Title: Every Time We Meet
Summary: One chance meeting, and a little papau fruit will intertwine Sora and Kairi's fates for the rest of their lives, no matter how far apart they drift. Current: Sora meets an interesting person in a bridal shop…
Pairing: Soriri
Rating: T for later in the story
Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.
A/N: I'm rewriting this story :) yay!
Every Time We Meet, Part 1: A Summer Fling
Chapter 1: I Can't Believe I'm Going With You
She snorted at him, "Just wait until you fall in love, Sora James Carter!" His sister turned in the seat, glaring at him through matching sapphire eyes.
His expression switched to mirror her defying one, as he crossed his arms angrily, "That never answered the question as to why I'm going with you!"
Their mother listened happily, smiling at her two children bickering as she drove. When no one answered him, he mumbled and turned back towards the window, watching the beautiful summer palms and kids loving summer whoosh by. He could be out there today with them, only he was stuck going to a dress store. To watch his sister try on dresses.
"Ugh." He managed out loud, letting his head thud against the back of the seat.
His sister ignored him, and picked up animated conversation with their mother about dresses: sweetheart and strapless? How about a mermaid or a ballgown? Were sparkles splashed down the dress too much? Would a corset be too hard to get out of on the honeymoon?
"Yuck!" He gagged, shaking his head.
"Yuck what?" She glared at him, "That's what people do on honeymoons, Sora…"
"Lavender," He stated matter-of-factly, "Like you and Leon haven't already fucked!"
As though trying to drown out the word, his mother helplessly cried over his curse, "Sora!" She shook her head vigorously, "As your mother, and as Lavender's mother, I don't want to hear about my baby having sex, and I don't want to hear my other baby swearing like that! Do you hear me?"
Both of the siblings looked at each other and burst out laughing. As though their mother really cared. All hard feelings suddenly drained away, and Sora found himself excited for his sister. Even if he didn't believe in marriages because they never lasted, and quite frankly, did anyone really need a gaudy ring and a certificate to prove they were in love?
"So where are we going anyways?" He asked, deciding to get some details.
"A local designer! Apparently she's really good, and all of the dresses are handmade, so if I like something about two dresses, she'll combine them!"
"She's gonna need to make a super dress then!" Sora laughed, as his sister wormed around in the chair to throw a punch at his arm.
"Children!" Their mother barked with a laugh in her tone. They stopped, but continued to grin.
"That's kind of cool," Sora decided to state, "That we don't have to go all the way to hell and back to find a dress!"
"That would definitely be a lot of gas," his mother turned and winked at him and he smiled, turning back towards the scenery.
It changed now, and small buildings blocked his view of the ocean and trees. They were old-town type buildings, cute and friendly: not a problem or danger in sight. But before he had time to think about it any further, they pulled into a spot on the curb, in front of a large-windowed store. Inside were mannequins with white, bridal gowns on them, and he stared, impressed, as he got out of the car.
"I'm so excited!" His sister dragged in his mom, and he was left, scuttling along, hopefully one day making it inside the doors.
When he finally pushed it open, there was a woman, her hair a beautiful crimson red, eyes shining a wild blue-violet talking to them animatedly.
"I'm so happy for you! He is such a cutie!" The woman winked and turned, "Oh, this must be the brother!" She beamed at him, "I'm Molly," a hand stuck out in his direction and he took it confidently. "You must be Sora! The bride's brother?"
He nodded and laughed nervously at all of her energy. And his friends thought he was hyper with enough sugar.
"Well you guys just get comfortable, okay?" She laughed and turned, "I'll be just another second. There's coffee and water, and some cookies my son made just over there!" She gestured to a small waiting area that Sora took to quite quickly.
He bit into a cookie and beamed, "These are delicious!" Laughing, he tossed one at Lavender who cowered away from it, claiming something about dieting and that she wanted to still fit in the dress.
Sora's mother, Hailey, ended up taking it, nibbling it for a while before Molly came back. "Okay! So let's talk dress of a bit!" She motioned for them to sit with her, and Sora stared into space, not really caring about what they had to say.
That's when he heard rustling in the back room, along with a string of small curses. Curious, he tip toed around the three ladies, and towards the back. He passed many elegant dresses until he came to a store room, the mumbling mystery person inside.
"Stupid box… Why did Axel have to put then so far up? Honestly he's the only one in our family who's that tall!"
He watched her struggled a little longer with the box, before finally tipping it on her fingers. In a horrifying sight, the box tilted and fell, very close to crumbling upon her. She barely caught it before it smushed her face in.
He had to hold in a laugh; this girl was already very comical. "Need a hand?" He offered lightly.
She jumped about ten feet in the air, tripping off of the stool, and falling onto her butt, the contents of the box splashing all over the small closet. Instead of being angry though, her eyes got wide with curiosity. "Who are you?" She exclaimed with a gasp, clearly surprised someone found her in her struggle.
He laughed and gestured towards the front, "I'm with the bride that just came in…" He shuffled forward, careful not to stop on anything, and extended a hand.
"I meant your name," she laughed with a grin as she took the offer.
