Riku sat on the couch, leaning forward and supporting the weight of his elbows on his knees while his toes danced nervously. "Hey, uh… Do you mind if I…" he trailed off and looked towards a small glass pipe kept nearby on the only cleared spot on the coffee table.
Roxas, sitting just as anxiously in the metal folding chair the deadbeat had provided for him with his legs and arms crossed with his mouth in an ever-present frown, glared at the foreign object with as much discomfort as he reserved for the man himself. "…If you have to." His voice was even and morbid, dripping with every bit of hate he hoped he could get across with an icy gaze alone. As if the tired musician had no shame, he reached past Roxas to take the pipe off the table and snapped a lighter from his back pocket, torching it up as it seemed already set for action. After a moment of puffing, Roxas coughed loudly to voice his irritation.
"Sorry," the man mumbled. "I'd open a window, but I've already gotten in trouble with the super and she probably doesn't need to know that-"
"Just continue with the story," Roxas snapped, having a feeling that he knew where this was headed but wanted to hear it straight from the horse's mouth. After another puff, Riku coughed loudly and tried to blink the tears out of his eyes. Gathering his bearings, he took a deep breath and closed his eyes.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"So happy birthday darling
Watch those candles melt away
Not unlike those chandeliers
At the bar where we both etched our names
Who would have thought we'd fall so hard
Who would have thought we'd fall so fast
Optimistic children
Clinging tight to all we never had."
…o…o…o…o…o…
Sora hadn't expected Riku to follow him out the music shop's rustic front doors and all the way back to his condo. The brunet was afraid that he couldn't come up with anything to say, and Riku seemed perfectly content to walk in an easy silence. Sora would continually glance awkwardly towards the silver-headed punk and wonder what was going through his head. Probably something about surfing, or music, or how he had sand in his sneaker, Sora thought to himself. While the silence may have been peaceful for Riku, it was slowly grating on the younger man's nerves. He needed sound, at least some sort of noise outside of the waves crashing in the background and tourists feeding flocks of seagulls in the bay.
"You have really interesting friends," Sora started. Riku wasn't expecting the brunet to break the quiet and he jumped a little bit. He must have been used to the sounds of the beach and the strong winds that had just become white noise.
"Well, thanks. Xigbar and Marly can be a little rough sometimes… Luxord can be stuck-up. Axel's the best, though. You'll like him once you really get to know him."
"Is that really his name? Axel Rose? That's totally made up. It can't be real."
Riku kept looking forward and hummed slightly deep in his throat. He glanced behind them, as if making sure they weren't being followed. Perhaps the trees had ears. "I'm going to let you in on a little secret."
"Oh?"
"Lea Paul."
"Seriously?"
"Yeahuh. He hates it. Loathes it. Wanna know why?"
"Do I have a choice?"
"Hey, you asked. The dude cannot stand Gibsons."
Sora stopped walking for a moment, suddenly being reminded of the reason for his rush back to the condo. "…Gibsons?"
"Yeah, Gibson guitars. He's a Fender man. All the band jockeys used to tease him. Lea Paul? Les Paul. It was brutal. Really, really band geeky brutal. He changed his name when he was fifteen to Axel, and tacked on the Rose because he was really into Guns n' Roses for a while. This was around the time the band started being more than just an itch, back in the day. I had always been into Green Day and El Tigre and was trying to, y'know," he made this pushing gesture with the palms of his hands, "gently nudge him towards that direction. Of pop-punk. It's a hell of a lot more fun than classic cocaine acid rock."
"You think Guns n' Roses was acid rock?"
"I was speaking more on behalf of Axl Rose. But when I tried to convince him to change his name back to Lea, we had already started making a name for ourselves in Bastion and when we moved to the harbor everyone knew him as Axel Rose and it would've been too much of a hassle to change, y'know what I mean?"
Sora laughed. "So you just call him Axel, too?"
"Whatever makes him happy. And a happy guitarist is usually a good guitarist."
Riku trailed off, leaving his story there. After another few moments of walking in silence, they came across a short clearing where the palm trees faded out and let the late afternoon sun shine in Sora's eyes.
"How about… the light?"
"The light?"
"For your song about love. Love can be the light in an otherwise dark world…" When Riku didn't say anything after that, he felt a need to elaborate. "I didn't want to say anything back there, with your friends around and everything, since I hadn't heard any of your music yet…"
"The light, huh?" Riku hummed. "I'll work on it."
The sandy sidewalk led the way to the parking lot of the condo. Riku followed Sora up the short steps to the deck. The young man turned to face him awkwardly before opening the front door.
"So… I, uh…"
"Are you gonna be busy for the rest of the day?" Riku asked. He had started to bite the edge of lip nervously and bounce the balls of his feet.
Sora never thought someone could be so adorable. He quickly nodded his head and pointed towards the door. "Uh, yeah… The guys, they'd want to hang out some, you know? I haven't seen them since high school…" What he really wanted to do was lean up and kiss him, but he couldn't do that. He hadn't felt this way since… since before he met Kairi. He hated that predatory side. Sora brushed these thoughts from his mind, trying to remind himself why he rushed back to begin with. He had to call Kairi. He held up the Adam Ant sheet music book and smiled. "Thanks for the book, though!"
Riku laughed hesitantly and combed his fingers through his long hair. Sora thought it looked awfully soft for something that spent so much time in sandy salt water. Perhaps Riku was naturally perfect that way. "Yeah, no problem. Xigbar will give me hell for it, but… yeah."
Sora laughed and started opening the door. "Okay… So I guess I'll-"
"Tomorrow!" The brunet paused and looked at him questioningly. "I mean, tomorrow. It's Tuesday, and there's usually this party on the beach after the sun sets… Do you want to go… with me?"
Go with Riku? Like, with Riku? Sora won the battle in keeping an unashamed smile off his face, making sure he was controlling himself and looking at the punk in all seriousness. You're playing hard to get, his mind told him. He swatted that thought away like a mosquito. This wasn't hard to get, this was being a mature, respectful adult. "Sure, sounds cool."
Riku's smile exploded, sparing no expense in making Sora feel like he was the cherry on his sundae, the star on his Christmas tree, the best thing that could have ever happened at the best possible moment. "Awesome! Cool. Yeah." He bounced backwards slightly before using his legs and simply walking backwards down the stairs, never wanting to turn away from Sora. "I'll see you tomorrow night, then. I'll pick you up at nine?"
"Yeah, okay. Sounds good." Now Sora was even getting a little excited and allowing a small smile or two leak out.
"Excellent! It's a date."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"You're better off without him, don't call him...
He's breaking your heart.
He's hanging with your best friend and you're waiting there,
It's tearing you apart."
…o…o…o…o…o…
Sora closed the door behind him, resting his back against the wood frame and smiling loftily. He didn't want to take Riku's words seriously, but God it was becoming hard to try.
"Your wife called," Tidus said, seeming glued on the couch in the same place Sora found him yesterday. The brunet sighed and found his cell phone on the small table next to the door. He picked up the device and glowered at it for the sake of his own stupidity. Of course, Kairi had told him to call when he got to the harbor two days ago and he completely forgot.
Taking his sheet music and phone to the comfort of his own room, Sora sat down on the bed and pressed for speed dial number one.
"Sora-dumpling! Hi!"
Kairi was so dorky answering the phone it was enough to make Sora chuckle out loud.
