Alright! Time to start pulling this together. This is the point where everything aforementioned in earlier chapters becomes an intact story...at least I hope so!

Oh, I have a warning for mention of graphic sex, but I think over the years, I must've forgotten what would be considered "graphic". Like, I don't consider what I normally write graphic at all. I just wonder if I've been desensitized by all the yaoi/slash stories I read. *Shrug* I think I'll keep it just because the person involved was very badly hurt.

"Hypervigilance is never to be confused with paranoia. Never."

Full Summary: In the uncertain world of adults, Sora and Riku attempt to patch together their shaky relationship after almost 5 years apart. It's about love and hate and lost trust, set in a world where the magic has run dry and the boys see each for who they really are. The tension doesn't last for long, however, as both men fall into a routine that they both know very well. Along the way, they become reacquainted with the old qualities that brought them together, while familiarizing themselves with the individuals that each person has become.

Warnings: Language, Mention of Graphic Sex, More OC Description, Violence, Sexual Situations

Disclaimer: None of the characters within this fanfic belong to me. If it did, this would be a full length movie with all smexy-slashy-yaoiness I could legally fit onto a single DVD. Kingdom Hearts is a lovely invention of Square Enix.

Hypervigilance

Chapter 5: Sensitivity

-

It had been 3 days without Sora, and Riku was growing increasingly restless. He had taken to visiting Kairi more, and falling into his past habits of heartbreak. General silence and an unwillingness to talk was the major one. Others included obsessively staring at his cell phone, hoping the brunet would call, only to end up watching the digital clock change with every passing minute. And practically starving himself.

"Want some?" The tiny redhead that barely came up to Riku's knees offered, holding her ice cream cone up as high as she could manage. The silver-haired man glanced past the blank screen of his phone to regard the small child with a half-hearted smile and a "No thanks". Charlot shrugged and toddled back to her father sitting in the grass.

Riku wasn't exactly sure when he became such an important part of their small family, but it was often like this: the four of them together. Quint and Kairi often invited him to dinner and certain holidays or just to spend the day with him, in case he was lonely, Riku suspected. Not that he didn't appreciate it; he had already admitted to himself that he was a bit of a recluse and excluding, like, two other close acquaintances, they were his only real friends. Riku was a loner, and he preferred it that way.

Today it was the park and it was sunny and that made Riku pretty miserable. His hair stuck to the back of his neck so he was forced to tie it up. And not to mention that it was at least 85 degrees. He couldn't decide what he hated more, the heat or how everything seemed to glow in the sunlight. Glare was a better word for it.

Kairi joined Riku on the park bench, peeking at him through his dark sunglasses that she could only see herself in. "You okay?"

Riku nodded, thumbing the keypad of his phone. He idly wondered if Sora had gotten home alright. He closed the small silver device, tucking it into his pocket. The other day he found an ad for the massage clinic in the phone book. It was torn out and folded up in his wallet. He considered calling. Again. And again, he didn't.

"It's a nice day, isn't it?" The redhead sighed contently, folding her slender hands over her rounded stomach, holding the little under-developed baby inside of her. Riku shrugged, watching her hands out of the corner of his eye, gently stroking her stomach.

"Guess so." He answered curtly, silently wondering how someone could have so much love for someone they've never met. Love, all for a tiny little human that has even formed yet. So in love with an idea, and he couldn't bring himself to say he loved the one person he's known his whole life. Riku couldn't help but think that if he would've said yes when Sora asked—Would he be with Sora right now? Married to Sora?

Riku raised his hand, gently resting his palm on his friend's belly. She smiled. "Was Sora, Has Sora always acted so...weird? Like, before now?" Kairi's smiled diminished just a little.

"It's gotten better." She said, indicating that his behavior might've been considerably stranger than it was now. "He was so torn up after leaving you. I mean, at least...He's Sora again, right? That's good enough." Riku frowned, offhandedly thinking, who was he before?

"He used to get really paranoid and angry sometimes," Kairi continued. "for no reason at all. Evann's helped him through that. A lot. He's been very good for Sora."

Riku felt a sudden bump against his hand, like something tiny pushing from the inside, speculating that the baby was protesting her last words as well.

"Evann?" The older man questioned, failing to keep the bitter accusing suspicion from his voice. "So that's his name."

