Her Big Mouth, His Big Feet
By Sailor Fantasy
Disclaimer: Even though Riku is my secret lover, he doesn't belong to me. How sad, right?
Summary: In which Sora gets in touch with his mother's intuition.
Pairings (at the moment): Some Sora+Riku, some Tidus+Sora hints, and unrequited Kairi+Sora
Fun Author's Notes: Thanks for all the reviews guysit's truly appreciated. When we last left the group, Riku and Sora were off to see Kairi. Let's see how that turns out. And don't forget to review! Reviewers' Response at the bottom, and don't forget to check out my new story To Be Someone Without No One.
Warnings: Yaoi (slash) and a bitchy Kairi. PS: I hate this chapter...I promise the next one will be better.
Sora groaned as he walked home that evening, trying to regain his dignity after suffering through Kairi's wailing fest. Scowling at the memory, Sora kicked a nearby rock—it was his fault, really. He should have been smart enough to not have had both Kairi and Riku in the same area—much less on the same island—especially after that huge argument they'd had on the beach.
Kicking another rock, Sora allowed the memories of the past hour consume him.
'You are no one!' Kairi had screamed at Riku, who's face was shadowed with fury. He had just apologized and had done nothing wrong—as far as Sora had seen—but Riku held his tongue nevertheless as Kairi ranted and raved. 'You tricked me into being your friend so that you'd have a reason to hang out with me and Sora. But all you had wanted was to have Sora to yourself—you never even considered how I felt—we had all been friends—!" Her sentences were broken as she gasped through her countless tears. Sora stepped more into the doorway to try to calm her.
'Kairi—!' Sora tried to interrupt, but she merely pushed him back out the door and into Riku's open arms. Together, they stared at Kairi—one stare solemn, the other full of anguish.
'You guys can have each other now!' Kairi snarled, tears and mascara streaming down her cheeks. Sora couldn't help but wonder how Riku would look if his mascara began to run. He wiped the thought straight out of his head—the last thing he ever wanted was to see Riku cry.
'You don't have to worry about me anymore…You—Sora—you were probably just playing with my feelings from the beginning. You knew I loved you! You knew it—and yet you allowed to me to make an ass of myself knowing that you were in love with Riku the entire time!'
Sora glared at a rock that he had just kicked. Reason number 14 as to why he did not like girls: They always assume that you know.
'But Kairi!' Sora pleaded, desperately scrambling up from Riku's arms. He had to get some sense into Kairi—no matter what, no matter if she was a girl or not, she was still his friend. Riku had tightened his grip at first when Sora struggled to get out of his arms, but at the sound of Sora's voice, he loosened his grip entirely. 'I don't love—!'
'I never want to see either of you two again!' Kairi yelled, holding the door now. 'I hate you!'
'But Kairi!'
'I hate you!'
And then she slammed the door shut, leaving both Sora and Riku shaken and out in the cold, drizzling rain.
Sora felt an emptiness that rivaled the Grand Canyon in his stomach. After that scene with Kairi, Riku had impassively offered to walk Sora home and following Sora's just as vacant decline, had went home. Sora couldn't help but feel that he was missing something very important with Kairi's upsetting behavior and Riku being all miserable.
"I mean," Sora whispered to himself. "Why should Riku be sad? Sure, Kairi was his friend, but he shouldn't have looked so depressed—it's not like she was his best friend or anything…unless…"
Sora stopped in sudden realization. His eyes were wide and drizzled rain still falling dripped down his cheeks looking much like tears.
Unless…unless Riku really is in love with Kairi.
Sora snapped his head up, that one thought running rampant through his head. The Paopu Tree was in front of him…it was the main symbol of love on the island. It was legend that if a person shared a Paopu fruit with someone else, their destinies would be entwined forever. Thinking about it, Sora felt even colder inside, staring up at the renowned tree. Sora felt as if he was being mocked by the tree as it stood tall, its branches swaying with the wind. He let out an empty laugh as tears began building up in his eyes. I'm being awfully silly, he thought. Why do I feel as if everything is turning out unfair?
Sora knew he should've been feeling sad for Riku instead of feeling bad for himself. After all, Riku was the one who lost more than friendship with Kairi…he lost what was probably his first love. Sora was being selfish. He was just considering his own feelings, when he should've been considering Riku's feelings as well. It had been Riku who had been called all of those nasty names by Kairi, it had been Riku who had witnessed Kairi's declaration of love, and it had been Riku who had been fully rejected. It wasn't fair to Riku—it wasn't fair at all. Instead of feeling sorry for himself Sora should have been comforting Riku, who had always been there for him when Sora had needed him to be. He should've felt ashamed for being so selfish. He should've felt horrible for Riku. He should've wanted to hurt Kairi in the same way that she had hurt Riku, and convince her that Riku was the one for her and not Sora. Sora should've felt this way.
But he didn't. All he felt was cold and lonely.
Mom and Dad are probably worried now, thought Sora without his normal enthusiasm. I should get home.
But it didn't help him walk any faster through the now pouring rain.
