AN: rikai is my underrated fave and I love them, and hopefully the 10 other people who love rikai will like this short fluff I wrote lol. please enjoy! comments are always appreciated.

They only had until the next morning before Riku would have to leave, but Kairi insisted on doing something all the same.

"Let's go stargazing," she'd said. "The constellations are all so clear here."

So there they were, two teenagers lying in the grass below Yen Sid's tower, stretched out and pointing at the stars - the worlds - that shone the brightest.

For a while, after Riku and Sora had come back from the darkness, it had been awkward between himself and Kairi. Mostly on Riku's part. He couldn't figure out how to approach the events that had transpired. Not to her. What did you say to a best friend you nearly killed in your quest to explore other worlds? How could he atone for ripping their islands apart, and causing some people to go missing forever? Riku didn't think he could, tried to hide from it all. Isolated himself.

Kairi wouldn't let him.

She, who had been hurt the most, was all goodness and forgiveness towards him. He was fifteen, easily deceived and his envy played upon. Besides, he'd done so much to atone for it, risked his life to help her and Sora be alive and safe and to fix the worlds he'd helped destroy.

Kairi saw the good in Riku, and he couldn't tell her how much that meant to him.

The girl in question pointed up to her left, blue eyes almost purple as they reflected the wide sky above. "That one over there, the only sparkling purple. I bet it's a world, one close to us. I wonder what it is."

Riku contemplated this for a moment. "Well, Yen Sid's tower moves a lot. It used to be connected to Twilight Town, so I'd guess somewhere close to there, maybe Traverse Town? But I think this place has moved since then."

"Hmm," Kairi said, turning to smile at him, cherry-red hair splayed out in the soft grass beneath them. "You've been to a lot of places, huh?"

Riku snorted. "Not as a welcome guest. Sora has better stories than I do."

"Still," Kairi breathed, turning her eyes back towards the vast cosmos above them, "I'd like to go to these places, someday, not just as Maleficent's luggage. I wanna explore. You two have seen so many things without me!"

Riku smiled at her, looking up where she was. "You will. You have a Keyblade now, after all. You'll get to see things you never imagined."

"It sounds wonderful," she said, giggling. "You sound like a hopeless romantic."

He shoved her arm playfully, and she laughed again, before pulling herself into an upright position and giving him a somber look. Riku followed suit.

"To be honest, I'm a little worried. Not that I'm not worthy of it or anything, but that I won't be good at it. Like I'll practice but I'll never get the hang of it. Maybe I won't even be able to summon it on command." She cast her eyes down on the ground. "I know everyone's counting on me, and it doesn't really help."

Riku gave a humorless little chuckle before smiling wryly at her. "Yeah, the pressure doesn't help. I still wonder if I'm worthy of any of it, sometimes." He put a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving her a small but genuine smile, this time. "But you'll get it. You already have so much power, because your heart is strong. As soon as I gave the Keyblade to you in The World that Never Was, you jumped right in the fight the darkness. I know you have it in you."

Kairi sighed, then looked up at him with that glowing smile only she could give. It felt like warmth radiated from her straight into his heart. "Thanks, Riku. You always know what to say. I hope one day you'll really believe in yourself, too." She reached out to take his hand, and he accepted bashfully, letting her curled her fingers around his. They sat like that in silence for a while, just taking in the nighttime breeze and the scent of the fir trees around them.

"You remember how we used to do this as kids all the time? We'd make up shapes in the stars, call them real constellations." Kairi giggled, turning to the boy next to her. "They were always awful."

Riku grinned at her. "I have no idea what you mean. Personally, I think your rabbit in a sun hat was a masterpiece."

Kairi broke out into peals of giggles, clutching her tiny pearl necklace with her free hand as she did. It was an adorable habit of hers, not that everything she did wasn't. "You're right. I should never second-guess myself."

Riku watched her affectionately. In the past, he had taken Kairi for granted. Assumed her bright, warm light would always be there. Now he knew to cherish it. "Come on," he said, starting to stand. "We should get some rest before tomorrow."

Kairi followed suit, brushing the grass off her skirt. "Always the responsible one," she teased, before giving him a serious look. "Listen, before you leave, I want to tell you something."

"Okay," he said, turning himself to face her entirely.

"I know you're going into the darkness to find that lost Keyblade master," Kairi said. "I know how much that place scares you, hurts you. Even if you don't say it out loud." She took both his hands in hers, her skin warm and soft on his. "I know you'll make it through there okay. You're strong. Ansem doesn't have a hold on you anymore. Please just... don't drown yourself in your past mistakes. It's okay. We all make them. You have friends to help you, always."

And if he ever forgot, there was the reminder that she was a Princess of Heart. Her pure light radiated to places he didn't know were in shadows, and she made him feel strong. She made everyone feel strong.

He squeezed her hands, a soft smile on his lips. "I know. Thanks, Kairi."

"You were right before, though. We really should get some sleep. You have a mission tomorrow I have to start training." She regrettably released his hands, but he could feel her warmth anyway.

"You're a natural," he said, opening up the heavy wooden door for them. "You'll do great."

Kairi grinned at him again, following him up the winding stairs. "Thanks, Riku."

The rest of their trip up was silent, the two of them walking up staircases and gazing out through the star-shaped windows into the vast night sky. Eventually they reached the split in the path to their rooms, and Kairi stopped, turning to Riku one last time. Quietly, she moved to stand on the tips of her toes and pressed a light kiss to Riku's cheek. "Sleep well, and good luck on your mission."

Warmth flowed through Riku's whole body, cheeks just slightly red and he bent over a pressed a kiss into Kairi's hair. "You too, Kairi."

With one last sweet smile, she disappeared up the steps to her room, and Riku turned to his own, strength renewed. He was ready for whatever happened tomorrow, and she would be, too.