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Shortly after Yen Sid pronounced Riku a Keyblade Master, Sora, Donald, and Goofy exited Yen Sid’s study. Riku, however, hovered behind, along with Mickey. Riku had questions to ask.
“I sense you seek answers,” Yen Sid commented, clearly realizing that. “What may I aid you with?”
“Well, you said I’m Sora’s dream-eater,” Riku said. “But, what does that mean? Was it just for when we’re in the sleeping worlds, or is it always?”
“Hmmmmm,” Yen Sid hummed as he leaned his elbows on his desk, fingers touching in a show of thought. “I must say, that is something which I do not have the answer to. It is, after all, a unique case.”
“Right. But you must have some idea.”
“Well, if it is as I expect, you will be capable of assuaging Sora’s nightmares, at the very minimum. However, suggesting anything beyond that would be much too speculative. That is something you must discern for yourself, with Sora’s help.”
“Sora’s help?”
“Of course!” Mickey chimed in. “You’re HIS dream-eater, after all!”
Riku felt himself blush. “Um. Yeah, that’s true,” he acknowledged, not liking the twinkle in Mickey’s eye. The mouse was way too perceptive when it came to Riku’s feelings, particularly when it came to those towards Sora.
Speaking of feelings… something felt strange. Riku put his hand over his heart. There was something there… Riku himself felt fairly content, as everyone was safe, but there was an anxiety beneath that felt not-quite-his. Was it residual from Ansem? But no, that guy was definitely gone…
“Something wrong, Riku?” Mickey asked.
“I don’t know,” Riku admitted. “I have an odd feeling, like there’s emotions there beneath my own? I know that doesn’t make sense…”
“Would they perhaps be Sora’s?” Yen Sid suggested. “Dream-eaters can usually sense the mood of those they are bound to, as you must know from experience.”
Riku thought about that. It was true; he and his dream eaters had always been in-sync, able to feel each others’ moods, which had been important in battle. And if Riku was Sora’s dream-eater… wait. “But that means Sora’s feeling uneasy,” Riku determined. “Or, upset? It’s fuzzy. It isn’t good though…”
“Well, Sora did just go through quite an ordeal,” Mickey pointed out. “I know he tends to act happy around everyone, but he must be hurting.” True, very true; few people could tell, but Sora did tend to hide most of his negative emotions. Riku had certainly seen earlier that Sora was upset under his pleasure at Riku’s success. But to this extent?
“I need to go find Sora,” Riku decided. “Thank you for your help, Masters,” he told them with a small bow before turning on his heel and swiftly exiting the study.
Riku hurried down the multitude of stairs of the Mysterious Tower and raced through various twisting corridors, his heart automatically telling him where to go. Another dream-eater ability? That made Riku feel happy; maybe now he and Sora wouldn’t be losing each other so easily anymore. Eventually he arrived in front of what appeared to be a bedroom; right, Yen Sid had mentioned that the Tower would spawn rooms for anyone who wanted some rest (not that Riku was very tired after technically being asleep for what had turned out to be more than a week).
Riku knocked on the door. “Sora?” he asked, although he knew the brunette was in there. When there was no reply, Riku knocked again. “Hey, Sora, I’m coming in,” he decided as he turned the knob.
The door was locked. Riku sighed; Sora often tended to try shutting himself away when he was in a bad mood. Riku jiggled the knob. “Sora? Hey, let me in?” Sora still didn’t respond, although the anxiety Riku felt from the boy increased. Riku began getting worried; he summoned his keyblade and used it to unlock the door, hoping Sora didn’t get mad about that.
The room was dark, so Riku turned on the light; Sora curled more tightly into himself in response. The brunette sat with his back to the wall on top of a twin bed made with a dark-blue silver-spangled comforter, arms wrapped around his knees and face buried into them.
Riku shut and locked the door (after all, Sora had it that way in the first place; he surely wouldn’t want more people interrupting) and hurried over to the bed, where he plopped down next to Sora and instinctually put an arm around the brunette’s shoulders. Riku vaguely wondered why; he usually wasn’t so affectionate, even with Sora—not that he didn’t want to be, but Riku never knew when it was okay and when it wasn’t, so tended to withhold to be safe (although, Sora had hugged him profusely earlier, so it was probably fine).
“Hey. Talk to me, Sora; what’s going on?” Riku prodded.
