kaisou | 「All in the Golden Afternoon」

Entry tags:

riku,
roxas

「All in the Golden Afternoon」

WHO: Riku and Roxas
WHERE: Some random street in Kaisou and also Riku's swanky penthouse apartment
WHEN: February 13th-ish, sometime just before the therapy train gets a little grabby
WHAT: Roxas finds Riku stocking up for his menagerie and has some Questions. Riku would really rather he didn't have questions.
WARNINGS: Teenagers being stupid, Kingdom Hearts Things™

[Riku... had never expected life to turn out quite like this. He'd never considered himself an animal person, even though he liked them well enough. He'd always had his hands full with his Noibat, but even she wasn't an animal-- she was his partner, his best friend. Someone who had his back, no matter what, who had grown up with him since that day he found her in that cave, all the way back during one of his first hand held expeditions into the island's spirit realm. She was everything he felt he needed for so long....

And then, this city had given him a cat. And then a caterpillar, and now--

Well, there's a reason why Riku has spent almost all of his weekly budget in the past hour at the fancy little pet boutique just down the street from his apartment building. Why, at two in the afternoon, he's pushing a fabric cart fully loaded with boxes upon boxes of what, if the pictures on the side are anything to go by, seem to be hamster tubes.

With a quick look from left to right, Riku is hiking up the scarf wound around his neck almost like he's trying to hide in it, before very quickly going to make his way the few blocks to his apartment.

He has absolutely no idea that he's been spotted.]

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[It's not Roxas' fault that this place is fancy and good for photography. And the fact that he knows Riku lives in this neighborhood has nothing to do with the fact that he's here, either! Honest! He didn't bring the pokeball with his Hatenna in it, hoping that he might run into this big idiot under the guise of "I was just looking for somewhere to go take pictures."

[But Riku is definitely looking around and then turning back to try to sneak toward his apartment and almost barreling right into Roxas who is now definitely just standing in front of him with his camera up and taking a picture of his stupid surprised face.]

What's with the cart?

[:)]

[He thought he'd been in the clear. He thought that he'd managed to successfully get into the final leg of this journey without running into someone he knew, or worse-- some random stranger that triggers whatever horrible affliction Riku's had the last few months. That strange, horrible urge that keeps hitting him to go out to places and talk to people.

But here he is, practically running into the actual last person he'd wanted to see.

... honestly, he'd take a whole bus full of strangers over talking to Roxas.

The blond gets the picture he was looking for, one of Riku looking startled and dumbfounded as he practically jumps out of his skin, blinks against the flash of light, and then just wrinkles his nose up in something between agitation and frustration.]

..... shopping. [He pulls up his scarf a little to cover his mouth again before returning his hands to the cart, looking to see if there's a way he can maneuver this around Roxas without upending the whole thing. All while trying to ignore that curling discomfort in his chest trying to urge him to have more of a conversation.] What's with the camera?

[ -- wait no that was supposed to come out as a frustrated retort and not something curious. AUGH he hates this city, sometimes.]

[Roxas holds the camera up in one hand, putting the other on his hip as he grins up at Riku. There's something teasing about it, somehow, even though it's a perfectly friendly gesture.]

Photographing. [Be vague? Get vague.

[Although now he is craning his neck to look at his cart and see what's inside.]

... Did you get a hamster?

[........ there's just something about that grin that, while perfectly innocent from the outside, makes Riku want to gnash his teeth and want to fight so immediately.

It's the same kind of grin that got him swinging the first time he and Roxas met. The same kind of grin that calls back to a hazy memory that just makes him feel so awkward in the most confusing of ways.]

No. I don't have a hamster. [Which..... probably just makes this whole collection of hamster tubes look... really weird.

Riku sighs, hanging his head for a second as he fights futilely against that cursed pull at the center of his chest, before-- ] It's to make life easier for a little yarn man.

A little... [Roxas slowly gets a very confused look on his face, staring at Riku like he's actively growing a second head.]

Explain.

[Ah. Right. This is a Roxas who seemingly doesn't remember all the weird worlds that exist beyond this one.

Usually that's a good thing for Riku, but it also means that anything not Plain Earth Boring is still a little weird.]

