Hey, all. Okay I wrote this for Riku-Rocks' birthday and honestly, I'm not terribly happy with it. Sooo, this is now b-day gift one. There will be a second separate one coming later. Anyway, Happy Birthday!!!

Into the Woods

"That was really good today." Zell tapped Riku's shoulder. "I'll make a real fighter out of you yet."

"You know, I honestly didn't think I'd like hand-to-hand combat all that much but I really do." Riku commented as two walked the path back to town. "There's something very… invigorating about it."

The tattooed blonde nodded. "Yeah. Did Zack show you that sweep kick?"

"Well, he started to. I had trouble grasping it when he was explaining it but then Cloud took over and I picked it up almost instantly." The teen shrugged. "I suppose that shouldn't surprise me."

"I don't even pretend to understand any of that weird brother/mother/whatever stuff."

"Just leave it at anyone with Jenova cells is connected."

"Yeah, whatever." Zell laughed. "It's all psycho-babble to me."

They approached Leon's house and Riku found himself really looking forward to getting inside. He had been experiencing that a lot lately… "Do you know if Zack still wants all of us to get together tomorrow?"

"No idea." Zell shook his head. "I haven't seen him today."

Riku nodded as they stopped before the few steps that would led him into what was now home. "You heading over to the hot dog stand?"

"Yep." Zell looked excited. "It's doing really well. We sell out nearly everyday and I mean actually sell out. It's not the employees eating them."

"Cool, then we'll probably see each other tomorrow."

Zell waved goodbye and headed further down the street. Riku watched him for a moment before turning to regard the house he stood in front of. He always liked Leon's house. It was a small two-story, finished in the same design as most of the houses on Radiant Garden. It somehow really suited its owner.

Shaking his head at himself, Riku reminded himself yet again that it was now his house also.

Riku entered the building, a tired smile on his face. He kicked off his shoes at the door and proceeded to the kitchen for some water. He could smell vegetable stir-fry and the smile brightened.

Walking into the kitchen, he fixed his gaze on Leon at the stove. The man looked perfectly at home cooking dinner. Riku found he rather liked seeing Leon so relaxed.

"How did sparring go?"

Shrugging indifferently, Riku retrieved his desired bottle of water. "Good."

"Did you go to the same spot?" Riku had discovered a clearing in the forest that he had taken an unusual liking to. It seemed to have become his un-official training grounds.

"Yeah." The sixteen-year-old came over and stood beside the older man. "Did you put zucchini in there?"

"Yes."

"You hate zucchini."

"Yes, but you love it." Leon stated simply. "I can deal."

Riku grinned up at him and kissed his cheek. "Thank you."

"Whatever." There was a faint smile on his scarred face.

"Don't you whatever me." Riku wrapped his arms around Leon's waist from the left. This allowed Leon to keep working without him getting in the way too much. "You know you don't have to keep doing all these little things for me. I'm not going anywhere."

Leon stopped shifting around vegetables and turned within the teen's arms. He gazed at him for a moment before dipping down and briefly capturing his lips. He then went back to dinner. "I know."

Riku moved away. "Is that almost done?"

"Actually, it's finished now." Leon shut off the heat. "Why?"

"I was thinking about taking a quick shower." The teen answered. He removed two plates from a cabinet and brought them over to the stove. He scooped some rice out of the rice cooker. "However it can wait until after dinner."

"One of the nice side-effects of you doing all of this training is you're actually hungry when you get home." Leon spooned the stir-fry on to the plated rice.

"I guess." Riku took both plates to the table, Leon getting their drinks and following. "I was getting pretty bad about eating."

They sat across from one another, Riku offering Leon a soft smile before digging into his food. The older man watched him for a moment before also eating. Comfortable silence fell between them, occasionally broken by brief bits of conversation.

Once finished, Riku stood to collect the empty plates but Leon stopped him. "Go take your shower, I've got this."

