Archive of Our Own

Riku was laying in bed, which was where he found himself a lot these days.

It wasn’t even his bed, really. It was his designated bed at the Mysterious Tower - or anyway, it was in the room the Tower most often gave him when he stayed there. It had a small chest of drawers to hold his things, green wallpaper with stripes, and the carpet was blue. There was even an attached bathroom, which Riku appreciated, because there was nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night and trying to find a toilet in an ever-shifting magical structure.

But there he was: in bed, feeling like shit.

Since Sora and Kairi’s disappearances in the Keyblade Graveyard, Riku hadn’t really gone home. He would occasionally round up his friends from other worlds and bring them to the play island to hang out, but for the most part, he let them all stay in their worlds and adjust - they all had things to do that didn’t have anything to do with him. Aqua, Terra, and Ven were busy propping up the lives that deflated ten years ago. The former Organization members and Namine were learning how to just be people again. And the King, Donald, and Goofy had their lives to get back to, a kingdom to run.

But Riku felt like he didn’t have a home anymore since his two best friends disappeared into thin air. So he spent most of his time studying in the Mysterious Tower’s expansive library, training with his Keyblade, and helping Master Yen Sid when he needed it.

He had been there for nearly a year.

Riku sat up at the sudden realization that the anniversary of the battle with Xehanort was looming. He sat there for a moment, stunned, his eyes glazed over, replaying the beats of the battle in his memory. As the memories ran out, he closed his eyes, sighed, and lay back down.

Yen Sid had tried to keep his spirits up at first, in his own unusual way. He sent Riku home on the weekends, as if being a Keyblade Master was some sort of boarding school. Riku would lay in his bed at home all weekend, ignoring his parents and staring out the window. His mother initially tried to get him to come downstairs and watch movies or have dinner together as a family, but Riku, as much as he loved her, couldn’t bring himself to get out of bed. Many weekends he left for the Tower after she had fallen asleep Saturday night. Eventually he stopped visiting altogether.

Then Yen Sid sent him out on missions, usually pairing him with another Keyblade wielder. At first he sent Riku out with Aqua or Mickey, saying something about how he should be learning from other Masters, but when there was no change in Riku’s demeanor, he tried switching things up. Axel got frustrated with him after the fourth mission when he couldn’t get Riku to so much as crack a smile. Riku refused to partner with Ven because he looked too much like Sora. Roxas refused to partner with Riku on principal - they didn’t like each other much, and Roxas loudly protested that he “didn’t want Riku giving him sad puppy dog eyes the whole time.”

So Riku usually ended up partnered with Xion or Terra. Riku found Xion was different enough from Sora that it wasn’t too weird, but occasionally she’d smirk in the same way Sora did, or laugh in the same cadence and Riku did his best to hold it together, but usually he failed. Xion asked only the first time if he needed help when he found himself fixed to the spot, struck with an emotion he could only think of as the closest thing to drowning in darkness without it actually happening. When he said no, every time it happened after, she left him alone.

Terra was a new person, and Riku found they got along surprisingly well. The two of them shared a lot of experience under Xehanort’s control. While Riku still had trouble discussing it without feeling consumed by guilt and shame, Terra had bounced back surprisingly well and offered to talk with Riku about it if he wanted. Riku thanked him, but told him he wasn’t ready. Terra didn’t push it. When they went on missions together, Riku found he could smile occasionally.

But missions were scarce since Xehanort’s control on the Heartless lifted. The occasional cluster popped up here and there, but light and darkness were mostly in harmony. There wasn’t much to do for a Keyblade wielder who no longer had a home.

Riku refocused his eyes so he was actually staring at the ceiling. He’d memorized every crack and stain months ago, but forcing himself to really look kept him from drifting into another round of sorrowful reminiscing. He thought about his long abandoned Gummiphone where it sat on top of his chest of drawers. He hadn’t charged it in weeks. Should he try getting everyone together on the play island again? Would that help? He turned on his side to stare at the wall. Since when did anything help?

And that was when the flurry of knocks started.

Riku bolted up in bed and whipped his head around to look at the door. No one ever knocked on his door. Except Yen Sid, there was no one else in the Tower. The knocks stopped for a few moments, and Riku continued to stare. Then the knocks resumed, and he nearly jumped out of his skin.

“Y-yes?” He asked when the knocking stopped again, not sure who he was addressing.

There was no reply, but the knocks returned. A little spooked, Riku stood up slowly and crossed to the door. He pulled it open and came face to face with nothing.

“Huh?” He said.

A squelching sound got his attention and Riku looked down to see one of Yen Sid’s brooms standing there.

“Uh, yes?” He asked again.

The broom reached out its hand. Riku looked at it.

“I don’t have anything for you to clean,” Riku said.

The broom shook it’s hand at Riku.

“...Do you want a tip?” He asked.

The broom shook its hand again, and when Riku did nothing in response, it grabbed his hand and pulled him through the threshold of his room.

The strangled cry of protest hadn’t even left Riku’s throat when he found himself already standing in Yen Sid’s study. He pitched forward from the momentum and threw his free hand out to balance himself. The broom let go of his hand and turned to walk out the door.

Riku swayed a little on his feet. He felt a little sick to his stomach.

“Riku!” Yen Sid said, turning away from his desk. “They’re home! You need to go to them!”

“Who’s home?” Riku said.

“I received word from Mickey moments ago.” Yen Sid said, crossing to Riku. “Sora was able to get a message through. He and Kairi have returned to the Destiny Islands and he’s asking for you.”

Riku’s mouth went dry. “What?”

“Listen to me, Riku.” Yen Sid placed his hands on Riku’s shoulders. “You need to return home. Sora was able to reconnect his and Kairi’s hearts with the heart of your world and travel home, but he has used up all his strength to do it. They have just arrived. He said they are okay, but they need your help. Go to them.”

“I--” Riku tried. “Why didn’t Sora send me the message?”

Yen Sid shook his head. “He said you weren’t answering your phone.”

Riku blanched. He was never going to forget to charge his phone again.

“I’m going,” Riku said, turning away. “Thank you.” And he was out the door before Yen Sid had a chance to respond.

He dashed up the stairs to grab the keys to the Gummiship and his phone. He was halfway out the door before he remembered the charger.

He barely remembered starting the ship, much less taking off, but he’d already broken through the atmosphere when he realized there was a warm feeling in his chest. He touched his chest lightly and felt the warmth throb. It was the Dreameater link.

