Part Twenty One

Fisherman's Horizon

Fisherman's Horizon

Balamb Garden

Sora stood out on the balcony he had located on the second floor. It was peaceful out here and he was alone, giving him time to think things over. A lot of things had happened and Sora was only now processing everything as he let the salty breeze consume him. He felt as if he were back on Destiny Island with Riku and Kairi again.

He missed Kairi a lot but he didn't regret coming to this world. Roxas had needed his help and he wouldn't just let Cloud and the others go without trying to help them out. At least Riku was there with him. Since returning from the World That Never Was Riku had barely left Sora's side. It was almost as if the silver haired teen was afraid that if he stayed away from Sora he'd vanish again.

Sora smiled as that familiar warm feeling spread throughout his chest from his heart. Just thinking about sea green eyes and silver locks cascading down a firm, muscular back made Sora's knees turn to jelly. He had accepted the fact that he was in love with his best friend.

Kairi knew about it. In fact she, Tidus and Selphie had often tried to get Sora to admit his feelings to Riku. Tidus had pointed out that it was obvious how Riku felt about Sora. In all honesty the small brunet was terrified of how Riku would react if he confessed how he felt. He would rather go on another quest to save the known worlds before telling Riku he was in love with him.

Sighing Sora glanced towards the horizon and smiled as the sea breeze caressed his skin gently. Riku, Baralai and Zell were down in the cafeteria pigging out on hotdogs. Zell was adamant about getting some of the treats this time round. He had even paid Riku to sweet-talk the dinner ladies to give them all hotdogs for free.

Apparently silver haired people were rare and both Riku and Baralai were a sight for the eyes. Sora was fine with people looking at Riku so long as they didn't touch him. Sora turned around when he heard the door opening behind him. Seifer Almasy joined him on the balcony.

"How are you doing?" Seifer leaned on the balcony railing.

"I'm ok. Did you find the others?" Sora asked.

"They're fine. They're catching the first train out here." Seifer responded. He noticed that Sora visible relaxed upon hearing the news.

"What are we gonna do about Galbadia?" Sora questioned.

"Cid is still talking to the mayor. For now all we can do is wait." Seifer shrugged.

"So how are you holding up?" Sora turned to the tall blond. "What's it like having Axel in your head?"

"It was a fucking pain in the ass at first." Seifer admitted and he heard an angry 'hey!' from Axel. "But he's good to talk to."

"Roxas would give his right arm to have Axel as his Guardian Force." Sora commented.

"He can have him." Seifer smirked. "I don't know what Roxas sees in the guy."

"Love is blind." Sora laughed at the look on Seifer's face. "My friend Kairi told me that."

"Try telling that to your silver haired crush." Seifer grinned when Sora blushed bright red.

"Shut up!" the boy groaned.

"So you got a thing for temperamental guys with silver hair and serious issues. I can't say the same." Seifer said.

"What about your taste in men?" Sora challenged. Seifer raised an eyebrow at that comment.

"What do you wanna know?" Seifer didn't bother to deny what he was when it came to sexual orientation.

"Who caught your eye?" Sora giggled. Seifer smirked then turned away.

"I've got a thing for sarcastic brunets." Jade green eyes sparkled. Sora gaped at the man as it sank in.

"Tell me it's Squall and not Leon." He stammered.

"Relax, it's Squall...it's always been Squall." Seifer whispered the last part.

"Thank God. If it was Leon then Cloud would've killed you." Sora winced as he remembered the infamous broken wrist incident.

"I've no intention of pissing off that blond." Seifer growled. "I've seen him swing that sword of his."

"Cloud's actually really nice once you get to know him." Sora assured the older boy.

"You can keep him. I don't do nice." Seifer shook his head.

"You're being nice to me." Sora pointed out and Seifer chuckled.

"There's something about you kid. You're easy to talk to." The scarred man replied.

"Thanks." Sora beamed. "So are you gonna tell Squall?"

"I did once. He forgot." Seifer winced as he recalled that memory. Sora scratched his head.

"I don't get it. How can you forget when someone tells you they care about you?" the teenager was confused.

"You wanna know a secret?" Seifer muttered. "The night after Squall and I...y'know," he smirked when Sora went red. "Squall went to get his GF. I begged him not to. Once you get a GF you lose your memories."

"That sucks." Sora said sympathetically.

"He said he wouldn't forget and I believed him." Seifer swallowed a lump in his throat. "He lied."

"Maybe he took the GF for a reason." Sora said gently.

"It was the only way he could advance to be a proper SeeD mercenary." Seifer glanced towards the horizon. "I was selfish. I wanted Squall for myself."

"I'm really sorry Seifer." Sora murmured as he placed a hand on Seifer's arm.

"It's ok. I'm used to being disappointed." Seifer said bitterly.

"Don't get used to it Seifer." Sora admonished. "If I were you I'd make Squall remember."

"He hates my guts. He remembers when we were rivals but he can't remember that night." Seifer angrily brushed away a stray tear.

"And you still love him don't you?" Sora whispered.

