Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts, Disney, or Final Fantasy.

Author's Notes: Special thanks to KitsuneSam for reminding me about enabling anonymous reviews since I had totally forgotten. Sorry guys! If any of you want to review you can now!

Chapter 7

The controls of the gummi ship didn't look quite the same when he was holding them. Riku had driven it before – but not for so long. He glanced toward the door separating him from his two friends and scowled. He didn't like the fact they had both kept to themselves – it wasn't right. Especially Sora, who had come out of their room only to use the bathroom. Trying to talk to him didn't work either – he slept in the cockpit at night, under the control panel and it was impossible to get him out. He didn't want to talk. He was also acting like a brat while doing it.

He understood not wanting to talk – he had enjoyed the first day of silence at the controls to sort out his thoughts and feelings on their world being destroyed... again. He felt angry, mostly, that someone had touched their world. He wasn't blaming any of them – because going on a vacation didn't make it their fault. He would have thought Sora would have moved from grieved and sad to angry pretty quickly – but he hadn't. He was set in his guilt.

Riku frowned as he stared at the upcoming world and tried to remember a time when Sora had felt this badly about something and what had been done. There hadn't been anything on this big of a scale, but he was pretty sure the few times Sora had felt guilty over anything Kairi had solved it by long talks – and then hitting him when that didn't work. Riku was pretty sure he did it the opposite way. Hit first, scuffle around, and then yell at him a bit before actually talking. It worked better than Kairi's way and was shorter. Except he didn't know if simply knocking some sense into him would do any good now. If Sora was determined to angst over this, he probably would. He had a stubborn streak that put his own to shame.

Too bad angst and Sora didn't go together and Riku was determined to snap him out of it and direct his emotions toward whoever had done this. If Sora had gotten their world back once, they could all do it again, and Sora needed to be reminded of this. That feeling in the back of his mind of slowly moving darkness far away was gone – now the darkness was everywhere. Someone had done this, and they would find out who.

Kairi could probably be persuaded out of her own rut. Either by way of getting her to help him with Sora, or after Sora was back on his own path. Riku sighed as he stopped the gummi ship and set the transporter. And they might as well start here. It was the most neutral world he could think of – Radiant Garden held too many memories for him, and too many half remembered images for Kairi. He had thought of going to the King's castle – but he wasn't ready to land there and say he needed help. He wasn't going to admit, even to King Mickey, that he couldn't even help his best friends. They would visit there only after Sora and Kairi were back to their own selves.

That was why they floated over Atlantica. There was the whole ocean to be alone with them in. He stood from the chair and stalked to the door and opened it, surprised to see Kairi standing up and Sora peeking out of their room, both staring at him. He blinked and the recovered. "Come on. Time to get off."

"Why? What's the point?" Kairi asked, her eyes dim. Riku gritted his teeth. No wonder Sora always brought him out of his brooding sessions.

"Because the gummi ship's going to explode if you two fill it with anymore angst," He snapped. "Now move!"

Kairi did, mostly out of shock. Sora was actually summoning up anger. Good, that was better than looking like someone had killed his puppy and told him it was his fault. He reached a hand forward and dragged Sora forward. "Come on, we don't have all day."

"Really? Did you have somewhere else to be?" Sora asked, glaring and a lost sneering. He resisted the urge to punch him for being an idiot. He was affected by their world being destroyed to.

"Stop being a jerk," He muttered before he could stop himself, and pushed his friend into the transporter as those blue eyes widened in shock and disbelief. He could already hear the "hypocrite!" on Sora's tongue... or something like it. Sora would probably actually find another way to say it. Which might start the fight he wanted, but the gummi ship wasn't the place to have it.

He stepped into the transporter and expected to find Sora ready to at least yell at him when he appeared in the giant clamshell. Instead he saw Kairi sitting on a rock, head lowered – and a flash of a gray-blue dolphin tail in the distance. "Sora!"

