This chapter took a little longer than usual cuz I got hung up on a few parts/ended up re-writing them but I'm happy with what it turned into. It's definitely a nice little break from all the problems going on in the story even though they're sorta hovering in the background.
Also I've really been craving Halloween so it was kinda nice to be able to write this haha. Thanks to my followers on tumblr who helped me out with my name debate, as well!
I CAN BARELY SAY
Chapter Twelve: Happiness
"Sora."
"Hmpf?" He turned around to Riku, a pretzel halfway sticking out of his mouth.
Riku looked down at him in annoyance, crossing his arms, "I asked you to come over and help set things up, not eat everything before people get here."
Swallowing first, Sora answered in a whine, "C'mon, it was one pretzel." He pointed to his teeth, which included his vampire fangs he said, "Besides, It's not like I can eat a whole lot with these."
Just as he had said to Kairi, he had used magic to borrow his Halloween Town attire. However, to tone it down a bit, he decided to forgo the mask as well as the gloves.
"I'm sure you'll make it work somehow." His friend continued to put other bowls of food out on the table. The doorbell echoed through the front hallway, prompting him to turn his head toward Sora, "Could you get that?"
"Sure." He spun around automatically but started to get nervous as he approached the door. There were still plenty of people on the island he hadn't talked to yet or hadn't even seen since he returned home so the party was bound to be an eventful as well as awkward.
'Probably more awkward.' He thought to himself with a sigh. Some of Kairi's ex-boyfriends would probably be there and to be honest, he still didn't know who they were. Kairi didn't like to talk about it and he didn't want to pry, so he left it alone. Though from her explanation of how the relationships went, he figured it probably wouldn't be too hard to spot them if they saw him and Kairi together.
Opening the door to see Serah's older sister Lightning, he was a little relieved. Nonetheless, she was still an extremely intimidating person. He greeted her nervously, "Hi."
"Hi." Her eyes flickered to him for a second before walking through the door, her facial expression blank.
Sora started to say as he pointed down the hallway, "Riku's in the—" but Lightning walked past him, completely ignoring him as he finished, "…dining room."
"Seems like you're off to a great start." He heard Selphie's voice comment from outside.
"Tell me about it." He mumbled as he started to turn around. Selphie was standing in the doorway in a short dress themed like a sailor's uniform with a small hat atop her head. Catching sight of Kairi behind her, he started to feel his face grow warm as he looked over her costume. She was wearing a pink satin dress, somewhat reminiscent of a ballet tutu in the front but it had a longer chiffon skirt that wrapped around the sides of her legs. Last but not least, she had a small crystal tiara atop her head.
"Nice wings, by the way." He looked back to Selphie, trying his hardest to not stare at either of them.
He blinked, confused for a moment before he remembered, "Oh. Thanks." Nervously, he motioned to both of them, "You two look great."
Kairi smiled and her younger friend replied less than enthusiastically, "Thanks. Nice to see you, but I'm gonna go find Riku." She glanced back to wink at Kairi before heading in through the door.
As Kairi took a few steps towards him, Sora commented curiously, "So, you're taking the princess thing seriously now?"
"Just for tonight." She gave him a coy smile.
"Hmm. Okay." He ran his hand down her arm, leaning down to give her a peck on the lips.
She giggled, "The fangs are… different."
"Sorry." He smiled sheepishly, "I didn't really think about it."
Kairi shook her head, parting her lips to respond before they heard a loud group of people approaching that made them both turn their heads. As they came into the lighted area, she greeted, "Noctis, hi!"
"Hey, Kairi!" He greeted as well, appearing much more energetic and happy than the last time Sora had seen him in the coffee shop. They stopped a few feet away and Noctis introduced the rest of his group, "This is Prompto, Gladiolus, and Ignis."
"Nice to meet you." She gave a wide smile to all of them.
Sora gave a small wave, "Hey. I'm Sora."
Noctis laughed a bit, "Yeah, I kinda overheard the girls gossiping that one day. But nice to meet you officially." He shook his hand before heading in, "See you guys around!"
"Yeah." Sora nodded, stepping out of the way to let them through.
"Cool costume!" Prompto commented loudly to Sora as he passed.
He laughed, "Thanks." Looking back over to Kairi, he suggested, "We should probably go inside before we get stuck on door duty all night."
She nodded enthusiastically, "Definitely." He put his hand on her lower back as he guided her inside; shutting the door once she had made it a few feet down the hallway. When he turned around, she had her hand on her hip as she said, "I still can't believe you cheated with your costume."
"I did not!" He retorted loudly, laughing again as he walked towards her, "Magic is not cheating."
She angled herself away from him, "Mhmm. Sure it's not." She started to walk towards the dining room which now seemed to be empty, as Riku had probably moved them all to the much larger living room.
