Well, here it is, I got it up. :) I'm a bit stumped on the next chapter still so don't expect an update for a while. I'll try and work my way through it as quickly as possible. Enjoy.
Chapter 29 - Do I or don't I?
Riku was in a daze. He stared up at his ceiling with a small, goofy grin on his face as he thought back to Sora's stunned expression after he'd finally figured out what was happening.
Serves him right for being so oblivious, Riku thought maliciously, even as his stomach churned at the thought that Sora might reject him. He'd given the brunette two days to come up with his answer. Man, how he wished he could sleep away the next two days. The anxiety was going to kill him.
Scorpius suddenly appeared in his line of vision, a frown on his face. "Hey, you okay?"
Blinking, he snorted in laughter as he spotted the brightly tipped blond hair. "What happened?"
The Malfoy heir gave him a dirty look and turned around to stomp back over to his own bed. "Sora's spell went wrong. Madame Pomphry couldn't get rid of the last of it."
"Are you going to leave it as is or cut them off?"
"I haven't decided yet."
"You should leave it. They look pretty cool."
"Everyone keeps laughing at me."
"So?"
"So, a Malfoy shouldn't be laughed at."
"Psh, how is anyone laughing at your hair different from us laughing at you normally? Anyone who's smart won't make fun of you for it, and you're still a Malfoy even with your bright yellow, pink, purple, blue, green and red tips."
He was graced with a scathing glare. "I hate you," Scorpius muttered before enclosing himself within his curtains.
Snorting in amusement, Riku lay back down again and stared up at his ceiling again. Rolling over after a moment, he went fishing for a textbook under his bead. Pulling up his Care of Magical Creatures textbook, he resolved to read it and started flicking through the pages after soothing the grumpy book.
LINEBREAK
Sora was staring into the fire, watching the flames crackle and burn and pop sparks as it steadily ate through the wood that had just recently been thrown onto it.
Thinking back over what had happened the previous day, Sora's face blushed bright red when he recalled the kiss that Riku had given him. Man, that had been a shock. How long had Riku liked him? Sighing, his head dropped into his arms. He wished Kairi was here, just so he could talk to her. She'd either tell Riku to stop playing cruel games with Sora, or help Sora puzzle through what he wanted to do.
Sighing, Sora buried his head in his arms and closed his eyes.
"You okay Sora?" Rose asked as she looked up from her homework, her eyes narrowed in thought. "You've been really out of it since I got here."
Sora jumped and turned to face the young woman. "Rose! When did you get here?"
A delicate eyebrow arched. "I've been here for an hour Sora. You were here when I came in."
"I've been here for an hour?" With wide blue eyes, Sora turned to survey the Gryffindor Common room. There were people everywhere. How long had he been in a daze?
"Are you sure you're alright?" Rose asked, lowering her book in concern?"
"Uh… yeah. Um…." Taking a deep breath, Sora opened his mouth to tell her what had happened, but for some reason found that he couldn't. Letting out another sigh, he buried his face in his hands. What was wrong with him?
"Sora?"
"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm fine. Thanks Rose." He gave her a grateful smile and turned back to the fire. He desperately needed to talk to someone about this… someone that wasn't Riku, who was usually his go-to guy. Who was here, in the Castle, that he would feel comfortable talking to about the fact that Riku had confessed to him?
Cloud and Leon? They were together, he was pretty sure. But then again, Cloud was like his overprotective older brother that he'd never had, and while Leon knew he could pretty much take care of himself, he had his moments where he was just as bad, if not worse, than Cloud, and Sora was pretty sure that this would stir up those protective emotions.
Yuffie? Definitely not. As fun as the young ninja was, she was not the confiding type. She'd laugh herself silly, tell him to respond in kind just so she could follow them and get a few good snap shots as blackmail. No, definitely not Yuffie.
Aerith! Aerith would do. She wouldn't be judgmental, and she was practically his second mother anyway. She'd be willing to listen and help him work through his options, and if he burst into embarrassing tears, she wouldn't care.
Aerith it was.
Hopping up off the couch, Sora ignored Rose's puzzled and concerned look and made his way out of the Gryffindor Common Room and down towards her rooms.