The boy didn't glance back. Riku's shoulders slumped and he drifted over to Kairi's rock. She glanced at him but he didn't acknowledge it. He was failing his best friends. Again. Their world was gone – that wasn't the end of everything. They could fix it. Except he had to convince Sora they could fix it, since Riku wasn't going to leave his friends behind. For that matter he didn't have Sora's luck at making friends and having clues and explanations fall into his lap.

He was actually grateful they hadn't been on their world this time. Last time the three of them had ended up separated, in more ways than one. He had sunk into the darkness and ended up at Hollow Bastion, Kairi's body and heart had ended up totally separate, and Sora had landed in Traverse town with a big key and a sudden responsibility. Sometimes, (actually, most of the time, now that he thought about it) he wanted to go back and punch his younger self. Not just for opening himself to the dark – but for missing the part where Sora had told him flat out that they were traveling to find Kairi and him. Instead, he had focused on the part where Sora was evidently enjoying being a hero and had believed Maleficent when she told him he was being replaced.

Sora did enjoy being a hero – because he liked people and he wanted to save them. Riku wanted to wake that part of him up again – they needed him like that now. If it happened to their world, it was happening – or had happened – to others and while Riku was sure there were worlds that could be destroyed without there being a grand design behind it, he didn't think it was possible for their world being destroyed while they were away to possibly be a coincidence.

"We shouldn't have left." The words came out of nowhere from Riku's point of view. He glanced to his side, narrowing his eyes at his friend. Kairi was staring at her lap, her fingers sliding on the scales of her tail.

"This isn't our fault. Someone did this, and we're going to find them," He said firmly, turning slightly to face her better. "Blaming ourselves won't help us. This could even be what he wants us to be doing."

"But if we had been there – " Kairi began to protest.

"Then things probably would be different – but we would have left eventually. This was doomed to happen. If we hadn't gone on vacation we could have easily been called by the King to help with a problem somewhere – and it would have happened then. There is only one person to blame, and it's not us." Riku knew glaring probably wasn't the best way to get his point across, but by the tiny smile forming on Kairi's face it was working anyway.

"Funny to hear you talking about not blaming myself," She replied softly, quirking one eyebrow up and her smile turning a bit sly.

He ducked his head and resisted to urge to fidget. She had a point there. "I guess all of those hits to my head finally did some good."

"Or maybe it was the kisses," She retorted, definitely grinning now.

"That might have helped," He replied, smirking. Too bad he doubted it would work on Sora. "I have to go..."

"Find him. I know. I'll go into the city. Ariel's probably with her husband, but her sister's are nice – especially Adella. And Riku? Thanks." There was still sadness in her eyes, but Riku decided that talking it out with someone else might continue the process he had started.

He snorted and flipped his silver hair away from his face. "Don't get used to it. I'm just filling in until I can pound some optimism back into Sora's skull."

"Good luck. He has a thick head," Kairi replied, flipping off of the rock and swimming toward Atlantica. Riku watched her go, swimming up to keep an eye on her until he was satisfied no Heartless were going to appear and ambush her. His eyes strayed away from her and in the direction Sora had gone – if Sora could manage to find them across worlds and with impossible obstacles in his path, Riku could definitely track his boyfriend in one watery world.

Or so he was still trying to convince himself an hour later at the sunken ship where Sora had first kissed him. He hadn't seen even a trace of the brunet and he had searched all the places he could immediately think of. Sora wouldn't have wandered too far off, no matter what was going on in his mind. Yet, he was nowhere around. He knew this world much better than Riku, and while the older boy was sure he was near, he had the feeling he wouldn't find him until Sora was good and ready.

"Hello there," A feminine voice suddenly said, and he spun around on the deck, his tail scraping against the wood hard enough to make him wince. A woman was floating a few feet away – or rather, a merwoman. Riku narrowed his eyes. There was something off. He smelled darkness, clinging to her like a second skin, "You're new around here, aren't you?"

"I'd say you're not exactly a native yourself," He said coldly, his Keyblade appearing with a faint sound and a flash of light. "And I'm seriously doubting you're the welcoming committee."

She smiled wickedly, flipping a pale pink tail to come closer. "Now, really. Is that anyway to act? All I did was say a little greeting. Nothing wrong with that, now is there?"

