9A/N: HERP DERP LET'S GET THE PERSON WHO DOESN'T KNOW ANY MODERN MUSIC TO WRITE A FIC ABOUT SINGING!
Typos fixed!
"You know, I've never heard you sing before."
Riku peered over his book at Roxas, who was laying with his head on the opposite armrest of the couch. "That was random."
Roxas shrugged, closing his own book and setting it aside before crawling across the couch to Riku. "It's just, you're always listening to music," he indicated the iPod resting on Riku's stomach and the buds in his ears, "but you never sing. Hum, maybe, sometimes. But sing?"
"So what?" Riku asked, bringing his feet down from where they had been stretched out on the coffee table and shifting to sit upright. "I can like listening to music and not sing."
"I want to hear you sing."
"...Why?"
"Why not?" asked Roxas. "C'mon, what are you listening to right now?" Before Riku could answer or protest, Roxas yanked one of the earbuds from Riku's ear and put it in his own.
Even if I say it'll be alright, still I hear you say you want to end your life. Now and again we try to just stay alive. Maybe we'll turn around 'cause it's not too late, it's never too late.
"Three Days Grace?" Roxas asked.
"Mmhm. Never Too Late," Riku confirmed.
"Well, sing it!" urged Roxas.
Riku shook his head quickly. "No way."
"Come on, Riku. Why not?"
"I don't want to," replied Riku adamantly.
"I'll sing, too," offered Roxas. "The life we had won't be ours again... This world will never be what I expected. And if I don't belong..." He prodded Riku impatiently. "Sing!"
Riku shook his head again, tight-lipped.
Roxas sighed. "You're no fun. What have you got against singing?"
"I've got nothing against singing. I just don't like singing."
"And that was the last verse, too." Roxas rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Let's see what song comes up next."
He waited for the song to finish, then frowned as On My Own by Hedley began playing.
"Ehh. I don't really like this song." Roxas picked up the iPod, letting On My Own play while he flicked through Riku's playlist. There were a bunch of songs by Three Days Grace. Roxas didn't much care for them himself, but he thought some of their songs were okay. Nevertheless, he looked for something else he could play.
Riku shrugged and went back to his book, humming softly to the song's melody.
"Tch. You need some new songs on this thing. I'm bringing my iPod tomorrow," Roxas announced.
"You have fun with that."
The door was thrown open with a slam, and Roxas sauntered into the house, singing at the top of his lungs, "But nothing's greater than the rush that comes with your embrace, and in this world of loneliness I see your face. Yet everyone around me thinks that I'm going crazy. Maybe, maybe."
Riku glanced up briefly but almost immediately returned his attention to where he was standing at the kitchen counter, making a sandwich.
"But I don't care what they say—I'm in love with you. They try to pull me away, but they don't know the truth. My heart's crippled by the vein that I keep on closing!" By now, Roxas had made his way to Riku and pressed himself right up against him.
Riku, unfazed, raised an eyebrow at him. "Having fun there, Roxas?"
"Why, yes, yes I am," answered Roxas, drawing back. "Because singing is fun.You should join me."
"How about no?"
"I keep bleeding, I keep, keep bleeding love. Keep bleeding, keep, keep bleeding love. You cut me open and it's draining all of me!" sang Roxas, practically skipping as he danced around the kitchen.
Riku shook his head exasperatedly and topped his sandwich with a piece of bread, dodging Roxas as he moved to sit down at the table. As he started eating, Roxas finally stopped singing and took a seat down beside him.
"Good afternoon, Riku!"
Riku grunted. "You're uncharacteristically cheerful today. It's a bit unnerving, to be honest."
"Well, why wouldn't I be? Singing makes me happy!" declared Roxas.
"...Right."
"Which is why I think you should take up singing," continued Roxas. "'Cause you're always so grumpy."
"I am not."
"Are too."
"Nope."
"What's so bad about singing, anyways?" Roxas asked, lest they fall into an "are too," "am not" argument.
"We went over this yesterday. There's nothing wrong with it."
"Then why don't you? Embarrassed?"
Riku glowered at him and quickly replied, "No."
But a wide grin had spread across Roxas's face. "You're embarrassed! Haha, oh my God, Riku!"
"Shut up, Roxas."
"Sing, come on, Riku. Just do it."
"No."
"Why not?"
"I said no!" Riku snapped.
Roxas stuck his tongue out. "You're no fun." He set down the dock he'd been holding and placed his iPod in it, pulling out the earphones. "I believe the world is burning to the ground," he sang loudly."Oh well, I guess we're gonna find out. Let's see how far we've come, let's see how far we've come. Well, I believe it all is coming to an end. Oh well, I guess we're gonna pretend. Let's see how far we've come, let's see how far we've come."
He looked at Riku expectantly several times as he sang, but the latter just chewed his sandwich in stony silence. Once he finished, he walked to the living room. Roxas, undeterred, picked up his iPod dock and followed him.
Riku clicked on the television, and the battle commenced. The volume of the TV kept climbing higher and higher and, in turn, Roxas raised up the volume of his iPod to the maximum and bellowed out the lyrics of the song he was playing for all they were worth.
"I'M BEAUTIFUL IN MY WAY 'CAUSE GOD MAKES NO MISTAKES. I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK, BABY, I WAS BORN THIS WAY. DON'T HIDE YOURSELF IN REGRET. JUST LOVE YOURSELF AND YOU'RE SET. I'M ON THE RIGHT TRACK, BABY, I WAS BORN THIS WAY!"
In the end, Riku was the one who gave up (for the sake of his ears) and turned the television off. Then, because Roxas was making no move to do so, he reduced the volume of the music.