"Evann Fairbanks. He's a paralegal. Studying to be an attorney." Kairi glanced sideways at him as the baby kicked again, harder. "Sora took his name."

"Sora Fairbanks? Please, that doesn't even sound right."

"They have a great relationship, Riku." The redhead reasoned, trying to discourage the rant she knew was boiling just under the surface. He wanted to complain, and worse, he wanted her to agree with him and she knew that she couldn't. "And from what I can tell they don't constantly yell at each other." She said pointedly, referring to the chaotic mess of a relationship the boys had when they were teenagers.

Riku scoffed, removing his hand from the woman's stomach to cross his arms over his chest. "Couldn't be that great."

"What?"

"I'm just saying, it can't be all that great if he's willing to leave him for me. I'd only have to ask." Kairi's eyes narrowed, her slender hands no longer folded gently over her stomach.

"He said that?" Riku arched an eyebrow, her reaction making him curious. He supposed marriage had become very sacred to her, considering that she was insanely in love with her husband. It was very possible that she was enraged to think that anyone could just give it up that easily.

"Not in so many words, but..."

"Riku, you wouldn't." The woman nearly begged, her eyes livid and bewildered at the same time.

"Of course not. I couldn't ask him to do that." Riku insisted, though interrupting the redhead before she could even sigh in relief. "I'm going to let him do it on his own."

"Please leave this alone. Sora's happy. Just let him be," Kairi was near tears at this point, blaming her stupid hormones and dabbing at her eyes. "Just let him be happy. Please."

"He's not." Riku muttered, adjusting his dark glasses against the brightness of the sun. "If he was, I'd have never seen him again."

"Oof, serious conversation." The dark-haired man said from behind the bench, holding a little Charlot on his shoulders. Though he smiled pleasantly, his eyes pointedly held Kairi's, silently inquiring if she was alright. She only nodded and returned his smile, reaching up to take the baby from him.

Kairi's husband was one of those naturally cheery types, quick to smile and lived to help others, often giving unwarranted advice just for the hell of it. His hair was oil black unlike his wife and daughter's more notable red, despite how carefree and laid back he came across to strangers, Quint was very protective of his little family—and occasionally that included Riku and Sora. They had been friends since high school after all.

"So I heard from the missus about you and Sora. That's a tough break, kid." Quint leaned on the back of the wooden bench, crossing his arms. As much as Riku hated the word kid being used in reference to him, he was so used to it, it rarely bothered him anymore. It was a bad habit of the redhead's husband, a term he used even when the person was older than him—Like Riku was. "You wanna watch the married ones though. They're nothing but trouble."

"And how would you know that?" Kairi questioned him playfully, picking bits of grass out of her daughter's hair.

"Experience, baby." The dark-haired man smiled, kissing the back of her head. Riku groaned inwardly, standing from the bench. As much as he just adored watching people be in love, it only reminded him of his current situation, and it was one he desperately didn't want to be in. "You leaving?" Quint asked, caught somewhere between and a full stand and leaning over so he looked as if he had some crippling back problem.

"I need to take a walk."

"Oh. Don't get lost." The younger man smiled, giving a short laugh. Riku frowned, apparently not getting the joke because Quint only waved him off, laughing again.

Riku pulled out his phone again, only to look at the blank screen. No missed calls or voice mail. He knew he was being selfish, wanting Sora to call him all the time, but damn, it's been three days. That's more than enough time to wait. And certainly more than enough time to get "reacquainted" with your husband, or whatever. Riku scowled, snapping his phone shut as dark, unwanted thoughts filled his head. Some other man touching Sora. His Sora. It was obvious that Sora wasn't happy with the relationship. So why wouldn't he end it? Why stay with a man who can't satisfy you?

Riku found a thickly covered willow tree whose branches nearly touched the ground, so it looked like a giant green mushroom top. He slipped underneath it, finding the dark tree a cool and refreshing shelter from the oppressive sunshine. It reminded him of that dank little cave he and Sora used to play in as children, the one with the horrible drawings on the walls. It reminded him of sea salt and tangy dried sweat, of caressing Sora's warm suntanned skin. Of how his lips trembled the first time they kissed, how his hands were too big for his still growing body and how they clenched into Riku's shoulders when he unzipped his pants.

