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"Poppin' bottles in the ice, like a blizzard. When we drink, we do it right, gettin' slizzered. Sippin' sizzurp in my ride (in my ride) like Three 6, now I'm feelin' so fly like a G6."
Of course, Sora was up this late and blasting music so loud that Riku could hear it from outside his window. Riku watched him dance like a maniac inside his room, a carefree smile on his face, hair still wet from a shower, it seemed. Sora's suitcase lay wide open on his bed with a few things hastily thrown inside. A shirt that had been tossed into it haphazardly hung out from the side.
Riku was only half expecting Sora to still be awake. He shook his head, a smile on his face despite wanting to be upset with him.
He knocked on the window. No response from Sora, who Riku could now hear singing along. He knocked again, this time a little harder, and Sora initially jumped at the sound before turning down the music and rushing to open the window.
Sora laughed with a bit of a nervous edge. "Oh, hey, Riku." He helped him in, though he didn't need to. Riku had been sneaking in through the window at the oddest hours since they were little.
"Hey," Riku said, with a slight chuckle. "I see you're busy."
"No, I was just- packing! Yeah. Packing." Sora tucked the shirt hanging out of his suitcase back in. "I sort of got distracted."
"Sort of?" Riku sat crossed legged on the bed and looked at Sora's CD player. "Sounds like a club in here. You'll wear yourself out before the exam."
"Nuh-uh," Sora replied, "I'm actually just hyping myself up."
"Right."
"What are you bringing?"
"Just a few things. Some clothes and stuff. I wanted to pack light. I'm sure Yen Sid has stuff for us if we need it."
"Yeah, and I doubt we'll be there for long." Sora joined Riku on the bed, laying on his back next to him. He stared up at the green glow-in-the-dark stars on the ceiling. Rihanna filled the brief silence between them.
Riku looked down at him. Sora looked tired, judging by the bags under his eyes. They were barely noticeable, and Riku had to wonder if part of that was because of the year long nap Sora took. He knew this next mission was just another thing they had to do. Just another thing to lose sleep over.
The thought was dismissed as soon as it appeared in Riku's mind. No, he wouldn't allow himself to reminisce about Sora's slumber or the year of isolation. Not when they had a more pressing matter to worry about.
Not when he could ignore both of those and focus on Sora instead.
Sora, who was now staring back at him.
Riku was staring? He didn't even notice, shit-
"Is there something on my face...?" Sora asked.
"Ah- no..." Quick, Riku. "Are you even gonna brush your hair?" That seemed safe. Yeah. Just a...regular tease between friends. He reached to touch Sora's hair. It was still soft despite being a little tangled, and the laugh Sora gave was even sweeter.
"Riku, that tickles!" Sora sat up but before he could put his revenge into motion, a new song came on and instead, he grabbed Riku's other hand and tugged him off the bed with him. "Come on, I love this song!"
Riku laughed, though he tried to stay quiet. "Sora, you'll wake your parents up!-"
"'Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby! Listen to Iron Maiden, baby, with me! Oohhh..."
Sora jumped around, light on his feet, swinging his arms and holding Riku's hands as tight as he possibly could. He was a little breathless, from both laughing and singing, and his hair began to stick to his face.
Riku found himself staring again. Admiring. That faint blush on his face, his joyful smile. It was so Sora. It was so perfect. This was how he should always be. Light and carefree. Happy, singing.
Riku felt himself cracking, too. He really wanted to be serious, get some sleep before their mission, be responsible. All that went out the window, though. It went out the window the exact second Sora grabbed his hands. Riku could lose himself in this, in Sora's...in Sora.
"I've got two tickets to Iron Maiden, baby." Riku's voice was much quieter, softer, much like the song, but for a different reason. "Come with me Friday, don't say maybe." He found himself leaning a little closer, and told himself it was just for dramatic effect. "Cause I'm just a teenage dirtbag, baby, like you."
Sora leaned in, too, and for a second, Riku thought- no, it meant nothing. He was just mirroring him, being dramatic, like how they'd pretend they were in music videos during sleepovers. Not to mention the few times they'd come too close to kissing, but it didn't mean anything those times, either.
