Standing in the house left Riku feeling painfully awkward. Sora had gone off to fetch something that suited his friend's height, and Kairi had taken the girl upstairs to get dried off. Crossing his arms, he peered around the sitting room, looking for scraps of memories which he may have been a part of. The mantle was covered with photographs, even some from their childhood days. The smallest smile crossed his face and he took a slow step forwards.

What stood out the most was a picture of the three of them, no, the four of them, the last time he had seen his friends on good terms, right outside of the front door he had just crossed. Sora was beaming like a proud father should, Kairi's exhausted grin was almost contagious, Riku was standing beside them, smiling almost sullenly—and there she was, wrapped up tightly in a blanket, a little redheaded child hardly big enough to make an impact on the picture spare that she was the focus. Everyone seemed to be leaning in towards the newborn Rina, their smiles directed towards her.

How ironic, it was, that Riku had stormed out of that house just a few weeks later, determined to never speak to them again.

"Hey," Sora said, clothes folded neatly in his hands holding a towel, too. "I'm not sure if these will fit great," he added, nodding as he placed them on the table. "But they'll have to do while we get what you're wearing dried off. Kairi won't have you walking around soaked to the bone. Believe me."

Riku nodded slowly, hardly turning to face the younger man, still looking at the picture.

"You never got to take a copy of that picture, Riku."

He turned slowly. Sora was looking at him, blue eyes pleading, desperate.

"Do you have any other copies around?" the older man asked softly, almost hesitantly. Unsure if this was the right thing to ask — the okay thing to ask.

"I kept one. Its right behind the one you're looking at, in the frame. I guess…I kept hoping you might come back for it."

Foolish. Sora had always been foolish. Foolish for waiting and hoping that the answer and comfort he was so desperately seeking would come to him. And yet again, it might have taken a good seven years, but here Riku was.

"Why didn't you call us back?"

The question, simple and certainly not meant to be cruel, stung bitterly, and he swallowed thickly, shaking his head but offering no explanation. Riku took another small step forward, leaning into the picture, eyes seeking out the details. He picked out the white sweater Kairi was wearing, pink skirt. Sora had on a black top, and jeans. He had on a coat. The same coat he had been wearing when he showed up at the door all of a half an hour ago.

Carefully, he picked up the frame, turning it around in his hands. "I'm surprised you kept this."

"Why wouldn't I?" Sora replied, crossing his arms as he approached the taller man. The brunette immediately dismissed Riku's ability to completely shirk his question and took it as a sign that it was a subject better left alone.

"I would've thought that maybe you'd get rid of it. I'm not sure why." Riku let out a sigh, gingerly setting the frame back on the mantle, closing his eyes. He had thought that Sora and Kairi would've gotten rid of that picture years ago if only to make an attempt at removing a memory they wanted to leave behind. Removing the memory of him.

"You didn't take your copy of the picture," Sora declared, a sheepish grin crossing his features. "Don't you want it?"

Riku tensed, green eyes shifting their focus from the picture on the mantle to Sora, shrugging. "I don't know."

"If I gave it to you," Sora began, that very same grin on his face from when he was half his current size and a third of his current age, "would you at least keep it?" For a moment, Riku could swear he saw desperation in those cerulean blue eyes, the same blue eyes he had been looking into earlier this evening as his little girl silently asked for help.

"No," Riku replied jokingly, his tone softening as he felt the comfort of an old friendship settle around him. "I'd have to get rid of it. Why would I want it, anyway?" Turning from the mantle, a small smile crossed his features as he leaned his back against the wall, uncaring that his soaking clothes were still pressed against his skin and were now making him a bit cold. The physical cold didn't seem to bother him, anyway.

"You'd get rid of it?" the younger man exclaimed, feigning despair and dropping his arms unceremoniously to his sides. "That hurts."

Riku pushed himself off the wall, bending down to grab the pile of clothing and the towel. Gathering the pile of things in his arms, he started towards the bathroom door, which was precisely where it had been the last time he was in this house.

"Hey, Sora?"

The younger of the two had just moved towards the stairs, and turned, curious. "Yeah?"

"You know, maybe I would like a copy of that picture. The one you saved for me. It's seven years overdue," with a grin and a wave of his hand, the older disappeared into the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind them.

Sora smiled, turning from the stairs. He very carefully lifted the picture frame from the mantle, and turned the small tabs on the back, removing the backing of the frame. With the utmost of care, he removed a small envelope, and opened it. To his pleasure, the photograph was still there, with a small handwritten note on the back of the print. He slid the picture back into the envelope and placed the envelope on the table, before turning to go back up the stairs. Rina and Kairi should've been back down now and he was curious as to why they were still not present.

He could hear scuffling in his daughter's small room and knocked on the door. Swinging it open, he grinned at his two redheaded loves and moved to sit on Rina's tiny bed next to her. She was tugging at her pajamas and yawning.

"I thought you wanted to have dinner with Riku, Rina?" Sora asked, running his fingers through her hair.

The child yawned once again, rubbing her blue eyes and peering at her mother, "I'm sleepy. Do you think…do you think Uncle Riku would want to read just a story? I'm just sleepy now."

