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Disclaimer: What’s this, you ask? Do I have designs on stealing Sora right out from under Riku’s and Squeenix’s noses? Snorts No shit, Sherlock. But fourteen chapters of SGW, Five of Advanced Theory, and three respective one-shots have probably showed you that no matter how hard I try, I just. Can’t. Succeed. But I will. Oh, I will.
Author’s Notes: I woke up at 4 o’clock this morning to finish the two papers I had yet to complete, both due today. The first thing I did was check my e-mail, and to my joy I’d discovered a new chapter alert from Miss Writer. For me. I read it. I loved it. I went into raptures and dunked my head under the water fountain because something that beautiful made me wanna go back to bed and dream good dreams, which unfortunately I couldn’t do because…dude. Essays. But I finished ‘em, I went to class, I ate my dinner, and now I’m sitting in front of the computer typing out this one-shot. And it’s not even a one-shot that answered The Writer’s Valentine’s challenge, which I’d originally intended. I am writing this on very little sleep, and with one final essay still pressing down on my forehead. That is all inconsequential. It is Valentine’s Day, and the idea for this came to me in a blessed whirlwind. And AU or not, I had to write it. Inspiration for this little Riku/Sora comes from…err…a true story, actually. The opening is the same, the ending is different, but…it just goes to show you that beautiful things happen. Happy Valentines Day.
Dedication: To The Writer. Always for you, honey.
Tinted Rose
“The thing is, the poor boy never really stood a chance.” - Kairi
Sora hated it. For a few reasons, actually. Firstly, he was in a crowded bus driving across campus, and thus could appreciate neither the soft breeze nor the idyllic sky. Secondly, if the Lord God smiled down upon them and they actually reached class - the chances were looking slim; did this guy even have a driver’s license? - he’d be forced to sit inside a crowded classroom for an hour and a half, and thus would not be able to appreciate the too-perfect breeze and the too-perfect sky.
And thirdly. Lately, Sora had been starting to appreciate grayer weather. Stormier weather. Squalls, to be precise. For no reason, of course.
A rainy sky did not remind him of a certain someone’s all-too-gray eyes. It did not remind him of the fiercely determined look a certain someone possessed at times. And it most certainly did not remind him of anyone in particular, and most assuredly not a certain Squall ‘It’s Leon, Dammit!’ Leonhart.
Sora sighed, clunking his head against the bus window. Stupid breeze. Stupid sky. And stupid, stupid Leon.
The bus slowed, and Sora jerked out his daydreams to verify that it wasn’t yet his stop. A few students boarded, grabbing the nearest available seats and slinging their book bags onto the dirty floor. It didn’t matter. Sora sighed, once again turning his gaze outwards and his thoughts in.
He couldn’t quite remember when he’d begun glancing at the upperclassman with anything more than curiosity in his eyes. It might have been during their shared class last semester. It might have been during the summer, when Leon had taken a part time job at Cid’s Auto Shop and begun walking around sans shirt.
More likely, though, his infatuation dated back three weeks, two days, and - a quick look at his watch verified the time - four hours ago. The first day of Sora’s second year of college, when he’d stepped inside his psychology class and had spotted Leon there, staring out the window with a gaze so full of desperate longing that it had stolen his breath away almost instantaneously.
Sora hadn’t been able to catch a glimpse of the object that had enraptured Leon’s attention. In the end, though, it was obvious. There was only one person alive who could command such attention from someone like Leon, and that was his quiet, stoic best friend - one Cloud Strife, who was currently dating some long-haired senior psycho-freak.
Maybe Sora’s affection had been born of pity, or some deep-rooted instinct to make his friend’s happy. He didn’t care. He liked him, and that was all that could be said about it.
The bus ground to a halt and Sora grabbed his book bag off the floor. He swung it onto his shoulder and made his way down the bus, sidestepping bags and books and feet. He didn’t see the white sneakers sprawled in the center of the aisle until his left shoe caught on them and he stumbled into their owner.
Sora blinked.
The tall, white-haired boy he’d tripped over looked up at him blankly. He raised an eyebrow and gently pushed Sora off his lap.
“Sorry about that,” the brunet mumbled, already continuing down the aisle. “Should have been watching where I was going.”
He sighed, stepped off the bus, and entered the large, brick building standing before him. Inside, he walked into his classroom, waved hello to Axel and Yuffie and his younger brother Roxas, and plopped into his seat. He tilted his head back onto the wall behind him and cocked it, staring out the window.
Bright, sunny day.
