Chapter 18: One Last Thing

Sora and Riku barely scrape into the cafeteria in time for breakfast after using up all the hot water in the showers. Soon after devouring the scraps left by Axel and the others they are ushered out to play basketball; though normally a football day, the rain had made the field too muddy for the girls to even consider playing so Coach quite easily conceded. The concession wasn't surprising at this point; it seems as the camp comes closer and closer to ending, Coach becomes more lenient and lazy.

The game goes by largely uneventful. A few of their friends— Axel, Xion, and even Roxas— show concern for the unnaturally cheerful brunet by looking up at the overcast sky with suspicious distaste. But of course, none of them could have known that Sora had just recently overcome that obstacle. However, about a fourth into the game they relent their worry and play with Sora's contagious, bubbling happiness. Riku, watching as Sora's enthusiasm spreads to the others like the flu, adds to the merriment as well despite being dog tired. He is perhaps more elated than even Sora, but is merely less likely to show it.

Thus after an indeterminate game, they head to lunch in a strange bliss. Even Christopher who hadn't been a part of their group as much as the others is able to converse and laugh with everyone easily, earning a high five from Axel after declaring some witty comment.

"—And Coach looked at me— I thought I was going to die! But he just waved me off!"

"He's probably just too lazy to make you change cabins."

"Ha! Or maybe he can't believe you're a girl!"

"What's that supposed to mean!?"

The group laughs, even the target of the joke. "Pfft, shut up, Axel. She's more manly than you are," the moody blonde retorts in the girl's stead.

"EXCUSE me? I'll have YOU know that I am a BONA FIDE muthafuckin' thug! I—" Roxas reaches up with a smirk and covers his mouth. Axel continues to talk incoherently, causing the group to snicker, though it doesn't take long for him to retaliate with a lick on the blonde's hand.

"UGH! Axel, gross!" He wipes his hand on Axel's shirt and the redhead winks back.

"I think Riku's probably the most manly here anyway," Xion says, laughing, "I mean, aside from the emo thing."

The silveret raises an eyebrow. "Emo?" he threatens playfully.

Sora, totally ready to back up the dark-haired girl, adds "Oh yeah he's got a dark soul!" He brings his hands up to his face, adding fangs to his mouth with his fingers. "Oh, Bellaaaaa~"

Riku, only pretending to be annoyed, pushes the brunet lightly. "You're next, dork," he says, "If I'm an emo vampire you shouldn't cross me."

Sora just smiles back, pushing Riku back. "Naaaah—"

Axel, suggestive as always, wiggles his eyebrows. "Oh, Sora's your next Bella, eh, Riku? Now that's a fuckin' movie I'd like to see: Gay Vamps, they'll suck you dry!"

Riku looks at the redhead with a mixture of amusement and disgust. T.K. ironically calls out, "Hawtuh babes!" and the group laughs.

Riku snorts, "I don't know when this became a porno but I don't sparkle so you can shove it—"

"What's a porno?" Ventus asks, a silly grin on his face. Roxas face-palms, immediately glaring at Axel through his fingers, "Don't answer that." The redhead pouts. The silveret looks away sheepishly for having forgotten to keep the conversation pg-13.

Christopher suggests, "You can always do the 'when a man and woman love each other very much' speech." Xion laughs while Roxas goes pale. "I rather not." Ventus laughs though not really understanding what exactly is so funny.

"Ha, if Demyx were here, he'd have already told him," Sora comments, mostly to those who had met the music guru. Riku chuckles in agreement.

They enter into the cafeteria, naturally taking their spots at the table before some of the more vagrant groups decide to claim territory. Though Sora has been sitting by Riku for a few days now, the silveret can't help but feel as though the interstice between them has shrunk. He assumes it to be pure imagination, but he hopes that maybe Sora feels it too: that unbreakable bond, like strings have been tied between the two of them. Even if they lose each other, that infinite string will lead them through the labyrinth of life to reunite. Though, to be sure, even if they were some equivalent to star-crossed lovers, the silveret would still find a way to be with Sora— he's too important to be lost.

