By Chance
"You must be Cloud's brother."
Sora continued staring at the silver-haired stranger. Sea-green eyes complimented those silky strands of hair so perfectly. The stranger wore a tight black shirt along with a pair of faded jeans, making his muscular form more obvious. Sora wasn't sure why, but Cloud always had the most attractive friends. Cloud's boyfriend was handsome from what Sora saw of him… and here was Cloud's best friend. Damn. He looked more like a god than a human.
"It's not polite to stare," the silver-haired male said cockily, leaning his right hand against the doorframe.
Sora paled and then cleared his throat. The brunette lowered his gaze to the ground before grumbling, "I wasn't staring at you, jerk."
"Ouch…" said the other with mock hurt. Aquamarine eyes watched the brunette with amusement. "That's not a good first impression," remarked the stranger.
"Can you let me in?" Sora asked in a mumble, fingers tapping on the handle of his suitcase. All Sora wanted right now was to go into 'his' room and sob for a bit. Then he'd mentally retrace his steps and find where his diary was. Though, the most plausible place was the subway. Somehow he had gotten his switched with someone else's. This was going to take forever to find.
"Not before you tell me your name," hummed the stranger flirtatiously, silver bangs falling on his ivory skin. Those bangs accented his slim facial features, just adding to his overall handsome aura.
"Sora," the brunette muttered and smacked his lips together, gaze still on the tiles beneath him.
"Hm…" the stranger said, voice trailing off. "Girl's name and girl's body. Fitting. You are a guy, right?"
"Hey!" Sora snapped angrily, gaze raising to glare darkly at the other. "Well, you look like a girl more than I do!" The silver-haired male was beautiful. Probably prettier than most women, even. But Sora. Sora's body just screamed feminine. His hips, though, were too curvy and he lacked that much muscle.
"You can call me Mr. Karada," the man hummed melodiously as he moved aside to let Sora in.
Sora hastily made his way into the vast apartment. Yes, it was huge. Like triple the size of his and Cloud's. Envy suddenly overcame Sora as he narrowed his eyes. A rich jerk. "That makes you sound old," Sora grumbled curtly.
"….Punk," 'Mr.Karada' concluded as he shut the door with ease. The thud echoed throughout the large apartment for a moment before the silver-haired male said, "Then just call me Riku."
Yeah… that's what his name is, Sora thought. "All right," he said quietly.
"So Cloudie left you in my hands for an entire month," Riku said suspiciously, emphasizing the words a bit too much.
Sora set his suitcase against the wall and arched an eyebrow quizzically at his 'warden'. "He went on vacation with his boyfriend, that's all. I only agreed to this because I wanted him to have a good time," Sora explained in a tone that screamed resentment at his new acquaintance.
"Of course," Riku muttered with a lack of believing in Sora's words.
The silver-haired male made his way over to Sora promptly. When only a foot separated them, Riku began, "Let's set down a few ground rules, all right? You are not allowed out of here unless I'm with you," Riku narrowed his eyes a bit for some reason, "You're not allowed to use anything of mine unless you ask," Sora flinched, "and finally, leave me alone."
Sora's nose twitched. "That'll be easy."
"Wise-guy, huh?" Riku challenged, green eyes becoming slits from irritation.
"I was just agreeing to your conditions," Sora replied emotionlessly. The brunette grabbed his suitcase again and wheeled it into the middle of the living room and awaited further instruction. "And I'll be sleeping where?"
Riku frowned. "And to think I thought you'd be like Cloud. Oh was I wrong," Riku muttered crossly before crossing his arms.
Sora chose to ignore this. Cloud said to behave; getting into a fight (verbal or physical) would probably anger his older brother. So, Sora chose to hold his tongue and just stood there in an uneasy silence.
"Your room's down the hall, second room on the left," Riku explained and rose a hand to rub his temples. "Dinner's at six and lunch is at twelve. It'd do you good if you remember that."