“It was over before it began.” - Yuffie
Sora groaned. Dammit. Ordering the kid to shut up would be rude, but how was he supposed to concentrate on justifying existence when some cocky loud-mouth was all-but-screaming not five feet away?
“It doesn’t matter,” the kid sighed. “I’m not the one who missed class last Wednesday. Just meet me in the commons room today at five and I’ll lend you the notes.”
Sora frowned and brought the textbook closer to his eyes. ‘A human must create its own meaning, paving its path through life as-’
“Just tell Cloud you’ll be a bit late, idiot,” the boy growled. “Do you want the notes or not?”
Sora sat up. Wait…
“Alright, I’ll see you later. Call me when you get there, Leon.”
Every muscle in Sora’s body clenched. When the bus halted at his stop, he almost forgot to stand up.
“That’s the thing when you deal with someone like sky-boy. He pretty much throws a wrench in your plans no matter what you do.” - Axel
The bus slid to an abrupt halt and students climbed aboard the already full bus. Sora ignored this, typing theses and conclusions and supporting paragraphs as quickly as the thoughts flashed across his brain.
A hand suddenly waved across his screen and Sora started, sitting up and turning to stare at the white-haired nuisance sitting beside him. The boy smirked, reached over Sora’s shoulder to save the word document, and gently closed the computer screen.
“Hey,” the kid said, a mocking grin spreading his lips apart. “I’m Riku.”
Sora stared at him for a moment, then looked down to his closed laptop. He blinked at it twice, then glared up at the boy staring amusedly down at him.
“What did you do that for?” he cried indignantly. “I have to e-mail that by midnight!”
Riku grinned, smoothing his white locks of hair behind his ears. “It’s only eight in the morning,” he said, voice lilting slightly. “Plenty of time. And besides, if you’re typing away at that thing, we can’t talk.”
Sora frowned, and Riku continued. “You’re the kid I tripped, right? You always take this bus; I figured I might as well extend the hand of friendship.”
The small brunet lifted an eyebrow, but shrugged. His stop was coming up, anyway. He could deal with the white-haired idiot for a few more minutes. And anyway, if Mr. Riku was acquainted with Leon…
“I remember that day, though - he showed up for class with the oddest grin on his face.” - Lexaeus
“He used to laugh about it. Said he didn’t fall in love. Naw, it was more like he tripped.” - Wakka
Riku showed up half-way through Sora’s death match with Selphie as their basketballs each made perfect arcs through the air and into their respective hoops. The older boy catcalled once, clapping loudly. Selphie flinched, her ball missing the hoop entirely and slamming onto the board behind it. Sora rolled his eyes; he’d grown used to Riku weeks earlier, and realized only belatedly that he’d never once seen Riku at any of their outings.
“Sorry if I’m crashing your party,” the platinum-haired boy smirked. “But I got bored with Leon and the rest and I figured I could use some juvenile entertainment.”
Hayner bristled behind him, but Sora straightened slightly at the name. “Leon?” he asked, struggling to keep his voice even. “Leon’s here?”
Riku nodded, sliding onto the floor beside the small basketball game. “Yeah. He dragged me, Yuffie, and Aerith along so that it wouldn’t look too awkward if Cloud caught him spying on his little date with big, bad Sephy-kins.”
Sora winced at the name, but grabbed the basketball and cocked his hands back. “So Leon’s still in love with Cloud?” he asked evenly. He knew the answer, but…maybe…
“Yeah,” Riku said, shrugging. Sora closed his eyes, missing the shot entirely. When the soft thump of rubber against plastic sounded, Riku looked up, staring at Sora. The brunet looked away.
“Yeah,” Riku repeated. “He is.”
When Sora raised his head, Riku was still staring at him, an odd look in his eyes. Neither said much for the next hour, each laughingly challenging the other to every game in the large arcade.
No one was quite sure how much time had passed when Leon arrived, his two other friends in tow. There was a deep scowl on his face, and he squinted to adjust to the dim light of the room.
“Riku,” he yelled angrily. “Get your ass over here or we’re leaving without you.”
The white-haired boy slumped into view, strolling out of the arcade with his hands in his pockets. He turned around at the mouth of the room, grinning brightly at the brunet watching from inside.
“Bye Sora,” he called, waving. “I’ll see you on Wednesday!”
“Sora?” Leon asked quietly. His eyes sought out the slim form of the boy smiling at him, and his stern expression melted into something softer. He lifted a hand in farewell and led his entourage out of the mall. Riku only glanced back once, that same odd expression wrinkling his brow.
Behind them, Sora smiled, thinking wistfully of stormy grey eyes and long brown hair.
