I wanted to write fluff and this is what happened… a fanfic that became way longer than I expected it to haha.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything from the KH series, yadda yadda.

Summer Breeze

"So when exactly was the last time you saw Kairi in a bathing suit?" Riku asked from the other side of the room as I worked on dumping water bottles and soda cans into the cooler that his mom had left out for us. He was wearing a plain white t-shirt along with black swim trunks, a light blue towel draped over his shoulder.

"I don't know, before we left?" I flipped the lid closed and threw my towel around my neck. I had on a black tank top and dark blue swim trunks. I squinted at Riku suspiciously as I walked over to him, "Why?"

He turned away from me and opened up the sliding glass door, walking out and replying smugly, "No reason."

I rolled my eyes, stepping out after him and closing the door behind me, "Always have to be mysterious, huh?"

"Sure, if that's how you want to see it." He replied, not bothering to turn around and face me.

Slightly annoyed, I picked up my pace in order to walk side by side. "Any way, why am I the one carrying stuff? Weren't you the one who was supposed to bring the drinks?"

This time it was Riku who rolled his eyes at me, "Sora, you didn't have to get anything because we figured you'd forget, so consider this doing your fair share."

I frowned, but I knew it was true. "Guess I can't argue with that." I admitted with a sigh, slumping my shoulders.

Riku looked over at me and studied my dejected expression for a moment before replying, "Hey, don't take it so personally. We just wanna make sure we have everything. You know it'd suck if we were all out on the play island and didn't have any drinks. Plus you've missed out in the past whenever you had to come back here and get stuff, so we're doing you a favor too."

"I guess so." I said begrudgingly. As we approached the row boats, I shook off my negativity, "So who's rowing, you or me? I'm still working on my boat." A recent storm had dome some pretty bad damage to mine, so it was currently sitting in my garage.

"I'll do it, just make sure the cooler doesn't get knocked over. Don't want the sodas to go flying out and then end up fizzing all over someone." Riku got into the boat and looked up at me, waiting.

"Or do we?" I questioned with a grin as I put the cooler on the floor, placing my feet on either side of it as I sat down.

Riku cracked a smile as he started rowing, "Tempting, but nah. Let's keep it civil."

I crossed my arms and joked, "You're no fun."

He joked back, "One of us has to be the mature one, Sora."

I waved him off, "Have it your way. Just know that I get to have more fun than you do."

Riku opened his mouth to respond but stopped himself and shook his head, "Again, if that's what you want to think. We just have different ideas of fun."

"What's your idea of fun, then?" I questioned, intrigued.

He ignored me and instead announced, "Hey, we're pretty much there so get ready to get out."

Turning my head around, I saw the dock moving closer to us as well as everybody else down the beach. Turning back around, I grabbed the cooler to make sure it wouldn't shift and replied, "Okay, I'm ready." With a soft thud, we hit the sand. Getting out of the boat, I stood in the water and reached back into the boat to get the cooler. I lifted it up and shoved it over the top of the dock before turning back to Riku, "Need any help tying up the boat?"

"No thanks, I'm just about done." He answered, leaning over the boat. After a few more seconds, he grabbed his towel out of the boat and stood up, "Alright, let's go."

"Okay." I got up on the dock and retrieved the cooler before heading over to the group.

"Sora! Riku!" I heard Kairi's voice before I saw her. Though my feet managed to keep moving forward, my brain shut off the moment I saw her. She was wearing a light purple bikini with her hair up in a ponytail, decorated with a flower. I was so used to seeing her wear one pieces or tankinis that I never even considered she would wear a bikini.

I stopped a few feet away from her, still taken back and staring. Seeing the ends of her hair were already slightly wavy, I assumed she'd already been swimming. "You can put that down you know." She motioned to the cooler.

"Hm? Oh. Right." I gave an embarrassed smile before leaning over to put it down among the girls' tote bags and Wakka and Tidus's stuff. After standing back up, I attempted to compliment her, "Um, you look—you look really nice."

She smiled sweetly, rocking back and forth on her feet, "Thank you."

