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“Yo ho yo ho a-”
“Sora I swear-”
“Sorry, sorry. No singing. Pirate’s honor.”
Riku narrowed his eyes. “Pirates don’t have honor or honesty.”
“Exactly,” Sora said with a wink. He got ready to start singing once more when Roxas placed his hand over his mouth.
“If Riku doesn’t kill you for trying to belt out a note, then I will.”
Sora shrugged Roxas’ hand off and pouted. “You guys are no fun. You’re just jealous that you don’t get to man the helm.”
“Because you pushed everyone away from it when Jack asked, ‘Who wants to man the helm,’” Kairi said, her arms crossed and her expression amused.
“A pirate doesn’t wait for their turn, rather they take it,” Jack said from his spot by Sora. “Sora did exactly that. Leapt at the chance without hesitation.”
Roxas summoned Oblivion, holding it up to the light to examine it in the sun. “So, you’re saying if I want to steer this ship that I gotta beat Sora to a state of unconsciousness to do it?”
“Precisely.”
Sora backed away from the helm with his hands raised in surrender. “Or you could have just asked!”
Riku snickered at how easy it was for Roxas to get his way with Sora. That’s how it usually went between those two. One would get the other to either give in or give up. Riku called it their twin thing – a term which Roxas absolutely despised, and Sora absolutely loved.
Roxas had only been back for a couple of months. In order to prepare for their battle with Xehanort, Sora had insisted that they get Roxas back. Sora believed that Roxas was a vital asset in order to win but Riku could see that his best friend mostly just wanted Roxas to be his own person.
Sora had felt beyond guilty for, well living – living while Roxas was basically a prisoner in his heart. With a little help from Ienzo and Kairi’s light magic, they were able to create a body for Roxas and extract the blonde’s heart from Sora’s with little to no hassle. During the procedure, Ienzo had picked up on another heart living inside Sora besides Roxas’. They could only wonder whose it was. After all, Sora had met a lot of people from his travels.
Now if they could create a vessel for Naminé, that would be great, but Ienzo said it would take another while before another could be completed. Until then, Riku, Sora, Kairi, and Roxas had been traveling to different worlds to help the brunette obtain the power of waking that Yen Sid claimed he needed.
They had no luck in Sora obtaining it yet, but Riku did have to admit that it was pretty fun travelling to different worlds with his friends. This world especially had been very different from all the others. For one, it looked very different. There was something about the texture and atmosphere that made everything and themselves included look so different. And their outfits were pretty cool if Riku was being honest. Although, Roxas had complained as to why his made him look more like some sort of rich boy rather than a pirate. Kairi had teased him saying that it was probably cause blonde boys here tended to be the rich ones. After all, there weren’t many blonde pirates around, save for Elizabeth.
“What’s with the compass?” Roxas asked Jack as he gripped the helm.
Riku had been wondering the same thing. Jack had been staring at a black compass in his hand for the greater part of their voyage. The needle had been spinning nonstop which was something that was completely abnormal for a compass to do in the first place.
“This be no ordinary compass mate. This here compass points you in the direction of what your heart desires most. I see mine can’t decide what it wants yet,” Jack explained.
“You never told me that,” Sora said as his eyes sparkled with interest. “Why didn’t you ever tell me?”
“Because I knew you’d want to try it.”
“Can I?”
Riku held back a laugh at the defeated expression on Jack’s face. He hadn’t known Jack for long but from what he saw he knew that Jack couldn’t say no to Sora much. Dangerous swashbuckling pirate Jack Sparrow couldn’t say no to a teenager. Then again, not many people could. Sora just had those puppy dog eyes that brainwashed you into complying.
“I don’t see why not,” Jack said, handing the compass to the boy.
Once Sora held it, everyone save for Roxas leaned in to see just exactly where the needle would point. They watched as it spun in a circle until it slowed to a stop, pointing in Kairi’s direction.
“Oh, am I in the way?” she voiced as she moved to the side only for the needle to follow her. She kept moving around but the needle kept following in her direction.
