Yeah, this only took me like forever to do. :3 Anyway, please enjoy, and really guys, please review. If you're a writer you know how awesome it is to see that people liked your stuff. :)

-x-

The morning after was quiet up until about seven in the morning when he was still sleeping.

"You'll be late," a quiet voice warned. "Hey! So-ra! You will be late for school if you don't get up!"

Sora groaned out something incoherent, curling closer into the covers in an attempt to block out whoever it was trying to wake him up when, clearly, the sun wasn't up yet and he didn't want to go to school.

"I'll get dad! He says that school's important and he'll be-" Aya paused abruptly when Sora shot up in his bed, eyes wide with shock. "School's not that bad." She gave him a weird look and moved away from the bed so he could stand up. "I gotta go get ready, so go see if daddy's gonna get up, okay?"

Mouth dry and head fuzzy from sleep, he decided to simply humor her at first and then try and figure out what the hell was going on. Nodding absently, Sora stood up and stretched, not missing the face Aya made as his back popped into place. This whole place seemed too surreal at that moment- Riku was sleeping in his room, Aya, Riku's daughter was running into her own room to get ready for school. Sighing, he dragged a hand through his messy hair and stumbled his way to Riku's room, scowling as he nearly ran into a door that was locked. Pushing open the correct door, he found his mouth dry at the picture there.

("We should get up. Probably. Eventually," Riku yawned, tucking his head under Sora's chin and kissing the shoulder closest to his mouth absently. "Or, you know. Do something and not waste the day in bed."

Sora made a tired noise, his right hand absently skimming down one of Riku's sides. "I fail to see how lying in bed and catching up on sleep is a waste of time. I find it very producti-ah." He jumped in shock when one of Riku's hands drifted over his chest and teasingly across his ni-)

Sora swallowed hard and willed his mind to focus on the now and not the memories of the past- again. Taking two shaky steps forward, he found himself at the edge of Riku's bed, watching the older man sleep quietly. Riku's window was open, the first dim rays of sunlight shining through and shadows playing on the walls as a tree outside his window rustled in the slight wind. The other Keyblade wielder was wearing what looked like a soft green shirt, well worn from multiple uses, and a baggy pair of pants. "Riku," he called softly, frowning when it didn't work. "Riku, c'mon, Aya's up and she thinks I'm going to school or something and I'm not going anywhere near that place."

Stirring slightly, Riku's eyes slid open halfway and then fully with the same amount of shock that Sora himself had felt at finding himself in a house with someone he'd lost for nine years. "You're still here," he said softly, yawning a moment later. Still quiet, he swept his gaze over the brunet once and then a second time as if really making sure. "I kind of thought that you- I mean- this was a dream."

Sora nodded, completely understanding the feeling. Sitting down on the bed gingerly, he simply looked at Riku, taking in the sleep-mussed hair, blue-green eyes and the guarded look that he found part of him had come to hate because having Riku feel that way was the last thing that he wanted. "It's a good dream though, right?" Sora asked, brushing spiky bangs out of his eyes and hoping that he had masked the hesitance in his voice.

"Yeah." Riku sat up, pushing the covers out of the way only to reveal neon green and orange socks. 'Green and orange socks.' Sora couldn't help the snicker that escaped him at seeing them. Blinking with slight confusion, Riku glanced from Sora and then down to where he was looking, laughing a little. "Oh, yes, those. For my last birthday, Aerith and Yuffie took Aya out shopping and evidently decided to get me a pair of the most hideous socks they could find."

Sora laughed again, the utter normalcy comforting him more than he thought it would. "They're…very bright," he commented, standing up and yawning as well. The floor was cold- no doubt if he didn't already have socks on, he'd have been asking Riku for a pair earlier or his toes would be freezing by now. "Does she always get up this early?"

"Usually. She actually enjoys school much more than I ever remember enjoying it." Riku stretched and made his way over to the window, reaching out and pulling it closed with a quiet click. Absently scratching his side, he followed Sora out of his room and down the hallway, still only half awake. Aya was already dressed, her hair in what she probably meant to be a pony-tail, but looked like she had gotten lost in a windstorm. Sighing quietly, he gestured with one hand for her to come over. "Come here, Aya, let me fix your hair."

