There was no way that text meant what he thought it meant. Definitely not. It was just harmless flirting like always. Riku wouldn't really punish him if he was late.

"Sora."

He didn't need to be so nervous. Nothing was going to happen. They were just friends, after all.

"Sora?"

Really, really flirtatious friends. But that was normal, right? Friends flirted, didn't they? He flirted with Kairi, after all, and that was just for fun just like how he flirted with Riku. Kairi was a girl, though. Did that make a difference? And he flirted with Riku way more than he ever flirted with Kairi. The amount of flirting meant something, right?

Ugh, this was all so complicated. Emotions were stupid. Just because Riku had a great smile and he was a little taller than Sora and athletic with those muscles Sora could barely manage to take his eyes off of, and those stupid green-blue eyes that made him blush like an embarrassed little girl and did he really have to mention the older boy's hair?

Oh, crap. Am…am I…in like with Riku?

"Sora!"

"What?" The brunet practically jumped out of his bed, blue eyes wide. Roxas pointed at the clock.

"Aren't you supposed to be at Riku's in five minutes?"

Sora's eyes widened even further. "Crap!" Frantic, he threw his pajamas and clothes for tomorrow into his bag, along with his toothbrush and his laptop. "Argh, why didn't I pack earlier?!"

Rolling his eyes, Roxas watched his twin with amusement and mild curiosity. "What's the rush? It's just Riku."

"Because!" The word was shouted as Sora nearly fell while trying to put on his shoes. "He'll punish me if I'm late!"

"Punish?" Roxas repeated, but it was too late. His twin was already gone, bag slung haphazardly over his shoulder and his coat half on as he sprinted down the hall.

Crap, crap, crap, crap, crap! Please don't be late, please don't be late!

He burst through the doors of the freshman dorm hall and raced towards the sophomore hall, his coat still only half on, but he didn't notice the cold. All his focus was on the lights glowing through the lobby windows of the hall he was running towards.

The door opened as he drew near and Sora hurtled through without slowing, which led him to nearly slip and almost fall as his snow-covered shoes searched for traction on the tile floor. Just as he was about to crash into one of the lobby chairs, a hand grabbed his wrist and pulled, swinging him around, and suddenly he found himself face-to-face with none other than Riku. He was so startled that he didn't immediately notice the arm around his waist or that his chest was pressed against the older boy's as Riku continued to hold his wrist. When he did finally realize how very close he was to the other student, a dark blush spread over his cheeks and he lowered his gaze away from those seriously mesmerizing teal eyes. Bad move. The next thing his eyes landed on was Riku's mouth, the lips twitched up in a smirk that made Sora's heart thud. Being pressed up against Riku, Sora was sure the older boy could feel his heart beating so hard it might crack a rib, and from the way Riku's smirk turned into an outright grin, he knew exactly how the brunet was reacting to the situation.

"Calling it a bit close, aren't you, Brat?"

In vain, Sora tried to free his wrist from the silver-haired athlete's grasp as he looked at anything but Riku. "W-what?"

"It's 12:01. You were almost late, but lucky for you I opened the door and you barely made it inside by midnight. Guess that means I don't get to punish you…yet." The last bit was purred in a seductive tone that made Sora feel flustered and nervous and much too warm.

"U-um…" he stuttered, not knowing what else to say.

Riku laughed and stepped back, removing his arm from the shorter boy's waist though he didn't release Sora's wrist. Grateful, the brunet let out a breath and slumped a little in relief; he'd managed to escape the threat he'd been dreading for the last eleven-and-a-half hours.

"Come on, Brat." Riku grinned, finally releasing Sora's wrist and instead wrapping his arm around the shorter boy's shoulders. "I've got work for you to do."

Despite the relief he'd felt moments ago. Sora felt his stomach sink at the statement. What had he gotten himself into this time?

"You've got to be kidding me!"

"Nope."

"You seriously want me to clean up this whole mess? It looks like you have a tornado for a roommate!"

"Don't be dramatic, Sora. I just haven't bothered cleaning up after myself over the last week."

"This is only from a week?"

Riku grinned. "I may have been a bit messier than usual."

"Why?" Sora demanded, still not quite ready to accept the task he'd been assigned.

"You didn't think I was going to make this easy for you, did you?"

Speechless, Sora stared at the older boy in disbelief. He'd gone out of his way and made this huge mess just so he could make Sora clean it up for him? In that case, Sora really didn't want to know what his punishment for being late would have been. Just cleaning Riku's dorm was a daunting chore. The bed wasn't made and it looked like the blankets had mostly been pulled out. Dirty dishes were piled in the sink, stacks of books and papers lay on and around the sophomore's desk waiting to be sorted, and there were clothes and trash everywhere.

