A short side story to WoKH. Another Time... Another Memory.

The Will of Kingdom Hearts: A Memory

I don't believe Sora and I were ever in love. At least if we were, neither of us were willing to admit it. That was too dark a place to go, too scary a road to travel. What would our friends say? Our parents say? What would we say to one another? Would we remain silent? Would we say the truth?

The summer time mostly required us spending time at the beach. Me, Sora, and Kairi. We'd stay till the twilight, laughing, playing, talking, or simply doing nothing at all.

"Guys!" Kairi would call out as the sun had began to cast itself away into the endless night. "I'll see you tomorrow, okay?" We'd wave goodbye to our dear friend and Kairi would run off cheerfully into the sunset. Sora and I would laugh - She was adorable sometimes.

Sora and I. That sounds wonderful together. It was set in a way it just rolled off your tongue. Sora and Riku. It felt so eternal when I said it aloud to myself. Two names that could never be seperated. A beautiful and amazing thing to behold, yet so simple and gentle. The sun was descending... Sora and I would have to head home soon. We hated the night but it was too awe-inspiring to set aside. What would getting in trouble one day be worth to stay a little longer together?

The sky was a creamy orange, melting candle wax and smokey clouds, lava lamps and painted stars. We'd lie in the sand side by side and just watch the sky slip away into darkness. We'd watch the innocence of day dance with the mystery of night, and the spectators would sparkle in their gaze, content to be watching such a mystical step swirl on the floor of Heaven. We'd lie there and dream of the days where we'd break free from our chains and soar into the new worlds that wait for us. This was our goal... this was our reason to live when it began.

"Riku?" Sora chimed. I turned my head to study him. His skin glowed with the essence of the sun itself, sloppy strands swaying in the wind's kind hand, combing his hair. "Do you think..." He narrowd his eyes as if he needed to see to ask. Suddenly he found himself closing those same eyes. "No, never mind."

"No, tell me," I pressed. It wasn't like Sora to not just blurt what was on his mind. It must've been of some importance for him to suddenly get bashful with me. "I won't laugh. Promise." This caught his attention. He really acted like a child sometimes. It was addicting to see the faces he'd make.

He gave me one of nervous trust. "Do you think... that if someone loses their heart, love can bring them back?" That was a weird question. Unfortunately I gave it a weird look and he rolled away to face his back to me. "You're a liar!"

"I didn't laugh!" I laughed. I sat up and reached over to grab his shoulder and flip him onto his back again. "I laughed then but not at you! Well... at the way you just reacted - Oh, Sora. Look at me, you idiot." He did. Oh, God, it was amusing. He made the cutest, most poutful face I had ever seen. It lost it's charm when tears started bubbling into his eyes. Ah, I did it then. "Aw, Sora. Don't." I scooted across the sand to get closer to him. My hand laid against his arm to keep myself up. "Why did you ask that, though?"

He spoke with doubt, fearing my reaction again. I intended to be a good boy. "I've been having... these weird thoughts lately," He pulled an arm behind his head, twisting himself to turn away from me again. "Dreams, and stuff. They felt so real."

"Did you lose your heart in these dreams?"

"I'd think about it. Then I'd have those dreams. I'd lose my heart and turn into nothing. No one to save me. I'd hear words of loneliness, pain, and misery." I watched him as he spoke in a tight voice, very nearly in tears but not showing it. He was getting better at hiding his feelings. "I just thought, 'If this is what it means to lose your heart, does everything opposite preserve and save it's life?' "

I had thought about it and the more I did, the more I began to realize it wasn't a silly question and Sora had unnecessary fears. It was a true, deep sea thinker. It's like the question: Can love heal a broken heart? Depends. Just how desperate of a broken heart are we talking about? The way Sora had worded it was strange, though. He made it sound like the heart would be completely gone and the soul dependant upon nothing. Quite possibly what he meant but I wasn't sure Sora could think so far down into his mind. But could it? Could love bring that back from the dead?

"Sorry," He said after I had lost myself in my thoughts. He dropped his arm back down to his side with a hopeless flop. "It was stupid."

"No!" I quickly scotted myself down and returned to rest myself into the sand bed. I snatched his hand into mine and squeezed it tightly. "It's not stupid. I think it can." He looked to me with a gleam of surprise. "I think love can heal any wounds. It's a light that never goes out. Love is eternal, no matter what scars it happens to bear." The twilight was slowly drowning itself into the very end of day's ocean. "If your heart were to die, Sora, I'd bring it back to life. You'd never be lost to loneliness, pain, or misery. Not as long as you're my friend." I said this without thinking but with the utmost confidence. I meant every word.

Sora squeezed my hand back and we met each other's gaze. He smiled warmly.

"Riku...

"That meant everything to me."

The spectators remained, even as the dance ended and the prince of darkness was left to himself. Now they observed a new couple, one lying far away, down on a small world on a tiny beach. Where the ocean waters washed up on our feet and our fingers entwined with each other's and the sand. The night wasn't cold but a luke warm, comfortable and sedating. I was falling asleep; Sora had already drifted off. Our heads rested upon one another's, hair of ice and Earth mingling as the sky had, dancing in it's own appealing manner. I held onto Sora's hand even tighter, for a moment in this dark night, our hearts connected. I decided from then on I would protect Sora as I had said. And I'd gladly give up my heart for him.