It was the first semester at Twilight High and walking down Shade Lane was Riku, Sora, Reno, Axel, and Zexion. It had been the first day of school that Monday at 8:30 and all five of the teens were now off to do their after school activities. Zexion was heading for the library, Axel and Reno were heading off to a party somewhere, and Sora was going to chill with his brothers Roxas and Ven; Riku was the only one with nothing planned.
For the past couple of minutes, the conversation had revolved around teachers and girls; from what Riku could tell everyone in this group was straight. Recently he'd thought he was straight as well, until the beginning of Junior Year when a certain guy had piqued his interest. Since that morning he'd had trouble focusing on classes; his thoughts had been plagued.
"Hey Riku, where you going?" It was Reno who'd asked, and Riku turned his head to face him.
"Oh, uhm... Just home. I should probably do my homework." Axel turned to Riku and shook his head, smiling.
"Lame. You should come hang with us."
Riku chuckled and mimicked Axel's head movement. "I'd rather not have a hangover tomorrow morning actually, so I think I'll pass."
Both Axel and Reno burst out laughing and clapped him on the shoulder.
Riku glanced over his shoulder at Sora and Zexion, blocking out the two rowdy brothers on either side of him. Sora and Zexion seemed to be talking to each other calmly and as Riku looked forward again he couldn't help but guess they hadn't even seen him glance in their direction.
"Will Riku, if you ever want to party you know who too call." Riku nodded at Axel as the two brothers took their hands off his shoulders. Then Reno smiled and pointed at a house on his side of the road. "Well, this is our stop." Axel nodded, leaning across Riku to high-five his brother. "Yah, see ya Riku." Then the two veered away from the sidewalk and began their journey to the party house.
That was when Riku turned around and fell in step with Zexion and Sora. He just happened ot be on the other side of Zexion, away from Sora.
"Hey guys." Both of the conversing pair looked over at him; Sora was the only one who smiled, but then again, he didn't often see Zexion smiling.
Sora waved. "Hi Riku." He said cheerily. Riku smiled and waved back. "What're you two up too?" Zexion's lip curled slightly, forming something close to a half-smile. "We were just talking about Mr. Rude, our math teacher." Riku's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I have him for math as well... What block do you guys have math in?" "Third." Sora told him.
At Twilight High, every day consisted of five blocks, and each day started at 8:30 and ended at 3:00.
"Oh." Riku breathed. "I have him second. I guess I'll see you guys in between second and third then." Zexion nodded. "When's your lunch Riku?" Riku gave Zexion a thumbs up. "Third, you have the same?" Zexion shook his head, as did Sora. "We have fourth..." Riku glanced over at Sora before he looked at Zexion again.
/I guess this means getting closer to Sora is
Impossible./
Riku tried not to show his dissapointement, but he knew his smile was faltering.
"We'll have to find another way to hang out then... Obviously we don't have lunch together so..." Zexion's expression changed to one of innocent curiousity.
"You sound dissapointed."
/Exactly.../
"Naw, I'll live. I just thought it'd be nice to, I don't know, go scout for hot chicks with you guys..."
Zexion seemed to stiffen, but Riku hardly noticed.
"Or do our homework together..." That produced a cute laugh from Sora, and Riku felt a shiver go down his spine.
Suddenly Zexion pointed with a finger ahead and sighed. "Sorry guys but I have to go now."
Riku shook his head. "No problem."
He hadn't realized they were almost home now; the time had just flown by.
"Bye Zexion." Sora said, giving him a quick wave as the bluenette began crossing the street; the library was on the opposite side.
After Zexion left, Sora had begun filling Riku in about how his day had gone. Although it probably shouldn't have, Sora's day intrigued Riku. When the brunette had finished telling Riku about his day, they were just outside Sora's house. Riku's house was the one right beside Sora; they'd been neighbours since they'd moved to Twilight Town for school.
"See you tomorrow Riku." Sora said happily, opening the gate that concealed a walkway which led to his front steps.
"S-sora, wanna walk to school tomorrow?"
Sora glanced over his shoulder at Riku and nodded, grinning. "Of course. Meet me and Zexy here at 8:00, thats when we always walk."
Before Riku could reply Sora had shut the gate and was bouncing towards his front door.
"Maybe we could've walked..." He whispered.
/Alone./
As Riku resigned too his bed that night he couldn't help but feel a little excited about walking with Sora the next day, even if Zexion was going to be there as well.
Yes, it was true that Riku liked Sora.
The question that had been on Riku's mind all day had been "is this a forever feeling?" or "will it pass?" He definitley didn't want Sora to find out that he liked him, only to realize the feeling had faded.
