[041.] The Value of Teasing
Title: The Value of Teasing
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [041.] Independence
Word Count: 5,994
Rating: R
Summary: They could never really be free-not as long as the darkness remained. Sometimes you have to decide if what you have is worth fighting for.
Disclaimer: I wish, okay? It’s all lies. I don’t own Kingdom Hearts, I don’t know anyone who owns Kingdom Hearts, and I am not affiliated with anyone who is affiliated with anyone who owns Kingdom Hearts. I think that about covers it.
Warning: Underage boy on boy sexual activity is enclosed within the following text. Be forewarned and proceed with caution (or elation if that’s your cup of tea).
Sun peeked through the sheer material of long, thin curtains that hung from a metal rod. The bright rays cast a blinding light into the darkened room as they streamed through the panes of glass, across two bodies shrouded beneath the heavy blankets, and into the far corner by the door. Shades of yellow and orange disappeared into the solid white, swallowed by the walls. Flecks of dust danced in the stream blazing across the space. A hand grasped the blankets’ edges and yanked them up, covering a mass of tangled, silver hair. Cloud chuckled.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
Riku grumbled.
“Turn out the light.”
“That would be the sun. No can do. Isn’t it usually me who doesn’t want to wake up in the morning?”
“It’s my turn today.”
“Why’s that? Did someone stay up past his bedtime last night?”
Riku yanked the bottom pillow out from underneath his head and swung it behind him in the direction of Cloud’s too-loud, sing-song voice. It passed over the mess of blond spikes, hit the side table, and fell to the floor.
“Missed,” said Cloud.
Riku grumbled.
“Well that’s the last time I take you out dancing. You get grumpy when you wear yourself out.”
“I didn’t wear myself out.”
“Just like a little kid. Had too much excitement last night, got all tuckered out, and now you’re cranky.”
“I’m not cranky. I’m tired.”
“You’re tired because you stayed up past your bedtime.”
“I don’t have a bedtime. I just stayed up later than usual.”
“Same thing, babe.”
“Why are you so happy this morning?”
“I don’t know.” Cloud stretched out, wrapped an arm around Riku’s waist, and pulled him to his chest. Riku hid his face in the pillow and smiled. “Maybe it’s because I woke up to you.”
“You always wake up to me.”
“No, I wake up to you waking me up. I don’t usually get to wake up to you still in bed.”
Riku wiggled closer to Cloud, his smile widening as he felt calloused fingertips sneak under the hem of his shirt and stroke along the length of his stomach.
“Maybe it’s because I had a good time with you last night.”
“Good time? You were miserable last night.”
“Yeah, at first, but you more than made up for it with how sexy you looked dancing with me.”
“You looked pretty hot, too.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m glad you danced with me.”
“You know, I think you look more provocative dancing than you sometimes do during sex.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. It turned me on.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You’re a really great dancer.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. You looked really great, too. Leon picked out some good clothes for you.”
“You liked them, huh?”
“Mmm . . . yeah. You have a great stomach.”
Riku squirmed as Cloud’s fingers moved lower across his skin, brushing the trail of hair below his navel.
“You think?”
“Yeah. The zipper’s a plus, too. Easy to take off. That was some good shopping on Leon’s part.”
“You still mad at him?”
“I still don’t like you spending more time with him than me, but maybe you can come up with a way to make it up to me. After all, I think the quality of time spent together is more important than quantity.”
“I can think of a few ways to make it up to you.”
“Is that right?”
“Yep.”
“And what are those?”
Riku smirked against the pillow. He covered Cloud’s hand with his own and applied a gentle pressure, pushing it farther down his stomach toward his cock. Cloud leaned across his upper body, placed a kiss to his neck, and smiled against the skin.
“What? You’ll make it up to me by allowing me to get you off?”
“Well you were so jealous of the way Leon was looking at me, and touching me, and pressing against me that I thought you might like to do it instead.”
Cloud pulled his hand from beneath Riku’s, snatched the hip pressed into the bed, and yanked him onto his back. Riku took one look at the pout on the Cloud’s face and burst into laughter.
“What?” said Riku. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“Brat.”
“You’re so dumb.”
“I’m dumb?”
“Yes, being all jealous and everything. You should know by now that I’m completely crazy about you and only you.”
“Don’t tell me it didn’t give you an ego boost that I was jealous.”
Riku grinned.
“Yeah, but it was still dumb.”
“You’re a brat.”
“So are you going to let me make it up to you or what? Cause all that pillow talk’s got me really turned on.”
“Let you make it up to me by getting you off? What about me?”
“Oh, you’ll get yours. I just thought you’d like to reclaim what’s yours since there were other people touching me.”
Cloud smirked.
“Reclaim what’s mine, huh?”
Riku nodded.
“Yep.”
Cloud stared at Riku for a second, and then jumped off the bed. Riku frowned, his eyebrows knitted, and propped himself up on his elbows.
“Cloud . . .?”
“One sec. Take off your shirt.”
Riku continued to frown, but sat up and pulled the material over his head. He discarded it next to bed, still frowning. Cloud ran to the door, turned the knob, and poked his head out.
”Hey, Leon, Riku and I are having make-up sex so don’t come near the room!”
“I didn’t need to know that!” Riku heard Leon shout back.
He smirked. Cloud shut the door, turned the lock, and rushed to the bed, burrowing back under the blankets.
“Was that really necessary?” said Riku.
“Do you want to get interrupted?”
“Good point.”
Riku fell back and shrank down into the mattress, savoring the heat radiating from Cloud’s skin as he sprawled across Riku’s chest. His head fell back, neck exposed, and his eyelids fluttered before shutting as Cloud dropped his head to trail kisses along the bared skin. The fingertips returned, rough against his flesh as they danced over his collarbone and down his chest. Chapped lips pressed against his neck with the occasional soft pressure of the tip of Cloud’s tongue, cold to the initial touch, but as his hot breath ghosted over the dampened spot, Riku squirmed. His breathing quickened a bit, became shallower as he lifted a hand and trailed his palm over Cloud’s shoulder and down the definition of muscle. He stilled and gripped his arm as Cloud’s fingertips continued lower on his body and now trailed along his inner thigh.
Cloud chuckled. Riku cracked open his eyes and frowned.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“No. I’m just giddy.”
Riku laughed.
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“I love you on your back.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. Turns me on.”
“Control freak.”
“You like it.”
“Yeah, I do.”
A devilish smile spread across Cloud’s face, his blue eyes glittering more than usual. Riku squirmed.
“I don’t like that look you’re giving me.”
“Why’s that?”
Riku smirked.
“You look like you’re up to no good.”
“Maybe I am.”
Riku gasped and his head fell back again as a sudden pressure wrapped around his cock. The instant gratification shot through his body. His eyes shut as that now-familiar warm feeling spread through his stomach. As his mouth fell open, Cloud touched his teeth to his bottom lip and bit down. Riku arched his head up to capture Cloud’s mouth.
~*~
“Satisfied?”
Riku stopped mid-stumble across the living room. He glanced around for a few second, rubbing his fingers through his disheveled mess of hair. A soft chuckle sounded, and Riku caught sight of Leon sitting at the kitchen counter, cigarette in hand. He grinned.
“Yeah. Sorry. Were we too loud?”
Leon shrugged.
“You were.”
Riku dropped his head, but the smile refused to leave his face.
“I know I should be embarrassed, but I just feel too damn good right now.”
Leon laughed.
“Were you going somewhere?”
Riku raised his eyebrows, and looked around the room. His hand was still tangled at the back of his head in his hair. He laughed.
“I think I was going to pee.”
Leon grinned for a moment, bit his lip, and dropped his head.
“I want you to know that I’m doing everything in my power not to laugh at you right now.”
“It’s okay. I know I must look ridiculous.”
“You sound pretty ridiculous, too.”
