I'd like to take a moment to thank my lovely Kamixyu for helping me distinguish between brunette vs. brunet. Honestly, I'm so dense that I had no idea that I was misusing the prior term. So yeah. Brunet and blond it is. Thanks to ALL the reviews. I love you guys sooo much.

By Chance

"You look worried."

Cloud, at this point, had been staring out at the ocean for five minutes straight, in silence. Blue hues that mirrored the sky remained fixated on the waves in the distance. His brunet boyfriend sat beside him with a look of concern etched on his usually stoic face. The blond finally pried his eyes off the water to look to his right at Leon. A shrug was his initial response. After a moment, that shrug was followed by the words, "I'm worried that Sora's miserable."

"Why would you say that?" questioned Leon. Brown eyes watched his boyfriend with curiosity and worry.

"Well, as you know, Sora's staying with Riku …. But I doubt they're getting along… This is Sora's vacation as well as mine and I'm just feeling bad that he has to spend the first month with someone he doesn't even know," Cloud mused with a heavy sigh. Feet dangled off the pier, lightly gracing the surface of the water. "Do I worry too much?"

"It's human to worry," Leon pointed out as he looked out to the sunset. "I think your brother will be fine. If he was having problems he would have told you."

"I suppose," Cloud answered in a grumble, obviously thinking too much. "The more I think about it the more I hate the idea that I left him with Riku."

"Why's that?" Leon looked back at Cloud briefly.

"They're opposites," Cloud said with yet another sigh. "Riku makes a joke out of everything and Sora's easily offended… And they both have a terrible anger-streak so I just…"

"If Sora's having problems he'll call," Leon said again. The brunet reached out and placed a hand on his boyfriend's shoulder, as if to bring the blond silent comfort. "There's nothing else you can do, Cloud."

"You're right," Cloud replied with a nod. "We're supposed to be enjoying this and I'm sounding like a homesick mother," Cloud laughed with a shudder.

"That's slightly disturbing to imagine," Leon answered with a faint chuckle.

"Shut up," Cloud murmured as he rolled his eyes.

The blond did not allow room for his brunet boyfriend to further argue for when Leon opened his mouth in objection, Cloud had already placed a chaste kiss to those thin lips. And for some reason, all his worry and fear and love was conveyed in that simple embrace. And somehow, Leon knew that his boyfriend's troubled mind needed to be put at ease. But how?

That was the question.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sora awoke with a painful throbbing in his head. If Sora had ever been drunk, he would have compared the feeling to that of a hangover. But, of course, Sora had not so therefore he just labeled it as annoying and bothersome.

Rarely did he ever wake up feeling worse than he had when he went to sleep. This was one of those rare occasions, Sora concluded in his mind. It took the brunet a moment to remember that he had been crying the night prior. No wonder… crying put a lot of stress onto your body. Perhaps that was why his eyes stung so badly and were heavy (threatening to close at any moment).

"What time is it?" Sora mumbled as he pulled the blankets tighter around his body. Blue eyes peeked out from the corners to glance at the digital clock by his bedside. Confusion overwhelmed him when he realized that it was eleven-thirty.

Never, in his life, had he slept so long.

"Wow…" the brunet whispered to himself as he yanked the sheets off his body.

Moments later Sora had maneuvered his body into a sitting position. Tired arms rose above his head as fingers laced together in some sort of a stretch. Sleeping that long made your body really stiff, he learned. Or was that another side-effect of the crying?

Sora, with a barely audible yawn, reached under his pillow for the notebook. He had nothing else better to do… so why not read some? Besides, it was oddly addicting. Was it the content or the writing?… Sora was afraid of the answer.

Fingers tightened their hold around his neck, dragging the older male onto his heated form. Lips met in the mix, passionately searching for one another. Tongues fought whilst fingers fumbled and raced at removing the other's clothing.

The question in the younger's mind that kept repeating in a never-ending mantra was 'why does he love me?' . As far as the younger knew, he had done nothing to earn his friend's love. Nothing at all. All he had done was provide a release for the older's lust.

