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It was somewhat unsettling, yet not surprising, how quickly his memories of the party started to drift away with each pass of his oar against the shoreline.
He was rowing away from the mainland alongside the one person he had entrusted his heart to though they had yet to realize it. No, Sora was too busy staring up at the stars, reflecting the light of everything that reached him effortlessly.
Or at least, that’s how it appeared in Riku’s eyes. He couldn’t help but take advantage of the unspoken gift the stars had given him. Extra time to admire how the moonlight cupped his best friend’s jaw, how white streaks of light were caught in brown spikes that bounced with wild abandon every time Sora turned his head.
The scene was almost too good to be true. Riku decided to be nicer to his heart and followed Sora’s gaze, taking the stars in. “Pretty tonight.”
“Pretty… it’s amazing.” Sora chuckled softly. “So many worlds burning brightly…”
“Yeah.” Riku gave Sora a short nod out of reflex, then shook his head and continued his statement. “All thanks to you.”
“And you.” Sora smirked. “You can’t hide your hard work in front of me.”
“Maybe. I just feel in the grand scheme of things my role was pretty small.” Riku shrugged and ignored the raspberry blown his way. “You don’t have to agree.”
“You’re right, I don’t.” Sora smirked, propelling them forward with a sharp splash of his oars into the calm, frothy ocean waters beneath them. “You never give yourself enough credit.”
“Does anyone?” Riku deflected, blinking as the first couple of streaks of light started to form arrows that divided the sky on black strips. “It’s starting.”
“Shoot, we better hurry.”
They reached Destiny Island’s quickly, scrambling out of their boat and running along a nostalgic pathway in the sand, mirroring the movements of the shooting stars above. Riku couldn’t help but let Sora race ahead a bit as he pondered what the last few years had given them.
Sora’s return had been the biggest relief of his life. After his sacrifice to save Kairi, to save multiple worlds, everyone’s efforts to bring him back came to a close a couple of years prior.
The Christmas party they just left swam alongside them in the sea of Riku’s memories as they stood, now hand in hand, as the stars continued crashing above them as if in celebration. The voices of their friends seemed to echo in Riku’s head as gratitude and contentment cradled his heart.
Contentment… and yet he still couldn’t build up the courage to say the reason why he had invited Sora out here with him. His gaze shifted over to a smile that was even brighter than the stars. He swallowed before chuckling. “What is it?”
“Nothing. I’m just happy.” Sora’s grin stretched even wider as he closed his eyes. “Today was perfect.”
“Yes.” Riku chuckled. “Even when we fell for all of Axel’s pranks.”
“Sometimes you have to let yourself get tricked to get to know others.” Sora laughed. “He looked like he was having fun.”
Riku rolled his eyes. “He was obnoxious.” And he had “accidentally” bumped Riku towards the mistletoe three times when Sora happened to be under it. Riku was grateful to whoever stole the mistletoe and saved him from further embarrassment.
Just confessing to Sora was a whole process into itself. Riku couldn’t imagine uttering the word “kiss” in front of Sora in front of his friends, let alone during such a crucial moment between the two of them.
Oh but he imagined it. A few stars raced along the sky as Riku sighed in longing. He quickly explained his slip-up under the guise of exhaustion. “One of these days he’s going to go too far.”
“Yeah, but that just means he’s always exciting to be around.” Sora hummed thoughtfully. “He takes a lot of risks. Risks can bring a lot of rewards.“
Riku shrugged, biting down the small flare of jealousy that came unbidden. Sora had come far with a similar mindset after all, it’s part of what Riku loved about him.
But he couldn’t help but be glad that a more cautious side had control of his friend for the moment. He just hoped this period of calm lasted long enough for all of them to have something akin to a normal life.
He wanted time to process and share his feelings. But he’d learned many things during his travels. Time kept moving and whether he liked it or not their days would come and go.
Sora had returned. He was alive . He couldn’t keep waiting for the right moment to utter the necessary words.
His heart was open, but that wasn’t enough. And Sora deserved a clear, concise response to the lingering stares, the multiple lapses in his speech, the worried glances, the feelings leaking out of him that everyone else always read so clearly.
Riku desperately needed the weight lifted. But his lips remained sealed in a grimace that pulled away at the light reflecting in Sora’s eyes the moment they zeroed in on them.
Sora raised his eyebrows, turning to face his tormented friend. “Riku? You okay?”
“Yeah, yeah…” Riku chuckled, staring at their shoes. “Was just thinking of the promises we’ve made here.”
“Oh. Right… we did make a lot.”
Sora fidgeted, leaning his weight more on one foot, then brought it back to the other. Riku brought his hands together, controlling the tremors that threatened to send him tumbling forward. “Sora…”
I love you .
“I…” He couldn’t do it. He frowned and started walking past Sora, heading towards the tree, trying to mold his resolve into words. “….you know, you’re the oldest friend I’ve ever had. It kind of surprises me how hard it is to talk to you sometimes.”
After a few beats, Sora followed. His footsteps whispered in the sand, following in the dents Riku made as they both moved in sync towards their spot.
Up into the treehouse. Across the bridge. The palm tree that met them was still distorted in shape, stretching out and twisting in a way that formed a bench. Even with their height and size, they could both still fit.
Riku closed his eyes as their shoulders brushed each other. He hadn’t realized he was holding his breath until Sora gripped his hand and squeezed.
So warm. “Ahhh… well. Lost that train of thought.”
“… we may have changed a lot. But I’m me. You’re still you.” The smile was clear as day in Sora’s voice. “You can tell me anything.”
“I…” Riku swallowed and made another attempt. “I want your heart.”
Wait.
“What?” Sora’s voice went up in pitch followed by a mix between a gasp and a snort.
