Chapter Text
The first night.
“ - You should've seen Riku's face...after he pulled it out of the dirt, that is.”
Every one of Riku's muscles were sore, and his steps felt heavy. After an activity-intensive day, Sora really should have been feeling it just as much as Riku was, but he sure didn't seem to be. With great enthusiasm, Sora recounted the events of the day to Kairi as the three of them trudged from the dinner table to their sleeping quarters. Yen Sid's tower didn't feel like home to any of them yet – Kairi still politely offered to help with the dishes, even though the Master had expressed several times that they weren't to worry about such things.
They were only here to train, Yen Sid had told them in that stern, slow manner of speech. Riku had taken that strongly to heart, inferring that they weren't here to goof around, either. Something bigger was coming, and they had to be ready.
Sora, though he put on that ridiculous face of extreme determination when the Master or the King spoke of the challenges ahead, didn't seem to share his concern... Not that Riku had shared it aloud with him. When it wasn't the difference between saving a world and defeat, Sora fought like it was fun. If it hadn't also been in competition with Riku, he might not have bothered to even try.
Having Kairi around, he thought, was partially to blame for Sora's lax attitude. The three of them had caught such brief snatches of time together over the past few years, and too many of those times had involved mortal peril to really count as a reunion. Being able to share evenings with his two best friends in (relative) peace and safety... it was difficult to remember sometimes that they weren't simply back on the islands, carelessly wiling away their time, relaxing together in their favorite spots, basking in being heroes and enjoying all the glory of a world they'd saved.
At times, all Riku could do was watch Sora in utter bewilderment, and wonder if this was all a big sleepover to him, and not a mission of dire importance.
Then there were times he ended up knocked flat, chewing on a mouthful of dust because he'd allowed himself for one moment to forget how deceptively strong his best friend was.
Riku had no doubt that he gave every sparring match his all, which meant at the end of the day, they were pressed to the limit and should have both been drained.
Must have been the food, Riku thought through his bleary haze of distraction. Sora had a lot in common with a vacuum cleaner, when it came time to eat. Especially after a day like today.
One of the many wonders of Yen Sid's tower was that their meals seemed to come from nowhere, and the plates never quite ran out. On one occasion, practically immediately after learning they would be living there temporarily, Sora had insisted on exploring the place, and no kitchen had been found. They chalked it up to fairies.
“You do a lot of bragging over a couple of lucky shots,” Riku spoke up, dragging his gaze away from the hall directly ahead to send Sora a pointed smirk.
“Lucky that you totally forgot to block your weak spots?” Sora retaliated with a grin. Kairi, still fresh-faced and with a reasonable amount of energy for the hour, giggled.
“Sounds like you're having too much fun.” There was a touch of longing in her words, and Riku didn't blame her. She was still in the theoretical stages of her training, and if Riku were in her position, he'd be restless too.
“He won't have so much fun next time,” Riku teased, ruffling Sora's wild hair almost aggressively and pushing his head down in the process.
“Agh – Riku!” Sora's arms flailed over his head like he was trying to swat an enormous insect. A Riku-shaped insect.
Kairi had to duck out from between the two of them to avoid a scuffle just as Sora's arm swung out at him. Riku just laughed, taking the blow (mindfully soft, probably to avoid actually hurting him or just in case Kairi did end up being caught in the crossfire) and pulling his arm back.
“C'mon,” Riku approached the foot of the long staircase. “Got to get enough sleep to bring your 'A' game, tomorrow.”
“You bet I'll be up early for a day of pummeling you into the dust,” he boasted, about to start up the spiral stairs. Kairi followed to the base of the steps, but paused there.
“Goodnight, boys,” she had to raise her voice a little to be heard over their banter.
Sora hesitated, hand on the railing. “You're not coming up to bed?”
“Should we wait up?” Riku offered.
“Don't bother,” she shook her head. “Master Yen Sid has a huge history lesson on Radiant Garden prepared for me tomorrow, and he wants me to read ahead up to the founding.”
With Kairi's arrival, it seemed Yen Sid had gotten the one thing he'd always wanted – a new pupil he could drone on to about every scrap of history involving the Keyblade, or the forces of light and darkness before handing them a Keyblade and pointing them in the direction of a Heartless. Sora, after all, had fallen head-first into Keyblade-wielding, and more or less bumbled through his first few journeys, making it up as he went. And Riku... well, he'd had an unconventional start, too.
