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“Are you sure they’re okay?” Riku asked, poking at the little box that had been wrapped up since that morning. It was a house warming gift that Riku had helped make for Squall and Cloud. He’d never heard of a house warming gift before Sora had explained it but it seemed to make sense. Sirens didn't have structures the same way humans did but he found it exciting anyway.
“Riku, they’re great.” Sora said fondly, putting the finishing touches on the wreath he’d made for his new neighbors front door.
It was crafted in a spiral of reeds and stems of faux blue and white berries to add a little color. Riku had even brought up shells from the ocean floor for Sora to continue to decorate it.
“Mine is funny looking.” Riku pouted a little, a touch embarrassed.
Sora had been teaching him to use his pottery wheel while they were brainstorming gift ideas. Sora had to sit close to use the pedal for him but the actual sculpting had been Riku. They’d gone through so many different crafts and Riku’s favorite was still watching Sora do, well, anything. Riku’s fascination with crafts above water had yet to wane and the sculpting had been fun until it had been for a purpose. Sora had suggested making a pair of tea cups for Cloud and Squall and while Sora’s had come out looking like it was supposed to, Riku had little faith in his own.
“It’s not funny looking.” Sora smiled at him. “My cup looks like all the ones you've seen in my house because i made all of mine too. There’s nothing wrong with yours.”
“It’s crooked.”
“It has character!” Sora said instead, setting the wreath aside.
Riku just scoffed and wiggled to stretch out on the couch. He’d really grown to like the comfortable squishy thing. He was coming inside a little more than he had before. Sometimes because it was easier to do art things with Sora away from the sand and out of the wind but other times just because he liked to share a quiet space with Sora and not have to worry about who was lurking in the water.
He hadn’t yet worked up the nerve to ask Squall how to teach him how to split his tail into legs. He just wasn’t ready for it. Suddenly losing his tail, even temporarily made him queasy.
“Don’t pout.” Sora bent over to smile at him. “It’s just a little thing to welcome them into our little beach neighborhood. It doesn’t have to be perfect.”
“I don’t care.” Riku grumbled.
“Mhm.” Sora’s smile remained, and if there was anything Riku wanted, it was to keep that soft look forever.
Sora reached out, gently stroking his fingers through Riku’s hair. The simple gesture between them was anything but. Neither cared much for the touch of another, but when it was between them, it was ideal. A single touch could hold all of their feelings.
“We all go through this.”
“Through what?” Riku tilted his head just a little to look at Sora through his lashes.
Sora moved to kneel on the floor in front of him. “An artist letting their work be judged by someone else for the first time.” He loved the way Riku went pink.
“That’s not it.” Riku said quickly in a tone that said that was very much it. “I just don’t want to wander so easily into Squall’s territory.”
“Squall doesn’t care. He knows this beach was yours first.” Sora kept petting his hair. “How about i braid your hair and then we get going?”
It was a mean deal. It was one thing Riku loved verses the thing he was avoiding. He was still too shy to give their neighbors the gift he’d made but he would never turn down Sora playing with his hair.
“Fine…”
“There’s a good little triton.” Sora teased as he got up to grab a brush from his bathroom.
Riku made an annoyed sound. “Squall needs to stop teaching you stuff.”
“I love it when he teaches me stuff!” Sora called back, reappearing a moment later with his brush in hand. “French braid?”
“Whatever.” Riku sighed, stretching out as long as he could before relaxing again. When there wasn’t a brush immediately being dragged through his hair he glanced back up at Sora who was just smiling like a pretty dope. “What?”
“You’re just so...i dunno. I always want to paint you.” He sat on the arm of his couch and gathered all of Riku’s long hair in his hands.
Riku felt himself warm, worries replaced with that firm affection. “You can always paint me, or sketch me. Whatever you want.” After all this time, he still loved to watch Sora work. He loved the look on Sora's face when he was enthralled with his work.
“Yeah?”
“Yeah.” Riku agreed, nearly going limp when he felt the brush slide through his hair. “Land siren’s are the best.”
“I’m rather fond of a certain siren myself.” Sora said, taking his time to untangle Riku’s hair and weave it into a braid. As expected, Riku reached up to ruin it before Sora could put the hairband on, forcing him to redo it. “Spoiled.”