"It doesn't matter. At least I got to love him for one night." Seifer sighed then turned back towards the door.

"Yeah..." Sora murmured softly.

"Take it from me Sora," Seifer glanced back towards the Keyblade Master. "Tell Riku how you feel before you let him slip away." Sora said nothing as Seifer left him alone on the balcony.

Continental Monorail

The train rocketed across the monorail that had been built across the vast ocean. The rail was infamous because it connected two continents with Fisherman's Horizon as the halfway point. There was the Main Continent and the land mass that was the last battleground against Sorceress Adel.

It was rumoured that the legendary city Esthar still stood on that continent. After the Sorceress War the city simply vanished along with all of its people. It was still being searched for today but so far no trace of the city could be found. Roxas was staring out of the window, his eyes looking for a town with the Garden sticking out of it.

Squall, Leon, Cloud and Ienzo were sitting in the compartment lost in thought. Cloud was leaning against his brunet while Squall watched with something akin to jealousy. Roxas thought about what Rinoa had said and he wondered if maybe Squall was thinking about the man who used Hyperion.

Ienzo was probably having a conversation with Demyx in his head. The slate haired man had been in Balamb town getting supplies when Seifer had arrived. Ienzo had just missed Quistis and the others when they arrived back from Deling City on the boat.

Irvine, Quistis, Rinoa and Selphie were having a bite to eat. The news of Trabia Garden's destruction had hit Selphie hard and her friends were trying to cheer her up. Squall had been told about Trabia and that Selphie wanted to go there as soon as they got the Garden fixed.

Squall had simply nodded. Roxas glanced out of the window again and smiled when he saw a town up ahead. The Garden was situated on the edge of the town and another ship was at one of the many docks. It had to be Galbadia. A voice came on over the communication system to announce that they were arriving at Fisherman's Horizon in five minutes.

"I'll head up to see Cid Kramer. The rest of you find the others." Squall ordered.

"What about the Galbadians?" Roxas spoke up.

"I'll talk to Cid first." Squall replied firmly.

The group departed from the train. The Garden had landed near the station but the Galbadians were already taking control of the town by the looks of things. Squall wondered why the Sorceress only sent one ship. She didn't count on the Garden surviving the missile attack obviously.

Squall motioned for the others to follow him towards the Garden. An elevator took them up to a walkway that was connected to the Garden's second floor balcony. Jumping over the railing Squall made his way back inside the place he called home. They made their way down the corridor towards the classrooms.

"Roxas!" a shout rang out.

"Riku..." Roxas ran towards the silver haired teenager. "How's everybody?"

"They're fine. What happened guys?" Riku asked.

"We stopped the attack on Balamb but Trabia was hit." Quistis explained as Squall brushed past them to reach the lift.

"Where's Seifer?" Roxas questioned.

"He's in the cafeteria with Zell." Riku said.

"Thanks." Roxas took off at break neck speed.

"I promised Demyx he could go swimming." Ienzo shrugged then made his way to the lift with Roxas. "I'll see you guys later."

"Come on darlin'." Irvine took Selphie by the hand.

"Quistis, you wanna grab something to eat?" Rinoa offered. The elegant blond woman nodded.

"Did you guys see Sora around?" Riku asked. He stopped when he caught sight of his small brunet leaning against a wall. "I'll see you guys later."

"Hey Riku." Sora blushed shyly when Quistis and Rinoa had left. "Can I talk to you?"

"Sure Sora." Riku frowned. What was up with the brunet? "What's wrong?"

"Nothing...it's just that I talked to Seifer and he got me thinking." Sora mumbled.

"That was quite the accomplishment." Riku teased.

"Shut up!" Sora blushed red again.

"So what do you wanna tell me?" Riku waited patiently.

"Well...ah, oh boy this is hard..." Sora gulped then he looked into those mesmerizing aquamarine eyes.

"You can tell me anything Sora." Riku murmured gently. "You're my best friend."

"I know." Sora sniffed. "But after talking to Seifer I realized something. I don't know what's gonna happen while we're here so I should just tell you the truth while I have the chance."

"What is it Sora?" Riku whispered. Those bright blue eyes were locked onto his own eyes.

"Look, I really care about this...person but I don't know how to say it." Sora said nervously.

"Oh..." Riku felt his heart crack into pieces.

"I...Riku I...aw screw it." Without hesitation Sora grabbed Riku's shirt in both hands and pulled him down to his face.

"I love you." Sora whispered then firmly pressed his lips against Riku's mouth. The only thing going through Riku's head was this...He loves me, he loves me, FUCKING YES!!! SORA LOVES ME!!!

Note-And here is the long awaited Sora/Riku I've been working up to. Ok so I need advice. In the next chapter Squall gets a promotion to Commander of the Garden and in the FF8 game the gang hold a concert for him as a congratulations. So I was thinking of making one of the KH guys sing to the music. So who should sing and do you guys have any suggestions to songs? I was thinking about Only One by Yellowcard. I won't write the song if you guys don't want it but I've had this image of Seifer and Axel singing back to back for days now...ok, that's enough of me daydreaming. Get back to me soon everyone.