Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ Desperate Reflections ❯ Interlude 1: A Distant Memory ( Chapter 2 )

A/N: All interlude’s are side stories, so to speak, from the main fic, and not quite as long as chapters. Anything not spoken from Axel’s POV is considered an Interlude. Expect them to be collections of short scenes that are snapshots into other characters in the fiction. They may not make much sense but they are important. Some you may even have to read carefully to understand. They won’t necessarily be after every chapter.

To my readers and reviewers:

BoroBoro: I’m glad you like this one, too. It’s always nice to see readers enjoying other works as well. I won’t say who Vincent made a promise to and spoil it, but I doubt you’ll be surprised given what else I write. LOL. Thanks!!

Thanks to all those who read and haven’t reviewed yet. I appreciate you giving my story a try! I hope I can encourage you to leave a comment next time!

Desperate Reflections
Interlude 1: A Distant Memory

As always in Destiny Islands, it was a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly but not too warmly. The sea was clear and azure, twinkling in the light with each cresting wave. Even though day was rapidly fading, replaced by the orange and pink streaks of sunset, it was still pleasant, a fact that Sora appreciated.

He breathed in the fresh air as he sat propped up on the limb of the paopu tree, legs dangling over the side and kicking idly. He was just enjoying the peace that saving the universe brought. The King and friends, i.e. Donald and Goofy, had returned to Disney Castle.

It was amazing how everything came to pass. His mother and father had acted as if he had only been gone for the duration, visiting with some obscure family members. Riku’s parents had nearly completely forgotten about him while they were gone. They acted as if nothing had happened at all... So when the others all left, he and Riku, whom their friends had finally remembered again, found themselves having to return to school.

Horror of horrors.

He really didn’t see the point. He fought his way through hordes of heartless, through the darkness and into the light, and had made his way home after more than a year of being gone. What use were geometry and calculus now? It certainly didn’t help in the fight against Xemnas. All that mattered then was the strength in his body and heart. Screw History.

Sora scowled unintentionally as he idly kicked at the log. He hated Math. Never was any good at it. That subject was more Riku’s forte than his. Sora was more of an artistic person, English and such.

Anyways, back to peace. Yes, Sora was certainly enjoying this respite from traveling across the universe to save people with his keyblade in the pursuit of justice. It was boring in some ways, but it was also nice. He felt a restlessness every once in a while, only quieted by the presence of Riku. Then again, he wasn’t sure if that feeling was one of his own or from the still present though often barely there presence of Roxas.

Roxas… the Nobody that was a mirror to his own self after he became a heartless. Sora often wondered what it would be like knowing that your entire existence was based off of someone else, that you were never supposed to exist to begin with. Yet, you had a mind and personality of your own. Sora didn’t believe all that nonsense about Nobodies not having hearts. It didn’t make much sense to him.

Just because they could remember what it felt to have a heart didn’t automatically mean that everything else emotional was just a remnant. Everyone in the Organization desired to have their own hearts because they wanted to feel again. Want implied sentiment. Desire implied sensibility. At least, that was how Sora had it figured. In many ways, he felt pity for the members of the Organization. They were able to remember how things once were but unable to grasp onto it. And in many ways, he pitied Roxas as well, the boy that was a part of him but also apart from him.

“Thinking again? You shouldn’t hurt yourself like that.”

A body slid beside him, one hand ruffling through his brown spikes. Sora turned his playful scowl onto the boy beside him, knowing by feel and sound that it was Riku. The connection he felt with the silver-haired male was one that he couldn’t really explain, something infinite and boundless that crossed all boundaries. Perhaps it was the swelling in his heart every time he was around Riku or the way that the older boy made him feel when they kissed. It wasn’t something that he could easily describe to others… except perhaps to say that he loved Riku. He knew this wholeheartedly, although he didn’t feel that love was a strong enough word. It implied something too meaningless and over-used. Their connection was far deeper than that.

Gah. He was turning into such a sap. Riku would definitely tease him if he said all that aloud.

“I thought you were with Kairi,” Sora returned, taking a playful swipe at his best friend and boyfriend both.

Riku shrugged, easily fending off the halfhearted blow and turning his aqua eyes onto the setting sun out over the water. “She and Selphie started giggling about some random nonsense, and it irritated me.”

Sora gave him a look. “So you decided to come annoy me instead.”

“Something like that.” Riku smirked. “What are you thinking about?”

Not intending on telling him exactly what was on his mind, Sora settled for bantering with him as usual. “I’m trying to decide if I should leave you for Tidus,” he replied in a serious tone.

