Title: Falling for the Second Time

Pairing: RikuSora.

Disclaimer: Still not mine :)

Summary: Working in a library is fun. It’s less fun when you have a stalker, but it evens out when you get a hot new security guard named Riku. Everything would be just great if Sora weren’t plagued by freaky memories of said new hot security guard beating the crap out of him with something called a keyblade.

Notes: Woah, guys, you rock! Thank you for all the reviews. Keep 'em coming. :D

III.

“Hey, Sora.”

Startled, the brunet squawked and fell off the stepladder he’d been using to reach the 409 Leon had sent him to fetch to continue his punishment. He had a series of heart attacks when he looked up and saw Riku gazing back at him.

“Oh my god!” he said, scrambling to his feet. He blushed instantly and rubbed the back of his head. “R-Riku!” he greeted him nervously. “I, um, didn’t hear you coming.”

“That’s because you were humming to yourself,” he pointed out, deeply amused. He quirked an eyebrow as a smile twitched on his mouth. “Disney, I think?”

His face felt like it was on fire. “Lion King,” he admitted dismally.

“Cute,” he murmured, and Sora didn’t even have enough time to die and go to heaven before he continued, “I was bored, so I figured I’d come ask if you’ve ever seen the roof.”

His eyes glazed over. “No, but I really, really want to. Do you have the keys?” he asked hopefully.

“Of course I do. I’m security. I have keys to every lock in this whole building.” Smirking, Riku pulled a large key ring out of his pocket and twirled it around on his index finger. “So, you wanna go?”

Don’t seem overeager. Don’t seem overeager. Don’t seem overeager.

“YES!” he blurted and gleefully flung his arms around the taller boy’s torso.

Damn.

Riku chuckled, a warm sound that sent delicious shivers down his spine. “Very well,” he said, patting the brunet’s shoulder once. His fingers left warm trails of fire through his shirt that he’d only heard about in Kairi’s crappy romance novels.

Jerking away before he could do anything embarrassing like melt or break into romantic song, Sora laced his fingers behind his head and bounced on his toes in excitement. “Let’s go!”

“Okay,” Riku murmured, unwittingly absorbing some of the brunet’s enthusiasm, and grinned. “We’ll have to be discreet, though.”

Sora nodded animatedly. “I can be discreet!”

“Somehow, I doubt that,” the silver-haired boy drawled in a way that was oddly not insulting at all. Rather than being insulted, Sora felt warmth pooling in his chest and his stomach at the way Riku had said it – fondly, teasing, with a hint of familiarity. God, it was only the second day of his life with Riku in it, but he already made him feel all melty inside.

This was either a very bad sign, or a very good sign.

Sora chose to go with good.

“I’ll be quiet. Scout’s honor,” he promised, despite the fact that he hadn’t actually been a boy scout. Riku , he decided, did not need to know that particular detail. He focused on looking as sincere and convincing as possible, rocking back and forward on his heels in a way that was eager but still quiet. Much quieter than bouncing, anyway.

“Okay, I believe you.” Riku chuckled again, making him shiver involuntarily but unpleasantly. The security guard noticed and sent him a concerned glance. “Cold?” he asked.

“Errr.” Glancing down at his arms, Sora noticed that they were a bit goose bumpy, probably from the way Riku had patted his shoulder. God, he was never going to wash this shirt again. “Yes,” he lied, hoping for a side hug to warm him up, or perhaps – gasp – AN ARTICLE OF HIS CLOTHING?

Unfortunately, Sora received neither of those things. What he did get was an amused look and the reply, “Well, let’s get going, then. It’s a nice day, so it should be pretty warm on the roof.”

“Kay,” he said, scooting close to Riku, and felt a flutter in his stomach as the silver-haired boy took his elbow to steer him to a door in the corner. Riku pulled out his giant ring of keys and unlocked the door, revealing a narrow stairwell inside, and Sora poked his head in and looked around in awe. “Wow,” he breathed. “I never knew this was here.”

“Most people don’t.” Taking Sora by the arm again, Riku herded him up four flights of stairs and a rickety ladder, pausing occasionally to listen with a mildly paranoid expression. “Okay,” he said as they finally popped through a hole through another ladder, and they were both swept by a sudden gust of wind as they climbed onto the roof. “We’re here.”

“Holy crap,” the brunet gushed, holding onto Riku’s uniform sleeve. “This is beautiful.”

Riku snorted. “This is nothing. Let’s keep going.”

“What?” Curiosity piqued and excitement rising, Sora followed Riku as the security guard began walking around the roof. It was a split level, apparently, and Riku nimbly leapt over a pipe and then sprinted up some shingles to another level.

“Careful,” he called back over his shoulder, smirking at Sora’s impressed look. “Some of the shingles are loose. I don’t want you falling.”

Gripping the side of the building and making his way up at a considerably more sedate pace than his silver-haired counterpart, Sora stared openly at him and blurted, “Are you an elf?”

Riku blinked at him. “What?”

He could feel himself blushing again. “I said, are you an elf? You’re like Legolas, jumping over stuff and looking all graceful.” He nearly went sliding down the side of the roof as he tripped on a loose shingle, saved only by Riku’s outstretched hand as the other boy heaved him up onto the higher level.

