The Wayfinder

They didn't talk anymore about Barbossa's visit. They didn't talk about how every pirate in Bristol would be on the look-out for a boy with silver hair, that Riku was undeniably from one of the most prestigious schools in England, or that Sora was hardly a pirate at all.

Sora sewed at the helm and Riku swabbed the deck until it was shining. They were clear of England now, out at the open sea and this was the part Sora loved. To not have anything on the horizon line. To have everything on the horizon line.

He leant against the stern as he worked, just so he could watch Riku adjusting the sails. He'd tied his hair back with a piece of scrap cloth, so that it didn't always hang in his eyes. It was a good look on him. There was something about the small, silver ponytail that Sora couldn't take his eyes off.

His muscles worked as he pulled at the rope, which was actually just as mesmerising as the ponytail. If Sora wasn't careful, he'd be smitten within the week. It had only been two nights of knowing each other, and already he was falling fast.

When he'd first spotted Riku he'd been attracted to him, and nothing the boy did seemed to break that attraction. If he had at least pulled his hand quickly away from Sora's, hadn't let their touches last for more than a moment, then he could have suffered in unrequited peace.

The fact that he hadn't was enough to keep Sora frowning at the ceiling half the night.

If he had been drunk two days ago, it would have happened. He would have been bold enough to kiss the boy. But he hadn't, and he couldn't break that now. They were stuck in this question. This no man's land.

Donald quacked at him, and he leant down to tap him on the beak.

When he straightened up, he saw the other ship appearing on the horizon. It was cutting a fine figure through the water and Sora's heart jumped. Could be anyone – but mostly likely more people come to put him to shame.

"Should I go below?" Riku called up to him.

Sora shook his head. "They're coming into port. They won't have heard about you yet. Goofy! Spyglass!" It would have been perfect if the dog had gone bounding off straight away. Instead he had to lean over the rail. "Goofy, spyglass!"

Goofy was scratching his ear with his hind leg and staring into space. He tried again.

"Goofy! Spyglass!"

The dog finally lumbered into the cabin. It seemed like an age before he was trotting up the steps, a very salivary spyglass in his mouth.

Riku was laughing as Sora took it. They were rare, those laughs, but they were something. It was the laugh of someone who wasn't used to it – was just figuring out how they wanted theirs to sound.

"Shut your bone box." But Sora was grinning as he unfolded the object. He held it up to his eye to get a better look and his heart jumped again – but out of relief this time. It was a huge man of war, the hull looking more like dragon's scales than a ship, with a fantastic figurehead of a knight at the front. It was Wayfinder.

He could hardly wait for it to get close enough. He knew that Riku was watching him, wondering about the grin, but he didn't have the breath to exchange. His mind was way ahead of him – thinking forward to how much he had to tell everyone – how much he had to say.

Finally – finally it was close enough, and Sora ran forward to lift the white flag. He ran to the side of the ship, hands cupped around his mouth.

"Ahoy! Ahoy!"

There was movement on the ship. He squinted to see, then remembered the spyglass, and used it instead. There was a figure against the railing. Waving.

"Drop the anchor," Sora told Riku.

"You know them?" But Riku was already doing it.

"They're – yes. Yes, I know them."

They waited as the huge ship pulled up alongside them, and even longer as a gangplank was lowered between the two. There were a lot of calls from the other ship – but friendly calls – of "there's the little lion!" "It's Sora!" "The trusty old Highwind, eh?"

He grinned at Riku, who stared back with confusion and amazement.

And then finally there was a figure coming down the gangplank. A tall, broad man with long dark hair and skin only a few shades lighter than Sora's own. He was grinning too, and as soon as he stepped off the gangplank, his arms were outstretched.

Sora dived into them without a second thought, and felt the hum of laughter in the man's chest as he did. He held him tightly, squeezing his eyes shut just in case they thought to start crying.

"Terra!"

"Sora." Terra was catching his shoulders, pushing him away so that he could examine him from arm's length. "You know, I don't think you've grown an inch."

"Lies. Just last month I grew a whole half inch." He couldn't take the smile off of his face.

"Is that so?" Terra's hand was in his hair, ruffling it even more than the wind already had. That was when Terra's blue eyes found Riku, stood watching with a stunned expression.

"Terra – this is Riku, he's the latest member of my crew." Sora grabbed the boy's arm, dragging him closer. "The first human member of my crew. Riku, this is Captain Terra. I – worked on his ship a while."