Riku scoffed, nudging the cinnamon-haired boy with his shoulder, even as he scowled. “I don’t believe you,” he uttered. “For Tidus? Try again, Sora. I know you.” He eyed his partner with a fierce aqua expression. “What’s really up, eh?” One hand reached out, unconsciously tangling fingers with the younger boy’s.

Knowing he was trapped, Sora shrugged and settled for staring back out over the ocean. He really did love the sea. Growing up around it was something he treasured. It both calmed him and reminded him that he was home. He was very grateful for that. It had been a rough time there for a while. For everyone.

“You miss fighting that much?” Riku questioned, momentarily disturbing his inner thought.

Sora frowned, furrowing his brow before shaking his head. “Not really. While traveling the worlds was fun, I didn’t really like the whole ‘fighting for your life’ thing. Sometimes it was hard… and I almost lost all the things that were important to me.” He squeezed the paler boy’s hand for emphasis, wincing when he realized he was being sappy again.

“You’re such a sap,” Riku teased softly, giving a gentle yank on Sora’s arm so that the younger boy tumbled against him and into his arms. The brunet male gasped lightly at the unexpected motion but relaxed against his lover’s hold after a second. For all his teasing, Riku was the bigger sap of the two of them. It had much to do with his fear of being all alone… not that he had anything to worry about. The both of them needed each other far too much.

With his cheek pressed to the warmth of the other boy’s chest, Sora wasn’t about to disagree; he simply accepted the touch for what it was. Truthfully, he didn’t know why he was being so thoughtful lately or why a touch of loneliness and longing had assailed him. He idly wondered if it had something to do with that other part of himself, one that he had only recently realized existed.

“You’re still thinking about that?” Riku asked, his voice rumbling in his chest from where Sora’s ear was pressed to him. It was a comforting sound. “It’s kinda rare for you to do this, you know?” Honestly, it was unusual for someone like Sora to dwell on deep and brooding thoughts. He was normally more carefree, living for the simple things and enjoying life as it was. Perhaps the recent battles had changed him like they had changed Riku.

Sora’s ocean-blue gaze dropped as he wrapped a lax arm around Riku’s waist. He loved these moments the most, when the silver-haired boy dropped his guard and let him “cuddle”.

“I can still feel him inside of me sometimes… memories that don’t belong to me… emotions that aren’t mine.”

“Like the sudden broodiness and melancholy?” Riku inquired, slightly teasing.

Sora nodded. “Yes. I feel kinda sorry for him.”

Riku raised a brow. “Pity?” he asked in response, frowning. “But you know… there really wasn’t any other choice. Either that… or nothing. He was never supposed to exist.”

“Maybe.” Sora frowned, a cute little pout that Riku found quite endearing. It seemed no matter how battle-hardened the younger boy got or how much he aged, he always managed to keep that adorable air. “I know they weren’t supposed to have feelings… but I can sense it. Regret… he misses him.”

“Who?”

Sora shook his head. “Someone… I don’t know. It’s getting harder to understand and recall some things. Like a distant memory.” He raised a hand to his chest, over where his heart laid. “It’s a familiar feeling for me… like when I was searching for you all that time.”

The other boy shook his head, planting a chaste kiss on the top of Sora’s head as he rubbed a soothing hand down the younger boy’s back, aqua gaze on the far off horizon of the sea. “Sometimes you are too kind for your own good,” he said quietly.

Sora bit back the sigh that threatened to emerge and changed his response. He didn’t need to be any more melancholy. It was time to find some of his more natural actions, pushing aside the strange feelings that kept bubbling up within him. He wiggled playfully against Riku.

“Maybe so,” he said with a hint of playfulness. “But I’m still the one who saved the worlds.”

“Hey! I helped!”

Sora laughed lightly, wriggling his way about in Riku’s hold until he could finally see him face to face. “After I did all the hard work. Lazy.”

As expected, Riku’s free hand came up and grabbed his chin, bringing them together for a kiss that effectively silenced the more carefree of the two. The silver-haired boy worked his mouth gently against his younger lover’s, nibbling softly on his pouty lips before slowly sliding his tongue between the parted flesh. Sora moaned as Riku’s tongue dueled with his own inside his mouth and a hand rubbed along his back. He gave himself up to the taste of Riku, something he would never tire of and that would always be familiar. In many ways, it was one of the few memories that kept him going, even when despair threatened to consume him during the long battles.

It wasn’t until the need for air became too great did they finally separate, a grin on the brown-haired boy’s face. “You’re being awfully sappy today,” Sora commented, a husky undertone to his voice. “Is it mating season again?”

Riku mock-growled at the same moment that he flushed with slight embarrassment. “Shut up, Sora,” he responded, shifting his gaze. “Maybe it’s better when you’re broody,” he murmured out of the corner of his mouth.

