Title: 100 Steps to Somewhere
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: 069. Dare
Word Count: 7,481
Rating: M
Summary: Everyone's got someone to miss.
Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Kingdom Hearts whatsoever other than I am a super obsessive fangirl. It all belongs to Disney and Square Enix. I've accepted this, and you should, too.
Author's Note: I put Riku in this scene because I think it's so funny that Yuffie runs off without Sora when they first meet up in the game. I think the first time I played it I was like, "Thanks, Yuffie. I'll find it on my own. It's all good." So...yeah. Typical of video games, I know, but every time it happens I just laugh and go, "Aren't you a good friend leaving me like this?" So yes. That's how Riku ended up there as well.
Author's Note 2: In case it isn't apparent, I interpreted the prompt 'dare' as daring, courageous, etc. You know. Like people are daring to do things despite a desire to give up. Yeah...I didn't know if it came through or not but I tried.
Step Sixty-Nine: Wishing and Hoping
He used to be called Squall Leonheart once upon a time and it felt like forever ago. Things, times, people: everything was so different then, or maybe it had just seemed different through his childish perspective. This was before the Heartless—back when he thought he could do anything and everything was a real possibility. This was before Zack died, circled through Gaea's Lifestream, and came back from the afterlife as though he'd never left. It was a time when Zack was still the person Leon looked to as a protective big brother and he wanted nothing more than to grow up to be just like Cloud.
As he took a sip of his morning coffee Leon was reminded yet again why it was a good idea to never be called Squall again.
It wasn't that he was embarrassed to have seen Zack as an elder brother. Maybe he was a little embarrassed to have ever wanted to be like Cloud, but in his defense Cloud had seemed awfully cool and mature back then. His young mind wasn't yet able to comprehend that Cloud seemed so cool and mature because remaining detached was his passive-aggressive way of retaliating at people who actually thought he was a cry baby dork. Not that these were the real reasons Leon hated hearing the name Squall (that was an entirely different monologue that would probably never be told in full) or why he was sitting here at the ungodly hour of four in the morning thinking about Zack and Cloud, but sometimes it was necessary to break up the stress with a bit of sardonic humor.
After all, some days it was the only way to tolerate Yuffie.
Okay, so maybe that was a little more of the sardonic humor, but it was four in the morning, and this was only Leon's first cup of coffee. Ordinarily even he would be sound asleep at this hour, especially with how late he'd been awake, but his sleep had been restless. He glanced across the bar in the kitchen at the closed door leading to what he now thought of as Cloud and Riku's room, which was probably appropriate considering that Riku was the one sleeping in there tonight. He sighed and took another sip of the much needed coffee.
No, it wasn't a childlike wish to be like Cloud or his once safe place with Zack that made sleep difficult tonight. It wasn't even his questionable alleged attraction to Riku, though in all fairness Leon had spent nights awake wondering if he did like Riku that way (since so many people thought he did) without ever coming up with a definitive answer. In all honesty Leon couldn't really be sure what it was that kept him awake. He wasn't really troubled; he just couldn't stop thinking.
Leon supposed that maybe playing therapist was getting to him. That playing therapist might be getting to him led to waxing nostalgic about his childhood relations with Cloud and Zack when things were far more simple and it would have been gross to think of Cloud kissing anyone, much less Zack. Now wasn't really all that different, though, he supposed. Zack mourning over the loss of romantic relations with Cloud still made Leon a little uncomfortable. The idea of Zack kissing Cloud in a drunken state furthered his unease. The odds that someone, sooner or later, might suggest he start dating Zack did nothing to appease his train wreck of a thought process. The last thing he wanted was a repeat of the emotional confusion that was the Riku debacle. He knew his friends meant well, but it was times like these when Leon just wanted to shake someone and ask them if there were fucking stupid.
After all, his many analyses of his dating record and feelings towards all three males in question led to the obvious suggestion that if Leon were going to like anyone, it would probably be Cloud. Not that Riku or Zack had to worry—Leon had no intentions of tossing his hat into the ring any time soon, but it was Cloud that Leon had always been especially close to. As a kid Cloud had probably been his first crush, but Leon had never really been able to entertain that idea, either. Cloud was wonderful and all, but Leon could never properly imagine just how their anatomy would fit together, and that was the end of that.
Most of the night while he laid awake Leon tried not to wish that things would just be simple again. Wishing really didn't do anything, so it was superfluous to try. Unfortunately he did it anyway and this led to the question of what he meant. Was this back in time when things were simpler? Did he just want the problems to go away? Leon figured it was probably the latter. While he didn't know how to feel in regards to Zack's return (it had been so long since they'd spoken and Leon had already made peace with the knowledge they never would again), he knew that with Zack back, he didn't want him gone again. He sympathized with Zack, but found himself wishing he'd just understand, get over Cloud, and be done with it. It would save a lot of misery and a lot of headaches.
