ML Contest: Exultant

The island…Green, and white…and passionate blue, upon a rock. It served as a sanctuary…away, and protected from the world around him by it’s ocean. The colors blended in a dream-like soft focus reverie. Destiny Island had always been a sight to see, especially to those inhabiting it. This is where the air always smelled of salt, and fresh air. Where you could feel the waves tickling at your toes, and not have to go very far. The perfect home, so Sora thought. He loved living here. And he was glad that he was back after all this time.

The Earth was new and alive this morning…it sent chills down his spine as the sun rose from the first green spark at the liquid edge of the horizon. Red-amber, then gold, flowing out upon the intense sapphire waves…It was dawn’s lemon yellow light that always gave him tingles, and set that goofy grin in full-swing. The solid land of Destiny Island swept to an edge ending in water…it was almost, well. Unreal, so it seemed. The ocean itself was always brilliant with light. It rippled, and pulsed…It spoke the rhythm of this ancient planet. Brushing back cinnamon colored hair, he sighed in quiet thought.

Then, there was the sky. Oh, the sky. First red, red-pink, then pink-peach, somehow shifting as only the sky could from pink to pastel blue. He was most at peace when we was one with the moment. The stillness of the island upon the water, it’s purity at dawn quieted his heart.

He always wondered what was out there. But now, he knew. And it was a sort of bittersweet feeling. After all he’d gone through, it was over now. They were back.

They were home.

It was peaceful. The only falling lights now were the falling stars that he would find sneaking their way past the sky. The nights on Destiny Island were amazing to put it simply. There were no artificial lights of the city to block out the light of the stars, and they would shine brilliantly in a black and blue sky mixed with lazy wisps of clouds stretching like they’d just woken up here and there.

A voice from behind was the first thing to catch his attention.

“Hey. Your eyes will fall out if you keep staring at the sun like that.”

It was a faintly teasing voice he’d grown to know by heart over time. Once almost innocent, it now held the tones of not a boy, but a man. But it was still so sweet that he had to close his eyes and savor it whenever he heard it. Sora wanted to capture it in a bottle, and on warm nights open it just to listen and be comforted.

“I’m not looking directly at the sun. Just admiring the light. And the colors.” Sora replied as a very familiar arm brushed against his own.

The arm was of his best friend Riku, who looked no worse for wear. He was still weak from the ordeals. After all, he’d barely been able to walk when they’d first returned to the island. Their arms barely touched as they looked out over the horizon together. But that touch…that feather-light brushing of skin was just enough to keep Sora satisfied. It was almost too much to be alongside Riku again. He could almost barely contain himself, and often found himself just watching the simple things that he did. Brushing his long silver hair with his fingers, gazing up at the stars…It was all so hypnotic sometimes.

“Oooh, I’m Sora. I like pretty colors.” Riku teased, leaning sideways to nudge Sora, who off balance, stumbled a bit. “Joking. No…They’re gorgeous. I almost forgot what a Destiny Island sunrise looked like. It’s pretty sad, isn’t it? How far I’ve fallen?” He sighed, faint grin turning into an even fainter straight line upon his lips.

“It wasn’t your fault.” Sora replied, bare toes wiggling in the sand. It was a sad topic to think about. And he really didn’t like bringing it up. He had long since forgiven Riku of all of his wrong-doings, even though it had very well broken his heart to send his Keyblade flying at his best friend’s vital points.  “You were manipulated. I’ve told you a thousand times…I forgive you, Riku. For everything. We fought as comrades once more not long ago, and that was all the proof that I needed to forgive you.” He sighed, rubbing a hand on the back of his sun kissed neck.

“…Tell me one thousand and one times, then.” Riku spoke in a reserved voice, turning what Sora believed to be almost inhuman eyes towards him.

“I forgive you.” Sora stated simply, tilting his entire form so that he faced the other. Riku had always been larger than he had. Stronger, faster at times, taller. But it didn’t bother him like it had before. What once made him incredibly jealous, was now…rather attractive. Riku had grown well. Not under the best circumstances, but he had. His hair was longer, now. Perhaps a little straighter, and less unruly than it had been before.

