A/N: Sorry for the wait, you guys. ^^; Things were getting tricky after the last set of events. Hope you enjoy the story.

Chapter 7 – The Awakening

The afternoon sun had awoken my senses, and I was relieved to hear sounds from the garden. The wind was whistling, the birds were chirping, and the sprinklers buzzed from afar.

The only thing not so relieving to hear was the sound of Sora's voice, which made me feel so uneasy from its tone. I mean, he had been a close friend of mine for so long (despite what I'd always wanted) that even Namine said it'd take a miracle to get through to his senses. Yet there he was, acting more strange than usual and showing more feelings than I ever expected. I've never felt so nervous to be around Sora, and for the first time I was hoping he wouldn't notice.

"Kairi?" … "Kairi?" nudged Sora, whose face was hovering over mine. I could tell by the sound of his voice that he was leaning over me from my side.

Then he jumped a couple of feet back as I blinked my eyes open, finally awakening to the bright clouds above. He was looking at me, dazed with his hands on the ground, like he had spotted a new Final Fantasy game on the shelf. "You're back!" He screamed as he propped his arms beneath my shoulders, cuddling me close to his chest. I couldn't tell which was throbbing more… my head or my heart.

"Kairi, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't worry about it, Sora."

"But if it wasn't for that game—"

"Then you wouldn't be here cuddling me close to you."

"That's right, I wouldn't… Huh?" He said, as his chin grazed the top of my shoulder. But by then, it was already too late: I was greedy for his affection.

"Y-… you're… shaking, Kai…" He said as his arms began to shake.

"Yea, but— so are you, Sora," I giggled as I reached for his chest.

"S-So," he stuttered as I lay my hand against him. "I should probably… you know, let you go now…"

"But then you might miss this," I said, homing my lips onto his. I kissed him passionately on the spot and swung my other arm around his neck, enjoying the feeling of his tender lips and the smoothness of chest… until he pulled his lips away.

"Kairi," he said, with a face so red he could almost burst. "I uh… I think you hit your head a little too hard…"

"But if I did, then I couldn't do this," I said, pushing Sora to his side, and gently rolling over him. His head hit the grass with a rather loud thud, and his heart was racing rapidly beneath my palms. He was straddled underneath my body, and I leaned in over his chest, unsure of what on earth had possessed me...

"Wait, Kairi," he whispered nervously, with sweat beading down the side of his face. "Your… ch-chest…" he pointed frantically with his finger.

And when I looked down, I almost burst into flames to see the top part of my chest revealed to the world. I flushed bright red, and hustled to tie the ribbon of my corset, which must've gone loose as I was rolling… but throughout that time, as I was tying it all up, did he have to keep staring at my chest?

"S-sorry Sora, but were you just…?"

"No worries… but they're just so beautiful. Um, I mean…"

"It's no way to treat your best friend." I grinned.

"Then maybe…" he paused, gulping down.

"Yea, Sora?"

"I, er- you're pressing too hard there, Kai…"

I was embarrassed to find where my knee had been leaning, and got off of him quick in that instant. We took a rest as I knelt to the side of his fully relaxed body, and the sun began to sink beneath the clouds.

"I had a dream about you yesterday, you know." he said with his hands beneath his head.

"What kind of dream?" I asked.

"One where I lost you forever, since that's what Roxas kept telling me might happen."

"But how could he possibly say that? I mean… We're the best of friends."

"And what if a sexy guy comes along? You know, like my best friend, Riku…" he asked nervously, sounding even tenser than before.

I only giggled in response. "Well if Riku's so sexy to you, you can have him all to yourself."

"Huh?" he said, looking agitated. "But, you mean…? That guy is all over you, you know!"

I laughed even harder, and lay down beside him to glance into the sky. "Sora," I said, propping my head over my arms. "Have you ever considered me as more than a friend?"

"I… uh…" he said, as if his throat was closing in on him by the second.

"I already know that you're jealous of Riku, since you confessed it to me a few minutes ago." I smiled, rolling over to face his side.

"Is that uh… is that a trick question?" He asked sincerely, rolling over to match my gaze.

"Only one way to know for sure…" I said, gripping his shirt to pull him closer. I brought his lips into mine and tried to feel for a response, kissing more and more fervently each time.

"How… do you… feel now," I asked, with us both gasping heavily for breaths.

"Can't we take this a little further?" He said, brushing my arm softly with his fingers.

"You don't mean…?" I asked him incredulously, unable to believe what he might be wanting…

"I want to be your boyfriend." He grinned plainly, with his head propped up over his elbow.

"Well, uh, who said I want to be your girlfriend?" I answered him defensively.

"You did." He said softly.

"Did not!" I squealed.

"But your lips did…" He said matter-of-factly, bringing his fingers to his lips nostalgically.

"That was just to prove a point!"

"Well it certainly proved my point…"

"That's… that's disgusting!" I squealed again.

"What's disgusting?" He asked confusedly. "If you think I'm so… disgusting to be with…"

"Of course not! I mean, I always wanted to be…"

"Then it's done! We're officially together." He beamed, still propped up from his elbow.

And just like that, I had given up resistance, finally realizing what I was doing. I was just so used to having Sora as a friend that I almost forgot that I wanted him more than that. We spent the rest of the evening clearing up all those times in our past, when we liked each other but never caught the signals.

And I even embarrassedly explained how I went with Namine to get the corset, which he confessed had made him more intimidated to approach me. He also said that he thinks he owes it to today's critical event to finally have the courage to be more open. Though whether it did or didn't, I have a feeling we were destined to be this way, and it would have happened regardless.

I thought about Namine as my mind began to clear, and I was drifting slowly into a peaceful state. I couldn't wait to tell her what happened, and see her face light up with a smile.

I also couldn't wait for a new day to come, which I could spend learning more about Sora. To think this all came from one small party is still… r,,n..d…

[ End of entry. ]

A/N: Hope you liked the chapter. ^^ I always worry about not putting enough background story into the characters… but I'm not yet used to planning for stories that stretch for multiple chapters, so I'm sorry about that.. but I hope to work on that maybe for another time.

Riku: HEY! What about me? You can't just leave me here in the dark T_T;

Kinoka: Sorry Riku… you can always marry me instead?

Riku: WHAT? I'm only interested in Kairi-faced girls.

Kinoka: Alright, so get back with Xion already then ^^

Riku: But you're the author! I can't even get up if you don't let me!

Kinoka: Fair enough. Then hold your horses, and we'll see. :3