Author Note: I had to delve into the RxN connection to our two lovebirds. It's a tease, but we'll get into it more in later Chapters, I promise! And as always, Love Letters and Constructive Criticism are welcome.
Disclaimer: I know I don't own them, but they invited me to come and hang out on the beach with them. () Disney and Square Enix are some lucky mo-fos! I always give them back when I'm done!
Chapter Four: Dreams, Farewells and Destinies Entwined
A voice called out from the darkness... "Roxas..." Suddenly a voice that was not Sora's own was coming from within him. "I'm here beside you, Namine." There was a flash of light then an angelic face stood before him. She spoke again, "Roxas, meet me here, whenever you can. In the shadows of twilight and dawn, amongst the mists of dreams we can share our passion until they're ready to share it themselves." She began to kiss him...it felt just like Kairi. "I need more affection than you know." Her voice echoed through his brain. He could feel her and almost smell her…She began touching him in ways Kairi hadn't yet... "Oh god...Namine."
Sora woke up with a jolt, and found himself in a sweat. He was panting as if he had just...oh my god what a ridiculous dream. Kairi turned to face him...she had been startled awake as well. "Namine." she breathed. "And Roxas," Sora added, quickly doing a double-take. "Wait. Kai...we shared the same dream?" "Well," she started, "I had HER point of view, it seems, and..." "I had his," Sora completing her thought. He eyes widened as he realized what had just transpired. Her face flushed red.
The sun was beginning to peek over the hill and through Sora's window. "I am almost afraid to go back to sleep, Kairi." he admitted as he wiped sweat off his forehead. "Well let's get up then, and make breakfast for everyone," she suggested, "Oh yeah, and a shower would be good." she sniffed in his direction. "Are you trying to say that I stink?" Sora had a solution, "How about saving some water?" He had the biggest smirk on his face. He got a punch in the arm, and not from Kairi. Riku had been rudely awakened again by his two newly lovebird friends. He was not happy, "I really don't want to hear this...and I especially don't need the mental picture." Riku rolled over to reclaim his dreams.
Sora showered and went downstairs to find Kairi still in her pajamas, making breakfast. He came up behind her and kissed her neck. Goose bumps... "It's your turn in the shower, Kai."
She turned around into his arms and kissed him in a slow lingering kiss, running her fingers through his still damp hair. Minutes passed as they got lost in each other.
"Ahem..."
They spun around to Riku standing there, arms folded. The two of them blushed a furious shade of pink. "Ummm, yeah, hi Riku..."Sora folded his arms behind his head and faltered a bit, "I'm sorry you had to witness that before we could tell you that we–." "It's okay Sora. I saw it coming for years." Riku admitted, "I knew you two would finally figure out that you like each other."
Sora looked at the clock. It was almost time to go into town and bid farewell to his friends. The boys wolfed down Kairi's breakfast. Sora discovered that she can cook. He smiled to himself. His list of things he loved about Kairi got longer everyday. While they ate, Kairi went upstairs and got ready. She came downstairs in a cute little sun dress he had never seen before. Sora left his mom a note and they took off for the town.
It was another glorious day in the Destiny Islands. The breeze wafted through the palm trees, and the scent of coconut and salty sea enveloped the senses. The three made their way down into town and they headed toward the Island Inn where the King, Goofy and Donald had stayed the night. They spotted Donald dragging a large chest unsuccessfully out of the building. "#!" he swore indiscernibly. Sora ran ahead to his stuggling friend, "Donald, let me help you with that!"
"Thanks, Sora!" the two of them began hiking the big chest down towards where they landed the Gummi Ship. Mickey and Goofy had appeared in the doorway just in time to catch spectacle Donald had been making. They were carrying armfuls of belongings and equipment. "Hopefully you won't need that armor for a while," Kairi said. "Here's hoping!" Goofy cheered.
Riku and Kairi grabbed some of the stuff still waiting to be loaded into the ship and followed the king.
They all stood around after the ship was ready. Hugs were given by everyone. Sora turned to Mickey and Donald, "Hope you guys have as nice a homecoming as I did!" He gave them a wink and they chuckled in understanding. "I can't wait to see Daisy! Oh boy!" The friends laughed as Donald ran into the ship to get it up and running. The King was last on the shore. He turned to Sora, Riku and Kairi, "This isn't the last we'll see of each other. You'll hear from me when we need to meet again."
The door of the ship shut and they fell back as it began to take off. It was out into the blue sky in a shot and disappeared in a flash of light. Sora just stared for a moment. "It's so hard to think that things just have to go back to normal now…" Kairi and Riku nodded as they mused with him. "Things are still different, though," Riku said pensively. "We're older, weathered by our experiences, closer at heart…" Sora and Kairi looked at him and then glanced at each other. He took her hand. Riku noticed that they needed time alone and began to head back towards the town. "We'll talk later, alright, Sora? I'm going home to see what my father's up to."
"Later!" Sora replied over his shoulder. He looked around realizing that for the first time, he and Kairi had time to talk about the crazy waves of emotions they were experiencing. They had time to catch up with each other. He stood there for a moment, trying to take it all in.
Then it came to him. "Let's go out to the island. Right now. You and me."
"Yeah, let's go, Sora." Kairi wanted to him the picture in the cave. Sora had other ideas. They took a boat and rowed out to their usual dock. They tied up the boat and walked along the beach together. They had walked this beach a hundred times, but today was different. Kairi took him by the hand and guided him towards the cave. "What's up Kai?" he inquired. "I want to show you some new additions to the cave." She winked at him. Sora didn't know what to think of it, "Oh-Okay…" "You go first," she practically pushed him into the secret spot where they used go as kids. He walked around looking at all the drawings…and his eyes caught it. The new addition. Sora and Kairi's picture now shown the two paopus together. He looked over at Kairi, beaming. "Let's do it, Kairi. Today." She leaned into his arms, "Let's."
No one was around, still, as the came back out of the cave. Sora wrapped his arm around her waist as they walked. They made their way into the shack, up the stairs to the bridge and over to their favorite sitting spot. The Paopu tree. Sora and Kairi hopped up onto the trunk to sit. "Huh? OW!" Something fell, bouncing off Sora's head, into his lap. The large, yellow star-shaped fruit stared him in the face. "I guess that one's ripe," Kairi pointed out, "and ready to eat." Sora looked back to the fruit, and inhaled slowly. We're going to do this! This is forever…
Sora took the fruit in both hands and cracked it in half. It smelt of citrus and coconut. Kairi leaned over and pressed her lips against his. She took the fruit in her hands, closed her eyes and bit in as Sora watched with butterflies in his stomach. Soft moans of delight escaped as the tangy-sweet flavor piqued her tongue. Sora quickly joined her in savoring this juicy, once-in-a-lifetime delight.
When they had eaten all but one last bite, they fed it to the other. They paused for a moment, anticipating something unusual. "So what do you think happens now?" Sora pondered. "Guess we'll have to wait and see…"Kairi nudged him in the side. Sora pulled her over to sit back against him as they gazed into late afternoon sky.
