Warnings: Uhm… non-explicit talk about sex? Mentions of a female/female relationship.

Pairing: Riku/Paine

Sassy's Note: My friends are horrible, horrible people. Look at the prompts they make me do! Oh well, this one was lots of fun.

Sex

It was a bit of a blow to Riku's pride when he learned Sora had had sex before him. He was older. He should have been the one to have sex first! But one say Sora had waltzed up to him, a shy smile on his face, and Riku knew – even before Sora told him he and Kairi had a "sleepover" the night before.

Riku snorted. It wasn't like he was jealous of Sora. Kairi was the sister he never had. It was just the principle behind the matter. Sora had had sex, and Riku was still a virgin.

That was so not right.

And as if the love bites decorating Sora's neck were not enough, somehow Leon and Cloud and Yuffie found out, and they picked and picked and picked on Riku about it. Riku finally got them to leave him alone my pointing out the hickey on Leon's neck Yuffie, who squealed that she always knew Cloud and Leon were made for each other. Bastards.

Riku blew out his breath and drew the cool air of Radiant Garden in. This should not have been bothering him near as much as it was. If he really wanted to get some, there were plenty of girls willing and ready. Girls tended to like him. A lot.

But he didn't want a fling. He didn't want sex for the sake of sex. In a way, maybe he was jealous of Sora and Kairi. They were together and they loved each other, so sex for them was right.

Yeah, he was definitely a bit jealous. And more than a bit lonely.

"Imagine seeing someone else out here."

Riku swiveled around. Standing just behind him was a tall female with dark grey hair and red eye. She was dressed in black leather. She looked rather familiar… and just a bit intimidating with a sword hanging from her back.

"Uh… hello."

The girl – about Riku's age, he guessed – smirked. "Hi. What brings you all the way out to the Great Maw?"

"Just… thinking." Her deep eyes bore into his, but it felt more like she was searching him than trying to stare him down. Then she grinned, or what counted as a grin because really it was more of a quirk of her lips.

"Mind having some company to… think?" Riku shook his head, and she sat down beside him, dangling her legs over the edge of the cliff.

"So," she said after a moment, "Got a name?"

"Riku."

She nodded and let silence fall over them. Riku blinked, perplexed by her attitude.

"And do you have a name?" he pressed.

"Paine."

"… uh… nice to meet you…"

Paine tilted her head back and glanced at him. "I get that a lot. Yes, it's my real name."

"Oh." Riku couldn't think of what else to say. Paine laughed.

"You're an interesting specimen, Riku." She brushed a stray lock of hair from her eyes. "So, what are you out here to think about?"

"Nothing… in particular."

"Hn. It's okay if you don't want to tell me. I'm just curious."

"Uhh…"

"You know, you seem a lot more eloquent when you're with Sora."

"You know Sora?"

"Everyone does." Pain shrugged. "So everyone knows who you are."

"You knew who I was?"

"Mm hmm. Hard to forget those eyes and that hair." She closed her eyes and leaned back on her hands. Her voice gained a bit a dreamy quality. "Hard to forget anyone with the name Riku…"

Riku wasn't sure how to respond to that, but it seemed strange to him that she already knew who he was and yet he couldn't place her.

"Have we met before?" he asked quietly, rather afraid to disturb her. She looked peaceful like that.

"Yes." Her eyes fluttered beneath their lids. "You probably don't recognize me." She glanced over at him again. "I'm a Gullwing."

"A Gullwing? You mean those little treasure sprites?"

"Yes."

"But you're not a sprite!" Riku blurted out.

"No, not right now. Sometimes I am."

"Uhm… okay."

"Heh." Paine looked down. "Don't worry about it."

"Okay."

They fell into an easy, companionable silence. Paine sat back, head tilted, breathing deeply. Riku was more leaned over, but no less comfortable. It was only after ten minutes that either of them spoke again.

"You never asked," said Paine.

"Asked what?"

"I asked you why you were out here. You never asked me."

"Oh. I kinda figured you wouldn't tell me."

Paine smiled slightly, but her ruby eyes were sad. "You're a strange boy, Riku. You worry when you shouldn't. Don't let it bother you."

Wait, what? How did she know what was bothering him? Did she really know what he'd been thinking about?

"How do you know what I'm thinking?" Okay, so that sounded rude, but Paine didn't seem offended.

"I don't. You think you're so hard to read, Riku, but you're not. It bothers you that your two friends have become intimate, and you don't have anyone. Everyone's talking about it. Don't let it bother you. Sex isn't everything. In the end, they'll respect you."

Riku was speechless. She couldn't have said it any better than if he had told her himself. Was he really that easy to read? Maybe he had always been wrong about himself.

And then he mulled over what she had said. She was right, he decided. Why should he let it bother him? So Sora had found his first love sooner than Riku found his. There wasn't anything wrong with that. And he really didn't want meaningless sex. So it was okay that he was still a virgin, no matter if his friends teased him.

"Hit the nail on the head, did I?" Paine chuckled.

"Heh, yeah," Riku conceded with a small smile.

"See, you're not so hard to read when people know what to look for."

Riku nodded. "Thanks. You're right… about everything."

She inclined her head back at him.

"Hey, Paine?"

"Yes?"

"What are you out here to think about?"

"Heh. Should have known that was coming. But I guess I can trust you." Her eyes met his. They were sad again. "I had a lover. But… they're… gone."

Riku didn't really want to know what she meant by "gone". Even if he was alive somewhere, "gone" meant he was never coming back. It kind of put his little worries about his virginity to shame.

"I'm sorry." And he meant it.

"Don't be. I…" Paine looked down at the ground between them. "I loved her very much. I just… never told her… before she… left."

Okay, scratch the intimidating male figure Riku had been envisioning in his head. But he was not shallow enough to let that bother him. Love was love after all, right? Besides, just look at Leon and Cloud…

"I'm sure she knew. You're pretty easy to read, too." Paine's eyes darted to his face. Riku smiled at her. Her face softened visibly.

"Guess you're right." Then she got to her feet. "The strange thing is… her name was Rikku." Riku blinked.

"Oh."

"Hmm." Paine brushed some hair from her face. "You know, I'll be out here again tomorrow around sunset, if you'd like to talk again."

Riku smiled. "I'd like that."

"Me too."

The next day, just as the sun was going down, they met again.

And met again the next night over dinner.

-end-

Sassy: Next up is Reno/Demyx with the prompt "Rose". I'm prepared to cry while writing it. Just to let you know.

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