He had know Riku for a while. They were the best of friends for the longest while. He was Sora's world and Sora was Riku's; it had been ten glorious years. Adventures and examinations, running around everywhere and doing everything... together.

It had all ended when Sora turned 10.

It was his birthday.

Sora had looked forward to this day for months. It was his special birthday, when he would finally turn to the double digits. Riku had already had his, and Sora couldn't wait until he finally aged with his best friend.

He wanted to be like the silver-haired boy, the one that was always taunting him with his own maturity. Sora could be mature, he could!

He ran out into the playground and sat in his favorite swing, Riku beside him.

"I'm so glad you're here!" The older boy smiled at him happily. Sora swung back and forth, his feet unable to skim the ground. When he was older, he would finally be able to touch it! Sora smiled back at Riku.

"Whadd'ya get me?" Sora asked him anxiously as the older boy hid his hands behind his back, shielding the present from Sora's view.

"It's a surprise!" Riku grinned and took off. "If you can catch me, you'll get it right away, but if you can't then I'll give it to you later!"

"No fair!" Sora tried to catch up but tripped on a rock. He fell to his knees, and the friction slowed him down, taking bits of his skin and blood along with it.

Sora sat and hugged his knees to his chest, and picked the flecks of stone from his skin. He sniffled and Riku heard his whimper, skidding to a stop and heading back.

"Are... are you okay?"

"Yeah..." A stray tear hit Sora's knee, blending in with the blood and turning it into a deep pink.

Riku's eyebrows pressed together in concern. "You know... they say that if someone close to someone hurt wished hard enough, the pain would go away." Riku placed himself in front of Sora, and looked at the knees. "I command you to feel better!" He told the knees. "Because if you don't, then Sora's gunna cry!"

Riku placed his lips on one knee and then the other.

"The magic kiss," Riku smiled at Sora, his now-red red lips popping against his blue eyes. "It can make anything better!" He looked at Sora. "Doesn't it feel better?"

Sora smiled tentatively. "Yeah... it really does!"

"Good." Riku pulled something out of his pocket, wrapped in blue paper. "Happy Birthday, Sora."

Sora unwrapped the present, and stared at the keychain. It was in the shape of a heart, it's ends curling into eachother. Atop of the blue keychain was a tiny golden crown.

"It's for all the places you go. That way, if you ever have somewhere important you love and keep a key to it, then you can always know that it's safe within your own heart." Riku shuffled around. "Even if you lose the key, you never lose the place." He looked at Sora hesitantly. "Do you like it?"

"I love it."

The boys played around in the sun, until it was nearly five.

"Goodnight, Riku! I'll see you tomorrow.!"

"I'll see you, Sora." They parted ways, and Sora headed home. He couldn't wait for the surprise his parents had in store! He grinned. There was no way that his parents would be able to beat the awesome gift that Riku had given him. It was amazing and so... Riku. The color of the heart matched Riku's eyes, so Sora knew that as long as he had the keychain he would never forget the memories he had with the older boy. It was his best friend, after all.

...

He knew something was wrong as soon as he entered. The stench of alcohol entered his nose and he crinkled it, hating the smell. "Mom...?"
His father was inside the kitchen, waving a bottle filled with a clear liquid. Water... no, Sora thought. Water doesn't smell like that.

"Dad?" His mother lay still on the floor. The bottle was smeared slightly, like the color of Sora's knee right after he skid across the ground.

The man looked at the little boy. "You son of a bitch... you're the reason this happened." The man took an unsteady step and Sora flinched. "If it wasn't for you, I'd still have a fucking job. How are we going to pay the mortgage now, you bastard?" His dad's words slurred slightly.

Hadn't his father told him not to use those dirty words? The strong smelling liquid did nothing to wash away his father's anger.

"Daddy?"

"Don't you fucking call me "Daddy" you monster."

Sora hated those words. They made him feel dirty inside. The curl of his keychain dug into his hands slightly as he clutched it.

His father emptied the bottle and it crashed against the floor, splintering into thousands of pieces. His father's big, burly hands clutched at a shard, waving it toward Sora.

"You're going to pay, boy. You're going to pay for what you did to this family."

...

They lost the house. Money leaked out of their lives like a cup filled with holes, and without anyone in their family having a job they had nowhere to go.

Sora simply stopped showing up at school. He disappeared for weeks before he came back clean-shaven and new, explaining that his family had gone on an unexpected vacation.

It was illegal to hire someone under 16, but Sora didn't care. He got paid under the carpet, taking whatever they would give. He had multiple jobs, but he had a place to stay. That was most important. His mother always looked away cloudily and his father drank away whatever money Sora managed to make wiggle room for, but that was fine with Sora.

He still had a family, after all. That was all that mattered.

Riku and Sora drifted apart, and then he met Kairi.

...

Riku gaped at the scars running along Sora's back. He met Sora's eyes shyly as Sora pretended not to care. He averted his eyes and busied himself with washing his clothes.

"Thanks." Riku leaned against the wall, clearing his throat and unsure where to look.

"For what?" Sora studied his shirt with intense scrutiny.

"This."

A toilet flushed in the background. Sora and Riku froze. Leon walked out of a stall and turned on a faucet, looking at neither of them. The sink squeaked and Sora pressed his back to the wall using his damp shirt to cover his front carefully. Minutes ticked by as Leon slowly washed his hands and then dried them on his pants. Leon finally looked back at the boys as he unlocked the door.

"Next time you decide to do something private, check the stalls first." Leon locked and shut the door behind him, disappearing into the hall. Riku breathed a sigh of relief and Sora put his shirt under the dryer the moment between them lost.

"Let's hurry back before Kairi thinks we're having a different kind of private moment."

Sora and Riku trudged back silently, lost in their memories.

...

Major thanks to darkwaterwolf. This guy just saved you all from a crappy chapter with his amazing idea.

Want to join his ranks? Review or inbox me! I'm always seeking helpful advice.