“I think I’m grinning like a moron, too.”
Leon nodded.
“Oh, yeah.”
“That bad, huh?”
Leon nodded.
“Yeah.”
The door to the bedroom opened again and Cloud walked out dressed in only his boxers. He looked from Leon to Riku, and then back to Leon.
“I thought you were going to the bathroom?” said Cloud.
“I distracted him, and now I don’t think he can focus long enough to remember where the bathroom is.”
“That was really amazing,” said Riku.
“I could tell,” said Leon. “Job well done, Cloud. You fucked the sense right out of him.”
Cloud shrugged.
“I warned you to stay away from the room.”
“I tried to, but I could still hear you from outside, and I really hate smoking in the cold.”
Cloud smirked.
“You could hear us from outside?”
“Okay. I could hear Riku from outside.”
Riku grinned.
“That was really amazing.”
Cloud and Leon exchanged glances for a second. Leon bit his lip and shrugged. Cloud scratched his chin, offered a smile, and walked over to Riku, patting him on the back. Leon dropped his head in his hand and chuckled.
“I think you guys are laughing at me,” said Riku.
“Come on, babe. I think you still need to use the restroom.”
“I’m not an invalid. I’m just really . . .”
“Satisfied?” said Leon.
“Yeah . . .”
“Go use the bathroom, Riku.”
Five minutes later, the pressure in Riku’s bladder was gone, and he returned to the living room to join Cloud and Leon on the couch. He dropped beside Cloud, touched the length of his calf to Cloud’s, and placed his hand just above Cloud’s knee.
“Can I get a cigarette?”
Leon grabbed his pack from the table, shook one out, and passed it over. Riku fiddled with the lighter, and then dropped it on the table. He took a deep inhale and smiled as Cloud extended an arm around his waist.
“All better?” said Leon.
“I was just a little . . .”
”Disoriented is a good word,” said Cloud. Riku slapped his chest.
“Shut up. Don’t get smug.”
“So I take it that everything is better in happy couple land?” said Leon.
“For now,” said Cloud.
“Yeah,” said Riku. “Until Cloud goes on one of his mood swings again.”
“Who? Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Hey,” said Leon. Cloud and Riku turned their eyes in his direction. “Lets it keep this way for a little while, okay? Cause you two drive me crazy.”
Cloud laughed.
“Yeah, sure. No problem.”
“What do you mean ‘you two’?” said Riku. “I wasn’t the one in the jealous fit of rage.”
“No, you’re just the one who went to the realm of darkness and needed all details that may have revealed your identity on the down low for months on end.”
Riku bit his lip and grinned.
“Who? Me?”
“Yeah. You both can go ahead and act innocent all you like, but you’re more work than you know, and I’m not even in this relationship.”
“Hear that, Cloud?” said Riku. “He’s not in our relationship.”
Cloud rubbed Riku’s back and shook his head.
“You know what I love about you so much?”
“Hm?”
“Your sense of humor.”
“Well you did make a total ass out of yourself.”
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did,” said Leon.
“Careful, Leon. I think you’re getting in the relationship again.”
“Wouldn’t want to do that. That makes him angry.”
“And you wouldn’t want to see him when he’s angry.”
“You both suck,” said Cloud. “Stop picking on me. It hurts my feelings.”
“That makes me want to pick on you more,” said Leon.
“You’re a bastard.”
“Poor baby,” said Riku. He titled his head and pressed his lips to Cloud’s jaw. “I’m sorry. I was just playing with you.”
“You play mean.”
“You say that so often. You don’t say that to Leon.”
“That’s because he knows I’m a bastard,” said Leon.
“Yeah. And you’re my boyfriend,” said Cloud. “You’re supposed to be nice to me.”
“Now why would I do that?”
“Because you love me.”
“I’m mean to you because I love you.”
“You’re a brat.”
“You like me bratty. Besides, I think I have a right to be bratty since you’re so emo and moody.”
“I’m not emo.”
Leon snorted. Riku patted Cloud’s chest.
“Of course you’re not.”
“Why is this ‘Pick on Cloud’ day?”
“Because yesterday was ‘See Cloud Act like an Idiot’ day,” said Leon.
“That’s not fair. My pride is already injured. Way to kick a guy when he’s down.”
“Woe is you. You’re such a whiner.”
“I want you to know I would have been offended by that if I didn’t think you were teasing.”
“I know I haven’t pushed it too far yet. I’ll stop joking when you start speaking in third person. Now go get dressed and enjoy your day off because you have more work to do tomorrow.”
Cloud groaned, threw his head back, and covered his eyes with his free hand. The other hand squeezed Riku’s shoulder, and then dropped to his hip.
“What if getting dressed is entirely too much work?”
“Then anyone who visits today is going to be subjected to you in your underwear. It’s mean, but hey . . . I can’t stop you.”
Riku snorted.
“I think Cloud looks very nice in his underwear.”
“That’s good considering that he’s fucking you.”
Leon stood and walked to the kitchen to refill his coffee cup. Once his back was turned, Riku grinned, rubbed his hand along the definition in Cloud’s stomach and placed a kiss next to his ear.
“I wouldn’t plan on getting dressed if I were you, but you should head into the bedroom.”
Cloud raised his eyebrows.
“Again?”
“What? Aren’t up for it, old man?”
“Who’re you calling old man?”
“Depends on whether or not you can rise to the challenge.”
“You’re a little shit.”
“A little shit who’s recovered and ready for round two.”
Cloud smirked and nodded.
“I truly appreciate you’re sixteen years old right now. I mean, truly appreciate it.”
“I bet you do.”
“Should I warn Leon?”
“Just lock the door. I’m sure he’ll hear me again. And hey, if you can hear me outside, maybe no one will actually want to come in to visit cause I wouldn’t mind actually spending the entire day in bed with you.”
“Were you always this horny?”
“Yes. I just wasn’t always this brave about it.”
“I think I like you this way.”
“Good, cause you made me this way.”
“Bedroom?”
“Definitely.”
~*~
On Monday morning, Leon shook Riku from sleep, placed a coffee cup in his hand, and switched on a lamp as he left the bedroom. Riku rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. He sipped from his beverage as he dressed, and then stumbled out of the room into the kitchen. Leon stood by the toaster, cigarette in hand, and Riku snatched one from his pack as he moved to the refrigerator.
“Did you wake Cloud yet?” said Leon.
Riku shook his head.
“Nah. Easiest way to deal with a sleepy, bitchy Cloud is food and caffeine. I don’t even try without them both anymore.”
Leon snorted.
“At least you’ve got a method down, right?”
“Yeah.” Riku sat a carton of eggs down on the counter, fished through the drawer beneath the stove, and grabbed the cooking oil from a nearby cupboard. “Hey, Leon, sorry about yesterday.”
Leon laughed as his toast popped.
“No problem. You two needed some couple time. Anyway, I went over to Aerith and Yuffie’s. Visited with Tifa and Vincent, and played with the runts some since they’re leaving in a few days.”
“Is Tifa going with them?”
“Yeah. Well, she’s been here for awhile now, and she’s coming back eventually, but she’s got stuff she needs to do on Midgar, too. There’s a lot of work to do, and only one Tifa to get it all done. Apparently Reno’s really been on Vincent’s ass to get Tifa back. Not literally, of course. Thankfully.”
Riku arched an eyebrow.
“Thankfully? What? Is Reno some kind of slut?”
“You could say that.”
“So is Reno part of that AVALANCHE group?”
“No. Not officially, anyway. Reno’s one of the Turks, though Reno works for Reno more than anyone.”
Riku sighed.
“I’m never going to get any of this stuff straight, and it sucks because I want to understand what everyone’s talking about, but . . .”
“Cloud really understands it more than I do. He’s the one who went to Midgar. Everything I know has been second-hand through Cloud or Tifa or Cid or Vincent.”