Riku hadn’t been able to connect to the link in months. When he first noticed, he’d feared the worst. He rushed to Yen Sid’s study, choking out his fears in a panic.

Yen Sid had conjured him a chair and told him to sit down no less than three times before Riku finally did. He was practically vibrating with anxiety.

“Sora went somewhere that Dreameater links can’t reach.” Yen Sid said. “When was the last time you felt the link?”

Riku took a couple of deep breaths and searched through his memory. “The night before the battle with Xehanort. Sora was having a nightmare about losing all of his friends in the fight. So I crossed the link and got rid of the nightmare for him.”

Yen Sid nodded. “Meaning you haven’t felt it since Sora left. That makes sense. Where Sora and Kairi are now, it’s unlikely either of them are able to sleep.”

“Master, where are they?” Riku asked.

Yen Sid shook his head. “All I can say is that they are in a place beyond dreams.”

Riku understood that Yen Sid didn’t have anymore information for him. He let it go.

*

Without many Heartless ships around, Riku found he could return home much faster. But even with mostly clear skies, he knew he was being reckless. He’d sped through asteroid fields and raced past worlds so fast he might have appeared to the inhabitants as a shooting star.

As he flew, he kept glancing at his still-dead Gummiphone. He’d plugged it into the recently-installed charging port, but he was still waiting for it to turn back on. When he finally heard the start-up chime, he threw the ship into autopilot and pulled up his messages. Sora’s dirty, bloody face filled the screen.

“Hi Riku,” he said weakly, but he was smiling. “Kairi and I are home.”

He angled the phone so Kairi could be seen over his shoulder, looking less bloody, but no less tired. She was propped against a wall. “Hi, Riku,” she said.

Sora looked over his shoulder and then back at the screen. “I was hoping you could come get us, but I bet your phone is dead. I’ll call the King instead. See you soon.”

Riku replayed the message three times before he sat back in the pilot’s chair in relief. He made sure to get his breathing even before he took control of the ship back.

*

Riku landed the ship in the dense copse of trees behind the beach on the play island. Usually he made sure the ship was well covered by the foliage, but as soon as the wheels hit the ground, he was out of the cockpit and running along the path. The video on Sora’s message had been dark, so there only one place they could be on the island: at the door to the world, in the Secret Place.

He tore out of the trees and raced down the upper deck, taking the rickety, wooden stairs three at a time. He landed in the sand and immediately pivoted left, racing down the stone path and barely managed to duck down before hitting the low entrance to the Secret Place. He got inside so fast his eyes didn’t have time to adjust, and he nearly tripped over Sora sitting by the entrance.

“Sora—!” He yelped, but stopped when Sora put a finger to his lips and pointed to his lap. Kairi lay there, asleep.

Riku stared at the scene below him, unsure. He took a step back, but Sora smiled at him and gestured for him to sit down next to him.

Riku did. “Is she okay?” He asked, looking at her dirty, dull red hair and grimy face.

“She’s fine,” Sora said, “just tired.”

“Are you okay?” Riku asked, looking Sora over.

“Yeah,” he said, smiling weakly at Riku.

Riku frowned. He placed a hand on Kairi’s head and cupped Sora’s cheek with the other. “Curaga.”

Sora’s eyes slid closed and he shivered a little as the magic worked through him. “Thank you,” he said quietly.

Riku nodded. “Of course.” He pulled his hands back and dropped them in his lap. “Are you ready to talk? Or do you want to go home?”

Sora laughed quietly. “Can we just sit here for a little while? I like my current job as a pillow.”

“Sure,” Riku said and he settled back against the cave wall.

They were silent for a few more minutes until Sora held out his hand. Riku looked at it and then up at Sora’s face. He tilted his head slightly.

“Take my hand, Riku,” Sora said.

Riku took it and Sora pulled his hand to his chest, pressing the back of it to his sternum. Riku could feel Sora’s heartbeat, strong and proud. At first he did nothing but let himself feel how alive Sora was. Then he tugged on the Dreameater link and Sora tugged back. He looked into Sora’s tired eyes, and Sora smiled at him.

Riku felt a lump form in his throat and tore his eyes from Sora’s smile. He looked down and started to cry. He pressed his face into Sora’s neck and wept quietly. “Sora,” he whispered, lips against Sora’s collarbone. “I’m so glad you’re okay.”

Sora brushed his hand through Riku’s hair. “I’m so glad I’m back.”

They sat there for a long time, Sora holding Riku, squeezing each others grasped hands, and pushing and pulling on the link like testing out a long unused muscle. Riku stopped crying after a while but didn’t want to leave the comfort of Sora’s shoulder until he absolutely had to. Sora stroked his hair long after the tears stopped and pressed his face against silvery strands.

Eventually, he said “Your hair’s gotten so long again.”

Riku smiled. “I haven’t cut it since you left.”

“Been busy?”

Riku huffed against Sora’s neck and felt him shiver. “Not really.”

“I’m sure you’ve been busy with missions and being a Keyblade Master and all.”

Riku smiled bitterly and felt a few more tears leak out the corners of his eyes. “Let’s just say things have been quiet since Xehanort’s defeat. Not a lot for a Master to do in peacetime.”

“Yen Sid didn’t send you on diplomatic missions, or anything?” Sora asked. He’d stopped running his fingers through Riku’s hair, but his hand hadn’t left his head.

“He tried,” Riku said. “I wasn’t really up for them. And there are more Masters available now anyway. Terra and Ven passed their Mark of Mastery exams.”

“That’s great!” Sora yelped, though halfway through remembered Kairi was sleeping and tried to keep his voice down.

Both boys froze when Kairi groaned and blinked her eyes open. Riku jumped up and scooted back from Sora’s shoulder. He felt suddenly guilty, and didn’t want Kairi seeing himself and Sora so close.

“Riku?” Kairi asked, rubbing her eye as she sat up. She blinked and let her eyes adjust, and then she smiled. “Hi Riku.”

“Hey Kairi,” Riku said and smiled.

“Keeping Sora company?”

“Yeah. Somebody decided a nap was more important than being awake for my arrival.”

Kairi giggled. “Sorry. You know me--” she tried to joke back, but cut herself off with a yawn.

“Do you guys feel well enough to make the trip back to the Tower? Or do you want to go to your houses?” Riku asked.

Both Sora and Kairi grimaced at the second suggestion. “The Tower,” they answered in unison.

Riku nodded. “Okay. Let’s go.”

*

Three days of rest and relaxation later and Sora was already up and moving like he’d never been gone.

