A/N: This is long lol. This whole fic has been both fun to write and a pain to write, honestly. I think I've come a long way from where I was when I started this to where I am now, but RikuSoraRiku is still the pairing that got me into buttsecksing fun, so they're always close to me when I do shipfic. Not much else to say other than thanks again to Chibinekodoll for betaing and being lovely. Please tell me what you guys think? I don't write fluff very often so, hopefully it ended up okay.

Warning, also: lemonishness near the end between the boys. :)

-

It was raining- pouring torrents outside and for once, Sora was happy- it meant he didn't have to go to work today. Riku would be getting home in half an hour, and Aya was due home at any time. Sighing, Sora sprawled out on the couch, tucking one arm under a pillow and throwing the other over his eyes. Radiant Garden was a nice place to live, he thought absently, listening to the sound of the rain dripping off of the roof and hitting the ground. He didn't regret being there- not in the slightest. Riku was here and Aya had grown on him instantly and-

The door clicked open suddenly and then closed again leaving a dripping wet Aya standing there, still holding her small pink umbrella over her head. Her jacket looked larger than normal, something odd, but Sora supposed she'd put her backpack under it so it wouldn't get wet when she came home.

"Hey, did you have a good time at school?" he asked, standing up and walking over to go and help her take off the boots and put the umbrella away. To his surprise she made a startled noise, fumbled around, kicked her boots off and thrust the umbrella in his hand before scrambling off to her room. "…Aya? Are you okay?"

"Fine! 'mfinereally!" came the muffled call back, along with what sounded like her rearranging things in her room.

"Ahuh…" Sora raised an eyebrow but decided to leave it alone- he didn't have much experience with kids, maybe it was just one of those...things they did. She was Riku's kid and Riku was a little…interesting himself, so maybe it was his genes or something. Sighing again, he made his way to the kitchen to grab a rag to mop up the floor, setting her boots to the side of the door and on top of the doormat meant for that kind of thing. It was quiet in the house again, save for the distant sounds of her moving around in her room, until the door suddenly opened again, only this time it hit Sora, knocking him to the side with the force that the door was pushed.

"Ow, shi-…" he winced, gingerly pushing himself up and glaring at the older man. "Crap, Riku. You want to open that a little harder? I don't think anything's broken but you're welcome to try again."

Riku looked suitably cowed at that, shrugging off his jacket and hanging it on the hooks on the back of the door with the rest of the coats. "How was I supposed to know you were there? Normal people don't lurk behind a door, you know." He grinned sheepishly down at Sora, offering a hand up.

Rolling his eyes, Sora took it and moved to stand up, only to slip back down with the combination of Riku's rain-damp hands and the water all over the entrance. Landing hard back down on his ass was apparently the funniest thing that Riku had seen all day, because he wasn't even trying to hide his laughter anymore and it only grew when he caught the sulky, irritated look on Sora's face.

"You're a jerk, Riku," Sora scowled his cheeks pink, only to find a smile curling his lips at the infectious laughter. Once more he accepted the hand offered to him, this time with no problems aside from the fact his pants were soaked and his socks were leaving little trails of water wherever he walked. "Glad I amuse you."

Riku chuckled again, shaking his head absently and sending water droplets flying. "I love a source of entertainment and it just so happens to be that one lives with me." He glanced around the room, taking note of the small pink boots and umbrella already in their places. "Aya's here?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, she got here about ten minutes before you did. She's in her room doing… Well, I don't know exactly what it is that she's doing, but yeah, she's here," Sora grimaced at the squishy feel of his socks and the way his pants stuck wetly to his legs. "I'm going to go change, I think. Is it my turn to make dinner?"

Riku shrugged, dragging his hands through his hair and wincing when it snagged on a knot. "I think so- if you want to, you can. Or if you want me to, it doesn't really matter to me. I'm going to go and take a hot shower and then change." He tugged his hand through his hair again and scowled.

"I'll cook, it's no big deal, you go ahead and shower, and I'll go check and see what Aya's doing right now," Sora moved to walk past Riku, startled when his wrist was grabbed gently and he was pulled back and face-to-face with the older man. "…Riku?"