Sora was soft and warm when he held him, and fit nicely into his palm. Riku remembered that his first thought was how different Sora's dick had felt from his own, even though it pretty much the same. The only discrepancy being in slight difference in size.

From the way Sora gasped at even the slightest contact, Riku assumed that he had never really touched himself before, at least not enough to make himself come. His whimpers of pleasure were still fresh in his mind.

"Ri-Riku."

"Sora." Riku murmured, his own voice waking him. His eyes opened to look around, bewildered. It was still light outside so he probably hadn't been asleep that long. Glancing at his phone, he found that it had only been about 20 minutes. The silver-haired man stretched, deciding that he couldn't very well spend the whole day sleeping in the park, though it was pretty tempting.

Oh.

Riku paused, looking down. Just when he noticed his pretty adolescent discomfort, his phone vibrated in his hand, only once. Too short for a call. Must be a text message. Opening his phone, he saw that he was right, only the message from Kairi hadn't been what he was hoping for.

Are you alright?

Fine, He texted back. I'll see you later. I got something else to do today. Say goodbye to Char for me.

His problem only slightly decreased by Kairi's distraction, Riku adjusted himself to make it less noticeable, crawling out from under the tree. It was hotter than he remembered outside, the sun annoyingly brighter and higher in the sky. How anyone could actually like this type of weather was way beyond Riku's comprehension.

"Oh!" The exclamation took the silver-haired man off guard, putting him in sort of a reflexive danger mode. "You scared me." The voice giggled, high and very feminine. "Oops, guess I kinda scared you too." The woman pointed out, probably referring to the expression Riku didn't realize was on his face until he felt himself relax.

"What were you doing under there, Riku?" Great. The keyblader recognized the girl, though not immediately. Her hair was shorter than he remembered, but the characteristic flip still turned the ends. Selphie. Riku had never particularly liked Selphie. Not because he hated her or anything, but there were certain things about her personality that he just wanted to avoid. They hardly talked as kids anyway.

"Uh, sleeping. I guess." He answered honestly, realizing how that must sound seconds after he said it. He could already feel the questioning stare of sympathy from the girl before he could stop it. He glanced down at his appearance: half-hard, though that was pretty unnoticeable, his hair messily tied back and bits of grass on his pants. He even looked like he just woke up, which really didn't help.

"Things haven't gotten that bad, have they?" Selphie said as if she were just joking but the look she gave him afterwards was a bit of a give-away. The one where you tilt your head to the side and your eyebrows come together.

"No." Riku replied a little too seriously, hoping she would really just get the hint and go away. No such luck. She was waiting for an explanation. A little, "and I was sleeping under a tree because..."

"I'm actually really busy right now so..." He trailed off, the unspoken good-bye lingering in his voice.

"Okay." The girl replied quietly, tacking on a little smile at the end. Riku got the hell out there before she felt the need to offer him munny. Later, he would hear from Kairi that Selphie thought he was homeless and regularly sleeping in trees in the park.

rsrsrsrs

"Why does it matter?" Riku spoke, avoiding the subject. The sun was dying in the horizon, and technically they really should've been rowing back to the mainland about now. The ocean got really cold and choppy at night.

Sora turned, leaning against the bent tree trunk still warm from the sun's glow. He crossed his arms, resting his chin on his wrists. "You've never said it before. At least, not to me." The teen frowned, his cinnamon eyebrows pulling together cutely. At seventeen, Sora still hadn't grown much, in appearance anyway. He was only a few inches taller and quickly catching up to Riku's height which was pretty much at its plateau for adulthood. He was as tall now as he would be for the rest of his life.

"That doesn't mean that I don't...mean it." Riku said painstakingly, cursing himself for making such a stupid conversation so awkward. Now Sora wouldn't leave it alone.

For the most part, their relationship hadn't changed since they decided to date—for lack of a better word—they were still very much best friends. They still played around like they used to, but damn it some days Sora would go on one of these love kicks, and Riku would find himself recoiling away, just to make him stop. It wasn't something he had ever been comfortable talking about. He actually still felt bad about that morning; when Sora said he loved him in front of everyone.

"You're serious?" Sora only smiled, watching him expectantly. Tidus and Wakka stood nearby, watching him expectantly as well. Of course they were joking, trying to make him uncomfortable. "You've been hanging around Selphie too much. Stop acting like a girl, Sora." Riku ruffled his hair playfully, knowing he wouldn't take it too personally.