With Cloud...He hoped for Cloud's sanity and stability. He wanted Cloud to collect himself, defeat Sephiroth, and just be happy for once. It was apparent that to most people Cloud was moody and distant, but Leon knew him well enough to know that Cloud wanted to be happy. It was just hard to do so when something like Sephiroth was always looming over your parade. When he found Riku, everything changed. Cloud was a little closer to happy, and a little more determined to stay that way. Then Riku turned into Ansem, Zack came back, and the shit hit the proverbial fan. The high point of all this was that Cloud knew what he wanted for a change and was doing his best to avoid his habit of being too nice for his own good. Unfortunately his avoidance of Zack and the situation as a whole wasn't really helping him either. Leon just wished Cloud could feel a little less sympathy for people and focus on himself now and again. It would probably do Cloud good to be a little more selfish.
Then there was Riku. It felt like kicking a puppy, wishing for Riku to do anything other than what he was already doing and feeling what he was already feeling. The poor kid had started out young and stubborn but reasonably well-adjusted. He'd grown up obviously well cared for with such a good life that he'd gotten bored. Now that he'd stirred things up he'd not only managed to destroy most of his confidence but felt he needed to atone for some pretty major sins. The only reasons Riku probably wasn't worse off was he'd started with more confidence than any one person should have and he had Cloud to help take some of the brunt. Screwed up as he was, Riku had grown up a great deal. Leon just couldn't wish he change because all those things that Leon wanted for Riku were things Riku was already working to attain.
Which left him here, wishing he wasn't wishing because wishing didn't do shit and Riku being the only person Leon didn't want to smack. Now if he could just leave well enough alone right there, he'd probably be asleep right now, but his friends were driving him crazy, and Leon wasn't impervious to their antics enough to not let it affect him.
Leon finished off his coffee cup, refilled it with what was left in the pot, and set it on the table. He circled the bar and crossed the living room. For a moment he paused before the bedroom door and then cracked it open, allowing the living room light to dimly illuminate the space. Riku's back was to him, his body huddled under the blankets, and hair just a shade too light to be his peeked out through the darkness. He was sleeping on Cloud's side of the bed and hugging one of the pillows. A discarded black robe lay sprawled across the floor. Leon sighed. This just wasn't right.
Leon walked into the room as quietly as he could. He grabbed his cell phone from where Riku had left it on the nightstand and checked the time before pocketing it. He still had close to two hours before heading to Merlin's for a day of work on the Restoration. For a moment he hesitated, and then Leon reached down to take Riku's black cloak in his hands. He could at least do something productive with his extra time, and he doubted whether Riku was going to have a lot of upcoming opportunities to do laundry. Set that at least he could accomplish something since sleep wasn't about to be conquered, Leon made to leave the room. Riku sighed in his sleep.
It was the voice that startled him. Leon paused and looked to Riku who merely shifted and clutched tighter to the pillow. This was all wrong—elongated limbs and a foreign voice that had started to sound familiar as it drifted through the door during his call with Cloud, but now was obnoxious and wrong again. It was Leon who now sighed as he brushed wrongly colored hair away from the face that was and wasn't Riku's and then left the bedroom.
There was a part of Leon that loved playing therapist to Cloud. It meant they were close again. It meant Cloud trusted him, and that unlike when they were kids, Cloud now looked to him as an equal instead of a tagalong. Though he didn't like to think it, there was a part of Leon that perhaps...just maybe...wanted the final nail in the coffin of Zack and Cloud because he had never been a part of it. Their relationship had blossomed, ran its course, and ended all sans Leon's presence. So now that Zack had returned, their entire group dynamic was different. If Cloud and Zack could just be friends—no romantic feelings involved—then maybe that was the best of both worlds. Maybe that was what would make things simple again.
Then there was Riku. Leon had seen it from the beginning. He felt involved. Riku had become part of their self-made, dysfunctional family, and Leon intended to keep it that way. This was probably his definitive answer. Where Cloud and Zack played the elder brother to him all those years, it was Leon's turn now to take care of Riku. He loved him, sure, but he wasn't in love with him.
Leon gathered his own laundry together and headed for the basement before dressing for the day. Sora might show up today or sometime in the near future, but Leon could do his best to cover for Riku when that happened. Regardless of what was to come, Leon hoped to keep Riku in Hollow Bastion just a little longer. After all, he seemed to need the rest.
When Riku comprehended it was almost eleven upon waking, he realized that everything with Roxas, Sora, Naminé, and DiZ must have had him more exhausted than he thought. It wasn't an assuring realization. It was far easier and far more comfortable to think it hadn't been a strain on him—or at least it was more comfortable to tell himself it hadn't been—than to wake far later than usual with the obvious suggestion that it was. Apparently denial had other plans in store for him.
