Chapter THIRTEEN! It's unlucky! OHNOES!

Not really, though.

Summary: When a disgruntled Sora lets his parents sign him up for a summer climbing camp, he's less than enthusiastic. But with some interesting new friends, crazy counselors, and a handsome, infuriating boy to deal with, this week might be more interesting than he thought...SoraxRiku, AxelxRoxas, AU.

Disclaimer: Nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing, nothing…..

Author's Note:

Sooo some people have expressed concern about the end of the story. And I am sorrowed to say that this story will end after chapter fifteen. Savor the last three chapters, people, cause even though we all want it to be true, this story can't go on forever…

Once again, BLOWN AWAY by reviews. And a lot of new reviewers, too, which made me superextrahappy. Yays.

In other news, I'm eating chocolate chocolate chip ice cream with cookie dough and listening to All Time Low as I write this. You know you're jealous.

Reviewers:

RedBlackandWhite: Hope you got my message 'bout the Alysa thingy, and hope it helped. I also have many alter egos. One of them is named Alysa. –wink-

bOb the bUilder: Jeez, I wish Alysa was my counselor too. We could like, take over the world. And start that religion. Hehe.

Hoshiko-Kun: I've never been called a bitching writer before. It kind of makes me really happy.

AbnormallyWeirdPerson: Haha, Riku is totally emo. I got a sticker this weekend that said Don't Be Emo and had a sad face underneath. It made me chuckle. Just to let you know. Hehe.

ArosxIrukxOxarsxLeax: PIE! –goes off to find pie-

theCHELLE-STER: Thanks for the many reviews…three, I think…yay! But no cookies for me last chapter...oh well, I'll have to survive off this ice cream...not such a bad deal, after all..

lamenshic: I suppose I could give you Demyx. Caues he writes you love songs, and all. Hmm…sounds fun…-grabs Demyx back- -grin-

Leeduhlee: Oh my god, makes me so happy to hear that story. Seriously. Cause some other writers on this site made me a yaoi fangirl (i was never a homophobe, fortunately) and to hear that I did that for lots of other people makes me sunny and happy inside. THANKYOUUU!

Akurei: You talk about me on the phone? I feel all famous and special now. –sparkles- YAY FOR YOU!

Rivenwolfy: Onigiri sounds yummy. And the camping thing made me smile.

NARUfreak: Ouchie. Those arrows hurt. But you can put the bow down soon, hopefully…-smile-

Anilucard: Aww, thanks for all the lovely compliments…-blush-

Riku Shikyou the Lady of Yaoi: Banana cookies? EXCELLENT!

MyHiddenStory: YOU'RE BACK! YAY! –happy dance- And how was your trip? Glad you enjoy the story so far…but I have more tricks up my sleeves! Sort of. Yay!

Here we go…it's longer than normal, too…-wink-


Sora surveyed the parking lot stretching out before him with a mounting sense of despair. Shouldering his duffel bag, he pointedly looked away from the silver-haired boy standing awkwardly next to him. Riku had not said a single word to any of them all morning; and Sora was desperate to keep it that way.

"Oh, children! Come to me. Let me load you up with presents--of the camping variety!"

Sora tore his gaze away from the emerald forests surrounding him and walked with heavy feet back to Velma, where Alysa was perched on top of a small mountain of equipment, looking rather pleased with herself.

"You want us to carry all that?" Roxas asked, eyeing a large grill, complete with a bottle of marinade sauce stuck haphazardly between two of the legs. "I think you must have confused us with camels, or gorillas, or perhaps Mack trucks."

"Relax," Alysa said soothingly, patting the grill lovingly. "This stuff isn't for you."

"You're having a barbeque? Without us?" Axel's eyes bugged out in disbelief.

"But darlings, Doug and I will be so lonely without your angelic presences…we'll need someone to comfort us. Lots of someones. And perhaps a someone bringing a snow-cone machine. And a couple someones with a moon-bounce…."

