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kh_drabble2007-01-02 12:18 am
lindskaba.livejournal.com) wrote in kh_drabble2007-01-02 12:18 am
Entry tags:
challenge entry
Challenge: [089] No Good Deed (Goes Unpunished)
Title: He Was Smiling
Word Count: 470
Notes: Post-KHII. PG-13 I suppose for possibly trauma (jk, jk...I think). An idea that's been trying to burst out of me for about two months now. So so so so so so so much love to![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
crimsoncookie for beta and title.
Somehow Riku knew that for him, it would end in darkness.
Despite Sora's or Kairi's protestations, he knew—-and kept that knowledge safe within him even as he felt the shadows drawing near.
He sat on the paopu tree and watched the ocean as he'd never been able to see it before. He sparred with Sora, laughed at his jokes. He swam with Kairi and carried her piggyback home from the island, warm and wet and sleepy. At night, he held them close as if to wrap them in his chest (with a breath's worth of space, just above his heart). Once, Kairi woke with a bewildered smile, claiming a butterfly had kissed her that night.
He made sand castles.
When the coughing fits began, he hid them in his hand, or in his shirtsleeve. Sometimes he'd excuse himself for a walk on the island; the others knew him well enough to leave him be. He'd crumble in on himself then and let it out, burying the resulting bile—-oozing, dripping black—-in the sand.
He never let them find the holes.
He continued to come to the island until the last day. That afternoon, while racing Sora barefoot through the surf, the shadows fell and he collapsed face first into the waves, gasping for breath until his vision slipped away.
He woke in the evening to a foreign bed and two pairs of wide blue eyes on him. "They said that there's a shadow on your heart." Kairi's tiny fingers clutched unsteadily at Sora's wrist as he spoke, voice brimming. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Calmly, he replied. "It was inevitable."
"Riku, that's...that's so stupid! We can fight this together, you and me and Kairi! We can fix it, Riku! We can-—"
"Sora."
His friend stumbled on his silenced tongue, looking to be on the verge of tears. Kairi's grip tightened on his wrist.
"Don't be afraid."
"Me!? What about you!?"
Riku simply closed his eyes. "I'm ready."
To that end, there was no argument.
That night, they encircled him, held him close as if to wrap him in their hearts. Arms bled into arms and chests rose against each other, sharing the air between. Someone shook; the others echoed and moved to compensate. Fingers pressed against arms, hands against heads, lips against tears. In the dark, a voice barely whispered: "I want to hear the waves." They shifted, and breathed soft in his ears.
--
It was Kairi who felt his heartbeat go.
She pressed her hand to his chest and tried to fill up the void with her pulse—-one two, one two, never echoed back. She folded her face into his shoulder and cried.
--
Sora woke suddenly when the dawn touched his eyes. Breathless and aching, he looked up at Riku.
He was smiling.
Title: He Was Smiling
Word Count: 470
Notes: Post-KHII. PG-13 I suppose for possibly trauma (jk, jk...I think). An idea that's been trying to burst out of me for about two months now. So so so so so so so much love to
crimsoncookie for beta and title.Somehow Riku knew that for him, it would end in darkness.
Despite Sora's or Kairi's protestations, he knew—-and kept that knowledge safe within him even as he felt the shadows drawing near.
He sat on the paopu tree and watched the ocean as he'd never been able to see it before. He sparred with Sora, laughed at his jokes. He swam with Kairi and carried her piggyback home from the island, warm and wet and sleepy. At night, he held them close as if to wrap them in his chest (with a breath's worth of space, just above his heart). Once, Kairi woke with a bewildered smile, claiming a butterfly had kissed her that night.
He made sand castles.
When the coughing fits began, he hid them in his hand, or in his shirtsleeve. Sometimes he'd excuse himself for a walk on the island; the others knew him well enough to leave him be. He'd crumble in on himself then and let it out, burying the resulting bile—-oozing, dripping black—-in the sand.
He never let them find the holes.
He continued to come to the island until the last day. That afternoon, while racing Sora barefoot through the surf, the shadows fell and he collapsed face first into the waves, gasping for breath until his vision slipped away.
He woke in the evening to a foreign bed and two pairs of wide blue eyes on him. "They said that there's a shadow on your heart." Kairi's tiny fingers clutched unsteadily at Sora's wrist as he spoke, voice brimming. "Why didn't you tell us?"
Calmly, he replied. "It was inevitable."
"Riku, that's...that's so stupid! We can fight this together, you and me and Kairi! We can fix it, Riku! We can-—"
"Sora."
His friend stumbled on his silenced tongue, looking to be on the verge of tears. Kairi's grip tightened on his wrist.
"Don't be afraid."
"Me!? What about you!?"
Riku simply closed his eyes. "I'm ready."
To that end, there was no argument.
That night, they encircled him, held him close as if to wrap him in their hearts. Arms bled into arms and chests rose against each other, sharing the air between. Someone shook; the others echoed and moved to compensate. Fingers pressed against arms, hands against heads, lips against tears. In the dark, a voice barely whispered: "I want to hear the waves." They shifted, and breathed soft in his ears.
--
It was Kairi who felt his heartbeat go.
She pressed her hand to his chest and tried to fill up the void with her pulse—-one two, one two, never echoed back. She folded her face into his shoulder and cried.
--
Sora woke suddenly when the dawn touched his eyes. Breathless and aching, he looked up at Riku.
He was smiling.
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Great fic, though. Seriously, I love it, very well done!
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(Anonymous) - 2007-01-02 18:40 (UTC) - ExpandRe: reply
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It was Kairi who felt his heartbeat go.
Lines like this have an express connection to my tear ducts. It's true. *whimpers*
Excellent work, hon! :3
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D= OMG drabble. *meme*