“Hey! I resent that!” protested Sora loudly before giving a low growl and pouncing. The two went tumbling to the ground, laughing as they began to mock-wrestle, a pastime that they would probably never grow out. The ground beneath them rose up a light dust cloud that coated their clothes, but neither boy cared.

Riku ended up on the bottom to begin with, the smaller boy landing directly on top of him with a light “oof.” Well experienced in all matters physical, Riku immediately grabbed Sora’s shoulders with the intention of reversing their positions, but after having transversed the worlds, fighting evil and its ilk, Sora was well versed in strange manners of dueling as well. He would not go down as easily as he did before.

As Riku heaved up with the intention of flipping them, Sora shifted his weight so that they went tumbling over to the side, limbs intertwining. He easily broke the slack hold on his arms as he reached for one of his boyfriend’s flailing arms, managing to grab it and pin it above the other male’s head. Riku was not impressed, thrusting up with his hips and causing Sora to pitch forward in surprise, nearly tumbling over Riku’s head.

A wicked grin crossed the brunet’s face as he grabbed Riku’s other arm, even as he tumbled forward, yanking on both arms in the same moment and jerking the older boy into an awkward position. They kicked and flipped, wrestling around for a few moments more. Breaths came in rapid pants, sweat beginning to build due to the lingering heat of the day. A fine dust kicked up around them until, with a definitive grunt, Sora’s back hit the ground hard. Riku straddled him easily with both of his wrists firmly in Riku’s grip and pressed to the ground.

The silver-haired boy smirked as he looked down at his prey, Sora’s tanned face flush with exertion. “Well, what have I here?” Riku questioned with a raised brow, unable to resist running his aqua gaze down Sora’s body. The younger boy gave a token wriggle in an attempt to break free before giving up, but Riku shook his head. “Tsk, tsk. Always starting things you can never finish,” he teased. “Ne, So-ra?”

Sora arched beneath him, giving another token tug to his restrained wrists before looking up at Riku, an almost sultry gaze. “You always win.” He pouted.

“That’s because I’m stronger than you.” Riku smirked before leaning forward, breathing a gust of hot air over Sora’s exposed neck. “As well as faster and more skilled,” he added, punctuating the words with a lick to the tanned flesh, tasting the slight saltiness of Sora’s sweat. Beneath him, the other male shivered.

Sora’s hands curled into fists, but he couldn’t do anything, Riku’s greater strength keeping them pinned down. He settled for tilting his head back, allowing the silver-haired male to continue laving his tongue over his flesh. Riku dragged his teeth gently down the exposed throat before latching onto the hollow and producing a dark, red mark that would surely last for a few days.

“Riku.” Sora sulked in response. He both hated and liked it when Riku did that. For one, Selphie latched onto every mark like that, cooing and making annoying noises. Plus, Kairi always had something to say. Other than that, he rather liked what Riku was doing to his neck, making his skin heat and his flesh shiver.

Riku smirked as he lifted his head, aqua eyes shining at his lover. “What?” he questioned impishly, idly tossing his head to shift some silvery strands out of his eyes. Sora was adorable when he pouted like that, trying to seem serious with his lower lip stuck out further than the upper. He couldn’t resist kissing him… so he didn’t, not even bothering to allow the younger boy to reply.

He could already feel Sora responding beneath him, purring noises deep in the boy’s throat and a slight wriggling of his body. Not to mention that Sora kept gently tugging on his arms and curling his fingers about, as if wanting to touch Riku.

Riku ravaged Sora’s mouth, a need to claim the boy suddenly building up within him. He didn’t plan on taking things too far, not when they were out in the open but kissing Sora senseless ensured that later in private… things could run their course. He was just beginning to enjoy both the taste of Sora and the cute little noises he was making when a sudden sound had him groaning in irritation and pulling back from the younger boy, releasing his hold on Sora’s hands.

The noise of a girlish squeal accompanied by high-pitched giggling had alerted him to the arrival of Selphie, who was dragging Kairi by her arm as the two came almost running up to the male couple. Selphie was cooing in glee, a camera in her free hand as she snapped another picture. Riku scowled and moved back, releasing Sora.

However, before he could say anything, the two boys were tackled by the females, Selphie babbling on and on about how cute they were. Sora felt nearly choked by the girl’s squealing grip, idly waving his arms about, even as he caught the look on Riku’s face. Priceless.

Beneath the attentions of his boyfriend and his two female friends, Sora felt the depression that had assailed him drifting away. The presence inside of him quieted for the moment, the general gaiety of the moment seeping through and calming even his turmoil.

At least… for the moment anyways.

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