"Kairi!" Selphie called from farther down the beach.

Looking between me and Selphie for a moment, she apologized before rushing off, "Sorry, I'll be right back."

"Okay." I replied, not sure if she even heard me and shamelessly stared at her ass as she moved away from me.

"And that's why I asked you." I heard Riku say from my side.

Ripping my eyes away from Kairi, I felt my face growing warm as I turned to Riku and retorted, "How was I supposed to know she got a bikini? She always said she felt uncomfortable in them before."

"Yeah, well, she has the body for them now so you should have known. Besides, maybe she's wearing it to impress a certain someone." Riku suggested while elbowing my chest.

I looked back in her direction where she was helping bury Tidus in the sand, "Doubt it."

"Guess we'll just have to find out." Riku said before he started walking towards her.

"Wait—you're not asking her right now, are you?" I raced over to him, stopping him in his tracks.

He shook his head, "No, I'm just saying we'll see how the day plays out. Quit worrying."

"Wish I could." I muttered to myself.

"So Tidus, how'd you get tricked into being put in the ground?" Riku sat on the ground next to Tidus's head, which was about the only thing left of him that was visible. I sat between Riku and where Kairi was still working with Selphie and Wakka to pile on more sand so that Tidus couldn't move his feet.

"Selphie just started throwing sand on me while I was lying down and it turned into this." He turned his head to look at us the best he could, his hair almost blending in with the sand.

"It's a warning for what happens if you fall asleep today. Got it, Sora?" Selphie gave me a stern look.

I looked away and laughed nervously, "Yeah, got it." More than likely I was going to end up in Tidus's position whether I liked it or not. After the sun beats down on me for a while, I just start to get tired.

"Can you move, Tidus?" Wakka called out to him.

Tidus tried to look up but he couldn't, "No, I can't. Can't believe you betrayed me, either."

Wakka laughed, "Sorry, man. It's all in fun."

Selphie suddenly jumped up and went over to her tote bag. Digging through it for a moment, she pulled out a camera and announced in a sing-song voice, "Picture time!"

Tidus groaned, "Really? Come on, haven't you tortured me enough?"

"Nope." Selphie replied with a wide grin as she walked back over to us. After turning the camera on, she exclaimed, "Everybody say cheese!"

"Cheese!" We all replied back with smiles, with the exception of Tidus who let out another groan.

"Perfect." She commented as she looked down at the camera's display screen. Looking back up at us, she asked, "Hey, Kairi, can you take a picture of me, Tidus and Wakka? Then I'll take a picture of you three."

"Okay." Kairi nodded eagerly and got up to get the camera from Selphie while Riku and I moved out of the way.

Selphie winked and made a peace sign while Wakka put bunny ears behind Tidus's head. "Ready?" Kairi asked, holding up the camera.

"Mhm." Selphie nodded.

"Okay. One, two, three." Kairi pressed the capture button. Taking a moment to examine the picture, she said, "Got it."

Selphie jumped back up, "Okay, you three get together."

As Kairi walked towards us, Tidus yelled, "Hey! Are you just gonna leave me like this?"

"Just wait a minute, you big baby." Selphie replied, waving him off before adding, "Wakka, don't help him yet. He can wait."

"Sorry Tidus!" I called out, feeling bad for him.

"Not your fault, Sora…" He replied quietly, obviously annoyed.

Kairi stared at me and Riku, thinking aloud, "Hm… well I can't put my arms over your shoulders like I used to because you're both getting too tall for me. Especially you, Riku."

He laughed, "Sorry."

"Guess I'll just have to be boring and stand in front of you." She turned around to face Selphie.

She was so close to me I could feel the heat radiating off of her and I was so tempted to reach out and touch her in some way but I knew it'd be inappropriate. Selphie's voice snapped me back into reality, "Okay, everyone smile!" Looking forward, I smiled but soon enough I glanced back at Kairi. When I saw Selphie smirking as she looked at the picture, I knew she probably got me.

'Crap.'

Surprisingly, she kept it to herself for the moment. Instead, she suggested, "Alright, let's go dig out Tidus now."