Riku shook his head, taking the plates anyway. He grinned and bit his lip as he purposely brushed past Leon. "I need you to wash my hair."

The sable-haired man quirked an eyebrow, watching Riku disappear into the kitchen. "Do you now?"

Riku returned a moment later. He wrapped his arms around Leon's waist and aqua eyes gazed up into steel-blue with a very suggestive look. "Definitely. You're just so good with your hands."

Leon smiled, angling his head down to meet Riku's lips in an intense kiss. The teen tightened his hold on Leon's waist, sighing happily into the kiss. When Leon's left hand crept up his back, pushing up his shirt, Riku shivered and pressed his body in closer.

Leon's mouth moved away from Riku's lips only to run along fine jaw and down to slim neck, earning a soft moan. Riku's hands moved forward to tug insistently at Leon's white shirt. Leon's own wandering hand traced along the waist of Riku's jeans.

Both had forgotten about the shower.

Giving up on removing the shirt, not wanting Leon's mouth to leave his neck for even a moment, Riku instead managed to slip his fingers into the older man's leather pants. Leon made a noise in the back of his throat and began walking Riku toward the couch. Once there, he gently pushed the teen down upon it.

Riku reached up to grip Leon's shaggy hair and tugged him down by it, triggering a bruising meeting of lips. Leon knelt nearly on top of him, one knee between Riku's legs, the opposite foot on the floor. Riku was again tugging at Leon's shirt.

A sudden insistent rapping sounded from the front door.

They managed to ignore it the first time but on the second round, Leon groaned and dropped his head on Riku's shoulder. "If this isn't a major catastrophe, whoever it is is dead."

Riku chuckled a bit breathlessly. He sat up and straightened himself out as Leon stalked to the front door and threw it open. Sora and Zack strode in, completely oblivious to the death glare Leon was giving them. The ex-SOLDIER had the Buster Sword on his back.

"We've got a problem." Zack began, turning around to face Leon. He caught sight of Riku on the couch first, taking in the teen's disheveled appearance before glancing at Leon and grinning. "We totally interrupted something, didn't we?"

Sora looked between the two and blushed. He gave his best friend a sheepish grin. "Sorry."

Riku waved it off as Leon slammed the door. He nearly growled out his question. "What's wrong?"

Zack was immediately serious again. "Three kids from the orphanage are missing. Apparently, they had been out playing near the forest. According to one of the other kids, there's a long running story about the woods being haunted. One of the boys got the idea to go ghost hunting and convinced two of the others to go with him."

"They haven't come back." Sora finished.

"When did they do this?" Riku stood up and headed for the door. There he began putting on his shoes. Leon was already pulling on his boots.

"Some time this afternoon." Sora frowned. "That forest is huge."

"Yeah, and seriously dangerous." Riku added. "Maleficent's people didn't like going in there."

"Cloud and Zell are already out there." Zack explained as Leon retrieved Revolver.

The former SeeD grabbed his jacket from Riku and opened the door. "Let's go."

--0—0—

The moon was nearly full, giving them some light to work with. They all knew that once they really got into the forest, that light would rapidly diminish. Approaching the tree line, the small group began looking over the area.

"Any idea where Cloud and Zell went?" asked Leon.

"Cloud said they would search along the eastern edge." Zack explained. He shifted the enormous sword on his back.

"All right, we go in pairs. Zack and Sora take the west, Riku and I will go up the center."

"I found Cloud." Riku murmured in a distracted manner. "He's about a mile in."

Leon nodded. It was times like these he was thankful for Riku's unique abilities. It was because of those that they were taking the largest section. "Let's go. We all meet up at the river bend in two hours."

They split off, Zack and Sora both throwing waves over their shoulders and Zack smirking. "You two actually look. I don't want to find Riku covered in dirt with leaves in his hair."

Leon blew out a breath. "I like Zack but one of these days I'm going to kill him."

