(A/N): A lot of men in the navy couldn't swim.

The Storm

Riku had been tidying the cabin when he came across it. That gold stamp that had stood out so much before. At some point, it had rolled off-of the table. He examined it again – the crest had a crown at the top, and there was a pair of wings incorporated into it. Perhaps it was meant to be a lion as well, but it was hard to make out the shapes.

He leant out of the door, stepping backwards and holding it up to Sora. It was prying – he knew it was prying, but he had been loose-lipped with Terra. If he got an answer, he'd be happy to make a trade.

"What's this?"

Sora shielded his eyes. He pursed his lips for a second, before he replied. "Wax seal."

"Is it yours?"

To his surprise, Sora just shrugged. He put his hand back on the wheel, kept looking at the endless horizon line. "Is now."

Riku supposed that meant that he had stolen it. Maybe it was the only thing on the ship he had pirated. It wasn't his place, he supposed, so he left it stood back on the table. Then he kept organising the piles of clothes back into trunks and carrying spare rope back into the hold.

It was a fairly empty place. There were a few crates full of food, a few coils of rope and a few cannonballs tucked into a corner. There were two cannons left on the ship, and he knew there was a gun either side of the wheel. But he hoped it would never come to that. Maybe somehow they'd stay out of that particular trouble.

Goofy ran up to him when he strode back onto the dock, jumping up at him. He grimaced and pushed him back down by the snout.

When he looked up to see Sora staring at him, his eyes glittering. He blinked when Riku caught him looking; turned his attention back to the sea.

"You didn't have to-"

"One of us did," Riku said.

That made Sora grin, though he was still looking away. He couldn't think too much about that look – the fondness that had already seemed to settle on Sora's face when they looked at each other. It was dangerous.

"Half-sails, if you will Master Riku," Sora called.

He rolled his eyes. No, this hadn't been a mistake. He'd never get away with doing that if it hadn't been Sora he had headed towards. It wouldn't have been this laidback, this easy. This felt right – this made him feel like someone he wasn't. He could convince Sora that he was witty and fearless – the kind of person he wanted to be.

The complete opposite of who he was.

So it was easy to give a mocking salute and reply "aye, aye, Captain."

Because instead of earning him a flogging, it just made Sora laugh.

"See that?" Sora pointed at a line of dark clouds on the horizon. "That's it. It'll be upon us late afternoon."

Donald was roosting on the back of the ship, and he ruffled his feathers indignantly at the thought.

On the deck, Riku looked up from the ropes, blowing silver strands out of his eyes. Already he looked at ease – like he belonged here. It wasn't just the clothes – though they certainly added a roughish air to him – he just seemed to belong on a ship.

Although that might have just been wishful thinking on Sora's part.

"Do we have to make any preparations?" Riku asked.

We. They were a 'we' now.

"When it gets closer, we'll put the animals in the hold," Sora replied.

Riku nodded and finished tying the sails. Then he looked up with those dazzling eyes and Sora's heart decided to skip every other beat it could.

"Sora, what exactly are we meant to find when we get there?"

"Captain Sora." He leant against the railing of the stern, thinking over his answer. Riku had answered simply enough when it was Terra asking the questions – why not try some of his own? "Tell me about Harrow first."

Riku frowned. He leant against the mast and crossed his arms. Sora had been right about that shirt - it was too tight. That had been on purpose.

"Why?"

"You tell me a secret," Sora said. "And I'll tell you one of mine."

"Knowing what I'm about to sail headfirst into is hardly a secret." Riku was indignant, and it made Sora grin. He sounded posh, when he did that - a petulant child used to getting anything he wanted.

So, he shrugged, sighed and looked up at the storm clouds, feigning indifference. But he was burning to know. He was burning to know anything about this boy.

"Did you get expelled?" Sora pressed.

"No!" Riku's frown deepened, as if that was offensive. "Well, nothing so formal. I was most likely on my way to being...asked to leave."

"Fascinating." Sora stacked his fists on top of each other, then rested his chin on top of them. "What does one do to get expelled?"

"Fail a test?" Riku shrugged. "Not score any points in sports? Not hand in homework on time? Do anything to not fit the perfection that is Harrow on the Hill?"

"You did all that?"

"I have never failed a test or failed to hand in homework in my life. And I'm Captain of the squash team, I'll have you know."

Squash. Sport. That explained the arms. Sora let his gaze slide back over them. Was it his imagination or did Riku tense slightly?