So this was pure lust?… But he had told the younger he loved him…

Confusion swept up into the younger's eyes as an index finger trailed from his chest bone, down to his hipbone. Brown eyes flashed down to follow said digit, staring in anxiety (and excitement, to be honest). Eyes continued to watch as fingers curled around his oddly shameful arousal.

"Do you lov-ve me?" was the stammered question from the younger.

"Why?" answered the sex-driven older, black-haired male. Fingers, meanwhile, flattened and ceased their tantalizing ministrations.

"B-because," stammered the brown-eyed teenager.

"Do you love me?" questioned the older, throwing the question right back at the younger.

"P-…perhaps."

Sora blinked when he realized that his cheeks were a dark red. Nervously laughing, Sora shifted his eyes away from the notebook. Did Riku turn up the thermostat in the apartment? It felt a lot hotter than earlier… Sora exhaled sharply, uncertain why his breathing had quickened, or why he suddenly felt really light-headed. Not dizzy… just … light. It was weird to describe, and Sora had never been one for explaining how he felt.

"I can't believe I'm reading this," Sora said with disbelief. A pitiful laugh escaped his lips as his fingers strummed against the opened notebook.

Why was he even reading it? Sora's blue eyes glanced back down innocently at the book, hoping that it'd contain the answer to his burning question. "It's… not really that bad if it's written, right?" Sora wondered aloud.

"It's… not like I'm watching anyone or anything," Sora slurred as his cheeks burned at the sinful thought. "I'm…just reading someone's… stories." But that didn't make it any better.

Sora hadn't noticed until that moment that thirty minutes had gone by. Cerulean hues stared at the clock for a long moment before he remembered that he had to be prompt for lunch. Sora had just shoved the notebook under his pillow again when a weight landed back onto his shoulders.

He had to deal with Riku…

A strangled whimper fell from Sora's lips. If he showed Riku that he was weak, he'd never earn the other's respect. Not like he wanted it, or anything! He just didn't want to look like a cry-baby. It was always an accomplishment to be respected by your enemies, after all. And that's all Sora was trying to do.

Sora muttered something under his breath as he swung his body off the bed and down the hallway. No part of Sora desired to speak to his brother's best friend. Not after last night.

Was Riku even awake yet…?

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Riku's eyes caught sight of the entering brunet. Aquamarine hues followed Sora's form, never once leaving the boy's body.

Riku was sitting at the table, reading the newspaper, of course. Papers were good for information and to inconspicuously look at people from behind them. That, Riku knew first hand.

Sora cautiously took his seat across from the table. At his spot was something that resembled a sandwich; though the bread was toasted and it looked a lot more appealing than the ones Cloud made. The brunet skeptically poked it, not daring to look at Riku. Riku, of course, took notice of this from behind his 'hiding-spot'.

"Your brother called and said he arrived safely," Riku murmured from behind the paper.

Sora didn't answer as he stared at his meal. If he wasn't as hungry as he was, he probably wouldn't eat the thing. But right now he was starving. Throwing caution to the wind, Sora picked up the sandwich and took a bite. The flavors exploded in his mouth. It was an unexpected, but pleasant, surprise.

Sora managed to eat his lunch in ten minutes in complete silence. No arguments. No glares. Nothing at all. The brunet wasn't sure whether to be worried or relieved. Regardless, Sora took his last bite and glanced aimlessly around the room from his seat.

Riku set down his paper, finally, and looked at the younger male. "My friend's coming over in a bit."

"Oh," Sora said flatly, not wanting to make eye-contact still. I'm surprised he has friends outside of my brother.

"She wanted to meet you," Riku explained as he leaned back in his chair. For some reason, something suspicious was written on his face.

"Why would she want to do that?" Sora asked as he forced himself to look across the table at his 'host'. Confused blue eyes met smug green ones and Sora looked down at his empty plate quickly. The plate was such a dull sight compared to Riku…

"She sounds interested in you," Riku mumbled, not really being specific.

