Author's note: You guys make me blush. A-anyways, this story is rated M for future chapters, so I hope nothing threw you off since there isn't really any mature substance yet.

"people talking"

"dogs talking"

'people thinking'

dogs thinking

- - - -

A dog will make eye contact. A cat will, too, but a cat's eyes don't even look entirely warm-blooded to me, whereas a dog's eyes look human except less guarded. A dog will look at you as if to say, "What do you want me to do for you? I'll do anything for you." Whether a dog can in fact, do anything for you if you don't have sheep is another matter. The dog is willing.

- Roy Blount Jr.

- - - -

Chance

Sora cocked his head to the side and blinked, large, sapphire eyes glistening in the moonlight. "Find who, Riku?" he asked.

For a moment, Riku stared at the naked boy and did not say a word. Maybe it was sheer shock that made him this way, but for the longest time he could not even question himself. "H-how do you know my name?" he asked hesitantly, eyeing the strange boy. 'And why are you naked?' he wanted to ask, but refrained from doing so.

Sora had to think for a moment. I'm not a dog anymore. Well, technically I am, but I don't look it. Riku, and anyone else for that matter, would ever believe me if I said who I was. What am I supposed to do? He swallowed a gulp and glanced down at himself. Really, he never understood why humans hid themselves beneath layers of cotton for any purpose besides warmth. But perhaps it was modesty, too? "I, uh…I work down at the factory," he lied, "and I fell into that lake in the park. My…" He thought hard for the word. "…clothes were too wet to keep traveling in."

Riku raised his eyebrows. "I've never seen you at work before," he said, "but that place is pretty big." He tried his hardest to not look at the boy's bare form. "The…lake downtown, you say?" Despite his struggles, his eyes fell upon the brunette, roaming across the slim figure. The boy was small, but not too small, and he had a lean shape about him that was almost appealing.

Riku quickly turned his head away, cheeks warm. "Um, come in," he said, "and I'll give you some dry clothes."

"That would be nice," said Sora with a grin. He followed Riku inside, already knowing the layout of his home.

In his bedroom, Riku fumbled through his dresser drawers. "Sorry if these don't fit you," he mumbled as he searched through the articles of clothing. "You're a lot smaller than I am."

Sora stood in the doorway and smiled. "Oh, that's fine!" he beamed.

Riku turned around, clothes in his hands, and fell silent. Why was that kid being so…unaffected by his own nudity? Did he have no humility? Riku ignored this and held out the clothes. "Here," he said, and placed the items in Sora's arms. He watched as the boy looked at the clothing curiously, as though he didn't have the slightest clue what they were.

And really, he didn't.

Sora held up a t-shirt, long and red, and stared at it. What do I do with this thing? He glanced at Riku, who looked at him expectantly. He caught they man's glance.

'Oh! Maybe he wants privacy,' Riku thought, feeling like he had been rude, and stepped out of the room with a quick apology.

Sora's eyes remained on the door, even after it was pulled to a close. He then looked back at the shirt and placed the other clothing on the mattress. His bed was still unmade, he noticed, sheets and blankets spread in different directions as if it were morning. He chuckled and shook his head. He's worried about me, he thought. Too bad though. Hopefully this body isn't permanent…

His mind trailed back to the current issue on his hands: Dressing himself. He had watched Riku do this before, a few times, but not much since the man usually preferred to do it in the bathroom or elsewhere, where Sora could not see. The dog had never realized before how human Riku had always seemed to treat him. Well, except for petting me. And feeding me dog treats. And walking me on a leash and giving me a bath in an oversized bucket.

All in all, he was clueless.

He was determined, however, and his fingers clumsily grasped the edges of the shirt as he seemed to almost crawl into it, slowly, as though it were a tunnel of some sort. He made slow progress, and he soon found himself peering into the bedroom again, cloth no longer smothering him. At last, his head was free, and his hair a giant mess. Now there was the matter of getting his arms into the shirt. He struggled with the item like it was wrestling him, and maybe it was. Minutes later he was panting, sitting on the edge of the bed, and he had succeeded.

It took him an additional ten minutes to get into boxers and a pair of gym shorts that hung loosely on his waist.

In the kitchen, Riku stared at his watch and sipped on a bottle of water. 'What the hell is he doing in there?' he thought. To his relief, Sora emerged from the bedroom, fully dressed, and he did not notice the tired look he wore. "Ah, there you are!" He walked over to the boy and inspected him. "Yeah, I was right," he chuckled softly, "my clothes are too big for you."