"I don't have time for games. What do you want?" His instincts told him to attack. But he held himself back. There was always a chance she was involved in what had happened to the islands – and if so, he needed information before he could take out his frustration on her.

"Want? Why do I have to want something? Perhaps I just came to look at you. See how you were doing after that tragic accident with your world, Keyblade Master." It didn't take him long to cross the distance between them after she stopped speaking. Way to the Dawn was aimed for her throat before she had time to do more than blink. Which was all she did, smiling down at him condescendingly.

"Who are you and what happened to our islands?" He growled, pressing the point into her neck slightly.

"Settle down. Have I threatened you? You'll never learn anything if you don't say please." Her brown eyes had narrowed somewhat and her smile slipped just the slightest. Riku smirked coldly. He was getting somewhere.

"Answer or die." Or destroyed, rather than killed. He was almost sure that this woman was a Nobody. If that were the case, even if she did answer he would have to destroy her. Except he wasn't going to say that while there was a chance she would give him information.

"We-ll. I guess I can compromise. My name is Iaxra. As for the rest – " He expected the attack – had since she said the word "compromise" – and blocked the flash of metal that came toward him, driving them apart.

He stilled his backward movement with his tail and pressed forward, taking a moment to note the odd shape of her weapon. Well, he had seen firsthand that some of the Organization members had the oddest weapons. A pickaxe was better than the sitar Sora claimed one of those he had fought had.

"It's good to know you've set yourself up for failure already. Less disappointment that way," he taunted, waiting for her to take the bait. He swept his Keyblade in under her guard as she moved the pickaxe back to swing.

She grunted and swam out of range, her eyes narrowing at him. He smirked and trailed after her, letting her keep a fair amount of distance between them. He would wind no matter what she did. She smiled back, baring her teeth. "Failure? I don't see how I have indicated this."

"Nobodies aren't made with Xs in their names. If you know enough to take his style, I assume you know enough to know what happened to that bastard." He lunged forward, swimming the way Sora had taught him to move behind her and knock the Keyblade into her unprotected back. "Now, what happened to my island?"

"You piece of shit!" She shrieked as she was slammed back. He pressed his advantage, channeling his frustration into the Keyblade until he had her against a wall.

"Answer me," He commanded, one hand gripping the wrist holding the pickaxe, the other drawn back, ready to unleash another set of Keyblade combos onto her.

"If you wish." His hand on the Keyblade tightened as she paused and grinned. "I believe some of your friends last moments looked likethis."

It was the only warning he had before he was plunged into darkness. Automatically he moved to attack her, not caring that he couldn't see. He had been blindfolded for months. He had fought Roxas with a blindfold on – a little lack of light wasn't going to beat him now.

Something hit his stomach hard and he gritted his teeth not to gasp, his grip loosening marginally – and he felt her wrench out of his grasp. Immediately he shot away from the general area, trying to bring up the general layout up in his mind. Fighting blind in water was a bit different than on land – a lot different – and he would need every advantage his memory could give him.

"You want to know what happened to your island? What happened to your little friends while you and your friends stepped out?" She was laughing out there. His stomach churned as he listened and marked her position. She was laughing that his friends were destroyed. She was trying to make him feel guilty as well. It was too bad she couldn't see his feral smile in the dark. Perhaps she would have realized thatthis was the wrong Keyblade Master to be trying those tactics on. No one could make him feel guilt better than himself, the efforts of an unoriginal Nobody were nothing compared to that.

"Do you want to know how our leader told us to destroy your world? Or perhaps you want to know which one of those there we convinced to open his heart to the darkness. That's what we need most of the time – a natural born citizen of the world. Like you were. Someone connected to the heart of the world. Of course, you needed no convincing, right? This one took a little work." He followed the sound of her voice carefully. He didn't make a sound, even stilling Way to the Dawn's chain incase it would give him away. Let her talk.

"What? No retorts now, boy? Don't you want to know how he had realized what he had done as the darkness took him – not at all unfrightened. Come now, child. Aren't you going to say a thing?" She was right in front of him now. He could hear her, feel her – and he thrust with the Keyblade. He felt it hit resistance and then push forward – and a moment later, everything was clear once again and the woman was doubled over on his blade.

