Yes, yes, I know. Before you tell me, I'm not very good at mushy crap like this. Also, who else thinks I'm on a roll here? Anyone... anyone at all... No one? Okay.

Now, this is not the end, my friends! I repeat: Not the end! There is still come crap that is gonig to happen. Hahahahahaha! I don't know what it is, but I like this story... kind of... and wanted to keep it going.

Oh, and a MASSIVE thanks to Keuraki-SoraXRiku to commenting to like, everything! Thanks, lovely!

Oh yeah, you know the jitz. I don't own Kingdom Hearts, I wish I did, blah, blah, blah. Oh yeah, anyone know some good CloudxSora fics? I WANT THEM! Thanks, guys! xx

After that, Sora seemed thoughtful. Riku was still smirking about Sora's aftershock to him clinging to the silverette like a child, but Sora was determined to forget that part. He had been in Riku's arms. For those few minutes, he was satisfied. But, in a way, it was worse, because now he knew what he was missing out on.

Riku's body was warm, and it smelt of some sweet candy that Sora had never thought of trying, but was now dying to taste. Just as Sora had hope the previous week, Sora and Riku fit together perfectly. But he truly, honestly, hadn't meant to attack Riku like that.

This is what had happened when Sora sobered up enough to realise what he was doing, and who his audience was:

"Riku." Sora heard a sigh of contentment, and realised that Kairi was standing behind him, taking in the moment. "Ah, u-um. Riku!" he cried, jumping back, his arms going in the air. He brought one arm behind his neck, cupping it in his hand. "Heh. So, um, how are you going? Nice morning, isn't it?"

Axel chuckled. "Sora, it's three-thirty. And so far, I'm sure his morning has been great."

Sora blushed. He felt so stupid. Why had he just done that? Sure, he had felt so, so sad, but honestly? Then he smiled, and he knew nothing anyone said, not even Axel, could break his spirits now. Riku hadn't pushed him away. Instead, he had stroked his hair in a way that had made Sora want to purr.

Riku, on the other hand, chuckled. "C'mon. I want ice-cream."And so it was then, when they arrived, that Sora and Riku were left alone on the beach, waiting in an awkward silence until Kairi and Selphie returned with ice-creams and refreshments.

Of course, Axel and Roxas were there with them, but Roxas was being squished into the sand, Axel on top of him, and their faces were occupied with, ah, something/somebody else.

"So..." said Riku. Then he sighed. It wasn't good enough. It just wasn't. Then he looked over at Sora, who was still smiling happily. He wasn't unaware of the atmosphere, Riku could tell, but still, he was happy.

Riku had always been sort of jealous and yet intrigued as to how Sora could flaunt his emotions so easily. Riku was sitting there, looking bored, while Sora was gazing dreamily out to the ocean. But Sora knew Riku well enough to know that Riku wasn't truly as bored as he seemed.

Actually, he was quite entertained. Sora's shirtless body had wet sand clinging to it, and his hair was maybe still a little bit wet. Sora had shaken his head madly as he raced out of the ocean, along with Roxas, and in their competition to see who could dry their hair the quickest, they had somehow managed to get untameable hair.

But Riku thought Sora suited the untamed look. He wished he had brought his sketch book, because that was something that he would not be satisfied with just keeping pictured in heart for years to come. He wanted a camera, a pencil and paper, anything.

Then Sora turned his attention toward Riku, and the light that emitted off him had Riku feeling like a hopeless fan girl. "What's up, Riku?" he asked, and his voice reminded Riku of those new cherries that were selling extremely well at the Sunday markets.

Riku looked away; resisting the urge to put a hand to his eyes to shield them from the bright beam Sora was projecting the world. "N-nothing."

Sora laughed, and Riku's ears begged for more of the sound. "You stuttered," he stated happily. "Something must really be up."

Riku cringed visibly, but thank God his head was hiding in his arms, which were resting on his knees. Everything about Sora was so tempting. It was as if Sora knew how Riku felt about him. If they hadn't been at a public beach... If they had been hanging in Riku's room, or the Secret Place...

Riku found himself grateful that so many people had decided to tag along with them on this small outing.

Sora sighed, and the sound was so different from his previous attitude that Riku lifted his head form its resting place. "Riku, I have something I wanna say."

