Stranger Than Fiction
Chapter Seventeen:
Let Me Comfort You
Author's Note:
I actually did create little Riku/Sora kittens (Yup, I'm twisted). They are so so so so so so so CUTE! Much better than the runts that some of my other catz created… shudders
Once you've read this, please read 'Beautiful', my one shot. It's not especially brilliant or anything, but it is a one shot about what could have happened. But, in fact, doesn't. Please R&R…
(I apologise for the way the last chapter was… The little boxes were meant to be '…' or ' ß - that symbol… However, the new editor system completely destroys this. It also removes all my separators… In short, I hate it… It's wrecked one of the most crucial chapters in my fiction… Grrr… And I spent about 3 hours editing it to change all the punctuation back to normal, then it didn't damn work… Rawr!!!)
From now on page breaks are represented by '666' and hopefully that will work… glares at updater people… probably gnomes… CHANGE IT BACK cries
Merry Christmas to all my reviewers!!! Think of this as an early Xmas pressie. There will be no more updates until the New Year. Sand In My Shoes (see my bio), the first chapter, will probably be uploaded in the mean time. Anyone who wants to beta SIMS please send me an e-mail with SIMS as the title. Thank you.
Disclaimer:
I don't own Kingdom Hearts nor any of the characters.
666Cloud was shaken awake by his mother, who wasn't dressed for work yet. She looked worse for wear, and was wearing a simple white night-gown. The blonde tried to go back to sleep, but he felt a none-too light slap on his head.
"Don't you dare go back to sleep!" She snapped. Cloud looked at the clock. 8:45pm… Am I supposed to be somewhere?
…
"School!" Cloud sat up, running around to get dressed. His mother chuckled.
"It's okay, you're not going," She said quietly. Cloud raised his eyebrows, it was unlike his mother to let him skive off school. What was with her this morning?
"Why not?" Cloud demanded. She sighed.
"You're going to Leon's house to make sure he's not alone," She replied, her voice so soft he could barely hear it.
"Why isn't he at school?" Cloud asked. Eva leaned against the wall. Cloud had never seen her look so old. He realised that there was grey streaking her hair now, and there were wrinkles around her eyes. He had never noticed that before…
"Cloud… Yesterday, their mom, Amy, was taken into hospital. They've given her until the end of April, max, to live. Leon called to update me on her condition. He says he forced Riku to go to school, 'to find Sora' he said. He's in that house all alone and I don't like it. So I want you to be there," Eva explained. Cloud felt his heart weigh down.
Just what do you say to someone who just found out their mother was dying?
"I don't want to end upset him further… Just what do you expect me to say? 'Oh Leon, sorry your mom's dying, do you wanna hang out for a bit'?" Cloud laughed, it sounded so stupid. What was his mom thinking? If Leon had sent his own brother away, was it likely he wanted to see Cloud?
"You're going, that's the end of it," Eva said, but there was no venom in her voice. Cloud was sure if he'd pushed it, he'd have got out of it, but secretly, he wanted to see Leon…
Perhaps he would be able to offer comfort that no one else could?
666Riku walked through the door of the classroom to see everyone looking at him. Yes, he knew his eyes were red, he knew he looked like death warmed up, he knew that his hair was lankly hanging around his face and that he looked tired. He knew that the spark had gone from his eyes. He wished they'd stop pointing it out to him…
But he still managed a smile when he saw Sora. The brunet was grinned at him insanely. In fact, the brunet was jumping up to greet him, running forward to embrace his best friend.
Riku withdrew from the classroom, and Sora followed as expected. Sora blinked up at him for a second, and his grin disappeared.
"What's the matter?" He asked. Riku felt the tears begin to fall once more, and even though Sora was obviously bursting with news, Riku was the first to start speaking.
"My mom's dying Sora… She's only two months…" He couldn't continue, but instead, just fell into Sora's embrace, hoping that the brunet would always catch him that way.
666Cloud ran his hands through his messy hair. He watched his mother's car disappear down the road. He could just make a run for it but…
He sighed, ringing the doorbell. There was no answer. Cloud considered leaving then, but he rang the doorbell again. This time there was a stirring behind the door and he heard the sound of a bolt being slid across and the sound of a lock being opened.
The door opened to reveal Leon, dressed in jeans and a T-shirt with 'Jackass' written on it and the official 'Jackass' symbol on it. His hair had been left down, Cloud noticed it had grown quite a bit, and was now down to below his shoulder blades, it was messy however, and obviously was unbrushed.
