A/N:The idea for this was originally for SoKai week 2020's AU Day, but considering that it's not July 5th - 11th anymore... I guess I'm a little late on that one...

Regardless, I'm really happy I managed to finally finish this and I hope you enjoy it!

Sora had always hated storms. It was a shameful secret of his, but one he worked hard to keep. Despite how long he'd known Riku and Kairi, he was confident they never come to suspect his secret fear.

Whenever the winds would shake the buildings he hid inside with such force, and forced even the strongest trees bow to their wrath. How the rain droplets pelted everything, so hard and fast, more akin to tiny invisible needles falling from the sky than water, making hard surfaces slick and dangerous to run on, and the sand on the beaches so much more clingy, as though the sand was desperate to get away from the storm too and wouldn't let go. And the ever-present danger that the winds might pick up something and turn it into a speeding lethal weapon…

All those reasons were dumb. He told himself as much, but still they petrified him all the same. He felt so powerless compared to it. Compared to the power of the elements he couldn't control

Sora hated storms. But he surprised himself, when his devotion to his friends and his duty to keep the raft they all made safe, managed to block out his fear of the storm clouds gathering over the island. Despite the power growing on the horizon, Sora for once wasn't filled with a deep apprehension. Was it simply duty to his friends the spurred his courage? Or was he outgrowing an old childish fear? He didn't know, and regardless he had to make sure the raft wouldn't be damaged.

But the shattered remains of the raft told him that he was already too late. As well as reminding him, why one should always furl the sails before leaving a boat for the night. Sora stared horrified at the wreckage he, Riku, and Kairi had once worked so hard on. Bits and pieces of it still being picked up by the wind and thrown against the sandy beach of the island. His heart shattered with it, as did his bravery.

Sora ran for the flimsy beachside shack, as even it would mean some kind of protection from the elements. But another gust of wind threw him to the ground and, more importantly, caught the raft's sails again and hurled what was left of it into the shack. Sora watched as it tore through the wall, just barely being able to raise his arms in front of his face as pieces of the debris were thrown against him and cut into his arms. His face was protected from injury but his arms were covered in small cuts and scratches, the salty rain water only making it worse as it stung against his wounds.

Sora felt helpless again, like he was as a child and a storm first taught him how powerless he was. Sora ignored the stinging pain in his arms, as the salt-water spray hit him, and forced himself up and ran towards the only the shelter he could think of.

The Secret Place.

Dirt and mud clung to Sora's clothes as he crawled through the Secret Cave's entrance. Sora was surprised to find an equally surprised looking Kairi staring at him when he finally made it through.

"Sora? What're you doing here?"

"I should be asking you that!" Sora said, trying not to look too wide eyed at her.

Kairi bit her lip. "I saw the storm clouds and got worried about the raft, I wanted to make sure it was alright. But when the storm picked up, I hid in here where it's safer. What about you?"

Sora scratched his cheek embarrassedly. "I kinda had the same plan as you. Except, I was gonna hide in the seaside shack, but the raft crashed into it just as I was heading to it."

Kairi gave a small laugh. "I guess we're pretty in sync." Kairi looked over Sora and tried to help brush off some of the mud he was caked in. "Are you alright? Nothing injured?" she asked.

"Just a couple scrapes, but otherwise I'm okay." Sora said showing off his arms. "Don't worry about me, I'll be fine," Sora added when he saw the worry in her eyes.

Kairi forced herself to look away. And soon found her eyes settling on the myriad of crude drawings covering the wall. "Hey, do you remember drawing all these with me?"

Sora's face brightened. "How could I forget? We spent so much time in here!" Sora said, his fingers tracing the outline of a poor drawing he once made. His eyes suddenly caught onto the recent addition he'd added to an old drawing of his and Kairi's faces. Sora tried to look casual as he walked up to the wall and sat down right in front of it, so that Kairi wouldn't be able to see it.

"You okay?" she asked.

Sora flapped a hand in front of his face, as he tried to act casual. "Just tired. Took a lot of rowing to get out here."

The smallest of smirks grew on Kairi's face as she narrowed her eyes at him. "If you say so."