"Sora!" Sora's mother, Sara, cried as soon as he stepped through the door, soaking wet. Large droplets of water dripped from his still messy bangs and onto the house's wooden floor. "You're drenched! Why didn't you get home earlier—oh my goodness, what happens if you catch the flu? Oh my poor baby!"
It was then she proceeded in draping herself over him and sobbing her eyes out. Sora rolled his eyes and pushed his mother away, irritated. "Mom," he complained. "I'm not a baby anymore! Stop treating me like one."
"But Sora-dear—!" she howled, tears pouring out of her eyes.
It was at this point that his nose decided to sneeze. Sora cursed his nose's timing as Sora's mother gasped (rather theatrically) and turned particularly pale. "Sora…" she whispered, tearing up.
"Mom…it's not what you think…" Sora began, backing into the front door. He briefly wondered if he could make it out before his mother pounced, but then changed his mind. His mother was a master predator, one that was extremely talented in random assailment. There was absolutely no way he'd be able to escape in time.
"You caught a cold!" she wailed, catching him in her skinny (yet oddly strapping) arms and holding his face to her…somewhat large bosom. Sora felt not only a bit disgusted, but suffocated as well. And not in just a psychological way, either.
Reason number 15 as to why Sora hated girls: They were always subject to suffocating someone else with their basketball-sized chests…well, some of them, anyway. Both Kairi and Selphie were the exception to the rule.
"I did not, mom!" ranted Sora, blushing furiously as he tried to push away from his mother. "I'm fine! You always do this to me—geez mom, how many times do I have to tell you? I'm not a kid anymore! Mom! What if someone is looking into the window? What if they see this? Mom, are you listening to me? You're smothering me! Daaaaaad!"
It was his one secret weapon against his mother. His father—tough as nails and twice as sharp. He despised it when Sara spoiled and 'softened' his one and only son. 'It makes him fruity!' his father often complained. He often praised Riku's, Tidus', and Wakka's presence in Sora's life, saying that if Sora hadn't grown up with such Blitzball junkies that he might as well put a dress on Sora and called him his daughter.
Mamoru looked up at Sara from over his newspaper, a scowl on his face. He was sitting at his normal spot at the kitchen table. "Sara."
"But Mamo-darling!" she whined, still glomping Sora.
"Sara."
"He's sick!" she cried, eyes welling up with tears. "He's probably already coming down with the flu…or worse! What happens if he gets that new flu that's going around…umm…" Sara struggled with her words for a minute. "That one that turns you into a bird!"
"A bird?" inquired Sora, bewildered. And then it hit him: "The bird flu, mom? You can only get that from eating chicken! Or is it turkey?"
"Sora."
Sora turned his eyes back onto his father. "Yes, dad?"
"Tidus is waiting upstairs for you," reported Mamoru, returning back to his paper. "He's been up there in your room for a while now."
Sora's eyes brightened. "What? Really? Why?"
A hand landed on his shoulder, and Sora cringed as he saw the new glint in his mother's eyes. She had a smile that made Sora's skin prickle. "Isn't it obvious, Sora-darling? He's waiting for you to come upstairs so that you two can be alone."
"He's waiting upstairs so that he doesn't have to deal with you, mom," snapped Sora, rolling his eyes.
"Don't think I don't know, Sora-dear!" declared Sara, raising an eyebrow at her son. "I see the way you and Tidus look at each other! I see the lovebites when you come back from supposedly playing blitzball—"
"Sara." Mamoru was glaring at her from the top of his newspaper again. Sara, of course, ignored him.
"I don't think you don't know—I know you don't know, mom! What looks? What lovebites? Those are bruises!" said Sora, exasperatedly.
"Of course, Sora-dear," she said, patronizingly. "I used that story once, too, you know. Mamo-darling can tell you."
"Sara. Inappropriate."
"But Mamo-darling!"
"Sora. Upstairs. You're being rude to your guest."
Eager to get away from his insane mother, Sora immediately agreed and rushed upstairs. Tidus was waiting outside his bedroom door, sitting on the tiled floor with a blitzball in hand. There was a faint blush on his cheeks.
So, he had heard. Sora gulped, wondering how he could explain that his mother was an absolute nutcase. Then again, he figured Tidus had long figured that out since the first time he had met Sara over ten years ago.
Sora scratched the back of his spiky head, looking and feeling awkward. "Umm…hi."
Tidus looked just as uncomfortable. "Hey."
"I guess heard all of that, huh? My mom can be a bit…weird, sometimes."
Tidus chuckled, although it sounded a little forced. "Yea, I know. Mine too. But she at least has good reason to act like that, I think."
Sora stared at Tidus, and then it hit him. He blushed. Oh right—Tidus was bisexual. The discomfort increased immensely. "Oh, right."
There was a pregnant pause and Tidus, sensing the tension, stood up. He was biting his lip. "Do you want me to leave?"
Sora, not sure what he wanted, just shook his head. He wished the discomfort feeling would stop. When Tidus began looking doubtful, Sora put on a smile for him. "Of course not, Ti! I want you to be here…it's just that, well, with everything that happened today after the blitzball game…well, Kairi was out of line for that, you know? I'm really sorry for that."
