Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters or Kingdom Hearts. I wish I did, got it memorized?

Chapter Eleven: A Cruel Realization

Sora's eyes widened as his body jerked up from his spot on top of Riku. Even though it was dark outside, he looked around; trying to get a good view of this new and unfamiliar place. Riku laughed at Sora's excitement and the other's joined in one by one as everyone woke up.

The small boy blushed a bright red and he gave Riku a sheepish smile, "S-sorry."

"What for?" Riku shrugged nonchalantly as he felt the car pull into his driveway. "You've never been to my house before, so it's normal for you to want to look around a bit."

Axel laughed as he turned the car off, "Way to make that sound so sciency, Riku."

"I wasn't being "sciency"," Riku rolled his eyes, shifting so that he was sitting up.

Ducking his still red face, Sora climbed backwards so Riku could fully sit up. Said silverette stretched and a popping noise could be heard. Sora grimaced at the sound, but followed the older boy as he opened the door and got out. He gratefully took Riku's outstretched hand as he clambered out of Axel's car with unsteady feet. Still sleepy, the small brunet lost his balance and Riku caught him before he face planted into the brick driveway.

Demyx laughed, "Geez Sora! We can't take you anywhere." He said with an exasperated sigh as he walked beside Zexion.

Everyone grabbed their bags and Riku lead them inside his rather large house. Sora was in front, walking beside the older boy who had his hand on back. He smiled lightly with a blush as he thought of how gentle Riku was. Even when he had swung Sora around in his arms, he placed his hands where he knew Sora wasn't hurt. Hell, the turquoise eyed boy had even managed to tickle him without stressing any of them wounds.

The front door was unlocked and as soon as they stepped inside, Sora anxiously looked around. Sora did his best to try and memorize the place in his tired state and he soon realized that Riku's house had a similar set up to Leon's.

"Oh Gaia!" Roxas stretched his arms out with a yawn, "Its bed time…" He trailed off, rubbing his eyes in a sleepy fashion.

Axel wrapped an arm around his small blond, "Yeah, it looks like we'll be headin' to our normal room."

"Same here." Demyx yawned.

Zexion must have fallen asleep because he was now in the sitar player's arms.

"Alright," Riku nodded, "You guys head up."

The other did just that, walking to the stairs with a practiced ease. All of them, it seems, knew the lay of Riku's house like the back of their hand because none of them had trouble walking around in the darkness. They traveled to the stairs, heading up and disappearing into the darkness. Riku had an arm around Sora's shoulder and he guided the petite boy to the living room. He lightly pushed him on to the couch, smiling.

"Want anything to drink, eat?" The turquoise eyed boy asked kindly, like any good house would.

Sora peaked over the top of the couch, gazing at the older male. "Do you have chocolate milk?" He asked shyly, biting his lip.

Riku flipped the lights on in the kitchen, chuckling, "Only you, Sor."

He opened the stainless steel fridge pulling out the milk as well as the Hershey's chocolate sauce. The taller male poured a glass of regular milk, mixing in a liberal amount of chocolate into the same cup. He stirred it around with a straw before taking it to Sora, handing it to the younger boy before hopping over the couch and landing beside his friend.

The brunet happily drank the chocolaty liquid, playing with the twirled straw as he did so. "T'ank 'ou," he mumbled around the straw, blue eyes traveling around the room before landing on Riku. He smiled at the other boy, giggling as Riku reached out to playfully ruffle his soft, yet spikey hair.

"No problem," Riku replied, resting his arm on the back of the couch and laying his chin onto his hand. He yawned before continuing, "You want to crash in my room?"

Sora contemplated, making a soft 'hmm' sound. He sat his now empty cup down on a coaster on top of the coffee table. "Sure!" He answered cheerfully, though he too yawned not long afterwards.

Riku took the cup, tossing it in the sink before leading him towards the stairs for the right wing, opposite to the wing the others went up to. "C'mon," he nodded upwards. The taller boy took the stairs two steps at a time whereas Sora hustled to keep up. They traveled to the farthest room and Riku opened the door, motioning for Sora to go first.

Sora looked around Riku's room excitedly, goofy smile on his childish face making Riku laugh softly, "It's just a room," he reassured. "How are your wounds?" The silver haired boy asked, worry in his voice. He had walked over to his closet, picking out a shirt for Sora to sleep in.

Walking back to his smaller friend, Riku said, "Shirt off, now."

The younger blushed and mumbled, "You could've at least bought me dinner first…" and Riku's rolled his turquoise eyes.

"Isn't chocolate milk good enough?" He asked with a sigh.

"No," Sora said stubbornly, shedding his shirt with his back turned to the other male.