Sora wasn't sure why he'd added that Paopu to their old drawing. Perhaps it was a little bit to do with Selphie talking about the legend of the Paopu earlier, or maybe it was just an insecurity that was building up within him as the raft was coming closer and closer to being finished. After all, what if he or she fell overboard and got swept away!? The power of the Paopu fruit might be all that could help them at that point.

"Say, wasn't there a drawing we did of each other in this cave?" Kairi asked. Sora nearly jumped when she brought it up. Was she smiling? No, that can't be it, Sora decided. She must've been just smiling at the memory, and his own paranoid delusions were making him think she must've been bringing it up for a reason! Yeah, that was it!

"Uhh… No, I don't think we did. At least, I don't see a drawing like that anywhere from where I'm sitting" Sora said, hoping she'd drop the subject. Sora felt like an idiot. He mentally kicked himself harder for having drawn the Paopu on the wall. He wasn't ready to talk about these feelings yet. Sure, he liked spending time with Kairi. And sure, she was funny and pretty and made him feel at ease being around her. But that didn't necessarily mean he like liked her. It was just a platonic Paopu Fruit offering that he drew, those probably existed on Destiny Islands.

"You sure we didn't draw it?" Another smile from Kairi! She totally knew! Sora shook his head and told himself there was no way. "What about the wall you're sitting in front of?"

Sora swallowed hard. "N-nope, there's nothing here. I would've seen it before I sat down and would've mentioned it sooner."

Kairi looked at him with a playful inquisitive face. She pursed her lips together and rubbed at her chin. "You sure? Why don't you just move over and double check?"

Game over. Sora didn't know what to do. He couldn't refuse to move without looking suspicious. He attempted to make one last attempt to avoid the inevitable when the sudden crack of thunder echoed over the distance and reverberated throughout the room.

And Sora screamed.

"Sora? You okay?" Kairi asked.

Sora had pulled his legs towards his chest as he sat, shaking, in his corner.

"I'm f-fine!" he shouted. "W-why don't you keep looking for your picture that doesn't exist." Another thunder crack was heard in the distance causing Sora to tense again.

"Hey, it's fine to be a little scared of lightning, it takes me by surprise a lot too." Kairi offered Sora a friendly smile, but he didn't react to it.

"I'm not scared of lighting."

"C'mon, it's just me. Even I've got dumb things I'm scared of." Kairi said sympathetically.

Sora was quiet for a moment, then finally mumbled, "it's not just the lightning…" he looked away from her. "It's the storms."

Kairi blinked at him.

"One time, when I was a kid," Sora began. "A piece of wood crashed through a window at home. I don't know if it was a branch or piece of a fence, but it was during a storm not too long after I first met you." Sora was silent for some time. Just when Kairi was about to say something to fill the silence, Sora spoke again. "It hit my dad."

Kairi moved closer to him, but Sora gripped his knees tighter. "I always thought of home as almost a different world to the outside. And my dad seemed almost invincible to me back then. So, storms never really bothered me much before then." Another crack of thunder from far away caused Sora's breath to hitch, "But knowing something from outside can just invade and hurt people. I can't stop this feeling. Whenever I feel the wind shake whatever building I'm in, it's like it's threatening to blow down my whole World!"

Kairi gripped Sora's hand. "It'll be okay, Sora," she said and brought it closer to her, changing his focus. She gently rubbed the top of his hand with her other. "Just focus on this for now, okay? I get scared during storms too sometimes. They make a lot of noise and I'm stuck inside, but it's just a storm and I know it'll pass eventually. Just keep telling yourself that, okay? It's just a storm, it'll pass."

Sora was silent until a strong wind shook the cave, surrounding them in a deep roar of wind. "It's just a storm, it'll pass…" Sora whispered to himself. Another crack of thunder and Sora was whispering to himself in a faster. "It's just a storm, it'll pass. It's just a storm, it'll pass. It's just a storm, it'll pass…"

Kairi scooted closer to Sora and wrapped him in a hug. "Yeah that's right. It's going to pass. We'll wait for it to end together."

The storm did eventually pass. All the islands held together, and no one lost their heart or awoke on another world. And during the coming day, Sora and Kairi were soon found by their parents, as well as the remains of the raft. They were lectured for a long time and the dream of seeing other worlds from a raft died.

