Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts… as much as I'd like to. MEH
Xxx
Riku awoke the next morning to the sound of Sora's cat, Lily, purring in his ear. He smiled sleepily as he petted the little tabby cat. He and Kairi had given her to Sora for his last birthday. He remembered the day the two of them had made their way to the pet shop, and had the hardest time trying to decide what to get for Sora. All it took was one look into those soft blue eyes though, and then they knew that she was perfect for their friend.
Riku put Lily aside and sat in an upright position. He glanced over and his jaw nearly hit the ground as he took in the scene before him. Sora lay with his arm protectively wrapped around Kairi, her head resting gently upon his chest.
Well that's weird. Hm… wonder what brought this about. He smirked to himself as he inched closer to the sleeping duo. He crept right beside Sora's ear and took a deep breath.
"Well what do we have here!" Riku said loudly enough to make Sora spring up.
"Man what the-oh, it's you. Man, what's the big idea?' It took Sora second to realize what his friend was referring to, and immediately Sora's face turned bright red. "Um, it's not what it looks like, seriously."
"Mhm. Save it." Riku said with a lopsided grin. It wasn't everyday he got the opportunity to tease his friends about something embarrassing like this.
Sora looked down at the red head that stirred slightly and snuggled close to him once again, obviously unaware of the intruder.
"Dude, she had a nightmare…about her dad. She was crying and was so afraid… I couldn't just sit there and leave her all alone!" Sora shot back defensively.
Riku's grin faded as he listened to the truth. He knew that Kairi had been plagued by memories of her father and the brutal manner in which he had treated her mother. It was something that they had had to accept about their friend. Riku remembered how she would cry for hours when they were younger, always reaching out for their support. Riku figured this was something that he shouldn't even mention to Kairi once she awoke. There was no need to provoke her when she was already having a rough time.
Riku averted his eyes to the ground, regretting the way he had taunted his best friend's honorable intentions. Riku wasn't sure why, but all of a sudden as the seriousness of the situation set in, he couldn't help but feel a twinge of jealously as he envisioned Sora easing her fears instead of him. Dismissing the odd feeling, he looked up at the other boy in front of him.
"I'm sorry Sora, I had no idea."
"Don't worry about it."
Sora smiled at Riku to assure him that there were no hard feelings.
A soft moaning interrupted their thoughts and the two boys directed their attention to the source of the sound. Kairi slowly stretched and opened her eyes, blinking at the bright sunlight that filtered through Sora's blinds. With sleepy eyes she gazed up at her two friends who sat on the bed beside her.
"Morning you two" she said softly, a light smile on her lips.
"Mornin'" came their response.
Sora smiled warmly at her, glad to see that she seemed to have slept well, and that the fear that had dwelt in her eyes the night before, so vivid and intense, was nowhere to found. Knowing that he was able to make her feel safe, and forget her fears made him glow with pride. Nothing was going to hurt this girl, as far as he was concerned.
"So what should we do for breakfast?" Riku asked, his stomach growling in protest.
"I'll make pancakes!" Kairi offered, springing off of Sora's bed.
"Mm… that sounds great." Riku said with a nod of approval.
"Um, don't think that you're just going to sit there and let me do all the work!" Kairi giggled, pretending to scold him.
"I'll help you." Sora offered.
"You'll just eat all the pancake dough!" she cried, placing her hands on her hips.
"No, I promise, I won't this time!" He laughed remembering how the last time they had made pancakes he had picked out all the chocolate chips she had put in the dough, and kept dipping his hand into the bowl to lick the spoon.
Kairi pretended to be weighing a very important decision, but then after a few moments of exaggerated deliberation, she relented and smiled.
"Oh, all right."
"You know I'm just kidding. I wouldn't let you do all the work." Riku said as he stood up from Sora's bed. "Let's go make some food!" And with that, he headed for the door and zoomed down to the kitchen.
"Dork." Kairi chuckled as she and Sora followed him down stairs to make their pancakes.
Xxx
"Hey you got water ALL over me you jerks!" Kairi screamed as Sora and Riku ran through the sparkling water, splashing her as they ran past.
"Well we are at the beach you know…sometimes that's what happens." Riku called after him as he waded out further into the ocean.
Kairi sighed and smiled as she looked down at her half soaked bathing suit. Every weekend the trio made a trip to the beach to relax and try to forget the stress of school. They would spend hours frolicking in the waves, having water fights and swimming. There was nothing that could compare to this she thought to herself as she watched her two best friends running after each other in attempt to tackle one another into the crashing waves. She slowly started to wade out deeper, not in any particular rush to go underwater, but just wanted to enjoy the water gradually cooling her skin.
