As Sora ran along the path, his breath hung visible in the crisp night air with in little puffs with each exhale. A few tears still streamed down his cheeks, falling to the ground every so often. His mind was filled with so much information, but there was just one concrete thought in his mind: find Riku. The citadel was the last place he saw him, making it the first place he went to. Outside the alabaster walls, he looked around wildly. He stooped down to rest his hands on his knees, feeling a burning sensation in his lungs from running all the way here. His body was protesting any more movement, but that didn't matter right now. He gasped, when he gazed up and noticed the familiar silvery hair reflecting the moonlight way up on top of the spiraling tower. Sora started pacing, trying to figure out just how he'd get up there. He wasn't an elf. He couldn't just gracefully scale the tower like Riku probably had.
"Need a lift?" Sora visibly jumped at the sudden voice right behind him. He started to fall backwards but was stopped by two hands on his shoulders. As quick as he could, he rubbed at his eyes to get rid of any remaining tears. As calmly as he could, he turned around to see a dark haired elf smiling at him. He glanced from her to where Riku was a few times.
"Oh, um, sure..if you could. I'm Sora by the way," he said, hoping his voice didn't waver too much.
"Yuffie. It's nice to meet you. You're in luck. In terms of agility, I'm one of the best."
Sora didn't get much time to react as she easily hoisted him over her shoulder. The next thing he saw was the ground getting further and further away as she started jumping along the tower. Sora covered his mouth as he knew he was inevitably going to scream. Squeezing his eyes shut, he waited until he was back on his feet on some kind of solid ground. Yuffie looked rather proud of herself, getting bewildered looks from both Sora and Riku who wasn't expecting her to come flying up out of nowhere.
"There!" She glared right at Riku. "And don't even think of running off somewhere else. I am fully prepared to play scavenger hunt if that's the case."
Riku grumbled something under his breath and sat back down, though his eyes softened a bit at seeing Sora. Had he..been crying? He quickly cast his gaze elsewhere, rubbing his fingers along the rough surface of the tower. Yuffie nodded to Sora before vanishing off somewhere else.
Sora stood there for a moment, twiddling his fingers. He grimaced when he could still see flashes of what Riku had looked like before when he looked at him, though the feeling was starting to fade somewhat. Still, there was a strange connection between them, and it wasn't just from what the crystal had showed him. Taking a shaky breath, he willed his legs to move forward and took a seat by Riku.
"Um..hey," he said softly. How was he even supposed to start a conversation like this? There were so many questions..so many things he wanted to say that he felt like his head was going to explode.
"So, the crystal showed you everything? Everything you were curious about?" There was a sound of defeat in his voice. It was soft but also hollow sounding.
"Some stuff, yeah. A lot of it was from your perspective..and.." Sora really couldn't help the tears now, already sniffling. "Riku, I'm so sorry you had to go through all that. I-I didn't know."
"It's my own fault." Riku shifted slightly away from Sora, keeping his eyes on the moon. "I wanted to seek out power to make a place where my people..everyone can live in peace. I thought maybe I'd learn something..a truce or something, but I was so wrong, and I nearly lost myself in the process. You and Kairi have a destiny. This is where our paths diverge. Go and save everyone where I failed."
Sora had started to reach out his hand towards him but faltered, pulling it back close to his chest.
"But you kept going afterwards, and you got even stronger. I mean, look at your new keyblade! It's huge and strong just like you. We all fall..in one way or another. I mean, I slept through most of this. I feel awful, knowing that people were dying and suffering, and I was just blissfully asleep. What's important is how you get back up after you fall." Sora's voice was warbled by sobs, wiping his eyes every so often. There was the dull pain of seeing Riku closing himself off and knowing things that he could've prevented.
"And what did I get in return? Strength, sure, but I also gained distrust. There are always bets going around as to whether or not I'll return to Xehanort's side. I'm just..caught in the middle." He finally turned to face Sora, brows furrowed. Part of him wanted to reach out and wipe his tears away, but..this was for the best. "I've accepted this fate of mine, and you should accept yours."
"And what? Stay here where I'm safe from the dangerous outside world? Where I can't be corrupted? I've had enough of that already! I know you don't believe what you're saying. We have a connection..one that seems older than what we are now. I don't know what it is, but in the visions from the crystal, I saw a weird emblem hovering above you. You were standing over me as I slept. So, explain that to me, Riku." Sora mirrored his pissed off look, indignantly crossing his arms. There was a fire to his eyes as watery as they were. He hated talking to him like this, but he needed to be firm.
Riku's eyes widened at the mention of it, backing away slightly.