Sora stared blankly at the older male and then nodded cautiously. Without another word, seeing that Sora didn't feel like wasting anymore time on his rude host, Sora made his way down the hallway towards his new bedroom. Once he had reached the designated door, Sora entered the room and dropped his body tiredly onto the bed. His leg extended outwards and kicked the door shut, the slam echoing for a few seconds.
"I'm so tired," Sora complained as he shifted onto the bed so that he could bury his face against the pillow. If he had his diary he'd probably be writing about how rude and inconsiderate his brother's friend was. But no, Sora just had to lose it.
"How could I lose that?" Sora asked, voice muffled by the pillow. His brief diversion (and meeting) with Riku had drained him of the scant amounts of energy he had left.
Though, the idea of the notebook galvanized Sora. The brunette cautiously rolled onto his stomach and reached with his right arm towards his suitcase. After a moment of pointless fumbling, Sora withdrew the maroon-notebook. Curious eyes timidly opened the book to the first page.
Since I really have no other place to write these sort of things, I figured I'd write them here. They're mostly just the inner 'romantic', if you will, inside of me that needs to be let out once in awhile. Writing these seems to take my mind off my real desires. If I close my eyes and imagine all of this happening I can go on another day without a significant other. If I just write about my fantasies, I can contain myself.
Sora blinked. So this was someone's personal journal… like his diary? Except that this person wrote short excerpts in addition to their entries? Sora wearily continued reading seeing he had nothing else to do.
My parents divorced when I was six. Apparently my father was never really in love with my mom. For good reason, too. My dad's now married to a man. Sora blushed lightly at the idea. My mom's single and dating people on the side. She's still trying to find her prince-charming, I suppose.
I grew up with my father, so naturally I became interested in the male gender a lot more than I should have. It wasn't until I was fifteen that I admitted to myself and the world that I wasn't at all enthralled by the female body. In fact, it appalled me.
"Sora?"
Sora lifted his head from the book and glanced at the closed door. Sora quickly snagged his pillow and placed it on top of the notebook. Sapphire hues stared timidly at the door before he muttered out a moody, "What?"
"Your brother's on the phone. He wants to talk to you," Riku said behind the closed door.
Sora went pale. "I was supposed to call him!" Sora slurred in a frantic voice. The brunette jumped off the bed and ran towards the door, throwing it open.
Sora hadn't been expecting Riku to be still standing there. The brunette teenager nearly tackled the silver-haired male to the ground, thinking that he'd be in the living room by now. Surprised aquamarine eyes met blue ones and then quickly shot away. "Here's the phone," Riku said as he grabbed Sora's wrist.
Sora watched as Riku slid the phone into his hand, their palms touching briefly. All of Sora's earlier admiring of the silver-haired man had gone out the window. Now all he felt was irritation and rage towards the man. But that didn't stop the tingles that shot up Sora's spine from the electric-like touch.
"Thanks," Sora whispered, no gratitude evident in his voice.
Riku narrowed his eyes, knowing that Sora was just saying that to be polite. "Inconsiderate punk," Riku concluded as he stormed away, back into the realms of the apartment.
Sora watched as the male left. Riku seemed like an angry and rude person… that was what Sora had figured out so far. Not giving the other another thought, Sora rose the phone up to his ear. "Hello."
"I told you to call, Sora," Cloud nagged.
"I'm sorry!" Sora quickly interjected, leaning against the door-frame.
"…It's all right. As long as you got there safely," Cloud said and then sighed deeply. "How do you like it?"
"It's big," Sora noted as his curious eyes glimpsed up and down the hallway. The hallway was long and huge and… the apartment looked more like a house than anything else.
"Haha… yeah, I know," Cloud remarked with a laugh. "So you've met Riku?"
Sora frowned. "I have…"
"You don't sound too elated," Cloud noted quietly.
"Cloud…" Sora looked down at the ground, a bit ashamed to be saying what he was going to. "He's a jerk and he doesn't like me. He called me a girl."