That's when Riku is suddenly overwhelmed with a dreadfully familiar agitated feeling in his nose. Though not one to announce it, he looks up at a light and sneezes loudly, drawing surprised but amused glances his way. After all, not just anyone can catch the silveret doing something so humbly human. Shit, he thinks to himself. Well that explains the sappy thoughts and his exhaustion during the basketball game. It all comes together for him in horrible clarity; he's coming down with something. He's been too sick too often in the past to not know the signs.

After the sneeze he groans a bit, suddenly realizing how heavy his head feels. Is that a headache coming on? Really, now?

Sora, placing a concerned hand immediately on the silveret's wrist, asks, "Hey, are you okay?"

The silveret almost panics; after all, tomorrow is when they all say goodbye. He can't check out now. He realizes that he not only wants to spend the rest of the last day by Sora's side, but with the others as well. Axel, Roxas… they've been the closest friends he's had in a long time, aside from the cherub brunet. He didn't get to know the others as intimately but he knows that he won't forget any of them; he wouldn't be able to forget any of this summer even if he wanted to. Nick, Luis… His heart is filled with what he can only describe as bittersweetness. Though in the same place, the silveret feels as though his experiences in the last session were from another world, lived by another Riku. He enjoyed their friendship and yet he can't say that he is the same person who plotted to prank Sora, the same Riku who spent all those cabin nights with the jock and south-of-the-border friend, talking about sports (the last thing that he really knows about, and yet he found himself included somehow anyway). With a rare shade of self-consciousness, he wonders how Roxas thinks of him now. Maybe he doesn't act all that different, but the comparison makes it seem as much.

He realizes with a jolt that he totally disregarded answering Sora. Blinking rapidly like an idiot, he scrambles to reply with resolve, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. Just a small headache."

Sora looks up at him skeptically and instead of hiding behind a stoic mask, the silveret instead pleads with the brunet with his eyes, trying to communicate without words. Axel ends up being the one to call out the thought: "Maybe you should lie down."

Riku frowns. Not happening. "It'll take more than a headache to send me to bed, Ax," he replies with a glare. Axel lifts his hands in surrender, an ever-familiar mischievous grin plastered on his face. Riku knows that despite his loud obnoxiousness, he will miss the flaming redhead.

"See, Axel, Riku's so manly he doesn't let his body hinder him!" Xion says, laughing and shaking her fist in a profound way. The silveret rolls his eyes. "Better manly than emo, I guess," he commentates. Sora is about to continue the banter, but Roxas speaks first.

"Oh, it looks like the lunch lines have opened," Roxas observes (effectively ending the previous conversation), looking hungrily over. "It's so far away…" he pouts suddenly, looking strikingly like Ventus for a fleeting moment.

"Come on, Rox!" Ventus beacons, "Let's go get lunch!" The innocent twin stands with T.K. and after a moment of thought Xion follows suit. Roxas looks reluctantly at his brother, as per the usual routine for lunch. Sora, so used to this exchange, fidgets, preparing to stand to head into line with the others.

And then something rather magical and out of order happens. Axel sighs gruffly and stands, deciding, "You stay here, Roxy, I'll go get our trays." And before the ornery blonde can either accept or reject, Axel swiftly swoops down and openly kisses him on the cheek. Simultaneous, Xion, Ventus, and T.K. adopt a shocked physiognomy, jaws dropped. Roxas looks only partly surprised, a light blush painting his cheeks instantaneously. Everyone bates their breath, waiting for the blonde to explode into his normal incensed fit whenever Axel does something strange such as this, but alas the outburst never comes. Roxas accepts it. In fact, there is a small joy on his face that none of the others ever thought to be possible in the blonde. The impulsive redhead, seemingly unaware of how odd the gesture is to normal society, stands upright again with a happy, bizarrely innocent smile and waves at the others to follow him. "Come on, fuckers, I'm hungry!"

