Sleepless Chapter 7

They reached the beach in a minute while the sun shined strongly on the golden sand. Kairi continued to hold Tidus's hand as they walked behind Wakka, who was leading them to the water.

"Wakka!" Kairi called.

"Ya?" The blitz fan called back.

"Maybe you can teach me tomorrow! I'm a little tired today," She stated carefully, knowing it was a lame excuse. She knew Tidus would at least buy it. But she really didn't want to do anything physically demanding today, there was too much on her mind. "Is that alright?" Kairi asked as she bit her bottom lip.

Tidus looked at her and replied for them, "That's fine, Kairi. You can just sit back with…" he stopped to look around and spotted the clumsy brunette a bit away on the docks, "Selphie!" He yelled with a wave of his free hand.

"Hiya!" Selphie shouted as she jumped up and down, giving huge waves. She jumped off the docks, or more like fell off, and ran towards them. "Kairi! How've you been?" Selphie questioned enthusiastically with a huge smile. She wrapped her arms around the red-head and squeezed her tight. Kairi and Tidus's hold on each other slipped and he stepped back with a grin.

"Good, just tired! How about you?" Kairi replied with a little bit less enthusiasm. The friends' embrace ended and they took a step back from each other.

"I'm glad you're alright! Tidus told me all about how you were in such bad shape yesterday after you almost died! I don't know where I would be without you to help me boss around the guys!" Selphie explained with watery eyes.

"Aww, Selphie! I'm fine, really!" Kairi said reassuringly with a nod.

Selphie smiled and turned around to look at the boys, who looked out of place. "Well? What are you waiting for? Go play blitzball to cheer Kairi up!" Selphie ordered with a crazily mean face at them. Kairi pictured steam coming out of her ears and giggled.

"S-sure! Tidus, let's play!" Wakka nodded urgently and tugged Tidus along with him.

"You don't really wanna watch them blitz, do ya, Kairi?" Selphie asked with a sigh. She hated how the guys were so wrapped up in blitzball. They could play all day and not complain.

"Only for a little bit." Kairi smiled. Selphie looked at her confused, but nodded. The brunette took a seat in the sand and Kairi did the same.

"Kairi…" Selphie said softly, which surprised the red-head. Selphie never really took her voice down like this. Kairi looked at her friend in reply and waited for her to speak again. "Is it alright for me to mention…them?" She seemed a little scared of asking, probably because everyone knew how close Kairi was to Riku and Sora.

Kairi's eyes wandered back to the boys, who were laughing as they practiced their passes, "Yeah…everything's a little better today." She responded.

Selphie seemed a little hesitant to ask what she wanted, that it was silent for about a minute, "You said…they were coming back?"

The question made Kairi's mind race but she told herself to slow down, "Yeah. They promised." She nodded.

Her friend sighed and smiled, "That's a relief." She patted Kairi's back softly and looked at the boys after hearing a commotion. He and Wakka were passing in the water and were aggressively debating on who was a better blitz player.

Kairi kept a smile stuck on her face as she drifted into her publicly unknown thoughts. That man…is connected to the blonde girl, somehow. And the shell, did he put that in my room? Or did someone else put it there? I-

"Kairi! Watch it!"

Kairi looked up and absent-mindedly whispered, "Wha-" The blitzball smacked her right in the forehead. The back of her head hit the soft sand and she rubbed her forehead to relieve some pain. "Whoa…" She whispered.

"Kairi, I'm so sorry!" Tidus shouted as he and Wakka ran to her.

"Kairi! Are you ok?" Selphie asked, crouching near the victim. Tidus kneeled near Kairi's head once he got there and looked worriedly into her large, blue eyes.

"I am so, so sorry," He whispered. Selphie shot him a deadly glance and Tidus gulped loudly.

"I'm fine," Kairi chuckled, "That was a strong pass, Tidus!" She started to sit back up with Tidus's eager help. She started laughing again as she spoke, "Do I..Do I have a b-bump?" She started laughing so hard her stomach started to hurt. Tidus was the first to laugh with her and then all four of them were on the sand laughing.

"I-I didn't see a…a bump." Tidus replied between laughs.

Once the laughter died down, they stared at the sky as they laid in the sand. "You still up for blitzing tomorrow, Kairi?" Tidus asked while he turned to see her still staring at the sky. She smiled and looked at him.

"If I don't have any memory loss, I'll try," Kairi responded while she looked back up to the sky. Tidus slid his hand into hers and she didn't object to his advance. She didn't know if she should do this to him, lead him on like this, but she found comfort in him. His protectiveness towards her and how he's always there to listen makes her feel safe and loved. She just couldn't say no to that, she needed it more than anything right now. Kairi turned her head to look at him again and he was staring back at her, his cheeks tainted with a light red.

Awww, how cute? I think so. Review, please? –hugs-