"ALYSA!"

She smiled innocently, stretching her long legs. "What? Like I said. Terribly lonely. Terribly. Maybe I'll save you a stick of cotton candy, or something."

"What's going on?" Doug said, ambling over from where he had been staring stoically into the horizon with his hands on his hips, taking deep, sucking breaths of air.

"Nothing, Dougie," Alysa said sweetly, whipping the barbeque sauce behind her back. "Just talking about how we were going to miss the kids so terribly. All alone in the wilderness..."

"And we will miss you!" Doug said emphatically, casting sorrowful looks at his campers. "Don't forget, you can always call us on your emergency cell phones. Even if you just want to chat, or run out of food, or hear a strange sound, or have a strange man stalking you in the dark…"

Doug gave a little twitch.

"Anyways, anytime. Give us a call."

"Except tonight," Alysa said quickly.

"What? Why can't they call us tonight?"

"Umm…the people next to us told me they'll be setting off fireworks. Very loud fireworks. Of the explosive variety. Boom boom!"

Doug stared at her in wordless disbelief.

"Fine. I'll put my phone on vibrate," Alysa said grumpily, and rested her head on a piñata.

"All settled, then," Doug said triumphantly. "Do you guys have your stuff?"

They shook their heads.

"Oh, that," Alysa said distractedly, and reached behind her into the cavernous messes of popcorn and what looked suspiciously like coconut bras. After a few seconds, she re-emerged and threw three dusty bags at the foot of the van. They rattled loudly when they hit the asphalt.

"There you go! All that you need to survive in the wild."

Hayner peered into a bag, almost getting his nose caught in the snaps. "Alysa, this is a bag with two pans, matches, and a tent."

"Right," Alysa said, looking confused. "Like I said, all you need."

"Maybe if you're the Swiss Family Robinson," Roxas said unhappily, searching despondently for any sort of music device and coming up short.

"I find the simple life extraordinarily enriching," Alysa said, staring up into the cloudless sky. "It's just you and nature, forging a way, making a path…"

Her cell phone rang noisily. She picked it up with an annoyed roll of her eyes.

"Hello? No, the coolers should be set up next to the moon bounce, across from the cotton candy machine. What? No, the stereo system should be next to the docks. Near to the dancefloor. Duh."

She hung up and shook her head at her campers, who were gaping at her, open-mouthed. "People these days. Can't use their heads. Where was I?"

"Gah," Roxas said.

"Right!" Alysa crooned triumphantly. "The simple life. And it's many, many benefits."

But Sora was rummaging through his bag in something of a panic, and hadn't heard a single word she said. Pawing through the materials one more time. He made a mental checklist. Pot. Pan. Water Jug. Matches. Tent.

Tent!

"Alysa," Sora said, hoping his voice wasn't cracking, "there's only one tent in our bag."

"Yes, of course. Were you expecting an RV? We've tried, duckling, but they just can't seem to fit…"

"One tent!" Sora said, his voice rising to an excited screech. "We're sharing tents?"

"Oh yes!" Axel said joyfully. Roxas punched him.

"Oh no," Sora said, moaning. "You've got to be kidding me."

Riku cast his eyes downward and moved to stand next to Doug, out of earshot. Sora felt bad; for half a second.

"Alysa. Please. You don't know what he's capable of. Maybe he's got some kind of knife, or cane, or sharp rock! Have you searched his bag? Do you have a metal detector in there?" Sora asked worriedly, trying to peer around Alysa to survey the contents of the van.

She shooed him away. "Despite what you're feeling about Riku right now, he's still my camper, and I am not in the practice of subjecting my campers to body cavity searches."

"Are you sure we can't switch?" Sora asked in a whisper, casting a hurried glance over his shoulder. "For my safety?"

"For god's sakes, Sora. He's a teenage boy, not a rabid circus clown. And you were getting along fine before this."

