vatheon | Do they complicate you?

Sora opened the door to the apartment and stepped inside. He'd stuck around at the party until everyone else had left. It had been his gathering so it would have been in rather poor taste if he'd left early. Still his mind hadn't been completely there no matter how much he'd wanted to enjoy it afterward.

It made his heart hurt to think he'd put both Riku and Roxas into such an awkward situation. Even more so that neither seemed willing to try and work it out only ignore it, at least that was the impression he'd gotten. He sighed a bit to himself as he stepped inside and closed the door behind him.

Riku was silent for a moment when he heard the door close behind someone, already gathering who it would be just by footfalls alone. After all, Master Terra probably wouldn't be back for a little longer... The scent of something not burning right away in the kitchen probably gave him away, though.

He wasn't as good as Kairi, and definitely not as great as their moms, but hey. You learn a few things spending a year almost completely alone.

At least it was better than Sora's own failed attempts to cook anything. He just needed someone to actually sit down and show him, but at least he could make a mean sandwich on his own. He wasn't even paying attention to the sounds of cooking as he wandered into the kitchen to get something to eat, and maybe just something to drink when he paused and saw Riku's back.

For once Sora didn't know what to say to his best friend. He was a little angry with him for several reasons and he wasn't entirely sure he wanted to see him right now, but he shouldn't have been surprised that Riku was home either. Besides at least Sora understood some things couldn't be avoided.

"Riku."

So long as nothing exploded and remained behind the stove, everything was going to be fine... At least that was what Riku told himself.

He turned the stove off when he heard the footsteps behind him, not really prepared to face whatever anger and hurt Sora would certainly be feeling toward him right now. Especially since he had no idea what Roxas had told him... but he wasn't going to be running this time. He'd had enough of that for a lifetime or twelve.

"...Sora." He braced himself, glancing over his shoulder. How did he even begin to fix this, if it was possible at all?

Sora was just as lost on that as Riku. He crossed his arms over his chest not sure what to say and hating it.

He looked away then until he finally spoke, his voice quiet.

"Why didn't you tell me?" So that was where Sora was going to start. It was one of two elephants currently in the room, and honestly Sora wasn't sure which was bigger.

It was probable the silence that hurt most, especially since Sora was always the more outgoing and cheerful of the two of them. It wasn't like them at all to be like this, and he hated it with every fiber of his being. He knew he shouldn't be keeping so many secrets from his best friend, knew he should trust him, but with every time they both left him behind... even if it wasn't their faults...

Karma was a bitch.

"...I don't know," he began, glancing back down with a sigh. "Maybe I was just trying to figure things out before I told anyone. Never was good at just following my heart." Because he can't, or he'd be enslaved to his emotions whether good or bad... and that moment where he lost control and saw nothing but red and darkness would be so constant that he'd just- be lost. He just didn't want to screw up another friendship again, and yet he may have anyway.

"I'm sorry." And coming from Riku... it took a lot to even think those two words in one sentence.

Sora knew that. Riku was never the apologizing type, but at least when he did do it Sora knew he meant it. Still it hurt to know that Riku would have kept a secret so big from Sora. Especially after all they'd been through together. Even if Sora had only been here for a few months, at least that he remembered, he coudn't understand where it was fair to him to have been kept in the dark.

"Don't you trust me?" It hurt to even ask the question. "Did you think I'd judge you or something?" Yeah it was strange to Sora that Riku was dating someone, a guy no less, but after having the bomb dropped on him by Demyx and Lea nothing could really surprise him. Besides if Riku was happy what did it matter who he was with boy or girl? Sora would be happy for him either way, but this...this hurt.

Those words hurt more than an axe-sword to the abdomen or a chakram to the spine, but he didn't budge. He had to have been ready for this at some point, but no kind of mental preparation would ever soften those kinds of blows.

"...No, I didn't." More like he hadn't thought about it at all. "I know you better than that. Especially after all I did..." Riku hesitated to say it, but turned around so Sora could see his face. He wasn't lying about it, and the past few months have been hell for him. He just... didn't want to burden someone so close to him with all of it. "Sometimes I trust you more than I trust myself."

"Riku..." Sora turned to face his friend almost at the exact same moment. His own bright blue eyes seemed darker than normal with sadness, and those words didn't really help either. He hated when Riku beat himself up over that, and it was as if Sora already knew what the other was thinking. "You shouldn't say things like that."

He smiles softly. "I trust you, you know?"

It wasn't exactly beating himself up anymore than it was a wake up call. During his time here, he'd grown complacent and lowered his guard a bit. That in and of itself was dangerous with a few certain people around. Add the few people he grew close to either dying or being sent home again to not come back... even if they did return, he felt isolated because he had all these memories of times they'd spent together that they didn't. Nothing was fair, here.

