First Dance
An invitation to a royal ball to celebrate the marriage of a certain Eugene Fitzherbert and Rapunzel, princess of Corona.
A pretty dress, a trip to another world, the chance to meet new people, and the best date she could ever ask for. On paper everything looked great. There was just one problem. Kairi didn't know how to dance.
Too embarrassed to admit this to Sora, she decided to seek help elsewhere in the form of Donald and Goofy.
Her parents had invited everyone over for dinner, and her mom had really gone all out with the meal. Pork ribs stewed in soy sauce with brown sugar, piping hot tofu and gourd stir-fry, paopu fruit juice… and of course her signature dish, sweet potato tarts, for dessert.
Taking a quick glance over at Sora to make sure he was still embroiled in his competition with Riku over who could eat more of the tarts, she scooted her chair closer to Donald and Goofy.
"Donald, Goofy?" she whispered. "I know you guys have to go back home soon, but…"
"What's wrong?" Donald asked, whispering back just a little too loudly. She glanced at Sora to see if he'd heard. Nope. He'd just eaten his fifth tart, and her parents were laughing and offering him another one. The tart-eating contest was something of a tradition at this point, and he and Riku were both trying to break each other's records.
She fiddled with her necklace. "Um, can we talk about it outside?"
They agreed, and she led them to her backyard. Her house, an elegant affair befitting the mayor of Destiny Islands, was up on a hill, and the view from up here was great. The stars shone bright in the heavens, and the ocean waves far below beat their steady pulse against the sand.
You could see all the houses and shops from here, too. Kairi's eyes wandered to Sora's, a habit of sorts ever since she'd arrived here long ago.
"Alright, what's wrong?" Donald asked, now that they were safely out of earshot.
Goofy cut right to the chase. "Is this about Sora?"
Kairi chewed her lip. "Yes. The thing is… I'm going to the ball with him, but… I don't know how to dance!"
"Gawrsh, is that what you're worried about?" Goofy offered his hands. "Don't worry, I'll show ya."
Donald provided the, um, music, if it could be called that. Donald didn't exactly have the most dulcet tones, but Kairi had to work so hard to stifle her giggles as he belted out cheesy love song after cheesy love song in his nasally quack that she soon forgot all about her nerves.
It was a good thing the house was far away from everyone else's. Otherwise the whole island would have heard what was going on.
Goofy was a surprisingly good dancer though. When she asked him where he'd learned, he simply told her that everyone in King Mickey's court knew how. Kairi wondered if she would have learned, too, had she stayed on Radiant Garden.
Oh well. At least she was learning now. Besides, Destiny Islands was her home. Her adopted parents were wonderful, and Sora and Riku were the best friends she could ask for. The circumstances leading up to her arrival might not have been the best, but she was happy with this new life she'd made here on the islands. She wouldn't change it for the world.
"Atta girl, you're gettin' the hang of it," Goofy crowed, spinning her around and around till they were both so dizzy they had to stop.
"You'll do great," Donald said, giving her a thumbs up, and she giggled and nearly plowed into Goofy, as off balance as she was. He just grinned and held her steady till she had recovered enough to go inside again.
"Kairi?" Sora asked as they reentered the dining room. "Where were you guys?"
She settled into her chair and grinned at him. "Secret."
She was ready. She couldn't wait to dance with Sora now.
Being back home was nice and all, but it did have one serious downside: school.
Ugh. Missing an entire year and then some meant that Riku had to play serious catch up if he wanted to graduate on time. Which meant that once he'd scarfed down his lunch, he had to make a beeline for the library so he could get some extra studying in.
Trying to study in the classroom was hopeless. Maybe it was because he was older, maybe it was because he'd stopped acting like a prick, maybe it was because he'd started following his heart more, maybe it was because he'd cut his hair. Who knew the real reason. But somewhere along the way, he'd gained a fanclub. Half the girls in the school were following him around at any given moment, giggling and flipping their hair and saying hello every chance they got.
It wasn't that he minded the attention, and the girls were nice and cute. No, they weren't the problem; it was just that he wanted his peace and quiet.
But he and Sora and Kairi were celebrities now. Well, Kairi always had been, as the mayor's daughter, but he and Sora's fame was new. While Sora handled it well enough, as extroverted as he was, it just really got to Riku sometimes, and he had to retreat every now and then to recharge.
The library was his usual refuge, because the rules forbid loud talking. That was usually enough to keep other people from pestering him while he was trying to study.
Too bad it wasn't enough to stop Sora.
"Riku, help," he said, sliding into the chair next to Riku and fidgeting with his checkered tie.