~3 Days later - Thursday
Sora had invited Riku to walk to school with him all two of the past days, including that morning. Each day, Riku had contemplated his feelings for Sora, and each day the fact still remained: he liked the brunette, a lot.
It was fifth block at the moment, gym with Xaldin, and Riku was in the change room awaiting Sora's arrival. Gym was the only class Sora and Riku had together, and it was his favorite now as well.
After a couple seconds of waiting, Riku was rewarded by a happy Sora's presence gliding through the change room doors. "Riku!" Sora purred, putting his bag down on the bench beside Riku's. Riku wondered how Sora could stand being so cheerful all the time, but then again, that sort of appealed to him.
"Hey Sora." Riku replied, smiling at his friend as he began searching in his bag for his gym shorts. Sora mimicked Riku and began searching for his own.
"Riku?" "Yes..." "I'll be right back." Riku watched as Sora began to leave, but he stretched out an arm and clasped Sora's shoulder, stopping the brunette from walking further. "Wait, where're you going?" Sora turned to face Riku, letting the silver-haired boys hand fall from his skin.
"The stalls, duh!" Riku swallowed. "No! Just, change here..." Sora's expression turned to one of curiousity and nervousness. "I mean, don't go through all the effort of waiting in line for a stall when you could change right here, quicker." Sora seemed to contemplate Riku's suggestion when Riku added, "I won't look, don't worry. It's just your boxers." That seemed to decide for Sora right there and he relented with a cheery "Ok then. You sure you won't look?" Riku made himself roll his eyes.
"Sora... I'm not... /Gay/ or anything...
He watched as some sort of expression flickered over his friends face, but it was gone when Riku blinked again.
"O-ok..."
Riku turned around, his own shorts in hand, facing the lockers. After a couple seconds he glanced over his shoulder at Sora, and his eyes grew a little wider. Sora's back was exposed; he had taken his shirt off and Riku could see Sora's little a** hugged tightly by his boxers.
/Oh Damn... Should I be attached to this? /Am/ I attracted to this?/
The plain and simple answer was yes, but he almost didn't want to admit it anymore.
As the silver-haired boy began pulling off his shirt he had a brainblast.
/This'll be fun./
"Sora! I need help!" He'd purposely not lifted his shirt all the way over and it was 'stuck' now.
"Silly Riku." Sora tutted, walking over to his friend. He'd managed to get his shorts on, but he was still bare chested. Riku had his back to Sora and he stood still, waiting for the cherished moment. Sora came up behind Riku and tried tugging Riku's shirt off, but Riku was holding it down.
"Try harder Sora..." Riku complained, smiling beneath the opaque fabric.
"You're just too tall..." Sora countered.
Suddenly Riku's breath caught. Sora's warm soft chest pressed up against his back as he continued trying to get the shirt.
"Lean over Riku! I just can't reach..."
Riku couldn't handle it anymore, he was going to get a hard on. Before he could tell Sora to wait the younger brunette forcefully pushed him forward, bending at the waist. "Got it." Sora exclaimed happily as he leaned over Riku and pulled the shirt off. "T-th..." Riku swallowed loudly, grabbing the shirt from Sora's hand before he sat on the bench. He covered his throbbing shaft with the cold material.
"Thank-ks..." Riku finally said, his eyes still a little wider then normal, gazing at the floor.
/Sora is so warm
Soft
Gentle
but at the same time
He's strong./
"You okay?" Riku looked up at Sora, who was putting his own shirt on now. "Yah, there wasn't... Wasn't much room to breathe under there." He smiled weakly and began pulling a different shirt over his head.
Sora laughed; Riku's heart skipped a beat.
After Sora'd gotten dressed, Riku had gone to the washroom to get rid of the bulge in his gym shorts. The rest of the day had gone fine, they'd even walked home together.
That night as Riku lay in bed again he closed his eyes.
/I can't pull anymore stunts like that, I won't be able to handle it...
It's like torture.../
As he slipped into the dream world one word was on his lips.
/Sora./
~Another week and four days past and it was now Monday, the third week of school had begun. Riku had proceeded with the same routine daily; he'd walked too and from school with Sora and Zexion, but it was getting harder and harder to keep his feelings to himself. School was picking up again, he had daily homework and not much time with friends. He didn't mind though, he always choked up when Sora was around. He now doubted Sora would ever like him back, it had become evident after seven days of watching and waiting; Sora was straight.
This morning though, Riku had formed a plan. He'd tell Sora how he felt that morning, he couldn't keep it too himself.
Perhaps, he would confer with Zexion first. He walked over to Sora's gate and stood outside, watching as Zexion came walking towards him, book in hand.
"Zexy, Hey!" Riku said enthusiastically, rushing over too Zexion with a smile. "H-hey Riku..." Zexion replied, looking slightly nervous at Riku's enthusiasm. Riku chuckled, then grew serious.
