Note: Whoa. Over 900 hits, 14 reviews, 12 alerts and four favorites. You all are great! -hands out baskets of cookies- Eat and be merry all of you! Thanks so much to anyone who has read, reviewed, alerted or added my story as a favorite. I do hope this chapter is up to your liking!
Warnings: Mentions of abuse, attempted rape, and rude wakings in the middle of the night.
Disclaimer: I own nothing related to Kingdom Hearts. And it sucks.
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"Get off of me!" Sora snarled, trying to squirm away.
The dark-haired boy pinning him against the cold shower tiles chuckled and put a finger on Sora's nose. "I will," he said calmly. "Just give me what I want and I'll let you go." Sora turned his face away. "Not a chance," he hissed. The boy forced Sora to look at him again. "Now let's not fight," he cooed in a way that made Sora shudder unpleasantly, "This can be very enjoyable if you cooperate." Sora spit in his face. "Is that cooperating well enough for you?" he asked sarcastically. The boy glared at him and wiped his face. "That wasn't very nice of you," he said, pinning Sora harder against the wall. "Before this gets ugly, let's look at our situation. We're alone in here, and in a secluded area. Most people are upstairs and not planning to shower. If you do this without objection then no harm done. But if you keep fighting me…well.." he put a hand around Sora's throat and squeezed painfully. After a few moments he let go and Sora gasped in relief. "It's up to you cutie. Easy way or hard way?" The finger which had been tracing Sora's face came to rest on his lips, which formed a defeated pout. "Good. Then let's-"
Sora bit down on his finger-hard.
Riku burst through the double doors just as Sora brought up a hard right knee between the boy's legs, causing him to howl in agony and stumble back. Sora shoved him even harder and the boy fell back against the opposite wall, his head connecting with a dull 'thud.' He slithered to the shower floor and Sora stared down at him, pale and trembling.
"Sora?" Riku dared to move closer. "Sora are you alright?" Sora turned slowly to look at him, his deep blue eyes seeming to stare right through Riku. Then without warning, Sora choked and pulled the curtain closed. Riku hurried closer and stopped when he heard sounds of retching in the shower stall. The curtain opened and Sora stepped out, closing it behind him. He whimpered and put a hand over his mouth, tottering to a bench and collapsing on it.
It was only now that he acknowledged Riku's presence. "What do you want?" he asked wearily. "Next in line or something?" Riku shook his head rapidly, suddenly feeling urgent to explain. "I came to apologize. That was wrong of me to just hit on you like that. Seeing how we're roommates and everything now, I was wondering if maybe we could start over?" He bit his lip and waited. After a long stare, Sora stood and faced him, arms folded, towel slung low around his hips...teasingly low… Riku mentally slapped himself and looked Sora in the eyes. "Alright then," Sora said finally, approaching Riku. "So-we can start over. I'm going to hope that you aren't half the ass you are when you were hitting on me. Reasonable?" Riku nodded with a small smile. "Fair. We should head back so you can get some clothes." Sora nodded, and scooped up his old ones. They left the showers and were halfway up the staircase when Riku realized something.
"Sora?"
"Mmm?"
"Shouldn't we have maybe…cleaned up or something?"
"Oh don't worry," Sora said calmly. "He'll get it up." He continued up the staircase and Riku hurried after him. "How do you know that?" Sora turned and smirked. "Easy-I threw up on him."
---
The next few days passed easily. Riku worked hard to gain trust with Sora at any possible time. He had never tried this hard to win someone over, yet Sora wasn't just someone… Whenever this thought popped into Riku's mind, he brushed it off quickly as he could. Riku Harada didn't get attached to anyone. He was only doing this for the bet. At least that's what he repeated to himself countless times each day. He was starting to have doubts though. Sora had been approached by a large amount of boys the past few days, many rather good-looking. Only a small few had been as arrogant as Riku had, many seemed to really be taken in by Sora. But Sora had refused them all! Riku didn't understand it-Sora had been polite to some, distant to others and in some cases, downright cold. Maybe Sora wasn't gay. It was a bleak thought, but just because you went to an all-boys school didn't mean you had to date them.
