Hello Everyone! I haven't been updating very often, as you can tell. Recently, the snooze button on my alarm clock has been a tad more inviting than the key board!
Anyway, here I am! I've cleared my schedule! This means I've finally beaten Final Fantasy XII in it's entirety (Minus that stupid rare mark crap and the fishing mini-game). I also finished my costume for Anime Festival Wichita. I had a blast. I hand made my costume of Ashelia Dalmasca, and Hito me Bore went as Balthier. She won a master's runner up for craftsman ship, even though she and I entered as Intermediate! YAY! No prizes for me I'm afraid, but better luck...at Naka-kon!
Also, Cloud's birthday was last weekend. Everyone wish him a big happy 31! (Or if you're going by the KH calendar, he's what...24...25? Whatever.)
Anyway, please read and review! I love you all!
As Sora trudged to the kitchen the next morning, he found himself weary and for the most part, out of it.
He would have stayed in bed several hours later, had it not been for the simple reality that all of his belongings were still in his car.
If he stayed asleep until his usual hour of rising, the sun would have baked all the contents of his car to an lethal temperature (and the sands of time would have ebbed away at his car until it was nothing but powder, His room mate would have moved away to have great, great, great grand children, Computers would have replaced pets, and all structures created by man would have been coated in a more economical, more efficient chromium gloss).
"Morning." Riku said without looking up. He was sitting at the table with the paper. "There's coffee in the pot if you want some."
Sora muttered a 'thanks' and helped himself to a large mug of it. He was going to need some energy if he was going to unload all of his belongings today.
"So, you're one of those early risers, huh?"
Riku shrugged. "Yeah."
"Kairi is too. I find it...pointless."
Riku shrugged again, keeping his gaze on the paper. "It sort of helps if you want to get anything done...or get to work on time."
"Right...well...er...yeah. Um...where do you work?"
"The café down the street," Riku said, draining his coffee and setting his newspaper in the paper bin. "It's not fancy, but it pays well."
"Are they hiring?"
"No."
"Plan on quitting?"
"...No."
"What about getting fired?"
Riku stared at the table very pointedly. "I'm just going to assume you're still tired."
Sora ignored the remark and waved. "Hey, I'm up here."
"I know where you are."
"That's obvious...especially since you're staring at the table."
"...Whatever." He got up and put his mug in the sink. "Where do you work?"
Sora tipped his head toward the ceiling. It was far to early to come up with a suitable lie. Instead, he crossed his arms and shouted proudly "I live off the fat of the land."
Riku rolled his eyes."So you don't have a job."
"Temporarily."
Riku chose not to pursue the subject, as he wasn't interested in arguing Sora's job situation. He would give him the benefit of the doubt and let him figure things out in his own way.
Sora yawned, setting his own mug of coffee in the sink. "I'm gonna go unload my car." The expression of misery on his face was just as obvious as a splatter of ink on a blank page, and Riku couldn't help but feel the slightest bit sympathetic.
He glanced up at the clock on the wall. "I've got a little time left. I can help you if you want."
The sun had risen just enough so that the two could make their way around the parking lot without running into each other. The air was cool, but not unpleasant, but for Sora, who rarely rose before the hottest part of the day, it was freezing.
Rubbing his arms for warmth, he made his way to the parking garage.
Sora had parked far off in some corner, therefore the process of unloading seemed far more daunting than it should have been. With a sigh, he pulled the remote from his pocket and unlocked the doors.
The hatch opened like a space pod, and the odd assortment of supplies, sacks, bags and boxes of who-knew-what looked very similar to Martians. Riku was very carefulnot to point it out.
Sora however was far more concerned with the condition of his belongings. If anything had broken, he would be sure to throw a monstrous hissy fit right there in the middle of the lot.
He was surprised to find that unlike most things he touched, everything was in order.
"Be careful, my stuff is fragile." He hefted a rather large box labeled "Things-I've-taken-from-Kairi" and headed back toward the apartment. Riku followed suit, grabbing another box with an oddly specific label, and heading toward the room.
It didn't take the pair long to bring in Sora's things, though there were a lot. A pile of boxes had started to accumulate in the middle of the doorway, so the sacks, and cases of clothing had to be set on the furniture. The pots and pans Sora brought along sat in cases on the table, and the bag of toiletries was teetering on the edge of the counter.
Riku followed Sora back out to the car to retrieve another box. A teddy bear's head poked out from the crack in the top.
He had been careful thus far not to comment on Sora's belongings, as he didn't want to be rude. But honestly, the boy had some strange objects. He had seen old baby clothes, an African war mask, and an odd looking gadget that looked like a cross between a broom and an egg beater.