"Interested…?" Sora echoed, eyebrows arching a bit timorously.

"She's a therapist, and-" Riku began but was silenced by the other.

"You want me to see a therapist?!" Sora blurted out as his eyes widened.

Riku's lips fell into an instant frown. Somehow their eyes had met, yet again. Sora looked completely enraged and flustered, and Riku just looked defensive and as 'sadistic' as usual. At least in the brunet's judging eyes.

"Did I say that?"

"You're implying it!" Sora snapped, his voice drenched with worry.

"Am not," Riku argued stubbornly as his frown turned into a scowl. "Like I'd waste my time on a therapist for you. She's been my friend for years now and she just wanted to talk to you about her field and shit like that. Besides… you'd need a lot more than a therapist to fix out your anger issues."

Sora narrowed his eyes at Riku. All right, so maybe the brunet had been quick to jump to conclusions, but the way Riku had worded it made it sound like he hired a therapist! So Sora was somewhat justified.

"I'm actually sad that I don't have any friends that work at a mental ward," Riku said with mock disappoint. Sea-green hues flickered challengingly, eying Sora.

Sora turned a dark red from anger. "You think I'm insane now?"

"You get so pissed so quickly, yeah. I think that you have a lot of issues that you need to sort out. No wonder Cloud shipped you off to me. A good brother would have brought you along," Riku said with resentment appearing in his voice. Sora just somehow knew all the right buttons to push on the older to make him go off in a raged rant.

Sora just didn't know when to keep his mouth shut.

"Say that again!" Sora demanded as he sprung to his feet. "Cloud's the best brother in the world. He's a lot better of a person than you."

Something sensitive in Riku was hit by the verbal blow. The silver-haired male arose from his seat and promptly walked straight up to Sora. If Sora had been taller they would have been nose-to-nose. Instead, Riku glared down at the brunet as Sora mirrored the expression up at the silver-haired teen.

"You act like your brother's a saint. He's not. Sure, he's my 'best friend', but you know what? He's pretty-" Riku began but was cut short when Sora had suddenly shoved Riku.

The silver-haired male stumbled back a foot as he blinked in surprise. "You did not just push me," Riku seethed.

"Don't talk about my brother like that! You… selfish jerk!"

How could you talk smack about your best friend? How could Riku be so inconsiderate? How could Riku tell him that he needed to be in a mental institution? They barely knew each other and they were acting like they had been sworn enemies since birth.

Sora remained standing where he was, his fists clenching at his sides. He thinks he's such a great and gorgeous person. He's just a selfish idiot that my brother just happened to know all his life.

"I believe I did," Sora replied, not realizing how bad his voice was cracking.

"If I hadn't promised Cloud that I'd keep you safe, I'd throw you out right now. You come into my house acting like you know everything. And then you pointlessly get into these little fights with me. You're nothing more than an immature little boy," Riku declared as he crossed his arms.

"I'm not!" Sora hissed.

Sora thought he had a grip on his anger issues and his temper, but now it seemed like he hadn't gotten anywhere, because the next thing he knew he was running at Riku, pushing him until they both fell and hit the ground in a tangled mess of limbs.

"Get the fuck off me!" Riku growled as Sora began throwing weak punches at Riku, to which the older teen easily dodged.

"I can't stand you. You're such a jerk," Sora kept repeating as he threw his tired arms at Riku, hoping to make the other take back what he had said about him and his brother.

"You. Have. Issues," Riku growled as he easily shoved Sora off him. The silver-haired male tried to get to his feet to end the pointless fight but Sora wasn't giving up. Instead, the brunet punched him in the leg, making Riku's knees buckle.

"Damn…" Riku hissed as the pain subsided. "Fine. You want to fight? Then let's," Riku growled before he lunged at the fretting younger.

Within seconds Riku had Sora pinned beneath him. Loathing blue eyes stared up into aquamarine ones as their heavy breathing mingled. Riku's hair fell off his shoulders, lingering in the distance between both of their bodies. The silver-haired teen's fingers dug into the places on Sora's arms that he held the brunet down by.