"Nice to meet you." Riku was like a debutante, holding his hand out and flashing a charming smile.

"Aye, you too." Terra was smiling slightly, like this was all amusing. He raised his eyebrows at Sora as he let Riku's hand go. The question was obvious. Sora tilted his head and shrugged, feeling his cheeks warm, but determined not to make a show of it.

"So, Sora finally caught himself a human," a female voice joined them, and the woman wasted no time in getting Sora into a headlock, ruffling her hand through his hair. "Unless you're really a werewolf, or something."

Riku half-laughed, looking mesmerised by her presence.

"And this is my co-Captain, Aqua." Terra said.

Sora wiggled his way out of Aqua's grip. He couldn't blame Riku – she was like no other woman he'd seen before. Willowy, with ivory skin and dark hair that seemed almost blue when the light hit it. She wore a lady's corset over a men's shirt, and had cut her petticoats so that they sat in a flounce around men's breeches. Truly the pinnacle of pirate fashion.

"And there's Goofy!" Aqua leapt forward, squishing the dogs face and scratching his chin. "Who's a good boy?"

"Pluto. Pluto is a good boy," Terra said. "Goofy is…"

Sora frowned. "Goofy is perfect."

Terra drew in a breath between his teeth. "He's slightly ugly."

"No."

"I have to agree," Riku muttered.

"Mutiny!" Sora cried. "Just because Goofy's not the prettiest dog in the world, doesn't mean that he's not a good boy."

"He's just…vacant." Riku was trying to be tactful, but he was looking at the dog with pity.

Sora pouted at him, but Terra was laughing. "This boy is welcome on my crew anytime."

So, Sora turned the pout on him too, crossing his arms against his chest.

Riku smiled at him, then turned back to Terra, looking mesmerised by pirates. Real pirates. "Who's Pluto?"

"Our dog. Retriever. Best of the best." Terra grinned. "Did you have any? Back home?"

Riku paused for just a second. Sora looked out at the sea, as if he was admiring the view, but his heart was pounding. Riku didn't talk about home. He hadn't let anything slip since coming aboard.

"We bred Dobermans," Riku said. "I hated them."

Apparently, all it took was a question to get him to open up. Incredible. Terra had known the boy ten seconds and had already gotten more out of him that Sora had got from even Barbossa.

"Really?" Terra was laughing.

"They were awful." Riku was serious. "Bred to be as vicious as they possibly could be."

Which only piqued Sora's curiosity further. It gave just a snippet of Riku's life – no doubt he had an estate. No doubt he spent the weekends deer hunting with those hounds.

But Riku hadn't pried into his life, so he didn't pry back.

"Whereas Goofy wouldn't harm a fly," he said.

"No, but that's because Goofy doesn't have the brain power to harm a fly," Terra said, which made Riku splutter with laughter.

"Oh, hush." Aqua said, standing up, but still scratching Goofy behind a long ear. She turned to Riku. "You wouldn't think it, but he's missed Sora terribly."

"Missed seeing just how easy the half pint is to rile up," Terra muttered.

Sora glared, but he lost some of his intensity when he saw Riku biting his lips. His eyes were shining as he looked to Sora. Eyes just the colour of the sea, with silver strands like starlight threatening to hide them.

"Why don't we all sit down for a glass of brandy?" Aqua suggested.

"I don't-"

"We brought some." Terra drew a bottle full of dark liquid out of his satchel, smiling sympathetically. "We guessed you had more important things to buy."

They headed into the cabin, and Sora spent a rapid five seconds trying to kick all of the clothes on the floor into one corner. There was already an improvement in the tidiness since Riku had come aboard – he had sorted the maps and books into neat, tidy piles and tossed out the broken compasses. It was almost respectable in here.

Little Chief was already on the table, sleeping soundly next to a hunk of bread.

"So, you didn't get rid of that rat yet." Terra sat down on one of the spindly chairs carefully, unstopping the brandy.

"Little Chief is a part of the crew."

"It's the only thing that reminds him to eat," Riku said.

Sora shook his head at him. "Mutiny."

But Terra and Aqua were laughing. Aqua even held her fingers out for the rat to sniff, which he did appreciatively, then rubbed his head against her fingertips.

"Where are you headed?" Sora asked, perching on his own hammock. To his surprise, Riku perched next to him, setting the whole thing rocking gently, and leaving the other seat for Aqua. They were never normally this close. They had stayed in their own hammocks – their own sides of the cabin, since they had set sail. If he focused, he could distinguish a faint perfume on Riku – it made his heart quiver.

