The Medallion

Riku woke before Sora.

He was used to waking up at dawn. It was the only way to have any time to himself.

King Mickey had curled up by his head at some point in the knight, and he gently untangled the sleeping mouse from strands of his hair. He would have to find some way of tying it back – and soon.

The cabin had red, woven rugs on the floor and red, velvet curtains that hadn't been undrawn before they went to bed. It made the whole place glow orange. It really was a mess, with pencils and sea charts and compasses scattered everywhere, as well as the majority of Sora's belongings. There was a golden seal on the side, embossed on the bottom with a coat of arms Riku didn't recognise. It must have been stolen.

Sora was not a graceful sleeper. One leg hung out of the hammock, kicking Goofy behind the ear, and one arm was over his forehead, the other stretched out and hanging in mid-air. His mouth was half-open too, but at least he wasn't drooling.

Riku didn't mean to stare. But then Sora shifted his arm and tilted his head to the side, just as Riku sat up. Sora's dark hair was even more of a mess and it was at complete contrast with the look of peace on his face. The early morning sun made his brown skin glow all the more, even if there was dirt smeared across his forehead and cheekbones. Made his dark eyelashes cast long shadows over his cheeks. Made his mouth and cheeks look ever so slightly pink. Beautiful, really, was the way to describe it.

His own face felt warm. The warmth spread all the way up to from his chest, bringing his heart with it so that it pounded in his mouth.

He needed air. He was drowning in here.

As he stood, King Mickey jumped to attention. It blinked up at Riku with those bright, shining eyes, looking from him to Sora as if it could understand everything that was happening. And then, without a moment's hesitation, ran up the sleeve of Riku's blazer as if it was a ladder.

It was instinct to bat the tiny creature away from him. He'd never been a fan of scurrying mice – but there was something about this one that he couldn't say no to. The longer that he looked at those eyes, and those ears and that tiny, twitching nose, the more he felt himself become attached to it.

No, not it. He. Sora had called the mouse a he. Normally, it would be silly to do so, but this mouse seemed clever.

So he let King Mickey stay perched on his shoulder as he crept out of the cabin, leaving his boots behind.

The ship was a bright crimson in the daylight, the gold of the prow glinting like the sun had crash-landed onto the front of the ship.

He could leave. This was his last chance, before they set sail – before Sora woke up and smiled at him – he could go back. He could make up a story about being kidnapped by pirates and maybe his mother would be so relieved that he was all right that she would –

The King's tiny paws dug into his shoulder, like the mouse could tell what he was thinking.

"I know," he murmured, starting up the stairs at the back of the ship slowly. "I know that no matter what happened to me now it wouldn't change her. It wouldn't change them."

The mouse sniffed at his ear, and he realised how ridiculous this was. One night on this ship – one night knowing this boy, and he was already talking to animals.

No, he was simply thinking out loud, he told himself. He hadn't been talking to the mouse. The mouse wasn't trying to tell him anything. The mouse was sniffing his ear and wondering if it was something to eat.

Riku was stood at the back of the ship now, looking out over the other side of the river Avon. The water was dark green murk below him. He felt like that – like he needed a good wash already. He wasn't used to sleeping without changing clothes – without getting ready for bed at all.

And he was still wearing his uniform. He knew he would have to ditch it as soon as possible. As if everything else didn't seem out of place about him. His hands fumbled with the cravat, and King Mickey had to scramble desperately around his hands as he undid his blazer and waistcoat too. His shirt and breeches at least, were plain enough.

Bundling the three garments into one, he tossed the whole thing overboard, watching white and blue disappear into the murk.

And then he took a deep breath out. It felt like he'd removed shackles – or had at least unlocked them.

The wind was sharp this morning, whipping the river into tiny waves and spraying Riku's hair against his face. Mickey was shivering, and, after a few moments, he curled himself underneath Riku's collar to hide from the weather.

He really didn't like mice. It brought back memories of being small and hearing them scurry underneath the boy's beds in the dark. The thought of the little feet and the naked tails on his skin had made him toss and turn all night.

But there was something to be said for having a small animal on his shoulder. He wasn't alone, and the creature was a shred of warmth in the face of a chilly morning. The mouse made him feel like some sort of fantasy hero – they always had animal companions with them.

And was this not an adventure?

He stared out at the sandstone buildings around them. They were all so grand from the outside – but he suspected on the inside they were damp and cramped. It, at least, made for a nice view as he let the decision sink in.

He supposed he was a pirate now.

That should have been a much scarier thought.