“Mm…Thank you, Sora. But I hope you realize that I’ll never truly feel like I did before. I feel like…I’ll betray you again. But I can’t. I won’t. I’ll throw myself to the sea before I do.” Riku sighed, running a hand through his hair in faint exasperation.

Sora watched Riku through all of this, and couldn’t help find his expression all the more tempting than he had before. Even frustrated, he seemed radiant.

“Excellent wretch! Perdition catch my soul, But I do love thee! and when I love thee not, chaos is come again.”

“Sora, you read too much. What was that from again?” Riku chuckled, brow raising in a slightly confused manner. Had he just said that…? No…Of course he hadn’t.

“Othello.” Sora replied casually, brushing back granules of white sand with his toe to get to the richer, damper brown sand below. “One of my favorites. I read it to you once, remember?” He added after a moment, drifting closer to his friend once more as a stray flock of seagulls noisily flapped by.

After a moment of thought, Riku turned back to Sora, who was now watched him in a rather amused sort of way. And giving a trademark raise of the brow, and light grin, the silver-haired teenager twisted a bit, holding out a hand.

“My bounty is as boundless as the sea, my love as deep; the more I give to thee, the more I have, for both are infinite.”

“…Alright, Romeo, stop being such a drama hog.” Laughed Sora, hand over his stomach to still his laughter. He in turn got a bit of an embarrassed look from Riku, who promptly folded his arms, and huffed. His cheeks turned a magnificent pink, and he turned away.

“It was all I could remember.” He muttered, eyes becoming friends with the sand below, shoulders hunched.

“It’s cute.” Sora murmured, nodding his head a bit. “It…kind of suits you, by the way.” He spoke after a moment in thought.  Glancing to Riku, who had also lost himself in thought, he rose a brow. “Riku?” He muttered softly, bending his head to try and catch an other-worldly gaze.

“Journeys end in lovers meeting. Every wise man's son doth know.” The silver-haired teenager replied simply, unfolding his arms to drop at his side.

“Twelfth Night. I’m impressed, Riku. You do listen to my rambling sometimes.” Sora teased quietly, turning out to the sea again. He could’ve sworn he felt the entire island move in that moment. At least his stomach felt like that. It was nice to hear Riku speaking such things.

“Hey. Sora. Do you think our journey met it’s end like that?” Riku swallowed, taking a quick, sharp breath.

“Has our journey even ended yet, Riku?”

The question was surprisingly casual, and Riku could not help feel that Sora indeed had a point. Was it really over?

“Though I suppose this one journey has ended, for now.” The cinnamon-haired Keyblader added as soon as he saw Riku’s puzzled look. “And…Trust me, it ended with all the love I had to offer. I went through Hell and high water just to get you back to light, so be thankful.”

“Never said I wasn’t thankful, oh mighty Keyblader of Destiny Island.” Riku snickered, brow lifting in a customary half-salute to the sky. “Remember when you said you wouldn’t mind staying in darkness with me? I was surprised when you said that, you know.”

“Oh?” Replied Sora, turning his head to glance almost casually at his best friend. “Why so surprised?”

“I didn’t expect it. You always reminded me of a child of the light. You know…your smile could just light up wherever you were. You were always on the good side, trying to fight the darkness.” Riku spoke thoughtfully, nodding here and there as he spoke. When he turned his head, his eyes beheld a rather rare sight.

Sora was smiling. Just smiling. Not grinning like he just heard some silly joke. His lips weren’t even parted, and what was even more surprising, was the light flush upon his cheeks.

“You’re getting all mushy on me, Riku.” Sora explained, blue eyes rolling skyward. “But still, it gives me butterflies. It always did, and I think it always will. You know, I used to watch you fall asleep to me reading to you. I felt like this then, too.”

“I was never asleep until you finished.” Riku murmured upon remembering. “I liked listening to your voice. I still do. You know…it’s deeper, now. You’re growing up, Sora.” Riku sighed, grasping his arms as a wave of chills set havoc upon his body. Whoever thought their conversations would turn from what bugs they found today, or who won sword fights, to confessions and observations such as these?

