Written to from "Snow on the Sahara" by Anggun. I think it fits these two very well. This was hard to write for some reason. XP

Disclaimer: dood, fanfiction. Kingdom Hearts, Final Fantasy, and the characters and universes therein are the property of Disney and Square Enix. I receive no remuneration for this work; it is a parody and as such utilizes the Fair Use clause of the Copyright Act.

"It would have happened anyway, Riku."

"But..."

"Someone, somewhere, would have done exactly what you did...and that person might not have had the strength, the will...to endure what you have, and the heart to make things right again."

Riku scoffed quietly and looked away.

Cloud touched the young man's jaw, angling his own head slightly to recapture his gaze. "You're the strongest person I know," he said very softly, moving his hand to gently rest over Riku's heart.

Slender, pale fingers touched Cloud's hand briefly before falling away. "How...can you say that? If I—"

"Riku..."

"None of this would have happened. I'm...I'm the one who..." he said fervently, but his voice trailed off into a quiet sigh and he hung his head, silver hair shifting to conceal most of his face. "Because of me, Sora..."

"No. Nobody blames you, Riku. Sora doesn't blame you. You shouldn't blame yourself either." Cloud felt like smacking himself upside the head for being so hypocritical, but Riku needed to hear this, needed to believe he was forgiven, and so he persisted. "If—"

The younger one stood abruptly, and Cloud instinctively moved to his feet.

"I have to go for a little while. I just...I can't be around anybody like this," Riku said, desperation in his voice.

Cloud was the one to look away this time, a frown pulling at one corner of his mouth. How many times had he used a similar excuse, even if he hadn't been able to say it aloud?

Riku stared at him for a long moment, suddenly torn between the need to run away and the need to stay, to never see that frown appear on his face again, let alone be the cause of it. "...Will you be here, Cloud? When I get back?"

Retracting from his thoughts, the blond swordsman returned his gaze to now quietly pleading aquamarine eyes. He sighed and sat back down on the edge of the bed, holding out a hand for Riku to take.

The silver-haired youth allowed himself to be led closer, pausing awkwardly between Cloud's knees and looking down at the broken expression on the other man's face. That's my fault too, now...

"I'll be here...when you're gone," Cloud said in a subdued voice, reaching to touch Riku's heart once more, then nodding slowly. "And I will be here when you get back."

Riku released the breath he hadn't realized he'd been holding, both of his hands pressing Cloud's gloved one to his chest.

"Forgive yourself...please?" Cloud whispered, his voice thin. "If not for yourself, then do it for me. I can't...I can't stand seeing you like this." His fingers curled against the fabric of Riku's shirt as the youth began pulling back, looking towards the door.

"I..." Riku turned back to meet Cloud's eyes briefly, then sighed, raked a hand through his hair, and walked away.