[KH] FIC: The Sparring Story
'Bout time I finally posted something new here. And by "new," I mean "one of the KH ficbits I've mentioned before." I had meant to put stuff here earlier but I couldn't decide what. I think I'll probably just go ahead and sling most of them up here and sort them out later. (Not all at once, mind, so as not to murder your friends' pages.)
Please do not feel obliged to read any of these, by the way. For at least a couple of you, this is definitely not your fandom of choice. (Everything I've got for the moment is Kingdom Hearts fic.) At the moment, everything is untitled and only lightly self-betaed. Everything is also subject to change, as some day I may expand or overhaul these little bits. Everything is also usually pretty self-indulgent. You've been warned. :D
Pairing: Sora/Riku
Rating: Worksafe
Summary: The one where Riku's bored so Sora obliges him with a sparring match. In front of a small audience.
Notes: Harmless little fluff-bit. One of my RP partners loves the friendly competition between Sora and Riku. Myself and my chief partner in crime just love Sora and Riku as best friends and more. This was one of the results. Loosely placed within the canon of said RP, in how some characters interact and also the presence of a certain non-game-canon character.
"I'm bored," Riku announced, appearing behind them with no warning. He ignored Leon and Cloud's glares as they peeled their hands from their weapons, focusing all his attention on his boyfriend. "Spar with me," he demanded.
Sora, whose only reaction to Riku practically materializing behind him was a slightly surprised jump, brightened immediately. "Sure!" he agreed eagerly.
Riku just grinned, already leading the way to an appropriately open space.
"Island rules?" Sora called as he hurried to catch up.
"Sounds good to me," Riku replied over his shoulder.
"Island rules?" Leon repeated, raising an eyebrow at Cloud, who shrugged.
"Far as I can tell, 'island rules' means anything goes so long as everyone walks away at the end," he informed him blandly.
"Huh," Leon replied. Cloud didn't miss the faintly intrigued look on the man's face, though. They'd both seen Riku and Sora fight, of course, just not each other.
Cloud chuckled to himself and started off after the keyblade bearers. From the footsteps behind him, Leon was "grudgingly" following him. By the time they emerged into the empty square that had apparently been chosen as the sparring field, Riku and Sora were already facing off, keyblades in hand. The air was thick with power, both the snap and spark of Sora's magic and the chill burn of Riku's darkness. Two pairs of eyes cut over to them as they entered.
"Hey guys!" Sora greeted cheerfully as Riku nodded in acknowledgement.
"Don't mind us," Cloud said, impulse making him add, "Leon just wanted to watch." It was totally worth it for the annoyance that momentarily deepened Leon's perpetual scowl.
Riku smirked at that but shrugged carelessly, followed up by Sora's assurance of, "We don't mind." That having been said, the boys dismissed their audience from their minds and refocused on each other.
"You ready?" Sora asked, crouching.
"Whenever you are," Riku assured him.
One final smile was exchanged - sharp with anticipation - then they they leapt forward and the battle was joined.
As expected, Riku and Sora put on quite a show. The keyblades themselves were dramatic enough, fantastic, twisting blades that streamed energy and sparks behind them. Neither of the boys seemed particularly concerned with little things like gravity, chasing each other through the air in a variety of physical and magical attacks. It was obvious they were long-time sparring partners; there was an easy familiarity pervading every step of the fight. Then there was the way they traded jabs as easily as they traded blows, good-naturedly sniping back and forth.
"Try not to be too embarrassed when you get creamed in front of your friends," Riku taunted as he knocked Sora tumbling.
"Hope that didn't bruise your reputation too badly!" Sora crowed when he returned the favour a few minutes later.
The fight ended on a final clash of blades. The teens leapt apart when they disengaged their weapons, landing lightly a few meters apart. Both were breathing heavily, sweating lightly and smiling widely as they locked glances. They held their positions for a moment, tensely alert. Then Riku tilted his head inquiringly, Sora nodded and they both relaxed. Their audience had expanded while they were occupied, to their mild surprise. Zack and Aerith had wandered in at some point and were standing next to Cloud, Zack's arm wrapped casually around her waist.
"Well, that was fun," Sora said brightly as he waved back to Aerith.
"Yeah, it was," Riku agreed. "Thanks."