With a sigh, Sora moved towards the bed. It was a good place to start and then at least Riku would have somewhere to be that wouldn't be in Sora's way.

"Oh, I almost forgot."

Sora looked up as Riku went to the walk-in closet, suspicious. Now what?

The older boy rifled through the contents of his closet, muttering under his breath. Finally, he found what he was looking for and stepped back out into the room, holding it up before him with the biggest smirk Sora had ever seen. Then the brunet turned his attention to what Riku was holding. His jaw dropped.

"No. No, no, no, no! I am not wearing that, Riku!"

"Yes, you are. Now, be a good boy and get dressed before I dress you myself."

"Screw you! I'm not doing it!"

"Fine."

Before Sora had a chance to make a run for it, the older boy tackled him to the ground, easily catching both of Sora's wrists in one hand and pinning them. With his other hand, he pushed the brunet's shirt up to reveal his stomach then chest as Sora struggled and yelled his defiance. Cold air on his torso made the younger boy fight even harder, though it was no use. His shirt was removed completely within the next few moments and then Riku's hand had moved down to open his belt.

"S-seriously, Riku, knock it if! This isn't funny!" Tears of frustration and embarrassment were pricking at his eyes and his voice was on the verge of cracking.

His belt slid free of the belt loops on his jeans and Sora tried to pull his legs closer to his body.

"All right, all right! I'll wear it!" he surrendered, desperate for anything that would stop Riku from stripping him. "Just get off!"

"Are you going to behave?" Riku looked like he was trying not to laugh at how red Sora's face was.

"…yes."

"Good." As if that was all he wanted to hear, Riku got up and tossed Sora's shirt and belt into the corner where the brunet's bag and coat were. "Finish changing then get to work. You're my slave until midnight tomorrow, so don't forget who the boss is."

Sora rolled his eyes and stood, snatching his "uniform" off the floor and stalking into the closet to change. This was ridiculous. It was humiliating. He would never have done something like that to Riku if he'd been the one to win the bet. Why did he ever have to come up with this stupid Slave-for-a-Day thing? Ugh.

Once he was changed, he didn't want to leave the closet. He knew he looked horrible and he didn't want Riku to see him like this. It was too embarrassing.

"Hurry up, Brat. This dorm isn't going to clean itself."

"Riku," Sora whined through the closet door, "please, don't make me do this."

"You don't like what I picked for you?"

"N-no, it's just…um…"

The door opened and he turned away shyly, wrapping his arms around his exposed torso in an attempt to shield himself from Riku's eyes.

"You look fine, Sora."

Wait…he hadn't called him "Brat"? And he sounded…comforting?

Peeking up through his eyelashes, Sora met Riku's gaze and smiled nervously. "Really?"

"Really. That looks good on you."

Somewhat reassured but still uncomfortable, Sora turned and dropped his arms so Riku had a clear view of him. "But…isn't it…?"

The older boy's eyes raked over him, making Sora want to shiver, but he forced himself to remain still. "What?"

"Kind of…slutty?"

Both boys looked at Sora's attire, examining the bright blue short-shorts that barely concealed his ass—he couldn't even wear his boxers under them—and the black suspenders attached to them stretching over his shoulders. Riku shrugged.

"There's a matching blue collar, if that'll make you feel better."

Oh, mother of…

Sora felt like he was about to shrivel up and die of embarrassment. "You…you bought a collar?"

"It came with the shorts. There's shoes, too, but you don't need those since we'll be inside for the entire twenty-four hours."

"When did you buy all this?" the brunet asked, not entirely sure he wanted to know. "Where?"

The older boy shrugged again. "I ordered it online about a week ago. It just got here yesterday."

Even though that seemed like a lot of effort for something as silly as the bet they'd made over midterms, Sora said nothing more as he left the closet and tossed his discarded clothes into the same corner as his other belongings. He still felt exposed, but at least Riku wasn't forcing him to wear the collar. It was only for twenty-four hours. He could do this as long as he didn't do something to earn a punishment from his silver-haired friend.

Riku watched as Sora crossed the room and bent over the bed, smirking, his eyes practically glued to the way the shorts rode up with every little movement. Maybe it was a little much, buying the outfit and forcing the younger boy to wear it, but it was too late to change his mind. Besides, he hadn't been lying when he said it looked good on the brunet, and at least he hadn't pushed his luck with the collar.