“Me? Tch. Look at you, Mister Romeo.” Sora laughed, brushing back his cinnamon hair. “You’re still taller than me. And you have more muscle.” He mock-pouted. Turning to Riku, the Keyblader edged closer, reaching out to take Riku’s left arm in his hands. Running his calloused fingertips upon the smooth skin, he sighed. “Bah. See? Look. You’ve gone all macho on me.” He grunted.

“At least I’m not a body-builder. Yuck.” Riku laughed, grinning ear to ear. “But look at you. Sora Spaghetti-Arms has gotten muscle, too. Look.” Bringing one of Sora’s arms up, he pushed back his sleeve, flexing it for him. “No more baby-fat. You’ve really gotten a workout from swinging that Keyblade around all the time.” He observed, pale fingertips brushing caramel skin.

“You were always much paler than me, though. Remember how I used to compare your skin to moonlight? Surprising, since we were always out in the sun.” Sora sighed thoughtfully in a dreamy manner.

“Yeah, I think I remember that. You called me a ghost one time when we were out watching the meteor shower. Just because you could see me right through the dark because of my white skin.” Riku scoffed, tweaking Sora’s nose between his fingers.

“Ghost.” Sora replied, pulling at the silver-haired teen’s cheeks, stretching them until he could see his pearl-white teeth.

“No’ a gho’sht.” Riku slurred, reaching out, grabbing  Sora by his head behind the ears, pulling him in close to try and relieve the death-grip upon his face. “Now leggo’ or I’ gonna’ droo’ on you.” He slurred again, threateningly tilting his head to the side. Immediately, Sora released Riku’s cheeks, which now had lovely little pink thumb-marks upon them. Wriggling his freed jaw, he grinned.

“Ew. Riku drool.” Sora whined, half-wriggling to the side. “Like that time we both fell asleep on your bed. I woke up to the feel of drool soaking through the shoulder of my shirt.” He groaned.

“I slept surprisingly well that night, too. I think it was your shampoo, the smell of it always seemed to put me to sleep. Remember when I borrowed your pillow when I slept at your place? I was out like a light.” Riku reminisced.

“Yes, I remember. You drooled on that, too. Gods, Riku. You may be pretty when you’re awake, but you drool like a half-wit mule when you sleep!” Sora howled, turning to the side to try and stifle his grins. “Luckily, it’s not a drool river. It just kind of…trickles.” He giggled, cupping his hand over his mouth. “Oh, it’s so cute…You kind of twitch when you sleep, anyways. And when you drool, or are getting ready to, your mouth kinda’ opens a bit, and your nose does this…little deer-like wriggle…thing.” The Keyblader sighed, wiping tears of amusement from his eyes.

Riku, brow risen high, face flushed in embarrassment nonetheless, cleared his throat, and turned his head to the side with an un-amused smack of his lips. “Not my fault.” He offered simply, laying his hands upon his curvaceous hips. “And did you call me pretty? Men aren’t pretty, Sora. They’re handsome.” He corrected, even though Sora pouted.

“Guys can be pretty. Or at least…I think so. Well you are!” Sora huffed, turning around to face the tree house further away beyond the docks. “You always sleep with your lips parted. Then you inhale your hair, and I have to pull it from your mouth so you don’t choke…But that’s beside the point.”

“…Sora, do I really look that weird when I sleep?” Riku asked with the lightest tones, but with the most intriguingly horrified expression  his face could manage. He wasn’t even fazed by the fact his best friend was calling him pretty…Why was that?

He really had no idea. But again, that was besides the point.

“No, not really. It’s…amusing. It’s cute.” Sora corrected himself, folding his legs to plop down onto the sand below with a less than graceful thump. Riku followed suite with the faintest of grins, rolling a shoulder.

“Well. Glad to be of amusement, then. Never knew I was such a plaything to you, Sora.” Sighed Riku, leaning back on his arms, then eventually onto his back, said arms stretched above his head.

“…You look like…a model.” Sora pointed out after giving his friend a quick glance.

Immediately, Riku sat up and curled himself up, knees to chest, arms around his knees. “Stop that.” He groaned, blushing from ear to ear over the bridge of his nose. Sora only giggled from the side, chin resting on his palm.

“I can’t help it. You look like those models in the magazines that Kairi and Selphie read.”

