AN: Okay, so you guys are gonna hate me after this. But just remember, it needed to happen. I can't sacrifice plot for personal interest. Just keep this in mind, and remember what happened in Attempted Suicide. I swear it's not the end. Reviewers!

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I've found out something unbelievably exciting!! I was checking out my stats a few days ago, and found out that Attempted Suicide has over 27,000 hits! O.o I almost died right there. And then I found out that it was in 2 community categories: Best of the Best Slash Fiction and Favorite Complete Stories. If this is in any way normal, please don't tell me. I got an amazing ego boost and have been writing like crazy. It would do no good to bring me down. Anyway, even if you hate me afterwards, I hope you enjoy!

Oh, and sidenote: The title of this chapter is from a line in the song Australia by The Shins

Disclaimer: I don't own it


Most kids like it when their birthday comes around. It's the one day a year they can look forward to that they get gifts, money, attention; much more than any other time of year.

Me, not so much.

It's not that I absolutely hated my birthday, but every year my mom threw me a huge "surprise" party. As if it was still a surprise by this point. No, I expected it every bit, and could probably recite the guest list without even having to look at it. Sora was usually employed to distract me while everyone set up, but this time it was Larxene who was doing the job. She took me to the restaurant where she worked, positively hyperventilating about the quality.

The food was definitely good, but not exactly like the food of the gods I had imagined. I should have known that my drama-queen sister would blow everything way out of proportion.

"Are you enjoying your meals?"

I looked up to find our waiter, a British blonde man Larxene had informed me was named Luxord, hovering over us with an obviously fake smile on his face. Larxene countered with one of her own.

"Yes, Luxord, it's amazing. Give my compliments to Axel, would you?"

He promised he would, but his body language just screamed that he didn't really give a damn. I grimaced at him when he turned away and went back to my food.

"That guy is just a closet-case waiting to happen," Larxene said, taking a sip of her coke. "So, you and Sora have plans today?"

I shrugged. "If I can get away from mom, I'm sure I'll find something." In fact, I had a very specific something in mind.

Sora had become gradually more comfortable with the physical stuff the last few months, and, to my great enjoyment, we had had sex more times than I dared to count. It was going to be torture getting through today if I couldn't at least touch him in private.

"Right…" Larxene said, making a face at what I assumed were disturbing mental images. "I don't want to know. Anyway, what do you want to do next? I promised mom I wouldn't take you back until they're all set up."

I shrugged. Truthfully, I would rather be out with Sora right now. But he was unfortunately recruited by my mom to help set things up so I was stuck without him for a good part of the day.

"Oh, I know!" Larxene said, her eyes shining brightly. "Why don't you come meet Axel? I'm sure he'd love you!"

I opened my mouth to protest against it, but thankfully I didn't need to. Larxene's phone started ringing in her pocket, and it was with some reluctance that she pulled it out and held it to her ear.

"Hello? Yeah, okay. We'll be there soon. Bye."

She sighed unhappily. "Come on, it's time."

I grumbled a little, grateful I didn't have to meet this Axel character but still not looking forward to the headache that would be today. I crossed my fingers and begged for today to go quickly.

---

It was as atrocious as I'd thought it would be. The whole jumping out from behind bushes and protrusions thing and yelling "Surprise!" was getting old by this time. In an effort to be different, and I guess because today was such a nice day, mom had set up everything outside.

I could smell burgers, hot dogs, and even ribs cooking on the grill, and the background scent of roasted pineapple and bananas. Grudgingly, I admitted that the food made it all worth it. My mom always made my favorites on my birthday, including her world-famous potato salad.

I was sort of passed around to everyone, like a giant party favor. I met with all my friends and family members that could make it, and even some people I couldn't remember ever meeting before. Strangely, the one person I was looking for didn't seem to be around. He was probably hiding from Kairi, who was by the house chatting up one of my cousins.

"Hey, where's Sora?" I asked my mom, who was busy on the grill.

"Uhm…I think he went around back. Said he had some special surprise for your birthday."

I couldn't keep the smile from spreading across my face as I thought of the possibilities of those words. But I tried to squelch it, reasoning that it could easily be something completely different.

I made my way to the back of the house and found Sora there, leaning against the house with his arms folded. A smile spread across his face when he noticed me, and he pushed himself away from the back wall to meet with me halfway.

"Finally," he said, kissing me. "I thought you weren't coming."

"I only just found out you were back here," I said, grinning and wrapping my arms around his waist. "So, what is this 'special surprise' you have for me?"

Sora hooded his eyes seductively and leaned up to pull me into a languid kiss. My heart stuttered at that and I pressed as close as I possibly could, wishing with all my heart I could get closer to him; to feel the part of him that made him Sora, the boy I was desperately in love with.