"You know you're really stupid, Sora," Riku enlightened as his eyes refused to break their intense contact.

"Why's that?" Sora slurred as he tried to wiggle free.

"You come into someone else's house only to fight and bicker. If you had been a bit more polite when you came yesterday, perhaps we would have gotten along better," Riku explained as he took heavy breaths. Unlike Sora, he did not allow his sudden rage to take form. Punching the younger Kayaki would certainly spell trouble.

Besides, Riku wasn't interested in fist-fighting.

"You called me a girl," Sora answered in his own defense.

"You called me a jerk," Riku snapped as he tightened his hold on Sora. "And then you used my stuff like I told you not to."

"You called me gay!"

"You called me ugly."

"You insulted Cloud!"

"You insulted me."

"Argh!" Sora hissed as he craned his neck to the right so that he wouldn't have to stare into Riku's eyes any longer. The brunette groaned, trying to free his arms of the other's hold. The effort worked to no avail, sadly.

"If you honestly think that you're going to spend an entire month here, you better smarten up and change your attitude," Riku demanded of the younger.

"Why don't you change yours?" Sora suggested, not really thinking about his retorts. If only he would just stop, shut up, and try and make a compromise with the other. They were both civilized beings. Why couldn't they just get along?

When Riku said nothing, Sora began to writhe once again. Seeing that freeing his arms wouldn't be a good idea (Riku was too strong…), Sora began to try and roll away from the silver-haired offender. Somehow, Sora had bucked his hips forward, hoping he'd push Riku off.

"S-sora…" Riku slurred suddenly, pleasure shooting up his spine.

Sora was too angry to take note of the tingling sensation he got from doing such things. "Get off me!"

Riku, who had tried avoiding such situations that would result in this kind of feeling, didn't comprehend what Sora was saying.

"Get off me, Riku!" Sora hollered, freeing his arms.

Riku didn't even notice that the brunet had gotten his arms out of his grip. The silver-haired male was too busy trying to ignore his shortness of breath and his desperation to create that feeling again. Aquamarine eyes were a shade darker at this moment as ivory colored cheeks scorched a shade of red. Not from embarrassment, but from the heat.

"Fine. Be stubborn…" Sora groaned before he raised his arms in the air and placed them on the hovering teen's chest. Without warning, Sora exerted all his energy in pushing Riku off him.

Any other time it wouldn't have worked, but right now it did.

Riku tumbled off Sora and sat on the floor in silent compliance. The teen raised his hand from his side to head, rubbing his temples before sparing a glance at Sora who was getting to his feet.

"Cheap-shot," Riku mumbled from his placement on the floor.

"Huh?" Sora asked, blinking in confusion as he managed to stand.

"Using friction to your advantage. Really manly, Sora," Riku muttered darkly as he arose from his sitting position.

Sora blinked, again, before turning a light shade of pink. Not really because of what Riku had said, but because of the chain reaction. The brunet's mind wandered instantly back to the notebook and the scenes. Is that what… makes… Sora thought slowly before he realized that he had been staring at Riku.

"I'm going to my room," Sora announced quietly before scampering out of the room.

Riku sighed and then proceeded to bang his head down against his table. "Fucking male hormones. Fucking body getting horny. Fucking Sora." A pause.

"Augh! That sounded wrong," Riku groaned as he smacked his forehead. "There will be no fucking of Cloud's idiotic brother." No matter how captivating his body is.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Sora…"

Riku knocked on Sora's closed bedroom door. The male's knuckle rested against the wood as he awaited a response. Naminé was here and he didn't want the blonde to be offended if Sora didn't show up. So, naturally, he was going to drag Sora out of the room.

"What?" Sora asked from behind the door, resting on the bed.

"Naminé's here. She wants to meet you," Riku said in an emotionless tone.

"I don't want to come out," Sora murmured.

"Sora, I'm not asking you to do this for me. I'm asking you to do this for someone else." Riku rested his forehead against the door. So many things were on his mind and Sora being stubborn was just adding to his problems.