“I bet he thought that was clever.” - Cloud
When Riku boarded the bus, he automatically began walking towards his usual seat beside the small brunet. His mouth widened in an automatic smile and his hand began lifting in a greeting. It froze halfway when he caught sight of Demyx sitting beside Sora, laughing at some joke the younger boy had made.
Both Riku’s hand and smile fell, and he slid to a halt half-way along the aisle. He glanced out the window once, grabbed a hold of the guardrail, and stood for the remainder of the bus ride.
When the young brunet disembarked, the older boy refused to look at him. Sora clutched his chest as it tightened uncomfortably. It hurt.
“It wasn’t his fault. There’s love, and then there’s love, and Riku was in love.” - Selphie
“He looked like he’d discovered the meaning of life.” - Aerith
The older boy shrugged, glancing downward as he rearranged his book bag. “My classes were cancelled,” he said quietly.
Sora smiled, and readjusted his headphones. This was nice. He’d felt so strange the past few days, but the world seemed happier now. The sun shone brighter, and it was lovely.
“Do you like Leon?”
Sora’s head jerked up and he turned to stare at Riku with wide eyes. The other boy was looking at him with a slight smile on his face, but…there was something odd, something off around his eyes…
“It’s not obvious,” Riku continued, his eyes crinkling as his smile widened slightly. “But I can tell. And, you know…” A chuckle escaped him in a gruff bark, and his eyes all but disappeared with the force of his smile. “He thinks your cute. He’s still stuck on Cloud, but…well. You never know, right?”
Sora looked down. Strange…it was so strange. Everything felt so uncomfortable. It felt as it had a week prior, when Riku had gone and left Sora to ride the bus alone.
“I can set up a date, if you want,” Riku said lightly. “You can get to know each other better. The best relationships begin with friendship, right?”
Sora looked up. Strange, strange, it all felt so strange. Riku’s eyes were dull…or were they bright? He didn’t know, he couldn’t tell, but if he hadn’t known better, he’d almost have thought that Riku was…
“He’d show up late to class every Wednesday and Friday, just so that he‘d be able to ride the later bus with Sora.” - Roxas
Sora looked down, picking at his food. He didn’t know what to say, and he’d never been more irritated with himself. Here was Leon, the boy he’d been mooning over for more than a month, closer to two - and he could barely muster a ‘hello.’
“How was class last Wednesday?” Leon began suddenly, popping a fry into his mouth. “I overslept.”
Sora’s eyes widened in surprise. “You weren’t in class?” he asked, wincing when the words escaped sounding more shocked than they were meant to.
Leon raised a single eyebrow, then shrugged. “It’s a pretty small class,” he muttered. “I’m surprised you didn’t notice.”
The younger brunet flinched, feeling almost guilty. “Sorry,” he said softly. “I wasn’t paying much attention on Wednesday.” And he hadn’t been, had he? He’d spent the entire class staring out the window and wondering about the white-haired boy. “I’ll send you the notes over e-mail later,” he mumbled, squirming in his seat.
Leon shrugged, turning to gaze at the students entering and leaving the cafeteria.
It took a full minute for Sora to realize that Leon had frozen, staring fixatedly at a couple carrying their trays inside and sitting in the furthest corner of the dining hall.
Sora closed his eyes. He didn’t know what he was feeling. There were so many thoughts milling through his mind, so many emotions tugging his heart in a thousand different directions; pain and regret and sadness and empathy and happiness and who knew what else.
“You love him, don’t you?” he whispered. Leon turned to glare at him sharply, but Sora smiled.
“Cloud, I mean,” he continued. “You really, really love him.”
It took an eternity, but Leon finally looked away, shrugging. “It doesn’t matter. He says…Strife says that they’re not dating. That they’re just friends. But I’ve seen the way Sephiroth looks at him. I’ve seen the way Cloud smiles at him. He…Sephiroth had him first. I’ve only known Cloud since freshman year, Sephiroth’s been with him since birth.”
Sora’s smile widened slightly, and he turned to stare at his plate. “You don’t know what will happen,” he whispered, lips trembling. “If you love him enough, if you care about him enough…then maybe one day your feelings will reach him. Maybe one day he’ll respond. Sephiroth…I don’t know him. Not well, I mean. But…no matter what happens, in the end it will always turn out okay.”
Leon said nothing for the longest while, turning to stare emotionlessly at the two students eating comfortably together on the far side of the cafeteria. “That’s optimistic,” he responded finally, placing his fork onto the tray.
Sora shrugged. “Yeah,” he whispered. “I guess it is.”
Leon left then, waving goodbye and promising to see him the next day. Sora remained at the table, staring down at the last remaining scraps of his food.
