Et Tu - Riku x Reader
Hi all! Been a hot minute, but have a Valentine’s Day fic! I mulled over a lot of different ideas (including cliff diving) before I finally came down to this. And yes, I’m aware the title is a bit convoluted.
And thanks again for the request Xeha-non, I too have been all over Riku for the last few weeks.
~~~~~
Jamming along to the song on my phone, I prance around the kitchen, collecting items to throw in the bag on the table. I’m making a mess of my house but I couldn’t care less, a beaming grin on my face as I toss the marshmallows in after the chocolate.
Today is Valentine’s Day; more importantly, it’s the first Valentine’s Day I’ll have with my boyfriend since his crazy adventures ended a few months ago. I didn’t beat myself up or hold his past absences against him—it was just another day to me. But this year, oh, I’m so excited for this year. I’ve been happily hopping around my home all day, trying anything and everything to make the time pass.
The sun is hanging low in the sky by the time there’s a knock at my door. Thank goodness I’m not strong enough to tear the door off its hinges as I rip it open to lunge at the man on the other side. Laughing, he spins me around before setting me back on my feet.
“Excited, huh?” he greets, pressing a peck to my forehead.
“I get to spend Valentine’s Day with my boyfriend! You have no idea!” I say, bouncing on my toes.
“Considering the number of texts I’ve gotten today, I think I have a decent idea.” I jut my tongue out at him. His cheeky demeanor slides into something softer, scattering the butterflies in my chest that always bustle in his presence. “Happy Valentine’s Day.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day,” I return.
The ensuing kiss is gentle, just like Riku himself—when he’s not picking on me. It lingers just long enough to spread a rash of goosebumps and send the butterflies soaring. It leaves me indescribably happy, even when it ends.
“So, are you ready to go?” he asks.
The question breaks the serenity, sending the giddiness back into full swing. Scurrying back into the house, I scoop up the bag. “Yep! You got your swimming shorts?”
“Yeah.”
“Perfect!” The door slams behind me. “Let’s go!”
We make our way to the small island where we set up a little camp on the beach just out of reach of the water. Because the sun is starting to set, the place is quiet and empty; even those wretched birds have vacated for the day—it’s perfect.
Splashing, swimming, floating: water occupies our time as the sun says its last goodbye with the vanishing sunrays. I hold onto Riku as he keeps us afloat, looking to the violet sky where the first stars are beginning to peak through.
“When I moved here, I didn’t think I’d like island life,” I hum.
“I used to hate it here,” he says just as thoughtfully. “But you really start to miss the place you call home when you manage to escape it all. Especially when you find out there are people waiting for you to get back.”
I realize he’s talking about me and my stomach flips. Nevertheless, I grin and pinch at his vulnerable cheeks. “Aww, sweetheart, you missed me?”
Riku suddenly stands; I hadn’t realized we drifted so close to shore. My arms wrap around his neck as he lifts me from the water.
That sneaky simper stops my heart. “Of course I missed you, babe.”
And with that, he throws me out into deeper water.
Clawing my way back to the surface, I chase after the boy. I am in no way an actual threat but he humors me in running away. Somehow it all ends with me clinging to his back while Riku treks back onto the sand.
“Alright, I’m sorry,” he gives. “Can you get off now?”
“Mmm, no.” I press a kiss to his cheek.
“So if I just fall backwards?”
Riku leans backwards. Panicking, I cling tighter and brace for impact but, just before he falls, he steps back to catch himself.
“Yeah?” he goads.
With a huff, I let go. “Fine.”
Ruining my fun as usual, Riku helps me get a fire going in the pit and settled into the sand. Right as I’m about to break out the sweets, he holds his fist out.
“Here.”
I eye him for a moment, growing suspicious. “What is that?”
Green eyes roll. “Just take it.”
“Rikuuu! I told you not to get me anything,” I complain.
“Oh come on. You planned this,” he retorts.
“Yeah, but I planned this for both of us.”
“Are you being ungrateful?”
My mouth clamps shut as I scowl. Knowing he’s got me, Riku smirks and takes my hand to drop something metal in it. I stare down at the trinket. At the end of a silver chain hangs a gleaming, purple charm with an emblem inside. There’s a vague feeling in the back of my head that I’ve seen this emblem before.
“I hope it looks alright. I didn’t really get to pick what it looked like,” he says.
“What do you mean?”
Riku taps the trinket. When it suddenly lights up, I nearly drop the thing. Light grows and expands until, like a balloon, it bursts. My jaw drops. Fluttering rapidly in the air is a round, fluffy bat creature with a big grin. I watch it flap its way to Riku, where it rests on his shoulder.
When I finally get my voice back, I shout, “What the hell is that?!”
“This is my Dream Eater,” he explains. His fingers scritch at its chin like a cat and the thing practically melts. Meanwhile, all I can do is stare at him like he’s insane. “Uh, they usually live in the Realm of Sleep, eating nightmares. He helped me through my Mark of Mastery exam. You can pet him; he doesn’t bite…hard.”
I glare but Riku insistently waves me closer. It takes a little bit of courage before I finally reach up to rest my hand between the creature’s large ears. It leans against my palm, practically purring.
“Aww!” The way the Dream Eater coos and bats his eyes makes my heart soft. “So why is he here?”
“Because I want him to watch over you.”
“What?”