Sora just rolled his eyes at the time, but now Riku could tell that it really did bother him. He wouldn't have brought it up again if it didn't.

"Say it then." Typical Sora. Everything was so simple to him.

"It won't change anything." Riku declared, straddling the tree so he could lay back against the trunk comfortably. Sora frowned, skeptical and challenging, his usually benevolent eyes narrowed. The older boy sighed. "You're not a girl, Sora."

"I know that." The brunet announced, his expression unwavering. Riku hadn't known Sora to be an angry person. It was a little unnerving to see him as anything but blissfully optimistic.

"No, I mean--I said that earlier. I don't think you're a girl, you know. For saying it." Riku spoke to the sky, avoiding the other's eyes. He tended to get overly-sentimental about these things. Not exactly common knowledge, but he didn't want anyone to know that either. Not even Sora.

"Riku..." The silver-haired teen felt the light weight of a hand on his leg, the only part of his body close enough for Sora to reach. "You're making this more awkward than it has to be."

I know, right? "It's so overrated though. You can love anything." Riku continued to argue weakly, hoping the younger boy would get what he was saying without making him actually say it. "You get what I mean, right?"

Sora smiled coyly, toying with the chain around his neck. "Maybe."

Riku reciprocated the brunet's smile with his own, holding out an arm in offering. Sora took his hand, with help, climbing on the curved tree truck with him. He couldn't help but notice that the tree used to be so much bigger, the thought punctuated by the fact that he was sitting directly between the older boy's parted legs without any room behind him to move back. Riku smirked, Sora blushed.

"You fantasizing about me, Sora?" It was almost a full minute before the brunet realized he was staring at Riku's crotch and he burned at little harder, scratching the back of his head and looking out at the ocean. He couldn't ignore him for long, however, since he had no choice but to sit facing the other teen. He couldn't very well pretend that Riku wasn't right in front of him. Riku sat up, if only to spare Sora the embarrassment of staring at him again, despite how hilarious he found it.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" The silver-haired teen asked, noting that a few of the other kids were still reluctant to row back to the mainland yet. Sora was just begging to be kissed, whether he knew it or not, and Riku really needed to be alone when he did. He didn't really think he could control himself, not with the younger boy looking so flustered and, god forbid he think it, fuckable.

Sora frowned at the words "somewhere else", instantly thinking of the secret place. It was actually kind of perfect for being alone, considering that it was so small and dark. And close. The brunet blanched, chewing his lip. As much as he did love Riku, he was still new to this relationship thing, and right now being that close sounded like a bit too much.

"Um, Riku, I'm not really ready...I mean, I can't..." Sora stumbled over his words, feeling more and more like a child by the second. Riku wasn't that much older than him, but he was pretty sure this wasn't his first relationship too.

"Huh? No, no, that's not what I meant!" The older teen said a little too hastily, surprising both of them. Sora looked at his hands before his gaze returned to the ocean. "I just wanted to be..." Riku trailed off, sure the boy was ignoring him now.

"Every thing's gonna change...Isn't it?" The brunet asked, breaking the silence that had formed almost tangibly between them. He stretched his fingers, grasping them tightly in his other hand. Riku could understand how he felt; all these new feelings sprouting up out of no where. Love and lust and the awkward burning need to touch each other all the time. Riku found himself petting the other boy more often than he used to, doing almost anything for a tiny bit of contact.

"It has to." The simplicity of his answer taking the younger teen off guard. His brilliant eyes curious by the conviction in his voice, Sora finally looked at him. "It can't stay this way forever, right?"

"I guess."

"Don't you want more?" Riku asked him. "More than this island? There's a whole world out there, Sora." The brunet frowned, disturbed by the familiarity of this conversation. "Move in with me."

Sora inhaled sharply, shivering from the cold breeze that blew in from the darkening ocean.

"W-what?" The boy chattered, wrapping his arms around himself.

"I've already got a place. It's on the west side so it's not that great but, I mean, all I need is you."

Sora made a face at the black water, the sun nearly gone already. They couldn't sit here for much longer.

"What about school?" The brunet asked, though even he felt like he was trying to find anything to object to.

"We'd still go to school. And I've got a couple jobs to pay the rent. This can work, Sora. Once my art thing takes off." Riku watched him expectantly, much like Sora did to him that morning, brushing his russet bangs with his fingertips.

