Chapter Text
"An invitation from Queen Elsa?"
Riku eyed the letter in Sora’s hand curiously. They were sitting on his bed in their shared room in the castle of the Land of Departure, permanently living there to continue their training under Master Aqua. Sora had been back for over a year by now, slowly regaining his strength after losing all of it in Quadratum. Riku hated to think about that time.
But he’d gotten stronger over the months, and Riku was sure he’d ace the Mark of Mastery that was scheduled to be in a few weeks. He believed in Sora.
"Yup. She’s throwing a ball in a week, and I’m allowed to bring one other person. She also said I should visit earlier to explore Arendelle for a bit. Can you believe it? I got an invitation to a real ball!"
Riku was torn. Despite being happy for his best friend, especially when seeing him so excited, he could feel his heart sink at the implication. Someone to attend a ball with meant someone to slowly dance with. To romantic music. There was only one person Sora could have in mind for that.
"I know you’re busy with your Keyblade-Master stuff and all, but you won’t mind taking a break, right Riku?"
Sora looked at him, eyes pleading. Riku’s heart stuttered in his chest.
"Me? You want me to go with you?" he asked incredulously.
Sora nodded.
"I mean, only if you want to, of course. I know dancing isn’t really your thing…"
Riku wanted nothing more than to go with him, but it felt selfish to agree without following up on one specific question.
"What about Kairi? She never got to see that world before."
Sora furrowed his eyebrows.
"Yeah, that’s true… but you never visited Arendelle too. And she’s busy with her training. I’ll take her with me another time! Maybe there’ll be a ball next year as well."
It felt like a win to Riku, being the one Sora chose to bring along with him. He knew he should’ve been over that self-created rivalry with Kairi a long time ago, but despite shoving away his feelings into the depths of his heart to not let them interfere with his logical thinking and decision making, they always found their way back into the light of day.
Which was funny, considering this jealousy had brought anything but light to Sora and his other friends.
It filled Riku with guilt to not be able to keep enough control of his emotions. He’d trained so much for that, had learned his lesson over and over again, but it was so hard not to feel this way when Sora was right there.
His light in the darkness. The one person who forgave him everything without thinking twice.
"So, will you come with me?" Sora pressed, still waiting for an answer.
And because Riku had grown quite predictable when it came to him, it was no surprise as to what the answer was.
"Of course I will."
After arriving in the kingdom of Arendelle, Riku hadn’t been given much time to admire the breathtaking scenery of the mountains, everything covered in a blanket of untouched, sparkling snow. The sun had just begun to rise in this world, bathing everything in pink and orange hues of light.
It was different than the sunrises on the islands, but somehow, it still reminded Riku of them. He missed it, waking up in his own bed at home, where his parents still lived. Of course he loved sharing a room with Sora – it was like having a sleepover every night – but the heavy homesickness in his heart remained.
The air was frosty, but they came prepared. Sora kept complaining about how Donald’s magic hadn’t worked the first time they’d landed in this world, leaving him to freeze in his short-sleeved jacket, without a hat or gloves to keep him warm. Riku shivered at the mere thought of that.
Bundled up in thick jackets, lined boots and fluffy gloves, both of them were ready to take on the trek from the gummi ship to the town. They were leaving footprints in the deep snow, sinking into it almost up to their knees.
Sora seemed exhilarated. As a kid that grew up on the islands, he was not used to winter. Riku was no stranger to the feeling, even if he'd grown to hate the cold. It reminded him too much of the darkness he’d carried with him for so long, frigid and heavy in his heart. But Sora’s excitement rubbed off on him, leaving him thrilled to explore the snowy area later.
Sora was greeted like an old friend as soon as they entered the town, strangers interrupting their work to wave at him or send greetings their way. Riku felt out of place in the familiarity of it all, but when Sora smiled at him reassuringly, part of his nervousness faded away.
"Sora!"
A woman in her twenties ran down the stairs of the castle, sprinting towards his friend and almost knocking him over when she crashed into him with a hug.
"I’m so excited you came! Oh, and you brought someone!"
She stepped back, brushed out her dress and curtsied in front of Riku.
