Background Information:
TFTI: an acronym for "thanks for the invite".
Sha no kamae: A Japanese katana stance in which both wrists touch the wielder's hip.
Warning: Not that I've done a great job at warning you guys about these scenes, but Sora and Kairi get pretty heated at the end. Oh, don't look at me like that. We all knew this was going to happen eventually, but it's not what you may think!
PROJECT: TEENAGE WASTELAND
XXXI | one true pairing
When Kairi stirs in her canopy bed the following morning, she surprisingly wakes up alone.
With her eyes still closed, her hands roam her bed, but all she can feel are the sheets, her blanket, and the warm sun against her skin and the pillows.
Huh, she thinks groggily when her eyes flutter open. How strange. She distinctly remembered falling asleep next to a handsome brunet after a night full of kissing, hushed giggles, and cuddling. Of course there was also some helpless fumbling with a fire extinguisher at some point, but then again, growing up with Sora did mean finding herself in all sorts of situations.
Kairi then places a finger to her lips, which are slightly swollen from so much activity, but the tingling in them confirms that while the events of last night may have been dreamlike, they weren't actually a dream; no, this was reality, and it was even better than anything she could've dreamt or imagined.
Kairi giggles to herself, but when her phone suddenly rings with a notification, she's forced to return to her senses.
Text received from Sora:
Just getting us breakfast. Be right back beautiful [winky kissy face emoji]
With a lovestruck smile on her face, Kairi giddily gets up, stretches, and makes her bed. She heads into her personal bathroom to go through her morning routine, and by the time she emerges from her closet dressed for the day, her ears perk upward at the sound of her door unlocking.
"Room service!" a chipper voice exclaims on the other side. The door swings open, and Sora, dressed in his work uniform, wheels in a food cart with a romantic breakfast for two. With an obvious bounce to his step, he parks the cart by the lounge area of Kairi's room, carefully sets the individual trays down on the coffee table, and turns to face her with a radiant smile.
"Well good morning," he greets. "How is my lovely girlfriend this morning?"
Kairi chuckles into her hand. "Much better now that her boyfriend is here."
Much to her surprise, Sora takes a knife from the food cart and raises it as if it were his keyblade. "What boyfriend? Where is he? I'll kill him."
Kairi rolls her eyes (albeit with an entertained smile) as she approaches Sora and skillfully disarms him.
"It's you, stupid head," she reminds as the knife clatters back onto the cart. "You're my boyfriend."
Sora grins stupidly. "Oh, right."
And for the first time that morning, their lips meet in a sweet kiss that makes both their bellies flutter.
"So," Sora starts as they finish off their heart-shaped red velvet pancakes, fruit, and coffee side-by-side on the velvet couch. "What do you want to do on our first morning back together as official boyfriend and girlfriend?"
Kairi daintily wipes her mouth with a napkin before responding. "I want to make out as much as possible."
Sora's coffee nearly goes down the wrong pipe. "Wh-what?"
"Is that a problem?" his girlfriend asks coyly.
Sora frantically shakes his head. "No, not at all. I just thought you frowned upon relationships that were based only on physical stuff."
"I do," Kairi agrees, "but we're about to be physically separated for a few months, Sora, so I'm going to take advantage of your lips while I can. That okay?"
Sora carefully sets down his mug and pulls his girlfriend to him by her waist, eliciting a playful squeak from her lips. As he lowers himself on top of her, he runs a hand up her leg, slowly, teasingly, and a shiver racks through her at the gesture.
"Whatever you want, baby," he whispers, and Kairi chuckles as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him to her.
Later that afternoon, the newly reunited couple takes a long enough break from their heated makeout session to grace Riku and Xion with their presence for a double date. At Ohana, an open air Polynesian-themed restaurant with cultured eats and a lively atmosphere, the Destiny Islands trio finds themselves happily reminded of home. Just off to the side of the stage where a few fire and hula dancers had impressed the crowd with their performance, the two couples, which are seated at one of the booths on the edge of the eatery, receive their orders.
"So what is a poke bowl?" Xion, being the odd one out of the islanders, asks when her eyes land on the appetizing dish that the trio had recommended for her.
"Poh-keh," Riku corrects when his girlfriend pronounces it incorrectly. "And it's a Hawaiian dish featuring diced raw fish overtop a bed of rice."
"It's super customizable," Kairi continues, "but it's typically finished with vegetables, sauces, garnishes, and other various toppings."
"My personal favourite being the sliced paopu chunks," Sora adds with a chef's kiss.
Intrigued, Xion takes a bite, and her taste buds explode with vibrant flavours. It's tangy, sweet, and savoury all at once.
"Wow," she comments after a few bites. "Leagues better than Arcadia's mac and cheese with ketchup, that's for sure."
Riku rolls his eyes. "You're never going to let that go, are you?"
"Nope," Xion answers with a shit disturbing grin.
Across the booth, Kairi can't help but smile. Despite Riku's playful annoyance at Xion's comment, it's the most peaceful she's seen him since Terra's departure.
"You know, I have to admit that I never thought we'd be able to go on a double date with Riku," Sora voices while digging into his kalua pork. "But I happily stand corrected."
Kairi nods in agreement. "I used to tell Sora that I couldn't wait to meet the girl that would make Riku fall head over heels, and now you're finally here with us! And I have to say, you're way cooler than I expected, Xi."
"And way too good for Riku," Sora teases. Riku scoffs.
"D'aww," Xion gushes. "Thanks guys. Happy to receive such a warm welcome into your circle—and to be with this charmer here."
She reaches up to pinch Riku's cheek, and her boyfriend looks away, red-faced.
