Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts (II), Sora, Kairi, Riku, etc.

Author's Note: Very, very quick update! I did this because tomorrow I post up a new story (Roxette), What If. Okay, spray on, freshness lovers, spray on. I mean, read on, Kingdom Hearts lovers, read on. (I've watched that Febreze commercial one too many times.)

Warning: Not the ending! This chapter is NOT THE ENDING!

Quick Author Babble: Banana phone…ring, ring, ring…

Chapter 15: Happily Ever After

"Kairi…"

"Sora…I'm not going to make it…"

Sora looked down at Kairi, whose pillow had turned from white to dark crimson from the blood that was leaking from the scar in her head.

"Don't say that!" Sora shouted, tears blurring his vision. "You're going to live! I know you will!"

"Dr. Ryan said it was too late to do anything," Kairi whispered, "and everything's getting darker…You're…you're fading…"

"No!"

Sora fell to his knees and buried his face in his hands.

"He's wrong…they're all wrong…"

"Don't cry, Sora. You won't even miss me. I promise."

"Kairi…please…you can't give up…Not when you just woke up…Not when…Not when…"

Sora felt a warm hand on his shoulder.

"Sora…" Kairi said softly. "It'll be okay. Trust me."

"No, it won't be okay!" Sora yelled. "I can't live without you, Kairi!"

"Ssh…"

Kairi put a finger to his lips. Already her eyes were closing, her limbs falling weakly. She started to fall backwards and Sora caught her.

"I'll miss you, Sora Roma…"

And Kairi closed her eyes and collapsed limply.

"NO!!!"

"NO!!!" Sora shouted, turning over in his bed. "No…no…"

"Sora!"

Sora opened his eyes to face Mr. Roma, whose blue eyes were looking at him imploringly.

"Dad!" shouted Sora, leaping up. "Dad, you can't let her die! Don't…don't let her!"

"Sora, what are you talking about?" Mr. Roma asked, sitting down beside him with a big yawn. "It's three in the morning! People are trying to sleep! You've been doing this for a month now!"

Sora looked around him. He was in his bedroom. It was dark outside, the stars twinkling brightly in the dark, navy sky. It had all been a dream—just a dream, yet Sora was still covered in sweat, tears streaking down his face.

"S-Sorry," he apologized shakily.

Mr. Roma breathed out.

"It's alright," he said. "Sora, has something been bothering you? I know your whole situation with Kairi shook you up quite a bit…"

"I'm fine," Sora remarked. "But Kairi…I've got to check if she's okay…"

Mr. Roma crossed his arms.

"Not now, you won't," he said. "Wait another three hours. Sleep."

"I can't sleep," Sora stated. "I'll have nightmares again…"

"At least try to relax. Remember, everything you see in dreams aren't real."

Sora nodded. Mr. Roma quietly left the room. Sora collapsed on his pillow, trying to think optimistically.

111

She looked perfect, like a sleeping angel. The faint, winter sun shone upon her face, giving it a gorgeous, golden sheen. Red hair cascaded around her like a halo. Her eyes remained closed, but it was clear she was sleeping peacefully.

Sora was waiting for Kairi to wake up. It was six in the morning, but he had felt so worried about the nightmare that even his parents couldn't stop him from trekking over to the hospital to make sure Kairi was okay.

Suddenly the door creaked open and Dr. Ryan walked in, amethyst eyes cast downward at the clipboard in his hands. He looked up and smiled at Sora.

"Ah, good morning, Sora!" he chirped cheerfully. "Here as always, I see."

Sora nodded, but found he had no words to say back.

"I have some information that might make you happy," Dr. Ryan explained, sitting down and examining Kairi's scar. "If everything's alright today, I might be able to let Kairi out of the hospital."

"W-What?" asked Sora, looking up. "You mean it?"

"If I didn't mean it, would I be telling you?" Dr. Ryan asked.