Riku groaned, stretched out, sat up in bed, and looked around the room. He blew out a strong exhale and glanced at the empty spot next to him—his side of the bed. He looked at the pillow in his lap that he'd fallen asleep clutching, woke up to clutching, and now that he noticed, was still continuing to clutch. The empty nightstand suggested Leon had retrieved his phone. Riku seriously hoped he hadn't noticed. It was embarrassing to clutch pillows, especially when the pillows in question smelled strongly of one's boyfriend (thus the reason for clutching in the first place).
It had been nice, though. Cloud's scent. Calming, even.
The call last night with Cloud had been long—longer than usual, or at least longer than usual as of late. It was almost like one of their old calls that could go for hours. At least by the end, Riku had almost forgotten that he had Ansem's voice and that Cloud was dying.
Cloud was dying. Cloud had Geostigma. How was Riku supposed to deal with that one?
In all honesty, Riku couldn't be entirely upset about the Ansem thing anymore. Not after everything that had happened since then. Besides, Leon knew now, had actually seen it, and acted no differently toward him at all. If Leon could do that—and if Cloud could actually keep an hours long conversation going without getting weird about the voice—then maybe it hadn't been as big a deal as Riku made it out to be. Sora still couldn't know—not by any means—but maybe it would be okay to, say, hug or even kiss Cloud when he saw him again, even if he did still look like Ansem. That alone was a huge relief.
Unfortunately, the relief of Ansem was partially (mostly) due to all the other bullshit that had come up. Like Geostigma. Geostigma that made Zack Fair pale in comparison. Sephiroth, Kadaj, and Rufus Shinra, which all hung over his head—and his relationship—like a guillotine waiting to drop. Throw Heartless and Organization XIII in the mix and Riku was ready to just throw up his hands and scream, "Okay! I won't date anybody like a normal person! Happy now?"
If Riku were being completely honest, he couldn't be as worried about the Geostigma as much as a normal person probably would be. There were so many curveballs being thrown at both him and Cloud right now that it was impossible to be. Perhaps he'd become desensitized to it all, but really, there were only so many things Riku could worry about. Kadaj, Organization XIII, and Sora were all Riku could take right now. The good thing was that it seemed that was all Cloud could take, too. Riku didn't know what he would do if Cloud were losing it over the Geostigma. Probably explode from stress.
Riku seriously hoped this was the low point—that point where things had to get worse before they got better. He hoped Geostigma was the driving force for Cloud to really finish Sephiroth without giving in to the darkness. He knew the Ansem thing was his driving force to beat the darkness in his own heart, so maybe it would be the same for Cloud. Maybe Zack's return from the Lifestream was just going to cement their relationship even more. Cloud seemed determined to make it that way, and since Cloud was kind of the variable factor that was a good sign. Things had to go up from here, didn't they?
Riku slumped and glanced around the room again, this time noticing a neatly folded black cloak on the dresser that he was sure had been discarded on the floor several hours ago. He almost smiled. Leon had done his laundry. Wondering what it was about people and their compulsive need to wash his clothes, Riku climbed out of bed and padded out of the room toward the kitchen.
Things almost felt normal as he set to making a pot of coffee and picked up the note Leon had left on the counter. He had left for the Restoration early and would most likely be at Aerith's. He'd also requested that Riku hang around for dinner, and if he didn't want to see anyone else, Leon would be by early to ensure he wouldn't have to. Riku smiled. Leon reminded him so much of Ayumi it was uncanny. One day in the future he was going to have to introduce them and sit back to enjoy the competition his sister was bound to initiate toward the man who had temporarily taken her place. She was going to hate Leon, and Riku was going to love watching her make a fool out of herself.
It had been nice of Leon to consider Riku's emotions, but with everything happening—and considering both Leon and Cloud were taking it so well—Riku thought it might do him some good to see Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid. Help him further get past thing Ansem who isn't really Ansem thing for while it lasted. There was the possibility of seeing Sora to contend with, but Riku wasn't in a rush to get back to DiZ, either, and the likelihood of Hollow Bastion being the first place for Sora to go after seeing Yen Sid was fairly slim. Surely there were other worlds between Twilight Town and Hollow Bastion with Heartless problems in need of help. And if Sora did happen to show up, Riku could always, you know, duck under a table or something until he was gone.
Feeling fairly confident Riku took his coffee cup and returned to the bedroom. He sipped from his thermos as he slipped the Organization cloak on, returned to the kitchen, stole a pack of Leon's cigarettes, and then headed out of the house for Merlin's. When he walked in, four people looked at him. Riku snorted.