"Back to whatever port will take us." Terra took a swig from the bottle. "There's a huge-" he saw the look on Sora's face. "But you already know there's a storm coming, don't you?"

"It's where we're headed."

Aqua frowned. "Sora-"

"The note," he said. "It's a full moon, and-"

She shook her head. "It's madness."

"I know it's dangerous."

"It's a death sentence," Terra snapped.

Sora swallowed. Riku's knee knocked against his and he focused on trying to convince himself that it was an accident.

When he didn't respond, Terra continued, pointing at Riku. "Does he know? Do you know what you're sailing into?"

Riku nodded.

Terra shook his head, and a drop of brandy fell from the bottle. Little Chief darted across the table to lick it up.

"It's going to be – your ship won't be able to take it, Sora. It's too small," Terra continued.

"And where am I going to find a bigger ship? How will I get a bigger ship? It's not like anyone else will-"

"No one else is stupid enough to sail headfirst into a storm!" He turned back to Riku, who was sat very still. Very still and very straight like he was trying to ignore there was an argument happening. "I thought you were sensible – why would you agree to this?"

"I had to get out of England," Riku said. "As soon as possible."

"Christ." Terra sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Teenagers. I'm glad you're not on my ship."

"Terra," Aqua spoke softly.

"There's no teenagers allowed on your ship?" Sora asked. Aqua gave him a warning glance, but he was feeling frustration curling in his stomach. He was tired of not being listened to.

"No."

"Not even one?"

"Sora." Aqua's tone was a warning now, too.

Terra gave another heavy sigh and looked up. His eyes had something dangerous in them.

"If there was any chance that he was at the centre of a storm, would you sail into it?" Sora asked.

Aqua just gave him a look. A haunted look that agreed with him. Terra continued staring at him for a long time, but then said, under his breath, "we have a bigger ship."

"I have to try," Sora's voice was almost a whisper.

Silence settled over them. Riku's knee knocked against his again. Sora knew he was desperate for an explanation. He knew there was so much more of this conversation than they were saying. But he kept quiet.

Then Aqua took a breath and said, "Terra, are you going to drink all of that or share it with the rest of us?"

Terra looked down at the bottle as though he had forgotten he had been holding it. Then he handed it to Aqua without a word. She took a long swig, then handed it to Sora.

"I thought you said glass?" Riku asked.

Sora glanced at him. His cheeks were pink, though he was trying hard to look casual. It only made things worse – the three of them snickered at the question.

"That's just an expression," Sora said. He paused to take a swig. It burnt the back of his throat pleasantly. "It's fine. Just give it a wipe."

He used the cuff of his coat to wipe the top of the bottle, not breaking eye contact, before he held it out to Riku. It was taken from him gingerly, their fingers brushing against each other's. Sora twitched his slightly, just to make the touch last longer.

Riku didn't look at him as he raised the bottle. Sora suspected he had his thumb over the mouth anyway.

The storm cloud had passed.

"So fill me in," Sora said. "Where have you been and what have you been up to?"

"Aqua has been courting the idea of getting her head chopped off." Terra raised his hands in the air, like he was the only sensible one.

Aqua's cheeks flushed a carnation pink – the same colour as her lips as she took another swig from the bottle. She tapped her nails on the side.

"Only in France," she said. "And I'm part French anyway, so I can't imagine they would care much. It's a different world."

"What did you do?" Riku looked entranced. As Sora raised the bottle, he chanced a glance over at him from the corner of his eye. His eyes were alight – like he was staring at a fantasy come to life.

Maybe he did like women. Or maybe he liked pirates.

Sora passed the brandy over. Riku didn't wipe it clean.

"Nothing much," Aqua huffed, glancing over at Terra. "I may have spent a night in Versailles and that may have led to me spending the evening in a very pretty young lady's boudoir."

"A lady engaged to the Prince," Terra added.

"French Kings have mistresses, why can't the Princesses?" Aqua asked.

"Hear hear!" Sora called. "A toast to Lady Aqua."

She laughed at that, tipping the bottle back and taking a longer drink than was strictly polite. Sora laughed too, but mainly at the shock on Riku's face. He looked as though he had been slapped with a dead codfish.

Oh, he had been right in the pub. This one was the right one. This one was fun to introduce to his world.

