Yet another chapter of Vicissitude. Wonderful, eh? I don't know what it is that's made me update this story so soon… maybe it's the reviews. Seriously, everyone's reviews made my heart swell with happiness! So here you are; chapter 2.
Oh, and by the way, visit my profile if you wish to see the definition of the title.
Now, on with the story!
WARNING: This is kind of a boring chapter, IMO. All that goes on is their "sleepover". Well, I suppose there's a pretty steamy scene a little later on. lol.
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Chapter 1 - Denial is only the First Step
Riku couldn't breathe.
"Can I take a shower?" He needed to get out, he needed alone time to think.
"U-umm… yeah."
And with that, he pulled himself away from Sora's sweet-smelling body and headed for the bathroom.
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Chapter 2 - Early Morning Conversations
Over and over again. Pull back, push in; pull back, push in. It was quiet ramming, but still the type of slamming your head into shower tiles that would give anyone a headache if done for hours at a time.
Riku didn't care about the pain though, he just wanted to forget all about these nasty things he was feeling for Sora. And if that meant developing brain tumor through the course of it, then he'd just have to live with that.
Too bad the pitiful tapping his head was doing against the wall wasn't even hard enough to make noise through the lightly running water. If only Kanoko wasn't asleep. Then Riku and the wall would've had some full-on headbutting!
Riku heaved a sigh. Why was this so hard? He thought tough problems only occurred after college! It was the summer before college for him, and he was already confused beyond normal means. Well, that's what he got for living with his father. Of course he'd grow up much sooner than everyone else.
Riku's father was a genius. Really. He completed high school at the age of 15, then graduated college after only two years. After that, he was one hundred percent ready to take on whatever life threw at him.
Riku, however, couldn't be more different.
His dad was strict, boring, quiet. Riku was laidback, always looking for excitement, and loud as hell. It was amazing that the two could even stand to be on the same island together, much less eat at the same dinner table.
But that was beside the point; the point was, Riku couldn't be around Sora without his heart threatening to jump out of his chest.
As the warm water slid down Riku's skin, he felt goosebumps arise. Why was it that he'd been thinking of Sora so much. He refused to believe it was something to do with attraction.
Definitely not.
But what then? Oh god, maybe Riku was so love deprived, that his body was taking it out on Sora!
How pathetic he was.
No wait, Sora did look somewhat like a girl. Maybe Riku's eyesight was going bad and he was imagining seeing a female in front of him rather than his childhood male friend!
Yes, that must be it.
He sighed. No, that was the farthest thing from it.
Riku groaned as he lathered his hair. As his fingers brushed his scalp and gently massaged his skin as the foam built up, his eyes fluttered closed, and he envisioned the same half-naked Sora who he was cuddling against just moments ago. Sora; washing his hair for him; running his slender fingers through Riku's silver locks and down his neck, across his chest and down to his stom-
No!
Riku opened his eyes and threw himself from beneath the running water. No, bad thoughts. Terrible thoughts. How horrid of a friend was he? Thinking such inappropriate nonsense about Sora.
This wasn't fair! Why was it that he had to feel like this. If Sora did, it would be… well, it'd be alright. Because as far as he knew, Sora never kept a secret from him, no matter how revolting, embarrassing, or annoying. So Sora would tell him exactly how he was feeling and Riku would tell him what his diagnosis was.
Of course, thinking about it like that made him think even more thoroughly into it. If Sora was the one with the problem, and he told Riku, Riku would have felt uncomfortable, for it would've seemed like Sora liked him… much more than a friend should like their best friend.
No, he thought again. Sora was just a friend. And nothing more. But why, then, did it feel like he was…
Riku shut the water off and shook his head, turning the handle to make sure no dripping occurred in the late hours of the night… or morning, whichever it was.
Reaching out for the towel, he felt his footing give and grabbed onto the curtain. It only made things worse when the rings unclasped from the bar that held the fabric up.
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Sora was still tense. Sure, Riku and he'd hugged before, they'd played games that involved a lot of touching. For example, wresting at the beach. But Riku never reacted like that.
He felt his face heat up at the thought. What had gotten into him?
Sora let his gaze wander to his alarm clock.
2:14 a.m.
No way.
Sora fought back an irked groan and laid back on the bed. All he had to do was calm down before he walked right into that bathroom and smacked the living daylights out of Riku for waking him up this early.
Of course, that was only his pride talking. Sora knew that he wouldn't be able to lay a finger on Riku. Not that he couldn't, just… he wouldn't. Sora didn't like violence too much. Probably the aftereffect of being raised by his dear mother. She was violent enough for both of them… in her own little way.