Ohh. Sora had just been outed by a magical compass. Well, someone, or in this case something had to do it sooner or later because Sora was definitely not going to confess any time soon.
Kairi blushed, a soft smile appearing on her features. Riku and Roxas laughed lightly at the situation Sora had just been placed in. Meanwhile, the brunette was too busy trying to figure out what to do or say now that his secret was out there.
“Can I hold the compass Jack?” Kairi suddenly asked.
“Of course. I see no reason as to why you shouldn’t,” Jack said. There was a hint of knowing in his tone which Riku understood completely.
Kairi took the compass from Sora and held it in her hand for all to see. The needle spun until it stopped, pointing at Sora. Sora’s eyes widened in delighted surprise as he looked down at the compass and up at Kairi.
“A lucky pair to have your heart’s desire desire you in return,” Jack said.
“Umm, maybe we should talk about this later? When there’s less people around?” Sora suggested.
Kairi nodded with a giggle. “It’s a promise.”
“Now I am rather curious as to what the rest of you could possibly want,” Jack said as he took the compass and held it out to Roxas.
Roxas shook his head. “Nope. I’m not dumb enough to hold that. Plus, I’m… driving the boat.”
“First off lad, it’s steering, not driving. Second, this is a ship, not a boat. And third, take the bloody compass.”
“Yeah Roxas,” Riku taunted. “Are you scared or what?”
Roxas narrowed his eyes at the silvernette then held his hand out to Jack. “Give me the stupid compass.”
Since Roxas had come back, he and Riku had gotten along surprisingly well after they cleared the air between them. They worked well together, sometimes a little too well as Lea would say when it came to causing mischief. Just because they were friends now didn’t mean they didn’t have a bit of a healthy rivalry between them.
Riku was especially curious as to what Roxas could desire the most. The teen was already his own person so what else could he want with all his heart now?
As Roxas held the compass, the needle stopped and pointed in the direction of Kairi. Roxas was the first to give a wide-eyed expression, followed by Kairi, then Sora and Riku and Jack. Things had definitely just gotten awkward.
“Sora I swear this isn’t what it looks like,” Roxas said in a slight panic.
Sora scratched his head, his expression one of surprise and disbelief. “I mean, I can’t really be mad at you for what you want…”
“No, no. See that’s the thing, I don’t- I’m not- I don’t feel that way towards her! No offense Kairi.”
“So, why is it pointing to her then?”
And that’s when the pieces clicked in his head.
“It’s pointing at Naminé,” Riku said. “Naminé’s heart is inside Kairi’s so it makes sense that it would point to her.”
Sora looked to Roxas for confirmation to which the blonde nodded. Riku never knew that the blonde had felt that way toward Naminé in the first place. They hadn’t met for very long but perhaps it was long enough for Roxas to feel something toward her. She had been the first person to give him answers after all and to be completely honest with him too. He only hoped that Naminé felt the same way toward Roxas. It would be nice if the two of them could be happy together.
“And what about you?” Jack asked as he held the compass out to Riku.
Having no choice but to take it, Riku held the compass in his hand and watched the needle, curious as to see what it was that his heart desired. To his surprise and confusion, the needle pointed to Sora.
“Riku,” Kairi said. “Is there something you want to tell us?”
“I wish there was, but I’m just as confused as you are. I really don’t know why it’s pointing at Sora,” Riku said with a shrug. “Maybe because he’s my best friend?”
Jack shook his head. “The heart’s desire is much stronger than just friendship lad. It’s something that you want with all your being. Are you sure you don’t know what it is that you want?”
“Positive. And don’t take this the wrong way Sora. You’re a great friend and all but I don’t see you as more than that.”
“Understandable,” Sora said as he wiped nonexistence tears from his cheeks in jest. “But then, what about me is getting the needle to point at me?”
And then Roxas lit up with an idea. “What if it’s not you, but the heart inside you? Maybe that’s what Riku’s heart desires.”
“How can I desire something that I don’t know about?” Riku asked.
“Many times, we want something that we ourselves are not aware of wanting in the first place,” Jack explained.