"Okay, enough mush about us," Riku insists. "How did you two finally get back together?"
While Sora recounts the scavenger hunt that Kairi had set up, his girlfriend takes the reins for her long-awaited confession; what shocks her, however, is Riku and Xion's lack of surprise when she mentions that Sora and Shiki were only pretending to date the entire time.
"Oh, we totally knew they were faking it from the start," Riku comments, awfully nonchalant.
Kairi turns to her boyfriend with her jaw agape and asks him if he'd told the other couple about his master plan, but with a mouthful of pork, he shakes his head.
Xion giggles. "He didn't need to tell us for us to know."
"If you knew, then why did you convince me to get Sora's attention using other methods?" Kairi asks Riku, referring to the outfit with the apron and him stealing her volleyball jersey in particular.
"To torture Sora, obviously," the eldest of the trio answers with an entertained smirk.
Sora immediately gets up to lunge himself angrily across the table, but Kairi manages to grab him by the back of his shirt and pull him back down.
"You can be such a dick sometimes," Sora mutters with crossed arms, much to Riku and Xion's amusement.
It's then that two familiar figures make their way towards the two couples from the outside of the restaurant.
"Wow," Hayner, hand-in-hand with Olette, comments. "TFTI assholes."
Olette hits his shoulder in disapproval.
"You're totally free to join us!" Kairi offers, immediately making room.
"A triple date would be really fun," Xion comments. "We could all hit up the roller rink after, then maybe the drive-in theatre…"
Across from her, Sora smirks as a brilliant idea comes to him. "No, I have a better idea."
"Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the first ever One True Pairing competition! I'm your cameraman and editor, Pence Montague, joined by our lovely judge, Naminé Sato. Nam, care to tell the audience what's in store?"
"Over the next two days, three couples will work through a series of challenges that will test their skill, compatibility, and teamwork. The couple with the highest number of wins at the end of the competition will secure the prestigious title of One True Pairing as well as tickets to the resort's World of Colour fountain and light show! Now Pence, shall we meet our competitors?"
"Up first, we have Team SoKai!"
The camera pans and zooms into Sora and Kairi, both of which are in athletic gear and red-coloured pinnies by the backyard pool of the Disney castle. While Sora flexes heroically at the camera, his girlfriend laughs at his childish antics.
"Next, Team RikuShi!"
When the camera moves to them, Riku and Xion, both clad in blue pinnies, go for a more subtle approach and wave.
"And last but not least, Team Haynette!"
While Olette sticks up the peace sign, Hayner, who is in a matching green pinny, dramatically draws war paint onto his cheeks.
"Who will reign victorious as the number one couple?" Naminé questions. "Let's find out!"
"And… cut!" Pence calls out before stopping his recording. "Okay, we've got the opening. I'll set up and meet you all at the first event!"
As Pence takes his leave with his camera equipment, the three couples momentarily hang back with Naminé.
"Thanks for offering to judge, Naminé," Kairi says with her hands behind her back. "We really appreciate it, but are you… you know, okay with it?"
Fully aware that Kairi was hinting at her recent breakup with Roxas, Naminé smiles appreciatively at the redhead's concern but insists that she's fine.
"I'm happy to do it," the blonde assures. "And don't worry: Roxas and I are both focused on other things right now. He's helping Yuna Riel with ideas for her next album, and I'm taking a break from my art, so this is a great distraction, and I'm already all fired up for it!"
"Speaking of fire," Sora interjects, "has anyone seen Axel and Larxene? Maybe they'd want to join us, too."
"I don't think so," Hayner answers. "There's been a sock on Axel's door for the past few days, so I sincerely doubt that they want to participate."
Everyone shivers at the thought of what could be happening beyond the door.
"Well in that case," Sora starts while throwing an arm over his girlfriend's shoulders to move things along. "Let's get this competition started!"
The OTP competition begins with physical challenges. At an open field off to the side of the castle, each competitor stands equidistant from each other inside an inflatable zorb ball, all of them contained within a large circle. The white boundary line, which had been spray-painted onto the grass by Naminé, is about thirty feet in diameter.
"All right couples, it's time for the first challenge!" Naminé exclaims into a megaphone. Beside her, Pence has his camera set up on a gimbal for some action shots. "As you've probably noticed, you're all standing within a circle. Your goal is to knock the members of the opposing teams out of the ring. Once you step foot outside of the boundary line, you're out! The last competitor standing inside the ring will win the challenge for their team. Now, are you ready?"
Inside his zorb ball, Sora cracks his knuckles eagerly while eyeing Riku in particular. "Oh, I'm ready."
Riku only smirks as he readies himself into a running stance.
"Ready, set… go!"
Naminé blows the whistle, and all six competitors are off. Kairi and Olette run into each other, and both burst into a fit of giggles when they collide and fall back on their butts. Sora charges at Riku, but at the last possible second, the latter swerves out of the way and bashes into Hayner, who had been hoping to catch Sora off guard. Hayner is sent flying back into Olette, and the force is enough to send her out of bounds.
"Sorry babe!" Hayner apologizes. He gets up and moves out of the way just before Xion can knock into him, and using her forward momentum against her, Hayner bumps her from behind and forces her to run straight out of the ring. No more than a second later, Sora bashes into Hayner and knocks him right off the circle.
Before Sora can start cheering, however, Riku comes out of nowhere and bonks into his best friend so hard that the brunet is sent flying out of bounds.
"Ha!" Riku exclaims victoriously.
Sora, however, doesn't look fazed despite his painful landing.
"Forgetting about someone?" he asks, his right eyebrow raised and a smirk playing at his lips.
