Warnings: Silliness

Disclaimers: I don’t own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, I can only imagine the terrible things that would come of it.

Notes: Hehehe, all right, we made it to chapter six, which is full of scenes that actually didn’t exist before 3 AM last night when I was hit by inspiration. I was just going to have a flashback acting as a little bit of an interlude, but words started to flow and a whole chapter (albeit a short one) just poured onto my word document in one afternoon. It was magical and it’s probably never happening that easily again. Oh well, I’ll take moments like this where I can. I think all writers do.

By the way, the theme for this chapter and all the Riku/Sora interaction is “Yer So Special” by Orange & Lemon, a Filipino rock band. It’s an awesome song. Look it up. If I was a better (less lazy) AMV maker, I’d make one to that song.

--

That night, Sora lay in his bed, trying to forget that Riku had kissed him. Instead, his mind kept replaying, occasionally in slow motion. He’d spent the last five years hating and avoiding Riku only to get himself pushed in a closet by the twins and having to practically relive the whole incident that had started the mess to begin with.

He and Riku had been friends when Sora and Leon first moved here. When Sora had first walked into St. Amano’s middle school building, toying with the stiff new uniform and trying not to trip in the school-standard shoes, Riku was the classmate assigned to show Sora around the whole building. Riku had thanked Sora for getting him out of math class and proceeded to sneak him into the high school lunch hour for a cookie. After that they’d quickly become best friends.

And then the whole thing had exploded in their faces one day.

Sora growled at the memory, sitting up to punch his pillow into a more comfortable shape before rolling over onto his stomach and burying his face in the pillow and squeezing his eyes shut. That just made things worse because Sora just kept envisioning the mess from today and the first time he’d gotten in a big fight with Riku. Helplessly, he flopped over onto his back, staring at the ceiling, rubbing at his eyes.

The last thing he needed right now was sleep deprivation. His mother was coming around noon and he had to look calm and awake and not like he’d spent the previous day arranging furniture, kissing a boy, and trying to cover his tracks. She was, after all, a mother; the moment she’d given birth to Leon, dormant evil powers had flared to life and given her the uncanny ability to notice just about everything. Mothers were sneaky like that. If his own mother hadn’t made Sora positive of that, meeting Riku’s mother had made it abundantly clear.

“Gah,” he groaned, rubbing at his eyes. How did his mind keep going back to Riku? He so, so didn’t need this right now.

Sighing, he rolled onto his side and closed his eyes again. Even as he tried to clear his mind, Sora’s mind just refused to stop drifting back to a day when he was eleven and Riku was twelve.

--

“Riku! Where are we going?” Sora demanded of his new best friend.

“We’re skipping gym,” his fellow sixth-grader said impishly. “It’s stupid!” As if that answered everything he sprinted down the hallway, motioning for Sora to follow. Laughing, Sora chased after Riku. They’d sneaked out to the bathroom after lunch, hiding until the rest of their class had gone to gym and the hallways were empty. It had been almost disappointingly easy to get down to the upper school lounge, not that they were complaining.

“I can’t wait for high school,” Riku declared, flopping onto one of the couches under a wide window. “Then the couches are all ours.”

Sora flopped onto the couch adjacent to Riku’s, leaning on his forearms to look over the side of the couch at Riku. “Yeah,” he agreed, for his own reasons. Leon had promised they’d be out of the apartment and in a house by the time they were in high school. He had high hopes for his brother’s boyfriend. “I think my brother’s finally found the right guy,” he said happily.

“Yeah?” Riku asked, sitting up to make eye contact.

“Yeah!” he said enthusiastically. “He’s dating this guy, Cloud, and he’s looking all happy. Six months next week1” Sora turned over and slouched down the sofa until he lay on his back, hands clasped behind his head. “He’s got a little brother who’s gonna come here. ‘Cause Cloud got a big promotion and he can send Roxas over here now. It’ll be awesome!”

“Sounds great,” Riku agreed, though he seemed less enthusiastic when Sora mentioned Roxas, like he didn’t want a third person breaking into their friendship. “You really want your brother to find someone.”

Sora nodded. “I hope he stays with Cloud. They’re great together and Roxas is really cool too.” He laughed, “Maybe then Roxas will be my boyfriend.” It was okay to say that in front of Riku. He couldn’t tell anyone else, but Riku was safe to tell because they were the same.

Riku looked decidedly displeased at Sora’s proposition. “Isn’t that like dating your brother though?” Riku joked, reaching over to seize Sora by the neck so he couldn’t escape a noogie. “You gotta think about these things, dork.”

