Kingdom Hearts Fan Fiction ❯ To Mate ❯ Chapter 8 ( Chapter 8 )

Chapter 8
~*~

Two days after that night Sora left, head hung and eyes downcast. Riku could feel the over whelming urge to say something, but he couldn't find the words. Instead he just watched the boys back as he carried his bags of clothes, the boy's blond twin shooting him dirty looks over his shoulder. When they turned the corner to go down the stairs, Riku walked back into his apartment, lots in thought. He stood, leaning against the door, staring at where Sora's shoes normally were and finding the place to be unfamiliarly empty.

"Are you sad?"
~*~

"Is it okay for it to end like this?" Roxas asked, Sora stopped, looking back at the top of the stairs, wishing that Riku would appear and tell him no to go. After a few long moments he sighed, looking at his twin, a fake smile in place.

"What am I supposed to do?" Sora countered. The blond sighed.

"I don't know." He growled, then looked into sapphire eyes that mirrored his own. "If you leave like this, then won't you be alone?" The brunette laughed bitterly and looked away, resuming his trek down the steps.

"I guess I will."
~*~

Riku looked up to the taller silver haired male. "What?"

Sephiroth sighed, taking a sip from his coffee cup and walking over to lean against the door frame leading into the kitchen.

"I asked you if you were sad." He watched the younger male. Riku shook his head.

"Why do you care?" The teen asked snidely, walking in the direction of his room. The taller silver haired male sighed again.

"It was my fault." Riku stopped, looking at Sephiroth over his shoulder. The older looked away, running a hand through his hair. "I came onto Sora." The teen's eyes widened. He could recall the desperate words Sora spoke that day, the way his voice pleaded with him to understand and believe him.

Curling his fingers into his palm he clenched his hands, his knuckles turning white. Turning he charged at the taller male and hit him square in the jaw. Sephiroth stumbled back, dropping the cup of coffee. The porcelain shattered on the hard tile and the bitter liquid splayed across the floor. Riku glared daggers at his older sibling.

"Why?!" He shouted, his cheeks red with anger. Sephiroth licked the inside of his cheek, tasting to see if there was any blood, when he was satisfied that there was an absence of the copper tasting fluid he looked the other in the eye, aqua gaze matching aqua gaze.

"I had to see if she was a money grubbing bitch like all your other girlfriends." He stated. Riku raised an eyebrow at his brother.

'She? Wait... does he think Sora's a...' Riku thought, his mind stopping in mid sentence as he burst out laughing.

"Oh this is rich!" Sephiroth glared at him, not liking the fact that he was the subject of what Riku obviously thought was humorous.

"What is so funny?" He hissed. It took Riku a good long minute to gain his previous composure before he straightened himself out.

"I think I'd rather torture you by not telling you." the shorter haired boy smirked. Sephiroth resisted the urge to tackle his sibling to the ground and pummel him until he squealed, but being the dignified and composed man he was he crossed his arms over his chest and seethed on the inside.

"So aren't you going to go after her?" Riku stiffened and walked away.

"It's better this way." It was only a whisper, which Sephiroth barely caught. As the other walked away he stared curiously at his back.
~*~

Roxas stared at Sora, who seemed disconnected from the world. This had been going on for the last three days. The blond looked over at his fellow blond. The brown eyed teen met his gaze.

"It isn't fair." Roxas grumbled, resting his chin on the table top. Hayner nodded his agreement, venturing a glance at the brunette.

"So, how long has it been?" Hayner asked. Roxas sighed.

"Three days, and all he does is sit there staring out the window. He doesn't even eat." Hayner watched the boy, he could see the hopeful look in his eyes as he watched the path leading up to the front door.

"Do you think that maybe he's waiting for that guy?" The brown eyed blond whispered, leaning close to the other boy. Roxas nodded, turning his head so he could watch his brother again.

"I know he is. It's like he'd rather waste away hoping than try to live and find happiness." The twin said miserably. Hayner leaned on the table, crossing his arms and resting his chin on them.

"I know how he feels though." Roxas looked over at Hayner, an eyebrow risen in question. The other sighed.

"I don't feel like talking about it." Hayner said, before standing up. "Well I have to go home, my dad said Rikku's coming back for a visit." Roxas winced and Hayner didn't understand why until Sora perked up, looking around excitedly. The brunette settled his excited gaze on the brown eyed youth before slumping back into his previous position. Hayner raised an eye brow and Roxas sighed.

"That's the name of his mate." Hayner made an 'o' with his mouth and nodded his understanding. Roxas stood and walked his friend to the door, they looked at each other.

"Right now he's in the denial stage of the break up, just wait a little bit longer, he'll get better." Hayner said, enveloping the depressed blond in a comforting hug. Contrary to Hayner's words, Sora didn't get better. He continually stared out the window, waiting for his absent mate to come for him. At night he would cry himself to sleep then wake up early in the morning to sit and stare. Roxas couldn't bare to see his brother in such a state. It tore him up on the inside to see his older twin suffering in such a way. The boy had grown sickeningly pale and skinny, his eyes had dark circles under them and his once vibrant and lively sapphire eyes were now a dull blue, devoid of any emotion.