Knocking on the door that was the entrance to the guest suite, Sora blinked as the stern looking secretary that lived in the portrait next to the door walked into the frame, looking a bit put out, but sat down at her desk, picked up a quill, pushed her glasses up her nose and stared down at Sora.
"Name?" She asked.
"Sora."
"And who are you here to visit?"
"Aerith."
The woman checked her books and put her quill down. "I'm afraid Madame Aerith is not available at this point in time. If you wish to leave a message I will pass it on to her."
"Is she in her rooms?" Sora asked.
"No. She left a few hours ago in a hurry and hasn't come back yet."
"Ah… Okay, thank you!" Turning, Sora headed for the Hospital Wing on the first floor. He figured if she wasn't in her rooms, she must be there.
Sure enough, as he walked into the Hospital Wing there was a group of anxious looking girls sitting on a spare bed and talking quietly amongst themselves. His gaze drifted to a closed curtain, watching the shadows beyond it moving as the light from the lanterns flickered and wavered. "Aerith?"
It was a second or so before the curtain opened and the sound of screaming emerged from the enclosed area. Aerith closed the curtain behind her and smiled at Sora, the brunette looking a little worse for wear. "Hi Sora. What can I do for you?"
"Um… have you… got a minute?" he tried to peer behind her to watch the shadows of a thrashing girl on the bed.
"Can you give me five minutes?" Aerith asked as she turned back to the curtain.
"Yeah, sure."
"Thanks. I won't be long."
"Take your time."
Screaming emerged again as Aerith ducked back through the curtain and the screaming vanished just as quickly as it appeared.
Turning to the anxious and pale girls sitting on the bed, he gave them a curious look. "What happened to her?"
They exchanged looks before one of them spoke up quietly. "We had Care of Magical Creatures and she got too close to a tank with a Opili Octopus in it. It wrapped around her. She's been in there for a few hours now."
"What's an Opili Octupus?"
"They attach themselves to their prey and release acid to begin breaking down the proteins so they can eat them."
Sora winced. "Ouch."
"Yeah."
"Think she'll be okay?"
"We're not sure yet. No one has told us anything."
Sora sat down on another bed and swung his feet to keep himself entertained. It was about another ten minutes before the curtain opened and Hagrid and McGonagall emerged from the curtain, McGonagall levitating a tank of water with the Opili Octupus in it. The tank glittered with protection spells to prevent it from escaping.
"Professor," one of the girls began hesitantly as she stood up.
"She'll be alright," McGonagall said quietly with a smile. "Why don't you girls go back to your dormitories? You won't be allowed to see her tonight I'm afraid."
They all nodded, looking solemn.
McGonagall focused on Sora suddenly. "What are you doing here Mr Hikari?"
"I'm here to see Aerith," Sora said quietly as he pointed at the curtained off area.
"Well… all right. But make sure you're back in Gryffindor Tower by the time curfew comes around."
Sora nodded and smiled.
The Infirmary cleared shortly after that, and when the curtain opened again it was quiet when Aerith stepped out.
Sora stood. "Is she going to be okay?"
Aerith gave a sad smile. "She'll live. She's going to have to stay here for a few days while she regrows the muscles and skin that was eaten away."
Wincing, Sora glanced behind his friend to see the girl nearly completely covered in bandages and Madame Pomphry plumping her pillows for her. "Ouch"
"Yes, ouch indeed. What can I do for you Sora?"
"Um…" It took Sora a few moments to remember what it was that he'd actually come to see Aerith about. "Riku kissed me!"
Aerith blinked a couple of times as she took in Sora's quickly reddening face. "Oh. Um… we'd better sit down for this. Come through." She led him through to the tearoom that was through a hidden corner and waved for him to take a seat at the wooden table while she made some tea for all three of them.
When Aerith sat down, she smiled at Sora. "So, Riku kissed you?"
Sora nodded, his face bright red again as he reached for the cup and curled his hands around the soothing herbal mix.
"Did he say anything?"
"He um… he said he loved me, and that I had two days to figure out what I want, but that was yesterday and so I only have one day left, and I have no idea what I want from Riku."
"I see." Aerith sipped her tea for a moment and relaxed back into the chair, her feet propped up underneath her while she thought. "What do you think about Riku?"