"No, no," Sora said, waving his hands. "They're fine, really."

"If you say so," said Riku. He sighed, and an awkward silence settled among the two males.

"Uh," Sora began, rubbing the back of his head, "do you think I could…stay here? For just a few days or so- no longer, I swear! I don't want to intrude or anything, but I don't really have anywhere to go, and I don't know anyone else around here..."

"Where do you live?" Riku asked.

Sora's heart fell. Whoops. "…What?"

Riku blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, 'What?' I asked where you live."

"Oh, right," Sora laughed nervously. "I, uh…I live pretty far from here, in a far off place. Far, far off," he added.

"Oh?" Riku said. "Did you drive here?"

Drive? What does that mean? Sora took a chance and said, "No… I don't know how."

'He does look young,' Riku thought. He rubbed his chin. 'I guess he still isn't old enough to get his license. But what is he doing so far from his home if he's not even above the legal age limit? Poor kid, he probably ran away from home. I can't tell him no.'

"Sure."

Sora's face lit up, his spirits raised. "Oh, thank you!" he said, and flung himself at Riku.

o-o-o

Sora was an affectionate character, Riku soon discovered. Although, Riku did not call him Sora.

"My name? Of course you want to know my name, aha…"God, why me? "…My name… My name is Daiki," he lied hesitantly. Thankfully, Riku paid no mind to the name of his laundry detergent.

And so began the creation of Sora's alter ego, or as he liked to call it, his "alter human".

Sora was, indeed, very affectionate. Almost too affectionate, Riku thought, counting the times he had been tackled by the smaller boy. He was already up to three, for every small task he did, and they had only been together no longer than four hours. In this time they watched television and ate popcorn, a new, peculiar food that Sora took an instant liking to. His entire life he had admired humans for being able to eat such delicious looking foods, and now he was finally able to enjoy this luxury as well.

Also, before becoming human, he could never really understand the language of mankind. There were only a few choice words like "food" or "walk" or "park" that he could understand. And "Sunday". He definitely understood that one.

When the thought crossed his mind, he was left with a strange state of wonder. On typical Sundays, Riku and Sora spent the day together. And now Sora was human, but he looked to his left and there was Riku, paying close attention to a movie that he couldn't really get into. In a weird way, they were still spending Sunday together.

Sora reached into the bag of popcorn and took a piece for himself, and he was happy.

o-o-o

The following day, he didn't wake until noontime. With a groan, he stretched and relaxed, a yawn silently falling from his lips. His eyes opened lazily to the harsh flow of sunlight through a nearby window, blinds cracked ever so slightly. Looking down, he saw that he was in Riku's bed- His bed. And for a moment, he thought everything had been just a crazy dream. A nightmare, he thought, and wagged his-

His tail was gone. But… He quickly threw the blankets off of him with the use of his handy-dandy thumb, and it was then that he saw his rump, covered by pieces of cloth with no tail waggling on the end of it. He frowned and sank back into the blankets. I hate this.

"Are you awake yet?"

He heard Riku's voice, soft, at the door. He lifted his head and looked at him. Then, he nodded with a brief smile. "Yeah," he said, voice scratchy from the night's rest, "I'm up."

Riku gave a single, curt nod. "Okay," he said, grinning. I'll be downstairs.

It was Monday morning. Monday afternoon, actually, Sora noticed. It was all very strange to him. Why wasn't Riku at work? Surely he was late, or someone called to fill in for him, because usually he was long gone, leaving Sora with a light pat on the head and a dog treat that would only occupy him for a few minutes. Then the dog would be left to sulk to himself for a moment, and spend the rest of the day until evening when his pet returned chasing his tail, gnawing on a bone or barking at people outside.

When Riku walked out of the room, Sora thought to himself. I need to figure out, somehow, how this happened to me. Dogs don't just turn into humans for no reason, right? He frowned. I wonder, will I ever be a dog again? This was his main point of focus. Living as a canine- Sora could see it no other way. In fact, leading a "dog's life" was the best thing he could ask for. No job, no responsibility, and moreover, he had his own personal attendant.

What more could anyone want?

It was some time before he decided to stand from the bed, staggering from his apparent fatigue. Never before had he felt so drained. Was being human really this tiring? Yawning again, he stepped from the room and made his way downstairs with ease. There was no questioning where everything was, because it was his home. Everything there was his, though to Riku he was nothing but a stranger. So why did he agree so easily to let me stay here?

"There you are," Riku said as Sora approached him. "I don't really cook for breakfast…" He laughed and rubbed he back of his head. "…but there's cereal in the cabinet and milk in the fridge if you want some of that."

