A/N: Gasp! I'm back so early!! After the last chapter was put up, one night I typed up 3000 words of this chappie and continued the next morning with an extra 2000. Then I've added an extra scene with 3000 words … So it's another 8000+ altogether, including the extra, extra, extra editing. I've probably scared most of my readers away with my long absence and my long chapters full of pointless CxS sap.
Kudos and cookies for my beloved reviewers who were lovely enough to comment on last chapter:
The O.C. Addict, KawaiiTidaChocoboCloud, XxTypoMasterxX, Black-Dranzer-1119, Is-Simple, weirdette, suika's w.o.t.c., katgirlofthenight, chibi-chibi-kun, Steel Heart -- sorry, I couldn't reply to your reviews. I'm dedicating this chappie to you all!
A giant thanks to suika's wind of the celestial for kindly reading and re-reading through this terribly long chapter. Thank you, child.
Warnings: I can say Chinese food, claustrophobia and pointless ramblings about Destiny. What in the world have I written?
Disclaimer: Kingdom Hearts (holiness), My Girl (terrific Korean drama full of doomed tangerines and crying bishonen), its awesome soundtrack songs (hums Lagu Sedih nu na nu naa nu…), Chow Chow (the song, not this story), Who Are You (Korean movie in which the song, Chow Chow, was featured in), CLUB UNDERWORLD (Porno Graffitti), Naluri Lelaki (SamsonS) sadly belongs to other people. Specifically very rich people.
Chow Chow
(Chorus 2 – repeat 2X)
Leon leaned against the frame of the cubicle doorway; coolly regarding the office occupant slumped across his chair, his head bent down, chin pressed to his chest where arms lay neatly folded across the front of his coffee-coloured shirt, eyes shut and blonde bangs swaying slightly to the breeze from the air conditioner. Inserted into each ear was an earphone piece – its wires trailing down to connect to the base of a sleek black and white mobile phone lying on the desk – that blared out faint muffled tunes of guitar riffs and droning vocalists.
The man hanging by the door released a sigh before the corner of his lips twitched upwards into an evident smirk. Obviously, this was not the first time that Leon caught his co-worker sleeping at his desk during long working hours. For reasons unknown, Cloud turned out to be the only person in the entire Department who could actually hand in due reports on time. Perhaps it was because of his nature to stay focused on one thing as displayed in his habit of reading. Once Cloud delved into a task he was set, the blonde would stick to it until it lay crisp and utterly finished on the desk by the morning.
No wonder Auron praised him so much. Much to Cloud's distaste of being the centre of attention.
After perhaps a minute or two of deliberated gazing, Leon finally pulled himself up from his position against the door frame and strolled into the cool office cubicle, taking care not to let his footsteps tap too loudly against the wooden floor. At just a metre away from the blonde, he stopped and from his view, Leon could see the black and white mobile phone displaying the song track title rolling across the small cover screen informing him of the song that Cloud was unconsciously listening to in his ear:
DeliSpice – Chow Chow
Slowly, strong fingers reached over and touched the two points on the back of Cloud's exposed neck. And before long, those fingers moved rhythmically, making circling movements to loosen up the stiffened muscles. The smirk on Leon's face widened and he continued his aimless massaging, satisfied to hear a small grunt emerge from the back of the blonde's throat as a reaction to his performance.
A moment later, Cloud's eyes fluttered open to reveal dazed, groggy deep blue irises.
"Hhm…?"
Leon removed his fingers from the back of Cloud's neck and gestured a greeting. "Nice nap?" he asked brightly.
Cloud stared at him blankly in utter confusion before Leon decided that this was a good time to be helpful.
"You fell asleep," he informed, nudging his head to the direction of the computer monitor screen which – because its user had been inactive for a while – decided to display a rather flamboyant piece of screen saver in the form of colourful swimming fish and scuttling crabs. The brunet turned back to his blonde companion, adding in a fairly concerned tone, "And you shouldn't sleep like that, Cloud. You wake up and get a pretty stiff neck. Aerith's been complaining too, I've heard. Said you never sleep in your bed. Always a sofa, a chair or – the safest – a desk. And you always sleep the same way, huh? Your chin on your chest like that."
Again Cloud stared – or rather, squinted at him as he tried to absorb the sentences that Leon had conveniently laid out for him.
The tune playing in the baffled blonde's ears continued. Leon obligingly tugged off the earphones that were blocking his hearing.
"Okay?" the brunet asked.
A pause. And then –
"Hm."
A nod. That was the only answer Leon would get when he fired questions at a sleepy Cloud.
The brown-haired man leaned against Cloud's desk, gazing down at the still-dazed blonde who was, at the moment, rubbing his eyes with his knuckles in an effort to ward off his grogginess.
"There's a meeting tomorrow evening at Yuffie's and she's invited both of us."
A small frown crossed Cloud's face as he inwardly digested the words "Yuffie" and "meeting". Clearly, with those two articulations, Cloud had taken on a mode of slight suspicion upon the matter.
It was too bad that Leon noticed this too fast.
"Plus, Yuffie dropped in a line that it's a business meeting so Auron's coming too. So pray tell you get there too, Cloud."
A small sigh was released from Cloud's lips and he made another effort at rubbing the sleepiness from his eyes again, "Hm."
Leon's smirk returned, "I'll take that as a 'yes', right?"
Rub, rub, rub.
"Hm."
"Wonderful."
"Hm."
"Want to go out for a bite?"
