sorry it took awhile. had loads to do. other stories to write. anyhow, here's the next chapter. plot development... uhm. there's slight explicitness in this one, but i purposely made it T-ish simply because there was no need to be M rated. Haha. So um. Enjoy and please leave a review? yes, i'd love that!

By Chance

It was ten a.m. the next morning and Sora had informed his older brother that he would be gone for the day—at Riku's, to be precise. Cloud had merely shrugged it off, forcing Sora to promise he'd be back by dinner, and to make sure he looked both ways before crossing the street. Sora wasn't entirely sure whether or not to take the last one as a joke or if Cloud was being utterly serious. Regardless, he left the house in a flurry, his feet running close to the speed of light as thoughts began whirling around his head, making it hurt and hurt and just continue to ache. That email, he thought lamely, making his way to the subway pick-up so he could take it over to Riku's, that email…it had to be a joke. Right? He wouldn't mess with me again, right?

Sora gulped and jostled his way through the bustling city crowd, down towards Sixtieth Street to pick up a line of the subway that would take him to his destination. All the while, he wondered just what Riku would do if he told him. Would he flip? Would he yell? Sora shivered and continued down towards the subway stairs that would lead him beneath the city. Yeah. He'd be fine. He just wouldn't tell Riku. If the emails continued, he'd tell Cloud and demand that his older brother kept it a safely guarded secret. Yeah…No. That wouldn't work.

It took twenty minutes for Sora to arrive at Riku's apartment building. The brunet shyly glanced up towards the level that Riku lived on. It's weird. We went from bickering to telling lies to…dating to breaking up and now back together. My heart hurts sometimes when he holds me. It feels like I'm doing something wrong… like something's off. Sora shook his head. Maybe I'm just not allowing myself to feel good over things. Is that possible?

He quietly entered the building and took the elevator to Riku's floor, ignoring the jovial man's greeting to him. He wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone but Riku. And as they ascended floors, in that small box held up by cables, he slowly realized that he couldn't keep his mind off the silveret for one damn second.

Maybe I just want things to be like the things Riku writes. That sort of excitement…that odd commitment. The brunet exited the lonely elevator, waving off the black haired man as the doors closed.

And that was where he found himself. Right in front of Riku's apartment door. Yes, they were dating. And yes he had spent the night before last here. Sora cleared his throat and nervously knocked on the door, sheepishly lowering his gaze to the ground. He didn't know why he was so nervous. It was just him visiting Riku, that was all. Sora kept telling himself that over and over as the door opened.

"What do you—" Riku began in an annoyed tone before pausing all together. Aquamarine eyes caught sight of Sora and at once his voice and gaze softened. "Oh," he said airily, chuckling to himself. "Hey, Sora."

Sora lifted his eyes from the floor and locked them with Riku's. Why was he here again? Just to see Riku? To seek his protection and warmth? Sora didn't know why, but he needed to be here, close to Riku. So close that he couldn't breathe without inhaling Riku's beautiful scent. "Hi," Sora whispered in response.

"I didn't know you were coming over," Riku said cautiously, his body being merely covered with a pair of sweatpants. Sora's eyes greedily raked over Riku's shirtless chest. God, he loved that body so much.

"Uhm…" Sora felt nervous and at the same time excited. "I wanted to see you, that's all," he concluded, a small smile tweaking onto his lips. It was simple; he missed his boyfriend and desired to spend time with him. Logical and plausible.

"Oh," Riku answered and nodded. "Well, come in. I have work at around eleven…so I can't stay here with you long. And I sort of need to take a shower, but you're welcome to come in and hang around."

Sora nodded and stepped inside, closing the door behind himself. Riku's apartment. He wouldn't mind living there. But he knew that Cloud would never approve of such an idea and Riku probably was better off living by himself. Moving in with Riku meant that they were taking their relationship to the next level, despite the fact that they had been happiest when they were living together previously. It was confusing to him, really.

"Sleep well?" Riku questioned as he stretched his arms above his head, yawning a bit.

Sora marched over and promptly sat down on Riku's couch—the one he and Riku had madeout on quite a bit. The memory made a pretty blush surface on his face. "Hm?" He turned his head to look at Riku, brown hair falling in front of his eyes. Haircut. He needed one…but he refused to do such. "Yeah. No better than any other night." I sort of missed sleeping beside you…

"That's good," Riku responded simply and sat down.