“I don’t wanna talk about it,” Sora said, not moving from his curled-up position.
“Sora, holding things in doesn’t help—you know that.”
“I know.”
“Then, talk,” Riku suggested. “It’s about the exam, isn’t it?”
Sora flopped sideways onto Riku, face now visible but still hugging his knees. “Well, yeah. What else would it be about?” he mumbled. “I failed completely.”
“You wouldn’t have if Xehanort hadn’t interfered,” Riku pointed out. “You know, I think it’s BS that Yen Sid didn’t name you a Master despite that; you deserve it more than anyone.”
Sora shook his head. “That’s not it. I know I’m not good enough yet; I figured that going in.” Riku tried not to react with surprise; he hadn’t realized Sora’s self-esteem was that low. Sora was definitely at Master level, in Riku’s opinion, although Riku could admit he might be a little biased, considering… no, it wasn’t time for that topic.
“Then, what is it?” Riku wondered, suddenly realizing that he knew almost nothing about what Sora had actually been through during the exam.
Sora stayed quiet for a moment. Just as Riku was about to say something more, Sora spoke, at a volume almost too low to hear. “Xehanort was right.”
Riku blinked, unsure if he’d heard that correctly. “Right about what?” he asked.
“I’m worthless without my friends,” Sora stated. He sounded like he truly believed it… oh. Xehanort had knocked Sora into the darkness, meaning something must have been preyed upon. Sora’s hidden low self-esteem must have been the catalyst that the darkness latched onto and amplified.
“What? That’s not true at all!” Riku asserted loudly.
“Yes it is!” Sora argued just as loudly, although he didn’t move from Riku’s arms, both which were now around Sora (when had that happened?). “Everything I’ve done up until this exam I’ve been with people. Without them, I completely failed.” Tears began forming in Sora’s eyes.
“Hey, no, that’s not true,” Riku said again, wiping some tears away with his thumb before they could fall. “There’ve been plenty of times you had to fight on your own, without the help of anyone! And besides, having friends helping doesn’t mean you’re not strong yourself.”
“Yeah but Riku, the keyblade didn’t even choose me,” Sora said quietly. “It was meant for you.”
Riku took a moment to ponder about how to answer that. “Maybe at first, but because I failed it, it went to you,” he explained carefully. “And then later on, it chose you again over me, and stayed while I got a new one. That one is definitely yours,” Riku insisted.
“Maybe,” Sora muttered.
“No, not maybe: definitely,” Riku persisted.
Sora didn’t reply, but he appeared somewhat more relaxed, possibly somewhat comforted by Riku’s words. At least, that’s the feeling Riku got from the dream-eater bond as Sora cuddled into Riku more while the conversation shifted into a comfortable silence.
After a few minutes, Sora looked up at Riku and said, “Riku? Can I ask you something?”
“Yeah, always. What's up?”
“How did you know I was in here and not feeling good?” Sora asked, turning to look Riku in the eyes.
“Oh.” Riku felt himself blush at both the closeness and the answer to that question. “How much do you know about how I rescued you?”
“Um…” Sora looked at the ceiling with a frown, thinking. “Let’s see… as I was sinking into the darkness, I called your name… then I don’t really remember much. There was darkness, and cold, and then I woke up in Yen Sid’s study and you were still asleep… oh! Yen Sid said something about my dreams, right? So you did a heart dive thing?”
Ah. So Sora knew basically nothing of the event, and was unaware of their newfound connection. “I became your dream-eater,” Riku explained.
Sora scrunched his brow. “What? But you’re not fluffy and multicolored.”
Riku let out a snort of amusement. Sora would think of that first. “Maybe I should explain in more detail,” Riku decided, and began telling Sora about his journey through the sleeping realms, the brunette listening raptly with wide eyes.
“You’re amazing, Riku!” Sora declared once Riku was finished, practically tackling Riku in a hug, which Riku eagerly returned.
Then Sora leaned back a little to look Riku in the eyes again, a mischievous smile upon his face and eyes sparking. Uh-oh; that was never a good sign. “So… is that why you’re being unusually affectionate today?” Sora asked coyly.
Riku briefly froze. Was that why? “I… maybe?” Riku ventured. “All I know so far is that I can feel your emotions,” he admitted.
