Dedication: OpalLight
Happy Birthday! Sorry it's a day late... haha. Well, I hope you like it. I spent a few days prior to your birthday thinking of an amusing plot. and I don't know how this came to me. I think it was because we paused a firehouse... that makes sense.. anyhow, enjoy! And happy belated birthday, darling!

Ablaze

A resounding tune blared through the area. Such a sound caused ears to bleed, lips to frown, and eyebrows to crease. Books were slammed shut as doors were swung open. Mobs of students exited from their classrooms, flooding the grey high school halls. The area was shoulder to shoulder, back to back. The blaring continued all the while, burning into the minds of those who heard it. It was a /gentle/ mixture of chaos and annoyance. It was evident that Sora Kayaki /hated/ fire drills.

Sora hurried out his classroom, Spanish III to be exact, brown spikes tossing side to side . True, the brunet was only a sophomore and /should/ be in Spanish II, but things just played out differently. Basically, Sora was a genius. And with that came slight exile. The typical high school things But the friends he had he adored.

"Hey you," Riku cooed, appearing out nowhere from the depths of the classroom abyss. His silver hair stuck out in the mob as he shoved his way up to Sora. Once there, the tall teenager placed his hands on the brunet's shoulders.

"Oh, hey!" Sora chimed. The brunet was barely heard over the repetitive alarm. Just imagining it gave Sora a headache. "Do you think it was a planned drill?"

"Nope," said Riku. The teen smirked nonchalantly. "Teach flipped out when it went off. He started cussing and all that jazz," Riku explained as the pair moved amongst the cluster of teenage bodies.

"Maybe there's a real fire…" Sora drawled. Immediately, the boy's eyes grew to enormous proportions. "Are we going to /die?/"

Riku arched a brow. "Die?…" Riku stared at Sora for a long moment. "Someone probably just pulled it. Calm down," he reasoned. Riku's calm attitude was such a comparison to Sora's distressed persona. "Sora…"

"My ipod is in my locker!" Sora bellowed dramatically. The teen latched his hand around Riku's arm seconds later, keeping the silveret close. Only a few more feet and they'd be out of the building and into the school grounds. Only a few more steps!

"Sora, I highly doubt there's a real fire," Riku said insistently. All he got in response was a worried look from his best friend. Riku sighed and exited through the school doors. The silver haired teen pressed his hand back against the door, holding it open for Sora. And /only/ for Sora. A few 'oooh's materialized. Riku, at once, shot a fractious glare their way. Inconsiderate morons.

A rush of cold swept around the two sophomores upon exit. Sora instantly hugged his arms tight to his chest. Riku chewed on his bottom lip, attacking as if the cold did not bother him. Aquamarine eyes all the while glued to Sora's shivering body with subdued interest.

Trees outlined the school's property. Palm trees, to be exact. For such a remote area it could get /awfully/ cold. Shivers slipped down Riku's back and down to his toes, which instinctively curled. Regardless of his own uncomfortableness, Riku peeled his jacket off and wordlessly slipped it onto the brunet's thin shoulders. This produced a healthy grin from the brunet.

"Whoah," Riku suddenly said as he noticed the countless figners pointing at the stacks of smoke. "Damn, it /is/ real," he murmured. And to think moments before the silver haired male was sitting in the midst of Lively Writing, staring dejectedly at his notebook, waiting for inspiration to strike. What an odd turn of events… Sora suddenly chirped out a, "here".

'Right, attendance,' Riku reminded himself. The silver haired teen glanced back at Sora. After a moment, Riku was caught off guard. Before he could say anything to his best friend, a voice cut through his clouded mind.

"Hey flamboyant boy! Riku, right?" Riku cringed and then tensed. When he did not answer, the taunting continued. "Why aren't you groping your boyfriend? I mean, you already gave him your jacket for Christ's sake."

Rage boiled up inside Riku as his eyes narrowed. Riku silently wished that Sora would not hear the taunting, for several reasons. The biggest being that he didn't want Sora to jump to conclusions. Not after five years. Not now. When Riku did not answer the second time, a blond haired male grabbed Riku's forearm and turned the teen around.

"I'm talking to you, punk!" the man growled as his eyes narrowed at Riku.

'Seifer, go figure,' Riku thought lamely and glared back at Seifer. Why would Seifer want to start something during a fire? Where was his brain? Apparently he didn't have one. What a shame. "I would have answered you if I wanted to speak to you," Riku answered curtly.

Seifer looked thoughtful for a moment and then scowled. "You queer. Do you honestly think you can-" Seifer began but his friend latched onto his arm. "What?" he snapped.

"Just leave them alone," she grumbled, not really pleased by her friend's actions. Her dark eyes set upon Riku, showing that she wasn't standing up for him, just preventing Seifer from getting into a pointless fight. For the second time this month, that is.