When Sora finally pulled away, face flushed and panting, he grinned. "That wasn't actually it. Think of that as a bonus."

Oh, I will, I thought as I waited, dazed.

Sora pulled away from me with some reluctance and went to stand beside something covered with a sheet. It was sort of biggish, so I could understand why he hadn't wrapped it.

"This is what I wanted to give you," Sora said, grinning. "Go on, see what it is."

Frowning, I leaned over to pull the sheet off and gasped as it revealed a beautiful boat painted glossy red and white. It was definitely made for two people, and the oars matched the boat perfectly.

"Sora," I said, "Where…?"

"I made it," Sora said proudly. "Well…I didn't do it alone. I had some help from Leon at the hardware store."

I grinned. I remembered Leon. He and I had never really spent much time together, but he had been like an older brother to Sora for years. And if Leon had helped, it was definitely a sturdy vessel.

"I don't know what to say," I said, staring at the beautiful boat.

Sora grinned and stepped closer so I could wrap an arm around his shoulders. "You could always say, 'Thank you, Sora, for the wonderful gift.'"

I smirked. "Thank you for the wonderful gift," I said, kissing the top of his head. I glanced out at the sea and the small island; our island. "Wanna take it for a test run?" I said, smirking wickedly.

---

The boat ran a lot smoother than the little one we always used. And maybe it was my imagination, but it seemed to me that Sora was a lot less nervous in it. When we reached land, he wrapped his arms around my waist.

"You know," he said silkily, "The boat wasn't the only special surprise I had planned." I had to fight back the shiver at his words and bent down to claim his mouth.

I laid Sora out on the sand, straddling him gently. I kissed him fiercely, again faced with the overwhelming urge to get as close to him as possible. My hands roamed over every inch of skin I could reach, trying to remove the vexing shirt without breaking the kiss.

I gave up eventually and moved to his pants, unzipping and yanking them down in one fluid movement. They landed with a soft thump on the sand a few feet away. His boxer's weren't so lucky; they landed half in the water.

I pulled away when air became an issue and took the opportunity to get the shirt off of my smaller lover. I pulled my own shirt off as I felt him quickly working on my pants.

I wanted to take it slow, to enjoy it as much as possible, but I was being overwhelmed by the feel of his hot skin under my fingers and his hands skimming the most sensitive part of me as my pants and boxers were discarded. I need to be inside him, now.

"Condom," I gasped, latching onto his chest and sucking.

He moaned. "In my…p-pocket," he said shakily, gesturing vaguely in the direction I threw his pants. I practically lunged for them and found the small package quickly. Any minute I was away from him was torture.

I took a few minutes to prepare him, using spit as lubrication, but his moans and gasps nearly pushed me over the edge. I stopped before I was truly sure he was completely prepared, but I knew he would be okay.

I pulled him up and closer to me, pulling him half onto my lap. He took the hint and wrapped his arms around my neck. He took a deep breath without having to be reminded and lowered himself onto me with a small grimace of pain.

A little worried, I forced myself to stay absolutely still. But then Sora started moving and I couldn't stop myself from thrusting upwards into him with a loud moan.

The rest was a complete blur, except for the end which was clear as glass. The complete ecstasy that ran through my veins at the feel of skin against skin when orgasm hit was such that I knew I would never achieve with anyone else. Here, I had found the only person I ever wanted to spend my life with, and at that moment it felt like I would.

When we came down from the high, I kissed Sora's neck gently.

"I love you," I mumbled to him. He answered me readily, and pulled my face to his for a deep kiss.

"We should get back," Sora said reluctantly, not moving one inch from where he was.

"Yeah," I agreed, kissing his jaw. I kissed along the rest of his face until I reached his mouth. We kissed again, languidly, our tongues dancing together passionately. I felt myself harden the very slightest bit, and Sora pulled away.

"Okay, we really have to get back," he said amusedly. "I only brought one condom, and I'd also like to be able to walk." He kissed my nose. "Besides, someone must have missed you by now. It is your party after all."

I sighed. "I would rather be out here with you any day than be there pretending I care about some dumb birthday celebration." However, I couldn't deny the logic of his argument. If someone found out that we were both missing, rumors might begin to fly. And even though they would be true, I didn't want to put Sora through all that crap. So, reluctantly, we washed ourselves off in the water and redressed.

I smirked as I noticed Sora put on his pants without his boxers, which he hid underneath the dock. "Your ass looks nice when there are only jeans covering them," I said happily, grabbing said ass. Sora yelped and jumped away, covering his butt with his hands and blushing furiously.

"You're a perv," he said, whacking me with a fist. It didn't hurt.

"Of course," I said seductively, drawing him closer to me and burying my nose in his hair. "But I'm your perv."

