squeak and go red, heart thumping fast as I tugged on my shirt to try to hide any excitement. Leon gave me a funny look and looked me up and down in a suspicious manner.
I felt nervous and tried to shrug him off by telling him it was a deranged hiccup that had escaped.
…I don't think he believed me very much.
"Well, there's this club I go to dance at, and it's open tomorrow. You dance?"
"I do" Riku replied, raising an eyebrow.
"Good, well, I was going to drag Leon along with me, so hopefully you'll be there?" Cloud glanced at Leon, who had now opened his eyes and was glaring at Cloud.
"Who said I was going?"
Cloud rolled his eyes, "C'mon Leon, you know you're dying to dance and this is a perfect chance to show me how good you really are!"
"Get bent." Leon grunted.
"Mission accomplished, I already am. Now you coming or not?"
"I'd rather not." He said lowly.
"Great! So Leon's coming, what about you, can you make it?" Cloud looked hopeful as he clasped his hands together in a pleadingly childish manner.
Cloud had this knack of making his eyes grow an extra shine to them whenever he wanted something, and he was using it now. His bright blue eyes became extra pitiful as he mockingly got to his knees.
"Oh please, master Riku, I pray thee check thine busy schedule to try to fit in a date with his friends!" Riku took a step back as Cloud scuffled forwards more on his knees. He took a playful lunge for the front of Riku's trousers, yet Riku took a big step back, resulting to Cloud landing face first in a heap on the floor.
Cloud just mock-pouted as he rested his head on his hands, body sprawled out comfortable on the floor as he continued to gaze up at Riku.
"You hardly know me, I don't want to intrude." He said, looking down at the blonde who just seemed to pause and think things over.
"…Sora's coming." He offered.
I am what?
Wait... No…
Do I ever get a say in what I do?
Riku regarded me for a second and at the look on my face raised an eyebrow. "Are you sure Cloud, his face tells me different." He chuckled softly, gleaming eyes giving my face a once-over.
I tried to look normal but the thought of going to a club with Cloud, the sex-driven dancing man-whore just spelled trouble. You may as well have put a 'Molest me, please' sign on my forehead and a 'I'm a cheeky monkey, feed me Viagra and pink banana's' on my butt.
No, going with Cloud to this so-called club of his was definitely not top on my 'To-do' list. At all.
"I'm not going Cloud! You know what my answers are!" I said more hurriedly than I would have liked to let on.
Cloud just shot me a determined glare. "Look, if I'm dragging ice-queen over there with me, then you're coming too!" Cloud jabbed his thumb in Leon's direction, who grunted in an undignified manner as he ran his fingers through his hair agitatedly.
I looked at Leon as if he had betrayed me. How could he be so easily won over by Cloud's damned persistence? I thought Leon was stronger than that!
"How could you give in so easily Leon, grow some balls, man!" I know this probably wasn't the wisest thing to say, as Leon was by far much taller, stronger and sexier than I.
Well, okay, the sexier part doesn't really affect my health in the way that being punched into oblivion for that comment would, but still… it's pretty damned true. Leon was hot.
Leon growled at me and snapped back "Well if you could handle a horny-blonde prick hanging off your arm all day with that whiney voice of his in your ear-drum, as apposed to just agreeing, and ditching him in the bar to enjoy yourself, then e my guest. I on the other hand, prefer to actually have a simple life." He muttered stubbornly, folding his arms and closing his eyes, his leather pants make a small squeaking noise as he did so.
The squeaking kind of effected Leon's whole moment there, and I ended up grinning stupidly at him.
Come on! How can you take a man seriously who squeaks for god's sake!
"Hn" was all he said and was quiet for some time.
Cloud, who had also laughed at Leon's misfortune, looked back up at Riku, who looked slightly distracted. He was staring out the window, checking the weather again from what I figured.
"So you coming?" Cloud inquired.
Riku who was still gazing out the window, turned his head in the direction of Cloud, yet held his gaze at the window. "Hm…?"
"Riku. Us. You. Club. Tomorrow night?"
With that he finally tore his gaze away and back to Cloud, blinking a few times slowly.
"Yes, sure. I can make it." He said, still slightly distracted with something.
"Okay, club Oblivion, 10 streets down from here. You'll find it I'm sure." He winked and picked himself up off the floor and dusted himself down.
Riku didn't answer yet returned his gaze once more at the window. I saw him take a step forward to get closer, as if he was searching for something. I tried to looked in the direction he was looking at yet I saw pitch black outside, and just the reflection of us lot.
