This is simply a contest piece. The idea for it came from Sassy Aloo. Thank you, Riku-Rocks for the assistance.

Surprise, surprise I don't own these people. Can you imagine if I did?

Kumoame

"Riku!"

He continued walking, not in the mood to talk, and especially not to the one who was steadily closing the gap between them. He knew Sora wouldn't simply go away. His best friend had made it his life's work to keep Riku out of his near-constant depressive fits.

A hand gripped his bare arm and he finally stopped, allowing Sora to catch his breath. "Why are you, are you out here in the rain?"

"Taking a walk." He replied as if this were the most obvious answer in all the worlds.

"Well, I figured that." Sora rolled his eyes. Water ran down his face and a cinnamon spike hung limply over those oh-so-blue eyes of his.

Out of pure impulse, Riku reached up and brushed it away. His own long bangs hung flatly in his face and he was perfectly content to keep them that way. It made him feel somehow hidden.

Of course, hiding was something he had become extremely adept at.

"You know what I mean," chastised Sora.

He shrugged. He didn't really have a good answer for Sora. He wasn't sure himself. He had been sitting in his room, reading a comic in a vain effort to keep from thinking too much. He glanced out the window and next thing he knew, he was out the door and walking down the street.

Sora walked beside him for a while, taking several covert glances at him. Riku was obviously in one of his dark moods, and Sora was not going to have that. He had to make the older one smile for him.

He loved that smile.

"Remember when we were little and we'd sneak out after it stopped raining so we could run through the puddles?" Riku asked quietly.

"Yeah." Sora laughed. "Somehow, Mom always found us and yelled that we were gonna catch our deaths one of these days."

On impulse, he grabbed Riku's hand. He ran forward, pulling Riku with him, and purposely zigzagged through every puddle he could find. At first, Riku resisted but after the first few, he was jumping into them with as much enthusiasm as Sora.

They did this for nearly an hour, wandering further and further from the street where they lived. It wasn't until they reached the dock that they stopped, laughing nearly hysterically. They both leaned against the wood rail, gasping, looking out at the choppy water.

The rain had let up a little by now, but both were so thoroughly soaked that it didn't matter either way. Sora giggled in elation, figuring Riku had to feel better now. There was no way any one could be in a bad mood after that.

So he was totally shocked to glance over and see that the silver-haired boy was crying. His shoulders shook with silent sobs as the rain mixed with the tears that ran down his face.

"Riku…" Sora wasn't sure how to continue the sentence. Riku very rarely cried, and the brunette had no idea what had caused this episode.

"I'm sorry, Sora." He apologized in a broken voice. "I don't know what's causing this."

"It's okay." The brunette took hold of Riku's forearm, resting on the wood.

Riku gazed down at where Sora's arm touched his skin. He sniffled once. "Do you have any idea how important you are to me?"

Sora blinked. How much he meant to Riku? Riku was the important one. He laughed nervously. "What are you talking about?"

"All you have to do is be near me and I feel lighter." He spoke slowly, almost deliberately. He hadn't taken his eyes from their joined skin. "And when you touch me, even as casually as this, I feel whole. It's the only time I really know what's real."

Sora bit his lip. Of its own accord, his hand left Riku's arm and brushed away those wet silver bangs that hid Riku's incredible aquamarine eyes. Those eyes locked with his.

Something was stirring within those eyes, and it made Sora's heart flutter. His other hand took Riku's and pressed it against his chest. He then placed his own to Riku's.

"This is what's real, Riku." He didn't know where the words came from, but they were the absolute truth. "We will never be apart again."

The tears had stopped now.

Riku ran a finger along the shorter one's cheek, hand still held against his chest. He took one step closer. Their gaze never broke.

Then Sora sneezed.

The moment completely broke. Riku laughed richly, pulling away from Sora. Sora wiped at his nose, an embarrassed grin on his face.

"We better get home." Riku continued to smile. He wrapped his arm around Sora's smaller shoulders. "Last thing I need is you getting sick on me."

Sora sighed a little, surprised by how content he felt with that arm wrapped around him. "Well, it's your fault we're out here."

They walked home, huddled together. Neither tried to figure out just what had passed between them in the rain. All that mattered was that they each felt a peculiar peace settle over them, and they knew they'd never be alone again.