“— —i told you i’m fine, sora.” if one didn’t know him any better, one would say he was whining. in reality, he’s soaking the attention up — he can’t remember the last time anyone doted on him as much as sora was now. the king hardly came close — though he did worry in his own way. (granted, sora likely has cause to worry; he’s greatly understating his injury.) “it’s just a scratch. i’ve had worse. we’ve got more important stuff to worry about.”
❝ you’re not “fine”, riku! ❞
Small hands are furled into fists at his sides, and his face is pulled into such a tight scowl that he can hear his mother gently chastising him for it. ( It’ll stick that way, Sora — and then you’ll look silly! )
Sorry, Mom — but, my friend is hurt! Besides, maybe if I look silly, Riku’ll laugh again.
He can’t remember the last time Riku did that.
Blue eyes dart down toward the bridge of Riku’s arm, toward the gash from a Nobody’s blade that bleeds freely, drip-drip-drips onto the grass beneath their feet. ( Sora imagines it seeping into the parched earth, imagines a new Riku sprouting through the cracks — red and dripping, wielding a Keyblade, your heart is weak, the body may die but a heart lives forever! )
Riku’s heart lives forever in him, just as his own heart lives forever within Riku. ( He has many friends, all of whom live immortal lives within his heart, but Riku has always been … something else, something more, something that he could never have the words to articulate or the knowledge to discern — a second heart, full and beating and occupying the space beside his own, and then a third that is entirely his and entirely Riku’s in turn / a third that is not, and will never be, shared with anyone else. )
He’s just all heart — which sounds noble, until it hurts, until there’s no more room in your chest to breathe.
It’s just a scratch. I’ve had worse. We’ve got more important stuff to worry about.
❝ There isn’t anything more important to me than you! Don’t you get that by now?! ❞
Maybe Riku finds it endearing to watch him fret so over “nothing”, but he should understand better than anyone that nothing is “nothing” to Sora!
❝ You know that I can heal it! It’ll take, like, two seconds! and then we can keep doing all of our “important” stuff ——— but, I’m not going anywhere until you’re better! You can’t make me. ❞
In fact, he makes a show of sitting cross-legged on the ground, folds his arms across his chest, pouts up at Riku.
( He loves Riku, in a way that he is too naive to comprehend.While he awaits the other’s decision, his eyes well with very real tears. ) @rikudevium!