"Whatever," Seifer muttered angrily. "Have fun with your gay ass boy toy," Seifer hissed and stalked off, leaving Riku in complete fury.

Idiots. Immature idiots. Don't they realize that it's getting old already? Riku sighed miserably and glanced to his right, stunned to see that Sora had suddenly appeared. The silveret paled and offered a faded but forced smile onto his lips. "Hey, Sora… Do you see the fire trucks yet?"

"Noo," Sora drawled and clung to Riku's left arm. "But you can see the flames at the top of the building if you look really hard," he pointed out, wagging his finger in the air.

"What a day," grumbled Riku as he shook his head. "First I fail my Biology test and now an actual fire. And in December too. What a wonderful day," he muttered sarcastically.

"But look on the Brightside, Riku!" Sora began happily. "If the school burns down, at least we're safe!" Sora grinned widely at his friend, instantly melting away Riku's anger with that beautiful smile of his. God, Sora looked like an angel.

"That's true," Riku agreed and stayed close to Sora, watching the smoke rise into the sky as students around them chattered and stared in horror and yet awe.

"Hey, Riku?" Sora asked as they remained standing in the grassy area.

"Hm?" Riku replied, glancing to Sora as he tilted his head. "What's up?"

"What was Seifer saying to you?…" Sora wondered nervously. "If… he said anything mean, don't listen to him. He's a jerk and … he's dumb and he's just going to end up drunk and on the side of New York City in a cardboard box!"

Riku furrowed his eyebrows. "Will he, now?" Riku proceeded to lightly chuckle.

Sora huffed irritably. "You get my point, Riku. All I'm saying is that Seifer's mean and you're my best friend and nothing he could say about you would ever change that! So don't listen to him! I like you the way you are!"

Only Sora could get away with saying something that cheesy during a fire. "I'll remember that," Riku hummed and then gingerly placed his hand onto Sora's shoulder.

"So…what were you doing when the bell of doom rang?" Sora wondered, leaning his head softly against Riku's arm. A light blush danced onto Sora's face that matched Riku's.

"Trying to write a descriptive essay about a person," Riku explained with a sigh. "I'm horrible at that. It sounded like a fifth grader wrote it." Riku groaned and rubbed his temples with his free hand.

Sora giggled. "I bet you'll do fine, Riku! You're amazing and-" Sora began but then squeaked in surprise and terror when embers from the flame danced off the top of the building and landed around ten feet away from them onto the grass. They didn't start a fire, but it was enough to perturb Sora.

"RIKU!" Sora shouted as he buried his face against his friend's arm.

And right now, Riku didn't care about the sniggers he received. "Hey, you'll be fine. It was just a few-" Riku attempted but failed when Sora slithered out of his grasps and charged towards the trees. Riku groaned and raced after him. Thank heavens the trees were only twenty feet away, in total.

"Sora, calm down!" Riku said as Sora frantically began to attempt to climb the lamppost. Riku paled. "Sora… that's not going to solve anything… you're in more danger up there…" And seeing Sora climbing up a pole really didn't set well with Riku's hormones. Not one bit. A dark scarlet appeared on Riku's cheeks as Sora sighed and slid down the pole.

"But I don't want to get burnt! I'm too young to die!" Sora shouted dramatically as he remained clinging the pole. His arms were tightly wrapped around the lamppost, refusing to let go.

"…Sora, you're an idiot," Riku decided and rolled his eyes. "If you're really that worried about getting caught on fire, come with me," Riku said and pushed past Sora, into the thicket of trees.

Sora tensed. "Riku… we'll get in trouble," Sora warned, eying his friend as he stood between two trees.

"Scared?" Riku asked, sticking his tongue out at Sora. "Would you rather get in trouble or die?" he questioned, exaggerating just the slightest.

Sora huffed once more and reluctantly let go of the cold pole. Wearily, the brunet made his way into the cluster of trees, at once feeling more safe. The brunet leaned his back against a palm tree, his head resting up against he trunk. "My stomach hurts," commented Sora.

"I bet it does. You're worrying so much," Riku informed Sora and glanced beyond the trunks of the trees to stare at the school building that was partially in flames. "This sucks…"

"I know," Sora murmured. "I mean, who doesn't want their school to burn down? You get time off, yeah, but just imagine all the time you have to make up and how much money it'll cost to get it fixed!"

"I know," Riku answered and slipped his hand back onto Sora's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, okay? Like you said, we're out here, safe."

"Mhm," Sora said and glanced over his shoulder at the mob scene. "I just wish it was a bit warmer."

"Still cold?" Riku asked as his hand that was on Sora's shoulder fell. This time, said arm wrapped securely around the brunet's waist, yanking him against his side. The mirrored blushes were undeniable. Sora tensed in his best friend's grasp and promptly stared down at his shoes. Oh, they were awfully large now that he got to looking at them…

"Riku… I'm sorry that people make fun of you," whispered Sora, not doing anything to remove himself from Riku's embrace.

