A/N: Thank you to all that have taken the time to leave reviews, favorite, and follow this story. It really is appreciated.
Chapter 18: Rain
She could hear the rain tapping against the windowpane when she finally roused from the deep sleep her hotel bed had given her, but she couldn't give all the credit to the magnificent feather bed. Her heart felt at peace now.
Kairi yawned and stretched, her auburn hair matted and tangled, but that was okay. She didn't need to impress anyone right this second. She slowly crawled out of bed and reached for some pajama bottoms. She slipped them on and adjusted her top. Rubbing the sleep from her eyes, she opened her bedroom door.
"Morning, Nami." Kairi said, her eyes barely open.
"Good morning, Kairi!" came several voices, and not one was Namine's.
Kairi was wide awake now and jumped back into her bedroom and slammed the door.
Sora, Roxas, Riku, and Axel all peered at the closed door.
Namine blushed as she put their drinks on the table. "I didn't have time to warn her…" But the boys already had their attention turned backed to playing Warscape on the big screen TV and their laptops.
Once Kairi got over her shock, she quickly got dressed, brush her hair and teeth, and made herself presentable. She was doing one last look in the mirror when she heard a gentle knock at the door.
"Come in."
Namine poked her head in then slipped inside once she saw Kairi was dressed.
"I am so, SO sorry." She started, but Kairi waved her off.
"It's fine. I was just surprised. Looks like they didn't notice though." Kairi smiled with relief.
"You're right about that. They're wrapped up in WarScape right now. We might possibly get them off though. With the rain…" Namine tapped her chin. "There's not much we can do here."
"Movies? Take out? Or we can cook." Kairi suggested, but Namine looked a little worried about her last suggestion.
"Hmm… Movies would be good. How do we get them to agree on something?" Namine asked.
"We won't. I say we take turns." Kairi stated simply. She knew how indecisive the guys could be in a game and it just seemed easier to take turns picking movies.
"Great idea!" Namine seemed to be on board now so the girls made their way to the living room where the boys were starting to wind down from a battle, Kairi thought, from the looks of their screens.
"Kairi and I were thinking we should watch some movies inside today since it's raining." Namine grabbed the controller from Axel, who seemed extremely displeased by this.
"I could go for some movies." Roxas said, quickly agreeing with Namine and shooting Axel a disapproving look as he pouted.
"What are we watching?" Riku asked, logging out of his account and looking up at the TV screen and Namine started scrolling through the movie listings.
While Namine, Roxas, Axel, and Riku were deciding on the first movie, Kairi had sat beside Sora, who, upon seeing her, had shut his lap top immediately.
"Sorry for showing up uninvited." He said, scratching the back of his head, very much embarrassed. Even if they other guys hadn't been paying much attention, Sora had seen Kairi in her pajamas. While they were not revealing or "sexy," it still felt like an invasion of privacy, even though Sora had liked seeing her so relaxed.
"It's okay. I don't mind. I was hoping to see you soon anyway." Kairi said, her cheeks turning pink.
Sora smiled and gently took her hand. "I'm glad."
Kairi blushed even more and she felt herself leaning into him, looking at his lips…
"Kairi, we need your vote!" shouted Axel, totally interrupting the moment.
"Uh, what are the choices?" Kairi asked, shaking off the thought of kissing Sora in front of their friends.
"Comedy or Action." Namine said, completely oblivious to what had been going on between Sora and Kairi.
And so they finally decided on a comedy. Riku and Axel spread out on the floor while Roxas and Namine took the loveseat and Kairi and Sora had the couch.
But halfway through the movie, the group heard a growl…
"What the hell was that?" Axel sat up, looking around.
"Was that a bear?!" Riku looked at the windows like a bear would be able to scale the hotel and burst through the window to eat them.
Roxas's face turned red. "It was me guys."
"Uhm, are you hungry?" Sora asked. Roxas nodded.
Namine and Kairi looked at each other. Should they attempt to cook? But the guys had other ideas.
"Take out it is then, but what do we get?" Riku grabbed the menus and spread them out on the floor for everyone to see.
"Pizza!" Shouted Sora, Roxas, and Axel.
"I can go for pizza." Kairi said. Namine nodded in agreement.
"Pizza it is." Riku said with a victorious grin, grabbing the phone, and dialing the number to the local pizza place.
"Yes, I'd like to get 3 pizzas for delivery." He paused, his brow furrowing. "It's going to be 4 hours… That's crazy!"
Sora grabbed the phone from Roxas before he could say anything else. "We'll pick it up! Twenty minutes? I'll be there. Thanks." He clicked end and tossed Riku his phone back.
"So… You're going to pick up the pizza?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's what I said. Why the look?"
Roxas simply pointed at the window. The rain was coming down hard and the sky was black.
"Oh…"
"I'll go with you Sora." Kairi said, smiling gently. "It won't be so bad with two of us."
"Are you sure? We're going to get soaked."
"Kairi will be fine." Namine said as she practically pushed them both towards the door. "We'll call you a cab. Better hurry!" And with that she closed the door behind them.
"Nami… What was that about?" Roxas asked, looking at her quizzically
"I'll tell you later. Let's watch the movie." Namine grabbed the remote and sat back down, turning on the movie while the boys just looked at her curiously.
In the hotel hallway…
Kairi and Sora looked at each other sheepishly.
"Sorry about that…" Kairi blushed and started down the hallway, her eyes down.
"Wait, Kai." Sora grabbed her hand gently, his heart beating fast.
Ever since that kiss, all he could do was think about her and the incredible feelings she gave him.
"Sora…"
And she was in his arms again. He held her there for a moment before looking into her eyes and kissing her. It wasn't the same kiss as last night. It was softer but still passionate, and he hoped it was enough to tell her that last night wasn't going to be the end of his affection.
When they finally pulled away, Kairi smiled and Sora couldn't help but smile back.
"Kairi, last night was–" But she stopped him with her finger on his lips.
"I know."
Sora smiled and nodded. "Let's go get the pizza then. I'm starving."
The two made it to the restaurant, holding hands and still blushing from sharing kiss at the hotel.
Sora held open the door for Kairi, but as he went to follow her, he bumped hard into someone.
"Oof!" and they landed with a thud on the floor.
"Hh my gosh... Sora?"
"Selphie?"