"Hey, come back here!" He called out teasingly as he chased after her, she narrowly avoiding his grasp a couple of times before he caught her around the waist just as she passed the table.
She tilted her head back against his chest and looked up at him as she asked, "What? Are you going to try and hold me hostage until I admit you're not cheating?"
"I'm thinking about it." Sora answered honestly, a small grin on his face.
As Riku walked into the room, he commented in an unsurprised voice, "Already off to a strong start with the PDA, I see." Sora dropped his hands back to his sides, embarrassed, but Kairi didn't really seem to care. Pointing his fingers at them, he added, "No alcohol for you two. I don't even want to know what you'd be like after that."
Kairi crossed her arms defiantly, "I'll have a glass of wine if I want to."
"Just one?" Riku raised an eyebrow and his voice sounded full of doubt.
"…Maybe. We'll see."
Sora watched them curiously, assuming there was probably some sort of story behind their conversation that he wasn't getting.
"Well, Sora or Selphie have to deal with you this time, not me." He reminded her with a wave of his hand before starting to head back into the living room, Kairi sticking her tongue out at his back
"What was that about?" The brunette asked from behind her.
She turned around slowly to face him, sheepishly explaining, "I got ridiculously drunk one time to the point where I made myself sick and he won't let it go."
Sora frowned and avoided her eyes, knowing exactly what year and why without her giving an explanation.
"Hey," Kairi called to him softly, putting both her hands on his shoulders and resting her arms against his chest, "Don't linger on that too much, okay? It was a long time ago now, it never happened again, and you're here now." When his cobalt eyes finally flickered back to hers, she pressed herself closer to him and smiled, "Let's have fun." With that, she began to walk backwards, pulling him towards the living room where there was now loud music accompanied by many voices and the sound of laughter.
"U-um." He hesitated as she turned around, still tugging him by one hand.
She stopped, turning back and asking softly, "You okay?"
"Yeah, it's just been a long time since I've been around this many people. Practically everyone on the island between the ages of fourteen and twenty five is going to be here tonight, you know?" He answered quietly.
"Are you worried about the people who are weird about you leaving the islands?" She titled her head.
He nodded and admitted, "Them and a few others."
"Well, if anyone has a problem with you, I'll drag them outside and beat them up." She leaned in towards him, whispering into his ear, "Then they'll have to live with the fact a girl in a princess costume kicked their ass."
Sora laughed loudly for a minute. He wasn't sure if she got what he meant when he said 'a few others', but he was hoping so, because that made the idea even greater. After he calmed down a bit, he kissed her cheek and motioned her forward, "Alright. Now that I know we've got a plan, I'm ready."
"Okay." She smiled sweetly, taking his hand and leading him into the room.
It was easy enough to slip into the conversation since the amount of people was still relatively small, making it easier for Sora. But by the time more people started to show up, he was already feeling pretty comfortable; comfortable enough that he even managed to slip away from Kairi and Riku, though they were both still visible. He was still mostly talking to people he was relatively close with, like Tidus and Wakka, but he eventually wandered over to a few others like Serah and Vanille, getting to know them a little better.
When Serah's boyfriend Snow pulled the two away to some of his friends and Sora was left alone again, he considered raiding Riku's snack table again. Starting to turn around, he felt himself accidentally bump into someone. Reaching out to catch their shoulders, he apologized, "Oops! I'm sorry, I kinda forget how much space these wings take up." Letting go once he had gotten her up right, he studied her. She looked familiar but he couldn't quite figure out why. She was a slender girl with wavy brunette hair and gorgeous green eyes, dressed in a body hugging red dress that resembled the pattern of a ladybug, black thigh highs and heels.
She laughed at his comment, answering, "It's okay." Taking a closer look at him as well, she squinted her eyes and questioned, "Wait. Are you Sora?"
"Yeah, that's me." He answered sheepishly, not sure of what else to say.
She pointed to herself and smiled, "I'm Aya, remember? We used to have homeroom together before…" She paused, trying to think of the right word. Laughing a little, she continued, "Well, before the universe fell into chaos is the best way to put it, I guess."
He laughed at her wording as well as he searched his memories, "Aya! Right, I remember now."
She smiled a bit wider at his recognition, responding, "It's good to see you again. But I'm sure it's kinda boring being back here, right?"
"In some ways." He admitted with a small smile, continuing, "But it kind of gets tiring being away from home for so long, too."
"I can imagine. I'm sure I've only heard just a tiny bit of what happened, but you're so brave!" She gushed, taking a step closer to him, "I can't even imagine doing everything you've had to do. I don't think I could."
Sora scratched the back of his neck sheepishly, "I just did what I had to, really."
Aya pushed his shoulder playfully, "Don't be modest! I mean, if it wasn't for you, the islands wouldn't even be here right now!"