Riku looked at Sora more closely, mystified. But Sora had shut everything off, and his posture was relatively normal. Damn, Sora! Why do you have to be so secretive now! Why can't I read you...?

"But, ah, I'm only saying this once, okay?"

Riku nodded, even more puzzled than before. What was Sora going to say? Suddenly the suspense caught up with Riku, and he found it hard to breathe.

Sora looked away, but his voice stayed the same volume. Loud enough for Riku to hear, but unless Axel or Roxas came and actually sat face to face with either of the boys, they wouldn't be able to hear by a long shot. "I..." he said, but it seemed to be hard to get out.

Sora took a deep breath and tried again. "I... I-I..."

Riku felt a bit of understanding. Was Sora trying to...

"There was a reason, naturally. As there always is. And I'm guessing it was because they had something they wanted to say, but they couldn't express it any other way. They had to say it best they could, and wait in hope until their opinion was either heard, or they were punished."

Riku sat up straight. No. He couldn't be. That would just be... weird, right? For two best friends – best guy friends - to like each other in such a way.

Sora looked up at Riku, grinning. "I can see Kairi and Selphie coming back."

Riku looked down at Sora, fighting the power of those big, blue eyes. "Yep," he scoffed. "So you'll tell me later what it was, right?"

Sora looked at Riku, puzzled. "What'd you mean?" he asked, standing to go walk over to the girls, who were bearing various ice-based products. "That's what I wanted to say."

Riku nearly fell for it, but then he remembered the atmosphere, and how much emotion was put into that one, stuttered word, and he was immune to Sora's big eyes.

Not forever, of course, just for then. In fact, in around five minutes, he would probably be pushed into something else, simply because Sora asked him, and Riku would find himself not even able to refuse.

When Roxas came and sat next to Sora, the brunette worried. Would he get in trouble? Would he be scolded? Then he blushed, because for a fifteen year old boy, that didn't sound too mature.

But Roxas and he had just never left that facade. Roxas was the bully of a big brother, whom usually, when no one else was watching, was kind and caring. And Sora was the cry baby, whom was nicer than Roxas, but also more vulnerable.

But Roxas just sat in silence, and every moment Sora's pulse quickened. Until finally, he couldn't take it anymore. "Roxas," he said quietly, jumping when his brother turned to look at him. His face wasn't angry. It wasn't even scary. It was just... sad. Sora gulped. "What's wrong?"

Roxas pursed his lips. "I just feel sorry for Riku."

Sora didn't react in any way, and he hoped this was one of those amazing times when Roxas wouldn't be able to see through him. "Why?' he asked, allowing just the right amount of curiosity and worry to leak into the sentence.

Roxas look back out to the ocean. "Because he's upset, but, for some reason, he won't tell any of us."

Sora looked over at Riku. He was laughing as he struggled to keep Kairi's camera straight – him being the volunteer to take pictures of Kairi and Selphie in various cliché poses.

"He doesn't look sad," said Sora, and he wondered where Roxas was going with this. "So," he continued, wanting to change the subject. Any mention of Riku being sad tightened Sora's chest. "What do you think is wrong with him?"

Roxas looked back at Sora. "You haven't spent much time with him lately," he hinted, but it wasn't the answer to Sora's question. It was just, in itself, a hint.

Sora blanched, feeling his throat go dry. "W-what does this have to do with Riku and him b-being upset?"

Roxas just stood, giving Sora a meaningful look, before returning to Axel, whose arms, in a figure of speech, were open wide.

Sora bit his lip, looking out to the ocean. He spread his legs out; his toes touching the sand, and fell back onto the blanket. He wiggled his toes, letting the warm, dry sand relax him, until he was almost sleepy.

Kairi giggled. "Hey," she said, nudging Selphie. "Look at Sora."

Riku sighed as they both stared in wonder at the brunette behind his back. It was hopelessly obvious what they were doing. Regardless of this knowledge, he turned, wondering what could be so important.

He bit back a gasp. Sora was lying on a blanket, his eyes shut and his hands over his stomach self-consciously. Unlike Riku, he hadn't developed full stomach muscles yet, but they were forming, and starting to seem almost obvious in the tanned skin that Riku found himself craving for so much.

Kairi giggled, and then pushed Riku forward, causing him to stumble. "Go over there, Riku! Tell him something! Anything!"

