Spend The Night:Alchemy Dream

A/N – I've been wanting to write this story for a while, I just wasn't exactly sure what form it would take. My horrendous sunburn ended up prompting it. My first real Riku and Sora slash story, so I hope it goes over alright, haha XD. Nothing like a good R/S get-together, I say. Enjoy, and reviews are love.

Warning! May contain – Slash, obviously. Boy crushes, but nothing explicit. Fluffy angst. Aloe Vera.

It had never failed to irritate Sora that, although they lived on a beautiful, lush island surrounded by crystal clear waters, Riku was more fond of swimming in his family's swimming pool than the ocean. But at the same time, it was a pointed reminder that things hadn't changed as much as he'd initially thought when they'd returned.

And things had changed. He and Riku had returned to the island after taking care of Xemnas only two months ago, luckily without the sickening aftertaste they both suffered with after Sora defeated Xehanort's heartless, in the guise of Ansem, over two years ago.

High school had changed Kairi a great deal. She was still the beautiful, slightly saucy gal pal Sora had come to know and love, but gone was the tomboy who was content to race and rip and roar around with the boys, replaced with a much more prim and proper, lady-like Kairi who was aspiring to be a marine biologist and top of the class. Tidus had found himself working towards a blitzball scholarship, and Wakka had graduated a year ago, playing on a professional team. Selphie spent most of her time hanging around Kairi and crushing on Wakka.

Sora sometimes, only sometimes, felt sad that, during the time he should have been joining clubs, (maybe volleyball), and aspiring to get into his first choice college, he was out saving the world, and had become an outcast because of that.

Of course, he wasn't alone in that respect. Maybe that was why he and Riku were able to hold onto their friendship so soundly. Maybe that was why they were able to pick up right where they left off, more or less. It had taken time, as was to be expected, but the fullness in Sora's heart whenever Riku smiled was enough to push away the fear and the memories of that pain and suffering. Things had changed, but nothing was broken anymore, and that was enough.

"Hey!"

Sora blinked a little, raising his hand to block the sun out of his eyes. Had he fallen asleep again? He looked over at Riku, who was waiting expectantly, tapping his pen against his black notebook. The two boys were stretched out right at the edge of Riku's swimming pool studying for an exam. It was miserable, having summer school while everyone else was out playing, getting summer jobs and generally not studying, but in order to catch up with the rest of their class, both boys were condemned to exactly seven weeks of books, research papers and exams.

Turning over off of his belly, Sora smacked a little and and groaned. The sound of the water lapping so close to his face, the mesmerizing pattern the sun made that glinted off the splashing surface, the warmth on his back...it had all been too much for him. He had been out like a light within moments.

"Sora, what do you have as the definition of 'microcosm'?" Riku repeated, chewing on his pen, leaning forwards on his elbows as his long hair fell into his eyes.

"'A small, representative system having analogies to a larger system in constitution, configuration, or development...'" Sora let out a little yawn as Riku copied down the words, and collapsed back onto his orange and hot pink towel, his face enjoying the smooth, fluffy texture of the material on his burned cheeks.

Wait.

Burned cheeks? Uh-oh.

Sora pushed himself up again on shaky arms, turning to look at Riku, and winced. They had decided to brush up their tans (or rather, for Riku to try getting one) while studying by the pool, and Riku had deemed it Sora's responsibility to let him know if he was getting burned. Sora would be fine. The melanin in his skin would convert the glowing red on his cheek into a freshly golden tan by morning.

But Riku was an entirely different story. Sora's eyes slid over Riku's red back, glistening with tanning oil. He had pulled his hair back into a messy silver tail which fell over his shoulder, exposing his sensitive, pale skin to the harsh light. His shoulder blades had gotten it the worst, dark freckles already showing, that and the small of his back.

He was suddenly torn on whether to tell Riku that his skin was the equivalent of fresh bacon or let him find out on his own. When Sora was not around. No doubt Riku would be furious, especially given that his front side was just as pale as ever. Sure, they'd had some synchronized flipping going on to ensure an even tan, but it was hard to write what was turning out to be a thousand definitions and matching questions on one's back. And then he'd be even angrier when the burning pain subsided and he became horrendously itchy and flaky. It was a lose-lose situation. He watched, somewhat amused, as Riku reached behind himself to scratch at his side, right where the burn began. He recoiled in pain when his nails scraped the tender skin, and yelped.

