Archive of Our Own ^beta

Sora wakes with a smile on his face, a crick in his neck, and his arm slung across something soft and solid and warm. His mind is hazy, and he feels groggy with exhaustion still, but despite his itchy eyes and the tight feeling behind his temples, he strangely can’t be bothered to care. He feels too relaxed, too light, too carefree. 

It takes him a few moments to figure out why.

When he does, there’s an almost physical jolt when he realises that he’s lying in someone’s arms—drooling a little on that someone’s shoulder. And that someone can only be one person…

Riku!

Sora’s pulse skids, and his breath catches behind his collarbones. His eyes fly open wide. He doesn’t know whether to panic or to squee with giddiness, because if last night was real—and the fact that he’s half-sprawled across Riku’s chest, their lower legs entangled, seems to be proof enough that it was—then Riku has now become…more than Sora’s best friend?

Through the exhaustion—it was hours after midnight before they finally fell asleep—memories from last night drift back in fragments: Riku’s soft voice, Sora’s breath hitching through his tears, all their touches and closeness. Their confessions. Their kiss… 

There’s a whiff of lavender and Riku’s dry and sweet scent, and somehow it grounds Sora before his emotions overwhelm him.

It also makes him remember that…even with what happened last night, he and Riku are scheduled to go on a mission today. A fun, easy one; Sora’s been looking forward to it for weeks. Master Yen Sid wants them to visit the Arendelle Autumn Festival for some supplies.

He and Riku have such good timing, confessing to each other when they did… Does this mean the mission will be their first date? That’s what people who confess and kiss and become…more than friends…do, right? Go on dates?

Sora likes the idea of a date with Riku so much he can barely keep still; it’s only the thought of Riku waking if Sora accidentally kicks him in the shin that stops him from squirming. 

Would Riku… Would Riku want their mission to be a date too?

Riku is still asleep, his breath even and deep, and Sora carefully wiggles out from under Riku’s left arm so he can prop his head on his elbow and study Riku’s face; his silver hair fanning over the pillow, the curve of his forehead and his nose, the shadow of his lashes across his cheeks. Riku looks so peaceful, and he’s smiling a little while he sleeps. Is he having a good dream? Is he dreaming of Sora?

Sora feels his face light up with glee and wonder. Memories from last night start to play in his mind, as vivid as if he’s watching a movie.

It all started because Sora had been sad, and there was only one person above everyone else who could make him feel better when he was sad. So when sleep continued to elude him and tears burned right behind his eyes, he pitter-pattered towards Riku’s room, and he curled up in Riku’s arms on Riku’s bed, and somehow that led to Riku rubbing his back. And when that didn’t help much, Riku offered to tell him a story.

“It’s a bit of a sad story… But it has a happy ending.”

Sora sniffled and nodded, and Riku started talking in a low, almost monotone voice. But despite the flatness on the surface, Sora could immediately hear the emotions buried underneath, and he clambered into a seated position on the bed, manoeuvring both of them so they could sit pressed shoulder to shoulder against the headboard.

Riku’s story was about two boys in a small town who had been together for every day since they could both remember. Though both had their fair share of childhood troubles, then teenage troubles, their lives were happy and carefree. Mostly. But the older boy began to feel trapped and wanted to see more of the world. At the same time, he became…jealous of the younger boy’s light. Of how the younger boy spent time with other people, too. And that jealousy turned to sadness, even though he didn’t understand why at the time. Maybe he was scared the younger boy wouldn’t need him anymore. Eventually, the sadness made the older boy succumb to the darkness in his heart. 

Yet despite everything that happened next, the younger boy never gave up on his friend, not even through his darkest moments. After finally, after a long, trying journey, the younger boy’s light brought the older boy back from his lonely, dark path.

“The older boy’s strength, too,” Sora interrupted. It was his only interruption to the story so far. “The younger boy didn’t do it alone… I know that.”

Riku gave a minuscule nod of his head, his eyes soft and shining in the starlight, before he turned his gaze on the bedspread and continued.

The younger boy became trapped in a castle, his memories stolen from him. But a friend put him into a special pod, and the older boy found him like that. And then the older boy worked really hard to get all the memories back, so the younger boy would wake up. In the end, he decided to call upon his powers of darkness, even though it was the scariest thing he’d ever done, even though he was sure the younger boy would never want to see him like that. He needed to do it anyway because the younger boy’s safety and happiness were worth everything.