He’d told the story of how he traversed the hearts of the worlds, fought the Lich, rescued Kairi, and returned home to Riku, Yen Sid, King Mickey, Donald and Goofy, and all of their other friends - in that order - at least two times each. After telling it once on the flight back to the tower, and once when they arrived, he and Kairi had eaten and then crashed for another twelve hours. Riku spent most of the time they slept filling everyone else in, and the following day, many of their friends had gathered to see them, hear the story, ask questions - and in Ienzo’s case - occasionally poke and prod.

Riku had finally driven most of them off the next day, overwhelmed by the number of people he kept bumping into in the tower. He found even an ever-expanding magical tower could get crowded.

But Sora was already raring to go, and Riku was having trouble keeping up. Yen Sid told them not to worry about missions for the time being, and Riku had to physically drag Sora off of a couple of their friends’ ships to to keep him from jetting off-world.

“Can you spend ten minutes with your best friends before you go off on your next adventure?” Riku asked, maybe more than a little jealous. He, Sora, and Kairi were sitting around eating dinner the night after Riku had managed to pack the last of their friends onto a ship and send them home with the promise that Sora would come visit soon.

Sora just put his hands behind his head and laughed.

“Uh, about that.” Kairi said. They both looked at her. “I kind of want to go home for a little while.”

“Are you alright?” Sora asked, reaching across the table and putting his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m fine,” Kairi said, smiling. “But I’d like to check in at home before any more worlds-spanning crises come up.”

“Sure, of course,” Sora said, smiling. “Do you want us to give you a ride home? Riku’s kept the ship running really well.” Sora turned to Riku and grinned, and Riku did his best to smile back and not stare at the hand Sora had just removed from Kairi’s shoulder.

“Actually, King Mickey let me borrow the tool he uses to jump worlds without a ship,” she said, producing a Star Shard from her pocket. “He told me it’s a little unstable, but that I shouldn’t have too much trouble using it.”

“Ooh, can I see?” Sora asked, reaching for it.

Kairi quickly pulled it away from his hand and held it out of his reach. “Nope! He also told me to under no circumstances let you use it!”

“What?!” Sora yelped and Riku shook his head. “Why not?! Kairi!!”

Kairi giggled and pocketed the Star Shard. “He said the most unstable thing about it was who was using it, and that you’re too unstable.”

“Wow, okay!” Sora said, folding his arms and pouting. Riku smiled and Kairi laughed, and even Sora had to smile a little at his friends’ amusement. “Okay, enough dunking on me. When are you leaving?”

“Tomorrow morning,” Kairi said, and Riku felt terrible about the little leap his heart did. “I won’t be gone for too long, but I want to stay and live a more normal life than I’ve been able to in a while. But after my vacation, I’ll come right back here to train and get started on becoming a Master!”

“That’s the spirit, Kairi!” Sora said, pumping his fist. “Are you gonna help us train for the test, Master Riku?”

“I’ll help Kairi, sure.” Riku said, putting his head in his hand and nodding at Sora. “But you already know how it works. You’ve just gotta try harder next time.”

“I thought I said dunking on me time was over,” Sora said, sitting back with a huff.

They talked and joked for the rest of the night until Kairi eventually excused herself, wanting to get up early the next day. After making Sora and Riku promise to see her off, she bid them goodnight and went to bed.

“Riku,” Sora said, grabbing Riku’s arm as soon as Kairi was out of earshot. “We have to check out that thing the King lent her.”

Riku frowned. “Uh, no, I don’t think we do.”

“What? Come on! We can travel instantly to any world with it! We could go on our own adventure tonight and be back by morning!”

Riku frowned harder. “You heard what she said the King said: it’s unstable when the wrong person uses it.”

“I’ll let you drive, then!” Sora said, shaking Riku’s arm. “What do you say?”

“I say no,” Riku said and stood up and dumped his plate in the sink. “Also, I’m going to bed.”

“Aw, you’re no fuuuun.” Sora said, trailing after him. “I guess I’ll just have to steal it from her after you both go to bed.”

Riku sighed loudly and hooked his arm around Sora’s neck. “Actually, I changed my mind. I’m staying up to keep an eye on you.”

Sora made a choking noise at the way Riku dragged him by the neck up the stairs. “Noooo fuuuuun.”

“You want fun? Come hang out with me,” Riku said. “Let’s have a sleepover or something. Whatever keeps you from interrupting Kairi’s plans.”

Sora started to say something, but instantly perked up after Riku voice his idea. “Oh, okay! If you wanted to hang out you could have just said so.”

Riku shrugged. “Two birds, I guess.” He released Sora from the headlock.

Sora rubbed his neck and peered at Riku. “Is there a reason you don’t want to go on an adventure with me?”

Riku paused at the door to his room, about to open it. “Of course I want to go on an adventure with you, Sora.” He said, pushing the handle. “But stealing an unstable magical tool from Kairi to do it sounds like a great way to get in a lot of trouble.”

“Since when are you so cautious?” Sora said, entering the room behind Riku and flopping down on his bed.

Riku sat down on the bed’s edge and ran a hand through his hair. “I’m just not ready for another adventure yet.”

Sora turned over onto his stomach and looked up at Riku with his chin in his hands. “Riku…” he started, and Riku looked down at him. “Are you okay?”

Riku blinked. How was he supposed to tell his best friend, whom he was very much in love with, that he’d spent the year since he disappeared in bed? That he had trouble getting up in the mornings because facing another day without Sora became more and more unbearable the longer he was away? That all he wanted to do was hold Sora and never let go, lest they get swept up in one more adventure that tore them apart?

“I,” Riku said, and paused. “I’m okay.” Sora squinted at him and he had to look away. “I’m just glad you’re back, and I want to see you for five minutes before we get sent in separate directions, you know?”

“You keep saying that,” Sora said. “‘I want to see you for five minutes’. ‘Spend ten minutes with your best friends’. I know Kairi and I were gone for a while Riku, but I’m not going anywhere.”

“You say that, but…” Riku still couldn’t look at Sora. “We don’t always get a say in where we go.”

“True.” Sora pushed up and joined Riku perched on the edge of the bed. “But I don’t want to leave you behind, Riku. I want you to come with me, if you can.”

“And I’ll go!” Riku said, possibly too quickly. “I’ll… I’ll always go with you.”

“I know you will.” Sora said. He leaned his head on Riku’s shoulder and took his hand in his. Riku tensed, but Sora squeezed his hand and tugged on the Dreameater link. When Riku didn’t immediately tug back, Sora frowned.

