Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Riku! Thank goodness you’re here!”

“Donald? Goofy?” Riku raised an eyebrow at the duo running towards him. He wasn’t expecting his boyfriend’s backup dancers to be at Aurora’s castle. They looked worried. “What’d Sora do now?”

“It’s terrible!” Goofy explained. “We need you right away!”

This was serious. “Lead the way.”

Donald and Goofy led Riku to a bedchamber within the castle. In the bed, Sora was resting, fully clothed, dead to the world.

“This is the problem? “ Riku asked. “You can’t get the lazy bum out of dreamland? Story of my life.”

“He’s not a asleep!” Donald squawked. “He’s cursed, you idiot!”

“Cursed?” Riku sat on the edge of the bed and leaned down to look closer at Sora’s face. He just looked like he was napping, his chest rising in deep, easy breaths.

“Yes! Cursed!” Goofy repeated. “He stuck his finger on a cursed spinning needle and now he’s cursed to sleep forever if we can’t break the curse!”

“And only you can do that!” Donald cut in.

“It figures he’d stick his fingers in something he wasn’t supposed to.” Maybe he’d be more worried if his boyfriend didn’t make a habit out of looking for trouble and finding it. Clearly Donald and Goofy weren’t used to it, despite all their time spent as Sora’s companions. “So how do I break this curse? And why me?”

“It’s simple,” Goofy answered. “Well, you just havta—you’ve gotta—“

“True love’s kiss!” Donald spit out.

Riku felt his cheeks grow hot. He just knew he was blushing. “What?” Damn, even unconscious Sora made him blush. “No way! Just leave him!”

“But Riku!”
“But Riku!”

“Fine! Fine! I’ll do it!” Riku looked down at Sora, his mouth trailing a little bit of drool. “Just hand me a tissue or something and get out. No onlookers. How do you even know I’m his true love, anyway?”

Goofy smiled warmly as he handed Riku a tissue from the nightstand. “Aw, come on, Riku! Why, if you and Sora don’t have True Love, then who does? I’m sure he’ll wake up if you just kiss him!”

“Whatever.” Donald and Goofy backed out of the room slowly, shutting the door behind them. He could hear their muffled talking behind the door. “Now or never I guess.”

Riku bent down over Sora’s now mostly drool-free face, and placed his lips softly down on Sora’s own. He wasn’t sure how long the kiss needed to be, or how hard—the movies Kairi and Sora watched usually just showed a little peck, but movies didn’t mean that’s how it worked in real life.

After a moment, Soras eyes blinked open lazily, so Riku raised his head. “Huh? Riku? What happened?”

“You got yourself cursed you dork. I had to come save you.” He moved so Sora could sit up.

“You did? How?”

Sora was smiling. Riku felt his face flush again. “Tch. How do these curses usually get broken?”

“Eh?” Sora thought about it for moment, then his eyes lit up. Suddenly his smile turned sly and he laid back on the bed, yawning dramatically. “Geez, Riku, I dunno if the curse is completely broken. Maybe whatever it is you did, you need to do again. You know, whatever it is you did.”

What a shit-eating grin. Riku couldn’t help but laugh. “Quit joking around! I’m gonna go tell Donald and Goofy you’re okay.” As Riku began standing, Sora pulled him back down and kissed him.

“You know, Riku, I always knew you were my One True Love.”

The sincere look on Sora’s face made Riku’s heart melt. “You did not,” he joked, but he let Sora pull him in for another kiss anyway.

“Say it all you want, but I have a real life fairy-tale to prove it!” Sora suddenly scrambled out of bed and jumped in the air. “Just wait til I tell Kairi! She won’t believe it!”

“Don’t you dare! Sora!” Sora ran from the room and got caught up in a three-way hug with Donald and Goofy. Riku watched him jumping and laughing, swinging Donald through the air. He felt a smile pull at his mouth. His boyfriend was just too cute, sometimes.

“Idiot. Didn’t even give his shining prince a thank you.”

Chapter Text

Sora walked lazily behind his brooding boyfriend, appreciating the view. Sometimes, he thought it was like the whole universe was trying to keep them apart. Like the stars themselves were tugging them in opposite directions. It broke Sora’s heart. It made him wonder sometimes if they just weren’t meant to be.

But somehow, they always found each other again. They were two lovebirds braving the fiercest winds, two magnets drawing each other in with their very auras. Sora thought about how much time he spent thinking of Riku, hoping for Riku, worrying about Riku.

He wondered, staring rather blatantly now at his boyfriend’s back, how much time Riku spent thinking of him. He was certain it was a lot. Definitely a lot. Riku wasn’t as prone to immediately speaking thoughts as they popped into his head, like Sora, but he still found ways to express himself. He’d silently grab Sora’s hand and hold it as they walked along. He’d lean in and rest his head against Sora’s shoulder. Once, after a very close call, Riku’d actually grabbed him and lifted him up in the air, squeezing him so tight he could hardly breathe and spinning him in fast circles. Sora thought he wouldn’t mind almost dying more often, if that was the reward.

Well, those moments of public affection were rare, but in private? Sora went ahead and let his gaze drift downward to Riku’s well-sculpted ass. The baggy pants couldn’t even hide how fine it was. Riku had an awesome body, and when they were alone, at least, loved to show it off. Stripping his shirt, flexing his muscles, Lifting Sora in his arms, sometimes just to prove he could. It was too cute, that side of Riku. Sora grinned, finding himself bubbling over with happiness.

Perhaps sensing it, Riku turned around to catch Sora watching him. “What are you doing back there?” he asked.

“Oh, nothing. Just thinking about your butt.”

Chapter Text

“Hey Merlin! You came to visit King Mickey too?”

The old wizard turned around and smiled, tugging at his impressively long beard. “Why! Sora! And Riku! Yes, yes I came to discuss a-a bit of business with the king. But it seems he’s rather busy at the moment.”

“Too bad. I guess it can’t be helped though,” Riku said. “He is the king after all.”

“Aw, and we came all this way!” Sora frowned. “I wonder what he’s busy with?”