The cocky grin immediately vanishes from Riku's face. He turns around, but before he can even react, Kairi charges forward and drop kicks him straight out of the ring.
"And the winner of the first event is… Team SoKai!" Naminé announces.
"Woo!" Sora cheers when his girlfriend sticks her landing, his voice muffled inside his bubble. "That's my girl!"
"All right," Riku growls while getting up and wiping the edge of his mouth. "Game time."
For the next challenge, Naminé spray paints a straight line across the existing circle and brings out a rope for tug of war. At the very sight of it, Sora gulps. Riku was undoubtedly the strongest of them all, so it comes as no surprise when everyone but Team RikuShi hits the ground face first in defeat.
For the third challenge, Team Haynette takes their first win in a three-legged race, but Team SoKai makes a comeback in the fourth. With the three boys on bikes and their partners sitting on the handlebars, the three couples participate in a three lap bike race around the castle, and SoKai manages to cross the finish line first. The fifth and final physical challenge, which takes place in the backyard pool, involves a three-way chicken fight, but to make things more interesting, each girl, who sits upon her partner's shoulders, is armed with a pool noodle.
"Good luck losers!" Sora taunts when Kairi confidently whips her pool noodle around like a windmill. "My girlfriend is a gold belt in the keyblade arts!"
And surely enough, Kairi's skill in wielding a keyblade greatly assists in securing another victory for Team SoKai.
That same evening, Hayner is pleased to hear that the couples would be moving onto video game-based challenges in the den.
"Oh it's on now," the gamer says while punching a fist into his open palm. "Bring it on, plebs."
"Okay everyone, the first game up is…" Naminé waits until Pence projects the game onto the big screen before announcing the next challenge. "Kingdom Karts!"
"Woo!" Hayner cheers, high-fiving his partner as if they'd already won.
"Not so fast," Pence warns. "This isn't just any game of Kingdom Karts. This is drinking and driving Kingdom Karts."
When all three couples look bemused, Naminé wheels in a bar cart complete with shot glasses and three bottles of elixir.
"In order to win this challenge, each team must successfully finish one bottle of elixir over the course of four races with each team member playing two races," their judge explains. "But here's the catch: when you drink, you must stop driving. How much you drink at one time and when is entirely up to you, but once you are done drinking, you may start driving again to catch up. The team with the highest overall ranking wins!"
While the more inexperienced drinkers discuss their game plan, Riku only turns to his girlfriend with a confident grin.
"Sounds easy enough," he says, knowing that they'd be fine even if he took the bulk of the drinking.
"Racers, start your engines!" Naminé exclaims while holding up a checkered flag at the front of the den.
"You got this, Sora," Kairi encourages while massaging his shoulders. "Focus!"
With three shots lined up next to him and a controller in his hands, Sora only nods, eyes narrowed in concentration. The timer on the screen begins to count down, and when Naminé lowers her flag, each racer is off.
As expected, Team Haynette takes the lead, but the more they consume the contents of their elixir bottle, the more difficult it becomes to maintain their lead. Unable to outmaneuver his opponents in his tipsy state, Hayner dismally brings Team Haynette down, and although Team SoKai can hold their own, Team RikuShi ends up having the highest ranking of the three couples.
For the second challenge, Team SoKai's eyes blaze with excitement when the words Dance Party flash onto the large screen.
"For the last time, this is not a real game!" Hayner whines, his cheeks still red from the alcohol.
"Sucks to suck!" Sora teases with his tongue out. He and Kairi take their places at the center of the den, and even under the influence of elixir, the two effortlessly mimic the complex moves of the dancers on screen; in fact, much like on the night of fake prom, it makes their dance moves even more energetic. In comparison to the two other couples, Team SoKai crushes their performance and scores the highest, securing their fourth victory of the day.
Thankfully, by the final video game-based challenge, Hayner is sober enough to pull his weight in Verum Rex, and he and Olette manage to pull one win in their supposed domain.
The following morning, after a hearty breakfast, the OTP competition resumes with teamwork-based challenges. In the kitchen, three baking stations have been set up.
"Baking?" Kairi squeals. "Sweetie, we got this in the bag!"
But before she and Sora can start cheering, Naminé hands a piece of cloth to each male competitor.
"Oh no," Riku says with dread. "Don't tell me…"
Naminé nods with an amused chuckle. "Yes. With the verbal help of the girls, the boys will be baking blindfolded, and the couple with the best looking and tasting treat wins."
Riku and Hayner, both of which could hardly bake a tasty treat with their sense of sight, groan. One hour later, after many shouts of "the whisk is to your right—your right!", "pour a little more, just a bit more—no, too much!" and "what the hell Hayner, you just chucked another egg at me!", Team SoKai manages to produce a decent (and most importantly, edible) batch of cupcakes, obtaining their first win of the day.
After cleaning up in the kitchen (or in Olette's case, washing the egg out of her hair), the three couples make their way to the backyard for the next challenge, where a giant Jenga tower awaits. With some thoughtful strategizing and careful movements, Team Haynette manages to redeem themselves and secure a win. Next to the Jenga tower, a poolside beer pong station had been set up, and Riku nods in approval.
"Throw higher," he reminds his girlfriend with a small grin.
"Not harder," Xion finishes, recalling the words of wisdom from the very first game they had played together during Kairi's birthday, back when she had been disguised as Alice. With Riku's voice also ringing in her ear about looking at the back rim of the cup while aiming, Xion builds off of her boyfriend's plays, and Team RikuShi secures their first win of the day in no time.
For the final set of challenges, which would test how well each competitor knew their partner, three stools are set up in the backyard for the boys. Curious, the three take their seats while the girls stand a few feet away from them with their phones in hand as instructed.
