A/N: Couldn't get this one out of my head. Sorry not sorry!

The Riku Effect
by xoKyorii

There were many ways Riku imagined returning home from another tiring day at med school.

A reclining chair, ice-cold beer, and video games with his roommate/best friend before an all-nighter of studying was the expected scenario. All of the above topped with his roommate/best friend's sinfully delicious five cheese lasagna was the hopeful scenario.

His roommate/best friend dressed in an apron scowling at him with a feather duster in hand raised defensively to boot? Definitely not one of the scenarios he had in mind.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asks, mortified.

"Good evening to you too," Riku greets calmly while lowering his roommate's so-called weapon. He tosses his coat and laptop bag aside before gracing Sora with his undivided attention. "And to answer your question, I kind of live here, so it's perfectly normal that I'm here."

"I'm well aware of that," Sora grumbles with crossed arms. "I meant what are you doing here now? I thought you had work."

"I had someone cover my shift so I could study for a big exam tomorrow," Riku explains nonchalantly. Then, just before he can question Sora's odd behaviour, his nose twitches at a familiar scent. He makes a beeline for their modestly-sized kitchen and finds his senses overwhelmed by a delicious aroma.

"Is that lasagna?" Riku asks, practically drooling while pointing at the culinary masterpiece cooking in the oven. At least one part of his hopeful scenario would come true.

"Yes," Sora answers, "but it's not for you."

Riku shakes his head in both confusion and disapproval at the heartbreaking news. "Okay, what is going on? Why do I get the sense that you don't want me here?"

Caught red-handed, Sora shamefully hides the feather duster behind his back and smiles at his best friend sheepishly. "Remember that girl I told you about? Kairi?"

"You mean the girl you've been yammering about for the last three months?" Riku asks. He then fakes a shrug. "No, not familiar at all."

Sora rolls his eyes. "Anyways, I invited her over tonight, and it's way too early for her to fall victim to the Riku Effect."

"The what?" Riku questions.

"The Riku Effect," Sora repeats a matter-of-factly. "Every time we're trying to woo a girl, all our efforts prove to be in vain the instant you come into the picture and upstage us with your devastating good looks."

"I'm sorry, we?" Riku asks, his level of confusion increasing tenfold.

"Yes, we," Sora reiterates. "You know, the guys."

Riku leans his back against the counter, head shaking from side to side with his arms crossed. "You can't be serious."

"Fully serious," Sora says with an index finger raised. "It's been tried and tested. Exhibit A: the Olette and Hayner incident."

Riku raises a hand to pause the explanation. "Okay, first of all, is this argument really valid with Hayner involved? No offense, but the guy doesn't have a charming bone in his body. It's not my fault if the girl is into anyone but him."

"I mean you're not wrong," Sora agrees, "but regardless, Olette was practically worshipping you by the time we left the bar. Now examining Exhibit B: the Tidus and Yuna incident."

"Okay, she was not into me," Riku insists.

Sora's eyes narrow into slits. "Riku, she was literally in the middle of writing her number down for Tidus and gave it to you instead – right in front of him."

Riku recalls accidentally stumbling into that conversation and unintentionally having the female attention shifted onto him through casual conversation.

"Okay, you got me there," Riku admits, "but it's not like I intend for these things to happen. I'd never set you guys up for failure."

Sora places a reassuring hand on his best friend's broad shoulder in understanding. "Of course not, Riku. And it's not like we hate you for it or anything. We just, you know, hate you."

"Very reassuring," Riku comments.

"What I mean is your superhuman good looks and effortless charm," Sora specifies.

Riku shrugs Sora's hand off with a scoff. "All right, you've lost me again."

"Seriously?" Sora asks incredulously. "Dude, look at you. You look like you were sculpted by gay men in a secret underground lab. You're in med school, your voice is much deeper, and you've got this brooding, mysterious look to you." Sora slumps his shoulders and droops his eyes in attempts to convey the latter. "And to top it all off, you're all modest about it. Everything about you screams chick magnet. If you weren't my best friend, I'd probably hate your guts."

"You're selling yourself short," Riku insists.

