The mayor is out of town this weekend, and Kairi insists on a sleepover.
It's a pretty silly concept, and she can't help but laugh despite herself when she asks Sora and Riku. Yes, it's so middle-school-girl, and yes, they're probably too old to still be doing this, but her house will be empty and she doesn't want to be by herself. Playing the scared pity card was absolutely the right move – they agreed almost instantly. (And part of it was true, after all.)
She's distracted all day in class waiting for later. It'll be the first time that they'll be together for more than an hour here or there, and everything needs to go perfectly. She writes lists and lists, snack choices and music and movies they still need to see. She's being ridiculous – they've spent tons of nights hanging out with nothing more than each other's company and it's been fine. But tonight feels important. Somehow, in her mind, if tonight goes well, things can finally start moving forward, closer to the way it used to be.
Sora and Riku arrive promptly together at eight that night. They're greeted by Kairi, who's sitting in the middle of the floor. All the furniture in the large living room has been moved out of the way, and in its place are piles of blankets and pillows. She cheerfully invites them to join her. They laugh, removing their bags and shoes to join her, and she's so nervous and excited that her heart can't calm itself.
It's a little uncomfortable, at first. The conversation always seems to turn to something that at least one of them can't talk about, and her attempts to change topics become sloppier and more transparent. A little bit of the easiness they always had together is missing, but not gone; there are moments when Sora says something silly and Riku cracks a sarcastic comment, and Kairi can't help but laugh at the two of them, and it's normal again. She remains optimistically hopeful.
A few hours later and they've managed to settle down with a movie. Kairi lays wedged between Riku and Sora, the way it always has been, a massive bowl of chips balancing against her stomach. Sora's providing a never-ending string of commentary, interspersed by more thoughtful comments by Riku, and Kairi's so happy that they're all together that she's barely watching at all. A few minutes more and she's managed to doze off.
It's strange to Riku that it almost doesn't bother him at all that she's resting her head against Sora's shoulder. He purposely sits a little straighter, determined to not fall asleep. His dreams have not been friendly as of late, and waking up to shadows has been the worst part. If he can hold out until sunrise, the darkness can't get at him and he'll be safe. As it was, the dark reflective surface of the windows in the house were catching his eye and making him anxious.
Sora, meanwhile, is trying in vain to keep as still as possible, careful not to move or wake Kairi. His energy is through the roof – there wasn't a tremendous amount of time to sleep in the past, and his body's used to running on only a few hours of sleep, if that. So instead he talks, and Riku intently listens, offering all the feedback he can think of.
More hours pass, and the sun is just rising through the bay window across the room. They've made their way through several of Kairi's meticulously selected movies, marveling quietly at her ability to sleep through damn near anything. Riku's trying, and failing, to stifle yawns, and even Sora is feeling uncharacteristically drowsy. The ending credits to an action movie are scrolling on the screen, and their conversation, for the first time in a while, tapers to an end. They sit in comfortable silence for a couple of minutes before Riku finally gives in. With a deep breath, and very minimal movement, he manages to lay beside Kairi, wrapping an absurd flowered blanket around him. Sora, too, reclines back, resting his head against the top of Kairi's.
Half-asleep, it's a second before Sora realizes that Riku's spoken. He responds quietly, with a smile, that yeah, he's missed this too, and with that, the three of them are out, only hair and faces visible under a mountain of blankets and pillows.
The next afternoon, with the furniture restored to its original place, the excess food returned to the pantries, and the last blanket folded neatly and put away in a closet, Sora and Riku are finally packed and ready to leave. Kairi walks them to the door, bouncing on her heels, and before departing, Riku comments that once his house is back in an okay state, they should do this again… maybe next weekend?
The resulting smile from Kairi is enough to show that yeah, maybe things were going to be normal someday after all.
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or plot points referencing any of the games in the Kingdom Hearts series. Reviews are appreciated.