“Hey!” Sora laughed, trying to squirm out of Riku’s chokehold. “I guess you’re right,” he laughed.

“Of course I’m right!” Riku declared. “What would you do without someone as smart as me Sora?” He ducked away when Sora aimed a playful slap at him, blowing a raspberry. Riku laughed right back before flicking Sora lightly on the tip of his nose. “That’s mean,” he said cheerfully.

Sora just offered him a cheeky grin in return, jumping off his couch and running over to Riku’s, sitting on top off him. “I win!”

“You’re sitting on me!”

“I still win!”

“Because you’re sitting on me!”

“Technicality!”

“Your butt is crushing me!”

“No fair! I’m smaller than you and you know it!” Sora objected. “I can’t crush you!”

“YES YOU CAN!”

“Who’s there?” a teacher shouted.

Riku and Sora glanced at one another, eyes wide, before scrambling off the couch. If a teacher caught them cutting class and in the high school wing to boot, they’d be in worlds of trouble. Detentions for a week, at the very least.

“What do we do?” Sora whined, following as Riku dragged him by the hand down the hallway.

“Hide1” Riku ordered, ducking into the janitor’s closet and pulling Sora inside with him. “Don’t make a sound!”

Sora nodded, putting a hand over his mouth, removing it quickly. It was just too stuffy in the closet. “If we get caught,” he whispered. “Leon will kill me!”

“My dad will stab me!” Riku shot back helplessly. “Have you ever heard the story of how he met my mom!?”

“Weren’t there kabobs?”

“You have no idea,” Riku said flatly. As if they weren’t hiding in a closet trying not to betray their presence with the slightest sound, he added, “You have to hear Dad tell it.” He grinned, whispering, “Come over on Friday. I’ll make sure you hear it.”

“Awesome,” Sora hissed back with a big grin of his own. “I’ll be there.”

Pressed close to him, Sora thought he felt Riku’s heartbeat jump, becoming even faster than before when they’d first ducked in here. “Hey, Sora,” Riku murmured.

“What?” Sora asked, turning his head.

Instead of responding with words, Riku shyly pressed his mouth against Sora’s. Sora made a weird squeaky noise before ducking his head back, clearly surprised. For his efforts, Sora hit his head on the wall and had to slap a hand over his mouth for real to cover his yelp of pain.

“Riku!” Sora hissed, this time his voice more than a little aggravated. “What the hell was that for!?”

Riku shrugged, clearly upset his overture of affection had not gone well. “I just…”

“We’re already in trouble! What if they catch us? They could tell my mom!” Sora’s expression was clearly horrified. “Do you know what’ll happen?”

“I just kissed you!” Riku replied. “They’ll just tell your brother, he won’t care.”

“Shut up, Riku!” Sora groaned, trying to shove his friend away. “You don’t know what you’re talking about!”

“Ow!” Riku snapped, not bothering to keep his voice down. Angrily, he shoved Sora back, not looking in the least bit sorry when Sora’s shoulder blade made direct contact with the broom handle and he cried out in pain.

When the teacher opened the closet door, Riku and Sora fell out on top of one another, fists flying as they shouted angrily. It took the help of two other teachers to separate them by which time they’d both assembled an impressive set of bruises and Sora’s hatred of Riku had been set in stone over an innocent kiss. They were sent home where both boys refused to tell their families what the fight had been over, only saying how much they hated each other. For their various crimes, they were suspended for two days. When they returned to school, Sora asked to switch seats away from Riku.

And that was the end of their friendship.

--

Some part of Sora’s mind realized how irrational he was being especially over something as small as a kiss but he just couldn’t forgive him. It was just so Riku to assume that it was somehow okay to kiss his best friend and it was even more Riku to not care about the consequences for someone else. And then he’d just kept trying to come back and talk to him, like it was something Sora could easily forgive. Did Riku have any idea what kind of consequences there would have been if Raine ever found out either of her sons was gay? It would be disastrous! That was why they were going through all this trouble in the first place.

Not that Riku would care, the jerk. Stupid, arrogant…

Sora groaned, burying his face in his pillow. For someone he claimed to hate, he just couldn’t get Riku out of his head and it was driving him insane and insanity was really keeping him from sleeping. And he really needed to sleep.

Sighing, Sora tiptoed out of his room and into Roxas’, unsurprised to see him up and awake. Roxas was at his desk, taking notes out of a textbook and had probably been doing it for hours, but he’d still be as calm and refreshed in the morning as if he’d gotten a full night’s sleep. Roxas was kind of like a vampire that way.