Yawn.
"Hm."
"Alright."
The brunet pushed himself up from his slump against the desk and leaned over to securely grasp the blonde's elbow and pull him up to his feet. A bleary Cloud stumbled from the sudden rush and felt his elbow being tugged as Leon forcefully dragged him out of the office, not giving the blonde anytime to think up a protest.
"And then! Listen to this! And then she pretends to faint, right, and she's sprawled across the pavement with eyes closed. Dong-chan is embarrassed, not to mention shocked at the accidental kiss they shared so he tries to leave her there on the ground. Just as he starts walking away, all these pedestrians come by and start commenting on him – saying, 'How could he leave his drunken girlfriend like that?' or something along those lines. While Yoo-rin peeks from her act to see Dong-chan so embarrassed, I was laughing so hard, I fell off my sofa!"
Sora jiggled the paper cup he was holding from side to side as he listened to the enthusiastic tone of the red-haired girl walking beside him. Kairi's bright red hair had grown longer since last month's and on that particular afternoon, she had tied it back into a low ponytail, letting a few long strands to sway freely against her slim shoulders. She was carrying a used shopping bag with one hand, containing what seemed to be a costume of some sort. It was a mixture of green and brown, skin and shell.
Yes, it was the infamous turtle costume that Kairi's grandmother had kindly sewn up for their campaign.
Sora was glancing at it now as Kairi rattled on about the latest episodes of My Girl, the Korean drama series she watched on satellite every Thursday night. Sora had only seen a brief scene of the aforementioned television series and he vaguely remembered one of the protagonists crying about a serious matter coming up. There had been a rather deep soundtrack song that was played when angsty scenes like so commenced – the tune starting with the rhythmic beating of drums before a flow of violin strings struck up, adding fresh intensity into the moment. He truthfully admitted that he liked the song a bit – but with college work and all, he just couldn't find the time to flip through satellite channels to watch lengthy Korean dramas. Besides, the apartment flat he and Riku shared didn't have satellite anyway.
"Kairi, can I ask you something?" Sora interrupted with a sheepish grin and Kairi snapped her attention onto him, her blue eyes widening.
"What is it? You don't want the soda?" she suggested, reaching out to pluck the paper cup from his hand. The cup was half-empty and ice cubes rattled when movement was made. Kairi braced in her steps, ready to toss the object into the nearest bin a few feet away.
"No, no, not the soda," Sora corrected, reaching over and snatching the drink back. In the process of doing so, he tripped over his laces and stumbled in his steps but was luckily saved when Kairi caught him by the arm. His drink, however, was less fortunate and it fell in an explosion of ice cubes and clear liquid puddles.
"Ew," Kairi commented with a wrinkled nose as she swiftly steered Sora away from the mess he had made on the shiny marble floors of the Mall towards another lane where numerous shops were crawling with eager groups of people looking to purchase items at a cheap price. Sora took a last glance at the poor mass that had once been his drink and sighed, "Kairi! We can't just leave it like that! The Mall cleaners are probably going to hate me for being so ignorant and just walking away from the accidents I've made!"
"That's just ridiculous," Kairi huffed, her eyes immediately fixing on a jewellery shop they were passing which bore a large yellow label blaring out the words: SALE – 20 OFF ON ALL ITEMS. "You just think about people too much, Sora. Sometimes it's best to let go, you know – ooh! Look at those earrings! They are nice…I might take a look at them later on – er, anyway, you can't go around with the thought that this person doesn't like you because of this. If they don't like you, so what? That's what you should be thinking."
Sora had to pause to actually contemplate on this piece of advice. Kairi had always been hard-headed and proud of herself. Her confidence was something that Sora admired greatly at times. Of course, he, like everyone else, could only handle a bit of Kairi to last a lifetime.
Take the ridiculous turtle suit for example.
Anyway, somehow a small part of him agreed to what Kairi had said. He was simply too self-conscious about what other people thought about him. It often got him in bad situations at times. It wasn't really his fault, exactly. Sora just couldn't stand the thought that his being disliked by a person he knew. He wanted to settle peace between them so that the hostility was lowered – if not taken down altogether. And with that thought, he was able to sleep properly at night, happily smiling to the fact that he had gained yet another new friend.
After all, that was how he and Riku had grown so close in the period of a few months.
And it was also how he … how he and Cloud become acquainted.
Cloud…
"Kairi, can I ask you another thing?"
"About your self-consciousness?" Kairi sighed as she switched arms with the shopping bag she carried before flicking a stray strand of red hair away from her pretty face. "I'll give you tips on how you can get over your–"
"No, no, not that," Sora rolled his eyes, knowing Kairi's lack of patience for questions and her swift jumping into random conclusions. "Have you heard of a music band called Deliri-Ice?"
Kairi turned away from examining a designer handbag displayed on a shop window and blinked at the mention of the name, "Come again?"
"Deri –urm, DeleRice?"
"Who's that?"
"Er," Sora scratched the back of his neck, unsure if he was going to get the answer he expected. He raked through his brains for the vague information about the band that sung the song in the karaoke booth and stammered out quite uneasily, "Th-they're Korean. They sang this song … urm, I think it's called …"
Kairi's eyes continued to widen with expectancy as Sora squinted even more to remember the song's name.
Wait a second …
He could still hazily remember how the song sounded like though. He remembered staring at a random spot on the café table when Cloud handed him one of his earphone pieces. He remembered Cloud's fingers, warm and delicate to the touch, curling unconsciously over his own.