The older boy had been very surprised when the younger boy still wanted to see him, to be friends with him, after everything.

Sora took Riku’s hand, and in the temporary silence, Riku squeezed it so tightly Sora’s fingers went a little numb. 

Through the whole of Riku’s story, Sora’s chest had been filled with more emotions than he knew how to name. He’d felt most of them before, even when he didn’t understand them, but never had they been this close to the surface, sparking underneath his skin. He was so close to something, a realisation that had been a long time coming, as inevitable as the dawn following the darkest of nights.

Sora could pinpoint the exact moment the realisation happened.

Riku slipped up from the story about the ‘two boys’ and said, “I guess… I became your dream eater… so I could protect you even in your dreams, and— And I’m so glad I did, because when you were in Shibuya— I know it took me too long, and I’m sorry, but I found you, and…”

What happened next threw Sora’s entire world off-axis, because Riku started to cry. Sora hadn’t seen Riku cry since he was five years old and fell out of a tree and broke his arm. The sight of it was overwhelming, and so Sora started crying again too, and when he looked at Riku through his tears, a kaleidoscope of silver and green, he felt every possible emotion under the sun.

And then he thought about how he always wanted to call Riku after only being apart for 5 minutes, about how he loved the way Riku said his name—soft with just a little teasing undertone. About how he knew Riku better than anyone else, about how he wanted Riku to know everything about him in return, the good and the bad things.

About how Riku’s eyes were the most beautiful eyes Sora had ever seen.

And then, when Riku lifted his head so their gazes met, it felt like all the confusing puzzle pieces in Sora’s chest slotted into place at the same time, and he threw his arms around Riku’s shoulders, shifted his weight into Riku’s lap, and said, the surest he’d ever been, “I love you, Riku. I really, really love you…”

Riku clung to him so tightly it hurt, but it wasn’t a bad kind of hurt. Sora wouldn’t mind if Riku hugged him like this forever.

“I really, really, really love you, Sora…” Riku replied, his voice fragile like glass.

“Why do you get to say three really’s,” Sora pouted when he found his voice again, but he only pouted because if he didn’t, he would’ve cried even more and that would have been embarrassing.

“Because I’m older,” Riku said, and when Sora pulled back to look at him, Riku’s smile was everything.

They laughed and talked and cried for hours, then laughed and talked some more. Sora didn’t leave Riku’s room, not even when both of them finally started to doze off a little, exhausted from all the emotions and the tears. But before he fell asleep, Sora suddenly figured that if Riku loved him and if Sora finally figured out that all those confusing thoughts and feelings inside of him were just him being in love with Riku in return, they could, maybe, kiss?

That thought made his stomach do a few excited flip flops, and he felt like his world was spinning faster even than when he was on his magical carousel ride.

So Sora asked if they could kiss in a low, barely-there whisper, and Riku answered—just as low, “Yes, I’d like that.”

It took Sora another minute to gather his courage, but then he leaned down to press their mouths together.

Both of their lips were chapped, Riku still tasted faintly like tears, and Sora was beyond tired so he almost yawned as they kissed, but the brush of lips was so comforting and warm and soft that none of that mattered. It was the perfect ending to their night.

“You were right, Riku. The story has a very happy ending…”

Sora fell asleep immediately after.

When the memory stops playing in his mind, Sora is still smiling. He realises maybe Riku was wrong last night after all because this isn’t an ending.

It’s a new beginning.

Breathing normally is suddenly a little difficult because Sora’s heart is beating like a swarm of Flutterings in his chest, and he’s pretty sure he’s blushing, just remembering the feeling of Riku’s lips against his. His face feels really warm. If someone were to ask him right now how he felt, Sora wouldn’t know how to describe it. Raw, vulnerable, yet also so, so happy. Happy and safe and in love.

Shy, too, when Riku finally opens his eyes and smiles. 

Riku says, “Good morning,” so softly that it’s all Sora can do to swallow down the sudden hot prickle in his throat.

These are all too many emotions for him to handle.

Because now he and Riku are boyfriends—that’s the word Sora’s been groping for since he woke up—and today they get to go on a mission (a date!!! his brain helpfully supplies) to Arendelle, and Sora will get to spend the whole day with Riku.

“Good morning,” he says before biting his lip and glancing away towards the foot of the bed, where the bedspread has become loose.

Everything is suddenly different, even though nothing has actually changed. Riku is still his best friend, and his eyes are still really soft and pretty. 