He sighed in a kind of happy-but-depressed way. He was proud of his mom. After what happened with his dad, she was a strong, cheery woman rather than a martyr. And she never once spoke of his father with malice in her tone. Well, she never spoke of him period.
But that suited his tastes fine, since it wasn't like he and his dad never conversed or anything. Sora got letters and gifts; secretly though. If his mom found out, it'd be the death of him…
Sora grunted and rolled over to his side, chills running across his body. His eyes widened as he noticed the cause of his shiver was the cold rain still pouring outside and into his room.
Almost a groan escaped him as he stood and plodded toward the still open window, but instead he evoked a gasp as he heard a crash echo through the bathroom and hallway.
Oh no.
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Riku snapped his head to the doorway as Sora came bursting through.
"Riku! What happened?" His eyes searched frantically across the room, then across Riku's body for any gaping wounds.
Riku blushed noticeably under his gaze, but shifted to hide everything from Sora; his face, his lower body.
His skin felt hot, and it tingled at the thought of Sora's eyes wandering across every inch of it. He bit back any noise when Sora reached over and placed his hands on his shoulders, a worried look on his boyish face.
"I-I'm fine. Really. Just slipped, that's all."
Sora frowned. "You almost woke the entire house up, you… you…"
"'You' what? And just so you know, the entire house is your mother. There's no one else here." He smirked uneasily, his mind never once allowing it to slip from his memory that he was still naked and Sora was… almost nude as well.
"You idiot…" He grumbled, suddenly at a lost for words. What else could he say? It was all done with now, and there was no point in getting mad at something that already happened, and accidentally too.
He sighed. "Mom's gonna kill me for this. These were new curtains and she loved 'em." He scratched the back of his neck anxiously.
Riku sat up and used said fabric to cover up his body as well as he could. "Just tell her I did it."
Sora snorted, which brought on an amused façade on Riku's part. "You kidding? Mom loves you. You could burn the house and she'd spend all her money paying for unneeded hospital bills instead of fixing the place up." Sora shook his head. "It's just not possible for her to be mad at you. Sometimes I envy you, Riku." He grinned jokingly.
Riku rolled his eyes and smacked Sora's leg. "Yeah, yeah. Now ya mind? I'd kinda like to get dressed. Unless you want me naked tonight." He winked playfully at Sora, but half of him meant it.
Sora laughed aloud. "Yeah, why not? We used to when we were kids, remember?"
Riku ignored the agreement. He sadly knew Sora didn't really mean it. "How could I forget. It was your fault most of the time though." He chuckled.
Sora glared halfheartedly. "Whaddaya mean my fault!? You were the one who always made us do stupid things!"
Riku held up a finger as if emphasizing his point. "But, if you agreed to do those stupid things with me, then I wouldn't have had to drag you along by force."
Sora crossed his arms over his chest at looked away, pout set in place.
"Like that one time. Remember the island's first snow? Back when we were seven, I think?"
"Six." He interjected. "You were six. I was five" His anger was slowly dissipating as he listened to another story from the 'good ol' days'.
Riku couldn't help the grin that spread on his face. "Right. Anyway," he stared unconsciously at the younger boy's abdomen. He noticed how his boxers were low on his hips; very low.
Licking his lips, he continued with his tale. "It was at least a good six or eight inches of snow that day, and I wanted to go sledding up on Churik Hill. But you were scared of heights." He smirked, knowing that Sora still was somewhat uncomfortable with high places. The cringe that Sora gave as he said the name of the hill was proof, too. "You almost cried when I-"
"I didn't cry!" Sora was red-faced in anger and embarrassment.
"Oh sure. Your eyes were just sensitive to the cold, right?"
"Right." He mumbled.
Riku laughed again. Sora was so cute. He paused mid-laugh.
Don't go thinking indecent things again.
"Yeah, I pulled you up there and if you'd have just cooperated with me in the first place, we wouldn't have played tug-a-war with the sled and gone rolling down the hill without it in the end." He laughed merrily. "Oh man, we stayed inside for a week! We were so sick. By the time we got back outside, it was a tropical paradise again."
Sora felt a smile tug at his lips and gave in. "Hey Riku?"
He looked up at the beautiful boy. "Yeah?"
"You think it'll ever snow again here?"
Riku looked down at his fingers, which now curled around the bath curtain. "I dunno, Sora. Maybe. But I wouldn't get your hopes up. You know what happened that last time you did." Sending Sora a final wink, he stood and ushered him out of the bathroom, loving the feel of his silky skin under his hands.
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Sora blinked as the door was shut in his face gently. Then blushed.
Last time he hoped for something he nearly embarrassed himself in front of everyone just to get what he wanted. There was no way he'd relive that moment.
