Sora was back, and yet Kairi didn't feel close to him at all.

Maybe it was because all their friends wanted to be with him. Yes, that was it. And why shouldn't he spend time with them? They had all worked hard to bring him back, to make sure he returned home safely. It was a time for all of them to celebrate together. They all loved him just as much as he loved them; they all wanted to spend time with him just as much as she wanted to spend time with him.

And so everyone came to Destiny Islands to celebrate his return. The Play Island was crammed to the brim with people, and Sora was at the center of it all, beaming and laughing and chatting away. A sinking feeling settled in her chest as she watched him from the outskirts, a cup of punch clutched tightly in her hand.

Maybe… maybe his feelings had changed. It had been over a year, after all. He had always been the center of it all, and it was only by chance she'd even met him. So she hung around the edges, lurked around the corners and made what light conversation she could with the people who came by for seconds or to get more punch.

Why had she even thought she stood a chance? She was weak; she would've died without him. Someone like him could have anyone he wanted. She was just an islander girl he'd left behind time and again. No doubt he'd rather have someone who—

She sighed deeply. That wasn't fair. How could she even think such things after what he'd sacrificed for her? She set the punch down, feeling sick to her stomach. She was selfish through and through, and he was better off without her. It wasn't his fault he'd left her behind. It wasn't. And yet she couldn't help feeling abandoned. As she gazed at him and he didn't even so much as look at her, that same awful feeling washed over again. The same feeling she'd felt as he'd faded away, even though he was finally home now.

She couldn't take this anymore. Her feet carried her far away from everyone else under the guise of getting more supplies from the Seaside Shack. She closed the door behind her before hiding in a pile of beach towels in the corner. Draping one of them over her head helped her feel safe and hidden, like the blanket she used to burrow under when there were storms at night. The tears came freely now and she did little to stop them; just made sure her crying was quiet. It wouldn't do to burden anyone else with her pain, not when everyone else was celebrating.

What was she supposed to do? For so long, her goal had been finding Sora, and yet, now that she had found him, she wasn't sure what came next.

She sniffed and wiped her eyes on the corner of the towel. How shameful. This was Sora's welcome home party, but the moment anyone found her in here, everyone's focus would shift away from him. Yet another way she was being selfish and making everything about her. Not even Sora's disappearance had been free of her influence. Their friends would forever think it was her fault they'd lost him for over a year and had spent so much time searching for him. And how could he not be reminded that she was the source of so much pain, both for his friends and for him? If she hadn't gotten captured, if she hadn't gotten her heart split into pieces, none of this would've happened. They wouldn't have lost Sora for so long.

With trembling fingers, she summoned her Keyblade and lifted it to the door. She couldn't let anyone find her in here, not till she was cried out and ready to go back to the party. But right as she was about to lock the door shut, it softly creaked open. Gasping, she quickly let her Keyblade disappear and retreated further into the towel pile, trying to avoid the last remaining golden rays of sunlight that poured through the door.

"Kairi?" came Sora's voice, soft and low as he let the door shut behind him as quietly as possible. How was it that the way he said her name made something come undone inside her, every time? She bit her lip, willing herself to be silent, not wanting him to know, not wanting him to see.

She heard the lock click shut. "There. Now no one can interrupt us," he said. Still she said nothing as he walked over to her hideout and lifted the towel up. "May I join you?"

She looked away, not wanting him to see her tear-streaked face. He settled in next to her and let the towel fall back over them.

"Kairi, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," she said as she wiped her eyes again. "Sorry, I'm just feeling a little overwhelmed by everything—"

"Why?" he asked as he gently caught her hand. But she pulled it out of his grasp because she knew that if he kept holding it, she would grow weak and fall into his arms and pour out everything in her heart and beg him to stay with her.

"It's good to have you back," she said. "We're all happy. I'm so happy you wouldn't believe it."

He shook his head. "No. You're not happy. You're crying."

"They're happy tears."

"I don't think so," he said as he gently caught one and wiped it away. The tender gesture made her shudder, and her heart recoiled. She couldn't bear having him so close. He should stay far away if he knew what was good for him, what was good for her.

"Please don't do that."

"Do what?"

"Be this close to me. I can't—I can't take it anymore."

His lips parted and he pulled his hand away. "You don't… want to be close to me anymore?" His face fell, and his eyes grew heavy as he looked away. "I understand. You don't love me anymore, do you?"

Her breath caught. "No, that's not it at all, it's the opposite, I—"

"You what?" he asked, daring to meet her eyes.

"I love you too much!"

Her words hung in the air for an agonizing moment, then she was in Sora's arms and his lips were pressed against hers as he kissed her with the same desperation and longing she'd felt in the long months of his absence. His kiss reminded her of all the times they'd kissed after he'd saved her and before he'd disappeared. And yet this kiss was different somehow; tinged with something exciting and thrilling that made her want more of it, no, more of him. He was different now; their time apart had changed him. But she supposed she was different too, and not all differences were bad. Some were very, very good.

When Sora finally leaned back, it was so he could gently kiss the tears off of her cheeks. He cupped her face afterwards and smiled, and she couldn't help but return his smile.

"I've been dying to do that since the moment you found me," he said, "but you kept slipping away from me."

"I'm sorry, I thought you needed space. I felt selfish for wanting you to myself—"

He tilted his head and raised an eyebrow. "Why would I need space? I need you." He smiled again, this time shyly. "I love you, Kairi."

"But all our friends—" she blurted out, a blush creeping up her cheeks at how readily he'd bared his soul to her.

"I've gotten to spend plenty of time with them. And as much as they mean to me, I was missing you the whole time. You think I didn't notice you were hanging on the outskirts? Kairi, my heart ached as I saw you all alone like that. It reminded me of all the times I've left you alone, and I couldn't bear to let it happen again. I got away from everyone else as soon as I could so I could find you."

"Really?"

He grinned and nodded. "Really really."

Now it was her turn to kiss him. Maybe… maybe it wasn't so selfish of her to want to be alone with him. He wanted it too, after all. While their friends would always mean the world to them, it was okay to steal moments for themselves, too. Just the two of them, here in this shack, kissing and giggling and making out in the hopes they might make up for lost time. They still needed to sort through all the complicated feelings related to their separation and reunion, but for now, they would allow themselves to enjoy the moment.

A/N: A big thank you to Alja for brainstorming the premise with me, as well as Sora and Kairi's conversation. And thank you again Dusky-Dancing for sending me the prompts!

Speaking of which, I think I'll try to work through the current kiss prompts in my ask box before tackling any new ones—I have about four more prompts in there, and I'll keep working on them one by one (thank you to everyone who sent them in!). Previous prompts include, "A kiss to pretend, "A good morning kiss," and "A kiss on a falling tear."

Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!