Returning to the Beginning

It was four hours before Riku returned to the computer room. The secondary system had not wanted to cooperate with them and both he and Cid had been cursing steadily for the previous hour. In the end, Zack had come over and after a minute of studying the screens simply reached out and hit control, alt, delete.

The system completely shut down.

Cid had cursed even more at that, shoving at the former SOLDIER's shoulder good-naturedly. Zack shrugged, stating that if they had not done all the complicated stuff to get to that point, he would not have been able to sweep in and save the day. Cloud snorted and said that was how Zack did everything.

Zack had looked insulted by the comment and the two were soon engaged in a friendly fistfight. Both were grinning happily as they threw punches at one another. This was not unusual for the two, they were best friends and as close as any siblings Riku had even known, but at that moment, it greatly irritated him.

He had looked over at Cid, told the man he was going back to work on the main computer and left. He doubted the others had noticed he had gone. Again, he found himself getting angry about this.

Riku dropped into the chair before the display and gazed idly at the torn apart transfer panel near the entryway. He had been having odd mood swings since his time in the dark realm those few years ago but they had always been rather minor. Lately, for whatever reason, those shifts in emotion had become more abrupt. Things that had never bothered him before were really getting to him.

Maybe it was simply due to his poor sleep lately.

With a light sigh, he straightened his back and set to work once again deactivating the main system. It was mind-numbing work and Riku did not even have to think about what he was doing. It did not take long for his mind to wander.

Why was he doing all of this? This was not his world nor did he have any obligation to help Leon and the others with their efforts to restore it. It was a lost cause anyway.

Radiant Garden did not need restoration; it needed demolition. The world needed to be completely purged of the things that tainted it and rebuilt into a utopia. The world needed to be destroyed to become a new promised land worthy of the name Radiant Garden.

All of this was a futile effort.

"Riku?" A calloused hand settled on his shoulder.

Riku's thoughts settled and he leaned against the back of his chair. He had no idea why he was suddenly so down about all the work that had been accomplished. It was likely frustration over all the hang-ups they had encountered lately. "This is almost done."

Rough fingers traced a delicate path along the edge of his collar and dipped beneath it for a moment. The teen shivered a bit and felt himself relaxing. He was not sure how he had gotten so tense in the first place.

Cloud's words were soft. "What would you say to a weekend getaway?"

Riku angled his head back, silver bangs slipping past his eyes. This was rather sudden. "What brought this on?"

The older man shrugged. "Things have been rather stressful around here lately. Maybe if we got out of here for a few days, the nightmares will fade."

Riku was certain that his recent terrors were not stress induced. However, the break would be nice and it might help with the tension and allow him to get some rest at the very least. It really was not a bad idea but… "I don't think Leon's going to let us just disappear for a few days."

"Zack and Aerith are already working on that." Cloud removed his hand and walked around to lean a hip against the edge of the computer desk. "They noticed yesterday that you were looking worn."

Great, so now they were worrying about him. Why did they bother? They all would do better being concerned for themselves. Riku had been taking care of himself for years now.

Intense blue eyes studied him solemnly. "I really think you need this, Riku."

Oh, how he hated when Cloud sounded like that. Riku nodded slowly, giving his lover a faint smile. "Okay, let's go."

--0—0—

They departed the next day. Cloud absolutely refused to tell Riku where they were going, only smiling softly and stating that he knew what he was doing. Riku was to leave everything to him.

While the teen appreciated the gesture, he needed something to keep his thoughts focused. When he let his mind wander, it went to some increasingly strange places. He needed to keep his thoughts structured in some fashion. It was important that he kept his focus.

The Gummy ship was not very large and rather cramped up near the controls. Once they made the jump to warp and no one was needed to do any piloting, Riku stood. He tugged on Cloud's arm and pulled him from his seat, leading him to the bench that ran the length of the back of the cockpit.