Thinking to himself again, he remembered the yet-to-be-closed window in his bedroom and ran into it.
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Riku leaned back against the door, still smiling. What was that feeling he got when he touched Sora; when Sora touched him?
Riku knew one thing for sure. He'd have to be more careful. Encounters like those were much too risqué to be taken lightly.
With a sigh, he dropped the curtain and picked up the unused towel, dabbing it across his skin and rubbing it into his hair. Riku grimaced as he dropped it to the floor. He looked like a wet dog.
Shrugging, he searched the bathroom for his clothes, only to come to realize that he hadn't brought any with him.
Oh for the love of all thing fair, why him!?
Quietly, he opened the door a crack, and skimmed the dark hallway for any sign of life.
Nothing.
He tiptoed out the door and into Sora's room, with only a towel to keep him from being completely exposed.
"Sora?"
A body stirred on the bed and Riku grinned. He couldn't even stay awake for a few minutes.
"Riku?" Sora yawned.
Riku's smile broadened. "Yeah, I, uh, need some clothes."
Sora rubbed the sleep from his eyes and stood. "Yeah, I thought so. It's hot tonight so you don't need much, do you?"
Riku shook his head. "Even if it was cold out, I still couldn't wear much of your stuff. You're so scrawny." He laughed.
Sora rolled his eyes. "Watch it, I pulled you out of that window and I can push you back out."
Riku wagged a finger at him. "Already tried that." He sang, amused.
It was Sora's turn to laugh. Maybe Riku was better, all he needed was a nice shower to knock some sense back into him.
This thought brightened Sora up immensely.
"Here," He held out a pair of black and gray boxers. "These are pretty big on me, so they'll fit."
Riku blushed lightly, then scolded himself for doing so. Thankfully it was dark and Sora wouldn't be able to notice.
"Thanks." He took it and looked at Sora implying he wanted privacy. Why, he didn't know. Before they'd shower together at school practices. Now, he couldn't even bear to be in a towel in front of the guy, much less put on some underwear.
Sora presumably got the hint and turned around, staring out the window.
"What's on your mind?"
Sora's sigh melted into a smile. "You tell me. You always seem to know everything about me."
Riku returned his expression and stood behind him, pressing his bare body against Sora's, ignoring how the younger boy tensed up.
"Me?" He whispered into his ear. Riku loved the way Sora's skin felt on his, and now he was pressing their bodies together. He wanted to stop, but couldn't.
Sora shifted nervously in his place. "Riku…?"
He moved away, hesitantly though. "Just kidding. Sheesh Sora, you get so worked up over nothing." The last word came out kind of breathy. Maybe it was because, to Riku, it wasn't nothing.
Sora nodded awkwardly. "Yeah. So, ready to hit the sack?"
Riku jumped under the covers of Sora's bed, and scooted over to make room.
Sora almost laughed. Riku looked so happy there, and… was that hope in his eyes? For what, Sora pondered.
He had to admit, he felt rather weird about getting into the same bed as Riku, both clad in nothing but their undergarments. He shook his head of the thoughts. No. This was okay, they've done it millions of times before. So now, he'd just get into bed and sleep beside his best friend like he'd always done. There was nothing different this time.
Or so he thought.
Riku watched as Sora climbed into the bed next to him.
This would be a long night for sure.
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Silence. For what seemed like hours, but was really only a few minutes, all there was, was silence. Neither spoke a word, neither made a sound, neither shifted their positions.
"Hey Sora?"
The blissfully quiet atmosphere was finally broken.
"Yeah?"
"Remember when you were twelve, and you were so jealous of me kissing Kairi, that you swore to practice so that when you got your chance, she'd think you were a better kisser than me? The next day I caught you giving your first kiss to a lampshade." He laughed aloud. "I've got no clue why all these memories are coming back to me just now. I mean, we've had, what, seventeen years together to re-"
But the room was once again drowned in silence after Sora introduced Riku to his pillow, face-to-fluff.
"Night to you too." Riku smiled. But it became somewhat apprehensive.
This was nice. He was in a warm bed, had taken a refreshing shower, and Sora forgave him and lay next to him in the confinement of his bedroom.
He flipped over onto his side, sudden shivers running up and down his spine as his back grazed Sora's warm arm.
Riku let out a shaky sigh.
So he had lied to himself when he said it was nice. He had forced himself to leave out the tiny fact that his body was burning up at how close he and Sora were. He left out how his mind was reeling and almost incapable of coherent thought now that he and sore were within a foot of each other, both almost completely undressed. He had left out that, at that moment, he wished to be anywhere else but there, but at the same time couldn't think of any other place he'd rather have been. Damn him and his ambivalent mind.