"Riku, girls look at me and go 'oh, he's cute' like I'm some critter they found in an enchanted forest," Sora admits while pointing the feather duster at his own chest. "They look at you and think 'is that Adonis in human form?' Then, after a second secretive glance, they'd probably think 'Yes, I'd definitely let him do me on the first date."

Riku shakes his head with amusement at Sora's ridiculous reasoning and high-pitched "female" voice. "Okay, just tell me what you need me to do so that we can avoid the rest of this nonsense."

"I need you to disappear," Sora answers swiftly and shamelessly. "Please. Just for tonight. She cannot lay eyes on you and your heavenly form. I haven't officially asked her to be my girlfriend yet, which means you're still fair game."

"Where am I supposed to go then?" Riku asks. "I'm not about to spend an entire night at the library while my best friend gets it on."

"Can you check if Tidus is free?" Sora asks.

"Considering that it's Friday night, I highly doubt it," Riku answers. "Besides, unless it's a boys' night out, I don't think he wants me around after the Yuna incident."

"Hayner?" Sora pleads.

"I'd rather stay in the library," Riku insists.

"Gah, fine!" Sora exclaims defeatedly while pushing his best friend out of the kitchen. "Just stay in your room then! Stay out of sight and out of sound and everything else should flow smoothly."

"What if I need to use the bathroom?" Riku asks at the mention of the word flow.

Sora doesn't stop his advances. "Dunno. Pee in an empty water bottle or something."

"Seriously? Can't I just sneak into the bathroom?"

"No!" Sora whines when they reach his door. "She cannot see you. Please please please don't mess this up for me. I really like this girl."

Riku gathers his things and crosses his arms in front of his doorway. "You know, if you like her so much, I'll have to meet her eventually. When do you intend on that happening?"

Sora merely shrugs. "Probably when we're married so that it's morally wrong and even more difficult to cheat on me." While Riku rolls his eyes at the answer, Sora practically kicks him into his room. "Now go. She'll be here any minute."

"At least save me a slice of lasagna?" Riku requests.

"Fine, fine," Sora mumbles while shutting his door closed.

Kairi arrives ten minutes later.

Sora, now dressed in a navy blue sweater, beige chinos, and no apron, opens the door and welcomes her with a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Hey," he greets as his hands rest on her waist.

"Hi," Kairi answers with an eager grin. After a quick peck on the lips, she then lifts a pack of four bottles in between them. "I brought beer – imported straight from the Kingdom of Corona."

Sora looks at the drinks with a pleased expression. "No wine?"

Kairi raises an eyebrow. "Do you drink wine?"

"Definitely not," Sora answers swiftly.

"That's what I thought," Kairi says with a chuckle.

"Here, let me take your coat," Sora offers while shrugging the taupe peacoat off her shoulders.

"Thanks," Kairi says as she pulls her arms through the sleeves, smoothing out her pink sweater dress afterwards. As Sora hangs her coat up on what was presumably the closet, Kairi takes the time to examine her surroundings. "You keep a very clean apartment, Sora," Kairi compliments as she admires the exposed brick, light wood furniture and overall modern and airy feel. "If I'm being totally honest, I wasn't expecting that from you."

Sora chuckles at the confession. "What gave you that impression?"

"Well your hair, for starters," Kairi admits with a giggle. When Sora fakes offense, she ruffles the spiky brown hair she'd grown so fond of overtime. "Don't get me wrong though, I find it adorable."

Sora hums dreamily as she runs her fingers through his hair. "Well then if I'm being totally honest with you, I only cleaned up because I knew you were coming over tonight. There are normally more pizza boxes in sight."

He almost adds that his roommate is admittedly the neater of the two, but Sora refrains from giving Riku any extra brownie points. On the chance that Kairi accidentally stumbled upon him tonight, Sora needed all the points he could get.

"Yeah, I figured as much," Kairi chuckles in response to Sora's earlier confession. Her head then snaps to the dining table in the living area and smiles at the sight of scented candles, roses, what appears to be a gourmet dinner, and the sound of soft music playing in the background. "Aww, did you do all this for me, too?"

