Exhaustion doesn't begin to define how he feels. The weight of what felt like years of fatigue settles atop his shoulders, seeping into his bones as he finally returns home, her hand clasped in his.
He promises he'll see her at the islands, after he settles something. "Real quick, I promise!" He quips, afraid to admit impending doom. Kairi smiles, and leans forwards, softly kissing him on the cheek before running off to meet him at that old tree, heavy with fruit and stooping over waves.
Sora takes a deep breath to calm his strung nerves. He's done so much, so bravely. Yet, as he stares at the familiar porch, a small twinge of fear plucks at his heart. No sense in stalling. He thinks as he steps forwards to knock.
It swings open, and there she stands. Wrinkles and faint streaks of gray that weren't present three years ago. "Sora…" She murmurs, gazing up with deep blue eyes that mirror his own. "You're taller." She manages, her gaze becoming misty as she pulls him into a tight embrace.
He follows her inside, sitting down as she heats up leftovers and they talk, for what he wished could be an endless conversation but could only be for so long. His arm seems to fizz out a little, and she smiles at him, bittersweet. "You've had quite the journey, haven't you?"
The hero sighs. "More than I ever imagined." He hesitates for a minute. "I...I'm sorry I never came back any earlier. And I'm sorry I can't stay any longer, but I promised—"
His mother pats his hand. "It's alright. I love you, Sora."
Kairi's quick to notice the tips of his hair turning into grains of sand, blown away by sea breeze, so she suggests they keep away from the little party at the beach.
He's atop the paopu tree, where it all began and now where it ended, and he's just simply so tired, with no energy for words. She's not oblivious to it either, so they simply sit together, gazing ahead at the golden seas and skies until he just can't hold himself together any longer.
a/n: short story. right after i finished sobbing uncontrollably from confusion and upset-ness at the ending/secret ending/epilogue i said to my friends "hey yknow what might make that have a way bigger punch? if there were scenes of sora interacting with friends/family before he just fucking died" and now here we are.