"Excuse my manners. I’m Anna, sister of Queen Elsa. I’m here to guide you in."
Riku, although slightly embarrassed by the formal greeting, offered a small bow, unsure if it was the proper thing to do.
"Uhm, hello. My name is Riku. I’m Sora’s, uh…" he searched for the right word.
"He’s my plus one!" Sora finished the sentence, oblivious to the internal turmoil his words sparked inside Riku.
"Oh, Sora told me so much about you! Great to have you here, Riku", she turned to Sora again, "Queen Elsa is already awaiting your arrival. She will give you a quick tour of the castle and then show you to your room. Follow me!"
Anna went ahead, barely leaving them time to trail after her.
"You told her about me?" Riku whispered, heart fluttering inside his chest. It was embarrassing how his insides were acting around Sora like he was still a teenager, instead of behaving like the twenty-year-old man he was.
Sora scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Uh, yeah. She had a big fight with her sister back when I was here. I told her about us and how you only hid away to protect me. I think it helped her understand Elsa a little bit better."
A heavy weight settled inside his chest at the mention of his past. If Sora told her about that, and Anna only knew the bad side of him, then why did she react so excited when she greeted him?
"But don’t worry, I told her plenty of good stuff too. There’s more than enough of that! Oh and by the way, she’s a princess, like Kairi", Sora interrupted his trail of thoughts.
"Although she isn’t a princess of heart", he mused, "so maybe not exactly like Kairi."
Riku chuckled, pushing away his curiosity about the so called 'good stuff' Sora had told her.
"Thought she was a princess when she mentioned her sister was the queen."
Sora elbowed him playfully. "Don’t need my expertise, I see."
"Nope", Riku shook his head, a teasing smirk grazing his lips, "I’m the smart one out of the two of us, remember?"
At that, Sora only rolled his eyes and grabbed his arm, pulling him along to catch up with the princess.
The queen was the complete opposite of her sister, calm and collected where Anna was bubbly and enthusiastic. Despite seeming stern at first, she gave them a warm welcome before showing them the most important parts of the castle.
There was the dining room, where they’d have a shared dinner each night, a library they could use to their liking and of course the grand ballroom that was already getting cleaned and decorated by the staff.
Images of him dancing with Sora on this floor, lost in their own bubble between countless other pairs, flickered through Riku’s mind. He couldn't believe those images would turn into reality in a week, couldn’t see them actually coming true. Out of the corner of his eyes he looked at Sora, who was admiring the decorations on the wall. Riku’s heart clenched.
Last but not least, Elsa led them to their room.
She opened the door, revealing a suite with a big, half opened window, white curtains flowing with a gentle breeze. A carpet took up almost the whole floor, and on the wall, right in the middle was a large canopy bed with soft, crimson sheets. It looked incredibly luxurious, but Riku supposed that was to be expected from a room at a castle.
It was just so unlike the wooden, self-decorated rooms in the castle back at the Land of Departure, that he simply hadn’t expected this. What he also hadn’t expected was, that there was only one bed, even if it was big enough for three people.
Sora carelessly dropped his bag into the corner of the room and flopped onto the bed, crumbling the sheets underneath him. Queen Elsa snickered at the display.
"You should both rest now. I’m sure your travels were taxing. I will send a servant to pick you up for dinner."
With that, she closed the door behind her, leaving them to their own. Riku dropped his bag beside Sora’s before joining him on the bed. The sheets were soft beneath his fingers, and the mattress gave away under his weight.
"What do you think?" Sora asked, looking at him with curious eyes.
Riku pretended to think about it, hand on his chin.
"I think we’d benefit from a personal service to take care of our luggage", he tried to sound extra snobbish, "but apart from that, it’s really nice."
Sora laughed, and it sounded like music to his ears.
Riku turned serious.
"Thanks for bringing me along."
He dropped down beside Sora, both of them facing each other. Only a few inches of space were between them now, and Riku could feel Sora’s breath ghosting against his skin. For a moment, he was caught in the vibrant blue of his eyes, and it didn’t help that Sora was staring right back at him, not intending to break the contact.
"You’re welcome. I like having you here."