"What the hell are you all doing in one place?" said Riku. "Don't you usually divide and conquer?"
He'd left the hood down on purpose, planning to just get it out of the way and avoid the build up, but with the looks he was getting, he almost regretted his decision. Aerith, Yuffie, and Cid all looked confused, heads cocked and eyes narrowed as if trying to figure out if they knew this person, and if not, if it was a threat. Leon just smiled.
"You came."
"I figured I'd get it out of the way and save myself some stress."
"Sounds like a plan."
"Riku?" said Aerith. Yuffie brightened. Cid raised his eyebrows.
"Yeah," said Riku.
"Leon said you were here!" said Yuffie, jumping up and hugging him. "It doesn't look that bad. Really."
"Smooth," said Cid, flicking his cigarette. "What are you going to do next? Tell him it's hardly noticeable?"
"I'm so glad you came," said Aerith. She stood, and Yuffie seemed to get the hint, letting go of Riku long enough for Aerith to get a hug in. "Leon said you might not be ready to see us this way."
"I'm really not, but I told Cloud last night we can't wait to be ready for things now because there's no time. May as well not make myself a hypocrite in under twenty-four hours."
"Sounds like a plan," said Cid. "It's good to see you."
"It's good to see all of you, too. I missed you."
"We missed you, too!" said Yuffie. She had her hands clutched together and arms pulled tight into her body. She appeared to be trying not to bounce. Riku sighed and held his arms out. She released a sound that might have been a squeal and latched back on. "It really isn't that noticeable."
"I know it's terrible. It's okay."
"Oh, good. Okay then."
Leon rolled his eyes. Aerith covered her hand with her mouth.
"So, really, what are you all doing here?"
"Most of us are working. Yuffie's avoiding her duties," said Leon.
"I am not!" she cried, turning around and stomping her foot. "I still have another three minutes before I have to walk around the stupid town again."
"Security system broke down this morning," said Cid. "Again."
"So now its Yuffie's job to keep walking around every ten minutes and make sure things are still working right," said Leon.
"And we have to do it that way because that other system we can't break into is interfering with our alerts," said Cid. "Again."
"What happened to welcoming newcomers?" said Riku.
"They've slowed down," said Yuffie. "We have volunteers now in case anyone new shows up, but so far it's been slow."
"That and Yuffie was causing them all trauma with her natural disaster stories," said Leon.
Riku snorted.
"That's not true!" She stomped her foot again. "I was not giving anyone trauma."
"And Aerith's going over some proposals for new businesses," said Leon as if Yuffie hadn't spoken. "We've finally gotten down to the castle, and I've gotten into Ansem's study, but it's been pretty worthless to us so far. We're missing something; I just don't know what that is yet. And since the computer keeps going crazy, Cid and I have been spending all morning trying to get that straightened out."
"So it's business as usual, then?" said Riku.
Leon rolled his eyes.
"You got it. These machines make me so angry I just want to..."
Leon made a violent motion toward the computer as if he were attacking Heartless with the Gunblade. Riku laughed.
"I know how you feel. Just looking at that computer brings back all sorts of angry feelings."
"So what have you been up to?" said Aerith.
Riku motioned to himself and dropped into a seat at the table across Aerith.
"Turning into Ansem who isn't really Ansem. Babysitting Roxas until Sora woke up. Staring at computer monitors all day. Stressing over my relationship with Cloud."
"Sounds like good times," said Cid, snorting.
"Leon said he has Geostigma," said Yuffie.
"Don't you have a town to ensure the safety of?" said Leon.
"How is he?" said Aerith.
"Cloud?" said Riku.
Aerith nodded.
"He doesn't really call me so I never know how he's doing..."
"You make him nervous," said Leon.
Riku shrugged.
"He's all right. He sounds stressed, but...He says he's not going to just give up. That's good, right?"
Aerith nodded.
"I'm not really surprised he got the Geostigma considering what it is. Cloud's had so much done to him with mako and Jenova cells that the likelihood was high. After all, he's hardly been in Gaea. He probably started getting it when he was still on his Gummi ship the second he got close to the Lifestream, but I worry for him. Whether he really will defeat Sephiroth."
"I believe he will," said Riku.
"So do I," said Leon.
"Well he's got a lot of work ahead of him," said Yuffie. "That Sephiroth's a real pain in the ass. I wish he'd just do it and get it over with already."
"I wish he'd find his light. And he'd come around more. And call."
"You make him nervous," Leon repeated.
"I don't know why."
"Everyone makes him nervous," said Yuffie. "He can be such a jerk."
"He just feels a lot of pressure," said Riku. "And he's not sure how things are going to turn out, and it scares him."
"But he's not giving up despite being scared," said Leon. "That's a big step for Cloud and we need to all appreciate that."