This is…
"Chow Chow," Sora finally answered, his thoughts faraway. "Sung by a group called DeliSpice."
"Oh!" Kairi's eyes widened even more with recognition as her lips formed into a perfectly round 'O'. "Chow Chow! Yes, I know that song. It's one of the soundtrack songs of this Korean movie called Who Are You. I'm sorry to say that I don't know much about it though. I heard that this particular song was the band's first debut success and their first album, in which the song was featured in, was sold out in every music store – which reminds me I need to go and buy that new CHEMISTRY CD single at Disco Leez later on – But never mind that, it's extremely difficult to hunt down for that album as they say. Do you know there are only four lines in the entire song? Let's see – I call them a Chorus 1 and a Chorus 2 repeating again and again and then an instrumental Interlude in the middle before the two Choruses repeat again for the final touch. In my opinion, Chow Chow seems a little drone-y for my taste…" her voice trailed off as she cast suspicious eyes onto him. "Why do you ask?" she added with a coat of interest in her voice.
Sora thought of Cloud and as realisation took over, he frantically waved his arms in an attempt to ward Kairi off suspicions, "Just asking! No fret! Tidus was singing that song at the arcade last week and I thought it sounded kind of cool, that's all."
Fortunately, Kairi decided that the answer was good enough for her because she let the matter drop by resuming back to the topic that had started the whole charade.
"Do you know that there's this episode in My Girl where there's this saying that if you count from five to one, the person you've been thinking about will appear before you? Well, this happened when Yoo-rin…"
Cloud's eye, now void of any traces of sleep, twitched irritably.
The smart clacking sounds of porcelain tapping into each other filled the air around them. Steam rose from the small, round, bamboo containers that held the small bits of curious-looking blobs of edible, colourful food. Chopsticks clapped sharply in the air as they enclosed around the piece of cuisine, ready to be manoeuvred into waiting, hungry mouths.
He was in a Chinese restaurant at the Mall –
And he was eating Dim Sum.
Leon was happily eating away his portions, the colourful blobs of prawn, chicken and vegetables promptly dwindled from the bamboo container that sat on the surface of the table before him. Cloud noticed that the brunet was very good at handling chopsticks. But then so did everyone else in the restaurant.
Or then again, maybe it was because Cloud didn't know how to eat food with goddamnchopsticks.
His fingers slipped from the grip on the two sticks and they clattered against his plate with a loud clang. However, he was lucky enough not to attract so much attention for the noise was instantly swallowed by the buzzing sound of many chattering tongues.
It was quite crowded today.
"Having trouble?" Leon asked as he paused to look at his frowning, blonde co-worker sitting opposite, glaring coldly at the chopsticks that refused to cooperate with him.
Cloud shifted his gaze from the fallen chopsticks to Leon with a message that told him that the blonde was not happy with their current situation. This was perhaps one of the rare times when Leon convinced him to eat in an environment that did not include his computer screen or his paper-strewn desk as the entertaining view of his meal. But nonetheless, he was downright furious that the brunet had taken advantage of his sleepy state and dragged him out of the office. It was quite obvious that he did not want to be here. At all.
Curse you, Leon.
"Want me to show you how?" Leon offered and instead of displaying the methods on how one should properly hold and use chopsticks, Leon picked up one of the pieces of Dim Sum on Cloud's plate and held it up to the blonde's mouth with the air of a mother feeding her child.
Cloud flushed red.
…And a sudden image of a fork stabbing into a piece of syrup-smothered waffle was conjured in his mind. A pair of sky blue eyes looked up into his own as the forkful of waffle was held up in offer.
"Would you like some?"
He remembered the string of gooey syrup breaking off from the waffle and landing messily onto the table…
The blob of white and red that was currently held up to his face jiggled from side to side.
Cloud snapped out of his reverie.
There was a furrow of eyebrows into a slight frown and he was considering whether or not he should violently lash the offered food away.
But instead, the Dim Sum was politely pushed away with a single finger.
Cloud shook his head with an air of absolute rejection.
Leon raised an eyebrow at the colour that rose in Cloud's cheeks and decided not to comment on it. Instead, he withdrew his hand and popped the blonde's rejected Dim Sum into his own mouth.
"Suit yourself."
There was a small smirk lingering within the confines of Leon's face as he said it.
In Cloud's mind, the forkful of waffle was pulled back and inserted into a pair of grinning lips.
Cloud shook his head a little and picked up his chopsticks, gripping them clumsily with his hand and proceeding to poke the lump of white that was dotted with tiny orange beads.
What exactly …is this?
Leon regarded his bewildered expression from over his plate and suggested helpfully, "Those orange things … they're fish eggs."
The chopsticks fell from the blonde's fingers and landed onto his plate with a crash.
"Yeah… fish eggs," Leon repeated with confirmation, knowing that Cloud rarely ate anything that was still raw and uncooked.
There was a scraping of a chair across the floor as Cloud got up from his seat and disappeared from view behind a marble pillar. A few seconds later, he returned with silver cutlery and a new plate holding a couple of Spring Rolls and some Popia Prawns.
Leon watched as the blonde settled into his seat and picked up his knife and fork. He then started to cut one of the Popia Prawns in hope that he could eat it quickly and leave the vicinity as soon as possible.
The Popia snapped and he was left staring at the scattered pieces with wide, confused eyes.
Leon released a sigh.