Sora and Riku immediately glance each others' way, a small knowing grin on their faces. Though usually jealous of Roxas and Axel's blossoming relationship, the silveret can't bring himself to feel that way at the moment; he is merely happy for them and hopeful that him and Sora will soon follow by example. Perhaps he is getting ahead of himself, but he can't help but look positively on the signs. Who cares if tomorrow is goodbye for now? They still have a few hours. A flashback to earlier enters his mind; it takes every ounce of his pride to prevent him from crying again. Though the future, as always, is unclear, the silveret feels as though he has won anyway. The three word confirmation can come later; for now, being his angel's Miracle will most definitely suffice.

"Hey, Axel!" Sora calls unexpectedly, "Can you get a tray for me, too?" The one in question doesn't even bother to turn around but instead raises his hand and waves. The brunet assumes the answer is yes, Riku notes, because he doesn't bother to get up. Riku is grateful; it'd be a little awkward to be alone at the table with just Roxas in his current state. He looks to the blonde; he's sighing and smiling a Roxas-smile: small, barely perceptible, but there all the same. Riku gives a small appreciative grunt; Roxas never seemed like the type to be in love (which is terrible to say, but sadly true) and yet now, it fits him so well. Riku wouldn't know what to say to the elated blonde, not used to such an attitude about him. 'Hey, we're both gay, who would have guessed?!' Definitely not a chat he wants to have.

Ironically, he looks over to Sora who is already trying to engage Roxas in conversation. For once, the blonde is being pretty obliging for obvious reasons. He is grateful, however, for at least it gives him time to ponder and get his wits about him. Being sick is a truly disastrous thing for the silveret. Riku can't help but feel like something is missing… Like there is something he is forgetting to do… But his foggy mind won't let him bring it off the tip of his tongue, more focused on the fact that he needs a tissue. He struggles with it until he tunes into Sora and Roxas's conversation, genuine but trivial.

"You should just get swimming lessons," Roxas comments, having returned to his normal critical demeanor. "I mean, it's not like it'd be hard."

Sora sighs in concord, "I knoooow… It would be so embarrassing though. The one seventeen-year-old that can't swim, surrounded by a bunch of kindergarteners. With some old lady teaching the class. Ugh."

Riku's ears perk up. That's what it was! He's about to interrupt their conversation to ask when Axel and the others return, taking all of their attention swiftly.

"The victors have returned!" Xion says, sitting down unceremoniously. Axel, somehow carrying three trays, distributes two to Roxas and Sora and then sits down himself. "You better be grateful," he says, pretending to be disdainful.

"Thanks, Axel," Sora says, digging in. Riku instinctually takes the apple and napkin from his plate; he doubts the brunet will eat/use them, and even if the silveret doesn't feel like eating he can at least hold the easy fruit down. The tissue, of course, is to hopefully enable him to breathe. Sora doesn't even vocally acknowledge the theft, only smiling at Riku encouragingly. The silveret just smirks back, taking a bite.

Roxas mumbles thanks and eats too. "Welcome," the redhead says casually, and they all eat as if nothing out of the ordinary happened only minutes ago.


Riku catches Sora alone for a few moments after lunch as everyone scrambles to throw away their trays, use the restroom, and generally mentally prepare for yet another sport that Coach wants them to play. He catches the brunet's wrist lightly and Sora turns, face still alight with contentment. "Oh, Riku! What's up?"

"I have one more thing we need to do before tomorrow."

Sora immediately brightens, obviously intrigued. "Oh? What?" He smiles wide, ready for anything.

The silveret, deciding to tantalize him a bit, says, "Just meet me by the showers at midnight, okay? Wear your bathing suit."

Sora looks suspiciously at him, probably aware of Riku's idea but perhaps too tempted to keep it a surprise to question it. "Hmm… Okay," he says, feigning hesitance. "Just don't strain yourself too much…" he adds with concern.

Riku chuckles, "Yeah, I'll be fine." Sora smiles back. "I know," he says confidently. He looks over his shoulder, eyes widening at the large distance between them and their group of friends ahead. "Ah! Crap, we need to catch up with the others!" Riku nods and allows the brunet to drag him along, now excited for midnight.