"This is the dirty text challenge," Naminé explains, and while the girls giggle amongst themselves, the boys grin eagerly. "The girls will have thirty seconds to compose a dirty text message, and whoever makes their partner react the most wins! Ladies, your thirty seconds begin… now!"
Typing sounds fill the air as Kairi, Olette, and Xion compose their messages, figuring out which combination of words would best get their partner all hot and bothered.
"Five seconds left!" Naminé announces after glancing at her watch. "Four, three, two, one… and send!"
A whoosh sounds from the girls' phones, followed by a ding on the boys' side, confirming receipt. They pull their phones out, and the air immediately gets hot as they read their texts. Riku's cheeks blaze red, Sora, whose face is equally red, gulps and pulls at the collar of his shirt, and Hayner fully faints off his stool, clearly giving the win to Team Haynette.
"I knew school books weren't the only thing you read," Kairi tells her roommate with an impish grin. As Sora and Riku begin fanning Hayner on the ground, Olette only smiles guiltily.
At the spa, the boys are tasked with doing their partner's makeup within half an hour.
"Please don't hate me," Riku pleads as he approaches his girlfriend in her makeup chair with an eyebrow pencil in hand.
Xion chuckles. "I could never."
"Sora," Kairi cautions when her boyfriend confidently chooses a brush and white face paint. "That's way too light for my skin tone."
"Shh," he shushes playfully. "The master is working."
"What the hell is this thing?" Hayner asks while holding up a strange contraption moments later.
"It's an eyelash curler," Olette answers while suppressing a laugh.
"It's a death trap, that's what it is," her partner mutters while setting it back down to avoid poking her eyes out.
"And… time!" Naminé eventually calls out. "All right boys, let's see your masterpieces!"
Hayner spins Olette's chair around, and Naminé has to purse her lips to keep from laughing.
"I'm guessing colouring within the lines wasn't a strong suit of yours as a child," Sora snickers when he witnesses the mess that is Olette's face.
"Like you did any better," Hayner retorts.
"Heck yeah I did," Sora says while proudly spinning his girlfriend around. "Feast your eyes on this beauty!"
Everyone in the spa jumps back at the sight of Kairi. The redhead raises a handheld mirror to see her face and nearly drops it.
"Sora!" Kairi screams when her face resembles a vibrant and ghoulish sugar skull. "I look like I just came out of Coco!"
"But you love Coco!" Sora argues, recalling how she'd bawled in the theatre when they'd watched it together the previous year.
"I do, but I wouldn't just casually wear a look that's specifically meant for Día de los Muertos!" Kairi says in the middle of a giggle fit.
"I do have to say, Sora put in some impressive work though," Naminé admits when she gets a closer look at the details.
"Thank you, Naminé," Sora says, pleased that someone admired his hard work.
Riku spins his girlfriend around, and having gone for a more subtle look, Xion looks the most presentable. Despite the harsh lines on her eyebrows, she also looks the most pleased, which leads Naminé to declare Team RikuShi as the winner of the makeup challenge.
After cleaning up ("I can't believe you'd wipe off that masterpiece," Sora grumbles), the three couples make their way to the left wing lounge for the final challenge of the competition. Pence has his camera set up on a tripod in front of two stools, both of which have a small whiteboard and marker on top.
"For the last challenge, we will be playing a game called one, two, three, how well do you know me," Naminé explains. "Each couple will be asked a series of questions about one another, and both team members must write the answer on their assigned whiteboard within three seconds. If the answers match, the couple gains a point. The team with the most correct consecutive points wins! First up, we have Team Haynette!"
While the remaining couples occupy the velvet couches, Olette and Hayner take their seats on the stools and prepare their whiteboards and markers on their lap.
"Question number one," Naminé starts. "How many MeTube subscribers does Hayner have?"
Both teens scribble down their answer, and after three seconds pass, Naminé tells them to flip their boards around, both of which read 1.2 million.
"Correct!" Naminé exclaims. "One point for Team Haynette! Next question: what is Olette's favourite colour?"
After another three seconds, both turn their whiteboards to read Orange.
"All right, we've got two points so far!" Naminé cheers. "Next up: what is Hayner's highest kill streak on Call of Destiny?"
Olette doesn't look confident about this one, but a sigh of relief escapes her lips when both her and Hayner's whiteboards read 500.
"Three in a row!" Naminé congratulates. "Okay, onto question number four: if Olette attended the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, what house would she be sorted into?"
Moments later, Olette and Hayner both flip their boards to reveal Ravenclaw.
"Wow, I'm impressed," Olette admits, although she figures that burying her nose in books may have been a bit of a giveaway.
Hayner, however, goes for a less modest approach and playfully brushes something off his shoulder. "I got you."
"Next up: what is Hayner's favourite snack?"
While Olette writes potato chips, everyone in the lounge bursts out laughing when Hayner just draws an arrow pointing at Olette, whose jaw is agape.
"Babe, it's a compliment!" he insists when Olette hops off her stool and makes her way over to the couches in embarrassment. "You know, 'cause you look like a total snack!"
"And that brings Team Haynette's total to four points," Naminé concludes on her tablet. "Team RikuShi, do you think you can do better?"
"I know we can," Riku says haughtily when he and Xion take their places on the stools.
"Okay, question number one," Naminé starts. "At Destiny Islands High School, what sports team was Riku the captain of?"
Riku and Xion both write their answers and hold up their boards to read Swimming.
"Very good! Second question: what is Xion's current keyblade rank?"
Riku hesitates for a moment, but he and his girlfriend both manage to have Silver II written on their boards.