“Sora, you actually read one of them?” Riku muttered, trying not to laugh.

“No!” The Keyblader yelped, defensively flapping his arms. “I just glanced at one once.” He added, puffing his chest. Immediately, he was inflated by a poke to the stomach via Riku’s index finger.

“Sure, sure.” Sighed Riku, amused…Visions of Sora at sleepovers suddenly popped into his head, and he couldn’t help but laugh. Imagining Sora with fire-red painted finger and toenails was quite the thought. Of course, the cinnamon-haired Keyblader was quite un-amused, and quite curious as to why Riku laughed.

“What? Are you laughing at me?” Sora growled, rolling to his knees, throwing himself at Riku, who recoiled, and fell backwards from his rolled up state to support Sora’s weight.

“Ack! No, I’m not, I just had a…funny thought.” Riku replied, hoisting the boyish savior up into his arms, slinging both of his own comfortably about his waist.

“About me.” Sora scolded, rubbing his head into Riku’s shoulder like a cat fed on cream. “Aaah, sleepy! I haven’t been to bed, yet.” He muttered, getting a surprised scoff from the silver-haired teenager.

“You mean to tell me, Sora, king of snooze, that you’ve been up since yesterday afternoon at twelve?” Riku asked, pushing the sleepy-eyed one off of him a bit so they could look eye to eye.

“Maybe.” Sora replied as if it were nothing.

“Well. Actually, I haven’t, either.” Riku realized, sighing.

“So that’s why you were out here so early. It’s not even eight o’clock, yet.” Sighed Sora in an almost dramatic way. “…I wanna’ go to sleep right here. Be my pillow. I promise not to drool…unlike some people.” This was stated with a grin, though it was hidden in the depths of Riku’s unbelievably soft neck. He could feel the boy shivering, and it was all too pleasant, because he was, too. And not just from the air from the sea.

“Mmm. Not out here. If we sleep here, we’d be open game to Tidus and Wakka. They’d probably step on us.” Riku chuckled in amusement. “Let’s go to the tree house. I think the girls are sleeping at Selphie’s, so they won’t  be by there, most likely.”

“Don’t wanna’ move.” Sora sighed, now drifting on the edge of sleep.

So Riku simply gathered the drifting cinnamon-haired one into his arms, and hauled him up the docks, and up and around the stairs, across the little boardwalk to their small dwellings. Sora’s pillow was still there, plus an oversized blanket. Everything was still the way they left it. Little stick-figure drawings pinned to the driftwood walls, papers scattered, a little battery-powered lamp. Yes, it was just like before. Untouched by time, though still a little dusty. But it was their home away from home. Where they’d stay up until dawn just like today, giggling and sharing secrets.

And gently, ever so gently, Riku settled his now sleeping friend onto the ground, unfolding the blanket, still soft and smelling of laundry soap and dust. He shook it free of the layer of passed time, then laid beside Sora, maneuvering until his head lay overtop hair that smelled of a tropical rainforest. It wasn’t a sweet scent…it was earthy. Natural. Yes…this was the scent that always sent him to sleep at times like this. And at this moment, Riku felt utterly alone with this boy. There wasn’t the energy like there was before. It was quieter. It was calmer, now. No frantic Blitzball games on the beach with screaming, laughing children. All that Riku heard now were the waves. Sora was still the same. His heartbeat was still strong enough to hear it the faintest bit running underneath his chest. Waves, and birds…That’s all there was, now. The silence before the dawn. And there, Riku’s eyes were yielded to sleep. In this little wooden hideaway that smelled of the past. And here, he slept beside a childish young man. He was also of the past, but also of the present. And of the future.

It was darker when Riku’s eyes finally peeled open. He supposed they’d slept well into the evening…It’d been an exhausting few weeks, after all. Getting back into the rhythm of the island had been surprisingly odd. It’s movements didn’t compare to the other worlds they’d traveled through at all. Each had a feel of their own, and it was all so alienated, now. He tried to shift, but was caught by two arms.

And it surprised Riku how strong they really were.