"Next time, your master should send someone who can do more than talk," He told her coolly as she stared at him, beginning to fade back into darkness. In what was a final move of desperation she struck suddenly with the pickaxe. His eyes widened and he flung himself away, his tail flicking wildly – and felt the point dig into his shoulder.

She and the weapon were gone when he looked up. He clutched his shoulder, cursing under his breath. Blood leaked from between his fingers, floating into the ocean water as he drifted down and he made his Keyblade dissipate to focus his magic. In the next moment there was a potion in his hand. He almost poured it onto his skin before realizing that pouring a liquid out in the ocean wouldn't quite work and put it to his lips instead.

Riku watched the wound, frowning as it stopped bleeding but didn't completely disappear. Where she had hit his stomach with her tail – or so he presumed – stopped aching and some of his exhaustion disappeared but not the wound. His frown turned into a scowl, realizing that in this body he had no pockets to keep his potions in – though that brought to mind where his clothes were since they reappeared when he went back on the gummi ship and if they were really there with him, and therefore his potions.

He decided not to try it if only because it would bring up more questions. He would make another potion later – or better yet, get Sora to heal him when he found the boy. Hopefully an unhealed wound would take the younger boy's attention away from their lack of world long enough for Riku to plan out what to say – it all depended on Sora's state of mind.

The battle had given him some insight on how to find Sora. He was thinking too much, instead of reacting. Usually a good thing, in this case it was detrimental to finding his boyfriend. So he deliberately stopped thinking about where Sora could be, focused simply on the Sora part of it – and swam, changing direction when it suited him. He was determined not to notice anything about where he was going besides to mark landmarks to find his way back – he wasn't going to miss his chance at finding Sora because he became curious about the route. That was if it worked at all.

When the sun was warm on his back and he caught a glimpse of a darker mass against the bright sky, he stopped, staring at the surface of the water in confusion. Obviously it hadn't worked. It wasn't as if they could change back to their other forms so Sora had no reason to be up on the surface. But too curious as to what this world looked like on the surface, he flicked his tail just enough to bring his head above the surface, aqua eyes wide and taking in all of the details.

"Riku?" A voice question and he spun around to face the dark mass – which was apparently a rock. A blue-gray dolphin tail and spiky brown hair could only belong to one boy. Riku grinned as Sora gaped at him and took the other boy's confusion as a chance to pull himself up onto the rock – and almost fell back into the water when his arm screamed in protest.

"Shit," He hissed, shifting on the rock to bring his tail all the way on and clutching his left shoulder with his right hand. Another hand intruded, laying gentle fingers over his and then slipping them under.

"What happened?" Sora asked as he summoned Ultima. Riku watched the tip glow green before his shoulder did the same. He took his hand away as the wound disappeared – and was surprised when Sora didn't remove his.

"A Nobody. She wasn't that good, but she managed a lucky strike as I destroyed her," Riku answered, watching the brunet carefully. There were shadows under his eyes that weren't usually there and he was unusually unenergetic and listless.

"Here? Why?" Sora looked honestly puzzled and Riku barely stopped himself from rolling his eyes. Whatever his mood was, it was definitely still Sora. He wasn't stupid – he just didn't think sometimes and wasn't as paranoid as Riku.

"She had to do with our island being destroyed." He watched the reaction the younger boy had carefully. He saw the hand withdrawing from his shoulder to mirror the sudden blank expression on Sora's face and snapped up a hand to grip his wrist firmly, drawing Sora's startled gaze onto his face.

"Sora. Agonizing over it won't do a thing. It wasn't our fault, and it definitely wasn't yours." Despite his words, Sora was trying to glance away, eyes sliding from his. His grip on Sora's wrist tightened when the other boy tugged it gently, a gentle wordless request to release his hand. The brunet's mouth tightened into an angry line at his own silent denial. Despite the fact that they were burning with anger, he was quite glad to see Sora's eyes meet his again.