Sora smiled. "That would be great," he replied, "thanks." With an almost intuition he walked toward a set of cabinets and opened one that was beside the refrigerator without saying a word. He hummed and took out a box of cereal, and proceeded to take the milk from the fridge and close the door with an effective grin. When he turned and faced Riku, he saw that the man had a puzzled look about him.

'How did he know exactly where that cereal was?' he asked himself, but soon shook the awkward feeling as he noticed Sora spilling the milk. The white liquid traveled across the countertop, and Riku took the gallon from Sora's hands. "Hey, hey," he said hurriedly, and put the milk down. "Be more careful when you do that." He grabbed a handful of paper towels and began cleaning the mess up.

Sora laughed nervously and rubbed his hands together. "Sorry…" he said, face turning a shade of red.

Riku looked at him, sighed, and shook his head. "It's okay." He grinned and poured a bit more milk into Sora's bowl, and handed it to the boy. "Just watch what you're doing next time."

"Oh, I will," said Sora. He took a stool and sat, carefully picking the spoon up between shaky fingers. This is hard. Gathering a few pieces of cereal in the utensil, he lifted it to his mouth, slowly, until the food was caught between his lips. He swung his legs back and forth and closed his eyes with a large smile. Pet food is the best, he mused inwardly. Dogs have it good, but when it comes to food, humans have got it so much better.

He took another bite, and his smile grew. Mmm.

He didn't even notice the strange way Riku was staring at him.

o-o-o

"So, Daiki."

Sora barely caught the gesture when it occurred, him sitting comfortably on the couch and watching an afternoon soap opera (he found the way humans conveyed their emotions quite interesting), and Riku sitting in a nearby recliner. Of course, Sora knew that recliner belonged strictly to Riku and no one else. He was often scolded for climbing in it when his pet was away.

"Yes?" he replied, eyes parting from the screen.

Riku thought for a moment, and said, "How old are you? If you don't mind me asking."

Sora felt his mind begin to slide. "Almost two," he said without hesitation, a broad, cheeky grin lighting his face.

"…Two?" Riku questioned, wrinkling his nose. 'What the..?'

Sora's eyes widened a considerable amount. Humans age differently! How could I forget! Stupid, Sora! You're so stupid! "I mean, I turn sixteen in two months!" he covered, chuckling. Is that a right age? I heard Riku talking to some kid who mentioned his kid brother turning sixteen, and he looked about what I do.

Riku continued to look at him in a peculiar manner for a while. Then, "Oh, okay," he said, and laughed.

Sora sighed inwardly. What luck. In the back of his mind, he didn't think he would be that lucky for much longer.

"So what about you?" he asked. "How old are you?"

True as it was, Sora had spent the majority of his life in the same house, the same bed, even, with Riku. He could still remember stumbling over his chubby paws and staring out of his cage where he and his brothers thrived, and into the open world where Riku, a tall, slender man with silver-gray hair was standing, looking into the shop window. He entered the building, a bell sounding, ringing softly, and Sora cocked his head as he saw the other approach another human, the shopkeeper, and begin speaking with him.

"I need a puppy," Riku said in a hushed voice, almost as if someone were listening to his every word and he did not want them to hear. "It's, uh…for my girlfriend."

The shopkeeper eyed him suspiciously. Then, he nodded and gestured toward Sora's cage. "Over there is a bundle of four Labrador puppies, just recently weaned and ready to take home. I'll give you one for four-hundred dollars, but if you add two-hundred more dollars you can get another puppy. It's a special discount- and it's only for a limited time…"

Riku shook his head vigorously. "No, I just want one." 'Four-hundred dollars?…Namine had better like this mongrel." He headed to the back of the shop, where Riku and his siblings squirmed, and as he took his first glimpse at the blue-eyed pup, he knew that he was more than "just a dog".

Sora was bought for Riku and Namine's four-month anniversary, but he never ended up being sent home with the woman. Instead, she and Riku soon found themselves quarreling, and so the relationship was ended there, and she moved away, leaving Sora with Riku. And really, he would rather stay there than leave with Namine. "We don't need her, boy," Riku reassured, stroking the soft fur on Sora's ears. "We only need each other."

Although Sora spent most of his time on earth with Riku, he did not know much about the man other than he could not hold a stable relationship for over four months.

"I'm twenty," Riku finally answered. He flipped the television remote in his fingers with a wry grin. "I don't act it, huh?"

Sora grinned. "Nah, not really," he said. "I thought you'd be around my age."

