Chapter 7: Plans in Action

Morning rolled around and Skye found herself kidnapped by Selphie and Kairi once again. Kairi and Skye changed into the same bathing suits they'd worn before, and Selphie had a bright yellow one of the same style as Skye's. They met Lulu on Paopu Island. She had a black bikini, and was wearing only the bottom. She was lying on her stomach on her towel, reading, her top discarded next to her. Selphie sat down next to her.

"Hey Lu. You better hope Wakka doesn't show up, with you like that." She said offhandedly. Lulu looked up from her book.

"Why?" She asked tiredly. Then she blinked. "Oh right. Whatever. I'm reading." She muttered, turning her attention back to her book. Kairi spread her towel next to Selphie and stretched out on it. Skye relaxed on the trunk of the paopu tree. Selphie let out a contented sigh and then looked at Kairi.

"So, how's the party planning coming?" She asked. Kairi grinned.

"Great! It's gonna be so much fun!" She answered excitedly. "We're gonna have it in Lilac Square, and it's a formal, which means…"

"AN EXCUSE TO GO SHOPPING EVEN MORE!" Selphie shouted happily. Skye grinned.

"Because we totally need an excuse to do more shopping." She commented, chuckling. Selpie looked thoughtful.

"I guess that's true… oh well, whatever." She shrugged, her eyes following a red blob flying through the air with a confused look on her face. Lulu saw the look on Selphie's face and looked up on time to have the red blob explode on her head. Water gushed out and soaked her. She let out a yelp and leaned over, looking down into the water where laughter was running rampant. Sora, Riku, Wakka and Irvine were all floating on the surface, carrying armfuls of waterballoons and killing themselves laughing. Lulu let out a growl.

"WAKKA! I'm going to KILL you!" She reached for her bikini top and scrambled to put it on as a rain of more multi-coloured waterballoons rained down on the girls. Skye hopped off the paopu tree and hid behind the trunk, peeking out and watching where the balloons were coming from. Kairi was on her feet, grabbing her towel and hiding behind Skye. Selphie was trying to help Lulu, and both girls were getting pummeled with waterballoons. Skye grinned, twisting around to face Kairi.

"Come on." She whispered, pointing to where the guys were floating just beneath their view in the water. She took a careful step out from behind the tree and, keeping her eyes on the balloons, caught one with a sly grin and handed it to Kairi. Catching another, she tossed it to Lulu, who was running towards the tree for cover. She caught another three, one of which she gave to Selphie, and Kairi caught two more. A moment later, the barrage of balloons stopped as the boys ran out. Wakka was the first to start climbing out of the water, a smug grin on his face. He got a balloon in the face from Lulu and went toppling back into the water. Kairi grinned and handed one of her three to the smug goth. There was some muffle shouts and more laughter and then Riku's head appeared, and both Skye and Kairi hit him. He let out a yelp, holding carefully onto the side, and managed to pull himself up. Sora's head appeared over the edge a moment later, and he got one of Kairi's balloons as Skye hit Riku again, which threw him off balance and sent him back into the water again. Wakka and Irvine popped up and both of them got hit, by Lulu and Selphie respectively. They had all dropped into the water again, and were afraid to show their faces again, not realizing that the girls didn't have any balloons left.

"Is it safe?" Sora asked meekly after a moment.

"Come up and see." Kairi answered.

"Come on, we were just having some fun, ya?" Wakka tone of voice was pleading. Selphie giggled.

"But this is great fun!"

"Maybe for you, but not for us!" Irvine answered.

"Then you'll remember this next time you decide to attack us with water balloons." Skye said, walking over to the edge and peering down at them. Riku frowned.

"You didn't even get wet!" He complained. She leaned over.

"Well, you might do well to actually aim, as opposed to throwing the balloons randomly all over the place." She stated. Just then, Kairi appeared behind her and gave her a quick push, sending her tumbling into the water. Riku and Sora both had to move to avoid being hit. Skye surfaced, sputtering.

"What was that for?" She asked with a frown. Kairi grinned.

"Riku was right. You didn't even get wet. That's not very fair to the rest of us, is it?" She answered with a giggle, offering her a hand up. Skye took the hand gratefully, and pulled the other girl into the water with her.

"Hey!" Kairi shrieked, hitting the water with a splash. Wakka decided it would be a good idea to take advantage of this distraction and climb out. Sora caught on and followed suit. As Wakka climbed up, Sora right behind him, Lulu smirked and pushed him. Wakka tried to catch his balance and did so, but at the expense of knocking Sora back into the water with a resounding splash. When he surfaced, he found Kairi laughing at him. He made a face and stuck his tongue out at her. She smiled innocently.

"Don't stick your tongue out unless you intend to use it." She stated. Sora grinned and stuck his tongue out at her again. Kairi giggled, drifting closer to him. Skye glanced around and then caught Riku's gaze. With a sly wink, she stuck her tongue out at him. He arched an eyebrow. Selphie, who saw the silent exchange, stifled a giggle before finding herself distracted by a certain boy of her own. Lulu and Wakka were arguing heatedly over something as they walked over the wooden bridge. The fight ended abruptly and they ended up cuddling on the beach only a moment later. Meanwhile, the rest had made their way out of the water and Skye reclaimed her place on the paopu tree. Riku, standing next to her, shook his head like a dog, spraying water everywhere.

"Hey!" She complained, trying in vain to shield herself.

"What, it's not like you weren't already wet. You have Kairi to thank for that." He answered casually.

"I know." She said shortly, her eyes shooting daggers at the redhead. He laughed. She crossed her arms. "Are you laughing at me?" She asked. He shrugged.

"I'm not saying yes, but I'm not saying no."

"You're laughing at me." She decided disapprovingly.