He wasn't sure how long it was before he heard Sora stumbling up the stairs. But suddenly he was leaning – almost crashing – into the bannister with so much force Riku thought he was going to go overboard.

Sora was staring out at the docks too, his bedhead wilder than ever.

"You're still here," Sora muttered. As if he was surprised – as if he was used to people walking out on him. Riku wondered what that would be like – to be left behind instead of held back.

"I lost a bet," he replied.

Sora laughed then – a sound that was too bright and merry for the morning. A few nearby seagulls fluttered their wings, glaring at them with red-rimmed eyes.

"And you've made a friend." Sora nodded to the mouse tucked into Riku's shoulder.

He shrugged, which dislodged King Mickey and made him curl back up further under the collar. "Why's he got that name?"

"Because I used to have a friend called Michael, and we called him Mickey for short."

"No, why is he a King?"

"Oh." There was that lopsided grin. "Because he bosses Donald and Goofy around."

"You're joking."

Sora's eyes glittered. "You'll see."

Riku paused. Sora was shorter than him, by a good deal. It made him look younger than ever, though he wasn't scrawny.

"Forgive me for asking," Riku started. "Because I know we've only just met-"

"And yet you've already spent the night in my rooms, Master Riku." Sora was just teasing, but it made his heart flutter in panic. He knew he went red at the drop of the hat, and there was the blush now, crawling its way up his cheeks. It didn't mean anything, he told himself. This wasn't polite society anymore – it was banter.

It may even have been flirting.

"How – how does someone like you acquire a ship like this?"

Sora turned then, so that his back was against the railing. He tipped his head back to the sky, a smile playing on his lips.

"Well, that's not as interesting a story as you would think," he said. "We were playing cards – speculation – and I-"

Sora trailed off as a small, furry creature pulled its way onto the railing. Riku felt himself tense. More tiny paws and naked tails. More beady eyes and a twitching nose. No rats in the bilge indeed.

"It's Little Chief," Sora said, bluntly.

"More animals." Riku wanted to sigh. It seemed like more of a zoo than a ship. "You have more crew members than you first told me about."

Sora wasn't listening. His eyes were on the creature. The rat nimbly ran along the rail of the ship, coming to a halt in front of them and looking up at Sora. It was carrying something in its tiny human-like hands. A small, gold medallion.

"Oh blimey, Little Chief." Sora took the medallion quickly. It was the first time Riku had seen him look anything other than carefree. His body had gone tight and his face was pale. He licked his lips, offering a hand to Little Chief to jump onto. "We need to get you in the cabin and smartly now."

"What is it?"

Sora already had a grip on his arm, pulling him back down the stairs. King Mickey dug his paws into his shoulder uncomfortably.

"You said you were on the run," Sora said, kicking the door of the cabin open and pulling Riku outside.

"Well, yes, but-"

Sora poked his head out of the cabin, eyes on the docks, before he closed the door. "Then you need to hide."

"Why?"

He didn't get a reply. Sora was kicking up clothes and scattered books feverishly. Little Chief had jumped from his hand onto the table, knocking the compasses from it. Riku could only blink in astonishment as the rat began rolling up the map. Actually rolling it, with his tiny paws.

Impossible.

"Riku." Sora's voice was commanding, and he found himself snapping to attention. There was a hole in the corner of the cabin. It was in the corner, of the cabin – a narrow, black space that stretched into the floor. "Do you trust me?"

"Tell me what's happening." Riku hoped to match that tone of authority. It was the tone everyone but him seemed to have mastered.

"Do you trust me?"

Sora's eyes were blazing blue fire. They were wide.

Scared. He was scared about something.

Riku nodded.

And stepped into the narrow space. It was down a step, partly into the hold of the ship. The wood looked about to break under him, and there was scarcely room for his shoulders, but he managed.

Sora bit his lip as he looked down. And then he nodded and closed the compartment back up, leaving Riku in the darkness. With King Mickey wiggling on his shoulders. He squeezed his eyes shut – concentrating on the sound of the water on the outside of the ship. He was on a ship. He wasn't in the dorms anymore.

There was a loud shout from outside the ship.

He heard Sora curse – heard the sound of him dropping something, and then the slam of the cabin door. Donald was quacking rapidly and he could just imagine the duck hopping up and down in frustration. It was what he felt like doing.

What in the world was that medallion?

They couldn't have found him yet. He'd been careful – he'd written letters so that it would take weeks for them to realise that he wasn't in either of the places he should be. They couldn't have figured it out so quickly.

There were heavy footfalls outside the cabin. People were coming on board. It sounded like a whole hoard of elephants. He opened his eyes and found a narrow shaft of light by his head. If he tilted it, he got a glimpse of the untidy cabin.

