Title: 100 Steps to Somewhere

Fandom: Kingdom Hearts

Theme: 03. Secret

Claim: Cloud/Riku

Word Count: 1,889

Rating: M

Summary: Riku was full of secrets, though some aren't as secret as others.

Musical Inspiration: Flyleaf Flyleaf

Disclaimer: One day I will take over the world and work with Square Enix on making video games that are so slashable…wait. KH already is so slashable. Okay, well, I'm not affiliated with Square Enix, or Disney, or anything that remotely has to do with Kingdom Hearts. They make money off of me, and I do not make money off of KH. This is starting to seem a bit unfair.

Author's Note: I guess this just became a series. I had intended to keep them as oneshots for the prompts, but I guess each chapter will now be inspired by the prompt. Since I'm going in order and all as not to confuse myself. And I'm incapable of writing drabbles. I also want to say the only knowledge I have of FF!Cloud is what I've learned from wikipedia, some Final Fantasy site, FFVII: Advent Children, and reading Cloud/Leon fics. This Cloud is KH!Cloud. Who is hardly in the game so I have a lot to play around with. But I'm trying. My humblest apologies.

Step Three: Working With The Enemy

There was this prickling sensation Riku got on the back of his neck when someone lied to him. He'd had it forever; a sixth sense his mother called 'unnatural perception.' It was there when Sora claimed he only thought of Kairi as a friend. It damn near burned when that weird voice in the secret place egged Riku on to open the door to the heart of Destiny Islands. He had really wanted to see other worlds, though, so he thought at the time the reason for opening the door didn't matter so long as he did.

Maleficent could talk until the end of all time, and Riku still wouldn't believe her.

As if Snow White and Alice hadn't been enough, he'd gone after a third princess, Cinderella, and brought her back to Hollow Bastion several days ago. Today was Aurora.

"Why do I get the feeling this is all for nothing?"

"We have a deal. I am not one to turn back on a bargain."

"So why haven't I seen Sora yet?"

Riku knew he was snapping, and perhaps Maleficent didn't deserve it. She had given him a room, after all. Made sure he had a place to sleep, eat, and bathe. Still . . .they did have a bargain, and so far, it seemed as if he was the one doing all the work.

"I haven't found him, yet. When I do, you'll be the first to know. I have many contacts in other worlds. If they saw him, I would know by now."

Riku huffed, crossing his arms over his chest.

"What about Kairi? She's with Sora, isn't she?"

"That information hasn't been discovered, yet."

"Why am I supposed to capture all these princess again? What are you planning?"

"The Princesses are vital to my plans regarding the Heartless."

"Your plans to take over the worlds using the Heartless, I suppose. You may think I don't know you're with the darkness, but I do."

"I know how intelligent you are."

"You're hiding something from me. How many of these princesses are left?"

"Three, but you need only obtain two."

"Why's that?"

"Someone else is bringing the seventh."

"I see."

"Child, don't think ill of my intentions. I've grown fond of you. If you want to look for your dear friend on your own, be my guest. There will be a place waiting for you when you come back."

"If," snapped Riku, and then brightened. "I can? You'll let me go look for Sora on my own?"

"Certainly, if it's that important to you."

"I wouldn't know where to start . . ."

"There are countless books in your room and in the Library. You could start there."

Riku nodded, said a quick goodbye, and dashed off to his room. Maybe Maleficent wasn't that bad after all.

----------0----------

Riku gathered nothing from the book in his hands. He'd already gone through a book on the worlds and their disjointed state, and was leafing through a book previously owned by a man named Ansem when the door to his room opened. Expecting Maleficent checking in on his progress, he looked up, and his eyes widened.

"Cloud?"

What in the worlds was Cloud doing in Hollow Bastion? Wasn't he at Olympus Coliseum with Hades?

Cloud took a deep breath, staring at Riku in a way that was a bit unsettling.

"I've been thinking about you."

Riku tried not to smile.

"I've been thinking about you, too."

Cloud looked awkwardly around the room.

"So," said Riku, since Cloud hadn't responded. The silence was getting to him. "What are you doing here?"

Cloud breathed deeply a second time and ran his fingers through his hair.

"I don't know. I don't do things like this often."

"You want to sit down?" said Riku, gesturing to the other chairs in the room.

"I think so." He crossed the room, grabbed on of the plushy mauve chairs by the wall, and dragged it over to Riku. "How old are you?"

"Fifteen," said Riku, frowning. Cloud had been thinking about his age? "Why?"

"You're younger than I thought."

"How old are you?"

"Twenty-two."

"Oh. So, what does my age have to do with why you're here?"

Cloud shrugged.

"You're . . . you're driving me crazy, you know that?" He fidgeted. Riku figured he really didn't do things like this often, whatever the thing he was doing was. "I can't stop thinking about your eyes."

Riku bit back a laugh. Cloud had been thinking about his eyes. While better than thinking about his age, it was just as unexpected. He considered asking what about his eyes as he'd really like to know more about this and it seemed Cloud didn't plan on volunteering any more about it, but he decided against it. Cloud seemed distraught enough as was.

"I've been thinking about you, too," said Riku. Maybe it would make Cloud feel a little better, or at least less uncomfortable.

"What have you been thinking about?"

Oh, I don't know, thought Riku. Just that I'm obsessed with you.

"Your voice, actually."

"My voice?"

"Yeah. And your smile. And you're gorgeous."