Riku flinched. "It's not your fault…"

"But it is!" Sora argued stubbornly. "If it wasn't for me constantly hanging on you and clinging people wouldn't think that you're bi or something! I'm sorry! I just… I just hate not hanging out with you and I like to appreciate our time together and I know you do too and yeah!" Sora rambled.

"Listen, Sora, it's okay," Riku mumbled.

"But it's not!" Sora groaned dramatically. "I don't like people making fun of my best friend!"

"How is calling me bisexual making fun of me?" Riku felt compelled to ask. Aquamarine eyes locked with blue ones, and the fire behind them suddenly seemed irreverent. Sora winced and began to breathe unevenly. Something serious and different was suddenly in his best friend's eyes. It startled the brunet.

"I'm … sorry?" Sora attempted.

"It's not what they're calling me that bothers me, but the fact that they're making fun of me because of it is what pisses me off," Riku made known with a dark glare sent at Sora. Pure, innocent Sora.

And Sora was suddenly frozen. "Huh?…"

"Do I have to spell it out?" Riku grumbled and looked off to the right, appearing quite hurt. "I like guys. Is there a problem?"

Sora blinked. And blinked again. "How do you… know?"

And Riku just knew Sora was going to ask that. "When you find yourself day dreaming about making out with another guy and groping him, yeah, you kind of assume that you swing both ways. Especially when you enjoy those thoughts." Riku kept his gaze away from Sora's, uncertain how his best friend would react.

"Er…hehe…" Sora nervously laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. "D-day dream?…"

"Yeah," Riku mumbled dejectedly. "Don't ask anything else, please. I'm really not in the mood to explain it."

Sora ignored this request. "Is there anyone in particular you like?" Sora asked, tilting his head to the side. "Anyone?… At all?"

Riku wearily looked back and his gaze widened when he saw a flicker of hope etched into Sora's eyes. "…Why?" he asked, absently licking his bottom lip. Sora was just so irresistible. And not even the blaring of fire trucks could alter that.

"Because," Sora drawled and crossed his arms to his chest. "Tell me, pleasee?"

"What do I get in return for telling you?" Riku wondered, biting his bottom lip quite nervously. He wasn't going to tell Sora his secret for free. No way. No how.

"Er…" Sora laughed and then looked down at his feet. "Something."

"Such as?" Riku rose his hand and placed it on Sora's cheek reassuringly. Sora lifted his gaze and nervously met his friend's. Riku said nothing and stared back into blue eyes that were gleaming with hope and hidden desire. And Riku couldn't deny the fact that Sora was leaning incredibly closer.

"S-something," Sora repeated and nervously pressed his lips up against Riku's, having to stand up on his toes to do such. A wave of warmth covered Sora and engulfed him as he shakily placed his hands onto Riku's chest for support.

Riku's eyes widened and then he eased himself into the kiss, arms automatically reaching out to wrap around Sora. And for some reason, being hidden within the palm trees added some sort of romantic ambiance. Maybe it was all in Sora's head. He didn't care. Not one bit. And Riku didn't care either. All Riku cared about was hungrily returning the chaste kisses, massaging Sora's back by creating incoherent shapes. All he cared about was his best friend.

Sora broke away and gasped for air, a pretty pink color swirling onto his cheeks. "That," he said quietly, licking his lips, shivering when he tasted Riku from moments before.

"Was that just to take your mind off the fire and your burning Ipod?" Riku asked curiously, pulling Sora flush to his chest, an undeniable smile on his face.

"Riku, you're such a jerk," Sora groaned and buried his face against his friend's chest. "Can't you be serious for like, one minute?" Sora requested.

"I could be, but where's the fun in that?" Riku inquired, placing a ginger kiss to the top of Sora's head. And he adored how Sora shivered in his grasps. "Oh… and by the way, I do like someone. Namely you… you aren't creeped out by that, right?"

Sora appeared contemplative. "… We're not gonna stop being best friends, right? I never wanna not be your friend and I-" Sora began in a worried ramble.

"You're so stupid," Riku teased and brushed his fingers through Sora's hair. "We'll be friends forever, regardless."

Sora laughed and nuzzled closer. "No matter what, right?"

"Right," Riku replied. "I mean, we already survived a fire. What else could go wrong?" Riku laughed and then suddenly paled when he realized what he had said. "…I take that back. I'd rather not have anything else go wrong."

And all Sora could do was laugh as they remained hidden in the depth of the palm trees, secluded and yet right at home. Best friends, boyfriends… it was all the same. But at least now they had someone to hold while the fire burned, symbolizing their undeniable attraction and perhaps, with time, love.