A/n: Sappy? Probably. Like so many fanfics about this couple before this one. Do I care? Not really. Anyhoo, this story was inspired by a fan art picture. Enjoy it, hate it, whatever. Please review.

I don't own anything from Kingdom Hearts/Kingdom Hearts 2. Never have, never will.

In The Cave

He had been drawn here by…something. A feeling, a thought, he didn't know, but he had come anyway. This cave had been their secret place, his and Kairi's. They'd been friends then, drawing their childish scribbles all over the walls of this cave, talking about their plans for when they grew up. But then he'd been swept into his great adventures, and Kairi had been kidnapped by his enemy, Organization Thirteen. When he'd freed her from their control, and had had to let her go home without him, he'd started to feel differently about her. He wasn't sure what those feeling were, exactly.

He leaned back against the wall, enjoying the peace and quiet. Suddenly, his muscles stiffened as he heard the crunch of gravel outside.

"Sora," a soft voice said hesitantly, "are you in there?" Sora relaxed, feeling a bit sheepish. He was still a little high-strung and on edge from his quest. Of course, who wouldn't be? After all, when you had Heartless leaping at you from out of nowhere at any given moment, you tended to get nervous. But the voice was Kairi's, and he didn't have to be scared of her.

"Yeah, I'm in here." There was a small sigh, then the sound of crunching gravel as the fiery-haired girl entered the cave and walked toward him. Sora couldn't help but grin as he watched Kairi duck under the small ledge.

"We used to be able to walk straight under that without having to bend over, remember?" His comment made Kairi smile back at him as she sat next to him.

"We were sooo much shorter then." They both laughed together, leaning against the wall. Silence fell as the pair drifted into their own musings. Sora was idly looking around the cave at their drawings, when one in particular caught his eye. It was a picture of him holding out a piece of fruit to Kairi. He had drawn the picture before his adventures began, but it looked…different. Something had been added, but he couldn't tell what it was from the position he was in. Slowly, so he wouldn't disturb his pretty friend, Sora stood up and walked over to the wall. He knelt down next to the picture and looked at it again. His breath caught in his throat as he saw that Kairi had drawn herself offering a piece of fruit back to him. A memory flashed through him suddenly.

'Kairi!' Sora ran toward his friend as the land Kairi was standing on began to drift away.

'Sora!' Kairi gave a yelp as the land under her feet rocked. Sora caught her hand to keep her from falling.

'Kairi, remember what you said earlier? I'm always with you too. I'll come back to you, I promise!'

'I know you will!'

"Sora!" Kairi's voice brought him back to reality with a jolt. He smiled at her, then leaned back against the wall and closed his eyes. To his surprise, he felt Kairi shift closer so that her arm was brushing against his. Then to his even greater surprise, he felt her head come down to rest on his shoulder. Another memory flashed through his mind.

'You are different, Kairi. But I'm just glad you're here!'

'You and Riku never came home, so I came looking for you.' Sora looks down and away from Kairi.

'I'm sorry…' He is cut off by Kairi throwing her arms around him. He stands still, unable to move. Kairi moves her head so she can talk.

'This is real.' Sora blinks, then wraps his arms around Kairi.

When he brought his train of thought back to the present, he realized, quite abruptly, what his feelings for his red-haired friend were. Love. Pure, simple, undeniable love. Sora was not one to deny something he knew was true, and he knew without a doubt that he had fallen in love with Kairi. And if her addition to his picture was any proof, she loved him too. But how to tell her?

Slowly, he turned toward the object of his affections. She was blushing slightly, obviously realizing what he had been looking at. He smiled at her, and she blushed even rosier, dropping into a sitting position next to the picture. Sora swallowed, then opted to sit next to her. They sat in silence, each not sure what to say to the other. Finally, it was Sora who broke the silence.

"Um, Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…when did you add this part to the picture?" Kairi dropped her gaze back to the sandy floor. She was so embarrassed she couldn't look him in the eye.

"Er…well, I…" She couldn't seem to get the words to come out. Finally though, she managed to speak.

"Right after you rescued me, when I got back." Sora shifted slightly.

"Um, Kairi…about what I said then…you know I meant it, right?" Kairi exhaled slowly.

"Yeah. Why?" Sora just grinned at her and pulled her closer. Kairi inhaled as she felt his breath on her lips, and her eyes grew wide as he kissed her. She felt her eyelids droop as she sank into the kiss, realizing what he was trying to tell her, even though there were no words spoken. Neither of them knew how long the kiss lasted, whether it was only a few seconds, or an eternity. All they knew was that both of them had found what they were looking for. The Keyblade master and the princess were complete at last.

'Don't ever forget: wherever you go, I'm always with you.'