Sora quietly creeps out of his cabin, feeling that nighttime excursions have become a habit. Even so, it is just as thrilling, if not more, knowing that he's going to meet that endearing silveret at the end of his sneaky journey. There is a déjà vu feeling as he looks out from the cabin outdoor corridor; the puddles haven't quite flushed themselves into the ground and the light-post still glints light across the water. The only difference from last night is that the rain is absent. He walks out across the deck to the stairs, glancing up. He can see all the stars tonight, a beautiful rarity. In his neighborhood on the outskirts of town, the lights of Houston manage to outshine space's little light show, so for Sora, the twinkling stars are as foreign as the future.

Aware of the passing time, however, Sora presses on, appreciating their hopeful flickering but unwilling to stop and consider the view. He's kind of cold anyway; in his swimming trunks and a t-shirt (as instructed) the little wind that brushes past him manages to ghost against his skin, causing little shivers. He lightly pads over to the bathroom-shower center, bouncing from dry patch to dry patch of ground until he reaches the start of concrete.

"I thought we were a little old for the lava game," Riku comments amusedly, arms crossed as he leans on one of the support beams. Sora was so focused on the ground that he didn't even see the silveret standing there. He blushes, caught off guard.

"Oh, uhm, hey!" Sora says, looking up quickly. Riku doesn't reply, an amused smile still on his face and eyes sparkling. When Riku's statement catches up in his mind, Sora continues, "And what!? The lava game is for life! That's why people still use tile floors, duh."

Riku rolls his eyes, "Yeah, or the building has a low project budget. But alright, I like your silver lining."

Sora snickers, "That was punny… 'Cause you know… you have silver hair."

The silveret face-palms, groaning. Sora giggles, enjoying Riku's battle to resist laughing or smiling at his corny joke. "So where are we going?" the brunet asks, "I'm cold."

"I don't expect it'll be much of a surprise, but follow me," the silveret replies vaguely, standing upright. Sora notices that he too is wearing his bathing suit, navy blue trunks with a single white stripe on either side seam. Funnily enough, the silveret's shirt is black under his normal black hoodie, conveying just how much he cares about outfit harmony. He jerks his head to the side to indicate the direction of which he intends to go, and Sora's lines himself up to it, following the silveret by his side.

"We aren't going to get in trouble, are we?" Sora asks cheerfully, seemingly unworried about consequence but more curious of the nature of their upcoming activity.

Riku shrugs, smirking, "I guess it's a possibility." He looks over at the brunet, "What, worried?"

Sora laughs, "Of course not! I think we've done worse."

"Confident, are we? What if we are tipi-ing the administrator's cabins?"

Sora looks up at the stretched sky, finger on his chin in a classic symbol of contemplation. "I think stealing Miss Larxene's car was worse than that. And tipi-ing sounds like something that Axel would do."

Riku chuckles, "Ah, good point." He looks ahead again, continuing, "But yeah, you don't have anything to worry about, I promise."

The brunet nods though Riku doesn't see it. Sora is touched by the silveret's obvious consideration of the brunet's feelings. Used to 'going along with it', it is nice to have a little decisive power for once, though he is doubtful there is any need for it tonight. He considers how much Riku must have thought about him over the course of this camp to understand him so well now; he blushes, knowing that truthfully, he has taken the spotlight in many ways. It's hard to believe how much more Sora notices versus yesterday; has Riku always been this way? The brunet can say for certain that the silveret has always been considerate in his own subtle fashion. Maybe now Sora is more accustomed to it and therefore notices it more. Or is it that he reads more into it than he did before?

Sora is just grateful that even if he was ungrateful before, Riku has stuck around. Everything has been so much clearer since he faced the abhorrent rain. He firmly believes now more than ever that he was meant to come here, meant to endure all these things. As fate have it be, the two most impossible scenarios have happened to Sora over the past summer; he found freedom, and he found love. Even if nothing else comes out of either of those things, Sora will cherish these memories forever, the good and the bad. The only desire that Sora still clings to is that somehow, he will stay in contact with Riku after the camp ends; actually, he hopes that he can keep up with all of them— Axel, Roxas, Xion, Ventus, Christopher, Demyx, Namine… They are all his friends now. Just the fact that he can call them that makes him teary eyed, but he is quite tired of crying. Even so… quite frankly, Sora can't imagine his life without them in it.