"Question three: how old was Riku when he started keyblade training?"
After three seconds, Xion and Riku both hold up their boards to read 10.
"Question four: In Kingdom Karts, who is Xion likely to pick as her racer?"
After a few confident scribbles, the two teens raise their boards, both of which have Vanellope von Schweetz written on them.
"All right, you've got four points! If you get one more right, you'll be ahead of Team Haynette," Naminé reminds. "Question number five: what will Riku be studying in Twilight Town University this upcoming fall?"
Hayner groans when both Riku and Xion have Biochemistry written on their boards, putting Team RikuShi in the lead.
"You're on a roll!" Naminé compliments. "Question number six: What is Xion's zodiac sign?"
As she writes her answer, Xion sneaks a peak at her boyfriend, who is noticeably stumped. She giggles when her board reads Aquarius, but Riku's just has a question mark.
"Damn, sorry," he apologizes.
"It's okay," Xion assures while kissing his cheek. "We did our best."
"And last but not least, we have Team SoKai!" Naminé exclaims.
"Man, this is gonna be a cinch," Sora says while plopping down on his stool. "I know Kairi inside and out. It's one of the many perks of dating my best friend."
"We should get you and Riku up here then," his girlfriend teases. "Give those SoRiku fangirls the content they've been starving for."
Sora only rolls his eyes and readies his marker.
"Question number one," Naminé starts. "When is Sora's birthday?"
Three seconds pass, and both Sora and Kairi have March 28th written on their boards.
"Very good! Second question: what number is on Kairi's volleyball jersey?"
The two teens raise their boards to reveal the number 7.
"Third question: what is Sora's favourite milkshake flavour?"
Kairi shares a look with Sora, and the two chuckle as the memories of the night they'd gotten drunk during fake prom resurface. They'd been craving a milkshake and fries, so they made their way to the Atlantica water park where she made sure to make his favourite, so it comes as no surprise when they both have cookies and cream written on their boards three seconds later.
"Fourth question: where was Kairi born?"
In no time, Sora and Kairi both have Radiant Garden written on their boards.
"Fifth question: how old was Sora when he achieved his current tier two gold belt keyblade ranking?"
The number 16 appears on both their boards.
"Team SoKai, you are now tied with Team RikuShi," Naminé recalls dramatically. "If you manage to get one more question right, you'll be the winners of this challenge! Are you ready?"
Sora nods confidently. "Bring it on!"
"All right, here we go! Question number six: during the start of a keyblade match, what stance is Kairi most likely to form?"
Hmm, Sora hums, trying to recall the names of all the stances Master Ventus had taught him. For a moment the name of the one Kairi favours most escapes him, but at the last possible second, he manages to scribble his answer down.
"Team SoKai, let's see if you've done it," Naminé requests. "Raise your boards please!"
And when both Sora and Kairi's boards read Sha no kamae, they jump up and share a well-deserved high-five when Naminé announces Team SoKai as the winners of the final challenge.
"Aww, you remembered," Kairi coos, embracing him.
"Of course I did," Sora replies while planting a quick kiss on her forehead affectionately.
They all then make their way to the backyard where Pence films the end results of the competition.
"Well everyone, it's been a brutal battle," Naminé says while pacing in between all three couples. "Every couple did their very best across fourteen challenges, but one team stood out from the rest; one team was truly OTP quality; one team was in it to win it. That being said, we've tallied up the scores, and at a grand total of six victories, our One True Pairing is… Team SoKai!"
"Yes!" Sora yells while hitting his chest and doing a tribal battle cry. "Team SoKai 5ever!"
Beside him, Riku only rubs his temples at his best friend's childish behaviour alongside a chuckling Xion, and Olette pats Hayner's back as he hangs his head in defeat. Kairi graciously accepts a plastic heart-shaped trophy with their prize tickets inside from Naminé, and in her excitement, she jumps into Sora's arms, and he catches her effortlessly.
"Looks like we make the best couple," she tells him sweetly, their noses touching.
"I had no doubts," Sora whispers as he closes the gap between them.
Later that evening, after an eventful night of playing board games with Naminé, Pence, Riku, and Xion, Hayner drapes a blanket over Olette's sleeping form on his bed. After leaving their friends for some privacy, they'd taken to continuing the festivities in his room, where they'd played video games over orange soda and stolen kisses. Olette had eventually fallen asleep on the couch first, so he'd carefully carried and set her down on his bed. His gaze warms as she snuggles into the blanket with a peaceful smile on her face, and when the coast is clear, he tiptoes into his private bathroom to start on his nightly routine.
He emerges a few minutes later dressed in his pyjamas with his teeth brushed, and after doing a quick glance to check on Olette, he takes his place on the couch with a wistful sigh.
What were they?
As the end of their stay drew near, the thought had been on his mind a lot lately. Of all the couples that participated in the OTP competition, they were the only ones that didn't have an official label. They were the very reason that Naminé had used the words "partner" or "teammate" instead of "boyfriend" and "girlfriend". Hayner had reflected on the word "girlfriend" quite a few times, and truth be told, he'd never had one before so he didn't truly understand what it meant, but he admittedly decided that it would suit Olette nicely.
But he'd also often wondered if that was just a summer fling talking, or if he was actually in it for the long haul. He steals another secretive glance at her. Right now, only a couch and a blanket stood in between them, but soon enough, the distance would be much greater. She would be in Radiant Garden Academy, and he'd be back in Twilight Town: a three-hour difference and a three-hour flight apart. Would he still feel strongly for her despite that?
Hayner's eyes harden. An incredible girl like Olette? Without question. They may have lost the OTP competition earlier, but by her side, he'd never felt more like a winner.