"Can I ask you something?" Zexion nodded. "Have you... Do you... Uh... Who do you like?" Zexion's cheeks quickly turned a bright pink and he looked down. "I'd... I'd rather not say..." Riku waved a hand and dismissed his answer. "Nevermind... But, have you ever thought you might have fallen in love... In love... With... In love with another guy?" Zexion looked up at him, and his expression was quite surprising.
Riku gave him a warm smile, he'd either hit one of Zexion's weak topics or he'd just pinched a nerve.
"Zexion, it's okay... It was just a question... Besides, likeing another guy and admitting it would probably be...
Embaressing..."
Zexion squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. "How'd you find out?" Riku looked surprised at Zexion's hard tone. When Riku didn't speak, Zexion guessed he didn't feel like telling him who it was.
"I bet it was Demyx who told you..." Zexion continued slapping his forehead. "He told me he'd keep his mouth shut, but I knew he wouldn't have been able too..." He glanced up at Riku again, who looked quite dumbfounded. Then Riku slowly raised a finger to his chin, tapping it, his eyebrow raising questioningly.
"So, which guy do you like again?" He had no idea Zexion even liked a guy before, but now he wanted to know who.
Zexion threw his hands up in the air. "You don't remember?" Riku shook his head.
"Youre mom." Zexion said icily, knowing now he'd just admitted something he hadn't wanted too.
Riku watched the cloaked nocturne slide past him and greet Sora with a wave and..
and a hug?
After they'd gotten to school, Riku had spent all of his first class alone, thinking.
/Does Zexy like Sora? No.. That can't be... Sora isn't Zexy's type... But then why did they hug? It was probably just a friendly gesture, yah, that had to be it.../
~Another four days passed before Riku had seen enough of Zexion's affection towards Sora took now that Sora was who he'd been talking about. He'd gone from Monday to Thursday contemplating it, and now he couldn't just stand here and let it happen. /He/ was going to be the one to win Sora's heart, /him!/
It was after school that day that Riku decided to confront Zexoin and tell Sora how he felt; he didn't care what it took anyore, three weeks of waiting and watching just seemed like too much.
Demyx, Zexion, Reno, Axel, Sora, and Roxas were walking with Riku down Shade Lane that day; the gang had decided to hang out at Axel and Reno's house for a while.
They were nearing Sora's house when Demyx suddenly spoke up.
"Hey guys, have you noticed there aren't any girls here?" Riku's gaze immediatley went to Demyx, who was glancing at Zexion, who was staring straight ahead at something in the distance. He'd been hoping for more of a reaction from Zexion, but the boy seemed nonchalant.
Reno started laughing, as did Axel, and they both made a hand movement to each other that Riku didn't understand.
/Must be a brother thing.../ Riku thought to himself as he looked ahead at them.
"You're right Demyx... Who do you suppose we invite? Tifa?" That got another sharp rapt of laughter from Axel. "Tifa? You, like Tifa, Reno? Your Gym teacher?" Reno winked at Axel and nodded. All heads turned when Zexion snorted. "Just because she dressed like a slut and pwns at fighting doesn't make her hot Reno... It makes her a... A-" "A slut?" All the boys began chuckling and laughing at Roxas' innocent comment. Reno finally caught his breath and cleared his throat. "But she's still hot..." Zexion rolled his eyes. Axel put his hand in front of Reno's face and let fire dance along his fingertips; he could see the hesitance in Reno's eyes.
Both brothers loved picking on each other, they did it frequently, and usually the older one won.
But not today.
"You want something hot? I'll show you hot..." "There's something wrong with you..." Demyx piped in, shaking his head and smiling at Reno. Reno finally raised a hand and moved Axel's out of his face, now glaring at hir brother.
"Too bad you can't bring your chakrams too school Axel, they're too big to hide anywhere." Reno pulled his baton out of his back pocket and waved it in Axel's face. "But I can bring mine."
Both Axel and Reno stopped walking and faced each other, as did the rest of the group who found this quite amusing.
Axel's eyes rolled. "That's made of metal, right?" Reno nodded, confused. "Then this'll be a piece of cake." Axel grabbed Reno's baton and held it tightly, pretending to pull it from his brother's grasp.
"Hey!" Reno exclaimed, trying to pull it back. Axel grinned and began a tug-a-war with his brother.
Then suddenly Reno's eyes opened wide and he gasped, glancing down at his hand.
In a matter of about five seconds Axel had secretly heated the baton beyond hot, beyond red hot. In fact the metal itself was turning a lighter color. All the while he grinned; he was finally going to show his brother that just because he was younger didn't mean he couldn't fend for himself.