“Then we gotta get this other heart out of me and fast!” Sora said with determination. “If Riku’s heart’s desire is in me, then I’ll do whatever it takes to free them.”
Half a month later, they rescued Aqua from the dark world and shortly after that, they went to retrieve Ventus. Turns out that Ventus couldn’t wake up this whole time because his heart had been taking refuge inside Sora’s. Did that mean that Ventus was what Riku desired? But how could that be if Riku had never met Ventus before? Well, okay he met Roxas who looked exactly like Ventus, but they were two very different people. If anything, Ventus was a blonde copy of Sora, maybe a little more innocent and childish.
So curious was Riku that he managed to convince his friends to make a trip to the Caribbean for a bit of downtime. In reality, Riku just wanted to see what the stupid compass was going to show him this time.
When he held the compass again, he half-expected the needle to land on Ventus. After all, he had been the heart that was inside Sora. So, when the needle landed on Sora once more, Riku had been surprised and frustrated. What the hell was his heart trying to tell him? What did he truly want? He knew he didn’t like Sora that way. He knew that for certain, so what was it?
He had half a mind to throw the compass in the ocean but one, it wasn’t his and two, he wasn’t about to pollute the ocean. Like seriously, who did that?
“Riku,” Sora said, his voice laced with concern.
“This is bullshit!” he said as he glared daggers at the device. “This obviously doesn’t work so why the hell do I keep trying?”
He handed the compass back to Jack and stomped down the stairs and into the ship’s hold. He was beyond frustrated that he couldn’t figure out what it was that he wanted more than anything. Maybe he didn’t have a desire and the stupid compass was just messing with him? Maybe Riku didn’t crave anything. Maybe he didn’t deserve anything.
“Riku?”
“Roxas I’m really not in the mood to- Oh, it’s you Ventus.”
“Hey,” Ventus said in that soft voice that Riku realized was pretty different from Roxas’. He’d have to add that to the list of differences between the two so that he could tell them apart easier. “You seemed pretty upset with the compass back there. If it makes you feel any better, it didn’t work for me or Aqua either.”
Riku’s head perked up at this. “Really?”
Ventus nodded. “The needle just kept spinning in circles for us.”
Now Riku was extremely curious. It didn’t seem like Ventus and Aqua would be the type of people to not have a desire. After everything they had been through and lost, there had to be something that they wanted with all their heart.
“Well, what do you want?” Riku asked.
“That’s easy,” Ventus said with a smile. “I want to find Terra.”
Ahhh so the compass hadn’t pointed in a direction for Ventus because Terra wasn’t in this world. That made sense. Aqua probably wanted the same thing too which is why it hadn’t worked for her either.
“The compass can only point you to your heart’s desire if it’s in the world it’s in.”
“Oh, but yours pointed to Sora so it worked for you didn’t it?”
Riku shook his head. “But Sora isn’t what I want. The first time I came here I thought that it might have been you since you were inside Sora’s heart. But it’s still pointing at him even though you’re here.”
The faintest of blushes appeared on Ventus’ cheeks as he let out a soft laugh. “Sorry to disappoint then.”
Riku laughed along with the blonde. “Nah, it’s nice to have another bubbly person on the team. It was starting to get a little too gloomy around here.”
Ventus’ eyes crinkled with mirth at the silvernette’s words. “So, what is it that you want then, if I may ask?”
“I wish I could tell you,” he said with a sigh as he ran his hands through his hair. “I don’t even know what it is that I want.”
Ventus tilted his head and narrowed his eyes, a pondering look on his face as he regarded Riku. “I think that you do know but you don’t want to reach deep down and admit it.”
Riku stilled at the blonde’s words, for there was truth to them. There had been an inkling of something that the silvernette had been pondering over for a while. It had made itself more prominent when the compass showed Kairi, Sora, and Roxas what they wanted most. It had been there even before they had first left the islands. Just watching Kairi and Sora caused something to pinch at his heartstrings – caused him to begin longing for something.