And when Riku caught his eye and smiled sheepishly, he knew that it was the right thing to do. Riku loved this. He fit in here. This was the world he belonged to, the one free from society.

Sora paused the bottle over, knowing that he was all bright smile and bright eyes.

Riku's hand closed around his as he took it. And Sora didn't think he was stoppering it anymore.

"And even if it was for just one night." Aqua leant back, wistful. "I'm happy to stay Cinderella's mysterious rendezvous."

"Your Romantic is showing, Aqua." Terra rolled his eyes.

"You're just jealous she didn't choose you."

"I – wasn't interested."

Aqua raised her hands, and her eyebrows to the ceiling. "Sure, whatever you say."

Sora laughed, and Riku followed suit. They more they drank, the more they lightened up. As if they didn't speak about the storm anymore, then it wasn't a problem. As though Terra had won the argument.

But nothing could change Sora's mind about this.

The clothes were finished the next afternoon. There was a golden light that turned the ocean into a glittering sky of stars, and made Sora look like he belonged in Olympus. It made his skin glow and his hair glow and his impossibly blue eyes stand out all the more.

He tossed the bundle at Riku.

"There. The girl has finished sewing your clothes, Master Riku."

Riku managed to catch them without fumbling too badly. They didn't catch him in the face at least.

Sora was sat on the rail of the ship, close enough that he could adjust the wheel with his boot if he needed to. The other leg hung over the side.

"And why am I Master Riku when we're the same age?" he asked, to distract from the fact that the clothes were well-made. That for two days work, they looked professional. He'd spent more on less.

"Because I have the Captain's hat." Sora tilted the clothing in question, casting his face into shadow. It made him look dangerous – made his teeth glint, and Riku's heart flutter.

"It'll be too small for your head if you carry on like that."

"Save the lectures on pride for Harrow, Master Riku."

They both froze. It had slipped out of Sora's mouth as a jibe so easily, but they didn't talk about that. That was the one thing they never mentioned.

"Try them," Sora said, instead, nodding his head to the bundle in Riku's arms.

So Riku disappeared into the cabin, breathing heavily because his chest felt tight. He had known Sora had known, but Sora had never mentioned it and he never thought it would have to come up.

King Mickey appeared on the table as he entered, watching him with curious eyes as he peeled off his school shirt. It had become thick with sea salt and sour from sweat. He had been itching for a change of clothes – even if these new ones smelt of the hold. Of flour, cheese and more salt.

When he'd ran, he knew life at sea wouldn't be easy. He had known that the food would be awful and that the hygiene would be worse. Surprisingly, the food wasn't that bad. Sora had stocked up at Bristol and could make a good stew. They ate a large dinner in the evening and a pasty porridge in the morning. Sora dumped half a bowlful of sugar into his. It was enough to get by, and Little Chief, incredibly, turned up with snacks throughout the day. It would be a long time before they had to tuck into the dried meats and biscuits.

But Riku was missing bathing. They had some fresh water stowed aboard, but it was reserved for faces, hands and underarms. When Riku had asked about bathing, Sora had said to just jump off the ship and let the sea do the work. The rest was for cooking, and drinking – when they weren't using rum or ale to cover up the taste of it.

Riku had never had more than a glass of wine at dinner. Now it seemed to be all he drunk. If his mother knew – he steered clear of the thought. And anyway, it was so watered down, that he didn't even feel the buzz of the alcohol.

Apart from yesterday. With Terra and Aqua. The brandy had burnt but it had warmed his chest and made him feel relaxed. He had felt able to join in the conversation. Had felt witty and confident and –

Sora had leant more and more against him the more he drunk. It was hardly noticeable at first, but then suddenly there were sat flush from knee to shoulder. The front of Sora's boot had nudged Riku's heel.

Terra had noticed. His eyebrows kept raising at Sora, but he didn't say anything. Sora had raised his eyebrows back the first time, but then had elected to look away.

Riku had determinedly ignored it. Had put it down to the alcohol and the swaying of the ship.

Maybe he had chosen wrong. Maybe he should have gone with a nasty crew that didn't care about him. This was – everything that he couldn't do. Everything that made his gut twist into itself – made words echo around his head and memories swarm around him like bees.

It wasn't like he didn't have an opportunity to escape. Before they had retreated back to their own ship, Terra had asked, "you really have to be away from England?"

Riku had nodded.

He had received a sympathetic grimace. "Shame. We could have done with an extra deckhand. It would have saved you from the storm."