If they were to continue dating beyond the resort, would he miss being in such close proximity to her? Of course. Would it suck to have to limit their interactions to the digital space? Terribly. But it would suck even more to let her go—to belittle what they'd shared during their vacation by calling it a fling.
A defined relationship is what he wanted. But was it what she wanted? She was a hard worker. Would a relationship just distract her from her studies? Hayner's heart clenches at the thought. Summer Vacation Olette may have wanted him, but what if Radiant Garden Olette wanted nothing to do with him? The thought is so unbearable that Hayner pushes it to the back of his mind. They still had a few days left, so right now, ignorance was bliss, and he'd milk every last second they had together.
Little did he know that on his bed, Olette was wide awake, silently wondering if Twilight Town Hayner would want her just as much as Summer Vacation Hayner did.
Outside in the backyard, Team RikuShi takes a more romantic approach to the night by sharing a hammock, peacefully enjoying how the heavy netting swings beneath them as they cuddle underneath the stars.
"You've been pretty quiet," Xion observes when she takes a break from resting her head on her boyfriend's chest. "Something wrong?"
Riku's warm palm glides down her back reassuringly before he answers. "No."
Xion's eyes narrow—a telltale sign that she knew he wasn't being entirely truthful. "Is it because we lost the OTP challenge?"
Riku scoffs.
"Hey, it was a really telling challenge," Xion argues, voice heavily laced with sarcasm. "Really painted an accurate picture of our relationships."
"Uh huh."
Xion pouts at his lack of responsiveness. She props herself up on her elbow and examines his facial expression. He certainly looks at peace, but his eyes tell a different story entirely.
"Riku, we had fun today, right?" she decides to ask.
He nods, and it's genuine. "Yeah."
"But you're upset on the inside," Xion voices. She purses her lips as a heavy thought comes to her. "Is it because you're worried about me? About how we may not have many days like this one left?"
Riku's mouth parts slightly in shock, almost as if she'd reached in and took the words straight out of them.
"You are awfully perceptive," he compliments despite the matter at hand.
"Knowing that our time together may be limited… does it make you have second thoughts about being together?" Xion asks, her lip quivering. "As great as the campaign went, I know you would've preferred if the earnings went towards my treatments instead..."
Riku's eyebrows knit together as he formulates what to say.
"Well first things first," he starts, "don't get me wrong. I'm really happy that your campaign went well."
Xion braces herself. "Here comes the but…"
"But," Riku says, just as she'd predicted, "I do admit that I would feel a lot better if I knew you were getting your treatments."
Xion's heart sinks. She knew that her charitable act came at a price, but she didn't expect that it would cost her Riku, too...
"Hey, I'm not done yet," he tells her when tears begin welling up in her eyes. He takes one of her hands in his, squeezes tight, and looks at her with hard determination. He'd thought about saying this before, but the time didn't seem right; this time, however, he knows it is. "Yes, our days may be limited now, but I'm not going to let that stop me from being with the girl I love."
Xion's heart breaks free, thumping wildly at his surprising choice of words.
"Y-you love me?" she asks, her voice embarrassingly high.
Riku nods without a trace of hesitation. "Yes. We knew from the start that this was going to be hard, but I'm still burning for you, Xi. You sacrificing your treatments for charity should've extinguished the flames, but for me, it ignited them even more. You're in a position where you should be selfish, and yet you're mind-blowingly selfless; you're in a life threatening situation, yet you choose to see the light in everything; and you're the one who was but a stranger to most of us in the beginning, but somehow you've changed us all for the better and made us accomplish so much in the span of one summer. You're incredible, Xion. How could I not love you?"
For a few moments his words hang in the air, suspended in a light sea-scented breeze, but when the silence becomes unbearably awkward, Riku clears his throat.
"Sorry, that was way too soon for me to say, wasn't it?" he questions with reddened cheeks. That certainly didn't go as planned. "I should've known it would freak you out. I've never actually said that to a girl before, so—"
"Riku," Xion says, interrupting him. "I… I love you, too. I'm just so overwhelmed with happiness right now that I can hardly speak."
A wave of relief washes over Riku as he feels air rush into his lungs again.
"So am I," he admits while cupping one of her cheeks in his hand lovingly. Xion lets out a half-sob, half-chuckle as a tear falls freely from one of her eyes, and she doesn't object when Riku wipes it away with his thumb and moves in to press his lips against hers.
He loved her. Riku Kenbishi loved her.
No one had ever said that to her before. Her mother certainly hadn't, and the only love she'd truly felt was a brotherly one from Axel and Roxas over the years, but now she finds herself entranced by this new thrill-inducing, earth-shattering, groundbreaking kind of love. It's so rewarding and so overwhelming that she can't put it into proper words, but judging by the way that Riku was fervently kissing her, she needn't say a thing, because he understood how she felt entirely.
By the time Sora and Kairi return from their well-earned date, it is well past midnight. The two part ways in the foyer to prepare for bed, agreeing to meet in Kairi's room afterwards for a night full of snuggling, and Sora makes his way to his room with a bounce to his step. The room is empty (a normal occurrence since Riku now spent his nights with Xion, unbeknownst to Axel), so Sora carelessly tosses his things around before grabbing suitable clothes and heading for the bathroom.
In the shower, he reflects on his date with Kairi with an elated grin. The fountain and light show, which was just as majestic as he'd imagined, was made even more magical by the girl in his arms. He can still recall the way her eyes lit up as the water danced in synchronicity with the music and the way the colours reflected in her irises, just as radiant and vibrant as she.
And the best part of it all? She was his. All completely his.
