This story now updates on Archive of Our Own only.

My username and the story title are the same over there. The story is NOT locked to users only so can be viewed without needing an AO3 account. There are more chapters posted there already as well.

Sorry to anyone who is disappointed by this :( but posting here has become quite draining (variety of reasons) and I hope that if you have been enjoying this story you'll check it out over there!

The Third Month

The bad days became punctuated with brief moments of happiness. Over time those moments had become minutes, and then those minutes became hours. No days were free of pain - it still ruled many of his hours - but it was rarely constant anymore.

Most mornings the ache in his chest was gone. When he woke up each day felt bearable. He woke up almost every day with hope.

Every evening the ache was back, the deep misery returning. It seemed the closer it drew to sunset the lower his mood would sink, and the higher the anxiety would rise. But even as the pain gripped him each afternoon, evening, or night, the hope often remained. He believed it when people said things would get better.

Watching the others play games and laugh at each other's dumb jokes in the evenings while he dozed on the couch; listening to Kairi's stories about the Twilight Town high school; playing video games with her and Ven on weekends; walking with Riku, and sitting together in their room at night, talking until they fell asleep... these were some of the first times he found himself feeling happy again.

With the hollow pain in his chest absent much of the time, the sharp twinges became more noticeable. He'd thought maybe he was imagining them, or they were just another part of... whatever this was. But it was undeniable now that they were real, and they were distinct from his other pains.

True to his word, Sora never lied when Riku asked if it was still happening. Sure he would never bring it up of his own volition, but he wasn't hiding it either. Not really. Not all the time at least.

He could tell Riku was worried though. The concern on his face seemed to intensify every time Sora failed to suppress the grimace and urge to clutch his chest. He caught him clenching his teeth and groaning quietly yet again as they sat in their room one night, several weeks after the first time he noticed Sora doing this.

"You're still getting those pains," he said once Sora had unclenched his teeth and relaxed. It came out as a statement rather than a question.

Sora nodded without looking at him. "Not often though, I think they're happening less."

"Still happening though."

He didn't respond, and they continued staring out the window. On clear nights (which seemed to be most nights here) the view of the stars through their tall arched window was very beautiful. Ven had rambled to them all about the constellations at length, and they could see now why he had developed such an interest in astronomy. It was hard not to be intrigued by the lights in the night sky here. They seemed closer here than in any other world Sora had ever visited.

It reminded them both of sitting in each other's rooms as children, when one of them would sneak out after dark to go clamber in through the other's window, on school nights when they weren't meant to be having sleepovers. They'd watch the stars and talk about what mysteries might be out there. At some point, Riku had stopped climbing through Sora's window, and then, after a while, Sora stopped climbing through his. Something about growing up and how two teenage boys were supposed to act. It was nice knowing they'd never have to sneak out and into another room to be with each other at night again.

"Have you thought any more about talking to Ienzo and Ansem about it?" Riku asked after several long minutes of silence. He'd been avoiding bringing this up again, not wanting to pressure Sora into it, but suppressing his anxiety was becoming more and more challenging.

Sora sighed. He hated how much this was clearly affecting Riku, even more than he disliked the idea of Ansem and his apprentices poking around in his heart. Maybe Riku had a point as well... If there was something there for them to find, maybe it would be better to know? "Fine, if it's still happening in a week, I'll do it." Riku beamed at him, but then Sora elbowed him in the ribs. "Only if it will stop you worrying all the time though!"

Riku snickered and kissed him so he'd stop giving him such a grumpy look. "Deal, thanks."

"How come you run your finger along it like that?"

"Hmm?" Riku looked away from his book, down at Sora, and found his eyes open. He'd had one hand in Sora's hair while Sora dozed and he read, and hadn't realised he'd been absentmindedly running his finger back and forth across the raised scar on his temple.

They were outside by one of the ponds, Riku with his back against a tree and Sora, as usual, with his head in his lap. It had been an especially good day so far, which had resulted in them walking farther than usual, lost in conversation. Kairi and Ven were working through an obstacle course of Terra's design further up the hill towards the castle, and the faint sounds of their yells, laughter, and bursts of magic occasionally made their way down to where they sat.