"Ah, Cloud, I wasn't expecting visitors… Say, shouldn't you be in school?" Leon asked. Cloud waited on the door step, hands in jeans pockets, label on his 'HIM' T-shirt beginning to irritate him, and light drizzle beginning to soak him.
"Yeah, but… well…" Cloud looked at the ground. How to say what he wanted to…?
"I'm here for you… Just here to comfort you…" Cloud tried to smile, but it was too much. Leon's eyes looked Cloud up and down, then he stepped aside, allowing Cloud into the house.
Once inside, Cloud removed his shoes, before following Leon up to his room. This time it wasn't too messy, in fact it was pretty reasonable even by Cloud's standards.
"I tidied it up last night to take my mind off things…" Leon explained, noting Cloud's approving gaze. Smiling, Cloud sat down on Leon's bed. He wasn't sure whether he was supposed to get Leon to talk or try to take his mind off it…
"Cloud? Thank you for coming by… I know you probably don't know what to say, but just the fact that you're here is enough…" Leon smiled, then gestured to his PlayStation.
"You want a game?" He asked. Cloud nodded, sitting down on the floor and picking up the controller. He noted that Leon sat very close to him, then scolded himself for thinking about making moves on someone who was practically grieving.
"I'm always Lee, there's no way you're taking him!" Cloud squealed, as Leon tried to select Lee as his playable character in Tekken.
"Sorry, how about being Hwoarang?" Leon asked apologetically. Well, Cloud wasn't quite as good at it as Sora, but he'd learned quite a lot from the boy during their long friendship, and he knew that puppy dog eyes and pouts did work for guys.
"Aw, c'mon that's cheating!" Leon protested. Cloud blinked at him innocently a few times, and Leon sighed, unselecting his character and selecting Kazuya instead.
"You know, I always wondered about the sexuality of Kazuya… I always thought that he and Lee looked better together…" Cloud commented. Leon raised his eyebrows causing the blonde to chuckle.
"What?" He asked, still chuckling. Leon shook his head and waited for the fight to begin…
666"It's not your fault Riku… C'mon, stop crying… Please?" Sora pleaded. This hadn't gone the way he'd hoped. He had been planning on telling Riku he liked him today, but now… Suddenly his stupid hormones didn't matter…
"I'm sorry…" Riku sniffled.
"Huh?" Sora looked down into the aquamarine ocean of Riku's eyes.
"I'm sorry that I'm so weak…" Riku whispered. Sora's eyes widened. What the? Weak? He's the strongest person I know!
"Weak? Riku, you are far from weak! Everyone would cry if they'd known that their mom was gonna die! You aren't weak, you hear?" Sora asked. Riku nodded, sitting up.
They were outside, on a little patch of grass underneath a tree. Sora was cradling Riku in his lap. Sora had informed their teacher of what was happening, and they had been excused from classes.
"I wish I was strong, like you Sora…" Riku whispered hoarsely. Sora stiffened. Strong like me? I'm not strong… If I was then I'd finally report our father to the police and get Selphie out of there… But I'm not, I'm scared…
"I'm not strong. I run from my problems instead of facing them. They end up hurting more in the long run but I never have the courage to face them head on… I guess that's why I never really get over things…" Sora mused. Riku chuckled.
"Whatever you say, Sora," He replied. Smirking, Sora brushed some of Riku's hair out of his eyes. He opened his mouth, hoping to tell Riku how much he cared, but the words wouldn't come.
I've spent so much time running, I can't face him. I don't have the courage…
"Don't worry too much, enjoy what time you have…" Sora said finally. That hadn't been what he had wanted to say, he was sure that Riku knew that too, but he was glad that the subject wasn't pressed.
"I wonder where Cloud is?" Riku suddenly asked. Sora smirked.
"His mom let him have the day off to make out with your brother. I didn't realise why at the time, then it hit me, Leon must be going through hell too. Cloud's mom must have suspected that Leon was going to shut himself away and sent Cloud round so he wouldn't brood too much…" Sora waffled, glad to talk about something, anything. Riku stood up, dusting himself off.
He already looked slightly better, as though he had a huge burden lifted off him.
"Thank you Sora. You're the best friend I could ever have…"
Friend…
666Cloud sighed. He was getting a little bored. Sure, Leon and him were pretty equal, but that meant that the battles lasted a little too long and Cloud's thumbs were hurting like hell.