I started walking forward before I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see Kairi smiling at me, "Hey. Just wanted you to know I've got your back. If you start falling asleep, I'll wake you up or create a distraction so you don't end up like Tidus."

I smiled back sheepishly, "Thanks, Kairi. I would say the same to you but I don't think I've ever seen you fall asleep on the beach.

She giggled, "The thought's appreciated anyway. Come on, let's go help." She turned around.

"Wait a second, why are you helping me if you helped Selphie bury him in the first place?" I gave her a suspicious look.

Kairi rolled her eyes, "Easy. I can help you if I see you first, but if Selphie does then I'm forced to help."

"Oh, I see. You failed to mention the catch to your deal." I crossed my arms, "Some friend you are, Kairi." She simply stuck out her tongue before heading over to where Tidus was already half way unburied.

"You guys took forever, I was starting to get so itchy. I'm going to go jump in the ocean the instant I get out of here." Tidus said as he squirmed about, knocking some of the sand loose.

"Sounds like a good idea to me too." I commented as I scraped sand away from the top of where his legs should be. The sun was already wearing me out and the cool water would be extremely refreshing.

After a few more minutes of digging, Tidus managed to wedge himself out of what was left and as promised, immediately made a run for the ocean, yelling out, "I'm free!" He made a decent sized splash as he jumped into the water.

"I dunno about you guys, but I'm gonna go out in the water too." I turned around from watching Tidus to see who else wanted to come.

Kairi took a step closer to me, "I'll join you."

"Me too." Selphie chirped as well.

I looked to Riku and Wakka, who was now holding a ball. "We're gonna practice. You go ahead." Riku replied, shooing us away.

"Suite yourself." I made my way towards the water.

"See you later, Riku." I heard Kairi say as I was halfway to the shoreline.

Taking the first few steps out in the water was always uncomfortable due to the coldness so I dove in as soon as I could to quickly adjust my body temperature. As I resurfaced I let out a loud, "Ahh…"

"Feel better now?" I heard Kairi say from behind me.

"Yeah, but not as much as Tidus does, I bet." I looked around until I saw her, only thigh deep in the water and hugging herself to stay warm, "I dunno why you don't ever just jump in. It's a lot easier to warm up that way."

She bit her lip, "I know. The salt really irritates my eyes, though."

"You've lived here almost your whole life, you have to get used to it someday." I laid on my back, letting myself float as I stared up at the clear blue sky.

I heard her wade farther into the water, "You say that, but it's just as bad every time. Besides, I don't want to lose this flower."

"Where'd you get that any way?" I asked curiously. Kairi usually wasn't one for hair accessories, either, on top of the fact she was wearing a bikini.

"I found it this morning while I was taking a walk around the island before Selphie got here. I just thought it would look cute." She spoke through her chattering teeth, "Wow, this water's colder than I thought."

"It does… look cute, I mean." I replied quietly as I let my feet fall back to the ocean floor so I could face her.

"Thank you." She smiled as she walked out into the water. It was just about at her shoulders now. "Phew, think I'm finally getting used to it." She ran a hand through her hair, the damp end of her ponytail sending a few droplets flying.

"Took you long enough." I replied jokingly.

"Hey, don't make fun of me." She splashed water in my direction, causing me to turn my face away.

I looked back at her with a mischievous smirk, "Are you sure you want to start a water war? I think we both know who'd win since you just said a minute ago your eyes can't handle it."

She got a mischievous look too, "Maybe I've been lying this entire time."

"That line may have worked if I hadn't of seen you cry several times when we were younger." I waved a finger at her, "Not to mention the guilt I remember having when it was my fault."

She smiled apologetically, "It's okay, they were just accidents."

"But now you want me to do it to you on purpose?" I questioned with a confused laugh.

"Guess not." Kairi splashed more water towards me, this time more gently, "I can still do it to you, though." She giggled.

I looked at her in disbelief, "That's not fair."

She winked at me, "Who said I was fair?"

I looked down for a moment, blushing, before I got an idea. "Fine. Then I won't play fair, either." I said as I walked towards her.