"So if you were such a perfect student, why were you about to be expelled?"

"Because I'm not the kind of student they want there." Riku was talking guardedly now.

"Why?"

He paused. "Because I'm a whig. I agree with the workers revolts - I think they should be treated better, get more pay."

All very noble, Sora thought sardonically. Which just sounded hypocritical in Riku's posh accent. It was clear from his flushed cheeks that he was telling the truth.

And yet - "anything else?"

Riku's eyes narrowed. He knew the question Sora was asking. It was the same one he'd been asking with his lingering touches and not so subtle stares. He watched Riku's chest rise as he took a deep breath in.

"That's enough for you to tell me what we're looking for."

"Touché," Sora murmured. "You should be well-read, are you familiar with Pandora's box?"

"Yes." Riku clearly expected more, and when he didn't get it, he blinked. "You're not serious?"

"The legend goes that the big three Gods hid the box by using their combined powers. Water and sky and death is a storm. The box is at the centre."

"I've never heard that version," Riku said, slowly.

"Or there's Davy Jones' chest. The Flying Dutchman should have it on board, and appears when there's a sinking ship."

"So, your plan is to find a mythological chest or to get us killed so that a pirate myth finds us?"

When he put it like that it made Sora seem like a child. Like a very silly child chasing fairy tales. He frowned at Riku, who simply frowned back up at him.

"I have it on good authority that what I need is at the centre of that storm."

"The note," Riku said it so calmly, like he had all of the pieces. "You mentioned a note-"

"Tell me the real reason you left Harrow and I'll tell you about the note." Sora grinned.

Riku glared at him. His eyes were like a cat's – green and shiny and sharp. He opened his mouth, cheeks flushed with colour –

And then stopped.

"Did you just feel that?" he asked.

"You're changing the subject." But Sora felt it too. A drop of rain. And another, and another. "Grab Goofy."

He gave himself the task of scooping Donald up from his perch. The chunky duck kicked his feet out angrily at him, trying to peck his knuckles as best as he could. Sora ended up half-throwing him into the cabin, which only riled Donald up more. He closed and locked the door before he could flutter back, though, turning to find a laughing Riku. He was standing close – closer than usual, with his head tilted down slightly.

Sora would practically have to jump if he wanted to kiss him. Part of him wanted to try – just to test it.

"Mickey needs to go in." Riku's voice was low.

Sora didn't move. He felt stunned – like a bomb was going off in his face. Eyes – blue-green eyes – so close – perfect nose – perfect mouth – perfect face. "Right."

Riku put a hand on the cabin wall, leaning ever so slightly closer. "The door, Sora."

There was an edge to Riku's voice that kickstarted him. Made the butterflies in his stomach settle somewhat and made a plan form in his mind. He pressed his weight against the door, feeling Donald pound against it.

"That's hardly the right way to ask, is it?"

Riku hesitated. The King was sat under his collar, a dark ball of fluff. For some reason, he'd attached himself to Riku, and hadn't left his side. It would have been jealousy-inducing, if it wasn't so endearing. To watch Riku's clumsy hands stroke at the Prince's head and back.

"May I please get into the cabin, Captain Sora?"

The butterflies took flight again – a furious flurry in his stomach. It wasn't just the name – it was the part sarcasm, part tease behind it. It was the fact that Riku had leant just a little bit closer as he said it, so close that Sora felt his breath in a puff on his forehead.

It was the fact that Riku had called him Captain and that was – incredible.

But he couldn't let any of that show. Instead, he raised an eyebrow and shrugged like he was indifferent. He finally stepped away from the door with a, "very well, then."

The key was still in, and Riku unlocked it. He was careful to only open it a crack, only enough to squeeze by and deposit the mouse somewhere safe.

It was still wide enough for Donald to escape from.

He aimed straight at Sora, who covered his face with his forearms to protect himself from the onslaught.

Riku dived forward to try to catch the duck, who flapped his wings to beat him off, landing back on the deck and making a break for the prow.

Sora cursed and raced after the duck. The rain was spitting down now. They were approaching the storm quicker than he had thought – the wind must have been strong.

Every time he got close to Donald, the duck saw him and ran in the opposite direction. And every time Riku got close, the duck would turn away from them both, heading to the other end of the ship. They continued running after the beast as the deck grew more and more slippery and their boots started to soak through.