"You eat it with your hands," he advised. "Or you can use chopsticks to pick it up. Knives and forks are not needed for foodstuffs like this."
Cloud gave an exasperated huff and placed his cutlery aside.
Both Spring Rolls and Popia turned out to be sickeningly oily when he picked them up with his fingers. He inwardly cursed the careless chef who fried these foods as he loudly crunched on them, earning raised-eyebrow looks from his companion who sat opposite and who was, at the moment, lifting his porcelain cup up to take a careful sip of aroma-scented Jasmine tea.
Tea …
A teapot came up in Cloud's mind, its lid removed to allow the sprinkling of three sugar sachets to commence. A spoon was inserted inside to swirl the pot's contents around. A pair of sky blue eyes eagerly peered into the pot to take note of the sugar crystals dissolving in the bronze-coloured liquid. The same eyes shifted away and locked on his …
He likes to watch the sugar swirl in his tea.
His plate lay empty before him, blotted with beads of leftover oil and, looking at his stained fingers, Cloud reached into his bag to pull out his packet of baby wipes, imprinted with zoo animals in tutu skirts.
Leon chose not to comment as he watched the scene that was taking place before him.
An artificial scent of strawberries washed over Cloud's nose as the wet tissue was rubbed all over his hands.
"You like strawberries, don't you?"
Sky blue eyes had been filled with excited curiosity as those words were said.
Cloud unconsciously sighed at the memory.
"Hey."
Leon looked up in surprise. Did Cloud just …speak?
"Which do you like more? Strawberry… or pineapple?"
Leon…could only stare.
…WHAT?
There was a long, pregnant pause. The brunet froze, simply too taken aback at what he had just heard.
Did Cloud just – ask him a question?!
"P-Pineapple," Leon answered dumbly, for he was unable to ward off the astonishment that took over him. "I'm allergic to strawberries."
"Hmp." A snort of approval to the answer.
The blonde was still looking at him, a straight, impassive expression melded in his features. Yet in his eyes, somewhere deep, Leon could recognize the surfacing of a hue of sincerity – the element of emphasis to his next words:
"Thanks … for the Dim Sum."
A moment's pause –
And then Leon smiled.
Sora puffed up his cheeks in irritation and Kairi gave him a look.
"But I don't like elevators."
"Well, you have to manage," Kairi cut in as she placed her hands onto her hips. "It's time you learn to ride in an elevator shaft on your own. Seriously Sora, this ridiculous fear of yours has got to stop. I'm disappointed that Riku isn't doing much help shaping you up either – what with his own, hectic studying and useless moping and all. Besides, I have an appointment at the salon with Selphie on this floor in a few minutes…" the red-haired girl paused when she spotted the uneasy look on Sora's face as the brunet stared at the shiny elevator doors that had yet to open.
Kairi let out an exasperated noise and shoved the small of Sora's back with her hand. "You'll be fine! Relax! Just hold your breath and count the seconds away. It'll be over in no time. Here–" She reached into her bag and pulled out a bag of cookies. The wonderful waft of oven-fresh, freshly-baked goodness reached into Sora's nostrils. His stomach grumbled in response.
Honestly, Kairi just spoiled him senseless sometimes. If not, all the time.
Unable to contain his hunger, he made a grab for the packet but Kairi jerked it out of reach. "Ne-uh. I'll only give it to you if you promise not to get off this elevator shaft until you reach the ground floor, understand?"
"Kai–"
"Understand?" came her voice again, much more sternly this time. The bag of cookies shook as Kairi jiggled it from side to side.
"Alright, alright," Sora grumbled, snatching the bag from the girl's hand and turning towards the elevator doors. He felt her slip the shopping bag containing the turtle suit into his hand, "Keep this for a while. Bring it to tomorrow's meeting. We're going to test it out."
Sora groaned at the fate that was bestowed upon him.
There was a sharp 'ting!' as the elevator doors slid open to reveal a small cramped-looking compartment shaft lit in a dim, golden light. Posters of restaurants and shops advertising their promotions were plastered on the sides of the shaft, giving its rider something to look at as they travelled through the shopping Mall's floors. An uneasy Sora peered into the shaft, his grip upon the handles of the shopping bag he carried tight, paling the skin of his knuckles. In his other hand, the bag of cookies was held protectively against his chest and he could feel his heart give a throb of anxiety.
Sora hated elevator shafts.
"Off you go!"
He felt two hands push him into the confined compartment and he cried out as he stumbled inside. Whipping around to deliver a protesting pout to the red-haired girl smiling on the floor's landing, Kairi simply smiled as she gave a mocking wave at his direction.
"Kairi…!"
"Now remember!" she said with a brandished finger. "Don't worry. If you feel nauseated just take deep breaths to stay calm. Don't panic and try not to pass out. If you do, count from five to one to cool yourself down. And keep telling yourself that you'll be fine. There's a low chance that the cables holding the shaft would snap anyway…"
Sora felt a horrifying twinge in his stomach and the image of him screaming hysterically as the elevator shaft he was in dreadfully plunged towards the ground formed in his mind. Out of instinct, he bolted from his spot and made for the exit but Kairi anticipated this, immediately stopping him from escaping by grabbing him by the shoulders and keeping him in her grasp. She ignored the muddled squeaks that came out of his mouth as she hastily dragged him back into the shaft.