The still innocent Sora had managed to gather Riku up as they slept, and had wedged himself close into his grip, which had been slung over Sora’s left shoulder, and his waist. In this moment, Riku quieted himself in observation of his cinnamon-haired savior. He’d grown…that was for sure. He was no longer a scrawny little boy like he used to be. His arms and legs were long like before, but not intensely thin. They’d gained muscle with strenuous work. His stomach had lost all of it’s young fat, and had turned into a flat plane of smooth skin and faintly curved and dipped muscle.

His hair grew, but still stuck out every which way, causing Riku’s smile to grow from amused, to simply kind. His expression turned from tiredness, to simple wonder. One could even call it fascinated, or entranced. The sky outside had turned once more…This time, not in sunrise, but sunset. It was the pause at the end of their day. And he really did feel at this moment in time, that everything had ceased to move. It was silent, save for waves, and Sora’s gentle breathing. And as Riku reflected, a teardrop fell from his left eye. Only one, and it dried quickly from where it had trailed on his cheek, to Sora’s smooth  forehead.

Colors in the clouds melded from purple to red, from pink to pastels…All mottled and swirling into a reflective wonder.

“S’…raining, Riku.” Sora muttered in his sleep, the former prince of darkness only smiling in reply. “S’warm…” He sighed again, curling deeper into warm, pale arms.

This embrace…this experience…

It was nothing short of a miracle. It was pure focus.  It was like…The exultant moment of music. Nature at it’s extremes. It was the height of a storm. The edge of twilight. Something simple.

A leaf.

A snowflake.

The stars…

This was the caress of simple words. And even though neither of them spoke, and only one witnessed this moment of pure innocence, Riku knew that this was forever. They were home.

And they were together.

But one word was spoken, and one alone. This was spoken by Riku upon a whim. A little thought.

“Intarsia.” He whispered against Sora’s soft hair.

Intarsia, a bonding of two or more gem materials between narrow bands of gold, was what he felt now. Only the gems were not gems, but himself, and Sora. The gold was not gold, but the sunset. They were bonded together in sunset. No…No. The world. They were bonded in the very bounds of the sky and sea. The forests, the deserts, the mountains, and oh, how good it felt to be here, warmed by the flesh and blood of the one who’d forgiven him a thousand and one times.

And in love, if he dared to dream, or even speak it.

Sora awoke not long after the tear fell upon his forehead. He didn’t notice it, for it had dried in that time. So he only smiled in the way he always did, fingertips digging into the broad, soft surface of Riku’s clothed back. Nothing was said.

But then again, actions always spoke louder than words.

Sora stood in the small space, Riku following soon after by the thin fingers that curled around his own. And they walked in silence along the edge of the beach…Around the buildings so carefully crafted there for as long as either of them could remember. Hand in hand, they walked to the highest point of their little island. It was silent, even now. And at the highest point after a long, long walk, they stood to watch the very last  bit of light lay it’s head to rest on the horizon.

Sora’s gaze drifted high into the heavens to gaze at tiny stars that only now just began to open their eyes and shimmer. The very first star to emerge was tiny, but visible. And that was enough for them.

“Riku. Make a wish.” Sora stated in the embrace of cool night air, inhaling the scents of rich sea air, and fresh sun kissed green foliage all around him.

And Riku did. At the end, he simply smiled, and turned his head.

“Your turn, Sora. Make a wish.”

And Sora did.

“What did you wish for?” Sora sighed curiously, not stressing the issue.

“Mmm. I thought if you told the person, that it would never come true? And truthfully, Sora, I want my wish to come true.”

“Yeah, you’re right. I want my wish to come true, too.” Sora replied, not going any further into it. He wouldn’t make Riku reveal anything.

“Sora?” Ventured Riku.

“Yeah?” Sora replied.

“Sora, can you keep a secret?” The silver-haired teenager whispered, letting the soft ocean breeze caress his face.

“I’ve always kept your secrets, Riku.” Sora chuckled, edging closer to Riku, pointing up at another visible star.

“Then…I wished that we could do this forever. Even if at one point I have to carry you here myself. I wished we could look at the stars, and wish on them forever.” Sighed Riku, nodding halfway through his words.

“Riku? Can you keep a secret?” Sighed Sora, lips curved into a joyous smile hidden by darkness.

