Post It Window

Chapter Seven: Pink

a/n: I own nothing.


She didn't scrap her knee because of a bicycle this time.

In all honesty, it was not her fault this time around, either. It was one of those days no one was home but her, which suited her just fine. She just laid around in her shorts and a tee, barefoot and playing on her 3DS while sipping on some iced tea. Though she rarely had any—she was usually active and busy—Riku loved her lazy days. She especially loved them now more as she got older and needed to do other things than to think about her non-relationship with the boy next door. She told Risa about Dark's warning, and how he was still teasing her, and Risa groaned and wouldn't really offer up any advice.

"I don't know how it is only bugging you now when you've liked him from the moment he moved in next door," she told her exasperatedly.

"I did not!" Riku claimed, rather surprised by Risa's statement. In return, her sister only rolled her eyes.

"Yes, you did."

"No…no, I actually really liked Daisuke-kun." Riku had to look away. It was the first time she ever admitted it to her sister, and no one aside from Dark had known about it.

Risa was quiet for some time. "Why?"

"What do mean why? You're his girlfriend!"

"I know! And I'm your sister! That's why I am asking why you liked him. I can't really see him as your type."

"Daisuke-kun is nice and thoughtful, and I don't know, I was twelve!"

Risa frowned. "There's more to Daisuke than that."

"I know there is. I think I got to know him more after I got over him." Riku chagrined, knowing full well she didn't know Daisuke as well before, which was alright because it seemed to her that he really didn't know her as well.

"Well, I always thought you liked Dark since forever ago. At least, you were always attracted to him. Why do you like him so much now?"

Riku frowned for an instant, but answered as best as she could. "Because he…he knows me. Aside from my feelings for him, I've never had to pretend. I don't know. Why do you like Daisuke-kun?"

Risa's eyes widened at the question's redirection to her. "I love him for all sorts of reasons, but I don't know why I started to like him." She frowned before deciding to grin, a wistful look gracing her features. "I like to think that somehow, there are people placed in the world that we were supposed to meet, and something brings us together."

Riku raised her brow. "You mean like fate?"

"Yeah, I guess."

"Sounds like a cop-out answer," Riku laughed. Risa did not appreciate it.

"Well, there are just some things you can't rationalize or reason with, like feelings."

In that sense, Riku agreed, because she couldn't reason with her feelings to stop liking Dark, no matter how much she tried to logic her way out of them. She wrestled with the idea of love and falling out of it, but thought maybe she was forcing things and so she focused on just having her lazy day. The day would have stayed lazy if it weren't for a knock at her door. After ignoring it for three knocks, Riku caved and opened the door to find Kaoru looking upset and disheveled.

"Kaoru-san, are you okay?"

"Can I come in, Riku-san?" he asked earnestly.

"Uhhh…"In truth, she wanted to say no. Since that talk with Dark, Riku had been pretty adamant about placing some distance between her and Kaoru. She talked to him less, and seeing him in person looking the way he did set off a red flag in her mind for some reason. But she didn't want to be rude, so she stepped aside and let him in. While she went to get more tea, she found that he had settled in her room, making her more wary.

"Is everything okay?" she asked tentatively settting the tea down at her desk. She went to her drawers for a message and taped the red post it on her window, just in case.

"No." For whatever reason, he looked mad, and started to direct that anger towards her. "Did you know Dark came up to me today and told me to never speak to you again? Is that why you're hardly talking to me anymore? Because of Dark? That's it, isn't it?"

"What?" Riku was honestly floored. "No, I didn't know Dark did that!"

"Are you sure? Because you always talked about him. And he never shuts up about you. Did you ask him to talk to me?"

"No!" Riku stepped away from him, but he was stepping up closer. "What's wrong with you?"

"I was happy to be just friends with you. So long as you noticed me, I was okay with just being friends. But how can I be happy when Dark is all over you all the time? He's right next door. How often does he look at you, and touch you, and gets to be around you? It's not fair."

At this, Riku was left speechless. She never used to have problems with people, or men, before. But she realized it now that Kaoru was genuinely the sort of guy who obsessed over something he could not have. And that was a realization too dangerous to have so late in the game. When he pushed her down in the bed, her body stiffened in panic. She tried to calm down, but the idea of this person overpowering her filled her senses with a fear she didn't realize existed.

He seemed to freeze, shocked by his own actions, though he recovered quickly. Soon, he was lowering his mouth, ready to place lips on her neck when something woke up inside Riku. She began to push her knees up to crotch hard, which ultimately worked. She felt a sharp pang on her right one when it scraped against the zipper of his jeans, but she didn't pay attention to that yet. Kaoru gasped and rolled up off her.

That's when part of her window broke. He came in like lightning, quick and full of an anger Riku never saw before.

He was silent while looking at Kaoru clutching his crotch in agony and Riku's disheveled appearance. Her breathing was quick and, she counted to three in her head to prevent herself from hyperventilating. Dark's glare went to Kaoru who blanched at the hi's tranquil fury.

"I'm sorry. I'm sorry, I don't…I didn't….I'm sorry. I will go. I'm sorry." Kaoru stuttered it out before running out of the room. Dark followed and Riku stayed, hurriedly drying up the tears that were quietly fighting to fall. She began to pick up the broken pieces of her window and had finished sealing it with some paper when Dark returned.

Neither of them said a word. Dark studied her, his eyes scanning her up and down before he walked out momentarily and came back with the first aid kit they kept in the bathroom. She wanted to ask how did he know where they kept it, but of course he knew. How long have they known each other? How many times had he used that first aid kit on her over the years? How many times did she use it on him?

"You're bleeding," he said as he sat down on the bed next to her and began to disinfect the wound. It was so small that it didn't even sting.