Riku looked puzzled for a moment, as if he didn't quite know what to say or, if he did know, how to go about saying it. Because, honestly, how did one even thank someone for what Sora had done so far. 'Thanks for putting up with my disappearing acts. Thanks for giving me a second, third and even fourth chance when I really didn't deserve it.' "I just…" Riku paused and laughed sheepishly once more, yet he didn't release Sora's wrist. "Thanks. For everything."

"You don't have to say that," Sora couldn't help the smile that curled his lips as he moved closer, sliding his hand down and intertwining their fingers while his other hand found its way around Riku's waist. There was a brief moment of quiet, before he tilted his head up at the same time as Riku ducked his down and Sora was sure he was going to either explode from happiness or hit Riku for taking so damn long to do anything. Pulling back briefly, Sora glanced up into Riku's eyes and then they were kissing again, lightly and almost teasingly, but gods knew that it was a step in the right direction after everything that they had gone through.

"No! What are- stoooop!"

Riku jerked back, his eyes wide, fully expecting to see Aya standing there; instead, the loud shrieking was coming from her room. "Gods help us all." He rolled his eyes, resting his forehead against Sora's. "I'd better change, I'm dripping all over the floor."

"I noticed. I'll see what she's going on about and see if she wants to help make dinner. After she goes to bed maybe… maybe we could talk?" Sora looked up at Riku, relieved when the taller man nodded before pulling away. "Alright. It's a plan, then."

-

It looked, Sora mused, like someone had dropped a bomb in Aya's room. There were clothes everywhere, her pencils strewn across the floor (…were they…chewed on? He hoped she wouldn't get poisoned or something equally bad but weren't those kind of things supposed to be non-toxic?) and the entire room was just… "Aya? What's going on?"

"Nothi-" Came Aya's muffled voice, from inside the closet. What sounded like nails scraping against the wall followed, and then a "SHHHHH!"

"Aya, what do you have in there, a wild animal?" Sora asked jokingly, sliding open the closet and then raising an eyebrow. "…Oh. You do."

The little girl looked ruffled to say the least, with her arms wrapped around the lanky form of a muddy puppy with brown eyes. "He's lost," she said quietly, uncaring that the mud had carried off from the dog and onto her. "And it's raining and I couldn't leave him, 'cause…he's cute and lost. And please don't tell daddy 'cause I like him an' he's lost an' he has nowhere to go and I really, really, really like him and I'll take care of him, I swear. I won't eat as much and I can feed him and let him out when dad's at work and please-"

Sora knelt down, reaching out a hand and scratching the dog behind the ear with a sigh. "Aya, your dad's going to notice that something's up, you know that." The puppy whined as if it knew that it was being talked about, worming his way out of Aya's arms and licking Sora's hand. "Do you know how much work a dog is?"

"Some. A lot," she crossed her arms and tried to wipe away a streak of mud on her face. "Probably."

"Yeah, lots. You're right. And you've never had a pet before, have you?" Sora sighed, making a face at the mud that covered his hand. "They're lots of work and I doubt that this one is potty-trained."

"But," Aya sniffed and curled her arms around her legs. "But he's lost and alone. I promise to take really good care of him, really."

Sora drew in a breath and then released it, trying to figure out what to do. The dog seemed to be well behaved enough, obviously liked children and if Aya was right and it didn't have anyone to live with, then…well, he'd always liked dogs. "I'll ask your father, but no promises, okay? It's up to him and what he says goes, alright?'

Aya nodded, huddling up to the dog and giggling quietly when it licked her cheek. "Do you like him?"

Eyes even wider than before, Sora drew back and tried to think about what to say. She was perceptive but had she really picked up on his and Riku's relationship (or, rather, lack thereof so far)? Were they too obvious? "W-what do you mean?"

"The puppy," she stated, giving him a look that quite clearly said she thought he was stupid. "Do you like him?"

"Oh. Oh. Yes, he's very… nice, even if he's covered in mud. How about you go take a bath really quickly, put all your muddy clothes in a separate pile by your clothes hamper, and I'll figure out what to do with the dog, okay?"

Aya let out a gleeful giggle, throwing herself at the brunet man and nearly kicking the dog in the process. Holding her back so the mud wouldn't get tracked to him as well, Sora couldn't help but wonder what he had just gotten himself into.

