Usual warnings and disclaimers.

Side note: 'italics' are thought speak.

Sapphire pools reflected in the mirror, intently scanning every inch of face those eyes belonged to. Suddenly stopping just above a blonde brow caused both brows to crinkle in disgust, there, on the right side of his face, was a scar, mostly healed but still loud and screaming for attention. A hand came into view as two pale fingers gently traced the scar, following it down and over the temple. Orbs of blue turned angry, that hand pulling away, fisting in rage and spinning on his heel, stormed from the bathroom. Even after three years, it was still there to remind him, to torment him and it was out in the open for all to see, showing the world, making them ask questions, digging up the past and once they knew the truth there was no going back, they would look at him differently and he couldn't blame them. If he couldn't see past it then how could he expect others to?

'Cloud?'

The blonde flopped onto his bed, a hand under his head while the other rested lazily on his stomach as he stared at the ceiling, "It's nothing. I'm fine."

'You know I'm in here right? Hearing everything you think and speaking of which you should knock it off! Nobody sees you differently 'cause you've got a scar.'

"It's not the scar itself, it's what it symbolizes," He heaved a sigh, closing his eyes; "It means I'm crazy, that I hear my dead best friend in my head. Everyone who hears the story, they look at me funny, with pity… maybe they're a little scared too. I don't know!"

With his eyes shut, Cloud could almost see him, standing there smiling with his hands behind his head, black hair spiking everywhere and some of the bluest eyes he'd ever seen, 'You know that's not true Cloud… Okay so maybe there are a few like that but what about that boy, Sora? He's never looked at you like that or Roxas for that matter. And what about Leon, has he ever looked at you with pitying eyes?'

"Zack…"

The blonde could see the smile that was on his friend's face, 'You always forget I know what you're thinking, never could hide anything from me. If he's the one just say so,' A small chuckle filled his ears,'You gotta take some initiative to get what you want and for now don't worry about the consequences but know that I'll always look out for you, no matter what.'

"Thanks Zack." Sapphire spheres appeared again when knocking was heard. The blonde sat up just as his bedroom door opened and standing in the doorway was none other than Leon.

The brunette's dark eyes watched him a moment before he spoke, "I've come to get you for your session."

0o0o0o0

The door burst open, slamming into the wall with a 'bang', "Rise and Shine, Sleepy Head! It's a beautiful morning, time to get up!" The intruder sang in a cheery voice. The figure in the bed wasn't aware of the early morning wakeup call though and jolted in surprise, tangling himself in the sheets and nearly falling off the bed. Deep aqua spheres glared, recognizing Sora's voice instantly even in his half conscious state. This only caused the brunette to laugh, "If that's suppose to be scary, it isn't working."

Unfortunately for Riku, that was true. In his fright, the ocean eyed boy had fallen half way off the bed with his head dangling upside down and his hands resting on the floor. His silvery locks flowed down the side of the bed like a waterfall, pooling between his hands, leaving his face free of hair. Sora's laughter quickly subsided when he realized this, he had never noticed just how gorgeous Riku was with all that hair covering his face. A soft pink dusted over his nose as he moved across the room, kneeling down in front of the still tangled boy, "You have such a beautiful face, why do you hide it behind all this hair?" His smile was gentle but the question was personal and the brunette never expected to get an actual answer.

Turquoise hid behind their lids, "People scare me…" The elder teen then lifted himself back onto the mattress, rolling onto his stomach so he was able to watch the other better.

It was safe to say, Sora was stunned. Not only had that been the closest thing to a normal sentence the teen had ever said to him but that's the kind of information Squall should be hearing and he wondered for a minute if he should start to bring a notebook to write it all in but it was a short lived idea, he never had liked taking notes.

Flashing his best smile, Sora hauled himself to his feet, "I don't scare you do I?" It had actually been a rhetorical question but the silverette hadn't known that and shook his head in response, "Well good. So how about you get ready for the day and I'll worry about everything else."

