Yep, still here, still working on stories... Just very slowly. Let me know if you're still with me on this one.

Reminder: only the story is mine.


Subtle Changes Shape the Future

Riku waited patiently as Cloud checked them out, looking over the items for sale at the gift shop. They had gotten gifts for everyone they cared to buy them for at the shops and stands that Riku had frequented as a child, but it was interesting to see the junk these places tried, and often succeeded, in getting tourists to purchase. What would people do with half of this crap?

The night before had been a blast. Nearly the minute Sora and Kairi stepped off the ferry Sora was dragging them to the gigantic water park on the opposite side of the hotel. Riku and Cloud had expected this and were waiting at the lobby doors in their swim trunks with towels. Kairi had rolled her eyes in amusement as Sora took her hand and ran ahead with her, only to have to wait for Riku and Cloud to let them into the park. The park itself was impressive with three body slides, a tube slide, wave pool, water garden and a surfing station, which Cloud surprised everyone with how good he was at.

They spent a solid four hours in the water before they finally left, and that was only because Cloud noticed that there was a half hour before the last ferry left. They had to scarf down their promised dessert at the ice cream bar so that Sora and Kairi could catch their ride back to the main island. Before they left, both teenagers had hugged Riku and told him they were happy to see him feeling better.

"Hey." Cloud touched Riku's arm, prompting the teen to look at him. The older man smiled easily, his blue eyes bright and happier than Riku had seen in some time. "Ready to get out of here?"

Riku smiled back. "Yeah, let's go home."

-0—0—

It was back to their daily routine the day after their return. After dragging Cloud out of bed, Riku went to Ansem's study to continue the likely hopeless task of deciphering the computer data and bringing the information and city systems of the world back online. For most of the week, he worked alone, Leon occasionally checking up and Cloud stopping by with lunch so they could eat together. Life returned to normal and Riku was thankful for that.

"User Riku." Tron's artificial voice broke the quiet.

"What's up?" Riku didn't look away from the operating system for the castle power grid. When he had lived there during his brief time with Maleficent, there had been power within the castle but at some point it had failed. Cid's preliminary search did not reveal any issues with the wiring or hardware so it was likely a computer problem.

"A primary search of the vital systems to the town have revealed a glitch in the X-4-6-M sector. Should I attempt a repair?"

"Yeah."

Tron fell silent and in the corner of the screen, processor usage spiked up. Unconcerned, Riku continued his work. A short time later, he discovered the problem –a set of failed boot-ups in the second phase of the electrical system's start up. He corrected the pathway and rerouted the signal. All checks lit up and the system read ready.

Smiling, he pulled out his phone. Leon would be pleased that the problem was fixed and they could get to real work out there. The castle was something many of them had been itching to get to and now that the city proper was for all intent and purpose completed outside of some glitches and tweaking of things, they were ready to tackle the next large project. With power, it appeared the castle would be it.

He made his quick call, Leon stating that they would begin sending teams out next week, and set the phone on his leg as he stretched. The day had been productive and he wasn't supposed to leave for another hour but there were no projects for him that would get anywhere in the time left before the workday ended. He doubted Leon would say anything if he went home early.

"Tron?"

"Yes, User Riku?"

"I'm going to head out. Close up everything when you finish that repair, okay?"

"Affirmative." There was a brief pause. "Oh, I attempted to locate more information pertaining to that folder you discovered seven days ago."

Riku blinked. He had forgotten about that. Curious, he asked, "Did you find anything?"

"No more information than what I've already conveyed to you."

"Okay, well, thanks for trying."

"You're welcome."

While it was a bit of a letdown, Riku didn't really expected to find anything and when one got down to it, it wasn't important. It was an isolated folder and not causing any issues. Someday when he was bored maybe he'd try cracking the codes again but for now, he'd just leave it be.

Standing, he turned off the monitors and left the computer room. As he walked the metal corridor, his footsteps echoing softly, he got a strong feeling of déjà vu. He had walked this path at least a hundred times before and had never gotten this particular feeling… almost a memory of another hall similar to this one…..

Subconsciously, he reached into his front pocket. His fingers brushed against the scrap of fabric Sora had found inside the downed ship on the play island. That scrap surrounded the faintly glowing ball found with it and even through that barrier of cloth, Riku could feel the energy emanating from it. Since returning to Radiant Garden, Riku had kept the items on him. Somehow, he was comforted by having them.

