Trick or Treat
"So, um, I almost feel bad for asking, but is this what Halloween Town usually looks like? I don't remember it being this… festive."
Kairi tugged on the pointy witch hat perched on top of her head. The brim of it dipped low over her face, leaving one blue eye visible as she peered at their surroundings. Sora stopped staring at her long enough to follow her gaze. It was still night, just as it always was. The moon still shone big and bright behind Spiral Hill, just like it always did. There were all manner of ghoulish residents milling about the Town Square, just as there always were.
There was just one small (well, more like enormous) difference, and it wasn't even the dead roses scattered everywhere. Their shriveled petals at least fit in with the rest of the undead populace. No, it was the tacky red, white, and pink hearts plastered all over the place that were really jarring.
There was no other way to describe the decorations. Some of the hearts even looked like they'd been broken and stitched back together again. Sora couldn't decide if they were intended to be horrifying or heartwarming. He glanced up at the Town Hall, where a huge banner with…
Are those supposed to be cherubs? They look more like demons...
Two large… demon cherubs flanked a message prepared just for them. Sora groaned as he read what it said.
WELCOME SORA AND KAIRI
HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!
Kairi giggled into her hand. "They really went all out for us. I like it."
Sora wanted to find Jack and give him a piece of his mind. When he'd told his friend he was going to bring Kairi for a visit, this isn't exactly what he'd had in mind. Oh well. At least she seemed to be enjoying herself. She'd loved the disguise Donald had cooked up for her: striped socks and gloves, pointy black shoes, a purple dress, and the witch's hat to top it all off. Sora wished he'd brought her back here sooner. Seeing her get such a kick out of everything brought a smile to his face. If she was amused by all the craziness, he could relax and enjoy himself, too.
"Sora!" A tall, spindly skeleton ran up to them, wearing a blindingly white suit covered in red and pink hearts.
"Jack!" Sora gave him a hug, being careful not to smash any of the hearts.
Sally must have sewn all those on. She's a trooper.
In one hand Jack held a bow, and in the other a box of chocolates. A quiver of arrows was slung around his shoulder. The quills of the arrows were died red and pink. Jack really had gone all out with, well, everything.
"You must be Kairi!" Jack set the bow and chocolates down on the nearby fountain so he could give her hand a shake. A spurt of green water just narrowly missed them, nailing one of the demon cherubs in the face instead. It coughed and wiped its mouth before resuming its post.
Sora gawked at it. "Woah, it's alive?"
Kairi gazed up at it in wonder. "That's so cool." She smiled and looked at their host. "Nice to meet you, Jack. Sora told me about Halloween Town, and I wanted to see it for myself. Thanks for having us."
The whole "My heart was inside of Sora when he visited the first time" spiel was something she'd decided not to explain this time around. It usually just made things confusing.
"Anytime. Welcome, and Happy Valentine's Day!"
Jack picked the chocolates off the fountain and offered them to Kairi. She thanked him and picked one out of the box, bringing it to her mouth.
"Hold on a sec," Sora muttered under his breath. She gave him a puzzled look, but did as he advised. "Hey, Jack?"
"Yes?" Jack had set the chocolates back down, and he now had an arrow nocked onto the bowstring.
"What's in the chocolates, exactly?"
Jack smiled, a look of pure delight crossing his bony face. "Oh, all sorts of things. Spiders, worms, mud, cockroaches, fallen leaves, soil from the graveyard, and my personal favorite, puffed rice!"
Kairi nearly dropped the chocolate in her hand. Her face was even paler than Donald's magic had already made it.
"I-is that so?" Sora forced a smile. "Glad I asked." Jack looked on expectantly, and Sora knew he couldn't just leave the chocolate uneaten. Not after his friend had gone to all the trouble of making it. "S-sounds great. So great that I'm just gonna have to steal Kairi's." He gulped and took the chocolate from her, to which she gave him a grateful look. He hoped he'd be lucky enough to get the one with puffed rice.
He wasn't. Kairi frowned in concern as he gagged, his eyes watering as he forced the chocolate down. He tried to block out the thoughts of what it was he'd just eaten and smiled at her instead. She gave him a strained smile in return, her nose crinkling in sympathy. When he'd managed to get it down at last, silently pleading it wouldn't soon find its way back up, he turned back to Jack.
"Thanks, Jack. You really shouldn't ha— ah! Why are you pointing an arrow at me?"
Jack had one eye socket squinted shut, a gold-tipped arrow aimed straight at Sora's heart. Kairi grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the way. It was no use; Jack merely readjusted his target.
"Haven't you heard the stories? If Cupid shoots you and Kairi with his bow and arrow—"
"But you aren't Cupid!" Kairi yelped. Her Keyblade had appeared in her hand. The distracted part of Sora's mind thought about how cool it looked with its Halloween Town keychain.
"—You'll fall in love!" Jack finished, as if Kairi wasn't about to attack him to defend Sora's life. The fire in her eyes meant only one thing, and Sora knew he'd have to act fast to diffuse it.
He put one hand on her Keyblade and grabbed a hold of Jack's arrow with the other. "Thanks, Jack, but that really isn't necessary."
The words were addressed to Jack, but they weren't meant for him. It worked. Their intended recipient caught on, her eyes softening. He smiled shyly in response.
Jack noticed and put two and two together. "Oh, I see. My apologies." He lowered the bow and arrow at last, and with a sigh of relief Kairi let her Keyblade disappear.
"Jack!" a voice called to them.
"Sally! Come here and meet Kairi!"
A doll in a patchwork dress made her way over, a bundle of decorations in her arms. They looked way more like actual Valentine's decorations than what Jack had already strung about the Town Square.