"Let. Go," Sora growled and Riku hoped that his reaction wasn't visible, because Sora sounded much more frightening than he had any right to.

"No. You never leave me alone when I'm sulking and I'm not going to leave you alone." He half expected Sora to push him away violently – Sora could go from one emotion to another more quickly than anyone had a right to and he was sure rage was the feeling of the moment.

Sora surprised him by continuing to glare for a moment before pulling him forward by the hold he had on Sora's wrist, and suddenly there were brunet spikes tickling his cheek as his boyfriend's face hid in his shoulder. He tensed automatically, suddenly frozen. His eyes widened, but he didn't dare move except to move the hand on Sora's wrist to his back.

He wasn't crying – not yet, not that he could feel. But he half expected the brunet to start, or to yell, or to do something besides take deep breaths and have a bruising grip on his arm and waist. So when the brunet started to talk, his voice low and muffled by Riku's skin, he listened intently, searching for clues as to what he was supposed to do. "I had a dream about it. A dream about the Heartless spilling out from the heart of our world. After the Heartless attack in the city at Land of the Dragons. I should have done something them, bought faster engines or... I don't know! There has to have been something I could have done!"

"Sora," he whispered helplessly, for a moment confused. His fingers ran down Sora's back, miraculously free of most scars thanks to the magic of Curaga and potions. There were a few from childhood, and some from in the last couple of years that he could only imagine why they hadn't healed properly. His other hand went into Sora's hair as he thought – and then jerked back on the spikes to bring Sora back into eye contact.

"Sora," he repeated seriously. "This was not your fault. You can't know if the dream was prophetic or if it was only to inform you of what had already happened."

"I had dreams last time," Sora admitted quietly. Riku groaned in frustration.

"This isn't the same thing at all! You were just getting the Keyblade then and I was the one to blame for our world then! Of course you had dreams before hand then, our hearts are connected! There was no way the Keyblade could show you the possibility of what was going to happen this time! Me and Kairi were both with you! There was no danger to us and... None of us are connected enough to anyone else back there that we would feel like we were missing a piece of ourselves." It would be a bad idea to tell Sora at this point that he was theorizing on why the Keyblade had been able to show him things last time. He was pretty sure it was true – he didn't actually have evidence, just his feelings.

"Then why did I see it after the fact?" Sora asked, frustrated. Riku chalked up a point to his side that Sora was viewing it as seeing it after it had happened. The hand still in Sora's hair moved up to tug on one spike, stifling a grin as his hand was batted away and Sora began to attempt to "fix" his messy spikes.

"Maybe because its your world. We all felt it to some extent, I think. An urgency, something missing. You're just more connected than I am, and Kairi I guess just doesn't get dreams." He let his free hand drift back down to lie on the warm rock, smirking as he watched Sora give up on his hair and give him a piercing look.

"Why? Why aren't you as connected?" Sora was giving him one of those serious looks that always made Riku want to squirm. They were so rare but he always felt as if Sora was looking right at his soul. The younger boy had no idea the effect he could have.

"Because... I could live on any world, and as long as you and Kairi were there, it would be home. I loved our world, but mostly for the memories it had." He knew he had unsettled his boyfriend with his candor and added smoothly, "Besides, we'll get it back. If you managed to do it by yourself then how hard can it be?"

He let that sink in for a moment, and then at the very moment he saw Sora work out his meaning and his eyes flash as he got ready to take umbrage at the remark, he pushed Sora hard with both hands and grinned as the boy tumbled backwards into the water, a flash of his slate gray tail the last Riku saw.

He began to laugh when the brunet surfaced, glaring at him with his mouth set close to a pout. He stopped laughing when the boy disappeared, realizing that he was in the more vulnerable position now. He began to slip into the water – only to be tackled from behind and be slammed into it instead. There were thinner but muscled arms clasped around his arms and torso, immobilizing his upper body, and thrashing his tail did no good as his friend laughed in his ear.

He forgot briefly about his predicament at the sound, feeling triumphant. He had managed to do it – not that he had actually expected he wouldn't be able to. Sora was easier to get set back on a more optimistic setting than either he or even Kairi were.

