Now Be My Quarterback
Chapter Three: Because We're Human.
{Disclaimer! I do not own Kingdom Hearts; Obviously because if I did indeed own it Riku's path to darkness would not have included King Mickey…~}
[Author's Notes: So it is the eve of September 15th and I am only JUST now starting O_o;; *Dun kill me* I've had TONS of school stuff to do . BORING. So alas I shall keep you no more! ~]
{Sora's Home :D}
"So Sora where will we be sleeping?" A tall brunette spoke up for the first time in Sora's presence.
"Don't you think you should introduce yourself before you leave for your rooms?" Cloud called out coming down the crystal staircase behind the group of teens.
"Ah but shouldn't one have the courtesy to introduce himself before asking another to introduce themselves?" The same brunette, which Sora concluded to be Leon, spoke calmly back to Cloud.
"… Cloud… Cloud Strife." The blond adult said unhappily.
"I'm Leon Leonheart." The brunette said.
"I'm Demyx Myde! HI! Nice to meet you!" The energetic sandy blond said practically throwing himself at Cloud to only shake his hand.
"I am Roxas Kikari." The short blond said turning to eye me for a second before turning back to Cloud.
{Sora's POV}
"Sora I suppose you'll be showing them to their rooms?" Cloud asked me before I motioned at Leon to follow me down the hall to the left past the second living area and into a bedroom, all of which were the same size… Large very large in fact.
"This is where I am so sleep I assume?" Leon turned towards me as he asked, raising a brow at my distracted facial expression.
"Oh- Um yes, I'll let you get yourself situated your luggage is in the foyer." I said to him before turning to find Roxas and Demyx in the foyer their luggage already in hand.
"Demyx you first, Roxas I'll show you to your room in just a moment." I spoke before walking off to the crystal stairs, Demyx in tow.
We came to a blue room- we'd never used the room yet we had painted it I never understood why. Demyx's face lighted up as he saw the clear blue ocean color on the walls.
"Cheerful about your living arrangements aren't you?" I asked showing a typical 'Sora' smile.
"I feel sort of at home this color reminds me of the peaceful ocean!" Demyx smiled back at me before I left him to settle.
"Roxas if you would." I called off the balcony overlooking the foyer, as the blond made his way up the stairs and followed close behind me soon beside me. I looked down noticing we were walking in unison; I noticed we were breathing the same steady rate as we walked down the hall and into a pale coffee color- at which Roxas looked pleased with.
"Thank you." It was all the blond said to me before I turned to walk to my room to relax before Riku would be over.
'It's almost 7 p.m. when exactly was Riku planning on coming over?' I inwardly groaned as I got up from my bed slipping my holy jeans off replacing them with a more loungy pair of sweats, yet before doing so I for whatever reason felt the need to look at my tattooed hip that clearly read '~Little One~' I slowly rubbed my hand across the black and white lettering remembering the summer between Junior and Senior years a few months after the fire… I got the tattoo it was something no one knew that I had gotten. I heard footsteps but for some reason I didn't pull my boxers back to cover the writing, instead I simply turned to see Roxas standing there his own hand on the opposite hip.
"Roxas?" I asked softly.
"Sora… Can you feel it?" The blond asked me holding his right hand out to me.
"I feel a lot of things…" I replied grasping his right hand with my left. I felt warm when our hands connected, almost like we knew each other forever. From this point on I wanted to find out who Roxas was and why we had this connection already.
"Sora." I heard a voice call my name, I quickly let Roxas' hand go and pulled on a pair of sweats and I motioned for Roxas to have a seat on my bed when I walked over to it lying on my back.
"Hey? You in there?" I knew it was Riku at this point I showed a small smile when he came into the room, seeing the blond and then seeing me. "Little One." Both Roxas and I were slightly more attentive at the pet name. "Sorry I'm so late mom wanted me to have an introduction thing first." Riku finished coming over to hug me softly before moving to set gently onto my bed.
"I'm going to go and finish unpacking; I'll see you around Sora." Roxas said to me before leaving my room closing the door softly behind him.
"Sora we need to talk, and get this all sorted out." Riku broke the silence between us.