It was the King that sorted it. Somehow, he had roused Goofy from his slumber and made him plod out of the cabin. He was sat comfortably on the dog's misshapen head.

Riku skidded to a stop, staring at them.

Goofy gave a low bark and Donald stop in his tracks. The duck looked back at them.

And then strutted inside as cool as ice. He moved calmly across the deck, tucking his feathers back into place and all but nodding at the two as he passed.

The three disappeared back into the cabin and Sora slid across the deck to lock it back up.

Riku's eyes were wide and his mouth was hanging open.

"I told you he was a King," Sora said.

And that earnt him one of those rare, beautiful laughs.

The laugh was infectious, and Sora found himself joining in. They stood, balanced either side of the cabin and laughed, as the rain started coming down harder around them. Sora's stomach hurt from the effort and his face felt pleasantly warm.

It was proper rain now, sitting on top of Sora's coat in drops and soaking into his breeches.

"Is it too late to join them?" Riku asked.

Sora clapped him on the shoulder as he stepped forward. "You want to be a sailor, don't you?"

"I'm changing my mind."

"A pirate, then."

That laugh was harder to hear, more of a chuckle, as Riku followed him back up the stairs. His hair was starting to stick to the sides of his neck in silver strands and Sora's gaze stuck there. Stuck on the way Riku's shirt was clinging to him already. A fat raindrop ran down the side of his neck, over a strand of hair and nestled into his collarbone.

He clenched his jaw and tightened his grip on the wheel. There were more important things to worry about than the pretty boy in front of him.

The rain quickly came down faster and harder, until it was falling sheets all around them and they were thoroughly soaked. A river ran from the peak of Sora's captain's hat that was dripping onto his hands. It was cold too - he was practically frozen to the wheel. The wind stung his cheeks until he thought he was turning to ice.

It was hard to tell how long they had been sailing through the water when the thunder started. It sounded like the rumble of a stomach at first.

But then there was a brief flash through the clouds.

He gripped the wheel as hard as he could with soaked hands, fingers slipping off of the wood.

There was a hand on his shoulder at the next thunderclap. Riku's hand appeared on the rail, as if he was protecting Sora from half the rain. It was a romantic thought, if he stopped to think about it. In actuality, it was something more instinctual. A way of saying 'I'm here, let's work together.'

The prow cut through the waves and the rain determinedly, even though the boat was starting to rock. They surged up and down, but the rhythm was easy to conquer. It was easy to anticipate the ship pointing up, then down and adjusting the balance accordingly.

Riku yelled something that Sora couldn't hear over the crash of the waves and the thunder and the rain ceaselessly beating against the deck.

Lightning turned the world from grey to yellow. Grey to yellow. Grey to yellow.

How long had they been sailing? Were they reaching the eye of the storm yet?

The waves increased in velocity. Sora finally slipped, clutching onto the wheel as he was thrown backwards. Riku's firm grip pulled him back as it plummeted back downwards.

They slid over the deck as they headed further and further into the dark clouds, until they were both at the wheel, both pulling each other back from the violent wind.

Then it happened.

A burst of lighting came down right in front of the boat, splattering sea water over the deck and knocking into them as a wave. It turned the boat of course, made the masts tilt diagonally.

There was a terrible moment the boat teetered like that.

Then it crashed upright again.

"Sora!" Riku roared in his ear, pointing to the port-hand side of the boat.

He saw it, still illuminated as though it had captured the electricity. A huge sea chest.

His heart roared as loudly as Riku. This was it. This was it.

"Drop anchor! We'll swim for it!" He could barely hear himself, though his throat hurt from screaming.

"I can't swim!"

"You can't-" He stared at Riku, wild-eyed. Now he was scared - really scared - he'd brought a boy who couldn't swim on a mission that would destroy their boat.

"Take the helm!" he screamed, as though everything was under control. He jammed his hat onto Riku's head, and in the next moment he was falling down the stairs. He scrambled, mostly on all fours to the mast, picking up a sodden rope and tying it around his waist. The rope slipped. His hands slipped. Everything was slipping.

Riku was saying something else, but he couldn't hear.

"When I have it, reel me in!" he screamed, though he doubted his words travelled far enough.

It was hard to get a running leap off the side when the boat was tilting dangerously upwards again, but his hands found the railing he flung himself overboard.

And barely realised when he was underwater. It was just as wet, just as cold, just as hard to move through as the storm above it.

The light was still there and he kicked his way through it. He couldn't tell if he was on the surface or underneath it, there was salt-water in his mouth either way.