"I'll talk to him?" Cloud suggested, sounding a bit worried.
"Nah," Sora sighed. "This is my own battle. I'll be fine, though. Don't worry about me, okay?"
"I'm sure you'll get along with him," Cloud said hopefully. "He's an amazing friend. I just wish you could see what I see in him," Cloud trailed off, a bit melancholic.
"Maybe if I was older," Sora grumbled, slumping his exhausted body further against the door.
"Perhaps… Anyway, how was the ride over?"
"Horrible," Sora groaned. "I got lost and almost missed the subway. And then I almost got lost coming here. It was a nightmare," Sora concluded in a sigh. "Where are you and Leon?"
"We just got to the airport," Cloud explained. In the background Sora could hear Leon talking to someone. His voice was unmistakable. "I can't stay long, though. I just wanted to see how you were getting along."
"I'm doing fine," Sora admitted. Nothing too bad had happened other than losing his diary. And Cloud didn't know that he even had one, so mentioning that to his brother would be pointless.
"I have to go now, Sora. You should ask Riku to play the piano for you," Cloud suggested.
"…I doubt he'd do that," Sora replied honestly, wincing at the idea of asking the silver-haired anything. Even where the bathroom was sounded like a dangerous question.
"Well, once you guys are on better terms," Cloud reasoned. "Now I better be going. We're going to board soon and Leon needs to… talk to me," Cloud paused, as if doing something.
Sora frowned a bit. "Have fun. Call when you get there, okay?"
"Can do. Bye, Sora. Love ya."
"Love you too," Sora whispered, a tinge of guilt in his chest as he hung up the phone. With a sigh, he closed his eyes. A thought occurred. "…what do I do with the phone?" Sora whispered. Eyes opened and stared at the black device with speculation. "I'll just keep it in my room," Sora decided as he re-entered the room and closed the door behind him.
Sora placed the phone on the bureau and then laid down. Within moments he had entered a light slumber. In his dreams he was home… in his dreams everything turned all right. In his dreams … he wasn't afraid of the inevitable.
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Riku grumbled something incoherent under his breath. Cloud's brother was so inconsiderate and rude and just everything that Cloud wasn't. Riku sighed in vexation. There was no way he was going to survive having the runt in his house. Having Sora there meant no random late-night drinks, no friends over, and certainly no 'HBO specials'. The last thing he needed was Sora telling his older brother that his best friend, was in fact, a hormonal pervert. … In some aspects.
Riku yawned and walked into his bedroom, grabbing his maroon notebook from the bureau. The silver-haired male reached for his pen before he laid down. It took him a few moments to find a comfortable writing-position. When he finally did, he flipped the book open.
"The hell?" Riku declared.
This wasn't his writing. Arching a brow, Riku flipped to the front page. With an interested look he began to read.
Dear Diary,
Riku sniggered at this.
Tidus bought this for me. He said it'd be a nice place to write down all my feelings and thoughts and stuff. I mean… guys aren't supposed to have diaries?… Right?… Oh well, not like anyone is going to read this. Any how, I suppose I should start with the basics. My name's Sora Kayaki, single, fourteen, and not quite sure about my sexuality.
"This is the runt's diary!" Riku declared with a perverted grin. "…He's seventeen, right?… He must have had this for awhile… How'd I end up with it?" Riku asked, blinking in confusion. "He must have left it lying around when he came in," Riku concluded and went back to reading.
Cloud says I'll figure it out eventually. I guess. I've never really liked anyone before so I just don't know. I mean, I don't really see anything exciting about girls. They're just like … not exciting…
"I bet you he's as gay as Cloud now," Riku decided with a smirk.
I've never said anything to Tidus about it. He'd hate me. He makes fun of the gay people in my school. I haven't talked to Cloud about it. There's nothing really to say, right?
Riku stopped reading and glanced wearily around his lush bedroom. "I feel kinda bad having this," he murmured to himself. Figuring that he'd read the rest later, Riku close the notebook and placed it on the side-table next to his bed. Though, after a moment of deliberation, Riku grabbed the notebook and continued to read. He was far too enthralled with this blackmail to put it down.