Cloud gave him a funny look. "Riku, you look kind of constipated doing that, you wanna try staring a little less?"
I laughed inwardly, Riku hardly looked constipated. It was the fact that he had suddenly become pre-occupied, which wasn't something we've seen him do. We were so used to him smiling and being the perfect abrupt gentleman, that when we saw his unfocused and unsmiling, it was strange.
"Riku, you okay?" I asked, reaching out to touch his elbow, but before I got too far, I pulled back. I best be careful, the last time we made contact I nearly exploded in front of him.
I saw his eyes following something only he appeared to see and when he turned his attention back to us, his eyes seemed sterner and his slight frown was set upon his face.
"Yes I'm fine." He said, giving me a small smile as he composed himself to his more gentle nature.
"I'm sorry guys, I'll have to go." He muttered hurriedly as he walked towards the door. When he reached it he grasped the handle and pulled it open. The cool gentle breeze swept through it and the scent of after-rain drifted through my nose. Before he left, he turned to us all and gave us one last smile.
"Tomorrow night, Oblivion. I'll be there; I'll make sure of it." He remarked before he placed his delicate hands in his pockets and stepped out of the shop. I saw him look both ways down the street, as if searching again. The wind blew gently through his hair and the street light further down the road caused little strands of bright silver to flicker through his hair.
I breathed in heavily. He looked the epitome of sexiness right there. True beauty, as those aqua eyes, I could barely make out due to the surrounding darkness, still gleamed with an essence of great magnificence. I fell in love all over again with him, if that was possible.
I sighed contently as I watched his take the route away from where he was looking earlier, and walked elegantly, if not slightly faster, out of sight.
I continued to watch out of the window for a while longer.
Riku was coming with us tomorrow to have a good night out. I could hardly believe it. It had finally sunk in how lucky I fucking was. Riku, the God of Sex, was coming out with me tomorrow night!
I remember sitting here before the inspection wondering if I'd ever see that unique silver hair again; hear that soft voice of his, to see those enticing powerful eyes that made me melt inside ever again.
And I had… I had seen him again; I was able to say his name once more. I had learnt more about his enigmatic self.
I felt really fucking content just about now.
I noticed the street light flicker and my eyes snapped to focus upon it. I swear I had just seen a shadow swoop past it? No it was my imagination. It always ran wild when I wasn't paying attention.
Tomorrow night. Cloud, for once… you've done something right. If I wasn't so fantasizing over Riku and if you weren't currently trying to bat off a fuming Leon who was swinging a bottle of maple syrup at your face right now, I could have kissed you.
What was that? …
The street lamp just flickered again… that was definitely a shadow zooming past! I distinctively saw it! I ran to the window and pressed my hands and face to it, squinting as I tried to look in the direction of where I had seen it. I saw someone faintly hiding flat up against the wall, looking down the street Riku had just headed off down.
I watched and saw how the person swiftly sunk into the shadows, and I lost him.
Panicking I frantically looked around again and saw him heading off in the direction Riku had gone. I saw how he stuck to the sides of the buildings and making sure to be unseen as he continued, as I could only assume, to tail Riku.
Feeling a knot form in the back of my throat, I went to grab the door handle. I yanked it open and was in fear of the bell being yanked off its hook by sheer force and I flung myself onto the street.
I hurriedly tried to seek out the mysterious figure but as far as I could look now, it was all shrouded by darkness… I spotted Riku far off and was about to yell his name, but saw him turn the corner and out of my sight.
I stood there disappointed, yet I continued to search the figure out, desperately trying to catch a glimpse of the cape, or hear the sound of any quick footsteps, but found nothing.
Sighing defeated, I leaned against the outside of the shop and stared at the street light.
What the fuck had that been about…?
I felt numb as my mind swirled wit many different conclusions, all ringing up negative thoughts.
I didn't know what to do so I slid down the wall, and tilted my head back.
Was there something Riku wasn't telling us…?
Authors note.
Okay that's chapter 5 for you RIGHT there. Yup, something sure looks weird, huh?
I know it's been 4 months since I last updated, but I'm only human, and humans have busy lives and are not always capable of producing decent chapters in a short amount of time. I didn't want to rush this and have a crappier chapter than it already was. What matters is that it's here now, and my schedule just got A LOT free-er.
Review perhaps? I do love to read what you think and I always go back to my reviews page to grab that inspiration I crave so much. Inspiration good story Lol.