"I know," said Aerith. "You're right. I just wish there was something I could do. I wish he'd let me in. Let me help him."
"I still think he's a jerk," said Yuffie.
"He's Cloud," said Leon. "There's nothing more to that. Can't expect him to change completely."
"Is he really that distant?" said Riku.
"He used to be worse," said Leon. "You really changed him."
Aerith nodded. "And you'll forever have our gratitude for that."
"Yeah," said Yuffie. "Before you if he got Geostigma he'd probably hide out somewhere, try to hide it from everyone, and then get all pissed off because someone found out and yelled at him for not telling them in the first place."
"And try to leave Kadaj to everyone else because he'd be too afraid something bad would happen," said Leon.
"Then he'd blame himself for anything bad that did happen and pull away from everyone," said Aerith.
"Until someone gave him a good kick in the ass," said Cid.
"Which is usually when Cloud feels like an asshole and rises to the occasion," said Leon.
"Because we didn't give him another option," said Aerith.
"He really pisses me off sometimes," said Yuffie.
Aerith giggled.
"I'm starting to understand why I make him nervous."
"Was he really that bad?" said Riku, smiling. Everyone in the room nodded. "Really?"
"Oh yeah," said Leon. "But thanks to you we actually know he has Geostigma. He doesn't know if finishing Sephiroth will get rid of it, but he's more determined than ever. I really think he's going to do it the next time."
"So because of me he's going to rise to the occasion because he wants to and not because he feels like an asshole," said Riku.
"Something like that," said Cid.
"No wonder you all like me so much."
"We like you for more reasons than that," said Aerith.
"It just helps," said Yuffie.
"Seriously," said Leon. "Town to patrol."
Yuffie stuck her tongue out at him.
"Fine. I'm going. Happy now?"
Leon rolled his eyes.
"I'll be happier when you're gone."
"I'm the great ninja Yuffie, you know. I don't have to be doing this menial work."
"Okay, great ninja, but if the town's security system isn't working again it's going to take more than just one person to get it back under control so if you could stop wagging your tongue..."
"I'm going! Okay!?" Yuffie threw her hands up in the air, left out an exasperated sigh, and trudged toward the door. "Geez. Who died and made you leader?"
She continued to mutter under her breath as she slammed the door. Leon sighed.
"No one died. I'm leader because no one else wants to do it."
"You do a very fine job of it, too," said Aerith.
Leon grumbled. Cid slammed his fists on the computer keyboard and released a long string of curse words. Aerith touched Riku's wrist and smiled.
"I bet you're happier than ever to be back here."
"Actually, I am. It's nice. It's normal, sad as that is."
"You're telling me," said Leon.
"Well I'm glad you came around. Hopefully you'll make a habit out of it."
"I'd like to," said Riku. "It's nice having somewhere to go back to and call home." Aerith smiled; Riku shifted and shrugged. "Anyway, I've already got the worst out of the way, right? You all know, you've seen me, and from there it just gets easier. Now I just have to help Sora out without him seeing me."
"You could let Sora know..." said Aerith.
"No, I really couldn't."
She frowned.
"He's your friend. He's the Keyblade master. Surely he wouldn't look down on you for..."
"Oh, Sora would be nice and understanding and everything, yeah," said Riku. "It's just...The last time he saw me I was behind the door to darkness. I'd like to be farther along than I am when I see him again. It's...I guess it's a matter of pride."
"We won't say anything," said Leon, looking away from the computer long enough to eye Aerith. "I know I said pride isn't everything but sometimes it's all you've got. And anyway, it isn't as if you're hiding from everyone. Sure, we've seen you, but Sora's different."
"He was my best friend," said Riku.
"So his opinion means more, not to mention he is the Keyblade master, all good, and...It makes for an awkward situation."
"Okay," said Aerith, laughing. "I get the hint. Don't push the subject. Got it. I won't tell Sora the truth, but I hope you know it's against my nature to lie."
"That's what she wants you to think," said Cid.
Leon snorted. Aerith shot Riku a smirk and shook her head.
"Maybe a little," she conceded.
Cid slammed on the keyboard with his fists a second time and the door to Merlin's house flew open. Cid swore to himself as Leon, Riku, and Aerith looked to see Yuffie stumble in and clutch her chest, slamming the door behind her.
"He's here! Sora...I mean...He was coming from Market, and I told him about the system, and now he's on his way here..."
"And you slammed the door on 'im," said Cid. "That's not peculiar at all."
"Yeah, really," said Leon, glancing at Riku. "What did you do? Tell him to hold on while we shoved Riku in a closet?"
"No, I did not! He asked me if I'd seen Riku and I said no, okay? I'm not stupid, Squall!"