"But Kai…please don't let me do this. I really don't like it at all… please let me use the stairs or the escalators…just not this…not this…"
"Oh quit being a scaredy cat. Just because you were stuck in a moving elevator shaft with jammed doors for four hours straight back in second grade, it doesn't mean you will be again. Besides, it's only five floors. And I'll stay right here to check that you've gone all the way down."
She gestured upwards where a set of digits signifying the floor numbers ran across the strip above the elevator doors. The number '5' was glowing, indicating that the shaft was on their floor, waiting to be filled with occupants.
Sora stopped struggling in her grasp and muttered quite prudishly, "It was fivehours straight. And I was on my own that time."
"Well, you should grow up," Kairi argued, letting go and stepping out of the shaft. "Trust me, you'll be fine."
She reached over to give his hand a reassuring squeeze, all before letting go to punch a button on the elevator shaft wall.
The button 'G' glowed red.
"Take care now," were her last words as her form vanished from behind the sliding elevator doors. Sora could feel his entire being stiffening as the shaft gave a lurch and began to descend from the floor.
Instantly, he was overcome with the sensation of claustrophobic stuffiness. To be honest, Sora could stand confined, small spaces like karaoke booths. He just didn't like them when they could move up and down.
He held out a shaky hand to touch the vibrating walls of the shaft in an effort to steady his wavering balance. His breathing quickened just as his vision began swimming out of focus. No! He scolded himself. Keep awake! Keep awake! Remember what Kairi had said!
"If you feel nauseated just take deep breaths to stay calm."
Sora breathed in and out, deep and slow, and felt his form relax a little. His vision swam back into focus. He could see his reflection on the surface of the elevator doors, his face drained of colour.
"Don't panic and try not to pass out. If you do, count from five to one to cool yourself down."
Sora looked up at the black strip above the shaft doors that told him his progress through the different floors. Right now, he was passing the third floor. Good grief, why was this journey down taking so long?
"F-Five."
His voice escaped his throat and was instantly devoured by the still air in the shaft. It felt awfully stuffy in here. He bent his head down and shut his eyes tightly in an effort to fight off the nausea that was taking over him.
"Four."
The light illuminating the floor numbers slowly changed from '3' to '2' as he continued to descend.
"Three."
"Chow Chow…it's Korean – sang by a group called DeliSpice. A friend gave me this song."
"Two."
"…there's this saying that if you count from five to–"
"One."
The shaft shuddered into a halt as the 'G' glowed brightly above the doors.
"…the person you've been thinking about…"
Then came the sound of a 'ting!' and – just as the shaft doors slid open quite slowly, there was a sound of a song playing somewhere outside and he recognized the rhythmic beating of introductory drums – it was the soundtrack song from My Girl and he looked up in alarm and recognition and –
"…will appear before you."
There, standing in front of him, waiting to get into the elevator shaft, was Cloud.
It was Cloud in his usual business shirt, today coffee-coloured, with one hand wedged into the pocket of his black pants. It was Cloud whose blonde bangs fluttered slightly about his face from the breeze conjured up from the opening of elevator doors. It was Cloud whose blue eyes – whose deep blue eyes – widened in absolute surprise as they clashed with disbelieved sky blue ones.
"Do you think that the opening of that particular door could be a sign to the unravelling of an upcoming change of unusual events? A door of destiny?"
The song playing in the backdrop of this remarkable scene continued as the flow of violin strings struck up, adding fresh, soaring intensity into the moment. There was the mutual holding of two distinct breaths. It felt like a Drama series. It was too coincidental … it was too unreal…
It was like destiny.
A random passer-by shuffled past them, pulling out a silver mobile phone and flipping it open, instantly ceasing the My Girl song that was playing, "Hello?"
The moment suddenly broke and Sora blinked stupidly at Cloud before he shook himself off that stupor with a barely audible, breathless whisper of greeting:
"Hi."
In response, Cloud returned him that vague twitch of a smile, earning Sora a grand blush of embarrassment because he realised that he sounded like a girl who was experiencing love at first sight.
Good grief.
He suddenly remembered where he was when the elevator doors, after waiting for any boarding or dismounting of its passengers, decided to close. Sora scampered from his spot and squeezed through the shrinking gap, feeling his feet land on solid ground and he stopped himself from kissing it gratefully because Cloud was watching.
Speaking of Cloud …
The brunet jumped back a metre or two, realising that the proximity between his and Cloud's bodies had been intrudingly close. As the radiating warmth that exceeded from Cloud's body disappeared from his side, Sora almost felt disappointed at the loss and felt tempted to regain it back. But he felt himself hesitating when he realised what he had been thinking.
Had he just intended to get physically closer to Cloud?
He blushed again for these thoughts and tried to think up an ice-breaker to induce a small conversation between them.
"From work?" Sora blabbered out, fighting off the remains of the blush that was painted across his face, exposed for all to see.
Cloud looked at him – or rather scrutinizedhim for a moment (Sora was only a head shorter than him) before replying in his usual quiet, nonchalant tone, "Lunch."
"Oh?" Sora moved on, not wanting their attempt at a conversation to stop at any awkward moments. "What did you eat?"
"Dim Sum."
"Really? Was it nice?"
"No."
"Oh, alright… why?"
"I don't like Dim Sum."
A surprised look. "Hm? Seriously?"
"Yeah."
Sora raised his eyebrow, feeling that their conversation was beginning to flow much more smoothly than last time. "Yet, you agree to eat it even though you don't like it?"
"My colleague dragged me there on purpose."
Sora smiled a little, knowing the feeling whenever he was with Kairi. "So where is your friend now?"
