General Squall Leonhart stepped into the shop and closed the door. He held Cloud's gaze for a moment with an impenetrable look before turning to take in the room around him. The General, with his fine green military jacket studded with medals, looked rather out-of-place standing among the dusty stacks of packages. He took his flat cap from his head, perhaps thinking it would make him look less formal. It did not.

Time had been favorable to Squall Leonhart. He carried himself with more consequence than Cloud remembered, with a posture befitting his elevated career status. His hair was longer, and Cloud could admit that it suited him. The harsh scar across his nose had faded somewhat, and the deeper lines of his face only gave him a more dignified air. His eyes, though, were as they had always been — set in a nearly permanent frown and never revealing more emotion than he meant to.

"You're looking well," said Squall.

Cloud wondered if that were true. A life of shop-keeping had surely softened him from the rogue soldier Squall had known; Any comparisons between his past and present self could hardly be favorable.

Cloud stood from his chair but kept the desk between them. He squared his shoulders and jaw, unsure what exactly to prepare for.

"What are you doing here?" The words didn't come out nearly as harsh as Cloud had intended.

"You were never one for small talk, were you?" A corner of Squall's mouth quirked in an almost-smile.

"As far as I can remember, neither were you."

"Would you believe me if I said I was here to mail a letter?"

Cloud felt this deserved no response.

Squall shrugged. "Some kid ambushed me the other day claiming he worked for you at your delivery shop. Naturally I thought he was insane. That or someone was trying to or blackmail me or… or I don't know what. A lot of possibilities occurred to me. Not once, though, did I think I would actually find you running a delivery business."

Cloud's eyes narrowed. "It's a perfectly legitimate business."

"I wasn't accusing you of misconduct."

"Weren't you?"

Squall's expression hardened slightly. "A supposed delivery shop run by a former hit-man is more than questionable. To anyone else this would look like a front."

"You want to examine my ledgers, go ahead. The only items shipped to or from this location are valid packages, I have an invoice for everything." There were only so many reasons for Squall to come to his shop, Cloud figured. The most likely was that the General had come to arrest him. And in any case, Cloud was feeling defensive, with or without the accusations. Lashing out was easy.

"I didn't come here for a fight," said Squall. "I just came for some answers."

"What's the question?"

"What are you doing in Nomura?"

"Running my shop. Or hadn't you noticed?" Cloud rolled his eyes.

"You couldn't operate a delivery service in any other city?" Squall persisted. "Any other continent, even?"

"You don't get to dictate where I live."

"But why here? Why would you come back?"

Somehow, this question was difficult to answer. Cloud looked down at his desk as if the paperwork there would help him.

"I don't know. It just… happened." He grimaced at his own ineloquence. He looked to the window for assistance. "Some friends of mine had settled here. The economy was ideal for starting a small business. I could buy the building at a good rate…"

They sounded like feeble excuses, though, and judging by the look on Squall's face, it was clear he thought so too.

"It wasn't exactly my first choice," he added.

"No?"

"I was too well-known in other cities." Cloud folded his arms tight over his chest and pursed his lips. His gaze landed on a row of boxes along the wall. "There was always someone trying to get me back in the business or come after me or… or just harass me. No one knew me in Nomura. You'd made sure of that. I could start fresh here in a way I couldn't anywhere else. Ironic, obviously, considering my history here with you, but… In any case, here I am."

Squall's gaze was intense, searching for a lie. Cloud met his look; He had nothing to hide here. If this was all Squall had come for, if this whole meeting was just an attempt to uncover some illicit plot, then Cloud was ready to defend himself.

"So you're out then," Squall said. "Out of the business." He still hadn't looked away, had barely even blinked.

"Yeah."

"For good?"

"Yeah." Which made quitting that line of business sound far simpler than it had been.

Squall's face held his question so obviously there was no point verbalizing it. Years ago, Cloud had been so adamant in his refusal to give up his mercenary career that their relationship had ended because of it. After all the grief and arguments they'd had over it, what had finally made him quit?

"Things just… got to be too much," Cloud offered. Which was truly the bare minimum in terms of explanations. But Cloud didn't see the use in explaining how the weight of his choices and mistakes had eaten away at him. Or how the solitary nature of the job, once a liberation, had taken its toll. Nor did he think a discussion about his coming to terms with his conscience was necessary—especially when the voice of his conscience had sounded suspiciously like the voice of Squall Leonhart.

Squall gave a nod of understanding. And maybe he understood the things that had gone unsaid, too. Neither of them had ever been interested in superfluous conversation.

Squall studied Cloud for a long moment. His expression was, as always, inscrutable. There had been a time when Cloud had been rather good at reading those non-expressions, but that time had long since passed. Now Cloud was left trying not to fidget under his gaze.