“You didn’t go to Midgar, too?”
Leon chuckled.
“I wanted to, but nope. Never happened.”
“Why not?”
Leon sighed.
“You know, it should be Cloud telling you all this stuff.”
“Apparently, Cloud takes a long time to get around to telling me stuff.”
Leon paused, frowning. He shook his head and carried his toast to the counter.
“You know what Shinra is, right?”
Riku nodded.
“Yeah. They’re like . . . Midgar’s government or something, right? Own everything. Got an army and a bunch of research scientists for just about anything and everything at their disposal. Cloud makes it sound like scary shit.”
“That’s because Shinra did a lot of fucked up shit-still does, at that.” Leon sighed, rubbed his arm, and flicked his cigarette. “The Heartless invaded Hollow Bastion about twelve years ago, I guess. Ansem-“ Leon paused, noting Riku flinch, and took another breath. “Ansem was still a good guy then, or so we thought. Ansem the Wise, then. Told us he was researching the Heartless to discover just what they were. Whether they were a threat or not.
“The Turks do all the recruiting for Shinra. After about three years of the Heartless here, we knew they weren’t good, but we still had no idea what it was all about. Then the Turks showed up. They told us what the Heartless were, the threat they posed, about Keyblades, and about Gaia-the world they came from, because Midgar is just one small part of their world. It seemed so fantastical-other worlds existing and everything. But Gaia was overrun with Heartless, and they needed recruits to control the problem. Shinra promised that once their Heartless problem was taken care of, their army would assist in saving the worlds they’d recruited people from in exchange for services.
“We needed help. More Heartless appeared every day, people were going missing constantly, and no one had seen Ansem the Wise in almost two years. Cid signed up right away. I wanted to go, but they had an age requirement. I was eleven at the time; Cloud was fourteen. He made the cut; I didn’t. So Cid, Zack, and Cloud left for Midgar.
“About a year later, your friend King Mickey came to Hollow Bastion. There weren’t many people left, but he got who was out of here and over to Traverse Town.”
“I didn’t know you knew Mickey already . . .” said Riku.
Leon laughed.
“Oh, yeah. That’s why Aerith, Yuffie, and I were looking for the Keyblade master in the first place. Otherwise, we probably never would have met him. You know, whoever he may be.”
“Right. Cause I think he was my best friend, but even I don’t remember if that’s true or not.” Riku pushed the bacon around the pan and bit his lip. “So . . . what happened?”
“I don’t really know much. We were all really worried about our friends that had left. Aerith told us all to be patient, but Tifa and Yuffie hijacked a Gummi ship a few years later and went to look for them. Aerith was going to go after them, but she got a bad feeling about it and stayed instead.”
“Why didn’t you go?”
Leon smirked.
“I was still pretty ticked off about Zack and Cloud leaving me behind. I was really angry for a long time. I couldn’t help on Midgar, and I couldn’t save Hollow Bastion on my own. I kind of blamed them for what happened-for leaving-and then I blamed myself for not being stronger.”
“So that’s your deal with the Restoration . . . Why you think it’s your fault . . .”
“Yeah . . .”
Riku shook his head.
“Anyway . . . sorry. Continue.”
Leon nodded. His smile appeared forced.
“You know what AVALANCHE is, right?”
“Resistance group against Shinra?”
“Yeah, in short. About a year ago, Cid, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud came to Traverse Town. Tifa left again after a few weeks because she said there was still a lot of work to do with AVALANCHE, but . . . I don’t know. They needed to get Cloud away from there was what she said. He was . . . you know, Cloud should really be telling you this. Not me.”
“I want to know.”
“If I tell you more, I’m going to have to talk about Zack, and I get nervous talking about Zack to you.”
“Why? Because he’s the ex-boyfriend, and I’m the current one? I want to know.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you about all of this, but I want you to know that it’s because it was bound to come up eventually, even if it was in passing. I understand why he didn’t. You typically don’t tell the person you’re dating about your former relationships, and what happened in Midgar was a real disaster.”
“You mean with SOLDIER?”
Leon frowned.
“Did you know that Cloud almost didn’t make SOLDIER?”
“But I thought . . .”
Leon shook his head.
“Yeah, sure, he made it into SOLDIER, but it took him ages. It doesn’t really surprise me. Cloud was always-small, for a lack of a better word. He was short, thin . . . Never much of a fighter. When they got there, he didn’t make it very far. Just a guard. But Zack . . .
“Zack, Cloud, and I all shared a room at the orphanage so we were all friends. Zack was the personable one. Fun, friendly, great sense of humor. I was the baby. Got picked on a lot, cried a lot. Cloud . . . Cloud got left behind. I think he was born insecure. I mean, anytime anyone messed with me he was there to defend me, but then we both got wailed and depended on Zack to save us more than we probably should have. Cloud worshipped him, and he’s always had this complex about being more like Zack.
“I think when he left with the Turks, Cloud really felt like he was going to become stronger, or worth something. Zack tried to talk Cloud into staying for me, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. Zack made SOLDIER without a problem, but Cloud really struggled until . . . well, he let the darkness in. And he became stronger. ”
“And then Sephiroth was created, right?”
“Created is kind of the wrong word. Sephiroth was a person once. He-Sephiroth-was a member of SOLDIER. But Shinra did something to him-and this is the part of the story I don’t fully understand, because Cloud doesn’t really go into details-but Sephiroth lost his mind. Went on killing spree, almost killed Zack and Tifa, and Cloud tried to stop him. They both almost died, and then . . . I don’t know. That’s where the gaps in Cloud’s memory start to come in. From what he can decipher out of it, the Shinra scientists held them all for a long time. Sephiroth would’ve died, but I guess they figured out how the darkness had affected Cloud, and they used Cloud’s darkness to save Sephiroth, make him even stronger, because those morons still thought they had the Heartless under their control, and that now they could control Sephiroth, too. So in a sense, he was created, or more so re-created from Cloud’s darkness.
“Cloud was really messed up from whatever they did to him while he was in that lab, but Zack broke them both out. From what I understand, he dragged Cloud halfway across Gaia before Shinra guards and the Turks caught up with them, killed Zack, and left Cloud for dead. Obviously, Cloud’s head was really messed up, but he stumbled around Midgar before collapsing right in front of Tifa. And that’s when he became a mercenary and eventually joined AVALANCHE.
“When they got him back here, he’d just killed Sephiroth for the third time, but as you know . . .”
“Killing Sephiroth isn’t the problem,” said Riku. “Keeping him dead, however . . .”
“Yeah. Exactly. You’re going to burn your eggs.”
Riku snapped his attention back to the stove.
“It hasn’t been long since Cloud arrived in Traverse Town, and he was still really messed up from everything that happened when I saw him again. He’s been chasing after Sephiroth to finish what he started ever since.”
Riku bit his lip as he dished food onto plates and slid bread into the toaster slots.
“This is what gets to me,” said Riku.
“What?”
“Stuff like this. Sephiroth isn’t dead. And Cloud didn’t know what he was doing when he opened his heart to darkness, but now he’s carrying it with him for years. And from what you’re telling me, Cloud isn’t all that spectacular without the help of darkness. It all starts with a negative emotion that everyone gets. Cloud was insecure, and probably a little jealous. I . . .”
“It’s the same with you?” said Leon. Riku nodded. “So you opened your heart to darkness, too, and now . . .”
“I feel like I’m pretending all the time. I laugh a lot. I make jokes. But I still have this piece of Ansem in my heart, and I’m constantly aware of it. I forget for a little while, but then I feel it again. I’m sure Cloud’s the same way, too, with Sephiroth. It’s why I know that this can’t last.”
“What do you mean?”
“This thing right now with Cloud. It can’t last.”
Leon raised his eyebrows.
“Really . . .”
Riku snorted.
