A/N: There are some explanations at the end of this chapter for the "climatic" scene, just so you know. (And by climatic, I don't mean a lemon. xDD; )

Thanks for your comments on the Riku thing. I'm surprised no one actually agreed. Yes, go hormone-driven boys!

This is the last chapter. Haha... aren't you sad to see it go? Whatever, I'm not making this longer than it's already gone. This has two more chapters than planned.

Here ya go, kiddos.

Disclaimer: ShimaGenki doesn't owwwnnnnzzzz.

Translucent Wings

Chapter 5 - Flickering Lamp

Forget all the things that we fear
Tell me the words I long to hear
Even through the dark a voice rings clear
Time is running out, the end is near
"Sora?" Riku reached out in the darkness to grab Sora's arm. But when his hand gripped the wrist, the boy disappeared. "Sora?" Nothing but the empty dark. "Sora!"

Riku woke up in his bed, drenched in sweat. He panted as he looked over at Sora, whom was giving him a look of curiousity. "Another bad dream?"

He nodded.

"That was the third time this week! What's bothering you, now?" Riku shook his head. That day when he received Sora's forgotten note, he had the same nightmare, and it had been replaying over and over for more oncoming weeks.

"Nothing."

"That's my answer, Riku! What is it?"

He shook his head no. "I don't want to talk about it..."

"I see how it is." He hovered above Riku. "You're embarrassed because it's probably something stupid, like clowns--"

"No, that's not it!" Sora shuddered backwards, in turn startling Riku. "Sorry. It's just..." He leaned over his legs, brushing a hand through his hair. "I don't..."

"Want to talk about it," his friend finished. "I guess I understand. Why don't you go back to sleep? You've got school tomorrow, and you don't want to be caught sleeping in class again."

That made Riku chuckle. "Yeah, don't want to get slapped with another roll of paper..." He had fallen asleep during his Chemistry class the previous day and gotten smacked with a roll of worksheets, courtesy of his teacher.

Rolling in his bedsheets until he was comfortable, he looked over at Sora. "Don't you ever get bored at night?"

Sora shrugged. "Yeah, I suppose. I usually just watch TV or something."

"Do you ever wish you could go to sleep?"

As soon as he saw Sora's face fall, Riku rued asking the question. "I wish I could every night."

"Ah..." he replied, not knowing what else to say. "Well, I'm... drifting off to..." He yawned. "sleep... g'nigh' Sora..." His eyes fluttered closed.

A few seconds later, Sora swept the hair from Riku's face as he whispered, "I wish I could every night, as soon as I see you fall asleep." He did not move from the bedside for the remainder of the night, in case Riku woke up again.

Translucent Wings - Flickering Lamp
The next few days, whenever the two boys were cooped up in the house alone, they constantly bickered. What in the world could they possibly fight about?

"Riku... you're not talking to me anymore. Do you not want me here?"

"Sora, you're the one who's distancing yourself away from me! Please, tell me what you were going to say..."

"What do you mean?"

"What you were going to say to me the day after..." Pause.

"The day after what?"

"The day after... you gave Kairi this." Sora blinked as Riku shuffled through his desk drawer and pulled out a piece of folded notebook paper. A look of confusion passed over the brunette's face until Riku unfolded it. "'You would keep something a secret if I told you something... strange, wouldn't you?' It's obviously what has been bothering you."

He remembered. A look bred between shock and grief shadowed his features. "Where did you get that?" he asked tensely.

"Kairi." Riku refolded the note. "You were going to tell me, so why don't you tell me now?"

Sora looked away. "Same reason why I ran away that day a few weeks back."

"Sora... just tell me."

"No!" the younger shouted defiantly. "I'm dead! End of my life, end of story! It doesn't matter anymore!"

"It does matter-- to me!"

"What matters is you!"

"What about me?"

"What's wrong with you? You won't talk! You look at me and try to hide your frown, but it's there! Do I really bother you that much?"

"No... that's not it..."

"And the nightmares! You shout my name in your sleep!"

"I do?"

"Yes! Do you want me gone? Do you really?"

"No! That's completely the opposite!" This silenced Sora's arguements. "Don't you get it? I want you here. Ah... you remember what you asked me before, right?"

"I've asked you thousands of questions, Riku."

He wasn't sure how to word himself. Walking towards the window, he pressed a hand to the cold, misty glass. "'What if we had met under different circumstances?' If I had never met you, I would have regretted it."

"How could you regret something you wouldn't have known?"

He sighed. "Well, you know what I mean... B-but... You really want to know what's been bugging me?" he blurted out. He looked at Sora momentarily to see him nod his head. Attention back to the window. "You promise you won't leave?"

"Leave? Why would you say that?"

"Just... promise."

"Okay. I promise I won't leave. Riku?"

There was an awkward silence. The words were stuck in his throat. How to even start? He was scared of his own thoughts, his own feelings. How would Sora react?

"I... If I had met you, for real, at school... I would have..." Riku gulped. Was he going to say this? Would this end his friendship with Sora? But there was no turning back now. "I would..." The last of his sentence was inaudible.

"What?"

"I said, I love you! Okay?" Riku pounded his forehead to the window pane. It stung, but not so much as his heart did.

"R-Riku?"

"I'm sorry, Sora. I'm so sorry..." His fingers clenched into a fist against the cold window.

"Riku... you shouldn't have..."