"I used to have parents." I started my back to Riku's back. It was how we talked things out. "We lived in our old house but towards the end of our junior year it burned down. You remember that right?" I paused and felt him nod against me. "Well the reason why I never let you come over until the weekends is because my parents were there on weeknights. I didn't want to put you into the situation of interrogation, they wanted to be sure neither Cloud or I were gay, so they questioned everyone who came through the doors of our home. So when the house caught fire, when the police and fire department were questioning Cloud and I we told them not to say we had parents. Our parents had problems, huge problems. The way we lived on the outside was quite gilded, but on the inside it was just a good name with years of debt. If our parents died we wouldn't take their real last name when we were to be adopted. We lived under 'Strife' then too but I never knew our real last name, Cloud did but he won't tell me." I finished biting my lip softly.
"Sora I… I had no idea that all of these years you had been lying to me." Riku said softly back to me holding out a hand at his side. I took his hand. "Sora why didn't you tell me?"
"Because I didn't want to put my burdens upon you."
Riku turned around, then turned my body towards him and kissed my forehead softly.
"Ku-Chan…"
"Little One…"
"Sora, Dinners ready. Demyx said bursting into my room tackling Riku and I. Oh Hi you must be Riku! I'm Demyx." The dirty blond said.
"Hello, yeah I'm Riku."
"Well then come one lets go downstairs."
We followed the tall teen with Roxas behind Riku whom was behind me.
"Sora would you see how much snow is on the ground for me?" Cloud asked setting the table for an extra person.
"When I was out, about six inches had already fallen upon the ground." I heard Riku say quietly to Cloud.
"There's at least eight inches now." I replied getting a few dishes of food onto the long elegant dinning table dispersing them among the table.
"Excuse me… Sora what is this that we are consuming tonight?" Roxas asked smiling at me.
"Lobster with steak. It's called surf and turf." Riku replied before I could get to answering him.
"Heh Riku you seem to know the dish better than Sora and Cloud." Leon spoke softly.
"Well I am over here a lot more now since school started."
"I couldn't care less about what we're eating all I know is that it's seafood and I LOVE seafood." Demyx spoke light laughter soon following.
Cloud seemed to dance around the floor as he served everyone. It was an amusing experience watching him, for the first time in months he seemed genuinely happy to be here.
I smiled as we ate and discussed various subjects over dinner. Cloud cleaned up as Riku went to the living area and flicked the flat screen onto the news. Riku and I each took a seat on one of the sectionals. I watched the broadcast without listening, instead I listened to Riku's calm and quiet breathing stealing the occasional glace at him. He was so into what the reporter was rambling about to notice when my glance lingered for more than a second or two. The tall, slender teen's eyes were just too damn gorgeous and his hair was just so silky looking.
A crashing noise took me out of my thoughts and I subconsciously jumped up and ran up the stairs into my room, to find my white kitten that had black on his paws next to an overturned chair and a few books.
"Damn for a kitten you sure do make a big mess…" I let out a small laugh, patting the kitten I had named Roxy. I sat on the carpeted floor of my room patting the small ball of mostly fluff when I heard another meow slightly louder than Roxy's turning to the mewing sound behind me I saw what could have been his twin only with reversed colours. The Black kitten with small white paws began rubbing up against my free hand making Roxy jealous of him. I took up the black kitten in my arms leaving Roxy alone in my room I got to the end of the hall nearer to Roxas' room when the black ball of fuzz in my arms jumped to the ground and ran into the slight ajar door. I sat between the glass bars on the balcony texting Kairi about the weather mostly until Riku came up in our conversation. She knew I may have had a thing for guys once, it was shortly after we had broken up on mutual but friendly terms she had already had suspicions because of my awkward behavior with her… I- well we had almost had sex one time but her sister called just as I had worked up enough manliness to accept that I was supposed to be with Kairi… It's been about 6 months since we tried that. She asked what I thought…about Riku… I told her I accepted that we were friends; even if I did let my glances linger longer than a minute or two.
{Riku's POV}
I heard Leon and Cloud leave from the home before I got up made my way slowly from the sofa to the front door to make the decision of whether or not to trek home. I looked out the door's front glass seeing maybe eight-to-ten inches already covering the ground, and made the quick decision to stay here if it was okay with Sora.
"Sora" I said as I looked up at the pair of yellow converse dangling from the second floor and grabbed one gently.
"Hmm? What is it Riku?" The petit brunette spoke back distractedly I knew he was talking to her...