He reached a hand out, grabbing an arm and pulled the older teen right off the bed. It didn't go exactly as he had planned because when Riku tried to catch himself he couldn't as his feet were still tangled in the sheets causing him to tumble forward, crashing into Sora and sending the both of them to the floor. The blue eyed boy was laughing, despite how much it had really hurt to have the larger boy land on him but he couldn't help it, seeing Riku try everything in his power to stay upright was just too funny.

There was a blush on his patient's face as he moved up and off of Sora, crossing the room towards a door the brunette hadn't noticed the first time he had been to the room, perhaps it was because of the circumstances of his first visit or maybe part of the reason was it's mostly hidden by the bedroom door when it's open. Whatever the case, he found it was a bathroom and finding that odd, he had mentioned it to his brother. Squall had said that only under certain conditions could a patient have a personal bathroom. Normally all patients would have to use the public bathroom, which were supervised, at the beginning of the bedroom hallway and when Sora had first seen it, it reminded him a whole lot of the high school showers. He had been told that Riku was one of the few who had his own, Aerith had decided that when he had first arrived and considering his immense fear of people it wasn't a surprise. The brunette hummed slightly to himself as his mind drifted, sky blue eyes scanning the few books on the desk, reading the titles while he waited for Riku to finish getting ready.

It was a good twenty minutes later when Riku finally emerged, squeaky clean with silvery locks still damp against his face. Aqua irises found Sora on the bed, he was up on his knees and resting his arms against the top of the headboard, head tilted to the side as he stared out the only window in the room. The sound of his patient's footsteps caught his attention; he turned his head, revealing sparkling blue orbs and a bright smile, "Are you ready?"

The silver haired teen nodded once as he watched Sora jumped off the bed and make his way over. With another smile, the smaller boy took a pale hand in his, "Come on, let's go." And with that began to walk toward the door, stopping only when he felt the hand in his tugged away. Whirling around, Sora saw a look of shear horror on the others face.

The silverette had pulled both hands tight to his chest, trembling slightly; he took a step back and started to shake his head, muttering over and over to himself.

"… Riku." The orderly spoke, concern lacing the name.

Riku had backed right against the edge of the bed, startled he jolted before dropping his weight onto it and scooting all the way to the far corner. Sora stared, eyes wide at the cowering form curled up on the bed. Cautiously moving to his patient's side, the blue eyed boy reached a hand out, placing it on one of the arms that covered the teen's pale face, "Riku… are you alright? What's wrong?" When no answer came, he shifted closer, "Please talk to me. I can't help if you won't tell me."

The head of silver shook beneath the arms securely wrapped over it, "No leave… no… no… no leave!"

"Oh Riku…" Pulling the shaking teen into his arms, the brunette held him close, gently massaging his fingers through silky platinum strands, "It's okay, I've got you. No one's going to hurt you… I promise."

They rocked together, Sora's soothing words the only sounds between them. A pair of sea green irises finally peaked up through long bangs, the terror in those eyes muted as he pushed out of the embrace.

The orderly glanced to the other, "Feeling better?" A nod was his response, "I'm sorry. I didn't realize…" Meeting his patient's eyes, he forced a smile, "We don't have to go if you're uncomfortable with it. I should have asked you first."

Bright azure watched the emotions clash on Riku's face until he scrambled off the bed, hand held out for the chocolate haired teen to take, a hesitate smile touching his lips, "I go… with you."

0o0o0o0

Axel's head smacked the table, the echo loud in the empty room, "I'm so bored!" He was in the cafeteria, waiting on Roxas. The orderly had been asked to help in the kitchen, leaving the red head to fend for himself and since he never ventured far from the blonde's side, he was left to wait… "So, so bored!" Which didn't happen to be his strongest quality.

"Christ sakes, kid! Quit yer God damn bitching already!" Cid screamed, waving his spatula in the air.

Roxas only rolled his eyes at them both, "If you're so bored you can always help."

The head on the table shifted slightly, a shining emerald eye gazing at them, "I'm a patient here, I don't have to help. In fact…" Red spikes danced as he shot up in his chair, "You should be entertaining me! That is your job after all."

