Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts.

shadow puppet

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Sora's eyes are as endlessly blue as he remembers. They're round and bright with the light of a boy in love. They overflow with it.

But Riku, perfectly selfish with his imperfect heart, closes his eyes to shut out the picture perfect image. And in the uncomfortable blackness of his own mind, he sees something colder.

In an instant, an ice and stone sculpted boy replaces this warm one. His soft non child that feathers him with gentleness and drowns him in laughter twists, bends and distorts. Shadow puppets, smoke and mirrors. Now he can imagine that he sees the nothing hiding in that head.

The sweet clutching of hands on his shoulder blades becomes the harsh rake of blunt nails. The sting of fresh welts isn't real but the memory feels real enough.

Soft, unrestrained sounds of a pleasant tenor are transposed into the hisses and halting hiccups of choked down moans. The two sounds always clash sickeningly for a moment in his ears until he can bury one in favor of the other.

Riku reaches out, smooths his callused palms against tanned skin, and in his own sweet darkness it's so disgustingly easy to just dream that it's Roxas.

Because to be perfectly honest and technical, he's right there. Right beneath Sora's paper thin skin and right behind Sora's endlessly blue eyes.

His nothing boy is honest inches away.

And since he's a little more than nothing now, maybe he's wishing too.

Riku would hate to be the only no one who's still left in this mess and still grasping at things unreal.

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fin.

A/N: To be honest I stumbled around with this a bit and had no idea how to convey things properly. Review and tell me if I've butchered it?