Chapter 8: Fantasy

Every night I go looking for you
Everyone in the world adores you
A little pocket of something kind
To find your reason
Coming up and it everyday for
Look at me and it's what I stay for
A little locket of fantasy
That we believe in

Sora walked down the street, completely lost as to where Riku possibly could have gone. He let out a sigh as a drop hit the tip of his nose. He looked upwards and could see a sheet of rain falling out of the sky towards him. He let out a long sigh and stood still, letting the rain wash over him. He stood there, in the middle of the street, for at least five minutes, until he was satisfied that he'd been soaked through to the skin and he wasn't going to get any wetter.

"Maybe that was a bad idea" he grumbled to himself, kicking a pebble off the sidewalk and continuing his search. The middle of autumn was much colder when soaking wet. Staring at the pavement in front of his feet, Sora wandered; he let his feet take him where they will.

Soon, pavement became gravel, and the curbs running along either side of the sidewalk gave way to shrubs and dirt and tree saplings. Sora blinked a few times, wondering where he was. Then it struck him; he was in the park, where he'd first talked to Kairi about how he felt about her. It was becoming something of a theme apparently, because on the other side of the soccer field just visible through the trees, was Riku, sitting on the bench and only slightly damp from the rain, as he was mostly shielded by the canopy of the enormous tree towering above him. Sora cut through the tree line and began to trudge across the field. Riku was staring up at the sky, and Sora didn't think he'd noticed him approaching. He was apparently wrong, however, because as Sora got close enough to him to speak, Riku greeted him in the most monotonous possible voice.

"Hey Sora," he said disinterestedly, not bothering to look at the approaching brunette. Sora came to a stop beside the bench. Riku had been sitting with his feet stretched out across its length, but pulled his knees up to his chest, giving Sora room to sit. Sora, however, didn't want to sit, not with Riku's legs acting as so obvious a barrier between them.

"Uh, hi." Sora answered awkwardly, standing with his hands stuffed in his pockets. Riku glanced at him through his bangs. Sora couldn't see his eyes through the hair, and it unnerved him. The silence stretched between them. Sora was getting antsy in the quiet, so he spoke. "Aren't you cold?" He asked, touching Riku's bare arm. Sora was dressed in a sweat shirt. Riku was wearing only a thin shirt, and most of the buttons weren't even done up.

"No." Riku answered bluntly.

"Oh." Sora said slowly, feeling awkward. A breeze picked up, biting into Sora's wet skin. "I am…" he added, more to himself than to Riku. He could feel Riku's eyes on him, watching him through the shield of silver bangs, though he couldn't see Riku's eyes in return. It unnerved him. Riku shifted slightly away from Sora and leaned on the back of the bench.

"Sit," he ordered. Sora blinked, taking a moment to register the order. "It makes me nervous with you hovering over me like that," he added, and explanation to Sora's unasked question. Anger suddenly bubbled up in Sora, and he started to release all of his pent up frustration and confusion.

"Come on, sitting, standing, it doesn't matter! Just being near me makes you nervous, doesn't it?!"

"And why shouldn't you make me nervous? I have an unnatural crush on you: you who saved the world twice, and you who's in love with your princess of heart. Everything's as it should be while I get shoved off into the shadows because I don't fit into this happily ever after. I was the villain. Us bad guys don't get a happily ever after. We just get to be alone for the rest of our lives," Riku answered, his heated reply giving away to a voice that revealed just how alone he felt. Sora pulled Riku's legs off of the bench, removing the wall between them, and sat down.

"Don't lie to yourself. Everything's not as it should be. You were the one who told me so."

"Kairi told you that first."

"You were the one I believed." Sora slid closer to Riku, who had his arms crossed and was looking out over the field. Sora kept his eyes trained on Riku's, barely visible through his silver hair. "Besides," he murmured, "I don't want everything to be as it should be. If it was, I wouldn't be sitting here, asking…" his voice trailed off and he cast his eyes to the ground. Riku turned to finally look at him. Sora's face began to burn in a steady blush. "I wouldn't be asking you to kiss me again…" he mumbled finally. Even though Sora wasn't looking directly at Riku, he could still see aqua eyes going wide. They sat very still for a long time, before finally Riku lifted his hand to Sora's chin and tilted the younger brunette's face up to his.

"Are you sure you want me to…?" he asked slowly. There was another moment of complete stillness, and then Sora moved suddenly forward, throwing his arms around Riku's neck, and pressing his lips against the elder's. Riku was thrown back into the back of the bench, wrapping his arms around Sora's still wet and freezing body. It was a chaste kiss, but it still stole the breath from Sora's throat. Once they broke apart to breathe, Sora smiled his dreamy, innocent smile.

"I'm not cold anymore," he noted quietly. Riku laughed and tightened his arms around Sora again.

"Are you still sure you don't want everything to be as it should be?" he asked, his lips grazing Sora's neck. Sora guided Riku's lips back to his own before answering.

"Well, I don't know, I've always been a very indecisive person…" He paused to grin. "Maybe another kiss might convince me," he finished thoughtfully. Riku grinned and was happy to oblige.

"Made a decision yet?" he asked breathlessly afterwards. Sora was now practically sitting in his lap. The brunette shrugged.

"Not yet… it's going to take lots and lots for me to make a final decision…"

"That can be arranged…" Riku pulled Sora closer and kissed him slowly and deliberately, making sure that he could feel every touch and every move. He ran his tongue along Sora's bottom lip, making the younger shiver with pleasure. Riku pulled away, resisting as Sora tried to pull him back again.

"Why not…?" the brunette asked, obviously disappointed.