"OWWWWWW!" Reno's cry split the seilence and he threw his burnt hand in the air, shaking it vigorously. "What the hell Axel!" He shouted, unable to stop the searing pain in his hand. His palm was bubbling slightly and he lokoed back up at his brother. Axel snickered into his own palm. Roxas watched with wide eyes, as did Sora, their resemblance was amazing, while Zexion and Demyx began laughing. Riku didn't know whether he should think it was funny or if he should be worried for Reno.
A nervous chuckle escaped him when Reno cried out again, blundering towards Axel like a bull. "Axel!" Riku exclaimed, but Axel was already aware and struck out with a hand, holding Reno waway from him by his brother's head, like a bully would do to another kid who was shorter then him.
Reno stood and attempted a side kick, but Axel blocked it with his hand and grabbed Reno's foot, spinning his brother 360 degrees in the air. It looked like the shorter red-head was about to land on his face, but he outstretched his good arm and held himself up, thankful that Axel hadn't let go of his foot yet, and spun once more in a 360 degree motion, kicking Axel in teh face before he dropped for real this time. He clutched his hurting hand to his chest, panting slightly.
Meanwhile, Axel flew backwards, amazed at the ferocity of Reno's kick. He landed on his back and his head smashed against the ground once; he instantly saw stars around the edges of his vision. Reno struggled to his feet, still clutching his hand to his chest. A couple feet away Axel began standing as well, he could taste blood in his mouth now and he spat once, watching as the red liquid fell upon teh concrete without a sound.
Riku could see the animal Axel had become as he stood, his eyes ablaze, holding the back of his head gingerly. Riku was glad he wasn't fighting Axel; or Reno for that matter.
"Get up Reno." Axel taunted, wiping his mouth.
Just then Roxas broke from teh group and ran towards Axel. Axel's expression changed immediatley and he took a step back, afraid to hurt the younger boy.
But all Roxas did was hug him tightly for a few seconds and pull back, looking slightly embarresed.
"Roxas?" Axel asked, his face showing his bewilderment.
"Are you okay?" The blonde asked Axel, twidling his fingers. Axel slowly began to smile, but Riku could not even guess what the expression on his face meant now, all he knew was Axel seemed...
Happy...
"Oh how cute." Reno sneered. "Axel's fan club wants to know how he's doing."
Just then there was a sharp "Hey" and all the boys could tell right away it wasn't a guys voice.
"Hey!" Yuffie repeated, running up to them. "Whatcha guys doi-" but she stopped short when she saw the scene; Axel stood about seven freet from Reno, clutching the back of his head, and Reno was holding his injured hand to his chest.
She walked over beside Zexion and Demyx and glanced at the others in turn, her hands going to her hips. "Who started it?" She asked.
"Axel." The group replied, almost in sync.
"Explain?" She said again, glancing at Axel.
But before Axel could reply, Zexion stepped in.
"It seems that this revolves around a brotherly fued if I have guessed correctly. Reno threatens Axel, and Axel shows him he wont be bossed around; this is not uncommon between siblings. I daresay I have guessed correctly?"
Axel turned to Reno and shot him a glare, but nodded. Reno returned the gesture as well, turning to Yuffie.
Yuffie sighed and shook her head.
"I'll never understand you two..." She told the fiery brothers, smiling now. Zexion cleared his throat and waved a hand. "I'd love to stay and chat but I should be going home now..." Demyx turned to him. "Could I come with you Zexy?" Zexion shot him a 'shut-your-mouth' look. "I mean, if your mom is okay with it..." He tapped the tips of his index fingers together, shooting Zexion an 'I'm-sorry' look. Zexion rolled his eeys and smiled at his friend. "Demyx, we've already asked my mom..." He said through slightly clenched teeth, walking betwen Axel and Reno on the way to his house. Demyx made a gleeful and sound and chased after Zexion. Everyone waited about two minutes until the two students were out of ear shot. Then they turned to each other and Reno burst out laughing. "They are soooo gay!" Reno exclaimed, still clutching his hand to his chest. Axel began laughing nervously and glanced over at Reno. "Y-yah, so..." He swallowed and forced out another laugh. "Gay..."
Riku cleared his throat and turned to Axel. This totally contradicted anything he'd ever thought to himself, but...
"Are you gay or something, Axel? You don't seem to find this funny..."
He forced a believable smile onto his face and crossed his arms. Axel glanced at Reno, then down at Roxas, then back to Riku. His expression darkened and he crossed his own arms. "Maybe I am... You got a problem with that?" Riku shook his head, but Reno spoke up. "Axel... Your, gay?" Axel turned around and faced his brother. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" "Well... It depends... Who do you like?" Reno challenged, studying his brother in the light. Axel's cheeks began turning pink and he looked at the sky. "What if it's you?" he asekd sarcastically, lokoing back at Reno.