"You look like you just woke up," Sora stated gently as he began poking the cushion beneath him, a steady blush remaining on his face. It was so odd to be back here but not living here or even spending the night. It felt as if something was off. He didn't press on that issue that much. Best to leave things be.

"I did," Riku chuckled as he took a seat beside his boyfriend. "I'm a sleep whore, I admit it." He smiled deviously over at Sora, the brunet's heart warming towards him when he beheld his aquamarine eyes withdrawn under his brows. He was giving him that look.

"Heh. Sleep is good," the brunet reasoned simply. His eyes began to wander without purpose throughout the other's lavish room. Sora noticed the pre-eminent look in his boyfriend's eyes. A blush swept across his face. His feet made a scuttling motion on the carpet beneath him.

"I'm glad you came over," Riku divulged, a hand flying out gracefully. Said hand landed on Sora's shoulder, almost at once noticing the tense muscles beneath it. It was a bit demoralizing. "Sora, you okay?"

"I'm fine," Sora said softly, willing himself to relax. "I just…I don't know." He lowered his gaze. "I don't know what to say. Things just kinda feel awkward…" He had never been in this serious of a relationship before. Hell, he had never been in one prior to this. What was he expected to do? To say? Was he allowed to speak his mind? Why were things awkward? Did that go away?

"Relax," Riku urged, encouragingly brushing his hand along Sora's face—it had left its post on the boy's shoulder.

"I'll try," Sora answered, his voice barely treading above a whisper.

"It's okay to feel nervous at first. I always felt that way when I was starting out," he chuckled, dismissively dispelling the cloud that had settled between the pair. "Just remember how your heart feels. That's all you can do." The silveret's hand continued gently stroking Sora's cheek until it came to carefully caressing said cheek, holding it in his palm adoringly.

Sora didn't want to tell Riku one of the reasons why he was so jittery today. His gaze fell down, concealing thousands of secrets that he wished he could share with the man beside him. Is it okay to do things? Is it okay to let Zexion mess with my mind? Is it okay? He remained silent, as is duck tape was strewn across his pale lips. Why bother the silveret with such trivial things when he had so much to worry about—taxes, bills, a job…

"Sora," Riku said, breaking through the silence like glass shattering. "You look like something's wrong…what happened? Is Cloud giving you a hard time about yesterday?" he asked, his hand running from Sora's cheek to the boy's tanned, pointed chin. Carefully, he pivoted the younger's face so that their eyes could meet. Demanding eyes met nervous ones.

"I'm fine. Just feeling a bit sick I guess," he lied, averting his gaze from Riku's. He knew Riku wouldn't buy that so he divulged, "Just worried how long Cloud and Leon will be together." It was something small that was bothering him, but he figured he could afford to tell him that than to confess about anything else.

"Probably awhile," Riku said and appeared contemplative for a moment. "Yeah, awhile."

"That's good," Sora exhaled, an odd sense of peace overcoming his person. "I don't want them to breakup ever. They're just so perfect for each other. I can see it on their faces. They'll last forever, I bet."

"People do breakup, Sora," Riku pointed out, his eyes averting themselves from Sora's. "It's just a fact of life. They may be happy now, maybe for a few months, but people usually end up breaking up. Things aren't always perfect."

Sora frowned. For some reason, the stress of Zexion and the uneasiness with Riku made him just blurt out, "Just because it didn't work with Cloud doesn't mean we're not going to stay together!"

Riku froze, his gaze slowly trickling back to Sora. His eyes drilled holes into Sora's pure ones. "Sora, I wasn't implying that we're going to be breaking up. I was just saying that every relationship has its ups and downs and that things aren't always perfect. People breakup, you know that. We did, after all. But sometimes they get back together." He nudged the younger in the shoulder; a crafty smirk finally appearing on Riku's refined lips.

"I suppose," Sora breathed out, turning a soft shade of red from the gesture. "I swear, I'll hurt you if we break up again," he warned, now flashing Riku a dangerous look. "I'll hunt you down and…and do something bad!"

"Bad? How vague," Riku chuckled, lacing his hands together as he leaned against the back of the couch. "Please explain what you consider to be bad."