“Last time I checked, nope,” he replied, smirking. “You okay?”

“Y-yeah,” the brunet replied. He let his fingers linger in Riku’s palm for longer than strictly necessary before he let go of him, catching sight of the edge of the building, and ran over to admire the view. “Oh, wow, this is even better. I can see my dorm from here!”

“Don’t get too close to the edge,” Riku chided, pulling him back by the collar of his shirt. “I don’t want you falling.” A pause. “Or anyone seeing you, for that matter. You’re not supposed to be up here.”

“It’s getting late,” he noted, ignoring Riku's last comment. The sun had begun to set, covering them in fading sunshine, soon to be replaced by twilight, and the orange beams stung slightly at his eyes. He spent a long time just leaning over the ledge, ignoring Riku's warning and smiling softly at his eventual resigned sigh. This was nice. The feeling of Riku's warm arm against his shoulder was comfortable, almost familiar, and he was thoroughly enjoying it. He shifted to prop his chin in his hands, elbows on the ledge, and squinted at the fading sun.

"I think," he said eventually, softly, "that Roxas would really like it up here."

Riku turned and looked at him with an odd expression. "What makes you say that?"

Shrugging, he rolled his neck and tilted his head to gaze at the clouds, stained purple and pink by the dying sun. "I don't know. Just a feeling."

"Interesting," the taller boy murmured, and paused. "Who is Roxas?"

Sora blinked at the belated question. "My best friend."

"Ah." Nodding, Riku pushed away from the ledge and looked behind them thoughtfully. "We should get going before anyone notices we're up here." His expression abruptly changed into an almost evil grin. "Have you ever been to the sub-basement?"

He stared. "What? No way! Isn't that haunted?"

Surprisingly, Riku laughed out loud. It was fuller and richer than the chuckles he'd given so far, and Sora would have relished in the sound if it hadn't been at his expense.

"Hey!" he pouted, stomping his foot and throwing his hand to the side. "I was being serious."

Riku raised his eyebrows in a silent challenge. "Scared, Sora?" he teased.

Sora shook his head rapidly. "No way!" Determined, he grasped Riku's pale, skinny wrists and pulled him decisively away. "Come on, let's go. I'll show you just how scared I am." He stopped short and looked around them, hesitating, and glanced back at Riku with a large, guilty grin. "Ummm. I don't know where we're going."

The silver-haired boy smirked at him, a dangerous expression that made Sora's knees feel liquid and unstable. "I figured," he murmured, reversing Sora's hold on him so he was clasping the brunet's tan fingers within his own (eeeee!) and hauled him off in a seemingly random direction. Unfortunately, he was forced to release his hand when they came to the first pipe, which Riku easily cleared and Sora sort of awkwardly flopped over. But then he took both Sora's hand and his elbow to help him down the unstable roof shingles, and Sora practically glowed.

"Thank you so much," he gushed as they descended the ladder back into the endless stairwell of creepiness that Sora assumed would take them down to the sub-basement.

"It's no problem. It's kind of fun."

Ehehehe, he's having fun! Now's your chance, Sora. Ask him to hang out. Tell him you think he's cool. Tell him you want to marry him -- NO, WAIT, DON'T TELL HIM THAT.

"Don't tell who what?" Riku asked from his side as they slinked down the stairs, both curious and amused.

The brunet nearly fell headfirst down the remaining flight of stairs. "NOTHING."

Riku quirked an eyebrow. "That just makes you even more suspicious, you know."

He rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment and desperately tried to make something up. "Yeah, well, uh," he stumbled awkwardly through his words. Crap, I need a lie, I NEED A LIE! But I'm a terrible liar. Okay, a truth. A half-truth. What could I -- oh! "My wife wants to meet you," he said, and then instantly gave himself a swift mental kick in the head. "I MEAN, MY FRIEND. I mean, my platonic life partner."

"O...kay...." Riku looked decidedly confused.

Oh, yes, good job. That doesn't sound INSANE or anything. Just don't tell him--

"I told her you were really hot," he blurted. Internally, he was now putting himself in a headlock and giving himself endless noogies and wet willies. BRAIN, MEET MOUTH. TRY TO GET ALONG, OKAY?

“Oh?” Luckily, rather than looking disgusted or particularly convinced of Sora’s insanity, Riku merely appeared amused. Maybe a little intrigued. His eyebrows rose higher on his pale forehead and he grinned, leaning in close to the brunet to ask, “Why'd you say that, hmm?”

Sora swallowed nervously and focused very hard on not bursting a coronary artery. “I don’t know,” he lied. “She just asked what you looked like, so I told her, and now she’s obsessed with meeting you.”

“Well, we wouldn’t want to disappoint her, would we?” Riku sent him an ambiguous smile. “You can introduce us. Watch your step.”

“Huh?” He looked down just in time to avoid tripping on a stone stair that was missing a rather large piece of itself. “Gahhh!” He clung to Riku as he stumbled, clutching the taller boy’s arm and nearly sending them both careening down the stairs.