"I'll be out in a minute," Sora finally said with a sigh.

"Thanks," Riku said. The older wasn't quite sure if Sora heard him, but he really didn't care.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"You haven't dated anyone since then?" Naminé asked as her pale and thin fingers held the coffee cup. Benevolent blue eyes stared quizzically at Riku, as if uncertain that what Riku spoke was the truth or not.

"Nope," Riku replied, a bit proudly. But was that pride justified? Was it a bad thing that he hadn't dated someone in three years?

"That's not healthy, Riku," Naminé said as a sad smile formed on her pretty lips. "Everyone needs to get out."

"I've gone on dates," Riku reasoned as he leaned back on the couch.

"Well… I suppose that's better than nothing," Naminé answered as she thought about his response.

The petite blonde set down her mug and crossed her arms. The female seemed to be lost in thought. Only when Riku cleared his throat did Naminé snap back into reality. A light blush appeared on his cheeks before she bluntly asked, "Do you like anyone currently?"

"Nope."

"Not a soul?" she wondered, sounding a bit unenthusiastic.

"Not a soul," Riku echoed with a stiff nod.

"Don't you get lonely?" Naminé asked as she smiled sympathetically at her friend. "Don't you miss having a boyfriend? Having someone to wrap your arms around... Having someone to sleep with, to kiss…" she trailed off, as if a bit saddened herself.

"You know that's why I write," Riku answered in a quiet whisper, as if he thought that the walls were listening. The idea that Sora still hadn't come out wasn't even a factor in his mind.

"Writing isn't reality, Riku. It only can do so much," Naminé reasoned with her stubborn friend. "You're going to miss the real things sooner or later."

"I do…" Riku admitted a bit painfully.

"Since when?" She blinked.

"Never mind," Riku said curtly as he shoved the topic aside.

"Okay," Naminé replied with a sigh. "Where's your friend's brother, anyhow?"

Riku straightened up in his seat and glanced around the apartment. "I told him to come out here…" Riku groaned and then rested his head into his hands. "Damn, Naminé. You have no idea how frustrating it is to deal with him. He's more stubborn than I am," Riku explained.

"Have you tried getting along with him?" she asked Riku with obvious concern laced in her kind voice.

"Tried," Riku agreed and shook his head. "He's just plain rude."

"A lot of people are rude," Naminé pointed out and shrugged. "I know it's hard, but sometimes you have to overlook people's flaws. Maybe you'll even want to be his friend if you can just overlook his rudeness? Perhaps you can even teach him some manners?"

Riku was about to reply curtly but Sora had entered the room. Aquamarine eyes settled upon sapphire ones at once. Sora nervously eyed Riku before timidly making his way over. The brunet then took residency in the vacant chair; his hands laced together in his lap, quite politely.

"Sora, this is Naminé," Riku spoke, biting back the urge to bring up earlier.

"Nice to meet you, Sora," Naminé offered as she extended her hand. A bright smile grazed her features. Naminé was kind by nature and knew how to get on a person's good side. She was, all around, a wonderful person and Riku often wondered why she never chose to date.

"Nice to meet you too," Sora answered, eagerly taking the hand.

Naminé smiled at him as their hands fell apart. Her eyes stole a glance back at Riku, as if to wordlessly declare 'See, Riku? Is that so hard?'. Riku mumbled something incoherent under his breath as he looked off towards the door.

"Riku told me you're staying with him for a month," Naminé said as she laced her own hands upon her lap. "I was wondering, if you weren't busy, if you'd like to come down and help out at the café with Riku and myself? Our friend owns the place and whatnot and we usually go down to help him out," Naminé explained.

Riku paled. "What?"

"I think it'd be nice to have a new face around there," Naminé retorted with that brilliant, and now stern, smile.

"Like a… coffee café?" Sora wondered, tilting his head to the side.

"Sort of," Naminé replied with a soft laugh. "It's a jazz café. We have a lot of people that come in to play. Saxophones, singers, that sort of thing."

