empatheias | ( closed )

[Sora pouts a bit but it seems a little pointless if they don't go together.

So he relents and comes back to the mattress and crawls back onto it. Guess he's sleeping in his clothes tonight. Maybe he should pack some things here or something.]

Fine, fine. But don't blame me if I roll on top of you and you hurt your neck. [He grins.]

[ Gently, he smiles some when Sora decides to come back and he shifts just enough for there to be a bit more room for Sora to claim for himself. Of course, Riku falls silent as he lays there, eyes slowly blinking behind the blindfold before he finally comes to sit up just enough to remove his shirt, pulling it over his shoulders to reveal the scars that still litter his body. Carefully, he bunches up his shirt and sets it down on the mattress for Sora. ]

Here's your pillow.

[ He mutters that as he eases himself back down against the bed and looks up to the ceiling, shirtless with his scars bare for Sora to see, though a few of them have faded because of Arden's help. ]

They still hurt sometimes.

[Riku- The type of best friend to literally give Sora the shirt right off his back. Sora is so lucky.

But when he sees Riku's skin and the fading scars Sora's smile falls and he can't help that dropping feeling he gets in his stomach. It still looks pretty bad but not as bad as it had been the first time Sora had tried to heal them.]

Is that why you're tired? [Sora reaches out to touch one of the marks, unafraid of wounds or his best friend's body. His fingers are gentle as he inspects.]

Arden helped you, didn't he? [He looks up at Riku with a lopsided smile, that pride brimming in his eyes. Yes, he knows about that now! His tone is playful, but maybe a little teasing.] You asked him.

[ When Sora's fingers brush along his scars, he doesn't seem to mind, knowing that the other will be gentle with his touches and not do anything that might possibly hurt him.

His question, however, has Riku slowly shift his gaze over to Sora behind that blindfold... and yeah, he totally sees you being just a touch on the playful side there, Sora. Nice try. ]

I figured he was my best bet since it's not like anyone else here knows much about... my darkness.

[ Darkness itself? Sure. But his particular darkness? Really, it's only Arden who could even navigate his way through that without much difficulty... or at least it's the assumption that Riku has made considering who he is... who they are to each other. ]

Some of them faded when he tried... but he also took some of my darkness on.

[ At that, Riku sighs, clearly a little annoyed with that. ]

It's a work in progress.

Yeah, he told me that part.

[About the darkness that seeped into Arden that they now somehow share. It's complicate and Sora doesn't fully get it but he sees it as something could be beneficial for both of them in the end. Kind of like how Sora and Ventus can feel each other's light? Maybe. Who knows.]

Riku, your darkness is strong and it's something that's entirely yours. I'm glad you went to see Arden because if there's anyone who can help you with holding on to that special darkness, it's him.

[Sora can still remember how frustrated he had felt when he couldn't help. So his gratitude takes form in little green wisps starting to float around just like fireflies.]

Plus! That means you guys are this much closer to being friends, right?! Right?! [The other important thing here. Sora's still smiling like the Cheshire Cat.]

[ ...of course Sora would jump to that conclusion. Really, why is he even surprised at this point?

However, it's the calling his darkness special that really has Riku coming to stare to the other, completely ignoring that Cheshire Cat grin on his lips and wondering if... he really means that. ]

Special, huh?

[ Humming, Riku rests his head back against the mattress and stares up to the ceiling, an arm tucking itself behind his head to be used as a makeshift pillow. ]

I hated it, you know. A lot. I hated myself because of it. Made me think that I was a lost cause, that the light didn't want me. That I wasn't good enough.

[ Like he had been cast out of it for being "tainted" as he saw it. ]

But then I realized... that it's a part of me and that I don't need to be scared or ashamed of it. That's how it wanted me to feel... that's what it kept telling me to feel. It still does sometimes, even here, right when I think I have a better control on it.