"What am I supposed to call you? Kairi-chicken?" Sora asked, falling backwards on the bed and studying the intricate fogged pattern on the glass dome covering the light.
"So we can be chicken and dumplings!" Kairi laughed on the other line. "God, we're pathetic. Do you think our friends talk about us behind our backs?"
"Well, I don't know about you, but I was hanging out with Rox and Nams a couple of weeks ago and they said 'She has to be the biggest geek in the entire university. There's no way anybody could ever tolerate her. Such a loser.'"
"Siblings don't count," Kairi retorted. "Anyway, so how's your trip? I was getting worried about you when you didn't call. So, I'm guessing you made it there alive."
"Everything's funshine and candybows. Sorry about not calling, it's just right when we got here Tidus and Wakka wanted to take me out to the boardwalk and I spent most of yesterday at the beach… Time just kind of got away."
"So you couldn't even sacrifice three minutes to call me? Great, thanks honey. Nice to know where I stand in this relationship," Kairi sighed with mock-hurt.
She was totally awesome like that. The main reason why Sora was marrying Kairi was because the spark the moment he saw her. She approached him in a class they shared; there must have been at least a hundred other students in that auditorium, and she chose to sit next to him. She told him he was cute, he told her he was gay, she said it didn't change what she said. Mentioned she wasn't exactly straight herself, and the brunet marveled at her straightforwardness. Up until that point, Sora had started coming out randomly to people in college. Being far enough away from his family was a big help. Kairi was just one of those people, he figured, because in three months after this class was over, what were the chances of him ever running into the awkward redheaded girl again?
A week later, they were making out in the back row of the drafthouse during a morning matinee. This was something that could have only happened with Kairi. She was bold, articulate, and wasn't afraid to raise her hand during lecture and explain her thoughts and virtues to the professor and entire class. Kairi wasn't the first girl Sora ever crushed on, but she was the first girl he was willing to give up other guys for.
Kairi was a bit of a loose canon herself. They didn't go steady right away, still trying to figure out how her other relationships would balance with this boy she apparently was falling in love with. They figured it out, eventually, with a little bit of trial and error. Sora was tired of random hook-ups and one night stands that seemed to permeate his college lifestyle. Kairi offered a stable resolution to that problem that Sora couldn't find from dumb boys.
Boys like Riku.
Sora started to fidget where his wedding band should be. It was still resting in the bathroom from when he washed his face days ago. Sora gulped. He didn't mean for things to go this way, and yet… "Yeah, okay, whatever. Sorry I was having too good of a time with the guys watching movies all day-"
"Ugh, please tell me they aren't. They can watch movies at home, what's the point of even going on vacation?"
"I've made friends, though!"
"Oh?"
"I got invited to a party and everything. It sounds really fun."
"Well, look at you, Mister Popularity… So, are your new friends cute?"
"Kairi."
"I'm just asking."
"That's not the kind of things that good fiancées ask."
"Oh, please," Kairi sighed, and Sora could almost hear the roll of her eyes in her voice. "You sound like Namine. It's not like I'm some sort of ball and chain, right?"
Sora froze, hoping that she didn't have any secret spies on the trip. He was sure Tidus had probably talked to her when he was out. That's probably how he knew she called. "Ahaha, right."
"Well, I don't want to keep you from… Watching movies or awesome beach parties or whatever it is you do while your precious blushing bride is saddled with the wedding work."
"You know I could've stayed if you wanted me to, or you could've come along."
"Puh-shaw. You'd just whine and complain the entire time if you stayed. Honestly, Sora, I know you think this is just my idea of getting rid of you, but do you have any idea how much I've gotten done since you've been gone?"
Sora paused, looking up at the window facing the beach. "Uh, I dunno, a lot?"
"A whole lot. Like a metric fuckton. I deserve a break."
Sora chuckled. "Then take a break. I don't want you overworking yourself."
"Actually, I was thinking about calling up Alice and seeing if she wanted to mess around. That okay?"
It took Sora a quick moment to find his voice. "…Yeah. -I mean, totally, yeah. That's fine."
"And, you know, this is like your bachelor party so… feel free to cut loose and play a little bit, y'know? Have some fun?" She paused for a moment like she was shaking her head. "I don't really care one way or the other…"
"Believe me, I'm having plenty fun," Sora reassured.
"Well… good! I don't want to keep you from your new jet-setting, hard-partying lifestyle. I'll let you go, now."
"Bye, Kairi. Love you."
"See you in a few. And don't forget to call every once in a while. I worry."
Ending his call, Sora found it amazing how awesome Kairi was. Even after they made out, had sex, and got engaged, she was still the same amazing person that sat next to him in class. Riku may be cute, but he couldn't compare to Kairi.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"He was bad.
He was never good.
But one thing that he understood.
And she knew
All those lies would come true."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"A true, honest-to-God beach party!" Tidus said happily, standing in front of the full-length mirror in the bathroom. "I've never been to one! Do we need to bring food?"
"What? Like potato salad? Relax, dude." Wakka heartily patted Sora on the back. "Way to go getting us an invite."
"Yeah, so does this mean Riku and his friends will be there, too?" Tidus asked, debating between an orange shirt and a black one. He took turns holding them up from their hangers in front of his chest. "Guys, what do you think? The orange is too bright but the black makes me look goth-y."
Sora paused by the door frame, his upper lip curled in confusion about why his friend would even care about something like that. "A black shirt will not make you look goth," he stated.
"But my swim trunks are black and if we're going to the beach, then…"
"Wearing black won't make you look goth," Sora repeated, just wanting Tidus to simmer down and not worry. "If anything, orange will make you look like a tourist. Why do you care so much anyway?"
"There's gonna be chicks there, right?" he asked, but meant it as his answer. He took the black shirt off the hanger and put it on.
"…You want me to help you put on some eyeliner? Maybe an draw ankh on your cheek?" Sora asked. Tidus threw the recently abandoned hanger at Sora like a Frisbee, but the brunet was able to duck in time for it to collide with Wakka instead.
"Ow! Cockbite. You'll poke an eye out with this thing." He shook the wire hanger threateningly towards Tidus before marching down the hallway back to his room to change, taking the hanger as hostage.
Sora was already prepared to go out, wearing a red tee and jeans with so many holes in the legs it promised to keep things breezy during the night. He was laughing at Tidus trying to decide whether or not he looked better with the shirt unbuttoned or not when there came a knock from the front door. The knocks continued in a steady beat until Sora answered the door.
Riku looked absolutely delicious. Sora usually didn't like referring to boys as food products because from four long years at his liberal-minded university it sounded awfully degrading. Like how couples would call each other cookie and sugar… or chicken and dumplings. But there Riku stood, under the patio light looking very yummy. It could have been the incredibly tight pink shirt (with a muffin on it, of all things), or it could have been the unbelievably extra-skinny black pants that hugged every bulge and curve. Sora was drooling and Riku could tell.
"Hey."
Sora looked up into Riku's eyes and smirked. "Hi." He took a moment to look past Riku and found Axel and Marluxia standing behind him. He almost didn't recognize 13 Hearts' guitarist because somehow overnight he had gone from being blue-haired to yellow. And not just blonde, but an actual opaque crayon-yellow hair.
"Where are your friends?" Riku asked, his eyes never leaving Sora's as he did that thing where he jumped on the balls of his feet.