"No problem. Hey, how did you do that thing with the tripping?" Sora asked, with a vague hooked gesture as he let the keyblade vanish. None of the onlookers had the faintest idea of what he meant but Riku apparently understood clearly enough.
"Hm? Oh, that. C'mere, I'll show you," Riku offered, his own keyblade disappearing. Sora trotted over without hesitation.
"So you grab your opponent like this," Riku said, demonstrating slowly as Sora watched carefully. "Then hook your foot around like this and give him a shove and there you go," he concluded, Sora squawking indignantly as Riku knocked him over again.
"Hey!" Sora protested, frowning up at Riku from the ground. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he grinned. "So when do I get to practice this on you?" he asked, clambering quickly to his feet, hands outstretched.
Riku laughed and dodged the clumsy grab. "Next time we spar, I guess," he responded airily.
"That might be sooner than you think!" Sora mock-threatened, grinning as Riku laughed again.
"Now, fair's fair. What the hell was that spell?" Riku demanded as they started ambling back to where their audience was waiting.
Sora perked up at the question. "Learned that one the other day, over in Traverse Town," he began, Riku nodding occasionally through the explanation. Riku never had picked up the trick of using most magic but he understood how it worked better than Sora did.
"Huh," Riku commented thoughtfully. "Bet there's a way to counter that," he muttered absently as they reached the others.
"Yeah, you probably could," Sora said fondly, familiar with Riku's tendency to shrug off spells on the battlefield. He shook his head with a faint grin as he tugged Riku to a stop beside him. Magical theory was an odd hobby but it was far from the worst topic to occupy Riku's thoughts so Sora was happy enough to let him ponder.
"So what are we doing now?" he asked the group at large.
"Now it's our turn!" Zack declared gleefully, releasing Aerith and grabbing Cloud in a headlock as he dragged the blond out into the centre of the square.
"What? Zack - wait!" Cloud protested ineffectually as he stumbled along behind Zack, to the sound of Aerith's giggles.
"About time someone else got to make a spectacle of themselves," Riku said, shaking off his abstraction as he noticed Cloud and Zack facing off. Sora nodded his agreement, shifting a half step closer so their shoulders brushed. Riku shot him a sidelong smile, still shyly pleased by displays of affection, and Sora beamed back at him. They nearly missed the opening blows of the exchange, much to Aerith's amusement.
Please do not feel obliged to read any of these, by the way. For at least a couple of you, this is definitely not your fandom of choice. (Everything I've got for the moment is Kingdom Hearts fic.) At the moment, everything is untitled and only lightly self-betaed. Everything is also subject to change, as some day I may expand or overhaul these little bits. Everything is also usually pretty self-indulgent. You've been warned. :D
Pairing: Sora/Riku
Rating: Worksafe
Summary: The one where Riku's bored so Sora obliges him with a sparring match. In front of a small audience.
Notes: Harmless little fluff-bit. One of my RP partners loves the friendly competition between Sora and Riku. Myself and my chief partner in crime just love Sora and Riku as best friends and more. This was one of the results. Loosely placed within the canon of said RP, in how some characters interact and also the presence of a certain non-game-canon character.
"I'm bored," Riku announced, appearing behind them with no warning. He ignored Leon and Cloud's glares as they peeled their hands from their weapons, focusing all his attention on his boyfriend. "Spar with me," he demanded.
Sora, whose only reaction to Riku practically materializing behind him was a slightly surprised jump, brightened immediately. "Sure!" he agreed eagerly.
Riku just grinned, already leading the way to an appropriately open space.
"Island rules?" Sora called as he hurried to catch up.
"Sounds good to me," Riku replied over his shoulder.
"Island rules?" Leon repeated, raising an eyebrow at Cloud, who shrugged.
"Far as I can tell, 'island rules' means anything goes so long as everyone walks away at the end," he informed him blandly.
"Huh," Leon replied. Cloud didn't miss the faintly intrigued look on the man's face, though. They'd both seen Riku and Sora fight, of course, just not each other.
Cloud chuckled to himself and started off after the keyblade bearers. From the footsteps behind him, Leon was "grudgingly" following him. By the time they emerged into the empty square that had apparently been chosen as the sparring field, Riku and Sora were already facing off, keyblades in hand. The air was thick with power, both the snap and spark of Sora's magic and the chill burn of Riku's darkness. Two pairs of eyes cut over to them as they entered.