After three months of healing, Sora was finally able to swing his Keyblade again. Granted, when it connected with something it hurt like hell, but it still felt amazing to hold it in his hand. He'd spent some time practising his old moves that morning, enjoying moving through the familiar steps, but had stopped to rest an hour or so ago after he abruptly found the world around him spinning. Riku was certain that meant the next day would be one when he was bed-bound by fatigue. He'd seen him smile more that day than he had in months though, so maybe it would be worth the exhaustion.

Sora rolled onto his back so he could look up at him. "That scar, you touch it like that sometimes."

"I'm not sure... I like playing with your hair so I- what?"

He stopped as Sora snickered and raised an eyebrow at him. "Oh really? I hadn't noticed."

"Oi, shut up," Riku ruffled his hair roughly and Sora laughed. He'd started laughing again lately, on the good days. "I guess when I do that I often notice it, and end up doing that. Sorry, I'll stop if you want?"

"Nah, I don't mind, I was just curious." He smiled. "I'm glad you were right about my hair covering it."

"You were pretty worried about that," Riku said with a chuckle. Even though a good centimetre of the scar extended onto Sora's forehead, his spikey mess of hair easily hid it. Riku ran his fingers along the scar again with a pensive look on his face. "Maybe it reminds me how lucky we are you're still here."

Riku was screaming.

"Sora, answer me!"

Screaming into cold, lifeless blue eyes.

"Sora! Wake up! WAKE UP!"

He was melting away beneath his hands, sinking into the pool of darkness and blood expanding below him.

He tried to cling on but Sora's chest and the hand in his were dissolving away, disappearing into the stained glass beneath them, and then he was falling, falling through the black.

His shoulder hit the ground as he tumbled from the bed and yelled out, hands flailing as he searched for Sora's body in the dark.

"Riku?"

Sora leapt out of bed and crouched down beside him as he thrashed back and forth, trying to free himself from the blankets that had wrapped themselves around his waist.

"Hey, Riku! Riku, it's OK."

As he put his hands on his shoulders Riku stopped thrashing and turned to him with wide, terrified eyes. In the faint light, he could just make out the worried look on Sora's face. "It's OK, you were just dreaming."

"Sora?" He reached out a shaking hand to touch his cheek, checking he was really there.

"Yeah," Sora pulled him into a hug, rubbing his back gently. "I'm here."

As the immediate panic began to fade Riku wrapped his arms around him as well. He wasn't falling to the floor in Hollow Bastion, a Keyblade embedded in his heart. He wasn't lying cold and still on the ground at that crossing, as Riku tried desperately to stem the flow of blood from his chest. He wasn't fading away into the darkness where Riku couldn't follow. He was here. He was safe.

Riku pressed his face into his neck, and Sora felt the shoulder of his shirt becoming damp. It still took him by surprise each time Riku shed tears.

He was usually the one crying. He had always been a crier, never one to pay attention to the strange notion that boys never cry. That idea had never made sense to him. Riku hardly ever cried though, even when they were children. Riku clutched at the back of his shirt and he hugged him tighter, murmuring comforting words in his ear while they waited for his trembling to calm.

"You still get them sometimes too, huh?"

"Yeah... sometimes," Riku mumbled into his neck. Truth be told, they came more often than Sora knew, but it was rare for them to be so bad.

Sora leaned back to peer at his face in the dim light and Riku tried to hastily wipe away his tears. He made no effort to hide them though. Not long ago he would have, but he rarely did anymore.

"D'you wanna talk about it?"

"Nah..." He had his eyes downcast and Sora thought maybe he was trying to avoid his gaze, but then he reached out to touch the point on his chest he was staring at. "Just bad memories," he murmured and ran his fingers along the raised scar he could feel through Sora's shirt.

Sora took his hand, pulled it gently away from the scar, and held it against his heart instead.

Riku felt it beating beneath his palm. A strong, steady beat. It made him feel a little better. They sat that way for a while until he looked back up at Sora with a small smile. "I'm alright, let's go back to bed."

As they pulled the blankets back over themselves Riku left his hand resting on Sora's chest, needing to feel the continued beating of his heart as he fell asleep again.

The next morning he caught Sora wincing yet again, and trying not to let him see. "They aren't so bad now," Sora tried to reassure him when he realised he'd been caught.

"That's good... but it's been a week." What Riku had seen in his dream was still raw in his mind. Sora sighed, thinking of the previous night as well.

"OK, I'll call Ienzo."

