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Sora loved the duet. He’d start humming and then Riku would start humming and the pair would sit there in absolute peace with their songs meshing together.
Sitting in the heat with the waves rolling in, a song between them. It was perfect. They’d been friends for over ten months now and there was something special there. Riku came to see him most days. A handful of times he’d even stayed the night in Sora’s cottage. He'd learned to like the squishy couch and bed but he loved the bathtub too which they'd learned they could both fit in at the same time.
Riku might have been the best friend Sora had ever had and he wasn’t ashamed of that.
The pair of them were on a blanket, two beach umbrella’s overhead to cast enough shade to cover Riku's long body. Riku had laid beside Sora one afternoon in the sunshine and experienced his first sunburn. It had been a dramatic ordeal and Sora admitted to babying him through it. With the way Riku’s silver scales trailed across his skin the sun burns had come in awkward patches that left Riku uncomfortable for days.
He’d been delighted when Sora pulled up the umbrella’s to keep them in the shade. Now they could stay outside as long as they wanted. It was the best compromise Sora could make since he couldn’t breathe under water.
Today Riku laid on his stomach, stretched out across Sora’s lap. He was crocheting a little hat out of yarn Sora had brought out for them. He’d been delighted with learning to make things and Sora loved having someone to spend time with.
Riku might not have had much practiced skill but he had joy and that's all that mattered to Sora. He had a particular skill with knitting and crocheting and that alone had given Sora the idea for them to make a bunch of little hats.
He’d explained to Riku that they’d donate all of them to the hospital for newborn babies. Riku was fascinated by the idea and set to work.
Sora was crocheting too, using Riku’s back as a table while he worked on a little red hat. It was the most intimate he’d ever been and he never thought he’d enjoy anything so much.
It wasn’t a ripping his clothes off kind of love, but he ached to stay next to Riku.
“You want a spray?” Sora asked when their song seemed to come to a slow, pretty end.
“Please.” Riku said, tail swishing gently when Sora set his project aside and grabbed the water bottle to spray Riku with cold seawater and keep him from drying out too badly. He could handle being dry and it didn’t really hurt him but Riku preferred to be damp if given the choice.
“It’s a shame these wouldn’t last underwater.” Riku commented, pausing to look at the hat and then his bracelet. Sora had remade it twice now after too much water damage. He loved the thing. After a long look he brushed his hair out of his face and got back to work. “I have a friend who recently had a little one. A girl. She’d look cute in one of these.”
“Yeah?” Sora laughed, “I bet she would. Well, if she ever has a reason to come this way she can wear one while she visits.”
Riku laughed softly and made a noncommittal sort of sound. “Yeah.”
Their friendship was hard to explain to their friends. Riku’s friends kept..well..trying to lure Sora to his death, and Sora’s had been little better with all their screaming.
Kairi and Selphie had come to see him unexpectedly only a few weeks ago and found Sora and Riku sitting side by side eating lunch. (Riku liked chicken.) The girls had panicked and screamed and Riku mostly ignored them. He couldn’t exactly find offense when he had to chase his friends off every few weeks.
They only quieted down when Sora gave them a bemused look and told them to leave if they couldn’t conduct themselves properly. The girls had fled from fear, and Sora hadn’t missed Riku’s slightly smug look. Greedy siren.
That night he’d been subjected to a dozen calls from his friends which had him rolling his eyes. They were months behind on their panic and had nothing to say when Sora told them as much. He hadn’t been out to hurt feelings but he wasn’t going to let them be so snappy when Riku was the one spending time with him. Riku wasn’t a monster.
Sora wasn’t under any disillusions. Sirens would continue to sing and draw humans to their deaths. It happened. It was a part of the food chain in many ways. Humans would probably never embrace a siren the same way a mouse would not embrace a cat.
Riku just wasn’t like other sirens.
“If i did invite any of them here, it would be Aqua.” Riku commented after a while, taking a look at the progress on his little hat. “She’s sensible.”
“Oh yeah?” Sora smiled, always happy when Riku was comfortable enough to talk about his life underwater.
“Well, as sensible as she can be considering she had Terra’s baby.” Riku mused, stretching enough to reach the thick tote bag that Sora kept the yarn in. He was already picking out a color for a new hat and shoving his hair out of his face. He got the hang of the pattern quick.
Sora laughed. “What’s wrong with Terra?”
“He’s gullible.” Riku said, wiggling happily when Sora sprayed him again.
“That all?” Sora asked after a pause, going back to using Riku’s back as a table.
Riku hummed. “I mean, there’s nothing really wrong with him. I wouldn’t consider him a friend if there was. I suppose everyone has their annoying trait. Terra is gullible. Aqua is bossy. Lea has a mischievous streak.”