“Feels good.” Riku mumbled, sighing contently. It was one of his favorite things and Sora knew it. They didn’t exactly have hair brushes in the ocean.
Just to draw out the moment, Sora undid his second attempt on his own and rebraided Riku’s hair for a third time before patting his shoulder. “There you go. Your hair is lovely, just like the rest of you pretty silver siren.”
Riku huffed, but his smile was returning. “You have a lot of nerve calling me pretty.”
“I’m a daredevil.” Sora agreed with a laugh. “C’mon. Let’s go drop off our gifts, okay?”
“Yeah. If we have to.”
Sora hummed. “We said we’d be over today. Do you need help up?”
Riku yawned, shaking away the sleepiness of having his hair played with. “No.” He rolled off the couch, ending in a practiced thud. Bit by bit he was learning to navigate a human home and Sora had gone out of his way to move things to make it easier for Riku to get around.
Wiggling like an eel, or a snake as Sora like to call him, Riku used his hands to crawl across the house and out the front door as Sora followed more slowly. He carried the door wreath he had made and the box with their other gift inside as he kicked the door shut behind him. He didn't bother to lock up.
“I’ll meet you there?” Sora offered.
“Yeah.” Riku grumbled, not entirely pleased over it.
“It’s too far for you to crawl but you’ll beat me there if you swim.” Sora smiled at him and Riku just pouted. He wanted to spend time with Sora but it was hard when he was swimming and Sora was walking.
“I know, but it’s stupid.”
“It’ll only be a little while.” Sora promised. “It’s not like we do this every day.”
“I know, i know.” Riku knew it was true, but this was one more reason he might give the ‘leg thing’ a try. He shimmied down the beach towards the water and slipped under the waves seamlessly while Sora walked up the length of the beach to his new neighbors cottage.
It seemed like no time had passed at all and Cloud had already renovated the little home to his liking. For days Squall would swim back and forth between islands, pulling a rope that dragged a little boat behind him that contained his and Cloud’s things.
Sora had volunteered to hold them for him until their house was in better condition. Squall was grateful, but they honestly didn’t have all that much to begin with. It didn’t seem like it was any trouble.
Only two weeks prior, Sora and Riku had been sitting in the shallow part of the water, letting the waves push and pull past them when they saw Squall’s little boat drifting by again. Sora had barely had time to think this was another drop off of things before he realized there was a person sitting in the boat. A pretty blond that waved when Squall poked his head out of the water to point them out to him.
Riku had been fascinated with the idea that he could pull Sora around in a little boat too but they’d yet to try it.
In only two weeks time, Cloud had completely transformed the broken down little cottage. It had been down right dangerous and Sora had been worried the roof would cave in but when he caught a glimpse of it one day during a walk, it looked brand new.
When he asked, Squall had just thrown his head back and laughed. “That is just a brownie keeping home.” he’d said.
Sora found it endlessly fascinating. He was curious as to how a siren and brownie met but he hadn’t asked. It seemed rude. Not to mention the fact that it didn’t seem important while they were still moving in.
At least three times Squall had shown up to hang out with Sora and Riku, banished from his house for a short time while the brownie was hard at work.
The only one more curious than Sora about the newcomers, was Riku. He asked dozens of questions, most of them pertaining to how a siren lived on land. It seemed rather unfathomable, even with as much as Riku was out of water already.
Squall had just assured him it was what worked for him and Cloud.
Cloud himself was also often a topic they rounded back to. Riku had no concept of fae other than the fact that they were often immune to a sirens call. Sora and Squall had both taken turns to try to explain what a brownie was and how Cloud was still a little different being only a quarter brownie.
For the first time, Riku had to accept that land stretched much further than Sora’s little stretch of beach.
While Riku swam, Sora walked along towards his new neighbors and wondered if this would be a walk he’d make more often now. He never had much reason to before. There were only four cottages on this corner of the island and as far as he knew, only his was occupied year long.
“Awe, you waited for me?” Sora grinned when he found Riku laying on his stomach in the wet sand. He was scooping up water with his tail, dumping it on his back in a bored manner.
“Course i did. I don’t know the rules for knocking on a brownie’s door.”
Sora couldn’t help but smile. The first time Riku had knocked on his door he’d left a fish for Sora to find. “I don’t either. I guess we’ll find out.”
