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I SHOULD HAVE TRIED THAT PAOPU FRUIT THING.
it’s not the first time he’s thought this, remembers hollow bastion after sealing the door to darkness, remembers sitting there, alone ; wondering just how badly he’d fractured his relationship with sora, wondering if he’d scared him, if he’d ruined everything, if sora looked at him and only saw darkness, a monster.
he knows, now, that that’s not true, that sora only ever sees the best in him, which has always been far more than what riku deserved.
but, watching the way sora’s keyblade materializes in his hand, settles across his lap ------ watching the look on his face, sees fear again, he can’t help but feel the same way he did on that rock in hollow bastion. can’t help but wonder if sora is afraid of him, or afraid of his baggage.
maybe, if he’d shared that paopu fruit with sora before, sora wouldn’t be so scared. maybe he’d know that riku has devoted his entire being to him, that he will always be part of sora’s heart and that he will always be connected to him, no matter what.
he knows sora doesn’t feel safe in this moment, and riku can’t help but wonder if things would be different had he only just shared the paopu fruit with him.
does it still want to fight me ?
he’ll try as hard as he can to ease sora’s fears. he shakes his head.
“ no --- the organization manipulated him, in castle oblivion. they coded him with my memories, and then twisted them. ” just as they twisted sora’s --- and he briefly wonders what’s stopping him from explaining as such to him. “ they replaced my memories of kairi with fabricated memories of naminé. they did the same to you --- and so the two of you fought over naminé, like how you and i fought over protecting kairi before. naminé fixed them for you, though. that’s how you woke up in that pod, in that mansion in twilight town. ” because sora’s memories were stored within roxas, within xion ------ but that can wait another day.
“ i had to fight him, too. vexen pit him against me to mine more data from me, to upload to him. but i sent him into the realm of darkness. that’s where i found him again, when me and mickey were trying to find aqua. he --- helped me. ”
so does he live in your heart now ? like roxas lives in mine ?
he answers with only a nod, allows sora to continue.
do you like talking to him ?
at that, riku seems thoughtful. “ i guess it’s not too different from --- talking to myself. except, this version of me has a different worldview. he’s harmless to us now, don’t worry. ”
sora’s keyblade hasn’t disappeared quite yet, though --- he’s still worrying. riku wants so badly to be more helpful, wants so badly to quell the bad thoughts and fears that plague sora while awake just as he can when he’s asleep.
i just hope i can protect everyone, y’know ? someone’s gotta put a stop to the organization ! might as well be me, right ?
“ sora --- ” he says it so nonchalantly that it almost hurts. sora’s willingness and determination to help everyone he meets is endearing and inspiring --- but he knows that it’s been part of the boy’s undoing all the same. riku’s terrified sora will push himself to his breaking point, terrified that it will hurt him.
aqua was stuck there for ten years ! can you imagine ?!
he can, and sora knows he can, and riku can see sora trying to backtrack immediately. he doesn’t mind it, though. for as much as he can imagine being stuck there for any period of time, for as much as he saw with his own eyes what ten years did to someone like aqua, he can’t begin to imagine what it would do to himself.
riku doesn’t know if he’d have lasted nearly as long.
no one else gets hurt, y’know ? i have to do something. i think——— i think tomorrow might be my last chance.
“ ------------------ you know you’re not the only one heading out there tomorrow, right ? ” he says it with as much good nature as possible, tries to hide the fear that makes the worst feeling in the pit of his stomach. “ it’s not all on you to protect everyone. we’re all guardians of light. ”
in an attempt at humor, with a hand upon sora’s shoulder: “ some of us are even keyblade masters. ” but he sobers, quickly. “ we gotta work together. it’s not just one for all --- it’s all for one, too. and i, for one, will have your back the whole way through this. no matter what happens. i’ll protect you, too. ” @nevertame
#i cannot for the Life of me remember if anyone's ever sat sora down#and explained what happened in CoM to him rip#so we're gonna go with 'no' for all intents and purposes#also tagged ur multi Just In Case u wanted to answer it there#nevertame#kidblader
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you’re safe! riku!
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SORA !!
