Before we begin:
An explanation as to the hotel room plans: Just a reminder that the plan was that Tidus and Sora were to be staying in the same room. As well, the reason that Paine, Rikku and Yuna were staying in the same room was because Yuna and Kairi were supposed to stay together, but as Kairi was sick and all, Yuna stayed with Paine and Rikku in their room until she got better. So, as of this chappie, Yuna and Kairi are rooming together!
To the anonymous person reviewed chapter 15: I'm not sure why it's so hard to picture Gippal Baralai and Nooj hanging out together; after all, they were good friends in the Crimson Squad (with Paine).
To AntiMusicMan: About 'matching the last fic': I had another fic which had the same basic plot as this one, but as it was terrible and extremely bad, I decided to write this one instead, and I must say I really like this one better!
To Cute-Kitty: Yes, this fic will have a 'big' plot :P It's just taking a while to develop.
To Emma: My sincerest apologies for making you wait so long! This is the chappie you've been waiting for!
To Through Darkness: Indeed, all that is left is Painalai…. but not for long! Bwahaha…
To all my readers! I love you guys so much! And now, on with the show!
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The group arrived back at the hotel really quite late. Everyone looked exhausted. Yuna, Rikku, Paine, Leblanc, Baralai, Nooj, Gippal and Tidus all headed inside for bed. Kairi and Sora were left outside alone for the moment. Kairi, who'd looked tired a moment ago, seemed to brighten up a bit, glancing at Sora. He held the door open for her and she stepped through. He followed and the two of them made their way slowly towards their rooms. Stopping in front of Kairi's room, Sora kissed her goodnight. Turning to walk to his own room, Sora stopped when Kairi grabbed his hand. He turned to face her.
"I'm not tired…" She whispered. Sora watched her, only half-understanding what she was implying. Kairi bit her lip, taking his expression as apprehension. "Please?" She asked, slipping her arms around his neck and pulling herself to him. It was then that he understood and real apprehension flashed across his face.
"Kai, your shoulder…" He said. Though she tried to hide it, Sora could see her cringe as he ran his fingers over the still raw skin. "We should wait." He told her. She shook her head resolutely.
"I waited for two years. I'm not waiting anymore." Despite her commanding words, her voice sounded more pleading than anything. Sora paused for a moment. Then, grinning, he scooped her into his arms and kissed her again and again. Kairi had to struggle to keep from giggling. He put her back down again, grinning.
"I'll be right back." He told her before disappearing into his own room. Kairi's heart skipped a beat and she opened her own door and slipped inside.
A few minutes later, Sora stepped out of his and Tidus' room, and froze. Across the hall, Yuna had just left her and Kairi's room. Both of them stood stalk still for a moment. It was entirely obvious what the intentions of both of them were. Sora glanced around, raking his brain for something to say. Then, he grinned.
"I won't tell if you won't tell." He said. Yuna nodded.
"Deal." She answered. "Now if you'll excuse me…" With a sly smile, she stepped around Sora and stepped quietly through the door.
………Next morning……….
Kairi yawned. She opened her eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. It was still surprisingly shadowy. She tried to move, but found herself helplessly entwined in the covers. She could feel Sora running his fingers down her spine. She grinned, flinching a bit as it tickled her. She could feel the weight changing on the bed as Sora moved closer to her. He wrapped his arms around her and brushed his lips against her shoulder. Kairi relaxed for a moment, letting the warmth flood through her, then rolled over, catching Sora's lips with hers. Stretching, she looked over Sora's shoulder at the clock. She groaned, flopping back down on her pillow.
"Why is it so early…?" She murmured, rubbing her eyes. That was why it was so shadowy. The sun wasn't nearly high enough to be seen over the buildings yet. Sora shrugged.
"You could go back to sleep…" He said, trailing kisses along her collarbone, and planting one on her lips. She thought a moment.
"But I'm not tired…" She decided. Sora grinned.
"You said that last night, too." He whispered, grinning mischievously. Kairi smiled back, wrapping her arms around his neck. She just touched her lips to his when she heard a knock at the door. She pulled away a bit, paused, then decided to ignore it, kissing him again. Whoever was at the door persisted, knocking a bit louder this time.
"Two seconds." she said, rolling her eyes and struggling to get out of bed. She tried to stand up, but as she was still entwined in the covers, she fell to the floor with a thump. Sora looked over the edge of the bed at her.