"Captain Barbosa!" He heard Sora's voice. Slightly too high and slightly too tight. "I had no clue you were in Bristol."

"Captain Sora!" Another man called, though it was clear he meant the 'captain' to be mocking. As if Sora was a child with a toy boat. "I'm sure you had at least one clue, am I right?"

Riku strained his ears to hear the conversation. Sora had left the cabin door open and he was stood in the archway, looking as though he was trying to block as much of it from view.

"Well-"

"I thought I told you to keep that dirty, thieving bilge rat off of my ship." The man's voice was like a knife to the throat, full of a threat. Little Chief seemed to sense he was the topic of conversation, and scrambled from the table, taking refuge behind Goofy's bed. The dog was fast asleep, though Donald was still ruffling his feathers.

Sora took an unwilling step back into the cabin, and Riku got a glimpse of the man he was speaking to. He was wide, and hulking, though dressed impeccably, with a quilted overcoat and embroidered waistcoat. Next to him, Sora's plain, torn clothes looked all the scruffier. There was even a huge feather on the man's hat. He was the very idea of a pirate – with a scruffy beard and unkempt, long hair – like he'd stepped straight out of a story book.

"Little Chief just likes shiny things," Sora said. "He gave it me back-"

"Do you hear that, lads?" The pirate – Barbosa, Riku guessed – turned back, laughing. "He named the mangy thing! Little chief!"

There was a raucous of laughter from outside the cabin. The crew was onboard, Riku realised. His heart was racing. They were trapped.

"You named your monkey," Sora muttered, but he seemed different now. His shoulders were hunched defensively, like he was ready for a fight.

"It was an insult to another one of your thieving friends." Barbosa jabbed a finger at Sora's chest, but he stepped back before it made contact. He glanced back at the gaggle of men outside. "Sorry for bringing them all with me. I was wondering how many of us it would take before your ship sank."

"The Highwind is no schooner, Captain." Sora was fishing in his pocket. "There's your medallion. It won't happen again."

The man swiped the tiny gold coin from Sora's palm. Sora's shoulders twitched ever so slightly. Riku recognised that twitch. It was the twitch of someone who expected a slap.

"Could have cursed us all over again." The coin disappeared into Barbosa's coat. Riku frowned. Cursed? Surely that was a figure of speech – or paranoia. "But that's not what I wanted a word with you about."

"To what do I owe the pleasure of your company?" Sora asked. He was standing in front of the collection of animals, as if it would shield them from view.

Barbosa sat down heavily in one of the chairs, kicking his les out to take as much room up as possible. Sora stayed where he was. This was an insult, Riku knew, but Sora was taking it. This didn't seem like the same boy he'd met last night. This looked like a boy getting scolded by the headmaster.

"There was a boy in the pub last night-"

"How incredibly unusual," Sora said. He received a sharp look and swallowed.

"A boy that definitely wasn't meant to be in these ends. Wore a Harrow uniform. Ring any bells?"

The uniform he'd just thrown overboard appeared in Riku's mind. He bit his lip. King Mickey's tiny paws really were digging into him now.

"Not a one." Sora didn't even waver, though Riku knew he must have seen.

"That's interesting." Barbosa paused, running a finger down a mark in the table. "Because a few of my men saw him coming aboard your…sailboat."

The tips of Sora's ears had gone pink. He looked down, letting colour flood his cheeks.

"Okay, you caught me." Riku's heart sunk at those words, only to be replaced with fury. He'd expected better – he didn't expect Sora to give him up at the first sign of trouble. "He was here. He left before I woke up."

There were sniggers from the door. The other men were listening and Sora turned from pink to red. But the anger was disappearing from Riku. Maybe he should have been embarrassed at the obvious insinuation, but he couldn't bring himself to be. Sora really was going to cover for him.

"It would be an idea to be more subtle about your-" Barbosa let the word hang in the air like a throwing knife. "Inclinations. Or you'll be dancing with the hempen jig for the wrong reason."

"I know." There was a slight edge to Sora's voice. Then he gave a small smile, tucking his chin in slightly so that he looked bashful. "But he was pretty, and we were drunk."

A loud 'hm' nose came from the back of Barbosa's throat. "Well if you ever bump into your pretty boy again, I'd keep hold of him. Boy like that – the ransom would be huge. Every ship 'round here's keeping an eye out. Nice easy money holding a rich kid like that for a while."

"Aye," Sora said. "Thanks for the warning."

