Chapter 11
"Cloud!" Leon calls urgently, adjusting Sora's weight in his arms to get a better hold.
Cloud comes towards the entrance, looking slightly disgruntled from being awoken so suddenly. "What the hell, Leon?" He catches sight of the bundle in Leon's arms and gasps, "Sora?! What happened to him?"
"I'm not sure, Seymour likely got to him. Terra brought him here."
"Terra?" Cloud recoils. "What does she have to do with this?"
"I don't know that either, Cloud! All she said was that he can't stay here and then she disappeared."
"If she's involved, it's probably not safe for him here at all."
"It was inevitable that there would be some kind of punishment after that stunt he pulled in front of everyone."
"Yes, Seymour was furious. We were instructed to apprehend him on site if he made his way back here."
Leon gently lowers Sora's unconscious body to the ground and unrolls him. He sucks in a sharp breath as his fingers hover just above the torn skin and streaks of blood covering his back, "He did this? We've got to get him out of here."
Cloud looks over the damage in sadness, "Once Seymour realizes he's gone, this place might just turn into hell."
"He's lucky he still has his wings, a little longer and they might have been next."
"Still might be if we don't get him out of here and away from Seymour's reach." He places a gentle hand to Sora's head to give him a boost of healing energy, although it's far from the amount he needs to fully heal. "I wish we could keep him here longer to recover, his energy has barely come back. He won't do well on Earth."
Leon's hands join Cloud's to offer his own energy, "There's no choice. We've got to move him, as soon as possible before he has guards on every portal."
"There's already more guards after his last escape."
"So, how do we get him out?"
"I'm not sure, maybe...Zach," Cloud suggests.
"You still talk to him?" Leon questions, recoiling, and wrinkling his nose.
Cloud gives him a shrewd smile, "Yes, despite your ridiculous jealousy."
"I'm not jealous."
"Uh huh." Cloud lifts Sora up in his arms and rebundles the blanket around him. "Perhaps Zach will be willing to do us a favor."
"Do you a favor," Leon mutters.
"What was that?"
"I said we better hurry."
They depart the grotto and fly to Zack's station doing their best to not be seen while trying not to make it too obvious that's what they want. Zack's portal is the furthest one out in a rather secluded area and is rarely ever busy. It works out well for the black haired seraph who spends a majority of his guard time doing squats and other plyometrics in case the day comes when he's selected to be one of the elite Seraphim guard.
When they land at his station in a flurry of wings, Zack is already practicing his lunges and startles when they swoop down on him unexpectedly.
"H-Hey Cloud, what's up? Leon," he nods at the other man.
"Sorry to drop in on you so unexpectedly, but we need a favor."
Zack glances between their faces in concern, and his eyes linger on the bundle in Cloud's arms. "You need to go through the portal."
"How did you know?"
He spreads his arms, "There's not much else here."
"Ah, that's right." Cloud adjusts Sora's weight and looks at him questioningly.
"Is this going to get me punished?"
"Not if we don't get caught."
Zack sighs and folds his arms, doing a squat in thought. "If I do this," he begins slowly. "You owe me favors for years. When I say years, I really mean years."
Leon squints at him, "What kind of favors?"
"Any kind of favors?" Zack smirks.
"No."
"He's kidding, Leon, calm down," Cloud interrupts. "Okay, favors for years."
"Cloud…"
"Leon." He sighs in exasperation. "It's Zack." He turns to the other man, "Okay, we're ready."
"Alright guys, let's make this quick and if I get caught, rest assured I'm telling them you both attacked me and forced your way past." He steps aside and gestures them towards the silvery mist hovering in the air, "Get out of here."
"Thanks Zack," Cloud throws him a grateful look and flies through the portal, Leon right behind him. They come through in an unfamiliar and secluded area of Earth which is the main reason this portal isn't used much. It's too far from everything, although guarding it is still important.
"Which way?"
Cloud pauses for a minute, feeling for that faint tug that will lead them towards Riku and the safest place for Sora. "West."
"Alright." Together they fly in Riku's direction, passing Sora between them throughout the duration of the journey as their arms get too tired to carry him.
It's just past sunset when they touch down in the yard, exhausted from the trip. Immediately, the silver haired male is running out into the yard.
"I'm Cloud and this is Leon." He relaxes minimally at their names and Cloud figures Sora must have mentioned them.
"What do you want?" Leon steps forward and gently hands Sora off to him. Riku pulls the blanket back, taking in his sallow skin, and gasping. "What did you do to him?!"
"It wasn't us!" Leon protests. "We're trying to protect him by bringing him here. Don't blame us, we're risking our lives just leaving with him."
Riku glares back at them mistrustfully, "I knew he wouldn't be safe returning."
"And you were right," Cloud answers. "We're trusting you to keep him safe because we have to leave. Staying here makes it easier to track you two."
Riku holds Sora tighter, "I wouldn't hurt him."
