A/n This just popped into my head while I was reading a couple of Riku/Sora fics while listening to Passion one night. I wonder...what would have conspired between the two Keyblade wielders didn't return to the realm of light?
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, nor Riku or Sora, the little devils.
Note: If you don't like boy love, don't read. It's not my fault you're so close-minded if it bugs you. Also, I might continue it as a short thing, but I'll let you guys decide that. For now, it's a simple one-shot.
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Ashen Questions.
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Sora faced outwards, eyes closed in contentment as he enjoyed the rumblings of the vast sea crashing waves against the ashen rocks.
Eyes that should never be closed, in Riku's opinion.
Riku shook his head, a vain attempt to rid his mind of the thought, but failing miserably. Was it his fault that no matter what he did, Sora always appeared in his mind?
Can't really blame him.
Riku quickly glanced at the younger boy, whose face was still in that relaxed, pristine expression. The salty-sea wind blew against his hair, painting a picture of serenity that calmed Riku's icy discomfort.
"Hey Riku?"
Aquamarine eyes snapped up to a curious face, boyish yet strangely feminine in the sparkling light of the dark realm they were trapped in.
"Do you think we'll ever get back?"
Riku looked off towards the lone light that hovered beyond the darkened horizon, his expression stoic and frozen.
"I dunno." Simple stupid question, you get a simple stupid answer.
"Do you think we'll ever see Kairi again?" Sora questioned, his own face becoming unreadable.
Kairi...
Riku didn't dislike the girl. He never hated Kairi; he couldn't, not in a million years. But it was apparent that he held extreme distaste for the red-haired lass, as she held Sora's affections in the palm of her hand and became blissfully unaware of it, like the little enlightened princess-saint she was.
Scratch that; Riku did hate her. He just wouldn't admit it.
"Riku?"
"I dunno." What he actually wanted to say was, "Hey, what do we need her for? At least we have each other!"
Riku grinned wryly to himself. Leave it to him to let his sarcasm run wild in his mind while there was still truth in his denied thoughts.
"Oh."
Both boys continued to sit there, taking the accepted darkness of the shadows as it laid over them like a blanket. Sora shivered; it was cold.
"Cold?" Sora looked towards his friend, his icy green eyes glinting with concern. Sora shook his head quickly, leaving Riku to nod in understanding before returning his gaze to the waves.
"They do sound the same, don't they?"
"They do." The silver-haired boy responded.
"How come more things in life can't be like that?"
Riku looked up, confused. "Like what?"
Sora's blue orbs met Riku's. "Why can't there be substitutes for things you hold dear? It would surely make whoever's happy, and then they wouldn't suffer."
Riku thought for a second that Sora suddenly became psychic, but brushed the thought aside with a silent chuckle.
"Because Sora, if there were substitutes for the things you hold dear, then would you be happy?"
Sora pouted, his adorable pink lips jutted out. "You just repeated my question."
"Think about it, Sora." Riku turned around so that he faced the side profile of his friend's spiky brunette head. "If you were just to replace...Kairi (Riku mentally winced) with someone else, would you still feel the same with that person? You could replace her, but you couldn't replace all the emotions you felt, and there would always be that sort of pain in your heart..." Riku trailed off, barely aware of what he was saying as Sora's eyes became downcast and dulled.
"Since when were you such a romantic, Riku?" Sora threw off a laugh, but it sounded forced and didn't meet his eyes.
"I try." Riku said quietly, leaning back against the ebony sand, the ashen flecks prickling the back of his neck.
Sora was just so innocent. As much older as he was, he just still the same old Sora, no matter how much he changed.
He has the eyes of a child, and they're clouded...Riku mused as he looked up at his friend from his current position.
Sora was just so innocent. Riku would never forgive himself if he allowed Sora to become so tainted by the world's displeasures.
"Hey Riku?"
"Hm?"
"How come you didn't want to show yourself to us when you became Ansem?"
Riku shifted his eyes away from the boy's child-like gaze. It unnerved him.
"I already told you...I didn't want to be found..." Riku said, choosing his words so that he wouldn't trouble the young boy. Their current situation was bleak enough.
"But you never said why."
Riku grit his teeth with closed lips, his jaw clenching so tightly so that he might not burst what had been waiting inside him. Building...building...building...
"Riku?" A voice so small, coming from a young man with such a strong heart.
Riku sat up so suddenly, causing Sora to jump slightly, backing away from the silver-haired boy's sudden action. His heart was thumping...aching as though he had just run a marathon...
"Why is it that you ask so many questions?"
Sora stared at Riku blankly. Then he smiled.
"You give me no reason not to. Besides, it's not like I can help it, I'm bored." Sora flipped backwards, his legs lifted towards the heavens as he watched the boundless sky.
"That's true." Riku mused, one finger tapping his chin.
Silence resumed once more, and the wind blew more strongly this time, but still soft and gentle. Sora still shivered. Riku rolled his eyes in mock annoyance, unnoticed by Sora.
"This is why you should wear thicker clothes." Riku fretted as he started to slip off his yellow vest. Sora sat up in surprise as Riku carelessly threw it onto the confused young boy.