Kairi was a good student, though. She was genuinely interested to learn anything the Master could tell her, but it was plain to see she was eager to get to the practical portion of her education. She couldn't always hide her face falling the tiniest bit when her friends announced they couldn't join her for the day's lecture. Riku tried not to think about her holed up in Yen Sid's study all day while he and Sora – often joined by Donald and Goofy, sometimes even the King – traveled the worlds investigating darkness activity, or simply training for Sora's next attempt at the Mark of Mastery exam.
“Aw,” Sora sounded disappointed. “If you have to, I guess...”
Riku carefully kept a frown off his face, despite some concern rousing in his chest. “Try not to stay up too late, okay?”
“I won't,” Kairi reassured him. “Anyway, I'm a fast reader and there's not all that much known up to the founding.”
“Geez, Kairi, you could be my teacher soon,” Sora bounced off the step back onto the landing beside them. Looking slightly pleased, she blushed at the comment.
“I like learning these things. I feel like I knew nothing before now.”
“Seriously, be my teacher,” Sora lowered his voice, and Riku was certain it had to do with his frequently-expressed suspicion that the walls literally had ears. “Master Yen Sid's voice puts me to sleep half the time.”
“Everything puts you to sleep, lazy,” Riku jibed.
“Hey. Saving the world is hard work.” As though on cue, Sora yawned. “Speaking of sleep...”
“I'll see you at breakfast, okay?” Kairi smiled, joining in with the good-natured ribbing. “If you don't oversleep.”
“I'll wake him up by any means necessary,” Riku turned to grasp the railing. “That's my sworn duty.”
Sora grumbled as he faced the stairs again. “Why'd we bring along another person to be a jerk to me...”
With an unabashed smile, Kairi caught Riku's arm before he could get too far, putting a foot onto the step to bring herself up and kiss his cheek. “Sweet dreams, Riku.”
“You too. Whenever you get to bed, that is,” Riku gave her a fond look, and wished he could hug her the way Sora would upon receiving his goodnight kiss. He just... After everything, something made him feel like he shouldn't.
Like he'd corrupt her, if he dared.
“Don't worry about me,” she chided, turning and kissing Sora's cheek next. “Night, Sora.”
As he always did, Sora blushed and wrapped his arms around her tightly. “See you tomorrow.”
He waited for the two of them to part and for Kairi to turn to go before calling after her, “Have fun.”
“I'll try,” she waved to them, turning down the hall that branched off to the library. Sora bounded up a few steps, grinning at Riku.
“Ready to crash?” He started up to the room they shared. Kairi had been given her own to stay in, and Lea (despite his absence) had also staked his claim on an individual room, but Riku and Sora had determined that they were perfectly comfortable sharing their quarters.
“So ready,” Sora withheld another yawn. “I thought fighting Heartless all day wore me out...”
“Are you saying fighting me is harder than world-saving?” Riku asked, and felt a pang of regret for it. He still remembered when those things were one in the same.
If Sora noticed anything amiss (unlikely) he didn't comment on it. “Well, shouldn't it be harder to fight a real live Keyblade Master than just some puny Heartless?”
For a second, Riku was quiet, getting the door to their room. “...Guess so. That still sounds unreal.”
He still wasn't sure he'd earned it.
“Aw, you'll get used to it.” Sora nudged him on his way into the room. “Maybe when we're both Masters, yeah?”
Unable to help himself, Riku started to smile. “That'll help, yeah,” he agreed, and went to his wardrobe, removing his shirt on the way.
Like every other room in the tower, theirs had rounded walls, which meant fitting two beds in cramped up the space almost completely. They didn't mind the close quarters, and it took no time for it to appear comfortably lived in this way. They had been meant to share the wardrobe, but it appeared that Sora had decided the floor and his bed would serve just as well for him. Sora's part of the room was pretty distinctly marked as being the messier side, and he all but collapsed onto his bed to kick off his shoes and start removing his gloves.
Riku only undressed enough to pull on a zip-up hoodie to sleep in, never having grown accustomed to cold nights away from Destiny Islands, and grabbed a pair of pyjama pants on his way to the washroom. Sora reached for his own pyjamas – in a heap on the floor, right where he'd left them after taking them off that morning – and was starting to get dressed when Riku closed the bathroom door.