She held up a hand as he started to protest indignantly. "Yes, I know you think he's a massive homophobe and everything, but seeing as you keep insisting, very loudly, that you're not gay, he has no reason to vent this 'murderous rage' on you. Unless you're not telling us something?"

Sora blushed and murmured something about his great attraction to the female race.

"So for the last time; you're not switching. And if Riku does turn out to have a very dangerous sharp rock in his pocket," Alysa said, her eyes twinkling, "call me. Just not after nine. That's conga time!"

Sora slumped away dejectedly, and Axel and Roxas attempted to sneak off with him.

"Hold it!" Alysa called out.

They cringed.

"What?" Axel said, wrapping his arm around Roxas for protection. Who knew what Alysa had in that van? Rebulls? Tiki torches?

"Speaking of conga lines, that's a nice hickey, Roxas."

"Why, thank you," Axel said proudly, hugging the blond boy possessively as Roxas winced, embarrased.

Alysa twirled a beaded necklace between her fingers idly. "Seeing as you two are clearly…hormonal…and are going to be sharing a tent…I assume you've talked about the birds and the bees? Or in this case, the birds and the birds? Or the bees and the bees? I never knew which was which…"

"Yes," said Roxas, turning the shade of an overripe tomato.

My counselor is not talking to me about sex. My counselor is not talking to me about sex. My counselor is not…

"I want to talk about sex," Alysa said bluntly.

Dammit.

"That's ok," Roxas said, gritting his teeth and attempting to pull Axel away. "Health class. Eight grade. There was a banana. I got the picture."

"This is hard for me to talk about about," said Alysa, looking as though she was having the time of her life. "But it's important to cover the issues…"

"We're not having sex," Roxas said in a low growl.

"We're NOT?"

"No," said Roxas, his coloring progressing to a plum sort of purple. "We're not."

"But why not? I thought we were secure in our relationship, Rox. I thought…I brought a whole box of condoms!"

"You brought condoms?" Alysa asked interestedly.

Axel nodded. "Yeah, of course."

"Oh, alright then," Alysa said happily. "That's all I wanted to talk about. Carry on with your argument, though, it's kind of fun to watch."

"No," Roxas said firmly. "To both your requests, no."

"But what are we going to do with all the condoms?" Axel asked worriedly.

"You could blow those fun balloons," Alysa suggested.

Axel brightened immediately. "We could, couldn't we?"

He and Roxas walked off, discussing the merits of latex versus ribbed.

Alysa smiled to herself, hugging a tub of raspberry syrup. "And thus, my work here is done."


"Hey. You okay?"

Sora looked up in surprise, and met blue eyes, framed by a shock or red hair. "What?"

"You just looked kind of sad," Kairi said, squatting down next to him. "You feeling alright?"

"Fine," Sora said dully, feeling anything but.

"Riku?" she asked sympathetically.

Sora sighed. "Yeah. I'm worried he'll murder me with a sharp rock."

That drew a laugh from her. "Just get a sharper one."

Sora smiled at her in spite of himself. "I haven't talked to you in a while, have I?"

"You've been kind of pre-occupied." Kairi said with a small smile.

"I know. All this climbing…"

She hid a laugh behind her hand. "Not exactly what I was referring to…"

Sora looked at her, confused.

"Remember that quiz I made you take?"

"How could I forget?" Sora said, shuddering.

"Well…" Kairi said, looking sly, "Just remember that things can happen in unexpected places. Surprising things."

Sora snorted. "Thanks for clearing that up."

"Aw, don't be sad," Kairi said, giving Sora an awkward half-kneeling hug. "Things aren't that bad. Who knows…you may actually have fun!"

Sora looked at her incredulously. "Do you consider excruciating pain fun? Cause if so, you might want to see a doctor about that. Or buy a whip, or something…."

Kairi laughed. "Don't be stupid. Just…go with it, okay?"