"You fell out of bed." He observed. Kairi stuck her tongue out at him, unraveled herself from the blankets and pulled on the 'complementary bathrobe' that was lying on the chair. She stood up and wandered over to the door. She opened it a crack and found Yuna, dressed in the same bathrobe, standing in the doorway.
"Can I come in?" She asked, peeking inside. Kairi made a face.
"Not really." She answered. Yuna frowned.
"At least give me a sec to put something on!" Sora called. A second later, he came up behind Kairi, pulling on a shirt. Yuna had to hide a smile. Kairi turned to face him and giggled. His hair was sticking out everywhere. Sora gave them a funny look. Yuna was still biting her lip to keep from laughing.
"I'll come back in say, a half an hour, so that we can get mostly ready before then, and then we can switch back our rooms." She suggested, stepping back into Sora's and Tidus' room. Kairi, shutting the door, stepped up on her tip-toes and tried to brush Sora's hair back into place with her fingers. After about fifteen seconds of no success, Sora picked her up, to her surprise, carried her over to the bed and dropped her on it. He caught sight of himself in the mirror and recoiled. Kairi laughed at his reaction. Sora crossed his arms.
"I think I need to shower." He decided, disappearing into the bathroom. Kairi stood up and gathered her clothes. She was actually surprised at how quickly she'd got ready. She was finished and waiting even before Sora came out of the bathroom. His hair was still damp and only a little bit more tame than it had been before, but at least there was some improvement. Almost immediately after he emerged, there was a knock at their door. A second later, Yuna let herself in. She was dressed and ready as well. Kairi and Sora stood up and walked over to the door. Yuna was standing by the closet, dumping much of her stuff inside it. Sora kissed Kairi quickly, then started towards the door. To the surprise of everyone inside, Rikku poked her head into the doorway.
"Yunie, what were you doing in Tidus' room…? Sora! What are you doing in here, hmmm?" She asked, grinning. Sora smiled nervously, unsure of what he was going to say. Yuna crossed her arms.
"Take one guess Rikku." She said, stepping out into the hallway. Rikku followed, sitting down next to the door, pondering the possibilities. Yuna watched her, smiling. The young Al Bhed was wearing her usual enormous T-shirt, but she was wearing short bottoms too, almost completely hidden by her shirt. I've never seen those before. Yuna thought, shrugging. Rikku was still thinking. Yuna rolled her eyes. "You didn't seem to have any problems with making assumptions two nights ago, did you? Why the problems now?" Rikku shrugged.
"I only have one guess this time." She answered simply. Yuna gave her a funny look. Kairi was standing in the doorway of the room. Sora was standing behind her, his arms around her waist. Across the hall, Tidus opened the door. Seeing Sora with Kairi, he grinned.
"Hey, I was wondering where you were all night." He said. Sora grinned back. Something from within his hotel room caught Tidus' attention and he disappeared back into it. Meanwhile, Rikku had made her guess.
"HA! I'm right!" She announced triumphantly. "Yunie got it oooonnn…" She teased, grinning evilly. From out of the open door of Rikku's and Paine's hotel room came a voice. And it was definitely not Paine's.
"Rikku!" It sounded like Gippal. Yuna raised her eyebrows. Rikku grinned helplessly and ran over to her door and poked her head inside.
"What?" She called back. Gippal's reply was more muffled this time, but still clear enough that Yuna, Kairi and Sora could hear it.
"What did you do with my boxers?" The three in the hallway burst out laughing. Rikku paused before she answered, looking down at herself.
"I'm wearing them!" She answered, grinning and returning to where Yuna, Kairi and Sora were standing. Yuna crossed her arms.
"And you were teasing me." She said, smirking. Rikku shrugged.
"I wasn't teasing. Besides, I was going to say, before I was so rudely interrupted…" She paused, lifting her finger and sticking her nose into the air as if she was about to say something very profound. The silence stretched. Suddenly, Rikku slumped. "I forgot what I was going to say…" She said. Kairi glanced at Rikku's doorway.
"Where was P-." Before she could finished though, Rikku interrupted her.
"Oh, I remember now! I was going to say, great minds think alike!"
"Or fools seldom differ." Paine said, leaning against the wall behind Rikku. Kairi smirked.