“Well, kings have lots of responsibilities, Sora ,” Merlin explained. “And King Mickey was gone for quite some time, trying to help you fend off the darkness.”

“Come to think of it, he was gone for a while,” Sora thought for a moment, then his head popped up with a sudden idea. “I bet he’s making out with Queen Minnie! That’s what I always do when me and Riku have been separated for a long time!”

Riku stared at his boyfriend in astonished embarrassment. Merlin tugged his beard, confused, but unsure if he wanted answers. His nature won out though, so he asked, “M-making out? I don’t think I’m familiar with the term.”

“Huh? Oh that’s easy!” Sora exclaimed. He grabbed Riku’s arm and pulled him close.

“Sora, what are you—“

“Making out’s when you take the one you love and you put your faces really close together and you go like this—“ he then proceeded to stick his fingers in the corners of his mouth, pull them apart and waggle his tongue wildly in the air at Riku’s face.

Riku stared, first in shock, then his the corners of his mouth started twitching, and soon he was doubled over, cracking up with laughter that echoed through the castle.

“Well, it looks like I’m missing out on quite the party!” King Mickey was coming down the hall towards them. “What are you guys talking about?”

Sora tried to say hello to the king with his fingers still in his mouth, and Riku was having trouble collecting himself, so Merlin answered.

“Well, um, the boys have been, sharing with me…I suppose.”

Mickey raised an eyebrow, but decided against inquiring further.

Chapter Text

Kairi walked out onto the beach to see Sora struggling to move a massive rock through the sand. “What are you doing, Sora?”

Sora stopped to look up at her, his face slick with sweat. For some reason, probably because he’s hot, pushing that thing, Kairi thought, he wasn’t wearing his shirt.

“Kairi! Hey! Can you help me move this boulder out into the water?” He ran forward and leaned in close to speak softly in her ear. “We gotta be really quiet about it though, I have a plan!” He straightened and winked at her, full of childish mirth.

“Alright, let’s do it!” Kairi stated, rolling her shoulders and gritting her teeth in anticipation. “You gotta tell me what the plan is though, and you’re gonna owe me! I want ice cream!”

Sora laughed and nodded. “Deal!”

~

The sun was so warm and the breeze from the ocean spray so sweet that Riku couldn’t help but lay back and doze up in his favorite palm tree. However, something was tugging him back to awareness. A noise.

“What would I give to liiiiiive where you arrrrre!”

A loud, insistently loud, insistently and obnoxiously loud noise.
“What would I pay to staaaay here beside yooooouu!”

And horribly off-key.

He cracked one eye open just enough to look into the water below him.

Sora had somehow managed to get a boulder placed just so in the waves that he could lean against it, his back thrust up against the waves, his shirt off, his mouth flung wide open, screeching. He closed his eyes again.

“What would I do to seeeee yoooou smiling at meeee!”

“I’m not looking. I’m not even listening.”

“Aw, come on Riku!”

“Not happening.”

“Do you know how hard we worked to set this up?”

“No. I’m going back to sleep.”

“You’re a terrible boyfriend!”

Suddenly Riku could hear Kairi’s giggling from under the bridge, back on the beach. “Give it up Sora. I don’t think your plan is working!”

Riku raised an eyebrow at that. “What plan? All I hear is a water-logged cat and Kairi laughing.” Kairi laughed harder, and Riku could almost feel Sora’s pout aimed at him.

“Aw, Riku, you’re no fun at all!”

Riku just smiled wider. “And your voice is terrible.” Refusing to be discouraged, Sora climbed up onto the landing to smear his salty wet hands over Riku’s face and clothes, until Riku kicked him back down into the ocean Kairi laughing all the while.

Summers on Destiny Islands were hardly peaceful, but they sure were sweet.

Chapter Text

“Ugh…wha?” Riku blinked his eyes open. He felt bleary and like he’d been bowled over by a gummi ship. He felt someone wrapping a bandage around his arm, and tried to lift his head to see who it was. “Sora?”

Sora looked up and gave him a warm smile. “Hey, Babe,” he said softly. “How ya feelin’?”

“How do I look?”

Sora’s smile turned rueful. “Kind of awful. But that’s, uh, sorta my fault.” He looked down at the bandage he was wrapping. “You became possessed—again—and I sort of had to wail on you. Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Riku reassured him. “I’ll get better.”

Sora taped the bandage in place and leaned forward to give Riku a kiss on the cheek. “I hope so.” He smiled with his lips still gently pressed against Riku’s skin. “You’ve gotta get better if you want to catch back up to me.”

“What are you talking about?”

Sora sat back and looked up at the ceiling innocently. “Oh, nothing, just that the score’s now at 23-21,” His eyes flashed down to meet Riku’s with a mischievous twinkle. “In my favor.”

Riku blinked in disbelief. “That does not count you jackass!”

But Sora only laughed, “All’s fair, Babe!” Riku nailed him in the face with a pillow.

Chapter Text

Riku didn’t start when Kairi plopped down next to him, but she supposed after years of adventures and training, he’d sensed her coming. She followed his intense gaze out past the palm trees and steps and out onto the beach, where Sora was sparring with Goofy, taunts and laughter mixing with the ring of Keyblade slamming into shield.

“It’s weird, isn’t it?” she wondered, smiling to herself, since Riku wasn’t looking. “How Sora’s just gotten so, I dunno, strong. Almost as if one day he might actually become grown up.”

“Yeah,” Riku replied, eyes still forward.

“I mean, all the adventures we dreamed of when we were little? And I know all of us have had our own adventures, but not like Sora. I was in a coma and then kidnapped, and you were in the darkness. But Sora, he was running around, making friends, saving worlds. Being the hero he always boasted about.”

“Yeah.”

“It’s so weird. That all that dreaming became something. Makes you wonder what other dreams we’ve had could come true.”

“Yeah.”

Kairi scowled. “That’s the third time you’ve said ‘yeah,’” she complained, imitating his voice. “You’re not listening, are you?”

“Yeah.”

Kairi opened her mouth to tell him off, then saw the way Riku’s gaze was locked on Sora, smiling, sweaty, eyes bright with exhilaration. Instead, she smirked.