So because nothing has changed, they still fight for who gets to shower first (Sora wins), and they still have cereal for breakfast, and Kairi still walks into the kitchen late, yawning and with bags under her eyes because she’s been up late again watching romance dramas on TV with Lea, only—

Only now when Riku smiles at him around a spoonful of honey loops, Sora’s heart skips three entire beats, and now he has a constant urge to brush his fingers over Riku’s bare elbow, and now their mission to Arendelle totally has become a date. Right? Riku will just have to agree. When Sora glances shyly at Riku with his hands wrapped tightly around his mug, he tries to blame his warm cheeks on the hot steam of the tea.

Kairi stops chewing her fried eggs and stares for a long minute. Then she rolls her eyes towards the ceiling and says, “Really? Finally!” and Sora isn’t entirely sure what that means, but he likes the way Riku blushes and refuses to meet anyone’s eye for a solid twenty minutes.

It’s only when they buckle up in their gummiship seats—thirty minutes behind schedule because Kairi wanted to know everything that had happened since the last time she saw them and this morning—that Riku’s cheeks have gone back to their normal colour.

Sora flies the gummiship the hour-long trip to Arendelle while Riku types away on his phone—and occasionally points out asteroids that Sora dodges last-minute. There’s something in the air between them, something nervous and excited, and Sora decides that he likes it. It’s new and even though he’s been on missions with Riku before in the four months he’s been back from Shibuya, it’s never been like this.

He debates asking Riku if this is a date, if he can hold Riku’s hand later, or if maybe he can kiss Riku again. But he isn’t quite sure how to bring any of that up, so instead, he remains silent and pretends really hard to focus on where he’s going. He’s not sure he’s doing a good job pretending though, especially because his gaze keeps drifting over to Riku and lingering. More often than not, he finds Riku already looking at him, and they both blush and look away simultaneously.

Sora parks the ship just outside Arendelle Town, on the edge of the forest, and if the landing is a little bumpy, well… Riku was being very distracting with his shining silver hair and his intent green eyes and his arm muscles flexing as he leaned forward to look out of the window.

The autumn air in Arendelle is chilly, but not quite cold yet. Leaves drift around them from the moment they step out of the gummiship—yellow and brown and dark red. Once on the ground, he and Riku fall into step together, and they’re so close that Sora’s hand brushes Riku’s on every other swing of his arm.

Riku doesn’t move away…but he also doesn’t take Sora’s hand. A quick glance up towards Riku’s face doesn’t tell Sora much, because Riku’s lips are pressed together and he could be smiling, but it could also be a trick of the light. Sora has to look away before he stares again, so he’s not entirely sure.

To distract himself from their brushing hands and Riku’s face, Sora starts telling Riku all the things that happened the last time he was here, as detailed as he remembers. It takes his mind off the fact that he’s walking next to Riku—they’re just walking, nothing more—and Sora is all but dying inside because Riku is his boyfriend now, and he wants to hold Riku’s hand, but he also still doesn’t know how to ask. They held hands a thousand times before, why is it suddenly so scary now?

Sora also kind of wants to kiss Riku again… Is there like a manual for these things? Should you ask for kisses? Are they only allowed during certain moments? How will he know when those moments occur?

What if Sora is a bad boyfriend by not knowing all of these things? 

That particular thought upsets Sora upsets so much that he stops talking, and then he stops walking.

“What’s wrong?” Riku asks, a little concerned frown on his face.

“Oh,” Sora replies, which isn’t really an answer. So he starts walking again, and he can’t help himself. Riku is like a magnet, because Sora walks even closer, and now the backs of their fingers touch with every step.

He should probably stop overthinking this. He never thought about how to touch Riku before, he always just did it, and Riku never once complained.

He takes a deep breath, and on the next step, Sora slides his palm against Riku’s and grabs a hold of his fingers. Riku makes a noise like he’s choking, and through the nervous, hyperactive butterflies in his stomach, Sora looks up, just a tiny bit alarmed. But Riku is already looking back at him, and oh, his eyes are wide and he looks… He looks happy.

Seeing Riku happy makes Sora happy, and he gets to hold Riku’s hand. This is a win-win-win.

Riku’s hand is warm, and Sora can feel every callus on his fingers and palms. It’s been a while since he got to hold Riku’s hand, but it’s just as nice as he remembers. Nicer now, maybe, now that he knows Riku loves him. Now that he knows Riku wants this too. Now that Sora knows he’s in love with Riku. 