The brunet glanced over his shoulder inside the condo and saw the shadows of his friends in the hallway. "They're coming." Sora found his wrist being taken hold and he was pulled out of the condo.
"Let's get a head start, huh?" Riku could barely contain his smile. He turned to his bandmates and added, "Show his buddies to the party, will ya?" Axel shrugged and gave Riku respect knuckles before they disappeared into the night.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"I'd bring you candy and flowers,
Sit by the phone for hours...
Sing a song outside your window
Just if you would let me know."
…o…o…o…o…o…
It was once they were out of sight from the condo that Riku rearranged his grip. He loosened his grip on Sora's wrist and slipped his palm down into the brunet's hand, letting their fingers intertwine. It was a simple gesture with a huge meaning. Riku stopped running and turned to Sora, who was looking incredibly cute in his boyish clothes.
"Sora, you're… amazing," Riku stated in the light of the moon. Without any city lights and the condos being far behind them, there was nothing separating themselves and the night sky. "I wrote lyrics today. Do you want to hear them?"
Sora smiled widely, catching his breath after their quick run. As they walked on the beach, just out of reach from the waves, he squeezed Riku's hand just a little bit tighter. He really shouldn't, but… "Yeah, sure."
Riku suddenly laughed, turning his head to the side so Sora couldn't see. "This is stupid. I didn't even bring my guitar or anything…" He chuckled nervously before he cleared his throat.
"Sometimes I pretend that what you say
Aren't bittersweet lies: 'It's all okay'
That maybe I could be the one for you.
You laugh, you smile,
You tilt your head
In this way, makes me wild
Makes me wish I were dead.
Perhaps living is only dying
Until someone comes and gives
You the reason worth trying.
So won't you kiss me?
Kill me?"
"And, if you look at it this way, killing can be, like, a way of forcing someone to see the light, right? And there'll probably be a solo in there somewhere and a lot of screaming because Xigbar's one of those guys that likes to scream a lot. If the band had their way without me they'd probably be wearing black with the swoopy hair and the gratuitous facial piercings."
"How much is gratuitous?" Sora asked, surprised he was able to get a word in edgewise during Riku's rant.
"Five. Back in high school I had a friend with five piercings once, four on his lips, and I was like 'How do you eat?' And it was like middle school all over again with the braces and he kept getting food stuck in them. And not like sprigs of broccoli or garlic like normal people, we're talking about spaghetti. Like, five-inch long strands of spaghetti just dangling there off of his piercing and he didn't even know! But later that year he ended up being sent to juvie because he took the dumpster outside the kitchen that was filled with all the week-old food and moved it in the middle of the cafeteria for all of Thanksgiving vacation and the entire first story of the school smelt like garbage for two weeks. After that his parents got really angry at him and sent him to Catholic school where they forced him to take his piercings out. He even had to wear a uniform, which would have been fucking sexy in any other situation, but they wouldn't let boys have piercings or wear makeup or have dyed hair or tattoos. And in the end his parents wouldn't even let him hang out with us and he stopped sneaking out with us to see shows and after he graduated from high school it's like the fucker forgot who we were."
"…Wow," was all Sora could think of to say.
"I know, right?" Riku scoffed. "That guy was such a dick."
"No," Sora corrected. "I mean, Wow you get derailed easily. You killed the mood faster than soft jazz at a Bloodfest show."
Riku laughed anxiously, bouncing softly on his feet. "…There was a mood?"
Sora smiled, using the hand that wasn't holding the daylights out of Riku's hand to wrap around the back of the punk's neck. Riku wasn't that much taller than Sora, which was a good thing when it came to kissing. There wasn't any need to bend, kneel, or awkward laughter, because it all came together perfectly in the end. "You can kill me now."
Sora had kissed a lot of guys. Enough guys to warrant a scale, a sliding-scale of kissability. There was different levels: Shameful, Mess, Hot Mess, all the way to the other end of the spectrum with Damn Good, Perfect, and Godly. In order to give the proper idea of what it was like kissing Riku, it was like slider on the scale went too high and broke. Sora was left in a distant, dizzy haze.
"Hey! This is Axel! Answer your fucking phone!"
Sora gasped and pulled away, covering his mouth in embarrassment. It started off as a joke when Riku mentioned offhandedly that he had trouble hearing his cell phone ring because the tone sounded like every other phone on the harbor. Axel decided to fix to problem by creating a personalized, obnoxious ringtone just for his best friend. Riku took his cell phone out of his pocket with every plan to silence the damn thing and get back to kissing, but when he saw the name on the screen he stopped.
"Hey! This is Axel! Answer-"
"Sora, I'm really sorry, but I gotta take this… It's an old friend."
The brunet had already turned back towards the sea, seemingly too flustered to look back at Riku. "Uh, yeah. Go ahead."
Riku sighed and looked opposite the ocean towards the sand dunes, taking the call. "Hello?"
"Hey, brah! I'm at the party right now, where's my favorite little rocker?"
"I'm on my way. How was the ferry ride?" he asked, glancing over his shoulder to find Sora kicking the receding waves and sand. He was so cute.
"Most excellent. I went up to Bastion for the day and caught up with my sister. She has a special present for you."
Riku instantly perked up. Perhaps today was the best day of his life. "Seriously? Oh, that's fucking awesome. We need to have a circle tonight. Maybe at the after party?"
"Do whatever you want, dude. I'm just the messenger."
"Okay. Well, we'll be there in a few minutes. Can't wait to get the party started!"
He hung up and turned to Sora, who was simply standing toe-deep in the water and looking up at the stars. The brunet caught on that Riku was finished with his phone call and turned around so they could continue their walk down the beach. Riku reached out tentatively and took Sora's hand again.
"So… You're okay with this?" he asked, biting the side of his tongue. If Sora seemed like he was obviously willing, it wasn't good to press his luck.
"I was gonna ask the same thing," Sora sighed. "I haven't really been with anyone this way since…" Sora wasn't sure how to finish that sentence, and instead frowned nervously. In every way one looked at this situation he shouldn't be feeling the way he does right now. And sure, earlier in his life there were one-night-stands, but those rarely led to hand holding, nervous blushes, and – god help him – butterflies. At least… Kairi had given him permission to 'have fun,' right? He tightened his hold on Riku's hand and smiled. "Let's go to the party, huh?" With one last, final squeeze, Sora released the punk's hand and went sprinting down the beach. It was a very comforting feeling to hear Riku's laughter and splashing footsteps follow close behind.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"Every now and then
I turn it on again
But it's plain to see that
The radio still sucks."
…o…o…o…o…o…
The party was almost like Sora could have pictured it from a movie. Metal cylinder waste bins were placed in a large circle, filled with driftwood and lit up. In the middle of the circle there was a giant bonfire where most of the kids were dancing. Someone had their stereo turned up full blast to a special mix tape, and it was good.
"Riku!" a chorus of harbor kids sang when the punk and Sora skidded down the sand dune to join the fun. Next to the stereo was a plastic trashcan filled with ice hugging a keg. On a table nearby were cheap bottom shelf vodkas and rums. Everyone was absolutely plastered, and the night had just barely begun.
As soon as Riku and Sora entered the outer edges of the bonfire, the punk released Sora's hand and bounded towards his friends crowded around the keg. Sora opted to stay a couple of steps behind, waiting for Riku to introduce him. However, some of his friends felt like introducing themselves.