--

"…What is that?" Riku asked quietly, taking in the sight of a pajama-clad Aya, sweater and jeans clothed Sora, and what was most certainly a muddy puppy all standing in his kitchen.

"It's a puppy," Sora and Aya said at the same time, accompanied with a bark by said puppy.

"I see that. Why is it in the kitchen?" Riku glanced from each face and then down to the dog. "…It's getting mud on my floors." The puppy whined again, trotting over and moving as if he was going to rub against Riku's leg. "No! Bad- um- muddy, wet dog."

Surprisingly, the dog listened, pausing and sitting obediently with its tongue hanging out.

"He behaves well, he's good with kids, he doesn't have a home," Sora shrugged, leaning back against the counter.

"It's a dog. We're not all home all the time- who would watch it while we're not here?" Riku glanced down at the puppy once more and then at his daughter who was pouting. Even Sora was allied against him. "He's a lot of work. I'm sure there's a place that takes in stray animals, we can-"

Aya darted in front of the puppy, her arms crossed and sniffing. "But, but he's cute."

"Ri, could it hurt anything?" Sora asked quietly, watching as Aya stood protectively in front of the puppy.

"Sora. Do you remember when we were kids? Remember that goldfish you had? Remember the other two you got after that? And then the bird after those? Remember the cat after that?" Riku pinched the bridge of his nose, sure that a headache was coming on if he had to deal with two puppy-wanters. "Remember the trend here? They all lasted like a month, if that."

There was a sharp gasp from the little girl who was giving Sora an accusing look. "You killed your pets?" Aya turned her attention to her father. "He didn't…eat them, did he?"

Sora shot Riku a dirty look that clearly said, 'it's your fault that your daughter thinks I kill animals for fun.' (Besides, it hadn't been intentional-he was young! How was he supposed to know that goldfish didn't like people food when they were out of fish-food? And birds, well, it wasn't his fault that Kairi's cat ate both of them- he thought that it would be nice if they got out and stretched their wings; how was he supposed to know that Albert was lurking around? And the cat…well, they didn't talk about Sora Jr.).

"What? No! I didn't kill them or eat them! They- um. We gave them away. Because… because-"

"They're a lot of work. He gave them away because they're a lot of work and Sora-"

Raising an eyebrow, Sora waited for Riku to finish the sentence and snickered when he didn't.

Dragging a hand through his hair, Riku fought the urge to sigh again. "Why don't you go change into your bathing suit and take the puppy into the bathroom and we can give it a bath so it's not tracking mud all around, okay? Don't start the water, but just wait for one of us."

Aya's face brightened instantly, assured that someone (besides the puppy, of course) was on her side. Clapping her hands she cooed to the puppy, giggling when it followed her, licking her hand every once in a while.

Both men were left in the dining room, one irritated, the other vaguely amused at the situation. "What's it going to hurt, Riku? If we're gone during the day, we can take him to Aerith. You know she loves animals," Sora stepped closer until there were only a few inches between them, lightly wrapping his arms around Riku's waist. "And, he's cute. You seem to have this thing for taking in strays, why stop now?"

Riku rolled his eyes, draping his arms over Sora's shoulders. "You aren't a stray, Sora, and you know that." He tilted his head to the side a little and pressed a hesitant kiss to Sora's lips. "You've got no idea how glad I am that you're here with me."

A quiet, pleased noise escaped the brunet man, a smile curling his lips at the warmth that rose in him at those words. "I'm glad, too," he said quietly, meeting Riku halfway for another light kiss and then another and another and he finally moved one hand up and over to curl around the base of Riku's neck and pull him a little closer, parting his lips.

Nipping Riku's bottom lip gently, he gradually deepened it, his tongue exploring Riku's mouth slowly, relieved when the older man groaned quietly and kissed him back. This… Sora thought distantly, this is how it should have been. He broke away for a minute, meeting Riku's half-open eyes and feeling his stomach tighten when they darkened with something he'd come to recognize early on- lust. "Ri, the puppy- mmm…" Sora shivered pleasantly, moaning quietly at the mix of the kiss and the way Riku's hand had begun to wander, slipping under his shirt across his torso gently.

Turnabout was fair-play, Sora figured distantly as his own fingers worked on slipping under Riku's shirt and exploring warm skin that was oh-so-familiar.