“You’d tap that hot piece of ass right now, if you could, wouldn’t you?”

“Yeah.”

She couldn’t help it—she burst out laughing. Riku broke out of his reverie, startled at the noise. “What? What are you laughing at?”

Kairi was doubled over, holding her stomach as if to keep her ribs from cracking through the guffaws. “Oh god! You’re mooning over him! It’s so cute!” Her voice got swallowed up my more choking laughter. Riku stood up, indignant, but he flushed.

“I was not! And I’m not cute! Sora’s the cute one!” Which only make Kairi crack up all over again.

Sora heard her laughter, and Riku’s shouts, and paused his match with Goofy to look their way, a confused grin on his face. “Hey! Whatcha guys doing over there? You’re not laughing at me are you?” But Kairi was gasping for air too much to answer, and Riku just turned a brighter shade of red and told him to mind his own business.

“Okay,” Sora shrugged, turning back to Goofy. “But you guys are weird.”

Chapter Text

It was well past midnight and Sora, Riku, and Mulan and some of the men under Shang’s command were still up chatting around the fireplace. Sora had promised Riku they were just going to pop down to the Land of Dragons to make sure everything was okay and say hi to Sora’s friends there. And then Sora volunteered them to help scout the mountain pass for Heartless. And although the stories of Sora trying to teach “Ping” how to be manly when Mulan first disguised herself to sneak into the army were hilarious—as if Sora were anything other than sweet and boyish—Riku was hardly having as much fun as his social butterfly boyfriend. Seriously, did he have to make friends with everyone he met?

Riku sagged forward, propping his chin in his hand and staring a bit sullenly through his bangs at Sora, waving his arms in the air in the middle of the world’s worst impersonation of the little dragon, Mushu. Riku smirked and tossed out, cool as the breeze stirring the fire, “You’d never be able to pull off what Mulan did, Sora.”

Sora paused while pretending to breathe fire, and he looked at Riku as if he’d forgotten Riku was there. Dork. “What makes you say that, Riku?”

Riku straightened his posture and crossed his arms. “For starters, you can’t lie to save your life. You can’t do impressions to save your life—” “You can say that again!” Mushu chimed in grumpily—“and that spikey hair and stupid grin of yours couldn’t be held back by all the masks, hats and hair gel in the world.”

Mulan and the men gathered around the fire laughed as Sora protested indignantly. Riku just shrugged. “If you think you can pull it off, prove me wrong.” Riku caught Sora’s eyes and grinned impishly. “I challenge you.”

Sora stood silently for a moment all eyes locked on him, until he clenched his hands into fists and shouted loud enough to be heard al the way down the mountain, “You’re on, Riku!” He pointed a finger in Riku’s face, and Riku had to bite back a laugh. It was so easy to trip Sora’s competitive streak. “You’ll see! By tomorrow morning, you won’t be able to tell me apart from Kairi, even! You’ll help me, won’t you Mulan?”

Mulan looked torn between amusement and worry. “I will but, I really only have my soldier’s clothes here, Sora, I don’t know how we’re going to—“

“Don’t worry, we’ll improvise!” The light in Sora’s eyes was brighter than the fire now. He wasn’t going to sleep tonight, neither was poor Mulan, and probably a few other men in the camp. Mulan seemed to realize this, as Sora dragged her towards her won tent and concern—for herself this time—overtook amusement in her expression.

That night, Riku, possibly alone in the entire camp, slept like a babe.

And that morning, the entire detour to the Land of Dragons paid off, because pulling back the flap to Riku’s tent, the sharp morning sun and cold air filtering in behind him, was Sora, smiling—seductively? It was hard to tell underneath the thick layer of what appeared to be some kind of food paste—crushed red beans, Riku thought—smeared all over his mouth. He was wearing one of Mulan’s green shirts, and a grey blanket tied around his waist with a blue sash.

And his hair—his hair. It looked like someone had tried to put it in at least a simple bun, and had coated it in sesame oil in an attempt to smooth out the spikes. Both ideas were terrible—Sora’s hair was too short and wild to pull into any kind of up-do and the oil just made it eerily shiny. Riku was beginning to think he had died in his sleep last night, but he couldn’t tell whether he was in Hell or in Heaven.

“How do I look?” Sora asked, putting his free hand on his hip.

“Terrible. And you smell like lunch.” Riku was trying to deadpan, but laughter was cracking through his voice. “What, did you get hungry halfway through doing make up and couldn’t stop thinking about food?” He could barely finish before the laughter crippled his ability to talk.

Sora frowned. “Hey! We worked really hard on this! Ling and Chien-po came up with great ideas for substitute make up, and Mulan worked all night teaching me to walk around in this skirt! And I look beautiful, thank you very much.” With a huff he dropped the tent flap and stalked off towards the circle of men preparing breakfast, complaining loudly.

Riku laughed so hard, eventually no sound even came out, only painful gasps. This was quite possibly the best day of his life. And he hadn’t even gotten out of bed yet.

Chapter Text

“You know, there’s one thing I still don’t get,” Sora mused as he and Riku turned away from the busy item shop and began hiking up the steep hill to the train station.

“And what’s that?” Riku asked distractedly, fumbling to put his potions and change in their respective pockets without sending everything tumbling. Sora lent him a hand, taking a few potions and stuffing them where he knew Riku liked to keep them—close at hand, but not where they might easily get broken in a fight.

“Well, it’s just, when I found out this place was called Twilight Town, I figured it would be, well, twilight. But it’s noon. It’s sunny out.”

“What’s your point?” Riku frowned.

“So why’s it called Twilight Town?” Sora gestured at the buildings around them, the little cart loaded down with cargo, the people milling about, headed to the station or the shops.

“You realize,” Riku smirked, punching his shoulder, “that the name of a world doesn’t dictate what’s like there, right? Radiant Garden isn’t a world full of glow-in-dark-flowers.”

“I know, but still. I was expecting something more exciting. A world where time moves differently, and instead of a sun, they have four moons full of bioluminescent plant life and the buildings are all made of mirrors to reflect what little light they get so the cities glow and the tram system works so people can get home without walking into anything. Something like that!”