This was her favorite place to be with her friends. It felt as though nothing else mattered in the world, not even her father. This was the place for her to go, and just release any kind of fear or worry. How could anything possibly go wrong in such a beautiful place? The ocean was crystal clear, so clear that she could watch her toes wiggle through the sparkling water. Various trees and plants lined the waters edge, lending it a very tropical appearance. Flowers of every color bloomed all over the island at this time of year. Every year she looked forward to the summer nights they would spend together at the beach, just lying on their backs in the sand, gazing up at the tiny stars that twinkled so brightly above them.
Her thoughts came crashing back to reality however, as she felt strong arms lifting her into the air. She hadn't noticed that Sora had snuck up behind her and caught her off guard as he slung her up over his shoulders and started to run further out into the water.
"Hey! Not fair!" she squealed as he ran, trying desperately to wiggle out of his arms, but to no avail.
"That's what you get for being the last one in the water!" With that he slowed down and lifted her off his shoulders and then proceeded to swing her back and forth, gaining momentum before releasing her. She flew into the air, laughing and giggling before she landed in the water with a splash.
She resurfaced a second later and shook the water from her hair which hung down in front of her face.
"Oh look, it's Kairi-the-sea-monster!" Riku joked.
"Very funny." She replied as she parted the hair from her face and glared at her two friends who stood grinning at her a few feet away. "You're so going to pay for that…"
She glared at Sora who stood with his arms folded across his chest and sporting a large grin. Kairi waded through the water as fast as she could and made her way towards the two boys. She smirked as she closed in on Sora and took a flying leap towards him. Her arms clasped behind his neck as her body collided with his, sending them both into the water.
When they resurfaced, Kairi still had her arms locked tightly about his neck, holding on as he stood up. Sora glanced down at her, barely catching the blush that had crept across her cheeks. They were still pressed close together, his bare chest firm against her skin.
"I-Uh…" Kairi was at a loss for words, embarrassed by the position they were in. "I'm s-sorry Sora, I didn't mean to be that close." She stammered as she took a step backwards.
Sora didn't respond to her at first and looked a bit dumbfounded for a split second before his normal grin returned
"Just can't resist me, huh Kai?" He joked, trying to end the awkward moment. Part of him almost wanted her to say yes for some reason. Weird.
"Oh shut up!" Kairi scoffed playfully and then swam over to a rather confused Riku.
Sora's gaze followed her as she engaged in conversation with Riku, starting a water fight. A strange feeling began to set in as he continued to watch her splash around in the water. There was something very…different…going on here. Something deep inside of him had begun to ache at the sight of her, yet it made him happy at the same time. Sora blinked in confusion as he tried to sort out the strange emotions that had been coming over him. Why was he feeling so weird around her? They had been best friends for years, why was now any different than before? Nothing had changed… had it?
He remembered the night he had crawled into bed with her and held her body so close to his. She had seemed so happy that he was right there with her. In the midst of her crying she had clung to him, almost desperately. He couldn't remember a time where she had ever expressed such intimacy with him before. Sure they were close friends…but this…it was so different. He could remember the feel her body next to his that night, making him feel proud and aware that the girl lying next to him wanted him to be there, needed him to be there.
But what if Riku had been the one who had heard her? What if I had been asleep and he had been the one to comfort her? Would she have reacted the same way?
His shoulders drooped as this crossed his mind. Maybe there was nothing different. Perhaps it was all in his head. She had been frightened.
That's probably why she was holding onto me so tightly. He thought to himself with a sigh. There was nothing different. He had simply imagined it. But that look on her face just a moment ago in the water… that flush of pink on her face, and the way she had delicately placed her hands upon his chest. He could have sworn that he saw something flicker in her eyes for a moment.
Sora sighed again and ran a hand through his tangled hair. Why did things have to get so complicated? Managing a half smile, he strode forward and decided to join his friends, and put his strange feelings in the back of his mind.
Xxx
The three swam around until the sun began to set and the temperature began to cool down. They toweled themselves off and gathered their belongings to go home. As they began walking up the beach Riku's cell phone buzzed and he spoke for a few moments before hanging up.
"Looks like I gotta go." He said with a grin.
"Booty call?" Sora said with a smirk.
Riku always had a different girl calling him every day. Riku didn't have much luck as far as relationships were concerned, and therefore he just liked being a flirt.