"Hey, Ku." Zell greeted as Riku left the building. The sun was bright today but it was chilly due to the late season. Winter would be coming soon. "Leaving early today?"

"Yeah, can't do anything else as of now."

"Well, can you spare an hour to help me? I just need another set of hands."

Some actual physical labor sounded good and Riku freed his hand of his pocket. "Sure."

-0—0—

It ended up being three hours but Riku didn't mind. It felt great to be outside, working with his hands, climbing scaffolding and moving construction items. The chilled air was refreshing as opposed to being uncomfortable like he usually found it.

Cloud had also wound up working late so they met up at Seventh Heaven for a quick dinner. The bar was surprisingly busy for it being midweek but they found an empty table toward the back and when Tifa caught sight of them, she simply called over if they wanted their usual. As they waited, Cloud took Riku's hand and lightly brushed it with his thumb.

"You are not going to believe what I found out today," He murmured, an amused smile on his face.

"Yeah?" Riku was very curious. Cloud wasn't a gossip so it had to be good if he was passing the information on.

"Leon's been sleeping with Irvine."

Riku's eyes widened and he leaned forward. "Really? I thought they were both straight. I've only seen Irvine with women."

"Apparently it's an open relationship."

"Wow, didn't see that one at all."

"Me neither." Cloud nodded at Jesse as he delivered their drinks. "I guess he really is human."

They slowly drank, waiting on their food and talking about their days. A few other patrons left, some of them saying quick greeting if they passed the couple. It was strange how well known they were considering they tended to prefer being in the background.

Tifa brought their dinner, smiling at Cloud as she set the plates down. For the first year of their relationship, she had been against it, worried that it would be detrimental to Cloud's well-being. She had eventually backed down but she remained wary of Riku. "Hey, guys."

"Evening, Tifa." Riku returned softly with his own faint smile.

"You guys haven't been in for a while." The woman commented. "I was beginning to think you were hiding from Zack."

"You can't hide from Zack." Cloud laughed, picking up a sweet potato fry. When in doubt of Zack Fair's whereabouts, he was usually at the bar. "Though he hasn't tried talking us into a double date since we went away. I'm getting suspicious."

"He's probably just giving you a break. When he comes back, it'll be full force."

"Probably."

Tifa was quiet for a moment, then glanced at Riku. "How have you been? You looked… Well, bad for awhile there."

"Thanks for the honesty." Riku scowled. He caught Cloud's soft smile and his ire faded. "I'm good. The vacation helped a lot."

"I'm glad." She squeezed his shoulder. "Well, I need to get back to work. Let me know when you're leaving."

Cloud nodded as she left. Riku grew quiet and focused on his food, pushing back the depression that was stirring. He knew Tifa only wanted what she felt was best for Cloud and he respected that but it didn't excuse her from acting like Riku was some kind of ticking time bomb waiting to explode.

"Hey."

Riku looked up and upon seeing his lover's affectionate gaze, smiled. Under the table, he moved his leg to brush his foot against Cloud's calf. He then slid it up to his knee, noting the subtle change in Cloud's expression.

"You're about to get yourself in trouble." The blond murmured, taking a slow swig of beer.

"I like trouble." The teenager smirked playfully. He took his foot away and twirled some pasta on his fork. "But if you're not interested…."

"I never said that."

Aqua eyes flicked up to meet blue. 'Then I'll just have to be especially bad on the way home."

"You do that we may not get home."

Laughing, Riku brought his fork to his mouth. "That's okay, too."

-0—0—

Where are you?

Riku awoke in a tangle of limbs, his head on Cloud's chest. The lingering echo of his dream faded quickly, leaving him feeling somehow alone. Cloud's heartbeat was steady in his ear, his warmth bleeding out and into Riku's body and yet, there was a peculiar emptiness in his heart.

Carefully, Riku pulled away from Cloud and their bed. He padded over to his discarded jeans and fished around in one of the pockets until he felt the rough material of his cloth scrap. That loneliness disappeared and he smiled softly. He didn't understand the comfort that small patch of material gave him but it didn't much matter to him.