"What are you doing…?" She eyed me suspiciously. Before she could react, I lunged towards her and started tickling her sides. "Sora, no! Please s-stop!" She said through laughter, trying to grab my arms ad pull them away from her but I easily defied her grasp. Out of desperation, she ducked under the water and swam backwards. When she resurfaced, she tried to rub her eyes but kept blinking repeatedly; obviously in pain. "Okay, you win. Help me back to where my stuff is, please?" She blindly reached out for me.

"Of course." I rushed over to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulders, supporting her as I led her back to shore. After catching a glance of her hair, I told her, "Sorry, your flower's gone…"

"Figures." She reached up to touch her wet hair where the flower used to be, "Oh well. I can get another one if I really want to."

Close to where our stuff was, I asked, "The black tote bag is Selphie's, right?"

"Yeah, mine's the pink one." She replied, still blinking continuously.

I let go of her and reached into her tote bag on the ground, pulling out a blue and white towel with a seashell design. "Here you go," I held the towel up to her face.

She gently wiped her eyes with the towel, letting out a sound of relief as she pulled it away. "I can see again." She told me as she lowered the towel and held it against her stomach.

"Good, I'm glad." I smiled at her before motioning towards the cooler, "Um. Hungry yet? I could go for a sandwich right about now."

"Yeah, a little bit. I just need to lay my towel out first so I'll have a place to sit." She replied, gently folding out her towel.

"Oh, yeah. I guess I need to do that too." I picked mine off the top of the cooler and threw it down next to Kairi's; it was a bit lopsided but I didn't really care.

Just as we were both about done making our sandwiches, Selphie made her appearance. "You two have fun?" She asked as she looked between the two of us.

"Yeah, minus when I had to go underwater to escape from Sora tickling me." She gave me a mock dirty look.

"Hey, you could have given up sooner and I would have stopped." I grabbed a soda from Riku's cooler and a handful of chips before moving over to my towel.

"I guess." Kairi replied in an annoyed tone at first but then finished with a laugh, "Anyway, what about you, Selphie?"

She crossed her arms as she explained, "Well, I spent half the time trying to get Tidus to talk to me again, but oh well. He'll get over it. Other than that, I just swam by myself and enjoyed being out in the water for the first time this summer."

Kairi walked over to her towel and sat down but kept her eyes on her friend, replying softly, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself at least a little bit. And yeah, Tidus will come around soon."

The brunette shrugged, "Yeah, it's fine. Anyway, he went to go practice with Riku and Wakka, so he's just mad at me; not you guys."

"Like you said, he'll get over it. He'll probably be fine by the time they finish up." I tried to encourage her before taking a bite out of my sandwich.

"Definitely." Kairi chimed in.

Selphie went over to make her own sandwich but asked, "So what are you two going to do now?"

I shrugged, collapsing backwards on my towel after I had finished eating, "I dunno. I'll just lay here and not fall asleep."

"Hmm…" Kairi looked over at me and replied, "Yeah, just laying out and trying to get a tan sounds nice."

"Ah, yeah. I could definitely use a tan." Selphie commented enthusiastically as she sat down next to Kairi.

As the girls began to talk to each other, I just kind of slipped off into my own world as I stared out at the ocean and the dock. It was so nice to be back home, where everything was so placed, after the hectic year I'd just gone through. I could never just lay out in the sun like this and just let everything go.

At first it was actually kind of hard to go back to living like this. I felt really anxious whenever I wasn't keeping myself busy because I was so used to always doing something. Thankfully, Mom had a lot of chores for me to catch up on after being gone for a year. But I breezed through those fairly quickly, which completely shocked her and me. I even had enough motivation to actually catch up in school, for a while. It was only towards the end of the semester that I finally started to feel burnt out, so summer came at the perfect time.

"Sora?" I heard Kairi call out.

"Hmm?" I turned over to face her.

"Just making sure you're still awake." She grinned, now laying on her stomach with her ear buds in her ears and a book in her hands. She probably had paused her music just to check on me, as she went back to bobbing her head after she returned to her book. Since it had been enough time for her to turn over, I figured I probably should too. But I should have known better; I started to drift in and out of consciousness within a few minutes of lying on my stomach.