Obediently, she trotted over, examining Sora first and then giggling proudly when she caught sight of the bright socks her father wore. Riku pulled the first rubber-band out of her hair and then the second one before easily finger-combing it back and parting it neatly down the middle for two small ponytails. It took only a few brushes of his fingers before her bangs were arranged and she grinned up at him, hugging his waist gently before turning back to the table and sitting in her normal spot. In those few moments, the feeling that he didn't belong there came back. Riku handled this life with such ease, taking care of a daughter and living on his own; how did he deal with someone intruding on his life when he'd taken such steps to…get away? And did he really have any right to show up and intrude upon this?

As if having a sensor to tell when Sora was feeling that overwhelming doubt, Riku nudged the girl to the table and turned his full attention on Sora. "I know you may not believe me, but there's no other place I'd rather you be." He shot Sora a hesitant, slow smile. "I'm serious, Sora."

Sora nodded, combing his fingers through his own bangs and forcing a smile on his lips to try and at least appear like he didn't feel like an insecure teen anymore. "Alright, then," he finally said, making his way to the table with a nearly inaudible sigh.

Aya didn't seem to be too aware of the suddenly melancholy atmosphere, instead she focused on her cup of juice and popping bits of cereal into her mouth, eating only the colored ones first and then focusing on the plain ones. Every once in a while, she would look up and watch one of the two either reach for something the same time as the other, drawing back and apologizing quietly, or it was just silent save for the occasional request of passing a certain thing.

"Aya, finish up and go brush your teeth, okay? Your book bag is already out by the door along with your shoes and Miss Aerith is going to be here soon, remember?" Riku said once Aya was finished with her cereal and had downed the last of her juice.

The girl was braver than him, Sora thought wryly; juice and sugary cereal wasn't something that he would willingly want mixed together.

"Is Sora coming to school with me, too?" Aya asked, climbing down from the chair and staring expectantly at the two of them.

"No, Aya, he's just…" Riku turned and met Sora's eyes, the younger of the two recognizing the look of apprehension and fear easily, even though it was covered up in a split second. "…just, no. He's already been through school. We went together, remember?"

Aya sighed heavily and made her way to her bathroom, mumbling something about 'not being able to take Sora for show-and-tell.'

The kitchen, decorated warmly with all sorts of accents and homey touches, suddenly grew cold as both men tried to figure out what to do or what to say at that point. "You…you said you lived in Traverse Town, right?" Riku finally asked, stirring his spoon through soggy cereal absently with no intention of eating it. "That's not too far, really, I suppose."

"No," Sora found himself agreeing, all while trying to quiet the voice inside him screaming that it was too far, much, much too far and he was damned if he would let Riku get away again. "I've already been away for more than a day and I should probably get back to Kairi eventually. She knew I was leaving but I said for only less than a day. She'd be really glad to see you, you know, if you wante-"

Riku pushed away from the table abruptly, gathering up his bowl, cup, and spoon and then scooping up Sora's as well, regardless of if he was done or not. "No. I'm not going to-"

"When the hell did you get so selfish, Riku?" Sora demanded suddenly, standing up in a rush and following the taller man around the table. Riku didn't respond, instead picking up miscellaneous items from the table and putting them back on the counter; Sora was sure that they were there earlier and he was simply looking for an excuse to avoid arguing. Growling slightly, he reached out and grabbed Riku's hand, jerking him back a little rougher than he probably needed to. "You left, Riku. Left us. No word, no warning, just some little note that you thought would explain everything. I think the least you can do –not for me, for Kairi- is show up and at least prove you still exist. Or has our friendship lost that much value over the years?"

Riku's eyes were narrow and his jaw was clenched with anger; distantly, Sora was glad to get some kind of a rise out of him. Part of him was surprised when Riku's own hand grabbed his wrist and jerked him close. The older man's grip was just a sliver away from being painful, but Sora refused to say or do anything other than stare back with just as stubborn of an expression. "Don't you dare speak to me about that, not when-"

"…Daddy?" A quiet, hesitant voice broke through the haze of anger and tension making both parties jump back with guilt and place forced smiles on their faces. "Are you and Sora…okay?"