“Thought you’d be out cold by now,” Roxas said without looking up. “Stressed about tomorrow?”

“As hell,” Sora admitted. He sat down on Roxas’ perfectly made bed. “Riku kissed me.”

“I’ll remove his organs in the morning. Do you think I can make it to his house and back before Raine gets here?” Roxas asked calmly. “I promise not to get blood on the carpeting.”

Sora laughed. “I appreciate the sentiment but…don’t.” Roxas looked up in alarm, as if Sora had just spouted gibberish. “Wait until after Mom leaves. We can’t have too many things to worry about at the same time.”

Roxas nodded, “Good thinking.” Then he frowned, closing his binder. “Why’d he kiss you?”

Sora shrugged, “For the same reason he did when we were in sixth grade?”

“He what!?” Roxas demanded. Sora just groaned and flopped backward onto the bed, waving a hand at Roxas, reminding him that he’d promised to wait to kill Riku.

“It was before Cloud and Leon bought the house,” Sora explained before launching into the whole story of what had happened in sixth grade and then, grudgingly, also telling Roxas what had happened in the closet earlier. When he finished his tale, Roxas stared at Sora, completely dumbfounded.

“Idiots!” Roxas snapped incredulously. “You’re both idiots!”

“What?” Clearly, Sora had been expecting a more sympathetic response than to be called an idiot.

“I thought Riku was just psycho masochist who loved getting yelled at by you,” Roxas rolled his eyes. “But he’s in love with you.”

Sora’s eyes widened and then he frowned, pouting angrily at Roxas. “That’s not funny!” When he looked at Roxas’ unsmiling face, Sora groaned. “You can’t be serious Roxas?”

Roxas rolled his eyes and grabbed Sora’s shirt collar, “Take two anti-idiot pills, go to sleep, and accept the obvious in the morning.” He shoved Sora out of his room and closed the door. “And don’t yell at me because that will just wake up Leon and Cloud.”

Once he closed the door, Roxas just shook his head. “The closest emotion to love really is hate.” He flopped backwards onto his bed, making a mental note to talk to Naminé about her transparent little conspiracy because it was going to take more than a little insanity to make two people as dense as Riku and Sora realize their feelings.

--

Across the neighborhood, Riku was dwelling on the very same incidents that plagued Sora. Kissing Sora had been amusing but now, dwelling on the expression that had been on Sora’s face. His expression had been shocked and furious and a little touch much like the horrified face he’d made last time Riku tried to kiss him. Unhappily, Riku sat up in bed, rubbing at his forehead. Why couldn’t he just get a simple kiss out of Sora? Why couldn’t anything involving Sora be simple?

He’d thought Sora was being weird when he’d complained about his mother but after today, watching the Leonharts go batshit over remodeling their house, he was starting to wonder just what kind of woman Raine Leonhart was. Sora had never said anything about her when they’d been friends, just that he lived with his brother and she paid Sora’s tuition. Had he put Sora at risk for losing his place in that school just by kissing him?

That was fucked up, to say the least.

He had never meant to get Sora in trouble. He remembered clearly how Sora had started talking about Roxas and Leon and boyfriends and he’d just gotten stupidly jealous. When they’d hidden themselves in the closet, Riku’s impulses had just taken over and he’d kissed Sora without even thinking about it.

Ever since that fight, Riku had spent a lot of time trying to get back on Sora’s good side. Sora had blocked Riku on every conceivable method of online contact and stopped answering phone calls. Trying to talk to him in person often just provoked both their tempers and led to a lot of yelling and fighting or else Riku seemed to lose control of his brain. Offering Sora the munny to pay for his cell phone on the first day of school had been a complete last-ditch effort, one that had gone particularly badly too.

He was running out of ideas and about ready to give up on Sora.

“I knew you wouldn’t be sleeping,” Kadaj said, poking his head in the door. “Mother has cake downstairs. You can sulk here or with Victorian torte.”

“It’s 2 AM.”

“So? Mother has cake,” Kadaj repeated.

Riku shook his head, smiling at his brother. Their whole family was insane, but they had cake.

Down in the kitchen, Aerith smiled at her youngest son before passing him a slice of cake and gesturing for him to take a seat. “Kadaj tells me something happened between you and Sora,” she said pointedly. “Your father and I are concerned that you’re working on the impossible with him.”

