Sora slipped on his shirt and headed downstairs. A cake lay spread on top of the counter, perfect and ready for eating. His eyes narrowed in on its delectable whipped creme, the strawberries that floated on top, and the oozing of fruits from it's core. He peeked around the room. With no Riku in sight, he quickly rushed into the kitchen and tiptoed to the cake.

Sora's fingers dipped toward the cake. Riku wouldn't notice if a few strawberries went missing, right? His fingers whispered around a plump, juicy strawberry before the cake was yanked away before his eyes. "Wha-"

Riku whacked him on the head. "No touching the dessert before it's ready. No touching anything, for that matter."

Sora's hands grabbed greedily for the cake that Riku held beyond his reach. "Fine then." Sora pouted and crossed his arms, turning away from Riku. He waited a few seconds for Riku to be off his guard before he pounced right back at him, reaching for the cake.

Riku raised an eyebrow. "Did you really believe I would fall for that? His arm was still in place, holding Sora back. "I remember you doing that when I was a kid. You still haven't changed, kid. Do you remember? With the crown necklace..."

Sora grinned. "Of course I remember. Hey, what ever happened to that thing anyway?"

Riku shrugged, setting the cake down. "It's metal. I didn't want it to rust, so I've kept it away all these years. Sea air does horrible things to shiny objects."

...

"Rikkuuuuuuuu! I wanna see!" Riku held Sora at bay as he desperately reached for the beautiful crown necklace. It glimmered and shined, reflecting the sun's rays so clearly that it became hard to look at. After all, the most beautiful things are the hardest to watch.

Especially after they begin to lose their shine.

"No! It's my present! The pretty girl gave it to me..." Riku pointed at the setting sun. "Her hair is like the color of fire after it's burned down!"

Sora pouted. "Since when have you been talking to people without me? We're adventure buddies- we're always supposed to be together!" He turned, pretending to be severely distraught.

Riku was momentarily distracted by the pain he might've caused and Sora took his chance, turning back and leaping at the necklace. The boys tumbled in the sand.

Riku tried to brush the sand out of his hair before noticing that his necklace had gone missing- and that Sora had it. Riku decided he wouldn't stand for such a disgrace and rammed back into Sora. They tousled through the sand until the sun was gone and they lay panting side by side, exhausted. The crown lay between them in the sand. Sora's hand inched toward the crown at the same time Riku's did.

"Hey Riku? I know we're adventurers, and that there will always be treasure we'll fight over. But will you promise that it'll never come between us?"

"Yeah, Sora. I promise."

Their hands passed over the crown and reached for eachother. Sora's hand folded smoothly into Riku's as they lay there.

"I'm glad we're friends, Sora." Sora sighed into the sky as the first stars began to come out.

"Me too."

...

Maybe that was why Sora had been pulled to Kairi all those years. That's why he became her friend. She was the girl with the beautiful crown necklace. The girl with hair the color of "fire after it's burned down". Unconsciously, from that moment on, they were destined to become friends.

...

"Oh. Time for dessert?"

Riku rolled his eyes. He pulled a chair out before placing his hands firmly on Sora's shoulders and guiding him toward the chair, forcing him to sit down. "Patience, grasshopper. I have many course meals planned for the both of us..."

...

Sora groaned and held his belly. "I never thought I would ever eat enough to actually implode my stomach. I feel like I'm barely holding my guts inside me."

Riku snorted and stood up as he took the plates and began piling them in the sink. "Well, isn't that romantic."

"Shut up!" Sora groaned again and stood up, taking his plate to the sink before Riku saw him and sat him back down again. "You're a guest in my place. I do the dishes. I do everything. You just sit there and get fat."

Sora grumbled. "That's not fair..." Riku picked up speed until all the dishes were gone. When was the last time anyone had done something for Sora? Since before he turned 10? "I could get used to this..." He mumbled to himself.

"What was that?" Riku smirked knowingly and patted Sora's back. "Come on. I have something I want to show you."

Sora worked his muscles as he followed Riku up the stairs, building up a rhythm to awaken his drowsy body. They wandered through corridors and hallways. The place was like a maze- one wrong turn, and you might be gone for a very long time. Sora watched Riku carefully, not willing to fall into a daydream and never leave that house again. Though, under different circumstances, he would rather stay there than anywhere else.

Riku pulled to a halt. "Here we are. This is where all the magic happens." Riku winked and pulled the door open, leading Sora inside.

"This is your... bedroom?" Sora was spellbound. The sky blue walls, the clouds painted on the ceiling. The birds painted on the fan so that if it was turned on, it would look like the birds were flying.

It had been bothering him all day. In the small confines of this room, he would allow himself a single pressing question that he would never pursue again.

"Where... where are your parents?"

Riku sat on his bed and leaned against the wall. "They're dead. I was going to be a foster child, but I decided to become emancipated. My parents left the entire inheritance to me, so I live here alone. I'll eventually go into work, but for now... this is what supports me."

"Oh."

"An eye for an eye. Why did you leave me? All those years ago, when we were children. You disappeared from school for an entire week. I couldn't find you anywhere- I checked our usual playground. I waited for you every night. And suddenly, you come back again. But this time, you don't look at me. You don't even speak to me. You turned into a serious child beyond your age. Why?"

An eye for an eye, Sora agreed. " We lost our home. I spent a week getting things together and supporting my family. I got a couple odd jobs and then more stable ones. And here we are, right?" He responded stiffly, not wanting to discuss it.

"That's not the answer to my question. Why did you leave me?"

"Because..." Sora stood uncomfortably before he took a seat beside Riku on his bed. Their shoulders touched as Sora leaned against the wall and stared at the phantom sky. "I didn't want you to know. You were always so calm and playful, too. I wanted you to stay that way. I didn't want you to know what had happened, because that would mean that you would lose your innocence well. Better me than you, right?" His words faded in the room, leaving no trace of what had been said other than what was inside of their hearts.

"Idiot." Sora balked at Riku's harsh words. "There are some battles you can't just fight alone." Riku sighed and lay on his back, placing his legs on Sora's knees.

"Get off!" Sora struggled, trapped.

"Make yourself comfortable. You can leave, of course, but you'd get so far lost in there that not even your keen, adventurous senses could help you find your way back."

Sora pulled himself downward- the only position that would allow him to leave Riku's grip without breaking his kneecaps- and lay down beside the older boy.

They began to fall asleep like that. Slowly, their breaths synchronized and they began to lose themselves in dreams beside eachother, like they had when they were children.

Sora heard Riku murmur in his ear as he drifted into sleep. "I won't let you fight them alone. I'll be right here, beside you."

...

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