"Ah, I must have scrapped it against his zipper when I was trying to get him off me." Her voice was light and unfamiliar to her. She didn't expect to be so blasé about the situation considering she had been nearly crying moments before.

Dark huffed at her words, but stayed silent until he applied a pink Minnie Mouse band aid. She smiled, remembering their first meeting. That was so long ago—a lifetime away.

"What were you thinking? You invited him inside? Are you an idiot?" Dark didn't yell at her this time, which was the only thing she was grateful for.

"I am not a fool! How was I supposed to know he was going to get psycho on me? It's not my fault! Don't put that on me!" The fear that momentarily paralyzed her returned as she almost felt Kaoru's lips on her skin.

He let out a groan before running his hands through his hair, frustrated and annoyed, though it was a mystery to her. She was the one who had the more upsetting day.

"You could have been hurt if I didn't come in!"

"I was doing just fine!" It was a lie, and both knew it.

"Seriously, I come and see a red danger post it, and I panicked. I didn't know what to do." He buried his face in his hands and sighed. At that, Riku seemed to understand that even though she had a crazy experience, his yelling came from a good place. She worried him, and if the situation were reversed (though, highly unlikely), she would have been upset too.

Riku placed her hand on his shoulder, and he jumped a bit as though she set fire to it. "Thanks for coming. And for bandaging my knee. I was really scared, and I am sorry if I worried you. But thank you."

For awhile, Dark stared at her hard, those red eyes of his smoldering her. Riku managed to stay lucid by focusing on her breathing again. She shuddered at the thought of having been alone with Kaoru. She still didn't think he was an all around evil person, but he wondered what she would have done if Dark hadn't shown up. The unknown scared her more so she pushed that thought out for now. She would have to deal with it later.

Riku nearly forgot about Dark until he wrapped a blanket around her and declared, "I give up."

"What? And what's with the blanket?"

"I give up," he repeated, looking elated and light. "And the blanket is in case you need it. I think you're in shock. I'm sorry for yelling at you."

"I'm fine."

"Well, even if you're not, it's okay. It's okay to rely on me if you need it."

She blushed but shook the blanket off anyway. "What do you mean about you giving up."

Dark smiled warmly at her. "I've been trying really hard since I was a fourteen when I realized how I felt to keep it all hidden, but I can't. I'm done. I give up."

"I don't understand." Nothing that he said made sense, but then again, she rarely understood him sometimes.

"Is it alright if I invade your personal space?" The question didn't make sense either, but Riku gave him a smile of her own.

"Sure, you have permission."

That was when he kissed her.

It was nothing like their very first kiss. This was quick and rather delicate (as though he was scared of damaging her), but she could feel that spark, that desire from him, and it was still enough to make dizzy. When she blinked at him as he pulled away, he gave her his crooked grin.

"Riku-chan, I love you."

Every part of her seemed to shut down, but she knew that suddenly, something beautiful was happening. "What?"

"I love you," he said it again, still smiling. "I think I have always loved you, since the very beginning. I realized it though when I got to middle school. But then you liked Daisuke, and then that night he and Risa got together…I was so happy that day, but I got scared. I didn't want to be your replacement, so I pushed you away. I've hidden my feelings this whole time. But I don't want to do that anymore. I just love you."

Riku's smile had a life of its own. Soon, she was crying and laughing and muttering "You're a dummy," to him while he looked on confused. But he didn't run away, which was a good thing. He knew that she had words to say.

"Dark, I love you. Maybe I did before that day in your room, but I realized it then. I just thought you were always teasing me, and I didn't want to get hurt. So I tried getting over you. But you're already part of me, and I just can't shake you off!"

"Are you telling me that you and I felt this way for years?" he asked, horrified. But she laughed and pulled him in for a kiss, this time, making sure he knew how much she loved him. She wanted him to feel it all the way from his mouth to his toes, and for once, the dread she carried was gone. She felt light enough to float up into cloud nine.

Eventually, they pried their mouths away when Riku couldn't stop shaking from all that had happened, so they laid down on her bed and talked about that day's events along with several years of missed communication. When her family came back, both of them apologized to Riku's parents with Dark promising to pay for a new one. Risa smiled smugly and Riku knew she had a long conversation ahead with her later. But that night, she took a pink post it and drew a heart, making sure it was securely taped to her unbroken part of her window. Before she went to bed, she noticed Dark did the same.

And she knew neither of them would take them down.


Ultra Special Blah Blah Blah: I could write a lot about the story itself and answer questions, but I think I will save that for personal messages. I do have a few things. Thank you Sister of the Pharaoh again, for letting me take care of your plot bunny, and I hope this was to your liking. Thank you to those who read and to the people who left me reviews. I really hope the DarkxRiku pairing stays alive in fanfic world, and I am happy to be contributor.

I honestly could have turned this story into a long 20 chapter fic with more in depth character analysis and a more developed plot. And with longer chapters. But honestly, I have very little time now unfortunately, and I already have one multi-chaptered fic that needs my attention. So I limited this to short drabbles instead.

I really like writing things from Riku's perspective, but someday I would like to write from Dark. Riku is a very straightforward and honest girl with a lot of love, but with so much hidden insecurity and a lot of growth ahead of her. Dark is always fascinating since he has such a bad boy attitude, but it actually a really compassionate and caring person from the anime and manga, and I think if given the chance, he and Riku would have been a great pairing. They complement each other well, I think. This chapter is a bit longer than the others since I didn't want to fully brush off the scare Riku went through, so hence why the romance in this chapter is rather lacking—no smut here, I am sorry! Either way, this story had many mistakes and could have been elaborated in certain areas, but I am pleased with it, and will keep the lessons I have learned for future fics. Again, thanks for reading!

Please review!

The end.