Riku felt his face heat up yet again and attempted to clear his thoughts by closing his eyes.
Sora's lips came into view. His lips did look soft. And they were virgin lips. Never once been kissed.
Riku was shifting furiously in the bed. He needed to calm down. But Sora's lips kept popping up inside his head, almost beckoning him to turn and take them with his own.
God, why was life so difficult? For him especially.
Riku had no choice. If he didn't turn around, just to at least watch Sora sleep, he'd never get any sleep of his own. Slowly he turned around, almost gasping as two blazing blue orbs watched him with a frustrated glare.
He was so close.
"What?" He asked, and quite meekly at that.
Sora huffed. "You okay? You've been tossing and turning the entire time. Did that fall in the bathroom do something to you?"
Riku looked away from his scrutinizing gaze. "Uh, no. I just… can't sleep."
He heard Sora sigh, and thought maybe it was okay to look up now.
Should've stayed down.
Sora looked… luscious. Riku stared in awe. Sora faced the ceiling, the moonlight caressing his features through his window, outlining his lips in the most seductive way.
"Just count sheep or something…"
Yeah right. "Like that would work." He snorted.
Sora stared at him at the noise, a smile tugging at his lips. "Do you have to be so negative?"
Riku laughed softly. "Yeah."
Sora shook his head. "Whatever suits you."
Riku sighed, seeing Sora's eyes close. Oh how he wanted to touch him. But he knew he couldn't. Riku knew that if he even tried to touch Sora inappropriately, Sora wouldn't have a clue what to do. And he'd think it was wrong beyond reason. He was like that.
Riku sighed. Then something sparked inside him and made him smirk. Wait… if Sora was such a pure little thing, then what was up with those magazines?
Riku sat up silently, ignoring Sora's raised eyebrow and questioning looks. It wasn't until he leaned fully over the bed as if to get something from underneath it, that Sora began clawing at his back.
"Riku! H-hey! What're you doing!? I-I.. I can explain, it was…"
Riku turned to him, holding a stack of magazines in his hands. The pile of about 15 was held together with a blue string of yarn. "No excuses this time, kid. Talk."
His smirk grew even wider as Sora's eyes widened and his cheeks flamed a deep scarlet color. "R-Riku, please, I-"
"What are begging for? All I want is the truth."
Sora fiddled with the comforter and pulled at the seams, almost ripping it. Then he dropped it. "Riku, don't-"
"I'm not dropping this, Sora. Just tell me." Riku laughed. "You know, I figured a lot of guys would have things like this but you? Never in a million years could I have imagined you had 'em!"
"I don't see what's so funny." Sora looked away, he just had to think up a cogent answer. And fast. His blush was trailing down to his chest.
And Riku definitely took notice. The light pink tint on Sora's tan chest made him all the more irresistible. But he scolded himself again for being so perverse.
"What's funny, is that a guy like you-"
"A guy like me? What do you mean 'a guy like me'!?" Sora snapped.
Riku held his hands up in mock defense. "Nothing, nothing. It's just that, that time when the shower wall in the locker room had a hole in it, all the guys crowded around to peek into the girls' shower. All the guys 'cept you. So you having these books is weird." He pointed, winking.
Sora rolled his eyes, the blush increasing. "I was a kid, for god's sake."
"Uh huh, a kid. It was three months ago." Riku smirked, finally broaching Sora's bubble.
"Okay fine! You wanna know why I have the magazines, I'll tell you!"
Riku propped himself up on his knees and leaned in, eager to hear.
"My dad sent them. I don't know where from, but he did. On every holiday he sends them, even birthdays. It's not exactly heaven in a box for me when I get it, but it's all I get from him. Maybe even sometimes a letter."
Riku cocked his head to the side. "Then… why'd you go and make me think it was something more… I dunno, dirty? Your dad sending it doesn't seem too bad, I don't see why you'd try to keep it from me." Riku said, his confusion obvious.
Sora shrugged. "I don't know. I just didn't want you thinking my dad was some kind of pervert. He's not. He just, thinking I like these things. I really don't."
Riku nodded, understanding how Sora felt about not wanting his dad to be though of differently for certain reasons. After all, Riku too had to protect his dad occasionally when others called him stuck-up and snobbish. Sora just didn't want people going around saying his dad was morbid.
But, what about his last statement? Did he mean he didn't like the dirty magazines or didn't like the pictures in them?
"So, does that mean you don't like girls? Because if you don't, I totally understand. I'm not gonna go and shun you just 'cause you're not straight, Sora. And it makes more sense actually, what with you not looking at the girls in the locker room, not having your first kiss, not-"
"What the hell are you talking about!?" Sora gaped at him.