"It's nothing for you to worry about. It's not like it matters much now. Just..please..leave me be." With trembling hands, he clutched onto his hair, starting to curl up into a ball. These feelings..
"Please, Riku. You know you can open up to me. We've been through so much already. I know you don't want our time together to end here. I know you've been hurt, and you've had to go through a lot of stuff alone. I know you're afraid of what I'll think, but I promise you it's okay. I'm here for you." Sora stopped moving towards him when he noticed Riku scooting further away.
"Sora, please just leave me alone. Go get some sleep."
"Riku, we can-" Sora's vision went dark as Riku reached out, placing two fingers on his forehead and whispering "Maer." Sora quickly fell forward into his arms, fast asleep instantly.
Sora woke up with a start, looking around wildly as the last thing he remembered was being on top of the tower with Riku. It seemed to be a bedroom, finding himself in a bed with the morning sun shining in through some large glass doors. All he could see out of the glass were blurry colors from the trees outside: an opaque glass. Did Riku..make him go to sleep. Finding Riku was the only thing on his mind. No way was he just going to give up. He threw the covers off of him and immediately hopped out of the bed.
Despite looking everywhere he could think Riku would be, he was nowhere to be found.
Already out of breath, he took a seat on a small hill overlooking the woods. Why was Riku pushing him away when they were already getting so close? He focused on the trees and the way the wind moved the branches about. Closing his eyes, he listened to the melody it created, similar to what he used to do back at home. He opened one eye when he heard footsteps and the sound of someone sitting by him. He was expecting it to be Kairi or maybe Aqua, nearly falling over when he saw Elf King Terra. He reminded Sora of Riku in a way..at least in build like geez, he was buff.
"O-oh! Hello, your majesty!" Sora immediately stood up straight.
"Haha, hello, Sora. You can just call me Terra. It's okay, really," Terra laughed. He leaned his weight back on one hand in a more relaxed pose. "I'm guessing you've been looking for Riku. He's probably hiding out somewhere in the woods. I would know if he just left."
"That's a relief at least. I just..wish he'd talk to me, but I guess he still feels bad about what he did." Sora drew his knees up close to his chest, resting his chin on them. He squinted at the horizon, trying to find something to focus on.
"He was in rough shape when he returned, and that's a pretty big understatement. Beaten and bloodied..hair sliced up. I don't know how he made it all the way here on his own. He told us Ven and Roxas headed to the Twilight Realm. I can only hope they made it there safely," Terra sighed with a forlorn look, scratching his forehead. "Riku just needs time to simmer. Give him a few days. I'm sure he'll come around. I can tell he really cares about you. He probably didn't want you to find out the ugly truth and feels ashamed."
"I understand. I just wish I could help him feel better, but I know the feeling." Sora placed a hand over his heart. He hadn't seen all of what had happened while he was asleep, but the crystal had showed him enough bits and pieces.
"Actually, I think I know the perfect time for you two to reconnect." He saw Terra's face light up. "In a few days, we're going to have a dance. I guess you'd call it a ball. It's to celebrate the upcoming harvest, and the season shifting into autumn. It's customary for princes from this kingdom and the visiting one to dance. Since you're technically the prince of your kingdom, you and Riku will dance as it's customary. That should give him time to sort through his own thoughts. If all goes well, maybe he'll open up to you."
"D-dancing? Uh, one problem, though: I don't know the first thing about ballroom dancing." Sure, it was a great idea, but Sora felt like he'd just piss Riku off more by stepping on his feet.
"No worries. I can have Aqua show you the basics. It's really not all that hard," Terra chuckled, bumping Sora's arm. "Come on, you want to impress Riku, right?"
Sora took a deep breath, opening his eyes to flash a determined smile. "Alright, I'll give it a try!"
Sora put all his effort into at least becoming decent at formal dancing the next three days. Of course, Kairi seemed to be naturally good at it, making a face whenever Sora accidentally stepped on her feet which was more than a few times. Eventually, he got to the level of being "okay" at it as Kairi described. Aqua gave him a nod of approval at the last run through.
"You don't need to worry too much. Riku will most likely lead. You just need to follow his movements."
Between the dance lessons, he didn't see much of Kairi since she spent most of her time watching over Xion as she recovered. On the last day, Sora decided to pay a visit seeing as there wasn't much else to do since Riku was still avoiding him. Xion lied on a small slab, slightly submerged in some sort of water. The room was quiet besides the song of birds outside, and the water running into the pool. Along with Kairi, he noticed an elf there: the one they first met when entering this place.