"Wha—Riku!" Sora snatched the vest off his face, but not before catching a whiff of the older boy's scent. Musky and warm, just like the earth...no wonder...
Sora mentally slapped himself to rid himself of the reddening flush he felt rushing to his face. Riku faced the other way, his face set in stone as he continued to think in thought. Sora glared, but his glare softened.
He admired Riku for a lot of reasons. It was no wonder he would always compete against his best friend. It was always like that.
Little Sora would run after Riku after some sort of skirmish the two got themselves into.
Little Sora would call Riku out after a bit of nasty name calling.
Little Sora and Riku would spar with each other, nothing major...until Little Sora whined that he would never win, no matter how hard he tried.
That's just how things were. Sora remembered how childish he was being at the time, and bit back a laugh. It was no wonder he turned out the way he did now, if it weren't for Riku. Speaking of which...
Riku's face was illuminated by the white light that hovered above the water, his skin so smooth, like living marble. His hair caught the light as well, illuminating it as though his hair were a million mercury strands of living silver, dancing all on it's own in an ethereal sight.
He never noticed before.
He couldn't have noticed before.
He wouldn't have noticed before...because Kairi was always in the way.
"Sora?"
Kairi's face flashed in his view, only to be replaced with Riku's eyes. Sora gulped; his discomfort might have become noticeable by now, and he didn't want Riku to know...
...what he didn't even know himself yet.
"Yeah?"
"Are you going to use my vest or give it back? I'm cold too, you know." Truth be told, Riku looked pretty bare with just a zipped black muscle shirt covering his torso. Sora shrugged nonchalantly, and spread the cloth over his shoulders, covering his arms.
It was still very warm...too warm...
Sora stiffened as he realized that not only was he wearing Riku's vest, but wearing the owner.
"Riku?"
"Sorry..." Riku leant his chin on Sora's shoulder, his arms over the blue-eyed boy in a barely-there embrace. "I did say I was cold too..."
Sora shivered again, and it wasn't because of the cold.
Riku pulled the hesitant boy into his lap without much effort, causing Sora to squeak loudly in surprise in an unlike-Sora manner.
"Sora..." Riku grinned. "Did you just squeak?"
"You-you surprised me! And just what do you think you're doing?" Sora stammered, his face flushed.
"Keeping you warm." Riku replied with finality, Sora realizing it wasn't up for discussion.
Sora sighed and sat still as Riku repositioned his arms over him. Sora could feel the young man's strong torso resting on his back, the smooth muscles stretching and taxing with each steady breath.
This is nice...Sora leant in Riku's frame, fully relaxing into a puddle in his arms.
"Awwww...Sora." Riku said in a teasing manner as he unconsciously ran his fingers through the spiky brown strands. "You're so cute when you're sleepy."
"I'm not sleepy...I'm relaxed. There's a difference." Sora retorted groggily as he snuggled more into Riku's embrace. "Keep doing the 'air thing...feels nice..."
"Yeah yeah, your highness." Riku doing as he was told. Meanwhile Sora enjoyed the little hair treatment he was getting: Riku's rough, callused hands felt like those fancy massage treatments that girls flocked spas for.
"Hey Riku?" The words came slurred from Sora's lips.
"Yeah Sora?" Riku was relishing every moment of this; it wasn't every day he could be this close to the sky, regardless of how close it was to the earth.
"Do we really need to try to go back?"
"Huh?" Riku's eyes widened. He was used to randomness, but a question like that in a middle of a moment, just flat out ruined the mood.
"Seriously." Sora opened his sleepy eyes, sparkling in a strange way. "Not that I don't mind staying here...it's just...well..." His eyes became half-lidded again, the normal sky blue dulled by a drunken tone in his voice. "Kairi..."
Kairi...
The mere mention of her name...the pressure in Riku's heart thumped so painfully, he was sure he would burst.
Riku held back a shaky breath as he continued to hold Sora, struggling to calm himself down.
Just remember...he's your best friend...just calm down...count...1...2...3...
"I mean, what if we never do return to the realm of light?"
4...5...6...
"What will we do without Kairi?"
Riku started to shake, the vibrations painful as he held his mouth shut. Hold it...hold it...please...
7...8...9...
"What will Kairi do without us?"
10.
"What about Kairi?" Sora's eyes snapped opened; Riku's voice harsh and cold.
"We don't need her." His voice hung in the air, which had suddenly become still as the wind died. His voice was fluid, and cut through the chills that ran down Sora's spine as Riku's grip on him tightened.
"Riku..." Sora winced, the pale fingers digging into Sora's tanned flesh. "It hurts..."
"It always hurts Sora." Riku said quietly near Sora's ear, so close that Riku could have very well touched his lips to it. "You just have to get used to it. The pain, anyway."
Then without warning, Riku pushed Sora off his lap, leaving the blue-eyed boy confused in the shadowed dust. Riku stood gracefully to his feet, staring straight at the sea, his eyes about as dimmed and empty as the freezing water.
"What's wrong Riku?"