Sora shook his head disbelievingly. "Let's go," he said, making his way back to the boat and doing his best to look indignant. I didn't miss the smile on his face, though, and matched it with one of my own as I joined him.

---

The day after my birthday is always a relief. Nobody bothers me anymore, and I'm free to walk into a room without a million people wishing me a happy birthday. Not to mention, nobody annoys me at lunch any more.

I ate lunch with Sora every day. Occasionally, some of our other friends would join us, but since neither of us really paid much attention to them they usually went off on their own.

I was in the middle of making plans with Sora to go see a movie during the weekend when someone came to our table that was unwelcome on all fronts; Kairi.

"Hey, Sora, Riku," she said shyly, playing with her hair in a way I knew she did when she was undeniably nervous. I forced my face to fall into a friendly, relaxed state as I waited patiently for her to state the business of her arrival. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Sora stare at her tensely.

"Uhm…I wanted to know if I could speak to Sora in private?" she said, directing the question towards me. I shrugged, and gestured towards the frozen figure sitting across from me. She turned her inquisitive gaze towards him and he nodded, standing up awkwardly from the table.

I watched them move away across the lunchroom. I forced myself to eat my lunch, cursing the fact that I couldn't hear what they were saying. It felt like an eternity before Sora sat back down again, a dazed look on his face.

"So what did she say?" I asked, curiosity burning.

He shook his head slowly. "I'll tell you later, okay?" I couldn't get any more conversation out of him than that, and we spent the rest of lunch in silence.

---

Sora came to my house after school, and on the walk there he chattered on and on about meaningless stuff. I pretended to listen, but my mind was occupied with worry about what I knew needed to be said. By his reaction, I knew it had to be bad.

When we reached my house, I was relieved to find the house empty. Thinking I could maybe soften the blow of what was to come, I pulled Sora to me in a kiss.

For the first time since we'd been together, Sora pushed me away. He looked down at the ground guiltily. "We have to…talk first, okay?"

Stunned, I nodded and followed him to the couch.

We sat next to each other, but with an obvious gap between us. I felt an impending sense of doom at the déjà vu, and sat rigidly with my hands clasped between my knees so I wouldn't be tempted to cover my ears and avoid what Sora had to tell me.

"So…you know how Kairi wanted to talk to me today, right?" he asked rhetorically, watching me. I nodded, not trusting my voice.

"She and I, well…we have a lot of history together. I really, really love her, Riku."

So do we, I wanted to say. And you love me too, don't you? Say it, say you love me…

"Anyway, she told me she had made a mistake by breaking up with me and asked if I wanted to get back together."

I clenched my eyes shut. I so badly wanted to protest against this, to say he was mine now and it was just too damn bad that she suddenly decided she wanted him back now. But my mouth wouldn't open, wouldn't form the words. I could only sit, still as a statue, and force myself to breathe.

"I said…I would have to think on it."

My breath caught and my gaze snapped up to his. Maybe there was hope after all. "Why?" I asked.

He took a deep breath. "Because I love you too much to be with her while I was with you." I felt my body relax, and let out a breath I had been holding in a whoosh. I slid closer to him, reaching my arms out for an embrace, but he held out his hand to stop me.

"I'm not finished," he said quietly. "I can't be with her while I'm with you, so…we have to break up."

My heart could have shriveled up and fallen to the bottom of my ribcage, and I probably wouldn't have noticed it. I stared at him openmouthed, shocked, hoping against hope that this was all a bad dream I would wake up from. I pleaded with my eyes at him, but he averted his gaze, staring down at the carpet.

"I hope…we can still be friends…?" He made it a question and tentatively glanced up at me. Still in shock, I nodded dumbly. He grinned widely and I felt like I might die.

"Thank you," Sora said, leaning forward as if he would kiss me. He stopped last minute and pulled back, instead waving slightly. "I'd better go. I promised Kairi I would call her tonight." He stood up. "I'll see you later, Riku."

I watched him leave, and for a few minutes I sat in shock, staring at the door unbelievingly. Then it really hit me, with a crippling intensity that I would never have believed possible. It felt like someone had punched me in the stomach.

The tears came first, in harsh sobs that made it fell like claws were dragging against my throat. I wrapped my arms around my knees, pulling them tightly against my chest in a fetal position. It was an attempt to keep myself from falling apart, but it did no good anyway.

"You're such a liar, Sora," I gasped, talking to no one. I cursed his name over and over again through the tears, but simultaneously begged for him to come back and tell me he had made a mistake.

I'd forgotten how much sobbing really wore someone out. As bad as I felt, I couldn't ignore the pull of exhaustion. So I let myself fall into a restless sleep grudgingly, wishing with all my heart that I would die in my sleep.