Find Sora. That was the one goal Kairi had been fixated on for the past year. She'd thrown away everything else in the hopes of saving him. Getting him back safe and sound was all that mattered. She hadn't thought about the details because the end goal was what was important.

She skittered to a halt and stared at the sight before her. It was a life-size statue that looked exactly like Sora, as if some master carver had hewn his shape out of pure crystal. His back was arched and his arms were outstretched, like he'd been frozen while trying to move, and she was struck by how… how real he looked.

On a whim, she reached for the crystal's hand, reminded of the last time she'd held hands with him, right before he'd faded away and disappeared from her life. The crystal's hand was exactly like his, and as her fingers connected with it, her breath caught in her throat.

"Sora?"

She'd come all this way, plunged deep into Sora's dreams and traveled through this strange realm to find him. She'd traversed a city she'd never been to and climbed to the top of this building in the hopes of saving him. And all just to realize the awful truth that was waiting for her at the end of her journey. Perhaps it had been waiting for her all along.

She was too late. Sora was here, but she couldn't save him.

Her vision blurred, and a lump formed in her throat. "No, this can't be real—"

She sank to her knees and let the tears fall freely. Sobs wracked her entire body as she wept and wept and wept. She'd come all this way for nothing; spent so many weeks and months searching for him and pining after him, only to be met with tragedy once more. And worst of all, his crystal towered above her, unmoving, unmoved, so unlike the Sora she knew and loved. He would be the first to comfort her in her misery if he could, and that just made his cold, lifeless form that much difficult to bear.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry—"

No. Apologizing wasn't good enough. She needed to make this right. But what could she do? How was she supposed to save him now? He was a crystal, and no amount of wishing would make him human again.

"Think, Kairi, think," she commanded herself as she wiped her eyes. It wasn't like she'd never heard of this kind of thing before. Legends from long ago spoke of people who were turned into crystals. It happened when they'd done what the gods had asked. And only the gods could reverse the process and make them human again.

"I'm no goddess," Kairi said bitterly, though she wished she was, more than anything. Maybe then she could actually do something for Sora besides sit here and cry. "I'm useless and weak, even after all this time."

A goddess wouldn't have gotten kidnapped or had her heart splintered into seven pieces. A goddess wouldn't need to go to sleep to find her beloved. She could just… bring him back, with no further issues or complications.

Bring him back. She'd done it once before, when she'd transformed him from a Heartless back into a human. She'd lit his way home from the Realm of Darkness when he'd gotten stuck there with Riku. And she'd kept him alive when he was on the verge of dying, refusing to give him over to death even if it meant defying fate itself.

Maybe… maybe it was possible to bring him back from this, too. There was much she didn't know about the nature of reality, about the full extent of her powers, about where her abilities as a Princess of Heart ended and her abilities as Kairi began, but she did know one thing. Her bond with Sora was special, and if nothing else, she would put her faith in that.

She rose to her feet and banished her tears. She wouldn't cry again until Sora himself could comfort her. Reaching for his face, she gently cupped it in her hands, ignoring how cold it felt against her fingers.

"Sora, come back to me," she said, then closed her eyes and sealed her warm lips against his cold ones. She poured all of her light and love into the kiss, imagined it filling his heart and spreading all through his body till he was completely human again.

When she leaned back and opened her eyes again, hoping that she would see his beautiful face, the same crystal greeted her instead.

Her hands lowered to her sides, and her head drooped. Of course. That kiss was out of desperation and grief, out of a misguided belief that fairy tales really could come true. She turned around, not able to bear looking at him anymore.

"It didn't work," she said, so quietly she knew no one could ever hear her. The tears came back and spilled down her cheeks, but she made no move to wipe them away.

"Oh, but it did."

She froze. No, it couldn't be. That voice—

She turned around, and sure enough, Sora was standing there with the biggest smile on his face.

"Kairi, thank you."

He held his arms out, and she burst into tears and threw herself into his embrace. How wonderful it felt to be held by him and comforted by him. The reality was better than all of her dreams by far.

"I missed you," she choked out as he ran his hand over her hair. The tender gesture was just like what he'd done during their last reunion, and it made her heart melt.

"I missed you too." His voice was gruffer than she expected it to be, and when she pulled away a little to look in his eyes, they were shining with tears. "Kairi, I'm sorry for leaving you again—"

She shook her head. "No apologies. I'm just glad you're here."

"Yeah, me too." He cupped her cheek and gently wiped her tears away. "And all because you saved me. I really can't thank you enough. With you watching my back, I know I'll be okay."

She smiled, and her cheeks flushed pink. "It's like I told you. You're safe with me."

Even as she said the words though, her face fell. He wasn't safe with her. He'd faded away from the Realm of Light before her very eyes, and all because of her.

"No apologies. What I got in return for my sacrifice was more than worth it." He sighed, a happy sigh, a contented sigh. "Especially right now. I know we've been through a lot, but what matters is we're together again." He searched her eyes as he stroked her cheek. "If it's okay with you though, I do have one more request."

"What's that?"

"Kiss me. Not because you have to so I'll wake up, but because you want to."

That was enough to make her smile return. "Gladly," she said as she cupped his face and brought her lips to his. He kissed her back, his lips soft and warm against hers as they held each other and savored the moment. She had kissed him to wake him up, but now he was returning the favor, waking something up deep inside her, bringing her heart back to life, showing her how to hope once more.

And the best part of all? They were together again, and that meant they could kiss any time they wanted.

A/N: This fic was centered around the prompt "A kiss out of necessity," which I combined with "A kiss to wake up" based on a couple of other requests I got. Thank you Pearl-Nocturna for the request! Hope you enjoyed!

I'm still working on the rest of the kiss prompts (thank you to everyone who sent them in!), but if you'd like to read the previous ones, they include, "A kiss to pretend, "A good morning kiss," "A kiss on a falling tear," "A kiss in secrecy," and "A kiss in public." Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed!