Author's Notes: Last minute chapter. Was unplanned but had to roll with it once the idea struck. Enjoy!

In Life and Death
Chapter 16: Will You?

The weeks passed fast for the brunette. Between his mom and Kairi fawning all over him and Riku not letting him lift a finger, Sora was never alone. And he loved it. For months he feared what would happen when he told them all. And now the three most important people in his life knew the truth. And they all seemed as happy and comfortable as he did.

Rain took Kairi and Sora baby shopping a few times. The trips always included a wig, dress, and wheelchair for the brunette.

"I can't go out in public like this!" Sora had whined.

"Honey… either you do or you can't come."

"No one will recognize you." Kairi had said.

And Sora gave in. But he had to admit he had fun.

"You'll have to get a bigger place." Rain said one afternoon while they took a lunch break.

"Bigger?"

She nodded. "It'll be fine for a while longer, but they'll need their own room. All their stuff won't fit in yours."

Sora looked confused.

Rain rolled her eyes. "Sora, have you thought about this at all? Two babies mean two of everything. Cribs, changing tables, high chairs, strollers to name a few. Plus twice as many diapers, wipes, bibs, clothes, bottles, formula… now if you moved into Riku's room and gave them yours… it would work until they are old enough to really start fighting. But I would hope by then you have a real house. Somewhere nice like on the island maybe."

Sora had sunk down in the wheelchair Riku forced him to use. For the millionth time, he felt lost and unprepared.

"Oh take it easy." Rain said with a smile. "No first time parent is ever prepared. Everyone is scared."

"Really?"

"You do the best you can. That's all you can do. Besides, you have me. Grandma will always be around to babysit."

"Aunt Kairi too!"

Sora smiled and felt better.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

1 week to go…

Sora yawned and scratched at an itch on his stomach. He pulled his blanket off and looked down. He had gained another ten pounds over the past three weeks and Kairi's comment of him swallowing a beach ball rang true. Sora placed his hands on either side of the protruding bulge. He felt nothing. He would have been worried if all of his pregnancy books didn't say that it was normal. Less room meant less movement.

He pressed slightly on the right side, earning a soft kick. He smiled and repeated the gesture on the left. "Good morning." He pulled himself up into a sitting position. "A week from today." He scooted towards the edge of the bed, as far as he could. His wheelchair was sitting next to him. With a few grunts, he hefted himself down into it.

The movement startled one of the babies and he got a hefty kick in the ribs. "Ouch." He rubbed at his side. "Take it easy. You only have a week left."

He looked up as there was a knock at the door. "Come in."

Rain slipped inside and closed the door behind her. "I thought I heard you up." She smiled. "How did you sleep?"

Sora shrugged. "Alright I guess."

"Anything wrong sweetie?" She crossed the room and sat down on the bed.

"Just a little apprehensive."

She patted his knee. "I understand. You'll feel better when you're holding your little ones."

Sora smiled and nodded. "Now…" Rain clapped her hands together. "I came to tell you I'm all packed and will be leaving shortly. But don't worry. I'll be back in time. I wish I didn't have to go to work."

"Oh you love your job."

"Not when I have grandchildren on the way."

He laughed.

"Before I leave… there are two things I want to talk to you about."

"Okay."

"Now I know they are sore subjects but hear me out."

Sora groaned but nodded. "Fine."

"Sora… you've always been a very trusting and naïve person. You know I love you honey, but it's true. And I think you're too trust of that doctor of yours."

Sora rolled his eyes. "Not this again."

"I really wish you'd see another doctor. There is something really off about her."

"Mom…"

"All this secrecy Sora. It's bullshit. That woman has a hidden agenda. I just know it. And this condition of yours… this genetic mutation, if it's real than surely you aren't the only one out there. Isn't that reason enough to talk to some other doctors? To locate someone else who has gone through this?"

Sora opened his mouth to protest but she held up her hand. "Don't respond now." She said. "I just want you to think about it, okay?"

Sora bit back his response and nodded. "Fine. What was the second thing?"

"Riku."

He groaned again.

"I know you love that boy. And I know he loves you too. You're both too stubborn and nervous and shy to admit it. You both just need to get over yourselves."

Sora sighed and put his hands over his ears. "Please mom…"

"No. I'm not done yet. You know I love you. And no matter what, I'm proud of you. Nothing you do could ever change that." She reached over and gave his knee a squeeze. "Honey, love is such a special thing. And I know your situation is hard. You've been friends your whole lives and it goes against what society tells you is right and normal. But the thing is… love is love, Sora. Being gay doesn't exclude you from having the life you deserve."

Sora lowered his head and covered his face with his hands. He felt on the verge of tears but didn't want his mom to see.

"You boys were made for each other. All these years, I should have seen that." She patted his knee again as she stood up. "I didn't mean to upset you, sweetie. But I had things I had to say. Think about them. I love you and I'll see you in a few days."

Sora hadn't moved as Rain crossed the room towards the door. She sighed softly and opened the door. She was surprised to see Riku leaning up against his closed bedroom door. After closing Sora's door softly, she turned towards him and pointed. She flexed her fingers in a follow me fashion and walked down the hall to the living room. "Ease dropping is childish and immature." She said in a lecturing tone once she was certain there was no way Sora could hear.

He looked at her with a calm, straight face and said nothing.

"How much did you hear?"

"Everything."

"Good. Then I don't have to repeat myself. You boys…"

He interrupted her. "I have comments on the first matter, if you'd like to hear."

"Only the first, huh?" She looked disappointed. "Fine. Comment away."

He nodded. "I assume you know Kairi and I share your mistrust of Veera."

Rain nodded. "Kairi hinted at it a few weeks back."

"Before you stormed the hospital, screaming at her?"

Rain looked surprised. "Yes, but how did you know?"

He smiled. "I have an in at the hospital."

"You keep dibs on her?"

He nodded. "In a way. Anytime something odd happens or she steps out of line, I know about it."

Rain glanced at the clock. "Damn. I'm going to be late if I don't leave now."

"I can fill you in on Veera in greater detail later, if you want."

"Oh I do." She said with a nod. She grabbed her bag from beside the door and reached for the doorknob.

"Rain…" He said slowly. "On the second matter..."

"Yeah?" She prompted when he paused.

"Did you mean what you said?"

"Every word."

"You wouldn't object?"

"No, sweetie. I wouldn't. You're like a son to me anyways. What's the difference?" She smiled. "Now I really have to go."

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

2 days to go…

The next few days passed slowly for the brunette. He spent most of them in his bed, on the phone with Veera. His mother's accusations brought on new worries he had never considered before. So he had made several calls to the doctor. And each time she went over her own concerns and reasons. Sora had heard them all before from the doctor. Exploitation, experimentation, danger to everyone involved. Sora listen each time and it all made sense to him.

"Thanks Veera." He said after the fourth call he'd made to her.

"No problem Sora. I'm always here for you if you need me. Just give your mother some time. She's still adjusting. Eventually she'll come around and realize I'm not the bad guy here."

"From your mouth to her ears." He shook his head slowly. "It would make things so much easier."

Veera laughed. "Now stop worrying. And get some rest. You'll need it for the big day. It's nearly here."

"Don't remind me." He whined. They said their goodbyes and hung up.

Not even a second after there was a knock at his door. "Come in."

Riku opened the door and leaned against the frame. "Hey."

"Hey." Sora mimicked. It had been a few months since their last kiss and the silver haired boy still took his breath away. And he was just standing there. Damn him, Sora thought watching him. At least he had gotten past the stage where he could only blush and bite his lip in Riku's presence.

"Can I talk to you? About something?"

The nervousness Sora heard in his voice had in instantly curious. "About what?"

"Us."

"Oh?" Sora ran a hand through his hair, feeling a slight tingling in his stomach. He couldn't tell if it was from nervous butterflies or the babies. "Okay." He said after a minute. "But can we talk in the living room? I've been in here all morning. I want out."

Riku smiled and strode towards the bed.

Sora rolled his eyes but didn't protest as he was lifted off the bed. He was used to the gesture now. Riku wouldn't let him walk and when he was home, he wouldn't let the brunette use the wheelchair. Shaking his head, Sora wrapped an arm around Riku's neck and let himself be carried down the hall.

A thought occurred to him suddenly. Rain was supposed to get back today, wasn't she? And Kairi was here as well. Where was she? Both girls had escaped his mind the moment Riku opened his mouth. "Where's Kairi?"

"I sent her to pick up your mom."

"So they'll be back soon?" Sora attempted to hide the disappointment in his voice.

Riku gingerly set Sora down on the couch and turned for the kitchen. "Want a drink?"

Sora shook his head. "Not right now."

Riku stopped and spun around. "Okay then." He walked back over to the couch. "I talked to your mother yesterday. She and Kairi will be out all day."

"All day? You planned this?"

Riku sat down beside Sora and drew the brunette's feet up on his lap. He pressed his palms against Sora's ankles, massaging the swollen muscles.

Sora leaned back against the arm of the couch, stretching out. "That feels good. You can't imagine how sore I am. I haven't been on my feet, since you won't let me, and still my entire body aches. All the time!"

Riku smiled. "Well… the day after tomorrow you won't have to worry about that anymore."

Sora sighed softly. That was the second time he was reminded in the last hour. "So what do you want to talk about?"

Riku's eyes were on the feet in his lap as he worked to release the fluid buildup in the muscles. "Yeah… I think I first realized I had feelings for you when I was 14."

"Feelings? For me?" Sora repeated in disbelief.

Riku nodded. "At your 13th birthday party, remember?"

Sora laughed. "At the bowling alley."

"And they had a karaoke stage." Rike smiled.

"And you made me sing."

"Hey I thought you made a nice Cher."

Sora stuck out his tongue. "I didn't even know the song. It was embarrassing."

Riku shook his head. "No. It was cute. I couldn't take my eyes off you. And that night, I couldn't stop dreaming about you. The next day at school I couldn't stop thinking about you."

Sora looked down at his hands, feeling slightly guilty.

"I tried to push it away, to ignore it. And for a little while it worked. Until we were sucked off the island and separated. I let the darkness eat at me and I did things I'm not proud of. And when I was trapped in that body… I was so worried about you… but I didn't want you to see me like that…" Riku dipped his head and his long, silver hair spilled down his shoulders, obscuring his face.

Sora leaned forward as much as his protruding stomach would let him. His fingers brushed Riku's chin as he moved the silver hair out of the other's face and tucked it behind his ear. "You need to forget about all that. We can't change the way it all happened."

"It's easy for you to say, Sora. You don't know. You don't understand. And I hope you never do."

"Everything turned out alright, Riku. We all made it home in one piece."

Riku smiled. "Okay. No more talk of Kingdom Hearts."

"Deal." Sora smiled and leaned back again, his hands moving to rest on his stomach.

"So if that's off the table… can I talk about that night?"

"As long as you don't apologize again."

"I can't promise that because despite what you think, it is all my fault." He slipped out from under Sora's legs and started pacing in front of the couch. "When we got back to the island, I realized no matter how much distance I put between us or how hard I tried, you just wouldn't get out of my head. I felt like… I was going to explode if I didn't have you."

Sora smiled. "Well… you did."

"Under false pretenses."

Sora watched his nervous pacing with an odd curiosity. "How so?"

Riku sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I asked you over that night to get you drunk on purpose. When you didn't immediately start dating Kairi when we got back… I thought maybe there'd be a tiny chance… but I couldn't bring myself to actually approach you about it. I thought a drunken hookup could sway your mind without me having to step out of my comfort zone and talking about my feelings." He stopped pacing and turned to meet Sora's gaze. "But I swear Sora! I thought maybe we'd get to first base. I never expected it to go that far."

Sora lifted his arm and motioned for Riku to step forward. When he did, Sora grabbed his hand, pressing their palms together and lacing their fingers. With a curt smile, Sora yanked on that hand, pulling Riku down on top of him.

Riku reached out with his free hand and was able to catch himself. "Damnit Sora. Are you trying to…"

Sora used his own free hand to grab Riku's collar and pulled him close enough to plant a soft kiss on his lips. "I don't care why or how it happened. I don't care who started it. I love you Riku."

Riku shifted his position, stabilizing himself so he was more kneeling than leaning on the brunette. He took Sora's other hand in his now free one and squeezed it. "You ruined it." He said with a smile.

"Ruined what?"

"I wanted to say it first."

It was Sora's turn to smile. "Say what?"

"Maybe I don't feel like saying it anymore."

"That's a shame because I really miss those lips." Sora leaned forward again to brush against Riku's lips. He broke the contact as soon as he made it and sat back against the couch.

"Fine." He released Sora's right hand and retrieved something small and shiny from his pocket.

"What's that?"

"A promise." He slipped the thin band on Sora's ring finger. "I love you, Sora. I promise I'll take care of you, be there for you and for them. If you'll have me… I'm yours. Forever and always."

Sora glanced at the ring on his finger. It was silver in color with a thin, gold band running along the center. It felt foreign and weird. Besides his crown necklace, he'd never been much of a jewelry wearer. He didn't own any other jewelry. His mother never wore much jewelry either. She had a necklace her mother gave her. And a handful of earrings she never wore. She never got married so she didn't have a wedding wing. Wait… a wedding ring?

"Is it too corny? You don't have to wear it."

Sora shook his head slowly, realizing he hadn't said anything for several minutes. "Sorry. I was just thinking."

"Too much too soon?"

"No." He shook his head. "It's not corny. And I'm never taking it off."

Riku smiled as he got up and sat beside Sora on the couch. He laced their fingers together. "What were you thinking about? You looked worried."

Sora groaned. "Kairi."

"What about her?"

Sora held up his left hand and wiggled his ring finger. "Kairi's going to see this as a wedding ring."

Riku shrugged. "You wouldn't want to marry me?"

"Are you asking?"

"Don't answer a question with a question."

Sora bit his lip. "Truthfully… I never thought about it. Never thought I'd want to. But… I don't think I'd mind."

"Then why worry about Kairi?"

"Because. She'll want me to wear a wedding dress!"

Riku threw back his head and laughed. "You can tell her it's an engagement ring and I'll tell her you're not a girl."

"So you are asking?"

"Want me to get down on my knees again?"

Sora held fast to him when Riku made to get up. "No."

"What do you say Sora?"

"Are you sure?"

"Am I sure? Haven't you heard anything I've said?"

Sora bit his lip. "I just don't want you to feel… obligated."

Riku rolled his eyes, feeling frustrated. "You know I don't do anything I don't want to."

"But…"

"Sora!" He interrupted before the brunette could needlessly voice his objections. "Will you marry me?"

"Yes." Sora answered without having to think about it.

"Good." Riku lifted their clasped hands to his lips and placed a chaste kiss on Sora's.

Sora blushed slightly and leaned his head on Riku's shoulder. "Where'd you get it?" Sora asked after a silent minutes.

"I'm not telling you how much it cost."

"Oh you know I don't care about munny. I was just…I want to pick one out for you."

"I can take you."

"No. I want to do it myself."

Riku tilted his head to the side. "Like that?"

Sora stuck out his tongue. "No. But I'm sure if I ask Kairi, she'll help me. She enjoys dressing me up in dresses."

Riku shook his head slowly. "You really shouldn't encourage her. You aren't a girl."

"Yes, I know."

Riku moved his free hand to Sora's stomach. He rested it there, feeling the tiny vibrations inside.

"You know…" Sora started after a moment of watching him. "They know your voice."

"What?"

"When you talk they reach their little hands out to you."

"How do you know that?"

Sora shrugged. "I don't know how to explain it. I just know them. How they move, how they react to light and sound. And certain voices. They like your voice."

Riku leaned closer to Sora's stomach, a broad smile on his face. "Hello in there. Are you anxious to get out?" Riku felt the flutter again. "I'll take that as a yes."

They laughed and spent the rest of their evening talking and flipping through the channels on the television. "Are you sure you don't mind?" Sora asked with a yawn.

"Not at all. I'm glad they have names."

"And you like them? Seriously? You aren't just saying that?" Sora yawned again.

Riku laughed and drew his arms around the brunette. "You really need to start trusting me."

Sora yawned for a third time. "I do."

"I think it's time for bedtime." Riku said with a laugh.

"Yeah, okay. As long as you sleep in my room with me."

"Deal." He hooked his arms under Sora and easily hefted him up.

There was a clanking sound as the front door was unlocked and opened. "Hey boys." Rain came in and dropped an armful of bags on the ground.

"Hey mom." Sora had one arm around Riku's neck. The other he lifted in a tired wave. "How was your day?"

"Great!" Kairi exclaimed, pushing past her and dropped more bags onto the pile. "You could help, you know." She said, glaring at Riku. "We've got more to bring up."

"Got my arms full."

"Heavy lifting, huh?"

"I'M NOT FAT!"

Riku laughed. "We're off to bed."

"Really?" Rain cocked an eyebrow as she watched them.

"Oh yeah! Kairi!" Sora said as Riku turned down the hall. "I need your help tomorrow. You can come too, mom. I'd like your opinion as well."

"On what?"

"Riku's engagement ring."

"WHAT?"

"AND I'M NOT WEARING A DRESS KAIRI!"

Riku laughed. "Night girls." They disappeared into the room and the door shut behind them.

Kairi's mouth dropped open and she turned to look at Rain. "Did he just…"

"Yes he did."

End of Chapter 16. Stay tuned for Chapter 17: Labor of Love

Author's Notes: Too fluffy? Too predictable? Too out of character? Oh well. Tata. Babies are next.