"Fucking shit! Sora STRIFE!" And out of nowhere Sora was hit with the force of a comet. It seemed oddly appropriate, since this was one of Bastion's shining stars. The brunet was stunned, because he thought this guy had walked out of his life forever. After graduation, he left to live the educational wet dream of every honor student in the state on an island twenty miles offshore. Once Sora left high school he was left with nothing but memories of his best friend and a nasty hangover.
"Demyx!" Sora cried as he was tackled into the sand. Even with three years of schooling at one of the finest universities in the nation, he still kept his piercings. And now he even had a mohawk. Sora smiled and hugged his old schoolmate. "Demyx! What are you doing here?"
"Takin' the world by storm! And my ferry just docked this morning. Had to check up with the fam up in Bastion but I'm back for the rest of break," he laughed, sitting up on his haunches and allowing Sora to stand and wipe the sand off his back.
The name Destiny Harbor was more of a formality. The real harbor was a twenty-minute car ride north. Destiny used to be big on exports, but after a bad hurricane early in the century the harbor was rebuilt in a different town, so the city kept the name but lost the identity. Now it's mostly a college town in the spring and summer. A place for the elite students to let loose and forget about their college woes.
Sora gave his old friend an arm to help him up. "And what're you doing here? I haven't even heard from you since…" Sora didn't want to say it out loud, but it had been at least a year. He hated that he let one of his strongest friendships slip away from him.
"Hey, Dem!" Riku shouted from the keg. He made his way over and saw that he and Sora seemed to be getting along famously. "Do you two know each other?"
"Fuck yeah, brah! We're what you call the biggest underground movement in all of Hollow Bastion High!"
Riku raised a skeptical brow. "What's so underground about y'all?"
"We tore down the local clubs, kicked ass at the skate parks, our names were at the top of every arcade game!"
Now Riku was intrigued. "You were the SMYX header on Galaga at Arcadia? Dude, I fucking hate you. Y'all knocked my score down."
"We took your bragging rights," Sora said with a large grin.
"And you might've heard of this," Demyx turned around and flashed Riku his back. There was a simple black tattoo of an upside-down heart with a pointed, stylized cross growing from the tip. Sora was there when Demyx got it done for his eighteenth birthday. He had never seen the eccentric teen cry so much. Riku instantly recognized the marking as an infamous graffiti logo that used to dominate Bastion. It ended about three years ago, about the time Demyx would have entered college.
Riku covered his mouth in shock. "No fucking way…" He looked to Sora who smirked and blew off the compliment with a roll of his eyes. There was apparently much more to this pretty little brunet from the city than he let on.
"So do I get an amazing story on how you two met?" Sora asked.
"I would come by the harbor all the time on my breaks," Demyx explained.
"So this is where you spent all your time instead of visiting me?" the young man joked.
Riku grinned and snaked an arm around Demyx's shoulders. "So, buddy, you said your sister had a gift for me." The mohawked man turned to Sora and smirked. The brunet raised a brow and smiled in response.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"And know that we all make mistakes, there's always time
To turn your life around and change
All the wrong decisions that you've made."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"So, what I'm saying is," Sora declared, standing up in the middle of the circle, "Heh, is that when you return a tape, they don't care whether or not you rewind it or not, you know? I mean, who even uses tapes anymore?"
"That is complete and total bullshit," Riku rebutted, passing off the blunt to Xigbar. Axel and Marluxia were in the middle of a game of hand slapping, but both were so blitzed it was just them staring dumbly at their hands and making no attempt to move. Tidus and Wakka were lying in the sand nearby and laughing when the waves would tickle their toes. "I rewind each and every one of those tapes. It's my fudging job! They're like my… my children, right?"
Riku's hair was dirty after a late-night splash in the water. Most of the kids had paired off by now and were well on their way back home. Their circle of friends had moved closer to one of the last metal barrels that kept a flame. Luxord had brought his acoustic bass and was the only one who seemed unaffected by the growing haze. In fact, he was one of the lucky guys whose skills strengthened with increased inebriation. Since the girl who brought the stereo to the party had left, he used his talents to bring music to the last remaining patrons. After the ice had melted, they dug a pit in the sand to keep the remaining bottles of gin cool, although at this point it wouldn't have mattered.
"Analog, brah. If I had my way we would all be watching on… uh… film! Super eight all the way! I mean, what's the point of watching a tape if it's not in, like, chrono… chronic… chron… cha…" Riku couldn't think of the right word and turned his angered face to Demyx, who was making sand castles closer to the bay and away from the fumes. "Uh, hey! Demyx!"
"Chronological order," the mohawked man replied while decorating one of his towers with seaweed.
Riku nodded and turned pointedly back to Sora. "Chromolodical order." Obviously alcohol and pot didn't mix. Regardless, Riku held up his fifth cup that night to Sora, who was sitting closest to the drink pit, and the brunet poured him another cup. Of course, this wasn't without spilling a good portion of the remnants into the sand.
"Where'd the gin go?" Sora sighed, taking what was left and holding the bottle up to his lips so he could finish it of. "Oops… It's gone."
A loud, painful groan came from behind Sora as Wakka attempted to stand up. "We need to get back to the condo, ya? It's getting really late."
Luxord stopped strumming for a moment and checked his wristwatch. "It's getting really early," he sighed to himself. "And Xigbar has work this afternoon." He looked to his friend who still had the blunt resting in his mouth like a cigarette, slowly and carelessly puffing away. "Give me that." Luxord took the tiny stub out of his mouth and buried it the sand. Demyx had stopped working on his sand castle and walked up to his friends.
"Are you guys done for the night? Who needs a ride?" he asked. Riku raised his hand proudly and Demyx grabbed it to help the intoxicated man up. As soon as he was on his feet, he ran towards the metal bin and successfully squashed any fledging flame remaining with vomit. Sora cried out when he saw Riku throwing up into the trash bin. He ran up to him and held back his silver hair so it wouldn't get even more dirtied. As soon as he was through heaving Sora wrapped his arms around his shoulders from behind.
"Riku, don't do that. It's scary," he muttered into the crook of his neck. Riku chuckled and spat a couple of times into the bin.
"Don't worry, s'cool. I'll be fine in the morning." Riku reached up to his shoulder where Sora was executing a painful death grip and pulled his hand off so their fingers would intertwine. He turned around so they were facing each other and he rested his head the brunet's shoulder. Sora readjusted his arms so his free hand was gripping the back of Riku's muffin shirt. "I dun want you to go home," Riku mumbled, half asleep, into Sora's ear.
"Okay, Riku's definitely done for the night," Demyx sighed. "Anybody else?" When Axel and Marluxia were still in the same position they had been sitting in for the last forty-five minutes, he figured they would need help too. Sora's tanned friend seemed to have his wits about him enough to guide their group back to the condo.
Wakka helped Tidus up to his feet and the bleached blonde boy tried to find his friend. "Hey, what's up with Sora and that guy?" he barely slurred out, finding the young man and the punk hugging next to one of the fire bins. Wakka slapped himself in the face a couple of times to try and regain his mind.
"Sora?" he mumbled, turning around and shouting. "Sora! We're leaving!" At the hurried sound of his name, Sora pulled away from Riku and turned to his friends. He was able to walk much better than Tidus, and helped Wakka in carrying the tanned young man. "Feelin' okay, buddy? You really toked 'em tonight?"