How he'd only dreamed of being able to say that again for ages—but now, he was living it. Gone were the nights that he'd spend staring at the ceiling for hours, hearing the echo of her laugh; gone was the longing to run his fingers through her hair and kiss her lips. The pining and silly side quests were finally over. Kairi was his.
He arrives at her doorstep sporting a simple shirt, basketball shorts, and a thousand-watt smile on his face. He presses his master key card to her door, swings it open when he hears the beep confirming access, and the smile is immediately wiped off his face.
On her velvet couch, Kairi sits with one leg crossed over the other, and she's dressed in the short pink number and frilly apron she'd worn to try and get his attention a week ago. A teasing smile that looks less than innocent graces her lips, and Sora gulps. The last time she'd worn this outfit, he was forced to keep his thoughts and hands to himself; this time, however... dare he say that she wanted to know what he'd been thinking in the kitchen that day?
"Do you like my pyjamas?" she asks as she stands up and playfully twirls for him to get a better look at her from all angles. Sora bites his lip as he approaches his girlfriend.
"I absolutely love them," he answers. He nuzzles his face into her neck and runs his hands up her sides, tracing every curve in admiration, and a surge of desire shoots through Kairi. He places a slow, tantalizing kiss on her neck, forcing her eyes to roll to the back of her head, and to prevent her knees from buckling at the sensation, Kairi grabs onto Sora's shoulders and forces him down on the couch. She straddles his hips, and his eyes burn into hers, a promise of seduction and trouble in their depths. Finally, she lowers her mouth onto his, and his lips devour hers.
Throughout their heated liplock, Kairi's hands roam Sora's chest through his shirt, but the extra layer of clothing does nothing but fuel her smouldering need to feel more of his skin against her palms. She grabs a fistful of the hem, gives it a light tug, and he quickly gets the hint. He pulls his shirt over his head and Kairi marvels at the new hints of muscle that had formed since the last time she'd been able to touch him this way. Her hands glide over his arms, appreciating their strength, then move onto the hard planes of his chest before she captures his eager lips in another wet kiss.
Frenzied with need, one of Sora's hands makes its way to the small of Kairi's back, and he tugs at the knot holding her apron in place. His hand then moves up to the zipper of her dress, and he parts his lips from hers in silent permission. She nods, and Sora pulls the zipper of her dress down. Kairi feels the straps loosen and does her boyfriend a favour by shrugging them off, revealing a lacy bralette underneath that sets Sora's nerves on fire. By unspoken agreement, the two find their way back to each other, and a whimper escapes them both as their chests make contact.
Kairi then begins trailing kisses from his lips to his neck, and gooseflesh erupts wherever her lips touch his skin. By pure instinct, both his hands latch onto her hips, and he damn near yelps when her hips roll into his. He growls something under his breath that sounds an awful lot like a curse, but it does nothing but encourage Kairi to continue her actions. Something about watching Sora, the sweet island boy she'd known all her life, come undone beneath her made her feel all sorts of powerful. Soon enough she's fully grinding into him with those skilled hips of hers, and Sora meets her sweet rhythm, their minds both a hazy cloud of bliss as the sounds of their heavy panting fill the air.
Finally the sight of his girlfriend's chest heaving in front of him forces Sora to take action. With his lips on hers, he grabs her by the back of her thighs and wraps her legs around his waist as he carries her over to her canopy bed. He sets her down gently, but he damn near tears the dress and apron off her as he slides them down her creamy legs and tosses them aside.
When he turns back to face her, his lips part in awe at the heavenly sight of his girlfriend in nothing but her lacy underwear. The moonlight seeping through her windows casts an ethereal light over her, making her glow, her cheeks are the loveliest shade of pink, and her hair is sprawled around her head like a messy crown. How someone managed to look so simultaneously cute and sexy, so angel-like and devilish was beyond him, but he thanks his lucky stars for his fortune.
"You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," he voices as he traces her modest curves with his fingers. "Holy shit."
Kairi blushes madly at his comment, knowing deep in her soul that it was a purely genuine one, but lust quickly coils in her belly at the sight of Sora lowering himself onto the bed with her clad in nothing but a pair of low hung shorts. His lips claim hers again, but unlike their session on the couch, he was the one in control now, and it definitely shows. His lips go for her neck, but his hands waste no time in going for her breasts (which, by the way, fill his hands even more in the most glorious way). He kneads at them lightly, knowing just how she liked it, and as expected, she throws her head back and his name escapes her lips in the form of a wonderful moan.
"Feel good?" he whispers as he adds more force to his actions.
Her response comes out breathy and needy. "Hnngh. Feels amazing."
She feels his lips form a cocky grin against her neck and she nearly flips them over to show him what she could do to have him writhing beneath her, but all coherent thought is thrown out the window the moment Sora's hands slip beneath her bralette. She lets out a muffled shriek and arches her back as he appreciates her body in the most exhilarating way, and Sora happily continues pleasuring her with both his talented hands and sinfully gifted mouth. He knows the city that was Kairi's wondrous body well and revisits all her favourite spots in town—spots he never grew tired of, spots where only he was allowed entry, and tonight, he'd show Kairi why he so rightly deserved that VIP access.
A sensual eternity later, he starts kissing down past her breasts, down past her taut stomach, but by the time he reaches her belly button, Kairi calls out to him. He immediately stops his actions and withdraws his hands, and the lust in his eyes is replaced with worry.
"Sorry, did I go too far?" he asks, and his tone alone is enough to tell her that the lust-driven teenage boy she'd been making out with has been quickly replaced by her sweet, caring boyfriend that respected her boundaries and would genuinely wait forever for her if she so much as asked.