Barbosa stood, just as heavily, making the whole ship sway. "Well then, I'll leave your to your-" Again, he let the word rest for just a moment. "Crew, Captain."

The men outside began their chorus of laughter again as they were joined by the captain. A few names were called out to Sora – none of them pleasant. It was clear they had heard every word and were enjoying seeing just how small and red he could make himself.

The cabin door slammed shut. As soon as it did, Donald quacked indignantly and ran forward, whereas Goofy raised a sleepy head.

The elephants chorus of footsteps started up again and seemed to go on for an age. Riku was left staring at Sora, stood in the cabin with a foot out to stop Donald from charging straight into the door and a hand on Goofy's head. He looked younger than ever – looked more like a boy playing pretend than ever.

Riku's chest felt tight. Without thinking about it, he raised a hand to King Mickey, who sniffed his fingers, then let him touch his tiny head.

Sora was probably the worst pirate he had ever seen.

As soon as the voices had retreated all the way down the dock, Sora gave Goofy's head a final pat and stepped forward to free Riku from his hiding place. If it had been last night, he would have offed the boy a hand up. Maybe he would have winked.

But he couldn't quite bring himself to. His nerves were still jittery and he hated that. Riku had seen. He had seen and heard everything. It wasn't charming that Sora had a small boat full of oddly named animals, it was embarrassing. No doubt he really would be leaving now – now that he knew that Sora could hardly call himself a pirate.

Riku stepped up into the cabin without a word.

And as Sora started to move the false door back into place, Riku's hands appeared on it. Pushing it back alongside him. His heart stuttered. Riku wasn't shouting. He wasn't looking at him in disgust.

He wasn't leaving.

Sora chanced a glance upward. Instead of pity – well, there was some pity – but instead of all pity, there was – curiosity.

"Well." Sora forced a smile onto his face. Forced his tone to be bright and happy. Ships run on happy faces. "If we want to sail right into that storm, we'd best start setting sail."

"Sora." Riku's voice was gentle. He ignored it.

"That's Captain Sora, to you. Come on, Master Riku – shake a leg!" He opened the cabin door, letting Donald out. He fluttered his wings and let out a flurry of quacks. Goofy just plodded out, leaning his heavy body against Sora's. He gave him a scratch behind the eyes, then began untying the sails. He turned to see Riku following him, those sea-green eyes still watching him. "I never thought to ask where you were headed."

"It doesn't matter." Riku replied, stepping up to the mast and untying slowly. "As far away from England as possible."

"The Caribbean?" Sora suggested. "Australia? The Middle East?"

"Yes." There was a distant look in Riku's eye. "All of them."

Sora found himself grinning. Genuinely grinning.

"Aye," he said. "I could do that."

They let the ship lose and were out of the dock by mid-morning. It was simple enough to head down the Avon. The wind was fair, and the weather had warmed up – the sun warm on the back of Sora's neck. It still felt cold to him. He was used to the sun – used to almost unbearable, unrelenting heat, not watery sunshine.

Riku came to stand by him at the helm mid-morning. King Mickey had stayed nestled in the collar of his school shirt, and every so often, he would touch him to check he was still there. Was still real. Sora felt like doing the same to him.

Riku hadn't left.

They stood in silence for a while, watching Donald chase Goofy angrily around the deck in front of them after another tail sniffing incident. Or admiring the sandstone buildings slowly going by as they cut into the Bristol channel, joining up with the River Severn.

"Wouldn't be sorting the sails if you were on Barbosa's crew," Sora said. He wasn't sure why, it was like he had something to prove. He had many things to prove, but it wasn't like he could do any of it. "He'd have you swabbing below decks for months before you got to see the sun."

Riku took his time in replying. Now that it was warmer, the pink had gone from his cheeks. Sora risked a sideways glance. He really was pretty – that part hadn't been a lie. With that long, straight nose, he could rival Byron.

"How did you make such a charming acquaintance?"

Which actually made Sora snort. It was easy for him to laugh, easier than for most people, but with Riku he hardly seemed to be able to stop himself. He wasn't even that funny.

"I worked on his crew for a bit." Sora kept it vague. "Years ago, now."

Riku seemed to be waiting for more, and when he didn't get it, he cleared his throat. "You were saying – before, about Speculation. And the Highwind."

"Yeah, I won her," Sora said. "I figured out how to hide aces in my sleeve that morning. I'd woken early and had nothing else to do. When we docked for the night, I challenged anyone I could in that pub to a game of cards. Most people didn't care to. I had no money, so, nothing to win from. Nobody wanted to steal lint from a kid. But then one guy did. He was from the East – his name was Yen Sid. When I demanded a game of cards, he just smiled and opened his hands – like this – and said he had no money, but he was willing to bet his ship."

