Sets of Threes, a kingdom hearts fanfic

Title: Sets of Threes
Rating: T
Pairings, if any: RikuKairi + SoraKairi and hinted RikuSoraKairi
Summary: She does it because she loves them.
Word Count: 1672
Warnings: None, really.
Post KH2
A/N: Written in one day, kind of short, but I like it well enough. Thanks to Marliau for betaing! Prequel to Music Box. There's actually a little symbolism in this, like in MB, haha. I love fics that deal with numbers and such. :)

They'll name a city after us

And later say it's all our fault

Then they'll give us a talking to

Because they've got years of experience

We're living in a den of thieves

Rummaging for answers in the pages

We're living in a den of thieves

And it's contagious

-Regina Spektor, Us

The first week back had been wonderful. None of them had stopped to really think about being back on the Islands meant, at that point in time it had just meant that the rest of their journeys were left behind and they were home. A week after that Riku had started to distance himself a little, which she could understand because everyone deserved alone time. And then Sora started to do the same and all she could do was try to help them both.

She's a Princess, one of the pure-hearted girls, one of the ones who inadvertently helped make Kingdom Hearts into the mess that it was, that it had been, not long ago. The thought still keeps her up at night even though she knows that she could not have helped it even if she had tried, but there was always going to be the nagging part of her inside that said that maybe she could have done something, fixed something, fought harder, ran faster, learned more something, something, something, that just didn't leave her feeling so useless when she looked back on the past.

And then… and then she looks at her boys and feels her heart ache because she knows that she must be feeling the same doubt only their doubts have ended lives attached to them like grotesque little ornaments on a withered old tree. Sora carries his worry, his regret, his doubt, he carries all of it like a warm jacket, like if he lets it go then it will fall onto someone else's shoulders, and Kairi knows that Sora's noble and that he would never wish that upon anyone.

It's exactly three weeks after they're back that she found Sora inside the Secret Place with his back to the wall where the door had been. In his hands was not the Kingdom Key, but a graceful, flowing, red, black and silver mix that reminded her so much of-

"Kairi!"

Smiling a little hesitantly, she ducked down to avoid hitting herself in the head with one of the low-hanging roots in the cave and made her way to where he was sitting. It was the Princess part of her that placed her hands on his and slowly moved them off of the Keyblade so it was dismissed. It was the friend part of her that nudged his knees apart and wrapped her arms around his neck, smiling when he did the same and it was the teenage girl who was in love with one of her best friends that tilted her head up and kissed him gently. When Sora's eyes closed and he wrapped his arms around her in a warm hug, kissing her back just as softly, his lips warm, chapped and slightly salty with ocean air, it was every inch of her that was happy.

Riku wears his guilt, his shame, his doubt just as he wears everything else. It settles over his shoulders like an all too familiar touch; it wraps around him and sometimes Kairi thinks that it's so close around him that it's tangible and when she touches his shoulder sometimes she wonders if it's him or his worry that she feels. She finds him sitting on the dock on the far side of the island far too frequently for her to like but she would never say anything about that because he is entitled to his sense of freedom as well. She doesn't talk to him when he's out there; she doesn't even think that he knows that she's there most of the time but it makes her feel better to know where he is.

It was three more weeks after the event with Sora that she finally decided that enough was enough and that she needed to talk with Riku. He'd been more and more distant with them, and neither of them understood the quiet looks that he had been giving them, coupled with an excusal from some of the events that the three had once done so frequently. More than once Sora had expressed his concern over it but he hesitated in demanding any answers from the older teen.

Glancing outside, she sighed when she noticed it was raining slightly; monsoon season had started recently though it hadn't reached the peak yet. Digging through her closet, she came up with a small white hooded sweatshirt and then one of Sora's larger ones, complete with the buckles placed everywhere in odd places, that seemed to be common on all of his clothes. He'd given it to her in what felt like ages ago, commenting that it looked good on her and laughing quietly when she blushed a little, kissing her warmly a moment later.