“Riku?” He asked, trying to get a look at his face. Riku still hadn’t turned to look back at Sora. “Is there something else?”

Riku sighed and returned Sora’s tug on the Dreameater link, though he still didn’t look at him. “I just wonder if there’s anything I can do to keep us from being pulled apart again.”

Sora laughed ruefully. “Wish on a star?”

Riku smiled a little at that perfectly Sora answer. “Turns out even magic has limits.”

“It does,” Sora agreed. He pulled Riku’s hand onto his lap and began playing with his fingers. “But all that we’ve been through has taught me it never hurts to hope.”

Riku was pretty sure he hadn’t even thought about hoping for something in a very long time, but in that moment it occurred to him that it was hope that had kept him going through the last year. Every morning he didn’t want to get out of bed, even if he lay there well into the afternoon, hope was what eventually got him moving. Hope propped him up on missions, even when his friends got irritated with him and he ended up doing them alone. Hope kept him training, even when all he really wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep.

Hope in Sora. Hope that he’d see him again. Hope that he’d come back and they could be together.

“Sora,” Riku said, finally turning to face him again.

“Yeah?” Sora said, perking up. He had been silently playing with Riku’s fingers while Riku zoned out.

“Can I tell you something?”

“Of course,” Sora said, sitting up straight. “You can tell me anything.”

“You’re right, you know. It doesn’t hurt to hope. I had hope that you’d come back, and you did.” He smiled down at Sora and Sora smiled back. “And I also hope that before we get dragged into another adventure, we can spend some time together.”

“Which we’re doing,” Sora said with a grin.

“Which we are doing,” Riku said. “But I have hope about one more thing.”

“Yeah?” Sora said, tilting his head to the side. “What’s that?”

“I hope that when I tell you that I’m in love with you, you’ll still want to be my friend.”

Sora blinked owlishly up at him. And he smiled. And then they were kissing.

Sora wrapped his arms around Riku’s shoulders and pulled him down to his height. Riku tipped forward, but Sora’s grip was able to keep him upright. Sora slid a hand into Riku’s hair and tilted his head so he could deepen the kiss. Riku’s eyes widened. He grabbed Sora’s shoulders and pushed back, sputtering.

“Wha-! Sor-! I don’t-!” Riku stammered.

But Sora held on, arms still around Riku’s shoulders. He wobbled a bit as Riku leaned back, but holding on helped stabilize him.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asked Riku’s horrified face. “Weren’t you the one who just confessed to me?” He teased.

Riku flushed and looked away. “I did,” he said. “But that…” his voice quieted. “...that was my first kiss.”

“Really?” Sora said, smiling up at him. “That was like, my ninetieth.”

Riku stared down at him. “...what.”

Sora frowned. “You’re kidding, right? That can’t possibly have been your first kiss.”

Riku didn’t say anything, but his red face said plenty.

“...it was your first kiss.” Sora said in awe. His arms slipped from around Riku’s shoulders. “No way. Really? Wow, I just figured a guy who looks like you…”

“And what do I look like?” Riku snapped, a challenge in his voice.

“You know,” Sora said, gesturing vaguely at him. “Hot.”

Riku put his hands over his face. “Holy shit.” He said. He sat there silently for a moment, trying to breathe.

“Are you okay?” Sora asked.

“Not really,” Riku said, and put his hands down. “And that was really your ninetieth kiss?”

“I mean…” Sora said, his eyes drifting to the side in recollection. “Probably not.”

Riku sighed in relief.

“There have probably been a lot more.”

Riku choked on his sigh and started coughing. Sora helped him sit back on the bed and brought him a glass of water. Once Riku calmed down enough, after a lot of drinks and deep breathing, they picked the conversation back up.

“So…” Riku said, fiddling with the empty glass in his hands. “Who else have you been kissing so much?”

“Oh, you know,” Sora said. “People I’ve met in various worlds. Sometimes they’re hot and I want to kiss them, so if they’re into it, I do.”

Riku sat up and put the glass down on his side table. “Does this happen to you a lot?”

“That I meet hot people I want to kiss? Oh yeah. Like, all the time.”

Riku chuckled mirthlessly. “And so you just… make out with them?”

“I mean, yeah, if they want to.” Sora said. He was fiddling with the zipper on his hoodie. “And I only do it if it happens naturally. I don’t go looking, if that’s what you mean. I just meet a lot of people, and sometimes I wanna make out with them and they wanna make out with me.”

“Wow,” Riku said, falling backward onto the bed. “Next you’re gonna tell me you’ve had sex.”

“I’ve had sex,” Sora said.

Riku sat back up so fast he almost threw himself off the bed. “WHAT?!” He yelped, clutching the edges of the mattress. “With WHO?”

Sora looked thoughtful. “Well, the first person--”

“‘FIRST’?!”

“--was a girl I met at Olympus Coliseum,” he said, getting a faraway look in eyes. “Her name was Acacia, and she was there to compete. I tried fighting her, but I lost pretty badly. The way she wore her toga, one of her breasts wasn’t covered, so I was really distracted.” He chuckled, embarrassed, “I was 14 and I’d never seen any in the real world before.”

“Right...” Riku said, still trying to get his brain calibrated to the fact that Sora was not a virgin. “And how did you end up having sex with her?”

“Well, I was taking a break behind the Coliseum after the fight and she approached me. She said something like ‘I saw you were looking. Do you want to touch?’ Which, now that I think about it, was pretty cheesy, but uh, I did. So she let me, and then we had sex.”

“Romantic.” Riku deadpanned.

“Oh, absolutely.” Sora smiled and winked, which made Riku smile a little in return.

“And what about all the other girls?”

Sora’s smile turned bemused. “It hasn’t just been girls.”

“Not… just girls?” Riku asked, a flicker of hope in his chest.

“Oh, no!” Sora said, smiling, and leaned back on his hands. “Like, on my last trip, I met a boy in the Kingdom of Corona named Johannes. I wanted to get a better look at the lanterns during the festival, so I scaled a building and he was sitting on the roof. I kind of scared him actually.” Sora grinned fondly.

“Anyway, we got to talking while we watched the rest of the lanterns float away. He was the apprentice to a painter and the building he was sitting on was the studio. He lived there too. He invited me in and showed me some of his paintings, and they were amazing! A lot of them were of the lantern festival.

“Anyway, eventually he asked if I wanted to stay the night, and by then I knew what that meant, so I did.

“Oh,” Sora said, tilting his head, “but he was the first boy I ever had sex with who had a vagina.”

