55.

Friday

"You're sending me away?"

Cloud, Sora, Riku and Roxas were at the dinner table. "It's just for a weekend," Cloud explained. "Sephiroth knows people who run a laboratory up in Sudbury and they're going to keep you for a day and a night to do a bunch of tests and monitor your sleep." He took a sip of water. "You were complaining about sleep, right?"

"Or lack thereof..." Roxas grumbled and stabbed his fork into his rice.

"Well, that's why."

"When does he leave?" Sora asked.

"Tomorrow. 10AM. It's about a four-hour drive."

"Wait!" Roxas jumped. "This weekend? And you're telling me this now?" And in his mind he added, 'Are you fucking serious?'

"We only got confirmation for your placement this morning."

"What if I had plans?" He countered easily and letting Cloud know how disappointing this was. "You didn't even ask me."

"Ask you?" Cloud raised an eyebrow at his son's questioning of his authority. "This is for you. You could be a little more grateful, don't you think?" After all, not everyone could be so lucky to be taken into one of the best research facilities of the province. Not to mention so quickly, without having to be wait-listed. "It's a privilege to get this kind of help."

Riku looked from Cloud to Roxas, Cloud being strict while innocently eating the vegetables at the corner of his plate. Roxas was looking at him, eyes clear with scorn. Beside Riku, Sora was looking down at his hands wanting nothing more than to be elsewhere.

Abruptly, Roxas stood up from the table, startling his brother especially at the sound of the large wooden chair scraping the floor tiles. "Well. I better go pack," he said, coldly. "Thank your 'husband' for me." And he walked out of the dining room.

Cloud collected everyone's plates, somewhat stiffly, when he noted that everyone had finished.

"Dad...?"

"Don't, Sora."

"But you're being too much..." he almost whined.

Cloud walked over to the sink and turned on the water, soaking the cooking wares, waiting to be cleaned – his back to the occupants seated at the table. "Why?" he demanded.

"Well, you didn't even tell him about it or tell him what you were thinking of doing. He had something tomorrow."

"I'm doing what's right for him. He needs help."

"I'm not denying that he does, but he-."

"So that's it," he said, cutting his son off and beginning to soap a frying pan. "He barely goes to school; he's not allowed to have 'plans.'"

"It was for school," he fibbed. "and just as important to him."

"Sora!" A spatula slipped out of his hand and clattered against the basin. "Stop defending him. Not when it comes to this. Just... go to your room," he ended, tiredly, and went back to cleaning.

Riku placed a hand on Sora's shoulder. The brown-haired boy sighed at his father scrubbing away, yet his gaze pointed at something past the window above the sink.

"Goodnight, dad..."

Sora led the way up the large spiral stairs. As he saw the yellow luminescence by the edge of Roxas' door, he turned to Riku.

"You coming?" the silveret asked.

The two usually did homework or played videogames in Riku's room after dinner these nights. However, a different kind of 'call of duty' beckoned for him.

"In a bit. I'm just gonna talk to him," Sora replied with a slight grimace. "I won't be too long," he added with reassurance, and the silveret responded with an encouraging squeeze of the bicep then disappeared into his bedroom.

Sora strode over to the slightly open door and paused when he heard Roxas speaking to someone.

"Dem, I need you to do this for me." He called Demyx?


"Axel is expecting me tomorrow and my father is sending me somewhere for the weekend."

Demyx snorted. "Where?"

"A mental institute!" Roxas exaggerated. "They're gonna do some tests then try to diagnose me."

"Oh shit!" he laughed, "That's so House. Cool!"

"This is not 'cool,' this is a disaster! Once someone finds out I'm mentally unstable, word will get around and I'll be a leper to everyone in school. Axel included! He'll never look at me after that."

"Bro, I think you're overreacting. No one else needs to know about it and Axel'll have plenty of games for you to come and watch." Roxas sighed into the phone. "What do you need me to tell him?"

"I need you to come up with something that doesn't sound weird. I don't know, don't you volunteer at a hospital?"

"I take blood samples and label them. What does that help you?"

"I don't want him to think I'm avoiding him, but I want him to...sort of worry about me. Make him see what he's missing."

