arboros:
To start, Riku was definitely never explicitly opposed to a new neighbor. A little hesitant, sure, yeah. But what did it matter? It was a nice thought, actually–to have a fresh face around the complex, to say ‘hello’ to every so often. Not much different to everyone else already here. He was probably… a little excited, even. He hadn’t told Kairi about that part, though.
So, ‘someone new’ came, and ‘someone new’ also evidently had some sort of blatant, predisposed aversion to Riku. Not… exactly what he had in mind for the person now living one old, thin expanse of drywall away from him but… He certainly didn’t seem to like him. Riku was the only one he hadn’t bothered to introduce himself to. Riku was the only one that never seemed to bump into him in the hall and have some apparently pleasant conversation about this-or-that. And Riku was also the only one he seemed to catch through closing elevator doors and… wave to? By the third time this had occurred, he had half a mind to ask just what exactly his problem was.
Subsequently, he also found out from Kairi and just about everyone else that his name was Sora and, funny enough, they all seemed to like him just fine! In fact, the ‘Sora’ they talked about was kind of like an entirely different person–definitely not the absolute heathen building shelves at 10:30pm on a weeknight, or nailing things into their shared wall not a half hour after that, all while belting the same two songs, entirely off key, until Riku swears he could’ve shouted them back lyric for lyric.
But, he still struggles to make sense of any of it. There’s not a single connection he can make as to why this guy is basically out to ruin his life with an incredible accumulation of small annoyances. And when left to his own devices (as in: not in Kairi’s sensible vicinity for more than a day), it occurs to him that… this was probably his fault, then. He’s not sure how, but it had to be the case because– what else WAS there?
Maybe… he’d said something rude without realizing–? Not that they’d really spoken at all as far as he can remember but if it happened in passing and Riku didn’t even realize–… he’d feel even worse! Maybe he’d cut him off once in his rush to board the bus. Or maybe Kairi had been right about her RBF theory after all… He never could claim to have the friendliest resting expression. Or it could’ve been something he’d blocked out entirely–how could he figure this all out if that was the case? And with these cyclical thoughts now fully established, he stays wrapped up them for a nice, solid, borderline concerning amount of time. All the while, those stupid passive aggressive encounters and nighttime home improvement projects show no sign of subsiding–with some new additions too, apparently. Like, how often could someone really be ordering takeout… Whatever Riku did to warrant all of this, Sora must have really taken it to heart or something.
He intended to bring it all up to Kairi once again–she was the (basically) lifelong friend of his that, for some reason, had a certain knack for spitting out list after list of everything he needed to hear in almost any context. Always. A best friend didn’t get much better than Kairi, and sometimes he doubted that he could ever be as good to her as she was to him. But, he was so transparent to her that she could probably even sense him thinking it and snap him out of that, too.
Some of his plight made it her way, and her sound advice was less of advice and more of… telling Riku that he was (as he is prone to) probably reading waaay too far into it. And despite his appreciation for the insight and the mostly lighthearted attack on his mental state, Riku just couldn’t pry himself away from that nagging fear that this random person just… hates him. Right off the bat. Just like that. But, then he caught her conspiring with the enemy, and suddenly he felt that certain suspicion crawling right back…
That’s essentially what lands him where he is at this very moment. Today was supposed to be normal, fine, whatever–nothing out of the ordinary being tossed in his face, nothing to stress about except maybe taking inventory at work for the fourth time this week. He planned to stop by Eraqus’s apartment on his way home from today, having asked him to hold onto a package that Riku wouldn’t be home to receive this afternoon (his mother, to this day, likes to send little reminders of home), and that was all well and good until he actually sees Eraqus. He’d always been a fairly level-headed person, as far as Riku could tell; never really looked like he was feeling too much of anything at one time. Riku knocks gently, idly trying to knock some of the water from his folded umbrella, but is greeted by a somewhat… distressed-looking Eraqus. That’s a new one, for sure. But he figures it isn’t really his business to ask what was the matter. Eraqus comes off quite enigmatic sometimes… and he seems to like keeping it that way, so Riku’s happy to leave him to that. But he can’t shake the lingering curiosity as he’s let in and led through his apartment. It’s funny, though, he actually starts to wonder if it had anything to do with Sora. Maybe he’d finally started terrorizing other tenants and not just him. Even weirder, it… sort of sounded like someone else had been here before he knocked. Huh.
Riku almost runs straight into Eraqus as he pauses in the entryway, a little caught up in that thought for a second. He shifts his attention to the living room, hearing… something just then–
Oh.
Well, he’s… actually right there. Sora’s right there, pointing and shouting something or other at Riku before he even has time to fully process the simulation he’s just entered. It has to be a simulation, right? There’s no way the universe could’ve aligned itself so perfectly against him, so as to put this guy right here in front of him with no escape route. But the longer he stands there, the more aware he is that Eraqus is looking at him, too and… this was definitely just a very unfortunate reality for him.