"Aya…" Riku whispered against Sora's lips. The brunet released a shaky breath, arching into wandering hands with another soft moan. "I need to check on Aya and… gods. I can't believe I let you talk me into this."

Victory. Grinning triumphantly, Sora planted another kiss on Riku's lips and then forced himself to pull back before they got started again- no matter how much he wanted to. "I'll help her wash the puppy, since you already took a shower. Do you want to handle dinner?"

"Yeah, yeah, I suppose. Don't tell her we're keeping it yet, we'll talk about it over dinner," Riku dragged a hand through his bangs, licking his lips absently and laughing quietly when Sora poked him in the side as if admonishing him for it. "After dinner. We'll talk after dinner."

-x-

The puppy, when not covered in mud and soaking wet, was actually even cuter. It was a dark, rich brown with long legs that Sora supposed he would grow into eventually- rather, they'd found out while bathing it that it wasn't a male, but a girl. Aya had been entirely too happy about it, gleefully talking about how more puppies would come. Somehow, Sora highly doubted that Riku would agree to such a thing, no matter how much munny or kisses were offered; he wasn't about to tell Aya that, though.

Freshly washed and toweled down, Sora told Aya to change back into her clothes and take the dog out into the kitchen with Riku while he changed as well, his clothes just about as wet as the dog itself.

When he came out, Aya was sitting on the ground with the puppy in her lap, holding it close and watching her father with the pout still on her lips. "Sora likes her, don't you?" She asked as soon as she caught sight of the brunet.

"Aya, it's up to your father, not to me, because I'm not the one who owns the house," Sora shot Riku a look, wondering when he would break the news.

"Everyone sit down first and let's get ready to eat and then we can talk about the dog," Riku handed Sora the glasses and Aya a few spoons, joining them at the table with bowls of soup for all of them. Bread and cheese were already sitting out, along with apple and grape juice (Aya switched from day to day which one she liked more). "Remember how much work we said a puppy is?"

"Lots," Aya responded, gesturing to the apple juice and taking a sip when it was poured for her. "Lots and lots. But I can do it, I promise!"

Riku propped his chin up on one hand, examining her for a moment before sighing quietly. "What are you going to name her?"

The shriek of joy that followed made Sora wince and wonder if it was natural for a little girl to make that sharp of a noise. In a slightly clumsy move, she made her way to her father and kissed him on the cheek. Scrambling away from the table for a moment, she threw her arms around the puppy that whined softly and licked her cheek.

"Well? What do you want to call her? She can't go around without a name." Riku took a sip of grape juice, meeting Sora's eyes from across the table. "And just so you know, if she makes a mess, you and Sora get to clean it up."

"What? Ri- it's your dog!" Sora kicked Riku under the table. "Your house, remember?"

"Ah, no, I think it was you who wanted to keep her, so that makes her your responsibility," The grin widened at the noise that escaped Sora; a mix between irritated and resigned. "She seems to be well enough behaved; I wouldn't worry about it too much. Aya, come up here and eat and we'll discuss a name for your dog."

Practically skipping back she bounced in her chair grabbing a piece of bread and dipping it in her soup before taking a bite. "Princess!" she proclaimed.

"Hey, no talking with your mouth open," Riku said with the ease of someone who'd said the same thing over and over. "And 'Princess'?"

Sora's noise wrinkled at the name, imagining calling that out every time they looked for her. Thankfully, Aya seemed to agree. "Nooo, how about…" She made a face as she thought. "Flower?"

Both Riku and Sora winced at that. "What about Goofy?" Sora suggested with a grin. "Or better yet, Donald."

"Those are boy names! You can't name a girl puppy a boy puppy's name!"

Riku shot Sora a nasty look; it was common knowledge that it was best if the magician and the older Keyblade wielder stayed far apart because they had never gotten along.

"Maleficent?" he suggested, taking a spoonful of the soup, ignoring the vaguely amused look Sora sent him. "Right…maybe not the greatest name around here."

Sora shrugged, scooping up the last spoonful of his soup and turning slightly to scan the countertops. "Hey, Ri. Do we have any muffins left?"

"Muffin!" Aya's arm shot up, still holding her spoon. "We can call her Muffin!"