He thought of offering Squall a chair, but decided against it — as awkward as standing in the middle of the shop might be, sitting down would indicate this encounter might last long enough to need to sit. Brevity was safer, all things considered. And so the two of them continued to stand there, desk between them, as the pause stretched into something approaching uncomfortable.

"I guess I should… congratulate you on your promotion," Cloud said eventually. He could only hope small talk might keep this exchange somewhere in the realm of manageable.

Squall shrugged dismissively. "Angeal Hewley finally realized he was old enough to retire. And the ridiculous office politics of nobility and upper military ranks meant they tapped me for the job."

"I would never have expected you to play office politics," said Cloud.

Squall shifted his weight and sighed. "There are some things even I can't avoid. Much as I'd like to."

"Seems like it's worked in your favor, at least."

Squall examined the cap in his hands and gave a noncommittal hum.

Cloud cleared his throat, bracing himself. "How's Rinoa?"

"She's… fine. Wreaking havoc on social functions as usual. She, ah, she just had her first child, actually."

"Oh." Cloud blinked. "More congratulations are in order, then." He made a halting gesture toward Squall and tried to pretend his chest hadn't suddenly constricted.

"Oh. Um, no." Squall eyes widened slightly. "It's not—I mean, the baby isn't mine." He frowned at the floor. "Rinoa… and her husband are very happy together. Seifer Almasy. You might remember him."

Cloud raised his brow. "Last I heard, she was engaged to you."

"She was. For a little while."

It was Cloud's turn to infer the complications left unsaid. The following pause was strained, and both tried their best to look anywhere but at the man in front of them.

Squall cleared his throat. "So, your delivery shop," he started. "Of all things, why this?"

"It's not so different from what I was doing before, really—Delivering a requested service to some recipient. Only now the recipient is usually happier about it."

Squall gave a quiet huff through his nose that could almost be called a laugh. Cloud allowed himself a small grin.

"I had a motorcycle and a knack for remembering addresses," he continued. "Apparently I found a niche market. Things went well, and I hired Sora. Since then, business has taken off."

"How long have you been in the city?"

"A little over two years."

"Two years?" Squall didn't bother to mask his surprise.

"Not quite two and a half."

"That's longer than I would have thought."

Cloud could only shrug. What was he supposed to say?

"Strange I haven't seen you before now," Squall frowned.

"We operate in different circles, I imagine."

"Still. You would have thought in two years I might have…seen you on the street or, I don't know, at the market or something. Instead, I hear about you from some kid."

"It's a big city."

"It's not that big."

"What, should I have tried to contact you?" Cloud scoffed. "Show up on your doorstep? Write you a letter?"

By the look on Squall's face, this didn't seem so unreasonable to him.

"You'd made it clear things between us were over." Cloud looked away, hoping to hide how poor a job he was doing at controlling his expression.

"I was done keeping secrets," said Squall. "I was tired of leading a double life. Doesn't mean I wouldn't have wanted to hear from you if you were living in Nomura. Just to talk or—or something."

Cloud's jaw set. "Did you expect me to just come running back to you? After everything?"

"All I wanted was for you to get out of that line of work. And now you have."

"No, what you wanted was for me to change who I was to better suit your career," Cloud said heatedly.

Squall's expression twisted. "Asking you to give up your work as a mercenary is not the same as trying to change you," he defended. "You were more than just some assassin killer. I was only trying to make you see that."

And just like that, all their old arguments and grievances were back and boiling over as if their years apart had never happened.

"You were trying to control me," Cloud spat. "As if you could just get rid of the parts of me that were inconvenient for you."

"Inconvenient? I think it was more than just inconvenient to worry constantly about someone finding out the truth about you and losing my career over it. Or one of your associates finding out about me and using that to hurt one of us. Or worrying about whether you were off dying somewhere in some dark alley. Every time you left, there was a chance I'd never see you again, that there would be a job you wouldn't come back from and I'd never know what had happened. I'd never even hear about it."

"You knew what I was from the start. What did you expect?"

"I just wanted to be with you."

"You wanted a version of me. You wanted me but without everything that made me who I was."

"Your work didn't define you."

"I liked my line of work," Cloud snapped. "I was good at it. You had no right to force me to quit."

Squall scoffed, incredulous. "You enjoyed murdering people?"

"Debate the morals all you want, but I never took an innocent life," Cloud said sharply. "Every mark was someone who made society worse by being there."

"That's not exactly a solid legal argument," Squall shot back. "And it's definitely not something my superiors would have understood if they'd found out who you really were."

"We were managing just fine."

"We were living a lie. I couldn't even tell the truth about you to my family. Everything had to be some complicated secret, and I was tired of it."

They had played out these old arguments so many times before, there was hardly any use in going over them again. The anger was nothing new. But maybe Cloud had matured enough by now to move past the anger. Maybe there was something to gain by letting that go.

Cloud caught his breath and schooled his expression as best he could.