Both men glanced down at their hands, jerking back and forcing normal expressions on their faces.

Face and voice carefully blank, Riku nodded. "Yeah, yeah, we're fine Aya, I promise. Are you all ready?" Riku pulled away fully and turned to his daughter, tugging her shirt a little. A moment later he tilted her chin up and smiled up at her, pushing her gently to the entrance and walking a step behind her. A quiet knock on the door made Aya run forward and open it with a grin, grabbing her backpack a scant second later. "Hey, Aerith."

"Good morning to all of you," the woman smiled down at Aya, waving at Sora and then turning her attention to the smaller girl. "All set, Aya?"

Nodding excitedly, she waved back to the two men and followed Aerith down the street to the next house. Quietly, Riku closed the door and then leaned heavily against it, unwilling to meet Sora's eyes. "I have to get ready for work." He pushed himself away and then brushed past Sora, missing the hurt look that followed. "Listen, Sora. I… I know you have to go. But if you want, the spare room is open for you any time." Riku turned around, his voice even quieter. "For…for as long as you like."

Sora was still and silent, swallowing hard as he tried to figure out what he was going to say. With that offer, Riku disappeared down the hallway and to his room, no doubt to take a shower. Sora clenched his hands into fists, making his way back to the spare bedroom and collecting his things in a rush, ditching the pajamas Riku had lent him and putting his clothes from yesterday on, vowing to change as soon as he got back home. After a moment of thought, he packed the pajamas in the small bag he'd brought with him, along with the other small things he'd brought from his ship. Briefly, he debated on leaving a note, but after a second of not being able to find a pen in all of the utter…neatness, Sora figured that Riku would get the idea.

Within ten minutes he was back by his gummi ship, getting into it and setting a course for Traverse Town, leaving Radiant Garden behind in a flare of engines.

--

The door to the hotel clanged open cheerily, leaving Kairi to glance up from the book she'd been reading and greet a potential customer, only to find a tired looking Sora walking in. "Sora! Um…Sora? Did…" she trailed off, not wanting to bring up a sensitive subject, especially if the brunet hadn't found who he'd been looking for. Biting her bottom lip, she set her book down and swung one leg over the front desk and then the other, making her way over to where the brunet stood. "Sora, what happened?"

"I found him," Sora began quietly, not moving even when she placed both hands on his arms. "He's okay. I mean, yeah… he's okay."

Kairi was quiet for a long time before she simply leaned against him, hugging him tightly and tucking her head under his chin. "I'm sorry, Sora, I really am. But it's good to know that he's okay, isn't it?" She very nearly winced at the lameness of the question, knowing full well that part of Sora had gone to find Riku with the intention of bringing him back. In a best-case scenario, she'd hoped that such a thing would happen, but if Riku had already started a life somewhere else, they couldn't expect him to pack up and leave just to come back to them randomly. "Why don't you go ta-"

"Kai, don't," Sora pulled away a little harder than he probably needed, sending her an apologetic look a moment later. "Sorry. Just… I'll explain later, okay? I just want to get a shower and change and I'll tell you what happened." He ruffled Kairi's hair in a halfhearted way, pretending to not notice the obviously worried expression on her face. "I'll meet you out here in like ten minutes or so and we can go to lunch or something, yeah?"

The obvious effort at keeping a semi-normal moment moving only made her swallow hard and nod jerkily, a shaky smile on her lips. "Yeah. Sounds good." Kairi moved back to the desk, watching Sora heft his bag over his shoulder and make his way up the stairs looking far more worn out than she had seen him look in years.