A little yarn guy. He helps out with the-- [S I G H] He's just a tiny man made of yarn.

[Look, he likes all of the weird. But he still has to have questions about it.]

And you're giving him... hamster tubes. Why?

[Oh, how torn he is between telling Roxas to mind his own business and actually responding as a normal person would.

In the end, maturity and character growth wins.]

... I have cats. [Which, honestly, should be an explanation all on its own. So, he's just going to go start to try to push past Roxas and continue his way home, just barely keeping his cart from upending (15) as the wheels skim the edge of the sidewalk.] Do you always interrogate people you randomly find on the street?

[Yeah, Roxas is following him.]

No. Just you. [Annoying Riku is his favorite pastime, after all.] So you live around here, then. Is it just you and all the cats? And your... pokemon?

[.... well this isn't going as planned.]

............ yes, I live around here. [He's stopping, narrowing his eyes at Roxas for a moment, suspicious that maybe this isn't a random meeting. But nah, couldn't be (6). There's no way Roxas is stalking him or anything.

So onward they go.] It's... a few more than my cat and Komory, now.

[He will glance over towards Roxas, though.] You've picked up some terms from the app, huh?

[Of course not! He'd be very normal about wanting advice from someone from his past life's world.]

Well, yeah. I've been a little busy, but it's not like this stuff is just... going away.

[He's glancing up at him, however, because he doesn't want to just bring a pokeball out on the street.]

Can I meet all the cats?

[Honestly a good call, though Riku is always tempted to see what explanation normal people would come up with for an animal appearing out of nowhere.]

... yeah, it's not. Once your eyes are open to it, that's it.

[At least... that's how it was when he was younger. That's how it was trying to explain the things he was seeing and experiencing to his parents, his brother.

That's... the kind of things that got him in trouble, when his parents thought he was dyeing his hair and wearing contacts as part of a rebellious phase.

At the very least, Roxas' question startles him out of that train of thought.]

Oh. [He blinks, honestly surprised at such a simple, earnest question.

As surprised as he is by how willing he is to say yes to it.] Uh. Yeah, sure. ... honestly, I'll need someone to run interference while I try to get some of this set up.

[Once your eyes are open to it, that's it.

[That really is it. The sky will never look normal again. People will look like their true selves. It's a blessing and a curse, and he can't turn it off.

[Wrapping his mind around that has been difficult. But it's fine. He can handle it.]

Damn, is it that crazy?

[He has to give him a little shit; he knows that it won't be, that it'll likely just entail him getting cats to chase a toy and not climb Riku while he's got a hammer in his hand.]

[It's... something they could find common ground on, honestly. If either of them ever actually talked about it. Sure, Riku had been a kid when the truth of the world was exposed to him and for Roxas it only happened recently, but... still. It's a shared experience, in a way. It's something they could bond over.

Or Roxas could keep saying just the right things at just the right interval in just the right way to make Riku want to just leave his cart in the middle of the sidewalk in order to shadow step into his bedroom and scream into a pillow.]

You clearly haven't been around more than two cats at a time.

[Stay calm, Riku. You can do this, Riku. Roxas is just being a brat on purpose, Riku.

At this point, they've turned the corner, and Riku can see the lobby of his building calling sweetly from the distance.]

I only have one cat-- [.....] One point one cats, Kory, and Komo. [He is not elaborating on those names, Roxas will figure all that out soon enough.] The issue is... the rest of them.

[Roxas might notice, if he takes a look around, that there do seem to be a good few stray cats walking along building edges and fence lines, now. Weird, when that wasn't exactly happening before they turned the corner.

It's almost as if something is drawing them in.]

[He sure is being a brat on purpose. He's enjoying himself.

[And he is noticing that there are suddenly cats, trying to call to them. But funnily enough, most of them are just kind of gravitating toward this building they're walking toward.]

The rest of them...? [He's asking almost absently as he starts... realizing. And then he points at the building.]

You live there, don't you? [Asked so flatly.]

[You know what, Riku isn't going to bother answering that question. Instead, he's just going to cross the street, walk up to the big glass doors at the base of the building, key in a code, and push it open.

