Author Notes: A little angst, a little humor, a lot of drama, and a lot of romance and sex. Hope ya like it!

Summary: Unbeknownst to Prince Riku Ellipson II, a meeting seven years ago sets off a chain of events that tests the willingness to discard the dreadful knowledge of the truth for temporary sweet bliss. (RikuxSora)

Disclaimer: If I owned Kingdom Hearts, I would be filthy rich right now!! So, get off my back!!

Warnings: This is a yaoi (male x male relationships) and later on, has yuri (woman x woman relationships)! No flames. Warning is here.

Story Rating: Strong R.

Chapter Rating: PG

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Milk & Honey

Of Reminiscing and Arguing

"Milk and honey? That's the only thing you brought? What kind of runaway brings nothing but milk and honey?

The lithe cinnamon haired child inquiring looked at his companion, a silver-haired boy of a similar stature, incredulously. He grabbed his own knapsack proudly and flaunted the contents of the bag as if he were as experienced adventurer. "Look!"

The boy did as he was told, and looked inside the bag with an unimpressed expression on his face. "So? You have a couple of strips of dried meat, a blanket and some clothes...Wait a minute!"

He stuck his entire arm in the bag and reached for a bottle full of an amber colored substance that crawled to the tip almost as slowly as molasses. The boy berated for having the exact same substance packed gave his companion a weak glare, his sea-green eyes narrowing. "Why did I get treated as the stupid one when you packed the exact same thing I did, Sora?"

"Cuz that was basically the only thing you packed and the amount you have. Milk and honey are the most expensive items the market right now, milk spoils, and you can easily get that stolen!! You're the 13-year-old, Riku, not me."

"Well, you're twelve!"

"Which is the very reason why I shouldn't know more than you."

Riku glowered while Sora smiled smugly, eating a piece of dried meat in one-minute intervals. Sending Sora one last glare, Riku grabbed his genuine leather knapsack and bunched it next to a tree to serve as a small pillow. He laid his head down and watched his first friend wrestled with a squirrel trying to take a piece of his meat. And he smiled, knowing that he wouldn't be able to run away from his duties as a prince forever; he neglected to tell Sora of his status because of wanting to be treated as an equal. The teasing, the wrestling, the meaningless banter that passed back and forth between them would not exist if he told him that he was Prince Riku Ellipson the Second, heir to the throne of Nexiun - commonly known as the Northland Kingdom - or if he told him that his father was General Sephiroth Ellipson, the most powerful king since Kuja Jannedom, who ruled over 330 springs ago.

Riku fell asleep to that thought, and the sight of Sora smiling with triumph from winning the battle with the squirrel.

---

At the age of twenty, Prince Riku Ellipson accomplished more than most of the kings in the surrounding kingdoms. Creating an elite group of assassins/messengers who spoke every language of the land and could perform just about every physical task possible called the Wolves, the prince made it frivolous to find out the source of any leakage of information and to deliver an ultra private message within two days on horseback, not having to worry about bandits and corrupt officials preventing the group from getting their work done.

Prince Riku's also in charge of foreign policy, always being the diplomat to unite the kingdoms and form alliances for the greater good. His charming charisma and natural born elegance allowed him to get many contracts and alliances carried out, as well as his impeccable skill to formulate plots and plans that were easy to perform. Both of his parents were proud, to say the least, but there was one issue that caused chaos in the Nexiun Kingdom.

Marriage.

King Sephiroth already made it clear that he was to be married on his twenty-first birthday, but he wasn't attracted to the opposite sex. In fact, the mere thought of being with a woman repulsed him to the point where even though he didn't have to be intimate with her, the thought of being married made him sick to his stomach.

And of course, to bear another heir to the throne, he would have to be intimate with her.

As he sat there in his furnished office with a pair of sleek, silver eyeglasses adorning the tip of his nose, remembering his life with Sora in the forests of Bridgewater, he longed for the simplicity of it - the innocence that had settled over that time like a blanket dipped in a hot spring. Since he was captured and brought back home by the royal guards of Nexiun, he longed to find Sora and explain himself; he did owe his first friend an explanation as to what was going on. Sora had stared at him as if he were some alien when they dragged him away and forcefully sat him down in the most expensive two-horse carriage in the land. There was no betrayal in the boy's blue eyes though, to his surprise, which left him with some hope that if he found Sora, then the boy wouldn't shun him.

Glancing back over the pile of contracts set in front of his person, Riku sighed and finally gave up. He was going to do no more work tonight.

Besides, he was meeting his fiancée in less than an hour. His father would slaughter him if he were to look less than perfect.

Riku walked out of his office and were immediately flanked by his all-day-all-night bodyguards, Squall Leonhart and Cloud Strife. Both were apart of King Sephiroth's personal elite militia, and were his most trusted comrades. They were treated as royalty themselves because of their special camaraderie with Sephiroth. "Sir?" Squall and Cloud addressed him as he walked briskly to the throne room.

"Riku, gentleman; my name is Riku."