"No," Sora jokes while throwing his hands behind his head. "This I pretty much do every night."

Kairi rolls her eyes and throws her arms around his neck regardless.

"Well I love it," she says. "Thank you."

"Don't get ahead of yourself. You could still hate the food," Sora points out.

"But the gesture would still be much appreciated," Kairi says while gracefully spinning out of his grasp. "Besides, I doubt the food would be terrible. It's one of the many perks of dating a chef."

"Ah, that's why you're dating me," Sora discovers while courteously pulling out her seat.

"You mean you just figured it out?" Kairi teases.

One bite into dinner, and Kairi finds herself in culinary heaven. For the first part of their three course meal, Sora had crafted a light but tasty caprese salad on a grilled zucchini bed. During the main course, Kairi's taste buds practically explode at the incredibly generous five cheese lasagna. She always knew that Sora was a talented chef, but the cherry on top? He was always modest about his talents. He never liked to flaunt his abilities; instead, he knew how to appreciate and elevate the basics, one of the many things she so greatly admired about him. Similarly, Kairi found beauty and joy in the simple things: one of the many things that Sora greatly appreciated about her.

"Mm," Kairi moans, and Sora's fork slightly twitches at the sound. "Everything tastes so good, Sora. Thank you for this."

Sora grins at her reaction. "You're very welcome. I'm glad you like it."

Halfway through their second slice of lasagna, Kairi nearly spits out her drink in the middle of Sora's storytelling.

"You guys drove the golf cart off the pier?" she asks, half amused, half in disbelief.

"Yeah," Sora answers while pulling a bottle of beer from his lips. "But in our defense, we were a couple of drunk college sophomores on our first cottage trip during spring break. I'm actually surprised that was the extent of our shenanigans."

"So what happened?" Kairi asks, her chin resting on one of her palms. "You know, after you drowned the cart?"

"My cousin Roxas gave us an earful," Sora admits shamelessly, "but Riku and I managed to fish it out and get it going again after a few painful hours in the garage. It may sound weird, but it was actually a really great bonding experience."

"You and Riku sure have a lot of wild adventures together," Kairi observes while popping another delicious bite in her mouth.

"Yeah, we do," Sora says with a reminiscing smile. It then occurs to him that as much as he wanted to keep Riku out of the picture physically, there was no helping it verbally. They'd shared far too much together, and he couldn't hide him from Kairi forever. At the rate their relationship was going, Sora would soon care for Kairi just as much as he cared for Riku, and the two most important people in his life (apart from mom and dad, of course) would have to meet eventually.

One day, Sora thinks as he watches Kairi tuck a stray piece of her short, shoulder-length claret hair behind her left ear before looking up to smile at him. Just not today, Sora adds secretly. Today, she was all his, and soon, he'd make the big ask to keep things that way.

Then, just as if it were planned, Sora feels his phone vibrate in his pocket. Lo and behold, a text from the devil himself.

Riku Kenbishi:

I really need to poop. Been holding it for like half an hour now. Doubt I can fit everything into a water bottle (poop emoji)

PS. By the way, she seems nice.

"Sorry, one sec," Sora apologizes as he hastily replies back to his roommate.

Sora Akiyama:

Can you hold it until I get her to the balcony?

Riku Kenbishi:

You have thirty seconds. Butt cheeks can't take it anymore.

Sora's eyes widen at the text before his leg suddenly jerks upward and hits the edge of the table.

"Everything okay?" Kairi asks.

"Mhm!" Sora replies with a toothy smile. "I just, uh…" His cerulean eyes then land on the scented candles. "I think the smell of all these candles are finally getting to me. Want to get some fresh air?"

Kairi raises an eyebrow in suspicion but is quick to dismiss it with a shrug. "Sure."

"Great," Sora says while outstretching his hand towards her. He leads her to their modest balcony, large enough to accommodate a small couch and plant, but too small to fit more than two people comfortably. Just as he slides the door closed behind them, he catches Riku rushing out of his room and into the bathroom just across the hallway, and Sora holds back a chuckle at the sight of his best friend clutching his butt in pain.

