Some questions answered, many more revealed. Thank you for reading.
Discovery and Reconnection
Riku left the rowboat in the surf of the shoreline, knowing that when the tide went out in about an hour, there would be about a foot of sand between it and the water. He did not want to drag it too far across the wet sand and had no idea how long this was going to take. He doubted that it would be long enough for the wet sand to dry out in the rising sun and heat of the coming day.
As he walked up the beach, he glanced around. The play island had two distinct sides and it was difficult to get from one side to the other on land. Sensing that he would not find anything on the side where they had spent their childhoods playing, they had thoroughly explored everything there, he had journeyed to the far side. He and Sora had come out here only once and decided that there was nothing of interest. This side was almost all trees and overgrown vegetation.
Riku paused at the start of the jungle growth. The sheer side of the rocky mountain that took up the bulk of the little island was in front and to the left of him. While he wasn't overly concerned with getting lost, he needed some kind of strategy…especially since he had no idea what he was looking for. A good plan seemed to be to hug the mountain and then start fanning out from it in a sweeping movement.
He stepped into the foliage and pressed slowly ahead. He kept his eyes scanning everything around him, waiting for something to catch his attention. He had to watch his footing on the uneven ground and avoid the spots that likely housed snakes and various other animals.
After nearly an hour, he figured he had to be getting close to the other side. The sky was brightening and the density of the plant life was lessening. Nothing claimed his attention and he wondered just what exactly he was doing. It really made no sense for him to be out here, following some random voice. Especially after what had happened the last time he had done it.
He stopped and closed his eyes. I really need some therapy.
This was ridiculous and he decided it was ludicrous to be wandering around out here. Opening his eyes, he turned back the way he came. This was a waste of time and he was potentially risking his life in the process. There were poisonous creatures living here and this was their favorite time of day to-
Look out!
He jumped to the side and barely avoided stepping into a snake nest that he had walked around the first time he came across it. Cursing at himself for getting distracted, he forced himself to focus again on his surroundings. He was now going to have to go out several feet from his rock guide to get past a large, felled and rotting tree trunk.
Taking several steps, he narrowed his eyes at the far end of the trunk's length. It was laying upon something large that was covered in vines and moss, lifting it a good four feet up. At first glance it appeared to be a giant rock but then the rising sun caught on it and there was an odd glint.
Was that metal?
Riku slowly got closer, something building inside of him. This had to be what he was looking for. This was the source of the pulling, the voice that was calling him here.
A foot away from the mass, it began taking the shape of an engine casing. He walked past, frowning in thought. The engine gave way to a collapsed hull. The ground beneath his feet changed and upon kicking at the growth, he discovered metal plating.
Whatever this had been, it had made an enormous impact upon crashing here for it to be damaged like this. He figured nearly half of it was crushed or buried into the ground. There was no way to tell where it had come from but it was clearly not a gummi ship. He reached out to push aside some of the moss and other growth in an effort to examine the metal-
"Where are you, little one?"
…creaking noises and the hiss of air escaping…steam billowing out in front of his face and he was unable to move despite not being held down…cold metal on his back…
…the sound of someone heaving metal, their breath pained and labored…
"There you are!"
…a man's face appears before him, brown eyes looking him over as bloodied hands check his body…a sigh of relief…
"It's okay, little angel." Blood trickled down the man's face. "You're going to be okay."
"Riku!"
The sliver-haired male pulled his hand away from the wasted metal. He turned his head and blinked dumbly. "Sora?"
His best friend ran past the engine casing and nearly plowed into him. His blue eyes were large and full of worry. "What are you doing out here?"
"I…" Riku re-faced the downed vehicle. His voice sounded distant to his own ears. "This was never my world…"
"Riku…" Sora spoke slowly, obviously concerned with Riku's state of mind.
Riku did not know how but this ship was connected to him somehow. It was what connected him to the man he kept hearing and seeing since arriving here. It should have scared him but it didn't; all he felt was a strange relief that he was about to get some kind of answer to a question he had not fully formed yet. There had to be something here that would explain what was happening to him.
"I wonder if I can get inside." He started looking for an access point. There had to be some kind of opening in the metal, a break in the plates. "Help me look, Sora."
The younger one hesitated but eventually began searching also. As Riku made his way around the nose of the ship, Sora took a magically enhanced leap up to the top of the wreckage. He slipped a bit on the moss but quickly recovered. Riku glanced up at him as the brunet carefully went toward the back. Sora probably knew more about space craft than he did having spent so much time travelling on gummi ships.
"There's a break here where the other engine should be." Sora announced. "It's not very big… I don't think you'd fit."