“Well, yeah. Eventually he’s going to have to go after Sephiroth again, and I’m going to have to go against Ansem. We’ll hardly see each other, talk over the phone, and maybe things will work out, and we’ll see each other again, but . . . I don’t know. Call me a cynic, but this thing I have with him . . . the way I feel with Cloud . . . I think it’s too good to last. It’s only a matter of time before things get really bad. I feel it coming, and I don’t want it to happen, but . . . I mean, if I could have it my way, he’d defeat Sephiroth for good, I’d get rid of the Ansem in my heart, and we’d just be together forever, but things just don’t ever go that perfectly.
“I want to be only his, but Ansem’s got a pull on me. And he can never be entirely devoted to me so long as Sephiroth is around. Maybe we can help each other through it, but maybe that’s all we’re together for, because we aren’t really free people.”
Leon regarded Riku for a moment.
“I usually think you’re both being idiots, but . . .”
Riku sighed.
“I know.”
“Riku, maybe you are a cynic. Maybe you are fated to be with each other right now because you’re in such similar situations, but you’re such different people that you can help each other through it. Maybe you won’t be together at the end of it all, and maybe you will. No one can say for certain, but don’t worry about it too much. Just let things happen.”
“Let things happen, huh?”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Riku stared into the juice cup, and then sat it on a tray.
“Of course I am.”
“This normalcy right now can’t last. You’re right about that. You both do have things you need to take care of, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get it back. Destiny is a big part of the way things work with the Keyblade, right? Destiny and strength of heart.”
Riku shrugged.
“I guess.”
“I think fate works to a certain degree, but you have to take control of your own destiny for it to manifest. You and Cloud were brought together by chance, but it could have been inconsequential. You could have met once, and never saw each other again. Your choices, and I imagine a good deal of hard work, has brought you both to where you are now. After all, it was your strength of heart that got you through Castle Oblivion and back to Hollow Bastion.
“You’re probably going to face a lot more shit before it’s all sunshine and daisies, but you’re still in control of making things work. And maybe fate has given you this break right now. You have the choice to solidify what you have, and get to know each other more. It’s up to you whether you want to make it something to fight for, because I promise it’s never going to be easy, even when the Heartless are gone.
“I wouldn’t worry about your relationship still being overshadowed by Ansem and Sephiroth. You just need to worry about whether what you have with Cloud is worth the risk, because that’s something that belongs to both of you. Ansem and Sephiroth can’t do anything about the way you feel for each other.”
Riku tapped his fingertip on the counter.
“Were you, like, some kind of wise, old man in a past life or something?”
Leon snorted.
“I doubt it.”
“Do you just sit around, listen to Aerith, and then regurgitate everything twisted into your own words?”
“Mostly. Biggest problem with that is I can’t seem to keep any wisdom for myself.”
“At least you’ll always have Aerith.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I gotta go wake Cloud before his food’s cold.”
”Don’t forget his coffee.”
“Oh, right.”
Riku grabbed the coffee pot from the hotplate and filled a mug. As Riku collected the tray together, he passed Leon out of the kitchen, and before entering the bedroom, he turned back.
“Hey, Leon?”
“What’s up?”
“I just want you to know . . . I think it’s definitely worth it.”
Leon smirked.
“I should hope so, because I don’t know if I could pick up all the pieces if you broke his heart. You see the way he acts when he’s still confident you aren’t going to leave him.”
“He makes an idiot out of himself?”
“Yes, exactly. Now go feed the troll, or I’m going to have to explain to Cid why he’s late again.”
~*~
“My shoulders hurt.”
“Whiner.”
“My back hurts.”
“Whiner.”
“My legs hurt.”
“Cloud-“
“You’d be complaining, too, if you had to put your brute physicality to work all day. You got off easy.”
Riku rolled his eyes, pulled the blankets higher on his waist, and his lips twitched into a smile.
“Cloud, I can’t help that your brute physicality is your only asset, and if what I was doing was so easy, you’d be capable of it, too.”
“You’re being mean again.”
“No, I’m being honest. It’s not easy working on the defense mechanism. It exercises my brain. I know you don’t know what it feels like, but imagine the pain in your back being in your head.”
“Screw you.”
“Again? Well, if you insist . . .”
Riku caught Cloud’s eye in the mirror, grinned, and rolled over onto his stomach. He glanced over his shoulder to see Cloud lean against the dresser, arms crossed over his chest. Cloud smirked and shook his head. Riku raised his eyebrows.
“I love you?”
Cloud laughed.
“You are too much.”
“I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”
“Where do you get the energy?”
“All that time I’m sitting inside on my ass at the computer instead of doing all the manly man work you do.”
“Brat.”
“It’s a good thing. It gives you a sexy body for me to ogle, and then I can rest up so all my energy gets expended on taking care of you. Your needs. Coffee, food, sex . . .”
“Are you serious? Again?”
“Actually, I’m teasing. I’m still worn out from yesterday.”
Cloud nodded.
“Good, because my back hurts so bad I can hardly walk.”
Riku rolled his eyes and flipped over.
“Come here, whiner. Let me take care of it.”
Cloud trudged across the space and sat on the bed.
“Where do you want me?”
“Right where you are.”
Riku crawled across the bed. He pulled himself to his knees and yanked Cloud’s shirt over his head. He dropped it at the end of the bed, and moved his fingers to the muscles in Cloud’s shoulders.
“Poor dear,” said Riku. “You’re all in knots.”
“I told you.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Your hands feel amazing.”
Riku snorted.
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“No, really.” Riku paused. His chest pulled tight as he moved his hands across the expanse of Cloud’s back. “I really love you. I’m in love with you. I . . .”
Cloud’s hand reached up and covered Riku’s at his shoulder.
“I’m in love with you, too.”
“I . . . Cloud . . .”
Cloud turned his head back and smiled.
“I know. I feel the same way.”
“But I haven’t . . .”
“Leon mentioned your conversation while you were in the shower.”
“Are you mad?”
“About what?”
“That Leon told me about all that stuff on Midgar instead of you.”
Cloud chuckled.
“Oh, Ri, Leon only hit the tip of the iceberg.”
“Does that mean no, then?”
“No, I’m not mad.”
“Are you jealous?”
“Nope. At least he got the ball rolling for me.”
Riku smiled.
“Good. I mean, yeah, you drive me crazy sometimes, but I don’t like it when you’re upset.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. You drive me crazy, too, but hey, you’re worth it.”
“I want to be with you until the day I die.”
“Even though I drive you crazy?”
“Yeah. I mean, I always love you. Even when I hate you and wish you were dead.”
Cloud laughed.
“And there you go being mean again.”
“It’s true. You make me want to scream sometimes, but I always love you.”
“I guess we’re even, then, because there are lots of times I want to smack you around, but I still love you through it all.”
“You want to smack me around sometimes?”
“Yeah. Like right now. My back is waiting for your fantastic hands, and patience is not a virtue I was blessed with.”
Riku laughed and returned to work.
“You’re a bastard.”
”But you still love me.”
“You’re getting smug, again.”
“I love that you love me. If you could see yourself the way I see you, you wouldn’t blame me for being smug.”
“I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“That’s just you being egotistical.”
“Maybe.”
As Riku worked his fingers through the knots in Cloud’s back, the words replayed in his head.
“If you could see yourself the way I see you . . .”
A smile tugged at the corner of Riku’s lips. His gaze shifted to the mirror. Cloud winked at him through the reflection.
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 041/100 Complete
Fandom: Kingdom Hearts
Claim: Cloud/Riku
Theme: [041.] Independence
Word Count: 5,994
Rating: R
Summary: They could never really be free-not as long as the darkness remained. Sometimes you have to decide if what you have is worth fighting for.