"Ah, the sexy-mysterious ploy. Very 'Obsession'-Innerpartysystem." Demyx nodded to himself and scrolled through his iPod to find the song he'd been reminded of. "So I guess you're not over what happened then?"

"Of course I'm not over what happened. Would you get over Zexion so quickly if he decided to take a u-turn in your relationship?"


Sora was shocked. Roxas was using his sudden absence as a way to purposefully try to make Axel feel guilty. He knew that Roxas was capable of understanding how people felt, enough to devise a personal and emotional attack on whom he wished at any given time. He just never saw his brother ever put that into action.

"Demyx, please? I really like him."

Roxas had way too much pride when it came to the redhead. It was unusual for him to be asking for someone else's help. The exception was himself, as his brother, of course. Perhaps Axel struck more chords in his brother than he realized, leaving Roxas to feel like he had to ask for help. Aw, man...

The next thing he heard was a string of 'thank-yous' firing away like from a machine gun. Sora couldn't help but smile and somewhat sympathize at his brother's antics. Both twins knew what insecurity felt like, as well as to be threatened.

When you care about someone, you kind of always want to know that their life is going according to the way you like it. Putting aside the selfishness of the notion, you can't help but feel insecure when you're no longer an influence, or even a contributing factor in that person's happiness. And then by extension, you feel threatened by people who have replaced you in those respects. Then you tell yourself you shouldn't care, after you re-examine the situation and the selfishness is put back in the equation. You shouldn't even bother. But you do. Because you care. Why do you care?

Sora briefly imagined a hot brunette waltzing by Riku.

They were talking things slow considering the current issues and changes in their lifestyles. But Riku was a normal, teenage guy –with needs! Were they going too slow? What if someone else wanted a piece of him? What if it was someone completely different from Sora and offered a nice contrast to all this slow-pace-taking as of late? What if it was a girl? Some unconscious gender-based insecurity from Sora peeked out there, and he willed his mind to shut up. One day, he'd stop making such snap-questionings in his mind. He wasn't questioning himself per se, but the automatic response to empathy with these what-ifs and what-shoulds were tiresome. It wasn't as if he didn't trust himself.

The cease in spoken-word beyond the door egged Sora to go on and enter the identical bedroom. Funny. Identical twins, with almost-mirroring rooms.

"Hey, my other half approaches," Roxas sarcastically called.

Random articles of clothing, toiletries and various electronics laid scattered amongst two open duffle bags. "Need help?"

"If you wish."

Sora began to fold some clothes, ignoring the fact that half of them he recognized as ones belonging to him. He hadn't seen that shirt in a while. His eyes wandered to where Roxas was huddled at the foot of his bed, deciding between two books he'd been reading lately to pack.

"So what's your plan for tomorrow?"

"Demyx is going to Axel's house before the game to tell him I went out of town for the weekend. He is going to hang out with him all day. He is not going to divulge any details of my whereabouts. And he is going mention me in a way that makes me mysterious and sexy. Aren't I awesome."

"Truly," he replied for the sake of replying.

This way, Roxas' conscience was clear, having told no lies, but still getting a slightly favourable result. He could be so manipulative when provoked. The way Roxas threw his 2GB original iPod nano into the front pocket of his backpack... it was clear he was more annoyed than anything.

They continued packing in silence until Sora began to make more conversation. "How long has it been since you've seen him?"

"Last week. Since we've moved in. Two days since I've talked to him." The clarity of that fact made it obvious: Roxas missed Axel. Making tomorrow an even bigger bummer.

"Weren't you two hot and heavy for a while?"

"Yeah."

"What happened?"

"Nothing happened." Roxas cleared his throat. "This is what people who are casually dating do. No strings. No commitment. No... constant interaction."

"Is that really..." Sora watched his brother carefully. Sora was dating Riku, who was friends with Axel and the rest of his friends. He knew more of what kind of guy Axel was now. Not that he was judging, but looking at his little brother, how could he not be concerned? Maybe I really don't need to tell him about seeing Axel in the parking lot that day? "That doesn't really sound like you. I thought you were more of a relationship kind of guy."

"I'm sixteen. I can have a long-term relationship when I'm married. What am I rushing things for?"

"It's not rushing things to want to be with someone." Was it? Sora thought of Riku again. "Is this what Axel wants?"