"Something amusing?" Kairi asks with her sights turned to the peaceful view below.

"What? N-nothing!" Sora answers abruptly, caught off guard.

Kairi turns around to face him, her face expressing genuine concern. "Is everything okay, Sora? You seem awfully jittery tonight. You're typically more laid back and relaxed around me. Am I doing something wrong?"

Despite the concerned comment, Sora's lips part as he drinks in Kairi's appearance. Outside, bathed in moonlight, her bright blue eyes outshine the blur of city lights behind her, and she is absolutely breathtaking.

"No," Sora whispers. Silly Kairi, thinking she could be anything less than perfect in his eyes. "You're not doing anything wrong. I'm just… nervous," Sora admits. "It's your first time here and I just wanted to impress you."

Kairi's expression softens at the half-lie before she outstretches her arms and pulls him into a soft embrace. "You don't need to be nervous around me, Sora," she assures gently. "You being your usual self is impressive enough."

She feels him smile into her shoulder before pulling away to lock his gaze with hers. Within moments, their lips connect in a sweet kiss–one that quickly transitions into a steamy makeout session that ends up with Sora being thrown onto the couch.

"Hmm," Sora groans when Kairi straddles his hips and begins running her hands down his chest.

"Something wrong?" Kairi asks innocently, playfully.

Sora looks at her with half-lidded eyes before pulling her close. "Nothing. Come here."

Kairi squeaks and giggles into his lips, melting into each and every one of his kisses. Just as Sora begins to hike her dress up, she suddenly pulls away with brows furrowed in confusion.

"Is someone home?" she asks.

Sora's heart drops. "Wh-what?"

"I just heard the toilet flush," Kairi explains.

Sora mentally curses and gently lifts Kairi off of him. "Let me check." When she makes an effort to walk behind him, Sora stops her in place with a nervous grin. "Stay here. Please."

With hands raised in mock surrender, Kairi complies and gives Sora his space.

When Riku creeps out of the bathroom (still conveniently dressed in the casual but trendy getup he'd arrived in, no less), Sora is already waiting for him, arms crossed with his right foot tapping.

"Why would you flush the toilet?" Sora whines. "I was just about to get in on some serious action!"

"Are you seriously asking me why I flushed a toilet after taking a mad dump?" Riku questions. "What if Kairi walked in there? It would've freaked her the hell out."

"Well thanks to you, she's already freaked the hell out," Sora growls. "Now how am I going to explain this to her?" He then begins to pace to get his creative juices flowing. "Maybe… a burglar really needed to use the bathroom? Or… our neighbours have a super sonic toilet that flushes really loud and that's what she heard? Or… maybe the radio was playing strange noises? Or... Oh, I got it!"

Riku sighs tiredly and runs a hand through his hair. This couldn't possibly be good. "What now?"

"Maybe our apartment is haunted," Sora starts dramatically, "and the toilet randomly flushes from time to time."

Riku slaps his forehead at the ludicrous tale. "Or you could tell her the half truth and say that your roommate is home but too busy studying? Sure it'll make me seem like a dick, but it's more likely than our apartment being haunted."

"Nope," Sora immediately answers while pushing Riku towards his room yet again. "Not an option. Can't mention you at all. Way too risky."

"Uh, Sora…" Riku starts as his socks begin to drag across the hardwood floor.

"Besides, how can you just dismiss the possibility of our apartment being haunted?" Sora continues. "Maybe there's a spirit that finds peace in flushing toilets, you know."

"Sora," Riku calls.

"You can't just rule out possibilities like that," Sora babbles. "The world is full of many wonders."

With an impatient sigh, Riku literally stands his ground until Sora can no longer push him forward and waits for him to get the hint.

"Huh? Why'd you stop?" Sora questions. He then peers over Riku's shoulder and jumps back at the sight of Kairi right in front of them with her head questioningly cocked to the side.

"K-Kairi," Sora stammers. "Hey."

"Hey," she replies distantly, albeit with a kind smile. "And who is this?" At 'this', her sights turn to Riku, and Sora swears he sees the slightest twinkle in her eye upon gazing at him for the first time.