Riku pursed his lips. He really needed to know what was in this ship. There had to be something…" "Can you get in?"
Sora stared at him. He knew Sora did not understand why this was so important to him. Truth be told, he wasn't sure either. He just knew he needed to find something here, something that would tell him if there was anything to these visions or if this was all some elaborate design created by his fucked up head.
Blue eyes broke their contact and Sora hunched down. He examined the opening and carefully repositioned himself. Putting his legs through, he stopped and met Riku's eyes again. "What am I looking for?"
Riku met his friend's eyes. "I don't know."
He saw Sora's concern but the boy just nodded and slipped inside. Riku could faintly here Sora moving around and every so often it sounded like he was moving something. Impatiently he waited for Sora to come back out, praying he would find something.
Several minutes passed, then a head of spiky hair popped up from the hull. Sora hefted himself out, grunting at the effort. Once he was clear, he stood and wiped his grimy hands on his baggy shorts. "It's totally torn up in there. I could only go a few feet."
"Did you find anything?"
"It was pretty empty." Sora jumped down to stand near his friend. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a faintly glowing orb. It was a pale green and the color swirled giving it a cloudy appearance. "This was lying on the floor near a locker. No idea what it is."
Riku took the item from him. It felt warm in his hand and there was a brief surge of energy that ran through him but it was gone almost instantly. It concerned him a bit but he did not feel any different after. He examined the object for a moment then pocketed it. When he got home, he would try to figure out what it was and where it came from using the data base.
"I also found this." Sora took a torn scrap of fabric from another pocket. It had once been white but it was now a molted gray and streaked with black. It could have been a piece of sleeve and there was a shredded section of a patch attached to it. The deep red was framed by white and a white diamond intersected the top portion. The lower half of the patch was completely gone but there were yellow lines that looked like it might have been writing. It was impossible to decipher what it might have said.
Riku also took this from him and stared at it. The man had been wearing a torn, white coat… something like a lab coat. This was his confirmation that whoever this man was, he had been real. Why was he seeing him? What did any of this have to do with him?
"Riku," Sora spoke slowly. "What is all of this about? Please, tell me."
Hearing the pleading tone of his closest friend's voice Riku found himself wanting to confess everything to Sora. He wanted to tell him about the nightmares, the dreams, the voices, the strange thoughts and random shifts in emotions. All Sora wanted was to help him but he knew that he could not; not this time. However, he wouldn't keep Sora unaware of at least part of what was happening. He would not let Sora keep worrying so much.
"I'll tell you what I can on the way back." He promised. "We should get out of here."
Sora's lips were turned down but he nodded and they made their way away from the wreckage.
--0—0—
They dropped Sora's boat off on the other side of the play island and returned to the main one in Riku's. As he rowed, Riku confessed to everything that had been happening since he and Cloud had arrived. That was, he spoke of everything pertaining to the man. He detailed the dreams, the voice and the pulling to go out there and investigate.
He left out the random, dark, disturbing thoughts; he was still convinced that those had to do with the stress. He hadn't had a problem with them in two days now. It was relieving to and scary to get what he did out.
Sora listened to him carefully, taking everything he said in. Riku watched him, looking for any sign indicating the other's reaction. Sora was keeping rather neutral and that troubled him. He could not tell what Sora was thinking.
When he finished, they were quiet for several long moments.
Sora glanced at his feet and rubbed the back of his neck. "You really think that wreck has something to do with you?"
"I don't know," replied Riku honestly. "I just… you know I never thought I belonged here. What if I really didn't? What if I really did come from another world? I mean, Kairi came here from Radiant garden. Why couldn't I be from somewhere else, too?"
"I guess it's possible." Sora turned his face to the water. "But that's not the part that concerns me. It's the voices…"
Riku blinked at him. He had only told Sora about the one voice.
"I know there's more going on than what you told me, Riku." Sora took a chastising tone. "I'm not going to push you but, you need to start talking to someone, if not Cloud then me. Maybe it is just the darkness but even if it is, we need to know what's going on with you. Even if we can't help, we can support you."
Swallowing thickly, Riku exhaled slowly. "There is more… I haven't told Cloud about this…"
Sora fixed his eyes on him. He did not push, just like he said, but his expression encouraged him to continue.
The older teen carefully explained the nightmares he had been having and the voice that occasionally whispered to him. He glossed over the extreme changes in his thought patterns, only hinting at the abrupt shifts in mood that Sora had already picked up on. It was enough for Sora to get the vague picture.
"Do you think the two are connected?" Sora suggested thoughtfully. It was obvious he was trying not to freak out about Riku's confession.