Riku sighed and closed the book he was reading called A History of Destiny Islands. Not even in the school library could he get some peace and quiet. "What is it, Sora?"
Sora pulled a piece of notebook paper out of Riku's folder and began folding it into a paper airplane. "You know that ball Kairi and I are going to this weekend? For my friends Eugene and Rapunzel?"
"Oh, you mean the one you haven't been able to shut up about for the past month?"
"Yeah, that one."
Riku raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, and?"
Sora leaned closer and whispered, "I don't know how to dance. Everyone there will be dancing and they'll expect me to know how, too." His face flushed. "Especially Kairi. What should I do?"
Riku shrugged and shoved his book into his bag. Lunch break would end soon, and he had to get back to class. "Beats me. I don't know how to dance either."
Sora groaned and ran his hand through his hair. "Not helpful."
"Why don't you ask someone who does?" He nodded towards the group of girls giggling at a nearby table. "Selphie's in your class, right? Just ask her."
Sora looked at him like he was crazy. "I can't ask Selphie!"
"Why not?" Riku picked up the paper airplane. "She probably knows how."
"Not the kind of dancing we have here on the islands," Sora hissed, prying the paper airplane out of his grip before he could throw it at her, "waltzes and polkas and stuff. The kind of dancing they have on worlds with princesses and castles."
"Good luck finding someone who knows how to do any of that around here then," Riku said and stood. The five-minute warning bell had rung, and it was time to get to class.
The day of the ball had arrived, and with it, the time that any host of a wedding party knows: the mingling stage. Eugene gave his lovely bride a quick peck on the cheek, then it was off to thank half of the guests while she took care of the other half. A lot of people were outside in the gardens, so he decided to tackle that area first.
And what would you know, the first person he spotted was one of the people he wanted to talk to the most. Funny how life works like that sometimes.
"Sora! Good to see you!" He set his punch in a nearby potted plant and slapped Sora on the back. The kid had cleaned up nicely. His hair was still as gravity defying as usual, but he was wearing a suit and tie. For someone who normally ran around in a hoodie, black t-shirt, and baggy pants, that showed effort, real effort.
"Thanks for coming," Eugene said. "He searched around for the lady of the hour to see if she was still nearby. "Hang on, I think Rapunzel's—"
"Actually, can I talk to you for a minute?" Sora asked. Sweat dripped down his forehead, and the napkin in his hands was a wadded up, wrinkly mess.
"What's wrong?" Eugene asked, steering him into a nearby rose garden for some privacy. Sora's plus one was conspicuously absent, and Eugene wondered if his current distraught state had anything to do with that. "Need more smoldering tips? Remember what I told you, it's all in the pout."
"Um, that's not the problem, exactly," Sora said, rubbing the back of his neck. "The thing is… this is a ball, and I don't know how to dance."
"Oh, is that what you're all worked up about?" Eugene elbowed him and grinned. "Leave it to me. You will be the master of the waltz by the time we're through."
Kairi popped another set of cheese and crackers into her mouth, not sure where Sora had run off to. A quick look over the lavish refreshments room still revealed no trace of him. Not even by the chocolate fountain, which was the first place she'd thought to look.
"And that's how I met Eugene," Rapunzel finished, a big smile on her face. She looked radiant in her dress for the ball, a pink floor length affair with a poofy skirt and lace-up bodice. Sora had said her hair had once been long and blond, but it was short and brown now.
"A frying pan to the face, huh?" Now that was something Kairi would like to see. She was almost sad they wouldn't be staying longer. She could talk to Rapunzel like this for hours. They'd bonded over mysterious pasts, missing family members, and boyfriends with reckless, self-sacrificing tendencies, and that was all just within the first ten minutes.
"Yes," Rapunzel said. "Not quite what you would expect, maybe, but that's us."
All the frying pan decorations and frying pan shaped food suddenly made a lot more sense, and Kairi grinned. "Nothing wrong with that."
"No, not at all." Rapunzel stole a glance at the grandfather clock in the corner. "Look's like it's almost time!"
"Time for what?"
"The dancing, of course. Everyone's waiting!"
She took Kairi's hand and led her through the rooms of the castle to the great courtyard outside. A large symbol of the sun was painted on the ground, and a great crowd of people had gathered to witness the bride and groom's first dance.
Loud cheering erupted when they saw Rapunzel. Eugene made his way through the crowd to her, and the cheering got even louder as they walked, hand-in-hand, to the center of the courtyard together.
The music began, and Kairi sighed and clutched her glass. How romantic. As she watched, she imagined Sora spinning her around like that and got so lost in her own fantasy that she didn't even realize when the music had ended.