❝ i do believe in you, Riku! It’s just— ❞
It’s just that Riku is holding his hands, just as he always does in his dreams, and Sora doesn’t remember how to breathe / how to think / who he is without Riku. ( He doesn’t understand why he can’t stomach a world devoid of anyone, tries so hard to save everyone! but, a world without Riku is the only one that haunts him behind his eyes at night. )
It’s just that he feels so sorry for Riku, because he knows that Riku was made for this, and he thinks that no one should ever have been “made” for Darkness. ( He misses the happy Riku from their childhood, the Riku that smiled and laughed with him, the Riku that so easily beat him in footraces and tormented him with scary stories just so he could have an excuse to comfort him afterward ——— or, at least that’s what Kairi says. )
You never noticed?
Not really. I thought he was just being nice.
I think there’s more to it than that.
Whatever you say, Kairi. Why’re you so hung up on me an’ Riku, anyway?
I—I dunno. I just … think you guys have a special connection. It’s funny that you don’t see it.
‘course we have a special connection! He’s my best friend! You’re my best friend, too, Kairi! Is — Is everything okay?
Yeah, of course! I’m just … worried about Riku. I think the Darkness is getting to him.
Yeah, me too. That’s why I stopped letting him “eat my dreams”.
You what?!
H—Hey! Why are you yelling at me?! It helps him, doesn’t it?
No! Your dreams are different, Sora! They help him!
That doesn’t make any sense! Did Riku put you up to this? He was really mad when he found out I figured out how to block him. Well, I don’t care what you or Riku have to say about it! I’m not gonna make him feel worse!
He stormed away from that conversation a couple of weeks ago, and his nightmares have been worse and worse, and he’s been angrier and angrier with no end in sight! ( Is this how everyone would feel without Riku? Is this how Riku feels right now, and always, because of what he does? Sora doesn’t know which one is worse, but he does know that he’s being followed by shadows, and his eyes are slowly changing color, and he wants to hurt anyone or anything that would hurt Riku and the shadows tell him that they can help him do that! that they can make him stronger! )
and, why should that be a bad thing?
He would do anything to protect Riku, to protect everyone — even hurt.
You’ve already helped so many people. The world doesn’t rest on just your shoulders. You’ve done more than enough, Sora. It’s my turn, now.
❝ No, it isn’t! ❞
He squeezes Riku’s hands, whines frustration, presses himself into Riku’s chest without thinking about it because beneath the shadows that wisp around his arms, his chest, his yellow eyes, he’s still just a boy afraid of ghost stories / a boy who still trusts Riku more than anyone else and still depends on him to keep him safe.
❝ It isn’t just on your shoulders, either, Riku! Y—You can’t just — keep eating people’s dreams and thinking that nothing bad’s gonna happen! I—I don’t care what you say! Nobody was “made” for Darkness! It’s changing you, making you sad all the time! I—I don’t want— ❞
He sniffs, releases one of Riku’s hands to make a fist to scrub stubborn tears from his eyes, angles his head to pillow it atop Riku’s chest and circles his arm around Riku’s waist ( — because, subconsciously, he’s exhausted! just wants to sleep in Riku’s arms for the rest of his life! can’t understand why that means anything different, or that it’s the only thing that Riku wants, too. )
❝ I don’t want you to be sad anymore, so I’m not gonna let you eat my dreams! e—even if it means that … I have to be sad, and even if Kairi says that my dreams don’t make you sad. I think she’s wrong. ❞ @rikudevium!
SORA BELIEVES IN HIM, IT’S JUST ------------ just that nobody believes in the darkness ( not without good reason ), nobody believes that any good could ever come of it. but riku thinks it has the potential to do good, if wielded by someone with the will to possess it. so many have tried to harness the power of darkness by force, and those are the people that have corrupted it --- but riku was born with it, riku never asked for it.
riku has two of the brightest lights he’s ever seen in his own life, and he knows he couldn’t possibly be half as strong without them. and he knows that sora is the other half of his own heart, and he absolutely can’t strong without him. they make his own heart brighter, a warm ray of sunlight that clears away the darkness in all dreams, brings him back to reality when he changes his own form.
the nightmares exhaust him, feed darksider in ways no ordinary person could handle. every night he consumes loneliness and despair and agony, tears and blood and sweat, bright flames and the chilling cold. riku has spent too much of his own life understanding sadness and loneliness ------ but he knows now how to parse through those feelings, separate them from himself. because he has kairi and he has sora and they make each other stronger and he can’t possibly ever, truly, be alone.