As if in agreement, the puppy sniffled quietly before lying down again.

"…Muffin?" Sora echoed.

"Yes, Muffin! Muffin's the best name!

"I suppose Muffin's the least disagreeable name we've come up with so far," Riku admitted slowly. "And no, we don't. I had the last one for breakfast this morning."

Dinner went smoothly after that, the newly named "Muffin" getting most of the leftovers until they could go and buy dog food tomorrow morning. Aya was told to let Muffin out into the back yard to use the restroom while staying off the wet grass, while the two men worked on cleaning up the kitchen.

"I suppose that Muffin isn't too bad," Sora said dubiously, running dishes through the water and scrubbing them with the sponge. "I mean, compared to Princess and Flower, it's the greatest name ever."

Riku nodded, taking the clean plate that Sora held out and swiping a towel over it a few times to dry it. "It's much better than Sora Jr.," he teased, leaning over to put the plate away where it belonged. "He's much cuter than you are, too, you know."

Sora raised an eyebrow and the look on his face made Riku wonder just what it was he was going to say. "Riku, I didn't know you were into…that. I mean, you know, if you are, that's your choice, but-"

Mouth working silently for a moment, the older man felt a laugh escape. "You're sick." Riku elbowed the brunet, glad that Aya wasn't around so he wouldn't have to answer any questions of what Sora was talking about. "And, if my memory is correct –which it is, unless someone's been messing with it again- then I seem to remember a certain little brunet boy wandering around with a dog and a duck for the better part of a year or two. I wouldn't be pointing fingers there, Sora."

Snickering quietly and a little more than mildly grossed out at the prospect of doing anything with the magician and knight, Sora finished up the dishes and flicked the last bit of water at the other man.

"Oh, no, we're not starting that up again," Riku warned, pushing Sora's hand down and attempting a scolding glare. "Nice try though."

Smiling wryly, Sora grabbed Riku's wrist and pulled him close for a short kiss, keeping it light and teasing. The ability to do this, the familiarity of it, all of it made Sora feel a million times better than he could remember feeling recently, because things were coming together.

--

It had taken a few minutes to get comfortable; the couch in Riku's living room wasn't really meant to fit two fully grown men, but they made it work. Back pressed to the couch, Riku was half on his side and half on his back with Sora pressed up against him snugly, the two of them fitting nearly perfectly together. Sighing, Sora shifted a little bit and draped an arm around Riku's waist, resting his cheek on the man's chest. The house was quiet for the first time in a few weeks- it wasn't often that they got it to just themselves, even if it was for only a short time.

"What time do you think Aya'll come back?" Sora asked, making a pleased noise and arching his back slightly when Riku's fingers moved in warm circles over the small of his back, relaxing him much more.

"I don't know. Probably after dinner would be my guess, but it depends on who's at the birthday party. Aerith already said that she'd take care of getting Aya home, so that gives us a little more time I suppose," Riku relaxed back into the couch, the warmth from Sora's body and the contentment he felt at that point lulling him and making him sleepy.

"Remind me to thank her later," Sora murmured, his voice sounding just as tired. The day really hadn't been that hard, Cid had let him off early and when he had gotten home, Riku was already there, but he supposed that it was the quiet contentment that was making his eyes slowly fall shut. "Aren't we a little old for naptime?"

Riku laughed, shifting so he could drape his other arm around Sora just as comfortably. "Never too old."

"Mmmhmm," Sora drew in a deep breath and then sighed, dangerously close to falling asleep himself. "We'll wake up after half an hour or so, right?"

"Mmhmm," Riku echoed, though the response was less than firm. A few minutes later, both were asleep.

-x-

Knocking once on the door and then a second time a little harder got Aerith nowhere. Aya had said that they might be out or even asleep and that all she needed were her pajamas and the teddy bear with the blue ribbon around its neck, not the one with the pink one. Opening the door, she toed off her shoes, letting Muffin off of her leash and then glanced around.

"Riku? Sora?" She took a few steps forward into the living room. "Are you ho- oh."