-

A shower had only helped a little bit; he'd stayed in a little bit longer than he normally did, mulling over memories, what to do, what not to do and finally resting his head on the wall and letting the water run over him and rinse the soap off. It had only taken a few aimless swipes of his hand to rid his hair of foam before he turned the shower off and groped around for a towel or two. A few moments later he was getting dressed in simple faded blue jeans and a comfortable navy blue hooded shirt, fastening the crown necklace that he wore ever since he was a child around his neck. His hair was still damp, dripping from some of the strands, but a quick, messy rub from the towel and a shake of his head sent his hair into a somewhat decent state. He didn't look so haggard anymore, he supposed, so that at the very least was something good about coming back.

Kairi was still at the front desk, thumbing through one of the many books she kept under there for when she was bored. At the sound of him coming down the stairs, she carefully folded one of the pages down to keep her place and then stood up. "You look better," she teased, relieved when Sora sent her a wry, almost sheepish smile. "Are you hungry at all?"

"Not really, I ate at…I already ate." Sora shrugged, making his way to the door, surprised when Kairi slipped one arm around his and linked them like they did when they were children. "What about the little café down the street in First District?"

"Sounds fine to me." Kairi nudged him with her hip, grinning up at him when he rolled his eyes and bumped her back, the utter normalcy making him feel better. "So, I want to know, Sora. You…you found him, right?"

It would do no good to keep avoiding the subject, not when he'd went in search of their friend on both their behalves; it would defeat the whole purpose of doing it. "Yeah, I found him. He…he had a daughter- has, I mean. She's almost six. Really cute, really sweet and gods, Kai, he's a good father." Sora paused, floundering helplessly for words and finding himself unable to come up with them. "He won't come back, I know it."

"I figured he wouldn't, just as much as you knew that he wouldn't. He's got a life there and you know that it's hard for him to settle down; we've got no right to make him pack up and leave to come back with us, not when things are going right for him." Kairi smiled up at him, relieved when Sora nodded and at least made an effort to return the gesture. "Look, let's grab a seat and then get down to it."

Following the redhead, he replayed her words over in his head, not sure he liked the sense of finality he got from them. The waitress greeted them with a smile, asking how the hotel was and what they had been up to recently, along with other little mundane things that Kairi fielded easily, keeping up the small talk while Sora simply smiled back and nodded, only half listening. When the time to order drinks came, he threw out the first thing that came to mind; he wasn't really in the mood to eat or drink, but they were there so he might as well make the best of it. The waitress left a moment later, leaving the two of them to talk in the corner.

"You think I'm blind, don't you?" Kairi asked with a raised eyebrow, unfolding her napkin and gracefully placing it on her lap. "'Cause you're acting like I won't see that you're still in love with him."

Sora frowned, part of him wondering if he was just that transparent and the other half disgusted that he still hadn't gotten over a little crush. "I still like him, not in love with. And it's useless; he has a daughter and he had a wife."

"So?" Kairi waited for a response, thanking the friendly waitress when she returned with cups of coffee for both of them. She got the regular, while Sora politely declined and then they were alone again. "Did he kiss you?"

Sora nearly spit out his first sip of coffee, sending her an incredulous look over the rim of the cup only to see the shameless smirk on her lips. "He did, didn't he?"

"No," the brunet man muttered, ignoring the kick he got in the shins.

"Did you kiss him?"

"No. Kairi, just leave it alone. This is how it's going to be. We'll maybe visit once in a while, check in, see how he's doing and then that'll be it. We're not friends like we used to be before, no matter what we said-" He paused, remembering the quiet question of starting over and then he shoved it out of his mind. Obviously there was no point on lingering on it.

"You're an idiot." Kairi took a dainty sip of her flavored coffee, her voice just as calm and level as it ever was. "A moron. Both of you, actually. Get over yourself, Sora, and don't act like a puppy who just got kicked. So you and Riku had a fight- big deal, you always got into fights when you were younger, the only difference this time is that you can't physically fight it out. That means you two have to act like adults, however painful that might be. It's not that hard though." She gave him a pointed look. "Go see him. Again. If I see you before one, no… two weeks are up, I'm locking you out of the hotel and you get to go room with someone else. And you won't get your things."

"Kai, I have a Key-"

"Locked. Out. I don't care if you can unlock the doors, I won't let you in until you stop acting like an idiot."