"Hmm…I guess not…"

Sora looked down at Kairi, still sleeping even though Dr. Ryan was checking her wrist.

"Yes…her wrist appears to be fine…just a bit numb," Dr. Ryan murmured.

Sora patiently waited as Dr. Ryan checked her ankle and rechecked her head. Then, with a smile and a confident nod, he turned and left the room.

111

It was around eight when Naminé came in. She looked at Sora with the smallest, welcoming smile and sat down beside him.

They were silent, and Sora's gaze never left Kairi. Naminé kept glancing at him nervously.

"Sora?" she finally said.

Sora looked up at her.

"You don't like me, do you?" Naminé asked.

"What?" Sora stuttered.

"You've just been dating me to be nice."

Sora turned away, once again silent.

"That day when Kairi got hit…you were so…so sad, so angry, so determined…you were scary," Naminé continued. "And…and I couldn't help thinking…it was because of Kairi…because…because you really care for her, don't you?"

Sora didn't reply.

"And…and what Dr. Ryan said got to me," Naminé stated. "So…Sora…I want you to tell me right now if you like Kairi."

Sora looked at her, but felt at a loss for words.

"That's enough for me," Naminé said.

Her voice was soft and understanding but choked. Sora felt a sinking feeling as he watched her pale eyes fill up with tears.

"Naminé…it's okay…" Sora remarked softly. "I'm sorry, but I don't…"

"I know," Naminé said. "But you do like Kairi."

"I never said that!" Sora cried, jumping back.

Naminé laughed at his horrified face.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry," she remarked.

"So…that's it?" Sora said, just to be sure. "Between us? Everything's…done?"

"I guess," Naminé stated. "Friends?"

She held out her hand.

"Friends," Sora said, shaking her hand.

And that's when Sora saw the Naminé behind the cold façade. She was nice to him and laughed and turned out to be a pretty good card player. It was nicer having company while waiting for Kairi to wake up.

111

After an hour or so, Kairi woke up, violet eyes blinking blindly in the sunlight. Sora immediately dove to her side.

"Kairi, Dr. Ryan said he might let you out of the hospital today!" Sora chirped.

"He did?!"

Kairi sat up, a big grin planted on her face.

"Oh, Sora, that's great! I can't wait to go back home and see all my friends normally…Right, Naminé?"

Naminé smiled and nodded. Kairi felt her wrist and smiled.

"It doesn't hurt anymore. It's just a bit numb, like my ankle."

"That's good," Sora remarked.

"Yeah," Naminé said. "We all missed you, Kai."

111

"Bye, Dr. Ryan! Thanks so much for everything!"

Kairi waved gratefully to the doctor that had taken such good care of her.

"Don't worry about it," Dr. Ryan said, amethyst eyes twinkling. "I'm just doing my job."

Kairi smiled and exited the hospital doors. Sora followed her, Mrs. and Mr. Ire right behind him, the rest of SCARF behind them. Suddenly everyone sprang up, surrounding Kairi in the biggest group hug Sora had ever seen.

"Oh, Kairi, you had us so worried!" Yuffie said.

"When the doctor said you didn't have a hundred percent chance of surviving, I nearly died!" Roxas remarked, lost in the group of people.

"Oh…don't ever do that again!" cried Naminé, squeezing her eyes shut.

Sora, Roxas, Yuffie, and Naminé locked Kairi in a quadruple-sided hug. Kairi laughed.

"You guys, I'm fine, really," she remarked.

"Uh huh," Hayner said, crossing his arms. "Tell us that after you've promised never to do something that stupid again."

Kairi looked at Sora.

"I already did."

111

"I'll see you later, Kairi."

"Bye, Kairi!"

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Kairi!"

"See you over the Christmas holidays, Kairi!"

"I've got to go, Kairi!"

"Get a lot of rest tonight, Kairi!"

"I'll see you at home, Kairi!"