Tugging it on, she pushed the hood up over her head and opened the window quietly, climbing out over the short balcony and dropping the few feet down to the damp, sandy ground. Her parents would never let her out in such weather; after all, it was barely a year ago that the last storm had happened and that one had swallowed up their island- it made sense for them to worry. Either way though, she wasn't going to sit around and wait any longer.

It took a few minutes for her to circle around the island, the rain drizzling around her, sand sticking to the back of her long pants and the bottom of her shoes as she walked. Distantly she could see the dock and the closer that she got she saw who she was looking for perched on the end, his legs dangling over the edge, shoes dangling over the edge and above the water. Sighing quietly, she stepped up onto the dock, the muffled clicks of her sand-covered shoes hitting the deck the only warning he got before she sat down next to him, watching the ocean quietly.

"You shouldn't be out here," Riku murmured quietly, glancing over at her sideways, his silver hair damp and tucked behind his ear and green eyes practically glowing in the dim light. Kairi shrugged, turning a little so she faced him, pushing her hood down so she could see him clearly.

"You don't always need to be alone," she returned, not missing the eyebrow raise as he watched her stubborn expression. "Sora and I are both worried about you."

A small smile tugged at his lips, but it wasn't a happy one; it was tinged with bitterness and regret and she swallowed hard when she saw it. "You two don't have to act like-"

Her expression darkened slightly as she realized what he meant. "Like what? Like we care about you?"

Green eyes turned back to the ocean, the blank face back. "Are you two happy?"

Heart aching at the wistful tone in his voice, she pulled him away until he was sitting parallel to herself, one of his legs hanging off the edge of the dock, the other curled slightly under him. Reaching out, she brushed fingertips over his cheeks, leaning over and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "Sora loves you," she whispered, not resisting in the slightest when he gently pulled her closer. "I love you."

"You can't," he said quietly, shaking his head and looking up into the gray, cloudy skies. "I want you two to be happy; you are, you're happy together and-"

Kairi pulled back, cupping his cheeks in her hands and glaring at him. "But you're not!" She bit her lip, trying to think of what to say to try and convince him that he belonged with them just as much as before. And once more, it was the Princess in her that pressed her hand to his heart, willing him to understand while the friend held him tightly and the part of her that loved him just as much as she did Sora, kissed him.

Riku went still before her, his entire body taunt with worry and when her hands slid over his rain-damp shoulders and around his neck, he sighed against her lips and kissed her back.

Kissing Riku was different than kissing Sora, but she hadn't expected anything else. Sora was gentle, always a little hesitant at first and then growing more confident with each passing moment. Riku kissed with the intensity he fought and lived with, one of his hands sliding through dripping red hair and holding her while his other slipped up the back of the hooded sweatshirt to rest at the small of her back, the warmth making her shiver pleasantly.

Through it all, it was the wonderfully selfish part of her that made sure to kiss them every time she saw them, that made her convince the boys to a single night together which, after the morning after, turned into two and then three and then morning after morning of waking up together, a tangle of three bodies in one bed—and yes, she could live like this for the rest of her life.

Just like that, everything had fallen into place; it had clicked like the final piece to a puzzle, everything lined up and she dared to hope that she would get the fairytale ending that the other Princesses she knew had gotten.

The flowers you gave me are rotting and still I refuse to throw them away.

Some of the bulbs never opened quite fully

They might so I'm waiting and staying awake.

Things I have loved I'm allowed to keep

I'll never know if I go to sleep.

----

Oh lawd. Someone beat me with a stick now. Second bit of song was still by Regina, but the title is The Flowers. Head over to my LJ and bug me if you want me to up the songs, they're beautiful. :)

Anyway. Still working on a bunch of things writing wise, and not too sure when MB2 will come out. Sorry, guys. Please, though, if you liked Music Box and even if you haven't read it, let me know what you thought about this.