"I know, but..." A flash of light that reflected off the window caused Riku to turn around. His heart was in his throat at the sight. "Sora? What's... what's happening to you?"

"You... you set me free..." All the gray in Sora became colorful in the gold light that surrounded him. A sad smile graced his features as he gazed upon Riku.

"What?"

"Riku... it was so obvious." A tear fell from a blue eye. "I had no purpose on Earth. It was my requited love that kept me here."

"Requited love?"

"My secret to you, Riku... was that I loved you. It killed me inside before I ever climbed into that car that day, of the crash."

"But now..."

"Now that I know my love was returned... I can go to the other side." He cupped a hand on Riku's cheek. "Riku, I'm so happy, but... please forgive me for leaving. It's not my call. I can hear Raphael in my ear."

"Raphael?"

Sora nodded. "He's calling me home. Don't cry for me..."

It was too late as Sora spoke. Tears streamed down Riku's face. "No, you... you can't leave!"

"I'm so sorry. I wish I could be here with you until the day you died, Riku. But I can't. I'll watch you from Heaven every day. I promised I wouldn't leave, and I'll never leave you."

"Sora... please don't go!" He reached out to Sora and embraced him. Unexpectantly, he was warm. He tightened his clutch, trying to decipher if it was real or in his head. This was too real to be his imagination. "I can't go on without you..." He continued to sob into Sora's shirt.

"Riku." Sora held him back. He had longed to hold Riku, but he never imagined it would happen this way... "I'll be here, I told you that. But... I have to leave for just a little bit. I'll be back."

"I won't see you though, will I?" he asked through choking sobs.

"...probably not," Sora replied against his will. To make up for it, he kissed silver locks of hair. "I love you, Riku. I'll be here when you need me most..." He pushed Riku back gently, and the older complied, stepping back. Softly, Sora pressed his lips against Riku's. They were warm, almost full of life.

No... they were full of light.

As they pulled away, a pair of wings appeared behind Sora. They looked feathery and wispy, but as Riku reached to touch them, his hand felt nothing. They were translucent wings.

"Is this the end, Sora?"

He shook his head. "Far from the end. Just because you won't see me doesn't mean I'm gone. No matter where I am, I'll always be here too." He pointed at Riku's heart. "Don't forget the past, but don't forget to look at the present. Instead of a farewell, I guess a 'see ya later' will do, right?" He smiled and cocked his head to the side, before he was gone in a second flash of golden light.

The older reached for the brunette, but he was gone. He couldn't comprehend the thought. He cried silently as he looked towards the window. A wave of realization hit him as he noticed snow begin to fall, even if it was in was early April.

"Someone once told me once that snowflakes are the downfeathers of angels' wings."

The snow suddenly became a mix of rain and sleet. The thought hit Riku before he could even ponder upon it.

The angels were not only watching, but they were crying for the boys' pain.

The words we tried to speak were caught
The snow fell like a memory, distraught
Only sobs broke through the ice
Letting our hearts melt into our still life

Unheard songs play in our heads
The slow sad tune of what went unsaid
The melodies of the chords we play
It's all in the masterpiece, babe

You are the one who tightly binds me
And yet you seem to set my soul free
You've taken my heart and everything else
A broken toy watching from the shelf

Shattered pieces of me lay still
Nothing left in my heart to spill
Whisper to me an intoxicated lullaby
Drink down the pain and kiss me goodnight

Forget all the things that we fear
Tell me the words I long to hear
Even through the dark a voice rings clear
Time is running out, the end is near

The angels are watching tonight
See the wings flickering in the candlelight?
Without you the road has become long
Without you there's no reason to sing the song

But I keep walking along this lonely road, knowing you're in my heart.

A few months later...
One of the worst things to have during summer was a freaking cold. Riku grabbed another tissue and tried to clear his sinuses, although he knew he was going to have the same problem in an hour or less. Pouting, he threw a sheet over himself.

The only word he could think of to describe his day was blah. He felt feverish enough to not be able to fall asleep. A light quickly flickered across the metal of his lamp.

He sat up from his bed, looking around for what may have caused the refraction of light. There were no lights on in his room, the blinds were closed, and even if they were open, the sun wasn't shining.

How odd.

He felt his body fall back against the bed. He could barely keep his eyes open. It was practically a miracle, considering the ache his head was feeling. The light was forgotten as he began to fall asleep into a sweet wave of dreams.

Just as the world melted away, he swore he saw Sora smiling brightly at him. He said something he did not hear. Or perhaps he dreamt that.

But Sora knew that he was not dreaming, as he whispered softly, "Goodnight, Riku..."

A/N: That ended a little differently than I thought. But um, yeah. That's it. Yay! (donthitmedonthitme...)

Did you get confused? Let me explain.

Sora turned into an angel. "Translucent Wings?" YA GET IT? Nevermind.

When he starts talking about a "Raphael," he means the Archangel Raphael, who is the angel of healing. Sora became an angel of healing (there's different types of angels, but there's a bunch, so I'm not listing 'em all) which is why he appeared by Riku's bedside. I don't know whether or not he could have become Riku's guardian angel...

Leave it up to your imagination to decide. How's that?

Oh, haha, I got the angel info off of some old research I compiled for this story I was gonna write. I'm not that smart, mmkay?

So, please leave reviews! Pleeeeaaaaase? Make me feel not-so-worthless...