Tidus smiled at him, and Sora couldn't help but flush at that the look. Tidus really was cute…
Sora stopped at that, a darker blush replacing the former one. Since when did he believe that Tidus was cute?
"It's okay," Tidus breezed off, heading towards Sora and putting his hand on his shoulder. Sora looked at Tidus' hand before looking up into his blue eyes. It was a lot like looking into a mirror. Tidus tilted his head a bit, causing his blonde messy bangs to cover his eyes. Sora found curiosity there. "So," Tidus started, "what happened after you left after Kairi? I know Riku was chasing after you…and then I came over here to see if you were okay but your parents told me you weren't home yet…"
Sora sighed, knowing that he probably shouldn't talk about the entire episode with Tidus but feeling as if he needed to get it off his chest. "It was horrible, Ti. Kairi was crying and Riku…Riku…."
Sora looked down at his big shoes, suddenly feeling depressed again. He didn't want to think about Riku anymore…not after realizing Riku's feelings for Kairi.
And perhaps Sora's own feelings for Riku in the process…
Tidus, for some odd reason, seemed to understand and just slid his hand down Sora's arm and took him by the hand. Sora was feeling so low that he couldn't even look him in the eye. "Don't worry about it," reassured Tidus, pulling Sora into a hug. "He'll get over it—they both will."
Riku get over his feelings? Sora somehow doubted it, but he didn't say anything in response. As Sora returned Tidus' embrace, Sora went deeper into thought—Riku didn't seem like the type to just get over feelings even if he was hurt…in fact, Riku would probably act more on his feelings if that person knew about his passion toward them. Then again, Riku didn't seem the type to not say anything about his feelings either.
It was all so confusing. Sora let out a breath of air, nuzzling Tidus' silk vest. Boy, did it feel good against his forehead. But not like Riku's silk tank—
"Ah HA!" cried Sara, startling both boys. Tidus nearly jumped out of his skin and onto the ceiling; Sora sprang away from Tidus, feeling as if he was just caught red handed. Sara was pointing and smiling at them from the top of the staircase. "I knew it!"
"Mom!" Sora cracked, his heartbeat still rapid. "What the hell!"
"Ms. Sara?" questioned Tidus, dangling from the chandelier. He finally let go and fell onto the hard wood floor.
"Just Sara," Sora's mother flipped, before that evil glint returned to her eyes. "You boys should've told me—I would've just left you alone to your activities but nooo…Denial is not just a lake, Sora-dear."
"It's a river, mom," Sora protested. "And we weren't doing anything!"
But Sara didn't seem to want to hear it. "Suure, Sora. I believe you." She winked at Tidus, who blushed in return. "I'll just leave you alone by yourselves so that you can—ahem—return to your…activities."
And she hopped back down the stairs, humming quite gleefully to herself. Sora only shook his head and grinned bashfully at a bewildered Tidus. Why couldn't he be in a normal family? "As you can see, Ti, I'm obviously adopted."
Tidus stared at him for a long time before laughing.
"Sora, your family is so weird."
End Chapter
Next chapter: In which Riku reveals 'The Plan' and commences 'Operation: Kiss Sora.'
Not-so-fun Author's Notes: This chapter is not my best. After rereading it and rereading it, I tried to make it better. But please review, okay? It'll help me out of this damn slump that I'm trying to shake.
On the other Hand...: Here's some Reviewers' Responses! And don't forget to check out my new story To Be Someone Without No One and to join my group YaoiBishies!
DarknessHeart Abbie: Don't you hate it when that happens? There are certain stories I love (cough cough Stygian Solace) that I wish were updated a lot more often—but I really understand why some author's take a long time. Life intervenes and such, which is why this chapter is so late. For this review you get a Platinum Sora plushie!
Robinfan: I'm soooo flattered! I hope you still think so after this horrible chapter…X.X. Ugh. But thank you so much for reviewing! You get a Silver Tidus plushie!
Bob the builder: LOLDon't worry, you can look. I'm glad you enjoyed the chapter so much—compared to this crappy one, it's golden. Thank you so much for your review…and for it you get a Platinum Tidus Plushie!
Flakes-of-snow: God, I really, really hope you don't think this story is going downhill after this trashy chapter, lol. I wouldn't blame you thoughfor your awesome dedication to reviewing for this story, you get a Platinum Riku Plushie!
Mooncat011: I hope this is enough Sora for youthank you for the review! You receive the Bronze Sora plushie!
hyperRme: LolWe'd all like for Kairi to blown off somewhere, wouldn't we? Thanks for reviewing, and this time you get a Silver Seifer plushie!
Yurikitsune: I try to keep all characters in character…thanks for reviewing, and for your review you get a Gold Sora plushie!
TenkunoMeiou: I'm so glad that you think so! Thank you for reviewing…and for your review, you get a Silver Sora plushie!
SKF: Aww, why thank you. I wish I got more reviews too (begins wailing) It must be because I'm such a horrible writer! (cough cough) Well, anyway, thank you so much for reviewingfor your review you receive a Bronze Riku plushie!