But it was stupid. It was stupid to want something as trivial and childish as that. Even so, that still didn’t explain why the compass pointed to his best friend in the first place.
“Riku?” Ventus said as he poked Riku on the cheek causing the other to snap out of his thoughts.
“Sorry.”
“I’m guessing you figured it out?”
Riku frowned in confusion. “Maybe but it still doesn’t explain why the compass pointed to Sora. I don’t love anyone, not in that way anyway, so why would it point to anyone in the first place?”
Ventus beamed at Riku’s admittance, his eyes lighting up. “Well, maybe the compass is trying to lead you on the path to finding love. Maybe it’s pointing you in the right direction.”
“And Sora is the right direction?”
“Maybe he’s going to lead you to someone special.”
Hell, that actually made a lot of sense now that Riku thought about it. If there wasn’t anyone or anything that could give him what he desired, then the compass would have to go with the next best thing which was to point him in the right direction to find it.
Riku smiled and looked at Ventus’ bright sunny expression. He ruffled the blonde’s locks, eliciting a giggle from the other boy. “Thanks, Ventus.”
“Riku, I told you already to call me Ven.”
“Alright, alright. Thanks, Ven.”
As if the universe had been listening to Riku’s predicament, the next day Ienzo had called Sora explaining that he had discovered something based on the data he had from him when he had freed Roxas’ heart.
“It turns out that there’s another heart inside yours besides the one that was Ventus’,” the scholar said.
Sora blinked, taking a few seconds to process the information. “I’m sorry, what?”
“It turns out that you had three hearts living inside you. The one that seemed to be there the longest was Ventus’ of course. Roxas’ was the heart that lived in you the shortest amount of time. The other heart, the one that is currently residing in you still, seemed to be there before Roxas’.”
Riku could basically see the gears turning in Sora’s head as the brunette tried to figure just who it was that was in his heart. He must have been thinking pretty hard too, for his brows kept furrowing and his lips were in a thin line.
“I should be charging rent at this point,” Sora finally said after a while.
Riku rolled his eyes. Leave it to Sora to make light of a serious situation. Although, this did explain a bit more of Riku’s compass mystery. The person residing in Sora might be that special person that Ventus told him about. That person he had been waiting for most of his life.
“Is there a way we can free them?” Riku found himself asking. He probably sounded desperate, for Sora was looking at him in question.
“This heart seems to be similar to Roxas’ in the sense that it doesn’t seem to be connected to a body. We could do the same procedure that we did for Roxas, but we would need yet another vessel since the one that’s nearly finished is for Naminé,” Ienzo explained.
“Well, that’s good news,” Sora said with a smile. “It may take a while, but soon we’ll be able to help another person become, well their own person.”
This was rather exciting news for Riku. Sure, he would have to wait a bit longer to meet this person, but at least he knew now that there was definitely a way to free them.
“Why are you smiling like that? Not that it isn’t nice to see you that happy but I’m curious,” Sora said.
Riku shook his head and patted Sora’s. “Just feels good to be able to help more people.”
Riku thought he had seen a lot of weird during his travels, but nothing could compare to a version of himself floating out of his own body and attacking Riku-Replica to the point where an empty white husk of a body was left behind. That was just eerie. And to make it even stranger, some guy named Demyx suddenly appeared claiming that he was on their side, whatever that meant. He claimed that he was going to take the empty vessel back to Ienzo and Riku realized that he might be able to meet his special person a little sooner than he initially thought.
The battle with Xehanort was won without a hitch. Granted that there was a point where they all thought that Xehanort would obliterate Kairi, but Roxas had been quick and was able to save her without hesitation. Now they were back in Radiant Garden in the lab.
“We have one vessel ready, the one that Demyx brought but the second vessel is still being constructed. It should be finished within the next two weeks, but the question still stands: Who do we free first?” Ienzo asked.
As much as Riku wanted to free whoever was in Sora’s heart, Naminé had been the one that they were initially going to bring back next. It wouldn’t be fair to suddenly change it up just for his selfish desire.
“I think we should free Naminé next. That’s what we were going to do after all anyway,” Riku said.