"Oh, hey..Cloud, right?" Sora timidly walked up, trying his best to keep eye contact despite the intimidating gaze. "Have you been watching over Xion?"
"Yeah. Only because someone needs to be here in case she woke up and tried to escape. Did you forget she's not on your side?" He quickly looked somewhere else when Kairi glared at him. "It's just a precaution."
"Well, I'm sure she appreciates someone keeping an eye on her," Sora chuckled. He sat by Kairi, looking over her curiously. Every now and then, she'd move her eyebrows slightly which must be a good sign. She was dreaming.
"The healers said she should wake up any day now. They said when someone has a major change of heart, they have vivid dreams, so I guess that must be what she's doing." With the gentlest touch, Kairi moved a strand of hair out of her face.
"Before her fight with Riku, she seemed to really enjoy dancing with you. I'm sure she'll be happy to see you when she wakes up. Hopefully, she'll maybe be on our side." Seeing Xion was a good distraction given that Sora was solely focused on reconnecting with Riku.
"So, are you prepared for the dance? I'm sure Riku will come around. I'll drag him to this event if I have to." Kairi gave him an encouraging smile which quickly turned into a smirk as she made a punching motion.
"Haha, I don't think there's anyone who can escape you. Thanks. I'm sure it'll go fine. I have faith in Riku." Sora looked to the sun outside, watching it dip lower and lower towards the horizon. "Well, I guess I better go prepare, get dressed up, that sort of thing. Will I see you there?"
"Yeah, I may be a bit late, but I'll be there. Promise." Kairi held out her pinky to Sora. He grinned and wrapped his pinky around it.
"See you there, then. Wish me luck!"
Sora was glad they at least left him a choice of outfits, seeing a few laid out on the bed. Giving it some thought, he went with pants that were pretty much the same as the ones he was wearing that came up to his knees. The shirt was a v-neck to show off his necklace, the collar gilded with some gold colored material. Lastly, he chose a black and red jacket to wear over it. Looking in the mirror, he fixed his hair as much as he could, wanting to look at least somewhat nice, maybe mostly for Riku. With a final breath, he walked out, following where everyone else was going.
The main hall had lights strewn about the ceiling which Sora guessed must've been magical fire given the different colors. The whole place reminded him of some sort of mystical garden: the lights like the stars in the night sky with trees and flowering plants lining the walls which were covered by ivy vines that spiraled up the columns as well. The hall was filled with chatter as it seemed nearly everyone in this small kingdom were here. He waved when he noticed Aqua, wearing a dark suit that shimmered underneath the lights. He immediately stopped in his tracks when he saw who else was with her. Those usual topaz eyes focused on Sora. Aqua smirked, moving out of the way some. Sora felt like he could die where he stood and be happy. Riku's black pants hugged his legs oh so well, wearing a button up shirt, though most of the top buttons were undone. Against the exposed part of his chest hung a necklace with a brilliant deep blue gem. Sora couldn't help but focus his gaze right on that gem, and well..his chest too. He nearly squeaked as he noticed Riku approaching him as music started to play. He still said nothing as he held his hand out to him with a courteous bow. Sora, not really sure how this whole formal dance thing worked, mirrored the motion.
"H-hey, so how do we do this?" Sora wanted to say so many things since he had barely seen him at all since their argument, but he supposed this dance came first..to break the ice at least.
"Just take my hand," Riku sighed. Sora could've sworn there was a hint of a smile. He gulped, nodding as he slowly took Riku's hand, feeling the other's warmth against it. Having done this many times, Riku wrapped his other arm around Sora's waist, though he kept his hand more towards the middle of his back, pulling him closer in. "Place your other hand on my shoulder."
Sora could feel sweat building up on the back of his neck, simply nodding at the little commands. He tried his best to keep his eyes from wandering. Riku's chest being right there wasn't helping. "Just follow my movements."
Riku's hand on his back did help with guiding him. All the practice he had before was out the window at this point. It did not prepare him for being this close to Riku. As the music sped up, Riku effortlessly kept up with the tempo, keeping his eyes on Sora. Their movements were rigid at first, but as they started to get comfortable with the positioning, they began to dance together more than one just following the other's motions. There was that strange connection again. Sora felt a pull towards Riku, somehow able to know just how he moved. Given the look in Riku's eyes, he must be able to feel it too. By the middle of the song, they were both smiling. Sensing higher confidence in Sora, Riku tried a few new moves as the music went. There was applause as Riku effortlessly twirled him even executing a few lifts, much to Sora's embarrassment. His face turned bright red with Riku's hands on his waist for the lifts. Though his heart was pounding, Sora laughed along with him.