"Sora, it's good to see you again."
Sora smiled good-naturedly. "Good to see you too, Sally."
Sally nodded and turned to her other guest. "And you must be Kairi. It's nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you, too," Kairi said. She shook Sally's outstretched hand. Sally smiled and gave her a chocolate, this one with actual chocolate filling. Sora envied the look of pure delight on Kairi's face as the chocolate melted in her mouth. If only he'd been so lucky.
"What do you think of the decorations?" Sally asked. Before Kairi could answer, she added, "And don't worry, Sora. Jack got permission from Valentine's Day Town for all of this."
"See, I'm learning! We've promised to help them celebrate Halloween when the time comes."
Sora smiled. "That's great." Though the thought of a place like Valentine's Day Town covered in Halloween decorations was just as amusing as the sight before him now. "Now that we're here, would you mind showing us around?"
Jack enthusiastically agreed. He led their little group around the area, pointing out every decoration and explaining the meaning behind it. Sora listened to his explanations, of course, but his eyes kept wandering to Kairi. She and Sally trailed a little behind them. They whispered to each other and giggled, which made Sora's ears burn. He wanted to know what they were talking about.
Presently, Jack started discussing gift-giving customs for Valentine's Day, and Sally and Kairi both chimed in.
"Oh, so on Destiny Islands, the women give men chocolate?" Sally asked in response to what Kairi had told them. "That's not how it is in Valentine's Day Town."
"Yes, the men do all the gift giving over there," Jack said. "So of course I gave Sally the best gift I could think of!"
Sally took Jack's hands in hers. "Jack, you know you're the best gift I could ask for."
"But you did like my gift, didn't you?"
"Of course." At Kairi's insistence, she smiled and showed it to them. It was a necklace, and the design included pieces of bone and straw woven together in a heart shape. It was very fitting for the two of them.
Kairi nudged Sora. "Do you see that? Where's my gift?"
"Hey, it's still a month till White Day. I've got something good planned, I promise."
After his discussion with Donald and Goofy, he was trying to do better about the whole gift-giving thing. It was just hard to find anything special enough for her. Especially since she'd always had a natural knack for getting him gifts that put every idea he ever came up with to shame.
"White Day?" Jack and Sally asked.
"I don't know of a White Day Town," Jack continued. "What sort of holiday is that?"
Kairi and Sora took turns explaining, surprised that Jack and Sally had never heard of it before. By the end of the discussion, Jack had decided to add it to the list of holidays to be celebrated, much to Sally's amusement. They finished their tour soon afterwards, and it was time to go. Donald and Goofy had arrived to pick them up. They promised to visit again soon, especially since Sora still wanted to take Kairi to Christmas Town so she could meet Santa.
After they'd gotten home, they sat on the dock and watched the sunset together. As the sun sank low over the water, she told him to close his eyes. He smiled, wondering what her surprise was.
"Okay, you can open them."
She placed a box of handmade chocolates in his hands. Each one had a letter painstakingly written on it, spelling out "Happy Valentine's Day, Sora!" with a few hearts thrown in for good measure.
"Are these all for me?" he asked. Each and every one of them looked amazing. He couldn't imagine the amount of time it must have taken her to make them all.
"Of course, silly. After what you went through for me today, I'd say you've more than earned them." She paused and added, "Unless you want to share." She wiggled her eyebrows suggestively, and his stomach lurched, his face flushing.
Does she really want me to— or is she just teasing me? Argh, say something, you idiot! She's sitting there waiting for you to—
"Kidding!" She poked his nose and giggled.
With a sinking feeling, he realized he wished she hadn't been. He studied the chocolates and avoided her eyes. He'd been a mess lately. He wanted things he didn't know how to put into words. Things he was too embarrassed to put into words. And when he tried, he ended up… well, like this.
Smooth, Sora. Real smooth.
She cleared her throat and added, "One of them does have a special surprise inside of it though."
Sora raised his eyebrow. "Not like Jack's, I hope." He chuckled and cringed at the memory.
There you go. Tease her back.
She laughed. "No. Much better. This one I think you'll want to share."
Oh, he knew what was inside of that chocolate now. He'd like to share it with her, all right. He'd like to share it with her very much. He eyed the chocolates, trying to figure out where she'd hidden it. His eyes rested on one particular letter, and he knew he had his answer. There was no other option, really.
He leaned in close. "Starts with an 'S,' right?" he murmured into her ear. A huge smile spread across her face. He grinned and gave her an affectionate peck on the cheek. She giggled, nuzzling him playfully. His heart skipped a beat, and he set the chocolates aside and put his arm around her. They could wait. Right now, she was all that mattered. She snuggled close to him and sighed in contentment.
He couldn't have asked for a better ending to the day. Chocolate was awesome, but it didn't compare to holding the wonderful girl beside him. Really, she was the best Valentine he could ask for.
"Happy Valentine's Day, Sora."
oOo
A/N: Happy Sokai Day! I've always wanted to see Sora and Kairi visit Halloween Town together, so I thought I'd write a oneshot about it. Special thanks to Mr. Spinner for also suggesting it, and for pointing me towards mell0w-m1nded's fun design for Halloween Town Kairi on DeviantArt. And thank you FlowerLady-Aerith for the encouragement, and for doing the challenge with me. Also, a quick shoutout to my friend who helped me come up with what to put inside of Jack's chocolates.
As always, a big thank you to my readers! Hope you enjoyed the story. Based on Sora's behavior in the games (like his dogeza bow in KH2), I figured the culture of Destiny Islands is probably pretty similar to Japan's. So I based their Valentine's Day customs off of that.