“But Riku, what about you? Isn’t the person inside my heart the one that the compass was really pointing to?” Sora asked.
Riku had never told Sora about the discovery he made with Ventus. Then again, he should have figured that the brunette would piece it together once he found out about the third heart inside him.
“The best things come to those that wait, right?” Riku said. “Don’t worry about me. We promised we’d free Naminé next. Plus, I think Roxas has waited long enough.” He placed a hand on Roxas’ shoulder, shaking him gently. Roxas smiled up at him in thanks.
When the procedure was finally complete and Naminé woke up, everyone scrambled around her to greet her. Of course, no one was happier than Roxas. It was pretty cute if Riku said so himself to see the two reunite. He worried that the two blondes would fuse into one person with how much they refused to break apart from each other.
The sight only made Riku’s heart ache a bit. He wasn’t mad or jealous. How could he be when another two of his friends finally found their true happiness in each other? Still, it only reminded him of the longing he had for even something as similar as what they had.
“I’ll wait for you,” he said under his breath.
When Ienzo called them five days later saying that the vessel had been completed much more quickly than he had anticipated, Sora and the gang wasted no time in heading to Radiant Garden. Even Ventus said he would go as well once Riku told him about the exciting news. He claimed that he wanted to be there once Riku met that special someone.
So now here they all were, waiting outside the lab. It had been a few hours since the heart had been freed from Sora’s, but Ienzo said it would be a while until the vessel started to take form based on the heart. Riku was antsy, pacing back and forth and playing with his fingers in nervousness and anticipation. It wasn’t until he bumped in Ventus who had suddenly stood in front of him and grabbed his hands that he stopped.
“Relax,” he said. “Whoever it is, I’m sure they’ll be great.”
“I’m not worried about who they are. I’m worried if they’ll even give me the time of day,” Riku said.
“Trust me, you’re a great guy Riku. They’ll be lucky to have you.”
And then Ienzo called them in, saying that the person had woken up.
Riku had been the first one to rush into the room and he had a feeling that the others had purposely stayed behind just to give him this moment. When he saw who was sitting up, blinking away the sleep that was still in their eyes, the silvernette couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Xion?”
The raven looked up, instantly recognizing the voice. “Riku?” she said in disbelief. “How am I here? How am I a person?”
“It’s a bit of a long story.” Then he shook his head and let out a chuckle. “Actually, it’s not. I don’t know why I said it was.”
“You okay? You seem a bit nervous.”
“I’m just… I’m just happy to see you, that’s all,” he said with a shrug. “It’s been a long time.”
“I wouldn’t expect that from you,” she said tilting her head. With that action, he noticed that her hair was longer, just reaching her collarbone. “The tough suave Riku missing a nobody like me?”
“I… I felt terrible when you disappeared Xion and worse when everyone began to forget who you were. It was my fault after all.”
She stood up and placed her hands on his shoulders, squeezing them gently so that he would look at her. “It wasn’t your fault Riku. You guided me on the right path, but you never forced me. If anything, I thank you for it.”
Her eyes were filled with understanding and her smile was bright. Riku knew that Xion was pretty but up close and smiling like this without anything weighing heavily on her heart, she was beautiful. He had never gotten to see her so carefree before. Then again, with the defeat of Xehanort they were all able to breathe easier.
As much as he wanted to have this moment with Xion, he knew it wouldn’t be fair to everyone else waiting outside, especially a certain blonde. So, he told Xion to wait while he got the others. Out in the hallway, everyone had been rather surprised that he was back so quickly.
“Don’t you want a little more time? It’s only been like a few minutes,” Sora said.
“I think you all would like to meet her, especially you Roxas.”
“Me?” Roxas asked. “Why?”
Riku gave Roxas a pointed look, one that he hoped the blonde would understand. “It’s her.”
And thank the universe for their silent form of communication, for Roxas ran into the lab not a second later. Curious, everyone else followed Roxas into the room. The only one that stayed behind with Riku was Ventus.
“So?” he asked, excitement evident in his tone and features.