Both men were still asleep, curled up snugly on the tan couch. Muffin ignored them, jumping up onto the small chair, shaking herself and then curling up in the seat. As quietly as she could, Aerith made her way to Aya's room, picking out the necessary things and putting them in the small duffle bag that the girl normally used when she spent the night elsewhere. The teddy bear was placed in last ("Be careful! You don't want him to suf-stuff- suffocated," Aya had declared), and she zipped it up carefully before heading back out to the kitchen to look for a piece of paper. There were none- or if there were, Riku's neatness had hid them away from anyone; she'd have to wake one of them up so they actually knew where Aya was.

Muffin cracked an eye open at the soft footsteps of the brunette, closing it again a moment later.

Hesitantly, Aerith reached out and shook Sora's shoulder as gently as she could, relieved when he woke up without too much trouble.

"Mmwha…" Sora blinked, shifting and pulling away a little bit from Riku. Why was Aerith here without Aya? Blinking once, he tried to keep his mind from going to the worst possible scenario and settled for a simple question. "Aerith? Where's A-"

"She's spending the night at Sana's house, I figured I'd just come over and get her things and tell you. I couldn't find any paper to write you a note- Riku-"

Oh. "Is a neat-freak, yeah," Sora couldn't help the flush on his cheeks at being caught in such a compromising and obvious situation, but forced it down as he tried to slide away from Riku in an attempt to stand up. Stirring slightly, Riku's green eyes opened as he tried to figure out why Sora was getting up.

"S'Aya here?" He asked, his voice rough from slight disuse. Blinking, he lifted his arm and felt Sora move away, the reason becoming clear a second later. "Aerith!"

Laughing quietly at twin looks of embarrassment, she shook the little duffle bag to draw their attention to it. "Aya's sleeping over at Sana's house, so you have this night to yourselves. I tried to find a pen and paper to let the two of you know, but I didn't have any luck."

Yawning, Riku shook his head. "No, no, you're fine. Uhmm. Thanks, by the way. What time am I supposed to go and get her?"

"A little after lunch, her mother said. Sorry about having to wake you two up," she smiled, tucking her bangs behind one ear. With a nod to both of them, she made her way out, waving slightly at the hesitant replies of, "Thanks," and "'Night."

When the door clicked behind her, Sora couldn't help the sigh of relief. "That was a little awkward," he murmured, turning and looking down at Riku. "But, this is the first time since I've been here that we've had the house to ourselves."

The subtle question was there, the question that both of them had been dancing around for the longest time because neither one had wanted to give life to it. Riku nodded, trying to think about what to say but instead settling on sitting up slightly and pulling Sora down to meet him.

"I…" Sora shifted, kneeling so he was straddling one of Riku's thighs in a bit of a more comfortable position. "We…"

"I don't remember you being this shy, Sora," Riku teased gently, a small smile on his lips as he placed his hands gently on Sora's slender hips. "I keep on saying it, I'm glad you're here; I want you to stay here if you want to. I'm not going to force-"

Sora shook his head, wrapping his arms around Riku's neck and bent forward a little so his forehead was pressed to Riku's, his gaze steady. "I know you won't, stupid. I know." He tilted his head to the side a little, kissing Riku's barely parted lips once, twice and a third time, each one light and fleeting. How did he go about explaining that there was that nagging doubt inside him that wouldn't die no matter how much he tried to convince himself of the truth? It wasn't that he doubted Riku, but there was that part of his heart that told him to stay away or get hurt again.

'No, Riku wouldn't. Not again.' Sora pressed another kiss to Riku's lips, light but not moving away this time, simply keeping it shallow and licking Riku's bottom lip gently before pressing forward a little more when Riku made a soft noise and reciprocated just as gently. A few long moments later, they parted for a breath, lips shining, and then they were kissing again.

There was hardly any of the previous awkwardness that had plagued them earlier; it took no coaxing for either man to part their lips and deepen it. Almost instantly, Riku tangled his fingers in Sora's hair, drawing the brunet's bottom lip into his mouth and sucking on it teasingly. Moaning quietly, Sora pushed Riku down a little until he was lying flat on his back, following the move easily and kneeling between Riku's parted legs. Pulling away with a soft, wet sound, he panted for breath and arranged himself a little more comfortably with both of his elbows propping him up over the older man. It took only a second for Riku to shift one of his legs and push Sora's knees out so he fell practically right on top of him. Startled, Sora jerked his head up and regarded a smirking Riku with wide blue eyes.

