Hello! Chapter five is up. I wonder about this one though. I fear my writing style may have changed just a bit. Hm...

Thank you all for the reviews, they really mean a lot to me!

As always, I don't own, so don't sue! On with the story!

XxX

Sora ripped the envelope open, and yanked the letter out in such a hurry that he nearly tore it in the process. He adored mail, lived for mail. He even saved coupons he knew he would never use for the simple fact that his name was typed on the bottom. This letter was extra special, as it was from Kairi, who he hadn't spoken to in a while.

He gave a side glance to Riku, who was staring dumbfounded at his envelope, deciding whether or not he wanted to touch it, much less open it. Sora frowned. Perhaps his room mate wasn't as gung-ho about mail as he was. Then again, Sora had never paid a bill in his life, and Riku's expression resembled the one his parents made when such things came for them.

He smiled at Riku. "You, know, I am going to pay half of that."

Riku swallowed and shifted on the couch. "What? Oh, It's...not a bill."

"...Oh. Well, what's the matter then?" He put his own letter on the table.

Riku opened his mouth and closed it again and went right back to staring at the white envelope. Color was completely absent from his skin. "Never mind." He stood and retreated to his bedroom, the letter hanging limply from his hand.

Sora shrugged, and was going to follow him, had he not heard the bedroom door close and lock in the hallway.

Sighing, he scooped his letter up. A warm familiarity set over him as he read the bubbly script in Kairi's typical choice of purple ink. She informed him of the happenings in his old town, how the neighbor's dog ran away, how Tidus and Wakka got into another fight, and how she missed him very much. He smiled. He missed her very much as well, and hoped he'd get a chance to meet up with her again soon.

Childhood friends, he thought, did little to describe their relationship. From the time the two had met in elementary school, he had known their friendship was impenetrable. Their arguments? Petty. Their tolerance for one another? Unwavering. She was the reason he was able to live as he did now, as a reasonably kind person; as an incurable whiner who didn't care what others thought.

He missed visiting her apartment on the weekends, lazily sprawled out on her bed while she painted his toenails—there was a fair amount of explaining to do once he returned home for that one...

He missed her gentle bullying, her jovial laughter, and her sisterly wisdom.

He missed the way her bob of red hair bounced as she laughed with him, as she laughed at him.

It wasn't that he was lonely here. He had Riku, and though he wasn't the most mirthful person Sora had ever met, he certainly proved to be a fantastic roommate. He wondered if he would ever be able to reach Riku's level of maturity and rationality. He wondered if Riku's personality was what he should shoot for to be a reasonably respectable adult.

It was just that, everything he once was, was quickly fading into the past. Sure, he could always call her, or his other friends back home, but there was still a faint line of detachment trailing farther behind him each time he moved a day into the future. He could feel his roots dying.

Maybe he was just being dramatic.

Contrary to what his mind and heart told him, his years steadily nudged him into adulthood now. He had to learn to pull himself out of homesickness and realize that just because he was a few hundred miles away, did not mean he wouldn't have contact with anyone. After all, this letter was proof of it, wasn't it? It was contact. This was adulthood.

He tucked the letter away in his pocket.

Sprawling out on the overstuffed couch, Sora kicked off his shoes and reached for the remote.

Riku hadn't made a sound in quite a while, Sora observed, partially to distract himself from his own thoughts, and partly out of genuine concern. He glanced over his shoulder at the empty hallway multiple times, but no sound came in return.

The room was quiet, save for the light plucking of Sora's nails against random buttons on the remote. He twirled it around some more and waited, but for what he wasn't sure.

Several times he started to get up and knock on the door, but the notion seemed inappropriate. Were it Kairi, he would have banged on the door without a second thought.

With Riku though, it was different, like he would be stepping onto untrodden space. Barging in on him might not make matters better.

He waited there a little while longer until he was sure he was becoming part of the couch. The remote was in mid-twirl when he heard a soft click from the hallway, followed by footsteps.

Immediately Sora set himself upright straining his neck until Riku appeared into the living room.

As usual, his eyes were set on the floor, even as he came around the couch to sit next to Sora. He noticed the letter in his pocket had been crumpled and un-crumpled multiple times since he had left the room. Sora raised his eyebrows.

Riku was quiet for a moment, but then let out a slow stream of air. "Listen Sora, I have to...tell you something."

Sora nodded and cheerfully replied "Sure," yet he felt a little uneasiness creeping down his spine.

Riku's eyes were cast so completely on the floor that Sora wondered if the floor was going to come up from the sheer intensity of the gaze.

"What's the matter?"

The words struck him and he winced. "I...it's just that...this letter..." He gripped his knees. "It's from my father. He's...going to come visit." He squeezed his eyes shut as if waiting for the house to collapse on top of him.

Sora just stared at him bewildered. Obviously there was something here he wasn't getting, because the news didn't seem nearly as catastrophic as Riku made it sound. "...Um...that's great!" He exclaimed, giving Riku's shoulder a pat.

Riku, however hadn't changed expressions yet.

Sora knitted his eyebrows, a wave of understanding hitting him in the face. "Oh, I get it!" He smiled. "I don't mind leaving for a few hours so you two can catch up. Just give me the day and I'll be out of here faster than you can say, 'hey, that guy left in a hurry!'"

Riku's eyebrows puckered into a kind of slow confusion. Taking in Sora's wide grin, he felt a strong pang of something scratching around inside. Reluctantly, he attempted a smile that he wasn't sure made it to his lips."He'll be here in four days."

"Four days?" Sora's face lit up even more, if that were even possible. "That'll give us time to clean the apartment up a little...not that it already isn't perfect. I'll help."

Riku nodded, but Sora could tell he wasn't really listening.

He frowned. "I don't get it, what's the matter?"

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry.

"Sorr–I mean..."

Sora rolled his eyes.

He cleared his throat. "I just haven't seen him in a few years."

Sora leaned back into the sofa. "That's a pretty long time. You're probably just nervous."

"Yeah..."

"It'll be okay." He smiled, giving Riku's shoulder a shake. "You'll have plenty to catch up on, and after that," Sora mused, "I'm sure you'll start watching Monday night football and going fishing together in no time. Granted, you don't really seem like the fishing type, but the concept is what I'm getting at."

Riku didn't say anything, but Sora was out of ideas to cheer him up. Maybe after a little while he would start feeling better on his own.

They sat on the couch for a little while, and Riku wrestled around with his thoughts. Sora took his eyes off the TV a few times to glance at his roommate and , wondered if he had actually shut himself off. However, evidence of life surfaced after Riku announced he was going to bed a short time later.

Sora didn't bother question that he was going to sleep a little past eight thirty, but instead cheerfully told him to have a good night and better feelings in the morning. Riku replied to which with a very quiet 'thanks'.

Out of boredom, Sora turned in early as well, glancing one final time at his room mate's door before closing his own. He still felt Kairi's letter in his pocket.

XxX

Riku was sitting on the edge of his bed, partially undressed. The crumpled envelope was placed haphazardly on his night stand with the name above the return address glaring at him hatefully.

He had a wonderful job, a beautiful apartment, and a room mate that turned out to be the most decent person he'd met in a long time...maybe ever.

But now, this crumpled piece of paper; this simple, easily shredded piece of half-a-cent paper and the news that was scribbled on it in that all-too-familiar handwriting, was going to ruin everything he had made for himself.

He hadn't cried in a long time.

But tonight, as he curled up underneath the blankets, staring at that horrid letter, his vision blurred and warm tears fell down his cheeks.