"I'm fan-fucking-tastic. …Tastic. Asstic." He started laughing suddenly. "Ass." The wasted brunet gave one last clouded look over his shoulder towards Riku, still leaning against the metal bin. He smiled and used his hand not holding up Tidus to wave to the punk. Goodbye, he mouthed with a toothy grin.
Riku looked bashfully to the sand and scratched the back of his head. When he looked up Sora was still smiling at him as the threesome started trekking up a sand dune towards their condo. Riku brushed his bangs out of his eyes and kissed the air, giving a wink in the adorable man's direction. Once Sora was out of sight, he joined the rest of his friends in the circle.
"You really are a true romantic, aren't you?" Demyx asked, arms crossed and a suspecting smile on his lips. "You know, you should probably tell him your intentions sooner rather than later."
"My intentions?"
Demyx sighed. "Look man, I know you. And I know Sora. You need to tell him what you're expecting from this or he's gonna breeze right through it."
The beach bum could barely keep his balance, much less keep track of what Demyx was trying to say. "I dunno dude. I think he's the one. I don't want to forget tonight. Remind me about it when I'm sober." Riku managed to keep his balance amazingly well when he kicked Axel in the side of his arm with his sneaker. The yellow-haired man snapped out of his position and tumbled over in the sand. He ended up laughing and trying to get the sand out of his mouth for the next ten minutes. Demyx sighed and wondered if he'd get pulled over for having a bunch of intoxicated men in the back of his truck.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"It's 6am. Las Vegas doesn't look so cool
Once the sun come up.
I draw the blinds and I dream of you."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"I didn't do anything embarrassing, did I?" Sora asked, nursing his headache by wearing a pair of sunglasses in the living room of the condo. He was starting to regret overestimating the awesomeness of having so many bay view windows with no blinds or shutters. The fluttery white curtains could only block so much. The smell of bacon wafted in from the kitchenette, along with the sizzling sound as they were placed one by one onto the skillet.
Wakka, having dropped the last strip of bacon down to be cooked, laughed at Sora. "Don't look at me. I don't even know how we got home last night."
The television was showing children's cartoons on mute while Sora remained poised on the couch, paying more attention to the crashing waves right outside. He didn't expect to wake up this early, but was grateful he did. He caught Wakka in the kitchen getting ready to make the greasiest breakfast he had had in a long time. "It's good for a hangover," Wakka had reasoned, but really Sora didn't need an excuse. It beat a simple bowl of cereal or grapefruit like Kairi usually fed him in the morning.
Sora stood up and stretched, popping his back and trying to get his blood circulating. "Should I wake Tidus up?"
"Only if you want Kairi to be a widow."
While he was up, he decided to return to his bedroom and check his cell phone. Not surprisingly, the missed call light was flashing. Very surprisingly, they weren't from Kairi. Riku had called once already this morning, but he must have still been asleep and didn't hear it. Sora smiled and shut the door to his bedroom and pressed the call back button.
"Hello?"
Sora smiled. "Hey, sexy." He may not have remembered much about what happened after his first hit, but he definitely remembered what happened before the party.
"Oh! Uh- hey, Sora," Riku replied, sounding quite flustered. The brunet laughed at what he must look like right now, a normally poised punk with disheveled hair and tangled up in his bed sheets. "I'm sorry if I woke you up this morning, I was just checking if you got home okay. You sound okay. …Are you?"
"I'm fine. Don't act shocked but that wasn't exactly my first time partying."
"An honor student like yourself?"
"Flattered. Anyway, I'm hung over and feel like shit. Wanna surf?"
"The perfect cure. What time?"
Sora cracked open his door and listened to the sound of Wakka taking the bacon off the skillet. "Make it in an hour. I've gotta digest."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"Here I am sitting on the beach again
Watching as the tide comes rolling in.
I miss the times when I looked into your eyes
A sacrifice I made for paradise."
…o…o…o…o…o…
Sora really didn't wait for his food to digest. As soon as he could eat as much bacon and toast as he could possibly stomach, he changed into his board shorts and shouted goodbye to Wakka before heading out through the sliding door in his bedroom. At the same spot they had met yesterday, just past the dunes and out of sight from the condo windows, Riku was already sitting in the sand with the two surfboards waiting. When the punk saw Sora approaching, he stood up quickly and smiled.
"Punctual," Sora commented. "I like that in a man."
"…Hey." Riku smiled crookedly as Sora walked up to him. He could have sworn that the brunet winked at him, or perhaps he was just wincing at the bright sun, but Riku didn't really know how to respond until Sora had already picked up his loaner funboard. The young man had taken to a sprint towards the bay and jumped into the water as soon as it was deep enough. Riku grabbed his long board and followed close behind.
"I think I seriously got it this time," Sora said as he lay on his stomach while a wave crested under him. Riku had caught up and they paddled a little farther together. While Sora sat perched on his funboard, Riku leaned back on his and sighed. The brunet was such a little enigma wrapped in a conundrum wrapped in a miracle. People like him don't just come into your life so easily. That only happened in sappy romance novels.
Five minutes passed with the sound of the wind breaking waves and seagulls by the bay. Riku had given up on waiting for the perfect wave and laid back on his board while Sora remained ever vigilant. At one point Sora actually tried to ride one of the weak waves to shore but ended up crashing before he could make it past a few yards.
"It's kind of dead today," Sora called out to the punk as he broke his head out of the water. He paddled back over to Riku and clumsily grappled for a better hold on his funboard.
"What should we do, then?" Riku sighed, still lying on his back and letting his legs drift in the open sea. Sora smiled slyly, noting that Riku's eyes were closed peacefully. He let go of his funboard and silently dipped under the water. He used his legs to powerfully jet forward and tackle into Riku's legs from below. The punk didn't know what hit him as he screamed and fell off his board into the ocean. When he resurfaced the first thing he heard was Sora's choking laughter.
"Sora! You little sonuva bitch! I'm gonna kill you!" He had to dip under water first to help pull his long hair out of his face. The brunet was still laughing when Riku splashed back out and jumped onto his shoulders, forcing the young man to take an unsuspected dive. While underwater, Sora wrapped his arms around Riku's waist and forced the punk to stay under as well. When both boys couldn't last, Sora was the first to start breaking for the sky, bringing Riku up with him. They gasped for air while laughing uncontrollably at the same time. Sora kept his arms loosely around Riku's body, letting his fingers delicately rub up against the small of Riku's back.
"Thanks."
Riku hovered in the water, puzzled, his hands safely being kept busy by trying to stay floating. "What'd I do?" Riku asked, as if he were being accused of something. Sora didn't have a smart reply to this one, and instead simply shrugged his shoulders and leaned his head to the side, suddenly finding the ripples in the water Riku made while attempting to hover extremely interesting. For someone who apparently knew so much about surfing he wasn't a very good swimmer.
"You're here," Sora answered after a moment, "and you don't make it seem like this is weird."
The punk frowned softly and looked meaningfully into his eyes. "Should it be?"
"It shouldn't, but this isn't how I expected it would happen…"
All color seemed to pale from Riku's face. "Oh, wow… You aren't… I'm not your-"
"Oh. Oh no, it's not like that!" Sora stated, removing his hands from Riku's back and taking hold of the funboard nearby. Riku followed suit and hopped on his board and took a seat. "I've had… guys before, y'know? But, and I don't really know how to explain it, but I've given up on trying to find a man I could connect with. I think that I'm…" Sora trailed off and started spinning his feet in the water as a distraction.