It was strange…but it felt as if some forgotten strand in his heart had shuddered and snapped into place.
“He just looked so happy. I couldn’t find it in myself to yell at him.” - Leon
Riku sighed suddenly, placing the sheets of paper roughly into his bag. “How did it go?” he asked finally, running a nervous hand through his hair. “With Leon. He told me that he talked to you during lunch yesterday?”
Sora leaned his head back against the window, closing his eyes. “It didn’t go,” he laughed softly. “But that’s okay. He’s in love, you know. No matter what I feel, there’s no way I could ever live with myself if I interfered with that.”
Riku turned to him sharply, peering at him intently from under his heavy bangs. Sora was smiling slightly, but the soft quivering of his eyelids revealed something he was sure the younger boy didn’t want revealed. He said nothing, not even when the bus arrived at Sora’s stop and the brunet boy walked off the bus.
Sora sighed as he pulled his jacket tighter around himself, closing his eyes momentarily. Such a bright, sunny day. He had begun walking towards the large brick building when a voice called out from behind him.
“Sora? Can I ask you something?”
The small brunet turned around, his eyebrows raising in surprise. Riku was standing there, hands in pockets and looking strangely abashed.
“Riku?” he gasped. “What are you doing? This isn’t your stop. You’re gonna miss your class.”
“My class was canceled,” the older boy sighed, kicking at a pebble agitatedly. “But the bus was the only place I knew for sure I’d see you, so…” The pebble flew across the road, bouncing twice before it stilled.
“A friend of mine has tickets for that movie the film department just finished - you know, that How I Paid For College thing. Except he already had plans on the opening night, so he gave them to me. I figured I’d ask if you wanna go with me, if you had nothing else planned for Saturday.”
Sora stared at him for a moment, unblinking. “You rode the bus just to ask me that?”
Riku fought something that looked mysteriously like a flush. “I guess so.”
“You could have called me.”
“I didn’t have your number. That’s not the point. Do you wanna go?”
Sora looked at him curiously for a minute, his gaze scrutinizing. And then he smiled. “Okay.”
“Even when he was sad, he looked happy.” - Tifa
Riku only had enough extra money for a single soda and a large tub of popcorn, so they agreed to share. They started a quiet popcorn war during the previews, and it was nice. Riku walked with him back to his dorm, the two laughing all the way. Sora couldn’t remember ever having felt so happy.
“The thing was, he started looking sad more and more often.” - Demyx
It wasn’t until after he’d left the upperclassman’s presence that he remembered that even looking at Leon was supposed to make his heart swell in his chest. He bit his lip, then dismissed the thought. There were more important things to worry about at the moment than his selfish infatuation on an older man who was so hopelessly in love it hurt just to watch him.
Sora showed up at Riku’s dorm room an hour later with a PS2, an extra blanket, and a can of chicken-noodle.
“And sooner or later, even when he smiled the expression came out wrong.” - Tidus
“It’s what happens when love is unrequited, I suppose.” - Zexion
He groaned, lolling his head around. Dammit, it just wouldn’t stop pounding. He squinted at the tiny print before his eyes, growled, and chucked the textbook across the reading room. Who the hell’s idea was it to invent books with letters so miniscule you needed a magnifying glass to read ‘em? Whoever it was, they deserved death.
“Sora?” a soft, surprised voice sounded from behind him. The small brunet turned around, raising an eyebrow when he saw Riku sauntering slowly towards him.
“H’lo,” he muttered through a yawn. “What are you doing here? It’s already eleven o’clock at night.”
Riku shrugged, smirking lightly. “I could ask you the same question, couldn’t I?” he laughed. “What kind of geek spends his Saturday night at the library, of all places?”
Sora scoffed, rolling his shoulders to try and release some of their tension. “The kind who has three tests on Wednesday, two essays due on Thursday, and a mid-term on Friday. Stop being a hypocrite.”
Riku laughed, but plopped down onto the sofa beside Sora and began reading his own textbooks. When the sofa’s grew too comfortable, they moved to the floor. When the floor grew too comfortable, they took turns punching each other awake.
When Sora awoke the next morning, he was lying on his back, a comforting weight resting on his chest. He sat up, and then smiled. Riku was lying there, his head resting on the smaller boy’s clavicle and an arm spread comfortably across Sora’s stomach.
The brunet smiled, and gently extracted himself from Riku’s unconscious embrace. It was odd, but he felt strangely relaxed.