Face it, buddy. You've got the hots for the kid, that's why you've got him practically naked while he cleans your dorm. Looks like Kairi was right about you. Well, partially.

With nothing better to do, the silver-haired boy sat in the chair set up before his TV and turned on his gaming system, though he often glanced over to watch Sora work and admire the younger boy's body while he played. It made him feel like a pervert, dressing Sora the way he had and then watching him with what was probably a grin or smirk, but he didn't care. He was tired of all this flirting without knowing for sure if it was serious or silly, and this weekend, he was making his move.

Pulling at the shorts in an attempt to get them to stop riding up, Sora finished making Riku's bed then sighed. He looked around at the rest of the room and decided the next step would be to gather all the dirty clothes and put them in the hamper he'd seen in the closet, then pick up the trash. Another sigh escaped him as he began picking up the scattered articles of clothes, and he got Riku watching him; his cheeks heated with a blush.

"What?"

"Nothing. Just checking on your progress."

Sora smiled playfully. "Oh, is that why you were staring at my ass?"

"It's hard to ignore, especially in those shorts," the older boy shot back with a smirk, and to his amusement, Sora turned so his back was to Riku and looked at his backside over his shoulder.

"This outfit is definitely slutty."

"Then I guess it's a good thing you make a sexy little slut."

Pretending to be shocked and offended, Sora put his hands on his hips and huffed then went back to picking up the clothes, now making sure his movements were slow and deliberate just because he knew Riku was watching. He even went as far as to stretch his back out when he bent to pick something up and flashed the older boy smoldering looks.

This went on until all the clothes had been put in the hamper and the trash thrown away, and then the only thing left was Riku's desk and the dishes by the sink.

"Are you going to help me so I at least know where you want things?" he asked as he settled himself on the floor among a few of the stacks and began rifling through one of them.

"Maybe. There's something you have to do to earn my help, though."

Sora widened his eyes innocently. "What?"

With yet another smirk, Riku abandoned his chair in front of the TV and sat just behind Sora. The brunet looked at him in confusion then squeaked when Riku's arms wrapped around his waist and he was pulled backwards into the older student's lap.

"Riku! What are you doing?" he demanded, struggling weakly against his friend's hold.

Oh, god, what's he doing what's he doing what's he doing? This is not okay! I'm practically naked what is he doing?

Riku rolled his eyes and held Sora securely against his chest. "Relax, will you? This way I can see everything you look at and it'll be faster for us to go through the stacks."

"O-oh…okay…" Still not sure about the way this situation was going, Sora picked up the first item on the nearest stack and held it up so they both could see it. He wouldn't admit it, but he was actually pretty comfortable sitting in the taller boy's lap, and it was pleasantly warm.

"Trash." The word was spoken right next to his ear and he felt a chin rest on his shoulder. Without a word, he set the paper aside as the beginning of a trash pile and picked up the next item.

Over the next two hours, they went through each of the stacks, the trash pile slowly growing and what wasn't deemed trash was organized into new stacks to be put away when they finished sorting through it all. They were nearly finished when Sora started yawning, the late hour getting to him and making him lean more and more of his weight back against the older boy. At least Riku didn't seem to mind, and after a particularly large yawn, he chuckled.

"All right, time for bed. We can finish in the morning, and then you can continue with the list I have for you," Riku said quietly, helping Sora to his feet then standing.

The younger boy whined tiredly. "List?"

Another chuckle. "Yep. But don't worry about it for now. For now, we sleep."

"M'kay…"

His eyes almost completely shut, Sora shuffled his way across the now clean dorm to the corner his belongings occupied and opened his bag, searching for his pajamas. It didn't occur to him to step into the closet to change, so he stripped out of the shorts and suspenders where he stood and pulled on his boxers, a pair of soft cotton pajama pants and a men's sleeveless pajama shirt. When he turned around again, Riku had also changed, though he wore pajama pants without a shirt.

"Why're you always half dressed?" he asked sleepily, frowning a little as he poked the older boy in the chest. "It's not nice."

Amused, Riku gently gripped the brunet's shoulders and steered him towards the bed. "What do you mean, it isn't nice?"

"It's not," Sora insisted as he climbed onto the bed and settled comfortably.

"Why not?" Still smiling, Riku pulled the blankets over himself and Sora then wrapped his arms around the shorter boy's waist, pulling him close. Sora didn't seem to notice, and if he did, he didn't care.

"Makes me think weird thoughts…"

His curiosity spiking, Riku forced himself to sound casual. "Like what?" But Sora was already fast asleep, so he didn't respond, and Riku sighed. If the brunet remembered this mini conversation in the morning, then Riku would ask what he'd meant by saying it wasn't nice for him to go shirtless. If not, well, he'd have to find some other way to bring it up and find out.