The first smile that Riku saw on Sora's face appeared. "That sounds nice," Sora replied.

Riku was speechless. He looks nice when he smiles. Riku grunted and kept silent, not wanting to intrude on the others' conversation. Though, part of him wanted to interrupt and announce that he didn't want Sora down at the café.

"Would you like to, Sora?" Naminé asked, never once mentioning her job as a therapist.

Sora felt a bit guilty for having jumped to conclusions so fast earlier. "I'd love to."

Riku wanted to smack his head, again, against the table. But he resisted. "I'll bring you later," Riku mumbled as he fidgeted in his seat.

Naminé eyed her silver-haired friend curiously. It was odd to see Riku so flustered and uneasy. The blonde figured it was nothing and labeled it as another male-moment. "So it's a plan." A grin appeared soon afterwards.

"Yep," Sora concurred and spared a nervous look to his right at Riku.

"It is…" Riku answered with a stiff nod.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Riku shut the door to his 'office' after he entered it. The silver-haired male had informed Sora that they'd be leaving at around five to head down to the café. That was all that Riku said to the brunet. What else was there to say? Apologies were not in his nature. But if Riku were to ever say something to Sora, something casual and friendly, what it would be was an enigma. Never to be solved.

Riku sighed and sat down in his chair as he turned on his computer. In his hands was Sora's diary. The guilt nagged at him. A small part of him wanted to give the brunet the precious notebook back, but a larger part denied him of doing such.

Just for now, Riku concluded mentally as he flipped it open and flipped to the entry he had left off on. By now he was countless pages in.

Cloud, this morning, seemed awfully moody and different. He came home late… and he just went straight to bed, as if something was bothering him. I didn't bother asking. I knew he wouldn't tell me, anyhow.

I mean, I love Cloud, really I do, but I sometimes think that I'm just a hindrance. He doesn't really have that great of a job, and I'm certain that he'd rather be away at college trying to get a better job than being stuck at home taking care of me.

The kids at school call me selfish because of that…

I want Cloud to be happy; honestly, I do. But I just wish he'd talk to me more. We're brothers, we're family, we're close… but he always keeps things from me.

Riku flinched. He knew exactly what night Sora was talking about. Riku glanced up at the date, as if to confirm his suspicions. Riku winced when his suspicions were proven to be accurate. Three years ago. With a heavy sigh, he set the diary down and rubbed his head, as if suffering from a head-ache.

"Fucking Cloud," Riku muttered under his breath.

Trying to push the thoughts and memories aside, Riku snagged the diary and hoisted it back up to his eyes. The next entry was a few months later. Sora was, more than likely, almost fifteen or had just turned. Or something along those lines.

Today I realized, for certain, that I really do… like guys. This boy… he kissed me out of nowhere. We promised never to talk about it again, but he kissed me. Is it right to feel kind of depressed after you get your first kiss? I kind of feel like I did something wrong. I feel sort of dirty, in a way.

No one's ever really taken the time to explain things to me. Is it… right to be like this? It must not be, because so many people make fun of Cloud and whatnot. I… I don't think that they're justified, but I just wished that people could look beyond that. I … never want to tell any guy I like that I like him… I don't know if I'd be allowed to. Would he punch me? It's best just to keep my thoughts to myself.

I just don't want to tell anyone. Not even Cloud. Besides, he doesn't tell me anything, so why should I tell him?

"Well… there's my answer," Riku mumbled. A pang of understanding about Sora dawned on him. This was like a book into Sora's heart. A not-so-rude doorway into the brunet's mind and soul.

Cloud's worried that my anger issues are interfering with my life. I mean, I don't get angry that often… but when I do I sort of explode. Like what happened at school with that guy Reno. He called me a fag, or something, and when someone told me what it meant and how much loathing he had put into the statement, I kind of just punched him and stuff.

I've gotten into fights before … mostly regarding Cloud. He's my big brother; I have to stick up for him.