“Things are different now, but I still can’t guarantee I’ll be around all the time, so I want him to stick around and watch over you; that’s why I asked Yen Sid for a charm that would bring him to our Realm.” A hand under the Dream Eater’s feet moves him from Riku’s shoulder to mine. He gives me a look full of soft adoration. “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, right?”
My ears are burning but I refuse to let him see me fluster. “So you gave me a babysitter for Valentine’s Day? Thanks,” I deadpan. It turns to giggling as the bat fluffs and nuzzles against my face.
“More like a guard dog,” Riku replies. “Plus he makes a pretty unique pet.”
“Giving me a pet without asking—so irresponsible,” I tease. “What’s his name?”
He shrugs. “Doesn’t have one. When I got him, I was kinda busy with other things.”
“Well that’s just a shame. Isn’t that right?” I coo at the bat. He cheerfully squeaks. Honestly, he’s so cute I could just squish his face all day. “Isn’t that right, Ceasar.”
“Ceasar?”
“Yeah. I like Ceasar. And I can’t just run around yelling ‘hey you bat!’”
“Fair enough.” A beautiful shade of pink tints his cheeks as he asks, “What you smiling about?”
I lean into the fluffy boy. “Thank you, Riku. I love him.”
That shade darkens. “Good.”
“Alright!” I announce, changing the subject and pouncing for my bag. “Now, I have been looking forward to this all week!”
My boyfriend chuckles. “You mean mauling me in the ocean wasn’t the main attraction?”
“No no no. That was fun and all but tonight’s main attraction—until you brough Ceasar—is smores!” I toss him the box of graham crackers.
Ceasar dances in the sand, looking surprisingly excited for a creature that’s probably never had a smore.
“Oh I see now: today’s just an excuse for you to eat sweets,” Riku says.
I shove his shoulder. “Come on! When’s the last time you had a smore?” I jam a marshmallow onto a stick for roasting.
Riku scratches at the back of his head. “I dunno. Maybe when I was a kid?”
“He says as if he’s an adult,” I mock.
A finger prods my cheek. “I’m more mature than you are.”
“I can be mature when I have to be.” I lean away from the poke. “You, on the other hand, seem to need a lesson on acting like the kid you are.”
His indignation is clear. “What’s that mean?”
“It means stop acting like you’re not a kid.”
“Hey, I’m a keyblade master.”
“I’m sorry, Mr. Keyblade Master—you’re still not eighteen. You still got a few months for that. And I know for a fact that you’re not above being childish.”
“Oh yeah? Like when?”
“Like throwing me in the water. Like that time you stole my ice cream and made me get another. Like that time you hid in my closet to scare the ever-living hell out of me!”
“I forgot about that,” he snickers.
“I know we’re kinda out here on our own, but we’re kids. We’re big kids, but we’re still kids; so I know it wouldn’t kill you to act like it more often.”
His laugh dies down. “Sorry. I guess all this keyblade business kinda gets to me sometimes.”
There it is: the seriousness that plagues him even in his brightest moments. His face downcast and all light gone from his eyes—it’s like he’s reliving one of those terrible memories. We’ve been having fun these last few months since he got back, but there’s no denying that he went through hell. He laughed and smiled and teased me, but I could always sense a weary darkness deep in him.
I sigh. “I know. And that’s why you have me. I may not be a fighter but…” Looking him in the eye, I use Riku’s own words, “You know I wouldn’t let anything happen to you, right?”
He stares, awestruck, a second blush overtaking his face. Normally, I would’ve taken a jab at his moment of weakness, but this time, I simply return my attention to the marshmallow.
It’s on fire.
“SHITSHITSHIT! DAMMIT!” I jam the flaming chunk of charcoal into the ground and shovel sand onto it to put it out. “Aww!”
A new kind of laughter, something pure and light, rings through the air. I look back at my boyfriend and, this time, it’s my turn to blush. For once, the darkness is gone—this is pure happiness and it makes for the perfect Valentine’s Day.
I grin. “What are you laughing at?! That one was for you!”
“I know you struggle with a lot of things, but I didn’t think roasting marshmallows would be one of them.”
“Shut up! You can make your own smore!” I retort, pulling the stick from the sand to throw at him.
The projectile bounces off his arm and the young man retaliates by pulling me into his lap by the arm. His strength makes escape impossible and I break into a giggling mess at the mercy of his peppered kisses. His victory ends with a much more loving kiss against my cheek.
“I love you,” he murmurs.
The confession ignites a fire in my chest. Only hiding my face against Ceasar, hopping into my lap to join the cuddling, can save me from the embarrassing blush.
“I love you too,” I utter meekly.
One last kiss meets the top of my head before Riku reaches for the marshmallows. “Now let me show you how to actually roast a marshmallow.”
Rolling my eyes, I play with Ceasar’s wings. “He’s so mean, isn’t he, Ceasar.” The bat happily squeaks. “That’s right.”
“You know he’s only kissing up to you so he can have a smore, right?”
I gasp, holding the Dream Eater at arm’s length. “Ceasar! You would betray me for a smore?!”
Happy cheep.
“Pretty sure he’d sell us all out for a piece of cake,” says Riku, offering the bat a chocolate that instantly disappears.
“You traitor!”
Ceasar’s grin never falters. “Squeak!”
~~~~~
Nova’s Kingdom Hearts Masterlist