"This is, uh… a ghost?" Sora squeaks when he rushes in front of Riku in attempts to conceal him from her vision. When he hears his roommate slap his forehead disapprovingly, Sora takes a deep intake of breath and accepts his fate by stepping out of the way defeatedly. "Kairi, this is my roommate and best friend Riku. Riku, this is Kairi. Sorry that I didn't hear him come in."

"No worries," Kairi says while outstretching her hand. "It's so nice to finally meet you, Riku."

"Likewise," Riku answers while returning the gesture. "I've heard so much about you. Sora tells me you're quite the character."

"I could say the same for you," Kairi replies, and Sora doesn't fail to notice the way she laces her hands behind her back with a nervous laugh. "So… Sora and I were just about to finish dinner. Did you want to join us?"

Riku turns to his best friend for approval and can literally feel the discomfort radiating from him.

"Um, I think I'm good," Riku says.

"Are you sure?" Kairi asks.

"Yeah," Riku assures. "I'm not very hungry anyways."

His stomach, however, betrays him entirely when it growls.

Kairi acknowledges his hunger with a giggle. "Well you're more than welcome to partake in Sora's delicious lasagna. There's still plenty left over."

Despite Sora's hard gaze, Riku willingly agrees. Lasagna was literally on the table now. "Thanks. I guess I'll grab a quick bite if you don't mind."

"Not at all," Kairi says as she practically skips to the dining table.

When Kairi's so-called "persistence" finally pays off, Sora mentally flips a table, and Riku acknowledges his discomfort with an apologetic look.

"Sorry man," he says while clapping the brunet on the back. "The stomach wants what the stomach wants."

"Well I hope it's craving a knuckle sandwich later because that's exactly what it's going to get," Sora threatens as he trudges behind them.

There were many ways Sora expected the night to go.

Enjoyable small talk and a few stolen kisses over a successfully crafted homemade dinner was the expected scenario. Some sexy time after said dinner was the hopeful scenario.

Having the girl of his dreams mesmerized by his incredibly hot roommate instead of him? Definitely not the scenario he wanted to unfold.

"So Kairi," Riku starts while digging into his first slice of glorious lasagna. "Sora tells me you studied International Business?"

"Mhm," Kairi answers after daintily dabbing her lips with a table napkin. Sora notices that this isn't something she typically does around him. She'd normally just smear the napkin across her lips in a comfortable, laid-back manner. He'd never taken issue with it before, but he can't help but notice that she seemed more... careful in Riku's presence. "I just graduated from Radiant Garden University a year ago. Now I work with Caelum Industries as a Global Business Coordinator."

"Caelum Industries?" Riku repeats, recalling the company's positive reputation. "That sounds like a great opportunity. I do have a question for you though."

Sora goes rigid, but the two conversing don't seem to notice.

"Shoot," Kairi says.

"Since you studied about the business customs of other worlds, I just wanted to know… is it true that you're not allowed to blow your nose during a business meeting in Traverse Town?" Riku asks.

Kairi chuckles with amusement at the question, and the sight of her laughing with Riku makes Sora's blood boil.

"Yes, that's true," Kairi answers. "They don't really account for sick days there, so they're weary of anyone that could potentially contaminate them."

"And is it true that it's considered rude to accept a business card in Twilight Town with only one hand?" Riku further questions. Sora nearly scoffs. He always knew that Riku was quite the conversationalist, but since when did he become an expert with international business customs?

"That's also true," Kairi responds. "You're supposed to accept the card with both hands. One hand gives off the impression that you're not fully invested in the company. Two is common courtesy."

Beneath the table, Sora's fist clenches. He could be worldly and knowledgeable too.

"Yeah, and did you know that in Agrabah it's impolite to, uh… fart during a meeting?" he squeaks. He berates himself the instant it comes out of his mouth.

Riku and Kairi, however, convey their amusement through a shared glance, one that appears as if they were withholding some private joke, and let out a chuckle at the same time.

"I'm pretty sure that's a universal thing, Sora," Kairi says before returning to her meal. Sora sinks low in his seat in defeat and mentally notes that interaction as strike one for the Riku Effect.