Riku stopped walking for a moment to stare at his boyfriend. “That…was really creative.”

Sora grinned and laughed. “The universe would be a lot more fun if they’d let me design it!”

Riku smiled back and tilted his head in thought. “Can you imagine how awesome the metal bands would be on a planet like that?” Sora lit up at that, and he swung in front of Riku, walking backwards up the hill so he could direct as much of his excitement at his intended target as possible.

“Or the underground punk concerts! They would be so hardcore! Why can’t this world exist! Riku, I wanna go to a rock concert now! I am so good at mosh pits! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

Riku laughed and hooked his arm around Sora’s, turning him into an alley. “Come on, we’ll ask Hayner. I bet he’d know if something’s up.” Sora kissed him full on the mouth then, surprising him enough to make him trip, which Sora called a victory on his part. Hayner, in the end, found the two of them—rather than the other way around— wrestling on the ground in front of his hangout. Riku had Sora in a headlock; Sora was clearly debating whether or not it was fair to use magic. Hayner rolled his eyes when they noticed him.

“You guys need something?”

Sora grinned and launched into speaking a mile a minute while Riku dusted off his pants, smiling faintly, his eyes watching his boyfriend fondly.

Chapter Text

Riku was zoning out, staring at the flowers dotting the topiary in the Disney Castle courtyard when Sora sat down next to him.

“Hey, boyfriend. You look down. Need some cheering up?” Riku eyed Sora through his heavy bangs and opened his mouth to say something snarky about being plenty cheery before a certain dork stuck his nose in, but Sora cut him off by pulling a black and white bundle out of his pocket, dropping it in Riku’s lap and proclaiming, “Here! Have a puppy! You can’t keep him though-he’s Pongo and Perdita’s!”

Riku mouth hung open as he stared and the equally dazed Dalmatian pup shaking its head and blinking up at him.

“Did you just pull a puppy out of your fucking pants?” Sora just laughed. “Who carries puppies around just in case? Where did you—Why—What?” Sora laughed even harder, so that Riku had to wait, blocking the pup from scurrying away, until his insane boyfriend found his voice again.

“I don’t just carry them around! I’ve been finding them for their parents! I just picked up that one and put him in my pocket until we get back to the gummi ship, where I can let him run around with his brothers and sisters until I can bring them all home! Don’t give me that look! I can’t keep dog carriers on hand at all times, and my pockets are plenty big enough for puppies!”

“Are you telling me,” Riku said slowly, “that in the months I have been traveling with you in that gummi, that there has been a mysterious room full of Dalmatian puppies the entire time? That you just pick them up and shove them in your pants and drop them in a room and I never once noticed this?”

Sora looked up, finger to his chin, thinking. “Well, now that you mention it, I guess so. But it’s not like I was hiding it from you! I just figured you knew already! The gummi ship’s pretty smile—I can’t believe you haven’t been in the Puppy Room!” He stood up and reached a hand down to help Riku up. “Come on! I’ll show you! Better late than never!”

Riku looked down at the puppy wagging its tail in his lap, looked up at his smiling boyfriend, and shook his head. “Lead the way,” he said, gripping Sora’s hand and tucking the puppy in the crook of his other arm.

Riku wasn’t entirely certain what he thought the Puppy Room would look like, but he knew he was not expecting it to be a storage hold littered with bowls of food and water, pillows, and dozens of frolicking spotted creatures.

“Sora! There has to be at least forty animals in here! What the hell?”

Sora scratched his head, his reaction far too mild, Riku thought, considering the situation. “Yeah, it’s getting pretty full again. We’re gonna have to make a stop soon to drop them back off with their parents. I’m gonna miss the little guys, though.” Sora knelt down to pet at the many furry legs pawing at his feet and jumping to lick his face. “They’re so cute!”

Riku could not quite believe what he was seeing. “Have you just been stealing dogs from other worlds? How can you know these are the puppies you’re looking for? How many could you possibly have to find?”

“I know from their collars.” Sora picked up a mostly white pup and showed him a tag that read 96. “There are 101 of them, and so far I’ve managed to get back about sixty-seven, I think. They got scattered when the Heartless devoured their world.” Sora nuzzled the puppy he was holding nose-to-nose and it yipped happily. “Their mom and dad sure are anxious to have their babies back, aren’t they? Hey! Riku! Where’re you going?”

Riku didn’t respond—he just let the door slide shut behind him. He needed to sit down, somewhere quiet, and think about how while he was fighting the darkness—both throughout the worlds and within himself—his loser boyfriend was collecting a small army of puppies.

Sometimes he just didn’t know what to do with what life gave him.

Chapter Text

Sora looked out at the sun sinking over Radiant Garden, over the scaffolding and cobblestones and the small but lively shops, and thought back to his childhood, when he’d run across the beaches of Destiny Islands, laughing through the wind, weaving great dreams of exploring other worlds. Well, Riku mostly weaved the dreams, but Sora always got caught up in them, saw them floating behind his eyelids as he slept, heard them echoing between the crashing waves, whispering with Riku’s voice. On his eleventh birthday, after the cake and presents and screaming through the palm trees with all the other kids, Riku had found him, sitting against a tree trunk next to a sleeping Kairi. He tossed Sora a copy of Treasure Island, blushing, pretending it was no big deal, even though he’d specifically waited until Sora was alone, and had even tried to wrap it himself. Sora read the note written in the cover, a simple Happy Birthday, from Me—he hadn’t even really signed it—stood up, and kissed him firmly on the cheek. Riku had turned bright red, and quiet, but he sat down on Sora’s other side and the two of them watched the sun set, with Kairi snoring softly beside them. Sora wondered if this sun was the same as that one then. He wondered if Riku, now, was in a place with a sun. He wondered if he gave the sun a message, would the rays carry it to Riku’s ears, like the waves once told Sora Riku’s dreams? He heard Donald and Goofy call out behind him, but before he turned around, he trusted the light with his words.