Sora shrugged and started running a finger around the top of his mug. "He's my best friend. I've known him since we were kids. I tell him everything."
"Do you like him?"
"Of course I like him. I mean, he can be pretty mean, but he's also a really great guy."
"No, I meant do you like him in a romantic sense?"
Sora frowned. "That's what I've been trying to figure out."
"Okay. How would you feel if Riku vanished again Sora?"
Sora scowled suddenly. "I'd be super angry and go after him so I could kick his arse myself for not saying goodbye."
"Is that the same as what you felt last time?"
Sora thought about it for a moment. "No," he answered slowly. "Last time I saw Riku, when he and the King got locked in the realm of Darkness, I was happy… happy that Riku was alive, and that he was okay, but also worried and a little bit pissed off at him for leaving me again. So I went after him."
"Why did you go after him?"
"Because he's my best friend."
"Donald and Goofy didn't have anything to do with it?"
"Well, they had a little bit to do with it, but not all of it. It was mostly because of Riku."
"Now think about how you would feel now if Riku disappeared? What would your initial response be if you couldn't go after him?"
"I… I'd be super upset. Like… not able to go on with life upset."
"I see. Is it really such a big step to see yourself together romantically with Riku? Kissing him, touching him, hugging him."
As the images passed through his mind, Sora found that he didn't altogether hate the idea. "Maybe not."
"Is it worth giving it a shot with Riku then? And if it doesn't work out, then at least you tried."
"But… but what happens if it doesn't work at all and I lose Riku? He's my best friend."
"He can still be your best friend Sora. And I can only say that from what it sounds like, if you don't accept Riku, you may end up losing him anyway."
Sora paled and nodded quietly. "Okay."
"But I'm not saying that you should go out with Riku just because you don't want to lose him. You need to do what you want to do. Have a think about that."
Sora nodded again slowly. "Okay."
Madame Pomphry swept into the tearoom and gave Sora a curious look. "Thank you for the tea Aerith."
"No worries. How is she?"
"Sleeping. Poor thing. I'm going to try and keep her like that for the next few days until the worst of it is healed."
"Makes sense. What's going to happen to the octopus I wonder?"
"It'll get released back into the lake and I dare say Hagrid will get a good lecture on safety procedures."
"Are her parents coming?"
"They're Muggles. I'm obliged to tell them, but unless I transfer her to Saint Mungo's they can't see her."
"That's hard," Aerith murmured softly.
"Yes. But they knew it when they signed the contract to send her here."
Sora drank the tea and stood up. "Thanks Aerith, I appreciate the talk."
Aerith focused back on Sora with a smile. "You're welcome. Will you be okay getting back to the Dorms by yourself?"
"Yeah, thanks. See you later." Sora left the tearoom and headed back through the Infirmary. When he reached the door, Aerith's voice stopped him.
"Sora! Wait."
Turning, to look back at her, he saw her smiling from the doorway. "Yes?"
"Whatever happens, follow your heart."
Smiling and nodding, Sora waved and left. He had a lot of thinking to do.
LINEBREAK
Roxas slammed Riku into the brick wall in the corridor, his blue eyes gleaming with anger. "What the hell did you do to my Somebody? He's a goddamn fucking zombie this morning! He didn't sleep at all last night, and all he can say is your name!"
Riku gave the blond an unimpressed look. "I confessed to him."
Just like that, all Roxas's anger seemed to drain from his features and they turned thoughtful. "Oh. Is that all?" Letting the platinum haired teen go slowly, he took a step away and patted the relatively muscled chest. "Okay. Carry on then."
As Roxas walked away, Riku raised a confused eyebrow at Axel, who shrugged with as just a bewildered look on his face before he hurried after his friend. "Hey, Rox, wait!"
"What was that all about?" Demyx asked curiously.
"No idea."
"Well, Roxas is naturally strange. Speaking of, when is Sora supposed to give you an answer?"
"Later tonight."
"Do you think he'll be ready?"
Riku sighed and scratched the back of his head, being careful not to dislodge any of his hair that was up in high ponytail. "Probably not, but I think I'll break down from nervous anticipation if I have to wait any longer."
"Haha, I'm sure everything will be fine Riku." Demyx grinned and clapped the other teen on his shoulder. "Come on, let's get to History of Magic. You can pine after Sora there."