"Whatever you say, Kairi."


Five minutes later and the six campers were lined up in an orderly row before Velma, packs shoulders and expressions of resignation on their features. Alysa had a passing notion that they should being wearing combat boots and saluting her. Oh, the possibilities.

"Righio, kiddos. You're off. Have fun. Don't die. That would make me unhappy and ruin my luau, and that, in turn, would make me more unhappy. It's like a downward spiral of unhappiness, you see?"

"Goodbye to you, too," Axel said dryly.

She smiled at them; a soft smile. "Bye, ducklings. Have fun, and then come home to me. I'll be so terribly lonely without you around."

"But not too lonely," Roxas muttered.

Alysa pursed her lips, her eyes wicked. "No, I think I'll survive. Cotton candy will help ease the pain."

"Goodbye, all of you!" Doug said, reaching for his pocket handkerchief and sniffing loudly. "Remember; cell phones!"

"Not after nine!" Alysa called out. "Congaaa!"

The six of them turned around and faced the forest; a verdant expanse that seemed to stretch on for miles. Somewhere in the depths, there were three different trails that would separate them into twos; all alone.

"Let's go," Roxas said softly, and they began to walk away, slowly at first, then faster and faster until they were near jogging toward the forest, bags jiggling merrily on their backs, before disappearing under the cover of the branches.

"Well," Doug said, wiping his eyes.

"Well," Alysa said softly.

"What do we do now?" Doug asked, turning to his co-counselor in trepidation.

She shrugged. "There's a few hours before the par-I mean, dinner. Time enough to check up on them…" she said with a half-smile, reaching behind her for her binoculars.

Doug reached out and grabbed her hand, stopping her. He looked at her, then towards the forest, a sad smile on his lips. "No. They're on their own now."

Alysa slowly prized her hand away from Doug's, and when she tipped her gaze toward the distant tree-line, her face was thoughtful. "You're right. We can't help them anymore."

A slow smile ghosted across her lips. "It's up to them, now."


It had been only half and hour of walking up the trail in an awkward, uneasy silence, and already Riku could feel the hatred that was emanating off Sora in waves; prickly, uncomfortable, accusatory. With every soft footfall or ragged breath, it blew Riku back like a cannon, pushing him away.

He wondered if he should say something. Should he say something? What should he say? Had he said hello or good morning to Sora today? Riku decided that was the way to start, and ignored all his feelings of anxiety. If he focused on them, he wasn't sure he was going to be able to resist pinning Sora against a tree and asking, for the love of god, why was he so mad?

So he settled on good morning.

"Good morning," Riku said stiffly.

Sora looked up, clear blue eyes flashing in the dappled light. "It's one in the afternoon, Riku."

"Oh," Riku said, feeling hideously awkward for the first time in recent memory. "Then, good afternoon."

"Don't talk to me," Sora snapped, a pained expression on his face, looking downward.

"Oh. Sorry."

"That's talking."

Riku opened his mouth to apologize, but then shut up quickly, remembering.

He wanted a lot of things to be different. He wanted to be talking to Sora in the easy way he had grown accustomed to, building up the banter and the easiness until the other boy was as close to him as…well, Riku couldn't really say.

But at the same time….

He didn't want to grovel like a slave to this sliver of a boy, who was shorter than him, slightly younger than him, and less experienced in most things than him, Riku, the lady-killer.

But that description didn't have the same ring of triumph as it had a few months ago, where it was guaranteed to produce at least one smug expression, and perhaps a curled lip. Now it just felt wrong. Another thing he could blame on Sora.

"I'll talk if I want to," Riku said defiantly, his hands on his hips.

Sora didn't respond, just kept walking.

"Fine. I suppose you won't let me explain…"

"No," Sora said curly, still not meeting Riku's intoxicating turquoise eyes.

The anger welled up inside Riku again, bitter to the taste. "Fine. If you can't even listen to me, what's the point in even trying?"