Sora frowned. “Feel my emotions? That’s… I guess that makes sense, since the other dream-eaters could. Isn’t that kinda an invasion of privacy though?”
Riku shrugged. “I can’t really help it. Sorry.”
Sora smiled. “It’s okay! I kinda like the idea… oh! You said you saw people in my heart, right?”
“Uh, yeah,” Riku confirmed, a little thrown by the rapid change of subject.
“I wonder who they are…” Sora trailed. “Well, I know about Roxas and—about Roxas already,” the brunette said, a confused look briefly dusting his face before returning to a cheerful expression. “We should work on figuring out who the others are!”
“Yeah, we can do that,” Riku easily agreed. Anything to be close to Sora.
“Okay, so now back to the affection thing,” Sora decided, the sly look returning.
Riku gulped. “Sora?”
“Remember how dream-eaters get their stats increased, other than fighting?”
Riku vigorously blushed. Of course. Of course Sora would immediately think of that.
“Well?” Sora prodded. Apparently he wanted Riku to actually say it.
“Petting, feeding, and games,” Riku mumbled, sure his face resembled a ripe tomato.
Sora beamed. “Exactly!” He leaned forwards and began vigorously rubbing Riku’s head, fingers entwined in his hair.
“Ack! You’re gonna mess it up!” Riku complained, knocking Sora’s hands away, although he admittedly liked it a little.
“Hmm. So that kind of petting you don’t like. How about gentler?” Sora proposed, rubbing his hands down Riku’s hair gently, careful not to mess it up, scratching a little behind the ears like one would do with a cat.
Riku, to his complete embarrassment, made a small mewing sound.
Sora’s smile stretched even wider as Riku felt his blush impossibly deepen. “So you do like it,” Sora pointed out, looking pleased with himself. “Just like a dream-eater.” Well, yeah, Riku liked it, but he was fairly certain it wasn’t due to the dream-eater thing—no, not fairly certain: Riku was fully positive that he’d like Sora petting him like this regardless.
Sora’s hands slid down Riku’s arms, and Riku shivered slightly.
“Next test: candy,” Sora declared, pulling out a dream candy from his pocket. Riku was surprised the thing had stayed intact in the physical world. “I tried one once, and it tasted bland, like air. Have you tried them before?”
“No,” Riku said, even though he in fact had multiple times. The candies were delicious… well, now Riku knew why.
“Then, say ‘ah’!” Sora said happily, holding the candy up to Riku’s mouth.
Riku reluctantly opened his mouth to be hand-fed the treat; there was no resisting when Sora was in this mood. Riku wondered if Sora realized how intimate this was (he must; Sora wasn’t that oblivious). Riku closed his mouth around the candy, his lips wrapping around Sora’s fingers.
Sora giggled and blushed slightly as he removed his fingers from Riku’s mouth. Riku sucked on the candy, which dissolved like cotton candy. It tasted sweet and dream-like (well, it was from a dream, after all). Riku never tasted anything so good; somehow, being in the physical world only made it more delicious. Or, maybe it tasted sweeter because Sora fed it to him. Riku licked his lips slightly as he finished it.
“It’s good?” Sora guessed, voice sweet as he stroked Riku’s cheek. Riku subconsciously leaned into it and closed his eyes.
A second later, Sora’s weight shifted in Riku’s lap (when had the brunette wiggled his way onto it?) and Riku felt something warm and soft press to his lips. Not a candy… Riku opened his eyes and gasped slightly as he realized it was Sora’s lips. Sora took the open mouth the gasp presented as an opportunity to slip his tongue in, but Riku wasn’t complaining. He closed his eyes again, hands moving to hold Sora’s hips and tilting his head slightly to allow the kiss to deepen. Sora was the one to let out a soft murmur of pleasure this time.
When the kiss broke, both boys were panting, eyes opening to look directly into each other's eyes.
Sora made a pleased sound. “Riku, your eyes are pink!” He declared happily.
Riku blinked. “Pink?”
“Mhmm! Like roses! It must be another dream-eater thing! Remember? Their dispositions change?”
“Right,” Riku recalled, mind still stuck on how Sora had just kissed him.
Sora frowned. “But I’ve never seen pink before. What’s it mean?”
Riku chuckled slightly. “You can’t guess?” he teased, rubbing small circles into Sora’s hips with his thumbs.