Kairi and Riku were both on edge as they watched Ienzo begin the process of waking Sora up, removing the small metal discs stuck to his arms, head, and chest, each holding a single thin wire against his skin. They snaked down to the floor bellow his chair, and back to the hulking computational device at the rear of the room.

It had been a long three days. Riku had stayed with Leon in Radiant Garden while they had been conducting the scan, visiting the lab each day, and Kairi had arrived that morning after finding out they would be waking Sora up later that day.

They'd been hugely relieved when they found out the scan would only take a few days. Sora probably wouldn't have gone through with it if it was going to take more than a week, and would never have considered anything close to the year Kairi had been kept under.

They had scanned every inch of her heart, searching painstakingly for any possible information about Sora. This time the scan had been much less intense, just thorough enough for them to gauge the general state of his heart, and so it required far less time. Considering the reason they were conducting the exam, they were also cautious of how deeply they should probe. Without knowing the cause of the problem they were investigating, they had no way of knowing if the scan might affect him in unforeseen ways.

Even and Ansem stood with their backs to the others, examining the data silently. As the scan progressed they had been compiling the data as it appeared, analysing what they could. While they had only been able to see the full picture for several minutes, they had put together several theories in the past few days about the cause of Sora's painful sensations. Ones they had elected not to share with Riku until they were more certain of their conclusions.

As the last disc was removed from Sora's forehead he stirred.

"He'll probably be a bit groggy at fir-"

Before Ienzo could finish, Sora's eyes flew open and with a yell he launched himself off the side of the chair away from them all, stumbling backwards from the momentum and shocking them as he summoned his Keyblade.

"Sora!" Kairi cried out, and Riku dashed forward, holding his hands up in front of him.

"Hey, Sora it's OK!" But Sora swung his Keyblade up and pointed it directly at Riku, still staggering backwards, his eyes wide and disoriented. Riku stopped and took a step back. "It's alright Sora, it's just me."

Sora's back hit the wall and he pressed a hand against it to hold himself up, gasping for breath in his panic. The room around him was spinning and he teetered sideways, looking as though he might fall at any moment. With Sora's weapon still trained on him though Riku didn't dare move. Instead Kairi ducked to the side and tried to approach.

"It's alright Sora, just take a breath," Riku called out calmly. He wasn't sure if he could hear him, or if it was pain, but to everyone's immense relief the Keyblade disappeared from Sora's hand as he raised his hands to his head. Kairi reached him just in time as he stumbled again and fell. Catching him by the shoulders, she lowered them both slowly to the ground where he slumped against her, groaning and clutching his pounding head, eyes clenched shut.

"It's OK Sora, it's OK." She wrapped her arms around him and rubbed his arm.

Riku, already by their side, reached out and placed a hand on his knee. "It's just us."

At their touch and the sound of their voices, Sora slowly raised his head and opened his eyes. The light made his head throb. It took a few seconds for him to realise where he must be, and why he'd been seeing towers of Heartless just moments before. He laid his head back on Kairi's shoulder, closed his eyes, and took several long, shuddering breaths to steady himself.

"You OK?" Kairi asked, reaching a hand up to stroke his hair.

"Yeah..." He was still breathing fast, but no longer panicked. "That really wasn't fun..." he sighed. Riku shuffled forward so he could hold his hand, and Sora squeezed it, hugely relieved to be awake. He expected his nightmares would be back with a vengeance tonight.

"How are you feeling?" Riku asked after they sat long enough for Sora's thundering heart rate to slow.

"Not great, chest hurts like hell," he said, massaging the point directly above his heart. "I'm OK though."

He sat up from Kairi's shoulder and she released him, so Riku could have a turn hugging him, and they clung to each other tightly for a while.

Guilt for having asked him to go through this was burning in Riku's stomach. Kairi had felt fine after she woke up, and she'd been under for almost a whole year. Was Sora just extra jumpy after everything he'd been through? Or was there some reason this had affected him so much more?

Now that the dizziness had passed Riku helped him to his feet, and he sat back down on the cold metal chair he'd been sleeping on. He rubbed his chest again, trying to ease some of the sharp pain.

"Sorry for freaking out Ienzo," he said, more than a little embarrassed by his outburst.

"It's fine Sora, no need to apologise." Ienzo had recovered from his own shock by now and proceeded to examine him, ensuring he wasn't suffering any other ill effects from the experience. Once he had established this, he and Even prepared to report their initial findings. Ansem left his apprentices with the task of explaining, while he continued to examine the now complete results.