"Damn. Sora, did I burn or something?" he asked, pushing aside his long bangs to look Sora in the eyes.

"Not really. I mean, you did, but it isn't...that...bad," Sora lied. He closed his book and began to stand up, wanting to get them both out of the early evening sun before it got any worse.

"Well, it feels like hell. What SPF does that stuff have, anyways?" Riku reached behind them, blindly searching the concrete for the dark golden brown bottle of tanning oil.

"Um...four."

Riku's mouth went slack and he stared at Sora incredulously. He held his arm out, examining the color, eyes widening when he noticed how red his shoulders were. His other hand reached out to touch, confirming that it was the same burning temperature as his back.

"Sora, I thought you were watching!"

"I was! But..." he decided it would be fruitless to try and explain the effect the sun had on him falling asleep, "Hey, why am I responsible for your skin in the first place? It's not my fault you didn't flip over. Don't worry, you can put some aloe on it and it'll stop burning for a while," Sora coughed, standing up to stretch. He was all at once happy that he didn't have to worry with burning, with his lovely medium dark skin. Smiling, he bent over to grab his towel, notebook and the fiendish oil. Riku followed suit, turning to try and look at his back. He groaned a little as he stretched his back out, reaching forwards to scratch at his hip.

"Really, don't worry. I brought some aloe vera. It'll cool the skin and turn it to a tan quicker," Sora reassured, putting a hand on his best friend's shoulder and smiling.

"Ow."

"Sorry. Hey, do you want to finish up this homework tomorrow? I need a brain recharge or something." Sora ran his hand through his soft brown spikes, grinning like a dork. Riku just rolled his eyes and led them both inside his house.

"Okay, okay. We've got leftover pizza, stew...or I can make us something," Riku yawned, tossing his stuff on the plush leather sofa in the living room. Sliding the glass patio doors shut behind him, Sora tossed his things down along with Riku's.

"What do you want to make? I don't think I can do pizza again. My folks made some last night." Riku rummaged around in the cabinets for something quick and painless, being mostly lost in the cooking department with his parents away from home for the weekend.

"Well, we have some rice I can cook..."

"Yeah, because you just put it in a machine," Sora mumbled, giggling.

"Hey, pal. You got me sunburned. Now you, my guest, are insinuating that I cannot cook? Two strikes. One more and you're sleeping on the balcony tonight," Riku threatened, standing on tip toes to look in the very top shelf. Sora stared at him, something inside becoming a little warmer. And it wasn't the sunburn.

"Who said I was spending the night?" Sora asked. Riku stopped for just a moment, fighting a blush that threatened to overtake his face under the burn on his cheeks. He had just assumed Sora would stay the night. Just like when they were little. They used to stay at one or the other's house all the time...why should things be different now?

"Well, you don't have to, y'know," Riku said, grinning to cover his nervousness. Sora smiled and stretched, walking around the huge white kitchen over to the fridge. "I just figured since you were bound to eat all of our food that you'd invite yourself to crash here." He laughed when he heard Sora snort as he dug around in the back.

"Yeah, well you know you'd be lonely without me," Sora mock-flirted. "Hey, can I have this pop?"

"What? No! No. You had three bottles of pop today. You're drinking water. Or I'll make you tea. If you are gonna crash here tonight, I'm not putting up with you until four a.m."

"Fine, then I'll take water." Sora took out a green cup from the pantry and filled it with filtered water from the pitcher in the fridge. "God, Ri. Seriously. We use tap water."

"Well, what can I say. My folks want everything to be clean," he said waving his hand around at the blindingly spotless kitchen. "What do you want to eat?" Sora took a sip of his water while he played with the magnets on the freezer door holding up dental reminders and Riku's summer schedule, and smiled softly.

"Peanut butter sandwich. And don't skimp on the peanut butter. I can always tell when you do. And no jelly." Riku chuckled, practically leaping to the breadbox.

"Just how I like it!"

"What, nice and easy?" Sora taunted, amused that Mr. Tough guy wasn't a particularly good cook.

"You bet." He pulled a knife out of the drawer and began spreading thick peanut butter on the bread, spreading a little more on Sora's when he cleared his throat behind Riku. "Are you monitoring me?" he asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Yes. And...are you drawing a heart in the peanut butter?" Sora asked, pointing to the sloppy heart Riku had dragged through the sticky spread. Riku felt himself blush again. He hadn't even realized he was doing it. Quickly, he smeared it away with the knife, leaving a clean surface. But the feeling of the hearts stuck around in the tension in the air.