[ Turning his head to look to Sora, he sighs a little then. ]

Before I found you asleep, I was sure I was going to die, you know. That I'd never see you again. Instead you're the one who I wonder if you'll ever see me again. Snoozing away. Tch, lazy.

[Sora curls onto his side and watches Riku as he speaks, being a surprisingly good listener. He feels a deep ache in his heart when Riku goes on. He realizes that him and Riku never really talked about these things face to face back home. There was always something in the way or something happening or them being split up over and over. So to hear this from Riku, it makes him ache. Maybe he does have a second chance to be here for Riku better than he had been in the past.]

What I've learned-- What we've learned is that light and dark go hand in hand, there's no light without the darkness and the other way around too. It's two halves of a whole...

[The brightest lights cast the darkest shadows. There's no way the light would reject Riku. Riku would just have to decide which way he wants to walk.

He can't help but reach out to take Riku's hand in his, fingers tracing little circles over the back of it. Then he squeezes gently.]

It's special because it makes you strong enough to see the light and the dark for exactly what they are. You can find you way through the darkest places.

[And one day Riku will be strong enough to find Sora in the deepest darkness before it's too late.

He can't help but frown at Riku's last comment, though.]

And you know I get cranky when I don't get enough sleep, give me a break. Where you that worried I wasn't gonna wake up? [Then, quieter-] I'm glad you watched over me. That you didn't go away.

[ Riku comes to gently look to Sora as he explains his own thoughts on the matter. It's funny because... had this been right when he had first arrived within this world, the bulk of this might have fallen on deaf ears. But now? Now with it having been a few months since his arrival here and having more or less secluded himself away every now and then whenever he needs a moment to recharge in a manner of speaking, he can fully hear what Sora is saying... not cherry picking what he wants to hear.

Gently, he rolls onto his side, facing Sora and reaches out for Sora's other hand... the one that he bit, yeah. Allowing the pad of his thumb to carefully brush over the spot that might very well bruise a little, he brings Sora's wrist to his lips and brushes a feather soft kiss against it. ]

I couldn't leave you.

[ A beat. ]

Who else would yell at you for deciding to take a nap when I told you to take care of Kairi?

[ And... he just might be grinning a little behind that wrist he holds. ]

[Sora is expecting to wince when Riku takes his wrist to his lips but it's such a feather light touch Sora's barely even sure that Riku kisses his bite mark. It's a little tingly instead. Which makes him smile warmly, blinking expectantly at Riku as he just squirms at the given attention. A puff of laughter escapes his lips.]

I got enough flak from Kairi for that, I don't need even more from you.

[And he's poking Riku's cheek with his finger.]

[ With the softest sort of laughter tickling against the inside of Sora's wrist, Riku presses one more kiss there before he lets go and settles himself on the mattress there. ]

But I should technically give it to you double since she's not here, right?

[ Nice going there, Sora.

But Riku comes to tuck an arm back under his head to be used as a makeshift pillow and allows his eyes to close behind that blindfold, humming a little as he does so. ]

Thanks for today, Sora.

Heh. Guess so.

[He lingers his gaze on Riku just a moment longer. He smiles softly because even if he can't see Riku's whole face because of the blindfold, Riku looks a bit peaceful.

He yawns out and then scoots closer to Riku because with no blankets he's gonna do that. He shuts his eyes.]

It's what I'm here for.

[ With Sora more or less settling down as well, Riku hums again and lazily drapes an arm around the other, making sure to peek an eye open and ensure that he's actually using his bundled up shirt as a pillow; don't let him sleep shirtless like this for nothing, Sora. ]

Careful. I might never let you go.

[He's using it, he's using it! Sora has it tucked neatly under his head just like Riku intended. Sora is quite happy.

What Riku says has Sora blinking. Didn't Riku say something like that before... But- He said...

Sora shifts close and maybe pulls his head off the shirt a little. Only to rest close to Riku's shoulder, lips just barely touching the skin.]

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