Chapter 7

Riku stood at the doorway to the lighthouse, watching Namine disappear into the night. Once she was gone, he shut the door with a sigh, leaning against it as his eyes slid shut. His heart twisted with worry. There was no telling who or what had been at the door and every time he attempted to think about what would happen if Sora was found his stomach nearly flipped with anxiety.

He had only known the Aicayan for a month, there was no reason for him to feel so protective or attached to him. Yet, for some reason, he couldn't imagine his life without Sora in it. He looked forward to seeing him every day. Something in his life had shifted since they met and Riku wasn't about to let it get taken away.

A groan escaped him as he slid to the floor, his back still against the door. He could hear Sora and Kairi whispering to each other in their language. It still sounded like music to Riku's ears and he hoped that one day he would be as fluent in it as they were. He wasn't sure what they were saying, only catching common words here and there, but it was obvious from their tone that they were concerned. Riku didn't blame them. They had placed their trust in him and Namine…

Sora was trapped there until he could properly swim again. Even with the stitches that Namine had managed, there were still days to weeks worth of recovering left. He could tell from Kairi's reactions to Sora's improvements, that it was very possible he would never be able to swim the same again.

At least he was alive.

Riku swallowed a lump of anxiety in his throat, his heart tightening at the thought of what would have happened if he hadn't been the one to find Sora. He took in a sharp breath, coughing into his arm. The sound caused the two Aicayans to go silent.

Sora cleared his throat, "R-Riku…?"

Riku nodded, even though he knew neither of them could see him. "Yeah, I'm still here."

Letting out a breath, he pushed himself to stand and made his way down the stairs. Kairi was still beside Sora, watching Riku as he came towards them. She hadn't acclimated to him the same way she had to Namine and tensed the closer he got. Sora, on the other hand, smiled warmly as Riku approached, the tension in his shoulders lessening considerably.

"I'm going to stay here tonight." He told them, knowing that they probably had no idea what he was saying. He sat down along the edge of the pool, rolling up his pants to his knees so he could dangle his legs in the water. Keeping his gaze on the golden reflection of the lamp's light on the water's surface, he muttered, "I'll keep you safe, don't worry."

He jumped when Sora linked his arm with his, leaning his head against his shoulder. "Thank…"

Riku smirked, his heart stuttering in his chest. His hand reluctantly landed on Sora's lap that was covered with shimmering scales. Even after all that time, he wasn't used to the texture of them along his skin.

Kairi's scoff caught his attention as he looked up, seeing her rolling her eyes with her arms crossed. Looking to Sora she spoke up, her words making Sora's grip around Riku tighten as he objected to whatever she was saying. Shaking her head, Kairi turned around, diving into the water and disappearing.

"Is… everything alright?" Riku asked, carefully choosing words he knew Sora was familiar with.

Sora nodded against his shoulder, "Kairi…" his voice trailed off as he thought of the words to use. "Looking outside."

"Oh," Riku realized, allowing the conversation to fall silent.

Besides sharing words over the book, the two of them hadn't spoken much, not that there was much they really could say. Because of it, though, the silence between them was companionable, rather than awkward. Silence usually filled Riku with memories he'd rather forget, anxieties and frustrations of his life, but with Sora, they never entered his thoughts.

Subtle waves lapped against the edges of the pool, the sound of it splashing against the rock echoing through the tower along with Sora's occasional humming. The tunes Sora hummed were unfamiliar to Riku, but he loved to hear them. His eyes slid shut, his head resting against Sora's spikes of hair as he listened to the melodies.

Minutes passed, leading on into an hour without a word being said between them. Riku felt his mind drifting, his body swaying as he was drifting to sleep by Sora's lullaby. Then soft, cool fingers met along his hand, startling him awake as he opened his eyes. His hand was in Sora's, held out in front of him as Sora traced his fingers and palm.

Their hands weren't incredibly varying from the other, spare for the lack of scales and claws, but Riku realized that while he had all the time in the world to study Sora, he never had the chance to study him. Swallowing, he watched Sora examine him, a thrill of shivers pulsing up his arm to his fluttering heart each time Sora ever so slightly squeezed his hand. He didn't say anything, merely allowed Sora to continue, choking when Sora's fingers traced further up his arm.

"Is - Is something wrong?" He stammered, his voice nearly breaking.

Sora paused, shaking his head. "You... different."

Riku blinked. "Different, huh?" He huffed in amusement, a warmth creeping up to the tips of his ears. "So are you."

A soft laugh slipped out of Sora, the sound making Riku's heart jump to his throat. He didn't know why he was having such a reaction, but a part of him didn't want it to stop. When Riku didn't say anything else, Sora continued to trace his fingers along Riku's arm, he pulled back, his eyes drifting over Riku, not noticing the warmth on Riku's ears travelling to his face.

Riku's breath hitched as Sora's fingers met along his upper arm, he looked away, unable to watch as Sora gave his arm an experimental squeeze.

"Strong," Sora simply told him, making Riku choke out a short laugh.

"I guess so," he agreed.

"You, alright?" Sora asked, making Riku look back at him.

The concern in Sora's blue eyes caused the nervous energy inside of Riku's chest to settle as he smiled, shaking his head. "Don't worry, I'm fine." He looked to Sora's hand still along his arm. "Just… not used to being studied, I guess."

Sora tilted his head to the side, deciphering what he understood before he hummed with a smile of his own. "Bee-u-ti full."

Riku's eyes widened, his eyes darting to Sora's, "Huh?"

"Namiinay told Kairi with the flowers." Sora explained, his smile growing as he chimed. "Riku beeutifull."

"I-I-" Riku stammered, a mess of various noises and words escaping him as he tried to get past the way his heart had nearly exploded in his chest. Clearing his throat, he looked away, butterflies fluttering in a frenzy inside him. "U-Um, thank…. Um… you, too…"

He refused to look at Sora to see his reaction. If he had his hands back from Sora, he would have used them to bury his face overwhelmed with embarrassment. Instead, Sora chuckled, the sound making Riku swallow as he began to realize that there was something much more than a curiosity about Sora. These emotions, these reactions, they weren't something he had ever felt before. And if the stories from his parents were anything to go off of… he was feeling something much more real.

"Thank," Sora told him, burying his face against Riku's shoulder again as his hand slid back down to meet with Riku's.

Riku didn't pull away, allowing Sora to wrap his hand around his and giving the slightest squeeze in response.

"Riku…?" Sora muttered, his voice barely audible.

"Hmm?" Riku hummed, still unable to fully find his words as he was internally attempting to figure out what was happening to him.

"I… I like-" Sora began to reply before the door to the lighthouse burst open.

Riku released Sora's hand, standing up and running over to the other side of the pool, just in time to see Sephiroth standing at the top of the stairs with Namine in tow.