When he smells the chlorine, Sora returns to reality. He can't say he is too shocked; after all, he can only think of a few things that they could do in bathing suits. Though what Riku intends to do at the pool is still a topic of intrigue. After all, Riku is fully aware that Sora can't swim to save his life… literally. His eye brows scrunch in puzzlement. As they pad through the grass to the textured concrete, Riku accelerates his pace and strips as he goes, shirt and jacket flying in an arch only to fall into a haphazard pile nearing the edge toward the grass. Sora watches in surprised amusement as Riku exhibits a moment of childishness as he cannon-balls in, silent except for the splash. Only in the back of his mind does Sora hope that it wasn't loud enough to alert anyone, for he is too thrilled, curious, and focused on Riku to consider any negative consequences that may result from their endeavors. The brunet gives into these feelings easily as they are nostalgic as well. How he misses when they would escape the cabins together when it was just them two. He's glad for the renaissance between them, savoring every moment.

When Riku emerges, his hair is slicked neatly back and the crescent moon's borrowed light gives his head a halo, a consequence of silver pigment. Sora smiles bashfully; if he were honest with himself, he would recognize that he'd been noting how damn beautiful Riku is this entire camp but for now he only allows himself to consciously enjoy this particular sight. He steps closer to the edge of the pool, sitting down with a plop.

"So, why are we here?" the brunet says jovially.

Riku wades over to the dry, content brunet whilst characteristically putting his hair back into a hair-tie. "What do you think we are doing, Sor? We're swimming."

Sora laughs at his ludicrous suggestion; it is true that he is no longer afraid of the water, but that doesn't magically grant him swimming powers. "You must be joking!" he says, shaking his head.

Riku raises his eyebrows, his mouth upturning into a devilish smile. "Oh, but I'm not. Come on; go in on the shallow side. I won't bite."

"I highly doubt that," Sora retorts. "You do recall that I can't swim right?"

"I am very, very aware. That's why you're coming in on the shallow end."

Sora sighs, pouting. Riku chuckles. "For me?" he asks, resting his elbows on Sora's knees and looking up into his face mischievously. "Trust me."

The brunet purses his lips into a thin line, trying to look annoyed. When Riku doesn't recant, Sora gives in muttering, "You know I do… Ugh fine." He rises to his feet and Riku wades over to the shallow end to wait for him on the steps.

Sora self-consciously strips his shirt (though he berates himself internally for it), throwing his addition to Riku's pile. Afterward, he joins Riku by the underwater staircase, taking a few steps into the water carefully. He glares playfully at the silveret who is watching him in amusement, aware that he probably looks ridiculous for being so cautious about a few stairs. But who can blame him?

"Just so you know, I'm not scared," Sora says indignantly, sticking his tongue out at him.

Riku chuckles, "I know. Though if you were I'd still make you do this."

"And here I thought I had a choice!" Sora replies, laughing. He sits next to Riku, the refreshingly cool water surrounding everything past his belly button. It sends a shiver across his skin due to his abruptness in embracing the water, but it would be more unpleasant to take it inch by inch. (Cough that's what she/he/they said.)

He looks over to Riku; he's gazing up at the night sky, a content expression on his features. "So…" he starts with a slight chill, "what exactly are we doing?"

Riku smirks, turning back to face the cherub. "Well I think it's about time you learn how to swim."

Instantly, Sora groans, not surprised in the slightest but not exactly happy about it either. "This is from my conversation with Roxas earlier, isn't it?"

Riku shrugs. "Nah, not really. I had thought of it before then, he just reminded me." The brunet looks skeptically back to him in response. Riku laughs, "It'll be fun, I promise."

Sora sighs. "We are going to be here all night then."

"I'm perfectly fine with that," Riku retorts, a soft grin on his face. The brunet finds himself blushing again, picking up on the implied compliment. Before Sora can come up with something clever to say, Riku stands again, walking to the four-feet-deep part of the pool. He beckons him over with a threatening splash. Sora giggles and nervously joins Riku, grateful that he is over five feet tall.