Happy Birthday, wherever you are, from Me

Chapter Text

As Sora stormed through the door into the bridge, he sourly wished that all of the doors on the gummi ship weren’t automatic, so he could slam it shut with the full force of his anger. Instead, he had to vent his frustration into the control panel, angrily mashing down the buttons to turn of the autopilot and preparing to fly the ship with all of the reckless violence he could muster. He hoped there were plenty of Heartless ships out tonight.

“Sora.”

He jumped at the sound of Riku’s voice, but kept facing forward, teeth grinding as he fired at and dodged between asteroids.

“Sora,” Riku slide into the seat beside him. “What’s wrong?”

Sora gripped the controls, making the ship jerk wildly upwards for a moment. He growled as he straightened her out. “What’s wrong? We are going back to Twilight Town, again, because we are out of potions, again, because Donald and Goofy apparently think I’m made out of fucking money! Don’t even get me started on Goofy! I gave him ten fucking hi-potions! Hi-potions! And what does he do? He broke three jumping off of ledges, he used five on Donald for scrapes, and he gave the last two to some kid we met in town!”

“Chill out, Sora, the accidents are frustrating, but I’m sure Goofy had a good reason for giving those potions away to that kid. He probably really needed them.”

Sora growled and razed a group of Heartless ships firing from below. “The kid was the son of the owner of the damned item shop!”

“Oh.” Riku was quiet for a moment, probably unsure of what to say, so Sora took the time to fume. Sora didn’t lose his temper often, even with the end of the world at stake he usually kept his head, but even his patience only went so far.

“It happens every time! I don’t know why I still give them the items I buy! I clearly can’t trust them with anything! They either break the bottles and we have to wait while they dry off, or they waste them on minor injuries so that when the going gets really rough, we don’t have enough! It’s a waste of money, it’s a waste of potions and more than once it’s almost gotten us killed!” Sora glared when Riku started laughing lightly. “What! What exactly is so funny!”

“You,” Riku replied. “You always act so carefree, that it’s kind of a relief to hear you know you aren’t infallible.” He got up to stand behind Sora’s seat, rubbing the tension out of his shoulders and kissing the top of his head. “You’re so dumb; I worry about you out there. I guess I can breathe a bit easier.”

Sora swept out from under a rotating ring, still frowning. “That’s almost sweet of you, but it doesn’t solve my potions problem, Boyfriend.”

Riku sat back down and propped his feet up on Sora’s lap as Twilight Town came into view. “You said it yourself—if they waste items, then don’t give them any. Let them buy their own. See if they’re so reckless when it’s their own money they’re wasting.”

Sora landed the ship outside of town where no townspeople would stumble upon it, and smiled as he shut her down. “You think you’re so smart, don’t you?” He tried to keep a sour edge to his voice, but he could feel the venom melting away. Riku was smirking, and he was always too hot when he smirked.

Riku tossed his hair and stalked off of the bridge past Sora. “I’m the whole package—brains and beauty. You wish you were as cool as me.”

He and Sora both laughed as Sora shoved him through the door into the lift.

Chapter Text

It was well past noon, and Sora was panting as he jogged down the beach, arms laden with tools he’d snuck out of his mom’s tool shed. Riku was lounging next to a small pile of lumber, looking over a series of papers. Riku glanced up, irritated, as Sora collapsed with his load in the sand.

“You’re late. Kairi too. I thought we agreed to meet up here at ten?”
Sora smiled, trying to look apologetic. “Sorry! I slept in, cause me and Kairi were up all night talking on the phone about boys.” He blushed and rubbed his head nervously. “I bet she’s running just as behind too.”

Riku rolled his eyes. “Talking about boys, huh? How come I wasn’t invited?”

“Cause then how would I talk about you?” Sora laughed as Riku was caught off guard and his cheeks turned pink. Sora wondered why it was that Riku only ever had his cheeks tinged with a gentle light pink when meanwhile, Sora’s entire face would flush red. It wasn’t fair. “Anyway, whatcha got there, Riku?”

Riku handed over the papers and leaned back against the wood pile. “What? You’re not gonna tell me what you guys were talking about?”

Sora shook his head as he looked at what Riku had drawn on the papers. They looked like designs. “Nope. It’s a secret. Are these plans for the raft?”

“Yeah,” he replied. “I figured we have a couple of options.” Riku knelt down next to Sora, then, pointing at each drawing as he explained, quickly absorbed in his dream project. “We can make a raft, like we talked about, and I’ve been working out how to balance it between us, our supplies, the sail, and everything else, but it’s kind of exposed, so I drew up some rough ideas for a small boat as well. The biggest problem is working out how to steer either one, so we don’t just float aimlessly.”

Sora watched Riku’s face, serious and scrutinizing. The older boy was really putting his whole heart in this adventure. “Do we have enough skill to build a boat?” he asked.

He was answered with a smirk. “Well, I don’t know about you, but I have enough skill to build a boat. Maybe you can just stay behind.”

Sora shoved him. “Hey! I have enough skill to put my hammer up your ass!”

“Is that supposed to be euphemism for something?” He raised an eyebrow and laughed as Sora felt his face grow hot.

“Inappropriate worktime talk!”

“What are you boys doing?” Kairi had finally joined them, a length of rope coiled around her shoulders. “Quit messing around, we have a lot of work to do today!”

“Says the one who got here last!” Sora said. “We could have built the whole raft while waiting!”

Kairi stuck her tongue out at him. “Yeah right! You two would just bicker the whole day! Besides! I know you only got here I little bit before me! You were up as late last night as I was!” She sank down next to Sora and looked curiously at the drawings he was still holding. “Are these blueprints or something? What have we got planned so far?”

Riku shrugged and answered, “Well, Sora’s planning on sticking his hammer up my ass. Pretty impressive for someone who can’t even go to bed on time.”

“Sora! Inappropriate worktime talk!”

Sora stammered, caught between explaining to Kairi and glaring at Riku, making his friends laugh. As he pouted and crossed his arms, Kairi gave him a hug. “Come on, Sora! We’re just teasing! Let’s all work on the raft, okay?” Riku knelt down behind Sora and Kairi, the three of them intent on building their way into a new adventure.