"We know, your Highness," Squall responded without missing a beat. Both he and Cloud were used to the 'Riku, gentleman, my name is Riku' speech, but still followed Sephiroth's order to a tee.

Giving up, Riku continued walking on in silence until he reached the large cherry doors with gold handles that lead into the throne room. He stopped at the double doors, straightened his dark forest green cloak while Squall retied the matching ribbon around his long ponytail and Cloud made sure his pants didn't drag along the floor, then entered with his head held high and a cool, calculated look on his face.

Most of Nexiun's top officials were gathered in the grand hall, either talking amongst themselves or listening to the heated debate which involved his mother and the kingdom's top decorator. Reicia Ellipson was a petite woman with flowing silver hair that reached her knees and icy gray eyes that chilled any servant or citizen of the lower class, yet despite her icy glares and cool, annoyed looks, she was a woman of passion, often called a 'hotheaded she devil' by the king himself. He was, of course, right on the mark. While Sephiroth had his legendary sword, Reicia had her legendary temper.

She even kept Sephiroth in check.

"Ah, Riku! So glad you decided to join us!"

Even if she had a red-hot temper, she was still the sweetest woman.

Smoothly taking his reading glasses off and slipping them into his pocket, Riku flashed her a dazzling smile as he strutted gracefully to the end of the grand hall and nodded curtly to his father. "I wouldn't miss this for the world."

He gave Sephiroth a pointed look - which he returned - then shifted his gaze to the young woman standing beside the Queen's throne. Knowing how his parents pick out women, he automatically scanned over her figure; she was curvaceous most definitely - Very good for childbearing, Riku thought idly - but not too much, which would satisfy his mother. And she was beautiful; in an exotic and erotic kind of way. Her midnight black hair touched the tips of her shoulders, and her catlike icy blue eyes regarded him as if he were a mere child's toy, but her plump rose petal lips had hither... look to them.

If he were actually attracted to women, he probably would have married her on the spot.

"This is Princess Amnia Reynel of the Batista Kingdom."

Riku nodded in recognition. He had with the King of Batista on several occasions for business. "Nice to meet you," he said while stretching out his hand.

Amnia looked at the hand and, saying nothing, shook it with an uninterested look on her face.

Boy, did Riku know the feeling.

He let go of her hand to spot Sephiroth giving him a burning look, coaxing him to be more familiar and intimate with his future wife. Riku stared back in defiance until he realized that the entire hall was looking in their direction, and he had to keep up appearances. Leaning forward (Amnia doing it as well), Riku embraced the princess as if she were his world, eliciting squeals of delight and excitement as well as sighs of relief from those servants who knew of his secret.

When he let her go, Sephiroth gave him a slow nod, which he returned with a glare of disgust. Reicia, seeing the tension between father and son, quickly grabbed Amnia by the wrist and whisked her off to discuss the plans of the latest ball. Riku faced his father, still flanked by the faithful bodyguards, and said in a commanding tone, "I need to speak with my father. Alone."

The 'click click' of heels and the 'squish squish' of the men's shoes were the only sounds heard in the grand hall, echoing off the walls and resounding through the air. When the last click - of door and shoe - was heard, Riku exploded in barely repressed anger. "How many times to I have to let you know," he started while inching forward, "that I do not want the soft curves of a woman, but the hard, muscular feel of a man?!"

"And how many times do have to tell you that I do not care of your preference, and that you will get married and carry on the line of Ellipson?" Sephiroth replied smoothly.

"I am repulsed by her and every other woman in this kingdom!"

"You didn't seem so repulsed when you scanned her body like a delicious pastry on display."

"I was assessing the woman I'm arranged to be marrying!"

"Good for you. When it is time to produce an heir, you can assess her even more."

"Father!"

"Yes?"

Riku stared at Sephiroth in outrage. He knew how much this subject's an issue and yet he carries on this argument as if this is merely child's banter!

"If this makes you so distraught, Riku," Sephiroth started before Riku could voice his thoughts, "then get yourself a slave to...please yourself."

Bringing his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose, Riku let out an exasperated sigh. "Are you suggesting that I get myself a common whore?!"

"Call it what you wish. You have just reached your twentieth spring, have you not? You are of that age to have one. Not just for sexual pleasures even though that is your main problem."

Riku had had enough. This was not a topic he would discuss with his father. "I will see you in a fortnight. I'm meeting with Princess Selphie Tilmett to arrange an alliance with their kingdom."

Without waiting for a reply, although Sephiroth wasn't going to give one, he retired to his bedroom.

As soon as the double doors slammed shut, Sephiroth stood up and rang a tiny crystal bell that lay next to his throne. A weasley old man came running through the left entrance, his baldhead gleaming from the chandelier lights. His eyes were beady and his body seemed to be in a constant phase of trembling; it was that way ever since he had come from the Southland to work for Sephiroth.

Pushing his short legs to the limit, the bald man reached Sephiroth. "Yes, my Lord?"

"Arrange for me to go to the slave houses tomorrow. We have some shopping to do."

To Be Continued...

Stay tuned.

MercuryGoddess