Venturing to the play island was forbidden until the end of the next school year. Sora and Kairi tried to protest, but stern looks from their parents quickly silenced them.

Time passed and Riku's seemingly unquenchable curiosity about other worlds was eventually replaced by new passions. Sora thought Riku was finally starting to accept what Sora had figured all along. Kairi wasn't from some other world, she was maybe from another island, but the reality was that the mayor and his wife just wanted to adopted a child for one reason or another. After all, nothing interesting ever happened on these islands…

"Can I tell you a secret…?"

Sora looked at Kairi with curiosity. "A secret? Sure, I won't tell."

"I'm…" Kairi looked away turning slightly pink. "I'm scared of the dark…"

Sora blinked. "Oh, I guess that's a little surprising."

"It's embarrassing, I'm turning fifteen tomorrow and I still need some kind of light on."

"Beats being fifteen and being scared of storms while living on an island." Sora said with a shrug.

"But storms are scary!" she exclaimed. "They're loud and powerful and they can make anyone feel small compared to them!" Kairi went silent as she slumped and turned back to watch the setting sun. A moment passed and finally she spoke again, her voice in a quiet and ashamed whisper. "But the dark? That's just a little kid fear that people are supposed to grow out of by now…"

"Hey, Kairi," Sora said, reaching out for her. His hand found her shoulder and he gave her a reassuring rub, but she didn't move. "Don't talk about your worries like that. Even I get a little creeped out by the dark."

"But I don't get creeped out by it, I…" Kairi's voice stopped abruptly. She turned away from the setting sun and looked at Sora seriously, her voice somehow even more heartbreakingly low for Sora. "When I'm in the dark… I feel like the shadows are coming for me. Or might have already gotten me. I get so anxious I feel like I can't breathe. And then I start to worry that if I somehow fall asleep in the pitch darkness, I'll wake up somewhere else and I'll never see you, or Riku, or my parents ever again."

Sora bit his lip. "Kairi, I…"Sora mumbled to himself as he struggled to come up with something to reassure her. "You just have to remind yourself that something like that won't happen. You, me, Riku, and your mom and dad will all still be here when you wake up."

"I just get so scared sometimes. I sound ridiculous, don't I?"

Sora looked almost mad at her suggestion. "Kairi, you're not being ridiculous. So, don't talk about yourself like that."

A giggle escaped from Kairi. He looked so offended at her bad mouthing herself that she couldn't help it. It started small, but then it began to grow. Before she knew it, her giggles had turned into a series of chuckles which continued until she was a laughing mess.

Sora on the other hand was thoroughly confused. "Hang on a second, what's going on?"

"Your face!" she wheezed between laughs. "You look like you're ready to fight me to protect my honor from myself!"

Sora touched his face, trying to feel whatever look he was giving, as a new, dopier, look ran away on it. "S-sorry… I didn't mean to get that intense. I just don't like it when you say stuff like that about yourself."

"It's okay," Kairi smiled. "It's not like there's much you can do about this,"

Sora sat quietly in thought. "Hey Kairi, you remember what you said to me? Back when we were stuck on the play island during the storm, I mean."

"What I said?"

"You told me that it was only a storm, and that it would pass. The same is true for the night and the dark too."

Kairi looked away, hiding the embarrassing smile that was growing on her face. "You remember that?"

"I think about it sometimes, especially when there's a storm."

"I'll try to keep it in mind too then."

"Well, I'm also thinking, since it's your birthday tomorrow, maybe you could ask your parents if you could throw a slumber party. Sora said, sliding his hand closer to Kairi's. "You don't have to be afraid of waking up somewhere else. I'll still be there. In the dark and in the morning. You and I won't suddenly disappear."

Kairi's breath hitched in her throat when she felt Sora's hand atop her own, but didn't pull away. She rotated her body and leaned towards him, making direct eye contact with Sora. "I could ask that, buuut…" She smiled wickedly at him. "My parents are going to be pretty suspicious if you're the only one I invite."

Sora's face reddened at the suggestion. "Huh!? I-I-I… I didn't mean… I'd be just one of the guests, th-that's all!"

Kairi laughed. "Just kidding!"

Letting out a groan that slowly transformed into a smile, Sora leaned back and turned back towards the sunrise. "What's gotten into you, Kairi?"