"I'll uh… do something! I'm just not going to tell you because that'd ruin the surprise! Besides, it's so bad that words couldn't possibly do it justice!" The brunet flashed his older boyfriend a truly cheesy look. This was rewarded with a hearty, true laugh from the other. It was times like these that both males were truly thankful for the things that had happened between them to get this far.

"You're something else, Sora," Riku stated through deep laughs. His arm slung around his boyfriend's shoulder, comfortingly holding him close to his side. "But I wouldn't have you any other way." He was finally starting to realize, slowly, that perhaps Sora was the best choice after all. Cloud had broken his heart and was with Leon. Sora was here. It all made sense.

"As are you," Sora giggled, sticking his nose up high. He flinched in surprise when Riku kissed the tip of his nose. Unexpected, was the only thought that ran through the youth's head as he went cross-eyed for a moment, trying to inspect the spot that had been graced by Riku's lips.

"I'd love to sit here and talk with you forever, Sora, but I have to take a shower and get ready for work," he explained, patting Sora on the head. His fingers tugged and ruffled at the brunet's hair before finally letting go. The taller gracefully stood up and stretched his stiff arms above his head, yawn slipping out from his closed lips.

"Oh, okay," Sora responded, a hair bit disappointed that the smooth, flowing conversation was ending so soon. It was rare that they actually talked so openly and calmly and…just not so awkwardly. It felt different—it felt nice.

"Unless you want to come with me?" A brow arched.

"To work?" Sora guessed, his own furry brown eyebrow quirking. It wasn't unusual, by any means, that Sora followed the other to work.

"I was implying the shower but sure, works as well," Riku laughed and smirked down at the brunet. "So how about you answer my question. Want to come with?"

Sora turned a maroon color. His throat tightened and all he could think was just how awkward it would be to be naked in front of Riku, in the shower. He was so damn self conscious about his body and everything so what were the odds that he'd let Riku see him naked so soon? The brunet fidgeted and averted his gaze, a nervous shiver slipping down his spine. "I…"

"We can keep our boxers on if that'll make you feel better," Riku said calmly, looking to Sora with a worried look. Oddly, his innocence turned the taller on. It was a backwards way of feeling, Riku supposed.

"I'm…scrawny and you're gonna hate my body," he mumbled, hunching his shoulders as he looked away, once more, from the silveret. "I'm all bony and just ew. You'll be repulsed from the sight of me."

"That's not true," Riku reasoned, shaking his head. "And even if it was, it wouldn't matter. I like you for the person you are." He reached out and took Sora's hand, promptly lifting him off the couch and into a standing position. "Besides, we're dating. You can trust me. I'm not going to do anything you wouldn't want me to."

Sora nodded hazily. When he had first come over here he had no idea that they would end up showering together. Numbly, Sora nodded for a second time before finally stating, "Fine." It was a simple, one word response but that was all the other needed.

Riku tugged Sora merrily down the hallway and into the familiar bathroom. Once there, he shut the door and let go of Sora's shaking hand. The trembles were bothering Riku. "Sora," he said, placing a hand onto Sora's shoulder. "Relax. Please?"

Sora willed himself to stop shaking. "Just nervous, that's all."

"Nothing to be nervous about," Riku laughed, leaning closer to grace Sora's right cheek with a kiss. "It'll be like we're going to the pool and swimming together, you know? Like in swimming trunks."

But the shower is a more intimate place, Sora thought absently as he forced a smile. "I know, it's just…I've never done something like this before. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize," Riku insisted as he placed both hands this time onto Sora's shoulders. "I know you're nervous. I wouldn't expect anything else from you. We're taking things slow and I'm totally okay with that, okay?" He also forced a rare smile. "So please, don't be so nervous. I hate seeing you shake like that."

Sora breathed out deeply and took a quick breath in. He could do this. "All right." Sora whispered. Weakly, he placed his hands down onto the hem of his shirt. His fingers toyed with it for a moment. "Can you…look away as I take it off?" he requested. He had qualms about Riku watching him strip. It was too…intimate of a thing. He wasn't ready for something that straightforward.

"Sure thing?" Riku said uncertainly and turned around, going to work at removing his own shirt.