Riku on the other hand was hallucinating. Everything in the apartment reminded him of the chipper brunette. On occasion he could hear Sora humming, or what sounded like the werewolf doing the dishes or laundry. When he would go to look he would find the kitchen and utility closet as empty as they used to be. Waking up in the morning was also a chore in and of itself. No longer did he have Sora to wake him up, make him breakfast or cuddle up to him and keep him warm. Lately he found himself laying in bed, staring at the ceiling for hours on end, not even bothering to get up and get ready for school.

With a sigh he turned over onto his side, staring at the sheets where Sora used to sleep before that one night of the full moon. He could almost see Sora's smiling face, his eyes sparkling as they stared at each other. Riku wanted to reach out and touch the boy, but knew that once his hand passed through the illusion his mind cast over his eyes he would be brought back to the harsh reality that he was alone again. Sora wasn't there to take care of him, and it was all his fault. So for the moment he was content to just lay there and see the Sora that wasn't really there.

A week after arriving at Destiny Island, in the mid afternoon Sora slid from his post at the window and to the floor, unconscious. Roxas ran over to him, his heart racing and his eyes wide as he shook his brother, screaming the boy's name.
~*~

Riku jumped when the jingle of his cellphone split through the silence of his apartment. Scrambling to stop the annoying noise he flipped it open agitatedly.

"Hello?" He asked, running his fingers through his hair.

"Is this Riku?" The voice on the other end asked.

"Yeah." He growled.

"Riku, this is Roxas. Something has happened." The silver haired male stiffened, his brain registering that this was the blond twin.

"What is it?" He asked hurriedly. The boy on the other end sighed.

"I-I need you to come to Destiny Island." The blond croaked.

"Wait, tell me what happened!" He demanded, but the line went dead. Shooting up he ran to the door, slipped on his shoes and grabbed his jacket before charging out the door.

In Destiny Island Roxas dropped the phone from his ear, his hands tightly clenched around it. He grit his teeth in anger and glared at the wall before him.

Four hours later Riku made it to Destiny Island. There were only three ferries a day going to the small island and the ride itself was an hour and a half. Jittery and with a nervous stomach, Riku pushed his way past people and frantically looked around for a familiar head of blond hair. When he caught sight of some gold colored spikes he moved toward them, calling out the boy's name. Sapphire eyes met aqua, and before the silver haired boy could even register what was happening, a fist connected with his cheek. He stumbled back from the sudden blow then looked at the tearful blond with a stunned expression.

"How could you!?" The boy yelled, glaring at the older teen.

"What are you talking about?" Riku shot back, his anger beginning to boil at being held up by the other's dramatics.

"If it was some stupid girl she would have cried for a few days then went on her happy way to the next guy that she found attractive. But Sora isn't like that. You're his mate, how could you abandon him like he was some piece of unwanted garbage!?" The boy growled at him. Riku grit his teeth and clenched his fist.

"He's the one who decided to leave!" the lighter haired teen snapped.

"He wanted you to stop him!" Roxas shouted, his cheeks burning red. Riku felt his temper dissipate as the boy's words sunk in.

"How was I supposed to know?" The blond scoffed, giving a humorless laugh.

"How can you not know? You're his mate, did you honestly believe he didn't want to be with you?" Roxas met Riku's aqua gaze. "There is no werewolf that would ever feel that way." Riku looked down. "So what's your excuse? You may be an ignorant human, but I know that you knew how Sora felt? So What is it? Did you not care? Did you want him to die?" The boy asked bitterly. Silver hair ruffled as the older teen's head suddenly shot up.

"D-did he die?" Riku asked, a twisting feeling made itself known in his gut.

"No, but a few more days and he would have." the werewolf said. "He collapsed from a sever case of dehydration and malnutrition." The human sighed before giving Roxas a questioning look. Sighing as well the boy went on to explain, "Ever since Sora got back he hasn't eaten and hardly drinks anything. All day he sits at the window watching and waiting for you to take him back to Twilight Town." Riku looked away, his heart clenching with shame and guilt.

"I see." He whispered then looked back up at the blond. "I want to see him." Roxas nodded and turned, walking away, Riku followed him. Minutes later found them before the door leading into the Strife residence. The blond took a deep breath and slowly opened the door, taking his shoes off and inviting the other in. Respectfully the boy slipped his shoes off as well and followed the shorter male deeper into the house.