"I was wondering if I could crash here tonight… There's too much snow on the ground for me to try to go home tonight."
"What? Yea Riku you know you can always stay here anytime you want!" He answered back sitting up nearly hitting his head on the glass hand rail as he did so. I made my way up the stairs and sat with him he looked confused when I took out the oldest iPod I still had and handed him an ear bud.
"Heh Little One you don't remember?" I asked as his eye twitched slightly at the name I called him; I put the songs on shuffle and laid back motioning for Sora to do the same. It was something we had always done on days we had a big snow or on late summer nights we laid back where ever we wanted and just listened to the music it was our 'male bonding experience' is what my mother had called it. The iPod went to an Owl City song, I could feel the spiky haired brunette's eyes on me as I closed my eyes going deeper into thought.
"Ku-Chan…" Sora stopped his sentence short biting down on his lower lip softly.
"What is it… Sora?" I asked looking over at him concern flashing through my voice.
"Can we go to my room? The floor's a bit hard don't you think?"
"Heh of course anything for you little one."
A familiar soft pink tinted his tan cheeks after I made the comment, I paused the music as we moved down the hall into the teen's bedroom. I gave Sora the iPod and he turned the sound down lower as if he intended on talking.
"Riku, we've known each other for a long time… Though I've never asked this question… Where did you come from?" Sora looked at me like a lost puppy would look at a stranger.
"Sora… I know you know I'm not from here, but if I told you where I came from it would put me and my family in danger…" I replied biting the inside of my cheek feeling as though I let the small teen down.
"You can't even hint?" He replied with a hint of sadness in his voice.
"I'm from the North, though that's all I can say. I'm sorry."
"Okay, you don't have to be sorry, I was curious…" He smiled at me as one of the more love sounding songs came through the headphones.
Somewhere between his last sentence and the song change he fell asleep cuddled up next to me "Baby It's Fact" by Hellogoodbye playing. He was too adorable to believe he wasn't okay in the head. I'd known the boy since we were probably 10 or 11 years old. I had been in a physical therapy group for my wrist when it had been broken in an accident, Sora had a(n) knee injury from some kind of sport and was put into physical therapy, come to find out it had been soccer. I grabbing the iPod out of Sora's open hand and turned it off wrapping the ear buds around the device.
"I… Love… You…" I heard the cinnamon haired teen mumble in his sleep and I felt a light pink spread onto my cheeks, a rare occurrence I assure you, it was something only Sora could do to me though. At that moment I noticed something I was probably not supposed to see… on the young petit teen's right hip were the words "~Little One~" the name I had called him since we met, the black and white lettering standing out on his tan complexion. Just knowing he actually accepted that I would always call him little one put that estranged lump in my throat and the blush on my face grows an even darker shade of red. Sora took this time to snuggle his way closer to me and sling an arm around my body, I lightly placed a kiss in the cinnamon spikes I've come to love over the past several years, the spikes I love seeing every morning when I wake, the spikes I can't wait to see when I wake up, the boy who seems like the only one I wish were mine, the only person I look forward to during the lonely nights, the cold mornings and the dark days I know will eventually come. Though this spiky haired teen seems to keep me from the worst of myself, and I believe I love him for that…
"Ku-Chan?" The teen stirred from my arms. As he looked up at me with the bright crystal blue eyes I've come to know and long for throughout the years.
"Yes Sora?" I responded with a small smile.
"What time is it?"
"About 8:30 or nine o'clock."
"Oh…" Sora blurted out blushing profusely as if he were only now noticing our position and was more embarrassed than tired.
"Something wrong?" I said back to him looking into those blue eyes that were like pools of sparkling sapphire.
"Ahem no nothing I'll be right back though…" The petit teen said quickly bringing himself to a standing position and taking off to the bathroom.
We had been like that lying on his bed for an hour maybe two, and I couldn't have asked for anything better than spending time with Sora, the one I may cherish the most out of all our friends he is the one I would choose over all of them.
I never could figure out how even in the coldest temperatures he made me feel so warm, even if he was freezing, I often wonder if I make him feel the same.
I heard a loud crash sounding much like glass followed by Sora's voice yelling.
"Damn it Roxy!"
"Sora? Are you okay? Do you need my help?" I called from outside the door.
