Takes place sometime after KH3. For a tumblr prompt for drunken love confessions:
(tumblr dot com /creativepromptsforwriting)
"Oh, I'm dreaming of you again. If I wasn't dreaming and if you were really here, then I would tell you I love you."
The problem with being a teenager is that the weight of the world is crashing down on your shoulders at all times without even the slightest hint of respite.
The problem with being a Keyblade Master is that this is actually a fact, and not just a feeling brought on by a hormonal brain that hasn't figured out how to navigate the unending crisis called life just yet.
The problem with being Riku, Roxas supposes, is that occasionally these two factors merge with abysmally unfortunate impulse-control in such a way that it completely overwhelms the ability to be a functional human being. No wonder this guy managed to plunge his entire homeworld into darkness over some festered insecurity and one bad decision.
It's probably fortunate that Roxas is the one to find Riku like this - draped over a royal toilet, reeking like vomit and alcohol - and not one of the other Masters. Fortunate for Riku, anyway. Not so fortunate for Roxas, who now has to deal with this mess.
"Oh, for the love of -" Roxas breathes, eyes darting around the castle's bathroom like he's looking at the carnage from one of those zombie movies that Pence is so fond of.
There's vomit in the sink and caught in the hair framing Riku's pale, clammy face. His jacket and gloves are strewn across the floor and scattered around him, Riku has not one, not two, but three bottles of the liquor that the King had brought out for the adults, each in varying degrees of emptiness. Either he'd been sampling them to figure out which he liked best, or he'd been planning to somehow make his way through all three. And with how much Riku's been pushing himself past limits lately, Roxas is honestly not sure how much he wants to find out.
He hesitates, debating if he should go get help. Mickey seems like the obvious choice, and while the fact that Riku would probably try to kill him later for it does make it appealing, Roxas also doesn't really want to disrupt the King's party for this. Axel is an option, but he's already a bit past tipsy himself. And Roxas isn't quite mean enough to go get Aqua or Terra. He doesn't think even he himself could survive their disappointment; it would probably be crushing to Riku. And the last thing they all need is an even sadder Riku to deal with.
So Roxas reluctantly finds himself squatting down next to Riku, not even bothering to resist wrinkling his nose at the smell, and dips his head to get a clearer look at Riku's face where it rests against the toilet seat.
"Hey," he says. "Are you alive?"
No response. Fantastic.
Roxas ignores the cold twisting in his gut as he reaches out to give Riku's shoulder a firm shake. "Hey. Hey. Are you alive or not?"
Riku's eyes flutter open to stare at him bearlily. He murmurs something Roxas can't make out and closes them again. Sighing, Roxas closes his own eyes, tips his head back as he takes a moment to shove down his frustration at getting caught in this mess.
And then he stands up, collects the liquor bottles to empty them down the sink, pouring out any potential for further stupidity while simultaneously washing the vomit down the drain. He uses Riku's discarded jacket like a sack to hold the empty bottles and pulls out his Gummiphone to send out a quick group text stating he and Riku decided to turn in early.
Which takes care of the evidence, just leaves taking care of the Riku.
Tying his makeshift sack around a belt loop to free his hands, Roxas leans down to hook his arms under Riku's armpits and hoists him up. He staggers under the dead weight that falls back against his chest, Riku's greater height making this a lot harder than it needs to be. Riku's head lolls back against Roxas's shoulder and he grimaces, trying hard not to smell or think about the vomit in Riku's hair that is dangerously close to touching Roxas's face.
"...Sora?" Riku mumbles in Roxas's ear. Roxas's heart goes cold with a sharp spasm and then hardens.
"No," he says, voice flat. Lips thin and brows pinched, he flushes the toilet with his foot.
"Oh. S'rry," Riku slurs weakly. "Roxas?"