"Exactly," Sora said.

Riku only stepped over on a boulder, not bothering to wait for Sora to catch up with him.


Riku leaned back in his harness and pulled the rope tight, almost enjoying the tight soreness that burned across his fingers. He resisted the urge to look down; previous experience had taught him the dangers of staring to long at Sora while climbing.

Especially when he was mad at Sora.

Well, sort of mad.

Not really mad.

Confused. Hopelessly confused.

Riku gritted his teeth noisily.

"Sounds like you're chewing rocks," Sora remarked dryly, then froze as he realized what he was doing. Talking with Riku! About rocks!

"Looks like you're falling," said Riku, delighted, and saved Sora from a painful death as the younger boy slipped off the rock in shock.

Sora scowled as he dangled in midair. "I thought we weren't talking."

"You started it," Riku said, with a little smile.

"And I'm ending it," Sora said sharply, catching the edge of the ledge and pulling himself up. "Now clip me in."

Riku obliged, the little smile still on his face. He reached out and grabbed the lapels of Sora's harness, winding the rope through it slowly.

"I can do it," Sora said quickly, grabbing the rope out of Riku's hands. But the other boy didn't let go for a few seconds, leaving Sora awkwardly grabbing at Riku's long, slender fingers. Their skin brushed, as warm as a sudden summer breeze.

Sora took a quick, sharp breath and tried to grab the rope out of Riku's tight grasp, but missed in his lunge, falling past the other boy and off the teetering ledge, arms and legs flailing wildly.

"Sora!"

Riku leapt over and pulled the rope, which was still attached to Sora's harness, as tight as it would go, bouncing Sora away from the edge of the cliff and pulling him high into the air. The force of his rescue sent Sora spinning like a top, the rope Riku was attached to getting tangled in the ropey mess, and before Riku could even say, "Oops," the other boys were tangled in a spider's web of climbing rope, twisted so tightly together that they were chest-to-chest, their noses almost touching.

Sora's first thought was; This must be when he pulls out the weapon…goodbye, sweet young life…Wait, is his nose touching mine?

Riku's first thought was; Oh. Well. That worked well. Holy shit. Is his nose touching mine?

The two boys locked eyes for a breathless second, arms and limbs all tangled, breaths coming fast and shallow in the close space.

Then both of them started to struggle frantically.

"It's no use," Riku gasped out after a few moments of intense twisting, bending, stretching, and a tiny bit of biting. He had been right; Sora was surprisingly bendy.

"Don't say that!" Sora panicked. "There's a use! There's a use, dammit!"

"You're not making sense," Riku soothed, trying to calm Sora down, which was not helped by the fact that Sora's legs had somehow snaked between his own. Focus. Focus.

"You have to stop struggling!" Riku said, frustrated. He would have reached out to steady Sora, had his arms not been pinned to his sides.

Sora didn't stop, just twisted and jumped around like he was trying to do the jitterbug, and instead tangling them both us more in the process.

"Sora. Sora! SORA!"

It was no use. And now Sora's hair, which was quite pointy, was poking him in the eye. Riku decided to use desperate measures.

"Owww!" Sora stopped struggling and winced, trying to peer up at his forehead, where Riku had just head-butted him. "What was that for?"

"You were getting hysterical," Riku said, wearing an identical expression of pain.

"I wasn't," Sora muttered, flushing. "I was just being vigorous in my escape attempts."

"Look," Riku said patiently, his turquoise eyes boring into Sora's own, "the only way we're getting out of this is slowly, and carefully. So that means don't move. At all. Got me?"

Sora nodded sullenly.

Riku inched upward a bit, his legs pointed on the stone, and wiggled to try to free an arm. It was stuck solid. "Can you reach my arm?"

Sora wrinkled his nose. "Why would I want to do that?"

"You want to get out of this oversize flytrap, don't you?'