Attempting to be suave about his nervousness, Sora says, "This is going to be really embarrassing."

"Don't be," Riku says seriously, "It's just us." He says that as if it solves all the problems in the world; Sora admits to himself begrudgingly that it kind of does.

"Okay…" he says, glancing down into the pool water. "Well, what do you want me to do?"

Riku leads from there. He starts by having Sora float on his back (after establishing that the brunet could do that in the first place, of course), hold the side of the pool with his arms outstretched, and then kick his feet in the standard freestyle form. Once the brunet had that down, which didn't take long, Riku had him flip over and do it again, only focusing on turning his head to the side to breathe. It took a few tries for Sora to stay parallel to the water, but Riku was patient and Sora became more determined the more they did. After every little victory he became more convinced that he could actually do this. The beauty of the situation was that Riku didn't actually have to do any saving, allowing Sora to keep his dignity and hard-working attitude. If Sora messed up, he could simply stand and ta-da! All was well and they could try again.

Getting the upper-body concepts of swimming takes longer. Riku is unsure whether to teach him full on free-style or just the basic doggy-paddle. He personally had always found freestyle easier and more efficient, but the silveret knows that he has a tendency to go about things the hard way. So, he starts with doggy-paddle, swimming to give Sora an example. Exerting the energy sets on a slight headache, but he does his best to hide it; he can't let the brunet down now. Luckily, the brunet doesn't seem to notice, probably due to his concentration on swimming.

"You kick the same way as before, just wider and underwater. Your arms do the same thing." The silveret shows the brunet what he means. "Another way you can do it is with frog arms." He does a few strokes, resisting the urge to break into breast-stroke as to avoid confusion.

"How do you know all this?" Sora asks incredulously. Riku stands and shrugs casually.

"I was sick a lot as a kid so my doctor told me to join a swim club. It's a low-impact sport. As long as I kept warm after practice, it was a good way to exercise without getting hurt or sick."

"Oh…" Well that explains Riku's smooth muscularity. "Did you like swimming?"

Riku considers for a moment. "Yeah, I mean I was pretty young when I competed. I liked it 'cause my mom would come and cheer me on," he says, looking away as he admits his desire to please. Sora nods, understanding. After all, that's why he continually worked to get good grades in school; he'd always get approval from his foster parents. He guesses that by pleasing them, he hoped that he was making up for failing his biological parents in a way.

Not wanting to drag out Riku's slight emotional discomfort, Sora began attempting the doggy-paddle, putting in his best effort but just not getting anywhere. The silveret is properly drawn out of his thoughts and refocuses on Sora, a puzzled expression on his features.

After a few tries, Riku stops him. "I have another idea." He instructs Sora to float on his tummy and try again, only this time Riku essentially prevents Sora from sinking by holding him up. That works better, as it gave Sora more time to figure out the movements before he had to stand again. It was also less tiring. However, every time Sora did take a break to stand, the two were unnaturally close to each other. They kept meeting each other's gaze silently, staring at each other as if waiting. What they were waiting for, neither knew.

Riku breaks one of these still moments by clearing his throat. "Okay… try again, though I won't hold you up. Try to swim to the side of the pool. I'll follow you of course so don't worry."

Sora blushes, feeling caught though unsure why. "Gotcha," he says finally, turning determinedly. Finally, as he attempts again, Sora does actually make it to the side of the pool, though with struggle. Riku, noticing this of course, asks, "Well technically you know how to swim now. Do you want me to teach you freestyle though? It's easier than doggy-paddle."

Sora, unable to feel any real victory from mastering doggy-paddle, looks back, panting against the side of the pool wall. He walks back over to Riku. "Yeah, doggy-paddle doesn't seem like it'll be useful for anything but pools like this." The silveret nods in agreement. "You sure you're feeling up to it though?" Sora asks considerately. Riku inwardly sighs; nothing gets past him. Either Sora is near telepathic when it comes to the silveret, or Riku isn't very skilled at hiding his physical ache.

"Don't worry," Riku replies, placating, "I'm alright."

"I just don't want you to get sick," Sora says with a slight frown.