"Yeah...remember when your mom used to do that when I'd come over? I guess it just makes me feel at home." Sora bit his lip a little, and took the knife away from Riku to retrace the heart, this time on both slices.

"I know what you mean. It makes me feel like nothing's changed, y'know? I feel bad...guilty for holding on to the past, but it's like...so many things are changing...and...I don't know..." he stopped to formulate a thought for a moment before starting over, "I just feel like there's nothing to hold on to anymore." Riku looked concerned at his normally chipper friend, taking the knife away.

"Hey, look...we're still friends, right? That won't change. Right?" Riku rinsed the knife in the sink, and offered Sora a shaky smile. Sora nodded...a little sadly. That was what was bothering him. He was completely content with Riku as a friend, if that's what he had to be, but...

Why can't things change? Something's changing inside me. I feel like I'm growing, but I'm afraid...

"Let's eat, yeah?" Riku offered, handing Sora a sandwich with a heart, and plopping down on the plush leather sofa for a little TV. Sora took his and sat on the opposite side of the sofa, enjoying the cool texture on his bare torso. Riku had spread dry towels on the seats to soak up the wetness of their swim trunks. They sat and ate in silence, throwing glances at each other between jokes about commercials and bites of sandwiches.

I'm afraid that you won't grow with me.


"All yours," Sora said, emerging from the washroom in his white cotton boxers, towel over his head ruffling the spiky chestnut hair dry. Riku looked up from the textbook he was studying, putting his highlighter back into the drawer of his desk. He glanced at the clock, pulling his hair out of its long tail. Twelve o'clock at night. How had time passed so quickly? I guess video games really do eat time, he mused. "What should I do with these? They aren't dry yet," Sora asked, dangling both pairs of their wet trunks out for Riku to examine. "Washer or railing?"

"Just toss them in the dirty clothes. I'll get 'em in the morning. You can toss your stuff in there too, if you want." Riku walked over to his drawer to retrieve some clean underwear and sleep pants. Riku's room was relatively lofty, but also cozy. Perfectly suited for two. If nothing else, it probably seemed that way simply because Sora had spent so much time in that second story room with the balcony and Miesian chairs. His family didn't have that kind of money, so Riku's room was almost like a little retreat. The effect was generally lost though, what with the vast amount of clothing and video game controllers and papers and photos and pens and pencils and half-eaten food strewn all over the place. Okay, so he had taken care of the half-eaten food before Sora came over, but this one time...

"Alright, I'm gonna hit the shower. I pulled out the sleeper and left some duvets," Riku said, grabbing some towels from his closet and disappearing behind the bathroom door.

Waiting until he heard the water turn on, Sora walked over to the hamper, throwing his clothes in with Riku's wet trunks. He felt his cheeks heat up at just how right their clothes looked, rumpled together in the hamper.

It was thoughts like these that had been troubling him. The rightness that came from being close to him, the feelings that he got when Riku paid for his iced chai with soy on the way to school on Fridays as everyone else waved at them on their way to the beach. The fact that even though it was summer, Sora was content to just walk to school, sweating, having his fill of morning caffeine beside Riku, chatting about nonsense. He felt perfectly at ease spraying tanning oil on his best friend's back, that is until his eyes drank in how gorgeous (gorgeous?) Riku's back looked all slicked up like that. He fought instinct to run his finger over the dip in his spine, feel how soft, wet and hot he would be out there in the sunlight.

But these thoughts weren't acceptable. They weren't normal. They were to be left in his fantasies for as long as possible. He had already decided that if he could hold out until Kairi came home from pre-college, he would finally ask her out. And they would be the couple they always should have been. Sora and Kairi. Together. Forever. He idly fooled with a felt tip pen he found on the desk, doodling little swirlies all over Riku's notes. Biting his lip, he took the pen to the back of his hand.

Sora and Riku Together 4Ever.

That looked right. But immediately, he rubbed the words, smearing the black ink all over his hand.

Sor a d Ri u geth r 4Ev .

He groaned a little, tilting his head back to look at the ceiling. He just needed to clear his head. There was some TV, video games, or...maybe a quick swim. Turning on his heel, Sora trekked downstairs to the dark living room, sliding open the patio doors, the sound of gently lapping pool water greeting his ears.