It was far, even as the waves were pulling him away, his fingers closed around the handle on the side. It was heavy. Much heavier than a chest should be.

He opened his mouth to signal to Riku to pull in the line and got a stomach full of sharp water. As he gagged, he tugged the rope.

By some miracle it began pulling him.

He wasn't sure of the direction he was headed. All he did was cling to the chest and try to stay afloat.

Riku was strong, even if he couldn't swim.

It felt like forever - as though he'd been stuck in this saltwater nightmare forever - when his head smashed against wood.

It stung as much as the cold, but at least it brought the chest against his stomach.

He clung onto it in a death grip with one hand, the other clutching at wood desperately as they made the slow climb up the edge of the ship. It was rocking so much now that he all but fell onto the deck like a fish.

He kept a tight hold of the chest as he skidded across the planks.

There was another hand on it. Riku was helping him tug it over to the cabin. It slid the rest of the way as the ship lurched back up.

Sora leant against the door, panting and coughing up seawater. There was an overhang that kept them safe from the rain, if not the salt spray for just a moment.

Riku was breathing heavily too, staring at Sora as if he was mad. Maybe he was.

But they still had to get out of this storm.

The storm seemed never ending. It got to the point where Riku wondered if it followed the chest, and they would never be free of it.

But the thunder did start to fade away. The lightning slowed. The rain petered out into a trickle, and then stopped altogether.

They emerged from the water filled nightmare into the last golden dregs of evening. The sky was bruised purple and blue and gold.

It was still freezing.

Riku's limbs were shivering. He couldn't remember when they had begun shivering and he couldn't imagine them not shivering. He couldn't remember not having water running down his face or his hair plastered to him. He couldn't remember what it felt like not to be gripping on to Sora's shoulder, riding out the waves and trying not to throw the contents of his stomach up.

Now that the sea was calm, he felt wobbly. Like he was off-balance. His heart was still racing so loudly in his ears that it felt like he could still hear the rain. Still feel it against his skin if he tried hard enough.

Sora leant away from the wheel, back against Riku's arm. He was quivering too. His hair looked almost black and hung over his face. He looked up, rain running down his cheeks like tears and his eyes were blue – impossibly blue. After staring at the grey storm clouds and the grey sea for so long it was like seeing the sky for the first time.

And he was grinning. That was just as blinding.

It wasn't clear which of them moved first. But suddenly Sora was pressed against his chest and he was pressing Sora to his chest and they were just there – holding each other in a death grip. They were alive. They were alive and the ship was still afloat and there would be a tomorrow.

By the time Sora pulled away, Riku's heart was almost back to normal. He felt warmer too, but that was more from the realisation that hugging – Sora was hugging him. He was hugging Sora. They were hugging each other and he should have pulled away long ago. He shouldn't have let this happen.

Panic was curling the back of his throat by the time that he realised there was no one around. No one could see him. He wouldn't get in trouble for it.

"Thank you for taking care of my hat." Sora reached up and tugged it back off of Riku's head. He was still staring at him, still slightly stunned, his arms just over Sora's waist.

"W-well." His teeth were chattering too. "You are the Captain."

He received another grin. Sora clapped him on the shoulder, just hard enough to sting.

"Good show, Master Riku. You can be called a veteran of the sea now."

Riku heard himself give a shaky laugh, but his voice was far away.

And Sora was already moving away, tumbling down the stairs yet again in his hate to get down there. Riku followed, gripping the bannister carefully and taking his time.

Sora was hauling the chest away from the door of the cabin. He bent to examine it.

It was a strange thing, rounder than any chest Riku had ever seen, with golden gilt edges. It was a pattern of flowers that traced up the side, weaving into one another. The wood itself seemed almost as red as the Highwind's hull.

And of course, there was a huge, gold padlock on the thing.

"So we can't get in," Riku said.

"Oh, we can get in. I have a key."

"How did you get that?"

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you."

"I'm starting to broaden my horizons."

But Sora just shook his head and ran his hands over the edge of the chest. Gold – it was solid gold lining it.

"Is this a good time to say that the box part of Pandora's box is actually a mistranslation, and it was actually a jar?"

"Look at you." Sora grinned up at him, cheeks still raw from the cold. "Clever enough for Harrow, aren't you?"

Which just made Riku's stomach clench tightly in on itself.

