A/N: Well… shout-outs to my avid reviewers (you guys know who you are)! You keep this story going, if it wasn't for you… well, I would probably write it anyways, but it would definitely not be as fun!!
Just the Two of Us
Kairi paced back and forth… forth and back… biting her tongue and wringing her hands nervously as she mustered up the courage to knock on the door. His door. She drew, yet another, deep breath and positioned her hand at the door… only to quickly pull it back as if it had burned her and return to her pacing. Oh! This is ridiculous… Why am I so nervous? This is Sora!! I'm sure he'll understand. It's not like I planned on Shai leaving with Riku while I was at the vending machine downstairs and locking me out of our room!! Irritated at her own timidity, she gripped the soda can in her hand tightly and knocked on the door with her free fist.
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Knock knock
Sora glanced at the door leading to the narrow hallway outside their hotel room. That's funny… I would have thought she would use the door that connects our rooms…
He shrugged his shoulders and climbed off of the bed. He glanced at the mirror hanging on the wall beside the television briefly, running his hands through his unruly spikes that were still damp from his shower, his glowing yellow eyes shining brightly in his reflection…. Ah, yes, his reflection… Sora sighed as the burden of telling Kairi about that particular development lay heavy in his chest.
The shadowy reflection curled its lips into a black grin, "Don't even bother, no matter what your hair looks like… you still look like a Fuck-up…"
Sora glared at the mirror before picking up the damp towel at the foot of his bed and hanging it over the mirror, his shadow reflection disappearing behind the drape of white terrycloth.
Knock knock
"Um… Sora? You there?" came a muffled voice from behind the door.
"Yeah! I'm coming!" Sora yelled back as he quickly checked his breath for freshness before finally answering the door. "Hey Kai!"
Kairi smiled meekly as she picked at her nails, "Hey Sora…" She shifted nervously under his gaze, silently cursing her uneasiness.
Sora wrinkled his brow at her awkwardness, "Everything okay, Kairi? You seem a little… nervous."
Kairi quickly dropped her hands to her sides and managed to smile genuinely, which put Sora's mind at ease almost instantaneously, "Yeah, of course. Can I uh… come in?"
"Oh!" Sora blushed, a little embarrassed that he hadn't invited her in yet, "Sorry… yeah come on in." He stepped aside to allow her entry before following her back into the room, shutting the door securely behind him.
Kairi walked into the room, wrinkling her nose in disgust at its more than disheveled appearance. The open pizza box on the table from last night's late night dinner… the pieces of clothing scattered on the floor, clean and dirty alike… and the piles of empty potion bottles... (A/N: that one was for you Butterscotch, let's see if you can piece that one together! lol) The room was a complete opposite of the neighboring girls' room, which was neat, clean, and organized.
Sora noticed Kairi's grimace and he hurriedly picked up several articles of clothing on his way into the room, including a couple pairs of boxers, at which he laughed nervously. "Sorry… you know. We're guys, and all," he explained lamely. Sora grinned as he dumped the pile of clothes into an empty suitcase.
Kairi just giggled and nodded her head understandingly as she sat down on the end of the bed closest to the door, which just so happened to be Sora's.
Sora glanced around the room, "Riku left to go meet Shai in the lobby…" he explained passively. "I have no idea how long he'll be gone."
Kairi smiled at the irony, "Yeah I know. Shai locked me out of our room when she left to go meet him," she answered as she rolled her half empty soda can between her palms. "I went downstairs to the vending machines, and when I got back the door was locked and Shai was gone."
Sora sat down in a chair beside the empty pizza-box-table, "So I'm guessing your key is in your room?"
Kairi stopped rolling the soda can and looked at Sora blankly, "No Sora…. I'm locked out of my room and my key is in my back pocket…" she smiled sarcastically.
Sora smirked at her comeback and put on a face of mock-hurt, "Well if you're going to hurt my feelings, you can just wait out in the hall for her!"