“I know her. It’s Xion, an old friend you could say. I… I wasn’t expecting for my heart’s desire to be her.”
“Why? Is that a bad thing?”
Riku chuckled and shook his head. “No, no. Xion’s a great girl. I just didn’t really know her long enough to even form an actual friendship with her in the first place or any sort of actual feelings toward her. I was so intent on just getting Sora back during that time.”
“And now that you’re free from all that?”
Riku shrugged. “I did notice that she’s way prettier than I initially thought she was. She looks happier too. I’m happy for her.”
Ventus’ smile grew as he heard these words. “I think you’ll grow to like her more and more and the same goes for her. There’s a reason why the compass was pointing at her after all.”
Riku smiled at Ventus’ cheery attitude. He only hoped that the blonde was right and that Xion could grow to like him in that manner. He had no doubt that he himself would be feeling something stronger toward the raven. After all, seeing her had nearly left him speechless. Well, he wished he had been speechless instead of the nervous wreck he had been.
Riku saw what Roxas was doing. He wasn’t stupid and the blonde wasn’t slick in his actions.
He was playing the role of Riku’s (unnecessary) wingman.
Roxas had planned a get together at Destiny Islands, claiming that it was the perfect time of the year to get in the water. And of course among the people he invited, he had made sure that Xion was coming along.
So now Riku was on the verge of going back home because of his nerves but Sora wasn’t letting him leave his side. “Come on Riku,” the brunette said. “What’s there to be nervous about?”
“He’s right you know,” Kairi said as she came up behind them, wearing her bikini because she was as she claimed, “ready to destroy everyone in chicken fight.” Her determination had been so strong that it scared the silvernette a little to even get near her in the water. “Looking like that, you have absolutely nothing to worry about.”
“I’m just wearing swimming shorts Kairi,” he pointed out.
“Exactly.”
“I can’t even be mad because it’s true,” Sora said. “You’ll be fine.”
“No, I won’t. I don’t know why I can’t function like a proper human being around her anymore. That’s never happened with anyone before.”
Kairi and Sora awed and cooed at Riku, nearly making the older teen head back home when the gummi ship came into view. He stopped, his eyes trained on the vessel as it landed and out came the Sea Salt Trio, Isa, Naminé, and the Wayfinder Trio all in beach gear.
And Riku had not been ready to see Xion who was wearing a black bikini with a bright yellow sunhat with the upper half of her hair pulled back. She looked… she looked…
“Aww, Xion looks cute! Doesn’t she Riku?” Kairi said suggestively, nudging Riku.
More than cute honestly…
“Um, yeah sure,” he said.
Kairi only laughed at his stunned face as she went to greet the others and… Wait, was she going to Roxas and Sora and Ven? And they seemed to be talking seriously about something and why did they keep looking in his direction with those smiles and…
And Roxas wasn’t the only one playing wingman here.
Riku was going to kill them. He was going to kill them all. Okay maybe not Ventus because he was too pure and honestly probably got dragged into all this, but the rest would have to go.
“Hi Riku.”
Riku froze as he looked down to see none other than Xion smiling at him, a bright flush of red on her cheeks. She was probably not used to the summer sun from the islands. Riku on the other hand was and had no doubt that his face was as red as a tomato – and it had nothing to do with the sun.
“Hey Xion,” he said, hoping his voice wasn’t too shaky or high-pitched. Maybe it had come out normal? He honestly couldn’t pay attention to anything but her right now.
“Why are you over here by yourself? Everyone else is going to get in the water. They were talking about playing something called chicken fight and I still need a partner so…”
“You want to be partners?”
“If you’re willing to.”
“You do know what chicken fight is, right? You sure you don’t want Kairi, Naminé, or even Aqua to partner up with you?”
Xion waved a dismissive hand. “They already have partners. And plus, I trust you anyway so don’t worry. Unless you feel uncomfortable-”
“No! I mean, no not at all. What’s there to be uncomfortable about? It’s just you sitting on my shoulders that’s all.”