"Speaking of which, the universal release for that new Kingdom Karts game is next month," Riku recalls. "Should we go ahead and preorder, Sora?"

Sora freezes at the mention of their favourite Disney racing game. Strike two incoming in three, two, one…

"You play Kingdom Karts too?" Kairi asks excitedly. "Sora and I play that all the time! Sora, why didn't you tell me? We could all be racing buddies!"

"Must have slipped my mind," he answers through gritted teeth. That was a total lie. Until she was his official girlfriend, he'd avoided telling her on the notion that the more she and Riku shared in common, the more she'd be interested in him instead. Why have a Sora when you can have a hotter Sora, you know?

"So who do you use?" Kairi asks with her elbows on the table, intrigued. "I personally use Baby Minnie. I know babies are typically frowned upon in Kingdom Karts, but if you drift just right, victory is literally just around the corner."

"I don't disagree with you there," Riku says, "but I'm more of a speed guy myself. I think I've pretty much broke the game with my Goofy combo."

"Sora, you've been awfully quiet ever since we sat down," Kairi observes with concern. "Something wrong?"

"Hm? Oh, nothing," Sora insists to dismiss any suspicions about his behaviour. "I must've just… spaced out a little."

Riku, however, doesn't buy it. If anyone could see right through Sora, it was the guy that knew him for over twenty years. Without hesitation, he does his bro a solid and scarfs down the remainder of his lasagna within three bites. It's a painful process, not savouring every delicious bite, but well worth it.

"Well, I'm stuffed," Riku says while setting his utensils down, and Sora's head snaps upward at the clear lie. Riku typically had at least three slices before calling it quits. "I'm really sorry to do this, but I have a pretty big exam tomorrow that I need to study for. I hope you guys don't mind me leaving for the night."

"Oh, that's too bad," Kairi says, somewhat deflated, "but totally understandable. Good luck studying. It was really nice meeting you, Riku."

"Likewise," he replies. "Catch you later, Sora."

"See ya," Sora says with a grateful smile. Just as his tense shoulders finally begin to relax, Riku accidentally knocks over his bottle of beer in the process of lifting his dish and steps back with a slight yelp when the liquid conveniently spills all over his shirt. Immediately taking action, Kairi grabs a nearby napkin and begins to blot the wet area on Riku's shirt.

"Well this doesn't look too bad," Kairi concludes after assessing the damage. "But you may want to take off your shirt and rinse it through cold water and some detergent if you don't want it to stain."

At the words take off your shirt, Sora immediately rises from his seat with his fists clenched. That had to be strike three, and he was out.

"Yeah, I bet you'd like that, wouldn't you?" he practically yells, and he storms out the front door without another word.

Riku finds Sora sulking on the rooftop twenty minutes later.

The rooftop patio of their apartment building had always been a place of solace for them both, and tonight was no exception. Even at night the beachside city of Destiny Islands still held its tranquil charm.

"Hey," Riku greets as he takes the seat next to Sora on one of the patio chairs and warms his hands by the fire pit. "How you holding up?"

"Not great," Sora admits, his misty eyes fixated on the view of the city. "I just learned that the girl of my dreams is way more into my best friend than me, so I've seen better days."

Riku only shakes his head at Sora's ridiculous assumption.

"Just to be clear though, I'm not mad at you," Sora clarifies with crossed arms. "I know you weren't trying to play Mr. Steal Yo Girl or anything. I'm just mad at myself for not being good enough for her."

At what he considers the last straw, Riku finally lets out a chuckle.

"Sora, I think you've been blinded by jealousy goggles," Riku insists.

Sora noticeably cocks his head to the side at the words. Then, with excessive hand gestures, exclaims "What are thoooooose?"

"A trend of my own invention," Riku answers. "If you guys can invent the Riku Effect, then I'm patenting jealousy goggles. They're like beer goggles, only your thoughts and visual perceptions are wrongly influenced by raging jealousy instead of alcohol."