"You wanted me to quit my career and become something respectable so you could be with me openly. But all I saw was you trying to take away the only thing I knew." Cloud was looking off into the middle distance between them, but his voice was steady. "I'd built a life for myself. And maybe it was the life of a criminal, but dammit it was mine. I didn't have much in this world, but at least I had that." He looked up and his eyes found Squall's. "You knew who I was from the beginning. You knew what you were getting involved with. I never lied to you. And then I wasn't enough for you. You wanted to control me and change me I…I couldn't do it."

Silence hung between them. Between the people they'd been and the people they were now.

"I was trying to find a way to…to make a future for us," said Squall. "Only you weren't interested in that future. You weren't willing to make any sacrifices for it."

"It seemed to me I was the only one who was supposed to sacrifice anything."

"My world has more rules," Squall said simply.

"I was never going to fit into that world. Whatever changes I made, it wouldn't have mattered. There would always be something wrong, something you needed me to do differently."

"You quit, didn't you?"

"I didn't quit for you."

Squall looked away. His broad shoulders sagged just slightly and he let out an unsteady breath. He considered the cap gripped in his hand for a moment. When he looked back up, his expression was as stoic as ever.

"Well," Squall said, voice only slightly strained, "whatever your reason. I'm happy for you. Seems like you've built a good life for yourself here."

Cloud swallowed hard, maintaining his composure.

"I'll, um…" Squall paused. He cleared his throat and gathered himself. He fit his cap back on his head. "Maybe I'll see you around. At the market or something."

Cloud gave a short nod, pretending it might happen.

Squall paused as if he might say something more, then thought better of it. He opened the door and closed it gently behind him.

Cloud watched through the front window as Squall walked down the street, turned a corner, disappeared. He gave a heavy, shuddering sigh and tried to catch his breath.

He went to the kitchenette and gulped down a glass of water. He went back to his desk and sat down. He stared numbly at his abandoned paperwork.

He put his face in his hands and wondered why he let himself get so worked up over nothing.

The door closed in front of Sora abruptly, just shy of a genuine slam, and he blinked in surprise as the customer-service smile slipped from his face. That was the third time that morning a customer had ended their transaction with that kind of hasty send-off. Everyone he'd delivered to had seemed unusually ill at ease. No one had even smiled.

"Was it something I said?" Sora asked Roxas. But the cat was napping in the basket of Sora's bicycle and so could offer no advice. Sora climbed back onto his bike with a frown and set off to their next destination.

As the morning went on, Sora noticed his delivery customers weren't the only ones acting strangely. In fact, the entire city seemed off somehow. The streets were curiously deserted for a weekday morning, and what few pedestrians Sora saw were solitary and grim, or else huddled together engaged in muttered conversations. The only shopkeepers out and about were stone-faced and unfriendly. No one wanted to stop and chat. No one smiled.

It made for a lonely delivery ride.

Around noon, Sora saw Tidus standing on a corner with a newspaper open in his hands. The sight of his friend was a relief for his low spirits, and Sora called out a greeting as he rode up alongside him. Tidus looked up from his newspaper and gave a grim smile as Sora disembarked his bike.

"Have you seen the news?" asked Tidus, straightening his paper importantly.

Sora, who had never purchased a newspaper in his life and likely never would, blinked at him, puzzled. Tidus, realizing his mistake, gave a shrug.

"There's some crazy stuff goin' on. Cid was raving like mad all morning, driving me nuts. That's what I'm doing out here—just needed a break, ya know?"

He folded the paper to the front page and offered it to Sora. The article there declared:

Unidentified Alexandrian Spy Attacks Nomura

Sora frowned as he took the paper and read further. The paragraphs below described an attempted attack by a dangerous yet unidentified spy from their city's enemy, Alexandria. This spy had apparently infiltrated the governing offices in the Jenova Mansion and had nearly been caught, but had escaped through nefarious magical ability and was now at large in the city. The article urged anyone in Nomura to come forward if they knew anything or if someone they knew had been acting strangely in the past few days. Anyone showing disloyalty to the City-State and its ruling aristocrats might be associated with this spy and therefore this attack on Nomura's safety.

"That's not good," Sora concluded as he handed the paper back to Tidus.

"Scary to think some Alexandrian spy was running around here doing who-knows-what," said Tidus as he folded the paper under his arm. "I wonder if they stole anything. Or found information to use against us for some kind of attack."

Sora frowned and thought back to Namine in his apartment that morning; Quiet and grim, with dark circles under her eyes as she scribbled feverishly in her notebook.

"Do you think that's why everyone I've met today has been acting all weird and suspicious? They're all worried about the spy?"

"Guess people have been pretty worked up about it," Tidus shrugged. "I mean, the spy got away and no one could identify them. It could've been anybody. Maybe someone who's lived in Nomura for a while. Everyone's on edge."