"What?" Riku asked impishly, one hand sliding down to the small of Sora's back, fingers tracing slowly across the barely bared flesh between the blue shirt and comfortable pants. The full-body shudder and the darkening of clear blue eyes made Riku draw in a sharp breath and tug him up for another kiss, just as warm as before only there was the added sensation of closeness that both of them had been missing previously. A small, needy noise escaped Sora when Riku's hand went dangerously close over his ass, teasing him while raising the question he'd been meaning to ask. "…Is this… Is this okay? I mean, it's been years and I don't want to ruin wh-nnnh."

Sora shifted up, pressing his lips to Riku's ear and nipping at the lobe teasingly. "Stop asking. It's always been fine with me, Ri. Always."

His hips moved a little bringing a shock of heat zinging through both of them and with a short, sharp breath he did it again, grinding teasingly, smiling against Riku's neck when he groaned quietly and dug his fingers into Sora's waist.

"Always," he said again, shifting one hand down and maneuvering it so it was slipping under the loose shirt Riku wore, exploring taunt, warm skin.

Briefly, Riku wondered if he could switch their positions without making them fall off of the couch, but it was turned a moot point when Sora arched his back and somehow overbalanced the two sending them sprawling on the ground in a tangled mess of arms and legs. Groaning in a way that had nothing to do with pleasure, Riku attempted to disentangle himself from the other man, wincing when he got an accidental elbow in the side.

"Ngh," he finally managed, sitting up and slouching against the couch. The mood should have been killed, but one look at Sora's bright eyes made a small smile curl his lips as well. This… was right, this was familiar; no matter what happened, this was for them and no one else. "Remind me to put in carpet later."

Sora's grin was positively devious now as he crawled forward and knelt, straddling Riku's thighs. "Or, we could be like normal people and use the bed. We've got the entire night, remember?" He nipped at Riku's bottom lip, utterly playful now. "Unless we were planning on using the floor?"

Riku returned the grin, moving to get up and then offering a helping hand to the brunet. The moment they were both standing up, they were kissing again, awkwardly stepping around furniture that was placed in their way while trying to keep the kiss going. A quiet laugh escaped Sora when Riku ran back-first into one of the walls, grunting quietly when Sora tripped and fell against him, snickering quietly.

"So, tell me, Keyblade master," Riku murmured, his hands once more sliding under the hooded sweatshirt Sora wore, "did you use the unending grace to defeat evil?"

Scowling, Sora nipped at Riku's jaw before trailing his lips down and focusing on a spot that he remembered from years ago was sensitive. "No," Sora mouthed against the skin there while his hands trailed up Riku's sides. "It was because I'm the best out there," he teased and smirked up at the man, feigning a lofty expression that was lost when his eyes closed after one of Riku's hands cupped his ass promisingly.

Riku laughed at that, nudging Sora's arms up and pulling his shirt up and over the brunet's head with ease. "I thought that arrogance was my area?" He inquired, absently trailing his fingertips over warm flesh and smirking at the shudder he got in return. Pressing his lips to Sora's shoulder, he was still for a moment, content to just stand there and let his mind fully comprehend the fact that Sora was there. As sappy or dare he say, girly, as it sounded, he was so relieved that Sora was still around, that he hadn't left like he'd always feared.

"Riku," Sora arched against Riku's body, tilting his head back when the older man licked at his throat. "C-come o-nnhh, Riku."

Sora pushed him away just enough to grab his arm and drag him toward the bedroom. The moment they stepped through the doorway seemed to cue the true rush to touch as much skin as possible while divesting each other of that obnoxious thing called clothing. This time it was him purposely pushing Riku up to the wall, tugging up the loose edges of his shirt and fighting to get it off while Riku's own hands were skimming where his pants were, fingertips ghosting under the edges just the smallest bit. "Lift your arms, jerk."

Rolling his eyes, he took care of discarding his shirt himself, throwing it across the room with uncharacteristic carelessness. Kissing Sora hard, he groaned quietly when one of the brunet's hands slid from his stomach up to his chest, ghosting over one of his nipples.

