Epilogue

Riku hadn't asked.

Riku had been too scared to ask. He was too frightened of the answer.

Because after all, the chance of Demyx still being alive was… Less than zero. Not that Riku doubted his boyfriend's abilities. He just didn't think the water-loving nobody could really beat Sora. Let's see… Keyblade… vs. Sitar. Bets anyone? No I thought not…

So Riku stayed on Destiny Islands, suffering slowly. Because even though he hadn't asked, he was pretty sure he knew the answer. And it was tearing him up inside. The fact that Demyx was probably dead… That he was too chicken to ask…

His friends and family had grown worried about him. He'd become so distant.

Sora and Kairi thought he felt guilty about the whole "puppet of Xeahnort thing" but that wasn't it. Riku had long ago forgiven himself for that…

-

"Hey Riku?"

"Yeah?"

"…"

"What? What is it?" asked Riku turning to look at his boyfriend, it wasn't often Demyx was at a loss for words.

"Why do you do it?" he asked quietly.

"Huh? Do what?" asked Riku, taken aback.

"Put yourself down, blame yourself for everything."

"I-…" Riku stopped and his breathing caught in his throat. A silence stretched between the two. Demyx stared at Riku calmly, Riku looked back with wide eyes.

"I don't do that," he said at last, coming out a little defensively.

"Riku, yes you do," said Demyx with a roll of his sky blue eyes, "and you're miserable because of it."

"No I'm not! Since when have I ever blamed myself?!"

"Oh please Riku…" said Demyx with a smile, "the Xeahnort thing? C'mon…"

"Yeah but that's different," said Riku putting his plushy self down to fold his arms stubbornly, "that was my fault."

"No it wasn't," said Demyx, beginning to sound a little irritated, "you weren't yourself."

"Yes I was! I still knew what I was doing!"

"Maleficent was influencing you," said Demyx as if this were the most obvious thing in the world, "you think anyone else would have done something different in your shoes?"

"Kairi and Sora would've…"

And then to the silver-haired teen's immense surprise Demyx snorted.

"Those two?!" he asked as if he thought Riku were joking, "C'mon Riku you're judging yourself off them? The princess of heart and the Keyblade Master?"

Riku remained silent for a while and Demyx sighed before sitting on the ground and pulling Riku into a sitting position next to him.

"Okay… first of all," he began, "those two are so pure and light of heart or whatever… they will always do the right thing no matter how stupid or naïve it is…"

Riku shifted uncomfortably.

"Secondly… That's one of the ways you're better than them. All that light stuff inside of them… Sometimes it blinds them and doesn't let them see the nasty truth of things. You can look past all that and see the whole situation… And… I think you're a lot more real."

Riku's head jerked up.

"You are," Demyx insisted, "those two are perfect. I mean, geez, that's just creepy. I don't know how you hung out with them so much without losing it…" he looked Riku straight in the eye and said, "Riku, people aren't supposed to be perfect. It's not natural. That's why people make mistakes."

"Wow…" said Riku letting a breath of air as a grin slowly spread across his face, "that was some speech Dr. Phil… Since when did you get so smart?"

And with that Demyx let out a growl and tackled poor Riku to the ground. And even though he and Demyx were throwing fake punches in the back of his mind Riku was crying and thanking Demyx a million times over.

-

One day Sora and Kairi had dragged Riku to the Ice Cream Island. Sora had ordered the flavors superman, bubble gum and mint chocolate chip. Can you guess who gets what flavor? I'll give you a hint… Riku didn't order bubble gum.

Sora was once again trying to engage Riku in a conversation, aided by Kairi, when Selphie and Tidus ran up to them.

"Hey you two," said Kairi, "What's up?"

"We just got back from the beach," said an out of breath Selphie.

"Yeah," said Tidus, "can you guess what we found? You're gonna like this Riku."

"Wh-

"C'mon!" cried Selphie grabbing Riku's wrist and tugging him along. Sora and Kairi looked a little bewildered but followed none the less.

When they reached the beach they saw Wakka standing by the shore. And he had a little friend sitting by his feet.

Riku stopped running and switched to walking. The world seemed to be going in slow motion for him as Sora, Kairi, Selphie and Tidus rushed passed him.

Finally he reached Wakka, who bent down and picked up the little doll.

"Okay…?" asked Sora.

"Isn't it cute?" shrilled Selphie.

So Riku am I right in guessing this is yours mon?" asked Wakka, trademark grin plastered on his face.

"Riku would be the type to own a doll of himself," said Tidus with a smirk.

"Yeah," said Sora, playfully punching him in the arm, "I bet you use it to worship yourself, right?"

"So who made it for you?" asked Kairi keenly, "Your girlfriend?"

Riku took the doll from Wakka wordlessly and stared down at it. His expression was almost as blank as the doll's. He bit his doll.

"Riku? Is something wrong?"

"You won't be alone!"