"He had to go back to the office. I have an hour of my break to kill in the meantime."
"I see…so you're on your own, I guess."
"Yeah."
"Okay."
"And you? Don't like elevators?"
Sora felt the blush return to his cheeks. "Was it …um, that obvious?"
"You could say that."
"Heh. I don't really …urm, like elevators. Far too cramped in there."
"Claustrophobic, are you?"
"Only when it comes to small spaces that move."
"Oh… bad experience?"
"Yeah. Bad experience."
"Yet, you got off one just now – and from the fifth floor."
Sora was too flustered to notice that Cloud's voice had a tinge of mockery laced in it.
"That's because Kairi forced me into it!"
"And you didn't oppose?"
Sora fell silent, suddenly apprehending the situation. Why hadn't he protested more severely? Surely, Kairi knew her limits when it came to his decisions. He needn't to go on the elevators if he really didn't want to.
And…and yet…
If it weren't for Kairi, this wouldn't have happened… He and Cloud wouldn't have –
"I… I'm sorta glad I didn't."
This time, Cloud fell silent as he felt the stroke of realisation when he understood the implication of those words.
If it weren't for Leon, this wouldn't have happened…They wouldn't have met again like this…
"Me too."
"Heh. I guess we're here because we've done the things we don't want to, eh?"
"I suppose."
And they fell into a sudden silence that stretched awkwardly as they hung about the elevator doors, the illuminating 'G' above their heads indicating that the shaft was on their floor, waiting for someone to board it. Curious shoppers passed them with a regarding eye before hurrying away and putting the thought out of mind.
The silence was quickly becoming uncomfortable again.
Sora realised the danger of their position and shot off the first thing that came to his head, "Do you … ah, have any plans at the moment?"
He paused when he saw the curious look that Cloud was giving him and then he realised how his question must have sounded.
"N-not that I'm implying anything, I mean, from where you're going then it must be obvious – that you have plans… but then, you could be going down to the basement to get your car and drive back to the office – but then again, that can't be right since you said so yourself that you have an hour of free time to kill so maybe it could be that you're about to take your car and drive somewhere else because the Mall can't be the only place that you could wait and pass the time at … but then–"
Sora stopped when he realised he was babbling again and held up a hand to cover his mouth. "Ah! I'm ranting again, aren't I? I-I'm so sorry!"
"S'alright…really."
A sheepish laugh. "Heh. Thanks."
And then came another pause between them. The two bodies lingered shyly by the doors of the elevator, waiting for someone to make the first move. They were waiting for a small announcement – a small indication – that would decide whether or not they should part ways – like any other chance encounter between strangers.
They were waiting for an excuse to stay together just a little longer.
Cloud was the one who broke their silence.
"I don't have any plans at the moment."
Sora felt his heart soar a little. It was awkward. "Really? Neither do I."
Silence again.
"Do you …"
It was Sora this time. Cloud regarded him with expectant, deep blue eyes.
"Do you want to walk with me?"
A strand of blonde hair was neatly tucked behind an ear.
"Okay to ask?"
A blinking of sky blue eyes in comprehension, "Of course."
Cloud shifted his gaze back down onto his loafers as they aimlessly walked through the marble-tiled floors of the Mall floor. Sora noted down the fact that Cloud walked with his head bent down, his gaze fixed on the floor and one hand carelessly buried into the pocket of his trousers. They were of a polite, comfortable distance to each other, not too far away and not too close either.
"The teapot," Cloud murmured out as they dodged past a group of giggling girls who supported mobile phones and shopping bags in their manicured hands. Sora's eyes widened a little as he assimilated the word in his head but failed to comprehend.
"I'm sorry?"
"At the café. The sugar in the teapot," hinted the blonde helpfully, his eyes still averted away from the sky blue ones that studied every wrinkle that formed in his expression.
Instantly, the brunet's eyes widened even more with understanding.
"Oh! That!" he laughed sheepishly before coughing into his hand to hide the small blush that was threatening to blemish his face. "I know people find it weird – but to me, it makes sense. Why bother to sweeten your cup of tea when you can just sweeten the entire teapot? Everytime you refill your cup, you have to add more sugar and it's tiring. So! To make things easier, add the sugar into the supply in advance! See where I'm going?"
From his view, Sora saw the corner of Cloud's lips twitching upwards.
"You're right. That actually makes sense."
"You think it does?" exclaimed the brunet with a grin. "Both Kairi and Riku think the sugar in the teapot is the most ridiculous thing I do… but then, that's not right because Kairi thinks my fear of riding any compartments that move is ridiculous …so the teapot thing can't be the most… but then Riku also says that he hates it when I get up from my bed and sleep-walk into his room so…"
He noticed that Cloud had lifted his gaze up from his shoes and was regarding him with eyes hued with amusement.
"Oh darn – I'm… heh, I'm blabbing again –"
"No worries," came the murmured reply as they strolled past an aquarium shop with windows displaying an array of colourful fish and Sora suddenly halted in his steps, causing Cloud to stop as well.
They were standing in front of a large music store whose very ground pulsed to the beat of the music playing out of the giant speakers. Flashing lights lit up the interior with vibrant, colourful glows. Customers walked around the various shelves, some standing back to study the selling titles while others reached over to pick a random CD or DVD up and dump it into a black shopping basket they carried. Overhead, large round letters illuminated out the store's name in bright neon colours:
DISCO LEEZ.