Sora sighed and tugged his shirt off, the fabric catching on the spikes. A cold rush of air greeted his chest and he already felt utterly exposed. Sora forced himself to continue as his hands rested over the button to his jean. He could do this. He could prove to Riku that he could be in a serious relationship and take steps to make it better, to make it closer. Sora fumbled with the button and when it snapped undone, he felt a wave of new nerves enter him.

By the time Sora had managed to touch his own zipper with shaking fingers, Riku was already stripped down to his own, black boxers. He remained with his pale back to Sora, respecting Sora's request. This surprised Sora slightly and the brunet did his best to unzip the jeans and tug them off his hips and down the expanse of his legs. He kicked them away from his ankles and hugged his arms tightly to his body. So exposed. He felt so entirely exposed now.

"Done?" Riku asked with a hint of anxiety detectable in his voice.

"Y-yeah," Sora stated.

The silveret turned around and his gaze at once softened as well as trailed up and down Sora's body. "Beautiful," he stated his mental thought aloud, eyes raking over the not so prominent, but still there, curves of his boyfriend. It was almost like an angel. He couldn't believe it was real. But he did. He forced himself to look away, not wanting to make Sora any more uncomfortable.

The silveret turned to the shower and undid the small door. He gestured for Sora to get in. Sora timidly did so and leaned against the back wall of the shower, keeping his arms tight to his body. Riku got in a moment after and shut the door behind himself. Silence. Riku didn't say anything as he turned on the water, the jets hitting the silveret at first. He said nothing as he adjusted the temperate to moderately warm. Finally, he turned around and tugged Sora close to him, arms looping around the brunet's waist.

"Heh…" Sora began uneasily, his bare chest almost being pressed flush to Riku's. Shyly, he looked up. "Feels nice," he commented quietly, nudging his head upwards to show that he was speaking about the water. And the arms around him felt nice. Those hands on his bare back, though, where Riku's arms looped together. It felt a bit…warmer than he thought it would be. Was that normal?

They were silent for a moment. Sora's nerves returned in the awkward, wordless moments.

"So uh…about that shampoo," Sora said softly, looking up to Riku. He met his gaze and shut his mouth promptly. That look Riku was giving him. He nearly melted. "I…uhm…"

Riku stopped Sora's stammer by leaning closer. He kissed him swiftly, laying his lips fully down onto Sora's. The brunet's eyes fluttered shut and he leaned closer to him, chests now resting against one another. Riku's arms tightened around the brunet, keeping him against him. A few kisses were shared before Sora shyly pulled his lips away, averting his gaze.

"You're amazing," Riku noted, kissing Sora's cheek now.

Sora flushed. "I…wouldn't say that, Riku."

Riku promptly shook his head in silent refusal. The kisses continued, along his cheek, down his jaw, and then onto his neck. Sora writhed, pleasure entering him. For some reason, he had no protests whatsoever to this action. "Sora," Riku began, giving a small suck to the water-coated neck, "I want to make you feel as good."

Sora blinked in confusion. "Huh?"

Riku winced from the fact that Sora didn't understand. The silveret sighed and kissed Sora's neck again, relishing in the way the brunet pushed his back to the wall, arching his neck in response to the attentive kisses. God did he love the way Sora sounded when he kissed him like that. "Can we try something new?" he murmured against the boy's neck.

Sora froze. "I…" Showers always lead to something else.

"Please, Sora?" Riku whispered; lips trailing up and down the neck. They felt so good and it was just so damn hard to deny them. "It'll feel amazing. I promise you that."

"Riku… I'm not sure," Sora whispered honestly, the water hitting his legs increasingly harder. Either Riku's water temperature had gone crazy or he was just getting warmer and warmer by the moment. He wasn't sure which it was. Regardless, when he turned his head to the right, staring embarrassedly at the shower walls, he felt Riku's intense gaze upon him once more.

"Don't worry," Riku cooed, his hands resting on the waistband of his boyfriend's boxers. "I promise I won't do anything to hurt you, Sora. Never," he whispered soothingly, his fingers hooking under the waistband.

"I…No one has…I…" Sora felt a mixed wave of anxiety and nerves flood through his body. The hot water continued to hit his already scorching body. No one had ever seen him entirely naked before. At least not in his now mature state. Sora felt a bit weak as Riku remained close. The very idea of Riku seeing him naked caused a weary feeling to spread across the brunet. Was this right?