Kairi nodded, curiously shooting a look at Sora, "I think he'd be happy to read a story with you, Rina."

Immediately, Rina bounced off of the bed, her socks causing her to skid on the floor for a few moments before she came to a stop in front of a small bookcase. The child sifted through every book she had, until she felt that she had picked a suitable title. She stood, clutching the book tightly to her chest and giggling as she started towards the stairs.

"Uncle Riku!"

Bounding down the stairs, Rina rushed to the couch and jumped onto it, next to the now-dry Riku, who was waiting patiently for the family's return. He turned immediately as the child landed directly beside him and halfway in his lap, grinning.

"I brought a story, Uncle Riku! Look!" Small, pale hands shoved the book in his face and she waved it around just enough so that he couldn't make out the title. "It's a good story," Rina declared, lowering the book, yawning so much that her whole face seemed to disappear behind it. She offered the book to Riku, peering up at him tiredly.

"Do you want me to read that?" Riku asked, taking the book from her small hands and looking down at the cover. Now perfectly still, he found that he could make out the title of the book. The cover was well-worn and just by peeking at the pages on the side, he could tell that it had to be one of her favorite stories. 'The Velveteen Rabbit', the title read proudly in a gold-foil print, 'Or How a Toy Becomes Real'.

"Yes, please," Rina murmured, sinking back into the couch and bringing both legs to rest underneath her, curling up comfortably to listen to the story.

"That's one of her favorite books," Kairi declared quietly, having followed her daughter into the room, "only certain people can read it to her," the woman added, leaning slightly over Riku's shoulder as she looked down at the cover. Her far from indirect comment on the nature of the book was not lost on the older man, and he nodded slowly to her. Coming up beside her, Sora rested a hand on Kairi's shoulder and pulled her to the couch, the couple sitting down beside Rina.

Glancing up from the cover he paused, if only to take a moment to look at the duplicate looks of expectation coming from two pairs of blue eyes. With the three of them together, Riku could almost draw lines from the features that the child got from her parents—even the expressions. He tore his gaze away from the two parents and offered Rina the smallest smile, opening the cover.

Somehow, reading a bedtime story never quite struck the older man's fancy, and yet, he knew he couldn't say no to that face. His eyes and her hair, with both parents right beside her; he didn't have the heart to tell her no. She looked so hopeful, waiting for him to start reading. And so, he did.

The Velveteen Rabbit was clearly a favorite of hers, just as Kairi had said and just as the book had screamed. Each page was well worn, the ink partially smudged and the corners folded inward slightly from use. The small pictures that went along with the book were beginning to fade, but Rina paid no mind to that as she listened to Riku read the story.

"This is the best part," Rina said sleepily, leaning her head on Riku's shoulder, and pointing to the page, tapping the picture of a fairy sprouting from a yellow flower. "The fairy is going to make the rabbit Real. Really Real," she paused to yawn, "it's the best part."

Riku nodded slowly, feeling the child burrow her head against him and cast her a sidelong glance, noticing that she was nodding off. Pausing just long enough to glance at the clock, he realized it was late, almost ten-thirty. By logic alone, he could reason that Rina was often in bed by around ten, so managing to stay awake long enough to hear most of her treasured story was quite the accomplishment.

When he could feel the child slip further back into the seat, slumping, he stopped, leaving the unfinished story to hang in the air, peering down at Rina. Sora shrugged, offering his friend a sheepish grin. "Just put the book on the table," he said quietly, nodding to Kairi as he stood from the couch, reaching out to scoop up Rina.

Riku shook his head, instead handing the book to Sora and slipping his arms around the sleeping child, careful to not move so much as to disturb her. With her head unmoved from its place on his shoulder, he managed to lift her off the couch and balance her as though she'd hardly moved.

By now, Kairi was on her feet and had taken the book from Sora, leading the way up the stairs to Rina's room. She was tiptoeing, and turned down the covers as the two men came in behind her. As Riku approached the bed, Kairi reached out and took a stuffed teddy bear from the nightstand, as if readying herself to tuck it in with the child. Riku gently placed the girl in her bed, and Kairi insisted upon pulling the sheets up, just right, tucking in the teddy bear in precisely the right position.

Yawning rather loudly, blue eyes looked up at her mother, "night Mommy," she mumbled, crawling out from the perfectly prepared sheets for her goodnight kiss. Standing on the bed, she reached out and got exactly what she wanted—a big hug and a kiss from Mommy.

Rina repeated this process with Sora, stretching out both arms for a hug and kiss from her father, before looking around the room, puzzled. She didn't immediately see Riku, who was standing almost awkwardly at the door, as he wasn't accustomed to tucking children in for the night.

"Uncle Riku?" she said quietly, dropping to her bottom and then climbing out of the bed. She padded across the room, stopping directly in front of Riku. She tugged at the side of his pants, trying to pull him down towards her. The man looked down and then crouched down to be at her level. Green eyes widened in surprise as the child threw both arms around his neck and pressed a small kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight."