[ riku / kairi ]
-drabble-

Chronology

"Can I tell you a secret?" she asked me.

Kairi and I were sitting on the Paopou tree. We were twelve and thirteen years old. The sun was just beginning to set.

I shrugged. "Sure."

"I think I like Sora."

/

I watched Sora and Kairi say their goodbyes on the dock. He hopped into his boat and began to paddle back to the main island. She stayed there, watching the sunset. We were fourteen and fifteen.

Slowly, I walked over to her. "Did you tell him?" I asked, sitting down on the dock beside her.

She smiled. "Not really."

"You looked like you were having a good time." I said, keeping my eyes forward.

"Sora and I always have a good time together." She told me, swinging her legs back and forth, not daring to let the water touch her toes.

I pursed my lips. "Yeah."

/

"I told him." She told me, joining me where I laid on the beach.

"When?"

"After he went into the Secret Place and saw my drawing." She said. There was a short silence and then she giggled. "I think he figured it out first though."

I didn't reply. What was I supposed to say?

Kairi sighed. "He's so oblivious."

I wanted to tell her that she was the same.

"So what happens now?" she asked.

"That's not my decision." I told her.

We were fifteen and sixteen.

/

"Can I tell you a secret?" I asked her.

I was lying in a hospital wing. I couldn't breathe well. I'd gotten into a nasty fight with a powerful Heartless. And this time, it didn't look like I would heal. She was the only one with me. It was late at night.

Kairi took my hand and leaned in with a smile, trying to hide her sympathy and fear. "Of course, Riku." She whispered. "You know you can tell me everything."

I blinked slowly, studying her face. "I love you."

She breathed a sigh of relief. "I love you too."

Slowly, I shook my head. "No, Kairi." I lifted my hand weakly to take her cheek in my hand. "I love you."

Tears formed in her eyes. "Riku…"

"And I'm ruined for anyone else." I told her. "It's better this way. I could never make anyone happy but you. I could never give my heart to anyone else."

Kairi toyed with the gold band on her finger in guilt.

I took her hand and brought it to my lips. I planted a gentle kiss on her knuckle. "I love you. Remember that."

"I'm sorry." She whispered, clutching my arm. "I'm so sorry, Riku. If I had known…" she trailed off. We both knew that nothing would have been different except for how close of friends we were.

I shook my head. She knew I understood.

"Don't leave me." She pleaded.

I placed my hand on her cheek again and managed a smirk. I closed my eyes and waited.

We were twenty and twenty-one.

A/N: Random idea in the middle of the night. It's strange. I imagined the ending differently, but that was before I decided to kill Riku. I shouldn't do that. It makes me sad.