Disclaimer: I wish, okay? It’s all lies. I don’t own Kingdom Hearts, I don’t know anyone who owns Kingdom Hearts, and I am not affiliated with anyone who is affiliated with anyone who owns Kingdom Hearts. I think that about covers it.
Warning: Underage boy on boy sexual activity is enclosed within the following text. Be forewarned and proceed with caution (or elation if that’s your cup of tea).
Sun peeked through the sheer material of long, thin curtains that hung from a metal rod. The bright rays cast a blinding light into the darkened room as they streamed through the panes of glass, across two bodies shrouded beneath the heavy blankets, and into the far corner by the door. Shades of yellow and orange disappeared into the solid white, swallowed by the walls. Flecks of dust danced in the stream blazing across the space. A hand grasped the blankets’ edges and yanked them up, covering a mass of tangled, silver hair. Cloud chuckled.
“Good morning, sunshine.”
Riku grumbled.
“Turn out the light.”
“That would be the sun. No can do. Isn’t it usually me who doesn’t want to wake up in the morning?”
“It’s my turn today.”
“Why’s that? Did someone stay up past his bedtime last night?”
Riku yanked the bottom pillow out from underneath his head and swung it behind him in the direction of Cloud’s too-loud, sing-song voice. It passed over the mess of blond spikes, hit the side table, and fell to the floor.
“Missed,” said Cloud.
Riku grumbled.
“Well that’s the last time I take you out dancing. You get grumpy when you wear yourself out.”
“I didn’t wear myself out.”
“Just like a little kid. Had too much excitement last night, got all tuckered out, and now you’re cranky.”
“I’m not cranky. I’m tired.”
“You’re tired because you stayed up past your bedtime.”
“I don’t have a bedtime. I just stayed up later than usual.”
“Same thing, babe.”
“Why are you so happy this morning?”
“I don’t know.” Cloud stretched out, wrapped an arm around Riku’s waist, and pulled him to his chest. Riku hid his face in the pillow and smiled. “Maybe it’s because I woke up to you.”
“You always wake up to me.”
“No, I wake up to you waking me up. I don’t usually get to wake up to you still in bed.”
Riku wiggled closer to Cloud, his smile widening as he felt calloused fingertips sneak under the hem of his shirt and stroke along the length of his stomach.
“Maybe it’s because I had a good time with you last night.”
“Good time? You were miserable last night.”
“Yeah, at first, but you more than made up for it with how sexy you looked dancing with me.”
“You looked pretty hot, too.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. I’m glad you danced with me.”
“You know, I think you look more provocative dancing than you sometimes do during sex.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. It turned me on.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. You’re a really great dancer.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. You looked really great, too. Leon picked out some good clothes for you.”
“You liked them, huh?”
“Mmm . . . yeah. You have a great stomach.”
Riku squirmed as Cloud’s fingers moved lower across his skin, brushing the trail of hair below his navel.
“You think?”
“Yeah. The zipper’s a plus, too. Easy to take off. That was some good shopping on Leon’s part.”
“You still mad at him?”
“I still don’t like you spending more time with him than me, but maybe you can come up with a way to make it up to me. After all, I think the quality of time spent together is more important than quantity.”
“I can think of a few ways to make it up to you.”
“Is that right?”
“Yep.”
“And what are those?”
Riku smirked against the pillow. He covered Cloud’s hand with his own and applied a gentle pressure, pushing it farther down his stomach toward his cock. Cloud leaned across his upper body, placed a kiss to his neck, and smiled against the skin.
“What? You’ll make it up to me by allowing me to get you off?”
“Well you were so jealous of the way Leon was looking at me, and touching me, and pressing against me that I thought you might like to do it instead.”
Cloud pulled his hand from beneath Riku’s, snatched the hip pressed into the bed, and yanked him onto his back. Riku took one look at the pout on the Cloud’s face and burst into laughter.
“What?” said Riku. “I thought that’s what you wanted.”
“Brat.”
“You’re so dumb.”
“I’m dumb?”
“Yes, being all jealous and everything. You should know by now that I’m completely crazy about you and only you.”
“Don’t tell me it didn’t give you an ego boost that I was jealous.”
Riku grinned.
“Yeah, but it was still dumb.”
“You’re a brat.”
“So are you going to let me make it up to you or what? Cause all that pillow talk’s got me really turned on.”
“Let you make it up to me by getting you off? What about me?”
“Oh, you’ll get yours. I just thought you’d like to reclaim what’s yours since there were other people touching me.”
Cloud smirked.
“Reclaim what’s mine, huh?”
Riku nodded.
“Yep.”
Cloud stared at Riku for a second, and then jumped off the bed. Riku frowned, his eyebrows knitted, and propped himself up on his elbows.
“Cloud . . .?”
“One sec. Take off your shirt.”
Riku continued to frown, but sat up and pulled the material over his head. He discarded it next to bed, still frowning. Cloud ran to the door, turned the knob, and poked his head out.
”Hey, Leon, Riku and I are having make-up sex so don’t come near the room!”
“I didn’t need to know that!” Riku heard Leon shout back.
He smirked. Cloud shut the door, turned the lock, and rushed to the bed, burrowing back under the blankets.
“Was that really necessary?” said Riku.
“Do you want to get interrupted?”
“Good point.”
Riku fell back and shrank down into the mattress, savoring the heat radiating from Cloud’s skin as he sprawled across Riku’s chest. His head fell back, neck exposed, and his eyelids fluttered before shutting as Cloud dropped his head to trail kisses along the bared skin. The fingertips returned, rough against his flesh as they danced over his collarbone and down his chest. Chapped lips pressed against his neck with the occasional soft pressure of the tip of Cloud’s tongue, cold to the initial touch, but as his hot breath ghosted over the dampened spot, Riku squirmed. His breathing quickened a bit, became shallower as he lifted a hand and trailed his palm over Cloud’s shoulder and down the definition of muscle. He stilled and gripped his arm as Cloud’s fingertips continued lower on his body and now trailed along his inner thigh.
Cloud chuckled. Riku cracked open his eyes and frowned.
“Are you laughing at me?”
“No. I’m just giddy.”
Riku laughed.
“Oh? And why’s that?”
“I love you on your back.”
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah. Turns me on.”
“Control freak.”
“You like it.”
“Yeah, I do.”
A devilish smile spread across Cloud’s face, his blue eyes glittering more than usual. Riku squirmed.
“I don’t like that look you’re giving me.”
“Why’s that?”
Riku smirked.
“You look like you’re up to no good.”
“Maybe I am.”
Riku gasped and his head fell back again as a sudden pressure wrapped around his cock. The instant gratification shot through his body. His eyes shut as that now-familiar warm feeling spread through his stomach. As his mouth fell open, Cloud touched his teeth to his bottom lip and bit down. Riku arched his head up to capture Cloud’s mouth.
~*~
“Satisfied?”
Riku stopped mid-stumble across the living room. He glanced around for a few second, rubbing his fingers through his disheveled mess of hair. A soft chuckle sounded, and Riku caught sight of Leon sitting at the kitchen counter, cigarette in hand. He grinned.
“Yeah. Sorry. Were we too loud?”
Leon shrugged.
“You were.”
Riku dropped his head, but the smile refused to leave his face.
“I know I should be embarrassed, but I just feel too damn good right now.”
Leon laughed.
“Were you going somewhere?”
Riku raised his eyebrows, and looked around the room. His hand was still tangled at the back of his head in his hair. He laughed.
“I think I was going to pee.”
Leon grinned for a moment, bit his lip, and dropped his head.
“I want you to know that I’m doing everything in my power not to laugh at you right now.”
“It’s okay. I know I must look ridiculous.”
“You sound pretty ridiculous, too.”
“I think I’m grinning like a moron, too.”
Leon nodded.
“Oh, yeah.”
“That bad, huh?”
Leon nodded.
“Yeah.”
