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A faint trill of an alarm cut through Riku’s lucid dreams as he groaned and buried his face further into his pillow. Hours had passed since he had returned from his mission and crashed onto his bed, but as the alarm on his gummiphone grew in volume, he couldn’t help but think that he needed at least another hour of sleep. Letting out a long breath, he blindly swatted for his phone resting on top of his bedside table until his hand made contact and he was able to shut off the chiming ring with a swipe of his thumb.
The silence that filled the room was almost enough to allow him to fall back to slumber, until he heard the muffle of voices from the hall. He rolled onto his back, staring out the crescent shaped window that overlooked that swirling nebula outside the Mysterious Tower. He often found himself getting lost staring at the endless stars, but a knock on his door interrupted any chance of that.
Sighing, he sat up, rubbing his eyes. “Yeah?” He spoke up, attempting to hide the exhaustion in his voice.
He waited, but there was no response. Slight irritation sparked in his tired gut as he pushed back his blanket and climbed out of the bed.
“I’ll be right there,” he assured the mystery, silent intruder, as he grabbed his shirt hung over the back of his desk chair and pulled it on.
He yawned as he reached the door, trying to shake away the last remnants of his exhaustion as he opened his door… only to find no one there. His lips tipped into a frown as he stepped out into the hall lined with star shaped doorways that led to various parts of the tower.
“Alright then,” he whispered to no one in particular, turning back into his room to grab his jacket, but it wasn’t anywhere near his desk. “Where is--”
The words cut off in his throat as he heard Sora whistling a cheery tune. His heart jumped at the sound as he instinctively turned his gaze and spotted Sora walking down the hall, hands laced behind his neck, and wearing a rather familiar jacket. He peeked over his shoulder at Riku, that all too familiar grin splitting his lips that made Riku smile in return without hesitation.
“Gonna give that back?” Riku asked, leaning against the doorframe to his room.
Sora hummed, mulling it over before simply replying, “Nope.”
“What?” Riku asked with a breathy laugh, stepping towards Sora, but he matched his step to keep the distance between them. “Why not?”
“Finders keepers,” Sora shrugged, spinning on his heel to face Riku as he walked backwards. “Just gonna have to come get it back yourself.”
Riku huffed in amusement, rolling his eyes despite the way the tips of his ears warmed at Sora’s teasing. “Don’t you have somewhere you need to be?”
“Don’t you need your jacket?” Sora countered, snickering at Riku’s narrowing gaze before he turned around and bolted into a run.
“Hey!” Riku called after him, pushing off the wall to run after him.
Sora broke into laughter as he glanced over his shoulder and saw Riku in pursuit. He grabbed the edge of a doorway, propelling himself through it just in time to miss Riku’s hand from gripping his hood. Riku’s heart pounded, thrilled by the adrenaline of a race. For a moment, he recalled the years on the island, a wave of nostalgia hitting him as his old competitive nature sparked back to existence. His previous exhaustion was all but forgotten as he chased his jacket thief through the halls.
“Outta the way!” Sora called, waving his arms wildly as Kairi and Lea blocked an oncoming stairwell.
“What the--” Lea stepped back, hands up as Kairi laughed and moved aside.
“Don’t break anything, Numbskulls!” She called after them, her hands cupped around her mouth.
Sora turned around, calling back as he pushed open a door at the bottom of the stairs. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Before Kairi could reply, Riku reached Sora and tackled him through the door. Sora yelped, worming his way out of Riku’s grasp, but unable to run any farther as he scrambled away. His chest heaved as he leaned against a wall. Riku was knelt on the ground, laughing breathlessly as he pushed himself to stand.
“You about done?” He asked, going over to Sora along the wall.
He stopped in front of him, leaning his arm right above him as Sora looked back up at him, unable to hide his tired grin.
“You--” Sora took in a full breath, his heart pounding so loud that Riku could hear it, “You caught me.”
Riku scoffed with a chuckle. “It was only a matter of time. We both know I’m the faster one.”
Sora’s nose crinkled as he made a face that caused Riku’s smirk to grow. “What? Says who?”
“It’s just fact.” He assured him as he reached forward and grasped the front of his jacket. “So, do I get this back now?”
“Nope,” Sora shook his head with a smirk of his own as he tipped his nose up and pointedly reminded him, “Finders keepers, Riku.”