"Seems like a dumb thing to get freaked out about," Sora scoffed. "I mean, what's a spy gonna to do to them, huh? Come on." There were few, if any, valid excuses for being rude, as far as Sora was concerned.

"This is our city's security at risk. People take that pretty seriously. I mean, we don't know what information the spy has, or what they'll do with it. No one even knows who this person is or if they're still in the city. It could be anyone. Ya can't blame people for being suspicious of their neighbors at a time like this, can you?"

Sora frowned. A door slammed somewhere nearby.

"Ah, listen to me," Tidus snorted. "Now I'm starting to sound like the old man. Guess there's no escaping my fate. Anyway, I'd best get going. Probably shouldn't linger too long on street corners—people might get some weird ideas in their heads."

That gave Sora quite a lot to think about as he and Tidus parted ways.

Sora had known Namine was a foreign spy, but now she was a bona fide wanted fugitive and in quite a bit of danger. Even worse, the insidious threat of an enemy in their midst was turning citizens of Nomura against their neighbors, which could only make it easier for darkness to infect their hearts. Namine had said little about her fight with Xehanort, but from what Sora could piece together, it seemed as if she'd had a very narrow escape. Had Xehanort let her get away intentionally so he could create confusion and distrust in the city? Was this part of his plan?

The rest of the day's deliveries continued in their trend of rude recipients. Knowing the cause of people's behavior did little to make Sora's afternoon more bearable.

When he eventually finished his day's work, Sora headed north to the Jenova Mansion. Seeing Riku would surely improve his mood. Just the thought of him prompted a pleasant flutter in Sora's stomach, remembering their kiss in the park.

Multiple kisses, rather.

But the flutter curdled into a concerned churn as Sora's mind strayed to the less pleasant thoughts that had plagued him the previous night, wondering why Riku hadn't shown up at his apartment to spend the night like he'd said he would. Had something happened to him? Was he hurt? Had the shadow monsters attacked?

Or, after some time to himself, had Riku started to regret their kiss? Was he trying to keep his distance from Sora? Did Riku not want to see him?

Sora shook his head sharply, pushing the doubts from his mind as if shaking loose something caught in his hair—there was no point coming up with terrible imagined scenarios. The best thing to do was to ask Riku himself. There was sure to be an appropriate reason Riku hadn't followed through on his promise.

Sora arrived at the Jenova Mansion, trampled through the bushes to the hole in the fence, locked up his bike, scooped a sleepy Roxas onto his shoulder, and made his way to the servants' entrance. He peered around the open door and smiled when the people inside proved familiar; Hayner, Pence and Olette sat at the center table with a deck of cards between them.

"My feet are killing me," groaned Olette. She was slouched down in her seat with her feet propped up on another chair.

"I feel like I've been standing since sunrise," said Pence, though he was still sitting upright, perhaps due to the overly starched properties of his waistcoat.

"Anyone gonna draw, or am I the only playin' this game?" Hayner said from behind a handful of cards.

"You're the only one who knows the rules," said Olette.

"Probably because you keep making them up as you go along," added Pence.

"Ain't my fault ya ain't listenin'." Hayner leaned back in his seat, scowling.

"What are you playing?" Sora asked as he made his way into the room. The group at the table looked up, surprised.

"Sora!" beamed Olette. "Come take a seat. You want some biscuits?"

"Great, Sunshine's here," Hayner muttered to his cards.

Sore sat down in the open seat next to Pence and helped himself to the plate of biscuits Olette pushed his way. Roxas opened his eyes and decided being actively awake was acceptable. He jumped down from Sora's shoulder onto the table and made the rounds for everyone to scratch his head for exactly 7 seconds before he settled himself down at the head of the table just out of reach.

"It's a game Hayner made up, though he's trying to convince us otherwise," explained Pence. Hayner scoffed in protest, but was ignored. "Do you want to play?"

"I can't stay long, I'm on my way to find Riku."

There was a pause as the three employees exchanged looks over their cards.

"What?" Sora frowned.

"I don't know if this is a good time to see him," Olette said delicately.

"Why not?"

Olette hesitated and Sora's worry spiked. Had the shadow monsters gotten to Riku after all? Had Xehanort done something to him?

"It's just…" started Pence, "Master Sephiroth was rather angry with Master Riku yesterday. We've been instructed not to allow any unscheduled guests into the house and to make sure Master Riku does not leave the premises."

Sora blinked. "That's it? He's just grounded?" That didn't seem like the catastrophe their expressions had made it out to be.

"Things in the manor have been very tense," Pence continued. "Master Sephiroth has been in a temper, and that's always something you want to avoid. Not to mention with the war declaration and now this whole spy debacle, nobles and military personnel have been in and out constantly. Security is tight right now."

"Okay," said Sora, waiting for the information to be relevant to him.

"So you can't see Riku today," Olette concluded. "Probably not for a while, actually. When Master Sephiroth gets into one of these moods, there's no telling how long it might last."