Without explanation he forced Cloud to sit in the far corner, the man's back in the junction of walls and feet on the deck. Riku then climbed up on the bench, actually lying down upon it. He settled his head on Cloud's upper thigh and let one of his hands rest on the opposite leg. The blond did not question, simply bringing his own hand up to thread through lengthy silver locks gently.

In moments, Riku was asleep.

When he awoke, he felt like his head was in a fog. His body itself felt somewhat rested but there was a strange heaviness to his mind, as if he had not quite woken up. Cloud was still lightly stroking his hair and when Riku glanced up, he saw the man's eyes were closed.

Working some moisture back into his mouth, Riku shifted a bit. He knew Cloud was awake. "Sorry."

"For what?" The blond muttered, his eyes remaining shut.

"This wasn't what I had in mind when I dragged you over here."

A tiny smirk tugged at Cloud's lips. "I didn't think so but you need the rest. That's the whole purpose of this trip."

Riku said nothing, closing his eyes and attempted to force away the odd fog in his head. It was as if something was trying to blanket it. Sleep was supposed help clear tired minds, not make them worse.

"Riku...?" Cloud gently traced the boy's face with his fingertips. Concern laced his voice and, when the teen looked up, blue eyes gazed down with worry.

Riku turned into Cloud's touch, letting his palm cup his cheek. The warmth of it seeped into his skin and his mind cleared. This was only mildly interesting to the young man. He knew he had a strong reaction to touch, and Cloud's in particular. Even though it had never affected him mentally before, it did not seem like an unlikely development.

With a smile, Riku twisted his body. He crept up enough to bring his head even with his lovers. The hand that still rested upon the blond man's leg moved up a bit further. He pressed his lips to Cloud's, engaging him a greedy kiss, sucking lightly on his lower lip.

They lingered this way for several minutes before a warning tone chimed from the control panel. Reluctantly Riku pulled back, wiping a bit of moisture from the corner of his mouth and frowning. "Just how long was I asleep?"

"A few hours," Cloud replied, shifting slightly on the bench. Riku moved to get up but the blond held onto his waist. "We've still got some time."

Riku re-settled himself against Cloud's body, soaking in his warmth and sighing contently. He felt so perfect at that moment he did not think anything could ruin it. Cloud's heartbeat echoed steadily in his ear, nearly in time with his own.

Sleep again threatened to take him but he fought it, knowing that they were going to have to move rather soon. While he was still curious as to where they were going, he did not really care where it was so long as the rest of the trip was this soothing. He already felt so much better.

A few more minutes passed and a second tone sounded. This time Riku really did have to get up and, after a quick kiss, did so. He stepped to the side, watching Cloud stand. The blond stretched, rolling his shoulders. As he passed, he reached over and threaded his fingers through Riku's hair.

He took up the pilot's seat, Riku following and sitting in the co-pilot's chair. Cloud threw a few switches and made some adjustments. The ship shuddered slightly as the Gummi drive dropped out of warp. As the speed decreased, the location display lit up.

Riku stared at it for a long moment. He felt Cloud's eyes on him but did not have anything to say to him. He was not sure what was going on in his head as he watched the slowly spinning world on the small screen.

He had not been back to Destiny Islands in over half a year, not since he had permanently relocated to Radiant Garden. He was of mixed feelings about his home world. There were times he missed it so much his heart ached. He knew it was more the people than the places but that did not make much of a difference. Other times, he thanked every higher being he could think of that he was away from there. He still was not entirely sure why he had been so driven to leave.

Right now, he felt a strange combination of longing to see his friends and the desire to get as far from here as possible.

"Does Sora know we're here?" The silvered one asked quietly.

"Yeah;" Cloud was clearly questioning whether this had been a good idea or not.

Riku turned his head, offering a genuine smile. Despite the peculiar uneasy feeling he suddenly had, his words were absolute truth. "It'll be good to see him again."

The worry left Cloud's eyes and he smiled back before getting the ship ready to land. While he did this, Riku fixed his gaze back on the display. He did not know why but he had a bad feeling about this.