"Riku I can't move." Sora cried out. Hearing the brunette in pain and danger made something inside me click, something that made me realize I loved him more than even I knew. The door was locked, I couldn't find the key so I backed up a few steps and did one thing football had taught me charging, I rammed the door a few good times and broke it down, I didn't care that Cloud was going to be mad at me or that I probably had awoken someone either downstairs or down the hall. The only thing on my mind was Sora, upon breaking the door I saw Sora lying, stiller than ever in a pool of blood a vanity mirror crashed and broken upon the floor the small kitten scurrying out the door frame and out into the hall, where I heard footsteps as I leaned down and swept up Sora's limp body, the small boy uttering only groans of pain.
"Riku, Sora?" It's was the mullet haired teen he had heard us during his music playing and rushed down the hall.
"Sora's hurt call an ambulance." I called to the teen who then flipped his phone open and dialed 911.
"The lines dead. Take him into the kitchen; I'll do what I can…" Demyx said hurrying down the hall and down the stairs into the kitchen where he was wiping the table down then instructed me to lay Sora down.
Cloud with Leon not far behind him chose that moment to come back into the house from the blizzard outside with bags and boxes of different foods incase we were stuck here.
"What the hell is this?" Cloud said his voice full of concern for his younger brother.
I explained to him that the vanity in Sora's bathroom fell and hurt him, that I broke a door, I pleaded for him to take the teen to the emergency room.
"Cloud please he's hurt." I said biting the inside of my lip hard with anxiety and concern for the boy.
"Riku I can't, the roads are all iced over it would be more dangerous than trying to patch him up here." Cloud said tears forming in the corners of his eyes.
"Just everyone try to help me out, and do as I instruct, I have an aunt that lives near here I spent awhile with her and she's an E.R. nurse this stuff happens all the time so I've got the gist of what to do." The mullet haired teen said. "Roxas Get your ass down here now!" As if he was in the next room Roxas shot into the kitchen faster than I believed to be humanly possible.
It had seemed the hours came and went, making it feel like several days passing by rather than only a few hours Sora's stomach was pretty torn, looking as if he was attacked by some gangster in an alley with a knife, rather than a mirror falling on him. By this time it was not only I who had discovered the tattoo, most everyone knew of it's existence now Cloud and Demyx asked me about it, Cloud knowing I called him little one and Demyx only thinking I might have known something.
I had been pacing back and forth like a worried husband during childbirth while Demyx had been stitching Sora, I couldn't stand blood that was the only reason I was not in there holding his hand telling him everything will be okay still. I wanted to be stronger for him to overcome this obstacle of mine and be there for the brunette I love more than anything… Though I may never tell him this I know. Long after everyone else had gone to bed, when we put Sora back in his own bed to rest I stayed up, to make sure he was alright, to protect him. I watched over Sora for what felt like hours, which much to my disgrace was only a few minutes before the small teenager started to stir his movements clumsy and slow, quiet groans of pain coming from his lips. I put a hand on his thigh, and a hand on his shoulder to let him know I was here, that someone was here to explain, someone had been watching him since it all started.
I had been keeping up with the snowfall outside and from the looks of it we wouldn't be leaving the house for sometime. It was literally a blizzard outside and the temperature outside was beginning to effect the temperature inside dropping from the comfortable temperature in the high eighties down to the mid-low seventies and even the higher sixties. I had refused to put on a jacket even, for fear that if I got too comfortable I might have fallen asleep before Sora had awoken.
"Riku… My stomach hurts…" I heard Sora say weakly.
"I know Sora… Try not to move around too much… Those stitches aren't professional." I replied biting my lip thinking it was all somehow my fault.
"Can you rub it?"
"Sora I can't… The stitches might rip…"
"Please Ku-Chan?"
Now how was I supposed to deny that? I gave in collecting a spare blanket from his closet and climbing onto the other side of his bed and began lightly rubbing his tummy touching the stitches as little as possible.
Soon enough he was asleep cuddled up next to me on his good side and I was asleep soon after cuddled up next to him as well.
[Author's Notes: Okay so I've finally finished it… I regret not getting it out sooner… Kind of makes me feel bad. This chapter is not something I would be proud of, since it has not been edited, but I figured for those who read it; it is worth it, Criticism is welcome, reviews are lovely, messages, alerts, or favs. are delightful. For those of you who awaited patiently I present you with a virtual cookie! :D Loves to all who accept it! ~ ]