Sora's arms loosened but didn't let go as they drifted down and Riku took the opening to turn carefully so he was facing the boy. Riku felt his breath catch as the boy smiled at him. "Thanks, Riku."

"Always," he answered immediately. He let them just drift down for a few seconds, closing his eyes and enjoying the feel of his skin against Sora's. But they couldn't stay that way forever and he opened his eyes and his mouth, ready to say something – and was interrupted when portals opened up around them and spit out a couple dozen unfamiliar Nobodies.

"Hey, they have swimming ones now!" Sora exclaimed.

Riku glanced at him incredulously. "This should be a bad thing, Sora. We don't like new types, remember?"

"Sure, sure. Still, they look kind of neat," Sora said. Riku eyed the Nobodies. They looked like snakes. Snakes with long almost wing shaped fins on their heads and a Nobody symbol on a round bulb at the tip of their tails, but they still looked like snakes. Riku concluded that Sora had strange opinions on what was neat and summoned Way to the Dawn.

He kept track of where Sora was in general, but he knew he wouldn't need any help. Besides, the new Nobodies were quicker than he would have thought possible and those wing things hurt when they slammed into him. It took him a few minutes to memorize their fighting style and abilities. He did hear Sora growl in frustration at one point and there was a flash of light. Assuming Sora had called Thundaga, Riku avoided an attack where one swirled around him quickly and tried to stun him with its wings.

They were fast nuisances, and in frustrations, he aimed for anything he could get – and found a weakness in the bulbs on their tails. It put them off balance when they were hit, allowing him to get in a combo or two. The problem was the things seemed to have a pack mentality, actually protecting one another when one was stunned. However, he noticed after he had cut down about half of them, they were more sluggish. It was interesting, and he would bet they didn't somehow gather power from each other. He didn't have much time for pondering about it.

Just as he was laying a lightning fast combo onto the last two, he caught a flash of red. He forced himself to finish the two before quickly turning to look – and finding that Sora's tail had turned a deep red and there were two Keyblades in his hand as he tore into a new pack of Nobodies that had appeared.

Valor.

He remembered it. Sora had briefly explained it, but it drained his power fast and he usually had to take energy from Goofy to make it last for any amount of time. Apparently Sora had decided a little drain was worth destroying the Nobodies faster. Riku had to admit it was powerful. Ultima and Oathkeeper were in his hands and it seemed they would barely touch one Nobody before it vanished, its form destroyed. It was violent, and brutal, and Sora's arms were practically a blur as he darted under over and between Nobodies, leaving only fading forms behind him.

Riku's mouth was dry and Way to the Dawn was only loosely clasped in his hand. His eyes were trained on the twisting form above him and he couldn't imagine anything more beautiful. Sora was everywhere at once, blocking with Oathkeeper while he attacked with Ultima.

He forced his tail to move, driving him closer. He shouldn't be just watching. He should be helping. He could be part of the deadly dance, weaving Way to the Dawn between the other two Keyblades. Yet, some part of him wanted to just sit back and watch. Sora was in no danger, and the numbers of Nobodies were quickly dwindling

Just as Sora was finishing off the last one he flashed back to his normal gray tail and Riku watched carefully. He half expected, despite having seen him change easily from one to the other before, that Sora would at least pause a moment and be forced to back away. Instead, his swing of two Keyblades turned into the swing of one and dealt the final blow to the last Nobody.

Now Riku approached, circling behind his boyfriend for a moment, eyeing him critically for wounds. There were a few cuts, and Riku was quite ready to conjure a potion – but Sora's Curaga took care of them, and a few bruises he had picked up as well. The skin healed up before his eyes, the blood drifting away and dissipating in the salty water. His eyes lingered on Sora's chest as his boyfriend turned to face him, still breathing hard from his exertion.

"Nice fight," He commented, his lips curving into a smirk. Sora blinked – and then laughed, startling Riku. He further startled him when he suddenly snapped out an arm and tugged Riku close, pressing their lips together. He half expected it to be rough, but it wasn't. Despite the way he had pulled him forward, Sora's lips were gentle on his and his hand loosened on his arm to slide up in a slow caress while his other arm circled around to Riku's waist. Riku kissed back, surprised and letting Sora set the pace while his heart fluttered in joy and his eyes slid closed.