My parents died when I was nine. Cloud never really told me what happened. I just remember one night Cloud coming into my room and wrapping his arms around me. He pulled me into a tight hug and began whispering words of comfort. He was telling me everything was going to be okay. He was telling me that we'd be strong. He… refused to say what happened.
"Come to think of it," Riku stated in a drawl, "Cloud never told me what happened to his folks either." Riku shrugged it off and continued to read.
So, Cloud's been taking care of me ever since. We moved out of our home shortly after our parents deaths. Cloud said we didn't have enough to pay the rent and whatnot. I asked him if we could move in with our Uncle, but Cloud refused to do such. My uncle and Cloud never got along. I think my Uncle hated him for liking boys..
"I heard he punched Cloud a few times… sounds like my brother," Riku murmured to himself as he recalled a specific conversation with the blonde brother.
If Uncle figured out that I was that way too… I'm sure he'd hate me. I'm… not sure if he does, now. He hasn't written or anything. Maybe he thinks I'm dead too?
"That's kind of morbid," Riku muttered, eyebrows furrowing.
The kids at school never really talk to me… they say I'm a freak because my big brother's dating their big brothers and whatnot… They say that not growing up with my parents is going to make me a bad person. I don't understand why…
Tidus has really been the only person to be my friend. I mean, the kid at school talk to me sometimes… but we're not really friends. We just talk… I guess that's better than bullying.
Riku was about to read on when he heard an unusual clicking noise. Riku paused and set the notebook down to listen. Upon further inspection he realized that the clicking was his mouse and… "The brat's on my computer!" Riku declared vehemently, annoyance spreading through him faster than a wild-fire.
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Sora woke up about twenty minutes after having fallen asleep. He couldn't get back to sleep so he figured he'd go and lurk around Riku's apartment. Riku's door was shut so Sora assumed that his 'host' was asleep. Sora declared that the apartment was now safe for his inspection. So, unwisely, Sora began walking about aimlessly. That was, of course, until he came across the computer in the small room a few doors down.
"He said not to touch anything," Sora reminded himself but shrugged. "I won't be long…" Sora decided and walked over to it.
Gracelessly, Sora sat down and moved the mouse. At once the computer awoke from sleep mode. Sora lazily clicked the internet and leaned back in the chair. What to go on first… The brunette decided that if Tidus didn't call him then maybe he left him a message on Myspace…?
"I'll just check really quickly and get off," Sora concluded as he typed in the url quickly, and as quietly, as he could.
As usual, the homepage greeted him. Sora clicked Home, expecting to sign in. However, he was caught off guard when it brought him to the homepage of someone else… of….
Sora nearly fell out of the chair when he realized what Riku's display picture was of. It was him, of course, but he was shirtless. Sora paled and blushed darkly, rapidly clicking on random objects. The brunette was trying to get out of the website but failed miserably. Riku's two hundred and eighty friends beat his twenty-five … it was almost pathetic.
"I thought kids like you didn't have a myspace," Riku taunted from the doorway, arms crossing against his chest.
Sora tensed up at once. The brunette's hand trembled as he held onto the mouse firmly. He had been caught in the act. He had been caught touching something. Sora took a moment to muster his courage before replying lamely, "Well, we do."
"I saw you ogling over my display," Riku noted as he gracefully entered the room. Arms slung onto the back of Sora's chair, dangerously close to the brunette's body. Aquamarine eyes filled with amusement as he noticed the lack of color on Sora's face.
"Jerk…" Sora mumbled under his breath as he closed the window.
"I believe the term's 'jack off', and no thanks, I'm fine. But you. I wouldn't put it past you to after seeing my picture," Riku teased. A grin spread across the man's face. A slightly teasing and dark one at that.
Sora blushed a dark red. "I'm not!-"
"Gay?" Riku guessed, eyebrow arched. "Have a girlfriend?"