“What about me?” Sora asked, halting in his work for just a moment to poke Riku between his shoulder blades.
“You have legs.” Riku said without hesitation. “But i don’t hold it against you.”
Sora laughed and watched Riku smile. He’d never met anyone who liked his laugh as much as Riku did. “Well good! I can’t change it. Besides, it’s not the legs that should annoy you. It’s the lack of gills.”
Riku tilted his head back to look at him. “You’d want gills?”
“If i could swim with you, sure?” Sora said. “I would if i could but i can’t. It’s nice of you to come on land.”
“Right.” Riku hummed, his tail slowly bending back and forth at what Sora liked to think of as the knee joint. “This is fine though. Land should be dangerous for us but your beach is safe.” he brushed his hair out of his eyes again and Sora huffed.
He threw his crocheting down onto the blanket. “You’re driving me nuts. C’mere.”
“Oh, if you insist…” Riku smiled faintly, only needing to slide a little closer given his position.
Sora grabbed the bag and pulled out a soft brush he’d started bringing out onto the beach with him for the singular reason of brushing Riku’s hair out.
In the water Riku didn’t really worry about it. It floated and wafted in water and it was easy to keep out of his face. It had taken some time for him to get use to it out of water. Wet hair against his dry skin drove him crazy. The way it stuck to his neck and shoulders like seaweed made his skin crawl.
He was pleasantly surprised when he learned his hair would dry out just like a humans. He was even more pleased the first time Sora ran a brush through it. Ever since he’d figured out that the more he messed with it, the better his chances were that Sora would play with it, it had become a habit.
“I’m starting to think i spoil you.” Sora muttered, sliding the brush through Riku’s hair. It was almost fun to watch the way Riku would just go limp, face buried against his arms.
“S’good.” Riku muttered.
“Oh yeah.” Sora mused, smiling when Riku’s entire body curved around him. Half human and half fish tail draped across his lap. He should have felt awkward or uncomfortable but over the months he’d grown used to Riku’s presence.
Little touches and bumps had been casual if not downright accidental. It had given Sora time and after a while it was just.. Riku. Nothing to worry about. It was peaceful and didn’t make him feel like his skin was prickling.
“Are you sure you're a siren and not a puppy?” Sora asked, turning Riku’s head just a little towards him. He was pliable and easy to move around. Anything that kept Sora running fingers through his hair.
“I’m content. It’s better than either.” Riku muttered.
“Mm?” Sora hummed. “Are sirens not often content?”
“Sirens are always hungry. Always on the hunt. Always moving forward. Even when they’re relaxing it’s…” Riku sighed. “There’s always such a movement to us. Not like this. Calm and safe and actually happy.”
Sora smiled, brushing his fingers against Riku’s temple and touching the faint scattering of scales there. “I’m glad. I’m happier with you here too.”
Riku’s smile was warm but his sleepy face was still buried against his arms. “Good.”
After several long minutes Sora started weaving Riku’s hair into a fishbone braid. It was silly and appropriate and if they were inside, Riku would place himself in front of a mirror to look at it.
He reached back a hand to feel his hair threaded together.
“Stop.” Sora laughed. “You’ll pull it out.”
“I won’t,” Riku argued.
“You always say that and i always end up doing it again.” Sora said, knowing Riku’s game even as he watched the silver claws pull his hair free. “Riku!”
“Again?” Riku smiled a little, peeking up at Sora.
Sora smiled faintly, feeling warmth in his chest again. “Fine. If i gotta.” The silver threads in his hand were soft and it really wasn’t a chore to play with them as long as he wanted. The fact that Riku let him touch was special.
“Though i don’t know why, someone put his crochet work down.” Sora teased, braiding his hair again.
“I made two little hats.” Riku disagreed, that familiar smirk in place even if he was too happily dazed to maintain eye contact. “That’s worth two of your hair decorations.”
Sora laughed quietly and stroked his hair fondly. “Okay, i guess you get a pass.”
“Of course i do.”
Both were startled by a new voice.
“I get some desperate, panicked call about your dumb ass and this is what i find? Really?”
Sora looked up, a gasp lodged in his throat and a grin on his face when he looked towards his house. “Roxas!”
His cousin wandered out his back door, backpack and shoes left on the porch as he wandered out towards Sora.
“Who’s that?” Riku asked, a little more alert.
“He’s my cousin, the one i told you about. Lives further inland in a bigger city, closer to the mountains.” Sora chuckled, grinning up at his blond look alike. “What are you talking about? Who called you?”
“Kairi.” Roxas said, eyeing Riku. “Said you were seduced by a siren and in danger. That you were chasing people off your beach.”
