The light fades from his view even as his eyes remain wide open. These bright sapphire eyes remain wide in fear; the kind of fear that paralyzes and breaks the person down to nothing. All he had wanted was to protect the people he cares about more than anything. He had accepted his destiny of an endless fight against the darkness; for in his eyes the only thing darkness begets is evil that threatens to rip him apart. But he realizes now just how powerless he is as he sinks deeper down into this abyss, his light lost underneath the waves of darkness crashing around him. He can not scream and he can not fight; he can only breathe slowly as his light continues to be snuffed out. A single thought passes through his mind just before he loses consciousness; save me.

The darkness glowers down onto a world forever shrouded in shadows. The full moon only increases the slants of darkness throughout the capital of the city. A single ruler resides in the large castle at the top of the hill, close enough to his people that he can always be of assistance. For he does not only rule over his people, he protects them from any and all danger. During this one particular night he finds himself wandering through the barren streets of his city with his broadsword in hand, eyes furtively searching for the disturbance his Seer has foreseen. In his mind he brushes it off with the thought of this adventure out is rather pointless; no threat having crossed into this territory since he's taken the thrown six years ago. However, in his heart he knows that what the Seer says is to always come to pass; to never take his words lightly. For that sole reason is why he strides through the streets; his people having taken refuge into their homes and baring their doors.

A coat the color of the shadows that stretch out around him sways about his ankles with only the middle set of silver buttons clasped through their respective holes. Heavy boots rise up to his knees with each strap holding the boot tightly in place. Skin tight, black pants are tucked down into the boots whilst a v-neck shirt rests underneath his coat. Silver rings adorn every other finger with each being a different gemstone; from emerald to onyx. He takes each pounding step with pride with his aquamarine eyes cutting through the darkness while his hair, the color of the moon, drapes about his shoulders. Beauty and pride radiate from his very being as he finally stops before the gates of the city. Beyond the large wooden doors is only land until it finally stretches out into water of the deepest blue.

He stares out over the land; longing for the time when he used to visit the shoreline with his mother in a different world. But that time has long since passed due to their enemy making itself known more and more. Those enemies seek to destroy the "evil" of their souls due to their kind living solely in the darkness with their only light being that off twilight or dawn. As he stands idly, stalling the time that he should be using to get back to the castle, his eyes lock onto the surface of the water. Just as he moves to turn around and head back to the castle a glint of yellow-white pricks at his eyes. The streak of light slashes through the sky as if it's ripping the deep midnight blue apart. His body fixes into autopilot as his legs launch him forward, racing over the dark gray grass to reach the water's shore.

He slides to a stop just as the toes of his boots dig into the black sand. Eyes widen at the sight before him; the sight being that of quite a miracle indeed. A young man lies unconscious on the shore with the water rushing up to his knees. The clothes about his body are torn to shreds from his evident travels through the realm of darkness. All that remains of his attire is that of a black tank top, which is missing the area around his left arm, and a pair of loose fitting black pants that seem to be more like shorts now. The ruler of this realm can't help but smirk at the sight of brunet spikes sticking our every which way. If anything he knows that mop of hair anywhere. He strides calmly toward the young man of what he can only guess is at the ripe age of twenty-two.

The Realm of Darkness stretches out behind the two for what seems like forever. Ahead of the two teens is only a stretch of dark blue ocean reaching out to a dim speck of a moon. The shorter of the two helps the other to the shoreline and lets him sit down. The taller stares out over the water with a sense of peace. Despite only being a year older than his companion, there's obvious differences in their statures. The older boy, about the age of seventeen, has acquired a nicely built frame that proves he's trained and witnessed many grueling battles. His pale skin stands out amongst his silvery tresses and aquamarine eyes, the opposite in appearance to the darkness itself. His companion is his contrast with lightly sun-kissed skin, rich brown spiked hair, and the bluest eyes he's ever seen. Despite their obvious differences they sit in a comfortable silence before the gentle waves of the ocean, best friends till the very end.

The lunar haired teen's eyes are drawn towards the object that hits his foot. Having to brush some of his unkempt long hair from his eyes, he picks up a small glass bottle sealed tightly with a small cork. With ease he pried the cork out and pulls out a letter rolled up inside. Opening it just a bit he sees his friend's name and hands it toward the brunet, "Sora, it's for you."

Giving Sora his privacy he turns his eyes back out over the water just as a beam of light begins splitting the tides. They part with no other thought to reveal what appears to be a door of pure light with no indication what's on the other side. Sora stands up suddenly and outstretches his hand towards his friend, letter still grasped tightly in the other. Taking it with gratitude he stumbles to his feet as Sora begins toward the door of light. However, he can't help but idle as Sora rushes forward. His eyes glance over his shoulder with a sort of sadness tinting his courageous blue-green eyes. Just moments before they had talked about merely staying here and protecting the worlds through this side, but now it's all forgot like it hadn't even happened. His mind lurches to the thought of all the other people still trapped in this realm with no way to escape.

"Riku, come on!" His gaze snaps back to Sora as the brunet stands just inside the light. "Hurry, Riku! It's closing!"

His mind freezes as the light begins to retract back into a line, a shutting door. He knows how it feels to be lost in this endless darkness. He knows the agony and fear that it causes as nothing affects the body here; nourishment, time, weather... It always remains the same. Riku gives an encouraging smile as his friend is almost completely concealed by the light, "Go ahead without me! I'll catch up!"

Riku waits as the door closes off completely, the last little ray of light vanishing from the dark sky. A solemn smile lingers on his pale lips as he slowly turns around, heading back the way he came. Surely he'd find someone soon; then again he has all the time in the world now.