Riku grinned and began walking into the forest. Leon was a step behind him and in a moment fell in beside him. In an absent manner, the teen reached over and lightly gripped Leon's hand. He didn't let go.

It became very dark rather quickly and Leon found himself struggling to see more than five feet around him. Riku, however, was obviously having no such trouble. Slightly glowing aqua eyes scanned around methodically.

"You getting anything?" Leon whispered. He had no really reason for being so quiet but there was something spooky about the woods surrounding them.

"No," Riku spoke softly and slowly. He bit his lip. "I totally understand why people say this place is haunted. It's creepy in here."

Leon nodded agreement. There was a sudden rustling several feet to the right and Leon nearly jumped. A small animal scurried out from the underbrush.

"Jumpy?" Riku smirked at him. Leon shot him a mild glare.

Grinning, the teen squeezed Leon's hand and they continued. An hour passed and they found no sign of the missing kids. Several more small animals crossed their path and a few larger ones watched them from a distance. Fortunately, none of them tried to attack.

"We aren't getting very far with this." Leon noted, pausing in one of the clearings.

"Yeah," Something to the left caught Riku's attention. He released Leon's hand and moved slowly in that direction, eyes narrowed. "I think there's a shack over there."

"Where?" Leon looked over but saw nothing.

"About a hundred yards this way." Riku began climbing through the brush.

Leon reluctantly followed, Gunblade drawn in case anything came at them from the thick foliage around them. Something squeaked loudly as he stepped on it and he involuntarily flinched. A few feet ahead, Riku was having no issues.

A small structure began appearing as they got closer. Several boards from the side facing them were missing and a few hung down, broken. Green vines crept up the edges, reaching the flat roof.

The rough terrain smoothed out approximately a dozen yards from the building. Riku waited for Leon to catch up, head angled as if listening. When Leon stopped beside him, he glanced over. There was confusion in his eyes. "Sephiroth is out here somewhere."

"What?" Leon frowned heavily. "What the hell is he doing out here?"

"I don't know." Riku shook his head as he spoke.

A muffled cry drifted from the shack.

Riku and Leon reacted immediately. Together, they bolted for the front of the dwelling, flanking the rickety door. Knowing that Riku would already understand what he wanted to do, Leon kicked the door open. It ended up falling off its hinges and crashing to the dirt floor.

Riku ducked in the moment it settled and headed for the far left corner. There was an over-turned table there and a moldy piece of cloth draped between it and the wall. It made for a nice little hiding spot.

He paused before it and when Leon stepped in, Riku motioned him to hang back. Cautiously, the silvered teen took a few steps forward. Standing to the side, he took hold of the fabric and pulled it back.

A young girl of about six screamed and balled herself up in the corner.

"It's all right." Riku assured her quietly. Leon heard something peculiar in his voice and a sudden sense of peace and reassurance filled him. The girl stopped screaming at the same moment.

Filing the event away along with the other unusual things about Riku's abilities they needed to learn more about, Leon decided it was safe for him to move in closer. He took up the spot Riku had been at as the boy rounded the table and knelt before the child. The girl stared at the young man with frightened eyes.

"My name's Riku and this is Leon." Riku continued speaking in the oddly soothing tone. "Are you okay?"

The girl shook her head and pointed at her ankle. With tears on her cheeks, she hiccupped. "We were in here playing and one of the ghosts pushed me and hurt my foot."

"Okay. Where did the others go?"

She sniffled. "They went to get help. Me and Boots hid back here from the ghosts."

"Boots?" Leon asked.

"Uh huh, she's the kitten we found." The little black-haired girl moved around so that she was sitting up fully. Wedged in the very corner was a small black and white kitten. "See? It looks like she's got boots on. I think she's a she but Fred says she's a boy."

Riku flicked his eyes up at Leon, a faint smile coming to him despite the deep concern in his eyes. They still needed to find the boys but they could not leave the girl behind. She was going to have to come with them.

He returned his attention to the child. "What's your name?"

"Natasha."