"We may know more after reviewing the data more closely, but there are some things we have already observed," Ienzo began. "I believe this is the first time we have examined your heart since Xion, Roxas, and Ventus's hearts left yours."

"So it's just me in there now, right?"

"Yes, it's definitely just you now," he said with a small smile and a note of amusement in his voice, but then his expression became more serious, almost anxious. "However... Sora, there are some abnormalities."

"Abnormalities?" Riku repeated.

"Well, his heart has never been particularly normal" Even remarked casually.

"Hey! I'm right here," Sora snapped. He wasn't in much of a mood to put up with insults. Even looked flustered, not having meant to offend, so Ienzo continued, trying to smooth over the awkward moment.

"I think what Even is trying to say is your heart has always been unique Sora. But that is not what I was referring to." He glanced down at his clipboard, back up at Sora, and took a deep breath. "There is no easy way to say this Sora, but the scan revealed significant damage."

"What do you mean damage?" Riku asked, frowning at the two scientists. He tried to keep his attention away from the sudden taste of bile in the back of his throat.

"I think that's really all we can say... hearts are complicated things and I'm afraid we do not fully understand what we are seeing ourselves."

Sora looked up at the green computer monitor Ansem was still examining. On it, he saw windows showing a figure of himself, his Keyblade, and lists of numbers and strange symbols that were meaningless to him. Beside these images though another had just appeared, an outline of a heart. The inside of the shape was filled in with the same yellow as the other images. Most of it at least.

Thin red lines ran across it, crisscrossing and forming jagged shapes. They looked like cracks. Webs of them fanned out across it, like his heart were a piece of glass that had been struck with a sharp point over, and over again. As though some of his edges had been chipped away. He slipped his hand into his pocket and wrapped his fingers loosely around his pieced-together Wayfinder.

The others continued talking. Riku reeled off question after question that Ienzo and Even did their best to answer, but Sora wasn't listening anymore. He just stared up at the cracks.

"It seems not all of this damage occurred at once," Even continued, gesturing to the screen. "One of the more significant of these wounds appears much more recent than all of the others, but apart from that we can't deduce anything about their age." Riku and Kairi both cringed at the use of the word wound to describe what they had found in Sora's heart.

"Sora?" He was jerked back to the conversation and turned to Ienzo. "Our theory is at least one of these instances of damage occurred when Ventus's heart left yours."

Riku furrowed his brow even further. "But that happened ages ago, why would the pain only start now?"

"It didn't."

Everyone, including Ansem, turned to look at Sora. "It started after Ven woke up," he said in a flat voice, staring at the ground.

Riku's eyes were wide with shock. "Why didn't you say anything?" he demanded.

"It wasn't that bad then," Sora told them, voice still toneless. "I barely noticed it at first. I guess it just started getting worse at some point."

"Sora..." He didn't want to look up at her as Kairi breathed his name, sure he would see sadness or worse in her eyes.

"But you've been back for months, why didn't you say something sooner?" Riku was trying not to let his shock and frustration turn into anger, but his hands were clenched into fists and his voice came out strained. The pain in his and Kairi's voices was a knife in Sora's gut.

"I honestly thought it might have gone away," he tried to tell them, glancing up at Riku with a pleading look. "I was so sore from fighting that even if it was there I don't think I would have noticed. I just put all the pain down to that." He'd been hoping it was just that, that the occasional stabbing in his heart had just been the cut down his chest, or maybe his shattered bones against his lungs. Then, when the miserable ache had returned he'd tried to convince himself it was just part of that as well, until it became clear he was lying to himself.

He looked away, directing his eyes at the ground again. "But then it came back."

Riku stared at him, mind reeling from finding out Sora had been hiding this from them. He managed to maintain his composure though and turned back to Ienzo and Even. "What about the rest of the damage? Was that from Roxas and Xion's hearts?"

"And maybe mine as well..." Kairi said quietly.

"I think it's unlikely," Ienzo responded, to Kairi's great relief. "We never saw anything similar to this in your heart, Kairi, which means Naminè's heart being returned to her didn't cause you any harm. Your heart was searched far more deeply so if this sort of damage was there we certainly would have seen it."

"Why was Ven's different? Because his was there longer?" Riku asked.