Before Cloud had come, Sora wouldn’t have even attempted to stand on the cottage's little porch but it looked sturdy now. He had to wonder if it was magic or superior craftsmanship. He set the wreath down against the porch rails and smiled at Riku who stayed in the sand at the bottom of the stairs before moving to knock on the door.
“Hello!” he called. “Anyone home!?”
The door popped open a few moments later, Squall looking out at them with a smile. For as intimidating as he seemed when they first met, he really was very nice.
“Hey Sora.” he greeted, peering around him at the siren. “Hey Riku.”
Riku just nodded his greeting, looking around on his own. He’d grown used to Sora’s home after the last several months but another house had him wary all over again.
“Welcome to the neighborhood.” Sora grinned. “I’m possibly your only neighbor so i knew i had to make a good impression.”
Squall snickered and turned back inside. “Cloud, company.”
“Here, Squall. For your door.” Sora bent to pick up the wreath again.
“Oh Sora, thank you.” Squall smiled fondly. “You know this is exactly the sort of thing Cloud likes.”
“What do i like? Oh.” Cloud inhaled softly. “For us?” Squall turned to hand it to Cloud who promptly took it to admire.
“Yep.” Sora grinned.
“Did you make it? Squall told me you were an artist.” Cloud said, moving to hang it on the door immediately which was almost confusing to watch. There was no nail, no hook, but it stuck all the same.
“I sure did.”
“We appreciate it.” Squall mused, leaning on the door frame. “Certainly didn’t have a neighbor who would even wish us ‘good day’ before let alone one who would bring us such a nice gift.”
“Well, i know you said you wanted this to feel like home so…” Sora shrugged, easy smile still in place.
“Please. Come in. We haven’t gotten to show off anything yet.” Squall grinned.
Cloud nodded. “Yes, come in.” He waved Squall in but Sora turned back to Riku.
“Coming?”
Riku’s lips pressed together tightly. “Don’t know if i should. I’m sandy.” Having crawled out of the water and through the sand, he’d bring half the beach in with him. “Squall said you don’t like messes.”
Sora didn’t usually care much, or he’d wipe Riku off with a towel and sweep the sand away. Sora also didn’t have the compulsion to clean the way Cloud evidently did.
“Oh…” Cloud smiled faintly. “Well that’s incredibly thoughtful. Could you come up onto the porch?”
“Um, yes?” Riku muttered, wiggling up on his hands and using his tail to push him up the rest of the way.
“Great, thanks.” Cloud said, clapping once. All the sand fell off Riku as if suddenly not being able to stick to him anymore. “There we go.”
“Whoa.” Sora blinked as Riku just looked himself over in surprise. “Cool, how does.. Does that work?”
Cloud just offered him a smile. “I have a great deal of control over any messes in my house, porch included.”
“That is so freaking cool.” Sora grinned, pausing only to shove a piece of Riku’s hair behind his ear that had come loose from his braid.
“You know, i didn’t realize before.” Cloud began looking Riku over. “You look different from Squall.” Their fins were a little different. Their scale patterns too.
“Oh?” Sora blinked, turning automatically to look at Squall but it’s not like he could compare them while Squall had legs instead of fins.
“We’re from different shoals.” Squall chuckled. “Unique family traits and such.”
Riku nodded. “Can also vary depending on the water you come from. What temperature of the depth you stay in more frequently.”
“Makes sense.” Sora hummed. “I’ve only really seen Riku and a few of his friends but none of them close up, they won’t come onto land.”
Squall just snickered. “It can be intimidating but i’ll still poke fun at them.”
Riku just made a face. “They can stay away from you regardless.”
“Hm, possessiveness seems to be a siren trait.” Cloud clucked his tongue, amused.
“Hey, i haven’t eaten anyone in weeks.” Squall grinned at him, showing oddly sharp teeth.
“Yes, yes.” Cloud smiled at him fondly before suddenly realizing they were still on the porch. “Oh, seems our hospitality is lacking. Please come in.”
“Oh, um...Okay.” Riku said but he waited for Sora to go in first and slithered in behind him.
“It’s alright.” Squall smiled faintly. “Cloud’s used to sirens and the messes we make.”
Riku shrugged, but was distracted. “You have legs.” he muttered. “It’s so different…”
Sora smiled at him, “Not all houses look like mine.”