Riku stepped out of the shower, fully prepared to give Sora the biggest earful of expletives he'd ever heard in his sixteen years of life. That had been the most painful shower he had ever had, thanks to the heinous burn on his back. He gently wrapped a towel around his shoulders, reaching down to tie the waistband tight on his terry cloth sleep pants. The lights were all on in his bedroom, just as when he'd stepped into the shower, but Sora was nowhere to be found. He looked at the sleeper sofa a few feet from his bed, but the lump there was only the blankets he'd brought out from the closet. Sora was completely MIA.

Walking to the balcony, he looked down to see Sora floating in the middle of the pool on an inflatable raft drinking a bottle of pop, of course. Great, four a.m., here I come, he thought, smiling a little as he dried his hair out. He turned around, following Sora's footsteps down the staircase, mildly concerned that Sora wouldn't be plastered to the bed at this hour. It was nearly half-past twelve. Sliding the doors open, he flicked on the outdoor lights, now able to see Sora gently scrubbing his hand off in the pool. He approached the boy at the edge, squatting so that they were almost eye level as he dipped his fingers in the warm water.

"So, should I even ask what you're doing?" Riku asked after a moment.

"Just thinking. I'll be inside in a minute," Sora replied quietly.

"Can you not think inside? It's almost one in the morning. I'd like to go to sleep, and you probably should too if we're gonna be ready for that test Monday."

"Well, go inside then, I'll be inside in a minute," Sora repeated a little tersely. Riku backed off then, holding his hands up in defeat. He shuffled his hands into his pockets, walking back to the house.

"Whatever. Suit yourself, just don't forget to lock up. And turn the lights out." Sora exhaled loudly, returning his focus to the palm above the pool whose fronds twittered gently in the warm, humid breeze. Peace again.

Until a barely restrained laugh and a splash destroyed it all. He clutched the edges of his float, dropping his pop into the pool. Under the cerulean water, he could somewhat make out glittering silver hair and reddened skin pushing towards the surface through the bubbles. Riku emerged, grinning and spitting water all over him, laughing.

"Hiya," he laughed, quite pleased with himself. Sora smiled back, rolling his eyes. "Look, this isn't like you. What's up? Are you still thinking about everyone at school? Screw 'em. Who cares about them," Riku said, pinching his nose shut to drain the water. Sora thought about this for a moment.

"It isn't just that...it's just that I'm changing too, and I can't stop it."

"Are you having Kairi issues? Because if you are, I know lots of other girls that would have a summer fling with you," Riku offered half-heartedly.

"It isn't that, and I don't want a summer fling, Riku."

"Well, what do you want? This?" Riku laughed, unable to resist Sora on a float, clinging for dear life. He raised a leg and notso gently kicked Sora off the raft, cackling when he fell into the water in a tangle of legs and arms and a flurry of what very well could have been curses.

"I hate you! I absolutely hate you! I'm trying to be serious, and," Sora couldn't finish before Riku pushed him down under the water again, bubbles disappearing under the water. He felt the mild sting of Sora's kicking and his sharp toes, until his knee connected with his balls. Riku gasped, and raised his foot, painfully, to push Sora further under. The only sounds he could hear was the water splashing around, and then all he could hear was water rushing in his ears as Sora pulled him under to face him. Riku opened his eyes and connected them with Sora's deep blue eyes angrily in the ethereal blue lights underwater. Or maybe it wasn't anger. Maybe it was something else. And something broke.

And then there was tension, then a spark.

All mental functions ceased as he pressed forwards, his lips brushing Sora's in a tentative but confident kiss. The silk of those slippery lips and surprised breath captured him, and there was a flood of feeling and emotion and sensation. He reached forwards to pull Sora closer, his hands sliding along the other boy's back, touches clumsy underwater. They twined legs to keep from floating apart, sharing breath for a moment, the kiss becoming warm, wet, dirty and perfect. Tongues were playful, tasting chlorine and each other, eyes unseeing, and hands hypnotic, searching angrily, furiously before the moment ended and their lungs burned for air.

Riku and Sora kicked to the surface, greedily gulping air to distract them from what they'd done, slowly concocting excuse after excuse for the kiss that wasn't meant to happen.

Wasn't it?

