How depressing this time of year was, it wasn't Halloween, yet not yet Christmas. It was this type of time that infuriated Kairi the most. While Thanksgiving wasn't too bad, what was bad was the sporadic weather changes. The Islands typically remained warm, but occasionally would end up in freezing cold weather, really for no apparent reason other than to catch her with her pants down.
Sometimes literally.
Such is the way of the Islands, and as for today, Kairi was already having a bad day. Not only was it cold, but once again, an all-out argument with her step-mother left her wandering town. She didn't know what was worse, her father's silence, or her step-mothers fiery anger. And because of her rash decision to leave in such haste, she was trapped outside in only a pink tee and a light blue skirt.
Just peachy.
"Damn her, and damn him too." She muttered bitterly as she passed by yet another restaurant. She knew Destiny Islands was a tourist trap, but it was a shock that not everyone on the Island was obese at this point based on the amount of island food every restaurant sold. "Damn it all." Anger creased her pretty face now, and while normally eyes would follow her as she walked down the street, she was happy to see eyes averted this time.
She finally caught sight of someone she didn't mind seeing. Brown spikes poked above a couple in front of her in the dawning dusks dim light. She recognized him immediately, but didn't call out to him, and didn't even increase her pace. She knew Sora would be too busy at this time to actually be of any use.
Sora Hikari, a name she both loved and despised. The spikey haired, blue eyed, dope of a man was not only her current best friend, but an ex-boyfriend of hers. While the two had previously been their high schools best couple, trouble in paradise always strikes to those who least expect it. After high school, Sora decided the only way he could impress his mother was to go to a college near the prestigious Disney Castle, while she was stuck here at the Islands. Sora had stellar grades at his college, and not only that, was taken under the wing of a man named Mickey, a short man with a carefree smile, and a lot of money to blow. Sora was set for the high life, while she was literally stuck in her room half the time, her online classes driving her up the wall.
After six months of long distance, Kairi couldn't take it anymore and ended her relationship with a man she believed she would spend the rest of her life with. She lost contact with him, and was shocked to see him attending classes at the local college. He had informed her about how he transferred home to help his mother with the flower shop, and was taking classes to pursue his dream of becoming a famous author.
Even now she resented him slightly for that, he had thrown away the high life and grandeur for this tourist trap. She couldn't believe his idiocy sometimes, but then, she supposed that to him, his mother meant the world and more.
Lost in thought, she felt herself bump into a man a head taller than herself. "Shit," She said, taking a step back in surprise. "I'm so sorry."
"I've never heard you sound so pissed off." She glanced up to see crystal blue staring in her eyes. "What crawled up your ass and died?" She saw him wearing his uniform shirt and jacket with huge letters spelling HARS across the front of his shirt and a patch on his black jacket, along with a pair of greased up blue jeans.
"Aren't you supposed to be working you bum?" Sora smiled at her, grinning a trademark smile, and placing his hands behind his head. "Still the same as ever 'ey?"
"You asked me not to change remember?" She did actually did, when they were 14 sitting on the dock begging him to never change, but she would be the last to actually admit that.
"Shouldn't you be getting back to work?"
"Got off early, Cid said to 'Git the hell outta his shop before he stomps my stupid head in a curb'." Kairi cringed at the idea. Cid Highwind was a master mechanic, and the only man willing to hand out jobs to anyone who asked first. For the past year, Sora had been his number one employee, never late, and never taking a sick day. Cid had tried everything to get him out of his shop, including verbal threats, extremely odd hours, and even days spent just watching Cid lecture him on basic mechanics they had gone over a thousand times before. She supposed the fact that Cid's wife loved Sora's mothers flowers helped keep Sora employed at his shop was a big reason why Cid had gone easy on him.
It wasn't that Cid hated having employees, he just refused to admit that he needed them, so forcing them to quit before he got attached was his only option. Sora was the only one who stuck it out however, and had now been working at Highwind Auto-Repair Shop for over a year now, along with spending long mornings working with his mother. Sora was a man who did what he could to ease the burdens on his mother, and did it with pride. With both of them at the bright age of 21 years old, both Sora and Kairi were frequenters of bars after work, neither actually having any more than a single beer, but sitting for hours and just talking.
"Well since you're done early, want to go get some dinner?" Kairi asked, tugging at his jacket sleeve as she took a few steps forward. She mentally slapped herself for acting like they were still together with this simple gesture.