Who would’ve thought?

Hand in hand, they walk across the bridge into town, where they’re immediately immersed into the bustle of the festival. Everything has been decorated wonderfully. There are pumpkins in the doorways lining the cobblestone streets, rustic bales of straw on street corners, and colourful ears of corn and dried sunflowers in front of the windows. Above their heads are strings of flags and little lanterns, and it’s all so wonderful Sora forgets to feel nervous. 

He looks around with wide eyes, his head snapping from left to right so fast he gives himself vertigo, until they get to the square with all the festival stalls. Normally, Sora would be running from one stall to the next, examining everything and taking pictures of all the wares. Now though, he just wants to stay close to Riku.

As they walk together across the square, people look at them, and Sora finds he likes it when people do. They don’t really stare, but their gazes linger for just a second too long sometimes, and some of them smile at them when they walk past. Sora feels so happy he could float away. He wants to skip instead of walk, the light feeling in his stomach trying to make him float up and away like one of Pooh’s balloons. 

Everyone will see that Riku is his, that they belong together.

Vaguely Sora realises Riku is saying something, but he’s so far into his thoughts that he doesn’t hear the words until Riku squeezes his hand twice. 

“Huh?” Sora asks eloquently.

“I said, you have our shopping list, right?”

“Oh, uh. Yes! I think?”

“You think?” Riku asks, a teasing hint in his voice.

Sora forgets any and all words he could have said in response when he looks at Riku. Riku is smiling, and it’s a little smug, as if he knows just the effect his presence has on Sora. But mostly it’s just…so fond, his cheeks flushed pink in the autumn breeze, his eyes crinkling a little. He reaches out his free hand to Sora’s forehead, and Sora stops breathing.

Riku hesitates for a second as if he’s not sure Sora would welcome the touch, but they’re literally holding hands, and Sora wants nothing more than for Riku to touch him as often and as long as he wants. He pushes up on his tiptoes and bumps his forehead against Riku’s palm. 

Riku’s smile goes wider, softer still, as he brushes Sora’s hair away from his eyes, and it’s not that Sora doesn’t want to breathe, it’s that his body has literally forgotten how to, and how do people even live like this when they’re in love? It’s dangerous.

“You’re…” so beautiful, Sora wants to say, but he loses his nerve.

He vaguely realises he hasn’t thought of the shopping list once since before they entered the gummiship.

He put it in his pocket before they left? He thinks? Maybe? It’s not really his top priority at any rate. Maybe they could just stand here all day and hold hands, and maybe if Sora tries really hard, he could get Riku to kiss him again. Yesterday’s kiss was nice, but it was way too short, and Sora thinks that he deserves long kisses too. He drops his eyes to Riku’s lips involuntarily.

When he drags his gaze back up, the look in Riku’s eyes makes something hungry yet shy curl in Sora’s chest. He averts his gaze and studies the toes of his shoes. 

“Sora?”

Riku’s hand curls around his shoulder, and it burns and tingles, and Sora vaguely wonders if this is normal. Does Riku feel this when Sora touches him? How has he lived like this since realising he was in love with Sora… 

Partly to distract himself, and partly because they actually do need the shopping list, Sora shoves his free hand into his pocket, and thank god, the crumpled piece of paper is still there. He shoves it up into Riku’s face and grins. “Tada!”

“I’m proud of you,” Riku says, and even though Sora knows he’s teasing, he feels his face heat up at the praise, and he doesn’t know what to do. Why is everything between them suddenly so different? Why does he suddenly blush at everything Riku does or says, why is he able to feel his heart pounding in his chest, and why is his pulse crackling as loudly as a thousand thunder spells in his ears?

And why, instead of it being uncomfortable, does all of this feel so nice?

Knowing he’s in love is almost as confusing as not knowing he was in love.

“So…” Riku says, bringing Sora back to himself. “Let’s get started on our special mission?”

Sora nods and hands over the list to Riku. At least hopefully like that, it won’t get forgotten again.

They spend an hour finding synthesis materials for King Mickey and then another thirty minutes for a special book on ice magic for Master Yen Sid. With those in brown paper bags, they find a stall that sells cinnamon buns and paper cups filled with warm, spicy drinks. Sora isn’t entirely sure what they are—half sweet, half bitter—but it gives him renewed energy for the second half of the shopping list.