After a long celebration of Kairi's awakening at the beach, all the teenagers walked home, the snow crunching beneath their feet. Only Sora and Kairi remained, gazing over the freezing cold ocean.

"Sora?" said Kairi suddenly, making the brunet turn. "When I was unconscious…did you think I was going to die?"

Sora paused, not wanting the words to escape his lips.

"Y-Yeah, I did," Sora remarked. "I didn't want to, but I did. I was just too…too worried to not think of it."

"Would you have done anything to save me?" Kairi asked. "I know this is really random, but I'd like to know."

"Anything," Sora whispered honestly.

"So…if you had to kill someone, would you do it?"

"Well…"

Sora lied down.

"It depends who it is."

"What if you had to kiss me to save me?" Kairi giggled. "You know, like Sleeping Beauty?"

"Uh…"

Sora blushed brightly at the answer in his head.

"Of course I would! It's…it's hardly a sacrifice…I mean, if it'd wake you up…"

"Mm…okay," Kairi said. "So what if you had to kiss Naminé to wake me up?"

Sora leaped up at the thought.

"What?!" he shouted. "That doesn't even make sense!"

"Sure it does. Naminé could be the only person to have the cure and would only use it on me if you kissed her."

"What?"

"Just answer the question!"

Sora sat there pondering for quite awhile. Kairi waited patiently for his answer, playing with the light coat of snow.

"Well…I guess I would, to wake you up. I mean…you know…It would be worth it…in the end."

"You make it sound like kissing Naminé is a total nightmare!" Kairi laughed. "Honestly, Sora, you're dating her…"

"No, I'm not," Sora said, shaking his head. "We broke up today."

"Today?" cried Kairi, looking flabbergasted. "You mean you've been dating for another month and a half?! I thought you said…"

"We weren't dating. I was in the hospital with you all the time."

"All the time?"

"Well, not all the time, but most of the time. I was worried about you, Kairi. We all were."

Kairi looked away from him.

"People treat me like I'm five," she grumbled. "I can take care of myself, you know! I think you've got enough on your mind without thinking of me."

"I know you can take care of yourself, Kairi," Sora said. "That doesn't mean I'll stop worrying about you."

"Sappy!"

"Shut up!"

Kairi giggled and stood up.

"I guess we should be heading home, huh?" she said.

Sora nodded and heaved himself up.

"I'll walk you home."

111

As Sora and Kairi made their way to the city, the stars started to come out. There were few at first, but then they started to grow, revealing constellations all over the place. Sora looked up at the sky, making Kairi halt immediately.

"It's strange," Sora said. "The same stars are always there, but they never lose their beauty…"

"You're right," Kairi agreed. "But I never thought about that before. How are you always so…?"

Kairi seemed to pause, looking for the right word.

"Poetic?" she finished, looking at him.

"I don't know," Sora replied. "I guess…I guess I'm a deep thinker, is all. Come on; let's hurry before it gets too dark."

They turned and continued down the road.

"Wait a second there! I'd know that hairstyle anywhere!"

Sora froze and turned around to face Riku, whose aquamarine eyes were staring right through him.

"Sora," he said, stepping forward.

"Riku," Sora remarked, taking a step forward as well.

Both boys' arms were crossed, looking at each other disapprovingly.

"Guys…" Kairi stated warningly.

Riku halted and looked at the redheaded girl behind Sora.

"Kairi?" he said, a mixture of relief and confusion in his voice.

Kairi walked up to him.

"Yeah, it's me," she said. "Riku…"

She paused to grab his hand, making Sora bubble with anger and jealousy.

"Thank you," she whispered.

Riku stood there, frozen, eyes wide, as if he'd never been addressed in this way. Or, Sora corrected himself, not for a long time.

"You're welcome," he replied.

Kairi smiled and let go of his hand. Sora watched them, puzzled. Thank you? For what?

His train of thought stopped as Riku approached him. For a moment it looked like he was going to walk right past Sora, when he stopped.