"…I think I know what you mean. I've never really felt this way about someone before either." Riku used the heel of his foot to hook around Sora's ankle, bringing them closer together while still afloat on their boards. "It feels a little odd asking, but do you want to go do something, together? Maybe someplace a little more serious?" Sora blinked and looked into Riku's eyes, and punk suddenly panicked. "I mean, not if you don't want to, of course. I don't want to pressure you into anything, if you're not ready." Riku added a hint of nervous laughter at the end coupled with a feeble groan.
"You want to go on a date." Sora stated in reconfirmation. Riku didn't know how to respond eloquently and ended up nodding his head a couple of times and muttering 'yes' under his breath. "Riku, I think you should know that… I think you're really cool," he finished the rest of his sentence very quickly, and couldn't help but feel like he sounded like a high school girl. In his mind he tried to come up with the easiest way to let him know that he sort of had someone else to preoccupy his time back at Bastion. "But there's a lot of stuff going on in my life right now… And I really, really can't have a boyfriend right now. Seriously."
"Oh. You're in the closet?"
"Whu- No!" Sora immediately shouted. "I mean, yeah, kinda. I only let people know who I want knowing… You, obviously."
"Yeah, me – and Axel and Marluxia and Xigbar and a whole bunch of people that you've barely known for a few days." Riku paused for a moment, wondering why Sora would be working so hard to keep this a secret. "…Do Wakka and Tidus know?"
Sora averted his gaze to the water and Riku took that as a 'no'. He sighed deeply and leaned back on his board. "Wow. I hate to disappoint you but I'm one of the most out guys at the harbor."
The brunet chuckled slightly. "Why would that make me upset?"
"Because if you're seen with me, people are gonna talk."
Riku was giving him an out. Sora would be stupid not to accept it. He should just take the bait, agree that it would be too risky to continue, and say their goodbyes. Instead the brunet boy looked him in the eye. "So, tomorrow night at eight?"
…o…o…o…o…o…
"What more can I say?
I never wanted it to be this way,
And where the hell is yesterday?
...We sure had a blast!"
…o…o…o…o…o…
Sora kept himself busy the earlier part of the afternoon by awkwardly pacing the floor of his bedroom. What he had taken to be silly joke from Riku was actually the truth. He had less than seven hours before Riku would be arriving on his doorstep to take him on a… a date. The word didn't sound right even as it was rolling in Sora's subconscious. He tried talking Riku around the topic that he might have someone else in his life, but he just couldn't win. He nearly jumped out of his socks when his cell phone rang. Hoping it was Riku, he dived onto his bed and scrambled across it to the bedside table where his cell lay. Checking the caller ID, of course, it was Kairi.
"Hello?" she chirped as soon as Sora pressed the accept key.
"Hey, Kairi," Sora said slowly, wondering what she could possibly want at this most awkward minute.
"I just wanted to see how my little sailor was doing. How was the party the other night?"
Sora had honestly spent a good part of Wednesday morning trying to remember what exactly had gone on the night before, but nothing substantial came up. It probably wouldn't have been a good idea to tell Kairi about getting drunk and toked up. While, like any college student, she would imbibe, she seriously frowned upon drug use. "Uh… You know… Beach party stuff. There was a bonfire and music. One of the guys brought out his guitar and played a little bit."
"Was he cute?"
"Kairi."
"Sorry! Just asking…"
Sora smirked, trying to tell himself not to take this so seriously. "Not as cute as you." He could practically hear her rolling her eyes over the phone.
"Well, I have the colors all settled for the reception and I was told that everything should be shipped on time. Are you getting excited?"
"Totally," Sora replied wistfully. "I just wish I could be there for something."
"Oh, I know, it's hurting for me, too. But I'm getting so much done. You're a little distraction, you know?"
"I guess I'm not really good at keeping you focused, am I?"
"Absolutely not, but you're pretty kick ass at keeping me awesome." At this point Sora could imagine her walking around her apartment with a large, dorky grin while getting tangled up in the cord of her phone. "What time is it?"
Sora, forgetting where he was for a minute, he pulled back on his phone and looked at the screen before he remembered that it couldn't tell him the time during a call. He glanced at all walls of the bedroom before his eyes landed on the little black clock by the closet. "A shade after one."
"Crap. Now look at you, you're making run late for an appointment."
"Sorry Kai," he replied sheepishly. "I'll call you later?"
"Chyeah, if you remember," she sighed. "I'll call you, how's that sound?"
"Sounds stellar."
They said their goodbyes, did that standard couple routine where "No, you hang up first" is cooed back and forth, and Sora continued to hold his breath until Kairi ended the call from her line. Letting out a prolonged sigh, Sora tossed his cell phone on the bed and stood pathetically in the middle of his room.
He was the worst fiancé of all time.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"I woke up from this dream to find that I was sleeping
So I went back to sleep and I dreamed I was awake.
I locked myself inside but you were on the outside
I stood outside and watched but I couldn't let you in."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"Where are you headed?" Wakka asked from the living room. Sora wasn't hoping to make a scene, in fact he was hoping to sneak out of the apartment unnoticed before Riku arrived. He should have just left through the bay window like before.
"I'm just going out. Checking out the town, no big deal," Sora replied, hoping and praying that his friends wouldn't notice his change of clothes. Even though he wished he had something nicer than a pair of Bermuda shorts and a yellow polo, his friends would definitely notice the difference between his usual messy style.
Luckily, his friends were also completely captivated by the movie they were watching in the dark to notice, much less turn around at all. "Mkay, have fun, ya?"
Sora hummed an affirmative and tried his best to sneak out and the shut the door behind him as silently as possible. Once he heard the bearings click from inside, he sighed deeply and turned around quickly, almost knocking Riku to the floor.
"Ohmigosh!" Sora cried out as the punk took a tumble backwards and caught himself on the patio railing. "Riku, hi! Are you okay?" Almost instantly he was standing up straight and dusting himself off.
"Yeah, of course, I'm fine. I'm cool." He looked up at Sora and grinned. He was wearing black flip flops, yellow and black plaid shorts, and a yellow shirt. He looked like a cute little plaid bumblebee, but he wasn't about to tell the brunet that. Sora was nervously scratching the back of his head while trying to sneak peeks at Riku without being too obvious. The punk was wearing tight brown pants rolled up to his calves with a pair of bright green Converse. He finished the look with a loose-knit white cotton button-up, with the first few buttons undone… Sora was so used to seeing the punk in dark, clashing clothes that the outfit made the situation more formal. "So… uh, you're ready to leave?"
"Oh! Yeah, sorry. I was trying to get out of my apartment before my friends asked, y'know, too many questions…" Sora trailed off at the end, remembering what Riku had said about him being the most out person at the Harbor. If people around saw just the two of them out tonight there wouldn't be any doubt that it was for a date.
"Don't worry about it," Riku said, holding out his hand in what Sora thought was a gesture to take it, but instead he found a small bouquet of daisies. "For the gentleman, courtesy of Marluxia at Pansies."