The door to the bedroom opened again and Cloud walked out dressed in only his boxers. He looked from Leon to Riku, and then back to Leon.
“I thought you were going to the bathroom?” said Cloud.
“I distracted him, and now I don’t think he can focus long enough to remember where the bathroom is.”
“That was really amazing,” said Riku.
“I could tell,” said Leon. “Job well done, Cloud. You fucked the sense right out of him.”
Cloud shrugged.
“I warned you to stay away from the room.”
“I tried to, but I could still hear you from outside, and I really hate smoking in the cold.”
Cloud smirked.
“You could hear us from outside?”
“Okay. I could hear Riku from outside.”
Riku grinned.
“That was really amazing.”
Cloud and Leon exchanged glances for a second. Leon bit his lip and shrugged. Cloud scratched his chin, offered a smile, and walked over to Riku, patting him on the back. Leon dropped his head in his hand and chuckled.
“I think you guys are laughing at me,” said Riku.
“Come on, babe. I think you still need to use the restroom.”
“I’m not an invalid. I’m just really . . .”
“Satisfied?” said Leon.
“Yeah . . .”
“Go use the bathroom, Riku.”
Five minutes later, the pressure in Riku’s bladder was gone, and he returned to the living room to join Cloud and Leon on the couch. He dropped beside Cloud, touched the length of his calf to Cloud’s, and placed his hand just above Cloud’s knee.
“Can I get a cigarette?”
Leon grabbed his pack from the table, shook one out, and passed it over. Riku fiddled with the lighter, and then dropped it on the table. He took a deep inhale and smiled as Cloud extended an arm around his waist.
“All better?” said Leon.
“I was just a little . . .”
”Disoriented is a good word,” said Cloud. Riku slapped his chest.
“Shut up. Don’t get smug.”
“So I take it that everything is better in happy couple land?” said Leon.
“For now,” said Cloud.
“Yeah,” said Riku. “Until Cloud goes on one of his mood swings again.”
“Who? Me?”
“Yes, you.”
“Hey,” said Leon. Cloud and Riku turned their eyes in his direction. “Lets it keep this way for a little while, okay? Cause you two drive me crazy.”
Cloud laughed.
“Yeah, sure. No problem.”
“What do you mean ‘you two’?” said Riku. “I wasn’t the one in the jealous fit of rage.”
“No, you’re just the one who went to the realm of darkness and needed all details that may have revealed your identity on the down low for months on end.”
Riku bit his lip and grinned.
“Who? Me?”
“Yeah. You both can go ahead and act innocent all you like, but you’re more work than you know, and I’m not even in this relationship.”
“Hear that, Cloud?” said Riku. “He’s not in our relationship.”
Cloud rubbed Riku’s back and shook his head.
“You know what I love about you so much?”
“Hm?”
“Your sense of humor.”
“Well you did make a total ass out of yourself.”
“I did not.”
“Yes, you did,” said Leon.
“Careful, Leon. I think you’re getting in the relationship again.”
“Wouldn’t want to do that. That makes him angry.”
“And you wouldn’t want to see him when he’s angry.”
“You both suck,” said Cloud. “Stop picking on me. It hurts my feelings.”
“That makes me want to pick on you more,” said Leon.
“You’re a bastard.”
“Poor baby,” said Riku. He titled his head and pressed his lips to Cloud’s jaw. “I’m sorry. I was just playing with you.”
“You play mean.”
“You say that so often. You don’t say that to Leon.”
“That’s because he knows I’m a bastard,” said Leon.
“Yeah. And you’re my boyfriend,” said Cloud. “You’re supposed to be nice to me.”
“Now why would I do that?”
“Because you love me.”
“I’m mean to you because I love you.”
“You’re a brat.”
“You like me bratty. Besides, I think I have a right to be bratty since you’re so emo and moody.”
“I’m not emo.”
Leon snorted. Riku patted Cloud’s chest.
“Of course you’re not.”
“Why is this ‘Pick on Cloud’ day?”
“Because yesterday was ‘See Cloud Act like an Idiot’ day,” said Leon.
“That’s not fair. My pride is already injured. Way to kick a guy when he’s down.”
“Woe is you. You’re such a whiner.”
“I want you to know I would have been offended by that if I didn’t think you were teasing.”
“I know I haven’t pushed it too far yet. I’ll stop joking when you start speaking in third person. Now go get dressed and enjoy your day off because you have more work to do tomorrow.”
Cloud groaned, threw his head back, and covered his eyes with his free hand. The other hand squeezed Riku’s shoulder, and then dropped to his hip.
“What if getting dressed is entirely too much work?”
“Then anyone who visits today is going to be subjected to you in your underwear. It’s mean, but hey . . . I can’t stop you.”
Riku snorted.
“I think Cloud looks very nice in his underwear.”
“That’s good considering that he’s fucking you.”
Leon stood and walked to the kitchen to refill his coffee cup. Once his back was turned, Riku grinned, rubbed his hand along the definition in Cloud’s stomach and placed a kiss next to his ear.
“I wouldn’t plan on getting dressed if I were you, but you should head into the bedroom.”
Cloud raised his eyebrows.
“Again?”
“What? Aren’t up for it, old man?”
“Who’re you calling old man?”
“Depends on whether or not you can rise to the challenge.”
“You’re a little shit.”
“A little shit who’s recovered and ready for round two.”
Cloud smirked and nodded.
“I truly appreciate you’re sixteen years old right now. I mean, truly appreciate it.”
“I bet you do.”
“Should I warn Leon?”
“Just lock the door. I’m sure he’ll hear me again. And hey, if you can hear me outside, maybe no one will actually want to come in to visit cause I wouldn’t mind actually spending the entire day in bed with you.”
“Were you always this horny?”
“Yes. I just wasn’t always this brave about it.”
“I think I like you this way.”
“Good, cause you made me this way.”
“Bedroom?”
“Definitely.”
~*~
On Monday morning, Leon shook Riku from sleep, placed a coffee cup in his hand, and switched on a lamp as he left the bedroom. Riku rubbed his eyes and sat up in bed. He sipped from his beverage as he dressed, and then stumbled out of the room into the kitchen. Leon stood by the toaster, cigarette in hand, and Riku snatched one from his pack as he moved to the refrigerator.
“Did you wake Cloud yet?” said Leon.
Riku shook his head.
“Nah. Easiest way to deal with a sleepy, bitchy Cloud is food and caffeine. I don’t even try without them both anymore.”
Leon snorted.
“At least you’ve got a method down, right?”
“Yeah.” Riku sat a carton of eggs down on the counter, fished through the drawer beneath the stove, and grabbed the cooking oil from a nearby cupboard. “Hey, Leon, sorry about yesterday.”
Leon laughed as his toast popped.
“No problem. You two needed some couple time. Anyway, I went over to Aerith and Yuffie’s. Visited with Tifa and Vincent, and played with the runts some since they’re leaving in a few days.”
“Is Tifa going with them?”
“Yeah. Well, she’s been here for awhile now, and she’s coming back eventually, but she’s got stuff she needs to do on Midgar, too. There’s a lot of work to do, and only one Tifa to get it all done. Apparently Reno’s really been on Vincent’s ass to get Tifa back. Not literally, of course. Thankfully.”
Riku arched an eyebrow.
“Thankfully? What? Is Reno some kind of slut?”
“You could say that.”
“So is Reno part of that AVALANCHE group?”
“No. Not officially, anyway. Reno’s one of the Turks, though Reno works for Reno more than anyone.”
Riku sighed.
“I’m never going to get any of this stuff straight, and it sucks because I want to understand what everyone’s talking about, but . . .”
“Cloud really understands it more than I do. He’s the one who went to Midgar. Everything I know has been second-hand through Cloud or Tifa or Cid or Vincent.”
“You didn’t go to Midgar, too?”