"That makes you a fool too, then." she said. Rikku and Yuna gave her a questioning look. Sora knew what she was getting at. He had overheard what she'd said to the warrior the night before after all. Paine crossed her arms.
"How so?" She asked, sounding more curious than anything. Kairi smiled.
"If Rikku spent the night with Gippal in your room, then where were you all night?" she asked. Paine smiled slyly.
"I was being a fool." she said simply. Rikku burst into laughter at the fact that Paine had just called herself a fool. Kairi's smile widened.
"With Baralai?" she asked. Paine's smile widened too.
"Good guess." she replied. Yuna and Rikku looked shocked, both that Kairi had guess and at Paine's reaction. Had it been Rikku who had guessed, she could have expected to have been headless in no time flat. Kairi shrugged.
"Guess? After your reaction last night, it was hardly a guess." she said. Paine looked slightly confused.
"Last night? And just what was it that you said again?" the warrior asked, sounding unsure. Kairi grinned.
"I believe it was something like 'Everybody's got somebody except for you and Baralai. Interesting how things work out, isn't it?' That's right, hm? "Kairi asked. Paine was fighting a blush.
"I think that was it." she answered. Rikku gave Kairi a funny look.
"How did you know that?" she asked in awe. Kairi grinned.
"It was kind of obvious." she replied. Rikku glanced at Yuna, who shook her head.
"I never would have guessed either." she said. "How did you figure it out?" Kairi paused, looking for an answer that would let her skirt around the issue. She didn't like to talk about it. Sora could sense her apprehension and tightened his arms around her. She smiled, still uncomfortable about it.
"I tend to be more in touch with my emotions I guess." she answered. Yuna frowned, looking confused.
"Your own emotions, maybe, but you saw it in Paine, not yourself." she said. Kairi sighed.
"I can pick up on emotion, my own or others." she answered. Rikku's eyes went wide.
"Wow…how come?" she asked. Kairi decided that they should know.
"Because when me and Sora were fourteen, our world was destroyed by the Heartless." she began. Yuna nodded.
"He told us." she said simply.
"Well, when that happened, I had my heart stolen." Kairi began again. This time, Rikku spoke.
"But I thought that they took the planet's hearts or something."
"They take people's hearts too. So, for a long time, Sora chased Riku and me from planet to planet until we reached the end of the world. Something happened to me there than almost never happens. I got my heart back. Or actually, I got Sora's heart. But after so long without a heart and then getting one back, I became very sensitive to emotion. Some people have even told me that the way I feel affects the way others feel too. That's how cme I knew about Paine." Kairi explained. The three girls were speechless. Kairi grinned at Rikku. "So, I knew about you and Gippal even before even you knew about you and Gippal." she said. Rikku frowned.
"No way! Awww…that's not fair." she said, sitting down next to the door of her own room. Gippal poked his head out of her room, nodding to them.
"Morning all."
"Morning Gippal." was the generic reply. Rikku grinned.
"Want your clothes back?" She asked. Yuna then realized that Rikku's too-big-for-her shirt was not hers at all. Gippal nodded.
"Please and thank you." he said. Rikku stood up, smiling sweetly.
"Aww, Gippal's learned manners!" She exclaimed. Before she could say anything more, Gippal grabbed her by the waist and pulled her into the room, shutting the door behind her. A minute later, Baralai emerged from his room. Rikku's shrieking giggle could be heard from inside her room. Baralai raised his eyebrows.
"What's going on in there…?" he asked slowly. Yuna shrugged.
"Who knows?" she replied. Paine shook her head.
"I certainly don't and I really don't want to." she added. Baralai half-smiled, taking her hand. Tidus came out of his room and walked up to Yuna.
"Hey, what was that?" He asked, looking towards Rikku's room. Yuna grinned.
"Rikku." she answered. Tidus still looked kind of confused, but decided to forget about it. He tucked one arm around her waist and smiled at her.
"I never got to give you a proper good morning." He whispered. Yuna grinned, her eyes dancing mischievously.
"What do you mean? We spent almost an hour in the shower this morning…" she said, giggling. Tidus shrugged.
"Gimme a break, I was juts looking for some excuse to give you a kiss." he answered. Yuna raised her eyebrows.
"You need a reason?"
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HA! Random conversation and flirting! Wooooooo! Next chappie: the plot thickens…. make sure to RnR! Love you all! PS: Be happy Emma! I finally got around to writing what you were so waiting for!