Plant Flowers In Your Heart

Chapter 2

Down the stairs the two boys went. With a now fully clothed Sora leading the way and Riku following behind, they made their way to the kitchen. Sora's mother was sitting at the table, absorbed in her romance novel and drinking hot Earl Grey tea. She peered out from the top of her book when she heard the boys approaching. "Finally decided to join the land of the living I see." she gave a teasing grin.

"Hey mom." She smiled as Sora gave his mom a kiss on the top of the head and walked to the cabinet to search for something simple to eat. Riku impatiently checked his Gummy Phone for the time. He sighed, "Sora, I hope you're not planning on eating everything in that cabinet because we gotta go."

The brunette turned around to reply with a snarky comeback but failed due to too many cookies in his mouth. Instead he just sort of spit out some crumbs in his friends direction. Riku had a mix of disgust and amusement on his face and countered with, "Cookies for breakfast? That's irresponsible even for you."

Sora's mother chimed in, "He's right honey. Grab an apple on the way out the door. If you stuff your face with cookies you'll get all jittery. Sora swallowed the cookies and reached for an apple. "Okay mom." he eyed Riku. "Okay, DAD."

"You WISH." Riku winked.

Sora awkwardly looked at his mother to check her reaction to Riku's dirty comment but she was already enveloped in her novel again. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"I guess we're heading out now. Bye Mom, we'll see you later."

"Bye-bye. Be safe boys!"

Riku smiled and waved as he grabbed Sora by the arm and pulled him out of the house.

A little ways down the road and Sora could already feel his heart pounding. His palms were sweating from nerves and Riku could tell just what the spiky haired boy was thinking. "It's going to be okay. You're overthinking it. where's my happy-go-lucky Sora?"

"I don't know man. You're probably right."

"I AM right. This is Kairi we're talking about."

"That charm meant a lot to her… She trusted me with it and I broke it. I feel like in a weird way I broke her trust. Like, that charm was one of those things that helped us stay connected. Now it's ruined..." He could feel his throat get tight and his eyes start to water. For fear of Riku noticing he quickly looked away at the bright blue sky above. "Sora, remember when you saw Kairi for the first time on your journey after you slept for a year? Remember what you said to me and how you told me you were scared to face her then?" Sora replied, " Yeah, that's because, well, I didn't want to see her until I found you. I wanted us to all be together again before I saw her. I felt ashamed that I failed to bring you back. Like, I made a promise to her and I couldn't deliver. Just like with the lucky charm. I had all these expectations for when we met again and I let her down."

"Thats not the way I remember it." Riku crossed his arms and Sora looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "Huh?"

"She was relieved to see you more than anything. I don't think a hug like THAT means nothing."

Memories of their embrace flashed through Sora's head and he could feel his cheeks get hot again. He thought of Kairi's soft hair lightly brushing against his face and her warm body pressed against his. The way she wrapped her arms around his waist as if he was the only thing that could keep her feet firmly planted to the earth.

"What I'm saying is," Riku continued," You were freaked out over nothing. All worried about her reaction and psyching yourself out when really she cares about you more than anything."

The two young men walked in silence as Sora internalized Riku's words. They were getting closer to the mayor's house where Kairi would be waiting for them. Sora realizing this, picked up the pace until he was jogging. Riku followed in suite and the brunette shouted, "I gotta tell her the truth then!" at that point Riku pondered whether Sora was talking about the lucky charm or something else.

Five minutes later the duo reached the gates to the mayor's mansion. "let's get buzzed in." the silver haired boy said as he reached for the button on the gates speaker. "Wait!" Sora shouted, but Riku had already alerted security to let them in. Buuuuuuzzzzzzzz.

Sora shot his friend a look and the other boy shrugged. His nerves are probably creeping up again, Riku thought to himself. With a dragged out creak the large metal gates opened, revealing the mayor's long, familiar driveway and massive abode to match. For as long as Riku and Sora had been coming to the mayor's house, they have never gotten used to it. Even after traveling the worlds and seeing castle after castle, Sora was still in awe of the extravagant architecture and the statues that adorned the front lawn. This house had it all, a gorgeous view of the ocean, a seemingly never ending amount of space, an amazing garden, and best of all a beautiful girl living inside of it. It truly was a house fit for a princess, But today that princess was about to give that all up.

From the up stairs window, Kairi became aware of the boys approaching her front porch. She excitedly ran down the steps and opened her front door. "Sora! Riku! You made it! I was starting to think you weren't going to show up!" She giggled and gave each of her friends a hug. Riku smiled and pulled her in with a firm yet one-armed hug. Sora gently held kairi but got a little dizzy from the sweet scent of floral perfume she was wearing. His heart began to race from their touch. He gulped and put his hands to his sides to quickly end it. "Uhh, hey Kairi lets head inside." He said in a failed attempt to get her to release him. It was pleasant torture for him and Riku began to notice.

"Ahem." the silver haired boy coughed.

Suddenly, Kairi became VERY aware of her surroundings and swiftly let Sora go. "Hehe, oh man, you'd think I haven't seen you guys in ten years with the way I hugged you! I guess I'm just really excited about today!" She giggled some more as she gestured for Riku and Sora to come inside. They both removed their shoes before entering and followed Kairi upstairs to her room. On the opposite side of the staircase, Kairi's adoptive father could be seen coming down. As the three friends passed the mayor on the stairs, they greeted him.

"Hey Dad!" kairi sang.

Kairi's father flashed a huge smile. "Hello sweeheart! Fancy meeting you here!" he laugh a bit before locking eyes with his current guests. His gaze became cold and his greeting was much less pleasant. "Boys." was all he muttered.

"Hello Sir!" said Riku while Sora waved weakly. His eyes softened as he looked back at his adoptive daughter. "Don't forget to keep your door open."

"Of course Dad!"

The mayor kept walking downstairs and eventually disappeared into another room by the time Sora, Riku, and Kairi reached the top to where her bedroom was.

Kairi's room was no longer the way Sora and Riku remembered it. She had spent the past few days packing her things like a mad woman. The once bright pink and stuffed animal filled room had become a labyrinth of cardboard boxes riddled with labels. The three friends sat down to discuss moving strategies. Sora was the first to speak, "So kairi, do you know what time your dad said the U-Haul would be here?" The redhead put a hand up to her chin and thought for a moment. "Hmm, I think he said a buddy of his is supposed to pull up at around one." She turned to Riku and asked, " Are you going to be cool to drive it? Big vehicles like that can be a bit tricky sometimes. "

Riku smirked, "I got two words for you. Gummy. Ship."

"Hey what about me? Don't I get a say in this? I want to drive the moving truck!" Sora whined, "I was flying the Gummy Ship WAAAYY before you Riku! It only makes sense if I do it!"

Riku playfully stared Sora down and started with a proposition, "Haha, all right Captain. I'll let you dri-"

"YYYYaaaaaayyy!" The spiky haired boy interrupted. Riku put a finger up his friend's mouth. "Shhhhh! Let me finish. You can drive IF you can beat me in a little friendly competition."

Kairi huffed, "Here we go again. Do you guys ever get tired of doing this?"

"Nah." the boys responded in unison.

The trio laughed together for a bit and then Riku laid out the rules.