Sora sighed and gingerly reached out and pressed against Riku's arm. It was reassuringly warm and solid as he gingerly gripped it in his fingers and tried to free it from the plethora of ropes that had wound around the muscle. Gently and deliberately, Sora prized them away, being careful not to drag his fingernails against Riku's pale skin.

"Good," Riku murmured, lifting his newly free arm. "Now hold still."

But it was hard to, with Riku reaching around his neck like that, with Riku's face so very close to his own. Sora knew he was blushing and silently cursed his fair, Irish complexion. Riku's arm was snaking down his back..

"Relax," Riku's voice said, right next to his ear. "I'm getting the main rope."

Sora's eyes snapped open. Riku was so close…too close….

"Hey, Sora?" Riku said, his eyes clouded with uncertainty.

The ropes fell loose around them, and the boys landed in a heap on the ground.

Sora brushed the loose strands off of him and scooted as far away down the ledge as possible, his back to the ledge, so solid and safe. Riku kept doing those things, and he couldn't take it any more, and his hands were balling into fists…

"You okay?" Riku asked, coming over, looking so concerned that Sora wanted to punch him.

"Get away from me," Sora said in a low voice, pressing himself against the wall.

Riku stopped as though slapped, looking so wounded Sora could hardly stand it.

He's an egomaniacal, self-serving, homophobe. No.

"Let's just…let's just not talk for the rest of the day, okay?" Sora said quietly.

Riku stared at him for a long second, his eyes sharp and cutting, before he said softly, "I'm not going to stop you."

Sora turned away from him, tightened his harness, and began to climb, away from the ledge, away from Riku.


Sora was on the edge of the cliff, watching the sky turn from a dark, brilliant blue to the shadowy darkness of night. He was trying to appreciate the glory of the starburst sunset, enjoying nature, and making peace with his inner soul, and whatnot.

And also, he was trying to spend as much time as possible outside the tent.

He could hear a rustling behind him and knew that Riku was already inside. His stomach plummeted uneasily, as it had that time he had eaten a shrimp cocktail before he found out he was allergic to shellfish. At least he didn't have hives.

Yet.

He sighed into the twilight. Riku hadn't talked to him after the rope incident, and although he thought he would have been relived, the awkward silence was almost too much to take. And there would be those times, when Riku would just look at him, not saying anything…

Sora wondered if he could spend the night outside without being eaten.

The wind blew softly over his arms, and he shivered a little in the chill. The air felt damp, like it did before heavy rain. So it looked like it was either tent or hypothermia. Sora was torn.

It was really a shame, he reflected. Riku and he had been getting close, admittedly…very close. Before he found out..

Found out what?

That he's a homophobe.

Is that the end of the world?

Sora turned his face away, into the darkness of the night. The cool night air stung his cheeks, and wind ghosted through his hair. He felt lost and confused, and he wanted someone, anyone there to tell him what the hell he was supposed to do in these situations. Then again, he didn't really know exactly what kind of situation he was in.

What would Alysa do? he asked himself.

Find a way to drug Riku with Redbull, then strap some branches to his arms and tell him the cliff was that way.

Sora smiled into the darkness.

I would tell you to find out what's going on, whispered a voice in Sora's mind.

He gaped into the darkness. Alysa?

Not really, birdbrain. I'm just your Inner Alysa. And I'm telling you now, Sora, that sadly, bodily injury is not the answer in this situation.

It isn't?

Course not. Get in there and talk to him. He won't snap your head off; he's Riku. And on the off chance he does…well, I'll avenge your death, or something.

Sora scowled into the night. "Thanks for nothing, Inner Alysa," he murmured.

"Who are you talking to?" came a curious voice from the direction of the tent.

Sora closed his eyes and took a deep breath before turning around, only to see Riku's upper body protruding from the tent.

"You're running the whole not-talking thing," Sora said, trying fruitlessly to sound mad.