Chapter Text

Sora sat on the floor, awkwardly trying to sort through a pile of dirty laundry looking for his favorite pajamas while using his shoulder to keep the phone tucked under his chin.

“I don’t know what to tell you, Kairi—it’s not like it was our first date.”

“Tell me what you did,” the voice on the other line sighed. Sora could hear Kairi rolling her eyes at him. “And don’t act all cool like you’ve been doing this forever! It was only your third date, and it’s adorable and I want to hear all about it! Spill!”

Sora tossed a pair of shorts that were only slightly muddy in the vague direction of his closet. “I don’t even know if it counts as a date,” he said. “I mean, I did ask him out, but all we did was have lunch out on the beach together. We went swimming and he beat me over the head in a sword match, and we made out a lot and then it got dark so we went home.” He sniffed a tank top, winced, and threw it back in the pile.

“Well, did he walk you home and kiss you on the door step? ‘Cause then it’s definitely a date,” Kairi said, matter-of-factly. When Sora had first told her he liked Riku, she had become his life-raft of dating advice. She helped him pick out what to wear, how to plan their first date, even spent an entire weekend with him watching romantic movies to study the kissing scenes so that he’d be prepared for their (and his) first kiss.

“No, he didn’t,” Sora replied, finally finding his pajama pants hiding under his bed.

“What do you mean he didn’t!” Kairi yelled. “So help me, I will call him right now and—“

“Kairi! Wait! Wait!” Sora laughed. “I mean, I walked him home and kissed him on the doorstep! And the he got made because he noticed his dad was giving us a thumbs up from behind the window.” Kairi laughed on the other end. “I swear, if you weren’t already my wingman, Riku’s dad would be on it in a heartbeat! I’m pretty sure he’s gonna high-five me when I get laid!”

“Do it in front of Riku! Do it in front of Riku!” Kairi cheered. Sora promised he would. “And stop changing the subject! What did you guys talk about?”

“Ah, I don’t know! We just talked about stuff!” Sora blushed and almost tripped as he tried to change his pants without putting down the phone. Kairi huffed angrily at him.

“What stuff! Geez, Sora, getting details from you is like pulling teeth!”

“Well, you know Riku—he’s so romantic. So he talked a lot about what he wants to do in the future, how he wants to get out of Destiny Islands and explore. I made him shut up when he wanted to start making more plans for the raft, because you weren’t there, and also because we were supposed to be dating, not working. So then we talked a bit about school, and I told him about the volleyball tournament me and Tidus wanted to set up. He told me how it went when he and you tried to set up that zip-line the other day—went I heard about it from you, you left out the part where you crash landed on the test run and ate dirt, by the way!”

“Yeah, well I bet he left out the part when he clonked me on the head with the top pole, because he got spooked by a bee!”

“Yeah, he did!” Sora replied. “And I totally forgot to tease him about that too!”

“Oh well,” Kairi said mischievously. “Guess you’re gonna have to ask him out on another date then, to make sure you get the chance!”

“Guess you’re right! But hey! You gotta let me tell you about the swordfight we had, Kairi!” Sora grinned, flopping down into his bed and staring out the window at the stars. “It was epic!”

Chapter Text

Riku was at Restoration Headquarters, perusing the stacks of books on magic Merlin left around the house, when Sora burst through the door, his face serious, turned, and strode across the room to where Riku sat, cross-legged on the floor. Riku opened his mouth to ask what was wrong, his hand twitching for his keyblade, but he froze when Sora knelt down in front of him and looked him dead in the eyes.

“Riku,” Sora said in the sudden silence—even Cid had shut up and paused his work at the computers—leaning his face so close to Riku’s their noses were almost touching, “We should go out on a date tonight.”

Riku felt like he had just been jerked out of a free fall. He leapt onto his feet, making Sora tumble over backwards. “What! You! Don’t come in here on one knee and—don’t—Dumbass!”

Sora dusted off his pants as he stood up, looking confused. “Don’t what? We haven’t been on a date in forever, so I thought it would be nice! Tifa even gave me a good place to take you. And I knew if you started reading or talking to Merlin you were gonna be—wait, what did you think I was here for?”

Riku just threw a punch at Sora’s nose instead of answering, but Sora ducked, and his grin grew impish. “Did you think I ran in here to ask for your hand?” Riku did pull out his keyblade then, and growled out a warning that Sora laughed off. “Sorry, Babe, but I don’t commit that easily. Besides, I promised my mom I wouldn’t commit to anyone until I was at least twenty-five and you’ve got—“ Riku tackled him around the waist, sending them both plummeting into a stack of books. Riku always forgot how much Sora had grown since they first left home, however, so he wasn’t expecting it when Sora easily rolled them over and ended up on top, looking smug. “A ways to go before you’re good enough to pin me down, Boyfriend.” Sora leaned down and kissed Riku’s forehead, and let his face turn gentle. “Want to let me take you out to dinner tonight?”

Riku let himself sulk over losing for just a moment before smiling back and saying, “Yes. But next time ask without making a spectacle of it?”
Sora heaved himself up and reached a hand out to help Riku. “Absolutely not—this was so much fun, I’m going to do it every single time. And escalate it!”

“Please don’t.”

“I hired a quartet to serenade you while we eat.”

“Please don’t.”

“And a room at the inn for afterwards.”

“…That one’s okay.”

“Love you, Boyfriend.”

“Love you too, Sora.”

Chapter Text

Sora woke up feeling like there was a hatchet lodged in his skull. He tried opening his eyes, but quickly gave up when the light shining over his head assaulted his senses. Instead he laid quietly, focusing on his breathing, his steady heartbeat. At least he wasn’t dead.

“I didn’t mean to hit him that hard! I thought he’d dodge! Shouldn’t a chosen wielder of the keyblade be able to do a simple block, at least?”

That was Riku’s voice, scoffing from a little ways away. What was he talking about though?

“You still should have been more careful, Riku!” Definitely Donald. Angry, stomping his feet, Donald. “Have a little self-control!”

“Now fellas,” Goofy cut in. It sounded like he was sitting right next to the—bed?—Sora was lying down on. “Calm down. You don’t want Sora to wake up to you two fightin’, do ya?”