Allowing himself a moment, he released the piece and dropped his jeans back down. It was still early morning and there were a few more hours before they needed to be up. He returned to the bed, slipping back in beside Cloud and pillowing his head on the man's arm. Cloud barely stirred, making a quiet noise. Settled, Riku closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

-0—0—

"I'm going to be late again."

Riku sighed angrily. "What happened now?"

"There was a rockslide and it jammed up the aqueduct intake. We got the wall stabilized so now we need to clear the debris out. It'll take a few hours."

"Right." Riku balanced his phone on his shoulder. This was the third time this week that some catastrophe had befallen and Cloud was required to stay late. "So I'll just wait for you again."

"You don't have to do anything." Riku could hear Cloud's frown. "Did you make plans or something?"

"It wouldn't make a difference if I had," Riku muttered. "Go, work. I have things to do."

"Riku-"

"Bye, Cloud."

He hung up quickly and tossed the phone to the side with a scowl. Somewhere in his mind he knew that it wasn't that big of a deal and he shouldn't be so angry with Cloud. It was this damn mess of a world. It really made no sense to be putting all of this work into restoring a dying world. That was the reason they were having so much trouble; this world wanted to die and they weren't letting it.

You can be this world's savior.

Riku gave up on his search of the pantry; if Cloud wasn't coming home until late then there was no point cooking dinner. There was leftover fried rice he could pick at if he got hungry. Closing the door with more force than necessary, he left the kitchen and went to the living room. In annoyance, he dropped down onto the sofa and stared out the bay window.

Leaves were beginning to change color and he was glad that they had chosen to build their home more on the outskirts of the city. They had an actual yard, even if it was small, and there wasn't the claustrophobic feel that the homes closer to the castle proper had. There was a more laid back, peaceful feel to the area.

Across the narrow street, three children played, running around with a ball and tossing it between them. Feeling a stirring of emotion at the sight, Riku stood and retrieved his sketchbook from upstairs. Armed with it and a few pencils, he went outside and sat on the front stoop, opening the spiral bound pages to a blank one.

He took pencil lead to paper and began sketching, losing himself in creating what his mind saw.

-0—0—

"Riku." Cloud's voice was rather sharp.

Riku looked up, suddenly feeling very alert and wondering why. It had grown dark and fairly chilly out; neither of which he had noticed while drawing. The street was quiet and empty, families long since turned in for the night. Where had the time gone? He often got caught up in his art but this was something new.

Cloud's eyes held a bit of concern. "How long have you been out here?"

"I came out a little while after you called." The silvered young man closed his book without looking at what he had drawn. "I must have lost track of time."

"Must have." Cloud watched him stand. With slight hesitation, the blond lifted his hand and brushed his fingers along Riku's cheek. "Sorry I've been so absent lately."

"Not your fault." Riku dismissively waved, turning to go inside. "It's this damn planet and Leon's. One day soon, all of you will see how wasted your efforts are."

It took Cloud a few moments longer to follow Riku in but the teen didn't notice. He dropped his sketchbook on one of the lower steps to take upstairs later and proceeded to the kitchen. "Did you eat?"

"Yeah, Aerith brought food out for everyone."

"That woman really enjoys playing the saint, doesn't she?" Riku removed spinach, grilled chicken, and feta cheese from the fridge. He located a bowl to make a quick salad. "Acting sweet to disguise what she really is…" He trailed off and after a moment asked, "Everything fixed out there now?"

He didn't look back as Cloud answered, "…Yeah. It ended up being an easier fix than we thought. For the rest of the week, a team is building some stuff to ensure it doesn't happen again."

"Good." Riku added a bit of garlic and olive oil to his food. He gave Cloud a brief, shy, little smile. "I don't like being separated from you for too long."

The blond swordsman returned the expression. "I always come back."

"I know." He walked over to his lover, picking at a piece of spinach. Riku wasn't sure why, but he felt like if Cloud wasn't around him…bad things would come about. "I count on that."

Cloud frowned. He hadn't heard that lost tone from Riku in a long time. "Riku…"

"Tomorrow morning I'm going out to the Ravine with Aerith to collect herbs." Riku left the kitchen, Cloud following after. "After that, I'll probably work some more with the computers."

"Okay."

The younger man turned and smiled softly at Cloud, brushing at his face with his free hand. "You look exhausted."