Sora winced, propping his chin up on one of his hands and tried to concentrate on something else that didn't involve the older man, only to come up with nothing. Great.

--

Later that day, Kairi tossed a bag out onto the street of First District, a second bag following it shortly thereafter. There was a muffled cry of protest and then the redhead was pushing Sora out the door, ignoring any arguments that he might have had. "Two weeks. You know where your ship is. Have fun." She pulled him close, placed a kiss on his forehead and then pushed him out of the way fully, with that smile on her lips that usually meant nothing good. "Two weeks, remember?"

"You're heartless," Sora muttered, yelping when she kicked him behind his knee and glaring back at her only to get an innocent smile in return. "I'll keep in contact, alright?"

"I know you will."

--

He didn't know what he was supposed to expect when he came back. Somehow he suspected that Riku thought he would never come back and distantly a little voice told him that Riku probably thought the same of Sora as well. They were too much…too much of something; neither of them had been able to decide. Maybe it was that they were too similar; they'd grown up together, had similar interests- maybe it was that. Or perhaps it was that they were too different. They'd grown up together, but they'd also fought battle after battle against one another, striking blows meant to kill; maybe they couldn't make up for that.

Lips twisted in a slight scowl, Sora docked the ship and flipped off all of the switches, making sure that he had the key and the rest of his baggage. Cid was waiting outside of the ship, a cigarette pinched in-between his teeth, the tip glowing dimly as he held another in his hand. "Hi, again," Sora greeted with a vague smile, handing the keys to the cranky older man.

"How long you stayin' this time, kid?" Cid asked, swiping the keys and jamming them into his pocket.

"…I don't know. I'll figure it out soon, though, don't worry. I have money- for you holding my-"

Cid grunted under his breath, dropping the cigarette onto the ground and stomping it out with his boot before sticking the second one in his mouth, talking around it as he tried to light it. "I gotta solution for you. You need a job, and I need someone to work for me. I'll pay you and somma' the munny'll go to me keeping this ship for you, and the rest is for whatever the hell you want."

Blinking, Sora felt a wry smile creep up on his lips as he shook the older man's hand. "Deal."

--

Sliding on a warmer jacket, Sora zipped it up and prepared to head for Riku's house again. Aerith had been kind enough to lend him her spare room for however long he might need it, though she had remarked that by the end of the night he would be back with Riku either way. He wished that he shared her optimism.

Jamming his hands into his pockets, Sora stepped out into the chilly night air and closed the door behind him. The walk to Riku's house was both familiar and foreign; he'd been all around Radiant Garden multiple times, fighting Heartless and Nobodies, but taking a specific path to someone's house- to Riku's house- was new. The lights were on inside, visible through the tan shades that hung over the windows. With a final deep breath, he knocked on the door and waited.

A mad rush of footsteps followed the three sharp raps and then the door was swinging open revealing a pajama-clad, damp-haired and grinning Aya, holding her toothbrush in her hand. "You're back! I told daddy 'cause I'm always right but-"

"Aya, go finish your teeth first and then come out here and talk," Riku interrupted gently, standing in the doorway between the hallway and the living room, his arms crossed. Aya groaned dramatically but ran back to the bathroom leaving the two men alone for a moment. "You're letting the cold air in."

Laughing a little, Sora rubbed the back of his neck and stepped in to close the door behind him. There was a moment of awkward silence, both of them trying to figure out what to say before Riku finally broke it again. "Aya was convinced that you would come back; she helped me fix up the guest room a little more- you know that you're welcome to stay if…" he trailed off, stepping forward at the same time as Sora and then pausing. "For as long as you like. For however long you're staying."

"Is it a good idea?" Sora asked quietly, resisting the urge to fumble and take back the words- but he needed to know. "Gods, Riku, you know I've missed you, but I don't want to-"

"You should stay. You're not…you're not ruining anything- you never have, it's always been me. So let me try and make something right for once, okay?"

Sora's lips twitched up in a vague ghost of a smile and it widened as he was tackled by a bundle of damp hair and energy. "Daddy owes me three munny! I told him that you'd be back and he said if you did he'd give me three munny!"