Sora laughed for a moment, taking one of the glass rain-collecting jars surrounding the drainage pipe of the condo and stuck them inside. "They're lovely," Sora stated, half in a joking way and half serious. He had never been given flowers before, and they were nice. "So what did you have in store for our grand night out?"
"Oh, y'know, dinner and some mischief. We'll see where the night takes us." Riku turned and started walking down the stairs to the deck slowly so Sora would catch up. They walked side-by-side down the walkway until they reached the boardwalk.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"Do you know what it's like
To live somewhere that sucks?
And everyone tries to bring you down.
No place for you to go
And see a punk rock show.
And spend your whole life trying to get out."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"So, you're in a band. You wanna talk more about it?"
"What's there to tell that I haven't already said yet?"
"Okay, umm… What's your most embarrassing onstage moment?"
Riku and Sora were facing opposite each other in a booth at a seafood restaurant overlooking the pier. Since the hostess was promised free cover for the next 13 Hearts show, she saved them a seat outside where the wait was usually very long. The punk sat against the wooden railings and let his feet rest on his booth seat.
"Oh, God, seriously? You're pulling out blackmail material on the first date?" He laughed to himself and looked out towards the beach where a family was feeding a flock of seagulls. "Well… there was this one night when the band was first starting out. This was like back in high school before we even found Luxord and Xig. Marly got sick so it was just Axel and me and we were playing this small set of seven. They were all just friends that had come to the coffee house to support us. We were playing this one song where Axel had to play the drums and I had to pick up guitar, and I didn't have my own so I had to borrow Axel's and – well, you don't know this but Axel's very picky about his guitars – and so we're playing and playing and we're even gathering some of the outside crowd that had just stopped by for drinks. And suddenly the string tying the strap onto the guitar becomes undone. I was able to catch the guitar before it fell, but I wanted to keep playing, right? So I'm playing this guitar while placing tabs and holding up the neck at the same time. Eventually Axel sees what's going on and stops the song before we're finished so he can tie the strap back onto the guitar."
"That's pretty crazy."
"It could've been worse. Like I said, most of the people there were friends so they knew that it was typical Axel, and it's not like the set was going to be a flying success with only two of us there. He doesn't even know how to play drums." Riku paused for the sake of the waitress stopping by and dropping off water. "So… What about you? You're in college, right? What're you doing spending two weeks in the harbor, shouldn't you be worried about finals or something?"
Sora took his glass and a few sips of water from the straw. "Oh, well technically we're in summer break right now. I only have one semester left and things are kinda busy right now."
"Oh, like family issues? Or a 'self discovery' type of busy?"
"…Yeah, something like both."
"Then I won't pry. So, uh, what's your major?"
The brunet laughed at the question. The first two things anybody on campus is likely to ask you are what year are you and what your major is. They're important questions, but he felt like it didn't really relate to what kind of person he was. "Undeclared."
"You say you one semester left and you're still undeclared? I never went to college, but isn't that sort of a bad thing?"
"Hey, don't pressure me," Sora said playfully. "I'll decide what I want when I'm good and ready. It's just that I don't really know what I'm good at yet. I get mostly As and Bs in all my topics, but none of it's really fun."
"Well if you're looking for fun, have you tried the arts? You picked up that Adam Ant music book the other day, maybe you should try something like that."
Sora shook his head as the waitress came by to take their order. Riku ordered shrimp while Sora stuck with a grilled salmon. "No, no I'm not really talented like that at all. Roxas is the one with the musical talent, even though he doesn't really like it."
"Who's Roxas?"
"Oh! Sorry, that's my brother's name."
Riku glanced up and puckered his lip in thought. "Oh, right, right. The one that can sing." Sora was surprised he could remember that little detail. "Well, maybe it's just God's cruel joke of giving somebody something they don't really need. But there're other things out there besides music. My little sister, Fuu, she's really good with journalism and is looking into getting into Bastion's communications college. There's art in illustration, sculpture, acting…"
"I guess I just feel like it's too late for me to start doing that sort of stuff. The only success stories you ever hear about are those kids that started playing piano when they were four and the illustrators that started drawing when they were babies. I'm too old."
Riku leaned over the table and flicked Sora on the forehead. "Sora you're not old. You've got your entire life ahead of you to explore. Don't say stupid stuff like that."
Sora sighed and leaned back into his chair. It certainly didn't seem like he had his whole life in front of him.
…o…o…o…o…o…
"Maybe I'm not ready for this, and you know it.
Maybe I'm too scared to tell you what I'm really thinking
It's not fair to stay together because of regrets we might have."
…o…o…o…o…o…
"Okay," Riku sighed as they walked down the palm tree lined sidewalk blocks away from Sora's condo. "You've been down in the dumps all night. Thanks for the pity smiles and stuff but that shit doesn't fly for me."
Sora blinked and glanced at the punk. He didn't mean to act so sour but he couldn't get the immediate problems of this current situation out of his mind. "Can we go to the beach?" he asked, not waiting for Riku's reply and heading off the paved path through the brush towards the bay. He could hear grunting behind him as the punk tried to get past the bushes and shrubs to follow his lead.
"Sora, wait! Yeah…" he grunted as they made it past a series of prickly agaves into the clearing of the sandy beach. "Yeah, okay, no problem." Riku obviously seemed a little upset that the evening wasn't going exactly as he had planned. It was so difficult to understand, especially since everything seemed to be going so well just the other day. He knew that when walking Sora back to his condo the most he could hope for was a goodnight kiss, but not getting his shins torn up walking through the wilderness to visit the beach. He had every intention not to get sand in his shoes this night.
The brunet paused at the edge of the clearing and simply stared at the water, still a good fifty yards away. "I wanted to talk to you," Sora sighed, glad that the sounds of the crashing waves seemed to block out noises of people around them. It seemed a little more private than walking on the sidewalk late at night where other couples were holding hands and passing by merrily. People tended to avoid the beach late at night anyway.
"Okay, about what?"
Sora was once again silent as he tried to formulate the right words that danced on the tip of his tongue. "…Why did you ask me out? What did you expect from me?"
Riku shrugged and followed Sora's line of sight out towards the horizon. The sky and the sea blended together in a black void, with the occasional ship sailing into the docks further north. "I was hoping for a nice dinner, good conversation, and a chance for a second date."
"Seriously?"
"Uh… yeah?" Riku replied questioningly. He thought that these were the expectations that everyone had when going out on a first date.
"You seriously want to go out on a second date with me?"
Riku smirked. "That depends. Do you seriously want to?"
Once again, Sora fell silent and listened to the sounds of the breaking waves. "I really like you, too, Riku." Out of the corner of his eye he could see the punk bouncing shortly on the balls of his feet, as if he were trying to hide it. It was gestures like that that made him seem so adorable despite what his looks tried to affirm. Sora frowned and took a few steps closer to the water. "But, honestly… I'm sorry for leading you on, you're a really great guy, but…"
It seemed like Riku had heard this all before. "But there's someone else you like." All of the excitement there was before was immediately quashed. It wasn't a question, and the tone hurt Sora and made him think that this was a situation Riku was all too familiar with.
"…Yeah, something like that. Yeah."
Sora wasn't expecting a pair of strong arms to envelop him from behind. He didn't even hear Riku come closer, and it was definitely a welcoming motion that shielded Sora from the surprising chill of the sea air at night. He could feel Riku's nervously quaking breath near his ear.
"I don't care." There was a sense of painful déjà vu.