“Too late,” Sora croaked. The room went quiet for a moment.

“How are ya feelin’, Sora?”

Sora tried to open his eyes again, this time with more success, so he was able to squint back at Goofy’s face. He tried to sit up, but Goofy gently pushed him back down before he’d barely even twitched. “Like I got wailed on.”

“Well, you kinda did.”

“Riku!” Donald threw a murderous glare at Riku, who was leaning against the wall with his arms folded, as he rushed up to Sora’s side. “Show a little remorse! He’s your boyfriend, and you could have killed him!”

Riku glared back. “I’m surprised someone else hasn’t killed him already, if that’s the best he can do.”

Donald opened his mouth, about to say what sounded like the beginnings of a fire spell, but Sora interrupted. “Lay off him, Donald. He gets grouchy when he feels bad.” Sora tried to give a reassuring smile, but it wobbled as his head throbbed. “Seriously, though. What happened to me?”

Goofy answered, since Donald and Riku were still trying to stare each other down. “You and Riku were sparring with your keyblades, and Riku knocked you on the head. Don’t you remember?”

“No,” Sora said flatly.

“See what you did, Riku! Apologize!”

“Back off, birdbrain! Your screeching’s gonna make him worse!”

Goofy placed an ice pack on Sora’s forehead. It felt like heaven. “Well, what do you remember?”

Sora let the cold numb the pain in his head, clearing his mind to think. “Um, we landed in Twilight Town—we’re still there, aren’t we?” Goofy nodded. “And we had breakfast with Pence and Olette, but then they had school…and then all kind of split up to go shopping and I—Wait!” Sora tried to bolt upright, which was a bad idea. “Where’s my bag! I had a little shopping bag!”

Riku pointed to a dresser—were they at an inn? That would explain the awful wallpaper—and the little purple bag sitting on it. Sora made grabby hands, and Riku walked over to pick it up and hand it to him. Sora peeked inside a breathed a sigh of relief.

“Well, you gonna tell us what was so important?” Riku asked.

“It’s a birthday present for my mom! I took forever picking it out!” Riku sat on the bed, rolling his eyes, but finally smiling. “Hey Goofy, can you go put this on the gummi ship for me? I don’t want to forget it!”

“Sure, Sora!” Goofy took the bag and headed out the door, with Donald trailing behind him, trying to peek at what the gift was.

Riku and Sora were left alone. They were quiet for moment, Riku watching the door the other two had left through.

“You know,” Sora said, laying a hand on his boyfriend’s. “It’s okay. I know you didn’t mean to knock me out, Riku. I’m not mad, so you can stop feeling guilty.”

Riku looked at him and frowned. “I don’t feel guilty because you can’t block to save your life. It’s your own fault you got your ass kicked.” Sora gave him a knowing smile, and his frown deepened. Suddenly, he smirked. “Besides…”

“Besides?”

Riku leaned down to kiss Sora’s forehead and squeezed Sora’s hand in return. “I just tied us up. 30-30. Babe.”

“Son of a bitch!”

Chapter Text

“Well Kairi, now that you have a keyblade, do you want me and Riku to teach you how to use it?”

Kairi smiled and shrugged. “Oh, I dunno—I think I’ll be fine. I’ve been practicing after all.”

Sora blinked. “Practicing? When? Why?”

“On Destiny Islands. I started learning to sword fight as soon as I got left behind! I had Tidus teach me at first, but once I started kicking his ass, I had to scrounge up the money for actual classes. I told my Gran that I was saving for college and got a part-time job waiting tables that I actually showed up to, believe it or not!” Kairi f;ashed the winning smile she always sported when causing trouble.

Sora shook his head, amazed. “I don’t know whether or not to ask you how you got good enough to beat up Tidus so quickly, or how your Gran still thinks you’re such a golden child—I never heard of a princess of heart who lied to her own grandmother for money!” Kairi smiled brighter.

“It’s my cute face—she can’t resist it!” She laughed when Sora rolled his eyes. “And I worked really hard to get to your and Riku’s level! And whenever I felt like giving up—“

“Wait! I know! I know! The bond of our friendship gave you strength! That’s how I’ve managed so far! I just think of how you and Riku are counting on me and it’s like I’ve chugged a whole gallon of elixir!” Sora flexed his bicep, looking ready to burst into an explosion of sunbeams. He drooped visibly when Kairi stifled giggles and shook her head.

“Only you, Sora!”

“Fine then!” Sora pouted. “Where did you draw strength from?”

“That’s easy,” said Kairi. “I just thought of how pissed off I was that you and Riku were off having adventures while I was stuck in school doing algebra!” She pounded a fist into her palm, face going dark.

“Oh shit.” Sora eyes widened in horror, and he rushed forward to give Kairi a dumbfounded hug. “That’s-that’s the worst thing I’ve ever heard. I’m so sorry! I promise I’ll never leave you behind ever again ever! You can have Riku’s bunk on the gummi ship and he can just suck it up and sleep with me and you can share my closet and my shelf in the fridge and I’ll even buy you ice cream!”

Kairi hugged him back, patting his head affectionately and Sora snuggled his face into her hair. “Thanks, Sora. You’re a good friend.”

“I’m glad you get to join us, Kairi. I love Riku, but, well, you know.”

“You need someone to complain to about him and to wax poetic about his abs to?”

“Yeah.”

Kairi broke the hug, giving Sora’s hand a squeeze as she did.

“I’ll take that ice cream right now, by the way.”

Chapter Text

Dear Mom (The Queen of Moms, Best Mom in all the Worlds, which I can say, since’ I’ve been to all of them),

I just finished reading your last letter! I have some time while we fly from Atlantica to Agrabah, so I’m going to write back right away this time, before I get distracted!

I told Riku that you love him, and that his hair is hiding his pretty eyes, like you asked, and he said he loves you too, although it took some wheedling to get him to say—you should have seen his cute blush! Tell his dads for me that I said their son is a big, cute, dork! Thanks for sending me a new watch, too! They don’t make good waterproof ones anywhere! And how did you know the perfect color to pick out? No, don’t tell me—you used your “psychic Sora senses,” right? You’re the best!