Sora opened the door to the cabin, and immediately Donald flew out again, with ruffled feathers. This time, though, his tail was wagging and he was leaping up at Sora. His quacks were slower, though just as frequent.

The duck was caught in mid-air, and Sora brought him up to face height. Donald's beak checked him over, as though looking for any damage. When he was satisfied, he rested his head on Sora's shoulder, still quacking and wagging his tail.

Sora soothed down Donald's feathers, smiling and murmuring that it was okay, he was okay.

Goofy ran out of the door too, pressing himself against Sora's legs and panting. He leant down, letting Goofy rest his head on his other shoulder and putting an arm around him.

It was incredible. They all seemed to really care for each other. A dog, a duck and a boy.

Then a small, black shape came running out of the cabin too. It climbed up the side of the chest until it was sat on top of it, and Riku recognised a bedraggled looking King Mickey. He blinked up at him, then tilted his head to the side and started cleaning his ears.

"Hey," Riku murmured, feeling foolish. This was a mouse. He was talking to a mouse. He held out his fingers, instead, and Mickey sniffed them. "You okay down here?"

The mouse climbed onto his hand, and he still cringed at the feeling of those tiny hands on his bare skin. But Mickey was looking at him with such bright eyes that he could ignore it. He climbed underneath the cuff of Riku's sleeve, pressing himself into the warm wrist. If he was a cat, Riku was sure he would be purring.

Sora had to carry both the huge dog and the duck into the cabin with him, reappearing with a large, key in his hand. Riku had never seen a key with such a strange ridge to it before.

But Sora paused as he crouched in front of the chest, the key hovering above the lock. Donald and Goofy, either side of him, stared impatiently.

"What's wrong?" Riku leant down too, though it meant being uncomfortably close to Goofy, who managed to stink of wet dog despite being dry.

"It's just," Sora faltered. "This chest is meant to have hope in it. That's what all of the legends say about it. That it contains hope. What if – what if I open it and…it's empty?"

Riku thought about that. "You know, it would be a lot easier to comfort you if I knew what you were looking for."

"I'm looking for…" Sora ran a finger over the lock. Donald pecked at the back of his hand in either impatience or encouragement. "A sign."

Which was just as vague, honestly.

Goofy nuzzled Sora's hand too, and he jerked the key into the hole.

It twisted easily, but it took both of them straining on the lid to be able to get it open. (King Mickey escaped from Riku's shirt and watched all of this from the side lines.)

Riku almost dropped the lid again when he saw what was curled up inside the huge chest.

It was a girl.

A sleeping girl with sun kissed skin and hair so impossibly blonde that it shone like moonlight. She was curled up, barefoot, in just a white dress that showed ankles – shins – knees. Riku didn't think he'd ever seen so much of a girl's body before.

Girl's seemed to be shaped very much like boys. He couldn't see the excitement over it. Apart from the bump beneath her collarbones, she looked just like anyone else.

Well, it still seemed like she was shining, which was – different.

He looked to Sora. Who was staring into the chest with just as much amazement, his eyebrows pinched together as though he couldn't quite believe what he was seeing.

"Is this a sign?" Riku asked. Dreaming. He must have been dreaming. He must have died in the storm and this was – death?

The girl stirred in her sleep, eyes moving beneath dark lashes.

"I don't know," Sora replied. He reached out a hand, as though to tuck a strand of her hair back behind her ear, then drew it away.

It was Riku who reached in, feeling his gut twist as he tried to get his hands underneath her body to lift her out. She was warm – impossibly warm, dry – and incredibly light. He lifted her with ease, letting her head flop against his shoulder as he stood.

He carried her into the cabin and Sora followed, holding back Goofy with one hand and still holding Donald in the other, watching as Riku lowered the girl into his hammock. She stirred again, her breath hitched, and then she kept on sleeping.

Sora put his hat down on the table. He was still soaked, both of them were, and they were making puddles on the wooden boards.

"We'll let her sleep." Sora's voice was soft. He was staring at his hands like they would give him the answer.

"What is she?"

Sora shook his head. "I don't know what the right question to ask is. I don't know whether we should be asking 'who is she?'" He paused again, speaking haltingly, as though he had forgotten that Riku was there –

"And why does she look like who I'm trying to find?"

(A/N): Thank you for the positive feedback! I'm writing pretty far ahead so I'm excited to start unravelling this plot and the mysteries.

Honestly, guest comment - if you don't care for SoRiku, don't read a fic with SoRiku in the title.