No answer.
"Riku?"
"Quit asking questions." Voice sharpened, as though Riku intended to physically harm the younger boy with his voice.
"What's with you, Riku?" Sora's voice went up a pitch, a side-effect when Sora got excited...or hurt.
"Nothing." Riku replied curtly as he turned to the boy with an icy glare.
"Nothing?" Sora questioned.
"Nothing."
"C'mon Riku! Why'd you always got to shut me out when you're in trouble?" Sora exclaimed, his chest aching as his voice increased in volume.
"Stop it."
"Why do you always do that to me?"
"Stop it."
"We were getting along fine just a second ago! Why do you always have to do everything on your own?" Sora not even realizing that his voice became strained, and that he repeated the same question that he asked when they were still on good terms.
"STOP IT!"
SMACK!
Riku held his stinging cheek in shock. Sora held his hand, looking much like a child who was about to be in a lot of trouble, shaking and buckling his knees.
"We're best friends..." Sora said finally after what seemed like a few eternities. "Aren't we supposed to tell each other what ever is bugging us?"
"It's not that simple Sora..." Riku replied weakly.
The wind picked up again, blowing through their hair, trying to bring them together out of its own force.
"It's never that simple...nothing can ever be that simple with you..." Sora sighed loudly and dropped to the ground his knees, obviously tired.
Riku just learned to hate awkward silences.
"I don't need to go back to the island..."
Sora looked up in surprise to see Riku kneeled in front of him, his eyes overshadowed by the silver strands of his hair. Sora saw the stinging red mark of his slap, horribly contrasting with Riku's pale skin, and reached out a timid hand and thumb to soothe it.
Riku unconsciously leant into Sora's fingers, causing red to stain Sora's cheekbones as he continued his ministrations.
"Why would I need to go back...when I have everything I'll ever need, right here with you?"
At first, Sora's face was a mask of such confusion, Riku was about to burst in inappropriate laughter, but then softened to a determined glare that caught Riku off-guard and worried.
He doesn't feel the same way...
Riku was about to pull away when he felt two hands cupping his face, so gently that it felt like they weren't even there. Sora still had that determined look on his face, but angry tears were flowing down the contours of his face.
Riku's face fell.
I hurt Sora...
"Riku?" The said boy looked up, surprised to see Sora's face ever closer to his own, and suddenly, Riku was afraid to breathe; afraid that Sora would disappear.
"Sora? What are you—"
Sora's face was so close to Riku's; he could feel the spiky strands of the brunette tickling his skin, his nerve endings burning with frightening excitement. Riku could feel Sora's words on his lips, bringing him a breath closer to...
"Proving you wrong."
Pure silence rang in Riku's ears as Sora gently pressed his lips towards his, so gently like a feather skimming across them. Riku's shocked eyes fluttered closed, and slowly began to respond, relaxing fully and wrapping his arms around the younger boy's waist.
Sora barely believed he actually initiated the action that he immediately began enjoying immensely. Kairi's face briefly flashed in Sora's mind, but was immediately replaced by Riku's. Sora smiled against Riku's lips, and vaguely wondered in the back of his mind if Riku thought he was a good kisser.
Judging by the responding pressure against his inexperienced kiss, he guessed Riku thought he was doing just fine.
After what seemed like a few blissful millennia in the dark, air became a necessity. The two broke apart, Sora practically glowing with pride, while Riku smirked.
"What are you so happy about?" Riku smirked as he pulled Sora into his lap.
"I just proved you wrong." Sora said victoriously, face breaking into a grin. "You can replace something—"
"I'm just a replacement for Kairi?" Riku said quietly, the elation inside of him deflating.
"No, no, no! Not like that!" Sora said quickly, remedying his mistake. "I mean, you didn't replace Kairi. Kairi's still important to me..." Sora said quietly, Riku's stomach taking a direct dive to his stomach.
"But you're more important." Sora looked up at Riku, and buried his head into Riku's chest, taking in his scent. "I..."
"I love you too." Riku finished, running his hands through Sora's hair, the younger sighing in contentment.
"We really don't need to go back, do we?"
"Why would I need to go back...when I have everything I'll ever need, right here with you?" Sora chuckled, echoing the older boy's words into Riku's ears.
"I dunno...but if we did..." Riku nuzzled his face into Sora's hair, breathing in the scent of the sky (which, oddly enough, smelled like marshmallows). "We wouldn't have any privacy, now would we?"
Sora blushed at all the sudden implications of Riku's statement.
"I'm just kidding." Riku laughed, the vibrations sending pleasure down Sora's spine. "Anyway...do you know you smell like marshmallows?"
"Gee, I had no idea."
Sora sat contently in Riku's lap, holding his arms around his neck. Both sets of eyes watched the sea, the waves gently lapping at their ankles and shoes.
Sora shivered.
"Hey Sora? You cold?"
"No Riku. Not at all."
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A/n Annndddd...done! I hope you guys liked this as much as I did, and I had fun writing it. Remember, review! And flames will be used to toasting marshmallows. Press the little purple button, c'mon, you know you want to...