"We're counting on that." Cloud pulls Leon away by the wrist and they set back off into the night on foot.
~~~~~
Riku brings Sora into the house and lays him gently on the couch, unwrapping the blanket and seeing the full extent of the damage. He winces as he studies the lacerations. Some of them are already starting to heal, but he can still see how much damage was done and the large stains of bloods on his torn clothing.
He curses quietly to himself, unable to avoid placing the blame on himself. He shouldn't have let Sora go back, there had to have been another way. No matter what, he'll find some other way to protect him.
Riku carefully peels the ruined clothes off and drops them onto the floor before returning with a towel and a bowl of warm water to clean the wounds. He hates the feeling of nostalgia that comes with this and the fact that it's so much worse than the first time he'd found a hurt Sora. Now, it's his fault and Sora has been cast out from his own people.
Careful of the younger seraph's back, he slides clean bottoms onto him and settles him on his stomach in the bed. Riku lays beside him, but far enough away to give him space should he wake up. His eyes trace over the dark circles under Sora's eyes and the paleness of his skin from losing so much blood. He looks like he's been through Hell and back, Riku could almost laugh at the irony if the situation wasn't so unfunny.
Instead, he threads his fingers through Sora's own and whispers his apology to the silent air.
A few hours later, he's stirred awake when Sora wakes with a choked gasp, hand spasming in his own. Instinctively his fingers clench tighter before realizing that might be the last thing the other boy wants and he releases him, scooting away to put some distance between them.
"Sora?"
The brunette stills, then stares at him through narrowed eyes as his fingers clench and unclench in the soft bedding. "...Riku?"
"Yes," he sighs in relief.
"What's going on? How did I get here?"
"I think Cloud and Leon brought you here. Do you remember anything?"
"No…" His eyes squeeze shut and he shudders. "Yes, the last thing I remember is-" Sora breaks off in a pained sob and Riku immediately embraces him, cradling Sora close as he tries to explain through his sobs.
Riku can't understand much of what's being said, but he can tell it's causing the other boy more pain to remember. "Hey, hey, shh it's okay now," Riku soothes, rubbing gentle circles into Sora's shaking back. "You're safe now."
"How long?"
"Long enough," Riku answers. Only four days he doesn't say.
Sora clings to Riku, quiet in his embrace, and lets himself be held. He inhales the scent of Riku and feels the solidness of the other boy around him. Sora lifts up to kiss him and Riku's arms loosen.
"Sora…"
The brunette shakes his head, "If not now, when?"
"When you're not hurt!"
"Riku, we keep being separated. I don't want to worry about other things anymore, if I say it's fine, I mean it."
He sighs, knowing they shouldn't, but still letting his fingers skim past the tender patches of skin to press lightly against the base of Sora's wings, watching Sora's eyes squeeze shut and hearing a barely suppressed whimper make its way past the younger male's lips as he pushes himself against Riku.
Sora tilts his head up for another kiss and Riku obliges, meeting him in an open mouthed kiss and letting Sora pull his shirt over his head. Riku shudders as light fingers trace around his stomach and chest before settling around his back and pulling him closer.
The rest of their clothes fall to the side of the bed easily and Riku rests Sora on his side, letting his hands blindly seek out the lubricant. "Wait," Sora protests, turning onto his bank. "I want to see you."
"But your back…"
"It's okay."
Riku nods, not bothering to argue this time. Instead, he coats his fingers and begins gently working Sora open, keeping eyes on his face the entire time for any signs of discomfort. He's gentle when he finally slides himself inside, gasping as the hot tightness of Sora surrounds him.
One of Sora's hands seeks out his own and grips it tight as he adjusts to the feeling of Riku inside him. Riku strokes his hand along Sora's cheek and kisses him, letting his love for the younger seraph seep through and he can feel Sora's answering emotions of love and want resonate in his chest.
When Sora squeezes his hand, Riku begins to move. He gently rocks his hips into Sora, still aware of his need to be careful of his wounds. The younger boy cries out at the first thrust, but encourages him to keep going.
They move together, slowly building towards their inevitable climax through shared kisses and touches. Riku feels himself nearing the end and takes hold of Sora's length, stroking him in time with his thrusts, so they release together in a joined euphoria of pleasure and emotions.
Riku slowly rolls off him and opens his eyes to see a subtle glow around Sora as he lays there at peace. The glow only increases when Riku scoots over to kiss his cheek and pull him in close.
And when he opens his eyes in the morning to see Sora beaming at him, glowing brighter than ever before, Riku thinks they just might make it.
Well, I wanted to finish this story before KH3 came out, but it doesn't look like that's going to happen sadly. Mainly because who knows what will happen in KH3 and if I'll still have the desire to finish this, the narrative might change and I'll want to write something else or nothing at all for this pairing, guess it depends on how the game turns out. But, I'm glad I got at least one more chapter out before since it's been almost three years since I started this story