To say that Ventus had been unsurprised when Riku shot off like a rocket at the mere mention of Sora's name would be a gross understatement. To say that he'd been unsurprised when he'd run after Riku would be a lie.
Though, Ven had to admit that Riku is surprisingly fast. Ventus had always been proud to say he was the fastest of his friends, but he'd spent an unknown amount of time asleep if he were to believe everyone's story. Or guesses, more like. No one knew exactly what had happened to him or his friends.
By the time he catches up to Riku in that main hall room, the silver haired man is simply standing in the doorway, unmoving. The doorway is large enough that when Ventus comes to a stop behind Riku he can simply peer around him to find what has stopped him.
The sight stops Ventus as well.
Sora is standing in the center of the room, staring at Riku like he doesn't know if he's real. Riku takes a shaking step forwards before taking another and another until he's standing right in front of Sora.
Aerith walks past him, into the room, looking a mix between concerned and relieved and Ventus follows her. Farther into the room, he gets a clear view as Riku, looking completely raddled, he reaches up and grabs Sora's face in his hands.
"Riku?" Sora asks, sounding worried when the silver haired teen doesn't do anything.
Riku opens his mouth a few times, trying to get words to come out, but he can't seem to form a sentence. He looks as if he might start crying and Ven's mind supplies him with the image of Riku holding Sora in the clearing. He'd been devastated. He can only imagine how relieved Riku must feel now that Sora is awake.
Or not dead. That would be the better descriptor since the others had thought he was deceased.
"Riku, you're scaring me."
That snaps Riku out of his trance and he shakes Sora really hard a few times before yelling.
"GOOD! Do you have any idea how devastated I was when you released your heart?! AGAIN?! Damnit, Sora, do you have ANY self-preservation instincts at all?!"
As Riku continues to shout at Sora, Ven decides that Riku is a terrifying person. But his voice conveys concern here when it had not earlier. Sora must be someone special, indeed.
Aerith chuckles beside him, low and subtle, and Ven gives her a questioning look.
"Sora and Riku are very close, don't you agree?"
Ven smiles and nods, glad that it's not just him that thinks so. But seeing Riku yell at Sora like this makes him think of Terra. Of what could have happened to him. Of what could have happened to Aqua. Were his friends alright? How long had he been gone from the worlds?
Are they even alive?
When Riku pulls him close and hugs him tight, Sora doesn't know how to respond. Which is highly ridiculous because at one point he'd fallen to his knees and cried like a baby in front of Riku out of relief alone. But this feels…different.
He knows what to do whenever Riku yells at him. He knows what to do if Riku lectures him. But physical affection? That was never Riku's forte and the silver haired boy rarely accepts physical touch.
So Sora settles for the safe bet and sets his hands on Riku's arms, trying to console him in some way. He hadn't meant to worry Riku, it had just been…second nature, almost, to give everything for someone else.
Sora lets his eyes drift shut and he leans his head against Riku's, which lays buried in Sora's neck as the taller boy cries softly. Riku pulls away and Sora lets him, knowing it had taken a lot to show that much emotion in front of an entire room full of people.
"Feeling better?" Sora asks.
"A bit, yeah." Riku runs his hands through his hair and subtly wipes his face so it's free of tears, "Still upset with you, though."
Sora smiles and tilts his head to the side, "Fair enough."
Then there's some silence. It's not necessarily awkward, but it's in no way comfortable. Sora scratches the back of his head as he realizes everyone except Ventus left the room at one point.
That's when Sora notices that Ven is just standing there, lost in thought. Ven, who looks like Roxas in so many ways but he's not quite…right. Or the same, he should say.
"Hi." Sora walks the few steps over to Ven and holds out his hand, "I'm Sora."
Ven snaps out of his thoughts and gives Sora a smile. "I know. I'm Ventus, but… you can call me Ven."
"It's nice to finally talk to you."
Ventus chuckles, "Nice to meet you, too."
"Can I ask you something?" Sora tilts his head to the side.
"Sure. I'll answer best I can."
"Um," Sora looks to the side before plowing forward, "What happened? To you. And your friends."
"My friends?" Ven looks at him, a bit confused.
"The nice woman and the older guy. I don't know their names, but they seemed pretty close to you."
"How do you know Aqua and Terra? Do you know where they are?"
The look on Ventus' face is one of which Sora is painfully aware. He's worn that expression many times, when he was so close to finding his friends. Full of worry and hope.
"No. I'm sorry. I don't know them. I mean, the girl – Aqua, I think – seemed familiar, but I've never met them. I was seeing them through your memories. I just – sorry, I guess I shouldn't have asked." He scratches the bridge of his nose with one finger.
Ven sighs, "It's fine, don't worry. I was just…hoping you might be able to tell me what happened to them."
"Sorry. I'll let you know if I find them or anything about them."
He knows he'd want his friends to do the same if it were him. It had been so nerve-wracking, not knowing where Riku and Kairi were.
"Oh no." He utters, horrified.
"What?" Riku looks at him like he's being weird again.
"Where's Kairi?" Riku looks at him for a few seconds before running his hands down his face.
"Fuck. I left her on the island. She's waiting for me to come get her."
"You left Kairi on the island?"
"Don't start with me, Sora, you left me AND Kairi on the island!"
Sora gets a bit indignant, "Well, yeah, but that wasn't my fault!"
"You're the one who left."
"Yeah, but it was Ventus' fault, he was the one guiding me, he's the one who showed me that-that thing!" Sora thinks about it, "How did you get here?"
"I copied you." Riku crosses his arms and looks proud, if only for a second.
Sora's kind of jealous. He never would have been able to figure it out on his own. But he's happy that Riku had gotten it and that he's rightfully proud of himself. It doesn't happen often.
"We should probably go get Kairi. She's probably mad that we left without her."
"No, she's mad at you. We made a deal that I would come find you and then come back to get her. She's supposed to be trying to copy what we did, but I don't know if she's gotten it down yet."
"If you'd like, I could go with you, teach her how. If she hasn't gotten it down."
Riku looks a bit sceptic, "You can teach her?"
"You guys are talking about a Keyblade Glider, right? It's not that hard to get down if you've got someone to teach you."
"So the three of us can go to the island and grab Kairi. Then what, we come back here?"
"Well, coming back here would be the best bet, and I'm fairly certain Kairi would like to see other worlds when she's not being held captive. But that presents a problem."
Riku looks at Sora, "Are you feeling up to travelling?"
"No, actually. I'm feeling a little weak."
"Then you should stay here, get your strength back. Maybe start training some."
"Yeah, sounds like a good idea."