but riku had grown too used to consuming sora’s nightmares, replacing them with good dreams and watching them unfold, watching dream - sora realize his love for dream - riku in a way that sora still cannot seem to grasp. weeks have passed since the last time riku has been able to consume one of sora’s nightmares. sora figured out how to block him out entirely and it’s both frustrating and admirable how sora can figure things out when he puts his mind to it, how stubbornly he’ll maintain his resolve.
he’s tried to talk him down, gently, more than once ------ with no success. and all the while, he feels sora’s anger, he feels sadness and fear and he feels darksider gravitating toward him more and more, feeding off of it, lending sora its power, because without sora’s nightmares it cannot sustain itself, needs sora’s heart just as much as it needs riku himself.
normal nightmares are like caffeine. darksider needs sora’s nightmares like they’re an entire meal, like they’re water and air and the most necessary components of survival. ( or maybe they’re a drug, darksider whispers to him in the depths of his mind, and you’re in withdrawal. ) riku has tried desperately to explain it to him --- but he doesn’t know how much more clearly he can express the connection between their hearts, the fact that their bond is so much more powerful than their connection with absolutely anybody else, even with kairi.
i don’t care what you say ! nobody was made for darkness ! it’s changing you, making you sad all the time !
if it’s done anything, it’s just made him worse at hiding it. or, maybe that’s sora’s doing, melting the cold exterior he worked so hard to craft around him, filled with contrived arrogance and detachment. but riku gets the feeling that if he tries to explain that to sora, the thought of riku having always been sad will only upset him more.
and as it stands now, riku can’t bear to see him any more upset --- as sora wraps his arms around his waist, settles his head upon riku’s chest ; almost as if his body were begging for riku to help him, even if sora and his brain would never acknowledge it, own up to his exhaustion. and riku wants to collapse against sora in turn, overwhelmed by other nightmares and lacking the strength to handle them.
if he can’t get through to sora, they will surely undo each other.
“ c’mon, sora --- not all darkness has to be bad. even if it is easy for it to become bad. ”
he’s not about to say that his darkness, that darksider is wholly good ------ but riku has to believe that he won’t succumb to it one day, that he can do good with the gift he’s been given ------ that it is a gift, and not a curse. how can he live with himself if he can’t ?
i don’t want you to be sad anymore, so i’m not gonna let you eat my dreams ! e - even if it means that … i have to be sad, and even if kairi says that my dreams don’t make you sad. i think she’s wrong.
were riku not currently holding sora in his arms, he’d most assuredly be retiring to his room for the next year. if he can’t get through to sora in this moment, perhaps he really will.
“ kairi’s right, silly. your dreams work differently than everyone else’s. the link between our hearts is stronger than any other connection we have. ” he’s careful as he lifts sora’s head off his chest, settles one hand on his shoulder and the other cupping his chin. riku just wishes sora will understand what this means.
“ taking your nightmares, turning them into good dreams ------ that’s what makes me strongest. there’s no way i can be sad when you’re dreaming peacefully. but i need you to trust me, sora. ” the hand upon sora’s shoulder grips just a bit more firmly, involuntarily, pleading.
“ will you ? ”
#hoooooo lets not look at my icon first of all;;;;;;;;;;;#but also ....... (':#kidblader#tasty stuff
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❝ happy birthday, riku! ❞ sora's straddled riku's lap, for the best angle to pepper his face with enthusiastic kisses to wake him up. ❝ c'mon, wake up! i made breakfast! ...s-sorta. little chef used *my* hands to make it, so *i* get some of the credit! ❞ the last kiss finds riku's lips, slow and deliberate, because he's beginning to understand that riku likes them better this way. ❝ a-and, afterwards, i have something special — just for us.❞ he seems nervous, swallows it down.❝i love you, riku.❞
IT’S CERTAINLY HARD to stay asleep when one has someone who speaks as loudly as sora straddling one’s lap. it’s even harder for riku to ignore the way his face is completely covered in kisses, always soft. in all actuality, sora makes waking up easy ( and worth it ), but he most assuredly will put up a small fuss about being woken regardless, in the form of a long groan, for now, as his eyes slowly open, adjust to the flood of light within the room.
c’mon, wake up ! i made breakfast ! … sorta. little chef used my hands to make it, so i get some of the credit !
he would chuckle at that, but sora occupies his lips first, and he exhales a contented sigh through his nose as he cups sora’s cheek, lifts himself to reciprocate the kiss in kind. he loves all of sora’s kisses, but he would be remiss if he doesn’t say that these ones are his favorite.