As the song came to an end, Riku carefully dipped him. One arm held Sora in place while the other stretched out gracefully. Their chests rose and fell as they stayed completely still in that position, simply gazing at each other. They could barely hear the applause in the background, solely focused on one another.
Clearing his throat, Riku finally helped Sora up, finishing it up by respectfully bowing again. Before Sora had a chance to say anything, Riku took his hand again, gazing at him longingly before leading him along towards a far corner of the hall. No words had been spoken between the two of them the whole dance, but it felt like their movements had said much more than words ever could. Without any resistance, he let Riku lead him along, going by the columns that led outside.
"Sora..I.." There was a warmth in his voice once again.
"Riku, you don't need to apologize." Sora took hold of both of his hands. "I shouldn't have pushed you to talk. I should've respected your boundaries and all you've been through. I was trying to deal with what I had seen."
"Well, I didn't have to be an asshole about it," Riku sighed, squeezing Sora's hands slightly. "I guess I still feel ashamed that I fell so low. I didn't want you to see that even though I knew you inevitably would. I'm guessing the crystal didn't show you everything." Though it pained him to remember, Sora deserved to know the truth. He could trust Sora. He knew he could.
"It showed me flashes of memories. You don't have to tell me. I got the gist from what I saw."
"My time there isn't all I need to tell you. You must've felt it, especially when we were dancing. We danced like we had done it a thousand times. You noticed it, right?" Riku still felt butterflies in his stomach. He had Sora sit down with him. He let go of his hands so he could lace his own fingers together. "I'll start with the connection. It turns out I'm something that's called a Dream Eater. I connect with peoples' dreams, but it turns out I'm only connected to one person: you. I've been watching you through your dreams ever since..well, I'm not exactly sure how long or why. When I was in Oblivion, Xehanort took an interest in this ability, thinking it could be used to get to the other Sleeping Kingdoms. He wouldn't believe me when I said you were the only one I was connected with, and I wasn't sure if I could even forge other connections. When he finally found that I would be useless for his plan as well as my own plan to get Ventus and Roxas out of there, he sent Vanitas after me. I stood my ground and fought, but you must've seen my keyblade break. It was a fight for survival at that point. I sliced my hair to get free, I was pretty much beaten to a pulp, and it would've been worse if Ventus and Roxas hadn't intervened. I'm not really sure how I made it back home. My vision was red. I could barely keep my head up, and a stinging pain would jolt down my spine when I turned my neck the wrong way. Since Unversed and Heartless were pursuing us, we made a decision to split up; however, it seems they're still not done with getting me in their clutches." Riku had to take a few breaks while talking, mostly trying to sort through the fuzzy memories since he hadn't been in an exactly proper state of mind during that. Seeing that his hand was shaking, Sora held onto it without hesitation, holding it close to his face.
"How dare they. How could they be so cruel? I..I just don't understand it."
"It's mostly Xehanort. With his power, Vanitas and everyone else does what he says. I doubt Vanitas wanted to take it that far, or I at least hope he has at least a husk of a conscience. He wants to please his father and have that same power. There's no doubt we'll run into him when we go back outside. Are you prepared for that?" Riku still had qualms with bringing Sora and Kairi back out there, but given their combined determination, there was no way he could keep them here.
"I'm prepared. I'll follow you wherever you go. I have to see them pay for what they did."
Seeing that serious look, Riku sighed in defeat. There was no way he could say no to that face. The sudden hug took him off guard, making him nearly fall backwards and eventually wrapped his arms around Sora.
"Now that you told me..about the dream eater thing..I always did feel someone else with me in my dreams. I always felt safe, like I was never truly alone." Sora gazed up at him with sparkling eyes. Riku noted the few seconds where they focused on his lips.
"W-well, yeah. It's not like I could really help it. It's like I was pulled to you," he stammered, trying to read what was going on. Sora's face was definitely getting closer. For a moment, he was prepared to close his eyes and wait for whatever was about to happen.
"You always watched over me.." Sora's eyelids fluttered as he leaned in ever so slowly, hands gliding up to rest on Riku's shoulders. His lips drew closer and closer..
"Well, looks like you guys made up, huh?"
Both of them jolted with Sora falling off of Riku, whipping around with burning cheeks to see Kairi standing there smugly.
"K-Kairi! Hey! Yeah, we did. I was just..hugging him!" Sora was starting to babble on while Riku just sat there completely stunned. His brain was attempting to process what had almost happened, though he managed a half hearted wave at Kairi. He cocked his head to the side when he noticed someone else with her: a girl with short black hair, dressed in the same clothes they had brought her in with.