"No… But that doesn't mean!-" Sora tried to argue as he clenched his knuckles in frustration.
"Your brother's completely gay. I wouldn't put it past you to be also. I mean, I can't even begin to imagine all the gay pornos Cloudie has stashed around your place," Riku sniggered, watching Sora's face turn a shade darker.
"Cloud's not a pervert!" Sora declared aggressively. The brunette spun his head around to glare darkly at the silver-haired male. The notebook didn't even register in Sora's mind at this moment.
"All men are to some degree, dear," Riku replied with mock sweetness.
"How are you my brother's best friend?" Sora demanded. How could Cloud be friends with someone this cruel? Someone this vulgar? Sora didn't understand it one bit. This was only day one and he had to spend a whole month with this monstrosity!
"Because I'm gorgeous, duh," Riku answered smugly before sticking his tongue out at the younger. The silver-haired male then promptly rose to his feet, making his way to the door to reside.
"You're a jerk and ugly," Sora argued. He knew that the latter was not true. It was far from the truth.
Riku tensed. Eyes narrowed as he shot an annoyed stare over his shoulder. "And you're fucking disgusting yourself," Riku declared vulgarly.
Sora wasn't sure if he should be scared or not. But for some reason, the insult struck home and boy did it hurt. Sora winced and did his best to glare back.
"Cat got your tongue?" Riku hissed, not amused whatsoever by Sora's naïve nature. "I thought I made it clear. Don't. Touch. My. Stuff," Riku reminded Sora in a violent tone.
"I just wanted to check my messages!" Sora argued as he sprung to his feet, ready to fight if need be.
Riku watched him with a lack of amusement. "You didn't ask."
"I didn't think you'd mind this much," Sora grumbled as he looked to the right, unable to meet Riku's gaze.
"That's why I said don't touch my stuff. Do you not speak English?" Riku asked harshly.
Sora was at his boiling point. "Go die!" he yelled angrily before storming out of the room. The brunette shoved past Riku and scurried into his bedroom, slamming the door in the process.
Riku stood there for a long moment, processing what had just happened. Perhaps if Sora had listened to his rules he might have been kinder to the brunette. But no. Ever since Sora arrived earlier this afternoon he had been rude and mouthy. Riku would not return rudeness with politeness. It was stupid to do such And he was definitely not going to give the boy back his diary anytime soon. Why give up a valuable source of information? Blackmail, more like it.
Riku smirked and made his way back to his room.
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Dinner that night, to say the least, was more silent than a library. Quieter than a memorial.
Riku twirled the saucy noodles on his plate around on his fork, not once raising his gaze to look at Sora who was sitting across the table. Aquamarine eyes remained fixated on his meal, never once straying. Sora, on the other hand, wasn't eating at all. The brunette stared dejectedly at his meal, rage and frustration bottling up. Tears of anguish filled his eyes but he refused to cry. The last thing he needed was for Riku to see that he was a wreck.
Riku didn't bother starting conversation with the boy. Not after their little fiasco earlier.
The phone ringing was the only thing to break the silence.
Without a word, Riku arose from his seat and made his way across the room towards the ringing device. Dully, he picked it up and answered, "Hello?"
Sora's eyes dared a look at the other. Riku was looking in the other direction - it was safe. Blue eyes scanned Riku's body with envy. Riku was gorgeous. Why did all the jerks have to be so damn beautiful. Cloud and Leon were really the only people Sora knew of that broke that rule. Regardless, Sora remained staring at Riku, completely enthralled by the other's body.
"No, I didn't know that actually."
Sora blinked as he silently wondered what the conversation was about on the phone. Blue eyes remained glued to Riku's form as he timidly poked at his dinner with his fork. It was quite hard to eat when your eyes weren't even in the vicinity of what you're trying to consume. Sora went to take a bite of the alfredo and somehow missed. The white sauce splattered onto his cheek as the noodle dropped onto the plate - its previous placement.