Sora was pleasantly surprised at how quickly his friendship with Riku had grown. He never would have guessed that the cocky, self-absorbed, hormone charged teen he had first met was actually a warm, clever, funny one. He still didn't trust Riku completely, but enough for them to be comfortable around each other and be happy about it. Sora felt slightly guilty about still keeping an eye on Riku, but it was just how he was. It either took a really first good impression or close one-on-one time to break down Sora's walls of defense.
Apparently someone up there in the big sky likes Riku…
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"Sora?" Poke, prod.
"Nrgh."
"Sora." Insistent prodding.
"Sora, are you asleep?"
"…Yes."
"Come on Sora, please?" Sora groaned softly and turned over to read the digital output on his clock. "Riku-it's two in the morning," he yawned, his eye fluttered closed. "What could you possibly want?" Riku took a deep breath. "I can't sleep," he explained. There was a pause as Sora took in what he just heard. He finally opened his eyes and his breath caught in his throat. Moonlight shone through the window and fell on Riku, almost giving him a glow, illuminating his already luminous hair. Bright aqua eyes looked down at him, a nervous and embarrassed smile on his lips. Sora's stomach fluttered and suddenly he wanted to-no, he scolded himself. He wouldn't start that.
"You can't sleep," Sora repeated. "Erm…well yeah," Riku said awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck. "And I needed to talk to someone." Sora only peered at him through sleepy, lidded eyes which Riku thought was a damn cute look on him…Sora's voice brought him back to focus. "Why didn't you wake Leon?" Riku lifted his shimmering hair to reveal a scar behind his left ear. Sora reached out and touched the scar, and both shuddered at the spark the contact created. He quickly pulled his hand away. "What happened?" Riku grinned sheepishly. "I woke Leon up once up close- he swung his alarm clock at me. Dead hit," he added. Sora winced. "Ouch. See your point. So-now what?" Riku cleared his throat and rubbed the back of his neck again. "Maybe we could go for a walk?" he suggested. "I know this really nice and secluded place we can go to talk." Sora looked at him suspiciously. "Not like that!" Riku said hastily, cursing himself for the rising heat in his face. "Well…"
"DO SOMETHING PLEASE SORA OR WE'LL NEVER SLEEP!" They both jumped and looked at Leon's bed, where he shifted over and went back to sleep, apparently done ranting. "Okay then," Sora decided. The boys changed and left the room as Leon snored on.
The hallways were quiet and dark, only lit by light pouring through the windows as they walked along. "Riku?" Sora asked, remembering something.
"Yeah?"
"Are we allowed to be out here?"
"Well…no," Riku confessed. "But don't worry, we won't get caught. This way." They traveled down the same staircase leading to the showers and made a sudden right. Riku stepped forward and rubbed his palm along a spot on the wall. His hand brushed over a small brass ring and he smirked, pulling on the ring, which swung open to reveal more darkness. But open darkness. "Come on," Riku whispered and grabbed Sora's wrist, gently tugging him. They walked in dark silence before Sora spoke. "Just where are we going?" The question echoed around the walls and Sora shivered. He felt Riku stop and turn to look at him, although they couldn't see each other. "Are you scared or something?" There was an amused note in his voice and Sora imagined the grin on his face. "No!" he snapped. Another silence hung between them as the objection repeated itself down the corridor. "Hmm. Whatever you say Sora. Come on, we've been here long enough." Riku led them around two more corners before stopping again.
Up ahead, there was a faint glimmer of light, seeming to form an outline around something. Still holding Sora's wrist, Riku stepped forward and Sora realized what it was a second before it was open. A very large window faced them, the moonlight pushing through from the other side making the patterned glass seem to twinkle. "Wow," said Sora softly, reaching out and pressing his fingertips to the cool surface. "Glad you like it," Riku said shortly, leaning over Sora's shoulder. Two short clicks and the window rotated open to the star sprinkled night outside. "That's where we're headed," Riku said, pointing to a small hill in a clearing. "If that's okay with y-"
Sora gracefully swung his legs over the windowsill, barely hitting the dewy grass before he was off at a run. Riku watched him go and with a muttered, 'I don't understand you' followed behind.
When he got to the top of the hill, Sora was sprawled on the ground, thick brown hair blowing around his face in the gentle breeze. His gaze was pointing skyward, starlight reflecting in his eyes. "Now what?" he called. Riku flopped down at a careful distance. "Tell me about yourself," he replied.