"Actually," The blonde teen grabbed a rag and made his way out into the dining area, "My job is to keep you from doing something horribly stupid, like, for instance, burning down the entire building." He chucked the rag at his patient, hitting him square in the chest.

Taking fake offense, Axel held his chest, "I would never!" A snort was his only reply before grabbing the rag off his lap, "I bet Sora wouldn't force Riku into doing chores." He grumbled miserably, weakly wiping across the surface of the table he was at.

0o0o0o0

The grip on his hand was tight, extremely tight, so tight he was sure his fingers were going to fall off with the lack of circulation but if that's what it took to get the older teen to walk through the hallway then he was going to bare with the pain. Sora glanced to the side, watching as fearful turquoise darted back and forth, shifting closer whenever someone passed them by. The silverette's other hand had, at some point, fisted into the sleeve of his shirt, holding onto him like a koala cub to its mother, afraid the world would attack if left alone even for an instant.

Turning the corner, the duo stopped in front of a door. The brunette shifted Riku's sketch book to his other arm so he was able to retrieve his keycard from his pocket, swiping it over the scanner and with a buzz and a flash of green, the door was pushed open and left to close behind them with a click.

The sun shone brightly as it filtered through the trees, a light breeze rustling the leaves and the scent of the flowers wafted in the air. Aqua spheres stared in awe, having never been outside since arriving at the institute. The green grass was soft and warm underfoot, being as Riku was shoeless since he had never needed to wear them in his room.

Sora watched the teen silently, he had known this would be what the other needed, to get out of that room and experience life even if it was just a little bit. Shimmering ocean eyes looked to the dark haired boy, a genuine grin curling his lips before racing through the trees toward a large flowerbed in the back, dragging Sora behind him.

0o0o0o0

"Would you look at that?"

Leon 'hummed', stopping just behind Cloud as they headed back to the blonde's room, looking through the window to try and catch a glimpse of what he was suppose to be seeing. On the other side of the door were Riku and his brother, under the largest tree in the garden. The blue eyed orderly was leaning against the trunk, one leg bent with his arm placed lazily over it. The silverette was lying on Sora, head resting under his chin and using both legs to prop his sketch book in his lap. The brunette's other arm was reaching over Riku's one shoulder, pointing and laughing at something on the page open to them. The silverette wasn't looking at the paper though, Leon noticed, those eyes focused on Sora as he smiled up at him.

Cloud sighed, "In all the time he's been here, I've never seen him smile."

"Do you see him a lot? I was under the impression that Riku doesn't normally leave his room."

"We visit him, watching him through the window. Zack thinks he needs the company even if he doesn't know he has it," Steel grey turned to the blonde, who had gotten a faraway look in his eyes and a sad smile on his face, "We saw Riku the night he arrived here; it was… a frightening sight."

An intense burst of lightening and a deafening peal of thunder woke Cloud from his sleep. He could hear the sound of rain pelting at his window and sluggishly rubbing his eye, moved into a sitting position. It was still night but the hall outside his room seemed darker than usual so pulling back the covers, Cloud climbed out of bed and made his way to the door.

The hallway was black and he realized that the power had gone out, his sapphire pools not able to see much through the darkness. Cloud stretched his arms over his head, yawning loudly about to head back to bed when the faint sound of voices brought his attention back to the window in his door. At first he could see nothing but the grey walls as his eyes adjusted to the dark, slowly the voices became louder, the squeaky wheel of a gurney also present and then beams of light flashed past his vision. The blonde recognized Dr. Gainsborough's voice mixed within the rest of the night staff, they were speaking in hushed tones so he was unable to hear what was being said even though the group had rounded the corner and was passing in front of his room.

With a second crack of thunder, light exploded throughout the room and into the hallway. Cloud's bright blue spheres went wide at the sight; there on the gurney was a boy, maybe late teens, wrists and ankles strapped to the bed, a larger strap across his upper arms and chest. He was struggling violently against his restraints, bucking his hips, yanking his arms and thrashing his head from side to side. One of the staff directed his flashlight at the boy's face, platinum strands whipping around him and his mouth opened wide in a scream but no sound ever passed his lips. Cloud watched mesmerized as the teen's body slumped against the slab of metal, his head falling to the side, facing him so the blonde could catch a glimpse of his eyes… they were a dull green, listless and empty, there was no spark of life, completely dead. As those lifeless pools disappeared behind their lids, the group continuing down the hall and out of sight, Cloud realized that the boy had been sedated. A soft sigh left him as he made his way back to bed, keen on finding out who that boy had been.