"Hide," said Aerith, touching Riku's wrist, and then she stood to join Cid and Leon by the computer.
"Could've fooled me, and if you call me Squall one more time..."
When Riku had thought this morning that the odds of Sora showing up were very low, and if he did Riku would just duck under a table, he never really thought he'd do it. Now here he was, huddled under the table in Merlin's house while Leon and Yuffie bickered.
"Your name is Squall!"
"Where the hell did Riku go?" said Cid.
"I'm under the table," said Riku.
He heard a snort that might have been Cid or Leon, but Riku suspected it was both.
"We need to act normal," said Aerith. "Stop fighting, you two. Relax."
"Those two fighting is normal," said Cid.
"He has a point," said Leon.
"What the hell is taking Sora so long?" said Yuffie.
"Maybe it's because you ran off without telling him where we were," said Leon.
"Well what was I supposed to do? Bring him here and tell him to ignore the tall man in black? He's just a distant relative? I told him we were at Merlin's. Geez."
"Last time Sora was at Merlin's, Merlin's was in Traverse Town."
There was a short silence, and then Yuffie's voice drifted under the table.
"Oh...yeah..."
Riku almost laughed. The silence that followed was far from normal. If Riku had walked in on everyone getting along, he might not have suspected a long lost friend under a nearby table, but something would have definitely been wrong. It was apparent, however, that Sora hadn't spent nearly as much time with this group of morons as Riku had. When the sound of the door opening joined the clattering of the keyboard, Yuffie shouted, "Meet the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee!"
Riku neared toward the table edge and peered under a fold in the tablecloth. Yuffie was in Sora's face. Aerith turned from the computer, nonchalant as you please and said, "We missed you!" Riku had to give her credit. She could act normal. This might not be so bad.
"Well, if you ain't in top shape," said Cid.
"I knew it," said Leon.
Well, at least Aerith and Cid could act normal. Yuffie was still bouncing inches away from Sora's face and glanced nervously at the table. Leon was on edge, and though Riku had no idea where "I knew it" had come from, it wasn't unlike Leon (or Cloud) to start conversations as if they were already in the middle of one. His tone, however, was so intense that Riku almost laughed right there. Here he'd thought Leon would be the collected one.
Sora leaned away from Yuffie, gave her the same look he sometimes gave Selphie when she waxed philosophical about paopu fruits, and walked toward Leon. Riku was immediately reminded of why Sora was his best friend, and his heart pulled a little. It was true. When Yuffie was scary, Leon was the safe place.
"Knew what?" said Sora.
"A while back, everyone suddenly remembered you guys, all at the same time," said Leon. Riku frowned. Leon needed to work on his people skills.
Sora reacted accordingly, taking a slight step back.
"You...remembered? Wait! Does that mean you forgot about us!?"
And somewhere along the way Sora had gotten sharper. The old Sora might have taken three to five minutes to piece that one together. Riku swallowed, feeling close to smiles or tears—maybe both.
"Thanks!" said Donald.
The duck was still a bastard.
"So where've you guys been all this time?" said Yuffie.
"We were sleepin'," said Goofy.
"Where?" said Cid. "In cold storage?"
Riku snorted and covered his mouth. Cid was really good at this normal thing. Leon still looked ready to pop a vein.
"It doesn't matter," said Aerith. "This is great. Everyone's together again!"
Leave it to Aerith to be the smart one and derail conversation away from any place that might lead Leon or Yuffie to digging their own graves. Sora smiled for a second.
"So, um...we're trying to find Riku and the King," said Sora. Riku scooted a little farther back under the table, feeling both pleased and guilty that Sora was looking for him already. "Have you seen 'em?"
Cid, Aerith, and Leon all shook their heads. Riku noted Leon's stiff posture for the sake of torment and teasing later if only to take a little heat off of Yuffie. Sora sighed.
"Right."
"Sorry," said Aerith. "But let us know if there's anything we can do to help. Okay?"
Sora nodded.
"Okay. Thanks."
"Don't go thankin' us just yet," said Cid, standing from his chair and advancing on Sora. Riku blinked. These people were fucking lunatics. He took back everything he said about Cid. All of it.
"Hollow Bastion's got a problem," said Leon. "A big problem."
Sora, still moving away from Cid who had decided to tower over him, leaned to the side to see Leon.
"You mean, like Nobodies? And Heartless?" said Sora.
"That's right!" said Yuffie. She bounced again.
"Sounds like you could use our help," said Sora.
"Then let's cut to the chase," said Leon. He walked forward in line with Cid and Aerith squeezed between them. Yuffie came from the side, closing them in a half-circle, and Riku had the suspicion that if Cloud was here and he weren't under the table, they'd be covering the other side. "Sora, Donald, Goofy. We were hoping the three of you might give us a hand around here."