Cloud shrugged. "It was a lot of work out there."

Riku stepped closer, running his hand down to massage at Cloud's neck. "When I finish eating, we'll go to our room and I'll give you a long rub down."

The blond smiled as he sighed and angled his face down. "Is that all I get?"

"I don't know," whispered the other, stepping closer and trailing his fingers down to Cloud's shoulder. He brought his lips to the back of the man's neck as he continued the massage. "I think you need to earn anything else."

"And how would I do that?"

Riku set his salad on the hall table, completely disinterested in it. "Hmmm…I'm sure I'll think of something…" He pushed Cloud forward and toward their bedroom. "Of course, everything depends on what exactly you want me to give to you."

Cloud grinned wickedly as he chuckled. "I'm sure I'll think of something."

-0—0—

"Thank you for coming with, Riku," said Aerith quietly, and with more than a bit of annoyance. "Zack's been rather paranoid about me going anywhere lately."

"Well, with all the recent problems with the environment, it's not that surprising." Riku shrugged. "Rock slides, flooding, random storms… I'm surprised Leon hasn't ordered a general rule that no leave the town proper alone."

"Yes, the world is very confused now," Aerith observed. "It's worried. The last time it experienced this much change, it nearly died and had to become Hollow Bastion to survive. Its heart is uncertain of our intentions."

"Hopefully we'll be able to convince it that we only mean to repair the damage done to it." Riku stuffed his hands in his pockets. It was interesting that Aerith had become as connected to Radiant Garden as she had been with her homeworld. While there wasn't a consciousness here like the Lifestream had been, she was in tune with its heart. It was assumed that the Cetra were simply able to adapt to the world they called home. "One of these days, someone is going to end up seriously hurt… Or worse."

"I don't think it would come to that." Aerith smiled easily. "Radiant Garden trusts us; it's just wary."

"After everything we've done for it, I would hope so."

They continued on in silence until Aerith walked away to a cluster of rocks and knelt down. Riku waited as she selected several sprigs of plant life and placed them in her basket, having no idea what they were or how they were used. Aerith collected both food and medicinal herbs but usually not on the same outing. He vaguely remembered her once saying that the medicinal ones were out in the Ravine and the Dark Depths. Ultimately, he didn't really care and he glanced at the walls of rock around them, rather bored.

The only life out here was the random herbs that grew in hidden spaces along the rocky ground. In a way, it was ironic that plants that could save lives were only located in the most life-devoid areas. Riku wondered if there was a symbolism to it or the environment was conditioned so that only those worthy survived. Survival of the fittest was a common idea on all worlds, and certainly was often the case. He'd been to few places where the weak survived without the protection and assistance of the strong.

Riku had been weak. He had been weak and because of that, he had been manipulated, used, and ultimately cast away into the darkness. However, unlike others before him he had gained strength from that. He'd turned his weakness into strength. What he had believed was what made him vulnerable was his power.

Strength and power that you've abandoned, foolish child.

"Riku?"

He turned away from the rock face and looked at Aerith. "Yeah?"

Aerith's eyes held confused concern. "I'm finished here."

"Okay." He walked toward her and she fell into step beside him. "Find some good sprigs?"

"As good as I'll find this time of year." Aerith hooked her basket over a wrist. "I'll need to go out a few more times this week. Hopefully some more will be ready to be picked. Once winter comes, all we'll have are what I can collect now."

"Maybe you'll get lucky and no one will get sick."

"That I'm not worried so much about; there are alternatives to treat illness." She frowned, worrying her lip. "It's any injuries or wounds that may become difficult. Those herbs will be in short supply and compounds have limited shelf-life once created."

A subtle, dark laughter echoed in Riku's ears. Glancing around, he saw nothing –the path was as devoid of life as it had been- and he sensed nothing when he scanned the area. It must have been the echo of the winds that occasionally blew through the passes and fissures of the mountains. He didn't feel anything that could be construed as threatening.

"Well, the odds of any fights are pretty low," Riku commented softly. "There's been no Heartless, or monsters, in months."

When Aerith spoke, there was an absent tone to her voice. "Hopefully, it stays that way."

He flicked his aqua eyes at her, seeing her distant expression. "Aerith?"

She shook herself of the moment, and smiled gently at him. "Let's see what else we can find before we have to go back."