He sputters for a moment, grasping for some kind of… explanation? As if he owes one in the first place, “I– what?”
Oh no. He was right, then, wasn’t he? That whole time… It was probably him being rude, right? And from the looks of it, he’s definitely about to be shaken down for it this time. In the middle of someone else’s home. Only vaguely aware of Eraqus looking a bit perturbed in his peripheral, Riku’s left grappling with the chill of anxiety shot through his chest and yet, in spite of himself, manages, “That’s… funny. I kind of feel like I’ve been running into you–everywhere.”
“Me? Everywhere? No-no, I uh--...” He blinks, and the words actually register.
Oh--!
Sora startles, a mess of sudden uncertain and half-aborted motions, as though the wiring responsible for his motor functions had criss-crossed and knotted themselves. So he had noticed! Noted… noticed him--? Oh god, but that would mean… Him and… everything else. Right. Sora’s wiring shakes itself unjumbled and spills outward like a tangling of Christmas lights and into the crook of Riku’s (he remembers this!) arms, where he clasps his forearms and gives him a firm shake. “Perfect! That’s just--... stay,” he uses his hold on Riku’s elbows to kinda… place him, file him away… over there. “Right here. Okay? Wait for me!”
He spins past him, shoots him a quick thumbs up and bends at the waist to regard Eraqus with a brief bow of his head. Eraqus, with all the grace in the world, manages to return the clumsy gesture with a nod and a bewildered look that Sora misses altogether. With that, Sora stomps into his shoes, trips over them in his haste, loses one, stumbles forward, hops the three steps back to kick his foot back into it and, finally secure in his own two shoes, he races off down the hall and disappears up the stairs at last.
Brain a little fuzzy around the edges, Sora fumbles the key to his apartment. Drops it, catches it with his fingers, drops it again. See, Sora’s been flung into the orbit of a distant planet, set adrift among memories of busy streets under heavy rain, a poignant, musty smell, a bizarre shape he’s certain must’ve been a cat before it slipped away… He remembers his parents talking, their mouths moving; soundless save for Riku’s voice as he tucks his hair behind his ear... it was already behind his ear. Habit, maybe? His heart rate picks up. Could be the stairs.
Cute, that’s so cute. Sora throws his door open with a little more force than necessary.
He knows where he left it, and he knows for sure it wasn’t on the counter. Or… was it? The flat of his palms smooth over the countertop, countertop, countertop… Riku folds his arms at the counter, cradling the elbow of one arm in one hand to put his knuckle to his lip. Thinking, Sora supposes -- but Sora runs out of time to make guesses as Riku blinks and glances up through pale, pale lashes and Sora, arms behind his head, spins on his heel and disappears behind a shelf with a low whistle. Feeling as though he’s been caught, Sora doesn’t look back as the door swings shut behind him with a jingle of the bell. In fact, Sora departs for his island home and just about forgets Riku entirely-- just.
Not there.
Sora yanks a drawer open much harder than he’d actually intended and his kitchen utensils roll at him, rearing up like an angry tidal wave before he gives it a good slam shut. Not there either. Another drawer, then another, then another-- aha! He’d written a list (a long list!) on some receipt paper and stuffed it away somewhere he hoped it wouldn’t get wet. And it hadn’t, really. Err, mostly. Well, what matters is that Riku would be able to read it! Thinking back to an old receipt stashed away in his desk back home (a receipt for secondhand textbooks, trifling but for the little bookstore’s name at the head in blocky print), he snatches it up and makes the mad dash back to Eraqus’s apartment. He doesn’t check it twice.
When he returns, Riku is alone in the foyer. Eraqus isn’t too far off. With his brow furrowed, he’s pointing his remote at the TV and pressing buttons at random. Sora doesn’t know if it’s working-- in fact, he isn’t thinking about it at all as he snatches up Riku’s hands and presses the receipt paper into them. A little breathless, “Here!” He says, closing Riku’s fingers around the list for him with a real satisfying crinkle of definitely messed up receipt paper. He laughs, suddenly a little sheepish. “I’ve been hoping to-- err, trying to apologize in person for being, y’know…” Sora has the decency to wince just that little bit, “awful. But you’re like, impossible to track down! So I thought, ‘next time, Sora. You’ll get him,’ but then next time turned into the next time, and then the next time… So, I made you this.”
Here, Sora finally glances up into Riku’s face and just kinda… blinks a bit dazedly before offering him a lopsided smile. “Wow… You’re like… stupid pretty up close.” He claps his hand over Riku’s where he’d still had his hands folded over his, that lopsided smile widening into a grin. “Well, see ya!”
All that to be said, he gives them a little salute mid-spin, and he’s gone again.