“Mmhm.” Came a simple reply from Riku.

“I wished the same thing.” Sora offered, a roll of the shoulder punctuating the darkness as he gripped Riku’s hand tightly in his own.

“Really?”

“Yeah. Really.”

Silence was met again. Crickets practiced their song of the night all around, and the occasional night-dwelling bird sang quietly from the trees, joining in the nocturnal symphony.

“I’m glad.” Riku spoke after a while, closing his eyes, letting the moon bathe him comfortably.

“Y’know? I am, too.” Sora sighed in kind of a finale.

For a while, they stood upon the ledge, looking outwards. They looked to their future, even though their minds mostly dwelled upon the past. But that really didn’t matter anymore. The moon shone swollen and round, like the stomach of a mother with child. The last violent faded upon the horizon. Black took over. And Riku was no longer afraid of the darkness that came with it.

The stars above shimmered brilliantly…All different colors, but they all shined brightly, even the tiniest of them. And the ones that didn’t, the ones further away? There were millions, if not trillions, of them, trying to cast their light below upon the two looking up.

Fingers laced slowly together, intertwined like their destinies had been so long ago. They both knew deep in their hearts, and deep in the back of their minds, that their lives had been brought together for a reason. They never would’ve thought that this was one of them.

Unearthly aquamarine, and innocent sea-blue eyes met in what little light their was under the moon and clouds.

“…Don’t leave me.”

Sora was the first to speak.

“I won’t.”

"Promise.”

Bodies shifted, and melded, Sora’s arms to Riku’s neck, Riku’s arms to Sora’s waist.

“I promise.”

“Promise me.” Sora almost hissed, arching his entire being up against Riku, burying his fingers in his clothing and silvery hair.

“Sora…” Riku groaned into the smaller boy’s shoulder, nails gliding smoothly up his spine to grip his shoulders in an embrace so intimate, so…simple, so…clean, that it bonded their souls immediately, and tightened it’s grip upon the futures of the ones that were ready to give themselves to darkness just to be near one another. “I promise.” He muttered, eyes fluttering closed in a molten flow of emotions that threatened to rip him apart at the seams.

“Thank you.” Sora murmured, afraid that raising his voice would cause this very moment to shatter into a million pieces. But then again…Moments like this would still have time to emerge. After all, their wishes had a chance, didn’t they? They were on the first star of the night. And even though neither Riku, nor Sora could see it anymore among the countless speckles of light, they knew it was still there. And it was carrying their wishes, one in the same, up to the heavens.

Then again…

They didn’t need stars to tell them that they’d watch stars together on this hillside for as long as they could.

They already knew.

And they both intended to keep that wish as little promise in their hearts. To let it manifest into a little butterfly in their stomachs. This would be the simple reminder of just what they went through.

And as the stars waited with baited breath above, both Riku and Sora extended the pinky of their hands, and linked them together, free arms still wrapped in a protective embrace around the other.

“I promise.”

The words, simultaneously spoken, became at that moment, a bond stronger than diamond. This was their red string of fate.

Once more, eyes met, but this time, did not shyly cast aside. They instead moved ever closer…until two beings collided in one heart-stopping moment.

Eyes closed, and lips touched in the gentlest of gestures.

And in this embrace, at the end of a more than ordinary day, both hearts joined as one through the press of both warm and cool lips. Caramel skin mixed with moonlight skin in an embrace so tight that their bodies almost melded together.

This was…heaven. There was no other way to describe it. When the need for breath became too great, both leaned back, lips still lingering close, both smiling in a way so secret, just for one another.

And in the symphony of the night, both silver and cinnamon mixed together in love’s embrace. Listening, watching, just taking it all in.

“Riku…” Sora sighed, finally, eyelashes fluttering closed as he nuzzled his way a bit deeper into Riku’s embrace.

“Mmhm?” Riku replied, eyes lidded heavily.

“Thank you.”

“For?”

“Being you.”

“…You’re welcome.”

And these words melted into the sultry, sweet smelling summer night sky…Mixing with the humid air as once again, these two intertwined souls walked hand in hand…home.

Where they would both sleep deeply, tonight. Probably more deeply than they had in a long time…

And that was just fine with them.