"I don't think so…With the man, it's more like a memory, like he's trying to make me see something. With her…" Riku didn't want to think about her. There was an obvious malevolency to the woman who spoke to him and yet, there was something about her tone that spoke to his heart…
They were coming up to the docks now; the sound of the workers preparing for a busy day drifting toward them over the water. Riku steered them to the small, low dock at the far end that people could keep their small boats. When they pulled up, Sora hopped out and tied the boat as Riku settled the oars and followed him out.
Standing together on the narrow dock, Riku looked to his dearest friend. "I can't tell Cloud about any of this."
"You need to, Riku, if not for you then for him. He's extremely worried about you and loves you deeply. He deserves to know what's happening."
"I know."
They fell quiet again.
"Just promise me you'll at least keep talking, even if it's only to me."
Riku did not want to make that promise because he wasn't sure he could keep it. He wanted too, he wanted desperately to be able to just put everything out there but he was too… "I promise to do what my heart tells me."
Sora studied his face for a beat then nodded slowly. "If you stick to that, I know you'll be okay."
Sora's phone rang and Riku knew immediately who it was. He had not brought anything with him when he left the resort. As Sora pulled out the phone, he held out his hand for it. It would be better if he talked to his lover directly and reassured him.
Sora gave him the phone and Riku answered without bothering with a greeting. "I'm okay, Cloud."
"Where are you?" he could hear the panic in Cloud's voice and it stabbed at his heart.
"I'm at the dock." He paused. "I just needed some time to myself."
"But your okay?"
"Yeah." Riku was extremely apologetic. "I'm sorry for scaring you."
"As long as you're alright."
"I am. I'm coming back now."
"Okay."
"I love you, Cloud."
"I love you, Riku."
The silvered male ended the call and handed the phone back to Sora. He felt horrible for upsetting Cloud and he knew he should have left a note or something of the like for him. He knew how worried Cloud got when he randomly disappeared; he was the same way when Cloud did it.
"Don't shut him out, Riku."
Riku nodded. He was going to do what he could to ease Cloud's mind. He could not tell him everything just yet, but he would tell enough to assure the man things were under control. It would get him to stop worrying and that would take a load off of Riku. He could then focus on piecing together what he knew and what else to tell him.
"I'll call you later, Sora."
"I'll be waiting."
Riku placed his hands in his pockets and began walking toward the dock the ferry to Haven made berth at. His fingers found the scrap of cloth and he began idly rubbing it between his fingers. Something within him calmed and he smiled just a touch.
He had no idea why.
--0—0—
As soon as he entered the suite, Riku knew Cloud wanted to attack him. What he could not decide was whether it was to yell at him, ream him out, fuck him senseless or to simply hold him. At the moment, none of those options sounded appealing.
As it was, cloud did not move from the French doors he had been gazing out of. He turned immediately toward Riku, his expression its odd mix of emotions. He did not say anything.
Sighing, the teen stepped slowly to him. "I'm sorry. I should have left you a note…"
Cloud did not ask where he had gone. "I'm glad Sora was with you."
"He wasn't at first." Riku stopped beside him. "He found me a few hours ago. I told you, alone time."
The blond's jaw twitched and he turned away.
"Cloud." Placing his long fingers on Cloud's arm, he was only in pants, he tried explaining why he left. "Since we got here, I've been feeling this…need to go to the play island. I don't know why and it has nothing to do with Xehanort or the door. But I've felt this need and last night, I just knew I needed to do it or it was going to keep nagging at me which would have defeated the whole reason we came here."
Cloud remained silent for a long moment. He barely moved his head to glance down at Riku's hand on him. "Why didn't you say anything? We could have gone yesterday."
"I…" the younger one swallowed. "I don't know."
Cloud pulled away and walked into the room. He paused in the middle and angled his face down, leaning his weight. "I guess I have no right to be upset; I would have done the same thing." The abruptly turned and anger lit his eyes. "But I am. When I woke up and you were gone…it terrified me, Riku. I haven't been that scared in a long time."
Riku blinked back tears. "I'm sorry."
Blowing out an angry breath, Cloud shook his head. "I know; I am, too. You don't need me freaking out on you. We both need our space sometimes; that was part of the deal when we got together."
Riku studied him, his heart clenched oddly. He suddenly realized that he and Cloud had at some point slipped into another phase in their relationship. He wasn't certain what it was exactly but he knew the dynamics were different.
He cautiously came over to his lover and slipped his arms around his waist. When Cloud looked at him, he did not smile but let his eyes express what he was feeling. "Yes, we need out space… that doesn't mean we shouldn't at least tell the other when we're taking it."
Cloud searched his eyes for only a second before a trace of a smile pulled at his lips. "Yeah."