Riku blinked. “What?”

Sora turned to look at him. “What?”

“Boys don’t have vaginas, Sora.”

“Yes they do!” Sora said insistently. “He told me everyone thought he was a girl when he was born because he had one, but he realized he was a boy later and started living that way and that made him really happy.”

“Oh,” Riku said, not really sure how to argue with that. “What did he look like?”

“He was blonde and wore glasses. He was a little shorter than me and he was very pale. His skin color actually reminded me of yours.”

Riku flushed. “Did you think that… while you were having sex with him?”

Sora grinned. “Maybe.”

Riku rubbed his forehead and looked away. “A-anyway, have you… been with anyone who has a penis?”

“Oh, yeah! There was a boy I met in the first time I was in Port Royal. His name was Mateo and we were staying at the same inn as him one night. Donald and Goofy had gone to bed, but I stayed up listening to him and his crew telling pirate stories. Eventually most of his crew got too drunk, so they went to bed, but I wanted to hear more stories, so I went up to his room and we talked. Then we ended up kissing. He was actually the first boy I had sex with.”

“Oh,” Riku said, feeling that old flame of jealousy rise again. “How was it?”

“It was great,” Sora said. Riku tried to ignore the dreamy look in his eyes. “He was really sweet and walked me through everything. He let me be on top first and then we switched. He was also probably one of the best kissers I’ve made out with.”

Riku grimaced, but Sora kept talking.

“You know, he reminded me a little of you too? He had dark hair and skin, but he was tall and his hair was long, like yours.”

“I feel incredibly vain for asking this, but did all the boys you’ve had sex with remind you of me?”

Sora laughed. “No, but a lot of them did.”

“Great,” Riku said and put his head in his hands again, pulled his knees to his chest, and put his head down against them.

“Hey, it’s alright,” Sora said, putting his hand on Riku’s shoulder and leaning in to whisper in his ear. “You’re the only one I’m currently interested in.”

“Holy shit,” Riku whispered and Sora threw his head back and laughed.

“Too sexy for you?”

“Y-yes.” Riku admitted.

Sora laughed again, but when Riku didn’t move to look at him, he stopped. “Wait, are you…?”

“Yes.” Riku said again.

“Oh,” Sora said and went quiet. Riku peeked out from between his fingers and found Sora looking away, the tips of his ears red.

“How can you be the embarrassed one here?” Riku said, dropping his hands from his face but keeping his knees drawn up. “You’re the one who’s had sex with like, ninety people!”

Sora made an indignant squawking noise and turned back around. His face was red too. “I have not had sex with ninety people! That was a joke! And I said I’d had ninety kisses, not kissed ninety people! That’d be like, one kiss per person! And that doesn’t make any sense when you--” He growled, frustrated, and scrubbed a hand through his hair. “You know what, it doesn’t matter.” He looked back at Riku, who was hiding his face in his hands again, but this time he was shaking a little. “Are you laughing at me now?!”

Riku threw his head back and laughed loudly. As he wiped the tears from his eyes and let his vision refocus, he was sure he’d find Sora pouting at him, but Sora was smiling.

“You’re not mad I’m teasing you?” Riku said, rubbing at his eye.

“No,” Sora said, “I’m just so happy to hear you laugh. I feel like since I got back, all you’ve been doing is looking sad or anxious.” He offered his hand, which Riku took. “Will you still let me stay here tonight? We can just have a regular sleepover and talk.”

“Uh,” Riku said and looked off to the side. “I’m- I’d like to- Maybe we could- Try? Stuff?”

“What kind of stuff?” Sora asked slowly.

“We could just, try stuff?” Riku said. “And I’ll stop? If I need to?”

Sora reached up, put a hand on Riku’s cheek, and gently turned his face so he could look into his eyes. “I do like the sound of that, but promise me you’re not doing this because you think I want you to.”

Riku frowned. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t want you to think you have to “try stuff” just because I told you I’ve tried a lot of stuff.”

“Sora,” Riku said, his face going blank, “if you think I’m only doing this because I think you won’t like me anymore if I don’t, remind to tell you all the graphic details about the dreams I started having about you around the time I turned twelve.”

Sora laughed and let his hand fall from Riku’s cheek. “Wow, you’ve been into me that long?” He climbed onto his knees and put his arms around Riku’s shoulders. “I’m very flattered.”

Riku grinned. “You have no idea,” he said and leaned forward and let Sora start kissing him again.

Sora pressed his lips to Riku’s and slid his hands into his hair, gently brushing through the strands with one hand and holding his head steady with the other. Riku’s scalp tingled at the sensation and he couldn’t help the shiver than ran down his spine. He gasped, and Sora used the opportunity to lick into his mouth, making Riku shudder all over again.

Sora pressed his chest to Riku’s and Riku found himself leaning backward slowly until his head hit the pillows. Sora straddled his legs and trailed one hand down his chest, letting his fingers rest on the edge of Riku’s tshirt. He played with the hem a little and then let his fingers creep underneath. Riku reached down and touched Sora’s wrist. Sora started to withdraw his hand, but Riku grabbed his shirt and tugged it up over his stomach and chest.

Surprised, Sora pulled back from their kiss and looked down. “Uh,” he said and looked back at Riku's face. “Thanks.” He said, running his fingers over Riku’s stomach.

“You’re welcome,” Riku said, closing his eyes at Sora’s soft touch. He tilted his head back has Sora dragged his fingers upward and brushed across his nipples.

Riku shuddered and groaned. Sora’s hand stopped. Riku opened his eyes to see Sora looking at his chest, eyes glazed over. “Sora?” He asked.

Sora snapped to attention. “Uh, what?” He asked, looking up. “Sorry, sorry. I just. Uh. You’re hot? Did I say that?”

Riku closed his eyes, smiling but unable to keep looking Sora in the eye. “Yes. You’ve mentioned.”

“Sorry,” Sora said again. “I’ll try not to get too distracted.”

“I’d apprecia-ahhh!” Riku cut himself off with a groan as Sora pinched at his nipple.

“You’re nipples are pretty sensitive.” Sora said, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger.

Riku answered with a moan. Sora grinned, dipped his mouth to Riku’s chest, and licked over his nipple. Riku moaned again, louder, and arched his back off the bed. Sora sucked gently and Riku threw a hand over his mouth to block the next moan, but it sounded somehow louder, cutting off the previous one.