"Axel already does this," Roxas replied, too casually to be casual.

"With other people?"

"Yeap."

"Doesn't that bother you?"

"Why should it? This is what open-dating is like. It's not being exclusive."

I get it. "But doesn't it bother you that he's seeing other people who aren't you?"

Roxas slowly smiled and shook his head.

"I dunno, I'd feel bad if I wasn't the only one he was dating. It'd make me feel like I wasn't good enough to satisfy him myself," Roxas paused in his zipping up his bag. "and that it'd always be a competition with the other people he'd be seeing." He wasn't trying to sway Roxas in any sort of way, but he was allowed to say these sorts of things simply because he was his brother. What was family for if not to help each other gain perspective, right?

Roxas let the words sink in for a second. "I'm sure that's not the case. Axel says it's the best way for everyone to have fun." He zipped up his bag and put it next to the door. "I like Axel and as long as I can still see him and still... show my attraction to him" (-Fuck him) "I'm happy."

"Then good," Sora added. "I want you to be happy."

They looked at each other and shared a smile; Sora, for hearing his brother declare that he was happy; and Roxas for knowing that Sora had his back.

"Oh geez, were we talking about boys?"

"I'm drawing the line at bikini waxes."


Open dating.

Have Sora and Riku really been dating? They hadn't been going out any more frequently than before. And even when they were alone, there was a drape-on-the-shoulder here, and a hand-on-the-waist there. And of course, about a handful of 'looks.' But what did all of that mean?

Just a few days ago, Riku had admitted to being Sora's boyfriend, using the word 'boyfriend' for the first time. He said it, albeit in a joking manner... Didn't people throw those titles around loosely these days? In grade school, you called the person who held your hand, ate lunch with you, and called you on the phone, your 'girlfriend' or 'boyfriend.' Sure, a girlfriend or boyfriend probably did that too at his age, but what else did that title entail? You can do all of those things with a lot of people. Did that make all of those people your 'significant other?' If you have many significant others, doesn't that make them less significant?

And if Riku really thought of him as his boyfriend... was Sora being a good one, at least?

Sora opened the door to Riku's bedroom to find the silveret passed out on the bed, Sum 41 playing softly on his nightstand.

Softly closing the door behind him, Sora crossed the room and climbed into bed next to his boyfriend, careful not to wake him. He nuzzled into the older boy's arm. "Meow," he whispered out loud for no reason whatsoever and shut his eyes, mulling over chains of thoughts that would soon lead him into the subconscious.

He and Riku were definitely friends and have been for years. And ever since then, their relationship had taken a myriad of turns -all to be expected from a high school experience, of course. The late-night cramming for exams, Sora helping Riku train for soccer in the summer, their 90's movie marathons, Riku always knowing to order pizza made with creamy garlic sauce instead of tomato, Sora helping Riku get that 97 in history, the constant rivalry in Keyblade Hero II, Riku beating up Seifer in freshmen year for 'decorating' Sora's locker... That was the year Sora 'came out' and when everyone discovered Riku's bisexuality.

He hadn't known before then. He noticed how Riku admired the feminine anatomy, but it came as a total surprise when Riku displayed how comfortable he was with the same sex.


Sora walked out of his geography exam with a relieved smile on his face. The class had until 10:45 to finish a six-page examination; but for 'geniuses' like Sora, they could leave as early as 10:00 if they'd finished early.

The ninth-grade boy was six out of seven done with year-end exams –one of the only downfalls of being in a non-semestered school: all course exams were taken all at once. Sora trekked towards the library to do some last-minute review of his English notes. He would do this until the school bus came around at 12:00 as opposed to leaving now and taking four local buses to get home half an hour earlier.

Students who also finished their exams early slowly and quietly scattered the hallways. The library doors soon came into view and Sora readjusted his book bag, every intention to start hitting the books!

before a 2-inch thick hardcover hit him in the back of his head. The force of the thrown textbook caused his head to whiplash forward, straining his neck for a moment. Sora groaned in pain as he was brought to his kness, a shaky arm preventing him from kissing the tiles. He hissed sharply and raked his fingers through his hair, in an attempt to stop the headache that would definitely ensue.