They make their way over to the food stalls for the vegetables and fruits that you can get in Arendelle very cheaply. Most of the ingredients are for Sora, because Little Chef sent Sora new recipes to try last week, all of them pumpkin- and fall-inspired. Sora hasn’t quite yet figured out how a rat manages to operate a gummiphone to send him recipes, but oh well. Little Chef learned how to cook. Surely using a gummiphone is peanuts compared to cooking.

Riku lets go of Sora’s hand because it’s a little crowded in front of the pumpkin stall, so Sora hangs back, leaning against the wall of a scarf-and-accessory shop, while he watches Riku pick out pumpkins.

“He’s really cute.”

“What?” Sora almost drops the bag of apples in his arms. He turns to find a young woman with red hair and sparkling blue eyes smiling at him. “Anna!”

“Hello, Sora,” Anna grins, one hand on her hip as she cocks her head, then nods in the direction Sora was staring in. “Your boyfriend. He’s really cute. You should keep him.” 

All the blood rushes to Sora’s cheeks and ears. Is it that obvious? 

“Ah, haha,” Sora says awkwardly. “You mean…”

“I mean Riku!” Anna says cheerfully, pointing at the back of Riku’s jacket at the pumpkin stall. “That’s Riku, right? You told us so much about him, and after seeing all the pictures you showed us… I’m not sure Kristoff would like to hear me say this, but he’s even prettier in real life.”

Sora must glare at her a little—or maybe a lot, judging by the way his forehead is scrunched up—because she bursts out laughing and raises her hand, so Sora can see her golden ring with a sparkling orange stone. “Don’t worry. Kristoff is the one for me. Riku’s alllll yours.”

Sora feels himself relax, and his frown turns into a large smile. It’s a little hard to focus while his brain is so hyper-focused on where Riku is and what Riku is doing, but once the spark of tension—jealousy, maybe, he thinks—leaves him, he manages to start paying attention to Anna.

“Were you just going to visit Arendelle without saying hello?” Anna teases.

“Oh! Well, we were going shopping first, and… Well, I hadn’t thought that far, actually,” Sora says. I was a little distracted, he doesn’t say. “But we can stop by later!”

“No matter, I was just teasing! I’m glad I caught you though! How have you been?”

“Oh, you know,” Sora says, trying not to think of crystals and other realities and the Final World. “Around. But I’m good now!”

“You should visit more often,” Anna says with a radiant smile. “Last time you left before we could show you the castle! Although a full tour will definitely take at least half a day, so write us a letter soon so we can set a date. You and Riku are always welcome—and your other friends too, of course! Promise me you’ll write!”

“Of course I’ll write! I’d love to see the castle!” Sora says enthusiastically.

“Of course my schedule is a little busy now that I’m queen.”

Sora gasps.

“Oh yeah, I guess I didn’t tell you yet, huh? Lots of things happened here while you were gone. But Elsa lives with the Northudral now, and so I became queen!”

“And you still go to the market?” Sora asks, a little perplexed.

“That’s why I’m in disguise,” Anna whispers conspiringly. “I love the autumn festival, so I didn’t wanna miss it! Kristoff and Olaf are around somewhere, too, I sent them off to get some woollen hats for all of us. It’s getting chillier now that the days are getting shorter.”

“Yeah…” Sora kind of regrets not bringing a warmer outfit, especially when he vividly remembers how cold he’d been last time he was here. Of course, they were caught in a magical snowstorm then, so he had hoped that things would be better this time.

Anna leans in closer. “And after that, I’ll take Kristoff to one of my favourite romantic spots.” She wiggles her eyebrows in a way that makes Sora laugh. “You should take Riku to a quiet spot, too. For some alone time.”

Sora blushes so hard he can feel his ears heating up. Well, that took care of the feeling chilly problem, at least for a bit. But he makes himself meet Anna’s eyes and he’s proud of himself for his mostly steady voice when he says, “Oh, hm, yeah… What uh… romantic spot?”

“If you go through this alleyway and turn left, and follow that street all the way down, you’ll come to a nice, quiet spot on the quay. Very romantic.”

Sora nods, not trusting his voice for the moment. He’s never had to think about romantic spots before. It’s entirely new territory.

“Hey,” Riku suddenly says from where he’s popped up again by Sora’s shoulder, and Sora jumps. 