For the past couple of minutes, the conversation had revolved around teachers and girls; from what Riku could tell everyone in this group was straight. Recently he'd thought he was straight as well, until the beginning of Junior Year when a certain guy had piqued his interest. Since that morning he'd had trouble focusing on classes; his thoughts had been plagued.
"Hey Riku, where you going?" It was Reno who'd asked, and Riku turned his head to face him.
"Oh, uhm... Just home. I should probably do my homework." Axel turned to Riku and shook his head, smiling.
"Lame. You should come hang with us."
Riku chuckled and mimicked Axel's head movement. "I'd rather not have a hangover tomorrow morning actually, so I think I'll pass."
Both Axel and Reno burst out laughing and clapped him on the shoulder.
Riku glanced over his shoulder at Sora and Zexion, blocking out the two rowdy brothers on either side of him. Sora and Zexion seemed to be talking to each other calmly and as Riku looked forward again he couldn't help but guess they hadn't even seen him glance in their direction.
"Will Riku, if you ever want to party you know who too call." Riku nodded at Axel as the two brothers took their hands off his shoulders. Then Reno smiled and pointed at a house on his side of the road. "Well, this is our stop." Axel nodded, leaning across Riku to high-five his brother. "Yah, see ya Riku." Then the two veered away from the sidewalk and began their journey to the party house.
That was when Riku turned around and fell in step with Zexion and Sora. He just happened ot be on the other side of Zexion, away from Sora.
"Hey guys." Both of the conversing pair looked over at him; Sora was the only one who smiled, but then again, he didn't often see Zexion smiling.
Sora waved. "Hi Riku." He said cheerily. Riku smiled and waved back. "What're you two up too?" Zexion's lip curled slightly, forming something close to a half-smile. "We were just talking about Mr. Rude, our math teacher." Riku's mouth opened slightly in surprise. "I have him for math as well... What block do you guys have math in?" "Third." Sora told him.
At Twilight High, every day consisted of five blocks, and each day started at 8:30 and ended at 3:00.
"Oh." Riku breathed. "I have him second. I guess I'll see you guys in between second and third then." Zexion nodded. "When's your lunch Riku?" Riku gave Zexion a thumbs up. "Third, you have the same?" Zexion shook his head, as did Sora. "We have fourth..." Riku glanced over at Sora before he looked at Zexion again.
/I guess this means getting closer to Sora is
Impossible./
Riku tried not to show his dissapointement, but he knew his smile was faltering.
"We'll have to find another way to hang out then... Obviously we don't have lunch together so..." Zexion's expression changed to one of innocent curiousity.
"You sound dissapointed."
/Exactly.../
"Naw, I'll live. I just thought it'd be nice to, I don't know, go scout for hot chicks with you guys..."
Zexion seemed to stiffen, but Riku hardly noticed.
"Or do our homework together..." That produced a cute laugh from Sora, and Riku felt a shiver go down his spine.
Suddenly Zexion pointed with a finger ahead and sighed. "Sorry guys but I have to go now."
Riku shook his head. "No problem."
He hadn't realized they were almost home now; the time had just flown by.
"Bye Zexion." Sora said, giving him a quick wave as the bluenette began crossing the street; the library was on the opposite side.
After Zexion left, Sora had begun filling Riku in about how his day had gone. Although it probably shouldn't have, Sora's day intrigued Riku. When the brunette had finished telling Riku about his day, they were just outside Sora's house. Riku's house was the one right beside Sora; they'd been neighbours since they'd moved to Twilight Town for school.
"See you tomorrow Riku." Sora said happily, opening the gate that concealed a walkway which led to his front steps.
"S-sora, wanna walk to school tomorrow?"
Sora glanced over his shoulder at Riku and nodded, grinning. "Of course. Meet me and Zexy here at 8:00, thats when we always walk."
Before Riku could reply Sora had shut the gate and was bouncing towards his front door.
"Maybe we could've walked..." He whispered.
/Alone./
As Riku resigned too his bed that night he couldn't help but feel a little excited about walking with Sora the next day, even if Zexion was going to be there as well.
Yes, it was true that Riku liked Sora.
The question that had been on Riku's mind all day had been "is this a forever feeling?" or "will it pass?" He definitley didn't want Sora to find out that he liked him, only to realize the feeling had faded.
~3 Days later - Thursday
Sora had invited Riku to walk to school with him all two of the past days, including that morning. Each day, Riku had contemplated his feelings for Sora, and each day the fact still remained: he liked the brunette, a lot.