Kairi smiled warmly. "Actually, I was hoping I could get back in my room through that door that connects them," she replied as she motioned towards the narrow door that separated the two rooms.
"Oh," Sora stood up and walked over to the door and opened it, revealing another door behind it, "You have to unlock these from the inside… See?" he pointed at the brass circle where a doorknob would usually be. "There's no doorknob on this side."
Kairi's face fell a little and she fell back onto the bed exasperated, "So you mean I'm locked out until she and Riku get back from their date?!"
"Afraid so…" Sora answered. "And there's no telling how long they'll be gone, since our first round tomorrow isn't until after lunch. So I guess you'll just have to settle for spending time with me!"
"Oh… that makes me feel loads better!" Kairi said with a laugh, a hint of sarcasm still laced in her voice.
Sora narrowed his eyes at her playfully, "If you continue doing that, I will be forced to resort to tickling…" he smiled as he stalked towards her, his fingers wiggling out in front of him.
Kairi picked her head up off the bed just in time to see Sora's knee connect with the mattress beside her and his fingers jab into her ribs mercilessly. She immediately burst into fits of laughter, tears welling up in her eyes as she tried her best to wriggle out of Sora's grasp. "Sora! Knock it off…. Please…. Stop!!" she cried between giggles.
Sora laughed along with her and climbed onto the bed with her, his other knee straddling her thighs to keep her from getting away as he continued to tickle her without leniency. "Come on Kairi! You know the rules… you gotta say it or I'm not stopping!" he teased.
"Sora! Please!" she gasp, "I can't… I can't breathe!!"
"Just say it… Come on Kairi…." Sora grinned at his own antics as he continued to tickle her ribs.
After a few more seconds of Kairi squirming under Sora's hold on her and uncontrollable laughter, she finally gave in, "Okay! Okay! I'll say it!!!"
Sora grinned and pulled his fingers from her sides and leaned back on his heels (and consequently Kairi's knees, considering the awkward position they were both too busy laughing to realize they were currently in). He rested his hands on his thighs as he awaited her response.
Kairi pursed her lips at him and rolled her eyes, "yof betah tan riku" she muttered incoherently under her breath.
Sora perked up his eyebrows and brought a hand to his ear, "I'm sorry Kai. I didn't quite catch that…. What did you say?"
"I said…" she replied dramatically, pulling her arms across her chest, "That you are better than Riku…" Each word overly pronounced as she glared playfully at him, her warm violet eyes the only aspect of her features giving away her playfulness.
"Ah…. At?"
Kairi smirked and rolled her eyes, "at… swimming, sparring, and everything else you guys used to do to try to get my attention…" she giggled at herself for adding the part at the end.
Sora smiled at her, "And?"
"And??" Kairi looked at him confused, "Sora… that's all I'm supposed to say."
Sora laughed and shook his head, "Nope… and…. I have better hair!"
"Oh good grief!" Kairi laughed and pushed Sora jokingly, causing him to fall to the mattress beside her, grinning at his own cleverness. "You are incorrigible…"
Sora grinned at her widely, "But that's why you love me…"
As soon as the words spilled out of Sora's mouth, he immediately wished they hadn't. Love was, simply put, a touchy subject for him recently, and he feared Kairi's latest heartbreak would cloud her good humor, causing unwanted memories to once again resurface.
However, Kairi just turned her head towards him and smiled warmly. Her silence was stark and confusing at first, but soon it settled between them like an old friend, and the two just lay on the soft cushion of the mattress, staring at the ceiling and enjoying each other's company.
That was one thing about Kairi that Sora had always admired, her ability to let his shortcomings and stupidity slide with merely a passing glance. He figured she was probably used to it, but it still warmed his heart that even after all their friendship had endured, she was still able to see past his less than perfect exterior.