"That had been the first and last time I had ever seen his eyes. He won't look anyone in the eye… except Sora apparently. I don't know if it's fear or something else but…" The blonde paused, turning to continue his trek down the hall, expecting Leon to follow him, "But I think with Sora's help he'll be able to conquer whatever demons are plaguing him." He glanced over his shoulder and gave the brunette a smile.

0o0o0o0

Sora decided to take Riku back to his room before supper, avoiding the rush of people clogging the hallway as they all tried to get to the cafeteria at the same time. The smaller teen placed Riku next to the wall so nobody would be passing directly by him and it seemed that it had eased the boy's nerves just a bit. The two were halfway to the room when a shout caught Sora's attention; it was a very familiar shout and the brunette flinched, waiting for the customary tackle. Blue eyes reappeared when nothing happened and looking up found Axel staring, though it wasn't Sora the red head was fixated on but the silver haired mystery beside him.

"Hmm… so this is the elusive Riku." Vivid green orbs traced the youth's figure, well everything that wasn't hidden behind Sora which was becoming more as he continued to shift further and further away from Axel.

The brown haired boy's attention was drawn away as Roxas approached with a smile and a wave, "Hey Sora."

He gave the blonde his best grin in return, "Hey."

"The name's Axel. Got it memorized?" A pause, "Come on, acknowledge me at least… a nod or something!"

The hand still entwined with Sora's tightened, cerulean spheres glancing over to see an unfamiliar hand reaching toward the silverette and swiftly brushing it away the younger orderly stood between the red head and Riku, "Knock it off Axel! It took a lot of courage for Riku to be out here. He's scared enough as it is, don't make it worse."

"Okay, jeez. Don't have a cow." Axel muttered, rubbing at his swatted hand.

"So…" Roxas started, seeing the tension build, "Sora, are you still coming to my place after shift? I got some wicked cool new video games."

"Awesome! For sure! It's been a while since I kicked anyone's ass at video games." In his excitement, the brunette's hands lifted in front of him, bringing the one in his with it and pretended to button mash on a controller.

The red head snorted, "Probably because you suck."

Roxas laughed at the pathetic looking pout Sora aimed at the taller male. Riku, who was standing behind the brunette and listening, glared heavily at the floor. He had decided that he wasn't going to like this Axel person very much, not that he was starting to like anyone besides Sora anyway.

"Actually," The smaller boy shifted uncomfortably, "Since Squall started university I haven't really had anyone to play against."

A blonde brow rose in confusion, "Really? Why not?"

"Well in high school, I didn't have much time outside of school to hang out with people because I worked all the time." The platinum haired patient's hand tightened around his own in a comforting gesture and squeezing back, smiled slightly.

"Man that sucks."

"Yeah but I better get Riku back to his room before everyone starts heading to supper." Giving another grin and a wave, Sora led Riku back to his room.

Once they made it to Riku's room, the brunette sighed in relief, it had been a little stressful trying to keep his patient feeling safe with all the activity that goes on in the hallways, at least it wasn't a very long walk. Sora was pulled from his thoughts as a hand touched his cheek and a pair of lips met with his own. Shocked for a second before instincts kicked in and his mouth moved against the others. The kiss was only slightly more intense than their first one but still chaste for the most part.

Riku pulled away first, his tongue darting out to lick his lips, "Thank you."

Sky blue looked confused for a while before realizing what he was being thanked for and smiling brightly, "Your welcome. I knew you'd enjoy the garden."

Thanks for reading and hope you enjoyed :) Sorry for making some of you wait so long, I was trying to write fast, I really was but life gets in the way sometimes and there's nothing you can do about it, right? Right.

Reviews make me smile so don't forget ;)