“Wow,” Sora said quietly. He scanned Riku’s face. His hand was still clamped over his mouth, his eyes were closed, and his neck was arched back over the pillow, his face red and forehead damp. Sora leaned up, nosed against Riku’s cheek and then kissed him gently. “Will you let me hear you? The noises you make are really sexy.”

Riku’s cheeks flushed darker, and it started to spread out to his ears. He took his hand from his mouth and opened his eyes, glaring a little. “Stop.” He said.

“What? Sora said, smiling cheekily.

Frowning, Riku grabbed Sora’s face and pulled him back in for a kiss. Sora hummed happily against his mouth and kissed back, sucking on Riku’s lower lip and tugging gently. Riku opened his mouth, expecting Sora to deepen the kiss, but Sora ducked his head and began kissing underneath Riku’s ear. Riku gasped and grabbed Sora’s hair, not expecting to find the skin there so sensitive.

Sora chuckled a little against Riku’s skin and started trailing kisses down his neck. When he reached Riku’s collarbone, he started following the line of the V-neck and then pushed Riku’s shirt up further so he could continue downwards.

To Riku’s relief, Sora continued kissing past his nipples, but didn’t count on how reactive the skin of his stomach would be as Sora peppered light kisses over it. Riku shivered and gasped as Sora kissed past his belly button and then veered towards a hip. He groaned as Sora sucked hard on his hip bone, then licked over it gently.

Sora tugged at his belt and looked up at Riku questioningly. Riku looked down and, maintaining eye contact, pulled his shirt off over his head. Then he reached down and undid his belt, but as Sora reached for the button, Riku stopped him.

“You too,” he said, as he put a hand over Sora’s. “I want to see you.”

Sora smiled and sat up on his knees. He shrugged out of his hoodie and pulled his tank top off over his head. Riku watched, mesmerized, as Sora undid the belts on his pants and pushed them down his legs until he was kneeling in just his boxers. There was a pretty obvious outline pressing against the front, and Riku’s mind went blank when he saw it.

Before Riku could reset his brain, Sora leaned back down over him and started tugging his pants down. Blinking hard, Riku lifted his hips and noticed his own cock pressing against the front of his boxer briefs as Sora pulled his pants off and threw them over his shoulder.

“You know,” Sora said, trailing his fingers over the length of Riku’s thigh still inside his underwear, “I used to be so jealous of how easily you put on muscle. But now I can say I’m a lot more appreciative.” He let the tips of his fingers hook over the edge of the fabric and looked at Riku expectantly. Riku swallowed and nodded.

Sora began to tug his underwear down. He leaned down and began kissing at Riku’s hipbone again. Riku’s hips snapped up at the touch, and Sora used the momentum to drag the boxer briefs down and fully off of Riku’s legs. Sora sat up, tossed the underwear over his shoulder, and looked over Riku’s naked body. He licked his lips and, keeping his eyes on Riku, hooked his thumbs into the waistband of his own boxers and slid them down. Unable to look away, Riku’s eyes locked on Sora’s hips. He didn’t realize Sora was asking him a question until Sora tapped his hip.

“Huh?” Riku said, eyes snapping back to Sora’s face.

Sora laughed warmly and shook his head. “I asked how you wanted to do this.”

“Oh, uh,” Riku said, his eyes dipping back to Sora’s cock. “You should… probably show me how it’s done.”

“Okay,” Sora said, leaning back down over Riku and kissing his forehead gently. “Do you have any lube?”

Riku indicated the bedside table with a tilt of his head, and Sora scrambled off the bed and started opening drawers to find it. “Bottom drawer,” Riku said, glancing at Sora standing naked beside his bed.

Sora rummaged through the drawer. “This?” He asked, pulling a small bottle from the back. Riku nodded and Sora kicked the drawer shut and joined him back on the bed, flipping the cap open. It stuck a little.

Sora squinted at the bottle as he tipped it over and watched the contents start to slowly ooze down the sides. Riku closed his eyes in embarrassment. “It might be a little old.”

Sora shook the bottle and smiled as it started to leak out and coat his fingers. “Still looks good,” he said. “You ready?”

Riku nodded and Sora smiled, leaning over to kiss Riku’s cheek. “I’ll walk you through it. It’ll feel a little cold at first.” He kissed Riku’s lips a few times as he slipped his fingers between Riku’s legs and began massaging his hole. Riku jumped and shivered at the sensation, breaking the kiss with a gasp.

Sora pressed his forehead to Riku’s. “You okay?”

“Yeah,” Riku said breathily. “Keep going.”

Sora did, rubbing the tender skin in slow circles. He kissed back into Riku’s mouth, swallowing the little sounds of pleasure Riku let slip. It was hard to bite them back when Sora wouldn’t let his mouth close - actively kept it open - licking and sucking on his tongue. Sora both felt and heard Riku’s moan as he slipped a finger inside and began massaging the walls slowly.

“Try and stay relaxed,” Sora whispered. “I’m gonna go slow, but if you don’t relax, it won’t work.”

“Okay,” Riku gasped and tilted his head back as Sora started kissing at his neck and throat. He felt Sora press in deeper and graze something that made him see stars behind his eyelids. He gasped and arched off the bed.

“Ah, there we go,” Sora said and focused his massaging there.

“Wh-what? Is that?” Riku asked, grabbing and clutching the sheets.

“Prostate”, Sora said simply. “Good?”

“Yes,” Riku said weakly. The longer Sora touched there, the better it felt, and tears were starting to leak out the corners of his eyes.

But then Sora pulled his finger out and Riku whimpered at the loss of contact.

“Hey, you’re doing great,” Sora whispered against Riku’s neck, and slipped in two fingers, returning to massage the exact same spot. Riku’s hips bucked at the brush of fingers, his cock twitching harder than it had in a long time.

He cursed as Sora began mouthing and sucking at his nipples, and he squeezed around Sora’s gentle fingers, trying to gain more pressure, more friction, more something, anything. “Sora, please, please.”

“What do you want?” Sora asked, lips still brushing against Riku’s nipple. Riku shivered at the contact and whined.

“More.” Riku begged.

“Okay,” Sora said and sat up, pulling his fingers back out. Riku squeezed his eyes shut, sure more tears were going to fall with the loss of sensation. He heard Sora squeeze more lube onto his fingers and then felt the press as three fingers slid inside.

Riku moaned and pressed his hips down as Sora began massaging him again. Eyes still closed, he heard Sora huff fondly and then lean past him to grab something from the floor without shifting the fingers inside of him.

“Here, put this under your back,” Sora said, and Riku opened his eyes to find him holding up a pillow. Riku lifted his hips, and Sora tucked the pillow under his lower back. “Good.” Sora said. “Now I’m gonna start moving faster, okay?”