“ well — that was real nice of little chef to pitch in, ” he answers goodnaturedly as sora pulls away, slowly starts to shift himself so he can sit up against the back of the bed. “ neither of you had to do that for little ol’ me. ”
and, afterwards, i have something special — just for us.
sora seems nervous as he says it, and his eyes soften. he leans forward, kisses the space between sora’s eyes, all gentle, settles his hands upon his hips as sora remains seated upon his lap. looks a little sheepish, himself, when he answers.
“ aw --- i love you, sora. ” another kiss, this time placed atop his nose. “ whatever it is you have planned, i know i’ll love it. after all, the best birthday gift i could ask for is to spend it with you. ” then, a final kiss, placed upon sora’s lips not unlike the way he’d done so earlier.
“ i guess the food’ll get cold the longer we sit here, huh ? ” though he’s most certainly loathe to get up, and force sora to get up off of him. he pulls his legs in from beneath him, reluctantly pokes them out from beneath the warmth of his blankets and slides the rest of the way out of bed. he adjusts his tank top, pulls the fabric more taut over his stomach, and then turns back to offer sora a hand.
“ besides, the sooner we eat, the sooner i get to see what you’ve got planned, huh ? ” and he’ll give sora’s hand a reassuring squeeze, at that.
he proceeds to pull him toward the kitchen --- which will most certainly turn into him being pulled, he expects, by the time they arrive to a neatly set table, food set and coffee already prepared exactly the way riku likes it.
he can’t help but press another kiss to sora’s cheek, wonders how on earth he could be so lucky to call this guy his, after everything. he won’t betray the fact that he’s thinking it in that moment, but he knows he couldn’t possibly ever hope to deserve sora. though he keeps trying.
“ ------ this looks incredible, ” he says, thoughtful, slowly seating himself down at the table, with sora’s chair already pulled out next to his own. he lifts his mug of coffee ; teasingly, he adds: “ you’ve gotten real good at cracking eggs, huh ? ” takes a sip, feels just that much warmer ( and his heart already feels like it’s about to melt ! ).
“ sora, seriously. thank you, for this. it’s already perfect. ” @kidblader
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More than anyone else, I want to see Sora.
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They’re gone. Kairi, Donald… Goofy, the King… Gone forever.
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Love is putting someone else’s needs before yours.
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When you walk away
You don’t hear me say,
“Please, oh baby, don’t go.”
#gif /#CHRIST the 4th gif made me Actually Start Crying#nobody will ever take this away from me ok#sora tag#visage tag
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I think it’s because you’ve finally found inside you that special strength to protect what matters.
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Retry?
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it's not darkness — not if it helps him. sora knows that he's weak, knows that he's worthless, knows that riku is wrong! (you don't believe that, sora.) maybe it's the only thing that he believes — that, and that he's in love with riku, and that he would do anything to protect him, even submit to the darkness! riku braces himself before the tide of heartless, and sora loves him, and he can't stand it! shadow overtakes him, his eyes glow yellow, and he takes riku's place, pushes against the dark.
THIS COULD VERY WELL BE THE END. riku knew it, the moment the demon tide swallowed everyone whole, ripped their friends away from them, plucked them off the ground one at a time. it’s just him and sora, now, and he knows even then that won’t be for long.
behind him, sora loses hope. and riku’s heart breaks to know that beneath all that shining light, beneath all the hope he inspires in others, he, too, feels worthless, feels that he’s weak and that he is powerless without the strength of the others, feels like he’s lost hope.
you don’t believe that, he says to him, knows he has to do something ! even if he knows that this demon tide will surely swallow the both of them next ; he knows that sora will find a way, sora always finds a way. so he can’t give up, needs sora to see that he refuses to get up, and so too should sora.
he stands tall in front of the boy in despair, bares his teeth and his blade. he knows what it feels like to be swallowed by the darkness — he’s not afraid ! he’s not afraid of the darkness, not afraid of the tide of heartless that heads straight for him, opens its mouth wide and prepares to consume him. and if he’s to go down, it will not be without a fight. it will not be without giving his all to protect the person that matters most to him.