Kairi's voice suddenly echoed in his mind:
"Chow Chow! Yes, I know that song… I heard that this particular song was the band's first debut success and their first album, in which the song was featured in, was sold out in every music store…"
Sora felt a tug in his chest as he continued staring into the interior of the store and he remembered the droning quality of that song and the earphone pieces that he and Cloud shared.
I… I want to …
He found himself holding back, surprised at the sudden decision that he had unconsciously made. He felt the tendency to enter the music store's vicinity and expect to see the DeliSpice CD sitting there, waiting for him to buy it.
Wait…wait a second…
What was it about 'Chow Chow' that bloomed this sudden seed of determination to find the song? Why did he want to listen to it again? Why was there a strange feeling deep inside, telling him that the song somehow held a sense of value? Why was his senses telling him that he had to seize it –that he had to grab it – before his chance flew away?
What was … what was 'it'?
What on earth was he actually looking for?
What…?
"You want to…?" Cloud's voice interrupted his train of thought and Sora jerked out of his trance.
"Y-Yeah," he cut in uneasily, knowing what Cloud was about to say as indicated from the way Cloud's gaze kept shifting from him to the store. "Um… you don't …?"
"No, no," Cloud answered before Sora could finish his sentence. "No, I don't mind. Shall we…?"
"Right," Sora nodded and he led them both into the store, stepping onto the shafts of multicoloured lights that washed onto the floor. Porno Graffitti's 'CLUB UNDERWORLD' flowed out of the overhead speakers and drowned their hearing as both Sora and Cloud let their beings manoeuvre through the shelves of CDs, DVDs, video games and even books.
Sora's eyes shifted everywhere, taking in the sight of shiny CD covers and the names attached to them as his mind repeated the particular word like a mantra:
DeliSpice… DeliSpice…DeliSpi–
Bump!
"Whoa, whoa!"
Sora stumbled back and found himself facing one of the store's sales assistants – a rather tall individual wearing black and supporting a wild crest of bright, spiky red hair and glinting emerald eyes.
A pair of lips curled into a smirk as the nametag pinned to the individual's shirt flashed, flaunting the name printed on the plastic surface: AXEL.
It was then when Sora realised Cloud was nowhere in sight. The blonde must have wandered off somewhere. With rolled eyes, the brunet sighed. Here we go.
"So-ra! How's it going, eh? Roxy's not coming to piano lessons this week?"
Axel scrutinized him on the spot as he enunciated those words. Sora noticed that the red-head carried with him a stack of CDs and a marker pen. He must have been busy labelling prices before Sora had regrettably bumped into him.
"Roxas caught a cold two days before. Maybe next week – why don't you call him then?"
"Would've," snorted Axel as he adjusted the CDs in his arm. "…If the little bugger just gave me his phone number. Hard to crack, ain't he? Too busy ogling his fishes all day. I swear, one of these days, he'll probably be sending out invitations of his upcoming wedding to one of those ugly parrot fishes he's obsessed with…what's its name…Lucy or Lola…something like that…"
"It's Lettuce."
"Lettuce?" Axel echoed, scratching his bright red spikes with the hand he held his marker pen. "Who the hell names their fish 'Lettuce'?"
Sora crossed his arms as his gaze lifted upwards towards the ceiling with an air of thoughtfulness, "Roxas prefers names which are said to be exotic and unexpected."
"So he honourably prefers christening his fish with names of vegetables?"
"Actually, he named his parrot fishes after the five characters of Tokyo Mew Mew."
"Tokyo Mew– what?"
Sora felt his form relax a little. Just a few weeks recently, his quiet cousin, Roxas, had stumbled into Axel, who was Riku's former high school classmate, one Thursday afternoon after his weekly piano lessons. And after their unusual encounter (Sora heard it had something to do with sea-salt ice-cream sticks), all Axel talked about was Roxas, Roxas, Roxas.
Sora sighed again.
"Look, since you're working here and all – why don't you help me find this CD I'm looking for?"
The World Music section was a small, silent area situated downstairs, where the vicinity was usually secluded of customers who were much more interested in the selection displayed upstairs. He found Cloud at one of the shelves, pouring over the song titles of a random CD. When Sora stepped closer into the almost deserted section, the blonde finally looked up.
"There you are," the brunet greeted, shattering the heavy silence of the room with his voice, before Cloud return to him a responding 'hmm'.
Sora turned to the shelf displaying the selection of CDs and began browsing through the titles. The collection was assembled according to the artist name and it mixed all Japanese, Korean, Chinese and even Indonesian artists together. Sora scrutinized a particular CD whose cover included a figure of a woman with folded wings amongst a white background. The words on the cover spelt out: SAMSONS followed by the album title 'Naluri Lelaki' below it.
As Sora continued his searching, he became aware that a warm presence had appeared somewhere by his side. It was then when he realised that he had unconsciously drifted closer to Cloud.
He found the warmth radiating from the blonde somehow enticing, almost beckoning him to draw even closer. But again he held himself back, thinking it would indeed seem rather rude to intrude into another person's personal space just because of one's irrational inclinations.
He shifted in his stance, his consciousness still fixed on his inward debate, all before his eye caught the CD that Cloud was holding up. With squinted eyes, he was able to make out the words…
D-De-
Cautiously, he took a tiny step closer to Cloud and felt the ridiculous tendency to go all the way overwhelm him. He gingerly bit his lip to restrain the feeling and squinted his eyes even more.
