~~Author's Note~~

Hello everyone~! Uhm, this my first story (obviously) and feedback would be greatly appreciated. ^_^

Hues of red and orange flooded the landscape as sunset had fallen over Destiny Islands. A boy with spikey brown hair and clear blue eyes sat on the pier, letting his legs fall over the edge. He swayed them mindlessly as he stared off into the distance. His thoughts wandered to his recently finished journey; more specifically, his female companion.

Her appearance wasn't overly stunning; in fact, she was somewhat plain. That's not how he saw her, though. She had (s/t) skin, bright (e/c) eyes, and her hair was (h/c), that she always kept held back.

His favourite part about her had to be her smile; it radiated a warmth and kindness that was always so calming and soothing. Oh, what he'd give to see that smile again.

He, along with Donald and Goofy, had met her the first time they had returned to Hollow Bastion. She was surrounded by heartless; just as the three were about to join the fray, she had defeated all of them.

~~Flashback~~

"Well, that takes care of that," she said, sheathing her short sword. From the corner of her eye, she noticed Sora and the others. "Oh, hello," she said, a bit surprised. "Um, do not worry citizen, for we of the Hollow Bastion Restoration Committee will protect you from threats such as these!" she spoke with as much authority as she could muster. The three boys burst out laughing. She pouted and folded her arms, "That's not very nice…"

Sora was about to speak, but was cut off by a female voice, "Hey, (y/n), you done yet? You're taking forever!"

The girl, (y/n), turned around quickly, "I'm sorry Yuffie! I was just-!"

"Ah! Hey guys!" Yuffie said as she looked over (y/n)'s shoulder.

"Yuffie!" Sora yelled. (y/n), obviously confused, moved towards the wall. "How've you guys been?"

"Great!"

"Hey, have you seen Riku and the king?"

"Nope!"

Sora visibly deflated. (y/n), sensing his distress, piped up, "But, um, if we see them, we'll tell them you're looking for them!"

Sora looked over to her and gave a weak smile, "Thanks."

She smiled brightly, "No problem. Oh, I'm (y/n), by the way."

"I'm Sora," He tilted his head to the right, "that's Donald," then to the left, "and that's Goofy."

"A-hyuk! Nice to meet ya'," Goofy said with a smile.

She smiled in return, "Likewise."

"Now then," Yuffie started, "if that's over with, let's go!" She ran towards Merlin's house.

"Ah, Yuffie…" (y/n) trailed off, looking a tad upset. She sighed and faced Sora once again, "If you don't know the way, I'd be happy to show you." She smiled a bit nervously.

"Sure," Sora replied.

~~End Flashback~~

The boy wasn't sure how they managed to convince the three, especially Donald, to let her join them, but he was glad they did. She was immensely helpfully in more than just fighting heartless and nobodies; with her endearing and gentle personality, she managed to talk some people into helping, even trusting the four. Most importantly, she always helped the boy regain his spirit after the troubles of his journey began to take their toll.

She would always hold him, gently stroke his hair and softly talk to him. It was in one of these moments that he noticed things he otherwise would have missed: the softness of her hair, the smoothness and warmth of her skin, her calming scent.

He was certain it was in one of those times that he fell in love with her.

He would never know for sure, but what he did know, and everyone else too, was his gradually increasing protectiveness over her. What started out as friendly protection slowly evolved into reckless attempts to safeguard her; which earned him a harsh scolding each time. Eventually, they managed to break him of this habit, though it still arose from time to time.

. . .

The sun was almost out of view, but the boy still sat there; his mind still on the girl.

Now he was thinking about the last time he saw her. He and his friend had somehow made their way from the realm of darkness back into the one of the light…

~~Flashback~~

Sora shot his head up out of the water. Over on the beach he saw his friends waving him to them. He and Riku both swam to shore as fast as they could, but with differing destinations; Sora to Donald, Goofy, Kairi and (y/n), Riku to Mickey. As soon as Sora reached land, he was tackled back into the water by Donald and Goofy as Kairi and (y/n) just stood there smiling warmly at him. Kairi leaned forward and stretched out her hand to him. He grabbed her hand and hoisted himself up. He turned to look at (y/n) whose cheeks were stained from tears.

He laughed lightly and scratched the back off his head, "Sorry, (y/n)."

She choked out a laugh and ran at him as fast as she could and threw her arms around him. She nuzzled her face into his shoulder and said between sobs, "I-it's okay, I'm just glad you're not hurt."

He nervously wrapped his arms around her and softly petted her hair. He let out a small chuckle, "The situation's a bit different from normal, huh?"

(y/n), finished crying, lifted her head, stepped back and wiped her eyes, "Heh, yeah." She looked over to Mickey who nodded, then back to Sora. She took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry Sora, but it's time for us to go. King Mickey said he'd drop me off at Radiant Garden on their way back."

"Already?" he almost whined, looking down.

She smiled and ruffled his hair, "Yeah, but don't look so down. We'll always be in each other's hearts, right?"

"Yeah…" he looked back up at her, trying to smile.

She briefly hugged him again before walking towards Mickey and the crew. After a few steps she stopped and turned around. With a bright smile she spoke, "And who knows? Maybe we'll even see each other again."

He smiled. "Yeah, I can't wait," he said cheerfully.

She giggled and waved, "Bye Sora."

"Bye (y/n)."

~~End Flashback~~

The sun was replaced by the moon as night came. The boy looked down at his feet, legs no longer swinging. He said to himself, "I never did tell her how I feel…" With a heavy sigh, he stood up and walked the short distance to his boat. Right before he got in, he looked to the stars.

"I wonder if she's out there thinking about me, too."