"That's a lot to ask, Riku." The older boy laughed, much to Sora's surprise.

"Yeah, I know." He slid from the truck of the tree, soundlessly landing in the sand. "I didn't expect an answer right now. Just before my next rent payment." Riku smiled, jokingly. The brunet wasn't sure what to make of his expression. It seemed way more relaxed than he expected.

"I'll think about it."

Riku had only waited 2 weeks before he gotten his answer; a solid and very definite yes. Sora was inexplicably sold on the idea, becoming more enthusiastic anytime he got to talk about it. In possibly an hour's time, there wasn't a single person in his circle of friends that didn't know they were living together. Which, Riku was fine with. All that meant was every one knew to keep their hands and eyes in another direction; Sora was his.

By the time graduation was in the near future, the two were an inseparable couple, practically iconic. They got along great, never argued. Still acted like a couple hard-headed boys, but they weren't afraid to show affection when the situation called for it. A light hand squeeze or a soft kiss could make Sora forget that he had ever been upset a day in his life.

But there was also a lot of friction that others rarely, if ever, saw; moments when a simple miscommunication could turn into a surprisingly explosive argument. Times when Sora would get uncharacteristically jealous of one of Riku's new artist acquaintances, only because on some unconscious level, he knew he couldn't trust the older boy around them, people that his mother would call a bad influence.

It was from these very people that Riku would come home, on occasion, considerably drunk. These so-called artists with their reputations and their quirky mannerisms that was supposed to make them such individuals. Sora honestly couldn't see what was so artistic about getting an underage teenager drunk off his ass.

After finishing off the rest of the day-old takeout in the fridge, Sora washed the dishes in the sink, checked the three padlocks on the front door and dressed himself for bed. He sent a message to Riku's phone before lying down. A simple "Good night". He did this every night Riku was out making himself known. This was the third one in a row that Sora had gone to bed alone.

They had argued about it just that morning when Sora asked him what it was that he did with those people anyway. Just the fact that the older boy was getting so defensive was enough for the brunet to be suspicious. Either way, he was tired of yelling; they yelled so much lately, Sora was beginning to forget what it was like to be in love. He missed the infatuation, missed staring at the other just out of adoration, not silently wondering if he was fucking someone else.

"Baby," The brunet whined as he was being rudely awoken, his shoulder being shaken rigorously. "So-ra." He almost flinched at the sing song tone of the older boy's voice, knowing by the smell that he had been drinking, again. Sora shrugged off his hand, trying to ignore his drunken advances and go back to sleep. No such luck.

"Mm, fuck, Sora...You smell so good." Riku chuckled to himself, burying his nose in the younger teen's neck. He fumbled with his jacket to get it off, tossing it on the floor.

"Get off, dumbass." Sora snapped, wrenching at his arm as it pushed under the blanket and around his waist. He really was in no mood to get drunkenly felt up. Riku laughed and smiled, holding the brunet tighter to his chest until he was tented underneath him, covered by his taller body.

"Quit squirming, Sora. Jeez." The silver-haired teen kissed his neck, his hand reaching in between them. Sora rolled his eyes as he seemed to be touching himself. He couldn't fall back asleep even if he wanted to.

"Just how much did you have to drink tonight, Riku?" Sora asked mockingly, his eyes widening as he was momentarily lifted off the mattress and repositioned against the pillows.

"Too much." Came the flippant reply, as if this really wasn't a big deal. Riku's hands moved again, pulling down the brunet's loose-fitting sweatpants.

"What the hell are doing? I'm not fucking with you right now, Ri--"

Sora inhaled sharply at the thick warmth at his backside, the kind of velvet soft flesh darkened and stiff with blood, pressed against his ass needily. The brunet flinched as Riku spit in his hand, wiping it on his erection. All he could think of was the first time, how uncomfortable it was.

He wasn't ready.

"Riku, seriously. Lemme go."

Riku only smiled warmly, bearing his weight on the younger boy, leaving him little room to move.

"Shush." The silver-haired teen hushed him, covering his mouth with the same hand still smeared with his saliva. Ignoring his muffled protests, Riku took a moment to align himself and pushed forward, meeting too much resistance to actually enter the younger man. "Relax, babe. Damn." He told him, grabbing his wrist and pinned it to the pillows as Sora clawed at his arm.