"It'll feel good," Riku reassured Sora once more. The silveret offered a beautiful smirk as he leaned impossibly closer, pushing Sora harder against the back wall. The brunet squeaked as Riku's lips found his own yet again.

At once they both were engaged into a heated debate. Riku's lips nipped and rolled ardently against the brunet's, his body arching insistently against Sora. After a moment of kissing, Sora's hands found their way into Riku's drenched silver hair. Cautiously, he tangled his fingers around the damp hair and gave an experimental tug. Riku's gentle moan into their kiss caused Sora to sharply close his eyes, a blush dancing onto his face.

Riku's tongue slid along Sora's bottom lip, flicking up and down as it went. A strangled and almost nervous moan fell from Sora's lips as he parted his lips approvingly. This was comfortable. By now Sora was used to their intense kissing but… but being almost entirely naked against Riku was causing a new sort of anxiety. Regardless, he shrugged it off and eagerly returned the kiss, his tongue shyly rubbing against Riku's that had now brushed a few inches into his mouth.

Riku's chest against his….it was too good to be true. The silveret pressed closer, their chests now fully being compressed against one another. Moans fell from both males' lips and Sora's hands dropped from Riku's hair and down onto the older's shoulder. With a needy mew, he gripped tightly onto Riku's shoulders, keeping their mouths tightly pressed to one another's.

Figuring that it'd be best to get Sora worked up and aroused, the silveret brushed his hand down along Sora's chest. His dexterous fingers traced every single contour of his younger lover's chest. Fingers rubbed tediously along the two pink nubs. At once, Sora's body squirmed and twisted against Riku's, sounds of evident pleasure leaking from his lips.

Riku broke their kiss and sucked in a large amount of air. "You're so beautiful," he commented lazily, laying a kiss to Sora's cheek and then to his neck.

"Riku…" Sora panted his neck arching. The kisses to his neck felt so damn good and Riku had promised him that it'd feel good and he wouldn't hurt him… He moaned quietly and continued squirming.

"May I?" Riku asked, his hand resting gently onto the now forming curve on Sora's boxers. His fingers gave an experimental squeeze, conveying that he simply only wanted this simple form of pleasuring for the time being.

"I…" Sora looked to the right, body hot and his mind nervous. No one had ever done these things to him before. "…Keep the boxers on, please…"

Riku sighed, nodded, and then kissed Sora, hoping to ease away his nerves. And he did. By the time Sora climaxed into the other's hand, he had lost all feelings of nerves and fear.

Perhaps these things weren't as bad as they seemed. Sora fell against Riku, a pile of complete tired submission. His head rested against the other's chest as he panted weakly. Things felt right. Being with Riku felt right. Things were going well for once in his life.

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Sora sat rather shyly in the corner booth of the jazz club. Riku was off working the tables and bar and Sora was left to himself. Even now Sora's face beamed radiantly, giving anyone that looked at him the idea that he was extremely happy over something. The brunet ducked his spiky head down into the square his folded arms on the table made. His cheeks were hot red and he kept replaying the scene over and over in his head. Sure, at first he was uneasy and felt like being sick from nerves, but then when he told himself that he really did care about Riku and that he trusted him, it all started to feel better. And that orgasm. Sora shivered at the mere memory of it. Riku had been so attentive and…and Sora didn't realize a release could be that damn powerful. He nearly had fainted from the amazing aftershocks that had coursed through his body. Riku was, by no means, an amateur at hand jobs, he took it. If that had felt that amazing, Sora absently wondered how other things would feel. He stopped there, not wanting to put himself into a compromising situation.

Sora felt a bit bad that he hadn't returned the favor, but he figured in time he'd become more comfortable with the general idea. Touching Riku that intimately scared the teen. Even now, after earlier, the idea of Riku touching him like that still made him feel a bit nervous—but more so tingly and fidgety and a good nervous. The brunet mumbled something to himself and nestled his face more into his arms. He was thinking too much again.

Sora was torn away from his daydreams when the booth cushion he sat upon moved a bit. Someone had sat down beside him. The brunet lifted his gaze, expecting it to be either Riku, Naminé, or Roxas, but was genuinely surprised when he realized it was Riku's brother. Wait. Why was he here? Did Riku know? What the hell?