"Pants," Sora moaned into Riku's mouth, arching into the man and kissing back just as hard. It didn't take a genius to figure out what Sora meant by that. Riku's fingers worked quickly and flicked open the button to Sora's jeans, pushing them down the slightest bit and then smirked when Sora pulled back and glared. "I meant your pants."

"Oh?" Riku shrugged. "'Pants' is kind of a broa…ahh…shi- Sora."

Smirking smugly at the rushed exhale, Sora pressed a line of kisses down Riku's chest, lingering on the nipple he had been playing with a moment ago and licking it teasingly. Occupying himself with that for a moment, he worked on unfastening the button to Riku's pants and pushing them down as much as he could. At a gentle push against his shoulders, he drew back and Riku kicked his pants away leaving him standing in simple black boxers.

In a daring move he didn't think he had in him, he slid to his knees, hands sliding down Riku's waist and resting low on his hips, his lips pressed just above the line of his boxers. Glancing up, Sora shivered pleasantly when he saw the open look of hunger in Riku's lust-darkened blue-green eyes. Suddenly almost shy –no, not shy, more hesitant- Sora opened his mouth to ask if it- this- was okay, only to have Riku drag his fingers through his hair.

"Remember what you said? You don't need to ask, Sora," he said, his voice only the slightest bit strained. "In fact, I'd really rather you didn't."

Laughing quietly, Sora slipped his fingers under the edge of Riku's boxers, pulling them down and letting them fall to the ground, curling his fingers around Riku's erection and smiling when he heard the shaky exhale of Riku's breath.

A moment later, Riku was certain that the hottest thing he had ever seen was Sora's lips wrapped around him, cheeks flushed and eyes bright. Tilting his head back, he swallowed hard, sifting his fingers through spiked hair and groaning when Sora did that thing with his tongue that he used to do when they were younger.

"Sora, come on, I'm not going to last if you keep doing that," Riku ordered hoarsely, tugging gently on Sora's hair and shuddering when Sora moaned low in his throat and set a wave of heat through his body. The brunet slid his hand up and down, following the movements of his head as he worked Riku's length. His other hand moved between Riku's legs, cupping his balls teasingly. "Sora."

Sora drew back slowly with a wet noise, his hand taking the place of his mouth as he slowly stood up and licked his lips; the salty, bitter taste not bothering him in the slightest. The time after that was a pleasantly blurred rush, from Riku's breathy moans, to the feel of hot skin under his hands and Riku's larger ones on his skin in return.

"Love you," Riku had groaned into Sora's mouth, kissing him gently and Sora had only been able to choke out a reply before arching his back and snapping his hips up with a strained moan.

That had been the highlight of his night, Sora mused absently, moments after coming and still basking in the afterglow that came after amazingly good sex. Riku's fingers were trailing across the small of his back gently; the slow, steady rhythm of their breathing lulling both of them to sleep.

-

Riku yawned, shifting in the bed only to find himself tangled in the sheets and with a warm brunet man who made a muffled noise of protest when the older one moved.

"S'too early," Sora slurred, opening his eyes a little and glaring at the open window. "Ti'm's it?"

A smile firmly on his lips, Riku glanced over at the clock and then intertwined their legs, grimacing when cold morning air met his toes.

"Push the covers over a little," he said, nudging Sora with his elbow. Another noise met his ears as he felt Sora kick a little and then twist the sheets around with his free hand so they were covered completely. "Seven."

"S'way too early." As if to enforce this, he tucked his head under Riku's chin, using the silver-haired man's arm as a pillow and throwing an arm around his waist, fingers brushing the small of his back. Here, Sora thought sleepily, here is where he always wanted to be. Here is where he and Riku should have been for the past few years, here they could have been if they hadn't been so stubborn.

'Doesn't matter anymore,' another voice said. 'You're here now.'

And it was true.

-

…The end. No, seriously. There will be nothing more to this little AU, just so you all know. XD I have so many other things that I need to work on/I am working on at the moment that it's not even funny. Music Box is still back there, plus so many other fics. If you'd like to keep up on what's coming up/going on, the link to my LJ is in my profile. Also, reviews are wonderful, really. On another note, this took me a very, very long time and I worked hard on it, even though it isn't one of my favorite fics. Please, if you even just liked a little of this, leave a review? Hell, even if you didn't like, tell me why. I adore hearing what you all think.