However, the teddy bear seemed harmless enough, and he couldn't stop himself from pointing it out. "A teddy bear?" Riku asked, tilting his head at the extra stitches and stuffing oozing from the ear.
"That's right," Sora replied, throwing a sack over his shoulder.
"I had one of these once...circa birth."
Sora scowled. "I don't use it anymore! It's just...you know, for..."
Riku shook his head. "I really don't want to know."
Sora continued to scowl as he retreated back into the house. Riku followed him and set the box, and the bear on the couch.
Stretching, Riku made his way to the door again, however not to retrieve another box. "I should get going. Think you can handle the rest by yourself?
"I think I can manage." Sora sighed, flopping onto the couch. "See you later."
Riku waved, leaving Sora to wallow in his own pile of possessions, wondering how on earth he had accumulated so much. Perhaps he could have left some of that back at his parent's house...
Riku strolled down the street, running a hand through his hair. How he had ensnared himself into this room mate situation, he would never know.
He always pictured himself living without the company of people for the rest of his life. It wasn't the warmest of thoughts, but one he quickly adjusted to, as he didn't bother to make any real effort to recruit room mates.
It wasn't that he didn't like people, or...whatever Sora was either. In fact, he rather liked the company. Sora was...interesting. He hadn't even known him twenty four hours yet, and already he had a very strong fondness for the boy.
And it wasn't that he didn't want to share his space either. The apartment was getting to be too quiet anyway, and he could use the extra help paying for the room.
In fact, there wasn't anything about his present situation that he particularly disfavored or that he couldn't adjust to.
But...the feeling was clear.
He had never lived with anyone since he moved out of his father's house.
The sidewalk ended, cut in half by a bustling intersection. He crossed precariously, as the last time he crossed the street here, a taxi had ignored the red light and nearly clipped his shoulder.
His past wasn't something Riku brought up often. He purposely avoided bringing up those memories. In fact, the last time he even thought about it after he moved away from his father's, was when Sora made that comment about his eyes.
He was caught off guard for a second, but quickly shrugged the moment off. If he could help it, Sora wouldn't have to know anything, and his life could continue unhitched.
He would have to be more careful now, more conscious of his actions and habits.
He would have to adjust living with another person again.
Habitually, his eyes stayed on the ground, and he headed down the other sidewalk toward the café.
The little bell on the door jingled when he entered, where he was greeted with a green apron flying in the general direction of his person. Catching it, he noticed the manager standing behind the counter arms akimbo, smiling smugly.
"You cut it close today." He inclined his head toward the clock, which was dangerously close to moving past the hour.
"Sorry." Riku muttered, sliding the apron on and heading off to the back. "I had to help my new roommate move in this morning."
The manager's expression shifted. "Oh, you mean the one you mentioned that was coming last week, with the girl who kept asking what shade of white your carpet was?"
"That's the one."
"Well, good luck with that. Hey, make up another batch of Pommes a Four. We ran out yesterday."
Riku nodded, and opened the door to the back.
"The Filter" was a small café down the street from Riku—and now Sora's—apartment. It was homey, but had a distinct classic French decor. It smelled of strong coffee and cinnamon, and the warm lighting with dark, hard wood furniture made it a sort of early morning hug for those that weren't exactly eager for a day at the office.
Riku, however, spent most of his time in the back. With the cold steel counters and creaking metal ovens, the kitchen hardly compared to the front when it came to decorum, however Riku preferred it anyway.
He rolled his sleeves, washed his hands, and began the task of peeling an entire sack of apples.
Sora was bored. Granted, he did have an enormous pile of everything to situate, but one look down at his feet propped on a box of knitting supplies, and he dismissed the possibility of ever touching another box ever again. (At least until Riku got home).
He was very close to heading back to his bedroom to have a post-morning nap, but then again, there was an enormous television sitting right in front of him, with enough buttons on the remote to keep him flipping channels for hours.
A small smile curved around his lips as he hunted for the small, multi-buttoned device. He was sure it was sitting snugly underneath his stack of coloring books, but was horrified to discover it was just the news paper; oddly enough rolled to the classified section.
He vaguely remembered Riku throwing it away that morning, but then Sora had taken it out some time ago to read the comics.
He blew a plume of air up toward the ceiling as he unfurled the unwanted pile of newsprint, and figured that if he wasn't going to clean up the clutter, he might as well look for employment.
Hehe! As usual, I didn't like this chapter, but I hope you do! Please read and review!