"Maaybe." Riku winked. "Nah, there's this new girl in my math class that got my phone number. Heh, she wants to help me study."
"Sure…" Kairi said skeptically.
"No, no, I'm totally serious. She's great. She noticed I was having trouble, and offered to help me out a bit."
"Yeah, I'm sure she will." Sora chuckled.
"Shut up!" Riku said, his cheeks turning a faint shade of pink. "Seriously, she's going to help me raise my grade so I can graduate-don't wanna repeat senior year you know."
Kairi and Sora nodded as he began to walk past them towards the path that lead to his house.
"She is pretty cute though!" He called over his shoulder as he disappeared over the dunes with a wave
Kairi and Sora grinned at each other.
Sora took the opportunity that he had alone with her to discuss the events of the other night. He had had been too embarrassed to talk to her about in front of Riku and wanted to speak with her alone.
"Hey, Kai…can I talk to you?" he said hesitantly.
She turned to him, the last of the sun's rays reflecting in her eyes.
"Yea sure, what's up?" She said, noting the cautious way in which he addressed her.
"It's about the other night…" he began.
"Oh…" her voice trailed off and her gaze fell to he ground. He must be telling me how awkward it was for him the other night…she thought. I can't believe I made him stay with me. He must think I'm such a baby. I was so selfish…I wanted him there with me so much…I don't know why, but I felt like he needed to be there with me.
"I'm really worried about you." He admitted.
Kairi looked surprised.
"I know that your dad has always made you upset from time to time, and I know that it's hard for you to deal with…it's just that the other night you were so sad, so afraid. I haven't seen you so upset in ages."
He paused for a moment before continuing. "Are you ok, Kai?" A worried look filled his eyes as they gazed intently into hers, burning with emotion.
"To be honest Sora, I have been having nightmares for a while now, off and on. Sometimes I'll be fine, and then other times… I'll just have these dreams that are so real… so vivid. I feel like I'm right there in the dream." As she spoke her eyes moistened, her voice wavering slightly.
Sora impulsively reached out and pulled her to him, hugging her tight.
"He was so real…" She said as a few tears trailed down her face, soaking into Sora's shirt. "I could feel everything like he was right there…so close to me. The same look was in his eyes that he had with mommy. That crazy, horrible look. Those eyes… oh those eyes Sora… they were so cold." She gripped onto his t-shirt as she struggled to control her emotions.
"Kairi, kairi…" he whispered into her ear. "you know it was just a dream though. It wasn't real. He's not here. Don't let him get you so worked up. I hate seeing you this way." He squeezed her tight, pressing their bodies together.
He let her cry for a while longer, rocking her gently in his arms. I can't take this… I really can't. She is such a wonderful, happy girl. Anyone who makes her feel like this should not be alive. He thought angrily to himself, clenching his fists as he held her. She didn't deserve this. No, she was far too precious to him to for this.
Sora gently pulled away from her as she slowly started to relax, and placed his hands on his arms. He met her tearful gaze and lowered his voice.
"I can't take seeing you like this, Kai…I just can't."
Kairi could hear the compassion in his voice, and it warmed her heart instantly.
Look at him…she thought to herself. As close as Sora and I have been before, and as sweet as he has always been…I have never seen this side of him before. His eyes…that look I see. So pure, and so caring. I could almost swear that he…no…it couldn't be. But he way he looked at me when we were in the water…it was that same look. Could it mean…no. No way…there's just no way.
"Please Kai, tell me what I can do to help you with this. Anything I can do…just tell me." He begged, interrupting her thoughts, and gripping her arms firmly as he spoke.
She thought for a moment before she spoke. Her voice was soft and he had to strain to hear her.
"Promise me… that you'll always be there for me."
"I will, I will. Any time you need me… don't be afraid to tell me anything. Even if you just need to sit down and talk…just don't leave me in the dark. I want to know what's going on inside that pretty little head of yours." Kairi was surprised to feel him take hold of her hand. Sora blushed, squeezing her little hand in his.
"I want to know that you're ok…and that every thing is all right. Promise me…" he looked at her, waiting for her response.
"I promise."
Sora sighed peacefully and his eyes closed for a moment.
"You have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that" he admitted shyly.
She just smiled and squeezed his hand back, both of them blushing.
Xxxxxx
(A/N) well there's chapter two. Awww . Please R&R! No flames though please, if anything, constructive criticism.
Crazy Jaivy