"It is true that Ventus's heart was with Sora for many years, most of his life in fact, but I think there may be more at work here than that," Ansem answered, entering the conversation for the first time. "I believe Ventus's heart was not simply residing within your body, Sora. His heart may have joined with yours somehow, in order to recover from its own damage." He turned back to the computer, continuing to speak with his back to the others. "It seems there were consequences to this." He studied the image of Sora on the screen again before turning to face them all. "Sora, can you think of when this other damage may have occurred and what may have caused it?"

"Not really... I think it was worse after the battles with Xehanort were finally over, but it was only in the last few months in that city that it got bad. I don't know why."

It was half true. He couldn't explain most of what he had just found out, but he did know what caused that final web of cracks. Kairi and Riku were both fairly sure they knew as well, but Sora clearly wasn't going to bring up Rage right now.

"After the battles... maybe this is linked to why you disappeared then," Ienzo said, raising a hand to his chin as he pondered what seemed like an obvious connection. Sora didn't respond, not interested in discussing theories anymore.

"We know that hearts can heal though," Even said kindly, trying to make up for his earlier callousness. "We know that from Ventus already."

"Yes," Ienzo looked up and nodded in agreement. "You told us the pains have been improving as well Sora, which suggests this damage has already been healing."

"Right..." Sora was still staring at the floor, his face blank and unreadable. Riku put a hand on his shoulder, but he didn't react.

"We may find out more as we explore the data further, and will contact you if we do," Ienzo continued, in what he hoped was an encouraging voice.

"Right..." he repeated quietly, then stood up. "Thanks, I appreciate you all doing this." He gave them a small smile, truly grateful, but more than ready to leave. They all gave a nod of acknowledgement, and Sora turned to go without checking if Riku and Kairi were following. As Riku and Kairi hurried after him the three scientists went back to their data, hoping they would find some good news to give Sora next time.

He strode quickly through the halls, desperate to get out of the building as soon as possible. He needed to get outside, he couldn't breathe properly in here. The air felt too stale.

The others jogged to catch up with him and Riku took his hand as they walked. Once outside in the fresh air, he slowed his pace, and the three began making their way slowly down the long set of stairs from the castle entrance. "Did you see things again while you were under?" Kairi asked. She had seen many things while kept asleep, though she doubted any were as unpleasant as what he may have seen.

He shrugged dismissively. "Just flashes. Basically my usual dreams."

"I'm sorry I asked you to do that," Riku said.

"Don't apologise," he replied, shaking his head. "You were right that there was something wrong."

Riku wasn't sure if he regretted asking him or not. He felt awful about it causing Sora to relive his nightmares and that now he was having to process such painful news about what the scientists had found. But they had found it. At least now they knew the cause of the pain, and that it should eventually fade as his heart recovered.

"Can we get out of here?" Sora asked in a flat voice when they all paused at the bottom of the stairs.

Riku squeezed his hand. "Yeah, let's go home."

Kairi hung back as they made to leave though. "You guys go ahead without me." Sora nodded without looking at her, too far away in his thoughts to really register what she was saying. Riku could hear in her voice that she was upset and turned back to her questioningly, but she smiled at him. "I just want to go say hi to Naminè," she said honestly. "I'll meet you back at home."

"Alright," Riku gave her a nod, and she left.

Naminè's house wasn't far from the lab and as Kairi walked her thoughts lingered on the fear she was hoping Naminè could help her dismiss - that sheltering her heart could have caused one of those webs of cracks across Sora's. It was after her heart had left Sora's that Naminè had been forced to tamper with his memories, and then spend a year reconstructing them. If anyone knew whether there was damage like this in his heart back then it would be her.

Having known they would be there for several days Riku had left the Gummi ship in the outer gardens, rather than in the centre of the town. They continued through the central square without speaking, their silence allowing the sound of the fountains splashing and evening bird-song to fill the air. They were cheery sounds. Ones that did not suit the moment. As they walked Riku's brain ran rapidly through different theories about what they had just heard and ways they may be able to speed up the healing process.

Sora wasn't dwelling on the possible causes of the damage or ways to fix it though. All he could think of now was that image of his heart on the computer screen, and the red lines cutting across it. After everything his friends had done, after Kairi sacrificed a year of her life, after Riku put himself through so much danger, after everyone had worked so tirelessly searching for him... After they gave up so much to find him, they had found him broken.