Sora grabbed the float, running a hand through his hair, before hurriedly diving under again to swim to the shallow end of the pool and climbing out. Riku didn't watch, only listened to the sounds of breaking water, of Sora's dripping boxers as he ran to the door, of wet footfalls and sliding glass.

At least he left the lights on for me, Riku snorted, diving down to the bottom of the deep end to retrieve the bottle. He paddled himself back to the edge of the pool, and hoisted himself out, following Sora slowly into the house.

He was greeted with Sora's back as he shuffled into his bedroom. The younger brunette had made up the sleeper sofa in record time, and was now sandwiched between three layers of duvets. Wet, no less. He sighed, stripping down to his boxers and shutting the light off. He watched as Sora came into focus in the moonlight from the balcony in the form of a slowly breathing lump. Maybe he had fallen asleep? Not likely. Riku's heart still raced, and Sora couldn't be feeling any differently. The sensations wouldn't leave his body, and not just the ones down south. The mixed signals of those sweet lips nearly devouring him, stealing his breath, of hands roughly grabbing his burned back, of their hips jolting together with electricity as their legs twined, and then of Sora's hurried retreat. Somehow the most permeating feeling was that of their legs, both lightly covered with hair, confirming their masculinity. It felt amazing.

But it had only lasted four or five seconds. Five seconds to change his life, to reverse his heart, to open his mind. And it was over, and replaced by awkward, unconfirming silence.

He walked over and slid into his bed, pulling the washed black sheets over his wet body, not bothering to towel off. The only sounds now were Sora's soft breathing and of himself trying to get comfortable. He settled for being uncomfortable, feeling stupid for making so much noise. He just wanted to go to sleep. Forget the whole stupid fucking situation. Frustration burned at the base of his skull, and he found himself listening intently to Sora's shuffling under the blankets. Suddenly, something hard connected with his gut, and he yelped a little, surprised.

"Put some on, it'll make the burn better in the morning," Sora mumbled meekly. Riku was silent for a moment, holding the bottle up to read the label. Aloe Vera – Cools on contact.

"Yeah," he replied, opening the cap and trying to smooth it on his shoulders. It felt amazingly cool as he applied the cream. He moved his arm uncomfortably, trying to apply it to his back. An idea. A bold one, but an idea nonetheless. "Sora," he began. But Sora was already there. Straddling his hips.

"Turn over. I'll put it on." Riku complied with a blush, turning slowly within the confined space to lie on his belly. The combination of the coolness of the cream and the warmth of Sora's hands and legs and the comfort of the sheets was sensory overload. He relaxed into the touch, wincing a little as Sora rubbed it into his shoulders, running a finger down the dip of his spine. His hands mapped his back with gentle and searching, clumsy fingers, butterfly soft one moment, and rough dizzying ones the next. He balked as the younger boy slid his fingers an inch into his waistband, massaging the wet skin there, before making one more sweep over the cool skin with warm, flat palms and moving to get up. Riku nearly moaned at the loss. Instead, words came out. He hated it when that happened.

"You don't have to sleep over there," he said, breathlessly without thinking. There was silence. And there was Sora getting up. Riku's eyes squeezed shut, wishing he would never speak again. But then, there was added warmth, and Sora. Sora crawled up beside Riku in his bed, and Riku made room for the other warm body, shifting onto another pillow as Sora spread his duvet out over them both. He felt electricity and hormones as Sora's feet touched his under the wet sheets. He wanted nothing more than to reach over and capture the boy in his arms, but deciding not to try his luck, he relaxed on his belly, sneaking glances at Sora through one eye as they got comfortable. Finally, Sora caught him and grinned shyly. Everything was okay. Riku returned it as a smirk, letting his eyelashes pool onto his cheeks and sleep took him.

Sora watched this moment of vulnerability, inching his feet and legs towards Riku until they were connected. He moved to inhale Riku's skin, smelling pure sunlight and the lime smell of the aloe vera, and ran a hand over those beautiful shoulder blades before resting back against his pillow.

Suddenly, lines were erased. More than a crush, but less than love. Right now. The more they shared, the closer they became. Sora mused that in an hour, it would likely be love. With every glance at Riku, his heart opened more. He couldn't explain why he needed to run from his best friend before, and he couldn't explain this any better. It was that rightness. This felt right.

Right like sleepovers, tangled sheets, adolescent first kisses and sunburns.

End.