Leon chuckled.
“I wanted to, but nope. Never happened.”
“Why not?”
Leon sighed.
“You know, it should be Cloud telling you all this stuff.”
“Apparently, Cloud takes a long time to get around to telling me stuff.”
Leon paused, frowning. He shook his head and carried his toast to the counter.
“You know what Shinra is, right?”
Riku nodded.
“Yeah. They’re like . . . Midgar’s government or something, right? Own everything. Got an army and a bunch of research scientists for just about anything and everything at their disposal. Cloud makes it sound like scary shit.”
“That’s because Shinra did a lot of fucked up shit-still does, at that.” Leon sighed, rubbed his arm, and flicked his cigarette. “The Heartless invaded Hollow Bastion about twelve years ago, I guess. Ansem-“ Leon paused, noting Riku flinch, and took another breath. “Ansem was still a good guy then, or so we thought. Ansem the Wise, then. Told us he was researching the Heartless to discover just what they were. Whether they were a threat or not.
“The Turks do all the recruiting for Shinra. After about three years of the Heartless here, we knew they weren’t good, but we still had no idea what it was all about. Then the Turks showed up. They told us what the Heartless were, the threat they posed, about Keyblades, and about Gaia-the world they came from, because Midgar is just one small part of their world. It seemed so fantastical-other worlds existing and everything. But Gaia was overrun with Heartless, and they needed recruits to control the problem. Shinra promised that once their Heartless problem was taken care of, their army would assist in saving the worlds they’d recruited people from in exchange for services.
“We needed help. More Heartless appeared every day, people were going missing constantly, and no one had seen Ansem the Wise in almost two years. Cid signed up right away. I wanted to go, but they had an age requirement. I was eleven at the time; Cloud was fourteen. He made the cut; I didn’t. So Cid, Zack, and Cloud left for Midgar.
“About a year later, your friend King Mickey came to Hollow Bastion. There weren’t many people left, but he got who was out of here and over to Traverse Town.”
“I didn’t know you knew Mickey already . . .” said Riku.
Leon laughed.
“Oh, yeah. That’s why Aerith, Yuffie, and I were looking for the Keyblade master in the first place. Otherwise, we probably never would have met him. You know, whoever he may be.”
“Right. Cause I think he was my best friend, but even I don’t remember if that’s true or not.” Riku pushed the bacon around the pan and bit his lip. “So . . . what happened?”
“I don’t really know much. We were all really worried about our friends that had left. Aerith told us all to be patient, but Tifa and Yuffie hijacked a Gummi ship a few years later and went to look for them. Aerith was going to go after them, but she got a bad feeling about it and stayed instead.”
“Why didn’t you go?”
Leon smirked.
“I was still pretty ticked off about Zack and Cloud leaving me behind. I was really angry for a long time. I couldn’t help on Midgar, and I couldn’t save Hollow Bastion on my own. I kind of blamed them for what happened-for leaving-and then I blamed myself for not being stronger.”
“So that’s your deal with the Restoration . . . Why you think it’s your fault . . .”
“Yeah . . .”
Riku shook his head.
“Anyway . . . sorry. Continue.”
Leon nodded. His smile appeared forced.
“You know what AVALANCHE is, right?”
“Resistance group against Shinra?”
“Yeah, in short. About a year ago, Cid, Tifa, Yuffie, and Cloud came to Traverse Town. Tifa left again after a few weeks because she said there was still a lot of work to do with AVALANCHE, but . . . I don’t know. They needed to get Cloud away from there was what she said. He was . . . you know, Cloud should really be telling you this. Not me.”
“I want to know.”
“If I tell you more, I’m going to have to talk about Zack, and I get nervous talking about Zack to you.”
“Why? Because he’s the ex-boyfriend, and I’m the current one? I want to know.”
“I’m surprised he didn’t tell you about all of this, but I want you to know that it’s because it was bound to come up eventually, even if it was in passing. I understand why he didn’t. You typically don’t tell the person you’re dating about your former relationships, and what happened in Midgar was a real disaster.”
“You mean with SOLDIER?”
Leon frowned.
“Did you know that Cloud almost didn’t make SOLDIER?”
“But I thought . . .”
Leon shook his head.
“Yeah, sure, he made it into SOLDIER, but it took him ages. It doesn’t really surprise me. Cloud was always-small, for a lack of a better word. He was short, thin . . . Never much of a fighter. When they got there, he didn’t make it very far. Just a guard. But Zack . . .
“Zack, Cloud, and I all shared a room at the orphanage so we were all friends. Zack was the personable one. Fun, friendly, great sense of humor. I was the baby. Got picked on a lot, cried a lot. Cloud . . . Cloud got left behind. I think he was born insecure. I mean, anytime anyone messed with me he was there to defend me, but then we both got wailed and depended on Zack to save us more than we probably should have. Cloud worshipped him, and he’s always had this complex about being more like Zack.
“I think when he left with the Turks, Cloud really felt like he was going to become stronger, or worth something. Zack tried to talk Cloud into staying for me, but he wouldn’t hear any of it. Zack made SOLDIER without a problem, but Cloud really struggled until . . . well, he let the darkness in. And he became stronger. ”
“And then Sephiroth was created, right?”
“Created is kind of the wrong word. Sephiroth was a person once. He-Sephiroth-was a member of SOLDIER. But Shinra did something to him-and this is the part of the story I don’t fully understand, because Cloud doesn’t really go into details-but Sephiroth lost his mind. Went on killing spree, almost killed Zack and Tifa, and Cloud tried to stop him. They both almost died, and then . . . I don’t know. That’s where the gaps in Cloud’s memory start to come in. From what he can decipher out of it, the Shinra scientists held them all for a long time. Sephiroth would’ve died, but I guess they figured out how the darkness had affected Cloud, and they used Cloud’s darkness to save Sephiroth, make him even stronger, because those morons still thought they had the Heartless under their control, and that now they could control Sephiroth, too. So in a sense, he was created, or more so re-created from Cloud’s darkness.
“Cloud was really messed up from whatever they did to him while he was in that lab, but Zack broke them both out. From what I understand, he dragged Cloud halfway across Gaia before Shinra guards and the Turks caught up with them, killed Zack, and left Cloud for dead. Obviously, Cloud’s head was really messed up, but he stumbled around Midgar before collapsing right in front of Tifa. And that’s when he became a mercenary and eventually joined AVALANCHE.
“When they got him back here, he’d just killed Sephiroth for the third time, but as you know . . .”
“Killing Sephiroth isn’t the problem,” said Riku. “Keeping him dead, however . . .”
“Yeah. Exactly. You’re going to burn your eggs.”
Riku snapped his attention back to the stove.
“It hasn’t been long since Cloud arrived in Traverse Town, and he was still really messed up from everything that happened when I saw him again. He’s been chasing after Sephiroth to finish what he started ever since.”
Riku bit his lip as he dished food onto plates and slid bread into the toaster slots.
“This is what gets to me,” said Riku.
“What?”
“Stuff like this. Sephiroth isn’t dead. And Cloud didn’t know what he was doing when he opened his heart to darkness, but now he’s carrying it with him for years. And from what you’re telling me, Cloud isn’t all that spectacular without the help of darkness. It all starts with a negative emotion that everyone gets. Cloud was insecure, and probably a little jealous. I . . .”
“It’s the same with you?” said Leon. Riku nodded. “So you opened your heart to darkness, too, and now . . .”
“I feel like I’m pretending all the time. I laugh a lot. I make jokes. But I still have this piece of Ansem in my heart, and I’m constantly aware of it. I forget for a little while, but then I feel it again. I’m sure Cloud’s the same way, too, with Sephiroth. It’s why I know that this can’t last.”
“What do you mean?”
“This thing right now with Cloud. It can’t last.”
Leon raised his eyebrows.
