Several weeks passed before the weather was nice enough to chance planning a three-hour bike trip, summer storms being an unfortunately frequent thing even if they were completely impossible to predict.

Still, when the forecast called for a week of sunshine, Riku took great joy in plotting where he would be taking the unfortunate boy who would be riding with him. And with some extra help from Axel and Roxas, Sora was completely in the dark until the day he stepped outside for his morning rounds and was faced with a gorgeously smug teenager and his gleaming motorcycle.

The brunette blinked for a long moment before it finally clicked and he started to panic.

"I can't today! I have-"

"-Chores that Axel will be taking care of so your brother isn't overwhelmed. Sorry Sora, you don't get to worm your way out of this." Riku chuckled as he strode over to the other, lifting the cowboy hat from his spikey head and handing him a helmet.

Blue eyes shifted nervously to the vehicle. He'd never really been comfortable with cars or… well, anything that went that fast. There was a reason he lived on a ranch and worked with horses for a living. But he'd promised – had in fact said that he wanted to do this – so there was no backing out now.

Roxas came out just before he put the helmet on, to toss him a leather jacket. "You'll need it." He winked, waving to Riku before he went back inside.

Before he was ready, Sora was suited up to go and eyeing the motorcycle nervously again as Riku got himself on.

"Come on; it's just like riding a horse." His voice came through the headset built in to the helmet. Sora almost jumped from hearing his voice so close.

"Yeah, except it goes about three or four times faster and can kill both of us in an instant." He muttered back, slinking reluctantly closer.

"Hey now." This time, the brunette did jump at the touch on his arm. "Nothing is going to happen, I promise. Just hold on tight and let me do everything."

Sora sucked in a deep breath and nodded, swinging a leg over the seat and distracting his mind with wrapping his arms around Riku. It was definitely nerves that had him holding on so tightly – nerves and Riku's own instructions. Had nothing to do with finally getting to feel the muscles he'd admired when they'd last seen each other, and looked pretty nice under the leather jacket he was sporting for the ride.

Riku himself was enjoying the feeling of the smaller body pressed against his back, but he didn't linger on it too long. Instead, he started the bike and quickly kicked it into gear once they hit the highway. Normally he liked to speed, but for Sora's sake, he kept it… right on the speed limit.

"So where are we going?" The voice sounded in his ear. He ignored the slight tremble in it.

"You'll see. Just enjoy the ride; I can tell you the scenery will be beautiful."

And it was.

For three hours, Sora had the pleasure of just watching the landscape change around them the further they went. His body relaxed against the one in front of him the longer they drove, the straight roads only later becoming more winding. Even then, Riku never lost control of the bike, and the ease with which he controlled it helped to reassure Sora enough that when they hit another stretch of asphalt, he decided to try out something Riku had mentioned an hour or so back.

Lifting his arms away from the other and stretching them out to either side was terrifying and… exhilarating at once. With his eyes closed, he could've been flying if not for the solid machine below him. He wanted to urge Riku to go faster, to chase the wind – Sora laughed, waved at some bikers they passed going the opposite way. So this was the reason his new friend liked these things so much. He understood.

Three hours on the dot saw them at an out-of-the-way lodge of sorts, Sora only being able to walk because of his years spent riding horses. Apparently, Riku had brought them all the way out there to take him to lunch. The food alone was worth the ride, not counting how friendly everyone was and the time he got to spend chatting with the silver-haired boy.

He learned that Riku had not one, but three different motorcycles for different uses, one of which he'd built himself though he didn't work as a mechanic. It was his pride and joy though, and he'd gotten plenty of pointers and help from people he knew who did work in the business.

In return, Sora told him that he'd gotten his first horse (his own, not just the family's or the ranch's) when he was 12 and had promptly managed to irritate it to the point where it bit him… on the butt. Hadn't been able to sit normally for more than a week, but it was far enough passed that he could laugh along with Riku.

With lunch finished, the pair of them re-suited and struck off for the ranch, using the three hours back to chat a bit more through the headsets. It was as disappointing as their first meeting, when their time finally came to an end. Luckily, Sora, aside from being sunnily optimistic, was also very good at being technical and finding loopholes.

"You know," He started as he handed the helmet over to Axel. "I seem to remember us agreeing to a three-hour trip exchange." Riku, visor up, blinked at him. "Well, that was six hours; three there, and three back. So you owe me."

The silverette grinned and chuckled. "Well then," He revved the bike as the redhead seated himself in the spot behind Riku and got a good grip, knowing his friend's driving tendencies. "I look forward to it."

Sora grinned at the reuse of his own words, eyes following the bike as it sped off back to the city.

-Sable