Riku chuckles, "I won't. Even if I do, it'd be worth it."

"Okay…" Sora says hesitantly. "But as soon as we are done you need to get dry and warm okay?"

The silveret lifts his hands in surrender, "Alright. But you need to learn freestyle first."

The brunet takes the challenge, "Deal."

Riku then explains the technique of freestyle. It's obvious that Sora likes the stroke more too; he picks up on a lot of the techniques easily. But, as usual, putting all of them together to create a coherent stroke is harder than it seems. Riku ends up having to hold Sora up as he tries swimming the stroke in place. Every time Sora stands, again, they have the same blank looks at each other. Riku's gaze seems to erase any thoughts the brunet had beforehand, and replaces them with ideas from the many dreams he's had concerning the silveret. The only reason he continues to try swimming again is the pure determination he has to master it. How amazing would that be, to go home and be able to swim, much to the shock of his family and friends? That would be a more obvious change than his fearlessness in the rain, considering it rains rather sparingly where he's from. Though Sora hadn't realized how much he wanted this before, now the desire is so strong it's just enough to pull his attention away from the gorgeous silveret helping him.

"I think I got it," Sora says after a few more tries. Riku smiles, "Alright. Try to swim to the pool's edge and then back to me." The brunet nods, smiling confidently. He supposes that he should be tired considering how late—early?— it is, but if anything it makes his brain more sensitive to the stimulus, creating a high alert state.

He takes off, at first struggling to find that precarious balance in the ever flowing water. He thinks about the form Riku talked about and he begins to kick and stretch out his arms. At first his form is somewhere between the two ways of swimming he has learned, but after a few strokes he fills out the rest of freestyle and reaches the wall. "Not bad," Riku calls to him, smiling and impressed. Sora smiles back. "It'll be better on the way back!" the brunet challenges.

"Let's see it then!" Riku says, smirking. Sora takes off again, endeared by the challenge. The push off the wall allows Sora to naturally fall into the freestyle form and he swims confidently and successfully to the silveret. Because of his lack of goggles, Sora can't tell if he is going perfectly straight, but Riku stops him before he hits the wall.

He stands in front of Riku after being given a light tap on the head. They are less than six inches away from each other, but the brunet hardly notices. He did it! He can swim! Riku is smiling widely as well (by his standard anyway), proud of Sora's accomplishment. "Alright!" Sora cries elatedly. Their eyes are locked together again, but the previously still tension is vibrating from the happiness reverberating between them. Sora can't take it. Before he even realizes what he's doing, he reaches for the silveret and pulls him close, kissing him directly on the mouth shamelessly.

Perhaps wrapped up into the success of the moment as well, Riku kisses back almost immediately. Sora is filled with a soaring happiness that he can hardly contain; he grips Riku's hair ever so slightly. The kiss is simply lip on lip, still and soft, but perhaps more precious than any other. This isn't experimentation. This is raw, sincere emotion. Sora can hardly dare to call it love, but what else is could it be? Mere attraction doesn't demand an innocent kiss. Friendship doesn't warrant a kiss at all.

When they pull away, Sora's face is in a flush. Unwilling to show it, Sora hides his face into Riku's collar bone and hugs the silveret. "You're amazing," the brunet mutters, almost hoping the silveret doesn't hear him.

Riku returns the embrace, kissing the top of Sora's ear lightly. Instantly, his blush worsens and a shiver goes down his spine. The brunet is delighted to feel his companion's heart beat, fast and feather light. It explains Riku's silence; he is probably too happy to say anything at all.

When they pull away, Sora's cheeks are still pink but he supposes he could always blame it on the exercise. Sora scratches the back of his neck bashfully. "I guess I owe you one," he says, "thanks again."

"Don't mention it," Riku says, "You were the one who did it, I just guided."

Sora shrugs, smiling. "Well you were a great teacher."

His silver eyebrows lift up and a smirk fits his lips. "Are we still talking about swimming?" he asks teasingly.

Sora exclaims, "Of course!" in reply, resisting to acknowledge Riku's implied double-meaning. Suddenly, Riku sneezes again, swaying slightly. "Riku, are you okay?" Sora continues, already concerned.

