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Rerise and Fall 1: Drabbles
X-POSTED to khyaoi & riku_x_sora

These are three Drabbles from my in-process arc, Rerise and Fall. They take place during the first story, Falling into Sunrise. ^^; These will probably make more sense if you've read the story itself.

Drabbles from Falling into Sunrise

Drabbles from Rerise & Fall Arc
By tsukinofaerii
Beta: lyakahime
Rating: SNIP
Generic/Romance
Warnings: Sexual, Male/Male
Spoilers: Falling Into Sunrise. Game-Canon.
Series: Kingdom Hearts
Pairings: Sora/Riku(Sora)

Summary: Various stories from the Rerise and Fall Arc. Complete drabbles.

This story is a work of transformative fiction, such being defined as a work which incorporates characters and situations which have been created by other authors/artists. No infringement of copyright is intended and no profit is being made from the creation or dissemination of this work. Kingdom Hearts was created and is owned by Tetsuya Nomura and Disney. It is used with respect and admiration for the work.

A/N: Lyaka, as always, is amazingly wonderful. ^_^ I don't know what I'd do without her.

Bruises
Sunlight scattered into broken shadows as it poured through the palm trees overhead. They were in the heart of summer, when the heat sucked the energy out of everything and left shells of life behind. Riku sprawled over sand that was too warm for comfort even in the shade and tried to keep inside the shadow of the palms. Behind him, firmly away from the sun, Sora was out cold, taken by another fit just before lunch time. That had been hours ago.

Sora had always been clumsy and awkward, in a way. When he didn't think about what he was doing, things got broken or he tripped and ended up with another bruise or scrape. It was the exact opposite of the way he fought. Focused, he was deadly grace and precise movement. The contradiction was one of the many things Riku had always found endearing about him, though he'd never admit it. The evidence of his klutziness had always been a topic of teasing when they were kids, each and every bump counted and remembered for another instance of pure Sora.

Now, the bruises were from falling when he blacked out, or from the things he did in those blank times. Of all their friends, only Riku dared to mention them anymore, and never to joke about. Their friendship was still too freshly repaired, too tender to take chances with, and facing the darkness in Sora's eyes whenever his blackouts were brought up was too large a risk to take. Riku was aware, too aware, that every moment he had with Sora was a gift, a second chance that only Sora would ever give him. It was a precious, fragile thing. He wouldn't waste it.

Kisses
Sunset; sunrise; sunset. The simple pattern soothed something deep inside Riku, anchoring him to each day as it came. It was easier to forget the darkness watching the light go about its routine, knowing that it would always come back. No matter what else was happening or how bad the weather was, he made a point to go to Play Island and watch the sun. He'd only missed it twice; both were times when Sora had blacked out and needed him.

There were docks scattered all around the island, but the one leading to the paopu tree had the best view of the sunrise. Sora always watched with him, or maybe he watched with Sora; their backs to the tree, hands twined. He wasn't sure what to make of that last detail, but he suspected Sora didn't either.

It was another sunrise, their thirty-sixth since returning, when the detail snapped into perspective. The last bit of dawn had faded into blue, and Riku's watch said that they had almost a half hour before they were late to their classes. Sora's tie was undone, and sand was in Riku's shoes. The day was already threatening to warm into tropical heat, but it wasn't yet hot enough that he couldn't feel the body next to him, so close their clothes were touching. Sora was fiddling with Riku's fingers, turning his hand over and counting the fingertips blindly over and over, as though he could discover something amazing if he only counted enough times. It sent pleasant, if weird, feelings all the way up his arm to his spine, so he let it go on until his watch beeped a thirty minute warning.

Sora fumbled his hand guiltily, voice barely a sigh in the morning stillness. "We should go."

"Yeah." Riku tried to soak in the last of the dawn and the closeness of his best friend, but the moment had ended. He turned his head, expecting to see Sora still staring into space. He meant to make a joke about being late, or maybe their horrible math scores, but he ended up looking from one expanse of blue into another, altogether different one.

He'd never be sure which one of them leaned in first, and eventually decided that it didn't matter, outside of a long line of one-upmanship that had only ever brought them pain. His heart pounded as the first terrifying and exhilarating brush of lips brought the delicate resurrection of their friendship crashing down, and the shards started to take the shape of something even more precious. It was like the world was ending all over again, only this time Sora had never let go of his hand. Riku gripped it like it was all he needed to stop the darkness from taking everything away.

They barely parted when it was over, a couple of inches to breathe and rethink everything they'd ever been. Riku felt like his mind had stumbled against a wall. Every time he tried to think of something to say, Sora would move or breathe and it would all fly away again. The other boy was strangely quiet, almost content, as he watched Riku struggle for words.

In the end, Riku gave up and just kissed him again, a feather-soft thing that was almost gone in a breath, except that Sora followed him back for another, and another. Sora was a hot weight against his chest, under his hands. It was easy to return the kisses, the curious touches that opened collars and discarded jackets. He ended up pressed against the paopu tree, out of breath and disheveled as his watch beeped the hour.

"We're late," he murmured, discovering the hollow of Sora's throat with his teeth before finding his lips again. "We're going to be in trouble."

Sora's laugh was something more felt than heard, a chuckle in the back of his throat that made Riku's hands tighten on his hips. "So?" he asked, fingers curling into Riku's hair, voice thick with amusement and something that curled up hot and needy in Riku's chest. "We're good at being in trouble."

Scars
Sora knew that Riku had scars. He saw them sometimes, traced them with his fingers and tongue when they snuck into each others' rooms and the scars were silvered by moonlight. Riku didn't like to talk about them. He said they weren't important, that they didn't matter, but little by little Sora pieced together what Riku didn't say. The one over his heart was from where a Heartless came close, too close, to winning. A thick line over his back and hip marked where he'd rescued Sora from Xemnas. Countless of little circular ones were scattered like old blisters, from trials by fire and lightning. Each and every one was a reminder of the darkness Riku had wrapped himself in, of the times he'd risked his life time and again for someone he was sure would turn him away when it was over with. Every place the sun would never kiss to a golden tan, each mark and line was another memory Riku wanted to and wouldn't let himself forget. Even old ones, from wooden swords and beach rocks, only brought to mind a boy so filled with arrogance and jealousy that he'd almost killed his best friend for it.

So Sora didn't mention them, didn't ever tell him what they were to him. They were a reminder of when Riku went to the end of the world for him, expecting nothing except to somehow save Sora and vanish back into obscurity. He couldn't speak of the familiar, comforting scars left from days of sunshine and laughter before the dark times that ate them all and left them afraid of themselves. What he couldn't say, he showed, with lingering touches and special attention paid whenever a piece of imperfect skin was revealed. Every sigh, every gasp he held close to his heart, locking them away until he'd have enough good memories of them to show Riku. Maybe then they could let go of the darkness together.