"Oh!" He blushed, suddenly feeling stupid for not understanding right away, "I'm Sora…"
"Cool name!" She laughed, and shook his hand then, having never let it go. A deeper blush came to his face when he realized it. Why was he so embarrassed in front of this girl?
She had the same deep crimson hair as the woman out in the main lobby, and the same violet eyes – though maybe a little lighter. She was petite, but tough looking, and smiled a sweet, spunky smile when she replied, "I'm Kairi!"
"Kairi…" He repeated in almost a dreamy like state… He didn't understand why, but he really thought the name was beautiful. When he said this out loud she blushed to the color of her air, and turned around.
"That's really sweet," she laughed, nervousness evident in her tone, "I like you already!" He was taken aback, though he understood she didn't mean much by it. She was blunt; he kind of enjoyed that quality in a girl.
Heaving the box back into her arms, she turned back around, only to knock into the shelves. Some things came tumbling down, but Sora expertly caught them before they smashed onto the floor, or onto the girl. She was in awe as she slowly wobbled forward with the box.
"Nice catch!" She praised with a laugh.
His chest puffed up a little as he thought of his response, "Thanks, I play football…" It came out a lot less smooth than he intended it to be, but she didn't catch it.
"Football? Really! In DI? It's weird I've never seen you before…"
He laughed, sheepishly replying, "I actually play in Twilight Town… I'm from there – my family and I are here for a little vacation before my sister's wedding."
"Oh!" She smiled that same sweet smile, "I got'cha! Well I hope you like it here enough to come back!" A grin passed on her face quickly as she meandered into the hall, "It's a beautiful place to live!"
"I wouldn't doubt it!" He remarked, helping her with the boxes as they moved into the lobby.
The three older women in the room all raised an eyebrow at the pair, but both of them beamed back. "Mom this is Sora!"
"So I hear," she smiled, "nice to meet you once again."
"Mom and Sister, this is Kairi!"
They both were expecting a handshake, but received hugs instead, "It's so great to meet you! Congratulations on the wedding!" She laughed at their shocked faces and danced (surprisingly graceful, considering the mishap in the closet) to her mother's side, "Are we ready to look at gowns?"
"Actually Kai, I need you to unpack those boxes and put the new displays in the windows…" Her face was apologetic, but the girl didn't even bat an eyelash.
"Okay! Just as long as you show me every dress!" She giggled and picked up the box once more.
As the three moved away, Sora hung back, watching the girl as she wobbled over to the window and began humming. Her voice seemed as though it could put Sora to sleep as he moved closer, "Do you need help?"
Confusion plastered onto her face then, "Don't you want to watch your sister?"
"Meh…" He shrugged, "I don't really like dress shopping… It's not for me," he grinned at that, "so why bother? Besides, if they're showing you all of the dresses too, then that means if I'm right here, I'll get to see them too!"
"That's a good point," she nodded then giggled, gesturing to the box. "Could you lift that one over here? It's kind of heavy…"
He nodded and moved it, grunting as he did so. Wherever the girl had the sudden strength to tip it off the shelf and not have it crush her face, he had no idea. "Shit…" He cursed as he stumbled.
She giggled as she watched him, and then slowly started stripping the front mannequin. "So Sora, tell me about your football career."
"What about it?" He asked as he unfolded the flaps of the box. He watched out the window for a moment as a few kids ran by, waving to the redhead in front of him, making a face, and jogging away.
"What position do you play? How good are you? Is it just high school – what?"
"Oh!" Again he felt stupid for asking such silly questions, "Well I'm the quarterback and captain of the team…" He laughed, "A lot of people say that they're afraid of me when I play football, which doesn't really make sense because I'm not, under any circumstance, the biggest guy on the team… But I mean I mess up just like everyone else –"
"You're very modest about your obvious skill," she added with a grin.
Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, he continued, "I'm heading back for my senior year of football after we leave Destiny Islands," this time he nodded, "And I've gotten a few offers from colleges, but nothing too big yet."
"Wow!" Her eyes got wide as she laughed giddily, "I've never met a football player who might go pro!"
"Oh no, no, no!" He threw his hands up in front of him, rapidly shaking them and his head, "I'm not near good enough –"
"Whatever…" She rolled her eyes and finished folding the dress back up, handing it to him to put in the clear, hanging bag from the separate box.
"What about you, Miss Kairi? What do you do in your spare time?"
"I help my mom with her store…" She shrugged, and stopped, looking thoughtful for a moment. "I play guitar and sing, have three brothers… Hmmm let's see – I can speak German, French, Italian, Latin, and English, and I cannot cook to save my life."
He laughed out loud at the random thoughts she decided to give him, but it was a start. "Can't cook, huh? Well me and you are waaay opposites then!" He winked at her, finishing zipping up the bag, "I make some mean macaroni and cheese!"
She burst into laughter, and eventually, it spread to him as well. If someone would have walked by they probably would have been considered crazy… maybe just a little. As she calmed down and wiped the tears forming in her eyes, and stopped clutching her stomach, trying to hold back the ache, she shook her head at him. "For some reason that was way funnier than it should have been!"