“I said watch your step!” Riku hissed, but the attempt at austerity was ruined by his breathy laughter. “You’re lucky we’re almost there or that might have really hurt.”

“Almost there?” His hands involuntarily tightened on Riku’s arm. He gulped. “Do you promise it’s not haunted?”

“Cross my heart and hope to die,” the security guard drawled, pausing to listen as they finally reached the last step and came to a door. He pressed his ear against the side, lips drawn in a frown, and nodded eventually. “Good, sounds like no one’s in there.”

“You’re not gonna get in trouble for this, are you?” he asked, suddenly concerned.

Shrugging, Riku unlocked the door and pushed it open, pulling the brunet along by his elbow. “Probably not. Just don’t tell anyone and we should be okay.”

Sora nodded obediently, bouncing idly from foot to foot in anticipation as they crept through the doorway and into the underbelly of the library. It was hot and loud, populated mostly by noisy metal generators. Frowning, he tilted his head and pulled at the collar of his shirt, loosening it so he wouldn’t die of heatstroke in the deafening abyss. He glanced at Riku, taking in the stiff fabric of his security uniform, and wondered how he wasn’t melting already. He had just opened his mouth to ask just that when there was a flash, and it looked like Riku was wearing a yellow zippered shirt and carrying a sword that he somehow instinctively knew was called a keyblade, his back hunched like an enraged dinosaur, and his eyes flashed when he looked at him.

Sora squeaked and walked straight into a wall.

“You okay?” Riku (back in normal security duds) asked with a concerned look and a steady arm on his elbow.

“Y-yeah,” he said, blushing, and looked at the floor. “I just – I thought I saw something.”

Riku chuckled. “Seeing ghosts?”

“I guess,” he mumbled, and pouted a little at the sudden lack of warmth when the other boy removed his hand.

“I told you, it’s not haunted. You don’t have to be scared.”

Sora felt a little graze along the small of his back and nearly screamed and jumped and clung to the ceiling, but his brain quickly processed the touch and figured out that it was Riku’s hand, and he could now officially die happy. Ignoring the fact that Riku was just using his hand to steer him through the maze-like tunnels of the sub-basement (as made apparent a few seconds later as Riku began pushing him along) Sora tuned out reality and sighed and fawned over the idea of them alone together. It would have been perfect if not for the sudden metallic screech that rang in his ears.

This time he really did scream, leaping into Riku’s arms Scooby Doo style. “What was that!?”

Riku wobbled but valiantly did not drop him. “That would be the generators,” he drawled, oddly calm. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Hesitantly, Sora shook his head, clinging to Riku’s shoulders. “I don’t feel good,” he mumbled.

Riku’s hand was instantly pressed against his forehead, lips drawn into a frown. “You don’t have a fever,” he noted. “What’s wrong?”

Oh, you know, crazy hallucinations, all the usual stuff.

“I feel dizzy,” he said, which he was unhappy to discover was actually the truth. “Let’s go back upstairs.”

“Okay,” Riku agreed, frowning in concern. Slowly, he let Sora back to his feet, keeping a hand on his shoulder for support, and guided the smaller boy back towards the entrance. “Maybe it’s the heat,” he hedged. “It can get overwhelming down here.”

Sora nodded disinterestedly and leaned against Riku’s side. “Maybe.”

“We’ll see if you feel better once we’re upstairs.” He led him back through the winding passages and out the door, pausing when it grinded to a halt behind them. In unison, they looked over their shoulders to see that the door had paused halfway in its arc to close. They went to the door together, both pulling with no success (Riku with considerably more force than Sora). It was stuck.

“Damn,” Riku frowned, rolling his shoulder. “We can’t just leave this open. I’ll go see what’s—”

“No!” Sora suddenly had his arms around his torso, his body working without his brain’s consent, clutching him close. “Don’t. Don’t close it from the inside. You won’t come back.”

Riku froze a little. Quickly, he forced Sora’s chin up, staring into his endlessly blue eyes, and demanded, “What did you just say?”

The brunet furrowed his eyebrows. “I said – don’t close it from in the inside.” He looked confused. “I’m not sure why, though. I just – I thought that’s what you were going to do, and it… scared me for some reason.”

“Sora,” Riku said, his words weighed with importance. “What did you see earlier?”

"Earlier?" He thought back to the roof with little success. His head was aching and felt like it was going to split at any second. Groaning, he pressed his palm against his forehead and clenched his teeth. “I don’t know,” he mumbled, leaning against him heavily. “I feel really sick all of a sudden, Riku. Please, let’s just leave it open and go upstairs. I think I’m going to go home early.”

Lips pursed, the silver-haired man nodded, although it was a forced gesture. He obviously wanted to pursue the subject, but with Sora’s normally golden skin growing pale in his arms, it seemed best to get Sora upstairs. The pair abandoned the door and made the trek back to the main level of the library, much slower the second time as it was uphill and Riku had to support Sora most of the way. A heavy silence fell between them, mostly due to Sora drowning in the nauseating feeling of confusion and his poor aching head. It seemed like whatever crazy thing was going on with him, Riku was the cause.

A/N: Ehehehe. I love you. Please review.