"You hungry?" Leon asked. Cloud shook his head, climbing onto Leon's bed. He briefly remembered the last time he had been on Leon's bed, and blushed. He wouldn't mind doing that right now…
"Get comfortable," Leon remarked as Cloud made a little nest of pillows and quilts. The blonde stuck his tongue out and closed his eyes, leaning back into the quilts. It was so warm and comfy, and it all smelt like Leon…
Flash
"Huh?" Cloud blinked, looking at Leon, who had a digital camera. "Hey!" He protested as Leon put the camera down on the desk.
"I hope you're not planning to use that as blackmail material… I'm not very photogenic…" Cloud muttered. Leon made a sound that sounded rather like a snort.
"You're kidding me. Cloud, you could be a model you're so…" Leon cleared his throat, sitting down on the bed.
"So?" Cloud prompted. Go on, say it… Say whatever it is you've started!
"So beautiful…" Leon finished his sentence hesitantly. Cloud looked at him, his large blue eyes shining. Beautiful? I could get used to being called that once in a while…
"Eh? Beautiful? First time I've been called that…" Go on, compliment me further, heh heh heh…
"Stop fishing," Leon warned. Cloud grinned guiltily and moved from his nest. He hesitantly reached out. He was surprised when Leon turned into his embrace. He heard the slightly startled gasp as the brunet realised that Cloud's arms were wrapped around his waist, then with a thrill, he felt Leon's arms wrap around him in return.
"You really are beautiful you know…" Leon whispered into the blonde's hair. There was silence for a while.
"I missed you…" Cloud said finally. "I felt like I was dead. I couldn't feel anything… Sora snapped me out of it… When he came to be so upset I realised what a jerk I was being and went to you to apologise…"
"It wasn't your place to…" Leon said. Cloud could tell that the brunet was actually quite touched by the fact his voice had broken slightly. Cloud pulled out of the embrace but the closeness was still there.
A thousand unspoken confessions passed between the two in silence, until eventually Cloud couldn't bear it anymore. He had to say it, aloud, so there could be no doubt in his mind.
"I love you," He whispered. Leon's eyes widened, and the storm grey depths echoed a great joy. A smile passed across his features, and Cloud imprinted this moment to his memory. Leon's smiles were so few, that each one was a gem…
"That was terribly cliché of you Cloud," Leon commented. Cloud smiled, feeling Leon's arms wrap around him more securely.
"I know, but you can't say that those three words aren't the best words you could have heard today," He joked. He felt Leon's cheek pressed against his neck and Cloud began to gently stroke Leon's long hair.
"I guess it's my turn…" Leon said sheepishly, pulling away and taking Cloud's hands. Cloud held his breath without meaning to.
"This is harder than I thought it would be…" Leon chuckled, and Cloud noticed his palms were sweaty.
"Don't say it if you don't want to. I don't mind, I know that you care at least…" Cloud whispered. Don't say it if you don't mean it. Don't break me that way… Please…
"I do want to, I'm just trying to avoid that damn cliché! Let's see… This is slightly weird but… if I were to say to you that… I… What the fuck, I can't avoid the bloody cliché!" Leon erupted. Cloud chuckled, hardly romantic, but it was… right somehow…
"I love you," Leon, no, Squall, replied in a softer voice. Cloud felt his eyes fill with tears, and he immediately pounced.
He felt Squall struggle for balance, but soon they were lost in the nirvana of the other's kiss. If Heaven has a name, it's Squall…
He felt Squall's hands roam over his body, caressing the muscles that Cloud was so proud of. He himself barely knew what his hands were doing, his head was so filled with fluff at that moment, he had a sneaking suspicion that they were somewhere along the waistband of Squall's pants.
"I love you," He heard Squall murmuring over and over. To say he was so reluctant to say it earlier, he's doting on you now…
Cloud became aware that somehow, their hips had crushed together, in all the passion, all the sweet nothings being whispered in his ear, all the excitement, Cloud didn't notice someone stood at the door.
666Squall pulled away, breathless. He saw Cloud's half-lidded, swollen-lipped face and knew the blonde had been just as caught up in it as he had been. However, he was keen to prove to Cloud he wasn't just after the sex, therefore, no sex on the first… er… whatever it was…
"Sorry to interrupt, boys, but I was wondering if you'd bother to eat anything? Although to be honest, I think you've been eating each other enough to last you until next week," Eva said calmly. He heard Cloud squeak and look up at his mom, hiding behind Squall a little.
"Oh for God's sake Cloud! Why the hell do you think I sent you round here? So you two would finally get on with it and get rid of all those angsty teen hormones so Leon's mind is put to rest on at least one of his worries," Eva scolded playfully. Squall smirked, wrapping his arm around the blonde possessively.