I've never been good with words, so fighting, I guess, is the only way to resolve things. Maybe if I was smarter or wiser I'd be able to change people's minds…

Riku didn't even realize that this diary was affecting him a lot more than he wanted it to.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Four days," Sora mumbled to himself under his breath. "Four more days," Sora repeated and then made his way into the hallway, down the hall. He was going to find Riku and ask permission to use his computer, but when he found Riku's room empty, he frowned.

"There goes that idea," Sora mumbled and sighed, his shoulders rolling into a shrug. "…I guess everything's fine…" More than likely regarding Tidus.

"Hey."

Sora froze as he stood in the hallway. Blue eyes cautiously glanced over his shoulders, timidly meeting nearing aquamarine ones. The brunet instinctively clenched his fists by his sides, trying to ward off the anger he felt towards the other. He hates me and insulted Cloud… I just can't forgive him and pretend to be his friend.

"You ready to head off?" Riku asked, his voice yet again emotionless.

Words of the explicit notebook danced around in Sora's head. Maybe if I met the author I'd be able to talk to them about life… maybe I'd understand life a lot better. "Yeah."

"All right," Riku replied quietly as he wandered away from Sora, motioning for the brunet to follow him.

Sora complied wearily. Four days. Four days, Sora.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Sora was overwhelmed when he entered the café. It was classic. And modern.

The ceiling was a black color, almost a perfect shade. Though, if you squinted, there was a tint of blue. It was hard to detect, but Sora somehow managed to do such. The floors were a shiny blue color. Dark blue. The booths were black, matching the ceiling and contrasting with the blue floor. The tables and whatnot were a grey color, adding in to the overall color theme.

As Sora stood there, taking in the sight, he had somehow lost track of Riku. Not like he cared.

"Sora!" Naminé brightly called as she walked up to him. "I'm glad you made it!"

"I'm glad too," Sora concurred with an apprehensive laugh. Eyes continued to wander around the café before they settled up on a small, performing-like stage. It was nice. Microphones and whatnot were set up, as if they were expecting a singer later. Which they probably were.

"Here, take a seat and I'll get you a menu for dinner," Naminé said as she ushered Sora into a booth.

Sora hastily compiled and took a seat in the comfortable, large, black booth. Curious blue eyes gazed around the area, watching the people around him eat with smiles on their faces. I wonder what they're smiling about… Sora wondered vaguely as he kicked his feet back and forth.

Sora had been lost in his thoughts that when an ivory key was hit, the brunet nearly jumped up and out of his seat.

Blue eyes skimmed across the room in search of the sound. Though, when he found the culprit, something in him sank (or did it swell…? Sora wasn't quite sure).

Sitting at black, ivory-keyed piano was Riku, silver hair neatly pooling over his shoulders. Bright aquamarine eyes were out of sight at the moment. All Sora saw was the side of his body. Those dexterous and nimble fingers began hitting the keys again, striking up a melody. Chords accompanying slurred and tied notes echoed off.

Sora blinked and stared at Riku, wondering aimlessly if he did this often.

All that anger momentarily melted away as he listened, watching Riku with envy and yet admiration. How Riku could play something so beautiful… How he could produce something almost as beautiful as himself, was astonishing. Nothing could rival Riku's bewitching looks, Sora decided.

And maybe if Riku would just let down his defenses, just for a moment, Sora would realize that just looking at Riku made his entire body blush.

Maybe if Riku would just let go of the past and the hatred and the cocky, empty words, he'd realize that all Sora wanted was someone to take the time to understand him. Someone that sat him down and said, "I care about you. I want to know everything about you. I want to help you. I want to be there for you."

Maybe if Riku stopped comparing Sora to his older brother he'd see that Sora was really the answer to his tear-soaked, secretly desperate, prayers.

All Riku wanted was to be saved from himself.

Now if only he'd allow someone the chance.

Next chapter…Riku and Sora fight a bit more, but are getting closer to a resolve, Cloud informs Leon of a troubling bit of his history … Naminé introduces Sora to the workers at the café, and Riku takes advantage of his power, just for one last time. So leave a review. Please? All you lurkers, just leave one ;D