I was awoken by Riku's cold, wet foot nudging my side. I glared at him as I sat up and shook my head, "What?"

"I'm heading home. Are you coming with me or are you and Kairi going to stay for the sunset?"

I blinked a few times, trying to wake myself up, "The sunset thing probably."

"Alright. Tidus and Wakka just left and Selphie is probably about to leave after me." Riku continued, still a blurry figure in my vision.

I looked around, confused, "How long was I asleep for?"

He shrugged, "Kairi said something like an hour and a half, maybe. I mean we didn't get out here until like one thirty so it wasn't like you were asleep for an eternity or anything."

"Okay, good." I stood up and stretched out my arms, "Guess Kairi kept her promise."

Riku raised an eyebrow, "What promise?"

"She didn't let Selphie bury me." I laughed, "She managed to stop her for a long time, too. Impressive."

"I see." He acknowledged with a nod, "Well, I'm gonna get going." He picked the cooler off the ground and started walking away but turned back around, suggesting quietly, "You know, you need to take advantage of all this alone time with her. It's always just you two left on the island during the sunset. Doesn't get more private than that."

I looked down, "I-I know. I'll try."

"Good luck, then. See you tomorrow." He lightly touched my shoulder before moving back towards his boat.

I turned to see Kairi and Selphie hugging goodbye, Kairi now wearing a white tank top and shorts over her bikini while Selphie wore a yellow cover up dress. Selphie whispered something into her ear while letting go causing her to laugh. Suddenly I remembered the picture from earlier and wondered if maybe that was what she was whispering about.

Selphie waved as she walked past me, "See you, Sora. Make sure you get Kairi home safely."

"I always do. See ya." I replied automatically, waving back as she left before putting my shirt over my head and back on. "So… what should we do till the sun sets?" I asked as I walked towards Kairi, "We could get another one of those flowers you like had in your hair earlier, if you want."

She nodded eagerly, "Sure, let's do that."

"So where exactly were they?" I slowed my pace as she started walking beside me.

She put a finger up to her lips in thought, "Um… Oh yeah, the bushes beside the zip line. I was surprised to see them out here, normally you can only find the really pretty flowers on the main island."

I combed through my memories of the play island through the years, "Wow, you're right. I never really noticed that before. Then again, I don't really pay attention to flowers that much." I admitted with a laugh.

"It's okay, most people don't unless it's Valentine's Day, an Anniversary, or if they own a garden. I'm not into flowers enough to know what they're all named or anything, but I think they deserve to be admired." She stared ahead, unaware that I was watching her as she spoke.

Once she finished talking, she began to look at me but caught me staring. She looked completely forward again, a light blush appearing on her cheeks. "There they are!" She pointed as we neared the bridge, which had finally been fixed.

She rushed ahead while I kept my pace. By the time I had reached the bush, she had already plucked off a flower. She held it out to me, asking softly, "Can you put it in my hair? I had Selphie do it before; I don't want to do it and have it look funny."

"Sure." I took the flower out of her hands and gently placed what was left of the stem through the hair near her ponytail, making sure it was tucked in enough to not fall out. "I think it's just about where you had it earlier." I let my hands fall back to my sides.

Kairi reached up to touch it and she nodded, "Yeah, it feels right."

"Good." I gave a sigh of relief to myself, "So I guess it's time to head back to the dock, the sky's starting to change."

"Okay, let's go." She walked forward, checking every so often to make sure the flower was still there.

"I think I did a good job securing it, Kairi." I commented in an amused time after about her fifth time checking it, making her jump.

She turned around and smiled sheepishly, "Sorry! Just don't want to lose this one because we won't have time to go back."

"I understand. There's always tomorrow, though. They're not going anywhere." I shrugged, inwardly wondering why she wanted this particular flower so much.

"Yeah, you're right." She held her hands together in front of her, probably to keep herself from reaching up again. "Do you remember why we even started watching the sunsets every day?" She asked suddenly, curious.