He was suddenly held up by the collar of his shirt. Both his teeth and eyes were clenched tightly until then, but when he did peek an eye open, the fluorescent lights had been playing around with the throbbing in his head and varying in brightness intensities. He didn't quite see the face of his attacker at first, but soon after, the blond hair peeking out of a black beanie tipped him off.

"Hey there, faggot. What are you doing out of class so early? I didn't know fags could be smart." Poisonous eyes and a shit-eating grin came in snapshots as Sora was continuously trying to keep his vision in check. "Don't you spend all your free time pouring over your hand? Not your books?"

Sora was pinned up against the hard, white, but thankfully, smooth, brick of the hallway, his feet dangling two feet away from the ground. Sora blinked a few times and surveyed his surroundings. They were three feet from the library door, but at an angle so that the librarian couldn't see them through an unfortunately-placed window. On the floor, lay Sora's bookbag, items partially fallen out. Beside it, the textbook-weapon.

A few students had appeared nearby, watching. Just watching. And maybe whispering amongst themselves, as another gay boy was about to be 'disciplined.'

"Don't judge me by your standards, Seifer," he croaked. And for that he was dealt with several blows to the face. All the while, his head repeatedly hit the wall, threatening to split open. Between the knocks echoing in his sure-to-be cracked skull, he could vaguely hear the blond muttering things like 'fag,' 'homo,' or 'cocksucker.' Apart from that, perhaps a few jeers or gasps from the accumulating audience around them.

Just before he completely fell unconciousness, the assault stopped. For a moment, he was sandwiched between the wall and the taller form of Seifer Almasy's body, before dropped. He then slid down the wall and crumpled onto his side.

"Who the fuck do you think you're shoving, lamer?"

Riku tipped his silver hair back, away from his eyes, something he'd picked up from his brothers especially since his bangs had grown out. "You're blocking the path to the library." He gestured to the crowd Seifer had accumulated, and ignored until that point. "Back off."

Seifer smirked and picked Sora up from behind him and held the boy out to Riku by his shirt. "You want your little boyfriend back?" he cackled with a mix of contempt and superiority. Riku looked from the sneering blond to the small brunet in front of him. His head hung low, dangerously slipping in and out of consciousness. Riku felt the adrenaline surge its way through his veins. It was dangerous to pull this kind of stunt in the school building. Had they been elsewhere, off school grounds, and Riku would've decked him instead of making an introduction of it first. Now he just had to work fast, before the consequences caught up to him.

Anger swelled, and his fists clenched slightly, but he kept his cool under Seifer's gaze. "As a matter of fact I do." A gasp from the audience. "And you better watch where you put those hands. I'm the jealous sort."

Seifer raised an eyebrow, not believing him. So then Riku took Sora in his arms, and cradled him against his side as if to solidify the claim, before looking back up at the blond. Seifer folded his arms, his face still displaying 'oh yeah?' and–disgust– still etched, clearly.

One of Sora's arms, Riku curled around his neck, sitting the boy on his hipbone and supporting him with the interlocking of his hands, somewhat like how a toddler would be carried. Seifer just raised an eyebrow.

To 'seal the deal' Riku took his right hand (thanking God Sora was only about 100lbs) and brushed a few brown bangs away from Sora's closed eyes. Riku nuzzled into his forehead a moment before kissing it softly, holding this action just enough to casually end the matter but to also let everyone in the hallway and Seifer see how serious he was.

Riku bent his knees to retrieve Sora's bag, ready to just head for the parking lot than walk into the library where any more fighting had to be done 'with flair.'

"Gross."

Seifer raised his arm, intent on punching the homosexuality out of the pair, when the blond caught sight of a student-teacher; one who would definitely choose any moment now to be a faculty hero and report him to the office. He lowered his arm and turned to fetch his fallen beanie.

"Faggots."


Kairi, who had been a latecomer amongst the crowd, filled Sora in on what he'd missed while he'd been sleeping, apparently, on Riku's shoulder.

And even after this display of homophobia, at the start of the Hayner-Seifer era (never mind three years later), Sora had confronted the older teen, only to be dumbfounded by the remark:

"What, have you never seen a hypocrite before?"

Sora would not be Sora if he wasn't graciously willing to let it go.

End of Friday


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