Riku made an affirmative noise, immediately excited by the promise. Fingers still crooked to catch against his prostate, Sora pumped faster, eliciting a cry of pleasure from Riku. His eyes flew open and a steady stream of whines and mewls fell from his mouth as he snapped his hips, trying futilely to get more pressure on his cock to match the press of Sora’s fingers. As if knowing exactly what he wanted (and, Riku figured, he probably did), Sora took his cock in hand and began stroking him to match the pace of the fingers inside him.

Riku came after just a few strokes, trembling with tears leaking down the sides of his face. He sobbed and threw an arm over his face to keep Sora from seeing. By the time he had come down from the high, Sora had curled up next to him and was stroking his hair, whispering sweet nothings to him quietly.

“I’m sorry,” Riku choked out, keeping his arm firmly over his eyes.

“What are you sorry for?” Sora asked gently, combing through the hair near Riku’s temples.

“I-I wanted to last. You didn’t even get to, to…” Riku stopped, hiccuping.

“Hey, don’t worry,” Sora said and brushed his knuckles over Riku’s cheek. “I wanted you to come first.”

Riku peeked out from under his arm and over his shoulder. “Why?”

Sora shrugged. “It helps you relax.” He brushed the remaining tears from the edges of Riku’s eyes.

“You still want to…?” Riku asked.

“If you do.”

Riku turned over and reached out to touch Sora’s face. “Yes.”

Sora pressed his cheek against Riku’s palm and smiled. He leaned down and kissed Riku, climbing on top and straddling his hips. He pressed his body down, his still-hard cock shifting again Riku’s hip. Riku felt Sora’s moan more than he heard it, and it made his cock twitch with renewed interest. He slid his hands over Sora’s shoulders and pulled him closer as they kissed. Sora slid one hand into Riku’s hair, and the other cupped his cheek, his thumb stroking over a cheekbone.

Sora broke the kiss and winked at Riku before whispering “Let me know when you’re ready,” and returned to kissing and sucking at the sensitive spot below his ear. Riku’s hips jumped and his cock twitched against Sora’s abdomen. He tipped his head to the side and breathed shallowly as Sora kissed down his neck and shoulders.

Sora reached between them and grazed his fingers over Riku’s cock, making a wave of pleasure so heady roll over Riku he had to squeeze his eyes shut. The slow drags of Sora’s fingertips were maddening. Riku wasn’t sure if he was ready to full strokes just yet, but he knew he was ready for something more than that.

“I’m ready,” Riku choked out, and Sora’s hand stilled, making him groan in frustration.

“Okay,” Sora said and sat up. Riku cracked his eyes open to find Sora pawing through the sheets to find the lube. He extracted it, flipped open the cap, and drizzled some over his hand. Riku started to protest that he didn’t need further preparation until Sora reached down, took his own cock in his hand, and started stroking himself back up to full hardness. Riku’s mouth went dry.

With his free hand, Sora grabbed Riku’s thigh and pressed it against his chest. He propped it against his shoulder and leaned forward, balancing with one one hand and lining up his cock with Riku's hole with the other.

Riku kept his eyes trained on Sora’s cock until it slipped out of view, and then he switched to Sora’s face. His eyes were heavy-lidded, looking down at Riku with a dazed hunger, clearly using what he was seeing to bring his cock back to full attention. Riku flushed at the thought, but was distracted again by Sora starting to press inside. He fought his natural urge to tense up and tried to relax, watching Sora’s expression turn from desire to bliss.

Sora pressed in slowly, trying to let Riku adjust to the feeling. “T-tell me how you’re doing,” Sora said, fighting to keep from snapping his hips forward. “Let me know when you want to--”

“I want to,” Riku cut him off, trying to push down on Sora’s cock. “Please keep going, move.”

Sora grit his teeth, and Riku felt a fresh wave of arousal wash over him. It took him a second to realize it wasn’t his own - or anyway, it was mixing with his own. A tugging in his chest told him it was Sora, pushing his own feelings through the Dreameater link. Riku pushed his own arousal through the link, and Sora groaned loudly, letting his head tip back at the feeling.

“Okay,” Sora said, refocusing on Riku, and pressed all the way in. Riku gasped and grabbed the sheets again. He felt Sora still trying to hold back and he groaned, rolling his hips down and squeezed around his cock. Sora growled and thrust harder, grabbing Riku’s sides and digging his fingers into his hips. Riku wrapped his legs around Sora's waist to use as leverage as he tried to match the roll of his hips to Sora’s thrusts.

Riku’s fingers hurt from clenching around the sheets, and he forced himself to let go. Instead he reached out to touch Sora’s chest and stomach, running his fingers down to his hips. Sora shuddered at the gentle touch and looked down at him with bright eyes. “You’re so good, Riku,” he said. “Will you touch yourself? I-I want to watch you.”

Riku nodded and took his cock in hand, and Sora let a jolt of arousal leak through the link. He stroked slowly, using the precum leaking from his slit to create easy friction. He kept his eyes on Sora, watching his lean muscles slide under tanned skin, and a dark flush creep down his neck and chest, darkening his hard nipples. In turn Sora watched him, lifting Riku’s hips as he thrust harder, pressing him back into the bed.

The tension grew in Riku’s stomach, and his hips snapped erratically. “Sora,” he said, having trouble keeping his eyes open. “I--”

“Yes,” Sora answered, pressing down further, bracing himself on one forearm and sliding the other underneath Riku’s back. He buried his face in Riku’s shoulder and breathed raggedly against his neck.

Riku moaned and bucked hard into his own hand, coming against Sora’s stomach. Sora came a few seconds later, nose pressed against the side of Riku’s face, murmuring praise into his ear. He collapsed against Riku’s chest and lay there for a few minutes. They two of them breathed loudly into the sudden stillness, tangled together.

Finally, Sora pushed up on shaking arms and looked down at Riku. Riku smiled up at him and Sora grinned back and pressed a kiss to his sweaty forehead. Then he rolled off Riku and onto his side, facing him. Riku rolled onto his side too and just looked at Sora for a moment. Sora flushed a little, but didn’t look away, and reached up to brush hair out of Riku’s face.

“You okay?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Riku said. “Pretty good, actually.”

“Oh,” Sora said with a happy grin. “Me too.”

Sora put his arms around Riku’s shoulders and Riku happily nuzzled against his chest. He threw an arm across Sora’s hip and let his mind go blank.