Riku watched the other, paying special attention to his small frame and the bandages that covered it. He happily noted that there was less bandages than that awful day in gym, just a main one wrapped around his midsection, going up to wrap around his left shoulder along with a few Band-Aids here and there. Riku gathered the necessary products; hydrogen peroxide, bandages, and a few sterile alcohol pads. Sora stayed silent as the older boy worked diligently. Riku efficiently removed all of the bandages, leaving the Sora's small, bruised frame bare as he unwrapped an alcohol pad. Being as gentle as he could possibly be, the silverette wiped the pad up and down the other's chest, disinfecting the injuries.

Goosebumps formed over Sora's tan skin and he whined in a high pitched voice, "Riku….."

The older male mumbled a soft apology, placing Band-Aids over the still healing cuts to prevent germs from getting into the wounds. Riku had opted not to wrap him, letting the wounds breathe. He repeated this process on the brunet's back, using the same amount of caution, if not more than before. When it was all done, Riku handed the younger the shirt that he had previously picked out, helping him slide into the large tee. The small, blue eyed boy played with the long sleeves, mentally remembering the other's scent as he laid back down on the comfortable bed. The silver haired boy shed his own shirt, reaching long, muscular arms back to grab onto the hem and yank it over his head unceremoniously. He rolled it into a ball, throwing it into his laundry basket and Sora laughed at his success. The younger took the chance to check out the other, a light blush forming on his face as he studied Riku's marble like structure, sculpted features, and well defined abs. The brunet kicked his shoes off, socks following soon as he rolled onto his stomach, watching as the turquoise eyed male did the same.

Riku made a move to sleep on the couch, causing the younger to jerk upwards in protest. "N-no! You can have the b-bed," he shyly got up only to have the older male stop him.

"You have the bed since you're my guest," Riku insisted, placing a warm hand on the Sora's shoulder comfortingly.

The stared at each other, both of them wanting the other to have the bed. Eventually, Sora's childish pout got to him, making the taller boy sigh.

"I take one half, you take the other?" Riku compromised, head tilted slightly as he looked at the brunet.

Sora's smile returned and he nodded eagerly, "Okay," seemingly happy with their agreement.

With a shake of his head, Riku shut of the lights before crawling onto the right side of the bed. Both of them set their phones down on the nightstand on their respective sides, making sure any alarms were turned off and such. Lying down, Riku lifted his hips to take off his belt, letting it slide to the floor with a small clinking sound. Both boys got comfortable, shifting around until they both found suitable sleeping positions.

The older male had his eyes closed until Sora interrupted the silence, "Y'know, you never told me what 'twink' means."

Riku eyes popped opened as he looked over at the other with a shocked/horrified expression. 'Shit, he actually remembered', he thought worriedly.

"I-uh, it's a code word for twinkies," he said in a haste, immediately thinking of the delicious Hostess' treat.

Sora propped an arm up, resting his hand on his palm as he gave the other a pointed look, "No it's not," he pouted.

The silverette winced, "I-it's a gay term for smaller boys… Damnit, Leon is going to shoot me…."

Blue eyes widened, blinking quickly as he stumbled over his own words, "H-how does t-that come from t-twink?" His eyes opened in realization, so that's what those guys wanted! He flopped back onto the bed, staring open mouthed at the ceiling.

Riku could feel the poor boy shudder and he mumbled, "Sorry," softly. He reached over to ruffle soft, brown locks as before pulling him into a side hug so that he could whisper into Sora's ear, "I wouldn't have let them get that far."

The younger couldn't help, but to relax as his back was rubbed gently. He thoroughly enjoyed the calming gesture, head lulling into the crook of Riku's neck as his eyes started to drift shut.

However, the sudden vibration of Sora's phone ruined their special moment and the brunet hurried to pick it up. Unlocking it he read the text message sent from Leon:

Sora, I'm sorry. The court date has been decided, it's on Monday.

There was more to the text, Leon trying to comfort the fragile male as he reassured that he wouldn't let Sora's bastard of a Step-Father take Sora back.

Sadly, the petite boy never got a chance to read that far down. His entire body shook violently, hands dropping the phone as he rocked back and forth hysterically. Riku's voice was faded, but he felt his warm arms wrap around his mid-section. Everything blurred with tears before going pitch black as he collapsed in Riku's strong arms. The older cursed, swearing colourfully that he'd turn Xemnas' dead body into a rug for his living room floor.

I'm a terrible person ;_; Thank you fans for continuing to read this sad excuse for a story, I appreciate every review and favourite! Tell me what you think, suggestions, and any corrections that you think need to be made. Love you all and the next chapter will be up by next Wednesday! ~Kristin3