Xion giggled, her cheeks flushing more with the action. “Well, if you’re game then so am I. Let’s go.”
The next couple of minutes were hell for him. He had gotten in the water and crouched so that Xion could sit atop his shoulders. Then, he stood up to his full height, grabbing onto her lower legs. He knew that in this position they’d probably be the first to lose but it’s not like he could raise his hands any higher.
As if reading his mind, Xion said, “It might be better if you placed your hands higher Riku. That way you’ll have a better grip. It’s okay.”
And so, he placed his hands just above her knees and glared at a snickering Roxas who had noticed his nervous and flustered expression. He didn’t even know how Roxas was so comfortable carrying Naminé like it was nothing. Then again, the two were together so it was probably different. Riku was harboring a crush and acting like some preteen around Xion.
The teams consisted of Riku and Xion, Sora and Kairi, Roxas and Naminé, Lea and Ventus, and Terra and Aqua. Isa was playing as referee, claiming that he didn’t want to get wet.
“Are we ready?” Lea asked, looking at everyone. There was a glint of mischief in his eyes and Riku was wondering if perhaps this wasn’t a good idea.
With a chorus of yeses, the game began. Their first opponents were Lea and Ventus. It had been rather funny, for the whole time he and Lea were conversing as Ventus and Xion tried to push the other down. It didn’t take too long for Ventus to go falling into the water with Lea. Xion nearly toppled over but caught herself on Riku’s head and laughed in disbelief.
“I didn’t think I would actually be able to do it!” she exclaimed.
“Why? Because Ven is a boy?”
“No, because he’s too sweet and I felt bad for trying to push him down.”
Riku laughed at Xion’s rather logical explanation as he looked for their next opponents. The next couple that seemed to be free were Terra and Aqua unfortunately. As he was making his way to them, Terra had suddenly turned and toppled over in the water, Aqua following.
Well, that was easy. As a matter of fact, too easy.
He heard another splash to see that Roxas and Naminé had lost to Sora and Kairi. Kairi let out a whooping cheer and Riku could only hope that she wouldn’t go on full attack mode with them.
“Brace yourself,” Riku warned. “Kairi can get pretty crazy with games that involve friendly competition.”
He felt Xion pat his head in reassurance. “Don’t worry. She doesn’t know that I’m pretty competitive myself.”
Riku chuckled. “Well then let’s go get ‘em.”
Both girls had put up a really good fight. If he thought Kairi was ferocious, Xion was a whole other level. She was very determined to send Kairi crashing down into the water. But something was weird about the whole thing and what really alerted him was the wink that Sora gave him. Right after that, Kairi was sent falling into the water. It didn’t even seem like Sora had tried to really hold onto Kairi either. Had they… Had everyone really just-
“We won! I can’t believe we won!” Xion said with a loud cheer, nearly falling off Riku’s shoulders.
“Whoah, whoah! Easy there!” he said with a laugh. He reached up and grabbed Xion by the waist, lifting her off his shoulders and down into the water in front of him. He was not ready for the surging hug that she gave him, still laughing in merriment from their victory, although Riku was suspecting if they had even truly won.
But he wasn’t going to skip out on the opportunity to hug Xion, so he hugged her back. She felt warm against his skin despite the cool water, and it just felt nice to hold her against him. He just wanted to stay like this, holding her and feeling her warm breath against his skin but he didn’t want to make her feel uncomfortable or awkward, so he gently pulled back. He still didn’t necessarily let go of her though and neither did she let go of him. Her smile had become softer, and her eyes were shining brightly with anticipation. What was she anticipating though, he wondered?
“Something the matter? You’re pretty quiet today,” she said.
“I’m just worried I’ll say something stupid.” And damn it why did he go saying that?
Xion merely giggled at his words. “Like what?”
Like tell you that you look really cute and pretty and hot and that your smile sends butterflies to my stomach and your eyes are the prettiest I’ve ever seen and I like holding you and you holding me and I think of kissing you sometimes and you cause me to lose all sense of thought and I’m trying really hard to not look down because I respect you too much and-
And Xion’s laughter brought him back to the present. “You’re cute Riku.”