It was fifth block at the moment, gym with Xaldin, and Riku was in the change room awaiting Sora's arrival. Gym was the only class Sora and Riku had together, and it was his favorite now as well.
After a couple seconds of waiting, Riku was rewarded by a happy Sora's presence gliding through the change room doors. "Riku!" Sora purred, putting his bag down on the bench beside Riku's. Riku wondered how Sora could stand being so cheerful all the time, but then again, that sort of appealed to him.
"Hey Sora." Riku replied, smiling at his friend as he began searching in his bag for his gym shorts. Sora mimicked Riku and began searching for his own.
"Riku?" "Yes..." "I'll be right back." Riku watched as Sora began to leave, but he stretched out an arm and clasped Sora's shoulder, stopping the brunette from walking further. "Wait, where're you going?" Sora turned to face Riku, letting the silver-haired boys hand fall from his skin.
"The stalls, duh!" Riku swallowed. "No! Just, change here..." Sora's expression turned to one of curiousity and nervousness. "I mean, don't go through all the effort of waiting in line for a stall when you could change right here, quicker." Sora seemed to contemplate Riku's suggestion when Riku added, "I won't look, don't worry. It's just your boxers." That seemed to decide for Sora right there and he relented with a cheery "Ok then. You sure you won't look?" Riku made himself roll his eyes.
"Sora... I'm not... /Gay/ or anything...
He watched as some sort of expression flickered over his friends face, but it was gone when Riku blinked again.
"O-ok..."
Riku turned around, his own shorts in hand, facing the lockers. After a couple seconds he glanced over his shoulder at Sora, and his eyes grew a little wider. Sora's back was exposed; he had taken his shirt off and Riku could see Sora's little a** hugged tightly by his boxers.
/Oh Damn... Should I be attached to this? /Am/ I attracted to this?/
The plain and simple answer was yes, but he almost didn't want to admit it anymore.
As the silver-haired boy began pulling off his shirt he had a brainblast.
/This'll be fun./
"Sora! I need help!" He'd purposely not lifted his shirt all the way over and it was 'stuck' now.
"Silly Riku." Sora tutted, walking over to his friend. He'd managed to get his shorts on, but he was still bare chested. Riku had his back to Sora and he stood still, waiting for the cherished moment. Sora came up behind Riku and tried tugging Riku's shirt off, but Riku was holding it down.
"Try harder Sora..." Riku complained, smiling beneath the opaque fabric.
"You're just too tall..." Sora countered.
Suddenly Riku's breath caught. Sora's warm soft chest pressed up against his back as he continued trying to get the shirt.
"Lean over Riku! I just can't reach..."
Riku couldn't handle it anymore, he was going to get a hard on. Before he could tell Sora to wait the younger brunette forcefully pushed him forward, bending at the waist. "Got it." Sora exclaimed happily as he leaned over Riku and pulled the shirt off. "T-th..." Riku swallowed loudly, grabbing the shirt from Sora's hand before he sat on the bench. He covered his throbbing shaft with the cold material.
"Thank-ks..." Riku finally said, his eyes still a little wider then normal, gazing at the floor.
/Sora is so warm
Soft
Gentle
but at the same time
He's strong./
"You okay?" Riku looked up at Sora, who was putting his own shirt on now. "Yah, there wasn't... Wasn't much room to breathe under there." He smiled weakly and began pulling a different shirt over his head.
Sora laughed; Riku's heart skipped a beat.
After Sora'd gotten dressed, Riku had gone to the washroom to get rid of the bulge in his gym shorts. The rest of the day had gone fine, they'd even walked home together.
That night as Riku lay in bed again he closed his eyes.
/I can't pull anymore stunts like that, I won't be able to handle it...
It's like torture.../
As he slipped into the dream world one word was on his lips.
/Sora./
~Another week and four days past and it was now Monday, the third week of school had begun. Riku had proceeded with the same routine daily; he'd walked too and from school with Sora and Zexion, but it was getting harder and harder to keep his feelings to himself. School was picking up again, he had daily homework and not much time with friends. He didn't mind though, he always choked up when Sora was around. He now doubted Sora would ever like him back, it had become evident after seven days of watching and waiting; Sora was straight.
This morning though, Riku had formed a plan. He'd tell Sora how he felt that morning, he couldn't keep it too himself.
Perhaps, he would confer with Zexion first. He walked over to Sora's gate and stood outside, watching as Zexion came walking towards him, book in hand.
"Zexy, Hey!" Riku said enthusiastically, rushing over too Zexion with a smile. "H-hey Riku..." Zexion replied, looking slightly nervous at Riku's enthusiasm. Riku chuckled, then grew serious.