Riku felt a small spark of hope within him burn out. Shaking the thoughts away he leaned back. "I-I thought-"
"I know what you thought, but why!?"
"I-"
"No, forget it, you already said why." Sora turned away from Riku and stared out the window.
Just that one comment seemed to deject Sora's mood completely. How could his best friend think that? He didn't think it was wrong to be into guys, definitely not! It was just, Sora wasn't expecting Riku to jump to conclusions so quickly. And it hurt too, since it was Riku who said it. If it had been Kairi, or Tidus, or his mother even, it was nothing compared to how he felt when Riku said things like this. First, Riku called him a girl, now he assumed Sora was gay?
Riku felt his heart pound in his tightly constricting chest, leaving almost no room for breath to escape or blood to run. He felt cold. And ashamed.
Look what he did now. Sora was upset and hurt, and it was all Riku's fault. Because of him, the Sora who never once insulted him, or anyone else on that island, for that matter; the Sora who would more likely give up his own soul before seeing the islanders unhappy, seeing Riku unhappy, was the far from being happy himself. He didn't know what to do.
Before Riku could stop himself, he crawled toward the boy and wrapped his arms around his waist as he pressed against his back, both still seated on the bed. The soft, tender skin which belonged to Sora made Riku melt. He relished the feeling. Riku felt Sora's body tense up, and wanted nothing more than to have Sora relax in his embrace.
He leaned his head close to Sora's, his hot breath dancing across his ear. "I'm sorry."
Sora shuddered, feeling the warm air from Riku's apology graze his skin. What was he doing now? His eyes were closing without his consent, but Sora wasn't paying attention. His mind was going crazy with possible reasons as to why Riku would be so close.
Maybe… he was just trying to be nice. After all, Riku's never had to comfort him before, so maybe this was all he could think of.
This, however, was not the case for Riku. He was only doing this because his body took control. His eyes studied the soft curve of Sora's ear, the tiny pale hairs on the very tip that moved whenever Riku's breath passed by.
"Sora…" He breathed, his thumb unconsciously rubbing against Sora's side.
Sora held back a gasp as he felt Riku touch him so intimately. Stop it, stop it, stop it!
Riku didn't.
"Please?" He was pleading now, he couldn't bear having Sora upset. It wasn't really a big thing, but Riku's mind reacted so extremely to the situation. He needed to comfort his friend.
"R-Riku," Sora's breathing was becoming erratic. Riku's thumb wasn't just rubbing small circles anymore, but now both of Riku's hands had stared to lightly move up and down on his sides, creating a tingling sensation in Sora's belly. "Riku, I-" Sora's eyes widened and his quick breaths came to a halt.
Riku, lost in the pleasure of Sora's body and the way he said his name, dipped down and kissed the sensitive spot just below his ear, letting the touch linger for no more than a second before he pulled back.
Realization hit him immediately. He moved away as if Sora had just burned him, throwing himself at the wall and panting.
Sora slouched and felt his blush return to his cheeks. Oh god… oh god! What just happened!?
Riku had… Riku just… kissed him! Not on the lips, but even so…
Sora felt afraid to turn and face him now.
And Riku couldn't blame him. The red tint in his cheeks grew and grew with each passing second. He was becoming more clear on what he had just done. He just kissed Sora.
That was it. All the proof he needed. The only answer that came up in his desperate search. And he could no longer deny what was right in front of him.
He was attracted to Sora.
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Ugh… what tedious work it is to be babysitting half the day, then come home and write, then go back to babysitting, and come back home to finish writing. Well, just be happy that I've finally finished.
Anyway, I was overjoyed with the reviews! Thank you all so much! I picked just a few to reply to, but I was very pleased with each review.
- Spark of Life - Thank you for the criticism:) But I'm not quite sure I understand. Transitions between the chapters (you wrote this, but it confused me since there's only one chapter…) or between the sections of the chapter? Please do review again!
- Dualism - I don't know what to say… that was probably one of the best reviews I think I've ever gotten! Thank you very much! I'm flattered that you think so, it means a lot to me. Please, please, please review again?
- AngelStarFire Hikarist II - I'm glad I was able to make him confused. For awhile I thought it'd just seem like he was… I don't know, I'm just happy people caught on. Thanks for the kind words and the review!
And thanks also to:
- SimplyHated
- Sora-Kins
- Riku-Rocks
- fullblonde alchemist
- hyperactive crazygurl95
- ASKInfinity
- dead edged blade
- crowvii
Alright, my babbling's over now, please review!
Dragon