That was when he had glanced over to Sora, deep in conversation with Aqua. He was gesturing wildly with his hands, and she was listening intently. The idea was tempting, for a second. To be on a real ship. A real crew. Someone who knew what they were doing.

"Sora's a good kid," Terra continued. "But I don't want you to be crimped by him."

"Thank you for the offer." The words came out of his mouth before he could think it through. "But I'm staying here."

There were those raised eyebrows.

"Suit yourself."

He still couldn't figure out why he had agreed. Yes Sora was pretty, but that was all he could think of – Riku had to make sure of that. He had to stop that before it went any further. Sora was an awful pirate and was driving them headfirst into a storm, but he was staying.

It felt like he needed to be here, which just sounded like he'd been reading too many books.

He needed to listen less to his heart and more to his head, his mother would say. That was one thing she was undeniably right about. This was madness.

But he knew that he was enjoying eating stew and sipping at diluted rum much more with the worst pirate in history than on a crew full of men.

There was a knock at the door.

"Do they fit okay?" Sora's voice called.

"Yes." Riku was surprised at his own answer. Yes, they fit fine. In fact, they fit too well. The shirt was just an inch too tight, the same could be said for the waistcoat and breeches. "Well – they're – maybe still –"

Sora's head appeared round the door. For a moment – just a moment, he bit his lip – then he nodded. "I told you, you can't be having baggy clothes at sea. They're perfect."

"Thank you." His voice sounded much too gentle, and he felt his face flood with heat. "For – for making them, I mean."

"I'm not too bad at sewing, I would say. For a boy, that is."

"Where did you even learn to sew?" Riku asked. The King was racing up his shirt sleeve, as always. He was getting used to the feel of tiny feet on him now. It wasn't stomach crawling. It was almost cute.

"You have to pick these things up, at sea." Sora stepped back out of the cabin, and Riku followed him. It felt natural now, like they were connected by a magnetic pulse. They left Goofy snoring, taking up both his and Donald's bed whilst the duck sat at the prow of the ship and took in the last of the afternoon sun.

"Have you always been on a ship?"

Sora had his back to him, heading back up the stairs and back to his perch by the wheel.

"How'd you figure?" he asked.

"Just-" Riku leant on the bannister at the bottom of the steps, looking up. The wind caught his ponytail in a dance. "You said you were part of Terra's crew, and part of Barbossa's, so I wondered…"

He let the wonder trail off.

"Aye," Sora said. He nudged the wheel with his foot and said nothing more.

Riku still wasn't done asking questions. "Terra and Aqua – when you said about teenagers…"

Sora took a breath. His back was to the sun, casting shadows over him.

"They lost someone," he explained, eventually. "His name was Ventus. They say they're still looking for him, but nothing's turned up yet."

It was as vague as ever.

"Riku." Sora's voice was serious now. One of the few times he had ever heard it so. "How long before people start looking for you?"

The question caught him off-guard. It was a taste of his own medicine, he guessed. Served him right to pry.

"A couple of weeks. At least." He tried to choose his words carefully. "I forged letters. My – family thinks I'm at school, and my school thinks I'm with family. It will take them a while to figure out that I'm with neither."

"That gives us good time to get away." Sora nodded. "It was lucky that you ran into me. Any other crew in that pub would have offered to take you on, and as soon as you stepped aboard, you'd be thrown in the brig. They'd keep you there until they got the ransom money, and you'd be just as likely to walk the plank as to go home."

The words were chilling. To run away just to need to be saved. That would have been a complete failure.

"I was lucky then," Riku said.

Sora's eyes narrowed. He adjusted his hat, again, this time to let more light on his face. "You could have gone with Aqua. She asked permission to take you on board and promised you'd be looked after. You didn't have to stay."

The accusation made it hard to Riku to keep eye contact. He frowned at the deck instead.

"I – like it here fine."

"How can you?" There was something in Sora's question. A demand? An insecurity? An anger? A hurt? Riku couldn't figure it out and all the while they were sailing into more and more dangerous territory.

"The company," Riku said, eventually. He pointed to the mouse curled on top of his shoulder. "No other boat carries a king onboard."

Sora stayed staring for a moment, then he laughed – long and loud and merry – and the grin was back. The sparkle in his eye was back.

"Well said, Master Riku. Well said."

Because, Riku had wanted to say. Because Sora may not have been a good pirate, but he was starting to make a good friend.