"Hey guys!" Sora greeted cheerfully as Riku nodded in acknowledgement.
"Don't mind us," Cloud said, impulse making him add, "Leon just wanted to watch." It was totally worth it for the annoyance that momentarily deepened Leon's perpetual scowl.
Riku smirked at that but shrugged carelessly, followed up by Sora's assurance of, "We don't mind." That having been said, the boys dismissed their audience from their minds and refocused on each other.
"You ready?" Sora asked, crouching.
"Whenever you are," Riku assured him.
One final smile was exchanged - sharp with anticipation - then they they leapt forward and the battle was joined.
As expected, Riku and Sora put on quite a show. The keyblades themselves were dramatic enough, fantastic, twisting blades that streamed energy and sparks behind them. Neither of the boys seemed particularly concerned with little things like gravity, chasing each other through the air in a variety of physical and magical attacks. It was obvious they were long-time sparring partners; there was an easy familiarity pervading every step of the fight. Then there was the way they traded jabs as easily as they traded blows, good-naturedly sniping back and forth.
"Try not to be too embarrassed when you get creamed in front of your friends," Riku taunted as he knocked Sora tumbling.
"Hope that didn't bruise your reputation too badly!" Sora crowed when he returned the favour a few minutes later.
The fight ended on a final clash of blades. The teens leapt apart when they disengaged their weapons, landing lightly a few meters apart. Both were breathing heavily, sweating lightly and smiling widely as they locked glances. They held their positions for a moment, tensely alert. Then Riku tilted his head inquiringly, Sora nodded and they both relaxed. Their audience had expanded while they were occupied, to their mild surprise. Zack and Aerith had wandered in at some point and were standing next to Cloud, Zack's arm wrapped casually around her waist.
"Well, that was fun," Sora said brightly as he waved back to Aerith.
"Yeah, it was," Riku agreed. "Thanks."
"No problem. Hey, how did you do that thing with the tripping?" Sora asked, with a vague hooked gesture as he let the keyblade vanish. None of the onlookers had the faintest idea of what he meant but Riku apparently understood clearly enough.
"Hm? Oh, that. C'mere, I'll show you," Riku offered, his own keyblade disappearing. Sora trotted over without hesitation.
"So you grab your opponent like this," Riku said, demonstrating slowly as Sora watched carefully. "Then hook your foot around like this and give him a shove and there you go," he concluded, Sora squawking indignantly as Riku knocked him over again.
"Hey!" Sora protested, frowning up at Riku from the ground. A thought suddenly occurred to him and he grinned. "So when do I get to practice this on you?" he asked, clambering quickly to his feet, hands outstretched.
Riku laughed and dodged the clumsy grab. "Next time we spar, I guess," he responded airily.
"That might be sooner than you think!" Sora mock-threatened, grinning as Riku laughed again.
"Now, fair's fair. What the hell was that spell?" Riku demanded as they started ambling back to where their audience was waiting.
Sora perked up at the question. "Learned that one the other day, over in Traverse Town," he began, Riku nodding occasionally through the explanation. Riku never had picked up the trick of using most magic but he understood how it worked better than Sora did.
"Huh," Riku commented thoughtfully. "Bet there's a way to counter that," he muttered absently as they reached the others.
"Yeah, you probably could," Sora said fondly, familiar with Riku's tendency to shrug off spells on the battlefield. He shook his head with a faint grin as he tugged Riku to a stop beside him. Magical theory was an odd hobby but it was far from the worst topic to occupy Riku's thoughts so Sora was happy enough to let him ponder.
"So what are we doing now?" he asked the group at large.
"Now it's our turn!" Zack declared gleefully, releasing Aerith and grabbing Cloud in a headlock as he dragged the blond out into the centre of the square.
"What? Zack - wait!" Cloud protested ineffectually as he stumbled along behind Zack, to the sound of Aerith's giggles.
"About time someone else got to make a spectacle of themselves," Riku said, shaking off his abstraction as he noticed Cloud and Zack facing off. Sora nodded his agreement, shifting a half step closer so their shoulders brushed. Riku shot him a sidelong smile, still shyly pleased by displays of affection, and Sora beamed back at him. They nearly missed the opening blows of the exchange, much to Aerith's amusement.