Riku sighed wistfully. "Ah, well, sometimes I do, you know? I'm not fifteen anymore, but I still have friends, and all of us are just a big group of immature adults. Really, twenty isn't adulthood, anyway." He shrugged and closed his eyes, sinking down into the recliner with a content expression.

Sora chuckled softly. "Iguess not," he said.

o-o-o

"So, a few days?"

Riku and Sora had spent the bulk of that evening talking about each other's lives, though most of the storytelling on Sora's behalf was simply a bundle of lies he threw together in a matter of seconds, such as the fact that his parents died in a horrific car accident. But unbeknownst to Riku, Sora had no parents. Well, save for the canine beings that produced him, but he knew they were either long gone or in pound somewhere.

"A car accident? That's awful." Riku's eyes fell to the carpet. He gave a small laugh and shook his head. "My parents- they're still around. I don't hear from them much, though. Not anymore, anyway." He paused with a long sigh. "They used to be so interested in my life, in my education. They were dedicated parents, you know? But then they stopped caring so much, I guess when I started college and moved away, and we didn't really keep in contact. That's partially my fault, I know.

"I wanted to be a school teacher," he laughed. "Silly, right? I was only in college for about a year before I realized the money I didn't have to support my tuition. I wasn't interested in student loan, simply because I didn't want to pay it off after my schooling was complete. Being in debt was kind of my biggest fear? I suppose… But anyways, after my freshman year I didn't go back, and instead I found myself working in a packaging factory, which is where I work now."

He glanced at Sora. "Sounds like fun, huh?"

Sora shrugged. "It depends on what you like to do."

At this, Riku smiled. "Well, I certainly don't like packaging."

"Then why don't you go back to school?" Sora suggested.

Riku inhaled deeply. He looked at Sora for a long moment, and then simply said, "I can't afford it."

"Why not ask help from your parents? Siblings? Friends…?"

"I wouldn't dare bother my parents for money," Riku answered, "and I'm an only child. I thought, when I was younger, that it didn't get any better than that, but once you're grown it's not all it's cracked up to be. As for friends? I don't really have many- besides Axel, of course. He's always there for me, and vice versa. He's…one person I really care about in this world."

"Have you ever thought of him as more than just a friend?"

At the question, Riku's eyes widened. "What…?" He stared at Sora. "What do you mean? Like…"

Sora raised his eyebrows. "Like…do you like other men?"

Riku found himself in a laughing fit. "W-what! Me…gay? Ha-ha, that's ridiculous!"

Sora was a dog, but he hadn't missed the way people interacted with one another. And though dogs are technically wired to eat, sleep and reproduce, he also knew that they could share homosexual feelings. "Then why are you being so defensive?"

"I've had girlfriends before," Riku said. He was quiet then. "Look," he said with a smile, "you're still young. You don't really understand relationships yet. I know- I've been you're age before, too."

"So you do like men?" Sora asked.

"No!"

o-o-o

It was around ten that Sora received the phone call. He wasn't expecting one, either. In fact, that had to be one of the last things he anticipated.

"For who?" he heard Riku say after picking up the telephone. It was a cheaper one, a house phone, that Riku purchased after his cell phone had been broken on the job. "Okay, just a minute."

The phone was handed to Sora, who was almost completely clueless as of how to use it. But he took it in his hands and held it to his ear, just as he had seen Riku do on a few occasions. "Hello?" he said in a quiet voice.

The reply on the other end was clear, and he jumped a little at the sound. "Sora?"

Sora gulped. "I-I don't know who you're talking about," he said nervously.

"Sora, look, I know who you are." The voice was hushed, almost a whisper. "This is Roxas."

"No," Sora said, "that isn't possible."

"It's possible," was the reply. "Trust me. I know what's happened to you, because it's happened to me, too. And I think…I think I know just how it happened."

Sora gasped. "What? Tell me!"

"No- I can't. Someone's here with me, so I can only tell you in person when we're alone. Meet me in the park in fifteen minutes, okay? Beside the lake. I'll be waiting, Sora."

He heard a dial tone and set the phone down. Riku looked at him expectantly. "I have to go somewhere," he said, "but I'll be back as soon as I can."

"Do you want me to give you a ride?"

Sora shook his head. "No, I can get there myself. It isn't far away."

Riku nodded. "Be careful, then."

Author's note: This chapter really just reflects on some things in Riku and Sora's life, if you didn't notice. And what's this, Roxas is human too? Maybe he knows what has happened to him and Sora, and maybe he knows just how it can be reversed…