"Glad one of us does." Despite his words, he couldn't help the smirk crossing his lips. Typical Sora, always trusting and befriending everyone he meets unless they were complete jerks. "I...kind of lost it the last time anything happened to you or Kairi."

Sora frowns a bit, but it stays on his face as Riku talks. What had happened the last time? Sora always feels guilty about that, even if it's nothing he could control. The lack of memories of times they would have spent together here.

It feels like a betrayal to Riku to not remember any of it.

"What happened the last time?"

That was why he tried not to bring it up as much as possible. He didn't need Sora to worry about something he had no power over, not when it was enough that he had to deal with the backlash of not remembering what happened the first time he'd apparently been here, too. Something that had to do with a doctor who smelled so similar to him it nearly made Riku sick to his stomach every time he accidentally came across the guy.

He sighed, leaning against the counter near the stove.

"Before you arrived this time, Kairi was here before. Back then I still had to wear the blindfold to keep the truth hidden..." the truth of how far he'd fallen trying to find a way to bring someone back, and that someone was standing right in front of him. That fact in and of itself struck a chord somewhere, but he ignored it for the sake of continuing. "There was a kraken attack, and I lost sight of everything but the need to keep her safe. Not long after that, she fell into one of the infamous sleep comas and disappeared."

"It wasn't much longer before another you arrived, and things seemed fine... until someone tried cooking when I was asleep for a week." Oh, there was a little bit of amusement there. "...but then you fell asleep, too. One day I came back from my rounds, and you were gone too."

All Riku does is sigh, but it should be obvious how it affected him. Especially given that year-long nap someone took back home...

Sora stays quiet as he listens. He looks down at the floor though as Riku talks. Somehow he still feels guilty for this. It was only a small snippet of what Riku had to deal with but it only threw into sharper relief how hard things must have been for him. He'd lost Sora and Kairi so many times already...maybe it wasn't a surprise then that Riku had kept Katsu a secret. Maybe it was a small miracle that the two had gotten together at all.

What was to stop one or the other from leaving?

"I..." Sora spoke quietly once Riku was finished. "I don't know how people leave, but...I don't plan on going anywhere." He wasn't sure how much of a promise that could be, but at least there was one thing he knew for sure. "Even if I do disappear, you know I'm always with you, Riku." He looked up fully and gave one of those smiles that could have out shined the sun. "I can't leave you alone for too long."

A small portion, but one Riku didn't mind at all if it meant his friends were safe. Whether it was here or back home didn't matter so much to him anymore, but he won't deny that it gets lonely and maybe even a little overwhelming... It was a surprise he was still on his feet, really. Realizing that this was probably the longest time he can remember Sora actually staying here.

Riku fell into silence for a little while, to his thoughts until he heard Sora speak up. Kairi had promised him the same thing before she vanished, too. That she'd be there to help him through and they'd share everything about what had happened while they were separated by fate. Yet the city had decided to take her, anyway. It was downright cruel like that.

Yet he knew he wasn't her fault, just like it wasn't Sora's fault for not knowing what that meant. That's why he only kept the reaction to a slight grimace before responding. "Yeah, I know. 'sides, even if you did leave, you'd end up finding your way back somehow."

How many times did that heart of his even lead him to others and he not realize it? Riku couldn't help the faint smirk. This was a nice respite... for now.

Sora's grin widened a bit. "You know bet!" If there was one thing Sora was good at it was letting his heart guide him.

The smile softened then as he looked at Riku. That took care of one elephant. At least for the most part. "You and Katsu really care about each other huh?"

Truth be told, Sora was just a little jealous, but he was glad Riku was happy.

Sora, you're too good of a person sometimes. Right now was one fine example of it.

Riku nodded at the question, that faint smirk not yet disappearing. Yeah, he does care about him... even lost it when he was killed once. Though that was not something he was prepared to share with the class just yet. In fact, it made part of him wonder if he was even ready to handle a relationship like this if he couldn't control his anger. If he lost control again...

"Yeah." Now all that he waited on was the second elephant to be addressed... or he could bring it up, himself. "...How's Roxas holding up after-?"

Yeah...

Hello Dumbo number 2...

Sora looked back down. Now there was another issue. Really how could he start to explain how Roxas was feeling?

"He's not exactly happy." Which was putting it mildly. He looked back up at Riku. "Riku, why can't you just try and talk it out, I know things weren't exactly ideal between you two, but it doesn't have to be that way here!"