"I missed you tonight. You should come with me sometime." Riku chatted idly, pushing a little more forcefully, past until he was deep, so deep, letting out a satisfied groan in the brunet's hair. It had been way too long. God, he felt good. Riku couldn't remember the last time he felt so... Damn, you're amazing, Sora. He wasn't sure if he said that part out loud or not, but he kept his thrusts concentrated on one point, sure he was hitting Sora's prostate ever since he violently jerked the first time.

Riku's grip was crushing on his jaw, effectively silencing any cry Sora was attempting to make behind his hand. Stop. Stop Please, stop. Sora breathed in deeply, forcing himself to relax, but no amount of–fuck—could ease the pain he was already feeling. Tearing. So much. Too much. Shadows swam in his vision, darkness filling in the corners of his eyes.

"God, I—Love you, Sora." The older boy choked, crumpling over with pleasure. A warmth rolled down the inside of Sora's thigh, staining the sweatpants still bunched around his knees and he prayed that Riku was finishing. "...Love you, love you, love you.." He repeated, still rocking forward, slowing slightly in speed. His hands were still tight on Sora's mouth and wrist and getting tighter. He must be close. The brunet hoped so.

It didn't take long. The first jerk pushed him deep, deeper than Sora could handle. A sharp crack momentarily took his mind from the pain though, the sound of his wrist giving way in Riku's abnormally strong grip. Too shocked to scream, Sora gagged against his hand, hot tears welling in his eyes. His chest and stomach pulled agonizingly tight and his lungs refused to breathe for fear that he would vomit before he could stop himself.

Riku pulled out with a soft grunt, failing to notice that Sora never came. Failing to notice that he was huddled close to the bed, lying still as a corpse. Failing to notice his quiet sobbing. He turned on his side and passed out, and soon his own breathing drowned out any other sound in the room.

Sora lay still for hours, listening to every tiny creak and noise the silent apartment made at night. He didn't have much of a choice but to get up. He couldn't stay here. No tonight, not with his wrist sprained or broken or whatever the hell just happened.

Sora only screamed once, while standing up. His hand moved wrong. He was surprised he could even pull his shoes on. The only thing he could do to keep from crying, was to repeatedly tell himself that it wasn't his fault. Riku didn't do it on purpose. Riku would never hurt him on purpose. Riku would never hurt him on purpose. He just wouldn't.

rsrsrsrs

Riku awoke violently, his whole body tense from a dream he couldn't remember. Screaming. Sora. Sora, was he hurt? The mattress was cold beside him. Empty, just like it was when he went to sleep. That's right. Sora isn't here. Sora hasn't slept here for a week.

The scream was so loud though. Definitely Sora, too. Riku rubbed his face with both hands, pulling his hair off his neck as it was stuck with sweat. He could remember the dream now. He had the same one the night that Sora left him the first time; when he woke up to an empty bed with two spots of blood on the sheets. Riku remembered calling Kairi in panic that morning, asking if she knew where Sora was, because he might be hurt. She hung up on him, without even saying a word.

It was sad but Riku still didn't even know the whole story, of what happened to Sora. Of why it's taken five years for him to come back. To forgive him.

Riku grabbed his pants off the floor, rooting through the pockets until he found his wallet. In it, he found the paper from the phone book, Sky Massage Therapy, dialing the number. There was a good chance it wouldn't be the number for the apartment above the clinic, but it was all he had. Sora never gave him his home phone. For good reason too. You never give the mistress your home phone number.

It was taking too long to pick up. Riku tried to recall what time Sora usually closed up. It was eight 'o clock now. Maybe it was too—

"Hu-llo?" Riku jumped, quickly snapping his phone closed. Not Sora. He nearly crumpled up the scrap of paper when his phone vibrated in his hand, the same number on the caller id.

"Shit," He cursed, answering it against his better judgment. "Hello."

"Did you call this number earlier?" The voice asked, chuckling. It was a male, his voice oddly pleasant sounding. Riku offhandedly wondered if he worked there. A receptionist or something.

"Uh yeah. I must've...dialed wrong." Riku cursed again under his breath, smacking his forehead. Of all the times for lame-ass excuses.