"You don't even know me."
Almost before he could finish his sentence Riku was talking again. "Your name is Sora Strife and you're an undeclared senior at Bastion University. You have a little brother named Roxas who can sing well but doesn't like to. You like Adam Ant, which is so many different shades of awesome. You're in the closet, and that affects how you live your life. You partied with Demyx in high school and tagged the streets and beat all of my high scores on Galaga. You like it when strangers come in through windows - there's something sorta wicked about that. You like independent movies but you put on a front around your friends and pretend to like screwball comedies. You don't like horror movies, and I have every intention of changing that. You're a reckless drunk. I think you should be a Liberal Arts major. You have an amazing kiss."
Sora was stunned, because it was all true and most of it he never remembered telling him. He reached up and gripped one of Riku's arms that remained strapped around his chest and slowly peeled it away.
"…Your name is Riku Kuroyama. You have a little sister named Fuu who wants to go into journalism. You're the lead singer for the underground punk band and I haven't even heard you play yet but I know that you're going to be amazing. You're so out of the closet and I think it's amazing how you don't let it hold you back. You lived in Traverse Town for school before you were old enough to move down here on your own. You like graphic arts and loud music and anything that can keep your brain from moving a mile a minute. You find solace in being able to sit down and come up with lyrics because it distracts you from thinking too much. You're surprisingly very tolerant when people say your last name wrong. You like to be around friends and people in general. I… absolutely love the way you jump around when you get excited."
Riku didn't ask for permission when he softly gripped Sora's shoulder so he could turn him around. They kissed softly in moonlight, hidden from the world in the shadows of the palm trees and shielded by the sounds of the crashing waves. It was another secret kiss, the one that they would always treasure and never tell another soul. Sora's lips were so plush and soft, and Riku hummed and smiled in spite of himself at the good fortune of being able to feel this again.
When they broke away, Riku chanced a look into Sora's eyes, but they were still closed with a faint smile. Once he got a glimpse of those baby blue eyes through thick, prison bar lashes, he reached his hand up and softly rearranged the brunet's spiky-soft bangs so he could get a better look. Sora embarrassedly looked down towards the sand and sighed, leaning forward and letting Riku wrap his arms around him once again for a proper hug. "I work the next couple of days," Riku mumbled in a faint whisper, barely audible over the wind and the waves. "But we have a show Saturday night at the pizza place, same as last weekend. I want you to come."
Sora reached around and grabbed onto the cloth of Riku's shirt, returning hug tenderly. "…Okay."
…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…o…
"When half of all your prayers are insincere,
The other half are lies.
Here is this watermark under this bridge.
The point where it all crested,
Rolled back and drifted into the sea."
She was sobbing uncontrollably. "I called you first for a reason!" she wailed. "What do I do? What do I fucking do?" She heaved into the receiver, losing the battle to keep her wits about her. This was a miracle, and at the same time this was the worst moment of her entire life.
"I climb from this wreckage
As the smoke begins to clear from my lungs.
The closest of close calls has happened tonight."
He continued to lean his head against the glass, phone at hand and considering whether or not he should dial the number again. That was really stupid, and maybe this was a sign. No more calling, no more requests, no more regrets. He made this decision and he would stick with it. The insurmountable pain of loss was crippling, a feeling nobody should experience more than once and he was already on his second break in his short life. As she stood by the door, she struggled to make sure he would be okay. "I'll leave, for now. Do you have a place to stay for the night?" she asked. All he could do was look at his phone and hoped his friend would call him back.
"It's time that I made things right
For the first time,
Since the last time.
Let this moment of clarity
Lift this curse that has been cast upon me."
He paused, listening to the voice on the other line. He was elated and terrified, but she was so somber. It crushed him more than he thought possible. "It'll be okay," he cooed, trying to help her calm down. Deep breaths. This is what you've always wanted, just… not this way. "What do you want to do? Do you want to keep it? I'm not pressuring you, I can fully support you either way."
"Appreciate the good times,
But don't take the worst for granted.
'Cause you only get so many second chances."
He turned off his music player and checked his phone. He thought he felt his phone buzzing and frowned slightly when he saw his name on the screen. There was a point in his past where seeing the name would make his stomach quake, but now it just made him unpleasantly anxious. What could his friend possibly want now?
"No matter how much you learn, no matter how much you earn,
you are still yourself and exactly as close to the edge as where you began.
And all you can ever learn is what you already know."
Growing tired with staring up at the blank ceiling, he sat up on his bed, phone at hand, and dialed numbers on the back of a business card that was handed off to him at an afterparty weeks ago. One ring, two, three, "Hello?" He sat up straighter and cleared his voice. "Uh, hey, is this Terra with Wayfinder? …This is Axel Rose, we met at a party a little while ago and you mentioned something about being really interested about a tour, and you gave me your number… Yeah, I talked it over with the band, and we're all really interested. We've never really toured outside of the state… Yeah, yeah that sounds awesome!" Manically searching for a pen, he finally found one on the floor and started writing down a name and email address of a tour manager on one of the pages of sheet music littering his carpet. "Okay, I got it, and I'll give him a call real soon. Thank you so much for this opportunity."
-The Ataris-
"Eight of Nine"
oooOOOoooOOOoooOOOoooOOOooo
ugh fuck me with a chainsaw. I was hoping to be done with the extra chapter I'm writing since a lot of it has to do with the stuff that happens in the b-sides (& i've been retconning lil things here and there to make it work) and I'm nowhere near finished (it looks like the bonus chapter is significantly longer than all three b-sides combined hahaaha…a). Anyway, I'll do my best!
(so in the original version of the fic Axel's "real name" was Alex Paul - 'a les paul.' I wrote this before Lea was a thing, but it actually ended up fitting incredibly well with the original pun that I decided to change it…)
I'm still not finished with BbS T_T; It's been hard finding tv time the past few weeks (my roommates have sort of gotten fed up with me hogging the tv for gaming so they're taking the livingroom back. When I get home from work they've usually already started a movie since their hours let them come home earlier… I mean, I leave for work later than them so it's a trade-off but I have no faith in myself to start playing Kingdom Hearts and just stop when it's time to leave for work.) So far I'm on Aqua's story, just wrapped up Olympus and will be moving on to the Stitch level next… I get the feeling I need to power level with her a little bit more. I want her to be a fucking tank.
Also, distracting me from getting any semblance of work done, I just finished reading all of Haikyuu this morning. It took me just another a week to get caught up. Honestly, it's been nice having something other than Kingdom Hearts to think about. Also started watching My Love Story! I love the manga so far (although I haven't had a chance to read the fourth volume yet…) All of my friends are going to TCAF this year but I can't afford the trip so I'm basically just gonna be a sadsack while they get to meet Aya Kanno. If you guys haven't read Requiem of the Rose King yet, def check it out. She also did this series Otomen that I'm in the process of getting from my local comic shop. The first three volumes were perfect and I'm interested in seeing how the rest of the story goes. (I used to be the Manga Girl at a LCS but the mantle has been passed down to a new girl who's making sure they're up to date on all the shoujo and it makes my shriveled, blackened heart swell with pride.)
So, as I mentioned in the last chapter, there'll be another two-week break between updates. I'll see you guys again on May 4th! (i'll try to get more work done and read less sports manga ;_;)
AND PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LEAVE A REVIEW! Follow/fav! (love u mean it)