Riku prepared for bed ritualistically, brushing his teeth and running a comb through his hair quickly – it wasn't nearly so prone to snaring in his sleep as when it was long, but it was still easier to deal with in the morning if he took the time at night – and left the bathroom light on when he exited it.
He'd walked back in on a classic struggle. The collar of Sora's pyjamas, as always, was having trouble accepting the sheer volume of his hair.
“Go brush your teeth, you dork.”
Sora's spiky head finally popped through his shirt. “I know,” he said, getting up and bumping Riku with his shoulder as they crossed paths.
“You know, but you wouldn't,” Riku reminded him, pulling up the mussed covers of his bed.
“Would too.” Sora left the door open as he started running the water, picking up his toothbrush.
“You would not,” Riku started to bury himself under his blanket. “And then the next Keyblade Master's biggest worry would be cavities.”
Sora said something that was presumably in protest, but it was completely garbled by a mouthful of toothpaste. Riku put his arms up behind his head to lie on them instead of his pillow and smirked faintly, closing his eyes.
They re-opened when Sora closed the bathroom door long enough to use it for its intended purpose. Riku exhaled in frustration.
Now that he was here... Riku was wide awake. Of course he was.
The door opened again, Sora getting the bedroom light but leaving the washroom one on. He pushed the door almost-closed, leaving a crack of light shining through, and then stretched his arms above his head on his way to bed. “Ahh...”
Riku's eyes were affixed on the ceiling, but a wave of affection and gratitude bubbled in his chest. Saved him the trouble of having to get up and adjust the lighting to his preference.
He couldn't sleep in total darkness, anymore.
Sora threw himself face-first onto his mattress with enough force to make it rattle. “So...” he turned his head, looking over at Riku.
“Yeah?” Knowing he'd get nowhere just watching the ceiling, Riku closed his eyes again.
“... Ah, nothing.” Sora climbed under the covers. “'Night, Riku.”
“'Night, Sora...” Riku waited a few moments before opening his eyes again, and looking over at Sora's bed.
His eyes were definitely closed, and though he shifted around a bit before finding comfortable position, he settled quickly.
This was the worst part of any night, for Riku. The time in which paranoia whispered to his brain, and he wondered if he'd lose Sora to sleep.
Sora started to snore after less than a minute, kicking off the covers in his sleep, and Riku's worry was replaced with envy that he never seemed to have any trouble with insomnia. He tore his gaze away, and waited for sleep to take him.
It took hours.
Riku tried not to look at the clock too often. Mostly, he alternated between watching Sora and the crack of light, thinking about what it'd be like to watch the shadows creep up and swallow what little light there was. Thinking about whether or not Sora would ever wake up again. Wondering if Kairi was asleep yet, safely in her room. Mercifully, after two hours of that, exhaustion began to get the better of his brain, and he started to doze.
“Nh...”
That sound, unlike the snores Riku was so used to, was a tiny pull back to the real world. Still, Riku was adrift enough to dismiss it, initially, until the slow breaths became a litany of whimpers.
Riku's eyes opened, snapping to alertness in no time. “... Sora?” he whispered.
He didn't respond, but he was clearly in distress – the sounds stuttered, small, and were accompanied by a soft clicking noise.
Sora's teeth were chattering.
Riku sat up, concern becoming alarm; it was cooler than what Riku was used to, that much was true, but Sora shouldn't be that cold. Getting out of bed, Riku tried again with more urgency, “Sora...”
He'd never seen him sleep like this. Sora usually sprawled, or at least looked comfortable. Right then, he was curled in tight on himself, his arms clamped close to his chest like he was trying to protect it. His breathing was harsher, but in an odd, muted way.
“Nn...”
It didn't sound like panic. They were more like gentle sobs.
“Sora,” Riku sat on the edge of his bed, tensely and tentatively shaking him. Eyes well-adjusted, he could make out Sora's eyes twitching under their lids as he stirred, but he seemed to resist waking. Sora balled up more, guarding himself from the touch.
“Sora, wake up,” Riku brought his voice up to regular volume, softly brushing his cheek with his fingers. To his surprise, he found wetness there. “Sora.”
At last, his eyes opened, and Sora turned sharply to look at him.
Riku would've thought he'd be more relieved to see Sora awake. Instead, he felt almost frozen. “Hey... Are you okay?”