"Are you suggesting that I've wrongly judged the situation?" Sora asks incredulously. "Because I'm pretty sure Kairi's into you and not me."

"See, that's where you're wrong," Riku insists. "The girl is crazy about you, Sora. If you had just stopped focusing on me for even one second you would've realized how much she adores you. All this anxiety about the Riku Effect has caused you to over analyze and wrongly perceive every word or move she's made towards me."

"But she seemed so… giddy around you," Sora argues.

"Sora, she was just trying to be polite," Riku says. "I'm the best friend of the guy she's dating. It's inevitable that she'd want me to like her for your sake, not hers."

Sora mulls over Riku's words with furrowed brows. Could Riku possibly be right? Could he have been so blinded by his own jealousy that he couldn't think nor see clearly? Was Kairi actually into him for... him? Judging by Riku's track record over the years, the answer was likely yes to all of the above.

Noting Sora's contemplative silence, Riku decides to take his leave.

"Look, if you don't believe me, I think you need to hear it from somebody else," he recommends. He offers his sulking best friend a final comforting pat on the shoulder before departing, and soon enough Kairi is the one who occupies the seat next to Sora no more than a minute later.

"Hey Sora," she greets softly, and just when he thinks she's about to wrap her arm around his shoulders as a comforting gesture, she unexpectedly punches him instead.

"Ow!" he yelps while clutching his shoulder in pain. "What was that for?"

"The Riku Effect?" she asks incredulously. "Seriously? Do you think I'm some superficial bimbo or something? I can't believe you thought I'd fall for something like that!"

"I'm sorry," Sora says guiltily. "I should've known you'd be different." Then, after a deep intake of breath, "It's just… Riku's so suave and composed, and I'm just… me. I was scared that you'd think I wasn't good enough for you once you met him."

Kairi sighs at his words and leans back against the cushioned seat.

"Well, you're not wrong," Kairi agrees, and Sora twitches at the words. "He is suave and composed."

"Wow," Sora says disbelievingly. "If this is your way of making me feel better, I'm sorry to say that it isn't working."

"But," Kairi continues despite Sora's reaction, "that's not what I want. See, I have this boyfriend. He's silly, full of childlike wonder, and always craves adventure. He really values friendship, is a monster on the Kingdom Karts track, and isn't too bad in the kitchen either. He's also not fully composed, but that's what I like about him so much. He's someone I can be comfortable with; someone I can learn and grow with; someone I can tackle life with without the fear of making mistakes, because we're both not perfect, but at the very least perfect for each other."

Sora only slumps his shoulders in response. "Now you've had a secret boyfriend after all this time? Man, this is shaping up to be the worst night ever."

Kairi rolls her eyes at his response and gently caresses his cheek. "No, you goof. You're my boyfriend – or at least I want you to be."

Sora's heart skips a beat at Kairi's request. Riku really wasn't kidding earlier. She really was into him for him. She didn't fall victim to the Riku Effect, and she still wanted him (him, of all people) to be her boyfriend. Him. Sora. Not Riku, but Sora.

"Wh… did you just ask to make things official between us?" Sora squeaks.

Kairi's cheeks flush at the question, but she nods nonetheless.

"Hell yes," Sora answers. "That is a hard yes. Holy crap."

Kairi giggles at his reaction and squeaks when he lifts her off the couch into a spinning embrace.

"I am so happy right now, you have no idea," Sora whispers in between a couple of light kisses.

Kairi smiles into his lips before parting for some air. "Oh, I think I have a pretty good idea."

"So," Sora starts while lacing both their hands together in one fluid motion, "this is a pretty momentous occasion. How do you suppose we celebrate?"

"Hmm," Kairi hums, feigning thought. "I think we should continue what we were doing on your balcony earlier. Thoughts?"

Sora grins slyly at what her words imply. Even against the firelight, the smirk playing at her lips is unmistakable.

"You know," he says while hoisting her up to wrap her legs around his waist, "I'm not totally opposed to that."

"Good," Kairi says while pulling him into a searing kiss.

As they make their way back onto the cushioned seat, Sora can't help but think that of all the scenarios he had in mind for the night, this one was by far the best.