Riku nearly choked at her casual compliment and felt his face go red hot. “C-cute?”
“Well, that’s just one of the words that describes you,” she said with a wink and then began to head to the shore with the others.
Had Xion just flirted with him? That was flirting right? It had to be. What else could it have been? Was it possible that she was dropping hints?
Riku pondered this as he met up with everyone else on the sand. He couldn’t stop thinking it over even as he watched Xion collect seashells with Naminé and Kairi, or even as he accidentally crashed into Roxas during their game of tag. It had completely overtaken his mind. And when it came time to watch the sunset, they all gathered near the paopu tree. What was strange though was that as the minutes passed, each person suddenly had an excuse to leave, whether it be to get a drink, grab a blanket, etc.
Riku knew exactly what they were doing.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that they intentionally abandoned us,” Xion said as she hugged her legs to her chest.
If only she knew how right she was. He turned to her, an amused smile on his features to hide his slight panic. “Why would they?”
“Because they can’t handle our amazing personalities. It’s either that or we suck.”
Riku laughed. “Maybe me but I doubt anyone would want to leave your side.” He liked the quirk of her lips that happened. He liked that he was the one to cause it. “Are you cold?”
“A little.”
He could hold her. Body warmth was one of the best sources of heat after all. It wouldn’t be too weird, right? “If you want… I could-”
“Can I ask you something? And be honest with me.”
“Uh, sure.”
“Promise?” She held out her pinky to him.
He entwined his pinky with hers, giving her a soft smile. “Promise.”
And then she got right to it, leaning in so he wouldn’t be able to avert his eyes from hers. After all, Riku’s eyes couldn’t lie. “Do you like me?”
The question caught him off guard and he let out a nervous laugh. “Of course I like you. You’re my friend,” he said.
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it,” she said with a sigh, leaning back. Then, she shook her head in disappointment and shrugged. “Never mind. You don’t have to answer. It was stupid to think that you could possibly…” She looked toward the sunset, her eyes shining with unshed tears. “I don’t even know why I listened to that stupid compass.”
Wait, compass?
“Hold up, are you talking about Jack’s compass? Jack Sparrow?” Riku asked, interest piqued.
“Yeah,” Xion said as she rubbed at her eyes. “Roxas took me to the Caribbean not too long ago and insisted I find out what my heart’s desire was.”
“And did you?”
“Not at first. It just kept spinning and spinning but then Roxas called you and suddenly the needle pointed to his phone, to you. I think he had a hunch on what it was that I wanted but I don’t know how.”
And then Riku broke out in laughter, letting out all his nerves and feeling a sense of relief. “It’s because he was there when the compass told me what I wanted the most – that I wanted you.”
She looked up at him, a glint of hope in her eyes. “Really? You’re not just saying that?”
“Xion, you don’t think it’s a coincidence that for most of the day we’ve been together, or that we were left to pair up with each other, or that you somehow won against Kairi in chicken fight?”
“So, they all were…”
“Yep, sorry about that. For the record, I had nothing to do with it.”
“No worries. If anything, I’ll have to thank them. Their rather obvious plan at least brought me closer to you so that’s a plus, isn’t it?”
“Being able to spend the day with an amazing, beautiful girl? That definitely is a plus.”
And Xion had smiled so brightly and laughed so beautifully that Riku couldn’t help but lean over and kiss her sweet lips. Xion reciprocated and reached up to place a hand on his cheek, rubbing her thumb across his cheekbone. The kiss felt timeless, magical, and invigorating. It was like Riku had never breathed until that moment – ironic considering he wasn’t breathing currently but you know, figuratively speaking.
When they did break away, he could see his expression mirrored in Xion’s. He could see his happiness reflected in hers, his admiration, his care…
His love.
“Mmm, how lucky am I to get the one and only pretty boy Riku to myself?” she said with a teasing smile.
“Not as lucky as me that’s for sure,” he said as he placed another lingering kiss on her lips. “To have the one and only Xion be my special somebody.”