Riku glances at Sora sideways, his brow furrowed, and Sora tries to fight down his blush, but he’s never been good at keeping his emotions off his face. “You okay?”

Sora nods, and it’s a miracle his voice is steady when he says, “Yeah! This is Anna. I told you about her earlier. She’s queen now, apparently!”

Riku’s face softens as he turns his head. “Oh! It’s nice to meet you, Queen Anna.”

“Oh, no need to be so formal,” Anna waves her hand. “Just Anna is fine!”

Sora watches Riku’s features smooth into a smile. “Okay then. My name’s Riku. I’m Sora’s—”

Sora stops breathing.

“Uh…” Riku says, and Sora is pleased to see Riku’s cheeks go pink again, too.

“Boyfriend,” Sora dares to say. It’s the first time he says it out loud. He sounds strangely proud, but despite that, his heart is suddenly pounding a jackhammer rhythm against his rib cage. They hadn’t talked about if they really were boyfriends, so what if he— 

Riku nods, and Sora’s shoulders slump a little in relief.

“I’m so glad to finally meet you, Riku! Sora has told me allllll about you.” Anna lights up and makes a cooing sound as she claps her hands together. “You guys are adorable.”

Sora wants to bury his face in Riku’s arm, but he knows that wouldn’t be polite. Neither would pouting. He sighs a little instead, but he’s smiling, too. It’s nice that people see them as… a couple now…

“Well, Sora, Riku. It’s been a pleasure meeting you, but I should go and see if Kristoff has managed to find those hats I wanted. And then it’ll be the perfect time for a…” she pauses and gives Sora a little wink. “You know.”

Sora doesn’t know whether to choke or be grateful. He settles for the latter because the first seems rather undignified.

“Thank you, Anna!” He finds he really means it, too, as he waves her goodbye. “It was nice to see you!”

“Don’t be a stranger. Please visit again soon! And write to us!”

“I will,” Sora promises, and with a final wave, she slips in between the crowds on the square. He turns to give Riku a sheepish smile. “She’s a bit enthusiastic.”

“I noticed.” Riku smiles. “I like her. I can see why you two get along so well.”

“Yeah! She’s really nice and kind, and she talks a bit much, but she always smiles and finds the good in things and people.”

Riku’s smile turns softer, his eyes narrowing with affection. “Sounds familiar.”

“Huh?” Sora squints at him.

“Never mind.” Riku takes the list out of his pocket, his eyes roaming from top to bottom. Then he hands it to Sora for double-checking. “I think that was everything.” 

Sora gives the list a once-over and decides that yes, they have gotten all the items on the list, which means the official part of their mission is finally over. Good. Now he can maybe try Anna’s suggestion… 

“You wanna get out of here?” Sora asks as he crumbles the list into a ball and throws it into the nearest bin. 

“Out of here?” Riku asks, but he sounds intrigued.

“It’s a secret,” Sora sing-songs. He grabs Riku’s hand again and tugs him in the direction of the spot Anna had mentioned

She was right. It’s a quiet spot, with a clear view of the fjord, and even though Sora didn’t mind the hustle and bustle of the busy square, he can tell Riku is relieved to be away from there.

“It’s beautiful…” Riku says as he watches across the sea, the water a dark blue-grey with barely any waves, completely unlike the azure crystal of the ocean back on the Destiny Islands.

It’s getting colder now, the sun already going down even though it’s not yet dinner time. Sora shivers a little because his jacket has short sleeves and the rays of the sun are no longer as warm as earlier. Goosebumps begin to form on his lower arms.

As they stand side by side, overlooking the fjord, pigeons come up to them, eager for food. Sora reaches into his pocket for his half-eaten cinnamon bun from earlier. He crumbles off a few pieces and scatters them across the cobblestones. The pigeons descend on them as if they haven’t eaten for weeks.

Sora watches them squabble over the crumbs, but not really seeing, because while Riku is close, he isn’t close enough. He let go of Riku’s hand moments ago to feed the pigeons, which he now regrets. Every second Riku isn’t touching him is a wasted second. He shuffles closer, moving his body in front of Riku’s until they’re pressed together, and Sora leans all of his weight back against Riku’s chest.

He can’t see Riku like this, but he can feel every part of him. He feels Riku freeze for long moments, and Sora wonders with a surge of rising alarm if he made a mistake, but then Riku brings up his arms to wrap them around Sora’s waist. And ah, yes, this is possibly even better than holding hands. It’s warm and safe, and Riku leans his weight forward into Sora, which is the best feeling ever.