Grumbling as he was dragged off, Riku glared at the water wielder. "I do not pine."
"You so do."
LINEBREAK
Sora was lying on his bed, propped up by pillows and fingering the pages of the book he was supposed to be reading but wasn't. He was nervous. Riku wanted an answer tonight and he had to give it to him. He was about seventy-nine percent sure about what he wanted to do, but the other twenty-one percent of his mind was screaming that it was madness.
Follow his heart… wasn't that what Mulan always said? Follow your heart? It must be. Sighing, he closed his eyes and let his nose drift towards the ceiling.
The door to the dormitory shut quietly and Sora opened his eyes to see who had come in. Riku was standing there looking awkward, and Sora's heart leapt into his throat, suddenly making it hard to breathe. He swallowed hard. "Riku," he greeted, having to force the words out.
"Sora," Riku replied, just as quietly, but stayed where he was. "Time's up."
"I know."
"What's your answer?"
Sora sighed and stood up from his bed. "Riku, you're my best friend in everything. Where will that leave us if I say yes?"
"As more than best friends I guess."
"But will we still be… you and me?"
"I… don't understand."
Sora ran his hands down his face in frustration. "What I'm trying to ask is, will everything still stay the same between us if I say yes?"
"With some changes, essentially, yes, I guess."
"What sort of changes?"
"What sort of…? Sora, the same sort of changes that come with being in a relationship," Riku bit out in frustration.
"Oh."
"Oh? Is that a good 'oh' or a bad 'oh'?"
"Oh, it's a good 'oh'."
"That's good. So, what's your answer?"
Sora drew in a deep breath and reached out to take Riku's hand. "I think… I think that if we take things slowly, and give ourselves time to get used to the changes, then yes. Yes, I'll go out with you."
Riku let out a breath of relief and slumped back against the door as all the anxious tension from the last couple of days suddenly left him. "Thank the Lord."
Eyebrows furrowed in concern, Sora reached for him. "Ri, you okay?"
"I'm fine Sora." The older teen smiled at Sora and took the hand he was offering. "I'm just fine." Raising it to his lips, he pressed a kiss on his friends' fingers, enjoying the squeak of embarrassment that left Sora's lips at the action. "Well, I should get back to Slytherin. It's almost curfew." Straightening up from the door, he ruffled Sora's hair affectionately. "I'll see you tomorrow?"
"Y-yeah," Sora replied with a nod as he wrapped his arms around himself.
"Good. Goodnight."
"Goodnight Riku."
Opening the door, Riku moved to leave the room but paused, instead turning back and framing Sora's face with his hands, kissing him again.
Sora's eyes widened and his mouth opened in surprise, giving Riku's tongue access to briefly sweep through his mouth and release him with a satisfied grin. Without saying a word, Riku stepped back and left, shutting the door behind him.
Sora stood there for another few seconds, completely in shock, right before he melted where he stood. The pain from his knees hitting the ground at an awkward angle shocked him back into reality and his fingers drifted to his lips, which were still tingling and feeling the pressure of Riku's lips.
A knock on the door had him startling back to reality completely as someone called his name. "Sora? You okay? Riku just left."
"Uh… y-yeah. Come in."
The door opened and Roxas walked in, frowning when he found the brunette on the ground still. "What are you doing down there?"
"Um… Riku kissed me."
Roxas scowled but squatted down in front of his Somebody. "So you said yes to Riku?"
"I…I guess."
"Yes or no Sora?"
"Yes, I said yes."
Roxas sighed and shook his head for a moment before standing and offering his hand. "Come on. Let's get you up. You look ridiculous sitting there like you are."
"I… sorry."
"Don't apologize." Hauling the brunette up, Roxas led him over to the bed and pushed him down onto it. "If you're going to be shocked, at least do it in bed where no one will step on you."
Nodding, Sora's eyes drifted back to the ceiling as he lay there, his fingers moving back up to his tingling lips.
Roxas rolled is eyes. "If you want to talk, come get me."
"Sure. Okay," Sora replied distractedly.
Roxas left the room and shook his head. Sora was definitely in trouble, and the scary thing was, he didn't think his Somebody understood just how much trouble he was in.
~TBC