"I never said I was laughing at you." He answered.

"But you implied it." She stated. He shrugged.

"I did not."

"Why are you arguing this?" She asked, amused.

"Because I can."

"Okay fine, I know you were laughing at me because… I can read minds." She told him, making a motion like she was peering into a crystal ball.

"Oh reaaaally. Okay, what am I thinking about right now?" He asked skeptically. I'm thinking about how I'm starting to appreciate sunbathing if it means you in a bikini. He thought with a mischievous smile. And about how I wish Sora and Kairi and Selphie and Irvine would go away because your lips are looking particularly tasty about now. And… Riku had lost himself in his own personal la-la-land and jumped when she answered him. She was leaning towards him, her nose almost touching his and her eyes dancing with a hint of laughter.

"Why, you're thinking about how sexy I am, of course." She whispered before swinging her legs over the trunk, hopping down on the other side and wrapping her towel around her waist. Riku blinked.

"Wait, what?" He asked, his mouth hanging open in surprise at just how correct she was. She smiled slyly at him, winking. Kairi and Selphie both looked at them, and then they hurried over to Skye, each taking an arm. The three girls walked across the bridge, Kairi and Selphie both talking at the same time and then listening intently to Skye's whispered replies. Sora and Irvine, who found themselves suddenly abandoned, looked at Riku, who was still gaping at Skye with shade of red passing over his surprised features.

"What was that all about?" Irvine asked after a moment. Sora smirked.

"Riku's blushing." He stated. Riku ignored the comment.

"Sora, did you ever meet anyone who could read minds on your journey?" He asked after a moment. Sora looked confused.

"No…" He answered slowly. They heard laughter from the beach and looked down. Skye, Kairi and Selphie were standing on the shoreline, grinning at them.

"Relax Riku! It was a joke!" Skye called. "You spaced out and it was totally obvious, that's all. Are you still freaking out about it?" She asked, looking amused.

"No!" Riku called in answer.

"Yes!" Sora and Irvine shouted at the same time. Riku glared at them. Still chuckling, the girls meandered further down the beach. Irvine crossed his arms.

"You need to do something about your girl problem." He stated. Riku blinked.

"What girl problem?" He asked, pretending to be clueless. Sora pointed at Skye.

"That girl problem."

"She's not a problem." Riku answered nonchalantly.

"Uh-huh."

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A week passed, and Skye and Riku kept their little secret, finding more and more creative excuses to be alone together. Skye didn't have to work very hard, since all the girls thought they were in on it, with their 'master plan of seduction' and all, which Skye took every advantage of. Riku didn't have to worry much, since Wakka and Irvine never paid attention to anything that didn't have to do with either Lulu, blitzball and food, or Selphie, six shooters and food, respectively (yes, despite his peaceful nature, Irvine had a way with guns). All he ever had to worry about was Sora, who was famed for this thick head and couldn't recognize any form of subtlety if it smacked him across the face, which meant that he really didn't actually have to worry about making a feasible excuse to give to Sora at all. It was evening, and Kairi had announced that they should have another camp fire, so Sora, Kairi, Riku and Skye built the fire, this time with dry wood. Selphie and Lulu showed up shortly after, and then Wakka and Irvine shortly after that. Sora and Kairi were being fluffy and adorable. Kairi was sitting on his lap and they were whispering to each other. Selphie giggled.

"Aren't they cute?" She asked, practically squealing. Lulu just shrugged. Skye grinned.

"Almost as cute as Lulu and Wakka." She answered. Lulu and Wakka both blushed and glared at her. She, Riku, Sora and Kairi had caught the two of them in a rather 'intimate' moment the day before. Selphie blinked, looking confused.

"Okay, what happened?" She demanded, seeing the amused expressions on the faces of the four.

"See, yesterday – Ouch!" Riku started to explain, but Lulu cast Thunder and zapped him. He jumped, glaring at her. Everyone else started laughing. He frowned. "Ya, ya, let's all laugh at Riku."

"Awww, is Riku cranky?" Skye asked, edging closer to him. Lowering her voice, she added. "I bet I know how to make you feel better." He shot her an evil look and she knew just what he was thinking: you're being downright cruel, because you know what I want and you know I can't have it with everyone else here! She cocked an eyebrow, replying with a look that said Is that a challenge? I'm only just getting started. He caught her meaning, because he only held her gaze for a moment before looking away with a huff. No one else was sure what exactly had just happened, but Irvine was pretty sure he could guess what was up.

"Hey Riku, do you and Skye want to go get more wood? We're running low." Surprisingly enough, this was actually true. The fire was roaring and eating up all the logs impossibly fast. Both of them got to their feet and started to walk away. Selphie looked at her boyfriend.

"Has Riku told you he likes Skye?"

"Yep!" Sora answered instead, beaming with pride. "We had to practically force it out of him, but he admitted it after a while." Then his face fell. "But we weren't really supposed to tell anyways."

"That's okay, we already knew." Kairi assured him. Meanwhile, Skye glanced over her shoulder and tried not to laugh.

"You'd think they'd at least wait until we're out of ear shot before they try to talk about us." She whispered, choked with laughter. Riku snickered, nodding. As soon as he was sure they were out of the sight of the others, he caught her by the waist and pulled her towards him. They were close enough that their noses were touching. He touched his lips to hers and then drew her closer, brushing his lips against the hollow beneath her ear, making her legs turn to jelly.

"You'd better stop being such a tease before I do something we might regret." He murmured. She giggled.

"If you're thinking what I think you are, regret would be the last thing that I'd be feeling." She assured him with a seductive smile.

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wink wink nudge nudge hint hint… next chappie will be oh so much fun dearies! Remember to review all! And so sorry for taking so long to update, I may or may not be working on a yaoi one-shot... 3