"Take care of her," he stated, and walked away.

Sora's eyes followed his silhouette into the darkness. As soon as Riku completely disappeared, he turned to look at Kairi.

"What was that all about?" he asked a bit defensively.

"It's…it's something between Riku and me," Kairi replied nervously. "Let's go."

And with that, Kairi turned and walked away.

111

Sora collapsed on his mattress, still thinking of Riku and Kairi. Something between him and her? No, Sora didn't like that idea at all.

Sora knew his chances with Kairi were probably completely blown by now, with his incident with Naminé, his knack for being sappy around her, and his well-known hate for Riku, who Kairi was clearly still friends with.

Or were they more than friends?

The thought made Sora envious and angry. No, Riku had had his chance—Kairi couldn't possibly like him, especially since he was such a jerk.

But something deep inside Sora knew Riku wasn't as coldhearted as he seemed. It was the way his voice was that night. By the way he'd said "you're welcome", you'd think he'd loved Kairi forever.

Sora was puzzled by the older boy. That day…had he stepped aside, like Sora wished? Sora had no idea what he meant by "take care of her." Why couldn't Riku take care of her? Why did Sora seem like such a good choice?

It angered Sora that Riku knew so much and he didn't understand anything. Riku seemed like one, big riddle—he made no sense, yet somehow he had a blurry image of what he was.

Sora groaned and plunged his head into his pillow. That was it.

He officially hated riddles.

111

"Sora, Sora!"

Sora had just stepped out of the house, when a young, scratchy voice rang out through the air. Sora turned to the odd, duck-resembling boy running up to him. Sora smiled at his five-year-old next door neighbor.

"Oh, hi, Donald," he said, kneeling down to look at the little boy.

"Sora, will you build a snowman with me?" Donald asked eagerly, white face flushed from running so fast.

"Well…I was planning to go to the library…"

Donald looked down, his expression immensely disappointed. Sora felt his heart sink for the little kid.

"But I don't need to," he finished, standing up. "Come on, let's go build that snowman."

Donald smiled excitedly and Sora grinned. They walked into his backyard and Sora started making a big mound, while Donald tried to round it.

"Oh, Sora, there you are!"

Sora turned to see Kairi running peeking over the side of the house.

"Hi, Kairi," Sora said, breath showing in the cold air. "This is my little friend, Donald. Donald, this is Kairi."

"Hello," chirped the boy, even though he was rather busy with rounding a big clump of snow.

"Hi," Kairi remarked. "What're you doing?"

"Building a snowman," Donald replied, looking up. "You want to help?"

Kairi smiled at him.

"Well…I don't know," she said. "Can I, Sora?"

Sora looked at her, a bit surprised she'd asked him at all.

"Uh…yeah, of course!" he cried.

"Then I'll help!" Kairi chirped, once again facing Donald.

Donald grinned widely. Kairi walked down the small, white hill and into the backyard. She helped Donald round the snow. (He wasn't doing a very good job on his own.)

"I'm so lucky I managed to talk my parents into letting me outside," Kairi said. "They couldn't keep me locked in my house forever. I mean, I know I was hurt really badly…but that was just a freak accident. People don't throw rocks at me everyday."

"Your parents are just doing their job," Sora remarked, picking up a clump of snow. "They're supposed to worry about you."

"Yeah, I know…" Kairi stated. "But it's so annoying! They could at least give me enough space to breathe!"

Sora nodded even though he wasn't agreeing much.

111

"It's done! It's done!"

Donald's excited voice broke the cold morning air. He was looking at the snowman proudly, like he'd built it all by himself.

"Yes, it's very nice, Donald," Kairi said, smiling at the little boy.

"Great job," Sora agreed.

Donald smiled, if possible, with more ego than before. Then, with that, he sat down and started making another mound.

"What're you doing now, Don?" Sora asked, sitting down beside him.