No matter how many times they kissed, Sora kissing him would always surprise him just a little. Even the gentle press of lips and the barely there pressure of the kiss practically melted him then and there. After everything that had happened, part of him couldn't believe Sora wanted him. These tiny moments reminded him that it was real.

Sora drew back first and Riku took a moment to compose his thoughts before opening his eyes. They almost immediately narrowed as he saw Sora looking just a bit smug. "Something you want to say?"

"At least I can remember how to swim and kiss at the same time," Sora said. Riku stared a moment, and could feel Sora's tail brushing against his – and realized the only reason he hadn't slipped away from Sora was the arm around his waist. His own tail had stilled the instant Sora's lips touched his. For a moment he wanted to push Sora away and snap back at the teasing – but he had a better idea almost immediately.

"Can you?" he asked slyly, and saw Sora's eyes widen. Riku didn't give him a chance to reply, instead diving in for another taste, this time leading them into a more heated exchange and insistently running his tongue against Sora's lips. It didn't take long before the both of them were grappling for dominance with their tongues and trying to distract each other with hands sliding from shoulders and waists up their chests.

Riku forgot what the point of the exchange was supposed to be when Sora broke away suddenly and attacked his neck. He jerked his head away slightly when his boyfriend bit him gently and groaned as he began to suck. He tugged at Sora's spiky hair, which could have been taken as him pulling the other boy away if he wasn't at the same time baring his pale neck further.

"Harder in water," he heard Sora murmur and he ran a hand down his tanned chest to flick his nipples gently, making the boy hiss against his throat.

"Yeah. Makes you wonder how they – " He broke off when Sora moved from his neck to nibble at his ear and writhed beneath him, barely noticing that they were now hitting the sandy ocean floor.

"N-not going to find out," Sora muttered and Riku smirked at the stutter – caused by one of his hands dragging harshly down the other boy's back. He drew him away from his ear to smash their lips together.

"Probably should do it as humans first," Riku said agreeably when they finally broke apart, both panting. He was pleased he had at least been able to keep the conversation in his head, since Sora was giving him a partly glazed questioning look. "Sex, Sora."

"What?" Sora blinked, looking stunned. Riku rolled his eyes at the boy above him and leaned up, sliding his elbows back to balance on as he waited for Sora to remember. The boy stared at him for a few moments – and then he blushed and muttered, "Oh. Yeah."

He wasn't sure whether to tease Sora more, or ask for clarification as to what the "Yeah" was referring to. Instead, he did neither as he noticed they were on the ground and crowed triumphantly. "Ha! I'm not the only one who forgot how to swim."

He was surprised to see Sora grin. "Who says I did?"

Riku glared at him. They weren't up there anymore, and there was no way Sora could really be trying to bluff him. It was obvious he had lost. "Be serious, Sora."

"I am. How do you think you ended up on the bottom, Ri-ku?" Sora darted up and out of his reach before he could even think about how to respond. He stared at his friend and just rolled his eyes as Sora stuck his tongue out. It didn't matter, he would find a way to get the other boy back later – and he had at least had some time alone with him.

"So, the new Nobodies. How about Flippers?" Sora asked.

Riku raised an eyebrow incredulously. "Are you kidding? They probably have their own name."

"Well, I think they look like their name is Flippers," Sora responded stubbornly.

"That's stupid," he retorted. He couldn't actually think of a better name, but he was not calling those things such a childish name.

They continued to bicker about the name as they swam back towards Atlantica. In the end, they turned it into a race – Riku won, though Sora claimed he played dirty. Which was technically true, but it didn't matter as Riku had won anyway. There were no more Nobody attacks, and nobody brought up what they were going to do quite yet. Riku knew what they would be doing. He and Sora and Kairi would inform the King, and all of Sora's friends – and then they would go search for who had destroyed their world.

Finally, they would eliminate him.

That was the end of chapter seven. Please Review if you liked it... or if you didn't!