Riku swore quietly. "Kairi," he said. "One day you will die."

Both girls just giggled as Riku made his way over to the dozing Sora. When he got to Sora, he suddenly remembered a current theory that he planned on testing. Did Sora really... like Riku in that way?

"Hey, Sora." Riku tapped Sora's hip with his foot, and the brunette, gasped, his eyes flying open.

"Huh? Where am I?" He looked up at Riku. "Oh, hey. It's just you."

Riku inwardly winced. Not such a great start to my theory. "Wake up," was Riku's reply, but he voice was dead. "I'm bored."

Sora sat up, still groggy. He rubbed his eye, his bottom lip sticking out. Riku's heart swelled slightly. Sora seemed to mesmerise Riku no matter what he did. If he was happy, he shone. If he was upset, Riku wanted to comfort him. If he was angry, Riku felt intrigued. If he was sleepy, Riku wanted to pick him up and devour him right then and there.

Sora was so cute. He looked up at Riku, his eye still rubbing the last traces of sleep away, and grinned. It took Riku every ounce of his emotionless control to not grab his heart a twirl around in the sand. Right then, he was probably more in love than he had ever been before.

But Sora, as usual, remained oblivious. "Sit down then! Let's talk!" Sora's voice was high pitched, and he cleared his throat. "Why's my voice doing that?" he asked, but it had returned to normal. He smiled, satisfied. He got into a comfortable position, legs spread out and hands outstretched behind him to support his weight.

Riku sat down beside him, returning to his usual tucked up in a ball position. "So..." Riku couldn't think of anything to say. He wanted nothing more than to blurt out, "Sora, please be my boyfriend! I love you!" but poor little Sora may never de-traumatise from the shock.

Riku heard Kairi giggling behind him, and winced. "This isn't going to be good."

Sora shrugged. "So won't do anything that ba-umph!"

Kairi and Selphie laughed hysterically, and Axel chuckled too. Riku couldn't hear Roxas laughing, but he probably was. Kairi had a hand on both Sora and Riku's head, and had pushed their faces together.

Then reality settled in. The first kiss. Okay, it wasn't anything special, and Kairi really would die later, but for that moment, he was fighting his eyelids – just like he did when he wanted to finish a sketch and he had school in the morning.

So Riku jut let himself imagine. He imagined that he pushed Kairi away, and leaned forward, pressing Sora into the sand like Axel had done to Roxas before. Then he would move his lips slowly, speeding up as he went along, tasting all the tastes he could now.

So he couldn't help it when his lips moved, even just twitched, in their own reaction to his thoughts. Sora gasped and sat back, spluttering, while Riku just sat there, frozen, stunned.

Even Kairi was speechless. Selphie was frozen mid-laugh, her leg in the air and her arm wrapped around her stomach. Axel's eyes were wide, but he was smirking. Roxas was looking at Sora worriedly.

"Riku deepened the kiss..." was the whisper that left Kairi's lips, and Sora sat up, his eyes flashing.

"No, he did not! He was probably moving his lips to tell you to fuck off!" Sora turned, extremely pissed, and ran towards the Secret Place. Kairi looked after him, mouth wide, and Selphie actually toppled over.

Axel and Roxas, on the other hand, looked at each other, grinning. "Finally! Sora gets angry at somebody!" Axel boomed, and they both started laughing hysterically.

"Sora... swore... at... Kairi!" Roxas choked, rolling around. Riku and Kairi both turned around at the same time, hissing. "Shut up!" they growled at the same time, and Riku stood up.

He sighed, running a hand through his damp hair. "I guess I'll go fix it then."

He stood so quickly that by the time he was up, he was off. Sprinting off down the beach, the sand exploding around his feet. Kairi smiled. "I don't know what just happened, but I'm glad that they will work it out."

Roxas stood, slowly, and made his advance towards Kairi. A dark energy seemed to pulse from him, and Kairi yelped, sensing it. She turned around, almost shaking in fear. "R-Roxas?"

"You..." he hissed, pointing an accusing finger at the trembling red head. "You stole Sora's first kiss."

Kairi took a step back. "N-no I didn't!" Then Roxas started running towards her, almost as pissed as Sora, and Kairi screamed, and they began a game of 'How long will Kairi survive?'

"Riku did it! Not me!"

"Like hell! He would never be that harsh! Poor fucking Sora!"