Kairi proudly laughed to herself, "It's just easy to mess with you like that," she said, before returning to watch the horizon again. For a while, the waves lapping at the shore was the only noise as the two of them sat quietly on the dock. Sometime passed before Kairi realized their hands had never moved. It just felt right having Sora there that she'd never noticed it.

"Hey, Sora?"

"Hmm?"

"If my parents are okay with the slumber party idea, would you hold my hand like this when it's time to sleep and all the lights go out?"

"Huh!?" Sora blubbered as he'd done last time. Only Kairi never said she was joking this time.

Sora and Kairi walked together as they made their way back home. Kairi was still talking about things to do for her birthday. For awhile it'd just been fun games they'd play with everyone and movies to watch, now that she'd decided to host a slumber party. Then she said something that caught Sora off-guard.

"Do you ever wonder what you're going to do with yourself? I guess I've been thinking about it a lot lately. I'm turning fifteen, which feels a lot older than fourteen, but I guess not really, huh?"

Sora shrugged and offered some non-committal reply. Kairi looked straight through him, silently demanding he take it more seriously. He turned away for some relief and stared at the setting sun, still sinking into the ocean in the distance.

He turned and thought about his answer harder. "Honestly? Sometimes I try to pretend that the future doesn't scare me. But the truth is, I'm afraid. Where am I going with my life?"

Kairi gripped Sora's hand, which caught his attention and seemed to set him a little more at ease as she smiled at him. "It's okay not to know. Is there anything that interests you?

Sora hummed, deep in thought. "I don't know. Riku's dad fishes, and they do well, so I guess I could do that. But I'm not so sure I want to do that. School guidance counselor's no help either. Says I have the potential for lots of things, but that doesn't exactly narrow it down.

"Maybe you and Riku should become swordfighters," Kairi joked.

A laugh escaped Sora. "If only, right? It'd be so much simpler if that was an option." Sora squeezed Kairi's hand and beamed directly at her with all the brightness of the summer sun. "Hey, remember when me and Riku were convinced you were from another World? Maybe we could've been adventurers!"

Kairi's face dropped and went silent, but she quickly recovered herself. "Yeah, that was wild," she laughed hollowly.

"Say, what about you? Have you thought much about what you'd want to do once we're done with school?"

"I don't know… Maybe something arts and crafts related." Sora nodded at that, recalling how skillfully she'd made wayfinders out of thelassas shells. "I've also been interested in writing for a while now." She said less confidently.

"You write?"

"Just a little here and there."

"Then, you should read it to me one of these days!"

Kairi smiled at him and pretended to consider it. "I'll think about it, but it's not very good. It'd honestly be better used to plug up the hole in Riku's dad's fishing boat."

"Hey, don't sell yourself short like…" Sora trailed off as went into thought. "Say, we built a raft didn't we?"

Kairi smiled at him. "Don't tell me you're losing your mind already. That was only a year ago, of course I remember."

"Ha ha, laugh it up. But I bet we could make another one. A better one!"

"Tell me you're not thinking of actually becoming an adventurer. I thought you were just joking."

"No, no, not adventuring. Boat building. We've done it once, maybe someone could train us to do it better next time."

"You're serious, aren't you?"

Sora smiled at her. "Like a storm."

Kairi sat alone outside. She was closer to sixteen now than fifteen, but she felt like she was five years old on her old home again as she counted the stars. What was its name again? She couldn't quite remember, and not just because she'd been so young. Hollow… something kept rolling around in her head, but she was certain that wasn't it.

She shook her head and went back to watching the stars. There was a sickening knot in her stomach as she stared up at the inky blackness and she found herself reflexively biting her lip.

"I thought I'd find you hear," A voice called out to her. She turned to find Sora walking towards her. He sat down next to her, holding two mugs of something warm and inviting, and blanket over his shoulder. "Here," he said, offering her one of them. "It's hot chocolate."

"Thanks," she said quietly, and took a sip.

"It's getting dark out and I know you don't like, so I thought you'd like a little company. Is it alright if I stay?"

Kairi smiled. "Of course, Sora."

Sora sat beside her and drew the blanket over the both of them. "So, what've you been doing out here? You never say."

Kairi brought her head down and looked into the brown warm liquid. "I've been… Watching the stars."