"What does Mister Sephiroth's mood have to do with me being able to see Riku?"

"Master Sephiroth, not 'mister," Pence corrected. "Lord Sephiroth to someone not employed by him."

Sora shrugged in non-apology. How was he supposed to keep track of titles when they were so complicated?

"If Master Sephiroth forbade Riku from seeing you…that means you can't see him," Olette spelled out carefully.

"Why should he be in charge of whether or not I can see my friend?" Sora was finding this whole aristocrat thing increasingly bothersome.

"Lord Sephiroth is the governing noble. He is literally in charge of everything," Pence frowned, perplexed that he would even need to explain something so obvious.

"Sure, he's in charge of the government and stuff. Doesn't mean he's in charge of my personal life." Sora was equally baffled that this should require clarification.

The three employees considered this bold statement. Hayner gave an appreciative grin.

"Damn, Sunshine, goin' hard for personal autonomy. That's a rural mindset if ever I heard one."

Sora shrugged. He supposed islands were rural enough.

"Autonomy politics aside, we cannot let you see Master Riku," said Pence. "They instructed us not to."

Sora rolled his eyes and gave a huff of frustration. So much for working class solidarity. "Fine," he said. "Then I'll go see Kairi."

Hayner's smile dropped into a suspicious squint. "What you need her for?"

"She's my friend. I'd like to talk to her. No one's made any governmental decree I can't see Kairi, right?" Sora looked at each one of them patiently, waiting for their response. The weight of his gaze strongly indicated that there was a right and a wrong answer.

"I guess not," said Pence uncertainly.

"Does anyone know where I can find her?"

"Haven't seen her all day," Hayner said, more than a little smug.

"She's with Master Riku," said Olette.

"What's she doing with him?" Hayner scowled.

"She said something about going with Master Riku to talk to his academic tutor," Olette shrugged. "Not sure why. She was excited about some books."

"Then I'll go see Kairi." Sora stood from his chair.

"Wait," said Olette, standing as well.

Sora gave her a steady look, patient but serious, and unwilling to back down from his goal.

Olette wavered with internal debate. "I'll escort you," she said finally.

"Hey now," Pence protested. "That—that's a bad idea. Master Sephiroth specifically said Riku was not to have any guests."

"He's here to see Kairi," Olette defended, tight-lipped.

"If anyone finds out, you'll be in a lot of trouble," Pence pleaded fretfully.

"Good thing no one will find out." Olette gave him a sharp look. "Especially because he's not going to see Master Riku, he's going to see Kairi."

Olette and Pence stared each other down, a battle of will communicated through silent glares. Ultimately, Pence let out a small, anxious sigh, and Olette claimed her victory. She whipped around and marched purposefully out of the room with Sora behind her. Roxas nabbed one last biscuit from the plate on the table and jumped down to follow them.

"I'm sorry about him," said Olette once they were well away from the break room. "Pence has been dealing with a lot from the nobles lately. Out of all of us, he's the one who spends the most time with them, so he bears the brunt when they're in a foul mood. He's worried about losing his job."

"And you're not?"

Olette shrugged. "It's not as crucial for me. I can afford some flexibility, unlike Pence. His family really depends on his income."

"I see," said Sora. Though it was possible he didn't, really. His family was both far away and self-sufficient back on their island.

"I know it's none of my business, but," she paused in the hallway to look at him, "what exactly is going on between you and Master Riku?"

"I…I don't know," Sora faltered. He frowned and realized it was true. There wasn't much precedent regarding a blossoming romance between a delivery boy and an aristocrat, and Sora didn't really know what it was he ultimately intended to do about his feelings. He was just going with his impulses the way he did with everything in his life. Just following his heart.

"Master Sephiroth has made quite a fuss, and he probably wouldn't have if it was insignificant." Olette gave him a steady look, and Sora found it encouraging.

"It's definitely significant," said Sora with a bashful smile. "He's important to me."

Olette gave a thoughtful nod. "If I'm risking my job, I want to make sure I'm doing it for something important." With that, they continued toward the small library, dodging other employees along their path who might be less wiling to defy direct orders through a flimsy loophole.

"Thank you," said Sora when they arrived at the door to Riku's library. "I hope you don't get in trouble because of me."

Olette squeezed his arm and gave him an encouraging smile. Then she hurried away down the hall before anyone could see her aiding the illicit meeting.

Sora paused as he reached for the door handle. The moment stretched.

"Is there something wrong with the doorknob?" Roxas asked with a wry quirk of his ear.

"I guess I'm nervous," admitted Sora.

"About going in the room? I mean, the book collection is intimidating, sure, but they haven't fallen on you yet. You're probably safe."

Sora let out a breath. "What if things are different now?"

"The shelving is pretty stable, I think." But when Sora didn't respond, he added gently: "It'll be okay. Different can be good sometimes."