Sora was still breathing heavily as he slumped against the stone wall of the Secret Place. He wasn't sure if it was because he was tried out, annoyed, or because Riku and him had kissed.

Although... Surely Riku hadn't deepened the kiss. No, that would just be stupid. Riku would never do that. He probably liked someone like Selphie or something.

Sora winced. Okay, maybe not Selphie. Then he raised a hand to his lips, his fingers lightly skimming over them. His eyes looked down in wonder, and he realised that his mouth tasted different. Maybe that happened sometimes. And Riku's lips had been so soft...

"Yeah, first kisses will do that to you."

Sora jumped, coming back to the real world. Then he laughed awkwardly. "Y-yeah. My mouth feels weird now."

Riku went to sit next to Sora, and the brunette felt an urge to kiss the older boy, so strong that he had to close his eyes and look away to stop himself from acting upon it.

So, instead, he tried to distract the both of them. "Hey, about what Kairi said... don't worry about it."

Riku suddenly twitched, and Sora looked at him. That would have to be the first time he had seen Riku uneasy.

"What's wrong, Riku?" he asked, and something in his heart tweaked. Had it really been that bad for Riku? Sora felt ashamed. There he was, marvelling at how great everything had been, how he was up in the clouds, while Riku had been stomaching disgust and anger towards both him and Kairi.

Riku took a deep breath, and Sora knew it was important, whatever the silverette was going to say, and so he sat up straight. But then worries started filling his mind. Is he going to tell me that we can't be friends? That he could accept before that I liked him, but now it had just gone to far? Sora swallowed. No. Riku wouldn't say that... Right?

"Sora, I uh, I..." Riku shuffled his position, making it so he body was curled up, but he was facing Sora. Sora saw that there were tears in Riku's eyes, and braced himself for something bad. "Sora... I love you."

Sora froze. "C-come again?"

Riku looked down. "I'm not saying it again," he muttered, and Sora smiled because a bit of Riku's normal attitude had leaked back into that statement.

Sora scoffed. "Fine then. Be defiant."

Riku looked up. "I love you," he admitted, and his voice was stronger this time. Sora looked down at him (A/N – OMG Sora is finally able to look down at Riku in one point of the story! Yes! Go, go, Sora! Anyways... continue) and there were no words to describe how he felt.

But he was in shock still, and he knew that when that shock disappeared, he would feel all those feelings magnified, and ten times stronger.

"You have so much courage," Sora said, admiring how brave the older boy was. "I wanted to tell you, but I couldn't get it out."

Riku looked up. "So you were trying to confess before!"

Sora's eyes widened. "So, wait... you knew?"

Riku shrugged. "I kinda had got the feeling a few minutes later."

Sora knew he should reply, but he didn't want to speak. He wanted to gaze at Riku's eyes, trace the patterns of his skin with his eyes, marvel at how those soft lips had touched his, and then, finally, he wanted them to touch his lips again.

Riku slowly lifted a hand.

"What are you doing?" asked Sora, but Riku silenced him with a look. Then Riku's hand, eventually, came to rest on Sora's cheek. Sora's breath was limited at that point, but when a pale thumb caressed his cheekbone, his lungs shut off for good.

Riku was taking too much time. Like he always did in massive situations. He was worrying about the trivials, the details, and not focusing on the big picture here. Sora, on the other hand, liked to take things head on, and so he did. (A/N: again - Oh, c'mon! No one will pick it up if I don't point it out! Get it! 'Head on.' As in, they're kissing... Head... on? Yeah, I'm probably the only one who actually finds that funny.)

He leaned forward and pressed his lips hard on Riku's, his eyes shut tight. Riku chuckled, and his hot breath went all over Sora's face. He went to lean back again, but Riku kept him there.

"We're not done yet," Riku whispered hoarsely into Sora's mouth, and the not-so-innocent brunette held back a moan. He let go of the lead – Riku could do whatever he wanted now.

So Riku opened his mouth a bit wider, and then they progressed.

While both boys were, um, lusting after one another, they both knew that this kiss, the one they took as their actual first kiss, was filled with a love running so deep, that they were surprised they hadn't seen it to begin with.

Just the one kiss. It didn't last very long, but it signified that their love for each other would.

"Sora," Riku choked out, having extreme difficulty. "Be my boyfriend?"