The next song was a little jarring in the way it started off much slower than the others. But Riku immediately recognized it as one of his favorites. Before he could speak, Sora threw his arms around his shoulders and swayed gently. Riku instantly found a place to put his hands, Sora's hips.
"Sometimes I'm selfish fake, you're always a true friend. And I don't deserve you, 'cause I'm not there for you. Please forgive me again."
Sora hummed along, Riku could hear it next to his ear. Sora hugged him- more like squeezed- and pressed his cheek against Riku's.
"Let me show you something." Sora pulled away- Riku hated how disappointed he felt- and adjusted their position. Instead of being smushed together, they now looked each other in the eyes, with Sora's hands on Riku's shoulders. Riku's hands were fine where they were, apparently. He thought about moving them, but as soon as he did, Sora pressed them back on his hips, so Riku obeyed.
"I wanna be there for you, someone you can come to. Runs deeper than my bones. I wanna be there for you, I wanna be there for you."
"Maybe it's not the right kind of song, but this sort of reminds me of when I watched the Beast and Belle dance together." Sora swayed to the music again, moving a little slower this time. "Just follow my lead, okay?"
"Yeah."
"One, two, three," Sora mumbled, "one, two, three..."
Slow dancing. He's trying to kill me, isn't he?
When they got the hang of it, Riku took one of Sora's hands. They were still a little clumsy, and every now and then Sora would trip over himself and almost fall into Riku, but Riku didn't mind. He'd just laugh and help him straighten up.
Sora's hands were warm. He might've just been too aware of everything, but where Sora touched him, Riku felt like he was burning. He prayed that didn't apply to his face, that he didn't have a stupid looking blush on his cheeks that he'd need to explain away.
And he was so close, that Riku could smell his conditioner. Coconut.
Riku tried not to focus on that. He tried to focus on anything but that-
He felt Sora stumble and immediately dove for him, but Sora hit the ground first. Riku accomplished nothing besides falling on top of him.
"Shit- Sora!"
"Ow..."
Sora reached for his head, rubbing the sore spot lightly. Riku pulled himself off him, propped himself on his elbow and scanned over Sora for any other injuries. A habit.
"Is it just your head?" He asked.
"Yeah..." Sora winced. "Ow!"
"I'm so sorry- damn, I should've caught you." Riku helped Sora up. Sora nursed his head and Riku tried to get a good look at his face, his own expression worried. "You alright?"
"Yeah, I'll be fine. Just hurts a little."
"Sit down, okay?" Riku helped him do just that, and though he doubted Sora needed the help, he was glad he took it anyway. "I'll get you some medicine. You guys still keep it in the bathroom, right?"
Sora nodded.
"'Kay. Just sit." Riku went for the door, almost running, then stopped. "Might wanna change the CD. Something a little calmer."
He heard Sora chuckle, and the guilt in his heart eased slightly. Slightly.
The bathroom wasn't too far from Sora's room, just across the hall. But Riku's short journey was interrupted anyway.
"Riku? Is that you?" He heard a familar laugh. "What are you doing here at this time?"
He turned to find Sora's mother looking at him, standing outside her bedroom door with a cup of what looked to be tea in her hand.
"Oh, I just came to check on Sora. He hit his head."
"I heard. What were you two up to, anyway?" She paused. "Riku, you're not smoking again, are you?"
Riku sighed lightly. She'd never let him live down the one time she found him and Sora fighting off the munchies. "No. It's not a good idea anyway, since we have an exam tomorrow."
"Sora told me about that. You both just be careful, okay?"
"We will...I'll keep Sora safe."
Sora's mother smiled gently. "Thank you. Keep yourself safe, too."
"I will." But his concern would always lie with Sora's wellbeing, not his own.
Riku got the medicine from the bathroom cabinet and came back to Sora moping in bed. He closed the door quietly as not to cause any noise that might make Sora's head worse.
Sora was lying down, arm covering his eyes. He made various noises of pain, but stopped when he saw Riku.
"You got the stuff?"