The walls of the room are bare stone of the deepest gray with black intertwined in them. The floors are identical to the walls save for the fact that the have a strip of black fabric draped over most of it. A trunk sits in the corner and a bed in the other, the only two real furnishings. A wooden door leads out of the small square of a room but appears heavier than something the tired man can open. Thus he remains sitting up in the bed with misty gray sheets pooling around him. His eyes struggle to adapt in the dim lighting as he waits for whoever rescued him to come back. Even though the draperies over the window are pulled to the side, little light filters in from the pitch black dusk outside. His eyes pull away from the window down to himself. From what he can tell he's still in his attire from when he was drug into the never ending darkness, although they seem to be more like rags now.

The thick wood door shuffles open as his savior walks into the room once he shuts the door. A smirk crawls onto Riku's face as he stands before the bed. "You sure aren't as light as you used to be. Then again it has been awhile, hasn't it Sora?"

The brunet stares for a moment, completely taken back by his friend's sudden appearance. "But you're still..."

"Physically seventeen, but I'm still older than you." Riku's arms cross over his chest. "Why were you swept into the darkness? Don't you have the Keyblade and those friends of yours to help you?"

"I... I was trying to find you." Sora's voice comes out in a soft whisper. "But I got overwhelmed."

Riku hangs onto every word as his eyes seem to soak up the others appearance like a sponge. Everything about Sora has changed yet still remained the same. He's taller, stronger in appearance, and his voice has deepened just enough through the years. "Sora, I stayed behind for a reason."

The brunet is off the bed quicker than lightning as he pushes at Riku, the latter stumbling back a couple steps in the process. "What's more important than our friends? Our home? ...Me?"

"These people trapped in this realm are. They have no way out and used to fear every second they were here. I made this place with them," Riku gestures around him; "I've fought off countless swarms of Heartless to protect them because only I can. You should know how that feels better than anyone."

Sora balls his fists at his sides before he reaches up to wrap them into Riku's coat. "Don't you get it? You say I'm the dense one but you can't even see me in front of you!" Sora bows his head just enough for his hair to hide the fact that tears roll down his cheeks. "I looked everywhere for you, again. Six years I've been traveling from world to world trying to find a way to get back to you. But you tell me you /wanted/ to be here? Can't you see that I love you?"

Blown away at the heartfelt expression, Riku places one hand on Sora's shoulder while the other reaches down to lift up the brunet's chin. Their eyes meet and Riku notes that Sora's at least as tall as him now, maybe even an inch or two taller; not something hell dare to bring up though. Instead he wipes at some of the tears still trekking down Sora's cheeks. "I wasn't going to stay here forever. I just... You had said that we could be the darkness, to stay here and fight in this realm. I couldn't just leave after that."

"Why not? Don't you love me?"

The pout tugs itself into place and Riku can't help but giggle at the sight. Even a more grown up Sora can look adorable with a pout tugging at his lips. "I just had things to finish here."

"But?"

Another chuckle slips from Riku's lips, the action foreign since he hasn't laughed for so long. "But I thought about you everyday. I knew you could take care of yourself, I wasn't really worried." Riku leans closer, having to stand up straighter just enough to ghost his lips over Sora's, this new height difference bring something he'll have to get used to. "I missed you." Riku presses his lips against Sora's with a feral longing engrained in the moment between them.

As Riku pulls away he's surprised to see a seriousness reflected in Sora's eyes. Answering the unspoken question Sora glances away from Riku's eyes, "I have to go back." His eyes lock with the buttons on Riku's jacket, "Are you coming with me?"

"Sora, I-"

"No don't Sora me, answer me Riku! For once tell me what's going through that head of yours! You don't have to do everything alone! I'm here for you; always have, always will."

Riku sighs heavily, recognizing this Sora from all the adventures they had had... And oh how he's missed him. "Listen Sora, stay with me here now. We'll leave the second we can figure out how to get the door open again."

"Promise?"

"I promise."

Sora wraps his arms tightly around Riku, burying his face in Riku's neck with ease. Riku smiles at the brunet as he pulls away, "Then let me give you a tour."

As Riku strides those few steps back to the door, Sora hesitates for a brief moment. "Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?"

Sora bounds to catch up with the silver haired Keyblade wielder that now stands out in the hallway. "That wasn't your room right?"

"No, that's only a spare."

"Good! I hope yours has a bigger bed."

Riku's face gains a dusting of pink as Sora walks beside him down the hallway, "Why's that?"

Sora comes to a complete stop and grabs Riku's hand, pulling the other close. "Both of us wouldn't have been able to fit on that tiny bed." Riku stands still as the words sink in, the blush across his cheeks becoming much more prominent now. Sora's laughs childishly, with the hint of cunning behind it, as his lips connect roughly with Riku's. "Love you!"

Riku bustles away, pulling Sora further down the hallway with only a mutter back towards the brunet, "Love you too."

I held a shonenai/yaoi poll the other week and let watchers and passer-bys vote on pairings. Some would suggest pairings, which have been taken into account and get posted here as well when finished. But this is the winner, the famous and much loved pairing of Sora/Riku.

For a twist I decided to go against the usual grain for them, seme-Sora and a uke-Riku, like. It was fun and if it wasn't obvious; at the time around the end of KH2 Riku stayed in the darkness instead of going back to the islands. Thus it prompted Sora to go on another tireless journey to hunt down his friend. Ultimately he failed and was plunged into the realm of darkness once more, ending up finding the one he was looking for.

xDD Didn't really want to go this direction, but that's how it ended up. Hope someone enjoyed though! Lemme know ;)