he moves to thrust his blade forward, to hold the heartless off for as long as he can — but, suddenly, he’s thrown back by an outside force, by something other than the heartless in front of him. he gasps for air, digs his feet into the ground to steady himself, keyblade vanishes for the time being as he shields his eyes from the oncoming blast of dirt and debris, finally lifts his head to see what has taken his place —
“ ———— sora !? ”
shrouded in darkness, aura oozing darkness, nails extended into claws — a shadow in human form, in sora’s form. it can’t be — but he looks behind him, and sora kneels there no longer. it must be.
sora must have acquired this power after he became a heartless — to save kairi. if only riku had possessed a strong enough will to deny the darkness, himself. he might have succeeded at protecting sora and kairi both. riku knows he cannot be solely to blame, but he certainly feels he ought to take the brunt of it.
“ s - sora, come back ! ” he calls out, desperate, chest feeling too painfully tight, tears welling up in his eyes no matter how hard he tries to blink them back. if this is all to end, it cannot be like this.
sora pulled him out of the darkness, and now it’s his turn to do the same for sora ! for sora may think that he gets his strength from his friends, but it’s the opposite — they get their strength from sora. riku is only strong because of sora, only has hope because sora inspires it within him. were it not for sora, he would be where his past self stands, alongside the rest of the organization.
determination stirs anew within him, something brighter than ever before. keyblade materializes back in his hand and without a second thought he’s lunging forward, leaps over sora’s shadow form, and as he lands he’s twisting around, winds himself up, his keyblade formchanging into a broadsword as he slices at the demon tide, a shockwave made of light surging forward.
the heartless falter, just in time for his keyblade to vanish again, and riku turns back around and bridges the gap between he and sora, throws his arms around him.
if this is to be the end, let it be with the love of his life in his arms.
“ —— it’s okay, sora, ” he breathes, holds onto him for dear life, prays he can get through to him beneath the darkness that billows around them. “ it will be okay. you always find a way. ”
the demon tide has recollected itself from behind him, and he tucks sora’s head into his chest so that he might not see them coming, might not watch as the mouth opens wide and prepares to devour.
“ come back to me, sora. ” @kidblader
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only king mickey can open a door to the realm of darkness, they said. (well, what does it say of him that his heart is stronger even than that?) he found a way, because his heart will always guide him to riku, and— ❝ i know what you meant now, ❞ he says, back at yen sid's manor, holds one of riku's hands in both of his own and leans in to capture riku's mouth in a surprisingly confident kiss. ❝ i love you, too. rest up, okay? i gotta go now. catch ya later! ❞
HE FEELS AS THOUGH HE’S BEEN FLOATING for hours, now. he and mickey had come dangerously close to being lost in the realm of darkness, for he’d held his own against aqua fine but he knew he wouldn’t last — the darkness that had consumed her made her far more powerful than he, gave her far more endurance ; and riku had already exhausted himself.
mickey had been trapped, and riku had known he wouldn’t be able to hold out much longer, had felt himself starting to become overwhelmed by exhaustion, his limbs weakening. he’d felt fear, that he would be overpowered, that they wouldn’t make it out, that he’d never see sora again ——
sora.
uttered under his breath like a prayer, pleading for a miracle, pleading to see him one last time. and it was as though he’d been heard, for he was answered immediately, no sooner had he called for him than a door opened from above. light shown through, and an angel descended upon them, a savior to pull them out of the dark.
sora.
stood next to riku, glowing, smiling so brightly at him that riku felt as though he’d been blinded, felt as though the breath had been completely knocked out of him, and never before had he been so thankful to have been disobeyed in his life. sora should not have been able to find a way to access the realm of darkness, and yet —
i made it !
he never fails to surprise him.
now they’re back at yen sid’s tower, aqua safe and alongside them, and he and mickey are left to recuperate while sora prepares to go off yet again to recover ventus. he can’t wait for this to be over, is growing weary of only having his gummiphone to check on sora’s wellbeing, of only being able to speak with him through video calls — but he supposes it’s still better than not being able to speak with him at all, than following not too far behind to make sure he was safe and was on the right track, all the while far enough so that he wouldn’t be caught, wouldn’t be seen, for fear that sora would look upon ansem’s face and feel repulsed, scared.
the harder he falls, the harder it is for him to be apart.
