Title: The Permanence of a Memory
Chapter 5: Understanding
Game: Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy 7: Advent Children
Author: Kat-chan8806
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As the day drew to a close, Kadaj was still teasing Riku about his 'made-up' boyfriend. Riku had resigned to merely glaring at Kadaj and dropping rebellious comments about the said boyfriend.
"Fine, don't believe me, but you'll see," Riku said for the tenth time. Kadaj just wasn't understanding.
"Well, I guess I will see, won't I? Where does this mystery boy live? Hm?"
"...In the next town."
The answer was unexpected, but Kadaj only smiled. "Okay, then. As soon as we get into town, you can introduce me to your so-called boyfriend."
It was agreed, and they sped on toward the next town. Riku was unusually quiet during the ride. Kadaj thought that Riku was simply pouting, but after awhile, he began to worry about his normally unshakable companion.
"Are you alright back there?" Kadaj asked, glancing back at Riku.
"...No." Another unexpected answer. Kadaj parked the motorcycle off the road and turned to his friend.
"What is wrong?"
"...We can't go into town yet."
Kadaj got off the motorcycle. "Okay, do you want to stay here for the night?"
Riku simply slipped down from the motorcycle in answer. The two sat on the ground beneath a shade tree.
"Will you at least tell me what's wrong?" Kadaj looked worriedly at Riku.
"No, not yet. I just want to spend another night with you."
Kadaj had to keep himself from smiling. "You'll be spending longer than that with me. We're tied together by the paopu fruit, you know."
"Which only makes everything harder."
"What's happened to you? You're acting so... depressed."
Riku leaned back against the tree. "We'll discuss it in the morning."
"Well... alright." Kadaj leaned back and tried to relax. "Good night, Riku."
"...'Night, Kadaj..."
Within moments, Riku was fast asleep. He had slumped over and was leaning heavily on Kadaj, who was still awake and staring at the night sky. Kadaj just couldn't sleep. Something about Riku's behavior lately was worrying him. Maybe Riku was hiding something from him. Maybe he did have a boyfriend.
"Impossible," Kadaj answered quietly to himself. He looked down at the boy whose head was now resting contentedly on his shoulder. "It's not true, is it...?" he whispered, more to himself than to the sleeping Riku. He received a silent moan in answer. Kadaj chuckled. Riku looked so innocent when he was asleep.
After staring at Riku for what seemed like hours, Kadaj decided that he needed his sleep, too. He wrapped one arm around Riku and then he, too, drifted off to dreamland.
The morning seemed to come too quickly. Light shone in Kadaj's face and his eyes cracked open. He glanced sleepily at Riku, was was still dreaming. Kadaj was reluctant to wake him, but the choice was taken from him when Riku's eyes crept open.
"Good morning, Riku."
Riku didn't move. He didn't know whether to lean closer to Kadaj or pull away. He did neither. "Morning, Kadaj."
Kadaj gave Riku a squeeze and a smile. "Are you feeling better this morning?"
Riku started to say something, but then froze. He croaked out: "We're going into town today, aren't we?"
Kadaj nodded. "Yes, we are."
Riku had made up his mind. He wanted to be closer to this man who knew nothing of what was waiting for them. Riku leaned closer to Kadaj. "Let's stay here, just a little while longer..." Riku wanted to put off the trip into town for as long as possible.
Kadaj was a little surprised, but he held Riku, not wanting to argue. "Alright, we'll stay."
Riku pulled away just enough to look Kadaj in the eyes. "There's something I want to do, before we walk into that town and before you have the chance to walk away."
"I won't walk away," Kadaj assured him.
"But just in case..." Riku placed a hand gently on the side of Kadaj's face. Kadaj made no resistance, but simply continued to gaze into Riku's eyes. Slowly, those eyes came closer and then closed as Kadaj felt Riku's lips touch his. There was a moment of shock, then Kadaj's eyes drifted closed and his arms wrapped around Riku. The kiss lasted only a few moments, but to the boys, it seemed an eternity. They broke the kiss to take a breath, and their eyes once again met. Both were speechless, but they could almost read each other's minds. Though they didn't know how to say it, they knew that they were in love, and in that moment, even Riku was able to forget his pain.
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A/N: Sorry for the delay on this chapter. Chapter 6 will be up soon. We're drawing this to a close, it seems.