He'd never seen Sora...look at anyone, the way he stared at Riku now. His eyes weren't entirely open, and had a sort of hazy look to them, but that could be explained by tiredness. The part that slid unnervingly under Riku's skin was the complete lack of friendly recognition.
Riku's brow furrowed reflexively, all the more worried. Touching his arm, he tried to rouse him a little more, “Sora...”
With a sort of grunt, Sora pulled away and wrapped his arms around himself. He was still trying to protect himself, or maybe warm up – but his skin had been warm to the touch.
In the scarce light, it was hard to tell, but Sora might have been shivering. Uncertain whether or not he was really that cold, Riku still pulled the blanket up around him, and Sora immediately gripped it to pull around himself.
He was eyeing Riku suspiciously. It felt like a personal attack.
“... If I've done something...” Riku kept his voice calm, level, not letting it hurt him.
Sora didn't stop looking at him like that, arm raising to wipe at his cheeks. He had little success with his bare forearm, t-shirt of little use. Wordless, Riku offered his sleeve instead, and Sora quickly used it to scrub at his face.
Then all his limbs retreated under the blanket, shifting it constantly to pull it even tighter. He seemed...almost afraid; on edge, like he was waiting for an attack that wasn't coming.
“... Sora,” Riku touched his shoulder, shifting closer, but the result was Sora backing closer to the wall. Hazy blue eyes stared down at his blanket cocoon, and Riku tried to piece together what the right thing to do was. Leaving him and going back to his own bed was out of the question; Sora was acting too strangely, and whether the source of his distress was a nightmare or...
Was it Riku?
He kept silent, offering his sleeve again, but Sora was blinking back tears with withdrawn determination instead of accepting. Sora chewed at his lip, looking at his makeshift protection, and didn't seem any more distressed by Riku's proximity.
Maybe his presence was okay but his voice wasn't, Riku thought, but couldn't figure out the rationale. Still, the strongest negative reaction had been when he'd spoken.
He felt like his heart was being squeezed. He couldn't understand what had gone wrong, and the worry was all the worse for it.
If it was alright for Riku to be near...? Sora was a tactile person, normally. If he really was cold, too, maybe...
He'd let Sora pull away if he wanted to, Riku vowed, and wrapped his arms around Sora. He tried to get close, lending as much body heat as possible.
Sora tensed. Riku stayed quiet, just holding him.
Once, twice, Sora twitched, like he did want to escape Riku's grasp. He didn't, and he stilled. What he settled for was turning his head away from Riku in grudging acceptance.
Riku wrapped the blanket up a little more tightly to hold Sora properly, from the side. He wasn't shivering anymore, and he guessed – hoped – that meant he was okay... Or, approaching something like it.
Sora hunched a bit, the shuddering breaths he took indicating that he might cry again, or that the need to was mounting if nothing else. Cautiously, Riku began to run his hand along Sora's arm, but he shook his head once and Riku stilled.
The room was silent, save for Sora's breathing. Riku remained hyper-aware of it, alert to every inhale, exhale, movement of any sort.
Eventually, gradually, Sora's breathing slowed to normal. He was anything but relaxed, in his arms, but he at least seemed calm.
Riku wanted to ask if he was okay, but didn't speak at all until Sora's head began to nod after a long stretch of silence. Some of the tension had ebbed away, but it hadn't been voluntary or because he'd relaxed. Riku thought he might be falling asleep.
Very quietly, he asked, “Do you want to lie down?”
He half-expected no answer, but Sora muttered in a very un-Sora way, “Yeah...”
Riku frowned again, but released Sora to help lie him down. He pulled the blanket right up to Sora's chin, who clutched it close and shut his eyes.
Sora looked thoroughly exhausted, but still uncomfortable, and...off. Riku didn't want to leave him.
Maybe he didn't have to. Riku remained at his bedside, wanting to stay until Sora was definitely asleep again. He didn't move.
Slowly, Sora's expression relaxed into something peaceful, something that looked much more like his regular self.
“... Sweet dreams,” Riku murmured, echoing Kairi, and got back up very carefully. His footfalls were soft, careful not to rouse him, but all the while he kept his eyes on him.
Sora seemed to be sleeping soundly, even for him.
Riku checked back frequently, never noticing any other change, and only slept after another hour, when he simply couldn't be awake anymore.