"Can I ask you something?" Zexion nodded. "Have you... Do you... Uh... Who do you like?" Zexion's cheeks quickly turned a bright pink and he looked down. "I'd... I'd rather not say..." Riku waved a hand and dismissed his answer. "Nevermind... But, have you ever thought you might have fallen in love... In love... With... In love with another guy?" Zexion looked up at him, and his expression was quite surprising.
Riku gave him a warm smile, he'd either hit one of Zexion's weak topics or he'd just pinched a nerve.
"Zexion, it's okay... It was just a question... Besides, likeing another guy and admitting it would probably be...
Embaressing..."
Zexion squeezed his eyes shut and sighed. "How'd you find out?" Riku looked surprised at Zexion's hard tone. When Riku didn't speak, Zexion guessed he didn't feel like telling him who it was.
"I bet it was Demyx who told you..." Zexion continued slapping his forehead. "He told me he'd keep his mouth shut, but I knew he wouldn't have been able too..." He glanced up at Riku again, who looked quite dumbfounded. Then Riku slowly raised a finger to his chin, tapping it, his eyebrow raising questioningly.
"So, which guy do you like again?" He had no idea Zexion even liked a guy before, but now he wanted to know who.
Zexion threw his hands up in the air. "You don't remember?" Riku shook his head.
"Youre mom." Zexion said icily, knowing now he'd just admitted something he hadn't wanted too.
Riku watched the cloaked nocturne slide past him and greet Sora with a wave and..
and a hug?
After they'd gotten to school, Riku had spent all of his first class alone, thinking.
/Does Zexy like Sora? No.. That can't be... Sora isn't Zexy's type... But then why did they hug? It was probably just a friendly gesture, yah, that had to be it.../
~Another four days passed before Riku had seen enough of Zexion's affection towards Sora took now that Sora was who he'd been talking about. He'd gone from Monday to Thursday contemplating it, and now he couldn't just stand here and let it happen. /He/ was going to be the one to win Sora's heart, /him!/
It was after school that day that Riku decided to confront Zexoin and tell Sora how he felt; he didn't care what it took anyore, three weeks of waiting and watching just seemed like too much.
Demyx, Zexion, Reno, Axel, Sora, and Roxas were walking with Riku down Shade Lane that day; the gang had decided to hang out at Axel and Reno's house for a while.
They were nearing Sora's house when Demyx suddenly spoke up.
"Hey guys, have you noticed there aren't any girls here?" Riku's gaze immediatley went to Demyx, who was glancing at Zexion, who was staring straight ahead at something in the distance. He'd been hoping for more of a reaction from Zexion, but the boy seemed nonchalant.
Reno started laughing, as did Axel, and they both made a hand movement to each other that Riku didn't understand.
/Must be a brother thing.../ Riku thought to himself as he looked ahead at them.
"You're right Demyx... Who do you suppose we invite? Tifa?" That got another sharp rapt of laughter from Axel. "Tifa? You, like Tifa, Reno? Your Gym teacher?" Reno winked at Axel and nodded. All heads turned when Zexion snorted. "Just because she dressed like a slut and pwns at fighting doesn't make her hot Reno... It makes her a... A-" "A slut?" All the boys began chuckling and laughing at Roxas' innocent comment. Reno finally caught his breath and cleared his throat. "But she's still hot..." Zexion rolled his eyes. Axel put his hand in front of Reno's face and let fire dance along his fingertips; he could see the hesitance in Reno's eyes.
Both brothers loved picking on each other, they did it frequently, and usually the older one won.
But not today.
"You want something hot? I'll show you hot..." "There's something wrong with you..." Demyx piped in, shaking his head and smiling at Reno. Reno finally raised a hand and moved Axel's out of his face, now glaring at hir brother.
"Too bad you can't bring your chakrams too school Axel, they're too big to hide anywhere." Reno pulled his baton out of his back pocket and waved it in Axel's face. "But I can bring mine."
Both Axel and Reno stopped walking and faced each other, as did the rest of the group who found this quite amusing.
Axel's eyes rolled. "That's made of metal, right?" Reno nodded, confused. "Then this'll be a piece of cake." Axel grabbed Reno's baton and held it tightly, pretending to pull it from his brother's grasp.
"Hey!" Reno exclaimed, trying to pull it back. Axel grinned and began a tug-a-war with his brother.
Then suddenly Reno's eyes opened wide and he gasped, glancing down at his hand.
In a matter of about five seconds Axel had secretly heated the baton beyond hot, beyond red hot. In fact the metal itself was turning a lighter color. All the while he grinned; he was finally going to show his brother that just because he was younger didn't mean he couldn't fend for himself.