Sora looked down at him. "Yeah?"

"If different means not standing in the hall all day." He bumped his head against Sora's leg to comfort and encourage, or maybe just to shove him forward.

Sora gave a snort, both at Roxas and himself. He was being silly; There was no need to be nervous about going to see Riku. He opened the door.

If Sora had been the kind of person to be surprised by things, he might have been by the scene he found inside; Every piece of furniture had been pushed to the edges of the room, and in the cleared center space stood Riku and Kairi, eyes closed and arms stiff down by their sides, apparently meditating. Curious, Sora took a moment to watch them in silence.

"It's important to breathe," Riku was saying.

"It's always important to breathe," Kairi grinned. "That's kind of how we're alive."

"It's important to focus on your breathing," Riku amended. "Concentrate on your heartbeat. When you feel comfortable with your concentration, try to sense your magic. It might be tricky at first, but once you can focus on your magic, you can start to use it more intentionally."

"What will the magic feel like?"

"It's different for everyone. You'll know when you've found it."

Kairi's brow furrowed in concentration and she balled her hands into fists at her sides. She stood in silence for a moment.

"I think I sense something."

"Your magic?"

"No. It feels more like…" she opened her eyes, "Sora," she concluded, looking directly at him. Sora smiled at her.

Riku's eyes flew open. "Sora!"

"And Roxas," Sora added.

"Hi Roxas," Kairi smiled, feeling it was important to acknowledge him. Roxas flicked his tail in appreciation padded over to the windowsill to settle himself.

"What are you doing here?" Riku asked in alarm.

"I'm here to see you," Sora said as he stepped further into the room, inspecting the redecoration. "Sorry to interrupt. What are you doing, anyway?"

"Riku's giving me magic lessons!" Kairi beamed. "I have empathy magic! It's official!"

"Your Weird-Feeling-Things Power?"

"Yeah! Mr. Eraqus said Riku could give me lessons to help me figure out my magic. Apparently it's a very uncommon kind of power." Kairi was glowing in excitement.

"That's amazing!" Sora whooped. "You'll get to live in that temple on top of a mountain with that goat who eats your groceries, after all!"

Kairi laughed. "Oh my gosh, that's right! And you'll deliver me chocolate and everything! Get prepared to have very defined calf muscles." The two of them erupted into wild laughter.

Riku, who had not been present for this inside joke, frowned. "Sora, how did you get in here? My uncle gave orders to stop you from coming to see me."

"I'm very convincing," Sora supposed.

"I would expect nothing less from you," Kairi chuckled.

Riku was less amused. In fact, he seemed more than a little distressed. "You could get in trouble if he finds out you've been here. We both could. Did anyone see you come in?"

Sora frowned. "Do you…not want to see me?" he asked. His chest felt suddenly tight. Doubt plunged though his stomach.

Riku's eyes widened. "What! No, of course I want to see you!" He stepped toward Sora, then stopped short, suddenly awkward. He glanced over at Kairi, who averted her eyes rather obviously. Riku flushed, cleared his throat and looked back at Sora, collecting himself.

Sora's chest constricted a little more at Riku's hesitance.

"It's just…I'm worried about my uncle. He's…I mean, he has a lot of influence, obviously. I'm afraid of what he might do if he found out you've been here."

"Is that why you didn't come over last night?"

Riku's shoulders slumped. "Sephiroth forbid me from leaving the mansion, and absolutely everyone was keeping an eye on me to make sure I didn't sneak out. They even locked my bedroom door at night. It was awful."

"Is anyone keeping an eye on you right now? I didn't see anyone outside the door when I came in."

"I'm sure there are people instructed to let my uncle know if I leave the small library. Getting Mr. Eraqus' permission for Kairi's lessons was only successful because it would keep me in here."

Sora held his chin in thought. "There has to be some way to sneak you out," he mused. "What if we put you in disguise? Like a fake mustache and a silly hat?"

"Wouldn't the silly hat draw too much attention for sneaking around?" asked Kairi.

"It would be a distraction," Sora said. "They would be so busy looking at the hat they wouldn't realize it was Riku."

"That almost makes sense," Kairi shrugged. "But where do we get the hat? Or the mustache?"

"What resources are available? Do you or Selphie have crazy hats? She seems like someone who might have something fun."

"Not hats, really, but she has some outrageous scarves."

"A scarf should work if it's wrapped well enough," Sora nodded. He turned to Riku. "How do you feel about a scarf around your head?"

"I'm not wearing a scarf around my head," Riku frowned.

"Well, how about a big hat? I'm sure we can find one somewhere."

"I'm not going to wear either of those things."

"Then what do you think we should do?"

Riku hesitated, brow furrowed with unease as he looked at Sora. "I'm going to stay here," he said. "I can't just sneak out of the mansion."