Riku knew that they were going to be okay again and lightly kissed the other. Their relationship had changed and it would be stronger because of that. So long as they both kept the other informed of the simple basics of what was going through their heads, it would be enough. This greatly relieved him.
Cloud deepened the kiss, bringing a hand up to Riku's cheek. Riku relaxed further and tugged his lover's compact body closer to him. He spread his fingers along the shorter man's back, needing to touch as much skin as possible. They needed to reconnect and it appeared both knew it.
He guided Cloud toward the bed, fingertips pressing in and then dipping below the waistline of his pants. He felt Cloud's sigh and broke the kiss to move his lips to the man's jaw. After only a moment of this, Cloud was pushing him away and rushing to remove Riku's shirt.
Riku began unfastening Cloud's pants just as the blond did the same on him. Both tried to accomplish this task while their mouths explored one another's faces, neck and shoulders. Riku had a much easier time of it and once he had Cloud stripped of his clothes, dropped to his knees and took hold of the swordsman's partial erection.
Cloud's hand came to tighten on his hip as he moaned and temporarily stopped his actions. Riku ran his hand along his length long enough to bring it to full erection before removing it and wrapping his mouth around it instead. Cloud bucked once, nails digging in as he gasped.
Only a minute in, Cloud got Riku to stop. He had the teenager stand and rushed to get the rest of his clothes off before pushing him back onto the bed. Spreading Riku's legs open, he got on his knees between them and instantly returned the favor, his lips sealing around hardened flesh as he ran gentle fingertips everywhere he could reach.
Biting back a cry of bliss, Riku gripped the sheets and tossed his head back. He quickly became lost in sensation and all the worries and questions disappeared. All there was, was Cloud and passion and need. This was as real as anything got.
…And when Cloud stopped to reposition him and then thrust into his body, Riku ceased to care about anything else.
--0—0—
True to his word, Riku called Sora hours later. He did not bother getting out of bed, lying on his back with Cloud dozing on top of him. He smiled down and played with the spiky blond hair on his chest. "Yeah, everything is great. We talked a bit…"
Sora laughed. "And I can guess what you spent the rest of the time doing."
"Yeah."
"Well, Kairi wanted to get together before you left tomorrow but I can tell her you have other plans."
Riku frowned. He really wanted to see his friends before leaving because he knew it could be a very long time until he saw them again. He figured it was around seven now; if he could wake Cloud up and they hurried… "Well, we could try to catch the next ferry…"
Cloud's hand shot up and he snatched the phone from Riku. He brought it to his ear and in a surprisingly alert voice stated, "If you and Kairi come here, I'll treat you both to anything you want from the desert bar."
Riku could barely hear the 'really?'
"Yes, and bring your swimsuits. We haven't checked out the indoor water park yet."
Sora's yell was clear. "Awesome!" We'll be on the next boat!"
Cloud closed the phone and handed it back to Riku. "Problem solved and I don't have to leave this bed for another twenty minutes."
Chuckling, Riku tossed the phone on the bed stand. "Fair enough."
"I thought so." The blond shifted so that he could look up at his lover. "Have to end this trip on a high note."
"And four hours of mind-blowing sex doesn't count?"
"Eh, we can have that at home."
"True." The teen pulled at a long yellow spike. "This is going to sound weird but I'm glad we're going back tomorrow. I miss home."
Cloud lifted his head and lightly rested his chin on Riku's chest. "Naw, I understand. I just hope the trip helped."
"It did." Riku assured him with shining eyes. "I feel better than I have in a long time."
And he meant every word. He felt recharged and ready to tackle the next challenge that came his way. His and Cloud's bond was stronger than ever and he had the added reassurance that no matter what happened, Sora was there for him. He could not be in a better place in life and he could handle what came next, good or bad.
Cloud smiled happily, pleased that his idea had ultimately worked. "Then it's worth the hell I'm probably going to get from Leon when we get back."
"Oh, he'll be fine." Riku grinned. "And if not, I'll work on him."
A blond eyebrow lifted. "If he wasn't very straight, I'd worry about the two of you."
"Yeah, but he is." The younger tapped one of Cloud's shoulders. "We gonna clean up a little before they get here? The room reeks of sex."
Sighing, Cloud rolled off of him. "Yeah, we should. I have to see if my trunks are dry yet anyway."
"Not that it matters if we're going to the water park." Riku followed him out of bed. "Though putting on wet ones does kinda suck."
"Just a little. So, water park then desert?"
"Works for me." Riku glanced at the time. "They'll be on the ferry now."
Cloud headed for the bathroom. "Better get the bed straightened up then."
Riku rolled his eyes and set to work.