"You're freezing. You need to get changed into something warm and dry," Riku answered, getting slowly to his feet. "Come on, let's get you back to your place. It's the closest, right?"

Sora shrugged, still clearly disappointed at being denied further kisses. "I think Kairi's might be closer."

"Then to Kairi's house we go. The faster you get into a warm house, the better."

"But you're cold too!" Sora said, fighting that blush that was growing because Riku was so clearly worried about him when it was something so small.

"I'm not wet though…" Riku paused, looking down at himself. He actually was wet. Sora's drenched body had soaked his own clothes. "Whatever. You're smaller than me."

"SO?!"

"So what I say, goes," Riku answered, teasing. Sora stopped dead, glowering at him. He clearly didn't realize that Riku was teasing.

"That's not fair!" he announced. Riku caught Sora's chin and tilted it up to his, bringing their faces close and letting his breath fall on sun-kissed skin. Sora's eyes fluttered shut in anticipation.

"I'm sure I can think of a million ways to make you feel better about it…" he breathed. Sora's legs went to jelly and he almost fell. Then, Riku pulled suddenly away and left Sora to stumble after him.

"RIKU!"

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Kairi answered the door as her doorbell rang for the hundred and fiftieth time that minute. She scowled.

"Can I help… OH! You guys must be freezing! Hurry, hurry, come in!" she cried, ushering the two soaking wet teens into the house. Kairi's father, the mayor, was the only other person she lived with, and he was out at work. She dragged both of them upstairs and into the bathroom. Pulling fuzzy towels out of the closet, she wrapped both of them tightly in at least 3 of them. She then wrapped them further in blankets. By the end of it, Sora felt like he was floating in endless coziness.

"Uhhh… thanks…" he said sheepishly, waddling over to Riku and sitting next to him on the edge of the bathtub. Kairi nodded.

"I hope you guys are feeling better! I'll go make you soup or something, okay?"

"Sure Kairi," Riku answered, grinning. She was mothering them, and he found it kind of funny. She disappeared down into the kitchen, muttering to herself the whole way. Sora trained his eyes on Riku.

"So… I'm still feeling kind of indecisive…" he muttered, blushing slightly as he spoke. Riku grinned.

"You're getting greedy, Sora," he noted casually. Sora scowled.

"Oh come on, it's not like you're not dieing to give me what I want anyways," he scoffed, pouting. Riku chuckled and began to unravel the knot of towels and blankets that was surrounding him. By the time he was finished, the layers were draped over his back and hanging off his shoulders. Grabbing the corners of each blanket in his hands, he opened his arms to Sora, creating an open cocoon for the younger to crawl gratefully into. He pulled the blankets back closed again, wrapping them securely around both himself and Sora, who was settling into his lap. Riku pushed himself backwards along the edge of the tub until his back was up against the bathtub wall. Then, he freed his arms from the tangle of blankets and took Sora's face in one of his hands, kissing him gently. Sora smiled against his lips and wrapped his arms around his torso, pulling them closer together. As Riku's mouth moved to Sora's neck, his hands began to wander, first tracing shapes over Sora's back, moving slowly towards his hips, and then over his thighs. Sora guided Riku's lips back to his again.

"Now look who's getting greedy," he murmured, his breathless voice full of heat. Riku laughed huskily.

"But it's not like you're not dieing to give me what I want."

Sora laughed and kissed him warmly in reply.

x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x.x

Kairi walked up the stairs, balancing a tray on her arm. She had two bowls of soup and three cups of tea (one for herself). She had decided that she would get each one alone and tell them how the other feels. She was getting much too tired of hearing about their supposedly unrequited love for each other. She walked down the hall and pushed open the bathroom door, her eyes trained on the tray as she was careful to make sure that nothing spilled. A sharp gasp drew her attention. She looked up and discovered Sora and Riku in a rather compromising position. Her mouth twitched. She placed the tray carefully down on the counter, and then burst out laughing. Sora and Riku were wrapped together in Riku's towels and blankets. Riku's shirt was unbuttoned and threatening to fall off his shoulders. Sora had managed to loose his shirt entirely, and it was now draped over the side of the bathtub. It was a good thing that Kairi couldn't see what else was going on inside the towel, or she would have been able to see what all else Sora had managed to loose. When Kairi had calmed down enough to think properly, she decided that she needed to hear the whole story, and she knew she'd be able to get it out of Sora better than Riku. Currently, Sora's eyes were flashing around the bathroom, his face as red as a tomato. Riku was grinning like a maniac. Their weight shifted subtly, enough that Kairi wouldn't have noticed, and the blankets moved just a touch. Kairi wouldn't have thought anything of it, except that Sora jumped, pulling himself away from Riku as best he could (which wasn't very well, given that the blankets were holding them pretty firmly together) and yelped.

"RIKU! DON'T DO THAT!"

"Why not? You didn't seem to mind a minute ago," Riku answered, his face distractingly close to Sora's. The brunette went bright red.

"Well…Kairi wasn't here a minute ago," he mumbled in reply. Kairi almost choked when she heard that. She walked up to them, grabbed Sora's free arm and tugged on him.

"We need to talk," she announced, nearly freeing him from the blankets. Riku wrapped his arms around Sora's waist and pulled him back again.

"Mine," he stated with a grin. Sora seemed to get over his embarrassment and wrapped his arms around Riku's neck, peeking up at Kairi from underneath his bangs.

"And anyway, I don't kiss and tell."

Looks like Sora and Riku get their fairy tell ending after all.

Stay tuned for the sequel, Jade Mirror! Review please! Love you all!