It sounded so simple coming from him. But to Riku, moments like this one always ignited this undying spark of hope anew. The hope, that maybe he could be even closer to Sora than he was now, and without the fear of crossing a line.
Sora’s lips curled into a crooked grin and he straightened up, bringing them out of their little bubble.
"Elsa wrote in her letter that there will be an official event in town tomorrow, where she’ll freeze the ground to make a giant sheet of ice for everyone to skate on. We should totally go!"
Right, Sora had told him about her special powers while they were sitting in the gummi ship.
He raised an eyebrow skeptically.
"Do you even know how to ice skate?"
Sora shook his head, but his enthusiasm didn’t waver.
"Nope. But it can’t be that hard, right?"
It was that hard. At least for Riku. Sora didn’t seem to have that much of a problem with keeping his balance.
They left their room after clearing out their luggage, searching for princess Anna so she could tell them where they could get two pairs of skates from. After receiving them from a stall in town, they grabbed a quick bite from a bakery, before making their way to a frozen pond in the woods that was just big enough to freely skate on.
Ice skating looked a lot easier than it actually was, and Riku tried really hard to not fall onto the slippery surface. When Sora had already skated a few laps around the pond, getting more confident with each round, Riku was still struggling to maintain his balance, barely managing to put one foot in front of the other.
"How are you doing that?" he called to Sora, partially in awe and in disbelief.
"I don’t know", Sora came to a sudden stop next to him, his skids flinging a few small chunks of ice into the air, "it just feels natural. Maybe from all the roller skating I did as a child."
Right. Riku had almost forgotten how obsessed Sora had become with roller skating after his mother hadn’t allowed him to buy a skateboard, because she still had her old roller-skates and wanted her son to try them out first. The skateboard had been forgotten afterwards.
"Want me to help you?"
Sora held out his hand, grinning up at Riku. He hesitantly reached out to grab it, wondering if he’d make it out of this situation alive. Of course this was far from being as dangerous as being a guardian of light was – although it was still slightly scary.
But he trusted Sora. He always did.
The other pulled him along carefully, starting slow and showing Riku how to put one foot in front of the other the right way. The movement looked so graceful on Sora, like it came as easy to him as breathing
"See? That’s how you do it", he explained, holding Riku steady when he was about to lose his balance. His grip was strong, able to keep both of them upright even though Riku was taller than him.
Sora’s cheeks and nose were pink from the cold, a cloud of air escaping of his mouth every time he spoke. Riku loved listening to him, and it helped distracting him from the worry of gracelessly falling on his butt, which would be embarrassing.
It took him a while, but Riku eventually got the hang of it. He still kept holding onto Sora’s hand for safety, both of them skating in an even rhythm across the frozen pond.
A gentle snowfall begun, white flakes adorning Sora’s spiky brown hair before melting.
Riku was so caught up in admiring the boy in front of him, that it finally happened. He slipped and landed on his back, pulling Sora along with him. They were a tumbling mess of limbs colliding with the hard surface, and Riku was sure he earned a few bruises from the fall.
Sora’s surprised 'oof' turned into a hearty laugh, and Riku would’ve felt like an idiot if he didn’t love that sound so much. He couldn’t help but join in. They kept laughing until Riku’s stomach hurt and only when he stopped did he notice how close they were.
Sora’s eyes were beautiful, the light reflecting off the snow making their bright blue stand out even more, and Riku couldn’t help but lose himself in them. Sora looked back, like he had in their room, like he knew how gone Riku was for him.
His breath hitched. The moment seemed endless, seconds stretching into minutes and he decided then and there, that their whole trip was worth it to be here. Here at this pond in the middle of nowhere, where it was just them and nobody else.
Moments like these made Riku want to kiss him, made him want to feel if Sora’s lips were as soft as they looked, made him want to take his cheek into his palm and bury his other hand in his brown hair.
Sora gently nudged him with his hand, bringing Riku out of his trance, before scrambling off him. He held out a helping hand.
"Come on", he said, a hint of a laugh still in his voice, "you definitely need more practice, and we still have some time left until dinner."
Riku huffed, letting himself be pulled up by Sora, felling a bit wobbly on his legs.
Ice skating was going to be the death of him.