"Are you hungry?" Squall asked. Cloud thought for a moment, then an embarrassed smile formed on his lips.
"Er, not really…" He replied. Eva folded her arms.
"I'll leave the sandwiches downstairs, help yourselves if you get fed up of each other," Eva walked away. Squall turned to Cloud, placing a gentle kiss on his nose.
"Get fed up of you? No chance… Not when you do that lip nibbling thing…" Squall whispered against his mouth. Cloud chuckled.
"I was unsure whether you liked it," The blonde admitted. Squall pulled him close, so their bodies were intertwined, almost locked together. Cloud had to admit, he liked the comfort of being so close physically.
"Thank you for coming over Cloud…" Leon whispered. Cloud snuggled closer.
"Glad I could be of some comfort…"
666Sora and Riku spent their entire day wandering around the grounds. Riku told Sora everything, everything he could remember about his life, all his feelings, his emotions everything…
Except the one thing that Sora longed to hear… that Riku liked him back.
In fact, although Riku spoke of past lovers, he didn't mention having any lovers since moving to the island.
"Whoa… Makes me feel a little too innocent…" Sora pouted. Riku chuckled.
"What, you've never been sucked off?" Riku teased. Sora felt a blush spread up his cheeks.
"I didn't say that…" He protested. Riku looked shocked. Actually, he looked like he'd just seen Sora spontaneously combust. Which was highly possible when Sora realised how hot his face was becoming.
"Details," Riku demanded. Sora laughed.
"Er, which one?" He asked. Riku seemed about to explode with surprise.
"Be gone evil demon! What have you done with Sora?" He said dramatically. Sora sighed.
"Oh c'mon, it was just things that happened at parties. I get horny when I'm drunk, as you know," Sora glanced at Riku to see a slight blush on the boy's cheeks.
You are looking for a moment to tell him… NOW would be a good time!
"Riku, I-"
"Sora, I-"
"You first," Sora said quickly. Riku nodded.
"Sora, I'm afraid… I don't want my mom to die. When she does I'll have to live with Sephiroth and Aerith. Sure, their house is big enough, but I don't think Leon will be comfortable living there with them…" Riku said. Not what I wanted to hear…
"Well… Leon could always stay with Cloud or something…" Sora suggested. Riku sighed.
"I know that this sounds weird but… I don't want him to leave me alone with them… I hate being alone Sora, you have no idea… All the lovers I've had, I took them to my bed looking for acceptance and the hope that one of them might be the one I'd been meant to find… I gave up looking… No I just look back and realise I'd been nothing better than a whore…" Riku whispered. Sora took a deep breath.
"You're not a whore, Riku… You want what we all want… Someone who loves us," The brunet couldn't meet his eyes. Someone like me…
"When I was little, I used to snatch all the love and attention from my mom. Leon was always left in the background, while I snatched away all the attention… I never grew out of the love of it… Even when I moved here… You saw the way I wrenched all the attention away from you…" Riku whispered. Sora frowned.
"But you don't do it anymore… Why?" The blue eyed boy asked. Riku met his eyes.
"I have all the attention I need… It comes from you now…" Riku whispered. Unable to think of a reply to that, Sora just looked away. He knew that if he tried to tell Riku how he felt, it would end up backfiring, especially now… It would sound as though he were taking advantage…
"I'm… glad I'm of some use…" Sora whispered. He wasn't sure what else to say… He saw Riku grin.
"Yeah, that's all you're good for," He teased. Sora pouted, not only had his courage completely failed him, but he had ended up looking like an idiot… This day just got better and better…
666"I better be going…" Cloud said reluctantly. He and Leon had fallen asleep in the brunet's bed, cuddling and completely content… They had both awoken some time ago, but had kept quiet in the hope that they could stay like that longer. Cloud's sentence had been an unwanted interruption…
"Stay…" Leon pleaded, in a voice that made him sound like a child.
"You know I can't… It's best if I'm gone before Riku gets here… If you sent him to school, it would hardly be fitting for me to have come here and skive with your blessing…" Cloud whispered. Leon pouted and it was so utterly adorable that Cloud had to kiss him.
"Oh, c'mon, you knew I'd have to leave eventually…" The blonde tried to convince Leon into releasing him from the embrace. Leon just pulled him closer though, making Cloud chuckle.
"Am I going to have to fight you or something?" Cloud asked, trying to squirm out of Leon's hold. The brunet chuckled, drawing him closer as though Cloud's efforts were like that of a kitten.