“Um,” Sora scoffed. “Rude. I told them to leave if they were going to be jerks. Did you buy into that?”
Roxas snorted. “Nah, i laughed. Thought i’d come visit anyway. Have a little vacation.” He eyed Riku still. “And what do i find? You got a half fish in your lap and your doing his hair.”
“Jealous.” Sora accused.
“You have Sora’s eyes.” Riku commented, gazing up at him still. If he’d needed proof that they were related, that would do it.
“Guess so,” Roxas blinked. “Just to be clear, do i gotta worry about you eating my cousin?”
Riku smiled slow. “I do not eat my friends.”
Sora sighed. “They really were jumping to conclusions. Riku’s been hanging out for months now.” He picked up the spray bottle to get Riku damp again and Roxas smirked at the visual.
“Yeah well, it makes sense to me, i guess. Both sides.” Roxas shrugged, plopping down onto the blanket and finally noticing the yarn. “Oh my god, are you knitting? You’re sitting out here with a half fish, knitting.”
“Siren.” Riku said.
“Crocheting.” Sora corrected.
Roxas laughed, ignoring Sora completely. “Yeah, our sirens are half birds. Whatever.”
“Are you a land siren too?” Riku asked, deciding to ignore the half fish comments. They were somewhat accurate.
“A what?” Roxas’ eyes flew up and Sora couldn’t help but snicker.
“I told him i’m not a land siren but he doesn’t believe me.”
Riku shrugged and finally pushed up onto his hands in a sitting position. “You are beautiful. You can sing. Both enchantingly so. Siren singing has no effect on you. You must be a land siren.”
Sora bit his lip to keep from smiling too hard. “I tried to explain i was demisexual…”
“I’ll bet.” Roxas laughed. “Um, sure then. Sora’s a demi land siren and i’m an aro land siren.”
“Ah.” Riku said, tilting his head to the side and no doubt filed the word away for later. “Are you also unaffected by a siren's lure? If not it could be dangerous for you to be here. I’m afraid my kind are fucking stupid and keep trying to call Sora to them.”
Roxas shrugged. “Not interested, you know? The birds don’t bother me, i’ll assume the fish are the same way.”
Sora smiled at his cousin. “Does that have anything to do with you being aro or is it just because you don’t give a damn?”
“Flip a coin.” Roxas shrugged.
“I have a friend like that.” Riku snorted, leaning on Sora to reach to his other side and pick up his yarns and crochet hook.
It was easy enough to pick back up where he left off.
“We all should.” Roxas said, moving his feet off the blanket so he could bury them in the sand.
“So how long are you staying?” Sora asked, “And what are you going to tell Kairi?”
Roxas just shrugged. “Couple days. Maybe a week. Longer if i’m having fun.” He looked at Sora with a grin. “As for Kairi? I dunno. Maybe i will tell her you were seduced by a siren. Maybe i’ll tell her you’re taming one instead. Who knows?”
“Always stirring the pot.” Sora muttered.
“C’mon, i gotta spice it up. It’s a much better story then you sitting on the beach knitting.. What are these? Baby hats?”
“A baby called a premie.” Riku supplied and even Roxas was charmed by his confusion.
“Right.”
“Well, it’s a nice day out so why not?” Sora shrugged with a smile. “You want a hook? I’m sure you remember how to do this, nana taught us.”
“Nah, i’ll just watch.” Roxas mused, pulling out his phone from his pocket. “Slightly disappointed though. With the way Kairi was going on i thought there might be a little bit of commotion around here. Instead you’re as happy as can be on your little beach like always.”
“You would be disappointed at a lack of drama for you to watch.” Sora commented, amused when Riku leaned against him. It was largely just for balance but that didn’t matter. The two of them had grown used to sharing the space.
When Sora heard the click he rolled his eyes. “Roxas...”
Roxas chuckled, deciding to make his own fun. “Hashtag, my cousins dating a siren.”
“You’re such a brat.” Sora snorted.
“What’s dating?” Riku asked, glancing between them.
“It means you and Sora have a relationship. Whatever that actually means is up to the two of you i guess.” Roxas shrugged, sending the picture to Kairi.
“Favorite?” Riku asked, making Sora smile.
“Yeah, Favorite.” Sora smiled. “You don’t mind Roxas hanging out, do you?”
“No.” Riku said, still leaning against Sora’s side. Sora was relieved at that. It was nice at least one of his friends had sense. He should have known he could count on Roxas. Nothing fazed him.
Roxas’s attention was hardly pulled from his phone at all until Riku started humming. When Sora chimed in alongside him Roxas just laughed and took another picture.
It was a duet with an audience.