“Really . . .”
Riku snorted.
“Well, yeah. Eventually he’s going to have to go after Sephiroth again, and I’m going to have to go against Ansem. We’ll hardly see each other, talk over the phone, and maybe things will work out, and we’ll see each other again, but . . . I don’t know. Call me a cynic, but this thing I have with him . . . the way I feel with Cloud . . . I think it’s too good to last. It’s only a matter of time before things get really bad. I feel it coming, and I don’t want it to happen, but . . . I mean, if I could have it my way, he’d defeat Sephiroth for good, I’d get rid of the Ansem in my heart, and we’d just be together forever, but things just don’t ever go that perfectly.
“I want to be only his, but Ansem’s got a pull on me. And he can never be entirely devoted to me so long as Sephiroth is around. Maybe we can help each other through it, but maybe that’s all we’re together for, because we aren’t really free people.”
Leon regarded Riku for a moment.
“I usually think you’re both being idiots, but . . .”
Riku sighed.
“I know.”
“Riku, maybe you are a cynic. Maybe you are fated to be with each other right now because you’re in such similar situations, but you’re such different people that you can help each other through it. Maybe you won’t be together at the end of it all, and maybe you will. No one can say for certain, but don’t worry about it too much. Just let things happen.”
“Let things happen, huh?”
“You’re in love with him, aren’t you?”
Riku stared into the juice cup, and then sat it on a tray.
“Of course I am.”
“This normalcy right now can’t last. You’re right about that. You both do have things you need to take care of, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t get it back. Destiny is a big part of the way things work with the Keyblade, right? Destiny and strength of heart.”
Riku shrugged.
“I guess.”
“I think fate works to a certain degree, but you have to take control of your own destiny for it to manifest. You and Cloud were brought together by chance, but it could have been inconsequential. You could have met once, and never saw each other again. Your choices, and I imagine a good deal of hard work, has brought you both to where you are now. After all, it was your strength of heart that got you through Castle Oblivion and back to Hollow Bastion.
“You’re probably going to face a lot more shit before it’s all sunshine and daisies, but you’re still in control of making things work. And maybe fate has given you this break right now. You have the choice to solidify what you have, and get to know each other more. It’s up to you whether you want to make it something to fight for, because I promise it’s never going to be easy, even when the Heartless are gone.
“I wouldn’t worry about your relationship still being overshadowed by Ansem and Sephiroth. You just need to worry about whether what you have with Cloud is worth the risk, because that’s something that belongs to both of you. Ansem and Sephiroth can’t do anything about the way you feel for each other.”
Riku tapped his fingertip on the counter.
“Were you, like, some kind of wise, old man in a past life or something?”
Leon snorted.
“I doubt it.”
“Do you just sit around, listen to Aerith, and then regurgitate everything twisted into your own words?”
“Mostly. Biggest problem with that is I can’t seem to keep any wisdom for myself.”
“At least you’ll always have Aerith.”
“Yeah, I guess.”
“I gotta go wake Cloud before his food’s cold.”
”Don’t forget his coffee.”
“Oh, right.”
Riku grabbed the coffee pot from the hotplate and filled a mug. As Riku collected the tray together, he passed Leon out of the kitchen, and before entering the bedroom, he turned back.
“Hey, Leon?”
“What’s up?”
“I just want you to know . . . I think it’s definitely worth it.”
Leon smirked.
“I should hope so, because I don’t know if I could pick up all the pieces if you broke his heart. You see the way he acts when he’s still confident you aren’t going to leave him.”
“He makes an idiot out of himself?”
“Yes, exactly. Now go feed the troll, or I’m going to have to explain to Cid why he’s late again.”
~*~
“My shoulders hurt.”
“Whiner.”
“My back hurts.”
“Whiner.”
“My legs hurt.”
“Cloud-“
“You’d be complaining, too, if you had to put your brute physicality to work all day. You got off easy.”
Riku rolled his eyes, pulled the blankets higher on his waist, and his lips twitched into a smile.
“Cloud, I can’t help that your brute physicality is your only asset, and if what I was doing was so easy, you’d be capable of it, too.”
“You’re being mean again.”
“No, I’m being honest. It’s not easy working on the defense mechanism. It exercises my brain. I know you don’t know what it feels like, but imagine the pain in your back being in your head.”
“Screw you.”
“Again? Well, if you insist . . .”
Riku caught Cloud’s eye in the mirror, grinned, and rolled over onto his stomach. He glanced over his shoulder to see Cloud lean against the dresser, arms crossed over his chest. Cloud smirked and shook his head. Riku raised his eyebrows.
“I love you?”
Cloud laughed.
“You are too much.”
“I hope that isn’t a bad thing.”
“Where do you get the energy?”
“All that time I’m sitting inside on my ass at the computer instead of doing all the manly man work you do.”
“Brat.”
“It’s a good thing. It gives you a sexy body for me to ogle, and then I can rest up so all my energy gets expended on taking care of you. Your needs. Coffee, food, sex . . .”
“Are you serious? Again?”
“Actually, I’m teasing. I’m still worn out from yesterday.”
Cloud nodded.
“Good, because my back hurts so bad I can hardly walk.”
Riku rolled his eyes and flipped over.
“Come here, whiner. Let me take care of it.”
Cloud trudged across the space and sat on the bed.
“Where do you want me?”
“Right where you are.”
Riku crawled across the bed. He pulled himself to his knees and yanked Cloud’s shirt over his head. He dropped it at the end of the bed, and moved his fingers to the muscles in Cloud’s shoulders.
“Poor dear,” said Riku. “You’re all in knots.”
“I told you.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“Your hands feel amazing.”
Riku snorted.
“That good, huh?”
“Yeah.”
“I love you.”
“I love you, too.”
“No, really.” Riku paused. His chest pulled tight as he moved his hands across the expanse of Cloud’s back. “I really love you. I’m in love with you. I . . .”
Cloud’s hand reached up and covered Riku’s at his shoulder.
“I’m in love with you, too.”
“I . . . Cloud . . .”
Cloud turned his head back and smiled.
“I know. I feel the same way.”
“But I haven’t . . .”
“Leon mentioned your conversation while you were in the shower.”
“Are you mad?”
“About what?”
“That Leon told me about all that stuff on Midgar instead of you.”
Cloud chuckled.
“Oh, Ri, Leon only hit the tip of the iceberg.”
“Does that mean no, then?”
“No, I’m not mad.”
“Are you jealous?”
“Nope. At least he got the ball rolling for me.”
Riku smiled.
“Good. I mean, yeah, you drive me crazy sometimes, but I don’t like it when you’re upset.”
“You don’t have to worry about that. You drive me crazy, too, but hey, you’re worth it.”
“I want to be with you until the day I die.”
“Even though I drive you crazy?”
“Yeah. I mean, I always love you. Even when I hate you and wish you were dead.”
Cloud laughed.
“And there you go being mean again.”
“It’s true. You make me want to scream sometimes, but I always love you.”
“I guess we’re even, then, because there are lots of times I want to smack you around, but I still love you through it all.”
“You want to smack me around sometimes?”
“Yeah. Like right now. My back is waiting for your fantastic hands, and patience is not a virtue I was blessed with.”
Riku laughed and returned to work.
“You’re a bastard.”
”But you still love me.”
“You’re getting smug, again.”
“I love that you love me. If you could see yourself the way I see you, you wouldn’t blame me for being smug.”
“I think that’s the sweetest thing anyone’s ever said to me.”
“That’s just you being egotistical.”
“Maybe.”
As Riku worked his fingers through the knots in Cloud’s back, the words replayed in his head.
“If you could see yourself the way I see you . . .”
A smile tugged at the corner of Riku’s lips. His gaze shifted to the mirror. Cloud winked at him through the reflection.
( Prompt Table) for previous installments. 041/100 Complete