Chapter 1: An Unanswered Question
"Kairi," Sora began, looking to me after a small pause, a plunk in the water.
"What is it?" I smiled, wondering why his boyish excitement had faded so suddenly.
It was a late afternoon, the day closing its eyes to one last finale of color. We were at the beach, just spending the rest of the light outside. Laziness was taking its toll on the sun.
"Do you think… we could be more than friends?" Sora said hesitantly, throwing a rock into the ocean, watching the water recede to calm again.
Turning to me, his blue eyes looking to my eyes, waiting nervously for an answer. He looked as if he felt like he had said too much, almost embarrassed.
I stood confused, cocked my head at the sudden change in attitude. So this was what he's been meaning to ask. I finally understood, why he was always backing away, saying never mind, and telling me forget about it. Sora was always shy, when it came to that topic in particular. I had gotten the feeling that he was becoming more and more attracted, not in a sense of spending time together but to share a much more powerful feeling. But could we both commit to it?
Normally, when Sora got an idea, he'd stick to it until he saw the final conclusions, almost immediately after he came up with it.
This was unusually different for Sora.
He bit his lip, sighing, and turned to the water, guilty. He shoved his hands in his pockets.
I walked closer to him, cheeks lifting with happiness. I thought the answer was obvious. Ever since we had reunited on the island, we felt closer than before. A mutual feeling. But both of us were too shy to ask for confirmation of it.
He draped his arm around my shoulders, as if a physical way of saying 'please'.
This time he wouldn't give up without an answer, summoning up his persistence.
"I'd like that." I smiled.
Sora's face lit up suddenly, and he kissed my cheek.
I suppose, a physical way of saying 'thank you.'
My face was in surprise, eyes sparking with a new feeling. I had never felt his lips before, and after taking in the feeling, I smiled.
Turning to him, we embraced, his hands on my lower back, and forehead against mine. His eyes, matching the natural hue of the ocean tint looking into mine, the same color only a little lighter in contrast.
"I will protect you, no matter what. I want you to be safe. You're so… special to me. Don't forget that."
Letting go, he walked a few feet away.
"I won't." I replied, watching him stride a few steps.
I suppose it was official, I thought with a smile.
He bent down, and picked up another stone, placing it, gently prying my fingers. It was warm in my palm, from the afternoon that was melting into sunset.
Sora coming behind me, his cheek against mine as he took my hand, gently instructing me how to skip a rock. My body against his, a moment cherished by my heart.
"When you take the rock, you need to put it in between your thumb and forefinger. It should be pretty secure and level so it can skip a few times. Otherwise it'll just plunk to the bottom on the first go." He laughed, moving my hand back and forth.
His brimming confidence seemed to be powered from his satisfaction of my answer. Suddenly he was him own self again, now with the privilege of showing how he truly felt.
"When you let go, it should be only a few inches from the surface. If it's going at a down angle it won't have a vertical momentum to skip." He said.
He pulled my hand back, and pushed, as I let go.
The rock soared from our grip, skidding across the water. I watched, the sport just about as new to me as his kiss.
"One, Two, Three, Four…" he counted each bounce, before it disappeared into the ocean.
"Wow!" I exclaimed, excitement building up.
"Good job! Now let's see if you can do it yourself," he said, tossing a flat rock to me.
I caught the warm stone, his instructions in my head, as I tried to remember. I turned it in my hand, looking to the water.
"Hold on. You need to keep it straight." He said, as I brought my arm back, ready to release.
"Oh. Oops." I smiled, adjusting it, and tried again.
I let go, tossing it, as it skipped away towards the sun.
"Beginner's luck," he said chuckling, playfully ruffling my hair after counting seven skips.
"Oh yeah? Maybe I'm just a natural at skipping rocks!" I defiantly stated, sticking my tongue out with a smile.
"I don't think so!" he said, wrapping his arms around my waist and twirling me around as our laughter echoed across the beach.
He sat in the sand, myself next to him, the blue sky beginning to fade into different colors. The finale had started.
Sora propped himself up with his hands behind him, and I simply sat out with my legs crossed.
"Wow. Look at the sky." I said, pointing up to the creamy pinks and orange.
Sora looked up, no response, as his eyes looked to the sun's backdrop. We sat there for a few minutes, the waves washing up to the shore, taking grains of sand with it.
"Sora?" I asked, looking up to him, his unbroken gaze so admirable.
"Hm?" he said, looking back down, his attention on me.
"Where'd you learn to skip rocks?" I asked, curious to his skill.
"Oh, Riku taught me. When we were younger, we always had competitions. He…always won." He smiled and laughed. His pupils looked down.
"Let me fix your necklace." He said, the tiny clasp at my collar bone.
His fingers took the black string, moving it to my scalp. He took the small orb, the one I had had since birth. He seemed to focused on it, his warm fingers on my upper chest. It was a new feeling, foreign…and yet wonderful.
"You know, when your necklace's clasp is showing, it means that someone is thinking about you." He said, and looked to me.
I touched his chain where the silver crown clanked to his own clasp.
"I see, "I said, turning to adjust it. I placed my fingers on it, returning the favor. Before I could do so, Sora slowly touched my cheek, leaning in closer, and pulling my face to his. His lips touched mine, as we held a kiss that was so perfect, so eternal.
He let go, all his movements a perfect, slow pace as he embraced me, and I let go of his necklace.
"I wonder why…we waited so long." I said into his shoulder, spiky hair at his neck.
"I dunno." he said, my hair, brown with reddish tints, intertwined in his fingers.
I stayed there, closing my eyes against his warm body, and felt like staying right there in that spot. Forever, never moving. I could never be with anyone else, anywhere else.
Just with Sora, on Destiny Islands.
"There's also one more thing I don't want you to forget." He said, as I sat up, his gloved hands on my shoulders.
"I love you."