The house was cozy, and there wasn’t quite as much furniture as there was in Sora’s. Everything was warm colors and wasn’t so beach and ocean themed. There was also the fact that every corner of Sora’s home was crammed with art supplies that this house lacked. There were vases of flowers and everything displayed looked tidy. The shelves were organized and everything seemed to have it’s place.
Riku was almost afraid to touch anything.
Squall led them towards the back of the house that had been redone into a sun room.
“Oh, cool.” Sora looked around, mesmerized. “How did you do this so fast?”
“I cheated a little.” Cloud smiled, taking a seat.
“Crawl up on the couch, Riku.” Squall said, “Careful, it moves.”
Riku frowned. “It moves?” He put a hand on the edge of it to heave himself up and nearly fell when it did in fact move.
“Oh, it’s a swing.” Sora looked faintly impressed. It was on his list of things to buy. “Here, i’ll hold it still. Here Cloud, this is for you too.” He passed the brownie the box he’d been carrying and sat down to hold the couch still while Riku climbed up more comfortably than before.
He couldn’t sit up right like a human could but he could recline. If he leaned into Sora, no one was bothered.
“You didn’t have to go through all the trouble.” Cloud said, but was already opening his present.
“Yeah, but this one is from Riku and me.” Sora said, leaning back into Riku, knowing he was still worried about his gift.
“Let’s see then.” Squall said, looking over Cloud’s shoulder.
Cloud removed the tissue paper and cooed almost instantly. “Ooh~” He pulled out the first teacup and then the second while Squall dug out the matching saucers.
“You made these?” Squall’s brows rose, holding up the dishes that were specially colored before Sora had fired them. They were mostly black but had a sheen of other colors. Whites, greens, and blues.
“Yep.” Sora beamed. “I did one set and Riku did the other.”
“Mine is funny looking.” Riku muttered, fidgeting and playing with his bracelet.
“They’re perfect.” Cloud beamed, turning them over and over in his hands as he admired them. “They match Squall!”
Squall blinked, eyes going back to the dishes before laughing. “They do. Damn, they do match my scales.”
“Riku’s idea.” Sora said, entirely too amused at how embarrassed Riku was.
“They’re lovely!” Cloud beamed, jumping up and taking the saucers from Squall before dashing back through the house with his bounty.
“Um…” Riku watched him go.
Squall just started laughing as he took a seat. “He loves them, i promise. Brownie’s adore unique things and when they really love something they have to go find a spot for it. He’s in the kitchen right now putting them exactly where they have to go or it will bother the hell out of him.”
Sora laughed. “And you were worried.”
“Tsk…” Riku made a face. “Sculpting is hard…”
“Which is why he likes it so much. A lot of effort went into it.” Squall mused. “You might be the first siren turned artisan.”
Riku looked at him, surprise coloring his features. “I’m not…?”
“Riku.” Sora pouted at him. “You do things with me all the time. You’re just as much of an artist as i am.”
“But...really?” Riku almost looked confused by the mere idea.
“A brownie loved your house ware.” Squall said dryly. “I’d call that a success. What’s your favorite? I know Sora dabbles in all kinds of things.”
Riku thought about it. “I like knitting and crocheting. Completely useless underwater though.”
“And useful on land.” Squall mused.”Just have fun with it.”
“Yes.” Cloud said, walking out with a tray of muffins that had likely been waiting for their visit. “If you enjoy it you should continue it. Doesn’t matter on if it’s a skill under water. Squall likes to cook and he can’t do that under water.”
“True.” Squall said.
Cloud held out the tray to Sora and Riku, both of them taking one. “Besides, a hobby is a hobby. Doesn’t have to be necessarily useful.”
“Just has to make you happy,” Sora agreed, bumping his shoulder against Riku’s as he took a bite of his muffin. “Besides, your first gifted project was a success!”
Riku smiled faintly, slumping over to half drape himself over Sora to get more comfortable. “Guess it was.”
Cloud all but collapsed back down into his chair, looking right at home in his new space. It seemed all of Squall's worries were for nothing. Cloud seemed happy. “Stay for dinner.”
“Would love to.” Sora said, fingers lacing with Riku’s. They might enjoy actually having a neighbor.