A hand shaking his shoulder woke Sora, and he rolled over to see Riku standing over him. Immediately, he remembered the outfit he was going to have to put on and he groaned, blushing darkly and pulling the blankets up over his head.

"Get up or you don't get any breakfast, Brat."

With the threat of not being given any food made, Sora obediently got out of bed and stretched, yawning. His teeth felt gross, which meant he hadn't remembered to brush them before going to sleep, and he knew his breath must smell awful. Ignoring Riku, he went to his bag and retrieved his toothbrush then went to the sink that was still mostly full of dirty dishes.

"Can I use your toothpaste? I forgot mine."

"Go ahead."

Sora wasted no time in brushing his teeth and ridding his mouth of that awful taste. When he finished and turned around, Riku was sitting on the bed with two bowls of microwaveable oatmeal, the smell of which enticed the brunet to move closer to investigate.

"One is strawberries and cream, the other is brown sugar and cinnamon," Riku informed him, holding up each bowl to indicate which was which. Wordlessly, Sora took the strawberries and cream oatmeal and sat beside his friend, stirring it and blowing on it before taking a bite. Naturally, it tasted good enough to be worth having gotten out of bed for. The two boys ate in silence, and when they had both finished, Sora took the bowls to the sink to be washed along with the rest of the dishes.

"I have to wear those shorts again, don't I." It wasn't a question; he was almost positive Riku was going to insist on the shorts and suspenders even though he'd brought clothes to wear for the day.

"Yep."

Sighing, Sora once again vanished into the closet and changed then went to the sink and searched in the cabinet underneath for the soap. Once he'd found it, he filled the sink with hot water and began washing the dishes, humming absently as he did so and swaying a little in time with the song.

"Look at you," Riku chuckled, drawing Sora's attention to wear the silver-haired boy was once again seated before his TV. "You look like a housewife."

Sora rolled his eyes. "I thought you said I looked like a slut."

"A sexy little slut," the older boy corrected him.

"Sorry. I forgot that those two words somehow make it less offensive." His tone was sarcastic though he continued washing the dishes.

"Is it still offensive if I mean it?"

Raising an eyebrow, Sora half turned to look at his friend. "You're saying you really think I'm a slut? You do realize I've never dated anyone or even had my first kiss, right?"

"Of course I'm not saying you're a slut! I meant that I really think you're sexy."

The word made Sora's face turn a deep shade of red and he turned back to the sink, scrubbing the dishes with renewed vigor. Several responses jumped to the front of his mind but he held each of them back.

So you're just a perv and that's why I have to wear this outfit?

If you think I'm sexy, then why are you teasing me all the time? Don't you have the guts to ask me out like a normal person?

There were others, as well, but the worst, the worst thing he almost said was, then get over here and kiss me before I decide I don't like you after all.

He didn't, though. He couldn't say that. Riku would laugh at him if he said something so…so…whatever. He just knew he couldn't say something like that. So he bit his tongue and finished the dishes, setting them out on a towel to drip dry and be put away later. Then he moved to the desk and began putting away what he and Riku had sorted and organized the night before, avoiding the silver-haired boy's gaze the entire time. He knew Riku was watching him—he could practically feel the teal eyes following his every move, but he didn't look. Looking would just betray what he was thinking, and if Riku noticed and did actually kiss him, then, well, Sora didn't know what he would do. Kiss back? Push him away? It would be his first kiss, and he wasn't sure if he wanted it to be under these circumstances, scantily dressed and forced to obey Riku's every command until midnight.

No, it was better that he just go along with what the older boy wanted and avoided earning himself a "punishment," get out of this whole situation unscathed and go back to their regular ways tomorrow. Harmless flirting, no short-shorts or being called a "sexy little slut." Even though he kind of liked the way Riku said it. It made his stomach do little flips and he blushed just thinking about it, imagining what it would sound like if the older boy whispered it in his ear in that purring tone he used sometimes that made Sora want to curl his toes.

But that would never happen, because even if Riku really did think he was sexy, and even if Sora did have a crush on the older boy, they were just friends. Good friends, flirty friends, but friends all the same. Hell, Sora hadn't even decided to forgive Riku for that fight all those weeks ago yet, and the taller boy was still supposed to be working to earn their friendship back. Only after the point when Sora knew that it was enough would he let himself admit how much he liked the older student. Until then, he would settle for knowing Riku found him attractive and imagining what other dirty things his flirtatious friend might whisper in his ear.