"Yeah," the silveret replies quickly, obviously lying, "After I sleep I should be fine."

Sora looks back at him doubtfully. "Well let's at least get out of the water. It's not good to be cold if you're not feeling well."

"Okay, mom," Riku says jokingly, though suddenly too woozy to argue.

After abandoning the pool they shower off and manage to sneak in and out of their cabins to get dry clothes. Riku looks a little more comfortable afterward, but it's not just the night that is making him pale. Sora looks to his silveret with concern as they sit on the steps of the cabin. He puts a hand to his forehead. "You're warm," he says frowning.

"Ah yeah…. Whoops."

"If you knew you were getting sick why—" Sora is unable to finish his question due to the fact that he is answered just from the look the silveret sends him. The cherub smiles knowingly. "You're ridiculous," Sora says, taking advantage of the rare opportunity to tease the silveret.

"It's your fault," he says, no trace of blame or malice in his voce.

Sora laughs, "I'll take responsibility then, if you forgive me." Riku rolls his eyes and nods.

"We should probably go inside though," Sora says solemnly, "you need sleep."

Riku sighs, "Yeah I know." Neither of them moves. They don't want to facilitate the upcoming goodbye, not just the one designated for tonight, but for their farewell tomorrow as well.

"Oh," Sora says, remembering something important, "you need to give me your number."

"Ah, yeah… Mm, I don't have the number memorized. I'll give it to you for sure tomorrow," Riku replies, patting his person for his phone and a pen; however, both are missing.

"Alright," Sora says happily, "Just don't forget."

"I won't," Riku states matter-of-factly, "You need to give me yours too, dork."

"Of course!" With that, Riku slowly begins to stand, comforted by their promise.

"I probably should go lay down," the silveret finally admits. "So I can get out of bed for tomorrow."

"Sounds like a good plan," replies Sora, a little disappointed but completely understanding. The brunet stands too, preparing to say goodnight.

"One more thing then," the silveret says softly. "What?" Sora asks, clueless. Riku swoops in and captures a quick, teasing kiss. Before Sora can properly kiss back, Riku is already pulling away. "Because I won't be able to do that tomorrow," he explains. Sora nods, a little bewildered but happy nonetheless. They don't ask each other what these kisses mean; they don't bother to ask what they "are". They are content to know that they are on the same page. Somehow, avoiding to acknowledge their flirtation with romance makes it that much more sacred, more natural.

They slowly walk to the end of the cabins, hesitant. "Well…" Sora begins, "I really hope you feel better tomorrow." He also wishes that he could be the one to take care of him too, but he keeps that to himself.

"Me too. I really don't want to be sick on the way home," the silveret says distastefully.

"You aren't driving, right?"

"Nah, my mom won't let me even touch the steering wheel of her car," the silveret replies with a hint of amusement and bitterness. Despite himself, the silveret yawns and Sora smiles, yawning too out of sympathy.

"I'll… see you tomorrow?" the brunet continues, looking bashful. Riku nods, "As long as I have a say in it." He smiles, "Goodnight, Sora."

"Goodnight, Riku, and good luck," Sora replies, opening the cabin door quietly. He hears a slight squeak as Riku does the same and they turn to smile at each other one more time before disappearing behind their separate doors.


A/N: Why hello there again! :D It's ironic that I'm saying this but I CAN'T BELIEVE THAT THEY ONLY HAVE A DAY LEFT. I think I'm going to cry. Urgh. Sentimentality. I've spent over a year on this story. What. I don't even. (Very professional Hannah...).

So, like I said last chapter, this was originally part of chapter 17. I think of them as one unit, but I think they also work well by themselves, I mean... Sora had a major change in both chapters! Though its weird that chapter 17 only had one scene... That never happens lol. Anyway. Tell me what you think, I need people to discuss these things with.

I should be updating soon because me and my high school's creative writing club has started NaNoWriMo early :) I'm trying to write, or at least work on Miracles in some form, every day. Please look forward to it! :D

All that being said, see you soon, and happy fanficcing!

Hannahble *heart*