Way to the Dawn

He was going to refuse, enjoying his tea more than he would any smoothie. Yet when Riku stopped and smiled at him it surprised the page. After all, why was he smiling? Possibly it was a trick to get him to drink, a trick Demyx sometime used also. Yet there was something different about it.

    Riku waited patiently for Xirig to take a draw from the smoothie, his face managing to be both expectant and exuberant simultaneously. His eyes flickered down to where Xirig's lips met the straw and the smile slid from his face for a moment.

He nodded, scooting out and moving to sit on the opposite side from Riku yet again. His tea would be cool enough to drink, and he was already sipping from it when Riku asked. “Palatable, a suitable drink for this morning.” He stated.  “Is your smoothie to your liking?”

    The warmth of Xirig's presence left his side, and Riku missed the reassurance of having him there, but he supposed it was for a good cause if he was going to enjoy his tea.

Looking away, he took a napkin and cleaned the blood from his thumb. He was beginning to feel more confused about what was going on, but what was clear to him was that Riku was saying he’d continue to hurt himself. That was just how he was. Xirig frowned, but the frown lessened when the silveret touched his arm.

    Riku tensed at Xirig's sigh, worrying he'd done something wrong, but it looked like his friend was just worried about him. The silverette immediately laughed it off, shaking his head and picking up the napkin beneath this half-eaten sandwich to scrub more at the steady drip of blood coming from his lip.

Again Xirig’s stomach fluttered when Riku said how good their hug had felt. Of course it had felt good, it had been very nice indeed. However, he wasn’t so certain that his feeling good was appropriate. “…No, of course not… I hadn’t meant…”

The sense of relief that washed through him at those words was incredibly disproportionate to how he should have felt. Did it really mean that much to him that these few days as a married couple not be lost? If so, why? 

With a nod, he continued what he was attempting to say before, his voice almost breathy from shock. “…Yes, I mean that. We will spend another night in the same bed. I have no control over what my body does as we sleep, therefore it is likely that it will happen again.”

He tried to listen to what Xirig said, really he did, but the more he spoke the more confused Riku became until he was frowning quite hard at Xirig in what was borderline consternation. 

He continued to rub until Riku smiled, then he removed his hand politely. Immediately after that, he froze completely and began to blush. "What did you do last night?" Was what he’d done so imperceptible, so small that Riku didn’t care, or had he forgotten? The way he had clung to the Silveret had been inappropriate, something that had embarrassed him yet this wasn’t being taken into consideration.

He continued frowning at Xirig, face twisted in concentration trying to remember what Xirig had done wrong. 

He was going to respond. He was, but then Riku became flustered. Continuing to eat, he watched as his friend continued to ‘fluster’ himself right into a brain freeze. Granted, it was only the second day of their marriage, yet…

Rubbing at his head, Riku didn't notice Xirig's approach  until he felt the touch to his back. Instead of stiffening, as he would have assumed he would, he relaxed into the touch as his body recognized it as Xirig's and, as such, not a threat. 

Setting the yet untouched sandwich down with a soft sigh, Xirig folded his arms. “If the best you can defend your bed is that you have slept in worse places… Riku.” He leaned forwards a little. “I am buying the bed for you. I have the munny, enough for it and more. We’ve already agreed I am allowed to buy it for you.”

This was the part where Riku didn't put down his sandwich and whine like the teenager that he was about how he didn't need a new bed and Xirig was being unfair about all of this.

"Thank you." Xirig smiled, taking his tea from the tray and testing it with his tongue. It was still very hot, so he set it aside to cool. As he waited, he watched Riku and considered the plans for the day.

With a boisterous 'let's eat', Riku picked up one of the sandwiches and took a big bite, chewing on it gleefully. The timing was... less than ideal, however, as he had to struggle around it to say "A new bed? What for?"

"Ah… My apologies, Riku…" Xirig said in a soft voice before speaking to the man behind the counter. "I prefer a small tea, rather than large. That is all for me." He didn’t enjoy changing the orders, worried that his friend would take it as an insult of some form. It was preferable though if they were going to spend the rest of the day on their feet that he didn’t spend half of it on the toilet. His face turned a faint pink at the thought.

Rolling his eyes, Riku nudged Xirig with his shoulder. "Don't apologize, it's fine!" He turned back to the barista and listened as their order was rattled off, nodding each time it was correct until it was time to pay.

"A small bit." He stated, now looking at the sandwiches in the display. Tea was all very well and nice but a stomach needed more to fill it. "Perhaps I may also have a ‘chicken salad sandwich’? That is, if you don’t mind."

They came out in the alley behind the cafe. A warm sugar smell hung in the air, and the noise of cooking and water running could be heard coming from a partially shut window. Xirig ignored all of this, and walked to the front of the building.

The normal disorientation that came with stepping through a portal took over Riku and by the time he managed to get his bearings they were on the other side. Immediately he was assaulted with the smell of something sweet and the bustle of life around them. Grinning, Riku tugged off his organization cloak and put it behind a bin where they'd appeared to retrieve later. 

"I would dislike subjecting you to my cooking." Xirig stated. It would be a while yet before the Melodious Nocturne opened for the day, a while longer if Demyx chose to skip out. "There is a place where we could go, a small cafe on Twilight Town. The atmosphere may be more preferable there than a bar."

Smoothing down the front of his coat, Riku nodded in acquiescence and grinned. "That sounds great! I haven't been to Twilight Town since..." he paused, looking contemplative. "Well, it's been a while, anyway. Let me just -"