"I'm making a snowwoman," Donald replied, looking at Sora as if the answer was obvious.

"Snowwoman?" repeated Kairi, looking confused. "I've never head of a snowwoman before!"

"Well, there has to be a snowwoman," Donald said, once again making everyone feel stupid. "Because the snowwoman and snowman have to kiss and get married."

Sora and Kairi looked at each other and laughed.

"Right…" Sora remarked. "And what gave you that idea?"

"Fairytales," Donald replied. "In the end, the prince and princess always kiss and get married."

"But those are…" Kairi began, when Donald cut her off.

"Aren't you two going to kiss and get married?" he asked.

"No!" Sora shouted a bit too loudly. "No! No! What? No!"

He got up and promptly rammed his head into the back wall of the house. Kairi looked at him.

"Uh…" she said, and turned back to Donald. "Donald, there's something you've got to understand. There's a fine line between fairytales and reality. You can't mix the two, or you'll end up being disappointed."

Donald peered at her curiously.

"When I was little, I kept wishing I would be a princess someday," Kairi explained. "I kept waiting for my Prince Charming to take me away, and then I found out there's more to life than just that. I wasn't Cinderella. I was a little girl with a life to live and…and you should think the same way."

"But what if Sora is your Prince Charming?" Donald asked curiously.

"I'm not…her Prince…Charming!" Sora yelled between thuds as his head hit the wall.

"Yeah, but one day, Donald, you might meet your princess…" Kairi said, patting him on the head. "And live happily ever after."

Valor999: Thanks so much!

- d a y j u a n a: Same with me….probably. Thanks! And I feel kind of hyper too today! Oh, and you'll be happy! I'm starting to write the Roxette today and I'm posting it up tomorrow!

Zestychicken2: Thanks! Riku came…Yeah, I decided I'd put that in there! It's okay. You like Riku. I understand. Yeah, I guess they were all hoping she'd wake up. Oh…well…it's only roses are red and stuff like that. Not that hard to rhyme when you have that!

JesusRocks!!!: Great! About a month and a half. Thanks for reviewing!

KiaraFay: Thanks! I'm glad you liked it!

Inspire-Illuminate: I know! I couldn't let Kairi DIE, especially since it's the middle of the story. Thanks for reviewing!

Spam Hearts Zexion: Oh, cool. Well, it wasn't snowing in the last chapter, but now I'm bringing the snow in. It's Destiny Islands, but I thought they deserved some snow, if the weather got really cold and all. Thanks for reviewing!

Blubber Nuggets: (Laughs uncontrollably) Thanks for your excitement! Really? That's great! Then write! That's great! You should write if you really want to! (Laughs again) Thanks for reviewing!

Midnight's Falling Star: (Laughs) Couldn't get rid of Kairi, could I? Oh, that's good. Of course not! It's here RIGHT NOW! (I had to write quickly because a new story's coming in.) No, it's okay, I'll read it as soon as possible. I like a good read.

Cheychey41: That's great! Here's your update!

Wings of Water- SKYE: Yeah, I guess you're right. Still, I can't help thinking everything but the Riku part was pointless. Yeah, you're right, maybe he is. Thanks for reviewing!

Rahi-1: No, I understand. You can't help it if you don't like something, right? Thanks so much! Thanks for reviewing!

LOTRchic: Thanks!!! (Thanks for reviewing, too.)

MOOnlite-dUSk: Yeah, I know! The mouse was his head and everything! Thanks and here's your update!

xMiStReSsOfHeArTsx: (Laughs) Thanks for your enthusiasm!

Well, guys, this…was pretty pointless. But…it showed…a bit…of Riku…and…a bit…of Donald…and…a bit…of… Naminé…and the breakup you've all been waiting for. So, there must be a reason I wrote this, but you've got to figure it out, so good luck with that while I reread this and try to figure it out myself…

Read and review! (And understand if you can.)