"Argh, Leon! I need to breathe!" Cloud complained. The brunet released him suddenly, and Cloud fell off the bed, glaring up at Leon angrily.
"Cute…" A familiar voice said from the doorway. The two in the room looked up to see Riku smirking in the doorway. He didn't look too well, but behind him Sora was stood, chuckling.
"What are you doing home?" Leon demanded. Cloud looked at the clock, realising they were home a good half-hour early.
"We could ask similar questions," Sora said, looking at Cloud. The blonde grinned.
"What am I doing here? Flirting shamelessly, that's what!" He smiled. Riku rolled his eyes.
"Glad someone is taking this lightly," The silver haired boy drawled. Cloud sighed.
"Riku, I'm not taking this 'lightly' at all. What are you going to do, be a sourpuss for the next two months and shut yourself away? Is that what you're mother wants? For you to lock yourself up and be some wreck? You think she'll want you to stop living your life because she's not there? Riku, I know you're upset, but that's not the way to deal with it…" Cloud said, his voice was slightly low. Sora raised his eyebrows, Leon was watching Riku, and Riku just regarded Cloud with a glare that would have made rocks shy away.
"You don't know anything," Riku replied. Cloud shrugged.
"Maybe I don't," He replied simply. He got to his feet, giving Leon a quick kiss, and left. Riku waited for a while then rounded on his brother.
"Our mom is dying and you just make out with someone?!" Riku said, his voice strangely high-pitched.
"Cloud was right. You can't stop living your life because of mom. You don't have enough time… Cloud knew that, and when he heard what happened he came round because he knew I'd be upset. He offered me the only comfort he could give me, his love, and that's all I needed. I didn't need some attention-seeking kid-brother who thinks he's the only one who's going to miss mom having a go at me over how I live my life. Back off Riku, I'm not in the mood to play games with you right now," Leon growled, standing up and towering over Riku. Sora cleared his throat.
"Riku, Leon, perhaps you should both listen to each other's advice, yeah?" The brunet, who was the smallest there, was suddenly the centre of attention. He looked at his shoes.
"What I mean is… Leon, you should perhaps be a little more… subtle with your relationship with Cloud, because you can't possibly be feeling great at the moment and you're just using a mask with Cloud that he won't appreciate…" Sora sighed and faced Riku. "Riku… I think Cloud and Leon said enough…"
The two faced the brunet and then they nodded.
"I'll be more subtle if you pull your head out of your ass," Leon promised. Riku chuckled.
"That's a deal."
666Eva sat in the hospital ward, watching Amy's slow and steady breathing. The woman woke, smiling up at Eva, her new-found friend.
"Well?" Amy asked. Eva smiled at her fellow conspirator.
"Walked in on them making out…" She giggled. Amy grinned.
"I knew we were right… Do they look really cute together?" She asked. Eva nodded.
"They look right together. I've never seen Cloud so happy… Or Squall for that matter. They are perfect for each other…" Eva tucked her blonde hair behind her ears, before chewing on her lip. "However, Riku's making it difficult with the other pairing…"
"Yes, I know… He will be hard work for Sora. I have no doubt they both feel the same, but Riku gives off so many signals that, well, sometimes those who have known him like I do get confused. He's hard to read, hard to like and gets insanely depressed…" Amy sighed.
"I only hope he's okay… Sora will pull him through…" Amy's confidence in Sora's abilities to make people feel better made Eva smile. The brunet did have that kind of affect on people. She was sure that Riku wouldn't be able to stay around Sora and remain depressed forever…
"Amy, darling, you have nothing to worry about there…" Eva said, putting on a ridiculously posh accent. Amy grinned.
"Darling, I wasn't worrying, it's bad for the botox," They giggled like schoolgirls.
"Which one's Patsy and which one's Eddy?" Riku asked from the doorway, although he had only been there for the last two sentences. Leon chuckled.
"You're Saphy," He teased as they entered the room.
Ending Notes:
For those who haven't got a clue who Patsy, Eddy and Saphy are, they are characters from 'Absolutely Fabulous' which is one of the most brilliant British sitcoms ever, along with 'My Family' and 'The Vicar of Dibley'. (There are others but those are my favourites!)
Hope you liked this chapter, well, of course you did, there was 'action' as one of my reviewers put it… I'm sorry for making Riku seem evil in this, but it's how he'd react. He is very much an attention-seeking bitch in this, I'm sorry. His arrogance was just a plea for attention.
R&R