"Kairi?" a familiar voice called, interrupting her reverie.
"S-Sora?" she stuttered, almost dropping her glass. She hadn't expected to see the subject of her fantasy. "Where have you been?"
"Sorry, there was something I had to do."
Kairi raised her eyebrow at this, because the collar of his shirt was damp and his tie had disappeared.
"Don't worry, it wasn't the Heartless or anything like that."
Well, that was good at least. He coughed and fidgeted with his suit jacket, and she tried to discreetly dispose of her glass because she had the feeling she knew what was coming next.
Sure enough, he offered his hand. "Now that the floor's open, Kairi, may I have this dance?"
She took it and smiled to calm the butterflies in her stomach. "I thought you'd never ask."
His palm was sweaty, and Kairi resisted the urge to let go of his hand and wipe hers on her dress. It was brand new, purple with off the shoulder sleeves and a skirt that was great for twirling, and she was trying to keep the sweat stains to a minimum.
He took a deep breath and led her to the dance floor. Putting his other hand on her waist, he pulled her closer. His touch was gentle but firm, and she placed her other hand on his shoulder.
A new song began, a slow waltz, and he stepped forward just as she remembered to step backward. He stepped to the side, and she mirrored him. So far, so good. Then she stepped forward just a little too soon and landed right on his foot, and he yelped.
"Sorry!" she said, cringing and letting go of his hand. At least she was just wearing flats and not heels.
"No, it's fine," he said, smiling softly and reaching for her hand again. "We just have to get used to dancing together."
The next time, he forgot how to do a certain spin properly, and they had to stop and go back to the base position to fix it. There were a few more bumps and collisions along the way, but little by little they adjusted to each other's rhythm.
It, um, helped immensely when she remembered Goofy's instructions to let Sora lead. Dancing was a lot easier when two people weren't trying to direct the show.
And boy did he. He spun her and twirled her through the streets of Corona, the music growing more and more faint, but Kairi hardly noticed. She couldn't take her eyes off of him, and the way he was looking at her right now made her head spin.
"Where… where did you learn how to dance?" she finally managed.
He gave her a cheeky little grin. "I asked Eugene to teach me half an hour ago."
"Sora!" She couldn't believe him. That was taking procrastination to a whole new level.
"What?" he asked, all innocent blue eyes. "When did you learn how to dance?"
"…Last week, when Donald and Goofy came to visit," she admitted.
He threw his head back and laughed. "So that's why you snuck off. Drat, I wish I had thought of that."
The distant strains of the music indicated the song was winding down, and he got that look in his eyes that told Kairi he was up to something.
"Sora…" she warned.
He put his arms around her back and lowered her so quickly she was sure she would fall. But nope, he held her tight and leaned over her so that their faces were only inches apart.
He had the cutest smile on his face, and she wanted to thank him for such a nice first dance. Tilting her head up, she cupped his cheeks and gave him a quick peck on the lips.
Looking back, maybe she should have waited until they were in a more, uh, stable position. But hey, even though he lost his balance and they both went tumbling to the ground and had to limp back to the castle together afterwards, it was still a pretty good first dance.
Not quite what she had expected, but it was theirs, stepped on feet and falls and giggles and all, and she wouldn't have it any other way.
A/N: And this marks my last story for SoKai Week! I collaborated with anasten27, who drew a lovely piece of art for it that I sadly cannot link here but is linked to my tumblr (phoenix-downer) if you would like to see it. Thank you to everyone who gave me reviews! It was a fun challenge and I appreciate all your support.
Just a few notes: the food Kairi's mom prepared is based on Okinawan food. Well, except for the paopu fruit juice - pretty sure that only exists in the Kingdom Hearts universe ;) But everything else - the pork ribs (rafute), the stir-fry (goya champuru), the sweet potato tarts - are all based on Okinawan dishes.
So yeah, the reason I included those details is because the different worlds in Kingdom Hearts all seem to have their own cultures and customs, and I like to incorporate that into my writing where I can.
But something I've thought about a lot is... even though they all have their own cultures... they probably all share a language? Since no one seems to have trouble understanding Sora. I mean, it makes sense, if the worlds were all once one. But eventually each world would start developing its own unique dialects, and after a long enough time, diverge enough from the dialects of other worlds to form separate languages, right?
Thoughts, anyone? Maybe the worlds haven't been separated long enough for that to happen? Maybe magic keeps them all speaking the same language? I mean, that's probably the official explanation, but it's fun to think of a lore reason for it. Feel free to send me your speculation, haha. And as always, thank you for reading!