A voice in Riku's head that suspiciously sounded like Cloud shouted "Don't do it!"
Sora, however, looked very proud of himself as he said, "Like we're gonna say no?"
Leon, now towering over Sora as well, tossed his head as if to say, 'This kid...' and released a half-laugh.
"...I forgot who I'm dealing with."
This in Leon terms translated to "I forgot you aren't a whiny bitch like Cloud." Donald, the bastard, however, didn't know that, got all offended, and said, "Hey...what do you mean by that?"
"Just think of it as a sort of 'Leon compliment,'" said Aerith. She could be so diplomatic at times.
Leon headed past Sora to the door and opened it.
"Follow me to the bailey—there's something you need to see," said Leon.
And without needing to follow them, Riku put all the pieces together. Sora was in Hollow Bastion for less than five minutes and the vultures had already circled, picked him apart, and lured him into joining the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. Now Leon had him on tethers with the intention of leading him out to that view that would be beautiful save for the ugly swamp of Heartless surrounding the castle. These people were still fucking lunatics, but Riku was kind of impressed. They not only turned the conversation away from Riku, but turned it into something beneficial for them, and they'd done it all as a team without trying to kill each other. Riku was in awe. He made a mental note that when the collective group wanted something, it was futile to resist.
Leon was barely out of the house, however, when Merlin materialized in the doorway, bag in tow, apparently back from another trip.
"Oh!" said Merlin. "I thought it was you. Right on time!"
Riku grunted. Had Merlin popped in sooner perhaps he could have warned Riku he might be spending an uncomfortable amount of time crouched into a ball.
"It's Merlin!" said Donald.
Riku rolled his eyes. "It's Merlin!" he mouthed, and mimicked swinging Way to the Dawn down on Donald's head.
"Sora and the gang said they're gonna help out!" said Yuffie. She was still bouncing.
"Splendid! We'll count on you!" said Merlin.
Sora, Donald, and Goofy all nodded.
"Right!"
"Ah, yes. Did you give them the cards, dear?" said Merlin.
"Oh!" said Aerith, and then began searching her pockets. She pulled out three small, violet cards and held them out to Sora. "Here...they're presents for you. Leon thought you might like to have them."
Sora held the card up to his face, turned it over, and read, "Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee Honorary Member!"
"Membership cards!" said Donald.
"Kinda cool, huh?" said Goofy.
Sora nodded like it was his birthday or something. Sora could be such a geek.
Riku frowned. He didn't have a membership card but that fucking bastard duck got one? Fuck him. Not that Riku wanted one—or would do anything with it—but it was the principle of the matter. Pleased that he had stole Leon's cigarettes that morning Riku peered back under the tablecloth to see Cid cursing at himself at the computer again.
"Hey, thanks, Leahhh...huh?" said Sora, spinning around. "Oh no! We're supposed to be at the bailey!"
Riku snorted. He missed Sora. He really did, and now with this typical Sora behavior right in front of him—nothing like Roxas—Riku missed him even more. This was the Sora he'd grown up with—sweet but not all there. Riku grinned and forgot the cramping in his legs for a moment. On Sora's way out he was intercepted again as Merlin scolded him about his magic and then Sora was gone and the door shut behind him. Riku groaned and rolled out from under the table.
The first thing he saw was Yuffie's ass as she walked right over him and then collapsed in a chair, exhaling.
"Whew! I thought he'd never leave!" said Yuffie.
"It wasn't that bad," said Aerith.
"Wasn't that bad?" said Riku. "I thought Leon was going to shit himself, and this one here couldn't stay in one place if her ninja skills depended on it."
"I know!" said Yuffie. "I was so nervous, but then Leon started talking about the Restoration, and..."
"Yeah!" said Riku. "I want you people to know you're fucking crazy the way you circled around Sora like that. I was expecting one of you to grab him by the throat and tell him to join the Restoration Committee or die
"Boy, do I." Leon laughed. "So...are you all."
Cid chuckled. Merlin scuttled around Riku's upper body sprawled out across the floor and said, "Riku! You're right on time as well!"
Riku glared.
"It's a shame you weren't," said Riku. "Maybe then I wouldn't have had to stuff myself down here."
"Nonsense," said Merlin. "I arrived just when I needed to as well. And you got to see your friend."
Riku sighed.
"Yeah. I did."
"I just hope you know how much we like you," said Yuffie. "I wouldn't do that for just anyone."
"He seems worried about you," said Aerith.
Riku laughed.
"Well look at me. He's got good reason to be. And I do appreciate you all doing that. I know how hard it was for you, Yuffie."
"It was!"
"I know. You're wonderful."
Yuffie stared at him open mouthed for a few seconds and then grinned.