Only then does he turn back towards Roxas, holding the door open for him with such a tired expression on his face.]

... yes. Come in before I lock you out.

[Yeah, Roxas is going to slip inside and start looking around so nosily. He's been to a few fancy places, but he's never lived in one like this. Time for him to be way too confident inspecting this ritzy building.]

Whoooaaa. You're annoyingly rich, huh?

[Maybe he should have just given in and teleported out of there. Maybe he should have called all of this a wash as soon as he was caught. It sure would be less of a headache right now.]

No, my parents are.

[Says the rich boy.]

Don't break anything, my salary won't cover replacements.

[He's going to just push his cart over to the elevator, fishing out his wallet to tap against the reader to call the car down.]

[Roxas does at least go back to him when he sees that he's calling the elevator.]

I'm not gonna break anything, I'm not some hooligan.

[Says the skateboarder.]

So your parents put you up in this place when you left the island?

[Riku fully snorts at that "not a hooligan" comment, but he is at least making room for Roxas to come wait for the elevator with him, scrolling through his phone while he has it out.]

Yeah. Believe it or not, it was the smallest place I could get them to settle on.

[It's not a brag, amazingly enough. There's a lot of annoyance in his tone. Riku would be fine in a one room apartment, so long as he had room enough for his bats and cats.

It doesn't take long for the elevator to come down, and Riku's shoving his cart in before gesturing at Roxas to take up the rest of the space.]

The floor's already called, I'll let you in when you get up there.

[After all, there's barely enough room in there for that cart of hamster tubes and a full person, let alone two. So have fun with the ride, Roxas! Riku's going to wait for the doors to close before stepping to the side, sinking into the shadows of the lobby and stepping out in his apartment, making a face as he rolls out his now slightly sore shoulders and moves to scoop up his giant, fluffy princess of a cat, holding her in one arm as he lets the door swing open, waiting for the elevator just down the hall to get there.]

[It's okay, Roxas is small enough to practically disappear into the wall of this elevator.

[But then Riku doesn't...get in. And then he's already there when they get out! Fuckin' cheater. Never racing this guy.]

Did you just use your powers to ditch me? [That's the first thing he says as he starts pushing that cart out of the elevator to look around.]

[He can't help it. As much as he knows better, as much as he's trying to be better, he can't help the way that the corner of his lips lift into a smug little smirk as Roxas complains at him.]

Yep.

[Simple as that, really.

Kairi shifts in Riku's arms, curious about this newcomer, but not quite curious enough to abandon her perch just yet. But the movement gets Riku's attention, and he opens his mouth to introduce her before... pausing.

Because, well. He did name his cats after his past life's friends. He named them after people that were important to Roxas in that other world, that other lifetime, as well.]

... right. [He bends over to let Kairi hop down and walk over to Roxas, hopping up in that cart and taking a seat amongst the boxes as if they were put there just for her.] So. Before you come in, some of the next few minutes might not be... pleasant.

[Roxas is sure to let Kairi sniff his hand as thoroughly as she wants before he starts to pet her very gently around the face, looking up at Riku and tilting his head a bit.]

Why's that? [He's blissfully unaware of what the problem might be.]

[For a moment, Riku really thinks about it. He thinks about what he might say to ease Roxas into this, to get him prepared for the headache that might hit him.

For a moment, he remembers the pain and rage of a boy in the basement of a mansion, smashing a computer to pieces and breathing hard and desperate through it.

...... but then he remembers how much of a brat Roxas has been since ambushing him on the street and he decides screw it (7).]

That's Kairi and the caterpillar on her head is Sora.

[As if on cue, a small brown tabby just a few inches long pops up out of the fluff on Kairi's head, letting out a cute little mew! as he waves his many, many legs at Roxas.]

[Roxas might be having some weird dreams later, but you know what? He's fine right now. Those names wash through him, and there's a moment where he looks a little troubled, like he might be remembering something, but... it fades. No pain.]

Kairi... and Sora. [He leans in a bit, reaching his finger out so that Sora can grab onto him with some of those little legs.] God, this little guy is cute.

[He looks up at Riku.]

They're your friends' names, right? [Leave it to Roxas to fucking no-sell it (20).]

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