"Riku? What is it? Look I'm sorry… We were just teasing… Okay? …Riku?"

"I promise…"

And quite suddenly Riku fell forward on his knees crying, clutching the doll to his chest. He sobbed uncontrollably, gasping for air through choked sobs. He hadn't cried this hard in along time. It wasn't restrained, hiccupping or soft crying, no it was all out, full blown crying.

"Riku?!"

Soon he felt Kairi's warm, manicured hands rubbing his back in slow steady circles and Sora's thin spindly arms giving him a comfort hug,

But it didn't help much as Riku continued to wail and rock back and forth in time with the waves.

After a while the others started growing more worried about their best friend as his breathing still failed to return to normal.

"Let's get him back to his house," murmured Kairi quietly. Sora nodded silently and the two pulled Riku to his feet and steered him in the right direction.

"Oh my dears! What happened?!" Mrs. Ishida cried as she opened the door to her house to see her son being dragged along by his two best friends, holding a very worn out looking plushy version of himself.

"We don't know," said Sora.

"Well c'mon in then," she began worriedly.

Mrs. Ishida had red hair falling line with the rest of the Ishida family. Sora had always found it odd that Riku came from a family of red heads.

-

Two hours later and Riku was lying in his bed wearing a black tee shirt and black sweat pants, also know as his pajamas. He'd stopped crying about thirty minutes ago, and was now lying face down with dry eyes. Looking pretty lifeless as he lied there emotionlessly.

"Riku?" asked Sora quietly, he and Kairi were sitting on two chairs next to his bed.

Riku picked his head up off the pillow and stared at Sora dully, "What?"

"Are you alright now?" asked Kairi tentatively.

In answer Riku plopped his head down on his pillow.

"Riku?" his mother called startling all three teens. She walked into the room with the plushy in hand, she had just spent the past hour cleaning it and getting all the sand out of it that had accumulated when the doll had washed up on shore.

"There you go," she said placing it next to the pillow, Riku didn't move.

A few minutes passed with all of them staring at him, slowly one arms reached up and grabbed the plush before pulling it back in.

-

"Sora?"

Sora fell backwards out of his chair and let out a cry. It had been two days. Mrs. Ishida, her husband, Riku's two younger siblings and Sora and Kairi were taking turns watching Riku. So far they'd gotten him to eat once, but he went to the bathroom willingly. He still hadn't said anything up until now though.

"What is it Riku?" asked Sora, eager to help in any way shape or form.

"What happened to Demyx?"

"Who?"

"Demyx. You know the Organization XIII member?"

"Oh…" Sora scrunched up his brow, in confusion, "Um… well… I guess he's dead like the reset of them… I mean I didn't have much choice… Why do you ask?"

Riku merely returned his face to the pillow.

-

The waves crashed against the bottom of the cliff methodically. Riku stood at the edge of the cliff.

"You won't be alone! I promise…"

He thought back on what Sora said.

"He's dead…"

He'd given Demyx the doll in hopes that the doll would go every where with him and he'd never be alone… But now the doll was here and where was Demyx?

"Alone…"

Slowly he summoned Way to Dawn to his hand. He took one last look around to check that no one was watching to stop him.

"A promise is a promise," he said before bringing the blade down on his wrist.

-

The first thing Riku noticed when he woke up was that he was not dead. That struck him as odd seeing as the last thing he remembered was committing suicide.

"Riku!"

And then he lost his train of thought as a large group of people promptly glomped him.

"Oh Riku we've been so worried!" shrilled his mother.

"Riku! Are you alright?" Kairi sobbed, she and the others had tears clinging to the sides of their eyes.

"What happened?" asked Riku a little stunned by the whole situation, then, "Why aren't I dead?"

"Oh Riku…" murmured his mother as she stroked his cheek, "we found you when you weren't in your bed… We were so worried! Riku… What were you thinking?! How could you go and do a thing like that?!"

Riku stared up at all the people surrounding him a quite suddenly he found himself crying profusely with his arms wrapped around as many of them that he could reach from his position on the hospital bed.

"I'm sorry…" he whimpered, "I'm sorry… but I promised I wouldn't leave him alone… And now he's gone so I had to try and go too because I promised and- and-

"Shh…" hushed his mom getting him to stop ranting, "it's alright now… It's all going to be alright… Now who did you promise?"

"Um… Excuse me? I'm sorry for intruding but… I- I couldn't help but over hear you were in the hospital…"

Riku turned to look at the door way and his eyes widened as he spotted the figure. He had blonde hair shaped in a 'mulhawk' and was wearing a long black trench coat. In his arms was a doll, fashioned to look like Riku.

Riku stared at the doll.

And the doll stared back.

End

Author's Note: Well… It's over… Thanks to all who review! But keep in mind that this is the first DemyxxRiku ever! I've started it, now it's up to you to write some too okay peoples? Good.

bliss