———— i know what you meant now.
distracted, riku nearly jumps at sora’s appearance, but is ultimately more relieved to see him, glad that he’s able to see him before his departure. distracted, riku isn’t immediately sure what sora means.
until sora takes his hand in both of his own, leans in and kisses him so confidently that riku almost forgets to breathe again, and he remembers.
you’re important to me, too, sora — more than you’ll ever know.h - hey. what’s that supposed to mean ?
“ sora — ”
i love you, too. rest up, okay ? i gotta go now. catch ya later !
“ s - sora, wait — ” if he thinks he’s going to get away just like that — the way sora treats this so casually would astound him were it not for the fact that riku knows this is just how sora is. if they’re to make the moment last, even an extra moment longer, riku has to be the one to do something about it.
he grabs back onto sora’s hand, pulls him close, and if he had wanted to be a wise ass, if he were the same kid that had wanted so badly to leave home three years, who thought he was too cool for everything, he’d be making some stupid remark about how it certainly took sora long enough to figure it out.
but he’s patient. and when it comes to sora, he believes in him more than he believes in anything else. he knew he’d figure it out. he was willing to wait as long as he had to for when the time came.
so he kisses him back, instead, equal certainty and desperation ( thank you for saving me, be safe, please come back to me ), cups the boy’s cheek and settles his forehead against sora’s.
“ ———— be quick, alright ? ” he says at last after breaking the kiss, although he hasn’t lifted his head away from sora’s and his breath still breaks against his lips. “ it sounds like we have a lot of catching up to do. ”
and when he finally ( reluctantly ) pulls completely away from him, he still has one of sora’s hands, and there remains a smile, soft. “ stay safe out there. if anything happens --- ” he sets sora’s hand upon his own heart. “ you know i’ll find you. ” @kidblader
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SORA !!
sora has never understood how or why Riku, of all people, turned to the darkness; Riku, who has always been the brightest light in his life; Riku, who —
We’ve always been rivals, haven’t we?
No! We’ve always been friends!
Riku, who he grew up with, laid on his back in the warm sand of Destiny Islands and watched the stars with —
Sora, you wanted one, didn’t you?
A papou fruit.
If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They’ll remain a part of each other’s lives, no matter what. C’mon, I know you want to try it.
I do! he thinks, thought — still thinks, two years later.
( He thinks that he loves Riku, but he doesn’t know the word for it. )
The only word that he knows right now is “hurt”, because it hurts to see Riku hurt, and it hurts to care so much. ( It hurts to know that Riku doesn’t think himself important enough to be helped. He told Goofy that a little hurt isn’t such a bad thing — but, this isn’t just a “little” hurt. This is a fatal wound. )
Bold of you to assume I’m above putting you over my shoulder and leaving.
❝ H—Hey! Riku! That’s no fair! ❞
He sniffs, realizes that he’s begun to cry in earnest, raises fists to hastily wipe at his eyes. ( This hurts, this hurts, this hurts so much, Riku’s hurt, make it stop — ! )
Sora, have you finally decided to call upon the darkness?
It’s not darkness! not if it helps him!
Sora understands, now, how and why Riku turned to the darkness.
He knows that he would do the same ——— for Riku, if it helped him.
Two seconds, huh? Fine.
Riku’s voice calls him back from the brink, because it always has, and he returns to see Riku’s arm inches away from him, palm open, proffering.
Get back up, then, will you? You win this time — but, only if you start smiling again.
The corners of his mouth curl with a will of their own, and his answering grin is so big and bright that it hurts in the middle of his cheeks. ( A little hurt isn’t such a bad thing. Hurt is how we know that we love. )
❝ Haha! You got it! ❞
Sora takes hold of his hand, supports all of his own weight so that Riku doesn’t have to, gasps softly when Riku’s hand moves to cup his cheek — thumbs away a stray tear.
You’re important to me, too, Sora — more than you’ll ever know — and, I hate to see you so upset.
❝ H—Hey. What’s that supposed to mean? ❞
He blinks, naive confusion, wipes the rest of the tears from his eyes before deciding to focus on the one thing that he does understand: Riku’s injury.