"Okay, Natasha, I'm going to fix your ankle but it's going to hurt when I do it." Riku spoke calmly. He gently placed a hand on the injured appendage. His other hand touched the girl's face. "You ready?"

She nodded and a moment later, cried out as light enveloped her ankle. She dove forward and threw herself into Riku's chest. He wrapped her in an embrace and shushed her.

Leon watched this, feeling a smile try to work its way on to his face. He had never seen Riku act this way and he rather liked seeing it. The teen was really wonderful with children.

Riku glanced up and narrowed his eyes suspiciously at Leon. The man turned away and walked a few steps to the door. "We need to meet up with the others at the river bend soon."

"Yeah. Okay, Natasha, we need you to come with us. We're going to find the others." Riku released the girl and stood.

Natasha stared up at him with wide eyes. "What about the ghosts?"

"Don't worry." Leon smiled reassuringly. "They won't bother us."

"I can't leave Boots!" The girl turned and picked up the kitten. She clutched the tiny animal to her chest. "The ghosts will come after her!"

"Boots can come with." Riku grinned. He held out a hand. "Come on."

Natasha took it with a shy grin, holding Boots awkwardly in one small hand. They followed Leon outside and looked around. There was no actual pathway in any direction from the shack. They were going to have to go through the brush again.

Leon gave Riku a brief look. "I guess we just backtrack."

Riku nodded, glancing down at Natasha. He bit his lip, realizing the girl was going to have difficulties keeping up with them. Someone was going to have to carry her.

Leon suddenly knelt before the girl. "You think Boots will fit inside one of Riku's big jeans pockets?"

Natasha studied the pocket and nodded.

"Think she'd like to ride in there?" Leon continued. "It would be a nice safe place where the ghosts couldn't see her."

"Yeah," agreed Natasha.

The sable-haired man gently took the kitten from her and with a slightly suggestive smile, pulled on Riku's pants pocket. He dropped the kitten inside it, purposely tracing his hand along the teen's hip as he did. At Riku's minute reaction to the touch, the smile became a bit larger.

He then turned back to the girl. "…And you get to take a ride on my back."

She looked at him uncertainly, flicking her eyes at Riku. "…But the ghosts…"

Leon folded his arms. "I want you to be my lookout. You'll be able to see better up on my back and you can tell me if you see any ghosts, okay?"

She nodded excitedly. Leon hunched over a little and the girl scrambled up for her piggy-back ride. Once she was settled, Leon stood. He caught Riku watching him closely, and simply nodded for Riku to lead the way.

--0—0—

As they approached the river, they could hear Zack shouting for Cloud to calm down. Leon shared a quick look with Riku, whose eyes clearly expressed the reason for the shouting. Sephiroth was at the bend.

Riku jogged ahead, careful not to jar the kitten in his pocket too much. He came around one of the boulders just as Cloud tried launching himself at the winged man. Zack leapt in front of him, placing both hands on the blonde's shoulders.

"Spike, chill."

Cloud snarled around Zack's shoulder. "He did something, Zack! He had to have!"

"Cloud," pleaded Zack, trying to get his best friend to focus on him.

Riku moved so that he also stood between Sephiroth and Cloud. He regarded the former general warily. "What did you do?"

Sephiroth's shoulder wing twitched lazily. "I merely came to inform Zackary and Cloud that I had located two stray children near the rapids and that they had since been taken to where they belong. Cloud is unwilling to accept my words."

Riku studied Sephiroth a moment. He narrowed his eyes. "I asked you to stop messing with him."

"I am doing no such thing." Sephiroth protested. "I gave you my word that I would leave Strife alone and I have. It is not my fault that he cannot accept that and keeps returning to me."

"You fucking-" Cloud began, trying to slip past Zack again.

"Cloud, forget it!" Sora shouted from the river bank where he stood with Zell. The pair had decided to stay well away from the situation. "You know he's just goading you!"