Sora tilts his head back, letting the crown of it rest against the centre of Riku’s chest, and beams up. Riku smiles back and kisses his forehead.

It’s just a soft, tentative brush of lips to his skin, but it still takes Sora’s breath away. With his head upside down, the entire world starts to spin until he closes his eyes, overwhelmed by how his senses are suddenly engulfed in everything Riku. Riku’s smell, Riku’s warmth, the sound of Riku’s sped-up breathing.

Suddenly Sora really, really wants to kiss him for real. He spins around, and with more grace than he had thought himself capable of, reaches up and presses their lips together again.

Finally. 

Their noses bump, and Riku makes a surprised noise, and for a second Sora worries he misjudged the moment, but then Riku leans down more to kiss him a little harder. At this point, Sora stops thinking altogether and just lets himself feel. 

The soft slide of their lips together, warm and dry in contrast to the crisp air, the taste of apple and cinnamon, and Sora opens his mouth almost on instinct, and… Ohhhh… That’s Riku’s tongue against his, and yesterday’s kiss is nothing compared to this, this is the best thing Sora has ever done in his entire life. 

It lasts for an eternity, and as far as Sora is concerned, it can last for a few eternities more. But eventually, he can’t really breathe anymore because there’s no air left in his lunges, and Riku must either notice or feel the same way, because he pulls back, panting.

“Wow,” Sora says, for lack of words to describe this experience.

Riku smiles, equal parts elated and bashful, and they just breathe together for long moments. Sora catalogues every little detail he can see; the hair blowing across Riku’s forehead, the little hint of white teeth, Riku’s dilated pupils. Then he watches as Riku’s smile fades into something deeper. It’s the look Riku gets whenever he’s thinking about something.

“What’s wrong?” Sora asks. 

“Uhm….” Riku says before averting his gaze.

“Didn’t you…like it?”

“No!” Riku says quickly, his eyes snapping back to Sora’s. “I mean, yes! I liked it. I really liked it…”

“Okay.” The tense, uneasy wave inside Sora’s chest ebbs away as quickly as it had come. He knows whenever Riku gets like this, he just needs to be patient. It’s not his best quality, he’s aware of that, but when it comes to Riku, Sora can be patient.

He reaches out to swipe his thumb over Riku’s cheek, and Riku’s face smooths out again, though he still looks a little hesitant. 

“Are you cold?” Riku eventually asks, and Sora feels Riku’s cheek and neck flush warm underneath his fingers. 

Sora hums and nods. “A little.” Would Riku offer him his jacket? That is a nice thought. So nice that it makes Sora shiver again, but not with cold this time. 

“Oh,” Riku says. “Okay, good, cause… Well, not good, of course, but…” He trails off, sighs and lets out a low, frustrated sound.

“Hey,” Sora says gently, suddenly no longer shy or uncertain. He brings both of his hands to Riku’s cheeks and brings their foreheads together, inhaling deeply. “Take a deep breath.” 

Riku follows Sora’s example. When he exhales shakily, his eyes fall closed. 

“I love you,” Sora says, and he surprises himself a little because he wasn’t sure he was going to say that. But he guesses he wants tosay this now. He’s spent too much time not saying it.

Riku’s eyes fly open, and his face… Even from up close, Sora can see his face relax, and his eyes sort of… Go wide and bright and a little shiny in the husky orange light of impending dusk. 

“I… I love you too.” 

“Good. Now, what were you going to say?”

Riku takes another deep breath, and when he opens his mouth again, the words rush out in a long, barely comprehensible sentence. “While you were talking to Anna, Iboughtyouasweater.”

It takes a second for Sora to untangle the words and let them sink in, but then he beams, his mouth curving widely, his cheeks as round as they can go. 

Riku moves away a little to reach into one of the paper bags he’d dropped on the cobblestones. He pulls out a brown, knitted sweater with a large, orange pumpkin with a smiley face on the front. 

Sora jumps five feet into the air and then into Riku’s arms, wrapping his limbs around Riku like a koala. “Ahhhhhh! Riku!!!”

Riku brings up his arms to hold Sora around his hips, preventing him from falling. “Do you like it?”

“I love it!!! I wanna put it on right now, but I also don’t wanna let go of you, it’s not fair I can’t do both at the same time.”