"Oh, you. How am I supposed to stay mad at you when you say things like that?"
"The idea is that you won't."
"Flatterer. Well, you're wonderful too."
"Thank you." Riku shifted the rest of the way out from under the table and stood. "Well it's been good to see you all but I need to get back to Leon's before Sora comes back and I end up down there again. Let Leon know where I am."
"But you just got here!" said Yuffie.
"You don't have to go," said Aerith.
"I have to leave tonight anyway," said Riku, forcing a smile. "Got to help Sora. I'll be back. Promise."
"You and Cloud are suited for each other," said Yuffie, pouting. "Always running off right after you arrive."
"Ain't that the truth," said Cid.
"It's okay," said Aerith. "Don't let them get to you. I know you'll be back."
"Soon," said Riku.
Aerith nodded and kissed him on the cheek before taking her seat before her papers again. Yuffie sighed and pulled her body from her chair as if it took great effort.
"You better come back or I'll show you what an awesome ninja I really am."
"I'll hold you to that," said Riku, returning her hug. "I'll see ya, Cid."
"Yeah," said Cid, turning. "Take care of yourself."
"I'll try."
Riku gave one last reluctant look around Merlin's house and headed out into the borough for the house he couldn't stop thinking of as home.
Leon paused in the threshold for a moment and allowed himself a smile at the sight before him. Riku was slumped over the kitchen bar, an unlit cigarette dangling from his fingers which he brought to his lips and then tapped against the tray rim. Leon snorted.
"You have to light those things, you know," said Leon. He smirked and closed the door behind him.
Riku's eyebrows rose. He turned his hand over, glanced down at his cigarette, sighed, and shrugged. He slipped it back in the pack.
"I do that a lot. I think I'd smoke less if I didn't always feel like something was missing from my hand, you know?"
Leon nodded and took a seat opposite Riku.
"Tell me about it." Leon smiled. "Are you all right? That was kind of close, wasn't it?"
Riku shrugged again.
"I hate hiding from him like this."
"Well I'd say that you could always tell him, but I don't envy the idea of fighting with you so soon."
Riku lifted his eyes from the counter and glared at Leon. The orange flared like fire and then just as it had come, burned away into embers.
"I can't."
"I know."
"Guess I have to get out of here. Need to meet DiZ, anyway. So...Is Sora at Merlin's or Aerith's or something?"
"He's gone. I barely got through showing him our little problem around the castle before we were attacked by a bunch of Nobodies and Organization XIII showed up. They taunted him for a bit, called him Roxas several times, and then left. A new pathway to some other world opened and Sora said he had to leave. That other worlds needed him. So he's gone already."
Riku huffed and rubbed his forehead.
"They called him Roxas?"
"I wouldn't worry about it. Sora was actually pretty funny, going off about how they were just saying really random things to confuse him."
"It's not Sora I'm worried about. Don't underestimate what a pain in the ass the Roxas part of Sora can be."
"I'm sure it's nothing you and Sora can't handle."
"I know. It's just...I hate Organization XIII. I got to get back to DiZ."
"You will," said Leon, nodding. "Why don't you just...I don't know. Just stay here tonight. Get a good night's rest and leave first thing for the World that Never Was in the morning. And not only will you be rested but I'll cook you both dinner tonight and breakfast tomorrow. How does that sound?"
Riku snorted.
"Like you're desperate for company other than Yuffie."
Leon shrugged. He lifted his eyebrows for a second and sighed before his face turned neutral again.
"That may be true. It's quiet around here with you and Cloud gone. Guess I got used to you being here and now..."
Riku cocked his head and smiled at Leon.
"Hey, I miss you, too. It's not like I want to go..."
Leon snorted.
"I know."
"Well..." said Riku, sighing. He stretched his arms over his head. "I guess you better get started on dinner then. I'm so hungry I could eat Pence."
"Who the hell is Pence?"
Riku laughed.
"Twilight Town. One of Roxas's friends."
"In that case I think you're right. Wouldn't want to incur Roxas's wrath any more than you already have."
"Yeah, I guess not," said Riku, staring down at the counter. For a moment he thought of DiZ waiting for him in the World that Never Was, of Cloud dying on some unknown world thanks to a planet's revenge, and of Sora, already off again, prepared to fulfill his role as hero. Riku took a breath. "First thing in the morning."
"After a good breakfast, anyway," said Leon.
Riku smirked.
"Right."
It's becoming quite a bit of time between updates, huh? Funny thing is I wrote most of this chapter a month ago. All I had to do was write the last scene and it took me until now to do it. Hm...I should probably stop doing that.
Just to clarify, no, I haven't stopped writing this story nor do I plan on stopping it any time soon. It's just taking a while. So until next time I hope you enjoyed and take care.
-Jenna