For Art (A Kingdom Hearts Modern AU)

Heat Wave

It was near the end of the semester again, and summer was falling hard on Hampstead, their hometown. Their little apartment was always hot, so they always left the window open - the cool breeze was peaceful, and they liked the city noise.

In fact, a heat wave has hit their little town - the boys were up early, sweating and panting, lying on top of the hot bed with all the sheets on the ground.

Riku sat up, getting a drink of room temperature water from the glass next to him. "We need something cold," he groaned.

Sora sighed. "I call the shower."

"Don't take too long," Riku teased him. The younger man was notorious for taking his time in the shower. Plus, Riku had a better idea.

It was a Saturday, one that both of them had off. This was a rare occurrence, considering their busy schedules. Riku packed up a little picnic while Sora cooled off in the shower and laid out a tank top and shorts for his friend. He ignored the stack of papers waiting for him on the desk. Today was about making his best friend happy.

Sora's mind was very fogged in the heat - he wasn't in a bad mood, but he was awful lethargic. When he came out of the shower to find Riku packed up with sun hat and glasses, it took him a second to figure out what was going on.

"We're going to the beach!" Riku announced.

Sora's heart soared. He dressed quickly, grabbed his straw hat and the two packed into their good friend Aqua's sedan (she often let them borrow it if they needed a vehicle). It wasn't far to the island the two had spent their childhood summers on, and Riku was sure this was a good way to quench the summer heat.

Nearing their island, Sora suggested they stop at the corner store for something cool. He picked them out two sea salt ice cream bars - it just caught his eye. The two boys sat at a picnic table outside of the store and ate their ice cream. It was a truly beautiful day.

They both got brain freeze at the same time.

Their beach day was fantastic - it was a quiet little beach they'd found, barely anyone else there. They'd got to lounge around, Sora dozed, Riku read his book. They went in the water for a little. The day wasn't important - they had plenty of happy days. It was when they got home that things were different. They were relaxed, happy, but still very hot. They lay on the couch with the window wide, the fan on, the TV quietly playing the weather channel.

"I'm so hot," Sora moaned breathlessly. "I wish I was back in the water."

"Here," Riku moved the fan closer to Sora. "You can take off your shirt, if you want to."

Sora felt a little sheepish because he knew that he could take off his shirt. He shouldn't have been embarrassed about it. Oh, and now Riku was watching him intently, so he did remove his shirt. The cool air felt nice on his bare chest. Riku laid back again and pulled off his own tank top.

Both of them were sneaking peek at the other's gorgeous body.

Riku liked Sora thin waist, his freckled arms and shoulders, and even tan. The hair on his arms was fair, lighter than that on his head. Of course, Sora's hair always lightened in the summer, gold highlights coming out. Sora was special.

The brunette marveled at Riku's body whenever he saw it. He never had issues building muscle, but kept a lithe frame. Riku's hair was a unique attraction - all over his body, every hair was silvery white. Some random mutation must've let him be that way. Sora had seen Riku's parents: his father's hair was brown and his mother's was honey blonde. He hadn't the slightest inkling how Riku came to be.

Sora shook himself from his adoring thoughts. "I'll start supper. You want salad?"

Riku nodded. "Yeah... yes, please."