❝ Anyway, let’s get you fixed up! There was a pool-thingy a little ways back where we could clean you up, so you at least won’t look like you totally got creamed by a Nobody. ❞
A boyish giggle, and then he softens / sobers as he raises Riku’s injured arm level with his chest, hovers his free hand over the gash and murmurs the incantation for Cura — watches the skin stitch itself shut, watches the redness and inflammation dissolve into just the slightest hint of irritation. ( It isn’t a complete heal, but it’s enough that he exhales relief. ) He tops it off with a sweet little kiss, thinks nothing of it.
❝ ——— there! All better! Was that so hard? Now — to the pool-thingy! Up, up, and away! ❞
“ I KNOW IT’S NOT. that’s why i'm saying i’m not above it. ” he’s still teasing, although he’s realizing belatedly that this is certainly not going to get him to cheer up any faster, even if he has finally agreed to allow sora to heal his wound only moments later.
( he feels relief over sora’s relief ; didn’t think he could stand to see him cry any harder. he never wants sora to be sad, ever. )
then again, none of this is going to stop him from continuing to tease him without mercy, because sora’s used to it. sora can take it. sora would tell him to quit it if he couldn’t ( he hopes ).
but, when riku tells him to start smiling again, the change is almost instantaneous. sora has a smile that could light up the entire world, makes riku’s heart all the warmer for it. sora’s smile is the only smile that can put a smile on riku’s own face without even thinking twice. sora’s the only one that can get him to laugh so easily.
riku may hate himself for being swayed toward darkness, for allowing it to make him into a monster, but he can’t say he doesn’t understand why. he would do anything even now to protect him. he has never met a purer, more beautiful soul than sora’s.
hey. what’s that supposed to mean ?
he’s almost disheartened by the fact that sora feels the need to ask. but, he remembers who he’s talking to. and maybe he still is disheartened, but he certainly understands. sometimes, sora is absolutely clueless.
and it makes him laugh.
“ i get the feeling there’s a part of you somewhere that knows. ” he leaves it at that ; lets the conversation move in another direction. that is, he lets sora busy himself over his arm without further ado, lest he grow distressed over how it continues to bleed freely.
there was a pool - thingy a little ways back where we could clean you up, so you at least won’t look like you totally got creamed by a nobody.
“ h - hey. ” it’s a half - hearted protest. he’ll give anything to listen to that giggle replay in the back of his mind forever ( sometimes, it overwhelms him how much he loves ). “ like you look so put together, wise guy. ” and there’s an eyeroll, just as sora casts cura, makes quick work of the gash on his arm, just as he promised ---
and seals it with a kiss atop the wound. and while sora might not think anything of it, riku nearly chokes. clears his throat, tries not to seem as flustered as he is, but there’s no controlling the way his cheeks warm up, all the way to the tips of his ears.
there ! all better ! was that so hard ?
he hadn’t thought it would be, but here he is. another round of throat clearing, his gaze averts toward the floor, still trying desperately to grasp onto composure.
“ i ... think that was three seconds, ” he answers, wills himself to look back up and make eye contact with sora, who is oh - so - oblivious --- and he raises a brow, teasing, again. tries to ignore the fact that he can still feel sora’s lips on his arm, even long after they’ve left. “ let’s get to it then, yeah ? still wanna find someplace to turn in by nightfall. ”
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I KNOW IT’S OUT THERE SOMEWHERE ------
the strength that i need.
the strength for what ?
to protect the things that matter. you know, like my friends.
he remembers terra. he remembers the day he was passed the keyblade, never really understood what it truly meant, what power it held, what exactly he’d need to keep his friends safe from ; only that it possessed a power that would keep them safe. he knows, now, where terra’s path led him --- to xehanort. to darkness. all because he wanted to keep his friends safe.
and, then, riku fell into the same path, only ever wanted to protect sora and kairi. he allowed darkness to consume him, fell right into ansem’s hands ( to xehanort’s ). he got lucky that he fought his way back to the light, that he’s learned how to allow his darkness and his light to coexist, because few others have been so lucky. not even terra --- he’s still trapped.
i told you, i didn’t want to be found. not like this. i ... couldn’t.
you’re coming back with us, right ?
i had given in to the darkness. how am i gonna face everyone ?
noctis might not need their power. but riku knows the organization will strike when he’s at his lowest, catch him off guard, and it will hardly matter if he wanted the power or not.