Deli…Spice…
DeliSpice!
"Ah!"
Cloud looked up in surprise at the utterance that his companion had made and caught the look of excitement that danced across the brunet's façade. The brown-haired boy had somehow ended up standing several inches away from his elbow.
"Th-That CD!" Sora exclaimed, unable to contain his exhilaration at the discovery. "M-May I?"
Unmoving, Cloud merely maintained his gaze onto the brunet, his eyes carefully examining the expression on the other's face and deciding that it resembled the same one that the brunet formed when he watched the sugar crystals dissolve in his tea.
"This is their fifth album, Espresso," Cloud informed the other quietly. "You can't find the first album here, unfortunately."
Sora felt his heart sink a little as he stared at the CD that Cloud held. The words 'DELISPICE' followed by the album name, Espresso, flashed back at him from behind the CD's plastic cover. He sighed exasperatedly at the deception before his shoulders sagged in setback, his gaze falling downwards.
So much for trying.
Something glinted in the light and Sora lifted his head up and blinked when Cloud held out the CD to him with a very small, reassuring smile plastered on his face.
"But at least it's something …right?"
There was a tint of warmth in the blonde's voice when he said those words.
And Sora just stood there, staring at the CD under the shaft of gold and white light with Cloud there with him and somehow, that same feeling of excitement at the thought of gaining what he felt he was looking for returned. It was a somewhat nice, triumphant feeling, coupled with that inviting warmth of having Cloud's presence nearby.
Sora reached out to take the CD and his fingers touched the plastic cover.
Suddenly, they both froze.
And their hands remained on either ends of the CD case, unable to complete the exchange, as two pairs of eyes locked on one another and their minds raced as one.
Wh-why does it–
It was then when they both realised that they were very much alone. Together.
Cloud cleared his throat uncomfortably.
Sora shifted slightly in his stance.
–feel so right…
It was merely a sudden notion of awareness that hit them both like a fork of lightning the moment Sora's fingers touched the CD case. An overwhelming tension was building up between them as the heavy, muffled silence stretched on alongside the ticking seconds.
…when we're together...?
Sora's fingers unconsciously loosened and the CD suddenly slipped from their grasp, startling them out of their trance. Cloud caught it before it hit the floor.
Sora was blushing hard when the blonde handed him the CD.
"So you …ah, going to buy that?" Cloud asked, trying not to notice the red tinge that was wonderfully painted across the brunet's face.
"Y-Yeah… " Sora replied, looking everywhere else but at Cloud before clearing his throat for a much bolder response. "Yeah, I'm going to buy this."
End (Chorus 2-repeat 2X)
Notes about the chapter:
1) Kairi's commentary about the song 'Chow Chow' is based on my vague knowledge of the song itself. Initially, I got the song from a CD my sister's friend burned for her (the burned CD was the OST from the Japanese movie, All About Lily Chou Chou and 'Chow Chow' was accidentally inserted in). Plus, noticed how this story's chapters are arranged? Kairi says "…a Chorus 1 and a Chorus 2 repeating again and again and then an instrumental Interlude in the middle before the two Choruses repeat again for the final touch." Yes, the chapter titles describe the entire song. And the 'Choruses' are not really Choruses. They are merely 'lines'. I did not know that until now – so please excuse.
2) Popia Prawns, as mentioned in the Dim Sum scene, is basically a pastry like a spring roll with the exception that it is shaped like a folding fan. I don't really know what its real name is but in my language, it is known as the 'popia'. Because of its fan-like shape, it is impossible for one to try to eat it with cutlery. I just needed something which required Cloud to eat using his hands. Anyone know what the real name for Popia Prawns, please don't hesitate to mention it to me. Plus – it's funny, eh? That Cloud can't use chopsticks. And Leon is a bad flirt.
3) I needed a good enough reason for the Sora/Cloud elevator-door-encounter scene (i.e. "…if you count from five to one…" etc.) to happen. This part was based on an actual scene in the Korean drama series, My Girl (in which I own no rights to). Why? Because I needed to put repeated ramblings about destiny inside and this scene is a must. So how do I put it? By making Sora fear elevators! Like it was mentioned, Sora does not like any small compartments that can move – meaning he's also scared of riding Ferris wheels and simulators!
4) Noticed how Sora and Cloud's conversation starts? From one-word utterances to full sentences?
5) What do you think about the sugar in the teapot thing? Makes sense? Try it out once in a while and see if Sora's words are true!
6) The music store, Disco Leez, was slightly based on the HMV store in Tottenham Court Rd, London. And Axel's appearance here is pointless. The scene between Sora and Axel here is taken from a scene in my upcoming fic entitled 'Disco Leez' which is an AkuRoku romance. As you can see, Roxas is a freak. Who on earth names their fish after the five characters of Tokyo Mew Mew? And why parrot fish? Because they rule! Watch out for this in future.
7) The final scene between Cloud and Sora in the World Music section was the hardest to write. I had to edit it a couple of times to get it right and I don't want to read it again.
I've realised that this story is about to come to an end! If all goes according to plan, there will be two more chapters left of this story – and I have a hunch that the next chappie is another super-long one. So last chance for you un-reviewed readers to send me REVIEWS! Get ready, people.
Next up: Dishwashing and a Discman! 'Business' meetings and flabbergasted stares! A rainy evening with warm cheeks as the physical gap between Cloud and Sora starts to close! It's time to play!
Feedback and reviews are nice, by the way.