Riku hoped that Cloud thinking about his eyes meant some sort of homosexual attraction, because if it didn't, he was pretty damn fucked for that statement. Cloud blushed. Riku breathed a sigh of relief.

"You think I'm gorgeous?"

"Yeah," Riku said. May as well get it out there. "I'm gay."

"I wouldn't have guessed."

"And you came here to tell me you were thinking about me when I could have been a homophobic prick?"

Cloud laughed, and there was that smile again. The smile and laugh really suited Cloud much better than the distraught frown he'd been wearing.

"I didn't think of that."

"You lucked out, then." Riku sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest. "So did you have any plans other than to come here and tell me you've been thinking about my eyes, or was that about it?"

"I didn't even have plans to tell you that. I just wanted to see you again." He looked at the books sprawled across Riku's desk. "What were you reading?"

"Nothing useful. Maleficent said I could look for Sora on my own, so . . .that's what I'm trying to do."

"Sora?" said Cloud.

"Yeah. He was my best friend on Destiny Islands—where I grew up. Maleficent's been helping me try to find him, but no luck yet. Why?"

"I just met a kid named Sora."

Riku sat up, eyes widening. This wasn't happening.

"What did he look like?"

"Short. Skinny. Brown, spiky hair. Wears a crown necklace. Asks a lot of questions. Carries a Keyblade."

"I don't know anything about a Keyblade, but that's my Sora. Where did you see him?"

"Olympus Coliseum. He was fighting in the games. Kid got me fired."

"Fired?"

"I broke my contract with Hades when I refused to kill your friend."

"Kill . . ."

"Yeah. Had to take him down to get to Hercules, but I couldn't kill the Keyblade master."

"Okay, that's the second time you've mentioned Keyblades. What's a Keyblade?"

"The Keyblade's a powerful weapon against the Heartless. Frees the hearts they hold captive. The Keyblade chooses its master based on the strength and truth in a heart. There's supposed to be three of them, according to the legend, anyway, and your friend Sora seems to be leading the pack."

"Why do you say that?"

Cloud shrugged.

"He's got the Kingdom Key. It's supposed to be the primary Keyblade. Not to say that the other Keyblade masters aren't as important, but you know . . ."

"Do you know where he went?"

"Nope. Sorry."

"Will he be going back to Olympus Coliseum?"

"To compete in the games, I'm sure."

"Can you take me there?"

"Are you asking me to help you find Sora?"

"Yes. Do you have a ship?"

"Gummi ship, yeah, but don't get carried away—"

"Look, Cloud, I want to find Sora, and you said you were looking for someone, too—"

"His name is Sephiroth."

"Okay, so we're both looking for people. And there's only one way to do that—actually go out there and do it. We can start at Olympus Coliseum and if he isn't there, we'll go to the next world. We're bound to find one of them eventually."

"And if we don't? I'm starting to think my chances are better hanging around Hollow Bastion."

"If we don't . . .I don't know. We'll keep looking. We can check back into Hollow Bastion just in case Maleficent's heard anything about Sora and so you can search here for Sephiroth."

"I don't know . . ."

"Come on, Cloud. It's a good idea. And we'll have each other for company."

"Maleficent won't like that you're working with me. She'll know about Hades cutting me off by now."

"She doesn't have to know. It'll be our little secret."

"Our little secret, huh?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah."

Cloud sighed.

"I don't know if this is a good idea, but okay."

Riku's face brightened; Cloud smiled back at him.

"When do we leave?"

"Before Maleficent finds out you're working with the enemy."

"I'll meet you outside."

----------0----------

Maleficent took it fairly well when Riku told her the books weren't helping and that he was just going to use dark portals to travel from world to world. It seemed she thought he was being a bit rash about it all, but she made no efforts to stop him. This was great. He was going to get to see more worlds, be active in the search for Sora, and—it had to be said—travel with Cloud.

Riku had chosen never to tell any of his friends he was gay. When he got older, being gay got harder—that brief incident at eight years old was only the start of Riku's exposure to homophobia. Sora, he figured, actually thought his jealousy over Sora's closeness to Kairi was because Riku had a crush on Kairi, when in reality, it had more to do with the crush on Sora. Not that he deterred those assumptions; he didn't know how Sora felt about homosexuality, and wasn't about to lose a friend over it.

Riku figured he was destined to spend his life alone. Instead of just finding someone who liked you back, he had to find another gay guy, and Riku wasn't sure how to go about that one. He'd long given up on his crush on Sora, but Cloud . . .Riku couldn't help but think this might actually work.

He found Cloud outside the castle, and the two set off across the town toward where Cloud said his Gummi Ship was located.

"Hey, Cloud?"

"What?'

"When we're on other worlds—if you happen to run into Sora, please don't tell him about, you know, the gay thing. He doesn't know, and I'd really like to tell him myself."

"You're full of secrets, aren't you?"

"Isn't everyone?"

"I suppose."

"Cloud, I just want you to know . . .I like you. You know, like that, and even though I'm 'full of secrets,'" said Riku, laughing, "I didn't want that to be one of them. I hope that doesn't make you uncomfortable."

Cloud smiled again. This really might just work.

"Not at all."

It is hard to clever and witty when you write one of these every day, but...

Smoky the Bear says only you can prevent forest fires. Ivan the Elf says only you have the power to give clever, witty insight on an author's work.

I am terribly disappointed by the lack of Riku/Cloud material. So I am writing some myself. And when I sign up for my next challenge, I guess that will be Riku/Cloud too. I'm out to take over.

Mwa ha ha ha ha.