Riku blinked, unable to keep his heart from swelling from just how adorably stubborn Sora was being. The blush from his ears crept to his cheeks, mixing with the warmth from his exhaustion as his smirk melded into a soft smile.
He hummed, tracing his hand along the edge of his jacket. “Nothing I can do to get it back, huh?”
“Guess you’re just gonna have to find a new one.” Sora sighed wistfully, horribly hiding his grin.
“Not even if I do--- this?” He leaned down, ever so lightly pressing his lips against Sora’s cheek. His heart jumped in unison with Sora’s catching breath.
“T-That’s cheating,” Sora accused him, making Riku break the kiss with a laugh.
He leaned his head against Sora’s shoulder as he chuckled. “I don’t remember you saying there were rules to this.”
“It’s… one of the unspoken ones.” Sora clarified, snickering as Riku scoffed with a laugh.
“Unspoken, huh?” He asked as he stood back up straight, his eyes dancing over Sora’s flushed, but smiling face. “Any other ones I should know about?”
Sora looked back at him, his thoughts obviously wandering as his eyes softened and smile grew the longer he gazed back at Riku. Averting his gaze, he hummed in thought, “Um… yeah, there is one.”
“Which is…?” Riku asked with a drawn out voice.
“I get a headstart!” Sora borderline yelled as he slid away and bolted towards the door.
Riku rolled his eyes, reaching over and grabbing Sora’s arm. The motion jerked Sora back, but also pulled Riku forward from the momentum, and they tumbled to the floor with a yelp. Both of them groaned from the sudden pain, but one look at the other caused them to bubble into laughter.
“I’ve missed this,” Sora sighed, rolling to his back and staring at the ceiling.
Riku’s heart softened as he leaned on his side, hand propping up his head as he looked Sora over. “Yeah, me too.”
“Do you think we’ll ever get to go back to the islands, to race again and do that crazy obstacle course?” Sora asked, lacing his hands behind his head.
An eyebrow quirked up as Riku thought about it. “I don’t know.” He admitted. “We were there for a bit before the Mastery Exam, but…” His voice trailed off.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever get to go back,” Sora finished for him, glancing over and meeting his gaze with Riku’s. “Like, for good, you know?”
Riku smiled sadly as he nodded, “Yeah, I know what you mean.” Taking in a breath, he situated onto his back beside Sora, his head resting on Sora’s arm.
“I don’t mind this though,” Sora added, leaning his head against Riku’s.
With a soft hum, Riku agreed, letting a yawn escape as he took in a breath. “Neither do I.” He listened to Sora’s hum in reply before adding, “Would probably like it better though, if I had my jacket back.”
Sora chuckled, “Yeah, yeah. You’re just being a sore loser.”
With a scoff, Riku rolled to his side, quirking up an eyebrow when Sora met his gaze.
“What?” Sora asked, stifling a laugh. The longer Riku stared back at him, the more Sora’s resolve melted away as he looked away with a heavy sigh. “Fiiine, you win.”
He moved to sit up, but stopped by Riku’s lips, meeting them together for a short, yet lingering kiss. Riku breathed out, his entire body warming as he brought his hand to Sora’s face, his eyes remaining shut even after Sora pulled away.
“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that…” Riku mumbled as his eyes fluttered open to see Sora pulling off his jacket.
Sora chuckled, the blush on his cheeks darkened considerably. “Yeah,” he agreed with a soft laugh, “I don’t think I ever will, either.”
He handed Riku the jacket, unable to meet his gaze as he looked away with an embarrassed smile. Riku grabbed it from him, holding it close and secretly loving how warm it still was. Sora always his own way of warming his heart, even with something as trivial as his jacket.
Swallowing the fluttering butterflies in his chest, Riku sat up and pulled on his jacket. “Hey, Sora?”
“Hmm?” Sora glanced over at him, blue eyes widened with curiosity.
Riku closed the distance between them, meeting their lips together for a second time. Sora’s breath hitched, a strangled gasp in his throat as he melted almost immediately. As the kiss broke, Riku leaned his forehead against his,
“Thanks.” Riku whispered.
“For what?” Sora asked, his voice ever so slightly shaking.
Riku smiled, his heart warming. “For being you.”