Cloud stared at Sephiroth. "You swear you did nothing to those kids."

"On my own child's life."

Cloud threw a brief glare at Riku. The fight left him and he turned on his heel. "Fine. Then get the hell out of here."

"Such gratitude." Sephiroth smirked.

Zack sighed, turning toward the older silver-haired man. "Seph-"

"Go attend to your friend, Zackary." Sephiroth spat out. There was barely recognizable hurt in his voice. He glanced in the direction Leon and Natasha were hiding. "I am relieved to know the girl has been found."

Deciding it was safe, Leon came out from behind the boulder. The girl on his back stared at Sephiroth then looked at Riku. "Is that your daddy?"

Riku flicked his eyes toward Sephiroth. "Something like that."

Sephiroth kept his gaze on Riku a moment longer before teleporting away. Zack's violet eyes were heavy and he went after Cloud.

Riku blew out a breath and faced Leon, who was rapidly approaching him. Once beside him, he reached out and touched Riku's face. He did not ask if Riku was all right, he simply waited for Riku to look at him. When the teen did, there was sadness to his expression but also a trace of hope.

Zell and Sora came over, the blonde smirking at Leon. "Well don't you two look adorable."

"Hi, Sora!" Natasha greeted the spiky brunette brightly. She let go of Leon's neck and held out her arms for Sora to pull her away. "Did you come lookin' for us too?"

"Yep." Sora took the girl and set her on the ground. "What happened?"

"Why don't you have her explain on the way back?" Leon suggested.

"Okay. Come on, Nit-Nat." Sora grinned. "You can tell me and Zell all about it."

"Okay!" She moved to follow the two but stopped abruptly. She turned around and ran to Riku. "Where's Boots?"

"She's right here." Riku carefully reached in his pocket and removed the sleeping kitten. Before handing it over, he quickly checked the underside. "…And you're right, Boots is a girl."

Natasha grinned brightly, taking the kitten. Holding it close, she skipped back over to Sora and Zell. The three began leaving but Natasha paused. "Are you two coming?"

"You go on." Leon instructed, watching Riku walk closer to the water. "We can find our way back."

"Uh, okay," She sounded uncertain but hopped up onto Zell's back when he knelt down.

Sora mumbled to himself as they left. "I'm more worried about us finding our way back…"

They disappeared, following the direction Cloud and Zack had gone. Leon moved toward Riku, wrapping his arms around the teen's shoulders when he reached him. Riku lifted one hand to lightly grip Leon's forearm.

The couple remained quiet for several minutes.

"Do you think my father is ever going to be normal again?" Riku whispered.

"I honestly have no idea."

Riku did not speak further.

"Look, regardless of whether he eventually regains his sanity or not, you know he loves you." Leon kissed behind Riku's ear. "…And that's still a lot more than some people have."

"I know. I can feel it whenever I'm around him." Riku turned within Leon's arms. "Just like I know you love me even though you've never said it."

Leon gazed down into eyes that entire books could not begin to describe. He felt his heart lighten at Riku's words. The teen understood how strongly Leon felt for him despite Leon's inability to make himself vocalize that feeling. Somehow, he doubted words would ever do it justice, any way.

He dipped his head enough to brush his lips against Riku's. "You did really well handling Natasha."

Riku grinned, a finger on the hand holding Leon's arm moving along a one-inch section of skin. "You looked… incredible taking care of her. I knew you were good with kids but for whatever reason, tonight…"

"Yeah." Leon understood exactly what Riku meant.

"Can we go home now?" Riku flicked his eyes up to look at Leon through his thick layer of bangs. There was something horribly seductive about it. "I want to continue from where we were before Zack so rudely interrupted us."

Leon smirked. "…And just where was that again?"

Riku dropped his hand and placed it low on Leon's hip, pinching it. His other hand reached around to brush the man's backside. He pressed his body forward and traced Leon's jaw with his tongue. "Don't worry about it. We'll just start over."