I scratched my head in thought, "I think we used to use it as an excuse to not go home; so you, me, and Riku could stay on the play island longer. Then it slowly turned into something we actually wanted to do."

"Ah, that's right. I remember." Kairi nodded before taking a turn towards the shack and suggesting, "Let's watch from the paopu tree today."

"O-okay." I replied, surprised at her suddenness.

"I just feel like we always watch it from the dock ever since Riku stopped staying with us, so I figured it'd be nice to change things up." She looked back at me from a few stairs up, a worried look on her face, "If that's okay with you, I mean."

I raised my hands in defense, "Oh, no, it's fine. I was just surprised. Not a bad thing."

Kairi smiled softly, "Just wanted to make sure."

As we exited the door at the top of the shack, I noted the sky was already turning a pinkish color, "Looks like we made it just in time."

"Race you there!" She exclaimed suddenly, rushing towards the paopu tree.

I opened my mouth, ready to yell 'Hey!' but I let it go; she could win this time. I ran after her but it was pretty much impossible to try and pass someone on that bridge without falling off (which I had done before and it hurt like hell), so she easily won.

"I win!" She beamed proudly as she jumped up onto the tree.

I took a seat beside her, "Yep, you did."

"You probably let me win, though…" She spoke in a soft tone and looked up at me with a sheepish smile.

I tried not to smile back as I looked out over the ocean but I could tell I wasn't doing a good job, "Maybe."

I heard her giggle, "That's okay."

We sat in a comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying being with each other as we admired the sunset. Every few minutes she'd nudge my leg with her foot and pretend it wasn't her or that it was an accident and every time I'd give her a look at which she'd just laugh and turn back towards the sunset.

As the sky began to darken, I saw her smile quickly turn into a frown, "Guess we should head home."

I nodded, jumping down from the tree without a word. She jumped down after me, smiling softly as she passed by me and started towards the bridge.

'You know, you need to take advantage of all this alone time with her.' I suddenly remembered Riku's words. My heart starting to pound in my chest, I called out, "Kairi, wait."

She spun around, a confused look on her face, "What is it, Sora?"

I held my breath as I walked over to her, trying to keep what little composure I had. "I don't wanna go home yet." I whispered as I leaned in closer to her, causing her to shiver. At first, this scared me but I figured out it was a good thing once she leaned in to me as well, closing her eyes. I could taste the salt water on her lips, but it didn't matter. I had been waiting for this moment for a while and it I had practically convinced myself it would never happen.

I didn't even remember putting my arms around her waist, but I pulled her closer as our kissing quickly intensified. She wrapped one arm around my neck, the other softly running through my hair as I felt my back hit what I assumed to be the paopu tree. She surprised me when I felt her start to incorporate her tongue into the kiss but I quickly returned the favor. I lifted my hands up to her shoulders and slowly traced them down the side of her body; admiring her thin frame and the subtle curve of her hips.

It was all too tempting to touch her more but I knew I was probably already stretching the limits so I slowly retracted my hands from her thighs and gently broke away. When I opened my eyes, I saw Kairi staring at me with a big smile on her face. I leaned in again, stealing a few more short kisses.

Finally pulling myself away and taking a small step back, she said breathlessly, "Took you long enough."

I smiled, realizing she was referencing back to me talking about her getting into the water, "Sorry."

"I guess Selphie's plan worked after all." She said quietly to herself.

I raised an eyebrow and repeated, "Selphie's plan?"

"The bikini, the flower." She pointed as she spoke, "You know I normally don't go all out like this but I was getting desperate so… Selphie picked it out for me. I found the flower but she was the one who suggested putting it in my hair." She looked down, blushing, "I ended up liking it more than I thought I would, though. So maybe I'll wear stuff like this more often."

"You don't have to dress up for me. But if you want to, I won't complain." I replied with a smirk.

Kairi rolled her eyes but laughed, "Of course not."

I smiled at her for a minute before letting out, "So if it isn't obvious by now, I love you, Kairi."

"I love you too, Sora." She leaned in for another kiss.