in this world, darkness seems to equate to whatever plague has harmed many and brought about daemons. it hardly seems like such a desirable thing to those who are seeking to restore light to the world, to bring an end to longer nights. and the organization cannot bring noctis’s father back, cannot restore light to the world, cannot help noctis answer his calling. perhaps riku doesn’t need to worry about the prince and his friends. still, the heartless, the nobodies, the organization are all here for a reason.
above all else, when it comes to protecting the ones that matter ------ sometimes, one loses all reason. one will do whatever it takes. riku sees the anguish in noctis’s heart, sees that yet he still fights like hell to keep his friends alive ------ and he might not sense darkness within him yet, he cannot discount it. he looks at noctis, and he can almost see himself. or who he used to be.
above all else, the organization can give noctis the false hope that they can protect everyone alive that matters.
he doesn’t need me.
the words catch riku off guard, just for a moment. and he can hear how much it hurt to say them. because it wasn’t so long ago that he had thought the same way ; except he thought he was no longer needed because he’d been replaced.
while you toiled away trying to find your dear friend, he quite simply replaced you with some new companions. evidently, now he values them far more than he does you.
he learned the hard way how wrong he was.
“ i know i haven’t been here long, so sorry if i’m jumping to conclusions. but from what i’ve seen ------ i don’t think that’s true at all. i’m not calling him hopeless, but it seems to me he needs you plenty. i think more than the others. ”
what would you have us do ?
what follows is a long pause. and riku seems hesitant. “ when it happens --- there may not be much you can do. there’s nothing sora could have done to save me from the darkness, although i know he likes to think otherwise. but --- just make sure he knows he’s not alone. and remind him who he has in his corner. should he succumb to the darkness, it will be your strong bond that pulls him back out. ” @daggerbind
#love that riku still thinks noctis will turn to the darkness to protect his friends and doesnt even consider ignis for a Minute (:#daggerbind
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PERHAPS HE OUGHT TO HAVE EXPECTED sora would put up a fight. the two of them were alike in that they were both so stubborn, even if in two very different ways. the difference is that sora’s stubbornness has a very childlike innocence behind it. naive optimism. but then, that’s why sora has always been the brightest light in his life --- why he fought his way back out of the darkness.
sora has always been the light that guides him home.
and while most other people would let him wrap gauze around his injury while they’re on the move, he knows sora will not rest until he is certain the injury has healed, or is well on its way to healing completely.
you’re not ‘ fine, ’ riku ! sora insists, and riku doesn’t have the heart to tell him he has shed far more blood than this.
there isn’t anything more important to me than you ! don’t you get that by now ?!
perhaps he ought to have expected it, but the words still take him aback, cause his chest to tighten up, make it almost too hard to breathe. he does understand, although part of him wishes he didn’t. he does get it --- but he wishes that he wasn’t so important to sora. after everything, he still doesn’t think he’s worth it.
( he’s trying to be worth it, though. he wants more than anything to be the friend that sora has always deserved. )
i’m not going anywhere until you’re better ! you can’t make me.
punctuated by sitting himself right on the ground, cross - legged, puppy dog eyes right back up at riku, and that tightness in his chest loosens just a touch, blossoms into warmth, and there’s amusement that pulls at his lips, alights his eyes.
“ bold of you to assume i’m above putting you over my shoulder and leaving, ” he remarks, arms crossed. at the same time, though, he feels himself starting to give in --- begins to suppose that this will go a lot easier if he just gives in. and, then, he notices the tears in sora’s eyes. and he’s surprised, once again. breathless. and there’s a brief stab of pain in his heart.
because, he loves sora. and he comprehends the way that he does fully. he just isn’t certain sora loves him in the same way. maybe he does, and he just doesn’t understand it.
above all else, sora reminds riku that someone in this world thinks he’s worth loving.
so he offers an arm to sora. and he sighs, resigned, but all soft. “ two seconds, huh ? fine. get back up then, will ya ? you win, this time --- but only if you start smiling again, got that ? ”
and as he helps sora back on his feet, his impulse control fails him --- and he’s reaching over, wiping away a stray tear with his thumb. “ you’re important to me too, sora. more than you’ll ever know. and i hate to see you so upset. ” @kidblader
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