“He didn’t eat as much, did you notice? He’d grab something from the snack machine, but that’d be it. You could hear his stomach growling all through class.” - Olette
“Could you really blame us if we started helping the kid out? No one deserves to look that pitiful.” - Hayner
When Riku pulled away a moment later, wide blue eyes were staring into his own.
Riku gasped, crab-walking backwards. “S-sora,” he gasped, his arms collapsing, sending him sprawling onto his rear. He shook his head and shot to his feet. “I…I’m-”
“R-riku?” Sora asked, sitting up slowly. “What did you…why would you-”
“I’m sorry,” Riku choked, raising a shaking hand as if to maintain a healthy distance between the two. “I-I’m so sor-”
“Why?” Sora whispered. He looked down, closing his eyes. What was this? Was this what Riku had been feeling for him? Did Riku…did he…? Why was his stomach squeezing? Why were his lips tingling?
Sora looked up an eternity later. Riku had disappeared. The only evidence of his presence were the large textbooks he’d left splayed on the couches. Sora ran a quivering hand through his hair.
Why was his heart soaring?
“A little insider information never hurt anyone. If Riku happened to show up at the arcade, at the library…well.” - Pence
Leon also told Sora that the previous night, he’d convinced Riku to sleep over - the white-haired boy had been looking too unhealthy lately, and Leon wanted to make sure that he was - at the very least - sleeping well.
Leon told Sora that Riku wasn’t sleeping well at all. That he would toss and turn for the entirety of the night. And that, even in sleep, Sora’s name would fall from Riku’s lips over and over again.
Sora raised a hand to clutch at his suddenly-spasming chest. And then he smiled.
“It worked didn’t it? Just look at them now.” - Rinoa
It didn’t matter.
Five minutes passed, then ten and fifteen. A lifetime later, the campus bus pulled into Riku’s stop, and one solitary white-haired boy climbed onto the vehicle and began walking down the aisle.
Riku didn’t notice the other boy’s presence until there was but five feet separating them. He caught sight of the shoes, first - those huge black and yellow sneakers Sora was so fond of. Then his eyes traveled up, past the large black cargo pants, past the black and red t-shirt, past the crown pendant brushing against the brunet’s clavicle with every breath he took.
“S-sora?” Riku whispered. “What…no. No. Why are you here?”
Sora smiled, the expression crinkling his eyelids gently. He outstretched a single hand towards the tall boy staring fixatedly at him.
“Riku?” he murmured softly. “Sit next to me?”
The older boy didn’t move. Sora’s smile trembled and crumbled upon itself.
“Please?” he asked, his fingers curling slightly.
Riku stared at the hand for a moment. And then he closed his eyes and sat down.
Sora lowered his head, clasping his hands together in his lap. “Why did you do that?” he asked quietly.
Riku shook his head, twisting the fabric of his jeans within his hands. “You know why,” he muttered. “It’s not hard to guess.”
Sora released a deep, shuddering breath. He didn’t know what he was doing, not really. But if he didn’t speak now…if he didn’t do something-
“Why did you never say anything?” he asked. “I would have-”
“Why’d you think, Sora,” Riku growled, clenching his fists tightly against his thighs. “There was you and then there was me, and for you it was always Leon Leon Leon, and-”
“I don’t love him,” Sora interrupted quietly. Riku stopped, and the younger boy continued. “I don’t even like him. Not anymore. I told you, didn’t I? I’m not Leon’s happiness, and he’s not mine.”
Riku froze, his fingers flexing and unflexing. “And what does that mean?” he whispered. “What does that matter?”
Sora smiled then. He leaned forward and brushed his lips against Riku’s, just once. “That’s what it means,” he answered, his voice whispering across the air like so many fleeting butterflies. “I like you. I care about you. I’ve never been happier. The sun’s never been brighter.” His lips spread, and they did not tremble.
“I love you,” he said, realizing it even as the words flittered from his lips. “I do.”
Riku’s eyes widened, and a sudden, joyful bark of laughter burst from his lips like dancing fireworks. He reached forward and brought his mouth crashing down upon Sora’s in a messy, awkward, blissfully perfect kiss.
“I love you,” he laughed gleefully, sweeping kiss after kiss across the younger boy’s cheeks, eyelids, nose. “I love you.”
“And they lived happily ever after.”
Please remember to review, especially if you have either me or this story on alerts or faves. It means so much to an author, and it’s always a bit depressing to see someone place a fic on their faves, but neglect to leave a review. Thank you for reading, and if this little Valentine’s one-shot stirred even the slightest bit of emotion within you, then drop me a line, please - anything from a simple ‘Good job’ to a detailed description of what I did wrong or right. I love you all!
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