And though Sora was not the kind of person to be surprised by things, this statement—so completely unexpected, so theoretically impossible within the frames of Sora's outlook—was nothing short of a genuine shock. He blinked at Riku, bewildered. Riku returned the look apprehensively.

"Why not?" Sora asked.

Riku pursed his lips with resolve. "We can't risk it. Someone will definitely find out, and I don't know what my uncle would do then. He could send me away. He could send you away—somehow, I don't know. He could…forbid me from going to the Academy, he could put your delivery company out of business, he could legally do any number of things. It's not worth it."

"It's…not worth it?" Sora studied Riku closely. A whole string of thoughts ran through his mind; What would be worth it, what exactly 'it' was in the first place, and the apparent difference between what Sora and Riku felt were the answers to those questions.

Riku sighed. "We can figure something else out," he said. "You definitely shouldn't sneak in here again, and I definitely can't leave the gounds but…But we're working on it."

"We are?"

"I mean, Kairi and I. We were talking about it before we started the magic lesson."

"Oh." Sora looked over at Kairi, who was looking between the two of them uneasily.

"We were thinking out in the garden," she offered.

"Near where you come in through the hole in the gate," said Riku. "Clearly there aren't many people guarding that area, and there's enough cover for the two of us to talk without being seen. We won't be able to spend as much time together, since I can't be out of sight for too long without someone getting suspicious, but I should be able to slip away for a few minutes here and there. That should be enough."

Sora blinked at him. A few minutes here and there hardly seemed like enough time to spend with Riku, especially after the very recent discovery of what it was like to kiss each other. Apparently Riku disagreed.

"Okay," Sora said uncertainly. "What about at night? How will you get away from the shadow monsters if they come?"

"Last night I set up a snow room and collected as many lamps as I could. Using snow to reflect electric light seemed to work well enough. I didn't encounter any shadow monsters, at least." Which sounded reasonable enough.

So why did Sora feel as if he'd been hit in the gut?

"Okay," he said again, feeling hollow.

"Are you serious?" scoffed Roxas. Everyone turned to the cat at the windowsill and found a boy standing there instead. He was glaring venomously at Riku.

"Excuse me?" Riku balked, always on the defensive when it came to Roxas, especially in his human manifestation.

"You can't just get rid of us when it's convenient for you. And you're fooling yourself if you think you can replace Sora with a couple lightbulbs."

"I—I'm not replacing him," huffed Riku. "Obviously I'd rather be with Sora. But with the nobles all sticking their noses in my business and my uncle the way he is, it's best we wait until things die down. We need time."

"You're just going to let your uncle dictate how you live? He tells you to stop seeing Sora, so you drop him like yesterday's garbage? You're not going to fight this at all?"

Riku gaped at the accusation. "I am fighting this."

"Doesn't seem like it. Seems like you're suddenly ashamed to be seen with Sora because he's not aristocratic enough for your family."

"Roxas," Sora rebuked.

But Roxas didn't back down. "No," he said to Sora. "Don't just let him brush you aside—"

"A little discretion is hardly the same as brushing you aside," said Riku. "It's not even that big of a deal, just a slightly different way of going about our meetings."

"If this was important enough to you, you would find a way around your uncle."

"Look, I'm trying, but it's complicated, okay? You don't know Sephiroth. There's a lot of stupid politics and family obligations I have to deal with." Riku turned to Sora. "I'll figure something out, I promise."

Sora stepped closer to Riku, feeling vulnerable. "Promise?"

"Just give me some time, okay?" Riku closed the distance between them and took Sora's hands in his, a little shy, but determined. "I'm sorry," he said. "I don't like this any better than you do, but we have to be smart about it. Once scrutiny has cooled a little, we can come up with a better solution and change Sephiroth's mind. Okay?"

Sora looked down to where Riku had intertwined their fingers, then up into Riku's jade green eyes, obscured somewhat by his long hair. The doubts churning in his stomach dissolved as he took in Riku's earnest expression, and Sora gave a soft smile.

"Okay. But don't take too long to figure it out."

Riku grinned. "Mansion politics is not typically a hasty business, but I can work the system."

"And our meetings have to be more than just a few minutes," Sora added firmly.

"I'll come up with a good alibi."

"And we need a better solution for the shadow monsters than just lamps and snow."

"Definitely." Riku smiled and squeezed Sora's hands.

Sora's stomach swooped pleasantly; It seemed he and Riku had the same idea about this thing between them after all.

Riku turned to Roxas, his lips pursed in defiance. "Is that alright with you?" he asked tersely.

Roxas crossed his arms over his chest, unapologetic and unimpressed. "Sora's not the kind of person who gets angry about things, so I'll be angry on his behalf when it looks like someone isn't treating him the way he deserves." It was something he had done for his brother, once upon a time. Like Ven, Sora was always a little too agreeable and forgiving in Roxas' opinion. Getting angry on behalf of someone he cared about was easy. Now that he was getting better about being human in front of others, he could do something about it again. In any case, yelling at Riku felt nice.