"Dude, your mom just pressed me for smoking weed. Here-" Riku poured two pills into his hand. "-take your Tylenol."
Sora giggled and sat up- with Riku's help, of course- then downed the pills with some water. Riku sat next to him and Sora leaned on his shoulder.
"You alright?"
Riku took a risk and put his arm around Sora. The resulting grin made him relax.
"I'm fine. Thanks for the medicine."
"You're welcome."
"Hey, how do you feel? About tomorrow."
Riku shrugged. "I guess...I'll be ready for whatever we have to do."
"You always say stuff like that."
"What do you want me to say?"
"The truth."
Riku huffed. Sora huffed back, mocking him.
"I mean," Riku said, "that is the truth. Mostly. I just..."
"Tell me," Sora pressed, gently. "I want to hear what you have to say."
"It's kinda dumb."
"I don't care, Riku."
"I...sometimes I wish we didn't have to deal with this stuff. It would be nice to at least have a break. I feel like it's been one thing after another lately."
"Me, too. Jeez, I sleep for a year and you guys can't figure out how to function without me!"
"Just me."
Why did I say that?
Riku internally swore at himself.
He thought he felt Sora get a little closer, but it was...his imagination, yeah. Or maybe it had something to do with the head injury.
"Can I tell you something?"
Riku didn't miss a beat. "Anything."
"When I was asleep...sometimes, I felt like I could hear you. Feel you. Like something warm touched me. It made me...it's not like I was sad, but it made me feel better. I don't know if it was actually you...was it?"
"Probably. Sometimes I'd come visit you, and stuff."
Sora hummed. He closed his eyes, sighing, and Riku felt him relax against him. Riku wanted to hold on tighter. Completely wrap his arms around Sora and hold him closer. He didn't.
"You shouldn't fall asleep with a head injury, you know," Riku teased, whispering now.
"All I did was hit my head, dummy. I don't even have a concussion."
"Just looking out for you."
"You always are. Will you stay?"
Sora gave him a look that told Riku he absolutely couldn't say no. Not to those puppy eyes.
"Yeah, sure. I'll just grab my stuff when we leave in the morning." He glanced at Sora's forgotten suitcase. "You're not done packing, are you?"
"I'll just throw some stuff in there in the morning." Sora moved and got under the covers, beckoning Riku to join, which he did. "It'll be fine."
They were so close now. They had been close this entire time, but now, even more so- even closer than they had been while dancing. They faced each other, only a few inches apart.
Sora didn't move. Neither did Riku. He was frozen in place despite Sora's incredible warmth. He wanted to bask in it, indulge in as much as he could. He did so from afar.
Sora yawned softly, eyelids fluttering prettily. Riku smiled at the way his cheek pressed against the pillow. Sora looked at him like an angry, sleepy kitten, which made Riku's smile widen.
"What's so funny?"
"Nothing."
"Nothing," Sora repeated, yawning again.
"Go to bed. It's-" Riku checked Sora's clock. "-almost three in the morning."
"You first."
"I'm supposed to be on the lookout for monsters, remember? Under the bed and all that?"
"That was when we were kids." Sora pouted. "I'm sure I can fight off my own monsters."
"If I stay up a little bit, I'll end up protecting you anyway, so it's fine. Off to dreamland for you."
"You're such-" Yawn. "-an ass."
"Right, right. Goodnight, Sora."
"Night, Riku."
Somehow, Riku knew when Sora was having a bad dream. They had shared a bed many times before, and he'd always been there to wake him up before the nightmares got worse. It was a silly thing. Probably just lucky guesses.
But Riku, for some reason, was finding comfort in it now. He didn't mind staying up a few extra minutes (maybe an hour, who knew) to make sure Sora had a restful sleep.
Sora looked peaceful when he was asleep. Serene. Nothing could hurt him, or even touch him. And Riku would make sure of it. Tonight, in the morning, certainly during their exam. And every moment that followed them.
He didn't know what this feeling was (he did, he was just afraid of it). It'd just be his dirty little secret for now.
And if it meant protecting Sora, he'd do anything. Losing a little sleep was nothing.