Sora looked up. "Oh yeah? There's a lot fewer of them than I remember. Why do you think that is?"

"I don't know…"

"Riku says it's light pollution.

"Light pollution," Kairi repeated. Saying it makes her want to cry. She can't put her finger on why exactly, but she knows there's less light in the World now, not more.

"Yeah, I don't really understand it. But I've got other things I'm focusing on right now."

"Oh yeah? You still dreaming of making boats?" Kairi said as she looked at Sora. "How's that going?"

A big grin grew on his face. "It's looking like it's going to be more than just a dream!"

"You mean…?"

"Tidus' old man, Jetty or something, he's offering to apprentice me!"

"Jecht," Kairi corrected and then laughed. "If you're going to be his apprentice you should at least learn his name!"

"Jecht, Jetty, whatever! He's agreed to teach some of what he knows." Sora found her laugh contagious and soon found himself joining in with her.

"What about you?" Sora asked, "have you been thinking much about your arts and crafts or writing, lately?"

Kairi shook her head. "No, I've been thinking about other things lately." Kairi lifted her head back to the stars.

"Everything alright?"

Kairi remained silent. "It might just be in my head, I suppose."

Sora took a large sip from his mug. "Maybe you need a fun day to let loose or something."

Kairi chuckled, "Yeah, maybe…"

"Would you like to go out and let loose with me?"

Kairi turned to him, wondering if she was imagining what she thought he was trying to imply.

"I know you, me, and Riku are kind of a trio. But would you like to go out sometime? I-I kind of like you and I think it'd be f-fun…"

Kairi didn't say anything at first, not that she needed to. She smiled widely at Sora moved closer to him under the blanket until her hand was on top of his. "I'd really like that."

"You would?"

Kairi laughed, her Heart felt so much lighter than it had at the start of the evening. "Sora do you remember when we were stuck on the island during that one storm?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Do you really think I didn't see the Paopu you drew on the cave wall?"

Sora's eyes went wide. "You knew!"

"I was trying really hard to get you to admit it back then!" She howled with another laugh. "I've been waiting for you to just ask!"

Sora turned red, but gripped her hand tighter and sheepishly tells her, "S-sorry for taking so long."

Kairi giggles at him and finally looks up at the sky with a sense of hope. She feels warm, knowing his eyes are on her.

And then she sees a star go out.

"You okay, Kairi?" Sora asks, noticing the sudden change in her demeanor.

"I, uhhh…" Kairi finds that her mouth is dry. She takes another sip from the hot chocolate. "I just have this uneasy feeling. Like another storm is coming."

Sora smiles at her and places a hand on her shoulder. "Well, don't forget what you told me. It's just a storm, it'll pass."

And Kairi hopes with all her Heart he's right.

A/N: Thank you for reading! I hope you got some enjoyment out of it! If you did, I hope you'll let me know by leaving a kudo or a comment. And special thanks to my friend Sassycatto on AO3 and Discord for helping me come up with the final scene with Sora and Kairi. I was having quite a bit of trouble figuring out how to end this until she came along to help!

I feel a little bad for never including Riku in this. He's a pretty important character to both Sora and Kairi, but I couldn't think of a good way to use him without having him be a third wheel in the scenes with Sora and Kairi. I felt that, without Ansem or the Darkness tempting him to open the door on Destiny Islands, he was the more responsible one among the Destiny Island Trio and would know better than to risk injury or his life to sail on stormy waters. Sora and Kairi are the impulsive ones and would try to save the raft without thinking through the consequences, so if you felt that Riku's absence on the island should've been addressed, that was basically my thought process.

I had some other ideas for this story that I unfortunately could get to work in a satisfying way. My original thought was to have the time jumps get progressively larger and larger, eventually ending with Sora and Kairi as adults. But, I'm quite happy with how this story worked out, showing where Sora and Kairi are at the same ages they are at the start of KH2 and 3, and leaving the two of them to face a very uncertain future. Maybe I'll make a second chapter to this one day to get some of the unused ideas out there before I start spoiling them in this Author's Note, haha!

Anyway, once again, I hope you enjoyed this! I hope you'll leave me a comment letting me know what you think. Regardless I hope your day goes well!