"OWWWWWW!" Reno's cry split the seilence and he threw his burnt hand in the air, shaking it vigorously. "What the hell Axel!" He shouted, unable to stop the searing pain in his hand. His palm was bubbling slightly and he lokoed back up at his brother. Axel snickered into his own palm. Roxas watched with wide eyes, as did Sora, their resemblance was amazing, while Zexion and Demyx began laughing. Riku didn't know whether he should think it was funny or if he should be worried for Reno.
A nervous chuckle escaped him when Reno cried out again, blundering towards Axel like a bull. "Axel!" Riku exclaimed, but Axel was already aware and struck out with a hand, holding Reno waway from him by his brother's head, like a bully would do to another kid who was shorter then him.
Reno stood and attempted a side kick, but Axel blocked it with his hand and grabbed Reno's foot, spinning his brother 360 degrees in the air. It looked like the shorter red-head was about to land on his face, but he outstretched his good arm and held himself up, thankful that Axel hadn't let go of his foot yet, and spun once more in a 360 degree motion, kicking Axel in teh face before he dropped for real this time. He clutched his hurting hand to his chest, panting slightly.
Meanwhile, Axel flew backwards, amazed at the ferocity of Reno's kick. He landed on his back and his head smashed against the ground once; he instantly saw stars around the edges of his vision. Reno struggled to his feet, still clutching his hand to his chest. A couple feet away Axel began standing as well, he could taste blood in his mouth now and he spat once, watching as the red liquid fell upon teh concrete without a sound.
Riku could see the animal Axel had become as he stood, his eyes ablaze, holding the back of his head gingerly. Riku was glad he wasn't fighting Axel; or Reno for that matter.
"Get up Reno." Axel taunted, wiping his mouth.
Just then Roxas broke from teh group and ran towards Axel. Axel's expression changed immediatley and he took a step back, afraid to hurt the younger boy.
But all Roxas did was hug him tightly for a few seconds and pull back, looking slightly embarresed.
"Roxas?" Axel asked, his face showing his bewilderment.
"Are you okay?" The blonde asked Axel, twidling his fingers. Axel slowly began to smile, but Riku could not even guess what the expression on his face meant now, all he knew was Axel seemed...
Happy...
"Oh how cute." Reno sneered. "Axel's fan club wants to know how he's doing."
Just then there was a sharp "Hey" and all the boys could tell right away it wasn't a guys voice.
"Hey!" Yuffie repeated, running up to them. "Whatcha guys doi-" but she stopped short when she saw the scene; Axel stood about seven freet from Reno, clutching the back of his head, and Reno was holding his injured hand to his chest.
She walked over beside Zexion and Demyx and glanced at the others in turn, her hands going to her hips. "Who started it?" She asked.
"Axel." The group replied, almost in sync.
"Explain?" She said again, glancing at Axel.
But before Axel could reply, Zexion stepped in.
"It seems that this revolves around a brotherly fued if I have guessed correctly. Reno threatens Axel, and Axel shows him he wont be bossed around; this is not uncommon between siblings. I daresay I have guessed correctly?"
Axel turned to Reno and shot him a glare, but nodded. Reno returned the gesture as well, turning to Yuffie.
Yuffie sighed and shook her head.
"I'll never understand you two..." She told the fiery brothers, smiling now. Zexion cleared his throat and waved a hand. "I'd love to stay and chat but I should be going home now..." Demyx turned to him. "Could I come with you Zexy?" Zexion shot him a 'shut-your-mouth' look. "I mean, if your mom is okay with it..." He tapped the tips of his index fingers together, shooting Zexion an 'I'm-sorry' look. Zexion rolled his eeys and smiled at his friend. "Demyx, we've already asked my mom..." He said through slightly clenched teeth, walking betwen Axel and Reno on the way to his house. Demyx made a gleeful and sound and chased after Zexion. Everyone waited about two minutes until the two students were out of ear shot. Then they turned to each other and Reno burst out laughing. "They are soooo gay!" Reno exclaimed, still clutching his hand to his chest. Axel began laughing nervously and glanced over at Reno. "Y-yah, so..." He swallowed and forced out another laugh. "Gay..."
Riku cleared his throat and turned to Axel. This totally contradicted anything he'd ever thought to himself, but...
"Are you gay or something, Axel? You don't seem to find this funny..."
He forced a believable smile onto his face and crossed his arms. Axel glanced at Reno, then down at Roxas, then back to Riku. His expression darkened and he crossed his own arms. "Maybe I am... You got a problem with that?" Riku shook his head, but Reno spoke up. "Axel... Your, gay?" Axel turned around and faced his brother. "Whatcha gonna do about it?" "Well... It depends... Who do you like?" Reno challenged, studying his brother in the light. Axel's cheeks began turning pink and he looked at the sky. "What if it's you?" he asekd sarcastically, lokoing back at Reno.