Riku only shrugged and poked his head back into the tent. When he was out of sight, he shouted back into the empty darkness, "Are you coming to sleep, or what?"

Sora looked heavenward. Any last advice?

Don't screw up again, darling.

What? I screwed up? Whose side are you…

But the voice was gone, and Sora was alone, shivering in the cold wind.

"What the hell," he murmured, and walked into the tent with the air of a dead man walking into his coffin.


Riku looked up in surprise when Sora stumbled into the tent. "So…you've finally decided to join me."

Sora only grunted and grabbed his sleeping bag possessively, finding the farthest corner from Riku as humanly possible. He crawled into his sleeping bag fully clothed; he wasn't taking any chances.

Riku cast him one last long look before he blew out the lamp. Sora could hear the vague sounds of him moving around and settling into his own sleeping bag, and then only silence.

Sora heart thumped quickly in the darkness; so loud he was sure Riku could hear it. He tried to breathe quietly in his anxiety, but the tent was smaller than even he had anticipated, and however much he scooted away, he found that he could still distinctly feel the shape of Riku's arm, pressed closer than he ever would have wished it to be.

The air in the tent seemed to be getting closer by the minute, the silence expanding in the blackness, and now Sora could hear Riku breathing; long, low shallow breaths that seemed to reverberate in the blackness and seemed to be getting faster…

And quite suddenly, Riku was lying almost on top of him, his torso on Sora's arm, his arm draped across the smaller boy's chest, his face leaning above the other's boys, unseen in the darkness, but Sora could feel several long strands of hair dragging across his face…

He panicked.

Sora tried to throw Riku off and meld himself as close as humanly possible to the wall of the tent, pulling the sleeping bag over his head, kicking and gasping for breath. Riku rolled away, but he was still closer than before, the entire left side of his body pressed against Sora's.

"What was that?" Sora gasped out, when he felt it was safe to talk.

"I saw a spider." Riku's voice was a bit shaken in the darkness.

Sora laughed hoarsely. "I wasn't aware the great Riku was afraid of spiders."

Riku drew a deep breath. "I'm afraid of a lot of things…"

"I thought we weren't talking," Sora said weakly, but it was no use, Riku was moving closer again, electric friction leaping up every time he moved, his sleeping bag grating against Sora's, the only separation between their skin…

Sora was shivering now (damn this cold) and closing his eyes, but he could still hear it when Riku brought his head alongside Sora's, his face inches from Sora's own, could tell from the soft sounds of his breathing, the warm puffs of air the fluttered against his face when Riku exhaled, getting closer and hotter with every passing second…

"ARGG!" Sora screamed, jumping up and nearly destroying another tent in the process. "STOP IT!"

He thrashed about, trying very hard to kick Riku if he could, and finally free himself from his sleeping bag, ripping open the zipper of the tent with a desperation he didn't know he possessed. He needed to get out. He needed to escape.


It was raining, when he staggered out onto the ledge, fat, heavy warm raindrops that quickly plastered his hair to his forehead and his clothes to his body. He hardly noticed. He stared unseeingly into the blackness of the night, the stars wheeling above, and didn't turn around when he heard soft footsteps, padding through the quickly forming puddles.

"What was that?" Riku asked quietly. Sora turned around despite himself and looked at him; pale, his eyes dark, his pale silver hair draped over his shoulder in wet clumps. Sora swallowed.

"You know," he said, turning away again.

A hand on his shoulder spun him around. "No, I don't," Riku said, and he sounded angry. "Why did you run out?"

"You were coming on to me!" Sora yelled before he could take it back.

Riku said nothing, just stared at him, wet strands of hair obscuring all but glimmers of his bright turquoise eyes, which were drinking in the color of the rain.

"And I don't understand why," Sora sobbed, feeling as if he was about to cry, "because you're a homophobe!"

"I'm a WHAT?"

That, at last, had made an impression on Riku; all the blood drained out of his already pale face, and he took an instinctive step backward.