Riku laughs, a mix of relief and his usual pretend-exasperation when Sora does or says something that secretly makes him want to laugh but he also wants to look cool.

“Did you get one for yourself too?” Sora asks excitedly.

“Oh,” Riku says, surprise lacing the word. “No, I didn’t.”

“Then we’re gonna go back right now,” Sora mumbles into Riku’s neck. “I want you to have one too! We can have matching sweaters!” For a second, the shyness is back because what if Riku won’t want to? What if he thinks it’s stupid? But Sora is too excited now, and he pushes those insecure thoughts down and continues, “That’s something boyfriends do, right? Get matching sweaters?” 

Riku is silent for long moments, so Sora just holds him tighter. Sora realises he’s become good at reading Riku, better now that he knows Riku loves him, there’s no reason to believe that Riku thinks he’s being stupid. Eventually, Riku hums against Sora’s shoulder. 

“I don’t know… I’ve never had a boyfriend before,” Riku says, and his voice is low and a little shaky, but somehow bright at the same time. “But I want to get matching sweaters with you, Sora.”

Sora curls his fingers into the back of Riku’s jacket and squeezes his thighs around Riku’s waist. Riku holds him up effortlessly, his arms firmly and safely around Sora’s waist, the pumpkin sweater still in his hands. Finally, they’ve been standing there so long that Sora wiggles a little, and Riku gets the hint and lets him down.

Sora takes his new sweater and folds it over his left arm. Then he takes Riku’s left hand in his right.

They hold hands all the way back to the market and the sweater stall, where Sora waits patiently while Riku picks out his sweater—a moss green one with a brown hedgehog on it. Riku only lets go of his hand to pay the woman behind the stall.

They move to a quiet spot in an alleyway behind the stall, and Riku takes off his jacket and puts on his sweater while Sora watches. Sora smiles so hard his eyes start to water a little. Riku looks so… so happy.

Also, the green of the sweater goes really well with his eyes.

“You too,” Riku says, and there’s that bashful smile again that Sora’s learning to read for what it is, because Sora feels the same. It’s happiness and part nerves and part ‘I can’t believe we get to have this’. “Put yours on too?”

Sora shakes his head to try and dislodge the butterflies that have migrated from his chest and are now doing a happy dance in the back of his throat. He puts on his own sweater, a little too big, but warm and soft, and then they’re grinning at each other like a pair of love-struck teenagers.

Which Sora supposes they are. 

“I really wanna kiss you again,” he blurts out. 

Riku blushes for the umpteenth time that day—the sight makes Sora lick his lips—and his smile turns bashful. “I really want that, too.”

They stare at each other for a few seconds, and then Sora goes up on his tiptoes, crowding Riku back against the stone wall of the house behind him, and he kisses him. This kiss is even better than the last because this time, Sora remembers to tilt his head, and this time, Riku makes a little moaning sound against Sora’s lips that Sora wants to replay in his mind forever.

Sora’s hands make tight fists in the front of Riku’s sweater, and it doesn’t take too long for Riku’s hands to clutch at Sora’s back. The sweater already made Sora feel nice and warm again, but now combined with a kiss like this, he feels positively overheated.

It’s amazing.

This is a thought Sora can’t keep inside—though it’s a tough call between pulling away to talk and continuing to kiss Riku like this—so he pulls away to grin up at Riku, his breathing fast and shallow.

“This is amazing. I’m so glad we get to do this now.”

Riku’s hands move from Sora’s back to his cheeks, and he leans down to bring their foreheads together. Even in the twilight, Riku looks like he’s glowing. It’s a pity they’re not kissing anymore, but seeing Riku like this is almost as good.

“Me too, Sora…”

“This was already so good. Can you imagine how good we’d be at this when we practise some more?”

Riku’s lips curve into a little smirk, and his eyes narrow a little, but not before Sora sees the spark of interest there. “You wanna practise more?”

“Of course!” Sora says earnestly. Then he becomes aware of where they are—in a small, chilly alleyway with the bustling sounds of the autumn festival not ten feet away, and he can think of a few better places to continue practising. 

With a wistful sigh, he drops back down on his heels and waits for a few moments to stop panting.

“Tonight?” Sora asks hopefully.

Riku grins, a flash of pearly teeth and a smug tilt to the right corner of his lips. Sora’s breathing speeds up again.

Then Riku winks at him and offers his hand to Sora. 

“Tonight. It’s a date.”