"May I help you?" Sora asked softly, fitting off the blush that seemed to follow him all day. He had to keep the thoughts of Riku touching him like that at bay until this man went away.

"I was wondering if I could speak to you for a few moments," the older silveret stated, taking out a notepad from his jacket. He looked as serious as ever and Sora began to doubt that Riku even knew he was here. This booth was mostly out of view and Sora figured that Riku didn't want Sephiroth around him for some reason. Wasn't he a part of the police or something?

"About?" asked Sora, tilting his head.

"Regarding the gang murders that have been plaguing New York City for the past few months," Sephiroth stated simply as he removed a pen from another pocket. He uncapped it and then tapped it idly on the small notepad he had earlier taken out.

"I'm sorry but I don't know—" Sora began, confusing spreading through him.

Sephiroth cleared his throat. "I believe you do."

"No?" Sora was confused. Gang murders? Why would he even have a part in those? Why would this man suspect him of this? "I've barely even heard about them. I'm sorry but I—"

"I saw the files on his computer," Sephiroth explained, lacing his hands together. "My partner is a marvelous hacker. He got into the dick's email history, the deleted one, anyhow, and found the emails. He traced them and it came up as you. You were putting yourself into a very dangerous situation, Sora. And from what I saw of that last email, you're still in that same one."

Sora shifted uncomfortably. "It's nothing…he's just trying to scare me." It was over. He didn't want to dramatize this. Things with Zexion were over. They had been ever since that day that Riku had saved him so heroically.

"Does my brother know of the email?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder to the other side of the café where Riku was busy talking to some customer. Sephiroth looked back to Sora. "If he did, I doubt he'd be here. He'd probably be off choking the cold bastard."

"Wait. Are you…implying that Zexion is part of this…gang of killers?" Sora questioned, slowly trying to put the pieces together in his head. If Zexion was part of the gang, no wonder he was willing to kill them both so ruthlessly. It made sense. Gangs usually shared a common goal. And killings were apparently this one's'. Stupid, stupid Sora.

"Yes, I am," Sephiroth clarified. "And I would appreciate it if you further cooperated with the police department on tracking down this gang. The Organization is what they call themselves. What a fucked up name," he murmured, trailing off towards the end. He looked distracted by something. Perhaps his troubling thoughts?"

"If you need to know anything, I'll tell you," Sora stated, looking hopefully at the silveret.

"We need you to keep in contact with him."

Sora's heart dropped. "W-what?" No. I can't do that. I can't just keep talking to the person who nearly killed me and Riku. And my parents. No. No, no, no. Cant' do this. I'm trying to cope. Please don't make me.

"We need him to say something in the email that will give us enough proof to hire a warrant on him to search his home for drugs and weapons. Then we can further investigate into the murders. Sora, I am asking you this as not only as an officer but as a newly made acquaintance. I need your help. Putting one away in prison will help…"

"I'll…try my best. Just please, don't make me meet him again." He looked away harshly.

"I know. My brother vaguely told me about it," he responded and shrugged. "Riku's always attracted the troubled friends who seem to get themselves into bad situations," he sighed.

Sora laughed uneasily and lowered his gaze again. "If I get him to say something in the email, I won't have to take further part in this investigation, right? I hate this sort of thing and it just…it's just not something I was to be involved with. You understand, right?" he asked, hoping that Riku's brother would have a thread of consideration in him.

"Once you play your part you don't ever have to speak to the thing again," Sephiroth confirmed.

"Thank you," Sora breathed out. His gaze wandered over to Riku. "Does Riku have to know?"

Sephiroth looked over to his brother as well. "If you'd prefer he didn't, then no. Though, I am curious…why don't you want him to know?"

Sora shrugged. "He risked his life to save me from Zexion. I doubt he'll appreciate me talking to him again, even if it is to help put him away for good." The brunet looked back to the older silveret of the two brothers and sighed heavily. "Just please, don't tell him."

"I won't," Sephiroth promised. "Thank you for your cooperation, Sora." He extended his hand. Sora shook it promptly. "I'll keep in touch via email if I learn anything new." He got up.

"All right," answered Sora as he nodded to the man.

"Until then."

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