"You conned an old man out of his ship?"

Sora bit his lip, turning the wheel ever so slightly. "He knew I had cheated. I'm sure he did. But he let me have it anyway. It was like – it was like he didn't care – like he wanted me to have it. When I told him what I wanted my own ship for, it was like I'd passed some kind of test."

Riku waited, again, for more, and didn't get any. Sora knew he was being unfair, but it went both ways. He'd only tell Riku so much as Riku told him. Barbosa had given the information about Harrow away, so it was only fair Sora gave him a little bit for free.

Harrow. He'd thought it last night, but now it was certain. This boy had ran from Harrow on the Hill. Surely that was unheard of. Surely most English men would give an arm and a leg to go there.

And Riku had left.

"We'll have to get you out of those clothes." Sora knocked the back of his hand against Riku's bicep. Lord, they were big. What did they eat at Harrow?

"Excuse me?" Riku's face went carnation pink. Sora pretended not to notice the insinuation.

"Much too loose to be out as sea. You'll get all tangled up in the rigging. I have some spares in my cabin you can try."

He stepped away from the wheel and Riku frowned at him.

"You can leave the helm?"

"Someone's been studying his ship words." Sora's stomach had settled enough to try for another smile. "Yeah, it's mostly straight from here."

So they headed back into the cabin, where they were met by Little Chief sat on the table. If a rat could tap his paws in impatience, he would be doing so. He was surrounded my grapes and cheese and crackers.

"Ah," Sora said. "Little Chief makes sure that I remember lunch."

Riku just blinked at him. Maybe it was remarkable, that a rat had such an affinity for food, but Little Chief was special. Anyone could see that.

He found the largest clothes he could and stepped outside to give him some privacy. He leant against the door of the cabin and felt his legs slide away from underneath him. He sat on the deck and ran his hands over his face. Riku had heard the whole thing.

Maybe he should just jump overboard now.

Both Donald and Goofy came up, Goofy nuzzling his cheek with a large, wet nose, and Donald picking at his bootlaces determinedly. He put a hand on both of them, feeling a warm buzz in his chest.

"I'm okay now," he muttered, and tried to mean it.

Riku opened the cabin door moments later and they exchanged the same bashful stare. The clothes were too small – showing much more of Riku's wrists and ankles than they decently should. Sora could see blue and purple veins in his wrists. His skin was so pale – it was like he was an ice sculpture.

"Ah. Well, we can try something else-"

"I think you're too small." Riku had the decency to look embarrassed about it, tugging at the cuffs of the shirt.

"How dare you speak to your Captain like that."

"My Captain is short," Riku amended. He held up a hand to measure Sora against himself, barely making it past his chest. Sora batted it down, feeling his cheeks burn.

"You're the one who's too tall."

Riku smiled then. Almost laughed. There was a twinkle in his eye that Sora hadn't seen before and his eyes caught on it. He still had a hand on Riku's wrist, but he hadn't pulled away. There were just there, staring at each other and both smiling with warm cheeks.

"About…" Riku took a breath. "You said, that we-"

Sora took his hand away. Shoved it back in his pocket and leant against the wall of the cabin. Like it didn't matter.

"Most pirates are," he said. "Well, some of them say it's just because there are no ladies around at sea, but that's just something to ease their conscience. It's not – generally – not seen as any different to when a man and a woman. Or a woman and a woman."

"That's – that can-?"

"Course it can." Sora bit his cheek to stop from laughing. Clearly Riku didn't have much experience with ladies. "Does it bother you, what I said? I thought it was the quickest lie."

Riku leant back against the cabin too, gingerly. "Thank you, for covering for me."

"Anytime," Sora said. He looked over Riku – took back in those ankles – those calves – and those arms one last time. He knew Riku noticed the lingered stare. But he was starting to suspect that Riku didn't mind. He hadn't left, he hadn't pulled away – something was there, definitely. But it was like a sparrow, it had to be approached with caution, or it would fly away. "There's some spare fabric below. It'd be easy to make clothes in a bigger size."

"Only girls sew." Riku snorted.

Donald let out a flurry of quacks then that sounded like laughter. Even Goofy's sneeze sounded like a guffaw.

Sora just raised an eyebrow and watched the blood drain from Riku's face.

"You don't – I mean –"

Oh, Sora did like this one. He absolutely loved teasing this one.

He let a smile spread across his face and made sure he sounded sweet when he asked, "isn't it about time you swabbed the deck?"