As Sora lay across his bed, Kairi's red hair splashing against his side, he couldn't help but notice how his heart rate seemed to increase each time she shifted her position, which would inevitably move her body closer to his. It wasn't long, though it felt like an eternity, before she was lying so close that her scent of vanilla and coconut over powered his own. Oh, how he wanted to wrap his arms around her and never let go, to run his fingers through her crimson hair and shower her in kisses. She deserved that and so much more, but his timidity and her hesitancy more than blocked his path for that, so he just lay beside her, his fingers itching for her, and a silent dialogue playing in his mind in a continuous loop… Just do it, turn over and put your arm around her…. No, that's not what she wants. You promised just friends!... But I love her!... But you broke her heart, you don't deserve her… But she forgives me, just like she always does… You promised, just friends.
And that's ultimately what sealed the deal. He had promised. Promised to be friends and not rush into anything. Promised to 'let her lead' so to speak, and most importantly, to never break her heart again.
And Sora kept his promises… Especially those that he made to Kairi.
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Riku ran his finger along the edge of his glass, his aqua eyes fixated in front of him, threatening to lull into sleep as he awaited his 'date'. His ears perked up at the sound of footsteps, and he looked up to see Shai enter the small lounge, a wide smile gracing her features. He waved to get her attention and motioned to the seat across from him. She waved back, still grinning, and he narrowed his eyes at her questionably as she took the seat across from him. "What are you so smiley about?"
"Oh… nothing," she sighed as she relaxed into the booth cushion. "Young love…"
"Huh?" Riku choked a little on his club soda at the last word to leave Shai's lips. "W-what?"
Shai laughed at his sudden jitteriness, "Let's just say that Sora and Kairi should be getting better acquainted this evening."
Riku wrinkled his brow even deeper, "Okay, now I'm really confused. What the hell are you talking about woman?"
Shai sighed annoyingly, "God you're dense! I locked Kairi out of the room when I left to meet you down here…"
Riku just looked at her blankly.
"…so she would have to go wait with Sora until I got back…"
Riku shrugged his shoulders. "And?"
"And… it's obvious they both have feelings for each other." Shai reasoned. "So I thought I just might give them a little push in the right direction. I'm sick of Kairi being all melodramatic about that Tetsu jackass anyways."
Riku laughed lightly, "I didn't know you played matchmaker."
Shai smiled back at him, causing Riku's legs to feel like jello. He thanked the heavens silently that he was sitting down, or else he feared he might not be able to hold himself up. "Well, now you do," she replied with a wink.
Riku laughed nervously, only because he didn't really know what else to do. "Yeah, I guess I do."
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After what seemed like an eternity, Sora finally turned towards Kairi unsurely, propping himself up on his elbow and resting his chin in his palm. Her closed eyelids and calm demeanor made him wonder briefly if she had fallen asleep, but as she as she felt him stir beside her, she opened her eyes and met his in a warm smile.
"Hey," she simply replied.
"Hey," he answered back, very aware of the butterflies that had suddenly found their way into the pit of his stomach as she met his gaze.
She smiled calmly, her warm violet eyes lighting up, "What are you thinking about, Sora?"
Sora, being Sora, answered without allowing his response to run through his brain first, "You."
"Me?"
"Um… I mean. I was thinking about something I need to tell you." He recovered, narrowly escaping her confused glance as he quickly darted his eyes around the room nervously.
"Ok," she answered unsurely, "What is it you need to talk to me about?"
"It's about…. me… and you." He replied slowly. "It's about…. what happened back in Radiant Garden, and yesterday at the preliminaries."
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A/N: I'm in trouble… I know. How dare I leave off there!! lol
Sorry!! I know you still love me though. :)
Shai's quite the little schemer eh? And Sora's got some 'splaining to do… Hm… next chapter should be pretty good, expect dangerous amounts of fluffiness.
Although, I don't know when I'll be able to write the next chapter, considering my birthday is this Sunday, the 22nd, and I work all day Wed and Thur. I'll try to get something written before too long, I've been making you guys wait a lot lately.
REVIEW POR FAVOR!!