"Actually," He began, following her now, taking his jacket off and slipping it over her shoulders. "I was hoping you'd follow me to the beach."
"Isn't it too cold for that sort of thing today?" She said, following him regardless of her complaints. He didn't say anything more, and she didn't pressure him at all. Sometimes he got somber like this, no doubt lost in a memory of some sort. After a few long minutes of silence and walking, they finally arrived at the beach and walked along the dock until Sora finally sat down on its edge, Kairi quickly following suit.
"You aren't trying to romance me are you?" Kairi teased as they watched the sun begin to set across the horizon. "Because this is the sappiest way possible."
"Oh please," Sora said, rolling his eyes as he leaned back on his hands. "My original way of asking you out was way too cheesy."
"The balloons were a bit overboard yes," Kairi said, smiling as she remembered the cake, two dozen roses, and balloons filling her room with a banner saying 'Will You Be Mine?' "But it was the only way I could imagine you at that time."
"Well we all grow up sometime right?"
"Didn't you just say you'd never change?"
"Change is inevitable, we aren't the same people we were before." He turned his head toward her, his eyes tracing every inch of her face, and she found herself blushing. "But I know how I feel, and I know that hasn't changed." She didn't say anything, willing him to continue with her eyes. It seemed like he was just now realizing what he was saying and began to backtrack. "I just mean that, um, well just that-"
"Don't get nervous," His ramblings stopped right away at her words, she gave him an even stare, but her eyes spoke volumes. "Tell me how you feel."
"Are you sure?"
She bit her lip, then nodded.
"If you say so." He took a deep breath and closed his eyes, exhaling slowly. "I don't sleep well anymore. Not since we broke up, for two years my mind has been filled with dreams of you, and I don't know if I like it or not. I can't tell if I like being awake more than sleep, or vise-versa. Sometimes I wake up in the morning and I think maybe I've finally gotten over you, but that changes when I see you, I'm immediately filled with an emotion I can't even describe it's that strong.
"You're always in my head, and not only that, you're all I ever want to think about. I've been on dates here and there, but they aren't you, they don't know me like you do. The only reason I moved back here was to be close to you in some way, and even though everyone knew it, you didn't seem to care at all. Nothing hurt more than that, so I finally broke down, I avoided you, and when that didn't work, I got close to you again. And I can still say with earnest, that I miss you. Everything you do makes me miss you more, it makes me wish I could still be yours, and you mine. I can still remember every single moment you and I were together, every kiss, hug, and secret promise.
"I can say with honesty, I still want to spend the rest of my life with you."
He took a deep breath again, and was silent, his eyes still closed. Kairi's head was spinning, of course she knew how he felt, as she felt the same, but she hadn't expected him to pour his heart out in such a… Sora manner. She felt tears well up behind her eyes, and her heart beat increasing slowly. She flicked her flame red hair out of her eyes and gazed at him. His eyes were still closed, and it seemed to her as if he never wanted to open them again if she weren't there.
She knew what this was, she had seen him do it once before. It was an invitation to leave, a way for her to escape and he wouldn't have to watch her walk away. She couldn't help but imagine 16 year old Sora doing the same thing, waiting for her response. So she did exactly what she did five years ago, she leaned in and kissed him as her answer.
It wasn't perfect, but neither were they, and although they knew the road ahead would be rough, in the end they both knew it was worth it. They both knew they wouldn't regret this moment years down the line.
Tomorrow didn't matter, and the past was already gone, there was only the need to worry about the present, and as of now, Kairi knew this was a present she wouldn't trade for anything.
This seems kind of random doesn't it? It was a source of 3 in the morning inspiration that I don't know where I got from. It's been over a year since I posted anything on this page, and I feel like a quick one-shot doesn't hurt my reputation at all.
As for why I've been so quiet lately, I've been wrapped up in a collaboration piece with a fellow author named Shakes the Orcphan, a fantastic writer and even better editor. We are currently on arc one of this called 'Descent into Darkness' a piece based in the Elder Scrolls universe. If you're interested, please go check it out under the author name Da Boiz.
As for my own personal fanfiction, I have been meaning to pick that back up, but haven't found any inspiration to continue with, but when I finally puke out a chapter there shall be news.
I hope all of you are having a wonderful time, and all of you at least partially enjoyed this little SoKai piece.
The Doctor, Signing Off.