He snorted, "I could let you try it sometime… Then you wouldn't be laughing anymore." Immediately she sobered and raised an eyebrow. A deep blush came to his cheeks as he stuttered over his next words.
It was her turn to snort as she shook her head, "I'm just kidding! I would love to!"
"Cool… Heh," he wondered if it was appropriate to say so or not, "It's a date…"
Again, she didn't mean anything by it as she nodded her head determined, and went back to dressing the mannequin. For a moment, he reflected on exactly what had just happened between the two. They had just met a matter of fifteen minutes ago, and already he felt like they were old friends.
Rolling his eyes though, he realized when he left here, he would most likely never see the girl again. He would test it: if she wanted to see him, she would ask for his number before he left… It was decided.
Their silence was interrupted as Lavender appeared in the first dress. Then their conversations shifted to her, and what she would look good in, and soon to the dress shop itself.
"So your mom owns this place, huh?"
"Yeah!" She beamed, "Her mom owned a little sewing shop before her, and then my grandma made a dress one day for a customer, and just absolutely fell in love. She was really good at it too!" Kairi laughed and shook her head, "My mom grew up loving designing dresses, and her and I have a knack for weddings."
He chuckled at her, but didn't say anything about what she had told him. She stopped, letting the fabric forcefully fall into her lap as she stared, "What?"
"Huh?" He played dumb though he knew what she was referring to.
"What was that chuckle for?" She half teased, "What do you not agree with?"
He shrugged, debating if he should tell her the real reason. In the end, he figured since he'd never see her again, why not just be completely honest? It wasn't every day he didn't have to hide things from people.
"I just don't believe in marriages."
She almost choked on her own breath as her eyes widened. If he didn't know she was serious, he would have laughed at her expression, "What?" It was his turn to ask the questions.
"How do you not believe in loving someone so much you want to spend the rest of your life with them?"
"First of all… most marriages are because of money or an unwanted pregnancy… and secondly, over half of them result in divorce these days –" she opened her mouth as though to argue, but shut it again when she knew he had a point, "- and," he shrugged, not really knowing what to say, "I mean… I just don't think that if I love a girl enough to want to spend the rest of my life with her, I need to go and get a certificate and a huge rock just to prove I love her… Do you go and certify your friendship with your best friend?"
"I guess not," she admitted, but shook her head, "You don't ever want to get married?"
"I want to find that perfect girl, but no, I see no point in getting married."
"Huh… I guess that's one way to look at it," she shrugged, though he could tell she definitely wasn't happy with the answer, "it's a pessimistic way, but a way nevertheless…"
He laughed at her sentence, before his sister came out in about her eighth dress. Both Sora and Kairi's mouths dropped as she stepped out and beamed at her little brother. The two women behind her were as equally impressed.
It was an all white dress, tight, with the folds of the fabric seemingly floating over each other. The fitted part ended at a slant at her thighs, and from there, it sprawled in tulle laced, here and there, with white roses. All along the left side of the dress, trailing down and around at the end of the fitted part were embroidered beadings. The back was a corset, lacing up her narrow back, and the color contrasted beautifully with her tanned skin and chocolate hair.
Her almond eyes shimmered with delight as she smiled gracefully at the two teenagers, "Well? What do you think?" She spun once more them, and Kairi shook her head.
"If you buy any dress but that one, you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"
Lavender quite liked that comment, and looked to Sora for approval.
He looked at his sister once more, and noticed how stunning and beautiful she looked in her dress. No matter their disagreements and fights, and how they didn't see eye to eye on practically everything, he still knew she'd be there for him forever. Just like she had been when he'd gotten into the car accident, when his father died, after every football game, after every hockey game, through every heart break or bone break… everything. Lavender was there probably even more than their mother was… and even if his choices were wrong, she supported him one hundred percent.
"Lavender…" He spoke quietly, and forced himself to keep looking at her, even though it was an embarrassing thing that he was about to say. "You are probably the most beautiful bride in the whole world in that dress… I think that's the one…"
And Sora's approval was all she looked for before she squealed, ran over, and hugged him, leaping into his arms and squirming around in glee. "Oh my god, I'm so happy!" She cried as she pushed off of him, rushing back over to the mirror animatedly to watch herself in the dress, and cry.
He laughed and scratched the back of his neck when Kairi stared his way, but slowly, her eyes averted to his older sister.
When a dress was being bought, it seemed there was even more for the redhead to do, so Sora was unable to grab another word with her. Every time he got close to mustering up the courage to ask about a number or a place they could maybe meet, or anything, she'd be whisked away on some errand.
And then suddenly, it was time to say goodbye. Slowly, he walked out the door, helping carry the dress, as he glanced backwards to see if the girl would emerge from the back, after being gone for a good fifteen minutes. But to no avail, and once he got in the car, he forced himself not to turn back to see if she'd be running in the streets after him.
It was idiotic to say the least, but he'd never had such a connection with someone in his life… Too bad, he'd never see her again.
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A/N: I hope you enjoyed! Let me know what you think!