“No, I didn’t—“ Riku grumbled. “Don’t laugh.” He peeked under his eyelids as Sora covered his mouth.
Sora instantly looked away, beat at his chest once, then turned back and gave Riku his best serious expression that was seconds away from contorting to reveal the barely hidden laughter. “Totally not. Nope. Not me. I hate laughing.”
Riku held back his own snort and fully opened his eyes, shoving at Sora playfully. “What I meant was that… I just want our hearts to stay connected. You know, protecting you. That kind of thing.”
“Well, that’s one way to put it.” Sora waved away Riku’s attempts to make him fall off their tree. “Right. But you can’t say that and not let me return the favor. You only get to do that if I can protect you too.”
Riku shrugged, keeping a hand on Sora’s shoulder. “Yeah, well, it’s my turn anyway.” He smiled as Sora leaned into his touch. If only saying what was in his heart was as easy as this. “I just… want to keep doing what we already are. Hearts connected. Protection. Our light…”
He paused, looking back at the shooting stars. He wished for what his heart wanted to say. “Combining our light. I just always want to be there in every way I can. Even if it’s not possible.”
“Combining our light….At my side.” Sora scooted away from him. “You really mean that?”
“Yes.” Riku continued taking in the stars. “I know it might be a little selfish of me… but… ever since I gave you that necklace and made that promise… I’ve always felt this way. It’s just grown stronger with time. Even if I didn’t really understand it then.”
Sora didn’t respond and in his nervousness Riku kept talking. He kept his gaze fixed up. “My light is yours. I want to use it to support you. Just as you’ve always done for me.”
Riku could sense the hesitation, the change in atmosphere around them. More stars sped across the sky. Something was about to happen. He could feel it in the way his heart pounded onto his chest.
But when Sora spoke his voice remained calm and collected. “My light isn’t the same as before. My heart isn’t balanced.” As he said this a flicker of darkness nearly split the air between them.
Remnants of rage. Of a form of darkness Riku hoped his friend would never feel forced to use ever again. And yet, it was still a part of Sora. A part he cared for very deeply. “I know that.”
“…so you accept that. You still want my heart… even the way it is now?”
Riku looked directly into Sora’s eyes. “Always,” he said without hesitation.
It wasn’t the exact words. In some ways he didn’t even really get what he had just said. But all it took was a minute of their gazes locked, of blue melding in with teal, of their breaths mingling together in the cold as the sky continued to light up above them.
Sora gave Riku his signature grin, an expression he reserved for the few, before hopping onto his feet. “I’m going to make a wish.” He brought his hands together, closing his eyes. “Close yours too, Riku. I need your help on this one.”
Riku blinked his eyes shut before the request reached his ears. Though rewarding, something about staring into Sora’s eyes was overwhelming. “Alright. Let me know when you’re done.”
“I am.”
Riku chuckled, shaking his head as he rubbed at his eyes. “Think maybe you might have done that one too fast?”
Sora offered a noncommittal grunt. “If I had waited any longer I wouldn’t have been able to do it.”
“Sounds like a serious wish.”
“It’s starting to become unbearable.”
“You can’t argue against fate’s timing. Thought you believed in all that.” Riku sighed, dropping his hands and blinking in confusion at Sora’s chest.
Sora had grown a lot over the past few years, but to his dismay he still hadn’t caught up with Riku’s height. But with Riku’s lower sitting position, Sora was tall enough for Riku to be at eye-level with Sora’s collarbone. The crown necklace twinkled in the moonlight.
Sora let out an exasperated sigh, fidgeting in a similar way to how he moved in the sand earlier. “You’d be helping fate out if you looked up.”
“Huh?” Riku glanced up too fast for his brain to register what Sora had said. All he could focus on were the fingers inches away from his forehead dangling the mistletoe prominently in front of his face.
Riku felt his cheeks burn. The only thing keeping him still was the fact that Sora’s didn’t look any better. In fact, Sora’s whole face had taken on a cherry complexion. It matched the fake fruit in the garnish he shook once more in front of Riku for reference.
Riku’s eyes widened. “You’re the thief?!”
Sora’s eyes widened to a comical size. “THAT’S what you’re worried about?!”
“No! I…” Riku covered his eyes laughing. “…I’m terrible at this.”
“First of all, I borrowed this.” Sora placed his other free hand on his hip. “And second, you kept staring at it most of the evening. So.”
“So…?”
They stared at each other for a long time. The stars grew dim. The whole island faded in their minds as Sora leaned forward and connected their lips.
Their promise cemented, Riku let out the second breath he had been holding that evening, shaking once the moment their lips parted. “Wow.”
Sora looked away, covering his mouth. He then took a deep breath and shouted towards the stars, fist pumping the air.
Riku shook his head, unable to stop his own smile forming. It had been long enough to where even stretching his facial muscles to that degree hurt. “Just gonna let all of the mainland know we’re together, huh?”
The response he was given filtered through multiple passes of excited gibberish before Sora settled with a sheepish, “Yes?”
It surprised Riku when the embarrassment or awkwardness showcasing his emotions to this degree never came. Things were different when someone like Sora felt the same in their own way.
Riku chuckled. “Okay, okay, but let’s wait till Saturday at least. I need to recharge after that party.”
After a few minutes of playful banter Sora agreed to wait with the ultimatum that Riku would spend the entire day with him tomorrow. Even as the exhaustion started to truly set in, Riku accepted.
They spent hours still even after the shooting stars finished their descent, discussing past accomplishments, failures, and daily struggles. Every now and then one of them would interrupt with a kiss, a new normal Riku was steadily growing accustomed to.
Not everyone had the ability to get him out of his comfort zone, to change the entire trajectory of his day. But Sora was that special. And no matter how much time would pass in the future he would always be grateful for that chance they took to kiss under the stars.