Sora practically cooed at the sensation. “Okay, maybe I can guess…”
“Well? Then what is it?”
“Lust?” Sora ventured. “Or, Love?”
Riku blushed. “Um… maybe both?” he stated, feeling bold. The latter had always been true and Riku had no problem confessing it, but the former was a little embarrassing to admit.
“Mmm… it’s both for me, too,” Sora professed, leaning forwards to languidly kiss Riku again, a little more chastely this time, stroking Riku’s hair as he did so.
Embarrassingly, Riku let out a small whimper at the loss of contact when the kiss broke. Sora grinned at that. “Wow, you’re really gone for me, aren’t you?” Sora teased. “Who’s the sap now, hmm?”
“Still you,” Riku muttered, trying and failing not to smile too.
Sora sat up. “Okay!” he declared. “Now that we’ve tried food and petting—well, a little more than petting—let’s try some games!”
Riku blinked a few times, recovering from the whiplash of topic change. “Um. Games? What games?”
Sora frowned. “Um… I dunno. Fetch?”
“I’m not a dog,” Riku said flatly.
Sora laughed. “Okay, okay. I’ll see if we can find a kickball or frisbee or something anywhere. Hey, maybe Axel—I mean, Lea—will want to join us! And Donald and Goofy and Mickey! Oh, we can go to the Islands so Kairi can join in, too!”
“Sora,” Riku interjected. “I think games would make me happy regardless of being a dream-eater,” he pointed out, then added, “Same for the affection, actually. The candy is really the only thing we can’t attribute to also being a human thing.”
Sora tilted his head slightly, pondering that. “I guess that’s true…” His eyes lit up. “Wait, that means you liked me before the dream-eater thing?”
Riku blinked, thrown off by that. “Sora, I wouldn’t have risked my life to become your dream eater if I didn’t like you!” he declared. “I’ve loved you for longer than I can remember.”
Sora looked pleased at that. “Well, good! I have too! ...Although I actually didn’t start to realize it until after the islands fell,” he sheepishly admitted. “But I’m pretty sure I loved you like that before I realized!”
Riku ruffled Sora’s hair and chuckled a little. “That’s okay,” he assured the brunette, then gave him a peck on the lips. “It’s the same here.”
A knock sounded at the door. Sora hopped off the bed to answer it, Riku following.
“Hey, Axel!” Sora greeted, pulling the door open wide to reveal the flaming-red-haired man.
“It’s Lea, now,” Lea corrected. “So we need to—hey, Riku, were your eyes always pink? Could have sworn they were more of a bluish green earlier.”
Riku felt himself blush again. “Oh. That’s, er…”
“Dream-eaters have their eyes change based on disposition!” Sora explained excitedly. “Pink is—”
“Okay, that’s enough!” Riku declared, putting a hand over Sora’s mouth, only to remove it a second later when Sora childishly licked his palm. “Hey!” Riku protested, wiping his hand on his pants.
“You know, I don’t think I want to know,” Lea said with a snicker, clearly catching the gist of what Sora had been about to say. “Come on, as I was saying, we need to go pick up Kairi; Yen Sid said something about wanting her to train her keyblade skills too.”
“Okay!” Sora said happily. Genuinely so; Riku could feel Sora’s excitement, a second layer beneath his own. Sora grabbed Riku’s hand and practically dragged him out of the room.
“Wait until Kairi hears about this dream-eater stuff!” Sora chirped. “She’s going to be so surprised! Oh, do you think she can change your disposition too? Can anyone pet you or feed you and get a reaction? We should—”
“We are NOT testing that,” Riku said firmly, intercepting the thought. He wholeheartedly loved Sora, but that didn’t mean there wasn’t a line.
“Fine, but we’re still testing if playing games changes things!” Sora insisted.
Riku sighed fondly. “Okay,” he agreed, unable to resist Sora. It’d be easy to blame that willingness to follow the brunette's whims on the dream-eater thing, but if Riku was being honest, he’d have followed Sora to the ends of the Earth—hell, he already had—if the brunette asked him to, dream-eater or not.
Truthfully, Riku had been ensnared in Sora's heart long before becoming his dream-eater—the dream-eater thing had merely given him the courage to actually express it.
Riku gave Sora's hand an affectionate squeeze, and Sora turned to smile gently at Riku, eyes showing nothing but love. Riku was certain his own face had an expression to match.