And before you start to worry—we managed to clear most of Atlantica of the Heartless, without too much trouble. Atlantica is pretty calm compared to the other worlds right now. I wonder why? Maybe salt water isn’t good for collecting hearts? Or maybe the Heartless are scared of water!

You won’t believe what happened when we got there, though! We helped Ariel meet and fall in love with a human prince! Turns out there’s a land kingdom in that world as well. Makes you wonder whether there are mermaids hiding out around Destiny Islands? Keep an eye out, and let me know if you see any! Since there wasn’t much to do in Atlantica, we didn’t stay long. We’ve decided to check up on Aladdin and Jasmine—it’s been a long time since our last visit. The Heartless could be causing trouble again, and there are some gems there I want to look for to synth some new items. And Riku mentioned taking some time to train a bit, which probably means he just wants to try to make me eat sand, like he used to back home. But back then, I didn’t know how to shoot fireballs—he’s in for it! Question is: What should I make him give me when I win? Should he have to do my chores for a month, or let me cut his hair! Which do you think?

Alright, we’re halfway to Agrabah now, so I’ll have to stop writing now if I’m going to have time to take a nap before we get there. I promise to be good, and to kick butt, and tell everyone back home I love them lots and am having fun as always! And the gift I attached is a music box we found in an ancient ship wreck—Goofy helped me fix it so that it even still works! Hope you like it!

Love, with the biggest hug ever from your favorite son,

Sora

Chapter Text

Sora watched the clouds lazily drift through the sky outside of Radiant Garden as a walked next to Cloud.

“So where were we going again?”

“You’ll see when we get there,” Cloud answered, the hint of a smile playing at his lips. Cloud usually seemed so, so downtrodden, that Sora’s curiosity sky-rocketed. Wherever it was they were going, it was a place Cloud enjoyed. Sora couldn’t help but interpret this as an overture of friendship even bigger than when Leon made him a member of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee. He wished Cloud would walk faster.

“How far is it?” he asked, his excitement starting to bubble over. “Are we almost there?”

“Not much farther now. In fact, we should be able to see it on the other side of this hill—Hey!”

Sora sprinted forward up the gravel road to see what was ahead, while Cloud shook his head and continued at his own pace behind. What greeted him was what looked like a small farm, with a tiny, cozy-looking house, a silo with a big yellow bird painted on it, a huge stables, and a fenced-in pasture with a few of the biggest, strangest birds Sora had ever seen milling about. They had long necks with huge beaks, where taller than a grown man, and cried “Wark!” happily to each other or dozed peacefully in the afternoon sun.

“Whoa! What are those?” Sora turned to Cloud and pointed.

“They’re chocobos.”

“Choco-wha?”

“Chocobos. As far as I know, they’re only native to this world. They’re used for riding, pulling carts, racing. Come on, I’ll introduce you.” Cloud motioned for Sora to follow, and led the way to the edge of the fence and two yellow chocobos and one black one bounded up to them. The black one pushed its head up against Cloud’s chest, and he rubbed its beak affectionately.

“The black one here is mine. I have two I rent out stables for.”

“Wow! Really?” Sora reached out a hand to scratch the beak of a yellow bird, and it chirruped happily. “Aw! It likes me! Hey, little guy! Wanna be my friend?” The chocobo made a loud “Warkwark!” sound and shook its tail feathers, making Sora laugh. “Hey! They’re pretty smart, aren’t they?”

Cloud was fishing a large nut out his pockets and feeding it to the happy black chocobo. “They’re some of the smartest animals of any world. And some of the friendliest.” Sora nodded as the more chocobos came over to stay hello, crowding around him. “Come on, let’s go inside the stables. I’ll show you what we came here for.”

Cloud led the way into the big white structure and Sora breathed in the smell of hay and greens and feathers. Most of the stalls were empty, their occupants out grazing, but there were a few birds still inside, including in the large stall where Cloud was headed. A young boy about Sora’s age was standing there, tossing feed to the yellow bird laying down inside.

“How are they?” Cloud asked the boy as he approached. The boy jumped at the sound and turned around.

“Cloud! About time you got here! I was beginning to wonder if you would ever show up! Who’s your friend?”

“I’m Sora! Nice to meet you!” Sora reached out to shake the other boy’s callused hand.

“Hi, Sora. They call me Choco-Billy. I run the chocobo farm here. Careful, Cloud. their mother’s still touchy about other people messing with them.” Cloud was opening the door to the stall to step inside. He waved away Choco-Billy’s warning and knelt down in the straw. Only then did Sora notice the small chirping coming from inside.

“Wait! Are there babies in there?”

“Yup!” Choco Billy answered, his voice ringing with pride. “Hatched just this week! Our farm’s very first golds!”

Sora peered inside the stall to see where Cloud was kneeling, two small, shining chicks nudging curiously at his fingers as their mother fussed over them. “They’re so cute! And they like you already, Cloud! I never knew you were so good with animals!”

Choco-Billy guffawed loudly. “That’s cause his hair makes them think he’s a chocobo himself!” Cloud rolled his eyes as he stood, brushing off his pants.

“Very funny, Billy. I’ve definitely never heard that one before.”

“What are you gonna name them?” Sora asked, watching the little chicks stumble around their mother while she eyed Sora suspiciously.

“Well, it’s a boy and a girl,” Cloud said, walking over to a large sink to wash his hands. “So I was going to name them Esther and Joel.”

Choco-Billy burst out laughing again, but Sora was just confused.

“Wait. I don’t get it—what’s so funny?” Choco-Billy just doubled over and even Cloud was sporting a small grin. “Don’t leave me out of the loop! Come on!”

“Forget it,” Cloud answered. “Come out into the pasture and I’ll teach you how to ride.”

Sora’s eyes lit up. “Really? You’ll let me ride one?”

“Who knows,” Cloud said, leading Sora towards the open doors. “Maybe you’ll make a good jockey yourself one day.”

“All right! Let’s go!” Sora cheered, racing past Cloud out the door into the sunshine.