"Well, yeah," Sora said, confused. "Yesterday…"

"Is THAT what Axel told you?" Riku said, sounding furious now. He took another step forward, so he towered over the smaller boy. Sora looked down, but Riku grabbed him by the chin and thrust his head up, so they were locking eyes. "Well…?" he growled, low and dangerously.

"He said you didn't want them to be together," Sora said softly, drawn in by the shining depths of Riku's eyes. Hope was blooming within him; dangerous hope that was waiting to be quashed, for the last time.

"That's not what I meant," Riku growled. "I asked him if he was serious about Roxas, and if not, to break it off. Claire told me that Axel was gay at the beginning of the summer; it didn't bother me. But she also said that she used a lot of boys, boys he thought could be gay. She told me he would flirt with them to make them realize it, and them dump them once they had hooked up with him. She told me to stay away from him, 'cause he would try to do it to me."

Sora gaped at him, open-mouthed. "And you believed her?"

Riku shrugged. "I didn't know what to think. But now…I suppose Roxas is the real deal, isn't he?"

"Yes!" Sora said angrily. "Axel wouldn't do that to anyone, Riku!"

"I know that…now," Riku said softly.

His hand was still on Sora's chin, his long fingers wet against Sora's skin. Sora's throat caught a little, and he looked up. To his surprise, there was a slow smile blooming on Riku's face.

"You thought I was a homophobe?" he asked quietly, a strange light in his eyes.

Sora tried to avoid his gaze. "Yes. That's why I was so mad at you."

To his surprise, Riku laughed, a rich, echoing laugh that resounded into the quiet of the night. "How could I be?"

"What do you mean?" Sora asked, his heart leaping strangely, like it was doing cartwheels within his chest. Riku took a step forward. His chest bumped into Sora's. Sora, panicking, tried to back away, but Riku's arms shot out, lean and strong, and held him fast. He was so close…he could feel every breath, every word…

"Well…that would be kind of hypocritical, wouldn't it?" Riku breathed, his words a whisper, but Sora heard every word.

Sora closed his eyes. The rain was still falling, small pockets of warmth hitting his skin, bursting open and drenching him further. This wasn't happening. This was another game, another trick, some kind of lure so that Riku could tease him about being gay afterward…

Which I'm not. I'm not gay. I'm as straight as a ruler. Straight as a pole. Straight as a parallel line in a rectangle. Straight as a pencil. Straight as many, many straight, girl related things. I am absolutely, totally, 100...

Riku breathed, closed the gap between them, and kissed Sora, quietly, lightly, softly, but a kiss nonetheless.

…..gay.

Riku's hands were still on Sora's back, and they traveled up it as Riku, encouraged by not begin kicked, deepened the kiss, his hands on Sora's neck, his lips soft and warm against his own, and hesitantly, Sora brought his own arms up and wrapped them around the other boy's waist, pulling them closer, until they were meshed together, one. When he felt Riku smile into the kiss, he smiled back, the rain falling on them and falling in a stream between their faces, tasting salty against their lips.

When they finally broke apart for air, neither of them removed their hands.

Riku smiled down at Sora, days of pent-up affection shining through like a beacon. "Cause if I was a homophobe, that would seriously gross me out. But, in fact, I am incredibly turned on."

"Speak for yourself," Sora said, trying to keep a straight face. "Did you brush your teeth?"

The stars in his eyes gave him away, and as Riku laughed and leaned down for another kiss, a small voice in Sora's mind said, That's the way, duckling. Make me proud.

And overhead, a small condom balloon flew by, a passing breeze carrying it far over the two boy's heads. They didn't notice as it drifted up toward the stars.


YAYYYY!

And the reviewers do the yippy skippy happy dance.

Silly little plot twist, I know, but c'mon now. It would have been no fun whatsoever if Sora was not royally pissed this entire chapter. You know it.

Inner Alysa says- REVIEW!