At least Sora didn't think so. Not when Roxas was able to exist on his own away from Sora.

Poor Dumbo.

"...I figured as much." Riku glanced away at the pleading, trying to think before letting his emotions got the better of him again. There was only so much he could do, but at the same time... Roxas had to be willing enough to listen.

"It's a lot more complicated than that, Sora. If we try, it'll probably end up in another fight." For some reason, he chuckled. "His temper's a lot shorter than yours."

"It's not like I don't know that." Trust him he remembered what that fight had been like. Roxas was strong and oddly enough a lot of things that Sora wasn't. They were almost like day and night sometimes.

"Still...if you could just talk about this and..." Then something Roxas had said came into Sora's mind. He looked back up at Riku, almost worried to hear what the answer would be. "Riku, you don't think Roxas is...expendable do you?"

One of the many reasons he had to cheat... but Sora may not know about that one just yet. Riku crossed his arms and frowned, thinking back on those days maybe a little more than he should.

"I don't." Yet he kept his face unreadable, because it felt like part of the puzzle was missing... now that he thought back on it. "Roxas doesn't know this, but when Ansem had him isolated in the digital Twilight Town, I was collecting clues and trying to convince him to give Roxas more freedom. Even if it was for just a short amount of time."

Riku felt like he owed him that much, considering his fate.

"If anyone thought Nobodies were expendable, it was Ansem the Wise before I knocked some sense into him." After all, for the longest time... Riku sighed. "No one deserves what he did to Roxas and wanted me to do to Naminé."

"Then why can't you tell him that?" Relief flooded Sora to hear that. He trusted Riku perfectly so he never once doubted his words. "Maybe if you told him that you two could at least be in the same place together!"

It was a desperate bid, but it was something Sora wanted. Riku was his best friend, and Roxas was practically his other half his brother if only by words alone. He didn't want them hating each other. What good would that do either of them?

Riku was briefly taken aback, but he stopped himself when he saw the look in Sora's eyes. "...It isn't a problem of not being able to tell him." If that were the case, things would be so much easier. "It's if he even wants to listen to someone who helped to cause what happened to him in the long run."

And that hurt the most. Hell, he knew Sora had a point in there somewhere. Unfortunately he and Roxas were ticking time bombs whenever left in the same room together.

"He's not unreasonable, Riku!" Sora snapped a little, but he couldn't help it. Yeah both boys had a shorter fuse than Sora did so maybe his judgement on it wasn't the best, but he still thought they could actually talk things out instead of beating each other over the head with their keyblades.

"If you just tried to tell him the truth..." But would Roxas actually listen? Sora may have trusted Riku completely but there was no saying that Roxas did. Actually it was probably the exact opposite.

The older of the two quirked an eyebrow. Sora. Sora, no. Do not lose your temper with him right now. That is a bad thing when he's tried to remain calm all day-

"I'm not opposed to trying, Sora." Riku snapped back, a little defensive. "I'm just saying that things may not turn out all that great since he doesn't trust me. And really, I can't blame him for hating my guts." Because he was an ass when they first met. Even when- Oh, okay. What was with the sudden slight headache?

Eh, it was probably nothing.

Sora scowled a bit though it came off as more of a pout. He looked away not wanting to give Riku the satisfaction of seeing the look on his face though it might have been too late.

"I care about you both." Sora continued to keep his face turned away. "I just want everyone to get along."

It seemed a dying wish. At least if the two boys tried to talk to one another even if it started one sided maybe it would get somewhere. "Roxas thinks you just see him as a Nobody..." He can't help but remember what Estelle had said about that either. She had seemed so shocked to hear that anyone could call someone that regardless of how complex the situation was. "He's more than that, and..." Sora didn't know what to say anymore.

"...he developed his own sense of self." Riku decided to finish the sentence for him, uncrossing his arms. "It's almost unique, for someone like him."

At least, as far as he's witnessed. After all, most of the Organization had been pretty big on the whole 'we are nothing' spiel. Not to mention seemed to love the Dark when he spoke with a few members in Castle Oblivion. Roxas and Naminé seemed to be the exceptions to the general rule compared to the others he'd met during all of his own journey.

"...I'll try talking to him, but not yet. If my guess is right, he needs a little space when it comes to me right now." The last thing he was going to do was get himself killed.

Sora nodded. He felt Axel was the same, but that wasn't really a conversation for now anyway.

"Thanks, Riku." Sora knew he could trust Riku to do just that, and he wasn't looking to get Riku killed either. One death in the group was more than enough.

Do they complicate you?

So doing third because all the introspection is going to make it that way anyway

Yeeep... Sob.

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