"That's sweet," said Kairi, smiling at him.

Roxas glanced at her from the corner of his eye. "I'll do the same for you, too. That Hayner guy is a piece of work. Don't stoop to his level. If he doesn't rise to yours, he's not worth it."

Kairi blinked, taken aback.

"Roxas," Sora rebuked again, though this time with more humor. He was still holding Riku's hands.

Riku tugged Sora closer. "Listen. I hate to do this, but you should leave before someone catches you here."

Sora drooped. "I want to stay." He swung their hands gently between them.

"I know. I want you to stay too, but you can't." Riku gave a regretful sigh. "I'll meet you at the hole in the gate tomorrow at half-past four."

Sora nodded, eyes downcast. Riku let go of his hands.

"Here, put this on your head," Kairi said as she untied her apron from around her waist. "It's no outrageous scarf, but it should do. I'll sneak you out."

Sora accepted the apron and resigned himself to Kairi's ministrations as she tucked it expertly around his head. The result was suitably absurd.

"You look like you did when that dirt sprite hit you with a roof tile," said Roxas.

"If anyone stops us, we'll say it's a medical emergency and we have to get him to a hospital," said Kairi. "No time to talk or explain."

"It could work."

"I'll go make sure the coast is clear. Wait for my signal." Kairi hurried to the door, opened it a sliver and peered around it.

"What's the signal?" asked Sora, prodding his head wrap absently.

"I'll make a bird call."

"What would a bird be doing in the mansion?" Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, I don't know. Maybe the bird is the reason for the mysterious head injury—who cares?" She gave them a brief scowl before leaving to investigate the hallway. After a moment, they heard a very poor impression of a crow's caw. Roxas shrunk back down into a little yellow cat and followed after her with his tail in the air.

Riku grabbed Sora's wrist as he was about to leave the room. Sora turned, but before he could ask what the matter was, Riku leaned over, cupped his cheek, and kissed him. Tenderly, but without hesitation. When they broke apart, they held each other's gaze for a charged moment.

"See you tomorrow," Riku all but whispered.

Sora nodded. Then, with a crooked grin, he stole another quick kiss and slipped out the door. As Kairi ushered them through servant passageways and out the back of the building, the churning in Sora's stomach felt less like doubt and distress and more like anticipation. And if a little disappointment lingered in his chest, it was easy enough to brush it aside.

That night, as the stately grandfather clock in the hall struck midnight, Riku's eyes flew open from a light and troubled sleep. He sat up in his bed, surrounded by snow and illuminated by an overwhelming collection of lamps, and wondered what had woken him.

Maybe it had been the clock chimes sounding the hour through the mansion. But he had a hunch that wasn't it.

Because despite the nearly blinding light of the room, Riku had noticed a shadow—several, actually. Tucked away in small corners and at the edges of furniture, despite the fact that Riku had arranged the lamps in such a way that no spot of room was left unilluminated. There hadn't been any shadows when he'd closed his eyes.

He watched the small shadows tensely, holding his breath, hoping they stayed as they were, hoping he just hadn't noticed them earlier.

A light by his bed went out with a small clink. Riku whipped his head around to stare at the dead lamp, eyes wide in fear. Another light died out, this time at the other end of the room. With another clink, a third lamp went dark.

Cold dread spread though his veins. His heart pounded loud enough to hear.

The shadows were shifting, moving, growing. By the time the monsters opened their terrible golden eyes, Riku was already scrambling for the door.

Thoughts raced: Stall them, ice barrier, make it to Sora. He just had to get to Sora.

But the bedroom door wouldn't budge. Frowning, he rattled the handle harder, to no avail. Riku was locked inside. His stomach dropped like a physical weight.

Frantically, he threw himself against the door, trying to force it open. He covered it in ice, tried to shatter it, but all he accomplished was an injured shoulder. He yelled and hammered at the door with his fists, trying to get someone's attention with increasing desperation.

The only person who heard him, unfortunately, was watching the scene with interest from deep within the darkness. His golden eyes were gleaming with satisfaction.

The shadow beasts lunged, sinking their claws and teeth mercilessly into Riku's flesh. He screamed as he fell under their weight, pinned up against the door. Shadows grew until darkness filled the room and consumed him utterly.

.

The next morning, Riku awoke in his bed from what seemed like a brief and dreamless sleep. He felt strange. His memory of the night before was hazy, which was odd, but not too concerning. It must have been an uneventful night. He felt sluggish and irritable as he went about his morning, but that wasn't unexpected considering the poor sleep he'd had. There was a weight in his chest that he wasn't sure had been there before, but it was not uncomfortable, nor did it feel particularly noteworthy, so it was easy to forget about.

Riku felt slightly different. But he couldn't identify what exactly had changed.