"You first."
"Okay," Riku said slowly. "Well my name is Riku Harada, I'm seventeen, my best friend is Leon, my favorite color is blue, I like night more than day, I do really like it here, I sketch a bit. I can have an ego, but I don't think I'm so bad. I usually do things before I think, I'm passionate, miss my old puppy and people think I'm a slut. Your turn."
"Sora Taimedo, sixteen, erm…I guess Cloud is the closest thing I've got to a best friend. Red's my favorite color, I also like night more than day, and people almost always underestimate me. It takes a lot to get my trust back once you've broken it. Never had a puppy, but I've always wanted one. I'm here on a scholarship, but I love it so far. Oh and I dance a little bit."
Riku turned to look at him in disbelief. "You dance!" Sora rolled on his side and raised an eyebrow. "Yes, but only a little. Problem?" he asked. Mental images of Sora wiggling his hips to a beat flashed in Riku's mind. "None at all," he answered sincerely. Sora shrugged and rolled on his back again. A more comfortable silence washed over them, only sounds for a while were the whispers of wind in the trees and the grass, and the occasional chirp of a cricket. "You know something?" Sora said suddenly, sitting up. "That was the worst kiss of my life." Riku's eyes flew open and stared at Sora in surprise. They hadn't spoke of what had happened in the showers since it happened, and besides, Riku never expected it to come up this way. "I guess it would be-I'm sorry he did that to you," he said carefully, wondering where he was going with this. "It was horrible," Sora continued unaware. "Not just because of how it happened, but because of him. I mean I've kissed my fair share of guys-"
The hope that had been dying inside Riku returned with full force. He whirled to face Sora. "You're gay!" he asked delighted. Sora only stared at him, blinking a few times. "Uhm…yeah," he said slowly, wondering what the huge deal was. "Don't throw a parade over it…" Riku laughed, to cover his embarrassment. "Yeah well, sorry. I just thought you were straight." He fell back against the grass. "Why?" Sora asked. Riku shrugged. "It just seemed like you weren't interested in guys is all. I mean, it's not like you haven't been noticed." Sora snorted. "Just because I'm not interested in anyone right now doesn't mean I'm not gay Riku," he said calmly. "Of course it doesn't," Riku agreed, feeling rather stupid. "So you're not into anyone here? It's not like there isn't variety…" Sora laughed, a melodic sound and Riku couldn't help but smile. "It doesn't really work that way for me," Sora said, still giggling. "I've become the type of person who has to trust someone before I can really want to be with them." Something told Riku not to ask, but he did anyway. "Why?"
Sora sighed, knowing the question was coming. "Past relationships have been cruel," he said shrugging. "What, like a hard breakup?" Sora shifted in his spot. "Not exactly. More like an abusive relationship."
"What?" Riku couldn't imagine why anyone would want to hurt Sora. "Yeah," Sora said, a bitter smile on his face, a smile that didn't fit him at all. "I was dating a guy for a few months and things between us seemed almost too good to be true. It was, one day we were arguing about something little, something stupid, and he hit me. I never knew he could. I don't know if he did either, but he begged for me to forgive him. I did after he swore up and down that it would never happen again. Well, that didn't work out so well because he did it again. It wasn't until the third time that I suggested he get help. He agreed, and it seemed to work for a while. I thought it was over-maybe it was hope. The peace didn't last long because the next time he hit me, I flew across the room. By now, he didn't even want help."
"Sora-"
"Let me finish. It got worse. It snowballed from just one hit and tearful apologies to being beaten and told I deserved it. After a few times, I started to believe him. I just let him hit me Riku! All because I hoped that maybe if he remembered he'd love me, it'd all stop, even though I didn't think I was worth it anymore…"
Riku pulled Sora into a hug. "I'm so sorry," he repeated over and over. "It's fine," Sora insisted. "I'm okay now." After a few moments, they broke apart. Riku had never regretted asking a question more in his life, and did his best to make Sora laugh. He did and it was only when he saw Sora yawn that he suggested they head back. The pair strolled down the hillside, decidedly closer than when they went up.
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When they were both back in their room and back in their beds, Riku lay awake for a long time after Sora fell asleep, mind racing in a dozen different directions. When he finally closed his eyes, he still hadn't realized what he had done.