A wry smile on his own lips, Riku moved over and swept his daughter up with one hand, holding her on his hip. "Right, right, you win. Off to bed, it's already past your bedtime and you can talk to Sora later tomorrow, alright?" The girl nodded, arms around her father's neck as they moved close to Sora. She pressed a kiss to his cheek and grinned when Sora flushed a little, not thinking anything of it when her father whispered, "Best three munny I've lost in my life."

The two disappeared into the hallway leaving Sora to turn to the door and go back to Aerith's to get his things, only to have someone knock on the door twice. "I've got it," Sora called, opening the door and blinking when he saw Leon standing there, hair a little longer than he remembered, but the same jacket, same necklace and same cool gray eyes. "Leon- hi! I haven't-"

"Aerith's kicking you out," Leon said smoothly and a vague smile curled his lips. "Somehow I got dragged into bringing it here."

Grinning a little and feeling giddier than he could remember in weeks, Sora grabbed his bags and shook Leon's hand firmly when it was held out. "Thanks."

The younger brunet shouldered one of his bags and couldn't deny the warmth that spread when Leon placed a hand on his shoulder and murmured, "It's good to see you back; you're good for him."

Later that night found him unpacking his things into the guest room, only to find something square and hard in the bottom of one of the suitcases. Curious, he lifted it up and unwrapped the quick wrapping job to find a gleaming silver picture-frame with an intricate design of interlocking crowns, paopu fruits and hearts surrounding the picture. It was a copy of the one that all three of them held, though in much better condition than the one he carried around in his wallet. With the picture frame there was a carefully written letter, folded up neatly. Unfolding it, he found a familiar keychain- Oathkeeper- along with a new one, a solid silver moon fading into a series of interlocking chains with a black and silver heart, outlined in shining red.

Sora,

I know things are going to be fine between you two- they always are, it just takes some time, sometimes.

Here- the moogles were all too happy to have these made for you, actually. They were talking about how you brought them all sorts of rare items and such and I figured it fit. The picture-frame is charmed so if it drops or anything it won't break (not that you're clumsy or anything!). The two keychains are for you and Riku- I asked the moogles to add a few new things to Oathkeeper and they made a new one for Riku. Hopefully you'll never have to use them, but all the same I think that they'll be useful just in case.

I know you'll be busy for the next few days, weeks, so have fun. Tell Riku I say hi and that I expect all of you to come visit or you'll all be in big trouble!

Take care, okay? I know things will go well for you two, you'd have to be blind to not be able to see that you're both still in love with each other. I'll talk to you guys soon and stay out of trouble!

Love, Kairi

The note was carefully folded back up and tucked in behind the picture so he wouldn't forget about it. The keychains were left out beside it so he could give the one to Riku and, touching the picture-frame, Sora felt something inside him relax.

-

Sometimes Sora wondered about the future and sometimes he tried to simply forget it and 'live in the now,' as Riku liked to say. The switch in roles shouldn't really have surprised him that much, Sora supposed; after all, Riku had always been good at taking what was expected, throwing it on the ground and then doing a little dance on top of it. It was one of the man's quirks and it was something that made him more approachable and less… Sora didn't quite know the word for it. He wasn't scared of the older man, at least not scared in a way that meant he was afraid for his life. It was more of a cautious worry, fueled by the lingering thought of, 'What if he disappears again?'

No. He wasn't going to think about that, because he'd made a promise and after everything he'd gone through, he wouldn't break another one, no matter how small. He trusted Riku with every inch of his being.

--

Sapy sap sap, I know. :3 There really wasn't going to be any more of this, but uh, people liked it and it just grew. Thanks, guys. XD Also thanks to my beta chibinekodoll who is amazing at betaing, hee. 3 Am still working on part three which will be the last part, so I can work on other things. Don't forget to check out the lesser known fic-rec listfor those on it's located at my writing LJ which you are more than welcome to friend. stuff is put there quicker anyway, and if you would like, review. I adore reviews like you would not believe.