Roxas finished singing the song with a flourish, then turned to Riku. "Now," he said sweetly, inching closer to Riku on the couch, "sing. Or else."
"Or else what?"
Riku made no move as Roxas straddled him and snaked his arms around his neck. "Or else I'll never have sex with you again," he whispered, breath tickling his ear.
"You make it sound like I'm only in a relationship with you for the sex," Riku said flatly, unimpressed. "Or that we've even had sex more than once."
Roxas nuzzled his face against Riku's neck. "Rikuuu."
"I'm not sure what you're hoping to accomplish with this display."
Sniffling, Roxas said, "Riku...if you don't sing, I'm going to cry."
Riku rolled his eyes and put his hands on Roxas's chest, pushing him away. "Lay off. You never cry." And his random 'mood swings' weren't helping to make his act any more convincing, either.
"There's a first time for everything," Roxas pointed out smugly. "Including you singing."
"Well, not for this," Riku said firmly.
"Anyways, you should download some of my music into your iPod," said Roxas, abruptly jumping off Riku's lap to sit beside him on the couch. "No more of that Three Days Grace crap."
"Three Days Grace is not crap," huffed Riku.
"Whatever you say, Riku. Oh, hey, maybe we should duet. It's not as embarrassing when you sing with someone else, right? Right?"
Wondering how Roxas had reached that conclusion, Riku said, "Not everyone is blessed with the ability to sound like a boy band member when they sing, Roxas."
"Hey, if that's a reference to the me sounding like Jesse McCartney thing, I am so sick of hearing that. We sound nothing alike!"
"You couldn't sound more like him if you tried."
"Want me to record something? I'll show you just how—" Roxas blinked. "Tricky, Riku. Intentionally leading me away from the topic of you singing? Too bad it didn't work. Now, do it."
Riku shook his head.
"Just once," said Roxas. "You only have to sing once. That's all."
Riku glanced at Roxas's iPod, which was still playing music. Finally, he sang, almost muttering, "I'm your biggest fan, I'll follow you until you love me, papa-paparazzi. There, I sang. Happy?"
"That was only one line," Roxas protested. "I meant sing a whole song."
"You never explicitly said that. You just said 'sing once.' Well, I sang once."
"Don't be annoying, Riku. What are you so embarrassed about? You have a great voice."
"Do not."
"Do too."
"Do not. And you really can't judge that from one line."
"Geez, Riku, you're such a sourpuss."
Riku scowled.
Promise I'll be kind. But I won't stop until that boy is mine. Baby, you'll be famous, chase you down until you love me. Papa-paparazzi, went the iPod, ending the song. The intro of I See the Light began playing.
"Ooh! Let's duet!" exclaimed Roxas.
"No."
"I'll do the girl part," Roxas offered.
"Tempting...but no."
"Flynn's part only really has, like, one solo part." When Riku didn't respond, Roxas added, "D'you think I'm gonna laugh at you? Is that it? 'Cause I won't, promise."
"I still don't want..."
"Riku," interrupted Roxas. "No one else is listening. Please?"
Riku cringed as Roxas pulled out his trump card—the pouting puppy dog face. Turning swiftly away, he said, "No."
"Pleeease?" wheedled Roxas, moving in front of him, eyes widening and pout deepening. "Just this one song?"
Riku gritted his teeth. "...Just. This. Once."
Roxas grinned broadly and started the song over. "All those days, watching from the windows," he sang, "All those years outside looking in. All that time, never even knowing just how blind I've been."
Roxas's ability to sing high (though not as high as the original singer, thank goodness) was just a bit frightening, but Riku admitted to himself that Roxas made a good Rapunzel.
"Now I'm here, blinking in the starlight. Now I'm here, suddenly I see. Standing here, it's all so clear; I'm where I'm meant to be," sang Roxas, standing up and drawing out the note. "And at last I see the light, and it's like the fog has lifted. And at last I see the light, and it's like the sky is new. And it's warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted... All at once, everything looks different, now that I see you." He turned expectantly to Riku as he finished.
"All those days, chasing down a daydream," muttered Riku unenthusiastically. "All those years, living in a blur."
Roxas nudged him. "With feeling! Like you mean it!"
"All that time," sang Riku, his voice growing slightly louder and a blush spreading rapidly across his face, "never truly seeing things the way they were. Now she's here, shining in the starlight. Now she's here, suddenly I know. If she's here, it's crystal clear, I'm where I'm meant to go."
Roxas joined him and they sang, "And at last I see the light."
"And it's like the fog has lifted," continued Riku.
"And at last I see the light," they sang together.
"And it's like the sky is new," Roxas sang.
"And it's warm and real and bright, and the world has somehow shifted," they chorused. "All at once, everything is different, now that I see you. Now that I see you..."
Roxas was smiling like an idiot as they finished. Meanwhile, Riku, his face heated, just knew that he would die of embarrassment.
After a lingering note, the song finished, and the iPod switched to the next one.
Let it go, let it roll right off your shoulder. Don't you know, the hardest part is over. Let it in, let your clarity define you. In the end, we will only just remember how it feels.
"Ooh, Riku, let's—!"
Roxas broke off abruptly as Riku smothered the words with a forceful kiss. "Shut up," he mumbled against Roxas's mouth. "No more singing."
Surprisingly, Roxas didn't argue. But, of course, Riku couldn't see the small handheld recorder that the other had just clicked off in his pocket.
SONGS FEATURED IN THIS FIC:
Never Too Late by Three Days Grace
On My Own by Hedley
Bleeding Love by Jesse McCartney. Or should I put Leona Lewis.
How Far We've Come by Matchbox 20
Born This Way by Lady GaGa
Paparazzi by Lady GaGa
I See the Light from Disney's Tangled
Little Wonders by Rob Thomas