--0—0—

"Riku!" Selphie came barreling out of nowhere and nearly toppled the much taller teenager. Cloud had quickly scrambled out of the way as Riku was glomped.

Several yards away, Sora and Kairi were nearly running toward them. Tidus and Wakka followed at a much more subdued rate. When the lead two approached, Selphie finally released Riku only to have Sora immediately take her place.

"Uh, Sor…? I can't breath." Riku managed out, all the while grinning. It was not until he was here in the presence of his childhood friends that he realized just how much he missed them.

Sora pulled back. "Sorry! It's just been a long time."

"You and Kairi saw him last month." Tidus rolled his eyes. "We're the ones who haven't seen him in months."

"Yeah, well remember Sora thinks he owns me." Riku chuckled as he hugged Kairi with one arm and clapped hands with first Tidus then Wakka.

"I do not!" protested Sora. "I signed my rights over to Cloud when you moved."

As if noticing the blond man for the first time, Selphie, Tidus and Wakka all looked toward Cloud. He simply stood quietly to the side, watching the small reunion. Kairi smiled at him and moved away from Riku.

Riku held out his hand and when Cloud took it, pulled his lover to him. Slipping his arm around the shorter man's waist, he glanced at him with shining eyes. "Everyone, this is Cloud. These are Tidus, Wakka, and Selphie."

Selphie gushed about how gorgeous Cloud was and how insanely jealous she was as Tidus and Wakka waved their greetings which were returned by a quick nod. Kairi brought Selphie back under control, at least verbally; she was still bouncing lightly, flipped up brown hair mimicking her body's movement. Sora, while clearly happy to see his best friend, had a concerned look to his eyes.

Riku noticed this and frowned to himself. He had to wonder what Cloud had told Sora the reason for their visit was. He fought back a sudden wave of anger at the older man for saying anything at all.

"We better get moving, ya," prompted Wakka. "The tide's gonna be changing soon."

"Are you sure you don't want to stay with me and Mom?" Sora asked as they all began walking toward the boats. "We have the room and I know Mom would love it. She really wants to meet you, Cloud."

"I'm sure we'll be over there at some point," assured Cloud, giving the young brunet a brief grin. "This is supposed to be a vacation. I just figured it would be nice to visit a few friends in the process."

"Well, Kairi got you in at the best villa resort in all the islands!" Selphie giggled as she skipped backwards. "I guess it's one of the perks of being friends with the mayor's daughter. It's such a nice place! I bet it's horribly romantic there! I so want someone to take me someday."

Riku tuned the hyper girl out as she continued detailing the resort where he and Cloud were apparently staying. He was forming an odd headache in the back of his skull and it was causing an odd buzzing effect. Due to this, everything Selphie said was grating on his nerves.

He brought a hand up to his neck, massaging at it. Sora caught this movement and frowned deeply at Riku. The silvered one gave him a mild glare. "What?"

Sora bit his lip, angling his head. "You okay?"

"Why does everyone keep asking me that?" Riku snapped. "I'm fine."

The others looked at him oddly, Cloud getting that worried look again. Riku closed his eyes and slowly breathed out. "I'm sorry. I'm just tired, alright?"

Sora nodded in understanding and Cloud silently wrapped his arm tightly around Riku's waist. The others made various dismissive motions with the exception of Kairi, who also seemed to recognize there was something bigger going on here. She moistened her lips and offered a smile.

"Well then, we better get you to the villa so you can relax," she giggled on the last word, shooting her older friend a suggestive wink. They had reached the boats and the group began splitting off into pairs. "The two of you can either ride together or my boat can probably handle the three of us."

"Actually, I want Riku to ride with me." Sora put in. There was uncertainty in his expression but his voice indicated this was more than a request.

Riku studied him a moment before nodding his acceptance. Cloud kissed him near the earlobe before pulling away to join Kairi and Selphie at their boat. The silvered one followed Sora and within a few minutes, all the boats had shoved off and were heading for the main island.