Riku, by now, had turned his attention back to Sora. A grin crossed the silver-haired male's lips when he saw the creamy substance on Sora's cheek. But the grin was mostly because Sora was staring at him. "See something you like?" Riku called as he covered the mouth-piece.
Sora blinked, scowled, and looked away. "Jerk…" Sora mumbled under his breath as he returned to attempting to eat.
After Riku ended his conversation he had returned to the dinner table. Once again it was silent. Well, at least until Riku spoke up.
"Do you have a staring problem?" Riku asked as he ate with little enthusiasm.
Sora blushed and glared down at his plate. "Do you have an attitude problem?" was his return retort.
"I could ask the same about you," Riku hummed. "Just because your Cloud's brother doesn't make me have to like you. In fact, I can't stand you. And I've only known you for three hours. Just thought you'd like to know that." Riku gave a mock smile that only added to his loathing statement.
Sora felt saddened by the idea - just the slightest, however. "Well, you're a jerk."
"Is that the only word in your vocabulary?" Riku snapped as he set his fork down with vexation.
"Is it?" Sora answered as he arched an eyebrow.
"I let you come live with me while your brother's off gallivanting with his boyfriend. I offer to cook for you, to feed you, to give you shelter. I offer to keep you safe from the big-bad murderers and you have the nerve to act like an immature brat," Riku seethed, his fist banging against the table.
"I didn't want to come!" Sora shot back, eyes raising to meet Riku's infuriated ones.
"Then why the hell did you?"
"Because I wanted Cloud to be happy."
"Well damn, I wanted the same thing!"
"I want Cloud to have a good time and not worry!"
"Well, maybe he would if he didn't have to spend his entire time looking after an ungrateful prick like you!" Riku hollered, completely infuriated at the young brunette.
Sora flinched. The words hit something sensitive in him. Tears began to form in his eyes again. For some reason, in his enraged state, the words seemed true. Maybe if Cloud didn't have to look after him he'd be happier. Maybe if he didn't exist Cloud and Leon could have a happy life together. Maybe if Cloud didn't have to look after Sora… he'd be able to move in with Leon.
"I hate you!" Sora shouted as he arose from the table and ran out of the room in an overdramatic flurry.
Riku blinked, having noticed the tears that fell from the young Kayaki's eyes. Confusion spread across Riku as he sat there. "Damn, I didn't mean to make him cry," Riku mumbled as he poked his alfredo.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
"I hate this place!"
Sora violently began beating his pillow the moment he had entered his bedroom (the door having been slammed). Fists began to fly at the defenseless pillow. Tears of pent-up anguish flowed from Sora's eyes in the privacy of himself. The brunette's body trembled before he collapsed onto the bed. Whimpers and yells were muffled by the pillow, thankfully.
After five minutes of pointless death yells, Sora finally calmed down. Tears slowly drying, the brunette groped around under his pillow in search of the notebook. When he found it he flung it open and began to read, hoping it'd take his mind off things.
The small diary entry had ended and a 'scene' had begun.
His breath felt so foreign against mine. Those emotionless and pale blue eyes stared at me. He was demanding answers. Answers that I could not supply him with. Desperation began to burn in his eyes as his hands reached out to grab me by my arms. Defenselessly, I submitted to him.
Lips ravenously attacked mine, begging for some sort of relief. It hurt me not to return the affectionate kisses. It tore at me, it really did.
"You broke my heart," I managed in a strangled sob as he began biting at my neck, wishing for normalcy.
"And you broke mine," he answered darkly before he began openly sobbing against my chest. There he stood, face buried against my bare chest. Tears leaked from his beautifully broken eyes. It took everything in me not to wrap my arms around him. How could I hug the person who had destroyed my life…?
Sora wasn't sure whether to be sad or embarrassed by the content. Unlike the first excerpt he had read in the elevator, this was less … smutty. It was more depressing and angst then anything else. Blue eyes stared at the notebook. Whoever wrote this was an amazing writer. And someone who had an understanding for those who had been abused and that had gone through hardships.
