The Gummiphone only rings once before a familiar face appears before Sora. He looks sweaty, and exhausted, but the faint curve of his lips tells Sora that Riku is happy to see him.
"You'll never believe this place, Riku," Sora says, launching into his story before even sparing a greeting. As usual. "There's technology everywhere! There's all these lit-up signs and electric trains and the weapons they have here- they're amazing! Wasabi has these knives made out of light and Go Go has these, I don't know what she called them, frictionless skates? She's so fast you can barely see her!"
Riku chuckles breathily. "Yeah? Seems like you're having fun over there." He sits down onto a dark purple-y rock, and Sora sees the King give him a friendly wave in the background. "Where even are you?" he asks.
"It's called San Fransokyo, and it's amazing! I met this team-"
"Big Hero 6? I saw your post."
"Yeah, them! They're incredible, Riku, you wouldn't believe it. Hiro flies around on Baymax's back, and the buildings are so tall!" Sora stretches and rests himself on his arms, moving the phone in a circle around him to show Riku everything. "I'm up on top of a huge one, right now. I can see everything! I wish you could be here, too." He turns the camera back to himself, and Riku really does look amazed, too.
"I've never seen anything like it. Everything looks electric or mechanized there."
"Except the bay," Sora says, sighing. "Reminds me of home, a little."
"Yeah," Riku says quietly, eyes slightly glazed over. "Home." He shakes himself out of his reverie. "What else is there?"
"They've set up this amazing obstacle course that uses these light rings and, um, virtual reality, I think? Man, I wish I could do this kind of stuff," Sora says.
"You?" Riku laughs, a long and hearty noise that somehow reminds Sora of bells. "You can barely even work your Gummiphone!"
"Hey! That's-" Sora almost drops his phone on the ground, watching it flip through his hands. "That's fair." Riku laughs even harder, and Sora joins in. "So where are you?"
"Uh-" Riku looks around, turning his phone to show Sora some more of the precarious rock formations. They're as dark as a night sky, and thin and craggy. "We're taking a break at a sort of set of cliffs, I think? The King says up ahead there's a kind of cavelike clearing."
Sora furrows his eyebrows. "How can something be a cave and a clearing?"
"Guess I'll find out when I get there."
"So, if he knows, I guess he's been there before?" Sora smiles encouragingly at his best friend. "That's a good sign!"
"I hope so," Riku says, but he gives a little smile, too. "I can't really describe it, but it feels like we'll find Aqua soon."
"That's great!" Sora says, and takes a deep breath, letting his eyes close as a cool breeze off the bay ruffles his hair.
"You tired?" Riku teases, and Sora grunts.
"It's great to go to all these different worlds and all, but to be honest, I'm kind of exhausted. This in the first time in days I've gotten a chance to rest, and with the sunset and the water, I don't know, it almost feels like I'm home." There's a stretching sky behind him, rolling from yellow to scarlet to a bright pink and finally tinged with a deep indigo at the edges. Off to the side, Big Hero 6 and Donald and Goofy are chatting excitedly amongst each other. Honey Lemon gives Sora a little wave, and he grins in return.
"It seems like you've been to a bunch of pretty exciting places, at least," Riku says, and Sora's attention snaps back to him.
"Oh, yeah! There's been so much. Being a toy was crazy, but really fun, too. And I've made some great new friends! Elsa really reminded me of you, and I think you'd really like Eugene and Rapunzel," Sora says.
"From what I saw, she seemed a little like Kairi," Riku says with a smile.
"A little bit! When this is all over, I'm gonna take both of you to Corona. You have to see it! The pictures definitely weren't enough."
"Speaking of pictures," Riku says, a devious smirk forming on his face. "I saw those ones from Monstropolis, and I have to say... you look ridiculous as a monster."
"Hey!" Sora says, scrunching up his face. "Rude!"
"I mean that's good, right? You said they're supposed to be funny, and you've definitely got that covered."
Sora huffs playfully. "I bet you'd look even worse."
"As a monster?" Riku muses. "You know, you're right. Fifteen-year-old me didn't look great," he says wryly.
Sora softens. "Don't be so hard on yourself. But..." he grins at Riku, "you really did have an atrocious attitude."
"Haven't you two Riku says exasperatedly. "I'm surprised you even know that word."
Sora sticks his tongue out. "Me 'n Kairi will never stop teasing you about that."
"I guess that's fair," Riku says, then looks off to the side for a minute, looking thoughtful. "I wonder how she is."
"I hope she's doing okay. You know, I think she'd like it here too- she and Honey Lemon would definitely get along. Her science-y stuff is so interesting, and they're really similar!"
"Yeah? Even if Kairi asks a million questions?"
"She's got more energy than anyone I've ever met. Including Tidus. I bet she'd have even more questions for Kairi."
"It sounds like they'd get along great," Riku says, aquamarine eyes shining with something like reminiscence. "I miss her enthusiasm."
"Me too," Sora says somberly. "I haven't seen her in," Sora stops here to count on his fingers, "almost five months. It's been too long since all of us got to hang out."
"Yeah," Riku says. "She seemed to be doing really well when I saw her a little while ago. Asked how you were, and told me she liked my hair better this way." He seems to subconsciously tug on a stray silver lock. "I think she's settling into being a Keyblade wielder really well, though I can't say I'm surprised."
"Me either. She'll probably be better than both of us, one day."
"If she stops slacking off with you," Riku says, looking amused.
"That was one time!" Sora says through peals of laughter.
"One time while we were building the raft," Riku says, but he's chuckling too.
Their laughter rings off into the distance and fades among the buildings and the water, the last of the sun's rays sparkling off the surface and letting the starry blue overtake the night. Sora lets out a yawn without meaning to.
"You should go get some rest," Riku says, "and I should get going."
"Mm," Sora mumbles, wishing he could prolong the brief moments he got with Riku. "I'm really glad I got to talk to you. I wish you could see all this."
Riku just smiles, a soft turning up of the corner of his mouth, and Sora feels a warmth spreading through his chest. "I'll have to take you here someday."
"I'd like that," Riku says quietly, his eyes trying not to show how tired they were, but also softer than he let most people see them. "Hopefully we'll see each other soon."
"Promise," Sora says, and the warmth is still there long after he's hung up.
AN: I'm finishing up a replay of the original Kingdom Hearts and my sister is starting to play KH2 and this is a product of that. I really wish we'd gotten to call Riku during KH3 more often, so I wrote it myself! Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little oneshot, and favorites and comments are always appreciated!