Riku fixed his eyes on the passing water, watching the oar dip repeatedly into it as Sora rowed. He knew Sora was worried, it literally radiated from him, and while he appreciated that concern, it was quickly growing troublesome.

Come back.

"What?" The older teen looked back toward the play island.

"What, what?" Sora asked, cocking his head to the side.

Who had said that? The voice had drifted to him from the direction of the fading land mass, echoing hollowly in his head. He could not identify if it was male or female but it called to him and he had a sudden urge to order Sora to turn around.

He shook his head a little to clear it. The action helped a bit but that pulling to go back remained. It almost felt like that night over two years ago…

"Hey, Sora...?" Riku kept his low voice soft. "Have you been…?"

"What, Riku?" There was so much emotion in that simple question; Riku decided he could not add to it.

He straightened his back and forced a dismissive smile, facing his oldest and dearest friend. "Never mind, I've just been off lately."

Sora was clearly not convinced but he grinned back and the moment passed. "That's okay. You'll feel better soon. Cloud sounded really worried about you when he called so Kai did everything she could to get you guys the best room at the resorts."

Aqua eyes flicked toward the boat slightly ahead of them. Cloud had ended up rowing for Kairi and Selphie. The fading sunset glinted off his blond spikes and he looked simply gorgeous. "He shouldn't worry so much."

"Well he loves you," Sora chuckled. "Man, I kinda always knew you were gay but… I never in a million years would have expected you and Cloud to get together. And you're both so happy."

"Yeah, we are." Riku felt a real smile pull at his lips. "I never thought I could love someone as much as I do him."

As the words left him, so did that peculiar tugging from the play island. When he realized this, he began wondering why. What was happening to him?

He forced the questions back and focused on Sora. He asked the brunet what he had missed in the time he had been gone and the boy eagerly began detailing all the gossip he knew. Riku listened intently, laughing and commenting where appropriate, and by the time they reached the docks, his early discernment was completely gone.

Sora brought the small vessel up to the pier and Riku automatically climbed out to rope it off. Once finished, he held out a hand and helped Sora from the boat. They grinned at the familiarity of the effort before meeting up with the rest of the group at the land end of the dock.

Riku stopped close to Cloud, grasping his hand and nuzzling into the blonde man's ear. When Cloud glanced at him, he merely smiled and bumped against his shoulder. Cloud's return smile sent a thrill through him.

Selphie grinned madly at the little display. "Oh, you two really need to be around more!"

Kairi rolled her eyes and shoved the girl's shoulder. "You have mangas for that."

"It's not the same, Kai!"

Tidus and Wakka apparently decided they had enough for the day and bid their farewells. When they left, Selphie settled down a little, giggling that it was so much fun to annoy the two athletes. She even not so subtly hinted that she was convinced they had some secret relationship.

Sora and Kairi sighed, having heard the girl's crackpot theories too many times before and focused on the visiting couple. Kairi tucked some hair behind her ear. "Well, the next ferry to Haven is in about forty minutes; it runs every hour. Do you guys want to get some food?"

Riku was not hungry but he shrugged and glanced at Cloud who followed the motion. "Is the crepe shop still open?"

"Yeah," Sora got an excited look to his face. "Oh, those sound really good!"

"Didn't you eat already?" Kairi frowned.

Riku snorted. "Like that makes a difference."

"Hey!"

"Come on," the silver-haired member of the group took the lead, Cloud falling easily into step beside him. There was very little room between their bodies. "I want to be sure we're on that next ferry. The sooner we get checked in the better."

Selphie's grin became lecherous and she opened her mouth to no doubt voice some rather racy thoughts. Both Sora and Kairi clapped their hands over it, effectively silencing her. They then fell in behind the couple.

--0—0—0—

Hey, all. It's been what, a 100 years? Yeah, sorry about that. I'll try to be a bit faster with the next chapter but I get myself so worked up on this one it kinda kills me, you know? …But the plot will be beginning to move now so we should be good.

Thank you to everyone for your patience and support.