Sora, curiously, flipped the page and grinned when he realized it was another diary-like entry.
You wouldn't believe how inconsiderate people are nowadays. I tried doing something nice for my brother and all I got in return was a hit to the jaw. Apparently he still can't accept my choice of genders. It isn't his right or place to complain. It's my god-damn life, not his.
Sora sympathized with the author. "Sounds like my uncle," Sora whispered.
Sora closed the notebook, noticing that the small paragraph was the last of that entry. Not really having the stomach to read anymore dark 'scenes', the brunette hid the notebook under his pillow. Vacant, blue eyes stared up at the ceiling as if it held his answer.
"I hope Cloud's happy…" Sora whispered as he drifted off into slumber once again.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Riku cleaned the dishes with an indescribable look on his face. "I didn't think he'd cry…" Riku repeated under his breath. If word got to Cloud that he made his little brother cry then Cloud would never speak to him again. Sora meant the world to Cloud, Riku knew that. Perhaps he was a bit jealous. Jealous that he wasn't his best friend's focus. Perhaps he even had been a little out of place to have said the things he said.
The phone rang. It was nine.
Riku arched an eyebrow and made his way over to the phone (part of him wondered where his cordless phone was… Wait, didn't the runt have it last?…) Regardless, Riku rose the phone to his ear, "Hello?"
"Riku," Cloud sighed with relief. "Is Sora awake?"
"I'll check, hold on," Riku said emotionlessly as he set down the phone. Quietly (and quite considerately), Riku made his way down the hallway to Sora's room. The silver-haired male pressed his ear against the door and listened. All he could hear was light snoring. No sobbing. No mutters of hatred. Just sounds of sleep.
Riku allowed a faint smile to appear on his lips before he threw it away and made his way back to the phone. "He's passed out." Crying can do that to you, Riku, part of him said in a nagging voice. Riku chose to ignore this.
"When he wakes up tomorrow can you tell him that I made it safely to Bermuda?"
"Can do," Riku replied and yawned a bit, tired himself.
"Can I ask a favor?"
"Another?" Riku asked with mock irritation. "Hah, just kidding. What is it?"
"I know your issues, but can you please try and be kind to Sora? He's… been through a lot. I'm worried that if he doesn't feel safe there he'll do something drastic…" Cloud said, worry drenched in his voice.
Riku stared down at the ground. "He seems like a nice kid," he lied.
"Riku…" A sigh. "Please, can you do this for me? I know my brother's not the… kindest person in the world, but can you at least try and get along with him?"
"Ugh….fine," Riku answered with a dissatisfied sound. "Only because you asked me to."
"Thanks, Riku," Cloud replied, obviously relieved.
"May I ask you a question about your darling brother, though?"
"Sure, what is it?"
"Is he…?"
"Gay?" Cloud guessed flatly.
"Yeah," Riku muttered.
"Sora's never told me," Cloud answered with a sigh of his own. "He's never dated anyone or shown any real interest in anyone his age…. So I wouldn't know. Why?"
"No reason," Riku answered.
"There's always a reason with you, Riku," Cloud murmured with a bit of worry leaking into his voice.
"If you think that I like the runt, you're mistaken. I don't date, remember?"
"How could I forget?" Cloud answered with a slight chuckle. "Any way, I better go. Just take my words to heart, okay?" And then Cloud hung up after the usual good-byes.
Riku hung up the phone, his fingers lingering on the device. Curiosity sparked inside the silver-haired male. Without another thought about the matter, Riku grabbed the phone and began dialing a number that had been committed to memory. A plan was in his mind, obviously. And now to put it into action. But… could he really tolerate Sora? This was going to be a challenge… rude people were not on Riku's good-side. Ever.
Next chapter … Cloud and Leon on vacation, Riku and Sora still are having issues, and a guest stops by that only adds to the mess.