“Dad knows about this?” Was nothing sacred in this house? “When did Dad find out!?”

Aerith smiled primly, “When I told him.” She patted his hand. “When Selphie called today, the second your heard Sora’s name, you bounced right up. You’re a hard person to read, Riku, but we’re not idiots.”

Riku was suddenly wishing he’d turned down the cake and just gone back to sleep.

“I get it, Mom. Sora hates me and nothing’s going to change on that front,” Riku said dryly, taking a bite of his cake.

Kadaj rolled his eyes and shook his head, but continued eating his cake. “If you’re dumb enough to think it’s that simple, you’re completely beyond help.”

“Shut up Kadaj!” Riku said irritably.

Aerith frowned, “Riku, don’t talk to your brother like that.” She smoothed his hair, “I really don’t think it is that simple and you know a lot more about what happened between the two than I could.”

“You wouldn’t believe the story if I told you,” Riku promised them, pushing his half-eaten slice of cake forward and placing his forehead flat on the table.

“Riku, we’re your family. If you can’t tell us, then who can you tell?” Aerith pointed out. “Anyway, Kadaj will beg and complain until you give it up.” Ahh, that was he mother he loved. Aerith had long ago perfected deftly combining sweetness, blackmail, and cake to get her sons to tell her all their problems. It was, as far as all parties were concerned, a great family dynamic that worked for everyone.

“All right,” Riku said and, in the same hour that Sora was spilling his troubles to Roxas, he told the whole story of the kissing incidents to his brother and mother, reaching for more cake when he was finished because he needed to fortify himself for the yelling and the snickering that was sure to follow.

He wondered how he’d managed to make it through life with this family and dare to call himself well-adjusted.

“Riku,” Aerith said gently. “You’re acting like an idiot.” She shook her head, “You drag him in a closet, kiss him, and then get him in trouble. I can’t believe a kiss caused your suspension back then. As a mother, I am very disappointed in you. As a Gainsborough, I have to frown on your utter lack of technique and finesse.” Riku choked on his cake but Aerith continued, “You tell that story to us with a straight face and you wonder why Sora hates you so much? Riku, you just about asked for it.”

“Thanks Mom, because I really didn’t feel like a moron without you telling me,” Riku groaned. “And you’ve put enough dark chocolate in this cake to ensure that I’ll be up all night suffering because I can’t pretend this whole conversation was a terrible nightmare.”

Aerith smiled, “I know.”

Riku just shook his head, “Good night, Mom.” Trying to erase the past hour from his memory, Riku trudged back to his room to suffer in silence.

“Kadaj,” Aerith said, once her youngest son had left, “please tell me you have better sense when you pursue romance.”

“More sense than Riku at the very least,” Kadaj promised.

“That’s good to hear,” Aerith praised Kadaj before she shook her head, “I wonder if even he realizes he’s falling in love with Sora. And I told him he was so smart.” Aerith laughed, “He’s missing something in front of his own face. It’s a good thing those girls are trying to mess with him, because I just don’t think he and Sora would ever realize without them.”

Kadaj shook his head. “Idiots. They all are.”

--

“So how do you think it went with Riku and Sora?” Axel asked Reno across their bedroom.

“Disastrous,” Reno said. “Knowing those two? It was a complete and total mess.” He chuckled, “Those two really have no idea do they?”

“Love and hate are pretty close.”

Reno shook his head, wondering if Axel realized what he’d just said and how applicable it was to his own dilemma with Roxas. Except, in their case Reno doubted there was any love in Roxas for Axel, just the purest and most unadulterated loathing.

Sora and Riku however…

“Hey Reno,” Axel said. “Riku ever tell you why Sora hates him?”

“They hid in a closet and Riku kissed him and Sora went on the killing path, right?” Reno had heard the story in some form or another from Riku. “You think I should do that to you and Roxas?”

“Only if I wanted to wake up in the morning, saying ‘aww they took my friggin’ kidney,’” Axel shot back. “I like the guy but he’s already suckerpunched me and made me put my foot through a rotten stair. I can only take so much injury in one lifetime. Roxas and me’d take a miracle. But Riku and Sora…if Sora ever stopped trying to hate Riku and Riku just stopped being a moron.” Axel laughed. “Idiots,” he said, sharing the sentiments of many across the community.

--

Notes: Well there you have it, Chapter 6. Magically written all in one day. Next chapter, Raine visits.

If you liked this story at all or have some critique to offer, I’d really appreciate it if you left a review. Comments and critiques help me write a better story!