My final fic for the day. This one isn't a prompt, either. And I'd love it if you dropped a line to let me know what you think at the end.
Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or anything associated with it. All rights to Kingdom Hearts and affiliated characters belong to Disney and Square Enix.
Summary: Her fingertips trace the sides of your face, careful, as if you were an image that would shatter if she pressed too hard.
Rating: K
Genre: Romance
Pairings: SoKai
World: Destiny Islands, immediately post-KH2
Interlude
The touch is feather-light at first. Her fingertips trace the sides of your face, careful, as if you were an image that would shatter if she pressed too hard. Her eyes are large, liquid in the light from the setting sun, and you think that maybe you have the same look on your face. It certainly feels as if your features have arranged themselves into an expression of uncontained awe at the sight of her.
Her fingers ghost across your cheeks—her thumbs run along your nose and across your lips, and you think that there's some kind of spell at work; you close your eyes and lose yourself in the moment as she gently pulls your face down to rest your forehead on hers.
You find your arms wrapping themselves around her waist, and you stand there, simply holding her as she traces the outlines of your face. Your thumbs, of their own accord, trace small circles on the small of her back and you can't tell which of you is trembling, but one of you is—or maybe it's both of you—and you think that the wetness on your face is tears, but you don't want to open your eyes or move your hands to check.
And now her arms are wrapping themselves around your neck and your lips are pressed firmly against hers. It's fumbling and a little awkward, and it tastes like salt because, yes, you're definitely crying now, and so is she. Her breath is a little ragged with her sobs, and you're still recovering from your fight with Xemnas, so the kiss is short, but it's already well worth the wait.
Her hands slide down to grasp the material of your jacket, and she buries her face in your chest. You press your lips to the crown of her head and listen to the sounds of the surf crashing against the beach. The voices of your friends float over to you, but you elect to ignore them for now—now, it's Kairi that gets your undivided attention. It's Kairi that you've wanted to see the most since the moment her hand slipped from yours a year ago, and it's Kairi that needs your attention the most right now, because you think she might have just broken down in front of the others if you hadn't allowed her to take you aside.
You know how much she hates crying in public—so you'll hold her for now and you'll bury your face in her neck and cry with her, because you're so happy to be home and to see her again that you don't even care that she can see it.
Neither of you says anything. This isn't a time for words—there will be plenty of that later, when the others have gone and you have more time to just be together. This is the time to just relish in your togetherness, in the limbo between finally getting home and having to offer explanations for your absence.
You run your fingers through her hair, and wonder if it's possible for a heart to physically swell. Because that's what it feels like your heart is doing right now; you find yourself so full of uncontainable joy, so happy to finally be home, and to see her again, that you can't help but laugh through your tears.
And then she's laughing with you, and you press more kisses to her forehead, her cheeks, her lips. And she keeps a firm grip on your jacket, as if hoping to keep you from running away from your little moment—as if you could.