As they left the square and crossed the tall bridge towards the ship Sora came to a sudden halt, causing Riku to stop as well. His hand was slack in Riku's and he had his eyes on the ground.

"What is it?"

"I'm broken," he murmured quietly, almost as if he were talking to himself.

"What? You're not broken Sora." Riku a step back towards him, but Sora pulled his hand out of his and moved away, shaking his head.

"Didn't you hear what they just said?" he said bitterly, voice rising. "Damaged, that's what they said Riku!"

"You're not broken though. You got hurt, and now you're healing."

"This isn't a broken arm or a cut, they said my heart's damaged! I've messed up my heart, how am I meant to fix that?"

"It's been getting better though! You-"

But Sora was shaking his head again. "No, it's not... It's not getting better, it hasn't changed at all."

"What?" Riku's stomach dropped and for a moment he was lost for words. But this wasn't the time to dwell on Sora hiding yet more of this from him. "Ven's heart was damaged as well, remember? That's why he needed your help, and then his heart was able to heal. We know hearts can heal!"

But Sora wasn't listening anymore. His thoughts were spiralling. It was all coming back, all the reasons he'd tried to make him stay away, why he'd told him to leave. All the reasons he would never be more than a burden on him. Just another burden for his friends and Riku to bear. He'd been sure there was something wrong with him, and now he had proof.

He was defective. Damaged. What good could he ever be like this?

"Maybe this is why I made the Unversed appear..."

"That wasn't your fault!"

Was this why Rage had been able to take over? Why he had been too weak to stop it? This was why Riku had been hurt, because his heart was too weak, too damaged.

"All I do is make things worse for you all."

It was why he had to draw power from his friends. Why alone he was worthless, and for his friends he was a burden.

"Sora..."

A burden. Always a burden. Nothing but a broken, useless burden.

"You shouldn't be with me."

He made to turn and walk away but Riku grabbed his wrist and pulled him back, heart suddenly beating hard in his throat. The world around him had turned cold.

"Don't do that Sora!"

He tried and failed to keep the panic out of his voice, while Sora stared blankly at the hand around his wrist. He couldn't let him do this again. He wouldn't let him do this, he wouldn't.

"Don't try to push me away!"

Sora stayed still and silent, looking away, refusing to meet his eyes. Just like last time.

"Please, Sora."

This time he wouldn't let go of his wrist. He wouldn't walk away. He'd sworn never to leave like that again, sworn to them both.

"Please don't do that..."

The hand around Sora's wrist was an iron grip, holding on so desperately it was almost painful. It was trembling though. Sora looked up and saw the fear in Riku's eyes.

It was as if a switch flicked in his brain. What was he doing?

"I won't!" he burst out, throwing his arms around Riku and pressing his face into his chest. "I'm sorry! I won't, I don't want that."

Riku inhaled sharply and wrapped his arms around him, hugging him tightly. He felt tears through his shirt and put a hand on the back of Sora's head, running his fingers back and forth through his hair, the way he always did when he wanted to comfort him.

"I don't want that," Sora repeated, voice muffled against his shirt.

Riku's heart was still racing. He leaned down to rest his forehead in Sora's hair and let out a long, shaking sigh. "Don't scare me like that..."

"I don't understand though," Sora mumbled, face still pressed against his chest. "Why would you want to be with me when I'm like this?"

"Because you're still you... and you're everything to me." He pressed his lips to the crown of Sora's head and Sora gripped him a little harder. He could feel the rapid thumping of Riku's heart against his cheek. They held on to each other with desperation, as though if they loosened their grip for a moment the other might simply fade away in their arms.

Gradually, Sora felt Riku's pulse calm, and how his own slowed with it. When it seemed Sora's tears were exhausted, Riku lifted his head and moved his hand from the nape of Sora's neck to beneath his chin.

"Hey," he said softly and waited for Sora to draw back so he could tilt his face up towards him. "If you're broken then maybe I am too." Sora gave him a puzzled look and he gazed down at him with the warm, soft smile he reserved just for him. "Because I think our pieces fit together perfectly."

His eyes were still shining, but Sora smiled as well. A smile that reached his eyes.

Then he gave a snort of amusement. "You really are a total sap these days."

Riku grinned. "And whose fault is that?"

Sora couldn't help but laugh. "I still love you though." He hugged him tightly and pressed his face to his chest again. "Thanks, Riku... for everything."