Roxas nods tightly, makes a clipped sound of confirmation. Riku starts to slip in his grasp and he has to jostle his limp body to regain a good grip. Fortunately, Riku has enough presence of mind and just barely enough faculties to assist in getting an arm around Roxas's shoulders so he won't slip again. Roxas has never been drunk before. Has only ever seen Axel get drunk enough to throw up once, but even he hadn't been this out of it. So Roxas has no idea how far gone Riku is, how aware of anything he is, if he'll even remember any of this tomorrow.
He'll definitely have a hangover, at least. Good. Hopefully it's a punishment bad enough that he won't be this much of an idiot again.
"C'mon," Roxas says, allowing the annoyance to go unfiltered in his voice. "Let's get you out of here."
Just a few stumbling steps together across the bathroom and it's clear Roxas won't be getting Riku across the castle foyer and up the stairs to the guest rooms any time soon. At least not without a lot of effort and an extremely high likelihood of getting caught.
Riku's head has rolled to hang down towards the ground, his voice raw as he mumbles something unintelligible at the floor.
"I can't hear you," Roxas says shortly. After a quick moment of consideration, he releases a sharp exhale through his nose and says, "Hold your breath. This will be quick."
He opens a Corridor of Darkness and tips them forward, letting them fall through.
It's less than a second later that they tumble out the other side onto Roxas's guest bed only one floor above - the closest space Roxas knew the exact location of to keep their time in the Corridor as short as possible to avoid the effects of darkness. One trip through might not matter, but better to be safe without coats to protect them.
Roxas rolls off the bed right away, looks down at where Riku lays loosely atop the plush duvet, staring up at the ornate ceiling.
"...Roof's spinnin'," Riku hoarsely informs Roxas.
"Good for it." Roxas tosses Riku's jacket and empty bottles to the corner of the room. He isn't exactly gentle as he pulls off Riku's boots and straightens his legs so he's not quite so awkwardly positioned. He stills, his frown deep as he tries to remember the rules about putting a drunk person to bed. There was something about making sure to avoid choking on vomit while asleep. Should he roll Riku over onto his stomach?
"Is this real?" Riku asks, tone suddenly urgent. He looks up at Roxas with glazed eyes, cheeks flushed against otherwise pallid skin. "'s this a dream?"
"Sure," Roxas says dismissively, moving over to the head of the bed where he begins arranging the pillows so he can prop Riku up a little, in case he does throw up again. "Whatever makes you feel better."
"Oh, I'm dreaming of you again," Riku murmurs so softly that Roxas nearly misses it. He jumps when Riku's hand suddenly reaches out and grabs Roxas's wrist. Roxas stiffens, stares down at Riku with wide eyes as he stares back, gaze tender, confused, deeper and lonelier than the most isolated sea. "If I wasn't dreaming and if you were really here, then I would tell you I love you."
Roxas's words die in his throat as his heart squeezes so tightly it threatens to collapse. But after a few short eternities pass, it flutters weakly again as Roxas gently pulls his wrist free from Riku's grasp.
"I'm not Sora, Riku," Roxas says softly.
Riku's face pinches like he can't comprehend what Roxas is saying. His hand reaches back up to brush his knuckles lightly against Roxas's cheek and Roxas flinches, just slightly. Caught in place for a moment by the overwhelming emotion in Riku's eyes, before he takes a step back, out of Riku's reach.
A look of pain flashes across Riku's face and for a few breaths, neither of them say anything. When Riku does speak again, his voice is clearer, a little more alert.
"Roxas."
Roxas nods, steps back to the bed and nudges Riku, guiding him to lie against the propped pillows. "Yeah. It's Roxas."
Riku is silent as he allows Roxas to pull him into a semi-sitting position, his body too uncooperative to manage it on his own. Once he's settled, Roxas retreats across the room, sits in the cushioned window bay to look out at the night sky where stars glint above the castle grounds. Behind him, he hears slight shifting from the bed.
"I miss him," Riku says and his voice is fragile and vulnerable and open and raw in a way it never would be if he was sober.
"Yeah," Roxas says, not looking back. "I know you do."