"Oh." Was all the other said. At least Riku wasn't the only one acting awkward. "Sorry," The man laughed. "I don't usually answer the office phone. That's Rikku's job. She's already gone for the day though." Riku couldn't help but think he was giving him a little too much information for a stranger.

"You talk a lot." The silver-haired noted absently.

"Excuse me?"

"Actually," Riku began before the man could hang up on him. "I was looking for Sora. Is he...alright?" He asked without thinking, cursing himself again. Damn. It.

"Um, he's doing inventory right now. Is this an important call?" Riku couldn't help but notice the pleasant quality of his voice seemed to fade into indifference.

"Yeah, kinda. Can I talk to him?"

"He's married, you know." The man pointed out, his voice definitely more venomous than before. "He's not leaving his husband for you or anyone else, so just give it up. And don't think you're the first one to ask; there's been hundreds of you and frankly, we're sick of hearing it."

Riku blinked, lost for words. Actually, the word "zealous" came to mind, though he had no idea why.

"Who is it?" Riku nearly sighed with relief, hearing a voice he recognized. Thank you, Sora.

"Your fan club." Sora made a noise of disapproval at the other man, then the sound of the phone being passed.

"Can I help you?"

"Come on, he's probably jacking off to the sound of your voice, right now..."

"Evann, please." Riku clenched his jaw unconsciously. Evann. He knew who Evann was. "Hello?"

"Sora?" The silver-haired man asked, barely keeping himself from sounding too bitter.

"Ri--" Sora cleared his throat, covering the fact that he almost said his name. "How can I help you?" The brunet sighed, starting over.

"That's him, huh? Not a very pleasant fellow, is he?" Riku hissed mockingly.

"He's not always like that." Sora said finally. It was safe to assume "he" wasn't in the room anymore.

"Cute."

"What'd you call me for, Riku?" Apparently the brunet wasn't in a very good mood either.

"I heard you scream. I thought you were...hurt." Riku frowned at his own words, as if he were wondering why that sounded so stupid out loud.

"On the other side of town?" Oh, that's why.

"Yeah, I guess." Riku chewed his tongue for a second, fighting with himself to leave it alone. If everyone, even Kairi, was keeping it from him, maybe there was a good reason. "Sora, did I...hurt you?"

The brunet was silent for a long time, so long, that if it weren't for his shaky breathing, Riku might've thought he hung up on him.

"When?" His voice trembled when it finally came out, the sound, heartbreaking.

"F-five years ago." Riku stammered, his own voice getting caught in his throat. "God, I'm sorry, Sora."

"For what?" Sora asked suddenly, surprising the older man. He sounded close to crying; Riku wanted to hold him so bad.

"What do you mean?"

"For what? What are you sorry for?" The brunet gasped painfully, his voice rising in...anger? Sadness? "What'd you do to me?" Say it then.

"I don't," Riku paused, scared that Sora was getting so emotional. Scared because Sora was getting so emotional. "I don't kn—I don't remember, Sora." The older man flinched at the sound of him crying, feeling a heat prick the back of his eyes. "I'm sorry, baby."

"Fuck you, Riku." He never got a say anything, Sora hung up on him first. Riku stared at his phone, bewildered tears just escaping his eyes.

"Shit," He cursed, once again, snapping his cell shut. There wasn't a single day that he didn't think about the inconsequential drops of blood on his sheets, about his call to Kairi. Sora's mom just about threatened to kill him. What the hell happened? He couldn't remember anything.

Riku eyed one of his unfinished paintings in the corner, mocking him with a deadline of two weeks. He didn't feel like painting or doing anything productive, not while Sora was mad at him. And damn if he wasn't tired of making up for the same mistake again and again.

rsrsrsrs

So I kinda based Quint on Maes Hughes from Fullmetal. Don't know how well that was executed, but that's just the type of person he seemed to be. Caring, devoted father, but kinda goofy at the same time. *Fav character alert* Maes is awesome by the way. Just know that.

Whoo! That was a long one. Super excited. I think this is like my second favorite chapter so far. I still feel like something is missing though, and I know what it is. I've just kind of abandoned it since the first chapter. Bad writer, bad. Here's to hoping I can effectively fix it though. Maybe no one will notice. .

And I ended up choosing a man for Sora's spouse, just because as keldjinfaesuggested, a male would probably bug Riku much more than a woman would. Plus, there are scenes that would just work better with another man. , - bouncy