They went up the stairs, and turned into the first room. All eyes were on them, five pairs to be exact. Riku looked around, taking in each person and guessing who they were. There was a tall man leaning against the far wall, his hair short in the back with long bangs on one side and curious blue eyes. he looked fairly young, but Riku at the moment couldn't place him as having any connection to Sora so looked to the blond woman sitting on the bed, her brilliant blue eyes seemed to be tired and dull with worry, he guessed that she must be Mrs. Strife. There was a tall man with short cut brown hair standing next to her, Riku could only assume that he was Mr. Strife. At the end of the bed, sitting in a chair was a spiky haired blond with an unreadable expression on his face, once again Riku assumed that he must be the oldest Strife brother, Cloud. Meaning that the last, a tall man with a scar running from above his right eyebrow to the left side of his nose was presumably Sora's ex-chosen mate Leon.

Riku looked past the woman on the bed and could see a lump in the sheets, he was guessing was Sora. The youngest of the occupants in the room cleared his throat, drawing everyone's gaze to him.

"This is Sora's mate, Riku." The boy introduced, then in turn began identifying each person. First pointing to the spiky haired blond, "That is mine and Sora's older brother, Cloud. Next to him his his mate Leon." Roxas gestured to the stormy eyed brunette. The two nodded their acknowledgment. Moving on, "My mother, Yuka, and father, Heath," Riku gave a curt bow to the couple closest to the slumbering brunette. "And this," Roxas said, pointing at the unidentified man leaning against the wall, "Is our pack leader and Leon's father, Laguna Loire." The man stepped forward, smiling and his eyes showing mirth.

"Nice to meet you and welcome to the pack." The tall man held out his hand which Riku nervously took. The parted and then Laguna looked at the rest of the werewolves, "I think we should give Riku and Sora some time alone." He said and walked out of the room. The rest followed, the parents throwing Riku dirty looks as the passed. Cloud and Leon silently slid by him, not even bothering to glance at him. Roxas gave him one last meaningful look before disappearing out of the door.

Now with everyone gone Riku could fully focus on Sora, who's back was turned to him. He sat on the edge first noticing that the boy was asleep, upon looking closer he found the boy to be paler than he last remembered, also that his cheeks were sunken and his eyes had dark circles, like he hadn't slept in days. His lips were pale, dry and appeared to be chapped as well. He could feel the guilt from earlier twisting in his heart, like a knife that was burying itself deeper and deeper. Lifting a hand he ran his fingers through the boys mussed locks of chocolate. Sighing he looked away.

"I really don't deserve you." He whispered before glancing back at the boy. Slowly he laid down next to the brunette and wrapped an arm around him, pressing the boy's back against his chest. It seemed like hours before he felt the boy shift and his breathing change. Sora could feel a familiar tingling warmth surround him as he woke from his deep slumber. Looking over his shoulder his tired sapphire eyes met aqua.

He smiled, turning around and pressing his face to the human's chest, believing this to be a dream like so many he had before.

"Riku." He whispered, inhaling deeply and savoring how real he seemed to smell. Riku placed a hand on the brunette's head and ran his fingers through his spikes, smiling.

"It looks like you feel better." Sora nodded happily, rubbing his cheek against the fabric of the human's shirt, lightly taking note of how it too felt real compared to his other dreams.

"This is strange." The werewolf stated, the silver haired boy looked down at his mass of spikes with a raised brow.

"What is?" He asked. Sora pursed his lips.

"This dream is different than the rest." He pointed out, looking up at Riku's amused face.

"That's because this isn't a dream Sora." The brunette pulled away and lifted a hand and pinched his cheek, surprised by the pain he felt. His cheeks flushed and he shot away from the other, his back pressed against the wall.

"W-what are you d-doing here?" The boy stuttered. Riku sat up and let a small chuckle rumble in his throat.

"I'm here to see you." Sora's eyebrows shot up to his hair line as he stared at Riku in shock.

"What for?"

"What do you mean 'what for?', because I got a call from Roxas saying that there was something wrong with you." The silver haired boy said, but instantly wished he hadn't said anything as the boy's face fell.

"Oh..." Riku licked his lips and ran his hand through his hair.

"I missed you Sora." He whispered. Sapphire eyes looked up.

"W-what?" Riku sighed heavily.

"I said that I missed you." Aqua met glassy sapphire.

"Do you mean it?" The boy croaked, his voice cracking as his eyes brimmed with tears. Riku lifted his hand and ran it through Sora's hair.

"Of course I mean it." He smiled and leaned forward, pressing his forehead against Sora's. They stared into each other's eyes. "Come home with me." Chapped lips turned up into a smile as the brunette nodded happily.
~*~Author's Corner~*~
Thank you Gnat, I was beginning to think that nobody read my little end of the chapter slurs. So thank you for letting me know. Also, out of all of my reviewers the only one that made the connection that Sephiroth thinks Sora is a girl is Lovelesssaphiregirl (or at least the only one who informed me that they knew), so give them a round of applause. Also to note, with Leon's scar I am going by what it looks like in FF8 not in KH. Oh yes and I'm sorry this took me so long to write, I just couldn't put what I wanted into words, so the end is probably pretty crappy. But there is hope! What I have planned for the next chapter, in my opinion, is really funny and you guys will probably enjoy it. I'll just say that the roles get switched.

Thank you.