"I guess so." He shrugged, giving an awkward smile.
"Seriously, you're amazing." She reached out to touch her hand against Sora's arm, smiling widely.
And for Kairi, that was enough. She stepped in, putting on her sweetest smile as she tugged Sora's sleeve gently, "Hey, Sora. Riku wants to talk to you."
"Okay." He answered, looking back to the girl he had been talking to, "It was nice to see you, Aya."
"Same to you." She gave a little wave as Kairi lead him away.
Once Kairi had pulled him away from the crowd of people and up the stairs, where no one else was allowed to go other than themselves and Riku, Sora gave her a questioning look, "So where's Riku?"
"I lied." Kairi admitted with a huff, leaning against the wall behind her.
"Why?" He held his hands up, confused.
She gave him a questioning look, "She was flirting with you."
"I thought she was just being friendly and asking questions." He answered honestly, "And even if she was, I wasn't flirting back."
"I know." Kairi bit her lip, "But still. I can't just really stand by and watch her do it."
Sora's lips parted in disbelief before he questioned in an amused tone, "Wait. You were jealous?"
She crossed her arms, embarrassed, "Yeah, so?" He began to laugh and she felt her cheeks start to burn, snapping back, "What's so funny about that?"
"It's funny," He leaned in towards her but kept himself a few inches away, still grinning as he continued, "Because you don't need to worry. At all."
Kairi gave a tiny smile, but her voice sounded doubtful, "Why's that?"
Sora reached out to cup the sides of her face, "You're smart, brave, kind, beautiful…" He moved his hands downward, his fingertips tracing her frame. One of his hands stopped at the top of her hip, though the other wandered just past her skirt, stopping at her thigh as he continued, "Incredibly sexy…" His eyes flickered back up to hers as she shivered from his touch, her mouth falling open in surprise. Smirking a bit from her reaction, he leaned in even closer to her and finished, "No one else could ever compare."
He had quite literally left her breathless, which was a first for her. She normally always had some sort of witty response at hand, but now her heart was racing in her chest and coherent thoughts were nearly impossible with Sora lingering so close.
And it was obvious he could tell, letting out a small chuckle at her expense; his warm breath tickling her cheek. Shooting him a small glare, Kairi did the only thing she knew would make him shut up. She closed the tiny distance between them, her hands moving behind his back as she mashed her lips to his. His fangs were still relatively noticeable as he kissed her back eagerly, though it didn't take long to get used to the sensation; or at least to get distracted by another. Sora gripped her thigh a little tighter, intensifying the kiss. She melted into him as she kissed him back, her hands wandering up and down his back.
"Really?" They heard Riku's voice from the stairs, followed by his footsteps until he reached the top and stopped behind him, "This is exactly what I was talking about earlier."
Kairi made a little noise in surprise and Sora broke the kiss and lowered his head, but didn't budge otherwise. "Didn't drink a thing." He answered loudly.
"Half a glass. Maybe not even that much." Kairi answered as well, though hers was in much more of a mumble of annoyance.
"Great. I don't know if that makes it better or worse." They heard him start walking again, and they both pulled back from each other, turning slightly to watch him, "Well, consider this as me kicking you back downstairs. I was just on my way to the bathroom." He motioned towards the door on his right.
Kairi rolled her eyes, "Sir, yes, sir."
"We're going." Sora answered seriously, allowing Riku to retreat behind the door. Touching his forehead against hers, he joked quietly, "Quit getting me in trouble."
"You get yourself into trouble." She replied with a smile before pulling herself out of his grasp and turning towards the stairs.
Sora quickly fired back with an amused smile, "You were the one that brought us up here."
She put her hands on her hips, briefly turning back to look at him as she said, "And you were the one who tried to seduce me." She started down the stairs.
He rushed forward and reached out to catch her waist, asking in a laugh, "Seduce you?"
"Yeah." Kairi nodded, "Trying to taint my heart of pure light with your darkness." She teased, feathering her fingers against his chest.
"In that case…" He started to return his arm to his side but she almost immediately reached out to grab his hand back.
She pouted and gripped his hand tightly, "I was just kidding."
"I know." He guided her down the last few stairs. When she had made it down the floor, Sora leaned down to whisper into her ear, "Besides, you tried to seduce me first; in my own bed." He grinned as he pulled back, finishing, "So I don't believe your innocent act."
Kairi playfully punched him in the shoulder, "I did not! That was just… practice."
"Practice?" He repeated with a raised eyebrow.
"Exactly." She tugged on his hand, not bothering to clarify, "Let's get back to the party before Riku kills us."
He let her drag him back into the living room, numerous eyes watching them as they walked in. Most people seemed amused, though there were a few judgmental stares as well. But for the first time since returning home, Sora didn't care.