"N-no," Kairi eventually answers in between heavy breaths. She props herself up on her elbows with burning cheeks. "I just… wanted to make it clear that I'm not... ready to go all the way yet."
And while Kairi fully expects her words to disappoint him, Sora smiles at her tenderly instead, and she feels the warmth and comfort radiating from it down to her core.
"I wasn't trying to," he assures. She fully believes him, but at the rate he was going, the question wasn't if he could hold back—it was if she could. It would probably be best for them both if they stopped now, but at the same time, he had her insides pulsing and desperate. It would take her ages to fall into a peaceful sleep like this.
Kairi nearly groans in smouldering frustration. What were they to do?
Sora, thankfully, has a solution to her dilemma.
"You know, Kairi," he starts as one of his hands travels down past her belly button. "There are other ways to achieve pleasure without going all the way."
As if to give her a hint, one of his fingers hooks around her panties, and heat flutters inside of Kairi's core in anticipation.
"R-really?" she asks, feigning innocence, but she'd be lying if she said that she hadn't thought of those other ways in the dark shadows of her dorm room in Radiant Garden.
"Uh huh," Sora answers as his warm breath tickles the area below her belly button.
"You may have to enlighten me then," she says breathily, her way of trusting him and giving him permission to do what he pleased.
She feels him smirk against her skin in response. "Oh, gladly."
And enlighten her he does.
tbc
Chapter inspirations: Tongue Tied by Grouplove, Are You Bored Yet (feat. Clairo) by Wallows, Pumpin' Blood (The Jane Doze Remix) by NONONO, Summer by Calvin Harris, Last Friday Night (TGIF) by Katy Perry, Boy with Luv (feat. Halsey) by BTS, and You and I by Anjulie.
The song that was on repeat during the ending scene with Sora and Kairi was Bom Bidi Bom by Nick Jonas and Nicki Minaj. I'm a Joe Jonas kinda gal (as you can probably tell with all the DNCE songs in my playlist lol), but I swear Nick can be something else sometimes…
Fun fact 1: This author lo-lo-loves poke bowls. Particularly the ones with spicy salmon.
Fun fact 2: When we first started dating, my boyfriend and I did the makeup challenge and he nearly coloured my eyebrows blue.
Fun fact 3: Back when get-togethers were actually a thing, my friends and I would play "Drinking and Driving Mario Kart" during our annual trips all the time, although I was more likely to be pit against my boyfriend than play alongside him lol.
Bonus note: Okay, I lied. I did some very bad math while creating my outline and had "thirty-one" written twice, so I've decided to split some chapters for a grand total of thirty-four chapters because I don't want to end at a weird number like thirty-three! Unless that's not as weird as I think? But in any case, yes, this means that the last chapter is not the last chapter; however, it does result in the next one being fairly short if I split to thirty-four, so if there are any events that you're interested in seeing before their last day together, I'm all ears for suggestions and can try to make it work!
A/N: Well, those last few scenes aside, I would say that this chapter was a bit more like a filler one: one that mostly just featured fun summer shenanigans with the gang (particularly with the OTP competition), but if I'm going to be honest, I was totally on board with it. Really gives me summer vacation vibes! That's not to say that there isn't any progress in this chapter at all. We have SoKai's first double date with RikuShi (which I actually really enjoyed writing), and those last three scenes gave us glimpses into each couple.
I admit that Olette and Hayner posed a bit of a challenge to me. I rewrote their brief scene multiple times, wondering which direction I should take them in (playful, teasing, or serious), but I figured the natural thing to do at this point would be to have them question their relationship. Honestly that scene was never in my outline, but I feel like I needed to shed some light on them! And in speaking of shedding light on other couples, did you think Riku said "I love you" too soon? I doubted myself a bit there, but then I remembered how much quicker teenagers are likely to say something like that, especially when a feeling is entirely new to them. I find that it was much easier to be overwhelmed by it when I was younger, but that may just be me.
Now real talk with that SoKai scene: I actually find writing intimate scenes very delicate and sensitive. To me, there always needs to be this careful balance of lust mixed with the character's personalities, and I try to be conscious of not letting the former overpower the latter too much. I'm hoping I didn't write Sora too... naughtily? I'd imagine he'd be sweet and caring during intimacy, but with an eager and teasing edge. Hope I didn't upset the balance too much there.
Special thanks to haku5518, Tyjet Ansatsu, skysailz, Guest (if you have an FF account, I may be able to PM you what you're looking for!), SoraOblivion, Aundielen, Mr. Spinner, and last but not least, Caelum (who I will reply to below). Sorry if I missed or misspelled any pen names!
Now, to Caelum: I really wish I could PM you, btw! I really wanted you to know that I am not tired of your reviews at all. In fact, I really appreciate how in-depth you get into them, and in regards to getting me down, you didn't at all! Your kind of feedback is exactly what I'm looking for. I want to know what works and what doesn't. You also raised an extremely valid point about the pacing of Kairi's jealousy arc and analyzed my work in a way that even I missed! I thought 5 chapters of jealousy would be enough to scatter it around, but in comparison to the Tidus arc, it was much quicker now that I look back at it (three times quicker, actually). Some previous feedback from other readers hinted that the Tidus arc was a bit too long, so I thought to shorten Kairi's, but I may have hit the gas pedal too hard. This is what I get for getting too eager to get her and Sora back together, lol. But your insight is very very much appreciated!
I hope you all enjoyed the thirty-first installment of Project: Teenage Wasteland! Please kindly leave a review to share your thoughts and/or feels, I apologize for any grammar errors that I might have missed, and I'll see you all in the next chapter!
xoKyorii