*

Riku woke up a couple hours later to find Sora’s warmth gone. He sat up quickly and looked around his room in a panic, but saw light leaking from behind his bathroom door. He dropped his head back onto the pillow and watched the door until Sora came back out, pants back on.

“Riku?” Sora asked.

“I’m awake,” Riku confirmed and pushed himself into a sitting position.

“Sorry,” Sora said, climbing back into bed. “Had to.”

“It’s okay. I was just a little worried.”

Sora’s eyes softened and he wrapped Riku in a hug. “I’m here,” he said.

Riku pulled Sora flush against him. “I know.”

They sat there quietly in each others arms for a few minutes until Sora spoke again. “You feeling okay?”

Riku pulled back and nodded. “You?”

“Yeah,” Sora said, looking down. “Just thinking about how long it’s been since I really touched anyone.”

“What do you mean?”

Sora sat back against the pillows and held out an arm to Riku. Riku lay his head on Sora’s chest and pulled the blanket up over the both of them. “I told you how I found Kairi, right?”

Riku nodded. “Traveling through the hearts of the worlds, yeah. I think I heard the story about fifty times in the last few days.”

Sora smiled sadly. “Yeah, probably. Traveling through the hearts of worlds meant connecting my heart to them. But moving through worlds like that was like being a ghost. I could bounce around them faster when Kairi’s heart called out to mine, but no one could see or hear me. I didn’t need to eat or sleep, but in exchange no one noticed me. It was… really lonely.”

Riku wrapped an arm around Sora’s waist and Sora continued: “And every time Kairi’s heart was yanked away, I felt a little sadder. I chased it, and I found her, and I brought her home, but seeing her in the flesh for the first time and giving her a hug felt really weird. I was so overwhelmed by how it felt. Not bad, but too much.

“I’d just fought the Lich that had her heart, so I thought it was maybe from that. But when you found us in the Secret Place, and you touched me to heal me, it still felt like a lot, even after the spell worked. It felt strange, but good, and that’s why I wanted to see everyone and do as much as I could. Just being real again felt amazing.”

“That’s why you wanted the thing Kairi had? So you could go experience more things?” Riku asked.

Sora laughed a little. “Yeah. But I think I found a pretty good alternative.”

Riku flushed and hid his face in Sora’s shoulder. Sora laughed again and ran his hand over Riku’s hair. He mumbled something and Sora cocked his head to the side. “What?”

Riku sighed and turned his head. “I said I was worried you just wanted to take off with Kairi again.”

“Really?” Sora said. “You were jealous?”

“...Yes.” Riku admitted. “I mean, when I found you both, she had her head in your lap. And you two have always been… close. You went to save her without a second thought.”

“Of course I did. She’s my best friend.” Sora said.

Riku deflated a little. “I thought....” he started and then clamped his mouth shut in embarrassment.

“You’re my best friend, too, Riku.” Sora said. “You can have more than one.”

Riku nodded. “True. I think of the both you as my best friends.”

“It’s really more of a tier,” Sora said thoughtfully, and Riku chuckled.

“I’m glad you’re back,” Riku admitted, “I feel like I haven’t laughed like this in a long time.”

“No?” Sora asked, “Why not?”

Riku sighed and leaned heavier into Sora’s side. “After you left, I figured it would only be a matter of time until you got back. Whenever I would get worried, everyone would find a way to reassure me.” He thought back to the conversation he had with Yen Sid when he could no longer feel the Dreameater link. “But it took longer and longer, and people started to get kind of annoyed with me.”

“Annoyed how?” Sora asked.

“I had trouble doing… anything.” Riku said. “I had no idea when you’d be back, and it just made me really sad. I just sort of started laying around a lot.”

Sora nodded. “I get it. It sounded like you felt really alone too.”

“I guess I did.” Riku said. “At least we were feeling alone together.”

Sora laughed. “If only we knew at the time.”

“We know now.” Riku said. “And looking back, that makes it a little better.”

*

“Sora?” Riku asked a few minutes later, as they settled back into bed.

“Yeah?” Sora said.

“I know you’ve been with a lot of people but, uh.” He fumbled a little, but Sora stayed quiet waiting for him to continue. “Are you and any of them…?”

“Together?” Sora tried.

“Yeah,” Riku said, flushing.

“No, I haven’t really been in a relationship with any of them. Hard to do that when you have to keep hoping worlds all the time.”

“Right,” Riku said, pulling the blanket up to cover his face. Sora grabbed it before he could hide himself entirely.

“But I was kind of hoping you’d like to try it,” he said.

Riku pushed the blanket down, feeling the link in his chest pulsate. “Really?”

“Really,” Sora said. “I mean, you did say you were in love with me--”

“Oh my God,” Riku whispered, trying to pull the blanket back up over his head.

“--and I’m pretty in love with you too.” He smiled.

Riku stopped trying to smother himself. “Oh.” He said. “Okay.”

“Okay,” Sora said, and reached under the covers to take Riku’s hand. “I love you, Riku.”

Riku pressed his face into Sora’s shoulder as he felt tears start to well up in his eyes, but instead of trying to hide them, he opened his end of the link and let the warmth he felt flow through. “I love you too, Sora.”

*

The following morning, Riku and Sora sleepily followed Kairi out to the front lawn of the Mysterious Tower. Sora yawned loudly, which made Riku press a hand over his mouth to stifle a yawn of his own.

“What did you two sleepyheads get up to last night that you’re so tired this morning?” Kairi asked, fishing the Star Shard out of her pocket.

Riku went bright red, and Sora looked nervously between him and Kairi. When Kairi looked up, she found them both looking away from each other and her, guiltily. She cocked her head to the side and raised an eyebrow.

“You know what, never mind.” She said. “Give me hugs.”

Both boys hugged her at the same time, and she giggled, hugging each of them with one arm apiece. “I’ll miss you guys, but I’ll see you soon.”

“We’ll miss you too, Kairi,” Riku said. “You have your phone, right? Call us if anything happens.”

“Or if you just want to talk,” Sora said.

Kairi smiled. “I will.” She held up the Star Shard and, with a brilliant flash of light, she was gone.

Riku and Sora stood there for a few more minutes, looking up at the arc of light that was streaking away from them across the sky.

“So what should we do today?” Sora asked, turning to look at Riku when the light became too distant to see.

Riku shrugged and reached out to take Sora’s hand, tugging on the link. “I was thinking relaxing a little more.”

Sora slid his hand into Riku’s, tugging back. “I think that sounds pretty good.”